Jack Shaw

Dining is a bit like theatre

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Owner/accountant/ex-cook at Hope St Radio. Big FOFAE (Fan Of Food And Eating).

Where do you live most of the year?

Eltham / Victoria / Australia

What do you look for in a restaurant when you walk in?

I want a restaurant to feel as close to how I imagined it as possible (whether or not it’s my first time there). Dining is a bit like theatre, and I want to feel like I’ve walked into the right show/know my lines.

What is your final meal?

Dozen oysters kilpatrick, chicken parmigiana with chips (no salad if I’m about to die anyway) and peppercorn sauce on the side, a 6 pack of gluten free Hanh super dry at esky temperature, and as many Arnott’s mint slices (fridge temperature) as it takes for me to feel full.

3 dream guests for dinner? Why?

Juliette Lewis, Julianne Moore, and Miley Cyrus because it would feel fun to have all my celebrity crushes in one room.

Jack’s Taste Maker Guide

Breakfast: Queensberry St Co-Op Caf (North Melbourne)

Order: Eggs, toast, and however many sausages Denny (chef/owner) has on offer, with brown sauce and an iced tea. Make sure you ask Denny about his teas, and also take his advice about everything else I guess. His fingers have touched most every crumb. Hope you like Morrissey!

Coffee: Udom House (North Melbourne)

Order: Es-Coco, which is espresso with young coconut water, and coconut meat. I think the ice is also frozen coconut water. I am also very obsessed with orange juice and espresso which I think is a Thai thing because everywhere in Bangkok served it. Lots of cafes/baristas get weirded out and refuse to make it when I ask at home but some influencer coffee places in malls and the CBD sell it and I like to make it for myself too. Respect to Box Hill Central!

Lunch: Thai Food Station (Richmond)

Order: Entirely mood dependant but the options are: Thai omelette with prawn meat on rice, khao pak boong moo grob (pork belly and water spinach on rice), or khao mok gai (a turmeric heavy kind-of-biryani Thai Muslim chicken and rice). Always with an iced black coffee (thai style tho so very sweet). The menu here is so expansive and every dish hits. It also has unparalleled ambiance. One of my highlights of 2025 was (having eaten there 3 times a week for 6 months) when the nice girl who works there finished my sentence while I was ordering and said “black coffee iced” and gave me a knowing look.

Special dinner: Chae (Cockatoo)

Order: Eating at/with Chae is transcendent. I’ve sensed magic in food since I was a kid, and every meal I’ve been lucky enough to eat that Chae has cooked has registered among the most concentrated examples of magic I’ve ever known. It’s so exciting to eat a meal cooked by someone who seems to not only be at one with raw ingredients and cooking, but also with the many processes of aging and fermentation.

Casual dinner: Topolinos (St Kilda)

Order: Chicken parmigiana (ofc) but if I want a lighter meal I order the chicken latino which is grilled chicken breast in cream sauce with crispy prosciutto, pine nuts, avocado, and grilled vegetables. I drink ouzo and diet coke.

To my taste – Topolinos is a perfect restaurant. It is a casual family diner that is more or less unchanged from when my parents used to date there in the late 80s. Huge portions of delicious Italian/Australian fare in a restaurant that is plainly built for both purpose and fun. St Kilda is probably the coolest suburb in Melbourne and has so many fun places to eat and hang out (see also: Bar St Luja (best pint of guinness in Melbourne), Yang Thai (Thai charcoal chicken), Masters Pool Hall)

Special shoutouts

La Pinta (Reservoir) (Apex of Melbourne hospitality by every measure)

Manze (North Melbourne) (Thoughtful and always impressive Mauritian wine bar. I’ve had big birthday dinners here which rock ofc, but my favourite way to eat at Manze is having a solo set menu at lunch time and drinking 1x bottle of Phoenix and 1x house soda of some sort, during)

Al Kababjii (Coburg) (Best shawarma I’ve had in Australia, the tawook is also so boss. Also handy as it’s in a caravan around heaps of other caravans so you can get tobacco products, fruit cocktails, and Dubai chocolate type beat sundaes at the same time)

Pinto Street Food (Melbourne CBD) (Easy best boat noodles in Melbourne imo. Also boss pad kra pow)

Olympic Meats (Marrickville, Sydney) (crazy boss Greek grill joint with all the charm of your favourite souvlaki place, but with an inner city attention to detail and emphasis on ingredients. BYO beer, eat lots of grilled meat, and order the tarama if it’s available (made in house with smoked mirror dory roe…?))

Banh Cuon Ba Oanh (Marrickville, Sydney) (Best breakfast spot, order the free range egg in rolled noodle as a side to whatever else you get. Also order a coconut coffee)

Clarence and V (Sydney CBD) (Warm/classic hospitality and immaculate food)

Olotl (Sydney) (Yum and deeply nourishing Mexican food)

Late Night Table (Sydney) (Korean place that’s open very late to serve trendy and delicious food/cheap grog. The handsome guys who serve you look like they’re from tiktok. Get the raw seafood if you can, and some fried chicken and drink chestnut makgeolli and big cold beers (the wine is also great here tho))

Warung MD Masakan Manado (Dalung, Bali) (Ikan fufu cakalan saos feels like seeing a new colour for the first time/psychedelic experience. Drink as many es-jeruk as it takes to cool off during and after)

Albaik (Jeddah, Saudi Arabia) (Best fried chicken in the world/probably the best fast food in the world, I get the nugget meal and put heaps of garlic sauce in the bun with as many nuggets will fit, and drink a citrus mirinda, or a mountain dew. My fav restaurant from childhood)