Latest news with #ChisatoNakayama
Sydney Morning Herald
25-06-2025
- Business
- Sydney Morning Herald
Split your mochi with a piece of string at this hidden Japanese cafe
They're made here by Chisato Nakayama, who grew up in Hokkaido with grandparents skilled in traditional mochi. Daifuku translates as 'great fortune' and is linked with special occasions. Nakayama recalls New Year celebrations with these treats. She later relocated to Tokyo, where many noteworthy examples of the mochi style can be found (I recently lined up behind locals at Shinjuku Isetan's amazing food hall for that exact reason), but Nakayama didn't have the luxury of exploring them. 'I was crazy busy working as a nurse, I didn't have enough time to enjoy daifuku,' she says. Mochi-making as a career option didn't emerge until December 2024, when she started experimenting with rice flour and fillings at the home of Tin Jung Shea. He runs charming, just-like-Japan venues (from the sake-bar squeeze of Nomidokoro Indigo to smoky Yakitori Yurippi) and along with Studio Hiyaku's Sunny Liu, he's behind the SevenH complex where Sydney Daifuku Store is located. The site is in a highly leafy residential area: you even second-guess whether you're going the right way as you head towards its address – it seems so unlikely that any shop could surface here. Then SevenH appears, with its understated open design and paved outdoor area. It's a serene spot that's in tune with the quiet, made-to-order tempo of Sydney Daifuku Store, which shares the space with Comission Coffee.
Sydney Morning Herald
21-06-2025
- Business
- Sydney Morning Herald
Sydney's new Japanese cafe, where your cutlery is a piece of string
They're made here by Chisato Nakayama, who grew up in Hokkaido with grandparents skilled in traditional mochi. Daifuku translates as 'great fortune' and is linked with special occasions. Nakayama recalls New Year celebrations with these treats. She later relocated to Tokyo, where many noteworthy examples of the mochi style can be found (I recently lined up behind locals at Shinjuku Isetan's amazing food hall for that exact reason), but Nakayama didn't have the luxury of exploring them. 'I was crazy busy working as a nurse, I didn't have enough time to enjoy daifuku,' she says. Mochi-making as a career option didn't emerge until December 2024, when she started experimenting with rice flour and fillings at the home of Tin Jung Shea. He runs charming, just-like-Japan venues (from the sake-bar squeeze of Nomidokoro Indigo to smoky Yakitori Yurippi) and along with Studio Hiyaku's Sunny Liu, he's behind the SevenH complex where Sydney Daifuku Store is located. The site is in a highly leafy residential area: you even second-guess whether you're going the right way as you head towards its address – it seems so unlikely that any shop could surface here. Then SevenH appears, with its understated open design and paved outdoor area. It's a serene spot that's in tune with the quiet, made-to-order tempo of Sydney Daifuku Store, which shares the space with Commission Coffee. While Nakayama consulted relatives as she fine-tuned recipes ('I was asking family all the time'), she also lightened the mochi dough for local tastes. You see her roll it out and pad the centre with ingredients before presenting the completed daifuku to try. The pillowy pastry feels like a soft cloud you can pinch, and a big joy of the eating comes from lopping it in half with a twist of supplied string. Transparent dough gives way to a colour burst of jewel-like anko-lined strawberry, for instance, or a whole grape coated with white bean paste.
The Age
21-06-2025
- Business
- The Age
Sydney's new Japanese cafe, where your cutlery is a piece of string
They're made here by Chisato Nakayama, who grew up in Hokkaido with grandparents skilled in traditional mochi. Daifuku translates as 'great fortune' and is linked with special occasions. Nakayama recalls New Year celebrations with these treats. She later relocated to Tokyo, where many noteworthy examples of the mochi style can be found (I recently lined up behind locals at Shinjuku Isetan's amazing food hall for that exact reason), but Nakayama didn't have the luxury of exploring them. 'I was crazy busy working as a nurse, I didn't have enough time to enjoy daifuku,' she says. Mochi-making as a career option didn't emerge until December 2024, when she started experimenting with rice flour and fillings at the home of Tin Jung Shea. He runs charming, just-like-Japan venues (from the sake-bar squeeze of Nomidokoro Indigo to smoky Yakitori Yurippi) and along with Studio Hiyaku's Sunny Liu, he's behind the SevenH complex where Sydney Daifuku Store is located. The site is in a highly leafy residential area: you even second-guess whether you're going the right way as you head towards its address – it seems so unlikely that any shop could surface here. Then SevenH appears, with its understated open design and paved outdoor area. It's a serene spot that's in tune with the quiet, made-to-order tempo of Sydney Daifuku Store, which shares the space with Commission Coffee. While Nakayama consulted relatives as she fine-tuned recipes ('I was asking family all the time'), she also lightened the mochi dough for local tastes. You see her roll it out and pad the centre with ingredients before presenting the completed daifuku to try. The pillowy pastry feels like a soft cloud you can pinch, and a big joy of the eating comes from lopping it in half with a twist of supplied string. Transparent dough gives way to a colour burst of jewel-like anko-lined strawberry, for instance, or a whole grape coated with white bean paste.
The Age
02-05-2025
- Business
- The Age
Japanese daifuku mochi has landed in this north shore suburb
Japanese$$$$ Surrounded by flats on a leafy backstreet in Lane Cove, newcomer Daifuku Sydney Store specialises in its namesake snack made from whole fruit enrobed in red or white bean paste then swaddled in a mochi sheet. Mochi-maker Chisato Nakayama can be seen mixing the mochigome rice flour on the counter and carefully shaping it into plump, pastel pin-cushions just as her grandmother taught her. There are five flavours: strawberry, grape, blueberry, chocolate and matcha. Dine in, and they'll cut them in half with a piece of string to preserve the delicate outer layer. Since opening in March, Sydney Daifuku Store has been selling out nearly every day.
Sydney Morning Herald
02-05-2025
- Business
- Sydney Morning Herald
Japanese daifuku mochi has landed in this north shore suburb
Japanese$$$$ Surrounded by flats on a leafy backstreet in Lane Cove, newcomer Daifuku Sydney Store specialises in its namesake snack made from whole fruit enrobed in red or white bean paste then swaddled in a mochi sheet. Mochi-maker Chisato Nakayama can be seen mixing the mochigome rice flour on the counter and carefully shaping it into plump, pastel pin-cushions just as her grandmother taught her. There are five flavours: strawberry, grape, blueberry, chocolate and matcha. Dine in, and they'll cut them in half with a piece of string to preserve the delicate outer layer. Since opening in March, Sydney Daifuku Store has been selling out nearly every day.
