Coming Soon: Prefecture 48 Brings “Every Japan” to a Heritage-Listed CBD Site

Japan has always been a major travel hotspot. There’s so much to see, do and eat. The country’s divided into 47 prefectures – administrative areas kind of like states or territories – each with distinct cultures, governments and styles. Next month, hospitality group Azabu (behind Charlotte Bar and shabu shabu-devoted Hanasuki) is opening the “48th prefecture of Japan” on Sussex Street in Sydney.

A three-storey affair, Prefecture 48 will bring “every Japan” to Sydney’s CBD. “We have everything from vibrant and energetic to serene and intimate,” Cindy Tseng, the group’s brand director, tells Broadsheet. “It’s about compiling all the culture, the arts and innovation.” The six-venue precinct spans both casual and fine dining, each with its own identity. There’ll be a patisserie, whisky bar, omakase and three different restaurants, with the Maybe Group – behind world-renowned Sydney bar Maybe Sammy – co-curating the drinks across the whole precinct.

On the ground floor, down the red-brick alleyway, you’ll find Ibushi, Dear Florence and Whisky Thief.

Ibushi is the hip robata-style restaurant specialising in open-flame cooking, which Tseng describes as a “Japanese Firedoor”. Every detail of the place takes its cue from fire and smoke, from the menu (where snacks are delivered to those seated at the bar via a long wooden paddle) and ash-grey walls that emulate the charcoal in the grill, to the wooden timber tables that nod to butcher’s blocks and the art installation that replicates the movement of smoke.

Across the walkway, Dear Florence – the patisserie helmed by executive pastry chef Aoife Noonan – sings a dramatically different tune. Named after the daughter of Azabu’s founder, the dessert shop is for people to pop in and pick up cakes, tarts and omiyage (Japanese gifts or souvenirs).

Similar to Ibushi, the fit-out showcases the venue’s theme. Florence is plastered to resemble cake frosting, with a much lighter tone than its smoky counterpart next door. At the precinct’s bar, Whisky Thief, the surrounds are no less out-there. Lamps look like the melted ice in your whisky glass, and bathrooms light up to reveal the “stolen” stash of whisky bottles behind glass walls. Pull up a seat at the distillery-inspired high table or settle into a cosier corner.

The new prefecture’s fine diners are on level one. There’s Garaku, an exclusive, 42-seat restaurant that’s named after the Japanese word gagaku (meaning “theatre performed for the emperor”). It’s dark, with a kitchen at centre stage. Specialising in the multi-course kaiseki, the menu is ever-changing. On the walls, pixel panels play video art that changes colour over the course of the meal.

Next door, a private eight-seater omakase is helmed by Tomoyuki Matsuya (ex-Kame House) and Akira Horikawa, the former head chef of Ginza Kyubey, one of Tokyo’s most respected sushi restaurants.

Venue number six is Five, a dining room that nods to the training most Japanese chefs complete in Europe. It’s headed up by Hiroshi Manaka, who’s worked at Azabu’s other venues Chef’s Table and Charlotte. Five is based on the five core elements of Japanese cooking – nama (cutting), niru (simmering), yaku (grilling), musu (steaming) and ageru (deep frying) – as well as the five senses, colours (red, yellow, blue, white and black), flavours (bitter, sour, salty, sweet and umami) and feelings.

“Five is a principle a lot of Japanese hold true to their hearts,” Tseng says. “They believe that if you can capture all five of these elements then you have the holistic dining experience.”

With the precinct opening in the coming month, all menus will be finalised in the next few weeks. What we know so far is that the precinct gives Sydney a taste of the different sides of Japan, transporting us from whisky dens and omakases to buzzy robata restaurants and European-style Japanese patisseries.

Prefecture 48 is expected to open at 230 Sussex Street, CBD, in early October.

p48.com.au
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