After channeling her passion for cooking and hosting into pop-ups that showcased her family’s Indonesian background, Katrina Dunnett de Jong brought Voor Ouker to a semi-permanent restaurant site. Named for her Dutch grandfather, it’s a joyful Javanese immersion in a sparse but lovely dining room in Castlemaine’s vintage Temperance House hotel, which hosts regular restaurants-in-residence.

De Jong curates the all-local wine list, oversees the kitchen and runs the floor, delivering modern versions of Indonesian staples with pride. Lemper is a famous steamed sticky rice cake traditionally filled with spiced chicken; here the meat towers on top and rice is gently crisped.

Barramundi is hidden among a chopped sambal of lemongrass and makrut lime: it’s wonderfully exuberant. Some dishes channel street foods, like the dessert of caramelised banana paddling in chocolate and scattered with cheese. The menu says, “Trust us!” – and you most certainly can.

Good to know: Here till mid-November, Voor Ouker will then revert to pop-up mode. Follow their social media for the next location.

Good Food reviews are booked anonymously and paid independently. A restaurant can’t pay for a review or inclusion in the Good Food Guide.