Ingredients: Grown with Care, Prepared with Intention

At the heart of everything we serve is Ferndale-our 35-acre farm nestled in the lush Dandenong Ranges. Whenever possible, we source our ingredients fresh from the soil, trees, and hives of this beautiful land.

Ferndale is home to a thriving organic garden where we grow fruit, vegetables, and herbs with no shortcuts and no chemicals-just patience and respect for the earth. Our bees produce a light, floral wild honey, and our genuine free-range eggs come from chickens who roam freely across open pasture.

Alongside classic Western produce, our garden also celebrates a wide variety of Japanese plants: daikon, shiso, wasabi, yuzu, mustard greens, and more. These ingredients bring a unique seasonal complexity to our dishes, bridging cultures through flavor.

We use Hime rice-a Japanese variety whose name means ‘Princess’-chosen for its delicate texture and fragrance. Our chefs carefully reduce salt and sugar to the absolute minimum, allowing each ingredient’s natural flavor to shine. Wherever possible, we also use gluten-free sauces and seasonings, so more guests can enjoy our food with comfort and confidence.

Everything we make begins with this intention: to nourish simply, beautifully, and with reverence for where it all began.

The Hidden Tea of Umegashima

High in the mountains of Shizuoka, nestled in the misty folds of Umegashima - the highest tea-growing region in Japan - lies a near-forgotten village. Time moves slowly here. Elderly farmers rise with the sun and tend to the tea bushes by hand, as they have for generations. No machines. No shortcuts. Just devotion.

The air is crisp, cool, and clean - infusing the tea leaves with a depth and clarity of flavor found nowhere else. Clouds often roll across the steep slopes, cloaking the tiny plantations in a veil of fog. Locals call it kakurecha - the hidden tea.

The journey to reach this place is not easy. A narrow, winding road - barely wide enough for a single small car - climbs the mountainside. Many of the younger generation have long since left for the cities, leaving behind their grandparents and great-grandparents to preserve this quiet craft.

Every cup of our Umegashima tea carries the spirit of that mountain. A whisper of clouds. The breath of ancient soil. The patience of those who still believe in growing things the hard way.

We are honored to share it with you.

Ceramic Tableware: Crafted with Earth, Fire, and Story

Every piece of tableware in our venue is crafted by hand at our own pottery studio, located at Ferndale, our farm in the town of Sassafras. From shaping the clay to the final glaze, the process is slow, deliberate, and rooted in tradition.

We fire our work in both electric and gas kilns, allowing us to explore subtle textures and tonal variations. Our materials—clays and glazes—are sourced exclusively from family-owned companies in Shiga Prefecture, Japan. These suppliers have passed down their craft for over 70 years, continuing the legacy of Shigaraki-yaki pottery, one of Japan’s Six Ancient Kilns.

We were taught by Alistair Whyte, a renowned Australian potter and master of Japanese ceramics. Under his guidance, we learned to value not only the technique, but the soul that lives in every form shaped by hand.

Each piece takes around two weeks to complete. Many of our plates, bowls, and tea cups carry the delicate imprint of native ferns—pressed directly from the forest floor of Ferndale into soft clay. These fern patterns are a quiet homage to the land that surrounds and sustains us.

When you dine with us, you’re not just tasting what we grow and prepare—you’re holding it in your hands.

Our Sake

We import our sake directly from boutique Japanese producers with whom we have personal relationships. Every bottle has a story, and each producer brings generations of craftsmanship to their work.

One such producer is Aumont Brewery, which has been crafting sake since the 1790s. Located in Niigata Prefecture, Aumont uses locally grown rice, pure water from the Kaji River, and time-honored brewing techniques. A dedicated team of experienced brewers oversees the process, resulting in sake that is both refined and of the highest quality.

The world of sake can be overwhelming, especially with the wide variety available in Australia. To simplify your experience, we offer two distinct grades of sake, based on rice polishing ratio. The more the rice is polished (i.e., the outer grain removed), the more refined and delicate the flavor of the sake becomes.

Our Beer: Crafted in a Tokyo Garage with Heart

Our exclusive Japanese beer is brewed not in a large factory, but in a humble garage just outside Tokyo-by a single, remarkable woman. Together with her husband, she runs a tiny, vibrant venue where he makes curry, and she makes beer. It's a partnership of spice and hops, of warmth and precision.

She is meticulous-carefully sourcing quality ingredients and constantly experimenting with unusual, inspired flavors. Think kiwi, yuzu, herbs from her garden. Her beers are small-batch, deeply personal, and full of character.

For us, she stepped just slightly outside her comfort zone to brew something almost traditional: a crisp, refreshing IPA and a clean, balanced lager. While these styles may seem mainstream to her, in her hands they're anything but ordinary.

These are beers made with care, curiosity, and a quiet defiance of convention-just like everything we serve here.

Our Wine

Our wine comes from a small, family-run vineyard in Yamanashi Prefecture, lovingly tended by a husband and wife team. For them, the vines are not just crops-they are like children, requiring daily care, attention, and patience.

They walk the vineyard each morning, checking each plant, speaking to the vines as if encouraging them to grow. In the height of summer, they even shade the grapes with umbrellas to protect them from harsh sunlight. It’s a level of devotion that few would attempt, but for them, it’s simply part of doing things right.

They bottle in very small batches, using traditional corks and a hands-on process that honors both the land and the grape. The result is a range of beautifully light, delicate wines-balanced and refined, with none of the heaviness often found in modern wines.

Japan is not widely known for wine, but much like Japanese cuisine, these wines are quietly complex and designed to complement, not overwhelm. Whether white or red, their softness allows the food to shine, making them a natural companion to the nuanced flavors of our dishes.

Every glass we pour is a tribute to their work-and a reminder that care and humility create the most enduring beauty.