Sushi On’s Affordable CBD Sibling Has Compressed Sushi and Brioche Sandos

Chef Yong Hyun’s 12-seat Kew omakase restaurant Sushi On was always intended to be a flagship restaurant, of sorts. “My dream is to make a Sushi On group, with Sushi On omakase being the iconic place,” Hyun tells Broadsheet.

He’s taken the first step in expanding the brand with Sushi On Little Bourke, a casual dining venue with a focus on takeaway. “In the future I want to open Sushi On Izakaya, Sushi On Tempura,” he adds.

He signed the lease for the Little Bourke Street version last spring, finally opened the 44-seat restaurant for lunch at the very end of February, and started dinner service last night.

Hako sushi is the signature item, found on both lunch and dinner menus. “It’s pressed sushi done in a very old-school way,” says Hyun of the rectangular nigiri. “We’re not using a machine.” The sushi is made by compressing rice and pre-seasoned cooked toppings into a wood block by hand, before it’s unmoulded and cut into pieces. Hako includes scampi with bonito butter, salmon with edamame puree and black tobiko, and avocado topped with tofu miso puree and mixed seaweeds.

At lunch, you’ll also find sandos between $15 and $17, made with brioche rather than the typical fluffy crust-free milk bread of the katsu sandwich. “I love butter,” says Hyun, “and I love Japanese cuisine and French cooking.” He also says temperature is a key factor behind the bread choice. With brioche, “Whatever the temperature, the texture’s always good”, meaning that customers can pick up a takeaway sando and it will still taste good even if they don’t eat it immediately.

While fillings include pork, chicken and prawn katsu, Hyun is surprised that tempura monkfish – “the ugliest fish in the world”, as he describes it – has been the most popular option.

Come dinnertime, the sandos are replaced with dishes including a small selection of sashimi, chicken ribs and a Wagyu scotch fillet. There’s also a six-course “chef’s feasting” menu for $78 per person – considerably less than the $220 a head price of a 22-course Omakase dinner at Sushi On Kew.

Now an owner of multiple businesses, Hyun will mostly be based at Kew, though he says he hopes to be at the new location most lunchtimes and has entrusted chef Dominic Eom, who has worked with Hyun at the omakase, with leading the Little Bourke Street kitchen.

Nori Maki is redefining the Melbourne omakase experience.

Sushi On Little Bourke
Shop 3/500 Bourke Street, Melbourne
0414 465 884

Hours:
Mon to Fri 11am–3pm; 5pm–9pm

@sushi.on.littlebourke