The ABC TV presenter is a fan of Italian classics, heavyweight steaks, nostalgic Chinese food and weekend yum cha – provided he doesn’t have to queue.
On ABC TV’s Eat the Invaders, presenter Tony Armstrong eats rabbit, carp and almost gets his tastebuds around cane toad – bringing a swag of guests to the table, including Poh Ling Yeow, Nat’s What I Reckon and politician Bob Katter.
The six-part culinary freak show features renegade Mona curator Kirsha Kaechele and the Tasmanian museum’s executive chef Vince Trim, who put invasive species on the menu, blinging up muddy-smelling carp and putting a pest in a pie that proves to be a tuckshop taste-test winner with young palates.
The ever-personable Armstrong lunched with Mona founder David Walsh and Kaechele at Gimlet in Melbourne, where they wooed him to join the show as host.
“I couldn’t say no, the idea sounded great, and I was like sure, I’ll be up for the adventure. I like that I have learned so much about these pests, and we try to make it interesting as well,” says Armstrong.
A year earlier, and while on a holiday to Ischia in Italy with his girlfriend, musician Rona, he wrapped his tastebuds around a traditional dish of rabbit stew cooked in a creamy white ragu (see below). Little did he know he’d do the same again in Australia.
“I’ve always gravitated toward meat, and rabbit is one of those things you don’t know it’s rabbit. I’m always up for an adventure when it comes to trying food,” he says.
“The show made sense to me, and given food is something I love, it was perfect for me. We look at invasive species in such a provocative way … and once we dove into it, I was like, this is something I could do and really enjoy.”
EATING IN
Signature dish
There are two signature dishes I like to make regularly at home: the first is a ragu usually slow-cooked with carrots, celery, onion and a heap of garlic. It simmers on the stove for hours. I use chicken, pork and lamb mince. It’s a Sunday speciality and I always use thick rigatoni or spaghetti.
In summer, I like to make a rib-eye steak.
Guilty pleasure
I love nostalgic Chinese food. My guilty pleasure is a dish of sizzling beef with heaps of chilli on top of fried rice. I normally order this when I am staying in hotel rooms. I look up a Chinese restaurant that has a good rating and get it [delivered] to the hotel. And when I go to any Chinatown, I want to find a good restaurant where the seats are a bit shit; I want to see a lazy Susan and for there to be decor from the ’80s.
Best kitchen wisdom
Taste as you go, and have everything chopped and prepared before you start if you’re new to something in the kitchen. You also don’t need to cook on the highest heat to get the best results.
Favourite hometown restaurants
It’s hard to go past Poodle Bar & Bistro on Gertrude Street, Fitzroy. It’s also where I like to send people when they come to Melbourne. The scallops are always unbelievably good, and the steak is excellent with fries. They have a chef’s feed-me menu, and it covers a lot of the great dishes if you want the guess work taken out.
Rocco’s Bologna Discoteca – it’s always the famous [meatball] sub here [in Fitzroy].
Heartattack and Vine [in Carlton] is another regular spot. I always order the porchetta and a coffee. I like a strong latte; and then later in the day it’s a double espresso.
Atticus Finch bar on Lygon Street in Brunswick East is another awesome spot. Marty who owns and runs it is an absolute legend and the cocktails are fantastic. It’s dark enough [that] you can hide if you want. There’s also a pool table out the back. My signature drink is a negroni.
Rona and I like to go to Gimlet regularly – a great place to eat in the city; the steak is usually my go-to.
We like to eat pizza at Harley & Rose in [West] Footscray – the one we order most is a margherita with anchovies and buffalo mozzarella.
Master Lanzhou Noodles in Chinatown is ideal for a spicy Sichuan noodle.
Favourite dining spots in Sydney
There is a place I go to for yum cha called The Eight in Haymarket. It’s where I go with my girlfriend and also where I catch up with my best mates. The ideal time to visit is 10.30am on a Sunday morning – it’s bedlam there, but we love it. We order all the dumplings, egg noodles and tripe. The rice noodle dumplings are a must. You line up and can’t pre-book. I tend to always be late to that lunch with friends so somebody else is always in that line.
When it comes to a pub, it has to be The Lord Gladstone Hotel [in Chippendale]. I know the food is good – their burgers are a winner. It’s where I go for a cold beer on tap and to talk to publicans Benny and Nick.
I also love to eat steak at Bistecca in the CBD. You must get all the sides and devour a 600-gram steak. The wine list is worth it, too.
ON THE ROAD
Favourite food destination
It has to be Italy. [Rona and I] went to Naples last year and ate at a Michelin-restaurant Aria. We had the degustation menu and rolled out of there. It’s all about the food, the drama and theatre of it all, which makes it a memorable experience.
Rona and I spent most of our time on the island of Ischia [just off Naples] and ate lots of vongole (clams) by the sea. It was all about super simple dishes and we had rabbit pasta, too. It was a white ragu, which was surprisingly delicious and a [local] delicacy. We ate this at Il Monastero [a restaurant within the accommodation] at the top of the monastery in Ischia.
We also ate pizza in Naples where they filmed Eat, Pray, Love. It’s called L’Antica Pizzeria da Michele and the line-up was totally bonkers, but the pizza was good. It was so cheese-bomb and definitely worth it. The rest of the time I drank Peronis by the beach.
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Jane Rocca is a regular contributor to Sunday Life Magazine, Executive Style, The Age EG, columnist and features writer at Domain Review, Domain Living’s Personal Space page. She is a published author of four books.
