Overview
Pyrmont will score a lavish new restaurant this July when two culinary heavy hitters 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 (Chase in Japanese cuisine and Liong in Chinese) to create a cross-cuisine menu that goes well beyond your standard Asian fusion.
"We're finding links between the two cuisines and seeing that the similarities marry quite seamlessly," says Liong. "Japanese cuisine is considered quite refined and Chinese cuisine has a reputation of being flavourful but quite heavy. So, we're trying to showcase both cuisines in a different way by bringing more flavour into Japanese and more refined elegance into Chinese food, for example."
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 the menu is still being finalised, Sydneysiders can expect it to be seafood heavy.
"We're looking at using a lot of large fish and shellfish like lobster and mussels, as well as local vegetables like king oyster mushrooms that you just can't get in Melbourne," says Liong.
Dishes that are in the works include pickled mussels with daikon and edible flowers; thinly-sliced cuttlefish with ginger; and a crispy eggplant dish adapted from Lee Ho Fook's spiced red vinegar version. An "interactive" course with a whole duck is also on the cards.
"We found some dishes pop up in both cultures — but where they originate from is almost complete different," says Liong. The two chefs will be looking to "balance the bold Szechuan flavour with the elegant look of the Japanese" with dishes like the bang bang (or bon bon) chicken, which will see strips of pounded chicken topped with spicy Szechuan sauce, chopped peanuts and spring onions.
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 Darling Harbour — while a 70-seat private dining space will take up the upstairs floor.
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. We'll update you with more details closer to the date.
Chuuka will open this July at Jones Bay Wharf, 26-32 Pirrama Road, Pyrmont.