MoVida

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

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)

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

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

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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