Australian Gourmet Traveller - July 2022

G O U R M E T T R AV E L L E R 101

Pork shoulder vindaloo p108

SPICE world Follow the history of spice’s fragrant, heady journey aound the world in ELEANOR LORD’s new book The Nutmeg Trail. Photography OLA O. SMIT G O U R M E T T R AV E L L E R 103

Turmeric and tamarind jamu p109 W hat is a spice? Salted chicken At their simplest, spices are the parts of plants most with green ginger densely rich in flavour, which can enliven and elevate food. They are the dried seeds, barks, roots, rhizomes, and red chilli fruits, arils, flower buds and resins from plants that grow mostly in Hainan ji fan tropical climates. p107 Ask a cook and they will tell you about the aromas that have to be teased out through cooking and that spices are decidedly not herbs, the fresh and leafy parts of plants grown more locally. They will know that spices’ aromas and flavours are volatile and fat soluble, the spices best freshly ground and their flavours extracted by sizzling in oil, and how they can be used to build layers of flavour to excite all the senses. Ask a botanist and you’ll hear about the essential oils, oleoresins, terpenes and other compounds, which each bring specific aromas and tastes. These chemical stores in plants have functions to help them survive and reproduce. Often the very things humans are drawn to – the pungency, bitterness, heat or numbness – are actually defence mechanisms for the plants, their armour to repel predators. In the curious case of cinnamon, the resinous bark of the Cinnamomum tree, its warm, woody scent is created when the plant is being eaten to communicate to nearby trees to prepare their defensive chemicals. A historian’s definition will focus on spices’ relative geographical scarcity, which made them expensive, elitist and highly sought after. In quest of spice, man first acquired an understanding of earth’s geography, and soon after a taste for mastery of it. For both anthropologists and writers, the story of spice has been laden with mythology, symbolism, ritual, romance, seduction, temptation, bloodshed, exploitation and extraction. 104 G O U R M E T T R AV E L L E R

The story of spice has been laden with mythology, symbolism, ritual, romance, seduction, temptation and bloodshed. G O U R M E T T R AV E L L E R 105

106 G O U R M E T T R AV E L L E R

CHING JING DAI ZI HAINAN JI FAN Scallops with ginger Salted chicken with green ginger and red chilli and black pepper SERVES 4 SERVES 2 Appearing in different versions in Vietnam, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Thailand, this Pepper has been around since the first dish maps centuries of Chinese immigration from the island of Hainan. In Singapore, syllables of recorded time. Diphilus, chicken rice is considered a national dish. Pictured p105 a 3rd century BC physician from the Greek island of Sifnos, recommended it 1 medium chicken 5 For the red chilli sauce, blend all the with scallops. It is a time-honoured Handful coarse salt ingredients together to a rough paste pairing, hot with sweet, employed and season with salt. millennia later in this Hong Kong dish. 4 slices of ginger 6 When the bird is cooked, set it aside Handful spring onion tops to rest breast-side up under a tent of foil. 6-8 scallops in their shells The juices will have dripped through into 2 spring onions 400 gm (2 cups) jasmine rice the steaming water to create a lovely, 3 cm ginger Drizzle of toasted sesame oil gingery broth, which we’ll use to cook the rice. 1½ tbsp light soy sauce GREEN GINGER SAUCE 7 Wash the rice thoroughly, swirling the 2 tsp Shaoxing rice wine or dry Sherry grains in four changes of cold water until 1 scant tsp coarsely ground black 100 gm spring onions, white and pale most of the cloudiness has gone. This pepper green parts breaks down the surface starch, which could otherwise make the rice sticky. 1½ tsp sesame oil 80 gm ginger, peeled Drain well and put in a pan. Add 625 ml 6 tbsp neutral oil (2½ cups) of the broth, topping up with 1 Prepare scallops by using a cutlery water if need be. Set over a high heat knife to slice along the inside of the flat RED CHILLI SAUCE and bring to a rolling boil. Bubble for shell with sweeping motions to release 15 seconds, then turn down the heat to the muscle and open the hinge. Discard 4 red chillies, seeds in or out the lowest setting and clamp on a lid. flat shells. Cut out scallop meat and 2 garlic cloves Leave to steam for 15 minutes without reserve curved shells. Gently pull away 1½ tbsp rice vinegar disturbing. Remove from the heat without the frill and darker coloured stomach sac peeking in and leave the rice to continue and discard. Pull away small white 1 The day before eating, prick chicken steaming under the lid for 10 minutes. ligament and you’ll be left with fleshy all over. Remove any trussing string and Gently fluff the grains with a fork white scallop meat and bright orange salt exuberantly, inside and out, rubbing before serving. coral. Season with salt and leave for 10 the coarse grains into skin. Cover in 8 Drizzle the chicken with sesame oil minutes to cure meat and enhance its a bowl and refrigerate overnight. and serve with the rice and sauces. flavour. In the meantime, scrub the curved 2 A couple of hours before eating, bring Note Cucumber salad is a good addition. shells, then put in a pan of boiling water chicken out of the fridge to take the chill Make a dressing by seasoning rice for 15 minutes to sterilise. Rinse salt from off. Forty minutes later, rinse chicken, vinegar generously with sugar, salt and scallops in cold water and pat dry. inside and out, to remove salt. minced ginger. Toss through a couple of 2 Trim and thinly slice spring onions, 3 Fill a large steaming pan with 625ml finely sliced cucumbers and leave to then put into ice-cold water to curl. Peel (2½ cups) water. On the upper tier, marinate in the fridge for at least 30 ginger and julienne by slicing thinly, then scatter over the ginger slices and a minutes or overnight. ➤ slice again into thin sticks. Divide among handful of the green tops cut from the shells with scallop meat. spring onions that you’ll be using in the 3 Cook scallops by either laying the sauce. Sit the chicken breast-side down shells in a steaming pan or placing the on top and cover with a lid. Bring to the shells in a couple of centimetres of boil, then steam for 35 minutes, or until boiling water in a shallow pan. Cover and the chicken is just cooked through. steam for 6-8 minutes or until scallop A meat thermometer should read 74°C meat is opaque. or the juices in the thigh run clear. 4 In a small pan, combine soy sauce, 4 While the chicken is cooking, prepare Shaoxing rice wine, pepper and sesame the sauces. For the green ginger sauce, oil and warm through. Spoon over finely chop equal quantities of spring steamed scallops and serve, topped with onion and ginger and mix together in a tangled curl of spring onions. a heatproof bowl. Heat the oil until just Note If you are unable to source scallops smoking, then pour over and mix. in their shells, cook scallops in steamer, Season with salt. along with ginger, for 4-6 minutes. G O U R M E T T R AV E L L E R 107

Every week The lentils are certainly tomato lentils Indian-inspired, following SERVES 4 in a long tradition of dals travelling and This is the one recipe I cook every week adapting to new homes. and is what I crave most after a few days away from home. It would be audacious to use the label dal as I draw on British store cupboard ingredients and a one-pot method without a finishing tarka. However, the lentils are certainly Indian-inspired, following in a long tradition of dals travelling and adapting to new homes. 1 tsp black mustard seeds 2 tbsp neutral oil 1 large onion, chopped 30 gm coriander 4 garlic cloves, minced 3 cm ginger, peeled, minced (1 tbsp) ½ tsp chilli flakes 1 tbsp curry powder 8 curry leaves 400 gm tin chopped tomatoes 200 gm (1 cup) split red lentils, washed Juice of ½ lemon 1 Set a large pan over medium heat, add the mustard seeds and let them start to pop. Add the oil and onion and cook for about 10 minutes, until soft and starting to caramelise. 2 Meanwhile, cut the stems off the coriander, discard any particularly thick, tough ones and finely slice the rest. Set the leaves aside for later. 3 Add the coriander stems, garlic and ginger to the onion and cook for a couple of minutes. Stir in the chilli flakes, curry powder and curry leaves and let the fragrance hit you. 4 Pour in the tin of tomatoes, then fill the tin with water and add this too. Finally mix in the lentils and a teaspoon of salt. Bring to a bubble, lower the heat and cover with a lid. Simmer for 25 minutes. 5 Leave to cool just a little before stirring in the lemon juice. Taste for seasoning – a pinch of sugar may be needed to bring out the flavours. Serve strewn with the coriander leaves. 108 G O U R M E T T R AV E L L E R

Pork shoulder vindaloo JAMU KUNYIT SERVES 3-4 Turmeric and tamarind jamu This is an assertive braise resulting from three continents’ ingredients and SERVES 4-6 ideas coming together. The intensely red masala comes from Kashmiri chilli In the royal courts of Java more than powder, which brings more in colour a thousand years ago, Indonesian and flavour than heat. The dish is from princesses were drinking spicy tonics Goa, with roots in a Portuguese pickled called jamu, said to sustain eternal pork dish called carne de vinho e alhos. youth and beauty. Such flights of fancy Fifteenth-century spice-seekers from aside, they are still widely taken today, Portugal brought the notion to India, both as powerful herbal medicines and where it acquired local spices. for their health-giving properties. Pictured p102 Pictured p104 500 gm pork shoulder, cut into 3cm 100 gm fresh turmeric chunks 30 gm ginger 3 tbsp neutral oil 1 tbsp tamarind paste 2 large onions, finely sliced 40 gm (¼ cup) palm sugar or 3 ripe tomatoes, chopped 2 tsp tamarind paste brown sugar 2 tsp brown sugar Juice of 1 lime SPICE PASTE 1 Brush the turmeric and ginger roots clean (no need to peel) and roughly 4 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder chop. Put in a blender with 800ml water 1 tsp fine sea salt and whizz to semi-smoothness. ¾ tsp ground cumin, 2 Pour the orange liquid into a pan and ¾ tsp ground coriander add the tamarind and palm sugar. Cover, ¾ tsp black mustard seeds bring slowly to a bubble and simmer for ½ tsp each ground black pepper, 10 minutes. 3 Remove from the heat and leave to ground cinnamon, ground turmeric cool before adding the lime juice. Strain 4 cloves through a fine sieve, gently pressing 4 green cardamom pods, seeds only the pulp to extract the juice. Adjust 4 garlic cloves, minced sweetness to taste and thin with 3 cm ginger, peeled, minced (1 tbsp) water if you want a gentler drink. 60 ml (¼ cup) wine vinegar This extract from The 1 Mix together all ingredients for the Nutmeg Trail by Eleanor Ford paste in a bowl. Toss in pork, staining it (Murdoch Books; $49.99) has brick red, and marinate for 2-3 hours, or been reproduced with minor overnight in the fridge. 2 Over a medium heat, warm the oil in GT style edits. a casserole and fry onion until soft and pale golden. Add pork and its marinade and cook, stirring frequently, for 5-10 minutes until spice paste starts to brown. 3 Stir in tomatoes, tamarind and sugar. Loosen with a splash of water. Bring to a boil then cover and turn heat down. Simmer for 1 hour or more, stirring occasionally. The pork should be tender and masala thick – partially remove the lid towards the end of cooking if it needs to reduce. Rest before serving. G O U R M E T T R AV E L L E R 109

OUT OF AFRICofAfricaarebroughttothetableinanewbookfromAchefANTO COCAGNE. Myriad cuisines Sautéed beef with spinach sauce p115

Fat rice p115 Photography ALINE PRINCET G O U R M E T T R AV E L L E R 111

Rabbit kedjenou A frica is a continent made up of 54 sovereign states. Straddling the equator, it encompasses p114 a great number of climates: equatorial in the centre and near coastal areas; wet tropical on the fringes of the equatorial region; tropical temperate with PHOTOGRAPHY GETTY IMAGES (TEXTURE). a dry climate and dry winter in a large part of southern Africa; semi-arid and arid in the north with high temperatures and very low rainfall; temperate near the Mediterranean with hot and dry summers and cool and wet winters. This diversity in climates is an initial indicator of the diversity of produce, and consequently cuisines found in Africa. While we often talk about African cuisine, it would be more insightful to refer to the “cuisines of Africa”. Even though the basics are often similar, there are actually as many African cuisines as there are African countries, cultures and dialects. And while the Maghreb region is the most well-known from a culinary perspective, the Sub- Saharan region is yet to be explored. Traditionally the various African cuisines use a combination of local produce such as fruit, grains and vegetables. This is especially since the majority of people (with the exception of the most well off) don’t have the means to eat meat and fish every day. African cuisines are often labelled as too oily, too spicy, too rich, too strong smelling or criticised for being served up in slapdash manner... But rest assured, if you are able to enjoy a French foie gras, delight in a good homemade mayonnaise or hollandaise sauce, savour a smelly blue cheese or eat your sushi with wasabi, then you will be able to appreciate the varied and tasty dishes that come from the cradle of humanity. 112 G O U R M E T T R AV E L L E R

This extract from Saka Saka Red rice by Anto Cocagne & Aline SERVES 6 // PREP TIME 15 MINS // COOK 45 MINS Princet (Murdoch Books; $45) has been reproduced with “This recipe is originally from Senegal minor GT style edits. but has as many variations as there are countries that claim it as their national dish,” says Anto Cocagne. “Each part of the continent has adapted the recipe according to its history, its environment and the products that today make up its culinary identity.’’ 300 gm parboiled long-grain rice 60 ml (¼ cup) oil (canola, sunflower or peanut) 2 tbsp red nokoss (see recipe p114) 3 tbsp tomato paste 150 gm tomato passata 2 Selim pepper pods 1 bay leaf Salt Chives, to serve 1 Rinse the rice in cold water and drain. Pre-cook the rice for 10 minutes, either by steaming or in salted boiling water. Drain again. 2 Heat the oil in a large pot and sweat the nokoss for 3 minutes. Add the tomato paste and cook over low heat for 6 minutes, stirring occasionally. Mix in the rice. 3 Add the passata, Selim pepper pods and bay leaf and continue cooking until the mixture has reduced and thickened. Season with salt and add 560ml water (or 1.5 times the volume of rice), then bring to the boil and cook for 3 minutes. 4 Reduce the heat to very low, then cover and cook for 10 minutes. 5 Stir the rice with a fork to separate the grains. Cover and leave to cook for a further 10 minutes. Repeat this step until the rice is cooked. Sprinkle with chopped chives. 6 Serve with grilled meat or dishes with meat and sauce. ➤ G O U R M E T T R AV E L L E R 113

Cassava and prawn Rabbit kedjenou fritters SERVES 4 // PREP TIME 30 MINS // COOK 30 MINS PREP TIME 45 MINS // COOK 20 MINS “Kedjenou means ‘shaken’ in Baoulé language, a dialect spoken in the Ivory Coast,” Cassava cannot be peeled with a peeler, says Cocagne. “The most popular kedjenou recipe is made with chicken, but this but needs to be carefully peeled with recipe is traditionally made with small game cooked in pieces over a wood fire in an a knife to properly remove the skin, earthenware dish called a ‘canari’. This is a dish cooked without water using the which is poisonous if ingested. ‘smothering’ technique.” Pictured p112 3 large cassava tubers (about 1.5kg) 720 gm rabbit thighs 3 Dice the onions and slice the ½ bunch herbs (such as flat-leaf 4 tbsp red nokoss (see recipe p114) tomatoes. Finely dice the eggplant and 4 tsp red palm oil, plus extra for finely chop the parsley. parsley, chervil and/or coriander) drizzling 4 Sweat remaining red nokoss in the 200 gm cooked prawns 3 white onions casserole dish, then place rabbit thighs 4 large tomatoes in the base and top with the onion, 3 eggs 2 eggplant tomato and eggplant. Add bouquet garni 2 tbsp red nokoss (see below) 1 bunch flat-leaf parsley and season with salt and pepper, then 1 bouquet garni cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Salt and pepper Salt and pepper 5 Vigorously shake the casserole dish, 500 ml (2 cups) oil for frying then simmer over medium heat for 1 Wash and trim the rabbit thighs. another 10 minutes. Shake the casserole RED NOKOSS Combine thighs with half of the red dish a second time, then simmer for a nokoss in a bowl. further 10 minutes. It is very important 1 red capsicum 2 Brown rabbit thighs in the red palm oil not to open the lid during cooking. 2 mild/sweet red chillies in a flameproof casserole dish. Remove 6 Serve hot with attiéké (cassava 1 red onion and set aside. couscous). 3 garlic cloves 20 gm fresh ginger PHOTOGRAPHY GETTY IMAGES (TEXTURE). 1 tomato 1 celery stalk 2 thyme sprigs 2 flat-leaf parsley sprigs 1 tbsp soumbala powder (see note) 1 To make the red nokoss, deseed the capsicum and chillies. Peel and roughly chop the onion, garlic and ginger. Roughly chop the tomato and celery. 2 Using a blender, blend capsicum, chillies, onion, garlic, ginger, tomato, celery, and herbs into a smooth paste. Add soumbala and 3 tbsp water, then blend again. Keep paste in a jar in fridge. 3 To make the fritters, peel the cassava. Remove the wooden stem in the middle, then grate with a fine grater to get thin strands cassava. 4 Place grated cassava pulp in clean tea towel and press firmly to remove liquid. 5 Finely chop the herbs. Clean and shell the prawns then cut into small pieces. 6 In a bowl, mix cassava pulp, eggs, prawns, herbs and red nokoss. Season with salt and pepper and mix well. Form mixture into small fritters, 1cm thick. 7 Heat oil in a pot and fry fritters until golden. Drain on paper towel as you cook them. 8 Serve the fritters hot as a starter or tapas, accompanied by thinly sliced crudités and avocado dip. Note Soumbala is a traditional condiment in West African cooking. It is made by processing the seeds from the pods of the néré tree. 114 G O U R M E T T R AV E L L E R

Sautéed beef with spinach sauce SERVES 4 // PREP TIME 20 MINS // COOK 30 MINS (PLUS CHILLING) “This dish is a version of egousi, a dish that is very popular in West Africa. It is generally eaten with offal, especially tripe, but if you’re not a fan, a beef fillet will work really well.” Pictured p110 500 gm beef fillet (or eye fillet) 1 To make the orange nokoss, peel the 5 In a frying pan, heat half the red palm 2 tbsp red nokoss (see recipe p114) carrot, onion, garlic and ginger. Deseed oil and sauté beef in small batches for the chillies. Add the carrot to a pot of 2 minutes or until well browned. Set 500 gm English spinach salted water and bring to the boil. Cook aside. In the same frying pan, sweat the Splash of vinegar, for washing for 10 minutes, then remove from the orange nokoss with the remaining palm water. Roughly chop the carrot, onion, oil for 5 minutes. Add the spinach and 50 ml red palm oil leek, celery, garlic, ginger, chillies and sauté briefly, then add the ground 4 tbsp orange nokoss (see below) thyme and combine in a blender. African pistachios and stir for 5 minutes. 2 Blend everything into a smooth paste. Add a little water if it starts to stick. Add 100 gm ground African pistachios or Add the turmeric, smoked fish and 3 tbsp the beef slices and cooking juices and pepitas (see note) water, then blend again. Keep the paste heat briefly. Season with salt and pepper. Salt and pepper in a glass jar in the fridge. 6 Serve the sautéed beef and A few mustard greens and roasted 3 Slice beef into thin strips. Put strips in spinach with white rice. Garnish with African pistachios or pepitas, to serve a bowl with red nokoss and mix well. a few mustard greens and roasted Cover and set aside for 1 hour in the African pistachios. ORANGE NOKOSS fridge. Note African pistachios are nothing like 4 Remove stalks from spinach. Wash the pistachios we are used to in the 1 carrot spinach leaves in vinegared water and West. In Africa, what we call a pistachio 1 brown onion then in clean water, swishing around is the almond-shaped kernel found in 3 garlic cloves well. Drain and set aside. squash or marrow. When these seeds 20 gm fresh ginger are ground, they have the same 2 mild/sweet chillies properties as almond meal. 1 leek, white part only 1 celery stalk 2 thyme sprigs 2 tbsp turmeric 1 tbsp dried smoked fish Fat rice and pepper. Cook over low heat until 4 Transfer the meat to the caramelised the meat is tender (about 45 minutes). onion mix, reserving the cooking liquid, SERVES 4 // PREP TIME 45 MINS // COOK 2 HRS 2 Bring some water to the boil in add the whole chilli and simmer for a couscoussier (or a steamer lined with 10 minutes. Remove the meat and chilli Pictured p111 muslin) to partially cook the rice. Wash and set aside. the rice and set it above the 5 Stir the rice into the caramelised 1 guinea fowl or small chicken couscoussier. Cover and cook the rice onion. Add the liquid from cooking the (about 1kg) for 10 minutes. Stir, then cook for meat and enough water so that the rice a further 20 minutes. The rice is ready is covered by 1cm. Cover and cook over 150 ml vegetable oil when the surface of the rice is hard low heat for 15 minutes. 3 tbsp red nokoss (see recipe p114) (difficult to poke a finger through). 6 Stir the rice, place the meat pieces on 4 tsp soumbala (see note p114) Remove rice from the heat, then cover top, then cover and cook for a further Salt and pepper and set aside. 15 minutes. 3 Peel and slice the onions, pick the 7 Serve meat and rice with parsley 400 gm (2 cups) long-grain rice parsley leaves. Dice the tomatoes. sprigs, chillies and lemon wedges. ● 2 large onions Heat the remaning oil in a large ½ bunch flat-leaf parsley, plus flameproof casserole dish and sweat Many of the ingredients in this book sprigs to serve half the onion over medium heat. Blend are stocked by Essential Ingredient 2 tomatoes the remaining onion with the parsley, (essentialingredient.com.au). Some 1 mild yellow chilli, plus extra to serve tomato, 1 tsp pepper and remaining flours and grains are also available at Lemon wedges, to serve soumbala and nokoss to make a paste. bulk wholefood stores. You can also Gently mix this paste into the onion try online African grocers such as 1 Wash the guinea fowl, cut into pieces and cook over low heat until it westafricanfoods.com.au, and rinse. Heat a third of the oil in a large becomes golden and caramelised. africangroceries.com.au or heavy-based saucepan and brown the floraafricanshopaustralia.com.au guinea fowl pieces. Add half the nokoss and half the soumbala and sweat, then cover with water and season with salt

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PHOTOGRAPHY ELISE HASSEY. J U LY TRAVEL Heat of the moment Tea time in Morocco, exploring the Maluku Islands, a chef’s guide to Nashville, and checking into a hot new Melbourne hotel. Marrakech p120 G O U R M E T T R AV E L L E R 117

The art of... ILLUSTRATION ADOBE STOCK. moderation ANNA HART recalls the Mexican dish that finally taught her that less is sometimes more. 118 G O U R M E T T R AV E L L E R

The art of travel Anna is a travel Afew years ago, a spicy Mexican meal a potent fresh chilli salsa. I am always hungry for and lifestyle changed the way I live, love and travel breakfast, and I wanted to devour it, but I had forever. I had never really respected met my match: my mouth burned, I couldn’t journalist, and moderation, or temperance, or even finish the dish. I grew up in Singapore so I’m author of the compromise before. “It only takes one person accustomed to spicy dishes and believed my travel memoir to make a compromise,” I would cheerfully tastebuds invincible; how could my mouth let Departures. announce when trying to get my way about me down like this? Something delicious had @annadothart something – and I was never the one deviating finally proved too much for me! And in that from my whims and wishes. As well as being moment, I knew the true heartbreak of too unable to compromise, I have always been unable much of a good thing. I knew that underneath to get enough of a good thing. As a child, this the layer of fiery serrano and chile de árbol chillies might be birthday cake – the only thing that was a comforting, satiating breakfast dish, but stopped me devouring the entire thing would be I couldn’t access this pleasure. It was the moment the physical intervention of my parents. Even my gluttonous soul was forced to accept that now, somewhat constrained as I am, by social moderation might occasionally be a good idea. niceties and a desire to remain an accepted member of the tribe, I rarely look at something And that plate of chilaquiles pried open a delicious without thinking that I could polish chink in excess’s armour, and I began observing it off entirely myself, if the judgmental eyes other aspects of life that might be enriched, rather surrounding me glanced away for long enough. than watered down, by a “less is more” approach. I used to stuff my holiday itineraries like I was This magazine caters specifically for wide-eyed stuffing a suitcase, squishing an extra museum experience gluttons like myself, informing readers visit or market tour in any given nook or cranny. how to have the best of everything immediately, I was so hungry to experience a new city or culture so I hope some of you will identify with these that adrenalin propelled me through 16-hour days, sentiments of a sybaritic extremist. I would hear and it wasn’t unusual for me to leave a hotel other people saying, “Oh, this dessert is a bit rich realising I’d never once sat on the sofa, or sunk for me,” or “Gosh, this ravioli is a bit heavy,” and into the vast bath, or even been in the pool. But I would nod politely as if I knew what they were a crammed itinerary leaves no space for accidental talking about – but the fact is, nothing good was joy, spontaneous decisions and those much-needed ever too much for me. I’m never the one to idle moments when you catch yourself thinking, suggest leaving a party, I am always available for “Ah, this is nice, isn’t it?” ‘one more drink,’ I can eat any time, any place, even if my previous meal was just 30 minutes So now, I travel differently. Coco Chanel issued prior, and I virtually never decline a promising this fashion advice: “Before you leave the house, invitation or dismiss an exciting suggestion. look in the mirror and take one thing off.” These days, I do this with a travel itinerary; I put I spent most of my teens and twenties wholly it together in my usual feverish state, and then unconvinced about the merits of moderation. take something out. I rarely stay in a hotel for “Less is more” is surely just a lie humans tell fewer than three nights, because I want at least ourselves so we feel a bit better about being one day knowing I don’t have to leave the next day. poor, or busy. Surely, given free choice, we’d That feeling is important to me, now. I would do everything to excess, all the time: eating, rather linger longer, in a smaller area, than feel drinking, loving, relaxing and travelling? like I’m window shopping. And if I don’t feel like visiting that museum in Florence today, well, I’ll But in Oaxaca, I was saved from a life of just have to return to Florence. It was Oscar Wilde unfettered excess by a Mexican breakfast dish who said, “Everything in moderation, including called chilaquiles, consisting of deep-fried day-old moderation,” but I’m grateful to those serrano tortilla slices smothered in sauce, fresh cream, chillies for finally making me accept the M word. ● queso fresco and topped with a fried egg and G O U R M E T T R AV E L L E R 119

Traditionl rugs at Marrakech medina. Clockwise from right: a tagine of chicken, walnuts and dates at Karawan Riad, Fes; a vibrant blue door at Essaouira; a guard at the Mausoleum of Mohammed V in Rabat. Opposite: the city of Rabat. 120 G O U R M E T T R AV E L L E R

ROCK A journey across the heart of Morocco is a lesson in flavour and fragrance, discovers HANNAH-ROSE YEE. THE Photography ELISE HASSEY KASBAH

Clockwise from left: Hassan serves barley porridge from a tagine for breakfast; poolside at Sir Richard Branson’s Kasbah Tamadot hotel in the Atlas Mountains. T he key ingredient in mint tea is time. Well, time and mint, of course, but it’s time that matters the most. Every Moroccan has their own recipe for mint tea. But the one thing that each fiercely individual routine has in common with the other is that it should never, ever be rushed. In the desert, a single pot can take an hour to perfect. Here, in a small village in the Atlas Mountains, our guide Abdul begins the ritual of pouring glasses and returning them to the pot, pouring and returning, the tea leaves muddling with the fresh mint over and over again. He will not be hurried. I am seated on a terrace draped in soft carpets belonging to Hassan and Safida – and Abdelhaid, their boisterous three year old – who opened up their home to us for a morning. A two-and-a-bit- hour drive out of Marrakech, the Atlas Mountains are home to the Berber tribe, who have lived in Morocco for thousands of years. It is beautiful up here, bare and crisp, the mountains capped with snow, and there is that sense of alertness which comes when you are really, really high. Everything feels sharp and clear. It’s a stark contrast to the Marrakech we’ve just left behind: teeming with life, quickening your pulse the second you step out the door, hectic and thrilling. This day trip to the Atlas Mountains comes midway through our Abercrombie & Kent tour of the country, which begins in seaside Casablanca – “Here’s looking at you, kid” – before crossing the country to the densely turreted Fes, hopping over to the ochre-walled Marrakech and ending back on Morocco’s coast in the sun-blistered resort destination Oualidia. It’s an itinerary that takes in big cities and small towns, buzzy medinas and blissful spas, food and wine, markets and museums, and all of the history – and modernity – that makes Morocco so alluring. If you have never journeyed to the North African nation before, an eight-day trip barely scratches the surface of everything Morocco has to offer. But, as is so often the case with travel, you’ll just have to come back. Abdul pours the final glass; the tea is ready. It’s strong – tangy from the green leaves, fresh from the mint, and sweet from the big chunk of sugar that has been dunked into the pot. It’s good. “Saha,” Abdul exclaims, raising his glass towards me. “Cheers.” ➤ 122 G O U R M E T T R AV E L L E R



Clockwise from left: the fish markets in the Fes medina; a typical Moroccan spread includes zaalouk, an eggplant and tomato dish; a tiled doorway in Fes. Opposite: the rooftops of Fes. 124 G O U R M E T T R AV E L L E R

The heat in Morocco sticks to your bones, like breakfast. But then we turn a corner and the a tagine. It’s February and allegedly winter when medina comes alive: the burning heat of the public I land in Casablanca, but I’ve come from London, ovens, where you can bring a disc of flatbread from where February really is winter: grey and grim, home and bake it for a few coins, the sizzle of meat deep in the grip of a never-ending rain cloud. frying in cast-iron pans, stalls with spices piled Casablanca, by contrast, is creamy and exquisite perilously high like a pyramid, including ras el and every street sounds like the sea. hanout, the famous Moroccan mix, an 11-secret- herbs-and-spices-esque blend unique to every Breakfast is a plate of baghrir, the poetically stallholder. Round another corner and the streets named pancakes of a thousand holes, like a slim, are empty again, the air fragrant and still. flattened crumpet fashioned from semolina flour. Doused in amlou – a paste of honey, almonds Fes is a study in contrasts: ancient and modern, and argan oil – and washed down with a thick, frantic and serene. And spicy and sweet, as I learn syrupy cup of Moroccan coffee, they are addictive. at a cooking class held on the rooftop of the Palais Moroccan coffee has much in common with the Amani, a mosaic-riddled riad in the heart of the indelible Turkish variety. “When my mother was medina. It’s dusk and the light on the terrace is making coffee, I could smell it in the street,” jokes warmed over and coppery, like a spoonful of Mohammed, our guide for the week. amlou. The Moroccan cuisine is “toujours le saveur,” declares Abdul, our teacher for the From Casablanca, we make our way inland to evening, dressed in pristine chef whites and, Fes. It’s even warmer here, closer to Morocco’s appropriately, a jaunty red fez. desert heartland. The rush of ocean air feels like a distant memory; Fes is dried out and toasted. I am making tagine – what else? – and zaalouk, At 10 o’clock in the morning, we walk through a Moroccan entrée of smoked eggplant and spiced the entrance to Fes’ thousand-year-old medina, tomatoes, which is described as a salad but is a snaking maze of more than 9000 alleys served with wedges of flatbread still warm from containing countless market stalls, 300 mosques, the grill. Zaalouk is simple and moreish: grated a historic synagogue and the world’s oldest tomato thrown into a pan with cumin, paprika university. It is silent. A motorbike chugs past, and quite a lot of garlic, then mashed with the huffing and puffing as it trundles along. A few eggplant. And the tagine is just as good, an unfussy kids with fistfuls of coins are buying baghrir for recipe of chicken, seared in a pan with an onion, ➤

turmeric, ginger, saffron, preserved lemon, parsley, coriander and green olives. The chicken cooks in the marinade, and then the whole thing cooks in that famous tapered clay pot, which traps all the flavour inside like a reverse cycle air-conditioner. The result is a cheerful yellow stew studded with green olives, like little jewels, where spice is applied for taste, not heat. For dessert, we experiment with a delicate jawhara, layers of crisp filo pastry filled with orange- blossom custard and dusted with cinnamon. Abdul hands out bottles of ice-cold Casablanca Lager. When I place my tagine into the oven, the call to prayer begins to echo over the rooftops, rippling through the city. Morocco does a roaring trade in rooftops. Every riad in Fes and Marrakech seems to have one, done up with canvas pagodas and very thirsty ferns. A few days later, I sit on the rooftop at El Fenn, one of the city’s buzziest hotels, drinking a mojito on a sofa the colour of saffron. El Fenn is a scene. Every corner is styled like an Instagram flatlay, the music ripped from a Mykonos beach club. Madonna hired out the whole hotel in 2018 for her 60th birthday; Gwen Stefani and Gwyneth Paltrow have both checked in. The hotel, co-owned by Vanessa Branson – sister to Sir Richard Branson, whose own palatial pile Kasbah Tamadot is a luxurious retreat nestled high in the Atlas Mountains – is a reminder of Morocco’s enduring allure for creative types. Marrakech is where Yves Saint Laurent made a permanent base, out of the azure-blue homestead known as the Majorelle Garden, which today is open to the public with an adjoining Yves Saint Laurent museum next door. Marrakech remains a creative hub. Meriem Nour, a Central Saint Martins- trained designer, is the owner of Hanout, an atelier for finely tailored kaftans in the heart of the Marrakech medina. Just outside is Plus61, an airy restaurant that looks like it belongs on the streets of Surry Hills, which is apt, given chef Andrew Cibej is ex-121BC and Berta. There are lamingtons on the dessert menu. ➤ 126 G O U R M E T T R AV E L L E R

Clockwise from left: Moroccan tea and macarons at La Mamounia Marrakech; traditional tagine clay pots at the medina; the mosaic interior in the lobby of La Sultana Marrakech. El Fenn is a scene. Every corner is styled like an Instagram flatlay, the music ripped from a Mykonos beach club. Madonna hired the hotel for her 6Oth. G O U R M E T T R AV E L L E R 127

Ancient medinas, buzzing cities and, now, coastal retreats. My journey ends in Oualidia, a sleepy resort outside of Marrakech.

Clockwise from left: La Booking info Sultana Oualidia; a fresh catch of crayfish at Abercrombie & Kent’s private Oualidia; view of eight-day Mosaics & Medinas Oualidia’s saltwater lagoon from La Sultana. tour starts from $8750 per person, not including airfares. abercrombiekent.com.au/ journeys/mosaics-medinas Ancient medinas, buzzing cities and, now, coastal retreats. My journey ends in Oualidia, a sleepy resort town three hours outside of Marrakech. Oualidia is a brief bus ride from Essaouira, a more bustling seaside city famous for serving as the location for several television shows and films you’ve definitely seen. (Essaouira is the real-life Astapor in season three of Games of Thrones, aka the city where Daenerys went full dracarys.) Seagulls provide a cacophonous soundtrack to a morning spent inside these sandstone walls. Mohammed estimates almost 80 per cent of Essaouirans make their living out on the ocean. In Oualidia, it’s even more concentrated: this town of about 5800 people is the oyster capital of the nation. The coastal drive to La Sultana Oualidia, a tranquil coastal retreat, is lined with people selling their wares. Each oyster is as big as your fist and farmers journey out into the curved lagoon every day to bring them back for hungry punters. La Sultana is a true oasis: just 12 rooms, each decorated like a beach house in a Nancy Meyers movie. There’s a first-rate spa offering the traditional Moroccan hammam, where steam is used to cleanse your body, followed by deep – and I mean deep – exfoliation. I leave feeling squeaky clean. Later, I walk to the hotel’s restaurant, situated in a sunken conservatory, for my last dinner. It’s a beautiful place to eat seafood – fat crayfish on a bed of spiced couscous, crabs bigger than their serving platters, legs dangling over the side – but also a little otherworldly. At the door is a long jetty that leads to a shack perched right out in the ocean. In high tide, it feels like you’re walking on water to get there. This is La Sultana’s oyster bar, a place to have a glass of something cold and a plate of a dozen oysters; practically dinner in and of itself. I drink a glass of Champagne. It’s 7.30pm and the sun is taking its time setting, really putting on a show, and after a week in Morocco everything feels revitalised and refreshed. Saha to that. ● G O U R M E T T R AV E L L E R 129

Big Al’s Deli Bolton’s Spicy Roberta’s The City House Chicken & Fish Alebrije Pizza East Nashville Olive & Sinclair Farmers’ Market Chocolate Co Robert’s Western World Lou The Catbird Seat Arnold’s Country Kitchen Nashville, USAA CHEF’S GUIDE TO... NASHVILLE PHOTOGRAPHY GREG DUPREE. From honky-tonks to hot chicken, chef Locust SEAN BROCK takes us on a hot and spicy WELCOME TO NASHVILLE tour of America’s Deep South. The food scene in Nashville is progressing T he name Sean Brock is synonymous with the food of America’s at an extraordinary rate. One of the things south. Raised in rural Virginia, Brock made his name in I love most about the local culinary landscape Charleston where he spent more than a decade exploring is how diverse it is. When visiting you can lowcountry cooking via renowned restaurants McCrady’s and experience everything from a meat and three Husk. Now based in Nashville, Tennessee, the James Beard-winning chef (a Tennessean restaurant with daily choices and cookbook author continues to contribute to the southern cuisine of meat and a variety of sides) that will blow discussion via his venues Audrey, June, The Continental and Joyland. your mind, to hot chicken that will blow your When he’s off-duty, this is where Brock likes to go. head off, but in the best possible way. Then there are multi-course modernist tasting 130 G O U R M E T T R AV E L L E R menus; plus everything in between. WHERE I EAT NOW My favourite places to eat in Nashville right now are Locust, Lou and The Catbird Seat. These are all restaurants that are pretty small and each has a very unique voice. These restaurants aren’t afraid of taking chances because all of us here know that the people who live in Nashville are open-minded and will support the craziest of ideas. Lou serves sharing plates and natural wines. I always order the crispy rice there. The Catbird Seat is our go-to for celebrations. The format is an extended tasting menu full of daring creativity. Locust has such a wild and unique experience. You get to eat the best quality fish from around the world while listening to heavy metal pretty loud. SL IC E S O F ITA LY The place that I have been going to for years is City House. I think it’s one of the best places to eat in America. We are so lucky to have it here in Nashville. Native Tennessean chef Tandy Wilson uses Southern products almost exclusively but integrates them into a cuisine that is essentially Italian. For example, you can eat catfish but it will be cooked using a traditional Italian recipe. Right now I am obsessed with Neapolitan pizza. The famous Roberta’s of Brooklyn opened right down the street from me, and I have to eat there at least once a week.

A chef’s guide ONE OF MY FAVOURITE PLACES THE BEST TACOS Clockwise from top left: the dining room at Audrey; Appalachian beans at Robert’s Western World is a honky-tonk Alebrije is a mind-blowing pop-up Audrey; Peruvian lima beans, peppers, that’s located downtown on Broadway. concept and serves the best tacos you burrata and orange at Lou. Opposite: It is one of my favourite places on Earth. will ever eat. You have to follow them on Robert’s Western World honky-tonk. It feels like you are going back in time Instagram to see where they are popping and I just love watching everyone dance up next. They also just completed a food and have a good time. Plus, it has an truck so that will be fun to chase around. incredible bologna sandwich. BEST OF THE MARKET OLD-FASHIONED NASHVILLE COMFORT We do such a great job with cowpeas here in middle Tennessee. When they The first place I take people to when in are freshly shelled, they are as special Nashville is Arnold’s Country Kitchen. as truffles to me. You can find lots of It’s an old-fashioned meat and three them for sale at the farmers’ markets. that’s been around for decades and has They show up all over town and it’s so always been a gathering spot for locals. fun to see what each chef does with The food is insane. It is so flavourful, them. I love the East Nashville Farmers’ and the hospitality is as good as it gets. Market. It’s on every Tuesday. I like sending people to Big Al’s Deli, another old-fashioned place that has LOCAL SNACKS TO BRING HOME a daily changing menu of the best comfort food imaginable: from Everything that Olive & Sinclair creates biscuits ‘n’ gravy to pancakes. is so good. I always try to have its chocolate bars on hand, plus some salt EAT HERE FIRST and vinegar caramels. ● Nashville is known for its hot chicken, As told to Jessica Rigg for The and for good reason. It’s so good and so Local Tongue. For more chef’s addictive. My favourite place to eat hot guides from around the world, chicken is called Bolton’s. Don’t sleep see thelocaltongue.com on the “hot fish” either. We have to focus on keeping places like Bolton’s, Big Al’s, Arnolds and Prince’s Hot Chicken in business at all costs. These places are the true soul of this city. Always eat at these places before mine. G O U R M E T T R AV E L L E R 131

TREASURE Afloat in Indonesia’s Maluku Islands, once known as the Spice Islands, MAX ANDERSON consumes the archipelago’s dark and storied past. And a few cocktails too. HUNTING

PHOTOGRAPHY GETTY IMAGES. G O U R M E T T R AV E L L E R 133

Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.. Europeans as flavours, preservatives and medicine. Where’s the peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper Nutmeg, which was also mildly hallucinogenic, picked? Twisting my tongue around grew on only a handful of islands in the Banda Sea. a cocktail straw, I enjoy a hit of Negroni designed by Singapore mixologists, Proof & The Arabs and the Venetians ran the stuff Company. There’s a book butterflied on my overland to the Mediterranean before the king-sized daybed, and I can hear anchor chains Portuguese mariners plied a sea route to the East rumbling out into turquoise waters. Indies. Then, in the 1600s, the Dutch seized control under the flag of the Dutch East India Luxury cruise vessel Aqua Blu has moored off Company, the mighty VOC. A pound of nutmeg an active volcano looming out of the Banda Sea. acquired for a fraction of a penny was sold in London for 90 shillings, or about eight months’ Like a thing from The Lost World, the 600-metre wages. So lucrative was the trade that it bankrolled volcano is robed with thick jungle and wears Dutch expansionism and built an empire. a necklace of yellow sulphur at its throat. In an hour, we will tender out to its green flanks and Since boarding Aqua Blu in Maumere east climb to the village of Waru, a cluster of crude huts of Komodo, I’ve been in no doubt this luxury and a tin-roofed church. expedition cruise is also the preserve of the privileged. This is the island of Serua, a far-flung outcrop that is but a single grain in seas salted with more Eleven couples have paid close to $22,000 each than a thousand Spice Islands. The region of for seven days. Among them is a retired executive north-eastern Indonesia is more correctly (if less of Dreamworks, a consultant to orthodontists and evocatively) known as Maluku, but it still feels a swashbuckling young tech millionaire. (“Y’know distinctly edge-of-the-world. Looking at the volcano those pages of terms and conditions when you over the rim of my cocktail glass, I’m shocked to download an app?” grins the latter. “Well, think that the village of Waru has never been when you click ‘I agree’, I’m the f***er who takes visited by foreigners. all your data.”) At least, not recently. Appearance-wise, Aqua Blu is a curious beast. For 700 years, the Spice Islands were the source Her upper decks have the smooth, rakish lines of of nutmeg, cloves and cinnamon, prized by a cruiser, but her doughty hull and four stalwart

Cross turned to ancient spice routes for inspiration, tying together cuisines from Morocco, India and Indonesia. Clockwise from engines are strictly British Royal Navy – a legacy top: Aqua Blu from 1968 when she was HMS Beagle doing consulting chef research in the Persian Gulf. But she’s brilliantly fit Ben Cross adds for purpose, shallow enough to get us close to a finishing touch remote islands, strong enough to ply Indonesia’s to a dish; the fearsome currents and big enough to afford space salon area on for 30 guests catered to by 25 crew. Aqua Blu; peanut butter The largest of her 15 suites is 34 square metres, parfait. Opposite: and all have ensuite showers with the drenching luxury cruising power you’d enjoy in a Hyatt. Books and antiques on Aqua Blu. from the region hint at expedition, while the glossy shagpile carpet, the blonde maple-veneer closets PHOTOGRAPHY KEN KOCHEY. and the Aqua Blu scent branding (opium, sandalwood, black tea) speak to luxe. In the lounge areas, it’s distinctly “millionaire casual” – think bare feet and chill-out music on Bose speakers – which is very much the style of founder and CEO of Aqua Expeditions, Francesco Galli Zugaro. In his late 40s, Zugaro is along for the inaugural cruise, he has panache to spare, not to mention an Italian baronetcy. Keen to avoid “cruise food”, he commissioned Australian chef Ben Cross (an alumnus of Rockpool and creator of Balinese restaurant, Mason) to design a menu of restaurant-quality food that reflected the Spice Islands. Cross turned to the ancient spice routes for inspiration, tying together cuisines from countries as disparate as Morocco, India and Indonesia. Acting executive chef Adrian Broadhead ducks between freezer, kitchen and prep room, spread over three decks and connected by narrow stairs designed for British sailors to exercise. “I worked with Ben on the planning,” he says, showing me the micromanaged freezer deep in the hull. “Just the provisioning alone was insane.” He withdraws two marked packages: “Beef rendang – slow-cooked in sous vide for 48 hours. Braised oxtail – three days of cooking.” Lunch offers casual, often fun, self-serve spreads in the bar, light on the carbs but lavish on the choice (a lively poke bowl features lightly cured raw tuna, white poached chicken and Cross’s own ➤ G O U R M E T T R AV E L L E R 135

kimchi). But under starlight on the rear deck, the Clockwise from dinner dishes are suitably stellar: grouper fillet in top: sop buntut a shaoxing broth delicately flavoured with ginger and with oxtail and shallot; charred chermoula tuna; Moroccan spiced chicken. Each night, we travel anew. dashi broth, charred onion “In a way, what we’re doing is more sophisticated and tomato; giant than a restaurant,” says Broadhead. “We’ve got around Papuan prawns; 100 recipes for seven nights and nothing’s repeated.” on board Aqua He adds that each day’s menu is planned to accommodate a “see-saw of relaxation and adventure”. Blu; nutmeg “If guests are sailing between islands, then the protein plantation. consumption is lowered. If they’re diving or exploring Opposite: an island, the calorie need goes up and the menu caters to that.” snorkelling off On most days, we wake to deserted islands and dive Aqua Blu. on nameless reefs. I spend happy hours listening to my breathing getting slower and slower as I lose myself among coral landscapes of feathers, trees and antlers. Small, dream-like shows play out – an octopus opening its elastic, eight-armed shroud, baby clownfish peeking from soft noodles of anemone, lobsters waving their antennae. When we re-board, salty and tingling, we make a surreal transition, welcomed with platters of pressed juices and the sounds of Café del Mar. If diving leaves me glowing, nothing is quite as luminous as the history of these islands. Landing on Banda Neira, I discover a living fable. It’s a place of rusted roofs, fortified bastions and 17th century Dutch architecture, faded mansions of white gables, curlicue lamps and louvred windows. Banda’s huge nutmeg plantations made this the Saudi oilfields of its day. Among the steamy streets of PHOTOGRAPHY EDWIN AGCAOILI & KEN KOCHEY. 136 G O U R M E T T R AV E L L E R

old cobbles and abandoned canons, I learn how Serua. Francesco leads us onto a tiny beach to the Dutch would stop at nothing to protect their meet the chief of Waru village. Francesco is tall monopoly. In the dusty Rumah Budaya museum, and immaculate in polo shirt, the chief is short a painting depicts Banda natives being and stained at the mouth with betel. Through dismembered by samurai swordsmen. In 1621, the interpreters, the chief tells us he’s proud to receive VOC accused island chiefs of selling nutmeg to the first boat to his village – then prays to his foreign powers; 1600 troops and 100 Japanese ancestors, asking they admit us. mercenaries would steadily reduce 13,000 islanders to 1000. The workforce was replaced with slaves We mount hundreds of steps hacked out of from Bali and Sulawesi. the jungle, dripping fat drops of Tarzan sweat before emerging at the church with the tin roof. When the Brits secured nutmeg plantations on It’s dark inside – the village has no electricity – but a neighbouring island called Run, the Hollanders a little cooler. resorted to diplomacy to remove the threat. In 1667 they persuaded Britain to surrender their I ask the chief – are spices still grown on Serua? island in exchange for a redundant bit of Dutch He produces a thin plastic bag and withdraws property off the American coast. To ensure their a handful of nutmegs. Stripped of their green nutmeg monopoly, the Dutch signed away territory cases, they’re round, hard and rather beautiful, that would one day be called Manhattan. capped with a red waxy substance called mace. “How much do you sell this for?” I ask. But I’m left with a question. Where is the peck He says the equivalent of $5 per kilo. The of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked? meagre monies are sent to an island 24 hours away by boat, where the island’s womenfolk live, Fortified by my Negroni and slathered in overseeing their children who attend school. ➤ sunblock, I’m boated across to the volcano on Stripped of their green cases, they’re round, hard and rather beautiful, capped with a red waxy substance called mace.

Within 50 years, the VOC’s monopoly was broken, spice prices collapsed and Dutch hegemony was over. The village is populated solely by men. The Seychelles and the Grenadines, where they women only return, we’re told, when it’s time would flourish and fruit. to make babies. Pierre is French for Peter, Poivre is French Standing in the little church, I find myself for pepper. After Peter Piper picked a peck, the astonished by the physical and emotional treasures of the Spice Islands were no longer the isolation on Serua – and that such isolation preserve of the Dutch. Within 50 years, the VOC’s exists in the 21st century. monopoly was broken, spice prices collapsed and Dutch hegemony was over. But it was just this sort of isolation that enabled a French missionary named Pierre When I leave Waru, I take one of the nutmegs Poivre to surreptitiously move into the Spice back to Aqua Blu. It sits in my fragrant cabin Islands undetected by the Dutch. In 1657, Poivre aboard the luxury vessel, a symbol that fortunes used local intelligence to land on an outcrop like must ebb and flow, that sturdy empires can be Serua to collect seedlings of nutmeg. Those felled by a seedling. seedlings were transplanted to Mauritius, A kernel of truth in a $22,000 suite. ● 138 G O U R M E T T R AV E L L E R

PHOTOGRAPHY KEN KOCHEY. Clockwise from top: grilled How to barramundi; outdoor dining book on board Aqua Blu; a skiff excursion. Opposite: Fort Seven- and 12-night Belgica in Banda Neira. cruises on Aqua Blu through the Maluku Islands are available for late 2022, starting from $10,925. Abercrombie & Kent offers a 12-night cruise aboard Aqua Blu from Bali to Lombok for $15,045. This includes four days touring Bali, staying at the Nirjhara resort north of Tanah Lot and Four Seasons Resort Bali at Sayan near Ubud. aquaexpeditions.com; abercrombiekent.com.au

CHECKING IN Ovolo South Yarra, Melbourne We take the guesswork out of local travel with our tips on where to stay, eat, drink and play. This month, GT hits Melbourne. Melbourne, VIC STAY As Melbourne’s CBD returns to its international best, a stay away from the bustling city centre may Quick beckon. Just five kilometres south-east, via the Royal Botanic Gardens, you’ll find a taste of the look Melburnian luxe life in South Yarra. Food, design, art and culture all intersect in the chic and cheerful streets of Toorak Road and Chapel Street. And thumping away at the epicentre is Ovolo South Yarra, Where a recent addition, which has settled in to the area nicely. In true Ovolo fashion, the hotel dials up the 234 Toorak Rd, design to 11, with collaborators Luchetti Krelle calling on ’70s rock gods and Studio 54’s disco queens South Yarra, Vic as their muses. In the lobby, this retrofuturistic mood centres around the neon fireplace. Then there’s Facilities the bar, which comes alive at “social hour” when guests drink free, and on-site restaurant Lona Misa Prices from $191 per by Melbourne chefs Shannon Martinez from Smith & Daughters and Ian Curley from Kirk’s Wine bar. night for a Go Go Ovolo has cleverly kept the vibe young and free by offering 15-square-metre micro-hotel rooms Snug queen room. aimed at today’s digital nomads who prize social space over sleeping space. For the rest of us, there are larger options including four 44-square-metre Rock Star Suites, fitted with deep baths and record Gym Yes players. In all rooms, there are all-inclusive minibars and freebies to snack on – that’s if South Yarra Hotel bar Yes hasn’t already satiated your hunger. ovolohotels.com Restaurant Yes Room service Yes 140 G O U R M E T T R AV E L L E R Concierge 24-hour Free Wifi Yes

DAY TRIP Checking in Continue south-east for another 90 minutes and you’ll hit Mornington Peninsula. As Samantha Payne shares on page 36, the region is a hub for pinot gris (and pinot noir). Also deserving a place on your Peninsula agenda is a dip at Peninsula Hot Springs and a meal at 10 Minutes by Tractor. We are also hotly anticipating the reopening of Laura at Pt Leo Estate after a recent fire. Clockwise from left: crab, togarashi crème fraîche croustade at Ten Minutes by Tractor; Omnia chef Stephen Nairn; Lona Misa’s dining room; the grounds at Pt Leo Estate. Opposite: inside Ovolo South Yarra’s 30-square-metre Groovy Suite. WANDER A visit to Prahran Market is like a crash course in epicurean Melbourne life; once you’ve strolled the stalls, with a Market Lane filter coffee in one hand and a Maker & Monger grilled cheese toastie in the other, you can call yourself an honorary local. The market is open everyday except Monday and Wednesday. WORDS ANNA MCCOE. PHOTOGRAPHY JAMES MORGAN (OMNIA). Breakfast Lunch Dinner EAT It’s hard to go past Ovolo’s With exquisite interiors and all-day It’s at dinner time when you’ll start to complimentary breakfast, but if you dining, Abacus Bar & Kitchen is seriously consider extending your stay. save space for a second round pure South Yarra bliss, with a focus The clever plant-based Latin menu at outside the hotel, you’ll find you’re in on local Victorian produce. Think Lona Misa deserves pole position on a brunch promised land. Rustica is fresh Mornington figs, beef from your Melbourne eating agenda. Expect the go-to for sourdough and Bloody Gippsland and lamb from Geelong. crunchy croquettes and coal-grilled Marys. Then there’s Darling Café For the ultimate afternoon oyster mushrooms that will impress from the group that brought us Top indulgence, head to Yugen Tea Bar carnivores and vegans alike. Nearby, Paddock and Kettle Black. Tivoli for a masterclass in fresh brews, Omnia is a neighbourhood bistro from Road Bakery (formerly Frank guided by their resident tea Stephen Nairn, which is raising the bar. Camorra’s MoVida Bakery) does all sommelier. Tea-inspired cocktails Also within stumbling distance (you’re things baked with panache and and sake are also on the menu, going to need a walk) is Scott Pickett’s Ned’s Bake, which is just down the alongside some of the most fire-focused restaurant Matilda and the road from Ovolo, offers impressive delicate and decadent pastries classic French bistro France-Soir, which pizzette and just-baked croissants. to be found in Australia. serves perfect steak frites until late. G O U R M E T T R AV E L L E R 141

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HOME . FASHION . BEAUTY PHOTOGRAPHY ALANA LANDSBERRY. STYLING EMMALY STEWART. STYLE East of Eden Old-world interiors, what to wear, winter skin and scents and tools for a spice-driven kitchen. 146 G O U R M E T T R AV E L L E R

Home 1 2 3 SPICE BAZAAR 10 4 Look to the colours and forms of the Ottoman Empire to heat things up in the kitchen. 6 7 PHOTOGRAPHY STEPHANIE ROONEY (KITCHEN). 58 9 G O U R M E T T R AV E L L E R 147 1 Hex pendant light, $209, Freedom. 2 Harlequin vessel, $395, Greenhouse Interiors. 3 Tom Dixon Swirl table, $3300, Living Edge. 4 Gimme Store Peachy candle, $41, HardToFind. 5 Resin Seed bowl, $320, Dinosaur Designs. 6 Breville the Bakery Chef Hub stand mixer, $499, Harvey Norman. 7 Aalto Vase 16cm in Ultramarine Blue, $299, Iittala. 8 Sora porcelain tiles in Caramel, $149 per square mere, Perini. 9 Stool, $6205, Hermés. 10 Amber Wave coupe glasses, $119 for two, Fazeek. ABOVE A kitchen styled by Greenhouse Interiors.

Home 4 1 3 2 5 6 7 13 8 9 12 14 10 11 1 Sichuam ceiling light, from $150, Domo. 2 Wittmann Fledermaus dining chair, POA, Domo. 3 Ferm Living abstract rug, $411, Royal Design. 4 Herringbone cushion in Charcoal, $70, Aura Home. 5 Field robe, $159, Ferm Living. 6 Home Republic Henan succulent garden, from $40, Adairs. 7 Home Republic Winter stem, $17, Adairs. 8 Ferm Living Bevel extendable table, $6949, Surrounding. 9 Timaru baskets, $70 each, Adairs. 10 Kharl rug, $300, Adairs. 11 Creo vase, $855, Coco Republic. 12 Ferm Living Agnes pedestal, $388, Royal Design. 13 Cane Arch mirror, $174, Freedom. 14 Until Eva Solo Fireglobe log holder, $260, HardToFind. OPPOSITE PAGE Dining room by Ferm Living. 148 G O U R M E T T R AV E L L E R

SALT & PEPPER Home A tonal take on bohemian style HOME I doesn’t overpower. Just balance light with dark and sprinkle to taste. IONNSPIRAT G O U R M E T T R AV E L L E R 149

Style 1 2 15 14 3 4 13 5 Inspired by Amanjena, Marrakech Warm up your wardrobe with hits of 6 chilli red, cumin green and golden ginger. 7 PHOTOGRAPHY DANIEL HERENDI (AMANJENA). MERCHANDISING LAUREN DE SOUSA. 8 11 12 9 1 LV Get Dressed necklace, $1550, Louis 150 G O U R M E T T R AV E L L E R 10 Vuitton. 2 Juliana linen crop top in Forest, $180, Shona Joy. 3 Pleat skirt in True Red, $379, Oroton. 4 Double buckle belt in Tan, $375, Zimmermann. 5 Tortuga shirt dress in Playa Rosa Stripe, $199, and Girona pants in Playa Rosa Stripe, $209, Faithfull the Brand. 6 Nano Sac de Jour suede leather and shearling bag, $3835, Saint Laurent by Anthony Vaccarello. 7 Metal and Strass cuff, $1430, Chanel. 8 Thalia tuxedo trousers in Cumin, $280, Shona Joy. 9 Slouchy knee boots, $1350, Zimmermann. 10 Serpenti Diamond Blast crossbody bag, $3590, Bvlgari. 11 Longines DolceVita watch, $2025. 12 Nino Sepo flower shaped earrings, $208, she.her. 13 Short check dress, $479, Oroton. 14 Satin dress with ruffles, $495, Maje. 15 Splittable cotton coat, $1798, Tory Burch.