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.
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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:

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.