Serai

Tradition meets trend in a rollicking laneway space.

November 18, 2024

1 / 9‘Lechon’ pork belly with banana hot sauce.supplied

3 / 9Organic savoy cabbage and roasted garlic.Supplied

4 / 9Wood roasted pig’s head tacos with egg butter.Supplied

6 / 9Abrolhos scallop, crab fat sauce, pandesal.Supplied

7 / 9Selat Lumpia smoked pineapple, spiced coconut, caviar.Supplied

8 / 9‘Patotim’ Milawa duck.Chris Hopkins

9 / 9Kingfish served with pork crackling.Chris Hopkins

15/20

Filipino$$

If wider Melbourne is having a dalliance with Filipino food, this rowdy fire-powered restaurant can claim a chunk of the credit. Months after opening in 2022, it scooped up awards and praise. Since then it has put words such as lechon, sinuglaw and longganisa on more Melburnians’ lips.

Lechon, the whole spit-roasted pig traditionally served at celebrations, is reimagined here as spoon tender slabs of Western Plains pork belly with Tanduay rum jus. Sinuglaw, the robust juxtaposition of barbecued pork and raw fish, inspired Serai’s play on the ubiquitous kingfish ceviche, the tiles of raw fish paired with smoky bacon jam.

And sweet, garlicky longganisa sausage meets fiery Calabrian ’nduja in a dressing that feels undeniably Melbourne, bringing fire and funk to chargrilled calamari. Volume and flavours are all set to maximum – be prepared to party.