Moga Japanese in Rosalie has been impressing locals with its sushi train, since quietly opening a few weeks ago. The next phase of their operation launched on Thursday night: an a la carte menu designed by head chef Mark Maric, formerly of Belvedere Steakhouse and Dish in Teneriffe.
"It's a deceptively simple menu with traditional meeting contemporary Japanese," says Maric. "We've got an excellent seafood supplier who is giving us super fresh fish. We think the quality of sushi we're offering will set us apart."
He'll also be using the locally grown "umi budo" – a type of seaweed also known as "sea caviar" that's being grown on an aquaculture farm near Bundaberg.
Maric, who once worked under Neil Perry at Sydney's Rockpool and was executive chef at Lure at the Coro, certainly knows his seafood but he's just as enthusiastic about the grill section.
"I'm really excited about the Robata grill as well – the bincho [a hard compressed charcoal] burns so hot and cleanly, it gives a great flavour to both meat and seafood." Think pork, poached in a masterstock then grilled and brushed with yakitori sauce, or king prawn and sea urchin butter yaki with ocean king prawns tossed in the sea urchin butter, placed in a bamboo leaf parcel and flamed with lemon, garlic and holy basil.
Moga is an izakaya (Japanese version of a bar with food), so there'll be plenty of drinks too. The sake and wine list will be finalised in the next couple of days along with cocktails.
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