Meet Chef Brandon Go of Hayato
8.24.2020
Meet Chef Brandon Go of Hayato, the Michelin Starred, Kaiseki-style, fine-dining concept right here at ROW. His dedication to Japanese cuisine began 25 years ago, while making sushi at his father's restaurant in Seal Beach. Since then, Chef Brandon has spent his life pursuing excellence in the broader Japanese culinary tradition, studying alongside mentors in Tokyo and beyond.
Hayato, with its exceptional seafood, exquisite Bento Boxes, and inviting hospitality, are of course, the best way to experience his masterful approach. Watch the video with volume on, then read below for the Michelin Star Chef’s answers to a few of our top burning questions.
ROW: Congrats on being awarded the first Michelin Star in LA in nearly a decade! Has anything changed for you since receiving the award?
BG: I think everything at Hayato just works with more confidence now. In cooking, there are always arguments to do things different ways, and sometimes outside validation helps you make decisions about when to continue on a certain path, or when it might be time to change. Michelin gave us the confidence to trust ourselves, and even to take more risks when we really believed in doing things a certain way.
ROW: We know you love getting to know your guests when they dine-in with you - what’s your favorite thing to chat about when they're at your counter?
BG: As you can imagine, I love to talk about cooking techniques and fish. I tell everyone when the meal starts that they are probably going to have to listen to more food talk than they want to hear, but for people who are really interested in Japanese food, I think it’s an unusual learning opportunity. There is no way you are going to leave here without knowing exactly what you ate and how we made it.
ROW: What’s the most fascinating or surprising thing that you’ve learned from your guests through those conversations?
BG: The most surprising thing I hear is that people who live in LA heard about my restaurant when eating at my mentors' restaurants in Tokyo. We have had a bunch of people who finish dinner here, and then tell me that they got Hayato business cards from the people in Tokyo who taught me how to cook. I really can’t believe how many people in LA travel regularly to Japan to eat.
ROW: What’s one transformative experience you’ve had, tasting something new for the first time?
BG: I remember the first time I ate the soba at a professional soba cooking school I attended in Tokyo. The power of the aroma was unbelievable. Even walking in the room, I couldn’t believe how powerful the smell of the buckwheat was. Just having the buckwheat mill running was giving me a bit of an allergic reaction, because the buckwheat flour released into the air was so fresh. I learned that day that the soba I had been eating most of my life was tasteless. I hadn’t known this before because even in Japan there aren’t that many places that make really good soba. It was like having great coffee after drinking nothing but instant coffee your whole life.
ROW: We need to know - where do you find the freshest fish in LA?
BG: Most of our fish is bought in the fish market in Tokyo, and we receive it the same day it was purchased at Toyosu market. But there are also a lot of great fish markets in LA - one which I go to every day is on Alameda Street, directly across the street from ROW!
ROW: As a chef that works so often with knives, what is the most important thing about maintaining your tools?
BG: All my knives need to be sharp! I sharpen my main knife for dinner every day. I can’t stand to work with a dull knife, even if it’s only for a few minutes.
ROW: Since you’re all about repetition and consistency (the core makings of a Michelin Star chef), what advice would you give to keep going?
BG: Every restaurant does things differently, but what we aim for at Hayato is not to do a lot of new things, but to do the same things better and better. We know that if a dish is good the first time we try it, after years of refining the same dish, it should satisfy even the pickiest person.
With every passing season, our recipes and techniques are always better after working with certain ingredients throughout that season. Now that we have been open for two full years, when we go back to those same seasonal ingredients, our starting point is at a higher level. I think we can continue to improve on everything we’ve done, and so I’m very excited for the future.
ROW: Can you tell us more about that process of selecting a sake cup from your collection of original ceramics?
BG: Selecting your own cup is a tradition in many restaurants in Japan, and all the cups we have are one-of-a-kind pieces that I have bought at kilns and galleries all over Japan, usually from the potter who made them.
Ceramics in Japan are typically made in a style dictated by location. Every region has its own clay, glazing techniques, firing techniques etc. When I look at the sake cup tray, I see a map of the kilns of Japan, and a lot of artists' faces. All the cups are special pieces, but they also have much more sentimental value when you travel to a kiln and meet a potter, and talk about his work and how it will contribute to the restaurant.
Learn more about Chef Brandon on our Oui Chef! highlight story on Instagram at @rowdtla, then follow Brandon @brandon_hayato_go and @hayatorestaurant for tempting food pics and updates.
Bento Box reservations can be made here. Warning: They sell out FAST!!!