A one-time Daylesford favourite, Kazuki’s is bringing small-town charm to Carlton with clever cooking and no shortage of technical prowess, writes MICHAEL HARDEN.
Do not neglect the snacks at Kazuki’s. They may be an optional add-on to the set-course menus, but it would be foolish to bypass them. Do so, and you’d miss the thin crisp of kipfler potato topped with cultured cream and sea urchin roe. Or a Goolwa pipi, served cool and raw and wearing nothing but a subtle hint of soy and wispy strands of pickled ginger.
The kitchen may well send out a Moreton Bay bug dumpling sitting on pickled cucumbers under a cloud of foamed sake butter as a little extra, but the long crisp of fried nori topped with cod-roe paste, salmon caviar marinated in soy and sake, and light sprinklings of sea-lettuce powder, that’s only on the snacks menu. So too a chicken-liverparfait profiterole filled with a jam made from dried plums cooked in umeshu and dusted with deep-purple plum powder.
Order the snacks. It’s almost shocking to find food of this calibre and price range in this location, a stretch of Lygon Street best known for red gingham tablecloths, giant laminated menus and often boisterous crowds.
Denne historien er fra March 2019-utgaven av Gourmet Traveller.
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Denne historien er fra March 2019-utgaven av Gourmet Traveller.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
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Not a vegetable but rather a flower bud that rises on a thistle, the artichoke is a complex delight. Its rewards are hard won; first you must get past the armour of petals and remove the hairy choke. Those who step up are rewarded with sweet and savoury creaminess and the elusive flavour of spring. Many of the recipes here begin with the same Provençal braise. Others call on the nuttiness of artichokes in their raw form. The results make pasta lighter and chicken brighter or can be fried to become a vessel for bold flavours all of which capture the levity of the season.
