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Saint Crispin

22/12/2013

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We had a truly lovely Sunday lunch here during the run up to Christmas. We found the service charming and the food just delightful. It was as good as the first time round before the award and all the hype. Our chef's menu comprised of:

  • Wagyu bresaola, shallot rings, confit yolk and hay ash with shaved Perigord black truffle
  • Atlantic salmon, shaved calamari, oyster, squid ink and saffron
  • Salad of green vegetables, goat's curd and pickled shimeji
  • Swordfish, Mooloolaba prawn, Nicola potatoes and kohlrabi
  • Greenvale pork, curried raisin and heirloom carrots
  • Apricot, peach, nectarine, goats milk and muesli
  • Mango, coconut, vanilla and verbena

Food was initially accompanied by
2010 Matošević ‘Alba’ - Malvasia Istria, Croatia which after a couple of mouthfuls I realised we'd had last time. Must be almost like their house white or the one the sommelier always recommends.

With the pork we indulged in a Ch
ablis Premier Cru which was steely dry and delicious and with dessert something sweet but light. I think it was the 2011 Schloss Lieser ‘Braunenberger Juffer’ Kabinett - Riesling QMP Mosel, German.

The Wagyu bresaola with some Wagyu tartare hidden beneath was just so delicious. Beefy flavours spiked with capers, sweet onion, rich egg and then our indulgent supplementary heady truffle. Amazing!

The other savoury courses were also exceptional. The swordfish was a deeply flavoured meaty delight and the pork just cracklingly crispy and the meat tender.

I've always thought that dessert at The Estelle and also during our previous meal at Saint Crispin was the weak point and they'd always been a bit lacking for me. Not this time! Oh I lov
ed the zesty freshness of the apricot, peach, nectarine, with the crunch of muesli and then the yoghurty sharpness of the goarts milk sorbet. It refreshed my palette and jolted me out of that food coma.

The second dessert was less zesty and sharp being more mellow and rounded in sweetness but
still so delicious.

Oh Saint Crispin you were a great start to our Christmas indulgence!
Saint Crispin on Urbanspoon
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Mr Huang Jin

18/12/2013

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Picture
A team lunches are awesome. A is for Asian! Charlie, Stef and I try to get together for A team lunches but frequent never happens so we go for regular. Once a season is regular right?

Anyway this time we try dumplings at Mr Huang Jin. The fit out to this dumpling place is impressive. There's lots of light and shiny things, a clean open kitchen and funky chairs. All very welcoming.

I arrived first and was asked if I had a booking - sadly not but luckily they could squeeze us in for an hour. An hour was all we had anyway so everyone's a winner.

So much to try and we gorge on different types of xiao long bao - tea, laksa, normal, chilli wantons, spring onion pancake, spring rolls. pan fried dumplings, Chinese broccoli. fried chicken bites until we're all done....and all within an hour.

Our thoughts - tasty...all pretty tasty. All very refined and quite elegant if dumplings and deep fried goodies can be elegant... I loved the plump chilli wantons and the egg, crispy, slightly chewy spring onion pancake. The dumplings are small though so need to eat more to fill up. I like that you can order 5 or 8 in a serve.

It was a busy lunchtime service so it was hard g
etting the attention of the waitstaff especially as we were at a tucked away, semi hidden table. There was one waitress who always seemed to gaze in our direction but never quite switched on enough to come over.

It all ends up not being that economical. I think $40 for dumplings at lunch is quite pricey and I can't
help but feel I'm paying for the decor than the food. Enjoyable enough though and a nice place to sit in for a leisurely dinner that's more pleasant than some of the Bourke Street dumpling places.
Mr Huang Jin on Urbanspoon
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Coda

11/12/2013

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A supplier I've worked with lots over the last year invited me for lunch and was kind enough to extend the invite to another colleague. It had been a while since I'd been so I was keen to try it out again.

It's alway easier at these sharey placed to as them to sort everything out and make the decisions for us which they were glad to do.
Our first array of small bites were:

  • Spanner crab, galangal,roasted chilli and lime betel leaf
  • Crispy prawn and tapioca betel leaf
  • Calamari, green papaya and cucumber salad, with nahm jim, peanuts and crispy anchovies
I remember enjoying all of these especially the salad that was zesty and zingy and fresh.

I forgot to take photos of what came next but it was the:

  • Roasted yellow duck curry
  • Heart of palm, honeydew melon, mintand cucumber salad
And of course rice. The duck curry was amazing. It was creamy, comforting and radiated warmth through peppercorns rather than chilli so it was a mellow kind of heat. Inhaled this!
Dessert options resulted in two ice cream sandwiches for my companions and I had the meringue.
  • Ice cream sandwich - banana and salted caramel flavour
  • Toasted meringue, vanilla sponge cake, yuzu curd, coconut and mango sorbet
Desserts were good. I enjoyed my creamy mess with some citrus flavours coming in with the mango and yuzu and then sweetened with foamy meringue.

I find it hard to distinguish between Coda and Chin Chin and Longrain and the other Asian fusion eateries. They all produce tasty food. I guess each time it depends on other experiences such as service and ambience. Last couple of times at Chin Chin, food has been good but it's been a bit cramped at the table and loud and rushed. Longrain we had awkward seating arrangements so didn't enjoy that although again food was good. Coda this time, food was good and we were seated comfortably and the wait staff were attentive so winning all round!


Coda on Urbanspoon
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Jorg

6/12/2013

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Friday night December dinner and Steve makes reservations at Jorg in Fitzroy North. It's an attractive building and fit out and feels nice and spacious. We are greeted and shown to our table and made to feel comfortable. The two waitresses work hard all night topping up drinks, taking orders, waiting tables...and they do it pretty efficiently and remain good tempered!
We start off with an assortment of small bites of goodness:

  • Baccalá fritters with house aioli
  • Nico serrano jamon
  • Crispy zucchini flowers, potato and ricotta stuffing, golden squash and leek fondue
  • Tuna crudo, radicchio, blood orange and fennel salad and aioli
I remember enjoying them all but 3 weeks later struggle to remember what they were like exactly. I don't think anything was terrible and I remember eating every scrap so that's got to say something!


We decided to share a meat dish and a pasta dish and swap plates halfway through. Our choices were:
  • Pan roasted lamb rump, char grilled cutlet, smoked shoulder, asparagus and spiced nuts
  • Cavatelli, arrabiata sauce, pancetta lardons and provolone
We were underwhelmbed by the lamb. The sauce was a it over reduced, there weren't enough spiced nuts to make a difference. The lamb was pink enough and tender but it didn't smack of stellar amazingness.

However the pasta was darn good. Slightly chewy but in a pleasant way, cavatelli with an intense tomato sauce and cheese with some bacon and some hear. It was delicious. Where the lamb under delivered, this exceeded expectations.

We had enough in us to contemplate dessert and I went with the lemon option and Steve the souffle.
  • Raspberry soufflé with raspberry sorbet and raspberry coulis
  • Stone fruit, berries, italian lemon cake, lemon fool and meringue
The souffle was less like eating clouds and more like eating pancake batter. It wasn't bad but we've had better and lighter and more rise. The sorbet was very good though.

The lemon option was certainly lemony and I enjoyed the creamy fool and dense cake along with some fruits and then the odd teeny piece of meringue. I think I'd have liked more meringue crumbs and the fool itself was quite heavy so not quite the light Summery option I thought it could be. However I enjoyed the flavours.

Jorg is a pleasant neighbourhood restaurant. It's pleasing enough but perhaps not as memorable as other places.

Jorg on Urbanspoon
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Giddiup

1/12/2013

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Sunday brunch and Giddiup has been on the to try list for the last year! Finally we get there and there's a table. It was a quick visit but just what we needed.

The welcome was warm and friendly enough, the order was taken quickly. OJ arrived and was fresh followed by two pots of strong tea. I enjoyed the eggs atlantic and Steve had the bean stew with pulled pork and a poached egg. Both dishes of food were well presented and cooked well.

Absolutely no faults with our visit and a great breakfast was had.
Giddiup on Urbanspoon
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    Fine Print

    For those that know us, this section will probably come with no surprise! Steve and I love eating out so this is our record of our time in Australia.

    This is a blog that is 100% written and edited by Steve and I. All opinions expressed are our own and are not influenced by any third party.

    Any sponsored posts are easily identified as such.

    Thanks for reading barleyblog.

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