Posts in Review

Taste of Sydney, 2014

Review March 16, 2014 6 Comments

Clockwise from top left: Suckling pig on a spit from 4fourteen, Woodfired lamb from Porteño, Mussels in Apple Cider from 4fourteen, the most bad ass name card holder I’ve ever seen

Once a year, Sydney’s top restaurants gather to offer tasting sizes of their most creative, iconic, popular dishes. Where gourmands and gluttons alike can gather and partake in all the hedonistic delights that culinary giants can offer. This is…

TASTE OF SYDNEY.

Of course, it would have helped if you read the previous paragraph in an epic, movie trailer voice.

Taste of Sydney happens at the beginning of fall every year, and I pretty much start saving up money from Christmas. Between the growing number of restaurants represented to the crazy cool offerings from food producers, I inevitably end up one full, but broke girl.

But man, is it a tasty road to a zero bank balance. The idea behind the Taste of Sydney is simple: Sydney’s most popular restaurants each get stalls at one giant event, and offer tasting sizes of their most popular dishes. Some even create special dishes just for Taste. And because the portions are small, you also often get to sample these dishes at just a fraction of the price of what you would pay at the restaurant, not to mention the chance to try a little something across the huge variety of restaurants all in the one day.

You pay with Crowns, which is the currency of choice at the Taste of Sydney. Elegantly loaded onto spending cards, Crowns eliminate the need for different machines and having cash on hand, which to me makes for a smoother experience. One crown costs one dollar, so there’s no crazy conversions that need to be made. These crowns are non-refundable, but it helps that the food producers also accept them, meaning that you don’t have to worry about not spending everything that you put on your card.

So, now that we know how it works, on to the food!!

The first stop, 4fourteen/Four in Hand. I’d been to 4fourteen previously for Valentine’s, and the experience there left me absolutely excited to see what they have to offer. We got the Warmed Corned Beef with Bresaola, Buffalo Curd and Nashi Pear, 20 Crowns. This dish was a comforting amalgamation of beef on beef deliciousness. A moist, tender chunk of corned beef was sandwiched between two thin slices of juicy apple-like nashi pear, before being laid on top of a yoghurt-like buffalo curd and covered with wafer thin slices of salty, air dried beef that is bresaola. Every bite was melt-in-your-mouth scrumptious, with the creamy buffalo curd providing just enough tanginess to stop me from crawling under a warm blanket and descending straight into a food coma. A fantastic dish to start off the day, 4fourteen proves that they are as consistent in their vision as they are with their execution.

Next stop, Longrain. I do love it when seafood and other meat come together to make a delicious marriage, so the obvious choice for me was the Dry Red Curry with Cloudy Bay Clams, ginger, holy basil and pork crackling, 26 Crowns. To be honest, I did baulk at the $26 price tag, but when the dish came out I understood why. The portion was much larger than I had anticipated, and I’ve never been more glad to have someone to share it with. Spicy both in the sense that it had the heat of chillies and was full of, well, spices, this curry hit me like a two tonne flavour truck that is hallmark of good Southeast Asian cooking. The pork crackling was a great foil for the texture of the clams, but I just couldn’t bring myself to finish the portion on a 31C afternoon. If only we had met under different circumstances.

I cannot pass by an item like Efendy’s Panfried Lamb’s Testicles with Almond Tarator and Isot Chilli, 10 Crowns, so the decision was once again a clear one. I haven’t had lamb’s testicles before, so I’m not sure what I was expecting exactly, but I’m pretty sure that the burger patty-like texture wasn’t quite it. It wasn’t the most morish of dishes, but the pickled Isot chilli definitely helped things along. Not my favourite of the day since I wasn’t particularly keen on any of the elements, and makes me wonder whether I should have gone of the kebab instead.

Porteño had me tossing up between the Woodfired Lamb with Potato Salad and Chimmichurri, 20 Crowns, and the Charcoal Grilled Lamb Rib, with Marinated Eggplant, Anchovy and Rosemary Pound, 12 Crowns. In the end we went for the lamb rib because how can we say no to luscious, fatty meat on the bone??? The rib itself was smoky, unctuous and delicious, but the eggplants weren’t quite as big a hit. I could see the intention of the eggplant – it provided a much-needed acidity to cut through the fattiness of the lamb rib – but it didn’t quite hit the spot as I suspected it was meant to.

I was really looking forward to Jonah’s Fruit de Mer, 40 Crowns. Literally translated as ‘fruit of the sea’, Fruit de Mer refers to seafood that is plucked at its peak, like ripe fruit from a tree. Unfortunately, a lady with a big roll of masking tape was approaching the menu as I was approaching the restaurant, which could only mean one thing: they were sold out. This disappointing conclusion was confirmed when I tried to place my order and a look of sympathy crossed the nice lady’s face. She consoled me by asking if I would rather the Confit Huon Salmon with Wasabi, Radish and a Soy and Ginger Dressing, 10 Crowns, so we ended up going down that route instead.

The salmon was nicely cooked, as you expect confit anything to be, but lacked a bit of oomph. Some might say that we were meant to appreciate the light delicate flavour of the salmon itself, but it was just a touch too light and delicate for me. It was delicious salmon though, as Huon salmon is wont to be, but not quite the feast from the sea that I was hoping for.

Chur Burger – one of the more wickedly cool burger joints in Sydney – had plenty to offer, and we went for two of their burgers: the Kinkawooka Mussel Fritter with Spiced Remoulade and Dill Pickled Cucumber, 6 Crowns, and the Wagyu Rossini with Shaved Foie Gras, Truffle and Madeira Jus, 18 Crowns. The master of all things sandwiched between buttery brioche buns, Chur burger did not disappoint.

The mussel fritters were quite delicious and moreish on their own, and were just slightly overpowered by the richness of the other ingredients. Personally, I enjoyed it much more after I took the top bun off – I have a thing about bun to filling ratios when I eat a burger – but each element was delicious and balanced on its own, as well as with the other bits that made up the burger.

The Wagyu burger was an absolute powerhouse of flavour with a creamy truffle sauce and rich burger patty, and once again, the lady-like sizes of the burgers completely belied their ability to fill you up. These satisfying and rich burgers hammered in that final-nail-in-the-full-belly-coffin, and the only thing that kept it from absolute perfection was that the beef patty was slightly more medium-well-done than medium rare, making it a touch drier than what I know they can produce.

I still think that creamy truffle sauce deserves to be on the regular menu, though.

As close as we were to calling it a day and rolling ourselves on home, I still insisted that we had to stop by IconPark and sample their range of eateries.

IconPark is basically like the Kickstarter of food – instead of restaurant founders having to talk to some administration person at a bank to try and get funding for their big dream, the power is put into the hands of the eaters, and you get to choose which concept you’d like to support by making a donation of your choosing. It’s a win-win for everyone, you get to help out the concept you believe in the most, and allow small establishments that might not have made it, a shot at the food scene.

We only had space for one dish – I wanted to try them all, but I’m not sure that death by overeating would’ve been the most glamourous way to go – and we ended up with Sedgewick Ave’s De-boned Free Range Chicken Wings, with Grilled Watermelon and Light Blue Cheese Sauce, 10 Crowns. Crispy spiced pieces of chicken wings were covered in a creamy sauce, and grilling brought out a different, addictive texture to the sweet watermelon. It wasn’t overly moreish for me – I’m sure due to the fact that I was already stuffed to the brim – but it was good enough that I wish I left room to try some of the others, like I had planned.

As usual, we leave the Taste of Sydney thoroughly satisfied and filled to the absolute brim with good food. And if the abundance of fabulous restaurant dishes didn’t get to me, I’m sure that the free samples at the many food producers tipped me over the edge and straight into a food coma…

Zzzzzzzzzz….

4Fourteen, Surry Hills

Review February 24, 2014 1 Comment

Maybe it’s because I’m a glutton for the weird and wonderful, or maybe it’s because I have strange preferences, either way, when I heard that 4Fourteen offered an offal set menu, it became the next big place on my eat list.

Because I naturally have food associated ADHD – also known as the ‘Piggy Eyes’ – and cannot just order single items, I went through the menu and had a field day. I had considered ordering the 4 course menu for $75/person, but with two diners, that meant that we could have 8 different dishes, instead of 4!

The menu consists of smallish items that are meant to be shared and enjoyed amongst friends. The I don’t know whether the courses come as they are ready, or whether it came in a particular order to create an arc to the dinner, but whatever it is, everything struck me as deliberate and well thought out, contributing to the overall dining experience.

Fennel and Yoghurt Ice Pop, King Alaskan Crab, $10

The Fennel and Yoghurt Ice Pop with King Alaskan Crab was light and almost fruity in its flavour. The ice pop brought a light tanginess, with the fennel proving accents of liquorice. It was an enjoyable salad in itself, but in my opinion, the ice pop was just a touch too large, making in mildly difficult to eat – especially when I’m the kind of person who likes to have a little bit of everything in every mouthful.

Our Pan fried Duck Eggs with Ham Hock, Black Pudding and Red Pepper came next, and was impressively set down with frypan in tow at the table. The pale yellow yolk of the egg trembled and wobbled with every shift of the pan, and oozed lusciously when it met with the prongs of my fork. The black pudding was gnarly and dark in its texture and flavour, and provided a hearty richness to the dish. Hits of capsicum relish provided the lighter notes, and the chunks of ham hock provided a great texture and bite. It was absolutely a delight to eat, and every rich bite was savoured with delight.

Glazed Lamb Ribs, Pickled Cabbage, $10

The Glazed Lamb Ribs were simple and tasty, but in the light of the more imaginative dishes on the menu, fell a little more towards the average side of things.

Chargrilled Lamb’s Tongue, Sweet Cucumber, Cos, Mint, $19

I’ve only had lamb’s tongue on a few occasions, and have always been fairly ambivalent towards it. But given the reputation 4fourteen has with offal, I was looking forward to the Chargrilled Lamb’s Tongue with Sweet Cucumber, Cos Lettuce and Mint Jelly. This beautiful, light salad was a fresh way to serve dainty pieces of what could be a chewy piece of meat in an extremely delightful salad. The mint jelly was an absolute surprise – I’m not the biggest fan of mint sauce at the best of times – and there was a moorish quality to it.

Herb Crusted Bone Marrow, Chimichurri, Grilled Bread, $16

Bone marrow is one of those foods that may seem like an odd idea to some, but is actually the most unctuous, luxurious treats when you get to try it. I think it started as an absolutely brilliant effort to eating every last bit of the animal, and is now starting to reach cult status. The Persians have it in stews, the Southeast Asians make a strong soup fragrant with spices. Here at 4fourteen, it’s served simply – topped with woodsy herbs and browned to release a sweet, oily flavour that coats the tongue and the roof of the mouth, giving me the most primitive sort of high.

Smoked Beef Brisket, Roast Potatoes, Onion Rings, $36

At this point in the meal, we were actually quite satisfied and full, but there was just one more dish to go – damn those piggy eyes! – and the Smoked Beef Brisket arrived, humble and unassuming, topped with monster roast potatoes that were crispy on the outside and soft and fluffy on the inside. The brisket was hearty and dark, with the smoky flavour carrying through to the sauce it sat in. Nice as it was, the bone marrow simply topped the meal for me, and half the dish ended up in a doggy bag for my lunch the next day.

The whole experience at 4Fourteen was thoroughly enjoyable – the service staff were just attentive enough, which meant that I got to ask all the questions I wanted to ask, but at the same time got the opportunity to enjoy our dinner in peace. The food was delicious and comforting, like sitting under a thick quilt on the coldest winter day, and each dish was deliberate and balanced – something I was immensely impressed by. I also felt that the food was absolutely value for money, especially for the quality that we enjoyed.

Definitely something to go back to, even if it’s just to try the rest of the menu!!

We ate at:

4Fourteen
Surry Hills
414 Bourke St
Sydney, NSW 2010

Pepsi Next, Product Talk by Nuffnang

Review February 21, 2014

When the days are hot and stifling in its humidity, I always crave a cold sweet drink to quench my thirst. Which is why I was really excited when Nuffnang offered me the opportunity – as part of Product Talk by Nuffnang, to try the new Pepsi Next.

I only ever crave sodas in very specific situations – like the aforementioned hot sticky days, and warm summer barbecues with friends and family- and Pepsi Next brings me a different sort of sweetness. It’s sweetened with Stevia, which is extracted from a plant. Stevia has zero calories – which is useful for you if you’re watching that sort of thing – and the human tongue perceives Stevia as many times sweeter than sugar in the same concentration.

Stevia is not completely understood yet, and studies are still being conducted about the effects of Stevia on the body. There have been studies that suggest that sugar alternates are not effective for diets since it doesn’t actually satisfies the body’s sugar craving, but really, who drinks soda for health reasons? No. You drink soda because you enjoy it and it’s tasty! At least, I do.

It does have a great flavour, and gives me that little sigh of satisfaction when I have that soda craving. So that’s enough for me.

If you’d like to try Pepsi Next for yourself, just head on over to their Facebook page for the chance to go for a taste test!

Have you tried it? What do you think?

Alan Wong’s, Hawaii

Hawaii Review Travel January 26, 2014 2 Comments

If you’re into your fine dining, then Alan Wong’s would be a must-go stop when you visit Hawaii. Alan Wong is one of the top chefs synonymous with Hawaii fine dining, and his clever use of unique local ingredients with international knowledge and techniques really impressed me when I visited his other restaurant – the Pineapple Room.

So with the amazing experience from the Pineapple Room still flowing through my veins, I arrived at Alan Wong’s with anticipation bubbling in my belly.

When I head to a restaurant like this, I always try and go for the fanciest tasting menu they have to offer, because I figure that the food on there would be thoroughly representative of the dining establishment. The Chef’s Tasting Menu – featuring eight courses – really caught my eye, but I was informed that they required the whole table to order the menu, as the number of courses would leave some at the table waiting for me to finish eating while they had no food, which would not contribute to the dining experience. Fair enough.

So the next best thing that I could order was the six course “Tasting of the Classics” ($85 per person, $125 with wine)

First and second courses: “Soup and Sandwich” – Chilled Hamakua Springs Tomato Soup with a Grilled Mozzarella Cheese, Foie Gras and Kalua Pig Sandwich, and Chopped Ahi Sashimi and Avocado Salsa Stack – Stacked on Crispy Won Ton, Spicy Aioli and Wasabi Soy

Third course: Butter Poached Kona Cold Lobster – Keahole Abalone, Hamakua Heritage Abalone and Eryngii Mushrooms, Green Onion Oil

Fourth course: Ginger Crusted Onaga, Long-tail Red Snapper – Miso Sesame Vinaigrette, Mushrooms and Corn

Fifth course: Twice Cooked Short Rib, Soy Braised and Grilled “Kalbi” – Gingered Shrimp, KoChoo Jang Sauce

Sixth course: “The Coconut” – Haupia Sorbet in a Chocolate Shell, Tropical Fruits and Lilikoi Sauce

The food was of a high quality, and utilising fresh, flavourful ingredients. Standout dishes for me were the Kona lobster (it’s hard to go wrong with fresh lobster as long as you don’t overcook it), the Twice Cooked Short Ribs (surf and turf! And short ribs always carry lots of hearty beefy flavour), and “The Coconut” showed an immense amount of creativity and technique. A balloon was used to create a chocolate shell, and rolled in desiccated toasted coconut while it’s wet. Then when it’s set, the balloon is popped, and it’s filled with haupia (coconut) sorbet, and an indent is made with a small bowl or ladle. Once that’s set, the edges are hand-carved with a knife, to create the cut-open-coconut look. Incredibly impressive.

One of the courses impressed me a little less, like the snapper course. I’m not the biggest fan of snapper to begin with – it’s a fish that dries out wayy too easily, and has a tendency to be ‘squeaky’ when it’s overcooked. The fish here wasn’t squeaky, but it definitely left me reaching for the water after a couple of bites. I would much prefer they included the butter cod that was also on their menu, but I understand that it’s not within their theme of the ‘classics’.

In all, I much enjoyed my experience at the Pineapple Room better. At Alan Wong’s we were seated at an incredibly noisy area where the waiter had to constantly yell at us in order for us to hear him. He was also a little abrupt with one of us. Another waiter who brought us our food rattled through the description as though he couldn’t wait to leave, and didn’t bother waiting to see if we had any questions about what we ate. Then finally, when they decided to do damage control with my offended friend and asked her how her meal went, they asked her about a meal she didn’t have, which really made things worse.

Not the best experience although the food was decent enough. Maybe next time.

We ate at:
Alan Wong’s
+1 (808) 949-2526
1857 S King St
Honolulu, HI 96826

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Sydney Festival 2014, Hyde Park

Review January 22, 2014 3 Comments

The Boss, $8, from Woofy’s

Okay, I must admit: I’m not much of a festival goer. I try my best to stay indoors for as much as possible, and the only reason I’d ever head outdoors is when I have to go somewhere, or where there’s food.

Which is why I was drawn to Festival Village in Hyde Park, as part of Sydney Festival 2014. Gelato Messina serving up carnival themed wacky treats you say? I’m there.

Sometimes you need a bit of savoury to go with the sweet. Or rather a savoury to prelude the sweet.

Or any reason to get a hot dog.

Woofy’s Gourmet Sausage Sizzle had a stall there selling their gourmet hotdogs. The idea is that the base sausage is the same – Angus Beef – and you get to choose your toppings. The hotdog was satisfying and filling enough, but the two guys who were manning the stall over the late lunch period didn’t look particularly happy to be there. So, for $8 a pop, I could take it or leave it.

But now, for the pièce de résistance.

For weeks now I’ve been ~~taunted~~ tempted by my friends’ posts about Gelato Messina‘s incredibly creative and intriguing carnival sweet treats. Pluto pup made with ice cream and pancake batter? Red skin and banana flavoured gelato lollipop? Duck fat caramel fudge on a caramel cheesecake gelato? BACON MARSHMALLOWS??!!

YES PLEASE!

Top row: Messinaweiner (Plutopup) $9
Bottom row, from left: Samurai Fairy Balls, $7, So Wrong It’s Right, $9, Gelatofee Apples, $7, Eyescream Lollipops, $7

So my dining partner was gallantly dragged into ordering five desserts to share with me. The Messinaweiner was a hot (no pun intended!) favourite, with it’s pancake batter coated maple syrup gelato. The pancake batter added a kind of moreishness to it, but to be really honest I couldn’t really tell that the gelato was maple syrup and the sauce was plum-flavoured. It made for a delicious bite, but I was envisioning slightly more discernible flavours in my head. The Eyescream Lollipop was the most recognisable, and every bite screamed out Redskins to me. The pop rocks weren’t quite popping, but the bites were still delicious and easy to finish. I wanted the So Wrong, It’s Right to be right so badly, but unfortunately it didn’t quite hit the mark. Once again I couldn’t really discern all the flavours that were meant to be there – duck fat caramel, bacon marshmallow etc – but it really could be that my tastebuds were still rioting in protest to all the sugar. The Gelatofee Apples were a really creative take on traditional toffee apples, and the refreshing green apple gelato providing great balance to the creamy milk chocolate. The surprise gelato for me came in the form of the Samurai Fairy Balls, which had a yuzu popsicle hidden underneath a mound of pink fairy floss. I do wish there was a way to incorporate all of it in a single bite – we ate through most of the fairy floss before we got to the yuzu sorbet, which was foot stompingly tart and actually needed a bit of the sugar to temper it – but I really did enjoy the citrus kick of the yuzu sorbet.

In all, Gelato Messina took us on a crazy sugar-fueled roller coaster ride that left us in a sugar coma afterward. Two lessons to learn: Don’t order 5 frozen treats all at once to finish on a balmy warm night, and maybe it’s a good idea to space out that much sugar over a longer time frame.

If you’d like to grab your Gelato Messina fix, or enjoy the rest of the attractions at Sydney Festival 2014, it will be on till the 26th, so head on down to Hyde Park after 4:30pm, except for Mondays.

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Real A Gastropub, Hawaii

Melbourne Review Travel January 20, 2014 1 Comment

Gastropubs are not entirely a new beast of eatery, but it definitely ticks all the boxes for being trendy. It’s usually got creative, pub-styled food, and a large selection of gourmet and/or flavoured beers to go with this interesting grub. One such place that was recommended to me by my new found friends during my stay was the Real A Gastropub in Honolulu.

Their food menu consists of nearly 30 interesting dishes – some beer inspired – ranging in price from $3-$12. Three of us girls ordered 7 dishes, but that was mostly because we had piggy eyes – there was wayy too much food to finish and we had to take some of it home.

Fire pickles, $3

These babies are HOT HOT HOT!!! When we first ordered them, the waitress made very sure that we didn’t mistakenly think that we were ordering fried pickles, which would have been a complete disaster. But no, I saw the words ‘ghost chilli’ and I was sold. Ghost chillies, also known as Bhut Jolokia, rate at about 1,000,000 on the Scoville scale and are fiery to say the least. Slices of cucumber are pickled with these peppers, which are sliced open to let the capsaicin mingle with the rest of the ingredients. The result is a pickle which I couldn’t eat more than a piece at a time, all the while enjoying the intense prolonging burn in my mouth. This is not for the faint hearted, and I chickened out from eating the actual ghost chillies included in the pickle, as much as I wanted to try.

Beer Braised Brisket Poutine, $8

Have I mentioned how cheap I think all these dishes are. At $8, we got a whopping serving of fries, meat, gravy and cheese, topped with a sunny side up egg. While I love a good poutine, this particular dish didn’t quite cut it for me, and was a touch on the dull side.

Or maybe my tastebuds were just numb from the Fire Pickles.

Garlic Candied Bacon, $4

Bacon? Yes. Garlic? Double yes. Candied? GIVE IT TO ME NOWWWWWW. Just looking at the it I knew that the road to hell and heart disease had to be most definitely paved with candied bacon. This was sticky and salty all at once, and I especially appreciated how the waitress noticed that the bacon was darker than usual, and got the kitchen to prepare another serving for the table. This is everything that it promised to be – addictive and rich at the same time, and I had to take some home for breakfast the next morning.

FYI, it was just as delicious cold and out of the fridge as it was fresh from the kitchen.

Pipikaula Poke, $7

Pipikaula is, to my understanding, a sort of moist Hawaiin beef jerky. Lightly spiced, it’s mostly served as one of the sides to a main meal. Poke is a kind salad, usually made with raw fish, and seasoned. So what happens when you put the two together? A refreshing, funky, tangy mix that is perfect for a warm balmy night in Hawaii. One of my favourites, this one is also fantastic out of the fridge the next morning.

Chicken and Waffles, $7

A Southern classic, chicken and waffles usually consist of deep fried crispy chicken and warm fluffy-on-the-inside waffles, both drenched in a hearty serving of maple syrup. An epitome of the sweet salty tightrope that the South tread so well. This particular version unfortunately fell a little flat for me, especially when faced with all the other delicious food that this place had to offer.

Duck Confit ‘Corn Dog’, $7

I had no idea what to expect when I ordered this. Corn dog, one of the iconic foods of fairs and carnivals, usually consists of an ingredient, like a hot dog frankfurt, coated in a cornmeal batter and deep fried. On a stick. So I imagined that maybe they would just take a whole confit of duck leg and just coat it in batter and deep fry it.

Wrong.

The result was wayy more mind boggling than that. One bite into these delicious mounds on sticks revealed tender shreds of moist duck, and to be honest I’ve got no idea how they shaped them onto the sticks and battered them, because this literally fell apart in my mouth. And that Guinness mustard on the side? Genius. A must order dish.

Buffalo Fried Devilled Eggs, $7

These little bites were a great take on buffalo wings. Little crumbed devilled eggs were fragrant with tangy buffalo-wing aromas, and were topped with blue cheese ranch dressing and bits of celery to give you the essence of buffalo wings in a bite. Thoroughly enjoyable.

Besides all the food, there were also plenty of different beers to try and to choose from. Unfortunately, I’m not a drinking sort of girl, but I highly recommend the Real A Gastropub from a food perspective. Especially fun with friends, try to go after 11pm to take advantage of their late-night menu, which we ordered from.

We ate at:
Real A Gastropub
+1 (808) 596-2526
1020 Auahi Street, Building 1
Honolulu, HI 96814

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Chur Burger, Surry Hills

Review January 18, 2014 5 Comments

I finally popped my Chur Burger cherry!! After being so incredibly tempted by all the instagram photos of people enjoying good burgers, I finally made it down there myself for a bit of that brioche burger bun action.

The first sight that greeted me when I walked in was a table of people, burgers open, picking out the filling!!! But why? Why would you not want to eat a glossy, buttery brioche bun?
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Cafe Di Stasio, St Kilda

Melbourne Review Travel January 9, 2014 4 Comments

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

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Devon Cafe, Surry Hills

Review January 1, 2014 5 Comments

Breakfast with the Sakuma’s

Sometimes, your food news feed explodes with a new cafe/restaurant that’s opened up. That’s when eating out becomes a mission, rather than just a meal. My twitter and instagram feed were absolutely flooded with food from Devon Cafe, and I knew I had to make the trip into Surry Hills.

Now I don’t live/work/have activities near or around Surry Hills, so this was a special trip into the city for me. I brought a hungry tummy and a skeptical dining partner, and ordered three dishes between the two of us. I wanted to order one of the specials, but they were sold out.

Breakfast with the Sakuma’s (pictured above) was the first one out of the bat. With a grilled miso king salmon, smoked eel croquette, 63C egg, kewpie mayonnaise, and a radish salad, I had very high hopes. A dusting of furikake (Japanese rice topping) over the top? I’m just jumping at the bit to take a bite.

Well, it might be all the hype, but this particular dish was slightly disappointing for me. I found the salmon to be slightly overcooked – I think that salmon should be cooked to medium and this was brought all the way, so it was a touch dry – and the yolk didn’t really have that much ooze. I put a fork through the egg and it separated easily and nearly solidly.

The second dish we had was the Ogre’s Happy Meal, and after the last dish, I was trying to temper my excitement a little.

Ogre Happy Meal

I felt like this dish was very nicely presented, and was everything that it was advertised to me. There was a certain playfulness to the dish – I thought that it kinda looked like Shrek’s swamp – and you could just tell the technique that was put into the creation and execution of this particular ‘happy meal’. The flavours were dark and comforting in a grumpy sort of way – like an ogre would want – and textures were also of a similar fashion. The ox tongue pulled apart in the mouth without being mushy, and the only criticism I could think of is that there wasn’t just that little ray of sunshine in the flavours – everything tasted so rich and dark that I almost felt like I wanted a kick of acid to maybe lift the dish a bit. Not that an ogre would want that, so it’s just a personal preference.

The last out of the kitchen was the Citrus Cured Salmon.

Citrus Cured Salmon

This is the highlight of the brunch for me. Light and delicate, the salty-tender flesh of the salmon is balanced by the wafer thin slices of apple and fennel, and the creaminess of the soft boiled egg. Simple and satisfying.

In all, it was an alright experience. The food didn’t quite live up to ALL the hype, but it was very good fare. The prices were decent too, but the service fell slightly under par for me. I understand that it was a Sunday brunch and they were really busy, but for the waitress to constantly not hear the other people at my table (we were at a share table) while they were desperately trying to get her attention, and then to take so long with a coffee order that they had to cancel it was kinda not cool. That, and the sourdough for the Heirloom Tomato special at our table was forgotten, (twice!) and the scrambled eggs ordered by someone at our table came out looking overdone.

It was a bit of a touch and go experience for me. Have you tried Devon Cafe? How did you find it?

We ate at:
Devon Cafe
02 9211 8777
76 Devonshire St
Surry Hills, NSW 2010

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Wok On Inn, The Rocks

Review December 1, 2013 2 Comments

Street food features dominantly in Asian cuisine. If you ask natives for food recommendations, fine dining rarely ranks higher than a particular stall in the corner of a local market or hawker centre. My Thai friends, for example, are more likely to send me to a place with a name I can’t pronounce, than David Thompson’s Nahm, as nice as the latter might be.

I was very nicely invited to try out the new branch of Wok On Inn at the Rocks by 6dc. Sitting in the ‘fast casual’ classification, Wok On Inn is a chain of eateries that wants to deliver the restaurant quality food of casual dining, but with the convenience of fast food.

The new branch of Wok On Inn is at located at a beautiful courtyard at the rocks. Surrounded by a few other eateries, this gorgeous venue gets plenty of natural light, and a cool breeze coming through every so often.

If you’re not familiar with the concept of Wok On Inn, it’s basically like a choose-your-own with noodles, with a few suggestions made. You get to choose your noodle, sauce, and toppings, with all the flavours inspired by the street food of Asia.

For lunch, I got to try a few of the suggested combinations.

Drunken Noodles (Pad Prik King)

Cashew Noodles

Bangkok Noodles

What surprised me the most was how each dish had its own identity. Many Asian sauce bases have many common base ingredients, and it can’t help that in order to allow for the preferences of the Australian public – chilli levels, for example, have to be dampened ever so slightly. In order to help keep the flavours as authentic as possible – and to retain the core identity of each dish – the owner has developed a relationship with a chef in Thailand, to create these sauces with Asian ingredients local to the region, and then import these sauces to all of the Wok On Inn outlets, to keep consistency up.

In all, it was quick, delicious, and quality that you rely on. I also really like that there are child-size options as well, so I can indulge and try many more varieties!

What’s your favourite?

Note: Tammi from Insatiable Munchies dined at Wok On Inn as a guest of 6dc and Wok On Inn.

I ate at:
Wok On Inn
(02) 9247 8554
17/31 Playfair St, The Rocks Playfair Street, The Rocks NSW 2000

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