Dishes and destinations

The Gourmet Traveller team share where they’ve been and what they’re eating.

Nico’s Sandwiches

These sambos aren’t simply sustenance, they’re reason enough to hustle back into the CBD and celebrate Friday with a Cubano in hand and disco music playing in the background. 1 Healeys Lane, Melbourne, Vic.

Jordan Kretchmer, writer

Matakana, New Zealand

The sun was shining and the Champagne flowed as I arrived in Matakana, north of Auckland, to reunite with my closest friends after more than a year apart. The day was spent dining alfresco and playing Kubb on the lawn overlooking this spectacular view. Heaven.

Joanna Hunkin, editor

Fleur

From pouring sake to reworking sushi, the dining room inside The Royal references Japanese cuisine in cool, unexpected ways. Case in point: these elegant kangaroo and pork tsukune – fluffy, smoky, and all too easy to eat. 531 Wellington St, Perth, WA.

Max Veenhuyzen, WA state editor

Natural Ice-cream Australia

Paperbark-smoked milk ice-cream swimming in coffee and maple; and a vegan coconut scoop with syrupy Davidson’s plum, ginger lily and finger lime, this icy deliciousness and more is sold from a tiny caravan in a Brunswick Heads’ front yard. 21 Mullumbimbi St, Brunswick Heads, NSW.

Grace MacKenzie, contributor

Taste of Tang

If you want only the plumpest, juiciest Singapore chilli mud crab experience, head to this sleepy south Sydney suburb where chef Phillip Tang turns crustaceans into culinary gold. Order ahead then don your bib, and have your moistened towelettes on hand. 77 Mulga Rd, Oatley, NSW.

Yvonne C Lam, digital editor