How an American became a top sushi chef, and his passion for mouldy rice, sake and sporks
Be it at home or in his restaurants, for Max Levy, the chef behind the Okra omakase and izakaya in Hong Kong, Japanese flavours lead the way – and he uses some interesting techniques and ingredients to create them
Max Levy is a walking encyclopaedia of ingredients, and one of the most underrated talents in Hong Kong’s culinary scene. The American chef left his hometown of New Orleans at age 17 and has worked at some of the best sushi restaurants in Japan, New York and elsewhere.
After living in Beijing, where he ran the Okra 1949 restaurant (now closed) for more than four years, Levy moved to Hong Kong in 2015 to set up the two-storey Okra Bar and Okra Kitchen – the former an omakase concept and the latter a casual izakaya – in Sai Ying Pun, a traditional but fast-gentrifying neighbourhood towards the western end of Hong Kong Island.
“Okra, in my mind, is what a true izakaya is, or at least from my experience in Japan. Similar to what you would think of as a bistro in France,” says Levy. “Izakayas are drinking places that focus on beer, shochu or sake, and the food is meant to go along with that.”
The menu is a mishmash, and our single focus is good ingredients and to have everything prepared in-house
What sets izakayas apart from each other, according to Levy, are their menus and how they curate regional culinary influences.
“The menu is a mishmash, and our single focus is good ingredients and to have everything prepared in-house,” he says.
While Okra Hong Kong doesn’t identify itself as a Japanese restaurant, there is no denying the influence, from its quirky decor and house-brewed sakes to Levy’s current favourite ingredient: kome-koji.
