Max Veenhuyzen writes about the good things in life from his home base in Western Australia. Alongside his editorial work for leading Australian publications, he co authored the Burnt Ends cookbook with fellow West Australian Dave Pynt and contributed to the latest Australian guidebooks from Lonely Planet.
Could you please tell our community a bit about yourself and what you do?
Hi everybody! I’m Max Veenhuyzen! I’m a journalist based in Perth, Western Australia. Before colonisation, this part of the world was, and still is, home to the Whadjuk people of the Nyoongar nation. I’ve been writing about food, drink, travel since 2004 and know how lucky I am to do this for a living. In addition to covering my hometown for key Australian publishers Gourmet Traveller and Good Food, I was also fortunate enough to co-write the Burnt Ends cookbook with one of my best mates and fellow Perth product, Dave Pynt.
What are you currently working on or excited about right now?
In addition to my day-to-day writing gigs, I’ve got a handful of projects on the go. The biggest of these is working with Donovan MacDonald on the cookbook for Big Don’s Smoked Meats, MacDonald’s eponymous one-day-a-week barbecue restaurant. On top of that, I’m still setting aside some of my work bandwidth to document key people and places in the state’s restaurant history, plus I’m close to launching Makan++ which is a platform dedicated to celebrating Australasian food culture.
How would you describe the restaurant scene in Perth at the moment?
In a word: mature. For as long as I can remember, the city’s dining scene was constantly looking at – and copying – what was going on in Sydney and Melbourne. Thankfully, a growing number of operators have been pushing back on that and opening places that are very personal, very Perth and very good. Don’t get me wrong: there have always been rebels daring to do their own thing in the restaurant space, but it feels like there are more of them in action right now.
What are five restaurants in Perth you particularly enjoy, and why?
I know I’m far from objective, but man Big Don’s Smoked Meats is such a uniquely Perth restaurant. I don’t froth on barbecued meat like some people do, but Don’s whole package – the thrill of trying to snag a ticket during the weekly ticket drop that sells out in a minute; the illicit pleasure of queuing at a warehouse for extraordinarily good smoked brisket; the fun of BYO with your mates; and, yes, the deliciousness of the cooking – ensures its status as an essential Perth dining experience.
Casa is the wine bar of this city’s dreams and Paul Bentley’s grasp of French, Italian, Japanese and Mexican cookery ensures there’s always something good to drink.
Lulu La Delizia has long been regarded as one of Australia’s premier pasta restaurants. That remains very much the case, only now its daytime cantina spin-off is also vying for our attention.
I also love Ah Beng Indonesia. Perth’s Indonesian dining scene feels like its booming at the moment, thanks in no small part to what David Wijaya is doing in terms of the food at Ah Beng as well as rallying other Indonesian restaurants.
It’s not quite a restaurant, but Fervor – a roving native food pop-up – is also an essential West Australian dining experience. If you ever get the chance to attend a Fervor dinner, just say yes.
Is there a newer restaurant in Perth that you think is doing especially interesting things?
I reckon Oscar’s In The Valley has all the makings of this city’s next big destination diner. To be fair, what Justin Hughes is doing isn’t exactly rocket science – get good local ingredients, cook them sensitively, don’t try to be too clever – yet his modern farmhouse cooking style feels and tastes like it’s playing by its own set of rules.
Are there any hidden gems in Perth you would like to highlight – and what would you order there?
See above. But I’d like to go on record as saying, not for the first time, that Perth is home to Australia’s best southeast Asian food on account of the city’s strong links to other centres throughout the region as well as a healthy international student population. If you want good Singaporean, Malaysian or Indonesian food, Perth can deliver.
Which food cities around the world inspire you the most, and where do you like to eat when you’re there? What do you enjoy most about those places?
I was born in Singapore so I’ll always have a soft spot for there. My favourite place to eat? Again, I know I’m far from impartial here, but I adore Burnt Ends and the innate sense of hospitality that drives the place.
I know it’s a cliché, but gee Tokyo is great isn’t it? Choosing just one favourite place there is such a difficult decision, but I will always try to eat pizza at Savoy whenever I’m visiting, but really, Tokyo is a city with constant discoveries.
What is your favourite dish and where is your favourite restaurant to have it?
Call me a bogan, but it’s fried chicken. And at the risk of being called a cop-out, I have love for all fried chicken: from the dedicated Korean fried chicken specialists to the multinationals.
Is there an up-and-coming chef you think is doing great things?
So many, which is a great thing. But I feel like what Corey Rozario is doing via his Dahl Daddys pop-up in Margaret River is just so exciting. Magnolia, a new Nusantara pop-up from Anisha Halik and Jacob D’Vauz, is another emerging name to watch for too.
Is there a food expert or curator whose restaurant recommendations you would particularly want to hear?
That’s easy. That’d be my brother Khir Johari in Singapore, author of the incredible Food of the Singapore Malays and organiser of the Serumpun symposium. I hope the Malay – and more broadly, Singaporean Malay – food world knows how lucky it is to have a hypeman like Khir in its corner. If Khir tells me to go somewhere, I go, not just because Khir said so, but because he will have, inevitably, also given me with a micro history lesson and memorable personal anecdote to go with his recommendation.
