The best dishes you can eat in Victoria in 2019
It’s official: these are the best dishes you can eat in Victoria this year. Whether you’re in the mood for “balls of happiness” or a delicious dessert mistake, chefs across the state have delivered once again, writes Dan Stock.
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SWORDFISH AT PRETTY LITTLE, $38
Perhaps not playing fair by including this, given chef Joseph Espuga changes the menu daily at this diminutive diner that seats just 16 people along its single table, but here’s hoping it makes a regular guest appearance, for it’s the best use of swordfish we’ve seen all year.
He cures the belly of the meaty fish in licorice, sugar, salt and pepper and then wraps the loin in it, painting the lot in a glaze of its honeyed bones and cooking until the fish is just set inside.
A carrot caramel made from peels boiled into sticky submission with star anise and vinegar is drizzled across, a pile of raw purple broccoli the perfectly crunchy accompaniment to the rich meat.
PUMPKIN AT TARRAWARRA, THREE COURSES $80
Chef Mark Ebbels is making the most of the ¼-acre kitchen garden at his disposal at Tarrawarra and he’s not afraid to put it to use in combinations you probably haven’t seen before — but will want to eat time again.
Such as his pumpkin dish that takes a fine dice of the sweet veg that’s softened in salted water, teams it with crisp apple and binds the lot in macadamia feta. This crunchy, creamy puck is then topped with soy-glazed sandlewood, sticky quince puree and Yarra Valley salmon roe.
Finished with an airy foam of pumpkin juice, it’s like nothing else out there. What a dish.
BEETROOT AT LESA, FOUR COURSES $88
A year on and Lesa — the quieter, more refined upstairs yin to ever-bustling Embla’s downstairs yang — has shaken its little sibling status and is proudly, definitively, making its own mark on the world.
Case in point: a pretty-as-you-like terrine of beetroot that blends from white to deep purple, the soft earthy sweetness of the veg countered with salted elderberries and olives. It’s refined, creative, unique and completely delicious — as is so much Dave Verheul’s cooking right now. On fire.
MANTI AT TULUM $18
You’ll need that bowl of warm Turkish bread at the ready when eating at Coskun Uysal’s new-look Tulum, for most of his mix-and-match mezze menu is fight-for-the-last-bite, wipe-the-bowl-clean delicious.
None more so than the manti, the tiny Turkish dumplings that are at once dexterous and delicate. These pretty little parcels of spiced lamb come dressed in garlic yoghurt and burnt butter, then finished with a blizzard of maras chilli and dried mint. Grab that bread and get mopping.
BALLS OF HAPPINESS AT DAUGHTER IN LAW $3.50
Jessi Singh, he who made modern Melbourne Indian cool, reckons it’s the best one bite in town, and you know what? He could just be right.
His take on the popular street food gol gappa (also known as panipuri, depending on whether you’re in India’s north or south), sees a semolina “ball of happiness” filled with cumin-yoghurt and tamarind chutney that’s at once sweet and spicy, cool, crunchy and creamy.
Capturing the colour and fragrance and wild juxtapositions of the subcontinent in one mouthful, these balls of happiness definitely bring a smile.
SEA URCHIN AT VUE DE MONDE, CHEF’S TASTING MENU $310
Vue de monde might still be one of our most expensive fine diners, but now with young chef Hugh Allen leading the charge with a cheeky sense of Australiana and a respectful, judicious use of native ingredients, it’s still one of our very best.
Simple luxury abounds throughout the multi-course meal where best-of-the-best is allowed to shine, and there’s none brighter than the freshest Tasmanian uni (sea urchin roe), its sea-salty creaminess paired with bunya nut cream and a generous spoonful of caviar.
SARDINES AT CAPTAIN MOONLITE, $16
Who knew a little loved fish could beat the view from the Anglesea Surf Club’s dining room in the spectacular stakes? But here they are at Captain Moonlite, Matt Germanchis and Gemma Gange’s three-year-old takeover of a Surf Coast surf club.
A half dozen whole sardines flappingly fresh from Port Phillip go straight into the pan, nothing but a dusting of flour to help them through to crunchy perfection. Teamed with the sweet earthiness of beetroots in yoghurt with a hit of horseradish heat, it’s surf and turf for a new generation. Consider the sardine saved.
FLOUNDER AT ESTELLE, $34
Scott Pickett might’ve swapped the destination diner for locals’ hangout when he transformed his high-end ESP into the one-two wine bar-bistro Estelle earlier this year, but make no mistake, there are dishes here that remain cross-town-for good. Such as the whole flounder. Perfectly cooked, it comes slathered in an XO sauce with dried anchovy and shrimp adding funky notes to chopped mussels and fermented black beans and a first date-unfriendly amount of fried garlic and shallots. Simply spectacular.
CUSTARD FONDANT AT LAURA AT PT LEO ESTATE, CHEF’S TASTING MENU $135
In lesser kitchens, underset custard for a function might mean disaster. At Laura, it’s resulted in one of 2019’s best desserts.
A few months ago, a batch of steamed custard taken out of the oven and turned out revealed a molten centre. But they didn’t taste raw and in fact, were a revelation in creaminess and texture.
So the team was tasked with recreating the faux pas, which involved some trial and error, and now the custard is part of Laura’s dego line-up, teamed with local berries and a goat’s milk granita.
PORCHETTA TONNATO AT BELLOTTA, $19
There’s nothing revolutionary about Bellota’s formula of good wine and food to go with it, but such is the consistent skill with which it’s applied this South Melbourne stalwart continues to go from strength to strength.
That’s due in no small part to the super-tasty, magnificently executed fare from Nicky Riemer’s kitchen.
See: A magnificent porchetta tonnato, where herbed pork subs in for subtle veal, the traditional tuna mayo’s richness amped with salted anchovies. Topped with witlof for bitter bite and crackling for added decadent crunch, this is a classic tweaked into terrific.
TROUT AT REED + CO, $25
Hamish Nugent and Rachel Reed — of Bright’s late lamented Tani Eat Drink — have turned their attention to gin and in the process have turned Reed + Co into Bright’s brightest eat-drink destination.
Following a similar local-produce-simply-treated ethos that was employed at Tani to such acclaim, the food served at their distillery door from the red gum-powered kitchen is outrageously good, the Harrietville trout simply stunning.
Cooked until just firm, the fish is served with flakes of its crisped skin tossed through a patch of herbs, a perfect quenelle of coal-dusted crème fraiche the only accompaniment needed.
With the house Remedy gin alongside, you have a delicious snapshot of northeast Victoria on the plate and in the glass.
WATERMELON RADISH AT O.MY, CHEF’S MENU $135
The brothers Bertoncello moved into their new Beaconsfield digs earlier this year, all the better to showcase their increasing dedication to veg-first dining — almost all of which now coming from their own farm a few clicks down the road.
Pleasures are many throughout a meal that begins with an onslaught of snacks, but perhaps the best is a seemingly simple dish of watermelon radishes.
Turned into crunchy, juicy cylinders filled with buttermilk cream, the pretty radishes come standing to attention in a decadently rich chicken broth. Tiny pickled coriander seeds atop deliver a deliciously herbal burst of freshness. Oh my, indeed.
DURIAN AND WHITE CHOCOLATE PARFAIT AT ANCHOVY, $15
Think you know durian — the notorious Asian fruit likened to smelling (at best) like used gym socks and commonly banned from hotel rooms and public transport because of its putrid perfume?
At Anchovy, a dessert three months in the making has tamed the tropical terror, teaming it with white chocolate in a standout parfait. Inspired by a late-night serve of durian ice cream drowned in strawberry syrup in Asia, chef/owner Thi Le sees the durian and chocolate combo akin to salted vanilla ice cream or Asian blue cheese.
Here, the fruit gives the dish a unique funky finish, with olive oil helping to round the mouthfeel and a five-spice tuille dusted with dehydrated raspberry powder for crunch, balance and wow factor. The combo has gone through a few incarnations, and is currently served as ice cream with fermented blueberries and macadamia.
SKATE AT ETTA, $30
At East Brunswick’s Etta, owner Hannah Green greets newcomers and regulars alike with such easy, welcoming humour you’ll want to return even before she’s poured the first glass of the elegant house Blanc de Blanc.
Or tried new chef Charley Snadden-Wilson’s take on fish, where an expertly treated piece of meaty skate swims in a butter-finished pond of stock, with chard and chickpeas adding vegetal ballast and balance. Consider us hooked.
VEAL COTOLETTA AT GIRO D’ITALIA, $37
Chef Domenico de Marco takes off on a tour around Italy one dish at a time at his charming North Carlton restaurant. Word has spread that this little local is worth seeking out from afar for Domenico’s handmade pasta (the pumpkin tortellini is particularly swoon-worthy).
There’s just as much to love about the cotoletta valdostana, a hefty crunchy-crumbed puck of veal that’s stuffed with fontina cheese and smoky ham.
Underneath, a swizzle of housemade aioli with a confident amount of garlic, atop a few super crunchy potato wedges. It’s cleverly technical yet generous and well worth jumping on your bike for.
BALINESE PORK AT MAKAN, $30
Doing their best to elevate Indonesian from just cheap-and-cheerful student fare — and doing a mighty fine job of it — are ex-MKR winners sisters Tasia and Gracia Seger at Makan in the city.
Here, along with their handed-down-through-the-generations beef rendang, the Balinese pork hock is a must order. With pull-apart meat under a cracking crackling crust, the pork comes served with a bumbu genep — a bright tangy broth — and sambal matah, a condiment of shallots and bird’s eye chillies that’s as hot as a Seminyak summer but executed with more class.
TIRAMISU AT LEONARDO’S PIZZA PALACE, $10
Tiramisu in cheesecake form. That is all. Be still my beating heart.
CHICKEN AND CAULIFLOWER AT DINNER BY HESTON, PART OF $295 MENU
When you come to the choice for mains during the new multi-course dining experience at Dinner by Heston, choose the chook.
The home-cooked dinner favourite gets a luxe makeover, making it hard to pick what’s best on plate. Is it the shatter-crisp skin or the juiciest flesh you’ll ever try? The lick-the-plate-good roasted jus, the silky smoked cauliflower puree, or mac and cheese side boasting carby and cheesy comfort?
SLOW-ROASTED LAMB SHOULDER WITH GREEN CHILLI DAHL AT LUCY LIU, $40
Most tables inside Lucy Liu’s buzzy city den will order that ginormous Korean pork hock — and rightly so, it’s delicious.
Go one better with the slow-roasted lamb shoulder with a knockout green chilli dahl confettied with lentils and piled high with refreshing Thai basil and pickled sweet cucumber and onion.
Use the delicious butter-flaked roti to carry dahl from plate to mouth. There’s no judgment in ordering another roti serve.
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