One thing that’s clear when dining at Aji Spice House in Tenneriffe is the love and passion that’s been poured into the menu and the food. Located in the iconic Woolstore precinct, Aji Spice House is a delightful bar and restaurant, with streetside dining that makes the most of the architectural splendor of the Woolstore building.
The menu is a true representation of South-East Asian fusion cuisine, taking diners on a journey through Nepalese, Japanese and Indian influences. While the menu does seem like it jumps around a lot, there’s a reason for the ecclectic mix of flavours—a family story that’s at the heart of the restaurant.
During our meal, we had a big chat with Dion, one of the owners of this vibrant establishment. He and his wife Nalini are at the helm of Aji, which means grandma in Nalini’s mother’s native language, while also meaning flavour in Japanese.
Naline serves as the head chef of Aji and brings with her the rich culinary knowledge of India. The Japanese part of the menu comes from Dion’s upbringing via his Japanese stepfather, himself a renowned chef in Hobart. The Nepalese inclusions come from two of the chefs who are themselves Nepalese.
“The inspiration is really about making sure that what our ancestors went through is not forgotten,” Dion reflects, “and that in some small way, the name of the restaurant keeps their memory alive.”
Dion and Nalini’s vision for Aji Spice House extends beyond the menu. “To us, it’s really about bringing our family together, working together, and exploring a mixture of culinary ideas from our varied backgrounds, including our staff, and making it a fun place for everyone to enjoy,” says Nalini. The venue reflects this ethos in its design, atmosphere, and of course, its menu—a fusion of flavours that brings together the past, present, and future of their family story.
Our Aji Spice House experience
I love the people watching element that comes from sitting at a street-front restaurant and that’s exactly what you get at Aji. Dion came out and spoke to us as soon as we sat down and it’s so clear how much passion flows through the menu by the way he speaks about each dish.
We decided to order some foods from different countries to get the full culinary journey.
First up, a few sides and starters with some chili-charred edamame, some steamed pork Nepalese dumplings (momo) with special in-house sauce and some confit duck bao buns with spiced hoisin sauce and spring onion.
For our mains, we had to go for one of Nalini’s homemade curries after how glowingly Dion spoke about it, and we ordered a signature chicken masala. We also choose a spiced pork belly with apple fennel slaw and whisky hoisin sauce.
The edamame sounds super simple but it’s elevated thanks to the charring and addition of a chili kick. The momo are super moreish—I’ve had dumplings before but never Nepalese momo and these taste so good, offset perfectly with the spiced sauce accompanying them. My dinner date says they taste exactly like momo she ate when she was in Nepal.
The duck bao are flavoursome, with perfectly pillowy bao buns. The pork belly is perfectly seasoned and that hoisin whisky sauce is so tasty I immediately pour it over the remaining bits of pork before my dining companion can hog it all.
The real star dish of the night for me was the chicken masala. The depth of flavour in this curry was incredible—it’s like a hug in a bowl. The roti was crisp and flakey and the perfect accompaniment to the hearty main.
The flavours of these meals aren’t traditionally seen together, but somehow they really work alongside each other. One thing that is very clear from each dish we tried at Aji Spice House is that there’s a lot of care and love poured into the food here. We left satisfied, full, and inspired to come back to taste our way around South-East Asia on the rest of the menu.
Aji Spice House, 36 Vernon Terrace, Teneriffe. p. 0461 440 753.
In her spare time, she likes long walks down the makeup aisle and performing in Brisbane theatre. You can follow her adventures on Instagram and TikTok @thebeautypalate.
