There's a particular kind of magic that happens when two food cultures stop being compared and start being combined. That's exactly what unfolded at My 妈妈 & Your Nonna, a one-night-only Chinese x Italian fusion dinner hosted by Da Guido La Pasta in Carlton — and it might be one of the most inventive dining experiences we've had in Melbourne this year.
Da Guido La Pasta has long been a favourite Italian restaurant among Melburnians for its handmade pasta and warm, unpretentious dining room. So when we heard the team was pairing up with chefs Charles and Andrés for a collaborative six-course tasting menu built around childhood memories — his mother's cooking meeting her nonna's — we knew this wasn't going to be a straightforward Italian dinner. It wasn't. It was a full-blown culinary conversation between two of the world's great food traditions, and it landed on every level.
The Concept: A Borderless Dinner
The premise behind My 妈妈 & Your Nonna was simple but deeply personal: two chefs, two grandmothers' kitchens, one menu. Charles and Andrés built the tasting experience around the flavours that shaped them growing up, reimagining familiar Chinese and Italian dishes through each other's lens rather than simply plating them side by side. Guests were seated at communal tables, which turned out to be one of the night's smartest touches — strangers were swapping notes on the wine pairings within twenty minutes of arrival.
It's also the opening chapter of something bigger. Da Guido La Pasta has flagged plans to run a new "Italy meets another country" collaboration dinner every two months, so if fusion dining is your thing, this Carlton institution is one to keep on your radar.
The Food: Six Courses, Two Cultures
The evening opened with a Lychee Vodka Martini and a welcome snack of Sichuan pepper sachima with fermented peach and lemon myrtle — an unusual but genuinely exciting way to start a degustation. From there, the menu moved through a run of dishes that treated fusion as more than a gimmick:
- Xiao Long Bao d'anatra all'Amatriciana — duck xiao long bao built on the flavours of an Amatriciana sauce
- Smoked chicken, black lemon and kimchi kosho, alongside century egg with Wagyu bresaola
- Porchetta brasata alla Hong Shao — porchetta braised in the style of Chinese red-cooked pork, served with burnt garlic and Jerusalem artichoke
- Shao Mai-inspired ravioli in a lamb broth with salted lemon
- You Po Tagliolini — hand-pulled tagliolini finished with mixed spice oil and a beef ragù
- Duck leg with hoisin and orange, served alongside duck-neck ravioli in a rich duck jus
- A closing dessert of white fungus, Chinese porcini, fig and coriander seed — easily the most unexpected dish of the night, and one that worked far better than it had any right to
Every course walked a genuinely difficult line — dishes that referenced two very different culinary grammars without either one dominating or feeling like a novelty add-on. The Shao Mai ravioli and the Hong Shao porchetta were standouts, but honestly, there wasn't a weak course across the six.
The Wine: A Journey Through Two Winemaking Cultures
This was where the night really surprised us. Each course was paired with two wines poured side by side — one Italian, one Chinese — curated by Emanuele Luzi of Il Mercante and Francesco of Fancy Fine Wines respectively.
We came in expecting the Italian side to steal the show. Instead, the Chinese wines were the revelation of the evening, particularly a Ningxia Chardonnay and a Cabernet Gernischt from the same region, both of which held their own against serious Italian drops from Campania, Umbria and Veneto.
The pairings spanned Ningxia, Hebei and Gansu on the Chinese side, and Campania, Friuli, Umbria and Veneto on the Italian side — a genuinely educational tasting journey as much as a delicious one.
The night wrapped with a Laizhou single malt Chinese whisky and a Tommi Limoncello, which felt like the perfect final handshake between the two cultures on the menu.
Our Verdict
My 妈妈 & Your Nonna wasn't just a well-executed fusion menu — it was a genuinely moving idea, built around the food that two chefs grew up eating, generously shared with a room full of strangers who left as friends. Da Guido La Pasta already had our loyalty as one of Carlton's best Italian restaurants; this event showed just how far the kitchen can push while still feeling true to itself. If this is the calibre of the "Italy meets another country" series to come, we'll be booking every single one.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is My 妈妈 & Your Nonna?
My 妈妈 & Your Nonna was a one-night-only Chinese x Italian fusion degustation dinner hosted by Da Guido La Pasta in Carlton, created by chefs Charles and Andrés and built around dishes inspired by their mothers' and grandmothers' cooking.
Where was the event held?
The dinner was held at Da Guido La Pasta in Carlton, Melbourne.
What was included in the experience?
Guests received a Lychee Martini and signature snack on arrival, followed by a six-course tasting menu with a curated dual pairing of Italian and Chinese wines, a Tommi Limoncello and Chinese whisky to finish, and a surprise gift to take home.
Will Da Guido La Pasta run more events like this?
Yes. Da Guido La Pasta plans to run a new collaboration dinner pairing Italy with a different country roughly every two months.
Is Da Guido La Pasta normally an Italian restaurant?
Yes — Da Guido La Pasta is a long-running, well-loved Italian restaurant in Carlton known for its handmade pasta, with this fusion dinner series running as a special collaborative event alongside its regular menu.