Chiaki
Ochazuke by day, izakaya by night.
Updated ,first published
Chiaki
Japanese$$
You might know Chiaki as the cafe where Melburnites queue for ochazuke, the dish of dashi poured over rice and toppings. But come nightfall the brutalist space morphs into an izakaya. Sake-based cocktails let the Japanese rice wine shine. In one it’s paired with fermented mikan (mandarin) juice; another with miso caramel.
Karaage chicken is dusted with earthy genmaicha salt. Dunk a piece into mentaiko (spicy fish roe) mayo or sweet mushroom ketchup. Potato salad with minced prawns and olives arrives deconstructed. Gyutan is the ultimate comfort food, the ox tongue slow-cooked until fork-tender, joined by simmered daikon and an onsen egg.
The ochazuke steals the show though, its complex dashi seasoned with jamon and roasted sardines. Pour it over massigura rice, salmon roe and cubes of raw tuna, salmon, bonito and kingfish. Outstanding, day or night.
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