Kantin, Carlton

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MELBOURNE | The diversification of offerings along the Carlton end of Lygon street post-pandemic has been a boon for Melbourne diners. After a lull in the 2010s, when the street coasted on a reputation that no longer reflected the current situation, Lygon street is exciting once more. Long-standing, and newer Italian restaurants stand side-by-side with restaurants representing the cuisine of more recent waves of immigrants to Melbourne.

Kantin is one of the new wave of exciting Lygon Street restaurants, joining D’penyetz and d’Cendol, and Beku Gelato in bringing some Indonesian flair to the street. I recently popped in to find out more for What’s on Melbourne.

Kantin is the Indonesian word for canteen. It’s reflective of the small, casual diner that Kantin is. Owner Chan and the team focus on home style Indonesian food. What sets Kantin apart from other, similar Indonesian restaurants in town, is its focus on Minahasan/Manadonese cuisine of North Sulawesi. Manadonese food is known for its generous use of rich spices, spicy condiments, wide variety of proteins, and European-influenced baked treats.

Signature dishes at Kantin include things like bakmi ayam rica (Manadonese spicy chicken, fried wontons, and bok choy, atop a bowl of noodles), nasi iga sapi panggang (sticky, caramelised grilled beef ribs on rice with sambal manis pedas), and udang woku santan (prawns in Manadnoese spices with coconut gravy). All are well worth trying.

If you want a bit of a mix plate, check out the nasi kuning manado. It’s fragrant toasted coconut and turmeric rice served with a hard boiled egg, spicy caramelised anchovies and peanuts, garlic crackers, cucumber, sambal terasi, and your choice of protein.

If you have a sweet tooth, my favourite is the crispy on the outside, fluffy on the inside burnt butter toast. It’s lathered with pandan and topped with a scoop of ice-cream. The Dutch-influenced klapertaart brulee is another winner. A smooth silky custard is baked with chunks of young coconut, almond and cinnamon, with a crisp, toffee lid.

To drink, there’s a wide selection of Indonesian house made, and packaged drinks, and a few boozy options. It’s hard to go past Katin’s version of the classic es cendol, or their take on the popular coffee drink Mont Blanc, which uses salty pandan cream.

Kantin

122 Lygon Street
Carlton
Victoria 3053
Australia

Telephone: 0431 431 353
E-mail: [email protected]
Website

Open
Sun – Thu: 11:30am to 9:30pm
Fri – Sat: 11:30am to 10:30pm