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.
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