It’s the hottest snow-dining destination in the state. It has appeal so broad that it is attracting a mixed mob that sees pinot-gris-sipping après ski couples sitting next to bearded foodie hipsters and hi-octane snow boarders with multiple piercings. Word is out: the food here is ultra-delicious. Mount Hotham’s Yama Bar and Kitchen is the brain child of legendary North East chefs Hamish Nugent from Tani Eat & Drink in Bright and Michael Ryan from Beechworth’s Provenance Restaurant. They have taken a lease on what was the White Room nightclub at the White Crystal Apartments on the summit of Mount Hotham and turned this hard black room into a more relaxed and friendly space. They have added richly coloured hardwood tables, fresh flowers and a light paint job to highlight the windows overlooking the Hackers Horror and Wall of Death black ski runs below.
The menu is mostly Japanese-inspired shared plates. Order a serve of salted edamame or a portion of caramel popcorn with bacon and nuts to get the show on the road. The cheese and kimchi jaffle is worth the drive up the mountain. It’s a classic unbuttered white bread jaffle, filled with mozzarella and tasty cheese along with a hefty dose of house-made kimchi. Perfect with either an ice-cold sake or alcohol-rich Evil Twin IPA from New York. Other hits on the menu include spanner crab rolls and golden, crisp Korean-style fried chicken wings.
It’s easy to go meat-free with dishes such as silken tofu with house-made XO sauce and six choices of shared vegetables dishes including roasted broccoli with a thick, sweet sesame and soy dressing. Or try a plate of cauliflower florets sautéed in butter with a handful of seared prawn tail meat served over a bed of ‘jam’ made by cooking nori with sugar. This wonderful combination is packed with umami, that memorable sense of savoury deliciousness.
The main offers are more substantial animal protein dishes such as sweet, sticky pork ribs with a serve of kimchi coleslaw or a great Gippsland grass-fed beef rib eye with miso butter. Then there are the sweet, sticky and dense-fleshed lamb shanks roasted with Szechuan pepper.
With a seriously good cocktail and craft beer list, 13 wines by the glass and a good selection of vintages from Provenance’s cellars, this is the place to visit this winter. Make it quick as Yama will close at the end of the ski season until next year.
Great Alpine Road, (Hotham Central),
Mount Hotham, Victoria
Tel 03 5759 3456
ww.yama.net.au
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