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Press Club

31/8/2012

Let me tell you in the first sentence of this post that I am a George Calombaris fan.

Our first Press Club experience was great and we revisited with friends Kirsty and Marty and once again sat at chef's table.

General Manager George was there as was the ever charming Gary who looked after us during the evening. We befriended pastry chef Olivier, a new addition to the team from Perth and the Spanish sommelier. The team really made our experience a memorable one.

We were lucky enough to have George cook our whole meal for us (except for dessert) and he was there in the kitchen working away for us four. And he even served us so this was really a privilege. There was no menu so were at his mercy.

So the question is, is he all TV and not substance?

The answer is he's great on TV and a likeable personality but the kitchen is truly his craft.

We started off with an oyster. Or so we thought. Not the expected oyster but a chicken oyster! With a delicious cauliflower cream and a blob of date puree. A morsel of deliciousness!

Crab and potato puree with toasted rice came next. Sweet sweet crab, soft creamy potato, crispy toasty rice and so much butter!

We watched him plate this one - whitebait with tartare sauce ice cream. The ice cream was worked into a quennelle and put into the cone and he then dropped it - splat onto the plate.

George served us this dish and informed us, with a cheeky smile, he called this Sh!t I Dropped My Ice cream! We loved this creativity and fun.

Next came the rabbit lollipop in a pistachio crumb. Gamey rabbit with a sweet crunch on a stick.

After the rabbit lollipop we had a rabbit loin with different onions - braised, caramelised, soubise (like a puree) spring and rings! The different textures and flavours were so clever and most importantly delicious.

This dish was plated in front of us and we had rack of rabbit, the heart and liver, the oyster from our first course poached in champagne, rabbit salt, broad bean flowers and olive oil cous cous which was incredible fresh and zingy. The cous cous was made in a silver bowl of liquid nitrogen and it melted on the plate wonderfully. The broad bean flowers came from Head Chef's garden.

The liver and heart were pushing the boundaries for me as I'm not really an offal fan but I loved the concept of eating the whole rabbit and part of me thinks food should be an adventure so mustering up courage to try new things is part of that.

We moved away from rabbit (good thing as all that would be left would be the tail and I can't imagine that being tasty) and onto the whimsical moniker of Coca Cola and Lemonade. Coca cola braised lamb ribs with coriander seeds that went pop in the mouth. Sticky and sweet such a crowd pleaser with a dense flatbread made with lemonade, almost like an Irish potato cake.

Our main course was so dramatic. A huge block of wood (which we later learnt was an off cut from the new table at Hellenic Republic which George laid claim on) was dressed with fifteen delicate vegetables all cooked differently! And each veggie was labelled with a scribble from George on the board. The block was delivered to us by two waiters.

This was a new concept and it was fun to see the waitstaff and George take pictures of it for their collections. So what veggies did we have?

There was black garlic, broccoli, crispy potato skins, fried Jerusalem artichoke, swede, turnip, garlic shoot, little mushrooms, ceps, golden beetroot, candied beetroot, tiny sugar peas, carrot, broad beans...I need one more...oh yeah parsnip! And if that wasn't enough we had plates of beautiful Kobe beef (which I forgot to take a picture of as the veggies were too exciting) to go with it. I loved it when Steve turned to George as his beef was being served and said, "I'm usually a meat and two veg man!"

The beautiful refresher of blackcurrant meringue, lime gel, lychee sorbet and freeze dried lychees. This is a tonic and cuts through all the rich food and makes you ready to eat again. It's just perfect!

We were served the Zeus chocolate dessert which is a dish George set as a pressure test on Masterchef Allstars. The pastry chefs had been working hard all night pushing dish after dish of this. I was too excited I forgot to take a picture...again...so I've taken a photo of it on Masterchef! So many different varying textures and flavours of chocolate the sweetness cut through but the salt and vinegar chocolate sticks and the raspberries in the mousse.

At the end of the evening Kirsty spied an uncooked souffle! A smile and a touch of sweet talking meant it was her's! So we all enjoyed a spoonful of the date souffle with rum and raisin ice cream which came with two small spheres of coffee mousse resting on some tobacco. I preferred the passionfruit souffle from our first visit more but that shouldn't detract from the the sweet goodness of this variation.

Post dessert drinks meant espresso martinis all round except for Steve who had a glass of wine. Quoting Gary, it was a "cracking martini".

We were also swayed to a snifter of rum and a digestif of Skinos which is a liquer made from the sap of the mastic tree on the Greek island of Ios. Slightly sweet, herbaceous and with a hint of menthol / eucalyptus it was a reviving way to end the night.

We were there for about 4 hours and every minute was great. Steve and I have been lucky enough to experience some pretty awesome dining adventures and this is definitely one to remember. The combination of food, the way we were looked after by George and his great team really made it and we were so happy that our friends enjoyed it too. So much so they rebooked for another date to bring their parents.

What we paid is probably quite insignificant as a contributor to George's income and because of that we admire the fact that in spite of the book deals, the high profile, the TV work he returns to where his career began, in the kitchen and does it superbly.

I don't care what other reviewers and customers say. We've had two wonderful experiences there and we will continue to revisit. I'm sure it's not perfect and yes people will have less favourable experiences but the times we have gone, we have loved and George can do no wrong in my book! I confess I am biased now but I will be honest and upfront about it and tell you that!

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Cicciolina

26/8/2012

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We returned to Cicciolina after a great Sunday lunch last week to repeat the experience. Glad to say it was great again and this time we were able to share the delicious occasion with friends. Christine even got a birthday sparkler in her sticky date pudding which was most welcome! So as late discoverers of this gem, we made up for it with two visits in a short space of time.

Service was great and super friendly. The bread was just as good as it was. The wine kept coming. Steve had a good quail starter with the most delicious mini Scotch egg. I enjoyed the pork belly he had last time. Other things on our table were the meatballs, some oysters and another crab souffle and there were sounds of appreciation from everyone.

Main courses again hit the right spots. My spaghetti Bolognese was a great spag bol - meaty and tasty with a good tomato tang and great value at $19. Steve enjoyed his lasagne but prefers a meatier filling whereas this one was more prosciutto and mushroom but no real complaints and he finished with a clean plate. Other appreciated dishes were the veal, baby chicken and the Scotch fillet.

Everyone commented that the food was delicious and well priced (including a friend from Hong Kong who is used to great food and dirt cheap prices) so it's a great place for a group. Wine is also good value.

The dessert continued to please and Steve and I shared a millefeuille filled with creme patissier and livened up with a scoop of mango sorbet and some passionfruit sorbet. It tasted to clean and fruity it almost felt healthy. Unlike the sticky date pudding which Christine made noises over!

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Sake Restaurant and Bar Hamer Hall

25/8/2012

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A beautiful sunny Saturday came upon us and we decided to take a walk to the newly renovated Hamer Hall along the river and see what was there. We'd read about Sake and Trocadero being the two open restaurants there and thought we'd see what was going on.

Sake looked welcoming and there was plenty of room for us so we decided to give it a go. We were shown to a table but decided to sit at the sushi bar to watch the action. Shaun Presland as hard at work along with the sous chef he had on Masterchef this series.

Sake is all shiny and new. We passed a couple of small private dining rooms on our way in and the kitchen area is impressive with a lot of staff hard at work. Front of house also seemed to be high in numbers. Our waiter was friendly and knowledgeable and everyone seemed enthusiastic and positive.

The high numbers of staff is probably due to training as the experienced teams from the other restaurants pass on their expertise to the Melbourne team. Certainly we watched that happen in the kitchen as a few key people demonstrated their skills and there was some taste testing going on.

Now don't these dishes look familiar? There are certainly similarities between dishes here and at Nobu. And we're huge fans of Nobu so how do these compare?

The Kingfish Jalapeño - Hiramasa kingfish, yuzu soy, thin jalapeño slices & coriander came in thicker slices and more of them so that wins for me! Very very close to the original but the jalapeno just didn't have the heat that we're used to. The jalapeno used here is of the larger variety which are traditionally milder. Whilst it lacked the heat the larger slices meant that there was more crunch which added e another enjoyable dimension. Verdict - I preferred it here, the larger serve and thicker slices if fish did it for me. Steve just, by a whisker, preferred Nobu because he missed the chilli kick.

The Wagyu New Style - thin slices of Wagyu beef lightly seared with hot oil & finished with ginger, chives & yuzu was not quite the same as our much loved beef tataki. Sake do a beef tataki but we decided to try something a little different. The slices of beef were slightly warm and had been seared with a blow torch. The sesame seeds and other seasonings were good complements. Verdict - good but I would try the beef tataki or Wagyu tartare next time.

Other entree style dishes we had were:

Tuna ceviche, lemon dressing, finished with coriander, jalapeño chilli, tomato & crunchy fried onion
Tonkatsu cups - 4 pieces of panko-fried pork belly & spring-onion bites, served in lettuce cups with mustard miso & Japanese barbeque sauce
Spider maki - fried soft-shell crab, cucumber & mayo with spicy tobiko, chives

The tuna ceviche was fresh and light with a great citrus zing and crunchy textures from the salad and fried onion.

The pork belly cubes were like shredded pork croquettes and I think I'd have preferred actual pieces of pork belly with crackling a bit like the crispy pork sliders at Spice Temple. I think I thought it would be like for some strange reason but they weren't. Still a good bite size canape style foot item though.

The spider maki was a great sushi roll. Loved the crunchy sweet crab, the hint of spiciness coming through, the bubbly roe and fresh chives. Definitely a recommendation and so many other rolls to try. Bring on S Express next time!

We had to try the Sake version of miso cod and the Gindara Saikyo-yaki - caramelised, miso marinated silver cod soon arrived wrapped in a leaf with the stick of pink ginger. How did it match up against the Nobu signature dish? Well it is $10 cheaper and probably a slightly smaller fillet but not $10 smaller. The fish itself was beautifully cooked with each flake splintering off and the flakes were large too adding to the enjoyment factor. Whilst it was delicious, it did lack a little something (maybe that something is the $10 Nobu premium). I wanted a little sweetness which you get in the sauce at Nou and here it's a cleaner finish. It's a bit like comparing Rioja Crianza to Rioja Reserva I guess or a Chablis to a Chablis Premier Cru.

I love fried chicken and we didn't choose it from the menu as there were too many other things to try but lucky for us, the kitchen apparently had a serve going spare and we must have been deserving of it. The chicken came with a side of some sort of spicy mayo which was sharp and piquant with some spiciness to it. The chicken was just so crispy on the outside and moisy and juicy on the inside. This was good fried chicken!

The assorted tempura was another hit with mixed veggies, fish and prawns in the mix. We've had tempura maybe once or twice at Nobu and never really wanted to order it too often as it wasn't that great - quite greasy at times. This dish though was just amazing. Feather light, flavoursome fish and veggies and a delicate but salty enough dipping sauce. Just great and how tempura should be.

Our first choices of main course were the Buta No Kakuni Onsen Tamago - 12 hour braised pork belly, daikon radish, 64oC hens egg, truffle oil scallions and the Pan Seared Ocean Barramundi - Cone Bay Ocean Barramundi pan seared & finished with butter soy on sweet ponzu buckwheat & tomato salsa but we were advised neither were available. Sad face.

So we went for the Wagyu Teriyaki - Grainfed Wagyu 7+ cooked medium rare, served on
sautéed shiitake & buckwheat with yakiniku sauce. We'd not gone for this from the off as I think we both though beef teriyaki, surely there's more exciting dishes to have and bypassed it. However, I am so glad we had the opportunity to try out as it was truly great.

The beef was cooked just how I like it and was so tender and flavoursome unlike the steak we'd had earlier in the week at San Telmo which although flavoursome lacked tenderness. And this one was $10 cheaper although smaller in size not by a huge amount though. And this beef was rich and just so moreish. Loved the shiitake mushrooms and buckwheat too and the sauce was great with the bowl of steamed rice that came. This is definitely a favourite dish.

Dessert was shared - ginger and date pudding with a soy caramel sauce and vanilla ice cream.

Loved the stodginess and density of the pudding - ribstickingly good. Thve ice cream was light and silky smooth fragranced with vanilla and the soy caramel was like salted caramel with a little more depth to it. Interesting Asian twist to the more common salted caramel.

Loved it at Sake - really hope they do well and the standards stay high. Already looking forward to the next time and already have a pretty good idea of what I want to try and what I want to have again. Always a good sign of repeat business for the Barleys when we already know what we'll be ordering!

Saké Restaurant & Bar Hamer Hall on Urbanspoon

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San Telmo

23/8/2012

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The Australian Gourmet Traveller Top 100 restaurants for 2013 was revealed and we're trying to make our way down the Victorian entries. Steve decide no time like the present so propositioned me with a visit to San Telmo on a cold Thursday evening and I was of course, happy to oblige!

We had to wait short time at the bar with a drink before being shown to a little corner in the bar area. Service was super friendly and the menu explained passionately to us.

We started off proceedings with the Provoleta which is fried provolone cheese. Now I really know the differences between saganaki, provolone, halloumi etc but I do like friend cheese with a squeeze of lemon. This was a great version just on the right side of salty.

The Mejilla de Cerdo - braised Berkshire pork jowl ‘cheek’ with crackling was quite fatty and whilst the crackling was great the meat part wasn't as nice to eat. A bit too flabby and gelatinous for me.

The chorizo was a good version and like the cheese just on the right side of flavoursome.

Next came our main grilled items to eat along with the hot salsa and chimichurri we had. We went for the half roast chicken with minced garlic and the dish of the day which was a 300gram Scotch fillet. Interestingly we weren't asked how we'd like this cooked so I guess it's chef's choice.

The chicken was tender and tasty and very enjoyable. The steak came out probably medium. The top piece was more rare and the bottom piece was closed to medium / well done. Whilst the meat had a great deal of flavour the texture was quite dense and tough. But no denying the flavour of the meat along with piquant chimichurri was delicious. A bit more blood or less cooking time may have helped it from being quite so tough. I would have enjoyed it more if it was cooked rare.

Our side dishes were roasted potatoes with peas and garlic which were very enjoyable and a beetroot salad. The beetroot was flavoured with cumin and I think we'd have preferred it au naturel.

San Telmo was a fun place to eat. Service was great and there was a buzzy atmosphere. I'm never sure where rotisserie or grill is the centre piece whether the actual cooking is that technically difficult. The output was definitely tasty and the produce of excellent quality but not sure how hard it is to actually cook the food or what kind of expertise is involved as it seems so simple. Nevertheless, however simple or complicated it is, we did enjoy the food.

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Seoul Soul

22/8/2012

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We came with hungry tummies and high expectations due to what we'd heard from friends and on the digital grape vine. We, being myself, and the Choongs being Ling and Noah. Barley Boy had another social engagement so the three of us agreed to try and find our Seoul souls.

This little alcove like dining hall is cute and well constructed. We were pretty early dining around 6pm but there were already people there and more showed up as our meal progressed. There's good use of space and it certainly lends itself to food spying and eyeing up what the party next to you orders.

The dinner menu is quite wide and it's hard deciding where to start so we took the easy opion and went for a set dinner. We were hungry and the $100 price tag seemed reasonable enough and probably around what we'd spend anyway so we went for the four person dinner to share between three.

The first dishes to come out were fishcakes, kim chee pancake and a fried tofu salad and we also had a small dish of kim chee and pickled turnip.

The fishcakes were sweet in flavour and had what's known as fish floss sprinkled over it which is dehydrated fish that is cooked, baked and flavoured so that it's very strong flavoured and has the texture of dry cotton. Fish floss and the more common pork floss are not really my thing and I found the fishcakes a bit too synthetic and artificial tasting for my liking.

The kim chee pancake was nice enough with a light soy dressing and the tofu salad was probably the winner although I didn't expect it to be. The cubes of tofu were well seasoned and crispy and the salad ingredients fresh and crunch and even the random pieces of strawberry and peach didn't offend me.

Next were two rice dishes - bibimbap and spicy pork teriyaki. The bibimbap was really well flavoured and I enjoyed it when it was mushed up along with the egg. It resembled fried rice really with a bit of spice.

The pork teriyaki was pleasant enough but not particularly memorable.

Next came some skewers of prawn, scallop, shiitake mushroom and rice cake. The scallops were very small and didn't have much flavour. The prawns were ok. The shiitake and the rice cakes were probably the better ones and likely to be the cheapest. We'd probably have preferred it if they were all shiitake and rice cake.

The grilled dishes came soon after - belly pork covered in a sweet slightly spicy sauce and grilled beef short ribs along with one bowl of rice. The pork belly was nice enough and the short ribs although well flavoured were quite tough. There was also a bowl of hot soup. Good thing we are all good friends who don't mind the dreaded double dip because we weren't really offered smaller individual dishes to pour it into. The soup was tasty at first but towards the end started to taste overly salted.

Service throughout was quietly effective - not overly warm and friendly but distantly polite and efficient.

So did Seoul Soul speak to our souls? We left not overly full in spite of getting a 4 person banquet when there were three of us. Some of it was tasty enough such as the teriyaki and the grilled dishes but others were a bit of miss. It's ok priced but I wouldn't be rushing back in a huge hurry. A big bowl of pho for $8 would probably warm my soul more.

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Tidlom Thai

21/8/2012

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Mid week date and an email from Top at Tidlom Thai sparked an interest in visiting Tidlom Thai for some authentic family style Thai food. The place was well lit with pretty paper lanterns and an interesting medley of lightbulbs hanging from the ceiling. The welcome was friendly and the place did get a few tables in which was good given it was a Tuesday night in a very quiet part of town. I would expect it gets busier during the day but given it's situated in "office metropolis", it's not surprising it's quieter on a midweek evening.

Anyway onto the food. We start with some Thai meatballs and Tom Zap which is a heavier meat based broth a bit like it's more well know Tom Yam but with stewed beef.

The soup was very warming and hearty and boy did it pack a punch and a half with a peppery heat that rushes through the whole body. The meat was tender and soft and we did enjoy it but would next time order it with less heat as we couldn't finish it. The waitress did notice or sweats and runny noses though and offered to take it away and bring back a less fiery version but we were already halfway through and it didn't seem right to get a brand new one.

The meatballs were very soft in texture with a crisp crumb - can't remember what meat they were and they went well as a beer snack. Needed the slices of cucumber though to cool the mouth down as again they had an evil spicy sting!

Main courses were a belly pork stir fry and a vermicelli salad which we had with sticky rice. I love Thai sticky rice and it's not widely available so I would return for sticky rice in itself.

We thought the main courses were pricey for their size. The stirfry was tasty, fresh and vibrant but on the small side. The vermicelli salad was in a very flavoursome and tangy dressing and we enjoyed the textures of the nuts, ground meat and red onion as well as the two large king prawns.

Top kindly offered us a 15% discount for our visit which was nice of him. It's definitely authentic Thai food that has not suffered any Westernisation or dilution which we really appreciated. However we did have very tingly lips and next time we would request things to be not so heavy on the chilli. Having said that we found it very enjoyable and there are definitely other things to try.

Tidlom Thai Antique Restaurant on Urbanspoon

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Cicciolina

19/8/2012

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Steve and I enjoy a relaxed Sunday lunch where we can indulge, over eat, drink a bottle of wine then head home for siesta. We'd had a great Sunday lunch the week before at Embrasse and this time we decided to go Italian (kinda) and headed to the much praised Cicciolina.

It's usually a no bookings place except for lunchtimes so it made sense to make it a lunchtime destination. We arrived and it was busy with tables of family and friends meeting up. Noise levels were high and there was a pleasant air of activity in the place. We were quickly welcomed in, shown to a table, given menus, given bread and butter and the drinks order taken. All done efficiently and in a friendly way - my kind of place.

The bread was so soft and feathery. Steve and I wolfed it down in minutes and it was replenished quickly. Our wine also arrived promptly; a really beautiful pinot noir from the Port Philip Estate on the Mornington Peninsula. It was interesting to see that two other tables also opted for that wine too - we are trendsetters! Not that they actually saw our's and copied of course.

I went with the soufflé of blue swimmer crab meat, shallot and lemon thyme served on a Champagne and chive veloûté and Steve opted for one of the dishes on the specials board which was roast belly pork, crispy cauliflower and black pudding crumbs with a cider sauce.

The souffle didn't look as light as I thought it would be. It looked more like a scone but oh wow it tasted so good. The veloute was decadent with a deep flavour lightened by the chives and lemon thyme. The souffle crumbled into shreds of crab meat, lots of it, all packed together and enhanced by the veloute. Truly very good - unexpectedly different and darn delicious.

As for Steve's belly pork well, with belly pork, black pudding, cauliflower, it's classic. And it tasted great. There was flavour and texture and the cider sauce was not over powering so each element could still be tasted.

Have to say that at this point Cicciolina was fast becoming high up on our list of favourite restaurants and this was only after entrees.

Main course we both opted for a special dish. I had roast barramundi fillet with semolina gnocchi in a mussel, pippis, saffron and tomato sauce with crispy artichoke.

The fish was a hefty fillet and I loved the crispiness of the artichoke and all the crustaceans. The spinach kept it lighter and the semolina gnocchi was actually stuffed into the shells of the pippis. The saltiness of the sauce and crustaceans seasoned the fish really well. The slight criticism was the crispy artichoke was a tad greasy and the sauce itself split into oil and sauce.

Steve went with roast two point rack of lamb and braised lamb shoulder sausage with baby Brussel sprouts and a carrot and creme fraiche puree. Taste wise it was very good - hearty and rustic. The slight quibble he felt was it was a $40 dish and perhaps should have been $35 or at $40 had an extra lamb cutlet. No biggie though.

We shared a side dish of cauliflower and potato Gruyere gratin which was exactly that. I found the cheese and cream plus the oil in my fish dish all a bit too much so didn't eat too much of it but Steve enjoyed it and made up for my restraint!

We ummed and aahed over dessert and eventually decided to share sticky date pudding with home made vanilla bean ice cream. It was a good move. The pudding was a sizeable wedge topped with laked almonds. Like the dishes that preceded it, it was hearty, homely, comforting and rustic.

We loved Cicciolina so much and there were so many other things we wanted to try (pasta especially) we decided to book a table for next Sunday and bring some friends! We felt relaxed in the restaurant as it's casual and homely and the broad menu choice and price points means that it will be suitable for a group of people with different taste

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Circa the Prince

18/8/2012

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Saturday night was spent at Circa. First impressions are that it's a swanky place. I liked the oval table we sat round and the place had that trendy hipster vibe. Lots of buzz, lots of shine and immaculate wait staff.

The meet and greet was warm and friendly and drinks order was quickly taken. The menu was diverse and we struggled to come to a decision.

After our first drink, service seemed to slow down and our empty glasses stayed empty for a while and we weren't offered the chance to order again for a while. The funny thing was that even after we did manage to order our second round, and some of the food had started to come round, Steve's empty beer bottle and glass still stayed on the table. The wait staff who brought us new items failed to see the empties and I guess this is a small indication of lack of attention to detail.

The two cocktails I did have were delicious though; both gin based. The first was all citrus and pear and the second berries and lemon. Definitely worth returning for.

We started off sharing a few small dishes. The first to arrive was a seared piece of tuna with a crab and enoki mushroom salad. It was light and fresh and prettily presented. A pleasant start to the meal.

Next came crispy lamb ribs with Sichuan eggplant san choi bao and the mud crab chawan mushi with Winter truffle. The lamb rib was more a chunk of lamb wrapped in filo pastry which we topped with the spicy eggplant pickle and wrapped it all up in the lettuce cup. Again, pretty tasty but nothing we've not experienced elsewhere.

The crab chawa mushi was smooth and silky and slightly more unusual as I tend to have only had this at more traditional Japanese restaurants. The sweet and rich crab meat flavoured the soft egg and the truffle added a heady blast of depth.

Korean inspired taco, LA style short ribs + Napa cabbage slaw was our final entree type dish. The short ribs come out whole and we were instructed to cut the meat and make the taco ourselves using the accompaniments. Whilst the meat was tasty and I loved the accompaniments, the taco shell was too thick and pastry like and the meat was difficult to bite through so our mistake was to not cut the pieces small enough and end up with too much meat in a mouthful initially and then not enough meat for the remainder of the taco! However I did love the flavours - the spiciness made my lips tingle and the kim chi it came with hit my tastebuds on a positive high.

By this time I was hoping my choice of main would be light enough for me to power on through to dessert. Rice crusted Milawa chicken wth young vegetables
and golden shiitake broth sounds pretty light right?

The plate came without the broth which was poured into my bowl from a sake bottle. The heady aroma that came from pouring the broth out was savoury and fragrant. I could taste star anise, soy, rice wine and a sweetness from the vegetables and interestingly found a clump of dehydrated Chinese cabbage underneath all the chicken and veg. My mum used to make soup from this stuff and it's quite sweet. The veggies were vibrant and crunchy and I could taste the flavour of each which enhanced the broth. The chicken was soft and moist with a slight crunch from the crispy rice topping. There was also a ballotine of chicken wrapped in perhaps a cabbage leaf that provided contrast to the chicken breast meat.

The broth did become a touch overpowering after a while like a sauce does when it's over reduced. The salty and the sweet became a touch cloying.

Steve ordered the 30 day aged O’Connor 300g rib fillet with truffle butter and seasonal condiments. We assumed the condiments would be mustards or maybe a Bearnaise or something.

Instead Steve is given a pestle and mortar and three little pots of seasonings - one was sesame seed and another either black salt or black pepper and the third some brown stuff. The explanation wasn't too clear or easy to understand. Anyway the interactive element is pretty fun. The steak was already quite well seasoned with a truffle butter so not sure whether the spice mix is really necessary.

The steak was a tender and tasty piece of meat that came with a creamy coleslaw type thing and some green salad. There was also a small jug of, I think the waiter called it "dressing". So definite credit for the steak, the creamy coleslaw was too rich what with the truffle butter and other spices. The dressing was also too sweet.

Our side dishes of caramelised brussel sprouts and thrice cooked chips were good. In fact the chips were excellent. Dry and ungreasy they were well seasoned and a great contrast to the rich meat. The sprouts would have been good but I would prefer them crispy I think and it was a bad decision on our part as they were sweet (caramelised would have been the hint) and with the sweetness of the chicken broth and the steak dressing and butter it was just too overwhelming.

Elements of the food so far were impressive but there was also just something off balance with the flavours or perhaps it was just too rich and over flavoured. We felt it was slightly confused and trying to do too much and incorporate too many elements. The steak is an example what with truffle butter, creamy coleslaw, salad dressing and a personal blend of seasoning! Hence the very plain thrice cooked chips were very welcome. The chips came with a sesame mayo but what with everything else, we didn't really touch it.

I guess the confusion wasn't helped by the wait staff who delivered our food. I felt the explanations were not clear enough (the seasoning and dressing for the steak being an example) and they didn't create enough of a personal relationship / experience for us to ask questions. The delivery of dishes was always very brisk and the explanation mumbled or maybe lost in the buzzy background noise. I've had more personal service in other places and perhaps we'd have felt less confused if we'd had it at Circa.

Anyway by this stage we felt very very full but we still had lots of Heathcote shiraz to get through so we worked slowly through it and by the time we got to the end it was dessert time!

The dessert menu was very appealing and I went with the salted caramel sundae and hot chocolate sauce. Topped with popcorn it was delicious. It wasn't overly sweet, even the chocolate sauce was more cocoa than sugar and the salted caramel ice cream was smooth and like satin in the mouth. A definite hit!

Steve went with the native lemon aspen pavlova with hibiscus ripple ice cream. He enjoyed the different layers of fruit, cream, ice cream, jelly and meringue and it was probably light enough to be a good finish. He also enjoyed finishing the rest of my sundae too!

In conclusion, Circa is a happening place to go for the beautiful party people of Melbourne. It's not exactly somewhere Steve and I would say is in line with our style. However I'd certainly return for cocktails and dessert. Maybe I'd sit in the bar where it's more relaxed and just eat the smaller dishes.

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Embrasse

12/8/2012

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Sunday lunch and we decided to try Embrasse as recommended by foodie friend Kirsten. It's a small dining room and service was conducted by two friendly waiters who were efficient and capable.

It's a set 4 course menu with no choice involved although I'm sure they would make exceptions for dietary requirements. The dining room was comfortable and elegant and I enjoyed the natural light coming in on this sunny but wintry Sunday afternoon. There were other diners, mainly groups of friends and / or family and given the feel of the set menu are dishes to share there is a pleasant convivial atmosphere.

Our first course was a beautiful pot of cauliflower soup accompanied by a bowl of crispy croutons. We were each given a dish with some globe artichoke, broccoli, carrot and mustard seeds and we were instructed to serve ourselves.

I liked this informal, help yourself mentality - bit like being at home and adds to the relaxed atmosphere. The soup was thick and hearty not overly creamy which I liked more velvety. I thought it needed more seasoning but Steve liked the pure vegetable flavours and being able to taste the simple artichoke and broccoli come through. Looking around no one else was adding salt but me so I'm prone to think it's more my palette than anyone else's. The crispy croutons were wonderful - they turned doughy in the soup and retained a crunchy outside. I'm not usually a fan of croutons as I find them too oily but these must have been baked as they were dry and light.

Next was steamed rockling with mixed quinoa, celeriac puree and crispy celeriac bits. I was a bit tentative at first not being a celeriac fan but I loved the celeriac with the fish. It was flavoursome and savoury and such a good salty contrast to the sweet fish which was just cooked through - perfect. The quinoa added a toasty flavour dimension and this combined with the fish and celeriac was wonderfully satisfying. We loved this!

Our main course was roast chicken from Bendigo with peas, green beans and yellow carrots.

The chicken was just beautifully tender and falling off the bone and the peas and beans were firm and al dente contrasting the soft meat. Again this was served on a big platter for us to divide up ourselves. There was also a little jug of gravy and some Dijon mustard.

Oh there is nothing more comforting than roast chicken and nothing more decadent than roast chicken French style with buttery and wine juices. The savoury meat all soft and delicious with the sweet firm green veggies and a buttery gravy was just comfort at its ultimate. Like putting cold feet into wool lined slippers, make that cashmere lined slippers as this was a notch up to roast chicken made at home. A couple of roast potatoes and we would be in Heaven!

The set menu is 4 courses with an optional cheese course and we felt that portion size so far had not been overwhelming so we decided to go with the cheese and we enjoyed three cheeses, some orange and capsicum relish and lavosh bread.

Dessert took its time but we were kept informed that chef was making some new choux pastry from scratch as he wasn't happy with the first batch and we were happy to wait.

Dessert was worth the wait. Two little choux buns filled with creme patissier (creamy golden vanilla custard) and with a few boysenberries to cut through the richness. We loved this dessert as it felt light (although we know better that choux pastry and creamy vanilla custard can't be light) and the choux pastry had that perfect dry exterior yet was still doughy and moist.

Embrasse is exactly that - it's like a kiss or a hug or an embrace with a sophisticated Parisien air to it. We loved it and enjoyed spending our Sunday afternoon there.

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Straits Kitchen

11/8/2012

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Saturday was a double date night and we caught up with Ling and Noah at Straits Kitchen. It was all a bit confusing and they actually meant for us to dine at Straits of Malacca in Glen Waverley but somehow I ended up booking Straits Kitchen in between Mount and Glen Waverley so after a delayed start we managed to all be in one place, seated round one table!

We ordered 6 dishes in total to share and the waitress said they would come out three at a time. The combinations she chose was a little bit weird but I guess it doesn't matter too much.

So round 1 was Hainanese Chicken Rice, Sambal Spinach and Five Spice Pork Chop.

The chicken rice was decent enough and above average. The spinach was fresh, vibrant and flavoursome and a favourite of everyone. The pork chop was decent enough too but I thought the batter was a bit too thick.

Round 2 was Wat Dan Hor (rice noodles stir fried with a thick sauce), Roti Cenai with chicken curry and Beef Rendang.

The roti cenai was very good - warm and fluffy roti with a crisp to it and a decent curry. The wat dan hor was a touch too gelatinously gloopy and the beef rendang was a bit of a disappointment considering it was calling itself the specialty of the restaurant. The beef itself was tender enough but the balance of spices just wasn't quite right and the sauce wasn't fragrant enough.

All in all, dinner was decent enough. I'm not desperate to return but I'm not averse to either. Maybe next time we'll get to the right Straits place!

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