Kenzan (Melbourne) 09

Nestled in the middle of a standard Paris end office building is Kenzan; established, unobtrusive and perhaps a venue frequently overlooked by most passers-by as too expensive compared to the food court it shoulders or incompatible for their rushed lunch hour trade or too close to commercial based home to bother a dinner venture. Wrong.

Kenzan has been at 55 Collins for a long time and has grown with the scores of workers, Sofitel guests and random blow-ins that surround it. Whilst still aspiring to be of fine dining status – Kenzan works to appease the lunchtime worker and Kino cinema crowd with a traditional sushi bar style dining area; with morsels cut to order, and also an impressively fast lunch style menu which in my mind can only be the penultimate middle ground of an uncompromisingly tasty meal met with equal office style timing constraints. Though the fast but very gratifying lunch was sampled this visit, previous occasions have found an interesting dinner menu including dishes and delicacies still rare to the Melbourne palette.

Due to the surprise nature of this visit I was not adequately armed so a phone-camera had to suffice, and suffice it failed, dismally.

The mixed tempura main with miso and rice ($18) was second only to the gods of Tempura Hajime with flavoursome and nearly blot paper-free delivery of hot and tasty morsel.
The lunch special (one of several mixed options); bento style delivering ($35) of Shitake mushroom salad, prawn and crab Japanese dumpling (though steamed, unlike gyoza), crumbed prawn and scallop with ponzu sauce, salmon & tuna sashimi and chicken teryiaki and rice was exceptional. Each dish delivered a distinct strong positive too long to juxtapose that will be remembered long after any criticism. Basically it was a bento box you could get anywhere, but done well; Very well. And with excess. I’d pay $38 for it again irrespective of my frequent and slightly more convenient visits to Ishikaya on Bourke St for a $15 lunch special.

We were treated with the bipolar luxury of a private dining room whereby one feels special and dines in relative intimacy with their guests in their false-floored authentic tables to suit fat westerners, but at the price of missing out on the general ambiance of the restaurant; pronounced further when there is just 2 in said private dining room (not complaining at all as it was lovely).
I don’t want to score this out of 20 as it will naturally be disparate with Sandra and Elliot’s evaluations and not a fair basis of comparison, so I will say that to a foodie wanting a great lunch for a decent but not bargain basement price this is a win. If you want to be blown over with nouveau creative inspiration then lunch here is not for you unless you seek the glory of seriously fresh fish. Either way there is good food to be had, you can quibble over the prices and value c.f other venues in the area. But I still like it, a lot.

This review provide by N.M.

Cafe Vue at Heide (Heidelberg) 11/09

The Café at Heide Gallery of Modern Art has become the latest extension to Shannon Bennetts growing restaurant empire. Rumour has it that he will be taking over at the Rialto soon too! We visited the current exhibition of Cubist Art in Australia and stopped for lunch at Café Vue at Heide. It was pleasing to be greeted by some of the senior staff who had looked after us so well and so often at Vue de Monde. Brian Lloyd, formerly manager at Vue de Monde is now manager here and Mark Briggs, former head chef there is in charge in the kitchen The café is an inside/outside space, very open with 3 sided walls of glass and umbrella shaded outside tables.
Tables are smallish and fairly close but not uncomfortably so It was packed with diners of all ages. There is a limited lunch menu, slightly expanded for dinner. A two course ($35) or thee course ($45) lunch, served Tuesday to Sunday, is on offer with a small range of wines by the glass at reasonable prices. We tried both entrées and both mains on offer, a couple of side dishes and a mango soufflé dessert. Goats cheese gnocchi with baby beetroot salad was excellent

as was the char grilled sardines with citrus, olive oil emulsion and salted cod.
I am reluctant to order fresh sardines as they are often over powering but these retained the characteristic sardine taste without dominating the dish. The roasted ocean trout with sorrel sauce was delicately prepared
although the sorrel sauce was hard to recognize, taste wise. The rotisserie Wagyu beef served with garlic snails
– that should really have been snail, as there was only one, was a tasty piece of meat though not marked by the large amount of fat in the meat of the higher grades. It lay on a bed of potato mousse line which was so good we ordered a side plate of it ($6). Made with Exon potatos and a ratio of 3 or 4 parts butter to one part potato it had superb rich taste and wonderful creamy texture. A side dish of crunchy over cooked pommes frites ($8)
did not add much to the meal. We finished with a mango soufflé with yoghurt sorbet
which looked good and tasted good but the egg had broken down producing a course rough texture. There are hints of Vue de Monde in the decor
like the potted herbs but it is very much a cafe with it's own very pleasing character. They also have $15 lunch boxes and a range of very attractive pastries. I accidentally dented the chocolate tart!

If you’re going to Heide I’d definitely make time for a meal at Café Vue

Score: 13.5/20

Vue de Monde (Melbourne) 11/09

Before anything else I want to say that it is a mystery as to how this computer varies font sizes. Despite fiddling around nothing seems to make it consistent for which I apologise. On the preview it looks consistent but not so when published!

The chefs 10 course menu at VdM has been an unfailing triumph for us over the last decade or more and last week was no exception. Dish after dish from the exceptional amuse bouche to the lemon souffle was a joy to the palate and the eye. As always, although there have been some staff changes the service was impeccable. Part way through the meal when I mentioned that we had particularly enjoyed a lobster dish Gareth, who was looking after us, arranged for an extra dish a marron on a rock which I will speak about after the photo of it.
This is what we were served.

AMUSE BOUCHE

Confit egg with white asparagus and wood sorrel.

Cooked at 62 degrees for 12 minutes, the egg white separated and replaced at the base of the shell, served with Panku (bread crumbs), a lightly battered asparagus and a tarragon emulsion. Like a variation of a coddled egg the crunchy bread crumbs and tarragon emulsion added an extra dimension to the endless appealing ways that eggs can be served. This was an exquisite start for the meal.

DÉCLINAISON D’ASPERGES

Asparagus textures

2000 Moët & Chandon Cuvée Dom Pérignon Champagne Épernay, France

An unusual presentation of a variety of cuts of asparagus with a light warm mayonnaise finished with an asparagus juice. A fine, multi textured gently flavoured dish.

RISOTTO AUX TRUFFES D’ALBA

Classically inspired white truffle risotto

NV Barbadillo Oloroso Dulce 30yo Jerez, Spain

This risotto, cooked to perfection was enormously enhanced by the white truffles which had been harvested only 36 hours ago and retained superb taste, texture and aroma - to die for!

PAIN PERDU ACCOMPAGNÉ DE FOIE GRAS

French toast, green apple purée and foie gras with eight spice and jamón Joselito ibérico

2007 François Chidaine Montlouis ‘Les Tuffeaux’ Loire Valley, France

Another outstanding dish, the 'Pain perdu' a sweet French toast topped with a great Iberica jambon matched and contrasted with the puree and the eight spice for added flavour.

MERLAN ET BASIL BALLOTINE

Whiting and basil ballotine, tomato infusion and mozzarella noodle

2007 Adegas Valmiñor ‘Davila’ Galicia, Spain

Served with a tomato stock infused through herbs in a Cona coffee percolator this is a dish of balanced gentle flavours eaten slowly to enjoy all its variation.

ÉCREVISSE RÔTIE

Roasted marron with bisque glaze and radish served on hot river stone

1998 Domaine Long-Depaquit Chablis Grand Cru 'La Moutonne' Burgundy, France

The marron sat on a bed of marron mousse and was accompanied by dollops of homogenized sea urchin which, while retaining the distinct flavour of the sea urchin, were not over whelming. The rock, from the Yarra river bed near Heidi Gallery, had been thoroughly sterilized by being roasted at high temperature before being accepted for table service. The baby turnips, also from the Heidi gardens were a crisp delight and the lightly cooked marron as good as it gets.

JUS AU VERJUS

Liquid verjus at - 8°C

Prepared at the table the addition of this super cooled verjus resulted in the formation of a little iceberg in the glass. A favourite at Vue for good reason.

PORC AUX SAVEURS DE LA TERRE

Western plains pork with flavours of earth

2007 Kanonkop Pinotage Simonsberg, South Africa

A rack, in this case one small pork chop, a piece of loin, like belly but not as fatty, and pork neck were a fine trio with a slice of crisp bacon and cep mushroom powder added to this dish completed with an excellent sauce.

AGNEAU RÔTI ET RIS D’agneau

Poached loin and rillette of lamb with Pedro Ximenez reduction

2002 Raymond Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve ‘Rutherford’ Napa Valley, United States of America

If the previous dish was excellent, and it was, this was even better. It might have been called lamb three ways with a rillette flanked by a delicate piece of loin and some sweetbreads. Tender and juicy, with a collar of potato it was a carnivores delight.

FROMAGE

Le Napoleon, almond toast, fennel and cherry salad, cherry ‘pâte de fruit’

2008 Albino Rocca Moscato d’Asti Piedmont, Italy

A firm tasty cheese enhanced by the cherry jelly.

ENTREMET SUCRÉ

This was a total surprise. you open the carton and this is what you see.

Egg shells filled with super rich flavoured mousses and foams. A dessert for the taste conscious not the health conscious. I loved it.

Lemon meringue soufflé

1993 Domaine Disznókó Tokaji Aszú’5 Puttonyos’ Takaj, Hungary

Although there were still a variety of petit fours to come with tea or coffe we made this magnificent lemon souffle our last dessert. As with the rest of the meal this was beyond criticism with a disinct, but not overwhelming lemony taste and perfect texture for the souffle.

There were a few tiny imperfections. It always irritates me when I put a piece of cutlery on the edge of a plate and it slides down into the centre of the plate, specially if it has soup in it!
To some extent taking matched wines, presuming some person with superior taste and judgment will chose wines that will not only match the food you are eating but also your taste is high risk and almost certain to fail to please at times. On the two occasions where the wines did not satisfy the response was an instantaneous offer of a replacement. The timing of the delivery of the wines was often well before the food arrived thus it was almost finished before it could be enjoyed with the dish which it was matched.

The distinguishing features of meals at VdM are the use of the finest ingredients prepared with imagination and finesse to express the flavours of the foods in balanced combination. Dishes are presented like art on a plate by staff who go out of their way to please their clients. Seasoning is discreet. It is rare to find one flavour dominating a dish

Score:19 /20

Cafe Vue (South Yarra) 11/09

Of all the cafes in Melbourne none stand out with the style displayed at Cafe Vue at 401 St.Kilda Rd. There are a few outside tables which give no hint of the interior with its clean open appearance, modern furniture and several striking features including a large round table partly surrounded by a white wood creation like half a bird cage, referred to here as the Queens corset because of its shape. In front of the kitchenthere is an antique looking refurbished rotisserie. Toilets are unusual too,in deep red with braille to assist the blind to chose the correct door although it's little help after that!

The breakfast menu is very limited 'thugh they have a great range of small cakes and patisseries. When a shrivelled baguette with some dry ham ($8) and a croque monsieur consisting of a couple of slices of toast and a bit of ham ($6) accompanied by a pot of the most watery tea arrived my heart sank. There was a bottle of home made tomato sauce in the little box with the salt, pepper, paper serviettes and cutlery but it didn't help much.

This disastrous beginning was saved when Matt, the personable manager, came over and spent some time discussing our feedback, a waitress brought two more tea bags, and we tried a couple of other things. A chicken and porcini mushroom pie resting on a fine pea puree in a perfectly reduced sauce ($11)was excellent, despite the fact that I could see the mushrooms but not taste them. An escargot pastry was worthy of a French patisserie, crisp on the outside, soft and moist inside it was so good that we will go back again just for that.

They still to have some teething problems but they certainly have the potential to be outstanding. A unique space.

Score: 13/20

Ichi Ni (St.Kilda) 09

Housed in an inside outside split level venue, a bit like an open hut with peculiar, though not unattractive, Japanese decor
around a large open central kitchen
at no.12 on the Esplanade. Ichi Ni offers its food in an environment dominated by an impressive level of noise making conversation difficult. It offers a wide range of dishes in the izakaya style.
Of this SunnyPages.jp tells us "Izakaya are restaurants that serve mostly Japanese food and various kinds of alcohol (everything from beer to sake and shouchuu). The main difference between izakaya and conventional restaurants is the variety of alcohol available at an izakaya, while the izakaya distinguishes itself from typical bars by the comparatively larger volume of foods it serves. You could say that izakaya resemble American “Bar-and-Grill”-style establishments. One of the best things about izakaya is that no matter how many times one visits one, there is always something else on the menu to enjoy so it's hard to get tired of the selection."
In keeping with that they are fully licenced and offer no BYO. We tried a variety of small dishes including Gyoza -five for $10 were of no distinction as was sea food tempura ($12).
I can do better myself. Miso soup ($3.5) served in the traditional bowl, without a spoon,

was totally ordinary. Rice, which we ordered to eat with these entrees ($4/small bowl) came to late. Grilled tofu was dry and hard

Pork belly, normally one of my favourite dishes, was an encouragement to vegetarianism, tuna sushi a prawn dish with a crispy coating
were equally unimpressive as was a skewer of scallops.($8)
A seafood don ($20) consisting of a skewer each of calamari, white fish and prawns served on rice with a miso soup was yet another disappointment.
The only things enjoyable about the meal were a lychee vodka and lime ($15) and an excellent Kisakura Pure saki ($12).
Price: Expensive if you are hungry
Comments: All dishes were served on coarse china and none had any sign of the delicacy I associate with fine Japanese food. Add that to the noise and for us this place has a returnability factor of zero.
Score:10 /20

The Court House (Berwick) 09

This upper class outer south eastern suburb only about 40 km from the Melbourne CBD seems, for no good reason, to have been over looked by the restaurant reviewers. Apart from the usual pizza and pasta shops there are several good places at which to eat including The Berwick Inn, Dante's, Clover Cottage which offers all you can eat at a very respectable smorgasbord and The Court House which boasts that it is number one in Berwick and I think it probably is.
It is housed in a National trust building, adjacent to its National Trust neighbour, formerly the Post Office both built in 1884 at No. 1 Gloucester Avenue.
The main dining room is the former court room. The witness stand and dock and the area occupied by the judge
remain intact in excellent condition. The room is illuminated by three impressive chandeliers, the whole creating a quite special atmosphere. Service was pleasant and informative for the meal that I had there courtesy of St John of God hospital.
For entree, described here as preliminaries I found the Lemon & pepper calamari
($14.5) deep fried calamari strips served with mixed leaf and cherry tomato salad with home made tartare sauce, a pleasant but uninspiring entree.
Bruschetta ($9.95)
warmed bread topped with tomato, red onion, basil and parmesan cheese with a drizzle of balsamic was, as promised, a simple, unpretentious dish.
Garlic Prawns ($15) was probably the pick of the entrees. Six prawn tails sauteed in a rich garlic, cream and white wine sauce served over turmeric rice looked excellent.
For mains, called Supreme Court here I had a Rack of lamb with herb crust ($32),
a four point rack served with mash, a warm tomato salad and beans. This might have been more interestingly seasoned and certainly a serrated edge knife would have been helpful but it was a very juicy piece of meat.
Barramundi, ($32)
A whole barramundi deep fried until crispy, served with bok choy on a a shredded Asian omelette of spring onion and Chinese sausage dressed with a fantastic zingy sauce (their description) was seriously disappointing. It looked great but had been cooked to death and was very dry and totally lacking in taste. Photo is as it was served. I would have preferred it served with the head of the fish toward me.
Not Guilty - Just Desserts were indeed just desserts. Sticky Date pudding ($13.95)
was a warm pudding served with their (not very) special caramel sauce and a scoop of English toffee ice cream was unexceptional.
Chocolate mousse mille feuille ($12-.5) described as layers of rich chocolate mousse and chantilly cream sandwiched between layers of flaky puff pastry served with shards of almond praline far from being a light and delicate dessert was an indifferent dessert. the pastry was heavy and the praline was rock hard, tooth fracturing quality toffee- inedible.

George Dore, a part owner of the property, told me the history of the place and the problems of council restrictions and access that they have to deal with. National Trust buildings certainly have plenty of problems but the Court House is is a wonderful venue, and I expect it to continue to punish or reward its clients, depending on their menu selection.Score: 13.75/20

Hooked (Windsor) 09

Those fliers that appear so frequently in my letterbox offering handyman services, carpet cleaning, cut price pizzas free home delivery for orders over $x free drink with presentation of this card and similar must work or they wouldn't keep on offering them. Hooked at 172 Chapel St came up with with a couple of offers and their claim to offer the best seafood etc was quite appealing so I took myself off there. Despite the flattering reviews posted on their windows the place is tired to the point of exhaustion.
It is terribly in need of a total makeover. It offers eat in or take away. They have a massive communal table, seats about 14, with a selection of magazines, and a few small tables including a couple on the footpath. A pile of dull looking cutlery in a crude box on the table,
uncomfortable chairs and dull decor encourage the take away option.
Their most popular meal is battered or grilled Blue Grenadier with Bok choy and hand cut chips or sticky rice. ($9.90) so that's what I had, the batter and the rice.
They offer a variety of other fish and calamari. The batter was crisp and cooked through but a bit thicker than I would have liked inside of it two rather small moist and tasty fillets rested on a mound of sticky rice which had been cooked until it had congealed into a homogenous mass. Unrecognizable as rice.
They have a frig. full of soft drinks and another labelled Booze but no tea or coffee and another small deficiency, no toilet!
Hooked I am not.
Score: 12 /20

Streetsmart

Help needed to support Streetsmart charities

In a world with big budgets and high overheads, Streetsmart http://www.streetsmartaustralia.org/restaurantevent is one of those charities that helps the small and local, roping in cafes and restaurants to support often forgotten frugal local causes.

On Monday 9th November its 2009, running until Christmas Streetsmart’s campaign kicks off. The idea is that diners leave an extra $2 for Streetsmart, which distributes the funds to local homeless-related charities, the kind that only really need a few thousand dollars.

It isn’t a big charity but it is worthy and important because it works at the hyperlocal level (and you can find participants on a Google map here, paste this into your browser, http://www.streetsmartaustralia.org/findrestaurant )

What can you do to help?

Have a look at http://twitter.com/StreetSmartAust on Twitter or join its Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=5985883876 page for updates on events.

If you are a diner and you have a choice of where to have a coffee or eat, choose a Streetsmart supporter and help by donating $2, that’s 2 lousy dollars. Nothing really.

If you have a blog (any blog, it doesn’t have to be about food) or you Twitter,you can help by promoting Streetsmart and pass on the messag to blogger and Twitter friends who may like to help. This is a great time for social media to show its solidarity whle old fashioned media are in flux and haven’t in many cases the resources to help right now.

Cafe Latte (Toorak) 09

Looking at a selection of reviews on the net it is apparent that Cafe Latte polarizes its clients.The lovers and haters seem to be about evenly split. Regardless it always seems to be pretty busy.
Just in case you forget where you are (or where you borrowed it from) they have their name emblazoned on the glassware
and crockery but that does nothing to detract from the food.
An entree of spinach pasta filled with fresh ricotta in a lemon butter sauce with sage and almond slivers
did not quite sing to me, the lemon being a bit too prominent, but it was quite pleasant as was a main of crispy skin salmon,
although a little over cooked for my liking.
The braised lamb rump was an real gold medal dish.
Simple. in a perfectly lamb matched jus, not too concentrated , on a bed of spring vegetables, it was tender and mouth wateringly tasty. A perfectly blended dish.
A pannacota surrounded by sliced strawberries was an honest dessert.Service was enthusiastic and informed about the food but not so much about the wines which are reasonably prices.
Score 14/20

Unsolicited but Interesting

About a week ago i got this email and had a look at the sites. Cheese lovers might find them of some interest - I did!

dnnutt@aol.com
to qwerty


A good story

GK Chesterton: “The poets have been mysteriously silent on the subject of cheese.”

Voila: www.tastingtoeternity.com. This book is a poetic view of 30 of the best loved French cheeses with an additional two odes to cheese. Recipes, wine pairing, three short stories and an educational section complete the book.

From a hectic life in New York City to the peace and glories of the French countryside lead me to be the co-founder of www.fromages.com. Ten years later with the words of Pierre Androuet hammering on my brain:

“Cheese is the soul of the soil. It is the purest and most romantic link between humans and the earth.”

I took pen and paper; many reams later with the midnight oil burning Tasting to Eternity was born and self published.

I believe cheese and wine lovers should be told about this publication.

Enjoy.

Tokyo Sushi (Richmond) 09

It was lunchtime and a vacant parking place conveniently appeared almost opposite Richmond Hill Larder (RHL). As I crossed the road I was attracted to a packed Japanese take away or eat in eatery- not really a café or a restaurant, although they have about half a dozen small tables and a couple more on the footpath. A glass fronted counter was packed with sushi.

This, the graphic pictures of their dishes,
and the appearance of a staff member of RHL getting takeaway convinced me to go no further. Starting with Gyoza,
six king size specimens with dipping sauce and a little chopped tomato, for $6 they represent good value for volume but the crisp pastry and filling were very average

Sushi Don ($9.5)
was a large bowl of rice covered with a mass of lettuce, mushroom, carrot, seaweed, beef and other unidentifiable ingredients. It was quite tasty, filling and distinctly Japanese ‘cuisine bourgeois’ filling and fairly priced.

Japanese fast food, cash only, good for a casual hungry diner at 60 Bridge Rd.

Score 12.5/20

Mitsuno (Malvern) 09

I have been wanting to visit this well regarded Japanese restaurant at 16 Glenferrie Rd for some time and am only sorry that I only got to trying a couple of dishes. Seating about 40 it's a simply furnished pleasant well lit venue. (despite this dark picure). A couple of blackboards offer the days specials and a selection of saki and beers.

Eating solo I knew what to do this time. I ordered a cold semi dry saki,
a bargain for $8 for about 300ml, picked up a book, Curiosi-tea, which is a fascinating collection of stories and information about tea, and settled back for a relaxed meal.

With the advice of the proprietor I started with a platter of sashimi ($18).

Decorated with thin strands of daikon, thin slices of radish some slices of lemon, there were three slices of five sea foods. The centre of the plate as occupied with Tuna surrounded by Blue Eye, salmon, scallop and kingfish. They came with a knob of wasabi and a saucer of soy sauce. This was a fine dish each fish with its own texture and taste however, without detracting from it, I have have had better. The scallop was perfect as was the Blue Eye but I have had finer examples of the salmon and kingfish.

I followed this with a special rare cooked marinated grade 9 Wahgu topside on a bed of sweet potato mash with a light sweet soy sauce ($18).

This was totally delicious. An excellent combination of well matched fine tastes with the varied textured steak.

I finished the meal with a panacota with chili strawberry sauce ($9.5). The panacotta was disappointing, it could have come off the shelf at Coles, and the chili was undetectable in the otherwise tasty sauce.
Comments: Although till some way off perfect I thoroughly enjoyed this meal.

Score:14 /20