‘A treasure hunt’: This new Japanese venue serves 300 glistening rice bowls each week

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If you think rice is just a support act for meat and fish, kamameshi will change your mind. Cooked to order in an iron pot (a kama), kamameshi places rice centre stage and celebrates premium grains steamed with dashi broth and your choice of protein and vegetables on top.

While you can find kamameshi in taverns and specialty restaurants across Japan, the dish is somewhat rare in Sydney. Hence, it’s become a point of focus at Izakaya Gaku, the latest opening by chefs Shimon Hanakura and Haru Inukai, co-owners of Darlinghurst’s Gaku Robata Grill.

The menu reads like an izakaya – usually a tavern with drinks and snacks – but without any bar stools or even seats at the bar, Izakaya Gaku definitely looks and feels more like a restaurant. This likely suits locals, many of whom are young families here for an early sitting.

Practically every table has ordered the kamameshi when I visit, and Hanakura says they serve about up to 300 portions each week with 60 kama pots in the kitchen to meet demand. Niigata koshihikara is their rice of choice at the moment, a high-quality short grain prized for its elegant balance of stickiness, sweetness, tenderness and aroma.

Our kamameshi arrives with a three-minute hourglass timer and warnings not to touch the (very hot) pot. Once the sand trickles through and you lift the wooden lid, a cloak of fragrant steam wafts over the table. When it subsides, you will find glistening and plump rice grains hidden beneath shimmering toppings.

The wagyu option is cooked sukiyaki style with slices of tender beef simmered slowly in a sweet soy broth. It’s a terrific protein hit but a little cloying. The seafood kamameshi is more nuanced and satisfying; a treasure hunt of clams, scallops and prawns.

Just like a great sandwich is elevated by excellent bread, so too does kamameshi make you appreciate the importance of quality rice. Each grain is distinct with a gentle chew, flavoured by the gentle absorption of sauces without losing its structure. At the bottom of the pot you’ll find a bonus layer of crunchy rice that adds another textural element.

Make sure you order the soup to pour over at the end. Served in a teapot, the soup has a rich umami intensity and adding it creates two dishes in one, a fortifying finish that’s comforting and soul-reviving.

Meanwhile, snacks run from karaage fried chicken to popcorn shrimp and gyoza, but it’s worth trying the tempura gobo burdock chips, a basket of golden batons that yield a nutty sweetness and are quietly addictive. The burdock salad allows you to enjoy a different take on the root vegetable – some liken it to an earthy parsnip – which is shredded, blanched and tossed with spicy soy mayonnaise.

For hands-on fun, the salmon tartare is a do-it-yourself assembly of mini hand rolls. Everyone gets to add finely minced salmon tartare, avocado puree, wasabi, mayonnaise and tobiko flying fish roe onto crisp seasoned nori sheets. Fried crackers add a brittle crunch.

Ramen also makes an appearance at night, which will be welcome news for fans of the Darlinghurst Gaku where the noodle soup is only available for lunch. The clam ramen is especially worth a look: a bonanza of just-opened bivalves bobbing in a rich and creamy tonkotsu broth.

And whilst vegetables aren’t the first thing you think of when it comes to dessert, the roasted Japanese sweet potato will rewire your brain. Here it’s roasted in the skin until it reaches a lush and buttery cake-like texture. A scoop of excellent hojicha ice-cream adds a toasty, nutty flavour.

Book ahead, and you might be able to enjoy that ice-cream at one of the three horigotatsu tables, too. The sunken seating has tatami mats that will require you to remove your shoes, but don’t force you to sit cross-legged (phew).

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