What do Dahl Daddy’s and Special Delivery both have in common?
In addition to operating as pop-ups and enjoying well-deserved reputations for serving terrific modern Asian cooking, Corey Rozario and Jacob d’Vauz – the respective co-founders of each business – both have Burmese heritage.
Which makes the prospect of both camps teaming up for one modern Burmese food party a tantalising thought indeed.
It all goes down on Sunday, July 13 when the two crews join forces – Dahl Delivery? Special Daddy’s? – to serve their interpretations of the dishes they grew up eating. Expect kangaroo samosas, lahpet thoke (fermented tea leaf salad), fried Shan-style tofu with green mango salad and an absolute rush for table bookings when they get announced.
Check out this link for details on how to secure a spot at what promises to be one of the year’s hottest collabs.
Staying dry at State Buildings this July
As far as somewhere to get tasty things to drink, The State Buildings has long had our backs. This month, it proves (not for the first time) that it’s also looking out for teetotallers too by introducing a suite of new non-alcoholic drink options across the precinct showcasing non-alcoholic spirits produced by Ovant.
These include a Ginless and Tonic at Wildflower powered by quandong; the Siamese-influenced Limonaid for Long Chim; and the beer-inspired Bitter Winter which will be served at Petition Kitchen and Beer Corner.
What Kim Brennan did next
In other State Buildings-adjacent news, Kim Brennan – former executive group chef for both State Buildings and COMO The Treasury – has signed on as group executive chef for Fiveight: the property development arm of Nicola and Andrew Forrest’s Tattarang company.
The Fiveight hospitality stable includes riverside dining room Cooee, CBD cafe and wine bar Copia, Cottesloe’s Indigo Oscar and Margaret River luxury property Cape Lodge which appointed journeyman Margaret River chef Iain Robertson (formerly of Cullen and Xanadu) as its new head chef.
Watch those spaces.
Three the hard-headed Italian way
When it comes to reimagining Italian cuisine, two heads – or two head chefs – are better than one, as proven by the food Chris Caravella and Frank Trequattrini are jointly cooking together one-hat Beaufort Street osteria Testun.
This weekend, two becomes three as Marche-born chef Nico Renzi temporarily joins the good ship Testun for a week-long residency.
A veteran of kitchens such as Vasse Felix and La Madonna Nera, Renzi’s bowerbird cooking makes him a great fit for Testun’s freewheeling brand of cucina Italiano. (See also the thrilling collaborative menu including ragu of rabbit braised in native herbs, kangaroo loin spiedini, and truffled apple and marsala pie.)
The menu runs from Friday until Sunday, July 13. Testun’s cheery restaurant manager Antonio di Senzo, meanwhile, has assembled a similarly adventurous line-up of drinks pairings that includes sake and marsala as well as selections from Testun’s Italo-leaning cellar.
Burnt Ends’ Dave Pynt is bringing his modern barbecue cooking to Bali
In addition to overseeing Singapore’s World’s 50 Best-lauded and Michelin-starred modern barbecue restaurant Burnt Ends, Perth-born chef Dave Pynt also has outposts of his smart-casual barbecue restaurant Meatsmith across Asia and The Ledge by Dave Pynt: a poolside barbecue eatery at the luxe Waldorf Astoria Maldives Ithaafushi.
It’s the latter that he’ll be bringing to Bali when he once again teams up with the legendary, New York-born hotel brand when it opens the Waldorf Astoria Bali.
Scheduled to open in 2027 in Nusa Dua, the property’s 71 villas and 68 guest suits will feature panoramic views of the Indian Ocean plus dibs on barbecue cooking from one of the world’s hottest open-fire talents.
“We’re really excited to bring our style of barbecue to the incredible cliffs of Nusa Dua,” says Pynt.
“There’s so much to explore in the local produce and flavours. And when you add the magic of cooking over wood fire, it becomes something special.”
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Max Veenhuyzen is a journalist and photographer who has been writing about food, drink and travel for national and international publications for more than 20 years. He reviews restaurants for the Good Food Guide.
