RESTAURANT NEWS
SYDNEY
Colin Fassnidge’s 4Fourteen is gone, but Don’t Tell Aunty is making good use of its old Surry Hills digs. The Indian restaurant is run by Jessi Singh (known for his Babu Ji restaurants in Melbourne and New York), and he is upfront about its commitment to “unauthentic” food. The bordercrossing menu includes sea-urchin biryani, General Tso’s cauliflower, and oysters garnished with green mango, lime pickle and broken chickpea noodles.
BALI
Celebrated Australian chef Nathan Sasi has now set up shop with a new restaurant in Canggu.
Mason has echoes of his Sydney ventures Nomad and Mercado: the menu is dominated by woodfired dishes (such as barramundi with smoked tomato) and there’s no shortage of cured meats.
MELBOURNE
Cibi is shifting to a site that’s four times the size of its original location. Bestselling dishes from the café such as traditional Japanese breakfast and a soba salad with bean curd and tapenade will stay, but the larger surrounds will mean more space to browse the concept store, where you can pick up Sori Yanagi cutlery and other Japanese wares, plus take-home condiments from Cibi’s own kitchen.
Italian Artisans
has taken over from DOC in Albert Park as a new venture by owner Tony Nicolini. Here you can enjoy well-sourced mozzarella or decide between 24-month-old San Daniele prosciutto or a 30-month version from Parma. As you’d expect, pizza is a big deal on the menu, too.
CANBERRA
The former A Baker site is now home to Morning Glory.
The menu has a bold Asian flavour: there’s bo kho casarecce, inspired by the Vietnamese beef stew, as well as Hainanese chicken wraps, black sesame waffles and soursop smoothies. This new project by the XO team has solid Asian credentials: its launch date was determined with the aid of monks in the mountains of Vietnam, consulted by the aunt of co-owner Kent Nhan.
LONDON
Following the success of two pop-ups, St John Bakery, an offshoot of Fergus Henderson’s famed restaurant, has found a permanent location. Hit Neal’s Yard in Covent Garden for sourdough, outstanding custard doughnuts, pastries and, once they get their licence, St John wine. The celebrated Neal’s Yard Dairy is a near neighbour, all the better to grab some Lancashire cheese to go with your Eccles cakes along the way.