A Moment For: A Saucy Pico at a Brand New Diner in Redfern

This dish, with its Shrek-like hue, is a polarising one. A strand (or three) of pico, slick with a vibrant scallion crema, comes tangled on a plate – too thick to twirl around your fork. The playful pasta is the only of its kind in Sydney, and you can find it at Attenzione, the very fun dining room that just burst into Redfern.

“In the early planning stages of Attenzione, we were spitballing dish ideas and to be honest it came up as a joke,” head chef and co-owner Toby Stansfield tells Broadsheet. “Like, just one long thick noodle – maybe [co-owner] Dexter Kim suggested it, having a laugh.”

The joke became a lightbulb moment, and the four-part team of friends committed to the idea.

The handmade pasta’s texture is chewy like mochi, and two or three long strands make it onto each plate. “The Pico XL noodle is ironic enough to make a fun dish, and that’s a big part of what we want to achieve here: a fun environment. It also loves to stick to sauce, and who doesn’t like that?”

Not everyone has loved the texture – but this Broadsheet editor thinks the dish is unmissable. The sauce will be changing on the reg, so expect everything from richer meatier options to simpler serves like capers, chilli and garlic. Here are all the details:

What: Pico XL, a serve of thick, long and chewy noodles that currently comes dressed in a green scallion crema with a sprinkling of roasted soba cha.
How: Semolina and 00 flour come together with potato starch, salt and boiling water. The dough’s worked for 10 to 15 minutes, before it’s vac-packed and left to rest. “It can be used after one hour, but it likes three hours of rest the most,” says Stansfield. Each of the noodles is hand-rolled, then cooked to order. The pasta’s sauced up and tangled onto the plate.
Cost: $30
Where: Attenzione in Redfern.

@attenzione_syd