Modelled after airline lounges, the Sora Japanese gourmet food hall opens at Changi Airport’s Terminal 2 today.
Combining two concessions, the 7760sqft (720sqm) space seats about 300 diners and is the largest restaurant across the four terminals at the airport.
At the public area on Level 3, the dining enclave houses six Japanese restaurant brands that serve up ramen, sashimi, okonomiyaki and Nippon-inspired desserts and beverages.
Sora, which is Japanese for “sky”, marks the first time that ANA Trading, a subsidiary of Japanese airline All Nippon Airways, has opened a food hall outside of Japan.
“This is part of the company’s strategy to expand in Southeast Asia region,” says ANA Trading project director Kazuhiro Nakao, who is also director of SG Retail Partners, which is running the food hall in a JV with ANA Trading and Komars Group.
Of the six restaurants in Sora, two are new-to-market brands: Japoli Kitchen and Tsuruhashi
Fugetsu. From Osaka, Tsuruhashi Fugetsu is an okonomiyaki chain while Japoli Kitchen offers Italian/Japanese fusion cuisine.
The other four restaurants are Tokyo chicken ramen chain Menya Takeichi, Kuro Maguro, which features fish flown in daily from Japan, tempura outlet Tendon Kohaku, and Tokyo Sundubu, which serves Korean stew.
Sora Bar offers desserts and beverages including Hokkaido milk ice cream, sake and cocktails.
Diners can order from any of the restaurants and bar to eat at the shared seating area.
Sora offers both booth and tatami seating, and tables are fitted with charging points for mobile devices. There is also an interactive Kids’ Corner complete with a playground and television screen.