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Rosheen is a chef and cookbook author from Melbourne. She is the former head chef of Etta, and columnist for Good Food and the Guardian. Her cookbook Chinese-ish won a James Beard award in 2023.

Where do you live most of the year?

Sunny Melbourne

What do you look for in a restaurant when you walk in?

Vibes! Very important. Also if the staff are having a good time. And if the water glasses smell like egg or stale dishwasher, immediately no.

What is your final meal?

I love asking people this question, and recently my answer has changed from braised pork rice to fried chicken, sambal and rice. And probably a bottle of Ganevat.

3 guests for dinner, dead or alive?

Jeremy Wade because he’ll have hella stories about catching river monsters, Nara Smith - I gotta know how she cooks in couture without splashing on herself and Matty Matheson because he’s the coolest dude with the tastiest food.

Rosheen’s Taste Maker Guide

Breakfast: Walrus, Sydney Road, Melbourne

Order: Everything on the menu is awesome, and it’s not really breakfast but the club sandwich slaps and so does the unlimited filter coffee. I love the big plastic tumblers of iced water and the little cold pads of Tatura butter you get with all the white bread toast. I had an iced lemon tea there once when I was hungover and I swear it was one of the greatest moments of my life. They’ve really nailed the old-school diner vibe without being lame about it. It’s super nostalgic.

Coffee: Market Lane Coffee, Melbourne

Order: If I’m in a hurry I’ll have an espresso spritz. If I’m chillin’, I’ll have whatever their seasonal pour-over is. It takes time to brew but it’s amazing. Drink their sparkling water on tap while you wait.

Lunch: Pacific Seafood BBQ House, Melbourne

Order: I go here for dinner a lot with my family, but the lunch special roast duck rice is the one. The duck is so ridiculously crispy, juicy and flavourful. Upgrade to regular egg fried rice but not to special fried rice, too hectic otherwise. Eat with lots of chilli oil and have an ice cold coke ready for when you come up for air.

Special dinner: Flower Drum, Melbourne

It’s one of those restaurants where you never really feel comfortable and settle in because the air is heavy with old-world opulence. Your comfort doesn’t matter though, because you get to eat the most delicious, elegant Cantonese cuisine. My go-to order is - stir-fried pearl meat, seafood soup dumpling, the signature stuffed crab shell, abalone with crystal noodle, and if they let you - the off-menu Neil Perry hand-picked mud crab noodles. Depends the mood your waiter is in though, they don’t always let you order it.

Casual dinner: Nana Thai, Melbourne

Order: Hallucination-inducing, insanely delicious Thai food. They’ve truly captured the essence of casual dining in Thailand, it’s transportive. The grilled pork jowl salad is the bomb, and so is the fried pork belly actually. Sausage salad with fermented fish is also wildly good. I feel so alive when I eat here. You can BYO wine but I don’t see the point because my whole face is on fire. Just drink beer and be happy.

Special shoutouts

Shoutout to the coldest beers in Melbourne and fried quail at Supper Inn

Everything on the menu e.g. okonomiyaki hash brown at Moon Mart

Appletinis and bangers and mash at the North Fitzroy Arms

Ben Sears’ stuffed chicken wing at Public Wine Shop

And the new love of my life - Chicken Treat in WA