melbourne gastronome

Fortnightly round-up (23 May): Melbourne Gastronome 5th birthday edition

2012-05-23T00:30:00.000+10:00

I'm afraid to report that life (and a trip to Sydney) got in the way over the past few weeks, so I decided to skip the previous scheduled fortnightly round-up and pick things up again this week. Today is the day Melbourne Gastronome turns five years old! I've jotted some fifth anniversary reflections at the end of this post.

Who needs meat on the BBQ when the mushrooms taste so freaking good? Every Saturday, from about 9:30am until they sell out (generally around 2pm), Market Lane Prahran sells a mushroom burger to end all mushroom burgers. It was created by "Mr Barbecue" Bob Hart, costs $8 and comes with chipotle mayonnaise, Parmigiano-Reggiano 18, finely sliced salad onions, herb butter and a Damian Pike-sourced portobello mushroom in a Dench bun.

Speaking of delicious mushrooms, at a family dinner the other week we had a sensational wild mushroom ragu with wet polenta, mascarpone and thyme (adapted from an old Karen Martini recipe).

Although L'atelier de Monsieur Truffe is best known for the chocolatier's sweet skills, it does a great sideline in savoury too. One of the brunch specials the other week was truffled eggs, potatoes and chives served in a jar (about $14, methinks). Dipping the toasted corners of bread into that gooey richness was a real treat.

And even more obscenely decadent is Truffe's tartine au chocolat ($7): slices of brioche topped with house-made chocolate chips and toasted so that the chips go all melty. Chocolate-wise, it's your choice between milk 38%, dark 52% or dark 70%, and of course it tastes best with a lil' pinch of the sea salt served alongside. If eating more than one piece defeats you (as it did me), ask one of the many attractive men who work there to box up the rest of it, then scoff it at home at 2am after a night of LuWow dancing.

Since my trip to Japan in January I've embarked on a (mostly fruitless) search for great ramen in Melbourne. It's a curious blind spot in Melbourne's otherwise shining culinary landscape, it grieves me to say (Sydney claims to do much better ramen - of course they do - and I've been meaning to check out Gumshara Ramen up there for ages). Ramen Ya, Menya and Ajisen have been variously recommended to me as dishing up Melbourne's best, but I find them all to be wildly inconsistent - usually falling short in the broth department. The most consistent place I've found in Melbourne is newcomer Kokoro Ramen and at $9, their lunch special is also cheaper than most. The noodles are handmade, the ajitama (flavoured soft boiled eggs) are delicious and you get to choose from four different stocks, all of which are MSG-free (but none of which are vegetarian): tonkotsu shio, tonkotsu shoyu, tonkotsu miso and Tokyo (pure chicken and seafood). After trying all four on four consecutive visits, using pork as a control substance, shio is my preferred stock.

But the Japanese cafe that's really swept me off my feet this month is Purple Peanuts, right down at the Southern Cross end of Collins Street. I seem to be the last food blogger in Melbourne to have heard about this spunky little cafe, but everything about it is just perfect. Dishes I've tried and loved so far are the tsuke don (sashimi marinated in sake, sesame and soy and served with a salad on vinegared rice, $10.90) and the char-grilled chicken kare don ($9.20, or pay an extra dollar and get it with brown rice).

And finally if it's high end Japanese you're wanting, I can strongly recommend the recently opened Akachochin, one of the suite of restaurants in the beautifully restored heritage cargo sheds at South Wharf Promenade, hugging the Yarra just past Jeff's Shed and the Polly Woodside. I attended as a guest, part of a journos and bloggers progressive dinner thing, and I'm going to head back there soon under my own steam so that I can properly explore the interesting menu by Head Chef Kengo Hiromatsu (previously Head Sushi Chef at Nobu). But even on this initial visit, the sashimi, hiramasa namerou (Japanese tartare with delicate rice crackers), stuffed chicken wing dumplings and seared wagyu with mushrooms all impressed.

Links of Note:

- Last year I was one of the guest judges in the Sommeliers Australia 'Best Sommelier of Australia' grand final (noted in a previous fortnightly round-up). Last week Sydney's Franck Moreau from the Merivale Group and Melbourne's Mark Protheroe, head sommelier of the Grossi Group, travelled to South Korea for the Best Sommelier of Asia-Oceania Competition: read Somms Australia president Ben Edwards' write up of how they fared on The Wine Guide.

- Lauren from the Footscray Food Blog has found the best breakfast in Footscray (hint: it doesn't involve smashed avocado, poached eggs, pulled pork or ricotta hotcakes).

- From French for Foodies, a list of the best places in Paris for coffee and cheese.

- From yellowtrace: a cookbook you can read, bake AND eat as lasagne!

- A great list of Michelin starred restaurants in the UK, ordered by affordability of their set lunch menus.

- In the US, FTC guidelines on endorsements are getting more specific: the FTC can fine both the blogger and the company for not disclosing an arrangement where the company compensates the blogger for a review, positive mention, or sponsored post.

- It seems like old news now, but Stephanie Wood's article gave a neat summary of the Matt Moran "cash for tweet" brouhaha.

- Excellent article in the NYT on Craig Claiborne and the birth of modern restaurant criticism.

- The Big Fat Undertaking: one blogger's attempt to cook all the recipes in Heston Blumental's The Big Fat Duck Cookbook.

- Winter is coming... to Ned Stark cakes (WARNING: CONTAINS MAJOR 'GAME OF THRONES' SEASON ONE SPOILERS).

As the fifth anniversary of writing Melbourne Gastronome has rolled around, I've been thinking a lot about the evolving food blog landscape. Both of the food blogs I wrote about in my first post in 2007 and wished to emulate have long since stopped writing. Recent well-intentioned emails from fledgling food bloggers in their early 20s telling me that they've been reading Melbourne Gastronome since they were in high school make me feel ancient (even though I know some other blogs have been around even longer). When I started blogging in my corner of the internet half a decade ago, nobody had heard of Twitter, nobody used Facebook beyond their immediate friendship group, and no PR agency would ever DREAM of emailing a food blogger. Life events coupled with the inevitable ebb and flow of writing means that at times over the years my motivation to keep blogging has waned, but for now I'm keen to continue. There's just so much to write about in this great city of ours!

Anyway, to those of you still reading... I just wanted to say thank you for reading.

Besito brings Colombia to West Footscray

2012-05-02T23:50:00.000+10:00

Besito
590A Barkly Street, West Footscray (map)
9689 0586
Open Tuesday-Sunday 8am-4pm
website

The lovely Lauren first alerted me to the existence of Besito in February, shortly after it opened. A cafe serving up a little slice of Colombia in West Footscray, just a suburb over from Los Latinos (another place I've been meaning to visit for ages)... colour me keen.

A group of us visited one Saturday morning and ordered a range of dishes. Highlights included the huevos rancheros (fried eggs on a corn tortilla with salsa verde and cheese, $12.50), the calentao (a hearty bowlful of beans, rice and avocado served with mini-arepa 'arepitas', $10.50) and the snacky fried green plantains ($3) which we ordered with a side serve of char grilled corn and pimentos salsa ($4.50). The Colombian favourites, arepas, are also excellent at Besito: prick them while they're still hot with your knife or the tines of your fork, apply butter liberally so that it can melt down through the holes, add pink sea salt and eat. Both the white corn arepas and the tortillas are gluten free, and made by hand.

Traditional Colombian hot chocolate - containing cheese, that's right you heard me - is on offer for $4. Unlike the version at Sonido where the queso comes in a solid block, this traditional hot chocolate comes with the queso pre-blended. It's delicious. Besito also serves 5 Senses coffee (Dark Horse blend and a rotating single origin) with golden unrefined panela on the side as a healthy sweetener.

A small range of sauces and other Colombian produce is also available for purchase.

The cafe is a brightly painted gem, and owner Andres and his bubbly front of house staff are only too happy to guide you through some of the more unfamiliar menu items. In addition to breakfast items there are salads and other lunchier dishes also available, and a liquor licence is hopefully on its way. Definitely worth a visit to the westside.

Fortnightly round-up (25 April)

2012-04-25T23:55:00.000+10:00

Good news: the famous Borek shop in the Deli Hall at Queen Victoria Market (where a mere $2.50 will still buy you one of the best quick lunches in town) is about to open an additional outlet in the city, at 481 Elizabeth Street. I chatted to the formidably efficient Borek Lady and she confirmed that it should open in about four weeks - and that due to the increased kitchen space they'll be offering a wider range of delicious and cheap Turkish snacks in the new outlet, including gözleme. Yesssss.

Another month, ANOTHER two new Mexican restaurants opening in Melbourne. As one chef joked on Twitter, he's thinking of opening a Mexican restaurant called Bandwagon. I haven't been to either yet, but you'll find Radio Mexico Taquería & Bar at 11 Carlisle Street, St Kilda, and Chingón Cantina y Taquería at 413 Swan Street, Richmond (a few minutes down the road from Fonda).

Last week I was invited along to a blogger dinner at Touché Hombre (one of the two Mexican restaurants that opened last month, as mentioned in one of my previous round-ups). While being treated to samples from their menu - the morcilla and breakfast tacos are their best in my opinion, and the ice cream sandwiches pictured below are a highlight - I took the opportunity to grill owner Davis Yu (who at the age of 21 re-opened the restaurant formerly known as Lynch's as the Millswyn in 2010) about the next restaurant he has in the pipeline.

Provisionally named Claremont Tonic, Yu's third restaurant will be dishing up Thai and Japanese flavours on a menu focussed on share plates. It's scheduled to open in June around the corner from MamaBaba in South Yarra, and Yu intends for it to be the "less grungy sister of Touché Hombre".

May 12 to May 19 is Good Beer Week! The festival celebrating good beer has 100 events scheduled at venues across Melbourne and Victoria, including breweries, bars, pubs, restaurants, cocktail bars and chocolatiers. A highlight will be the Masterclass of Champions which sees the brewers from Nøgne Ø (Norway) and Moylan's (US) come together at Hargreaves Hill's brewery in the Yarra Valley to create a one-off brew, hold an intimate beer masterclass then join guests for a three-course degustation prepared by a team drawn from the Stokehouse and Auction Rooms by The 36 Collective. The whole program for Good Beer Week can be browsed day-by-day here.

In addition to hosting several events for Good Beer Week, the Local Taphouse serves a damn fine Southern fried chicken in a bucket, with coleslaw, mash and gravy. I just thought you should know.

And speaking of Southern food, my friend Ev and I booked tickets and went along to the final You don't mess with Texas dinner held last week at St Ali by our friend Jess Pryles (aka Burger Mary) and the boys from Red River BBQ. We loved the pickle chips, the jalapeños stuffed with cream cheese and wrapped in bacon, the amaaaazing mac 'n cheese, and the peach cobbler for dessert. Ditto the excellent pulled pork and the Texas cut brisket that had been smoked for 16 hours. Jess even coaxed several dinner guests (yours truly included) to join her in the street outside to learn how to line-dance. Thank y'all for a fun night out.

On Fridays, both the Prahran Market and Queen Victoria Market branches of Market Lane Coffee sell $4 Portuguese custard tarts made by Angie Locharden. They are the BEST Portuguese custard tarts I've tasted in Melbourne.

Finally, I loved my initial visit last week to Casa Ciuccio, the new Gertrude Street restaurant from Matt McConnell, Jo Gamvros and the rest of the Bar Lourinhã team. Highlights included veal rib (a coal pit daily special, at market price) and the green tomatoes served with wonderful buffalo milk queso fresco ($16). When you visit be sure to order the chargrilled octopus tentacle (sold by weight), as well as at least one item slow cooked for a minimum of three hours over the coals.

Links of Note:

- A great interview on The Design Files (by Lee Tran Lam, one of Sydney's best food bloggers) with Rachel Luchetti and Stuart Krelle of Luchetti Krelle, the design studio behind some of Sydney's hot new restaurants.

- David Chang shared his five favourite Sydney restaurants with the Wall Street Journal.

- Chef Sandwich blogger rants: why is there so much lazy, self-indulgent, pompous drivel in food writing?

- Words of wisdom from former New York Times food writer and editor Amanda Hesser: it’s nearly impossible to make a living as a food writer, and it’s only going to get worse.

- Fresh back from their Argentinean adventure (more about which you'll hear soon), Ben Edwards and Dan Sims from The Wine Guide have posted a new entry in The Sommelier Diaries, their excellent series of in-depth interviews with the best sommeliers in Australia and beyond. The latest interview is with Kim Bickley, from Luke Mangan's Glass Brasserie, and I recommend reading the previous 13 interviews too.

- Saveur announces its Best Food Blog Awards finalists in the Best Food Humor Blog, Best Food Photography and Best Celebrity Food Blog categories.

- A gorgeous post on Cook Republic showing how to make hung yogurt.

- At first I thought folks on Twitter were taking the piss, but it turns out that René Redzepi really will run a Noma pop-up at Claridge's during the London Olympics, for £195 per head.

- The Atlantic presents six rules for dining out, from a frugal economist.

- Fascinating article on food wastage by Lorraine from Not Quite Nigella, looking behind the scenes at Food Bank.

Fortnightly round-up (11 April)

2012-04-11T01:08:00.001+10:00

There has been a spate of food stores adjoining cafes/restaurants opening in the last few months: think Albert Street Food & Wine, and the Mini Marche at Hardware Societe. Now Southern Thai cafe Middle Fish has also started stocking Thai ingredients that they use in their dishes for you to take home (I was particularly taken with the Police Dog Brand tins). Bubbly proprietor Pla is only too happy to explain to you how the products are best used.

Speaking of Middle Fish, their kang tai pla (Southern style anchovy curry, $15.50) is the breakfast of champions.

Coming soon to a blog near you: an article about lots and lots of different small batch gins and tonics (here's a sneak preview). It's taken a long while, but I've nearly finished it. I've been reading some gin literature as part of my research, and have particularly enjoyed The Bartender's Gin Compendium by Gaz Regan, and Craze: Gin and Debauchery in an Age of Reason by Jessica Warner.

The organic bento at Kappaya Japanese Soul Food Cafe at Abbotsford Convent. Strongly recommended.

Some happy snaps of Easter culinary highlights: Mum's hot cross buns, served at our traditional Good Friday Champagne Breakfast;

Paola's chicken brodo with handmade agnolotti (stuffed with crispy pancetta and roasted peas), served at Sunday lunch;

céleri rémoulade (quite possibly my favourite salad of all time. OF ALL TIME!);

and a rather scary looking flourless chocolate cake. Who needs Easter eggs?

Links of Note:

- Mel wrote a great post about the ethics of restaurant food blogging on Fooderati. I really wish all bloggers would abide by these principles - the bad apples that don't give the rest of us a bad name. I like too that Mel included some advice for restaurants as well: don't encourage bad behaviour by courting it!

- Food blog ethics aren't just confined to the "dining out" blogs: the vexed issue of recipe copyright keeps cropping up on "dining in" blogs. Local bloggers Green Gourmet Giraffe and Confessions of a Food Nazi have written about it, noting that the author of Lambs' Ears and Honey has posted a follow up post to the original one that sparked the controversy.

- Squid Ink, L.A. Weekly's food blog, posted a neat Venn diagram showing L.A.'s idea of Mexican food vs what Mexicans really eat.

- To score [wine] or not to score: that is the question, writes Tom Hogan on I Love Riesling.

- Keen to relive the MFWF? Dining Nirvana wrote a wrap-up of the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival, including a handy list of blog posts by other bloggers reviewing MFWF events: part one, part two.

- Gorgeous post on Fox's Lane about a community cider pressing day.

- DineSmart 2011 raises $352,328 to fund 91 Community Projects. Bravo to all who donated/fundraised, especially to Chin Chin for their Victorian champion fundraising effort!

- BOOKMARK: Eater's The 38 Essential New York Restaurants, April '12.

- Peruvian food in Surry Hills? Yes please. From A Table for Two.

- Also drooling over photos of new Sydney restaurant Sixpenny on The Unbearable Lightness of Being Hungry. I'm heading up to Sydney next month: now taking suggestions on where I should eat and drink...

Dinner for three at Cutler & Co

2012-03-30T10:00:00.007+11:00

Cutler & Co
55-57 Gertrude Street, Fitzroy (map)
9419 4888
Open for dinner Tuesday-Sunday, plus lunch on Friday and Sunday
website

Carla (author of the excellent blog Easy As Vegan Pie) and I had been talking for a while about going out for a nice lavish dinner together and each writing about it afterwards. Hopefully it'll turn into a semi-regular collaborative blog series. We decided on Cutler as our first destination and booked a table, advising them of our dietary requirements well in advance (me: omnivore but for mussels, her: wheat-free vegan). I was confident that they'd cater for an omni just fine, but was looking forward to seeing what they'd serve Carla.

We brought along Dan, editor of Milk Bar Mag, as our innocent bystander. Apart from the omnivore entrees and mains that Dan and I ordered, everything else that was brought to the table was both vegan and wheat-free.

In the interests of transparency I'll point out too at the outset that we were treated very very well that night. While none of us sought special treatment (ugh, the tackiness of those who actually call up restaurants saying that they're food bloggers makes my skin crawl) a number of dishes arrived at our table compliments of the house. Upon review of the receipt some days later we noticed that there was an apparent mix up with one of the bottles of wine we'd ordered, but given all the little extras that came our way we still easily came out on top.

As we downed the Junipero gin and tonics we'd ordered from the charming Lachie, we were brought a trio of complimentary appetisers: seaweed crackers with smoky eggplant mousse and sesame, juicy Manzanilla olives and fried pimientos de Padrón with sea salt. Loved the smoky fluffy eggplant with the crisp crackers in particular.

I'd been sorely tempted to choose the pretty entree Dan decided to order, the smoked and fried duck with morcilla, golden raisin and beetroot ($27)...

...but I loved loved loved the entree I ended up ordering, a delicate arrangement of hand picked spanner crab, corn custard, mushrooms, sweet radish, pickled ginger and nasturtiums ($29), served cold. My new favourite dish at Cutler.

Two small salads arrived unbidden with our mains, one crunchy with shaved cabbage and fennel, and the other with rather meaty heirloom tomatoes, muscatel vinegar, purslane and different kinds of basil.

For main course Dan ordered the pan roasted snapper ($44). It was served with mussels, slivers of cuttlefish, green tomatoes, pickled onions and parsley sauce. And foam (afraid I can't recall what the foam was). Dan confessed to being a little underwhelmed by this one.

I really enjoyed my main though. It consisted of two variations of beef: grain fed strip loin ever so lightly seared then sliced down the middle, and a wonderfully unctuous and rich braised short rib with onion and pureed cauliflower ($46).

I asked our highly professional waitress to bring a vegan dessert for the three of us to share. It was composed of white nectarine, white peach, blackberries, frozen dehydrated raspberries and verjuice granita ($18). Delicious, but I confess to wishing I'd ordered whichever dessert includes the Cutler & Co violet ice cream, cos it is goddamned glorious.

Oh and some complimentary fig drizzled with thyme caramel (pictured here half devoured by Carla) and fudge arrived with our coffees.

Now click to read Carla's far more entertaining version of events and see what she was served for entree and main (I think the entree she had is usually served with raw Hervey Bay scallops). Carla is also running one of her vegan cooking classes in a few weeks, so make a booking if you know what's good for you...

And get yourselves down to Cutler! Head chef Jean-Paul Twomey and his kitchen are at the top of their game.

Fortnightly round-up (28 March)

2012-03-28T23:54:00.001+11:00

So did you hear that St Ali will soon be opening on the northside? While the original St Ali continues to power on in South Melbourne, the site for St Ali North has been chosen in Carlton North: a long, skinny lot that runs alongside the bike path, behind Velo Cycles on Nicholson Street. To tap even further into the synergy that seems to exist in Melbourne between specialty coffee and cycling, blueprints of the new cafe tweeted by Sal Malatesta indicate a coffee "ride thru" for cyclists on the bike path wanting their caffeine to go.

On Saturday I went with Hannah to The Richmond Weekender in the old Channel 9 TV studios (for more info about the concept behind the month-long pop-up, see The Design Files). The Homemakers Market wasn't running while Hannah and I were there, but we stickybeaked inside the Speakeasy Cinema and shared a serve of Fancy Hank's Bar-B-Que at the Graham Canteen: pulled Otway pork, North Carolina ribs and Parwin Angus beef brisket (all sold by weight) with condiments and salads. Not bad by Melbourne standards, and for those who miss out at the Graham Canteen there's talk of Fancy Hank's putting in future appearances at Abbotsford Convent.

For those still keen to check out The Richmond Weekender, its last days of operation are this Saturday and Sunday - and on the Sunday they're running The Homemakers Market again, from 10am-3pm.

Anyone else noticed that Brunswick Bitter on tap is popping up at almost every new restaurant? Someone's brand ambassadors sure have been hard at work getting tap visibility. In the past fortnight alone I've spotted it at Pei Modern, Touche Hombre, Choo Choo's and Albert St Food and Wine. It's brewed by shiny newcomers Thunder Road Brewing Company and made from all-Victorian ingredients.

I put it to you that buying a haloumi pie from Al-Alamy in Coburg for the princely sum of $2.50 will be the best $2.50 you'll spend this week.

On Sunday my mother made Poulet aux Quarante Gousses d'Ail (roast chicken with forty cloves of garlic), with predictably delicious results. Technically this batch had 46 gousses.

Oh, and apologies for the delay of this Fortnightly Round-up. I blame Mad Men.

Links of Note:

- Beautiful Pantone tarts by French food designer Emilie De Griottes.

- Allan Campion wrote a handy little list of Melbourne CBD Highlights on The Melbourne Foodie that you can recommend to your visitors from out of town. Reminds me that my own Visitors Guide is in dire need of an update!

- Cook Republic has a recipe for quinoa and m&m cookies. Gulp.

- Eileen from Melbourne coffee blog Birds of Unusual Vitality was part of the Coffee Common team at TED 2012 in Longbeach, California.

- TIME magazine says chefs are taking nature worship too far.

- Milk Bar Mag has revamped their website, and started producing a great series of short videos about Melbourne locals and businesses. The first one is about Burch & Purchese, the second one is about Der Raum.

- The blog Inside Cuisine posted a nice piece about the making of Pepe Saya cultured butter (a product I fell in love with last year).

- LOVE Dave Robert Clark's flowchart illustrating The Melbourne 3rd Wave Coffee Cartel, but think it needs to be updated...

- Lessons learned from lunch: the onion, the pear, and the emperor's new robes.

- Two Munch reviewed the Fringe Food Festival's Don't Mess With Texas dinner. I'm going along to the third of these dinners - looking forward to it!

Thai in Hawthorn at Bangkok Terrace

2012-03-20T23:59:00.003+11:00

Bangkok Terrace
415 Riversdale Road, Hawthorn (map)
9882 5995
Open 7 nights

The open kitchen, sharp fitout and zippy black-clad staff calling out in Thai makes Bangkok Terrace feel more Haymarket than Hawthorn. I went there with my family the other week, my expectations raised because I'd heard that that one of the owners cheffed at Sailors Thai in Sydney for several years. Maybe Melbourne now had a Sydney Thai restaurant to call its own?

The highlight of the meal was the mouth-watering steak Laos ($18.90): Wagyu rump cap marinated, grilled rare, sliced and served with salad and nam jim jaew (a dipping sauce made from ground rice, roasted chillies, palm sugar, tamarind essence and tomatoes).

Also excellent was the roasted duck salad ($18.90) with coriander, mint and eschallots. Beautifully crisp lacquered skin.

My take on the other dishes was less enthusiastic: the salt and pepper calamari ($10.90) was pretty good, but the betel leaves with prawns and roe ($3 each) lacked the chilli kick I was hoping for. Both the Panang curry ($17.90) and Pad See Ewe ($18.90), in sorry Melbourne Thai restaurant tradition, were too sweet. I wish they wouldn't play it so safe, but instead dial up the sour and the chilli on some of the dishes, à la Chin Chin or Middle Fish.

There's the usual bitching about poor service on Bangkok Terrace's Urbanspoon entry, but we found the staff to be friendly and efficient despite the clamour of the full restaurant. I'd happily go back to Bangkok Terrace (the siren song of the steak Laos is calling), but I'd steer clear of the mild and sweet dishes. Reader recommendations for best Thai in Melbourne warmly received...

I haven't been to either yet, but if you're in the neighbourhood you might also like to check out Firechief pizzeria and adjoining cafe Goldilocks, two of the six businesses Melbourne chef Paul Mathis is opening this year.

Fortnightly round-up (12 March)

2012-03-12T23:59:00.001+11:00

The last fortnight has been a little overwhelming for me, due to previously mentioned family events.

My Nonno was a keen vegetable grower, so at his funeral on Friday we gave out packets of Italian parsley seeds and chicory seeds to guests, to plant in his memory.

Out of necessity I cancelled attending a number of Melbourne Food and Wine Festival events, including the Sommeliers Australia Long Lunch and the audience with Bourdain. But the week before I did go to the launch party for the Broadsheet Bar (you should get down there while the Festival's still on, it's being run by the best cocktail bars in Melbourne).

I also dropped in briefly to the Greenhouse by Joost for some grilled corn and delicious Custard Cider (also well worth a visit before the end of MFWF, if only to marvel at the building design and the sustainability/recycling principles it puts into practice). Open every day until March 21 on Queensbridge Square, Southbank.

The Satuday before last I passed by the MFWF's much-hyped Food Trucks Unite event, which was unfortunately an almost total washout due to the constant, teeming rain. Luckily the weather improved for Sunday! My friend and I enjoyed the aloo tikki and butter chicken from the Dhaba curry truck (which normally resides in Kyneton).

I was called upon in my Melbourne Gastronome capacity to judge the cake baking competition at the MFWF Bikefest Village Picnic on Saturday. Judging a cake competition on a brilliantly sunny afternoon may sound like a dream job to some, but let me assure you that after all the fun the resulting sugar headache was *intense*. The competition winner was a lemon and hazelnut cake, with a pear, cardamom and chai ganache coming a close second. A special prize for "most ridiculous" went to a cake containing figs allegedly stolen from Tony Mokbel's garden (!).

On Sunday Tom and I had a great time down at the MFWF lunch organised by Epicure at the Newmarket: a BBQ battle royale between the Newmarket's own Paul Wilson and North Carolina barbecue pitmaster Ed Mitchell.

Aussie trio Collard Greens and Gravy provided the perfect swampy blues soundtrack to get us all in the mood.

Smoker pit hardware used by Ed Mitchell during his stint in Melbourne was provided by Silver Creek Smokers (who also offer a catering/hire service for those of you wanting to run your own Southern BBQ event).

We ate a whole lotta barbecued meat (and plenty of sides), including brisket and two sets of ribs. Each guest was asked to vote with either a US or Australian flag...

...but in the end only one man's barbecue could reign supreme!

Links of Note:

- I love it when figs are in season. Lisa from Spicy Icecream wrote a good 13 ways with figs post the other day.

- Essjay wrote a great blog post about the MFWF incarnation of the Greenhouse by Joost.

- Cara Waters (aka food blogger Gourmet Chick) wrote an article for The Age about Melbourne food bloggers working for restaurants.

- Can copyright exist in a recipe, even when the ingredients have been tweaked and the method has been converted for different cooking equipment? A chef's management gets threatening in the comments on the food blog Lambs' Ears and Honey.

- I like The Vegan Stoner's simple approach to recipe presentation.

- Thang Ngo from Sydney blog Noodlies takes food bloggers Billy and Penny on a Vietnamese Cabramatta crawl (video clips included).

- Where The Truck At is a new website plotting where each of Melbourne's food trucks are on any given night.

- The latest in the Stencil cafe saga.

- The most recent edition of the TOYS Collective looks like it was one helluva night: see the photo gallery here.

- “Kobe and the Sea”: a beautiful short film in which Ben Shewry teaches his son about abalone fishing. Its sequel "Spindrift", a short film about sustainable mussel farming, was shown at the MFWF Theatre of Ideas session on the weekend.

In memory

2012-03-04T11:00:00.001+11:00

In the early hours of this morning, with my mother and me at his hospital bedside, my Nonno Nello passed away peacefully after a battle with cancer. He would have been 91 in May.

Today the family is gathering to remember him. As with any Italian family, many of the favourite memories tend to revolve around food and wine: Nonno dipping his finger in wine to give each grandchild our first taste (but no more than a taste) when we were a year old; his pride in the produce he grew in his garden ('Forty five minutes ago, that rucola you're eating was still growing! You eat bloody well here, don't you forget!'); Nonno presenting us at Christmas with the delicious prosciutto or capocollo that he made in his garage; Nonno sitting at the kitchen table helping Nonna make crostoli. Nonno holding me close as a child, calling me 'stellina' and singing 'I've Got You Under My Skin'.

Ti voglio bene Nonno. Un grande abbraccio e tutto il mio amore, da Chiaretta.

Fortnightly round-up (27 February)

2012-02-27T17:00:00.001+11:00

I'll spare you the "Mexican wave" pun, but the fact is that Melbourne's appetite for new wave Mexican dining over the last two years remains insatiable. If Mamasita, the Newmarket, the Taco Truck, Paco's Tacos, Fonda, Gringo Vibes and Livin' Burrito Loca weren't enough, we've got two more trendy Mexican restaurants opening in Melbourne, both in the next month, both in the CBD.

I'm particularly excited about Señoritas: its co-founder Ricardo Amare, its head chef Hugo Reyes (formerly the head chef in several Mexican embassies) and their full cooking team are all Mexican, and "authenticity" appears to be their watchword. There's a whole page dedicated to authenticity on their website, and it promises dishes from regions like Oaxaca and Yucatan. After a somewhat lengthy gestation period the restaurant should be open in early March in Meyers Place, with the Waiters Club and Meyers Place bar on its left and San Telmo and Lily Blacks on its right. While its proximity to Mamasita suggests it may scoop up the overflow of those unwilling to wait for hours on a staircase, I'm willing to bet it'll become a star attraction in its own right.

The other one is called Touché Hombre and it'll be opening in a few weeks at the site on the corner of Lonsdale Street and Tattersalls Lane previously occupied by izakaya J-Pub Shogun. Less is known about this one but from the sounds of things, there'll be plenty of tacos, margaritas and street art. Watch this space.

I'm guest judging a baking competition at the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival! A gang of bicycle belles known as the Rad Rebel Riders are organising the Bikefest Village Picnic and you're all invited. It's an optional gold coin donation on entry to the picnic, and it'll be held from 11am to 5pm on Saturday 10 March at the Mercator Lawn at Abbotsford Convent (conveniently, the Collingwood Childrens Farm Farmers Market is being held on the same day, so I'm planning to do both). More picnic and baking competition details:

A long feast table will encourage communal grazing, with the picnic concept of ‘bringing a plate to share’ extended to both friends and strangers.

The Rad Rebel Riders put your oven skills to the test with a cake-baking competition, winners taking home foodie prizes like dinner vouchers at the Italian restaurant Mister Bianco. Spread out on your picnic blanket and taste the delicous offerings of the Convent Bakery's gourmet sandwiches & Moritz's special shandies or kickstart with a short black from our Cargo Bike Coffee crew.

A face painter will get creative on kids and not so grown ups and there are Village Green style games to pick up while you’re listening to folklore-gypsy sound by Susy Blue and friends to while away the afternoon. Time Out has some magazines up for grabs, as well as homemade cupcakes and freshly squeezed lemonade.

Your bike will also get a treat, with a free professional advice and service workshop provided by Abbotsford Cycles, and why not upgrade your food carrying capacity and find the right cargobike for you with free testing available on the Convent grounds. On top of that, the red & white crew of Roll Up Bicycle Valet parking will look after your pushy while you spoil yourself on the lawns.

Submit your baking entry from 11am – 12:30pm, judging will be at 1:30pm.

Bring family, friends, your Picnic and a plate to share!

And speaking of MFWF: this weekend (3rd/4th) the Festival has arranged for all of Melbourne's food trucks to be in the same place at the same time for Melbourne's first Food Truck Jam (see Festival website for details). When news of the event broke over Twitter last week, I was amazed to see that my tweet linking to the event page was retweeted and favourited so many times that @melbgastronome started trending in Melbourne. The take home message? PEOPLE *REALLY* LIKE FOOD TRUCKS.

Know this: the hot duck roll at Ora in Kew is SENSATIONAL. They add confit duck to a ciabatta roll, wrap it in foil and place it in the oven for ten minutes, then remove it and add Kewpie mayo, black sesame, spring onion and cucumber salad. $15.

A dazzling number of apple varieties on display at the Slow Food Market at Abbotsford Convent on Saturday. Brought to you by Peter the Permie from Telopea Mountain Permaculture Farm.

Puchased at the Slow Food Market: tomatoes for Sunday night's Green Zebra Caprese, and tomatillos which I roasted for a salsa on Saturday night.

I've written before about how good the "inauthentic" pizzas are at The Moor's Head. Last week I fell in love all over again with Omar Shariff, or rather, the $17.50 pide named after him: it's made with three cheeses (twisted halloumi, feta and ashawan), nigella, fresh mint and soused onions. Highly recommended!

Links of Note:

- Why do most cafe startups fail? Peter Baskerville answers.

- Melbourne's burger experts awarded Melbourne's Top 10 Burgers of 2011 on their blog The Burger Adventure.

- I haven't been to Sydney restaurant Barrio Chino, but I like that its interior shies away from the typical "Mexican aesthetic". Design blog yellowtrace interviewed their designer, who shared her original concept presentation boards for the fitout.

- Katie Quinn Davies, aka food blogger What Katie Ate, announced her new role as a regular contributor to Delicious magazine, doing an eight page feature every month featuring 5-7 themed recipes. Nice work Katie!

- Enjoying the cocktail blog Booze in Pretty Cups, written by two bartenders in Perth.

- Burch and Purchese posted a link on their blog to 80 pages of fascinating research from the International Journal of Gastronomy and Food Science.

- AFR journalist Rachel Lebihan writes a blog called The Food Sage. She recently wrote about her adventures perched up at the bar for dinner in three Melbourne restaurants.

- "I just don't want to be a Noma clone. It's everywhere. You see it in the way people plate, and it's nauseating." Eater interview with Manresa chef David Kinch.

- Also via Eater: Yes, the Food Blogging For Dummies Book Is a Real Thing. Apparently chapter 7 is "How to Write a Top Ten List" and chapter 12 is "Using Words Like Toque, Delish, and Drool-Worthy For Fun and Profit." *HEADDESK*

- I was interviewed by City Weekly and asked to name some of my favourite places in the city. Coming up with good answers for some of those questions was surprisingly hard - what would you have answered?

Hanoi Hannah in Prahran: Melbourne's south side gets some Vietnamese

2012-02-25T19:22:00.001+11:00

Hanoi Hannah
180 High Street, Prahran/Windsor (map)
9939 5181
website
Open 7 days, 11am-11pm (breakfast coming soon)
No bookings

Located in Prahran/Windsor on High Street just off Chapel Street, new casual Vietnamese restaurant Hanoi Hannah cheerfully plugs a gap in Melbourne's dining scene by giving south side residents in need of a phở fix a cheap and bustling option on their side of the river.

It opened a fortnight ago, and when I tried to pop in for lunch with Jackie a few days after opening, one of the owners had to ruefully tell me that they were unexpectedly closed for lunch that day because they'd run out of food (!). I made plans with Tom to try again and we went for dinner on Wednesday night: it was already buzzing with young trendies.

Tom ordered a fresh coconut juice ($5) which came served in a branded coconut, in the manner of some of the cocktails the bartender was making. I was happy to see Halida beer from Hanoi on the menu (which I haven't had since I was in Hanoi six years ago), but our friendly waitress explained that their Halida supply was still in a boat on its way to Australia. I settled for a bottle of Ba Ba Ba Premium ($7) instead.

The bò lá lốt cigars ($8), served on skewers, were excellent: the vine leaves were crispy but the beef was succulent.

Seeing "pork belly sliders" on the menu nearly made me drop my monocle in surprise. Yes, very On-Trend Dude Food Melbourne ca 2012 (wouldn't they be more at home on the menu at The Smith across the road?), but not very Viet Nam, I'd've thought. But my curiosity was piqued, so I ordered them for us ($8 for two). And yes, they were very good - obligatory brioche bun, Sriracha Kewpie mayo and all.

Tom reported back favourably on the vermicelli salad with grilled chicken ($10).

I had a bowl of the beef phở ($9). While it wasn't the best phở I've had in Melbourne (that would probably be a tie between Hùng Vương and Phở Tam, both in Footscray), it was a damn sight better than some of the phở I've had on Victoria Street. Good price, good noodles, good beef, reasonably rich broth - though a few different garnish herbs to play with would've been great.

It's easy to see why Hanoi Hannah is packed already. The booze list is short but savvy, with an eye for what the kids are drinking in Melbourne at the moment. Most dishes hover around the $8-$10 mark: a glass noodle salad with shredded duck is the most expensive option at $13. Bánh mì are available at lunchtime and as noted at the top of this post, they'll soon be open for breakfast. I'll be back!

If you can't get in, I've heard good things about bistro Franco Choo's across the road, plus cheapish Thai food (that I loved) at Colonel Tan's is only a short walk away. The [aforementioned] Smith if you're prepared to splash some cash.

Pssst, Hanoi Hannah: upload a higher res version of the image on your website, so that we can read all the writing!

Fortnightly round-up (13 February)

2012-02-13T23:26:00.002+11:00

Last week was a big week for shock restaurant departures/closures: The Brix lost its head chef in addition to its sous chef and pastry chef (word on the street via Essjay is that they'll be reopening at the end of the month under new head chef Ashly Hicks from Brisbane's Buffalo Club), MoMo announced its 31 March closure in response to head chef Greg Malouf moving to London to head up Petersham Nurseries, and Sydney's Bird Cow Fish closed on the weekend with less than a week of warning. I've heard also that the closure of another fine dining restaurant in Melbourne is poised to be announced in the next week, once all staff have been notified. Ah, it's a tough business.

But of course, that doesn't seem to deter people from opening new places all the time. In the last fortnight we've seen some second venue openings from established Melbourne chefs (well, a seventh concurrent venue opening for George Calombaris if you count all the restaurants in the Made Establishment stable). Bishop of Ostia is the Pope Joan-adjacent bar opened last Thursday week by Matt Wilkinson and Ben Foster, and Marmalade & Soul is Ray Capaldi's new cafe/restaurant opened last week in former pub site The Recreation. I've been to both for preliminary visits (blog posts coming once they've had a chance to settle in!), and they're both very promising.

I'm yet to dine at the restaurant, but I attended the Mama Baba launch party the other week. Never before had I been to a restaurant launch where a celebrity hairdresser was working in the glass pasta room (just down from the $45,000 pasta extruder), fashioning wigs made out of pasta (!!!) for models to wear at the party...

Neil Perry's Spice Temple is now serving yum cha for lunch every day of the week (the regular menu is now for dinners only). On Friday I attended a freebie media launch lunch hosted by NP himself introducing the yum cha menu. I left very impressed by his passion for what he does (sitting next to him I got to hear all about the interesting research trips and recipe testing involved in developing the yum cha menu), the high standard of the dishes (unlike at many yum cha restaurants in Melbourne, the quality and freshness of the ingredients - especially the seafood - really stood out) and the surprisingly reasonable prices (see menu here).

Favourite dishes: the tea smoked duck, the har gow, the steamed tripe with black bean and the egg tart.

Two things I have been enjoying over the last fortnight: coffees from Patricia Coffee Brewers and honey from Melbourne City Rooftop Honey (from a hive on a rooftop in Rankins Lane).

So THAT'S what an entire lobster in tempura looks like. Served along with a whole lot of sashimi - including lobster sashimi - at a Japanese dinner I attended during the week at an underground restaurant out in the suburbs (the person who invited me asked me to not mention the name or location of the venue on the blog, as they weren't sure whether or not the local council approves). So how was the food? Better than Zingara Cucina... ;)

Food trucks/vans in Melbourne will soon no longer be confined to the cities of Darebin and Moreland: a Melbourne Times Weekly article (memorably titled 'Hipsters happy as the man lifts food van ban') confirmed that the Yarra City Council has agreed to overturn the ban on "mobile food vehicles" in the City of Yarra. The adopted guidelines that will operate in the City of Yarra can be found here.

The fly in the ointment is that we have to wait until the Council has decided on a fee structure for the permits (they say they expect the fee structure to be decided by mid-2012) before Beatbox Kitchen, Taco Truck, Le Sausage, Gumbo Kitchen and their like will be allowed to roll into the hood.

Links of Note:

- Speaking of food trucks, last month the City of Sydney announced the 10 winning food trucks that will be allowed to trade in Sydney for a twelve month trial period. The list of the chosen operators (yeah, Melbourne's Taco Truck is one of them) plus a nifty video showing the judging process is on the City of Sydney's website.

- Hot on the heels of his recent victory over 'pink slime' hamburgers, Jamie Oliver is coming to Melbourne and will be giving a talk on 6 March about promoting food education in the community - tickets went on sale today and can be purchased via The Wheeler Centre's website.

- Food is the New Rock: the blog where music and food collide.

- Broadsheet's article Decoded - What's in a Cafe Name?, explaining the origin stories of the names of several Melbourne cafes.

- Delightful Sydney-based Mexican food blog De La Tierra.

- Matt Rodbard from Food Republic (the food blog for men, because "men are underserved in today's conversation about food") writes about The 9 Best Things [He] Ate in Melbourne. Seven of the nine are from just three restaurants, and one of the other nine is a cappuccino. *cough*

- Lauren from Footscray Food Blog discovered a workday cafe in North Melbourne called Crouton that serves Mauritian food at Saturday lunchtime.

- I keep including foodie links from The Design Files in these fortnightly round-ups, but at the risk of sounding repetitive I'm including this interview with James Brown from graphic design studio Mash.

- Restaurant reviews on blogs as videos? Kate Gibbs makes a video about her visit to Surry Hills' El Capo on her blog The Kitchen Inc (I wrote about El Capo here).

- Mondrian, Duchamp, O'Keefe, Pollock, Klimt: famous artworks interpreted in sandwich form.

Attica: Tuesday Night Chef's Table

2012-02-07T00:12:00.000+11:00

Attica
74 Glen Eira Rd, Ripponlea (map)
9530 0111
website

I'd been lucky enough to dine at Attica twice before - but never on a Tuesday night, when the regular degustation menu is replaced by the Chef's Table five course degustation of dishes that head chef Ben Shewry and his team are testing and developing. The experimental Chef's Table menu is cheaper than the regular degustation, at $95 per head (or $150 per head including matching wines).

I'd been meaning to go on a Tuesday for aeons, and one day late last year something snapped and I made an impulsive reservation for four people on the next available Tuesday night after my trip to Japan. I reasoned to myself (correctly) that I'd surely be able to muster up some dining companions by then who were as keen as I was.

We went along two weeks ago, on the 24th. All of us, bar our designated driver, selected the $150 option with matching wines. As we drank our aperitifs (I had a Lighthouse and tonic), dining companion Matt confessed to us that he had been DREAMING of the smooth, creamy olive oil emulsion served with bread at Attica.

I don't blame him. It's to die for.

The meal started with a course that wasn't listed on the menu: two plump Sea Bounty Blue mussels from Port Phillip Bay, sitting in a modest quantity of simple shitake, bonito and soy broth. Umami KAPOW.

"Leeks and green sauce" was all the menu said about the next course. It turned out to be tiny leek stems standing upright amongst dollops of outrageously fresh fromage blanc (that the kitchen staff had made just that afternoon) and a pesto-like combination of purslane, lovage and dandelion. The leek stems were topped with dabs of macadamia nut oil and sprinkled mountain pepper, and the dish was finished off with a few foraged purslane and lemon thyme leaves. Matched with the Sutton Grange 2009 Fiano, a Southern Italian varietal increasingly grown in Australia.

This course and the next one were my two favourites: intricately composed without feeling muddled, and showcasing really top-notch produce.

By way of introducing the next course, our waiter explained that Ben is playing with the idea of taking the iconic Snow Crab dish (recipe - in Spanish - on the Madrid Fusion website) off the regular menu, and this is one of his alternative ideas.

It starts with a generous scrape of labne, then a layer of bell horn pepper. Add smoked black sesame seeds, spiced hazelnuts, scooped pulps of black russian tomatoes, black cherry tomatoes and juicy shreds of snow crab. Top it with tiny basil leaves from ELEVEN different varieties of basil, and you have one very special dish.

Upon reading the dish description I'd been curious about how the acidity of the tomatoes and the strong basil flavours would work with the delicacy of the snow crab but to my surprise they married perfectly, underscored by the creaminess of the labne. Matching it with a glass of savoury La Goya Manzanilla was a great addition too. I'm practically drooling at the memory of it: I've had the regular Snow Crab dish at Attica twice before, but I'd swap it for this one in a heartbeat.

It was at this point in our meal that our table was invited to tour the kitchen garden. A private tour by Ben Shewry of Attica's kitchen garden? My dining companions and I, all food nerds, leapt at the opportunity and we were led through the tiny, orderly kitchen in the middle of service to the back garden (formerly the car park). Ben showed us around and chatted amiably with us about what he's growing, both in the planter boxes on-site and in the 300sq metre plot leased from the National Trust at the nearby historic Rippon Lea Estate.

At the former site it's mainly herbs, including TWELVE varieties of basil and a mushroom plant from Papua New Guinea whose leaves - bizarrely - really do taste like a button mushroom.

We returned to our table for our next course, and couldn't help but smile at the ballsy simplicity of the "Fried King George Whiting". No micro-tweezers required to assemble this dish! Just a fillet in potato and wheat starch, fried for a minute and 20 seconds at 200 degrees and served with a minimalist cheek of lemon. It came with a glass of the 2010 Sato Riesling 'Petillant Naturel', a fascinating natural wine made by a Japanese former investment banker turned winemaker in Central Otago. He adds no sulfur during the wine-making process until just before bottling, which stops oxidation but not the ferment - giving the finished product a slight fizz. We loved it.

The meat course was beef tongue that had been poached then hot smoked. It was served with a mirepoix, tomato, white wine and beef jus, little strips of dehyrated wagyu and a couple of bitter leaves. This course didn't resonate with me as much as the others did, though I loved the matching of Best's 2010 Dolcetto.

The dessert was described simply as "Lemon Honey", but turned out to be a whole lot more than that (much like Attica's long-departed, fondly-remembered "Terroir" dessert). The base was a lemon honey cream, covered with shards of blackcurrant meringue, fresh raspberries and a green ice that looked too light to be made from sorrel (and turned out to be made from lemon thyme and fennel). All this was hidden under a thin plasticky sheet of pumpkin, which had been compressed in honey syrup. And as if that wasn't enough, the pumpkin was covered by freeze dried braeburn apples, powdered and arranged in honeycomb-like formations.

A real treat of a dish: like the Terroir, you could play around with the different flavour combinations, textures and temperatures. Served with the stonkingly good Oakridge Late Harvest Viognier 2009, an ice wine Viognier made from overripe grapes that were frozen after harvest.

It almost goes without saying that the service from the front of house team was exemplary. We loved too that we were seated directly in front of the test kitchen, where we could see sheets of what appeared to be the compressed pumpkin being prepared. Many thanks in particular to Ben for taking the time to show us around the garden.

All in all, it was a sublime meal. I can't wait to go back again.

Fortnightly round-up (30 January)

2012-01-30T00:42:00.000+11:00

Hip hip hooray: after a protracted application/objection/vindication process, the Duchess of Spotswood's liquor licence has commenced. It kicked off on Australia Day, so Tom & I headed out west pronto to enjoy a cheeky cocktail with brunch. Rather than the Bloody Mary or one of the gin-based drinks, I chose the Pimms n' Ginge, which was vividly refreshing. Love the Duchess' (newish) shady courtyard too. For now their opening hours are unchanged, but word is they're planning to open for dinners too - hopefully by March.

I had a great time on the 17th at the Fringe Food Festival's Crash Course in Creole. It was an event hosted by my good friend Jess from Burger Mary at My Mexican Cousin, and the menu highlights included the boudin fritters, the gumbo, the po'boys and the bourbon pecan pie. Jess was in sparkling form, and the evening had a fun, convivial vibe. For a complete blog post on the dinner, see I'm So Hungree.

BBQ fans: there are whispers of Burger Mary running a Texas BBQ event with the Fringe Food Festival next month, so be sure to sign up to the FFF's mailing list via their website (or follow them on Twitter or Facebook) to stay in the loop.

I had lunch last week at The Aylesbury with Cara from Gourmet Chick (add her blog to your RSS if you don't already have it, she recently returned to live back home in Melbourne after years of living - and food blogging - in London). Our lunch reconfirmed for me that I prefer The Aylesbury's rooftop bar to its ground-floor restaurant: the 'Pig and Fig' was excellent, but both the service and the other dishes were patchy.

Highlight of BBQ lunch last Sunday to celebrate my brother Buster's visit from Sydney: pineapple and peppercorn tarte Tatin.

I am obsessed with the matcha (green tea) Kit Kats I brought back from Japan. For the uninitiated, the powdered green tea is mixed with white chocolate and they taste bloody brilliant - milky sweetness with a gentle tannic finish. The number of weird and wonderful Kit Kat flavours available in Japan is legendary (eg cheese, wasabi, lemon vinegar, cucumber, miso, soy sauce, wine, wasabi, mashed edamame). A few years ago Tummy Rumbles did a great blog post rating several of the Japanese Kit Kat flavours.

The peach pie I made for Australia Day (pictured here uncooked and topless) won a lot of friends. I used this recipe from January's Gourmet Traveller, but for the crust I went with the wonderful One Pie Dough To Rule Them All recipe from Chez Pim. Use fresh yellow clingstone peaches and be sure to sprinkle demerara sugar on top.

New cafe news: Carolina opened on Thursday at 11 Nicholson Street, Carlton North. They're serving Seven Seeds coffee and simple brunch/lunch, plus it doubles as a neighbourhood bar (open to 11pm) with a selection of craft beers, a huge courtyard and a layout/atmosphere that's reminiscent of The Alderman and Longplay.

Links of Note:

- Keke, the beautiful food blog side project of Melbourne artist Kirra Jamison.

- A great interview on The Design Files with Claire Larritt-Evans, the stylist/designer responsible for both Market Lane locations.

- Blog post by George Biron, chef at Sunnybrae Restaurant and Cooking School, writing about oocytes and the Timballo del Gattopardo (inspired by di Lampedusa's The Leopard) he used to serve at the Grace Darling Hotel in the seventies, and about the MFWF event where he'll be hosting Frank Moorhouse.

- Steve Cumper, chef at the Red Velvet Lounge in Cygnet, Tasmania, muses on his blog about reverse cultural snobbism in gastronomy and asks what IS authentic anyway?

- That Jess Ho gets ranty.

- Chicken group La Ionica faces a $100,000 penalty after it admitted that claims that its chickens were "free to roam" were misleading or deceptive (in court last month the Federal Court heard that each chicken had only the equivalent of an A4 page on which to roam). You can read the Federal Court's judgment here.

- I'm enjoying I Love Riesling, the wine blog written by Tom Hogan (head sommelier at Lake House).

- How cute is this little kitchen? It belongs to Carla from Easy as Vegan Pie and she has some simple tips to give your kitchen some love.

- The dubious PR tactics of yet-to-open Fitzroy cafe Stencil vis-a-vis local blog Fitzroyalty really are bizarre (read parts one, two and three on Fitzroyalty). Allegedly: a six month ban from visiting the cafe, attempted bribery and perhaps even the creation of an imposter Fitzroyalty website praising the cafe (???).

- Is What I Cooked Last Night Australia's longest running food blog? Kitchen Hand has been posting several times a month, every month SINCE NOVEMBER 2003. Kudos!

Fortnightly round-up (16 January): Japan travel tips edition

2012-01-16T17:42:00.000+11:00

As I mentioned in my previous blog post, Melbourne Gastronome has been quiet for the last fortnight because I have been on holiday over in Japan. すばらしい!! I just got back yesterday, and am feeling pretty woozy and spaced out today (very little sleep on the overnight flight). Because I had only intermittent internet access over there, I'm afraid I haven't had the opportunity to write a proper Fortnightly Round-up filled with news, photos and Links of Note in time for today's scheduled post.

But rather than publish nothing I thought I'd create a blog post listing all the tips and recommendations that lovely Melbourne Gastronome readers sent me for my trip to Osaka, Kyoto and Tokyo: I figured that it could be a useful resource for those of you planning a trip to Japan in the future (do it!). Huge thanks once again to those of you who provided me with tips! I will of course be writing a blog post or two about the trip highlights - spoiler alert: IT WAS AMAZING - in the near future.

In the meantime I leave you with this very short video I made of a silly little something that caught my eye in Tokyo (if you can't view the embedded video below, here's the link).

As a native Japanese, I have a lot of places to recommend!

In Tokyo, Tsukiji Fish market is a 'must visit' place as a food lover - not only seeing famous Tuna auction in the main wholesale market area (you may have to register), you can enjoy shopping and dining in the JYOGAI market area. There are lots of eateries and specialty shops. Tsukiji is surrounded by old and new tourist places, so it will be a good fun to walk around on a nice day.

Also, visiting gourmet sections in Department stores will be fabulous experience -you can buy and sample all sorts of Japanese delicacies, lunch boxes, and gorgeous sweets etc., like shopping at Gallary Lafayett in Paris.

Try variety of restaurants - from top end Japanese restaurants to little eateries. Especially small eateries, majority of them are cheap and good quality, just believe your gut feeling!

Akiko

~~~
hi claire,
i love your blog.
it's been ten years since i was in japan. my recommendation for food to seek out is kyoto style 'yuba' or tofu skin. texturally, it's similar to buffalo mozzarella - so fresh, layered and delicious. in some restaurants, yuba is made on the table - a pan of soy milk (yuba milk) with a piece of orange rind (or other fragrant ingredients) sits on top of a burner and the you watch the yuba (fine film) form on top. if you can line up a japanese foodie to take you through it, i would highly recommend it. sorry i can't be more specific.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Yuba-meal.jpg
http://www.kyoto-wel.com/share/kyoto_item/en02.html
many thanks for your amazing insights and discoveries.
best regards,
duyen

~~~
Hi there,

You should check out Koyasan, a Buddhist mountain retreat totally worth the train and cable car ride from Osaka. You have to stay the night there but you could easily do away with a day or night in Kyoto or Tokyo to take in this incredible, unique experience.

Once on the mountain, you stay in beautiful traditional accommodation in Buddhist temples. The monks will make you a blow your mind vegetarian Buddhist meal for dinner, and any other meals that you're there with them. It's incredibly delicious and different.

The architecture in the town is amazing and very old and the cemetery is the permanent home of some of Japan's most important Shingon Buddhists. When I went it was covered in a blanket of snow and looked so beautiful.

The monks ask you if you want to join them pre breakfast for early prayer - unfortunately I accidentally slept through this but I have heard it's quite fascinating.

As a foodie, I believe Japan is the best place in the world to visit. It's non stop excitement. Make sure amongst everything else you have, you get some takoyaki at Kyoto train station's food hall - to die for!!! And sashimi is amazing wherever you have it. Melt in the mouth. It's exciting to stay in the Gion district of Kyoto which is both beautiful and traditional Geisha territory.

The best food I've had in Japan had been home cooked, so time to tap in to all those Japanese friendships and invite yourself over for sinner, haha!

Hope you have an amazing time. Looking forward to reading all about it!

Love the blog!

Melody

~~~
Hi Melbourne gastronome,
I'm a massive fan of your blog, you always seem to be completely on the mark!
Japan is the most amazing country, I went there 2 years ago and definitely am eagerly anticipating my next journey. You definately have to go to midori zushi in shibuya Tokyo, http://quirkygastro.blogspot.com/2011/01/cheap-eats-midori-zushi-tokyo-japan.html
it is a very informal restaurant but definitely one of the most memorable, I went there about 3 times, the california roll is amazing, try and get there early or you might have to wait a little. Also try and make it to the Tsukiji fish markets an amazing experience the amount of fresh fish and variety, try and have sashimi breakfast there, it is expensive but amazingly fresh! Apart from that I just wandered around, be sure to have heaps of ramen, soba and yakitori you can grab that around any train station. I loved Kyoto and had a great degustation meal on tatami mats overlooking the river, they definitely have more traditional restaurants, it's absolutely beautiful there. I really enjoyed a day trip to Nikko which is just out of Tokyo, they have great temples and really nice national park, hiroshima is good as well and specialty down there is Korean/Japanese BBQ which is always great fun. The bullet train makes travel so easy, just make sure you get a ticket online while still in oz as you save $$$ compared to paying while there.
I hope this is helpful, feel free to shoot any questions you have through and I will do my best.
Good luck
Dan

~~~
Hi,

My Japan tip is that the massive department stores on the big main road -Ginza- have awesome food halls-two floors, no less, and the sushi bars in the food halls are excellent value for money.

JL

~~~
Hi Claire,

Not sure if you remember, but I sent you a bunch of recommendations when you were planning your US trip a couple of years ago. Thought I'd email you Japan recs rather than post a really long comment on the blog.

I went to Japan a year and a bit ago, so I'm sure heaps of good stuff has opened in the meantime, but these were my faves.

If you're at all interested in ramen, you should develop a healthy addiction to this blog: http://www.ramenadventures.com/ and read the New York Times article that made it famous: http://travel.nytimes.com/2010/01/31/travel/31ramen.html?pagewanted=all

For non ramen recommendations, this blog is also quite good: http://www.bento.com/

Anyway, these are the places I loved. They're a bit ramen-centric - I was traveling on a budget!

Tokyo:
Menya Musashi was my absolute favourite meal, ramen or otherwise: http://www.ramenadventures.com/2010/01/menya-musashi-in-shinjuku.html

Bassanova for the green curry ramen - kinda like a laksa/thai curry/ramen fusion. It's a bit out of the way though: http://www.ramenadventures.com/2009/04/basanova-in-shindaita.html. An American guy cooks there and also has a ramen blog: http://www.goramen.com/

Maisen for tonkatsu. I knew I had to go there after reading the Tummy Rumbles post. http://tummyrumbles.com/2009/09/maisen.html

Sushi Dai at Tsukiji Fish Market was the best sushi I've ever had. And it's quite reasonable priced. Something like $50 for 11 pieces of sushi, made for you one at a time. The queues are insane - I think we waited two hours to get a spot, but it was totally worth it. http://www.ededition.com/sushi-dai-tsukiji-fish-market/ . If you can't deal with the line, I think Daiwa Sushi is widely regarded as the second best at Tsukiji.

In Tokyo, I also loved the bars of the Golden Gai in Shinjuku. I also had a really great okanomiyaki in The Golden Gai, but I have no idea of the name of the restaurant. I think it's just fun to wander the lanes and pop into any bars that take your fancy. I know a bar called Albatross is friendly to English speakers.

The food basement of Isetan department store is just mind-blowing. It features every sort of over-packaged indulgence you can think of. And you can get Pierre Herme macarons there, which is always a good thing.

Kyoto:
Roan Kikunoi was my one major indulgence. It's a kaiseki style place in Kyoto. I had the 5 course lunch, which was actually quite good value. I think the total meal came to about $100. It seats about 10 people, so it feels very exclusive and special. http://kikunoi.jp/english/store/roan/

The ramen street on the top floor of Kyoto station has a number of good ramen shops. I had a really great tsukemen from a place called Tetsu. Tsukemen, or dipping ramen, was very much in fashion while I was in Japan.

I also had a great ramen at this place http://kyotofoodie.com/takaraya-ramen/.

That's probably more than enough. Sorry for bombarding you - I just get excited when I hear people are going to Japan. It's an incredible food destination. I'm sure you'll love it. Can't wait to read your posts when you get back.

Cheers,
Blair

~~~
Claire

Tour 1a for my visitors is, assuming starting from Roppongi Hills, thru the back streets to Omotesando, passing both local housing and swish fashion label shops; up O-sando. Lunch at the gyoza place mentioned by one of your correspondents or at Maisen (tonkatsu, also so mentioned). Or go to that area for dinner, to a little place where various delicacies are grilled in front of one in a glass fronted bbq pit.

Assuming it's lunch-time, walk further up O-sando via Omotesando Hills shopping centre to Meiji Jingu (Shrine), ALSO mentioned in your blog, in and out (probably witness a Japanese Shinto wedding procession), and back out to the madness that takes place around the corner in the park - rock and roll dancing, pets, picnics, kooks, etc. Then back past Harajuku station and down Takeshita Doori (Street) to see the Harajuku Gaaruzu (Girls) as we stroll down the Street. Perhaps visit Kinokuniya Dept store just to ogle at the prices and taste the French cheeses...

There are any number of side-tracks to go down as time allows.

But anywhere is fun in Tokyo! Ueno Park/area; Shinjuku shops/station; Shibuya shops/cafes; crossing; Ebisu-Daikanyama-Shibuya circle walk (old stomping ground).

Bring walking shoes!

CG

~~~
I went on holiday to Japan last year for the first time and it was awesome. Would love to go back and it would be really interesting to see how things are now after the disasters earlier this year. The one tip that I would give for an amazing meal would be to visit the restaurant ‘Okada, Tori, Umi, Yamano-sachi’ in Osaka. My friend's sister was the chef there and provided us with the best meal (http://www.blueapocalypse.com/2010/08/japan-5-okada-chicken-ocean-and.html) that I had in Japan.

Apex

~~~
I just came back from Osaka, Kyoto,and Nara. Foods there are fantastic.
Personally, I like kyoto style sushi at Izuju. http://kyotofoodie.com/izuju-best-kyoto-style-sushi/ Dango stall (petit brown wooden stall) down Shijo dori road from Izuju toward Gion Shijo also memorable. It's roasted dango soaked with shoyu sauce and topped with kinako (soy bean flour).

Nutmeg

~~~
In Tokyo,

Check out Dons de la Nature for the perfect slab of Japanese steak.
http://r.tabelog.com/tokyo/A1301/A130101/13018798/

Also try this hidden secret - Aronia De Takazawa - for a life changing experience
http://www.timelessfacade.com/2010/07/aronia-de-takazawa-life-changing.html

Anonymous

~~~
I spent a year in Japan and the best place I visited was Hakone, just getting there was an adventure, you get a train that zig zags up the mountain, then a tram kind of thing that has stepped floor as it's so steep, then a cable car and then an amazing boat across the lake. It's spectacular this time of year with the leaves changing colour. It's stuck in my head as one of my all time favourite holidays, I'll definitely go back one day. Have a great time!

MildlyCrafty

~~~
Unless going to a really cheap chain restaurant where you don't expect much, we found it hard to go wrong anywhere in Japan.

We ate at places where vividly remember our experience, but would have very little clue of location or name. I've just dug out my trip diary, where I wrote down a lot of the restaurant names (using my very vague residual knowledge of hiragana) and listed everything we ate, but even this isn't helping now!

Tips & suggestions:
- if you pick a place based on the excellence of the smell, it will mostly turn out to be eel. The first place we ate exclusively served eel and it was mind-blowing.
- eat train station bento (when travelling between cities), for fun as much as taste.
- find a place that does handmade fresh udon noodle and order with a simple broth.
- in Tokyo, go to Ueno one day for lunch. The markets are fun, and we found a downstairs place where we got an amazing whole grilled fish (and trimmings) for $11. The whole place was filled with the smell of smoke and fish. The sign outside said "Kimono-ya" but I know not more than that...
- if going to a Japanese burger chain, Mosburger is far better than Freshness Burger.

My metabolism is going crazy just writing this. Have fun!

Nat

~~~
I've had the privilege of living for 10 years in Tokyo and another 10 in Italy and can say that some of the best foodie experiences are there! Firstly, street names aren't really used in Japan so use this GMap service in Tokyo to help you find your way to places. Search by address or by restaurant name: http://gmap.jp/gmap/service.html

Restaurants:

Tonkatsu Maisen
Tokyo's famous tonkatsu (fried pork cutlets) restaurant, located in an unusually decorated former bathhouse.
Jingumae 4-8-5. Open 11am-10pm

Za Watami
Delicious Izakaya (Japanese drinking establishment) with a huge menu of drinks and food. Really fun and affordable!
Close to Shibuya station

Kinkantei
A 200-year-old soba shop in the middle of Tokyo's gay bar district, serving a full selection of soba dishes. Their hoto (hoh-toh), a Yamanashi-style udon dish with lots of vegetables, makes a very filling wintertime meal. Another specialty is deep-fried natto (fermented soybeans) wrapped in nori.
Shinjuku 2-17-1

Locanda Elio
Italian celebrities, politicians and sportsmen have all admitted that the Italian food at Elio's Calabrian restaurant is better than at home. And that's a big statement. Fantastic seafood dishes, most you would never find in Australia. Dinner is worth it and not too expensive.
2-5-2 Kojimachi
Hanzomon station

Hope this helps! :)

Naila

~~~
I would suggest staying in Osaka for a few more days if you can... it is the home of Okonomiyaki which are quite wonderful. And there are excellent places where they are cooked in front of you on hot plates. Also the 'American Village' is quite a interesting place to go out in terms of bars/clubs and check out the japanese party culture. Just having a beer on the street there is pretty fun!

This will sound really dodgy but... There is a great sushi train in the Kyoto station precinct. A few shops up from the McDonalds and across from the shop with stuffed plastic loaves of bread in the window.

We went there a few years back and it was tasty and fresh. A couple of hefty Japanese guys ate their way through 30 plates whilst we were there.

Also, any of the sushi places around the Tokyo fish market close to opening time. The freshest and tastiest sushi lunch you will ever have!

Clare

~~~
One of my favourite Tokyo cafes is A to Z in Omotesando. It was partially designed by Yoshitomo Nara, and has a great rooftop garden and oh so delicious cocktails.

Kymberly

~~~
In Kyoto make sure you go to Nishiki Market. Worth it just for the sites & smells alone.

In Tokyo try Birdland in Ginza, hard to find but really good Yakitori.
Another good one is Ramen Jiro, its a chain, but still yum.
Also you have to go to a Depachika, the food halls of the big dept stores, they are AMAZING.

I just Noticed 'Naila' recommended Tonkatsu Maisen; I absolutely second that recommendation, been to Tokyo three times and always go there.

simplymortified

~~~
There is a magnificent, tiny specialty tempura restaurant in Tokyo. It's in an unassuming quite little neighbourhood but worth the search. The chefs cook the tempura directly in front of you and it's about 10 courses of individually prepared tempura. Amazing. Like the tempura version of 'Jiro Dreams of Sushi' (if you have seen that film).
Tempura Mikawa
3-4-7 Kayabacho, Nihonbashi, Chuo, Tokyo Prefecture
+81 3-3664-9843

Amanda

~~~
Japanese-style (wafuu) pasta is delicious and underrated - try a chain called Pontoiru, which uses duck meatballs, fresh-grated yams and these zingy Kyoto herbs I've never had before.

One of the best galleries in Tokyo is the Metropolitan Museum of Photography, also known as Syabi. The whole Ebisu/Daikanyama area is also great for wandering and picking up unusual food. www.syabi.com/e/contents/index.html

Tokyo Art Beat is the index for visual art. Tokyo is an arts-obsessed city - in my experience, even more so than Paris or NYC. So many innocuous-looking streets are studded with secret galleries upstairs. You can find amazing galleries in, say, a plumbing shop or a furniture showroom: www.tokyoartbeat.com

Lesley

~~~
Can't believe that no-one has mentioned it yet but the world famous Tsukiji Fish Market in Tokyo is a must for breakfast and a wander. It is stupendously wonderful.

Make sure you go to one of the little cafes a bit further down the strip away from the Metro station entrance though (towards the shrine)- will be much better value.

Geoff

~~~
Skip Tokyo, it's busy and loud. Stay in Osaka which is brilliant and Kyoto which is sublime. There's a gorgeous Persian restaurant in the Geisha area.

Ren

~~~
I was in Japan this year shortly after the earthquake. The earthquake happened 2 days before our wedding and we were booked in to go 2 days later so we braved it out - in the end all this meant we had to forgo Tokyo and stay in the south but that was ok.
I had an amazing time and would definitely go back :)

Visit Daimaru food section in Kyoto just for the experience!

You will love Le Bouchon in Kyoto if you'd like a change from Japanese fair - simple French food done well at a really decent price, we went during the week and the place was full with locals.

And also make sure you have a Kaiseki style meal in Kyoto - many restaurants do them, the one we went to was Manzara Honten, a little bit touristy but really good value for money and the quality was brilliant.

There are many great french style patisseries and bakeries dotted all over Kyoto, the only thing I did miss was decent coffee - that was touch and go.

Enjoy, I'm sure you'll have a brilliant time :)

Sylvia

~~~
I recently lived in Tokyo for 3 years and you can't go past this AMAZING gyoza restaurant. That's all they do.... gyoza. Steamed or Fried are the only options. Check it out here --> http://www.japan-i.jp/news/gyoza_lou_harajuku_part_3.html
This is in the main shopping / freak watching area Harajuku which is a must visit anyway! Enjoy!

Anonymous

~~~
If you are after a good melbourne style coffee , Dean and Delucca ( a number of sites in Tokyo and maybe elsewhere these days) are quite good.
Try to take in a ryokan in the hills outside Kyoto , and do the Kaseki thing..quite remarkable.
I can recommend a specific place if you wish

Noel

~~~
Obviously our Japan advice will be of only limited use for you, but I can't recommend Bon in Tokyo enough. Just an amazing experience - if you have only one veg meal on your trip, find a way to make it at Bon.

Pictures etc are here: http://herestheveg.blogspot.com/2010/04/april-2-2010-hiroshima-to-tokyo.html#bon

Michael

~~~
hey claire,
I defintely recommend checking out Omoide Yokocho in Shinjuku (AKA Piss Alley) for the most authentic Tokyo Yakitori experience. If you're interested, I'll send you a photo of the place there that I'd recommend. There's no names on most of the places, so you'll have to go by a photo to work out which it is!
In Osaka, there is an amazing Tsukemen restaurant, which puts a 300c red hot rock into your broth when you finish your meal. One of the best things I've eaten in Japan! I'll see if I can get their name for you if you're keen on that too - I kept their card somewhere.
Accomodation-wise, Citadines in Kyoto and Tokyo and SO damn good and cheap. It was recommended to me by michael from Provenance. We've stayed at both on both visits to Jpn. The one in Kyoto is literally next door to a famous SOBA noodle place, which is a great lunchtime visit.
Hire bikes to get around Kyoto. You can ride on the roads, footpaths, etc, and it's by far the best place to get around. It's relatively flat, so you dont need to be too fit.
A good day trip from Osaka/Kyoto is Nara, where you will see deer wandering the streets and the Giant Buddha.
Get to Gion whilst in Kyoto for some geisha spotting in the early evening. You'll also spot them wandering around the laneways of Pontocho. A must visit! I even got the Pontocho logo tattooed when I was in Kyoto - a Chidori bird.

Dont forget to check out the weirdos down at Harajuku on the weekends, on the bridge next to the station. There's also a cool temple to visit just behind the station, which is a nice shady walk, if it's warm.
If you have a spare day and want to visit an amazing spa town, check out Kinosaki. A long winding beautiful train trip up mountains, along rivers and waterfalls and rapids until you get to this magical little onsen town, where you can walk around in your traditional wooden thongs and japanese dressing gown wandering to and from the 7 onsen. The food here is primarily seafood and is famous for Crab.
If you need any other ideas, let me know!!

Redvespa

~~~
I studied Japanese for six years in high school, and found to my pleasant surprise once over there that I actually remembered much more than I'd thought I would. That said, I have NO idea what Snoopy is yelling about outside this izakaya - can anyone translate for me??

Fortnightly round-up (2 January)

2012-01-02T10:15:00.002+11:00

A happy new year to all! I've just returned from spending NYE camping on a mountain and in less than 24 hours I fly to Osaka, so while I'm scampering about today in 40 degree heat wondering what the hell I should pack for a Japanese winter (hopefully free from further earthquakes), here's the latest fortnightly round-up of snippets and links of note. Previous editions of the fortnightly round-up are now archived: see the link in the right hand side panel.

The week before Christmas I attended a seminar at EDV Melbourne organised by 666 Pure Vodka where Sam Ross (former Melbourne bartender, now manager of Milk & Honey in New York and recently awarded American Bartender of the Year at the 2011 Tales of the Cocktail Spirited Awards) described his bartending philosophy and shared various cocktail techniques to a mostly industry-only crowd. It was a really interesting session (I took lots of notes, nerd that I am).

Beautifully simple breakfast last week at Von Haus.

Just look at the little monster that came in my Hurricane last week at The LuWOW! I'm carrying him in my handbag for good luck.

Chomp! Chomp! Chomp! As heralded in my previous fortnightly round-up, new burger bar Huxtaburger opened the week before Christmas and is doing brisk business across the road from the three owners' other venue, Huxtable. May I suggest ordering the Denise - 'the hot one' - as she comes with jalapeños and Sriracha mayo ($9). Bear in mind that that the burgers are on the small size, so if you're really hungry you may want to order a version with double patties.

I hope all my readers had a happy and safe Christmas. Mine was lovely this year, celebrating with Dad's side of the family a week before and then with the Italian side of the family on Christmas day. On Christmas Day the menu consisted of:
- Sardele in saor (Venetian-style sardines), giardiniera (Italian pickled vegetables: Dad recently attended a session with Peter Demaio on preserving the Italian way and has become obsessed with pickling things) and homemade chicken terrine wrapped in prosciutto with capsicum relish
- PAELLA!
- White chocolate and strawberry mousse
- Panettone, Mum's shortbread, Mum's mince tarts

Links of Note:

- Cindy and Michael from Where's the Beef work their way through the ENTIRE dessert menu at Cutler & Co (over more than one visit, I hasten to clarify). Have a look at the desserts Cutler is serving this summer - I'm keen to try the one with white chocolate mousse and beetroot ice cream.

- Brisbane cafe owner Josh uses his blog baristafail.com to share his list of good things to know if you’re opening a cafe anytime soon.

- Former vegetarian turned free-range pig farmer Tammois calls for vegans and ethical omnivores to unite in advocating for ethical/free-range animal agriculture, on Tammi Tasting Terroir.

- Wine blogger Andrea Frost imagines the conversation that took place when wine was invented, over on New Ruby Press.

- The natural wine movement: just noise? Alice Feiring has her say.

- Janice from e_ting the world tries to set aside the "world's best restaurant" hype and write about her dining experience at Noma.

- American food writer John Mariani writes about gin and dining out in Amsterdam in the latest edition of his Virtual Gourmet newsletter.

- My aunt Paola has started a blog dedicated to Northern Italian food, called italyonmymind. I will need to HAVE WORDS with her if she starts giving away too many of Nonna's culinary secrets...

- Authentic City is a website that celebrates creative design in cities around the world. The site has featured several Melbourne restaurants from a design perspective, most recently Middle Fish and My Mexican Cousin.

- Graphic designers Under Consideration write a blog called Art of the Menu, showcasing beautiful menus from restaurants around the world. Which Australian restaurant menus would you submit for consideration?

Melbourne's 2011 Twelve Bars of Christmas

2011-12-28T14:15:00.014+11:00

(or, in other words, twelve bars that opened in Melbourne's CBD over the twelve months of 2011, listed in chronological order)

As the title suggests, I wanted to get my list of twelve great bars that opened in the city this year finished in time for Christmas - but then life got in the way and delayed completion of this blog post. If I'd been writing a list that included new bars in the suburbs, The Everleigh, the Carlton Wine Room and the tiki-tastic LuWOW would've made the cut for sure (sorry Southside, but none of your new bars have rocked my socks this year - what am I missing?).

1. Chez Régine (became a whisk(e)y bar this year)

Chez Régine
270 Russell Street, Melbourne (map)
0420 309 660
Open Thursday-Saturday 5pm-late
website

Yes technically this bar opened in 2010, but in 2011 Chez Régine effectively reinvented itself as a bar specialising in whisky/whiskey (there are nearly 200 varieties on offer at last count, from Scotland, Ireland, America, Canada, Japan, Australia, and even India and Sweden). Although Chez Régine is only open three days a week, on Fridays they're open until 5am and on the last Monday of every month they host meetings/tastings of the Single Malt Collective, which is exactly what it sounds like. They've also got plenty of other liquor to drink neat or in cocktails, plus a good range of beers.

2. Ponyfish Island (got its liquor licence in January)

Ponyfish Island
Under the Southgate Footbridge (on the island), Melbourne (map)
0426 501 857
Open daily 8am-1am
website

Jerome Borazio (of St Jerome's fame), Grant Smillie and Andrew Mackinnon launched the open-almost-all-hours cafe/bar Ponyfish Island on the island underneath the Southbank Footbridge at the start of the year. I had breakfast there in March. It survived a chilly winter and is now pumping again as Melburnians flock to the waterside (such a lovely shade of water, the Yarra River) for Fat Yak and Bulmers on tap.

3. The Den (opened March)

The Den at The Atlantic
Riverside Promenade, Crown Entertainment Complex
8 Whiteman Street, Southbank (map)
9698 8889
Open daily 5:30pm-3am
website

Hidden under Donovan Cooke's flash seafood restaurant and oyster bar The Atlantic on the Crown Riverside Promenade lurks The Den, a moody bunker of a cocktail bar. The good news is that it's open until 3am every night of the week, and the cocktails (including one made with tobacco infused Diplomatico Anejo Rum, served to you at your table in its own cigar humidor) are pretty fancypants.

4. Bar Americano (opened June)

Bar Americano
20 Presgrave Place, Melbourne (map)
No phone
Open Monday 8:30am-4pm, Tuesday-Saturday 8:30am-11pm
website

In early June, in a laneway off a laneway the site formerly known as micro-cafe Pushka was reborn as Bar Americano, the much-anticipated city sibling of Der Raum. In contrast to its Richmond counterpart, Bar Americano is much smaller (the room fits a maximum of 15 customers), more traditional in its mixology (ten cocktails to choose from, and thar be no liquid nitrogen or Aperol-filled syringes here) and more Italian (the free snacks served at aperitivo hour, the antique blue "Sali e Tabacchi" sign outside, the gorgeous fitout of white tiles, wood paneling and copper benchtops inside). The commitment to high standards for cocktails remains the same, and during the day they'll even serve you a freshly-squeezed blood orange juice, a panino and a coffee. Note that it's cash only and despite what it says on their website, on Mondays they close at 4pm. A new city favourite of mine.

5. The Lui Bar at Vue de Monde (opened July)

The Lui Bar
Level 55 Rialto, 525 Collins Street, Melbourne (map)
9691 3888
Open Monday 5:30pm-midnight, Tuesday-Wednesday midday-midnight, Thursday-Friday midday-3am,
Saturday 5:30pm-3am, Sunday midday-6pm
website

Amid great fanfare, Vue de Monde relocated from Little Collins Street and reopened at the top of the Rialto halfway through the year. And guess what, it now comes with a top notch bar where you can grab a drink even if you're not shelling out $250 for dinner or $150 for lunch in the restaurant (sadly, Vue de Monde's $60 one hour express lunches are no longer on offer, but may hopefully make a return in the future). The Lui Bar not only gets the best views across the bay and down Albert Park Lake, but serves excellent cocktails (check out the Lui Martini, with add-your-own vermouth, bitters and garnishes, and the Negroni with an ice *sphere* instead of ice cube) and classy bar snacks like the David Blackmore Wagyu beef tartare pictured.

6. The Bottom End (opened September)

The Bottom End
579 Little Collins Street, Melbourne (map)
9629 3001
Open Wednesday 4pm–12am, Thusday 4pm–2am, Friday-Saturday 4pm–5am, Sunday 4pm–12am
website

55 floors down and half a block away from The Lui Bar sits its polar opposite, a bar taking blithely trashy kitsch to a whole new level. The Bottom End markets itself as a pub/diner/disco and comes to you courtesy of Michael Delany-Korabelnikova, the man behind Honkytonks, Sorry Grandma! and Third Class. What can I say? The beer list includes a suggestion that you try a 'Lagerita', the wine list is divided into 'cheap'/'reasonable'/'good', the spirits list distinguishes between 'tough shots' and 'shots for girls', the cocktail list includes a truly horrifying-sounding Australian Martini (vodka, Cointreau rinse, vegemite smear, coon cheese, pickled onion). I think you get the idea - but it's all in good fun. They've jumped onboard the American diner food trend bandwagon - we didn't think much of the Philly cheese steak or the po boy, but the NYC Buffalo wings and the grilled parmesan & artichoke dip were both excellent. Upstairs there's a late night 'house music club for the gents' tastefully named Poof Doof, and the red-nippled statues downstairs only partially prepare you for the NSFW wallpaper in the womens and mens toilets. The place is ridiculous, but that's the whole point.

7. The Aylesbury Rooftop (opened September)

The Aylesbury
103 Lonsdale Street, Melbourne (map)
9077 0451
Rooftop open Monday-Saturday 3pm-late (Fridays open from 1pm)
Restaurant open for lunch (12pm-3pm) Monday-Friday, dinner (6pm-late) Monday-Saturday
website

The ground floor site that housed chic pizzeria Barbagallo for just under 18 months reopened in late September as The Aylesbury, the second effort from the folks behind Añada. While I've had some mixed food experiences in The Aylesbury's restaurant, I *love* their tiny rooftop bar with its copper benchtop and open terrace (enter via the restaurant and take the elevator). The view over the buildings and treetops of Lonsdale Street is gorgeous, and the tapas I've had up there are very good (my pick is the Dorper lamb ribs crumbed with zataar). Hopefully they put the 'Ping Pong at 5' (white port, lime, sugar and tonic) back on the cocktail list soon.

8. Go Go Bar downstairs at Chin Chin (opened October)

Go Go Bar
125 Flinders Lane (enter via Higsons Lane or Chin Chin restaurant), Melbourne (map)
8663 2020
Open daily 4pm–3am
website

Whether you're waiting for a table at the ridonculously popular Chin Chin or just want a couple of drinks and snacks somewhere off Flinders Lane, go to Go Go Bar. Thai-inspired hotspot Chin Chin keeps its bar hidden under the stairs like some unpopular nephew, but the black-walls-and-neon Go Go also has its own separate laneway entrance. The drinks menu is rather cleverly divided into Spring/Summer/Autumn/Winter sections, both to reflect Melbourne's four-seasons-in-one-day weather and to give patrons guidance on the characteristics of the cocktails, beers and wines on offer on each page. The cocktails are very reasonably priced (most of them $15) and several of them have a Thai bent - I'm a big fan of the Thai Basil (gin, kaffir lime, fresh pressed lemon and palm sugar with a floating Thai basil leaf). There's also a snappy list of bar snacks, some of which replicate the menu upstairs and some of which (like the delicious, so-hot-right-now pulled pork sliders) are unique to Go Go. My advice: go.

9. San Telmo (opened October)

San Telmo
14 Meyers Place, Melbourne (map)
9650 5525
Open Monday-Friday 7am-1am, Saturday noon-1am
website

I wrote about new Argentinean restaurant San Telmo when it first opened, and have enjoyed subsequent visits even when it's only been to grab a drink at the back bar. Apart from one Champagne the wine list is an all-Argentinean affair, with many of the wines sourced directly by the San Telmo team and unavailable elsewhere in Australia. There are Patagonian tweaks to the cocktail menu (like the Bloody Maria made with chimichurri), and some interesting Argentinean beers (I like the Antares Porter) and Ferran Adrià's Inedit beer along with the Aussie brews on the list. Nibble on empanadas or ceviche, and try to resist the smell of meat cooking on the restaurant's parrilla coal grill.

10. Strange Wolf (opened October)

Strange Wolf
Basement 71 Collins Street (entrance via Strachan Lane off Exhibition Street), Melbourne (map)
9662 4914
Open Wednesday-Friday 5pm–3am, Saturday 8pm–3am, Sunday 8pm–late
No website

Previously the lurid Cabana Club and the gimmicky, fluctuating-drink-prices-on-the-stock-market Trader Bar, the bar under the sidewalk of Exhibition Street has been reborn as Strange Wolf. It's the new venue from the owners of the Grace Darling Hotel on Smith Street, who have pared the interior decor waaaaaay back. They've also put Trumer Pils, Mountain Goat and Coopers on tap and added a reasonably-priced local wine list, cocktails and bar snacks. Opening hours suit both the suits and the night owls.

11. Bar Ampère (opened November)

Bar Ampère
16 Russell Place, Melbourne (map)
9663 7557
Open Monday-Friday 8am-3am, Saturday-Sunday 10am-3am
website

Vernon Chalker, the dirty uncle of Melbourne's bar scene (think Gin Palace, Madame Brussels, Collins Quarter), opened Bar Ampère on Melbourne Cup Day next door to Gin Palace. I have to give him props for the bold concept and design of Bar Ampère, for it is like nothing else I've seen in Melbourne: an ode to Futurism, the movement that started in Italy in 1909 and spread to Paris before becoming associated in the 1920s and 1930s with Fascism. As an Italian nerd that studied Futurist art and design at university (and wanted to write her Honours thesis on the use of Futurist concepts in Fascist propaganda), I was always going to be fascinated by this place. The fists sticking out of the wall clutching naked light bulbs, the cogs and levers evoking machines from Modern Times or Metropolis, the predominance of concrete, glass and metal. The overall effect is ice cool and interesting rather than cosy. The wine list is largely French with an unusual emphasis on Lillet, vermouth and other aromatised wines, and bar snacks like chicken liver parfait or egg and soldiers with rosemary, porcini and chilli salt come served on clinical metal trays. For an extra touch of the bizarre, check out the 'Swamp Room' - the secret back corridor room connecting Ampère with Gin Palace.

12. EDV Melbourne (opened November)

EDV Melbourne
1 Malthouse Lane, Melbourne (map)
0412 825 441
Open Monday–Saturday 5pm–1am, Sunday 5pm-11pm
website

Last but by no means least comes the newest (and my personal favourite) of 2011's new city bars, EDV Melbourne. The Melbourne outpost of Sven Almenning's celebrated Sydney speakeasy Eau de Vie, EDV Melbourne is fronted up by dapper hooch guru Greg Sanderson (Black Pearl, The Attic) and hidden behind an unmarked door down a laneway off Flinders Lane - look for the plain door with the brass handle near the steps leading down to the Medina reception. There's all manner of technical wizardry here (including liquid nitrogen on tap, a Melbourne first if I'm not mistaken) befitting the epic cocktail menu, and the cocktails are first class: early favourites are the Vendeuse Martini and the Yuzu Mule. Old school jazz crackles over the speakers and a sliding door disguised as a bookcase reveals a private room (complete with private lockers for hire so you can store your own booze on the premises). Bookings are taken from 2 to 10 guests, and there's a great bar food menu ranging from tapas to more substantial dishes, care of chef Mark 'Fluffy' Favaloro (previously sous chef at MoVida).

One extra special feature at EDV Melbourne: the cocktail degustation (the first of which my friend and I attended as guests of EDV). For $130 per person at a communal table in The Library seating 20, guests are served a five course deg matching cocktails with food in a very fun, interactive and theatrical evening. Highlights included the DIY Martini (gin poured from a vintage 1930s cocktail shaker in the shape of a silver heeled lady's leg), the seafood platter, the punch served with duck and mango salad, the deconstructed Red Snapper (served with a white truffle rim, a spiced noodle and diced celery) and the Zacapa Old Fashioned served warm (heated with hot Japanese garden stones) rather than chilled and accompanied by a chocolate and chicory brownie. To cap off the evening, Greg flawlessly decapitated a magnum of Champagne with a sabre (sadly, not pictured!).

EDV cocktail degustations are held on Wednesdays to Saturdays at 7:30pm - contact Greg to book.

Aaaand my work here is done! But go ahead and tell me: which other new city bars did I leave out? Which new bars in the suburbs have you fallen for?

Fortnightly round-up (19 December)

2011-12-19T16:37:00.003+11:00

Franck Moreau, Group Sommelier for Merivale and recently judged Best Sommelier of Australia (see my previous round-up), has gained the highest internationally recognised qualification for sommeliers, Master Sommelier. After passing the fiendishly difficult exam set by the Court of Master Sommeliers, Franck became one of only 186 Master Sommeliers in the world. Congratulations also to the four Australians who passed the exam to become Advanced Sommeliers (of the 16 entrants in the Advanced Sommeliers exam, only seven passed). The four Aussies were Josh Elias (ex-Attica), Tom Hogan (Lake House), Jarrod Mills (Merivale) and Mark Protheroe (Grossi Group).

Due to open this week on Smith Street (hopefully on Thursday): Huxtaburger, the new burger bar from Team Huxtable, located across the road and a few doors down from their original restaurant. They're also opening an adjoining wine bar called Bill's Bar (which shares a kitchen with Huxtaburger). If the photos of the burgers that chef Dan Wilson has been teasing us with on Twitter are any indication, we're in for a treat.

Green coffee beans, fresh off the boat from Colombia to the new, still-under-construction Small Batch warehouse off Howard Street in North Melbourne. Thanks for the guided tour, Andy!

I get sent all kinds of random unsolicited food 'n drink swag these days, much of which I'm not really interested in writing about. But I'm happy to make an exception for the samples of Pepe Saya cultured butter I was sent last week, because it is *delicious*. Cultured butter is made by souring the cream with a lactic culture for two weeks before churning it, resulting in an amazingly intense buttery taste and aroma. Stockists in Victoria are listed here.

On Saturday I attended the Ninth Annual Christmas Cookoff, a friends' Christmas party held every year where prizes are awarded for best entrée, best salad, best vegetarian dish, best main, best dessert, best drink and best Christmas creation. This year it was held at the rotunda at Edinburgh Gardens, and nearly 100 of us attended. Although neither my pomegranate, cauliflower & quinoa salad nor my chocolate cupcakes with salted caramel & peanut butter frosting (recipe) won a prize - SOB! - it was a hugely enjoyable afternoon. Many many thanks to the lovely Hannah from 310Fitzroy for organising. See her Flickr album of photos from the Cookoff by clicking here (and while I can't bring myself to post a photo of it on my blog, you can see the wildly inappropriate, NSFW gingerbread tableau that won Best Christmas creation by clicking here).

Despite extensive testing, my recipe for ginandtonicsicles still needs some work. Any suggestions?

Links of Note:

- Advanced Sommelier (and reformed food blogger from many years ago) Josh Elias has set up Tasting Group: a nifty interactive video blog discussing wine, with links so that you can purchase the wines tasted. The website has only just launched, but I look forward to seeing it grow.

- Cindy and Michael from Where's The Beef have been to visit Helados Jauja, the new Argentinean gelateria on Lygon Street. I want to try their dulce de leche ice cream STAT.

- Alas, I own neither a Thermomix nor a Thermochef. But I can point you to a great blog post by Iron Chef Shellie, which presents a very thorough comparison of the two kitchen uber-gadgets.

- Check pastry chef Julie Thai's food blog for sneak previews of the desserts she's whipping up each month at CODA. This summer's CODA Bombe looks brilliant!

- Sibley does savoury (but keeps the Snickers): there has been some online buzz about Philippa Sibley's new Brunswick eatery, Albert Street Food & Wine (see, eg, Nola's review on Milk Bar Mag here). I'll hopefully get down there soon to check it out.

- Sometimes the simplest websites are the best. Type in your location and Nearest Burrito will provide you with a map to your nearest Mexican restaurant.

- In a similar vein: Where the Fuck Should I Go for Drinks?

- VEIL (Victorian Eco Innovation Lab) publishes an online urban food production map of Melbourne, recording primary produce sites such as community gardens, commercial production and market gardens, shared private gardens, and food produced on public space.

- Interesting article about the UK social media platform Sustaination, which seeks to connect food producers with local buyers to facilitate the creation of local and regional food supply networks.

- For language wankers (like me) who like to pronounce names of dishes in foreign languages correctly, LovingPho.com has a useful pronunciation guide to assist with ordering pho and other Vietnamese dishes. Pictured below: the sensational Phở Tái Gân Gầu (pho with freshly sliced beef, tendon and crispy fat brisket) at Pho Tam in Footscray.

PS. Any thoughts on this Fortnightly Round-up blog post format?

Southern Thai cafe Middle Fish now open in Carlton

2011-12-13T17:14:00.001+11:00

Middle Fish
122-128 Berkeley Street, Carlton (map)
Monday-Friday 7am-5pm, Saturday-Sunday 10am-4pm

Two warehouses up from Seven Seeds you'll find Middle Fish, a Thai cafe that opened very quietly on Thursday. Middle Fish is a labour of love for the delightful Thai-born Siriporn "Pla" Liamthong and her partner David Holtum. Pla's auntie Na Sauw is in charge of the kitchen, and it's the first time she's ever left Thailand. Result: her cooking is about as close to the real thing as you can get in Melbourne.

I popped in one afternoon, ordered a serve of som tum ($12.50) and watched it being made in front of me. It tasted just like the som tum I had in Thailand last year, ie delicious and very spicy with lots of bird's eye chilli seeds - almost too spicy for my tastebuds, truth be told. Pla noted me reaching repeatedly for cold milk and asked for feedback regarding the chilli levels in the food: I said to err on the side of keeping it authentic, and perhaps make a note on the menu that the chilli may be a little more intense than we're used to in Melbourne Thai restaurants. Good advice, d'you think?

A gorgeous warehouse space, is it not? In fitting it out Pla and David collaborated with Thai artist Torlarp Larpjaroensook, who created many custom-made pieces for Middle Fish including the wrought-iron fish leaping out of waves on the wall, several paintings, cutlery, crockery and the arrestingly beautiful chandeliers.

Photos below of khai luuk kheuy (son-in-law egg), David and Pla. When I visited the full menu was not yet available, but apart from the odd Isaan dish the breakfast/lunch menu focuses on food from Southern Thailand. Provided all goes well, Middle Fish may start to open in the evening sometime in the future.

A wonderfully fresh pandan cupcake (made for the cafe by a Thai friend) rounded off the meal nicely. Coffee-wise, there're using Five Senses beans and hope to import Thai beans in the future to make Thai-style coffee and iced coffee. Pla worked for years in several St Ali/Sal Malatesta cafes including Caffeine, Sensory Lab and Outpost.

Loved the fact that the lightbulb on this tuk-tuk painting lights up! As you can probably tell, I was quite smitten by Middle Fish and I wish it every success.

Fortnightly round-up (5 December)

2011-12-05T17:47:00.000+11:00

This time next month, I will be in JAPAN! It's my first trip to the Land of the Rising Sun, and of course I'm very excited. We're thinking a night in Osaka, four nights in Kyoto and six nights in Tokyo, plus a potential daytrip out to the country somewhere (Fuji-san??). I've already been told that this book is an invaluable resource but I ask you, blog readers: what other recommendations do you have for me? Where do I *have* to visit? Any suggestions would be warmly welcomed.

(Photo by Joi, used under CC licence)

If you haven't already heard (or noticed the green buttons on my blog), charity organisation StreetSmart has launched its 2011 fundraising project DineSmart, which runs until Christmas. DineSmart in a nutshell:

"StreetSmart partners with restaurants to ask diners to make a small donation to StreetSmart on their bill. Every table is asked to add $2 or more to their bill, not even the price of a coffee or mineral water. It’s a simple idea that adds up to a big impact on the lives of people who are homeless.

So when you are planning a night out think about taking a simple action and book at a StreetSmart participating restaurant. While you are there encourage your fellow diners to dig deep and leave your donation on your bill. Be it meeting up with friends, family or an office or business function we need you to get involved.

Tipping:
Please remember that your donation should not replace any tip you would usually leave, we want you to consider any donation over and above your tip and support the staff and restaurants who are supporting us.

100% of your donation goes to work:
StreetSmart operational expenses are funded through sponsorship partners allowing us to guarantee to the community that 100% of your donations are distributed directly to charity recipients."

A list of Melbourne's participating restaurants for 2011 can be found here, and details of StreetSmart's charity recipients can be found here.

I've been supporting StreetSmart over the last few years, and I really like the fact that (unlike other bigger charities that have moved in and copied this fundraising model), StreetSmart focuses on small, local community groups that wouldn't always qualify for other funding. One such program funded by StreetSmart that I was invited to visit recently is The Social Studio, which provides training, work experience, employment and pathways to employment for refugee youth interested in clothing production, retail and hospitality. Their fashion studio, shop and cafe is located on Smith Street (and I can recommend the African burgers, injera rolls and zlabia donuts served in their cafe The Cutting Table).

On the specials board at Bar Lourinhã last week: migas (breadcrumbs) with suckling pig. Suit you sir!

Also outrageous: the Southern USA-style Thanksgiving lunch I had at Naked Espresso. For a mere $20 per head we were served a feast with all the trimmings: turkey, stuffing, candied yams (with marshmallow!), okra and beans, apple salad and individually baked cornbread, served with Southern iced tea and followed by some extraordinarily good pumpkin pie. My friend and I were seated on the communal table next to a kindly professor from the University of Georgia, who was delighted to have a culinary reminder of home Down Under.

I almost hate to give the secret away, but the fact is that the open-from-3pm tapas bar on the rooftop of The Aylesbury (brought to you by Team Añada) has quietly started opening from 1pm on Fridays. Sitting on a sun-drenched rooftop balcony snacking on Jamón and the last pimientos de Padrón of the season and drinking a 'Ping Pong at 5' (white port, lime, sugar and tonic) = PERFECTION.

Last Wednesday night I went along to the Melbourne launch of US-based review website Yelp. Yelp has been a useful resource on my trips to the US and I'm interested in seeing it succeed here in Melbourne - not only because I'm friends with Yelp's Melbourne Community Manager, but because I'm intrigued to see how effective their "review filter" (an algorithm that screens all submitted reviews to weed out malicious or fake contributions) is. Having to trawl through vindictive or hilariously uninformed reviews is my major gripe with the other review websites currently operating in Australia, such as Urbanspoon.

Yelp has partnered with Telstra's Sensis, which is providing Yelp with business listings and online advertisers. An interview with Yelp co-founder and CEO Jeremy Stoppelman about the Australia launch can be found here.

Oh, and did you attend The Design Files Open House over the weekend? I went on Saturday morning. A very ambitious project, brilliantly executed. Huge congratulations to Melbourne design blog superstar Lucy from The Design Files and Esther on their success!

Links of Note:

- The very functionally titled Melbourne Cafes Photo Blog has photos of the pop-up cafe that was open on the roof deck of The Design Files Open House.

- Tickets for next year's Melbourne Food and Wine Festival are now on sale: if you missed it in Friday's Age, a copy of the 2012 Festival Guide can be downloaded from the MFWF website.

- Finalists for the Eat. Drink. Blog. 2011 Photography Competition have been announced. I think my favourites are 'Tea break', 'Vietnamese chicken salad' and 'Chopping coconuts'.

- My favourite food blogger in Sydney outdoes herself with one helluva review of Momofuku Seibo (vegetarian and omnivore menus) on The Unbearable Lightness of Being Hungry.

- Following her critical post on Melbourne's new Creole restaurant My Mexican Cousin (linked to in my previous fortnightly round-up), Burger Mary revealed on her blog that MMC has addressed her comments by inviting her to come onboard as a paid temporary consultant: she's now working with them to help produce a more authentically Creole menu. I heard from a separate source that it hasn't all been smooth sailing at MMC since it opened four weeks ago, so here's hoping it works out well.

- Adam Roberts (The Amateur Gourmet) on the hunt for great tacos in East L.A.

- A coffee guy and a camera girl from Midwest America have moved with their two young sons to Burundi in Central Africa, to be closer to the coffee trees. Follow their adventures via the Long Miles Coffee Project.

- New website Birds of Unusual Vitality features interviews and beautiful portraits of people that make up Melbourne's specialty coffee scene. Look out for my clothesline making a cameo appearance in one of the photographs!

- "I always said if I wasn't going to be a chef I would have been a footballer. But I was just no good at playing it, hence I'm a chef." George Calombaris on his career choices.
Hospitality Magazine article on Calombaris cooking for David Beckham, a handy summary of the latest court decision regarding the Matthew Evans v Coco Roco restaurant review defamation case, and other hospo snippets.

- "In the beginning was the word and the word was never questioned. This is how many specialist commentators such as myself viewed our work. We wrote the reviews, the articles, the books, and sold them to a publisher who then packaged and disseminated them to a grateful readership whose only reactions to what we wrote were to follow our advice, perhaps to mutter among themselves about what they viewed as our mistakes or misconceptions, and very occasionally to go to the trouble of writing a polite letter either to us or to our publishers to comment on what we had published." Excerpt from article by wine writer/legend Jancis Robinson on the near-oracular status specialist writers used to enjoy, the rise of the blogosphere and her thoughts on attending this year's (US) Wine Bloggers' Conference. Includes a list of her favourite wine blogs.

A reminder: Japan tips would be much appreciated!

Colonel Tan's: Revolver does Thai

2011-11-30T23:55:00.001+11:00

Colonel Tan's
Upstairs at Revolver
229 Chapel Street, Prahran (map)
9521 5985
Open 5pm-11pm Tuesday-Saturday and lunch Fridays only
website

Well there's a first time for everything. Walking up the steep stairs at Revolver (taking care to not touch the sticky handrail, of course) while sober was a surreal, novel experience. It was worth the effort though, given the grungy-but-great diner hidden at the back of the iconic nightclub/live music venue. Children are welcome in the restaurant during opening hours: a family-friendly Revs, imagine!

Colonel Tan's is chef Karen Batson's Prahran offshoot of her Thai city hotspots Cookie and Choo Choo's (the late-night diner at Toff in Town), both in Curtain House on Swanston Street. At Colonel Tan's, the floral tablecloths are plastic and the drinks menu is extensive. And the food? It's cheap and very, very good.

The menu is mostly authentic Thai, plus a few random curve balls (eg rendang with roti, club steak sandwich with fries, tofu 'whopper' burger with peanut sauce). When I visited with some girlfriends the other week, we started with chilli peanuts ($3.50), snapper, peanuts, ginger, chilli and lime wrapped in betel leaves ($10.50), and grilled Thai sausage and cucumber with cabbage and ginger ($11.50). I particularly liked the Thai sausage, which was slightly crumbly without being dry.

Next was a bloody nice larb: a salad of minced pork, peanuts, tomato, cucumber, kaffir lime and chilli ($14.50). The other porky dish we ordered was the dubiously-titled-but-delicious 'Bangkok bolognaise' ($15.50), served with rice noodles, Thai basil and plenty of jungle heat from both chilli and green peppercorns. It's something of a signature dish, and I'm very glad Jack insisted that we order it.

Also enjoyed: potato, pumpkin and peas in red curry ($14.50) and the fat duck noodles ($16.50), a smoky and - relatively - mild antidote to the Bangkok bolognese noodles.

Oh, and to finish? A basket of the Colonel's five spice fried chicken served with sweet chilli ($16.50). Colonel Tan, not Sanders, and a damned sight better than anything you'd get down at KFC.

I know I often whinge on the blog about how average most Thai food in Melbourne is compared to what you can get in Sydney, but if Colonel Tan's was just around the corner from where I lived you wouldn't hear any complaints from me. For those that DO live or work in Prahran, every Thursday night at Colonel Tan's is Locals Night: if you can prove that you live or work in the 3181, you get 50% off your food bill.

Fortnightly round-up (21 November)

2011-11-21T17:09:00.006+11:00

I'm playing with the idea of writing a round-up post like this every fortnight, a space to share a few snippets of news and gossip, some Links of Note and a few amnesty photos that wouldn't otherwise get a blog post of their own.

Orange's sister restaurant in Windsor, Pandora's Box, closed very suddenly a few weeks ago. Although I never got around to writing a blog post about it, I ate there twice and was impressed by the smart, Greek-accented Euro bistro fare and sharp service. But all is not lost: rumour has it that Melbourne restaurant heavyweight Con Christopoulos (The European/Supper Club/Siglo/City Wine Shop, Gill's Diner, Pelican) has purchased not just Pandora's Box but Orange too. Here's hoping Pandora's Box reopens and Orange gets a lift and a new menu.

Word on the street is that the vacant lot on Moor Street, Fitzroy, behind the Labour in Vain and Galerie Montmartre will soon be home to a permanently parked food truck, dishing up both food and booze to hipsters seven days a week. The company running it is called Grub Food Van but no word yet on what it'll be selling - what's to bet it'll be burgers, tacos or gourmet snags?

Speaking of Moor Street, I also hear that the two adjoining sites across the road (the Vintage Sole shoe shop on the Brunswick Street corner and Kennedy Nolan architects) have been bought by a certain prominent restaurant group that has plans to transform the sites into one large, upscale eatery. We shall see!

UPDATED 8/12/11 TO ADD: Here are the first photos of the food truck being set up on Moor Street (courtesy of the lovely Michelle from Galerie Montmartre next door, and the lovely Fenn from Adioso across the street). Not only is the food truck a beautiful vintage Airstream, word on the street is that THEY WILL BE SELLING TACOS. Cue Fitzroy hipster meltdown!

A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of acting as one of the guest judges in the Sommeliers Australia Best Sommelier of Australia grand final. The winner, Franck Moreau from Sydney's Merivale group, will represent Australia in the ASI Asia Oceanic Competition in 2012, and the ASI Sommelier Du Monde competition in 2013. Being a part of the judging process (along with food journalists, winemakers and other sommeliers) was a nerve-wracking but fun experience that really deepened my appreciation of the skills involved in being a top somm. The three grand finalists, while all very skilled, had completely different styles of service and it was fascinating arguing it out with the other judges over which styles we preferred.

Oh, and at the Annual Sommeliers Australia Ball afterwards I got to check out Peter Marchant's most excellent tattoo.

Melbourne's Fringe Food Festival is running a 'Forcing Summer' dinner by Matt Wilkinson out in the lovely garden at Pope Joan on Thursday 1 December, featuring amongst other ingredients some organic forced rhubarb grown in the dark especially for the dinner. An outline of the planned menu and link to the bookings site can be found here - tickets still available.

Are you passionate about the future of food in our city? The City of Melbourne is currently developing a Food Policy and has released a Food Policy Discussion Paper (PDF, 2.8MB) as part of its community consultation process. Why have a food policy? The Discussion Paper touches on nutrition and health, sustainability, food security (affordability and accessability) and food safety. Whether you're a stakeholder, an industry organisation or a member of the broader community, the City of Melbourne welcomes any feedback you have on the Discussion Paper (closing date for feedback is Friday 9 December 2011).

Two drinks I mightily enjoyed last week: the Thai Basil cocktail from Chin Chin's GoGo Bar, and traditional Colombian hot chocolate from Sonido, served con queso. Cheese in a hot chocolate: so wrong it's right.

Traditional Japanese breakfast, prepared for our family by the lovely Mari-san on her return visit to Melbourne. The first time I tasted nattō (very pungent fermented soybeans).

Most outrageous cupcake ever: The Elvis, from Beatrix. Banana buttercake, peanut butter buttercream and smoky bacon praline, consumed on Saturday. As they said on their Facebook page, it's a hunka hunka buttery love.

Links of Note:

- Sausage sizzle or popup charcuterie? Great article by Phil from The Last Appetite about food truck culture in Melbourne.

- In case you missed it, food blogger king David Lebovitz gave a rundown on the Sydney dining scene during his recent trip to Australia.

- Sydney design blog yellowtrace recently did a post on places to eat and drink in Barcelona.

- The Milk Bar article on new Brunswick cafe Acústico made me keen to visit next time I'm up near Union Street. Add it to the list.

- Michael from My Aching Head wrote a blog post entitled How to better engage the new (and old) media. PR people trying to lure decent bloggers to restaurants, take note.

- Dan Sims from The Wine Guide gets his rant on about Australia's most expensive wine on release and the Twitter debate that followed.

- Five lovely friends of mine who share a house in Fitzroy recently started the excellent group food blog 310 Fitzroy, which I recommend you add to your RSS reader. One of the five is a cookbook editor, all five of them are brilliant in the kitchen, and I have to compete against them in a cooking competition in December. GULP.

- Another one to add to your RSS reader if you don't already know it: Sydney blog What Katie Ate. Her food photography is gorgeous.

- Burger Mary wrote an open letter to My Mexican Cousin (the new Creole-inspired cafe/restaurant at the Melbourne Recital Centre), decrying the recent trend of Melbourne restaurants cashing in on American comfort food.

- Ending on an academic note, Tammi's blog post Authenticity: not 'what' but 'why' questions what makes an 'authentic' burrito and offers some interesting thoughts on individual cuisines in a cosmopolitan context.

Got a Link of Note from another blog you think I should include next time? Let me know!

Wellington Gastronome - a giveaway and a photo tour of Welly

2011-11-15T15:49:00.003+11:00

It was a happy collision of events. In the same week that reading Max's article on Wellington in the September issue of Gourmet Traveller had piqued my interest in visiting New Zealand's political and food capital, Positively Wellington Tourism contacted me to invite me along on a weekend-long blog junket to check out the food and drink scene in Wellington. Seeing as I'd never even been to New Zealand's North Island before (see a post about my trip to the South Island here), it was an opportunity I felt I couldn't refuse.

The junket was part of the publicity for PWT's current tourism campaign in Melbourne to promote Wellington as a cool dining destination - culminating in a two-weeks-only pop-up restaurant on Gertrude Street Fitzroy, run exclusively by Kiwis and using Wellington produce.

The restaurant, called WLG, is operating in the Rue de Fleurus site at 153 Gertrude Street (formerly known as Claypots and conveniently located just across the road from The Everleigh). WLG opens TONIGHT and runs every night until 27 November. The three course menu is a ridiculous bargain at only $35 per head, plus $30 per bottle of NZ wine. Other details about the restaurant, including about the five chefs who've designed the menu and will be running it, can be found here.

Ticket reservations for the restaurant were available through the Time Out website but have already been snapped up - however they'll still accept walk-ins each night, so you may get lucky. OR you might like to enter the Melbourne Gastronome WLG ticket giveaway - I've got a double pass to the restaurant to give away to a blog reader. The pass is for two people for dinner at 8pm on this Sunday, 20th November (so don't enter the competition if you can't attend on Sunday night, obvs). To enter, leave a comment on this blog post stating your favourite New Zealand import in Australia - cultural, culinary or otherwise - before NOON on Friday 18th (if I don't already know you through blogs/Twitter etc, make sure I know how to contact you in case you win). I'll announce the winner on Friday afternoon (via both Facebook and Twitter, so keep your eyes peeled), and I'll email the winner their PDF double pass.

Wednesday update: Photos of the restaurant and meals served on WLG's opening night can now be seen on Shellie's blog. I was also invited along last night, and was particularly taken with my main (slow-cooked venison in Tunisian brik pastry with veal sweetbreads - mmmmm - broadbeans, peas and pancetta), my dessert (licoricello panna cotta with vodka lime parfait and pistachio wafer) and the laid-back Kiwi charm of a waiter sporting a truly outrageous moustache.

So, a photo tour of Wellington (apologies, I'd half-drafted this post last week but I've been struck down with illness over the last four days and am currently running a fever, so this post will be light on analysis).

I went to Welly a few weekends ago, accompanied by three other Melbourne food bloggers (Ed, Penny and Shellie). During the two days I attended three of the restaurants whose chefs will be running the WLG pop-up.

Lunch on Saturday was at Logan Brown, one of Wellington's most upmarket restaurants. If the facade looks a little imposing, it's because the 1920s building used to be a bank.

Lovely high-ceilinged interior. We had a good chat before lunch to head chef Shaun Clouston (one of the WLG chefs) about the provenance of his produce.

I was particularly excited about trying the local shellfish that we can't get in Oz, like tua tua surf clams from Cloudy Bay (similar to pipis), and Tio Point Bluff oysters and Mahurangi Pacific oysters. Sensational.

Special mention also to the chestnut flour pappardelle with porcini mushrooms, macadamias and gorgonzola, and the Whangamata scallops with cauliflower cream, coppa wafer, apple and preserved lemon. Some beautiful organic biodynamic Urlar wines, too.

In between restaurants I made a beeline for some of the tourist sights: the Wellington Cable Car (see photo at the top of this post) up to the Botanic Gardens and lookout over the city, and an hour at New Zealand's national museum, Te Papa.

Such a great museum! One of the best I've been to in years, I wish I'd had more time to explore it - especially the exhibitions about the geology and flora and fauna of New Zealand, and the Mana Whenua exhibition about Maori culture (including a copy of the Treaty of Waitangi, which I studied at uni).

On the Saturday night we went to dinner at The Larder in Miramar, a suburb 15 minutes drive away that is also home to Peter Jackson's Weta studios (filming for The Hobbit movies is currently underway, but alas I didn't spy any Middle-earth inhabitants).

Chef/owner Jacob Brown takes great pride in the relationships The Larder has with its suppliers: to reinforce the point, black and white portraits of various suppliers adorn the walls of the restaurant, and Jacob (also appearing at WLG) can tell you an anecdote about each one.

Culinary highlights included my carpaccio of peppered venison fillet with spiced pear, pear jelly and beetroot; Penny's pig's head baked in brik pastry with seared chicken livers, radish and cress; and my main of pork belly with crumbed black pudding, apple calvados puree and pepper caramel. A Valrhona fondant and parfait were also excellent.

Back in town, we went for cocktails at Matterhorn, recently voted one of the 50 Best Bars in the World by Eater.

In addition to flying back some Martinborough pinot and a bottle of the suddenly-very-trendy-in-Melbourne Lighthouse Gin (hand-crafted and hand-distilled in the Wairarapa), I also bought a bottle of Smoke & Oakum's Gunpowder Rum, an outrageous, you'll-love-it-or-you'll-hate-it small batch blended rum infused with tobacco, chillies and actual muzzle-loader style black gunpowder. It's... a little intense.

Although I was in Wellington for less than 48 hours, I liked that my schedule allowed me some time to explore the town on my own. One solo expedition led me to breakfast at Sweet Mother's Kitchen.

SMK was kooky in all the right ways, decorated with lowbrow trinkets and staffed by friendly kids who kept swapping ridiculous afro wigs. The casual (yet ambitious) home cookin' menu, which included Creole, Cajun and Mexican dishes, has no equivalent in cafe-saturated Melbourne - I'd LOVE to know what my N'awlins/Texas expert (and cuisine purist) friend Burger Mary would've thought of it, had she been with me. Those beignets were damned tasty.

Just some photos of buildings in the city centre that caught my eye.

On the Sunday morning we all visited Wellington's weekly food and wine artisan City Market, where we were welcomed and shown around by one of the Market's co-founders, the personable Rachel Taulelei (owner of seafood supplier Yellow Brick Road).

Lots of produce from the City Market will be served at the WLG pop-up in Melbourne.

More local colour at the Market. I really liked that Crooked Cider Lars was selling - it was cloudy, very dry and made from proper cider apples. If only I hadn't already reached my customs alcohol limit, sigh.

Outside at the regular Harbourside Market, loads of red kumara plus bananas SO CHEAP they'd make an Australian weep.

Our last meal was at Capitol, another restaurant whose head chef/owner Tom Hutchison will also be cooking at the WLG pop-up. Photo of Ms Jeroxie taking a photo.

Shellie opted for something sweet at Capitol, French toast with shaved apple and passion fruit salad. The dish I was taken with was the seared scallops with parsnip puree and pancetta crumble.

And finally, a word about coffee. Welly is officially crazy for coffee: there are over twenty coffee roasteries in the Wellington area alone (a remarkable fact when you consider that the city's population is less than 400,000), and the third wave coffee movement has definitely made its mark.

I stopped in at the Memphis Belle Coffee House, the home of Flight Coffee (best ethically traded coffee in New Zealand, according to this year's NZ Coffee Awards). From the coffee station offering Chemex, Syphon, V60 Pour-over or Swiss Gold brewing methods, I chose the Chemex for my Brazilian Moreninha Formosa. Seriously cute little cafe.

And so ends my weekend blog junket to New Zealand! If you're in Melbourne, be sure to enter the giveaway above for a chance to check out the WLG pop-up for yourself on Sunday, otherwise you might like to try your luck with walk-ins if you're wandering down Gertrude Street during the next fortnight.

(Obvious disclaimer due to nearly-all-expenses-paid nature of blog junket to New Zealand, care of Positively Wellington Tourism)

Hello Paco's Tacos (goodbye MoVida Terraza)

2011-11-13T18:15:00.001+11:00

Paco's Tacos
Level 1, 500 Bourke Street (access via Lt Bourke St), Melbourne (map)
9663 3038
Open for lunch Monday-Friday, evenings Thursday-Friday
Note: closed weekends (at this stage)

The Mexican wave of culinary invasion continues apace in Melbourne, with Team MoVida setting aside Spanish food this time and jumping on the taco bandwagon, in the outdoors kiosk across from MoVida Aqui that used to house MoVida Terraza. The redesign of the place was by Joost Bakker, which explains the vaguely Greenhouse-y feel of the cage wall, repurposed heavy timber tables and liberal use of greenery in flowerpots.

As at the Taco Truck, the tacos are all $6 each. They're made from 100% corn tortillas and all come with coriander, cabbage and spring onions. There's a choice of pulled pork, braised beef, roasted duck, prawn, fish or vegetarian (pinto beans, guacamole, pico de gallo, queso and crema).

When I went with Em on Thursday, we each tried one with carnitas (pulled pork and pineapple salsa) and one with carne asada (braised beef, chipotle and pico de gallo). Both kinds were pretty tasty, though we both felt that the sauce the beef was braised in was a little too acidic.

In addition to the tacos there are a few other snacks on the menu, including one dish that sent my porkophile Twitter/Instagram followers into meltdown mode when I posted a photo of it online: chicharonnes. A $10, heart attack-inducing basket of crispy pig crackling with salsa verde, chipotle and lime. As sinfully delicious as it was, Em and I couldn't bring ourselves to finish our serve: if you can finish a basket, I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing.

We also tried their version of elotes callejeros ($6), the grilled corn on the cob with cheese, spices and lime dish that keeps cropping up on restaurant menus in Melbourne and Sydney (see Mamasita, Newmarket, The Dip, Mexicano and Barrio Chino, plus some restaurants without a Latino focus, like St Katherine's and Ms G's). As with the version at Mamasita, the Paco's Tacos version uses chipotle mayo but the latter is longer, cheesier and more charred.

For now, Paco's Tacos is closed on weekends, open for lunch during the week and only open for dinner on Thursdays and Fridays. Hopefully that'll change as summer kicks into high gear, as the drinks menu includes several rum and tequila-based cocktails, plus sangria, beers (Moritz, Corona, Pacifico) with an optional tequila chaser, cider on tap, Jarritos soft drinks and even a shandy (!).

Melbourne CBD lunch venues in the sunshine

2011-11-07T13:38:00.008+11:00

When you work in a skyscraper like I do, days like this make you YEARN for the outside world and the feeling of the sun on your face. On a similarly sunny day a few weeks ago, while I was waiting to meet up with Emily for lunch, I asked the Twitterverse for suggestions of lunch venues in the city where you can sit outside in the sun.

(Sidenote: we ended up having a disastrous indoor lunch that day at Crazy Wing, where the "offensively spicy" titular dish lived up to its name and nearly destroyed my tastebuds. Warning: those crazy wings be crazy.)

A list-in-progress of sunny al fresco CBD lunch spots (please leave a comment to add venues):
Arintji
Beer DeLuxe
The Carlton balcony (lunch Thursdays, Fridays and weekends only)
Cookie balcony (tiny balcony, hard to get an outside seat)
EARL Canteen
Espressino
The European / City Wine Shop
Federal Coffee Palace
Fugazza
Grossi Florentino / The Cellar Bar Grossi Florentino
The Hardware Societe
Hare & Grace
Le Traiteur
Le Triskel
Madame Brussels (limited menu - chicken sandwiches recommended)
The Mess Hall
Miss Chu
Movida Aqui and Terraza
Mr Tulk
Piadina Slowfood
Ponyfish Island
Pure South
Riverland
Sarti
Shanghai Street Dumpling (limited seating outside)
Transport
Trunk / Trunk Diner
Wallis & Ed
Plus the usual string of cafes along Degraves Street and Hardware Lane
The courtyard at the end of Madame Brussels Lane (assorted cafes)

And one of my personal favourites (which I had today)...
Take-away bánh mì from N Lee, to be consumed in Treasury Gardens

What's missing? Must be: (a) in the CBD; (b) open for lunch during the week; and (c) have outside seating, preferable in direct sunlight.