In the heart of Armadale’s High Street in Melbourne, between Lune Croissanterie and fine-diner Amaru, sits a little Italian trattoria, Zia Rina’s Cucina. It’s co-owned and run by long-time friends and chefs Adrian Li and Danny Natoli, who met while working together at beachfront institution, Donovan’s.
“At Zia Rina’s customers would walk up to Danny and go ‘hey mate, how are you going?’ and Danny would be like ‘this is Adrian’ and then they’d look at my hand extended out for them and just bow. Every time it would happen Danny would piss himself laughing. It was one of those funny memories I had and it happened for like three or four months until they realised ‘this guy’s Aussie as’,” says Li, aware his Asian heritage threw customers who were expecting an Italian behind the pans.
At the pair’s latest venture La Madonna at Next Hotel, they continue to put an Asian spin on Italian dishes – paying homage to Natoli’s Italian roots, and Li’s expertise.
Plenty of Anglo chefs are well-known and celebrated for their mastery of Asian cuisines – David Thompson is legend for bringing Thai cuisine to the forefront in the Western world; Fuchsia Dunlop is a British chef lauded for her work with Sichuan fare; Christine Mansfield is known as the “spice queen” and celebrated for her love of Indian cuisine. But, if you flip the narrative, how many Asian chefs can you name who are equally celebrated for excelling at European cuisines?
This story is from the July 2023 edition of Gourmet Traveller.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the July 2023 edition of Gourmet Traveller.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Barossa Valley
We hit the road for a weekend escape, exploring the best regional Australia has to offer. This month we head to the Barossa Valley in South Australia.
Legends of reinvention
As ultra-luxe hotel group Rosewood takes on three benchmark New Zealand lodges, MICHAEL HARDEN gets the read on this next chapter.
EVERYDAY
Easy entertaining, weeknight dinners and suppers to share, all made with speed, without sacrificing flavour.
Australia's most wanted
For love or money, building a wine collection pays dividends. NED GOODWIN reveals the Australian fine wines to put away.
MEET THE MAKER GREG LAMBRECHT
When US-based engineer Greg Lambrecht invented wine preservation system Coravin a decade ago, he changed the way we drink premium wine.
SANDALFORD
Following its recent reboot, this historic WA winery restaurant is ready to wine and dine a new generation of guests, writes MAX VEENHUYZEN.
PITZI
The team behind Fico trot out a chic new pasta bar which makes simplicity something special, writes ALIX DAVIS.
BATHERS' PAVILION RESTAURANT
A new era is dawning at a lower north shore landmark, writes MATTY HIRSCH, with an astute new recruit leading the way
VUE DE MONDE
A Melbourne icon emerges from a makeover refreshed and energised, writes MICHAEL HARDEN.
STEPHANIE ALEXANDER
Kylie Kwong celebrates the individuals helping to grow a stronger community. This month, we meet chef, author and original cook's companion, Stephanie Alexander AO.