Enter Annam

The combination of party vibe and precise cooking makes Melbourne’s latest pan-Asian eatery stand out from the crowd

- Michael Harden

Five words to put a smile on your face: waffle-coatedfried ice-cream. Chef JerryMai’s ode to the once-ubiquitous Aussie-Chinese dessert at her new city diner, Annam, is as good as it sounds. Better, even. The ice-cream is flavoured with coconut cream, the waffle crumb salty-sweet and satisfying in its crunch. Salted caramel sauce is poured over the top. It’s good times in a bowl – and that’s the way Annam rolls.

Annam’s menu reflects Mai’s Vietnamese heritage, but, unlike her two pho and banh mi Pho Nom outlets, more influences are at play here. Vietnamese and Cambodian dishes she ate growing up are touchstones, but Mai has cooked with David Thompson and worked at Zuma, so Thai and Japanese influences get a run, too. Add a fondness for some of China’s greatest hits – dumplings, hotpot, fried rice – great Aussie ingredients, martial arts flicks from the ’60s and ’70s, gluggable fruit-forward cocktails and a semi-private room equipped with black walls and a mirror ball, and you get a pan-Asian mash-up ready to party.