Chookas, 279, Kaede and other spots behind onigiri sweeping Melbourne lunchtimes

Despite spending a year searching for the perfect rice, Kantaro Okada could not make any money at his Japanese cafe selling onigiri, the rice balls with various fillings that are as common in Japan as sandwiches are here.

“We were in the red. We couldn’t break even for the first six months,” says Okada.

That was five years ago. Now his North Melbourne cafe, 279, is one of about a dozen casual spots in Melbourne and Sydney that are offering onigiri, once only found at a handful of Japanese restaurants in Australia and now part of a new wave of Japanese convenience food.

Onigiri are made by moulding warm rice around a variety of fillings into the shape of a ball or triangle, then wrapping it in a piece of nori (seaweed).

While still seen as a specialty item, onigiri taps into Australians’ love of hand-held, takeaway sushi and has the potential to become just as loved.

In fact, onigiri are served and eaten in Japan in a similar way to our sushi rolls. They’re portable, widely available, a speedy yet healthy lunch, and a favourite of both children and adults.

“For Japanese people, I believe the soul food is onigiri,” says Yu Ozone, co-owner of Comeco Foods in Sydney’s Newtown. “Japanese people eat onigiri as a meal and also as a snack. It’s like the sandwich for Australians.”

Onigiri have an edge over sushi rolls and that other grab-and-go lunch, the sandwich, for several reasons.

Firstly, they’re healthier because the rice isn’t seasoned with sugar, vinegar or salt, unlike sushi rice. The rice for onigiri only requires salt.

Secondly, many onigiri are fresher. Most spots offering onigiri make each rice ball to order, and for only a few more dollars than your average food court sushi roll.

Finally, onigiri are gluten-free and yet are still very filling compared to salads and other common gluten-free lunches.

The other bonus is that onigiri are much cheaper than the tricked-up sandwiches now taking Melbourne and Sydney by storm.

Onigiri Kitchen in Melbourne has found so much success with its first store on Little Collins Street and its office catering that it’s set to grow to four locations by the end of the year, including one on popular Degraves Street, once a hub for espresso bars and French-style cafes.

Okada and Ozone think the fact that more Australians travelling to Japan is a big part of the food’s current wave of popularity here.

“If you’ve been to Japan and you’ve been to a convenience store, it’s hard to miss onigiri. I’d be surprised if someone hadn’t tried it,” Okada says.

The secret to good onigiri is good rice. You want “soft and fluffy cooked rice with a non-sticky surface that crumbles gently when bitten into, with just the right amount of saltiness”, says Ozone.

In its quest for the perfect grain, 279 cafe trialled 20 varieties of rice and 10 different rice cookers, and it continues to test and tweak to this day.

The businesses spoken to for this article use quality varieties such as masshigura or koshihikari, both highly ranked by the Japan Grain Inspection Association.

Traditional onigiri fillings are usually pickled or preserved ingredients, such as umeboshi (salted pickled plum that’s intensely sour) or takana (lightly pickled greens). Western-influenced fillings include tuna with mayonnaise or even fried chicken.

If some of these sound like what you’d put in a sandwich, the similarities don’t end there. Onigirazu is an onigiri spin-off that looks like a sandwich using rice instead of bread, with a nori (seaweed) wrapping around the outside.

Kaede cafe in Abbotsford, Melbourne, has offered onigirazu since 2021. Owner Yuki Murata says they’re the perfect bridge between Australia and Japan because they have more filling and less rice.

Other venues, including Domo 39 and Kura Kura in Sydney, and Onigiri Kitchen in Melbourne, are trying to recreate the true Japanese convenience store experience, through the same triangular packaging for onigiri or grab-and-go fridges.

Five places to find onigiri in Melbourne

Chookas — This sweet hideaway from hectic Sydney Road serves up to a dozen different rice balls, mainly with traditional Japanese fillings, such as bonito flakes (salty) or pickled plum (sour). Coffee is great and there’s the added bonus of dining in one of the archways of this unique Spanish Mission building.

1 Ballarat Street, Brunswick, instagram.com/chookascoffee

279 — A near-religious devotion to coffee meets an equally careful approach to musubi (aka onigiri), which can be as minimal as a rice ball with threads of salted kombu seaweed throughout, or as loaded as fried chicken with egg and Japanese mayo. Considered, calm, charming: it’s one of Melbourne’s best.

279 Victoria St, West Melbourne, 279victoriast.co

Kaede — The most convincing argument that rice balls and sandwiches have more in common than not is onigirazu: a flatter version of onigiri that’s folded around its filling, then cut in half, just like a three-point sandwich. This homely cafe offers two choices — teriyaki salmon or a rainbow of pickled veg — on their own ($7.50) or with miso soup.

325 Johnston Street, Abbotsford, instagram.com/kaede_abbotsford

QQQ St Kitchen — Settling on even three onigiri from the dozen or so made fresh each day might induce feelings of anxiety. The Danny, containing salty bonito flakes, kelp seaweed and shiso leaf, is a popular choice, or there’s barbecued pork belly, and Japanese curry with egg and kale with chilli sauce.

4 Peel Street, Collingwood, instagram.com/qqqst.kitchen

Onigiri Kitchen — Tiny triangular parcels channel the little pouches you find at Japan’s convenience stores, but the fillings here are far more local. Vegetables come from the owners’ farm in Melbourne’s east and might be combined with cooked tuna, karaage chicken or an array of pickles. Office catering is also available.