Every year The Age Good Food Guide editors and reviewers nominate the ten hottest new restaurants to open in Melbourne in the year since the last guide was published. Here are numbers nine and ten on this year's list.
23 Oliver Lane, Melbourne, 9639 5777
This pan-Asian diner mixes high benches and tables and a punchy menu, courtesy of Michael Lambie, that bounds between Japan, China, Thailand and Korea.
What the 2015 Good Food Guide reviewer said: The owners claim Lucy Liu isn't named after the Hollywood actress, but there are handy comparisons to be made. Both give off a high-octane vibe, the restaurant via an adrenaline-pumping combination of punchy pan-Asian food, with complementary soundtrack and neon lights. The new city haunt of the crew behind Prahran hotspot the Smith brings the party to the formerly sedate home of PM 24. Michael Lambie's food demands attention, too: assertive flavours dominate, from tempura soft-shell crab with spicy nam jim and the crunch of fried shallot, to lozenges of pork belly doused in palm sugar caramel, or smoky calamari tumbled with pickled green papaya. House-made dumplings are a standout – barramundi and scampi provide an elegant change from the usual pork – while ginger creme brulee lends a lick of sophistication. Lucy Liu unashamedly aims for the younger market but the over-30s are welcome too, thanks to a nicely curated wine list and staff who take their professionalism seriously despite the rockin' house tunes.
And … There's wheelchair or high heel access from Russell Street.
Vibe Hong Kong nightclub.
Best bit The buzz in the air.
Worst bit The Oliver Lane cobblestones – beware anyone in heels.
180 Flinders Lane, Melbourne, 9650 8688
A brigade of chefs in the open kitchen keeps the Asian-inflected dishes flying at Andrew McConnell's hip Flinders Street bunker. Slip downstairs later for karaoke.
What the 2015 Good Food Guide reviewer said: Supernormal? Andrew McConnell's tradition of attention-grabbing restaurant names continues with his freshly minted canteen, an unapologetically industrial concrete bunker with crazy neon signage and a frenzied brigade of chefs churning out his unique brand of modern, Asian-inflected food. The raw bar is the place to start: a power-bomb of pickled bonito with fermented wasabi leaf, or the lilting sea bream with white soy and crunchy nori. The menu is equally confident grabbing influences from Japan, China and Korea; slow-cooked spiced lamb rib dusted in cumin heads to northern China while slippery dumplings are pure Canto; white-cut chicken slicked with black sesame and a cooling spring-onion oil matches beautifully with the Sichuan fire of braised eggplant and smoky tofu. Finish with fried custard doughnuts bathed in ginger syrup; but beware: the lobster roll and the peanut butter parfait, both
showstoppers from Golden Fields (the restaurant Supernormal superseded) tempt equally.
And … There's a karaoke bar downstairs.
Vibe Schmick Japanese canteen.
Best bit The food.
Worst bit The no-bookings policy (for groups under 7) at dinner.