• Barley Background
  • Farewell UK
  • Melbourne Magic
  • Restaurant Reviews
  • Guestbook

Monster Kitchen and Bar

28/12/2016

0 Comments

 
When in Canberra, it appears Monster is a place to befriend. Housed inside Hotel Hotel which is located on the corner of a what feels like a dual carriageway, it oozes cool architecture and design. 

We enter the hotel and greeted by reception staff who advise us to head towards the iPad in the far corner of the room. It's a little strange that as soon as we enter the hotel, it opens out into a dining / bar area and there is Monster in all her glory. I keep looking for an iPad but struggle to find it. Turns out, I'm taking things too literally and it's not an iPad but a laptop. I guess literal and creativity aren't necessarily seamless in this place!

We're early for our table so take a seat on a fancy green sofa and wait a while before someone takes our drinks order. And it takes a while again for the drinks to arrive but we're advise it's because they're searching the store room for a mysterious ingredient that is crucial to my cocktails...

We drink our drinks, once they finally arrive and we're not asked if we want another nor is our table followed up...and it ticks past 8pm and when it looks like no one is going to help us or keep us hydrated, I ask and one of the wait staff tries to help us out but we're advised to keep on waiting as the previous occupants finish up.
Picture
Finally we are seated but that whole waiting theme continues...we wait a while for menus, for round 2 of drinks...and during our meal for our wine glasses to be topped up. Yes, it's busy and the size of the dining room means the wait staff have a lot of ground to cover and I suspect they are under staffed this evening which means service is thin on the ground.
Picture
Picture
We start off with:

  • 38 hour pork neck bao, cucumber, kim chi
  • Crispy fried quail, house made togarashi, kewpie, sriracha

The pork neck is a little cylindrical croquette and combined with the fermented and tangy flavour of the kim chi is pretty tastebud pleasing. The quail is also lipsmackingly good with an exciting tongue tingling heat from the spices and sriracha. So far so good.

And in spite of the service blips, we enjoy our corner seat in the banquette where we can people watch and although the wait staff are stretched, the atmosphere still manages to be relaxed and comfortable.
Picture
Picture
  • Asparagus, baby leek, soft egg, burnt butter, nori and capers

This is a far more generous dish than the asparagus offering we had at Eightysix the night before although, granted it is $5 more expensive but I'd rather pay the excess and enjoy the "generous hospitality." The salty buttery liquid drips and flavours the chargrilled vegetables and balances that greeny yumminess of asparagus.
Picture
Picture
In terms of "main" or shared dishes as they're called at Monster, we go with three:

  • Blood pudding, apple, radish. anchovy
  • Pulled lamb shoulder, pistachio, yoghurt, vine leaf, pomegranate, brik
  • Black Angus, flat iron, chimichurri, fried okra (unpictured)

The blood pudding is a generous slab and served on grilled bread. I enjoy the flavours but find the anchovy a little overpowering. I love anchovies and I love black pudding but I'm not convinced I love them altogether although the toast and the zippiness of the apple and radish salad help lift the heavy flavours.

The pulled lamb shoulder is a true crowd pleaser. The meat is tender and delicious large chunks flaboured with nutty pistachios and sweet and sour pomegranate seeds, softened by the labne.

The Black Angus also goes down well. It's a good steak already carved into misshapes and the fried okra has a delicious salt and vinegar seasoning to it.
Picture
We are pretty full after all this food but we enjoy our seats that staying for something sweet is our pleasure! And we choose to share:

  • Strawberry, fresh vanilla, crispy milk

It's a light way to finish the meal. The crispy milk are like meringue shards and there's a kind of runny panna cotta thing at the bottom of the dish. It's not the best dessert in the World but it does the job!

Whilst the Monster ain't everything - certainly service wasn't all that, the food was good and the environment and general ambience makes it a good dining option.

Monster Kitchen and Bar Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    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.

    Follow @mindabarley
    View my food journey on Zomato!

    Archives

    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011
    March 2011
    February 2011
    January 2011
    December 2010
    November 2010
    October 2010

    Categories

    All
    Albert Park
    American
    Argentinian
    Armadale
    Armenian
    Beaconsfield
    Beechworth
    Birragurra
    Box Hill
    Breakfast
    Bright
    Brighton
    British
    Brunswick
    Buffet
    Burgers And Pub Grub
    Burmese
    Busselton
    Camberwell
    Canberra
    Carlton
    Cbd
    Chinese
    Collingwood
    Daylesford
    Dessert
    Docklands
    Doncaster
    Elsternwick
    Eltham
    Elwood
    Ethiopian
    European
    Filipino
    Fitzroy
    Flemington
    Flinders
    Footscray
    Fremantle
    French
    Fusion
    Geelong
    German
    Glen Waverley
    Greek
    Hawthorn
    Hobart
    Indian
    Indonesian
    Italian
    Japanese
    Kew
    Korean
    Kyneton
    Launceston
    Malaysian
    Margaret River
    Mexican
    Middle Eastern
    Mildura
    Modern Australian
    Mornington Peninsula
    Northcote
    North Melbourne
    Port Fairy
    Port Melbourne
    Prahran
    Richmond
    Ripponlea
    Rutherglen
    Southbank
    South Melbourne
    South Yarra
    Spanish
    Steakhouse
    St Kilda
    Sydney
    Thai
    Thornbury
    Toorak
    Torquay
    Vietnamese
    Werribee
    Williamstown
    Windsor
    Yarra Valley
    Yum Cha

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.