Bruno Menard weaves his Michelin magic in Asia

Tattooed on the left forearm of chef Bruno Menard are three Michelin stars, an indelible souvenir of his culinary achievement at L'Osier, a restaurant opened by cosmetics maker Shiseido in Tokyo. "You can't use the Michelin logo if you don't have any stars," says Menard, settling into a glass of red wine after a photo-shoot of his dishes. "It's a touch of pride and joy of the many years we spent in Tokyo."

The 52-year-old Frenchman was recently in Macau as guest chef at the Michelin one-star restaurant The Tasting Room in Crown Towers, where he presented a six-course menu reflecting his love of Asian ingredients, such as mini tomato stuffed with blue shrimp tartar with yuzu and tarragon ice cream, and roasted Japanese beef with myoga, a Japanese ginger combined with black cherry pickle.

"I've been in this part of the world for 20 years, so I really understand the flavours that people like. Those flavours go into my everyday cooking, so it's part of my everyday life," Menard says.

He has spent most of his time in Japan, where he relocated from France in 1995 to open his own restaurant, Tatou Tokyo, before joining the Ritz-Carlton Osaka two years later. Menard then headed to the United States for a stint at The Dining Room in the Ritz-Carlton, Atlanta, for four years where he gained five stars and five diamonds (only 14 restaurants in North America have this designation). In 2005, Menard returned to Tokyo at L'Osier.

"The second time in Japan was not an easy move. It was a big challenge to get three Michelin stars but I had the restaurant and support behind me," he says.

Michelin had announced it was launching its guide in Japan, and Menard was determined to get three stars - which he achieved in his first attempt.

"It's rare but not unique because in Macau and Hong Kong you have restaurants that achieved three stars [the first time]. You need to have a big organisation behind you, big companies where they have tycoons who have the money and allow you to set up an amazing restaurant and to put together the right team," he says.

"It's a big investment but also you have to have free rein to do whatever you want."