Australian Gourmet Traveller — May 2017

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CONTRIBUTORS

WHAT

WE’RE

EATING

OUR FAVOURITE

PLATES OF THE MONTH

19

INO KUVAČIĆ

Ino Kuvačić (pronounce

it “ku-va-chitch”) learned

to cook in Split, the city

in the Dalmatia region

of Croatia where he

was born. He moved

to Australia in 1997,

and went on to work

at the acclaimed likes of

Sydney’s Otto and Melbourne dining landmark

Grossi Florentino before he struck out on his

own in 2004, opening Dalmatino, his restaurant

in Port Melbourne. In this issue, he shares the

flavours of coastal southern Croatia from his

bookDalmatia, on page 106.

TONY TAN

Our resident expert

on Asian cuisines is a

respected food historian

and teacher. In between

consulting for a new

Melbourne restaurant

with the Windsor Hotel

Group and completing

his magnum opus on the

food of Hong Kong, Tan has found time to give

us a masterclass (page 44) on the fittingly spicy

Chongqing noodle soup, a dish that’s taking

over the nation’s Chinatowns. “No wonder the

Chinese say China is the place for food but

Sichuan is the province for flavour,” Tan says.

ON THE COVERChongqing noodles (recipe page 44)

StylingEmma KnowlesPhotographyWilliam Meppem

Food preparationLisa FeatherbyMerchandisingBhavani Konings

SHARON

VERGHIS

Sharon Verghis is

a Sydney freelance

writer whose work has

appeared in The Age,

The Weekend Australian,

Good Weekend, The

Sydney Morning Herald

and SBS online. In her

chat (on page 66) with businessman Tom Pash

and Neil Perry, she found the chef to be a hard-

working man who’s finally realising his ultimate

dreams. “Neil’s entering the most exciting phase

of his career,” she says. “Who knows what the

future entails, but he’s excited for good reason.”

I’m not going to lie to you. There were a couple of

timesthat we got it wrong. Trendcasting is a tricky

business. No matterhow carefully you polishthe

crystal ball or how deeply you gaze into the entrails, the future has a way of

coming along and making a mockery of your most brilliant predictions.

The ongoing popularity of smoking foods (GT’s Hot 100, April 2011) and

fermenting them (May 2013) in restaurants can be taken as testament to their

hotness, but barrel-ageing cocktails (April 2011) has proven to be a stayer in

only the most out-of-touch hotel bars. We can safely say that we were on the

money with Airbnb and Instagram (May 2012) being forces to reckon with in

the food and travel spheres, but superconductive serving ware (April 2011)

has failed to launch. Haute Korean (May 2014) shone briefly on our shores

before the guiding lights befell a variety of misfortunes. We’re still waiting

for Filipino food (May 2013) to have its moment outside the bain-marie.

And Peruvian-Chinese (May 2014) may never truly kindle its hotness beyond

the borders of Peru’s Chinatowns.

Saltbush? Bitters? Finger limes? Thing, thing, definitely a thing. Insects?

Not a thing. And what about the trends that are taking that little bit too long to

die their natural deaths? Food on boards? Or, worse, food on slate? Drinks served

in jars? We can’t help but feel somehow complicit.

Fortunately, in this year’s Hot 100 (from page 123), we’re confident we’ve

got it 100 per cent on the money. Probably. Maybe. And even if we haven’t,

it’s 100 per cent good fun regardless.

ABALONE SPRING ROLLS
Our mission: to see off the World’s
50 Best Restaurants in style the
morning after the big party. Our
plan: to ask Melbourne’s best Asian
restaurants to turn their hands to
yum cha with a luxe Australian twist.
The result: among other things,
spring rolls stuffed with braised
abalone and shiitake mushrooms.
Mission accomplished.QT Melbourne,
133 Russell St, Melbourne, Vic,
(03) 8636 8800PAT NOURSE
TOMMY RUFF, SPICED CARROT
AND PICKLED ZUCCHINI
Like the just-caught kingfish served
asceviche, these robustly flavoured
tommy ruffs are caught off Kangaroo
Island. Two pan-roasted fillets sit
atop spiced carrot “linguine”, with
the tang of pickled yellow zucchini
and the crunch of toasted almond
flakes.Southern Ocean Lodge,
Hanson Bay Rd, Kangaroo Island, SA,
(08) 8559 7347HELEN ANDERSON
POACHED SNAPPER, SMOKED
ZUCCHINIAND GREEN MASALA
Say hello to an ultra-fresh fillet of
goldbandsnapper served with
a scatter of local rice and lightly
smoked zucchini. Submerged in
a poaching liquor, its flavour is
boosted by green masala and
whey. Crisped snapper skin adds
crunch and fresh curry leaves
keep things aromatic and vibrant.
Nu Nu, 1 Veivers Rd, Palm Cove, Qld,
PHOTOGRAPHY CHRIS MIDDLETON (INO KUVAČIĆ) (07) 4059 1880 FIONA DONNELLY

EDITOR’S LETTER

Pat Nourse

Happy scrying,

ss

Chongqing noodles

SPICY NOODLES!How to matcha

COOL RESTAURANTSAustralia’s hippest new hotel

NATURAL WINE 101

A YEAR’S WORTH OF INSPIRATION

The trends of the moment