H G insider
60 | AUSTRALIAN HOUSE & GARDEN
< Soundtrack of your summer?
rustling leaves, kookaburras, magpies
and the dog getting excited when
one of our local koalas strolls into
the garden.
Preferred sunset tipple? Occasionally
a good gin and tonic with a twist of
lime. Or a sauvignon blanc from
the Adelaide Hills.
Is there a restaurant you’re keen
to try? Tetsuya’s (sydney).
How do you unwind? reading a great
book. it takes me away to another world.
Does summer affect your writing
practice in any way? i start very early
in the morning, stop for lunch, a swim
and a nap, then write until the sunset
drinks are poured.Luke Nguyen
Chef, restaurateur, author
and presenter of Street
Food Asia on SBS TV.
Summer is... Live music
in a vineyard, drinking sparkling wine
with cheese, and a picnic basket.
Favourite summer pastime? eating
outside. Fresh prawns, salmon sashimi,
crab, and oysters on the beach. Bliss.
A quintessential summer meal? i love
making my own fresh wraps with loadsof fresh herbs like mint, coriander,
Vietnamese mint, perilla leaves, fresh
lettuce, banana blossom, pomelo, star
fruit. i wrap it all up in rice paper with
some of that great fresh seafood.
Favourite summer soundtrack?
Blackbird by Fat Freddy’s drop always
reminds me of summer. it definitely
comes out when the sun is shining.
Favourite sunset tipple? Aperol spritz.
With an extra nip of Aperol, of course!
What will you be reading? i’ll be reading
children’s books to my one-year-old twin
boys, Kian and Kohl.
Favourite way to unwind? The beach.
Just relaxing in the sand.
Will you be travelling or staying home
this summer? i’ll be travelling. i’m
opening a restaurant, Moi Moi, in Hong
Kong, so will be spending time there.
Restaurants you’re keen to try?
in Melbourne, Atlas in south Yarra.
And in sydney, sixpenny (stanmore)
and Cirrus (Barangaroo).Myles Baldwin
Landscape designer,
horticulturist, author,
director of Myles
Baldwin Design.
Summer is... Lazy days on the boat,
enjoying the company of friends and
pottering in my garden.
Favourite summer flower? i can’t go past
frangipani. At Bronte House i cultivated
a collection of frangipani with [former
Bronte House tenant] Leo schofield.
We had varieties in more than 60
different colours.
Travelling or staying at home?
This year, i’m heading to noosa
to stay with friends. it’s the place
where i met my wife and enjoyed
all our family holidays
growing up. >tunes
SUMMER
For many, the sweetly evocative
songs of the late American jazz
singer Ella Fitzgerald are a
defining sound of summer.When he’s not chilling out in the
garden, Myles Baldwin likes to
get down to the beats of rapper
Kendrick Lamar.Blackbird by NZ seven-piece
outfit Fat Freddy’s Drop delivers
a delicious fusion of dub, jazz
and blues, says Luke Nguyen.Upbeat, swinging tunes from
Louis Armstrong go hand in
hand with carefree summer
days for Richard Roxburgh.‘ NOTHING SAYS SUMMER MORE THAN GREAT
SEAFOOD AND SUN-WARMED BERRIES.’
LUKE NGUYEN Photograph by John Laurie/bauersyndication.com.au (dessert) & courtesy of Seed (hat).