Makanai in Singapore: Restaurant staff meal is as haute as what diners get

In Singapore, some restaurants order food in for staff and some give them a budget to buy their own meals. ST PHOTOS: DESMOND FOO, RYAN CHIONG, GIN TAY
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SINGAPORE – The Netflix series The Makanai: Cooking For The Maiko House (2023), about two 16-year-olds with aspirations to be geisha, shines the spotlight on makanai ryori or staff meals.

Best friends Kiyo and Sumire leave their homes in Aomori prefecture and travel to Kyoto, where they become apprentice geisha, or maiko.

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