Overview
Pyrmont will score a lavish new restaurant next week when two of Australia's most exciting chefs join forces for the first time. Sydney's lauded chef Chase Kojima (Sokyo, Gojima) and Melbourne's acclaimed Lee Ho Fook chef Victor Liong are coming together to open Chuuka, a new Chinese-Japanese fine diner at Jones Bay Wharf.
In the space that used to be home to Flying Fish (which has just moved across the road to The Star), the two chefs will combine their respective specialties and techniques (Kojima in Japanese cuisine and Liong in Chinese) to create a cross-cuisine menu that goes well beyond your standard Asian fusion.
The restaurant's name plays to this cultural exchange and nods to the historic culinary influence of the late-1800s Chinese immigrants in Japan. This menu will feature an amalgamation of flavours and traditional cooking techniques, all while using fresh Aussie produce. While not all of the menu details have been released, Sydneysiders can expect a dedicated raw menu, a roe service and lots of fresh seafood.
Two dishes that'll appear on the menu are stir-fried spiny lobster with chilli miso butter and Japanese milk buns, and a take on the popular Szechuan dish bang bang chicken, where strips of chicken are pounded and topped with chilli oil, peanuts, shiso and yuzukosho (a fermented paste made from yuzu and chilli).
Victor Liong and Chase Kojima
Dessert will also be a big drawcard here with an exciting 'premium frozen yoghurt service' on offer, as well as dishes starring purple yam, jasmine, Okinawan honey and matcha green tea.
The two-level interior is set to be pretty luxurious, too. The ground floor will have a 60-seat restaurant, wine room and outdoor bar — all of which are arranged to amplify the venue's encompassing views across the harbour — while a 70-seat private dining space will take up the upstairs floor. Local tattoo artist Deepak Munsami has also painted intricate murals across the restaurant's walls, which reflect the combination of Chinese and Japanese elements on the menu.
You'll be able to head to Chuuka exclusively to drink, too, with the waterfront outdoor bar primed for after-work cocktails with a view. Inspired by the five elements (wu xing), the drinks list features signature cocktails such as the Wood (with hickory-smoked umeshu, rye and Campari) and Water (gin, black tea, lemongrass and sichuan pepper).
Chuuka is the first off-property restaurant for The Star Sydney, which plans to continue to expand as a luxury entertainment group beyond its Pyrmont casino and hotel.
Find Chuuka at Jones Bay Wharf, 26–32 Pirrama Road, Pyrmont from Wednesday, July 3.