Up close with Yayoi Kusama — a Brazilian-Japanese fusion restaurant blending art, cuisine & sake

▲ DJAPA is one of the liveliest restaurants on Lee Tung Avenue.

Reported by Jiayun Yu / Hong Kong, photos and reporting

Walking along Lee Tung Avenue in Hong Kong’s Wan Chai, you can hardly miss a restaurant with an exceptionally bold style. This called“DJAPA”Brazilian-Japanese restaurant gets particularly lively at night, with its first-floor bar packed with foreigners from all over. In addition to its eye-catching rows of “wine walls,” the entire restaurant's décor is uniquely striking. The large Japanese anime illustrations and colorful childlike lions inside create a wonderfully odd and contrasting vibe against the bar atmosphere.

ETtoday reminds you: Don’t drink and drive, and don’t drive after drinking.

▲ DJAPA’s bar specializes in Japanese whisky.

DJAPA is actually the third outlet under the well-known Le Comptoir hospitality group, focusing on modern Brazilian-Japanese cuisine and skewers. Among them, the Japanese wagyu beef imported from Japan is the dish DJAPA takes the most pride in. The South American head chef Angel Romero enjoys cooking with various cuts of beef and seafood, paired with Brazilian-style sides such as farofa, coconut rice, and grilled corn, bringing a strong taste of South American exotic flavors to Asia.

▲ Brazilian-style beef skewers and flavorful side dishes.

▲ Braised beef and coconut rice are both specialty dishes not commonly found elsewhere.

Besides enjoying delicious food at DJAPA, theartistic graffitiscattered all over the restaurant is impossible to ignore. Since São Paulo, Brazil is known as the city of graffiti, DJAPA specially invited renowned graffiti artists Tomaz Viana and Bicicleta sem Freio from their hometown to freely create artwork in the venue, making every corner a riot of colorful graffiti patterns.

In addition, works by well-known Japanese artists such as Takashi Murakami and Yayoi Kusama are also particularly eye-catching. You can even see Yayoi Kusama’s famous creation “Pumpkin with Polka Dots” on the second floor of DJAPA.The concept of being up close with art and the relaxed atmosphere make DJAPA a surprisingly delightful highlight on the otherwise European-style Lee Tung Avenue.

▲ Graffiti creations and installation art on the second floor of DJAPA.