Acclaimed Chinese restaurant Spice Temple are mixing things up in an exceptional way by combining their regional Chinese cuisine with unique native Australian ingredients such as Salt Bush, Warrigal Greens and Davidson Plum, to create a diverse new menu. To celebrate this first directional change in their ten years and in collaboration with Neil Perry, Spice Temple are hosting a multi-course dinner where you can be the first to give the new items a try before they eventually get rolled out onto their menu.
If you’ve never heard of Spice Temple then listen carefully because this restaurant’s culinary focus is regional China, looking at the different provinces of Sichuan, Yunnan, Hunan, Jiangxi, Guangxi and Xinjiang. Expect dusty aromas of dried spices and the intensity of chilies at Spice Temple with a menu that is designed to excite your tastebuds in a way they probably haven’t felt before.
Rockpool Dining Group Culinary Director Neil Perry has previously used native ingredients within his ventures so he definitely knows what he’s doing. Such ventures include at Rockpool Bar & Grill where finger limes feature in a crudo of Stripey Snapper and Hiramasa Kingfish, a dish of fried calamari includes macadamia tarator, and wattleseed is used in a caramel slice.
Neil Perry himself will be there hosting the event, as well as executive chef Andy Evans and Melbourne Head Chef Neisha Woo (pictured). Perry and Evans carefully curated this special dining experience, and this event will make way for a continued exploration of native ingredients across Spice Temple’s menu.
Some of the expected dishes on this special menu include crisp pork belly with sweet-sour quandong sauce, stir-fried kangaroo, macadamia nuts, cumin and fermented chillies, and lemon myrtle cream, wattle seed and Sichuan pepper meringues.
Perry announced that “over the last ten years we have realised how important it is to incorporate our native ingredients as they define what Australia is. The fact is, we have 60,000 years of food culture in this country and it’s time we took that unique flavour and used it in our various styles of cooking. At Spice Temple around a dozen native ingredients will be embedded both flavourfully and texturally into the menu, bringing a new dimension to our very distinct take on regional Chinese cuisine.”
You can give this brand spanking new menu a try for yourself for one night only! It will eventually be rolled out onto their permanent menu, but with no date set you might be waiting a while. Spaces are limited so get in quick.
What:
Native Dinner at Spice Temple
When:
Monday 8th April 6:30pm
Where:
Spice Temple Sydney
10 Bligh St, Sydney CBD, 2000
Price:
$99pp and an additional $55pp for matched wines
Book tickets:
To book call (02) 8099 7088 or email info@spicetemple.com
For more information on Spice Temple or to book a table, head here.
