Some people save their memories via camera rolls and photo albums. The owners of White Moon Bar in Newtown? They're saving their flashbacks as citrus-fizzed highballs, sake pours and snacks that are pickled, fried or dusted with a seaweed-salty seasoning.

Step into their cosy bar and you can access these experiences, too. "We've been to Japan a million times. Every single little thing in that place is a memory for us of Japan," says co-owner Eddie Stewart of the venue he opened in February with Min Chai.

White Moon Bar evokes Japan's tachinomi (standing bars): quick pit stops where you might squeeze in for a beer, sake or shochu and order small bites before heading home.

The duo have crammed into plenty of these after-work venues while off-duty from N2 Brunch Club, the Tokyo cafe they launched in 2018. They were going to open another eatery, Tokyo Lamington, in Japan's capital, but the pandemic reconfigured those plans.

So Tokyo Lamington's first permanent store opened here, in Newtown, last April.

By day, people queue for the shop's rainbow line-up of lamingtons, remixed in Ferrero Rocher, fairy bread, yuzu meringue and other inspired flavours. At night, it was empty.

Could the owners turn it into a tachinomi? Their hope became a sake-powered reality this summer, with help from chef Jieun Lee (Quay, Supernormal) and the drinks-savvy Karen Kimura.

When the noren curtains hang over the doorway, Tokyo Lamington officially switches into White Moon Bar mode.

Your night starts with a welcome dish of fried soybeans, showered with kombu (seaweed) seasoning and dehydrated vinegar powder. Tangy, sweet and salty, it's designed to rev tastebuds and start a round of drinks.

Perhaps you'll ask for Ine Mankai red rice sake by Kuniko Mukai, one of Japan's first female master brewers.

Or punchy, old-school sake by Terada Honke, founded in 1673 and known for sake-makers who famously sing to sync their mashing of ingredients.

Or the White Moon highball, brightened with yuzu: it's a reminder of how pervasive the fizzy, whisky-spiked drinks are in Japan. "You can even get them at 7-Eleven," says Stewart. 

Recollections of Japan shape the menu in other ways: chicken katsu curry with sweetly spiced potatoes, pickles and cabbage salad is a tribute to Go! Go! Curry!, a popular Japanese chain.

Ponzu-pickled tomatoes are Lee's "dressed-up" version of a humble izakaya staple Stewart loves: soy-splashed tomatoes with mayo.

White Moon Bar's Jatz snack – banked with cream cheese stacked on daikon radish pickles – is sparked by Orihara Shoten, a beloved Tokyo tachinomi, where the food is as basic as the biscuits and cheese you grab from the shop next door.

The use of Jatz is a local twist and it's not the only one. Stewart's eggplant katsu curry recalls a sandwich he used to make at Black Star Pastry. And a lamington vodka, distilled from Tokyo Lamington's offcuts by sustainable bar Re, is on the way. 

That's the appeal of White Moon Bar: it's not a stale attempt to replicate another destination, it's a highly personal tribute to a place the owners love.

And White Moon Bar's mixed mushroom karaage and other highlights might fuel a new set of good memories, too. 

The low-down

White Moon Bar 

Vibe A tiny bar decorated with sake bottles and other direct-from-Japan souvenirs, such as an antique vending machine that sells Calpis water: pay upfront and staff will hand you the required yen to drop into the slot). The menu offers much-requested Japanese classics – and reinterpreted staples with a personal twist.

Insta-worthy dish The Jatz crackers with cheese and pickles. Although insider tip: you can also order colourful lamingtons at White Moon Bar, despite Tokyo Lamington being technically closed at night.

Cost About $60 for two, plus drinks.