i. Biography
Since 2021, Kazuhiro Hamamoto has been chef-owner of Hamamoto in Singapore, the restaurant recognised by the MICHELIN Guide with one star. That achievement is the clearest public measure of a career built through formal culinary training, major restaurant kitchens, and the authority of running a dining room under his own name.
The Honours
The MICHELIN Guide awarded one star to Hamamoto in Singapore, placing the restaurant among the city’s most closely watched dining addresses. For Hamamoto, the honour belongs to the work he has led there since taking the chef-owner role in 2021: a restaurant identified by his name, directed from the kitchen outward. The award also gives shape to a résumé that includes Ki-Sho in Singapore and Waku Ghin. Those roles matter because they preceded the responsibility of ownership, and because they show a chef whose public recognition arrived after years inside serious restaurant kitchens rather than through a sudden debut.
The Craft
Born in Kyoto, Hamamoto’s formation began before the professional kitchen. Formal training followed at Taiwa Culinary College, giving that early memory a professional structure. The path from Kyoto to Singapore is not presented through ornament or spectacle; it is legible in the posts he held, the title he now carries, and the Michelin recognition earned at the restaurant that bears his name. At Hamamoto, the craft and the role operate as one. Chef-owner is not simply a kitchen designation; it signals responsibility for the restaurant as a whole, from the cooking to the standards attached to its name. Since 2021, that has been the central fact of his work in Singapore.
The Career
Before Hamamoto, his career included a chef role at Waku Ghin. The position places him within one of the named kitchens on his path before he stepped into ownership, and it remains an important part of the professional arc that led to his own restaurant. He also served as Chef de Cuisine at Ki-Sho in Singapore. That title carries a different kind of responsibility: not merely participation in a kitchen, but leadership within it. In a career with few public flourishes, the titles themselves do much of the speaking. The move to chef-owner of Hamamoto in 2021 marked the defining turn. From that point, his name became the name over the door, and the Michelin one-star recognition for the Singapore restaurant became the principal accolade associated with his work. Taken together, the details form a concise but substantial portrait: Kyoto-born, trained at Taiwa Culinary College, seasoned through Waku Ghin and Ki-Sho, and now identified most clearly with Hamamoto in Singapore.
Profile updated July 2026
FAQ
Asked of Kazuhiro
What is Kazuhiro Hamamoto's most notable recognition?
His most notable recognition is the MICHELIN Guide’s one star for Hamamoto in Singapore.
What is Kazuhiro Hamamoto known for?
He is known for his work as a chef-owner in Singapore, following roles at Ki-Sho and Waku Ghin.
What is Kazuhiro Hamamoto's current role?
Since 2021, he has been chef-owner of Hamamoto in Singapore.
