AUSTRALIA SPECIAL EDITION 7Table Talk
New on the dining scene
in Melbourne, Sydney,
and Brisbane.
MELBOURNE The chef behind Franklin
in Hobart, David Moyle, has a new proj-
ect: Longsong, a lush rooftop eatery,
scheduled to open in July. Focusing on
Thai street food, the restaurant and bar
will be located above fan-favorite res-
taurant Longrain, in a building that was
previously a horse stable, and will serve
small plates for beverage pairings, main
dishes, and a locally focused drink menu.
40-44 Little Bourke Street.
Dave Verheul and Christian McCabe are
adding an upstairs restaurant to their
year-old smash-hit wine bar, Embla.
For now, they’re playing it close to their
vests, but one thing is for certain: The
restaurant will have a fantastic selection
of natural wine. Without a scheduled
opening date, anyone’s guess will do for
the big reveal, but ours is that the place
will be up and running by midyear.
embla.com.au.
SYDNEY One of the city’s newest
restaurants has arrived near Bondi
Beach, courtesy of Finnish chef Tomi
Björck and local chef Samuel Cole. The
co-owners recently unveiled Blanca
Bar & Dining, which they describe as
a combination of Australian produce,
elegant European flavors, and Japanese
culinary techniques. blanca.com.au.
Blanca’s grilled king prawns and
stracciatella with saffron butter,
basil, bottarga, and black garlic.After much anticipation, Chin Chin
Sydney appears set to open in August
in Surry Hills. Chef Benjamin Cooper
oversees the Thai eatery, which will
include many of the menu items that
made its Melbourne predecessor
famous – including the crispy bar-
ramundi with green-apple salad and
caramelized pork belly. Keep an eye out
for updates on Chin Chin’s social media
pages. chinchinrestaurant.com.au.BRISBANE Chef and TV
personality Matt Moran’s
restaurant group, Solotel, is
cooking up a new restaurant in
Brisbane: The unnamed hot spot
will embody the essence of a mod-
ern pub and be the second Moran
establishment in the city. His Bris-
bane debut was Aria, a spin-off of
his fine-dining restaurant in Sydney.
mattmoran.com.au.Food & Spirits