The arrival
“Hey darl… Where is this place, I can’t find it?”.
I imagine this is how many-an-evening could start with one or more of your dining party getting a bit lost. Earlier, I went into the wrong building, with the wrong lifts, on the wrong floor till a stranger came to my rescue. There are things that Google can never do.
Simply the achievement of finding this space means that a drink on arrival is my first priority. The entrance to Joji is via a small curved laneway adjacent to the corner of the Cartier building. ‘Joji’ is projected onto the pavement like a Batman signal of hope. I step into the lift, guided by a rather handsome door/liftman-boy?? and the doors at level 5 open to a wave of sound, fun and laughter. Operations manager, Chris hits me up with a cheerful ‘HEY!!! Welcome to Joji! Have you had a good day?”
Um..Er… YEAH!! it’s looking up!
The Venue
It’s stunning. Joji is part of the ESCA group, the same team that brought us
Aalia, which I predicted would be ‘Restaurant of the Year’ six months before it was awarded.
There are design elements which connect the two venues, the use of soft woods, gentle curves from the bar, to the booths. The space is the connection of two worlds: an inside, outside venue which has a flow and a vibe which is easy breezy and oh so beautiful. Overhead amber spheres in the ceiling bring warmth to an already thoughtful space. A sweeping curved balcony overlooks the city skyline. Sue, my dining partner, arrives and we take our prize cockatoo perches at one of the larger tables by the balcony rather than a tempting seat at the bar.
In an hour in a DJ takes on their set. Every night Joji has live music and it goes on till 2am. Note to self… I am coming here again. Spoiler alert.
The Drinks
Sue is a margarita lady. She knows how she likes her marg “With Cointreau not Triple Sec, in a scotch glass, on the rocks with a salt rim” (not fussy at all?). They nail it. A Yulis Karoke Rice Larger ($12) is ice cool and hits the spot, then followed by a Clover Hill NV Brut ($17).
This vision for Joji is a bar first, and foremost, with restaurant style food available. It’s no surprise that with Kerry Burgess, Group Bar Manager of ESCA (ex GM of Top 50 World’s Best Bar, Happiness Forgets) has curated a cocktail menu reflecting the Japanese principles of simplicity (Shibui), imperfection (Wabi Sabi), and creativity (Datsuzoku). Sue whispers “Wow, the service is so lovely here” as Chris arrives and shares their passion for creating happiness. An order of a non alcoholic cocktail is made with the same passion, precision and care as their classics.
The Food
The Kitchen and Bar operate as one single space. With one of my favourite innovative chefs, Paul Farag at the helm anything (and everything) can happen. Bring-It-On. This guy is innovation on steroids, he will obsess over a dish, work it, re work it, sleep on it, and come in the next day and get the kitchen to completely go in a new direction. His menus often have you scratching your head for ingredients you don’t know, food you are not familiar with but delivers with flavour, sophistication of plating and humour. It’s all here today with a Japanese twist.
The menu has three sections – Raw, Not Raw, and Robata. Less than 15 minutes from bum-sit down we are chowing through a bowl of sticky, luscious, leopard spotted edamame all charry and tossed in a perilla leaf furikake. Its umaminess in a bowl. For anyone addicted to salt n’ vinegar crisps, the deep fried lotus crisps may blow your mind, making any kind of conversation rather stunted between guffawing mouthfuls. Nodding is optional.
The ‘Raw’ section has a dish reminiscent of Aalia’s unforgettable Waraq Simsim – it’s the spicy tuna ($9). A quenelle of toro is topped with crispy, savoury housemade togarashi. We pick up the wasabi leaf, roll in the edges (like making a spring roll) and eat. I think I see Sue’s eyes roll back in their sockets for a second. It’s followed by it’s more fishier pal, smoked eel on a thick cracker of crispy rice ($14). The rice cuts through the richness but it’s a morsel that can divide, given its strong flavour.
Onwards into the NOT RAW section as a few bowls arrive. Little stubs of charred leeks stand upright like felled tree trunks, the ground is a smooth savoury sesame seed goma dressing and it’s topped with puffed rice, togarashi and pretty herbs. It’s a beautifully balanced dish. Tomatoes are loved by Italians, but the Japanese don’t normally find their finest hour here – until this dish. Half are slow cooked overnight then tossed with more sweet fleshed cherry tomatoes all tumbled in a miso-infused sauce which is savoury, slightly sweet and just delicious with a shiso cumin- cinnamon vibe going on. It’s brilliantly morish.
eel and cripsy rice 
Karaage
The signature of any Japanese menu is the karaage. Here it’s a riot of upsized popcorn style golden orbs paired with a kewpie mayonnaise made from… wait for it- pickled turnips! Who comes up with this kind of combo? Both bonkers and brilliant in its delicate flavour.
A 2m Robata, hot charcoal grill suggests that maybe we should try something from this section. We do. A skewer of eggplant smothered with black sesame coating is a brooding stick of nutty flavour. More delicate is a lettuce leaf containing a single king prawn topped with a bonito cream. To be honest I can’t remember much about it all because of the bug and scallop sando ($32) Read on…
Curry bread – before 
and after
The Curry Bread is hilarious. We were expecting a naan, or a puffy slice with a curry dip. Oh No. This should be renamed a curry donut. The dough is deep fried and infused with cumin laden curry spices all gloriously golden. Bite inside and it’s a mini explosion of curry sauce. This is not date night material as you will be mopping up your mouth, hands and about everything really… but brilliantly inventive, surprising and funny. We loved it. Maybe order one to share as its quite rich.
I leave the best till last. It was so good that I ordered it twice, first because I couldn’t believe it was that awesome, and second because I couldn’t bare leaving the restaurant tormented, unsated in a way that the first time you ride a bicycle releases endorphins you just need to go round the block again.
This honour goes to a humble sarnie. This is the king of sarnies. It’s the kind of thing The Dorchester Hotel should be serving at afternoon tea, to rock a perfectly ordered historic English world of cucumber, egg & cress or coronation sandwiches. Paul Farag has created the perfect decadent sando. Soft white fluffy bread, not too thin, not too thick with a layer of pickled cabbage mayonnaise which cuddles a richly flavoured crisp patty of scallop and bug. How does this happen? Raw scallop and Moreton Bay bug meat are formed into a patty, combining scallop mousse with diced chunks of scallop and bug for added texture. Seasoning ingredients like Shiro dashi and anchovy garum enhance the flavour profile. The patty is coated in panko crumbs, fried to golden perfection.
It arrives quartered, crusts off, standing on its edges, so all those perfect details are on display. It’s like looking at a pen of labrador puppies. Could ANY of you all be any more adorable? Pick up a perfect quadrangled square, bite, bite, wait.. Oh my. Soft fluffy, crunchy, sweet, mmmm. It’s just, well, goddamn perfect.
What were we Addicted to? – The combination of venue, location, service, food, drinks and vibes. Oh and that Sando!! Through it all the warm, affable and thoughtful service is such a delight. You feel special and looked after. Chis is the embodiment of what a hospitality leader should be, but rarely is.
What do we need to be more Addicted? – Honestly not much. This is a spot you can come for a drink, drinks turn to snacks, snacks turn to dinner. The wine menu is a little short and a little exy, so a few more entry point wines could be good.
Joji Sydney, Level 5, 388 George Street, Sydney
