SMALL TOWN HERO
McLaren Vale adds a wine bar with a Taiwanese touch and global cocktails to its line-up, writes KATIE SPAIN.
The main street of Willunga has long been known for its three pubs (fondly referred to by locals as, “bottom pub, middle pub, and top pub”) but the addition of a small natural wine bar in October last year shook things up in the quaint McLaren Vale town.
Before opening Muni, their narrow bar and dining space quietly and without fanfare, Taiwanese co-owners and chefs Mug Chen and Chia Wu clocked up experience across the globe. Chen trained in Paris where she worked at Restaurant A.T with chef Atsushi Tanaka and later honed her kitchen nous at Melbourne’s Vue de Monde and McLaren Vale’s The Salopian Inn. When the pair relocated to McLaren Vale, Wu hit the tools at d’Arenberg Cube Restaurant, Fino Vino and The Little Rickshaw.
The decision to open their own haunt happened after moving to the wine region. The building was transformed by Adelaide’s Sans-Arc Studio who used concrete, steel and timber throughout. It seats nine outdoors, 18 on the floor, and 13 at the L-shaped bar which overlooks the kitchen. There, beautifully executed Taiwanese-inspired snacks take shape. On Saturday nights the demure duo serves up an
11-course set dining menu with an emphasis on top-notch ingredients such as Phoenix wagyu, spicebrined duck (dry-aged for three weeks), South Australia’s Cape Calamari and Fleurieu Peninsula’s Choice Mushrooms. Presentation is delicate and flavours punchy.
The little works of art are paired with international unicorn drops imported by Japan-based business partner Lulie Kaorie
Tanaka of Cross Wine and local favourites curated by sommelier and general manager Violette Flint.
Mainstay snacks include cucumber marinated with Jauma Farm grenache vinegar and shrimp chilli oil, wood-ear mushrooms doused with garlic vinegar (bouncy to the touch), and more substantial signature snacks such as Taipei-style cold noodles (with a light, nutty, sesame-based dressing) and Muni special fried rice, both of which are classics from their homeland.
“Every Taiwanese mum makes fried rice,” Wu says. “We add gai lan and Sichuan pepper as a point of difference.” It’s all served on custommade Taiwanese plates.
A steady flow of open-minded winemakers, curious locals and adventurous city folk frequent the bar. Chances are you’ll find yourself seated next to one of McLaren Vale’s vinous rock stars. Kick on with sake or a cocktail made by Flint. Each one is inspired by places she liked to visit before Covid restrictions hit and recipes were gifted by sommeliers. The Coffee Negroni was thanks to Sydney restaurant Ester’s Nick Stewart, the Pickle Back Sour courtesy of Germanybased Nina Thomson, the Dirty Flower an ode to Norway, and the Space Cowboy a punchy mezcal and bourbon-packed journey to The High Hat Café, New Orleans.