It’s that time of the year when thoughts turn to hearty, slow-cooked meals served around the family table or enjoyed at your favourite restaurant.
While the technique of low and slow cooking has been around since the 18th Century, the slow-cooker appliance as we know it today was developed in the 1930s by Jewish inventor Irving Nachumsohn.
Now a staple in most households, the slow cooker allows meals to be simmering away all day while you are at work so when you walk in the door at night, dinner is served!
Alternatively, head to one of these five restaurants to find slow-cooked goodness on the plate:
Authentic Thai Restaurant
Those seeking rice noodle dishes to delight the senses head down Scarborough Street in Southport to discover Sen Lek Thai. This authentic Gold Coast Thai restaurant oozes rustic charm with recycled timber, exposed brick and a cheery yellow feature wall with artwork depicting the homeland taking pride of place.
Don’t go past a steaming bowl of fragrant sweet and sour tom yum noodle pork combination soup to start, slow-cooked for hours so the stock absorbs all the flavours, before enjoying traditionally cooked beef massaman curry, with a side of steamed rice.
Rustic Dining Paired with Estate Wines
Known for its stunning setting among the vines, Centennial Vineyard Restaurant on Centennial Road in Bowral offers the perfect destination for lovers of excellent food and wine. High vaulted wooden ceilings, recycled wood and wagon wheel pendent lights set the scene for rustic dining accompanied by estate wines; or dine alfresco under twinkling fairy lights and take in the vineyard vistas.
Slow-cooked lamb, with prosciutto, capsicum and tomato peperonata and salsa verde is sure to hit the mark, ora fillet of beef with Dauphinoise potato, watercress salad and smoked red chimichurri, best enjoyed with a glass of Centennial Vineyards Shiraz.
Bringing Mum’s Kitchen to Your Table
Bringing the flavours of Mum’s kitchen to your dinner table with tasty and authentic Mediterranean food, head to Semosh Mum’s Kitchen on Keilor Road in Essendon Fields. On balmy nights sit streetside under umbrellas and people watch, or head indoors where trailing boughs of bougainvillea and an aqua colour scheme set the scene for inspired dining.
Delve into the likes of slow-cooked chicken, roasted with potatoes and Semosh special herb mixture with a side of Turkish-style green beans; or perhaps tender slow-simmered lamb entices, served with vegetables, herbs, spices and a side of fluffy and buttery rice.
Asian Street Food and Cocktail Culture
Born out of a sense of adventure and exploration, Mr Drifter on Sunshine Beach Road in Noosa Junction delivers Asian street food with a hint of cocktail culture. Founder Charlie Harrison has lived everywhere from colonial India to Indonesia and Japan – you could say a taste for spice and rich flavours is hereditary – and that's what is on the plate at Mr Drifter.
Rustic timber, walls adorned with vintage postcards and exposed brick combine to set a chilled-out vibe as you devour slowly cooked green fish curry with turmeric, ginger, kaffir lime, vegetables and coconut chilli chutney, or yellow cashew pumpkin curry and rice.
Putting Colombian Food on the Map
Melbourne foodies head to Colombian dining destination El Toucan South Central on Victoria Street in Abbotsford for share plates and good times. Sister venue to El Toucan in Maribyrnong, this restaurant has a relaxed vibe of polished wood floors and panelling, while the walls are adorned with vibrant artwork depicting toucans.
Delivering an authentic menu with the aim of putting Colombian food on the map, expect slow-cooked delicacies such as ox tongue, rice, sweet plantain, salad and hogao, or beef flanks, marinated in beer, garlic, peppers and spices, with rice, cassava and guacamole.
