SEPTEMBER 2019 WORLD’S BEST RESTAURANTS 61
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WHAT IS AUSTRALIAN FOOD? It’s a
question that gets asked a lot, and
there’s rarely a satisfying answer. But
if I could employ the show-don’t-tell
method of explanation, I’d take the
asker for a meal at Attica. Through his
thoughtful tasting menus, chef-owner
Ben Shewry explores myriad aspects
of the country’s culinary personal-
ity, from avocado toast to emu liver,
incorporating native Australian ingre-
dients into almost every dish.
Yes, there was at one time a take
on avocado toast on the menu (a
nod to Melbourne’s most ubiquitous
café culture dish): a cracker topped
with avocado cut in an impossibly
tiny dice, garnished with finger lime
and mint. Shewry also plays on the
country’s nostalgia with versions
of the cheesy Vegemite bread rolls
that every Australian child ate as a
snack and the iconic teatime dessert,
lamingtons. But the lamingtons
come coated in black ants instead of
coconut, and what comes off the bar-
becue here are things like saltwater
crocodile ribs.
While the menu and wine list
change regularly, the constant—
Shewry’s dedication to finding dishes
that are Australian above all else—is
a blessing. In doing so, he allows the
diner to fully explore the unique ter-
roir of this wide country.
ATTICA
Around the edges of the market
you’ll find many varieties of khanom
wan, or Thai desserts. Closer to the
central food court, there are stalls
selling snacks, Chinese-influenced
noodle dishes, and Thai curries. At one
stall I had a crispy, lacy seafood
pancake made with egg and rice flour;
at another, a fiery roasted eggplant
salad, infused with chiles and shrimp
paste and topped with fried shallots
and a hard-boiled egg. You can buy
garlicky Thai sausages and whole tiny
fish to snack on.
Go early and go hungry—the lunch
rush is intense. You will want to eat so
much more than is humanly possible.
There are worse problems to have.
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA
HIGHLY COMMENDED
Down a side street near the
flower market in Thailand’s capi-
tal of Bangkok is Err, where I dis-
covered the best cocktails (and
bites to go with them) of my trip.
The restaurant’s eponymous
cocktail, The Err, is an unabash-
edly tropical and distinctly Thai
mixture of Chalong Bay Rum,
passion fruit, and chile.
Salted red kangaroo
with red carrots and
berries at Attica.
Fried mackerel with
crispy holy basil leaves.
left: Rattana Thai
Curry Rice, a curry stall
at Nang Loeng Market.
PHOTOGRAPHY (FROM LEFT): CHRISTOPHER WISE, BRETT STEVENS
