Falling in love with food

Lankan Japanese culinary expert reveals his passion for food:

Dulshani Gunawardena

Darshan Munidasa

His passion is food, a passion just eclipsed by his passion for eating! And it would be this passion that would make his name...

Darshan Munidasa, chef and creator, is the founder and owner of Nihonbashi, an exclusive restaurant of Japanese cuisine.

Born in Tokyo to mixed Sri Lankan-Japanese heritage, Dharshan was destined to both his livelihood and greatest passion at birth.

However he soon left Japan, at the age of eight, when his family moved to Sri Lanka. A student of St. Joseph’s College, Darshan went to complete his higher studies in the United States.

While studying for his degree in a vocation he would never pursue, Computer Engineering and International Relations, Darshan got hands on training for what would become the ‘job’ of his dreams! As a young, independent student in a totally new world, he’d dabble with the delights of cooking, experimenting this, tasting that, always striving for the best.

I love eating, he grins, That is why I love cooking!

Returning to Sri Lanka in 1994, Dharshan wanted something new, something original, something exclusive. Looking around, he decided that restaurants and fine cuisine would be his calling.

Thus Nihonbashi was born: the creation of a 24 year old who in his own words, had never ‘learned’ cooking. “All I ever did was watch, observe and experiment!”

Indulge in traditional Japanese culinary experience

His earliest experiment in cooking was watching his mother and Japanese aunt’s cook. As a student, he would be inspired by the dishes at restaurants, and strive to recreate them by himself.

Even from vendors, he had much to learn. Japan has the largest fish market in the world. I would spend hours there, talking to the vendors. I learned a lot from them, who in their turn were extremely friendly and patient with me!

In Dharshan’s words, at its start in 1994, Nihonbashi was no exception from any other Japanese restaurant. In Dharshan’s own words, he is in a continuous journey of evolution.

“It took me more than eight years to get to where I am now. Even now,there is much to learn. My whole life is one of learning.”

Dharshan’s mantra is that good food is always simple. It requires neither cumbersome equipment nor complex detail: good food indeed is a luxury for all.

The difference, he says between cuisine and a meal is that a meal is simply to kill hunger, while cuisine is a work of art.

Good food, he goes on, is not merely talent, but also the combination of the best ingredients. And when it comes to tickling the taste buds, Sri Lanka is a treasure of resources, he believes.

Sri Lanka has such a wealth of fresh seafood, a bounty left untouched. Few people are aware and fewer taken use. It is amazing to see the demand our seafood commands in countries such as Singapore, he said. I find Sri Lankan cookery shows very traditional. I want to give people a difference through my program, an enthusiastic Dharshan says.

His work and his life are one and the same. “I work all seven days a week. And yet, I enjoy the challenge. I am continuously learning, which makes it a novel experience in itself!”

On a final note, what does he feel on being in a profession dominated by the so-called fairer, gentler sex? “It cannot be actually called a woman’s job. Many of the world’s top chefs are men. It is no profession confined to women”