zumbo-licious

Adriano Zumbo's High Tea

• Fenix Restaurant & Events, 680 Victoria Street Richmond www.fenix.com.au
• Description in the festival guide: This stylish and unconventional high tea will blow your mind when Sydney-based master Adriano Zumbo brings his magnificent macaron madness served with passion, flair and artistry to Fenix.
• Party of two.
• Da cost: Despite a misprint in the guide of $50 per person with first sweet offering and non-alcoholic beverage, it was $25 per person with each item charged separately like a yum char menu.

With the 2012 Melbourne Food & Wine Festival now a distant memory, I guess it is better late than never to share this post about a memorable event for both its positives and negatives.  When my good friend Maya snapped up tickets for a high tea by no other than Adriano Zumbo (of Masterchef fame), at no other than Gary Mehigan's restaurant Fenix, I thought I had died and gone to foodie-wannabe-heaven.  

As the high tea started at midday, I thought I would do the sensible thing and not eat anything beforehand to be ready and prepared to indulge in the sumptuous and delectable treats that awaited me.  We both did not really know what to expect and arrived to find the function room, upstairs at Fenix, dressed like it would be for a wedding, complete with a seating plan. The host was Mr Gary Mehigan himself, who is a very witty and entertaining character and needless to say I was very excited to see him however admittedly I have dreamed of meeting him in the Masterchef kitchen rather than seated in his restaurant!

Gary made a big deal of introducing Zumbo (well I guess it was his event) and he enters the room to a round of applause from very excited (mainly) females.  He proceeds with a cooking demonstration of how to make macarons, it felt like we were in our very own masterclass. The macaron flavour of the day: peking duck macarons with  spring onion and cucumber filling!  Yes, true story, it did sound strange to me but I would be willing to give anything a go.  Unfortunately I was not one of the lucky few who got to sample this macaron that pushed the boundaries of macaron flavours.

During the demonstration, trolleys holding the sweet treats were being pushed around and served.  Well that was what it appeared like.  By the time we even got a waitress, we were told the savory food had run out, not that the waitresses seemed to have any clue what was where or what.  We had already got tick-happy with our yum char like menu and ticked everything we wanted only to be told that certain flavours of macarons had run out including, and yes I'll mention it again, the savoury food. I was just really looking forward to the 'lamb & harissa' sausage roll.

I have to apologise for the state of my photos, we were so hungry by the time we got served, we had already started to share and halve our macarons and other treats!  The macaron pictured that is in tact on its own, is the lychee flavoured macaron.  Lychees are my favourite fruit so I had high expectations for it, it was ok but did not blow my mind.  The notable macaron flavours for me were the milo, cola, salted butter caramel and salted gianduja caramel.  Gianduja is a sweet chocolate that contains 30% hazelnut paste originally from Turin, Italy.  These macarons were the best I have ever had, perfectly bursting with the flavour it was, melt in your mouth and made me want to instantly jump on a plane to Sydney to visit the home of Adriano Zumbo.  The good news for Melburnians is that he is planning on opening a store (or two) in Melbourne soon.  

We also orderded the 'Lemon Meringue' cake that seemed to be missing one major element - the meringue!  The 'Decorated Chocolate Fondant' was very modestly decorated, I was left wishing that I stuck to the macarons and ordered more.  Oh that's right, they had run out!

Despite the lack of food being a disappointment, the energy of the event was fun, casual and interesting.  The audience were able to ask questions directly to Zumbo, where we learnt he trained at Laduree in Paris, and that the correct pronunciation is the French way: macaron, one O only and the other word macaroon is in fact the coconut biscuit!

After the macaron cooking demonstration, there was an opportunity to have Zumbo himself autograph his cookbook.  I don't have his cookbook myself however Maya does so we made our way downstairs to have the book signed and to sneak in a photo with him too.  We also had the opportunity to chat with Gary, who also autographed Zumbo's book, and told us the next season of Masterchef starts end of April and where Maya squeezed in a plug for shy old me and this very food blog to the Masterchef himself!  Although we left with somewhat unsatisfied stomachs, we left with extremely satisfied memories.

the four little pigs

Little Piggy Goes to Market @ Meat Market http://meatmarketsouthwharf.com.au/

• 55 South Wharf Promenade, South Wharf, Melbourne
• Dining at dinnertime
• Party of four
• Da cost: $70 per person

The Melbourne Food & Wine festival is currently upon us and this year it is the 20th anniversary of the three-week long event.  To find out more about the events of the festival, click here.  This is the first year that I have been able to take advantage of the many events on offer (and when I say many, the guide is eighty pages long!).  Unfortunately due to my lack of awareness last year I missed out on a great event as I would have loved to have seen Nigella Lawson - my cooking heroine - in person and in action.  Hopefully I'll get the chance one day.

Anyway, I was more organised this year and managed to book a few events, kicking off with the aptly named 'Little Piggy Goes to Market'.  This event was described in the guide as follows: 'Enjoy a four course feast of free-range Berkshire pork as the experts from Tooborac's McIver Farm Foods join Meat Market to spread the word about old breed pork and taking agriculture "beyond sustainable".'  It consisted of four courses matched with local ciders.  I managed to get the last four tickets for this event with friends who had the mutual love of pork, not really knowing what to expect, nor really knowing what 'Meat Market' was.  Turns out, Meat Market is a relatively new (since November) restaurant in a new precinct that is South Wharf Promenade.  If you're interested, check it out here.

The meal began with a drink named 'Egg & bacon cocktail'.  It was brandy infused with bacon for 48 hours, rosemary syrup, lemon juice, apple juice and shaken with an egg white.  I am not too sure if this flavour combination worked with the flavour of the brandy and rosemary overpowering everything else.  Along with this, we were offered in a brown paper bag, some nibbles that were pork scratchings made from pig ears, lightly battered with salt and pepper.  I must admit although they were tender, there was a lot of salt on these scratchings, but it did awaken my tastebuds.

Up next, was the first real entree.  This was named 'Tete Fromage' - deboned pork cheek with almonds and radicchio.  The bitterness of the radicchio took over this dish, with not so much taste of actual pork.  This was served with an organic French cider (not so local as the guide had suggested) but very nice nonetheless.

Course number two was a 'Potted Pork Shoulder' which was twice cooked in its own fat served with apple, croutons and mini gherkins.  I did not expect the pork in this dish to be cold, however it was, and again, very salty.  It reminded me a little of tuna, in the way it was flaked and in oil.  However it did go very well with the crunchy croutons, apple and gherkins, but it was very rich and I could not finish all the meat.

The filler course, which the waiting staff called a "snack", came at the same time as the cider Bress.  I am not sure if this cider was supposed to compliment the course prior, however, it was a nice fresh but dry, made locally in the Yarra valley, the traditional French way.  The snack however was delicious, it was a pork butter with raw onion on a crouton.  And eaten in one mouthful, the crunchy crouton likened to crunchy crackling!

The main event.  For this course the pork was organic, slow-cooked and soaked in salt brine with star anise.  There were two lots of pork soaked for dfferent lengths of time therefore giving it different levels of saltiness.  Unfortunately, some of the pork was dry and extremely salty.  The flavour of the actual meat was good however would have been more enjoyable with a little less seasoning.  The side that it came with was roasted pumpkin and a green chilli yoghurt sauce.  The chilli was relatively mild to cater for the masses, however the pumpkin was soft and delicious.  It is funny how I enjoyed this side perhaps a lot more than the other courses that actually contained pork!  The matching cider was a pear cider made by 'The Hills Cider Company' from Adelaide.  It was light, fruity and crisp - a very refreshing cider accompanying the generous portion of pork.

And finally to finish: the dessert.  It was apple stewed in rosemary with a Napoleone apple cider sorbet accompanied with a Napoleone apple cider.  This was designed to be like a spider (traditionally made with soft drink and ice cream).  The spider concept was clever, however this was the type of thing I enjoyed as a child, although clearly this dessert is purely adults only, it didn't really hit the spot.  However, the sorbet was silky smooth and once the cider was poured over it, was obviously (if you have had a spider before) very airy.  One other positive thing was it being so light after such a heavy meal of meat.

On the whole, the event was enjoyable and for $70 it was value for money with ample portions and waiters on hand to top up your glass once it was getting noticeably low.  However, one of the main disappointments is that although the pork was flavoursome, albeit over-seasoned, there was a lack of, crackling.  In fact, there was no crackling!  Pork and crackling go together hand in hand and although I had minimal expectations of this event, I did expect crackling!  I am curious about Meat Market with their usual menu, as the ambience, location and service was excellent so those factors are enough to take me back there.

doctor who?

Doctor Java - Check it out on Urbanspoon

• 87a Smith Street, Fitzroy

Doctor Java is pretty much on the corner of Smith and Gertrude Streets.  The sign caught my eye when I first moved to Melbourne as it serves organic coffee.  There are three things that I love about this cosy little cafe:

1. The coffee is great - and organic.
2. The iced coffee is arguably the best I have ever had.
3. The savoury scone is to die for.

I do not need to say too much about the coffee as my coffee palate is relatively simple: I don't like it tasting burnt and I like the milk a tad on the "too hot "side.  My usual order is simple - a latte.  No skinny/trim milk, no sugar - just coffee and full fat milk.  The coffee here is consistently great, has a great flavour and is a great temperature. I have not once been disappointed with my simple latte from Doctor Java.

However, as the Melbourne summer is upon us and last weekend in particular was exceptionally hot for this Wellingtonian, it was difficult for me to get my caffeine fix from a "tad on the hot side" latte.  I immediately thought of good old Doctor Java to provide me the caffeine I needed (and the calories I didn't) with their oh so amazing iced coffee.

There are three types of iced coffee on offer:

1. DJ Iced Coffee $5.50 - espresso, ice, ice cream, milk, simple!
2. Da Bomb Sugar IC $5.50 - 2 scoops house espresso sorbet, 1 scoop ice cream and milk
3. The Godfather $6 - 3 scoops ice cream, 3 shots coffee, the affogato you can't resist!

On this particular day, I opted for number 1, the simple iced coffee.  I have also tried da bomb sugar iced coffee - the name only attracts me!  Both these iced coffees have a delicious coffee flavour (a result from the great organic coffee beans no doubt) and it has the perfect amount of ice cream to milk to coffee ratio.  How many times have you ordered an iced coffee and it is literally ice + coffee and you come away disappointed and unsatisfied?  It has happened to me plenty of times, therefore the prerequisite for ordering an iced coffee is that it must have ice cream to rightfully give it the sweetness and creaminess.

One thing I struggle to find in Melbourne is savoury scones or muffins.  I mentioned savoury scones to a colleague once, and he looked at me as if I had said something in a foreign language, like he had never heard of it before.  I just love savoury scones or muffins (as opposed to sweet scones or muffins) and together with a latte, it is a match made in heaven.

Needless to say, when I discovered the savoury scone at Doctor Java, I knew where to go to satisfy my savoury-scone-craving.  It is $5.50 and described as "tomato, vintage cheddar and basil scone with red wine and onion jam".  The price may be a bit steep, but it is worth every cent.  For one, it is huge and therefore perfect for sharing, but every bite of this scone is scrumptious.  It is a great consistency, in other words, not dry or stodgy.  It is not only flavoursome but filling and hits the spot every time.

So if you are looking for a great cup of coffee to wake up, a much needed iced coffee to cool down, or a snack to fill that growling gap, then Doctor Java is a great place to tick all or some of the above boxes.  Whether you are in the neighbourhood or if you wish to especially go there, with it only being a stone's throw away from the city, the trip will be well worth it fulfilling your expectations.  Well, it hasn't disappointed me yet!

curry curry curry

Fitz Curry Cafe www.fitzcurrycafe.com.au

• 44 Johnston Street, Fitzroy
• Dining at dinnertime
• Party of two
• Da bill: less than $50

I love a good curry.  I have often said to people that if I could choose just one type of meal to have for the rest of my life for breakfast, lunch and dinner, it would be curry.  Call me a "curry-muncher" or whatever you like, but I absolutely love all types of curries.  I must admit, I especially enjoy curries that come from India as nothing beats the smell and taste.  I don't really have a favourite Indian curry but generally love Indian cuisine as a whole.  

Hopefully now you get the idea of how much curry means to me, so since I have lived in Melbourne, I have been on the constant lookout for a curry house to satisfy my palate.  I have tried a few scattered around the city, but nothing ever completely satisfied me.  There were times when the aroma of a place has lured me in only to be disappointed by the taste.  It is that extra bit disappointing when something that smells so good can fail in the taste department.

I have often walked past the Fitz Curry house on Johnston Street in Fitzroy and was always curious about what the food was like.  However with the selection of restaurants in Melbourne being so vast, I never decided to try it until after a year of living here.  It was a random night and although there are a number of great restaurants on this street, this was the night for the Fitz Curry House.

The selection of curries in vegetarian, chicken, lamb, beef and seafood options were plenty, however it was not too difficult to decide what to order. We ordered a vegetable samosa and a meat samosa to begin with.  Both samosas had crisp skin the way it should be and the filling in both varieties was tasty.   Although the one thing about samosas when ordered in a restaurant is that they are never spicy enough.  I realise that samosas are not meant to be spicy but just a tad more heat would make this favourite morsel of mine so much better.  The only other let down with the samosas was the mint raita as it lacked the fresh flavour of mint and was on the salty side.

Before I get into the mains, I must mention one fault and that is we waited a long time for them to be served.  Despite the length of time we waited (45 minutes) the service was great and to be fair, but not to make an excuse, there was only one chef in this full restaurant.  

We ordered Chicken Makhani, more famously know as Butter Chicken and Lamb Rogan Josh.  We asked for extra spice in both dishes and they came with a perfect amount of "hotness".  The Butter Chicken was described in the menu as "the fountainhead of Indian Cuisine, chicken cooked in Tandoor and then cooked with home made tomato sauce and spices".  This dish did not disappoint.  It was perfectly creamy with just the right amount of sweetness, very well spiced and seasoned and was a delight to eat.

The Lamb Rogan Josh is contrasting in flavour to a Butter Chicken, with different spices, colour and obviously taste.  It was very delicious, packed with amazing flavour and the lamb was so beautifully tender.  The extra spice packed a punch but the dish was perfect in its own right.  The curries were accompanied with garlic naan and plain rice.  I must mention that the naan was light and fluffy and contained enough garlic to warrant it being called garlic naan as there have been times I have ordered garlic naan when it may as well have been just naan!

It took over a year but I have now found the best curry house in Melbourne.  It is great value for money, offers friendly service and most importantly the taste is deliciously great.  It serves free range chicken and natural spring lamb which is just an added bonus to what will now be the place to satisfy my curry cravings.

nothing like a german sausage

Hofbrauhaus http://www.hofbrauhaus.com.au/

• 18 - 28 Market Lane, Melbourne
• Dining at dinnertime
• Party of six

There is something about German sausages that put them in a category above all other sausages I have tried.  I am not entirely sure what the Germans do differently but all I know is their sausages, from kranskys to bratwursts, are always full of flavour and satisfaction.  The Hofbrauhaus is one of several places where Melburnians can find these German delights in an authentic, restaurant setting.

We started our meal with a vorspeisen or entree to share and we opted for the Gebackener Camembert which was a crumbed camembert cheese with ligonberry compote.  Now I love crumbed camembert, perhaps one of the most indulgent things I eat.  I can still remember the very first time I tried deep-fried camembert.  I was seventeen and it was at the Dunedin Wine and Food Festival where I initially thought, what a strange thing to deep-fry.  That camembert was cut in wedges, crumbed and served with a cranberry sauce that was both sweet and tart.  The camembert oozed in your mouth, the creamy richness perfectly complemented with the cranberry sauce.  Unfortunately, the crumbed camembert at Hofbrauhaus did not compare and for $13.50, it disappointed my eager expectation.  It was bland and lacked the fullness of one of my most fondest food memories.

Now to the sausages, I chose the HB Wurstplatte which was a selection of sausages (nurnberger, cheese kransky, Swiss bratwurst) on a bed of sauerkraut, mashed potatoes and served with German mustard for $26.50.  The stand-out sausage on the plate was definitely the cheese kransky, the cheese in the middle is perfect with the seasoned flavour of the meat.  If I were to dine here again, next time, I would opt just for the cheese kransky.  Having said that all three sausages were delicious in their own right, and if it is variety you are after or if you just can't decide, this is the perfect dish to sample three different types of superior German sausages.  I must also add the mashed potatoes were well-seasoned, light, fluffy and creamy and there was also an overly generous serve of sauerkraut.  I have had better sauerkraut but German sausage is just not the same without it, so this sauerkraut was better than having none.  The German mustard was not at all memorable and the dish would have been just as good without.

For great atmosphere, service, beer, schnapps and German sausages to boot, Hofbrauhaus is a place to enjoy a complete dining experience.  Until next post, may your taste buds be continually tantalised!

boy oh gingerboy

Gingerboy www.gingerboy.com.au

• 27 - 29 Crossley Street, Melbourne
• Dining at dinnertime
• Party of three

I would place Gingerboy in the same category as Chin Chin with a more, dare I say it, sophisticated ambience. It has a similar atmosphere but with better service.  It was a girl’s night out as two friends were visiting Melbourne and we were lucky to get a booking within a week, being so close to Christmas.  It wasn’t difficult picking a restaurant as I have always wanted to try Gingerboy, being the sister restaurant of fine dining establishment Ezard on Flinders Lane, created by chef Teage Ezard.  Although I am yet to have the Ezard experience, I have only had good feedback so it makes it on my list of restaurants to try.

Anyway back to Gingerboy.  We were seated and our friendly waitress came over to explain the menu, as is often done in these Asian style restaurants.  One stand out was the special of the day which sounded absolutely delicious.  The menu is broken down into two sections: ‘Snacks and Street Food’ and ‘Shared Dishes’.  We decided to select a few of the ‘Snacks and Street Food’ as entrees and then a couple of the ‘Shared Dishes’ – to share.

The first entree to arrive was the wagu and bamboo dumplings with cashew soy.  I’m no expert in dumplings (although I have certainly had my fair share) but I think I can tell a good dumpling when I taste one.  I have never had wagu beef in dumplings but I was pleasantly surprised.  The meat was juicy and flavoursome, and the skin was perfectly cooked with the right amount of chewiness.  What I am trying to say is that the texture of the dumpling skin is just as important as the flavour of the meat, and these dumplings did not disappoint.  To be honest, I could not really taste the bamboo as the wagu must have overpowered this and the cashew soy may have just been soy itself therefore this was not so memorable either.  Having said that, the dumplings were indeed a great start to our meal.

Next up, the son in law eggs, chilli jam and asian herbs.  This dish was recommended by friends and the waitress also made a point of suggesting it.  When I first heard of this dish, it did not sound like anything I had ever heard of and it intrigued me. The eggs – which are soft boiled - are coated in some sort of crust and fried.  Another waitress came over and tried to give us tips on how to combat eating this egg. It was advised to put the whole thing in your mouth and push your tongue up to the roof of your mouth where the egg would softly break in your mouth and the yolk would then ooze out then allowing you to chew the rest.  It was warned that if you did bite into the egg, it would explode and be a mess while not giving the full experience of the whole thing in your mouth.  I didn’t think it would work for me, so I attempted to bite the egg in pieces and think that suited me better.  It was definitely different and I would describe it as nice, but I would also say that if I were to dine at Gingerboy again, I probably wouldn’t order this again.

Our third ‘snacks and street food’ dish was the crispy duck and banana flower salad with ginger nuoc cham.  This dish was well flavoured and included vermicelli and chilli which gave it that great spicy kick.  The banana flower in the name of the dish didn’t particularly stand out so I am beginning to think that these “exotic” ingredients are placed in the name of the dish for the diner to perceive that they are ordering something new, different and perhaps exciting.  Having said that, this dish did taste good - which is the main thing.

Our final entree style dish was the special - a soft shell crab salad with lychee dressing - and a whole lot of other goodness.  It also had beanshoots, red onion and a great dressing with the perfect balance of sweet, salty and sour that this Asian style cuisine often strives for.  It is a shame that dish was only a special as I would go back just to have this. The crab had a crispy batter and was perhaps a tad salty but the one word I would use to describe this dish is - divine.

On to our shared dishes, we ordered only two but found the quantity of food to be ample.  The first was lime and galangal basted baby chicken, peanut and tamarind caramel.  The chicken was juicy and succulent, and as tamarind is very tangy, it was very well complemented with the sugar in the caramel.  We did find the joints of the chicken to be quite red.  Although it was not raw, we thought we would point this out to the waiting staff.  We were not making a complaint only making a point as we were not sure if it should be like that so we showed the waitress who said she would let the chef know.  The manager then came to our table on the defensive, stating that it was just a blood vessel in the joint and all the chickens in the kitchen had the same redness.  We did not expect anything at all for pointing this out so I was a little disappointed that he became so defensive.  That was the only negative thing about the service on the night but distracted me from remember how this dish tasted.

Finally, the best was served last.  Red braised pork, pickled papaya, pineapple and coriander relish is a dish made in heaven.  The pork was perfectly cooked with the most delicious flavour.  The relish was refreshing and naturally sweet from the pineapple.  It was a consensus that this dish was the hit of the night, there is nothing more to say except if you dine at Gingerboy and enjoy a bit of pork, you must order this dish. 

Overall, the Gingerboy experience was a great one, with food and service both being well executed.  We topped off the meal with a bottle of wine and therefore were way too full to tackle dessert.  But now that I know what to expect, if there is a next time, I will certainly ensure there is room to at least squeeze one in.

silly salad season

The silly season may be over for another year but what better way to help us get over the indulgence of the festive season than with delicious and nutritious salads.  With summer upon us - for those who reside in the southern hemisphere - a tasty salad is a great accompaniment to any BBQ or rightfully, a meal on its own.  As this is my first post of 2012 (yes it did take me a while to overcome the excitement of receiving a free trip home), I thought I'd share some of my favourite salad recipes to kick off the new year.

One of my all time favourite summer salads is this Herby Pasta Salad.


Ingredients:

• Pasta (any shape - I've used bows)
• Streaky bacon
• Corn on the cob
• Salad leaves
• Avocado
• Cucumber
• Cherry tomatoes
• Bunch of basil, coriander, parsley
• Lemon juice and zest
• Olive oil
• Salt & pepper

Method:

• Fry off bacon pieces and set aside
• Steam corn and set aside - once cool, cut off corn kernels
• Assemble bacon, corn, salad leaves, avocado, cucumber and cherry tomatoes in a large bowl
• To make the dressing: blend the herbs with lemon juice, zest, olive oil, salt and pepper to taste
• Pour the over the remaining ingredients, toss and serve

I have purposely left out quantities as I think that allows the chef to add their own twist. I have made this salad countless times and it always tastes different due to the varying quantities.  But there is something about the freshness of the herbs, along with the sweetness of the corn, together with the saltiness of the bacon, that makes this salad a hit with its eaters every time.  

This Ultimate Healthy Salad is a perfect meal for detoxing and after having it for dinner, this salad made me feel like a million bucks!  This salad consists of salad leaves, tomatoes, cucumber, avocado, green mango which adds a delicious sweet flavour and smooth texture.  I pretty much threw anything I had in the fridge together, toasted some nuts and seeds, drizzled it with olive oil and lemon juice, seasoned it and it was good to go.

This Warm Garlicy Pasta Salad can be tweaked to suit different needs.  Leave out the meat to make this a delicious vegetarian meal or substitute for any smoked meats to change the flavour and texture of the meal.  The following serves two - very comfortably.


Ingredients:

• 300g cooked penne pasta
• 1 punnet of cherry tomatoes - halved
• 2 cloves of garlic - finely sliced
• 180g smoked salmon
• Large bunch of fresh basil 
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• Salt & pepper
• Freshly grated parmesan to serve

Method:

• Heat the oil in a pan and very lightly brown the garlic slices until fragrant
• Add the cherry tomatoes and let the tomatoes cook and begin to break down
• Season with salt and pepper - if adding smoked meat do not add too much salt
• Stir through the cooked pasta, the smoked salmon and half the basil until warmed through
• Serve and top with more basil, parmesan and pepper

There may seem like a lot of olive oil in this dish, but this ensures enough dressing to coat the pasta and once the garlic is cooked in this oil, it will smell delicious and adds so much flavour.  This dish is so quick and easy to make and is a perfect light summer meal.  It is even better with a glass of crisp, white, preferably New Zealand, wine.

Hopefully, these salads inspire you to experiment with different combinations to make the salad that is perfect for you.  The beauty of a salad is they can be as simple or complicated as you desire but most importantly it makes a nutritious and filling meal.  Here's to a healthy and delicious 2012!