MELBOURNE | Parcs is a small bar and restaurant that’s serving some of Melbourne’s most innovative food and drinks. The venue, which focuses on ‘sustainable dining informed by fermentation’, sees head chef Dennis Yong repurpose scrap (read that backwards, get it) from sister venues Sunda, Aru, and Hotel Windsor, into deliciousness.
Ex-Sunda chef Dennis started his own business, Furrmien, during lockdown, transforming ingredients destined for landfill into pickles, ferments, and the like. What he’s doing at Parcs is an extension of that, with a cheffy spin and nods to his Malaysian heritage.
It’s a cosy space. Just a few tables, some seats at the bar, and a tiny open kitchen which looks out over the venue. Staff are passionate about what’s going on here, and you’ll see Dennis popping out often to bring out dishes to diners, and chat about what’s happening on the plate.
The small menu features plates that can be enjoyed as snacks while enjoying a drink solo, or as a selection of share plates with companions. Oysters are served with a sauce featuring a mango kombucha made from over-ripe mangoes that have been fermented and aged in beeswax.
Stale bread is transformed into miso, which is used as a cheese replacement in ‘umami e pepe’, a riff on the classic favourite cacio e pepe. It’s a creamy, luxurious, umami bomb that’s a must order.
Soy and vinegar marinated Kanagroo filled, flash cooked on the wok and topped with treacle sauce and fermented saltbush leaves, is outstanding. Don’t leave without trying the brioche miso ice-cream, which sees old scones destined for the bin from the Hotel Windsor, transformed into miso ice-cream served with pear poached in a cacao-nib syrup and walnuts.
For drinks, it’s a small list of minimal intervention wines, house made kombucha, and a few cocktails made using the same principles as the food.
Parcs
198 Little Collins Street
Melbourne
Victoria 3000
Australia
Telephone: n/a
E-mail: [email protected]
Website
Open
Tue – Sat: 4:00pm to 11:00pm