The summer foods you need to try this winter
SICK of the fog and rain? Melbourne is filled with places to eat, drink and pretend you’re somewhere much more tropical. Here are ten foods you have to try.
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IT’S still 54 sleeps until daylight saving starts, which means a whole lot of winter is ahead of us, if not strictly in name then in days of cold, dark and grey.
But rather than snuggling in with stew, slurping a soup, or doubling down on the doona, why not instead creatively visualise a warmer, sunshiny clime? Swap the mulled wines for margaritas, the stew for fresh seafood and drink cocktails out of pineapples. Because when it’s cold Melbourne’s bars and restaurants are still damn hot. Here are the 10 best ways to break the back of winter, to beat the blues and go troppo in the most delicious way.
1 ESCAPE TO SPAIN
No doubting the Spanish know how to live life to the fullest whatever the season. Tapas for breakfast, therefore, sounds like the perfect way to start a winter’s day with a sunny spring in your step.
And it is at Nomada, where you mix and match your first meal of the day with such Spanish-tinged bites as chilli-dusted chorizo, house cured sardines and jamon and mahon toasties. If a Creme Catalan sweet fried bread with sangria-poached pear doesn’t get you out from under the blankets, perhaps a glass of cava and quail eggs sprinkled with cumin salt will.
With some high-quality brains including Jesse Gerner (Bomba/Anada/Green Park) and Jesse McTavish (ex The Kettle Black) behind this handsome, stylish space, Nomada could be your new home away from home to while away winter.
Nomada, 412 Brunswick St, Fitzroy. nomada.com.au
2 CARIBBEAN ADVENTURE
Though its food varies across islands, Caribbean cuisine is mainly a fusion of Spanish, African and Creole cooking with inspiration from a raft of cultures. Plantains, okra and rice were adopted from African slaves; stir-fries and soy sauce from Chinese migrant workers, pork from Spanish colonists, puff pastry from the French and myriad curries and flatbread from Indian workers.
It’s an around the world ticket to taste on one plate – and the mod Caribbean barbecue joint Saint Lucia is the place to try it out with plantain chips, jerk barbecue chicken and Bajan pork ribs. Oh, and Mac and Cheese mini doughnuts, because why not! All washed down with a good range of rum, this is a colourful slice of island life in wintry Windsor.
Meanwhile, new Surrey Hills eatery The Girl and the Goat puts a light Caribbean twist to what was once Watts Cooking on Union Rd. Sopa de mariscos – a Spanish-style fish soup – empanadas and snapper baked in banana leaf with orange and achiote paste will warm the soul.
Saint Lucia, 78 Chapel St, Windsor. saintluciawindsor.com.au
The Girl and the Goat, 147 Union Rd, Surrey Hills. thegirlandthegoatmelbourne.com.au
3 GO FISHING
Who says fish and chips is only for the beach, and only for summer? This winter, high-end fish and chipper Tommy Ruff has a hot-and-spicy take on a fishy fave rarely seen outside restaurants: fish wings. These Cajun spiced, flash-fried beauties are eat-with-fingers fare that are meaty, more-ish and make for a great snack. Or team with a salad for a guilt-free meal.
Tommy Ruff Mordialloc, Elsternwick, Windsor. tommyruff.com.au
4 HOPPER TO IT
Sri Lanka’s greatest gift to breakfast has to be the hopper. Egg hoppers are like a light, crispy coconutty crepe anchored with an egg and, when served with a fiery sambol, are a deliciously hot morning meal. At Fitzroy cafe Pavlov’s Duck, they come with mango chutney, baked beans and bacon crumbs for cultural mash up that’s better than a fry up. Over in Brunswick West, Lankan Tucker takes string hoppers, which are squiggly noodle patties made from red rice flour, tops them with a poached egg, fried onions and sprinkles the lot with coconut sambol. A bowl of great curry – a choice of fish, veg, chicken or beef – provides the dunk-in delight on the side.
Pavlov’s Duck, 401 Smith St, Fitzroy. pavlovsduck.com.au
Lankan Tucker, 486 Albion St, Brunswick West. lankantucker.com
5 PERUVIAN LUNCH
Dream of ticking off that bucket list visit to Machu Picchu during your weekday lunch break at the city’s little slice of Peru. At Pastuso, Peru’s favourite street snack, the pan con chicharron, is served every lunch, where a crunchy-soft bun is filled with flash-fried pork that’s succulent and crisp. Pickled onion salsa and sweet potato chips round out a two-handed snack from which you won’t look back. Team with a pisco sour for an extra up yours to a grey Melbourne day.
Or head to the team’s new CHE in Fitzroy, where they give a Peruvian twist to the classic charcoal chook. And when there’s dulche de leche soft serve on offer, who needs the sun to get stuck into a sundae?
Pastuso, 19 ACDC Lane, city. pastuso.com.au
CHE, 296 Brunswick St, Fitzroy.
6 SURF THE WAVE
Grab your wildest shirt and head to Hana, Melbourne’s newest – only? – Hawaiian restaurant. Matteo Bruno, of The Meatball and Wine Bar, has swapped turf for surf with his new venture, a raw seafood and tiki cocktail bar that leans heavily on the Hawaiian heritage of chef Mario Manabe. Within the neon-pink, palm fronded surrounds of what was once the city’s Hairy Canary, tuck into snapper ceviche, crab with tempura apple, and tuna with watermelon and coconut. Hang 10 with a cocktail or two, from a Hana colada through the passionfruit-and-dark rum based Honolua Bay Sharknado, most of which come served in a pineapple for two. Hana is fresh, fab, fruity and a whole lot of fun.
Hana, 212 Lt Collins St, city. hanarestaurant.com.au
7 DON’T FORGET TO FLOSS
If these rainbow-coloured drinks don’t turn a Seasonal Affective Disorder frown upside down, nothing will. These fantastically fun Rainbow Fairy Floss milkshakes are found at Son in Law in Collingwood. Made with a creamy mix of condensed and evaporated milk shaken with ice and coloured with Thai sala fruit syrup, all topped with an anthropomorphic cloud of sugar. These fab floss creations are a burst of sugary fun that doesn’t need any sun.
Son in Law, 56 Johnston St, Collingwood. soninlaw.com.au
8 SWEET, JESUS
Melbourne’s Mexican love affair shows no sign of slowing, and why would it when Smith St’s Hotel Jesus is turning on $2 tacos on Tuesdays? If sipping a Michealeda – like a beer-based bloody mary – doesn’t sing of summer, then feasting on Jesus’ veg, chicken and beef tacos is sure to work up a sweat.
Over the river, the Queen of the South is offering home-style, vegan-friendly modern Mexi-inspired fare that chef Malcolm Williams describes as a more mature style of Mexican dining – street corn with chipotle mayo, charred octopus with pico de gallo, and roasted sweet potato with yellow mole. But with a good line in tequila and mescal, it’s not too mature.
In Highett, the fabulously named Hot Lips Hacienda is serving up tostaditas and tacos and more in fun and funky surrounds, washed down with a cracking range of salt-rimmed cocktails. Aye caramba!
Hotel Jesus, 174 Smith St, Collingwood. hoteljesus.com.au
Queen of the South,201 High St, Prahran. queenofthesouth.com.au
Hot Lips Hacienda,2 Railway Pde, Highett. hotlipshacienda.com.au
9 SEAFOOD, EAT IT
Winter is the best time to eat oysters, and two of our best chefs are showing those oysters – and mussels and prawns and crabs and more – at their best on laden platters of fruits de mer. At Paul Wilson’s fancy new Prahran Market digs you might find Moonlight flat rock oysters sharing the crushed ice with clam ceviche, pickled mussels and fat Clarence River prawns, while the platter at Andrew McConnell’s new-look Cutler & Co bar is a bounty of local scallops, abalone, oysters and spanner crab. Champagne optional – but recommended.
Wilson & Market, 163 Commercial Rd, South Yarra. wilsonandmarket.com.au
Cutler & Co 55 Gertrude St, Fitzroy. cutlerandco.com.au
10 HOT AND HUMID
Sure, a trip to Bali or a beach in Vietnam is a sure-fire way to beat the blues, but coming in a surprisingly close second is eating the dishes of the tropics closer to home.
Uncle in Collins St takes a few of the Vietnamese hits of the St Kilda original (hello pig’s ear banh mi!) and gives them some wonderfully refined new friends – Spanish mackerel with octopus and XO, crispy pork hock with lettuce cups and a brilliant black rice salad.
The third in the Rice Paper family, Rice Paper Sister, serves up interesting SE Asian fare – Balinese suckling pig with jackfruit, Issan-style kangaroo tartare and slow-cooked Filipino style goat, while An Uong – meaning eat, drink in Vietnamese – is the place to do just that in Richmond. Down in St Kilda, there’s no better place to dream of spring and summer than at Spring and Summer, sampling the fish caramel pork belly and papaya salad, hawker style seafood pancakes washed down with rocking cocktails.
Uncle, Collins St 1/15 Collins St, city. unclerestaurants.com.au
An Uong, 378 Bridge Rd, Richmond. anuongrichmond.com.au
Rice Paper Sister, 15 Hardware Ln, city. ricepapersister.com.au
Spring and Summer, 192 Barkly St, St Kilda. springandsummer.com.au
TRADITIONAL WINTER WARMERS
For the best hot chocolate in town, look no further than Koko Black, which has released a new range of delicious drinks to see us through to summer. There are heaps of whisky bars for hot winter fun. Some of our faves include: The Kilburn (348 Burwood Rd, Hawthorn), Boilermaker House (209 Lonsdale St, city) and Bad Frankie (141 Greeves St, Fitzroy).
Or head to the Fitzroy Town Hall (166 Johnston St) for Sean Donovan’s winter warming chicken cottage pie. At Flinders St station’s Arbory, the spiced hot apple cider is a schnapps-and-bourbon spiked cockle warmer, while Richmond’s Ugly Duckling (238 Swan St) is serving up hot winter cocktails that are nicely spiced elegant winners.
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