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To meet rising demand for more casual and affordable dining experiences, many of Melbourne’s great restaurants have opened more relaxed offshoots. Think Scopri’s Bar Olo, Morena’s Barra or Rumi’s the Rocket Society. Now, in very tasty news for Filipino food lovers and hungry city workers, Ross Magnaye and Shane Stafford (aka the legends behind Serai) have just joined the spin-off party.
Say hello to their striking new bakery and sandwich bar on Hardware Lane, Panaderia Serai.
‘Panaderia’ means bakery, and the concept puts fluffy pandesal (the sweet-salty Filipino bread roll) at the centre of a big-energy sandwich line-up. There’s a lamb shoulder kaldereta with tomato sauce, olives and red pepper gravy; a bulalo made with braised beef shank, bone marrow butter and a bone broth dip; and a pork belly lechon with smoked pineapple palapa and Mang Tomas spread.
Serai’s Jason Antonio is head chef, while Ayu Prayita leads the pastry action. Antonio shares that the pair drew on humble neighbourhood bakeries in the Philippines as well as Panaderya Toyo in Manila and Panadería Rosetta in Mexico City.
“We’re taking something humble like pandesal and giving it the same craft, soul and bold flavour profile people expect from Serai,” says Magnaye.
Sides range from coconut hash browns and adobo-salt hand-cut fries to chicken-skin chicharron.
On the drinks side, flavours will be no less thrilling. With characterful coffee from Bukidnon's Akasya Kape, visitors can either enjoy their bean brew straight or jazzed up in fun specials like the turon iced coffee with banana and caramel or the calamansi Mont Blanc.
Every so often, Melbourne is granted a ‘unicorn restaurant’: a rare trailblazer so mind-melting and good that it manages to stand out in a big way, even within a dining scene as diverse as this one. Multi-award-winning Serai is one such unicorn – and its new flour-dusted baby sibling promises the same brand of Filipino flavour magic during daylight hours.
See you at the front of the queue, stat.
Panaderia Serai is located at 1/27 Hardware Lane, and is open Tue-Sat 11.30-3pm (closed Sun and Mon). Find out more here.
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