Pre-event

Having just arrived from a trip to Tasmania,  I had over eaten on more than a few occasions- think scallop pies, sheep’s milk cheese, steamed mussels, multiple visits to Jackman & Ross and local blueberry ice-cream. So when it came to deciding as to whether I should attend this exclusive event my mind was telling me no, but my body, my body was telling me ye-ah (Bump & Grind lyrics here). Although, unlike R.Kelly’s intention in the song, my coos were gastronomical. Allegedly. Plus, who could resist a tour of the Grand Hyatt kitchen?! Not me by any chance homeboy.

You see some say I do get a little excited over my food, especially when it comes to a TKO dish, I hold nothing back as I begin conversation with the plate of goodness.  My friends are so forgiving…until they start to plan some sort of intervention.

Details:

Collins Kitchen, Grand Hyatt

123 Collins Street

Melbourne VIC 3000

Phone: (03) 9657 1234

23 February 2010, 6:30PM

Who was there?

In attendance were twenty guests who included a group of extremely h u n g r y b l o g g e r s, Executive Chef Jason Camillo and Marketing Manager Lucy Owens from Grand Hyatt as well as Director David Li and Community Manager Sarah Stokely from Nuffnang.

Intro

Now, as you can imagine, the amount of dishes eaten during this splendid evening was mammoth. So to avoid this also turning into a mammoth post, I will try and summarise as best as possible.

After our twitter conversations prior to the event, the food bloggers were ready and revved up. Our stomachs are a never ending plate. I mean, what better way to market Collins Kitchen than to have 20 foodies blog about their experiences huh!

With a focus on using the best local produce and organic ingredients, Executive Chef Jason Camillo served up signature dishes from their seasonal menu.

Offering an a la carte menu, the restaurant which seats over 180 guests is open all day from breakfast to dinner and overlooks Russel and Collins Streets.

Collins Kitchen has adopted the open plan concept with separate cooking stations including grill, wok, sushi, deli and patisserie where guests can get the opportunity to interact with the chefs. There were also exclusive guest dining areas. It was the largest, operationally sound and cleanest kitchen I have ever seen.

With their recent renovations it certainly seemed more plush than I had remembered. The last time I ate here was when they used to have the all you can eat buffet. We were greeted and immediately seated at RU-CO bar where we were presented with an extensive wine and cocktail list. I like my wine on the sweet side, so I opted for recommended the Riesling. Once the majority had arrived, we were taken to our table and within minutes, we proceeded to kitchen for a tour.

Kitchen Tour

I have taken the liberty to film the inner workings of the kitchen- see below video. You may see Joyce and Penny running around as we were the last ones gawking at the abundance of fresh made goodies just lying around awaiting the touch of our taste buds.

It felt like we were in Willi Wonka Land, only instead of candy, we were surrounded by hanging prosciutto, freshly made sashimi, cheese and what seemed like an endless mount of seafood!

Sarah and I were checking out the pork crackling and the hollandaise sauce. If it weren’t for the damn glass window, our fingers may have done some dipping.

Hello there my pretty pork…

Steaming station- yum cha anyone?

Just beautiful…

Two levels of various cheeses. Am I in heaven?

Soon to be devoured…

Getting down to business, what the hell did we eat?

First up were some crust bread and the anticipated Sushi and Sashimi platters. After watching some knife wielding action at the Sushi station, including the makings of some freshly made wasabi, we were all immediately beady eyed.

Salmon, omelette, Unagi (eel), prawn, tuna, spicy tuna nori rolls, wasabi.

The TKO for me was the Unagi (eell). Not sure whether this was made traditionally with sake, soy and sugar, but I can confirm that it contained the two latter ingredients.

Hitting the right chords were  the ripened tomatoes with buffalo mozzarella. Teaming this up with the crisp wafers was a nice fit as the juices started to flow down my mouth. Closed my eyes when no one was looking, not that I care of course.

Tomatoes with buffalo mozzarella and basil, cantaloupe with prosciutto, liverwurst with mini gherkins, deli meats, roasted vegetables.

Next came the Tomato, Olive and Basil Foccacia. Perfectly fluffy, I did my thing and tore it open to succumb to the fresh aroma of dough. This is my favourite part of baked goods- just smelling them. I didn’t want to have too much as it would undoubtedly fill me up.

After seeing the roast meats hanging Asian style in the kitchen, it was time to let loose on the Roast Meat Platter. Having eaten these dishes even before I could mutter my first baby words, I was interested how these would compare to a cheaper establishment. I loved the moistness of the Soy Chicken- beautiful. Although, the crackling of the pork was chewy.

Soy chicken, roast duck, roast pork, and char siu pork.

Fried Rice

The table started to ‘ooh and aaah’ when the Mixed Seafood Grill Platter made its landing. It was interesting to note which seafood crustation each of my peeps went for. I immediately hurled towards the scallops. So well presented with their respective grill marks, I closed my eyes again as I took the initial bite of this thickly sweet delight. So good. I wanted a whole plate filled with scallops. Also worthy of mention were the prawns in their sticky shells.

Morton Bay bugs, prawns, scallops, tuna and salmon,.

And then came the love of my life, the love that rarely disappoints, Porterhouse Steak. This massive thing of beauty had been ageing for 30 days. Served medium rare, the sweet and smokey notes flavoured each piece as it ended up in the mouth for processing. I would definitely come back to Collins Kitchen for this boy!

Alongside was the most creamy and buttery mash I’ve had in the last year. I felt the butter coating the lining of my throat. Amazing my friend, just freakin amazing!

Dessert: It’s been a long time since I’ve written a post containing some dessert. Well folks, here it comes.

One by one, Billy, Penny, Joyce and I hit each dessert with determined precision. Of the ice-cream varieties, the Pistachio was the hit. Nicely nutty and creamy, it cleaned up the taste of the mains away in minutes.

Selection of ice-creams and gelatos (passionfruit, piastchio strawberry and vanilla), rhubarb and strawberry crumble with vanilla cream, peach melba, chocolate fondant with chocolate gelato, chocolate biscotti and a banana mille feulle.

I loved the Chocolate Fondant so much, that the table decided that I should finish it- and that I accepted with pleasure. So much chocolate which included chocolate gelato, chocolate biscotti all condensed into a small bowl, I was silent as I concentrated on making sure each precious moment I had with the dish was savoured.

As I completed this honorable task, I turned around to the other table of bloggers with a grin and they immediately knew what I’d devoured. It was like Food Blogger Telepathy.

What I didn’t expect was Penny making a ‘special delivery’ with the remaining Rhubarb and Strawberry Crumble asking that I finish that too! I was hesitant at first, but with the guys insisting I take it for the team…well..that I did. It was very sweet but bitingly tart.

Another highlight during dessert was the cutting of the banana mille feulle. I filmed as the others delicately cut the sweet beast into fours. See below video.

The Cap Off

With a thousand photos taken like adrenaline filled tourists later, it was an enjoyable night and was great to see my fellow foodies offline, a few for the first time. Thank you to Chef Jason Camillo and Lucy Owens from Grand Hyatt as well as David Li and Sarah Stokely from Nuffnang for the invite and hosting such a scrumptious evening.

A few comments were flying around like “Liquid lunch tomorrow” – “I need to find a good diet pill” – “I feel pregnant” to name a few. Hilarious and a good sign that no one, not even myself needed to do maccas run afterwards. Mission accomplished.

Food Rehab Verdict: Sent me to food rehab (book this place now! Wowzer) – Greenlight

See fellow blogger posts so far:

- Michele @ Iron Chef Shellie

- Joyce @ Mel: Hot or Not

- Penny @ Addictive & Consuming

I’ll link up the other posts as they come. If I’ve missed out on anyone in this post, please comment or holla on twitter.

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Calling out for Melbourne’s ultimate Hainanese Chicken Rice! Anyone?

For a few weeks now, some friends and I have been venturing the streets of Melbourne in hunt for the best Hainanese Chicken Rice. Rules are that we go off no recommendations but our own intuition, (damn…that Jewel song is in my head) taking a risk at each eatery we randomly walk or drive past. Personally, this was quite difficult at the same time, exciting for me as I’d either tweet my fellow bloggers for advice or prowl the interweb for reviews prior to a restaurant visit.

Found in Hainan, China- Hainanese Chicken is commonly associated with Malaysian and Singaporean cuisine. The whole chicken (skin on) is boiled in a chicken and pork stock whereas the rice is prepared using only chicken stock, resulting in an oily texture and a fragrant aroma.

I’m sorry if I offend anyone, but when I see someone not devour any chicken skin especially if it’s been fried, a dark cloud starts to hover over my head as I grit my teeth wishing that this crispy ‘kill me now’ goodness would instead land on my plate.

Southern Fried chicken is my comfort food, having had plenty when I was in New York.  Of course everyone has their reasons, but if you’re a chicken skin stripper, you will not get to experience this wonderful dish fully. Like I do, just spend some additional hours at the gym if you’re worried about the fat content.

” Don’t be a chicken skin stripper! “

Being in Australia, I’m not one to expect that the dish be totally authentic. However, depending on the restaurant cuisine, I expect that it should be tender and flavorsome with all the hairs properly plucked and served with several dips including chili sauce and pounded ginger as well as an oyster sauce combined with garlic or a lightly sweetened soy sauce base. Pluck those hairs people!

So I’m glad to bring you this month’s Food Battles and here are the contenders:

Contender # 1 Chun Po

Details: 18 Glenferrie Rd, Malvern, 3144 Phone: (03) 9509 9624

Growing up in the neighboring suburbs, I’ve been eating at Chun Po since I was in primary school, but never have I eaten their Hainanese Chicken until today.  My favourite dish is their version of Deep Fried Pork Ribs with Steamed Rice. Prior to their refurbishment, I still remember a time when instead of normal water jugs, they used Cottees Cordial bottles and the walls were covered with wooden laminate. I actually preferred it being so oldskool and nonchalant.

Mains: Served on a bed of freshly steamed bok choy and sweetened soy, the chicken was nicely thick and juicy. The serving was very generous; it felt like I was eating for two.

The accompanying soup was also good as I followed the:

4 step program-

1. Soak the chicken piece in the soy

2. Lightly coat with chili sauce

3. Add atop the spoonful of rice

4. Carefully take a dip in the soup. With all the four steps taken, I had finally arrived in food rehab.

Bring a date here? Why not.

Night out with friends here? Yes, would also make a great lunchtime pit stop.

Service: Courteous and friendly.

$$$: Under $10 Cheap Eats Certified

Food Rehab Verdict: Sent me to food rehab (book this place now! Wowzer) – Greenlight

Contender # 2 China Bar

Details: 235 Russell St, Melbourne, 3000 Phone: (03) 9639 1633

Mains: Riding on a dingy styled dish, China Bar’s version came with all the required trimmings-we especially loved their house chili sauce and frequently went back for more heaped spoons. The bird, sunken in sweet soy, proudly showed a little tenderness hitting a taste bud TKO when combined with the fragrant rice. It was silence at the table- usually a good sign that the dish has passed with flying colours.

Bring a date here? Not a first date, perhaps when you’re over the honeymoon period

Night out with friends here? More like a get in and get out quickly joint, perhaps just lunch.

Service: quick, but don’t expect too much

$$$: Under $11 Cheap Eats Certified

Food Rehab Verdict: Sent me to food rehab (book this place now! Wowzer) – Greenlight

Contender # 3 Viet Star

Details: 750 Glenferrie Rd, Hawthorn, 3122 Phone: (03) 9818 5090

Being so close to my work, this was the first on our list as we drove past after work.

Mains: Viet Stars’ version at first glance looked a tad bit more pleasing to the eye, but compared to Chun Po and China Bar, it lacked the flavour and required more dips in the chili to compensate. Although the rice was relatively fragrant, it wasn’t the oily rice that we are accustomed to when it comes to this dish. Still, it was good so when I have my cravings during work, Viet Star is a mere 15 minute walk away! How convenient!

Bring a date here? More suited to a lunch date.

Night out with friends here? I’d suggest a lunch meet.

Service: Ok

$$$: Under 11

Food Rehab Verdict: Still sane (good, not great but check it out if you’re in the area) – Orangelight

And the winner is…

Chun Po. I loved the added touch of freshly steamed Bok Choy as I hardly get my veggies as it is. Their sweet soy was just plain addictive with no drop spared. The abundance of quality chicken in one serving was also a welcomed surprise.

So um, can you tell me where else I could find some finger lickin good Hainanese Chicken?

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Damn this heat. Don’t get me wrong, I’m all up for balmy summer days…just not during a hard working week!

Back at my desk after a lunchtime stroll, the sweat starts to creep in. I find myself desperately drawing upon the surrounding plants’ energy as I try and fill up my depleted energy supplies. Obviously, it doesn’t work. My only sweet solace at this point is the clock…hitting that tricky number five so I can get home and finally make use of the blender before it starts rusting.

I’m going to divulge a little secret. Being a comic book addict, I’ve always had some difficulty in deciding which of the many powers from Marvel heroes I would like to possess. When asked, instead of just picking one, my official response would be “A combination of the telepathic powers of Professor X and Storm’s ability to control the weather- that way, I can control both people’s minds (mainly restaurants to give me free meals) and create tornadoes anytime or I can just choose not have any cloudy days”

For the purpose of generating some ice cubes at will- today, I’ve chosen Storm’s powers.

Arriving home, I waste no time in coming up with a drink that would cure this sweaty hangover. Here’s what I had in my cupboard:

Zee Ingredients

One Ripened Mango

Handful of ice cubes

One Lychee Jelly Cup

One Soursop Jelly Cup or four mini cups

Half a cup of Apple Juice

The Procedure

Wash and cut the ripened mango scooping the ingredients into a blender along with a handful of ice.

Add ½ cup of apple juice and blend at a low setting for 10 seconds. Throw in the lychee jelly and blend for a further 5 seconds. Unwrap and place the soursop jelly into a bowl and roughly cut into cubes, drop that into the ice blend, stir and you’re done.

Pour into a chilled glass and drink up homeboy! You may be tempted to add in some vodka. By all means go ahead, but tonight, I’m cooking with some sharp objects so I’d better stay away for my own safety. Hmmm…a friend just yelled out “Who cares about yours, how about mine!” Trust issues are present here.

You’ve been served

Hooked on Bubble Cup (I’m such an Asian), I love pearl in my icy drinks. In this case, I’ve gone with Soursop- popular back home in the Philippines, it’s described as a cross between lychee and custard apple with a citrus tone.

I’m off to Tassie next week! Wooot! Any recommendations?

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Hey, what’s wrong with eating with your hands? This way, there’s no chance of burning the tongue or roof of your mouth.

For the past three summers, a group of friends and I have been making our way down to the Queen Victoria Night Market every week. What usually occurs is a ritual fast during the day in order to leave room for the loosening up of our belts as we over consume to the point of delirium  as the night progresses.

Despite the wide range of international cuisines on offer, our taste buds seem to always point towards the African stalls. With this in mind, we all vowed to resolve our Ethiopian food cravings at The Abyssinian later that week.

Details: 277 Racecourse Rd Kensington, 3031. Phone: 03 9376 8754 Google Map Website: http://www.theabyssinian.com.au

Surroundings: As soon as we walked in, our eyes were fixated on the dangling wall ornaments and traditional paintings. I appreciated how much effort was put towards the decor so that patrons can soak up the Ethiopian culture.

Entrées: A friend of mine, nicknamed Eggnog, has an addiction to eggplant. So much so that she had repeated this order more than a few times which led to more than a few welcomed servings. We get the point! Melazany- grilled eggplant cubes came well seasoned and nicely marinated with fresh garlic, olive oil and chives. It was slightly fiery from the chili but fitted perfectly when rolled up with the injera bread which I’d describe as a lighter version of a pancake but had a sourdough aftertaste.

“When dining at The Abyssinian, don’t expect to use much of the cutlery. Wash your hands, and get bare handed with your meal. In fact, this is probably the most enjoyable part of the whole dining experience. Just tear the soft aromatic injera bread, scoop, roll and succumb to the wonderful delights.”

Being Filipino, eating with your hands is part of the norm. In fact, strangely enough, some of our best dishes seem to taste better when eaten without cutlery.

Also great was the Silsy- a puree of  onion on ghee (clarified vegetable palm oil) and berbere (80% sarrano chili, 20% mix of 25 various spices) and tomato sauce. Despite this being a meatless dish, with the abundance of flavours, it tasted like beef! We were positively confused.

Mains: After the exited bouts of going back and forth on the menu, we finally cut down to three main dishes. All the mains came at once covered by large straw lids served on once large dish which took up most of the table space. Starting from the left, Goat on Kemmam Sauce was slightly on the hard side, but appreciated the tasty combination of lemon, cardamom, cloves and my favourite cinnamon. When growing up, I’d always had goat served in a spiced soupy stew so this was an interesting way of cooking this dish.

From the specials section, better was the Shiro Bozena presented itself as chopped up cubes of marinated lamb cooked on a very hot pan resulting in some crispy bits. I could taste the garlic and chickpea which was grounded into a sauce. This was my favourite dish of the evening as I happily rolled these babies up with some of the house salad and injera bread like a little kid experimenting (not playing!) with his food.

It was time to try a little tenderness – Dorho Kulwha, not Otis Redding. Although now I have that classic song in my head! This poultry dish is reminiscent to that of a Filipino recipe which my family has been cooking for generations called Chicken Asado. The chicken breast strips were well marinated with Ghee, African spices, tomato puree, turmeric and simmered to perfection. Yea boy!

TIP: Depending on how you like to eat your food, the mains are traditionally all tipped atop the injera bread. Personally, I would have preferred to keep them in their pods in order to keep the dishes separated and to prevent the bread going soggy. You feel me?

Update 6 February- After leaving a comment on this post- I had the pleasure of meeting the lovely Rahel, owner and chef of The Abyssinian when I had eaten here a second time to celebrate my birthday.  Rahel took to the time to talk about her culture and the tradition behind the food. Funnily, her husband even knew who I was and said ” Adrian, from Food Rehab?” A friend leaked that it was my birthday so to my surprise, Rahel decided to give me a beautiful traditional cooking pot used to cook rice, stew or as a serving dish. It was so unexpected and one of the most kindest gestures I have ever received. If you’re reading this- thank you.

Overall, we were impressed, loved the service and enjoyed our experience. Despite the many attempts to have a food fight, it was a good change to our usual types cuisines when dining out on a Friday night and loved using our hands. Prior to this, we had Asian and Italian 4 weeks in a row! Also check out a review by fellow blogger Iron Chef Shellie

It’s 2010 people…time for a change. Looking forward to our next visit. In fact, we’d also just eaten at Kamel – think middle eastern and African infusion- which was also unbere-vable! Review coming soon yo.

Dessert: tummy says no…

Bring a date here? Perfect.

Night out with friends here? Yes, but book pronto.

Service: Courteous and friendly.

$$$: 80 inc drinks. Cheap eats certified!

Food Rehab Verdict: Sent me to food rehab (book this place now! Wowzer) – Greenlight

So um, what other eateries can you suggest where you are encouraged to use your hands rather than cutlery?

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When it comes to pork on the grill, there’s that risk of cough worthy dryness. So dry in fact, that the tough bits get stuck in between your teeth. There’s nothing worse than hearing one of your guests politely say “It’s a little dry.” Not in my kitchen fool! Meanwhile, I always seem to get meat stuck on my top right molar which is another story, and one that is more suited towards a dentist.

To resolve this dilemma, the less time they spend on the grill, the better. To do this, we boil the hunk of meat.

This recipe is another family gem and is better cooked by the kitchen master, my Mum! Nonetheless, I’m always willing to give it a go.

Zee Ingredients

1 Kg Pork Chops with fat. Don’t trim off these jewels.

Oil

Pepper

Salt

Vinegar

4 cloves of garlic

Fresh Corn Cobs

The Procedure

Pre-cooking

The Pork

Add enough water to fill half a standard pot. Whilst that’s heating up, chuck those juicy buggers (the pork chops) into a large bowl. Chop, crush and coat each piece with the garlic then season well with salt and pepper. Add six table spoons of white vinegar and combine with your hands.

Seal the bowl with cling wrap and set it aside in the fridge for ten minutes. During this waiting game, you may choose to hoover down a fudge brownie whilst slow dancing to Prince’s Beautiful Ones. Well, the latter being optional. Everyone has their own cooking music.

Now, after realising that your neighbors’ have been watching your terrible dance moves through the window, you may proceed to bring the chops to a boil for no longer than 8 minutes. TIP: Prick to ensure there’s no blood. This is enough time to lock in the flavour. Refrain from over boiling. Take out meat, drizzle with oil and wrap in aluminum foil.

The Corn

Peel off husks and soak in water for 10 minutes to provide moisture during cooking and lightly dry. Set up the BBQ. I’ve chosen to cook over the good old charcoal beads.  Who needs gas?

The Grillin

Considering the pork chops have already been cooked to tenderness, grilling time is minimal. As a guide, four to five minutes on each side should be sufficient. TIP: If you’re a crackling addict like me; you can strip these off and leave to cook on their own for a little longer.

Meanwhile, simply place the corn over medium heat with no oil or butter continually rotating to prevent charring. When ready, a few pricks to a few kernels will burst out their juice.

You’ve been served!

The result? On your plate, the pork chops should be smokey and juicy with a mouth watering tang compliments of the vinegar. The corn must be lathered with butter. In fact, why not soak it in butter. Kidding…..sort of…

I’ll give you two minutes fool!!

So um, what’s your cooking music?

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“You don’t need the bacon!”

With the amount of Pork Belly eaten over the festive period, I thought I’d take up a healthy option at Dead Man Espresso. So I thought…

Details: 35 Market St, South Melbourne 3205 (03) 9686 2255 Website: www.deadmanespresso.com.au

Surroundings: As soon as you walk in, you immediately feel a sense of industrial-esque space. With its high ceilings, light wooden panels, floor to ceiling windows opening to a mini alfresco dining area – it’s best to sit in the center communal table so you can catch all the unique details as well as giving you full view of the baristas at work as they make you’re wake up calls.

After visiting their blog, I was shocked to find out that they were closing up over the festive season with their last day being the 23^rd December. I ran out the door and down the hallways to the lifts as if I were being chased by some chainsaw wielding psycho (minus the screams of course…not that I could anyways). On that topic, if you’ve heard my attempt to scream- it sounds more like a snake hiss. Pitiful! I’m better off boiling a kettle during an emergency. Although, I should be proud that I can’t pull off a scream. I’m a man!

Let’s not digress here. The menu is simple but diverse. I love the interesting combination’s and added elements to the dishes like the Asian influence on the Fruit Salad with Tapioca and Lemongrass Granita. Below were a few menu items that I was desperate to consume:

1. Brioche French toast with sesame seed chili caramel and grilled pineapple with bacon.
2. Ricotta pancakes with poached fruit

None of the above was available. Again, I was thinking of shaving my credit card to the fine point of a shiv and stabbing myself! Not a problem. Understanding it was their last day, I was told menu items were very limited. So here’s what I chose:

Liquids: A wake me up Seven Seeds beaned cappuccino. I had high hopes for this and was fortunately met. The beverage was well delivered- full bodied, slightly bitter with a subtle caramel aftertaste which entertained the palate. I was tempted to try out their filtered coffee after watching the demonstration (above) but I was in the mood for some Seven Seeds. Next time.

Mains:

BLT Pork Belly & Spinach puree on brioche with gazpacho.  On initial arrival, I thought “Where is the meat?” However, upon dissection, underneath the buttery toasted brioche and the refreshingly tangy greens revealed the star of the show. Like a moth to a flame, the pork belly was burned by the fire being pan fried leaving a crispy edge of fat and tender centre. So tasty and sinful at the same time.

The slightly spicy gazpacho added some nice elements to the dish as I happily dipped away, but it still stood strong without.

As mentioned at the start of the review, I’ve had my fair share of pork over the past few days so this wasn’t my first choice. However, it was the next best thing after my original preferred items. No regrets here homeboy!

There’s been quite abit of hype in Melbourne surrounding Dead Man, St. Ali, Seven Seeds, Café Vue, Proud Mary (check out fellow foodie reviews by Addictive & Consuming and Cruxiefaye) as well as other new coffee houses that have opened up recently. They’re all great so please don’t make me choose. We do love our coffee in Melbourne huh?!

Dessert: Tummy says no.

Bring a date here? Hell yeah! Would make a great first date

Brekkie with friends here? Yes

Service: Courteous and friendly.

$$$: 17

Food Rehab Verdict: Sent me to food rehab (book this place now! Wowzer) – Greenlight

So um, other than the new coffee houses mentioned, are there any others that have gunned you down?

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All I want for Christmas is…you a Hamburger Cushion. Check out these eye watering cushions I came across. Definitely on my to get list unless I’m a happy recipient of course. I can picture myself arriving home from work and napping on this delicious looking specimen as well as using it to stir up an appetite (not that I need it ) .

You can grab one of these babies at Melbourne Central for RRP $24. Just in case you’re wondering, this is not a product endorsement.

Every year, it is tradition that my friends I go to The Boulevard at Ivanhoe to lift up our Christmas Spirit and fixate our beady eyes at the many houses decked out with Christmas decorations.  It’s amazing to see the amount of effort these folks put in which attracts up to 20,000 people each year. The event (15 – 24 December) has been running since 1950!

It reminds me of my holiday in San Fransisco where many streets were filled with fake snow, candy covered houses, man made snow slides and giant candy canes- I felt like I was in some theme park! Mind you, these were just in ordinary streets. Loved it.

Wishing you all a Merry Christmas and a bloatfull  holiday. Now, to more ham…and perhaps some exercise!

Should I wake up early for the Boxing Day sale? I hear Myer is opening at 5am?! oh dear…people..oh dear..

Believe it or not, I do occasionally have meat free days. Although, you wouldn’t know it after reading my post on The Steak Battles! Since moving out of home seven years ago at age twenty one (damn mortgage..hehe), my eating habits had changed for the better- fortunately discarding my appetite for KFC and instead, growing my appreciation for fresh produce and cooking.

100% Brown Rice Balls

My detox plan had begun and so did my weekly trips to the beloved South Melbourne Market. Not only did I eventually shake off those pesky love handles, but I felt like a new person. Seriously. My facial acne had disappeared, my skin was glowing a like a pregnant woman (so I was told) and I somehow picked up some new found Super Mario like energy.

Thankfully, one thing I didn’t manage to lose was my sweet tooth. Phew! Breathe Adrian…breathe…

Eating my greens at The Vegie Bar

Details: 380 Brunswick St Fitzroy Melbourne, Victoria 3065 Ph: (03) 9417 6935 Website: www.vegiebar.com.au

Surroundings: What’s great about stepping inside The Vegie Bar, you immediately feel as though you’re part of the neighborhood. From floor to ceiling, the walls are lined up with posters promoting local musical gigs and community events creating a casual yet comfortable space where locals can feed and gather.

Entrées: Being my first visit and not knowing what to try on an all veggie menu, I suggested we just try out as many items as possible. I’m usually not one to commit to just one main meal.

Particularly good was the Roti Channai which came with nicely warm pieces of Malaysian flat bread and a flurry of non-dressed leaves. The dipping bowl of potato and lentil curry was well formed and surprisingly light with its distinctively potatoey flavours.

The Rice Balls (100% brown rice) were perfectly fried giving you that opportunity to take a big bite of its thinly crisp shell as you lick the tangy sauce from your fingers. Think of arancini balls.

Of course I had to try the Dim Sims. Small in size, they should perhaps be called Won Tons, as opposed to Dim Sims. Nonetheless, they were well seasoned and crunchy from the deep fryer.

Mains: Also noteworthy for its abundance of juicy mushrooms was the Risotto. In the dish were three mushroom varieties (Portobello, Swiss Brown, and Field) all finely chopped spreading their unique flavours throughout and balanced nicely with the white wine, fresh shaved parmesan and fragrant truffle oil. I’d come back again just for this.

Dessert: Who would’ve thought I’d have no room after a vegetarian meal! The cake display is tempting.

Bring a date here? Would make a great first date

Night out with friends here? Yes, but book.

Service: Courteous and friendly. Fast.

$$$: 40

Food Rehab Verdict: Sent me to food rehab (book this place now! Wowzer) – Greenlight

Speaking of being green, Creamy the Cat or should I say Envirocat supports the use of reusable bags.

So um,  where do you get your dose of greens?

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As mentioned in Part one of In Your Hood, my very helpful readers Dave and Mellisa, suggested I try out two of their local haunts- Andrews Hamburgers followed by Yellow Door. So on a hot morning during my annual leave the other week, a second visit was in order.

One thing you’ll notice about Albert Park are the wide open streets lined with mature leafy and exotic trees providing shade for the heritage buildings. Only 3 km from the Melbourne CBD and near the beach, this affluent side of town is abundant with boutique stores, mini parks, cafes, bakeries (very important) and poodles. Yes, oodles of poodles. I swear I saw at least five of these well manicured and pampered human companions within a span of an hour!

Breakfast at Yellow Door

Details: 119 Dundas Place, Albert Park, Victoria.  Phone: 03 9686 1045

Surroundings: This open air café also offers an expansive light filled interior, surrounded by menu written wall to wall chalkboards. Being a licensed venue, wine selections are also abundant on shelves behind the cupcake lavished counter.

Liquids: The bean used here is Griffiths. Sourced from various regions like Africa, Asia and South America, the flavour was rich and strong in acidity. Slightly too bitter for my palate but nonetheless, a pleasant aftertaste. Pack on the sugar baby!

Mains: Then there was the Sweetcorn Fritters with avocado salsa, roquette and chive crème fraiche. The two large rounded pieces were thick, filled with plenty of juicy corn kernels bursting upon each mouthfool. Definitely eye candy, I didn’t know where to begin- the salad or right to the fitters?

I guess the most exciting part about this dish was the diversity in its blend of soft (avocado) and dense textures. The buds were pampered with sweetness from the corn, bitterness from the bed of roquette leaves all neutralised with the subtle chive crème fraiche. Like a homemade pancake, the surrounding edges remained nicely crisp.

It was actually a little heavier than I’d expected holding off my hunger pains till the evening.

Dessert: The cupcakes looked tempting, but tummy says no.

Bring a date here? Yea boy!

Brunch with friends here? With a specific menu just for Brunch, for sure. Tell me what you think of the other items. I was checking out the French Toast sandwich served with Andrew’s smoked leg ham, Dijon and a side of homemade spiced tomato chutney.

Service: Polite. To the frustration of the barista, there were issues with the EFTPOS and coffee machine on the day.

$$$: 16.90

Food Rehab Verdict: Sent me to food rehab (book this place now! Wowzer) – Greenlight

So do I prefer the fritters at Yellow Door or Richmond Hill & Larder’s? Hard choice as this was a heavier serving, but the salsa and the Tom Coopers salmon at the latter…freakin amazing!

Meanwhile, check out the Roast Pig I happily ate my way through at a friends party. After a minutes silence,  I wiped up my drool, armed myself with a butchers knife, took four steps back and hurled at the 48 kg piggy’s crispy skin like Genghis Khan in battle. I think I may have said ” This is my town, I’m gonna %^&%….!” So my friends tell me, who by the way, weren’t  impressed by my barbaric actions as they shook their heads.

Pretty Piggy…hehe

So, um, can you suggest a better breakfast fritter?

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Eating my way around the world in one day. I’m clearly insane. Hmm. Is that even possible? Well, if lip-syncing throughout a whole concert is deemed fine these days, then hell yeah!

Some friends of mine just came back from a trip around Europe. During dinner with the group, Mr Sakata* was telling us how much he loved Paris, describing how scrumptious the buttery filled food was and how he has now learnt to appreciate simple staples like bread. “Everything was amazing, just everything!” he proclaimed whilst I was happily chewing on my steak.

Meanwhile, this got me thinking. No…not a spontaneous flight to Paris. I thought; why not take a trip around Melbourne’s fine ‘ass’ eateries in 1 day. Being my day off work, today I chose to auction off my tummy to the most delectable bidders as opposed to reading comics all day. A man’s gotta eat right?!

Above: Berry pastry at Les Boucheries Parisiennes

Upon waking with food on my mind (happens every morning) it was time to get prepared for a full tank. A jog around The Tan was in order. Work that $%&# out boy!

My mission: To take on as many eateries in 1 day until my buds are sent to food rehab. Along the way, to let you how my fullness levels were, I’ve included a Tummy capacity level check point.

Now with so many places on the overeating agenda, I’ve kept each adventure review as short and sweet as possible. Otherwise, this could turn into some lengthy university type thesis. Run!

The Flight Itinerary

Morning- France

Les Boucheries Parisiennes

Laurent

Stopover

Tommyboy

Lunch – Italy & Greece

Sugo

Nikos Quality Cakes

Arkibar

Afternoon- Denmark

Copenhagen Patisserie and Cafe

Dinner- Philippines

Kabayan

Armed with some loose fitting trakkies, I was off to France.

Morning- France

Stop #1 Les Boucheries Parisiennes

Details: 268 Toorak Rd SOUTH YARRA VIC 3141 Ph: 8256 1636

Surroundings:

Walking down Toorak Road, my eyes peered to the left as they saw a huge window sign- French Breakfast. Of course, I wandered right in.

A welcoming greeting from Patrick and I was seated. On the menu was a traditional French breakfast with an assortment of chocolate croissants, berry pastries and fresh baguette with jam.

The buttery pastry was flaky and sweetly tart matching quite well with the full bodied, crisp and not so bitter Lavazza beaned flat white. I’d certainly come back for this again. The white and raw sugar cubes added a nice flair.

Bring a date here? I’d like to come back for lunch to try out their Wagyu Pie. I’m still high from the Café Vue version.

Service: Welcoming and very friendly. When Patrick found out I was a food blogger, I was able to walk around comfortably taking various shots.

$$$: 7

Food Rehab Verdict: Sent me to food rehab (book this place now! Wowzer) – Greenlight

Stop #2 Brekkie at Laurent

Details: 477  Toorak Rd SOUTH YARRA VIC 3141 Ph: 9827 6928

Surroundings:

Mains: Croque Monsieur- was filled with creamy béchamel and slices of ham and cheese. From the first bite, it was definitely rich and sinful indeed. With crisp outer crusts and a cheesey meat filled center, what more can you ask for? It was a much heavier version compared to Café Vue’s.

Sweet Stuff: hell no.

Bring a date here? A great lunch spot for those blind dates.

Service: Polite

$$$: 7.50

Food Rehab Verdict: Sent me to food rehab (book this place now! Wowzer) – Greenlight

Stopover

Stop #3: Tommyboy’s

Geeze..what a life I lead huh? All blinged up flying everywhere in my private jet hehe.

Tummy capacity level: 25%

Details: 194 Bank St South Melbourne Victoria 3205

Surroundings:

Flat white- After such a long flight….*cough*- I needed some downtime, so chilling outdoors in my local hood at Tommyboy’s was the perfect solution. The coffee, like D’Angelo’s ‘Feel like makin love’, was smooth and set to a good temperature. A creamy froth was conjured up using full cream milk of course. No skinny milk belongs in my tummy.

Sweet Stuff: Tummy says no.

Bring a date here? The alfresco area makes a great spot for a Sunday morning newspaper read. Also the eccentric Butterfly Club is right next door.

Service: Well skilled barista behind the machine will serve you up a friendly caffeine hit.

$$$: 30

Food Rehab Verdict: Sent me to food rehab (book this place now! Wowzer) – Greenlight

Lunch- Italy

Stop #4- Sugo

Details: 105 Wattletree Rd Malvern, 3143 Phone: 03 9500 1558 Website: www.sugo.com.au

Surroundings:

Mains: By this time, my stomach was kicking me to slow the hell slow down! Thankfully, I only answer to the buds. My favourite bean, Vittoria is served here, resulting in a caramel sweet flavour which balances extremely well with the acidity.

Sugo has been my usual breakfast joint since 2003 but have rarely given their lunch menu a crack. The Italian flat breads aka focaccia, looked tempting. Being obsessed with fresh parmesan at the moment, I opted for the Roma tomato, mozzarella, fresh basil, rocket and parmesan focaccia which came with a side of salad.

The best part about their breakfasts is their Tomato Relish. It’s probably one of the best I’ve had which is why it was imperative that my lunch came with this on the side. The bread was slightly burnt but teamed with the fresh ingredients, ripened tomatoes and the velvety Vitoria beaned flat white, I was sent to rehab.

Sweet Stuff: See next stop.

Bring a date here? Ahuh. Hell yeah.

Service: Friendly service

$$$: 14.40

Food Rehab Verdict: Sent me to food rehab (book this place now! Wowzer) – Greenlight

Tummy capacity level: 50%

Stop #5- Nikos Quality Cakes

Details: 25 Portman Street, Oakleigh VIC 3166 Phone 03 9569 6338

Surroundings: An abundance of cakes, pastries and biscuits adorn the front window theater. Casual and packed crowds during lunch all queuing up for the galaktoboureko.

My workplace used to be positioned about a 5 minute walk from Nikos Quality Cakes. This equated to at least 3 lunch visits a week. My colleague and I would routinely hoover down our homemade lunches and scurry on down to Nikos for their Galaktoboureko. I could never pronouce this  though which had previously brought about a hilarious conversation with Sarah when we had asked Michele how to pronounce it.

Dessert time: The Galaktoboureko goes down as the best in Melbourne to date. With the layers of crisp pastry atop the velvety not too sweet custard lavished with their cinnamon vanilla syrup makes this treat a triple threat making this trip to Greece worth every sweet tooth dime.

Bring a date here? Lunchtime date for sure.

Service: Polite and welcoming.

$$$: 4

Food Rehab Verdict: Sent me to food rehab (book this place now! Wowzer) – Greenlight

Tummy capacity level: 60%

Stopover

Stop #5- Arkibar

Details: 27 Coventry St Melbourne 3205 Phone 03 9690 6688

Surroundings: Red, white and black striped seating lines then back wall of the casual but stylish outdoor deck. Inside, it’s welcoming and intimate with chocolate coloured seating making it versatile to both lunch and dinner occasions.

Why…hello there…

Sweet Stuff: You know how I love little surprises in the simplest of foods. The muffins at Arkibar do just that. To my delight, the Peach and the Peach and Blueberry varieties, once popped open, presented the one and only; mascarpone cream! The result? Combined with the succulent peaches and tangy blueberries, it was decadent,  moist and not overly sweet but refreshing. No sweet guilt here.

Bring a date here? Take me! Otherwise, feel free to pick up some of those muffins for me.

Service: Polite and welcoming.

$$$: 8

Food Rehab Verdict: Sent me to food rehab (book this place now! Wowzer) – Greenlight

Tummy capacity level: 69% full

Afternoon- Denmark

Stop #6- Copenhagen Patisserie and Café

So after wiping my mouth from all those muffins, I was off to Denmark for some more sweet stuff. Yes, I hear you- I’ll promise to hit the gym tomorrow.

Details: Park Street, South Melbourne. Next to Post Office- cnr of Park and Clarendon streets.

Surroundings:

Sweet Stuff: Croissant, being freshly baked, it was flaky opening up to its fluffy but moist layers as you begin to pull it apart- giggling as you smell the warm aroma of butter. It reminds of the sweet aromas during property inspections when the vendor would have cookies baking in the oven! So easily persuaded, I should be kept far away from the bidding process!

Their signature jam tarts were also great and made fresh.

Bring a date here? Take it…and go.

Service: Friendly and it was a kind gesture to offer to me a fresh croissant from the oven.

$$$: 6

Food Rehab Verdict: Sent me to food rehab (book this place now! Wowzer) – Greenlight

Tummy capacity level: 90%

Dinner- Philippines

Last Stop: Kabayan

I only saw it fitting that my final destination be my home country, Philippines. The problem in Melbourne, is the lack of Filipino restaurants. There are a few take-away places, but rarely have I come across a proper eat-in restaurant. I can understand why though. Many Filipino dishes require a few days preparation with some dishes actually tasting better after a few days in the fridge. I’ll get into this another time as I start to introduce some of these recipes.

Above: mouth watering Crispy spit roast pork : Lichen

Details: Shop 10, Cairnlea Shopping Centre, Cairnlea, 8390 1346.

Mains: Paksiw Pork. ‘Pasiw’ is a dish cooked is vinegar and garlic. My mum usually makes this during Christmas from the leftover meat from the whole spit roast pig. The dish should be sweet, salty and very tender. The pieces of pig and its crackling should be served with steamed rice.

Being one of my favourite staples, I had to try Kabayan’s version. Results, not as good as mum’s, but was tender and had generous amounts of crackling. Woooohooo!

Sisig, originating from my hometown, Pampanga, initially, started as a condiment or a starter usually drunk with beer on a hot summers day. Consisting of mainly pig, Sisig is made up of onion, soy sauce, chili, ginger, chicken liver, pepper, lemon and butter. Kabayan did well here.

Halo Halo- a very popular Filipino dessert. Similar to other asain desserts like ice kachang, it consists of red mug beans, star apple, young coconut, sugar palm fruit, plantains, corn, tapioca pearl, ube (puple yam) and lecheflan (creme caramel). Not served with fresh milk, but rather evaporated or condensed milk and generous amounts of ice shavings. Kabaya’s version is propbabaly the best to date I’ve had in a Filipino Melbourne eatery.

Siopaw (steamed pork bun)- Filled with  pull apart  pork asado which is made up of soy, peppercorns, garlic, onion, hoisin star anise, sugar and egg. Think of a Chinese steam pork bun, but a little sweeter.

Bring a date here? For sure.

Service: Very friendly staff.

$$$: 35

Food Rehab Verdict: Sent me to food rehab (book this place now! Wowzer) – Greenlight

Conclusion:

Back at home, I felt like a pregnant man. Ready to burst and finding it hard to breathe, I sought some solace in sleep. I may not have had actually flown around the world in my private jet, but with such  an abundance of diverse eateries in Melbourne, there’s no need. Although, with the all driving around, it does feel like I had jetlag.

Tummy capacity level: 120% over capacity.

Compliments of Sugo.

If you were to plan a round the world trip, where would be your first stop? And what would you eat?!

A teaser or a pleaser? That’s the eighty thousand dollar question. As with many of you, I’ve always had this issue with food. Unfortunately, being a foodaholic means being extremely fussy about what you eat on a day to day basis. So the dish must be both.

The other day, Rob and I were walking through the city laneways discussing how his wife, Sandra, could easily eat canned tuna with toast for dinner five nights a week, whereas he was the complete opposite- happily cooking for the both of them everyday to avoid this catastrophe. Sandra boldly stated that she just didn’t love food, emphasising that unless you love food, canned foods for dinner would suffice, therefore, cooking is out of the question. Gobsmacked, my jaw dropped onto the slimy laneway concrete, whilst I stood there staring at Rob.

However, this moment of shock was short lived. Sensing the whiff of smokey meat hitting the grill, our full attention was required as we hunted down the prey like a pack of wolves.

I guess that’s be best part of being how I am, because the smell of freshly baked scones or sizzling onions can cure any bad moods!

Now back to the cooking. Last night, my friends and I had plans to go out for dinner. However, the weather was definitely not in our favour as we watched the rain endlessly pour down. Not having enough ingredients to make a main meal, I decided to make us some cookies instead using my mama’s recipe. These babies are insanely popular, especially around the my mum’s neighborhood and with friends who would make any excuse to come over my place knowing that fact I have a jar always abundant with cookies.

Makes 24 sinful cookies

Zee Ingredients

135 gms butter at room temperature

1 and 3/4 cups Self raising flour

2 large eggs

1/2 cup of good quality choc chips

1/2 cup caster

1 teaspoon of Vanilla essence

A pinch of salt

The Procedure

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees and lay baking paper on a flat tray. No need for any greasing.
2. In a large bowl, add the softened butter, caster sugar, eggs and vanilla essence. Beat it…beat it until smooth. Sorry got Michael Jackson in my head.
3. Sift flour through. If you don’t have a sieve, you can just fluff it up with a fork or transfer the flour into an airtight container and shake like mad. Add the salt. Then, using your hands or a wooden spoon, stir like crazy. The mixture will be tough so use those muscles.
4. Stir and fold in the chocolate chips with your hands until it is evenly spread throughout.  I use Nestle or for those special occasions, I use Koko Black.
5. Using a table spoon as measurement, fill the spoon with the dough then gently flattening it once it hits the tray with each one being about 1 – 2 inches apart to ensure separation. Try to keep each cookie the same size as they will bake more evenly. We don’t want burnt or underdone cookies.
6. Bake for 10 minutes or until golden brown. The center will be soft but will continue to cook through when left on the tray. Let them cool down and remove with a spatula. Although tempting, if you remove them too early the melted chocolate may cause some breakage.

TIP: As the rear of the oven cooks faster, rotate the cookie tray half way through baking

The result should be a light, thin and crisp cookie that isn’t overly sweet answering your buttery coos leaving you with a subtle salty aftertaste. In my books,  if you can’t have more than 3 in a row, it’s too sweet.

How do I serve them?

When I have guests over, I would break the cookies apart into thumbnail sized chunks and serve over vanilla icecream sending my friends into a sweet frenzy. Who’s in Food Rehab now?

You’ve been served

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My readers Dave and Mellissa, a lovely couple residing in Albert Park, had emailed me suggesting that I pay their suburb a gastronomical visit, to check out two of their favourite local eateries- Andrew’s Hamburgers and Yellow Door. It was a tough call as to which of the two I’d try out first- the red pill or the blue pill? Although, their description of the meat filled buns was enough to set me off, huffing and puffing all the way home; sticking my head out the car window like a Jack Russell in anticipation. For the safety of other drivers, I was fortunately picked up by a trusted friend.

Andrews has been a local haunt for over 50 years. That’s double my years in serving up this meaty tradition.  I’ve also been told that unless you’ve consumed a burger at Andrew’s Burgers, you’re still pretty much a burger virgin. So I guess today was my lucky day people. Lucky day.

Details: 144 Bridport Street, Albert Park, Victioria Phone: 9690 2126

Surroundings: With only a few seats available, this no fuss burger joint screams out “take it….and go!” And that you do my friend. A straightforward chalk written menu gives you an overview of options. Whilst waiting for your order, you can watch the freshly warmed up buns getting their tan on the griller’s frequent rotation. Staff are meticulous in this area.

Mains:

I know you’re going to assume what I’d ordered, and I bet you’re guess is on point. With an enthusiastic wide grin similar to that of Goldie Hawn and Brandy – the words “I’ll have lot please!” automatically rolled out of my mouth like a robot who was only programmed to say these four words.

After a thank you and several shots of the place, I bolted out taking my new fiancé named Pattie with the The Lot, to the nearby park. Just picture my friend shaking his head in embarrassment.

As expected, it was all beef here homeboy! None of that lean meat crap, ‘all healthy and 99% fat free’ mince here. Just that good ol traditional beef patty with all the necessary trimmings you grew up eating- no fuss but with all the juice.

Oh yea baby!

“Two hands were required here as  a war was raging between blood sucking mosquitoes and baby flies who are the most persistent of them all.

One hand was fighting the fight whilst the other was holding fort as it helped transport the meaty cargo on board the taste bud vessel.”

Overall, the burger was satisfying indeed. The first bite brought flashbacks of those joyful childhood memories when your parents lifted you up on the counter so you could watch your burger being grilled at the local fish and chip shop.

The Checklist

1. Melted cheese that sticks in between your teeth – tick
2. Juicy meat- tick
3. Golden brown bun crisp bun- tick
4. Fatty bacon – tick
5. Not overly yolky egg – tick
6. Fresh lettuce, tomato and caramelised onion – tick
7. Tomato sauce – tick

Dessert: Tummy says no

Bring a date here? Hmmm. I would. Shows how romantic I am huh?!

Night out with friends here? Yep, take it to the park nearby.

Service: Polite

$$$: 9.50 for the lot

Food Rehab Verdict: Sent me to food rehab (Wowzer) – Greenlight

Dave and Mellisa- a beef filled thank you for this amazing suggestion. I’ll email you the other pics I took of Albert Park that you may find pretty interesting. Watch out for Part 2 of In Your Hood eating its way to you soon.

So, um, where do you get your meaty burgers from? I smell a Burger Battle coming up for my Food Battles…

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MY name’s Adrian and I’m a Foodaholic. That goes without saying.  But perhaps I should also be in rehab over my other addiction- comics. As a teenage  kid who got bored with basketball cards back in high school, a bulk of my comic collection was unfortunately lost during a house move. I was devastated I tell you. Devastated. I did manage to track a few rare replacements down in New York, but have been on an overspending mission ever since.

Yamato Interior

Whist hitting downtown Melbourne joyfully enjoying my annual leave, hunting down the latest copies of the Uncanny X-Men: First Class and Sweatshop comic series (total geek right?), I decided to begin the next Food Battles chapter.

As soon as the weather starts to heat up for the shorts and havana wearing months, out goes my cravings for Laksa as my buds (as in taste buds) turn their attention to sushi and sashimi.

Sushi is still hitting hard as the lunchtime staple, competing heavily with crusty sandwiches and the humble meat pie. It doesn’t seem too long ago when I’d suggest going out for sushi copping the occasional remarks like “Sushi? That’s not real food” or the most common “It ain’t even cooked, eew!” It felt as if I was suggesting we go out for a cockroach filled gravy roll!

Although I’m not a huge fan of the sushi chains that have popped up like ferrets in recent years, I do appreciate the fact that they’ve forged this much loved delicacy into the mainstream. I actually don’t mind Sushi Sushi. Although it still contains carbs, it’s great to see the youngins gobbling down hand rolls rather than hot dogs and chips.

Until my trip to the ramen land- Japan happens, the obsessive hunt through Melbourne’s Japanese hot spots in search for the reigning sushi and ramen continues. There have been many…how should I put it..duds. It’s amusing to see the numerous eateries claiming they’re authentic, let alone Japanese owned.

For me, the perfect ramen should stir your “I must have a scoop of ice cream in the middle of the night” filled emotions as it touches the cookie dough soul. Seriously. If you find yourself closing your eyes with each spoon fool of hearty stock, followed by the slurp of fresh noodles- you’ve hit gold. By the way, I have no shame in using my loud slurping skills in public. Slurp it up homeboy!

Mixing spoon at Meiji Japanese Café. Loved the touch

There are four main soup bases, Shio, Tonkotsu, Shuyu and Miso. Shuyu being my favourite, has a clear brown broth. Depending on who’s making it, the soy sauce based stock can either consist of chicken and vegies, beef or fish. The texture should be clean and slightly tangy.

Meanwhile,  like how the X-Men fought against Magneto’s Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, there was a was a showdown brewing in Chinatown with Yomato coming head to head with Meiji Japanese Café. Sorry folks, I had to include my comic heroes in this battle.

Contender #1: Yamato

Details: 28 Corrs Ln , Melbourne 3000 Phone: (03) 9663 1706 Located towards the top end of Chinatown.

Yamato, named after the ancient Japanese Yamato Province, Yamato was a battleship of the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II. (source: wikipedia)

Surroundings: Hidden deep within the laneways of Chinatown, Yamato has been a Melbourne staple for many years. You can tell the history of a place when they have a laminated wood feature wall behind the bar. A touch of nostalgia – felt like I was back in the 70’s.

Entrée: Potato croquettes- perfectly deep fried coated with breadcrumbs filled with mash potato with mince crab. This dish did not disappoint. Closing my eyes it was intensely smooth. Seriously. The velvety mash sliding down the throat.

California Rolls: Yomato’s take was refreshing. As opposed to avocado, there was lettuce. Freshly made, the seaweed was not overly chewy allowing you to take two bites if necessary ending with small bursts in the mouth from the fish eggs.

Mains:

Then there was the Nabeyaki Ramen- served in the pot it was cooked in, it arrived still simmering with a broth resembling that of a seafood bouillabaisse with heavy notes from the prawns with shells left intact.

Tori Karange Ramen: The highlight. The broth was clean and slightly tangy in texture, feeling its New Years finale as it hits the tummy warm. Closed my eyes and grinned for this one. Definitely to be appreciated.

Sweet Stuff: Kitchen was closed by this point.

Bring a date here? Ahuh. But book!

Out with friends? Dinner in the private sitting room would be great. Make sure you friends don’t have smelly feet!

Service: Very friendly and obliging.

$$$: 44

Food Rehab Verdict: Sent me to food rehab (book this place now! Wowzer) – Greenlight

Contender #2: Meiji Japanese Cafe

Details: Also located towards the top end of Chinatown. 105 Little Bourke Street Melbourne VIC 3000 Phone: (03) 9662 2899

Surroundings: Japanese lanterns adorn the ceiling with an enormous seating area upstairs.

Mains: Pork belly with shredded egg- in terms of presentation, it was a stone groove. The pork was quite dry and tasted more like Chinese roast pork than anything else but overall, it was good. The egg fared a little better blending well adding texture and familiarity to the dish.

Mixed Sushi- With an option to pimp up my tummy’s ride, I was all ears baby. The waitress ran through the selection with up to four ingredients to choose from. I went with an experimental combo- a) Salmon b) avocado c) Crab d) Unagi (eel).

Served on a wooden board (which I go crazy for) my friend pointed out one flaw. I looked down and an ingredient was missing: the unagi. Dang! With the appreciation of freshly prepared sushi, I made an exception on this occasion.

Being Friday night and buggered after a long working week, I just wanted to eat. So, with a wasabi armed chopstick, the first bite was taken. “What’s wrong?” my friend asked as I took a huge gulp. With a sour look on my face, I explained that the rice was chewy and somewhat stale. Out of the seven, I forcefully ate three. Funnily, the folks at table behind us were also disappointed at their sushi.

Unlike, say a dry chocolate cake which you would still eat to calm the sweet tooth, the stomach will not tolerate bad sushi.

Close to 30 minutes and several reminders, the Potato Croquettes as entree mind you finally arrived. Rubbing my hands in excitement, I hoovered down the first piece. Again, my face turned sour. Geewizz! I did not expect three consecutive dishes to let the buds down. With so much potential, these poor babies were soaking in and oozing out oil, obviously being deep fried in luke warm temperature.

My friend and I made an agreement that we would redeem our experience at another Japanese joint the next day. In the interim, we decided on Grilled to fill up our tanks.

Sweet Stuff: Tummy says no.

Bring a date here? Well, hopefully your experience here will be more of a positive one.

Out with friends? I’d heard some good things prior to trying Meiji Japanese Café. However, they were from friends that hadn’t been back there for a few years. Try it out though; just avoid the sushi and the croquettes. Tell me if the Ramen is any good.

Service: Apart from forgetting about a an ingredient and an order, polite

$$$: 30

Food Rehab Verdict: Still sane (ok, but not great but check it out if you’re in the area) – Orangelight

Showdown Result

Yamato was a clear winner here. Usually when it comes down to eateries going head to head, there’s usually one golden dish that would set them apart and set pace for the decider . In this case, all of Yamato’s dishes were on point and definitely redeemed our experience had at Meiji Japanese Café.

So um…where do you get your Ramen from? I need to know!

Also Try out other great Ramen joints Happy Kappa and Ajisen Ramen.

Ps.  I’m now on Twitter! At last…. so follow my sweet tooth at http://twitter.com/food_rehab

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With the heat wave Melbourne’s currently experiencing, I thought I’d post up one of my favorite summer recipes which goes back many generations within my family. It’s a simple dish but packs a mouthwatering flavour that keeps you coming back for more.

Usually served at family gatherings, this dish definitely harkens back childhood memories where we used to hold fiestas in the backyard to the amusement of our neighbors who hadn’t seen anything like it. There were piñatas, goats tied up to a tree, karaoke in the backyard, kids going crazy over Astroboy and dancing until the break of dawn.

Among one of the dishes, was Stuffed Rainbow Trout. As a kid, I guess I loved it so much as there wasn’t much bones which meant I didn’t have to wait for mum to dissect my food.

Best cooked on a grill plate over BBQ Briquettes to create a smokey succulent char-grilled flavour. Otherwise, over a standard gas powered BBQ is fine.

Courtesy of  Lindsay from POM Wonderful, I received 6 chilled bottles just in time for the hot weather. After my friends helped themselves to a bottle each,  I was tapping into what was left of my creativity after work and decided that I’d add a twist to this dish. Keep reading.

Zee Ingredients

2 rainbow trouts, no larger than a plate- scaled and cleaned

Salt

Ground Pepper

4 Ripened Tomatoes

Onion X 1

Bunch of Coriander

4 Tablespoons of POM Wonderful Pomegranate juice

The Procedure

If cooking over BBQ Briquettes, set this alight using Heatbeads Firelighters.

Wash the Trout and pat dry. Lightly skim both sides with a sharp knife creating 3 lines to look like a “H” but not cutting too deep. The idea is to have enough open space for the slat to seep in.

Gently rub in salt on both sides. Approximately 2 tablespoons

On a flat surface/cutting board, carefully slice the fish horizontally about ¾ in. Set aside.

Stuffing preparation

Wash the fresh veggies- dice tomatoes, peel and dice onion and roughly chop the coriander

Place all veggies into a salad bowl

Add 4 Tablespoons of POM Wonderful Pomegranate juice, one table spoon of salt, one teaspoon of olive oil (optional) and gently mix in with hands. Get dirt baby!

Depending on the largeness of the tomatoes, the stuffing shouldn’t overflow.

TIP: To avoid the stuffing from falling out during grilling, if you have a steady hand and a sewing kit, thread the side of the fish together.

Cooking

On the hot grill plate, place one fish at a time facing the same way. No oil is required.

Over a medium-high heat, the fish should not take more than 15 minutes on each side. Just keep slightly  lifting the sizzling fishy underneath to ensure a brown colour with blank markings is achieved.

Carefully turn the fish so not too drop all the fresh ingredients and cook for a further 15 minutes. Try not to be tempted like me and start snacking on the tomatoes!

When cooked, the tender fish should be glowing a nice orange with no sign of pinkness

Gently remove each trout from the grill one at a time with two large spatulas or enlist some help from a friend

You’ve been served

Fresh from the ‘barby’

Serve with wedges of lemon, lime and a side of fresh chili. The POM juice took this traditional dish into the 21^st century by introducing some tang. The trout is now succulently sweet, salty, sour and tangy. No need for utensils here.

How do you cook your fish?

A little about POM Wonderful:

Being my first time in trying POM, I was pretty impressed. It reminded me of cranberry juice but a little bitter. During the taste bud test, we tried it with Frangellico Hazelnut liqueur in a shortglass with a handful of ice, mint and a wedge of lime.  Superb. A perfect punch.

-          POM Wonderful contains more antioxidants than red wine, grape juice and green tea.

-          Known to be a antioxidant superpower, it helps neutralize free radicals, unstable molecules that can damage your cells which may lead to premature aging.

-          It contains no sugar or artificial ingredients, with each bottle packing in 5 pomegranates.

For further information, please visit: www.pomwonderful.com.au

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Peanut butter and jelly. Black rims on a white car. Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston.  None of these combinations seemed like they would taste. The point.. please eat your Vietnamese Fried Spring Rolls with the lettuce!

WITH every public holiday, it is tradition that my friends and I head to either Victoria Street in Richmond or Footscray for some Vietnamese spring rolls, Pho and mixed ham rolls. Also the fact that Asian stores and restaurants are the only ones that are be open.

Boys being boys, we thought we could spice up this old tradition and go to both locations. We had nothing else to do apart from rubbing in this wondrous day off to our Sydney peeps anyways. Why?! The girls asked. This is where I used my cat attack card.

So I proceeded to tell them that Creamy’s nails hadn’t been cut lately and are pretty sharp indeed. So should I happen to ‘accidentally’ rowdy her up towards their pair of Jimmy Choo shoes… Without hesitation, the girls in the group magically changed their minds as they clung onto their shoes like a child to his blanket – the fellas however, were giving me the thumbs up. What sort of persuasion power would I have had I owned a dog?! Just imagine the possibilities…

Stop #1: Thanh Ha 2

Details: 120 Victoria St Richmond VIC 3121 Phone: 03 9421 6219

Surroundings: Casual, room length mirror highlighting specials on offer reflecting back the odd number of patrons using their toothpicks in full view. Eeew!

Entrées: Pork Fried Spring Rolls: Generously filled, the juicy minced pork filling was full of flavor complimented by the fresh lettuce and tangy dipping sauce. The sauce was especially good with the evidence of fresh garlic, the right amount of sweetness and wasn’t not to fiery with the chili. Oh, and although hesitant at first, my friends are now adding the leaves. About time I say.

Use that lettuce leaf!

Prawn Rice Paper Rolls: Large in size filled with the biggest possible prawns that can possibly fit inside without tearing the rice paper, mint, coriander and vermicelli noodles. Don’t you love that!?  I tend to mix the sauces from the fried and rice paper spring rolls.

I tried making these once, but was a little to eager with my King Prawns…lesson learned. Wanna have a go? Check out the below video.

Mains: Steamed rice paper with prawn, pork slices, mung bean pie with bean shoots, cucumber and mint served with a chili compote. If not, just use the handy jar available on each table.  This was superb. The point of the dish is to combine all the ingredients as you experiment your way through the various elements and different textures. I suggest cutting up the pork slices for the ease of your devourement. Totally enjoyable.

The rice paper rolls are silky, slippery and soft to the tongue. The chili surrounds the crisp broken mung bean pie concluding with the fresh neutralising salad complimented by the sweet and tangy fish sauce dressing. This is the point where I start to blow my nose from all the spices then hopping back in to continue the fight.

The mash up.

Dessert: Avocado Smoothie. A little too thick as I struggled to draw enough breath to sip. But was happily scooped up by the humble spoon who is always there to help you out- especially in the middle of the night as you go for the ice-cream tub.

Bring a date here? I’d consider this a place to get together with friends as opposed to a date. The kids running around and noisy crowds can dampen the romantic outing.

Night out with friends here? For sure.

Service: Courteous and friendly.

$$$: 36

Food Rehab Verdict: Sent me to food rehab (book this place now! Wowzer) – Greenlight

Stop #2: Nhu Lan Bakery

Details: 116 Hopkins St Footscray, VIC 3011 Phone: (03) 9689 7296

Surroundings: This place gets packed as an ants nest. I’m surprised they don’t pre-prepare all the rolls but am glad they don’t.

Made fresh in front of your beady eyes, you will need to make your decision on ingredients quick snappy. Like the soup nazi on Seinfeld, don’t waste their time ‘ooohing and aaahing.’   Stand at the back of the line and select your ingredients or just order the stock standard from the menu.

When my friends and I are craving for this crunchy meat filled goodness, it only takes 1 SMS with the subject line ‘viet roll?” to get us all excited speeding all the way to Footscray. Usually occurs on a lazy Sunday.

Mains: Mixed Ham Roll

Over the last 15 years, I’ve just about tried out all the Viet Rolls on Victoria St, Springvale and Footscray and by far, Nhu Lan takes the crown. It could be the sinful mouth watering butter, the fragrant pork pate, the pickled carrot blended with the fresh coriander or the fact that each time I’ve had it; the rolls have just popped out of the oven.

With the bread still warm, this is eaten on the street as we walk around the shopping strip, laughing at each other as bread crumbs litter the floors of our city. Such grotts I tell you. Oh well, the birds will eat it? Conscious is clear. Right?

Bring a date here? Take it…and go.

Day out with friends here? Hmmm, as above.

Service: Friendly but don’t waste their time.

$$$: 3.50. Cheap Eats!

Food Rehab Verdict: Sent me to food rehab (book this place now! Wowzer) – Greenlight

Feeling rather lazy to cook, what do you eat on a public holiday?

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