“Exclusively seafood” was the brief when Junda Khoo was approached to open a restaurant at the $750-million Blackwattle Bay upgrade. The Ho Jiak chef was keen on the opportunity but sceptical about the menu requirements.

“How many people don’t come to the Fish Markets because they don’t like seafood, or they’re allergic to fish?” Khoo tells Broadsheet. “I told them, ‘why won’t you let me do a menu that’s different?’”

In the end, Khoo got his way. Tam Jiak, sibling venue to Khoo’s four Sydney locations and the soon-to-open Melbourne spot, is expected to open in October 2025. And what are we waiting for? A menu that’s part surf-and-turf, part Malaysian-Western grill house.

We think you might like Access. For $12 a month, join our membership program to stay in the know.

SIGN UP

Malaysian-Western cuisine evolved during the period of British colonial rule and consists of Western recipes reinterpreted with Malaysian cooking techniques and ingredients. That might mean chicken chop, where chicken thighs are marinated in five-spice-powder brine, breaded, fried and served with gravy, or different cuts of meat, like lamb forequarter chops over cutlets. Khoo’s menu will interpret the cuisine with his signature polish alongside a Ho Jiak-style offering.

“We’re going to do assam laksa with kingfish, som tum mussels, dumplings like chilli crab har gow, duck egg prawn toast, and for meat we’ll do char siu lamb ribs and Vegemite baby pork ribs. The offering is casual to mid-range but, because it’s the fish markets, we’ll also do higher end stuff like live seafood: crab, lobster, XO pippies.”

Sydney Fish Market is the third largest in the world and has been located at Blackwattle Bay since 1966. In 2016, the NSW government announced the markets would move around the corner to a site on Bridge Road. In 2020 the massive build was approved.

When finished, the new Sydney Fish Market will be set over three storeys. Ground level will house the buzzing fishmongers’ stalls; level one is for dining; and level two is reserved for deli-style shopping and a bottle shop. Tam Jiak will be in good company. Neighbours include Cow & the Moon gelato, Nanjing Dumpling and a Southeast Asian restaurant by celebrity chef Luke Nguyen.

At 140 seats inside and 40 outside, Tam Jiak will be the largest of Khoo’s venues. “The front will be all glass so when you walk up, you can see inside straight away, getting a view of the bar and through to the water. We’ll have a few fish tanks with live seafood, but really, that’s just for show. We don’t need to keep much in the restaurant because if we need anything, we can just go downstairs. It’ll be the quickest produce delivery I’ve ever had,” Khoo says, laughing.

Khoo has had a busy year with the release of his cookbook and planning his first Melbourne restaurant (which is really three in one), which opens in early 2025. He’s looking forward to opening at Sydney Fish Market and offering the area family-friendly lunch and dinner options. Although he’s optimistic, he acknowledges that as Ho Jiak grows, so too does his responsibility.

“I started 10 years ago with three employees. I’m about to have 200. I try to look after all of them like a family,” he says. “It’s scary – they’re all relying on me. I put a lot of pressure on myself. I know not every dream becomes a reality.”

Tam Jiak is expected to open in October 2025 at the new Sydney Fish Market on Bridge Road in Blackwattle Bay.