Serial restaurateur Barry Wallace, who is co-founder of fish and chip shops Bia Mara in Belgium and Hook in London, as well as having consulted on the opening of a brunch cafe chain, a burrito bar and a bao burger restaurant in the Belgian capital, is bringing Vietnamese fast food to Dublin.
“I arrived back early summer last year. I loved Belgium but missed home, my family and friends,” Wallace says.
He has just opened Pang, on Kevin Street Lower in Dublin 2, along with former chef turned entrepreneur Colm O’Brien. The restaurant offers rice paper rolls, with six different fillings and dipping sauces, along with banh mi and pho.
The rolls (€4) are gluten-free and come in satay chicken, Peking duck, smoked salmon, prawn and mango, sriracha roasted sweet potato and teriyaki tofu varieties. Suppliers include Manor Farm free-range chicken, Silver Hill duck and Clare Island salmon.
The traditional Vietnamese banh mi rolls (€6) come stuffed with either ginger beef brisket or roast sweet potato, along with fresh herbs, house pickles and hoisin mayonnaise. The pho broth on offer isn’t the usual beef version, but comes in either chicken or a vegan variety.
As far as the rolls go, “the rule of thumb is one is a snack, two is lunch and three is dinner,” Wallace says. Side orders include ginger and tahini dressed kale slaw, edamame beans and wakame miso soup.
The pair have expansion in mind for the concept: “We plan to roll it out nationwide over the next three years, and hopefully break into the UK as well. I’m obsessed with the creative process of taking a style of cuisine and developing it into a great menu, cost effective interiors and killer branding. I love the challenge of creating new brands.”
Robin Gill returns to Airfield
Robin Gill is returning from London to co-host another weekend of culinary activity at Airfield Estate in Dundrum, Dublin 14 on March 3rd and 4th, along with Luke Matthews, resident chef at the urban farm.
Matthews and Gill, whose latest London restaurant, an Italian called Sorella which opened last month, are turning their attention to the sea and the seashore for a six-course dinner on the Saturday evening at Overends restaurant at Airfield.
They describe their menu for Coast: A Culinary Collaboration, as "eco-conscious, featuring sustainable lesser known seafood, seasonal produce and rarely highlighted ingredients". Diners can book one of three sittings – 7pm, 7.30pm and 8.15pm – and the cost is €85 a head.
The following afternoon, between noon and 2pm, you can join the pair for an outdoor cooking over fire demonstration, and lunch (€60). Reservations can be made online at airfield.ie.
Italian food and wine night
David Malone, a former TV producer turned wine retailer and owner of The Wine Buff in Newbridge, Co Kildare is collaborating with Emmet Dunne, chef proprietor at Market Kitchen cafe and restaurant on an Italian food and wine night.
Malone, who was the producer for The Late Late Show from 2007-08, before heading for Qatar where he worked on documentaries for Al Jazeera, opened The Wine Buff last December.
On Wednesday, March 7th, the shop will host Italian wine maker Luciano Taliano from the Montaribaldi vineyard in Barbaresco.
Emmet Dunne, who trained with Shelbourne Hotel executive head chef Gary Hughes and also worked at Chapter One and Fade Street Social, will match Taliano's wines with an Italian menu at Market Kitchen.
Tickets cost €65 for the four-course menu of soup, seafood pasta, lamb shoulder and dessert, with wine pairings, and can be booked with the Market Kitchen on 087-7105273.
