Sunday 28 April 2013

Rockpool Bar and Grill

Crown Casino 8 Whiteman St
Southbank, VIC 3006

“Would you like some bread for the table?” Of course we do. Of course I do. And thus began the slightly belated dinner at Rockpool Bar and Grill, part of the present I gave him for his Birthday. We very much enjoyed the steaks we had here on our last visit, but as I wanted to try a burger, whereas Chris wanted another steak, we ended up sitting in the no-bookings wine bar section, where we could order both. 



So, about that bread. Excellent warm sourdough with a crackling crust – as it should be.


Plate of Olives ($6)

I never knew excellent bread and butter could be improved upon but they were by a simple Plate of Olives ($6). They were marinated in warm olive oil, augmented by the flavoursome additions of thyme and orange peel. There was a highly enjoyable distinction between the large and fruity green olives, and the oilier black ones. 


Wagyu Skirt ($42, 240 grams, aged 20 days)

We wasted no time in getting to the delicious, delicious bovine. Our Wagyu Skirt ($42, 240 grams, aged 20 days) was a working cut, explained the waiter, and that meant that it would have a lot of chew, but also a lot of flavour. It was indeed quite a sinuous cut of meat that required a lot of jaw work, but the flavours were unbeatably beefy, made better by the generous amount of wood-fire grilling. It’s a great cut for all you people out there who love masticating. 


David Blackmore's Full Blood Wagyu Hamburger ($24)

I was more interested by the famous David Blackmore’s Full Blood Wagyu Hamburger ($24), which consistently receives fabulous reviews by the blokes at The Burger Adventure. My personal opinions however were fairly mixed. It’s a great patty they have between the sugary brioche buns – juicy and perfectly medium rare – but I just can’t help feel that the burger is missing something. Maybe it’s cheese that melts into the crevices of the beef, maybe it’s the fatty, smoky drippings from the patty, or maybe it’s just plain soul. Either way, the burger was a bit too prim and proper for my liking, as great as the ingredients were.

It was at this point that we really noticed the difference between the wine bar and restaurant. Whereas they would time everything perfectly in the restaurant so you would get your courses in succession, sitting in the wine bar meant that our food came in a flurry, leaving us struggling to find space on the overcrowded table. I had to give up my half-eaten bread, and that was not a pretty sight.


Onion Rings ($9)

We got some of the fabulous looking Onion Rings ($9), and it proved to be an excellent decision. The usage of red onion meant that these deep fried delights were a lot more delicate, and the lightly salted batter stayed tempura-crisp even after it became cold.


Green Beans with Creamy Anchovy, Chilli and Lemon Dressing, Toasted Almonds ($9)

Our other side was the lighter dish of Green Beans with Creamy Anchovy, Chilli and Lemon Dressing, Toasted Almonds ($9). This was a light and cool counterpoint to the heaviness of the meal so far. The green beans were garden-fresh with an audible snap to it, and were drizzled with a light yet creamy dressing that held a faint but distinctive fishiness. Topped off with toasted almonds, this is something I would love to be able to make, if I knew how they did the dressing. 


Passionfruit Marshmallows ($8 for 10)/Domaine Huet Clos du Bourg Chenin Blanc 2009 ($14/glass)

We were bursting at the seams by this point, having eaten almost twice as much as our neighbours. However the voucher I bought must be used in one meal, and I’ll be damned if I let any of it go to waste! So instead we ordered a light dessert – Passionfruit Marshmallows ($8 for 10) for Chris and a glass of Domaine Huet Clos du Bourg Chenin Blanc 2009 ($14/glass) for myself. Most of what the sommelier said went over my head but she was right in saying that this was lovely, light drop that had lots of white peach and floral notes. As for the marshmallows, they were like perfumed clouds that dissolved on the tongue. Chris, who had never had ‘real’ marshmallows before, couldn’t stop marvelling at the texture.

The feeling I’ve gotten from Rockpool after my two visits is that, whilst the produce and execution of the food is impeccable, it has a mass-produced quality to it, and it lacks to TLC that makes a good dish remarkable. Once again, Rockpool didn’t manage to impress me, but it did manage to make me feel pampered, and made for an excellent night out.

Rating: 14/20 – i got soul but im not a soldier.

The rating reflects my personal experience at the time of visit.


Thursday 25 April 2013

Ayatana

97 Chapel St 
Windsor, VIC 3181

This is the story of how I learnt not to ask for food that’s ‘Thai Spicy’. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves; here’s how it all started:



A week or so ago, I found an email in my inbox asking me if I like Thai food, and whether or not I would like to try the rendition served up at Ayatana. I’ve always complained about the complete dearth of Thai food – that’s to say, spicy, sweet, sour and hot – in Melbourne, so I eagerly accepted. 




We made our way down to Ayatana, and it turned out to be a beautiful place to be on a Thursday night. It’s elegantly compact, and very intimate with candles flickering on each table. Tony, the enthusiastic owner from Thailand, was keen on showing us his own take on traditional Thai flavours. 


Betel Leaf with Crispy Prawn, Peanuts, Ginger, Mint, Lime, Roasted Coconut, Red Onion, Caramelised Tamarind Sauce ($8, 2pcs)

We began our meal with a starter of Betel Leaf with Crispy Prawn, Peanuts, Ginger, Mint, Lime, Roasted Coconut, Red Onion, Caramelised Tamarind Sauce ($8, 2pcs). The golden prawn sat in a mixture of herbs and a puddle of tamarind sauce, and was devilishly flavoursome. The sweetness of the crustacean was hidden by the thick batter, but the mix of flavours was incredibly bright, with the syrupy sourness of the tamarind, and heat from the ginger really standing out. 


Sweet Crunchy Roasted Tamarind Rice ($12)
Sweet Crunchy Roasted Tamarind Rice ($12)

The Sweet Crunchy Roasted Tamarind Rice ($12) sat there in the entrees, looking all inconspicuous, but it turned out to be one of the most delightful things I’ve eaten all year. Crunchy is a great thing but it’s even better when a dish manages to bring together the variants of that moreish texture with crumbly peanuts, brittle noodles, crispy sprouts, and the earth-shatteringly crunchy roasted rice. Add in a sharp dressing and fresh herbs, and you have what’s possibly the most addictive salad in the world. 


Caramelised Crispy Pork Belly ($14.9, 4 pcs)

We also shared an entree-sized serving of Caramelised Crispy Pork Belly ($14.9, 4pcs). The bite-sized pieces of pork had a very crisp exterior, but the pork could have been more tender. Luckily the sauce was sticky and tangy, and generously flavoured with the aromas of ginger and lemongrass. 


Hot, Sweet and Sour Crispy Barramundi Fillets ($21.9)

The entrees were super generous, so we vetoed having rice alongside our mains. Instead we munched down on a plate of Hot, Sweet and Sour Crispy Barramundi Fillets ($21.9), pan fried until it’s just a bit caramelised. It tasted of the tropics thanks to the juicy pieces of pineapple and coconut, and the fish was top notch – flaky and moist. 


Spicy Green Papaya Salad ($14.9)

Up to this point in the meal, I’d had some great examples of sweet, sour and hot that I’ve yet to come across in Melbourne. That just leaves one thing – spicy. So when I gave my order for Spicy Green Papaya Salad ($14.9), I asked for it to be made spicy – Thai spicy. A little bit later, an innocuous tangle of vegetables came out, looking cool and refreshing. Upon closer inspection however, it was completely infested with bird’s eye chilli, aka Thai chilli. And the first mouthful was cool and refreshing, the slippery strands of the sour fruit simply but flavourfully seasoned with palm sugar, lime juice, and fish sauce. Then the chillies hit. Hard. I shoved mouthful after mouthful of the salad between my lips, savouring the fieriness even as my eyes watered and my nose ran. The staff eventually took pity on me and provided me a with glass of ice cubes, which was the only thing that managed to douse the flames. Everyone involved had a good laugh (especially Chris), aside from me. That’ll learn me to order ‘very spicy’ from a Thai man. 


Black Sticky Rice Pudding ($10.9)

‘It’s not spicy!’ joked the waitress as she brought out our dessert – Black Sticky Rice Pudding ($10.9). After the last hour and a half of indulgence, this was the perfectly sized sweet cap to our meal. The chewy grains of black sticky rice, egg custard, and shredded coconut came together to form the ultimate comfort dessert. It was as warm, nutty and soothing as a peanut in a rug.

We had a really good time at Ayatana. It’s the perfect place to visit if you’ve been hankering for that authentic burst of Thai flavours, be it in the form of a slow-cooked Massaman curry, tangy roasted duck breast with a hint of sweetness, or a papaya salad spicy enough to bestow the power of fire-breath. It’s surprisingly slick for such a small space, and unexpectedly romantic too. In short, it’s great.

Rating: 14.5/20 – and my tongue was never the same.

The rating reflects my personal experience at the time of visit. 
Sweet and Sour Fork dined as a guest of Ayatana 

Ayatana on Urbanspoon


Monday 22 April 2013

J Cafe Restaurant

167 Exhibition Street 
Melbourne, VIC 3000


Of all the fusion foods I’ve heard of, sushi burgers take the cake. It sounds like a bad 6th generation Pokémon evolution, and it makes about as much sense as Vanillish, the ice cream Pokémon. However this is food we’re talking about, not adorable monsters fighting to the death, so the taste is what really matters. To find out for ourselves (mostly me though) what all the fuss is about, Chris and I made a visit to J Cafe Restaurant after a morning gym session that left us starving. 




Upon stepping in, we could tell that the restaurant has been around for a while. However there were little homely touches that gave the space a certain measure of sweetness, and the staff were polite and friendly. Despite there being an adjoining room in the restaurant as well, the line was out the door half an hour after it opened for lunch.


Spicy Raw Salmon Burger ($7.5 a la carte)

I could’ve gone for a few sushi burgers, but there was some lovely lunch sets on offer. Fearing the size of some of them, I decided on the Mini Udon and Sushi Burger Set ($12.5), which gave me a choice of a bowl of noodles, and any burger of my choosing. Being Asian and all, I immediately ordered the most expensive Spicy Raw Salmon Burger ($7.5 a la carte), though in my defence that was the one that caught my eye the most anyway. This was actually surprisingly good – two rice patties sandwiching chunky fresh salmon, flavoured with a creamy, spicy sauce that had a hint of earthy miso to it. The package was neatly bundled up with a slightly crispy sheet of nori, making for a delicious Japanese snack that fits easily into one hand. 


Niku Udon ($7.5 a la carte)

Along with my sushi burger, I got the Niku Udon ($7.5 a la carte), which was served in an adorably-sized bowl that was a perfect size after the burger. The noodles and soup weren’t anything to shout about (a little doughy, lacking in depth), but the beef was surprisingly, well, beefy. The thinly sliced meat was flavoursome in the way only good quality beef with a decent bit of marbling can be, and the translucent slivers of onion gave it a little bit of crunch, and a little bit of sweetness. 


Hamburg Curry Set ($17)

Chris on the other hand ordered the Hamburg Curry ($17), which was alarmingly huge, and the curry sauce threatened to overflow at any moment. This dish was served simply, the mild yet robust sauce garnished with two chunky beef patties, and a small pinch of radish pickles. I loved how the sauce had pieces of vegetables in it, and it made for a hearty meal after the fluffy rice absorbed all the curry goodness. 


Miso Soup
Salad

Served with the curry was a bowl of Miso Soup, and a Salad. The miso soup was a cut above what you’d usually come across, and it was generous with toothsome kombu and crispy scallions. The spaghetti and vegetable salad was dressed with a light and tasty sesame oil vinaigrette, but we didn’t pay it much attention considering how much curry there was to devour.  

J Cafe Restaurant serves Japanese food that is certainly above par, but its drawcard is the sushi burgers. I wouldn’t go out of my way to have a meal here, but I would certainly drop by to grab a couple of sushi burgers, especially considering that they’re even cheaper when taking away.

Rating: 13/20 – sushi-burger-mon.

The rating reflects my personal experience at the time of visit.

J Café Restaurant on Urbanspoon

Friday 19 April 2013

Nourish Salads

3/221 Queen Street 
Melbourne, VIC 3000

There are days where I don’t really feel like being a food blogger. Some days I just want to be able to eat something simple, comforting, without having to worry about how it tastes, aside from delicious. That’s why sometimes a wholesome, yummy and filling meal is more appreciated than the fanciest of restaurants. Welcome to Nourish Salads.

To say that Nourish Salads is small is an understatement; what room they have is taken up by a long counter, behind which sit fresh vegetables in every colour of the rainbow. The menu is simple, but extremely extensive. The salad menu alone is enough to boggle the most complacent of diners, and the range of toppings you can drown your baked potato in makes the head spin.  


Baked Potato ($9.9)

The way the Baked Potatoes ($9.9) work is as follows: you start with a base of (you guessed it) potato, onto which you can pile any 7 ingredients you want. And when they say any, they mean any; feel free to top it up with ham, chicken, bacon, cheese, and Bolognese sauce if you so choose. 


Baked Potato ($9.9)

We took a slightly healthier route and had our potato with green beans, olives, mushrooms, tasty cheese, chicken, and chilli con carne sauce, saying nay to sour cream. This has got to be, hands down, the most generous portion I’ve ever seen doled out for under a tenner. It’s not haute cuisine, but it was an ungodly amount of fresh, healthy fare. 


Philadelphia Steak Salad ($8.9, small)

I had to have one of the salads, and after what seemed like an age, I settled on a plate of Philadelphia Steak Salad ($8.9, small), with the iceberg lettuce kindly replaced with Mesclun on my request. This was fresh, light, and entirely nourishing; the wholesome mix of vegetables and steak made just a little naughty by the sweet and zesty honey Dijon dressing. Unfortunately, when I was about two-thirds of the way through, I predictably began to struggle – and this is just a small! Chris grimly suggested at this point that the portions here should be renamed ‘large’ and ‘larger’ instead.

Chris has been saying for quite a while that I should visit places that haven’t been blogged very much, and I’m so glad I took him up on that suggestion. Nourish Salads is a small place, but with a surprisingly large and loyal following. The portions are incredibly generous; the soup comes in tureens, and the potatoes form a pile the size of your head. We were completely stuffed by the end, and we still had more than enough left over for a third person. 


Yep, we still had this much left over. 

Rating: 13.5/20 – fully nourished.

The rating reflects my personal experience at the time of visit. 

Nourish Salads on Urbanspoon

Tuesday 16 April 2013

Huxtaburger CBD

Fulham Pl off Flinders Lane 
Melbourne, VIC 3000

Allow me to introduce you to my new husband. He’s smokin’ hot with sexy tanned buns, and everyone who’s met him loves him. Allow me to introduce you to Huxtaburger.



Not that an introduction is needed. Ever since the opening of the original in Collingwood, Huxtaburger has received nothing but a torrent of praise. My first experience was something akin to Squidward’s first ever Krabby Patty; my mind was blown by how delicious a simple burger could be. So I nearly died when I heard that Huxtaburger has finally moved to the CBD. In fact, I died so much that I made this visit with my sister less than 24 hours after hearing the news, then again less than a week later, trying to take as many friends with me as possible to our collective burgertastic deaths. 



Like the original in Collingwood, Huxtaburger has the diner thing going. Unlike the original however, the CBD branch is darker, slicker, and the synth music with the retro fit out made it feel like an old-school sci-fi themed diner. It’s still small, but you can swing a cat now, if it’s not a particularly fat one.


Huxtaburger ($8.5)

My sister has been dying to try the Huxtaburger ($8.5) for the longest time, and it lived up to her expectations and more. It was everything I remembered and loved about the original – sweet, fluffy bun with caramelised edges from the grill, crisp salad, beef dripping with fat, cheese melted on top, and all slathered in a wickedly creamy and tangy mixture of mustard, mayo, and tomato sauce. Never has something with ingredients so fresh been so bad for you. 


Denise ($9.5)
Denise ($9.5)

I was a little more adventurous, choosing to have the Denise ($9.5) instead. It’s the original Huxtaburger, but perked up with generous additions of jalapenos and sriracha mayo. It wasn’t enough to make the burger particularly spicy, but it did give the burger that extra zip and zang. It’s a messy burger but it was worth every single bit on stickiness between my fingers.

And we had a serve of Small Chips ($2.5) on the side. They’re nothing special, crinkled and freshly fried, but you can’t have a good burger without a side of chips dipped in ketchup, you just can’t.

Huxtaburger CBD follows the exact formula that made the original a raging success – quality ingredients made into a burger that is both the angel and the devil. And thank goodness it hasn't changed; after all, why bother trying to improve on perfection?

Rating: 15/20 – huxtaburger forever!

The rating reflects my personal experience at the time of visit.

Huxtaburger on Urbanspoon

Saturday 13 April 2013

Little Ramen Bar

346 Lt Bourke St 
Melbourne, VIC 3000

Nothing excites me as much as ramen. Not only because it’s the most delicious noodle soup after pho, but also because there is more or less a complete dearth of good ramen in Melbourne. Every now and then a place proclaiming authentic ramen pops up, but I’m always left disappointed. However that didn’t stop the surge of hope when I spotted Little Ramen Bar.  




We were the eagerest of beavers, rocking up at 6 on the dot. We had the place to ourselves for about 5 minutes, and then people started making their way in, hungry like we were for a bowl of hot noodle soup. The interior was cosy and bright, and the staff adorably attentive. Unfortunately the small space and open door also made for a fairly draughty dining experience, so hopefully they close the door when the weather gets a bit colder. 


Chashu Tamago Ramen ($12.9)

I ordered my perennial favourite – Chashu Tamago Ramen ($12.9). The classic bowl of noodles in cloudy pork broth was garnished with extra slices of BBQ pork, a soft-boiled egg, and all the right trimmings. I was really happy with this bowl of noodles; the soup tastes like the kind mum makes by simmering pork bones for the best part of a day, the pork was melt-in-the-mouth, the egg was gooey and creamy, and the noodles themselves were bouncy and toothsome. Even the trimmings were done right. 


Hokkaido Ramen ($12.5)

Hokkaido Ramen ($12.5)

On the other hand, Chris ordered the Hokkaido Ramen ($12.5), which came in a miso broth with a combo the Japanese seem to love – butter and corn.  Chris called this dish a disappointment after tasting the chashu ramen, and whilst I see where he’s coming from, I enjoyed this bowl as well. It no longer has that porky savouriness to it; instead it’s been replaced with a creamier, miso-based soup. The noodles were just as well done, and whilst the vegetarian toppings were a bit too virtuous, I did like the crunchy sweet corn. It’s not as addictive as the chashu ramen, but it’ll find its own niche with time.

Little Ramen Bar still isn’t the Japanese noodle Mecca I’ve been longing for, but it’s a lot better than most ramens I’ve had in Melbourne. It’s a small, cosy place, best for a quick bowl of noodles. Be quick though, as it’s already picking up momentum; I walked past it at 7:30pm a few days later and it was packed to the brim.

Rating: 13.5/20 – getting there! 

Little Ramen Bar on Urbanspoon

Wednesday 10 April 2013

Mr Mason

Tenancy 10, 530 Collins St 
Melbourne, VIC 3000

So I may be a little bit of a control freak. I like to have my day planned out to the minute, and my life planned out a couple years in advance where possible. As a result, when Chris decided to take me out to a romantic dinner at a surprise location, I had several almost-nervous-breakdowns in the week leading up to the date. 



Turns out I needn’t have worried. Chris had done his research and booked us in for a lovely dinner at Mr Mason, a French restaurant tucked up near the Southern Cross end of the CBD. Careful though, despite the address saying that it’s on Collins Street, the actual restaurant entrance is just around the corner, on Little Collins Street.




When we rocked up the restaurant was practically empty, but my apprehension disappeared upon seeing that most of the tables had a ‘reserved’ sign on it. I guess we’re just getting old – dinner at 6 and home by 10 on a Saturday night. 


Chicken Liver Parfait ($14)

We started off our meal with a wedge of Chicken Liver Parfait ($14), served with pear and date chutney, and toasted brioche. Most of my experiences with liver products come from the lovely, chunky pate spread inside Vietnamese sandwiches, but this was a classier act altogether. Encased in a layer of butter, the parfait is fluffy, smooth, and faintly sweet. The rich flavour was further brought out by the warmth of the toasted brioche, but it was the fruity chutney that really made it shine. 


Salmon Tartare, Creme Fraiche, Nasturtium ($17)

Next up was the Salmon Tartare, Creme Fraiche, Nasturtium ($17), served with warm sourdough. Being a seafood-lover, this was a no-brainer of a choice for me. The plump morsels of salmon mixed together with the crème fraiche, diced onions, and fresh capers made each mouthful a dazzling combination of freshness, creaminess, and just enough bite to cut through it all. They didn’t quite serve enough bread on the side though, and we ended up having to pay another $2 just to get some more. 


Confit Lamb Shoulder with Ratatouille and Eggplant Puree ($28)

Confit Lamb Shoulder with Ratatouille and Eggplant Puree ($28)

The rich entrees we had just devoured really took the edge off our hunger, so we decided to share a main and a side. We both had our eyes on the special of the day – Confit Lamb Shoulder with Ratatouille and Eggplant Puree ($28), and it turned out to be a great choice. The lamb came as a bit of a surprise, as it was condensed into four little patties. It still tasted great though, the crispy patty pulling apart to reveal tender lamb, though I usually do prefer my meat pink. It was a gorgeous summer dish, garnished with a tumble of bright garden vegetables in a smoky BBQ sauce.


Hand Cut French Fries ($9)

We did manage to make room for the Hand Cut French Fries ($9) though. I was originally a bit disappointed as they looked exactly like the kind of thing you’d get from a fish and chip shop, but one bite changed my mind entirely. I don’t know how exactly to describe it but, these chips tasted much more wholesome and organic than your regular fries. My guess is because it’s made from good potatoes, hand-cut with its skin intact, and then fried in good, clean oil.

We never managed to finish the chips, as much as we would like to have, and our dessert stomachs chose that night to fail us. We didn’t end up ordering any more food, but we had a fabulous time. Mr Mason is a little bit fancy, but it’s very friendly and down to earth as well. It’s a place for good quality French-inspired food without the ridiculous price tag that some other places attach. We finished up our night by exploring the beautiful city of Melbourne as it hosts its first ever White Night Festival, which coincidentally, also hails from France. 



Rating: 14.5/20 – monsieur mason. 

Mr Mason on Urbanspoon