Foodie road trip in East Gippsland
25 Feb 2019
Gippsland takes up a huge slice of south-eastern Victoria and is known for wineries, produce, lakes... and the region’s freakishly large earthworms.
We are here to focus on the eastern corner of this huge rural expanse. An emerging foodie hotspot, East Gippsland has local wines, quirky brews and meals inspired by the abundance of seafood on offer around Lakes Entrance.
We get our first taste of the east at Albert & Co (201 Esplanade, Lakes Entrance), a waterfront diner that takes its cues from the white-washed ships’ hulls opposite and its soundtrack from the world of indie rock. It’s a locals-first approach with whipped Shadows of Blue Gippsland goats cheese on a house brioche roll and Gippsland Jersey Milk in our Five Senses coffee. I go for the “Uncle Ben”, poached eggs from down the road in Forge Creek sitting on a bed of smoked ham hock and a house muffin topped with apple cider hollandaise and micro herbs.
Come evening we are spending the night at the Metung Hotel, a local pub first sighted as we cruise past it with Lonsdale, a pure waterfront location with boardwalks out front peppered with local fishermen wetting a line. Metung means “bend in the lake” in the Indigenous Gunai language and the pub has only had five owners in its 140 years. You can see why someone would be reluctant to sell: the intimate front bar sees drinkers chatting under a huge mounted marlin while the restaurant books out weekends with specials like grilled snapper in citrus beurre blanc, scallops and polenta flying out of a busy kitchen.
We’re all in this together
Sardine has been the regional poster child since scoring a hat in The Age ‘Good Food Guide 2019’.
It is set in a Paynesville shopfront across from the waters of Eagle Point Bay and coloured the muted greys of an ocean squall. The restaurant is as simply treated as the fish dishes from ex Vue de Monde chef Mark Briggs whose menu changes regularly depending on what is swimming past.
The menu is designed for sharing and for sustainability so Mark likes to show off less popular fish, lest the local favourites – bream and salmon – succumb to overfishing. So we start our fish feast with duckfish tartare served on a crisp wonton with a hint of shiso ponzu and the snap of a few well-placed edamame. We can’t go past the titular fish, a breed that is not to everyone’s taste, but these Lakes Entrance sardines in a coriander mojo (a fresh, herby sauce popular in the Canary Islands) are amazing. Roasted bug tails in a miso caramel add some sweetness to the shared table.
Country cooking
Our last stop in East Gippsland is in the town of Lindenow where the Mitchell River flows past farms full of fresh produce – but it is a key player in the food scene here. Long Paddock does not disappoint with husband-and-wife team Anton Eisenmenger and Tanya Bertino bringing their long history of fine diners to the local cafe scene. So while your meal may arrive on mistmatched grandma plates, the meals are simple perfection with stocks reducing for hours and meats slow cooked in the 100-year-old oven out back of this one-time bakery.
Our pan-fried gnocchi, organic Gippsland brie and local asparagus seems to be packed with more greens that a Dulux paint chart while grain salad with roast cauliflower is full of nuts, seeds and herbs with welcome tang of Persian fetta. And I find a new Sailors Grave beer to fall in love with.
Serves are country-big, but I can’t leave without trying the rhubarb cheesecake, a transcendent wedge of dairy that reminds me of my nan’s signature stewed fruit.
Local produce is the mantra of many in the food industry but in East Gippsland the variety of produce and the relative newness makes it feel more genuine – and to get a taste, you just need to head out east.
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