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Shophouse Kitchen

28/7/2013

A quick Sunday lunch at Shophouse Kitchen and we were shown to a small table quite close to our neighbours. Service was brisk and efficient enough. The vast menu made it quite hard to choose so we decided to share a few things.

Hot and sour soup was tasty enough but was a bit thin in texture and lacked meaty bits and prawns. The dumplings had a nice thin wrapper and a pleasant filling. It was a decent start but room for improvement to warrant a repeat visit.

The stir fried beef and egg with tomato was deliciously reminiscent of home. Comforting and homely I would definitely come back for this and really I should cook it at home too but it's nice to be presented it when someone else has done the hard work.

The roast duck, roast pork and char siu with noodles was generous in size with lots of noodles. The crispy pork was probably the best and the roast duck is not as good Pacific BBQ when Pacific do it well. When Pacific have a mediocre day this isn't a bad comparison and we have found that it has been a bit inconsistent of late.

Overall it was enjoyable enough. Service could be a bit more attentive with water poured more often but then it's quite typical of the c

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Provenance

20/7/2013

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Steve's birthday celebrations started well on the Friday night at the Stanley Pub and the next day we continued the revelry by moving to Provenance in Beechworth. We faced the elements and enjoyed a mooch around the town with lunch at a local brewery before checking in and taking advantage of the amazingly comfortable bed and napped before dinner. This weekend was very much about good food and then sleeptime around the meals! But given I was still trying to fight off the lurgy, it didn't seem a bad way to spend the time.

Having heard great things about Provenance and having already recommended people try it before we even went ourselves we'd been looking forward to this for ages so to say we had expectations is probably true.

Steve has never been a fan of tofu so when the optional starter was house made silken tofu, soused seafood, wasabi, ginger he wasn't that fussed about opting in but I convinced him and he loved it! The little Asian teacup arrived pretty quickly - a lot sooner than our accompanying sake did but luckily I had opted for the champagne and still had plenty of that. Completely reminiscent of chawan mushi but tofu and not egg I loved the saltiness of the roe and the seafood and the fragrant ginger kiss and then the odd hit of wasabi. We soon learnt with the Provenance dishes to try and get as much of everything in one mouthful as it's about the sum of all the parts as opposed to individual features.

Next came vegetables, pickles, okayu sauce, puffed rice, umeboshi. I feared it would be like the veggie dish at Brooks where I was overwhelmed by the strong veggie flavours and at first mouthful when I had some beetroot and I think another piece of veg I began to think I was down that garden path so to speak. But then I ate more and loved the pickled turnip combined with the savoury almost chickeny okayu sauce and I got it. It tasted good!

Continuing the veggie theme we had roasted broccoli, broccoli puree, candied lemon, anchovy, capers. Completely different to the previous veggie dish I loved mixing the purees and the crumbs and the delicious iron flavours of the florets came through.

The smoked bonito, braised turnip, jamon consommé, sautéed lettuce, bottarga took us back to Japan and away from the veggie allotment. Thickly cut sashimi style seasoned with a meaty almost gluey consomme heavy on the jamon flavours and then lightened up by the cleansing turnip and lettuce.

We then took a turn towards meat and enjoyed pork cheek cooked in hay, grain and pea salad, coriander and blood pudding. I was a little apprehensive about the blood pudding because it was a bit flabby looking and I usually like the coarser, drier black pudding but when eaten with a but if meat some crunchy hay and pea puree it was delicious.

After pork came grass fed Yalandra wagyu, beets cooked in clay, beetroot jam, garlic and horseradish. Steve declared this one of the finest beef dishes he has ever had which is a pretty high accolade. I loved its silky texture and intense flavour off set with sweet beetroot and then a hint of horseradish warmth. An absolute memorable dish and a highlight.

Steve enjoyed the optional cheese course but I opted out given it was a blue cheese - Bleu de Laqueuille and it was served with quince jelly, saba and walnut bread. I had hoped they would be able to offer me an alternative but it didn't happen so I watched Steve eat and drink the quince liqueur and he did it with such enthusiasm and delight it was wonderful to watch!

Dessert was banana mousse, peanut frangipane, orange and miso caramel. The banana mousse was fruitier than I expected. Loved the cakey goodness of the peanut frangipane and the zestiness of the orange. Have to concede though that it wasn't the most amazing dessert I've ever had.

Thinking back to dinner at Provenance and it was such a great evening because there was a sense of anticipation as we waited for the next course. I love that sense of uncertainty, of pushing boundaries and when the flavours come together for that party in the mouth, it's amazing.

In the last three weeks, Steve and I have been lucky enough to try out three great two hatted restaurants - Stokehouse, Aria and Provenance and it's really interesting to compare them. Absolutely the food is delicious at all. Aria wins for classic flavours elevated to stellar status but undeniably it wasn't that exciting and if we weren't with 4 friends it could have been a dull night. Stokehouse, great date place and a pleasant evening...more neighbourhood restaurant than destination dining though. And then Provenance - exciting, worth a trip and I think the fact that the whole package was dinner and a gorgeous room and a spa bath just made it a wonderful experience.

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The Stanley Pub

19/7/2013

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Half day Friday and Barley boy's birthday bonanza weekend had arrived! We hit the road to Beechworth. My body went into relax and recover mode as I'd pushed myself to get through the last week at work in spite of feeling under the weather and the 3 hr drive meant a deep slumber for me! Apparently I missed out on seeing some crazy weather come through.

Anyway we arrived in Stanley, found the pub and immediately felt looked after and comfortable. Now that I think back, from the moment Shane called just before we were due to set off to confirm our reservation and was just so super friendly to the moment we walked through the door and he commented that we'd made it in good time, we were always made to feel so welcome. A quick drink later and we were shown to our comfortable room where we just chilled before dinner. Yes, I continued my 3 hour nap...

Dinner took place in a cosy candlelit corner in the dining room which had a view of the bar area. One thing that did strike me about the bar area was that there was no comfy seating; bar stools yes but no comfy sofa or padded armchairs which was a little strange to me given how welcoming and homely it feels. Steve's response was that given most of the people in the bar area were obviously locals and regulars maybe they don't need the comfy seating and prefer to be more sociable and mingle with each other...makes sense!

Still feeling a bit cold and under the weather I chose to go with the mushroom and chestnut soup and it warmed the cockles of my heart to the tips of my toes. The home made bread was also deliciously soft. Steve went with the twice baked Milawa chevre souffle which was a dish of very aptly described "cheesy goodness" which was a comment Shane made when he delivered it. Great comfort food start to dinner.

We both opted for specials dishes for main and swapped plates halfway through. We went with the belly pork with local apples and a walnut and parsley pesto as well as the lamb rump with Kipfler potatoes and petits pois Francaise.

The pork belly is juicy and fatty in a good way with crackling and sweet meat. The lamb is lean and flavoursome and where the pork belly is naughty, I feel the lamb nourishing me with its protein goodness. We also shared a dish of cauliflower gratin and I really wanted the fries with truffle salt but Shane advised it would be too much and he was right. Oh I wish places did half serves of sides so we that dine in a couple get to take advantage....

Dessert was a trio of Gundowring ice cream for me - honey and walnut, lemon curd and raspberry and they were delicious and so soothing for my sore throat. Steve went with a pistachio and rosewater trifle which he finished quickly so I assume it was good. We enjoyed the remainder of the bottle of Pennyweight Shiraz which was delicious before heading back to our room to retire for the evening.

We concluded that the bed was wonderful and the electric blanket a welcome touch. The water pressure in the bathroom was great and the help yourself continental breakfast the next morning just what we needed. I would highly recommend a stay at the Stanley Pub and have to thank Carrie for the recommendation.

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Aria

12/7/2013

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Aria was our Sydney treat and one that we were going to share with J-Cray and Kat. After a drink at the Opera Bar we headed over and were shown to a quiet dining room with a roomy table for the 5 of us. It was a shame only 2 of us could enjoy the waterside view and being the guests, our friends kindly gave us these seats.

We decided to go with the 7 course degustation and choose our own wines which was fun and meant that the quantity was also there! Our amuse bouches arrived very quickly and quite stealthily! In John's words, you can amuse my bouche any day! Beautiful parsnip soup with a lime foam not too different to Heinz chicken soup; oh that John has a way with words! Soup in a glass - fairly mainstream and although it tasted great isn't all that exciting.

Proceedings opened with sashimi - Hamachi yellow tail and Carid prawn sashimi with ponzu sauce, salmon roe and sushi rice. Initially a little bland until the ponzu sauce was spread around, this fish was stonkingly fresh and the flavours delicate and beautiful.

Next came rabbit - ballotine with capocollo and foie gras, ginger bread and pomegranate. I was slightly surprised that this was a cold dish but loved the deep earthy flavours. The foie gras was intense, the rabbit ballotine deliciously savury and then a touch of sweetness form the pomegranante. So tasty.

The Blue eye trevalla was our fish course - roasted fillet with Jerusalem artichoke, Jamon and witlof. My fillet was beautifully cooked. Steve says his was slightly over so it was a bit drier. I loved the saltiness of the jamon that seasoned the delicate flavours of the fish. I also loved the meatiness of the fish combined with a bitter tone from the witlo and then some crunchy artichoke chips.

I was really looking forward to the Peking duck consomme with dumplings, shaved abalone and mushroom. My expectations were of an intensely strong and flavoursome broth and good robust dumplings. It was pleasant enough but didn't strike my heart with the umami hit I was after.

Kurobuta pork belly with chestnut puree and poached persimmons brought together beautiful classic flavours and was faultless.

Roasted loin of lamb with crushed borlotti beans, lamb croquette and nettle pesto was our main course. Blushing pink medallions of perfect lamb with a slice of jammy lemon to lift the richness of the meat. Amazingly delicious and to top it all off a bowlful of sinfully folded creamy buttery mash oozing with luxurious decadence. Roast lamb and mash is always a winner but elevate these versions to their 6 star levels. The table fell silent as we ate our lamb and mash and licked the spoon clean. It kind of reminded me of a family brought together by Sunday lunch.

There was a zingy pre dessert of something citrussy in a shot glass...again nothing groundbreaking and then the dessert of sweetened goat curd with poached rhubarb, rosewater and strawberries arrived. Fresh and sweet it was a safe and nice way to finish of the degustation...well not quite finish off as we had petit fours but almost finish off.

Overall Aria is faultless in terms of flavours and quality but it's just all quite safe and conservative. No pizzazz or showtime. No personality or conversation starters or stoppers. Service was similar; efficient but stealthy so almost unnoticeable leaving no trace of bitterness or astounding brilliance. It was a great place for five friends to catch up and enjoy brilliant food and it was a truly lovely evening but I can't help but feel the restaurant was a mere backdrop to our reunion rather than the star of the show.

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The Stokehouse

6/7/2013

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Saturday night date night and Steve and I ventured to St Kilda on a dark and wet evening to enjoy dinner by the sea. A few people had questioned our choice given the season and had warned me to lower expectations as part of what makes The Stokehouse work is apparently Summer and sunshine.

We arrive and are quickly shown to a lovely table with a window view and in spite of the rain and the dark velvety night sky, we can still see waves moodily hit the shore. It takes some time to get drinks ordered, menus, food ordered etc but eventually we get there and the slowness does pick up over the course of the night. I like our waitress as she's friendly and efficient whilst being reassuringly experienced at her trade and I relax in her expertise.

We started off with delicious natural oysters and a single one done Rockefeller style. We actually preferred the natural style as the Rockefeller was overly salty. An accompanying glass of champagne set the decadent tone of the evening.

I went with an ocean trout sashimi with fish roe, apple and I think avocado. It was light and delicious and so vibrant in natural colour against the black plate. Steve went with a special which was pork cheek with crumbed morcilla on lentils and grains and he enjoyed that with gusto. Where my dish was pretty and delicate with an elegant finish, Steve's dish was on the end of the spectrum being earthy, hearty and rustic and it was great to see the kitchen strike the very heart of both.

I went with the pork belly dish that came with marron on some grains and Steve enjoyed partridge and a mini partridge pie.

I loved the meatiness of the pork and the broth it came with and then the delicate sweetness of the marron. I loved that the whole dish still felt light and it didn't make me feel like I'd over eaten.

Steve enjoyed his partridge especially the pie. Classic cooking and the pie was excellent apparently.

With all this great food we enjoyed a beautiful bottle of wine recommended by the sommelier as being pretty special - Lodestone Pinot Noir from the Mornington Peninsula. It was delicious - silky smooth with hints of cherries. Loved it!

Dessert choices were tough as there were so many that appealed. In the end we went with The Bombe – frozen white chocolate parfait with strawberry sorbet and toasted meringue and the salted caramel chocolate tart with milk yoghurt sorbet.

Oh we loved both. I have to admit I expected he bombe to be more circular with spikes of piped meringue and kind of spikey hedgehog looking as opposed to a slice reminiscent of Arctic roll but it was still enjoyable.

The salted caramel concoction was really well balanced. I'm not a huge chocolate dessert lover and can find it overly cloying an sweet but this was less about the sugar and more about fragrant cocoa and lovely caramel.

I thoroughly enjoyed our meal at The Stokehouse. It was reminiscent of our great dinner we had in South Africa at The Harbour House. It's classic cooking but not boringly so and if given the opportunity I'd happily return.

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I Spicy

5/7/2013

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Friday night get together with Ling, Noah and Stef and we were due to be at I Spicy at 7pm. Friday night football traffic meant we were half an hour late...eeek! But Ling and Noah held our table and as it wasn't busy, the staff at I Spicy didn't hold our tardiness against us.

Pregnant lady Ling couldn't wait so had to order some spring rolls to stave off the hunger pangs and rightly so. Her recommendation of them meant we all wanted some so when we did arrive we ordered more. In fact our round table for 5 was groaning with the weight of everything we ordered. The spring rolls were golden, crispy and very tasty.

The fried pork shank described as pork shank slowly three hours cook in five spicy herbs then deep-fried until crispy and served with spicy sauce. Oh how we salivated when Noah carved into it revealing fatty, meaty, juicy, crispy goodness. The spicy sauce had a strong piquancy and fiery heat to it but it was a delicious accompaniment.

We actually had two curries a red beef one (pictured) and a duck curry served in a coconut shell. I think the general concensus was the duck one was the preferred version and we enjoyed the ribbons of coconut as well as chunks of duck and pineapple in a red thick sauce.

The fish was a whole fish with spicy lemon sauce and cashews. We liked the lightness of this dish and the sharp citrus flavours which were a contrast to the sweetness of the curries.

If I remember correctly we also ate our way through some mixed veggies, pad thai and roti. We also ordered coconut rice and sticky rice.

Our dishes didn't arrive without confusion...we ordered tom yum soup to share that never materialised but in hindsight we're glad it had been forgotten. The coconut rice arrived cold and when we questioned that, it was as if we had to ask for hot as cold was normal and then the sticky rice took ages to arrive and when it did it came one small bowl at a time.

Nevertheless the tastiness of the dishes meant that these confused elements were overlooked.

We decided to try some of the desserts namely the Thai coconut rice pancake, the Thai style fried banana and some coconut ice cream.

The pancakes were little semi spheres that were quite jelly like in consistency and a little bit salty sweet. A little strange to my palette but Noah and Steve happily got through a ridiculous number each. The fried banana was more fried batter over banana and whilst I'm not desperately craving more was pleasant enough. We doubted whether the coconut ice cream was coconut as it was more a plain vanilla flavour.

By the end of it we were stuffed! Pregnant lady and her husband are pictured here! So one has a real baby and the other an I Spicy baby.

Food was reasonably priced and certainly there are some dishes worth returning for and the menu is wide enough to return to the favourites and try some more. In fact, Ling and Noah returned with friends the next day for more deep fried pork shank goodness! So I guess I Spicy is a case of I Likey!

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The Waiter's Club

4/7/2013

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Post work mid week feed when pay day is far off means a trip to the Waiter's Club! Spinners and I gave this place a try on a Thursday evening and we arrived about 7:15pm. We climbed the narrow stair case and poked our little heads (her head is little, mine not so much) round the door and took in the 70s melamine tables and kitsch posters on the walls and wanted to be there. The waitress was friendly enough and asked us to return at 7:30pm so we had a quick drink downstairs. When we returned a couple of the tables had emptied so we settled in and drank in the nostalgia of this place with two tumblers of red wine.

We share some garlic bread and decided to split a spaghetti carbonara and a penne calabrese. It was a hard choice though with so many pasta choices - marinara, bolognese, amatriciana, lasagne...they were all present on the chalkboard as well as specials.

We chose well though and two big piles of pasta soon arrived. It's simple food - honest, rustic and to be honest not unlike something you could knock up at home but it's nice for someone else to cook. The pasta is al dente, the sauces tasty and the serves generous. In Winter, what more could you want? We got through the two dishes and finished it off sharing a tiramisu - again simple, unpretentious and tasty.

It came to less than $30 each and we had wine so it was definitely was purse friendly. I think I liked this place more than Grossi Florentino's Cellar Bar as I think the pasta was cooked better and more generous but it's close for value for money pasta.

The Waiters Club / Restaurant on Urbanspoon

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Strange Wolf

4/7/2013

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Lunch time with the A for Asian team! Our much needed and long delayed meeting took place a tram ride away down Collins Street. Stef and I were led there by Charlie and when he took us down a grimy alley we began to fear...

But he reigned supreme and we found ourselves at Strange Wolf ordering burgers, fries and a drink for $15. Stef and I went with the pork belly one and the bacon, cheese on with the sneaky plan of having half of each.

Strange Wolf in the day is a little strange...it can't shake off that feeling that it really is a night time venue and it can't quite get away with being a daytime place. Unfortunately seating is a little weird for lunch and the height of the bar stools and the tables aren't conducive to eating. Either the stools are too high or the tables too low and we had to change places about 3 times before being at a happy height and it wasn't because we are vertically challenged Asians!

But seating or no seating the burgers hit the spot. Tasty, juicy meat, soft brioche bun with good hand cut fries it hit the spot and then some. Food came quickly for us. Service was sufficient - we weren't expecting too much given it felt we were intruding a place that shouldn't even be open during the day. Happy lunch time, happy day.

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Bistro Thierry

1/7/2013

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It was a cold, wet and wintry Monday night and Tanya and I wanted French fare to comfort our work ravaged souls. We drive to Chez Olivier but it was shut so we decided to try Thierry instead. Luckily we arrived just before the rush and it was surprisingly busy for a Monday night. Initial impressions of the clientele were the corporate crowd and some regulars positioning it in our minds as a good neighbourhood bistro.

The front of house team were charmingly Gallic. The decor was tres Parisien and I half expected the them tune of 'Allo 'Allo to start tinkling in the background. French onion soup arrived super quickly and it was steamingly hot and tasty warding off those nasty Winter chills. The cheesy crouton was yummily oozy but could have done with being a touch crispier around the edges. Perfect temperature though and I just got away with not blistering my mouth. Loved the little earthenware pot with the Thierry emblem.

We bothe went with steak frites and I went with a mushroom sauce . Loved the shoestring fries - crispy and golden just like they should be. The steak was tender but Tanya's comment was that it wasn't as silky as the one at Chez Olivier. My comment is that whilst tender it and cooked rare as ordered, it had been over char grilled and so the crust on it tasted burnt and added bitterness to the overall flavour which was not my bag.

Loved the petits pois and the spinach but really we could have done without as the steak and frites were huge. I wish the waiters had warned us as it was such a waste.

No room for dessert...but a pleasant meal. I'd come again but maybe try something other than the steak. The candlelit ambience make it a lovely intimate place for a date. Bistro Thierry is a welcome slice of chic Europe amidst the laidback easiness of Australia.

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Shophouse Kitchen

Provenance

The Stanley Pub

Aria

The Stokehouse

I Spicy

The Waiter's Club

Strange Wolf

Bistro Thierry

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