The Palace by Luke Mangan

my new Melbourne restaurant opening next month!

I’ve returned to my hometown of Melbourne to open The Palace, a modern Australian gastropub (with lots of great steak). We’ve taken a worker’s pub on City Road in South Melbourne and my mate and designer Neil Bradford, has outfitted it with contemporary furnishings (while keeping some of the historical finishes of the old building). The Palace will be one of the few venues in the area with a beer garden; we’ll be opening in late November just in time for summer and Christmas parties so keep your eye on the Palace Hotel website for more details.

my new book

Meals and ingredients don’t have to be complicated to taste amazing and each of my recipes in this cookbook aims to demonstrate that the art of entertaining at home is simple. The hardcover book is hitting stores in November or if you’d like to order a signed copy, email me and I’ll send you an order form (it costs $59.95 plus postage).

upcoming events

I’m hosting the inaugural Hayman Island Platinum Series dinner on December 19th so just in case you find yourself near the Great Barrier Reef before Christmas, click here for more details. Speaking of Christmas, email me if you are keen to book a party at one of my restaurants in Sydney, Melbourne, Tokyo or San Francisco; we’d love to make sure you eat and drink well this festive season! And sorry if you called this week to book our Melbourne Cup lunch at Glass Sydney, we are all sold out.

recipe – bbq prawns with mango salsa

Its mango (and bbq) season so try this simple recipe at home.

Ingredients
16 green yamba prawns, de-veined, head & tail removed
Extra virgin olive oil

5 mangos
1 medium red onion

30mls white wine vinegar
Ω bunch of mint
Ω bunch of basil
20ml olive oil
Salt
1 diced red chilli
baby coriander

Salsa – Peel the mangos and cut into 1.5cm squares. Finely dice the onion, chop the mint add these to the mango. Add the vinegar, olive oil and a pinch of salt.

Prawns – On a hot BBQ grill plate, cook the prawns for a minute on each side until just done. When cooked, remove from heat, drizzle with olive oil and serve with salsa. Garnish with fresh baby coriander.