SQUID, CORN, LAKSA LEAF
AND SPRING ONION
Bread in Common, Perth, WA
Scott Brannigan takes a three-tier approach to
corn, grilling the ears, making an ash from the
husk and turning the cobs into a fermented stock.
Add tender squid, grilled spring onion and laksa
leaf, and summer in Fremantle has never been
more delicious.Max Veenhuyzen
OYSTERS WITH COCONUT
CURRY VINAIGRETTE
Sunda, Melbourne, Vic
It’s testament to chef Khanh Nguyen’s gifts that
the rock oyster’s clean brininess remains front and
centre in this flavour bomb. Teamed with coconut
curry vinaigrette, curry oil, shallot and pepper leaf,
the oyster still somehow emerges enhanced
and triumphant.Michael HardenGREEN VEGETABLE MALLUNG
Lankan Filling Station, Sydney, NSW
Sure, O Tama Carey’s curries are amazing, and,
this being a hopper shop, her take on the Sri
Lankan crêpes is reliably impressive. But it might
be the green, fresh elements on her menu that
make the most impact, and none more than this
simple-seeming stir-fry of water spinach with
shards of deeply savoury Maldive fish.Pat NourseGRILLED EEL, LARDO AND FURIKAKE
d’Arenberg Cube, McLaren Vale, SA
A slice of eel gets a lick of flame and smoke
before chefs Brendan Wessels and Lindsay Dürr
apply a few clever touches – framing the eel’s
deep bass notes with lardo, adding furikake for
savoury breadth, deploying iceplant and sea
parsley for a fresh vegetal lift, and setting it
all on a smooth bed of congee.David SlySTRACCIATELLA WITH XO SAUCE
XO, Canberra, ACT
A study in contrasting textures, colour and heat:
creamy stracciatella balances the spice of XO
sauce, shavings of fried Chinese “doughnut”
provide contrasting crunch, and wedges of
Thompson grapes ofer just a suggestion
of sweetness. Perfect with a $25 glass of
Chartogne-Taillet grower Champagne.Gareth Meyer
SWEETBREADS, HAZELNUT TARATOR,
PICKLED BULLHORN PEPPER
Gerard’s Bistro, Brisbane, Qld
Served yakitori-style on a bed of buckwheat
kernels, these coal-grilled sweetbreads come
slathered in a toasty hazelnut tarator that’s
scattered with a dust made from earthy fermented
turnip tops. Just add translucent rings of bullhorn
pickles and get skewered.Fiona DonnellySMOKED EEL SPAGHETTI
Templo, Hobart, Tas
Whether it’s the size of the room (cosy) or the style
of wording on the short menu (clipped to say the
least), Templo is all about concision. But, as this
gutsy plate of pasta demonstrates, economy of
gesture doesn’t have to translate to being less
than generous when it comes to flavour or
voluptuous texture. It packs a wallop.Pat NourseDishes of
the year
The editors of theGT Restaurant Guideshare their stand-out
Australian plates of 2018. Time for seconds.GOURMET TRAVELLER 71