There’s fancy lasagne that’s like no other in town. A dessert that won over a dessert-hater. And a schnitzel with an oozy layer of cheese inside, by the Good Food team.
Good Food team
One person’s luxury is another person’s small change but, numbers aside, these dishes all possess a common currency: they were special enough to rise above countless other restaurant meals the Good Food team in Victoria ate this year. Whether your idea of heaven is a decision-free tasting menu delivered by a bright young chef or a bowl of pasta, each piece delicately folded by hand, this list spans dining pleasures of all kinds. New Year’s resolutions start here.
Catering from Ela, Melbourne, $49.50 per person
If, like me, you find throwing any vaguely sizeable shindig equally joyful and panic-inducing, you may consider catering instead of cooking. And if you go with Ella Mittas’s outfit, Ela, you can even welcome your guests with the Greek phrase ‘Ela!’ (come here) as they cross the threshold. On the table? Spanakopita enriched with goat’s milk feta, silverbeet and herbs, ensconced in puff pastry. Fermented chickpea flatbread (farinata) that ferries braised capsicum or eggplant. And cubes of potato-and-egg tortilla, capped with a prosciutto ribbon and baked with kefalograviera cheese, thyme and shallots. People remember good company and remarkable food; do yourself a favour and outsource. Note: these dishes are part of the ‘option two’ menu. Sanka Amadoru
Beef pan roll at Many Little, Red Hill, part of $130 set menu
You could happily call it a night after one round of these crunchy little snacks in Many Little’s bar, and be just $15 lighter. But if you’ve made it to this hidden gem, you’ll want to settle in for an all-out feast, the flavours of Sri Lanka delivered in ultra high-def resolution. These savoury-to-the-max, deep-fried roll-ups are part of the country’s impressive collection of “short eats” that open the chef’s menu. A saucy beef filling kicks with cardamom, clove and black pepper while an unorthodox cap of goat’s curd cleverly offsets the spicing. You’ll want more –pace yourself. There’s more where that came from. Emma Breheny
2-5/159 Shoreham Road, Red Hill South, manylittle.com.au
Prosciutto & mortadella tortelloni with parmesan sauce at Trattoria Emilia, city, $41
You know that look of eye-rolling rapture that descends upon Stanley Tucci any time he tastes a dish in his television series Searching for Italy? That’s the expression I made the moment I lifted a forkful of prosciutto and mortadella-filled tortelloni to my lips at mood-lit Melbourne stalwart Trattoria Emilia. Already rich, the pasta pillows are bathed in parmesan cream, then anointed with a few drops of syrupy aged balsamic vinegar to correct the balance. Like Tucci, I was unable to avoid blurting out: “Oh my God.” Roslyn Grundy
l4/360 Little Collins Street, Melbourne, emiliamelbourne.com.au
Cheese katsu set at Katsuhon, city, $36
Pork katsu is king at this cosy Japanese restaurant on Queen Street, but the cheesy option is a standout. Hot, gooey house-made mozzarella cosies up to pork loin inside a golden layer of panko crumbs. It’s a DIY kind of situation: dip the katsu in truffle salt before adding wasabi-dijon mustard and a dollop of house katsu sauce, plus a sprinkle of sesame seeds ground tableside. In a teishoku set, you also get crisp cabbage salad, miso soup, koshihikari rice and Japanese pickles. Sets are on the pricier side but they’re perfect shared between two. Emily Holgate
Lower Shop 3, 200 Queen Street, Melbourne, instagram.com/katsuhon
Duck lasagne with parmesan foam at Lagotto, Fitzroy North, $45
For this off-piste lasagne, silken spinach-tinted pasta sheets and duck ragu are layered in a terrine mould then sliced. Each piece is pan-fried until crisp on both sides and served over a voluptuous parmesan foam that’s heavier than a froth, but lighter than bechamel − the Sophia Loren of sauces, if you will. Its intense cheesiness had me immediately alerting the cheese fiends in my inner circle, and you too should sound the alarm. To paraphrase Loren: I’d much rather eat pasta and drink wine at Lagotto than be a size zero. Annabel Smith
1 York Street, Fitzroy North, lagotto-fitzroynorth.com.au
Brillat-Savarin, French toast and truffled honey at Lake House, Daylesford, part of $245 prix-fixe menu
“I’m-not-a-dessert-person” people fall into two miserable categories: saccharophobes who reject life’s sweetness; and those whose cheese course was never lavished with truffled honey. I was both. I was blind but now I see. As per everything, Alla Wolf-Tasker knows best – that’s why they gave her the AM. Our scene begins at the tail end of a dreamy set menu. On top of a heavy slab of French toast, a ripe wodge of Brillat-Savarin and that heavenly honey combine for something otherworldly. Sultanas and candied walnuts are scattered in celebration, and I am saved. Frank Sweet
4 King Street, Daylesford, lakehouse.com.au
Coral trout and mango at Yiaga, East Melbourne, part of a $295 tasting menu
It’s not that fruit and seafood are an unknown pairing – you’ve no doubt squeezed a wedge of lemon over fish yourself. But the combination of grilled, butter-brushed coral trout with a sliver of mango (plus miso-mango sauce and a tickle of guajillo chilli) was one of many revelations at Hugh Allen’s Yiaga, a restaurant which has managed to meet every high expectation thrown its way. If the dish delighted, the wine match by sommelier Dorian Guillon seriously astonished: the pinot noir from Bandicoot Run in West Gippsland showed extraordinary purity and poise. Dani Valent
Fitzroy Gardens, East Melbourne, yiaga.au
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