Gluttony Gluttony

Hunky Dory

2012-02-04T22:58:00.001+11:00

Location: 252 Clarendon Street, South Melbourne, VIC 3205
Phone: 03 9696 4025
Link: www.hunkydory.com.au
Cuisine: Seafood

A week off in Melbourne with 30+ degree weather every day meant that a trip to the beach was definitely warranted. And when going to the beach, fish 'n' chips is a must.

After spending a couple of hours at South Melbourne beach, Teapot and I headed back up Clarendon Street to Hunky Dory to see if it lived up to its reputation.

The shop is small, but luckily for us, air conditioned. The menu ranges from typical fish 'n' chip packs to gourmet international flavours (see the website for more details). You order and pay at the counter

the Caribbean topped with a mango, onion & coriander salsa

It definitely lived up to expectations. We ordered the Caribbean from the 'flavours of the world' selection and really enjoyed it. The dory fillets were perfectly grilled, moist but flaky with a nice crisp coating. The fillets rested on a nutty brown rice pilaf and was served with a fresh garden salad. But the real hit was the salsa. Fresh, tangy and sweet with a hint of pineapple, the salsa was a refreshing contrast to the fish and a beautiful accompaniment with the rice.

grilled flake fillet

Prices were reasonable, with the usual fish 'n' chip packs priced just under $10, and the more 'gourmet' international dishes around $18. Serving sizes were generous and well worth the money.

Overall Impression: 9.5/10

Izakaya Den

2011-12-11T22:36:00.001+11:00

Location: 114 Russell Street, Melbourne, VIC 3000
Phone: (03) 9654 2977
Link: www.izakayaden.com.au
Cuisine: Japanese

Another blast from the past. We went to Izakaya Den over Easter this year, still mentally salivating over the sweet corn kaki-age we had tried at the Taste of Melbourne 2010.

The place itself is pretty hard to find, tucked away inside an office building of sorts. Inside, there is a long bar with seats, and table seating running parallel to that.

Japanese izakaya is like a Japanese pub. Drinks and small plates of shared food form the basis of the menu. I see it as a cross between tapas and yum cha, with a Japanese twist. And why not? The Japanese are famous for their bite sized snacks, which are perfect for sharing. Surprisingly, no sushi on this menu, possibly not quite pub-food like enough.

Sakata coated prawns, citrus mayonnaise

The prawns were nicely cooked, and the sakata crumbs formed a nice light crispy coating. The citrus mayonnaise provided a nice counterbalance to the deep fried goodness.

Crispy cocktail potato, anchovy butter

A pretty average potato, jazzed up with an amazing anchovy butter. Forget all that salt-reduced or unsalted butter. This is the god of all butters. Even if you don't like anchovies, this simply tastes like a intense saltiness immersed in the butter - nothing offensive, but definitely brought an otherwise boring (not even that crispy) potato to life.

sweet corn 'kaki-age'

After Taste of Melbourne 2010, there was no hesitation when it came to ordering this dish. Sounds really simple and possibly boring. But reality was nothing as expected. Crispy handfuls of sweet corn kernels coated in a light and seasoned tempura battered, then deep fried just a medley of flavours and textures. The popping juiciness of the corn against the crispy light batter, paired with green tea salt, was just a party in the mouth. I could eat an entire meal of these.

Steamed snapper with rice in bamboo leaf

Pretty small serve, with delicate pieces of snapper and some rice. Nothing special.

Wagyu tataki, wasabi cream

At the time of this feasting episode, I wasn't the hugest fan of raw beef. The tataki tasted fresh, but lacked seasoning. And when you don't like wasabi, there wasn't much of a choice.

Grilled squid with sea urchin sauce

From memory, this was one of the specials for the night. Curious about sea urchin sauce, we thought we'd give it a go. I wasn't impressed. The squid was chewy, and coated in a strange tasting sauce (whether it was the sea urchin or not, I couldn't really tell).

Special daikon salad

A simple salad to cleanse the palate. The daikon was refreshingly crunchy. But again, nothing special.

lamb ribs, red miso

The lamb ribs were nicely grilled, but could have had a little more meat on them (or the serving could have contained more than six skinny pieces of bone). We had been curious about the 'red miso' sauce, but it ended up tasting like a saltier version of hoisin sauce.

Den fried chicken

This was the second best dish of the night. Fried chicken? This was no ordinary fried chicken. We couldn't work out what exactly made this chicken taste so good, but it was just brilliant. Light tempura batter, soft pieces well marinated (or seasoned?) chicken. Nothing fancy, but it just worked.

Service was slow, and aside from the two or three keynote dishes of the night, there was nothing to cry home about. I would gladly go again for the corn and the fried chicken, but I'd probably be looking at trying the other dishes on the menu. From discussions with other friends, it seems we may have ordered the wrong dishes.

Overall Impression: 8/10

Red Spice Road

2011-12-11T16:02:00.001+11:00

Location: 27 McKillop Street, Melbourne, VIC 3000
Phone: (03) 9603 1601
Link: www.redspiceroad.com
Cuisine: Asian, Thai, Fusion

Every time I see or hear the words 'pork belly', I immediately think of Red Spice Road. Which is why it is a bit surprising that it's taken me this long to get around to putting up this review. Unfortunately this feasting episode took place well over a year ago (Easter 2010), but the memories of the pork belly still set the standard for pork belly everywhere I go.

Red Spice Road is hidden away in another CBD laneway, off the corner of Bourke and Queen Streets. The atmosphere inside is sophisticated but casual at the same time - particularly since the seating is mostly communal. Get in early or book to snap up a collection of seats if you have a large group.

I'll start with the pork belly, but the rest are all a distant memory, and I won't be doing them justice if I try to comment.

pork belly with chilli caramel, black vinegar, cabbage, mint

Hands down the best pork belly ever. Nice crisp crackling, soft tender pork meat, and an amazing concoction of sticky caramel, spicy chilli and sour black vinegar just topped it all off. The cabbage and mint worked well with the vinegar and provided a nice refreshing contrast to the heat and stickiness of the meat.

betel leaf with salmon, lemongrass, chilli and Kaffir lime

prawns filled with spicy pork

wild barramundi, sugar peas, baby corn, spicy coconut, lemongrass

minced wagyu beef stir fried with thick rice noodles in black pepper sauce

Service was pleasant, our waiter in particular was friendly and helpful. What was disappointing at the end of the meal was the fact that the waiters didn't bring back the change and simply assumed that it was an automatic tip. We waited 10 minutes to see if they would bring back the change, and in the end, gave up and asked for it on the way out. Rather than apologizing, they begrudgingly handed back the $3.

Ironically, we had enjoyed the meal and the service had been really good and would have tipped the change - had they brought it back. The fact that they were annoyed at having to hand back their assumed tip was a bit of a spoiler for an otherwise wonderful night.

Overall Impression: 9/10

Papa Goose

2011-12-11T15:54:00.001+11:00

Location: 91-93 Flinders Lane, Melbourne, VIC 3000
Phone: (03) 9663 2800
Link: www.papagoose.com.au
Cuisine: Modern Australian

My latest Melbourne trip didn't involve much more than eating and sleeping. My feasting for the weekend began on a Friday evening after getting up at a ridiculously early hour to fly interstate for an all day meeting. Had drinks with some contacts after work, then R took me to Papa Goose for dinner (turns out she's a foodie too).

Another gem tucked away in Flinders Lane, Papa Goose has a similar style of food to the Aylesbury.

Palate cleanser - minted pea puree

First up was the complimentary palate cleanser - a shot of minted pea puree. Surprisingly appetising, the pea puree was smooth and the mint was subtle and refreshingly. A great start to the meal.

Aylesbury duck, roasted carrot puree, fennel, fig, mandarin marmalade

Having had an amazing duck experience at the Aylesbury, I couldn't go past the Aylesbury duck here. The duck was well cooked, still moist and tender. The carrot puree was sweet and smooth, but there wasn't too much of it. And then there was the mandarin - a modern and very clever take on duck a l'orange!

Toasted coconut pannacotta, rum & pineapple sorbet, caramelized pineapple, coconut foam

This dessert reminded me a fair bit of 'citrus' at the Aylesbury. The pannacotta was nicely infused with coconut and had a smooth consistency. The sorbet was refreshing, and provided a nice contrast against the caramelized pineapple. The coconut foam was a little confusing, as it tasted more like whipped cream than foam. But all round, a great dessert.

Eskimo's pie, 'hot chocolate'

Service was good. Atmosphere was nice, and not too noisy so it's definitely a place for conversation.

Overall Impression: 8.5/10

Coda

2011-12-11T15:21:00.001+11:00

Location: Basement 141 Flinders Lane, Melbourne, VIC 3000
Phone: (03) 9650 3155
Link: www.codarestaurant.com.au
Cuisine: Spanish, Tapas

It's been quite a long time since V and I went to Coda, but in keeping with the tapas theme of late, I thought I'd finally post up the photos, and add what commentary I can remember.

Coda is one of a number of tapas places slowly popping up along Flinders Lane, alongside Cumulus and Movida.

Syrahmi salami by Adam Foster

Not your ordinary salami, which generally taste mostly of salt and chilli, this one was delicate and had a hint of smokiness. Went very nicely with the bread sticks.

Hervey Bay scallop, pearl tapioca and Yarra Valley salmon caviar

My top dish of the night - fresh scallops cooked perfectly, sitting on a smooth pearl tapioca sauce and topped with salmon caviar that just popped in the mouth. Absolutely delicious and a nice balance of flavours and textures.

Crispy prawn and tapioca betel leaf

Another flavoursome dish, combining the crispy outer of the prawns, the juicy prawn meat inside a betel leaf.

Fremantle octopus, green mango & kaffir lime salad, roasted chilli & shallot dressing

V's favourite dish of the night - in fact, every time we go for tapas she constantly reminds me of how good the 'octopus at Coda' was. The octopus was grilled until tender, and sat on a bed of pounded chilli and shallots. sour green mango and kaffir lime provided a contrast to the fiery spice of the chilli and shallots.

Quail lettuce delight, lup cheong, shitake mushroom, coriander and water chestnuts

Probably the least stand out dish for me. The quail was cooked very well, but the construction was nothing special - a couple of Asian flavours stir fried together and poured into a lettuce leaf. After getting hit with all the wonderful flavours and aromas of the earlier dishes, this was a bit of a let down. There wasn't anything wrong with it, it just lacked the 'punch' that the other dishes had carried with them.

Souflle

Unfortunately I don't really remember much about this dish.

What impressed me most with the service at Coda was the thought that our waiter put into designing our meal. After leaving us to peruse the menu for a few minutes, the waiter we through the dishes we had selected, then designed an order in which they would arrive, so as to break up flavours and also to build into the whole experience that degustation feeling.

Overall Impression: 9/10

The Aylesbury Restaurant & Rooftop

2011-10-23T22:33:00.000+11:00

Location: 103 Lonsdale Street Melbourne 3000
Phone: (03) 9077 0451
Link: theaylesbury.com.au
Cuisine: Spanish

Another Melbourne trip, another foodie adventure with V. This time, we were headed to the newly opened Aylesbury, before the foodie crowds got wind of the place.

The menu (not available online) is a simple one. It simply lists two or three of the key ingredients, and doesn't give away how it is going to be cooked, or what else it might have. If asked, the waiters are able to give you a detailed description. Otherwise, the not-knowing makes dining tapas style that little bit more exciting.

complimentary bread and olive oil

Unlike Legends, the Aylesbury (as with all good tapas places) served complimentary bread from the start, and continued to top it up a few times during the meal.

Wagyu, bone marrow, morcilla

The Spanish definitely know their charcuterie. Thin slices of cured wagyu were served with small nuggets of bone marrow and a sprinkling of morcilla (blood sausage). The wagyu had an intense saltiness but with a delicate smokiness. The saltiness was nicely offset with the creamy bone marrow. Not the biggest fan of blood sausage, I was glad the morcilla was subtle and not overpowering. Everything was then topped with fried breadcrumbs and edible flowers, to add another dimension of flavour to the already flavour-packed dish.

Prawn, corn and coriander

A beautiful combination of flavours - the prawns were well seasoned, and deep fried to the point where the entire prawn could be eaten, shell and all. The sweet corn puree worked brilliantly as a sweet and creamy contrast tot he crunch of the prawns. The coriander added that final freshness and bound all the flavours together.

Lamb ribs, pea & lemon

The lamb ribs were a hit. The fatty parts were well seasoned and rendered to produce a slightly crispy coating. Definitely needed the lemon to cut through the fattiness of the lamb though.

Sous vide Aylesbury duck with beetroot puree and dehydrated beetroot

Our 'large' dish for the night was the Aylesbury duck. The duck was beautifully cooked, retaining its slight gaminess and cooking juices, and appeared to have been finished off in a pan to produce a nice crispy skin. Beetroot and duck pair so well together, and the puree added a fresh sweet contrast to the duck. The dehydrated beetroot packed a punch, with an intense flavour condensed into powder form.

Pink fur potatoes, duck fat

These were no ordinary chips or wedges. Duck fat just seems to make everything taste so much better. Delicately seasoned and a sprinkling of fresh herbs just rounded out the meal.

Citrus: Montenegro pannacotta, fruit salad with tuile, grapefruit sorbet

And then who could go past dessert? Having read about this dish on MoMo & Coco's Dessert Correspondence, and then hearing our waiter's description, we couldn't go past it.

Just as well I had read that blog, because our waiter also failed to mention the order in which to eat the various components of the dessert. We followed the advice by MoMo and Coco and started with the grapefruit sorbet and worked our way through the salad and finally the pannacotta.

Fresh and zingy, the sorbet was definitely a palate cleanser, and really enticed us to move onto the next component. The fruit salad was fresh, nothing extraordinary (it was simply pieces of fresh fruit). The tuile passed the 'snap' test and added a nice crunchy texture to the salad. And then there was the pannacotta. It was beautifully smooth and creamy, I was looking for something extra in terms of flavour - as a stronger flavour wouldn't have gone amiss. (Although, I should probably disclose that my standard for a 'good' pannacotta has gone up ridiculously since I had Sarti's pistachio pannacotta with salted caramel popcorn, so I may be a little biased.)

Service was fast and friendly. Perhaps a little too fast. One thing I've learnt from tapas style eating is that it works best when the dishes come out one after the other, degustation style. Instead, the prawns arrived before we were even halfway through the wagyu, and the lamb arrived shortly after the prawns. The unfortunate result was a choice between eating a bit of everything all at the same time, or letting the dishes cool down as we worked our way through them.

And to finish the meal, we headed upstairs to the rooftop bar for a drink. There was a nice atmosphere, which was quite pleasant. Not the biggest range of cocktails, but some pretty decent ciders and a very extensive wine list.

Overall Impression: 9.5/10

Legends Spanish Restaurant - Livingsocial Tapas Deal

2011-10-16T15:06:00.000+11:00

Location: Capitol Theatre Centre, Franklin St Manuka, ACT 2603
Phone: (02) 6295 3966
Link: www.legendsspanishrestaurant.com.au
Cuisine: Spanish

A couple of months ago, Livingsocial had a deal for Legends. $40 for six tapas and a jug of sangria. The idea of tapas was too good to give up, and given each tapas dish on their menu was priced around the $15 mark, the deal was definitely good value for money.

So after work one Friday, four of us headed out for a drink and a light dinner.

Almejas - Pipis in olive oil, garlic and chilli

I have always loved pipis, but my experience with eating them has mostly been confined to Asian style cooking (asari sake, pipis with basil and chilli) so this was something a little different.

And it was amazing. The natural saltiness from the pipis countered the richness of the olive oil and garlic. The dish was a little light on the chilli, but it gave the requisite 'kick' when it comes to seafood.

Chorizo - Traditional pork and paprika sausage

When I think Spanish, the first things I think of are jamon and chorizo. The chorizo at Legends was beautifully cured with an aromatic smokiness. There was a little more excess oil than usual, which would have been fine had there been bread, but without the bread, the dish bordered a little on the greasy side.

Champigñones - Mushrooms cooked in olive oil, garlic and chilli

These mushrooms were simple, with only a few simple ingredients. The mushrooms were cooked until soft, then smothered in olive oil. As with most of the dishes, the garlic and chilli just added that extra 'kick'.

Falda de Cerdo - Caramelised pork belly served with apple cider sauce

Pork belly is one of those dishes that are ridiculously hard to perfect, and to date, I have yet to find one that matches, let alone beats, the pork belly at Red Spice Road in Melbourne. This one was a little disappointing, there wasn't much crackling and the fat had not been rendered down properly. That aside, apple cider sauce was sharp and fresh, providing a nice contrast to the fatty meat.

Pinchitos - Marinated chicken kebabs –grilled tenderloins

Chicken kebabs. Not exactly my idea of Spanish, but it was on the menu and we thought we would give it a shot. The chicken was a little dry and overcooked, but the marinade and the flavours were quite good.

Pulpo a la Brasa - Grilled baby octopus, marinated paprika & oregano

The baby octopus were well cooked and tender. The paprika and oregano added a nice smoky aroma in addition to the chargrill effect. A squeeze of lemon just completed the dish.

Service was decent. Some great dishes, some not so great. But for $10 each, and including a jug of sangria, it was definitely a good way to end the working week.

Overall Impression: 8.5/10

Mamak Roti House

2011-10-01T23:11:00.000+10:00

Location: 121 Marcus Clarke Street, Canberra ACT 2601
Phone: (02) 6257 9688
Link: www.rotihouse.com.au/
Cuisine: Malaysian

Having been thoroughly impressed with Mamak in Sydney, E, Y and I decided to give this relatively new (or at least it was at the time of dining) place a shot.

roti planta - roti canai with margarine

First up, some roti. You can't go to a Malaysian restaurant without ordering roti.

This one was nothing like the one we had in Sydney, which had been served in a cone-like shape and was more flaky and crumbly than this one. But nevertheless, it was still pretty good.

The roti was crisp on the outside, and when torn into, the inside layers were soft and pillowly. The one mistake was ordering the planta instead of the canai, because there was definitely an overload of margarine by the time we finished it.

beef rendang curry

The rendang was average, nothing that special, but the beef was tender. Went well with the roti.\

Mamak mee goreng - hokkien noodles wok fried with chicken, tofu,
onions & tomatoes, in a blend of sweet & spicy sauce

The mee goreng was pretty good. A good generous serve, tender chicken, fresh vegies and noodles that were coated in a flavoursome sauce. There was even a hint of the smokiness from the wok.

Overall Impression: 7.5/10

Farmers Daughter

2011-10-01T22:04:00.001+10:00

Location: 27B Bentham Street, Yarralumla ACT 2600

Phone: (02) 6281 2233

Cuisine: Breakfast

Being stuck in Canberra on a long weekend is never fun. Being stuck in Canberra on a long weekend with temperatures more akin to winter, and three assignments to write, is even less fun.

So with that in mind, I sacrificed my usual weekend sleep in to go out to brunch with P and we headed to Farmers Daughter in Yarralumla.

Farmers Daughter is a fairly recent addition to the Canberra breakfast scene and has started to make a name for itself with foodies. Having been once before and found the lunch menu quite impressive (they stop serving breakfast at 11am and we arrived just after then), we decided to return this time for breakfast.

And this time, breakfast was served.

mocha

First up, a mocha. Ever since starting work, I've picked up a bit of an amateur coffee drinking habit. Amateur in that I tend to play it safe by ordering mochas. The coffee used is Campos coffee (which might mean something to coffee connoisseurs out there). Not quite the mocha I'm used to, not enough chocolate, and needed extra sugar. I think I'll stick with Pork Barrel's 2-4-1 coffees.

'eggs how you like them' - scrambled eggs on toasted sourdough

P opted for scrambled eggs on toast. Can't go wrong with that.

'no ordinary soldiers' - (left to right) prosciutto & romesco,
parmesan & rocket, smoked salmon & crème fraiche

I was a little more adventurous. Having read some pretty decent reviews about the soldiers, I decided that despite my dislike for rocket, I'd give them a go and was rather impressed by the dish when it came out.

The sourdough soldiers were crunchy and toppings were very well matched - the perfect marriage of smoked salmon with crème fraiche and prosciutto with romesco worked as expected, and even the rocket wasn't too overbearing for me and balanced very nicely with the parmesan infused cream cheese.

Whilst I'm on a roll with the reviews, here's a snapshot of what's on offer with the lunch menu from our last dining experience at Farmers Daughter...

BLT with dijonaise on caramelized garlic bread

The BLT was not your usual BLT. Served on caramelizeed garlic bread, P was thoroughly impressed with it.

potato and bacon frittata with Caesar salad

My potato and bacon frittata was also quite tasty, with a nice crunchy crust on the top, and creamy potato slices in the filling. The bacon imparted a subtle smokey flavour through the layers of potato. Then there was the side salad. My experience with side salads has mostly been a measly pile of random green leaves and possibly a wedge of tomato or a smattering of shredded carrots. Not quite that at Farmers Daughter - here you get a choice of Farmers salad, vegetable salad or Caesar salad, and the serving size is quite generous!

macarons!

And as an added plus, they have macarons! (But don't expect the waiters to know what flavours they have on hand, it obviously isn't something that was included in their job description.)

The service is generally quite good, although slow at times given the place is fairly packed come midday. The waiters are pleasant and mostly polite, and the atmosphere definitely provides a nice and casual place to kick off a lazy long weekend.

Overall Impression: 9/10

Cumulus Inc

2011-09-27T01:11:00.002+10:00

Location: 45 Flinders Lane, Melbourne
Phone: (03) 9650 1445
Link: www.cumulusinc.com.au
Cuisine: Bar, Coffee, Shared

As part of my July trip back to Melbourne, V suggested we head to Cumulus for lunch and I couldn't say no. Not only had I wanted to try out one of Andrew McConnell's restaurants for a while (Cutler & Co is still on my list), the place itself had some significant meaning for me.

Cumulus Inc

Whilst this was my first dining experience at Cumulus, I had been taken there for coffee by my supervisor during a clerkship experience a few years back. Ironically, or perhaps suitably, the building in the background of the photo above, is where my career really began.

Enough reminiscing and onto the review.

Cumulus Inc is a hidden gem. Tucked away in a laneway off Flinders Lane, it's pretty hard to find unless you either know what you're looking for, or look up in time to see the sign and turn the corner.

Once inside, the atmosphere is relaxed and casual. By 12pm, the coffee drinking crowd have had their caffeine hit, and the place transforms from coffee shop to a foodie's heaven.

We were seated at the bar overlooking the kitchen, which gave us a clear view of the open kitchen and the chefs at work.

open kitchen

Our waitress was pleasant, polite and very helpful. She guided us through the menu choices and gave us an indication of the number and sizes of dishes that would suit us.

complimentary bread and butter

As with all good restaurants, we were served complimentary bread and butter as we waited for our dishes to arrive. The bread was pretty standard for me (but then again, I'm no bread expert) - V, on the other hand, really enjoyed the bread.

Slow cooked octopus with aioli, dehydrated olive

First up, the octopus. The octopus was tender and juicy, slow cooking had definitely allowed it to soak up the flavours and break down. The aioli was creamy and flavourful. Perhaps I misunderstood the dish, but I found the pool of olive oil a little overbearing.

Wagyu bresaola with pickled onions and horseradish cream

Hands down one of the best bresaola I have ever tasted. The meat was nicely cured, and the pickled onions provided a nice sweet, caramelised contrast to the salted meat. Whilst not the biggest fan of horseradish cream, the small dollops of cream worked brilliantly when combined with the bresaola and the onions.

Prosciutto di Parma

Another serve of nicely cured meat. Very thinly sliced and full of flavour, this was a hit, although it would have been nice to have had it served with something to cut the saltiness.

Mustard crumbled pig's tail, celeriac remoulade & caperberries

The menu description of this item caught our interest, and I love eating with V because she's willing to be adventurous too. I can think of many people who would turn their noses up at the sound of pig's tail.

The tail was well cooked, the fat inside had been rendered, and the crumble around the meat was delicate in texture but full of flavour. I wasn't completely certain about the combination of elements on the dish, but the tail definitely needed something to cut the richness, and the remoulade and caperberries did the job.

Roast new potatoes & celeriac, confit garlic and rosemary

As a side, we ordered the roast potatoes. An example of simple ingredients given a 'wow factor'. The confit garlic was delicious paired with the rosemary potatoes.

Finally, dessert time. V insisted that we could not leave Cumulus without trying their infamous madeleines.

Madeleine, filled with lemon curd

And was she correct? It was well worth the wait. The madeleines were served warm, straight from the oven, and had a similar crumbly texture to shortbread, but softer. The filling inside was sweet and sticky, with the tart acidity of the lemon, that cut through the pastry and the icing sugar sprinkled on top.

The service was great, and they even asked what time we needed to leave so that they could time the dishes to suit our schedule (good for business lunches). A very enjoyable lunch, and I'll be back one day to try the rest of the dishes on the menu!

Overall Impression: 9.5/10

Spice Temple

2011-09-26T23:53:00.000+10:00

Location: Crown Complex, Southbank, Melbourne
Phone: (03) 8679 1888
Link: www.spicetemplemelbourne.com
Cuisine: Asian, Sichuan

It's become a bit of a rule that each time I make it back to Melbourne for a weekend, I have to go out to some 'fancy' restaurant. Possibly because of the lack thereof in Canberra.

I have a harddrive full of photos, but with dinner time fast approaching and craving some good old Sichuan food, I thought I might start with Neil Perry's Spice Temple at Crown, from my August trip.

Located in the Crown Complex, Spice Temple is the newest addition to Neil Perry's growing collection of restaurants. The restaurant was dimly lit and spacious, with dark polished wooden furniture and hints of oriental design.

First up, a nice refreshing mocktail.

Green Apple & Jasmine House Made Soda

This was no apple juice, the freshness and sweetness of the apple was balanced with clean flavours from the jasmine tea, and topped off with some crunchy slivers of pickled cucumber.

Just as well we had the drinks, because shortly after, things started spicing up. We selected two dishes from the small plates and one from the large, along with some rice.

Fried squid with whole five spice and dark chilli paste

The first of our small dishes, the fried squid was crispy and packed full of five-spice goodness. And if that wasn't enough, the chilli paste on the side added an even hotter, but slightly acidic kick. A brilliant dish.

Fried salt and pepper silken tofu with spicy coriander salad

This was the highlight of the meal for me. The golden fried silken tofu was crispy and well seasoned on the outside, soft and smooth on the inside. They managed to keep their shape throughout the cooking process, and was served on a bed of coriander salad, which was doused in a numbing chilli sauce. A big plate of this and a large bowl of rice, and I'd be a very happy person.

Cabbage and radish pickles

As a palate cleanser, we opted for some cabbage and radish pickles, which provided a nice break from the fiery heat of the other dishes. The pickles themselves were slightly spicy too, but not quite the numbing sensation that were the other dishes.

Hot, sweet, sour and numbing pork chilli, sugar, black vinegar and Sichuan peppercorn

Our 'large dish' selection turned out not to be as large relative to the small dishes that arrived earlier. But the flavours were just as big. The pork itself was crunchy (think KFC popcorn chicken when done properly) and the chilli, sugar, vinegar and peppercorn created an explosion of spicy, sweet and sour flavours that numbed the mouth. Heaven on a plate.

Caramel chocolate and peanut parfait

And who could pass up dessert to cool the palate and finish on a sweet note? Not us. Despite looking somewhat boring, the caramel chocolate and peanut parfait was sweet, sticky, goody and crunchy on the outside. A perfect end to a perfect meal.

Service was pleasant, food arrived in a fairly timely manner, and the menu is just bursting with flavours. If you enjoy spicy food, give this place a shot. You won't regret it.

Overall Impression: 9.5/10

Abell's Kopi Tiam

2011-09-24T17:49:00.001+10:00

Location: 7 Furneaux Street,Manuka, 2603
Phone: (02) 6239 4199
Cuisine: Malaysian

It's been a while since I last posted, and it's not because I haven't been eating out. At some point in the (hopefully) near future, I'll go back and dig out the photos and post something up.

Abell's Kopi Tiam is located in the 'restaurant precinct' of Manuka (although I must say, there isn't much else in Manuka) and doesn't look very fancy. The decor and set up is simple, albeit a little on the cramped side. But we can't really fault them for wanting to accommodate more customers.

It was a Friday night after a long week at work, so M and I decided to go all out and order three courses.

chicken satays

First up were the chicken satays. Expecting just a pile of skewers smothered in sauce, we were rather surprised and pleased to find that the plate itself could almost have been a complete dish. Four fairly generous skewers of tender barbecued chicken was served alongside a mini serve of fragrant coconut rice, a fresh pineapple and cucumber salad and a dish of a sweet and tangy satay sauce.

Our entree was followed very closely by our mains, something I found peculiar and slightly annoying. But the food more than made up for it.

Bali chicken in a creamy coconut and tamarind curry

The Bali chicken was amazing and unlike any curry I have ever tasted. The chicken was tender (and there was plenty of it), the eggplant and beans carried the flavours well and the sauce was creamy and packed full of flavour.

spring onion roti

There was only one kind of roti on the menu, which was a bit of a disappointment after Mamak. However, this roti lived up to its rival. Light and fluffy but not overly flaky, the roti tasted great on its own, and went fantastically when paired with the Bali chicken.

aubergine and tofu in sambal sauce

The irony was the location of this dish under the vegetarian section of the menu, given that sambal is made from dried shrimp. The tofu and eggplant had both been deep fried, then smothered in a slightly sweet sticky sauce and coated in sambal. A beautiful combination of flavours.

Who can pass up a Malaysian dessert? Not us! Despite being extremely full, we opted to share a sago pudding.

sago pudding with coconut milk and palm sugar

The soft jelly like sago balls drizzled with palm sugar syrup then drowned in coconut milk was the perfect way to end the meal.

All up, the food was great, albeit a little on the pricey side. Service was pleasant and there was no rushing customers out the door. Next up, to try the new Mamak Roti House that has recently opened up in Civic.

Overall Impression: 8.5/10

Becasse Bakery

2011-07-10T22:42:00.000+10:00

Location: Level 5, Westfield, Pitt Street, Sydney 2000
Phone: (02) 9283 3440
Link: www.becasse.com.au
Cuisine: Bakery, Dessert

An offshoot of Justin North's famous Becasse restaurant, Becasse Bakery caught out eye after we'd had our light lunch at Din Tai Fung and we couldn't help but stop for a sample.

the array of cakes

Opera cake

I ordered the opera cake, mostly due to recalling an episode of MasterChef which had featured this delicately layered chocolate cake. I wasn't disappointed, the cake was light and airy, with each layer very distinct. The slice was decorated with a piece of white chocolate painted with a bar of music to add to the theme.

Mille feuille

H ordered this to compare with one she had had in Europe, and she was similarly not disappointed. In fact, she thought this was just as good as the one she ate in Paris!

Highlight of the trip was seeing Justin North at work through the temporary open kitchen door! Next time, we'll try the actual restaurant.

Overall Impression: 9.5/10

Din Tai Fung Dumpling Bar

2011-07-10T22:09:00.000+10:00

Location: Level 5, Westfield, Pitt Street, Sydney 2000
Link: www.dintaifungaustralia.com.au
Cuisine: Chinese, Dumplings

After a couple of hours of shopping, H and I stopped for a light lunch at Din Tai Fung Dumpling Bar, a food court version of the famous Taiwanese dumpling chain.

shrimp and pork wonton noodles

A beautifully flavoursome but light dish. The wontons were juicy with soft wrappers and filled with nice chunks of shrimp and well-seasoned minced pork. The noodles were cooked al dente, and the broth was subtle and packed with flavour.

xiao long bao

Good old xiao long bao, the one dish to judge any good dumpling place by. These were perfect. The wrapper was thin and delicate, filled with juicy minced pork. A Shanghainese friend once told me that the trick to eating these is to take a small bite and to suck the soup out first. And soup there was a plenty. I would rate these on par with Hu Tong, which are the best I've had in Melbourne.

Din Tai Fung definitely delivers above and beyond the quality typically expected of food court dishes. If the quality here is anything to go by, I just cannot wait to try the dumplings at the head restaurant!

Overall Impression: 9.5/10

Adriano Zumbo Patissier

2011-07-10T21:43:00.001+10:00

Location: 296 Darling Street, Balmain, NSW 2040
Phone: (02) 9810 7318
Link: www.adrianozumbo.com
Cuisine: Desserts, Cakes

After all the hype on MasterChef, a trip to Sydney would not be the same without a visit to Adriano Zumbo's famous Patissier.

Located in Balmain in amongst a strip of cafes, bakeries and little boutiques, Adriano Zumbo fits right in.

Adriano Zumbo Patissier - shopfront

We arrived rather early, and were pretty lucky that there wasn't much of a line. So we stepped inside to be greeted by a magnificent array of cakes, pastries and desserts.

delicious looking cakes and chocolates

cute little cakes

more cakes

sugar overload much?

After spending a considerable amount of time choosing what to purchase, I ended up going for the passionfruit tart.

tarte aux fruits de la passion - passionfruit curd and pâte sucrée

The tart base was sweet, delicate and crumbly. The filling was smooth and creamy and was topped with a fruity tangy passionfruit flavoured jelly.

And finally, the infamous macarons!

macarons

(left to right) strawberries & cream, caramelised palm sugar,
pandan, toasted white chocolate, kaffir lime & ginger, chocolate

I got a nice take home pack with a selection of six flavours. They also had satay, chestnut & mint and a couple of others. At $2.30 each, Adriano Zumbo's macarons are cheaper and far superior to the delice at Lindt Cafe ($3 each) and those sold at various other bakeries I have been to.

Overall Impression: 10/10

Pelagic Bar & Dining: $49 Seafood Meal for 2 Plus Wine Deal

2011-07-09T18:43:00.000+10:00

Location: Shop 2, 131 London Circuit, Canberra
Phone: (02) 6162 0752
Link: www.pelagicdining.com.au
Cuisine: Seafood, Modern Australian

I had never heard of Pelagic until the restaurant cropped up one day as a LivingSocial deal. For $49, the restaurant offered two entrees, two mains and a bottle of wine up to the value of $45. Being a bit of a seafood fanatic, and having been fairly disappointed with the lack of decent seafood in Canberra to date, the deal was too good to pass up so I bought it.

J and I finally went to try out the restaurant the other night and it was well worth it. The entrees on the menu were priced at around $20 each, the mains were around $32 each. We ordered a bottle of Wily Trout sparkling to start.

Wily Trout sparkling

I'm no expert when it comes to alcohol, but J certainly is. And thought the sparkling wasn't bad. Especially for the price we were paying.

Balmain bug pasta

Pelagic haven't updated their online menu for a while so this entry is going to be somewhat lacking in descriptions. J was sufficiently pleased with her entree of Balmain bug pasta. There seemed to be a generous enough serve of bug, which was cooked just right, and plenty of pasta.

seared scallops with crispy pig ears and shaved fennel

This may look small, but it was absolutely deliciously. The scallops were cooked perfectly, with nice slightly charred edges and soft tender centres. The pig ears were so crispy that they tasted more like crackling than like ears, and the shaved fennel added some freshness to the dish. I certainly wouldn't have minded more, but for the price paid, it was totally worth it.

Yellowfin tuna with roasted tomatoes

From what I tried, the tuna was very well-cooked - and nothing like canned tuna! I have a tendency not to order tuna when eating out for fear it will end up tasting like the canned stuff, but J went for this one, and I think I may have been convinced that a tuna steak is actually quite decent.

haramashi kingfish with mushroom ragout and garlic crisps

Again, if the online menu isn't going to be updated regularly, then don't have one. I had decided on the seared kingfish as advertised on the website's menu, but turned up to find they didn't have the dish. The mushroom ragout caught my eye so I gave this kingfish dish a go. The fish was soft and again cooked perfectly, with a nice crispy skin that bordered a bit on being oversalted. The mushroom ragout was hearty and imparted a beautiful flavour to the fish.

classic creme brulee

Despite the deal only covering two courses, I could not pass up dessert when I saw creme brulee on the menu. And it was a good decision. The toffee was perfect, making a nice crunch as I broke through the top layer to get to the creamy filling, and had just the right amount of burntness to give it a bittersweet flavour.

The deal was certainly well worth what we paid for it. I'm not entirely sure I would pay full price for the dishes, but I've been told that Pelagic does a decent $15 lunch deal during the week. Might give that a shot one day.

Overall Impression: 9/10

ARIA Restaurant, Sydney

2011-07-09T17:53:00.001+10:00

Location: 1 Macquarie Street, East Circular Quay, Sydney NSW 2000
Phone: (02) 9252 2555
Link: www.ariarestaurant.com/
Cuisine: Modern Australian

H and I went to Sydney on a feasting expedition and were lucky enough to secure a pre-theatre booking at Matt Moran's ARIA with just a few weeks' notice.

Just as expected, the staff at ARIA were polite and friendly the minute we set foot in the restaurant. We were escorted to our table, and seated next to a window with a breathtaking view of Circular Quay..

the amazing view from our seat

Whilst we were perusing the menus, our waitress for the night brought over a complimentary appetiser of mushroom soup with walnut foam.

mushroom soup with walnut foam

The soup was smooth, creamy and flavoursome and the walnut foam provided a rich nutty flavour. A perfect start to the meal.

After looking through the wine list (which was a bit pricey for someone like me who has yet to form an appreciation of good wine), we ordered some cocktails from a fairly extensive cocktail menu.

lychee ice tea and Poculant Pimm's

Both drinks were nice and fruity and went well with the view.

Next up, the entrees.

Peking duck consommé with duck dumplings, shaved abalone and mushroom

H's Peking duck consumme was pure brilliance. The broth was bursting with the rich flavours of shitake and abalone and a hint of duck. The duck filling for the dumpling was also quite flavoursome and had a nice soft texture.

Kurobuta sweet pork belly with pickled watermelon and crackling

Who could skip over a pork belly dish at one of the country's top restaurants? Not me. And it proved to be a good idea. The pork belly was cooked perfectly - the meat was tender and fell apart quite easily when cut. The crackling was light and very crunchy. The watermelon, although not quite so pickled as expected, was cool and refreshing and cut through the fattiness of the pork.

braised beef cheek with red onion choucroute, roasted chestnuts and puffed wild rice

I had half expected the main dishes to be quite small. However, I was proved wrong when the dish was set down in front of me. A very generous serve of tender flavoursome beef that just fell apart when cut rested on a bed of sweet roasted chestnuts and red onion and was topped with crunchy bits of puffed wild rice. Perfect winter warming food. I found the beef a little too meaty, but I suppose that was to be expected with the cut of beef.

slow cooked lamb neck fillet with potato purée, tomato and basil fondue and a black olive sauce

H's lamb was just as flavoursome, but less meaty than the beef. The potato puree was smooth and creamy and went well with the basil and olive flavours.

Being too full after two courses, we decided to skip on dessert and asked for the bill. To our surprise, a waiter then brought over a palate cleanser to end the meal.

(from left to right) strawberry cheesecake, Bailey's chocolate truffle, pistachio macaron

So it turns out we didn't miss on dessert after all. These tiny morsels of cheesecake, truffle and macaron were a beautiful way to end the meal.

ARIA certainly lived up to its name and I would highly recommend it to anyone who appreciates good food.

Overall Impression: 9.5/10

Coo Izakaya

2011-04-25T02:00:00.002+10:00

Location: 15 East Row, Sydney Building, Canberra
Phone: (02) 6257 2233
Link: www.iori.com.au/coo/index.htm
Cuisine: Japanese

I've had Iori, and its sister restaurant Coo, recommended to me a few times, so when my parents came up to visit me, I decided to try out Coo.

Coo had a nice set up and sported an almost-tapas like menu with an extensive range of smaller dishes and a few larger ones. We decided to go tapas-style and ordered an assortment of the smaller dishes.

renkon chips - deep fried lotus root

First to arrive was the renkon chips, essentially deep fried thinly sliced lotus root. The crunchy slivers of lotus root had an interesting texture. and were lightly seasoned.

spider roll - inside-out sushi roll filled with tempura soft shell crab,
lettuce, avocado, cucumber and seafood stick, wrapped with
special Aburi salmon

This was one of the most interesting items on the menu, and there were no regrets in trying it out. The spider roll was a beautiful combination of flavours and textures.

Shio Saba - grilled mackerel

This dish was a bit of a disappointment for me, both in size and in quality. The serving size was rather small and the sauce was rather lacking. The mackerel was a tad overcooked and had a dry and brittle texture.

Coo ramen

The ramen was a bit of a gimmick - served in a stone pot over a flame. The broth was light and flavoursome, the noodles 'al dente' and the vegies plentiful. However, the ramen was nothing like the ramen I've had at Ramen Ya and Meshiya, it was missing the menya (picked bamboo) and would have tasted a significantly better if it had some meat in it.

Teri chicken

The highlight of the night was the teri chicken. The tender juicy pieces of chicken were smothered in a beautiful teriyaki sauce and the salad was light and refreshing.

We finished off the meal with a scoop of green tea ice-cream. The ice-cream was unlike normal ice-cream and had a slightly chewy texture, as though tapioca powder had been added to the mix. The result was a scoop of ice-cream that did not melt and collapse into a puddle as easily as normal ice-cream would, in fact, it managed to hold its shape until the very last bite.

The service was varied, The main waitress who took our orders and looked after our table was rather rude and dismissive, something I would not have expected at a restaurant of Coo's standing. The other waiter who brought us some of our dishes, on the other hand, was quite friendly and eager to help.

Food-wise, the experience was great, but I won't be rushing back for the service. Might give it's sister restaurant, Iori, a shot first.

Overall Impression: 7.5/10

Sabayon

2011-04-16T00:08:00.002+10:00

Location: Shop 4, Melbourne Building, West Row, Canberra City

Phone: (02) 6247 8212

Link: www.sabayon.com.au/sabayon/index.html

Cuisine: Modern Australian

Sabayon was the first classy fine-dining experience I've had in Canberra. And I must say from the outset, I was quite impressed with the place.

Service started off a little slow, we were taken to a table by a friendly and polite waiter, but had to wait a few minutes before menus and water were offered. On opening the menu, I was a little disappointed that the menu differed from that which I had seen on the website (the pork belly dish I had intended to order was missing).

That aside, the menu had a nice selection of dishes ranging from red meats to seafood and also vegetarian options.

Ironically, my first highlight of the meal was the complimentary bread. Having been served far too many bad bread rolls (either rock hard, dry, cold or a combination of the three), the bread at Sabayon was delightful. Served warm, you could tell that the bread was freshly baked - light and airy, and when smothered with some butter, just melted in your mouth. Hands down the best complimentary bread roll I've had. Unfortunately, it just looked like an ordinary bread roll, so no photos were taken.

Now onto our entrées.

seared Queensland scallops with a confit duck terrine, Fennel puree and an apple salad

First up were some beautifully seared scallops served on top of a duck terrine. The scallops were fresh, juicy and lightly seasoned to bring out the sweetness in the scallops themselves. The duck terrine was nicely flavoured and you could still get actual pieces of duck. The matchstick sized apple pieces provided a nice refreshing balance to the dish.

quail Wellington with a mushroom Duxelle, beetroot and
goats cheese finished with a balsamic walnut oil dressing

Probably my least favourite dish of the night - which was perhaps an ordering mistake rather than a mistake of the chef - I found that the dish was very much pastry dominated. So much that the quail, which in and of itself, was beautifully cooked and well flavoured, was drowned out. The pastry also seemed to have more oil or butter that it needed. The beetroot, goats cheese and dressing gave the dish with some extra 'kick' but were very much required to balance out the excess pastry flavour.

Our mains took a little while to arrive. But the wait turned out to be a good thing - the serving sizes weren't as small as we had anticipated.

grass fed beef fillet (cooked medium), mustard spatzle, chick pea
chips, zucchini, tarragon bearnaise and port jus

A fairly sizable portion of tender beef was cooked exactly the way we asked for it to be cooked. The beef was so well cooked that we didn't even need a steak knife. The chick pea chips were very creative, with smooth chick pea puree centre and a crispy outer shell.

ballotine of ocean trout and dory fillets wit herb gnocchi and
chorizo, Jerusalem artichoke puree and basil jus

With so many components on the plate, we were a little concerned as to how the flavours would pair up, but it kind of worked. The ocean trout was cooked to perfection. It held its shape when being cut, but just melted in your mouth with an almost creamy like texture. The gnocchi and chorizo went well together and gave the dish a subtle chilli 'kick'.

roasted Moroccan spiced lamb rack, spec and cauliflower puree,
potato fondant, confit cherry tomato, marinated artichoke,
lentils and garlic jus

Again, the meat was cooked perfectly. The lamb was just cooked, a little pink on the inside and very juicy and tender. The potato fondant was like a little disc of mashed potato with crispy edges. The two richer flavours were balanced off with the slightly sour artichoke, spec and cauliflower puree and the burst of freshness from the cherry tomato. The lentils added a interesting dimension to the dish with the somewhat nutty texture.

nectarine sorbet

We were surprised to be presented with a complimentary scoop of nectarine sorbet each, as a palate cleanser. Whilst the sorbet was a little too sweet for a palate cleanser, it was however very refreshing and quite tasty. It could potentially work well served as an accompaniment to a dark chocolate dessert.

warm chocolate fondant with fresh raspberries and
a pistachio malt ice-cream

Chocolate fondant. Probably one of my favourite desserts of all time - when done well. Tonight's was delicious, but a little on the overcooked side. The edges were nice and crisp, but the inside was not as oozy as I had expected it to be. It was probably closer to being a cake than a fondant. The ice-cream, on the other hand, was absolutely spectacular. On reading the menu, I had imagined pistachio flavoured ice-cream. This was not to be - the ice-cream was served with actual pieces of pistachio in it! The pistachios added a wonderful crunch and nuttiness to the ice-cream.

Service was a little slow, which I guess is understandable for a Friday evening, and given the serving sizes are not as small as one would expect at a higher end restaurant, the breaks were rather needed. The staff were pleasant and friendly without being overbearing.

The atmosphere was chilled and relaxed, seating comfortable and lighting dimmed. A nice place to enjoy a quiet dinner for a special occasion, but definitely not a place where you would let your kids run wild in.

Sabayon is reasonable in terms of value for money if you appreciate quality as well. The entrées.were $18 each, the mains $32 each and desserts $15 each.

Overall Impression: 8.5/10

Happy's Chinese Restaurant

2011-03-21T23:58:00.002+11:00

Location: 17 Garema Place, Canberra City ACT 2601
Phone: (02) 6249 7015
Link: www.happys.com.au
Cuisine: Chinese

As many would know, Canberra has a distinct lack of what a Melbournian or Sydneysider, would consider to be a 'proper' Chinese restaurant. There are a couple scattered throughout different town centres, but within Civic, I have only found one that comes close. Happy's makes people happy.

Puns aside, I've found that Happy's has struck the right balance between authentic Cantonese cuisine and Westernised Chinese food (for those not so keen on the authentic flavours). The menu ranges from your Westernised basics - honey chicken, sweet and sour pork and beef in black bean sauce - through to the more authentic dishes such as eggplant hot pot and Szechuan chicken.

One of the reasons my non-Asian friends like Happy's is the existence of the banquet deals. With banquets ranging from $18 to $28 per head, you can get a whole array of dishes, including soup, entrée and dessert, for a reasonably low price.

On one such occasion, we ordered the $20 menu, which gave us soup, three entrées, five dishes, fried rice and dessert.

chicken sweet corn soup

First up was the soup. It was your typical chicken sweet corn soup - it had the right consistency and the balance of flavours was right on the mark. Nothing fancy, just simple chicken sweet corn soup.

dim sims, spring rolls, prawn toast and prawn crackers

Again, this was nothing special. General deep fried goodness. All were deep fried until crispy although the dim sim was a bit on the dry side. Again, nothing special and I found that they all needed the plum sauce to balance out the dryness.

honey prawns

One thing I've noticed about Happy's is that once the food starts coming out, it rolls out continuously. Before we had even finished our entrées, the mains were brought out. First up was the honey prawns - juicy prawns coated battered then coated with a sweet sticky honey sauce to balance out the oiliness of the batter.

chicken fillets in a birdnest

I generally love bird's nest dishes, but this one disappointed. Mostly because they replaced what is traditionally a potato base with deep fried noodles that was dry, bland and tough rather than crunchy. That aside, the chicken fillets were tender and juicy, and the vegetables and the sauce were cooked to the texture.

chilli beef

The chilli beef was one of the more impressive dishes of the night. The beef had a nice 'wok hei' aroma and the chilli gave the dish a nice 'kick'. Unfortunately the beef was overcooked, leaving it a little dry and chewy.

sizzling Mongolian lamb

Dishes that come to the table sizzling always create a little food excitement for me, so when the Mongolian lamb hit the table, my meal was pretty much complete. The lamb was tender and well-marinated and the onions had been caramelised, adding some sweetness and texture to the dish.

pork ribs in plum sauce

Having two deep fried dishes on the one banquet menu was probably not the best choice in menu design as by this stage, there had already been a series of fairly oily dishes. That aside, the ribs were cooked reasonable well - not quite falling off the bone, but they certainly not overcooked and still retained some lovely meat juices. The sauce provided a nice acidity to the dish, and was strongly flavoured but not too overpowering.

special fried rice

I can never understand why all restaurants like to call their fried rice dishes 'special'. It's fried rice. And certainly nothing that sets it apart from any other fried rice. The fried rice was a very average dish and there was probably a little too many ingredients in it for it to be an accompaniment to the fairly strongly flavoured dishes. Steamed rice probably would have worked better.

Service-wise, Happy's is your typical Cantonese restaurant. The waiters and waitresses take your order, bring your dishes out and take the dishes away once you've finished. There is minimal communication and the waiters and waitresses were reasonable polite.

$20 is not bad considering most meals out there these days cost around that, we definitely had enough leftovers for lunch the next day. However, if you're after a more authentic Cantonese dining experience, I'd suggest that you skip the banquet and just order n-1 dishes (one less dish than you have people) plus rice. the servings are generous and you'll probably save yourself some money.

Overall Impression: 7.5/10

The London

2011-03-21T22:40:00.003+11:00

Location: 121 London Circuit, Canberra ACT 2601
Phone: (02) 6257 1986\
Link: www.thelondonburgersbeers.com.au
Cuisine: Burgers and beers

Located in the Sydney Building in Civic, the London is a relatively new eatery and one to add to my list of Canberran eateries that have decent food at reasonable prices.

The London specialises in burgers and beers. And by that I mean, the menu is about 90% burgers and beers. Just as well we were after burgers then!

The menu sports four burgers under each meat category (beef, lamb, chicken or scotch fillet) as well as vegetarian burgers, salads and oddly enough, a crumbed fish dish. We ordered a scotch fillet steak burger with bocconcini, and a Mexican chilli beef burger. Both came with beer battered chips and sweet chilli with sour cream dipping sauce.

Scotch fillet steak burger with bocconcini, tomato and basil salsa, garlic aioli, lettuce and onion

The burger was one of the best I've tasted. The flavours were well-balanced between the smokiness of the scotch fillet, the creaminess of the bocconcini, the acidity of the salsa and the freshness of the salad ingredients. The scotch fillet was cooked just right - well cooked enough for my liking, but still retaining the meat juices and being tender enough to bite through in a burger. There was a very small part that was a little on the stringy side, but for the price paid ($14), it was a negligible problem.

The chips significantly exceeded my expectations. Far too many places fail to reach the compromise between having a chunky chip that remains crispy. These ones achieved just that - chunky chips that had a solid amount of fluffy potato encased within a crispy batter coating that actually made a 'crunch' sound when bitten into. Perfection? I'd have to say it was pretty much there.

Mexican chilli beef burger with melted Swiss cheese, spicy tomato salsa, sour cream, lettuce, tomato and onion

Reports indicate that the Mexican beef burger was similarly pleasing.

Now, I would probably get in trouble if I did not spruik the drink deals. The menu lists eight beers available on tap, and you can get a jug for $10, and $8 on Sundays. And yes, the deal also applies to cider.

$8 jug of cider

Prices were good, the burgers range from $12 to $14 and drinks are reasonably cheap. Service time was average but it was well worth the wait.

My dining companions were also very impressed with the decor, and the large televisions showing the rugby.

I think we've found a new 'local'.

Overall Impression: 9/10

Petaling Street Malaysian Hawker Food

2010-12-28T00:47:00.002+11:00

Location: 600 Station Street, Box Hill, VIC
Phone: (03) 9890 0972
Cuisine: Malaysian, Hawker

One of the things I miss most about Melbourne is the hawker style food you get in Box Hill. So when we found out that the place we were heading to was shut, we popped into this place.

The setup of the restaurant was done quite nicely. They managed to renovate the open kitchen to show off the chefs at work (it used to be La Porchetta) and the tables have a cute little drawer were they place serviettes in.

Chicken nasi lemak

My theory generally is that if you walk into a restaurant which specialises in a particular cuisine, it would be silly to not order something of that cuisine. Hence the nasi lemak - coconut rice with chicken sambal and ikan bilis (dried fish). Can't say much for the ikan bilis as I'm not a huge fan, but it was crispy and tasted like it should. The coconut rice was amazing and went superbly with the chicken sambal which was bursting with flavour and just spicy enough for my liking.

Ipoh horfun

The Ipoh horfun was also quite good, although I was a little disappointed in the lack of 'things' in the noodle soup. The steamed chicken was tender and full of flavour, although it seemed very much like Hainanese chicken - even the dipping sauce was the same. Was not very impressed when I found a piece of chicken skin which had not been cleaned properly.

Pork ribs claypot rice

When they warned us that this dish would take longer, I certainly did not expect it to arrive after we had nearly demolished the other two dishes. And it wasn't all that worth the wait. The ribs were well flavoured, but were quite dry and a little on the overcooked side. The rice was the biggest let down though. Claypot rice usually means you get nice bits of crispy rice from the base. In this case, we got slabs of overly sticky and semi-crispy bits of rice. I couldn't work out whether it was caused by the pot it was served in or the method they had cooked it in, but I won't be going back for more claypot rice - we'll leave that for Claypot King!

Ice kachang

Following on the theme of Malaysian foods, we finished off the meal with a bowl of ice kachang, a generous serve of shaved ice with coconut milk, red bean, grass jelly and various other Malaysian treats. Amazing flavours and the only fault I could find was the fact that they buried all the 'goodies' underneath a tower of ice that kept falling onto the table when we dug into it.

Service was reasonably fast given how busy they were, and the food was rather impressive (and each dish was less than $10!). Will be going back to try some more of their Malaysian fare next time I'm back in Melbourne!

Overall Impression: 8.5/10

Wang's Lucky Bar (旺旺辛运吧)

2010-12-28T00:22:00.004+11:00

Location: 921 Whitehorse Road, Box Hill
Phone: (03) 9899 8558
Cuisine: Chinese

My parents had been talking about this lobster banquet deal for quite some time, so when I finally got back to Melbourne, we decided we would give it a shot.

The deal: $98 for a four person lobster banquet which involved lobster, three dishes and rice.

Shallot and ginger lobster with egg noodles

First up, the lobster was quite fresh and cooked just right. However, the sauce was a bit of a let down. It wasn't nearly as aromatic as I had expected - there was an obvious lack of the strong ginger and shallot flavours that are the champions of the dish. Noodles were just as they should have been.

As for the rest of the dishes, I was too fixated on my lobster to take photos. Not that it matters too much as they were a bit of a let down. I think it started with the poor choice in combination of dishes (the banquet did not offer us any choices, so the dishes were fixed).

The Hainanese chicken, which was supposed to be a key dish of the restaurant, was good but nothing fancy. The chicken was a little on the oversalted side but other than that, was moist and well cooked. The sauces (shallots, and sweet chilli) were quite good accompaniments.

The salt and pepper pork ribs were a completely different story. The batter, whilst light and crispy, was heavily ladened with oil. A sign that the temperature of the oil had not been hot enough to force out all the oil. There was also a distinct lack of flavour. Together this resulted in crispy oily bits batter hanging off some pretty tender but flavourless meat.

Stir fried Chinese broccoli rounded off the meal, Pretty standard but definitely needed after all the oil in the pork dish.

So value-for-money-wise, it was definitely worth it. You don't get cheap lobster all that often, and this was a pretty good deal (we even had leftovers from the dishes). However, if you're looking for quality in what you get, this would not be my first choice.

Overall Impression: 6/10

Woolshed

2010-12-16T09:46:00.007+11:00

Location: t18/161 Harbour Esplanade, Docklands
Phone: (03) 8623 9640
Link: www.woolshedpub.com.au
Cuisine: Modern Australian
Overall Impression: 6/10

Had the opportunity to try their Christmas dinner menu. This gastropub dishes up delicious food. Everything was plated up beautifully and tasted just as good as it looked! Great for a group function.

Groove Train

2010-12-13T13:45:00.012+11:00

Location: Melbourne Central Level 3
Phone: 1300 GROOVE
Link: http://www.groovetrain.com.au/
Cuisine: Pub style
Overall Impression: 5/10

My experiences have varied largely depending on the different Groove Train stores. The thing with Groove Train is its actually pretty pricey for what it is. Take this chicken parma for instance, a regular chicken parma at a pub would be about $15. At Groove Train its $20.90. And the parma was very average.
Chicken Parmigiana $20.90
topped with melted mozzarella cheese, Napoli sauce & parmesan cheese, served with salad & chips

Grilled Barramundi $22.00
served with potatoes, celery and a balsamic reduction

I have however, had pretty good experiences when it comes to their 'specials'. The above Barramundi dish was one such example. Perfectly cooked, and beautifully seasoned, it was worth getting there and rushing back to the office within my one hour lunch break.
Maybe the lesson with Groove Train is to ignore their usual pub grub and stick to what you don't know…

The Metropolitan Hotel

2010-12-13T13:45:00.011+11:00

Location: 263 William Street (cnr Lt Lonsdale), Melbourne
Phone: 03 9670 1385
Link: http://www.themetropolitanhotel.com.au/
Cuisine: Pub Fare
Overall Impression: 6/10
Char-grilled 300gm Porterhouse, Mash Potato, Broccoli and Pepper Sauce Our “Famous” Parma: Lightly Crumbed Chicken Breast, topped with Virginian Ham, Tomato Napoli and Melted Cheese served with Chips and Salad Char-grilled 300gm Porterhouse, Mash Potato, Wilted spinach and shiraz jus

Consistently good food. Great wood-fired pizzas and pub food. Nice and casual ambience. Friendly and prompt waitstaff. Perfect for a quick lunch or a casual dinner. Highly recommended!

RA, Collins Quarter

2010-12-12T11:13:00.006+11:00

Location: Collins Quarter, 86a Collins St,Melbourne
Phone: (03) 96508500
Link: http://www.collinsquarter.com/
Cuisine: Modern Australian
Overall Impression: 6/10

RA is well known among the younger corporate crowd. Jam packed on a Friday night, this upmarket city pub is tucked away in an alley (in a very Melbourne sort of way). Less known is the fact that they offer delicious food for those seeking to reward their taste buds.
I had the opportunity to sample their Christmas menu…

Turkey Gallotine
Stuffed with Lemon and Oregano served with Tequila cherries and caramalised pistachio

Pims!

Roast Pork Belly with Bread Stuffing, Grain mustard coleslaw and Roast yellow peaches

Christmas Pudding with Brandy Anglaise

Service was prompt and friendly. The food was wonderfully Christmas-y =) The pork had good crackling, the turkey was tender, the pudding was moist! It was simple and to the point.

Innocent Bystander

2010-12-12T11:01:00.007+11:00

Location: 336 Maroondah Highway,Healesville
Phone: (03) 5962 6111 or 03 5962 2533 (after office hours)
Link: http://www.giant-steps.com.au/menus.php
Cuisine: Bistro style
Overall Impression: 5/10

Innocent Bystander is a trendy little café in Heallesville. Its worth dropping by for a free tour of their winery (tour information is on their website). It’s a very relaxed environment with cheerful waitstaff and a good bakery on site.

Pizza: spicy pork sausage, buffalo mozzarella, san marzano tomato & chilli

pizza: roast mushroom, ricotta salata, white truffle oil, garlic & parsley

buxton farm smoked trout salad with witlof, red radish & pickled cucumber

pizza: prosciutto, san marzano tomato, parmesan & parsley

Tarte Tatin & hot chocolate (kennedy+wilson 70% dark with valrhona)

The Salmon salad was at best plain but the pizzas on the other hand were good. The sweets (from what I hear) were yummy. Overall a good casual lunch. Highly recommended if you are going with a small group (around 8 people) as they allow small group bookings.

* I usually don't include pictures of people, but that guy works as a model anyway so I'm sure he won't mind his face being shown :P

Locale, De Bortoli

2010-12-12T10:40:00.006+11:00

Location: De Bortoli Winery, Pinnacle Lane, Dixons Creek, VIC 3775
Phone: (03) 5965 2271
Link: http://www.debortoli.com.au/
Cuisine: Italian
Overall Impression: 7/10 (D), 11/10 (J)

J's parents were kind enough to invite me to come along to dinner with them in the Yarra Valley on Saturday night. We had dinner at De Bortoli, J's favourite Italian restaurant.

Highlights, food-wise, was my mouth-watering steak: 'costata' – dry aged & sea salt crusted rib eye of local beef with traditional balsamic & rocket (500gm)

For my entrée I had a delicious tasting but unfortunately undercooked pumpkin risotto. J was very surprised because he has been to Locale a countless number of times and their risotto has always been perfect. I've always been very unlucky with risottos though =( Hopefully my luck will change when we visit Tutto Benne soon.

We had a gelato platter for our dessert. A must have is their caramel gelato. Deliciously salty and sweet, it was such a great way to finish off the meal.

I apologise for the lack of visual stimulants in this blog post. I decided not to take any photos that night because I didn't want J's parents to find out I'm an absolute nutcase. But I've been to De Bortoli for wine/cheese tastings several times and this is what the place looks like by day…

Simply Spanish

2010-11-27T11:07:00.006+11:00

Location: 116 Cecil St, South Melbourne
Phone:(03) 9682 6100
Cuisine: Spanish
Overall Impression: 3.5/10

J and I decided to check out South Melbourne market. And saw a cute little Spanish restaurant around the corner.

We both quickly decided we wanted paella. We tried to get the waitstaff's attention but we were ignored for about 20 minutes. As we had already been seated we thought we might as well give this place a shot. The service may be bad but the food could perhaps make up for the lack of any service.

We finally put our orders through. And then we waited.
And waited.
And waited.
And waited.
Half an hour later.
And the food didn't arrive. So, we asked tried to get any of the waitstaff's attention again and asked about what had happened with our order. We had both ordered the Paella Valenciana (big pot paella)... Which meant it would just come out of the massive pot of paella that was cooking at the front of the restaurant.
And it turned out they had forgotten our orders. The waitress came back in a couple of minutes with our Paellas. Finally.

The paella smelled delicious but as I tasted it. There was something missing. A good paella yields a 'socarrat', a delicious caramelisation of the bottom layer of rice. This was notably absent from the dish. The flavours were good but ordinary.

Jai Ho

2010-10-16T12:53:00.003+11:00

Location: 205, Swan Street, Richmond
Phone: 03 90787798
Link: http://www.jaiho-indian-restaurant.com/index.html
Cuisine: Indian
Overall Impression: 5/10
Highly recommend their Fish Curry (Fish fillets cooked in rich coconut and onion gravywith mustard seeds and fresh curry leaves)/ This sets you back a fair $ 17.00.
Simply delicious!

Friendly and prompt service. Very nice ambience. Good food. The portion sizes are very small even for mains so be prepared to order a few dishes. I'd advise you go with a few people so you can order a lot more - to share. And corkage is a mere $2 a head!

Kellybrook Winery and Restaurant

2010-10-15T13:39:00.011+11:00

Location: Fulford Road Wonga Park 3115 Victoria Australia
Phone: 9722 1304
Link: http://www.kellybrookwinery.com.au/
Cuisine: French
Overall Impression: 4.5/10

I guess I was just dissapointed.
It looked so good on the website. I was salivating just looked through the menu.. checking out what was on offer!

In the restaurant's defence, I am a pretty excitable person. (Is excitable a real word? Wait I just checked, http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=excitable yes it is!) Anybody who knows me, knows how much I enjoy just waiting in anticipation. I enjoy booking weeks in advance and planning what to order like a week before I step into a restaurant. Now that I think about it, I probably have some mental disorder. But I digress…

The point is I was very excited and I already had high expectations for this place. And the prices didn't really help. So, all things considered, including value for money, I think 4.5/10 is a fair score.

Oh and one thing that this place is famous for is Apple Cider! Both J and I really enjoyed the drinks we ordered. I got the Kelly Brothers Sparkling Cider and J got the non-alcoholic cider

Chicken and pistachio terrine served with homemade fig chutney

Caramelised sweet potato and coconut cream soup

Salmon paté – prepared with smoked and fresh salmon, served with dukkah-spiced toasts

Fillet of Blue eye, baked, and served with a minted green pea puree and parsnip crisps

Porterhouse steak, chargrilled, and served with Kellybrook Shiraz jus

Honey and almond tart, served with honey and spice icecream and clotted cream

Apple brandy cheesecake served with brandied apple compote and clotted cream

Nothing was really wrong with the food. It was just very very ordinary. There's nothing wrong with 'ordinary' food per se ,but I didn't think the prices were justified. I was particularly dissapointed with my Salmon paté. It was just way too salty. Which would have been fine if it had been served with a whole lot more bread. The soup and the terrine, on the other hand were both too sweet.

The evening ended on a high though. With a delicious honey and almond tart. What was truly special was the home-made honey and spice ice cream. =)
The place has a really nice ambience. Its not a very long drive from Melbourne but when you get there, it feels like you're miles and miles away. J and I walked through their garden before heading inside for dinner. And it was lovely.

Mandala

2010-10-15T13:20:00.006+11:00

Location: 133 Commercial Road, South Yarra
Phone: +61 3 98279297
Link: http://www.mandalarestaurant.com.au/
Cuisine: Ethnic Fusion
Overall Impression: 5/10

Decided to have dinner with J at this restaurant. Ambience wise, this is quite a nice restaurant. Cute fittings and fixtures. Its a bit noisy for my liking but overall, it was a good night out.
The menu comprises of a range of Asian food and some western food as well. Don't expect a 'fine dining' experience and you will be ok =)
Entrée:Okra FrittersChicpea batter okra cubes with apple tamarind chutney

This dish was quite bland. Lacked basic seasoning - salt and pepper.

Main: Soft Shell CrabWith pickled plum, toasted peanuts, cherry tomato

This was a highlight for me. The softshell crab was crisp on the outside and deliciously moist on the inside. Yum!

Main: Slow Cooked Lamb ShankWith spiced bokchoy, wombok and market vegetables

This is an example of an attempted fusion dish. It tasted alright but it wasn't anything special.

Dessert: Pistachio Kulfi With wild berries and mango puree

A bit too creamy for my liking. The 'pistachio' bit of the kulfi was overpowered by the large amount of cream in that Kulfi. I guess its a matter of taste since J liked it.

Esposito Seafood Dining

2010-10-01T21:55:00.014+10:00

Restaurant: Esposito Seafood Dining

Location: 162 Elgin Street, Carlton Victoria 3053

Link: http://www.espositofood.com

After a wonderful meal at Esposito I felt the need to share it with everyone my experience. Considering that it was a last minute decision to go to Esposito since we had split the bill tokens collected from the Herald Sun, we were lucky enough to book a table for three the night before. Each of us had a three course meal for half price.

The meal started off with a complimentary seaweed salad.

The entrees that we had were specials for the night, they included a mud crab meat dish and kilpatrick oyster wrapped in slow cooked pork belly.

My friends had the mud crab dish and I had the oyster wrapped in pork belly, the oyster was very fresh and not over cooked. The sauce went well, but I wasn't too sure about the pork belly. Nonetheless, it was very nice.

Next on the menu I had a Fillet of Snapper, steamed mussels, celeriac remoulade, saffron glaze. The fish was cooked perfectly, the vegies and dressing made the dish really fresh and vibrant. I loved the touch of saltiness in the mussels and beautiful dressing.

The other mains included another special of the night the Atlantic Salmon with vegies and the Rock Flathead Fillets, king prawn omelette, broad bean & preserved lemon salad, pancetta dressing. We all had fish and from what was discussed I think we all enjoyed our dishes.

Atlantic Salmon

Rock Flathead Fillets

Time for dessert!!

After some deliberation about whether or not Helen should order the Date tart which may take at least 20 mins to cook, Helen opted for the Hot Date Tart with spiced frangipane and vanilla bean ice cream, Jie had the Warm Chocolate Fondant, liquorice scented with black berry ripple ice-cream and I had the Elderflower Panna Cotta with a toffee pear and butterscotch sauce.

Warm Chocolate Fondant - the ice cream was fantastic!!

Hot Date Tart - that we waited for around 40 mins

Panna Cotta - really nice panna cotta and butterscotch sauce!

All up the total bill for our meal came to $120 with the 50% off. I thoroughly enjoyed the meal, it was good food with good company. Will definitely be back next time (with split the bill tokens).

Pettavel Winery & Restaurant

2010-08-13T21:21:00.010+10:00

Location: 65 Pettavel Road (corner of Princes Highway), Waurn Ponds 3216
Phone: 03 52661120
Link: http://www.pettavel.com/p_rest/rest.html
Cuisine: Modern Australian
Overall Impression: 9/10

Pettavel recently lost a chef's hat in the 2011 Good Food Guide but please don't let this deter you from visiting this lovely restaurant. It is a gem! This Geelong winery is more than worth the 74.6kms drive from Melbourne. But be warned, the staff don't seem very big on their wines. (Maybe because the awesome restaurant overshadows the winery?) In fact, there wasn't even a push to order more wine etc. We had a beautiful glass of their sauvignon blanc each. It had beautiful passionfruit notes. Again, like I have repeated on many of my blog posts, - I don't know anything about wine… I can only tell whether I liked it or not so you probably shouldn't take my word for it… but if you want my uninformed opinion, I really liked it. =)

We opted for the full degustation. Each course was beautifully balanced and elegant. The only thing that I could possibly fault them on was that there was too much fat on the Lamb Rump dish, which should really have been trimmed off. And even that is a tiny tiny flaw. The service was excellent. The waitstaff were so welcoming and explained each dish in an informed manner, without being intrusive. Ohhh and I actually took my boyfriend there for his birthday and they PERSONALIZED the menu! The menu was dated and wished him happy birthday on the top! What a lovely touch. We got to take home a copy too =) That's great service for you! I will definitely be back.

First Course: Calamari Laksa

Second Course: Parsnip with Pear, Blue Cheese and Horseradish

Third Course: Prawns with Celery and Quinoa

Fourth Course: Local Bay Snapper with Scallop, Ham Hock and Celeriac

Fifth Course: Lamb Rump with Eggplant and Capsicum

Sixth Course: Pheasant with Quince, Artichoke and Bone Marrow

Seventh Course: Ox Cheek with Tomatoes and Serrano Ham

Eighth Course: Deconstructed Chocolate Ricotta cheesecake with Rhubarb Sorbet

Ninth Course: Pandanus Jelly with Peanut and Toasted Coconut Sorbet

Jacques Reymond

2010-08-13T21:02:00.011+10:00

renchLocation: 78 Williams Road, Prahran VIC 3181
Phone: (03) 9525 2178
Link: http://www.jacquesreymond.com.au/
Cuisine: French
Overall Impression: 10/10

Perfect. Just perfect. I was spoiled to death by my wonderful boyfriend who took me here for the 8 course degustation with matching wines. This option will set you back $265 a head. Such an amazing experience. Service, execution, and presentation of the dishes - faultless. Every dish was perfectly balanced and delicious. And the wines perfectly matched the food (not that I know very much about wine.. but everything just flowed so perfectly). Even the order that the dishes came in was perfect. By the end of the degustation I felt like I had been taken on an exciting journey.

The following is a list of the courses we were priviledged to devour and the matching wines we had, with pictures for your viewing pleasure.

Choux pastry on arrival

Lemongrass, spinach and rock lobster soup, fragrant Tiger prawn, sweet potato and turmeric ice cream
Matched with: 2004 Tyrrell’s HVD Semillon, Single Vineyard, Hunter Valley, NSW

Sandwich of spanner crab, mirin and fresh wasabi jelly, lacquered Petuna ocean trout, black bean and sweetcorn dressing

Wild barramundi, almond and bush mountain pepper caramel, yoghurt and black garlic, kaffir lime and lemongrass espuma

Matched with: 2009 Toolangi Estate ‘Jacques Reymond Selection’ Chardonnay, Yarra Valley, Vic

Peking duck and Hervey bay scallops, peking juices, spiced marshmallow like a crêpe, ginger sesame and pandan oil

Matched with: 2007 Bass Phillip ‘Jacques Reymond Selection’ Pinot Noir, SE Gippsland, Vic

Highland venison like a warm carpaccio, horseradish mustard dressing, butternut pumpkin with honey and bitter chocolate beignet

Matched with: 2006 Dalwhinnie ‘Jacques Reymond Selection’ Shiraz, Pyrenees, Vic

Western plains suckling pig and tamarind, celeriac and bitter almond, dashi apple veil, dancing bonito flakes and rosella chutney salad, cavalo nero

Matched with: 2007 Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Clos du Mont Olivet, Les Fils de Joseph Sabon, Rhône Valley, France

Pacific Rim martini of pineapple, passionfruit and banana, liquorice ice cream and honeycomb

Millefeuilles of chocolate: white chocolate mousse, pure Caribbean chilli ice cream, dark chocolate mousse and praline ice cream

Matched with: NV SeppeltsField Grand Tokay (Topaque), Barossa Valley, SA

Coffee and petits fours

And I'm still in awe.

The Durham: 2-4-1 Mondays

2010-08-12T00:24:00.001+10:00

Location: Green Square, Kingston ACT 2604
Phone: (02) 6295 1769
Link: www.outincanberra.com.au/thedurham
Cuisine: Steak

Monday nights at the Durham in Kingston is 2-4-1 steak night. That's right, two steaks for the price of one!

300g Sirloin steak with mushroom sauce, chips and vegies, all for $10.50!!

Having had past bad experiences with cheap steak, I was rather impressed this time around. The steak was overcooked (I made the mistake of ordering medium-well, but this steak was more like 2 x well done), but mine seemed to be the exception - all other steaks were brilliantly cooked.

The sauce was amazing. There was a real depth of flavour and actual slices of mushroom swimming in the sauce. The chips were also amazingly well done - crispy on the outside, light and fluffy inside, and the beautiful 'crunch' sound as I bit into it. The vegies were also nicely done - the only thing missing was a drizzle of melted butter over them.

On top of half price steak, the Durham also give out raffle tickets when drinks or meals are purchased, and you go into the draw to win meat trays. We won a massive platter...

Yes, that's a leg of roast in the top left corner of the photo.

Service: varies - it's a pub, so don't expect 5-star service. But the waitresses there are generally quite attentive.

Price: on a Monday, this place exhumes value-for-money.

Overall Impression: 9/10

Mamasita

2010-07-15T21:45:00.002+10:00

Location: Level 1, 11 Collins Street, Melbourne

Link: www.mamasita.com.au

Cuisine: Mexican/ Tapas

The dinner started with a Taco de Pescado (Grilled fish with lime, achiote paste & red onion salsa). This dish was a great start to the meal as it was light and fresh, but also had a tangy/spicy flavor which was probably the achiote paste. The taco was soft shell, and not crunchy which differed from expectations.

(Grilled fish with lime, achiote paste & red onion salsa taco)

Next was the taco with duck. This dish was pleasant, but didn’t meet the excellence of the grilled fish taco. After adding the salsa to the taco that was on the table, the taco tasted better as it probably needed a sauce.

(taco with duck)

The quesadilla with mexican truffle, mushrooms, roasted corn, epazote & queso fresco was next up. This was a unique dish as the table had not eaten anything like it. The mushroom and truffle were the most distinctive flavours and was quite nice after a few bites.

(quesadilla with mexican truffle, mushrooms, roasted corn, epazote & queso fresco)

Tostaditas were crunchy “traditional” tacos and came in three varieties.

The slow braised pork shoulder with encurtidos & jalapenos taco was quite dry and had a bit too much meat on it (which isn’t a bad thing normally).

The next tostadita was the mud crab. This was the highlight. It was fresh and a great balance of flavours. Lovely and exceptional.

The market fish with lime, guacamole, nasturtiums & serrano chili tostadita was ordered after the first few dishes. This dish was also a highlight as it was also fresh and the hint of lime made the dish impeccable.

(Right: slow braised pork shoulder with encurtidos & jalapenos taco

Left: tostadita was the mud crab)

(market fish with lime, guacamole, nasturtiums & serrano chili tostadita)

To finish off the meal, we had the fresh mint flan with caramel. This was also a memorable dish as the caramel was superb. It was not overpowering with sweetness and the hint of bitterness created a good complement to the flan. Quote from a member of the dinner party was that the caramel was the “I’ve ever tasted”.

(Mint Flan with caramel)

Now, this is where the experience became interesting. The flan had a slight crack in it on the side, and the manager came up to the table and commented ‘I would have provided you with one without the crack…if I knew you were taking photos’. He also asked us which blog we were from and mentioned other blogs such as jeroxie and im hungry. Then we revealed our identity as gluttonygluttony.

~Atmosphere~

Busy. The restaurant is very busy, so be warned get there early (5pm) or book (if 8 or more people). Not too loud and not too quiet which was good. The lighting was dark and “typical” tapas environment.

~Service~

Very good. We were seated straight away, and menus were provided immediately. The waiter described all the categories of food which was good. Furthermore, the water was filled efficiently and finished dishes were promptly removed.

~Price~

$90 for 3 people

Value for money IMO.

~Overall Impression~

Very good Mexican food. Will return soon!

8.5/10

Zeffirelli's

2010-07-07T00:43:00.004+10:00

Location: 5/55 Woolley Street, Dickson ACT 2602
Phone: (02) 6262 5500
Link: www.zeffirelli.com.au
Cuisine: Italian

Zeffirelli's really justifies the saying that you get what you pay for. Being a cheap family restaurant, a large proportion of the menu was around the $10-$15 mark. Which probably explains why the service was so appalling.

Firstly, it took them over 10 minutes to get us seated, despite the fact that we had made a booking. Then it took them 45 minutes to take our orders - and this involved one of us actually getting a waiter to come and take the orders. The menu looked pretty amazing and it was hard to choose between dishes, but 45 minutes? Seriously?

Having finally ordered, we waited to see how long the food took. One person's meal came out 15 minutes after ordering, and we started to get excited, and were almost prepared to forgive the 45 minute wait to order. We got excited too early - the rest of the food did not arrive until 35 minutes after we had first ordered.

Being pretty annoyed (and extremely hungry) by the time we finally got our food, I was expecting my food to taste amazing.

Marinara pizza: tomato, cheese, seasoned seafood tossed in garlic and parsley

Unfortunately for me, my pizza was a little on the dry side (like they had left it in the oven just that little too long) and the sauce was not quite tomato-y enough. The seafood was a little overcooked and chewy, but other than that they nicely flavoured. The base would have been the only thing they managed to get perfect - being soft and fluffy on the inside, but crispy enough to hold its shape when eating.

Home made spinach and ricotta ravioli with calabrese sauce (hot salami, white wine, olives, onion, fresh tomato, shallots, chilli and oregano in napoletano sauce)

Erin's ravioli was quite nicely done, and the strongly flavoured sauce complemented the more subtle spinach and ricotta ravioli.

The general consensus seemed to be that we would not be returning there. At least not any time soon.

Overall Impression: 4/10

Gordon Ramsay's Maze @ Crown Metropol

2010-07-03T16:46:00.006+10:00

Location: Level 1, Crown Metropol, cnr Whiteman and Clarendon Streets, Southbank, VIC 3006

Phone: (03) 9292 8300

Link: www.gordonramsay.com/mazemelbourne

Cuisine: French, Modern Australian

After months of waiting, we finally secured a booking at Maze Melbourne and got to try it out.

Maze is located in the new part of Crown, where late night shopping really is late night shopping. We arrived and were shown to our seats. The dining area was dimly light, but the atmosphere was elegant and classy.

Complimentary warm bread with seaweed cream butter

I have never tasted better butter than this. The seaweed cream butter was smooth and rich, with a nice hint of seaweed infused in the butter. The bread was warm and crispy on the edges, soft in the centre. We were particularly pleased when they topped up the bread between courses!

Queensland mud crab, pressed watermelon, pickled ginger, rock melon sorbet

Dish of the day. Actually, probably one of the best dishes I have ever eaten. The whole dish was well-balanced and so so fresh! Pressed watermelon base was sweet and crunchy, the crab was fresh and mixed in with the pickled ginger and some greens. The rock melon sorbet was surprisingly soft and smooth. Who would've thought there would be so much fruit in what was supposed to be a savoury dish!

Cauliflower veloutte, lobster

From what I was told, the cauliflower veloutte was smooth and creamy, but not too heavy. The lobster, whilst nice, was not the star of the dish though (the key part being the veloutte).

Marinated pink fir potatoes, smoked eel, sour cream, blackened leeks, shaved foie gras

From reports, this was also quite nice.

Coral trout, chicken skin, trompette royal, fennel, lemon thyme consommé

This was the second most popular dish at our table - credit probably goes to MasterChef when a Maze chef and Jonathan had to make this dish for the Celebrity Chef Challenge. The trout was beautifully cooked - tender and lightly flavoured. The chicken skin added a really good texture and flavour to the fish as well. The consumme was amazing - not too strong, but there was a depth of flavour from the vegetables.

Roasted quail, black olive caramel, young spring onions, rocket

Hot chocolate and violet fondant, salted almond ice cream

The dessert looked amazing. A few of us were slightly disappointed as we didn't quite like the violet taste (a little too strong and odd for the dessert). The salted almond ice-cream was also quite odd and something you really don't expect in ice-cream. The fondant, however, was rich with gooey melted chocolate inside, and firm on the outside casing. The ice-cream went surprisingly well with the ultra-sweet fondant. Without the violet, I think I would have enjoyed it much much more.

Coconut and white chocolate pannacotta, mango and black olive caramel

Complimentary white chocolate coated strawberry ice-cream balls

These arrived with the bill - small balls of strawberry ice-cream coated in white chocolate. A nice way to end the evening!

Service: as expected from a top restaurant such as Maze. The waitress we had made sure we knew how the ordering operated and gave us suggestions (although we didn't really follow them).

Price: not as expensive as some of the other top restaurants, but the serving sizes aren't huge so you would be looking at ordering multiple courses. The smaller 'entree' style dishes are between $12 and $18,, the larger 'main' style dishes were mostly $22-$26.

Overall Impression: 9.5/10

Gus's Cafe

2010-06-22T21:37:00.005+10:00

Location: Shop 8, Garema Arcade, Bunda Place, Canberra

Phone: (02) 6248 8118

Link: www.guscafe.com.au

Cuisine: Modern Australian, Cafe, Breakfast

The trouble with Canberra is the lack of decent restaurants in Civic. The positive side of that is that it's not too hard to decide on a place to go to.

Gus's was one of the few places I've been meaning to try for a while but more for breakfast than dinner.

First up was the steak sandwich. This was brilliantly done, and even better than the one at Gordon's.

Gus’ big steak sandwich: garlic foccacia with bacon, cheese, tomato, caramelized onion, seeded mustard mayo & garnished with sweet potato spears

The foccacia was nicely toasted and filled with a beautiful combination of flavours. The steak was well-marinated and cooked perfectly, The rest of the ingredients matched it well.

The sweet potato spears were more like crisps, but sweet, crunchy and not too oily - I could eat a plate of them!

Our second dish was a little disappointing.

Chicken breast linguini with roasted red capsicum & pine nuts in creamy basil sauce

Whilst the linguini was cooked al dente, the sauce was a little heavy on the cream and quite average in flavour. There wasn't much by way of red capsicum or pine nuts, which may have contributed to the disappointing sauce. Still, it was edible, just over-creamed.

Service: a little on the slow side, particularly since we went in early before there were many customers. Despite that, service was pleasant and the waitress was quite friendly.

Price: reasonable - mains mostly $16-$25

I've heard they do a very nice breakfast, so one day I'll be back for some brunch.

Overall Impression: 8/10

Pork Barrel

2010-05-26T00:48:00.006+10:00

Location: King George Terrace, Parkes, ACT

Phone: (02) 6273 1455
Link: www.porkbarrel.com.au
Cuisine: Cafe, Modern Australian

Usually the location of Friday night drinks, Pork Barrel also serves up an array of amazing wood-fired pizzas as well as a more modest selection of various mains on their specials board.

On this one occasion, I ordered a risotto with chorizo, olives and Parmesan cheese:

Risotto with chorizo, olives and Parmesan

My first thoughts when this dish was served to me was how huge the serve was! Then there was the beautiful aromas of the chorizo, tomato based sauce and the Parmesan cheese. The risotto itself was well-cooked and the chorizo was full of flavour. The flavours of the dish were also quite balanced despite most of the ingredients having strong flavours of their own.

One of the more impressive risottos I've had, and all for only $18.

Pizzas are generally half-price for lunch on Mondays and Tuesdays, so it's worth giving it a go. We went there for a divisional lunch and the meal ended up costing us around $7 a head.

Drink-wise, happy hour is between 5pm and 6pm, and from memory features cheap beers. Having never had a beer there before, I can't vouch for the quality, but it is a post-work watering hole and thus I gather the beer is at least decently drinkable - if beer is your kind of thing.

Overall Impression: 9/10

Spicy Ginger Cafe

2010-05-25T23:59:00.003+10:00

Location: 25 Childers Street, Canberra, ACT 2600

Phone: (02) 6162 1708
Link: http://spicygingercafe.com
Cuisine: Chinese, Sichuan

We sort of stumbled across the place accidentally - we were actually headed to Shanghai Dumpling Cafe which was completely full and at a friend's recommendation, we headed to the place next door. No regrets!

Pork belly

This was the first dish out, a simple pork belly dish. There's a reason why the Chinese aren't renowned for their pork belly - it was simply stir-fried in a way which does not capture the beautiful textures of the meat. The dish was, however, well flavoured and a welcome break from all the spicy food we had ordered.

Spicy pork ribs

This was recommended to us by a waiter, who suggested it as a replacement of a chilli pork dish we had contemplated ordering. And the waiter wasn't wrong - the pork was crispy on the outside and coated in a mouthwatering spice mixture. The meat was still somewhat juicy, albeit a little dry from the frying.

Garlic eggplant claypot

This eggplant was amazing, and comes second only to the eggplant dish at Dainty Sichuan in Melbourne (which reminds me that I still need to review Dainty's). The eggplant was soft and but still had some shape - the results of deep frying in hot oil. The sauce had a distinct sweet chilli and garlic flavour, but there was definitely a good combination of sweet, sour and spiciness.

Deep fried chicken with dried bullet chillies

I remember ordering a similar dish to this at Dainty Sichuan, but it was served in a wok. This was unfortunately no match for its predecessor. The chicken was a little overcooked and quite dry. The flavours were still amazing and the dish itself was quite spicy (you should be able to tell from all the chillis in the picture). Probably would not order this again - there are plenty of chilli chicken dishes to choose from.

Prices are a little upmarket from the usual small Asian eatery, but for Canberra standards, the price was pretty decent. Four dishes plus rice between five people cost us about $18 each. Not a bad deal for a cold night out.

Overall Impression: 8.5/10

Tien Vietnamese Restaurant

2010-05-25T23:37:00.006+10:00

Location: 19-27 Woolley Street, Dickson, ACT

Phone: 02 6162 1988
Cuisine: Vietnamese

Located on one of the main restaurant strips in Canberra, Tien in Dickson was pretty impressive. Especially since I had lowered all expectations of what Canberra's version of Vietnamese food would be.

For entrée, we ordered a fried marinated quail to share:

Fried marinated quail

The quail impressed! The skin was beautifully crispy and had the wonderful aromas of wok-fire and lemongrass. The meat was sweet, juicy and succulent. The quail had been marinated very well, and with the spice mix and a squeeze of lemon, there was an amazing combination of sweet, salt and tang.

Onto the main, a traditional Vietnamese com tam bi suon cha:

Com tam bi suon cha

(broken rice with grilled pork, fried egg, steamed pork and shredded pork)

The presentation of this dish was probably one of the prettiest I have ever seen this dish presented. As for the food, it was pretty average - the same as one would expect to get in Springvale, Footscray or Richmond. The pork had a nice smoky grilled flavour to it, and the egg was done perfectly. The steamed pork was a little bland and had an odd texture - generally it is quite smooth, but this erred on the the lumpy side. The fish sauce definitely had a nice punch to it.

The bonus was the broth, which I had thought perhaps they would omit up here in Canberra, but after the main dish arrived, they brought it out. Oversalted, but I had definitely missed the flavour of the spring onions and fried shallots.

Pricewise, it was expensive for Melbourne standards, but quite average for Canberra standards. The serving sizes were generous, but dishes that would cost $7-$8 in Melbourne, were in the $12-$14 range.

Overall Impression: 7.5/10

Badger Creek Blueberry Farm Winery & Cafe

2010-05-16T11:14:00.007+10:00

Location: 11 Garnook Grove, Badger Creek
Link: www.mantirri.com.au
Cuisine: Cafe style food

Driving up and around the Dandenongs, we had seen a 'Blueberry farm' sign. So we thought we would check it out. We ended up at the Badger Creek Blueberry Farm Winery & Cafe!
Had lovely iced coffees together and then realised there were blueberry smoothies on offer but it was too late! Will definitely have to try them the next time I'm in Healesville!

Overall Impression: 6/10
What a lovely cafe! Really wish we had more time there to actually pick some blueberries.

Dragon Boat Palace

2010-05-16T10:59:00.006+10:00

Location: 149 Lonsdale St, Melbourne
Link: www.dragonboat.com.au
Cuisine: Chinese

For someone who doesn't enjoy Yum Cha, I sure do end up having it quite a lot. And this time, it was of the all-you-can-eat variety...

We went all out and ate til we had to unbuckle our belts!

Overall Impression: 5.3/10

I do apologize for the decimal place... but I liked Chinatown's Dragon Boat just a tad better. It just had a nicer ambience, I think. And the all-you-can-eat style yum cha at Dragon Boat Palace meant, everyone was engulfing everything pretty quickly so the waiters were under a lot more pressure. So, you end up being surrounded by really stressed people. And then you start feeling really stressed... So, maybe thats why I didn't think the ambience was as good.

Dragon Boat

2010-05-15T16:39:00.005+10:00

Location: Chinatown, Melbourne
Link: http://www.dragonboat.com.au/
Cuisine: Chinese

I've never really been a Yum Cha fan. And no, Dragon Boat hasn't changed my mind.
But everybody else in my family loves it so we decided to check out the newly refurbished Dragon Boat in Chinatown.

The service was quick. Given it was very busy, the waiters did very well.

Overall Impression: 5.5/10

Great variety and good service. Highly recommended if you want to get your 'Yum Cha' on.

Margo's

2010-05-15T16:23:00.007+10:00

Location: Crown casino, Southbank
Link: http://www.crowncasino.com.au/margos
Cuisine: Modern Australian

Veal shank
slow-cooked veal served with mashed potatoes and vegetables
This is the second time that I've had the Veal Shank and its as delicious as ever. My plate was licked clean. The veal was bursting with flavour and falling off the bone. The mash was deliciously buttery =) The only down side was the vegetables. They had simply been boiled and then tossed on the plate but I really didn't mind since the Veal and the mash was sooo good.

My friends had steak and said it was tender and cooked to perfection.

Overall Impression: 6/10

Great for a casual catch-up dinner! Service was pretty good. Waiters served us crusty white bread upon arrival with a smile. Food arrived promptly and was yummy =)

Match Bar & Grill

2010-05-15T16:11:00.004+10:00

Location: 249 Little Lonsdale Street
Link: http://www.matchbar.com/
Cuisine: Bar

Its weird but everytime we can't figure out where to go for drinks, we end up here...
Decent cocktails..

Pretty lights...

Beautiful view of the State Library...

Overall Impression: 5.5/10

Its pretty average, for Melbourne standards but its just so conveniently located. Just off Swanston St in QV, I guess its not a bad choice.

Atrium Bar

2010-05-15T15:37:00.004+10:00

Location: Queensbridge Street entrance, Crown Casino, Southbank.
Link: http://www.crowncasino.com.au/atrium-bar
Cuisine: Bar

Was here during one of Atrium Bar's 'Unwind Fridays'.

From left: 'Mai Tai' and 'Basil Me Jack'

Both DELICIOUS. The 'Basil Me Jack' tasted like a very good mojito! YUM

Complimentary canapes...

This photo was taken after we had engulfed the steamed pork buns...

$8 Feature Cocktails

Cosmopolitan

Melon Sour

Summer Punch

Japanese Slipper

Pear and Hazelnut Martini

Grasshopper

Strawberry Sorbet

Brandy Alexander

Mai Tai

Fluffy Duck

Manhattan

Strawberry, Mango or melon Daiquiris

Mark Twain

Basil Me Jack

Overall Impression: 6.5/10

Location wise? Probably not the best. Its at one of the entrances to the casino...the one closest to the Atrium, to be exact. But this detail quickly fades into the background once you've sampled one of their $8 cocktails. Deliciously amazing! And they are VERY generous with the alcohol bit of the cocktail too. The complimentary canapes will surprise you (in a good way... Having said that, I did have low expectations). Live music on the baby grand piano wasn't too bad either ;)

Healesville Hotel

2010-05-15T14:27:00.006+10:00

Location: 256 Maroondah Highway, Healesville
Link: http://www.healesvillehotel.com.au/
Cuisine: Pub Restaurant
We decided to try Healesville Hotel as it was once hatted.

Shepherd's Pie

slow cooked lamb with vegetables, minted peas and rocket

Parmesan crumbed Chicken Schnitzel

roasted tomato, crispy bacon, cos and thick chips

Overall Impression: 5/10

Decent pub food. Nice and relaxed ambience.

Marrakech Cocktail Bar

2010-05-14T21:43:00.004+10:00

Location: 25 Bank Place, Melbourne CBD
Link: http://www.marrakechcocktailbar.com.au/
Cuisine: Finger food

Overall Impression: 5/10
Suitable for after work drinks. Nice and cosy but has a lively buzz about it. Be sure to try the Pizzette With Olive,White Anchovie And Provolone!

The Strand

2010-05-08T22:38:00.006+10:00

Location: 1 THE STRAND, WILLIAMSTOWN, VICTORIA 3016
Link: www.thestrandrestaurant.com.au/
Cuisine: Seafood, Modern Australian

Freshly Baked Crusty Campagne Baguette with Cannellini Bean, Extra Virgin Olive Oil and Aged Balsamic

Beautiful bread to start. I've never had to pay for bread at any fine dining restaurant but for $3, this was well worth it =)

Whole Baked Snapper, Piquant Red Curry Sauce, Fried Shallots and Pickled Watermelon

The pickled watermelon was a miss. I suspect they were trying to do some 'fusion' thing by having the pickled watermelon. Traditionally, curry is served with raita, a Pakistani and Indian condiment based on yoghurt and used as a sauce or dip. So, maybe they thought instead of raita, which is sour, let's go with something else that is sour like.. umm.. pickled watermelon?

Let's not.

Oven Roasted NT Wild Barramundi Fillet Crusted with Peanut, Corriander Pesto, Sauteed Mustard Cress with Soy Ginger Dressing

The barramundi was beautifully fresh. Nice and simple.

Overall Impression: 5.5/10

Prompt service. Great location that overlooks the harbour.

Q1

2010-05-08T22:04:00.012+10:00

Location: Q1 Resort & Spa, 9 Hamilton Street, Surfers Paradise QLD 4213
Link: http://www.bestrestaurants.com.au/restaurants/updateStats.aspx?restaurantId=3464&websiteUrl=http://www.Q1.com.au
Cuisine: Modern Australian

Smoked breast of chicken garnished with witlof salad and tossed with julienne of apple, snow peas and aged balsamic

This was quite average. Really just tasted somewhat like a grocery store bought caesar salad. The dressing was extremely thick and creamy. Which was nice, but had too much salt, in my opinion. The saltiness was unnecessary, given it was tossed with smoked chicken breast, that would have added ample saltiness to the mixture. I found the dressing very overpowering and could taste not much else. If this wasn't the case, the aged balsamic would have otherwise provided a good balance that would have cut through the creamyness of the dish.

Thinly sliced beef tenderloin served on a bed of rocket leaves tossed with extra virgin olive oil, shaved parmesan and cracked pepper

Grilled Atlantic Salmon marinated with tarragon served with braised fennel on crushed new and sweet potatoes complimented by an orange sauce

Roasted lamb loin marinated with rosemary and chilli pesto complimented by Roma tomatoes salsa and basil jus and roasted pototoes

This was beautiful. Cooked to perfection. Ample seasoning, flavours sealed. Pink in the middle. Very hearty with beautiful flavours.

Orange and Grand Marnier marshmallows and fresh strawberries served with hazelnut and white chocolate mousse in mini chocolate cups

Japonaise- layers of crisp hazelnut meringue flakes with chocolate ganache, hazelnut sauce and a dollop of whipped cream sprinkled with roasted almond flakes

What an amazing dessert. Perfectly balanced on the palate. The meringue layers just melted in my mouth. A great finish to a good meal.

Overall Impression: 6/10

Very nice ambience, good food.

North East China Family

2010-05-08T21:51:00.005+10:00

Location: 302 Flinders Lane, Melbourne
Cuisine: Chinese

I've had dumplings here before and thought they were quite good. So, when Charlotte found time out of her busy corporate lawyer schedule, we decided to have lunch here.
The place was in a bit of a mess, to be perfectly honest. The wait staff appeared absolutely clueless. We had to ask for our tables to be cleaned and for a new set of cutlery.

We ordered Wonton dumplings and noodles. While they tasted alright, it had taken them quite a while to serve us.

We also ordered pancakes. These were suppose to be for entree. Unfortunately, they came after the noodles... which we found quite strange.

The pancakes were good though. Beautifully crisp on the outside. Incredibly moist, perfectly seasoned pork on the inside.

Overall Impression: 5/10

Service was dissapointing. Time was the main factor. As it was a week/working day, both of us only had an hour to spare and dining there took up almost all of that time. Food was not bad.

Be-Hive Cafe bar

2010-05-08T21:22:00.003+10:00

Location: 459 Collins St, Melbourne
Cuisine: Cafe style food
This picture really doesn't do the place justice but they serve a really good selection of salads. From Curry Ravioli to Thai Beef Salads.

Overall Impression: 7/10
Nice, casual eatery, friendly staff and prompt service. Great for a quick bite!

Asian Noodle House

2010-04-23T00:16:00.005+10:00

Location: 34 Northbourne Avenue, Canberra City [in the Sydney Building]

Link: www.noodlehouse.net.au

Cuisine: Chinese, Thai, Malaysian, Vietnamese

Another one of those highly acclaimed by locals and online as a place for a (relatively) cheap feed in Canberra is the Asian Noodle House.

There's a blackboard A-frame outside boasting that they have the "#1" laksa. So we just had to give it a shot.

Combination laksa

Undoubtedly one of the best laksas I have before, which is saying a lot since I have yet to truly experience really good food in Canberra. The soup was flavoursome but not too strong or too salty. There was a perfect hint of spiciness (and I'm sure you can ask them to up the spiciness for you if you wanted) and plenty of meat and vegies. The fried bean curd was soft and pretty much my favourite part of the dish because it had soaked up so much of the soup.

Pho tai

A nice attempt at making pho, but alas nothing like true authentic traditional pho from suburbs such as Springvale or Footscray. The flavours were almost right in the soup, and the rice noodles were pretty well cooked too. If they hadn't tried to pass it off as pho, it probably would have rated higher in my opinion.

Overall Impression: 7.5/10

Northbar

2010-04-23T00:03:00.004+10:00

Location: 46 Northbourne Avenue, Canberra City

Link: www.northbar.com.au

Because Canberra seems to have more cheap alcohol than food, I'm going to start integrating more bars into Gluttony Gluttony.

Northbar is one of the classier bars in Canberra. Another being Knightsbridge, which I have yet to suss out.

They specialise in vodka infusions, which come in a variety of flavours...

...and they're $3 each.

Hotel Realm

2010-04-22T22:21:00.005+10:00

Location: 18 National Circuit, Barton, ACT
Link: www.hotelrealm.com.au

This cost $4. And for house champagne, it was pretty good too - very much like moscato =D

Bluestone Restaurant and Bar

2010-04-18T10:12:00.008+10:00

Location: 349 Flinders Lane, Melbourne
Link: www.bluestonerestaurantbar.com.au
Cuisine: Modern Australian/Pub

Was fortunate enough to dine at the Bluestone Lounge Bar.

Stylish but kept simple, New York-style basement fit:

We had lovely wood-fired pizzas...

My favourite was this smoked salmon, tiny capers, goats cheese and fresh dill pizza!

Overall Impression: 5.5/10

Casual and lovely ambience. The wood-fired pizzas were great. Beautiful thin crusts... Mmmm =)

Mountain Goat Brewery

2010-04-08T10:51:00.009+10:00

Location: Corner North St & Clarke St Richmond
Link: www.goatbeer.com.au
Cuisine: Beer, pizzas, beer and more beer

Ever wondered how beer is made? On top of serving great beer and delicious pizzas, Mountain Goat Brewery runs free tours!

The bar:

The pizzas were delectable! Thin and crispy crusted and simply delicious! Overall Impression: 7/10

Delicious beer, great pizzas! The tour of the factory was really cool too. =) Great atmosphere.

Teppansan

2010-04-08T10:30:00.007+10:00

Location: 179 Russell St, Melbourne
Cuisine: Japanese

Entree: Miso Soup

Main: Zaru Soba

A cold noodle dish served with sauce and thinly sliced cooked beef

This dish was served with soba tsuyu, which is a dipping sauce. The tsuyu had very strong kaeshi flavours (a sweeter version of the chinese soy sauce) and a hint of mirin. The way to eat this dish is to take some of the soba using chopsticks and dip it in tsuyu before eating it. It is also a good idea to mix wasabi into the sauce for added spice! I love cold soba on a hot day. Its incredibly refreshing and you can really taste the texture of the soba when it is chilled (the texture is quite different when you cook soba in soup because the noodle absorbs the soup). Teppansan does this dish quite well.

Main: Beef in Wafu sauce served with rice and vegetables

Overall Impression: 5.5/10
Casual dining. Friendly and quick service, very good value. Oh, and they make a delicious Okonomiyaki!

"The prices here make you think the restaurant has made a bill error in your favour."- Matt Preston, 5 February 2007

Yarra Valley Country Club

2010-04-08T10:10:00.005+10:00

Location: 9-15 Templestowe Road, Bulleen
Link: http://www.yarravalley.net.au/dining.html
Cuisine: Australian pub

From the 'Specials' board: Grilled fish fillet served with crispy golden chips and salad

Simple dish.

From the main menu: Char-grilled Porterhouse with Mushroom Sauce served with crispy golden chips and salad

Cooked to our liking.

Overall Impression: 4/10
The staff were extremely friendly and the service was prompt. The food was not bad.

European Bier Cafe

2010-04-07T21:06:00.014+10:00

Location: 120 Exhibition St, Melbourne
Link: http://www.europeanbiercafe.com.au/
Cuisine: Australian pub fare [traditional favourites] and many dishes with a strong European twist.

Char-grilled Kangaroo Loin Fillet cooked medium rare with honey roasted sweet potato, Spanish onion and capsicum coulis
The kangaroo was cooked to perfection. Beautifully tender. I was afraid there may be too much of a strong gamey taste but it didn't. I'm assuming the meat must have been extremely fresh to have avoided the haut goût taste. I personally, really liked the way it had been cooked. Unfortunately, the kangaroo lacked in flavour. They were too easy on the seasoning. Overall, still a pleasant dish that I would not mind ordering again.

Spanish Pub Paella, saffron and paprika infused rice with chorizo roast chicken, capsicums and prawns baked then served

Great flavours but I was disappointed. I had expected the dish to be served in a paellera (paella pan). And as it was served on a plate, it didn't have the beautifully crusty/slightly burnt bottom and it didn't have the infused aromas of being cooked over an open fire. It tasted like a nice risotto. Pleasant but still disappointing. In hindside, I should have read the descriptions on the menu properly because the chef really did deliver what he/she had promised =)

Overall Impression: 5.5/10

Nice, relaxed ambience, good food.

Co Do

2010-04-07T20:38:00.007+10:00

Location: 196 Victoria Street, Richmond
Cuisine: Vietnamese

I have been to Co Do a few times and don't remember ever being disappointed. It does a great Pho when I am feeling less adventurous and when I feel like trying something different, its menu serves up an array of delights that include a variety of noodle dishes [dropped rice noodles, rice vermicelli, egg nooodle etc etc etc), rice dishes and stir-fried dishes.

There is such a delightful buzz about this place.

I decided to order one of my very favourite dishes! Steamed mini pancakes with minced prawn and green bean paste.The steamed mini pancakes were soft and delicate. A very flavoursome dish that will set you back a mere $6.50.

Overall Impression: 7/10

Casual dining. Very good Vietnamese food. Entrees $5.50-$9; mains $9-$20.

Gingerboy

2010-04-02T22:18:00.004+11:00

Location: 27-29 Crossley Street, Melbourne
Link: www.gingerboy.com.au
Cuisine: South East Asian, Hawker

This was my second trip to Gingerboy. Having thoroughly enjoyed my first trip to Gingerboy (unreviewed), I was surprised that they managed to outperform my expectations from the last time.

Gingerboy is a hidden gem - it is tucked away in a small dingy alleyway you wouldn't really venture down unless you were in the know. The bright signage doesn't really reflect the interiors or the menu, but for that we're glad. The inside is contrastingly clean and classy looking. The downstairs sports a dining area and a bar, the upstairs has a few more tables, another bar, and a small lounge area.

We booked a table in the upstairs part of the restaurant, which turned out to be a good choice. Upstairs was quieter, perfect for a quiet dinner catch-up. We also had the near-exclusive attention of the barman (who doubled as our waiter for the night).

The food was amazing. Our first pick was the son-in-law eggs. Fellow food blog tummyrumbles recommended these eggs, which I tried on my first visit and love with them. They are a Gingerboy must-have. Nice and crisp on the outside, and smooth, creamy and gooey on the inside. The rule is that you load the eggs with the chilli jam and put the entire thing in your mouth. (Feel free to not do this, but at risk of the egg yolk exploding all over the place). This is heaven in one mouthful.

Son in law eggs, chilli jam and Asian herbs

Our other selection from the 'small dishes' list was the soy cured ocean trout. Not being a fan of raw fish in general (smoked salmon being an exception), this turned out to be almost as good as the eggs! The trout was sliced thinly, and heavily infused with a sweet soy flavour. The coconut caramel was beautiful. Light and coconutty, it was almost like a very mild Thai curry sauce, but cold. The pickled daikon and bean shoots added a nice contrasting crunch to the dish. By the end of this dish, we were practically drinking the sauce.

Soy cured ocean trout, tumeric, coconut caramel and pickled daikon

From the 'main dish' selection, we ordered the fried baby snapper and the pork belly (which I had previously ordered before).

Fried baby snapper, lime and red chilli bean sauce, lychee salad

The snapper was done quite well. The fish was well cooked - the skin was crispy and the flesh was soft. One of the waitresses even deboned the fish for us. The sauce again had the authentic south-east Asian flavours. Sweet, tangy and a little spicy. The lychee salad was an interesting but complimenting add to the dish.

Sweet and sour bangalow pork belly, cherry tomatoes and Thai basil

The pork belly dish had an amazing balance of flavours and textures. The pork belly itself, however, was a bit of a let down - the crackling was a little overcooked and that little bit too chewy and there was too much excess fat left on the pork. What should probably have been slow-cooked tasted more like it had been hurriedly cooking in a frying pan. The sauce rescued the dish with a beautiful sweet and sour sauce.

We are always excited about what the dessert menu contains, and we were extremely excited by the looks of the dessert share platter. This platter contained six samples of different desserts (of which, only five were shown on the dessert menu).

Gingerboy Dessert Share Plate (from left to right): steamed apple and vanilla buns with coconut custard; cinnamon sugared battered banana fritters with five spice ice-cream; tofu cheese cake, pandan jelly and black sesame base

The steam apple and vanilla buns were interesting, however, should probably have been renamed 'dumpling' instead of 'bun'. The wrapping was soggy and quite thin compared to what would be expected for a bun. The filling was softened apples, much like what would be found in an apple pie. The fresh slice of apple on the 'bun' did not really add much to the dish though and could probably left out.

The banana fritters were delicious though. Who doesn't like deep-fried sweet gooey goodness? The ice-cream wasn't too outstanding in that it tasted pretty much like cinnamon mixed into vanilla ice-cream and not very 'five spice' like.

The tofu cheesecake was odd. The flavours were new to us and somewhat strange tasting, but it was surprisingly nice. The black sesame base was sweet and crunchy and the pandan jelly complemented the composition well.

Gingerboy Dessert Share Plate (from left to right) : raspberry and passionfruit splice with with mint jelly; coconut sorbet; lemon pudding

The splice was again an interesting concoction and was almost like a cross between a slurpee and ice-cream. The raspberry flavour was sweet but not very overt, but the passionfruit flavours came through.

The coconut sorbet was absolutely amazing. The presentation was a little dull, but there was a strong infusion of coconut flavour. The only drawback was that the shot glass it was served in had an opening which was smaller than the spoons we were given to eat it with!

We also quite enjoyed the lemon pudding, which tasted a bit like the creamed rice at Bopha Devi but with a nice citric tang.

All in all, it was an enjoyable night. The service was pleasant, the decor was simple and classy (although high stools are not the most comfortable seating arrangements) and the food was pretty much, on the whole, amazing.

Overall Impression: 9/10

Kitchen Workshop

2010-02-26T10:24:00.008+11:00

Location: Ground Floor, Clarendon Street Entrance, Crown
Link: http://www.crowncasino.com.au/kitchen-workshop
Cuisine: International

I hate buffets. But due to several factors including undue influence, I went to Kitchen Workshop last night. There was a pretty decent selection of mains and entrees like roast, lots of random deep fried things, beef bourginon, calamari, fish, roasts, antipastos, salads, pasta, biriyani rice, an interactive teppanyaki station (where you get to choose what you want in your stir-fry). I was waiting in line at the teppanyaki station and saw them pour a ridiculous amount of oil on and chickened out, quickly leaving my position. My friends tried it though and they said there were nice flavours but nothing to shout about. There was also a generous selection of desserts (that included a chocolate fountain).
The mango pudding in particular was a winner. Simple and pleasant.

Overall Impression: 5/10
Delivers everything it promises but goes no further. Great value for money. An all you can eat dinner that cost us 23.50AUD perhead. Relaxed ambience. Helpful staff.