Coming Soon: Junda Khoo Is Opening a “Malaysian Beer Hall” in the CBD

Seven months after opening the 120-seat Tam Jiak at the Sydney Fish Market, Junda Khoo is adding another Sydney venue to his stable: Ho Liao. The Ho Jiak chef-owner’s beer hall was one third of his three-part Melbourne debut in mid-2025 – and it’s been so well received, it was the obvious choice for Khoo’s new Sydney address near Wynyard Station.

“Melbourne is our busiest in the group,” Khoo tells Broadsheet. “It’s a whole different beast altogether, I reckon, in terms of hospitality and just the sheer amount of people in the CBD itself.” Much of this buzz is found at Ho Liao, where a large range of tapped and bottled Southeast Asian beers are joined by a food menu made up of the bestsellers from each of Khoo’s Sydney venues: Ho Jiak in Town Hall, Haymarket and Strathfield; Amah in Chatswood; and Tam Jiak.

“What I was trying to do [previously] was a different menu for each venue,” says Khoo. “But then when we came to Melbourne, we just went, ‘You know what? Let’s just put all of our crowd favourites into that one menu and go from there.’”

Sydney will arrive with a “more complete, more extensive” menu – an “upgrade” to the Melbourne original. The laksa bombs will be there, obviously, along with the satay skewers, loh biak and signature chilli mudcrab with mantou. There’ll be Khoo’s Wagyu rendang pot pie and his much-loved char kway teow. “The big signatures,” the chef says. “My grandmother’s Assam Nyonya fish, the dumplings, the claypot rice and even the duck from Chatswood.”

The space was previously Soul Dining, the recently closed Korean fine diner from Illa Kim and Daero Lee. As Ho Liao, the room will hold long communal tables, running the length of the space. The details, though, will “be a homage to my grandmother,” says Khoo. “You’ll see her face all over the walls. I just hope everyone enjoys it.”

Ho Liao is expected to open at 2/50 Carrington Street, Sydney, in late 2026.

@holiao.wynyard