Marshmellows & Merlot

Giuseppe, Arnaldo & Sons, Melbourne

2010-09-21T10:33:00.001+10:00

Last Sunday, I enjoyed a quiet lunch with J at Giuseppe, Arnaldo & Sons prior to heading to the movies to see Tomorrow When the War Began.

Reading a few other blogs and some reviews, it seemed that Giuseppe, Arnaldo & Sons was a really good traditional Italian restaurant.

It was cold and rainy outside so some comfort food and probably some pasta seemed like a great idea. We arrived just before midday as we wanted to be able to take our time and enjoy our lunch. We ordered a 1/2 litre carafe of the Crittenden Estate Pinot Gris while we took a closer look at our place mat menus.

To begin with we decided on the mixed marinated olives served warm and the Burrata - unspun cow's milk/cream mozzarella with hot focaccia and lemon.
The mixed olives included - Australian Gordal Green, Australian Wild Brown, Manzanilla Black, Salt Dried Kalamata, Arbequina Black, and Taggiasche Black. The salt dried kalamata were probably my least favourite but the gordal green were to die for!

The Burrata was probably the highlight of the entire meal. Presented quite simply on the plate, a little 'sack' of mozzarella drizzled with some olive oil, some hot bread and a wedge of lemon. Although the menu described the cheese as a cream mozzarella, little did I know that when I cut into it that this creamy goodness would ooze out. We squeezed on some lemon and dug in. Creamy and subtle with the lemon and olive oil zing to balance it out. I could have eaten three of these and had nothing else!

Next, onto our mains. J ordered the Spaghetti "Arrabbiata" with crab, tomato and chilli baked in a paper bag and I ordered the Bucatini with squid, tomato, chilli, red wine and pancetta. I must admit, I wish I had J's pasta. Mine was really tasty and very traditional however J's was incredibly good. Decent amount of crab, right amount of chilli and the pasta was cooked perfectly. J has Italian heritage and even made the comment that the sauce tasted like her Nonna's. Looking at the picture below, it looks like a big old mess, but looks can be deceiving!

Excellent for a slow Sunday lunch with a warm pasta and some wine. Especially on a cold day. Will definitely be returning.

Wine Tour - Tamar Valley, Tasmania

2010-09-16T12:08:00.000+10:00

Just this week I returned from a 6 day trip to Tasmania. Starting in Hobart we made our way around to Launceston where we headed out to the Tamar Valley to stay a few nights and spend a day on a wine tour through the region before continuing the rest of our travels.

The Tamar Valley is just north of Launceston, approximately 15 minutes from the CBD and runs along the mighty Tamar River. The Tamar Valley is becoming more and more well known for its cool climate wines, in particular its Pinot Noir and Riesling.

We were challenged with constant rain for the whole day, but we didnt let that dampen our spirits, we had 6 wineries to get through! Our Tour Guide Terry picked us up directly from our accomodation and had printed up individual tasting notes for each winery with plenty of room for us to write our own tasting notes as well.

A few weeks back I was reading an article in Gourmet Traveller's WINE about some of Australia's best Chardonnays and was excited to see that Tasmanian Chardonnays were fast becoming clear challengers to the establishment of Australian chardonnay. I was more excited to discover that the itinerary that Terry had put together for us, ensured that I was going to be able to sample two of the wines they had listed.

First winery was Velo Wines, and unbeknown to us, 200 meters from where we were staying. Aptly named, Velo means bicycle in French and is run by Mary and Michael Wilson who is an former Olympian and Tour de France cyclist come winemaker. Both are extremely passionate about their wines and discussed their expansion to include a restaurant as well as their cellar door. The 2008 Velo Chardonnay (wooded) was listed in Gourmet Traveller's WINE as one of the challengers to the establishment. One word. Fantastic. Im not a huge chardonnay drinker but I bought a bottle of this to take home. Light, with citrus and peach notes, smoky on the nose but not too smoky on the palate. Very different to any chardonnay I have had before. Cannot wait to return when the restaurant is open!

Next up we headed to Rosevears Estate. Part of Pirie Wines, Rosevears was recently bought out by Tamar Ridge Estates. Dr Andrew Pirie is still chief winemaker and now CEO of all Tamar Ridge Estates. The Pirie Sparkling was probably my favourite here.

View of the Tamar River from the Cellar Door at Rosevears Estate - Yes there is a river down there somewhere!

Back in the car and off to Ninth Island. Probably one of the more well known Tasmanian wineries. We were lucky enough to be able to taste a $125 bottle of their cabernet sauvignon which was sensational. Ninth Island is part of Kreglinger Wine Estates, along with Pipers Brook Vineyard. We tasted a good selection of Ninth Island and Pipers Brook Wines here. The Pipers Brook 2009 Pinot Gris was really lovely, but the highlight of this winery would have to have been the toilet signs!

Cute! - Ninth Island

By this time we were begining to get extremely hungry, so our next stop was Moores Hill Estate where we would stop off to devour a few cheese platters and take in the valley.

Moores Hill Estate

Moores Hill was a really stunning vineyard. The cellar door which incorporates a semi-cafe where you can enjoy cheese platters is really warm and welcoming, the open fire adds a nice touch. We took a seat on the verandah looking out over the vineyard (see above) and soon after our Cheese Platters arrived!

So on our platter we had a selection of Tasmanian Cheeses... the Ashgrove Smoked Cheddar, Tasmanian Heritage 'Red Square' Washed Rind Brie, Tasmanian Heritage 'Blue Opal' Blue Brie, homemade quince paste, some gherkins, salami and a sundried tomato and olive tapanade. All with a basket of fresh baguette and crackers. The Blue Brie was my favourite, smooth and creamy and since the others arent huge blue fans, I got to eat most of it! We enjoyed these with a bottle of the Moores Hill Riesling.

It was getting close to 2.30pm and we had been on the go (and on the wine) since 10am. Terry met us back at Moores Hill and we decided that we would just like to visit one more winery. So we head off to Tamar Ridge Estate.

Unfortunately by this stage I think we were all a little bit over it and a little bit tired (and maybe a teensy bit drunk), so I dont have all that much to say about Tamar Ridge Estate. However, I made the decision that this would give me a good excuse to come back, visit again and visit the wineries we didnt get to visit on this trip.

Overall apart from the rain, it was a great day and we really enjoyed it. Would recommend a tour through the valley, but maybe in summer when its a little nicer!

STOP. Hamper Time! (Almost.)

2010-08-10T10:50:00.000+10:00

Once again the year is flying by and I cannot believe that I have to start thinking about Christmas hampers already.

For those of you who don't know, each year I spend most of my pre-Christmas December in A's kitchen making hampers for all my family and friends. It's painful and stressful - I actually cried one Christmas Eve two years ago purely because I hadn't finished and was up until all hours wrapping packets of biscuits and putting Nana hats* on jars of relish. But we have a love/hate relationship, me and my hampers. Stress and crying aside, I get the greatest satisfaction from giving presents that I have made myself. That's probably why I continue to do it.

Onion & Thyme Relish from last years hampers. Terrible photo, but its all I have!

Each year is a lesson, I learn something that works well, or something I will never repeat. Something I will NEVER EVER repeat is parmesan and rosemary grissini sticks. A and I made these the first year we decided to make hampers. The recipe seemed simple, "Just pop the dough through the fettuccine setting on your pasta machine" it said. "Just lay them on a baking tray and bake them" it said. Four days later we were still making these fiddly-pain-in-the-behind grissini sticks!

So now it's August and I need to start thinking about what I want to do this year. I did a clean out of my fridge on the weekend and managed to get a good little collection of jars just from throwing stuff out. So that's a start. This year I really want to blog the progress of my hampers, so there will be more to read on this come December! I might try and persuade A to guest blog too!

*Nana Hats - The name A and I gave to the little fabric "hats" that we put on top of homemade jams and relishes (see photo for example).

My Guilty Pleasures...

2010-08-04T11:27:00.000+10:00

After reading Chris Plummer's "Is Ignorance Bliss?" it got me thinking about all the cheap, convenient (not so good for you) food that I love to indulge in, no matter how distinguished my palate may become.

So I thought, rather than writing about some fantastic sushi I had on the weekend (I really did) I thought I would mix things up a bit and write about my guilty pleasures... I'm sure there's a little story behind each one. So here we go, potentially ruining any credibility I may have had.

Easy Mac. Little packets of dried macaroni with powdered cheese sauce, add water, heat in the microwave for a few minutes and presto! Mac and Cheese. I have made Jamie Oliver's version which claims to be 'The Best Mac and Cheese' and don't get me wrong, it's really amazingly good, but for some reason Easy Mac just tastes even better. Reminds me of the days when A and I lived in a share house together. We would head home after a big night out and instead of getting a kebab or Macca's like everyone else, we would head home, make mac and cheese and eat it standing at the kitchen bench chatting about the nights events.

Following on from a big night out, there's always the bigger hangover the next day. What else is better to cure a mighty hangover than a Sausage McMuffin? "What about the egg?" you say? Egg in Sausage McMuffins is for schmucks (no offence to anyone who may enjoy egg in their muffin). My friend B introduced me to the good ol' Sausage McMuffin one hungover morning in Brisbane and I have never looked back. Although it's always total confusion when you order a Sausage McMuffin. You'll be sitting at the drive thru speaker and the server will say "so that's a Sausage and Egg McMuffin?" you then speak louder and more slowly emphasising on the "WITHOUT EGG", while your thinking it would have been easier to just go inside to order but then that would mean that you would have had to get dressed before leaving the house instead of driving down there in your pj pants.

Something else my fridge is never without... Processed cheese slices. Toasted sandwiches are one of my all time favourite breakfast or lunch meals. Simple and easy to make, and really great when it's cold outside. I love toasted cafe 'foccacias' with roast beef, tomatoes, tasty cheese and some swanky chutney or chilli jam, but give me a ham and cheese toastie with double processed cheese and I'm in heaven! It melts all through your sandwich and if you eat it too quickly you will burn your mouth on the hot melted cheese. Mmmm.

Now, throwback to my childhood, Vanilla Ice Cream with Milo. A nice rich vanilla ice cream sprinkled with some Milo is just yum! Although my ice cream to Milo ratio is about 1:3, the ice cream is more a garnish than the main event. I actually enjoy having Milo stuck in your teeth, and mixing the Milo into the ice cream and creating something that resembles a Choc Shake from McDonald's but tastes so much better!

Last but not least, a drink that is pure (sugar) indulgence... Dr Pepper. Not very easy to come by in Australia, but it seems to be popping up more frequently these days, much to my demise and my dentists delight. A trip to Disneyland with my parents at the age of 12 introduced me to this liquid gold. Definitely an acquired taste for most, I will always buy a can anywhere I see it.

So I have now aired my dirty laundry in hope that people will still continue to read my blog. But it makes me curious, because I'm sure I'm not the only one. I'm sure that even the most distinguished palate gets a hankering for something disgustingly indulgent once in awhile. So please feel free to comment and air your dirty laundry too, c'mon, you know you want to. It might make me feel better! :)

Matsu Hashi, Clifton Hill

2010-07-22T15:16:00.003+10:00

Well as promised, we had dinner at Matsu Hashi on Friday night and I have something to write about!

Sushi has been a hard one for me to conquer. I wasn't a fan of thick sashimi slices, and the smell of the nori sheets made me feel quite ill. But it always looked so pretty and tasty and I am a bona fide lover of all seafood*, how could I not like sushi? So, I would continue to try it every now and then until I found something I liked.

What I ended up discovering was that I don't like old sushi, hand rolls that are prepared in the morning, or the night before and are left sitting in a fridge all day. Japanese fast food. I like my sushi made on the spot, with the freshest fish, which in essence is what sushi is supposed to be all about. I don't like overly thick sashmi slices, for me, the thinner the better and when you order this in a place where its made on the spot, you can request thinner slices if you prefer.

Well Matsu Hashi did not disappoint and I'm overjoyed with the fact that it's BYO wine and walkable distance from home. The interior is cosy and not too dark, still keeping simplistic Japanese styling as opposed to some crazy Japanese shop that sells Hello Kitty everything.

We ordered a bottle of Pirie South Pinor Noir 2009 (Tasmania). Not a bad drop, we managed to drink the whole bottle either way. The wine list was quite small but very reasonably priced.

Pirie South Pinot Noir 2009

The menu is extensive, large sushi bar, hotpot options, soups and teppanyaki. With so much to choose from, we wanted a little bit of everything! So what do we do in that situation? Of course we ordered a Banquet! P and I are suckers for banquets even though most of the time we almost need to be rolled out of the restaurant. But we decided on the Sappora Set. At $35 per person for 6 courses, what a bargain!

We started off with Miso Soup. It was light and flavoursome, and made from scratch. No sachet miso soup here. Topped with fresh sliced mushrooms, not dried and then re-hydrated mushrooms, it was the perfect addition to a perfect soup.

Next came the sushi and Californian rolls. We had king fish and salmon sushi and obviously some Californian rolls. On the side, wasabi, pickled ginger and Japanese mayo. The king fish sushi was my absolute favourite. The fish was fresh and the rice held together really well, I could bite half off and still have the remaining half balancing nicely in my chopsticks, all in one piece. The salmon was also very fresh and not cut too thick, just how I like it. P isn't usually a fan of Californian rolls, but he said that he actually really enjoyed these ones, and so did I!

Sushi and Californian Rolls

Miso Soup

After finishing that course I was starting to feel a little full from all the rice, but they left enough time in between for us to get our appetites back. I also think this is just Japanese food, it's filling immediately after you eat it but the feeling wears off pretty quickly, and we are ready for the next course!

The Gyoza Dumplings were large and juicy, probably some of the best I have had, you could taste the real pork with that really nice hint of the cabbage. I really could have eaten a plate full of these if I wasn't in anticipation of the rest of the meal! The Yakitori Skewers were your typical teriyaki chicken, reminiscent of my days at my old job where my friend G would order two Yakitori skewers and one Japanese pancake with extra mayo for lunch almost every day, how I loved to steal his food when he wasn't looking!

Next we had Tempura. Prawns, zucchini, pumpkin and carrot. As always, Tempura carrot is just my absolute favourite! The carrot is soft and sweet and the batter really light and crispy. We also enjoyed eating the fanned soba noodle garnish flecked with crunchy bits of tempura batter.

Tempura

Gyoza and Yakitori

Eye fillet Teppanyaki, served with stir fried vegies on a sizzling iron plate. The steak was incredible, thick slices, cooked medium rare as asked by our friendly trainee waiter. This really was superb.

Eye Fillet Teppenyaki

P was not a fan of the Green Tea Ice Cream with Red Bean Paste, I enjoyed it that much that I forgot to take a photo and realised once it was half gone...

Since Friday night I have been back already! Really a fan of this place. Would recommend a visit to any lover of Japanese food!

*With the exception of jellyfish. How can anyone like something that can only be described as slimy crunch?

Sorry, its been awhile!

2010-07-16T15:52:00.000+10:00

I know its been quite a while since my last post, but due to the cold winter weather I have been doing a fair bit of hybernating at home.

I am planning to head out for dinner tonight though so I hope to be able to write something new soon!

But a few little updates...

Shulz Organic Milk (Timboon, Vic) - Purchased at Collingwood Farmers Market last Saturday. By far the BEST milk I have ever had, since it was finished, no milk has tasted the same.

Lancashite (ooops I mean Lancashire) Pork Sausages - Purchased at Melbourne Showgrounds Farmers Market. I was so disapointed, they tasted that terrible that I actually threw them out. Enough said.

Things to look forward to...

Dinner tonight, think we might be checking out Matsu Hashi on Queens Parade in Clifton Hill, Japanese Restaurant within walking distance to my home, really hope it does not disapoint!

Tasmanian Road Trip 2010 has been booked and paid for! Leaving at the start of September, I am hoping to return with armfuls of things to write about. On my last trip I could have written four posts on the oysters alone!

Til next time!

Farmers Market - Melbourne Showgrounds

2010-07-05T11:49:00.000+10:00

Last weekend, my partner and I headed to the Farmers Market at the showgrounds. I had only just recently heard of it and since it's open every Saturday, I was hopeful that it would be fantastic.

It looks like its reasonably new to the Farmers Market scene. There were probably no more than 30 stalls however they did have a good variety of items for sale and I still managed to spend a good $150.

Items I purchased;

Lancashire Pork Sausages
Pink Lady Apples
Goats Cheese & Wild Rocket Gnocchi
Beef Sausages, Scotch Fillet & Beef Mince
Red Box Honey
Ricci's Dipping Sauce
Boosey Creek Chilli & Garlic Marinated Fetta
Buffalo Mozzarella
Sourdough Vienna and Sourdough Fruit Loaf
Variety of Vegies - Potatoes, Onions, Leek, Carrots and Broccoli

I did manage to buy several other items but cannot remember them off the top of my head. But out of the items I did remember here's a few notes about some of them.

Pink Lady Apples - crisp, fresh, sweet and straight off the tree. I cant remember the name of the orchid, but they were the only orchid there.

Goats Cheese & Wild Rocket Gnocchi (Take Me Home Pasta - Coburg/Morwell, Vic) -Although I slightly overcooked it (I was distracted by a certain meowing cat wanting to be fed), with a basic sauce, its so tasty!

Ricci's Dipping Sauce (Healesville, Vic) - First of all, what a salesman, had me before I even tried the stuff! But its a great product, an asian inspired sauce of chilli, ginger, fish sauce, lime, coriander, lemongrass and other ingredients. I have already used it twice in one week. I cooked some chicken in it for a salad and prepared a noodle dish with it. It's versatile so your not restricted to using it purely as a dipping sauce, and I have been told that it's sensational with dim sims. Ricci's also make a range of flavoured pita chips.

Sourdough Fruit Loaf (Red Beard Bakery - Trentham, Vic) - Organic sourdough with organic dried sultanas, sun muscats, currants and apricots, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, pimento, cloves, biodynamic stone ground & organic wheat flours. The dried fruits are marinated in the dough before cooking, It's a spicy dense fruit loaf with lots of flavour. It freezes well (I'm the only one at home that will eat it) and if you slice it yourself you can make nice thick slices, with a decent amount of butter, its addictive and perfect for cold winter mornings!

All in all, the market is small but being open every Saturday is a bonus, I would consider heading there each week to even just grab my fruit and veg.

I am planning on cooking the Pork Sausages tonight, so depending on how they turn out you might hear more about them soon!

My kitchen really rules!

2010-06-22T13:22:00.000+10:00

Saturday night A and I decided to get our chef on and cook up a feast for dinner.

Due to getting out of bed late, having much needed waffles and coffee at a nearby cafe prior to any preparation, we were making our shopping list for the market at 2:40pm. Markets close at 3pm. We still hadn't planned a dessert, but we had decided that mussels were essential to the meal, so getting to the market became essential as we weren't sure where else we would be able get them at 3pm on a Saturday. Well, that would be of any reasonable quality.

We jumped in the car and headed to the market, god bless the market that never closes on time. Got our ingredients, used A's trusty iphone to look up a dessert on the way to the supermarket and then headed home to begin preparations.

Our menu consisted of 4 courses, kinda French with a little Italian and a pudding for dessert.

Appetiser

Mussels Meuniere with Crusty Sourdough

Cutting my finger on a broken shell while debearding the mussels was all worth it when we tucked into the mussels which we cooked in shallots, garlic, thyme, bay leaves, butter and lots of white wine. The crusty bread we bought was perfect for soaking up all the juice at the bottom of the bowl. Not exactly the same as the ones I love to order at FranceSoir (Toorak Road, South Yarra), but still pretty good if I do say so myself.

Entree

Homemade Smoked Trout and Goats Cheese Tortellini with

Burnt Butter and Sage Sauce

Since A has just recently returned from her European Adventure, she was keen to show me her pasta making skills that she learnt during some cooking classes in Italy. We had decided on smoked trout and goats cheese as the filling as we had tried something similar at Taste of Melbourne last year and we have both been keen to recreate it ever since. Knowing that the filling has quite a lot of flavour in itself we made a simple burnt butter and sage sauce to compliment it. As neither of us had cooked it before, we probably could have let the butter brown a little more but we were happy with crispness of the sage with the bite of the goats cheese and trout.

Main

Slow Cooked (in the LeCreuset) Mustard Beef with baked potatoes and

green beans with lemon and almond dressing

We got this recipe from N's mum, who is French, a complete whiz in the kitchen and always lends me her Raclette whenever I ask! We took a shoulder of beef, seasoned it and smothered it in Dijon mustard. Sealed it on each side and then allowed it to cook for 3 hours on a low heat. We made our own little additions, a few glugs of white wine and some sprigs of fresh thyme. The outcome was this extremely tasty meat that just fell apart with a fork and melted in your mouth. We baked some dutch cream potatoes and steamed some green beans, tossed them in olive oil, lemon zest, lemon juice and some toasted slivered almonds. Although by this stage we were struggling to fit the food in!

Dessert

Caramel Apple Pudding with Vanilla Custard

Quite a basic recipe really, sliced granny smiths covered in a pudding batter (we added some cinnamon and all spice as there was no flavour in the batter apart from sugar). Over the top of the batter a syrup of brown sugar, golden syrup and water. Into the oven until cooked through.

This was my first attempt to make custard from scratch, its always seemed so hard to me. I don't know what I was thinking. It was simple! No longer do I need to nag my nan to make me her famous custard because I can actually make it myself! The vanilla was quite strong as the bean had lots of seeds in it. It really complemented the pudding and was a nice way to finish off our meal.

We finished eating just in time to see Harry Kewell get a red card - yes it was extremely late by this time, wine had been consumed over the course of the night, so our efficiency went down as the hours went by. This may also be the reason for my lack of photos for this entry.

A is, and will always be my cooking (and hamper) partner in crime, and if we ever get the urge to be reality TV stars (doubtful), look out My Kitchen Rules!

Left Bank Melbourne

2010-06-15T09:22:00.001+10:00

Prior to heading out to the movies a few Saturdays ago, J and I decided to have dinner at Left Bank.

The design and layout of this place is just beautiful! It's relatively new, its a bar as well as a restaurant and has been set up really well. There is a balcony area for alfresco dining, something I look forward to enjoying in the warmer months. The restaurant area is directly in front of you when you come through the main entrance and to your left is a stunning bar area. Along the window of the restaurant there are tables that can be separated by silver organza curtains, transparent but can still give you a feeling of privacy. We were seated along the other wall in a little couched area, low tables, and lots of cushions. It was so comfortable, and great for sitting around after if you just want to chill out, have some cheese, wine, or even cocktails (which also sounded fantastic). They have somewhat of a tapas menu too if you are just feeling a little snacky.

The menu looked great as well, with a 5 course degustation for $65 (excluding wine). The waitress basically told us that you let the chef know of any allergies and he will prepare a five course meal that explores the entire menu. Sounded so great, but I was feeling a little off that night so we decided on sharing an entree and a main each.

We decided on the mixed seafood wontons with XO sauce for entree. These were plated up so well, cute and very easy to eat with a little toothpick for each one. I found they tasted a little like Thai fish cakes in wonton wrappers, with some spicy dried chilli mix and spring onions on top.

For main I had the soy lacquered duck with asian greens and shitake mushrooms. There was so much duck on this plate! Which is unusual considering most places will just give you a small breast piece. The skin could have been a little more crispy, but the duck itself was flawless. I just wished I had felt better and been able to eat the whole dish, because I just love duck! The asian greens were cooked perfectly and were still crisp. The shitake mushrooms were maybe a little salty for my liking, however with the duck being soy lacquered, the whole dish had a certain degree of saltiness.

Overall, nice place, nice food and definitely would like to return when not feeling so under the weather.

Something I learnt...

My photography skills are not getting any better!!! However, I have begun teaching myself a few things using tutorials and tips from some great food photography blogs. Here's hoping my photos will only get better from here on in.

Shadows of Blue - Gippsland Tarago River Cheese Company

2010-06-10T11:51:00.001+10:00

The other night on way home from work I dropped into McCoppins Food & Wine on Queens Parade in Fitzroy North to pick up some cream. Walking past the deli my eyes fell upon the cheese section and I stopped dead in my tracks. The particular cheese that caught my eye was called Shadows of Blue from the Gippsland Tarago River Cheese Company. I was unable to leave without buying some, so at $59kg I bought a small wedge just to try.

It's a mild double cream blue. It's soft, very creamy and after its been out of the fridge for awhile, it's spreadable. The Roqueforti mould cultures create this texture and a mild but full blue flavour. Good starting point for people new to blue cheese.

Eat with water crackers, wafers or plain crusty bread, anything else would take away from its flavour! Probably one of the most addictive cheeses I have had the pleasure of eating.

Eiffel Tower Cheese

2010-06-03T10:20:00.008+10:00

A is currently in Europe on a 5 week adventure. She has been taking photos of the local produce just for me and I decided that I had to share this one picture... Eiffel Tower shaped cheese, oh mon dieu!

A few things I wish I had written about but didn't...

2010-06-02T09:45:00.014+10:00

Taste of Melbourne 2009
A delectable journey through some of Melbourne's best restaurants all under one roof.

Best Bits?
Turkish Delight filled Doughnuts glazed with honey and crushed pistachios from Maha, I did not want to share! We also met George Calombaris and Gary Mehigan the second we walked in.

My friend A, George & Me outside the The Press Club & Maha Taste Kitchen.

Me, Gary & A outside The Boathouse Taste Kitchen.

How's your hip pocket?

EMPTY! It's an expensive day out, but worth every penny. Get a few friends together and share the dishes you purchase, you'll taste more and get better value!

Details

Taste of Melbourne 2010

26-29 August 2010

Royal Exhibition Building

Carlton

http://www.tastefestivals.com.au/australia/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=43&Itemid=68

There's also one in Sydney, however its already done for 2010 - http://www.tastefestivals.com.au/australia/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=65&Itemid=83

King Valley Shed Wine Show 2008 & 2009

A small wine show for an amazing wine region where the public become the judges! 2008, held at Gracebrook Vineyards saw record attendance pushing 2009 to a new venue, the Swinburne Pavilion in Whitfield. The new venue was not ideal, however the event is always fantastic. For anyone who needs a helping hand, the King Valley Vignerons are there to teach you all about wine tasting and judging. With entertainment and food all day too, its a great day out!

Gracebrook Vineyards - 2008 Venue

Best Bits?
Making a full weekend out of it, camping with friends and visiting some wineries on the way home. The Whitfield Pub also gets a mention, always ready to serve up huge (and delicious) pizzas on a Friday night after the 3 hour drive up. We also witnessed a calf being born!

Little Calf just after it was born... Mumma was very cautious about us!

How's your hip pocket?
The show or weekend if you choose is cheap cheap cheap! $15 per head gets you entrance to the wine show, all the wine you can taste and a glass to drink from. If you don't mind roughing it, you can camp at Gentle Annie for approximately $10 per night (there are shower and toilet facilities too)

Details
King Valley Shed Wine Show
First Saturday in October
http://www.kvv.com.au

Rubicon, North Melbourne

2010-05-30T19:08:00.015+10:00

If you remember the scene where Carl and Roberta Williams meet for the first time in the original Underbelly, this restaurant is where the filming took place. Despite its claim to fame, and the Melbourne Crime Tours stopping out front, I enjoyed a casual lunch with my girlfriend J, just this Saturday gone.

It was definitely one of those memorable experiences where you sit down for lunch and a few glasses of wine but you end up hanging around for hours, several wines later, and you realise the waitress who has been serving you has long since knocked off.

The way this place this run is the way I would run a restaurant if I had the time and/or patience. Not only was the food lovely, the service fantastic and we left knowing the owner on a first name basis.

It is just your standard wood fired pizza and pasta place with a little bit extra. Not expensive and the decor is warm and inviting, there is also a large bar if you are just keen for a drink or two.

I ordered the Kangaroo Fillet with wilted spinach, mash and a red wine jus. The best thing about Kangaroo is its high in quality protein and low in total fat (less that 2%). How can something that good for you taste so great? The kangaroo was succulent and just about fell apart in your mouth. J ordered the Fettuccine Gamberi, king prawns, fresh tomato, garlic, chilli and olive oil.

To drink I had a glass of the Riverstones Semillon Sauvignon Blanc, slight lemon flavour on the palate, fine little glass of wine.

The service. What to say?! Our waitress was friendly and on the ball. The owner brought over a complementary glass of wine for each of us and hung around for a chat. I love this kind of place where you feel that you can return and always feel that little bit special. That's the way customers should be treated, and the business reaps the rewards when you tell all your friends what a fantastic time you had!

Will definitely be returning, thanks Teddy!

Rubicon Cafe & Bar

50 Errol Street

North Melbourne

Red Hill Estate Pinot Noir 2008 - Mornington Penninsula

2010-05-29T08:21:00.004+10:00

Caught up with a girlfriend for a few glasses of wine on friday night at Radio Bar on Gertrude St Fitzroy.

We ordered a bottle of the Red Hill Estate Pinot Noir. It was a bright burgundy colour unlike most pinots, however it was still quite light with rich cherry and spice flavours. These were complemented by a subtle hint of oak. On the nose it was sweet and slightly floral.

Overall, nice drop for a friday night, would go well with a mild or creamy cheese.

Radio Bar

79 Gertrude Street

Fitzroy

Tramcar Restaurant, Melbourne

2010-05-28T14:52:00.013+10:00

Anniversary = I get to go out for dinner and not have to pay... This year my partner took me on the Tramcar restaurant, the poor thing is running out of restaurants to take me to.

Taking into consideration all our surroundings, and the workspace for the tramcar staff, Here's my thoughts on food, drinks and service. Apologies for the lack of photos, camera was unfortunately left on the bench!

First up, we were greeted by friendly staff who directed us to a clean tram stop and the tram arrived on time. We boarded quickly and within a few minutes of being seated we were served a glass of sparkling. On the table, a roasted capsicum dip and a chicken liver and cognac pate with pink peppercorns, served with wafer crackers and poppy seed lavosh. The dip was as you would expect, tasted (and looked) like a typical dip you would pick up at the supermarket, but I would be lying if I said I didn't like it. The pate on the other hand was fantastic. We had a little pot of it and devoured the lot. It was smooth and creamy and the cognac flavour was strong but not overpowering. I loved this pate so much I was even thinking about it sitting in traffic on my way to work this morning.

We began our very slow tour around Melbourne as our Maitre'd introduced himself, the chef, our waiter and proceeded to explain the menu.

We were given a selection of two dishes for each course, for entrée we opted for the Tasmanian Ocean Trout with julienne vegetables and a soy ginger reduction. The trout was a small fillet, the skin was not as crispy as I had hoped, however the fish was tender and juicy and served with just the right amount of reduction. The julienne vegetables were more a garnish than a side dish, but I was not fazed.

The entrée was served on a small bread plate. Gasp! Platting faux pas?! What would the Masterchef judges have to say about this? In my opinion? Probably not alot. If it was served in a porcelain martini glass fused to the side of a plate standing upright, I'm sure it would be considered brilliant. Hats off to this Chef who works in possibly the smallest kitchen in history, I think its quite brilliant to not compromise the integrity of the food just to fit the appropriate sized entrée plates in the kitchen.

After our initial glass of bubbles, we were then offered red or white wine, beer or basic spirits. I continued on with the Tahbilk Cabernet Sauvignon. I was so impressed with the waiters pouring ability! Although you are travelling along at about 2kms per hour, there is still considerable bumps, turns and stops. I'm sure anyone who has traveled on a tram with no rail to hold onto could get a good idea of this waiters working environment. Not one drop of wine, mineral water or beer was spilt on us or the table, not even the side of the glass!

We decided to get one of each of the mains on offer so that we could sample both. We had grilled chicken breast on a sweet potato mash and wilted baby spinach with a macadamia pesto sauce, and a Victorian eye fillet of beef with potato and herb rosti, onion marmalade and a rich beef jus. I'll admit the chicken was considerably dry, but flavoursome nonetheless. The beef was cooked medium rare (unless otherwise requested). It was tender and cooked well. I was a little disappointed with the onion marmalade which resembled more caramelised onions than a marmalade. The jus was extremely rich, it was almost too much. Luckily the beef had not been drowned in it so we were able to control the amount we ate.

Next... the cheese! Always my favourite course. We had a Maffra Cheddar and a King Island Blue Brie with water crackers and some fruit bread and fig paste. I was already a fan of the Maffra cheddar, easy to cut with still a good degree of crumble, a strong cheddar taste with no nasty aftertaste. The blue brie. Hmm. Usually a fan but I cannot put my finger on the taste i was getting while eating this cheese... sour? tart? tangy? made my teeth hurt? I cant explain but it was not nice at all. The cheese was still considerably cold so I wonder whether it was similar to a washed rind cheese that needs to be served at room temperature to soften the ammonia smell and flavour. Who knows, but I will not be eating that again.

Dessert! Oldie but a goody, sticky date pudding. Very rich, certainly not the best one I have had but still a nice way to top off the meal.

The service was great, staff and chef very friendly. The decor and lighting was nice, cosy and unobtrusive. After dessert they cranked up the Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin and the oldies next to us were singing 'That's Amore' due to the unlimited alcohol served over the three hour trip.

Memorable, we had a great time and as long as you aren't too snooty about your food, you'll find it to be a unique experience.

Something I learnt...

King Island Blue Brie leaves a bad taste in your mouth. Literally.

It's been a little while...

2010-05-28T14:13:00.008+10:00

My last blog was posted back in November 2009! Doesn't seem all that long ago, this year is travelling by so fast.

But today I noticed friend of mine has started just started her very own foodie blog. She has inspired me to get back into it and conveniently gets herself a little free plug (and hyperlink - juganaut's foodie thoughts) for her troubles :)

So stay tuned, more to come...

Something I learnt...

Absence makes the heart grow fonder.

Wonton Soup

2009-11-09T08:46:00.010+11:00

As mentioned in one of my previous blogs, I attempted to make my very first wonton soup last week. Wonton soup is one of my favourite meals, and its always so cheap no matter where you go! But the challenge is finding a soup thats up to scratch.

Sometimes the wontons are tasteless or have little to no filling in them and are just little pieces of slimy wonton pastry floating in your soup. Other times the wontons can be sensational and full of flavour but the soup resembles hot water with some bokchoy in it. I figured the best thing about making my own was that I had the power to control how much flavour the soup should have.

I decided on chicken wontons as my flatmate isn't very fond of pork. I used a filling that I had used with a girlfriend once for a Thai dinner party. So the flavours were a little blended because I used a basic Hong Kong recipe for the soup.

In my food processor (one of my favourite kitchen appliances, could not live without it!) I put some breast chicken, cloves of garlic, fresh coriander, water chestnuts and some light soy, this was my wonton filling. For the soup I used some chicken stock, shaoxing rice wine, light soy and some fresh ginger, let that simmer on the stove while i prepared the noodles and vegies.
I always ask for the flat rice noodles with my soups, I find the egg or Hokkien noodles too heavy, especially along side the wontons. I like my soups to be light and fresh. I chopped up some bokchoy, spring onions and some beanshoots and placed these in a bamboo steamer with the noodles. I buy the fresh noodles out of the fridge in any Asian grocery, I find that the dried ones tend to break and fall apart while you are trying to eat them.

So now I was finally ready to put it all together. I had a little pot of water boiling and began to cook the wontons. While they were cooking, the vegies and noodles went over the top of the soup to just semi-steam them so I wasn't adding hot soup to cold noodles and vegies. Once the wontons were ready they went into the bowl with the noodles and vegies and then I poured the hot soup over the top.

All in all, it was fairly easy and I'm still feeling pretty proud of my achievement. My soup was flavoursome and required no additional flavouring (I have a tendency to add soy to soups that aren't tasty enough) and the coriander in the wontons added the freshness to the soup that I love so much!

The photos are not so great, I'm still trying to learn how this whole food photography thing works. If you would like to try my interpretation of wonton soup, recipe is below, enjoy!

Ingredients

For the Wontons

1 Chicken Breast, skin off

Small can of water chestnuts

2 Cloves Garlic

Small handful Coriander

1 tablespoon Light Soy Sauce

Wonton Wrappers

For the Soup

Approx 6 cups of chicken stock

Small piece of Ginger, sliced

2 tablespoons of Shaoxing Rice Wine

2 tablespoons of Light Soy Sauce

Sesame Oil (Optional)

Bokchoy

Spring Onions

Beanshoots

Fresh Flat Rice Noodles

Method

Prepare the wonton filling by placing the chicken (chopped into chunks), garlic, coriander, and water chestnuts into a food processor. Process until combined, but don't over process or else your chicken will become like paste, you still want some chunks in there.

Wrap the wontons and seal closed with a little egg, ensuring you push out any excess air. To learn how to wrap wontons, see this site. They show lots of different ways to fold your wontons, great if your entertaining.

Place the stock, soy, ginger, and rice wine in a stock pot, bring to the boil and then let it simmer until you are ready to serve.

Wash and chop up enough bokchoy, spring onions and beanshoots for each serve, the amount you use is totally up to you. Add these to a bamboo steamer along with some fresh rice noodles and place on top of your stock pot of soup.

Boil a small pot of water, when boiling, gently place wontons in the water. They will sink at first, when they begin to float to the surface they should be ready for serving.

Place your wontons, vegies, and noodles into a serving bowl and ladle soup over the top. Add a little sesame oil if you wish.

Grampians Wineries Part 2 - Seppelt Winery, Great Western

2009-11-06T13:11:00.009+11:00

After we left Best's it was a quick drive back down the highway to Seppelt Winery where we were booked in for a tour of the Underground Drives. The Drives were hand dug by Henry Irvine and his miner mates who had lost their jobs after the mining business dried up in the area. The Drives run over 3km and still cellar most of Seppelt's sparkling to this day.

The Drives were excavated during the 1800's from de-composed granite, making the climate for sparkling almost perfect. It was during the end of the 1800's that Sparkling Red was invented here at Seppelt.

Although Seppelt has now been taken over by the Fosters Group and become somewhat commercialised, Seppelt's history made for an interesting and enjoyable visit.
We tasted most wines available and our tour guide was knowledgeable and able to tell us which other wineries were worth visiting in the region. I would recommend a trip to Seppelt to anyone who has an interest in Victoria's wine history, or anyone who is interested in ghosts and spirits! It is said that the Drives are occupied by several spirits and that spiritual orbs can be seen in some photos taken down there. Upon inspection of my own photos later that day, I found a few photos with 'orbs' in them. However I'm still somewhat skeptical. You can see some of the orbs in the photo above and the one below.

Something I learnt...
Some of the bottles you see in the picture seem to be covered in a thick grey dust. In fact these bottles have only been in the cellar for a few months. The bottles are in fact covered in a black mould that grows from the de-composed granite. The winemakers used to spend lots of time removing it from the Drives, but after they conducted some tests they established that it does no harm to the wine or the people working there so it is now left there and makes for quite an eerie scene. It felt like extremely soft cotton wool.

SEPPELT WINES
Great Western, Moyston Road, Great Western VIC 3377.

CELLAR DOOR TIMINGS
Monday to Sunday, including public holidays: 10:00am – 5.00pm.Closed Christmas Day only.

CONTACT
Phone: 03 5361 2239
Fax: 03 5361 2328
Email: GreatWestern.CellarDoor@Seppelt.com.au

I'm learning!

2009-11-06T09:28:00.004+11:00

I woke up yesterday and decided that I would love to start writing a blog. I have no writing skills and I'm not a particularly good photographer, but the idea of being able to write about some of the things I'm most passionate about seems like a good idea to me. If people choose to read it and enjoy it too, then all the more satisfying!

So here it is. My blog. I have been looking at some of the other blogs going around and realise I have a long way to go, but the journey will be fun!

Last night I cooked wonton soup for the first time! I had heard that it was extremely difficult and time consuming, however I found it fairly quick and easy (once the wontons were prepared). My flatmate has a fear of pork and any chicken that is not breast. So I decided to make chicken wontons and mince the breast myself so it would be edible for her. I was very happy with the outcome! There's plenty more to tell, but I will include that in my next post along with some photos.

Grampians Wineries Part 1 - Best's Winery, Great Western

2009-11-05T15:29:00.009+11:00

With the weekend just gone being the beginning of Melbourne's Spring Racing Carnival, my partner and I decided it was the perfect opportunity to take a much needed long weekend away (especially since we live in such close proximity to Flemington Racecourse!).

Our chosen destination was the Grampians in North Western Victoria, heading towards Adelaide. Neither of us having travelled there before, in my true travel planning style, lots of googling was conducted to get a full list of places, wineries and farms to visit.

My food and wine knowledge is minimal, as you will learn throughout this blog. However, its these trips that teach me more and more each time. I like to try the wines I have never heard of and eat foods that I wouldn't normally eat. However, I'm still partial to a good old pub parma every now and then!

Over the four days I managed to visit a total of three wineries in the region.

First stop was Best's Winery in Great Western. The winery was first established in 1866. The Cellar Door had a great little museum of all old wine bottles and equipment, Henry Best's diary, old pieces of wine stone from the old oak barrels and plenty of photos of the winery and its makers over the past century or so. We tasted most wines on offer but I purchased a bottle of the Cabernet Sauvignon, I think it was a 2006. They have some original vines there from back when the winery was established and are still creating wines from those vines today.

Something new I learnt...

Pinot Meunier - One of the three main grape varieties used in the production of Champagne. Although winemakers have only recently acknowledged Pinot Meunier instead of emphasising the use of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, Best's originally produced 85% Pinot Meunier, 15% pinot noir blends and continue to produce these today from the original vines.