There is no sushi on the “sushi train” tootling round the lobby of QT Melbourne. Instead, the passing parade of small plates is of mainly South-East Asian-inspired dishes, designed by celebrity cook Poh Ling Yeow. You pull up one of 12 seats at Delicious Discoveries, as the snazzy, teal-coloured train is called, and take your pick.
It’s a sushi train – sort of – but not as we’ve previously known it to be. From Tokyo to Melbourne, the economy-class, shopping-centre model is getting an upgrade, jumping its cuisine track and introducing business-class seats as canny operators see the mileage in conveyor-belt dining for more food-savvy customers.
A couple of blocks uptown from the hotel, another new take on the revolving communal table is about to get under way. As he waits for the arrival of a 40-seat sushi train he’s ordered from Japan, restaurateur Con Christopoulos is busy overseeing renovations to the Bourke Street space currently operating as the bar Martinis with Mancini.Call it a change of direction.
All going to plan, his shiny new train will start seating travellers, er, diners, in about three months’ time.