Ritual and art collide at Sokyo – The Star Brisbane’s cutting-edge Japanese restaurant
Amongst all of the blockbuster announcements surrounding The Star Brisbane’s soon-to-be realised dining offering, one name stood out. Sokyo, The Star Sydney restaurant acclaimed for its modern (and often theatrical) interpretation of Japanese-inspired cuisine, has expanded to Brisbane. Led by executive head chef Alex Yu, Sokyo is already causing a stir with its artist-like approach to dining, reflected in its elaborate sashimi platters, flavour-packed mains and delicately crafted cocktails. Come inside and take a peek …
Even before he was announced as the executive head chef of Sokyo at The Star Brisbane, Alex Yu’s reputation preceded him. The chef known as the ‘sashimi florist’ is renowned far and wide for his sashimi platters – lavishly adorned centrepieces that are assembled using a mix of precise technical skill and creative artistry. Though undeniably gifted when it comes to epicurean aesthetics, Alex credits a mastery of the basics as the crucial building block for his personal culinary philosophy, which is deeply rooted in tradition.
“If you get the basics wrong, you can’t make a good dish,” says Alex, “I must follow the traditional way. For example, you need to get really good katsuobushi and you need to get really good kombu to make dashi stock. I always focus on the fundamentals – the traditional side – and then I can add modern twists.”
The chef’s strict adherence to the core tenets of Japanese cooking and his ability to apply artist-like flourishes to a menu has made Alex uniquely qualified to head Sokyo’s new cutting-edge outpost, which opened on the lobby level of The Star Grand on Thursday August 29. Touted as a restaurant where Japanese cuisine is reimagined through a creative lens, Sokyo’s purposeful blurring of the lines between ritual and art syncs up perfectly with Alex’s cooking style, which, as it turns out, was first forged in the crucible that is the kitchen at Sokyo Sydney.
Alex started his culinary career at Sokyo under the tutelage of Chase Kojima and it was here that he first learned the ropes, starting in the sushi roll section before working his way up the ranks to sushi head chef and, eventually, sous chef. After eight years at Sokyo, Alex relocated to Melbourne to oversee the opening of South Yarra’s Asian-inspired head turner Yugen – LK Hospitality’s three-level subterranean restaurant and tea bar, which earned a number of hats during Alex’s tenure.
“When you work somewhere for eight years, you sort of get the feeling that you maybe need to move on to a different challenge,” Alex admits. “I didn’t want to get myself into a comfort zone.”
And so he did, but Sokyo continued to hold a cherished place in Alex’s heart and, having heard the swirling rumours about Sokyo’s northward expansion, the chef kept the door open for a possible return.
“[Prior to joining Yugen] I had a chat with my director and was really interested in going to Brisbane and opening Sokyo, which I really loved,” Alex tells us. “But it was delayed, so I wanted to do something different before I joined. It was a really interesting prospect coming back, rebranding it, doing it better and making it stronger. So [when the opportunity arose] I took a chance.”
While Alex’s return to the Sokyo fold is somewhat of a homecoming, now, having truly made his bones, he’s been given freedom to create a menu that melds Sokyo signature elements with dishes of his own devising, using Queensland produce (like prawns from the Sunshine Coast, Moreton Bay bugs and Darling Downs wagyu), to give the menu a distinctly local spin.
“Uday Huja [The Star Brisbane’s culinary director] said I wasn’t bound by what Sokyo Sydney or [The Star Gold Coast’s flagship restaurant] Kiyomi was doing,” Alex says, “Yes, we’re bringing some signature Sokyo dishes – we wanted to showcase what Sokyo’s flavours are like – but we’re going to have a Brisbane side, my own dishes and unique experiences.”
Sokyo Brisbane’s a la carte menu starts with tempting snacks like kingfish miso ceviche, Hokkaido scallops with wagyu bresaola and salmon with sweet ssamjang, before expanding into tempura dishes (including squid with ichimi salt, black pepper and chilli vinegar) and succulent robata-grilled morsels (like a Stockyard 9+ Kiwami flank steak with shio koji marinade and king prawns bathing in yuzu butter). Up next is a range of dishes labelled ‘Essential’, with main-sized Sokyo signatures like the dengakuman (miso-glazed toothfish) and the Wollemi duck breast with Brussels sprouts, goma dare and furikake featuring.
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A selection of traditional sashimi and nigiri gives guests the chance to construct a platter boasting the likes of tuna toro, scampi, barbecue eel, ocean trout, red snapper and more. Meanwhile, Sokyo’s lengthy list of signature nigiri and sushi rolls is where you’ll find a number of other must-try items, including the famed spicy tuna tartare on crispy rice and the ocean trout umami sansho, as well as the Queensland Roll (filled with Queensland Spanner Crab), which will likely become a crowd favourite. Finally, a tasting menu gives guests the chance to sample Sokyo Brisbane’s greatest hits, while Alex informs us that the restaurant might potentially add an omakase-style service in the future.
On the drinks front, Sokyo’s sake sommelier Jenny Wang has curated a tight list of sips, encompassing sparkling sake, junmai, junmai ginjo (premium), junmai daiginjo (ultra-premium) options. Signature cocktails like the Kyoto Kiss (Japanese strawberry gin, prosecco, lychee sorbet and rose petals) and the sesame and miso butter old fashioned (sesame-infused Johnnie Walker Gold, miso and walnut bitters) are available alongside classic concoctions, while the wine list leans towards Australian makers, with a few international varieties also in the mix.
While Sokyo Brisbane is still in its infancy, Alex has lofty goals for the restaurant, which include earning a spot amongst the upper echelon of the city’s restaurant scene. He’s looking to achieve this the same way his bouquet-like sashimi arrangements caused a stir – by not being afraid to experiment, while still nailing to the basics of hospitality.
“I was trying to do something better – something that didn’t exist in Australia – and just try to work on my own to develop a way for the guests to maximise their experience at Sokyo,” recalls Alex. “I’m hoping we’ll do the same in Brisbane by aiming for the highest standards in terms of quality of ingredients, quality of service and the experience that we’re providing.”