New CBD restaurant Aru sells fancy Bunnings snags

A new Melbourne restaurant has given the humble snag a gourmet glow-up in this creative dish — but is it worth the price?

Kara Irving

3 min read

July 12, 2021 - 3:16PM

Food

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“Don’t get the dumplings”.

A sentence perhaps muttered by no waiter, ever, in the history of hospitality.

Slippery, meaty morsels seem like a no-brainer when out for Asian eats, especially at Aru, the new restaurant by promising young chef Khanh Nguyen.

My heart broke just a little when steered away from those plump pork and prawn wontons, but I trust there’s a good reason.

Many would know of Nguyen’s first Melbourne venue Sunda, or at least his clever off-menu Vegemite curry roti or mind-boggling burrata nasi lemak at summer pop-up Sunda EXP.

The Sydney-born chef comes from good pedigree. He’s worked under esteemed chefs Luke Nguyen (no relation) and Dan Hong, cooked at Noma Sydney’s pop-up, before heading south under the lure of Melbourne’s king of Asian cuisine Tony Tan to helm Sunda in 2017.

He’s got the talent, cred and today commands that edge-of-your-seat anticipation for his next move in the restaurant world like very few other chefs.

In a remarkable stroke of luck, after a 12-month wait, Aru opened as Melbourne’s latest lockdown restrictions eased last month.

Aru’s duck sanga is a deadringer for a Bunning’s snag. Picture: Rebecca Michael.

The 120-seater in Little Collins St is more central (a heartbeat from Swanston St) and larger than Sunda.

The dining room is packed with guests, the kitchen teeming with chefs stoking wood-fired ovens, cocktail-shaking bar staff and scores of waiters smartly dressed in eucalyptus-coloured aprons ready to lead you to your table. It all looks and feels very Australian.

Nguyen borrows Sunda’s South-East Asian/native Aussie flair but plays with preserves, flames and ferments for Aru’s snack and share-plate forward menu.

My advice? Trust your waiter. They will maximise your tastings so you don’t fill up fast.

It’s more suggestion than rule, but we were told no dumplings (bummer), avoid anything noodly or rice-based (smart), and to forgo the sourdough (not quite).

Pate en Croute. Picture: Rebecca Michael.

Skipping dumplings was a worthy sacrifice for the two-bite duck sausage sanga ($12).

There’s enough sizzle and spice to keep things interesting, with fried onions countering rich, flavoursome meat cushioned in sweet, pillowy bao disguised as supermarket white bread.

The perfect opener.

Nguyen’s lockdown baby Pate en Croute ($22) – shortcrust pastry wrapped meat – takes on terrine that surprisingly tastes like Viet street food sandwich Banh Mi.

Its delicious centre builds around Nguyen’s mum’s meatball mix made up of Maggi soy seasoning jelly, two types of pork mince and Vietnamese pork loaf that comes together with a bright side salad of pickled carrot, daikon and kewpie. I dare you to taste the difference.

Forbidden rice sourdough. Picture Rebecca Michael.

The babi guling. Picture Rebecca Michael.

Then comes Nguyen’s famed off-menu dish. What the Vegemite curry roti is to Sunda, the Indonesian delicacy babi guling (suckling pig) is to Aru.

Glistening, cellophane-fine shattery skin covers fatty, perfectly cooked tender flesh, served with three sambals and all the salad trimmings.

Is it worth $120 for what’s 10 tiles (or 300g) of meat that’s quite laborious to make?

I’d save it for a special occasion splurge.

Moreton Bay Bug. Picture: Rebecca Michael.

The Moreton Bay bug ($52) is almost translucent, beautifully cooked, sweet meat jostling in native spiced curry with blistered cherry tomatoes.

We break our no-bread rule after dinner for the warm and wonderful sourdough slathered in an ethereal whipped butter that’s at once smoky, salty, sweet and lemongrass-fragrant.

Koji waffle ice cream. Picture: Rebecca Michael.

You could end here, or try Nguyen’s childhood nostalgic Kaya Jam parfait ($18) — a creamy, ice cream sanga for adults with jam tartness and Drumstick waffle crunch — or the tofu chilli cheesecake (incredibly tasty unlike it reads) with zero regrets.

Drink interestingly with wines from Jura and Burgundy by the glass, knock back sake or umeshu (plum liqueur) or, for a short while, pimp out any cocktail (or meal) with shaved Western Australian truffles for $5 a gram.

Nguyen is known for his widely inventive takes on much-loved South-East Asian favourites, and at Aru he’s hitting the straps with consistently good cooking.

We experienced so much at Aru and barely cracked the surface.