I was at Uni late the other night, trying desperately to get my desk resembling something useful, as opposed to a large pile of misc. I left around 6, mentally going through the fridge and the myriad of leftovers trying to decide what I wanted. Nothing took my fancy, so I went Chinese.
Now Mee Wah as a resturant is lovely - as a takeaway - EXPENSIVE. However the food comes from the same kitchen and tastes just as good.
I ordered a large fried rice and the Imperial Lamb which was $29. For me its the little things that make the difference - such as the fact they packaged the pancakes and the lamb for the Imperial serperately so that they didnt get soggy.
The Imperial Lamb was gorgeous - though I am not sure if it was worth $20. Four mandarin pancakes, and a large chinese container worth of spiced lamb with a thick sauce. The sauce had definate hints of oyster and soy in it, as well as garlic and something else which I could not quite put my finger on.
The fried rice was the standard rice with prawns, shallots and I THINK it was chicken in it. Very filling and yummy - I am still eating the left overs of this as the lamb filled me up. I drove from Sandy Bay to West Moonah and the meal was still hot when I got home.
Would I go back for just that as takeaway? Probably not unless I was working late at Uni and had to head back - however I suspect with a little judicious choice you could get quite good value out of the Mee Wah takeaway menu.
I'm off up the East coast next week for a writing retreat to break either my brain or my thesis. Am staying near St Marys - want some good recommendations for places for lunch as its going to be my main meal and break of the day.
Montys for dinner on Saturday - stay tuned!
Thursday 20 November 2008
Sunday 16 November 2008
Onba - Oh dear!
Just back from a coffee/tea finding mission to try to dissolve a large case of writers block - ended up at Onba with the other half. Lets just say - you started so well, what happened?
Its about 6 months since I last went to Onba - and I distinctly remember then that there was still a large tapas menu, with a few large meals and the whole tapas menu was always available.
Now, not so much.
Between the two of us we had a pot of green tea, 2 hot chocolates (1 cup, 1 mug), a serve of the cheese and mushroom enpandillas, a serve of the duck liver pate with something sherry Jelly on top with cornbread and Patas Bravas. The cost - $40.
Lets start with the drinks. The first hot chocolate was warm - not hot and apparently ok but not spectacular. The second was lots of froth not much drink, and still not HOT. My green tea came in one of those nifty glass teapots and was the classic grass green tea colour. Now I generally LIKE the green tea they serve at Onba - I buy it from the shop next door to make at home. Its idiot proof - 2 teaspoons or so of tea, add hot water to pot, let it sit for 5 minutes, pour and drink. This had the colour but absolutely NONE of the flavour I associate with the genmachi they normally serve. I shrugged and drank it, thinking I had not let it steep enough. Mind you I had to ask for honey, as opposed to the sugar sachets I was served with it. Am not upset by this, as honey with green tea is not something most ppl expect. However, the 2nd cup of tea still didn't have much flavour at all, so I investigated the strainer. I think they must have been scrapping the bottom of the container. The strainer was around 70% roasted rice and 30% tea, when normally the mixture is the opposite proportions. Once again, not necessarily their problem, except for maybe not refilling and mixing their storage containers. Also my cup was not clean - there was a smear of dirt on the outside of it, which I did not notice until after I finished.
Now onto the food. Onba used to do lovely servings of tapas and I could (and have) quite happily spent 2 or so hours on a couch upstairs with friends sharing food and working our way through the menu. This really isn't possible now. They now have distinct breakfast/lunch/dinner menus and what used to be 3-5 pages of always available tapas has now be whittled down to about 5 items along with cookies, sushi, pide and cake. The serving sizes are not predictable - our enpandillas were 2, but the pate and patas could have been meals into themselves.
Enpandillas - Last time I had these at Onba they were slight greasy but drained well and filled to the brim with a mixture of cheese and mushrooms in a lovely flaky pastry. This time I think I found one piece of mushroom in my serve and the cheese was also non existent. The pastry was greasy and oil and had no lightness or subtly of flavour which I used to associate with this serving. So strike one. I wanted to leave it at that, but the other half said I should try some of the other offerings to give a non biased view - which meant we then tried....
Duck Liver Pate with P? Sherry Jelly on top served with toasted cornbread - I love pate. Am a pate fiend and can eat it till the cows come home - this however was pate Jim, just not as we know it. The cornbread was nice - if a little hard on the crusts once toasted. The pate, nice texture and colour but absolutely NO taste except for what you got out of the Jelly on top. No slight bite, no explosion of gentle flavours over the tongue, hate to say it but the pate I bought at Augusta Road the other day which was mass produced had more flavour than this. This is the poor third cousin to Jean Pasquales pate which he occasionally sells.
This serving was huge - there would have been about 9 pieces of toast (3 slices cut into thirds I suspect), and a good 100g pot of pate in the middle. As a sharing dish it was large, for an individual it was way too big.
Patas Bravas - Fancy name for spiced potato wedges. Last time I had this the potatoes were cut into 8th or so, lightly sprinkled with spice, baked/roasted and then served with a lovely spicy tomato salsa dip. I did not try them this time but the other half reported that they were large quarters with a cheap tasting sprinkle that you couldn't taste until after you swallowed and the dip was watery and had no flavour of its own besides what the sprinkle on the potatoes gave it.
Neither of us finished the second plates. On paying I was asked how everything was - so mentioned my disappointment at the enpandillas, as well as the fact the tapas menu was now so limited outside of dinner hours.
I got told the reason was the they had to keep a chef on otherwise and it was too expensive to do. Also the two ppl there on a Sunday had to run the floor as well as serve and somehow this prevented a larger menu....I understand the fact that times are tight and to survive in the hospitality industry you have to cut costs etc - however if you market yourself as a tapas/supper club - its logical to say that you would expect a large range of Tapas to be available most of the time. Looking at the menu even during dinner the selection of tapas is quite small compared to what I remember it being previously - and there does not appear to be the whole moving with the seasons concept which I vaguely remember them talking about when they opened.
Overall I was very disappointed, and I don't think I will be back anytime soon - except maybe to try the paella on a Tuesday night.
2.5 out of 5.
Its about 6 months since I last went to Onba - and I distinctly remember then that there was still a large tapas menu, with a few large meals and the whole tapas menu was always available.
Now, not so much.
Between the two of us we had a pot of green tea, 2 hot chocolates (1 cup, 1 mug), a serve of the cheese and mushroom enpandillas, a serve of the duck liver pate with something sherry Jelly on top with cornbread and Patas Bravas. The cost - $40.
Lets start with the drinks. The first hot chocolate was warm - not hot and apparently ok but not spectacular. The second was lots of froth not much drink, and still not HOT. My green tea came in one of those nifty glass teapots and was the classic grass green tea colour. Now I generally LIKE the green tea they serve at Onba - I buy it from the shop next door to make at home. Its idiot proof - 2 teaspoons or so of tea, add hot water to pot, let it sit for 5 minutes, pour and drink. This had the colour but absolutely NONE of the flavour I associate with the genmachi they normally serve. I shrugged and drank it, thinking I had not let it steep enough. Mind you I had to ask for honey, as opposed to the sugar sachets I was served with it. Am not upset by this, as honey with green tea is not something most ppl expect. However, the 2nd cup of tea still didn't have much flavour at all, so I investigated the strainer. I think they must have been scrapping the bottom of the container. The strainer was around 70% roasted rice and 30% tea, when normally the mixture is the opposite proportions. Once again, not necessarily their problem, except for maybe not refilling and mixing their storage containers. Also my cup was not clean - there was a smear of dirt on the outside of it, which I did not notice until after I finished.
Now onto the food. Onba used to do lovely servings of tapas and I could (and have) quite happily spent 2 or so hours on a couch upstairs with friends sharing food and working our way through the menu. This really isn't possible now. They now have distinct breakfast/lunch/dinner menus and what used to be 3-5 pages of always available tapas has now be whittled down to about 5 items along with cookies, sushi, pide and cake. The serving sizes are not predictable - our enpandillas were 2, but the pate and patas could have been meals into themselves.
Enpandillas - Last time I had these at Onba they were slight greasy but drained well and filled to the brim with a mixture of cheese and mushrooms in a lovely flaky pastry. This time I think I found one piece of mushroom in my serve and the cheese was also non existent. The pastry was greasy and oil and had no lightness or subtly of flavour which I used to associate with this serving. So strike one. I wanted to leave it at that, but the other half said I should try some of the other offerings to give a non biased view - which meant we then tried....
Duck Liver Pate with P? Sherry Jelly on top served with toasted cornbread - I love pate. Am a pate fiend and can eat it till the cows come home - this however was pate Jim, just not as we know it. The cornbread was nice - if a little hard on the crusts once toasted. The pate, nice texture and colour but absolutely NO taste except for what you got out of the Jelly on top. No slight bite, no explosion of gentle flavours over the tongue, hate to say it but the pate I bought at Augusta Road the other day which was mass produced had more flavour than this. This is the poor third cousin to Jean Pasquales pate which he occasionally sells.
This serving was huge - there would have been about 9 pieces of toast (3 slices cut into thirds I suspect), and a good 100g pot of pate in the middle. As a sharing dish it was large, for an individual it was way too big.
Patas Bravas - Fancy name for spiced potato wedges. Last time I had this the potatoes were cut into 8th or so, lightly sprinkled with spice, baked/roasted and then served with a lovely spicy tomato salsa dip. I did not try them this time but the other half reported that they were large quarters with a cheap tasting sprinkle that you couldn't taste until after you swallowed and the dip was watery and had no flavour of its own besides what the sprinkle on the potatoes gave it.
Neither of us finished the second plates. On paying I was asked how everything was - so mentioned my disappointment at the enpandillas, as well as the fact the tapas menu was now so limited outside of dinner hours.
I got told the reason was the they had to keep a chef on otherwise and it was too expensive to do. Also the two ppl there on a Sunday had to run the floor as well as serve and somehow this prevented a larger menu....I understand the fact that times are tight and to survive in the hospitality industry you have to cut costs etc - however if you market yourself as a tapas/supper club - its logical to say that you would expect a large range of Tapas to be available most of the time. Looking at the menu even during dinner the selection of tapas is quite small compared to what I remember it being previously - and there does not appear to be the whole moving with the seasons concept which I vaguely remember them talking about when they opened.
Overall I was very disappointed, and I don't think I will be back anytime soon - except maybe to try the paella on a Tuesday night.
2.5 out of 5.
Sunday 26 October 2008
Sorry to disappoint...
But there will be no review of Monty degustation which happened tonight. Mainly as I am STILL in Brisbane - hopefully coming home Monday. Everyone is now either sort of healthy or has a plan to GET healthy (gotta love oncology!) so I have finished sittng in doctors offices/hospitals/emergency rooms and can come home to real food and decent prices.
Have eaten out a few times but have come to the conclusion that hobart does suburban cafes SO much better than Brisbane.
Had what was supposed to be breakfast with a very dear friend last sunday at the local cafe. Its supposedly got quite a good rep - and I used to fence with the owner when he was younger - heck I still do now ocassionally. It was a sunday morning, about 10am. A large table of about 20 was getting served as we arrived. We plopped overselves down and waited, and waited some more. About 10 mintues later we got menus. Ordered fairly quickly. (poached eggs on toast with a side of hash browns for me, big breakfast for JJ) And started waiting for our food. More people come in and order. Its jumping. Its obvious they are slightly short staffed.
I see Tony (the owner) rush in looking slightly hung over and harried. And still we wait. 20 minutes later after 2 tables who I think arrived after us get thier meals, I got up to the counter. Tony sees me says hello and asks what he can do. I ask for my B'fast. They look it up, and go check. Its going to be a few more minutes apparently. So we keep waiting. Thankfully its been awhile since JJ and I sat down and talked, so we chatted away. Our food arrives. I look at my watch - by my reckoning its 3/4 hour since we ordered. We eat - my toast was pre buttered which made it soggy and the eggs were poached in slightly vinegared water, which made them taste odd. The hash browns were nice. JJ's big breaky was adequate but uninspiring apparently.
When we went to pay I was asked how I enjoyed my meal - I made the comment that it was ok, but 3/4 of an hour was a slightly exessive wait. The waitress overheard and claimed it was 25 minutes. I just raised an eyebrow, mentioned that if FELT alot longer, paid and left. The intention was good, the execution was lacking. Though apparently others rave about it, its not on my list of places to revisit in a hurry.
Have eaten out a few times but have come to the conclusion that hobart does suburban cafes SO much better than Brisbane.
Had what was supposed to be breakfast with a very dear friend last sunday at the local cafe. Its supposedly got quite a good rep - and I used to fence with the owner when he was younger - heck I still do now ocassionally. It was a sunday morning, about 10am. A large table of about 20 was getting served as we arrived. We plopped overselves down and waited, and waited some more. About 10 mintues later we got menus. Ordered fairly quickly. (poached eggs on toast with a side of hash browns for me, big breakfast for JJ) And started waiting for our food. More people come in and order. Its jumping. Its obvious they are slightly short staffed.
I see Tony (the owner) rush in looking slightly hung over and harried. And still we wait. 20 minutes later after 2 tables who I think arrived after us get thier meals, I got up to the counter. Tony sees me says hello and asks what he can do. I ask for my B'fast. They look it up, and go check. Its going to be a few more minutes apparently. So we keep waiting. Thankfully its been awhile since JJ and I sat down and talked, so we chatted away. Our food arrives. I look at my watch - by my reckoning its 3/4 hour since we ordered. We eat - my toast was pre buttered which made it soggy and the eggs were poached in slightly vinegared water, which made them taste odd. The hash browns were nice. JJ's big breaky was adequate but uninspiring apparently.
When we went to pay I was asked how I enjoyed my meal - I made the comment that it was ok, but 3/4 of an hour was a slightly exessive wait. The waitress overheard and claimed it was 25 minutes. I just raised an eyebrow, mentioned that if FELT alot longer, paid and left. The intention was good, the execution was lacking. Though apparently others rave about it, its not on my list of places to revisit in a hurry.
Friday 10 October 2008
ARGH!
Due to family emergency I am now in Brisbane. Will be here till Thursday. Leave for East coast adventure (ie thesis writing) Friday next week. Hope to be trying Ebb sometime next weekend. This blog will be even more sporadic than normal due to said family emergency. I will however post reviews that are due soon.
Saturday 4 October 2008
National recognition
Just wanted to say well done to the crew at Montys for a very favourable review in the Australian this weekend. A few secrets coming out (ie they are going to expand upstairs) but otherwise a good review that they justly deserve.
Friday 3 October 2008
Very quick update.
Firstly HI! to the girls in S's office who put two and two together and got me!
Secondly - I swear I haven't forgotten the Me Wah review - I'm currently drowning under 2nd year assignments which need to be marked - should not be a problem but there are a 100 or so at 2000 words each and its an area which is only tangentially related to my own.
Thirdly - Jay at Pigeon Hole rocks my world. I have been bugging him for ages to start selling the granola so I have a ready supply at home - today out of the blue he offered me a jar with a "bring it back when its empty and I'll re fill it" type comment and he wouldnt take any money for it. THATS the way to get people coming back. So now I have Jay granola!! YAH! Just need to stew the ruhbarb and all will be right with the world.
Fourthly - As far as I know the next Montys degustation is on the 25th of this month and will involve showcased wines from Nat and Matts busmans holiday.
Secondly - I swear I haven't forgotten the Me Wah review - I'm currently drowning under 2nd year assignments which need to be marked - should not be a problem but there are a 100 or so at 2000 words each and its an area which is only tangentially related to my own.
Thirdly - Jay at Pigeon Hole rocks my world. I have been bugging him for ages to start selling the granola so I have a ready supply at home - today out of the blue he offered me a jar with a "bring it back when its empty and I'll re fill it" type comment and he wouldnt take any money for it. THATS the way to get people coming back. So now I have Jay granola!! YAH! Just need to stew the ruhbarb and all will be right with the world.
Fourthly - As far as I know the next Montys degustation is on the 25th of this month and will involve showcased wines from Nat and Matts busmans holiday.
Sunday 21 September 2008
BURP!
Me Wah last night was GOOD - much amusement from the table next to us....Grub at Newtown for lunch....yummy. Longer review to follow - currently VERY content.
Friday 19 September 2008
Upcoming Reviews...
Am off to Mee Wah on Saturday night so sometime next week there will be a review on that. I think we are going driving next weekend, so expect something from down the Channel way (or maybe up the East Coast - depends on my mood I guess). Had lunch at Zum on Wed so need to post about that....other than that my ear is slowly getting better - still have to see the ENT next month though.
Friday 12 September 2008
Just about coherent.....
Just to let everyone know, I am still around, just ill and thus not eating out much. I seem to be spending an inordinate amount of my eating out time at Pigeon hole devouring granola and apple puree and talking with Jay and the rest of the staff. Must admit I got more reading done for work there today then I have for AGES at either my desk at Uni or at home.
The salad today (eaten on Jays reccommendation) was lovely. Greens, honey walnuts, goats curd, warm grilled mushrooms and a light dressing. For 10 dollars it was JUST right for how I was feeling.
Other than that I have had a few bento boxes at Yume in town - consistantly yummy and good value, and been subjected to catered lunches at Uni - generally sandwiches etc, but the pizza slice was quite nice.
Am in week 7 of the ear infection from Hades, so now have to get the timings right re food and the new antibacterial drug we are trying (drug attempt number 4 on this particular infection). off to hte ENT next month to try to work out WHY its not going way. Why is this relevent? Well its stuffed my tastebuds to a certain extent. I am getting the stronger tastes but suspect I an missing some of the nuances and delicacy that I generally enjoy in food.
Anyhow, will be back soon with more reviews....I suspect as thesis submission date gets closer, yu will get more and more random food reviews as I procastinate.
The salad today (eaten on Jays reccommendation) was lovely. Greens, honey walnuts, goats curd, warm grilled mushrooms and a light dressing. For 10 dollars it was JUST right for how I was feeling.
Other than that I have had a few bento boxes at Yume in town - consistantly yummy and good value, and been subjected to catered lunches at Uni - generally sandwiches etc, but the pizza slice was quite nice.
Am in week 7 of the ear infection from Hades, so now have to get the timings right re food and the new antibacterial drug we are trying (drug attempt number 4 on this particular infection). off to hte ENT next month to try to work out WHY its not going way. Why is this relevent? Well its stuffed my tastebuds to a certain extent. I am getting the stronger tastes but suspect I an missing some of the nuances and delicacy that I generally enjoy in food.
Anyhow, will be back soon with more reviews....I suspect as thesis submission date gets closer, yu will get more and more random food reviews as I procastinate.
Tuesday 12 August 2008
A Weekend of Eating.....
Thats all I seemed to do this weekend, Eat. I had friends visiting from the mainland and we did alot of the tourist stuff, but of course we had to to eat as well. So here is the run down on where we ate...
Friday Night - Kawasemi - Warning...if you want to eat in BOOK! The last 3 times I have tried to walk in off the street on a Friday night they have been totally full. Had a lovely Chicken Katsudon takeaway, and the bento box got the double thumbs up from my mates girlfriend who had lived in Japan for 2 years. This place has firmly established itself as a good solid reliable source of food in the Northern Suburbs. To be booked out on Friday in the middle of winter suggests that they are definately doing something right. I still believe their bento box is one of the best value meals in town.
Saturday - Brunch at Pigeon Hole. I think the comment of "Beans on toast is now ruined" sums up the reaction. Apparently tinned beans on toast will never be enough again! I had a lovely cherry and almond scroll which was still warm from the oven. The brioche was lovely and flakey. Just right for how I was feeling. I truely wish they could be a bit bigger, but they are only allowed 20 seats, and I suspect that as the weather warms up its going to be harder and harder to find a seat unless you get there early. The other half still has to try the beans on toast, and has promised to get up early with me on Saturday so that he can get some...
Dinner at Magic Curry in Battery Point. This was a little bit disappointing. Last time I was here the food had a quite nice flavour, and was not spectacular but it was good. This time the four of us ordered the banquet, which while lots of food really did not have the kick that I was expecting from Indian food. They were very busy though, and cramming them in. There was about 15cm between our table of 4 in a corner and a table of 2 placed slap bang in the middle of the walkway near the fire. The best bits were the fish curry - the fish was firm and moist, with a lovely light curry taste. The butter chicken had no kick what so ever, and the lamb rogan josh was very very bland. The Dahl was nice - not as blended as some, the chick peas were still obvious and added needed texture. Though there appeared to be a lack of spice.
My view on the food may however be coloured by the fact I lived on the same floor in college as a group of Indian girls who used to have huge cooking parties in the buttery and invite everyone along for a meal. I have very fond memories of cooking roti on electric hot plates and smearing them with butter and gobbling them down.
Sunday - Lunch at Red Velvet Lounge. After reading reviews of RVL I was looking forward to eating here. I must say I was a little bit disappointed. I wasn't very hungry so ordered the potato cakes with paprika mayo. The intention was good but the execution fell short. Potato slices, dipped in a batter and deep fried. Has to potential to be a really good meal, unfortunately they were very oily (one slice's oil soaked through my napkin) and not really as crispy as I was expecting. When they were finished there was an obvious puddle of oil at the bottom of the bowl. The mayo was lovely though. I ended up swapping with Stephen for a few bites of his beef pot pie with mash and peas - which was lovely - although the opinion was we needed bread to mop up the sauce as the mash was a side dish.
My BIGGEST complaint however was that the room was COLD!!! I'm sorry but a place with ceilings that high can not just rely on a fireplace to warm everyone up. The staff also seemed to be slightly unconcerned about service. They talked happily to people who were obviously regulars, but I sometimes felt a bit like an intruder and that I was imposing.
We split 2 deserts between the four of us - Stephen and I shared something that was a bit like a cream catalina type thing, but was not that nice - the best bit was the sugared orange peel on top. Crunchy, sweet and sour all at once. E and L shared a slice of Banoff cake - apparently very nice.
Verdict? I'll go back as I suspect this bad visit was a combination of things - including the fact I was having a very odd reaction to the antibiotics I was taking.
Friday Night - Kawasemi - Warning...if you want to eat in BOOK! The last 3 times I have tried to walk in off the street on a Friday night they have been totally full. Had a lovely Chicken Katsudon takeaway, and the bento box got the double thumbs up from my mates girlfriend who had lived in Japan for 2 years. This place has firmly established itself as a good solid reliable source of food in the Northern Suburbs. To be booked out on Friday in the middle of winter suggests that they are definately doing something right. I still believe their bento box is one of the best value meals in town.
Saturday - Brunch at Pigeon Hole. I think the comment of "Beans on toast is now ruined" sums up the reaction. Apparently tinned beans on toast will never be enough again! I had a lovely cherry and almond scroll which was still warm from the oven. The brioche was lovely and flakey. Just right for how I was feeling. I truely wish they could be a bit bigger, but they are only allowed 20 seats, and I suspect that as the weather warms up its going to be harder and harder to find a seat unless you get there early. The other half still has to try the beans on toast, and has promised to get up early with me on Saturday so that he can get some...
Dinner at Magic Curry in Battery Point. This was a little bit disappointing. Last time I was here the food had a quite nice flavour, and was not spectacular but it was good. This time the four of us ordered the banquet, which while lots of food really did not have the kick that I was expecting from Indian food. They were very busy though, and cramming them in. There was about 15cm between our table of 4 in a corner and a table of 2 placed slap bang in the middle of the walkway near the fire. The best bits were the fish curry - the fish was firm and moist, with a lovely light curry taste. The butter chicken had no kick what so ever, and the lamb rogan josh was very very bland. The Dahl was nice - not as blended as some, the chick peas were still obvious and added needed texture. Though there appeared to be a lack of spice.
My view on the food may however be coloured by the fact I lived on the same floor in college as a group of Indian girls who used to have huge cooking parties in the buttery and invite everyone along for a meal. I have very fond memories of cooking roti on electric hot plates and smearing them with butter and gobbling them down.
Sunday - Lunch at Red Velvet Lounge. After reading reviews of RVL I was looking forward to eating here. I must say I was a little bit disappointed. I wasn't very hungry so ordered the potato cakes with paprika mayo. The intention was good but the execution fell short. Potato slices, dipped in a batter and deep fried. Has to potential to be a really good meal, unfortunately they were very oily (one slice's oil soaked through my napkin) and not really as crispy as I was expecting. When they were finished there was an obvious puddle of oil at the bottom of the bowl. The mayo was lovely though. I ended up swapping with Stephen for a few bites of his beef pot pie with mash and peas - which was lovely - although the opinion was we needed bread to mop up the sauce as the mash was a side dish.
My BIGGEST complaint however was that the room was COLD!!! I'm sorry but a place with ceilings that high can not just rely on a fireplace to warm everyone up. The staff also seemed to be slightly unconcerned about service. They talked happily to people who were obviously regulars, but I sometimes felt a bit like an intruder and that I was imposing.
We split 2 deserts between the four of us - Stephen and I shared something that was a bit like a cream catalina type thing, but was not that nice - the best bit was the sugared orange peel on top. Crunchy, sweet and sour all at once. E and L shared a slice of Banoff cake - apparently very nice.
Verdict? I'll go back as I suspect this bad visit was a combination of things - including the fact I was having a very odd reaction to the antibiotics I was taking.
Tuesday 5 August 2008
Here goes.....
Righto this is from memory - Nat is waaay to organised and has taken down the menu already.
1st Course was Snails 2 ways - one in the shell with garlic butter, and one in a lovely filo pastry with I think it was Tongola goats cheese. I love snails so gobbled them down - I prefered the one in garlic butter, but the other half liked the tiny pastry. Either way it was a good way to start.
2nd course - Quail kiev with quail rissotto held together with pancetta. This was early running to be my favourite dish of the evening. The rissotto was amazing, I seriously could have gobbled a huge big bowl of it and not eaten anything else. Perfectly plump rice with a lovely subtle flavour from the quail and a slight saltyness from the pancetta. The kiev was interesting, it was a boned quail with the tiniest amount of cheese in it, just enough to give it flavour. This is on their August menu and rightfully so - its a lovely mixture of textures and flavours, without any one being overpowering.
3rd course - was Pork. Lovely yummy scrumptious Lee Christmas pork belly, with crackling and BLACK SAUSAGE! Though it was under some fancy name. I'll admit, this is the first time I have eaten black sausage and it was really yummy. It looked very dry, but was quite moist when you cut into it.
4th course - was duck 2 ways. A lovely flavoursome duck liver parfait served with pinot noir jelly and duck rillette. We both found the rillette a little oily, but the parfait and jelly was an inspired combination on crispy bits of toast. I wanted more - both on parfait and the toast. The other half, who doesnt particularly like pate type textures refused to share, so I suspect that means he liked it.
Then was the long break to reset the tables and let everyone stretch their legs etc. We ended up in the bar with our backs to the open fire geting lovely and warm while having a long convaluted chat with a group of four people about family at Christmas, laser eye surgery and something else which escapes my memory at this point in time.
The 5th course was slow cooked Navarin of ‘Rivendale’ Boer Goat with root veggies and barrel aged fetta cheese. This was a lovely rich meaty stew type dish, and the cheese added a lovely salty tang to the sauce. It was served in a cassarole type dish, which was nice, but made getting the yummy juice out very hard!
6th Course was the wallaby tortellini with wallaby consumme, truffle oil and reggiano snow (also on the Aug menu). This was THE dish of the night for me. The edge of the tortellini was a little dry but other than that the mixture of textures and tastes was amazing. I actually asked for a spoon to get all the consumme out it was soooo good. Lovely soft meat, the bite of the pasta and the enhancement of the taste through the consumme made for the most amazing meal. I could have quite happily finished here and gone home content.
7th Course - mini roast of Nichols rivulet organic porterhouse with a beef cheek jus + yorkshire pudding. This was nice, though the beef was a tiny bit pink for me, but any less pink and it wouldn't have melted in the mouth. The jus was lovely and the yorkshire pudding, while not hot proved a perfect sop for the juices.
8th Course - Desert!! twice cooked blue cheese soufflé with double chocolate ice cream. The ice cream was absolutely decadent. Rich, creamy and oh so chocolatey. The souffle was yummy too - though I think it could have been slightly more cheesy. Its interesting to note that my taste buds/tongue can do the flavours this way around but CANT do the blue cheese ice cream chocolate pudding way.
Anyhow I unfortunately was battling the edge of a migraine for some reason by this time, so we skipped out very quickly after coffees. The surprise dish was the apple jellies they served as after desert snacks. VERY yummy.
So thats that. Next one is October, which I will probably go to with Dad as Stephen dont like Seafood that much.
Sorry its taken so long to post, I;ve been in Perth and stuff.
1st Course was Snails 2 ways - one in the shell with garlic butter, and one in a lovely filo pastry with I think it was Tongola goats cheese. I love snails so gobbled them down - I prefered the one in garlic butter, but the other half liked the tiny pastry. Either way it was a good way to start.
2nd course - Quail kiev with quail rissotto held together with pancetta. This was early running to be my favourite dish of the evening. The rissotto was amazing, I seriously could have gobbled a huge big bowl of it and not eaten anything else. Perfectly plump rice with a lovely subtle flavour from the quail and a slight saltyness from the pancetta. The kiev was interesting, it was a boned quail with the tiniest amount of cheese in it, just enough to give it flavour. This is on their August menu and rightfully so - its a lovely mixture of textures and flavours, without any one being overpowering.
3rd course - was Pork. Lovely yummy scrumptious Lee Christmas pork belly, with crackling and BLACK SAUSAGE! Though it was under some fancy name. I'll admit, this is the first time I have eaten black sausage and it was really yummy. It looked very dry, but was quite moist when you cut into it.
4th course - was duck 2 ways. A lovely flavoursome duck liver parfait served with pinot noir jelly and duck rillette. We both found the rillette a little oily, but the parfait and jelly was an inspired combination on crispy bits of toast. I wanted more - both on parfait and the toast. The other half, who doesnt particularly like pate type textures refused to share, so I suspect that means he liked it.
Then was the long break to reset the tables and let everyone stretch their legs etc. We ended up in the bar with our backs to the open fire geting lovely and warm while having a long convaluted chat with a group of four people about family at Christmas, laser eye surgery and something else which escapes my memory at this point in time.
The 5th course was slow cooked Navarin of ‘Rivendale’ Boer Goat with root veggies and barrel aged fetta cheese. This was a lovely rich meaty stew type dish, and the cheese added a lovely salty tang to the sauce. It was served in a cassarole type dish, which was nice, but made getting the yummy juice out very hard!
6th Course was the wallaby tortellini with wallaby consumme, truffle oil and reggiano snow (also on the Aug menu). This was THE dish of the night for me. The edge of the tortellini was a little dry but other than that the mixture of textures and tastes was amazing. I actually asked for a spoon to get all the consumme out it was soooo good. Lovely soft meat, the bite of the pasta and the enhancement of the taste through the consumme made for the most amazing meal. I could have quite happily finished here and gone home content.
7th Course - mini roast of Nichols rivulet organic porterhouse with a beef cheek jus + yorkshire pudding. This was nice, though the beef was a tiny bit pink for me, but any less pink and it wouldn't have melted in the mouth. The jus was lovely and the yorkshire pudding, while not hot proved a perfect sop for the juices.
8th Course - Desert!! twice cooked blue cheese soufflé with double chocolate ice cream. The ice cream was absolutely decadent. Rich, creamy and oh so chocolatey. The souffle was yummy too - though I think it could have been slightly more cheesy. Its interesting to note that my taste buds/tongue can do the flavours this way around but CANT do the blue cheese ice cream chocolate pudding way.
Anyhow I unfortunately was battling the edge of a migraine for some reason by this time, so we skipped out very quickly after coffees. The surprise dish was the apple jellies they served as after desert snacks. VERY yummy.
So thats that. Next one is October, which I will probably go to with Dad as Stephen dont like Seafood that much.
Sorry its taken so long to post, I;ve been in Perth and stuff.
Wednesday 30 July 2008
Another Montys Degustation.....
And once again a resounding success. I accidently left my menu on the table, so will dig up the complete menu from my files in the next day or two. However the highlights for me were definately the wallaby tortellini in wallaby consumme with truffle oil and reggiano, and the duck liver parfait with pinot noir jelly.
Full report to come after I have been to see the careers counsellor and remarked some exam papers...
Full report to come after I have been to see the careers counsellor and remarked some exam papers...
Saturday 5 July 2008
Pigeon Hole
Had a late b'fast/early lunch by myself at Pigeon Hole this morning. I'm with Rita - it's great. A small chalk board menu, nothing particularly breakfasty but all yummy looking non the less. I am on a gryuere kick at the moment after having a lovely croque monsiuer at Jean Pascal New Town on Thursday (but that's a totally different blog entry). So the twice baked gryuere souffle caught my eye immediately. As did the really delicious looking rubarb crostini on wire racks by the cofffee machine. I gave in to gluttony and ordered one of those as well with a lovely dollop of rich heavy cream.
The souffle was gorgeous. Light, slightly eggy, with a great cheesey taste with crunch bits on top. Served in a lovely ramiken on a wooden board with green leaves and grated gruyere on the side. I ate it with a spoon and it really was delicious. As for the hot chocolate and crostini, YUM YUM and more YUM. The crostini was saucer sized, warmed with a lovely dollop of what I am fairly sure was elgars cream in the middle of it. Stewed rhubarb in the middle with currents. Perfectly sweet but not over sugared the pastry was still crisp underneath (a pet hate of mine - soggy pastry) and it was suitably rustic. The hot chocolate didn't need extra sugar - only the 2nd place in hobart where I have found this.
The spoons/tongs and saucers are very obviously from Luke and Katrina ex Pecora, but the feel is totally Jay from 373 - relaxed and confident - which is what, in retrospect was missing from my last visit to 373. The crowd was varied, from families, to couples, to singles and friends meeting up for coffee and a chat. There are obviously already regulars, and at 11:30 I think all of the bread was already sold. My only real gripe is that it is not obvious when you walk in if there are any large tables free as they are all down a narrowish corridor towards the back.
The variety of cakes and nibbles is small but varied, I spied 2 different cakes with rhubarbs and a very decedent looking chocolate muffin. There was also a few other varieties of muffin and some savoury crostinis.
Talking to Katrina when I was paying (they accept EFTPOS) she was saying they don't really do traditional breakfasts, but will do toast and honey on request. They don't have a full compliment of condiments apparently. Two drinks, a souffle and a crostini set me back about 23 dollars, which considering I was hungry when I arrived and left plesantly full was good value for money.
In conclusion, I will definately be back, and dragging friends along for the adventure.
PS please excuse the spelling in this post, my brain is on strike due to emotional turmoil.
The souffle was gorgeous. Light, slightly eggy, with a great cheesey taste with crunch bits on top. Served in a lovely ramiken on a wooden board with green leaves and grated gruyere on the side. I ate it with a spoon and it really was delicious. As for the hot chocolate and crostini, YUM YUM and more YUM. The crostini was saucer sized, warmed with a lovely dollop of what I am fairly sure was elgars cream in the middle of it. Stewed rhubarb in the middle with currents. Perfectly sweet but not over sugared the pastry was still crisp underneath (a pet hate of mine - soggy pastry) and it was suitably rustic. The hot chocolate didn't need extra sugar - only the 2nd place in hobart where I have found this.
The spoons/tongs and saucers are very obviously from Luke and Katrina ex Pecora, but the feel is totally Jay from 373 - relaxed and confident - which is what, in retrospect was missing from my last visit to 373. The crowd was varied, from families, to couples, to singles and friends meeting up for coffee and a chat. There are obviously already regulars, and at 11:30 I think all of the bread was already sold. My only real gripe is that it is not obvious when you walk in if there are any large tables free as they are all down a narrowish corridor towards the back.
The variety of cakes and nibbles is small but varied, I spied 2 different cakes with rhubarbs and a very decedent looking chocolate muffin. There was also a few other varieties of muffin and some savoury crostinis.
Talking to Katrina when I was paying (they accept EFTPOS) she was saying they don't really do traditional breakfasts, but will do toast and honey on request. They don't have a full compliment of condiments apparently. Two drinks, a souffle and a crostini set me back about 23 dollars, which considering I was hungry when I arrived and left plesantly full was good value for money.
In conclusion, I will definately be back, and dragging friends along for the adventure.
PS please excuse the spelling in this post, my brain is on strike due to emotional turmoil.
Friday 27 June 2008
Random Lunch Review.....
Isnt it COLD? Was in town yesterday and remember around 2pm that I hadnt eaten all day. So contemplated my options. Ended up at the tiny Thai place near Cafe Toulse - the name escapes me just now, but its tiny, 6 tables and a counter and thats about it.
I wanted soup, but didnt feel like something spice hot so choose the non spice option (13) at the bottom of the menu. Coupled with a serving of Satay I thought that it could be a nice hot filling meal. At 13 dollars it had better be!
Out came a large skewer of chicken with satay dipping sauce which was lovely and a massive bowl of soup. I want to learn how to make this soup. It was gorgeous. Bits of squid and prawn, with scallops and rice noodle along with egg in a lovely thick broth. Filling, warm and really yummy.
I wanted soup, but didnt feel like something spice hot so choose the non spice option (13) at the bottom of the menu. Coupled with a serving of Satay I thought that it could be a nice hot filling meal. At 13 dollars it had better be!
Out came a large skewer of chicken with satay dipping sauce which was lovely and a massive bowl of soup. I want to learn how to make this soup. It was gorgeous. Bits of squid and prawn, with scallops and rice noodle along with egg in a lovely thick broth. Filling, warm and really yummy.
Sunday 22 June 2008
Delayed 373 Review and other food matters...(raincheck b/fast review and Mures lower deck)
Its a week since I went to 373 with the other half and I am still not 100% sure what to make of it. One thing I am sure of, its definately not the same place it was 18months or even 12 months ago. It feels alot more "corporate".
The wait staff have changed. We had a youngish lad, who was a little Basil Faultesque in his manner - later proved when he somehow managed to knock the water jug off the table which is at the front as you enter. I guess he was trying for silver service formality but falling a little bit short.
The food was good but uninspiring really. Stephen had the Pork Belly and fennel roulaude for entrees and the proscuttio wrapped eye fillet for mains - the eye fillet tasted really nice, but when its all said and done its just steak.
I had the soft shell crab omelette for entrees, and one of the entree specials - twice cooked beef cheek for mains. The omlette was a tad salty and you really couldnt taste teh crab - which was a pity as soft shell crab is apparently considered a delicacy. The beef cheek was quite nice, very soft and a fair bit of flavour, but at the same time there was something missing. I'm not sure what it was, but the meal just didnt feel "complete".
Now its a well known fact to most people that I am a cheese fiend. No meal at a good resturant is complete without cheese of some sort - so we ordered some. Keep in mind we ordered the cheese when we placed our meal orders, so there was a good hours lee way between ordering and eating. We ordered 2 french (a Comte and a Roquefort) and 1 English (a chedder). Now if you order cheese at somewhere like Terraces in Launceston, or Monty in Hobart they will be served at room temperature, and you will be told which cheese is which. These were still slightly cold (the comte was still fairly solid near the rind) and we didnt get told which cheese was which. I had to ask for the menu back and work it out from the descriptions. The Roquefort was horrid..its supposedly one of the last family made ones in France, but personally it tasted like disinfectant and the texture was almost slimy.
I didnt have dessert but Stephen had the Brulee which while nice and crunchy on top apparently had an odd texture in the middle (he is the brulee freak not me, so I am taking his word for it). Another question - how hard is it to actually serve coffee WITH the dessert and not after? This isnt just a 373 quirk, quite a few places I have been lately have done the same thing...its kinda annoying.
One there 373 are known for are thier amuse bouche, which once again were lovely. The popcorn and olives, followed by a lovely soup - I cant remember what it was but it had garlic in it and I think sweet potato. The lemon sorbet was good.
Overall I would really only give 373 about 3.5/5 - the atmosphere isnt really there anymore, and the staff need to stop trying so hard. The food is good, but not as spectacular as it used to be, and the buzz which you used to get going there seems to have disappeared a bit.
Went to Raincheck for breakfast last Tuesday with a friend. The Eggs Benidict on GF bread was REALLY REALLY good. The Hollandaise tasted good and everything was nice and fresh. The hot chocolates were really really good as well. Good value for money as well.
Went to Mures Lower Deck last night with a friend before heading off to a wonderful TSO concert at the Federation Concert Hall. I still believe their soup of the day for 6.50 is some of the best value in town. Last night it was smokey fish chowder with lovely big chunks of fish and a great smoked taste. Coupled with a bread roll and good company its a lovely cheap night out.
Finally went down to Kettering today to Lee's pork sale - 90 dollars later and a quick lesson in butchery from Lee on how to get spare ribs from Pork belly I came home very content. Stopped at the Fruit and Veggie market just outside Snug (the big one near the cross roads) and bought veggies - unfortunately got stuck behind a busload of ppl buying veggies before heading off to do touristy things, so what SHOULD have been a 5 minute in and out become a 20 minute waiting game.
Had Lee's pork sausages in bread rolls from Mondos with grilled apple and mustard for lunch. I dont need dinner.
So thats me up to date. Next food adventure is yet to be determined.
The wait staff have changed. We had a youngish lad, who was a little Basil Faultesque in his manner - later proved when he somehow managed to knock the water jug off the table which is at the front as you enter. I guess he was trying for silver service formality but falling a little bit short.
The food was good but uninspiring really. Stephen had the Pork Belly and fennel roulaude for entrees and the proscuttio wrapped eye fillet for mains - the eye fillet tasted really nice, but when its all said and done its just steak.
I had the soft shell crab omelette for entrees, and one of the entree specials - twice cooked beef cheek for mains. The omlette was a tad salty and you really couldnt taste teh crab - which was a pity as soft shell crab is apparently considered a delicacy. The beef cheek was quite nice, very soft and a fair bit of flavour, but at the same time there was something missing. I'm not sure what it was, but the meal just didnt feel "complete".
Now its a well known fact to most people that I am a cheese fiend. No meal at a good resturant is complete without cheese of some sort - so we ordered some. Keep in mind we ordered the cheese when we placed our meal orders, so there was a good hours lee way between ordering and eating. We ordered 2 french (a Comte and a Roquefort) and 1 English (a chedder). Now if you order cheese at somewhere like Terraces in Launceston, or Monty in Hobart they will be served at room temperature, and you will be told which cheese is which. These were still slightly cold (the comte was still fairly solid near the rind) and we didnt get told which cheese was which. I had to ask for the menu back and work it out from the descriptions. The Roquefort was horrid..its supposedly one of the last family made ones in France, but personally it tasted like disinfectant and the texture was almost slimy.
I didnt have dessert but Stephen had the Brulee which while nice and crunchy on top apparently had an odd texture in the middle (he is the brulee freak not me, so I am taking his word for it). Another question - how hard is it to actually serve coffee WITH the dessert and not after? This isnt just a 373 quirk, quite a few places I have been lately have done the same thing...its kinda annoying.
One there 373 are known for are thier amuse bouche, which once again were lovely. The popcorn and olives, followed by a lovely soup - I cant remember what it was but it had garlic in it and I think sweet potato. The lemon sorbet was good.
Overall I would really only give 373 about 3.5/5 - the atmosphere isnt really there anymore, and the staff need to stop trying so hard. The food is good, but not as spectacular as it used to be, and the buzz which you used to get going there seems to have disappeared a bit.
Went to Raincheck for breakfast last Tuesday with a friend. The Eggs Benidict on GF bread was REALLY REALLY good. The Hollandaise tasted good and everything was nice and fresh. The hot chocolates were really really good as well. Good value for money as well.
Went to Mures Lower Deck last night with a friend before heading off to a wonderful TSO concert at the Federation Concert Hall. I still believe their soup of the day for 6.50 is some of the best value in town. Last night it was smokey fish chowder with lovely big chunks of fish and a great smoked taste. Coupled with a bread roll and good company its a lovely cheap night out.
Finally went down to Kettering today to Lee's pork sale - 90 dollars later and a quick lesson in butchery from Lee on how to get spare ribs from Pork belly I came home very content. Stopped at the Fruit and Veggie market just outside Snug (the big one near the cross roads) and bought veggies - unfortunately got stuck behind a busload of ppl buying veggies before heading off to do touristy things, so what SHOULD have been a 5 minute in and out become a 20 minute waiting game.
Had Lee's pork sausages in bread rolls from Mondos with grilled apple and mustard for lunch. I dont need dinner.
So thats me up to date. Next food adventure is yet to be determined.
Saturday 14 June 2008
Chocolate is a food group right?
Had a meeting at Salamanca today about the thesis that never seems to end. Was originally going to meet my supervisor at the Quarry, but we both realised that there is nothing really GF free about their snack menu so we continued up towards Salamanca Square in search of food.
I will admit to not having being very good with my allergy diet lately, and I suspect its partially why my PMS has been so bad this month - so I am back on the GF band wagon for a couple of months to let the body have time to heal.
So what relavence does this have to a food blog you may ask? Well we ended up at Say Cheese, which I havent been to in Donkeys, but had a lovely list of very lucious looking sundaes.
My supervisor was paying (bless his cotton socks) and I had not eaten anything yet and it was after 12, so I ordered the Chocolate Sundae. Lets just say for 13.50 its DEFINATELY worth it.
Large glass parfait glass, mass of chocolate icecream in the bottom, then a layer of marshmallows and hot chocolate fudge sauce, then a layer of vanilla and another of chocolate. Toppped with cream, more sauce, chocolate squares around the edge and some biscotti (which I took off and didnt eat). Comfort food of the HIGHEST calibre - made what had the potential to be a fraught meeting (my lack of writing progress is scaring me, but my supervisor seems to think that I'm gonna be ok) good.
Tonight I am being taken out to 373 for adinner as Mee Wah was fully booked.
Totally as an aside, if you want good discounts at many of the good eating places in Tassie, may I suggest getting your mitts on one of the Entertainment guides? Lots of resturants offering 2 for one main meals, or 25% off the total bill. Places both in the North or the South of the state, as well a the East Coast. Ebb is there, as is Banc and Fee and Me. In Hobart the range is from places like Vanidols to Alexanders, Picalily, Kellys, Fransico's, Mee Wah, 373. Also entertainment options such as bowling, Par Avion discounts etc. Avaliable from the St Davids Cathedral office at the Church house at the back of the Cathedral. $50 - which you get back VERY quickly as I found out using the 25% discount voucher at Onba - we got about 20 dollars off our bill the other day -which essentially meant we got the 3 pots of tea and the coffees we had for free.
Anyhow I better go find something vaguely dressy to wear tonight.
Review in the next couple of days when I need a break from marking exam papers.
I will admit to not having being very good with my allergy diet lately, and I suspect its partially why my PMS has been so bad this month - so I am back on the GF band wagon for a couple of months to let the body have time to heal.
So what relavence does this have to a food blog you may ask? Well we ended up at Say Cheese, which I havent been to in Donkeys, but had a lovely list of very lucious looking sundaes.
My supervisor was paying (bless his cotton socks) and I had not eaten anything yet and it was after 12, so I ordered the Chocolate Sundae. Lets just say for 13.50 its DEFINATELY worth it.
Large glass parfait glass, mass of chocolate icecream in the bottom, then a layer of marshmallows and hot chocolate fudge sauce, then a layer of vanilla and another of chocolate. Toppped with cream, more sauce, chocolate squares around the edge and some biscotti (which I took off and didnt eat). Comfort food of the HIGHEST calibre - made what had the potential to be a fraught meeting (my lack of writing progress is scaring me, but my supervisor seems to think that I'm gonna be ok) good.
Tonight I am being taken out to 373 for adinner as Mee Wah was fully booked.
Totally as an aside, if you want good discounts at many of the good eating places in Tassie, may I suggest getting your mitts on one of the Entertainment guides? Lots of resturants offering 2 for one main meals, or 25% off the total bill. Places both in the North or the South of the state, as well a the East Coast. Ebb is there, as is Banc and Fee and Me. In Hobart the range is from places like Vanidols to Alexanders, Picalily, Kellys, Fransico's, Mee Wah, 373. Also entertainment options such as bowling, Par Avion discounts etc. Avaliable from the St Davids Cathedral office at the Church house at the back of the Cathedral. $50 - which you get back VERY quickly as I found out using the 25% discount voucher at Onba - we got about 20 dollars off our bill the other day -which essentially meant we got the 3 pots of tea and the coffees we had for free.
Anyhow I better go find something vaguely dressy to wear tonight.
Review in the next couple of days when I need a break from marking exam papers.
Wednesday 11 June 2008
Eating in Places other than Tassie.....
I have a confession to make...I ate out all of TWICE while I was at home and in Adelaide (not counting the 2 excursions to the Coffee Club).
The only time I ventured out into the big bad world of mainland resturants at night I went to the pub. Yes thats right, I had a pub meal with my mum, dad, a good friend from the UK and her mother.
Mind you the Gap Tavern isnt ANY old pub. Its a quite nice tavern built into an old quarry about 20 minutes from mum and dads place and it does do a half way decent meal. Four people, four mains (2 steaks, a chicken and a fish) $200. I had a Wagyu steak with mushroom sauce, and although the sauce was a litte bit salty, the steak was actually cooked PERFECTLY medium rare. Although I am still trying to work out WHAT the appeal of Wagyu actually is..(I suspect it ws psuedo-wagyu) Mrs G's steak was a perfect medium well so the kitchen got something right.
Decent sized serves, no load music and get your own drinks - overall a decent meal.
The only meal I had out during the day was at the Kuta Cafe at the top of Mt Cootha. I'll say it now...MASSIVE MASSIVE tourist trap. The meals however were massive. The BLT was advertised as being on inch thick bread - I ordered it thinking it was hyperbole - nope - each still was literally a doorstopper. Lucy's burger was a good hand high, complete with beetroot, fried onion and salad, which made her very happy. The two chicken burgers were not QUITE so big, but coupled with the fries had both Mum and Mrs G struggling to finish. The meal however was expensive - something like 90 dollars for the 4 meals, and drinks (no alcohol). Hence the tourist trap warning. I suspect we may have been better off heading to the resturant which was offering a 2 course set menu for 32 a person.
In Adelaide the sum total of my eating was 2 nights of Taj on Raj takeaway which had NOTHING on ANY of the indians down here, and a late Sunday breakfast at Billy Baxters - whose french toast was bland and nothing on Steve and Becs.
It was definately nice to get home to the promise of good fresh food and decent comfy non commercialised resturants. This weekend its either Mee Wah or 373 - undecided as yet...I'm pushing for Mee Wah as I need some fried rice. Will let you know!
The only time I ventured out into the big bad world of mainland resturants at night I went to the pub. Yes thats right, I had a pub meal with my mum, dad, a good friend from the UK and her mother.
Mind you the Gap Tavern isnt ANY old pub. Its a quite nice tavern built into an old quarry about 20 minutes from mum and dads place and it does do a half way decent meal. Four people, four mains (2 steaks, a chicken and a fish) $200. I had a Wagyu steak with mushroom sauce, and although the sauce was a litte bit salty, the steak was actually cooked PERFECTLY medium rare. Although I am still trying to work out WHAT the appeal of Wagyu actually is..(I suspect it ws psuedo-wagyu) Mrs G's steak was a perfect medium well so the kitchen got something right.
Decent sized serves, no load music and get your own drinks - overall a decent meal.
The only meal I had out during the day was at the Kuta Cafe at the top of Mt Cootha. I'll say it now...MASSIVE MASSIVE tourist trap. The meals however were massive. The BLT was advertised as being on inch thick bread - I ordered it thinking it was hyperbole - nope - each still was literally a doorstopper. Lucy's burger was a good hand high, complete with beetroot, fried onion and salad, which made her very happy. The two chicken burgers were not QUITE so big, but coupled with the fries had both Mum and Mrs G struggling to finish. The meal however was expensive - something like 90 dollars for the 4 meals, and drinks (no alcohol). Hence the tourist trap warning. I suspect we may have been better off heading to the resturant which was offering a 2 course set menu for 32 a person.
In Adelaide the sum total of my eating was 2 nights of Taj on Raj takeaway which had NOTHING on ANY of the indians down here, and a late Sunday breakfast at Billy Baxters - whose french toast was bland and nothing on Steve and Becs.
It was definately nice to get home to the promise of good fresh food and decent comfy non commercialised resturants. This weekend its either Mee Wah or 373 - undecided as yet...I'm pushing for Mee Wah as I need some fried rice. Will let you know!
Yet Another Monty's Post
Just had an email from Nat at Montys with the menu for the next degustation on the 26th of July. Suffice to say I am there with Bells on. It looks amazing as per usual. My friends who didnt want to come are going to miss out.
Am finalising plans to go out to dinner this weekend, not 100% sure where yet, but somewhere nice.
Am finalising plans to go out to dinner this weekend, not 100% sure where yet, but somewhere nice.
Tuesday 10 June 2008
Travelling Tassie.....
Its over a month since I posted here, and I need to apologise to you all dear readers (all two of you)for not being as prolific as I should be. Life has been hetic lately, and the chances to go out and eat few and far between. Add into that a trip to visit my parents in Brisbane and coming home VIA Adelaide, you can see why there hasnt been much movement on the blog.
I will however post a review of a resturant I went to in Brissy, just for the hell of it, as well as comments about take away in Adelaide in the next day or two. I am currently on a roll for thesis writing so am working on that. Will be backsoon I promise!
I will however post a review of a resturant I went to in Brissy, just for the hell of it, as well as comments about take away in Adelaide in the next day or two. I am currently on a roll for thesis writing so am working on that. Will be backsoon I promise!
Thursday 1 May 2008
Presenting.....
Tassie_gal's review of Montys Blessed are the Cheeses Degustation Dinner from the 26th April 2008.
Before I start, I need to preface this with I LOVE Montys. Nat and Matt have a wonderful wonderful wonderful place that serves gorgeous food and has wonderful amazing staff. Kirby the bartender rocks my socks with his non alcoholic concotions - the latest being elderflower, pineapple juice and grenadine which was amazing.
So lets start - I wont use the usual format as my brain cant remember it and I cant be arsed poking back through previous posts.
First Course:
Barilla Bay oysters done 2 ways:
1. a classic mornay with Pyengana cheddar
2. filo wrapped with house made proscuito + buffalo mozzarella
A really lovely way to start. Small, light and flavoursome. I am not a big fan of cooked oysters, but both of these were lovely. Of the two I prefered the filo, as the textures really worked well together with the flaky pastry, the meaty oyster, the spicy proscuito and the soft cheese. Stephen, who isnt keen on oysters at all actually tried to pinch mine, so I suspect he liked them.
Second Course:
“Saint Monty”
crumbed + pan-fried Bruny Island Saint,
with a spiced pear paste + fresh strawberries
This is a standard on the menu, and was essentially what you get on the menu but a smaller serve. Two small wedges of the Bruny Saint, with a lovely pear paste and fresh strawberries. It works, has done for ages and probably will continue to do so. There is something very decadent about melted soft cheese and pear paste...its all sort of rich and creamy and gooey and yum.
Third Course:
pan-fried potato gnocchi with a 3 cheese sauce of gruyere, fontina + raclette
I think this was my favourite dish of the night. Approximately a dozen hand made gnocchi, browned and slightly crunchy on the outside but lovely and fluffy in the middle served with a drizzle of this amazing sauce. The gruyere dominated, but the fontina and raclette left an amazing aftertaste. I cant work out who had the pepper undertones, but it was SO good - I chased the last remaining bits of sauce around my plate with my fork to be able to savour them, and then I did the same to Stephens plate.
Fourth Course:
open fish pie with house smoked blue eye + prawns
over fondant potato, gratinated with Quickes smoked cheddar
This was probably my second favourite dish of the night. A lovely piece of smoked blue eye, all flakey and good, with a large banana prawn, nestled in a tartlet case and covered in a gently melted cheese sauce. By virute of the fact the tartlet case was sitting on the fondant potato there was NO SOGGY PASTRY! (a pet hate of mine). The smokiness of the fish really complimented the gratined smoked chedder, but not the the extent it was over powering, the fish shone through without being fishy. The textures in this worked really well as well. The fish was flakey but firm, complimented by the meaty prawn and the softness of the sauce - it really was like silk and the pastry added the depth by retaining the flavours that it held. I REALLY hope this becomes a menu item (HINT HINT NATALIE IF YOU ARE READING THIS!!!). THis was Stephen favourite despite the fact he isnt a big seafood fan!
Fifth Course:
'Bistecca Gorgonzola'
char-grilled Longford beef fillet over a sour-dough croûte
with wilted spinach, melted Gorgonzola and a cabernet sauvignon juts
Heres where it falls down a bit. The longford beef fillet is a standard on their menu in some way shape or form - but this for me just didnt work as well as it could have done. The spinach was good, the jus was lovely, the croute crunchy, but the gorgonzola and beef just didnt work for me. The beef was cooked quite rare almost tartare like, which generallyI dont mind, but the melted gorgonzola needed a heavier cut of meat rather than the Longford fillet - which generally has a quite delicate flavour which was totally overpowered by the cheese in this case. This was also quite a large serving, and evn though it was served after a considerable break it was probably a bit too large considerin there was still two courses to come.
Sixth Course:
Roquefort Panna-Cotta with a port jelly centre + pistachio wafers
I LIKE blue cheese I really do, BUT my brain and tongue have an ongoing arguement about the right texture. The panna-cotta was a lovely texture but my brain was going "BLUE CHEESE CRUMBLES" at me the whole time - not that it was very blue cheesy. I have the same trouble with Matts blue cheese ice cream, as a concept its great but my brain just doesnt DO it... A straw poll of those sitting around us came to the conclusion that 4/7 wanted more blue taste and 5 wanted less. The port jelly in its intent I think was meant to provide the counter foil to the blue - in the same way grapes etc do on a cheese plate - however it didnt really work. The pistachio wafers were nice, but a bit "heavy" for the dish in their texture...it needed light and fluffy, not shortbread like. I think this was the divisor dish of the night- you either loved it or were ambivilant. I dont like I liked it....but then again I dont know.
Seventh Course:
Baked Tongola goats cheese cake with a ginger biscotti base + roasted strawberries
As a final dish, this was lovely, though once again the serving was quite large. The cheese cake was creamer than usual and the ginger biscotti base provided a nice counter point in texture and taste. The roasted strawberries were amazing, sweet, lucious and firm all at once.
Additional Course:
I cant rememeber where this came in, I think it was just before the beef, but it was a truffle infused sheeps cheese which was GORGEOUS. Earthy and rich and just YUM!
Now we come to the not so nice part...For those of you who have been to Montys you know there are essentially 3 rooms - the cellar for private dining, the main room and the library. We were situated in the back corner of the library - in fact exactly where I was for Christmas with mum and dad. The library has 4 tables in it and is seperated from the rest of the resturant by the entrace hallway. Generally its a lovely oasis with books to browse etc, however this time not so much so. There were 4 tables of 2 including myself and Stephen. Unfortunately the two of the other tables of two talked talked to each other through much of the meal. Not that that was a bad thing, but one of the tables contained one of those people who really wants to be noticed. Phrases such as "I made this LOVELY dish..." and "I make something similar.." and "My daughter and I did this is in the kitchen together.." came over at regular intervals. The couple they were talking to had just completed an amazing sounding foodie tour of Italy and this woman (the I did one) was squawking about how she had been overseas and done this and that and the other....I seriously just wanted to SHAKE her. Her voice echoing around the round made us so restless by the end of the night we didnt stay for coffee, but escaped into the night.
My only other gripe, and the only one that really that Montys could have done anything about, was the speed of the service. The invite was 7 for 7:30. I think we got our first course at around 7:45, and our last was served I think around 11:15pm. There was alot of waiting between courses, and unfortunately when you have the whole resturant on the same menu you loose some of the atmosphere of hustle and bustle. It was a long night, and as much as I love Montys, I am not sure about doing another degustation because of the two factors above - nothing to do with the food.
Before I start, I need to preface this with I LOVE Montys. Nat and Matt have a wonderful wonderful wonderful place that serves gorgeous food and has wonderful amazing staff. Kirby the bartender rocks my socks with his non alcoholic concotions - the latest being elderflower, pineapple juice and grenadine which was amazing.
So lets start - I wont use the usual format as my brain cant remember it and I cant be arsed poking back through previous posts.
First Course:
Barilla Bay oysters done 2 ways:
1. a classic mornay with Pyengana cheddar
2. filo wrapped with house made proscuito + buffalo mozzarella
A really lovely way to start. Small, light and flavoursome. I am not a big fan of cooked oysters, but both of these were lovely. Of the two I prefered the filo, as the textures really worked well together with the flaky pastry, the meaty oyster, the spicy proscuito and the soft cheese. Stephen, who isnt keen on oysters at all actually tried to pinch mine, so I suspect he liked them.
Second Course:
“Saint Monty”
crumbed + pan-fried Bruny Island Saint,
with a spiced pear paste + fresh strawberries
This is a standard on the menu, and was essentially what you get on the menu but a smaller serve. Two small wedges of the Bruny Saint, with a lovely pear paste and fresh strawberries. It works, has done for ages and probably will continue to do so. There is something very decadent about melted soft cheese and pear paste...its all sort of rich and creamy and gooey and yum.
Third Course:
pan-fried potato gnocchi with a 3 cheese sauce of gruyere, fontina + raclette
I think this was my favourite dish of the night. Approximately a dozen hand made gnocchi, browned and slightly crunchy on the outside but lovely and fluffy in the middle served with a drizzle of this amazing sauce. The gruyere dominated, but the fontina and raclette left an amazing aftertaste. I cant work out who had the pepper undertones, but it was SO good - I chased the last remaining bits of sauce around my plate with my fork to be able to savour them, and then I did the same to Stephens plate.
Fourth Course:
open fish pie with house smoked blue eye + prawns
over fondant potato, gratinated with Quickes smoked cheddar
This was probably my second favourite dish of the night. A lovely piece of smoked blue eye, all flakey and good, with a large banana prawn, nestled in a tartlet case and covered in a gently melted cheese sauce. By virute of the fact the tartlet case was sitting on the fondant potato there was NO SOGGY PASTRY! (a pet hate of mine). The smokiness of the fish really complimented the gratined smoked chedder, but not the the extent it was over powering, the fish shone through without being fishy. The textures in this worked really well as well. The fish was flakey but firm, complimented by the meaty prawn and the softness of the sauce - it really was like silk and the pastry added the depth by retaining the flavours that it held. I REALLY hope this becomes a menu item (HINT HINT NATALIE IF YOU ARE READING THIS!!!). THis was Stephen favourite despite the fact he isnt a big seafood fan!
Fifth Course:
'Bistecca Gorgonzola'
char-grilled Longford beef fillet over a sour-dough croûte
with wilted spinach, melted Gorgonzola and a cabernet sauvignon juts
Heres where it falls down a bit. The longford beef fillet is a standard on their menu in some way shape or form - but this for me just didnt work as well as it could have done. The spinach was good, the jus was lovely, the croute crunchy, but the gorgonzola and beef just didnt work for me. The beef was cooked quite rare almost tartare like, which generallyI dont mind, but the melted gorgonzola needed a heavier cut of meat rather than the Longford fillet - which generally has a quite delicate flavour which was totally overpowered by the cheese in this case. This was also quite a large serving, and evn though it was served after a considerable break it was probably a bit too large considerin there was still two courses to come.
Sixth Course:
Roquefort Panna-Cotta with a port jelly centre + pistachio wafers
I LIKE blue cheese I really do, BUT my brain and tongue have an ongoing arguement about the right texture. The panna-cotta was a lovely texture but my brain was going "BLUE CHEESE CRUMBLES" at me the whole time - not that it was very blue cheesy. I have the same trouble with Matts blue cheese ice cream, as a concept its great but my brain just doesnt DO it... A straw poll of those sitting around us came to the conclusion that 4/7 wanted more blue taste and 5 wanted less. The port jelly in its intent I think was meant to provide the counter foil to the blue - in the same way grapes etc do on a cheese plate - however it didnt really work. The pistachio wafers were nice, but a bit "heavy" for the dish in their texture...it needed light and fluffy, not shortbread like. I think this was the divisor dish of the night- you either loved it or were ambivilant. I dont like I liked it....but then again I dont know.
Seventh Course:
Baked Tongola goats cheese cake with a ginger biscotti base + roasted strawberries
As a final dish, this was lovely, though once again the serving was quite large. The cheese cake was creamer than usual and the ginger biscotti base provided a nice counter point in texture and taste. The roasted strawberries were amazing, sweet, lucious and firm all at once.
Additional Course:
I cant rememeber where this came in, I think it was just before the beef, but it was a truffle infused sheeps cheese which was GORGEOUS. Earthy and rich and just YUM!
Now we come to the not so nice part...For those of you who have been to Montys you know there are essentially 3 rooms - the cellar for private dining, the main room and the library. We were situated in the back corner of the library - in fact exactly where I was for Christmas with mum and dad. The library has 4 tables in it and is seperated from the rest of the resturant by the entrace hallway. Generally its a lovely oasis with books to browse etc, however this time not so much so. There were 4 tables of 2 including myself and Stephen. Unfortunately the two of the other tables of two talked talked to each other through much of the meal. Not that that was a bad thing, but one of the tables contained one of those people who really wants to be noticed. Phrases such as "I made this LOVELY dish..." and "I make something similar.." and "My daughter and I did this is in the kitchen together.." came over at regular intervals. The couple they were talking to had just completed an amazing sounding foodie tour of Italy and this woman (the I did one) was squawking about how she had been overseas and done this and that and the other....I seriously just wanted to SHAKE her. Her voice echoing around the round made us so restless by the end of the night we didnt stay for coffee, but escaped into the night.
My only other gripe, and the only one that really that Montys could have done anything about, was the speed of the service. The invite was 7 for 7:30. I think we got our first course at around 7:45, and our last was served I think around 11:15pm. There was alot of waiting between courses, and unfortunately when you have the whole resturant on the same menu you loose some of the atmosphere of hustle and bustle. It was a long night, and as much as I love Montys, I am not sure about doing another degustation because of the two factors above - nothing to do with the food.
Wednesday 30 April 2008
Tonight!
Its partially written, but marking and my glasses flipping getting fractured (and NEW ones at that) along with a pilates session, a fencing demo and a netball game that starts in err 45 minutes that I still have to get changed and drive to, is holding up the actually publishing. I PROMISE it will be up before midnight.....
To keep you going and something to ponder....what is it with landlords and cafes lately???
To keep you going and something to ponder....what is it with landlords and cafes lately???
Tuesday 29 April 2008
Okay okay!
After being properly prodded by Rita, I PROMISE to post my review of the Montys Cheese degustation tonight. I've had 2 nights to cogitate on it, and work it out in my brain. So review tonight...as a teaser, it was definately a meal of two halves and its amazing how the surrounding people can influence how you percieve a meal....
Tuesday 1 April 2008
Ponderings....(or random drug induced thoughts about food)
Not so much places I have eaten but places I would LIKE to eat.....
Mee Wah - STILL havent made it there, despite driving past it nearly every day
The new Cafe Rita was talking about in South Hobart
Kuzina at the old Casablanca site.
I want to go back to Smolt - the couple of times I have eaten there (once for dinner once for Breakky) it was GOOOD!.
Hobart really has a dearth of good middle priced places to eat. They are either resonable price and not so good food, or slightly more expensive and decent food. I am a student on a budget here (most of the time!). The exceptions to this is Split Cafe in Moonah and Kawasemi Tea House - also in Moonah. Chain places dont really do it for me.
Is there anywhere in Hobart that does a good takeaway fried rice? If so please tell me, I am desperate here for something that has a nice mix of meat and vegies in it but is not greasy or oily or horribly expensive (yes I am looking at YOU Shanghai Bund and Royal Thai).
Had a late breakfast at Express Cafe this morning with a friend of mine. You know you go to a place too often when you dont have to order your coffee, the barasita just asks you do you want the usual. Mind you I didnt have coffee this morning but went for the Hot Lemon to try to tame this cold - which while not yet in my ears has taken a liking to my sinuses. Had GF toast and bacon, which once I nicked A.G.'s maple Syrup from her french toast was really good. I just wish that GF bread would TOAST properly. It stays untoasted for so long and then promptly burns in the 2 seconds that you turn your back. I do like Express, they are quite happy to keep me supplied with coffee while I sit at a table editing chapters of the thesis that never seems to end.
Am off to Montys on the 26th for the cheese degustation - I hope I have my taste buds back before then. Why cant we have a deli like the Mill down here? Wursthaus just isnt the same....
Can someone please explain coco nibs to me? I dont GET them. Bought some the other day on the ravings of a friend, but they do absolutely NOTHING for me, and I LIKE my chocolate.
Had a bowl of wedges at the Casino the other night before the David Campbell concert. Nice, but boring. The "snack" menu at Pier One is bad - chips, wedges, tasting plate and I think thats about it. We were supposed to go to Onba for cocktails before hand but due to a wardrobe crisis on my part went straight to the Casino....NEVER again.
Ok, thats probably scared BOTH of my regular readers off......so I'll go back to staring at my computer trying to work out the refence list from hades.
Mee Wah - STILL havent made it there, despite driving past it nearly every day
The new Cafe Rita was talking about in South Hobart
Kuzina at the old Casablanca site.
I want to go back to Smolt - the couple of times I have eaten there (once for dinner once for Breakky) it was GOOOD!.
Hobart really has a dearth of good middle priced places to eat. They are either resonable price and not so good food, or slightly more expensive and decent food. I am a student on a budget here (most of the time!). The exceptions to this is Split Cafe in Moonah and Kawasemi Tea House - also in Moonah. Chain places dont really do it for me.
Is there anywhere in Hobart that does a good takeaway fried rice? If so please tell me, I am desperate here for something that has a nice mix of meat and vegies in it but is not greasy or oily or horribly expensive (yes I am looking at YOU Shanghai Bund and Royal Thai).
Had a late breakfast at Express Cafe this morning with a friend of mine. You know you go to a place too often when you dont have to order your coffee, the barasita just asks you do you want the usual. Mind you I didnt have coffee this morning but went for the Hot Lemon to try to tame this cold - which while not yet in my ears has taken a liking to my sinuses. Had GF toast and bacon, which once I nicked A.G.'s maple Syrup from her french toast was really good. I just wish that GF bread would TOAST properly. It stays untoasted for so long and then promptly burns in the 2 seconds that you turn your back. I do like Express, they are quite happy to keep me supplied with coffee while I sit at a table editing chapters of the thesis that never seems to end.
Am off to Montys on the 26th for the cheese degustation - I hope I have my taste buds back before then. Why cant we have a deli like the Mill down here? Wursthaus just isnt the same....
Can someone please explain coco nibs to me? I dont GET them. Bought some the other day on the ravings of a friend, but they do absolutely NOTHING for me, and I LIKE my chocolate.
Had a bowl of wedges at the Casino the other night before the David Campbell concert. Nice, but boring. The "snack" menu at Pier One is bad - chips, wedges, tasting plate and I think thats about it. We were supposed to go to Onba for cocktails before hand but due to a wardrobe crisis on my part went straight to the Casino....NEVER again.
Ok, thats probably scared BOTH of my regular readers off......so I'll go back to staring at my computer trying to work out the refence list from hades.
Sunday 30 March 2008
Apology and review.
First of all - sorry I havent posted, life caught up with me. However I have a review from today to keep you all happy.
Farm Gate Cafe - Kettering
This is the second time we have visited Lee's lovely little cafe just before you hit Kettering proper. I am currently suffering what we think is my 5th ear infection in about the last 8 months so my sense of taste is not the best at the moment as the infection has migrated to my throat - hence this review will be more on the atmosphere and what I could taste then my usual format.
Last time I was here I had a lovely lamb salad with pine nuts, grilled hamolui and greens and Stephen had bangers and mash.
This time I went for the small serve of rissotto balls with thyme and mushrooms, formed around a marinated goats curd with a zuchinni salsa. The salsa was lovely. Sweet with a lovely bite in the aftertaste. The zucchini was crunchy but not raw. The rissotto cakes were a lovely texture but I really couldnt taste anything...even though they were supposed to be mushroom and thyme.
Stephen once again had the bangers and mash and it was lovely. The mashed potatos were so lovely and creamy, and the pickle type sauce and sausages were wonderful.
Farm Gate Cafe - Kettering
This is the second time we have visited Lee's lovely little cafe just before you hit Kettering proper. I am currently suffering what we think is my 5th ear infection in about the last 8 months so my sense of taste is not the best at the moment as the infection has migrated to my throat - hence this review will be more on the atmosphere and what I could taste then my usual format.
Last time I was here I had a lovely lamb salad with pine nuts, grilled hamolui and greens and Stephen had bangers and mash.
This time I went for the small serve of rissotto balls with thyme and mushrooms, formed around a marinated goats curd with a zuchinni salsa. The salsa was lovely. Sweet with a lovely bite in the aftertaste. The zucchini was crunchy but not raw. The rissotto cakes were a lovely texture but I really couldnt taste anything...even though they were supposed to be mushroom and thyme.
Stephen once again had the bangers and mash and it was lovely. The mashed potatos were so lovely and creamy, and the pickle type sauce and sausages were wonderful.
Tuesday 19 February 2008
Rhubarb Cordial/Syrup
I have a very active rhubarb patch that was planted earlier this year. So to stop the rhubarb taking over the dead bed at the front of the house I cut it back. What do you do with 575g of VERY fresh organic rhubarb? Why make cordial of course.
so 575g of Rhubarb washed and cut into chunks. 300g of sugar and 1.25L of water into a nice big pot. Bring to a boil and then very slowly simmer, stirring ocassionally for 15 minutes. Strain through muslin into a bowl to cool. Once cool pour into sports bottle with ladle and store in fridge. Makes about 750ml of thickish soft pink liquid that is really nice in cold water.
so 575g of Rhubarb washed and cut into chunks. 300g of sugar and 1.25L of water into a nice big pot. Bring to a boil and then very slowly simmer, stirring ocassionally for 15 minutes. Strain through muslin into a bowl to cool. Once cool pour into sports bottle with ladle and store in fridge. Makes about 750ml of thickish soft pink liquid that is really nice in cold water.
Still here....
Hey everyone,
Just to let you know I am still here, but having computer problems (am writing this on the OLD laptop - new laptop is still not being trusted). I dont know if I can really do justice now to a review of Divinage in the normal form as its an age since we went there. Since then have dined at the Henry Jones Hotel (REALLY REALLY good considering what hotel restaurant are usually like), Monty's and 373. I will probably end up posting a short Montys and a 373 review at some stage as they have only been this month.
So yeah - still here, just not blogging due to piles of reasons.
Thought to ponder though - if I love artisan cheese so much how come i have kraft slices in my fridge? answers on a postcard please! ;-)
Just to let you know I am still here, but having computer problems (am writing this on the OLD laptop - new laptop is still not being trusted). I dont know if I can really do justice now to a review of Divinage in the normal form as its an age since we went there. Since then have dined at the Henry Jones Hotel (REALLY REALLY good considering what hotel restaurant are usually like), Monty's and 373. I will probably end up posting a short Montys and a 373 review at some stage as they have only been this month.
So yeah - still here, just not blogging due to piles of reasons.
Thought to ponder though - if I love artisan cheese so much how come i have kraft slices in my fridge? answers on a postcard please! ;-)
Wednesday 23 January 2008
Pecora - 13th Jan 2007
Number of People: 2
Cost: $114 including 2 alcoholic beverages.
Rating: 4/5 on the lunch scale.
Pros: Lovely simple menu, the view
Cons: Dust from the wind, serving sizes, beer selection
What we ate:
yours truely: The risotto balls (Arancini alla ragu), New season garlic soup with smoked eel and summer savory and a cherry, sheep's curd and pistachio praline sponge along with 2 cordials and a hot chocolate.
The other half: arancini alla ragu, the carne (pork belly with something), chocolates, cappacino, a beer and a glass of the house wine.
We both had the Arancini alla ragu which came out on silver platters with a small piece of baking paper under them to catch any excess oil. Three good sized risotto balls, covered in crunchy crumbs and topped with a small amount of veal ragu (which I would have quite easily eaten as a meal by itself). This was quite large and if I had known this I would have only order this and desert.
My garlic soup was lovely - I didn't however realise it was a cold soup, so got a little bit of a surprise on the first spoon! It was not overly garlicky but had a lovely texture and taste to it. The smoked eel really added to the flavour. It was however VERY rich, so I only managed about 2/3rds of the serving.
The desert was massive and I ended up taking most of it home for a snack the next day. Lovely mixture of tastes and textures however, and I hope they keep it on the menu.
I am still not enamoured with their hot chocolates, large bowls, never really hot and not that chocolatey. The home made cordials on the the other hand - OMG! I really wish they would sell these, they are so flavoursome. I had a choice of three, Plum, clove and brown sugar, elderflower (I think) and another one that had rhubarb in. I had the plum and the rhubarb and both were very refreshing.
SO's meal was nice, though his pork belly apparently wasnt as nice as it could have been (the ratio of meat to fat was a little off).
Verdict: I love Pecora, and think its a pity so many people stop at Peppermint Bay and do not go any further. My only BIG gripe is that when its windy you get all the fine dust from the car park and fields blowing up, and landing on your glasses etc. However we were there on a very breezy day and the actual verandah wasnt drafty at all thanks to some well placed glass slides. Pecora seems to be the "money" spot at the moment - car cost estimate when we were there approx 1/2 a mill (a porsche 4WD, a merc, a new BMW, an Alfa Romeo and a convertible of some sort).
Next review: Divinge at Cygnet
Cost: $114 including 2 alcoholic beverages.
Rating: 4/5 on the lunch scale.
Pros: Lovely simple menu, the view
Cons: Dust from the wind, serving sizes, beer selection
What we ate:
yours truely: The risotto balls (Arancini alla ragu), New season garlic soup with smoked eel and summer savory and a cherry, sheep's curd and pistachio praline sponge along with 2 cordials and a hot chocolate.
The other half: arancini alla ragu, the carne (pork belly with something), chocolates, cappacino, a beer and a glass of the house wine.
We both had the Arancini alla ragu which came out on silver platters with a small piece of baking paper under them to catch any excess oil. Three good sized risotto balls, covered in crunchy crumbs and topped with a small amount of veal ragu (which I would have quite easily eaten as a meal by itself). This was quite large and if I had known this I would have only order this and desert.
My garlic soup was lovely - I didn't however realise it was a cold soup, so got a little bit of a surprise on the first spoon! It was not overly garlicky but had a lovely texture and taste to it. The smoked eel really added to the flavour. It was however VERY rich, so I only managed about 2/3rds of the serving.
The desert was massive and I ended up taking most of it home for a snack the next day. Lovely mixture of tastes and textures however, and I hope they keep it on the menu.
I am still not enamoured with their hot chocolates, large bowls, never really hot and not that chocolatey. The home made cordials on the the other hand - OMG! I really wish they would sell these, they are so flavoursome. I had a choice of three, Plum, clove and brown sugar, elderflower (I think) and another one that had rhubarb in. I had the plum and the rhubarb and both were very refreshing.
SO's meal was nice, though his pork belly apparently wasnt as nice as it could have been (the ratio of meat to fat was a little off).
Verdict: I love Pecora, and think its a pity so many people stop at Peppermint Bay and do not go any further. My only BIG gripe is that when its windy you get all the fine dust from the car park and fields blowing up, and landing on your glasses etc. However we were there on a very breezy day and the actual verandah wasnt drafty at all thanks to some well placed glass slides. Pecora seems to be the "money" spot at the moment - car cost estimate when we were there approx 1/2 a mill (a porsche 4WD, a merc, a new BMW, an Alfa Romeo and a convertible of some sort).
Next review: Divinge at Cygnet
Wednesday 16 January 2008
Quick Note
Went to Pecora on the weekend - brillant meal - will write a proper review once I am not so drugged out. Unfortunately have had a reoccurance of the pre Christmas ear infection so am dosed up on Augmentin for that and anti immflamatories for my shoulder and intend to stay very close to home over the next few days so I am not falling over like a drunk woman.
Friday 11 January 2008
Quick Review of Piccalilly while I wait for Abstract inspiration to hit.
NYE at Piccalilly.
Cost: $345 for 3 including drinks.
Rating: 4/5
Pros: Great Staff, Great Food
Cons: Lack of airconditioning/air flow, the fact theywere not offering the matched wine or 4 course menus, ability to cope with many patrons at once.
What we ate: (well what I ate anyhow, can not remember all what mum and dad had).
The Amuse bouche was a lovely teeny tiny hamburger that asked to be eaten with the fingers and was only as tall as my thumb but still had a gorgeous meat patty with tomato and picalilly in it.
yazu-cured yellow-tail king fish with green apple and cucumber jelly
This was a lovely way to start the meal, small pieces of king fish, served shashmi style. The green apple added crunch and the cucumber jelly an interesting texture.
Seared scallops with toasted sesame seeds, spec foam and green bean slaw
This is definately one of my favourite dishes here. The tastes and textures are wonderfully complimentary, even down to the foam. My only problem is there is not enough of it!
whole-roasted quail with red currants, green peas and Pimms #1Cup glaze
This is quite a heavy meal, and I personally would have preferred it AFTER the chicken. Out of all of them I probably liked this the least. The quail, while nice, was quite large and there is NO way to eat a whole quail delicately with a fork and knife that I know of. The glaze is overwhelmed by the quail itself which the red currents and green pea flavours are not really apparent.
pressed terrine of confit chicken with mustard seed vinaigrette and mushroom ice cream
This is nice, but I still (even after trying twice) CANNOT reconcile myself to mushroom ice cream. The taste/texture makes me gag for some reason. I love ice cream and I LOVE mushrooms but never the twain shall meet according to my tastebuds. (I do however suspect it was something in this that made me feel naseous later that night)
House made cola spyder with pop rocks (now known as Vanilla bubbles after comments by diners that pop rocks sounds childish!)
The first time I had this the sensations in my mouth were amazing. This time not so much so. I suspect it has something to do with how cold it comes out of the kitchen.
Verdict: The young well trained staff make Piccalilly. While the food is generally excellent there are still a few things which are not 'quite' right.(Heating/cooling issues in the dining rooms primarily and the ability to cope with lots of patrons all at similar stages of thier meal). Dad (who has done silver service waiting in his time) was impressed with the fact everything was served correctly and the staff were unobtrusive but attentive. I still miss Gondwana, and probably always will, but this is a jolly good substitute.
Cost: $345 for 3 including drinks.
Rating: 4/5
Pros: Great Staff, Great Food
Cons: Lack of airconditioning/air flow, the fact theywere not offering the matched wine or 4 course menus, ability to cope with many patrons at once.
What we ate: (well what I ate anyhow, can not remember all what mum and dad had).
The Amuse bouche was a lovely teeny tiny hamburger that asked to be eaten with the fingers and was only as tall as my thumb but still had a gorgeous meat patty with tomato and picalilly in it.
yazu-cured yellow-tail king fish with green apple and cucumber jelly
This was a lovely way to start the meal, small pieces of king fish, served shashmi style. The green apple added crunch and the cucumber jelly an interesting texture.
Seared scallops with toasted sesame seeds, spec foam and green bean slaw
This is definately one of my favourite dishes here. The tastes and textures are wonderfully complimentary, even down to the foam. My only problem is there is not enough of it!
whole-roasted quail with red currants, green peas and Pimms #1Cup glaze
This is quite a heavy meal, and I personally would have preferred it AFTER the chicken. Out of all of them I probably liked this the least. The quail, while nice, was quite large and there is NO way to eat a whole quail delicately with a fork and knife that I know of. The glaze is overwhelmed by the quail itself which the red currents and green pea flavours are not really apparent.
pressed terrine of confit chicken with mustard seed vinaigrette and mushroom ice cream
This is nice, but I still (even after trying twice) CANNOT reconcile myself to mushroom ice cream. The taste/texture makes me gag for some reason. I love ice cream and I LOVE mushrooms but never the twain shall meet according to my tastebuds. (I do however suspect it was something in this that made me feel naseous later that night)
House made cola spyder with pop rocks (now known as Vanilla bubbles after comments by diners that pop rocks sounds childish!)
The first time I had this the sensations in my mouth were amazing. This time not so much so. I suspect it has something to do with how cold it comes out of the kitchen.
Verdict: The young well trained staff make Piccalilly. While the food is generally excellent there are still a few things which are not 'quite' right.(Heating/cooling issues in the dining rooms primarily and the ability to cope with lots of patrons all at similar stages of thier meal). Dad (who has done silver service waiting in his time) was impressed with the fact everything was served correctly and the staff were unobtrusive but attentive. I still miss Gondwana, and probably always will, but this is a jolly good substitute.
Procasintation....
Righto - I'm finally getting off my arse and doing something about this blog while I wait for my virus scanner to play nice and the 15 page paper I just finished writing to format properly before I submit it to my supervisor and then the big bad world of Academic publishing.
I owe this blog decent reviews on
Montys Orphans Christmas lunch - suffice to say it was one of the BEST christmas meals I have had ever since my parents and I started going out to lunch for Christmas in errr 1982 when I was about 4.
NYE at Picalilly
As usual VERY yummy.
Off to Pecora on Sunday for a latish lunch, and I believe we are going to 373 next week for dinner (not sure about that yet as Stephen is booking it).
Valentines Day next month is on a Thursday we am debating dinner either the Wednesday or the Friday....I'm pushing for Wed as it will be easier to get a table. Thursday is a no go as I am teaching from 6ish.
I owe this blog decent reviews on
Montys Orphans Christmas lunch - suffice to say it was one of the BEST christmas meals I have had ever since my parents and I started going out to lunch for Christmas in errr 1982 when I was about 4.
NYE at Picalilly
As usual VERY yummy.
Off to Pecora on Sunday for a latish lunch, and I believe we are going to 373 next week for dinner (not sure about that yet as Stephen is booking it).
Valentines Day next month is on a Thursday we am debating dinner either the Wednesday or the Friday....I'm pushing for Wed as it will be easier to get a table. Thursday is a no go as I am teaching from 6ish.
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