Around The World In 80 Meals

2008-03-24T09:27:00.007+11:00

Meal #75: The United States of America

Captain America's Hamburger Heaven may well be the sort of utopia our former prime minister was striving for through his eleven long years in government; a prime example of Australian- American relations.

Captain America's Hamburger Heaven

38 Forest Rd

Ferntree Gully

http://www.captainamericas.com.au/main.htm

This proudly Australian owned burger joint, nestled in the foothills of the Dandenongs, oozes American kitsch and souvenirs. At a closer glance, you notice that many of the hand painted slogans, puns and jokes on roof and wall are actually Australian- not to mention poorly spelled and punctuated! But in the end we're not here to play the grammar police (not this time...). Slotted into a cosy booth, Naomi, Nick, Sai, Caroline and Rami select their meals from a paper place mat menu.

It should be noted that, for some beverage-happy diners, the most exciting discovery of the night was actually drawn not from the place mat, but from a chalk board proudly proclaiming imported American soft drinks. Armed with a beloved Dr Pepper's, Caroline has never seemed so, well... manic! Other diners sipped their Cherry Cokes and lime milkshakes in a calmer fashion.

While not quite brave enough to try the Captain America's challenge (a burger with a kilo of meat and 600g of fries for the gents, 300g for the ladies; if you eat it within the record time, your meal is free), we did manage to sample a good cross section of the extensive menu, including some of the more exotic choices. Caroline's Gourmet Satay Chicken Burger boasted a delicious homemade satay sauce, with enough body to transport a traditional finger food to burger form. Pity this burger, usually dairy free, inexplicably was delivered complete with cheese and had to be sent back. Our only complaint of the night.

Nick, perhaps smarting at how few South American meals we managed to taste, feasted on the Mexicana Burger. Nestled on a bed of corn chips and guacamole (and of course the obligatory fries), this burger was enjoyed with lashings of sour cream and a just-too-sweet salsa sauce.

While he managed to polish off Caroline's burger as well, Rami started off his American meal enthusiastically (and in costume), with a Chilliburger. A sweet chilli sauce was generously heaped onto his beef burger, and also managed to coat the fries in the downpour. Yum!

But all of these burger were really small fry. Sai and Naomi both took it upon themselves to attack the larger burgers...

In her own personal challenge, Naomi was proud to finally manage to finish a Captain America's Celebrated Heavenly Burger. This is what a burger ought to be: beef, bacon, onion, pineapple, lettuce, tomato, dill pickle and the crucial ingredient- a fried egg. While she couldn't quite finish the chips, Nai did manage to admirably unhinge her jaw...

Meanwhile, Sai sunk his claws and teeth into a Wild Thing burger, a heart stopping monster consisting of double beef patties, bacon, onion, mushroom and cheese. The burger was completed with a dollop of the homemade chilli sauce, but general consensus was that the Smokey sauce (available on the smokey burger, and on the pork ribs) would have been a more fitting marriage of flavours.

The double beef burger (and the heartburn) may have slowed Sai to strolling pace, but once he'd finally mopped up the last of his meal, he and Nick were quick to devour a slice of the delicious Key Lime Pie, topped with crunchy meringue. So quick, in fact, we barely managed a photo before the plate was licked clean!

The Verdict:

While not exactly a healthy choice for regular meals, Captain America's is great fun and great value for money. While the prices are higher than your average burger chain (most burgers range between $13 and $17.50), you certainly leave feeling much more satisfied. The cheesy humour is infectious, and the wait staff are quite attentive and work well with a large group. The menu caters to those not so burger inclined (buffalo wings or a steak, anyone?), and while certainly skewed toward the carnivore, there are vegetarian options available, as well as gluten and dairy free. We enjoyed our meal so much, we even tipped the American 10%, although that was partly so we could play Tippslotto, with the chance of winning our meals free! But when all tips are generously donated to the local CFA, it's hard to begrudge the spare change.

Overall, Rami, what did you think?

He's coming back for the Challenge next time...

2008-03-10T12:48:00.000+11:00

Meal #74 Creole/ Deep South

North America. A continent we had much feared, images of KFCs and McDonalds clamouring in our minds. Imagine our delighted surprise then, when we discovered that more than one restaurant was advertising creole/ deep south American meals. Mouths a’watering, boots and hats were donned by our crew of culinary cowboys; Sai, Naomi, Nick, Rami, Helen, Caroline, Paul, Deb, Kat, Michael, Gene, Ross and Dom. Sadly, though, we forgot to pack the camera in the saddle bags, so this is an old fashioned story told in words, not pictures.

Highway 61

Hume Highway
Brunswick

The décor of Highway 61 is petrol fueled; motorbikes take pride of place, both in pictures and actual machines. Highway signs and number plates fill in the gaps on the walls, and a live musician strums out rockabilly influenced tunes.

The menu looks promising, divided between a wide array of burgers and a tantalizing selection of deep south stews. With such a big group, we try to cover as many dishes as we can. The burger menu is quickly worked through: the sporty burger comes with fried onion and salad; the ultra burger raises the stakes with the addition of bacon, egg and cheese; the lamb fillet burger bathes in a tomato relish, while the sweet chilli chicken burger has a light glaze of sauce; the vege burger is stacked with spinach, basil capsicum and cheese. Despite the large variety, the burgers were commonly considered to be quite basic, and fine for the price, but nothing special.

The soups were a surprise, featuring names we considered to be thicker stews. The Shrimp and Okra gumbo was tasty, although not as hearty as we would have anticipated, and the Jambalaya, with chicken, shrimp, bacon and rice, was dishearteningly over-peppered. The pumpkin soup was thick and rich, with an interesting aftertaste of maple syrup.

The side dishes proved too intriguing to resist, but didn’t live up to their appeal: chilli fries arrived topped with a surprisingly small serving of chilli con carne; the buffalo wings tasted like KFC, but without the variety of herbs and spices.

The poorness of seasoning was a continuing theme, with the chicken creole served in a basic tomato sauce hailed ‘piquant creole salsa’; it could have come out of a mild salsa jar for the flavour it added, although the chicken was well cooked and tender. With the pound of pork ribs off the menu, Gene tried the swordfish, but was unimpressed and left hungry.

More successful was the huge serving of pork chops in maple syrup glaze, which had Ross quietly and happily munching for quite some time. The chilli con carne featured a delicious sauce, well flavoured and rich, but was fairly light on the carne considering the price.

Also disappointing was the drinks menu. Very little in the way of American beers (although we didn’t really want to drink those anyway), and we’d hoped for a malt or and ice cream soda or two. We later discovered these were available, but for some reason not advertised. One or two diners nursed a Jack to heighten the American authenticity.

Saving grace was discovered in the deserts. The Louisiana Mudcake was dense and delicious, served warm and gooey with cream. The apple crumble disappeared quickly, a perfect balance of fruit and pastry.

Overall, Highway 61 is fun for the atmosphere, but if you’re hoping to be blown away by creole cuisine, you won’t find it here. Come for a drink, some groovy music and some fabulous deserts, but don’t expect too much of the meals. It’s a long way from the deep south.

2008-02-01T18:36:00.000+11:00

Meal #70 - Argentinian

El Gaucho 450 Nicholson Street, Fitzroy North.

For our latest culinary adventure, we delved into the mysteries of Argentinian food. With Rami, Paul, Deb, Helen and Sai in tow, we visited El Gaucho, a restaurant located in North Fitzroy. The décor of this place strikes you immediately. Full of deep, rich colours and eye-catching artwork, it creates a warm and inviting atmosphere. Another thing that was instantly apparent was the powerful aroma of sizzling meats. For some in our group, this was very enticing indeed. For the vegetarians in our mufti, this had the opposite effect.

The service was cheerful and informative, which was especially helpful in determining which meals appropriate for those in our group with kosher or vegetarian needs.

The meals we ordered were as follows:

Entrée:

Empanadas Criolla - Traditional oven-baked pastry filled with minced meat, chopped olives, eggs and capsicum.

Mains:

Pinchos - Chicken, beef, chorizo pieces with capsicum and onions and a serve of potato salad.

Asado Completo - An all-you-can-(m)eat meal, consisting of servings of asado, matambre, morcilla, and chorizo, served with potato salad.

Nachos - Similar to most traditional nachos, with corn chips, cheese, guacamole, sour cream and taco sauce.

Blue Chicken - Chicken breast filled and coated with blue cheese sauce, served with season vegetables and rice.

Side Dish:

Repello - South American style coleslaw with lemon dressing.

The response to the meals was very favourable. Sai, who along with Helen, threw himself into the Asado Completo, described it as having some of the best beef he'd had in a long time. The Blue Chicken, enjoyed by Paul was especially impressive, with a wonderfully rich sauce. Whilst the nachos were perhaps too cheese-laden for Deb's taste, she nonetheless found them remarkably filling for what appeared to be a small serving. Rami praised the tenderness of the meat, and regarded the vegetables as "magnificent".

Argentinan wines such as Trivento and Malbec were also enjoyed by members of our group. Whilst the meals were a tad pricey for their size, their quality was very high indeed. With boisterous atmosphere and friendly service, this was an excellent stop on our 80 Meals odyssey.

2007-12-12T18:41:00.002+11:00

Meal #66 – South Africa

South Africa is famous for its legendary rugby and cricket teams, and for the fact that in 2010 it will be the first African, and first Southern Hemisphere, country to host the football (soccer) World Cup. With this in mind, we assumed we were in for a very healthy meal…oh, how wrong we were…

Shebeen Café
The South African Shop
461 Hawthorn Rd, South Caulfield

The Shebeen Café is located within The South African Shop, a specialised grocery store focusing on South African and kosher products – aiming at the local South African Jewish population. As such, this restaurant is only open during business hours, offering breakfast and lunch meals – hence instead of a Saturday dinner, this week we treated ourselves to a Sunday lunch.

The eatery is located to the side of the store, overlooked by an expansive and colourful mural depicting native Africans dancing to a jazz musican. Owned by South African immigrants of Portuguese heritage, the menu of the Shebeen Café is an interesting mixture of dishes from these two countries. Although we attempted to focus our meal on the South African dishes, the lure of a traditional Portuguese prego was too much for some diners. This week’s special assortment of stunningly able South African supper assessors were Sai, Nick, Naomi, Susie, Nyk, Caroline and Rami.

The Meal:

Boerewors Roll – Traditional South African beef sausage in a roll with chips

This meal was quite bland, with the sausage being served in a plain roll that had only been buttered. The sausage itself was extremely dry and had a strong flavouring of cloves. In order to counteract the dryness it was necessary to add sauce to roll, which subsequently masked the flavour of the meat. The chips were thin, French-fries style covered with a moderately spicy peri peri powder.

Kruger Salad – Sliced biltong, tomato, onion & cucumber served on a bed of crisp lettuce

It was difficult to locate the vegetables on this dish with the biltong being, by a large margin, the main ingredient to this “salad.” The biltong was salty and very fatty, with flavour reminiscent of corned beef. Like all beef jerky it was also incredibly tough.

Full Springbok Breakfast – Fried eggs, facon (cured beef), tomato, mushrooms, boerewors & toast

The main comment we can make about this breakfast, named after the South African rugby team, is that facon is in no way reminiscent of bacon! Otherwise, this meal is similar to many café-style breakfast dishes.

Vegetarian Burger – Vegetarian patty with lettuce, tomato, onion & mayonnaise on a bagel

Keeping with the meaty theme of this meal, the vegetarian patty was a fake meat patty; and just as the facon was nothing like the real thing, neither was this. The patty was slightly chewy, with a sweet “meat”-like flavour. The mayonnaise on the bagel was also very sweet, in fact neither diner that ordered this meal was able to finish it due to the sweetness of the mayonnaise.

Traditional Prego – Aged Porterhouse steak marinated in garlic, paprika and white wine served on a crispy Portuguese roll with chips

This dish was very authentic compared to what you would find in Portugal, with the meat being fatty, but tender. One diner chose the hot sauce option, while another chose a more moderate sauce. Put into perspective, the latter appeared to be the wiser option, as the first diner could not finish her meal!

Koeksister

This South African dessert is basically a piece of twisted white bread drenched in a sugar syrup – simple but sweet.

Overall:

The Shebeen Café is a specialised eatery with a specialised clientele, and appears to be frequented by many regulars looking for a taste of home. However, as far as local café-style food goes there are many better places to go. Nevertheless, with several meals costing less than $10, this is a cheap option for anyone interested in trying South African cuisine. Alternatively, if you’re adventurous, you could buy some interesting ingredients from the grocery store and have a go at cooking your own South African meal at home.

2007-12-05T20:07:00.000+11:00

Meal #65 – Somalia

Although Somalia is not usually associated with the African Safari, the name of this restaurant is quite apt as, for most of us, it was a long and fascinating journey into the Western Suburbs.

Safari Cafe
Somali Restaurant
159 Union Rd. Ascot Vale
9372 7175

The central client base for this restaurant appears to be Somali taxi drivers, with a steady stream making their way through this establishment during the evening. Usually if an ethnic restaurant is frequented by people of that ethnic group it is a good indicator that the food will be traditional and authentic. Safari Cafe is no exception to this rule. The food is excellent and plentiful, and, considering there was only one waiter, the service was warm and personable.

This week’s selection of Somali safari-ers were Philip, Helen, Nick, Rami and Caroline.

At the beginning of the evening, as we began to browse the menu, we were treated to complementary jugs of rose water and sweet milk. Both drinks were refreshing and were just a taste of the hospitality offered at Safari.

Next, we were treated to complementary soups, which the waiter described as vegetarian…with meat… The soup had a sour and slightly spicy flavour; in fact, it was reminiscent of an Italian minestrone soup, which is probably due to the Italian colonisation of Somalia.

When we finally got to choose dishes for ourselves, we decided on sharing large plates of rice, pasta, our selection of meats, all cooked with special herbs and vegetables. These plates were called Federations, and we ordered two Big Federations for 2. They were so big that we had enough leftovers for two large lunches! On one of the Big Federations we had lamb chops (hilib) and steak; and on the other we had boneless fish and diced lamb (suqar). All the meat was tender (the chops were literally falling off the bone) with a sweet flavouring, most likely due to the limejuice that was all pervasive, but not overwhelming.

The rice on the Big Federations was flavoured with cinnamon and was similar to the rice we tried at the Persian restaurant. The pasta, on the other hand, was a thin spaghetti with a tomato-based sauce – definitely influenced by the Italian colonists. Further, these dishes had a fair sprinkling of dates. These three aspects of the meal really highlighted the history of Somali cuisine and its location as a trade hub on the Horn of Africa.

The other dish that we ordered was a stir-fried bread dish called cheppti. This surprising dish was definitely a highlight in a meal that had many highlights. It was hard to pinpoint the exact flavours, with all diners feeling that this dish tasted familiar yet unique at the same time. The tender, but firm, texture of the cooked bread strips only added to the experience.

Our meal ended just as it had begun, with complementary drinks. The Somali tea was probably the sweetest, most sugary drink we had ever drunk – EVER! At first, you taste a pleasant mix of honey and tea. This is quickly overwhelmed by a warm rose water flavour. Not to be out done, the aftertaste is of pure sugar. So sugary was this drink that only one diner managed to finish it all; and all of us felt that we needed to brush our teeth afterwards.

Somali food is an interesting mix of African, Italian and Arabic cuisines, which makes for a unique dining experience that is definitely worth a trip out to the Western Suburbs; and with a meal costing about $15 each, including complimentary drinks and soup, you can’t even use the excuse of petrol being too expensive.

2007-11-19T17:36:00.000+11:00

Meal #63 – Sudan

With the current tragic situation in the Sudan, and the recent discission by the Federal Government to decrease the refugee intake from that region of the world, it was heartening to be so warmly greeted by a restaurant that proudly presents both the Australian and Sudanese flags on the menu and its logo.

Taste of Africa
34 Walker St. Dandenong

Taste of Africa is a quiet little shop, which has a tile map of Africa on the floor, some African paintings on the wall next to photos of a selection of the dishes served, and whose owner/chef is a Sudanese refugee – and probably the coolest proprietor we have met on our journey to date. We had just started examining the menu, when he came to us and told us that he would personally chose our meal for us – and we gladly succumbed to his will.

This week’s succulent selection of seductive Sudanese samplers were Sai, Rami, Caroline, Nick and Naomi.

Appetiser:

Green chilli paste and soft bread

Mains:

Mincemeat and vegetables
Kofta – Mince, onion, garlic, pepper, cumin, coriander
Shiah – Fried lamb, garlic, pepper, lemon, onion
Mahshee – Vegetables stuffed with grape leaves, tomato, rice, garlic, cumin, pepper, coriander

Sides:

Steam rice with vegetables
Selection of garden vegetables – lettuce, cucumber, tomato and lemon

Dessert:

Hilba (Fenugreek) – Milk. flower & hilba
Custard – Milk, custard, sultana & sugar

The Meal:

We let the owner/chef chose our meal and we weren’t disappointed! The first plate brought out was a mixed mincemeat and vegetable dish that isn’t yet on the menu, but deserves to be there! The main characteristic of this dish was its dryness, which gave it a unique texture compared with similar dishes from other cultures.

The meatballs (kofta) were moist with a delicate sauce that had just a hint of spice. A highlight of the meal and the best meatballs we’ve encountered on our journey so far.

The fried lamb was sweet, due to the caramelisation of the onions it was cooked with, and had a hint of cinnamon. Squeezing the lemon juice onto the meat made this dish come to life.

The Mahshee consisted of a stuffed capsicum, a stuffed Lebanese eggplant, and a stuffed zucchini. Each of these vegetables added its own emphasis to the dish – the bitterness of the capsicum and zucchini contrasted with the sweetness of the eggplant, however the stuffing was subtle enough that these flavours enhanced the dish.

The desserts were quiet similar, both of them being light and not overly sweet. However, the unique fenugreek flavour, which could have so easily overpowered the Hilba, really gave this dessert a classic twist.

Overall:

Not surprisingly given Sudan’s location, its food is a mix of Arabic (Egyptian) and African (Ethiopian) cuisine – and if Taste of Africa is any indication, it takes the best of both to produce a delicious fusion. Unfortunately, the dinner crowd in Dandenong doesn’t seem so enthralled by this cuisine; we were their only customers all night! If this restaurant was located on Brunswick Street you would need to book a table a week in advance just to get in the front door. The individual dishes are either $10 or $12, and for their quality and flavours, it is definitely worth the petrol money to schlep all the way to Dandenong!

2007-11-07T20:08:00.000+11:00

Meal # 62 - Egypt

Having been the home of the Pyramids since the 27th Century BCE, Egypt can legitimately claim to have invented the tourist attraction. It has been a popular destination for travellers ever since, a melting pot of different cultures and the gateway to Africa. May our journey into the "Dark Continent" commence!

Bedouin Kitchen

103 Grey Street

Saint Kilda

If you can’t find your way to the Bedouin Kitchen, you can always look it up in your Lonely Planet guide to Melbourne, where it is listed as an attraction. Or you can go the website (www.bedouinkitchen.com.au), which at the time of writing is charmingly unfinished and contains such gems of information as “The Bedouin Kitchen has a reputation for providing the highest quality service and etc etc.....” and “Stuff about functions goes here”.

The actual restaurant is a striking location. With intricate metalwork lamps hanging from the ceiling, rich red walls and wood furniture, it is both cosy and exotic. A caravan of diners came this week, including Flick, Dale, Rami, Caroline, Sai, Paul, Deb, Nick and Naomi. The mood was celebratory, with several big announcements (a baby, an engagement, a new digital set top box) warranting good cheer and champagne.

With its warm atmosphere and live entertainment in the form of belly dancing, this was a great venue to celebrate in. (Just as well no one got engaged the week we went to Sumatra…)

The Meal

The menu was divided into two sections: mezze (entrée-size snacking plates) and claypots, which were larger meals. The food was best suited for sharing, with a combination of claypot and mezze dishes providing a varied meal.

Several Middle Eastern favourites, like meatballs (here called kibbeh) were to be found on the mezze menu. Kibbeh’s main point of distinction from your regular meatball is that the lamb mince (spiced, naturally) is rolled in burghul wheat and then chargrilled. They were served with yogurt.

By contrast, the whitebait was more similar to a Greek dish. Dusted in flour and zahtar, the fish were lightly fried and served whole, heads and all. This wasn’t for everybody. Zahtar itself is worth sampling though. Based on a blend of thyme, sesame and salt, and occasionally including other spices like sumac or cumin, it is one of the most distinctive flavours of the Middle East. It featured in several dishes at Bedouin Kitchen, so you it is possible to try it here without fish heads.

The mezze menu also included a number of vegetarian options, from basic salads to more exotic dishes like the pumpkin drizzled in tahini and honey. We had the artichoke and pea salad which was a simple but surprisingly effective dish. Using just artichoke hearts and baby peas, its light dressing of olive oil and dill allowed the natural flavour of the vegetables to be expressed beautifully.

It would be possible to have a whole meal of mezze, but the claypot is a staple of North African cooking so we of course we had to try them. Pride of place among those offered on the menu was Ful Medames, sometimes referred to as Egypt’s national dish. It’s a fairly basic kind of meal actually, consisting of semi-mashed fava beans spiced with coriander, garlic and zahtar. In Egypt ful gets served in a variety of ways, including with an egg for breakfast or in sandwiches as fast food, but here it came in a pot with rice.

Another distinctly Egyptian dish was the Melokhia. Described on the menu as an “Egyptian desert weed”, melokhia is actually made from the edible leaves of the same plant that produces jute fibres. It was served as a kind of dark sludgy soup, made from the desert weed in question and lamb stock, and was served poured over rice. Apparently, the Fatimids (former sultans of Egypt, back in the day) once made melokhia their signature dish and banned anyone else from having it. What people were missing out on as a result of this decree was an earthy flavour fairly similar to silverbeet.

We also had the Bamia with Lamb. Bamia is the Arabic word for okra (also somewhat gruesomely called “ladies fingers”), a popular vegetable throughout Africa and the Middle East. Combined with slow cooked lamb and rice it made not only for a distinctively Middle Eastern meal but also one of the tastiest we had. It would be hard to imagine anything more comforting on a cold night, unless that were the Middle Eastern mash. This hearty treat comprised coarsely mashed potato, flavoured with potato, butter, garlic and coriander.

After all this food, we didn’t have room for dessert, although the menu did have some tempting options, using flavours like cinnamon and orange blossom, along with some uniquely Egyptian drinks. We hadn’t eaten too much to get up and dance though!

The Verdict

This was an interesting stop. The venue had real atmosphere and the menu was distinctive. We had some concern that any Egyptian restaurant we found would end up serving generic Middle Eastern food – kebabs etc – but this certainly wasn’t the case. Not only did the menu include many Egyptian signature dishes, like the melokhia and the ful medames, but even the more generic meals seemed to represent the melting pot that is Egypt, equally reminiscent of Morocco as Arabia. In all, it was a convincingly authentic North African experience, right down to the belly dancing. While that did of course include the compulsory get-a-patron-up-to-dance theatre of embarrassment, it was also a good performance in its own right, executed with flair and energy.

Also in the positive was the range of vegetarian options on the menu and, of course, being back in the Middle East, kosher diets were no problem. However, it must be said that some of our diners were a bit nonplussed by their meals. All the dishes were decent but a lot of them were just that, decent, without flavours that really jumped out at you. Whether that’s because dishes were modulated for Western tastes, or if it’s just an aspect of Egyptian cookery we can’t say.

Nonetheless we had an entertaining night here. The prices varied, with most mezze under $10 and claypots between $15 - $20 if vegetarian and $25 + for those with meat. While the service could be a bit haphazard, the staff were friendly and generally attentive. Bedouin Kitchen is certainly worth a visit, and in breaking from the generic mould of pan-Middle Eastern cuisine and serving genuine Egyptian-style dishes, it is doing something fairly unique.

2007-10-31T10:40:00.000+11:00

Meal #61 – Cyprus

The Shakespeare-lovers of the group enjoyed the fact that the Cypriot restaurant was named after one the Bard’s greatest tragedies which, for the most part, is set on the troubled island. With inappropriate quotes from this play (such as “Even now, now, very now, an old black ram is topping your white ewe” and “Your daughter and the Moor are now making the beast with two backs”) we set forth to enjoy this meal – the girls hoping that the Shakespearean theme didn’t extend to an Desdemona-like ending to the night.

Othello Greek Restaurant
6 Riverside Quay, Southbank
9699 5600

Cyprus is a small island with identity issues, is it Greek or Turkish? The answer to this question is that it’s both; and so is Othello Greek Restaurant, a Cypriot restaurant where the food is Greek and the entertainment was very, very Turkish!

Othello is a popular restaurant with a long queue of people waiting to get in, luckily we had remembered to book this week! A queue of waiting patrons was still there when we left too. There is a large, undercover, outside eating area that lets the diners enjoy the warm spring evening along the Yarra River. Unfortunately, this meant that we were also exposed to a bad cover band located on the boulevard outside the restaurant that serenaded us with the ‘best’ of soft rock all night – if the bass wasn’t turned up so high, they might of actually been bearable…

This week’s collection of cute Cypriot culinary critics were: Sai, Marty, Nick, Paul, Deb, Rami, Caroline, Priyanthi, Rick, and new-comers Susie and Nyk.

The Menu:

Skordado – Fresh garlic bread.

Cypriot Grill – Grilled chicken souvlaki, lamb cutlet, sieftalies (traditional Cypriot delicacy of pork & beef sausage, fresh parsley and herbs), pastourma (sausage mildly spiced) & loukaniko (Cypriot sausage) served with tzatziki.

Mixed Frill (for two) – Lamb cutlets, lamb and chicken souvlaki, sieftalies, pastourma & loukaniko served with Greek salad.

Kleftiko – Traditional dish of Spring lamb cooked slowly in its own juices served with Spunta potatoes.

Spanakopitta – Triangles of crispy pastry filled with spinach and Greek fetta cheese on a Modern Greek salad.

Moussaka Vegetarian – Oven baked eggplant, zucchini, potatoes in a béchamel sauce topped with tomato coulis & salad.

Smoked Salmon Salad – Mescalin lettuce, roasted red peppers, red onion, capers & smoked salmon tossed in a Neptune dressing.

Spaghetti Marinara – Fine selection of fresh seafood in a light tomato salsa & a hint of chilli.

Seasonal Vegetables – Lemon, olive oil & oregano drizzled with dressing.

The Meal:

The Cypriot Grill and the Mixed Grill (for two) were very similar, offering a great selection of different, traditional meat dishes. All the varieties of sausages were enjoyable (although the pastourma could have used some more spice), however most were served as a single slice or cut in half – giving these meals the feel of a sampling plate rather than a full grill.

The Klefiko was advertised as “The Chef’s Pride” and “This is a must.” This dish is a bowl of random lamb parts (including bones and cartilage) served in the oily juices of the lamb, with added lemon juice. Unfortunately, the natural flavours of the lamb were drowned out by the over-use of lemon which detracted from the wonderful tenderness of the meat. From the appearance and flavours of this dish, it is not hard to imagine a traditional Cypriot sheep-herder eating this dish for dinner.

The Smoked Salmon Salad had a list of specific vegetables that were to be included. This list was not followed. Although some additions were appreciated, such as the kalamatta olives, others were not, such as the cauliflower. The exotic sounding Neptune dressing ended up being a mix of lemon juice, olive oil and vinegar, which although not very sea-like worked well with the salmon and salad vegetables.

The Spanakopitta was a mixed bag, with one diner highly recommending it, while another was only moderately impressed by this dish.

The Moussaka Vegetarian was one of the highlights of the evening. By the time this dish was finished, the plate looked like it had been cleaned with a cloth (although we expect it was cleaned with a tongue…)

And yes someone (not naming names…but it was Marty) ordered a very un-Cypriot meal: Spaghetti Marinara! He was so ashamed of ordering an Italian dish, he wouldn’t let us take a photo it.

Overall:

Othello’s is a popular restaurant, and it’s easy to tell why. The food is reasonable, and is reasonably priced, especially for a restaurant in Southbank, at around $20 for a main; and the atmosphere is fun – especially with the belly dancer coming to each table for a personalized show. Just make sure you pre-book a table, otherwise you’ll be waiting in a queue with nothing to entertain you except the soft rock cover band on the boulevard.

2007-10-24T10:40:00.001+10:00

Meal #60 – Greece

Greece is the home of philosophy, democracy and some wonderfully mythic sagas. This meal, as all who attended agreed, was the stuff of legends.

White Village Greek Tavern
582 Glen Huntly Rd
Elsternwick

White Village Greek Tavern is a busy restaurant that is decorated with the highest levels of Greek décor – blue and white paint and bouzoukis on the walls…classy! There is no set menu; instead the waiters just keep coming with Greek dish after Greek dish, and for $36 a head it is truly a banquet fit for any Greek hero. However, as the food arrived so quickly, and was so tasty, and because we were so hungry – we forgot to take photos of the dishes. This weeks gorgeous gang of Greek gastronomes were Paul, Deb, Ross, Sai, Rami and Caroline.

The meal started with fresh bread served with three different dips – tzatziki (yogurt and cucumber), taramosalata (fish roe) and an eggplant dip. This was quickly followed by a huge plate pilled with whole fried whitebait; another plate with a large slice of fried cheese; a plate with a dolma (stuffed vine leaves) for everyone; and a dish of diced marinated red capsicum. I think that was all that was served as entrée – I was too busy stuffing my face to take any notes. Of the lot, the fried whitebait was the standout dish, not only were the fish succulent and tasty, but there was so much served Port Philip Bay must be severely depleted of these species!

For the main course we were served up plates of grilled fish, prawns, calamari, lamb, chicken, lamb skewers and Greek green salad with fetta. The highlight of the mains was the tender lamb skewers which literally melted in your mouth.

If you’re a strict vegetarian, this restaurant isn’t for you, however for vegequarians and carnivores this is the restaurant for you. Being located in Elsternwick, the waiters are also used to dealing with Jewish dietary restrictions and were served extra grilled fish for those not eating the prawns. At $36 a head, this feast was worth every penny!

2007-10-04T11:13:00.000+10:00

Meal #58 – Italy

Waiters Restaurant is a Melbourne institution and has been around since 1947. Back then you needed a secret password to get up the stairs! It is also the location of the famous siege where 30 diners were taken hostage – newspaper clippings of this event are proudly displayed on the wall near the entrance.

Waiters Restaurant
(aka The Italian Waiters Club)
20 Meyers Place, Melbourne City

To get to the Waiters Restaurant you have to leave the bright lights of Bourke Street, turn into a side lane, go through an unmarked doorway, up a suspicious looking set of stairs, open the door…and there you are. It looked just like it would have in the 1960’s with plastic-covered tabletops, no menus, just a simple chalkboard advertising the day’s specials (but without the prices!). However, the diners don’t mind. The restaurant was full of people from every walk of life, from students to professionals to those of semi-fame – Myf Warhurst (from ‘Spicks and Specks’ and formerly from Triple J) was eating at the next table over from us!

This week’s intrepid Italian ingestors where Marty, Sai, Rami, Caroline, Deb, Paul and Nick.

Mains:

Tuna Salad
Rabbit Cacciuture
Grilled Sardines
Penne Puttanesca
Saltimboca
Marinara
Chicken Al Vino

Drinks:

Red wine – lots of it! Drunk from water glasses

Desserts:

Tiramisu
Tarufo

The Meal:

The tuna salad was served with warm tuna on top of a green salad consisting of lettuce, cucumber, tomato and asparagus. Unfortunately the tasty dressing was very oily which detracted from the natural flavours of the vegetables.

The rabbit dish was very good, but when pushed to describe his meal, the diner could only come up with “bony, slurpy, bouncy, messy, tasty” – which sounds like a great night out if you ask me!

The grilled sardines were split down the belly and spread out on the plate exposing both fillets. However the bones had not been removed and made eating the fish difficult. The sardines unfortunately were quiet bland, with a tinny flavour, thankfully they were served with a lovely salad.

The penne puttanesca was an oily dish which had a nice mixed flavour of olive oil and chilli. However, it was too much as a main dish and would have been better as a shared side dish.

The saltimbocca is a veal and prosciutto dish that was served with asparagus and potatoes. Unfortunately, although the potatoes where delicious everything else was dull and the serving was too small given the price.

The marinara was also a disappointment with salt needing to be added to give it flavour. This seafood content of this dish was unbalanced with too many scallops and not enough prawns.

The Chicken Al Vino was probably the highlight of the mains. It was a tasty dish served in a white wine sauce with vegetables as a side.

Both desserts sampled were of great quality. The fresh cream of the tiramisu was refreshing and offered a wonderful counterbalance to the coffee flavours; while the tartufo was any chocolate-lovers fantasy, with the candied cherry in the middle a welcomed surprise.

Overall:

The Waiters Restaurant is a laid back place that has the feel of family owned and run restaurant. Although not exorbitant (mains are between $17-$25), for what you’re served, the prices are probably $5 too expensive; but the history and reputation of this restaurant lets them charge what they like.

Oh, and if you’re interested, Myf ordered the Tortellini Bologna and seemed to enjoy it.

2007-09-30T12:56:00.000+10:00

Meal #57- Sicily

Despite the many different regions of Italy, and the huge Italian population of Melbourne, it’s quite difficult to find a restaurant that specializes in regional fare. So it was that Nick, Naomi, Sai, Caroline, Rami and Marty approached Northcote, heady with anticipation at discovering the delights of a kucina siciliana.

Café Bedda

High St

Northcote

The journey to Café Bedda was fraught with difficulty. Not only could we not locate the restaurant, just missing it in our extensive sweeps of High St, but as we finally neared our destination, some other people were enjoying their own High St drive-bys; people with eggs. By the time we found the thriving Café Bedda, we were egg splattered and frustrated, and really looking forward to a decent meal. The Café itself is a narrow, bustling space, with a promisingly large number of people crammed in to enjoy the notorious fare.

The menu concentrates quite heavily on pizzas, and we chose to share a few foccacia. These were essentially an excellent pizza bread base, liberally doused in olive oil, Sicilian sea salt and either garlic and herb, or anchovy. A delicious and filling side dish.

As a group we sampled some of the Assaggi (small dishes). The baccala fritters (potato, cod and parsley croquettes) delivered a satisfying saltiness, without overpowering. However, they also featured cod bones, too small to dig out of the soft fritters, but too large to be eaten without a little discomfort. The marinated olives were a hit, served warm with roasted garlic and generous amounts of bread.

Delving into the Secondi (main) course, pasta was a common theme, although a surprising let down. The Pennette Norma, tossed with tomato, grilled eggplant, and basil was fine, if a little oily. Nothing to write home about, but nothing to write complaint letters over, either. The Spaghetti Puttanesca con pesce spada was a bigger disappointment. The traditional Putanesca sauce of tomato, capers, green olives, chilli and anchovies was sadly bland and the addition of sword fish, rather than uplifting the dish, instead clashed with the subtle flavours.

It was a pleasure to order from the rotating specials board, which features Sicialian cuisines as they become available. We enjoyed the Capretto al forno- a stew of tender goat meat perfectly complemented by the scattered herbs throughout the rich tomato sauce. An accompanying serve of rosemary polenta was a little wet, but the flavours were well matched.

All in all, our visit to Café Bedda was a bit of a let down, but that was likely coloured by our unpleasant journey and difficulties in meeting dietary restrictions. The stand out dishes were fantastic, and well worth the price, and certainly many reviews of Bedda are more than complimentary. The prices are a little steep, but the ingredients are high quality, and the service is friendly and attentive, the serving staff displaying an excellent knowledge of the foods, including the specials. A return visit focusing on their pizzas and seasonal fare might well produce a different dining experience.

2007-09-27T14:35:00.001+10:00

Meal #56: Spain

Ah, Spain. Land of tapas, red wine and men who can dance. Yes, yes, there was that little inquisition thing. And that whole brutal conquest of other lands. And that messy revolution. But the important things, the main embodiments of Spain, are tapas, red wine, and men who can dance. With tastebuds dancing, Sai, Naomi, Nick, Caroline, Rami, Paul and Deb tripped lightly into the Spanish Quarter of Melbourne. Ole!

Colmao Flamenco
60 Johnston St
Fitzroy

Dimly illuminated by candlelight, Colmao Flamenco presents an intimate venue on a Sunday night. White clothed tables nestle neatly, offset against the dark wooden bar. Flamenco dancers whirled amongst other neatly framed, quintessential images of Espana. Hungrily, we eyed the chalk board specials, and nibbled on marinated green olives as we made our orders.

The Menu:

Sopa de Marisco - seafood soup
Menestra - medley of vegetables
Bistec en salsa de cafe - steak in coffee sauce
Pollo Madrileno - Chicken fillets in onion, capsicum, mushroom, tomato, white wine.

Albondigas Colmao - Meatballs braised in chef's special sauce with rice
Chocolate con churros - Spanish donuts with hot chocolate sauce

The Meal:

Following last week’s sampling of Basque/ Spanish tapas, our expectations were high. While, as a group we decided to graduate to full Spanish meals, some diners chose to continue the Spanish tradition of sharing their meals.

The soup was ordered with some trepidation; a soup which doesn’t specify its ingredients, simply stating ‘seafood’, does have a certain air of mystery surrounding it. But we needn’t have worried. Prawns, mussels and portions of succulent fish clustered like treasure in the tomato and garlicky soup, creating a delicious meal reminiscent of a light, subtle bouillabaisse.

With a similar tomato base and presented in a simple clay pot, the menestra also cut a fine figure. Chunks of root vegetables nestled in a richer, heavier, more developed tomato sauce. The happy exclamations of the diner as he soaked up the stew with slices from the well stocked bread basket were keen advertisement for this dish.

Bravely ordered from the chalkboard, the tantalizing ‘steak in coffee sauce’ wafted a mouth-watering, WAKE UP odour of espresso in its wake. The thick steak is skilfully cooked to specification, our medium steak beautifully browned, but tender and pink within. Luscious juices mingled with the thick, bitter coffee sauce; the texture of the meat almost melts in the mouth, before the sharpness of the coffee jolts the tastebuds.

A dish perfect for sharing was the Pollo Madrileno. Strips of delicately battered chicken presented abed a generous portion of salad. The chicken was lightly fried to preserve the texture and taste of the meat, and the simple flour coating served to enhance, rather than smother the flavour.

It’s a mistake to compare dishes between restaurants; sadly, Colmao’s meatballs failed in comparison to the delicious offerings at Basque. Where Basque’s meatballs were complex and herb laden in flavour, the Colmao version were overly bread based, and the simple pork flavour seemed underwhelming. The chef’s special sauce was unable lift this dish. A single blemish on Colmao’s copybook.

Most turned down offers of dessert; however one determined diner, in a quest to sample every chocolate con churros in Melbourne, delved in and was pleasantly rewarded. While not so thick and dark as previous samplings, Colmao’s sports a rich chocolate flavour, and a texture of liquid velvet. The churros were well cooked; light and crunchy, not too oily. Presented in an unusual ring shape, and dusted with cinnamon sugar, this beats the chocolate con churros on offer around the corner hands down.

Overall:

While the first impression of Colmao Flamenco may be a little conservative and upmarket, the warmth of the restaurant is soon apparent. Service is impeccable, our waiter frequently topping up our complementary olives and bread, and eager to elaborate on menu descriptions. Prices are a little steeper than some of our previous ventures, main starting around $20, but they are in line with other Spanish venues in the area. Corkage is a friendly flat fee, and, while we were the only diners of the evening, it isn’t hard to imagine the venue bustling with noisy, happy diners, wine flowing and their tastebuds dancing.

2007-09-26T16:27:00.000+10:00

Meal #54: France

French cuisine is considered to be one of the world's most refined and elegant styles of cooking. Unfortunately the male members of our “Cuisine Team” are rarely, if ever, refined or elegant. Thankfully the gracious airs of our female companions helped to cover this fact up as we ventured into the world of fine French dining.

Bistro Vite
Ground floor 3C
Southgate Complex
Southbank

The design and lay-out of Bistro Vite is inspired by traditional Parisian cafés, and its location, on the promenade terrace of Southgate, is the perfect setting – reminiscent of the cafés that line the Seine.

The menu offers the adventurous diner all the ‘interesting’ dishes you would expect from a French restaurant; including snails (escargot), ox check, lamb brain, and twice cooked pork belly. However, our fancy flock of French food fanciers, Helen, Caroline, Rami, Paul, Deb and Sai, were a bit more conservative with their meal choices, although we couldn’t go to a French restaurant without trying the snails!

Entrées:

Escargot, stuffed & baked in button mushrooms, with a lavender & champagne butter sauce.

Crispy quail with wild roquette leaves dressed with stringy bark honey & saffron pear chutney.

Mains:

Wagyu steak with frites (French fries) and Café Paris sauce

Vegetarian Tasting Plate consisting of goats cheese panna cotta with pickled beetroot, shallot tarte tartin & lavender garlic mushrooms.

Pan fried gnocchi, with baby beets, persian fetta & tarragon dressing.

Flathead tails and frites (French fries), with tarter sauce and lemon

The Meal:

When the only complaint you can come up with about a restaurant is that the waiter’s French accent was too strong, you know you’ve hit a winner!

The escargot was received favourably. The snails were served inside the mushrooms – removing and possibility of a messy shell removal.

Although the quail was designed as an entrée, it was ordered as a main. This was a wise move as this delicious dish was certainly big enough.

The Wagyu steak was tender and juicy. Although questions were raised about whether it was really a Wagyu steak, or an inferior variety – however, when the steak is the size of a dinner plate and it is served with half a kilogram of French fries, who’s really going to complain?

Although the vegetarian tasting plate appeared to have servings that appeared a bit small for the price, all three dishes were highly praised, especially the mushrooms.

The gnocchi dish was one of the highlights of the meal with the dressing highlighting the flavours of all the other ingredients.

Finally, the French fish ‘n chips was also greatly enjoyed; the tasty batter and tender fish lifting high above what you’d normal get from your corner shop.

Overall:

Although Bistro Vite isn’t cheap (the average main being over $20) it is significantly better priced than most French restaurants. Nevertheless, the food was great and its Parisian ambience and wonderful setting, near the shores of the Yarra River along Southgate’s promenade terrace, makes this restaurant an ideal place to eat – especially if you plan to go to a play or concert in the nearby Arts Complex.

2007-09-03T19:14:00.000+10:00

Meal #52: Ireland

An Irish toast (the first of several):

May you be in heaven a full half hour before the devil knows you're dead.

The Irish are known for a number of things: a drinking culture; conflict and devotion; tempers which flare, then dissipate into self deprecating humour; an incomprehensible accent; beer so thick you can stand a spoon in it; leprechauns and pots of gold; and potatoes. Oh, the potatoes.

The Quiet Man

271 Racecourse Rd

Flemington

93766232

Lured by promises of five (yes, five) different types of mash, Rami, Caroline, Naomi, Nick, Sai, Jo, Helen, Ross, Deb, Paul and Marty arrived in search of Irish cheer, and Irish beer.

The Quiet Man is proud of its many awards, proclaiming them not-so-quietly on huge banners facing the main street: "Best Pub without Gaming " and "Best Theme Venue" amongst the honours heaped upon this establishment. The Shamrock dining room sports the look of many an Irish pub- wooden benches, Guinness posters, and many noisy diners and drinkers. Sprawling on long wooden benches, we pored over the extensive Irish menu. The chef is Irish, and lauds the fresh produce of Irish cuisine. Apparently a key employment criteria is that staff must be Irish backpackers, their lilting accents adding to the general hubbub.

Entrees

Natural Oysters
Escalopes of Irish Black Pudding

Mains

Bagun Agues Cabaiste- Bacon and Cabbage

Liam McCarthy's Lamb Shanks
Scotch Fillet Doolin' Style- Steak with prawn and scallop
The Quiet Man Stack- Steak and Chicken Breast
Boxty- Potato Pancake
St James Gate Beef and Guinness Pie
Bally McElliot's Brown Beef Stew

Sides

Steamed Vegetables

Green Salad

Creamy Mashed Potato

Spinach Mashed Potato

Champ- Mashed Potato with spring onion

Chips

The Meals

Entrees were a mixture of the tried and true (Helen happily dived into a plate of oysters) and, for many, the suspiciously new. Four brave souls put their hands up to try the black pudding, and were pleasantly surprised by the combination of flavours, the sweetness of the apple highlighting the earthy depth of the sausage.

We were pleased with our efforts to sample as many types of potato as possible; the chips, and chunks of boiled potato within stews and pies were tasty enough, but it was the abundance of mash that truly sparked our imaginations. Thrillingly green, the spinach mash was a tasty side, while the crunch of spring onion in the champ explained its popularity as an Irish meal in its own right.

It was easy to sample traditional Irish fare here, with most dishes being of clear Irish origin- or, at the very least, clear Irish nick-naming. Just as comfortable on an Aussie pub specials board, the lamb shanks, served in a tasty jus abed creamy mashed potato, sported tender meat which fell from the bone. In a standard Aussie pub, the Doolin' scotch fillet may well have been labelled a Surf'n'turf. Perfectly cooked, the steak presented impressively, served on a stack of that exciting green spinach mash and topped with succulent seafood.

Refusing to be outdone by a single steak, the Quiet Man Stack proved it possible to serve far more food stacked atop itself. Consisting of steak, then chicken, then steak, then chicken and served with veg and potato, this meat-a-thon astounded the recipient. Paul deserves congratulations for bravely rising to the challenge!

We were sure to tackle some more traditional Irish fare, as well. Generally a poor man's dish, the Bacon and Cabbage is boiled together, and was served on an enormous bed of potato mash. Despite its simplicity, this dish was enjoyed for its delicate texture and subtle mix of flavours. The Boxty potato pancake was at one point described as 'an enormous gnocchi', but as the diner was quite fond of gnocchi, this was a compliment! Served a little like a parmagiana, with cheese and tomato sauce, this was another one to add to our tally of satisfying Irish potato dishes.

Of course, it simply wouldn't be a meal in an Irish pub without a beef and Guinness pie. We tried this dish, served in an individual ramekin (did Rami's come in a Rami-kin? Sorry...), both with and without the creamy potato topping. Tender meat and a rich sauce combined to produce a truly satisfying version of this meal. However,. without a pie crust, it did feel a little bit like the poor man's version of one of Quiet Man's legendary stews.

The menu advised that the Brown Beef Stew would be served in an edible loaf. It didn't warn that the loaf was literally a half loaf of bread. With the soft, white crust intact, this loaf was stuffed to bursting point with hearty gravy, deliciously tender strips of beef and a token smattering of vegetables. When strips of the bread loaf were torn away, it revealed a soft, gravy soaked underside to the crust. At less than $20, and in a serving size that couldn't be finished by two sharing the meal, the stew at Quiet Man is a sure fire winner.

In true Irish fashion, we washed down our meals with a selection of beverages, including gin and tonics, and a sampling of fine Irish beers: Harp; Kilkenny; and Guinness.

Here's to a temperance supper,
With water in glasses tall,
And coffee and tea to end with--
And me not there at all!

The Verdict

After a disappointing meal for our Great Britain outing, there were those amongst us leery of another pub meal. We shouldn't have feared. The Quiet Man's reputation is well deserved. The meals were outstanding, and the selection wide and varied. Despite the name, it's certainly not a quiet night out in this bustling venue. This is a guaranteed revisit venue, best enjoyed with a group of friends.

May the lilt of Irish laughter
Lighten every load.
May the mist of Irish magic
Shorten every road.
And may your friends remember
All the favours you are owed!

2007-09-01T18:20:00.000+10:00

Next Stop: Ireland

There are many references to food and drink in early Irish literature. Honey seems to have been widely eaten and used in the making of mead. The old stories also contain many references to banquets, although these may well be greatly exaggerated and provide little insight to every diet.

From the Middle Ages, till the arrival of the potato in the latter half of the 17th Century, the dominant feature of the rural economy was the herding of cattle. However, fresh meat was generally considered a luxury except for the most affluent until the late 19th century. The poor generally made do with dairy products and offal, supplemented with oats and barley. The practice of bleeding cattle and mixing the blood with milk and butter was not uncommon, with black pudding still a breakfast staple in Ireland.

The potato was introduced into Ireland in the second half of the 16th century, and came to be the main food crop of the poor. Potatoes were also used as a food for pigs (kept to provide ham and bacon that could be stored over the winter). The reliance on potatoes as a staple crop meant that the people of Ireland were vulnerable to poor potato harvests. Consequently several famines occurred throughout the 16th and 17th centuries.

Irish cuisine now can be divided into two main categories – traditional, mainly simple dishes, and more modern dishes, as served in restaurants and hotels.

Colcannon is a dish made of potato and one of wild garlic, cabbage or curly kale. Champ consists of mashed potato into which chopped scallions are mixed.

Other examples of simple Irish meals are Irish stew, bacon and cabbage (boiled together), and boxty, a type of potato pancake.

A dish mostly particular to Dublin is coddle, which involves boiled pork sausages. Ireland is famous for the Irish breakfast, a fried meal generally comprising of bacon, egg, sausage, black and white pudding, fried tomato and which may also include fried potato farls or fried potato slices.

While seafood has always been consumed by Irish people, shellfish dishes have increased in popularity in recent times. Many oyster festivals are held annually around the coast where oysters are often served with Guinness.

2007-08-25T18:32:00.000+10:00

Meal # 51 - England

England is known for many things - castles, rain, soccer hooligans - but quality food is not among them. Its traditional cuisine consists primarily of batter. Even in cosmopolitan London, the restaurants are famously awful. In fact, when a survey was held recently to decide upon England's national dish the Brits were so ashamed of their own traditional cooking that they voted for Chicken Tikka. Knowing all this in advance, it is something of a mystery that we still went to:

The Snooty Fox

1457 Mt Dandenong Tourist Rd, Olinda

One of the many restaurants and cafes dotted along the winding roads of the Dandenong Hills, the Snooty Fox, with its quirky name and Olde Englishe Inne style sign, is unashamedly marketed at the tourist trade. Like many of the eateries in the hills, it appears to be aiming for an English countryside ambience, at least on the outside.

By the time we'd coordinated our efforts to get out to the hills and find the place, we were significantly late for our booking. We needn't have worried. Inside it was quiet, near empty. The decor was twee, livened only by a number of toy foxes...

...and more toy foxes...

...to the point where they became a little creepy. Uncomfortable in their buttony gaze this week were Rami, Sai, Gene, Naomi, Caroline and Nick.

We took our seats with a sense of foreboding. The other clientele were mostly older, often accompanied by younger relatives with get-me-outta-here expressions to match our own. Being young and unattended by a surly older relative is not a good idea in the Fox – we soon found ourselves the target of disapproving glances.

Oh well, chaps, we thought, keep those stiff upper lips. We've been to some strange locales before in our quest for the cuisines of the world, we could soldier on through this little bit of oddity too. And then one of the staff (who, incidentally, were neither snooty nor foxy!) finally ambled over with a menu...

The Meal

Looking over the menu was the equivalent of looking at your wardrobe and realising that, even though it is technically full of clothes, you can't actually put together an outfit. There was nothing that appealed. Perhaps this was because we were after something English, and the menu was full of bog standard generic cafe fare like Arancini Balls and Thai Prawn Salad. There was fish and chips, which they'd tried to make sound more English by calling it "Shark and Tatties", and a Steak and Kidney pie but that was about it. As we weren't in the mood for paying nearly $20 for either of these run of the mill dishes, the best we could do was:

Steak sandwiches with giant onion rings

Potato and bacon soup

Roast lamb

Chicken satay

Potato and cheese pancakes with mushroom sauce.

The soup was the only decently priced dish on the menu, but it managed to still be a rip-off by coming in a very small bowl. It was watery and unsatisfying. The roast lamb was okay, not particularly memorable, and the chicken satay was about the same. We can not express how sad it makes us to have to order chicken satay on a culinary tour of Europe.

By comparison, the potato pancake seemed more English than it otherwise would have. It was maybe one of the better meals, but dependent on the (optional) buttery mushroom sauce. Probably the closes to a satisfying English-style meal were the steak sandwiches. These were gigantic and fried to within an inch of subliming into pure oil. Even the bread was fried. The deep fried onion rings were gigantic and the closest the meal came to a highlight.

Verdict

On the charge of being greasy - Guilty.

On the charge of being over-priced - Guilty.

On the charge of being served by disinterested staff in a bland environment - Guilty.

And authentically English? We offer People's Exhibit A: the Chicken Satay. And with that we rest our case.

Dessert

One of the few authentic items on the menu was the Spotted Dick for dessert but after our mains we couldn't face any more of the Fox. So instead we set out to sample another English specialty of note - the Devonshire Tea. Of the many Devonshire Teas clamouring for attention in the Hills, we chose to try Brother John’s Heavenly Scones in Sassafras.

This place was just plain weird. It was an old church that has been converted into a café with pew seating, white tables, a Santa Claus dummy dressed in a robe to look like a monk, presumably Brother John himself, and, obscurely, a disco ball. Out the back is a garden for wedding photos, complete with a white limousine. We sat in a conservatory overlooking the wedding garden where we were treated to surly and patronising service. A couple who wanted to share a plate of scones between them, rather than ordering separately, were treated as if they’d asked if it was alright to hold a Satanic mass at the table. The tea was made with teabags. As for the scones, if that's a taste of heaven then save your effort and be an atheist. They were okay but not worth the hefty ($9) price tag.

The Verdict 2
All in all, the meals, both main and scone, were a disappointment. They did however, give us plenty to whinge about, so in a perverse way we had an authentic English experience after all....

2007-08-24T16:49:00.000+10:00

Meal #50: The Netherlands

A faovurite destination of travellers from across the globe, the Netherlands is a fairy-tale world of windmills, tulip fields and legalised pot. Presumably though, there’s more on the national menu than the “herbal” cookies…

Hans Brinker
Russell St (Back End of QV Building)
Melbourne CBD

Part of the still comparatively new QV shopping complex that swallowed a city block and the down-town skate park a few years ago, Hans Brinker is a small eatery dedicated to a staple of Dutch cuisine – the pancake.

It is named for fictional hero Hans Brinker, better known to Australians as the little Dutch boy who saved Holland from being flooded by putting his finger in a leaking dyke. Surely that’s up there with Belgium’s pissing prince for most ridiculous piece of folklore ever, but nonetheless he’s a popular character.

The pancake house that bears his name is a compact, tidy eatery that also sells Dutch food products (including spekulaas, Dutch “spiced cookies”, which are actually more innocent than they sound). Its walls are adorned with pictures of classically Dutch images like windmills and canals, but the place itself was an example of multiculturalism in action – when we were there both the staff and clientele appeared to be exclusively Chinese. Our own team of reviewers this week was a small but varied bunch, including Nick, Naomi, Rami, Caroline and Sai.

The meal

The menu is mostly, as you would expect, full of pancakes. These come in two varieties, pannekoeks – large crepes that can be either 10 or 12 inches across and are served with savoury toppings - and poffertjes – small fluffy pikelets with sweet toppings. You can also get a “Frying Dutchman” burger, which establishes its Dutch credentials by coming with Edam cheese.

We had-
“Hans Brinker” 12” pannekoek, with smoked ham, button mushroom, corn, tomato mozzarella;
“New York” 10” pannekoek, with gourmet sausage, tomato, mozzarella, mushroom;
Beef krokets;
“Dutch combo” meal with frikandel (Dutch sausage), krokets, chips and salad;
Patat met (chips with mayo).
Followed by-
“Amsterdam berry dream” poffertjes with mixed berries;
“Silk chocolate” poffertjes.

The pannekoeks were served flat on the plate, with the filling on top, like a pancake pizza. The 12” Hans Brinker was billed as some kind of monster crepe that would overstep the most ravenous hunger. “You will enjoy,” the menu assured us, “113 bites.” Actually, it was a pretty light meal. The New York pancake didn’t sound very Dutch, and didn’t taste very Dutch, but New York did used to be called New Amsterdam so we let it pass.

Something that is extremely dutch is the kroket. These are a deep fried snack, with a soft meat filling on the inside and a crispy crumbed exterior. The Hans Brinker menu informed us that “each year, 300 million krokets are sold in the Netherlands, making it the second most popular snack in the country.”

It didn’t however mention what the most popular snack is. Maybe chips, which you can get at Hans Brinker with a range of sauces imported from the Netherlands, including a range of mayonnaises, satay and Dutch curry ketchup. We enjoyed them with the Remia Frittesauss (Dutch mayo). The most extravagant meal on offer was the Dutch combo, which included both krokets and chips, as well as some very tasty Dutch sausages.

Dessert was back to pancakes. The dessert poffertjes were enjoyable but, as with their savoury predecessors, a bit light on topping. More berries or a more generous helping of chocolate sauce would have lifted the tone.

The Verdict

Quaint would be the word to describe this place. The staff were friendly but the service was a bit haphazard, with things coming out at different times and the “coffee in a bowl” that one drowsy diner craved never coming out at all. The food itself was mostly good, though both savouries and sweets were less substantial than they sounded on the menu and we left a bit hungry. No matter. QV is also the home of our favourite post-80-meals filling station – Max Brenner!

2007-08-22T21:43:00.000+10:00

Meal #49 : Belgium

Despite being one of Europe’s smallest countries, Belgium has brought a lot of joy to a lot of people. It invented chips, for one thing, and is justifiably famous for both its high quality chocolate and its exceptional beer. All of which almost but doesn’t quite make up for it having given the world the Brussels sprout...

The Belgian Beer Café
557 St Kilda Road

European beer halls seem to be the latest fad in Australian drinking, just as Irish pubs took us by storm in the 90s. This merry venue on St Kilda Road is a stellar example of this growing trend. (Spot the Belgian beer pun!) In addition to a stupefying array of fine ales, it also serves Belgian-style food, so last week we went there for Sunday lunch. Our team included Helen, Nick, Rami, Ruvinda, Caroline, Ian, Amanda and the fiercest critic we’ve yet brought to bear on a restaurant, baby Isaac.

By day, the beer café’s airy taproom has a stately feeling, more like a 19th Century palace than the 17th Century tavern it resembles by night. The furniture is polished wood, the lights are designed to resemble old gaslights and the walls are decorated with musical instruments and murals of elegant German script. A further touch of class is added by the statue of a pissing baby on the bar.

(In case you were wondering, this is a homage to a famous Belgian statue, the manneken pis, which has graced a fountain in Brussels since the 17th century.)

(And if you are still wondering, it apparently commemorates a Belgian infant prince who won a battle by peeing on the enemy from a basket where he’d been hung to motivate the troops.)

(If you are STILL wondering, er, join the club.)

We are pleased to say that, even with a baby in our group, we behaved with far more decorum that the Belgian royalty of yesteryear. In fact, for a group of Aussies in the same room as one of the most extensive beer selections in Melbourne, we had a remarkably sedate day out.

The meal

The menu was divided into three main sections – beer food (small entrees/ sides under $10), entrees (usually under $20) and mains (between $20 and $30). There was also a separate section just for mussels, currently going at around $27 for a gigantic pot with chips, as well as the all important desserts (around $12). The bread, a light flavourful sour dough, was complimentary and came served in a brown paper bag.

One thing that leapt out was that the food on offer was very French. Gallic favourites like cassoulet (sausage, duck and pork stew), terrine and tartifette (crispy pork belly) were prominent on the menu, as were a number of dishes featuring snails. While many of these dishes looked tempting, we were after an exclusively Belgian experience.

In an attempt to capture the Belgian spirit, many of our diners simply ordered frites, ie chips! In fact, one has to suspect that some diners have been waiting until we got to Belgium so that they could legitimately order chips as their main course. These particular chips did their home nation proud and came with a thick, almost chunky, mayonnaise.

From the “beer food” list we had the meatballs. Made with veal and pork mince, these were flavoured with witlof, a common Belgian ingredient, and beer, an even more common Belgian ingredient.

From the mains menu came the hearty Flemish carbonnade. One of the few dishes on the menu that stood out as being specifically Flemish, rather than French, this was a slow-cooked beef stew flavoured with onion and, you guessed it, beer. It was accompanied by another Flemish specialty, a kind of potato mash called stoemp. Light in texture, similar to Paris mash, it was made with carrot, leek and bacon and consequently somewhat sweet.

The true stars of the meal were the mussels. Belgians devour vast quantities of these hapless bivalves and the Belgian Beer Café celebrates this tradition with, among other things, a mussel eating competition! Getting through a whole serve was a challenge in itself, as they came by the pot-load, with chips and mayo on the side for good measure. We had the Provencal, swimming in a sauce of tomato, red capsicum, black olives and fresh basil.

The beer

It would be wrong to go to a place called the Belgian Beer Café and order soft drink. Leffe blonde, a popular Belgian abbey beer, was available on tap. It’s fairly light for a Belgian brew, whereas the Westmalle Trappist Tripel delivered a more complex taste. A testament to how much time Belgian monks must spend working on their brewing skills rather than on more traditionally monkish behaviours, this is a beer you appreciate like a fine wine. And at $11.50 a glass you would certainly want to! Bellevue Kriek, a disconcertingly red beer made with sour cherries, divided opinions. Some enjoyed its combination of fruity, sour and malty flavours, while others were put off, with one diner describing it as “Dimetapp Beer”.

The dessert, oh the dessert

Belgium’s famous chocolate was thoroughly in evidence in the dessert section and we went from extravagance to extravagance. The chocolate pudding was double-cooked so as to be crispy on the outside and rich and gooey on the inside. It would be hard to imagine a more indulgent chocolate experience… unless of course you’d had the chocolate mousse, which was served with a beer coulis. Yes, it is true, the Belgians put beer in everything.

Last but not least, we could hardly go past Belgian waffles. The ones we had were “Liege-style”, apparently, which translated to lots of cinnamon, stacks of vanilla-flavoured Crème chantilly and chocolate sauce. They also came with crumbly sticks of Belgian chocolate (“like Flakes, only good” as one diner eloquently described them) – which were at first confused for cinnamon sticks because of the strong smell of cinnamon from the waffles. Mmmmm.

The verdict:
We were a bit of a weary group this week. We have covered fifty countries now and after so many weeks exploring Asia, the heavy meals of Europe are starting to put pressure on both our waistlines and our wallets. The Belgian beer café was no reprieve on either score. The quality of everything was very good however and the place had a comfortable and authentically European atmosphere.

How Belgian it was, as opposed to French, was at times questionable. From our experience, it would be easy to think that Belgian cuisine consists of nothing but stew, chips, beer and waffles, with maybe the occassional shellfish. Indeed, the main distinguishing feature of Belgian cuisine seems to be the use of beer as the crowning ingredient in everything. Another seemingly ubiquitous ingredient was pork. Even the vegetable dishes and salads often had bacon in them and for kosher and vegetarian diners the options here were somewhat limited. If eating just chips and chocolate is seen as a limitation, that is, though some would argue that point.

Descriptions of Belgian cuisine tend to emphasise its simplicity – straight-forward meals of high quality ingredients served in copious amounts. The Belgian Beer Café certainly met these criteria and, whether you are after fine beer and snacks, or more mussels than you can shake a stick at, it’s a pretty good bet. Just watch that your beer tab doesn’t get too high – those monks don’t peddle the drink of the devil cheap, you know.

2007-08-09T09:03:00.000+10:00

Next Stop: Belgium

Belgium is a nation of Gourmands rather than Gourmets which translates into big cuisine rather than fine cuisine. In reality this means that along with big portions, you get pretty good quality and a kind of unpretentiousness. The word Gourmandise originally meant gluttony, but like in France it has taken over the above meaning. It is often said Belgium serves food with the quantity of Germany and the quality of France.

French fries, called frieten (Flemish) or frites (French) are very popular. The best place to enjoy Belgian frites is at a friture (frituur or informally frietkot in Flemish) which is a temporary construction usually strategically placed in busy squares.

Typical dishes include:

Moules Frites/Mosselen-Friet (mussels and chips) - Dishes often use typical Belgian beers
Lapin à la Gueuze or Konijn in Gueuze (rabbit in Gueuze) - which is a spontaneously fermented, sour beer from the area around Brussels.
Stoemp - potato mashed with other vegetables, often served with sausage.
Salade Liégeoise - a salad with green beans, pieces of bacon, onions and vinegar.
Flemish Carbonades or Vlaams stoofvlees - similar to the French Beef Bourguignon but made with beer instead of red wine.
Waterzooi - a mild casserole of fish or chicken in cream, associated with Ghent.
Paling In't Groen or Anguilles au vert - eels in a green sauce of mixed herbs.
Chicon Gratin/Gegratineerd witloof - Belgian endives baked in melted cheese.
Tartines - open sandwiches of rustic bread, served on a board and eaten with knife and fork. May be spread with paté or soft cheese.

The Ardennes is notable for Charcuterie, or cold meat products, particularly paté, which may be made of game such as wild boar.

Another Belgian speciality is beer. Although a comparatively small country, there are a large number of beers available in a range of different styles. Almost every different beer has its own unique drinking vessel, usually a glass of some description.

Belgium is also well known for its waffles, usually eaten a street snack, and its chocolate, particularly pralines (filled chocolates).

2007-08-06T13:44:00.001+10:00

Meal #48 - Sweden

When you think of Sweden, what's the first thing you think of? IKEA, that’s what! The IKEA café is not just a perfect example of Swedish cuisine; it is also the only example of Swedish cuisine in Melbourne.

IKEA
Victoria Gardens Shopping Centre
Cnr. Victoria Street and Burnley Street
Richmond VIC 3121

Restaurant Opening Hours:
Open 7 days
Sat-Wed 9:30am-5:30pm
Thur-Fri 9:30am-7:30pm

The IKEA Concept is based on offering a wide range of well designed, functional home furnishing products at prices so low that as many people as possible will be able to afford them. The IKEA café follows this principle: IKEA cuisine is functional, in that it is edible, but it isn’t exactly haute-cuisine.

This week our swarve self-serving Swedish samplers were: Naomi, Paul, Deb, Boasty, Rami and Caroline.

The Meal:

There was a wide range of food available at the café, however they only served two stereotypical Swedish mains: Swedish Meatballs (78% beef and pork) and smoked salmon. Oh, they also sold cans of VB (?!?) - apparently, IKEA is a licensed venue. Who knew?

The food was also fairly well designed – the bizarre, flurescent green icing on the traditional Swedish Princess cake demonstrated that affordable and practical doesn’t have to be boring.

Although the actual number of Swedish dishes served is small, don’t fret. You can go and visit IKEA’s Swedish Food Market, located after the checkouts, where you can find traditional Swedish food and drink like herring, crisp bread, lingonberry fruit conserve, beer and even vodka. There is also a great selection of Swedish sweets and biscuits and, last but not least, their famous Swedish meatballs (frozen and sold in 1kg packs). For some reason they also sell $1 hot dogs and 60c soft-serve ice-cream (that taste like milk)...hmmm…

Oh, and not only is ABBA a famous Swedish band...but it is also a famous Swedish brand!

Overall:

The Swedish food served at IKEA is like their furniture – simple and bland. However we were limited by the number of Scandinavian restaurants in Melbourne.

For the record there is a Norwegian restaurant in the Dandenong Ranges (Touch of Norway, 1367 Mt. Dandenong Turist Road, Mt. Dandenong), but they only serve traditional foods for Tuesday lunches.

2007-08-05T18:19:00.000+10:00

Meal #49: Denmark

Good food is an important ingredient in the Danish concept of hygge, a word that can be best translated as a "warm, fuzzy, cozy, comfortable feeling of well-being". Good food, good company, wine, comfortable furniture and pleasant lighting combine to contribute to the Danish sense of satisfaction. With bay views and simple, elegant decor in the light filled dining area, the Danish Club clearly aimed to set diners well on their way to achieving this feeling.

The Danish Club (Dannebrog)
177 Beaconsfield Pde
Middle Park, VIC 3206
(03) 9690 1363

Traditional Danish Kolde bord/ Smorgasbord, 1st Sunday of the month

While the attainment of hygge is a near-universal goal in Danish culture, hygge itself is a highly personal concept, and varies significantly. This week, Naomi, Caroline, Helen, Philip, Deb, Paul and Rami went in search of warm, fuzzy feelings.

Traditionally, the Danish Kolde Bord will begin with seafood, then a serving of warm meats, followed by a series of cold cuts, then a simple dessert table. The tables at the Danish Club were simplified into three servings: cold foods; warm foods; desserts.

First Visit: Kolde Bord (Cold Table)

Smoked salmon (laks)
Pickled red and white herring (marinerede sild)
Herring in sour cream curry sauce (silderet)
Egg and prawn (rejer) salad
Green salad
Pea and corn salad
Breads (white and pumpernickel)
Cured meats (hams, salamis, etc)
Vegetable and ham soup

Warned by the waitress not to fill up on the first course, we duly limited ourselves to two servings from the cold table. Both white and red herring were served. In general, the white herring in its clear, sweet, peppery sauce was preferred over the red herring. Also preserved in a vinegar sauce, this dish also included sweet spices, such as cloves, which provided an unfamiliar counterpart to the salty fish. The other herring dish sported cour cream and mild curry, and was not considered anything special.

Danes are said to be quite simple and traditional in their tastes, evidenced in the often mild flavours of the cold table. The sauces (mixed with one of the herring dishes, and the corn and pea salad) tended to be sour cream based, and very subtle. The prawns were also notably lacking in flavour. All cold dishes, including the excellent smoked salmon, were intended for preparation into smørrebrød, Danish open sandwiches, and both white and delicious pumpernickel bread were provided for this purpose.

Second Visit: Lune retter (Warm foods)

Roast pork (Flæskesteg)
Roast beef
Danish meatballs (Frikadeller)
Danish sausage (Medisterpølse)
Battered plaice fish (rødspætte)
Liver with sauteed mushrooms and onions (Dansk bøf med spejlæg og rugbrød)
Potato and pork stew
Boiled potatoes with dill
Red Cabbage salad
Green salad

Our resident vegetarian was discouraged to note that almost all of the warm dishes were meat based, while the Jewish component of the table were disappointed to learn that most of the meat dishes contained pork. Those of us without dietary restrictions happily tucked into large serves of delicious Danish style meat. The pork roast was particularly notable, served with crackling and apple sauce, was succulent and tender, simply delicious. The beef roast was also tasty, served rare with a brown gravy and crunchy fried onions.

The 'national dish', Danish meatballs, were light on herbs and spices, tasted of pork sausage meat, and didn't stand out as a remarkable meal. The Danish sausage fared better, the strong spices (primarily pepper) conquering the pork flavour and creating a more pleasantly rounded flavour than the meatballs could achieve in their simplicity.

Garnished with tartare sauce and lemon, the battered fish caused the tune from a frozen fish ad to lodge itself firmly in the heads of diners; simply crumbed in bread, and cooked to a tender consistency, the fish was inoffensive, but not outstanding.

Described as an 'indispensable' element of Danish cooking, the potato did not shine consistently in this sitting. The potato and pork stew was tasty and hearty, but the heaviness of the dish meant it needed to be taken in small servings. The traditional serving of boiled potatoes with butter and fresh herbs was meant with universal distaste from our table, unless smothered in gravy (itself an authentic use of gravy in Danish cuisine).

Third Visit: Desserts

Fruit
Cheese
Danish pastries (wienerbrød), including sultana danish and apricot danish
Layer cake
Apple Charlotte (Æblekage)
Chocolate mousse
Whipped cream

The desserts table made great leaps forward in the warm feelings transmitted between our group and the Danish Club. One diner ran to the smorgasbord with cries of joy at the sight of cheese, while another diner found himself drawn to the table as we left, crazed by the need for just one more spoonful of chocolate mousse, which was airy and had a light chocolate flavour.

Clearly the Danes have no fear of lactose intolerance, with huge bowls of whipped cream framing tables full of cheese platters, chocolate mousse and a layer cake which at first looked like a 'traditional' Danish pavlova. On closer inspection, this was revealed as a layer cake of sponge and cream, and slathered with more cream around the edges. The apple charlotte, resembling an apple crumble, was topped with bread crumbs and splodges of golden syrup, and was deliciously warm and filling.

Most popular with our diners were the Danish pastries. In particular, the triangles of apricot filled 'traditional' pastries were revisited. The origins of these tasty desserts, however, are spurious. Danish pastry is, like the croissant, said to originate from Vienna, and in Denmark, this style of pastry is known as wienerbrød, "Viennese bread". In Vienna, however, the pastry is known as "Kopenhagener Gebäck" or "Dänischer Plunder", and its origin may well be the Turkish baklava.

Overall:

Denmark is known for being one of the more expensive countries to visit, so we should have guessed that hygge came with a hefty price tag; at $45 a head, the Danish Club is certainly a few tiers above all-you-can-eat venue, Smorgy's, and the Middle Park location ensures a certain exclusivity.

The disappointing elements combined are enough to mean the Danish Kolde Bord is not something we'd choose to do on a regular basis; nor one our wallets would allow! That said, the spread was varied and generous, and even with dietary restrictions, all of our group managed to come away feeling well fed and fairly satisfied. Even the less spectacular dishes did not serve to severely taint the dining experience. The atmosphere of the venue is light and cheery, the wine list is decent, and, with a group of friends, hopefully the combination will allow you to experience those special warm fuzzies the Danes actively seek.

2007-08-05T18:15:00.000+10:00

Next Stop: Denmark

A well-known Danish quip states that the only time one is likely to find a Dane brandishing a knife is when he has a fork in the other hand. Generally speaking, good food, good company, wine, and comfortable furniture contribute to the feeling of Danish satisfaction.

Finding commonality in geography and long, cold winters, the cuisine of Denmark is similar to that in other Scandinavian countries, as well as that of northern Germany. Traditionally heavy and rich in fat, it consists mainly of carbohydrates, meat and fish. This stems from the country's agricultural past, as well as its geography and climate of long, cold winters. Traditional food preparation processes favored in Denmark include smoking and pickling. Locally available food products form the basis of the traditional diet: cereal products, dairy products, pork, seafood, apples, plums, carrots, potatoes, onions, beer and bread.

The Danish kolde bord (translated, the cold table) corresponds to its Swedish counterpart, the Smörgåsbord. It is usually served at lunch time. The cold table may be a buffet arrangement prepared away from the dining table, or more likely it will consist of the many and varied items being brought to the dining table and passed around family-style.

As a first course (or first visit to the buffet table) one will in all likelihood eat pickled herring (marinerede sild), or another herring dish. As a second course one will in all likelihood eat warm foods (lune retter) served on rye bread with accompaniments. Some typical warm foods would be:

Frikadeller -- Danish meatballs, the "national" dish
Chopped steak patty (Hakkebøf)
Danish sausage (Medisterpølse)
Parisian steak, (Pariserbøf)
Veal medallion (Kalvemedaljon)
Liver with sauteed mushrooms and onions (Dansk bøf med spejlæg og rugbrød)
Pork tenderloin (mørbradbøf) with sauteed onions and pickle slices (surt)

Beer (in particular the Danish brands— Tuborg, Carlsberg or Faxe) is the preferred beverage during this meal, especially with lune retter, and through the rest of the cold table meal. It is also quite acceptable to have another shot or two of the Akvavit ("the water of life") along the way. Children generally drink soft drinks.

Next comes a selection of cold cuts (pålæg) and salads, as might be found on prepared smørrebrød (open Danish sandwich). Finally one is served a variety of cheeses and fruit, along with crackers or white bread.

2007-07-20T15:14:00.000+10:00

Meal #47: Germany

The Hofbrauhaus (literally ‘Court Brewery’) in Muenchen was built by a stingy Duke who wanted to save money on his troops’ beer costs, and is probably the most famous beer hall in the world. Distinguishing features of the original Hofbrauhaus include beer served in one litre mass glasses, and drunken Australians, as demonstrated by Naomi, below.

Aiming for authenticity in its replication, Melbourne’s Hofbrauhaus also sports drunken Australians (including one inexplicably dressed in a chicken suit) and offers Hofbrau beer in mass, as well as in smaller, more civilised sizes. It also boasts traditional German entertainment and traditional German serving sizes (huge!). This week Caroline, Naomi, Sai, Flick, Dale and Rami waded their way through mountains of sauerkraut.

The Hofbrauhaus
Market Place (off Little Bourke St)
Chinatown, Melbourne

With decor consisting of long, crowded wooden benches, exposed dark wooden beams and warm lamplight, the crowd was certainly reminiscent of the mix of locals and tourists in a Muenchen brew hall. We crossed our fingers that the food would be similarly impressive.

Entrée

Taggensuppe- Soup of the day- Vegetable

Hauptspeisen- Mains

Goulash with bread dumplings and red cabbage
Braised shoulder of venison with polenta, vegetables and cranberry sauce
Rindsroulade- a beef dish with bacon, onion and mustard, served with vegetables, red cabbage and steamed potato
Krainerwurst- smoked pork and beef sausage, served with mashed potato and sauerkraut
Debrecinerwurst- spicy beef sausage, served with mashed potato and sauerkraut

Susspeisen- Dessert

Apfel strudel- Apple strudel
Schwarzwaelder kirschetorte- Black forest cake

Getranken- Drinks

Hofbrauhaus helles- pale Hofbrau beer
Hofbrauhaus dunkel- dark Hofbrau beer

Germany is well known for its sausage, so it was exciting to be offered a wide range of wurst. However, when the two sausage dishes arrived, they were difficult to tell apart, both visually and in taste. The allegedly spicy debreciner was very mild, causing Rami to fear he may not be eating beef sausage at all. While German sausage is often subtly flavoured, a trend continued in the deliciously smoky krainer, the taste is heightened with the addition of sharp Deutsche mustard.

While Dale was disappointed to be told that the restaurant had run out of their speciality (Muenchner Schweinshaxe, pork shank pickled then roasted), he was more than satisfied with the suggested replacement of rindsroulade, which he described as ‘amazing’. A roll of beef stuffed with mushroom, onion and bacon, this dish was slathered in a rich, meaty sauce and perfectly balanced by the side of sweet, red cabbage.

Paprika, the patron spice of Deutschland featured heavily in the rich goulash. With chunks of hearty, tender meat and the distinctive heat of paprika, this dish was eagerly devoured, leftover gravy sopped up by bread dumpling. Flick and Marty waxed lyrical about their meal, much to the despair of other diners who felt they had chosen less wisely.

Although they sounded tempting on the menu, the venison and the soup both turned out to be underwhelming dishes. The vegetable soup was unadorned by spices, herbs or anything much of interest. Caroline felt she could have made better soup herself; a bold call, as Caroline does not cook at all. Sai was saddened by the lack of gaminess in the venison, which turned out to have a weak flavour entirely lost in the sauce in which it was drowned. The rubbery polenta side did little to rescue this dish.

Those of us with a sweet tooth decided to sample traditional German desserts, eagerly anticipating rich, dark Black Forest Cake and light, warm Apple Strudel. Alas, the airy sponge arrived heavily layered with sweet cream, and the strudel was dense, cold and featured a distinctly gluggy filling.

The Hofbrauhaus seems to be somewhat of a novelty venue, and it comes at a standard novelty venue price. The duke may have saved a bit of cash at his own personal brewhouse, but mains at this Melbourne inn will set you back at least $20 each. While the bland flavours and lack of variety on the menu don’t appeal to more cosmopolitan tastes, the Hofbrauhaus is paramount in recreating the boisterous atmosphere of a German beer hall. It proudly offers the traditional Bavarian mass of Hofbrau, and regularly features an oompa band and yodelling; if you time your visit well, you may also have the opportunity to enjoy some authentic German slap dancing. Feel free to compare this montage with a similar display of Rami and Caroline’s dancing in our Austrian review a few weeks ago. Rumours that their dancefloor experience similarly ended in blows can not be confirmed...

2007-07-18T17:35:00.000+10:00

Next Stop: Germany

German Cuisine varies greatly from region to region. The southern regions of Bavaria and Swabia share many dishes among them and with their neighbours to the south, Switzerland and Austria.

Pork, beef, and poultry are the main varieties of meat consumed in Germany, with pork being the most popular by a substantial amount. The average person in Germany will consume up to 67 pounds of meat in a year. Among poultry, chicken is most common, although duck, goose, and turkey are also well enjoyed. Game meats, especially boar, rabbit, and venison are also widely available around the year. Lamb and goat are also available, but are not very popular.

Meat is usually pot-roasted; pan-fried dishes also exist, but these are usually imports from France. Throughout Germany, meat is very often eaten in sausage form. There is said to be more than 1500 different types of sausage in Germany. Certain families may also make their own sausage for personal consumption.

Trout is the most common freshwater fish on German menus, although pike, carp, and European perch are also frequently served. Seafood was traditionally restricted to the northern coastal areas — except for pickled herring.

Vegetables are often eaten in stews or vegetable soups, but can also be served as a side dish. Carrots, turnips, spinach, peas, beans, and many types of cabbage are very common. Fried onions are a common addition to many meat dishes throughout the country. Potatoes, while a major part of the diet, are usually not counted among vegetables by Germans. Asparagus, especially white asparagus known as spargel, is particularly enjoyed in Germany as a side dish or as a main meal. Sometimes restaurants will even devote an entire menu to nothing but spargel, when it is the right season (late Spring). Spargel season is traditionally set to the month before St. John's Day.

Beer is very common throughout all parts of Germany, with many local and regional breweries producing a wide variety of beers. In most of the country Pils is predominant today, whereas people in the South (especially in Bavaria) seem to prefer Lager or wheat beer. A number of regions have a special kind of local beer, for example the dark Altbier around the lower Rhine, the Kölsch of the Cologne area, which is light but like Altbier uses a more traditional brewing process than Pils, and the very weak Berliner Weiße, often mixed with fruit syrups, in Berlin. Beer may also be mixed with other beverages; pils or lager and lemonade, known as Alsterwasser or Radler, is a popular example. Krefelder is an Altbier mixed with Cola (the pils+coke equivalent being Colabier), and Russ a wheat beer mixed with Cola.

For more information:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_cuisine

2007-07-18T17:31:00.000+10:00

Meal #46 – Switzerland

The Swiss Club, just like Switzerland itself, was a study of neutrality; as inoffensive to the eyes as the Austrian Club was offensive. Unfortunately, most of the food served was just as neutral and inoffensive.

Swiss Club of Victoria
89 Flinders Lane, Melbourne City

Every Wednesday, Thursday and Friday night the Swiss Club of Victoria serves traditional Swiss food; cooked by a chef with a remarkable resemblance to the Swedish chef from ‘The Muppets.’

The restaurant’s décor focuses on light-stained woodwork, cowbells and big Swiss flag on the back wall. There are two dining areas, a traditional tables and chairs area near the back, and some U-shaped booths near the bar – one of which we occupied. And thus Rami, Caroline, Naomi, Paul, Deb and Ross went last Friday night to sample a selection of Swiss…food…

Mains:

Traditional Wiener Schnitzel – Crumbed veal schnitzel (with rosti)
Cordon Bleu – Crumbed chicken breast filled with ham and cheese (with rosti)
Wurstsalat – sausage salad with cheese
Venison Escalope in a port wine sauce with spatzli and red cabbage
Rosti with smoked salmon, avocado and rocket salad
Mixed Seafood Risotto

Desserts:
Chocolate Fondue served with seasonal fruit
Coupe Swiss – Ice-cream, meringue with hot chocolate sauce

Beers:
Falken Prinz (Switzerland) 330ml
Krusovice (Czech Republic) dark beer, 500ml
Erdinger Dunkel Weizen Weissbier (Germany) dark wheat beer, 500ml

The Meal:

All in all the meat dishes were heavy, oily and a touch on the bland side. The only highlight of the meal (besides the beer) were the rosti, Switzerland’s version of the deep-fried potato pancake – although our arteries would have preferred we had the salad as a side dishes as opposed to more oily fare. Both the sausage salad and seafood risotto were also disappointing.

However, where the meal took a fantastic turn was with the desserts. The Coupe Swiss was “the best thing ever” according to Ross, who wouldn’t share it with the rest of us, no matter how much we begged.

You know Chocolate Fondue is made with good quality chocolate when after all the fruit is gone, there is a fight as too who can use their fingers to clean the bowl of the left-overs. In summary, the main meals served here are a fon-don’t, while the desserts are definitely a fondue!

2007-07-11T19:23:00.000+10:00

Next Stop: Switzerland

Swiss cuisine is unique in its many regional influences from its neighbors' cuisine, including Italian, French, and, to a lesser extent, German cuisine.

Foods often associated with Switzerland include cheese and chocolate. Swiss cheeses, in particular Emmental cheese, Gruyere, Vacherin, and Appenzeller, are famous Swiss products. The most popular cheese dishes are fondue and Raclette. Both these dishes were originally regional dishes, but were popularized by the Swiss Cheese Union to boost sales of cheese.

Rosti is a popular potato dish that is eaten all over Switzerland. It was originally a breakfast food, but this has been replaced by the muesli, which is commonly eaten for breakfast and in Switzerland goes by the name of "Birchermuesli" ("Birchermiesli" in some regions). For breakfast and dinner many Swiss enjoy sliced bread with butter and jam. There is a wide variety of bread rolls available in Switzerland. Bread and cheese is a popular dish for dinner.

Tarts and quiches are also traditional Swiss dishes. Tarts in particular are made with all sorts of toppings, from sweet apple to onion.

There are a great number of regional dishes in Switzerland. One example is zurigschnatzlets—thin strips of veal with mushrooms in a cream sauce served with rösti. Italian cuisine is popular in contemporary Switzerland, particularly pasta and pizza.

Apple juice is popular in many areas of Switzerland. It is also produced in the form of cider. The chocolate drink Ovomaltine (known overseas as "Ovaltine") originates in Switzerland and enjoys ongoing popularity, particularly with young people. Aside from being a beverage it is also used on top of a slice of buttered bread.

Information from:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swiss_cuisine

2007-07-10T11:19:00.000+10:00

Meal #45: Austria

Austria is a country very proud of its meat. In fact, supermarkets in Vienna often sport signs announcing ‘Osterreiche fleisch’, proudly proclaiming their home grown stock. The pride is not ill-placed; Austrian meat-dishes are notoriously tender and flavoursome. With a carnivorous gleam in their eyes, Sai, Naomi, Helen, Caroline, Marty, Nick, James, Jo, Paul and Rami (but not so much Deb) yodelled their way towards the Austrian Club of Melbourne.

Austrian Club Melbourne
76-91 Sheehan St
West Heidelberg

Located in the industrial districts of Heidelberg we never knew existed, the Austrian Club is surrounded by fir trees. Stepping inside, one is struck by the hanging deer heads, the alpine style chairs and tables, the overall sense of kitsch… and the official looking Austrian woman manning the reception desk. The Austrian Club is clearly a venue which knows its regulars, so one-off customers are greeted with a little stiff curiosity, but the staff (mostly volunteer and in their sunset years) are friendly and polite.

The large round tables in the main eating area are arranged to allow a large square for dancing to the band positioned on the mountain-landscape backed stage. The music for our visit was provided by the Dutch Duo - apparently there aren’t many traditional Austrian bands in Melbourne. Nevertheless, Austrian province coats of arms and further hunting trophies adorning the walls combined to prompt one diner to declare this ‘the most authentically authentic restaurant’ we’ve visited.

Entrée:

Brotchensuppe - Bread soup, served with bread

Mains:

Weiner Schnitzel mit petersil kartoffeln - Crumbed pork schnitzel with parsley potatoes
Leberkase mit ei u salat - Austrian meatloaf with egg and salad
Rindsgulasch mit semmelknodel - Paprika beef ragout with boiled bread dumpling
Bauernschmaus mit sauerkraut u semmelknodel - Farmer’s platter, with roast pork, smoked pork, sausage, sauerkraut and boiled bread dumpling
Rehragout mit knodel - Venison stew with pan fried bread dumpling
Schweinsbratten mit sauerkraut u semmelknodel - Roast pork with sauerkraut and boiled bread dumpling
Spaghetti Puttanesca - Pasta with tomato and anchovies

Sides:

Gemischtersalat - Mixed green salad

Desserts:

Gemischter Kuchen - Vanilla slice, berry cheese cake, tiramisu cake
Eissenspanner - Vienna coffee (black coffee topped with whipped cream)

The first order of the day was to arm ourselves with an appropriate beverage. Gosser beers in hand (either helles (light) or dunkle (dark)), the meaty array of choices was perused. Unfortunately, Deb, our resident vegaquarian had a tough time finding something fitting her diet, having to fall back on Southern (VERY SOUTHERN) Austrian cuisine, pasta. Having ordered our meals, we waited for our number to flash up on the screen.

Visiting Sydney diners, Jo and James, decided to try the bread soup. In Muenchen, beer is described as liquid bread, so Naomi joked that bread soup must be like warm beer. Apparently it was just as appetising as a warm beer, with much of the dish going uneaten. The accompanying bread roll was seen as a little excessive…

The signature dish of Vienna fared little better, the meat in the Wiener schnitzel quite tough and gristly. The meatloaf was said to visually resemble Spam with a fried egg on top, but was actually quite tasty, with a flavour somewhere between a ham steak and spiced sausage mince.

The rich gravy of the stews, beef goulash and bambi goulash, soaked into the bread dumplings, a perfect accompaniment. The doughy, boiled semmelknodel were particularly receptive to the gravy, while the knodel slices retained much of the flavour from the butter in which it was fried. The stews themselves contained generous chunks of tender meat; however the paprika of the rindsgulasch lifted the flavour of the dish, the venison seeming bland by comparison.

The roast pork was tender, and well matched with the sauerkraut. It was noted as also being one of the highlights of the farmer’s platter, or mega pork plate. The sausage on the farmer’s platter ‘cried out for mustard’; a cry promptly answered by an Austrian chef with an industrial sized tub of krensenf, Austrian mustard.

We turned our eyes to the Café Mozart, keeper of the kuchen and apfel strudel. What was that? No strudel tonight? Oh dear, Austria. Instead we contented ourselves with a range of their homemade cakes (all fine, but nothing spectacular), washed down with Vienna coffee… mmmmm, cream…

The Austrian Club is a homely venue; it doesn’t look to impress newcomers, rather to provide a communal gathering place for lonely goat herds and other Austrian expats. Atmospherically, it is relaxed, friendly and familiar; volunteer staff joke and call customers ‘darling’, and birthday announcements are duly greeted with song (Happy 87th, Gerti). Amateur dancers feel confident hitting the dance floor, and the uncomplicated fare is appreciated for the memory of home evoked. The Austrian Club is no gourmet capital, but come prepared for a night of simple pleasures and you’ll be enchanted. Or at least amused. And if the night leaves you wanting your own little piece of Austria, visit the gift shop on your way out (the squeezy Tyrolean mustard is GREAT!).

PS - we thought we'd end this review with a brief montage of Rami and Caroline dancing to the dulcet tones of the Dutch Duo...

2007-07-04T19:28:00.000+10:00

Next Stop: Austria

The Cuisine of Austria, which is often incorrectly equated with Viennese cuisine, is derived from the cuisine of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. In addition to native regional traditions it has been influenced above all by Hungarian, Czech, Italian and Bavarian cuisines, from which both dishes and methods of food preparation have often been borrowed. Austrian cuisine is therefore one of, if not the most multi- and transcultural one in Europe. Goulash is one example of this. Austrian cuisine is known primarily in the rest of the world for its pastries and sweets. In recent times a new regional cuisine has also developed which is centered on regional produce and employs modern and easy methods of preparation.

For snacking in between meals there are open sandwiches, different kinds of sausage with mustard and bread, as well as sliced sausage, Leberkase rolls or Schnitzelsemmeln (rolls filled with Schnitzel).

There are also other common delicacies, which may not be cordon bleu, but which are typical of Austrian food, for example the Bosna or Bosner (a spiced bratwurst in a hot dog roll) which is an integral part of the menu at Austria's typical fast-food joint, the sausage stand (Wurstelstand).

Austrians eat many desserts. One such is called vanillekipferl, which are crescent-shaped cookies coated in confectioner's sugar, sometimes served around Christmas season. The dough is made with vanilla bean and almonds. Austrians also make many cakes and chocolates.

For more information:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuisine_of_Austria

2007-06-30T08:47:00.000+10:00

Meal #44 - Hungary

Once one of the pre-eminent powers of Europe, having virtually run the joint in a dynamic duo with Austria, Hungary is now resigned to being a relatively obscure travel destination and the frequent butt of puns on its name. It also has the dubious distinction of having been named Europe’s gloomiest country. There is even a superstition that the entire nation is languishing under a thousand-year curse. Hopefully these rumours are nothing to do with the food…

The Little Hungarian Restaurant
708 Glenhuntly Road
Caulfield South

Eastern and central European cuisine is not exactly thick on the ground, even in multicultural Melbourne. Once again, our quest took us to Caulfield, in the inner south-east. While Hungarian cuisine as a whole may be hard to find, this little restaurant at least wasn’t, proudly displaying the Magyar colours on its shopfront. Clearly, when designing and naming the restaurant, the owners wanted to leave no ambiguity about what sort of cuisine they intended to serve.

The dining room was, as promised, little and was packed with a vibrant Saturday-night crowd. We could barely squeeze in our own posse of nine, this week comprising Paul, Deb, Nick, Sai, Rami, Caroline, Gene and two new culinary travellers, Priyanthi and Rick, recently returned from a round the world trip of their own. (An actual one involving actual planes and passports and stuff like that - clearly they didn’t know that most major world destinations can be more cheaply and easily experienced through the Melbourne restaurant scene).

The menu, promising “home style cooking” was also comparatively small. Nonetheless, we were pleased to see a decent range of Hungarian specialties in addition to the schnitzels and other more generic dishes, like Veal Cordon Bleu and the long-way-from-home Chicken Mexicana. Being the gastronomic adventurers we are, we ordered almost exclusively from the Hungarian specialty list.

The meal:

Having seen the size of the dishes being brought out to other table, most of us opted for a main course only, with no entrée, although one particularly ravenous diner had a soup. This was a warming chicken broth with slices of carrot and matzo balls and was almost large enough to be a meal in itself.

The trend for large servings continued with the mains. Hearty seemed to be the name of the game here. As one diner described it, they were “real man’s meals.” First, the Stew. No Hungarian meal would be complete without the country’s signature dish, goulash. This came in two varieties, the standard beef version and a pork variant that came with sauerkraut. Both of these were satisfying meals, with tender meat and rich paprika-based sauce.

It only got heartier and manlier from there. The stuffed capsicums were gigantic and came packed with meat (what else?) and drowned in a tomato-based sauce, which was more sweet than spicy. Then there were the cabbage rolls, consisting of a substantial stuffing of veal and rice wrapped in cabbage than slathered with paprika and pepper-corn sauce. Like most dishes, this was served with a generous side of buttery fried potatoes.

Chicken liver featured quite prominently on the menu. We tried the resztelt csirkemaj (chicken liver onions). This is exactly what it sounds like: chicken liver mixed through with onions. A simple dish, not as textured as the Ashkenazi chopped liver we had a few weeks go, but still quite tasty. Imagine a pate, only manlier.

We didn’t think it could get any heartier but it could. The crème de la crème was a huge Wiener Schnitzel served with a fried egg on top. Meals just don’t put more hair on your chest than that. Unfortunately the egg had cooked through, when we suspected the intention was for it be runny and goo all over the schnitzel.

With all this heartiness going on, it’s no surprise that there weren’t too many vegetarian options. Other than the salads, there was only one vegetarian dish on offer – rantott gomba – or crumbed mushrooms. These were mushrooms covered in crumbs and deep fried. They came with a squirty packet of tartare sauce. As vegetarian meals go, they were one step away from writing EAT MEAT YOU NANCY on the plate in tomato sauce. Definitely the low-light of the meal.

Dessert luckily saw a return to form, provided you liked crepes. Crepes were just about the only option, though you could get them with a wide range of fillings, from lemon and sugar or strawberries to plum jam, walnuts or cottage cheese. We had them with csokis (ie chocolate sauce). Just plain chocolate might have been a bit girly, so the sauce came with a heavy lacing of brandy. Rah! Grr! Feel our biceps.

The verdict:

Take or leave this place for what it is. The restaurant promises home-style cooking and it delivers exactly that. The meals are straight-forward, with sauces that ride on one or two strong flavours, and served in copious portions. It wasn’t hard to see why it drew a crowd, although gourmets looking for a sophisticated interplay of flavours might find the dishes too basic.

The lack of vegetarian options, while authentically Eastern European according to those of the group who have been there, was also disappointing. The specials board did promise a mushroom soup on Wednesdays but we can’t guarantee it won’t have bacon or veal or something in it. It’s that kind of place. As it was, the single vegetarian main, which was essentially a glorified entrée, felt like a token nod.

Within the scope of its market, though, the Little Hungarian does do a decent job. The meals were on the whole quite satisfying and you certainly couldn’t fault them for generosity or authenticity. One thing that didn’t smack of Eastern Europe though was the prices, with mains nudging the $20 mark. Oh, for genuine Eastern European exchange rates! Maybe there’s something to be said for the plane and passport type of travel after all…

2007-06-27T11:15:00.000+10:00

Next Stop: Hungary

Hungarian, or Magyar, cuisine is the cuisine characteristic to Hungary and the Magyars (the main ethnic group of Hungary, and the Hungarian word for ‘Hungarian’).

Hungarian food is often spicy. It frequently uses paprika, black pepper and onions. Potatoes are also commonly used in many dishes. Hungarians are passionate about their soups, desserts and stuffed pancakes, with fierce rivalries between regional variations of the same dish, e.g. the fish soups cooked differently on the banks of Hungary's two main rivers: the Danube and the Tisza.

Hungarian cuisine is influenced both by the history of the Magyar people and by the environment found in the Carpathian basin when the Magyars settled in the late 800s. The importance of livestock is apparent in the prominence of meat in Hungarian food. The nomadic lifestyle of the Magyars may be reflected in the many dishes cooked over the fire, from goulash in a bogracs (or cauldron) to pogacsa pastries. In the 15th century, King Matthias Corvinus and his Neopolitan wife Beatrice were influenced by Renaissance culture and helped introduce ingredients like garlic and onions to Hungarian cuisine. Elements of Turkish cuisine were adopted by Hungarians during the Ottoman era, mainly in the form of vegetable dishes, but the influence is not as pronounced as in the Balkans. Cakes and sweets in Hungary show a strong German/Austrian influence.

Two remarkable elements of Hungarian cuisine that are hardly noticed by locals, but usually conjure up much enthusiasm amongst foreigners are different forms of fozelek (a lentil dish), as well as cold fruit soups.

For more information go to:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuisine_of_Hungary

2007-06-26T10:37:00.000+10:00

Meal #43 – Poland

For our Polish meal we went to Borsch, Vodka and Tears – but we ate no borsch, and we cried no tears. We did, however, have a couple of vodkas; I guess one out of three ain’t bad…

Borsch, Vodka and Tears
Vodka Bar and Modern Polish Cuisine
173 Chapel St. Windsor

Borsch Vodka and Tears is a trendy vodka bar located on one of Melbourne’s busiest and trendiest streets. It has trendy décor (a mix of old Eastern Europe and modern designer chic), it has trendy customers (a mix of middle-age Eastern European diners and young, trendy drinkers) and it has a trendy drinks list (more flavours of infused vodkas than you could ever tempt Boris Yeltsin with). Thankfully, they also serve quality food (which is served on trendy, faux-traditional plates).

This week’s photo-less posse of pristine Polish purveyors were Caroline, Nick, Sai and Rami.

Entrée:

Zakuski (a Polish style antipasto) – a selection of herrings (rollmops and herring in oil), Russian salad, pickled mushrooms, Polish dill cucumbers, baby beetroot, grilled whitebait and a basket of rye bread.

Mains:

Meat Pierogi (traditional Polish dumplings) – beef, chicken, herbs and spices with a paprika meat sauce.
Vegetarian Pierogi (traditional Polish dumplings) – porcini mushroom and sauerkraut with a breadcrumb coating.
Gypsy Soup – spiced vegetable soup with ham and smoky sausage.

Dessert:

Gundel – a warm chocolate filled crepe adorned with hazelnuts and cream
Russian honey cake

Dessert Drinks:

Sour cherry and honey (after dinner vodka)
Palikotowka 10 years old 40% (infused vodka premium spirit with almond & raisin)

Entrées:

The entrée platter was advertised in the menu to be for two people, but we found that it was more than satisfactory for four people, with the fish dishes being a highlight – especially the rollmops and the grilled whitebait. The Polish herrings and dill cucumbers were sweeter than those we sampled from previous cuisines; the baby beetroot was served grated and mixed with horseradish, making for a great side; however the pickled mushrooms were more “tinned champignons” than “pickled”…

Mains:

Although there were several borsch options on the menu, we decided to give the Gypsy soup a try. Due to its tomato base, this soup was reminiscent to an Italian minestrone, but without the same level of ‘chunkiness.’ Both pierogi dishes were delicious, however the servings could have been a bit larger. The meat pierogi were soft and sweet, with the meat and paprika combining very well; the vegetarian pierogi, on the other hand, were crunchy (due to the coating of breadcrumbs) and savory, with the warm sauerkraut giving the dumplings a slight kick.

Desserts:

The rich chocolate of the gundel was a great way to finish the meal, the soft crepes almost melting in our mouths. The hazelnuts on this dish, unfortunately, were served raw, and would have been more palatable had they had been roasted. The layered honey cake was well received, but could have been enhanced with a dollop of cream. Both desserts were complimented by the dessert drinks, making for a complete meal.

Overall:

Due to a last minute booking, we were seated right next to the door, which provide an unwanted arctic blast every time someone entered or exited the restaurant. This, however, did nothing to cool off our appreciation of a well presented and extremely tasty meal. The staff was attentive and friendly, and the décor allowed for a relaxed atmosphere in which to dine in. The dishes were reasonably priced, although we would have liked a few more pierogi for the mains. We would be tempted back, not only for the food, but also to further explore the vast and impressive vodka list…

2007-06-26T10:14:00.000+10:00

Next Stop: Poland
Polish cuisine is a mixture of Slavic and foreign culinary traditions. Born as a mixture of various culinary traditions, both of various regions of Poland and surrounding cultures, it uses a large variety of ingredients. It is rich in meat of all kinds and with spices, as well as in different kinds of noodles and dumplings, the most notable of which are the pierogi. It is related to other Slavic cuisines in usage of kasza and other cereals, but was also under the heavy influence of Turkic, Germanic, Hungarian, Jewish, French or colonial cuisines of the past. Generally speaking, Polish cuisine is rich and substantial. Poles allow themselves a generous amount of time in order to enjoy their meals, with some meals taking a number of days to prepare in their entirety.

For more information:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polish_cuisine

2007-06-17T17:28:00.000+10:00

Meal #42: Ashkenazi Cuisine

Although the first Jews arrived in Australia with the First Fleet, the mass migration of Jews (mainly from Eastern Europe, known as Ashkenazi Jews) did not occur until after the Holocaust. As such, Australia (and Melbourne in particular) has the largest number of Holocaust survivors outside of Israel. Scheherazade, which celebrates its 50th anniversary next year, was established by Ashkenazi migrants for Ashkenazi migrants, and has subsequently become a Melbourne institution.

Scheherazade Restaurant
99 Acland St. St Kilda

Scheherazade is one of the only remaining initial shops (along with the cake shop next door, and the cake shop across the road) to be found on the funky and hip Acland Street. It is a small eatery that doesn’t appear to have undergone major renovations since it opened in 1958; but the fact that the windows and walls are plastered with newspaper reviews is an indication that this restaurant has withstood the test of time.

This week’s asininely acidic assortment of Ashkenazi assessors were Rami, Caroline, Nick, Dom, Marty and Gene.

Entrées:
Chopped Chicken Liver
Herrings
Russian Eggs and Caviar
Rye Bread

Mains:
Chicken Soup with Kreplach (meat dumplings) and Kenedle (matzah ball dumplings)
Chicken Schnitzel
Paprika Chicken
Chulent
Sauerkraut

Dessert:

Dumplings – stuffed with cherries and served with ice-cream

Entrée:

When alerted to our desire to try a variety of Ashkenazi fare, the host duly returned with a platter containing the classic dishes of chopped chicken liver and herrings, and the fancier Russian dish of eggs with caviar. We were disappointed that they were out of gefilte fish (its isn’t a true Ashkenazi meal without cold, slimly, sweet fish patties!). The chopped liver and herrings were both top notch, and demonstrated that even the simplest of dishes can be highlights of a meal. The surprise dish however, was the eggs with caviar, in which the conflicting flavours of the salty fish roe, the sweet mayonnaise, and the savoury eggs, seemed to magically meld together into a memorable appetiser.

Mains:

Chicken soup with kenedle and kreplach is classic Ashkenazi cuisine, and Scheherazade’s offering of this dish was so authentic you could expect to find it on any Shabbat dinner table (although Rami contends that his mother’s chicken soup is better). Chulent is (regrettably) another traditional Ashkenazi dish; a stew that is left to cook overnight until the meat, potatoes and beans not only all taste the same, but they also have the same texture and consistency. The side order of sauerkraut was required to give the chulent some flavour…

The Paprika Chicken, an offering with obvious Hungarian influences, consisted of boiled chicken drumsticks flavoured with, as the name suggests, paprika. The chicken schnitzel was succulent and tasty, and a sufficiently large serving. Both dishes were served with cooked vegetables, and a there was complimentary side of coleslaw.

Dessert:

The cherry dumplings were a great way to end the meal. These were basically kreplach that were stuffed with cherries rather than meat, served with a cherry sauce and vanilla ice-cream. Yummy doesn’t even begin to describe them!

Overall:

If you want a traditional Ashkenazi meal (and you can’t swing an invite to Rami’s parents’ place for a Shabbat dinner) Scheherazade is the place to go. The owner/host is friendly and accommodating, often found chatting with the diners. The food is authentic (which is all that we can ask for in this culinary journey around the world) and reasonably priced considering the area. Oh, and if you’re wondering as to what the name of the restaurant means, Scheherazade was the name of the Persian Queen, from the Arabian Nights Tales, who told a different story for 1001 nights to avoid execution…we don’t know how this relates to Eastern European Jewish cuisine either…

2007-06-13T12:52:00.000+10:00

Next Stop: Ashkenazi (or Yiddish) Cuisine

The Ashkenazi Jews are descended from the medieval Jewish communities of the Rhineland (“Ashkenaz” being the Medieval Hebrew name for Germany). Later migration (due to being expelled from many countries), largely eastward, resulted in the formation of communities in Germany, Hungary, Poland, Russia, Lithuania, Ukraine, Moldavia, Austria, Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia and Romania between the 10th and 19th centuries. Most modern-day Ashkenazi Jews live in America and Israel, fleeing European persecution, which culminated in the Holocaust (however, there are communities found in many Western countries, including large ones in Melbourne and Sydney). From medieval times until the mid-20th century, the lingua franca among Ashkenazi Jews was Yiddish.

Except for a few traditional dishes that date from before the Roman expulsion of the Jews from the Land of Israel (such as matzah, which may be served in any Jewish household worldwide), Jewish cuisine often reflects the general style and practices of the local cuisine, adding unique recipes and cultural infusions, along with adaptations to the rules of kashrut.

The hearty cuisine of Ashkenazi Jews, for example, reflects their centuries of residence in the cold climate of central and Eastern Europe. Thus, a traditional Sabbath meal for Ashkenazi Jews might include roast chicken, carrot tzimmes and potatoes.

Each Jewish community has its traditional dishes, often revolving around specialities from their home country. In Germany, stews were popular, while in Poland, Jews made lokshen (noodle) or frimsel soup (cooked with goose fat) and various kinds of stuffed and stewed fish.

Below is a list of some tradition Ashkenazi dishes:

Gefilte Fish – poached fish patties or balls made from a mixture of ground deboned fish, most commonly carp.

Chicken Soup – the soup is often associated with European Jewish cuisine, often served with kneidlach (or matzah balls; dumplings made from matzah meal) or lokshen.

Kugel (pronounced koogel) – any one of a wide variety of traditional baked Jewish side dishes or desserts. Kugels may be sweet or savory (salty). The most common types are made from egg noodles or potatoes and often contain eggs, but there are recipes of kugels made with different vegetables, fruit, batters, cheese, and other flavorings and toppings.

Kishke – traditionally made from a kosher beef intestine stuffed with matzah meal, rendered fat (schmaltz) and spices.

Cholent – consists, generally, of meat with potatoes and beans, placed in a slow oven before Sabbath and left to simmer unattended until it is wanted for the Sabbath meal.

For more information see:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jewish_cuisine

2007-05-29T21:18:00.000+10:00

Meal #41: Russia

Our latest culinary expedition brought us to Russia. Not the country (some of us are still impoverished students after all), but the restaurant, Russia, located in the leafy surrounds of Caulfield North. The promise of a hearty eastern European feast lured Rami, Caroline, Paul, Nick and Sai out of their respective homes on a chilly Saturday night, but did the meal live up to expectations?

Russia European Restaurant
105 Hawthorn Road, Caulfield North

Atmosphere was, to us at least, not the strong suit of this restaurant. Decor consisted of a combination of clashing green and blue panels, whilst the musical ambience was supplied by a mix tape of Chris DeBurgh, Michael Buble and other "easy listening" singers. Eager to sample some Russian liquors, Paul was disappointed to discover that, whilst licensed, the restaurant was B.Y.O. only, and so the mocking presence of several bottles of vodka on another table was as close as he got to that goal.

Entree:
Salted herring (cold) served on a bed of lettuce, cucumbers and olives, with a side dish of roast potatoes.
Latkis with sour cream and vinegar.

Mains:
Meat Solianka in spicy tomato sauce.
Zharkoie (Stewed meat and potato served with salad)
Chicken Tabacca (Pan fried chicken with garlic sauce)
Chicken Schnitzel (Served with salad)

The Meal:

The meal itself certainly started well with a tasty entree of salted herring, served on a bed of lettuce, cucumbers and olives with a side dish of roast potatoes. Whilst somewhat pricey at ten dollars for a small-ish serve, the herring was quite delicious and the potatoes most pleasant. Even better was the serve of latkis, potato pancakes commonly served throughout Eastern Europe and a mainstay of Jewish cuisine. Served with sour cream and vinegar, the latkis were savoury and very morish.

Upon ordering the mains, we were all collectively let down by the discovery that, though advertised, the Chicken Kiev was not available that night. For shame, Russia. For shame. Nevertheless, with heavy heart and grumbling stomachs, we soldiered on. The dishes we sampled were along similar lines to those we enjoyed at Cafe Armenia and Taste of Georgia, though this time, the results were not as favourable. Rami and Caroline shared a chicken schnitzel, which they regarded as "nothing special" and felt was a bit too salty. Paul tried the Zharkoie, a meat and potato stew somewhat similar to Beef Burgundy. For eighteen dollars, this was rather uninspiring, with the Zharkoie itself served in a very small pot and outweighed by an average garden salad. The meat itself was tender, but quite fatty.

Nick fared better with the Meat Solianka, another type of stew. Containing a thick, spicy sauce, Nick found the dish quite enjoyable and also praised the side salad with a tasty paprika dressing. In terms of value for money, Sai struck gold with the Chicken Tabacca, a whole chicken, pan-fried in a garlic sauce. At 22 dollars, this dish actually seemed to be a decent size, which was ultimately too much for Sai to finish alone. However, quantity did not equate to quality in this instance. Sai commented that the Chicken was overly salty and too oily.

So unfortunately, this meal was a bit of a let-down, with most dishes too small for their price and generally lacklustre in taste. Cafe Armenia and Taste of Georgia both outpaced this venue in nearly every respect. Still, it must be said that those Latkis were really something, and made an evening of listening to a loop of 3MP-style music quite tolerable.

2007-05-28T14:53:00.000+10:00

Next Stop: Russia

Russian cuisine derives its rich and varied character from the vast and multicultural expanse of Russia. Its foundations were laid by the peasant food of the rural population in an often harsh climate, with a combination of plentiful fish, poultry, game, mushrooms, berries, and honey. Crops of rye, wheat, barley, and millet provided the ingredients for a plethora of breads, pancakes, cereals, kvass, beer, and vodka. Flavourful soups and stews centred on seasonal or storable produce, fish, and meats. This wholly native food remained the staples for the vast majority of Russians well into the 20th century. Lying on the northern reaches of the ancient Silk Road, as well as Russia's close proximity to the Caucasus, Persia, and the Ottoman Empire has provided an inescapable Eastern character to its cooking methods (not so much in European Russia but distinguishable in the North Caucasus).

Russia's great expansions of territory, influence, and interest during the 16th-18th centuries brought more refined foods and culinary techniques. It was during this period that smoked meats and fish, pastry cooking, salads and green vegetables, chocolate, ice cream, wines, and liquor were imported from abroad. At least for the urban aristocracy and provincial gentry, this opened the doors for the creative integration of these new foodstuffs with traditional Russian dishes. The result is extremely varied in technique, seasoning, and combination.

Soups have always played an important role in the Russian meal. The traditional range of soups such as shchi, borscht, ukha, rassolnik, solyanka, botvin`, okroshka, and teur' was enlarged in the 18th to 20th centuries by both European and Central Asian staples like clear soups, pureed soups, stews, and many others.

Russian soups can be divided into at least 7 large groups:

Cold soups based on kvass, such as teur', okroshka, and botvin'ya.
Light soups and stews based on water and vegetables.
Noodle soups with meat, mushroom, and milk.
Soups based on cabbage, most prominently Shchi.
Thick soups based on meat broth, with a salty-sour base like rassolnik and solyanka.
Fish soups such as ukha and kal'ya.
Grain- and vegetable-based soups.

In traditional Russian cuisine three basic variations of meat dishes can be highlighted: - large boiled piece of meat cooked in a soup or porridge, and then used as second course or served cold as a snack.

For more, go to:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_cuisine

2007-05-28T14:51:00.000+10:00

Meal #40 – Georgia

It’s always fun to get into something when it first gets started, whether it’s a new fashion fad, or a great new band, or even a brand new restaurant. Taste of Georgia has only opened recently, about six months ago, and focuses mainly on take-away meals. In fact, the awning still has the word “Seafood” painted across it, an indication of the buildings previous ‘life’. They have plans to expand to a dine-in restaurant; according to the owner the dine-in menus will be arriving in a couple of weeks (we were given take-away menus with the prices adjusted in pen), and we assume that by then there will be more tables and chairs brought in too!

Taste of Georgia
365 North Rd, South Caulfield
9578 8350
Open 7 Days a Week
Mon to Thurs from 4pm – 8:30pm
Fri to Sun from 12pm – 8:30pm

When we first walked into Taste of Georgia we were shocked – it was empty! Not empty as in there were no people (there were several ethnic Georgians waiting for take-away); but empty as in no tables and chairs. There were three small tables, with a couple of chairs each, at the back of the restaurant – but these appeared to be aimed at giving take-away orderers a place to sit, rather than for dining. The rest of the restaurant was empty, except for a couple of benches covered in large jars of pickles, and a single table near the window that was reserved for us (to give them credit, it was laid out nicely). On seeing this, our expectations dropped…on seeing the bain-marie our expectations plummeted!

Our worries were quickly put aside as all our food was prepared for us as we waited, and once we tasted the dishes, we knew we were on a winner. This weeks gorgeous group of Georgian gastronomic geniuses were Caroline, Rami, Nick Deb, Paul and Sai.

Dishes:

Hinkali – Georgian dumplings stuffed with meat
Chebureki – Fried Crimean meat pie
Crepes with meat filling
Lamb Cupati – sausages
Satsivi – Roast chicken in garlic walnut sauce
Pork Shashlick – Pork fillet marinated for 24 hours
Marinated Carrots
Marinated Eggplant
Red Cabbage Salad
White Cabbage Salad
Roast Potatoes

The Meal:

Of the vegetarian dishes, the marinated carrots were the best, followed closely by the marinated eggplants. The roast potatoes were brilliantly done, crunchy on the outside and fluffy on the inside; a complimentary, spicy chutney perfectly complemented the potatoes.

This chutney also complemented the meat dishes magnificently. The ‘meat’ in these dishes was a mixture of beef and chicken, and the overwhelming differences between the dishes was the carbohydrate it was served in – the juicy dumplings, the soft crepes, and the crunchy pastry of the Chebureki. That being said, the Hinkali were spicier than the other dishes. The Cupati sausages were favourably received, with a hint of coriander highlighting the natural flavours of the lamb.

The roast chicken of the Satsivi was served cold, which, although unexpected, worked nicely with the garlic walnut sauce. The pork shashlick was also well received, as were the chips it was served with (although these were well received by everyone stealing them off the plate).

Overall:

The menu states that the Taste of Georgia serves “Exotic, Mysterious and Unique food from Georgia.” Although not necessarily living up to these very lofty claims, Taste of Georgia still serves very delicious meals that are well priced (for a real bargain check out their take-away only banquets!). Once this eatery fully develops into a dine-in restaurant we expect to see it reported in Cheap Eats.

2007-05-23T19:03:00.000+10:00

Next Stop: Georgia

Georgian cuisine is famous for its uniqueness and diversity; every historical province of the country has its own distinct cuisine. An experienced traveller may discern some similarities between Georgian, Middle Eastern and Mediterranean food. Georgian food includes all types of meat and fish. The choice of fruits, appetizers and vegetarian meals is even wider – as an ancient settled culture Georgians developed a rich vegetarian menu. The different combinations of a variety of spices, fresh organic food, and the excellence of the cooks, make Georgian food an unforgettable experience.

Georgia is one of the oldest wine producing regions of Europe. Grapevine has been cultivated in the fertile valleys of the South Caucasus for at least 7000 years. Because of that the traditions of its viticulture are entwined with the country’s national identity. Georgia is believed by many to be the source of the world's first cultivated grapevines, and many also believe that the word wine is of Georgian origin.

Some tradition Georgian dishes include:

Khachapuri – is a filled bread dish from the Caucasus. The bread is leavened and allowed to rise, and is shaped in various ways. The filling contains cheese (fresh or aged), eggs and other ingredients. There are several types of khachapuri in Georgian cuisine, depending on region of origin

Khinkali – Georgian dumplings filled with various fillings, but usually spiced meat.

Churchkhela – a traditional candy originating from the Caucasus. Churchkhela are walnuts sewn onto a string, dipped in thickened white grape juice and dried.

Information from:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgian_cuisine
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgian_wine

2007-05-23T18:24:00.000+10:00

Meal #39 – Armenia

We were warned by our Indonesian correspondent Naomi (who is currently frolicking around Europe with our Paris correspondent Lisa) that it was important to book before attempting to dine at Café Armenia. Ignoring her warnings we rocked up last Sunday for an Armenian lunch, only to find the restaurant closed – even though they advertise that they are open 7 days a week for breakfast, lunch and dinner (it was even written on the door!). So taking no chances this week, we booked online – and for our troubles the booker received a complimentary glass of Armenian red wine…filled to the brim! Nice :)

Café Armenia
179 Booran Rd
Caulfield South
Open 7 days
9.30 – 2.30 for breakfast and lunch
5.30 – 11.30 for dinner

Café Armenia promotes itself as “The only restaurant in Melbourne where you can enjoy Armenian cuisine” and appears to be the hub of the Melbournian Armenian community; it is filled with the sound of families and friends speaking Armenian, and there is a stunning Armenian photo-landscape above a stage where live Armenian music is played on Saturday nights (unfortunately we left before this began). This eatery appears to be the most authentic cultural encounter we’ve experienced yet (including the horrid Armenian fashion sense, with females diners wearing leopard-print stretch tops and red snake-skin boots!)

This week’s amazing assortment of astute Armenian assessors were Rami, Caroline, Paul, Deb, Marty, Sai and Nick.

Entrée:

Beans – Dip with kidney beans, garlic, walnuts
Pickles – Cucumber, cabbage, cornflower, sweet and hot paprika
Eggplant – Eggplants, walnuts & garlic

Mains:

Soups:

Chanakhi – Spicy soup with beef, beans, potatoes and garlic in a special sauce
Solianka – Soup with ham, sausages, olives and lemon

Barbecues:
All served with fried potatoes and fresh vegetable salad

Lamb off the bone
Chicken
Vegetarian – tomato, capsicum, eggplant

Entrée:

Before the meal started we were treated with complementary pita bread and a spicy tomato dip. The pita bread was also used for the bean dip, which had a subtle flavour and a thick consistency. The pickled vegetables were great – the best being the cucumbers and the large, sweet paprika (chillies). The small, hot chillies packed a punch, especially when you were expecting the sweet chillies! The highlight of the entire of meal, however, was the eggplant stuffed with walnut and garlic paste, the three flavours mixing amazingly well.

Mains:

The two soups were well received, with large servings and chunky ingredients making them a great meal within themselves. The spicy chanakhi was considered the better of the two soups sampled.

The barbeque lamb was tender and juicy, with a wonderful taste that only comes with masterfully barbequed meat. The barbeque chicken was also tender and juicy, with a marinade that emphasised its natural flavours. We were disappointed that there were only six pieces served with each dish. However, the meats were served on large, sword-like skewers that made the meal seem far more dangerous and exciting than your usual night out.

Unfortunately the barbequed vegetables were not of the standard of the meat dishes, and were a great disappointment – especially as they were not served with the promised fried potatoes.

Overall:

Café Armenia offers an authentic Armenian experience, demonstrated by the fact that it is aimed at the Armenian community of Melbourne. The food, on the whole, was amazing (especially the entrées) and well priced. The staff were friendly and attentive, and the complimentary pita bread and dip was unexpected, but appreciated (as was the complimentary glass of wine for booking on the internet!). This restaurant offers a unique opportunity to not only taste an uncommon cuisine in Melbourne, but to experience the culture from which it arose.

2007-05-16T17:55:00.000+10:00

Next Stop: Armenia
Which Skippy kid can skip a meal from a cuisine knows for its lamb and vegies on the Barbie? Armenian cuisine may be as ancient as the history of Armenia, it seems rather modern Australian to have vegetables, fruits and grains take centre stage in a meal, with lamb as a basic ingredient.

Closely related to Eastern Mediterranean cuisine, various spices, vegetables, fish, and fruits combine to present unique dishes. Throughout history, Armenian cuisine has had cultural exchange with its Greek, Persian, Turkish and Arab counterparts. Armenia is also famous for its wine, brandy and vodka. In particular, Armenian cognac is renowned worldwide, and was considered by the British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, as his favourite. You can't travel the world without a stop at a place known for its ability to get a drunk even drunker.

Armenian cuisine is not so much a static set of traditional recipes as it is an attitude and approach to food and to cooking. Partly, this has to do with the fact that a standard mixture of seasonings - known as chaimen - flavours most prepared dishes.

Besides the chaimen, garlic, onions, peppers, lemons, cinnamon, oregano, mint, tahine (tahini, a sesame seed paste), mahleb (ground cherry pits, available in Middle Eastern specialty stores) and olive oil round out the rest of the Armenian seasoning cupboard.

Dinner (jash)

The evening meal occurs after 5 p.m., with restaurants and bistros serving until midnight or the last guest leaves. A full course meal in Armenia begins with appetizers (also known as salads), that feature herbs (greens), cheese, sliced sausage, basturma and sujukh (dried spicy beef), prepared bean and vegetable salads and bread. First course is usually soup (spas, borsch, piti are specialties to ask for), or other prepared specialty (mushroom julienne is something to try). The main course is a variation on meat or fish, though there may be two main courses, varying between the two. Tradition demands that fruit and dessert always completes the menu, along with a demitasse of Armenian coffee and sweets.

For more information go to:
http://www.tacentral.com/dining.asp
http://middleeasterncuisine.suite101.com/article.cfm/the_essential_armenian_pantry
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armenian_cuisine

2007-05-16T17:42:00.000+10:00

Meal #38 - Turkey

We fought them on the beaches…but that was a while ago. Now Australia is friends with Turkey, which is brilliant, because there is nothing more Australian then finishing a big night on the booze by stuffing one’s face with a huge Turkish kebab! (just like in that VB ad)

Meze
Turkish Restaurant
250 Glen Eira Rd, Elsternwick
Open Monday – Saturday
5:00 – 10:00pm

Melbourne is famous for its many wonderful Turkish restaurants, especially on Sydney Rd. However, that was too much of a schlep for us, so we went to one that was much nearer to where most of us live. Meze is a small eatery located in a small group of shops which included a store that comprises solely of two vending machines filled with kosher snacks – we really didn’t travel all that far to get there, did we? (In fact it is only a 5-20 minute walk for many of the diners!)

Most of the restaurant comprises the cooking area, including a large, traditional, earthen oven at the front of the store used for cooking pides. The tremendously talented Turkish tasters for this week: Caroline, Rami, Paul, Deb, Helen and Nick, managed to get a table at the back of the restaurant, in the incredibly small, “main” dining area.

Entrée:

Soslu patlijan – Slices of oven baked eggplant with yoghurt and tomato paste
Vine leaves dolma – Rice wrapped in vine leaves

Mains:

Shish kofte – Burger on skewer (5 per serve)
Karisik izagara – combination of grills
Aciki pide – Ground beef (spicy), onion, capsicum spread on thin pastry base
Sucuklu pide – Turkish sausage
Ricotta Salad – Turkish fetta cheese, tomato paste, cucumber, lemon, onion, tomato and sweet paprika

Desserts:

Lokum – Turkish delight
Baklava – Flaky pastry in syrup with walnut filling

Drinks:

Ayran – Beaten yoghurt
Turkish cofee

The Meal:

All the dishes arrived at pretty much the same time, so there was no real distinction between entrée and mains. The dolmas were lovely, but nothing special and the salad was overly focused on onion. One of the more interesting dishes was the sucuklu pide, with its Turkish sauage, plus eggs, on pide bread – it was a fried English breakfast pizza!

The ground beef pide, aciki pide, was enhanced by the addition of lemon juice – such is the case with many meat dishes from that region. This was also the case with the shish kofte and the combination grills; both of which were received favourably.

The highlight of the meal was the dessert – which is where Turkish food excels – with the Turkish delight and baklava bring joy to the heart of any sugar-lover.

Unfortunately the other staple of Turkish cuisine, the Turkish coffee, wasn’t that good. This was made up for by the subtle flavours of the beaten yoghurt drink.

Overall:

For what Meze is, a small Turkish eatery in suburbia, it makes for an enjoyable experience. The food is tasty and well priced; the staff are friendly and attentive; and the atmosphere is friendly. However, to experience the preeminent Turkish cuisine in Melbourne it is probably best to make the effort and trek over to Sydney Rd in Brunswick.

2007-05-05T16:45:00.000+10:00

Many weeks ago an intrepid team of suburban Melbourne gourmets travelled into the heart of Central Asia, via Brunswick Street, to taste the delights of authentic Afghan cuisine. No review ever came back. It was thought lost forever. But now, at last, for the first time on this website, the story of that meal can be told…

Meal #34: Afghanistan

It’s been the low season for tourism in Afghanistan for a while now but there was a time when this spectacular country was a must-stop destination for any serious backpacker. While the Afghanistan of old, a legendarily relaxed land of tea-rooms, colourful bazaars and caravanserais, seems to have dissipated like a desert mirage, on Brunswick Street we found an oasis where some of the old spirit lingers on.

Afghan Gallery
327 Brunswick Street
Fitzroy

Brunswick Street, being something of a bazaar itself, seemed the perfect spot to find authentic Afghan cuisine. The Afghan Gallery is something of a Brunswick Street institution, and many passers by have been tempted in over the years by the promise of fine cuisine and the exotic pleasures of the “Afghan tent party” advertised on the chalkboard out the front.

Eight diners came on our Afghan foray - Rami, Caroline, Nick, Paul, Deb, Sai, Kel and Regan. The restaurant was divided into two sections – the downstairs area, which had standard western-style table settings, and the “tent party” upstairs, where diners lounged around low tables on sofas that appear to be have been upholstered with Persian rugs. The illusion of a tent setting was completed by a riot of colourful wall hangings. Naturally, we chose to have our meal in this section. Unfortunately the camera had technical difficulties, so please excuse the correspondent-style photos taken from a mobile phone, which don’t really do the colours and atmosphere justice.

Despite the exuberant surrounds, the staff didn’t appear to be in party mode. They were brusque and bristled if asked questions that didn’t involve actually ordering a meal. While waiting for some late-running diners we asked if we could get a plate of dips to tide us over in the meantime. Apparently not. We had to order everything at once. “No, kitchen very busy” was the last, and indeed only, word on the matter. Admittedly, the place was very busy, with constant streams of diners coming in and out. We took this as a good sign and after finally getting to order we eagerly awaited our meal.

… and waited.

…and waited.

…and continued to wait, at first eagerly, then a bit angrily, then simply hungrily. All in all, we had been on our low-slung sofas for well over an hour before any food got to the table. When it arrived though, it was like rain in the desert.

The meal

Afghan food, similar to northern Indian and Pakistani cuisine, relies more on subtle mixes of spices than on hot curry. Yogurt-based sauces appeared to be common. The menu also offered a range of vegetarian dishes, with lentils a common ingredient.

We started with the ubiquitous middle eastern entrée – the dip platter with unleavened bread – along with some Afghan specialties. There were pakouras - deep fried vegetables served with a refreshing yogurt sauce - and ashak, leek pastries, that came with a spicier sauce using yogurt and lentils. Together with a hearty vegetable soup, these tasty starters helped restore the mood after the long wait.

Things only got better as the mains came out. The kofte – spiced meatballs – were described by one diner as the best they’d ever eaten. Another favourite was the vine leaf roll, or dolma. Unlike the small dolmades that are becoming a delicatessan standard in Australia, this was a large meal-sized roll, exquisitely tasty and served with an excellent sauce. It was good enough that we even braved the surly service to order a second helping.

Most of the meat dishes on the menu were either qormas (ie curries) or kebabs. We had both the lamb and beef qormas. Both were great, although we concluded that lamb worked better with the mild Afghan spices, seeming to soak up and enhance the flavours more effectively than the beef, which could overpower the spices with its own strong flavour. This interplay of lamb and spice came into its own in the kebab barg, elevating a simple meal of lamb skewers on rice into a masterpiece. Our other kebab dish, the kebab karai, was a surprise, as it came as a hotpot. Chunks of lamb were served in a claypot along with mixed vegetables, olives and egg, the flavours blending into each other, for a sumptuous one-pot feast.

Rice came with most dishes and, of course, no Afghan meal would be complete with the signature Afghan dish, the pulao. The Kabuli pulao was a blend of rice, beef, carrot, almond and sultana, a semi sweet and wholely satisfying combination.

The verdict

Afghan Gallery played a delicate balancing act, weighing slow and surly service on one side versus brilliant food on the other. In some ways it was reminiscent of the “Soup Nazi” episode of Seinfeld. Yes, the process of getting the food was more difficult then it needed to be, but it was worth it in the end. While the service irked some diners, all was forgiven when the meal arrived and we wouldn’t hesitate to return. We wouldn’t try to fit in a quick meal before or maybe a movie or something though - go into the Afghan Gallery and who knows when you’ll come back out?

Mains were in the $15 - $20 price range and they have to be tasted to be believed. One warning though: after a long time on a low seat, enjoying a banquet of sumptuous food, getting back on your feet can be a creaky, awkward business. Or is that just us getting old after travelling over almost half the globe?

2007-05-05T16:42:00.000+10:00

Next Stop: Turkey

Turkish cuisine inherited its Ottoman heritage, which could be described as a fusion and refinement of Turkic, Arabic, Greek and Persian cuisines. Turkish cuisine also influenced these cuisines and other neighbouring cuisines, as well as west European cuisines. The Ottomans fused various culinary traditions of their realm with influences from Middle Eastern cuisines, along with traditional Turkic elements from Central Asia such as yogurt. The Ottoman Empire indeed created a vast array of technical specialities. It can be observed that various regions of the Ottoman Empire contain bits and pieces of the vast Ottoman dishes.

Taken as a whole, Turkish cuisine is not homogenous. Aside from common Turkish specialities which can be found throughout the country, there are also region-specific specialities. The Black Sea region's cuisine (northern Turkey) is based on corn and anchovies. The southeast—Urfa, Gaziantep and Adana—is famous for its kebabs, mezes and dough-based desserts such as baklava, kadayıf and künefe. Especially in the western parts of Turkey, where olive trees are grown abundantly, olive oil is the major type of oil used for cooking. The cuisines of the Aegean, Marmara and Mediterranean regions display basic characteristics of Mediterranean cuisine as they are rich in vegetables, herbs and fish. Central Anatolia is famous for its pastry specialities such as kashkak, manti and gozleme.

The name of specialities sometimes includes the name of a city or a region (either in Turkey or outside). This suggests that a dish is a speciality of that area, or may refer to the specific technique or ingredients used in that area. For example, the difference between Urfa kebab and Adana kebab is the use of garlic instead of onion and the larger amount of hot pepper that kebab contains.

One of the most famous and common traditional stone baked Turkish specialities is pide (or Turkish ‘pizza’). Pides consist of a base of rolled out dough which is covered in various toppings. Like pizzas, pide toppings are extremely versitile and can be made with minced meat (together with onion,chopped tomatoes, parsley and spices), kashar cheese, spinach, feta cheese, pieces of meat, braised meat (kavurma), sucuk, pastirma and/or eggs.

For more information go to:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turkish_cuisine

2007-05-05T16:40:00.000+10:00

Meal #37 - Lebanon

Lebanon, where the Arabian Peninsula meets the Mediterranean Sea, is famous for the mighty cedar tree, which adorns the country’s flag; and this flag, in turn, adorns Almazett Lebanese Restaurant – leaving you in no doubt as to what cuisine you will be served.

Almazett
Lebanese Restaurant
208 Balaclava Rd. North Caulfield
BYO & Licenced
Open 7 days

The first thing you notice when you approach Almazzet, besides the huge Lebanese flag, is the Arab-style painting design on the wall near the entrance. This focus on Arabic decoration is continued inside with many (fading) tapestries depicting Arabian scenes hanging on the walls. The dinning area itself is spilt into two adjoined areas, a smaller, intimate one near the door (where we were seated), and second larger space filled with long tables, catering for group bookings. As the night progressed, these tables started to fill up with massive crowds of Lebanese diners (one table could easily seat 30-40 people!).

This week’s litany of Lebanese lackeys were Nick, Sai, Caroline and Rami.

Entrée:

Fattoush – Lebanese green salad with special dressing
Meat Cigars – Light filo pastry filled with minced lamb fillet and pinenuts

Mains:

Al Masha Weh (Lebanese Grills)
Shish Kafta – Barbequed skewers of minced lamb fillets with onion, parsley and spices

Al Bahr (From the Sea)
Samakeh Harrah – Whole fish grilled, served with tahina, walnuts, coriander, chillies, garlic and pinenuts

Sides:

Loubia Bi Zeit – Green baby beans in tomato and olive oil
Riz Djaj – Rice, chicken, minced lamb and pinenuts

Entrées:

The entrées (or Almezzat) were light, but very tasty. The meat cigars (which despite our attempts were not smoke-able) had the familiar Arab tastes well-cooked lamb, wrapped in fluffy puff-pastry. The Lebanese salad stood out from the similar Israeli salad due to the liberal, and welcome, usage of sumac – which not only brought colour to the palate, but also to the plate!

Mains:

The Shish Kafta, which was served wrapped in aluminium foil, was a delicious mix of meat and spices, but the dish was truly enhanced by the onions that were specially cooked with sumac (which appears to be a favourite spice at this restaurant

By far the most exciting dish we’ve had on this journey for a long time was the Samakeh Harrah – a whole Snapper that appeared to have been drowned in tahina dip; it was definitely a sight, and a taste, to behold.

The two side dishes, the rice and the green beans, both complimented the main dishes well, resulting in a full and satisfying meal.

Overall:

Due to popularity of this restaurant, by Lebanese and non-Lebanese diners alike, we were forced to make our booking for early in the evening. As such we missed the belly-dancer that famously entertains the diners at Almazett on Saturday nights. It is not hard to understand why this restaurant is so popular – the ambiance, service and food are all top-notch. The mains are a bit pricey, but the quality of the dishes is worth every cent.

2007-04-25T15:21:00.000+10:00

Next Stop: Lebanon

Although the food varies little from country to country throughout the Middle East, it is when the Arab world meets the Mediterranean that it becomes really interesting.

Lebanese food combines the sophistication of European cuisine with the excitement of eastern spices, and it is Lebanon's culinary contributions that have been the greatest influence on modern Arabic cuisine. Dishes from the Lebanon provide the framework for the exotic cuisine recognized internationally as Arabic.

Many traditional Lebanese dishes are simple preparations based on grains, pulses, vegetables and fruit. Often the same ingredients are used over and over, in different ways, in each dish. Yoghurt, cheese, cucumber, aubergines, chick peas, nuts, tomatoes, burghul and sesame (seeds, paste and oil) are harmoniously blended into numerous assorted medleys. Parsley and mint are used in vast quantities as are lemons, onions and garlic.

Pastries are stuffed with vegetables and vegetables are stuffed with meats. Meat may be made into nuggets then cooked over charcoal. Presentation is always artistic: even the most basic dish is beautifully garnished -- a sprig of parsley here and a dab of yoghurt there.

A typical Lebanese meal starts with mezze - this can be an elaborate spread of forty or fifty hors d'oeuvres or simply a salad and a bowl of nuts. But it is always a social occasion when friends and family gather to enjoy appetizers and conversation before dinner. A meat, (lamb is the favourite meat) chicken or fish dish follows with salad and rice.

Information:

http://www.arab.net/lebanon/ln_food.htm

2007-04-25T15:13:00.000+10:00

Next Stop: Israel

Basically, one can divide Israeli cuisine to two: Ashkenazic and Sephardic.

Ashkenazic relates to Jewish people (immigrants) from east and west Europe and Sephardic relates to Jewish people from middle east countries. The Sephardic food is full of aromatic spices & herbs, spicier and livelier in general than Ashkenazic cooking which is sweeter. Nowadays we have new Israeli cuisine which combines the two with modern cooking. The style of Jewish cooking reflects the many places that Jews have lived throughout the centuries. Jewish cooking shows the influence of Middle Eastern, Mediterranean, Spanish, German and Eastern European styles of cooking, some influenced by the unique dietary Jewish laws.

Many of the foods that we think of as Israeli are not unique to Jewish or Israeli culture. Stuffed cabbage, a traditional Jewish dish, is common in Eastern Europe. Blintzes and knishes are familiar to all Germans, not just Jewish ones. Many of the dishes that make up the Israeli cuisine have been brought by immigrants from the countries of their origin. Thus, even though dishes such as couscous, felafel and shishlik are extraordinarily popular throughout the country, none of them can be considered "truly Israel." Couscous, for example, originated in the Maghreb nations of North Africa; the roots of felafel are Egyptian; and shishlik first came from Turkey.

Israel is a small country. It is long and narrow and stretches just under 450 kms from north to south and, on average, is 60 kms from east to west. Israel's cosmopolitan society is reflected by the infinite range of cuisine available in the country. Any style of food from Argentinian to Zairean can be obtained in Israel. Israel is famous for its fresh fruits and vegetables. The Jaffa orange has long been a sweet symbol of the country.

Many restaurants in Israel observe the Kosher (Jewish dietary) laws. When dining Kosher you cannot mix meat and dairy products. However there are many non kosher reasturants where you can found a big saucy white (refer to pig meat) steak. Bacon and eggs too can be obtained in some restaurants. Together with the country's non-jewish citizens - Muslim and Christian Arabs, Bedouin, and Druze this melting pot gives the country its exceptional cuisine flavour.

Information from:

http://www.inmamaskitchen.com/FOOD_IS_ART/israelifood.html

2007-04-25T13:01:00.000+10:00

Meal #36 - Israel

How’s this for timing? The weekend before Israeli Independents Day (Yom Ha’atzmaut) our culinary journey brought us to Israel. How’s this for bad timing? Our original destination, Sabra Café, was closed due to the Jewish Sabbath (Shabbat) not finishing early enough for the restaurant to be ready for dinner. So instead, we walked five minutes down the road to Wallah – ahh… the joys of Melbourne’s Jewish precinct (known ironically to its locals as the “ghetto”).

Wallah
Falafel and Grill
302 Carlisle St. Balaclava
Open 7 days for lunch and dinner

Israel is melting point of different cuisines due to the many cultures that reside there. This is demonstrated by Wallah’s menu, which although heavily influenced by Sefardi (Arab Jews) flavours, also had dishes based on Ashkenazi (European Jews), Arab, and Modern Western cuisines.

The décor was simple and inoffensive, with the main wall of the dining area being covered in funky insect paintings. Although the main dinning area of Wallah is relatively small, reminiscent of a café, there is a separate back room reserved for larger bookings – unfortunately, as we had not booked ahead, we had to make do with two smaller tables being pushed together. This week’s insatiable Israeli ingestors were, Paul (birthday boy!), Deb, Caroline, Rami, Sai and Nick.

Entrées/Dips:

Hommus – Chickpea, tahina, lemon blend
Tahina – Sesame, lemon, whipped
Matbucha – Spicy tomato make with out special recipe
Middle Eastern Eggplant Salad – Spicy grilled eggplant and capsicum
Pita Bread

Mains:

Falafel Pita Pocket – with hommus, tahina and tabouleh (parsley based salad)
Beef Kebab Pita Pocket – with babaganoush (eggplant dip)
Chicken Schnitzel Platter – Chicken breast with handmade crumbed spice coating
Chilli Chicken Burger – Marinated pieces of chicken served with caramelised onion, lettuce and chilli mayonnaise
Warm Chicken Salad – Spicy chicken breast fillet on a bed of fresh cut salad with a chilli mustard sauce
Wallah Salad – Finely chopped capsicum, onion, lettuce, tomato, olives, cucumber, tahina, served with 4 falafel balls

Sides:

Chips
Majaddarah – Lentil rice
Arisa – Authentic Moroccan recipe, homemade, extra hot chilli paste

Entrée:

The hommus was good, not great (although it is tough to get great hommus outside of Israel and the Middle East); the tahina was surprisingly green, yet tasty; the matbucha was spicy, light, and had a strong hit of coriander; but the best of the dips was the Middle Eastern Eggplant Salad, spicy and filling. The dips were so good that we had to order extra pita bread so that we could make sure that none was wasted.

Mains:

Although the pita pockets were served without the quintessentially Israeli ingredient – hot potato chips – this was quickly rectified by stuffing as many chips (ordered as a side dish) as we could fit into the pita pockets. Magically, what were good Australian pita pockets became great Israeli pita pockets!

Chicken schnitzel is a staple dish for the Ashkenazi, and Wallah’s version was a hit, especially due to the unusual, but rewarding, use of cumin in the crumbed coating. This meal was served with rice and Israeli salad – a traditional salad made from lettuce, onion, tomato and cucumber.

The two salads and the chilli chicken burger were all hits (although the chilli chicken burger was not spicy) and are great examples of the Western influence on modern Israeli cuisine.

Overall:

Wallah offers a great variety of dishes that successfully highlight all the different influences to modern Israeli cuisine. The wait staff are Israeli (this being a popular area for Israeli backpackers to find work) and their accent and attitude helped to give the restaurant a more authentic feel. The meals are well priced, with most dishes under $10, although the larger mains are about $18.

2007-04-25T12:39:00.000+10:00

Meal #35 - The Arabian Peninsula

Arabesque is, as its name suggests, Arab-esque.

Arabesque
Middle Eastern Grill
Shop 1, 1-3 Carre St
Elsternwick

Lacking the family-run feel and do-it-yourself decoration of recent weeks, Arabesque is a contemporary-style restaurant with a simple, stylish décor; including a large, wall-length, black and white photograph of a busy Arab bazzar. Clearly, the old adage: bad décor means good food, doesn’t apply here. All of Arabesque’s dishes are just as good as a traditional, home-cooked meal.

This week’s dashing diners were Nick, Rami and Caroline.

Arabesque offers a range of banquets that offer excellent value for money, as we discovered after choosing to order the following individual dishes instead:

Entrée/Mezza:

Ma’anek – grilled spicy sausages drizzled with lemon juice and sumac

Vine Leaves – traditional rolled vine leaves with spiced lamb and rice

Main Course:

Shish Tawook – grilled skewered fillet of chicken marinated in garlic and lemon served with almond rice.

Field mushrooms baked with haloumy cheese, chick peas, spinach and Middle-Eastern spices.

Entrée/Mezza:

The Ma’anek possessed an interesting mix of spices, however it was the lemon juice that added the flavour-burst that made this dish jump from good to great. The vine leaves, which were quite similar to traditional Greek dolmas, were strongly benefited by the addition of spicy lamb - giving them an extra kick.

Mains:

Like the Ma’anek, the lemon flavours of the Shish Tawooks were a highlight. The chicken was wonderfully marinated in garlic and lemon, which worked well with the almond rice. The field mushrooms were an interesting dish, however the fact that they were slightly burnt made it difficult to experience the proper effect of the flavours.

Overall:

Arabesque offers great food, and very friendly, and professional, service. The dishes are priced significantly higher than the take-away versions, however, the high quality of the food means that this does not present a problem. We recommend the banquet for anyone interested in trying a wide range of flavours at a better value for money ratio than individual dishes.

2007-04-11T10:45:00.000+10:00

Next Stop: The Arabian Peninsula

Originally, the Arabs of the Arabian Peninsula relied heavily on a diet of dates, wheat, barley, rice and meat, with little variety, with a heavy emphasis on yogurt products, such as leben (yoghurt without butterfat). As the Arabs wandered out of the peninsula, so did their tastes and favored ingredients.

Essential to any cooking in the Arabian Peninsula is the concept of hospitality. Meals are generally large family affairs, with much sharing and a great deal of warmth over the dinnertable. Formal dinners and celebrations generally entail large quantities of lamb, and every occasion entails large quantities of tea.

In an average Persian Gulf state household, a visitor might expect a dinner consisting of a very large platter, shared commonly, with a vast mountain of rice, incorporating lamb or chicken, or both, as separate dishes, with various stewed vegetables, heavily spiced, sometimes with a tomato sauce. Most likely, there would be several, less hearty, items on the side. Tea would certainly accompany the meal, as it is almost constantly consumed. Coffee would be included as well.

There are many regional differences in Arab cuisine. For instance mujadara in Syria is different than mujadara in Jordan. Some dishes such as mensaf (the national dish of Jordan) are native to certain countries and rarely if ever make an appearance in other countries.

Unlike in most Western cuisines, cinnamon is used in meat dishes as well as in sweets such as Baklava. Other desserts include variations of rice pudding and fried dough. Ground nut mixtures are common fillings for such treats. Saffron is used in everything, from sweets, to rice, to beverages. Fruit juices are quite popular in this often arid region.

Information:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arab_cuisine

2007-04-04T12:50:00.000+10:00

Next Stop: Afghanistan

Afghanistan has a wide varying landscape allowing for many different crops. Afghan food is largely based upon cereals like wheat, maize, barley and rice which are the nation's chief crops. Afghanistan is well known for its grapes as well. Given their common history, Afghanistan, Iran and Tajikistan share many of the same dishes.

Some Afghan delicacies are:

Afghan kadu bouranee – A pumpkin dish made by frying pumpkin with different spices. It is topped with chaka (sour cream) and dried mint. Kadu bouranee is eaten with bread or rice.

Aush – An Afghan soup dish made with noodles and different vegetables in a tomato-based broth. It is topped with chaka (sour cream) and dried mint.

Bolani – A flat-bread dish which has a very thin crust and can be stuffed with a variety of ingredients, such as potatoes or leeks.

Bonjan – Cooked eggplant with potatoes and tomatoes.

Qabili Palau (or simply Palau) – A rice dish made by cooking basmati or long grained rice in a brothy sauce (which makes the rice brown). This dish may be made with lamb, chicken, or beef. Qabili palau is baked in the oven and topped with fried sliced-carrots and raisins. Chopped nuts like pistachios or almonds may be added as well. The meat is covered by the rice or buried in the middle of the dish.

Gosh feel – A dessert dish made by frying dough in an ear shape (gosh), and cooked in oil. Each gosh is topped with chopped pistachios and powdered sugar. Gosh feel is often consumed with Afghan tea.

Information from:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afghan_cuisine

2007-04-01T09:04:00.000+10:00

Meal # 33- Iran

A land of fairy tale, wonder and luxury, Persia has inspired many a mind to wander into fantasy. Stepping into the wondrous setting of Nights of Shiraz, it seemed we had been transported from its grungy suburban setting (an area best known for its cheap Asian food) and arrived in our very own Arabian Nights tale.

Nights of Shiraz
Persian Cuisine
941 Station St.
Box Hill North

The visual expectation of a culture thousands of years old were not lost on the owners of Nights of Shiraz, whose attention to details and beauty is evident in the sumptuous decoration of the small restaurant. Tables are overlaid with Persian style tapestries, side tables laden with beautiful lamps and hookah, while the walls are lined with mirrors and artfully arranged traditional paintings. Apart from our own large and vociferous group, the clientele appeared to be of Iranian descent, and were familiar with the restaurant and staff.

This week's passengers on the culinary carpet ride included Naomi, Nick, Sai, Deb, Paul, Dale, Felicity, Helen, Marty, Michael, Caroline and Rami.

Entree

Trio of Dips- humus, cheese and chive, spinach dip, with hot bread
Musto Mooseer- yoghurt and dry shallot dip
Torshee- pickled vegetables and herbs
Shirazy salad- diced tomatoes, cucumber, red onion, mint and lemon juice
Halym Badenjoon- fried eggplants, onion and garlic mashed with cooked lentils, topped with sour yoghurt based sauce and fried mint, served with hot bread
Nargesy- fresh spinach fried in butter together with eggs, onions and garlic, topped with melted cheese, served with hot bread.

Kebab

Koobeedeh-skewers of minced lamb mixed with minced onion and salt
Kebab platters- shish (diced lamb fillet marinated in onion, lemon juice, parsley, salt and pepper), jooje (chicken fillet marinated in saffron, lemon, salt and pepper) and koobeedeh with basmati rice, garden salad, bread and musto khiar (yoghurt, cucumber, garlic and fresh mint dip)

Khoresht- Persian style casseroles
(Available as a main, with rice in the centre, or as a side dish)

Fessenjoon- sweet and sour casserole made of minced walnut, pomegranate sauce and chicken fillets
Ghorme Sabzi- lamb casserole cooked with kidney beans, finely chopped fried chives, coriander and parsley, spiced with lemon powder
Ghaymeh- casserole of diced beef, fried with onions and split peas, tomatoes, saffron, dry melon powder, topped with fries

Polo- Persian Style mixed rice

Estanbuoli polo- diced lamb, fried onions, fresh green beans, potatoes, carrots and tomato mixed with saffron rice and topped with cinnamon
Zereshk polo- saffron rice mixed with sweet burberries, finely grated carrots, fried diced onions and pistachio, served with chicken fillets
Sabzi polo- mixed fresh coriander, chives and dill with saffron rice, served with chicken
Adas polo, vegetarian- mixed basmati rice with golden fried onions, lentils, dates, sultana and dutch cinnamon

Dessert

Bastani- Iranian style ice cream flavoured with rose water, saffron and pistachio
Pashmak- Iranian cotton candy
Mixed Traditional Iranian Sweets- Pashmak, baklava (honey and walnut pastry), turkish delight and nougat

Sides

Saffron Rice
Traditional Persian Tea

Entree

Difficulty in booking had prevented us from booking a banquet, but with our unwieldy dining party we managed to cover the entire menu. The opening dips were tasty and numerous, and served with flat bread. The vegetables and traditional herbs were also eagerly received.

Traditionally, tea is served before and after meals in Iran, and is drunk black, with a sugar cube in the mouth. We covered half of this tradition, beginning with tea, and tried desperately to drink the tea through the sugar cube. Through gales of laughter, the waitress managed to advise us to simply place the cube on the tongue. Ah well.

While the vegetarian options at first seemed a little limited, vegetarianism being a rare concept in Iran, the serving sizes certainly were not. The Halym Badanjoon was fragrant and plentiful, and complemented both bread and rice. The Nargesy, served with a raw egg in the centre which cooked from the heat of the spinach dish below, elevated the humble spinach (apparently cultivated in Persia in BCE) with the use of butter and spices into a delicious dish well worthy of being served as a main.

Mains

Of course one cannot try Iranian without trying a kebab or two. Kebabs sizzling on the hotplate are visible in the open kitchen as you enter the restaurant, and certainly set a carnivore's mouth salivating in anticipation. The generous servings pleased our diners, as did the tender texture and delicious marinades.

The recommendation of Nights of Shiraz was to try the casseroles, and between us we tried all on offer. Boasting tender cubes of meat and rich sauces, the large servings of these dishes were no impediment to our hunger. The sweet Fessenjoon, with its pomegranate sauce was deliciously addictive, but well offset with other stews or rice dishes. The Ghorme Sabzi, reminiscent of the Indian Saag with an addition of kidney beans, was a more savoury choice to complement the sweetness of the pomegranate dish.

While the stews are traditionally served with white or saffron rice, many diners also tried the Persian mixed rice, much to the delight of their taste buds. The standout rice dish was probably the Zereshk Polo, featuring the surprise ingredient, burberry. Burberry a tart-an sweet fruit (there you are, Caroline!), is reminiscent of a cranberry, and provided an exciting zing to the rice, and any stew with which it combined. The Estanbuoli polo, with its lavish dusting of cinnamon, was another popular dish.

Dessert

The most anticipated element of the meal- dessert. With Helen transformed into a child at the fairground at the prospect of 'grown up fairy floss', and Rami and Caroline planning their entire meals around the inclusion of mixed sweets, the answer was very clear when our group was asked if they'd like to order dessert! The pashmak had the texture of meringue and was pure sugar which crumbled under the fork and dissolved on the tongue. The Nougat was a surprise, consisting of layers of sponge cake and a creamy sweet filling. But the absolute highlight of our meal was the Bastani, the amazing Iranian ice cream. Flavoured with rose water, pistachio and saffron, this generously proportioned dish resembled turkish delight in an ice cream form. Creamy, perfectly balanced flavours melted into the mouth and heart, and brought genuine smiles to the face of all who tried it.

Overall

Rich in culture and invention, the Iran has a long and proud history. From lutes and wine, to taxation and refrigerators, the Persian tradition has given much to modern day life. This week, it gave us full and happy bellies, and smiling faces. With every dish a delight to sample, and price per head ranging from $15-$25, Nights of Shiraz is well worth a trip to the Eastern suburbs. In fact, the ice cream alone is worth the trip, but stay for the whole meal, too - you won't be disappointed.

2007-03-28T18:47:00.000+10:00

Next Stop: Iran

Persian cuisine is one of the oldest and richest cuisines in the world, however it is not widely recognized as it is often confused with Middle Eastern cuisine, a much broader and more general term, and this confusion is further perpetuated by restaurants and markets providing authentic Persian cuisine that label themselves as Middle Eastern. In reality, Persian cuisine is vastly different from what is found in the greater Middle East. It should be mentioned, however, that Persian cuisine has lots of similarity to Greek cuisines in its kebabs and to Indian cuisine in its stews.

Iranian cuisine, apart from its antiquity in the region, has also been a very influential and standard set of fare throughout neighboring countries. Afghanistan, the south-Central Asian states, and the cuisines of North India and Pakistan derive heavily in part from the cuisine of Iran. Iranian food is spicy. Herbs are used a lot, as is fruit from plums and pomegranates, to quince, prunes, apricots, and raisins. The main Persian cuisines are combinations of rice with meat, chicken or fish and plenty of garlic, onion, vegetables, nuts, and herbs. To achieve a balanced taste, unique Persian spices such as saffron, diced limes, cinnamon, and parsley are mixed delicately and used in some special dishes.

Traditional Persian cooking is done in stages, at times needing hours of preparation and attention. The outcome is a well-balanced mixture of herbs, meat, beans, dairy products, and vegetables. Major staples of Iranian food that are usually eaten with every meal include rice, various herbs (mint, basil, dill, parsley), cheese (feta or Persian panir, derived from goat or sheep's milk, and sometimes cow's milk), a variety of flat breads, and some type of meat (usually poultry, beef, lamb, or fish). Stew over rice is by far the most popular dish, and the constitution of these vary by region. Tea (chai) is the drink of choice on nearly every occasion, and is usually served with fruit, pastries, or sweets. You can usually find tea brewing throughout the day in most Iranian homes. Doogh, a yogurt drink, is also quite popular.

One of the oldest recipes, which can trace its existence back to the time of Persian empire, is khoresht-e-fesenjan, consisting of duck or sometimes chicken in a rich pomegranate and walnut sauce that yields a distinctive brown color, most often served with white rice.

Information from:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persian_cuisine

2007-03-28T18:46:00.000+10:00

Meal #32: Pakistan

The journey to The Khyber Pass Pakistani Restaurant was just as hazardous as if we’d tried to cross the famous mountain pass of its namesake. Initially we planned to go to a Kashmiri restaurant, however Café Kashmir (our original destination) closed four years ago, it is now a funky Chapel Street bar. Seeing as the only other Kashmiri restaurant in Australia is in Darwin, we decided we would skip straight to Pakistan. We arrived at our destination (375 Springvale Rd, Glen Waverley) only to find a car yard! A quick call to Telstra Direct and we got a new address…in Vermont South! Moral of the story: don’t trust the internet for up-to-date information on restaurant addresses!!!

The Khyber Pass
Pakistani Restaurant
3/272 Morack Rd, Vermont South
Open 6 Nights (Tuesday – Sunday)

The Khyber Pass is the only Pakistani restaurant in Melbourne, and is a friendly, family-run establishment. It is so family-oriented that there is a special room with couches and a TV for family members to lounge in and eat their meals. Furthermore, the kitchen was being used by the owner’s sister to cook food for a party the next day! Nevertheless, we were all entertained by the three small children as they ran around the place (although not in the main dinning area). All this being said, the restaurant is not attached to a dwelling and is a testament to the traditional Pakistani family.

The décor of the eating area is like that expected from a traditional Pakistani home (although some of the decorations were of a grander scale), giving diners the feeling that they have been invited to eat in the owner’s dinning room.

This week’s pursuers of the Pakistani palate were Nick, Sai, Rami, Caroline, Ruvinda, Renuka, Sylvester, Danesh and Debs (not to be confused with Deb!).

Entrée:
Somosas – Vegetables wrapped in pastry and deep fried
Shamee Kebabs – Savoury minced steak pattied pan fried in ghee
Vegetables Pakoras – Fresh vegetables dipped in batter and deep fried in ghee
Naggra Bhaji – Made with potatoes - served with a curried sauce

Mains:

MILD
Beef Mittakhatta – Prime lean beef pan fried with mushrooms, garlic and herbs (fresh cream optional)
Lamb Peshawri – Lamb in creamy lentil sauce, garnished with fried onion

MEDIUM
Murgh Multani – Chicken pieces cooked in a multani style sauce

HOT
Beef Tornado – This dish is popular for those who like it hot
Chicken Lahori – A variation of our Chicken Multani

GOURMET DISHES
Jinga Subzi – Prawns and vegetables
Shahi Sag Gosht – Lamb and spinach in a garlic & onion sauce

VEGETABLE DISHES
Alloo Mattar – Potatoes and peas

Sides:

Papadams
Khyber Pass Pillou – Lightly spice rice with coriander, cinnamon, cummin & cooked onion
Saffron Rice – Pillou rice with saffron, nuts and sultanas

Drinks:

Salty Lassi

Dessert:

Mango Mousse – Homemade
Kulfi – Pakistani ice-cream

Entrée:

All together we tried all but one of the entrées that The Khyber Pass had to offer. We enjoyed them all, from the spicy somosas to the naggra bhaji which was reminiscent of a spicy falafel drowned in dhal. The entrée was definitely a highlight of the meal.

Mains:

We had a nice selection of mains. Firstly, however, it must be noted that the Beef Tornado was a big disappointment – not nearly as spicy as was expected/hoped. Further, although the meat was very tender, the sauce had a strong burnt flavour. Thankfully this was the only dish that marred our meal (although it was still enjoyed by some diners and was completely finished by the end of the night).

According to the menu the Murgh Multani and Chicken Lahori are variations of the same dish – you could have fooled us as the former was sour, while the latter was sweet! Also, the Multani seemed spicier than the Lahori (which is not what the menu would lead you to expect) making us question if the waiter had correctly identified the two dishes when serving them to the table.

Speaking of sweet dishes, most of the Pakistani dishes were quite sweet, including the Beef Mittakhatta, Lamb Peshawri and Shahi Sag Gosht. The focus on sweetness really made this cuisine stand out from the other sub-continental meals we have tried.

Both rices nicely complemented the dishes, although there was much speculation whether the bright fluorescent orange saffron rice was due to food dyes and not saffron…

Dessert:

The Mango Mousse was nice, but would be more accurately described as Mango "Cream", while the Kulfi had a strong flowery flavour due to the use of cardamom.

Overall:

As the only Pakistani restaurant in Melbourne The Kyber Pass must be visited, however don’t expect your average dining experience. The front of house is run entirely by the owner, who at times seems to disappear completely into the kitchen. Nevertheless, the friendly family atmosphere of the restaurant meant that the children where more than happy to be messengers between the customers and staff. Due to the family focus of the establishment diners can expect a relaxed and laidback meal, and with mains costing on average $11-12, it is also very relaxing on the hip pocket...

2007-03-23T08:41:00.000+11:00

Next Stop: Pakistan

Pakistani cuisine is generally similar to that of North India but while Indian cuisine is balanced between meat and vegetarian cuisines, meat plays a much more dominant role in Pakistani food. Due to its proximity with Central and West Asia, Pakistani food also tends to be modified by significant influences from these regions. It also varies greatly from region to region within Pakistan itself. The most popular cuisine in almost all areas of Pakistan is Moghul food. This is mostly barbequed food with the most popular dishes including Chicken Tikka, Kebobs, Chops, etc. The spices used can vary.

Curries, with or without meat, combined with vegetables such as bitter gourd, cauliflower, eggplant, okra, potatoes, rutabaga, saag, spinach etc. are the most common and often cooked for every-day eating. Various kinds of lentils called dal also make up an important part of the Pakistani dishes. Nevertheless, lentils have traditionally been considered as an inexpensive food source and hotel/restaurants may only offer a limited variety of these dishes. Lentil dishes are also typically not served when guests are invited at home or during special occasions. The one main exception is haleem which contains a variety of lentils along with meat. A batch of haleem will typically take over five hours to cook. This dish is known to have originated in Agra, where the Taj Mahal stands today.

A favourite Pakistani curry is karahi, either mutton or chicken cooked in a dry sauce. Lahori karahi incorporates garlic, onions, spices and vinegar. Peshawari karahi is a simple dish made with just meat, salt, tomatoes and coriander. Among well known dishes are chicken tikka, kofta, mutton korma, chicken korma, nihari, siri paya, shab degh and chakna. Dishes made with rice include pullao and biryani. Sajji is a Baluchi dish from Western Pakistan, made of lamb stuffed with rice, that has also become popular all over the country.

All of the main dishes (except those made with rice) are eaten alongside bread. To eat, a small fragment of bread is torn off with the right hand and used to scoop and hold small portions of the main dish. Pickles made out of mangoes, carrots, lemon etc. are also commonly used to further spice up the food.

Information from:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuisine_of_Pakistan

2007-03-17T01:44:00.000+11:00

Meal #31 - Sri Lanka

The island nation of Sri Lanka has long had connotations of mystery and delight. Its old Arabic name – Sarandib, or Serendip – has even given us the word “serendipity” for the random discovery of something wonderful. It wasn’t complete chance that we ended up in Northcote looking for a Sri Lankan meal on Saturday night, but we did make a wonderful discovery nonetheless.

Sigiri
Sri Lankan Cuisine
338 High Street
Northcote, 3070

High Street in Northcote is rapidly growing as a restaurant strip, with a new eatery seeming to open up every time you blink. Sigiri has been there longer than most and is a popular Northcote haunt. Although it was quiet when we arrived, one of the first things we noticed was that every single table was reserved. The arrival of our own team of eight – this week including Rami, Caroline, Ruvinda, Dylan, Nick, Naomi, Sai and Marty – was just the beginning of a steady influx of merry diners.

The dining room was cosy and decorated in warm colours with tasteful touches of Sinhalese art – here a bird mask on a red brick wall, there a window decorated with the lion from the Lankan flag. The table settings were laid out with remarkable attention to detail. Water jugs and pre-filled glasses were there in advance and the gleaming cutlery had been arranged with mathematical precision. We were greeted by staff as friendly as they were professional.

In the middle of all this was… a bain marie. We exchanged glances. What was a bain marie, the ubiquitous symbol of cheap and greasy takeaways, doing amidst the trappings of a refined a la carte restaurant? Its presence was perplexing, like finding an elephant inside a house. We’d encountered our share of bain maries on our culinary odyssey and they’d seldom boded well.

This was no ordinary bain marie however. Sigiri, as it turned out, does a la carte meals most nights but on Friday and Saturday lays on a lavish self-serve all-you-can-eat banquet. With due warning to the staff that in our case they might regret those words – “all you can eat” - we set to with gusto.

The Meal:

It was hard to know where to start, with a spread of curries, rice, breads, fried snacks and the assorted pickles, or sambols, characteristic of Sri Lankan cuisine. Many of us started with these, treating them as entrees, although in Sri Lanka the sambols would normally be served as an accompaniment with the main dishes.

The sambols themselves were highly varied, comprising everything from raita to chunky mango chutney to dry chutneys based on coconut or caramelised onion and flavoured with lime, ginger, shrimps or Maldive fish. We didn’t always know exactly what was in them but we enjoyed them immensely. They could be sopped up with one of two breads, either the circular pol roti, a dense bread made with coconut, or godamba roti, a flat bread essentially the same as Indian naan.

Also on offer were vadai, or lentil fritters. We had encountered these the previous week in South India, where they were like lentil donuts, but these ones were smaller, crispier and tastier. They got wolfed down in large quantities along with the fish “cutlets”, which were deep fried balls of spiced tuna and potato.

The centrepiece of any Sri Lankan meal is of course the curries and our banquet had a good selection of these. There was a rich lamb curry, a yellow fish curry and spicy marinated chicken thighs. The lamb was particularly popular, drawing diners back for seconds. There was also kaju hodi, a cauliflower and cashew dish in which the cashew nuts had been beautifully softened in a mild yellow curry sauce, and a curry made with jackfruit. Last time we encountered jackfruit, several of our diners found its unusual texture challenging but there were no such problems with this skilfully prepared and flavoursome dish. Also on the vegetarian menu were snakebeans in spicy sauce and batu pehi, a particularly tasty dish made with charred eggplant. There were two types of rice to choose from – plain steamed rice or spiced (and slightly sweet) buriyani rice.

Rounding out our cultural experience were Sri Lanka’s famous “hoppers”. Hoppers (in Sinhalese appa) are crispy pancakes, made with rice flour and coconut milk, and cooked in a rounded pan so they come out basket-shaped. They weren’t available on the bain marie but could be ordered separately and brought to the table fresh. We had both plain hoppers and egg hoppers, which had a fried egg at the bottom, runny enough to be good for dipping.

By the end of this banquet, not all diners had room for dessert. Those who did (or who soldiered on anyway) had a taste of another Sri Lankan signature dish – Love Cake. A semolina cake made with pumpkin preserve and chunks of cashew, flavoured with cardamom and almond essence, this was thick and intensely sweet. It was served in suitably small portions with fresh fruit salad.

Drinks:

Sri Lanka is of course particularly famous for its tea and coffee, both of which were offered on the menu along with lassis and the usual run of beers, wines and so forth. In the search for authentic regional cuisine, though, we tried a Sri Lankan specialty – divul. This cold drink is made with milk, ice cream and the “cream” of wood apple. This is a fruit indigenous to southern Asia, and also goes by imaginative names like “curd fruit” and “pomme d’elephant”. When we asked about it, the waiter, in an outstanding display of helpfulness, went to the kitchen to bring back a can with pictures of the fruit on the label. As for the flavour of the drink itself, the diner who refreshed himself with a divul described the semi-tart-semi-sweet creamy flavour as akin to “an apple cheesecake milkshake.” (NB: It’s probably easier to go to Northcote and get a divul rather than trying to recreate this particular flavour combination.)

The Verdict:

It’s official. Best. Bain. Marie. Ever!

There are some meals which, when you're finished eating, make you wish you weren’t full so you could go back and eat more. This was one of those. From the arrays of sambols to the curries rich to the hot crispy hoppers, everything was pitch perfect. The $25 fro the banquet is the best $25 you’ll spend this side of Colombo.

Note to anyone wishing to install a bain marie in their restaurant - this is how you do it, with varied dishes in comparatively small servings, regularly refreshed so that nothing ever runs out or has a chance to go cold. The bain marie is a brief staging point between the kitchen and the table, not a long-term storage facility. At Sigiri, not only was this done well but the self-serve model actually seemed better suited to the style of cooking than table service would have. How else would you get to sample the full range of sambols, or restock on vadais? Given the quality of the food and the excellence of service, though, we certainly wouldn’t hesitate to drop in on a weeknight for an a la carte meal either.

Some of our diners were well versed in Lankan cuisine already but those of us new to it were pleasantly surprised at how distinctive a culinary style it was. There were elements familiar to both Indian and Indochinese cooking, as well as completely unique tastes. All in all, it is something of a shame that Lankan cuisine has not received much attention in Australia. When people think of Sri Lanka, they are more likely to think of fine tea than food. As we discovered at Sigiri, though, it is certainly worth staying for more than a drink.

2007-03-14T12:26:00.001+11:00

Next Stop: Sri Lanka

Famous for the production and export of tea, coffee, rubber and coconuts, Sri Lanka boasts a progressive and modern industrial economy. The natural beauty of Sri Lanka's tropical forests, beaches and landscape, as well as its rich cultural heritage make it a world famous tourist destination. The cuisine of Sri Lanka draws influence from that of India, as well as colonists and foreign traders.

Sri Lanka's cuisine mainly consists of rice, which can be cooked in a variety of ways – e.g. boiled or steamed – but which ever way its cooked, in Sri Lanka rice is always served with curry. Sri Lankan curries are not just limited to meat or fish platters, they can also be vegetable or sometimes even fruit curries. A typical Sri Lankan meal would consist of a “main curry” which could be fish, beef, chicken or mutton, as well as several other curries made with vegetable and lentils.

Side-dishes would include pickles, chutneys and “sambols” which can sometimes be fiery hot. The most famous of the sambols is the coconut sambol made of ground coconut, or onions mixed with chillies, dried Maldives fish and lime juice. This is ground to a paste and relished with rice, as it gives zest to the meal and is believed to increase appetite. In addition to sambols, you have “mallung” – chopped up leaves mixed with coconut that has been grated and red onions. Coconut milk is usually added to any Sri Lankan delicacy because it gives it that extra bit of flavour.

The Dutch and the Portuguese too have left their stamp on the local cuisine - for example, delectable dishes like Lamprais - rice boiled in stock with a special curry, accompanied by “Frikkadels”, or meatballs, all of which is then wrapped in a banana leaf and baked. This is an original Dutch recipe enjoyed by Sri Lankans today. It has of course been adapted to suit the Sri Lankan palate. The Dutch and the Portuguese also bequeathed a number of recipes for various sweets which continue to be made to this day. There are British and Malay influences as well. Roast beef and roast chicken are enjoyed by many Sri Lankans.

Hoppers is another dish that is native to Sri Lanka. It is served mainly during lunch or breakfast and many eat it with “lunumiris” which is a fiery hot mix of red onions and spices. Hoppers (appa) are made from a fermented batter of rice flour, coconut milk and a dash of palm toddy. The batter of rice flour and coconut milk traditionally has toddy added for the typical sourish flavour and, more importantly, the fermentation which makes the centres full of little holes like crumpets. If toddy is not available, the same action is duplicated by using yeast, either fresh or dry. Many restaurants use yeast because toddy is not readily available always. After leaving to rise, the batter is swirled in a hemispherical pan, rather like a small, more acutely curved wok. Even without the traditional hopper-pan, it is possible to enjoy the unique texture and flavour using a small omelette pan. There are many types of hopper such as plain hoppers, egg hoppers, milk hoppers, and sweeter varieties like vanduappa and paniappa.

Being one of the largest producers of tea in the world, Sri Lankans tend to drink a lot of tea.