Life in a Bottle

MoVida

2011-12-08T17:04:00.001+11:00

It has been far too long since I posted. I wish I could come up with an excuse for that. Truth is I am getting a bit lazy. In fact, lazy enough to think of an excuse for being lazy. However, I have still been doing my fair share of food exploration thus I now have a painful amount of backlog to clear. To start off after the long hiatus, MoVida will be first to be crossed off the extensive list.

Kaili and I had always wanted to dine at MoVida after catching wind that it is one of the better, if not the best restaurants in Melbourne. Since I have already referred to it in the last post about MoVida Next Door, and also delineated the scene, I shall save the words for the food.

Small and cozy.

It was an ordeal for us when it came to ordering the first time we were at MoVida. First is was because the ingredients and names were quite foreign to us. Also, it was because they sounded so exquisite and delicious that we were spoiled for choice.

However, when my gaze met an item on the menu, I zeroed in on it.

Bistec tartar de Wagyu.

It was the spicy steak tartare of raw, grain-fed Wagyu beef. After watching one cooking show after another on TV, and many of them featuring dishes like tartare, tataki and carpaccio, I had developed a strong curiosity for raw beef. Hence, I knew I could not go wrong with the tartare.

Indeed, I did not go wrong. I was immediately charmed by the simple yet alluring presentation of the dish. A neat pile of raw Wagyu embellished by herbs, generously seated in the middle of the plate and crowning that was a perfect quail's yolk; surrounding the tartare was a fan of thin crispy toasts.

Then again, the taste of the tartare paled in comparison to my fascination about it, at first. But then again, steak tartare is not the type of food that bombards the taste buds with an array of intense flavours; rather, it is the kind of dish for the refined palate, one which you would chew slowly with your eyes closed to savour every bit of beef. It may sound dramatic, but it is well worth looking like a pompous blowhard of a food critic while enjoying the meat. How it just melts on your tongue but not without putting up some chewiness for the teeth; how the acidity of the meat balances with the fatty juices the Wagyu is renowned for; how the herbs, spices and onion lend heat and vibrance to the meat; how the quail yolk perfectly binds the whole dish together, the tastes and textures were remarkable, if not amazing.

The thin crispy toasts are no ordinary toasts. There is an added complexity and richness from the olive oil drizzled over the toast. Pairing the toasts and the tartare goes as well as tortilla and salsa. The crispiness of the toasts counters the softness of the beef, making the tartare a much greater delight than it already is.

Cecina.

Air-dried Wagyu with poached egg and truffle foam, I would be a fool to argue with any of the three things in this dish.

It just looked marvelous when served. It is not the typical fine dining presentation with the fancy crest sprigs, a dollop of cream here and a thin line of sauce there. This was a bountiful blossom of beautifully marbled Wagyu arranged in a petal and in the midst of that, a perfect poached egg with a generous glob of truffle foam to top it off.

To "right" way to eat this, according to our waiter, was to fold the thin slices of Wagyu into the centre and envelop the egg and then break the whole thing apart.

Folded Cecina.

Unlike the tartare, the Cecina comes in big flavours. The air-dried Wagyu resembled jamón in saltiness, the truffle foam was immensely buttery and tasted like truffle, obviously, which is also highly salty. However, this is not the kind of saltiness that makes one cringe and rush for a tall glass of water. Coupled with the runny yolk of the poached egg and the silky butter, the saltiness seemed milder and had more depth when mixed with the fat from the Wagyu which was deeply rich and flavourful, with the coveted melt-in-your-mouth quality. It was sheer perfection when all the elements combined in a rosy ensemble.

Caballa ahumado.

Caballa ahumado is smoked cold Spanish mackerel with pine nut Gazpacho sorbet. The dish looked delicate. Thin sliced pieces of gossamer mackerel spread over a long plate, topped with a lavish dollop of Gazpacho sorbet, garnished with pine nuts and crest, it was absolutely ethereal. As compared to the two previous dishes, this was more haughty than magnanimous, but passes perfectly as an archetypal fine dining dish.

The mackerel boasted of the texture of sashimi grade fish, it was sheer ecstasy to chew. The thin but gratifying pieces of mackerel gradually disintegrated and turned from cold to warm, emanating a rich, smoky flavour which enhanced, rather than masked the natural taste of the fish. The Gazpacho sorbet was slightly sweet and very creamy, which balanced well with the savoury and chewy mackerel. There was also a thick, gooey, caramel-like substance on the sorbet, which tasted like sweet soy sauce but with a stronger and more captivating flavour. The pine nuts added an extra edge of crunchiness and nuttiness to a nigh perfect combination. This delectable duo of sweet and savoury makes for an unforgettable experience, and to put that into perspective, out of three visits to MoVida, Kaili and I have ordered this thrice.

Pate de pato.

Liver lovers out there, this is for you - a plentiful parfait of duck liver, a soft, egg-like cube of Pedro Ximenez foam and two stacks of square toasted brioche, all on a rectangular plate. The use of simple geometric shapes makes this dish as much an enjoyment to gaze upon as to chew on.

The liver parfait tasted, well, like liver. This is one of the kinds of food which people either love or hate. The sandy, pasty yet smooth texture enriched the subtle and pleasant bitterness. The Pedro Ximenez foam, which was light, springy, bouncy and foamy with a sweet, fruity flavour, offsets the thick richness of the liver. I figured the intended way to eat this dish is to slice the liver and foam and spread them on the brioche and I think I was right. When eaten that way, the mixture of textures and tastes just burst forth in a rich, vibrant, sweet and salty, soft and crunchy blast.

A word of warning though, this dish is a tad too much for two, unless both are ludicrous liver lovers. As much as I love liver, it was far too intense for me. If I had another two people to share it with, it would be perfect.

Ganache.

Kaili is well known as a sucker for dessert, myself, not so much. However, certain desserts do appeal to me, like lava cake or soufflés. Hence, we knew we had to order the ganache. Even the waiter who warned us it takes about fifteen minutes guaranteed that it was well worth the wait - and he was right on the money.

We were mesmerised by the ganache when it was served. There it was a perfect, puck shaped dark chocolate cake with a hearty dollop of vanilla bean ice-cream on top and a few cubes of nougat on the side. Cutting the ganache itself with a spoon revealed an treasure trove of molten, dark chocolate, oozing out gradually and mixing with the melted ice-cream. Heavenly.

The chocolate was not the usual cocoa and sugar mix. It had the complex nuttiness and a bitter hint, which evolved into a sweet aftertaste. Soft and moist on the outside, warm and molten on the inside, the ganache was good enough on its own. Married with the ice-cream, the contrast of hot and cold, bitter and sweet makes this dessert one of the best, if not the best dessert Kaili and I have ever tasted. I would go to MoVida for this alone, but knowing how hard it is to get seats, I would probably go for a full meal.

I would not hesitate to call MoVida my favourite restaurant in Melbourne. It features a comfortably sizable menu with just enough variety, dishes with fine dining quality at a more than hearty portion and a very reasonable price. It gives the feeling that in the kitchen is a magnanimous, gregarious chef whose sole aim is for the diners to eat well, drink well and love life. One could really taste and feel the passion pumping through the place and the food. To cut it short, MoVida and its food really takes you places. Spain, perhaps.

1 Hosier Lane,

Melbourne,

VIC 3000.

03 9663 3038

Next door to MoVida Next Door.

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MoVida Next Door

2011-10-27T12:39:00.003+11:00

The aptly named MoVida Next Door is one of the hot spots in the city. It is a soulful (meaning: full of souls or too damned crowded) bar in Hosier Lane, just next to Forum Melbourne, obscured in an artsy alley embellished with abstract graffiti and inspirational quotes, its outer façade too, does not lack the painted, witty, light-hearted jokes, which one can enjoy while waiting for a table.

After Spring's gig on Tuesday, herself, Jayden, Edwin, Kaili and I decided to have a post production celebration dinner. Instead of Movida Next Door, we planned to go Movida. Unfortunately, there was only one table in Movida which could accommodate five and it was occupied. The waiter advised us to try our luck next door, literally. Still, it was an eternity of waiting and we were cold and starving.

We could not wait any more after getting a table. We were squinting at the menu and the specials board, trying to figure out the Spanish words in dim light. In the end, we ordered platija, mejillones, camarones, embutido, codorniz, two bombas and churros. I did the ordering, with the mock Spanish accent and the signature lisp.

Now, to get to what those words mean.

Mejillones.

Mejillones means mussels, not just any mussels but the sweetest mussels that I have ever tasted. There was no doubt about their freshness. Every pair of those iridescent shells cradled a sizeable mussel within. Each of those treasures were firm, succulent and absolutely exquisite. Upon biting them, them just broke apart and the pieces just bounced around my mouth, unleashing the torrent of juicy goodness from within. Words utterly fail me at this moment in doing justice to the mussels. They were hands down the very best. I would have to credit MoVida Next Door for having found the secret to the miraculous mussels, by marrying them with a light broth. As such, the natural flavour of the mussels was put on stage and in the limelight, with nothing to mask or kill the flavour. On the other hand, the broth was flavoured by the sweetness of the mussels, which Kaili and I would have drank had the pot not been so heavy or if we had a spoon.

Embutido.

Embutido is just a generic term for sausages. MoVida Next Door serves three types of meats for their version. One is a salami with fennel and aniseed, another thin slices of loin ham and the last being a spicy, chorizo-like ham.

The salami was probably my favourite. It had a more chewy texture due to the hardened spots of fats. The tastes of fennel and aniseed were quite prominent, which gave the salami a more complex flavour as compared to the usual overly salty ones.

The loin ham was quite a new experience for me. It was rather bland and was masked by the taste of olive oil that was drizzled on the board. I suppose one could call it a healthier and more premium ham, due to the light seasoning and the price. The texture of the ham was also typical of expensive ham. It had the texture of grated cheddar, only meatier and slightly softer.

The last of the lot was the spicy ham. There was a stark contrast between that and the loin ham due to the burst of saltiness and spiciness upon chewing. Texture-wise, it was somewhere between the salami and the loin ham. It was not too chewy but not too soft and quite a delight to chew on.

Platija.

Platija simply means flounder and MoVida Next Door fries theirs with butter, jamón and sour peppers. For me, the idea of frying whole fish until crispy with butter is just strange. However, only one side of the fish is fried until crispy, the other just looks like steamed fish. Interestingly, the sour peppers gave the butter sauce a slight hint of sourness while the jamón, salty on their own, did little to the taste of the dish as a whole. The fish itself was amazing though. It was fresh as can be as the flesh was firm and gave a lot of bite. Still, I think it is a rather unpleasant way to cook such a wonderful fish.

Codorniz.

Codorniz means quail. Jayden did not made much fuss about what to order but was rather insistent on the quail and he got what he wanted. The first thing that came to mind when the dish was served was: where is the quail? After digging in the jar that was served together with some shaved, white thing, four pieces of large croutons, we found a rather cute piece of quail meat. The quail, apparently, is pan-seared and then soaked in sherry and pomegranate. By itself, the quail had a wonderful, slightly rubbery texture to it which made it an absolute pleasure to bite. I wondered whether it was the sherry that altered the texture of the meat or was it like that to begin with. One thing the sherry did do was make the quail very sour. Though the idea of eating meat in vinegar is quite appalling to me, the quail had a refreshing quality to it.

When eaten with the croutons and the white things, it was quite a wide range of textures in one mouthful. The croutons were crispy and crunchy, the white things had a fibrous texture and the quail's was as described above. It was certainly an explosion of flavours, which would leave those who are curious and analytic about tastes flustered due to the rather chaotic mix. Is that a good thing or a bad thing? I think it could be both.

Camarones.

Camarones means shrimps. These were tiny shrimps deep fried and heavily salted, served in a paper cone, on a wooden board, with a wedge of lemon and aioli, a rather novel presentation. The shrimps were crispy but not completely dry. Despite being thoroughly deep fried, the flesh still retained some moisture.

By themselves the shrimps were terribly salty but when dipped in the aioli, the creamy sourness balances perfectly with the saltiness. It certainly made a good snack. The only thing I have against this dish is the portion. It was by no means hearty.

We were still quite famished after the five dishes. So we ordered some tapas and a dessert.

Bomba.

By now, one would expect another literal name for the next dish. If so, this dish would come as a shocker. It does not take a polyglot to figure out what "bomba" means.

The menu describes the Bomba as a chorizo-filled Catalan Potato Bomb with a spicy sauce. I guess it reminded me of Indonesian perkedel (potato cakes), just with a more Mediterranean touch due to the spicy sauce. The crust was crispy and the potato inside was silky. However, at AUD 4.50 a piece, I would expect the Bomba to stay true to its description "chorizo-filled". I could only find two pieces of chorizo in each of those golf ball sized balls. This one really let me down.

Churros.

It would be an understatement to say that Spring and Kaili were enthusiastic about the churros. It was all they wanted from start to end.

MoVida Next Door's churros are powdered with cinnamon instead of castor sugar, which made it less in-your-face and more of an adult taste. Diners only looking to satisfy their sweet tooth would not be able to appreciate the subtlety of the churros and the dip, which they described in the menu as drinking chocolate. The drinking chocolate is atypical of those usually used as dips. It was not too thick and too sweet. Instead, the taste is more of a complex amalgam of nuts and cocoa.

All in all, MoVida Next Door has a mix of great, good and decent dishes. Fortunately, there was nothing that stood out by putting me off. When it comes to seafood, the freshness is guaranteed but their way of cooking might not be so suited to my taste. Would I return for another meal? Probably for the mussels or if MoVida, which is next door to Next Door, has any vacancies, it would be a much better choice.

I would like to credit Edwin for being my lighting specialist for the night.

1 Hosier Lane,

Melbourne,

VIC 3000.

03 9663 3038

Google Maps does not seem to have 1 Hosier Lane as MoVida Next Door. However, I will still include a map.

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Happy Birthday, Edwin! (The Point)

2011-10-16T22:06:00.001+11:00

Before I begin, I would like to apologise to Edwin for the long overdue post.

The Point.

Mmmmm... fresh meat.

The Point is one of the more famous fancy steakhouses in Melbourne. A standalone building situated in the tranquil Albert Park, the restaurant is not only renowned for excellent steak but also a picturesque view of the famous lake. It was also where we celebrated Edwin's birthday this year.

Mimi, Edwin, Keith and me.

Since it is a steakhouse, most of us ordered steaks except for Kaili who ordered lamb. As such, this review is going to be extremely short as compared to those where I review more than five dishes.

Avoiding the exorbitantly priced Wagyu in the menu, I quickly skipped to the grain fed section. This time, I ordered the 250g grain fed eye fillet.

Eye fillet.

My first impression of the steak was better than that of most other steaks. The crust was nicely lined with char marks, not completely burnt and dried, the bone with the marrow was placed neatly on a pile of what seemed to be coleslaw, and the surface of the plate was immaculate. It looked highly professional.

However, looks are more often than not deceiving.

Definitely not medium rare.

Cutting the steak open with the knife took more effort than usual. The resistance that the meat put up was not typical of medium rare steaks. As I pried open the cut, I was rather appalled. The meat was almost completely browned. It was more cooked than a medium well steak.

I called the waiter to the table and told him I ordered a medium rare. He looked at it and said, "that is definitely not medium rare," and left with the plate.

For the next ten minutes, I had to watch everyone else enjoy their meal while I had an empty spot in front of me on the table. Fortunately Kaili fed me some of her lamb.

Murraylands grain fed spring lamb, charred baby leeks and vincotto dressing.

The lamb dish was absolutely beautiful.

The lamb cutlets were served pink and the other cuts were cooked to perfection. It is rather rare (pun intended) that lamb is served this pink but that was the reason why Kaili and I loved the cutlets so much. The meat was succulent and moist from being drenched in a generous serve of the dressing. Upon an effortless bite, the meat is easily compressed and the dressing and juices flow from within onto the tongue. The pairing of pink spring lamb with the thick, intense sauce was just perfect.

The thin cut of meat and fat was a new experience for me and Kaili. We have never seen that cut of lamb before. The meat, being so close to the fat, was soft and supple. It goes without saying that the fat itself is capable of melt-in-your-mouth action. The hair-thin layer of skin had a jelly-like texture and completely absorbed the flavours of the dressing. The savoury dressing accompanies this cut well, rendering the fat less nauseating than it would have been without the sauce.

Another part of the lamb served was the lamb shank. Slow-cooked to perfection, the meat just disintegrates in the mouth. Fully infused with the vincotto dressing, the meat was packed with strong flavours. My only problem with the lamb shank is that there was not enough of it.

The part that is kept hidden from view in the photo was what seemed to me like lamb kidneys. To me it was perfectly cooked, and there is not much more to it as kidneys just taste like kidneys. Kaili, on the other hand, is not a fan of entrails, and left almost all of them to me.

Eye fillet take two.

After ten minutes, the waitress who took my order came back with a plate of steak. She apologised for the blunder with the first steak and told me the chef gave complimentary cuts of their best meat, the Blackmore Wagyu.

Something like medium rare.

This time, the chef got the steak almost to the right rarity. Still, it was a bit dry from the crust to about half an inch into the steak.

There was really nothing spectacular about the steak. It was just a typical eye fillet one can get from any of the more famous steakhouses in Melbourne. The steak was tender and juicy in the middle and was adequately seasoned. It was good enough to eat on its own as the beef was naturally flavourful.

All the beef dishes are accompanied by peppered fig chutney, black garlic butter and house mustard. My favourite among those would be the peppered fig chutney. Sweet and spicy with a texture similar to sundried tomatoes soaked in oil, it embellished the savoury beef well by giving it a sweet and tangy flavour. The black garlic butter tasted like regular garlic bread butter and was nothing to shout about. The house mustard, on the other hand, was something to shout about, not in a good way. It tasted exactly like wasabi and totally robbed the beef of its natural flavours.

I have also sampled a few of the sauces. The red wine sauce which I ordered was rather subtle as to not mask the beef's flavour. It had a toned down sweetness which made it pale in comparison to the peppered fig chutney. The bearnaise sauce was too dilute for me, which made me question the point of having the beef with the sauce since it hardly did anything to the flavour. The piece de resistance would have to be the mushroom sauce. Thick and dark with an ostentatious display of complex flavours from different mushrooms, most prominent of which shitake, the sauce is probably one of the best mushroom sauces that has graced my tongue.

The bone marrow was nothing special. I suppose it is eaten more for texture than taste. It was quite rare and was still pink. It was akin to eating jelly, just a lot bloodier.

Last but not least, the Blackmore Wagyu slices. They were so precious that I was only given four pieces by the chef, one of which I gave Edwin as a birthday present, another I fed Kaili with. I would have to say that the Wagyu slices made me a little exasperated and consolidated my disappointment in the restaurant. They were by far over-seasoned. It made me wonder whether the meat was aged by salting. It was a blatant insult to Blackmore Wagyu. Texture-wise the beef was perfect. Thoroughly marbled, tender, succulent, but just too damned salty. That, to me was the deal breaker.

Perhaps it would not be fair to judge after eating once at a restaurant, but more often than not, a restaurant has only one chance to impress. Being a renowned steakhouse, The Point has managed to kill off whatever expectation I had for it prior to dining there by serving salted Wagyu. Will I return to The Point? Probably not when I have places like Bob's.

Aquatic Dr,

Albert Park Lake,

Melbourne 3206,

VIC.

0396825566

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Mamasita

2011-09-26T23:04:00.000+10:00

Mamasita is one of the renowned Mexican restaurants in Melbourne and has always been a hot topic among the circle of foodies I know. It is famous for its reasonably priced and delicious food and infamous for the sheer difficulty to get seats and the long waits.

The first time I visited Mamasita was with Kaili, Jeremy and Jojo. We arrived at the restaurant at 6.10 p.m. and the friendly lady at the door told us they had an opening at 10:30 p.m. That was when my jaw dropped in utter disbelief and the Italian hand sign came up. We decided to head somewhere else for a dinner before returning later for supper.

After having dinner at Rosati, Mamasita called and said they had an opening at nine and we rushed there without pausing for doubt despite being a bit full from dinner.

I was there for a second time with Kaili another Saturday but at five, and we got seats immediately.

The range of food we ordered both times overlap so I will lump them together into one review.

Tortilla chips with guacamole and salsa.

Lightly salted and crispy, the tortilla chips are an absolute delight to start a meal with. The guacamole definitely blew all of us away. It was a rich and creamy dip with a bit chunky onions and the refreshing burst of sourness from the onions and lime and the creaminess of the avocado complement the chips perfectly. The salsa, on the other hand, paled in comparison to the guacamole but it was by no means bad. The watery texture made it less appealing and impressive than the guacamole. However, the mild spiciness made it a nice alternative to the guacamole.

Elotes callejeros.

Described in the menu as "Street Style" chargrilled corn, queso, chipotle mayonnaise and lime, this unassuming dish is one of the star attractions of Mamasita, a fact which we did not learn about until after the first meal. At first I thought the white shavings on the corn were grated coconut so I did not order that. After talking to V Vien, she insisted that "you must order the corn" in the hypnotised voice and the second time round, that was what we did.

I would have to say it is the best corn I have ever tasted, hands down. The corn was still juicy and sweet despite being chargrilled and black on some parts. The sweetness of the corn is balanced with the sourness of the lime and chipotle mayonnaise and the saltiness of the queso (cheese). When it comes to texture, this dish shines as well due to the melted cheese which added more bite to the crunchy corn as well as the mayonnaise which added moisture. This dish is simple but absolutely brilliant.

Tostaditas de pollo (chicken).

Chargrilled chicken, avocado, queso fresco (cheese) and chipotle mayonnaise on four 2.5 inch tostaditas. These supposedly bite-sized snacks are not really bite-sized, unless jaw dislocation comes naturally. The chicken was shredded into strands and was a bit too dry for me. However, it was saved by the avocado base which gave a creamy texture to the dish. The chipotle mayonnaise packed a light punch with its spiciness which was slightly cured by the avocado. I was also fond of the smoky flavour in the chicken.

Tostaditas de cangrejos (crabs).

This dish is tostaditas, like the one above but with crab meat, avocado, cucumber, tamarind, mayonnaise and red chilli. We are not really fans of this dish. The amount of crab meat in the dish is rather pathetic and any taste of crab is masked by that of the cucumber, tamarind and mayonnaise. I would forgo this dish for something else.

Taco de pescado (fish) y taco de chorizo.

The first time in Mamasita, we had the tacos de camarones (prawns) and the tacos de chorizo and the second time we had the tacos de chorizo again and tried the tacos de pescado (fish).

The taco de camarones consists of marinated prawns, habanero chillies and chipotle almond salsa. I was pretty impressed by the dish due to the size and freshness of the prawns. They were crunchy and succulent, how prawns are supposed to be. The chilli and chipotle almond salsa gave it a sourish and spicy taste which balanced the savoury prawns perfectly. Definitely something I would order again.

There is something about chorizos that appeal to me, maybe it is just because it is made from meat and it sounds more exotic than "sausage". Thus, it was imperative that we ordered the taco de chorizo. Made from chorizo, obviously, cabbage, chipotle, coriander and onion, this dish is not for anyone without a tongue resistant to pungent food. During my first visit, the chorizo and the chipotle were just nice in terms of spiciness. However, during my second visit, the spiciness was multiplied by a factor of ten, or somewhere around there. It was stinging the tongue with every bite. I wish there was more consistency with the spiciness. If the first one's spiciness was normal, I would order this dish every time; if the second one was normal, I would probably only opt for it whenever an act of self-punishment is necessary.

Last of the taco trio, the taco de pescado, which has grilled fish, lime, achiote paste and red onion salsa. Basically, this dish reminded me of ikan bakar (grilled fish) in Malaysia, except it was wrapped in a taco. The fish was cooked to perfection and was still moist and soft on the inside. Other than that, there was really nothing spectacular about it.

Quesadilla de cordero (lamb).

Apparently the quesadilla de cordero is not on the online menu so I cannot list out the ingredients. As far as I can tell, there's queso, lamb and mint sauce. Surprisingly, the lamb was still gamy, the way I like it as the mint sauce was rather mild and did not mask the gaminess. The cheese gave the quesadilla an interesting texture, something like a pie with cheese and chunky meat. There was certainly a lot of bite in the thin slices of the quesadilla.

I have also sampled the quesadilla de pollo, which is quesadilla containing chargrilled chicken with pico de gallo (salsa fresca), coriander and queso fresco. The chicken in the quesadilla is juicier and more moist than that of the tostaditas. The pico de gallo which is a fresh, uncooked salsa gave the dish a refreshing touch of sour and spicy which balanced the smoky, savoury flavour of the chicken. To provide texture, melted cheese is thrown into the fray creating a simple but delicious dish. Personally, I prefer the chicken to the lamb.

Camarones gigantes al ajillo.

The only main we have ever ordered, the grilled prawns, toasted garlic and green almond sauce. The grilled prawns were fresh, succulent and crunchy like those of the taco de camarones. They had the charred flavour as well which added depth to the dish. The toasted garlic oil and the green almond sauce were rather subtle in the sense that they did not kill the natural flavours of the prawns. They do, however, add texture to the dish as there were chunks of almond and slices of toasted garlic in the sauce. Together, the saltiness of the prawn and the garlic oil, the slightly burnt taste of the fragrant toasted garlic were in a perfect ensemble with the accompaniment of light hints of almond and herbs from the green almond sauce. It was an assault on the senses, in a good way. A very flavourful dish but beware of the garlic breath that follows. Nevertheless, this dish is well worth the money and the risk of chasing people away.

Frituras de manzana.

The apple fritters and vanilla pear sorbet were rather disappointing. The apple fritters were crispy but had a strong taste of oil in the batter. That alone was enough to put all of us off. The apple was also too tough and required much effort in cutting with the fork.

The vanilla pear sorbet was decent but could not salvage the dish on its own. It was reasonably sweet but due to the apple fritters being too sweet, the sorbet was a bit tasteless in comparison.

Helado de maiz.

Sweet corn ice-cream cone with caramalised popcorn. This dessert is simple yet wonderful. The ice-cream had a nice consistency and the amazing part was the resemblance of its flavour to sweet corn, unlike most sweet corn ice-creams which just taste artificial. This was the real deal! The ice-cream was not excessively sweet but gets a bit sweeter when eaten with the caramalised popcorn. The flavour of caramel and sweet corn dancing in the mouth together with the sensation of the cold ice-cream and the warm popcorn is an absolute delight.

Unfortunately, the second time we had the ice-cream, the sweet corn fragrance was completely gone. It is a real shame.

Mamasita is a restaurant which deserves its fame. The long queue outside the shop and in the stairway is a testament to that. However, the fact that the inconsistency in the taste of the food makes me doubt whether I would put Mamasita up with the other restaurants in my list of favourites. That being said, I will probably still return to the restaurant for a few more times before deciding.

1/11 Collins Street,

Melbourne,

3000 VIC.

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Rosati

2011-09-19T12:37:00.000+10:00

I have not posted in a very long time. If there is anyone out there who anticipates my posts, well, I would have to call you the biggest dumbass on the planet and then apologise for my language and also for not posting.

Not posting does not mean I have not been out hunting for food. On the contrary, I have never been so actively and enthusiastically hopping from one restaurant to another before.

Rosati.

This time, the hunt took me to Rosati, a rather large Italian restaurant somewhere on Flinders Lane. Actually, we went over to Mamasita first, but they only had an opening for dinner at 10:30 so we decided to go somewhere else first and Rosati just happened to look appealing at the time.

Somewhere around a week later, I went back again. Yes, it was that good.

Without further ado, allow me to proceed to the food.

Pork belly.

The pork belly looked interesting to me when it was served. The first thing that came to mind was, "where is the pork belly?" Apparently Rosati's version of pork belly is not the usual slab of roast with crispy skin; instead it was sliced into half-inch thick pieces and dressed with balsamic vinegar and almost completely covered in currants, pomegranate and pine nuts.

I would say I was completely surprised when I took a bite into a piece of the pork belly. Firstly, to tick off all the criteria for good pork belly. Crispy skin, tick; copious amounts of fat, tick; tender and juicy meat, tick; refreshing sourness, what?! The sourness is not from the pork going stale, but it was from the balsamic vinegar, currants and pomegranate which actually balances the fattiness of the pork belly really well. The crunchiness of the pine nuts, the currants and the pomegranate also adds texture to the otherwise monotonous softness of the layers of fat. Those elements make it an ease to continue munching on the pork belly, whereas the conventional pork belly gives eaters a headache after the initial excitement. In fact, the pork belly was so addictive that Kaili and I craved for it from time to time.

Unfortunately when we were back to appease our stomachs, the pork belly was nowhere near as good anymore. The pieces were too thinly sliced and just too dry such that the layer of fat lost all its appeal. I hope Rosati improves on their pork belly and their consistency as this dish is one of the most recommended dishes.

Calamari with baby cress and almond aioli.

Nothing really worth mentioning here. It is just a typical deep fried calamari resembling those found in most restaurants in Melbourne. The batter was not really flavourful and a bit too much of it was coated onto the calamari. The almond aioli was just so-so. In fact, I could not really decide whether the calamari was better with or without the aioli. It did not make such a significant difference to the taste. It is not a dish I would order again at Rosati.

Polpette or Sicilian meatballs.

I would have to say that I thought the meatballs were rather good, but to be fair, how bad can meatballs get? Also, the meatballs are not just typical balls of minced meat, instead, the fat content in the meatballs lived up to my expectations and (if I am correct), there was also cheese in the mix, which gave the meatballs added flavour and complexity.

The sauce, which seems like napolitana to me, was just about right. It was not intensely sour as to kill the taste of beef and was not too bland either. I do wish that it could be a bit thicker though.

Button mushroom with garlic cream and breadcrumbs.

To be honest I was really anticipating something amazing when I ordered this dish. Italians are after all the masters of mushroom. Again, this dish really disappointed me. The mushrooms were soggy due to the the garlic cream which was so dilute that I would not even call it a cream, and worst of all, it was rather tasteless. The breadcrumbs could not save the dish from being abysmal. It being in the dish is just like adding breadcrumbs into water.

Gnocchi with lamb.

The gnocchi with lamb was a special for the day, which is not in the menu, during our second visit. As such, I do not know what was the cheese that was in the dish. I had another gnocchi dish the first time we were there. For both occasions, the gnocchi was almost perfect. It had a soft puffiness to it and a creamy texture inside. The gnocchi just disintegrates without much chewing yet offers a bit of bite before that. I also appreciate the fact that the lamb was cooked to perfection and was tender such that there was no strong contrast between the texture of the meat and the gnocchi.

The lamb and the gravy were adequately seasoned with a tangy, tomato-like flavour. The cheese scattered on the dish had an intense saltiness but when eaten with the lamb and gnocchi, it created a rich amalgam of taste and texture which I found quite hard to resist.

Done with the mains, it is time to move on to the desserts.

Chocolate pudding, citrus and vanilla ice-cream.

Rosati is quite famous for their chocolate pudding and when you are out dining with women, it is rather hard not to go into desserts. However, the chocolate pudding did not live up to expectations. Although the core was molten and flowed out like a heavenly chocolate dream when we cut the cross section, the pudding itself did not taste as good as I pictured it to be. The pudding just tasted awfully floury and did not have a significant chocolate taste.

The citrus, on the other hand, tasted really like citrus and excessively so. It was so sour that all of us cringed after having it. Not something I would look forward to the next time I go to Rosati, if I ever still want to return.

The vanilla ice-cream was just decent, like any vanilla ice-cream one can find in Italian restaurants in Melboune. Nothing special there.

Layer cake with strawberry and raspberry sauce.

This dessert is a daily special, as such, I do not really know the exact name as the waitress read out the name at the speed of sound. Anyway, on to the review.

The first thing that came to mind with this dish, I mean cup, was the difficulty to eat it. When we drove the spoon down to the bottom, the cake escapes the spoon and all we got was thick strawberry and raspberry sauce, which was a sugar overload. That being said, the sauce was the real thing. It had loads of crushed berries in it and it hits that sweet spot in an instant when eaten. As we ate, the ratio of cake to sauce increased and the sweetness got to a saner level.

For the sugar addicts and the insane, this dessert would certainly satisfy; for diabetics, it would send you straight up to heaven.

Chocolate mousse with orange sorbet.

Being a sucker for chocolate mousse, I might be a bit biased with this, but Kaili can vouch for me. We loved this dessert to bits. The chocolate mousse had the right consistency and complexity. It was airy and smooth with a bit of bite and had a nutty flavour to it instead of just being purely cocoa and sugar. The sorbet did wonders to the dish as well. Balancing the thick, sweet mousse with a touch of ice cold, tangy orange made the dish surprisingly refreshing.

I would recommend this to everyone who visits Rosati, but there is one slight problem, it is a daily special so it really depends on your luck whether you get to sample this wonder when you are there to dine.

All in all, Rosati is a decent restaurant. The first dinner at Rosati gave me a really good impression. The food was superb and the waiters and waitresses were really friendly. The second time round, some dishes were just plain weird and off-putting. Will we return to Rosati? Perhaps to satisfy that sporadic craving for the pork belly, otherwise, there are better places in town.

95, Flinders Lane,
Melbourne,
VIC 3000.

03 9654 7772

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Happy Birthday, Anthony! (Burmese House)

2011-08-23T13:57:00.002+10:00

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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The Fitz

2011-08-06T02:17:00.276+10:00

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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Back to Business Again

2011-07-28T01:55:00.000+10:00

I am back in Melbourne again after a month in Malaysia, from the oven back into the refrigerator. Melbourne's winter is particularly harsh this year. It was six degrees when I arrived at Tullamarine.

I am no longer that reluctant to leave Malaysia anymore. Perhaps it is the growing disappointment in the path where my beloved home is heading; perhaps one grows out of being sentimental after being away for too long; perhaps after leaving home six times, the effect wears off; perhaps it is the brand new lens that Cherry bought from Hong Kong for me that made me anxious to return; perhaps there is more to it than I know of.

There are certain things in Melbourne I have missed and will miss when I am somewhere else.

Friends.

Not Crown but beautiful architecture in general.

Coffee that actually tastes like coffee.

The amazing pink tint in the sky after sunset.

I love this place.

Orchid Live Seafood

2011-07-20T13:58:00.143+10:00

Orchid Live Seafood Restaurant.

This leg of the journey in Singapore takes me to Orchid Live Seafood Restaurant with my parents and my dad's former schoolmate. The restaurant certainly looked impressive from outside with the parking assistants instructing customers on which parking space to take, and the illuminated signboard with its two lobster heads on both sides looked imposing as well. Still, to be truly impressive the food has to be top notch.

Cold crabs.

I have never sampled cold mud crabs before. The only cold crabs that I have eaten are flower crabs, which I am not such a fan of. Hence, I was a bit sceptical with this dish.

I went for the shells first due to the obscene amount of roe in them. A spoonful of roe into my mouth and I was delighted. The creaminess and fat in the roe just melts in the mouth. From what I could tell, the roe was seasoned with a bit of shao xing wine, which added a strong fragrance to the roe without getting rid of the roe's intense flavour.

The meat was rather fresh but had a tough layer of skin in between the meat and the shell. I think that was due to the crab being in the moulting stage. Nonetheless, cold crab meat is not too special to me although it does have its merits as an appetiser. There is something about crab meat that makes one turn hungry.

Unknown vegetable.

I am beginning to see the connection between Teochews and this vegetable. In every Teochew restaurant or restaurant with a Teochew influence, this dish was on plenty of the tables. Yet again, it was just another fried vegetable. Nothing special there. I did not quite fancy the soggy vegetables and the overpowering flavour of garlic.

Lobster congee.

I have always thought that cooking congee with lobster is a waste of a good ingredient. Orchid proved me wrong, so wrong in fact that now I think cooking lobster in congee is perhaps one of the best ways of preparing the shellfish.

Although lightly seasoned, the congee was sweetened by the lobsters. Despite that, the lobsters still retained their natural flavour. Also, the generous amount of shao xing wine in the congee complemented the sweetness of the lobsters well. The lack of robust flavours is made up for by the juicy, succulent texture of the lobsters. Another praise I have for the dish is the number of lobsters in the claypot. I swear there must have been more than ten halves in there. That kind of generosity is much appreciated when it comes to seafood.

Steamed fish.

Another steamed fish dish. Nothing to shout about here. The fish could have been fresher but by Singaporean standards, I am not complaining.

Steven chicken.

I did not know the name of this dish until a quick Google search. I am guessing that someone by the name of Steven invented this dish or is a known coward. However, the look of the dish definitely raises more questions than the name.

I suppose it could be called a semi-deboned chicken wing, or a semi-dechickened wing bone. The idea behind this technique I suppose is to expose more surface area to the batter to give more crisp and crunch to an otherwise boring friend chicken wing dish. Whatever it is for, it definitely worked for me.

The sauce that is used to lightly glaze the chicken wings was a sweet, tangy sauce which had a honey-like consistency, very much like those applied to honey glazed pork ribs. It was not too heavy in flavour, robust but not treacly and applied in a sensible amount such that it did not make the batter soggy. Very good balance between taste and texture.

Deep fried seafood tofu.

By the time this dish came I was stuffed to the brim, but still I could not resist deep fried goodies.

The fillings in the tofu I could not identify but it definitely tasted like a mix of seafood, most likely prawns, with pork. It tasted like the generic deep fried seafood tofu available in most seafood restaurants. Perhaps it due to me being so full that I could not really enjoy this dish and do it justice with my review.

Orchid Live Seafood Restaurant is the kind of place where you would think of going to every now and then for their famous dishes, but not to go so far as to call it your favourite seafood restaurant. However, one thing that left a great impression was the generosity in the portion of the food which is unknown to our region due to the culture of "frugality" among restaurant owners, especially when it comes to more pricey ingredients like seafood.

16 Jalan Kelulut,

Singapore 809033.

9636 1909

Liang Kee Restaurant

2011-07-18T01:37:00.170+10:00

The last time I dined in Liang Kee was close to a decade ago. From what I remember, the food was so-so, nothing special, except the location, Clarke Quay. This time, Liang Kee has moved to a HDB, however, the food most certainly made up for the less glamourous location.

Teochew stewed duck.

The stewed duck did not work the magic with me this time around. Although there was nothing to complain about with the texture, it had a strong taste of turmeric, which was a let down for me. The duck meat was stewed until tender but still offering some bite; whereas the skin was silky smooth, lending some softness and moisture to the meat when chewed.

Trigger fish in black bean sauce.

I do not remember ever having trigger fish before that dinner, but it was pretty much love at first bite. Trigger fish has tougher meat than most fish but once bitten breaks apart, releasing the moisture in the meat, if the fish is fresh. This dish had fresh trigger fish drenched in a rather intense sauce, which was well balanced with saltiness from the black beans, soy sauce and the sweetness from the ginger. However, the sauce is nowhere near that of Hock Seng Hin's standard.

Oh lua (oyster omelette).

This dish teaches one to not judge a book by its cover. What looks like a plain omelette when flipped over reveals a treasure trove of fresh, decently sized oysters in a thick, starchy sauce. The sauce was just perfectly seasoned to draw out the natural flavours of the oyster without the seasoning itself being too ostentatious in taste. When it comes to texture, this dish also shined with the egg being equally thick throughout and with space in between layers of the omelette, giving a rather spongy feel. The oysters were crunchy and juicy. One of the best oyster omelettes I have ever tasted.

Fried vegetables.

I feel ashamed for not knowing what this vegetable is. Also, I cannot really review this because I have nothing in comparison. However, it probably just is another vegetable dish which is nowhere near spectacular.

Sambal crayfish.

Actually, they should just call this chilli crayfish, as the sauce is highly similar to that of chilli crab, which Singapore is famous for. Nonetheless, a wrong name does not make the dish wrong, in fact, it was pretty darn good. The crayfish was very succulent and crunchy due to its freshness. The sambal was also great, exactly what one would expect from a chilli crab sauce. Beyond that, there is not much to compliment. Just how much better can chilli crab sauce get? I am pretty sure there are better.

Deep fried tofu with minced pork.

By far the best version of this dish I have ever tasted. Yes, I have tasted this dish in every Chinese restaurant that I have dined at in Malaysia and still Liang Kee's version can take the top spot. The secret of this dish is in the sauce. What the secret is, I probably will never know. The sauce is so complex, with a faint hint of salted fish and black beans, subtle but sufficient to contribute to the rich amalgam of savoury flavours. Despite the sauce being extremely rich, the taste of egg in the tofu was still evident. The minced pork gave the dish an extra type of texture, bringing succulent together with silky smooth and a thick sauce into a mind blowing combination. Until now I can still vividly recall the tastes and textures of the dish.

Steamed bun.

This was ordered to go with the sambal from the sambal crayfish, but to call it a sideshow would be insulting. The texture of the bun is nothing short of amazing. It was so soft, light and malleable, a bit spongy even, nothing like the compressed mound of dough that most restaurants. It goes perfectly with the sambal.

Oh ni (Yam paste).

This was first time I had ever tasted this wondrous dessert. It was sensibly sweet due to the natural sweetness from the yam and pumpkin, though a pinch of sugar was probably added to it to boost the sweetness. The muddy texture of the yam and the fibrous and sticky pumpkin bound together perfectly. I think a bit of starch was also added to thicken the paste. Although sticky desserts are far from my cup of tea, Liang Kee's oh ni managed to hit the sweet, sweet spot and I am craving for it every now and then. Absolutely fantastic.

Liang Kee's food totally shatters the misconception that Singapore has bad Chinese food. Having been around for decades, the people at Liang Kee have honed their mastery of Teochew cuisine to a level that is uncannily high. Definitely a contender for the best restaurant in Singapore that I have ever dined at.

737, Havelock Road,

Singapore 169653.

60787026

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Kok Sen Restaurant

2011-07-17T01:41:00.136+10:00

This entry is the beginning of a series of restaurant reviews in Singapore.

For the first leg of this journey, my not-so-uncle uncle took us to Kok Sen Restaurant in Chinatown. According to my granduncle, we had to go early lest the restaurant gets too crowded and parking gets hard to find. Those are the two signs of good food, but being in Singapore, I had my doubts.

Kok Sen Restaurant.

Kok Sen had a healthy crowd, with most tables being full. Luckily we had reserved a table beforehand. Our order was also taken with haste and the first dish was quick to arrive.

Crispy chicken skin with seafood ball.

I do not know what this dish is called but apparently it is one of the famous dishes from Kok Sen. The chicken skin was very crispy and light. It was not soaked in oil, therefore retaining the flavour of chicken in the skin. The seafood ball underneath the chicken skin was sweet and had an intense flavour, yet when eaten together with the chicken skin, the tastes of the seafood ball and chicken coexist in a sweet and savoury harmony.

Frog with ginger and spring onion.

The surprising element in this dish is the fact that there was no sauce. All of the sauce was reduced to almost nothing, resulting in a dry dish but moist crusts on the frog meat. However, for a dish with a completely reduced sauce, it came across as rather tasteless. Although the effect of the heat from the wok can be tasted in the frog meat, it was not complemented with a flavourful sauce, which is a real pity because it could have been a great dish.

Claypot tofu, seafood balls and eggplant.

I was rather disappointed with this dish. I do not have anything to complain about the tofu, the seafood balls or the eggplants. They were cooked perfectly. It is the sauce that I have a problem with. Kok Sen tries to mimic the Sichuan style fish fragrance eggplant, 魚香茄子. However, they have much to improve when it comes to sauce. The sauce was thick, but was not backed by any substantial flavour. Nonetheless, it is a challenge for restaurants to balance the complexity of fish fragrance sauce, as such, I did not expect a restaurant in this part of the world to be able to master the preparation of the sauce.

Steamed grouper tail.

This dish is another disappointment. The fish was not fresh. That pretty much explains itself. The fish meat was dry and hard. Furthermore, steaming fish pretty much places all emphasis on the texture. With such a fish, no one would be happy.

Fried kailan with beef slices.

This dish looked good, especially to a beef lover like me. However, once I sampled it, I was immediately put off. The ginger used in the dish overpowered all other flavours, such that the kailan and beef tasted like ginger. The beefy taste that beef is supposed to have was completely murdered by the use, or misuse, of ginger.

Spinach with salted egg and century egg.

There is nothing special about this dish. The standard is similar to any other versions of this dish from other restaurants, hence, there is no need for a lengthy review.

Kok Sen does have good dishes, but with many of their dishes lacking the spark that separates the delicious from the decent, I would not return until they take their culinary prowess up a notch.

30, Keong Saik Road,

Singapore 089137,

6223 2005

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Restoran Ahwa

2011-07-11T19:25:00.124+10:00

I used to have Hokkien Mee at Damansara Utama. That was before I tried the famous Ahwa's Hokkien Mee at Jalan 222. My parents are quite insistent on Ahwa when it comes to Hokkien Mee, and for good reason.

Chilli sauce.

Reason number one, the chilli sauce. Usually, I do not apply any sauce to food, especially chilli sauce which spoils the flavour. Ahwa's chilli sauce is so good that I do not mind spoiling the food. Heck, I can even eat the chilli sauce only. The sauce has a strong taste of belacan (prawn paste) which makes the sauce very fragrant and flavourful. The spiciness of the sauce is also well controlled, enough to pack a punch but not enough to numb the tongue.

Hokkien mee.

Hokkien bee hoon.

The best Hokkien Mee I have tasted thus far.

Cooked using charcoal and obscene amounts of lard, sprinkled with a (used to be) generous helping of deep fried lard; that is all the description needed for people who understand the great power of charcoal flames and lard. I suppose that makes all the difference, as most Hokkien Mee I have tasted previously are cooked by gas instead of charcoal.

Fried lala.

The fried lala is nothing to shout about. Beware though, as the quality of the dish is pretty inconsistent. Out of the three times I have eaten lala at Ahwa, the first time was decent, second time was horrible and the third time, as they say, is the charm. Nonetheless, I am not going to trust it that soon.

Oyster omelette.

This dish was an abomination. The oysters were so tiny that there I could not taste them. Even as an omelette, it was still a horrible omelette. The taste and texture was substandard and definitely not fit for sale, in my opinion.

Teochew stewed duck, tofu and egg.

The stewed duck was pretty good. The meat was tender and juicy, probably due to the stewing process. The stew gravy was also tasty but perhaps a little under-seasoned, which resulted in rather tasteless stewed eggs. However, the duck was salty enough, which made me think that the eggs should be stewed separately from the duck in the stewing process and seasoned more heavily.

Restoran Ahwa is probably the place to go for for Hokkien Mee. For the other dishes, there are other places which make better versions.

66 Jalan 14/48,

46100 Petaling Jaya,

Selangor,

Malaysia.

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Restoran LYJ (Part Two)

2011-07-11T00:07:00.100+10:00

Third time to LYJ this trip, this time to try out the more famous dishes. It is also Kaili's last meal for her trip to K.L.

Char siew.

LYJ's char siew definitely looks the part. Charred, caramelised and glazed on the skin and thick layers of fat in between thin layers of meat. The texture was as expected. The meat was tender and the fat was melt-in-your-mouth perfect. The sauce I am not such a fan of. It was poorly balanced with a potent taste of garlic, which overpowered the other flavours in the sauce.

Bittergourd lala.

The second lala dish I have tried in LYJ. This time, the consistency of the sauce was a lot better than the previous lala with ginger and spring onion. The bitterness of the bittergourd was not completely infused into the sauce, whereas the sweetness was. Also, the bittergourd was tender yet not mushy, just perfectly done. What I do not like about the dish is the black beans. I felt that it spoiled the flavour of the sauce, lala and bittergourd.

Steamed rice.

The steamed rice is amazing. It is difficult to describe the fragrance emanating from that small bowl of rice, even more so to identify the ingredients used in the brown sauce applied to the rice. Do not waste time on plain old white rice in LYJ, go for the steamed rice.

Fried fish with petai (stinky beans) sauce.

Possibly the best fish dish in LYJ. The sauce was so well balanced with the flavours of assam, chilli, onions, sour plum and other unidentified ingredients. Somehow, the sauce did not taste like petai, which is a good thing for me. The problem I have with the fish is that it is deep fried to an extent that it was crispy, but with not much meat left on the fish that was still flavourful. Nonetheless, the sauce is still the main attraction so I will still return for this dish.

Claypot kangkung (water convovulus).

Jeremy swears by this dish. When I told him what I ordered in LYJ the first time I was there, he told me I ordered the wrong dishes and recommended this, saying that "there is nothing quite like it". I took his word for it, and did not regret that one bit.

The dish looked quite harmless but it is nothing like it seems. Beneath the initial layer of bright green kangkung, there were bits of chilli padi (birds eye) in the dish, which gave it a real sting. In addition, the claypot helps retain the heat of the dish, making it even more painful to eat. However, the kangkung was delicious despite, or even because of the sheer spiciness. It had that charred flavour found in vegetables flash fried with what I call jet flames. The belacan (prawn paste) was also very potent, but not overwhelmingly salty. This stands as one of the best kangkung dishes I have ever eaten, perhaps only second to the one in Hock Seng Hin.

Kaili's verdict? "Awesome".

Jin Xuan Hong Kong Dim Sum Restaurant

2011-07-09T23:07:00.042+10:00

Good dim sum is hard to find, more so in Malaysia. After sampling dim sum in Perth, Melbourne and Hong Kong, I had to accept the sad fact that Malaysia has no good dim sum place. During one of my previous trips back from Melbourne, I was proven wrong when friends brought me for lunch at Jin Xuan Hong Kong Dim Sum Restaurant in Damansara Jaya.

This review is actually written for my fourth visit to the restaurant. Why the delay? During my first trip this blog was not yet nascent. The subsequent three trips were made within a week. Finally, this time, I hauled my camera along. Also, I have brought a fellow eater, Kaili, with me.

炸海鮮卷.

This is one of the more impressive dishes that I have tried in Jin Xuan thus far. It consists of fresh, crunchy and succulent prawns, juicy scallops and golden salted egg yolks wrapped in a thin, deep fried beancurd skin. The salted egg yolks used for this dish were not too salty and did not overpower the flavour of the seafood. Problem? When this dish reaches the table, it is often cold and that is a big no-no for deep fried food.

芋角.

This dish is another must-eat for deep fried food lovers. Jin Xuan does this dish pretty well. The flaky bits on the crust were crispy but not soaked with oil; the layer of yam was thin enough to leave enough room for the pork filling but thick enough not to have its flavour masked by the sauce for the filling. The pork pieces could have been cut into smaller cubes though which would make the chewing process a lot more effortless and a more enjoyable experience.

蘿蔔糕.

I am not really Jin Xuan's fan when it comes to the fried carrot cake. It is not bad, but I have tasted better. Dragon-i does theirs much better with the crispy salted egg yolk crusted carrot cakes.

糯米雞.

糯米雞, is a common dish in dim sum places. Personally, I prefer the 珍珠雞, which is a variant of glutinous rice with chicken but wrapped in lotus leaf and is savoury instead of sweet. However, I have yet to find a dim sum restaurant in Malaysia that serves that, so I had to stick to the usual. Jin Xuan's glutinous rice with chicken was not too good for me. There was too much rice and too little chicken. Besides, the thick sweet sauce makes the dish too sweet for my liking.

蝦餃.

Prawn dumplings are the most symbolic dish in the dim sum genre. The preparation of this dish is an art kept secret, which is probably why most dim sum restaurants fail when it comes to it. Unfortunately, Jin Xuan failed to impress me with their version, despite being the best I have tasted in Malaysia so far. The skin was too thick, which in good prawn dumplings should be so thin that they are translucent, such that the prawns are clearly visible through the skin. This does not only affect the presentation but also the texture. The prawns were as crunchy as those in Perth, Melbourne and Hong Kong, but pretty bland. The thick skin also masks the flavour of the prawns with the floury taste.

上海小籠包.

Shanghainese dumplings, not the usual sight in dim sum shops, and for good reason. Jin Xuan's Shanghainese dumplings were disastrous. It was extremely difficult to lift the dumplings up without the juices within flowing out due to the skin of the dumplings sticking to the bamboo steamer. That alone is enough to kill the dish. If not bad enough, when I managed to lift one of the dumplings onto my spoon without bursting it, I tasted it and I was extremely disappointed. The pork filling inside tasted bad such that I do not even know how to describe it. This is a dish best left not ordered.

燒米.

Huge! Jin Xuan does not stinge when it comes to this dish. They serve humongous balls of pork. As much as size matters, it is not the only merit. Jin Xuan's 燒米 are tender and juicy, unlike the rubberised 燒米 in most Malaysian dim sum places. Taste wise, it is on par with the better dim sum places in Hong Kong, and that says a lot.

蒸排骨.

The steamed pork ribs with black bean was a big disappointment. The pork ribs did not have the porky stench, which is good. However, they tasted like green chilli. All I could taste was pork and green chilli such that it seemed like the black bean is just added for presentation.

流沙包.

The molten custard bun, which is my English name for it, is what brings me back to this restaurant time and time again. The core of the bun is a sticky, molten salted egg yolk which oozes out upon biting. There is nothing more enjoyable than slurping the filling and letting it warm the mouth. Mmm. This dish was perfect for me but Kaili just had to influence me by saying that the bun was a bit dry, which I noticed after her critique. Oh well.

I have a lot to complain about the dim sum in Jin Xuan but only because I compare it to all the dim sum restaurants I have dined at, be it in Malaysia, Hong Kong or Australia. However, one has to appreciate the fact that Jin Xuan is an absolute winner in Malaysia, where good dim sum is as rare as buried treasure, despite its shortcomings.

Kaili: Awesome meal.

59, 61 & 63 Jalan SS21/19,

Damansara Jaya,

47300 Petaling Jaya,

Selangor.

03-7729 6866

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Restoran Ayam Tauke

2011-07-06T23:33:00.144+10:00

Ipoh is famous for food. Just mentioning the name of the city is sufficient to start a long conversation about good food. As a (shameless self-proclaimed) food critic who had lived in Ipoh for eight years, I think Ipoh food is very much overrated. No doubt, Ipoh has established a name for itself, judging by the number of restaurants and coffee shops located in this old city, but when it comes to the delicacies that really stand out, Ipoh is pretty much hopeless. However, the secret art of preparing tauge (bean sprout) chicken is still tucked safely in the sleepy city. Many restaurants outside Ipoh have tried replicating tauge chicken and have failed miserably. This is the last bastion in defending Ipoh's reputation as one of the food capitals of Malaysia.

The most famous tauge chicken joints are in the middle of Ipoh city. Quite frankly, those places are for tourists who are not familiar with the Ipoh eating scene. If you demand high standards for food, what those places serve would be close to inedible. Their hor fun (rice noodles) have a strong stench of whatever unknown chemical(s) applied to them; the sauces they use for their chicken, chicken innards, bean sprouts and noodles are saltier than the dead sea.

Fortunately, I still know of one place where hope still shines bright for tauge chicken - some hidden shop in Buntong called Restoran Ayam Tauke. Yes, I did not misspell "tauge", the shop owner or signboard maker did, which might be deliberate for all I know. For a shop that resembles a house more, deep in the middle of nowhere, it has a healthy crowd every night, except on Tuesdays when it is closed.

Ginger and chilli sauce.

People rave about the ginger and chilli sauce a lot. For me, it spoils the flavour of the chicken.

Tauge (bean sprout).

Short and plump, that is how tauge from Ipoh look like, which according to urban legend is due to the hard water. Somehow, the tauge are also crunchier and juicier compared to those from other places.

The tauge is not what separates this restaurant from the rest. Instead, the magic is in the sauce. The sauce is just perfectly balanced, is not too salty that the natural flavour of the tauge, chicken, innards is masked. I have also never experienced strong thirsts after consuming the food, which means they do not bombard the sauce with MSG.

Chicken liver and kidney.

Disgusting? Not to me. Tasty? Hell yeah. I just love chicken innards. For one, they taste good without any seasoning, as compared to meat which is just bland if unseasoned. Secondly, the texture of chicken liver just appeals to me. It is creamy but a bit grainy and powdery, giving something to chew on, yet crumbles so easily into paste upon chewing. Chicken kidney I am not such a fan of, but they are still fun to chew due to the rubbery texture.

I believe that the same sauce is used for the tauge and the chicken so I will not repeat myself.

Hor fun in soup.

Apparently, the hard water also enables the manufacturing of silky smooth hor fun. By silky smooth I mean all you have to do is suck lightly at the beginning of a strand and the whole strand just slides in with a loud slurp. I still find that fascinating.

Dry hor fun.

I do not fancy hor fun in soup as much as my parents do. My favourite is still the dry hor fun with dark sauce. The sauce is a very important aspect of this dish. Under-seasoned, the smell of rice from the hor fun pierces through; over-seasoned, all you taste is sauce, even when accompanied by tauge or chicken. This place mixes their sauce just right, such that the hor fun is good enough on its own, but even better with tauge and chicken.

Tauge chicken.

Last but not least, tauge chicken. Boiled chicken drenched with the aforementioned sauce. According to my dad, the chicken they use is called 鬍鬚雞 or 胡须鸡 (moustache chicken, literally). The chicken is special, to say the least. The meat is just tender and silky smooth, even the chicken breasts are more than palatable. Put it this way, I would actually eat the breast meat without a gun to my forehead.

If the meat is amazing, describing the skin would be beyond my vocabulary and imagination. I might be biased here because I go nuts over chicken skin. The tauge chicken has jelly-like skin which is as smooth as the hor fun if not for the follicles. For the health freaks, the skin does not have a thick layer of fat underneath it, which makes it healthier than regular chickens. Healthier and tastier, the chicken is a dream come true for skin lovers.

For those who have lost faith in Ipoh's tauge chicken, or have never tried tauge chicken but have heard about it all too much by word of mouth, Restoran Ayam Tauke is the place to go as far as I know.

849, Jalan Guntong,

Buntong, 30100 Ipoh,

Perak.

05-255 7469 or 017-5787251.

Tough luck finding it on Google Maps.

Mizu Japanese Fine Dining

2011-07-02T23:49:00.163+10:00

Up on the first floor.

Mizu is one of the restaurants I miss dining at when I am stuck in Melbourne. I had only been there once before this, yet I have already fallen in love with the food ever since. Today, I return to seek my old flame.

Getting some shots before food arrived.

The place was not as crowded as it used to be. In fact, the entire TTDI Plaza resembles a ghost town nowadays. Back in the days, which is not that long ago, it used to be bustling with activity, be it eating, drinking or clubbing. The hot spot is now as cold as the dim, blue lights that shine upon the few lonely souls that still come to visit.

Fortunately, for us, that also meant less customers for Mizu, more seats and more privacy. That being said I hope the business is still profitable and stays open for my future visits.

The service was reasonably fast, for a fine dining place.

Unagi kabayaki.

The grilled eel glazed with a sweet soy sauce base was the first to arrive. Everyone else had their chopsticks ready, anticipating the moment I stop taking pictures.

I used to think that all unagi kabayaki taste almost the same, and the steep price that Mizu charges for their version does not really justify. That was before I tasted the dish. The freshness of the eel was evident in this dish. The flesh does not crumble into bits when I tried to cut a cross section in the eel with my chopsticks, which usually happens with cheap unagi. Texture is definitely a first class.

Taste wise, Mizu's unagi kabayaki stands above others that I have tasted. While others are bombarded with the sweet soy sauce to the extent that I cringe due to the overwhelming sweetness or saltiness; Mizu's unagi was just right, such that the natural flavour of the eel was not completely masked by the sauce. Also, the black belly of the eel is nicely charred, which added flavour to an already wonderful dish.

Another factor that justifies the price is the size of the dish. To put it simply, they serve the eel whole.

Assorted sashimi.

I am a self-proclaimed sucker for sashimi. Every now and then, I crave for a nice tray of fresh cut fish, be it salmon, tuna or any kind of seafood, if it is raw, I want it.

The first thing that caught my eye when the waitress carefully placed the massive dish on the table was the size of the dollops of wasabi given. Without giving it much thought, I took one of the five dollops and mixed it with my soy sauce.

I do not know enough about Japanese cuisine and fish to be able to identify the cuts served. All I can see is salmon and tuna. I started off with the white fish with the grey skin. I dipped it in a generous bowl of wasabi and put the fish to my lips. The moment I started chewing, my heart smiled. It was so fresh and chewy. The same goes for all of the other fishes on the plate.

The salmon deserves a praise for having the melt-in-your-mouth texture. The fat content was more than what you find in the cheaper sashimi. The prawns were also amazing. I have never tasted such sweetness in prawns before. I even suspected that it must have been glazed with sugar or other sweeteners. Biting into the head is nothing short of heavenly. Sweet and savoury prawn paste exploding onto your tongue, giving a split second high. The unfortunate part was that each of us could only have one piece of each fish, and only two of us could have the prawns.

Garlic fried rice.

A fine dish on its own, but pales in comparison to the rest. However, it cannot really be compared as it serves a filler and a side to the magnificent mains.

Tempura prawns.

I am not a big fan of tempura. For starters, it contains too much oil which kills off the eater's appetite. Also, tempura in most restaurants have incredibly thick batter, which soaks in more oil and makes you wonder whether you are actually eating flour or prawns. Thirdly, the thin sauce that comes with the dish usually tastes like water, or mildly salted water.

Bringing the above three points into light, Mizu's tempura prawns definitely won accolades. The batter was so thin that the red marks on the prawn flesh are still visible from outside, yet it still gave the prawns the crispiness expected from tempura.

The sauce was in a different league in comparison to those of other restaurants. It was savoury yet not overpowering and complemented the prawns very well.

Kobe beef teppanyaki.

Me trying to be artistic.

This dish was the bomb. Not much explanation and praise can be given to Kobe beef that what other more experienced and qualified people have already said. Tender beef with a high fat content, marbled into a thin weave of juicy meat and fragrant fats. There is nothing quite like it.

This time, the beef was really tender as I ordered it to be done medium rare. One needs not put force into chewing the beef. Just by applying a bit of pressure on the crust, the abundant layers of fats melt in the mouth, leaving behind a strong aromatic beef flavour on the flesh. Chewing the remnants is far from a chore and more like ineffable bliss.

The beef was also lightly seasoned, if seasoned at all. With such high quality beef, anything other than salt desecrates the meat. Complemented by the deep fried garlic slice and the deep fried beef fats, Mizu's Kobe beef teppanyaki is just mind-blowing. The black pepper sauce, on the other hand, was unnecessary. It is a great sauce, but with Kobe, the best sauce is the marbled fats.

Unagi maki.

Basically the aforementioned unagi kabayaki with rice and seaweed. Could be better without rice and seaweed.

Soft shell crab maki.

Sushi rolls with a generous amount of soft shell crab, salmon roe and crabstick. Nothing really special here. I have tasted better.

All in all, Mizu lives up to its name of "Japanese fine dining". Despite being more expensive than many of the other Japanese restaurants in Malaysia, the prices are fair as the ingredients used are far superior than those used elsewhere. The presentation of the food also deserves the label "fine dining", although there is still vast room for improvement. However, if that involves prices going up two-fold, I would rather stick with how it is now.

C-2-1, Jalan Wan Kadir 3,

60000 Kuala Lumpur,

Malaysia.

03-77286498

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Kedai Kopi Hock Seng Hin

2011-06-30T17:57:00.001+10:00

Today, I discovered another hidden gem in the middle of K.L. city. This time, Pudu.

Yesterday, my uncle called and invited me for a special lunch today. We did not go into the details, all I knew were Pudu and fish head with black bean sauce. Personally, black bean sauce is not even on my very long list of favourites, but I decided to be adventurous and give it a try, since you never know what you will find in K.L. but most importantly the other alternative was to rot at home.

I have not even heard of this place before, but from what I was told, it is a famous place ran by some really fierce and feisty sisters. That was not what I was going for. The thing that attracted me was the fact that you have to make reservations, for lunch, in a coffee shop. Another reason was the need to leave for the place at 11 a.m. but to be fair we had to pick up my uncle's friend.

Hock Seng Hin coffee shop.

This place is in the middle of Pudu, with its pre-war buildings which are quickly coming apart, but by Malaysian standards still habitable. In fact, the sign was already giving way and had I not know Chinese, the last two letters on the sign would remain a mystery.

To the kitchen.

We entered the shop through the back. It was reasonably hygienic, the caveat being by Malaysian standards. The kitchen has a neatly stacked tower of firewood, and that is an unmistakable sign for good food. The black cast iron woks, the massive flames shooting from below, and the glowing embers reinforce that assumption. The lunchtime crowd is also a testament to the popularity of the food.

Blue or white collar, all come to gather.

The service is pretty slow due to the crowd, but if you prefer your scrotum attached to your body, you would not question the cooks. I quite like having my balls so I waited patiently. To say the least, it was damn well worth the wait.

Catfish with black bean sauce.

The signature dish came first.

I would say that when I first tried it, there was no surprise. It was just alright for me. However, the more I had, the better it tasted and by the end of lunch, I was already craving for it. To begin with, the fish is fresh as can be, probably from the Pudu wet market a few blocks away. All the tiny bones I had to pick away was well worth it. The flesh was succulent and flavourful. The texture of the fish was just heavenly. When eaten with the sauce, the flavour of the fish is still more dominant, but when tasting the sauce alone, I found that the sauce was pretty salty on its own. This is atypical of Chinese-Malaysian cuisine where the fish is usually bombarded with sauces, which tends to mask any imperfections due to lack of freshness. With fish this fresh, there are no flaws to begin with.

The sauce itself deserves another paragraph on its own. It is thick and abundant. The ingredients in the sauce bind together so well that the hints of those ingredients are hard to trace. I could not even taste the black beans. That perfect amalgam of the ingredients into one flavourful sauce, that is the magic of the dish. I could have rice with this sauce alone.

Bitter-gourd with chicken.

Again, it is all about the sauce. This dish had the same magic in the sauce. The sweetness of the bitter-gourd can be tasted in the sauce, coupled with the hint of wood fire is just to die for. Not many restaurants use firewood for their cooking, but for Chinese cooking, I still insist that that is the formula for achieving a dish that is as close to perfection as can be.

The bitter-gourd was cooked until tender, but still retaining some of the crunch. The sauce gives them a savoury taste and also masked a bit of the bitterness.

The only problem I have is the use of chicken breast meat, but that is me being fastidious. There is really nothing wrong about this dish.

Kangkung (water convovulus) belacan.

The first word that came to my mind when I sampled this dish was "lard". Lard, glorious lard - the must have ingredient in a good plate of fried vegetables. The thing I like about this dish is the lack of intention to hide the fact that lard was used in frying it. It was not a hint of lard, the dish tasted like lard. This is a bit extreme for people who do not really fancy pork lard, but to me, this is as close to heaven as it gets.

Fresh vegetables, still retaining its dark green colour, its crunchy texture, after flash frying with firewood and lard, adding a strong belacan to the mix, tasting that combination is just an ineffable experience. There are no inhibitions in the preparation of this dish, just pure unadulterated lard. The moment you start needing your fix for this dish, your health is probably out the window, but with such food, who needs health anyway?

Choi sum (mustard greens) with prawns.

This is the mystery dish for me. Why? The choi sum tasted like prawns! For the first time in my life, I have eaten vegetables that tasted like prawns! This is a dream come true! I was ecstatic when I sampled this. To think of it, to infuse vegetables with prawn flavour could only be done by boiling it with prawns, which would mean the vegetables would become soggy and mushy. With this dish, the vegetables were still crunchy!

This coffee shop is definitely more than what meets the eye. I would not even hesitate to call it a hidden diamond in K.L. There is not only a sensation on the palette when it comes to food like this, you can feel the soul, for the lack of a better word, bursting through. It is the kind of food that warms the heart as much as it warms the tummy, one that brings back that familiar feeling of satisfaction in the good old days and the comfort of being at home.

For some reason I cannot find the location of this shop anywhere online. Also, I cannot be trusted with my way around K.L., or anywhere for that matter. However, if you truly want to find this hidden gem, you will find your way. That is part of the experience, taking time off, slowing down and searching for a part of you, a taste that is long forgotten.

Restoran LYJ

2011-06-26T17:12:00.001+10:00

To begin, I have heard much too many good things about this restaurant while I was in Melbourne. People praised, exalted even the food at this restaurant. Some say it is the best Chinese restaurant in Malaysia that they have ever been to, a serious claim considering the sheer number of Chinese restaurants in this country and the frequency they frequent these restaurants. Nonetheless, it sounded too good to be true. Hence I was a strong sceptic.

As if the bar was not high enough to begin with, my family arranged that LYJ be the venue for my welcoming dinner. After months of continual craving for Malaysian cuisine, this was chosen as the place for me to open my floodgates of desire. I went to the restaurant with hopes of stuffing myself silly with a stellar dinner.

The first impression I got upon arrival is that the place looks like crap, and I do not mean that in a good way. Certain restaurants look crappy, but rightfully so. Such places look crappy but homely. You can sense the history and the experience of the restaurant in every piece of plank with rusty nails and every piece of almost decrepit furniture. This place, on the other hand, looks very mechanical, frigid and just devoid of any soul. It seems that its only purpose is as an eating place. Nothing else whatsoever.

Crappy decor.

Fortunately, I cannot say the same about the food. Calling this place "good" does not do it justice. I shall explain in the detailed review below.

Standing chicken.

Dad in the background.

Mom going at the chicken.

The famous standing chicken is one of the star attractions at LYJ. After months of being tagged in Facebook on the carcasses of impaled chickens did arouse the curiosity in me. To be honest, the cynic in me wanted a taste of this dish as I have had many experiences with Chinese styled roasted chicken and none of them are good. Chickens cooked this way are usually completely devoid of moisture, resulting in almost unpalatable chunks of dry, hard, white meat.

Unfortunately, I was right about the chicken. Although the skin was a lot crispier and tastier than any other I have tasted, the meat was still dry as husk in many parts, especially the breast. The fortunate part was, there were parts of the chicken which were still tender. The thighs downwards, the wings, the ribs were still good, and those were the pieces I enjoyed.

Another disappointment was the chilli sauce that came with the chicken. It had a very artificial taste to it which I can only describe as plastic-y. There is no real flavour to it and the chicken was way better off on its own.

Fried lala with ginger and spring onion.

The fried lala with ginger and spring onion was good. It would be better if more than half of the shells were not empty. The lala were really big, fresh, succulent and juicy. Luckily, the sauce was not bombarded with salt and other seasonings, thus, the clammy flavour of the lala was preserved. However, the sauce was too starchy and thick. Most of the sauce was stuck to the plate rather than to a lala, making me think that the ginger and spring onion were redundant.

Fried kailan with yellow wine.

This is definitely one of the best fried vegetable dishes I have ever eaten. The fragrance of the cooking wine is balanced with the savoury sauces, a perfect combination with the slightly burnt kailan. The most important aspect of frying vegetables Chinese style is a strong flame, or what I call rocket fuel frying. Flash fried for slightly more than a minute, the vegetables retain the crunchiness, moisture and the attractive green colour that turns yellow if the vegetables are fried for too long. I guess I could complain that the vegetables are not burnt enough, but this is a healthier alternative. However, this is just me trying to find fault with an almost perfect dish.

Pork belly with salted fish.

This is definitely a favourite in my books. Thinly sliced strips of succulent pork belly in a claypot, seasoned with salted fish and a thick sauce. LYJ has certainly done all the right things with this dish. The saltiness is not overpowering unlike many versions of this dish that other restaurants serve. It was just right. The thing I enjoy the most would be the crispy crust on every piece of pork belly. It was just like a perfectly baked middle bacon, but with local twist. The lard and salted fish melting in your mouth is one of the best sensations in life. I could not praise this dish more without exaggerating. It is that good. In fact, it is the best version I have ever tasted.

Steamed tilapia with green sauce.

This dish, for me, would be the most underrated dish in LYJ that I have tasted. The fish itself is not the main attraction, it is just steamed without any seasoning. However, the freshness of the fish is important as the texture of the fish is paramount due to the lack of seasoning to mask the imperfections in texture. The sauce, on the other hand, works magic. I do not exactly know what is in the sauce, but I think the ingredients are calamansi, lime, mint and green chilli. The sauce is just a perfectly balanced combination of sweet, sour and spicy.

I can imagine this dish being served in small portions on a big gourmet plate, and plated up fine dining style with the sauce in puree form and spread around the plate. This dish wins all the points in creativity and is a dish no one would forget.

Cold pucuk paku (fern shoot).

Pucuk paku has always been one of my favourite vegetables, but I have only eaten it cooked lemak style, in sweet, thick, curry-like gravy. LYJ serves pucuk paku cold, as a salad, with a sour dressing.

It is a refreshing dish. The pucuk paku was fresh and crunchy, and there were deep fried onions to add more crunchy bits to the dish. The only problem I have with the dish is that it should have been served first, as an appetiser instead of coming last, as a dessert substitute. Nonetheless, this is not a problem with the dish per se but the service.

All in all, LYJ is a restaurant far above the average Chinese-Malaysian restaurant, but to call it the best would be unfair since there are restaurants which serve certain dishes better than what they have. However, to have so many dishes that are creative and atypical of the genre does have its merits in my book. It seems to me that LYJ is not only a restaurant but a place where the passion for cooking meets the courage of invention. Even the dishes that are typical of the genre deserve the highest praise, especially the pork belly with salted fish.

I foresee myself dining here very often whenever I am in town. It may not be the absolute best, but it is definitely first class.

Restoran LYJ

PT 11, Jalan Perkhidmatan,

Kampung Baru,

47000 Sungai Buloh,Selangor Darul Ehsan.

03 6140 2678

No Google Maps. This place is literally in the middle of nowhere.

Happy Birthday, Jeremy!

2011-06-17T18:45:00.001+10:00

Jeremy is another sad person whose birthday fell on an exam day this year. Fortunately, some of his friends have already finished their exams and some of them, like me, do not really care about the remaining papers. As such, he still had people willing to celebrate with him.

At first we wanted to have his dinner at Ishiya Stonegrill, but upon arrival we found that it was closed for renovation. Bad luck.

Full house.

Then the venue was changed to Pizzeria 39. However, we did not make reservations so we had to wait more than half an hour while we were all well into starvation. Bad luck again.

We walked around the nearby Hardware Lane and a waiter of a seafood grill restaurant offered us complimentary drinks and entree and being the cheapskates we are, we took the bait hook, line and sinker (pun intended).

Leather covered menu.

The waiter offered us bruschetta and garlic bread for entree and everyone of us ordered alcohol. These were all on the house.

Bruschetta and garlic bread with sour cream and olive spread.

The garlic bread is really awesome, like really, really awesome. It is not your conventional garlic bread, it resembles a naan bread, or pizza, just a lot crispier on the crust.

The bruschetta was decent. Nothing much to say about that.

Cheers.

We were enjoying the drinks because they were complimentary.

The birthday boy, I mean man.

Keith falling asleep.

The food took longer than what you would expect in a steakhouse. Some of us were already falling asleep.

400g aged rib-eye with port wine jus.

Medium rare.

This is nothing like medium rare.

Serious food review time. The steak was horrible. There is no other way to describe it. I would not even call it decent.

I ordered a medium rare steak and I had trouble slicing through the steak although the knife was pretty sharp. I doubted it was medium rare even before I saw the colour. When the knife went all the way through, it proved that my guess was correct. Getting your steak rarity wrong is not acceptable when you charge such prices.

The taste was even more appalling than its looks. The crust was so salty I could not even taste the flavour of the beef, if the beef had any flavour to begin with. The texture of the meat gave me the impression that the beef is not really fresh. A decent rib-eye does not taste, look and feel like this.

The port wine jus is as big a disappointment as the steak. The wine is not reduced enough, resulting in a thin sauce which did not taste good at all.

Jojo face-palming due to the quality of the food.

Not exactly cheap, not at all value for money.

After dinner, we walked around the area in search of a place for desserts. Jojo and Jinny suggested Giraffe cafe, and there we went.

The cafe provides card games, board games and other junk to kill time with. We were playing Jenga and the pressure was on. Whoever toppled the tower would have to pay for Jeremy's dessert.

Studying the structural integrity.

Looking from a distance.

Jinny's turn.

Moments before falling.

Jinny's fault.

We were busy playing while the desserts were being served one by one. None of us dared to touch our food before the tower toppled. Luckily, Jinny was quick to put us out of our misery.

Crème brûlée.

The crème brûlée is bad. It was not thoroughly cooked and about halfway down the cup it was liquid. That being said, expectations were not high in the first place as the shop is run by Chinese people and crème brûlée is not quite a Chinese thing.

Still enjoying ourselves despite the horrible dessert.

Jeremy wanking at the table, and looking happy.

Although luck was not even remotely on our side that day, we still had fun and a lot to talk about. Sometimes, good company really does beat good food.

Before I end, I would like to wish Jeremy "happy birthday" again.

It's My Birthday! (Bob's Steak and Chop)

2011-05-29T05:21:00.005+10:00

It is the time of the year again. The day that marks the passing of another year in life. However, the notion of birthdays is starting to make me feel a bit blasé. After twenty of those good days, the significance seems to wane with every passing year. I woke up feeling the same as I did yesterday or the day before.

At least the attention is makes it more special than the rest.

Birthdays are never really celebrated until dinner time. This time round, I opted for a good old piece of steak to satisfy the carnivore in me. Unfortunately, most of the famous steakhouses were fully booked by the time Cherry called for reservations, after she ignored my instructions two days earlier to call then. That blunder aside, she was so sweet as to not have me call the steakhouses myself.

After eliminating about half a dozen steakhouses in her list, Cherry found one that had tables available. Bob's Steak and Chop.

Nine of us met up at the Swanston/Bourke tram stops and took a tram to Southern Cross station, but not before getting some photos.

The women in my life.

A miracle shot of Chris. My set up rarely gets such sharp photos.

Upon arrival at Southern Cross, we had to make our way halfway across the bridge to Etihad stadium and took a long flight of stairs down to the streets below.

Crossing the Southern Cross.

We were a bit lost but after walking a block, we found it, Bob's Steak and Chop.

We walked in and Edwin was already seated at our table, awaiting the glorious arrival of the birthday boy and his entourage.

Good bread.

Before we ordered, the waiters and waitresses served up a generous portion of bread. Having starved myself the whole day, the bread they served tasted so good. The looks of the bread itself is enough to win me over as I am a sucker for sizeable, spherical and soft things. The butter that accompanies the bread is even better, so much so that everyone at the table exalted its smoothness and the richness.

Then, after enjoying the bread, we ordered and started chatting one another up in anticipation for the steaks, as well as getting more photos.

Mimi, Cherry and Henry.

Mimi and Anthony. Somehow Mimi looks great in this photo.

This one takes it all back.

Then came the steaks.

Rib-eye steak (Scotch fillet).

That is not mine.

Filet mignon (Eye fillet).

This is mine. A bold chunk of 110 day grain fed Black Angus that weighs in at 350g. Filet mignons do not come by everyday for me and I enjoyed every last bit of it.

Blood is beautiful.

A wonderful medium rare steak.

Sinking the steak knife into the beautiful chunk of beef felt a bit like ruining a perfect marble sculpture; but when the knife goes all the way through and the blood flows onto the plate, and the reddish pink flesh is revealed, I imagine that is what discovering a diamond in a lump of coal feels like.

However, there is a better feeling - putting that piece of meat on your tongue. I may not be a connoisseur of steaks but as far as I can tell, this is a bloody good steak, literally. The salt and black pepper does not penetrate more than the crust of the meat, thus the meat still retains its juices and that I mean blood. The meat is just tender and does not fight back and turn a dinner into a wrestling match like cheap steaks do. The seasoning is also very mild. Instead of being bombarded by the overwhelming taste of salt and pepper, one can really savour the beefy goodness in this filet mignon. If those features still do not warrant the filet mignon being called an excellent dish, the shallot and red wine sauce definitely makes up in justifying its quality. I shall not elaborate on that, giving it a try is the best way to find out.

The baked potato on the side I was not too happy about. Although the sour cream, chives and bacon filling was good, the potato itself was too damn big. Unless you are a person who runs on that much carbohydrates you would probably find this boring after the first few mouthfuls.

The smashed, not mashed, potatoes is very smooth and buttery. I would pick that over the huge baked potato any time.

The steak fries, to me at least, were great. The crust of the fries is just so crispy while the insides were still soft, just how I like them to be.

But the best of all the sides would be the skillet potatoes, topped with sauteed onions and peppercorn gravy. Probably the most seasoned out of all the potato dishes, it feels more robust in flavour due to the gravy and the sweetness of the onions.

The restaurant definitely gets a thumbs up from me, any day. Nonetheless, the night was still young and we had to cleanse our palettes are kill whatever bacteria from the steak with alcohol. Hence, we made our way back to Melbourne Central station, but again, not before getting some photos.

Suited up.

Can't think of appropriate caption under the influence of alcohol.

We went to this Asian bar called Cho-Gao. It is Asian because of the decor mostly, but more than anything else, it serves cheap booze. The next few hours of the night were just spent drinking and making merry. Some people got high and tipsy, you know who you are, or maybe you were already drunk; while others looked on, puzzled at how some people have such low alcohol tolerance levels. There was also another photography session.

I believe this is camwhoring at it's best.

Display of affection under influence of alcohol makes good black and white photos.

Chris, Keith, Kaili and Jinny.

Beer drinkers.

Sleepy heads.

Before I end this post and hit the sack. I would like to thank everyone who made this day so special. Thank you, Cherry, for calling for reservations and the lovely card you made me. Thank you, Jinny, for the present you never fail to give me every year, despite me not reciprocating. I promise to make it up to you next year. Thank you, Edwin, for being there early for the table and waiting for us. Thank all of you, Keith, Henry, Mimi, Anthony, Chris, Kaili for attending the dinner and paying my share.

I shall leave my thoughts about my second decade in this world for another day.

Bob's Steak and Chop

737 Bourke Street,

Docklands, VIC 3008,

Australia.

+61 3 9642 3350

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Treasury Garden

2011-05-26T00:06:00.000+10:00

This is going to be a really short post.

I have finished all my assignments for the semester and it feels bloody good. I needed a good breath of fresh air so I headed to the Treasury Garden with Cherry to take some photos.

The usual bench under a tree.

Black and white picture of bench and a road.

Leading line from the right. A bit distracting.

Cherry walking to get a better angle.

Sorry, Pink fashion photography competition participant. I stole this from you.

Lazing around in the autumn leaves.

I just like this photo, although the dog is missing from the frame. Leaves something to the imagination.

Cherry getting wet.

A couple taking pictures of each other getting all wet and excited.

I know I still need to work a lot on composition. I guess practice makes perfect. That being said, I need better glass. The low light in the evenings is a bitch to work with.

Somewhere Over The Rainbow

2011-05-09T02:58:00.002+10:00

I was up at six in the morning when I noticed the time on the bottom right of my laptop screen. It was another one of those sleepless nights in front of the computer spent reading, chatting, listening, watching, contemplating, yawning...

I turned to the glass panel on my right and saw that it was just past first light and as I walked toward the panel, three hot air balloons rose from behind the city skyline. To the east, sunbeams peeking through sheets after sheets of grayish clouds, tinted by a sunny orange. As I panned from east to west, there was a vivid rainbow against the cloudy backdrop while hot air balloons were flying across it.

A breathtaking moment. A familiar tune in my head. 'Somewhere over the rainbow, way up high'.

An inspiration. An epiphany. The world is beautiful when everyone is asleep.

Mercadante Woodfired Pizzeria

2011-05-08T15:16:00.000+10:00

The quest for food continues. This time, we head all the way back to Lygon Street from Old Kingdom for some dessert and drinks. Destination? Mercadante.

Famous for chocolate pizza.

I used to live just next to Lygon Street and walked past Mercadante almost everyday on the way to the city. However, I do hear people talking about the awesome chocolate pizza but somehow I never stepped a foot in there, despite being a chocoholic.

Face-lifted wall.

Mercadante, like any restaurant on Lygon, is just full of burly Italian men eating ridiculous amounts of food. Nonetheless, Mercadante seems to have a less serious air and not reminiscent of some scene from The Godfather. I suppose that is thanks to the strongly lit interior and the nice pictures of Venice on the wall.

Heed this warning, do not go to Mercadante if you are prone to heart attacks. The guy behind the counter plays tricks on unsuspecting customers. Sometimes he tosses a fake spider onto a girl; sometimes he puts on a clown mask and breathes down your neck; sometimes he throws something which looks like a plate at you. Always be vigilant in Mercadante, or you would be scared dead.

Back to the topic, the chocolate pizza.

It was not what I expected.

Pardon me, but when somebody mentions chocolate pizza, I picture a round, thin crust with chocolate sauce, whipped cream and strawberry toppings, not a sliced up dough stick covered with Nutella.

People are going to hate me for this, but the chocolate pizza was just so-so. The pizza was rather tough, and when you chew something resilient drenched in Nutella, it just drips down your lips. Maybe I am the only one who does not like that sensation. Personally, I think they could have done it better with a thin, puffy crust.

123, Lygon St,

Carlton, 3053 VIC,

Australia.

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Old Kingdom Chinese Restaurant

2011-05-08T00:54:00.001+10:00

Jeremy wanted to treat me to dinner for designing his and Jojo's campaign posters. Before the MUOSS elections even began, he was already telling me about this restaurant.

Jeremy reserved seats for five and two ducks for 8.00 p.m. but in the end there were only four of us. Less men, more share.

I have not eaten Peking duck in a really long time so I did not really have a benchmark. However, during the long walk to the restaurant, Jeremy and Shaegan kept reassuring me that the duck will not disappoint.

At long last, we arrived.

Famous for Peking Duck.

Old Kingdom, is well, old. The building which houses the restaurant, the furniture, the surroundings are all looking almost decrepit. However, this place never gets old for duck lovers and the long queue outside the restaurant puts any argument about that to rest.

I was starving and when the duck arrived I realised that the starvation was well worth it and will be put to good use because the ducks were quite big, and we had a duck to two.

The restaurant owner slicing up the duck.

Still slicing.

And done.

Jeremy going at the duck.

I was exhilarated when the owner was done slicing up the duck. I took some pictures and put my camera to rest. I grabbed a piece of the thin pancake, chose a piece of duck skin, topped it with a piece of spring onion and cucumber, drenched those fillings with a hearty amount of plum sauce, folded the pancake, and took a bite.

That mouthful of duck goodness made me want to belt out a love song. It was just so ducking awesome. The skin was crispy, it was crunchy even. Above all, the plum sauce was just heavenly. It was not overpowering and not too salty as the average plum sauce that goes with roasted ducks. I usually cringe when I have a taste of those. This was just right that I did not mind drenching the duck in a thick layer of it.

Then I tried another piece with skin and meat. The meat was tender. Usually, I look like I wrestle ducks when I try to eat them. Old Kingdom got theirs just right. Not overcooked, and the meat still showed a tint of pink, how ducks should be. The taste was great. In fact, it was so good that I took more pictures of it so I can drool at them when I feel hungry in the night.

Got this on a third attempt.

Then came the second course.

Duck meat with bean sprouts.

The second dish was just so-so for me, maybe because I am not a fan of bean sprouts. However, I do appreciate a little bit of roughage to lessen the guilt of eating half a duck. The duck meat was also well flavoured. I just like to pick out the duck meat and eat them separately from the bean sprouts so that the latter does not overpower the former.

After that, came the duck soup.

No part of the duck goes to waste.

Duck bones.

The soup was pretty good. It was not heavily flavoured and not too oily. However, it was also not gelatinous as the duck bones were not simmered long enough. That being said, it is amazing how the taste of the duck is absorbed by the soup so quickly.

After the soup, we asked for the bill and Jeremy paid for all of us. Thank you, Jeremy. Then, it was a long walk back to Lygon Street, as we were going to hit another joint for dessert, which will be covered in my next entry.

A word of warning though, I think either the duck or the sauce is heavily salted or MSG-ed as I am experiencing an unquenchable thirst right now.

197, Smith Street,

Fitzroy, VIC 3065,

Australia.

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BlackBerry Torch 9800

2011-05-02T19:10:00.001+10:00

The box.

After a three-day wait, it finally arrived. However, it did not arrive at my apartment.

The building I live in is still new and thus Optus, and many other telecom companies do not have the address in their database. Therefore, I had to ask for Mimi's favour to use her address which she agreed to, without fuss.

The postman delivered the package on Friday, which is two days after I ordered it, but Mimi was not around to accept the package. A note was left behind for me to claim it from the Lygon Street post office.

The quest was the berry was a long and arduous journey, trekking from the Arts Centre, the southeastern-most building of the university to Newman College, the northern end, and that was just to retrieve the note. With the note in hand, I walked back down to the southern end and turned to Lygon Street. I was thrilled as I got closer to the post office. Little did I know that it was a small post office with a crowd of customers in the evenings. Standing in line, I met Cherry and her cousin who were there to deliver letters. It made me wonder, who still sends letters in this day and age?

Finally, it was my turn. I showed my passport as photo I.D. and signed for the package. The excitement was bubbling within me, about to overflow at any moment. I rushed home right after, not giving a damn about the upcoming Econometrics lecture.

Still having the patience to take a few photos before unboxing the phone.

The name.

Non-stop social networking. How am I to focus on my studies?

Damn, I love that box.

The packaging just looks awesome. It is black. With minimal text on it. "BlackBerry". I am still a sucker for good packaging.

The only berry sexier than this is Halle Berry.

It makes my pudgy hands look petite.

The BlackBerry Torch is huge, if not anything else. 107mm x 60mm from what I measured. It looks like it means business, and that is what BlackBerries are all about.

The useless, as usual, owner's manual.

It's alive!

My sweet berry.

Happy Birthday, Mimi! (Charcoal Lane)

2011-05-01T02:45:00.178+10:00

The birthday girl.

First of all I would like to wish Mimi a very happy birthday. It has been three years since I first knew her and we are now better friends than ever.

Mimi's birthday has always been the birthday that we plan ahead of the most, for some reason. Maybe she is just the star of the group and everybody treats her in a special way.

This year, we decided to go Australian fusion for the big dinner, Charcoal Lane in Fitzroy.

Charcoal Lane.

Having read the menu online and not understanding a quarter of the words on it, I entered Charcoal Lane with a curious mind, not mentioning a voracious appetite due to skipping breakfast and lunch. Not a very wise idea before dining in a pseudo-fine dining restaurant.

Before we begin, introducing the guests of honour:

Amanda.

Kaili.

From left to right: Chris, Edwin and Cherry.

Mimi and Anthony.

Kaili and Mimi.

Enough about the people, more about the food. For appetisers, we had bread and butter as well as a cup of ocean trout something.

Ocean trout something.

Bread, butter, salt, pepper, wine glasses and napkins.

After that it was time to order. The thing about the menu is it is filled with unfamiliar names, such as tataki, samphire and trumpette. Serious food never fail to sound intimidating.

The intimidating menu.

Not to be defeated by the menu, most of us had our selections while pretending to know what we were ordering. I was happy to order until the waiter came telling us about the daily specials, the main being a lamb rack special. It seemed that the restaurant owners knew I was coming today, because there is nothing that this guy loves more than racks.

We waited rather long for the food. Luckily, I had a cup of hot chocolate to keep me occupied. I wanted an ice chocolate but the restaurant ran out of ice-cream. I was really looking forward to drinking an AUD 3.50 ice chocolate, the cheapest one I have ever seen so far.

Hot chocolate, also for AUD 3.50.

So came the food.

Seared scallop with something.

I did not try these because there were only three scallops a plate. Eating any would leave the person who ordered with almost none.

Yellow fin tuna, wildfire, vanilla carrot cream, smoked crystal bay prawns.

Kaili ordered the above, which I tried a bite of with the vanilla carrot cream. Best damned tuna I have ever sunk my teeth into. That being said, I have not eaten tuna cooked this way before. I have eaten tuna from a can, fully cooked tuna or raw tuna, not half cooked and half raw. That is probably one of the reasons I am lost for words for this dish. The fish was just so fresh and tender. Most importantly, it was not heavily salted. Instead, coating the fish in the creamy and savoury vanilla carrot cream is all that is needed to give the fish a wonderful taste and a rather interesting texture. I would definitely recommend this.

Warm kipfler salad, tarragon mustard, coddled egg.

Roasted marron fondue, angel hair, lemon myrtle, baby basil.

Cindy ordered the above, which I did not sample any of due to not knowing her that well. Now I probably know her well enough for that. There is always next time.

Then the lamb was offered unto us.

Lamb rack special.

Cherry, Edwin, Chris and I ordered the lamb rack special. I was at the verge of exploding with joy when the dish was deftly placed on the table by the waiter. The smell of lamb pierced my nose and I was already drooling. Unfortunately, it was only decent. First of all, I doubt that lamb racks are supposed to be served as raw as this. There was hardly any cooked part at the sides and it was reddish pink all the way to the middle. The lamb did not bleed as I cut into it, and that gave me relief. The meat was tender and juicy, as you would expect of any decent lamb rack but the fact that it was stuffed with black olive paste made me want to cry tears of agony. Although the olive did give it an interesting flavour which is partially masked by the taste of the meat, I felt that it should not have been there in the first place. Maybe I am just not an olive person.

The mash potatoes and the cherry tomato salad I cannot complain much about since I do not really have standards for those.

Kangaroo, broccoli puree, black trumpette, truffle gnocchi, bitter chocolate.

Keith and Mimi ordered the kangaroo. I did not try the meat but according to Mimi the lamb rack is better so I am not having my hopes high for this one. I did, however, much to my regret, tried the broccoli puree. At first I thought it was a pea puree because it tasted worse than peas and something that tastes worse than peas just cannot be broccoli. It is mind-blowing, or should I say mind-blasting how bad it tasted. It was like cognitive dissonance with a horrid taste left in your mouth.

D.O.C. serves broccoli puree on a pizza and it was the best broccoli I have ever tasted and now I get this. I did mention that this is the way I am going to eat broccoli from now on. Well, I take that back.

I would probably not return to this restaurant, since there are hundreds of Australian fusion restaurants in Melbourne, and I am rather certain that this is not one of the best. However, for its price the quality probably justifies. As far as pseudo-fine dining goes, this is dirt cheap.

Reasonable.

Total damage? AUD 401.00 for ten heads. Definitely dirt cheap by Melburnian standards.

Other than the mediocre food, I enjoyed the rest of the night having macarons and drinks at Naked Satan, a rather raunchy bar. Also, I treasure the time spent with friends, pouring our hearts out and pouring the drinks in. Above all, I treasure having such good friends and being able to know more new ones tonight.

Again, happy birthday, Mimi. Sorry I did not get you any presents.

136, Gertrude Street, Fitzroy, VIC 3065, Australia.
+61 3 9418 3400 ‎

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