We've just landed in Newcastle
So in the last five years or so the town has completely exploded. From the back of
that we now have this dining scene that's also exploding. I'm pretty pumped I have to say
I haven't been for a while and I'm really looking forward to seeing the new Newcastle.
Tell me how you went from being one of Newcastle's sort of premier fine dining guys to flipping burgers.
You know after a while the 80-hour weeks, 90-hour weeks, you know
it gets to be a lot. Unbeknownst to ourselves it was just busy from day one so even
though it's a bit of an easier lifestyle it's still pretty busy.
So tell us about the burger you're gonna be making for us today.
We actually have a butcher who's part of Rascal
and he sort of sources all our beef locally and we use predominantly brisket, chuck and
we also use Jack's Creek wagu trim for just that richness and that wagyu flavour. Two patties, bacon,
cheese, very American but also using local produce.
So right now we're at Chiefly East which is our next stop in our Newcastle mission. I can smell
it and I'm very excited to taste it. We've got two sandwiches coming today, we've got like a big
beefy number and then we've got a classic pastrami on rye.
I think the really big difference is the fact they're doing the meat in-house so they're doing their own pastrami,
they're doing all their own pickles, they make their own rye, so everything is kind
of like tailor-made to their specificities which makes it taste I guess very specific
like it's a bit more elegant and it definitely tastes kind of homemade in that best possible way.
So I haven't heard too much about this place only that it's a real vibe the idea is kind
of I guess like modern churrasco so lots of stuff on sticks, lots of grills and it's
called MEET like m-e-e-t but they sell m-e-a-t. So I'm kind of keen to see what they're about.
I'm Daniel, I'm from Brazil. My background is Brazilian cuisine.
Everything we do over here you can see for now it's cooked over charcoal and wood.
We have three different styles of cooking, the Brazilian bbq which is the rotisserie.
We have also a parija which is very popular in Argentina and all South America which is a much
closer cooking the grill goes straight on the charcoal and then we also have the American bbq
so we smoke food here as well. Today we're going to do one of the most popular is the smoked beef rib.
Wow that is a small snack.
Super South American, that is an unctuous, juicy beef rib.
So the Edwards tell me a little bit about why this venue is so special.
It is a very special venue I think the history of it ties in really well, you know Chris Johanu is the owner and he
and his parents had this as their drive-through laundromat um before it operated as a restaurant
and there are a lot of features from that still hang around and I think they really add to the place.
Definitely focuses around the Mibrasa. So the Mibrasa is a combination charcoal and wood oven basically.
But I think sort of fire and smoke is central to what we serve.
So basically it's a pretty classic sort of pho gau, broth made from neck bones. We shred a bit of the neck
meat through the broth there as well, thinly sliced fatty brisket comes from Gippsland.
I'm always shocked that people don't know that pho is a breakfast food. So it kind of is like the
ultimate power punch combo of like beautiful clarified broth, lots of herbs, rice noodles.
The meat's beautifully tender.
It's a real winner dish and more people should order this for breakfast.
Just saw a pod of dolphins down to the beach, about to go to Mereweather Surf House
can't wait to see what they're all about.
We serve Italian up here in the restaurant level which is what I'm in charge of.
All other levels across the building have a cafe, take away, have a function level on
level two as well so it's just trying to cater for everyone really.
Just channeling this vibe here really, the ocean, the view and yeah that kind of lifestyle.
And what are you making for us today?
So I'm making a lamb pappardelle with some house-made pasta, lamb ragu that I've slow cooked for eight hours with lamb shoulder, some red wine
a little bit of stock, some vegetables stuff like that, just a really really hearty dish.
Great pasta. Wow. And that ragu, the shreddiness. That extra butter really does uh..
Yeah, just don't tell anyone that.
If you're a Newcastle newbie, I think one of the most special things here are the natural sea
baths, absolutely serene and beautiful and I wish I was in it right now.
Tell me about the food ethos at Flotilla.
Just sort of approachable, casual and creative I guess you could say.
You know, we're trying to use the best quality ingredients that we can get, still have a bit of a play with it, have some fun with it.
As long as it tastes good.
Tell us a bit about the tri-tip we're trying today.
Yeah so it's a wagyu, marble score plus five from Gippsland and we marinated it in fish sauce and a bit of rock sugar.
Cook it low and slow for about three hours and just finish it on the charcoal and then we're going to serve that with turnips, smoked beef fat dumplings.
We make like a Japanese version of a hollandaise so it's burnt butter, some egg yolks, some yuzu, a little bit of mirin and some soy as well.
This is really good. I love those little dumplings.
The idea of all our dishes is to sort of inspire the senses but also nourish as well.
With our menu we change it up every season, this is one we actually put
on for Spring last year but it's been so popular we've actually left it on.
Can you tell us a bit about what what goes on inside the souvlaki, like what what are the components?
First I suppose the lamb's the bit everyone's most interested in, so we cook it down in the sous vide
which breaks down all the fats and makes it really, really tender and then we kind of roast it off after that.
Got the char grilled flatbread, our own hummus which is a bit famous as well, it's just like it's a really flavourful hummus.
We've got the broccoli tabouli, a bit of greek yoghurt.
We make our own pickles so we've got turmeric pickled fennel, pickled carrot and we toss that all together with some rocket.
The lamb's super like fall apart.
I love how many ferments and herbs there are in this too. Really good.
What defines your Mexican food here? What what makes it special?
So our whole premise behind here was to create people-food. Being able to create stuff from
very, very simple ingredients but doing it really, really fresh and that's our whole philosophy.
We're going to try a brisket taco today.
It's called suadero in Mexico which we feel offers the best flavour, so beef is not just beef and we think we get the best flavour out of it.
This is gonna be like even more picturesque than me eating a burger.
That is rich, soft and delicious. So good. Yum.
So Lost Boys Kebab in the back of a live music venue, that's a wild time coming from like
all of the fine dining experience that you've had in Sydney and Newcastle.
What we try and do is keep it as simple as possible and take that
sort of you know, I suppose that restaurant mindset into a fast food model.
So I've got the lamb on the spit. So I've got Pukara Estate, so beautiful lamb from Muswellbrook.
It's been cooking for about five hours and we're going to shave that with a little bit of hummus,
some harissa. We make all the pickles, all of our sauces in-house. Nice bit of bread, some
shaved cabbage and lettuce, delicious.
It's the more romantic of the wraps really, very artistic. Thank you very much.
What a way to finish a Newcastle trip. An absolute classic lamb kebab, at a classic Newcastle gig venue The Cambridge.
Over the past couple of days we have seen everything from beautifully presented tri-tip, we've seen hugely piled up souvlaki, pappardelle, pho, tacos.
It's been an incredible trip and now I'm going to rip into this. I'll see you later.