Serai Melbourne: A Modern Australian-Filipino Restaurant

Home to kangaroo kinilaw, a McScallop pandesal burger, and smoked leche flan topped with passionfruit, Serai introduces Melbourne diners to Filipino flavours through an Australian lens

As any local will likely attest, Melbourne's most memorable hangouts aren't dressed up in flashing lights or found along the main tram lines. No, the best experiences are tucked away in narrow, graffiti-laden alleyways that make you wonder if you've got the right address. Located down the end of a laneway off Little Bourke Street, chef Ross Magnaye's new Australian-Filipino restaurant Serai is one such locale, a not-so-secret gastronomic destination that's won over foodies and critics alike.

While many have been quick to dub Serai a modern Filipino restaurant, the head chef clarifies that it is modern Australian with Southern Filipino influences, putting his own Pinoy spin on the best ingredients Australia's got to offer. Perhaps best known for his work at Rice Paper Sister, a celebrated Southeast Asian restaurant offering a glimpse into his Filipino heritage, Magnaye first moved to Australia at 15 years old, with much of his family based in Davao.

Above Chef Ross Magnaye working the woodfire grill at Serai (Photo: Jana Langhorst)

Above The Serai team at Racing Club Lane, Melbourne CBD (Photo: Jana Langhorst)

The name Serai is a clever, if not an unconventional, nod to the Magnye’s Mindanaoan roots. “Serai means lemongrass in Malaysian,” he reveals, referencing the strong Malaysian culinary influence in the region. “Yes, I know it’s not Filipino, but I think that’s what Serai is all about: we do whatever we want,” the renegade chef continues. “At the end of the day, we just want to cook food that we actually enjoy making and eating.”

Equipped with jackhammers and a brush, Magnaye and partners Shane Stafford and Ben Waters transformed 7 Racing Club Lane into the cosy industrial space it is today. The restaurant's centrepiece, a blazing woodfire grill, features prominently on the menu—take the seared kangaroo kinilaw with wood-roast bone marrow and toast, or the leche flan smoked over the woodfire with passion fruit, for example.

Above Serai’s fruity, funky, spicey take on lechon—the dish chef Ross Magnaye believes best represents the restuarant (Photo: Jana Langhorst)

However, it’s their take on the famed lechon that Magnaye says best represents Serai: a Western plains free-range pork belly slow-cooked on the grill with Filipino spices, topped with smoked pineapple palapa (a fresh, chilli-packed sambal popular in Maranao cuisine) and a luscious jus made from pork bones and Don Papa rum. The dish is a natural highlight that is juicy and crisp, smokey yet bright, and sweet but spicy. “It’s a marriage of Australian produce with Filipino flavours and techniques cooked over the woodfire,” Magnaye explains. “Very sexy, very Serai.”

Bar manager Ralph Libo-on effortlessly translated this philosophy to their cocktails, as with the whimsically-titled Sus Maryo Spritz: a blend of housemade “calamansi-cello”, Four Pillars Shiraz gin, prosecco, and a whisper of cardamom tincture. Meanwhile, the trio took the opportunity to showcase local natural and low-intervention wines, aligning with their ambitions to celebrate Australian artisans.

Above The Ube Wan Kenube, one of Serai’s signature Filipino cocktails (Photo: Jana Langhorst)

Although Filipino cuisine had long been represented in Melbourne’s pop-ups, night markets, and casual eateries, the options were scarce and dared not venture beyond the traditional until recently. “Places like Chibog and Kariton Sorbetes have paved the way in pushing Filipino food in Melbourne, which has been amazing for us,” beams Magnaye, praising the work of restaurateur Janine Barican-Le and chef John Rivera. Now a little over one month into its operations, Serai has established itself as another formidable force in the Filipino food movement Down Under.

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Topics

Serai Ross Magnaye Filipino Food Filipino Restaurant Melbourne Australia Where to Eat Modern Australian

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Meet Serai: A Modern Australian-Filipino Restaurant in Melbourne, Australia