Around the world in nine restaurants: Chefs and restaurateurs from overseas enrich SA’s dining scene
A mix of talented chefs and restaurateurs from countries across the globe are enriching Adelaide’s dining scene – see these nine places where foreign foods have made a mark.
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A mix of talented chefs and restaurateurs from countries across the globe are enriching Adelaide’s dining scene by sharing the food and culture of their homelands.
These imports include young Muscovites Marina Tazhdynova and Roman Tazhdynov, owners of modern Russian eatery and bar Red October; former Buddhist monk and scientist Terry Intarkhamhaeng, now exploring Thai regional cuisine at Soi 38; and families such as the Ayubis, who run much-loved Afghani eatery Parwana.
Frenchman Christophe Zauner opened Hey Jupiter in Adelaide’s East End in 2012 and has captured the spirit of a classic brasserie, complete with steak tartare and creme brulee.
“I insist that everything is authentic rather than trying to do different things,” he says.
“People still love the classics. If they are done well, they are delicious.”
Most are included in our online guide The Advertiser delicious100, which ranks the state’s best restaurants from one to 100.
FRANCE: Hey Jupiter
The French may no longer be the self-appointed world champions of all things food but they do have a few runs on the board when it comes to classic dishes like steak tartare and creme brulee that need no alteration or embellishment.
You will find memorable renditions of each at Hey Jupiter, a loveable laneway bistro that until recently was best known for its sandwiches.
Owners Christophe Zauner and Jacqui Lodge have leapt at the chance to expand into the next-door premises, allowing them to build a proper kitchen. Just as importantly, they have found a chef in Carlos Astudillo with the skill and shared passion to make this brasserie dream come true.
“Les escargots”, steak frites, salade niçoise and the rest of the classic bistro band are all included on a single, large card of a menu that jumps between dishes like a startled frog.
A piece of toasted brioche is topped with asparagus spears, a poached egg, a wedge of foie gras and chopped hazelnut.
Creme brulee has the perfect proportions of silky-textured custard and a toffee lid with a hint of dark caramel bitterness.
Hey Jupiter is open all day, every day, starting with a breakfast that, once again, includes all the classics. Cassoulet or croque monsieur? Je ne sais pas.
11 Ebenezer Place, city, 0416 050 721
KOREA: Chef Kim
While the past two years have seen a boom in Korean diners, most have opted to serve a “K-pop” menu of fried chicken, bulgogi and beer.
Chef Kim, on the other hand, plates up traditional, homely dishes.
From the moment the kimchi jeon arrives with its wonderfully hot kick, all attention turns to the food.
House-made mandoo – beef and pork dumplings with a welcome burst of chives – are nicely browned. A gochujang-rich beef bibimbap works as a main or a diversionary side.
For a larger group, the grilled meat selection with a carousel of accompaniments might be the way to go.
There are SA wines on offer but give Korean soju a try.
4 Linden Ave, Hazelwood Park, 8338 7831
RUSSIA: Red October
Red October avoids the kind of Russian cliches that can easily take root on the other side of the globe. It captures the energy and enlightenment of a younger generation of Eastern Europeans. The cooking is vibrant, the welcome genuine, the talk good-humoured.
For the most part, a menu full of pickles and ferments, raw meat, vegies and grains could easily come straight from the contemporary Oz playbook.
Dark rye Borodinsky bread, baked in-house, is topped with chubby smoked sprats.
Tissue-thin slivers of venison carpaccio come with sauerkraut and a pomegranate-based sauce. Partially deboned roasted quail is accompanied by pearl barley and blackberries.
Finish with Russian honey cake, served like a mille-feuille, sliced into thin layers interspersed with sour cream.
22 Gilbert Place, city, 8212 2938
ITALY: Umbria
Want to go to Italy, but don’t quite have the budget? Take a drive to Clare instead.
As soon as you walk through the wooden double-doors of little-known restaurant Umbria, you’ll feel like you’ve been instantlytransported halfway across the world.
The bluestone walls are covered with oil paintings and knick-knacks, the smiling waitress greets with a “buongiorno” and the smells emanating from the kitchen are divine — all garlic and onion and simmering tomato.
The menu changes frequently depending on what’s in season, some eggplants here, a little ricotta there, and the last of winter’s mushrooms.
Herbs, wine and plenty of tomatoes help to deliver a rich, flavour-packed fettuccine bolognese, the homemade pasta paper-thin and light.
The gnocchetti edo features mini gnocchi tossed in a ragu of beans, tomatoes and sausages from Mathie’s butcher down the road.
308b Main North Rd, Clare
0414 157 974
INDIA: Jasmin
Mrs Singh’s family recipes have long been the basis for Adelaide’s most enduringly popular Indian restaurant, tucked away below ground on Hindmarsh Square.
The Jasmin website says Mrs Singh “doesn’t believe in change, she believes in refinement”. So don’t expect any “re-imagining” or experimentation here.
Do expect excellent North Indian cuisine served by loyal staff who have been with the restaurant for years.
Sharing a combination of dishes allows you to taste a wide variety of the chutneys and naans on offer — blue cheese naan from the tandoor is wonderful — and the crispy samosas and vegetable pakoras are a wholesome start to a meal.
The curries range up to fiery hot, while there are plenty of more delicate flavours such as the chicken masala and lamb korma for those with a more genteel palate.
From the dessert menu, gulab jamin, an Indian sponge cake in a syrup with ice cream on the side, manages to be both light and luxuriously sweet at the same time.
31 Hindmarsh Square, city, 8223 7837
THAILAND: 82 Thai
Some great Thai cooking is going on at this unassuming suburban diner, set in a corner shop space, and very easy to miss.
The menu is briefer than usual, which obviously gives this team scope to do what they do so well. Sharing dishes are generally sensible serves of four, with offers to add more if needed. Little sea star dumplings swim in a light curry sauce with a peppery kick, and, glossy rotund scallops are so pretty, grilled in the shell, with coconut sambal and namjim.
Crispy little chicken pieces are another crowd pleaser, with a smoky chilli dip.
A bowl full of red curry and coconut sauce gently lapping around Atlantic salmon is given soup-style attention once the fish has gone, and the spoon gets a second run at the red duck curry, beautifully balanced to hero the spice, with a clever hint of sweetness.
665 Grange Rd, Grange, 8235 1297
MOROCCO: Marrakech
Marrakech offers the colour and fragrance of Morocco, minus the mayhem.
It has been Adelaide’s champion of tagines, couscous and artfully poured mint tea for 10 years since it first opened in Hyde Park, before shifting to the other side of the city.
Despite being plonked in the midst of many more fashionable destinations in the booming dining strip along O’Connell St, it is most often packed so brace yourself before opening the door for a sensual assault of colour, fragrance and good-natured noise.
Deep-sea-blue walls are hung with tapestries in chilli red and saffron tones. Stained-glass stars twinkle overhead. An arched opening leads to a second dining space at the back.
Be careful not to fill up on the “msemmen” (Moroccan flat bread) and eggplant/carrot/beetroot dip or the unusual sweet and savoury “bestella” — a sugar-dusted filo parcel of shredded chicken.
A dozen or so tagines cover most bases, with beef, lamb, chicken, fish and vego in different guises. Our pick is the “Fruit de Mer” of mixed seafood, with barramundi fillet, mussels, prawns and scallops all perfectly cooked. They shine in a tangy, complex broth powered by chermoula and lemon that is addictive whether slurped from a spoon, soaked into bread, drizzled on to couscous or coating the last remnants of fish.
91 O’Connell St, North Adelaide, 8361 9696
MEXICO: Mexican Society
If your only experience of Mexican cuisine is corn chips piled high with sour cream and stretchy cheese, this may come as a surprise.
Take a perch high on bum-numbing stools around a small bar table and work through a menu that can feel like you need a degree in Spanish …
until an attentive waitress intervenes.
A smoked guacamole includes the promised smoky hum and is elevated by crunchy almonds, pepitas and plantain chips. Pork belly burrito has an Asian twang thanks to a touch of hoisin sauce. The fusion of flavours works well and the pork cuts
like butter.
For mains, lime and coriander chicken is succulent, and again has an Asian undercurrent.
Lamb meatballs are juicy with a good chilli kick and slow-cooked beef enchiladas are surprisingly delicate.
For dessert, a special of mocha panna cotta has just
the right amount of wobble
and sweetness, while the light-as-air meringue with lemon curd is as tasty as it is pretty, nicely balanced by the citrus sharpness.
140 Gouger St, city, 8231 2626
UNITED STATES: Low and Slow
This is all about the meat; cooked low and slow as promised in true American barbecue style. What started as a food truck is now well established as a lively restaurant in Port Adelaide’s flourishing food scene.
The premise might seem simple — a selection of barbecued meats and matching sides, including southern specialties collard greens and corn bread. But there’s nothing simple about a piece of brisket smoked over hickory for up to 18 hours in one of the kitchen’s imported machines.
Choose your own mix from the menu or for $35 a head eat like a boss.
That brisket is salt and pepper crusted, and smoked to perfection — a standout. Hot wings team perfectly with a blue cheese sauce.
Pork ribs are glazed, smoked, glazed again and slow cooked. They invite rolling up the sleeves and eating with your hands to get every sweet and tender morsel.
A list of local and imported beer and wine is complemented by regular specials.
17 Commercial Rd, Port Adelaide, 0402 589 722
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