Saving the best ’til last, Sydney chef Junda Khoo today opens the crown jewel of his Melbourne mega-venue. And it’s got even more fireworks than its northern cousins.
It’s been more than a decade since Malaysian-born Junda Khoo swapped a career in finance for a career in food, the self-taught chef going on to take Sydney’s dining scene by storm with the slow-burn success of Ho Jiak, which has four iterations across the Harbour City. In 2023, Khoo was a Chef of the Year finalist in The Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide awards, while his Town Hall restaurant earned its first hat, which it’s since retained.
Naturally, anticipation has been high since Khoo announced that he was bringing his thrilling brand of Malaysian cooking to Melbourne, with a three-level, three-in-one venue on Rainbow Alley in the CBD that he says has ballooned into a $7-million project.
The first two venues opened in late May: fast-casual Da Bao, serving home-style Malaysian dishes on street level, and beer hall Ho Liao, doing Malaysian classics with a twist on the top floor. But the jewel in the crown opens today on the level between them.
Called Ho Jiak – Junda’s Playground, Khoo says it’s his most boundary-pushing restaurant yet. “We’ve never seen a Malaysian restaurant like this before in Australia,” says the chef, who’s relocated to Melbourne for six months to spearhead the launch of the venues.
Where Ho Liao is an homage to the food of his grandmother, the walls covered in photos of her, Ho Jiak throws out the rule book completely.
“This is where I bastardise my cuisine. My grandmother would [scoff],” he says, miming her swiping the menu off the table.
Scanning it, there are familiar Malaysian dishes, but executed in unfamiliar ways.
Tamarind-powered Assam laska comes not in a big steaming bowl, but magicked into an icy granita with slithers of raw kingfish. The green-chilli-based sambal ijo is mashed up with the herbs of chimichurri to make a fiery accompaniment for grilled John dory. And hand-picked Northern Territory mud crab crowns the smoky char kwai teow noodles.
Most dishes are entirely new and exclusive to Melbourne because of Khoo’s newfound obsession with Victorian produce such as Loddon Valley Lamb. The rump is char-grilled and served with cumin and pepper curry. But there are some Ho Jiak signatures that made the journey south including “laksa bombs” – all the elements of laksa soup packaged into a dumpling.
A single ground-floor kitchen services all three venues. Khoo is on the woks, ex-Supernormal head chef Ralph So on the pass, ex-Mr Wong head chef Loong Oon on the grill, and Ho Jiak Town Hall head chef Hendy Luis on saucier and pastry.
The innovative use of Malaysian flavours extends to the bar, where classic cocktails detour via Khoo’s homeland. The Aviation subs out violet liqueur for hibiscus syrup, a nod to Malaysia’s national flower.
Bamboo was the design inspiration for the 60-seat, L-shaped restaurant. Horseshoe booths are adorned with a bamboo-leaf pattern, and the room features a deep-green marble bar and warm timbers. A 20-seat private dining room has large circular tables fitted with lazy susans.
Ho Jiak – Junda’s Playground opens today, Friday, June 13.
Lunch Thursday-Sunday; dinner daily
Level 1, Rainbow Alley, Melbourne, hojiak.com.au/melbourne
Restaurant reviews, news and the hottest openings served to your inbox.
