RESTAURANT NEWS
Taking cues from the 2000s is no longer reserved just for fashion, with the newly opened Funda citing “Y2K vibes” as an inspiration. The poppy, neon-lit Pitt Street restaurant combines Korean techniques with globetrotting ingredients. On the plate this may mean a pan-fried grated potato pancake with bulgogi (Koreanstyle barbecued beef) and parmesan cheese; or crudité served with an Ortiz anchovy-powered ssamjang (a spiced, salty paste) and light sour cream; or soy-cured prawns with an orb of burrata. Executive chef Jung-su Chang and head chef Chris Kim have worked at the likes of Tetsuya’s, Sepia and Supernormal, and Chang previously held two Michelin stars for four years at South Korea’s Jungsik Seoul. The 120-seat restaurant has a rotation of DJs to soundtrack the evening; and next door you’ll find soon-to-be-opened sister restaurant
Allta. Here, Chang will further flex his Korean fusion skills in a more refined, fine-dining environment.
In more new wave takes Khānaa in Surry Hills is exploring Bengali cuisine with a modern edge. Chef Opel Khan is joined by daughter and chef Lucinda Khan in the kitchen. You’ll find confit duck leg samosas served with fermented daikon and mandarin; a spiced take on a millefeuille with garam masala and portobello mushrooms; and aloo pakora-style fritters topped with buffalo curd and shiraz gin-cured roe.
Nearby in Darlinghurst, The Strand Hotel has received yet another revamp, launching Strand Bistrothèque, with Public Hospitality’s culinary director Clayton Wells overseeing the menu.
QUEENSLAND
Fortitude Valley’s much-loved Gerard’s is reopening following a four-month closure for renovations, with Scottishborn head chef Jimmy Richardson stepping up to executive chef, following Adam Wolfers’ departure. The revamp sees the restaurant drop ‘Bistro’ from its name, although the menu will continue to focus on Levantine cuisine and promises to offer “wholesome cuisine rich with fresh and sustainably sourced produce from the Brisbane region”.
In the Gold Coast, Kōst is a bright and fresh take on a grillhouse that has taken over the space of three old tenancies on Oracle Boulevard. Executive chef Sebbie Keynon (who most recently worked for the Burnt Ends Group in Singapore) will focus on charcoal cooking across both a wood-fire grill and a two-metre Mibrasa charcoal grill (one of the few of its kind in Australia). The “over embers” section of the menu includes dry aged beef T-bone and wagyu rump cap alongside bay bug with harissa bisque and Mooloolaba king prawns with fermented chilli. An interior palette of mint green, marble and gold, joins a hefty cellar, for a wine list that navigates big reds and bright Australian regional whites. You can also go all out with seafood towers or call upon the caviar trolley.
MELBOURNE
Following a mid-year hiatus, Parcs is reopening with owner-operator The Windsor group’s executive chef Damien Neylon at the helm. The idiosyncratic 20 seater is known for making the most of food waste (Parcs is “scrap” backwards). Under Neylon’s guidance, the sustainability story will progress as seasonality become an additional focus to the menu, which will change every two weeks. As the former head chef at regional Victorian dining institution Brae, Neylon spent much of the last decade executing Dan Hunter’s cooking philosophy of self-sufficiency and seasonality. These lessons are now ingrained. “Working at Brae for a long time, micro-seasonality has really influenced my thought process,” he explains. The new Parcs menus will hero 12 micro-seasons throughout the year. “We’ve broken up each season into early, mid and late,” says Neylon. “A good example is white asparagus, which is around just for a short period – and that’ll be showcased on the late spring menu... Once we go into early summer, it’ll be gone and then we might use the first of the zucchini flowers, so we’ll try and change things.” For the time being Neylon is sourcing ingredients from close to home, with the ultimate plan for Parcs to source vegetables from a rooftop garden on top of The Windsor Hotel. Upcycling existing food remains at Parce’ core – chiefly thanks to the alchemy of pickling and preserving.
“50 to 70 per cent of the menu will be repurposed in some way,” says Neylon.
Flinders Lane has also welcomed Beso, with ex-Lee Ho Fook head chef Ana Cortes Garcia overseeing a menu that retraces the origins of her career and her Andalusian heritage. Kingfish crudo with preserved tomatoes and yuzu kosho recalls a traditional garfish escabeche dish. “It’s a play on a very traditional chopped wet salad, a dish that tastes like home and one I’ve shared with many family and friends over the years,” says Garcia. “We also substitute the tinned escabeche garfish for raw sliced Hiramasa kingfish to enhance the freshness and texture.” Channelling some of her experience from Lee Ho Fook, you also find braised oxtail dumplings with Lanzhou-style chilli oil and potato parmentier. “We fill dumplings with a very traditional oxtail stew from Córdoba, Andalucía,” says Garcia. You’ll also find jamón Ibérico served with grilled golden kiwi (a play on melón con jamón); alongside a selection of parilla-grilled meats, including glazed pork loin and wagyu hanger steak.
How did you get into cooking? I’ve been interested in cooking forever. I actually wanted to do it from a very young age, but my dad was a lawyer, so he guided me more into academics. I remember telling my parents, “I’d love to go to cooking school.” And my dad just said, “You can graduate and then we can talk about it after.” So I ended up getting a law degree, and I started to work as a lawyer. And I found myself thinking one day after about a year of work, “Is this what the rest of my life is going to look like?” So I decided I wanted to try doing things my own way, and I went back to school to become a chef.
You’ve spent several years in Michelin-starred restaurants. How has that influenced your style? After school, I started working as an apprentice at a Michelin-starred restaurant in Paris, which was an incredible and humbling experience straight off the bat. But then I went back to the south of France where I’m originally from and worked for a chef who I consider my mentor, Christophe Bacquié. He had a very Provençal-style of cooking, which was reflective of the style of food in the south of France, and I felt very touched by his cooking. After, I went back to Paris to hone my techniques more, and that was where I met Andy [Gunn, head chef at the Lobby Bar in The Calile], my now-husband.
Have you brought any techniques to The Calile from the south of France? I find Brisbane weather quite similar to the climate in the south of France, so the flavours of the regions go hand in hand. When people think of French food, I think they often think of heavier flavours: butters and creams. But in the south of France, the flavours are quite clean – almost vegan without the label. It’s very Mediterranean. So I can truly bring the flavours of the south of France over authentically in Brisbane.
Which pastries showcase those flavours best? Many European countries have their own version of focaccia – different breads that all share the same base and are all used to carry a variety of flavours and ingredients. So it’s a very special kind of bread. We love to serve it with dips at the Lobby Bar. I love to think of our guests coming into The Calile on a hot and sunny Brisbane day, and ordering some dips, to be eaten with the beautiful focaccia that we make in house.