Overview
Prepare yourself for a serious case of food envy. After months of hype and speculation surrounding the menu, Noma Australia is officially open for business, and it looks totally out of this world.
Popping up for a ten-week residency at Sydney Harbour's new Barangaroo precinct, Noma Australia sees head chef Rene Redzepi and his world-renowned team working exclusively with local ingredients. The menu includes Kakadu plum, pepperberry, wattleseed and kangaroo, along with a vast assortment of Australian seafood.
"On my many trips around Australia I’ve seen a larder that is so foreign to me," says Redzepi. "Foraging for abalone, eating fresh muntries, nibbling on pepperberries and cracking open a bunya nut — these experiences are so wild compared to what we're used to in Europe."
Redzepi has also been influenced by local cooking techniques. "Spending time with indigenous communities in places like Arnhem Land have left the biggest impact on me and the Noma team," he said. "For instance, seeing the use of fire as the main way of cooking ingredients inspired us. Most of what we’re cooking at Noma Australia will be cooked over fire."
Standout dishes on the Noma Australia menu include dried scallop and lantana flower pie, abalone schnitzel with bush condiments, a seafood platter of pippies, sea bounty mussels, strawberry clam, flame cockles, oysters and crocodile fat, and — the icing on the cake — a lamington made with rum, dried milk and tamarind. Oof.
Wild seasonal berries flavoured with gubinge
Unripe macadamia and spanner crab
Rum lamington
Now for the bad news: bookings for Noma Australia have long been snapped up, despite costing a whopping $485 a head. Still, we can dream.
Noma Australia will be serving lunch and dinner at the Barangaroo pop-up until April 2. If you're optimistic, you can put your name on the waiting list at noma.dk/australia.
Images: Jason Loucas