Australian Gourmet Traveller - (01)January 2020 (1)

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GOURMET TRAVELLER 21

PHOTOGRAPHY RUSSELL MILLARD (REEFWORLD) & NIKKI TO (KITAK LEE).

Kitak Lee

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YokoDiningis inspiredbyTokyo’s

izakayadiningscene.Haveyou

hadmemorableexperiencesatsuch

placesinJapan?Absolutely.I grewup

inKoreasoweusedtotravela lotto

JapanwhenI wasgrowingup.Some

ofthemostauthenticizakayamay

lookratherrundownornotevenopen

forbusiness!Butthey’rewhereyou

findthetreasures.I remembertasting

kombu-marinatedsashimiandthe

flavourwasintense.It openedmy

mindtobeingmoreexperimental.

At YokoDining,you’reworkingwith

JonathanBarthelmess,whowas

previouslyyourbossatChoChoSan.

Isheopentoexperimentingwiththe

staplesofJapanesecuisine?Tempura

batters,tonkatsu,mochi– allofit!He

pushesboundariesandis adventurous.

He’sallaboutcombiningsweetwith

savouryinunexpectedways.

Isthereanythingthat’stakena while

forthekitchentonail?Tonkatsuis

a surprisinglycomplexdishtodo

reallywell.Throughmonthsoftrial

anderrorwebelieveit’sasgood,if

notbetterthanthetonkatsuinTokyo.

TellusaboutthedessertsatYoko

Dining.Wehavea matchasoft-serve,

as well as shaved milk ice with

caramelisedpistachioandkinako,

whichis a typeofroastedsoybean

flourusedinJapanesedesserts.ButI

alsothinktheice-creammochiwillbe

a bighit:we’vecreateda mochithat

combinesthesavourymisoflavourwith

caramel,whichis mypersonalfavourite.

AfterrelocatingfromMelbourne,how

doyoufindthelocalingredients?We

movedtoBrisbaneabouta yearago

andI didn’tknowtherewassucha

largeAsiancommunity– Vietnamese,

Korean,Japanese– andwe’vefound

localfarmersgrowingAsianvegetables.

PairedwithQueensland’sreeffish,

thefreshproducewe’vebeenableto

getourhandsonhasbeenfantastic.

Udon,soba,ramen– what’sthebest

Japanese-stylenoodleandhowwill

youbeservingit atYokoDining?

Soba,becauseit’ssolightand

refreshing.Youhavetocatertoyour

surroundingsandBrisbaneis notlike

Japanwhereyouhavefourseasons.

Queenslandis warmall-yearround

andsowe’llbeintroducingcoldsoba

ramen,whichis wonderfullyrefreshing

forthesettingYokositsin.

YokoDining,HowardSmithWharves,

2/5BoundarySt,Brisbane,Qld,

(07) 3236 6582, yokodining.com.au

MelbourneFood& Wine

TheiconicQueenVictoriaMarketwillserveasa

teemingandtastyhubforthisyear’sMelbourne

Food& WineFestival.Pastaloverswillfeelamore

forTheBigSpaghettiwhenTipo00,Capitano,

RosettaandCaterina’sjoinforcesfora one-offpasta

party;whileBenShewrywillhostAtticaPresents:

A DayExploringtheIdeaofHope,a fullfreedayof

inspiredhospitality,talksandperformances.There

arealsoeveningsdevotedtohotchips(20March),

grilledmeats(21March)andplant-basedeating

(27March).Otheroffsitebig-ticketeventsinclude

theNothingFancyHousePartyatHalfAcrewith

best-sellingauthorAlisonRoman(22March)

andJoshNilandofSaintPeteratCumulusInc

(22 March).melbournefoodandwine.com.au

Festival

Submarinesuites watch

TheGreatBarrierReefis nowhometoAustralia’sfirstunderwater

accommodation.DubbedReefsuites,theoceanicroomshavefloor-to-ceiling

windowsfromwhichguestscangazeoutat seaturtlesandfish.Therooms

sitbelowtheReefworldpontoon(pictured),whichhasbeenre-developed

followingdamagefrom2017’sCycloneDebbie.Theprojectalsoincludedthe

replantingof 4000 piecesofcoralontoexistingreefwallstorejuvenateHardy

Reef.Overnightstaysstartfrom$799perperson,and include boat transfers,

meals and a snorkel tour.cruisewhitsundays.com