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Pina coladas and prawn toast: Melbourne's hot five deliveries of the week

Gemima Cody
Gemima Cody

Leonardo's Pizza Palace now offers dial-a-pineapple pina coladas
Leonardo's Pizza Palace now offers dial-a-pineapple pina coladasSupplied

There's no escaping the challenges of lockdown, but you can escape in your mind. Get yourself to an imaginary cabana with a fresh pina colada or kick a hole in your known universe with Sunda's twist on pâté en croute.

Dial-a-pineapple pina coladas

If this isn't the future I don't know what is: Leonardo's Pizza Palace has launched a service where you send a series of pineapple emojis to 0475 587 708 and have freshly made, fruity, rum-kicked and party umbrella-garnished pina coladas ($15) delivered to door – provided you live within the Carlton restaurant's 5km orbit. It may be as close to a cabana moment as you'll get this year. leonardospizzapalace.com.au.

Tulum's cilbur (egg with smoked yoghurt and chicken crackling).
Tulum's cilbur (egg with smoked yoghurt and chicken crackling).Wayne Taylor
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Tulum's cilbur

Normally this dish of smoked yoghurt dressed with a poached egg and browned butter for scooping up with fluffy Turkish bread is delivered to the table by Tulum's chef-owner Coskun Uysal with the story of how his mother made it for him after school. It has always set the tone for the hatted restaurant's beautiful and engaging modern Turkish meals. Now you can bring that radiantly warm dish home in $18 build-it-yourself packs featuring butter crumble and a 62-degree poached egg. Bliss. tulumrestaurant.com.au.

Sunda's prawn toast and pâté en croute

Quiche Me is a side project for chef Reuben Davis.
Quiche Me is a side project for chef Reuben Davis.Quiche Me supplied

It's the revolution we needed to have: prawn toast given a kick in the fragrance department by Sunda chef Khanh Nguyen with the bright addition of makrut leaf, a sourdough base of substance slathered with red curry and marie rose sauce (a prawn cocktail and toast, together at last), crunchy rice flake and panko crumb crust and a refreshing papaya side salad. Phwoar is right.

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But that's before we even get to the Thursday-only special of his banh mi pâté en croute. A creamy pâté heart is surrounded by a pork terrine peppered with spring onions and chilli and encased in a decorated pastry frame. Is there anything Khanh Nguyen can't dress in perfect pastry? giftshop.thehotelwindsor.com.au.

Marion's baby basque cheesecakes

These bronzed beauties have been getting around for a while. The cheesecake is densely creamy with gentle bitterness from the caramelised edge and a hint of lemon zest. But what you might not realise from photographs is its size – a 15cm treasure that serves two generously. At $12, it makes the perfect, potent gift for an iso birthday buddy. marionwine.com.au.

Quiche me

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Reuben Davis started 2020 riding the high of great reviews as head chef of Elektra, but was cast into the unknown sooner than the rest of the industry when the Made Group collapsed in January. Until the second lockdown, he was enjoying great success with at-home dinner parties.

Now he's on his third personal reinvention, making high-end quiches – crisp pastry with fillings of raclette and potatoes, or smoked ham hock – being sold through Matt Wilkinson's Pie Shop in Brunswick East, the Lincoln in Carlton, and Essendon's Primrose and Vine wine store for around $25. thepieshop.com.au; hotellincoln.com.au; primroseandvine.com.au.

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Gemima CodyGemima Cody is former chief restaurant critic for The Age and Good Food.

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