New Wining and Dining Hotspots
When it comes to new restaurants opening, Asian chic is all the rage. Check out these recently opened eateries that combine innovative cooking, be it Japanese, Chinese cuisine, south east Asian or Vietnamese fusion, in stylish settings.
Pan Asian, 267 Chapel St, Prahran, Ph: (03) 9533 7022
Located in the bustling precinct of Chapel Street, Pan Asian serves top-end cuisine using Thai, Japanese, Indian Malaysian, Chinese and Indochinese influences with an emphasis on discovery, flavour and balance.
The menu is a playful and unique experience of delicious and modern concepts, prepared by executive chef Kin San (ex Taxi) with a well considered list of dishes integrating great delicacy and artistry.
Pan Asian marries food and drink seamlessly utilising cocktail specialists, 1806 cocktail bar. 1806 has created a cocktail list that unites the food and drink offering with a seductive, sophisticated menu inspired by classic Asian ingredients such as basil, limes and tropical fruits.
The food and cocktail concept is perfectly matched by the décor and ambience. The interior is vibrant and striking with bold graphics and a mural depicting the four deities of Pan Asian cuisine hung in the centre of the restaurant.
Pan Asian offers dining options for all occasions - from delicious fast fresh meals, cocktails, private corporate and special events.
Ichi Ni, 12 The Esplanade, St Kilda, Ph: (03) 9534 1212
Desire authentic, fresh and delicious Japanese food? Save the airfares and journey down to Ichi Ni to check out one of the newest residents to call the St Kilda Esplanade home.
As the newest project for the owners of The Espy, Ichi Ni is a dining experience that mixes genuine Japanese style with one of Melbourne's most iconic backdrops. Host to a picturesque view spanning across Port Phillip Bay, visitors can enjoy a selection of tapas style dishes such as sashimi or plump, oysters served with a ponzu and spring onion dressing.
Following in the footsteps of Nihonshu (CBD) and Maedaya (Richmond), Ichi Ni is one of several new places in Melbourne to operate as an Izakaya (a Japanese style pub with food).
Whether it is the view while sipping an asahi beer or sampling a saki - Ichi Ni is a little bit of Japan with a big impact on the tastebuds.
Kam Fook, Westfield Centre, Doncaster, Ph: (03) 9005 1888
Opened in April this year, Kam Fook is the slick and modern yum cha dining experience.
Seating up to 220 people in a room, Kam Fook not only boasts fine food but a panoramic and commanding view of the outlying eastern suburbs and the Melbourne city skyline in the distance.
Kam Fook's food is fresh, flavoursome and fast. Choose from favourable yum cha dishes such as the Peking duck, prawn dumplings and barbeque pork buns. The restaurant also offers a delectable a la carte Chinese cuisine; snow crab cooked in mornay sauce or a whole supreme Kirin coral trout.
The interior follows an east meets west flavour accompanied by traditional and modern trimmings. Dark wood Chinese dining chairs interlace with the modern hawker bar. From black embossed wallpaper to the contrasting white pebbled walls, Kam Fook is a dining pleasure for intimate groups, large functions or families.
Man Bo, 361 Moorabool Street, Geelong, (03) 5221 7888
Owned by one of the Bellarine’s most prolific restaurateurs Rick Munday, Man Bo is the newest restaurants to ignite Geelong’s food scene.
Man Bo interweaves the region’s love of seafood into its menu, with such a delicious and unique result. Do not expect to be faced by a casual and typical Cantonese restaurant. The seafood selection is incredibly impressive as is the presentation. Try the steamed seafood parcels of scallops, prawns and fish tied at the top by a strand of spring onion. Translation: a scrumptious, little seafood package all in one.
Combining traditional elements of authentic Chinese décor with a twist of modern-retro fittings to the venue creates a genuinely enjoyable space while playing on the element of fun.
Get the tables turning and try one of Geelong’s most exciting restaurants to hit the city.