One of the things I love about Good Food Month is that I get to experience food from all inspirations and cultures, all at my doorstep.
And this time, at Meat Market South Wharf, it’s a bit of the Maori culture, with an Urban Hangi.
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It always boggles my mind that in Australia, yum cha – which literally translates to “drink tea” – has not very much to do with tea. Instead, it’s used synonymously with dim sum – the little plates that come around in endless trolleys and steamer baskets.
But differences aside, there is always one constant: you never only order just one dish.
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Every time I’ve been to Flower Drum, they’ve been the epitome of fine Cantonese style dining. The food is good, but what really tops it off for me, is the service.
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Alice in Wonderland has captured the imagination of generations of children and adults, and since Tim Burton’s remake in 2010, just about every high tea establishment has had a Mad Hatter’s theme at one point or another.
But some are better than others, and when it’s part of Good Food Month, I’m willing to bet that the Ultimate High Tea at The Waiting Room is going to be something special.
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It’s a hard life, being a travelling food blogger. So much food, so little time, and something something eating in moderation, something something healthy diet…
Oh look, doughnuts!
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While I love Good Food Month for all of the comfort that it brings – the Night Noodle Markets in particular (in both Sydney and Melbourne!) is familiar territory that I love enjoying with family and friends – I also adore it for all the new experiences and flavours that I get to explore and learn about.
And tonight, it’s all about Alpacas!
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Just like in Sydney, I think it’s only appropriate that my Good Food Month in Melbourne also begin with the Night Noodle Markets.
And also cause I have food ADD, and the variety at the markets really feeds my habit.
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Pizza. It’s as varied in Italy as noodles are in Asia. But the more pizza I eat around Australia, the more it seems that the most common type of pizza served in Australia was of the wood fired, wafer thin crust variety.
So it was uber cool for me to get an education about true Naples style pizza from the owner of 400 Gradi and pizza champion, Johnny Di Francesco.
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Kingfish, Avocado, Fresh Wasabi, Konbu, $8 (half portion)
If you are into your food, you can’t go to St. Kilda without stopping by Golden Fields. This trendy eatery has been popping up on many an Instagram feed, accompanied by cries of, “Lobster roll! LOBSTER ROLL!”
What? Did you just name a tasty crustacean? Why, of course I would like to eat it!
Needless to say, when a restaurant is making such waves, there is bound to be more than one interesting thing on the menu. We are informed by the lovely waitress that the menu is designed to share – my favourite kind of menu! – and that some dishes even come in half portions.
First on the table was a half portion of Kingfish, Avocado, Fresh Wasabi and Konbu, $8. Fresh slices of kingfish was paired with delicate greens and creamy avocado puree, and while thoroughly enjoyable and balanced in its simplicity, didn’t hit any particular high notes for me.
Grilled Octopus, Kimchi Bean Sprouts, $12
Next on the table was the Grilled Octopus with Kimchi Bean Sprouts, $12. Being a huge fan of both kimchi and octopus, this dish of tender octopus tentacles, shaved cucumber and tangy, crunchy bean sprouts was a dish I could see eating as a main for a light lunch. I loved how the bean sprouts were just lightly pickled and had a much subtle flavour than cabbage kimchi – the traditional kimchi recipe calls for a period of fermentation for the cabbage, bringing forth a much stronger sour flavour that can be an acquired taste.
Rolled Pork Belly, White Kimchi, Yuxiang Sauce, $15
My aunt had actually visited Golden Fields ahead of me, and the Rolled Pork Belly with White Kimchi and Yuxiang Sauce, $15 came highly recommended. White kimchi is basically cabbage kimchi that has been picked without the kochukaru, or red pepper flakes, which contribute to its red appearance. It still retains all of its sour fermented glory, minus the spice. Yuxiang sauce (鱼香) is literally translated to “fragrant fish” sauce, and doesn’t actually contain fish! Instead, this salty, sour and peppery sauce with Sichuan origins is commonly used to flavour eggplant and pork. You know the eggplant dish in Chinese restaurants labelled as “fish flavoured eggplant”? Well this would be the sauce that they’re talking about.
The sauce, combined with the tangy kimchi and delicate slices of pork belly creates a mouthful that I truly enjoyed. I love how the different flavours – salty, spicy, sour – balance each other out, and yet maintain a certain sense of identity.
New England Lobster Roll, Hot Buttered Bun, Cold Poached Crayfish, Watercress & Kewpie, $15
Ahh and so we meet. When we order a portion of the New England Lobster Roll, $15 the waitress politely asks us if we’d like to have our roll cut in half, because the portion is just that: one roll. We decline, and she thoughtfully brings us out a knife with our order in case we’d like to split it anyway. This roll is somewhat smaller than I expected: the whole bun is about the size of my palm. A rich buttered roll sandwiches chunks of cold, poached crayfish that is lightly dressed is Kewpie mayonnaise and adorned with delicate sprigs of watercress. Tasty? Sure. But worth the hype and the $15 price tag? Well let’s just say that I would have been much more satisfied ordering another portion of the pork rolls (above).
Grilled Beef Intercoastal, Korean Chilli, Fried Shallot, $16
Cuts of beef that require long cooking times have become my absolute favourite – when a muscle works hard, thicker muscle fibres and more flavour is created. And you know what I say, bring on the beefiness! For the flavour, you’re paying the price in tenderness, so these cuts require a longer cooking time in order to break down connective tissue (collagen) into gelatine, which then coats the strands and provide you with a juicy mouthful.
Golden Fields’ Grilled Beef Intercoastal with Korean Chilli and Fried Shallot, $16, has brilliantly upped the ante on this cut’s natural beefy flavour – the salty spiciness of the chilli and light crunch of the shallots combine with the mildly charred pieces of meat to transform into a flavour-packed diet-busting mouthful. Total beer food.
Marinated Eggplant, Silken Tofu, Coriander, Chilli Vinegar, $14
I have a love-hate relationship with eggplant. This vegetable can take on so many different textures and flavours depending on how you prepare it, that you never quite know what you’re going to get. It also has the easy ability to become hideously oily, which means that you can end up with a mouthful of oil with not much flavour if you’re not careful.
This Marinated Eggplant with Silken Tofu, Coriander and Chilli Vinegar, $14 was no slack in the flavour department, that’s for sure, but the silken tofu was actually what stole the spotlight for me. While the eggplant was pleasant, and provided a certain heft to the overall dish, the tofu provided a delicate pillow of lightness which, when combined with the acidity and spice of the chilli vinegar, completely lifted the dish to a whole other level.
Pan Roasted Flathead, Clams, Spinach, Seaweed Butter, $36
In order to sample a dish from every section of their menu, we ordered the Pan Roasted flathead, with clams, Spinach and Seaweed Butter, $36. While there was nothing to fault – the fish wasn’t overcooked, and the clams were fresh and juicy – the dish was a touch lacklustre for me, especially when compared to the other items that they had on offer. I love the umami flavour of seaweed, but the butter component seemed to have provided no richness to the dish, so everything fell just on the bland side of things. I think I would have much rather ordered a few more small plates.
Buttermilk Sorbet, Yuzu Curd, Tapioca, Soft Meringue, $13
Sometimes, having a good dessert can be vital to ensuring that all the hard work a restaurant has put in to making a good impression, isn’t ruined in the last run. And this Buttermilk Sorbet, Yuzu Curd, Tapioca and Soft Meringue, $13, really hit it out of the park for me. There seemed to be varying degrees of tanginess – from the sharp freeze-dried raspberries to the soft tartness of the buttermilk sorbet – juxtaposed with comforting textures – silky yuzu curd and chewy tapioca pearls – to create a fantastic note to end the meal with. Light and somewhat palette-cleansing, this dessert convinced my already-full stomach that maybe we could do with more food.
And we can always do with more food.
On other notes, the service was attentive and the decor was trendy, but nothing spectacular to remark about. I really liked how we had our plates changed between the waves of food that were brought out, and how the waitress provided helpful bits of information about the food when we were ordering. That being said, we went on a weekday lunch where it seemed like it was just us and three other groups, so I can’t accurately comment on what the service would be like during a rush.
Go to Golden Fields if you feel like grazing – it’s small tasty bites aren’t built for people looking for serious comfort food – it would be great for Friday gatherings after work.
We ate at:
Golden Fields
03 9525 4488
2/157 Fitzroy Street
St Kilda, VIC
Omelette D’Aragosta (Crayfish Omelette), $33
There are plenty of must-eat places in Melbourne when you ask for recommendations, ranging from the trendy (like Golden Fields), to the established (like Flower Drum). And one such establishment that is a favourite amongst the up market crowd is Cafe Di Stasio, known for its attention to detail and modern style of Italian cooking.
So I made a reservation and off we went, to the trendy neighbourhood of St Kilda.
We ordered the Crayfish Omelette (pictured above) to start. Chunks of crayfish were dense in a juicy and light egg mixture, covered in a decadent bisque sauce. Crusty toasted bread was provided to mop up all the errant juices. While thoroughly enjoyable, this particular omelette wasn’t quite what I imagined an omelette to be – I had thought to have creamy egg curds (much like set scrambled eggs) encasing moist crayfish meat. If I were after an omelette, I would’ve thought the eggs in this dish to be overcooked. The bisque sauce, however, more than made up for anything that wasn’t quite perfect in this dish, and left us cleaning the plates using our bread with as much elegance as we can muster.
We ordered the pasta of the day – recommended by our waiter – which was Angel hair pasta with crab meat.
Pasta of the Day – Angelhair pasta with crabmeat, $33
As we had ordered everything to share, the kitchen had thoughtfully split the pasta into two portions for us. Flecks of crab meat peeked out at us through delicate strands of what looked to be fresh house-made pasta, and the deep seafood flavour was set off by a fruity olive oil. Light and delicate, this dish showed finesse in execution, which again challenged my expectations, since I was expecting an explosion of citrus and chilli, for some reason. The flavours in this dish were subtle, and showed off the lovely texture of the pasta. A pinch of sea salt lifted the whole dish, and it proved to be quite satisfying when we had our last mouthful.
Anitra Arrosta Con Gnochetti Di Farina (Roast Duckling with Spatzli), $37
Our share plates were changed between courses and out came the roast duckling with its mound of spatzli. Our waiter poured over the jus with a flourish, and the first pierce of my fork came up promising – the meat fell off the bone. The spatzli – which is a Germanic noodle/dumpling that is first cooked in boiling water, then – in my experience – sautéed with butter and served with a saucy meat dish. This particular spatzli was finished with olive oil, not butter, and so provided a fruity note to accompany the duck.
My first bite into the thigh of the duckling told me that maybe I needed more gravy than was provided. It was tender, but stringy, and needed pieces of the skin and swabs of gravy to provide flavour and moisture. Not as well executed as the previous two dishes, and left us wondering whether maybe we should have stuck to the seafood options.
Tira Mi Su, $16.50
Dessert was ordered to round out the meal and the Tiramisu – which means ‘pick me up – seemed like an appropriate option to finish an Italian lunch. Out came a little square set in the middle of a large plate, and the liquor soaked sponge squished slightly as I pressed my fork in. In that first bite I got the light, creamy texture of the mascarpone cream…and the sharp finish of the Strega and coffee soaked sponge. It got to a point where it felt like all I could taste was booze, and we eventually had to leave the bottom layer of sponge uneaten in order to restore balance to our palate.
In all the food had its high and its lows, but for the price tag I would’ve expected slightly more consistency in execution. The service – executed by waiters in starched white coats that made all the appropriate actions – was slightly intimidating, as they hovered over you with sombre expressions while you made your choices. The atmosphere made sense – a quick look around at the lunch crowd told us that there were no customers under 40 – but it did feel a little bit ‘stiff upper lip’ for trendy and vibrant St Kilda.
We ate at:
Cafe Di Stasio
(03) 9525 3999
31 Fitzroy St, St Kilda VIC 3182
