To the Sydney chef's amazement, the reservations book at Waku Ghin includes many Australians, especially from Perth, who are travelling especially to eat at the 25-seater.

Diners include the former Singapore prime minster Lee Kuan Yew and his Prime Minister son Lee Hsien Loong. Some regulars visit three or four times weekly.

They have a radically different dining experience to Wakuda's Sydney restaurant, Tetsuya's. Every savoury dish on the 10-course menu is cooked in front of the diner in one of four small dining rooms.

It took seven years to persuade Wakuda to open in Singapore.

At 743 square metres, the space was far larger than anything he wanted. More than that, Australia's most celebrated chef was happy running just one restaurant, in Sydney.

But the owners of Singapore's new $US5.7 billion casino complex Marina Bay Sands were never going to take no for an answer. Finally, he relented but on his terms. Waku Ghin seats just 25 diners with two sittings a night. "That's 50 people every day … more than enough,'' said Wakuda.

The extensive use of curved walls and small dining rooms disguises the large floorspace.

And for the man who loves kitchen equipment almost as much as the food prepared, much was designed by Wakuda.

Before opening, Wakuda visited Singapore "hundreds of times", but even he is taken aback by the locals' enthusiasm.

"Their passion for eating is incredible. It's a national sport. They just love to eat … It's obsessional almost.''

In the kitchen "Singapore is a different challenge [to Sydney]''.

"The produce is amazing. You pay for it, however; it's extremely expensive. Everything has to be imported and and while European is OK, Japanese is expensive and, as I am Japanese, people expect it. They expect Japanese seafood. They ask if it's local and if it is they say 'I don't want that'."

Like their capacity to eat, Singaporeans' capacity to spend knows almost no bounds. The restaurant uses three kilograms of caviar a week.

The author travelled courtesy of Marina Bay Sands.