Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Happy Birthday, Anthony! (Burmese House)

Birthday boy Anthony.
It was not really Anthony's birthday on Friday, but it was decided that we celebrate on a day convenient for everyone. This time, we went to Burmese House which, of course, serves Burmese food. I was quite intrigued by the idea of Burmese food, having never tried it before.

The menu.
Looking at the menu, it seems that we were at a mamak stall, just a fancier, more posh and more expensive version. There were the usual curries and masalas, even roti canai. Considering that Myanmar is so close to India, a strong Indian influence on the cuisine is not at the very least surprising.

Pumpkin curry.
Probably the best dish of the night for me. The curry was not as flavourful and pungent as those typically found in Malaysia. However, the pumpkin was perfectly cooked. It was tender and not overly mushy.

Beef masala.
The first thing that came to mind when I saw the dish was the ridiculously small portion for the price. The dish costs about AUD 20 and it has no more than ten chunks of beef. As though that is not bad enough, the beef was not that good at all. The gravy was rather bland. It was almost devoid of the spicy fragrance typical of masala dishes. The texture of the meat was fine, but with a slow cooked dish, how bad can it get?

Chicken salad.
The chicken salad was nothing to shout about either. The roasted chicken was very dry and tough, not surprising as they used breast meat. Definitely not a dish I would pay for.

Chilli crab.
Probably the worst dish for me. That is not because I do not like crabs. On the contrary, I love crabs to bits. However, I must, at least, applaud Burmese House for being able to cook such an awful dish out of such a wonderful ingredient.

First of all, the crabs were not something I, or anyone in the right mind, would associate with the word "fresh". The flesh reminded me of frozen shelled crab meat in packets.

The cooking was nowhere near fantastic either. The sambal was just pungent without any fragrance. It was also too oily and soggy. Personally, I take this version of chilli crab as an insult to the much exalted dish in Malaysia and Singapore.

Chicken masala.
Due to the portion of the food being so small, we were unsatisfied after we finished the food from the first order and we ordered chicken and lamb masalas. I suppose I could compliment them for their consistency in serving equally appalling beef, lamb and chicken masalas.

Fried noodles.
The fried noodles was probably one of the better dishes for the night. It tasted very much like tom yam, but I have never encountered such a dish in Thailand or Thai restaurants. The Thai influence on the dish is undeniable though. My complaint for this dish is probably the overly moist noodles. Had it been drier it would have been my favourite dish for the night.

Overall, the food was just decent if price is not taken into account. The quality of the food is just tantamount to those of simple home cooked food. Minimal effort is put into the presentation of the dishes. Therefore, I can safely conclude that the food is very much overpriced.

However, there are many online reviews of Burmese House which paint a really good picture. Shockingly, there are even Malaysians who claim that the food is spectacular. I have no comments on that (that would be safe for publishing).

If I were given two words to describe the food there, it would be "crappy mamak".

I would like to apologise to anyone who finds this review offensive. The descriptions of the food are merely my opinion.

I would also like to apologise to Anthony for writing such a short review for his birthday dinner, but if I were to go any longer, things would only get worse. Once again, sorry, and happy birthday.

303 Bridge Road,
Richmond,
VIC 3121.

03 94212861


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Saturday, August 6, 2011

The Fitz

My food journey in Melbourne continues after a month-long break. This time, Kaili and I paid a visit to The Fitz in Fitzroy. Previously, I had boldly proclaimed that there is no good food in Fitzroy and Kaili, a fan of the suburb, did not rebut, only giving in by saying her expectation in food is not as high as mine. Hence, by choosing to dine in Fitzroy, I was laying my pride on the line. Fortunately, and unfortunately today, not only did I get to eat a fantastic meal, I had to eat my words as well.

I already had a main in mind before going to the restaurant after checking out the restaurant menu online. Of course, I stuck to my course but also ordered an entree, because I can.

Salt and pepper calamari with lemon cheeks and aioli.
When this dish was served, both Kaili and I were rather puzzled, as we expected the usual calamari in thick batter and bombarded with cheap salt and pepper. Instead, we got something that looks rather classy. The layer of batter around the calamari rings were so thin that I doubted there was any batter used at all.

Nonetheless, one bite into the first calamari ring and I was proven wrong. The batter was light but surprisingly crispy and not oily at all. It was also not bombarded with salt but had a hint of sea salt and a strong punch from the black pepper. The calamari was cooked perfectly, offering some bite yet not requiring us to wrestle with it. When eaten with the aioli and lemon, the acidity of the lemon balances well with the rich eggy taste of the aioli to give the dish a really potent taste.

The aioli went perfectly with the roquette as well.

Aged rib eye with mash, green beans and mushroom ragu in red wine sauce.
My jaw dropped when I saw the dish. A big slab of rib eye with a fistful of mushroom on top resting on a generous bed of mash and green beans, what more can one ask for?

Medium rare.
The first thing to do with any steak is to cut a cross section to check the rarity. I asked for medium rare and I got medium rare. I was not impressed yet, that was just the minimum requirement. However, the overwhelming sensation of happiness when seeing the reddish pink flesh revealed while blood oozes out is one I still experience although I have eaten far more steaks that I should.

One cut of the rib eye into my mouth was all that was needed to bring out the smile which I wore for three hours straight after that. It was packed with beefy goodness and the strong beefiness just exploded into my mouth upon chewing. It had been far too long since I tasted beef that good. To complement the beef was a well reduced red wine jus, which was very mildly seasoned, thus preserving the flavour of the beef while adding the hint of fragrance of red wine. The mushroom ragu was a tad too salty for me, but when eaten with the beef, it was just right.

I was too preoccupied with the steak that I completely forgotten about the mash and green beans. Eventually, I started sampling them. The mash was very creamy and buttery with a slightly cheesy taste, just how I like my mash; the beans were tender yet crunchy. Everything was cooked to perfection.

After experimenting with various ways of enjoying the dish, I ended up eating all four elements of the dish together, which resulted in a well balanced amalgam of flavours and textures. The tender and bloody beef, the silky and milky mash, the salty and chewy mushrooms and the crunchy beans came together in an ensemble that blew my mind.

Despite my over the top praises, the dish is not yet perfect. However, there was only one thing I had a problem with which was sinew. There was way too much sinew in the steak. Otherwise, it was pretty much flawless.

Seafood linguine with salmon, mussels, scallops, prawns and olives.
Kaili ordered a seafood linguine which was one of the specials. I was quite taken aback by the size of the dish when it was served. It was almost like a cornucopia of seafood, a treasure trove of salmon, mussels, scallops and prawns. We were both very excited when the dish came in sight and might I say we were thoroughly impressed after tasting it.

The linguine was cooked for the right amount of time and was neither too chewy nor too mushy. It was drenched in a flavourful olive oil infused with chilli and a herb I failed to identify. The olive oil did not give the nauseating feeling that one gets after a big plate of pasta. Instead, it was light, tangy and the black pepper and chilli gave a strong kick.

At first I thought the linguine could steal the limelight from the seafood, that could not be further from the truth after I sampled a mussel. It was the freshest, most delicious mussel I have ever tasted. Past experiences with mussels always resulted in disappointment due to the mussels being overcooked and rubbery with foul smelling and tasting juices. This mussel, on the other hand, was completely the opposite. It was tender and succulent. One bite into it and the rich, gravy-like juice flowed into my mouth. I never knew mussels could taste so good!

The scallops were very fresh as well. They were perfectly cooked so the orange part of the meat stayed soft and juicy while the white part was a bit chewy. Perhaps not the best scallops I have ever tasted, but definitely one of the better ones.

The salmon was a bit too fatty for me. I supposed they used salmon belly, which is the expensive part but also the part with highest fat content. I love salmon belly for sashimi but in a pasta dish, that was a bit overwhelming.

Last but not least, the prawns. There is nothing much to comment here. Most restaurants in Melbourne can cook prawns to such standards so there is really no point in making a comparison. However that does not mean the prawns were just decent. They were perfect.

Kaili happily devouring.
At this point we were satisfied and extremely impressed by the food. To put it into perspective, we were smiling uncontrollably for the next hour or so. Also, we thought that since the food was so amazing, we could not go wrong with ordering desserts.

Crème brûlée.
I was looking at dessert menu on the wall before Kaili pointed out and cried, "crème brûlée!" That moment on I knew I had to order it.

Unfortunately, the crème brûlée was nowhere near as impressive as the entree and mains. The hard caramel on top was slightly burnt which resulted in a slight bitter taste. The custard was a bit too liquid for me, but not as bad as the one at Giraffe Cafe. Minor improvements and it could make it into my list of favourites.

The crème brûlée was served with what looks like a berry and pear compote. It was rather sour but definitely light and refreshing which provided some contrast to the richness of the crème brûlée. If they went easier on flavouring the compote, it would be better.

Sticky date pudding with ice-cream.
Kaili went for the sticky date pudding, which I thought of as a bizarre choice. Later on she explained that it was puasa (fasting) month, which I thought was even more bizarre.

Anyway, the sticky date pudding was very sticky, but not sticky enough that it gets stuck in your mouth or throat. It was quite a pleasure to chew the warm, moist pudding together with the cold ice-cream and the chocolate sauce. It was a very dulcet combination although one would think that it would be overly sweet. I actually preferred this dish to my crème brûlée.

All in all, the dinner was the best dinner Kaili and I have ever had (in Melbourne) in ages. Even after finishing our three courses, we were still floating away in a dreamy sensation that the food gave us.

Dreaming.
347 Brunswick St, 
Fitzroy, VIC 3065.

03 9417 5794


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