Overview
Jerry Mai's long-anticipated Melbourne restaurant Annam is nearly here. She's announced she'll be throwing open the doors to the Bourke Street restaurant on Monday, October 2.
Annam has been in the works for Mai for some time. When we spoke to her in June, she was still imagining the menu and now it's come to be — and it sounds like it has been worth the wait. You can expect dishes like tuna tataki with cumquat nuoc nam and crispy onion, whole grilled Hiramasa kingfish with rice paper, braised goat somm la curry with pea eggplant and bo kho spiced beef ribs with mustard leaf. There's also been mention of a salted caramel fried ice cream dish on the dessert menu, a mention which has us very intrigued and hungry.
Annam will be all about traditional Vietnamese dishes — in fact, the name Annam is what Vietnam was known as prior to 1945. Vietnamese food has picked up influences from every historic episode, including Chinese, French and Japanese, as well as from its neighbours Laos and Cambodia.
"Relive sitting in the street, on a little stool somewhere in Vietnam," Mai says. "The heat and the smoke coming from the grill, and the noise coming from the kitchen and hopefully we can transport you back to a holiday in southeast Asia somewhere."
For the drinks menu, Annam will serve up complementary but not strictly Vietnamese drops. "We're looking at wines that will suit the food, cocktails made with tropical fruits, and also at local and imported beers," Mai says. Mai's business partner Rani Doyle has put together the drinks menu, which is heavy with Gewürztraminer, Pinot Gris, Grüner Veltliner and local Riesling in order to make the most of bold, spicy and salty flavours. You can also grab cocktails with a southeast Asian twist, like Four Pillars gin with nashi, Thai basil and finger lime.
Annam is located at 56 Little Bourke Street, Melbourne and is set to open on Monday, October 2 from 5pm. For more info, visit annam.com.au.
Images: Jana Langhorst.