Australian Gourmet Traveller - (02)February 2020 (1)

AND ALSO...

Lagoon

Dining

263 Lygon

St,Carlton,

(03) 9349 1939,

lagoondining.com

OpenMon& Wed-

Thu5pm-late,

Fri-Sunnoon-late

PricesSnacks

$4-$16,entrées

$14-$22,main

courses$38-$49,

desserts$11

Vegetarian

Threesnacks,

threeentrées.

NoiseElevated

butundercontrol

Wheelchair

accessYe s

MinusCompact

dimensionsmeana

littlelackofelbow

roomwhenfull

PlusAnexciting

newaddition

totheLygon

Street catalogue

Details

DOUBLETHEFUN

ThelatestcontributiontoMelbourne

diningfromtheReymondfamily

(BistroGitan,L’HotelGitan)is

a double-headerinCremorne.

Fred’shasa menuthatstarts

withbreakfast(croissants,salmon

bagels)andthenmovesontoa bar

menu(pâté,oysters)alongsidea

Euro-friendlywinelist.Nextdoor’s

Frédéricis a stylishdinerwith

mod-Eurobistrodishessuchas

sweetcornmadeleinestopped

withcrab(above)andManchego

moussemillefeuille.9-11Cremorne

St,Cremorne,frederic.com.au

MADEINJAPAN

PartofthesereneJapanesecafé

wavethat’sbeenwashingover

Melbourne’sinnernorth,Ima

Projectis a calmclassicofthe

genre,completewithanethical,

minimal-wastephilosophy.Thefood

includesanexcellenttakeonavo

toast(servedwithnori-pastefurikake

andanonsenegg)anda karaage-

chickenburger.Thecoffee(Proud

Mary’s)is good,too.ImaProject,

169 ElginSt,Carlton,imacafe.co

BISTROFEVER

NathanToleman,bestknownforhis

beautifullydesignedcafés(Liminal,

HigherGround),hasmadehisfirst

forayintorestaurantterritorywith

Hazel. Alltimberfloors,leather

boothsandbanquettesandsubtle

glitz,Hazeloffersa lengthymenu

ofAussiebistrofoodthatrunsthe

gamutfromhouse-madecharcuterie

andsmokedfishandcaperson

toast,tolambwithchimichurri.

There’sa decently-pricedEuro-

Australianwinelistandgood

selectionofcocktails. 164 Flinders

Ln, Melbourne, hazelrestaurant.com.au

Trumbleroll.They’reunafraid

tomixandmatchcuisines,break

a fewrulesandblursomelines.

It’sanapproachthatworks

togreateffectwiththecharcoal-

roastedcharsiu, madefrom

porkneckthechefssourcefrom

Donati’s,LygonStreet’slandmark

butcher.Thepork,dry-curedand

marinated,is glazedinhoneywater

andservedwitha spring-onion

relishandJapanesetare,a sweet,

thickenedsoysauce.Themeat

is tenderandflavoursomewith

sweetandsmokynotes.

Thenthere’sfriedpopcorn

chickenthatcomeswithcurry

leafandtogarashiandbrilliant

Xinjiang-spicedlambribs,tender

froma kombubrine,brightwith

cuminandchilli.Thehotand

numbingbeeftartarehasSichuan

pepperasthemostdominant

spicebutis accompaniedby

Vietnamesemint,pickledshallots,

crèmefraîche,daikonandChinese

doughnutsina waythatsomehow

seems perfectly rational.

Serviceis a highpoint,discreet

butpresentanddeftina compact

roomthattakessomemanoeuvring

whenfull.Co-ownerChrisLerch,

anotherEzardalumnus,seamlessly

fuseshisfine-diningbackground

withthemorecasualapproach

thatmatchesLagoon’sstyle.

Theone-pagewinelistis

skilfullycalibratedtothepowerful

flavoursonthemenu.There’s

funky,saltytsitskafromGeorgia

alongsidea clean,prettyriesling-

grünerveltlinerblendfrom

Austria,nebbiolofromItaly

andsparklingwinefromVictoria.

Keepthecocktailsinmind,

particularlytherefreshingHighball

withsake,lemoncurdandtonic.

Therearejusttwodesserts.

One’sa mangopudding,bright

andvibrantinlooksandflavour,

theothera maltparfaitthat’s

finishedwithblueberriesina

PedroXiménezcaramel.Consider

bothoftheminsteadoftorturing

yourselfwithanagonisingdecision.

LagoonDiningmightwellbea

signalthatLygonStreetis changing.

Butwhenchangecomeswiththis

levelofcharmandflavour,it’shard

to see it as anything but a positive.●

Porkandcabbage

dumplingswith

Chinese celery.

GOURMET TRAVELLER 39

PHOTOGRAPHY NIKKI TO (LAGOON DINING).

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