Sunday, April 29, 2012

Berra Apartment

I'm back in the nation's capital for work and while my previous stay in a 'serviced apartment' was a bit shite, I will say that this apartment rocked! 
 My open plan lounge and kitchen.

 Yes, I like having a proper kitchen.  

The view from the kitchen. 

Hey why not.  Here's a bedroom shot.

Here's a bathroom shot.  Two doors for easy access and heated tiles! 

Now I kinda wished I took this job for longer than two weeks.  Walking distance to work as well! 

Friday, April 27, 2012

La Petite Creperie

After filling up at Laksa Bar, I wanted dessert.  While wandering around last week, I noted a new, cute creperie had taken up residence in an old roadside news stand in the CBD and made a mental note to see if it would evoke memories of Paris.  Walking off a bit of our laksa, we headed a few blocks down to La Petite Creperie.
Cute!  It a mini French kitchen!  The staff even had French accents.  Not fake either.

I really wanted the homemade salted caramel crepe ($5) but they had  run out of salted caramel :(  I settled for the chesnut puree ($5) and Spu had one of the jam ones.  

The crepe was busting with warmth and I had to wait a bit before tucking in.  The chesnut puree tasted like red bean and overall I was a happy little mademoiselle.  Yes, there is a touch of Paris on the Melbourne streets.  My main gripe would be that they is that they don't offer any savoury crepes.  Don't underestimate the power of a ham and cheese crepe, my friends!

I'll be back.  I need to eat that salted caramel crepe once and for all! 

Laksa Bar

A girl needs to keep her brows and moustache in check and after a threading session at Rooprani, a girl needs to eat.  

On a side note - I think I've found my Melbourne threading place!  Yay.  It's incomparable to the £5 (brow and mo) I pay in London ($30 at Rooprani, approx £20) but you just gotta come to terms with the cost of services here.  It is significantly better than the $45-60 being charged at other salons.  After trialing two other threading places - one of whom completely butchered my brows resulting in me having to fill one of them in with a pencil for a month - I'm happy to call Rooprani my regular... for now.  

Back to the eating.  Striking things off the hitlist, Spu and my freshly manicured brows checked out Laksa Bar.  There are some mixed reviews but from what I've read, the Aunty owner does say she doesn't necessarily cook her dishes as authentically as people would like, rather she cooks it to her own personal taste.  Hence why you may see reviews about people complaining about unconventional toppings.
 Homemade barley drink ($4.20).  Refreshing! 

I ordered the Assam Laksa ($13.90) which came with toppings on the side.  (Onion, lettuce, tomato, pineapple).   

Yep, that's a close up shot. 

Spu had the seafood curry laksa ($15.90)

Spuey wearing his complimentary bib.  Good for office workers!

Smee cooks a pretty mean Assam Laksa and come to think of it, I don't think I've ever eaten Assam Laksa elsewhere.  Using that as a benchmark, I'd say I was happy with Laksa Bar's offering.  The soup was nicely thickened by the chunks of mackerel fish and the soup stock appropriately errr assam-like.  I'd prefer a bit more fresh mint topping in mine but yep, if Smee didn't feel like cooking this for me I'd be happy to pay up Laksa Bar.  Spu's laksa was nice too.  I do agree that the tomato pieces aren't expected but who cares?

Yup, will be eating here again.  It's next door to Gami so you can have a fried chicken entree first! 

Wednesday, April 25, 2012

PappaRich Doncaster

PappaRich is a Malaysian restaurant chain which serves hawker food but in a nicer and presumably cleaner environment.  I've never been to any of the restaurants in Malaysia but I will assume that obtaining dishes prepared by a long-running hawker stall owner will still be much better than that prepared by a student who is in the PappaRich kitchen for their part time job.  

I had eaten at Madam Kwan's in Malaysia a few years ago and while there was nothing bad, the prices did reflect the more hygenic setting.  Not that I'm whinging!  As someone travelling on a strong currency, it was still stupidly cheap and if I just have to pay extra for air conditioning, it's win-win.  I figure PappaRich is similar to Madam Kwan's.  Anyway, the PappaRich franchise has been brought to Australia and they'd recently opened their second store in Doncaster.  Yippee!  Convenient!  I couldn't wait to try it out.  

Ok, I'm not deluded.  I set my expectations quite low.  I mean, this is a chain.  I couldn't expect the food to be fantastic.  If it was good, at least I would be pleasantly surprised.  It was dreary Anzac Day and to make the most of a day off, Kahuna, Njla, Kt, Mr. M and I all met there for lunch.

The restaurant had it's grand opening only a few days prior so I was hoping for an empty restaurant.  We even planned to arrive at 12pm for an 'early lunch' just so we could beat the lunch time crowd.  Lo and behold, the carpark was packed and a queue was out the door.  It seemed that word spread around to the Donnie Asians.  We managed to score a table after one hour.  ONE HOUR.  I don't mind waiting for food if there is a no reservations policy and if the pictures in the menu were anything to go by, we were in for a good time.

We ordered individual dishes and shared a roti served with three different curries.  Supposedly the satay there is good but they had run out.  At 1pm?  No more satay?  Really?  The roti wasn't bad.  I could eat another plate of that. 

Anyway I didn't take many photos.  Kt had the assam laksa, Mr. M a seafood laksa and Njla... I think she had a laksa too. 
Kahuna's Mi Goreng.

I think he said it good.  He didn't stand up and start cheering though.  But even if Kahuna's is really excited, one would never know it.  

I decided that the hallmark of a good Malaysian restaurant is how good their char kway teow is.  So that's what I ordered and this is what I got.  
What... the..... fark!?

I actually said to the waiter 'This is char kway teow?' to which he gave me a confirmation nod.  It looks like a pad thai.  They used the wrong rice noodle FFS and they either skimped on the dark soy sauce or just used a normal soy.  

Anyway, it tasted like a char kway teow but it was like eating a banana which tasted like strawberries.  It needs to look like char kway teow dammit!  Flavour-wise, it was ok but nothing fantastic and definitely not worth a one hour wait.  Food-court quality at best.  We were better off driving to Malaymas!  

I think this will be a place where I go if I didn't have to wait and needed a quick fix.  Also, I won't be ordering the char kway teow again until they learn how to make it! 

Friday, April 20, 2012

Mutti's

I've had a weird craving for schweinshaxe over the past week so what to do?  Go to Mutti's and drag Spuey along to eat with me!  He did not express the enthusiasm I expected but that may be because he's eaten there twice already.  Despite having our Vue de Monde feast only two days ago, a last minute booking did not deter Tina, Shazza and Dr. R for an encore of gluttony.  Constable also came along for kicks.  

Having eaten in Germany numerous times, I know that Mutti's can't compare to the Motherland and it is a kind of mish mash of German, Austrian and nearby countries but overall it does a decent job. 
Brettl Jause ($36 for two).  We ordered a platter for four along with some fresh pretzels.  Me like cured meats, cheese and terrine.  Yummy!  Actually after this platter, I was already feeling a bit full. 

The Schweinshaxe or 'Free Range Pork Hock' for you non-German folk ($59 for two).  It's nearly as wide as Spu!  This came served with peck kraut salad, paprika spiced kipfler potatoes, german mustard, apple sauce, caraway and dark beer jus.  In other words - too much food for two.

This could easily have served three people.  Tina noted his hock last time was a little dry.  Ours was only a bit dry on a small outer section but I think this should be somewhat expected for a huge hunk of meat.  Needless to say, Spu and I couldn't finish it.  Dr. R, Shazza and Tina were too full from their own meals to assist us.  I told the waiter 'This serves three, not two!'  He just laughed at our feeble attempt and said they regularly have men who can demolish the entire thing alone.  

I was too full for my own dessert so I settled on a gluhwein.
Zenzen’s Glühwein 8.5% ($7).  I was expecting a mug but instead it was served in a chalice!  Yes it reminded me of the German Christmas markets.  I don't know who Zenzen is though.  

Constable's strawberry tart.  ($12?) Forgot it's German name.  The strawberries were dipped in a dough and fried.  It was ok.  

Schwarzwalder Kirsch ($12?)  I think Tina ate this.  I had a taste.  It was nice.

The desserts overall were pretty average.  However they are seasonal and I wouldn't mind trying others including the apple strudel.  

Yep Mutti's is the place to go for your German fix.  I haven't been to Hofbrauhaus in a long time but the chilled out atmosphere in Mutti's would be more my cup of tea nowadays.  

Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Vue de Monde

Vue de Monde has been sitting high on my to-eat list for some time.  Spu decided he was too povo to come along for this culinary ride but Dr. R, Tina and Shazza happily joined in for a most expensive nom-noms.  Sure there is an a la carte menu but we decided to hit the Gastronomes Menu which at $250 a head (without wine - eep) is not for the frugal.  What's the point of coming to a place like this and eating like a tightarse?  Go hard or go home!  

Booking a seat at this restaurant isn't as difficult as one would expect but that's if you're willing to eat outside of the typical peak Friday and Saturday nights.  Hence our reservation was at the more reasonable time of 6.45pm rather than 9pm.  I don't think there's a dress code at VdM and I sure didn't try too hard to impress the wait staff but I did make a conscious decision to wear one of my 'nicer' work dresses today :D
We admired the intricate patterns on the cutlery and the rocks and sticks on the table.  The rocks doubled as a butter plate and salt and pepper holder!

We confirmed our degustation dinner with the waitress and she said that if we didn't mind, there may not be much time between plates as we needed to vacate our table by 8.30pm.  Well that's not really a problem for us diners, it's more a kitchen problem eh?  Bring on the feast! 
(L-R)  Parsnip chips to bide some time.  Smoked eel, white chocolate and caviar.  Celeriac and sunflower seed.

Yes.  Eel.  Covered in a crispy white chocolate shell.  Weird fusion but it somehow worked!  The celeriac parcels were cutely served on a rock and I really can't remember how they tasted. 

(L-R) Oyster.  Salt cured kangaroo.  

The oyster tasted like oyster.  But check out the gelatin dumpling skin!  The roo came out on a slab of Himalayan salt (yep) and then it was rolled and placed onto a rock.  I like roo meat.  My tastebuds aren't that smart though and if you told me this was cured beef, I'd believe you.  

(L-R)  Pumpkin, squash and goats cheese.  Spanner crab, green tomato and wild herbs.  Roasted marron with tarragon butter. 

So far so good.  The first two were tasty and while I am probably under-appreciating the effort put into the dishes (the goats cheese was a snowy powder), we were still at a ho-hum.  The marron was served to us by the greasy haired head honcho himself, Shannon Bennett.  When I quizzed the others if they recognised the "waiter" who served up the crustacean, I was met with blank faces.  I think Mr. Unwashed Hair may have been surprised by our lack of fawning!  Oooh but the marron was lurvely.  Such a plump piece of seafood meat just cooked to perfection.  The 'plumpy-ness' was more so appreciated by our fingers, the 'utensils' we were advised to use to eat the marron.  I could easily have scarfed down an extra tail or two.  

(L-R)   Fried duck egg with lamb sweetbreads, picked onion and truffle.  Cucumber sorbet with crushed herbs.  Barramundi with prawn, smoked bone marrow and a herb emulsion.  

This is where the 'experience' started to ramp up.  First of all, I can never say no to a yolk.  Fried eggs are at the top of my favourite foods.  Actually this wasn't fried but rather slow cooked like an onsen egg.  A duck egg meant that this yolk was about the size of my lady-palm.  The truffle was grated right in front of us and they didn't skimp.  Noice!  I joked to the waiter that he was pouring soy sauce over our eggs and I think he got offended.  Haha.  I'd always thought sweetbreads were strictly a bull/sheep/animal's testicle but nope, they can be other glands.  I really liked this dish but I do hope I didn't eat a ballsack.  

Now if only we took a photo of how we got to the crushed herbs.  We were given a mortar containing fresh herbs and a pestle.  The waiter came along and poured a bit of liquid nitrogen in and then we had to crush our own herbs!  We were too busy trying to out-crush each other to take any photos/videos.  The cucumber sorbet was very light and fresh.  I think it was intended as a palate cleanser.  The barramundi was next and err I'm sure it was nice but I can't remember it!

 (L-R)  Pigeon with carrot, clove and olive.  Wagyu beef with fig and pear.  

I like my pigeon not fearlessly walking alongside me and this one was done very nicely.  Tastes like duck.  The wagyu was nicely done and my only complaint was that there weren't more pieces served.  

(L-R)  "Beer and Nuts" aka passionfruit, liquorice and coconut.  Pavlova.  Chocolate souffle with chocolate mousse and creme anglaise. 

Onto the desserts.  If VdM would allow me to just come for dessert I'd be doing this the regular.  The 'beer' came out in a shot glass and it was a real Heston Blumenthal moment.  It looked just like a mini pint of beer right down to the frothy head.  You'd expect it to taste like beer too but nope, it was passionfruit.  The 'nuts' were a coconut sorbet - yum!  Next we got a deconstructed pavlova.  I never say no to a pavlova and I especially liked the mini meringues.  

By now, even with my Supergut I was pretty darn full.  But there was still a chocolate souffle to come.  I was expecting a mini sized one but nup, it could have easily been served as a full sized dessert on it's own.  Not enough on it's own, the souffle was then punctured and creme anglaise poured in.  *uurggggggghhhhhhh*  So light and fluffy.  So... full... but... must... finish!

Next we were asked to have a seat in the adjoining bar to finish off our meal.  I think they needed to clean the dining room.  It was certainly well past the 8.30pm vacating time we were advised at the start of dinner.  Me thinks that the other peeps must've cancelled.  
Cheese, bread and jam platter.   

I thought we'd have one cheese platter to share between us.  Nope we all got a platter each.  As if we weren't already full, there was bread on the side.  The others aren't fans of blue or goats cheese but I loved them all!  I would have gobbled up everyone else's share if I wasn't so damn full!  

Petit fours which included lamington, gin and honey jubes, popping rocks edible bark, eucalyptus flavoured sorbet balls and musk flavoured eucalyptus leaves.  Yes that is a Happy Birthday on the other plate.  Although it technically wasn't anyone's birthday, it's nice to tell the restaurant that it is :D 

Fark, I was at explosion point.  The 'lamington' was actually a chocolate mousse dusted in coconut.  Good for that because I really could take swallowing anything more cakey.  The popping rock bark was cool!  Just like the popping rock candy you used to buy from the now non-existent milk bars.  The musk leaves tasted like 'Fags' and we reminisced about how politically incorrect our childhood lollies were. 

I had to call it a night by now because I happened to the be the only person working the next day.  Overall I was pretty darn satisfied with my experience at Vue de Monde.  The service was friendly and not at all stuffy.  The maitre d' even joined in our very serious conversation about NKOTBSB.  However the big question remains - was it worth $250?  To put it in perspective, Tetsuya's degustation is $210 and arguably a more internationally lauded restaurant.  I haven't eaten at Tetsuya but clearly you can't directly compare the Japanese cuisine to VdM's errr French/molecular/modern Australian!? offerings.  

Would I come back?  Sure I would.  Within the next year?  Don't think so!  Maybe within the next five.  

Thursday, April 05, 2012

Same Old Stuff...

Smee and I went to Sydney and ate too much.  I'm getting repetitive.
$30 worth of sashimi.  Not sure how much it weighed.  

$12 worth of yellow tongues... I mean sea urchin.  

Lobster noodles.  About $100 or so including cooking cost.

To finish off lunch - a kilogram of pippies in XO sauce.  So freaking yum.  Can't remember how much it cost.  Yeah, there was too much food between two people.

For dinner we kept it 'light'.
Ramen at Menya.  

Do we regret eating so much?  No.