Longshore's Raw Abrolhos Scallop a la carte. Photography by Jason Loucas. The closure of Automata restaurant in Chippendale left a hospitality-shaped hole in the beloved Kensington Lane precinct. Diners weren’t left stranded for long – last month the duo behind the former Newtown outpost Hartsyard, Jarrod Walsh and Dorothy “Dot” Lee, opened the doors to their sustainable seafood restaurant and wine bar Longshore. An alchemy of Australian seafood and Asian flavours, Longshore offers an la carte menu, alongside lunch and dinner customised tasting menus and a ten-course snack flight, served in two stages of both hot and cold plates.
“What excites me the most is being able to watch my team grow given we are a new team working together and a new venue,” says Walsh of the venture. “Everyone has taken to the concept so well are really engaged and pushing themselves. We consider our venue to be a collaboration between peers where everyone is heard and involved.”
Below, Walsh talks with T Australia about the other Australian venues on her radar, how he unwinds after service and he shares the recipe for Longshore’s Raw Abrolhos Scallop with Mandarin Koshu Dressing.
“This dish is super simple, light and fresh,” he says. “At Longshore we sourced our scallops from Western Australia, however you can use any fresh scallop available. We also make our own yuzu kosho in-house, which is a very long process, but you can substitute for a store bought from any Japanese speciality shops.”
A word of caution: “Don’t be scared how spicy the dressing is. Once eaten all together the sweetness of the scallop and mandarin take away the heat giving, it a nice zing.”
On becoming a chef…
I first started my apprenticeship back in Port Macquarie at the tender age of 15. I was not very good at school however I excelled at food tech. I took liking to it and never looked back.
On maintaining drive…
What drives me every day is having a creative mindset and to be always improving myself and growing my team.
On unwinding after service…
After service I unwind by playing with my dog Raymond and watching Netflix. On my days off I tend to jet away and go on fishing adventures off the grid, this helps a lot to develop the menus and restaurant concept.
On favourite flavours and produce…
At the moment I am loving the winter seafood coming through the door. Massive fat moonlight flat oysters and Western Australian scallop are my favourite right now. They are the epitome of true seasonality.
On cooking at home…
At home I love to cook outdoors and make the neighbours jealous! Charcoal BBQ is the best way to cook for friends as everybody loves to get involved.
Which other venues are you excited about at the moment? Which other chefs are doing exciting work?
Another venue that really excites me is Bar Copains in Surry Hills, Nathan and Morgy have really brought something special to the neighbourhood that has something for everyone.
Longshore’s Recipe for Raw Abrolhos Scallop with Mandarin Koshu Dressing and Makrut Lime
Serves 2
Ingredients
10 Cleaned scallops
1 Mandarin (segmented and cleaned)
250g Cooking salt
250g Castor sugar
200g Freshly squeezed mandarin juice (filtered)
4g Yuzu koshu
200g Rice wine vinegar
50g Mirin
50g Alto Mandarin oil
2 Makrut lime leaves
Oil for frying
Flake salt for finishing
Method
Preheat fryer oil to 150c.
Mix salt and sugar well in bowl, cover the bottom of a baking tray with half of the salt and sugar mix.
Place the scallops evenly on the tray so they are not touching. Cover the scallops with the rest of the curing mix and place into the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
In a blender combine the mandarin juice, yuzu koshu, rice wine vinegar and mirin. Blend on high until well combined, but do not let it get hot. Place into a container and set aside.
Take the lime leaves and chiffonade lengthways. Fry quickly in the oil until it stops bubbling and place onto paper towel and drain well.
After 30 minutes rinse the scallop under cold water and dry well. Take a sharp knife and carefully slice into halves giving you two disks per scallop. Lay onto a plate flat.
Slice the mandarin segment into three and place roughly on each scallop, dress with the mandarin dressing over each scallop and it will start to pool on the plate. Place the lime leaf strands onto roughly each piece of mandarin. Dress thoroughly with the mandarin oil and finish with the flake salt.
