Blog Archives -

Gingerboy

31/10/2011

I was really excited to try Gingerboy for different reasons. Primarily because we'd really enjoyed Ezard and the type of cuisine Gingerboy offers, is really right up our street. I also fanced a boozy dinner where I could where a frock and Steve and I could be cool and mingle with the trendy folk of Melbourne over a cocktail or two! I'd tried to book previously but never succeeded so rejection had made me all the more keen!

Taking advantage of the Cup public holiday we secured a table for the Monday evening. The dining room was a lot smaller than I thought it would be. I loved the lacquered black bamboo lining the walls and the ceiling making the room feel even more intimate and small.

Our waiter was friendly and explained things to us clearly. There were some ingredients in the drinks list and menu that I hadn't heard of so he kindly clarified. One was something called calpico which is a Japanese soft drink. He even told me where I could buy some if I so wanted.

We started off with;

Braised duck spring rolls with spiced hoi sin sauce
Pork nam prik ong with water chestnuts and lettuce cups

The spring rolls were nice enough. Crispy outside, decent filling on the inside. Not stand out but wouldn't send them back! Steve liked the spicy pork lettuce cups; I found it overseasoned and too salty,

Not a brilliant start Gingerboy - steady but not stellar...what next?

Fried whole baby snapper, roast chilli lime dressing, hot and sour salad
Lime and galangal basted baby chicken, peanut tamarind caramel (not pictured)
Son in law eggs, chilli jam and Asian herb

The son in law eggs were amazing. The best we've had. We were instructed to pop the whole thing in our mouth with the jam and herbs and just chew. I tried to do this with the egg on the spoon but it was too big! Steve advised to pick it up with my fingers gently and squeeze it in! It was very soft to touch so I was anticipating a lovely creamy and runny yolk and it did not disappoint. A great giant mouthful of moreish tastiness!

The baby snapper was a disappointment and it was over cooked so the meat was dry. The sauce wasn't all that special either tasting more of Thai red curry than roast chilli and lime. The table next to our's also had the same and when the waitress filleted their's it looked much juicier and cooked better so I guess we were unlucky or the kitchen is inconsistent...

The baby chicken was nice enough...kind of like chicken stir fry in a sweet chilli sauce.

The biggest disappointment was the rice was very poorly cooked and was hard and brittle. Rice should be the easiest and really it's bad that it wasn't done properly. Even I can cook better rice!

Gingerboy on Urbanspoon

Golden Fields

30/10/2011

Golden Fields is the newest addition to Andrew McConnell's collection of restaurants. McConnell is probably most well known for Cumulus in the city and Cutler and Co in Fitzroy.

We are already fans of Cumulus so we had high hopes for Golden Fields which was meant to be similar but with Asian slant.

Like Cumulus there is no booking and it's open all day. There is seating at the bar as well as tables and it has the same busy and noisy vibe. It's just too cool for school with funky wait staff and a record player (pictured) in the middle of the bar. Long time since I've seen one of thise in action! We had a choice of a table or bar area and chose to sit up at the bar to watch the action.

Our waitress was friendly and attentive in spite of having started her shift at 10:30am and not finishing till 11pm. She suggested we browse the menu and choose what we fancied and she could then tweak our choices and help with half portions where possible and advise if we were going askew with volume!

The New England lobster roll, hot buttered bun, cold poached crayfish, watercress and Kewpie mayo was like a posh M&S prawn cocktail sandwich but so much better! My problem with the M&S sandwich is that the bread is often too cold and too hard and there's not enough filling. This did not fail on any of those counts. The bread was warm and soft and doughy and I loved the filling. There were two problems though - too small and I had to share!

Chicken broth, enoki, shimeji mushrooms and lime served in a teapot came next and it was a warming, deep and savoury broth and I loved the tangy squeeze of lime.

I forgot to take a picture of the next dish which is disappointing as it was my favourite dish of the night - shredded chicken, sesame paste, home made cold rice noodles and chilli oil. It's like a cold chicken noodle salad "bang bang" style. And I loved this. I loved the thick white noodles and the creamy sesame flavour along with the tingly spice. I'd have eaten more of this if I could. Would be a great lunch dish on its own. Chin Chin and Spice Temple do similar version. The Spice Temple version has flavour but is in a bit of a oily dressing and it doesn't come with noodles and the Chin Chin one has salad I think so texture is good but I found the chicken quite dry. The version here is perfect and the chicken is perfectly poached so even the breast meat is succulent. Yum yum yum - more please!

Next was the twice cooked duck, steamed bread, vinegar and plum sauce. Who doesn't enjoy duck in pancakes? This version was pretty up there on the duck pancakes premiere league. Steve said Simon's Peiking Duck has the edge as there is more of it for less dollar, and he thinks Simon's is more juicy. I like both but I think Simon's home made pancakes is slightly nicer than the steamed bead which is bit heavier. This is still pretty tasty though and I'd have it again.

Our main course was the Rangers Valley rump cap, savoy cabbage, mixed pepper sauce accompanied by new season asparagus, smoked hen's egg, pea puree and rice puff. We had wanted to try the red braised catfish with grilled yabbie and vermicelli but that had run out.

The beef was beautifully cooked and there were some Asian flavours coming through. The pepper sauce was a soy based dipping sauce with lots of fiery pepper flavour. The Szechuan spice was used sparingly so just not enough to numb the tongue but not too much it destroys the nerves and tastebuds so a good balance.

The veggies were a crisp and sweet contrast to the intense flavours of the beef. The egg added a creaminess and the smoky flavour definitely came through with added to the asparagus making it taste griddled. I love a good runny egg and this was great.

Dessert order was placed:

Baked meringue, vanilla, rose and lychee
Peanut butter parfait, salted caramel and soft chocolate

We actually had only ordered the meringue but the peanut butter parfait was placed in front of us by one of the chefs. We explained we had ordered the meringue so he said, "Oh well have this for free and I'll make the meringue now!" Lucky us!

The peanut butter parfait dessert was like a Snickers ice cream bar but richer and more flavoursome. I had something similar at Society but it was lighter and I think I preferred the lighter version. I can imagine though that many would love the Golden Fields version but it was just a bit too rich and sweet for me.

The meringue was light and delicate and I really enjoyed it...except for the hint of rose which made me feel like I was chewing on soap. Steve didn't mind the rose though.

We really enjoyed Golden Fields and would happily return. The slow roast salt pork with crackling, pickled cabbage and tamarind looked amazing so we need to come with friends. The waitress told us it was about 2kg with bone uncooked so wouldn't recommend it for just the two of us. So who wants to come?

Golden Fields on Urbanspoon

Café Sweethearts

29/10/2011

Falling asleep at 6pm the night before thanks to lots of champagne and frozen cocktails at Derby Day meant I was up and ready to greet Sunday at 8:30am. We made our way to South Melbourne to do the grocery shop but decided to have breakfast first.

Having missed dinner I was ready to be fed. We headed to Café Sweethearts to try their offerings. Service was friendly and we were asked for a drinks order quickly. After perusing the menu, consisting of lots of variations of eggs (scrambled, omelette or poached) and pancakes we quickly lodged our order.

Steve had eggs florentine with a side of mushrooms and I went for eggs forestier with a potato rosti.

The servings were generous. I found the hollandaise and the rosti a little greasy so felt quite bloated after eating it all. I guess I could have just stopped when I was full. The eggs were poached perfectly with runny yolks. One of Steve's eggs was slighly over but only just and was probably just the last one out the pan.

Pretty decent breakfast joint but we both commented we preferred Gas just a few doors down. I was impressed by all the egg options however!

Café Sweethearts on Urbanspoon

Barney Allen's

23/10/2011

Sunday lunch and where to go? Friends like Barney Allen's so we decided to meet there. It was empty when we arrived at 12:30pm. It's quite a dark place and is a big contrast to the busy and bustling Pelican Café next door. However the welcome was friendly and we didn't have to wait. The 6 of us ordered drinks and sat outside whilst we waited for food.

The waitress kindly set a table inside for us and gave us a shout when lunch was ready. Between the 6 of us, we had 4 roast beef dinners and 2 burgers. Nothing like venturing out of food comfort zones!

The burgers are pretty hefty and the fries are shoestring ones which I actually prefer over chunky chips. Burger comes with cheese, bacon, onion relish and beetroot. Steve says it was nice enough, quite sweet but good meat. They are very proud of the "Kick Ass" sauce which is a fruity BBQ number with a little tingling spice and is nice to dip chips in.

The roast dinner came with three thick slices of beef cooked medium rare, a Yorkshire pud, 2 big roast potatoes, some peas and roast veg. I asked whether it came with carrots and was told not but I did find two big pieces of the offending veg on my plate! The Yorkshire pud was a good attempt and nice and doughy / chewy. Would have loved it bigger though. The roast beef was reasonable enough but needed more seasoning. Could have done with more gravy though...lots more... It was a decent attempt and better than a Wetherspoons job in UK but for Melbourne standards it was probably just above average. Would happily eat it again and bring some Bisto granules to make gravy but got to feel a bit proud and think that I could make i better at home!

Barney Allen's on Urbanspoon

Bistro Guillaume

22/10/2011

Saturday lunchtime on a rainy day; torn between the warmth and familiarity and excitement of Spice Temple and the untried, untested comfort food of Bistro Guillaume...

The French won and we ventured inside...

The bistro is airy and comfortable. There's dark wood and lots of light coming in from the windows. Accents of bright green keep it fresh and from being the boring chocolate brown, cream, taupe palette that has been fashionable in the last 5 or so years.

The strange puffball skirt lamp shades remind me of the pink puffball skirt my friend had back in the 80s that I was insanely jealous of. However, I owned the on trend yellow and black polka dot skirt with elastic waistband and three quarter length leggings attached a la Kylie Minogue in The Locomotion. All's fair in 80s childhood fashions.

Waiter service is friendly and understated French. The navy blue Lacoste polo shirts add that Continental refined look!

We begin by breaking bread and drinking wine. A Scotchman Hill sauvignon blanc which is softly refreshing. The bread is warm and crusty. Tres bien so far.

Steve goes for the onion soup and I have the steak tartare with pommes gaufrettes effectively potato crisos.

The soup is thick with onion and it's a big bowl. I find it quite salty though so would struggle to finish the whole thing. The steak tartater is pretty good. Chunks of meat that isn't finely minced and I prefer the coarser texture. Sometimes it can be a bit too much like raw sausage meat. The salad accompaniment is refreshing with a vinegary / lemony dressing.

So far a good solid start to the meal and we are beginning to like Guillaume.

Main courses - Steve goes for the plat du jour which is beef daube. Essentially braised Wagyu beef cheeks in red wine with lardons, croutons, mushrooms and carrots. It's a generous portion and the meat is so tender it falls apart but not in a dry chalky way. Steve declares it very tasty.

I go for the leg of duck confit with fresh peas, lardons and shallot butter. Oh this is so good. I know it's made with cream and is so bad but it tastes so fresh. Those sweet peas and the salty bacon and the duck are all perfect. The Paris mash we order as a side dish comes in a cute little dish and has the texture of silky ice cream. It's so so so bad for you and there is so much butter and cream in it but it's so so so good to eat.

We decide to have a break before taking on dessert. The table next to us is discussing Australian politics, Russian literature and carbon tax. We're clutching our stomachs and talking about spending the rest of the afternoon napping. Steve spots Marilyn from Home and Away / Louise from Emmerdale on another table! Guess which table we were more interested in?

Other entertaining highlights include gazing out the window at the people coming and going from what we can only assume as some sort of comic book, gaming convention in full fancy dress. Highlights include Hellboy, Batgirl and a female Robin as well as wigs and hairstyles of all colours and shapes and props of all huge proportions.

Dessert time. We were full but I couldn't resist ordering profiteroles with vanilla bean ice cream and warm chocolate sauce. It's a large dessert and really what can go wrong with good vanilla ice cream, choux pastry and chocolate sauce. At the same time, how hard can it be to make this dessert? Anyway, it's good, it's yummy but it looks more wow than it tastes.

I'd heard the tarte tatin was pretty amazing. It's not my kind of dessert as I'm not one for baked, stewed or dried fruit but I was convincing enough that Steve ordered one. Oh my! I enjoyed the bite I had. The pastry was flaky and light and the apple was very good. If all baked fruit tasted like this I'd be a fan!

A pot of English Breakfast tea came with a cute macaron. It looked gorgeous; all perfect and round and pink and it tasted great. Crispy then chewy, sugar sweet then a taste of berries.

The meal started off decently but got steadily better. We saw a couple come in just for dessert and the fresh raspberry macaron looked amazing so definitely worth remember coming back for that. This is a great French bistro. I was a little disappointed to see a steak frites come out of the kitchen and the frites were quite chunky and not the thin shoe string fries but I'm not going to hold that against it after all it's only a french fry!

Bistro Guillaume on Urbanspoon

Society

21/10/2011

An Agenda Melbourne (bit like a Groupon / Scoopon thing but hipper and more exclusive) deal came round a few months ago for Society and I had faith that it would be a pretty decent meal so decided to pay the $70 ish (can't recall the full price) for a main course dinner for two and bottle of $60 McLaren Vale shiraz.

I had visions of us struggling to get a reservation as can be the case with Scoopon and the like but it was really easy. In fact I had to change the date twice and each time they were really accommodating and friendly.

Finally on Friday, Steve and I decided to meet there straight from work. I was three minutes early but was made very welcome and comfortable at a corner table.

Decor is quite 1920s art deco ish with bevelled mirrors and velvet seating. It's a pleasant environment to sit in and doesn't feel too busy or too quiet. It's great for a quiet date.

Our voucher meant our main course would be the Tagliata di Manzo per due which is toasted Margaret River Black Angus rib eye (800gram) carved & served w/ caponata & roasted potatoes. Over a pre dinner aperitif; French martini for me and a Peroni for Steve we decided to add on antipasto to start and decide later about dessert.

Antipasto della Casa - a selection of cured meats, olives, arancini, smoked scamorza, bruschetta, roasted capsicum, eggplant & assorted chef's specialties. This came out on a wooden board and we really enjoyed all elements. My fave was the scamorza bruschetta; love this smoked mozzarella. The mushroom bruschetta was also tasty and had a balsamicy type sweet glaze flavour to it. Arancini were nice and light and moist just as they should be. Overall it was a good start and we enjoyed it.

The rib eye came out next and looked delicious. I could tell the table next to us were jealous! The dish did not disappoint and the meat was tasty and well cooked. I love the meat in Australia as it has stronger flavour to it. The steak sometimes surprises me in texture as it tends to feel rougher in texture but I don't mind this as the flavour is so great and the same applies here. This philosophy explains why I don't tend to choose fillet. I'm prepared to compromise texture for flavour. However back home even cuts like rump and sirloin taste less rough than Aussie meat. The meat here tasted great but it didn't have the buttery smoothness that good steak I've had back home has.

After eating half a cow and I gnawed on the bone too in a most unlady like fashion we still had room for dessert. Steve went for some cheese and I chose the chocolate panna cotta with salted caramel ice cream and peanut brittle. It was like a deconstructed Snickers bar. So yummy and also so light. It's rare I can finish a whole dessert but this took no effort. The chocolate panna cotta was light and silky and the peanut brittle and I think there were biscuit crumbs or cocoa nibs added texture. Beautiful! Loved this dessert.

Service was friendly and efficient. Occasionally it seemed that it took a little while for dishes to be cleared etc but nothing noticeably off about it.

In summary, we'd come back without a voucher and try other dishes. I think the pasta dishes would be good as there seems to be a traditional Italian air to this place and not the rustic, bustling, cheap trattoria feel. I'd like to see how refined their pasta dishes are. I think Agenda Melbourne or Society has it right in doing these vouchers as it's more about widening their clientele making a smaller profit from the first visit but engaging them enough to return. The Scoopon deals we've done previously relating to food have been a bit disappointing and we're just fed cheap food which means we avoid that restaurant thereafter. I'm not convinced places that follow that business plan make much from the Scoopon deals or that it's a sustainable business decision but I'm not a restaurateur so what would I know?!

See you again Society!

Society restaurant on Urbanspoon

Chin Chin

17/10/2011

Lucky me had the opportunity to go to Chin Chin twice in 36 hours so Chin Chin became Chin Chin Chin Chin! Even luckier was that over the two visits, I got to try so many options and didn't have the same dish twice so vast is the menu.

Visit number one was with darling Steve and we ventured in on a Sunday afternoon and were shown seats at the kitchen bar. There was one table available for two but we chose to watch some kitchen action instead.

Visit number two was with new friend Stefanie. I met Stefanie through work and discoverd we had a few things in common and enjoyed chatting to one another so we decidee to have conversation out of work time and had a Monday night dinner date.

Here you can see Stefanie show her love for a chicken wing. I am insanely jealous of her silky straight and shiny hair!

This little pocket rocket is a whole heap of giggly fun.

From left to right:

Chin Chin Pork "Roll Ups" - red braised suckling pig with pancakes, slaw and sour herbs
Kingfish sashimi with lime, chilli, coconut and Thai basil
Steamed dumplings of chicken, sweetcorn, shiitake with spring onion and ginger dressing

All three are tasty dishes and will please the masses. Observations about each would be the pancakes for the roll ups are a littl gummy and gluey perhaps a bit over steamed and there wasn't that much pork. The kingfish sashimi was a good comparison to Nobu's yellowtail with jalapeno. Chin Chin's version has a citrus kick with a lot of lime and then a creamy coconut flavour to wash it away. I think I marginally prefer the cleaner, simpler flavours of Nobu's version..just though so close contest. Finally no quibbles about the dumplings. I remember really enjoying these.

Chilli salt chicken wings with coriander and fresh lemon
Twice cooked Hopkins River beef short rib with coriander and prik nahm pla
Crispy quail, soy marinated with Sichuan salt, lemon and sauce Siracha

Chilli salt chicken wings although good were not as flavoursome as I thought they could be. I've had versions where the seasoning goes right into the meat and the flavours here were mainly in the crumb. Needs a bit more oomph I think.

The twice cooked beef was just amazing though and the sharp prik nahm pla but through the richness. The meat was tender and hadn't dried out and had that gelatinous gooeyness running through it but not too much to make it sickly rich.

Generous portion of quail - two quails even and deeper flavoured than the chicken wings so a winner.

Morning glory wok tossed sesame watercress with yellow bean and chilli
Bang bang chicken with green beans and peanut, chilli and gapi relish
Caramelised sticky pork with sour herb salad and chilli vinegar

Great veggie dish with a good balance of flavour - no hesitations having this again.

Bang bang chicken was made from a poached chicken breast and I found ait a bit dry but Steve enjoyed it.

The pork was my favourite last time but trips to Red Spice Road and Longrain diluted my love for it and I'd relegated it on the pork dish premier league. And this time it's promoted right back to the higher echelons. It was far better than I remembered it from my first visit. The first time it was tasty but a bit too fatty and swimming in sauce. This time it had a slight crispy edge, was succulent and had the perfect amount of sauce.

Palm sugar ice cream sundae with salted honeycomb and a lime syrup
Chin Chin special rice with crab, pineapple, chicken and coriander
Massaman curry of coconut braised Hopkins River beef brisket with pink fur apple potatoes and crispy shallots

Slightly out of order here. The dessert was refreshing and the salted honeycomb was yummy. The lime syrup turned the ice cream into more of a frozen yoghurt kind of flavour as it had the sour aftertaste. I couldn't eat much of it though but Stefanie kindly helped with finishing it.

Special rice was yummy -good balance of egg, rice and crab, chicken and pineapple.

The curry was a bit too heavy. The meat was tender and flavoursome the but the sauce was too think and just too overpowering or maybe we had just over ordered and should have had something lighter...

Love Chin Chin and love the fact it has such a diverse menu that there are still a number of deliciously sounding dishes I've not tried.

Chin Chin on Urbanspoon

Clairault - Margaret River

7/10/2011

Our last meal in Margaret River was a hit and took place at Clairault. Last minute decision and we were in the area so decided to stop by. It was a grey and rainy day so we sat inside. The decor and set out is not as picturesque or as classy as Leeuwin but it's still a good place to enjoy a meal. It has more of a bistro feel rather than fine dining.

Service was super friendly and genuinely warm both by the hostess and our waiter.

Being piggies ourselves, we decided to share the "three little pigs" tasting plate comprising of pork rillettes, ham hock parsley terrine, pork + fennel sausage, pickles.

Presented on a wooden board it looked delicious and accompanied by a glass of chardonnay we were set. The warm pork and fennel sausage comprised of three good hunks in a little ramekin on top of some lentils. I'm not a huge lentils fan as I find them a bit sandy and tasteless but these were flavoured with some sort of stock and were delicious as were the sausage chunks.

The pork rillettes were a soft, gooey mess of shredded pork and the terrine a firmly pressed hunk of pork goodness. Great contrasts all from the same animal. The accompanying bread; we had both foccacia and baguette were great with the terrine and rillettes and the pickled zucchini was a great palate cleanser that just cut through the richness of all that porkiness. Thoroughly enjoyable.

For main coursese I had deliberated between a lamb dish and the Kimberley banana prawn, javanese yellow curry, steamed green papaya with rice. My Chinese roots were too strong and I went for the rice. It was a beautiful tongue tingling curry with lots of fresh coriander which is my fave herb. Super tasty and the prawns were bigger and meatier than the ones I'd had at Leeuwin Estate the day earlier. Yumtastic!

Steve chose to go with butter and chardonnay poached Baldivis rabbit, parmesan gnocchi, broad beans with pancetta. He declared it very good, tender and enjoyed that it retained its moisture from the poaching.

The meal from start to finish was excellent and the calibre of the food made it good value for money.

Clairault Estate on Urbanspoon

Leeuwin Estate

6/10/2011

We decided to have a slap up lunch at Leeuwin Estate and took a table on the deck where we enjoyed the view of the grounds and the sunshine.

Service was friendly and attentive. Other customers seated around us seemed happy and enjoying their food. Atmosphere was relaxed yet indulgent at the same time. The environment was peaceful. All felt good with the World!

I enjoyed roasted banana prawns with chimichurri and radish and Steve went for seared Abrolhos Island scallops, crispy hock, tamarind and mangosteen. The prawns were delicious. Fairly pricey dish for 4 prawns though. The chimichurri looked fiery but was actually made from sweet red peppers / capsicums rather than chilli so it was wasn't actually spicy. The radish neither added or detracted from the dish so not entirely necessary.

Steve enjoyed the crispy hock and little mound of scallops which were probably three scallops sliced into more discs to make it look more. Neverthless each disc in spite of being thinner than a whole scallop was cooked well.

Main courses were Rangers Valley 300 day grain-fed scotch fillet, potato and raclette soufflé,
porcini butter, local asparagus for me and a hefty portion of smoked free-range pork ribs, sticky BBQ sauce, apple and cider slaw and roasted peanuts for Steve.

The ribs looked impressive and smelt great. There wasn't that much meat on them though and although tasty I couldn't help but feel the flavourings could have been a little more interesting perhaps with some spicing. I thought the peanuts were a good addition though.

The steak was tender and although didn't look the most appetising was a good cut of meat. The butter lacked seasoning so I added some salt. The griddled asparagus was delicious which just enough char flavour coming out to complemen the iron taste of the vegetable. The texture of the souffle was perfect but also lacked seasoning.

It's a good winery for lunch but we found better value at Clairault so yes it is one I'd recommend but there are other good options about in the region too.

Leeuwin Estate Restaurant on Urbanspoon

Augusta Bakery and Café - Augusta

6/10/2011

A coastal drive calls for a morning tea stop and having read good things about the Augusta Bakery, it seemed rude not to stop by when passing through.

I went savoury with a pie and after much deliberation Steve ordered a scone with jam and cream. Two scones arrived! They were warm though and very light and fluffy - almost like sponge cake. The pie was tasty too and I'm not a pastry fan but this pastry was yummy and the pastry to filling ratio was spot on.

This little gem is great. There's some outside seating and inside there are good window seats with views of the ocean. I had a quick look at the bakery section and the sandwiches and other goodies looked delicious. Excellent stop to stock up on some picnic goodies to explore the coastline.