McConnell Marathons

Sorry for the absence!! It seems DDO have been too busy eating or breast feeding to properly document our culinary adventures of late!  But rest assured… we are still eating… rather excessively in fact!  So whilst the other part of DDO is busying herself tending to the little chub – little babe is gaining the weight of a block of butter every couple of weeks! – I thought I’d give y’all a little look into what I’ve been stuffing my face with in her absence from society!

I’m going to start with an oldy but a goody!  It’d been a successful week on the fitness front and i’d just completed my second workout session at the gym.  Feeling pretty excited by my commitment to working on my fitness I thought i’d treat myself to CUMULUS INC… Something about cold weather and craving carbs!  I needed some of that Fried Bread that Cumulus does so damn well!  I called my favourite mid week dining companion Z to help celebrate my new found lease on life.

Filling the Void: Fried Sour Dough!

I don’t know how Z felt about this bread.  Especially given how much I harp on and on about this stuff, but I enjoyed it!!  This was Z’s first time at Cumulus so I let her do most of the decision making (bar the bread and cauliflower salad).  We decided to get 2 starters, 2 mains and a salad.

Smoked mussels, escabeche $9

First to arrive were the smoked Mussels, with the escabeche giving it a nice vinegar-y kick!  Soon after came the soft shell crab which came with lettuce for wrapping up, and kewpie mayo!

Fried soft shell crab, kimchi, lettuce & kewpie $18

I’ve always been partial to soft shell crab!  Only because you generally, you can’t really f*** it up!  Having said that, credit to Cumulus for getting their batter/crab piece size ratio perfect!  SO many textures and flavours topped with smooth sweet Kewpie!  Winner!

Tuna tartare with crushed green pea salad $32

I think by this stage i’m already getting pretty full, and rather boozy.  Some thing about exercise and making you get drunk really quickly…? The Tuna Tartare came at a good time though, as it’s cold, and light.  I forgot almost instantly about my almost full stomach …

Roast Aylesbury duck breast, toasted grains, lentils & quince $36 (back) & Cauliflower Salad

The duck was delicious and completely unnecessary.  And while  I’ve always been a firm believer of not winning friends with salad, for this Cauliflower salad, I always make an exception!  There’s a bit of greenery, a good smack of paprika… those mouthfuls where you get the pop of pomegranate and pine nut crunch!  It’s a pretty good mouth party!

I left feeling it was all a pretty great way to celebrate my new found fondness for working on my fitness and discovering the genius invention that is ‘skins’.   Sadly, I have since fallen off the fitness train.  But I am still wearing my skins, and eating out!

Our next adventure was also an Andrew Mc Connell establishment.   This time we decided to take new DDO mum out on the town while getting a rest from baby duty, with Little L, Z and I meeting her at the newly renovated The Builders Arms Hotel.

Bread & butter

It didn’t take long for us to settle in, order some wine and get our orders in!  It’d been a while since we all got to hang out and try somewhere different, so amidst me losing my shit over the bread being served  (…yeh don’t get too excited!  It LOOKS like fried bread… but it paled in comparison to that of Cumulus… think it was just a regular sour dough!) and trying to participate in the verbal diarrhea happening at the table, we almost let the waiter open a Magnum bottle of  Valpolicella!

We’d ordered the 2010 Ca’Rugate Rio Albo Valpolicella, which the waitress somehow assumed we meant ‘bring us the biggest bottle of it you have!’.  Love a night out with my girls, but I personally don’t want to imagine the state of us (we’re kind of small, driving and 75% of us asian…) after having 1.5 Litres of wine!

Anyway, crisis averted, normal sized wine served, back to the talking at each other and food on its way!

Pig ear scratchings $6

We decided to get an appetizer and an entree to share.  Between the Pig Ear Scratchings and the Roast Chicken Hearts on the menu, I was right in assuming no one would be into eating hearts…which was annoying because I was sooo intrigued by the tiny little things!!  No matter.  The Pig Ear scratchings were given the go ahead and were tasty, salty and crispy!  We also ordered the Corned duck, raw brussels sprouts and prune ($16) which I have no idea how, but I decided not to take a photo of it.  Come to think of it, I can’t even remember what it tasted like… I guess that’s enough said…?!! (The other DDO – it was amazing! raw brussel sprouts were delicately sliced and surprisingly tasty and the duck was pretty amazing)

Fish pie, smoked trout, prawns, hapuka, sorrel $32

For main’s, both N and I decided to get the Fish Pie (it’s seems N has grown soft since her recent birth giving, and has now relaxed on her ‘everyone order something different’ rule).  It was a very generous serving, with really big, fresh chunks of trout and hapuka in a béchamel type sauce inside.

Z and Little L went for the Dry Aged, grass fed Rib Eye, Cape Grim 800g ($69) to share (that big chunk of meat in the back of the photo) which by all accounts looked cooked to order (Rare!  Of Course!!) and juicy.  We also ordered the obligatory side of fries and baby cos.  Z couldn’t finish her steak, but feedback was positive from both of them.  We all sit back rubbing our rather over stuffed bellies as they clear our well demolished dishes… until the suggestion of dessert seems to magically revive us instantly.

Poached meringue, frozen curd, sour quince jelly $14 (front) & suet pudding

We share the poached meringue and the suet (i.e. animal fat – really) pudding special which the waitress convinces us is the BEST thing on the menu.  Thankfully for her, we aren’t instantly turned off at the sound of animal lard baked into a small cake… because that’s all I remember of the little syrup covered cake to the back.  And she was right!  While the meal wasn’t bad, I think the only redeeming factor of this whole meal (from start; with the lack luster bread, and almost catastrophic mis-serving of the magnum to finish) was in fact this dessert.  You probably won’t see me rush back to the Builders Arms in a hurry….but if I had to, it would be for that pudding.  Animal fat – baked and served with cream!

Cumulus Inc- 45 Flinders Lane  Melbourne VIC 3000 | (03)9650 1445

The Builders Arms Hotel- 211 Gertrude Street  Fitzroy VIC 3065 | (03)9419 0818

Tags: Andrew McConnell, Cumulus Inc, Modern Australian, pub, The Builders Arms

Brito Mart – Auckland, NZ

Nestled amongst industrial buildings and mid-rises in Auckland city, hidden from the waterfront, is Brito Mart, a great example of the burgeoning arts / fashion / foodie scene in Auckland.  Having traipsed around the city in the search for a trendier dining venue, my colleague (AC) and I arrived at Brito Mart train station without a clue as to where this supposed hipster nirvana could be found.  Certain that the SubWay and local train coffee shop were not the Brito Mart we set out to discover, we circled the vicinity several times and were just about to give in when a small black sign pointed us to a Vietnamese restaurant housed in an old industrial building.  And suddenly Brito Mart revealed itself.

Consisting of a handful of trendy restaurants, bars and independent boutiques, Brito Mart showcases the best of NZ talent, and whilst the idea is not entirely unique (cue the recent spate of ‘pop ups’, food vans, etc.) it was certainly a welcome discovery for AC and I as we were quickly tiring of our favourite haunts (e.g. The O’Connell Bistro – the rabbit pappardelle was a favourite!).

Having scoped out the offerings and keen to give our feet a rest (in particular for me the preggie lady) we settled on Ebisu – a modern Japanese joint housed in a cavernous warehouse space just across the road from the water.  Now you may think that Japanese is an odd choice for a pregnant lady, but having perused the menu there was plenty of cooked foods on offer (and thank you to AC who refrained from tempting me with my only pregnancy craving – raw fish).

Built mainly around the concept of izakaya style eating (adapted to modern NZ tastes of course) we shared agedashi tofu, soft shell crab, smoked eel sushi, pork belly and for dessert the most divine little apple donuts.  All came beautifully presented on an assortment of sleek japanese crockery – visually it was a win already!

Agedashi Tofu

Soft Shell Crab

Smoked Eel Sushi

The agedashi tofu was s real highlight – 5 perfect blocks of firm but soft tofu, lightly battered and with a drizzle of the sweet sauce (not swimming in sauce as is the commonly served dish in your average Japanese joint), topped with thin slivers of spring onion.

The soft shell crab was incredibly fresh and juicy.  Perfectly touched with a light smattering of batter (rather than smothered) and served with a light mayonnaise it needed nothing else – any more condiments would have ruined that beautiful crab flavour.

The sushi was average at best – although the other sushi and sash ini which we saw served at other tables looked fresh, the eel was not a strength on this night.

Pork Belly

Pork belly came as 5 cubes of tender (but not falling apart) blocks of meat with a light soy / teriyaki glaze.  Whilst it was tasty, the sauce overpowered the dish little and the consistency across the 5 cubes was not great.  My first piece was quite solid, not quite melt in the mouth but with a bit of bite to it.  My second piece was almost entirely fat – to the point of not being really consumable.

Apple Donuts

No meal is complete without dessert, but given we were both quite full, AC and I decided to share the apple donuts – and i am sure glad we did.  Piled high in a little bowl with a side of oozy chocolate sauce and ice-cream, the sugar covered golden parcels looked delectable.  Biting into the donut, one was surprised to find a juicy chunk of apple – with barely any dough at all.  The sweetness of the sugar coating and the slightly tart apple provided a fantastic flavour combination and made you feel just a little less guilty about consuming deep fried balls of dough.  I am not really one for desserts generally, but this really hit the spot!

Impressed by our first Brito Mart experience, AC and I ventured back the next night to try some more Auckland delights.  This night we settled on tapas at Agents & Merchants – although once again we had trouble locating it in one of the lane ways of the precinct (it almost made it feel like we were in Melbourne – almost).  Rustically fitted out with old wooden floors, booth seating and french louvered windows, Agents & Merchants is really more a bar serving up some good share plates. AC and I shared an assortment of small plates, including meatballs, arancini, grilled eggplant and the requisite bread and dips (pesto, olive tapenade and harissa) – and whilst nothing to write home about, it was a perfectly comfortable place to spend a couple of hours winding down.

Its a shame it took us so long to find Brito Mart – out f the 5 weeks spent in Auckland, we only managed to find it on the last two nights. Nevertheless its definitely worth a visit for a bit of NZ shopping, wining and dining!

Ebisu

116-118 Quay Street  Auckland, 1010, New Zealand

+64 9 300 5271

Agents & Merchants

Roukai Lane, 50 Customs St East, Britomart, Auckland

+64 9 309 5854

Tags: Agents & Merchants, Auckland, Brito Mart, Ebisu, Japanese, Tapas

Queen Margaret Pizzeria

It’s the new year!  Traditionally a time for everyone to start afresh, and embrace the prospects of new beginnings, killing all those lingering bad habits and giving themselves so called new years resolutions.  While I’m not a big believer in the latter (especially since I have very little interest in not enjoying life… I actually thrive on eating and drinking excessively!), Z and I (having spent pretty much the WHOLE New Year period eating out of each others pockets) did one night find ourselves straying from our regular ritual at the onset of our Pizza Craving!

The thing is, does one really want to risk being disappointed by a new option, when in our opinion there is the best pizza shop right at within arms reach?!  Well, tonight we decided to throw caution to the balmy wind and try Queen Margaret Pizzeria a new offering on Queens Parade in Clifton Hill, which after reading a few reviews since it’s opening seemed like a good time to try something “new” …

So we arrive to a rather nice, new, but cosy pizzeria.  The novelty of being in a new pizza environment though quickly wears off, and when it takes a while for any of the 4 staff to acknowledge us standing awkwardly at the front corridor, my patience starts to wain.  When we are finally seated, the waitress does a good job of keeping us well wined and hydrated.  As always, we order a pizza each.

And choose a salad (I don’t care too much for greens, but entertain the idea when getting my carb on!!)

We decided to try the Yeh…. Whatever! – Gypsy ham, mushrooms, black olives, tomato and mozarella.  Thankfully, it was a little better than it’s attempt at a witty name would suggest.  The mushrooms were very slightly caramalised and the olives gave it a nice saltiness.

Yeh....Whatever $18

The other pizza was the Times 4!  Presumably an artery’s worst night mare, this was as the title suggests, 4 times cheese; gorgonzola, mozzarella, assiago, parmesan, cherry tomato and basil.  I had very high hopes for this one, mostly due to the guilt factor of ordering something that you know is way too excessive and would result in your whole plate of food being the same colour…(ah!  YEH!  A balanced and meal/dish/plate of food situation should NEVER be all the same colour -thank you for that life tip Ms Canny!!) bar the sporadic dob of red of the cherry tomato.

Times 4! $18

With great expectation often comes great disappointment.  The flavour was good… for about 2 minutes, until the cheeses cooled down!  And then it became a tough slab of gunk on dough… not even double helpings of chilli oil could salvage this situation!!

Caprese $9.50

Thankfully between the Yeh… Whatever! and the Caprese salad we managed to keep ourselves entertained.  The Mozzarella and tomatoes were lightly drizzled with balsamic and olive oil.  Pretty simple, but delicious.

Apple Galette, Rum & Raisin Ice Cream $12

Nutella, Pear Crumble Calzone $12

So as we smiled awkwardly and they cleared our uneaten rock solid shield of cheesey pizza and  empty plates we convinced ourselves we needed dessert…  One each! So out came the Apple Galette and of course the Nutella Calzone.   (Z is a Nutella fiend!  The amount of times I’ve dropped in to find her Nutella tub in hand with a spoon and a shamed look on her face…)

Dessert was probably the best part of the meal. Neither the Galette nor the Calzone had that over chewy denseness of the pizza dough.  The Apple was juicey but not soggy and the texture and tartness of the apple balanced out the rum/raisin combo of the ice-cream.  The calzone, was… as they always are and should be, FILLED to the brim with Nutella, that is slightly warm and so oozes out a little when you cut into it, and the crumble was a nice touch with the pear as well.

As we stumbled out at the end of the evening carrying our bellies – something I seem to be doing a lot since getting back from the States (it seems i’ve become somewhat of a Pizza Addict!) I couldn’t help but keep thinking to myself, if it ain’t broke it doesn’t need fixing!  So this will be the last time I convince myself to ‘try somewhere new’… especially when I can go to DOC, which would take 15 steps instead of 15 minutes, and is the only reliable trauma free pizza craving fix!

Tags: Pizza, queen margaret pizzeria, thin crust pizza

Robert Burns Hotel

Whats the best thing about friends making impromptu visits to Melbourne?!  Well besides having the pleasure of being in their company, it generally means we get to catch up over some good ol’ wining and dining!!  So when the well travelled (and VERY well dined) P, J and P2 came to town from Hong Kong, they thankfully brought their appetites with them.

We’d given them a list of food genres to choose from, and the end result was Spanish.  DAMN!! Why the hell did we suggest Spanish!  Don’t get me wrong.  I love a bit of Paella and a LOT of Sangria… but combining the no bookings/small interiors/us having a big group situation with the places worthy of eating at… things were not looking easy!  Thankfully, the other DDO had an amazing brain fart and thought of the Robert Burns Hotel.  Well done N!  Looks like pregnant brain has yet to take hold…

I’d been to the Robert Burns Hotel prior to its ‘face lift’ when it was still… well… much more ‘traditional’ and family run and meals came out on big plates with food piled high.

The new interior kept touches of the old, keeping the old dark oak furniture and mixing it with sections of (tartan…?) feature walls and flooring.  Regardless, the interior is spacious.  It took our booking for 6 people.  And we weren’t jammed side by side or seated in a line at a bar… so i’m willing to overlook that rather interesting ‘feature wall’ situation and make the most of our environment.

As always, I arrived to find N and JP, already with an open bottle of wine and pretty sure idea of what to order!  So the gang arrives, we pour some more wines order some food and proceed with our catch ups.  The first to arrive was a special – some sort of fried goats cheese- which was added in to the order at the last minute.

Special: Goats cheese and spinach croquette

Now, obviously, this is a serve of 4.  We are a table of 6. Correct me if i’m wrong, but wouldn’t it be common sense to inform us that there is only 4 per serve?!  Not rocket science really…  So the next few ‘sharing’ dishes all came as a serve of 4!!  Which meant we had to order another as each plate was presented (unfortunately our waitress was apparently blissfully ignorant and numerically illiterate to… or just plain negligent in DOING HER JOB!).  OK, rant over.  Back to the Balls.  The Goats cheese and spinach croquette was crispy with a soft interior, and was texturally good, although generally anything deep fried is. Moving on…

Croquetas del mar mussel and prawn croquettes $9.90

This one had much more flavour and bite to it!  A good bit of saltiness from the seafood and the potato was smooth.  Didn’t melt in my mouth, but at least it had flavour.  Thankfully, the best share plate was saved for the last… like a glorious cliche, it was AMAZING!!

Pimientos rellenos de rabo de torto grandma's own recipe, piquillo peppers stuffed with ox tail $11.90

So inside this little red pocket rocket piquillo peppers was what tasted like a slow cooked ox tail.  WIN!! The whole thing kind of fell apart as you cut it with a fork, but the pepper still held its form without being mush.  The richness of the ox tail cooked into the peppers created a super fragrant, delicious pool of sauce in the bottom of the dish.  Would’ve LOVED some bread to soak up those amazing juices… I was so blown away by this meaty flavour bomb that I actually paid little attention to the salad being served at the same time (yes, the ladies of the table – obviously not including me – made sure there was some foliage).

Unfortunately I cannot remember what was in this besides the quail eggs and the olives.  I guess it was just a normal garden salad… The quail eggs were good!! So with starters close to done, we were ready for the main event.  I think by this stage we were second bottle in and ready for something more substantial.

Paella negra con alioli squid ink paella w cuttlefish and scallops served with alioli sauce $22p/p

The squid ink paella was a rather refreshing version of what we normally have access to in Melbourne.  The squid was fresh and the rice was cooked al dante, although I would’ve loved a squeeze of lemon and lots of salt.  We decided to get a serve for 2, considering we’d had the starters and to leave room for…

Mixed Grill plate

MEAT!! This mixed grill doesn’t look that big for 6, but starting from the bottom, there were 2 lamb chops, a rabbit (joint?  fillet? the part that has a bone in it…) a sausage and a big piece of eye fillet.  The eye fillet was probably the best, cooked to pinky perfection on the inside and a little charred on the outside.  The rabbit was a little dry and flavourless, but nothing a good dollop of chimmichurri didn’t fix.

Churros con chocolate $9.90

We’re all pretty full by the end of it – and YES! We did manage to finish it all, save a few bits of leafage from the meat plate – but let’s be real.  There is ALWAYS room for dessert!! Even if it is the safest, most cliched spanish dessert around.  Thankfully, Robert Burns does this cliche rather well.  The Churros are crisp, and not too thick – there is nothing worse than being served a bratwurst sized churros – and the chocolate is a perfect balance of bitter and sweet.

Much like the last taste to pass our lips, despite all the slight misgivings of the evening, it was in the end as it should be, all about the exceptional company.  Which much like the dessert was full of shits and giggles and bitter sweet.

Tags: churros, Collingwood, croquettes, paella, quail eggs, robert burns hotel, Smith Street, spanish, Tapas

New Year, New Beginnings and a Bun in the Oven!

Yes its all been a bit quiet of late (well the last 4 months) – but not without good reason, including the announcement of a new bun in the oven (pardon the pun, but we couldn’t help ourselves) which has meant that one half of DDO completely lost their appetite for food and still hasn’t fully regained it yet.  But at least we can now look at pictures of food without wanting to dry wretch.

Having said that we are looking forward to the new year and to bringing you more DDO – here’s hoping the new Dragon year will bring many more feasts!

The Moor’s Head

Since our last “cheesy lebanesey” pizza experience at Mankoushe with Z, I’d pretty much start drooling at the mention of pizza!! My mind reminiscing instantly of that fragrant za’atar atop that fluffy pizza base.  So like every other ‘foodie’, when we’d heard Joseph Abboud of Rumi’s had opened another establishment it was only a matter of time before we’d join the masses to try his new offering; a combination of crowd pleasing Pizza with Middle Eastern topping and flavours.  Something he called, Inauthentic Pizza  (assuming not in that gross chain establishment-lets jam as much bad cheese/sausage/bacon into the crust-Pizza kind of way… i’m not joking.  That pizza was called the German King, at Japanese Pizza Hut’s).

It’d been a while since N, Z, JP and I all had a free Friday to catch up together for a carb fest!  It had been an even longer while since somewhere we wanted to eat took bookings!  So we were all feeling pretty positive about this situation… (especially given we now had a pregnant lady in tow.  And that JP can’t wait for anything for more than 17 seconds without getting extremely agitated!)

Now from here on in, you’ll have to excuse me if I get some of the flavours mixed up… we came here so long ago I can’t remember exactly what was what.  What I can guarantee is that all 3 were meat laden flavours!

So we went with The Golden Terrace (the mammoth one to the right) – minced beef, fresh tomato, chilli, almond, lemon ($18).  The almonds on this gave it some good texture, but it could have done with more lemon and maybe more chilli…just more flavour.   The Emir Bashir II (center) which was Hummus, sujuk (sausage), fresh tomato, olives, parsley ($19) and the round one to the end is Fairuz which had Tomato, haloumi, bastourma (more meat… cured i think) and parsley ($18).  This was probably my favourite of the 3, as the bastourma was nice and salty.  Which meant my fingers finally got a break from sprinkling salt onto EVERYTHING to give it some flavour!

Greens for the night (as requested by the pregnant lady) were Cabbage, Mint soused onion, caraway($8.5) and  Roquette- Shanklees ($8).

 If you’re looking at all this thinking ‘that seems like a lot for 4′, you’re pretty right.  It was!  They were all varied in actual size, but all equally bready.  So earlier when I said we were getting our carb on, I wasn’t being sarcastic!!  Although the toppings were generous, it was hard to not be distracted by the rather chewy, dense consistency of the pide/base.

We did the best we could to finish without getting jaw lock, and I took the small window of room left in my belly as an opening for dessert before the carb-coma took hold.

Dessert was Nutella Fatayer ($9) which was served with Persian Fairy floss and a Halva and Banana Fatayer ($9).  In hindsight, probably should have just let that window close.  We were all so full we could pretty much only manage a corner of each and picked at the garnishings before we had to call it quits!! Banana and Halva though… Bit of a winner!! THAT, I would come back for!

On the whole, with the lack of flavour, and the overly chewy bases, The Moor’s Head failed to leave me wanting more…. Think i’m going to stick to the cheap and cheerful option for my future ‘cheesey Lebonesey’ cravings.

The Aylesbury

Arriving at The Aylesbury a bit later than I wanted to, I was not keen to find out how long the wait would have to be for a table (yes its one of those places with a no bookings policy unless you have more than 6 people – but more on that later). Luckily at ten to 7 the next available table was at 8:30, and the low-key roof top bar was the perfect place to while away the time with my good friend BFM who had come home for 2 weeks from London (thank you Melbourne for not raining that evening).  Buzzed through by the waitress we arrived at the roof top to the pleasant buzz of end of week drinks – but thankfully not to a sea of suits that is typical of many a bar in the CBD on Fridays.  Perched on a stool overlooking Exhibition Street and sipping a cold drink, time went by pretty quickly – oh and if you’re hungry then there is a good menu of bar snacks that broadly reflects the larger menu of the restaurant downstairs.

As it approaches 8:40 (we have been joined by JP and JT) we head down to see if our table is ready only to be told ‘no its not ready as the table was not been rebooked when the guests sat down so no time limit was given, and they have only just ordered dessert’.  And therein lies the awkward situation you get when you have a mixed booking policy.  Honestly you either take bookings or you don’t.  Plus given the hype surrounding the place and the no booking policy for small groups, wouldn’t you think to tell people that there is a time limit – because the no booking thing pretty much guarantees that there will be a waiting list.  So back we go upstairs and just as I am about to keel over from hunger and fall off the top of the roof, the lovely hostess comes up to show us to our table (its 9:10 by now).

The menu itself is not super extensive, and if you are vegetarian you might struggle to find a decent feed as the focus is squarely on meat and seafood.  They use Warialda Belted Galloway beef and Glenora Heritage Produce – both wonderful local Victorian suppliers – as well as some produce straight from the chef’s garden.  Struggling to choose (hunger has well and truly taken over now), we opt for the very reasonably priced Feasting Menu for $65 a head, which offers up the best from the menu (10 dishes plus 2 sides).

Beef Tartare

Garden on a Plate...

Mackarel with Gazpacho

We started with Coffin Bay Oysters – shucked fresh with a squeeze of lemon, followed by the beef tartar which comes with the most delicately toasted bread.  Both dishes focus on the freshness of the produce which is fantastic.

Next comes the garden on a plate (I can’t recall exactly what it was called) – which is a colourful dish of small bits of various raw vegetables arranged artistically on a black plate.  Not much to say about this one really…

Asparagus and Curd

Wagyu, Marrow & Morcilla

Lamb Cutlets

The aired dried wagyu with marrow and morcilla  is a bit on the salty side and the asparagus with curd is surprisingly refreshing – the curd being extremely light in flavour.  The mackerel with green gazpacho cream was not extraordinary.  And then what turned out to be my favourite dish of the night – the lamb cutlets delicately baked in dehydrated peas and lemon zest which were wonderful accompaniments to the tender and juicy cutlets.

Aylesbury Duck

Salt Baked Flathead

For the bigger dishes we had the Salt Baked Rock Flathead – which certainly looked impressive, but lacked a little in flavour – and the Aylesbury Duck which was served a little pink with a beetroot puree.  In the midst of all this a side of carrots and a side of potato in duck fat appears on our table.

For dessert we opt for the Beignets with chocolate and the Chocolate Slice.

Chocolate slice

Beignet with Chocolate Sauce

The Beignets are rather large – but are soft and fluffy on the inside and the dark chocolate sauce is the perfect consistency.  The Chocolate Slice is a bit too rich – lucky there isn’t too much of it.  It is past midnight by the time we fix the bill and bade our farewells.

Top marks for the fresh produce and the creativity of some of the dishes, but all in all a little overpriced and a little bit bland.  The food doesn’t have the same wow factor as Anada does (well what I remember of it) and that mixed booking policy means I won’t be a regular at the Aylesbury – well not the restaurant at least…but that rooftop has a lot of promise!

The Aylesbury

103 Lonsdale Street Melbourne

(03) 9077 0451

Tags: Locavore, Melbourne, Tapas

Brunch at The Brix

A welcome breath of fresh air, The Brix is unlike any other restaurant you will find in Fitzroy. Located just off Brunswick street down the somewhat lackluster northern end, this new(ish) establishment serves modern French style food – complete with a prix fixe set menu on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.

On the outside the fresh white paint gives the place a light airy feel which translate also to its interiors of wooden floors, simple lines and lots of big windows that let in the natural sunlight. Its not a big place, with probably a maximum of 15 small tables plus several seats at the bar. The staff are dressed in white t-shirts, black skinny jeans and braces and provide a professional and friendly service.

I meet O on a Saturday morning for what was intended as a late brunch, but at The Brix actually turns out to be lunch – they stop serving the breakfast menu at 12noon, oh how very French!

Cured Ocean Trout with Nicoise Garnish

Pork Cassoulet

Not to worry, there is plenty on the lunch menu to satisfy, and we quickly put in our orders – O goes for the cured ocean trout with nicoise garnish and I opt for the Pork Cassoulet.

The ocean trout comes on a black slate plate which is the perfect backdrop to the vibrant colours of the salmon and the light nicoise style salad on the side. By O’s account it’s not only a pretty dish, its also tasty and fresh.

The cassoulet comes in a cast iron dish and is served together with a couple of slices of toasted rye bread on a wooden board. The pork is tender and melts in the mouth, and the persillade (a mix of parsley chopped together with seasonings including garlic, herbs, oil, and vinegar) provides a crunchy texture to the dish. The servings aren’t big – just perfect for a light lunch, but if you’re a big eater, you’ll definitely be left wanting more.

Frangipani Tart

A meal with O always involve sweets and on this occasion we choose the frangipani tart which is a pleasant offering but not exactly mind blowing. The tart casing is not too doughy or chewy and the frangipani is subtle and not too sweet.

Peppermint Tea with Artisan Honey

Washed down with my peppermint tea (served with some artisan honey from NZ) it’s a nice way to finish off a light meal.

All in all The Brix is a good addition to this part of Fitzroy and offers something completely different to the casual café fare served in these parts. Next time we’ll try the prix fixe menu.

The Brix

Rear 412 Brunswick Street,

Fitzroy VIC 3065

(03) 9417 6114

Tags: Fitzroy, French, The Brix

Xi’an Famous Foods – NYC

After a month of ‘settling’ in to New York City and it’s ever vibrant -not worth missing-i’ll sleep when I die- cultural offerings, it took a bad douse of Bronchitis to finally slow me down!  Nothing like a bad case of disease to make you really home sick…

And so, for the past week, I have taken to curing my physical and mental illness by loitering around Chinatown every chance I get.  Something about the smells.  The crowds of people.  The rather loud often unnecessary hollering.  Did I mention the smells…?  I found comfort in hearing my mother tongue even if it were from the mouth of a stranger!!

Although i’d been more than successful in visiting a large amount of Asian Bakeries and grocery stores -yes I already have my firm favourites: Grand Bakery!  HK style milk tea and their egg sponge paper cake – I was still yet to dine at any of the many Asian restaurants…which, given my fear of eating out alone kind of makes it rather difficult.  So having spent much of the week obsessively ‘researching’ online for good recommended Asian eateries, I found the most commonly written about happened to be a little place called Xi’an Famous Foods.

Xi'an East Village

So on a night where it was cold, rainy and the thought of consuming another dumpling was enough to make me want to self harm (my freezer is FULL of dumplings!! That’s what happens when you put a lazy Asian girl alone… in New York City… who has been hitting EVERY Asian grocer in town!!)  I decided to give Xi’an a go!  It ticked all the boxes: within 0.5 miles (umm… i guess thats less than a kilometer…?)  from my house, did takeaway and was fast and cheap!

Xi’an offers a range of noodles, soups and starter dishes, and is most famous for it’s hand ripped noodles, a dish called the Lamb Face Salad (which I thought about ordering…. maybe next time!) and most highly touted The Cumin Lamb Burger.

Having done all my research online before going, I decided I wasn’t hungry enough to tackle the Lamb Face thing, and didn’t feel like dealing with the wrath of noodle soup done Take Out, so I went with the famous Lamb Burger.  Walking into the tiny shop that is Xi’an, I couldn’t help but feel relieved to find the shop full of Asians!! Not to be controversial… but choosing to adorn your Asian Eatery’s hoarding with the words “Western Chinese Cuisine” hardly instills confidence – and I do not have enough energy to start ranting about why no one (not even white people) orders Lemon Chicken anymore… !  (Upon more research, it seems the Xi’an restaurant chain ‘boasts a unique cuisine that may be best described as a fusion of Middle Eastern and Chinese foods.’)

Cumin Lamb Burger $3

So it took approximately 97 seconds between me ordering and paying, and walking out the door with my dinner!! It also took that 97 seconds of waiting whilst seeing everyone eating their hand ripped noodle goodness to give me SEVERE food envy and make me suddenly starving!!

Lamb Burger

I pull that neat little ‘burger’ out of its bag, to reveal a nicely toasted bun with the filling sitting neatly inside.  I was pretty delighted to find no sauce spills or mess when taken out of the wrapping.

Inside. Cumin spiced lamb

Although, after taking a few initial bites, it didn’t take long for me to wish it had been a sauce laden mess!  The bun tended to be a little… no… actually a lot on the dry side.  Given the Cumin Lamb is not meant to be saucy, it is kind of understandable!  But I wish I was given some hot sauce or something to relieve those bland chunks of bun!!

Having said that though, the lamb was very well cooked.  Not tough at all, and well marinated in the cumin giving off a nice subtle heat (it could have been hotter!! But then again, all the places i’ve eaten and ordered the item with the chillies next to it are lacking heat).

Maybe it was the slightly dense, dry texture of the bun… Or more likely the fact that I feel like i haven’t eaten meat in a long time … I found myself to be struggling at the half way mark.  This little ‘burger’ is surprisingly filling, amazingly cheap and as far as (VERY VERY) fast food goes, I think i’ll be revisiting this over McDonalds.  Now all I have to do is get over my fear of eating out alone and it’ll be Lamb Face Salad time…

Xi’An Famous Foods -

East Village  81 St. Mark’s Place, New York, NY 10003

China Town (counter only| no seating) 88 East Broadway #106, New York, NY 10002

China Town  67 Bayard Street, New York, NY 10013

Flushing 41-28 Main Street Bsmt #36, Flushing, NY 11354

Tags: Burger, Chinese, East Village, Hand pulled noodles, Lamb Burger, St Marks, Xi'An Famous Food

Lupino

Situated inconspicuously next to Bar Lourinha and opening with little fanfare, I was SUPER excited to discover that the restaurant I had walked past on the way to yoga (in the space previous known as Champagne Lounge) was a modern Italian bistro called Lupino.  The new offering from Becco’s Richard Lodge and chef Marco Lori, had me even before ‘hello’ – and it did not disappoint on the night that Z, J and I visited, the start of the long weekend farewell for J.

Courageously undeterred by the no-bookings policy (I believe they have changed this – you can book now) we sent Z to scope out the table situation and see if we could put our names down and were pleasantly surprised – not only did we put our names on the list, we could specify when we wanted to dine.  So after a quick Prosecco at Siglo Bar we found ourselves seated at Lupino in the centre of the restaurant looking into the bustling open kitchen.  The space is modern and fresh, big enough to give everyone enough personal space, but not too big so as to be completely vacuous.  The service is prompt, friendly, unpretentious.  So far so good.

We quickly decide on a few things to share plus a main each.  The menu is full of small delightful morsels to be shared, a few enticing pastas and a selection of seafood and meats for main.

To share we have the polpette wrapped in lemon leaves and the sformata with a chevre-spiked sauce.

Polpette with lemon

Sformata with chevre sauce

The polpette is infused with a lovely and surprisingly pungent lemony fragrance – we could have easily eaten a whole plate of those and been satisfied.  The sformata is light and airy and very appropriately cheesey! Very decadent, and a must for soft cheese lovers!

For mains we each order something different.

Continuing with the cheesey theme I opt for the gnocchi quattro formaggi.  I normally steer well clear of gnocchi and this was a total leap of faith.  It did not disappoint however – the gnocchi is light and that cheese sauce is perfect on a cold winters night.

Gnocchi quattro formaggi

Z opted for the lasagne – an oldie but a goodie.  The Lupino version is baked and served in a ceramic dish with layer upon layer of béchamel, perfect pasta and delicately minced meat.

Lasagna

The non-pasta eater of the group, J went for the slow cooked osso bucco which comes on a bed of polenta and a sprinkle of bacon and peas, all served on a neat wooden plate.  The meat falls off the bone effortlessly and the jus is lovely and meaty and rich.

Osso Bucco

Eggplant Parmagiana

We had also ordered a side of the eggplant parmigiana – with much trepidation on Z’s part given her recent horror experience with the dish at another establishment. Despite waiting a while for it to arrive (the waitress admitted the order had been lost, but was appropriately apologetic – and at least she was honest), we weren’t disappointed.  Thin slices of eggplant (though not too thin) came layered with oozey cheese and pomodoro sauce, and all baked to perfection.  The flavours of the eggplant, tomato and cheese melting perfectly in the mouth.  Win!

Having eyed off the dessert menu well before the mains even arrived, we quickly settle on a serve of the bombolone and the apple strudel.

Bombolone!

The bombolone are huge and smeared generously with Italian Nutella and served with a yoghurt ice cream.  They are delicious – the bombolone cooked to perfection and not too doughy – if not a bit large – let’s just say Z was kind of relieved that she didn’t insist on ordering one for herself (in Z’s books Nutella is not shared – get your own!).

The apple strudel is also fantastic – another one of those classic dishes that Lupino executes so well on.  A light and crisp pastry wrapped around REAL apples that have been stewed with large raisins, all served with a simple scoop of vanilla ice cream.  Comfort food done to perfection.

And that is what Lupino is all about. Simple, good Italian food – a new favourite in town (even more so as they have now scrapped the no booking policy!).

Lupino

41 Little Collins Street, Melbourne (map)

(03) 9639 0333

Tags: Italian, Lupino, Melbourne