Harry Cheng is bringing all things Japanese to Mumbai. First sushi and sake and now Japan's minimalist architectural designs
Harry Cheng is bringing all things Japanese to Mumbai. First sushi and sake and now Japan's minimalist architectural designs 
HARRY Cheng arrived in India's city of dreams two years ago and made it his own. Today, he is a well-known name in Mumbai's social galaxy. Maido, his company, supplies sushi and sake to almost every Japanese restaurant in the country's metro cities and he has also just finished conducting a month long Japanese food workshop in Mumbai at the Dadar Catering College.
He guided the students through the subtleties of Japanese cooking miso soup, nimono (simmered food), donburimono (bowl dishes), nabemono (one pot dishes) and the etiquette and grace that defines the very essence of Japanese culture.
After setting Maido firmly on its feet, Harry decided to bring another aspect of Japan here by getting one of Japan's most famous design companies, Basco's Japan, and taking over as its Chief Operating Officer in Mumbai.
A unique aspect to this was that he and Tetsu Kimura, CEO of the company, Basco, decided to invest in three bright students from the Rachna Sansad College of Art and Architecture in Mumbai and train them for five months in Japan. These students would then go ahead to blend the Indian and Japanese design aesthetics.
u00a0
Launched a day after Republic day at the Hyatt Regency (incidentally, that is also where their office is), they gave an overview of the five main elements of Japanese design- space, the four seasons (spring, summer, autumn, winter), words, handcraftsmanship and traditional innovation, followed by a quick calligraphy session exquisitely executed.
Harry hopes that in the coming years, India and Japan will be bound closer through cultural, and business ties and a more robust increase in the number of tourists between the two countries. Excerpts from an interview:
ADVERTISEMENT
What drew you to Mumbai?
India called to me. It was thanks to the friendship of Anup Jatia and his family that my coming to Mumbai happened.
As a two-year-old Mumbaikar, what are your impressions of the city? Which Japanese city does it most resemble?
Powerful. Energetic. Fantastic. Chaotic. Beautiful (beauty has various shades of beautiful). Maybe Osaka, 50 years ago?
As far as eating out and adventurousness in tasting different cuisines is considered, how does Mumbai rate on your scale?
Mumbai has some great food and more and more are coming. Sophisticated tastes need sophisticated establishments, and Mumbai is set to see more growth in new cuisines, both authentic and fusion if the import regulations and duty structures are made more conducive for imported products, I would imagine that there will be further growth of great food and restaurants in Mumbai!
Do you cook Indian dishes?
I don't cook Indian dishes yet but I love pani puri! I hope to open a pani puri deli in Tokyo - that would mean I would start bringing India to Japan, a happy development which is the reverse of bringing Japan to India.
Chinese food is a big hit in India, even though it's a very Indian version of Chinese, what is the response to Japanese food?
Chinese food continues to go more authentic. Indianised Japanese is here but we are seeing authentic Japanese like at Four Seasons and new restaurants in Delhi coming up.
You are hopeful of using food and now design as a sort of cultural ambassador between the two countries?
Yes, design communicates and connects emotionally it will play an increasingly important role. Sharing good food with great people, be it family, friends, or colleagues, etc, helps bridge the cultural gap yummy foods knows no boundaries!
How did the seed of Basco India germinate?
Basco's saw the opportunity they saw the rising middle classes as they had seen 25 years ago when Japan was also growing.
Will it be competitively priced with other Indian designers?
Yes.
India is known for its ornamentalness and elaborateness, Japan for its minimalastic designs how do you plan to bridge or blend the two diverse cultures?u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0
Balance everything is about fusion, and thus we believe this will work well fusion, with simple tones.
Talking about your latest venture, what will this design company encompass?
Basco's Japan is a marketing-to-design company which focuses on all aspects of commercial design and new product development.u00a0 In Japan, Basco's has worked to create new brands, work on graphic design, new logos, introduce visual merchandising for retail stores, design spas, bring to market new products, produce and edit magazines, and more.
Can you elaborate on this unique collaboration with Rachna Sansad? Future plans?
We liked their teaching and the results of the teaching we decided to recruit three students from the school who had a keen interest in Japan, a positive attitude, and a strong desire to learn. Just as important was the faculty's support of this the first program to take students directly into employment into a Japanese design company like ours and to trust in the vision that we had shown.
We plan to take students regularly from Rachana Sansad, and expose them to Japan. We are even talking about a Centre for Japan Design in the School in the future. As in all things in the future, we believe everything will run its course, we shall see where destiny leads us!
What did the five-month training comprise of?
Mostly on-the-job training. But importantly, the designers had the unique opportunity to live and work in Japan which has significantly improved their perceptions of commercial design in one of the world's most sophisticated markets.
We believe exposure to new products and new designs is critical to develop the design capabilities of young creatives like our current team.
Attention to detail, seminars about the importance of various experiences to assist clients, all contributed to the designers coming back and bringing a new perspective to design.
What is the essence of Mumbai / Tokyo?
Mumbai is a world metropolis. Everything is possible, chaotic and there are a million wonderful moments everyday for all strata of society. Ultra new and ultra conservative intermingle casting interesting shadows.
Tokyo is cosmopolitan, clean, super efficient transportation, has the freshest food, the best shopping, kindness and courtesy at every corner, the four distinct seasons, something to do every hour of the day from early morning Tsukiji fish market to the Roppongi late nights.
Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest news!" Click here!
