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GOURMET TRAVELLER 25

RESTAURANT NEWS

THE GOLD COAST Given Alex
Munoz Labart’s credentials from
his time at Sydney’s Monopole
and Cirrus, it’s no surprise to
learn that the chef’s first solo
venture, Restaurant Labart, in
Burleigh Heads, showcases a
tight list of dishes to enjoy with
a drink, and doesn’t shy away
from seafood. Expect food of the
order of local baby octopus with
red peppers and smoked-garlic
sauce, calamari with vadouvan-
roasted cauliflower and ink
sauce, and a wine list that leans
natural and interesting.

BYRON BAY Chef Evan White,

an alumnus of Chingón and Red

Hook, has teamed up with the

owners of Barrio and Harvest to

bring his version of Mexican to

the Northern Rivers region at

Chupacabra. Dishes draw

inspiration from the coastline

and nearby farms (including

Picone Exotics, which supplies

the guava, cactus and jewel

corn). There are mezcal Negronis

on tap, tequila aplenty and even

the cofee is Mexican.

MELBOURNE Chef Julian Hills

(Paringa Estate) is opening Navi

(meaning “local” in Cherokee)

in Yarraville. Beers, such as

Spotswood’s Two Birds, are from

nearby, as are the ingredients.

Nahm, in Bangkok,

has a new chef. Top

left: Inua is inspired

by the produce of

Japan. Left: calamari

with vadouvan-

roasted cauliflower

and ink sauce at

Restaurant Labart.

What’s on the menu when Duncan Welgemoed prepares an Afrobeat banquet at the

Gourmet Institute in Adelaide on 25 July? The Africola chef has Arabian fish curry,

eggplant tunarama, beetroot and yoghurt, and a salad of roasted goat’s cheese

with pistachio dressing on his mind. harveynorman.com.au/gourmet-institute

And, in an act of true dedication

to the cause, Hills even makes

the plates himself.

PERTH Guy Grossi channels

Roman tradition at Garum, his

new restaurant at The Westin

Perth – even the sausages and

bread are made the (very)

traditional way. It’s the Grossi

Florentino chef’s first venture

outside of Melbourne and he’s

serving takes on classics from

carbonara to Amatriciana and

cacio e pepe. The wine list

traverses both Rome and WA.

TOKYO In January 2015, Noma

launched its first international

pop-up at Tokyo’s Mandarin

Oriental. It wound up five weeks

solut

Vodka (note the

colourful two-fi sign on the

bottle). This limit ition Absolut

World bottle can be found at

select airports (such as Sydney and

Melbourne) for $34.90. absolut.com

ri Modén’s design for

mesinpeace(n

o-fingds

later, but Thomas Frebel, head

of Noma’s R&D team, wasn’t

done. He’s launched Inua, and

in true Noma style is keeping

it local, working with Okinawan

bananas, octopus from Hokkaido,

and maitake mushrooms that

have a confectionery-like

sweetness. Eve Yeung, who

worked at Noma (and more

recently at Sydney’s Mr Wong)

joins him in the kitchen.

BANGKOK David Thompson

has left, and Pim Techamuanvivit

(who also runs Kin Khao in San

Francisco) is now in charge at

Nahm. Word on the street is that

Thompson will launch a new

restaurant in town, backed by

a rival luxury hotel group.