7

GOURMET TRAVELLER 53

Melbourne review

Restaurant

Shik

30 Niagara Ln,

Melbourne,

(03) 9670 5195

restaurantshik.com

Licensed

CardsAE MC V EFT

OpenMon-Sat

5pm-10pm

PricesEntrées

$11-$20, main

courses $26-$44

Vegetarian

One entrée

Noise

Medium

Wheelchair

accessYe s

MinusVegetarians

beware

PlusSmart Aussie-

Korean food,

plus hip-hop

IN SESSION

All the elements of a solid local

restaurant – comfort, good service,

deftly cooked food, well-priced wine

• have been crossed off the list at
  Congress(above). A clean-lined,
  two-level restaurant below a new
  Collingwood apartment building, it
  mixes current design tropes with warm
  hospitality and good booze. Dishes
  like a crumbed pig’s head sandwich,
  kangaroo pastrami with crisp onions,
  and Dutch spice cake with malt custard
  all encourage return visits.49 Peel St,
  Collingwood, (03) 9068 7464

DREAM TEAM

This independent 57-seat cinema,

Thornbury Picture House, not only

features a five-metre screen and

top-notch sound system but is also

one of the area’s best bars. The

drinks list spotlights local brewers

(Stomping Ground, 3 Ravens, Hawkers)

and well-made Negronis and Aperol

Spritzes. Umberto Espresso Bar

supplies the snacks – antipasto,

polpette, calamari fritti – and there’s

batch-brew coffee from East

Brunswick roasters, Padre.802 High

St, Thornbury. (03) 9995 0040

THE PERFECT SPOT

A former carpark next door to fellow

newcomer Bar Saracen is now home to

Sunda, a South East Asian restaurant

where Khanh Nguyen (formerly of

Sydney’s Mr Wong, Bentley and Noma

Australia) pushes the boat out with his

take on Indonesian, Malaysian and

Vietnamese food. Roti is paired with a

curry and Vegemite dipping sauce, raw

scallops with andaliman pepper, and

egg noodles with XO sauce, chicken

crackling and pepperberry. One of

the smartest new canteens in town.

18 Punch Ln, Melbourne, (03) 9654 8190

Details

AND ALSO...

PHOTOGRAPHY GREG ELMS & DAN HOCKING (CONGRESS)

exposed brick and utilities – and

mixes them with two-toned timber

chairs upholstered in leather, and

grey-veined white marble tabletops

imported from Korea. Shelves are

filled with large jars of pickling

vegetables, and a stone bar fronts

the partially open kitchen. It’s

a sparsely elegant space with a

constant hip-hop soundtrack. The

sound system was clearly installed

by somebody who knows what’s

what – you can speak and be heard.

There’s expert input on

Restaurant Shik’s mostly minimal-

intervention wine list, too. Jo has

worked as the wine guy in places

such as Belles Hot Chicken, and he

has Josh Begbie (late of Embla) on

board to help corral labels here.

It’s a nimble list, with plenty

happening over two pages each of

red and white, and a page each of

sparkling and rosé. Old and new

worlds both get a guernsey, with

nero d’Avola rosé from Sicily and

Müller-Thurgau from Pfalz sitting

alongside natural Aussie favourites

such as Tommy Ruff shiraz and

Momento Mori’s Staring at the Sun

vermentino-based white blend.

There’s a small selection of soju

and two Korean beers, plus the

milky, lightly sparkling fermented-

rice drink makgeolli. Known as a

“farmers’ beer” in Korea, makgeolli

has a slightly sour tang that matches

especially well with Shik’s fiery,

pickled and salty banchan.

It also sits well with the pigskin

terrine – an essential order that’s

subtly flavoured, thinly sliced and

teamed with garlic chives tossed

in that same soy and salted-krill

dressing – as well as the raw

snapper, bright with gochujang and

chrysanthemum and perilla leaves.

Those looking for dessert

will need to move on, because

there’s nothing to see here. But

after the generosity of dishes such

as the pork belly bo ssäm, which

consists of piles of sliced, simmered

pork with Korean pear kimchi,

soy-pickled mushrooms, lettuce

leaves and ssämjang, sweets could

be considered overkill.

Restaurant Shik delivers smart

modern Korean food that balances

authenticity with a keen sense of

Melbourne here and now. It feels

as though a gap has been filled.●