Australian Gourmet Traveller

WINNERS REVEALED: AUSTRALIA’S 50 BEST HOTELS
Yotam Ottolenghi,
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Claudia Roden,
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Fe a st s f rom the
MIDDLE EAST A celebration of food, culture & community

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JUNE 2018 AU $9.99 NZ $10.99

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p86
Opulence and adventure in Oman and Abu Dhabi
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THE PYRÉNÉES
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Food
GO NUTS PITA MASTER ROUND TABLE OF MIDDLE HOMELAND
Whether in dips or Feasting and Greg Malouf, EASTERN TRADITIONS
baked in baklava, fun are the key our home-grown APPEARANCE Reem Kassis’s The
nuts are a crucial ingredients to godfather of It’s Lebanese, but Palestinian Table is
component to Eyal Shani’s Middle Eastern not as you know a collection of her
Middle Eastern rock-star approach fine-dining, it at Bar Saracen, family’s recipes
dishes. Time to to Israeli street balances tradition the new spot from and an ode to
get cracking. food at Miznon. and modernity. Melbourne’s Rumi. her heritage.
84 92 102 110 118

Features
SUBURBAN PAPER TRAIL AN ATHEIST’S BREAD OF LIFE
SPICE ROUTES Claudia Roden FIRST IFTAR Baking 400 loaves
The history of takes us back to Candice Chung of flatbread a
Middle Eastern when she first put experiences the week is more
food in Australia pen to paper to fasting, feasting than a labour of
is one of people, craft the definitive and hospitality that love for Lebanese
movement and A Book of Middle go hand-in-hand matriarch Salwa
smuggled spices. Eastern Food. with Ramadan. Moubarak.
68 72 74 78
Travel
SCENTS CULTURAL AUSTRALIAN
OF PLACE CAPITAL HOTEL GUIDE
From high desert The new Louvre is The complete
passes to the lush the ultimate trophy guide to Australia's
Arabian coast, for Abu Dhabi, and 50 best hotels,
Toni Mason follows a taste of the city’s plus all our award
the frankincense grand designs for winners. Turndown
trails of Oman. its future. service included.
126 136 149

The
Middle
Eastern
issue
Scents
of place
p 126
PHOTOGRAPHY SHARYN CAIRNS (OMAN) & BEN DEARNLEY. COVER: BRASS SPOON FROM WATER TIGER. ALL OTHER PROPS STYLIST'S OWN. STOCKISTS P192
Regulars
12 EDITOR’S LETTER 37 ANATOMY OF A DISH 145 STYLE ON THE COVER
Clockwise from left:
Halal snack pack. Keep your cool with chickpea salad with tahini
14 CONTRIBUTORS desert shades of sky, dressing (p38); beetroot kebabs
38 EATING CLEAN sand and camel. (p115); prawn börek (p112);
16 FOUR DISHES Tahini. eggplant & walnut dip (p86).
Our favourite plates 192 STOCKISTS
this month. 48 DRINKS Plus our cook’s notes
The Middle East may and privacy notice.
19 NEWS seem an unlikely source
The latest from the food for a good drop, but this 193 RECIPE INDEX
and travel scenes. is where wine was born.
194 FARE EXCHANGE
26 OBJECTS OF DESIRE 51 MELBOURNE REVIEW Chefs’ recipes you’ve
Gem-coloured accessories. Former Rockpool chef requested.
Phil Wood’s talents are
28 HOW I EAT front and centre at his
Founder of Speed Date a new fine-diner, Laura.
Muslim, Hana Assafiri, on
the power of shared food. 55 SYDNEY REVIEW
Hartsyard 2.0 rifs on
30 HOW I TRAVEL its previous form, but
Photography Ben Dearnley
Styling Liz Elton & Lisa
Israeli-born chef and food with a lighter, more Featherby Food styling Lisa
writer Yotam Ottolenghi up-tempo rhythm. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT Featherby Merchandising
on losing his glasses and OF COUNTRY Geraldine Muñoz Food
finding inspiration. 59 QUICK MEALS Gourmet Traveller preparation Nick Banbury
Midweek meals in no time. acknowledges the Gadigal
32 MASTERCLASS people of the Eora Nation
SUBSCRIBE
A step-by-step guide to 142 TRAVEL MEMOIR as the traditional custodians
of the place we now call magshop.com.au/
making hummus at home. In Cairo, the city’s Sydney, where this magazine australian-gourmet-traveller
past and future are is published. Gourmet
34 THE EXPLAINER embodied in very Traveller also pays respects
Middle Eastern sweets. diferent eating spaces. to elders past and present.
G O U R M E T T R AV E L L E R 9
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WE MAKE UNCOMPROMISING CHOICES, ONE AFTER
ANOTHER, TO BRING YOU EXCEPTIONAL COFFEE.
AFTER ALL, WE ARE THE CHOICES WE MAKE
AREN’T WE?
K
Editor’s letter
Where we’ve been
Congratulations to
Paramount House
Hotel in Surry Hills,
our 2018 Hotel Helen Anderson, travel editor;
of the Year. Thanjavur, India
Hummus For all the award Just when you think you’ve seen the
bi calamari winners and the most spectacular temple in Tamil Nadu,
complete list the southern Indian state with some
of Australia’s 33,000 ancient temples, an older, more
50 best hotels glorious one appears. @handersonglobal
p 114 turn to page 149.
I
’ve only lined up for hummus once, From hummus to the halal snack
but it was well worth the wait. It was pack, this issue is a celebration of the
a hot morning on the waterfront people, places and dishes that helped
in Tel Aviv and the crowd that had food from the Middle East carve out
gathered around Abu Hassan made it a special place in our culinary culture.
look like they were giving it away for It would be remiss of me not to
free. I struggled to the front, fought for mention the very real and devastating
a spot at a shared table and had my first impact of ongoing violence and Lisa Featherby, food director;
taste of musabaha, morning hummus, conflict in the region. Like all Byron Bay, NSW
still warm and textured with whole Australians, our hopes and thoughts We were up in Byron covering a story
chickpeas, served with ful, raw onion, are with all those whose lives are for GT and I just had to make a stopover
hot sauce and bread. In that mouthful affected by these tragedies. I want at the Atlantic guesthouse in Byron Bay.
I understood that hummus is a meal, to mention in particular that we are It’s been on my wish list of places to stay
for a long while. The downside? The stay
the star of the table, not just a side dish passionately supporting #BakeForSyria,
PHOTOGRAPHY ALANA LANDSBERRY (PORTRAIT), MARK ROPER & TOM ROSS (PARAMOUNT)
was way too short – I’m already planning
or a final resting place for limp crudités. #CookForSyria and the Ration
my return. @lisafeatherby
The theme of this issue is the Challenge, all happening over the
Middle East, but the broader theme is next few weeks. All the details are
how, along with people, recipes travel, in our news section on page 19.
immigrate, evolve and keep culture
alive. The history of how Australia
fell in love with food from Lebanon,
Turkey, Egypt, Syria, Iran and the
region isn’t well documented. As
historian Alecia Simmonds explains Follow
in Suburban Spice Routes (page 68),
“It’s a secret history that can only be @ SARAHALICEOAKES
gleaned through peering over backyard Sarah Oakes, editor
fences, inviting ourselves into family Beijing, China
kitchens and uncovering the lives of A quick and sparkly trip to China
those whose survival once depended for the opening of the Van Cleef
on concealing their aromatic herbs & Arpels Patrimonial exhibition at Today
from delicate Anglo-Saxon nostrils.” Art Museum in Beijing. @sarahaliceoakes
EMAIL ASKGOURMET@BAUER-MEDIA.COM.AU // FOLLOW @ GOURMETTRAVELLER // ONLINE GOURMETTRAVELLER.COM.AU
12 G O U R M E T T R AV E L L E R
S U P P O R T I N G C O M M U N I T I E S T O FA R M S U S TA I N A B LY
PROTECTS THE CONSISTENT QUALITY OF YOUR COFFEE,
AND THE LIVELIHOODS OF OUR MASTER BLENDERS.
N SPR O H ICE W E
Contributors
Jackalope
p 153
CLAUDIA RODEN MICHAEL RANTISSI KENDALL HILL GREG MALOUF PHOTOGRAPHY BARBARA STEINBAUER-GROETSCH (CLAUDIA RODEN) & SHARYN CAIRNS (JACKALOPE)
writer chef writer chef
Paper trail, p72 Masterclass, p32 Australian Hotel Guide, p149 Round table, p102
Claudia Roden was drawn to Israeli-born chef Michael Having just wrapped up his fifth Chef Greg Malouf’s influence
the subject of food through a Rantissi grew up in Tel Aviv Gourmet Traveller Australian on contemporary cuisine has
desire to evoke a lost heritage. where there was hummus Hotel Guide, project manager transformed the way diners in
Her classic A Book of Middle on the table at every meal. Kendall Hill confesses he’s the West enjoy Middle Eastern
Eastern Food, published in “If Mum had the time she’d looking forward to spending food. Formerly of Melbourne’s
1968, revolutionised Western make it for us, otherwise some quality time at home in MoMo restaurant and the UK’s
attitudes to the cuisines of the we’d take it in turns to go to Melbourne. “It’s a great privilege Michelin-starred Petersham
Middle East and North Africa. the local hummus shop,” he to check in at Australia’s best Nurseries, his recent launches
“When I look into the book, says. “I enjoy hummus the hotels while researching the include Clé Dubai and Zahira.
I see the faces of the people way Australians love their country’s leading hotel guide,” “In the Middle East, food is a
who gave me recipes and hear Vegemite.” Although hummus he says. “But eventually I start gift and an expression of love,”
their voices and I feel as I did probably has a wider appeal craving my own bed.” Among he says. “With family it’s about
when I spoke to them more for breakfast, lunch and dinner GT’s top 50 hotels are nine new comforting and healing; with
than 50 years ago.” than the Aussie spread. entrants and 11 award winners. friends it’s about welcoming.”
Four dishes
What we’re
eating
Gourmet Traveller regulars share
their favourite plates of the moment.
SHAWERMA, Shish Shawerma

Abu Dhabi’s Shish Shawerma revs
up the shawerma for a modern
audience, taking wood-fired pita,
stuing it with spit-roasted meats,
salad and sauces and toasting it on
the grill before serving. The clincher?
Australian beef, caramelised to the
point known as perfection. Shish
Shawerma, behind Corniche Towers,
Corniche Rd West & Al Khaleej
Al Arabi, Abu Dhabi LARISSA DUBECKI,
CONTRIBUTOR
CHARCOAL CHICKEN AND

GARLIC SAUCE, El Jannah
Come for the smoky charcoal chicken,
stay for the garlicky goodness that is
the toum. Throw in bright pickles, dips
of your choice (the baba ghanoush
and creamy hummus are essential),
good bread (and, if you must, chips)
and the reasons behind the Jannah’s
mighty reputation are mighty clear.
El Jannah, 4-8 South St, Granville,
NSW, (02) 9637 0977 HARRIET DAVIDSON,
EDITORIAL COORDINATOR
MURRINDIE FREW (SHISH SHAWERMA), PAT NOURSE (SHUK)

& RAVI SHANMUGANATHAN (VERY GOOD FALAFEL)
PHOTOGRAPHY HARRIET DAVIDSON (EL JANNAH),
FALAFEL, Very Good Falafel

Louisa Allan and Shuki Rosenboim
weren’t kidding with the name. ISRAELI BREAKFAST, Shuk
How good? Order the falafel plate, If this be breakfast, let’s hope
a banquet of four superb falafels Israel takes it easy at lunch.
(made with chickpeas grown in A paella pan groans under the
the Mallee by Allan’s dad), hummus, weight of two eggs, Israeli salad,
zhoug and tahini, pickles, and salads. olives, labne, hummus, butter,
Let’s hear it for truth in naming. jam, avocado, tahini, yoghurt
Very Good Falafel, 629 Sydney and granola. And now for a nap.
Rd, Brunswick, Vic, (03) 9383 6479. Shuk, 2 Mitchell St, Bondi, NSW
MICHAEL HARDEN, VICTORIA EDITOR PAT NOURSE, MANAGING EDITOR
Why not have both!
Convenient 2-in-1 design!

JUNE
NEWS
Edited by HELEN ANDERSON & LEE TRAN LAM
Fatayer
sabanech
and jibneh
pastries by
Dalia
Dogmoch
p 20
PHOTOGRAPHY SUKAINA RAJABALI
East is East
Bake for Syria, the new Dubai hotels
and the noisiest pastry in town.
News
Helping 1 Add yeast and 1 tbsp sugar

to 60ml warm water and stand
for a few minutes. Place flour,
hands 2 tsp salt and remaining sugar

in an electric mixer fitted with
the dough hook. Knead for
Turning food and 30 seconds, then add yeast
cooking into support mixture, milk and oil. Knead
for children at risk until thick and glossy (about
5 minutes), adding a little more
with the Cook for
flour or oil if necessary. Knead
Syria movement. until smooth, then transfer to a
bowl, cover with a tea towel and
The Syrian civil war is more leave to prove for 30 minutes.
than a distant conflict for 2 For the cheese filling, use a
Carol and Sharon Salloum. fork to combine the cheeses,
The sisters, proprietors of parsley and mint. Add the egg
Sydney’s Almond Bar, grew up and oil and combine well.
visiting family in their father’s 3 For spinach filling, heat
village in western Syria, and vegetable oil in a frying pan
many of the family members over medium heat and sauté
still live in Syria. Since 2011, onions until soft and translucent.
the war has made refugees of Add spinach, walnuts, sumac,
5.5 million Syrians and lemon rind, nutmeg and ½ tsp
exposed 3.3 million children Carol (left) salt and pepper and mix well.
and Sharon
to explosives. “It is vital for Salloum. Cook until spinach wilts, then
us to ensure that all Syrians transfer to a bowl and allow to
are aware that we have not cool briefly. Add egg and olive
forgotten them,” says Sharon. FATAYER SABANECH AND JIBNEH oil, and stir to combine.
It’s why the sisters are part of 4 Divide dough in half. Roll out
Cook for Syria, a movement Spinach and cheese pastries one piece on a lightly floured
that began in London in MAKES 20-24 // PREP TIME 20 MINS // COOK 20 MINS surface to a 30cm round. Cut
2016 as a fundraising supper- #BakeForSyria features sweet and savoury recipes from chefs
into rounds with a 10cm cutter,
club paying tribute to Syrian around the world, including Syrian-German cookbook author Dalia re-rolling if necessary. Repeat
cuisine. It has since become Dogmoch, who shares these savoury pastries. “Keeping Syrian with remaining dough. Press
a global effort and has raised recipes alive has become a personal wish of mine,” she says, “and each round gently into an oval
more than $1 million for this initiative strikes a very personal note for my entire family and shape and place on 2 lightly
UNICEF’s work in the region. me. These oval open-faced fatayers are my favourite variation.” greased non-stick baking trays.
The Salloum sisters are part of Place 2 tbsp cheese filling in the
the #CookForSyria dinner at 1 tsp dried yeast 1 beaten egg centre of half the ovals, and
Three Blue Ducks in Sydney’s 400 gm plain flour 2 tbsp olive oil pinch opposite sides together
Rosebery on 18 June (which 2 tbsp caster sugar SPINACH FILLING into a boat shape to contain the
includes more than 20 chefs, 150 ml lukewarm milk 1 tbsp vegetable oil filling. Repeat with spinach filling
Kylie Kwong and Matt Stone 60 ml olive oil 1 onion, finely chopped and remaining pastries.
among them) and they’ve Melted butter, for brushing 200 gm baby spinach, coarsely 5 Preheat oven to 170°C. Brush
shared their sfouf turmeric CHEESE FILLING chopped edges of pastries with a little
cake recipe in the soon-to-be- 50 gm Akkawi or kashkaval 50 gm chopped walnuts butter and bake until edges are
published #BakeForSyria book. (cow) cheese (if unavailable 1 tsp sumac slightly golden (18-20 minutes).
“It’s amazing to see the use more of cheeses below) Finely grated rind Serve warm.
support grow from all around 50 gm mozzarella of 1 lemon
the world... to help children 100 gm feta ¼ tsp grated nutmeg This extract from #BakeForSyria
affected by the Syrian crisis,” 25 gm flat-leaf parsley, ½ tsp white pepper (Suitcase Media, hbk, £25) has
says the book’s editor, Serena finely chopped 1 beaten egg been reproduced with minor
Guen. cookforsyria.com 15 gm mint, finely chopped 2 tbsp olive oil GT style changes.
Soft landing
Skipping the arak? The Middle East
is rich in booze-free options.
Flower power
This colourful “Raised Tulip” platter
is hand-painted in Turkey in the
south-western town of Denizli.
The striking floral pattern will brighten
any party-sized serve of meze. $70,
thedancingpixie.com.au.
Persian salad and

saffron chicken are on
Beer provided the fuel Sydney Turkish After water, tea is the the Iranian menu at
for the workforce in restaurants Efendy and most consumed drink
ancient Egypt, but in Anason, has fond in the Middle East. Four Brave Women –
Cairo today, you’re memories of first dates Michael Rantissi’s for now. Refugees run
more likely to enjoy over sips of fresh Hummus & Co. 2017 pop-up eateries at the
karkadeh, a sweet, yet lemonade in Istanbul. book features 20 pages
sour tonic of dried Then there’s ayran, of hot and iced drinks,
Sydney site, with new
hibiscus. With alcohol a salty yoghurt drink. reflecting what his operators taking over
(FR0M HUMMUS & CO. BY MICHAEL RANTISSI AND KRISTY FRAWLEY, MURDOCH BOOKS, HBK, $49.99)
forbidden by Islamic It was declared the team serves at Sydney’s every eight weeks.
tradition, it’s no national beverage Kepos Street Kitchen thetradingcircle.com.au
surprise that a vibrant in 2013. Gazoz, and Kepos & Co.
PHOTOGRAPHY MATTHEW ABBOTT (CAROL AND SHARON SALLOUM) & ALAN BENSON
non-alcoholic drinking meanwhile, is a genre “Westerners treat

culture has flourished of carbonated fruit drinks as a reason
in the Middle East. drinks in Turkey that, to socialise,” says
It’s a place where the at its pre-Coca Cola the Israeli-born chef,
sommelier at The heights, numbered “but where I come
Ritz-Carlton or at regional varieties in the from, drinks symbolise
The St. Regis might hundreds. (If you’d like hospitality. They’re a
suggest Ceylon to to do a Turkish take part of the occasion,
celebrate rather than on the Pepsi challenge but not the occasion
Champagne. (In for yourself, you’ll find itself.” With top
2017, incidentally, both drinks on offer at restaurants around the
Anfal Fekri of Anason and Efendy.) world expanding their
Bahrain’s Silver Tea Turning back to tea, non-alcoholic drink
Leaf Consultancy, trade brought masala options, teetotalling
became the Middle chai to the Persian Gulf might be reason Take the Act for Peace Ration Challenge
East’s first master tea where karak chai, as it’s enough in itself and live on the same rations as a Syrian
sommelier.) Somer known in the region, to celebrate. refugee living in a camp in Jordan
Sivrioglu, chef of become a daily ritual. MATTHEW HIRSCH during refugee week, 17-24 June, to raise
money, raise awareness and help change
minds. actforpeace.rationchallenge.org.au
News
This new Portofino 126-litre-capacity oven from Smeg channels the

glamour of the Italian Riviera, imbuing it with high-tech on its way to your
Add Greg Malouf into your cooking by the
kitchen. It has a Thermoseal cavity, triple-fan interior heat distribution
EURO
perfumed spoonful with the chef’s signature

STAR
and is the most energy-eicient model of its size. Its 16 cooking functions
range of spices and pastes at The Essential
and 20 set-and-forget menus will make the after-work dinner rush
Ingredient. It includes chermoula ($14.95),
a lot easier. The only tough question: will it be sunshine yellow, olive
Turkish baharat ($8.25), Jordanian za’atar
green, coral red or burnt orange? smeg.com.au/portofino
($8.95), ras el hanout ($6.75) and red harissa
($12.95). essentialingredient.com.au
THREE OF THE BEST
Downtime in Dubai
PHOTOGRAPHY DANIEL BOUD (BANGARRA DANCE THEATRE), CHRIS JANSEN (SPICES) & ALICIA TAYLOR (KNAFEH)
These new hotels focus on design, wellbeing and rooftop views.
Form Hotel Dubai Need a private yoga The Retreat Palm Dubai View the Gulf Zabeel House Mini by Jumeirah This is
session? A sneaker-cleaning kit? Guests have and Dubai’s glittering skyline from an the smaller of two sister hotels in Al Seef,
access to a range of handy items and services airconditioned beachfront cabana at this a two-kilometre promenade of shops, cafés
– from babysitting to skydiving – at this new “holistic wellbeing” resort on Palm Jumeirah’s and pop-ups along the south bank of Dubai
136-room hotel in Al Jadaf Culture Village, East Crescent. Guests in 255 rooms and suites Creek. The no-frills mini version (pictured)
on the bank of Dubai Creek. The hotel’s stark can follow customised programs in the hotel’s has 150 brightly coloured “pocket”-sized rooms
white façade references traditional Dubai wellness centre, stafed by nutritionists, lifestyle with Pop-Art maps of Dubai on ceilings, street
architecture, while guestrooms are sleek and coaches and a “wellness chef”. There’s a fitness food-inspired restaurants and free bikes.
contemporary. A rooftop pool and gym have centre, too, and a spa featuring a hammam and Next door is the more upmarket Zabeel House
views over Al Jadaf boatyards, and guests treatments such as the Arabian 1001 Night Ritual: by Jumeirah, which opened last month with
can explore the neighbourhood on a range a desert-sand scrub, massage and camel-milk 200 rooms, four restaurants and bars, and a
of special-interest tours. designhotels.com and date-extract facial. theretreatpalmdubai.com rooftop infinity pool. zabeelhouse.com
Guy Grossi (Grossi
Florentino) has a Roman
Holiday moment with
his menu for Gourmet
Institute’s Melbourne
event on 11 July. Expect
braised oxtail with cime
di rapa and toasted
wheat tonnarelli with
pig’s cheek and pecorino.
harveynorman.com.au/
Knafeh’s gourmet-institute
knafeh.
Knafeh
Pastry as performance. Plus some serious beards.
THE PRODUCERS
When unprecedented demand for their drew on his creative expertise to turn a
knafeh overwhelmed the family business, shipping container into the Knafeh food
two brothers decided to take the show on truck to better handle demand.
the road, and life took a sweet turn.
WHAT Ameer likens knafeh to crème
WHO You’ll hear them before you see brûlée. The family version is made with
them: brothers Ameer and Joey El-Issa a mix of sweet cheese and semolina and
bake (and dance) to a booming playlist cooked twice for an oozy, cheesy centre
of Middle Eastern beats, the blast radius and a brûlée-like finish on top. It’s finished
emanating from a shipping container with pistachio nuts and sugar syrup. “I never expected Dark Emu to become a
turned pop-up bakery, the mobile home dance, it was a real surprise,” says Bruce
for their Knafeh: Jerusalem Street Food WHERE Knafeh’s mobile status means Pascoe. His award-winning book,
business. The signature pastry that has it turns up everywhere – from suburban which rejects the notion that Indigenous
powered Knafeh since its 2014 start in parks to old biscuit factories. The Australians were hunter-gatherers, and
argues that they were instead practising
Sydney still holds its own against the noise. original pop-up has led to appearances
sophisticated agriculture, has been
in Melbourne and New York and the
transformed by Bangarra Dance Theatre
WHY When the pair’s mother, Nabila, pastry will make occasional cameos at into a new work. Do you like your dance
debuted a “lighter, creamier version” of The Mechanic & Sons, the family’s with a side of dinner? The show will be
the knafeh at their family business, newest eatery and a tribute to Ameer’s matched with a special menu at
Shisha Bar & Grill, in Sydney’s Croydon father, who was a mechanic for Dale Ford Bennelong during the Sydney Opera
Park, it was a runaway hit with customers in Chullora. The first location opened House season (14 June to 14 July), before
– so much so that it nearly crippled the last month in Penrith, in Sydney’s west. it tours Canberra, Perth, Brisbane and
restaurant. So Ameer, a former architect, knafeh.com.au Melbourne. bangarra.com.au
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News
ON THE PASS
Shane Delia What’s a Middle Eastern ingredient

you’d like to see used more in
Australia, Shane?
MAHA AND BIGGIE SMALLS, MELBOURNE Aleppo pepper. It’s like a capsicum
that has been dried and ground;
it’s subtle but has a great depth of
flavour. It’s from the border of Turkey
and Syria and is a spice that I fell in
love with a long time ago. You can
add it to fish, meat, vegetables,
chocolate. I have to stop myself
from using it on everything.
What’s your most memorable food
experience from the Middle East?
In Oman, I sat in the desert with a
Bedouin family eating camel that was
cooked in its own fat – it was sickly
fatty, but beautifully tender. It was
cooked on rocks which had been
heated up in the sand. So stunning,
humble and simple.
How has the Middle East influenced
the Australian palate?
Food preservation has always been
a huge part of Middle Eastern
cooking, from preserved lemons and
fruit, to slow-cooked meats and
fermentation. It’s exciting to see
PHOTOGRAPHY BROOK JAMES (SHANE DELIA), CHRIS JANSEN (HERMÈS), NIKKI TO (A1 CANTEEN) & SIMON SHIFF (CADDIE)
Australian chefs embracing these
techniques that have been used
since Biblical times.
You’re a big fan of toum. What’s the
appeal for you?
Garlic is the base of Middle Eastern
fare: it should be sticky inside, it
should be so pungent. Pound it up
with olive oil, salt, a touch of lemon
juice and just keep pounding it until
it resembles cream. That, as a base,
is unbelievable.
As a friend of the Mercedes-Benz
brand, you’ve cooked at Grand Prix
events, including the Ladies Day
Luncheon. Any memorable stories?
Putting a vegan meal together for
Lewis Hamilton mid-lunch was a
Travellers can choose surprise. The racing legend put a call
out on social media asking where in
from 16 fragrances town he could get some great vegan
in Hermès’ new food. We put together a few dishes
Hermessence collection using elements from the Ladies Day
Lunch and sent them over, including
to create a set of four an aged Persian rice dish. Maha,
travel-sized scents to 21 Bond St, Melbourne, Vic, (03) 9629
match any destination. 5900, maharestaurant.com.au; Biggie
Smalls, 86 Smith St, Collingwood, Vic,
Four 15ml bottles, $220. (03) 9417 3531, biggiesmalls.com.au.
hermes.com HARRIET DAVIDSON
RESTAURANT NEWS
A1 Canteen’s
sandwiches. Top
right: kangaroo
jale from Biota
Chippendale.
Below right:
Caddie’s kingfish.
SYDNEY It was originally slated Southern Highlands restaurant BRISBANE After launching
to arrive in early 2018 but A1 will feature a kangaroo jale three sites in NSW, the Three
Canteen is finally opening in and salt-and-pepper mud crab, Blue Ducks team flies north and chef Sami Tamimi. Used
Chippendale. A spin-of of matched with pairings and to launch its first Queensland cofee grinds will turn up in
Automata across the laneway, it experiments by Biota sommelier spin-of at the W Brisbane hasselback kair lime beetroot,
will be casual, but chefs Clayton Ben Shephard (such as a beer hotel. The menu replicates the leftover wine will become
Wells and Scott Eddington are made from weeds, brewed for brand’s successful template: chilli-top and tomato-skin
determined that here casual this residency). Expect cameos think produce-flaunting dishes vinegar and the shellfish will
won’t mean complacent. from chefs who recently that minimise food waste, like be caught by hand, so there’s
Inspired menu items include travelled with Viles (Longsong’s porchetta with roast apples, no waste or bycatch.
roasted celeriac with mushroom David Moyle, perhaps, or mustard, spent lettuce and
caramel and pumpkin crème Firedoor’s Lennox Hastie). lentils and burnt-orange bread DUBAI After launching Dinner
brûlée, while the salt beef and butter pudding with by Heston in London in 2011,
bagels are a throwback to MELBOURNE After doing espresso mascarpone. The and then a Melbourne outpost
Wells’ Auto.lab pop-up at time at top-flight international wines on tap also keep the in 2015, Heston Blumenthal will
Silvereye. You won’t want to restaurants (Noma, Alinea, food miles down and the Ducks unveil his first Middle Eastern
miss Eddington’s fried eggplant Manresa among them), chef will collaborate with Green ofshoot at the Royal Atlantis
sandwich with provolone and Jacob Evans has opened his Beacon Brewing to produce Resort in 2019.
romesco. Speaking of Silvereye, own venture, Caddie. Settling a craft beer as a tribute to
the defunct restaurant’s site in Richmond in the former the new location.
upstairs at the Old Clare Meatmother site, he’s serving
Hotel will play host to a Biota beetroot with marigold vinegar, LONDON Keeping things
Chippendale pop-up, from salted plum and almonds as sustainable is also the driving
11 June to 7 July. James Viles’ well as kingfish with burnt force of Rovi, the new
inner-city version of his butter and capers. restaurant for Yotam Ottole enghi
Riedel’s new crystal-glass “Margaux” decanter has a minimalist design that allows for elegant pouring. Part of
o the “M”
range, it’s inspired by antique Cognac and whisky bottles that date back a century. The “Margaux” is ideal for young
white wines as well as those vintage reds you’ve been saving for a special occasion. From $279.95. riedelglass.com.au
Objects of desire
Jewel purpose
1 Serve guests in Middle Eastern style with
gem-coloured vessels, glassware and bowls.
3
2
9
8
5
10
1
6 11
15
12
14
1 Zaferano Veneziano carafe in Amethyst, $130, from

Jardan 2 Zaferano Veneziano glasses in Amber,
$234 for six, from Jardan. 3 Resin medium Liquid vase
PHOTOGRAPHY ROB SHAW. STYLING AIMEE JONES
in Emerald Swirl, $145, from Dinosaur Designs. 4 Seed

glass vase in Sepia, $285, from Jardan. 5 Denise 13
McDonald bowl in red/teal, $40, from Chinaclay.
6 Agate coaster in Natural, $79 for four, from West Elm.
7 Zaferano Veneziano glass in Amethyst, $234 for six,
from Jardan. 8 Round copper tray, $75, from The DEA
Store. 9 & 10 Nikki Dowdell medium bowl in red, $40, and
small bowl in red, $18, both from Chinaclay. 11 Gold cutlery,
$59 for five-piece place setting, from West Elm. 12 Copper
rectangular tray in blue, $82, from The DEA Store. 13 Trey
brass tray, $360, from Jardan. 14 Copper tray in blue,
$75, from The DEA Store. 15 Orange glass tealight
holder, $10, from Parterre. Stockists p192.
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EATING WITH
Hana Assafiri
The chef and founder of Speed Date a Muslim on the
power of shared food and her chickpea bake.
How I eat
What do you cook at home for comfort? There’s this weird dish
I make with spaghetti and yoghurt. It has yoghurt, tahini, garlic,
pine nuts, almonds, butter, spaghetti and salt and you eat it with
a green lettuce salad with lemon and olive oil. It’s so easy to make
and great when you just need a full belly and sense of satisfaction.
Where in Melbourne do you eat? I’m simple, I’ll eat anything,
M
eet Hana Assafiri. Over the last 20 years, the but I think when a place has integrity the food tastes better.
Melbourne chef and activist has proved that I go back to Punch Lane, and I like The European and Blue
cooking can empower the vulnerable — first Chillies. Otherwise, a falafel is good or a salad at home.
through Moroccan Soup Bar, the North Fitzroy
restaurant that garnered a cult following for its chickpea In 2015, you launched Speed Date a Muslim, a free monthly event
bake, and most recently with Speed Date a Muslim, a monthly that invites the public to ask Muslim women questions about their
event that aims to confront stereotypes of Islam through food and lives. What’s it all about? Speed Date a Muslim is built on the
conversation. Here, she shares her formative culinary influences, belief that human beings are decent, no matter how bigoted
the dishes she returns to again and again and why she thinks or ignorant our perceptions may sometimes be. When you peel
restaurants can break down boundaries. away those layers by engaging with people and you watch people
become curious rather than prejudiced, that’s amazing.
You moved back to Lebanon from Melbourne when you were five.
What were your earliest memories of eating there? The reality What’s next for you? We’re living in a time in which society is
is that upon our arrival in Lebanon everything became scarce fractured and disengaged. I’ve seen a sense of departure from
almost immediately. The fondest meal that comes to mind is the things that make us human: our capacity to reason, to have
bread with a bit of mint, a drizzle of olive oil and a little salt – empathy, to be curious about one another. The next chapter
if you were lucky! for me will be to re-engage community, to continue to empower
women and shift disadvantage. But it’s also about the wisdom
Who has had the biggest influence on the way you cook? For me, of knowing your limitations. This year
food has always been synonymous with the intimacies between I want to bring everything I do back
women. My mum, initially, was the person who influenced “You have to to Moroccan Soup Bar, extend our
me, and then my eldest sister, who’s 17 years older and was opening hours, and run some events
like a mother to me. I developed my perceptions about life back yourself, and conversation salons.
in kitchens and around food. no matter
how afraid Moroccan Soup Bar is known for
What’s diferent about cooking and eating in the Middle East? its chickpea bake. How did you
you are. It’s
In the Middle East, men source the ingredients and bring it come up with such a hit? Constant
to the women, who often put meals together creatively. There’s a lonely improvisation. I love textures and
also a lot of thought put into what a family is going to eat, space, but crunch and taste, and the more I
whether there’s enough protein or enough variety. The other by God it’s offered my version of it, the more
big difference is that we usually eat a bigger meal during the the community had a hunger for
much more
middle of the day, not at the end of the day. it. People think it’s a dessert, or it’s
rewarding.” lasagne, or nachos. Some have said
Your first restaurant, Moroccan Soup Bar, celebrates its 20th it’s like an orchestra in the mouth –
anniversary in June. How did it first come about? It was founded I think it’s the unusual combinations
to provide a safe space for women. I came from a 15-year of flavours. When I wrote my cookbook I was asked if I had any
INTERVIEW NEHA KALE. PHOTOGRAPHY JULIAN KINGMA
background in crisis intervention. The limitations of the trepidation about putting my signature dish in there but I said,
system I was working with meant that the most vulnerable “No, the community made this dish, it’s theirs to have!” ●
members of society were the least likely to be supported.
I then realised that cooking could bring Muslim women
together and validate their expertise. There was no funding
and nobody thought it was a good idea. Friends, family and
siblings all asked, “What are you doing?” We went against all
the conventions in the hospitality industry at the time: it was
vegetarian, there was no alcohol, people had to bring their own
takeaway containers, we had a spoken menu. Now with social
media, the more peculiar you are, the more people like you.
You have to back yourself, no matter how afraid you are.
It’s a lonely space, but by God it’s much more rewarding.
TRAVELLING WITH
Yotam
Ottolenghi
The Israeli-born chef, restaurateur
and food writer on losing his
glasses and inding inspiration.
Where did you go on your first trip abroad?

It must have been to my grandparents’
house outside Florence. The Italian
produce must have cast its spell because
I’m still obsessed with lemons, olive
oil and tomatoes.
What sort of traveller are you? I like to

plan ahead. I need to make sure that
I eat in all the best places because for
me going on holiday is about learning
new things and coming back with lots
of new dishes to cook. One time I got
the wrong information about a place
in Bangkok that I was told served the
best oyster omelette. It took me hours
to find it, and when I got there I found
out that it was closed on Mondays. Now,
I do my research.
How do you combine work with travel?

I have to go abroad on book tours, and
although it’s always a packed schedule,
sometimes with an intimidating number
How I travel
of interviews and events, I make a point of searching for exciting

new places to eat, and I have a quiet dinner and unwind.
Who has been your best travelling companion? The co-author

of my last book Sweet, Helen Goh. We travelled together in
Malaysia about 10 years ago and, more recently, on a book
tour in America. We make each other laugh a lot, sometimes
deliriously so, and we both eat obsessively. I can’t think of a
better companion.
What do you write in the occupation box on forms at Customs?

I used to write “chef” but then, a decade ago, I visited
Morocco and the Customs’ officer wasn’t happy because
he thought I wasn’t being very serious. In French, chef simply
means a chief or a leader and needs further explanation.
How do you deal with eating and air travel? I have to admit I’ve
“I’ve learned to had some decent food mid-air on some long-haul flights – I
pack two pairs of even got an idea for a recipe once – but usually pre-boarding
snacks are essential.
glasses in case
I visit a theme What’s your ideal sort of trip? Anything that combines relaxing,
park with my eating and spending time with my family. I’m always on the
lookout for new inspiration, so local markets with ingredients
boys and lose
I’ve never heard of are a big plus in my book.
my only pair on
a roller-coaster Which of your travels has left the greatest impression on you?
and then have I’ve been hooked on Malaysian cuisine ever since I travelled
to Kuala Lumpur and Penang 10 years ago. My tastebuds
to drive back discovered hot acar pickles, roti canai and tau foo fah (a velvety
practically blind.” soy-milk pudding topped with sugar syrup) – flavours that still Just back from…
influence my cooking to this day. Cape Town. I had
fabulous food in
What are your packing essentials? Lots of snacks, not all the most beautiful
necessarily good for me (gummy bears, on occasion). Lots setting. The highlight
of adaptors to charge everything. Trainers, in case I find was Liam Tomlin’s
the urge to go running, which I hardly ever do. food at Chefs
Warehouse. The
What have you learned the hard way about travelling? To pack smoked trout with
PHOTOGRAPHY THOMAS BUTLER/THE GUARDIAN/HEADPRESS
two pairs of glasses in case I visit a theme park with my boys Cape Malay dressing
and lose my only pair on a caterpillar roller-coaster ride and and curry emulsion
then have to drive back practically blind. was a triumph.
What sort of traveller do you aspire to be? I want to be that Next up…
Northern Ireland.
person that still looks fresh and put together after a long
My husband Karl’s
flight. Alas, I’m still working on that.
family lives in
County Down
Does travel broaden a person’s horizons? Has it broadened yours? and it’s a great
Absolutely, I continue to draw inspiration from the places opportunity for
I travelled to and they inform so many of my dishes. North our children to
Africa, the US, Malaysia and India have all contributed to hang out with
my recipes. My world would have been a lot more boring their grandparents
without them. ● and cousins.
Red dish (with chickpeas) and
black dish (with paprika), both
from The Essential Ingredient.
Opposite: Staub cast iron
casserole from The Essential
Ingredient. Food Processor
from KitchenAid. Avanti mortar
and pestle from Peter’s of
Kensington. All other props
stylist’s own. Stockists p192.
Hummus
They say hummus takes mere minutes
to make but years to perfect. Get the jump
on it with these hard-won tips from
Kepos & Co’s MICHAEL RANTISSI.
Masterclass
To o l k i t
Rantissi’s restaurant Kepos
T
he word hummus in Arabic means “chickpea”. Older & Co, in Sydney’s Waterloo,
cookbooks list the dish as “hummus bi tahini”, covering is known for its rustic hummus
its two key ingredients. It’s an ancient invention, the recipe pounded tableside with a
first recorded in Cairo in the 13th century. Seen far and wide mortar and pestle. On the otherr
in the Middle East and Mediterranean, hummus is made in many hand, over the road at Kepos
different ways, some served hot, some served cold, and, of course, Street Kitchen, Rantissi keeps itt
everyone thinks their version is the best. Classically it was pounded in smoother with a food processor.
a mortar, which will give you a more rustic (and, yes, grainier) texture “There’s no right or wrong
rather than the smoother food-processor version most of us are more hummus,” says Rantissi.
familiar with today. My version here is made with a food processor, the “Only your preference.”
garlic and lemon kept on the subtler side. I hope you enjoy it.
5 6
Step by step
1 In a large saucepan or bowl chickpeas are hydrated; I
PHOTOGRAPHY ALICIA TAYLOR. STYLING ROSIE MEEHAN. FOOD PREPARATION PETA DENT
liquid, discarding the puréed teaspoon of salt and a pinch of

soak 150gm chickpeas in believe they soak up more garlic pulp. This method gives a cumin and blend well, scraping
cold water (at least 4 times the water when they’re not salted. smoother result with a gentler sides occasionally and adding
quantity of the dried chickpeas) garlic taste. more water if necessary.
for at least 12 hours – overnight
is good. I like to change the
water a few times to get rid
3 After 2 hours, if the
chickpeas have softened,
add ¼ teaspoon of baking 5 Drain chickpeas. Reserve a
few for garnish, and blend 6 Transfer to a large bowl and
whisk in 100ml lemon juice
of any impurities or odours powder. (If not, continue the rest in a food processor until (be gentle; you don’t want to
produced by soaking to keep cooking until they soften up they’re reduced to a smooth over-aerate the hummus and
the flavour of the hummus clear. more.) The baking powder paste; this will take about 7 to lose its dense consistency).
helps soften the outer shell of 10 minutes. Add 400gm tahini, Hummus will keep covered
2 Drain the chickpeas and

rinse well. Transfer to a
large saucepan with a lid. Cover
the chickpeas to give a softer
and creamier hummus without
lumps. It also helps to soften
the reserved garlic water, a in the fridge for 5 days.
with at least double the quantity the inner part of the chickpea. Heavenly hummus Canned chickpeas never have quite the same
of water to the chickpeas and Cook for a further hour or until flavour or silkiness, but simmering them for 20 minutes before
bring to the boil. Simmer briskly chickpeas start to break down blending improves their texture. Good dried chickpeas are the key;
for 2 hours, topping up the but are not mushy. I use Kabuli chickpeas, from a grower in Toowoomba. Good tahini
water as necessary. Some also makes a diference. I find hulled tahini creamier and less bitter
cooks salt the water, but I have
never added salt to the soaking
or cooking water. I don’t like
4 Blend 5 garlic cloves in a
food processor with 200ml
water until very smooth. Pour
than unhulled; the Durra brand is my favourite. To garnish, use olive oil,
cumin, paprika, toasted pine nuts or chopped parsley, or make a meal
of it with sautéed minced meat, or mushrooms and onion. Topping
any interference in the way the through a sieve and keep the hummus with burnt butter makes for next-level lusciousness. ●
The explainer
the Middle E
of a s
et
8
s t
e
1
Sw
7 3
5
6
Loaded with nuts and
doused in syrups, the
pastries of the Middle
2
East are renowned
for their crunch and
fragrance. Sticky
ingers ahoy.
1 4
KOL WA SHKOR BAKLAWA The word balurie means glow,
/ kolsh-kor / / bak-la-wah / per the colour of the knafeh.
Often served on special A Middle Eastern classic,
8
occasions, and traditionally this pastry has many variations, BURMA
made with layers of fillo pastry whether its in the nuts used / bur-mah /
wrapped around ground cashew, (pistachio nuts, walnuts or Burma comprise a thick
kol wa shkor, translates as “eat almonds) or its shape, be layer of knafeh dough twisted
and be thankful”. It’s made with it diamond, cigar or floret. around chopped pistachio, pine
much less sugar than regular and cashew nuts. Golden and
5
baklava, with orange blossom OSH EL BULBUL chewy, they’ll often be the first
syrup bringing the sweetness. / ush-el-bul-bul / things to disappear from a plate
Osh el bulbul gets its of pastries. ●
2
LADIES’ FINGERS name from the Arabic for bird’s
/ lay-deez fin-gers / nest, after the shape of the
There are a number of pastry. The nest is filled with
variations of this finger-shaped pistachio or pine nuts then
STYLING ROSIE MEEHAN. ALL PROPS STYLIST’S OWN. SWEETS FROM ABLA’S PASTRIES
baklava. Greece and Cyprus, baked and doused in syrup.

for instance, have daktyla,
6
a deep-fried version filled with BASMA Find
some
almonds, cinnamon and sugar. / bas-mah /
In Lebanon they’re called znoud Fragrant with orange
WORDS HARRIET DAVIDSON. PHOTOGRAPHY ALICIA TAYLOR.
el-sit and are filled with ashta, blossom water, the basma is made Sooo Sweet 6/7 254 Kingston Rd,
an Arabic clotted cream. with knafeh pastry that has been Brisbane, Qld, (07) 3209 1100,
dried, crushed and then bound sooosweet.com.au.
3
M A’A M O U L together. A sticky layer of crushed Balha’s Pastry 761 Sydney Rd,
/ ma-mool / cashew, pistachio or pine nuts sits Brunswick, Vic, (03) 9383 3944,
balhaspastry.com.au.
Pressed by hand in a between the two layers of knafeh.
Adelaide Lebanese Bakery 67 Chapel
wooden mould, the ma’amoul,
St, Thebarton, SA, (08) 8234 9545,
7
which means stuffed in Arabic, BALURIE
adelaidelebanesebakery.com.au.
differs depending on the time of / bal-law-ri-yeh / Little Lebanon Café 13a Wanneroo
year or the celebration. Date paste The vermicelli-like texture Road, Joondanna, WA, (08) 9444 1913,
is the most common filling for this of balurie comes from shredded littlelebanon.com.au.
biscuit, though nuts may make an fillo pastry. These crunchy threads Abla’s Pastries 48 Railway Pde,
appearance at the end of fasting sandwich roughly chopped Granville, NSW, (02) 9637 8092,
or on festive occasions. pistachio nuts in rosewater syrup. ablaspastries.com.au.
Anatomy of a dish
Halal snack pack

The Middle East meets the milk bar in the tasiest of ways.
THE CHEESE
It gets two goes; pre- and
post-meat. Shredded
T
his Australian creation is more there’s the base – that is, the chips supermarket cheese is
than a feed for punters seeking – the foundation from which we build our sprinkled over hot chips, then
late-night ballast: it’s a dish delicacy. Next comes the cheese, a layer of another layer added after the
of our time and a symbol of salty smoothness. On top of that we pile meat. “You can never have
Australia’s cultural diversity, melding kebab up the meat. Lastly, and most importantly, enough cheese,” says Dastyari.
shops with the traditions (and chips) of the the holy trinity of sauces – garlic, BBQ and
old-school milk bar. Former Labor MP chilli.” Its popularity heightened through
Sam Dastyari gave it a mention in federal its dedicated, now 185,000 member-strong,
parliament and it serves as the introduction Facebook group and it was named THE MEAT
to his 2017 memoir, One Halal of a Story: Macquarie Dictionary’s 2016 People’s Choice Halal-certified doner kebab
“We start with the container, because Word of the Year. We’re not all for the meat is shaved from a spit and
there’ll be so much going on; things will styrofoam box and plastic fork but it’s gets a go on the grill before it
tops the chips. Lamb, beef or
need to be kept under control. Then what’s on the inside that matters, right?
chicken, or a mix for the truly
bold, are the options here.
Falafel is a meat-free
alternative, but can you
still call it an HSP?
THE SAUCES
Chilli, garlic and
barbecue make up
the “holy trinity”.
Each is squeezed
across the meat in
a criss-cross fashion,
evenly saucing
STYLING ROSIE MEEHAN. FOOD PREPARATION PETA DENT. ALL PROPS STYLIST’S OWN
the calorific pile.

Hummus, sweet
chilli and tomato
sauce are options,
if you must.
WORDS HARRIET DAVIDSON. PHOTOGRAPHY ALICIA TAYLOR.
THE CHIPS
Thick, crisp and hot,
the chicken-salted,
cheese-sprinkled
chips are the base,
soaking up the juices Find
from the meat and one
all that sauce.

In Melbourne, Rumi’s takeaway version takes things
luxe: spiced roast lamb shoulder on fried potatoes tossed
with toum, za’atar and three cheeses. For the classic,
Sydneysiders hit King Kebab House in Campbelltown.
Eating clean
Chickpea salad
Bowl from Grit
Ceramics. All
other props
stylist’s own.
Stockists p192.
Go-to seed
Tahini is the magic ingredient in many Middle
Eastern dishes, from halwa to salad dressing.
I
magine where we’d be without tahini. Hummus Chickpea salad with
would be a one-dimensional chickpea dip; baba
tahini dressing
RECIPE LISA FEATHERBY. PHOTOGRAPHY ALICIA TAYLOR. STYLING ROSIE MEEHAN

ghanoush would be no more than grilled eggplant.
Think of what tarator, the tahini-garlic sauce, SERVES 4 AS A LIGHT MEAL // PREP TIME 15 MINS
brings to fried cauliflower and falafel, to kofta and A creamy tahini dressing will enhance many salads, but it’s a
calamari. Consider a world without halwa. perfect match with the crunchy radishes, chickpeas and herbs
Tahini is also often an undertone, adding a back- in this bowl. Use hulled or unhulled tahini to suit your taste.
note of nuttiness and richness where it would otherwise
be lacking. When used in a simple dressing – whisked 300 gm cooked or canned 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
with olive oil and lemon juice or vinegar – it can chickpeas, drained 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
transform a chopped Israeli or Turkish-style salad into and rinsed
a standout meze plate, a substantial side to a pan-fried 250 gm (1 punnet) cherry 1 For tahini dressing, combine
fillet of fish, or even a meal on its own. tomatoes ingredients in a bowl, thin to
Organic tahini, found in good health food shops, ½ red onion, finely chopped desired consistency with a little
is tahini at its best; it’s just sesame paste, sure, but a 4 radishes, coarsely chopped water and season to taste.
good example will taste creamy over bitter. That said, 1 bunch flat-leaf parsley, 2 Arrange salad ingredients
unhulled tahini will have a slight bitterness to it, and coarsely chopped in a large serving bowl,
a darker colour than hulled, which tends to have a ¼ cup roasted almonds, separating each ingredient.
more straight-up nutty flavour. A final tip: tahini lasts coarsely chopped Spoon dressing over, season
for a long time, but the longer it’s kept the higher the TAHINI DRESSING to taste and toss to serve. ●
risk it’ll turn rancid, so apply often for best results. 1 tbsp tahini
COOKING WITH
STEAM
The healthy and ef ficient way to
cook all your favourites, with the
ability to lock in vital nutrients
w h i l e a d d i n g b o t h m o i s t u r e a n d f l av o u r.
S t e a m c o o k i n g d e l i v e r s a f u s s -f r e e ,
healthy way to cook , roast or bake.
CRISPY
SKIN
TIPS FOR A
WORTHY ROAST
Roast chicken with cranberry, almond
stufing and crisp hasselback potatoes
FOR RECIPE VISIT
hn.com.au/steam-ovens
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FOR MORE INFORMATION
ELECTROLUX 60CM 16-FUNCTION
STEAM-ASSIST PYROLYTIC OVEN
( EVEP618SC) $1999
COOKING WITH
COMBINATION STEAM
#01
Roasting perfection
Roasting is made easy,

more succulent and
healthier using steam.
You will also find your roast
will hold most of its weight
compared to electric-only
cooking, where up to 20%
can be lost during the
cooking process.
BENEFITS OF COOKING WITH A STEAM OVEN

Food cooked in steam not only tastes wonderfully tender
and juicy, it’s also healthier, with more flavours, nutrients
and minerals retained. Plus, you can cook multiple dishes
at the same time without the flavour transfer. Cleaning up is
a breeze–the moist air on the oven cavity wall heavily reduces
food splatter and spills sticking on the bottom of the oven.
BOSCH SERIES 8
60CM COMBINATION STEAM PYROLYTIC
— LIFT AND
( HRG6767S2A ) $2799 V IOR FIL
SO L
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AKING P
KEY FEATURES
The oven that automatically prepares your
ERFE
dishes, with a PerfectBake sensor and
PerfectRoast thermometer, 15 cooking
TI C
functions, pyrolytic self-cleaning function,
O
N
telescopic rails, TFT touchscreen control
and large 71L capacity.
TECH SPECS
• Made in Germany
• Touchscreen TFT colour display
• Child safety lock
• 15 heating methods
• Baking sensor
EASY CLEAN
During the pyrolytic cleaning function,
Create a honey, ginger and rosemary the oven heats up to 480°C to burn off
glazed ham with a fennel and grease and food residue. What’s left is a
pear salad, topped with apple cider little ash that can be easily wiped clean.
vinegar and Dijon dressing.
Choose from three cleaning programs,
FOR RECIPE VISIT depending on the degree of residue
hn.com.au/steam-ovens that has accumulated, and with
pyrolytic-proof enameled trays, shelf
racking and telescopic rails (available on
certain models), you can leave them in
the oven during the cleaning program, too.
O -USE CONT
S Y-T RO
E A L
S
PERFECTLY CRISP SKIN

When it comes to roasting, the crispier the skin, the better. Create a tender and juicy ham
by simply patting the meat dry with a paper towel and rubbing salt all over the skin.
With a steam oven, put your ham onto a universal pan and cook at level one. The space VISIT HN.COM.AU/STEAM-OVENS
around the dish also needs good air circulation, which is essential for an even, consistent cook. FOR MORE INFORMATION
COOKING WITH
COMPACT STEAM
#02
STEAMING SEAFOOD
SUCCULENT
SEAFOOD
Keep your seafood moist and
tasty with the Smeg compact
steam oven that locks in B E S T F E AT U R E S O F
flavour and nutrients so your
seafood is always as fresh as
A C O M PAC T S T E A M
the day it was caught. C O M B I N AT I O N OV E N
The smaller capacity of a compact
steam combination oven delivers quicker
heat-up with less energy consumption.
Use steam and convection cooking at
the same time, or use the electric oven
or even the grill independently.
S M E G C L A S S I C C O M PAC T
BUILT-IN COMPACT STEAM COMBINATION OVEN ( SFA4395VCX1 ) $3,475
SMEG WARMING DRAWER ( CTPA3015X ) $1590
COMPACT SIZE,
BIG IMPACT
With the Smeg 60cm Classic
compact steam oven and warming KEY FEATURES
drawer, you can treat your kitchen Smeg steam ovens util
to the class, style and functionality distributed steam that
that it deserves. Without having the base in order to br
to change your kitchen, to the perfect level of t
simply update your oven and retaining a healthier vitamin content.
start cooking with steam. Smeg’s SmartSense auto menus set
cooking times, with the Ever Clean
Enamel interior and the Vapour
Clean function, it’s an absolute ease
to clean. Soft Close Door technology
keeps the door from slamming
TECH SPECS closed, and stops it dropping open.
• Fingerprint-proof stainless steel
• High visibility black glass
• 5 cooking functions
• 20 SmartSense auto menus
• Large LCD display
• 50L cooking capacity
• 3 cooking levels
• 1.2L water tank capacity
• Thermostat control 30 - 100ºC
• Fully programmable
• Child safety lock
P LAY, E A SY-
E DIS TO
RG - U
LA
SE
Steamed lobster tails with verjuice

and tarragon, spaghetti with roasted
truss tomatoes and chervil.
FOR RECIPE VISIT
E R THAT
D RAW YO RESTAURANT QUALITY MEALS AT HOME
U
I NG Cooking lobster can be overwhelming, but with a steam oven it’s super easy. Because steam creates moisture
CA
M
instead of dry heat there’s no risk of dry, flaky, unpalatable flesh. Instead, the steam traps the flavour and the
AR
goodness, so not only do you get a juicy and succulent lobster, you get the most nutritious version of it.
AL
AW
So, instead of heading out to a fancy restaurant, get that master chef feeling from your very own kitchen.
SO CO OK I N
VISIT HN.COM.AU/STEAM-OVENS
COOKING WITH
COMBI STEAM
#03
baking perfection
BEST IN BAKING
Bread is one of the most
popular things to cook
using steam. Still crusty on
the outside but with more
moisture and texture on the
inside, it’s easy to bake and
you can even create your
own flavour profiles.
N E W WAY I N C O O K I N G W I T H O U T
U P DAT I N G YO U R K I TC H E N
As dimensions of cooking appliances haven’t really
changed for the last 50 years, updating to the latest
technology in most cases is as easy as out with the
old and in with the new; no need to replace the entire
kitchen just to get the best that innovation has to offer.
No matter what level of cook you are, most of these
ovens will almost do the cooking for you and deliver
better results.
M I E L E S T E A M C O M B I N AT I O N OV E N
60CM CLEANSTEEL STEAM COMBINATION OVEN
( DGC6800XL ) $7599
KEY FEATURES
CAPACITY The Miele 570mm Combi Steam
48L oven capacity, combination
and Electric Oven will take pride
mode with FanPlus, Grill or
of place in your kitchen. With a
Conventional heat, steam-only mode,
spacious 48L capacity, you’ll be
150+ automatic programs, humidity
provided with ample room for
sensor, wireless food probe.
cooking poultry, whole fish or any
other delicious dish that you dream
of. Ten cooking functions, 150+
automatic programs, a steam-only
mode, humidity sensor, a wireless
food probe and a range of
additional features will help
TECH SPECS expand your culinary repertoire.
• Steam combination oven
• Full colour touch sensitive
TFT display
• Wireless food probe
• 3 shelf levels
• 100% steam
• Humidity sensor
• Perfect clean
No knead seeded spelt bread.
FOR RECIPE VISIT
F A B U T TO N
HO RE
UC V
TO
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WAT
E R R E S OV
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OUCH DISPLA
I CT Y
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ELE
OV
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BAKE YOUR OWN BREAD

Steam transforms home-baked bread by enabling a great rise and a beautiful crust. Plus, scoring
the loaf provides a strategic vent to release fermentation gases during baking. With proper
scoring and steaming your efforts will result in a fully open loaf with great shape and texture.
SIT HN.COM.AU/STEAM-OVENS
COOKING WITH
SOUS VIDE
#04
LOCK IN THE FLAVOUR
STELLAR SALMON
The Steampro Steam Oven
with SousVide function does
everything an oven can do,
to perfection, every time.
Nail that salmon dish by cooking
at a low and slow heat. Choose
the right oven setting and
the ultra-smart AEG Steampro
will switch itself of
when it’s done.
P E R F E C T R E S U LT S . E V E RY T I M E .
Every meal should be an experience. AEG created the SteamPro oven
with full steam. It has three cooking modes — heat, steam and a
combination of both. In combination mode it will automatically calculate
exactly the right level of heat and steam. Whether you’re roasting or
grilling meats, baking bread, creating delicate desserts or using the
Sous Vide feature as seen in many professional restaurants around the
world, you can be confident your cooking will be elevated to another level.
AEG STEAMPRO
60CM STEAMPRO, PURE STEAM, SOUS VIDE HUMIDITY SENSOR OVEN COMBINED
WITH CONVECTION OVEN & GRILL (BSK892330M) $4999
AEG PRECISIONVAC VACUUM SEALER DRAWER (KDK911423M) $3999
OV E N — E A
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KEY FEATURES ST R
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With three cooking modes – heat, steam
E-
ET
FIL
and a combination of both – plus a sous
PL
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COM
vide feature that automatically calculates
the optimum level of steam and heat,
R BA K I N G
with the SteamPro your meals are limited
only by your imagination.
PE
RF
TECH SPECS EC
• Anti-fingerprint stainless steel N
TIO
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SOUS VIDE IN FOUR STEPS

Get ultimate control over your dishes with the
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You’ll be amazed at your own cooking.
T LED DISP
IGH LA
Whole salmon fillet with pickled BR Y
red onion and capers, served with a
quinoa, kale and coriander salad.
FOR RECIPE VISIT
THE SECRET TO LOCKED IN FLAVOUR

Delivering the perfect amount of steam for every dish — the advanced humidity sensor continuously
adjusts temperature and moisture levels in the oven to suit the type of food you are cooking.
This not only leads to more efficient water usage, but ensures that every dish is cooked to perfection.
Sous vide is the most efficient way to marinate protein; if you vacuum seal protein with the flavours
or marinade, 30 minutes in a sealed bag is equivalent to overnight in the fridge in a covered bowl.
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Harvey Norman® stores are operated by independent franchisees. Offers end 04/07/2018 FOR MORE INFORMATION
A star in
the war, and Gaston’s son Serge went on to study
oenology in Bordeaux in the 1950s, solidifying their
relationship with the French region. The younger
Hochar took over as Musar winemaker at age
29 after giving his father an ultimatum: “I want
the East The Middle East may seem an unlikely

to make the wine my way, I want it to be known
worldwide – and I want you to quit!”
During the Lebanese Civil War, from 1975 to
1990, Serge Hochar steadfastly continued to make
wine, trucking grapes to the winery from his vineyards
in the Bekaa Valley near the Syrian border, often
source for a good drop, but this is where running a gantlet of machine guns and mortar fire.
This alone is enough to merit admiration, but the
wine was born, writes MAX ALLEN. wine Hochar made was also very good, particularly
the red Chateau Musar, an unusual, long-lived
blend of Bordeaux’s noble cabernet sauvignon
and the underrated carignan and cinsault, red
grapes from France’s hot south.
Like Hemingway, in the last decades of his
T
he world’s oldest winery is in a cave life Serge Hochar was renowned as much for his
in a remote valley in Armenia. Here, charismatic public persona and his idiosyncratic
archaeologists have found remains pronouncements as for what he produced. There’s
of a fermenting vat, a wine press and even a touch of Hemingway to Hochar’s end: the
grape seeds dating back more than 6,000 years. 75-year-old died just after Christmas in 2014 while
Researchers have found similarly ancient examples swimming in Acapulco.
of winegrowing in both Turkey and Iran. Serge’s brother, Ronald, and sons, Gaston and
We don’t need archaeologists, of course, to tell Marc, along with Ronald’s son Ralph, continue to
us that the Middle East was the birthplace of wine. build on Hochar’s legacy, maintaining the style of
The Bible is dripping in it: Noah was the world’s first Chateau Musar itself, but also taking the business
vigneron, and Jesus was a big fan, turning water into in different directions: planting new grapes such as
wine, and wine into his own blood. chardonnay and viognier; converting the vineyards
Today, though, the Middle East might not be the to organic farming; and launching a new range of
first place that comes to mind when we think of wine younger, more modern wines under the Jeune label.
production. Most people’s immediate perception of
the region, I suspect, is that alcohol is forbidden in
many modern Muslim countries, while wars and civil
unrest afflict the others.
But there’s still plenty of wine being made in
the Middle East. A younger generation of Turkish
NE
CE TE M PLE
Y B U T FI
winemakers, for example, are rediscovering their local

grape varieties – such as öküzgözü, or “bull’s eye”,
which I wrote about in these pages recently – and are
OUD
SPI
making delicious, medium-bodied, characterful wines

CL
from them. And Israel is enjoying a vinous renaissance,

To p d r o p s o f t h e m o n t h
boasting more than 300 boutique producers and

a thriving wine culture in the capital cities.
Perhaps the most famous of all Middle Eastern Hurdle Creek Still 2016 Domaine Vincent
Pastis, King Valley, $95 Paris Saint-Joseph,
wineries, though, is Lebanon’s Chateau Musar. It’s
This lovely local Rhône Valley, $50
not the only winery in that country, or the oldest,
anise-flavoured spirit Brilliant expression of
but Musar has gained particular fame partly because is infused with indigenous the syrah (aka shiraz)
its backstory reads more like a Hemingway novel botanicals mintbush grape from one of
than the evolution of a wine business. and anise myrtle. Add northern Rhône’s finest
The winery was founded just north of Beirut a splash of water and winemakers: gorgeous
in 1930 by 20-year-old Gaston Hochar. In the early watch it go cloudy. lifted peppery spice.
1940s, Gaston befriended a Bordeaux chateau owner, Louche, baby, louche. Imported by
Ronald Barton, who was stationed in Lebanon for hurdlecreekstill.com.au redandwhite.com.au
Drinks
From left: L’Arack
de Musar, Jeune Red,
1999 Chateau Musar
and Jeune White. “Chateau Musar is
not the only winery
in Lebanon, or
the oldest, but it has
gained particular fame Recently I tasted
partly because its the Musar wines
(and a gorgeous
backstory reads like
spirit) currently
a Hemingway novel.” available in
Australia, and
was reminded how distinctive and delicious they
are, particularly after a few years in the bottle.
The 2016 Jeune White ($30) is a blend of the white
grapes just mentioned, plus vermentino, and is a
golden, textural, deeply savoury wine – the kind of dry
white you want on your table whenever salty fried fish
is served. The 2014 Jeune Red (also $30) takes Musar’s
signature cabernet and cinsault grapes and blends
them with syrah, producing a gutsy, fleshy, bold wine
that would be a very happy match with garlicky lamb.
The current Chateau Musar is the 2009 vintage
($100), and it’s still quite closed and youthful –
though decanting and splashing it into a big glass
reveals lovely hedgerow fruit and an appealing
balsamic tang. The 1999 (also around $100), by
contrast, is just hitting its straps: earthy and quite
rustic to smell, it comes alive in the mouth, with
silky red fruit perfectly balanced by long, fine,
grippy tannins. A great bottle of mature red wine.
To top it all off, there’s L’Arack de Musar ($80),
a superfine, aniseed-flavoured spirit distilled from
the estate’s wine and aged in terracotta amphorae.
It’s 53 per cent alcohol but is surprisingly sweet,
smooth and balanced, even when tasted without
the customary dash of water. One sip and you’re
transported to a small café in Beirut, your senses
suffused with the sights and sounds of the city. ●
PAINTED IN DULUX SYMPHONY RED. BRASS TRAY FROM LIVING EDGE. GLASS
STYLING AIMEE JONES. ILLUSTRATION LAUREN HAIRE. PROPS: BACKGROUND
ALL PACKAGE
UTHFILLING
AIG HT UP
P URSE
CELLAR ME
FROM WEST ELM. ALL OTHER PROPS STYLIST’S OWN. STOCKISTS P192.
PHOTOGRAPHY CHRIS JANSEN (TOP DROPS) & ROB SHAW (MAIN).
SIL K
ST R
MO
SM
2015 Grosset Gaia, Willett Straight Rye 2013 Emidio Pepe 2017 Chapel Hill Home 2017 Kalleske
Clare Valley, $83 Whiskey, Kentucky, $145 Trebbiano d’Abruzzo, $170 Grown Shiraz Mourvèdre, Elenore Semillon,
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ever of this eminently whiskey from recently trebbiano, a grape Sometimes a whole bottle I’m a big fan of Barossa
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cabernet blend: exquisite Bourbon distillery, Willett. and turn it into magical, All you want is a cheeky fuller-flavoured and riper
perfume of cassis and Swirling aromas of rich long-lived white wine: little half. Stash a few than Hunter sém. This
bay leaf, elegant and toasted rye, oats and grain, scintillating with flavours of these away for such outstanding example fills
sinewy in structure with creamy texture, lingering of lemon pith and chalk. occasions: bold, juicy, gutsy, the mouth with rich but
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Melbourne review
Solo
exhibit
Phil Wood’s talents are front and
centre at his new ine diner, Laura,
writes MICHAEL HARDEN. its troughs filled with dried figs
cooked in estate pinot noir, mixed
with candied lemon rind and
topped with a delicate, foam-like
T
he first course is called once you stick a fork in them. But lemon cream. It’s a clever, delicate
Land and Garden and at Laura, the plot thickens. combination. Then suddenly there’s
it’s like unwrapping a There’s plenty to get excited cumin ice-cream and candied
present. A section of about at Pt Leo Estate. You’d hope walnuts. As they emerge from
roasted onion sits on top of slices so, given that $50 million has been under the meringue, they seamlessly
of carrot, next to a pool of beetroot spent building the sculpture park add a more complex Christmas
sauce and topped with pink-tipped, and its glass-fronted cellar door and pudding-like layer to the mix.
finely julienned radish. Under restaurant building. The estate’s sea There’s less sleight-of-hand in
the onion cap are delicate lion’s views, broken only by the occasional Livestock, but it’s still theatrical,
mane mushrooms braised in the Cragg, Plensa, Halpern, King or arriving sealed in a black crust of
style of teriyaki, mixed with Meadmore, are impressive. But salt and ash. Broken open at the
shiitakes from Benton Rise. They the food offering is equally stirring. table, it reveals braised lamb brisket
taste like chicken and are teamed Big budgets can breed hubris in a and neck pressed with chicken
with steamed abalone to great restaurant but there’ve been no bad mousse and figs, wrapped in fig
textural effect. But wait. Like decisions here. The choice of Phil leaves from Cape Schanck. It comes
so much at Laura, it gets better Wood as culinary director has with a decision: would you like the
as you go deeper. proven decisive. hot-and-sour or Tuscan chicken-liver
There’s surprise and delight Clockwise, from Over four, five or six courses, sauce? With livers, pancetta,
above: Flinders
already – carrots revealing a hint of mussels with
his food at Laura (the restaurant rosemary and wine in the equation,
PHOTOGRAPHER JULIAN KINGMA
star anise, the beetroot sauce edged seaweed butter is named for the Jaume Plensa it’s the Tuscan by a nose.
with sesame oil – but then, a few and Peninsula sculpture out front) balances The choices are all good in
corn; chef Phil
bites in, you find a magnificent precision cooking and artful plating this serene space. Separated by
Wood, sommelier
curry emulsion. Somewhere Andrew Murch with elements of surprise. The glass from Pt Leo Estate’s busy
between mousse and mayo in and restaurant perception of what you’re eating can bistro and cellar door, Laura’s
texture, it’s like a twist in the tale. manager Ainslie change from one bite to the next. dining room is light and tranquil.
Lubbock; Dutch
Most dishes in restaurants present cream potato Orchards, the dessert course, The detailing is timber, the tables
well and then get less interesting with caviar. is a wave-like ripple of meringue, topped with leather. Earthenware ➤
AND ALSO…
THE BIG CHILL

Above: Some forward planning is called
meringue with for now that ex-McConnell staffers
lemon cream, (John-Paul Twomey, Andrew Joy) and
figs and cumin
ice-cream. Left:
former Coda sommelier Travis Howe
the dining room. have taken over Carlton Wine Room
(above). Relaxed sophistication is the
word and crowds are lapping it up.
Twomey’s food includes a cult-ready
dish of grilled broccoli tossed with
lardons, parmesan and shaved egg
yolk, potato focaccia teamed with
stracciatella and a rum baba. Howe’s
wine list is very Melbourne 2018, Old
and New World leaning to smaller,
Details low-interventionists. 172-174 Faraday
vases of native flora, black-handled made with Taralinga olive oil St, Carlton, (03) 9347 2626
Cutipol cutlery and Zalto glassware and served with Cape Schanck oil,
conspire to form an impression of both from the Peninsula. Plump Laura ADVANCE AUSTRALIA FAIR
urbane elegance. The backdrop is mussels, cold smoked and mixed Pt Leo Estate, High Street in Windsor has increased
3649 Frankston- its One To Watch stocks with Galah. Its
all sculpture, paddock and sea. with pistachio nuts, dried tomatoes,
Flinders Rd, downstairs bottle shop sells small-
The service team has impressive seaweed butter and Peninsula corn,
Merricks, batch, low-intervention Australian
credentials and proves calm, precise are from down the road at Flinders. wines to take away or drink upstairs.
and never over-eager. The wine list The Peninsula is small though, (03) 5989 9011,
ptleoestate.com.au The cocktails hold a flame for Aussie
displays similar confidence. and its supply capacity limited. It spirits: The Bleeding Lime Larrikin is
Licensed
Bound in black leather, its makes sense that some ingredients a sour with West Winds gin, lemon
Cards AE MC V EFT
38 pages cover a lot. It’s democratic have to be found further afield. Open Lunch Thu- juice, lemon aspen and egg white with
in its approach to big-name and Nobody sane would begrudge the Sun noon-2.30pm; blood lime. The snacks are less true
low-intervention winemaking and imported caviar that’s teamed with dinner Thu-Sat blue (apart from wattleseed-rubbed
has Victoria as one focus, Estate Yarra Valley trout roe to accompany 6pm-9.30pm kangaroo loin) but are sturdily cooked,
wines mixing with the likes of Mac a superb slow-cooked local Dutch Prices from tempura cauliflower to mountain-
Forbes riesling and Best’s dolcetto. cream potato doused in butter 4 courses $120, pepper chicken wings. 216 High St,
There are sections devoted to Italy, sauce and miso cream. But pairing 5 courses $130, Windsor, (03) 9521 5325
France, Spain, Portugal and Austria Spencer Gulf prawns with perfectly 6 courses $140
Vegetarian IT’S ONLY NATURAL
but with no grandstanding. It’s steamed John Dory or offering
On request Natural History is worth a visit for
knowledgeable and trustworthy. oysters and abalone from New
Noise A low the taxidermy diorama alone. Morgan
Wood’s last gig was at South Wales seems a little out of McGlone (Belles Hot Chicken) has
Sydney’s Eleven Bridge, a fine whack with the implied remit. But murmur
Wheelchair partnered with Honkytonks’ designer
diner that showcased his impeccable it’s a small quibble in the face of an Michael Delany for this New York-style
access Yes
technique, affinity for seafood original and enormously satisfying bar and grill with flamboyant results.
Minus Some
and dedication to putting the tasty dining experience. ingredient choices The menu offers steaks, a wagyu
ahead of the tricky. In addition to Laura is one of the most exciting are puzzlingly far burger, a Cajun fish sandwich and
calling the shots in the kitchen, his openings of the year. Wood’s deft from the Peninsula beef tartare. The wine is mostly natural
role at Laura has another difference: twists and turns and gorgeously Plus Phil and the cocktails strong. 401 Collins St,
the Mornington Peninsula. composed flavours are the work of Wood polishing Melbourne, (03) 9982 1811
The focus on regional produce an artist. He’s found a natural Mornington
is present in every dish. Brioche is home among the sculpture. ● Peninsula’s best
Life Tastes Better With a Liebherr
Your Elegant Solution for Preserving Wine & Food
home.liebherr.com.au
Sydney review
Harts
beat
Hartsyard 2.0 rifs on its previous form,
but with a lighter, more up-tempo
rhythm, writes PAT NOURSE.
Brewery bread, two dense, of give and resistance between

toast-brown pucks made with the two lead ingredients, plus
spent grain from the beardy beer the shattery crunch brought
guys at Young Henry’s down the by bugak, Korean-style chips of
road, comes with a large clot seaweed coated in glutinous-rice
of cultured butter, splashed in flour, make it a pleasure to eat.
turn with an oil flavoured with If the tomatoes were top-shelf,
the French curry-spice blend it’d be a table-thumper.
“H
ave we ordered vadouvan. Is $11 expensive for The food is definitely lighter.
a meal entirely bread? Maybe. But it seems just This is of course a relative concept
of crackers and about right for oiled butter. in a restaurant that made its
dip?” asks my pal. This is Hartsyard 2.0. The name saucing buttermilk fried
Whoops. Didn’t Cher’s character hardware is much the same – chicken with sausage gravy, topping
in Mermaids make dinners entirely boiler-room glam, the tables poutine with short ribs and putting
from canapés? Clearly a woman nude, the chairs metal, the marble bacon in the Manhattans.
ahead of her time. But Hartsyard’s bar complemented by Edison bulbs Now the fried chicken has
offerings aren’t hors d’oeuvre dainty and shelves crafted from pipe – and moved up the street to Wish Bone,
– they’re robust things full of the buzzy, neighbourhoody vibe the new eatery that Hartsyard’s
Above: scampi
flavour. This is what they do here. and prawn
has deepened since it opened back owners, manager Naomi Hart
Cheddar puffs are crunchier tartare with in 2012. But the software has been and chef Gregory Llewellyn, have
and less ephemeral than the name salt and vinegar updated, putting the focus more fashioned from what used to be
PHOTOGRAPHY ROB SHAW
chips. Above
might imply, more like savoury on fish and vegetables. their bar, The Gretz. The bull-in-a-
right, from
crostoli, powdered with what left: co-owners The best example of this new lolly-shop desserts that were once a
our waitress calls Reuben spice, Naomi Hart approach is wedges of a beefsteaky feature, meanwhile, have followed
dotted with rounds of kohlrabi and Gregory raw tomato with bits of barbecued former pastry chef Andrew Bowden
Llewellyn with
and served with an airy dollop head chef calamari, small leaves of basil and a couple of blocks up Enmore Road
of Dijon mustard. Jarrod Walsh. a whipped-sesame sauce. The play to his new café, Saga.
Sydney review
Tomato and AND ALSO…

barbecued calamari
with whipped-sesame
sauce. Below right:
cherry and wales
with buttermilk
ice-cream.
ÉTÉ IT UP
What Été (above) lacks in charm,
it makes up for in a smart wine
list, complemented by a very cool
seasonal selection of all-French
reserve wines poured via Coravin.
The food also has its moments, not
least the fine brunoise-cut beef
tartare, flavoured with oyster and
textured with crisp onion rings.
T1.03 Tower 1, Barangaroo Ave,
Barangaroo, (02) 9052 5383
STRAIGHT TO THE TAPAS

The tagline is “unapologetically
Spanish” and if lots of noise
and an atmosphere of barely
contained chaos form any part
Still, this is not a kitchen
of your cherished memories of
that likes to pull its punches. So
eating in Spain, you’ll find much
there’s quite a lot of sauce and joy at Bar Tapa. It aims to capture
cheese in evidence, even with all menu and the smart, concise classic tapas with no mucking
the greens and seafood. A tartare wine list. You get the impression around: gazpacho, tortilla,
of scampi and prawn, for instance, that they’re used to having more patatas bravas and mayo-rich
has the intensity dialled up with customers than seats. ensalada Rusa. Sherry and ham
a profusion of dollops of saffron- There are two desserts, one Details
options are more approachable
tinged rouille, the mayonnaise-like a chocolate confection involving than encyclopedic, and everything
sauce traditionally served with tahini and miso, the other cherries is priced competitively.
bouillabaisse. There’s orange sprinkled among hunks of waffle, 78 Stanley St, Darlinghurst
Hartsyard 2.0
flying-fish roe sprinkled over a scattering of pistachio and a scoop 33 Enmore Rd,
it, too, and is that some sort of of buttermilk ice-cream. Not quite A FEW GOOD MENG
Newtown,
What if Osher Günsberg decided
crustacean oil in there as well? your herbal-dryad, produce-forward (02) 8068 1473,
to leverage his fame hosting
The potato chips on the side are options of the now, but a departure hartsyard.com.au
The Bachelor to open a string of
coated in a dust – this is a pro-dust from the old Mr-Whippy-breaks-bad Open Dinner
dumpling shops? It hasn’t happened
sort of place – made of salt and days of yore. Tue-Sat 6pm-11pm
yet, but Mr Meng, the noodle-bar
freeze-dried vinegar. The raw Reading back over the notes Prices Shared
chain opened by Meng Fei,
scampi and prawn end up more I made after visiting Hartsyard plates $14-$32,
Chongqing-born host of Chinese
a textural note in the end, rather 1.0 when it first opened I’m desserts $18
dating show If You Are the One
than a taste in and of themselves. reminded of hoping for a bit more Cards MC V EFT
provides a blueprint. The new
Vegetarian
It’s a charm-offensive of a dish, light and shade on the menu. Now branch on the top floor of Market
Nine dishes
and if it wins you, it’s with there are more of those silences that City is the second in Australia and
Noise Noisy
exuberance rather than subtlety. make the music. The kitchen still the first in Sydney; properly spicy
Wheelchair
With the exception of the bangs it out loud, but for Hartsyard Chongqing noodle soups are the
access No
effortlessly welcoming Naomi 2.0 it has changed key and mastered focus, but it also does a good
Minus A little rich
Hart, service can swing Newtown- some new tunes. If you’re looking line in dan dan noodles. Level 3,
and busy at times
Market City, 9-13 Hay St, Haymarket
direct rather than engagingly for up-tempo dining with a beat Plus Flavour
hospitable, but everyone seems that’s easy to get behind, these and character
to have a good handle on the guys are playing your song. ● to the max
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JUNE
QUICK
MEALS
Recipes MAX ADEY Photography BEN DEARNLEY
Styling LISA FEATHERBY Merchandising ROSIE MEEHAN
Roasted
pumpkin
with zhoug
p 62
Hawayej-spiced chicken thigh cutlets
SERVES 4
Hawayej, a spice blend from Yemen, adds depth and complexity
to simply roasted chicken thighs. A refreshing salad of cucumber,
red onion, coriander and mint makes a fine accompaniment, and
flatbread will help mop up all the juices. Or serve it with a bowl
of Turkish cracked wheat salad (see recipe at right).
Turkish cracked wheat salad SERVES 4
8 chicken thigh cutlets, 1 Preheat oven to 220°C. For Kisir, a Turkish salad based on burghul, is quick to prepare and goes
bone in, skin on hawayej, dry-roast caraway well with just about any protein. If you’re serving this salad on its
4 garlic cloves, crushed seeds and black peppercorns in own, add some chickpeas to make it more substantial. It keeps well,
2 tbsp olive oil a frying pan over medium-high too, so make double and you’ll have another meal ready to go.
Pickled long green heat until fragrant (30 seconds
chillies and Greek-style to 1 minute; see cook’s notes 300 gm coarse burghul, rinsed 1 Cook burghul in a large
yoghurt, to serve p192). Coarsely crush with 1 small red onion, finely saucepan of boiling salted water
HAWAYEJ SPICE MIX a mortar and pestle and stir chopped until tender (6-8 minutes). Drain.
1 tsp caraway seeds in remaining spices. ½ cup (loosely packed) mint, 2 For roasted capsicum
1 tsp black peppercorns 2 Combine chicken, garlic coarsely chopped dressing, place ingredients
1 tsp ground cumin and olive oil in a large bowl. ½ cup (loosely packed) flat-leaf in a blender, season to taste
1 tsp ground turmeric Add spice mixture and toss parsley, coarsely chopped and blend until well combined.
1 tsp ground coriander seeds to combine. Spread chicken ROASTED CAPSICUM DRESSING 3 Transfer burghul to a serving
½ tsp ground cardamom on an oven tray lined with 75 gm (3 pieces) roasted dish and toss with onion and
¼ tsp ground cloves baking paper and roast until capsicum (see note) herbs, season to taste and
golden and juices run clear 125 ml (½ cup) olive oil drizzle with dressing to serve.
when pierced with a skewer 60 ml (¼ cup) lemon juice Note Roasted capsicum is
(18-22 minutes). Serve with 1 tbsp pomegranate molasses available from delicatessens
pickled chillies and yoghurt. 3 garlic cloves, finely grated or supermarkets.
Quick meals
PREVIOUS PAGE Surface

from Earp Bros (used
throughout). All other props
stylist’s own. Salad All props
stylist’s own. Chicken All
props stylist’s own. Cracked
wheat Pouring bowl from The
DEA Store. All other props
Beetroot and orange salad

with sumac dressing SERVES 4
This simple winter salad can be served as is or beefed up
with some pan-fried fish or shredded roast chicken.
4 beetroot (about 150gm SUMAC DRESSING 1 For sumac dressing, place

each), peeled and coarsely 60 ml (¼ cup) extra-virgin ingredients in a small jar and
grated olive oil shake well to combine.
3 oranges, peeled 1 tbsp red wine vinegar 2 Combine beetroot, orange,
and thinly sliced 2 tsp sumac, plus extra onion and herbs in a bowl,
¼ small red onion, thinly sliced to serve drizzle with a little dressing,
½ cup (loosely packed) Finely grated rind and juice season to taste and toss
flat-leaf parsley, torn of ½ lemon to combine. Serve drizzled
½ cup (loosely packed) ½ garlic clove, finely grated with remaining dressing and
mint, torn sprinkled with extra sumac. ➤
Quick meals
Roasted pumpkin with zhoug SERVES 4
Zhoug is a hot green sauce from Yemen that’s often added to soups and stews for a fresh and fiery finish.
Here we’ve paired it with sweet roasted pumpkin for a no-fuss side that’s a winner with chicken.
1.2 kg Jap pumpkin, skin on, 1 Preheat oven grill to high. mortar and pestle. Add chilli,
cut into 8 wedges Place pumpkin wedges skin-side garlic and remaining spices,
2 tbsp olive oil down on an oven tray lined with season to taste and pound
Roasted sesame seeds baking paper, drizzle with oil until broken down (1-2 minutes).
(optional), to serve and toss to coat, then grill, Add coriander and half the oil,
ZHOUG turning occasionally, until pound to break down leaves
1 tsp caraway seeds golden, softened and slightly (30 seconds), then stir in lemon
3 long green chillies, charred (20-22 minutes). juice and remaining oil and
coarsely chopped 2 Meanwhile, for zhoug, season to taste. Serve pumpkin
3 garlic cloves, coarsely dry-roast caraway seeds in a topped with zhoug and
chopped frying pan over medium-high scattered with sesame seeds.
¾ tsp ground cardamom heat until fragrant (1 minute;
¼ tsp ground cloves see cook’s notes p192).
1 cup (firmly packed) Coarsely crush with a
coriander leaves,
coarsely chopped
60 ml (¼ cup) extra-virgin
olive oil
1½ tbsp lemon juice
Lamb meatballs
All props stylist’s
own. Pumpkin Mortar
and pestle from The
DEA Store. All other
props stylist’s own.
Stockists p192.
2 tbsp olive oil

Sumac, torn mint leaves and
lemon wedges, to serve
LAMB MEATBALLS
1 small red onion
500 gm finely minced lamb
2 garlic cloves, finely grated
1 tsp ground cumin
½ tsp ground allspice
PINE NUT SAUCE
50 gm pine nuts, coarsely
crushed with a mortar and
pestle, plus extra whole pine
nuts to serve
50 gm unhulled tahini
½ garlic clove, finely grated
Finely grated rind of
1 lemon, juice of ½
1 To make meatballs, finely

chop onion in a food processor,
scraping down the sides
occasionally (1-2 minutes),
then add mince, garlic and
spices, season to taste, and
process until mixture comes
together (30 seconds-1 minute).
Roll into 12 balls (about 50gm
each) with wet hands and
refrigerate until required.
2 For pine nut sauce, whisk
ingredients in a jug with 100ml
water to combine and season
to taste.
3 Heat oil in a large non-stick
frying pan over medium heat,
Lamb meatballs with tahini add meatballs and cook, turning
and pine nut sauce SERVES 4 occasionally until browned all
over and cooked to your liking
This meatball recipe rifs on the Palestinian
lamb siniyah, a dish of lamb baked with tahini. (6-7 minutes for medium).
We’ve turned the lamb into meatballs and added Spoon pine nut sauce over
crushed pine nuts to the tahini sauce for some kofta in pan so it warms up a
more texture. To make this a full meal, try piling little, then sprinkle with sumac,
it all into flatbreads with sumac onions or serve top with mint and extra pine
a burghul salad on the side. nuts and serve with lemon. ➤
Soup All props stylist’s
own. Toum Bowl from
The DEA Store. Pears
Side plate from The
DEA Store. All other
props stylist’s own.
Stockists p192.
Toum with quick za’atar flatbread

and haloumi SERVES 4
Toum, the pungent, luxurious garlic emulsion, is often served with
Red lentil soup with yoghurt charcoal chicken, falafel or sharwama, but we’ve gone all out and
and coriander SERVES 4-6 served it as a dip with za’atar flatbread, haloumi and radishes.
This lentil soup, known as shorbat adas, is often served during

Ramadan, and has many variations across the Middle East. 300 gm (2 cups) plain flour, smooth, scraping down
Our take is blended lightly to retain texture and is served with plus extra for dusting sides (1-2 minutes). Combine
yoghurt for freshness. Try topping it with chilli for a little heat. 130 ml olive oil, plus extra grapeseed oil with 80ml olive oil
for shallow-frying in a jug and, with motor running,
40 gm butter 1 Melt butter in a large 2 tsp sumac slowly pour combined oils into
1 red onion, finely chopped saucepan over medium-high 2 tsp finely chopped food processor in a thin, steady
2 celery stalks, finely heat. Add onion, celery and thyme leaves stream to make an emulsified
chopped garlic, season to taste, and 2 tsp roasted sesame seeds sauce. Season to taste with
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped sauté until onion is translucent 8 garlic cloves salt and lemon juice. Toum will
2 tsp ground cumin (3-4 minutes). Add spices and 1½ tbsp lemon juice, or to taste keep refrigerated in an airtight
2 tsp ground coriander seeds cook, stirring often, until fragrant 175 ml grapeseed or other container for 3 weeks.
1 tsp ground turmeric (1-2 minutes), then add stock and neutral-flavoured oil 3 Divide dough into 4 and roll
1.75 litres (7 cups) chicken or bring to the boil. Add lentils, 250 gm haloumi, thickly sliced out on a lightly floured surface to
vegetable stock reduce heat to medium, and 4 radishes, halved 2-3mm thick. Heat a large frying
300 gm (1½ cups) red lentils simmer, stirring occasionally, pan over high heat, add 2 tsp
Finely grated rind and juice until lentils are soft and starting 1 Combine flour, 2 tsp olive olive oil and cook one flatbread,
of 1 lemon to break down (14-16 minutes). oil, sumac, thyme, sesame turning once, until cooked and
Olive oil, for drizzling 2 Remove from the heat, add seeds, 160ml water and 2 tsp slightly charred (2-3 minutes).
Greek-style yoghurt, lemon rind and juice, then sea salt in a bowl and mix to Keep warm and repeat with
chopped coriander and blend with a hand-held blender form a rough dough. Turn remaining oil and flatbread.
toasted Turkish bread, until a coarse purée (the soup out onto a lightly floured 4 Heat extra olive oil in a large
to serve should still have some texture). surface and knead until frying pan or char-grill pan, add
Divide among bowls and serve smooth (3-4 minutes). haloumi and fry, turning once,
topped with olive oil, yoghurt 2 Process garlic, lemon until golden (3-4 minutes).
and coriander with toasted juice and 30ml ice-cold water Serve with warm flatbread,
Turkish bread on the side. in a food processor until toum and radishes.
Quick meals
Honey and safron roasted

pears with spiced yoghurt
SERVES 4-6
This simple dessert can be eaten warm, cold or

at room temperature, and you could do far
worse than serve the leftovers for breakfast.
200 gm honey
Thinly peeled rind and juice
of 1 lemon
3 cinnamon quills
Pinch of safron
threads soaked in
1 tbsp warm water
4 beurre Bosc pears,
quartered and cored
Coarsely chopped roasted
walnuts, to serve
SPICED YOGHURT
300 gm Greek-style yoghurt
¼ tsp ground cinnamon
Pinch of ground cardamom
Pinch of ground cloves
1 Preheat oven to 220°C. Add

honey, lemon rind and juice,
cinnamon, safron water and
pears to a roasting pan large
enough to fit pears snugly in
a single layer and toss to coat.
Roast, basting occasionally,
until pears are softened and
golden (20-22 minutes).
2 For spiced yoghurt, add
yoghurt to a bowl and combine
with cinnamon, cardamom
and cloves.
3 Serve pears with spiced
yoghurt, scattered with walnuts
and drizzled with pan juices. ●
Is Rome the flavour capital
of the world? Guy Grossi
argues eloquently for the
airmative with tuna,
bottarga and pickled
fennel, and braised oxtail
with cime di rapa.
Bosch 900mm 'Series 8'

Induction Cooktop, $1999
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MELBOURNE
11 J U LY
R O M A N H O L I DAY W I T H
G U Y G ROS S I ,
GROSSI FLORENTINO
Embrace the spirit of Ferragosto, Italy's favourite holiday festival, by joining Melbourne's favourite Italian chef and throwing
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barred style of Rome to present big, bold dishes worthy of the caput mundi: yellowfin tuna with the salty smack of bottarga
and the tang of pickled fennel segues into rich, robust braised oxtail, cut with the bite of cime di rapa. And it wouldn't be a
Roman holiday without some serious pasta: toasted-wheat tonarelli with pig's cheek and pecorino doesn't disappoint.
4 CHEF
Guy Grossi
THEME
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The history of Middle Eastern food in this country is a history of people,
movement and spices smuggled in suitcases, writes ALECIA SIMMONDS.
W
hen Ibrahim Kasif’s grandparents arrived The story of how Australian palates came to delight in
in Sydney from Cyprus in the 1950s, they braised lamb or the sweet scent of orange blossom is quite
had to buy their olive oil from pharmacies. brief. “If you look at the Australian food scene, the history
Anglo-Saxons didn’t then see much use of Middle Eastern cuisine is only 50 or 60 years old,” explains
for it beyond treating ear ailments. “There Kasif, “yet words like falafel, tahini or shish are all part of
was simply nowhere else that sold it.” Joseph Abboud’s parents the vocabulary now.”
shared similar stories. Once, they told him, family friends had Kasif’s choice of dishes is telling: although the Middle East
the police arrive unexpectedly when they tried to bake pita in a encompasses many nations, its flavours mostly came to Australia
wood-fired oven in the backyard. Sirens wailed as za’atar-dusted with Turkish and Lebanese migrants. And before Anglo
bread spiced the air. Australians could enjoy their food, the government needed to
Passed down between generations of Middle Eastern migrants, shift from a policy of assimilation to multiculturalism. Australia
these stories of culinary deprivation lend a heroic quality to the needed to be liberated from the tyranny of shepherd’s pie.
recipes that survived. They speak of a time when taste could be But the history of Middle Eastern cooking in Australia
treasonous and, for chefs like Kasif and Abboud who run three of is much longer. It’s a secret history that can only be gleaned
the most innovative Middle Eastern restaurants in Australia today through peering into the homes of families like the Abbouds,
(Kasif with Stanbuli and Abboud with Rumi and Bar Saracen), looking into their kitchens or strolling through certain suburbs,
they remind them of their debts. “We have the luxury of saying, such as Sydney’s Redfern, which during the late 19th-century
‘oh, you’re stuck in your ways’ to our parents,” muses Abboud. was known as “Little Syria”, to uncover the lives of those whose
“That’s because they did the hard yards. They’re not stuck in the survival depended on concealing their aromatic herbs from
mould, in fact they broke the mould.” delicate Anglo-Saxon nostrils.
about how to racially classify them. They were referred to as
Syrians, because Lebanon was yet to achieve independence; The
Bulletin in 1906 called them one of three “non-fusible Asiatic
races” and argued they should be denied citizenship rights in
Australia; The Department of External Affairs was more
confused: “They are of swarthy appearance with dark hair... but
approximate far more closely to the European types than those
of India or parts of Asia further East.” For the next two decades,
Lebanese migrants pointed to their Christianity and their paler
complexion to argue for their status as white people. It wasn’t
until the 1920s that they were, in historian Anne Monsour’s
words, “granted status as honorary Southern Europeans”.
But as Monsour reminds us, it came at a price – they had to be
culturally invisible. Arabic foods like kibbeh and tahini were
now incriminating. The walls of the domestic fortress went up.
A
few blocks from my house in Redfern is a small
Lebanese restaurant on Pitt Street called Wilson’s.
Old Lebanese men with creased, pouchy faces sit
outside on milk crates, gossiping beneath a fluorescent
1970s sign that has been cracked and hastily repaired. Humble
as it may appear, this restaurant, which opened in 1967, is one of
the oldest Lebanese restaurants in Australia. Sourcing ingredients
back then was an obvious problem for Wilson’s, so they relied
Clockwise, from far left: Wilson’s in
Sydney’s Redfern; Abla Amad at
on travellers. Quarantine restrictions were lax, and one chirpy
Abla’s, her restaurant in Carlton, newspaper article from The Sun in October 1950 gives us some
Melbourne; chef Greg Malouf; idea of how food was smuggled in: “Hanna Lahoud and Chafic
stufed mussels at Ibrahim Kasif’s Younan reached Sydney today,” the article reported, bringing with
Stanbuli; an 1892 article from The
Illustrated Sydney News reports on them “two big, closely guarded cardboard boxes filled with oils,
“Syrians” living in Redfern. frying fat, almonds, pomegranates and vegetable matter.” There
were also “cloth bags of peculiar smelling items, which Lahoud
and Younan intimated were pretty good to eat.” They brought
their own olive oil, which “leaked through one of the boxes in a
steady stream at the Customs desk”.
The year 1967 was significant for Middle Eastern cuisine in
Australia for another reason: Australia signed an Assisted Passage
I
t’s Sunday morning, and I’m hurrying down rain-slicked agreement with Turkey – the first time it did this with a country
streets in Melbourne to meet one of the most important beyond Western Europe – and with this migration scheme came
people in Middle Eastern food in Australia, if not the all the spices of the Ottoman Empire. The vast majority of
COLLAGE PHOTOGRAPHY RODNEY MACUJA. PHOTOGRAPHY WILL MEPPEM,
world: chef Greg Malouf, whose great-grandparents came Turkish and Lebanese migrants arrived in Australia between the
out from Lebanon in 1895. His brother Geoff, owner of beloved 1970s and 1990s; the Turks were promised abundant employment
Melbourne restaurant Zum Zum, joins us at a café. As Greg opportunities and the Lebanese were fleeing the Lebanese civil
and Geoff take sips of their coffee they complete each other’s war and the Israel-Lebanon war. Many ended up staying because
recollections of their family history. “Our ancestors were in of family connections, and it was family that influenced the
JESS REFTEL EVANS AND MARTIN REFTEL & ROB SHAW
haberdashery,” Greg starts, “probably fleeing the upheavals kind of Middle Eastern cuisine that Australia came to know.
caused earlier by the wars between the Druze and the Christians.” “The earliest restaurants offered home cooking,” says
“They came from the very fertile Bekaa Valley,” Geoff Abboud. “They weren’t professional chefs trained in Lebanon;
continues, before explaining the influence the growing region they were people who were offering up the food of the
has on Lebanese cuisine. “The spices used in Lebanese cooking household.” Kasif says much the same of Turkish cuisine, and
are more subtle than in many other Middle Eastern cuisines, that as much as he pushes the boundaries of Turkish cooking,
to accentuate the quality of the produce,” he says. he still tries to “replicate the smells of my grandmother’s cooking
For the Maloufs, though, as for Lebanese all over Australia, growing up.” Greg Malouf has memories of his brother and
it would be at least another half century before they had access himself hopping like seagulls in the kitchen doorway until his
to the ingredients enjoyed in Lebanon, and even longer before mother dropped a tasty morsel into his mouth. Melbourne chef
they were able to offer their dishes outside of their homes. Abla Amad, being a girl, was permitted a view from inside the
The first wave of Lebanese migrants arrived at the dawn of kitchen. Amad learned the joys of mint and rosewater from
the White Australia policy, which prompted a national debate watching her mother, uncle and “aunties” prepare dishes for ➤
Lebanese feasts. ‘‘To join them in the kitchen was a way of
handing down recipes from one generation to the next,” she tells
me at her home in Carlton, while showing me how to roll a vine
leaf. And because the people who taught Amad had come from
all over Lebanon, she was able to pick up regional variations
which now influence her menu at Abla’s. It occurs to me while Above: a 1921 story
about “good” Middle
chatting to her that this is probably what made Middle Eastern Eastern immigrants.
cuisine in Australia unique: migration collapses the mountainous Left: the Maloufs in
divides of Lebanon and the vast border-regions of Turkey into 1967 – (from left) Greg,
their mother May,
one kitchen – it brings the recipes of numerous towns into an
Andrew and Geof.
appetising conversation that they wouldn’t have had back home.
“T
he issue I have with Lebanese food is that they’re
not pushing the boundaries enough. We should be
further ahead,” says Greg Malouf, shaking his head. between the 7th and 13th centuries, the very moment when
“Why is that?” I ask. Greg and Geoff exchange Europe descended into the Dark Ages. The Abassid Caliphate,
a conspiratorial smile: “Their mothers and grandmothers, of like the Ottoman Empire that came after it, was gastronomically
course!” Greg mimics his most difficult customers, “Oh, my promiscuous; its cuisine was mostly Arab and Persian but also
grandmother made the most extraordinary kibbeh, now what incorporated Greek, Indian, Turkish, Chinese and African. Like
is this?” Geoff interjects: “But seriously, they associate food with Baghdad, then the largest and wealthiest city in the world, the
memories of their family, and family is fundamental to Lebanese cuisine was tantalisingly decadent. I find a recipe that specifies a
culture.” If food is the conduit to an imagined family home and live fish be kept in a tank of grape juice to enhance the flavour of
to a country left behind, then experimentation becomes an act of its flesh. Persians legitimated their power through public feasting
dishonour. Abboud’s fusion Middle Eastern cuisine has long been at the palaces and sultans sought to leave their mark through the
a source of difficulty with his family. Sitting in his new restaurant, recipes they promoted in their court.
Bar Saracen, he says, “It still hurts my mother It’s a sign of the continuities between Arabic
when someone says, ‘Your son has a Lebanese cuisine and the Ottoman cuisine that came after
restaurant?’ She always responds, ‘Well, sort of.’” The landmarks it that the Turkish conquerors took these Arabic
Trained in Australia and France, Greg Some of the landmarks of recipe books and housed them among their
Malouf was the first Australian chef to Middle Eastern dining in treasures at Topaki Palace and the Aya Sofya
experiment with Lebanese haute cuisine, Australia attained their in Istanbul. From the 15th century onwards the
at O’Connells in Melbourne in 1991. “Oh, status through longevity, Ottomans carried the flame of Middle Eastern
there was that dish of oysters and makanek while for others it’s more cuisine, adding the stuffed vegetables, shish
sausage,” says Geoff. “The journalists loved it.” about their place in the kebabs and baklava pastries that we see today,
culture. Canberra Turkish
Greg adds, “‘Finally something new!’” Back in plus Arabic braised lambs and spiced stews. After
fine-diner Ottoman
Sydney, Kasif adds a historical perspective to the colonisation of the Americas, chillies, beans,
(9 Broughton St, Barton,
this debate. “Fusion is just a way of describing ACT), opened in 1992, ticks
corn and tomatoes made an appearance making
what we are doing today,” he says. “When you both boxes. In Melbourne, Turkish cuisine – with its wheat and meat from
think of the Ottoman Empire, that’s exactly A1 Bakery (643-645 Sydney the West and rice from the East – more fusion
what they were doing – fusion! The dumpling Rd, Brunswick, Vic), has than any of our wildest mod-Oz fantasies.
exists in Middle Eastern cuisine because of the been a Sydney Road staple I see glimpses of the chefs I’ve met for this
nomadic Northern Chinese who came down since 1992, while Abla’s story in the medieval recipes before me. In the
from the Steppes in the Middle Ages. Turks (109 Elgin St, Carlton, Vic), 13th-century Book of Dishes, which measures
also got their yoghurt from the milk introduced has made the city’s best portions by the width of fingers, I see Amad,
to them by the Chinese, not the Greeks.” chicken and rice since who continues to test the readiness of yoghurt
After meeting with The Maloufs, I stop 1979. In Sydney, Jasmin by putting a finger in the tub for 10 seconds.
off at my Palestinian friend Sary’s house and (22 Civic Rd, Auburn, NSW) The medieval recipes that ask for soy sauce
peruse his collection of medieval Middle Eastern and El Jannah (4-8 South remind me of Abboud and Kasif’s exhortations:
St, Granville, NSW)
cookbooks. Leafing through the pages, we spend “We’ve always been experimental and fusion!”
might not be the oldest
the afternoon imaginatively crossing spice routes I see Greg and Geoff Malouf in the words of the
restaurants in town, but
with merchants in caravans and dining on their hold on the tastebuds
13th-century scribe Al-Baghdadi, who wrote: “Of
twice-suckled lamb with the sultans. I learned of lovers of Lebanese food all the world’s pleasures” – in which he includes
that the world’s first written recipes were Middle is unrivalled. In Brisbane, food, drink, clothing, sex, scent and sound – “the
Eastern, found on stone tablets dating from the No No’s (158 Musgrave most eminent and perfect of these is food.” As
17th century BC. But the major Middle Eastern Rd, Red Hill, Qld) is an Greg Malouf says, “This food should not just be
medieval recipe collections were written in the institution, home to seen as inexpensive, it’s one of the great cuisines
palaces of Baghdad during Islam’s golden age, Queensland’s best falafel. of the world, it should be on a pedestal.” ●
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Paper
trail
In 1968 Claudia Roden
published A Book of
Middle Eastern Food. The
deining 20th-century text
on the culinary culture of
the region, it inspired cooks
to embrace couscous and
tabbouleh, seek out tahini
and eggplant, dive deep into
hummus and perfume their
lives with cumin, cloves and
cardamom. Here, Roden
takes us back to when she
irst put pen to paper.
I
have a very clear memory of when I first began What I was collecting was a very mixed bag. They were
collecting the recipes that would later form the basis not just Egyptian recipes. Egypt in my time, the time of King
of my first book, A Book of Middle Eastern Food. It Farouk, and of Gamal Abdel Nasser’s revolution, had been
was 1956, and the Jews were leaving Egypt in a hurry, a mixed cosmopolitan society. There had been long-established
en masse, after the Suez Crisis. I was an art student communities of Syrians and Lebanese, Greeks, Italians and
in London sharing a flat with my two brothers, and Armenians living among the Muslim and Copt population.
my parents arrived as refugees. We were inundated by waves of The royal family was an Ottoman Albanian dynasty and the
relatives and friends on their way to new homelands, not sure aristocracy was Turkish. The Jewish community itself was a
where they’d be able to stay. Everyone was exchanging recipes with mosaic of families from Syria, Turkey, the Balkans, North
a kind of desperation. We might never see Egypt or each other Africa, Greece, Iraq and Iran, attracted to what became the
again, but a dish would be something to remember each other by. El Dorado of the Middle East when the Suez Canal was built
There had been no cookbooks in Egypt. Recipes had in the late 19th century. Everyone kept up their special dishes
been handed down in families. Some took out little notebooks. from their old homelands. That is why I ended up covering
I wrote everything down word for word – how much water to much of the Middle East and North Africa. A larger number
the volume of rice, how and whether to salt eggplant, how of the recipes were Syrian and Turkish because three of my
to know when the dough for pita was right (by feeling the grandparents came from Aleppo, and my maternal grandmother
lobe of my ear). was from Istanbul.
In Egypt, women would never have given me their family When I said the
recipes, but in our new situation it was important and urgent book was about
to share them. They were what we loved, a joint legacy of our
lost world. If we didn’t record them we would lose them forever. Middle Eastern
In Egypt we were Europeanised – I spoke French at home food, people looked
and Italian with our Slovene-Italian nanny, and I went to embarrassed, even
the English School Cairo. But generations of my family had In our new global
pitying. One said
lived for centuries in the Arab and Ottoman worlds and it was culinary culture where
their worlds, their loves and enthusiasms, that fascinated me. chefs and food writers are “is it sheep’s eyes
I became an avid collector of recipes and stories. I hung around expected to be innovative and testicles?”
carpet warehouses, embassies, and tourist offices to meet people and original, to do their
who could give me recipes. I also spent time reading up about own takes and tweaks, twists
the Middle East. and interpretations, Middle Eastern food is ever changing and
When I asked a librarian at the British Library for help in subject to trends and fashions. While ethnic restaurants
finding Arab cookbooks, he wrote down a list of publications continue with their standard menus set in stone, eclectic chefs
– all were on medieval gastronomy, there was nothing play with ingredients and flavours. Some create fantastic dishes
contemporary. There were translations of Arabic culinary and these are instantly copied. But you also get confusing
manuals found in Baghdad, Damascus and Andalusia. For combinations, flavours that don’t go together, a mishmash that
months I entertained friends with medieval banquets. Some looks beautiful in photos and on the plate, but doesn’t taste
medieval dishes had similar names, similar combinations of good. When people travel to the Middle East in search of the
ingredients and flavourings, and similar techniques to those authentic traditional cuisines they are sometimes disappointed
I had been hearing from people leaving Egypt. I was enthralled. not to find the stronger flavours and striking combinations that
I started looking for references to food in books about have developed at home.
the Middle East. Stuffed vine leaves were first mentioned in One example is dukkah and the story is Australian. Decades
ancient Persia, baklawa in Ottoman times. It was fascinating ago I received a letter from Australia telling me that chefs and
to find elements from ancient Persia – meat cooked with fruit artisanal producers were making their own versions of my recipe.
for instance – in celebratory dishes across the Middle East, It gave me five different recipes. Later, when I attended a festival
especially in North Africa. Reading history made me understand in Australia I had a photo taken with a group of producers who
why dishes appeared in certain places. It was like putting the said they were inspired by my recipe. Now dukkah has become
pieces of a puzzle together. a big artisanal product in Britain. British and American chefs
When I decided, after a few years, to turn what I collected say they discovered dukkah in Australia.
into a book and told people, they said: “Why don’t you paint?” But when writers have gone in search of dukkah in Egypt
When I said it was about Middle Eastern food they looked they didn’t find it, and no one knew what they meant. The
embarrassed, even pitying. One said “is it sheep’s eyes and reason is it is pronounced do’a. I got the spelling “dukkah”,
testicles?” In the ’50s and ’60s food was not the hot topic a transliteration of the classical Arabic word “to pound”, from
it is now. It was an embarrassing, taboo subject. And the the 1860 edition of Manners and Customs of the Modern Egyptians
Middle East was hardly alluring. Much of it was what would by Edward William Lane.
be described later in America as “the axis of evil”. I added My recipe is one my mother got from Awad, our cook.
bits of stories as background in the hope that people would It has only hazelnuts, sesame, cumin and coriander seeds. Now
want to try foods that came from a beautiful you find all kinds of combinations of seeds,
PHOTOGRAPHY PAL HANSEN/CONTOUR BY GETTY IMAGES (PORTRAIT)
civilization. It was often impossible to find nuts and spices sold as Egyptian dukkah.
the ingredients I was writing about. When I gave a seminar to the Egyptian Chefs
It’s amusing now to see how Middle Association in Cairo a decade ago, I told
Eastern food has been adopted and developed them they should be serving do’a in their
in the new vibrant food scene where cooking restaurants and producing it for export. I told
is glamorous, chefs are venerated, cooking them that there were now many different
competitions are among the most watched versions sold in the West and that people
television programs, and eating out is one there sprinkled it on foods and rubbed it
of the most popular leisure activities. Lebanese, on chicken. They just laughed. ●
Turkish and Moroccan dishes feature in
modern British menus. Home cooks make
A 1973 Penguin reprint of
& ROB SHAW (BOOK)
tagines and pilafs and know all about A Book of Middle Eastern
pomegranate molasses, harissa, zahtar, Food by Claudia Roden,
sumac and preserved lemons. Hummus is originally published in
1968 by Thomas Nelson.
to be found in the fridges of 41 per cent of This edition sold for $2.10
the population here in the UK, where I live. at the time.
AN
AT H E I ST ’S
F I RST
I FTA R
At her irst iftar,
CANDICE CHUNG
experiences the fasting,
I
feasting and warm t’s the start of Ramadan, Islam’s holiest month, and
I’m trying not to think about my empty stomach
sense of hospitality as the train speeds south. For 30 consecutive days,
that go hand-in-hand Muslims around the world will fast from sunrise
to sundown, eating only before dawn or after dark.
with Ramadan. I’ve rarely had cause to deny myself when it comes to
food, and as an atheist, certainly never on religious grounds.
Photography JASON IERACE I come from a family where there’s no such thing as a missed
meal. Growing up, my parents approached eating with the
same determination as long-distance runners — never mind
how long it takes to finish, it’s the turning up that counts. Above: Iftar hosts Tuba and
The reason I’m travelling on an empty stomach is that Ahmet Ozturk. Opposite,
clockwise from top
I’ve been invited to my first iftar — the nightly feast during
left: börek, dates, fried
Ramadan where Muslim families gather to break the day’s capsicum with homemade
fast. The invitation itself made no mention of meal-skipping; yoghurt, stufed capsicum,
I decided to turn up hungry, in truth, after a friend raised a fried okra, pickles and
stufed vine leaves at the
valid question: “Don’t you want to eat as much as everyone Ozturks’ iftar feast.
who fasted?”
Tuba and Ahmet Ozturk have been hosting iftars for
non-Muslims in their house in south-western Sydney for the
past three years. Born in Turkey, they met while working in
Amity College, where Tuba still teaches. Ahmet now works
as a general secretary for an educational consultancy and
volunteers for Affinity Intercultural Foundation — a not-for-
profit that fosters ties between Muslim Australians and the
wider community. ➤
Each year, Affinity runs Ramadan events that range
from formal dinners at the Parliament of New South Wales,
to pop-up iftars that welcome asylum seekers and refugees.
The most intimate experiences are the home iftars, where
strangers of different faiths and cultural backgrounds are
invited to break bread with Muslim families across Sydney.
I
arrive early at the Ozturks’ for a glimpse of the
feast preparation. Ahmet, who greets me at the door,
is unflinchingly upbeat for someone who juggles
work and fatherhood without a trace of caffeine in
his bloodstream.
“Of the 30 nights of Ramadan, we’ll host for 10 to
15 nights,” says Tuba. Preparation begins well beforehand,
with shopping for dried goods done weeks before the start
of the holy month. Pastries are made and frozen for the
nights ahead, and women gather around the table for
day-long shifts of wrapping vine leaves. The amount of
work is breathtaking, like doing Christmas or Thanksgiving
or Lunar New Year feasts every day for a month.
“I remember folding napkins, doing little iftar chores for
my parents, ever since I was little,” says Tuba. Her mother
Ayse is the head chef of the house. As she reveals the content
of each simmering pot, I’m struck by the precision with
which she works — any idle moments are filled with cleaning,
slicing or stirring. In the middle of a conversation, she slips
half a stick of butter into a pan of burghul and rice. “This,”
says Tuba, “Is why Turkish food tastes so good.”
On the menu tonight is a spread of stuffed vine leaves,
stewed okra, fried peppers, dips and börek filled with feta
and spring onion. All this is followed by a main course of
slow-cooked biftek sarma, a roulade of beef served with that
golden, buttery burghul pilaf.
My stomach growls as I help set the table, and I can’t
help but ask the obvious: “How are you supposed to do all
this on an empty stomach?”
“When you’re fasting, the first two days are hard, but
after the third day, you get used to it,” says Tuba. “The key
for Muslims is that it’s not the month to be hungry, but a For more information about Ainity’s annual
time to reflect — so you can better understand people who home iftar program, visit ainity.org.au or
are in need.” email info@ainity.org.au
What Tuba refers to is a kind of embodied empathy.
Those who fast are led to compassion by experiencing the
visceral discomforts of the less fortunate — people for whom
hunger isn’t a choice, but a fact of life. I’m struck by how
different this feels from the contemporary obsession with
“wellness-driven” fasts.
“Sometimes you don’t expect people to challenge York City or an impossible 20 hours
themselves that much, but they overcome a lot during under the midnight sun for Muslims in
Ramadan,” says Tuba. “I see my students becoming softer, Nordic cities such as Oslo or Helsinki.
more aware of the environment and their friends. They Someone asks our hosts what it’s like
wouldn’t usually think about it. But during Ramadan, to sync their appetites to the waxing and
because they’re hungry, they have more empathy. Somehow, waning of the moon. Tuba says she
when you focus on others, you become stronger and learn always misses the feeling of fasting when
to overcome your ego.” it’s over. “At the beginning, you feel like
At five o’clock, guests start arriving and we’re ushered there’s a whole month to fast, and it’s
to the dinner table, where our feast awaits us. Looking going to be hard,” she says. “But what
around, we’re a motley crew made up of a journalist, you don’t really understand is how
a ceramicist, a church minister and a university lecturer. quickly it passes. It’s a social time,
To kick off the festivities, our host Ahmet recites a and you have others on your mind.”
Opposite, from top: Tuba short prayer to give thanks, before officially breaking the Inevitably, our conversation turns to
prepares the iftar feast fast by passing around a small plate of dates — the food food. Since meals are prepared during the
with her mother, Ayse;
Guests (from left) Julia
that, according to traditional Islamic teachings, the prophet hours of fasting, there’s no way of tasting
Manley, Kathy Egea, Muhammad broke his fast with. or adjusting the seasoning as you cook,
John Oldmeadow and With Ramadan currently falling at the start of winter in meaning sometimes things could go
Ahmet Burak Alpay. the southern hemisphere, right now Australia has one of the comically wrong. “Instead of putting salt
Below: Tuba’s father,
Hayrettin with his shortest fasting periods in the world. It’s a breezy 11-hour in something, you might’ve put sugar,”
grandson, Esad Ozturk. stretch of no food or water, compared to 16 hours in New says Tuba. “But you tolerate each other
because you get to make fun of it. And
more importantly — you’re starving.” No
such mistakes are made tonight under Ayse’s watchful eye.
While I’m glad to have turned up with an empty stomach,
I also notice how slowly I’ve been eating — mostly because I’m
wholly absorbed in conversation. Kathy, the university lecturer,
tells of the first iftar she attended, years ago, when her late
husband Alan took her to a dinner hosted by Affinity.
“At Ramadan you reflect on the time

you share with others. Most of all, you
realise the blessings we already have”
Years later, when he became ill, the families they had met
drove halfway across Sydney to the couple’s Balmain home to
bring them homemade Turkish food. “This sense of kindness
isn’t just about religion, but the people,” says Kathy. “The
philosophy of giving that’s built on giving.”
At the iftar, I experienced first-hand the communal spirit
of fasting and feasting, of remembering the needs of others
while we wrestle with our own. “At Ramadan you reflect on
the time you share with others. Most of all, you realise the
blessings we already have — the blessing to be able to drink
water any time you want, or eat any time you want,” says Tuba.
“And you realise to live a good life, you really don’t need
that much.” ●
BREAD
OF
LIFE
Baking 400 loaves of
flatbread a week is more
than a labour of love for
Lebanese matriarch Salwa
Moubarak. It’s a meditation
that connects her to her
homeland and family, writes
KATRINA MEYNINK.
Photography KARA ROSENLUND
In 2012 when her sons Johnny, Elie and Mel Moubarak
opened Gerard’s Bistro, Johnny and chef Williamson asked
her to join them as their baker.
“The key to Salwa’s bread and what makes it so important
I
f you want to find Salwa Moubarak, to me as a chef is its originality,” says Williamson. “Even when
look for her in the kitchen. Never you travel through Lebanon and taste the countless varieties of
mind that she’s nearly 70 – she’ll be bread, the bread of Salwa’s village is unique. It’s unleavened,
there, hands and elbows dusted in and has a dense chewiness despite being so thin and light.
flour, kneading the 400 or so discs You can’t buy it anywhere; it’s the ultimate artisan product.”
of flatbread needed each week at Gerard’s Before starting at Gerard’s Bistro, Moubarak spent six
Bistro, her son’s Brisbane restaurant. This months seeking out the perfect flour, trawling supermarket
is the food of her mother and her mother aisles, visiting Greek and Italian providores, testing and
before her; every time she heats the saj, retesting until finally settling on a whole wheat blend from
every time she takes the rolling pin in a specialist Indian grocer she discovered in the outer suburbs.
hand, her connection with Lebanon, Decades spent in Australia finding inventive ways
with home and family, her children and to recreate Lebanese dishes have opened Moubarak to
her parents, is renewed. change and interpretation. It’s an approach that dovetails with
Gerard’s is a restaurant in Fortitude Williamson’s menus and their mix of the traditional and local,
Valley celebrated for its modern takes burghul crackers becoming vehicles for kangaroo and hummus;
on Middle Eastern food. Moubarak the texture of warm falafel crumpets contrasting with kingfish.
works with chef Ben Williamson to “Ben is so honest with his cooking, I trust him,” Moubarak
make khobz marquq – the bread that says. “I trust his abilities to take Lebanese food and make it
is an essential accompaniment something modern and different while never forgetting where
to his Lebanese, Turkish and North the food came from and what it means. Together, we combine
African flavours. You’ll find it served a thoroughly modern dish with bread – the oldest, simplest
on the side of a lamb tartare with food and act of hospitality there is. And that is very special.”
harissa, perhaps, or folded into a bowl
T
alongside slow-cooked wagyu brisket hese days when Moubarak returns to her village in
with labne, eggplant and pickles. Deir El Ahmar her reputation precedes her. She is
Moubarak grew up in a small celebrated for her cooking ability, and particularly
village in the Bekaa Valley called Deir her skills in making the local flatbread. She’s
El Ahmar and moved to Melbourne called “Mou’almeh”, which roughly translates to “life teacher”.
in 1972, finding work in the Sheridan No recipes are written down, they’re passed on through
factory sewing quilts, pillowcases and observation and practice, so her nieces, nephews and friends
sheets. In 1983, chasing warmer weather, flock to her, asking her for advice on cooking, how to make
she moved to Brisbane, buying and selling the best mouneh preserves, choose the freshest flour, or how
fruit shops while raising her four children. to best flip the dough by hand to make the thinnest, most
Moubarak first learnt how to make evenly cooked flatbread. They sit and watch her knead and
her golden, chewy flatbread at her turn the dough, committing the patterns and rhythms to
mother’s side. She was one of a dozen memory for their own children.
children, number six in a large boisterous Johnny Moubarak loves being able to share a small piece
family of eight boys and four girls. She of his family history with the diners at Gerard’s.
cooked out of necessity, helping her “Mum didn’t have an easy life,” he says. “She deserves a
mother care for her paraplegic brother legacy and it is up to us to create it. And that bread, it’s Mum
and blind grandmother. There were no to me. I can’t disconnect the two. It represents everything good
recipes, just an understanding of what about her and our family. Plentiful, shared and full of love.”
felt right and tasted delicious. For Moubarak herself, making the bread keeps her hands
She taught her own kids about their busy and her mind agile, and keeps an important tradition
heritage in the kitchen, recreating the alive.“I don’t get bored and I don’t want to stop. I love it. It
dishes from her own childhood for theirs. relaxes me, in a meditative way,” she says. “It’s important for
Hanging labne, shaping kibbeh, making me to help my children and to connect me to the family I no
falafel sandwiches and preserving fruit. longer see. When no one is around, I knead and I pray. I pray
Just like her mother she was exacting for my family – my kids and my beautiful grandchildren.” ➤
about ingredients, from the type of flour Gerard’s Bistro, 14/15 James St, Fortitude Valley, Qld,
for bread to the parsley for tabbouleh (07) 3852 3822, gerardsbistro.com.au
(which she insists must be young, soft
and just picked).
Salwa’s flatbread
with slow-roasted
brisket, labne and
pickles at Gerard’s
Bistro. Left: Moubarak
MOUBARAK’S ESSENTIAL prepares and cooks
F L AT B R E A D T I P S her flatbread.
• Knead with love.

• Practice makes perfect. The more you
play with flours and kneading and resting
times, the more you’ll understand the
final product.
• Fresh flour will give a better result.
• Humidity will affect the dough, as
will changes in temperature. Adjust
the consistency of the dough based
on how the dough feels after mixing.
It takes some practice, but generally if
it feels too sticky, add a little more flour;
if it’s too dry, add a splash of water.
• Leftover flatbreads will keep frozen laid
flat in snap-lock bags. If you’re freezing
just a few, fold them into triangles first
to stop them cracking. Reheat frozen
flatbreads by microwaving them on high
in 15-second bursts until warm.
KHOBZ MARQUQ
Salwa Moubarak’s Lebanese flatbread
MAKES ABOUT 15 // PREP TIME 25 MINS // COOK 15 MINS (PLUS PROVING)
500gm stone-ground wholemeal pin. Pick up the bread and turn

flour (see note) it from one hand to the other,
½ tsp caster sugar gently stretching it out, until 1-2mm
¼ tsp dried yeast thick and about 30cm in diameter.
Fine semolina, for dusting Working quickly, lay the flatbread
across the centre of the saj and
1 Combine flour, sugar, yeast, ½ tsp cook until golden on the base and
salt and 400ml room-temperature bubbles are forming on the surface
water in an electric mixer fitted with (30 seconds), then turn to cook the
a dough hook. Knead on medium other side (30 seconds). Transfer
speed until dough comes together, to a plate and cover with a tea
looks smooth and feels elastic and towel while you roll out and cook
resistant when pinched (5 minutes; the remaining breads. Serve warm
dough will still be quite wet). Cover or at room temperature.
with a damp tea towel and rest Note Stone-ground wholemeal flour
at room temperature for at least is available from select grocers and
30 minutes and up to 1 hour. health-food shops. Moubarak uses
2 Divide dough into 65gm balls and a saj, a domed cast-iron pan, to cook
keep under a damp tea towel. Heat her flatbread. If you don’t have a saj,
a saj (see note) to medium-high heat. she recommends an upturned wok
On a lightly floured surface and with heated over gas, a cast-iron pan, or
floured hands, flatten one ball, then a crêpe pan, but the bread may take
roll it out into a circle with a rolling longer to cook and have less char. ●
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with
Integrated
extractor
Powerflex zones
Cardamom
nut cake
p
PHOTOGRAPHY BEN DEARNLEY
Nuts, Israeli street food, Bar Saracen’s fresh spin on Lebanese,

Greg Malouf ’s meals to share, and exploring the Palestinian table.
Recipes LISA FEATHERBY
Photography BEN DEARNLEY
Food preparation MAX ADEY
Styling GERALDINE MUÑOZ
Drink suggestions MAX ALLEN
Persian
chicken
p 86
Jewelled
rice
Whipped into dip, baked into
baklava, or bringing crunch
p87 and colour to buttery rice,
nuts are a crucial component
for Middle Eastern dishes
with impact. Get cracking.
Smoky eggplant
and walnut dip
SERVES 4-6 // PREP TIME 20 MINS
// COOK 25 MINS (PLUS DRAINING)
Walnut dip meets baba

ghanoush in the best of ways.
We’ve topped it with pickled
turnips for bite, but extra
walnuts for crunch would also
go nicely, as would a few herbs
and a sprinkling of sumac or
paprika. Begin this recipe a day
ahead to drain the yoghurt.
250 gm Greek-style yoghurt

2 large eggplant
100 gm walnuts, soaked in
cold water for 10 minutes
2 tsp hulled tahini
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 tsp dry-roasted cumin seeds
(see cook’s notes, p192),
finely ground with a mortar
and pestle
Juice of ½ lemon, or to taste
Extra-virgin olive oil,
for drizzling
Pickled turnips (see note),
black and white sesame
seeds, sumac, mint,
coriander, and grilled
flatbread, to serve
1 Spoon yoghurt into a

muslin-lined sieve over a bowl, 2 tbsp vegetable oil casserole. Reduce heat to
cover and refrigerate overnight
Persian chicken 4 chicken Marylands, jointed medium, add onion and ghee to
to drain. // COOK 1 HR (PLUS DRYING) 1 small onion, finely chopped casserole and stir occasionally
2 Cook eggplant over an open 1 tbsp ghee until onion is soft and starting
flame either on a rack on a gas Also known as fesenjan, this Large pinch of ground to brown (10-12 minutes). Stir
stove or on a barbecue, turning Iranian dish of chicken braised cinnamon in cinnamon, paprika and
occasionally, until charred and in walnut sauce is at once 1 tsp paprika pomegranate molasses, then
soft (at least 20-25 minutes). piquant and comforting. The 3 tsp pomegranate molasses, add stock and bring to the boil.
Halve lengthways and drain, secret? Pomegranate molasses. or to taste, plus extra Return chicken to casserole,
flesh-side down, in a colander The quantity here is a guide – to serve transfer to oven and braise
in the sink. add more to the pot and the 300 ml chicken stock until tender and cooked
3 Scoop out eggplant flesh and dish will come out sweet and 55 gm (⅓ cup) almonds through (40-45 minutes).
purée in a food processor with tart, or use it like you would 50 gm (½ cup) walnuts Season sauce to taste.
drained yoghurt, walnuts, tahini, lemon juice, seasoning at the Red onion, sliced into rings, 2 Meanwhile, pound nuts with a
garlic, cumin and lemon juice end to cut the richness. and coriander, to serve mortar and pestle until coarsely
and season to taste. Pictured p84. Jewelled rice (see recipe ground, then stir into sauce.
4 Spoon eggplant dip onto a opposite; optional), to serve Bring to a simmer over medium
large platter, drizzle with olive oil, heat, stirring occasionally
top with pickled turnips, sesame 1 Preheat oven to 200°C. Heat until combined (4-6 minutes).
seeds, sumac and herbs, and oil in a flameproof casserole Season with pomegranate
serve with grilled flatbread. over medium-high heat. Season molasses and serve topped
Note Pickled turnips are available chicken, add to pan skin-side with onion and coriander with
from Middle Eastern grocers. down, and cook, turning rice on the side.
Beer suggestion Turkish lager. occasionally, until golden, Wine suggestion Exotically
(6-8 minutes). Remove from perfumed viognier.
Jewelled rice Turkish-style FLATBREADS
½ tsp dried yeast
SERVES 4-6 // PREP TIME 20 MINS // COOK 55 MINS (PLUS STANDING) bread topped 375 gm (2½ cups) plain flour,
The trick here is to let a crust form on the base of the rice, which with lamb, spices plus extra for dusting
you then fold together with all the dried fruit and nuts. Enriched
with ghee and safron, and combining crunch and fluiness, it’s a
and pine nuts 1 For flatbreads, dissolve
side that competes for top billing with any main course. Pictured p85. SERVES 4-6 // PREP TIME 20 MINS
yeast in 300ml lukewarm water.
// COOK 40 MINS (PLUS PROVING)
Combine flour and a large pinch
400 gm (2 cups) long-grain rice, and stir until fragrant, then add Minced lamb can sometimes of salt in an electric mixer fitted
such as basmati, rinsed well drained fruit and half the safron act almost like a seasoning, with the dough hook. Add yeast
80 gm (⅓ cup) ghee water and stir to combine. or a garnish in Middle Eastern mixture and knead until a soft
1 large onion, finely chopped 3 Heat 1 tbsp ghee in a large cuisine, scattered over dough forms (6-8 minutes). Turn
1 cinnamon quill casserole over high heat. hummus, say, or topping a out onto a lightly floured surface
1 tsp cumin seeds, dry-roasted Add half the rice, spreading it lentil soup. In the case of these and divide into six balls. Place
(see cook’s notes, p192) over base of casserole, scatter spicy Turkish-style flatbreads, balls on a floured tray, leaving
and finely ground with a with fruit mixture and half the inspired by lahmacun, the 10cm between each, and set
mortar and pestle nuts, then pile the remaining application is rather more aside for 1 hour to prove.
6 cardamom pods, bruised rice on top in a pyramid shape generous, and the final dish 2 Preheat oven to 250°C.
4 cloves so that it doesn’t touch the is all the better for it. Combine shanklish, lamb, chilli,
50 gm each golden raisins sides. Poke a few holes into garlic and cumin in a bowl. Roll
and dried barberries the rice, pour remaining ghee 175 gm shanklish (see note) or out dough to 5mm-thick rounds
(see note), soaked in cold into holes, then cook, without firm feta, coarsely grated on a lightly floured surface,
water for 5 minutes stirring, until rice smells toasted 250 gm coarsely minced lamb then scatter each round evenly
Large pinch of safron and fragrant (4-5 minutes). 3 long red chillies, coarsely with lamb mixture, leaving a
threads, crumbled and Drizzle remaining safron chopped small border. Transfer to oven
soaked in 60ml boiling water over rice, then reduce 1 garlic clove, crushed trays lined with baking paper,
water heat to low, cover and cook for 1½ tsp cumin seeds, dry-roasted drizzle with olive oil and bake
70 gm roasted slivered 30 minutes. Turn of heat, stand (see cook’s notes, p192) (in batches if necessary) until
almonds, coarsely chopped for 10 minutes, then transfer and finely ground with a crisp at the edges but soft in
70 gm (½ cup) coarsely to a platter. Mix rice and serve mortar and pestle the centre (15-20 minutes).
chopped pistachio nuts scattered with remaining nuts. Extra-virgin olive oil, Scatter with pine nuts, sprinkle
Note Barberries, small dried red for drizzling with mint and serve with
1 Boil rice in a large saucepan berries with a tart flavour, are Roasted pine nuts, thinly pickled chillies.
of boiling water until par-cooked available from select Middle sliced mint and pickled long Note Shanklish, a hard sheep’s
(5-7 minutes). Drain well. Eastern grocers, delicatessens green chillies, to serve milk cheese coated in za’atar,
2 Heat 1 tbsp ghee in a small and online from pariya.com is available from Middle
saucepan over medium heat. Wine suggestion Aromatic Eastern grocers.
Add onion, season lightly and rich pinot gris. Beer suggestion Turkish lager. ➤
with salt and stir until softened
(10-12 minutes). Add spices
PREVIOUS PAGES Persian

chicken and jewelled rice
Brass handled saucepan
(with chicken), brass spoons
and green tumblers all from
Water Tiger. Harvest Clay
white plate from Nice
Martin. White tiles (used
throughout) from Aeria
Country Floors. Petra Solis
Signum Somnium patterned
tiles (used throughout)
from Teranova Ceramics.
Turkish bread with lamb
Green tumbler from Water
Tiger. Eggplant Dip Bowl and
small plate both from Luna
Ceramics. All other props
24 quail eggs, at room
temperature hazelnuts, in batches, and add
Flatbread, to serve to spice mixture with oregano
Ghee, for brushing and 2 tsp sea salt flakes.
Extra-virgin olive oil, to serve 2 Cook eggs in a saucepan of
DUKKAH boiling water until soft-boiled
2 tsp coriander seeds (2½ minutes). Transfer to a bowl
Dukkah with 1 tsp cumin seeds of iced water to chill (10 minutes).
2 tbsp roasted sesame seeds Peel eggs while wet, place in
quail eggs and 100 gm roasted hazelnuts, a bowl of iced water and
flatbread rubbed in a tea towel refrigerate until required.
SERVES 6-8 // PREP TIME 20 MINS to remove skins 3 Preheat a barbecue or grill
// COOK 15 MINS (PLUS STANDING) 2 tsp dried oregano, to high, brush flatbread with
preferably rigani (Greek ghee and grill, turning, until
Claudia Roden may chuckle oregano; see note) charred (1-2 minutes each side).
when she thinks of dukkah’s 4 Serve dukkah with drained
popularity these days (see p72), 1 For dukkah, dry-roast spices in quail eggs, olive oil and
Dukkah with quail eggs Raku but it’s grounded in one simple a frying pan over medium-high flatbread for dipping.
clay bowl with pinched edge reason: It tastes great. Serve heat until fragrant (1-2 minutes; Note Rigani, dried wild Greek
(with quail eggs) from Chef it with salty cheese, or as see cook’s notes p192). Grind oregano, is available from
Vs Clay. Cardamom nut cake
Plate from Luna Ceramics. we’ve done here, with quail with a mortar and pestle, then select delicatessens.
All other props stylist’s own. eggs, as a fine way to transfer to a bowl with sesame Beer suggestion Um, Turkish
Stockists p192. kick of a party. seeds. Coarsely pound lager? ➤
Cardamom
nut cake
p 90
Pistachio baklava 4 Preheat oven to 180°C. With
a sharp knife, cut baklava into
SERVES 4-6 // PREP TIME 40 MINS // COOK 45 MINS (PLUS COOLING)
8 even wedges (imagine cutting
a pizza), then within each wedge
The basic technique for baklava is relatively straightforward –
make two sets of two cuts to
layer fillo; add butter – but there’s scope for experimentation in
form diamonds. Bake until crisp,
the soaking syrup. We’ve added cinnamon and lemon, but try it
golden and cooked through
with rosewater, orange blossom, or with honey instead of sugar.
(35-45 minutes; cover loosely
with foil partway through
200 gm pistachio nuts a sheet over the base of the cooking if the top is browning
400 gm (4 cups) walnuts dish, brush with butter, and fold too quickly).
75 gm (⅓ cup) caster sugar overhanging fillo back over 5 Meanwhile, for syrup,
375 gm fillo pastry onto the base, brushing again combine ingredients with
180 gm butter, melted with butter. Repeat with 9 more 300ml water in a saucepan.
SYRUP sheets, laying them at varying Bring to the boil, stirring to
200 gm caster sugar angles to cover the circular dissolve sugar, then remove
Zested rind of 1 lemon pan. Scatter half the nut from heat and leave to infuse
1 cinnamon quill mixture over the top, then (15-20 minutes). Remove
top with half the remaining cinnamon quill and discard.
1 Grease a 3cm-deep, fillo sheets to cover, brushing 6 Cool baklava briefly
25cm-26cm round oven dish each layer with butter as you (2-3 minutes), then pour
or cake pan. go. Scatter with remaining the syrup over it. Allow to
2 Process nuts and sugar in nuts and cover with remaining cool completely at room
a food processor until finely sheets of fillo, brushing with temperature (overnight if
chopped and combined. butter, then place a final sheet possible) before serving.
3 Working with one fillo sheet of fillo on top, trimming it neatly Baklava will keep, covered
at a time (cover remaining fillo to fit. Smooth top and brush tightly in the tray, for 2 days.
with a damp tea towel while with butter, then refrigerate Wine suggestion Sweet
you work), lay two-thirds of until firm (1 hour). auslese riesling.
Cardamom nut cake

SERVES 8-10 // PREP TIME 15 MINS // COOK 1-1¼ HRS (PLUS COOLING)
A fragrant, nutty cake with a lot of moisture and richness to it. It’s not a Persian love cake,
but we couldn’t help throwing a few rose petals on top for a romantic touch. Pictured p89.
160 gm softened unsalted butter, LEMON & ROSE ICING (1¼-1½ hours). Cool in tin
plus extra for greasing 90 gm (¼ cup) pure icing (15-20 minutes). Carefully turn
Plain flour, for dusting sugar, sifted out onto a plate, then invert
250 gm raw sugar Juice of ½-1 lemon onto a wire rack so the original
150 gm almonds, very finely Few drops of rosewater top is facing up. Cool completely.
chopped 2 Meanwhile, for lemon and
65 gm finely chopped walnuts 1 Preheat oven to 150°C. Butter rose icing, stir ingredients in a
65 gm finely chopped pistachio and flour a 22cm-diameter cake bowl to combine. Transfer cake
nuts, plus extra, coarsely tin and line the base with baking to a plate, drizzle with icing and
chopped to serve paper. Beat butter and sugar serve topped with rose petals,
Seeds from 7 cardamom in an electric mixer until pale roses and pistachio nuts.
pods (½ tsp seeds), crushed (6-8 minutes). Stir in nuts and Note We brushed some
with a mortar and pestle cardamom seeds, then with the of the petals with eggwhite
4 eggs motor running, add eggs one at then dusted them with
150 gm (1¼ cups) almond meal a time, beating well after each caster sugar and semi-dried
½ tsp baking powder addition. Fold in almond meal them (we let them stand at room Baklava Large shallow dish
(with baklava) from Little
80 gm plain yoghurt, and baking powder, then fold temperature for 2 hours) for
White Dish. Small saucer
well stirred in yoghurt. Spoon batter into decoration, but this is optional. from Luna Ceramics. All
Rose petals (see note), and prepared tin and bake until Wine suggestion Sweet other props stylist’s own.
small roses, to serve a skewer withdraws clean Rutherglen muscat. ● Stockists p192.
Pistachio baklava
Eyal Shani is known for
his rock-star approach
to Israeli street food as
much as his pita. At his
Melbourne outpost
of Miznon the food is
as irreverent as the
atmosphere, with
feasting and fun the
key ingredients.
P it a
ma ster
Recipes EYAL SHANI & AFIK GAL Words MICHAEL HARDEN
Photography BEN DEARNLEY Styling GERALDINE MUÑOZ
Food preparation JACLYN KOLUDROVIC

Burnt beetroot
carpaccio
p 97
Eggplant lines
p 97
PREVIOUS PAGES
Wooden plates (stack) from
Manon Bis. Koichi copper
cutlery (left page) from
Spence & Lyda. Grigio
Carnico Cobblestones tiles
(used throughout) from
Aeria Country Floors.
Embroidered cushions
from Ruby Star Traders.
Striped cushion from
Spence & Lyda. All other
props stylist’s own. THESE
PAGES Black cutlery
(eggplant) from Spence &
Lyda. Cushion (right page)
from Spence & Lyda. All
other props stylist’s own.
Stockists p192.
Lemon-cured
sardines
p 97
Menu
Eggplant lines
Burnt beetroot carpaccio
Lemon-cured sardines
Intimate wagyu stew
Whole roasted cabbage cake
Bag of green beans
Milk pudding in espresso
F
or Eyal Shani it’s as much about the feel as the flavour. “Eggplant Lines” is inspired by cocaine, “the way it is cut into
The Israeli restaurateur and celebrity chef opened the rows by a rhythmic, slightly nervous pulse that opens it with the
first Australian outlet of Miznon, his “fine dining in edge of a credit card”. On the plate, the rather more wholesome
a fast-food mask” restaurant, in Melbourne last year. option of molten eggplant mixed with tahini stands in for the
It’s a raucous, high energy, tambourine-thumping kind of place, drug, and the precise cutting technique is all about ensuring that
like a constant celebration. the eggplant retains its shape.
“I need energy,” Shani says. “Making street food is all about Shani talks about beetroot as being “an animal with a firm
getting the energy from the street, of people on the move. I take body that can withstand high temperatures”, and calls his
that energy and put it into the food.” whole-cabbage dish a “cabbage cake” because of the sweetness the
These dishes are all from the menu at Miznon Melbourne, cabbage attains when slow-cooked and how it is served in wedges.
where Afik Gal, Shani’s long-term collaborator, runs the show. The cooking at Miznon is the real deal, but it’s not a place
“The dishes that we are doing here are all about Eyal’s where anyone is encouraged to take themselves too seriously.
approach and attitude towards ingredients,” says Gal. “It has to be Fun is the key consideration. At HaSalon, the Tel Aviv restaurant
all about freshness – hardly anything at Miznon is rolled over to where Gal first worked for Shani a decade ago, everything was
the next day – and pursuing the finest ingredients that you can. cooked from scratch each day, and every night the restaurant
“We give vegetables the stage. We hardly do any manipulation would turn into a “wild animalistic zoo with people dancing on
or any elaborate cooking processes. We use only black pepper and the tables, people hanging from the roof – a feast and a party”.
Atlantic sea salt as flavourings, so that the characteristic flavour “People ask me if this is Israeli food and I say it’s more
and shape of the vegetables is emphasised. Sometimes we might about an approach to ingredients, that’s what we do,” says Gal.
make a dish that relies on something traditional, but mostly we “What’s most important is that there’s an atmosphere of feast
keep the idea of fresh ingredients as the main one.” and happiness and love.”
Shani’s relationship to his ingredients and his technique Miznon, 59 Hardware La, Melbourne, Vic, (03) 9670 2861,
are unique. miznonaustralia.com
Intimate
wagyu stew
p 99
THESE PAGES
Cushion (far right)
from Spence & Lyda.
Navy bowl from Batch
Ceramics. Serving
spoon (in wagyu
stew) from Quies.
Stacked plates
from Ondene.
Embroidered taupe
cushion (centre) from
Ruby Star Traders. All
other props stylist’s
own. Stockists p192.
Eggplant lines
// COOK 1 HR 20 MINS
“The cutting technique in this

recipe is all about preserving
the shape of the eggplant,”
Lemon-cured
says Afik Gal. “Make sure sardines
to keep the stem on during SERVES 4-6 // PREP TIME 10 MINS
the peeling, cutting and (PLUS CURING)
serving stages.” Pictured p94.
“You can eat these after an
2 small eggplant hour, which is the way I prefer Burnt beetroot carpaccio
them,” says Gal. “The outside
140 gm (½ cup) tahini SERVES 4-6 // PREP TIME 5 MINS // COOK 1 HR 15 MINS (PLUS COOLING)
of the sardine is cured, but the
Olive oil, to serve
inside is still raw and sweet, a “Use a very sharp knife to thinly slice the charred beets. The
nice contrast with the texture, slicing is when the magic is revealed,” says Eyal Shani. “The
Preheat oven to as hot as it
and you can still taste the sea. beetroot heart has remained untouched. It’s red, full of life. Most
will go (about 250°C). Roast
You can also eat this the next of its fluid has evaporated leaving him weightless, but still juicy,
eggplant on an oven tray lined
day. It’s firmer the longer you sweeter than ever, bearing unique mineral flavours within
with baking paper until its skin
leave it in the salt and lemon, that are unparalleled.” Pictured p94.
turns black, hard, tight and
but you can stop the curing
shiny (50 minutes to 1 hour).
process by taking the fish out
Remove from oven and allow 10 beetroot
and putting them in olive oil.”
to cool slightly. Grated horseradish,
Pictured p95.
Spoon tahini onto a plate. to serve
Make a vertical slit in the 2 tbsp olive oil
eggplant skin with a sharp 2 tbsp sea salt 30 gm finely grated fresh
knife from the stalk down to 6 sardines, filleted, horseradish mixed with
reveal the flesh underneath. skin removed 100gm crème fraîche
Gently pull the eggplant from Juice of 2 lemons,
its skin, removing the burnt or to taste Preheat a wood-fired oven
skin from all sides. The flesh 1 long green chilli, thinly to high, or your home oven as
should come out in one piece sliced, or to taste hot as it will go (about 250°C).
and the skin should come away 1 radish, thinly sliced Wash beetroot under cold
from the flesh like walls. Avoid ¼ red onion, thinly sliced running water, place on
removing the skin under the 60 ml (¼ cup) olive oil a baking tray lined with baking
tap; if the eggplant gets wet paper and roast until charred
it won’t separate easily. If it’s Sprinkle half the salt on and beetroot have lost about
proving diicult use a knife the bottom of a shallow bowl. half their weight (1-1¼ hours).
to help. Place eggplant on Place sardines skin-side up on Remove and set aside to cool
top of the tahini and cut it with top and sprinkle the rest of the (1½-2 hours, depending on size).
a precise piston-like motion, salt on top. Pour lemon juice Thinly slice beetroot with a
millimetre by millimetre from over sardines, add chilli and sharp knife and spread over
one end to the next with a refrigerate to cure (30 minutes a plate, with the discs slightly
metal scraper or a sharp knife to a day). Remove sardines and overlapping. Sprinkle with salt
until chopped, but with the pat dry with a paper towel. to taste and grated horseradish,
eggplant shape still intact Serve sardine fillets topped drizzle with olive oil and serve
Season to taste with salt and with chilli, radish and onion with a spoonful of horseradish
drizzle with oil to serve. and drizzled with olive oil. crème fraîche. ➤
1 small (about 2½-3kg) white Transfer cabbage to a serving he decided the Australian
cabbage plate and keep warm. version would include at least
200 gm unsalted butter, diced 3 Reduce cooking liquid over six diferent varieties of bean.
Sour cream, to serve high heat until it’s a thick and We serve them in a paper bag
shiny sauce (20-30 minutes). because it looks good that way.
1 Preheat oven to 150°C. 4 Slice cabbage into wedges And it saves on washing up.”
Remove loose outer leaves of like a cake and serve with
cabbage, then place cabbage sauce spooned on top with 200 gm sea salt
in a large ovenproof pot or a dollop of sour cream. 500 gm green beans, or a
casserole to fit snugly. Add variety of beans and peas
enough water to fill pot one-third ½ garlic clove, finely grated
full. Scatter over butter and Bag of green beans Juice and finely grated rind
sprinkle with 1 tsp salt, then bring SERVES 4-6 // PREP TIME 5 MINS of ½ lemon
to the boil. Cover with baking // COOK 10 MINS 2-3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
Whole roasted paper, then with a lid, and bake,
checking every couple of hours “This is an evolution of an 1 Add salt to 5 litres of water
cabbage cake and adding more water if Israeli dish,” says Gal. “We in a large saucepan and bring
SERVES 8 // PREP TIME 5 MINS needed, until cabbage is soft used to go to the Palestinian to the boil. Add beans and boil
// COOK 5 HRS
and you can easily put a knife territories in East Jerusalem until they start to soften or
“The best kind of cabbage to through it (4½-5 hours). to get beans because there, are cooked to your liking
use for this recipe is a flatter, 2 Remove lid and baking produce is farmed traditionally (6-8 minutes for soft beans;
oval kind of spaceship-shaped paper and continue cooking and is much better. When Eyal if using more than one kind,
white cabbage,” says Gal. until top of cabbage is deep came here and saw how many cook them separately). Drain
“Choose a cabbage that’s golden brown (20-30 minutes). varieties of beans there were, and refresh in a big bowl filled
not too heavy. The heavier with ice-cold water to stop the
cabbages are denser with cooking and keep a bright
the layers of leaves closer green colour for the beans.
together, so the texture When completely cold, drain
is not as soft and silky.” beans and set aside in a
strainer to drain completely.
2 Put beans in a bowl big
enough to mix. Add garlic,
lemon juice and rind, and olive
Whole oil, mix well, season to taste
roasted with sea salt and serve.
cabbage
cake
Bag of
THESE PAGES green
Copper spoon beans
(in sour cream) and
long spoon (in salt)
from Quies. Linen
napkin (right page)
from Hale Mercantile
Co. Bowl (with beans)
from Ondene. All
Intimate wagyu stew casserole and add chilli. Add
SERVES 4-6 // PREP TIME 20 MINS // COOK 4 HRS enough water to cover meat by
about 2cm and season to taste
“Eyal calls this ‘intimate’ wagyu because it used to be made with with sea salt (the best thing to
the onglet, an intimate part of the cow that there’s only one of and do is taste the liquid after it’s
that few people get to eat,” says Gal. “This dish is all about the long, boiled to check seasoning).
slow cook to get the meat to melting point – at Miznon we cook it Bring to the boil, cover with a
overnight for seven to eight hours.” Pictured p96. lid and braise in the oven until
tender (3¾-4 hours). Uncover,
1 kg wagyu chuck, cut into Preheat oven to 150°C. increase temperature to 220°C
4cm pieces Toss meat in a bowl with 60ml and cook until liquid is reduced
80 ml (⅓ cup) olive oil olive oil and ground pepper slightly and meat darkens
10 gm (¼ cup) coarsely ground to coat well. Heat a casserole (15 minutes). Serve with warm
black peppercorns (preferably cast iron) over high pita pockets and pickles. ➤
1 carrot, quartered heat and when it’s very hot,
lengthways and cut sear the meat in two batches
into chunks stirring occasionally, until deep
½ parsnip, cut into chunks golden (5-6 minutes). Transfer
½ white onion, quartered to a plate. Add remaining
½ long green chilli, finely olive oil to casserole, then add
chopped vegetables and stir occasionally
Warm pita pockets and to get some colour on them
Israeli pickles, such as (3-5 minutes).
dill-pickled cucumbers, Remove casserole from
to serve heat, return the meat to the
Milk pudding in espresso
SERVES 6 // PREP TIME 20 MINS // COOK 15 MINS (PLUS COOLING)
“This one requires some attention because you’re working

with raw eggs,” says Gal. “You need to cook the pudding
over high heat until you get the right texture – more like aïoli
than mayonnaise or custard – but you don’t want to cook the
eggs too much and end up with an omelette flavour. To cool
it down and stop the cooking process, put the pudding in
ice or keep stirring it after you’ve taken it of the heat.”
“Making
500 ml (2 cups) milk Heat milk, lemon rind, sage, street food
1 thin piece of lemon rind, chilli and pinch of sea salt in is all about
removed with a peeler a saucepan to just under the
2 sage leaves boil, then remove from heat.
getting the
Pinch of dried chilli flakes Cover with plastic wrap and energy from
3 extra-large egg yolks stand to infuse (10 minutes), the street, of
(from 60gm-65gm eggs) then strain (discard solids).
60 gm caster sugar Beat egg yolks with sugar
people on the
40 gm cornflour and cornflour in an electric move. I take
50 gm butter, diced and chilled mixer until flufy and pale in that energy
2 espresso shots, made just colour (6-7 minutes). Very
before serving slowly add milk mixture to and put it into
egg yolk mixture, return to the food.”
pan over medium heat and
whisk vigorously until pudding
is thick, silky and resembles
aïoli (12-15 minutes). Remove
THESE PAGES from heat, stir in chilled butter
Blue velvet cushion until melted, then immediately
and small green
place pan in an ice bath to
bowl (with spoons)
from Manon Bis. lower the external temperature
Striped cushion from and keep stirring until the
Spence & Lyda. pudding reaches room
Taupe embraoidered temperature (8-10 minutes).
cushion from Ruby
Star Traders. All other
Serve pudding drizzled
props stylist’s own. with 2-3 tbsp freshly brewed
Stockists p192. espresso-strength cofee. ●
u nd t a b
o
R
le
Baharat lamb
shoulder with
pearl onions and
moghrabieh
p 104
Greg Malouf, our home-grown Recipes GREG MALOUF
godfather of Middle Eastern ine- Photography BEN DEARNLEY
dining, balances modernity and Styling LYNSEY FRYERS
tradition with dishes true to the Drink matches MAX ALLEN
spirit of Eastern feasting. Food preparation NICK BANBURY
Fried cauliflower
with parmesan
wafers and
tahini yoghurt
p 104
Baharat lamb shoulder ZAHRA MAQLIA FUL MEDAMES
with onions and moghrabieh Fried cauliflower Burrata with

SERVES 6 // PREP TIME 40 MINS // COOK 4 HRS with parmesan broad bean and
“Lamb rubbed with spices and cooked slowly is quite a traditional wafers and chickpea stew
preparation in the Middle East,” says Greg Malouf. “Served with tahini yoghurt SERVES 6 // PREP TIME 20 MINS
// COOK 5 MINS
moghrabieh, giant couscous, this is a great dish to put in the middle SERVES 6 // PREP TIME 30 MINS
of the table with some yoghurt and away you go.” Pictured p102. // COOK 25 MINS (PLUS COOLING) “This take on ful medames,
the Egyptian breakfast dish,
6 garlic cloves, 2 sliced, 3 Preheat oven to 150°C. Heat “Parmesan crisps add intrigue benefits from the burrata that
remaining left whole 50ml olive oil in a large frying to this traditional dish,” says oozes out into it,” says Malouf.
⅓ cup (loosely packed) pan over medium-high heat. Malouf. Pictured p103. “It’s a wonderful marriage.”
oregano Fry lamb, turning, until golden
150 ml olive oil (4-6 minutes). Add chilli flakes Sunflower or canola oil, 400 gm canned ful medames
1 large (2kg) lamb shoulder and 1.5 litres stock, bring to for deep-frying (see note)
without shank, cut through a simmer, then transfer to a 1 large (about 1kg) cauliflower, 800 gm canned chickpeas,
the bone into 6 equal pieces baking dish that fits lamb cut into large florets drained and rinsed
(see note), trimmed of snugly. Cover with baking paper Juice of 1 lemon 1 garlic clove, crushed with
excess fat and foil, then roast, basting 2 tbsp roasted sesame seeds a mortar and pestle with
1 tbsp Turkish chilli flakes every hour, until lamb is tender PARMESAN WAFERS 1 tsp sea salt
(see note) (3¼-4 hours). Uncover, increase 30 gm pine nuts, coarsely Juice of 2 lemons
2.1 litres chicken stock heat to 180°C, add salad chopped 1 ripe Roma tomato, cut into
12 salad onions, trimmed onions and roast until lamb 30 gm parmesan, grated 5mm dice
1 small onion, diced is golden and onions are soft ¼ tsp dry-roasted cumin 1 small red onion, finely diced
1 tbsp each ground cumin (20-30 minutes). Transfer lamb seeds, crushed with a 1 tbsp ground cumin, plus
and ground coriander seeds to a bowl, remove excess fat mortar and pestle (see extra to serve
1 long red chilli, seeds from cooking liquid (place paper cook’s notes p192) 60 ml (¼ cup) extra-virgin
removed and thinly sliced towels on the surface, then TAHINI YOGHURT olive oil, plus 1 tbsp extra
1 fresh bay leaf remove and discard) then return 70 gm (¼ cup) hulled tahini for drizzling
600 gm moghrabieh (pearl lamb to liquid and keep warm. 340 gm Greek-style yoghurt 2 tbsp shredded flat-leaf
couscous) 4 Meanwhile, heat remaining 1 small garlic clove, parsley
200 gm canned chickpeas, oil in a large casserole over crushed with a mortar and 6 small burrata (about
drained medium heat, add diced onion pestle with 1 tsp sea salt 100gm each)
12 cherry tomatoes, blistered and sliced garlic, and sauté Juice of 1 lemon ½ tsp Turkish chilli flakes
under a grill (2-3 minutes), until softened (4-5 minutes). (see note)
peeled Add cumin and coriander 1 For wafers, preheat oven to ½ cup purslane (see note) or
Lemon juice, to season seeds and stir until fragrant 180°C. Combine ingredients in watercress leaves
Coriander leaves (optional) (1-2 minutes). Add chilli, bay leaf, a bowl. Line a large oven tray
and extra-virgin olive oil, moghrabieh and remaining with baking paper and sprinkle 1 Heat ful medames, including
to serve stock to just cover and bring to 2 tsp mixture at a time into 7cm liquid, and chickpeas in a
BAHARAT SPICE MIX the boil. Season to taste, cover, rounds (using an egg ring or saucepan over medium heat
1¼ tsp sweet paprika reduce heat to low and simmer, pastry cutter if available). Bake until hot, but not boiling. Stir
1 tsp finely ground black stirring occasionally, until tender until light golden (8-10 minutes), in garlic mixture, lemon juice,
peppercorns (25-30 minutes). Add chickpeas cool briefly on tray (5 minutes), tomato, onion and cumin, then
¾ tsp cumin seeds, finely and tomatoes, and simmer until then transfer to a wire rack to lightly crush a quarter of the
ground stock is absorbed (5-7 minutes). cool completely. Makes 12. mixture with the back of a spoon
½ tsp each ground coriander Season to taste with salt Wafers will keep in an airtight to bind. Add oil, increase heat to
seeds, ground cinnamon and lemon. container for up to a week. medium-high and bring to the
and ground cloves 5 Stir coarsely shredded lamb 2 For tahini yoghurt, whisk boil. Remove from heat and stir
¼ tsp each ground cardamom through moghrabieh, top with tahini and yoghurt in a bowl until in parsley.
and ground star anise coriander and drizzle extra-virgin combined. Stir in garlic mixture 2 Transfer to a large shallow
Small pinch of grated olive oil to serve. and lemon juice, season with salt bowl and top with burrata.
nutmeg Note Ask the butcher to to taste and chill until needed. Sprinkle with extra cumin, chilli,
prepare the lamb for you. 3 Heat oil to 180°C and deep-fry purslane and 1 tsp sea salt and
1 For baharat (see note), sift all Turkish chilli flakes are available cauliflower in batches until drizzle with oil to serve.
spices together. Makes about from Middle Eastern grocers. golden (3-5 minutes). Drain Note Canned ful medames,
1½ tbsp. Store in an airtight Pre-mixed baharat is available on paper towels and douse broad beans, and Turkish
container for up to six months. from Middle Eastern grocers with lemon juice. chilli flakes are available from
2 Pound whole garlic cloves and Herbie’s Spices 4 Spoon tahini yoghurt onto Middle Eastern food shops.
and 2 tsp salt to a fine paste (herbies.com.au). a plate, top with cauliflower, Purslane is available from
with a mortar and pestle. Add Wine suggestion Gutsy wafers and sesame seeds, select greengrocers.
oregano, 50ml olive oil and 2 tsp mourvèdre. season to taste and serve. Wine suggestion Spicy, juicy
baharat and pound to a paste, Wine suggestion Savoury grenache. ➤
then massage into lamb. sparkling chardonnay.
Burrata with
broad bean and
chickpea stew
PREVIOUS PAGES
Lamb shoulder Braccia
porcelain tile from Olympic
Tiles. Fried cauliflower
Moorish Night and Cubic tiles
from Jatana Interiors. Chef Vs
Clay platter from Sydney Clay
Studio. Burrata with beans
Spangle floor tile from Earp
Bros. All other props stylist’s
single layer until golden brown
and crisp (4-6 minutes).
4 Heat remaining olive oil in
a small saucepan over medium
heat. Add almonds and stir
constantly, until lightly coloured
(3-4 minutes). Remove with a
Chicken fatteh 1 Preheat oven to 200°C. Blend slotted spoon and cool on paper
coriander, 2 garlic cloves, 60ml towels. Repeat with pine nuts.
SERVES 6 // PREP TIME 40 MINS // COOK 40 MINS
olive oil and a pinch of salt in a 5 Reduce oven to 180°C. Layer
“The term fatteh comes from the Arabic word ‘fatta’, meaning to blender until smooth. half the chicken and cooking
crumble bread, and it’s a dish loved all over the Arab world,” says 2 Heat a large ovenproof liquid in a large (about 2 litres)
Malouf, “My version pairs spiced chicken with yoghurt, nuts and saucepan over medium heat. ovenproof serving bowl with half
coriander-garlic sauce, and of course, plenty of toasted bread.” Season chicken with salt and each of the chickpea mixture,
white pepper. Heat 1½ tbsp oil yoghurt and toasted mountain
1 cup (loosely packed) 12 golden shallots, peeled in pan, then add butter, spices bread. Repeat layering, top
coriander 12 cherry tomatoes, blistered and remaining garlic. Cook until with 2 generous spoonfuls of
4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced under a grill (2-3 minutes), fragrant (1 minute), add chicken, coriander purée, sprinkle with
150 ml olive oil peeled turn to coat, then remove from fried nuts, cover bowl with
1 kg boneless chicken thighs, 6 small thyme sprigs pan. Add chickpeas, shallots, reserved sheet of mountain
skin on 1 tsp dried Greek oregano tomatoes, thyme, oregano bread and bake until golden
30 gm butter (see note) and stock to pan and season (5 minutes). Remove top sheet
1 tbsp ground cumin 600 ml hot chicken stock to taste. Place chicken on top, of bread, spoon over remaining
1 tsp ground coriander seeds Juice of 1 lemon add lemon juice and drizzle coriander purée and serve.
1 tsp ground ginger 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil with extra-virgin olive oil. Bake Note Turkish chilli flakes are
1 tsp Turkish chilli flakes 4 sheets mountain bread on middle shelf until chicken is available from Middle Eastern
(see note) (see note) cooked through (20-30 minutes; grocers. Dried Greek oregano
½ tsp ground turmeric 40 gm slivered almonds juices will run clear when (rigani) is available from Greek
Pinch of safron, lightly 40 gm pine nuts pierced with a skewer). delicatessens. Mountain bread
toasted and crushed 200 gm Greek-style yoghurt 3 Tear bread into pieces, is available from supermarkets.
400 gm canned chickpeas, reserving 1 piece, and roast torn Wine suggestion Pale but
drained and rinsed bread in 2 large oven trays in a gutsy Bandol rosé. ➤
Duck pie Popham
Brasilia tiles from
Onsite. Oh-Chilli
29000 tile from Earp
Bros. Chicken fatteh
Braccia tile from
Olympic Tiles. All
Duck pie with

pomegranate
and walnuts
p 108
Freekeh with pumpkin and mushrooms sherry, pumpkin, freekeh and
SERVES 6 // PREP TIME 30 MINS // COOK 35 MINS (PLUS DRAINING, SOAKING) stock to completely cover.
Season to taste and bring to
“Freekeh, roasted green wheat, is a specialty of the Arab world and never fails to the boil, then cover and simmer
inspire me with its versatility,” says Malouf. “This is a simple dish, but it has everything: over low heat, without stirring,
it’s nourishing, starchy and soothing, with mushrooms adding earthiness and pumpkin until most of the liquid has
bringing sweetness.” Begin this recipe a day ahead to drain the yoghurt. evaporated and freekeh is
tender (30-40 minutes).
600 gm Greek-style yoghurt 50 ml dry sherry or dry 1 Drain yoghurt in a sieve lined 4 Just before serving, stir in
200 gm (1 cup) wholegrain vermouth with muslin set over a bowl in lemon juice and extra-virgin
freekeh (see note) 200 gm peeled butternut the refrigerator (overnight). olive oil, then serve topped with
50 ml olive oil pumpkin, coarsely chopped 2 Rinse freekeh twice and strained yoghurt and drizzled
1 small onion, finely diced into 2cm chunks cover with plenty of cold water with extra-virgin olive oil.
1 garlic clove, finely chopped 500 ml chicken or vegetable to soak (30 minutes), then drain. Note Wholegrain freekeh
250 gm field mushrooms, wiped stock 3 Heat oil in a large frying pan is available from select
and sliced 5mm thick 2 tbsp lemon juice over medium-high heat. Add delicatessens, supermarkets
1 tsp ground cumin 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, onion, garlic and mushrooms, and health-food shops. Turkish
1 tsp ground coriander seeds plus extra to serve and sauté until onions are soft chilli flakes are available from
1 tsp Turkish chilli flakes but not coloured (3-4 minutes). Middle Eastern grocers.
(see note) Add spices, stir until fragrant Wine suggestion Orange
(about 30 seconds), then add skin-contact white wine.
reserving stock and duck form a circle of fillo. Line a

Duck pie with pomegranate and walnuts mixture separately, until duck 27cm-diameter deep-sided
SERVES 6 // PREP TIME 40 MINS // COOK 2 HRS 15 MINS (PLUS SOAKING) is cool enough to handle. Skim non-stick frying pan with the
of excess fat from stock (place fillo circle, pushing it into
“This dish takes two roads,” says Malouf. “The filling is based on
paper towels on the surface, the sides. Add duck filling,
fesenjan, a Persian dish of duck cooked slowly with pomegranate
then remove and discard). spreading evenly, and brush
and walnuts. The pie, meanwhile, is inspired by b’stilla, made with
2 Coarsely shred duck meat surrounding fillo with melted
a fillo-like pastry. A Lebanese white cabbage salad dressed with
(discard skin and bones). butter. Brush remaining 3 fillo
lemon, olive oil, garlic and dried mint is a good match.” Pictured p107.
Bring stock to the boil in large sheets with butter, fold in half,
saucepan and reduce by and place on top of filling to
50 ml olive oil, plus extra 9 fillo pastry sheets two-thirds to about 400ml cover. Bring pastry sides
if needed 150 gm melted clarified butter (20-25 minutes). Transfer half over fillo on top to enclose
8 duck Marylands (about 2kg) (see cook’s notes p192) the reduced stock to a bowl and brush with butter.
1 large onion, finely chopped 30 gm pure icing sugar, sifted and whisk in egg yolks. Return 4 Preheat oven to 180°C.
1 garlic clove, finely chopped with 1 tsp ground cinnamon to saucepan with remaining Place pie (in pan) in the centre
100 gm (1 cup) roasted walnuts, reduced stock and stir over low of the oven and bake until
rubbed in a cloth to remove 1 Heat oil in a flameproof heat until creamy and nearly golden brown (30-35 minutes).
skins, coarsely chopped casserole over medium-high set, as you would for an egg Remove from oven and carefully
1 tsp ground ginger heat. Season duck and fry in custard (5-7 minutes). Stir in place a large plate upside-down
A pinch of safron threads, two batches, skin-side down parsley and coriander, season over pie and invert onto plate.
lightly toasted and crushed first (6-8 minutes), then on to taste and set aside to cool Wipe excess butter from fillo
1 tsp ground cinnamon the other side, until golden completely. Fold duck meat and sift icing sugar mixture over
1 tsp ground cumin (2-3 minutes). Drain fat, leaving into egg mixture (refrigerate if pie. Place a metal skewer on
1.2 litres chicken stock 2 tbsp in casserole. Return all not using immediately). a naked flame and heat until
1 tbsp pomegranate duck to casserole with onion, 3 Lay one fillo sheet on a work red-hot (hold with a tea towel).
molasses garlic, walnuts, ginger, safron, surface (keep remaining fillo Burn a trellis pattern into fillo,
6 egg yolks cinnamon and cumin, stir covered with a slightly damp reheating skewer as necessary,
½ cup (loosely packed) to coat well, add stock and tea towel) and brush with and serve.
flat-leaf parsley leaves, pomegranate molasses, then melted butter. Repeat with Wine suggestion The ultimate
thinly sliced bring to the boil, cover and another fillo sheet laying it on dish for your best pinot noir. ●
½ cup (loosely packed) simmer over low heat until top of the first to form a cross.
coriander leaves, thinly duck can be easily pulled of Repeat with another 4 sheets,
sliced the bone (1¼-1½ hours). Strain, laying them at varying angles to
Freekeh with pumpkin
Moorish Night and Cubic
tiles from Jatana Interiors.
All other props stylist’s
Freekeh with
pumpkin and
mushrooms
Of Middle Eastern
appearance
It’s Lebanese, but not as you know it. The cultures of
Melbourne and Lebanon share equal billing at Bar
Saracen, the new venture from the brains behind
Rumi. Just don’t call it modern Middle Eastern.
Recipes JOSEPH ABBOUD & TOM SARAFIA N
Team Saracen
(from left): Tom Sarafian,
Ari Vlassopoulos and
Joseph Abboud.
Fried okra
p 116
Words MICHAEL HARDEN
Photography MARK ROPER
Styling LISA FEATHERBY
Drink matches ARI VLASSOPOULOS
Torshi and
makdous
p 116
I
t took Joseph Abboud some time to nail the description
for his newest Melbourne venture. He was conflicted about
labelling the food at Bar Saracen “Modern Middle Eastern”
because calling it modern “implies that what we do at Rumi
– and that Lebanese food in general – is not modern”. Prawn börek
“It’s a living cuisine and we’re eating it in Melbourne where
MAKES 8 // PREP TIME 20 MINS // COOK 10 MINS (PLUS DRYING)
I was born, though my background is Lebanese,” he says. “So it’s
inevitable that you take in your surrounds.” “Filled pastries have a very long history in the Middle East,” says
The solution? Abboud says that his new city bar and diner is Joseph Abboud. “The original, sanbosag or sanbusaj, became
“of Middle Eastern appearance”. samosa in India, sambousek in Lebanon and sambusa in Ethiopia,
The recipes here have been taken directly from Bar Saracen’s to name a few. Börek, which are a great snack, are another.”
menu and prove his description to be apt. Designed to be eaten as
4 (200gm) large uncooked filling to form a triangle. Repeat
meze, these dishes offer a lively, big-flavoured mix of traditional
king prawns, peeled, folding from side to side in a
and contemporary food, rooted in tradition, but not tied to it.
deveined and finely chopped triangle shape until there is one
The kafta nayeh, for example, is a very traditional Lebanese 100 gm haloumi, coarsely grated fold left. Brush end with water,
raw-meat dish but is modernised here with the use of wagyu. 100 gm Greek sheep’s feta, make the last fold and press to
The okra recipe belongs to the tradition of fried vegetables in coarsely grated seal and form a triangular parcel.
Middle Eastern cooking, while the pickled eggplant uses a classic 2 tbsp finely chopped Trim excess pastry if needed.
Lebanese pickling technique. A beetroot dish is served with a flat-leaf parsley Repeat with remaining fillo and
familiar pairing of labne and dukkah, but then mixes it up – the 1 tsp dried isot pepper filling and refrigerate uncovered
beetroot is thinly sliced on a mandolin, threaded onto a skewer (see note) to dry (1 hour).
and cooked over coals like a kebab. Hummus is topped with 2 egg yolks 3 Heat oil in a large deep
grilled calamari rather than the usual chickpeas or lamb. 6 fillo pastry sheets saucepan to 180°C. Deep-fry
“I wanted to pull together a group of recipes that would make Vegetable oil, for deep-frying börek, in batches, turning
a really flexible meal,” says Abboud. “At Saracen you can have a 1 tsp nigella seeds occasionally, until golden and
couple of snacks at the bar or sit down and have one dish at a time cooked through (3-4 minutes;
1 Combine prawns with be careful, hot oil may spit).
or get a group of friends together at the chef’s table and have a
ALL PROPS RESTAURANT’S OWN
cheeses, parsley and isot Drain on paper towels, sprinkle

feast. It’s the type of flexibility that suits the food I like to cook.”
pepper, then fold through yolks. with nigella seeds and serve.
Abboud believes that Bar Saracen is, essentially, a modern 2 Cut fillo into 9cm x 45cm Note Isot pepper, also known
Melbourne restaurant. “We’re trying to tell a story – there’s a link strips and keep covered with a as Urfa biber, is a dried Turkish
between how a culture is received and how its food is received. damp tea towel. Place 2 strips chilli available from Middle
Ours is another angle. Some of the food goes back hundreds of on top of each other, place Eastern food shops.
years, some of it we came up with last week.” Bar Saracen, 2 tbsp of filling at one end, then Drink suggestion An IPA such
22 Punch La, Melbourne, Vic, (03) 8639 0265, barsaracen.com.au fold one corner of pastry over as Colonial Australia IPA.
Wagyu kafta nayeh, radish 1 For fried pita, heat canola oil
in a large saucepan to 170°C.
and fried pita bread Roughly cut pita into 5cm strips
SERVES 4-6 // PREP TIME 20 MINS // COOK 5 MINS and fry, in batches, until golden
brown (20-30 seconds). Drain
“This is one of a couple of Lebanese raw meat dishes, the on paper towels and season
other being the more common kibbeh nayeh, which contains with sea salt.
burghul,” says Abboud. “Don’t be shy with the olive oil here.” 2 Whisk lemon juice and olive
oil with spices. Add beef,
3 tsp lemon juice, or to taste 1½ tbsp each mint, flat-leaf tomato, onion, herbs and garlic
3 tsp extra-virgin olive oil, parsley and basil leaves, and stir to combine. Season
plus extra to serve finely chopped to taste with salt and mix well.
Large pinch each of ½ garlic clove, crushed Spoon onto plates, shaping
ground cinnamon, 15 mixed radishes, halved, into a round, drizzle with olive
ground allspice and to serve oil and serve with fried pita
cayenne pepper FRIED PITA bread and radishes.
500 gm wagyu rump, trimmed Canola oil, for deep-frying Drink suggestion An anise-
(remove and discard 2 Lebanese pita bread, flavoured spirit such as arak
sinew), cut into 1cm dice top and bottom layers or raki. ➤
1 vine-ripened tomato, diced separated
3 small spring onions,
thinly sliced
Hummus bi calamari
SERVES 6-8 // PREP TIME 20 MINS // COOK 1 HR 40 MINS (PLUS SOAKING, COOLING)
“This is a take on the traditional Lebanese dish of hummus topped with minced lamb,”
says Abboud. “Hummus is a recipe that can be prepared with little efort, but can take
years to make it special.” Begin this recipe a day ahead to soak the chickpeas.
250 gm calamari, cleaned 100 gm hulled tahini 125ml cooking liquid and set (1-2 minutes per side), then
and scored, tentacles 1 garlic clove, coarsely 50gm chickpeas aside to cut into small pieces.
reserved chopped garnish. Process remaining 3 Top hummus with calamari
1 tsp olive oil chickpeas in a food processor and reserved chickpeas, drizzle
50 gm butter, melted 1 For hummus, soak chickpeas until very smooth (3-5 minutes). with butter, scatter with parsley
1½ tbsp thinly sliced flat-leaf with bicarbonate of soda in Add lemon juice, tahini and and sweet paprika and serve
parsley 2.5 litres water overnight. Drain, garlic, season to taste and with warm Turkish bread.
Sweet paprika, to serve place in a large saucepan with process until combined, adding Drink suggestion A rosé, such
Turkish bread, to serve 2.5 litres water, bring to the boil, reserved cooking liquid 1 tbsp as “Myst” from Château
HUMMUS then reduce heat to low-medium at a time until smooth. Cool. Kefraya, Lebanon.
250 gm dried chickpeas and simmer until almost falling 2 Preheat a barbecue to high
Large pinch of bicarbonate apart (1-2 hours). Add 2 tsp salt, or a char-grill pan over high
of soda stir and set aside to soak for heat. Toss calamari with oil in a
80 ml (⅓ cup) lemon juice 5 minutes. Drain well, reserving bowl and grill until just cooked
Beetroot kebabs with labne and dukkah
SERVES 4-6 // PREP TIME 20 MINS // COOK 20 MINS (PLUS DRAINING)
“A rather unusual way to prepare beetroot, but so delicious,”

says Abboud. Begin this recipe a day ahead to drain the yoghurt.
500 gm Greek-style yoghurt (3-5 minutes; see cook’s notes

2 large beetroot, peeled, p192). Cool, then finely grind in
halved lengthways and a spice grinder or with a mortar
thinly sliced on a mandolin and pestle. Coarsely grind
2 tsp olive oil hazelnuts and half the sesame
50 gm butter seeds in a small food processor,
Dill sprigs, to serve then mix with spices and
DUKKAH remaining sesame seeds.
1 tbsp hazelnuts 3 Preheat a barbecue or oven
1 tbsp sesame seeds grill to high. Toss beetroot in a
1½ tsp each cumin seeds and bowl with oil and salt to taste,
coriander seeds then thread onto metal skewers
(you’ll need 4 to 6 skewers;
1 Whisk yoghurt with 1 tsp salt. fold beetroot if necessary). Grill,
Pour into a colander lined with turning occasionally, until lightly
muslin set in a bowl, cover and charred (3-5 minutes).
refrigerate to drain (overnight). 4 Cook butter in a small
2 For dukkah, preheat oven saucepan over medium
to 170°C. Place hazelnuts and heat until golden brown
sesame seeds separately on (3-4 minutes). Stir in dukkah
an oven tray and roast, stirring and remove from heat.
halfway, until golden brown 5 Serve beetroot kebabs with
(8-10 minutes). Rub hazelnuts in a dollop of labne topped with
a tea towel to remove skins and warm dukkah butter and
set aside to cool. Meanwhile, scattered with dill.
dry-roast spices in a frying pan Drink suggestion A light red,
over low heat until fragrant such as Pennyweight Gamay. ➤
Torshi and makdous
SERVES 4 // PREP TIME 30 MINS // COOK 10 MINS (PLUS COOLING AND PICKLING)
“Torshi is pickled vegetables and makdous is oil-cured eggplant,” says

Abboud. Begin at least a week ahead to cure the eggplant. Pictured p111.
375 ml (1½ cups) white wine 2 For makdous, bring 2.5 litres
vinegar water to the boil and blanch
55 gm rock salt eggplant until just tender
¼ tsp ground turmeric (5-7 minutes; see cook’s notes
800 gm mixed vegetables, such p192). Refresh in a bowl of iced
as cauliflower florets, baby water. Drain and pat dry.
cucumbers (cukes), long red 3 Preheat oven to 230°C. Line
or green chilli an oven tray with baking paper.
½ garlic clove, finely chopped Roast capsicum on tray, turning
¼ tsp dried mint occasionally, until skin is charred
¼ tsp ground cumin and flesh is soft (25-35 minutes).
⅛ tsp dried basil Cool to room temperature then
⅛ tsp dried dill peel, remove seeds and finely
⅛ tsp ground coriander chop. Add to a bowl with walnuts
⅛ tsp ground cinnamon and garlic, season to taste and
Large pinch each of black mix to form a coarse paste.
pepper and nutmeg Make a small, deep slit in one
MAKDOUS side of each eggplant, fill with
8 Lebanese (baby) eggplant, a little paste, then rub eggplant
peeled (see note) with a large pinch of salt and
½ small red capsicum pack into a sterilised jar (see
40 gm lightly roasted walnuts, cook’s notes p192). Cover with
finely chopped oil, seal with a lid and leave at
½ garlic clove, finely chopped room temperature to mature
Olive oil, for preserving (1-2 weeks), then refrigerate.
Once open, use within 3 days.
1 To make torshi, bring 4 Combine garlic, spices
vinegar, salt and 1 litre water to and dried herbs in a bowl.
the boil in a saucepan, stirring Drain torshi, sprinkle with
to dissolve. Whisk in turmeric, spice mixture and serve with
pour over the vegetables in a makdous at room temperature.
non-reactive container to cover, Note Lebanese eggplant
cool, then seal and refrigerate are available from select
to pickle (overnight, but greengrocers. Substitute peeled,
preferably a week). halved Japanese eggplant.
Fried okra
SERVES 4 // PREP TIME 5 MINS // COOK 15 MINS (PLUS RESTING)
“Fried vegetables are quite common in the Middle East,” says

Abboud. “The beauty of these is that they’re cooked quite dark,
which often gives a bitter-sweet caramelisation.” Pictured p111.
200 gm okra, halved lengthways 1 Toss okra with 1 tsp sea tapping of excess flour, then fry
½ tsp cumin seeds salt. Leave covered at room in batches until golden brown
Vegetable oil for temperature to draw out the (3-5 minutes; (be careful, hot
deep-frying bitterness (1 hour). oil may spit). Drain on paper
50 gm chickpea flour (besan; 2 Dry-roast cumin on low heat towels, then toss fried okra
see note) until fragrant (3-5 minutes; see in cumin salt and serve with
50 gm cornflour cook’s notes p192). Cool, then lemon cheeks.
Lemon cheeks, to serve grind with a mortar and pestle Note Chickpea flour, known as
and toss with ½ tsp sea salt. besan, is available from select
3 Preheat oil to 180°C. Rinse supermarkets and Middle
okra to remove salt, drain and Eastern and Indian grocers.
pat lightly with paper towels. Drink suggestion Anise-
Combine chickpea flour and flavoured spirit such as arak
cornflour in a bowl, toss okra or raki.
in flour mixture to coat well,
Lamb cutlets with sumac
and parsley salad 1 tsp lemon juice 5 For tomato ezme, combine
SERVES 4 // PREP TIME 35 MINS // COOK 5 MINS (PLUS RESTING) Small pinch each of ground ingredients in a separate bowl
black peppercorns and and season to taste with salt.
“Barbecued lamb is such a classic Middle Eastern flavour, along ground cumin 6 Serve cutlets with tomato
with parsley salad,” says Abboud. “The addition of the ezme ezme, parsley salad and a
gives it a delicious sweetness that ties it all together.” 1 Combine onion juice, oil dollop of toum.
and baharat in a bowl and Note Biber salcasi, a Turkish
1 tbsp onion juice, squeezed TOMATO EZME season to taste. red pepper paste, is available
from 2½ tbsp finely grated 2 ripe Roma tomatoes, diced 2 Bash cutlets with the side of from Middle Eastern grocers.
onion, pulp discarded 1 spring onion, thinly sliced a large knife to flatten slightly Baharat, a Middle Eastern spice
1 tbsp vegetable oil ¼ red onion, finely chopped then toss to coat in marinade. blend, is available from Middle
1 tbsp baharat (see note) ¼ cup mint, finely chopped 3 Preheat a barbecue Eastern grocers (or see recipe
4 untrimmed lamb cutlets ¼ cup coriander, finely (preferably charcoal) or p104). Toum, a garlic sauce, is
(about 300gm) chopped char-grill pan to medium-high available from Middle Eastern
½ cup (firmly packed) 2 tbsp diced green capsicum heat. Grill lamb, turning once, grocers (or see recipe p64).
flat-leaf parsley, coarsely 1 long green chilli, seeds until cooked to your liking Drink suggestion A medium-
chopped removed, finely chopped (2-3 minutes each side for bodied red wine such as
¼ white onion, thinly 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, medium). Rest for 5 minutes. Öküzgözü Vinkara from
sliced plus extra for drizzling 4 Combine parsley, white onion Central Anatolia, Turkey. ●
½ tsp sumac 1 tsp biber salcasi (see note) and sumac in a bowl and season
Toum (see note), to serve 1 tsp pomegranate molasses to taste.
Homel and
Lamb, garlic, and

chickpea pilaf
p123
trad itions
Fenugreek
semolina cake
p 122
Reem Kassis’s The

Palestinian Table is
more than a collection of
her family’s traditional
recipes, it’s an ode to
her heritage, from her
childhood home in
Jerusalem to the
mountains of Galilee.
G
rowing up, there was the food we ate at our Nine-spice mix
kitchen table in Jerusalem, and the food we MAKES 100GM // PREP TIME 5 MINS // COOK 15 MINS (PLUS COOLING)
ate at my grandmothers’ tables in their villages.
It was delicious, it was made with love, and it “This spice mix is featured in many of the dishes in this book,
was our food. But the thought of these foods making up lending them a uniquely Palestinian flavour,” says Reem Kassis. “It
a Palestinian table was an elusive notion at the time. is my mother’s own blend, but feel free to adjust to suit your taste,
Not until I left home for another country did I grasp the or substitute with store-bought baharat, or Lebanese seven spice
mix, for an equally tasty, albeit slightly diferent, flavour profile.”
undeniable importance of food to national identity and
the intricacies associated with defining it.
On my journey to bring these pages to your hands, 6 tbsp whole allspice 1 Place all ingredients in a large
I came to a quiet clarity: there is no single Palestinian 6 pieces of cassia bark or frying pan over medium-low
cinnamon quills heat. Stir with a wooden spoon
table. The Palestinian table spans our entire geography
3 tbsp coriander seeds periodically to ensure spices
from the mountains of the Galilee to the valleys of the 1 tbsp whole black do not burn, until you begin to
south, from the coast of Yaffa all the way to the West Bank. peppercorns smell the scent of the spices
It is scattered across the globe and built from memories of 1 tsp cardamom seeds (about 10 minutes).
a time when most of us lived in the same land. In spite ½ tsp cumin seeds 2 Remove pan from heat
of our political circumstances and global dispersion, 10 cloves and set aside to cool completely
what ties all Palestinian tables together is more than just 2 blades of mace (about 1 hour). This step is crucial
good food; it is the notion of “home”, the spirit of ½ nutmeg, crushed because if the spices are not
generosity, the importance of family, and the value cooled properly, they will form
of bringing people together. a paste when ground rather
One of the few things I regret about living abroad Reem than a powder.
is that my own daughters won’t get to enjoy that Kassis. 3 Place all the roasted spices
same kind of slow lifestyle with a bevy of aunts, into a heavy-duty spice grinder
(or a mortar) and grind until
grandmothers, and family cooks coming together
you achieve a fine powder
around a Palestinian family table, laden with food,
consistency. Store spice mix
steeped in laughter and conversation, and boasting in an airtight container. It will
the stories and knowledge of generations. Through the keep for several months,
recipes and stories in this book, however, I hope that although the scent will fade
they can carry our history, our food, our culture, and with time.
our home wherever they go in the world and never be
too far away from a Palestinian table.
Lentil,
garlic and
pasta soup
Palestinian frittata longer runny on top, flip it to
SERVES 4 // PREP TIME 15 MINS // COOK 5 MINS brown the other side. Continue
to cook for another minute or
“Palestinians often make frittatas for weekend breakfasts or 2 until done, then slide onto
supper,” says Kassis. “My uncle’s wife, Ameera, is famous for her a plate. If using a small pan,
ijjeh – the perfect mix of crisp and flufy, spicy and smooth. This is repeat, adding more oil, until
her recipe – it’s generous with herbs, but adjust to your taste.” the egg mixture is all used
up. Serve hot olives,
8 eggs herbs, garlic, chilli, cumin, 1 tsp mint, tomato, pita
4 spring onions, finely salt and ¼ tsp ground black and labne.
chopped, plus extra to serve pepper, and mix until combined.
25 gm (½ cup) flat-leaf parsley, Sprinkle flour over the egg and
finely chopped whisk until incorporated.
25 gm (½ cup) mint, 2 Heat a generous amount of
finely chopped oil in a frying pan over medium-
1 large garlic clove, crushed high heat; use one very large
1 long green chilli (optional), pan or a small one and work in
seeds removed, finely batches. I prefer using a smaller
chopped pan and making several really
½ tsp ground cumin thin frittatas (they come out
1 tbsp plain flour crisper this way) adding more
Olive oil, for frying oil to the pan after each frittata.
Olives, mint and chopped 3 Once oil is hot, pour egg
tomato, to serve mixture into pan, tilting it to get
Store-bought labne and an even layer of eggs. Cook
pita bread, to serve until the edges start to curl and
the top is starting to solidify,
1 Break eggs into a large bowl periodically lifting with a spatula
and whisk until pale yellow and to make sure the bottom is not
starting to froth. Add onion, burning. When the frittata is no
Lentil, garlic and pasta soup

SERVES 4 // PREP TIME 5 MINS // COOK 45-50 MINUTES
“This is a peasant dish from a time when people needed to create hearty, yet
afordable meals,” says Kassis. “In the Middle East, beans and legumes were
often the protein of choice over expensive and harder to source meat. Ample
flavour made up for the lack of meat, and the flavours here are very satisfying.
Top it with parsley and sumac or lemon juice to make it more flavourful.”
125 ml (½ cup) olive oil then partially cover pan and consistency similar to bean
1 onion, finely diced reduce heat to maintain a soup – not so thin it falls of
225 gm lentils (green or brown), gentle simmer. Cook until lentils the spoon but not so thick it
picked over and rinsed are tender but still hold their feels like pudding.
1 tsp ground cumin shape (20-30 minutes, 6 Serve soup sprinkled with
200 gm dried tagliatelle or depending on variety). parsley and topped with sumac
linguine, broken into 3 Once lentils are cooked, or lemon juice.
3-5cm lengths (see note) add pasta, increasing the heat Note Traditionally this dish is
5-6 garlic cloves, crushed to reach a vigorous simmer, made with a dough of flour,
Chopped flat-leaf parsley and cook, covered until pasta water and salt rolled out thinly
and sumac or lemon juice is al dente (10-15 minutes). then rolled onto itself and sliced
(optional), to serve 4 Meanwhile, heat remaining into short fettuccine or linguine-
olive oil in a small frying pan, like strips. I substitute dried
1 Pour half the olive oil into a add garlic and stir until fragrant linguine (any small pasta shape
casserole, add onion and cook and light golden, taking care not will work), which I break into
over medium-high heat, stirring to burn it because it will make short pieces. I also use fresh
regularly, until onions have it bitter (about 3 minutes). Stir pasta for an almost identical
softened and are starting to garlic and oil into soup. result to the original version,
crisp at the edges (6-8 minutes). 5 If the consistency is too chopping it into strips and
2 Add lentils, cumin, and thick, add 1 cup water and bring throwing it in, keeping in mind
¼ tsp black pepper and toss to to a boil. If it’s too thin, cook it requires less cooking, about
combine. Pour in 1.5L water, add the soup until some liquid 3 minutes. ➤
1 tsp salt and bring to a boil, evaporates. You want a
Fenugreek semolina cake
MAKES ONE 28CM CAKE // PREP TIME 50 MINS // COOK 1 HR (PLUS RESTING)
“This is one of the most typical Palestinian desserts, but is

localised to the centre and south of the country,” says Kassis.
“The cake is soaked in syrup after baking and must stand for
a few hours, preferably overnight, before serving. This recipe
yields a cake of medium thickness, but for a thinner, crunchier
cake use a larger cake pan.” Pictured p119.
2 tbsp fenugreek seeds dough – not so loose it can

Tahini or butter, for greasing be poured like cake batter, but
300 gm semolina not so stif it can be kneaded
60 gm plain flour liked bread.
4 tbsp olive oil 5 Wet your palms, using them
4 tbsp vegetable oil to spread the batter into the
1 tbsp granulated sugar greased tin, and smooth out
1 tbsp nigella seeds the surface. With a sharp knife,
1 tbsp ground star anise seeds score the cake with diagonal
1 tsp baking powder lines in one direction, then in
1 tsp dried yeast the opposite direction, to form
½ tsp ground cinnamon a diamond pattern. Place a
¼ tsp turmeric pine nut or blanched almond
20-30 pine nuts or blanched in the centre of each diamond.
almonds Set aside, covered with a tea
FLAVOURED SUGAR SYRUP towel, to rest and rise (1 hour).
400 gm caster sugar 6 Preheat oven to 200°C.
Squeeze of lemon juice Bake the cake until a dark
½ tsp orange blossom water golden brown, (20-30 minutes).
Chicken, onion and sumac casserole ½ tsp rosewater Remove from the oven and pour
SERVES 4-6 // PREP TIME 15 MINS // COOK 1 HR 15 MINS cooled syrup over cake while
1 For sugar syrup, combine still warm. Cool completely
“The combination of onions and sumac is one of the most
sugar, 350ml water and lemon before serving (for several hours,
traditional Palestinian flavours” says Kassis. “This recipe, more
juice in a small saucepan or overnight). If you attempt
common in the northern part of Palestine, is a perfect weeknight
and bring to the boil. Simmer to cut the cake before it has
dinner – it can be oven-ready in less than 15 minutes.”
until slightly thickened (about cooled, the pieces will crumble.
5 minutes), then remove from 7 Once cooled, cut out
1.25 kg chicken pieces (about 2 Add 125ml water to the dish, heat and add orange blossom individual portions from the
4 whole legs or 6 skin-on cover tightly with foil, and bake water and rosewater. Cool cake tin and serve. Remaining
breasts) until chicken is cooked through completely. Syrup will keep cake will keep in tin covered
6-7 onions, diced (1-1¼ hours; juices of chicken in an airtight container in the in aluminum foil or plastic wrap
3-5 potatoes, cut into rounds will run clear when a thigh is refrigerator for up to 2 months. at room temperature for up to
(optional) pierced with a skewer). Check 2 Place fenugreek seeds 5 days, or in the refrigerator
3 tbsp sweet paprika once or twice during cooking in a saucepan with 475ml water, for up to 2 weeks.
2 tbsp sumac to make sure liquid hasn’t bring to the boil, then reduce
1 tbsp ground cumin entirely evaporated and top the heat to medium and simmer
1 tsp nine-spice mix up with more water if necessary. until seeds are tender and
(see recipe p120) You don’t want the dish to be plump (20-25 minutes). Strain,
3-4 tbsp olive oil completely dry, but you also reserving cooking water.
Roasted pine nuts, to serve don’t want a soup, more of 3 Meanwhile, grease a
Pita bread (if not using a gravy. 28cm-diameter round cake tin
potatoes), to serve 3 Remove foil and increase with tahini or butter (or use a
oven temperature to it’s highest 20cmx 30cm rectangular cake
1 Preheat oven to 180°C. Place setting (about 250°C; or preheat pan). Place all the remaining
chicken, onion, and potato in the grill to high). Continue ingredients, except pine nuts
a greased or non-stick deep to cook in oven or under grill in a large bowl with ½ tsp salt
ovenproof dish. Combine until chicken skin crisps up and mix until well combined and
spices, 1 tbsp salt, and olive oil (5-10 minutes). Remove from resembling wet sand in texture.
This extract from The
in a small bowl, then pour into oven and rest for 5 minutes 4 Add strained fenugreek Palestinian Table by Reem
roasting dish and rub evenly before serving. Sprinkle with seeds and 250ml fenugreek Kassis (Phaidon, hbk, $49.95)
into onion, chicken, and potato. pine nuts and serve with pita. cooking water. Mix well with has been reproduced with
Make sure the chicken pieces your hand or a wooden spoon. minor GT style changes.
are skin-side up and aren’t If necessary, gradually add
crowding each other. more water; you want a soft
Lamb, garlic and chickpea pilaf Holiday date and nut cakes
SERVES 6-8 // PREP TIME 15 MINS // COOK 2 HRS 30 MINS (PLUS SOAKING) MAKES ABOUT 30 // PREP TIME 2 HRS // COOK 5-10 MINS (PLUS RESTING)
“This hallmark dish of Hebron is prepped at home, then sent to the “With a Muslim mother and a Christian father I had twice as many
neighbourhood oven where it’s cooked in a special copper pot,” holidays as most people,” says Kassis. “This meant double the
says Kassis. “It’s quite easy to cook at home with an almost identical amount of ma’amoul, which are synonymous with holidays for both
taste. Serve it with yoghurt to contrast the richness.” Pictured p118. Christians and Muslims in Palestine.” Begin this recipe a day ahead.
3 tbsp olive oil, plus 2 tbsp the surface, then simmer until 1 kg fine semolina your hands. Add yeast, sugar,
extra lamb is tender (1 hour to 1 hour 500 gm butter, at room rosewater and orange blossom
2-3 pieces mastic (see note) 20 minutes). Remove from heat, temperature water and mix to combine. Begin
2 fresh bay leaves strain broth and set meat aside. 60 ml (¼ cup) vegetable oil adding water, a tablespoon at
1 tbsp nine-spice mix (see 2 Preheat oven to 160°C. Heat 250 gm plain flour a time and knead gently (do
recipe p120), plus 1 tsp extra butter and the extra oil in a ½ tsp mastic ground with ½ tsp not overmix, or your ma’amoul
½ tsp turmeric cast-iron pot over medium-high sugar (optional; see note) will be tough) until a clump of
600 gm boneless lamb shoulder, heat. Once butter has melted, ½ tsp ground mahlab dough holds together without
cut into 5cm cubes, or reduce heat to low, add (optional; see note) crumbling. Cover and leave
2.5kg bone-in stewing sliced onion and cook, stirring 1 tsp dried yeast to rest (15-30 minutes).
cuts of lamb or beef occasionally, until softened 2 tbsp sugar 3 Meanwhile, for date filling,
2 onions, 1 sliced into and golden (10-15 minutes). 4 tbsp rosewater knead ingredients in a bowl
half-moons Add garlic, sauté until softened 4 tbsp orange blossom water until combined, then shape
2 tbsp butter (2-3 minutes), then add spices Pure icing sugar, to serve into grape-sized balls (this
15-18 garlic cloves and 1 tsp salt and stir until DATE FILLING (OPTION 1) makes three times what you’ll
1 tsp ground cumin fragrant (1 minute). Add rice 1 kg date paste (see note) need, so keep remaining
1 tsp turmeric and toss to coat, then add 2 tsp ground cinnamon for another batch, or reduce
500 gm rice (jasmine or medium chickpeas and toss to combine. ¼ tsp each ground nutmeg quantities as desired). Or,
grain), washed and drained 3 Pour 1 litre reserved broth and cloves for nut filling, combine all
400 gm canned chickpeas, over the rice mixture and NUT FILLING (OPTION 2) ingredients in a bowl.
drained and rinsed increase heat to high. When 1 kg coarsely chopped 4 For date cakes, take a
Toasted pine nuts, almonds broth starts to boil, remove from walnuts or pistachio nuts walnut-sized piece of dough,
and plain yoghurt, to serve heat, arrange meat on top of the (or a combination of both) flatten slightly, and place a date
rice, cover pan and place in the 200 gm white sugar ball in the centre. Enclose filling
1 Heat olive oil in a large oven until rice is fully cooked 2 tbsp orange blossom water completely and roll into a ball.
saucepan over medium-high and the meat has browned 2 tbsp rosewater Slightly flatten with your palm,
heat until hot but not smoking. nicely (1 hour). 4 tbsp melted butter then, with the round tip of a
Add mastic, bay leaves, 4 Remove from oven and stand 1 tsp ground cinnamon wooden spoon, make a hole
nine-spice mix and turmeric, uncovered for 5 minutes then in the middle of the cake and
and stir until fragrant, (1 minute). sprinkle with toasted nuts and 1 Place semolina, butter and oil decorate with a metal pincher
Add lamb and sear on all sides serve with yoghurt. in a large bowl and work with or decorative mould (or pinch
(about 3 minutes) until golden. Note Mastic, the dried sap from your hands until combined and with your fingernails).
Add whole onion, tossing to the mastic tree, is available from it resembles wet sand (at least 5 For nut cakes, take a piece
coat in spices, then add 2 litres herbies.com.au. 10-15 minutes). Cover with of dough and use your thumb
water and 1 tbsp salt. Bring to plastic wrap and rest overnight. to create an indentation in the
the boil, skimming foam from 2 The next day, add flour, centre. Fill with about 1 tsp nut
mastic, mahlab and 1 tsp salt to mixture and enclose, carefully
semolina and gently rub in with forming a dome or oblong
shape, then decorate.
6 Preheat oven to 200°C and
line two baking trays with baking
paper. Place cakes on trays and
bake until bases are a very light
golden brown (5-10 minutes).
Remove and cool completely.
7 Dust with icing sugar before
serving. Cakes will keep in an
airtight container for 7-10 days
at room temperature or in the
Holiday date and freezer for 3 months.
nut cakes Note Mastic is available from
herbies.com.au. Mahlab,
a spice made from ground
cherry pits, and date paste
are available from select
Middle Eastern grocers. ●
JUNE
TRAVEL
Some like it hot
Following frankincense routes in Oman, new
lives in Cairo, and bold ambition in Abu Dhabi.
The Louvre
Abu Dhabi
136
PHOTOGRAPHY MURRINDIE FREW
p
From high desert passes to the lush Arabian coast, TONI MASON
follows her nose along the frankincense trails of Oman.
Photography SHARYN CAIRNS

PREVIOUS Muscat were closed at dusk and a curfew imposed.
PAGES The town That was before the palace coup, when Sultan Qaboos
of Birkat Al Mawz
at the foot of the bin Said, the current monarch, overthrew his father
Jabal Akhdar and ushered in a new era, spending the spoils of oil
range, Oman. discovered in the mid-1960s on infrastructure and
Left: a mishkak
vendor near the opening the nation to the world.
Seeb souk in The oil rush could have turned ugly, but instead
Muscat. Far left: the Omanis have managed to embrace modernity
prayer time
at Muscat’s
and maintain a strong sense of their heritage.
Grand Mosque. The magical Chedi Muscat, set on the beachfront
overlooking the Gulf of Oman, beautifully embodies
this synthesis of old and new. The engaging doormen
wear formal traditional dress: white, ankle-length
dishdasha, turban and a khanjar, the short, hook-shaped
ceremonial dagger worn tucked under the belt. And
while the design is contemporary, the resort has a
bewitching air of the exotic. The almost blindingly
white suites are scattered through eight and a half
hectares of tranquil gardens and decorative pools,
where domed pagodas are likely to be occupied
by dishdasha-clad guests tapping on laptops. Inside, the
suites have arabesque touches in metal fretwork lamps
and sculptural sunken stone baths, and that famed
hospitality comes in the form of decanters of gin, vodka
and whisky, along with plates of fresh fruit, jars of nuts
– and dates, of course.
On a Saturday night our guides, Issa and Ahmed,
take us downtown to eat like locals. Muscat is a low-
slung city bound by the sea on one side and mountains
on the other, its white and sand-coloured buildings
I
t’s twilight in Seeb, an old fishing town on no higher than eight storeys by royal decree. Where
the outskirts of Muscat, and the souk is back Oman’s flashy neighbours Dubai and Abu Dhabi
in business. Evening prayer has ended, and are forests of high-rises, here the Islamic identity is
men in dishdashas and kuma caps gather maintained, most buildings bearing Arabic flourishes
and stroll among the stalls. Pyramids of dried and the broad streets lined with curlicued streetlights.
anchovies and prawns and trays of glistening Beside a small mosque in the Ministries District,
cuttlefish vie for attention with bags of dried limes and a café called simply Tea House is the go-to for Oman’s
fragrant cardamom, jars of golden ghee and masses of crêpe-like flatbread, khubz rakhal. It’s folded over
local dates. We’re offered a cluster of pale fresh dates savoury fillings such as cheese and egg, or a combination
still on the stem. They’re crunchy, astringent, with no of the two with chips, then grilled, and served along
more than a hint of sweetness. with frothy karak tea, enriched with condensed milk
There’ll be plenty more to try during our and saffron. The tables are full, inside and out, and
adventure in the Sultanate of Oman, from the waiters ferry takeaway orders on trays to a constant
capital hugging the serene shores of the Arabian Sea procession of cars that pull up outside.
to the jagged peaks of the Al Hajar mountains, and Closer to the corniche we try mishkak, the
then south, following bone-dry frankincense trade popular grilled skewers of various meats and seafood
routes, to the incongruously lush and tropical coast sold on the streets. Trucks and vans congregate on
of Dhofar. Dates are not just a staple in Oman, used roadsides all around the city at dusk, and the drivers
in cooking and turned into vinegar and syrup for set up makeshift grills, illuminated by humming
marinades and curries; they’re the flavour of Omani generator-powered lights. We juggle sticks of grilled
hospitality, offered as an essential accompaniment to beef and lamb, doused with spicy tamarind or chilli
conversation and spiced tea or coffee during almost sauce, and watch the parade of pimped-up cars cruise
every encounter, no matter how casual. by. It’s Saturday night, after all.
Oman is an exceedingly hospitable place, but it Like many Omanis, Issa is proud of what his
wasn’t always so. The fabled home of the Queen of country has achieved in less than 50 years. In 1994, he
Sheba existed in isolation until relatively recently, tells us, Omani women became the first in the Gulf
largely undeveloped. Until 1970, the city gates of region to be given the right to vote and to stand in ➤
parliamentary elections. There are currently seven Above: canyon a pleasurably confusing maze of narrow alleys lined
women ministers in the government – “and the Saudis views at Al Aqr, with shops arranged roughly by wares: silver and
one of three
only just allowed women to drive cars”, he hoots. villages on the gold, pashminas and handicrafts, frankincense and
There are more figures relayed to us with pride at Jabal Akhdar myrrh. This must be one of the few places in the
Muscat’s Grand Mosque, a majestic marble complex of walk. Opposite, world where you can find the gifts of the three wise
clockwise
courtyards and arched walkways surrounding a prayer from top left: men under one roof. Ground turmeric, tamarind
hall for 6,500 worshippers. They kneel upon the second poolside at pods, cardamom, saffron, dried roses, lemons and
largest hand-woven carpet in the world, Ahmed says. Anantara limes are amassed in kaleidoscopic displays. Bartering is
Al Jabal Al
It’s a 21-tonne masterpiece that took 600 women four Akhdar; Abdul
de rigueur, though not in the case of gold, and it pays
years to weave. The colossal crystal chandelier above Aziz, doorman to have someone do it for you. The obliging nature of
it measures fourteen metres by eight; a cherry-picker at Anantara Al the Omanis extends even to the touts, who show
Jabal; luqaimat
is required to clean and change its 1,122 bulbs. at Bait Al Luban
nothing but good humour when we pass them by.
The branch of Islam practised in Oman is in Muttrah; We have lunch overlooking the port at Bait Al
called Ibadi, a liberal form of the religion that harvesting Luban, on the third floor of a 140-year-old former
resin from a
preaches tolerance of race and religion with no guesthouse. Its décor is traditional – wooden fretwork
frankincense
discrimination. The irrepressible Naima Ali, tree; the Royal screens, brightly patterned cushions, a jalsa floor-
a volunteer at the Islamic Cultural Centre in the Mountain seating area – and so is the food. Paplou soup, made
surrounding manicured grounds, greets us with Villa bath at with locally caught longface emperor, a type of bream,
Anantara Al
tea scented with cardamom and the obligatory dish Jabal Al Akhdar. is bright with turmeric. A salad of white onion
of dates. The centre opened in the wake of the and tomato is peppered with strips of salted shark,
9/11 attacks in the US, she says, with the aim of a staple. Shuwa is a specialty – lamb marinated in
helping visitors learn more about Islam. “People oil and spices, wrapped in palm fronds, and roasted
were confused,” she says. “We’re closing the gaps. in a fire pit for at least six hours. It’s served with
Some of the fog has lifted when they leave. I’m here rice cooked in a meaty broth with chickpeas and
with a small hammer, breaking down barriers.” peppercorns, and a lemon-garlic sauce. Then come
The souks are as central to Omani daily the sweets, gently spiced and fragrant – first luqaimat
life as the mosques. About 20 kilometres from dumplings steeped in date syrup and honey and
downtown Muscat is the old port of Muttrah, scented with saffron, and then a final round, served
curled around a harbour in which traditional fishing on a silver cake stand, of bite-sized treats made with
boats are dwarfed by the royal yacht. A tall arched coconut and saffron, date and sesame, and caramelised
gate marks the entrance to the Muttrah Souk, one condensed milk. The experience is complete when
of the oldest in Oman, perhaps the Arab world. It’s guests’ hands are doused in rosewater as they leave. ➤
The next day we drive two hours south-west to
Nizwa, the old capital city. The highway is flanked by
the Al Hajar mountain range to the west, in the centre of
which lies our destination for the evening, Jabal Akhdar
mountain. To the east, large stone houses, mostly Below: Nizwa
two-storeyed to accommodate extended families as is the date merchant Ali
Al Manthri with a
Omani custom, cluster in sun-baked towns on the flat. basket of Hilali
Nizwa is near deserted in the midday heat, rising dates. Bottom:
well into the 40s. One of the few people to be seen is dates coated in
sesame seeds
a Bedouin sitting cross-legged in the shade of his van, at Abu Eyad Al
smoking as he awaits customers for his dried shark. Manthri. Right:
The souk is likewise quiet, but the Abu Eyad Al Nizwa Fort.
Manthri date shop is doing a lively trade. A dozen
varieties of date are on offer, ranging in colour from
creamy caramel to rich dark brown. Some are coated
with sesame seeds or filled with tahini. Dates feature
in myriad sweets, alongside various iterations of Omani
halwa flavoured with saffron, rosewater, dates or nuts,
including a pungent garlic-infused version eaten as
a morning tonic. Proprietor Ali Al Manthri, offering
the customary dates and coffee, tells us he can have
up to 40 varieties on sale, from 250 or so varieties
indigenous to Oman.
The ascent of Jabal Akhdar is restricted to
four-wheel drives, a rule enforced at a checkpoint
at the foot of the mountain. It’s a wide, sealed road,
with plenty of laybys where we can admire the view
over the ranges, but it’s steep and tortuous. As we
near the top there’s a loud crack like a gunshot.
“Chips!” shouts Ahmed over the engine. A packet
in his snack supply in the back has succumbed to
the altitude. It’s like an exclamation mark for the
2,000-metre sign we just passed.
Jabal Akhdar means green mountain, which
seems a misnomer when we reach the grey-brown
plateau at the top. But the region is renowned for
its roses, from which rosewater is distilled, and for
peaches, grapes and pomegranates; limbs heavy with
the rosy fruits can be glimpsed hanging over garden
walls everywhere.
Anantara Al Jabal Al Akhdar Resort seems to
emerge from the rocky landscape as its terracotta-
hued buildings of local stone heave into view. It
sits spectacularly on the brink of a canyon surrounded
by craggy peaks and overlooking precipitous terraces
of greenery. The welcome here is as fragrant as it is
exotic. Frankincense billows through the lobby, which
opens to a grand courtyard with seating around a
central fireplace, and a café specialising in tea. The
signature blend is infused with the famed local damask
rose, while the minted Moroccan tea is refreshing in
the heat, which hasn’t dropped noticeably despite the
elevation. From here a watercourse, echoing ancient
falaj irrigation channels, bisects a sprawling garden of
native shrubs, pomegranates and roses. Dramatically
lit at night, it leads the way to the cliff’s edge.
It’s clear that French-Moroccan architect Lotfi
Sidirahal drew inspiration from traditional forts in
designing the resort, notably in the cone-like tower
that houses the signature restaurant, Al Qalaa. But
the dining option to beat here is a private dinner set
on a platform that stretches to the brink of the canyon,
named Diana’s Point. The princess apparently visited
the site briefly back in 1986 (less splendidly, the
resort’s Bella Vista restaurant has named a burger in
her honour). In this dramatic setting a chef prepares
a Lebanese spread of meze and grills, served to the
single pampered table by a dedicated maître d’.
A hike with one of the resort’s “mountain gurus”
to the three largely abandoned villages above the terraces
is the chance to see the life coaxed from stony ground.
Much of the walk follows the falaj channels that deliver
water to groves of pomegranate, pear and walnuts before
reaching the terraces themselves, where banks of
rosebushes seem to cling to the escarpment. The
mountain’s name is not such a misnomer after all.
The children who once lived here would reach the
school in the valley below, incredibly, by bounding down
the terraces – a feat infinitely more suited to the goats
that wander tightrope fashion along the stone walls in
the villages in search of water and low-hanging leaves.
W
ater – although in this case an
abundance of it – is also the defining
feature of the Dhofar region in Oman’s
south. Having flown for the best part of
two hours over desert-like plains often starker than the
Australian outback, it’s a surprise to see the landscape
turn green as we descend to Salalah, the capital of the
region. From May to early September the region is
blessed with the khareef, or monsoon. The balmy
weather rejuvenates the nearby ranges and attracts
holidaymakers from all over the Arabian Peninsula,
seeking to escape the 50-degree heat at home.
It also accounts for the huge walled plantations of
banana and coconut palms that ring the city and line
the approach to Al Baleed Resort Salalah by Anantara.
Reminiscent of a whitewashed village, albeit an
uncommonly luxe one, the resort has at its heart a long
infinity pool that stretches to a private beach. The pool
is flanked by 30 guestrooms, two of three restaurants,
and rows of villas set among graceful coconut palms.
Behind their high walls each villa has a courtyard with
a four-poster cabana beside a garden-fringed pool.
The resort takes its name from the neighbouring
Al Baleed World Heritage site, the remains of an
ancient port and trading post for frankincense. While
its fragrance wafts through hotel lobbies, shops, souks
and homes throughout Oman, most of the country’s
frankincense, and the most prized, comes from the
Dhofar region. This is where you come to follow the
frankincense trail. ➤
F
locks of camels lope beside the road as
we head inland to see the source of this
legendary resin. Our guide, Hussain, stops
for us to marvel at the camels, and it turns
out they eat dates, too, as we discover when one pokes
her long-lashed head through the open window of our
car. Save the date!
The small, rather scraggy frankincense trees
grow wild in harsh, stony soil, and most notably in
the protected Wadi Dawkah, about 40 kilometres from
Salalah. As Hussain shows us, the resin is harvested by
scraping off a swatch of the papery bark and making a
small cut. The sap that instantly bleeds out is left for a
few days to harden before it’s collected, destined to be
graded and sold for incense or distilled into essential
oil, attributed with all manner of mystical and
medicinal benefits.
East of Salalah lie the ruins of the ancient port
of Khor Rori, also known as Sumhuram, and the
fabled palace of the Queen of Sheba. Overlooking
the beach and a natural harbour, it was once a trading
post for the then-swashbuckling nation and a landmark
on the frankincense trail. This was the destination of
laden caravanserai and the departure point for their
cargo on sailing ships bound for the Mediterranean,
India, and other Eastern kingdoms. Signs in the maze
of crumbling stone walls, now only a few metres high,
pinpoint the sites of homes, workshops, a temple and
a “monumental building” inside what were once
imposing city walls. Inscriptions in old Arabic mark
the founding of the port, dating back to the 4th
century BC. Sadly, they make no mention of Sheba,
immortalised in the Qur’an and the Bible – and her
presence here remains the stuff of legend.
Later that evening, Salalah’s Al Hafah Souk is
buzzing and the frankincense stalls are the busiest.
The vendors drop little nubs of the resin onto charcoal
in terracotta burners and prospective buyers wave the
fragrant smoke towards their noses to appraise its
quality. Haggling and joking ensue. Many then wander
to Lialy Hadrmout, a Yemenite restaurant that serves
grilled skewers and flatbread that’s slapped against the
inside of a cauldron-like fire pit to cook.
Back at the resort, after a meal overlooking
the beach, groups of men gather on the terrace to
smoke shisha. Once they’ve chosen a flavour from the
menu, perhaps grape and mint, the waiter disappears
to prepare the tall hookah pipes and re-emerges with
them locked and loaded. The sound of bubbling and
banter makes a soothing soundtrack to a moonlit
view of the Arabian Sea. It’s a kind of peace in the
Middle East.
The next day at the airport before our departure,
we head to a shop to buy camel-milk chocolate. Unable
to decipher the flavour on a pack, we ask for help from
the shop assistant. “Dates,” she laughs. “Surprise!” ●
an
m Gulf of Oman
O
Muscat
UAE
Nizwa
Saudi Arabia
Tr i p
notes
Arabian Sea
Salalah
Getting there
Qatar Airways flies from five Australian
cities to the Omani cities of Muscat,
Salalah and Sohar via its hub in Doha.
It operates one direct flight daily from
Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth and Canberra
and twice daily from Sydney to Doha, with
connections to 150 destinations on six
continents. qatarairways.com
Stay
Anantara Al Jabal Al Akhdar Resort
Opened in October 2016, this resort is
set on the edge of a canyon on one of
Oman’s highest mountains. Guests can
salute the sun on the cliff’s edge, take
in films under the stars, and take a hike
with the resort’s “mountain gurus”.
Thrillseekers can scale the cliff-face
and fly over the canyon on zip-lines. The
resort can arrange the two-hour transfer
by car from Muscat. If renting your own
car, hire a four-wheel-drive to be allowed
up the mountain. Rooms from $840. Al
Jabal Al Akhdar, jabal-akhdar.anantara.com
Al Baleed Resort Salalah by Anantara

A private beachfront dotted with palms
is the exotic setting for Al Baleed, just
15 minutes from the airport in the
southern city of Salalah (or a nine-hour
drive from Muscat). Opened soon after
the Al Jabal sister resort, it’s close to
lush wadis and groves of frankincense
trees, and Salalah’s Al Hafah souk.
Rooms from $475. Al Mansurah St, Al
Baleed, Salalah, salalah.anantara.com
The Chedi Muscat This beachfront resort

is a study in serenity with an air of Middle
Eastern romance. One of its three The central
infinity pool
swimming pools is said to be the longest at Al Baleed
in the Middle East, its 103 metres fringed Resort Salalah
by palms and six restaurants. Rooms from by Anantara
$864. North Ghubra 32, Way No 3215 Street overlooks the
private beach.
No 46, Muscat, ghmhotels.com
Top left: prayer
time in Muttrah.
More Left: a vendor
Visit tourismoman.com.au at Muttrah Souk.
Mezlai at the
Emirates Palace
Hotel, Abu Dhabi.
Right: Zaya Nurai
Island resort.
Cultural
capital
The new Louvre is the ultimate trophy for Abu Dhabi, but it’s only the beginning
for a city with the grandest designs for its future, writes LARISSA DUBECKI.
Photography MURRINDIE FREW
W
hile Dubai may have spent
much of the past two decades
building tall towers and hosting
parties, Abu Dhabi, its more
reserved rival city, has been
pursuing soft power of another
kind in an effort to shore up an oil-free future.
A long-term campaign by the Abu Dhabi government
to persuade marquee cultural institutions to open
outposts in the city – part of its blueprint to create
an essential stopover between hemispheres – came
to fruition spectacularly last year when the Louvre
Abu Dhabi opened in a cluster of 55 pavilions
designed by French architect Jean Nouvel. It joins
the distinctive gold-domed UAE Pavilion events
space and Manarat Al Saadiyat arts and cultural
centre on Saadiyat Island, a 27-square-kilometre
island adjacent to the main island of Abu Dhabi.
The Louvre is among the first of a number of
cultural institutions designed by high-profile architects
planned for Saadiyat; but agreements have been
signed for the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi, designed by
Frank Gehry, a maritime museum by Tadao Ando, a
performing arts centre by the late Zaha Hadid and the
Zayed National Museum by Norman Foster.
Add a vibrant food scene, big-ticket sporting events
such as the Formula One Grand Prix, the Ferrari World
theme park and OTT malls seemingly designed to test
the limits of retail endurance, and this city of 1.8 million
people gives Dubai a run for its oil money.
Asia de Cuba
There’s seating inside at this London-via-New York
restaurant, but the beach deck with lantern-lit bar and
cabanas overlooking the Arabian Gulf is the place to
be. Part of the St Regis Hotel’s beach club, Asia de
Cuba occupies prime position on the Corniche, the
eight-kilometre promenade on the city’s north-western
shore. This is the home of “Chino-Latino” mash-ups
– Cuban fried chicken meets bao and seafood paella gets
a shishito pepper shake-up. Cocktails set the party mood
and electronic music competes with the call to prayer
coming from the mosque across the water. A city of
contradictions? You betcha. St Regis Hotel, Corniche Rd;
+971 2 699 3333; asiadecuba.com
EAT AND DRINK Shish Shawerma

Al Aqssa The original Levantine fast food is updated at the
You haven’t been to the Middle East if you haven’t bright new-school Shish Shawerma, where spit-grilled
had knafeh, a sweet pastry of cheese baked between meats are stuffed into pita pockets with parsley, onion,
layers of semolina dough, fillo or thin, crisp noodles tomato and chilli sauce, then grilled. It’s on a one-way
and topped with crumbled pistachio nuts. Al Aqssa street lined by restaurants where waiters take orders
is one of the oldest knafeh cafés in town, and it has directly from customers in their cars, who then drive
an arresting display of enormous shallow trays filled around the block until their food is ready – what locals
with the snacks. The delightfully gooey knafeh are sold call the “Abu Dhabi Drive Thru”. Behind Corniche Towers,
by weight and are best eaten immediately, drizzled to 2 Al Khalidiya; +971 2 650 5576; shishshawerma.com
order with warm sugar syrup scented with rosewater.
Al Salam St, Al Zahiyah; +971 2 644 2159 Vansha Ghar
The maxim that taxi drivers know where to find the
Mezlai best cheap eats holds true at this humble hole-in-the-wall
Restaurants serving genuine Emirati food can be café specialising in Nepalese food. The menu includes
hard to find in a place where local-born residents rugged chicken momos accompanied by an innocent-
comprise less than 20 per cent of the population. looking green sauce with a chilli kick, bhatmas
At Mezlai, however, the traditional cuisine eaten by (fried soy beans) and biryani. Most meals cost about
the nomadic ancestors of modern-day Emiratis has 15 dirhams, around $5. Waves of uniformed drivers
shifted from home kitchens to centre stage. It’s one eat with their hands, gracefully palming up saucy rice
of nine restaurants housed in the bonkers Arabian without spilling a drop; there’s cutlery for the less
wonderland of the Emirates Palace Hotel. Emirati practised, but only if you ask for it. Zayed the First St;
chef Ali Ebdowa is flying the flag with dishes such +971 2 644 0788; facebook.com/VanshaGhar
as lamb medfoun, which riffs on the traditional
technique of wrapping meat in banana leaves and STAY
cooking it in an oven dug in the sand. Another Jumeirah at Etihad Towers
signature is honey-glazed camel tongue with garlic Occupying one of the five strikingly irregular glass
and coriander, the sauce mopped up by local towers that have become a symbol of Abu Dhabi,
flatbread known as rgag. West Corniche Rd; Jumeirah commands impeccable views of the city
+971 2 690 7999; kempinski.com and ocean. Guests are greeted in a glass-walled lobby
the size of an aircraft hangar and decorated with huge
Royal Rajasthan Clockwise from Swarovski-crystal chandeliers, and the 382 spacious
top left: the
Distinguished by glittering tiles and purple trim, Louvre Abu
rooms and suites are decked out in lavish Middle
the Bollywood-style interior of this vegetarian Indian Dhabi; knafeh Eastern-accented style. Cool off in any of three
restaurant in the heart of Abu Dhabi’s old commercial at Al Aqssa; swimming pools or relax on a private beach where
the lobby of
centre is worth a look, but it’s more fun to order at the deckchairs are arranged with geometric precision.
Jumeirah at
counter, take your token to the street-side window and Etihad Towers; A buffet breakfast in Rosewater restaurant has a
watch the chef wok-fry pani puri. The fragile shells are pani puri at Royal strong suit in Arabic fare with cold meze including
filled with a fragrant tamarind-spiked broth, potato and Rajasthan; labneh balls, local fig jam, and makdous, preserved
spit-grilled
a minty yoghurt sauce. Eat in a single mouthful or wear chicken at Shish eggplant stuffed with walnut and chilli. Etihad Towers,
the results. Hamdan St, Al Markaziyah; +971 2 635 3763 Shawerma. West Corniche; +971 2 811 5555; jumeirah.com ➤
Zaya Nurai Island Arabian medina, with a matrix of white-washed walls
Could this be the ultimate Persian Gulf island topped by an eight-layer silver dome creating a palm-
experience? A 10-minute speedboat ride from Saadiyat frond filigree effect – a glorious “rain of light” that
Island drops guests on the sandy wonderland of Zaya alone is worth the price of admission. Saadiyat Island;
Nurai Island, where 32 villas grace a perfect crescent +971 600 565566; louvreabudhabi.ae; open every day
of beach, each with a plunge pool and a daybed built for except Monday.
two. Larger villas, for groups or families, dot the other
side of the island. A pair of bicycles parked outside each Observation Deck at 300
villa are for island exploration – use those wheels to It’s high tea at high altitude – 300 metres above
hit the Smokin’ Pineapple beach bar, where decking the ground, to be precise – at Etihad Tower number
strewn with cushions is the ideal place to lounge with two, the third-tallest building in Abu Dhabi. After an
a Caipirinha in hand, and rope swings and hammocks ear-popping lift ride to the 74th floor, take a 360-degree
dangle in the water ready for Instagram posing. Eating twirl around the room to survey the city (use a telescope
options include wood-fired pizze at Smokin’ Pineapple, to zoom in on the jaw-dropping splendour of the
local seafood at Hooked, modern Mexican at Dusk newly built Presidential Palace, which isn’t open
and international fare at Frangipani. Zaya Nurai Island; to the public). An elegant high tea is presented on
+971 2 506 6222; zayanuraiisland.com three-tiered silver platters bedecked with colourful
mini-pastries. Tea, or Champagne cocktail? That’s your
SEE choice, but undeniably the best time to visit is at sunset.
Louvre Abu Dhabi Tower 2, Level 74, Jumeirah Hotel, Etihad Towers,
The catchcry of the new Abu Dhabi could well be West Corniche; +971 2 811 5666; jumeirah.com
“art, not oil” as the UAE government diligently
diversifies its interests into culture. Opened late last DO
year, the Louvre’s first foreign outpost (the partnership The Galleria
alone came at a cost of $1.5 billion) is the jewel in the The air-conditioned shopping mall is king in
crown of the nascent Saadiyat Island arts precinct. Clockwise from the UAE, thanks in no small part to notoriously
The Louvre’s collection is enough to induce Stendhal above: Saadiyat hot summers during which the mercury can pass
Beach Club;
syndrome, with more than 600 works – many on loan Odessa Francisco
50 degrees. The Galleria, located on the bijou Al
from French institutions – telling the story of shared greets guests at Maryah Island to the west of Saadiyat Island, sits at the
human experience from ancient times. The Louvre Jumeirah at top of the retail food chain in Abu Dhabi, with the
Etihad Towers;
Paris has the Mona Lisa but Abu Dhabi has da Vinci’s outdoor dining
biggest names in world fashion jostling for attention
Salvator Mundi, bought last year for a staggering at Frangipani on across two waterfront-hugging levels. For an aprés-
$591 million, making it the most expensive painting Zaya Nurai Island; shop pit stop, head to the terrace at modern Peruvian
in the world. The building by Pritzker-winning French Louvre Abu restaurant Coya for sea-bream ceviche brightened
Dhabi; the fish
architect Jean Nouvel is the other star of the show. His souk at Mina with aji amarillo. Al Falah Street, Al Maryah Island;
build-it-and-they-will-come museum is a play on an Zayed market. +971 2 616 6999; thegalleria.ae
Mina Zayed Market
Get to the heart of old Abu Dhabi by swapping
shopping malls for souks. The ever-growing vertical
city limits stop at Mina Zayed, the traditional market
that occupies a spit of land near the main port.
The cacophonous fish souk is lined by dozens
of stalls; customers buy their fish, take them to the
fish butchers, identified by their red overalls, to clean
and fillet, then present their catch to one of the simple
restaurants dotted around the perimeter. Here, cooks
will grill the fish over charcoal, fry it, or serve it in
a masala. Across the road behind the Al Mina fruit
and vegetable souk, the national obsession with
the date is on show at 20 identikit shops lining one
laneway. As well as the popular sticky-sweet medjool
dates, look for fresh dates, sold still attached to the
stalk, and designer dates stuffed with dried kiwifruit
or almonds. Al Mina St, Zayed Port Getting
there
Saadiyat Beach Club Etihad Airways
operates 42 direct
Saadiyat Island has been called the UAE’s answer flights a week
to the Hamptons, and Saadiyat Beach Club is doing between its hub
its utmost to keep the comparison alive. A mostly in Abu Dhabi and
four Australian
young crowd of Emiratis park their new-model cities: Brisbane,
European sports cars out front and spend the Melbourne, Perth
afternoon lazing in the cabanas lining the enormous and Sydney
Connect in
beachfront pool while a DJ spins tunes. As well as Abu Dhabi to
being the natural habitat of the city’s upwardly destinations
mobile, this rarefied stretch of beach is also the across the Middle
nesting site for a colony of hawksbill turtles that East, Asia, Africa,
Europe and
return seasonally to lay eggs in the sand. Exit 14, North America.
Saadiyat Island; +971 2 656 3500; saadiyatbeachclub.ae ● etihad.com
Tr a v e l m e m o i r
called New Cairo. Here, a district called

Al Rehab is a snapshot of what the city has
become since the Arab Spring.
Much of New Cairo is indistinguishable
from any urban centre in the world: malls,
food courts, apartment blocks. But Al
Rehab is unique: a dusty neighbourhood
populated mostly by Syrians, among the
23,000 registered Syrian refugees who
now live in the Egyptian capital.
I’m here visiting Syrian friends who
moved here years ago, long before the
country’s civil war began in 2011. Like
them, I grew up in Syria. I lived in
Damascus until I was 12 and visited every
summer for years after that. Though my
friends and I had long talked about
catching up, we never did. I think we
were reluctant to admit that our reunion
wouldn’t be – couldn’t be – in Damascus.
Reunited, the three of us skirt a
knot of minibuses and taxis and enter
a crowded market set up by Syrian exiles,
UNPACKING full of butchers and bakers, grocers and
A tale of two cities

CD stores. Two of us sit at a plastic
table while the other orders dishes from
crowded food shops. Teenage boys in
T-shirts and slippers shuttle between diners
In Cairo, FATIMA BHUTTO inds the past and the future and stores, hurriedly setting plates on
of the city embodied in very diferent eating spaces. paper placemats. A shop called Mahabeh
makes sfeeha, oven-baked flatbread spread
with lamb mince that’s flavoured with
pomegranate molasses and studded with
O
n Talaat Harb, a Belle Époque here to plan the revolution that would pine nuts – it’s the best I’ve had outside
street in downtown Cairo, unseat the country’s king. Saddam Damascus. (So good, in fact, I pack a kilo
I pass armoured trucks and Hussein and Yasser Arafat stopped by of Mahabeh’s sfeeha in my luggage to take
teenage soldiers wearing for thimbles of perfumed Arabic coffee, home.) Spiced chicken shawarma slathered
bulletproof vests and wielding semi- the former as a student, the latter on his in toum, the thick garlic sauce, comes
automatics. It’s Friday. Two blocks way to nearby radio stations. from a shop called Al Nakheel.
away is Tahrir Square, where the Arab The café, too, is quiet today. A golden There are no foreign visitors here.
Spring blossomed seven years ago, Labrador sits by the painted-glass entrance. Al Rehab hasn’t made it into the city’s
bringing down an Egyptian president One of the owner’s sons, a young boy, must-see lists and may never do so, though
and fuelling the wildfire of popular hands me a menu in French, English of all the food I’ve eaten in Cairo, the
protest across the Middle East. and Arabic and I sit at a table set with a fare in Al Rehab’s Syrian neighbourhood
ILLUSTRATION LIZ ROWLAND/ILLUSTRATION ROOM
It’s quiet, but even now one never red-and-white cloth and a terracotta vase is the most deserving of recommendation.
knows if, after prayers on Friday afternoon, holding a little Egyptian flag. Sunburnt The teenagers clear our plates and
people will once again spill into the streets. German tourists sit at a nearby table. A we sit on our white plastic chairs, sipping
Café Riche has been a landmark waiter in a waistcoat and bow tie presents glasses of ayran through straws. Café
on Talaat Harb since 1908. In 1919 the my sweet citron pressé with a disappointed Riche, reassuringly wood-panelled and
man who wished to kill the country’s last flourish, as befits a grand café. genteel, is filled with a particular sadness,
Coptic prime minister waited here for his It’s an echo of old Cairo, untouched a nostalgia for Cairo’s imagined past. Al
target (the assassination attempt failed). by revolution, when life was unhurried Rehab, with its crowded rôtisserie chicken
In 1923 Umm Kulthum, one of Egypt’s and the roads were not sullied by the shops and modest butcheries, thrives on
most popular singers, gave one of her first sound of military patrols. a fervour born of everything its patrons
public performances in the café. Gamal By contrast, on the north-eastern have lost and the energy they’re mustering
Abdel Nasser and the Free Officers met outskirts of the old city is an urban sprawl to build their future. ●
PERFECT
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Visit
14
Nizwa Fort,
Oman
13
Desert heat
From bazaar to bistro, keep
6
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6 Etro fringed belt, $1,389, from Net-a-
Porter. 7 Lena velvet slides, $280, from
Pretty Ballerinas. 8 Loewe linen-blend
12 trousers, $1,230, from Matches Fashion.
9 Figue Josefina silk-georgette kaftan,
$1,768, from Net-a-Porter. 10 Seamaster
Railmaster Master Chronometer 40mm
watch, $6,525, from Omega. 11 Scarf,
$50, from Witchery. 12 Loewe linen-blend
shirt, $1,230, from Matches Fashion.
11 13 Simon Miller Bonsai Mini bag, $650, from
My Chameleon. 14 Keira ballet flats,
$100, from Country Road. Stockists p192.
8
10
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FORECAST:ESCAPE
Treat your senses to absolute indulgence.

Explore our new season packages.
www.crownhotels.com.au
MACQ01, HOBART. PHOTOGRAPHY STU GIBSON
AUSTRALIAN
GUIDE
2018
HOTEL
contemporary japanese cuisine
sydney the rocks || double bay

melbourne flinders lane || hamer hall
brisbane eagle street pier
sakerestaurant.com.au
Introduction
W e’ve witnessed
the rise of chia
puddings
hotel breakfast
bufets this year, and the
inexorable fall of paid WiFi; only
one hotel group on our list
in
Paramount
House Hotel.
In the west, Intercontinental
Perth City Centre has warmed up
the welcome in the world’s most
isolated capital city. And we were
charmed by the proudly made-in-
Tasmania ethos of Macq01 on
Hobart’s Macquarie Wharf.
of Australia’s top 50 hotels still Exactly what distinguishes a
charges its non-club guests for what should hotel from other genre-bending accommodation
be as indispensable as running water and is the subject of much pillow-talk at GT. In the end
a cheerful check-in. we follow our instinct, and this year it led us to
While researching the 2018 Gourmet Traveller Byron Bay; see our reviews of Elements of Byron
Australian Hotel Guide we’ve noticed more and The Byron at Byron Resort & Spa (page 166),
complimentary inclusions – minibars, happy hours both with welcome new features and renovations.
and guest laundries – largely due to the rapid Further afield, we name our favourite lodges
expansion of freebie-friendly Ovolo Hotels. And and resorts on page 186 – happy 10th anniversary,
we were poured a craft beer from a tap installed Southern Ocean Lodge.
at the check-in desk during one particularly We aim to recognise and celebrate the best
memorable stay – a gesture so hospitable we in the business, and this year we’ve added an
wonder why we haven’t seen it before. award for best bed (we were flat out researching
There are many reasons to celebrate that one). From bars to boutique hotels, you’ll find
Australia’s vibrant hotel scene this year. Our all our award winners on page 152.
reviewers were excited by the arrival of Paramount When we’re reviewing, we check in
House Hotel, at the heart of a cool community of unannounced and pay our own way. If a hotel
like-minded projects in Sydney’s Surry Hills (and isn’t up to scratch, it doesn’t make this list. We’ve
by the aforementioned ale on arrival). Also in nominated our top 50 hotels because we like
Sydney, we checked out the glittering new Sofitel them – in some cases love them. Each has a
tower in Darling Harbour, and a heritage special appeal we think is worth recommending.
restoration in inner-city Potts Point. It’s time to get packing.
Guide Editor Helen Anderson Project Manager Kendall Hill Coordinator Harriet Davidson Chief Subeditor David Matthews Subeditors Nick Hadley, Hannah Warren
Interns Matthew Hirsch, Laksha Prasad, Cathy Yin Reviewers Helen Anderson, Max Anderson, Emma Breheny, Alexandra Carlton, Richard Cooke, Harriet Davidson,
Fiona Donnelly, Larissa Dubecki, Michael Harden, Kendall Hill, Catherine Keenan, Toni Mason, Pat Nourse, Sarah Oakes, Maggie Scardifield, David Sly, Max Veenhuyzen.
Contents
152 THE AWARDS 164 Spicers Potts Point HOBART & TASMANIA VICTORIA
165 West Hotel Sydney 172 Islington Hotel 179 Jackalope
156 COMING SOON 165 The Westin Sydney 172 Macq01 Hotel 180 Lake House
173 Mona Pavilions 180 Lindenderry at Red Hill
SYDNEY NSW 173 Pumphouse Point by Lancemore
158 The Darling 166 The Byron at Byron
158 Establishment Hotel Resort & Spa MELBOURNE CANBERRA
159 Intercontinental 166 Elements of Byron 174 Crown Metropol 182 Ovolo Nishi
Sydney 167 Halcyon House Melbourne 182 QT Canberra
159 The Langham Sydney 174 Crown Towers
160 The Old Clare Hotel BRISBANE Melbourne ADELAIDE & SA
160 Ovolo Woolloomooloo 168 The Johnson 175 The Cullen 183 Mayfair Hotel
161 Paramount House Hotel 168 Ovolo Inchcolm 175 Grand Hyatt Melbourne 183 The Louise
161 Park Hyatt Sydney 169 Next Hotel Brisbane 176 Hotel Lindrum
PHOTOGRAPHY TOM ROSS
162 Pier One Sydney 169 Spicers Balfour Hotel 176 The Langham PERTH
Harbour Melbourne 184 Como The Treasury
162 QT Sydney QUEENSLAND 177 The Olsen 185 Crown Towers Perth
163 Shangri-La Sydney 170 QT Gold Coast 177 Park Hyatt Melbourne 185 Intercontinental Perth
163 Sheraton on the Park 171 Sofitel Noosa Pacific 178 QT Melbourne City Centre
164 Sofitel Sydney Darling Resort 178 Sofitel Melbourne
Harbour 171 Spicers Clovelly Estate on Collins 186 LODGES AND RESORTS
THE AWARDS
We’ve tested everything from bufets to beds for the annual Gourmet Traveller
Australian Hotel Guide. Here are this year’s standout addresses.
terrazzo-tiled showers, Stretch out with a

Hotel of the Year or plan a chilli-fired night yoga class or meditation
PARAMOUNT HOUSE HOTEL, SYDNEY, NSW out at Longrain or Chin session on the roof terrace
Chin nearby. Paramount of the new Paramount
Old meets new. Bold House gets the balance House is a hub as much Recreation Club, and
meets beautiful. Cool of work and play just right. as a hotel, surrounded by fuel up at its kiosk. Or
meets class. And good In-room virtues include like-minded projects and head downstairs to Poly,
taste trumps all. The pure linen bedding, potted tapping into the on-trend the highly anticipated
one-time Pacific HQ plants, indoor-outdoor notion that hotels should restaurant and bar
of Paramount Pictures spaces and cut-above be the conduit to a city’s by Ester’s Mat Lindsay
has emerged as the minibars featuring cultural life. The hotel (GT’s 2018 chef of the
country’s most exciting charcuterie from LP’s shares its space with year), which was taking
hotel of 2018. A four- Quality Meats, cheeses the bustling Paramount shape as we went
year renovation of the from Formaggi Ocello Cofee Project, a café that to print. Welcome to
1940s landmark has and wines by maverick takes its cofee seriously; the neighbourhood.
created a 29-room inn makers William Downie a co-working oice; the paramounthousehotel.com
of poise and style, but and Tom Shobbrook. pint-sized Golden Age Finalists: Jackalope,
also fun and games. In Soak in Japanese-style Cinema and Bar; and even Mornington Peninsula,
other words, Paramount wooden tubs or under a regular growers’ market. Vic; Macq01, Hobart, Tas
The awards
Regional Hotel of the Year

LAKE HOUSE, DAYLESFORD, VIC
Three decades ago, Alla and Allan Wolf-Tasker saw
the potential of the quiet central Victorian spa town
of Daylesford and opened an ambitious restaurant and
country house beside pretty Lake Daylesford. Since then,
Lake House has set the benchmark for Australian regional
hospitality and helped reposition the town as the state’s
most indulgent destination. Lake House is continually
evolving – expect revamped waterfront studios and a
lake-facing horizon pool by year’s end – but it’s always
defined by its gorgeous setting, smart service, indulgent
treetop spa and destination restaurant. lakehouse.com.au
Finalists: Halcyon House, Cabarita Beach, NSW;
Jackalope, Mornington Peninsula, Vic
Large Hotel of the Year

MACQ01, HOBART, TAS
Large hotels needn’t commissioned local art
be predictable. Hobart’s such as Troy Rufels’
Macq01 hotel, designed landscape photos and
by heritage experts Circa Duncan Meerding’s timber
Morris Nunn to resemble lampshades, and each
a riverside wharf, has a room tells the story of a
distinctive personality. character from Tasmania’s
It is Tasmania writ large past or present. Everything
in wood, steel and glass; feels custom-made and
PHOTOGRAPHY SHARYN CAIRNS (JACKALOPE), ADAM GIBSON (MACQ01) & WILL HORNER (PARAMOUNT HOUSE)
a 114-room hotel that pours handpicked for this inn

its island soul into every beside the Derwent River.
detail. The rooms, unusually macq01.com.au
generous in space and Finalists: Grand Hyatt
amenities (cofee machines, Melbourne, Vic; Park
epic minibars), feature Hyatt Sydney, NSW
Boutique Hotel
of the Year
JACKALOPE, MORNINGTON PENINSULA, VIC
It’s barely a year since the 46-room Jackalope landed like
an alien spacecraft in the bucolic hills of the Mornington
Peninsula. There’s so much to love about this wildly
unconventional hotel, starting with its sumptuous rooms
and suites, especially those with vineyard views. We also
love the avant-garde art, bold furnishings and daring vision
that distinguishes Jackalope from other boutique hotels.
Its vineyard bistro Rare Hare often has a two-hour wait
for tables at weekends and Saturday night stays are
booked out months in advance. jackalopehotels.com
Finalists: The Langham Sydney, NSW; The Old Clare
Hotel, Sydney, NSW
The awards
Best bed
MAYFAIR HOTEL, ADELAIDE, SA
Almost all our favourite beds this year were made by
AH Beard, the custom sleepmaker that has been producing
mattresses since 1899. With just one factory responsible
for so many of our best nights in, it’s not easy to pick the
Goldilocks option. What tipped our vote in favour of the
Mayfair Hotel’s King Koil sleeper was not the fact that
the hotel’s owner tried 30 beds before choosing this one,
or that she had the South Australian supplier make this
particular version – oicially named the Mayfair Luxury
Mattress – exclusively for the hotel. No, what convinced
us was discovering one of our reviewers loved the bed
so much, she ordered one for herself. mayfairhotel.com.au
Finalists: Spicers Potts Point, Sydney, NSW; Ovolo
Inchcolm, Brisbane, Qld
Best bar
TWR BAR IN CROWN TOWERS PERTH, WA
The rather ho-hum name inventions. The list comes
belies the glamorous with a glossary introducing
nature of this bar. TWR, drinkers to the merits
short for The Waiting of salmon fat-washed
Room, dazzles with its Talisker 10 (as seen in
jewel-coloured furnishings, their sriracha-spiked Holy
Moroccan-accented Mary) and activated
chandeliers and fluted charcoal “to flush toxins
marble in pinks and white. and chemicals from the
Acres of glass and an body”. Cocktail hour as
elegant terrace aford detox session? Count us
views over river and city in. crownperth.com.au
skyline as bar staf prepare Finalists: Elements
modern interpretations of of Byron, Byron Bay,
classic cocktails alongside NSW; Islington Hotel,
their own extravagant Hobart, Tas
Best breakfast
HALCYON HOUSE, CABARITA BEACH, NSW
What could be more Australian than breakfast by the
PHOTOGRAPHY KARA ROSENLUND (HALCYON HOUSE)
beach? At Halcyon House, the tastefully transformed

surfer motel on Cabarita Beach in northern New South
Wales, mornings are something to look forward to. At
airy in-house restaurant Paper Daisy, days begin with
a soundtrack of waves crashing beyond the pandanus
grove and gifted chef Ben Devlin’s à la carte breakfast
spread. There’s something for everyone, from coconut
and chia pudding with honey and berries to toad in
the hole with fried sourdough, egg and lonza. Add
daily smoothies and well-made cofee for a morning
to remember. halcyonhouse.com.au
Finalists: Como The Treasury, Perth, WA; Grand
Hyatt Melbourne, Vic
Best club sandwich
JACKALOPE, MORNINGTON PENINSULA, VIC
You would think, given love a quirky name at
this is our fifth year of Jackalope) – an unholy
rating hotel clubs, that marriage of drunken
we’d be tired of eating chicken, crisp chicken
sandwiches stufed with skin, pickled green
chicken, bacon and bits tomatoes (made on site,
of salad. But each year with tomatoes from the
at least one hotel kitchen garden), bacon jam and
presents a club sandwich fresh lettuce on white
that rocks the room- bread, soft and flufy
service menu. This but sturdy enough
year, that kitchen was at to avoid sogginess.
Jackalope, and it served Order one ASAP.
our reviewer his best club Finalists: The Louise,
sandwich ever. It’s called Barossa Valley, SA;
Drunk in Da Club (they QT Gold Coast, Qld Best service
SPICERS CLOVELLY ESTATE, MONTVILLE, QLD
There’s a lot to be said for the special brand of hospitality
at small regional hotels, especially those with hands-on
managers like Spicers Clovelly Estate’s GM Stephen
McAteer. He’s an exemplar in the field of relaxed country
hospitality, often greeting guests on arrival, ofering them
a prosecco on the lawn and a tour of the estate while
dispensing tips about morning yoga classes, boules and
bikes, or a nearby waterfall walk. Staf are cut from the same
hospitable cloth; our request for a phone charger is met
with, “I’ll bring it straight to your room!” McAteer recently
relocated to sister hotel Spicers Hidden Vale, but he leaves
behind an impressive service culture. spicersretreats.com
Finalists: Next Hotel Brisbane, Qld; Shangri-La
Sydney, NSW
Best pool Best minibar

ELEMENTS OF BYRON, BYRON BAY, NSW MACQ01, HOBART, TAS
Adults-only pools are terribly elitist and may even violate This is not a minibar. Pepper beef jerky).
UN conventions on the rights of children. But they’re With 37 items on ofer, But what we love about
perfectly acceptable as a complement to a pool of (almost) it’s definitely a maxibar. the Macq01 maxibar
equal decadence that’s open to all guests, as is the case Almost all products are are the extra-thoughtful
at Elements of Byron on Belongil Beach in northern proudly Tasmanian, for things – the thick woollen
New South Wales. The resort’s recent expansion added an island showcase as Mongrel scarf (two of
99 two-bedroom rainforest villas and a separate adults- authentic as this Hobart our reviewers bought
only pool to complement the existing 850,000-litre infinity hotel. The water is Cape them), the Tasmanian
lagoon surrounded by daybeds. The new pool’s key selling Grim, while the beers are Tea Company canisters,
point, apart from its cabanas, is a swim-up tequila bar Boags, Cascade and sunscreen and Panadol.
serving a dazzling range of very good agave spirits, as Hobart Brewing Co. The Anything you might need
well as poolside snacks such as tacos stufed with prawns, wines are all local, as are for a stay in the Tasmanian
Tecate-braised brisket or butternut pumpkin. Way to the spirits (Sud Polaire, capital. macq01.com.au
make a splash. elementsofbyron.com.au McHenry, Hellyers Road) Finalists: Mona Pavilions,
Finalists: The Johnson, Brisbane, Qld; and the snacks (Cadbury’s Hobart, Tas; QT Hotels
Sofitel Sydney Darling Harbour, NSW chocolate and Mountain & Resorts ●
H otel opening dates
are the very definition
of optimism. This year
three significant new
properties overshot their scheduled
opening dates and missed their
chance to be reviewed for our
guide. So, a belated welcome to
the 312-room W Brisbane, the city’s
first new five-star in two decades
(wbrisbane.com); The Darling Gold
Coast, a 57-suite addition to The Star
casino (thestargoldcoast.com.au); and
The Westin Perth, which opened at
the end of April.
The Westin’s highlights include a
rooftop pool, the Roman-style Garum
by Melbourne chef Guy Grossi –
one of several new bars and eateries
COMING within the surrounding Hibernian

Place precinct – and 368 spacious
Westin rooms ranging from 42 to
SOON
240 square metres (westinperth.com).
Westin Hotels & Resorts is also
keeping busy in Queensland with
The Westin Brisbane, set to open
on central Mary Street in November
From coast to coast, the red carpet is being rolled with 286 rooms, a swim-up pool bar
out at new hotels with potential to shine. and day spa (westinbrisbane.com).
Coming soon
Elsewhere in the Queensland oicial launch date yet but Hayman’s more than 200 suites, a signature
capital, Fortitude Valley’s makeover website is accepting reservations Ritz-Carlton spa and a rooftop bar
continues with The Calile, a from March 2019 (hayman.com.au). over the Swan River when it opens
seven-storey hotel of 178 rooms, And on the Gold Coast, Ruby mid-2019 (thetowersperth.com.au).
suites and poolside cabanas, due to Apartments is the first of four There are at least two compelling
open by year’s end (thecalile.com). planned high-rise towers located reasons to keep an eye on Tasmania.
The Emporium Hotel, recently a few blocks from the beachfront Baillie Lodges starts construction
PHOTOGRAPHY SHARYN CAIRNS (UNITED PLACES) & THOM DAVIDSON (WESTIN PERTH)
bought by Ovolo Hotels, is being and furnished with one-, two- and next year on a Southern Ocean
renovated with a Woods Bagot three-bedroom suites targeted Lodge-style retreat, the 20-suite
design and new street-side squarely at the family-holiday set. Remarkable Lodge high on the
restaurant and bar, and will open Pack the bags for a November Tasman Peninsula, within easy
its doors as Ovolo The Valley check-in (therubycollection.com.au). striking distance of the World
towards the end of the year In Melbourne, an apartment Heritage-listed Port Arthur historic
(ovolohotels.com.au). hotel on a far smaller scale opens site (baillielodges.com.au). And
Meanwhile, Emporium Mark this month in inner-city South Yarra, on Parliament Square in Hobart,
II – oicially known as Emporium directly opposite the Royal Botanic a cluster of heritage Georgian
Hotel South Bank – will open next Gardens. The dozen one- and and Art Deco buildings is being
month. Guests in its 143 rooms will two-bedroom suites at United Places reimagined as a 128-room hotel
be fed by chef Josue Lopez (formerly have a high-finish style similar to to be named, simply, The Tasman.
of GOMA) and watered in the hotel’s Jackalope (Carr Design Group is Expect it to set sail mid-2019.
23-metre infinity pool and rooftop responsible for both) and a butler A few key addresses to
From far left:
bar, with a retractable roof and to attend to guests. On the ground note in the 2020 diary: the
Garum at The
cantilevered terrace on the 21st Westin Perth; the floor, chef Scott Pickett will operate 32-room urban Jackalope in
floor (emporiumhotels.com.au). Penthouse Suite in-house restaurant Matilda and Melbourne’s Flinders Lane, two
The Whitsundays resort Hayman at The Darling oversee the room-service breakfast W Hotels – one on Melbourne’s
Island is set to emerge from a Gold Coast; a hampers (unitedplaces.com.au). Collins Street and another at
room at United
post-cyclone rebuild with a new look Places in South
In the west, the long-awaited Darling Harbour in Sydney – and
and identity – out with One & Only, Yarra; the pool Ritz-Carlton Perth is taking shape another Ritz-Carlton, at The Star
in with Intercontinental. There is no at W Brisbane. at Elizabeth Quay. It will house in Pyrmont, Sydney. ●
THE DARLING A caviar facial at The Darling
SYDNEY
Yes, The Darling is part of The Star Spa might be the ultimate
casino complex, but it exists within in face bling, while the signature
its own glamorous galaxy. Guests are Moroccan Hammam Ritual promises
nevertheless treated like high-rollers a rosewater-scented escape.
– attentive porters usher them through Joggers are ofered
the vast lobby with its monumental complimentary water and
black marble pillars and vivid red running maps in the lobby. The
accents, and check-in comes with a 25-metre outdoor pool is a good
warm welcome and a smooth rundown place to cool down after the
of what’s on the cards. Entry-level morning’s exertion.
guestrooms are well appointed, with Breakfast at Sokyo, the
marble bathrooms and rain showers, Japanese restaurant of the
while a step up to a Jewel Suite, with lobby, is a highlight. The Continental
city or harbour views, doubles the size bufet ($28) includes Asian accents
and adds a bath and extra luxe. Easy such as soba noodles with condiments,
access to good restaurants, just while the à la carte ($38, including the
beyond the lobby, is part of the deal, bufet) features the sumo breakfast –
most notably Barbadian-flavoured full English with a Japanese twist – and
Momofuku Seiobo. 80 Pyrmont St, choushoku, with fish of the day, miso
The Darling
Pyrmont, (02) 9777 9000, Penthouse. soup, onsen tamago egg, edamame,
thedarling.com.au rice and Japanese pickles.
Sokyo has a full house of sake,
WHERE Darling Harbour, west of the CBD. COST From $540, without breakfast. AT A GLANCE 171 rooms and suites; Japanese-leaning cocktails,
bars, restaurants, cafés, pool, day spa, gym, steam room, paid valet and self-parking. IN ROOM Free WiFi, smart TV, an impressive wine list with plenty
Kube Bluetooth speaker, some baths, cofee machine, Lalique toiletries. BEST ROOMS The Stellar Suites place you in by the glass, and Champagnes that
the firmament on the 15th floor. The ceilings are high and the views expansive over the city, bridge or towards Balmain. stretch to the high stakes.
Establishment Room.
Room service from Mr Wong, WHERE CBD. COST

Dan Hong’s buzzy Cantonese From $399, without
restaurant around the corner, is breakfast. AT A
a must. Order wok-fried beef with GLANCE 31 rooms
kampot pepper and onions, add and penthouses; bars,
Netflix and chill. restaurants, gym, paid
The Merivale entertainment self-parking. IN ROOM
empire is arrayed around you, Free WiFi, iPad, Netflix,
with nine bars and restaurants in the Bose sound system,
hotel complex. From cocktails at the bath, cofee machine,
speakeasy-style Palmer & Co to the pillow menu, Le Labo
louche lounge at Hemmesphere, toiletries. BEST ROOMS
you’re spoiled for night-time choices. Besides the stylish
Establishment Garden is 120-square-metre
a magnificent setting for penthouses (with priority
breakfast, the exposed brick walls seating in all Merivale
covered in greenery and topped restaurants), your
ESTABLISHMENT HOTEL by a lofty glass ceiling. À la carte best bets are the
Is that a mirror ball being wheeled through the breakfast room? Of course oferings include an Asian-style Establishment rooms
it is. The Establishment is that kind of place: grown-up enough to ofer omelette of Alaskan snow crab, and – nab numbers 46 and
breakfast in an atrium with cathedral ceiling, but still a bit rock ’n’ roll. ricotta hotcakes with honeycomb 47 for the wow factor.
Accessed via a gritty city alley, it’s an in-the-know secret that largely and banana jam.
bypasses the suited crowd in the rowdy bar. Guestrooms retain all the From a Tank Stream Sour
character of the building’s former life as a textile warehouse, with timber- at Establishment Bar to The
beamed ceilings and thickly textured walls. To this has been added every Extravagant (18-year-old whisky
chic accessory the modern traveller requires: cowhide rugs, iPads, a deep and Palmer & Co’s spiced rum) at
bath, Netflix, a Bose sound system and, quaintly, a CD library. Discretion is Hemmesphere, there’s something
the keynote: staf are there when you need them and vanish when you don’t. for everyone. Or reach for the Ruinart
5 Bridge La, Sydney, (02) 9240 3100, merivale.com.au in the minibar.
Sydney
THE LANGHAM SYDNEY The subterranean pool next

The Cortile. to the day spa has the air of a
The pink taxi parked in front of
Roman bath, with stone columns and
The Langham hails from London,
a night-sky vault of twinkling “stars”.
but inside the hotel the vibe
Pack tennis whites for an
leans more Parisian salon.
Beyond the bright white-marble afternoon game on the hotel’s
lobby and sparkling chandeliers, court, followed by Pimm’s and
clusters of round-backed cucumber sandwiches, of course. Or
armchairs and curved, teal sofas request a picnic box and bicycles for
in the Palm Court bar surround a day pedalling around the harbour.
tables uniformly adorned with The bufet breakfast ($45) at
perfect pale-pink roses. There Bistro Remy is an elegant afair
are no hard edges here. The at tables set with silverware. The
light-filled guestrooms are eggs to order are delivered tableside
spacious and plush, with king with the ofer of a second espresso.
beds, plump sofas and generous Afternoon tea on Wedgwood teaware
soft furnishings. The hotel even is served in Palm Court, the finger
has its own private art collection, sandwiches and assorted cakes
INTERCONTINENTAL SYDNEY
curated in collaboration with ferried to the table on three-tier cake
Position, position, position. Intercontinental Sydney’s
Sotheby’s no less, with works stands. Or stay in and order from the
dress-circle location has always been chief among its
by the likes of Sidney Nolan and all-day room-service menu, which
assets, and it’s even more important now that the $200
Brett Whiteley throughout public runs from crab linguine to braised
million overhaul announced last year is yet to materialise.
spaces. Add impeccably gracious lamb shoulder for two.
(If they wait much longer, those late ’80s furnishings and
fittings will be back in fashion.) Few days will start better staf and your experience is A drink in Palm Court is an
than this: throw open the curtains to the most impressive complete. 89-113 Kent St, occasion, albeit a genteel
view in town – right between the sails of the Opera House Sydney, (02) 9256 2222, one. The more boisterous bars of
if you’re lucky, and across the Royal Botanic Garden and langhamhotels.com Barangaroo are a stroll away.
Port Jackson. You could gaze upon this splendour from
your window seat, but instead grab a map from the obliging
Palm Court.
concierges and venture forth. Though the hotel is looking
tired, Sydney has never looked better. 117 Macquarie St,
Sydney, (02) 9253 9000, icsydney.com.au
Consider upgrading to a room WHERE CBD. COST

with club access to Sydney’s From $246, without
most spectacularly positioned hotel breakfast. AT A GLANCE
lounge. This bird’s-eye view of Sydney 509 rooms and suites,
from the 32nd floor is accompanied adjoining rooms; bars,
by breakfast, all-day snacks, drinks restaurants, pool, day
and canapés and concierge service. spa, gym, paid valet
Make the most of such close parking. IN ROOM Free
proximity to the Botanic Garden. WiFi, some baths, cofee
Plunge in for free daily guided tours, machine, pillow menu,
Aboriginal heritage tours three times Agraria toiletries. BEST
a week, or download a free app for ROOM The apartment-
self-guided audio walking tours. sized Australia Suite has
Steamed pork buns, beef a terrace with cinematic
congee, baked ham sliced from views. And a grand
the bone and freshly poached rhubarb piano for composing
are a few of the welcome touches at the score.
the breakfast bufet in first-floor Café
Opera ($35). Attentive staf serve good
cofee to tables and squeeze fruit and
vegetable juices to order.
Surrounded by two floors of WHERE Millers Point. COST From $428, without breakfast. AT A GLANCE 98 rooms
sandstone colonnades, The and suites, adjoining rooms; bar, restaurant, pool, day spa, gym, steam room,
Cortile lobby bar best displays the tennis court, paid valet parking, pets welcome. IN ROOM Free WiFi, bath, cofee
hotel’s handsome 19th-century bones. machine, some balconies and kitchenettes, pillow menu, Chuan Spa toiletries.
Gather here for high tea beneath the BEST ROOM The Observatory Suite on the third floor is a stately home away from
atrium, or for a quick pre-dinner drink. home, with a large drawing room and views over the city and Observatory Hill Park.
Sydney
The Old
OVOLO There’s generosity in the
WOOLLOOMOOLOO free minibar restocked daily,
Clare’s lobby.
There’s an Alice in Wonderland free local calls, daily happy hour, and
feel to this 1915 wharf conversion guest loans of yoga mats, Xbox
– it’s old but it’s new, it’s big and Wii consoles, and more.
but manages to operate on a Amble along the length of the
human scale. New this year is wharf to marvel at the super
a “plant-based” restaurant, Alibi, yachts or to dine in one of Sydney’s
run by American chef Matthew better waterfront restaurants; the
Kenney (with a wine list by smart money favours Aki’s, the big
sommelier Chris Morrison) money heads to Otto.
styled to lend an epicurean The breakfast bufet is light
edge to the mezzanine lobby and fresh: breads, cheese and
beneath a four-storey vault. In the likes of soba and kale salad. Hot
rooms, the odd cramped angle dishes can be ordered at extra cost.
of the wharf’s heritage bones is The proximity of the wharf’s fine-dining
ofset by a riot of playful décor, strip means even hotel staf suggest
from bedheads printed with eating out rather than in, but if you’re
THE OLD CLARE HOTEL classic Australian tableaux to craving a late-night snack they’ll
Everything old is new again and, in the case of The flying ducks on the walls. Tying deliver a meat pie from Harry’s
Old Clare Hotel, it just gets better with age. The grungy it all together is the unmatchable Cafe de Wheels.
Clare pub and adjacent Carlton United Brewery building view; most rooms capture Happy hour from 5.30pm,
were transformed in 2015 into a 62-room oasis in buzzing snapshots of Sydney’s sparkling which is restricted to guests
Chippendale. Expect superior dining, art and shopping harbour, some from private who book their room online, covers
options on the doorstep, character in spades, and friendly balconies. 6 Cowper Wharf Rd, beer, wine and vegetarian platters.
staf. The neighbourhood vibe of pedestrianised Kensington Woolloomooloo, (02) 9331 The free minibar is stocked with
Street and Spice Alley and the Old Clare’s front bar draw 9000, ovolohotels.com.au beer and a white-wine blend.
locals as well as visitors. Set over four floors, rooms are
light-filled and luxe, marrying heritage features with
freestanding baths and super-king beds. All have high
ceilings, Mid-century furniture and Maison Balzac
glassware. 1 Kensington St, Chippendale, (02) 8277 8277,
theoldclarehotel.com.au
Every nook and cranny is WHERE 2km from the

social-media ready. Now CBD, walking distance
choose your backdrop: a vintage chair, from Central Station.
the lobby wall of old pub posters, COST From $299,
or the Studio 54 vibe at the restored without breakfast. AT A
Art Deco bar. GLANCE 62 rooms and
Grab a tin of Young Henrys suites, adjoining rooms;
Newtowner ale from the bar, restaurants, rooftop
minibar and head for the rooftop pool. pool, gym, free bike
It’s not made for laps but it has rock- hire, paid valet parking.
star views over Sydney’s favourite IN ROOM Free WiFi,
vertical garden. smart TV, Bose sound
Kensington Street Social takes system, some baths,
care of room service and the cofee machine, pillow
à la carte breakfast ($20) – a smoked menu, Triumph &
mackerel omelette, perhaps, or fig jam Disaster toiletries. BEST
on sourdough, with Single O cofee ROOMS The nine Clare
and fresh juice. Come lunch, Automata Rooms dial up the luxury Lo Lounge.
next door, or A1 Canteen, due to open with freestanding baths
soon, should be top of your to-do list. and super-king beds.
Old and new Chippendale WHERE Harbourside, on the city’s inner-eastern fringe. COST From $299, with
collide at the revamped breakfast. AT A GLANCE 100 rooms and suites, adjoining rooms; bar, restaurant,
illuminated bar of The Clare; Reschs pool, gym, paid valet parking, free self-service laundry. IN ROOM Free WiFi, iPad,
listed alongside craft beers and some baths and balconies, cofee machine, free minibar, Biology Smart Skincare
fruity cocktails, and students joined toiletries. BEST ROOMS Though most rooms have water views, Cityvoo rooms at
by agency execs. the end of the wharf have the best bridge and city skyline vistas.
So much to love: the rare luxury WHERE Surry Hills.
of a semi-enclosed terrace full of COST From $240,
potted plants; the comfort of pure linen without breakfast. AT A
bedding; a handwritten welcome note; GLANCE 29 rooms, lofts
a gem of a cinema downstairs. and suites, adjoining
Check-in has never been so rooms; bars, restaurant,
much fun. Staf pour a drink cafés, rooftop health
on arrival, perhaps a locally brewed club, shared oice
Wildflower sour ale, from a trio of space. IN ROOM Free
copper taps at the desk – a gesture WiFi, iPad, smart
so hospitable you wonder why it’s TV, some baths and
not done more often. terraces, Aesop
Start the day with excellent toiletries. BEST ROOMS
Sunny room. cofee at PCP and a breakfast- The biggest suites are
brunch menu served until 3pm. Keep the Mack Daddies:
it light with avocado, fermented salsa lounge, bedroom,
PARAMOUNT HOUSE HOTEL and cashew butter on sourdough, or terrace and bathroom,
It takes a village to make a great hotel. Paramount House Hotel is a handsome more substantial with fried chicken with the comforts of a
conversion of a former film-storage warehouse, its 29 rooms and lofts bearing waffles and maple bacon gravy. Stand Jardan sofa, Pakistani
a relaxed, lived-in style that favours comfort over design statements. High by for Poly, a restaurant and bar by kilim rugs, Cultiver linen
ceilings and old brickwork are teamed with terrazzo tiles, exposed copper the Ester team, due to open soon. bedding, and a deep
plumbing and potted plants, and the work of Australian makers – from Order your Negroni and timber tub for soaking
bathrobes to bathtubs – enhances the sense of place. Yet the hotel’s unique Sichuan-salted popcorn at and thinking.
appeal lies mainly in the strength of Paramount House’s creative community the Golden Age bar, and take them
and immediate neighbourhood: the seriously good cofee and sunny vibe of into the next screening at the Art
Paramount Cofee Project, which fronts the lobby; the art-house Golden Age Deco cinema. Or raid the excellent
Cinema and Bar; a cool co-working space; and a new rooftop health club minibar – natural wines, locally
and kiosk. A case study in the whole being greater than the sum of its parts. brewed beers, LP’s cured meats –
80 Commonwealth St, Surry Hills, (02) 9211 1222, paramounthousehotel.com and make a picnic on your terrace.
PHOTOGRAPHY SHARYN CAIRNS (PARAMOUNT HOUSE HOTEL) & NICOLE ENGLAND (OVOLO WOOLLOOMOOLOO)
PARK HYATT SYDNEY Rooftop pool.

Staf notify guests by text
Sparkling and abuzz with ferries message the moment their
and cruise ships, Sydney Harbour room is ready (often before the oicial
unfurls in front of the Park Hyatt like check-in time of 3pm) so the stay can
its own private playground. Each of begin without delay.
the 155 guestrooms, the restaurant Start the day with a jog or
and even the rooftop hot tub capture brisk walk to the Royal Botanic
views of the waterfront. Inside, the Garden; end it with a well-timed
décor is modern and muted, a smart drink at the Opera Bar watching the
backdrop for Australian artworks. sun set behind the Harbour Bridge.
Comfort and elegance are the While there’s a little hustling
focus in guestrooms, with spacious for seats with views among
marble bathrooms and balconies with guests, the truth is there isn’t a bad
oversized sunloungers. Dining options spot for breakfast in The Dining Room.
keep things local with Sydney rock Choose from a well-curated bufet
oysters and kangaroo tartare among or order from an à la carte menu that
the oferings at The Dining Room. runs from avocado toast to eggs
In a city besotted by property Benedict with smoked salmon.
value and location, this is a most The Park Hyatt’s bar is far
spectacular address. 7 Hickson from the best place for a drink,
Rd, The Rocks, (02) 9256 1234, hidden as it is in a rare windowless
sydney.park.hyatt.com corner of the hotel. Instead, find a spot
in the adjacent waterfront Living
WHERE The Rocks, near Circular Quay. COST From $990, with breakfast. AT A GLANCE 155 rooms and suites, adjoining Room. Or head to the rooftop pool,
rooms; bar, restaurants, rooftop pool, day spa, gym, steam room, paid valet parking. IN ROOM Free WiFi, Bose sound grab a table or cabana and have
system, bath, some balconies, cofee machine, pillow menu, Le Labo toiletries. BEST ROOM The Sydney Suite is a staf mix a perfectly tart Gin Sour
385-square-metre haven with all the trimmings: fireplace, indoor and outdoor dining and a show-stopping view. to go with that scenery.
PIER ONE SYDNEY HARBOUR As one of only two wharf hotels
The glass of bubbles ofered on arrival in the city, there are few more
mirrors the sparkling harbour view that spectacular or afordable places to
dominates the lobby and bar, the water stay and play by the harbour. Plan a
so close you could cast a fishing line day around it: start with a waterfront
while lounging with drinks at the bar’s walk or jog from your room, stroll to
booths and cabanas lining the pier. Circular Quay for a ferry (anywhere),
The location is hard to beat: part of the and return to your pier for sundowners.
Walsh Bay arts precinct, with the bridge Conveniently, there’s a water-taxi
looming overhead and much of the rank out the front.
harbour’s water traic bobbing past. Not close enough to the water?
Make the most of it by taking breakfast Dive in from the hotel’s private
with views at The Gantry’s waterside Astro-turfed pontoon, where an adults-
tables, or settle later pier-side with a only bar and plunge pool operate in
burger or ribs from the food truck on summer (November-February).
site. Inside, the handsome industrial The busy breakfast bufet ($38)
bones of this old finger wharf set is good without being stellar,
a nautical vibe in white, light-filled, and includes an egg station and good
unfussy rooms with city or (more) barista-made cofee. Things get more
harbour views. 11 Hickson Rd, interesting in lunch, pre-show and
Walsh Bay, (02) 8298 9999, Pier One Bar. tasting menus, which showcase
pieronesydneyharbour.com.au produce such as Flinders Island
wallaby and Robbins Island wagyu.
WHERE Walsh Bay, on the CBD fringe. COST From $299, without breakfast. AT A GLANCE 189 rooms and suites, If you can resist the siren call
adjoining rooms; bar, restaurant, food truck, gym, paid valet and self-parking, pets welcome. IN ROOM Free WiFi, of a pier-side tipple, the minibar
some baths and balconies, some cofee machines, pillow menu, Appelles toiletries. BEST ROOM The Admiral Suite stocks four pre-mixed cocktails by
has a wraparound balcony with views of the bridge, the Opera House and Luna Park. Melbourne’s Everleigh Bottling Co.
QT Executive King room.

Get wrapped at the retro- WHERE CBD. COST
styled subterranean spa and From $320, without
unwind in the steam room. Or submit breakfast. AT A GLANCE
to a straight-edge shave in the barber 200 rooms and suites,
shop next door. adjoining rooms; bars,
A stone’s throw from Pitt restaurant, café, day
Street Mall, the Queen Victoria spa, barber shop, gym,
Building and the Westfield shopping steam room, paid valet
maze, it doesn’t get more central parking. IN ROOM Free
than this if you’re after a Sydney WiFi, some baths and
retail fix. balconies, cofee
Breakfast in Gowings Bar machine, Malin + Goetz
& Grill is à la carte; don’t toiletries. BEST ROOMS
miss the huevos rancheros, a soft Two apartment-sized
tortilla with beans, avocado mousse, QT suites have plenty
coriander, lime and an egg. At lunch of oak-panelled space
and dinner, chef Grant King’s lengthy and balconies guarded
menu covers all bases, from oysters by gargoyles.
QT SYDNEY and snapper ceviche to 270-day
If you loathe beige hotels, you’ll love the QT. From door staf wearing fiery red Scotch fillet from the grill.
wigs and leather, to the video installations at reception and walls of suitcases In the restaurant bar or the
in the lobby, the QT is one big performance. There are nods to the building’s more glamorous Gilt Lounge,
former life – part State Theatre, part Gowings Department Store – in sleek, the drinks list is impressive,
pinstriped staf uniforms. Rooms and corridors can be dark but strategically particularly for spirits and cocktails
placed mirrors and lighting render them dramatic, and furnishings are bright (2002 Louis Roederer Cristal Rosé,
and modern. Remnant Art Deco features, including floorboards and stairwell anyone?). Highlights from the playful
signage to the now-defunct dressmakers’ workshop, lend character. There may minibar include quality booze,
be QTs popping up everywhere but the Sydney flagship works hard to feel a beard-trimming kit, a domino
unique. 49 Market St, Sydney, (02) 8262 0000, qthotelsandresorts.com set and a bow tie.
Sydney
Premier Grand Harbour

SHERATON ON THE PARK The rooftop health retreat is a
Fresh from a $45 million head-to- city oasis of glass-roofed pool
View Room.
toe makeover, the grande dame and hot tub, day spa, big gym, steam
room and sauna, but the standout
of Elizabeth Street once again
feature is the sun terrace with a
reigns over Hyde Park. This is
quintessential Sydney outlook across
a proudly full-service five-star,
parkland to sparkling blue harbour.
so expect porters to wrangle
Weary guests will give thanks
luggage, superior housekeeping
for the small mercy of a single
and room service, and generous
bedside master switch that shuts of
meals in Feast restaurant,
all the lights at the press of a finger.
where big breakfasts segue
Breakfast, served in the
into extravagant seafood bufets. light and bright Feast
Expect, too, dazzling views over restaurant, is the full five-star afair
the harbour and the Heads from ($44, $38 Continental). Highlights
higher-floor rooms and suites, include prosciutto freshly sliced of
the club lounge and rooftop pool, the bone, granola ice-cream, and egg
but less impressive oice-tower and smoked salmon muins with
SHANGRI-LA SYDNEY vignettes from “city side” rooms. hollandaise. The seafood bufet
It’s a front-row seat to Sydney’s sparkling harbour at Plantation shutters cleverly is popular at lunch and dinner.
Shangri-La Sydney, whether from a window seat in your conceal such views, while If nothing appeals on the
room or a velvet couch at Blu Bar on 36. Harbour vistas chaises longues and French tight, mostly domestic wine
are viewed from serene, uncommonly spacious rooms hangings lend a residential list at the Conservatory bar, a pretty
finished in light timbers and neutral tones, with marble feel that belies chain-hotel glass atrium on the first floor, take a
bathrooms equipped with a tub and speakers. There’s expectations. 161 Elizabeth Roadtrip to Mexico instead: tequila,
even deeper relaxation in store on the second floor, which St, Sydney, (02) 9286 6000, mezcal, agave and grapefruit.
houses a modest indoor pool and a day spa. The carpet sheratonontheparksydney.com
patterning and splashes of glitzy gold seem a little dated.
The staf, however, are polished and en pointe; chief
concierge Colin Toomey is one of the best in the business Sheraton Club
and sets the tone for exemplary service at this venerable Lounge.
Sydney address. 176 Cumberland St, The Rocks,
(02) 9250 6000, shangri-la.com/sydney
Count the ways to take in WHERE CBD. COST

one of the best views in From $295, without
town: from a cosy private window breakfast. AT A GLANCE
seat, a chair at the bar, or a table 565 rooms and suites,
at Altitude Restaurant. adjoining rooms; bar,
Ask the concierge to book a restaurant, cafés, pool,
table at one of Barangaroo’s day spa, health centre,
new spots (Cirrus, perhaps) and head sauna, paid valet
out to explore Sydney’s new style of parking. IN ROOM Free
waterside dining. WiFi, bath, some cofee
From 6am daily, Café machines, pillow menu,
Mix on level one serves L’Occitane toiletries.
a globetrotting bufet breakfast BEST BEDS The Royal
($42, $32 Continental) with eggs Suite captures harbour
to order, congee with condiments, panoramas fit for a
and all bases covered in between. princess, particularly
You’ll need a drink to steady one who also fancies
the senses at Blu Bar, where playing the grand piano.
sensational views come with inventive
house cocktails such as The Devil,
a startling blue concoction of
Belvedere, coconut syrup, lychee WHERE CBD. COST From $349, without breakfast. AT A GLANCE 558 rooms and
juice and blue Curaçao. Minibars are suites, adjoining rooms; bar, restaurant, café, rooftop pool, day spa, health centre,
elevated by the presence of pre-mixed paid valet and self-parking. IN ROOM Free WiFi, smart TV, bath, some balconies,
cocktails from The Everleigh Bottling cofee machine, walk-in wardrobe, pillow menu, Le Grandbain toiletries. BEST
Co; dial up for garnishes and ice, and ROOMS Grand Executive Suite rooms have access to the 21st-floor club lounge,
enjoy a Martini high above The Rocks. with views over Hyde Park and complimentary snacks and drinks.
Sydney
SOFITEL SYDNEY Though too small for energetic

lapping, the 20-metre infinity Victoria Terrace
DARLING HARBOUR pool on level four is perfectly formed Suite.
Set high above the throng, the
for scenic dipping and positioned
Sofitel is the new five-star face
for Insta-ready posing.
of the Darling Harbour tourist Hotel gyms are often relegated
precinct. While it’s koala souvenirs to spare-room real estate, in the
and fish ’n’ chips outside, inside basement or squeezed into awkward
is an alternative universe where spaces. Not here. A phalanx of cardio
greetings are in French and the and weight machines is lined up at
white-marble lobby is sweetly floor-to-ceiling windows facing Darling
scented and lit by candles. Harbour and the city skyline.
Upstairs is a Champagne bar, an Start the day with wraparound
infinity pool that appears to flow harbour views and a cut-above
into the harbour and 590 serene bufet breakfast ($40, Continental $34)
rooms and suites. Full-length views in Atelier by Sofitel. The distances
of the city skyline and harbour between food stations demand a plan
dominate, though there’s attention of attack so your espresso doesn’t cool
to detail in plush sandstone-veined while you’re browsing baskets of fresh SPICERS POTTS POINT
carpets, heavy timber columns, pastries, ordering eggs or waffles, Tucked behind the bump and grind of Kings Cross, leafy
maritime photographs and leather or ladling congee and condiments. Victoria Street is home to backpacker inns, a boarding
detailing inspired by vintage As the sun sets and the school and, now, an elegant small hotel spanning a trio of
luggage. The tranquillity will be cityscape lights up, settle in 19th-century terraces. Spicers Potts Point is an inner-city
complete when a huge aquarium at the Champagne Bar with a glass sanctuary of 20 rooms ranging from studio-style queen
is unveiled in the lobby. 12 Darling from the long list of mainly marquee rooms to the urban glamour of Victoria Terrace suites.
Dr, Sydney, (02) 8388 8888, Champagnes. The house pour, a 2009 The décor is cool and calming – bleached oaks, greys
sofitelsydneydarlingharbour.com Louis Roederer, is a good place to start. and creams enlivened by Martine Emdur’s paintings of
submerged Sydney swimmers. The welcome is gracious;
luggage is spirited away, guests are given a “passport”
Bathroom in a Luxury Room loaded with local tips and treated to cocktails and canapés
with Darling Harbour View. each evening at the reception bar. A home away from
home. 120-124 Victoria St, Potts Point, (02) 9357 3200,
spicersretreats.com
The Victoria Street location WHERE Potts Point,

places guests in the urban 2km from the CBD.
jungle of Potts Point and King Cross, COST From $429, with
full of good eateries and bars, and a breakfast. AT A GLANCE
stroll from the harbour and city centre. 20 rooms and suites;
The hotel’s passport is a little bar, paid self-parking.
black book of its “favourite IN ROOM Free WiFi,
neighbours”: cool eateries, cafés, smart TV, some baths
bars, spas and shops. It’s like having and balconies, Leif
a concierge in your pocket. toiletries. BEST ROOMS
Breakfast is served in the The three Victorian
Garden Room, a sky-lit space Terrace suites combine
of hanging creepers, potted succulents the heritage charm of
and sofas printed like botanical marble fireplaces and
canvases. A highlight of the healthy polished timber floors
bufet is tarts filled with coconut-cream with king beds, baths
granola and studded with fruit and and dress-circle seats
flowers. Eggs are cooked to order, as is on lace-trimmed
the French toast with lime mascarpone. balconies facing
The reception bar treats Victoria Street.
houseguests to an apéritif –
WHERE Darling Harbour. COST From $499, without breakfast. AT A GLANCE perhaps a Chardonnay Spritz – and
590 rooms and suites, adjoining rooms; bars, restaurant, pool, gym, paid valet canapés at 6pm-7pm and stays open
parking. IN ROOM Paid WiFi, cofee machine, some baths and walk-in wardrobes, for them until 3am. Thoughtfully
pillow menu, Lanvin toiletries. BEST ROOMS Prestige Suites occupy prized corner stocked minibars feature Nick O’Leary
positions with harbour views from living rooms, bedrooms and bathrooms, shiraz, Clyde Park chardonnay,
and access to the 35th-floor club lounge. Hawke’s lager and Mumm.
Inhale fresh air and disconnect WHERE CBD’s western
from the city over a meal or edge. COST From $328,
drinks in the atrium “jungle”, a clever without breakfast. AT A
use of vertical space and natural light GLANCE 182 rooms and
between towers. suites, adjoining rooms;
Attention to small details is bar, restaurant, gym,
impressive. Light switches have paid self-parking. IN
USB ports. The light over the clothes ROOM Free WiFi, smart
rail is shaped like a bird. And there’s TV, Bose Bluetooth
a (free) muesli bar and bag of popcorn speakers, cofee
with machine-made cofee in rooms. machine, some baths,
All-day dining in Solander, a Biology Smart Skincare
good-looking room with marble toiletries. BEST ROOM
parquet floors and velvet-upholstered The King Barangaroo
chairs, starts with a small, well-chosen Suite has harbour
Solander Bar. glimpses, a living room
breakfast bufet ($28) including chia
puddings, and apple and wheatgrass and a tub for soaking.
presses. Or settle in with a full
WEST HOTEL SYDNEY breakfast ($39) starring a textbook
The grace notes in this new-build hotel by Hilton’s Curio Collection are botanical:
eggs Benedict.
a striking white-waratah motif in the lobby, a garden atrium, leaf-patterned
The jade-green terrazzo bar and
carpets and native flowers throughout. The all-day streetfront restaurant is
backlit wall glow like jewels
named after a botanist, First Fleeter Daniel Solander, and the bar mixes botanical-
from the streetfront. Cocktails take the
leaning cocktails. On the CBD’s western edge and close to Barangaroo, the
hotel’s botanical theme literally, with
hotel has a façade clad in geometric wall panels that create the look of a faceted
house-made bitters, infused spirits and
jewel, and these panels frame big windows in 182 jewel-toned rooms and suites.
syrups in the rather ambitious likes of
Smart touches include a gym full of natural light and, in rooms, backlit bedheads,
Beetroot Mojitos and Nettle Gimlets.
ceiling-mounted Bluetooth speakers, and sound-proofing that ensures it’s as
quiet as a rainforest. 65 Sussex St, Sydney, (02) 8297 6500, westhotel.com.au
THE WESTIN SYDNEY Westin staf take dietary

Mosaic restaurant. requests seriously. There are
It’s all about location at the Sydney
outpost of the Westin empire. Housed no dismissive half-guesses here; if
within the heritage-listed sandstone you request gluten-free, staf will
walls of the former GPO building, double-check every ingredient and
guests couldn’t be more CBD-central. guide you towards choices that work.
Amenities such as a 20-seat For $5, guests can borrow
boardroom, five meeting rooms and workout gear and running
elegant conference and event spaces shoes. Use them in the hotel’s health
are well suited to business travellers, club or on a harbour circuit past
while holidaymakers have easy the World Heritage wonder of the
access on foot to Sydney’s landmarks. Opera House.
Tower rooms are well appointed with The real star at the breakfast
standalone glass-walled baths and bufet in Mosaic restaurant
signature Heavenly beds, but the ($45) is the view of the lofty GPO
décor blurs to beige. To get a feel atrium. But the food, especially the
for this exceptional building, upgrade noodle soup, also hits high notes.
to an aptly named Heritage room, In-room dining is packed with the
carved into the building’s original classics plus a “sleep well” menu
contours and kitted out in antiques. loaded with nap-friendly nutrients.
1 Martin Pl, Sydney, (02) 8223 1111, The Bar, Lounge & Room is
westin.com the place for signature Westin
cocktails including the Brookvale
WHERE CBD. COST From $340, without breakfast. AT A GLANCE 416 rooms and suites, adjoining rooms; bar, Stormy: dark rum with fresh lime and
restaurant, pool, day spa, health centre, paid valet and self-parking. IN ROOM Free WiFi, Bose sound system, Brookvale Union ginger beer. The
bath, pillow menu, Westin White Tea Heavenly toiletries. BEST ROOMS Built into the original sandstone GPO minibar gets points for its Roederer,
building, the Heritage rooms are the pick if you’re after character and charm. perfect for impromptu indulgence.
NSW
We love the nature, whether it’s WHERE Five minutes’

enjoyed from the thoroughly drive south of Byron
screened porches or from the winding Bay. COST From $360,
boardwalks right in the rainforest, without breakfast. AT
under the canopy amid Bangalow A GLANCE 92 suites;
Palms, egrets and lily ponds. bar, restaurant, pool,
The self-guided meditation day spa, gym, sauna,
track through the wetland is steam room, free bike
entrancing, even if the quotes posted hire, tennis court, free
along the way sometimes inspire parking. IN ROOM Free
giggles rather than transcendence. WiFi, balcony, some
Sydney chef Matt Kemp is now baths, cofee machine,
executive chef, overseeing kitchenette, washer-
menus that run to the likes of local dryer, walk-in wardrobe,
The Byron at Byron jumbo prawns with shaved cabbage, Biology and Sanctum
Restaurant. fried shallot and lime, and grilled Cape toiletries. BEST ROOMS
Byron sirloin with Café de Paris butter, Deluxe spa suites are
watercress and frites. Go herbal at located the deepest into
THE BYRON AT BYRON RESORT & SPA breakfast with tahini balls and fruit, the rainforest, further
Look at that male: the pale buf chest and silky white underparts. And does or opt for the full bacon and hash from the road, the main
that one sound just like a crying baby? This being a resort built in 18 hectares browns indulgence. building and the pool,
of rainforest, it’s tempting to reach for the in-house bird guide when you’re Hit happy hour by the pool for and the closest to the
describing the poolside wildlife, spangled drongos and all. What makes wine at a friendly $7 a glass, walking track leading
The Byron at Byron special is its immersion in nature, despite being just five local Stone & Wood lager at $6 and to Tallows Beach.
minutes’ drive from town. The careful screening of the modern, boxy pavilions cocktail specials, or choose from
lets the frogsong, surf rumble and fresh air in but keeps the mozzies at bay. The a substantial wellness ofering
styling is crisply contemporary, from the paintings by Minnie Pwerle and Julian from the Byron Bay Tea Company.
Meagher to the welcome Byron touches (locally blended teas, guided meditation).
77-97 Broken Head Rd, Byron Bay, (02) 6639 2000, thebyronatbyron.com.au
ELEMENTS OF BYRON We love the total absence of

Elements takes in a vast carpark, naf collateral in the rooms.
203 villas, two pools and a lagoon. It’s a small touch that goes a long
But if that makes it sound like a way to making it welcoming.
glammed-up caravan park, take heart. Join a free yoga class at first
It’s popular with groups and families, light (okay, 7am) on the bay.
but realised with enough care to keep Touches that make breakfast an
things feeling smart, from smiling service unexpected cut above include
to direct access to Belongil Beach. (The loaves from local heroes Bread Social,
only actual caravan on the premises, the ofer of avocado toast, fine leaf
at the beach bar, dispenses green juice tea, and (praise be!) decent-sized
and craft beer.) The rooms are airy, mugs for a serious cuppa. At lunch and
with timber floors, kind lighting and dinner hit Graze, the lobby restaurant
mod-cons in the form of Bose speakers, for Mediterraneanish dishes given
PHOTOGRAPHY MICHAEL WEE (THE BYRON AT BYRON)
and an iPad compendium that actually local flavour with eggs from Scrubby
works. Add rainforest walks, a genuinely Gully, tomatoes from Coopers Shoot
fun adults-only pool (swim-up tequila and Nimbin Valley cheese.
bar!) and the odd wallaby on the beach Swim-up tequila bar! Swim-up
and Elements proves that sprawling tequila bar! It’s adults-only and
can still be special. 144 Bayshore serves tacos (prawn and chilli; brisket
Dr, Byron Bay, (02) 6639 1500, Adults’ pool. braised in Tecate) around the cabanas
elementsofbyron.com.au and swing-chairs to boot. If that sounds
too exciting, there’s family-friendly fun
WHERE Belongil Beach, a 15-minute drive from Byron Bay. COST From $355, without breakfast. AT A GLANCE 203 villas; by the fire pit, and the minibars are
bars, restaurant, café, pools, day spa, gym, tennis court, free parking. IN ROOM Free WiFi, Bose sound system, cofee stocked with enough Byron gin and
machine, bath, some balconies, kitchenette, Appelles toiletries. BEST ROOMS For beach access, the beachside villas are beer (and Bufalo Trace) to make a
the go; for space, the Luxury Villas fronting the eucalypt forest have screened decks with fireplaces. night in just as enticing.
NSW
Halcyon House
pool. Left: Classic
Room. Below, from
left: Master Room;
free bikes.
HALCYON HOUSE
Some hotels only come to life in at night, but the
halcyon hour at this remarkable property is the morning.
Wander over the dunes for a surf or a stroll along the
beach and saunter back, splashed with salt, rinse of by
the pool and jump into one of the world’s great hotel
breakfast experiences. The Slim Aarons aesthetic is
invoked up and down the east coast but no one nails it
with anything like the savvy and verve of Halcyon House.
It combines the Ace idea of refitting an old surf motel with
a level of plush comfort and bold but finely judged detail
that recalls the luxe UK and US properties of Firmdale
Hotels. If only they could muster food this sunny and
brilliant in London and New York. 21 Cypress Cres,
Cabarita Beach, (02) 6676 1444, halcyonhouse.com.au
A poolside experience framed WHERE 119km south

by pandanus palms and of Brisbane CBD,
white-painted fences, trimmed 30 minutes’ drive from
with playlists that are en pointe, Gold Coast Airport.
a magazine rack that gives equal COST From $600, with
weight to surfing, fashion and travel, breakfast; minimum
a stunning drinks list, plus prawn two-night stay Fri-Sat.
sandwiches? We’re in love. AT A GLANCE 21 rooms
Cold and hot outdoor showers and suites; bar,
for those fresh of the beach. restaurant, pool, day
Hands down one of the best spa, steam room, free
hotel restaurants in the country. bike hire, free parking.
Fresh fare that’s inventive without ever IN ROOM Free WiFi,
becoming taxing to the diner, with a smart TV, balcony or
focus on the local that translates as courtyard, some baths,
flavour rather than earnest ideology. free minibar, cofee
Even the club sandwich is reimagined machine, pillow menu,
with flair: crisp chicken skin with Evo toiletries. BEST
mortadella on milk bread. ROOM Clocking in at
The ordinariness of the drinks 81 square metres, corner
ofer that the hotel opened with room 308 has its own
has been thoroughly remedied with terrace and possibly the
the ofer of Provençal rosé, chilled best view of the ocean.
Beaujolais, Ochota Barrels chardonnay
and bottles of Dom with some
reasonable age on them. And that’s
just from what’s on ofer at the pool.
THE JOHNSON The beds are a highlight
BRISBANE
There’s a sense of occasion on arrival of The Johnson’s rooms.

at The Johnson as guests pass under Custom-made by AH Beard and
a black proscenium arch and cross a available to take home, these plump
small square to enter a light-filled king and queen afairs promise deep
and perfumed foyer. This hybrid tower relaxation at any time of night or day.
of designer flats and hotel includes Hire a blue Lekker bicycle
93 guestrooms on lower floors and from the hotel to explore the
three penthouses. Bland grey corridors neighbourhood and city riding tracks.
lead to funky apartment-style rooms Tumbling Stone restaurant,
with concrete ceilings, pale wood- named for one of Michael
panelled kitchenettes and a palette Johnson’s works, is an all-day afair
of neutral textiles with bursts of that serves à la carte breakfasts
colour that reference namesake artist of coconut chia pots and smoked
Michael Johnson’s bold paintings, salmon soldiers with poached eggs.
found in all rooms and public spaces. At lunch and dinner the grill rules;
A fantastic 50-metre pool fringed crowd-pleasers include chicken
by gay sunloungers and umbrellas suprêmes and Rangers Valley sirloins.
reinforces the sense that The Johnson Call room service (until 10pm) for
is not so much a city hotel as an urban the likes of chicken wings, wagyu or
Poolside at
resort. 477 Boundary St, Spring Hill, The Johnson. chicken burgers, and warm carrot cake.
(07) 3085 7200, thejohnson.com.au Tumbling Stone has an
appealing range of Australian
WHERE CBD fringe. COST From $149, without breakfast. AT A GLANCE 96 rooms, suites and penthouses, adjoining gins and craft beers, and a decent list
rooms; bar, restaurant, pool, gym, paid self-parking, art library. IN ROOM Free WiFi, smart TV, some baths and balconies, of Australian and New Zealand wines.
kitchenette, cofee machine, Evo toiletries. BEST ROOMS Ask for a north-facing studio on the third floor, flush with Cocktails twist the classics. Exhibit A:
sunlight and with balcony views over the carpark to inner-suburban Spring Hill. a Salted Caramel Martini.
Thomson suite.
The Inchcolm’s glass-walled WHERE CBD fringe.

lift, a century-old Waygood- COST From $249,
Otis, spirits guests between floors with breakfast. AT A
with electric eiciency. GLANCE 50 rooms,
Ask a staf member to guide lofts and suites; bar,
you through the hotel’s bold restaurant, café, paid
contemporary art collection. Don’t valet parking, free bike
miss Enrique Rottenberg’s 12 Chairs hire, guest laundry.
and Rui Pinho’s celebrity pastiches. IN ROOM Free WiFi,
Breakfast, lunch and dinner iPad, smart TV, some
are taken at marble-topped baths, cofee machine,
tables in the new in-house restaurant, pillow menu, free
Salon de Co. Breakfast covers all minibar, Appelles
the main bases, from house-made toiletries. BEST ROOM
PHOTOGRAPHY HAMILTON LUND (NEXT HOTEL BRISBANE)
crumpets with salmon and cucumber The duplex loft on the

to chia pudding with banana and hotel’s top (fourth) floor
has living downstairs,
OVOLO INCHCOLM toasted coconut. Lunch and dinner
are share plates teaming eggplant, sleeping upstairs
Fresh from a $4 million facelift, the renamed and updated Ovolo Inchcolm
tofu and yuzu, for example, or lamb, and glass walls that
(formerly The New Inchcolm Hotel) blends Art Deco and Pop Art in an
eel and potato. capture city views
appealingly vibrant new look. The 50 rooms and lofts retain their smart,
An Ovolo innovation worth from any angle.
eclectic décor but now come with Ovolo treats such as free minibars, lolly
bags and 21st-century technology. Regular visitors to this former doctor’s catching is the nightly happy
residence, opened as a hotel in 1995, will notice big changes in public areas, hour, with cocktails, wines and beers
with a quirky reception desk styled as a curiosity cabinet and darkened on the house (if you book online)
corridors hung with Warhol-esque prints of pop stars (a penchant of Ovolo in the convivial bar. Ovolo minibars
owner Girish Jhunjhnuwala). Room configurations vary but even the smallest are (a) free, and (b) stocked with
are well appointed with queen beds, smart TVs, cofee machines and iPad beer, wine and soft drinks, and a
minis. 73 Wickham Tce, Brisbane, (07) 3226 8888, ovolohotels.com.au bag of sweet and savoury snacks.
Brisbane
The bygone elegance, style

SPICERS BALFOUR HOTEL
and spaciousness of the suites,
It’s not that we have anything
coupled with their location just of
against the original Spicers
bustling James Street, makes them
Balfour Hotel, a converted
an ideal Brisbane base.
Queenslander of nine rooms.
You’re a stroll away from the
We just prefer the newer suites.
water so take a walk or jog
Housed in a handsome 1940s
along the Brisbane River, flanked
building three doors from the
by clifs and trophy homes.
hotel, Spicers’ eight suites are Highlights of breakfast, served
spacious and elegant, with a in the main hotel’s balconied
luxe retro vibe. Guests enter dining room, include fresh fruit with
a sunroom floored in geometric creamy yoghurt and house-smoked
tiles with desk, wicker armchairs salmon on charcoal brioche. Lunch is
and table and a ’50s-style dresser easy pickings such as a salmon poke
In Transit Zone.
fitted with fridge, cofee machine bowl, or duck and green mango salad.
and minibar. Two double doors Antipasti, charcuterie and cheese
lead, respectively, to the bedroom boards are available throughout the
NEXT HOTEL BRISBANE with monochrome detailing, day, and high tea is a daily ritual.
The location couldn’t be better – bang on Queen Street soothing blue contrasts and king The frangipani-fringed house
Mall in the heart of Brisbane – and the refurbished bed, and a tiled bathroom with bar, newly furnished with sofas,
rooms, while modest, feature custom-made beds, cofee freestanding bath. Head to the armchairs and throws, operates on
machines, free movies and (partially) free minibars. hotel restaurant for meals, and an honesty system. The surprisingly
But what really sets Next apart is its generous array of to its terrace bar for striking strong showing of Champagnes is an
guest amenities. Witness the fourth-floor In Transit Zone, Story Bridge views. 37 Balfour indication of a wine list worth lingering
a workspace and playground with 20-metre pool, café, St, New Farm, 1300 597 540, over, and minibars, too, exhibit equally
bar, library, sleep pods, gym, showers and workstations spicersretreats.com good taste. Anyone for Ruinart?
for guest use before check-in, after check-out and while
in residence. Supplied smartphones with WiFi hotspots,
and free local and cheap international calls are inspired
Suite 11, Spicers
innovations. For everything else there’s the Next hotel Balfour Suites.
app, which controls your entire in-house world. 72 Queen
St, Brisbane, (07) 3222 3222, nexthotels.com/brisbane
The amenity-packed transit WHERE CBD. COST

lounge is unique in Australia From $189, without
and evidence that Next has put breakfast. AT A GLANCE
plenty of thought into how best 304 rooms and suites,
to please guests. adjoining rooms; bars,
Scroll through the Next app restaurant, rooftop pool,
on your Samsung smartphone gym, paid valet parking.
(supplied in every room) to discover IN ROOM Free WiFi,
all the perks and practical stuf the Samsung smartphones,
hotel ofers. smart TV, cofee
Breakfast ($29.50) is a hybrid machine, pillow menu,
afair of bufet (chia puddings, free minibar, Biology
granola) and hot dishes including toiletries. BEST ROOMS
banana waffles and eggs Benedict. There’s not much
It’s served in the light-filled Lennons diference between
Restaurant, which turns into an room categories – aim
on-trend eatery for lunch and dinner high for expansive city
serving the likes of bone-marrow views and river glimpses
ravioli and parrilla meats. The poolside from Deluxe King rooms
terrace serves tapas, pizze and on floors 17-26.
burgers with sunshine.
Minibars are stocked with beer,
cider, soft drinks and snacks; WHERE 2km from the CBD. COST From $289, with breakfast. AT A GLANCE
guests can consume four items a 17 rooms and suites; bars, restaurant, free parking. IN ROOM Free WiFi, smart
day free of charge. Head to the pool TV, Bose sound system, bath, cofee machine, Appelles toiletries. BEST ROOM
terrace for cocktails, or Lennons for All suites are of similar (generous) size and amenities, but only number seven
craft beers and fine wines. has a balcony and access to the rooftop garden where herbs and bees thrive.
Fixx Lounge and Café.
Left: QT King Ocean View
Room. Below, from left:
outdoor pool and spa;
QUEENSLAND
QT GOLD COAST QT King Suite Ocean

View bathroom.
It’s part boutique hotel, part Gidget movie. QT Gold
Coast’s open-plan ground floor has it all going on:
calypso-style pool with fake lawn; lobby bar Fixx laying
on high tea with Champagne; and Stingray Lounge
pouring 50 shades of tequila. Dressed in retro leisurewear,
vivacious staf serve the 297 rooms on 22 floors in record
time ( just two and a half minutes to send up a phone
charger!). Our modest seventh-floor suite has a sunny
balcony, witty minibar and galah-shaped bedside lamp.
Expect edgy art (Jennifer Steinkamp’s soaring digital
artwork in the lobby is a standout) and a serious spa. The
only dead spot is the charmless gym; plunge instead into the
paradisiacal surf, a two-minute stroll away. 7 Staghorn Ave,
Surfers Paradise, (07) 5584 1200, qtgoldcoast.com.au
Someone has a sense of WHERE Surfers

humour here. Case in point: Paradise, 22km from
“In-room robe removal may result Gold Coast Airport.
in a slap or a tickle. Permanent COST From $265,
removal from this room may result without breakfast.
in a swipe (of the credit card kind).” AT A GLANCE
Don’t miss the chance to cycle 297 rooms and suites,
the beachfront. Grab a free adjoining rooms; bar,
retro bike and a hamper (sandwiches, restaurant, café, pool,
water, fruit platter and sunscreen in day spa, gym, sauna,
a cooler bag, $55) and get pedalling. tennis courts, paid valet
Chef-run stations at Bazaar and self-parking, free
Marketplace restaurant create bike hire. IN ROOM
a superior morning spread ($38), Free WiFi, smart TV,
featuring chive and potato rösti, cofee machine, some
house-made baked beans and baths and balconies,
a dedicated cofee station. Also on Malin + Goetz toiletries.
site is Yamagen, a cut-above izakaya. BEST ROOMS The
QT minibars aren’t so much high-floor King Suite
stocked as curated, and feature Ocean View pods have
quality booze, an emergency bow the sort of big blue
tie and a beach ball. Stingray Lounge views we all want
is a Baja Californian refuge from from the Gold Coast.
the hotel’s prevailing beach party,
featuring tequila cocktails such as
Day of the Dead, with chilli tequila,
lime and black lava salt.
Queensland
Noosa’s best-located lodgings WHERE Downtown

deliver the luxury of space; Noosa Heads. COST
even entry-level studios have spa From $285, with
baths and 55 square metres of real breakfast. AT A
estate. On the doorstep are Hastings GLANCE 176 rooms,
Street’s boutiques, Main Beach and suites, residences and
Noosa National Park. penthouses, adjoining
How considerate to have rooms; bars, restaurant,
a well-stocked bottleshop pool, day spa, gym,
on site, allowing guests to charge sauna, paid valet and
drinks and deli items to their rooms. self-parking, self-service
A French-accented bufet laundry. IN ROOM
breakfast served in the Paid WiFi, bath, balcony
light-filled Noosa Beach House or courtyard, some
includes a mix-your-own juice bar, kitchenettes, pillow
Sofitel Noosa’s pool. barista-made cofee, Viennoiserie, menu, Lanvin toiletries.
and breads with mini Bonne Maman BEST ROOM The
jams. Approach the omelette station best entry-level room
SOFITEL NOOSA PACIFIC RESORT for a change from standard hot options. with river views is
The scent of change is in the air at this Noosa stalwart. That’s Sofitel’s house Choices, choices: Champagne in No. 624. (“Village View”
fragrance wafting through the lobby, imparting notes of rose and bergamot, just a poolside cabana, or cocktails rooms have views of the
one of many Gallic touches introduced since Sofitel took over from Sheraton two at the swim-up Water’s Edge Bar? rooftop of the adjacent
years ago. There are pre-dinner “apero chic” soirées in Noosa Beach House or at Perhaps a gin-fuelled Riviera Sunset on shopping centre.)
the new riverside Riviera Bar; Mumm, Badoit and Evian in the minibar; a “bonjour” the balcony of the riverside Riviera Bar
from smartly attired staf; and the signature Sofitel candle-lighting ritual at dusk. or a round at the busy Noosa Beach
Spacious guestrooms in a palette of cream, stone and coral are largely unaltered. House Bar? Or retire to your balcony
Blue and white parasols have sprouted poolside, and five new cabanas with with a drop from the bottle shop.
butler service border the lagoon and its retro swim-up bar. 14-16 Hastings St,
Noosa Heads, (07) 5449 4888, sofitelnoosapacificresort.com.au
SPICERS CLOVELLY ESTATE Spa Suite.

Breakfast is an indulgent afair
The check-in routine at Clovelly of stacked rye pancakes with
Estate sets the bar high. First, a caramelised banana and celeriac
personal welcome from the manager. ganache, say, or the full catastrophe
Then a flute of prosecco – on the served on the terrace with barista
lawn, in the shade of the jacaranda cofee and serene garden views.
– while staf explain the many There are nine hectares of
ways you could spend your time grounds to explore; at the very
here: boules or a bike ride, morning least take a 10-minute stroll at sunset
yoga or afternoon spa session, to the Lake Deck pavilion for golden
and apéritifs beside the fire pit. With views through the treetops to Lake
hinterland surrounds this stunning, Baroon. Return here for morning yoga.
it almost feels like a bonus when The Long Apron is a destination
the comfort levels and service in itself, serving five-course
standards are so impressive. tasting menus or fixed-price three-
Expect spacious marble bathrooms, course à la carte. Both start with smart
some with double showers and snacks and progress to cured scallops,
spa baths, pretty linens, cute nooks perhaps, or Angus skirt steak with
and light-filled, French-inspired tendon pufs and parsnip crisps. A new
interiors. Plus smart food and wine. room-service menu is available during
38-68 Balmoral Rd, Montville, restaurant hours.
1300 252 380, spicersretreats.com Dress up for blood-orange
Negronis on the terrace in
WHERE Sunshine Coast hinterland, a 90-minute drive from Brisbane and an hour from Noosa. COST From $399, with summer, or by the fire pit in winter.
breakfast. AT A GLANCE 10 rooms, one cottage; bar, restaurant, pool, day spa, free parking. IN ROOM Free WiFi, some The minibar yields surprises: a mini
terraces, spa baths and balconies, pillow menu, Appelles toiletries, heated bathroom floor and towel rail. BEST ROOMS Collet Brut, Heathcote shiraz, and Ortiz
Splash out on a spa suite, turn on the jets, sprinkle your “bath caviar”, and pour a glass of Champagne. anchovies and crackers among them.
MACQ01 The sense of place is palpable
HOBART & TASMANIA
The spirit of Tasmania has a new in rooms celebrating Indigenous

address. The timber-clad Macq01, warriors, errant sailors and whaler
anchored beside the Derwent on ghosts. Macq01 is that rarest of
Macquarie Wharf, captures the beasts: a themed hotel that’s not
island’s colourful past in 114 rooms inefably twee.
themed around historical figures. Take a free tour around Sullivans
Grim tales of convicts and Cove and Salamanca Place with
charlatans are softened by one of the hotel’s storytellers for a
spacious and textured interiors potted history delivered with panache.
with covetable grey woollen Head to the hotel’s Old Wharf
couches, alpaca throws and restaurant for local seafood,
arresting art including Troy Rufels’ from Bruny Island oysters to blue-eye
photomedia landscapes and trevalla with clams and leek in
Garden Room. Duncan Meerding’s timber lamps. shellfish sauce. Breakfasts, too,
Ground-floor public areas such as are a taste of Tasmania: a spread
the Lounge, with a river-stone fire of house-baked pastries and local
ISLINGTON HOTEL pit and Indigenous artefacts, have meats and cheeses alongside hot
The Islington dances across three centuries with ease. lavish water outlooks. With valets plates of ricotta fritters, free-range
The converted Regency-style mansion in South Hobart’s in colonial maritime uniforms, eggs and streaky bacon ($30).
dress circle features the owners’ jaw-dropping collection storytellers with theatrical flair Minibars run with the island
of 19th-century antiques and artworks by 20th-century and objets de quirk lurking theme. From Bay of Fires
greats (including a Warhol portrait of Mao Zedong in the around every corner, this is sparkling rosé, to Willie Smith cider
hallway), while the meticulous attention to comfort is pure the hotel for Tasmania’s global and pre-mixed cocktails by Sud Polaire
2018. A hotel for travellers looking for unique rather than moment. 18 Hunter St, Hobart, (with cocktail-making gear), this is an
universal, the Islington is all about unwinding, whether (03) 6210 7600, macq01.com.au exercise in Tasmanian pride.
fireside in the conservatory or in rooms that range from
the subtle modernism of garden suites to the attic room’s
historic charms. Hobart’s attractions are on the doorstep, or
stay in for a lazy afternoon gazing at Mount Wellington with
a glass of something local from the honesty bar. 321 Davey
St, Hobart, (03) 6220 2123, islingtonhotel.com
You just can’t get good staf WHERE 2km south of

anymore – except at the central Hobart. COST
Islington. No request is too ridiculous, From $385, with
no concern too small, and they’ll breakfast. AT A GLANCE
deliver endless cafè lattes to your 11 rooms and suites;
room for no extra charge. bar, restaurant, free
The attention to small details, self-parking, adults only.
from the conservatory’s IN ROOM Free WiFi,
help-yourself baked treats, to the bath iPad, smart TV, bath,
crystals and the hotel’s own “dream pillow menu, Aesop
blend” tea delivered at turndown, toiletries, heated
feels more like staying with a doting bathroom floor. BEST
aunt than in a downtown hotel. ROOM The Signature
There’s scarcely any need to Room, decked out in
visit Hobart’s slew of exciting sumptuous Biedermeier
new cafés when the tarif includes style with chocolate
an à la carte breakfast featuring silks and an Austro-
free-range eggs, and local salmon Hungarian bed fit for
and bacon. Dinner is a seasonal royalty, occupies a Macq01 lobby.
modern Australian menu dedicated corner of the old house.
to the twin principles of free range
and organic. WHERE Hobart waterfront. COST From $270, without breakfast. AT A GLANCE
The minibars keep it minimal, 114 rooms and suites, adjoining rooms; bar, restaurant, gym, free valet parking.
with only water and juice in IN ROOM Free WiFi, smart TV, Bose sound system, some baths and balconies,
all but one room. The conservatory’s cofee machine, pillow menu, Appelles toiletries. BEST ROOMS Splash out on
honesty bar, however, is a taste of one of two luxury waterfront suites with a private deck, fireplace, butler on call
Tassie terroir in spirits, beer and wine. and stunning views across the river to Mount Wellington.
H o b a r t & Ta s m a n i a
MONA PAVILIONS This is a real art hotel, not

The bespoke soaps are $40 a bar. designed to please all comers
Bianca is scented with lemon myrtle, but a place that will deeply delight
Casey with tangerine. Each is shaped many and stimulate more still.
like a vulva – studies so detailed they’d They’ve gone the extra mile
be sure to be recognisable to, well, when sourcing local: milk from
anyone intimate with Bianca and Casey. Ashgrove, cofee from Villino, chocolate
Welcome to Mona, the Museum of Old from Launceston, rhubarb juice from
and New Art, an adult playground Scottsdale, plus Poltergeist gin, Lark
where provocation is the order of the whisky and great Tassie cheeses.
day. Set on the banks of the Derwent, Mona isn’t short of places to
its freestanding pavilions are like eat. As well as a cellar door,
giant, airy wünderkammers stufed café and the wild new Faro tapas
with remarkably good wine (as local bar, the estate’s flagship restaurant,
as the estate, as global as half-bottles The Source, has an exceptional wine
of good Burgundy), intriguing books list and takes care of room service
(monographs on Nolan, Boyd and for the pavilions and breakfast. Wake
Whiteley) and artworks and antiquities up to the likes of fruit daubed with
that form part of the larger collection of leatherwood honey and sheep’s milk
the museum. A radical and impressive yoghurt, or brown rice with sautéed
proposition. 655 Main Rd, Berriedale, Walter pavilion. greens, fried eggs, lime and kimchi.
(03) 6277 9900, mona.net.au The line-up in the wine fridge
(Egly-Ouriet Champagne,
WHERE 12km from central Hobart, a 15-minute drive, or 30 minutes by ferry. COST From $700, with breakfast. AT A Mount Mary chardonnay, a wealth of
GLANCE Eight pavilions; bars, restaurant, café, pool, gym, sauna, free parking, entry to Mona, cinema. IN ROOM Free Tasmanian options) and a rich range
WiFi, balcony, bath, kitchenette, washer-dryer, pillow menu, wine fridge, Aesop toiletries. BEST ROOM There’s much of snacks consistently vaults the
to be said for having a Brett Whiteley in your room; the artist’s 1986 Cemetery in Sicily hangs in his eponymous pavilion. minibar into GT’s top rankings.
The Retreat.
The Shorehouse’s dining room WHERE About 175km
and lounge has been cleverly from Launceston and
renovated with exposed timbers, firefly Hobart, a three-hour
bulbs and grey-felt seating pods. drive from both. COST
Staf are on speed dial, to From $280, with
deliver a complimentary loaf breakfast. AT A GLANCE
PHOTOGRAPHY BRETT BOARDMAN (MONA) & ADAM GIBSON (MACQ01 & PUMPHOUSE POINT)
of warmed bread, emergency brie or 19 rooms and villa;

pâté, or simply to provide guidance bars, restaurant, free
on catching that elusive trout (and parking, free bikes and
then arranging for the chef to cook it). rowboats, adults only.
A breakfast bufet with a IN ROOM No WiFi,
diference features free-range cofee machines, some
eggs for guests to boil to taste (timers baths, pillow menu,
provided), toasties to assemble and Sukin toiletries, heated
granola to anoint with local yoghurt bathroom floor.
and honey. Communal three-course BEST ROOM The new
set-menu dinners ($56) are served on-shore Retreat is an
PUMPHOUSE POINT family style. Raid in-room fridges for ultra-luxe, utterly private
Equal parts boutique hotel and bucket-list experience, Pumphouse Point is Coal River Farm brie, wood-roasted escape for two featuring
the ultimate getaway in the experiential age. Minimalist luxury colours every salmon, Mures chowder and plenty indoor and outdoor
aspect of a stay at this heritage hydroelectric landmark on Lake St Clair, from more for a carpet picnic. baths, wood heater
lakeside Shorehouse rooms to the new ultra-modern retreat. Mohair throws, Three honesty bars and in-room and well-stocked
wood-fired lounges and in-room fridges stocked with Tasmanian treats fridges feature a top-notch complimentary minibar.
mean that roughing it in this World Heritage wilderness sanctuary is confined selection of Tasmanian wine, beer
to the great outdoors. Walks range from gentle to challenging, or borrow and mixers.
a rowboat and fishing rod for ofshore exploration. The setting screams
Instagram, but the absence of WiFi and abundance of serenity suggest
switching of is the better option. 1 Lake St Clair Rd, Lake St Clair,
0428 090 436, pumphousepoint.com.au
MELBOURNE
CROWN METROPOL The art collection adds

unexpected whimsy to
MELBOURNE
lift lobbies and public areas.
Crown Metropol is a far cry from
David Sequiera’s library of
clichés of casino hotels. Instead of
blue-spined books is a bright
plush pile and complimentary chips it’s
spot at 28 Skybar Lounge.
all clean lines, Danish-influenced design
Settle poolside in a banana
and casual, even quirky touches that
chair or the hot tub and
create a seam of character in one of
gaze across Port Phillip Bay.
the country’s largest hotels. The rooms Mr Hive Kitchen & Bar
have a hipsterish, mini-apartment is a one-stop shop for
feel (note the key bowl and doodle- breakfast, lunch sandwiches, cofee,
patterned bedspread) that attracts a cocktails and dinner with a twist
younger clientele. But there is also a (it also handles in-room dining).
surprising number of families, drawn The generous breakfast bufet
no doubt by one of the nation’s best ($41.50, $29.50 Continental)
hotel pools – an infinity-edge afair features health-conscious
with ocean views. On the downside, options such as Bircher muesli
sometimes the queue at reception and impressive fruit platters.
looks almost as endless. 8 Whiteman The views from the 28th-floor
Pool & Fitness
St, Southbank, (03) 9292 8888, Centre. Skybar Lounge stretch over
crownmelbourne.com.au the city to Port Phillip Bay and east
to the Dandenongs, and partner
WHERE Southbank. COST From $268, without breakfast. AT A GLANCE 658 rooms and lofts, adjoining rooms; bars, as well with a signature Breakfast
restaurant, pool, fitness centre, steam room, paid valet and self-parking. IN ROOM Free WiFi, some baths and cofee Martini (gin, Grand Marnier and
machines, pillow menu. BEST ROOMS A modest upgrade to a “Sky High Club” King Luxe room opens access to the marmalade) as a late-night Red
28 Skybar Lounge, with complimentary canapés, valet parking and breakfast. Lips (rum, gin and shiraz).
Premier Club Suite.

There’s much to love in the WHERE Southbank.
rooms, all conspiring to leave COST From $358,
you feeling utterly cosseted: walk-in without breakfast. AT
wardrobes, plush bathrobes and TVs A GLANCE 481 rooms,
at the end of the baths, but most of suites and villas,
all the custom beds swaddled in adjoining rooms; bars,
japara cotton. restaurants, café, pool,
From the ofer of water at day spa, gym, sauna,
check-in to a proper turndown tennis court, paid valet
service that includes Koko Black and self-parking. IN
salted caramels, thoughtful service ROOM Free WiFi, smart
is a virtue. TV, some baths, cofee
Breakfast in the grand machine, pillow menu,
Conservatory overlooking walk-in wardrobe, Antica
the Yarra ($39.50) covers East and Farmacista toiletries.
West with aplomb, with a full English BEST ROOMS The lavish
bufet and an omelette station, and two-bedroom Crystal
CROWN TOWERS MELBOURNE the likes of chicken congee and Villas crown the tower
“Think big” is the motto at the jewel in the Crown complex. The curved tower condiments. Chocolate fountains, and include 24-hour
on the banks of the Yarra looms over the casino and its sister hotels, and croissants and crumpets are balanced butler service.
inside the scale is similarly king-size. The vast lobby is illuminated by a by low-gluten bread and cakes from
monumental chandelier, while entry to the neighbouring gaming floor is via the “healthy corner”.
a grand black marble staircase. The luxurious rooms, meanwhile, have views Veuve Clicquot and an ice
of the bay or city from full-length windows that verge on vertiginous. Just bucket await in your room,
beyond the lobby are restaurants by marquee players – Neil Perry and Nobu or settle at The Waiting Room in the
Matsuhisa among them. When it comes to the service, though, greatness lies lobby with a glass from the largely
in the details, whether it’s the considered response to requests or the warmed local wine list.
pot holding the chips, which arrive (promptly) from room service. 8 Whiteman
St, Southbank, (03) 9292 6868, crownmelbourne.com.au
Melbourne
GRAND HYATT As well as handy items to

buy and keep, the hotel
MELBOURNE
keeps a “Hyatt Has It” inventory
Though it’s almost 10 years
full of thoughtful extras, from ties
since the Grand Hyatt’s last
and cufflinks for the forgetful to
big renovation, it remains one
a humidifier and even a spin bike.
of Melbourne’s most coveted
The rooftop tennis court,
business hotels. The location is
a rarity in city hotels, is the
key to its appeal – smack bang perfect prelude to a power lunch.
in the big-business end of the Lobby restaurant Collins
CBD but also just moments away Kitchen combines expansive
from the city’s most exciting variety with impeccable attention
eating, drinking and shopping. to detail at breakfast. The organic
It’s not just the award-winning kalamata olive loaf comes with
bufet breakfast that drives food-allergen details, and gluten-free
Junior Penthouse Suite. a brisk repeat business; the pastries are made in-house.
brass-and-awe lobby impresses Comprehensive à la carte oferings
without snobbery, as do the bolster the bufet’s juice, egg,
THE CULLEN discreet and friendly staf. A smoothie and superfood stations
There’s a foosball table in the foyer; Ned Kelly and his gang step in any direction is a choose- ($44). The kitchen’s commitment
lurk on level four. Any hotel named in honour of the late your-own adventure, to the gym to local sourcing extends to dinner,
“avant-grit” artist Adam Cullen is duty-bound to do things (a full-blown 24-hour fitness where menus feature Port Phillip
diferently and The Cullen lives up to its hype, its walls centre), the rooftop tennis court Bay whiting and High Country cod.
a retrospective of the Archibald winner’s spirit. It wears its or Ru-Co, the hotel’s destination Ru-Co styles itself as a
of-Chapel Street location well, leaning on ground-floor cocktail bar. 23 Collins St, laneway bar in a hotel.
tenants Gramercy Social and HuTong Dumpling Bar for Melbourne, (03) 9657 1234, Peruse the 2,700-bottle wine list
dining options. Upstairs, The Cullen’s monochrome melbourne.grand.hyatt.com while eavesdropping on Tinder dates.
interiors, plush carpets and kitchenettes – very handy
with Prahran Market across the road – pit comfort against
a background of Cullen’s edgy artworks. There’s no sign
of corporate blandness taming the hotel’s irascible charm
since its takeover by the Mantra Group. 164 Commercial
Rd, Prahran, (03) 9098 1555, artserieshotels.com.au
A shameless dedication to WHERE 5km from the

commerce means everything CBD. COST From $189,
from the beds and linen to the scented without breakfast. AT
room spray and signed Cullen prints A GLANCE 118 rooms
(the ultimate memento – why not buy and suites, adjoining
two?) are for sale. rooms; bar, restaurants,
You want it, they’ve thought gym, paid valet and
of it. Hire a Cullen-branded self-parking, free art
Smart car or Kronan Classic bicycle tours, guest laundries.
from the cheerful reception staf. IN ROOM Free WiFi,
Borrow a Cloud Nine styling wand or some baths and
a Bugaboo pram. Minibars are stocked balconies, kitchenette,
with hangover busters, and breakfast pillow menu, Evo
runs until 3pm on weekends. toiletries. BEST ROOMS
The Gramercy Social breakfast Broaden your art
swings both ways, with experience with a stay
eggwhite omelettes and kale pesto in one of four Deluxe
doing for virtue what the “brunch Studio Suites decorated
cocktails” and Seedy Sunday Sanga by street artists.
(sausage patty, maple bacon and Collins Kitchen.
hash brown in a hamburger bun)
do for excess.
The pre-mixed Melbourne WHERE CBD. COST From $472, without breakfast. AT A GLANCE 550 rooms and
Martini (or the kombucha) in suites, adjoining rooms; bars, restaurant, pool, health centre, sauna, steam room,
the minibar and Gramercy Social’s tennis court, paid valet parking. IN ROOM Free WiFi, bath, some kitchenettes, some
happy “hour” (4pm-7pm daily) are cofee machines, pillow menu, June Jacobs toiletries. BEST ROOM Opt for a corner
compelling reasons to drink in-house. room such as 2207, a Grand Deluxe King with views of the Domain parklands.
Melbourne
THE LANGHAM The service at The Langham

Hotel Lindrum is second to none, whether
lobby. MELBOURNE
it’s the concierge ofering to use his
The Langham is proudly
contacts to secure a last-minute dinner
analogue in a digital age. The
reservation, the appearance of
lavish marble lobby with tiered
fountains is a time capsule from children’s bathrobes or the civilised
an earlier century, a calling card midday check-out.
continued somewhat less A hotel dedicated to The
impressively in the rooms with Langham “experience” has
their heavy wooden furniture a gift shop par excellence, drenched
and floral carpets. The secret in signature pink. Will you take home
to The Langham’s success is a bed and linen, an embossed pet
simple: know thy customer. collar, or the hotel’s signature ginger
Old-fashioned ritual and service flower-scented oil as a memento?
prevail – just ask the dressed-to- The Melba will convert the
impress crowd enjoying the daily biggest bufet snob with its
high tea, the stay-cationers multicultural breakfasts ($40), and an
HOTEL LINDRUM lazing near the riverfront pool, impressive selection of shellfish and
One of Melbourne’s favourite boutique hotels strikes or the genteel throng at Melba culturally diverse cooking stations at
a comforting balance between old and new. And while Restaurant, where bufet dining lunch and dinner. You can even have
some of the more modern elements are charmingly is anything but abject. And the hotel’s popular Wedgwood high
out of date (the DVD library is a case in point), the circa what’s not to love about a crack tea delivered to your room.
1900 tea store and billiards hall, once run by the aunt of team of concierges with the Though busy, Aria bar lacks
champion cue-man Walter Lindrum, is ageing gracefully. secrets of Melbourne at their X-factor and city views, and
Interiors were refurbished in 2015 and heritage features, fingertips? 1 Southgate Ave, there are many better options nearby.
including high ceilings and recycled floorboards, lend Southbank, (03) 8696 8888, Swing by at 7.05pm, however, for a
rich character. Most rooms don’t have views to speak langhamhotels.com complimentary Peach Melba cocktail.
of, but the styling and eicient use of space make them
seem roomy and indulgent at the same time. The staf are
friendly and attentive and know the city inside out, ensuring
an intimate and relaxing stay. 26 Flinders St, Melbourne,
(03) 9668 1111, hotellindrum.com.au
The lobby is a congenial WHERE CBD. COST

spot worth lingering in. The From $295, without
championship-sized billiards table, set breakfast. AT A GLANCE
in an open room full of Walter Lindrum 59 studios, rooms and
memorabilia, practically has its own fan suites; bar, restaurant,
club, and there’s a chess set and library café, billiards, paid
of cofee-table books within striking self-parking. IN ROOM
range of the bar. Free WiFi, iPad, smart
Post-Netflix, we might have TV, DVD library, some
reached the point where a baths, pillow menu,
DVD library feels a little old school, Appelles toiletries.
but that surely is part of the appeal. BEST ROOMS The
Pedants might realise that Felt, eight deluxe rooms at
the hotel’s restaurant, takes its the front of the hotel
name from the wrong cloth – billiard overlook Flinders
tables use baize – but finding other Street’s plane trees to
faults is more diicult. Breakfast the green belt beyond.
($38) is a light Continental spread
with breads by Sonoma, and inventive Pool and terrace.
à la carte options such as rösti with
Padre cofee-cured trout.
The Back Bar bar is small (it WHERE Southbank. COST From $280, without breakfast. AT A GLANCE 388 rooms
doubles as the far end of the and suites, adjoining rooms; bar, restaurant, pool, day spa, health centre, sauna,
front desk) but still finds room for a paid valet parking. IN ROOM Free WiFi, smart TV, bath, some balconies and cofee
fireplace and leather armchairs, perfect machines, pillow menu, Chuan Spa toiletries. BEST ROOM Fancy moving in for an
spots in which to spend time with the extended stay? The Residence suite on the 10th floor has a butler’s kitchen and
Lindrum’s signature Espresso Martini. dining room, two king bedrooms and a laundry.
The minibar includes hangover WHERE South Yarra,
capsules and “Your time to 5km from the CBD.
shine” paints and canvas for those COST From $302,
inspired by the arty surrounds, while without breakfast.
the shopping catalogue includes AT A GLANCE
swimmers, socks, limited-edition 224 rooms, suites and
signed Olsen prints, and the excellent penthouses, adjoining
signature AH Beard beds and bedding. rooms; bars, restaurant,
Scooters, Smart cars and retro café, pool, day spa,
Lekker bikes are available for gym, sauna, paid valet
hire, and the handy key-card holder and self-parking. IN
folds out to reveal a map of nearby ROOM Free WiFi, MP3
galleries, restaurants and shops. player, some baths and
Spoonbill, the hotel’s balconies, kitchenette,
Two-Bed Open ground-floor restaurant and cofee machine, pillow
Plan Suite. bar, serves food all day. The à la carte menu, Evo toiletries.
breakfast ($25) includes eggs as you BEST ROOM The Lake
like, Bircher and chia pudding along Eyre Penthouse has
THE OLSEN with good espresso, while the express a large terrace, plunge
This South Yarra member of the septet of Art Series Hotels is graced with lunch menu ($20, including a drink) and spa pools, two
lyrical original works and prints by John Olsen in public areas and guestrooms includes salads, and fish and chips bathrooms and a
alike, and three luminous pieces inspired by Lake Eyre in the lobby. Book with mushy peas. panoramic view of
a complimentary tour with the in-house art curator for full appreciation. The An after-work crowd fills the city, with the
guestrooms can be snug but are well appointed with a kitchenette, dining Spoonbill, taking advantage of complimentary use
table, lounge chair, desk and wall-mounted TV. Some have a balcony furnished the 5pm-7pm happy “hour”. Cheerful of a Smart car.
with sunloungers. Fancy a dip? The 25-metre glass-bottomed pool outside on staf serve a concise, mostly local list
the first-floor deck comes with views over Chapel Street, or simply kick back of wines until late.
poolside, cocktail in hand, and flick through an art book from the range in your
room. 637-641 Chapel St, South Yarra, (03) 9040 1222, artserieshotels.com.au
PARK HYATT MELBOURNE Park Hyatt exterior.

Who came up with the idea of
The cavernous and opulent lobby, adding a steam-proof TV and a
a noughties monument in wood and self-serve bar within range of the bath,
marble, sets the tone for the whole which is big enough for two? Genius.
hotel: sizable, proud, and a little A new employee joined the
dated. The scale and splendour are hotel’s ranks last year – Mr
best expressed in the hotel’s large Walker, a golden Labrador and former
guestrooms – at 48 square metres, guide dog who has settled into his role
they’re claimed as the city’s biggest as hotel ambassador. So far he greets
– each with a bath set in Italian marble guests in the lobby, rather than
and a walk-in wardrobe. The location ofering himself for walks.
is high and mighty, too, overlooking The Radii restaurant is spread
Fitzroy Gardens and close to St over five levels, making it
Patrick’s Cathedral. Highlights include an energetic rather than homely
an alfresco breakfast, and a dip in the environment in which to enjoy
heated indoor pool, surrounded by a substantial spread. Breakfast,
tiled colonnades and Grecian murals, on level seven, is formidable
the experience extra luxurious as it’s ($40, $32 Continental), but the
not overused. We like hypo-allergenic cold dishes are the standout –
bedding on request. 1 Parliament Sq, salads, smoked salmon, meze
East Melbourne, (03) 9224 1234, dips – and a worthy counterweight
melbourne.park.hyatt.com to the eggs Benedict.
The bar at the all-purpose Radii
WHERE CBD. COST From $345, without breakfast. AT A GLANCE 240 rooms and suites, adjoining rooms; bar, restaurant, is serviceable, but the city’s
café, pool, day spa, gym, sauna, tennis court, paid valet parking. IN ROOM Free WiFi, smart TV, bath, cofee machine, pillow stellar small bars beckon boldly. Cuba,
menu, walk-in wardrobe, Le Labo toiletries. BEST ROOMS The most popular are the higher-floor club rooms with views over formerly the hotel’s cigar bar, has been
the city – number 1866 is a likely candidate. reimagined as a private dining room.
Melbourne
Some of the best blades in the

QT MELBOURNE world are stocked at Tanto,
Compared with other hotels in QT’s the laneway Japanese knife store
flamboyant stable, the Melbourne that’s part of the hotel complex.
outpost is positively minimalist. You may QT Melbourne upholds
not discern this from the look of the the group’s reputation for
lobby, with lofty copper doors, video art cut-above minibars, adding jigsaw
and a busy cake shop. Or the staircase puzzles, dominoes, a children’s book,
flanked by an installation of stacked beard-trimming kit and tote bag to
paperbacks, which leads to the velvet- quality booze and snacks.
and leather-clad Pascale Bar & Grill with Breakfast in Pascale features
party soundtrack. But the mood calms sharp service and an à la carte
noticeably on the way to guestrooms, menu of cold-pressed juices, eggs
which feature high, raw-concrete from certified happy chooks and
ceilings, oak floors, large windows and dishes that run the gamut from Bircher
city glimpses. Bathrooms tap into the to fry-up. At lunch and dinner the
chic industrial vibe with white tiles and theme is quality steakhouse, with
steel-framed walls of rippled glass. The plenty of grill action. The room-service
11th-floor rooftop bar is a must, its views menu hits the right notes with burgers,
reinforcing QT’s rightful place at the hefty sandwiches and salads, served
heart of Melbourne. 133 Russell St, in black lacquer boxes.
Melbourne, (03) 8636 8800, Rooftop at QT. Choose your bar depending
qtmelbourne.com on weather and mood: Rooftop
at QT for its good-time outdoor
WHERE CBD. COST From $320, without breakfast. AT A GLANCE 188 rooms; bars, restaurant, café, gym, paid terrace; Pascale Bar & Grill for its
valet parking. IN ROOM Free WiFi, Bose Bluetooth speaker, some baths, cofee machine, Malin + Goetz toiletries. extensive cocktail list. Or head across
BEST ROOMS The eight spacious QT corner rooms have freestanding baths and plenty of natural light. the street to Embla for cult wines.
Atrium Bar on 35.

Admire the grandly WHERE CBD. COST
proportioned lobby and From $290, without
adjoining Sofi’s Lounge, home breakfast. AT A GLANCE
of elegant afternoon teas where 363 rooms and suites,
guests laden with shopping bags adjoining rooms; bar,
from Collins Street’s boutiques restaurant, health
assemble for refreshments. centre, paid valet
With two types of iced tea parking. IN ROOM Paid
ofered during check-in, WiFi, smart TV, Samsung
massage chairs in the 36th-floor gym, tablet, bath, cofee
and in-room tablets to order anything machine, pillow menu,
from a taxi to a dental kit, Sofitel Les Notes de Lanvin
leaves the impression that everything toiletries. BEST ROOMS
has been thoroughly considered. Fancy having friends
The magnificent marble-clad over to enjoy
No 35 is the home of a 180-degree views from
well-considered breakfast bufet ($45), the 50th floor? The
PHOTOGRAPHY SHARYN CAIRNS (JACKALOPE)
elegant Opera Suites

SOFITEL MELBOURNE ON COLLINS where juice shots mix it with cooked-
to-order eggs and Asian specialties have dining tables for
A marquee name in a top-end city location, the Sofitel prevails among
mingle with muesli and yoghurts. eight, as well as guest
newcomers because of old-fashioned virtues: service par excellence
Minibars reach peak excitement powder rooms.
delivered with Gallic charm. Guestrooms are beginning to date but it’s hard
to quibble when the views are so glorious – even entry-level rooms have with bottled cocktails from
views from the 36th floor and above – and the generously sized bathrooms Melbourne’s favourite mix-masters,
are an ageless paean to the power of marble. The sparkle that’s fading The Everleigh Bottling Co, or head to
in guestrooms shines bright in communal areas; the potentially awkward the Atrium for a classic cocktail. But
inward-looking nature of the 35th-floor Atrium Bar, for example, is overcome with bars such as Siglo and Romeo
with a spectacular 15-storey mirrored chandelier. 25 Collins St, Melbourne, Lane so close by, there are plenty
(03) 9653 0000, sofitel-melbourne.com.au of reasons to venture further afield.
JACKALOPE Jackalope’s dedication to WHERE Mornington
When Jackalope opened in a wine is endearing, from the Peninsula, about 70km
Mornington Peninsula winery last year, glass-walled wine cellar at reception from Melbourne, an
it was like an alien spacecraft landing. and estate-grown bottles in the bistro, hour’s drive. COST From
The charred timber-clad building, full to the 10,000-globe chandelier in the $650, with breakfast.
of arresting art and neon-lit corridors, restaurant, designed to evoke the AT A GLANCE 46 rooms
is like nothing else in the region. fermentation process. and suites, adjoining
Neither are the dark and handsome Don’t miss having a meal in rooms; bar, restaurants,
rooms, many with freestanding stone Rare Hare, which has local pool, free parking.
tubs, all with spacious balconies and ingredients and wine as its backbone, IN ROOM Free WiFi,
complimentary minibars. Guests and a wood-burning oven as its heart. Bose Bluetooth speaker,
lounge beside a black infinity pool, Breakfast in Doot Doot Doot Samsung tablet,
contemplating the vineyard and an is a highlight. There’s a mini balcony, some baths,
all-day menu, or shoot pool in the bufet of fruit, baked goods and pillow menu, free
starkly contemporary bar housed in cereals, but concentrate on the hot minibar, Hunter Lab
the 1876 homestead. Other diversions dishes, the likes of chicken congee, toiletries. BEST ROOMS
includes dégustation-only restaurant spanner crab omelette, and heirloom The Lair suites have
Doot Doot Doot and an excellent tomatoes with stracciatella. In-room indoor-outdoor
bistro, Rare Hare. Alien maybe, but dining is smart, too, and includes a fireplaces, dining
Jackalope landed in the right place stellar club sandwich spiked with and lounge areas,
at the right time. 166 Balnarring Rd, chicken skin and bacon jam. kitchenette and
Merricks North, (03) 5931 2500, Flaggerdoot bar has some of enormous bathrooms.
jackalopehotels.com the best original cocktails in A general rule of thumb:
Victoria. Its list changes monthly and ask for a vineyard view.
leans herbal, with drinks such as The
Sage, a lively mix of jalapeño-infused
tequila, Chartreuse, lime and sage.
Victoria
Lake House,
LINDENDERRY AT RED The glorious gardens, a slice
HILL BY LANCEMORE of rural England in regional
Daylesford.
Victoria, include stands of elms,
Interior designers Hecker Guthrie
recently made over this 1990s avenues of birches, an orchard, rose
estate on 13 hectares of gardens gardens and a “grand axis” view from
and vines, reviving the 40-room the restaurant over vines to cypresses.
property. The work is confined Have the kitchen prepare a
mainly to public areas, especially picnic hamper to enjoy in the
the restaurant with its grey wood grounds or at the beach – Point Leo
panelling, Quaker-chic chairs, and Merricks are nearby.
forest green carpet and massive Breakfast is a bufet of jarred
arched window. Spacious, yoghurts, fruit smoothies,
comfortable but slightly dull baked treats, and cooktop casseroles
guestrooms retain much of the stocked with eggs, bacon, mushrooms
existing detailing and furnishings, and mini snags ($27.50). At lunch and
albeit with a lick of fresh paint, dinner chef Paul Witherington keeps
PHOTOGRAPHY LISA COHEN (LAKE HOUSE)

smartened bathrooms and things local and lush with, say, tartare
LAKE HOUSE marble trim around fireplaces. and charcoal aïoli or squid-ink pasta
Drive through the gates and feel the tension leave your There are five guest lounges, with Flinders mussels and calamari.
shoulders. Lake House’s beautiful gardens, lake glimpses, a heated pool, sauna, and The limited room-service menu is
treetop mineral baths, tennis court, new infinity pool, board games for indoor types; available during reception and
lauded restaurant and “lagoon deck” create another world, outside there are tennis courts, restaurant hours.
a kind of Narnia for adults. Studios and suites, arranged walking tracks and, beyond, Minibars are big on local
village-like, all have views of Lake Daylesford or gardens. the bounty of the Mornington flavour, featuring Lindenderry
With plenty of interior space and maximum comfort – Peninsula. 142 Arthurs Seat Estate wines, Mock Red Hill pear juice,
sunloungers on the balcony, soft throws on the bed and Rd, Red Hill, (03) 5989 2933, and Mornington Peninsula Brewery
couch – it can be hard to drag yourself away. But there’s lancemore.com.au/lindenderry pale ale.
the lure of the day spa, or perhaps a cocktail by the fire
in the library, enhanced by polished, personable service
that hits the sweet spot between relaxed and formal. A great
place in which to disappear from the real world. 4 King St,
Daylesford, (03) 5348 3329, lakehouse.com.au
Small but important gestures WHERE About 112km

include vases of freshly cut north-west of Melbourne,
flowers from the estate’s garden, an 80-minute drive.
a night-time aromatherapy ritual, COST From $674, with
and stacks of good magazines. breakfast and lunch or
After 35 years, Alla Wolf-Tasker’s dinner. AT A GLANCE
regionally focused restaurant 33 studios and suites;
remains one of the best in Australia, bar, restaurant, day spa,
a masterclass in precise cooking and pool, sauna, tennis
top-quality ingredients. court, bikes, free
Breakfast in the Lake House parking. IN ROOM
restaurant is a highlight. A Free WiFi, balcony or
spread of poached and fresh fruit, courtyard, some baths,
baked treats and house-made jams cofee machine, pillow
is teamed with cooked dishes that menu, Elemis toiletries.
include house-made crumpets with BEST ROOM The
sweet or savoury toppings (try the two-bedroom Retreat
maple syrup and bacon) and the full Villa has a kitchen, bars,
Lindenderry’s
farmhouse shebang. Return for lunch lounges, outdoor spa Peninsula Lounge.
or dinner to take advantage of the and fire pit.
superb cellar.
Gather for drinks in the Argyle WHERE Red Hill, on the Mornington Peninsula, about an hour’s drive from
Library Bar or, in fine weather, Melbourne. COST From $320, without breakfast. AT A GLANCE 40 rooms;
the lagoon deck in the company of bar, restaurant, pool, sauna, tennis courts, free parking. IN ROOM Free WiFi,
kookaburras. Both venues ofer superb smart TV, Bose Bluetooth speaker, some baths and balconies, pillow menu,
drinks lists and snacks such as anchovy Molton Brown toiletries. BEST ROOMS Garden and balcony rooms are the
pastries and one-bite gougères. most spacious, with king beds, sofas and views over the gardens.
W INTER ESCA PE
Unforgettable adventures, world-class culinary experiences, luxurious accommodation
and serene privacy awaits at Emirates One&Only Wolgan Valley this Winter season.
Enjoy ultra-luxury Heritage Villa with private pool, daily gourmet breakfast, lunch and dinner, select range of local wines
and beers with meals, non-alcoholic beverages and selected activities, plus a Gourmet Take-away Picnic for two.
$1,990 per villa per night for two guests (Sunday to Thursday) | $2,190 per villa per night for two guests (Friday to Saturday)
Minimum two-night stay applies. Other terms and conditions apply.
T: +61 2 9199 1811 | E: RESERVATIONS@ONEANDONLYWOLGANVALLEY.COM | OR CONTACT YOUR PREFERRED TRAVEL PROFESSIONAL
oneandonlywolganvalley.com
OVOLO NISHI Retreat to your room or curl up
CANBERRA
The new owners of Hotel Hotel have on a leather couch in the lobby
renamed their boutique acquisition with a design book from the hotel’s
but say they’ll make no sudden library, assembled by Perimeter Press.
changes in décor, price or staf. Guests Skip the low-key gym and join
can expect the creative mash-up that a complimentary yoga class
was Hotel Hotel’s signature, from the instead, held several times a week
all-timber lobby, one-of furnishings on the mezzanine.
and thought-provoking art to the Book a room without breakfast
inimitable all-day Monster Kitchen and and tuck into Monster’s
Bar. In guestrooms, walls are rendered inspired à la carte menu instead.
in layers of clay and woven grass to It’s locally sourced but focused far
create luxurious cocoons, some of away; think creamy Turkish çilbir
which wrap around private atriums with pide and Aleppo pepper, or
planted with tree ferns. But even those pork belly and eggs with chilli jam.
facing the road are designed so you Monster’s menu is available in rooms,
see nothing but eucalypts from bed. too, though we’re sad to report
With rain showers, free minibar and the celebrated yabby jaffle has
room service summoned by iPad, disappeared.
there’s every reason to hibernate. Expect an impressive array of
25 Edinburgh Ave, Canberra, Ovolo Nishi lobby. cocktails featuring top-shelf
(02) 6287 6287, ovolohotels.com.au spirits – there’s Del Maguey Vida
mezcal in your Sadie’s Sookie La
WHERE Central Canberra. COST From $285, with breakfast. AT A GLANCE 68 rooms, adjoining rooms; bar, restaurant, La, for example. The lengthy list
library, day spa, gym, paid valet and self-parking. IN ROOM Free WiFi, smart TV, iPad, some baths, pillow menu, free has a section devoted to wines from
minibar, Biology Smart Skincare toiletries. BEST ROOMS Those who take their bathing rituals seriously will book a Canberra and surrounds, and there’s
Meandering Room, with bath and double rain shower. free beer and wine in minibars.
QT Superior
King room.
Cocktail-making kits have WHERE CBD. COST
everything required for an From $172, without
in-room Old Fashioned. Just call breakfast. AT A GLANCE
room service for ice. 205 rooms and suites,
Better than a gym session adjoining rooms; bars,
(though the hotel doesn’t restaurant, day spa,
have one, there are complimentary barber shop, paid
passes for guests to a gym nearby), self-parking. IN ROOM
take a walk or cycle around Lake Free WiFi, smart TV,
Burley Griin instead. cofee machine, bath,
The breakfast bufet ($29) some balconies, Malin
has all the fixtures plus, + Goetz toiletries. BEST
improbably, macarons. If you fancy ROOMS Most rooms
a lie-in, call downstairs for the French have lake outlooks but
Aussie Quarter ($19), a twist on the the best are from the
traditional bacon and egg roll made Superior Kings.
QT CANBERRA with lemon mayonnaise and brioche.
It must be a full-time job updating the political Pop Art that dominates Capitol Bar & Grill caters for power
everything from wallpaper to stationery at QT’s digs in the national capital lunchers with steak, burgers, seafood
(Turnbull features, but Trump and May are yet to make an appearance). and antipasti.
Then again, no one’s really here for a political history lesson. They’re The long Champagne list
here for the comfort and cool. The comfort comes in QT’s signature gel in the hotel’s Capitol Bar
beds, the latest movies (free), and cocktail nooks at Lucky’s Speakeasy. is reason to celebrate. Cocktails at
The cool emanates from playful minibars stocked with retro games, modern Lucky’s Speakeasy are on the sweet
Italian eats at Capitol Bar & Grill, and sharp grooming at the Barber Shop. side; the pick of them is the Old Jack
New Acton’s cultural attractions and the vibrant restaurant strip around Sparrow made with aged Ron Zacapa
Canberra Central are just a stroll away. 1 London Circuit, Canberra, dark rum. Minibars are stocked with
(02) 6247 6244, qthotelsandresorts.com beer and splits of Mumm.
Slug
Mayfair Hotel King

THE LOUISE Bathroom rituals are taken
The Barossa’s bucolic charm seriously, from spa baths
Suite bathroom.
easily seduces guests cocooned equipped with candles and rubber
at The Louise. Large, luxurious ducks to outdoor rain showers in
suites open to private courtyards private courtyards.
with sweeping vineyard views. Small gestures matter.
And an illuminated stream lined There’s the welcoming scent
with glowing glass pebbles leads of lemongrass in the suites, and tables
to Appellation, a regional dining are set with complimentary fruit, Anzac
showpiece with a 500-bottle wine biscuits and a decanter of tawny.
list. Helpful hotel staf can suggest Chef Ryan Edwards frames
tours to nearby wineries but great outstanding Barossa produce
comforts can be enjoyed indoors, in bold, creative dishes at Appellation.
in a well-stocked bar, a library For less formal delights, outstanding
of food and wine titles, and in burgers and club sandwiches can be
guestrooms with Bemboka wool ordered in-room. The same kitchen
throws, oversized armchairs and brigade prepares a Barossa-sourced
king beds. There’s gentle fun to breakfast in your courtyard.
MAYFAIR HOTEL be had just outside at a boules The sunset terrace is an idyllic
Though it sits at the centre of Adelaide’s burgeoning court, giant chessboard and spot for a pre-dinner cocktail,
downtown surrounded by laneway bars, art galleries and infinity pool, though it’s tempting with the occasional sighting of
eateries, this 13-storey hotel doesn’t overstate its position, to simply raise a glass and watch kangaroos bounding between vines.
preferring typical Adelaide discretion in the way its stately the vines grow. 375 Seppeltsfield Be sure to peruse the hotel’s huge
Romanesque-style façade opens to tasteful Art Deco Rd, Marananga, Barossa Valley, wine list, spanning local luminaries
flourishes inside. A six-floor annex adds modern flourish, (08) 8562 2722, thelouise.com.au and international stars. Minibars, too,
its diamond-patterned metal cladding studded with small are well stocked with smart Barossa
windows. Many more nods to classic hotel style are evident wine choices.
– from carvery and dessert trolleys in the restaurant to
chandeliers in the bars. The heritage building’s rooms are
The Louise.
cleverly designed to maximise space. A striking palette of
black, white and grey adds dramatic flourish, framed by
crystal lampshades. 45 King William St, Adelaide,
(08) 8210 8888, mayfairhotel.com.au
The hotel’s AH Beard custom- WHERE CBD. COST

designed beds ofer exceptional From $229, without
comfort. Don’t set the alarm. You’ll breakfast. AT A GLANCE
want to sleep longer. And if you 170 rooms and suites,
can’t bear to part with it, order a adjoining rooms; bars,
custom-made mattress for home. restaurant, gym, paid
Champagne at sunset is valet and self-parking.
glorious among the stern IN ROOM Free WiFi,
stone gargoyles flanking the rooftop smart TV, some cofee
Hennessy Bar. On cooler nights, machines, some baths,
enjoy the hotel’s signature Honey pillow menu, free
Trap cocktail in the penthouse lounge. minibar, L’Occitane
Mayflower Restaurant’s à la toiletries. BEST ROOMS
carte fare for lunch or dinner is Corner suites have
appealing, but breakfast is deliciously reading nooks, baths
PHOTOGRAPHY MARK MULLER (THE LOUISE)
extravagant. The bufet ($39) includes and plenty of space.

superb eggs Florentine, excellent
baked treats and honey from the
Mayfair’s rooftop hive. Spend Saturday
and Sunday afternoons here with a
high tea of scones, finger sandwiches, WHERE 70km north-east of Adelaide’s CBD, an hour’s drive. COST From
profiteroles and sparkling wine. $635, with breakfast. AT A GLANCE 15 suites; bar, restaurant, pool, gym,
The Mayflower Bar, a gleaming sauna, free parking, helipad, croquet lawn, boules. IN ROOM Free WiFi,
marble-lined cocktail bar in the smart TV, courtyard and terrace, bath, cofee machine, walk-in wardrobe,
basement, features a pianist tinkling Appelles toiletries. BEST ROOMS Seppeltsfield Suites are furnished with
the baby grand. original artworks, sunloungers and fountains in their courtyards.
COMO THE TREASURY The hotel has a strong sense
PERTH
From its homegrown art collection to of place and a pronounced

Eucalypt tableware, Australia’s first local accent. From public spaces
Como hotel is full of Western Australian adorned with Western Australian art to
stories. The biggest is developer Adrian the Perth designers showcased in the
Fini spending some $110 million and State Buildings complex, The Treasury
four years transforming three neglected plays to its home-state advantages.
19th-century buildings into one of the A workout at the gym and swim
country’s finest hotels. Guest quarters in the hotel’s showpiece indoor
are as notable for their size as their pool will set you up for a big day in the
style: freestanding baths, lavish use of State of Excitement.
travertine, custom-made furniture. Luxe Breakfast at ground-floor
design features aside, it’s the human Post features healthy Como
touch that defines Como The Treasury. Shambhala options (eggwhite and
Whether it’s an informative escort spinach omelette, say) alongside eggs,
through the State Buildings labyrinth bacon and an inspired bufet. Head
to your room, or concierges who to Long Chim for bold Thai flavours,
deliver dining suggestions with a list and rooftop fine-diner Wildflower for
of available reservations, service is a celebration of native ingredients.
a cut above. 1 Cathedral Ave, Perth, If you’ve emptied the minibar
(08) 6168 7888, comohotels.com/ (soft drinks and local beers are
thetreasury complimentary), descend to the hotel’s
hushed lounge bar or even deeper to
cocktail den Halford. Elsewhere in the
State Buildings, Petition’s specialist
wine and beer bars ofer takeaway
sales and drink-in enjoyment.
Como The
Treasury’s pool.
Clockwise from
top: Studio Suite;
Treasury Room
bathroom;
Postal Hall.
WHERE CBD. COST From $595, with breakfast. AT A GLANCE 48 rooms and suites, adjoining rooms; bars, restaurants,
café, pool, day spa, gym, paid valet parking. IN ROOM Free WiFi, smart TV, bath, heated bathroom floor, pillow menu,
free minibar, cofee machine, some balconies, Como Shambhala toiletries. BEST ROOMS The 10 Heritage Balcony
rooms, two with fireplaces, have east-facing balconies overlooking Cathedral Square.
Perth
INTERCONTINENTAL First impressions count, a

truism evident in the lobby’s
PERTH CITY CENTRE atrium clad with limestone and
Perth’s newest five-star delivers
featuring a huge painting by Judith
on many levels, from the locally
White and carpets in hues drawn from
commissioned artworks in the Western Australian landscape.
guestrooms to the club lounge Corporates will welcome the
with city views. The $70-million floor of meeting rooms with
transformation of an ugly-ducking outdoor terraces, barbecue facilities
hotel into a rather dazzling and self-serve snacks and juices.
Intercontinental touched Who said business had to be boring?
everything except the modernist Spanish flavours dominate
façade. The 240 rooms feature at Ascua (Spanish for ember)
earthy tones with marble and brass and streetside tapas bar Heno & Rey.
accents, rain showers and clean Breakfast, though served in Ascua,
Crown lobby.
lines. Comforts such as smart TVs spans the globe, from Penang chicken
and baths (request when booking) curry to German breads, avo toast
make nights in enticing, but the to bacon hot from the grill.
CROWN TOWERS PERTH tapas at Heno & Rey, dry-aged Skip the unexceptional minibar
Crown’s 500-room Perth trophy follows the bigger-is- steaks at Ascua and drinks-with- and explore instead Perth’s
better principles that define the Melbourne original, but views at mezzanine-level The Loft burgeoning small-bar scene –
adapts the brief to create a distinctive west-coast urban Bar aren’t to be missed. On the Mechanics Institute or the Shadow
resort. A soaring lobby makes the most of the Western doorstep are hopping Northbridge Wine Bar, perhaps – or linger in the
Australian sunshine, as does the showpiece pool starring and a revived St Georges Terrace. hotel with a glass of the state’s finest
lagoons and cabanas. Arrive and depart in style via
A compelling case for why west is on The Loft’s terrace. In a hurry? Grab
a porte-cochère with separate pick-up and drop-of
best. 815 Hay St, Perth, (08) 9486 a cofee from Graiti, the adjacent
spots. Daybeds are standard, even in entry-level rooms,
5700, perth.intercontinental.com hole-in-the-wall café on King Street.
while bathrooms sport twin vanities, baths and Spanish
marble. While the size of the machine occasionally causes
problems (concierges going AWOL, say, or inconveniently
timed room-service delivery), the prevailing fix-it-fast
service attitude restores confidence. Great Eastern Hwy,
Burswood, (08) 9362 8888, crowntowersperth.com.au
So much to do, so little time. WHERE 5km from

Guests are within striking the CBD. COST From
distance of the new Perth Stadium, $308, without breakfast.
and some of the city’s best eating AT A GLANCE
and drinking venues. 500 rooms, suites
Inspired by Roman bathhouse and villas, adjoining
design, the ground-floor Crown rooms; bars, restaurant,
Spa is an aqua-hued sanctuary. Limber cafés, pools, day spa,
up next door in the huge 24-hour gym, sauna, paid and
fitness centre. free parking. IN ROOM
Feeding a thousand guests Free WiFi, tablet, bath,
each morning is no mean bathroom TV, cofee
feat, yet the Epicurean’s bufet machine, pillow menu,
($42, $45 on Sundays) is as opulent Antica Farmacista
as it is cosmopolitan. Asian staples are toiletries. BEST ROOMS
lined up with breakfast pizze, savoury All suites and villas have
doughnuts and a made-for-Instagram access to the 15th-floor
chocolate fountain that dominates an Crystal Club lounge
Terrace beside
almost irresistible sweet-tooth section. serving complimentary the Gallery
TWR has an ambitious breakfast, afternoon Meeting Suites.
cocktail list of tweaked tea, evening drinks
classics and bold inventions, and and canapés.
an expansive list of whiskies. The WHERE CBD. COST From $340, with breakfast. AT A GLANCE 240 rooms, suites and
action unfolds in a beautiful Belle penthouse, adjoining rooms; bar, restaurants, café, health centre, paid valet and
Époque-inspired space of jewel self-parking. IN ROOM Free WiFi, smart TV, some baths, cofee machine, pillow
tones with big-sky views over the menu, Agraria San Francisco toiletries. BEST ROOMS The 16th-floor penthouse
river and city skyline. has 180-degree views of the city, a double king bed and club lounge access.
W
edged in bushland
between Coles
Bay and The
Hazards on
Tasmania’s east coast, the 25-year-
old Freycinet Lodge has emerged
from an extreme makeover. Nine
PHOTOGRAPHY ALASTAIR BETT (FREYCINET LODGE) & JAMES GEER (SOUTHERN OCEAN LODGE)
glass and timber coastal pavilions,
shaped like the granite rocks around
them, have been styled and finished
by a crack project team led by
Tasmanian tourism entrepreneur
Brett Torossi, who owns Avalon
Retreats. With king beds, alfresco
LODGES &
bathtubs – a Torossi signature –
and separate living and sleeping
pods, the accommodation frames
the lodge’s outstanding views
RESORTS
Australia’s most spectacular landscapes come
of Coles Bay. Later this year,
six Hazards View pavilions (four
one-bedrooms and two doubles) will
open along with the resort’s top spot,
a wheelchair-accessible suite in the
with ine dining and exceptional hospitality. main lodge with the best views in
town (freycinetlodge.com.au).
Pack hiking boots and a sense of adventure. Facing of across Coles Bay,
Saire caters to adventurers in
20 luxe suites and pavilions, who
can choose to pull on hiking boots
Lodges & Resorts
for guided walks or don waders for far north, Sal Salis is a simple, sublime Queensland is resort central and
a semi-submerged meal of freshly afair of 16 tents among the dunes two properties set the standard for
shucked oysters and sparkling wine and coastal scrub of Cape Range languid island life. On Hamilton Island,
(saire-freycinet.com.au). National Park. The social life tops Qualia’s 60 pavilions are teamed with
Southern Ocean Lodge, on the out at sunset cocktails by the Indian fine dining, five-star service and the
south-west coast of Kangaroo Island, Ocean, but the marvels of Ningaloo World Heritage wonders of the Great
celebrates 10 years as Australia’s Reef – communing with whale sharks Barrier Reef (qualia.com.au).
first “super lodge”. Its 21 suites and turtles and a kaleidoscope of Further north, Lizard Island is
cantilevered over a headland facing corals – are the main attractions arguably Australia’s best-positioned
the wild Southern Ocean and a host here (salsalis.com.au). island resort, ringed by the reef and
of nature-focused encounters have East of this Eden lies El Questro, fringed by 24 sandy beaches. Guests
put Kangaroo Island on the wish a million-acre property in the snorkel among reef fish and over
lists of travellers worldwide Kimberley ofering accommodation a giant-clam garden within wading
(southernoceanlodge.com.au). ranging from private campsites to distance of 40 white weatherboard
When the outback calls, riverside cabins. The best beds are rooms and suites, rebuilt twice after
Australia’s lodges and resorts in the homestead: nine adults-only cyclones ripped through a few years
respond with exceptional style. In suites perched above Chamberlain ago (lizardisland.com.au).
South Australia’s Flinders Ranges, Gorge (elquestro.com.au). There’s more World Heritage
a 19th-century sheep station has Longitude 131° is famous for splendour at Emirates One & Only
become Arkaba Conservancy, the views of Uluru from its 15 suites Wolgan Valley, a 40-cottage resort
From left: a new
a private wildlife sanctuary with and, more recently, the panoramas built around an 1832 homestead
coastal pavilion
five designer suites in an 1850s at Freycinet of both Uluru and Kata Tjuta from in the Greater Blue Mountains
homestead and a network of luxe Lodge; the Great the two-bedroom Dune Pavilion. region, north-west of Sydney.
Room at Southern
campsites linked by a four-day hike. Indigenous art and furnishings by The zero-carbon property sits in
Ocean Lodge;
A maximum of 10 guests stay at any tented luxury at Australian artisans lend rich context a 2,800-hectare wildlife reserve,
one time on this 24,000-hectare Sal Salis; the pool to the surroundings, while a dune-top perfect for guided hikes on foot,
property (arkabaconservancy.com). in the Wollemi plunge pool and dining pods take horseback or mountain bike by
Villa at Emirates
Nowhere does wilderness quite One & Only desert indulgence to new heights day and star-gazing by night
like Australia. In Western Australia’s Wolgan Valley. (longitude131.com.au). (oneandonlyresorts.com). ●
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p 86
Smoky eggplant
and walnut dip
Cook’s notes
Measures & equipment • Non-reactive bowls are made from
Stockists
• All cup and spoon measures glass, ceramic or plastic. Use them Aeria Country Floors aeria.com.au Amber Tiles
are level and based on Australian in preference to metal bowls when ambertiles.com.au Batch Ceramics batchceramics.com.au
Chef Vs Clay djm.ceramics@gmail.com Chinaclay
metric measures. marinating to prevent the acid in
chinaclay.com.au Country Road 1800 801 911,
• Eggs have an average weight of marinades reacting with metal countryroad.com.au The DEA Store (02) 9698 8150,
59gm unless otherwise specified. and imparting a metallic taste. thedeastore.com Dinosaur Designs (02) 9698 3500,
• Fruit and vegetables are washed, • Eggwash is lightly beaten egg used dinosaurdesigns.com.au Dulux dulux.com.au
peeled and medium-sized unless for glazing or sealing. Earp Bros earp.com.au The Essential Ingredient
otherwise specified. • Sugar syrup is made of equal parts theessentialingredient.com.au Grit Ceramics gritceramics.com
• Oven temperatures are for sugar and water, unless otherwise Hale Mercantile Co halemercantileco.com Jardan
conventional ovens and need to be specified. Bring the mixture to the (02) 9663 4500, jardan.com.au Jatana Interiors
adjusted for fan-forced ovens. boil to dissolve sugar, remove from jatanainteriors.com.au KitchenAid 1800 990 990,
• Pans are medium-sized and heat and cool before use. kitchenaid.com.au Little White Dish littlewhitedish.com.au
Living Edge (02) 9640 5600, livingedge.com.au
heavy-based; cake tins are stainless • Acidulated water is a mixture of
Luna Ceramics facebook.com/lunaceramicsstudio
steel, unless otherwise specified. water and lemon juice. Manon Bis (03) 9521 1866, manonbis.com.au
• To sterilise jars and lids, run them Matches Fashion matchesfashion.com My Chameleon
Cooking tips through the hot rinse cycle in a mychameleon.com.au Net-a-Porter net-a-porter.com Nice
• When seasoning food, we use sea dishwasher, or wash them in hot Martin nicemartin.com Olympic Tiles olympictiles.com.au
salt and freshly ground pepper. soapy water, rinse well, place on a Omega omegawatches.com Ondene (02) 9362 1734,
• To blanch an ingredient, cook it tray in a cold oven and heat at 120°C ondene.com Onsite onsitesupply.com Parlour X
briefly in boiling water, then drain for 30 minutes. (02) 9331 0999, parlourx.com.au Parterre (02) 9363 5874,
it. To refresh it, plunge it in plenty • To blind bake, line a pastry-lined tart parterre.com.au Peter’s of Kensington (02) 9662 1099,
of iced water, then drain it. tin with baking paper, then fill it with petersofkensington.com.au Pretty Ballerinas
• We recommend using free-range prettyballerinas.com.au Quies quiesdesigns.com Ruby Star
weights (ceramic weights, rice and
Traders (02) 9518 7899, rubystar.com Spence & Lyda
eggs, chicken and pork. We use dried beans work best). (02) 9212 6747, spenceandlyda.com.au Sydney Clay Studio
female pork for preference. • To test whether marmalade, jam or sydneyclaystudio.com Temple of the Sun (02) 6688 4408,
• Makrut lime leaves are also known jelly is at setting point, you’ll need templeofthesun.com.au Teranova (02) 9386 0063,
as kair lime leaves. a chilled saucer. Remove the pan teranova.com.au Water Tiger watertiger.com.au West Elm
• To dry-roast spices, cook in a dry from the heat, spoon a little mixture westelm.com.au Witchery 1800 640 249, witchery.com.au
pan, stirring over medium-high heat onto the saucer and return it to
until fragrant. Cooking time varies. the freezer for 30 seconds, then
• RSPCA Australia’s advice for killing draw your finger through the
crustaceans humanely is to render mixture – it should leave a trail,
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PHOTOGRAPHY BEN DEARNLEY
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Fare exchange
400 ml milk 1 For mandarin granita, to thicken (2-3 minutes).
50 gm cornflour mixed with combine sugar and 200ml Remove from heat and stir
100ml water water in a small saucepan over through sugar and orange
70 gm caster sugar medium heat and stir until sugar blossom water to taste. Whisk
1 tbsp orange blossom water, dissolves (4-5 minutes). Bring to vigorously to dissolve the sugar,
or to taste the boil, then remove from the then strain through a coarse
Finely grated mandarin heat and allow to cool. Stir in sieve into a measuring jug so
Orange blossom rind, to serve mandarin juice, pour into a wide, it’s easier to pour. Pour into four
milk puddings MANDARIN GRANITA shallow tray and freeze (6 hours 250ml bowls or glasses and
200 gm caster sugar or overnight). Scrape with a fork set aside to cool slightly. Once
with mandarin 200 ml fresh mandarin juice into fine ice crystals and return cool, place in the refrigerator
SERVES 4 // PREP TIME 10 MINS (from about 5 mandarins) to freezer until required. to set (1½ to 2 hours).
// COOK 10 MINS (PLUS FREEZING)
2 Bring milk and 100ml water 3 Serve topped with mandarin
Stanbuli, 135 Enmore to the boil in a saucepan, granita and mandarin rind.
Rd, Enmore, NSW, add cornflour slurry, stirring
(02) 8624 3132, continuously, then reduce heat
stanbuli.com.au to medium and cook until
Pictured p194. mixture just boils and begins
PHOTOGRAPHY ALICIA TAYLOR. GLUTEN-FREE ADVICE ACCREDITED DIETITIAN & NUTRITIONIST NICOLE SALIBA (EAT-SENSE.COM.AU)
Recipe index
SOUPS, STARTERS, Smoky eggplant and MEAT AND POULTRY SEAFOOD
SNACKS AND SIDES walnut dip ●●...............................86 Baharat lamb shoulder with pearl Hummus bi calamari ●● ................114
Bag of green beans ●●●..............98 Spinach and cheese onions and moghrabieh............. 104 Lemon-cured sardines ●● ............ 97
Beetroot and orange salad with pastries ●.......................................20 Chicken fatteh ................................... 106 Prawn börek ..................................... 112
sumac dressing ●●......................61 Torshi and makdous ●●● ............ 116 Chicken, onion and
Burnt beetroot carpaccio ●● .......96 Toum with quick za’atar sumac casserole ●...................... 122 DESSERTS AND SWEETS
Chickpea salad with tahini flatbread and haloumi ●●●......64 Duck pie with pomegranate Cardamom nut cake ●....................90
dressing ●● .................................. 38 Turkish cracked wheat ●●............60 and walnuts.................................... 108 Fenugreek semolina cake ●● ... 122
Dukkah with quail eggs Hawayej-spiced chicken Holiday date and nut
and flatbread ●●●......................88 VEGETABLES thigh cutlets ●● .............................60 cakes ●● ......................................123
Eggplant lines ●●............................ 97 Beetroot kebabs with labne Intimate wagyu stew..........................99 Honey and safron roasted pears
Fried cauliflower with parmesan and dukkah ●●●........................ 115 Lamb cutlets with sumac with spiced yoghurt ●●●..........65
wafers and tahini yoghurt ●●.. 104 Burrata with broad bean and and parsley salad ●.......................117 Milk pudding in espresso ●● ...... 101
Fried okra ●● .................................. 116 chickpea stew ●● ..................... 104 Lamb, garlic and chickpea pilaf ● . 123 Orange blossom milk puddings
Jewelled rice ●● ............................. 87 Freekeh with pumpkin and Lamb meatballs with tahini and with mandarin ●●.......................193
Red lentil soup with yoghurt mushrooms ●●●....................... 108 pine nut sauce ●●●.....................63 Pistachio baklava ●●......................90
and coriander ●● ........................64 Lentil, garlic and pasta Persian chicken...................................86
Roasted pumpkin with soup ●● ........................................ 121 Turkish-style bread topped with lamb, DRINKS AND EXTRAS
zhoug ●●● ...................................62 Palestinian frittata ●●.................... 121 spices and pine nuts ..................... 87 Nine-spice mix ●●......................... 120
Salwa Moubarak’s Lebanese Whole roasted cabbage Wagyu kafta nayeh, radish and fried
flatbread ●●..................................80 cake ●● .........................................98 pita bread..........................................113
SIMPLE GLUTEN-FREE VEGETARIAN CAN BE PREPARED AHEAD
Chefs’ recipes
Fare exchange
Recipes you’ve requested from
Australia’s leading restaurants
Orange blossom milk

puddings with mandarin
STYLING ROSIE MEEHAN. FOOD PREPARATION PETA DENT
RECIPE IBRAHIM KASIF. PHOTOGRAPHY ALICIA TAYLOR.
“I love going to Stanbuli, and

I especially love the desserts.
Could you please share the
recipe for the milk pudding
with mandarin granita?”
Jack Hamlyn, Stanmore, NSW
Milk puddings
Small dish
(with mandarin
p 193 segments) from

The Essential
Ingredient.
All other props
stylist’s own.
REQUEST A RECIPE // TO REQUEST A RECIPE, EMAIL FAREEXCHANGE @ BAUER-MEDIA.COM.AU Stockists p192.
The Pearlmaster
he perfect marriage of traditional watchmaking and sophisticated
gem-setting is a feat of technical excellence and rei nement.
It doesn’t just tell time. It tells history.
oyster perpetual pearlmaster 39
official rolex retailers:
sydney j farren-price (02) 9231 3299 • kennedy rolex boutique (02) 9236 0411; kennedy the star (02) 9518 9499
swiss concept Sydney (02) 9221 6288; swiss concept hurstville (02) 9580 8826 • Swiss Watch Gallery international AIRPORT
rolex boutique (02) 9669 1175 • the hour glass (02) 9221 2288 melbourne kennedy rolex boutique (03) 8614 1160
kennedy chadstone (03) 9108 0633 • the hour glass (03) 9650 6988 • watches of switzerland (03) 9663 3303
Watches of switzerland International Airport (03) 9338 0882 adelaide j farren-price (08) 8223 2787 brisbane langfords jewellers
rolex boutique (07) 3210 0614 • the hour glass (07) 3221 9133 gold coast langfords jewellers rolex boutique (07) 5575 5858
perth kennedy rolex boutique (08) 6169 3690 • smales jewellers (08) 9382 3222 • watches of switzerland (08) 9322 8800

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