First Look: “Japanese Starbucks” Hits Haymarket

At 4.30pm on a Wednesday, two weeks after opening, every table in Nana’s Green Tea in Haymarket is full. Young people, mostly, either tap-tapping on laptops while they drink mochi-topped hojicha, or chatting happily with friends as they dip spoons into tall glasses layered with matcha jelly, house-made nama chocolate, warabi mochi and soft serve. This instant success is because the Tokyo-born venue is a well-oiled machine – it’s been a fixture in Japan for 25 years.

With more than 90 stores around the world, the chain’s earned the nickname of Japanese Starbucks. The drinks list is lengthy: slow-brewed matcha and hojicha arriving as a traditional pour, or more extravagantly topped with a scoop of ice-cream or mochi. Icy pours join hot ones, and some are topped with cereal for crunch.

JC Hospitality Group (Martabak Pecenongan 78 & D’Bakmie, D’Penyetz & D’Cendol) is behind the Sydney opening, after bringing Nana to Melbourne last year. “It’s good,” JC’s Julie Fong says. “The demand is there, many young people like to come – it’s become a culture for them to come down and study, then drink and then eat. And dessert!”

Everything at Nana’s is straight off the Japan menu – don’t expect any local specials, “just the authentic Japanese experience,” says Fong. And most of the ingredients are imported from there, too. Matcha and hojicha powders and pastes, plus mochi, black sesame and fluffy loaves of shokupan. Basque cheesecakes and cream-filled rolled sponges are made in-house using the imported tea powders, joining the 30-plus savoury dishes on offer.

Egg, chicken katsu, tuna, and potato sandos can be levelled up to a set, and there are rice bowls, ochazuke bowls (rice topped with a protein, like grilled unagi, with a dashi stock poured over it all at the table), salads and a range of udon. Omusubi (rice balls) are on the way, too.

But one of the most popular menu items is a dessert straight from “Japanese parfait culture”, according to Fong. Tall sundae glasses are layered with jelly and adzuki beans, wobbly warabi mochi and the Japanese matcha and hojicha pastes. There’s ice-cream, too, and chewy mochi balls as crowns. It’s not too sweet, though, with the earthy bitterness of the ground tea cutting through the sugar.

There are dedicated tea farms for Nana’s needs, as the global business requires such a high volume. As Broadsheet reported when the Melbourne store opened, the JC team flew staff to Japan for intensive training with the Nana’s team in Yokohama. The quality of the matcha, which comes straight from Uji in Kyoto, is the guiding light.

The first Sydney outpost of Nana’s Green Tea was in Chatswood, run by a separate team that has since closed the venue.

“Haymarket already has a strong multicultural dining, where people come to look for dessert and food,” says Fong. “So we wanted to introduce Nana’s to the community here – we believe they will love it.”

Nana’s Green Tea
3/35, Ultimo Road, Haymarket
0406 337 336

Hours:
Mon to Thu 11.30am–10pm
Fri to Sun 11am–11pm

@nanas.greenteaustralia