Latest news with #Banksia
Sydney Morning Herald
12 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Sydney Morning Herald
Try TikTok-famous ‘tissue bread' – and kiss your troubles goodbye
One of the most popular lunch items is the ham, tomato, lettuce and wasabi-mayo Salty Boi. Thanks to the seasoned bread, it's a va-va-voom improvement on the average meat and salad roll. Tissue bread orders are only matched by requests for cake cups bearing Asian-style sponge layered with milk cream and seasonal fruit. Heady stuff. I try the white grape version and it's a relief to eat that fruit within all the sponge and sweet cream. While it seems like there's a new viral treat on every Sydney street corner these days, Buttered's baked goods aren't just for Instagram's sake. The art and beauty behind the creations is clear, all the work of pastry chef Philip Choi, who trained at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris. He says Buttered's creations are inspired by childhood memories of neighbourhood bakeries in South Korea. I say they're an express route to small moments of happiness. Three other new-wave bakeries to try Banksia Bakehouse Famous for buttery croissants garnished with fillings and toppings, Banksia's special this June is a gravity-defying coil of white coffee ganache creme patissiere layered with walnut praline and topped with mascarpone and candied walnuts. Grosvenor Place, 225 George Street, Sydney, Tenacious Bakehouse Few things are as beautiful as slicing into baker Yeongjin Park's huge version of a Portuguese tart, its glistening miso caramel top oozing down burnished pastry and bright custard. Don't miss the taro cream croissants either, with bellies purple like jacaranda blooms. Pantry Story If anyone knows how to pull crowds with new styles of baked goods, it's Tiara Sucipto, co-owner with Hari Wibowo of this cafe-bakery on Sydney's western artery. The menu changes weekly but the taro mochi croissant and beef pie are a sure-bet.
The Age
27-05-2025
- Business
- The Age
New restaurant Banksia opens in Caulfield North
After nearly changing careers, a former Society and Cutler & Co chef has rediscovered his love for cooking at an airy day-to-night diner. May 26, 2025 , register or subscribe to save recipes for later. You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. When Aanya – the Jessi Singh-backed Indian fine diner that chefs Nishant Arora and Janos Roman were set to open in Collingwood – fell through, Arora was at a loss. 'Things really didn't go to plan so we had to walk away from it,' says Arora, citing a breakdown in his and Roman's relationship with their business partner. 'I was so burnt out that I almost left the hospitality industry. I started doing a finance course.' Banksia operators Nishant Arora and Adam Aflalo. Simon Schluter But an unsolicited LinkedIn message jolted the Indian-born chef back into the kitchen. The message was from Adam Aflalo, who comes from the tech world but was on the hunt for a chef to co-found a restaurant. Over a few meetings, including a boozy dinner at Hopper Joint, they clicked. And now they've opened Banksia, a neighbourhood restaurant in Caulfield North, where Arora's fine-dining cred makes a statement on Hawthorn Road. The chef grew up in the hinterland of northern India before moving to New Zealand, where he worked at celebrated restaurants Sidart and Cassia. He went on to stage at the three-Michelin-starred Frantzen in Stockholm - 'it opened my mind!' - then settled in Melbourne, serving on the opening team for Society and as a sous chef at Cutler & Co. Banksia's plum sorbet. Simon Schluter But he made most of a splash alongside Roman at their Aanya pop-ups, where innovative Indian cooking took centre stage at venues like The Hotel Windsor. Arora's goal is to create a globetrotting menu, largely powered by a binchotan-burning charcoal grill. There are several nods to his homeland. Loddon Valley lamb cutlets come with black-garlic-curry dipping sauce, while a southern-Indian-inspired coconut-and-galangal sauce accompanies John Dory. Taking inspiration from Italy's Puglia region is a 'myth-busting' entree that Arora says challenges the preconception that seafood and cheese are strange bedfellows. Delicately sliced raw tuna is served with stracciatella and a fragrant lemon-myrtle dressing. There's also a rice-less risotto that subs in barley and celeriac, crowned with a lion's mane mushroom steak that's marinated, cooked sous vide and finished on the charcoal. Raw tuna is served with stracciatella and a fragrant lemon-myrtle dressing. Simon Schluter Aflalo – who grew up in the area – says that while there are some great cafes around, this pocket of the south-east has long been lacking the night-time dining stakes. But that's not to say it's all dinner. A dedicated 'express' menu – running alongside the regular a la carte offering – makes Banksia a daytime destination as well, with dine-in and takeaway lunch options aplenty. Feeling fresh? Salads include green goddess and panzanella, with proteins to add on. Want a (made-to-order) sandwich? Go hefty with the Reuben. Its smoky beef brisket, sauerkraut and Russian dressing are all house-made. Banksia co-owner Adam Aflalo. Simon Schluter In a prime corner site opposite Caulfield Park, where Hawthorn and Balaclava roads meet, Banksia has reimagined the former Parkside Pantry. It's light and bright and gone are the deli fridges, replaced with an open kitchen and a stone countertop with bar seating. When the restaurant eventually gets its liquor licence, you'll be able to perch there with a local craft tinnie, perhaps by Huntingdale brewery Kaiju, but it's mocktails until then. Lunch, Wednesday-Sunday; dinner, Friday-Sunday . 98 Hawthorn Road, Caulfield North, Restaurant reviews, news and the hottest openings served to your inbox. Sign up
West Australian
26-04-2025
- General
- West Australian
Charlie Albone: The best native groundcover plants to use in Australian gardens
When adding plants to a garden it's easy to think about the trees, shrubs, and perennials. Often overlooked, however, is the wonderful array of groundcover plants. These low-dwellers help add interest to the ground plane, bind the soil with their roots and suppress weed growth. They also supply shelter and food to many small animals and insects in the garden. There is a huge amount of Australian native groundcovers that will work well in your garden. Here are my favourites. One of the most cost-effective groundcovers to plant are the native violets (Viola hederacea). This plant grows in shady spots as well as sunny ones and easily takes off if supplied with enough water. I have planted just one of these in a garden and it seems to be everywhere! As such, make sure you like this variety before planting, or it could take over and overpower other low-growing plants. Ajuga Australis is a cracking groundcover for shaded or semi-shaded spots. Its deep-green leaves look almost purple, especially when the mauve flower spikes come out in summer. This is a great plant for that tricky spot under a tree where nothing else seems to grow as its will handle the light conditions and dry soil once established. If you are after an eye-catching groundcover with striking foliage look no further than Banksia blechnifolia. This plant has serrated blue-green foliage that can handle light frosts and thrives in well-drained soil. Each plant can spread to about one metre, so space 800mm apart when planting to ensure a dense carpet of foliage. Like all Banksia the groundcover version gets a typical flower spike that sits up looking like some sort of small mammal once the flower has aged. It's best grown in full sun. Another native groundcover with a showy flower is Carpobrotus virescens, commonly known as Pig Face. This succulent groundcover will spread to 3m, is easy to propagate and handles drought very well if the ground is free-draining. The flowers are almost fluorescent in colour with pinks and purples that demand attention. This plant loves coastal conditions and is an excellent way to bind sandy soil and prevent soil erosion. Coastal Rosemary is common plant in a lot of our gardens however one of the newest varieties, Westringia 'Low Horizon' is a real ground-hugger, growing to only 20cm in height. It has very close internodes between the leaves making it incredibly dense and sprawling so its perfect for mass displays or boarding a garden bed. It can also be clipped to form a low bun shape, making it very versatile in the garden or simply left to do its own thing. If mass planting is what you're after, Casuarina 'Cousin It' makes for a beautiful display. It has a mop of foliage that seems to float out above the ground and in time the plant develops a small trunk in the centre, only about 20cm high, which gives wonderful spikes to the display, only adding to the drama! The trick to success with this plant is to water it well for the first three months of its life until the roots are out into the soil because it can turn very quickly without moisture. With all plants it is important to mulch around your groundcovers to suppress weeds and maintain soil moisture. Be careful about the depth of your mulch around low-dwelling plants — too much too close can cause them to rot — and be sure to leave space for airflow around each individual plant. Another issue with deep mulch is creating 'false soil' that plants root into. This becomes problematic in periods of drought as mulch cannot hold water like soil can. Over time the plants require more nutrients that the mulch can give them. The answer to all these issues is to mulch to a depth of 25mm-50mm around groundcover plants rather than the standard 75mm. This will naturally compost down quicker (which is a good thing for your soil) so it's important to keep topping it up so it doesn't disappear too quickly.
