Seven Years of FUME
The Art of Modern Japanese Dining

Celebrating seven years of culinary craftsmanship, FUME marks its anniversary with a bespoke nine-course omakase. Chef Owner Tsuruhara Shozo masterfully weaves Japanese tradition with Vietnamese terroir, offering a poetic tribute to the artisans, producers, and guests who have shaped this remarkable dining destination.

There is a particular kind of confidence in a restaurant that knows what it wants to preserve and what it is willing to reinterpret. At FUME, that balance has been shaped over seven years by Chef Owner Tsuruhara Shozo, whose cooking brings Japanese precision into conversation with the ingredients, textures and craft traditions of Vietnam.

From 4 to 6 September 2026, the restaurant celebrated that journey through Lucky 7 Years, a three-evening anniversary experience built around ideas of fortune, gratitude and connection. Its visual language brought together Ebisu, one of Japan’s Seven Lucky Gods, and a horse drawn from Vietnamese Dong Ho folk imagery. The characters 風結夢, representing kaze (wind), musubu (connection), and yume (dream), symbolizing the people and passions that have propelled the restaurant forward.

At the centre of the celebration was a nine-course omakase guided by Shun, the Japanese sensitivity to ingredients at their seasonal best. Autumn maitake mushrooms set the tone, while the progression moved between Japanese discipline and details grounded in Vietnam. Son Tay rice straw was used to perfume a grilled course with smoke, giving the restaurant’s name a tactile, aromatic presence. Fresh Vietnamese herbs sharpened the temaki with brightness and lift.

The final savoury course carried the menu’s sense of occasion with particular grace. Akashi Tai, traditionally associated with celebration in Japan, was paired with Koshihikari rice specially cultivated for FUME in Minamiuonuma, Niigata. The rice was cooked in a handmade clay pot from Koishiwara, then served in bowls made by artisans in Phu Lang, Bac Ninh. It was a quiet composition of provenance and craft, linking two ceramic traditions at the table.

That dialogue has long been central to FUME’s identity. Tucked inside historic Alley 74 Hai Ba Trung, the restaurant approaches Japanese Modern Cuisine not as a fixed style, but as an evolving practice. Chef Shozo’s cooking remains rooted in Japanese culinary tradition while absorbing impressions from Vietnam and beyond, supported by close relationships with producers and artisans in both countries.

The philosophy is one of detail rather than display. Kodawari guides the pursuit of precision, while omotenashi shapes the generosity of the experience. Seven years in, FUME’s anniversary did not feel like a conclusion, but a considered pause before the next chapter. Lucky 7 Years distilled what the restaurant has become through smoke, seasonality, craftsmanship and, above all, connection.