Chin Chin boss Chris Lucas opens new casual Japanese eatery Yakimono at 80 Collins in CBD
Golden-fried snacks are a hit in any restaurant— and at Chin Chin boss Chris Lucas’ new Japanese eatery, part of the menu is dedicated to delicious things coated in panko crumbs.
Food
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Melbourne burger king Daniel Wilson isn’t afraid to play with fire— or panko crumbs.
The Huxtaburger founder swaps burgers for the binchotan grill in his new gig as executive chef of Chris Lucas’ fiery new Japanese outfit Yakimono, which opens this Friday.
There’s even a section on the menu dedicated to delicious things coated in panko crumbs.
“So chicken katsu and panko-crumbed prawns, and a tofu mozzarella croquette with shiitake and green furikake,” Wilson said.
The project is Lucas’s biggest casual restaurant to date, seating 250-300 people across two levels, an outdoor terrace, in private dining rooms, and around an open kitchen and grill.
Like Chin Chin, Yakimono (meaning grilled everything) will take a modern approach to authentic Japanese flavours, with plenty of sushi, grilled meats and noodles to go around.
“The menu has something for everyone and covers all areas – hot and cold, heavy and light.
Yakimono is the third venue in the high-end 80 Collins space, opening next door to Lucas’s two other restaurants, Society and Lillian Terrace.
There’ll be two bars, with 10 beers and four wines on tap, plus sake and cocktails.
Yakimono is open daily from Friday, for lunch and dinner, with dinner only the first week.
SAND HILL ROAD OPENS ‘DARING’ ITALIAN VENUE
A new Italian restaurant with negroni fountains and a roaming dessert trolley is coming to the CBD next week.
Tippy-Tay will also sling wood-fired pizzas and pastas inside the mammoth Garden State Hotel from November 11.
Sand Hill Road executive chef Ashly Hicks said the 110-seater was the most daring venture by the group since opening mod-Asian venue Mya Tiger at St Kilda’s revamped Esplanade Hotel in 2018.
“You won’t recognise the space when you walk in, the whole back end (of Garden State) has been completely renovated,” Hicks said.
Tippy-Tay replaces the Garden Grill restaurant inside the multifaceted pub.
“We wanted to be a bit daring and have a go at something new and really step outside of our comfort zone, like what we did with Mya Tiger at the Espy,” he said.
Head chef Dylan Evans (formerly of Australian Venue Co) plays to the restaurant’s European, Amalfi Coast theme for his food menu, with plenty of seafood, fresh pastas, pizza — and even last night’s lasagne.
“It always tastes better the next day, doesn’t it?” Evans said.
A roaming dessert cart loaded with tiramisu and cannoli would be served tableside, while diners would also have negronis at the press of a button, allowing them to order a fountain of the Italian cocktail.
Tippy-Tay opens at Garden State Hotel, 101 Flinders Lane for lunch and dinner on November 11.
WEST IS YOUR OYSTER
Westside wine lovers can raise a glass to a new place to sip vino and sink oysters.
Family-run wine store West Footscray Wines will open tomorrow, stocking more than 200 local and international drops, plus grocery items and cheese and charcuterie boards.
Footscray locals Zac Potier (Seddon’s Tin Pan Alley, Carlton’s Caz Reitop’s Dirty Secrets) and partner Clare Green opened the Barkly St store to fill a fancy bottle shop void in the area. “We are also licensed for 24 people, so people can come in and choose a bottle of wine from the shelves and consume inside with a corkage fee,” he said.
Tim and Terry’s oysters will be supplied daily, served via a shucking station at the bar.
1/578 Barkly St, West Footscray, open Tuesday to Sunday.
NEW CHEF
Mornington Peninsula chef Adam Beckett has inched closer to the coast to lead the kitchen at Martha’s Table, Safety Beach.
Beckett was previously executive chef at Red Hill hotel Lancemore Lindenderry and has previously worked at nearby peninsula winery Paringa Estate and fine diner Vue de Monde. He’ll sling modern Mediterranean eats over a wood-fired grill, including pork belly with brussels sprouts, market fish with seaweed and grass-fed rib eye with jus and Dijon mustard.
5 Waterfront Pl, Safety Beach
NOODLES IN NEED
Two ramen-loving lads with plans to open a Brunswick bar dedicated to the Japanese noodle soup have called on the public for help.
Gomi Boys Ramen founders Ben Reardon and Ryan Maher’s at-home ramen kits went gangbusters in lockdown.
Now the duo plans to turn Sydney Rd’s old Beat Box Kitchen into a 60-seater restaurant.
The pair has already paid for 80 per cent of the restaurant, but are using crowd-funding platform Pozible to help raise the final $15,000.
The cash will pay for produce, staff, designers, marketing and a welcome to country.
So far they’ve raised about $7000.
gomiboysramen.com
New CBD Portuguese restaurant’s cheeky nod to Nando’s
There’s a lot more to Portuguese food than flame grilled chicken, but chef Ross Lusted couldn’t help himself and has created a special dish “for the Nando’s lovers” at his new city restaurant.
Glam snack gets ‘upper middle bogan’ reboot at trendy izakaya
Tombo Den is everything you’d expect from a Chris Lucas restaurant, with some unexpected snack mash-ups that’ll have you rushing back for another bite.