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Honcho noodle pop-up, Hotel Windsor

Dani Valent
Dani Valent

'Asian carbonara': Smoked duck hokkien noodles at Honcho.
'Asian carbonara': Smoked duck hokkien noodles at Honcho.Paul Jeffers

Modern Asian$$

I hear it's a great ski season. Apparently Hawks fans are having a(nother) happy year. Train punctuality is at 91.6 per cent. Well and good. But if you really want to know what is wonderful about this Melbourne winter it's having your face in a bowl full of noodles at pop-up restaurant Honcho Noodle.

Chef Adam Liston is here, down the side of the Windsor Hotel, until September, when his two-storey permanent restaurant Honcho will open in nearby Punch Lane. The focus there will be cooking meats and vegetables over a custom-built charcoal grill and rotisserie.

None of the noodle dishes will make the leap across Bourke Street so I strongly advise you get them here while you can. The space is plain and clearly temporary, indeed pre-demolition. Light projections and easy-come-easy-go lanterns do for decor and rough edges are not smoothed.

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Honcho restaurant is at the Hotel Windsor until September.
Honcho restaurant is at the Hotel Windsor until September.Paul Jeffers

The food is accomplished, though, a cheerily inauthentic jaunt through Asian noodles and "not-noodles". Flavours are big but the layering and garnishing is clever, and subtle threads shine through the culinary noise. Quality local meats are loved up with carefully chosen condiments.

The smoked duck Hokkien dish is the most instantly enjoyable plate of food I've eaten for a while: robust egg noodles are seasoned with Korean smoked oil, tossed with smoked duck breast and seasoned with green onion oil from Kyoto and hoisin sauce.

It's a good example of the Chinese, Japanese and Korean medley that's at work in many dishes but it also struck me as the kind of funky spaghetti carbonara a Melbourne person might hanker for after a spice-deprived excursion through Italy.

Spanner crab udon with shaved truffle.
Spanner crab udon with shaved truffle.Paul Jeffers
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Liston was previously at Northern Light in Collingwood and fans will remember some dishes from there, possibly interspersing their recollections with groans of pleasure.

That's a typical response to the udon noodles with crab and butter, a dish that takes the orthodox French win of shellfish and butter and ramps it up with umami punch from dashi broth and nori sprinkles. We also had it with lashings of truffle, further amplifying the luxe Euro vibes.

It's not all big and brash: hot buckwheat soba noodles are cooked to order so they're pert and springy, then dressed with that magic green onion oil, superior soy, black vinegar and sesame oil. Pickled daikon hides in the noodle nest and a scattering of grilled nori adds colour and crunch. It's exuberant and clean. (Try the recipe here).

Katsu sando: Crumbed pork sandwich.
Katsu sando: Crumbed pork sandwich.Paul Jeffers

The yakitori (grilled chicken skewers) will feature at the new place, and the katsu sando (crumbed pork sandwich) is likely to make guest appearances. These are more traditional renditions of Japanese classics but deft details elevate them.

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Cured egg yolk makes already juicy skewered meatballs extra luscious and rich. Evil squishy white bread married with high-quality pork loin and shredded wombok helps the sandwich straddle the balance between railway station snack and restaurant-quality indulgence.

Whether you nosh on sandos and let mayo beeline for your elbow or hang with me and have the noodles, there's a sense of freedom and fun that spills from the temporary. This is food for right here and right now and it's bringing the warm and fuzzies to Melbourne's long winter.

Rating: Four stars (out of five)

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Dani ValentDani Valent is a food writer and restaurant reviewer.

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