TANBA Restaurant – Designed by Mentahmatler Design as an ode to the traditional, communal experience of eating yakiniku & sukiyaki in a space that is modern yet warm and immersive. ‘Shokuyoku no Aki’ – a Japanese saying and to an extent, a way of living in Japan that translates to ‘the appetite of Autumn’. The change of seasons leads to cooler temperatures in Japan, bringing about a transformation to the culinary scene with patrons indulging themselves with hearty meals such as yakiniku.
Historical settings dictate that Japanese yakiniku was traditionally consumed outside with an open fire, a heartening comfort cutting through the cooler air. Though the modern experience has been relegated to restaurant-based dining, the communal & interactive nature of yakiniku dining remains ever the same and its popularity has extended itself even to the tropics of Malaysia where this project is set in.
If scent is a memory built on past experiences, how can we instil the comforting feelings of eating yakiniku traditionally to the Malaysian gastronomic scene through sight and smell alone? The aspiration was then to derive the feeling of consuming yakiniku together within an autumnal setting, modernising the traditional experience and cosy mood of an open campfire into the interior spaces of the TANBA restaurant.
