Category Archives: Eating Out

Bad air

June 13, 2015 Dan Leave a comment

Hi Tony.

Happy World Gin Day!

I know. It really should be World Gin Day every day.

Sounds like Portugal and Spain were pretty special. Breakfast beer snacks? I think you’re onto something. But I think they should stick to their beer and maybe wine. Gin & Tonics in Spain? Maybe it’s better than some of the overpriced, rather simple versions you are subject to in SE Asia?

Winter is upon us, but we live in constant fear of those pesky (possibly) disease carrying mossies. Luckily there haven’t been any reported cases of malaria in some time, but I put that down to herd immunity. My efforts alone should be enough to protect vast swathes of the community. It’s my little bit for the greater good.

There has been a surge in the interest in gin here. So much so I would put some of the local gins up against most any others. My personal favourite is from Yarra Valley, Four Pillars (www.fourpillarsgin.com.au), though the newer Melbourne Gin Company (www.melbournegincompany.com) from right here is also more than acceptable. While the “standard” fare have beautifully balanced botanicals, the Four Pillars Barrel Aged has a little vanilla toastiness that makes it perfectly fine to sip over some ice…no tonic needed.

I was lucky enough to be treated to some very special gin from Scotland the other day courtesy of Alex & Amanda. Sipped over some ice, the Caorunn packed a juniper punch that almost gave you “cat’s bum” perse. Smooth as a well-worn…sporran! The NB was a little rougher around the edges. Good, but not as good.

So much for the gin. Let’s get to the tonic. No, I don’t mean overpriced, genuine imitation quinine and sugar filled soda water. I mean the real McCoy! Tonic syrups have been a revelation for me over the last 12 months. They all have their own quirks, it’s worth having a few in the fridge ready to go.

Made with actual quinine, a bunch of botanicals and unrefined sugars, these things pack a healthy bitter punch. Want more bite, merely add a dash more. Oh, having a Soda Stream or the like is ideal. Then there isn’t even a need to buy soda water for the spritz.

What I find strange is that many of these are made in the US. Not somewhere I normally associate with G&T’s.

My favourite syrup at the moment is C & B’s. My preference is a 1:4:1 mix with soda water and gin.

Only Bitters in Melbourne (www.onlybitters.com) carries a pretty good range.

It’s a cool day today and I’ve picked up some awful lurgy on public transport, so I am forced to be a philistine and not have a gin. I feel bad not being able to celebrate gin on this auspicious day.

Need to keep moving. Slow braised beef is nearly ready to put a pastry top on it and throw it back in the oven. Might even light a fire tonight…to keep the mossies away of course.

Cheers,

Daniel

Eating Out, Travel

Beer snacks part 2

May 17, 2015 Tony Leave a comment

Hey Dan,

Of course we do

Beer snacks you say? After two weeks in Portugal and Spain I think I can say these guys have a handle on beer snacks – especially the Spanish.

Okay, there’s some cheating here – tapas goes with beer just as well as with wine, and eating tapas (or pintxos, the tapas on a spike usually served on bread) is something of a national sport.

There are a few ‘standard’ items on a tapas menu like olives, anchovies, and calamari that are obviously good beer snacks, though hardly only available in Spain. The fact that it’s available on every corner means they do it with good ingredients though.

Olives and anchovy fillets; yeah, that works

Oh, and beer – well, the available almost everywhere on tap local Estrella Damm or (why is this everywhere?) Heineken – is cheap at somewhere between 1.30 and 1.50 Euros a glass. I must say I don’t mind the Estrella for a mass-produced beer. It’s a pilsner, so pretty easy drinking, and has a very fine, creamy head. Apparently the bottled stuff is nowhere near as good.

Also what’s interesting is that the whole microbrewery thing doesn’t seem so big here. One reason may be the pricing – when the majors are so cheap, competing is not going to be easy. That said, I did find a few nice, hoppy ales – Espiga Garage IPA and a Cervesa del Montseny – in a hipster bar in central Barcelona called B-Rita.

Crafty

What is hot right now – hotter than Hansel in Zoolander – is gin and tonic. Traditionally the Spanish make it in a large goblet full of ice, which makes for nicer presentation than the usual tumbler. The bar at the Hotel Urban in Madrid had literally pages of gins and tonics from which to choose, though at around 15 Euros I can see why they’re keener on serving these than beers.

At Carmelitas in Barcelona, the G&T selection was more limited, but at 7.50 Euros better value – and the bartender had a very heavy pouring hand.

But back to the beer snacks.

Jamon is like a religion in Spain, and when you get the proper jamon Iberico belotta (made from black Iberian pigs fed on acorns), resistance is useless. I’m a convert. It was on my breakfast plate, almost always a component of lunch, and on the pre-dinner tapas menu too.

Do you have any jamon? Just another store in Madrid

Some Spanish friends tell me that their vegetarian friends eat the stuff. It is that good. With its strong flavour and saltiness, it is the perfect beer snack.

But deep fried – anything deep fried – is almost always something that goes with beer, and croquettes are the ultimate.

Portugese style croquettes: Good, but there’s better

You get croquettes in different flavours, and bacalao, or salt cod, is pretty common. I had some in Portugal – though these were made with potato, rather than béchamel, which is the preferred Spanish method. The former were a bit dry and chewy, whereas the latter almost always yields a hot, creamy, salty, fishy mouthful. I’m hungry just thinking about it.

Forget the flavoured croquets; I’ll have the jamon

But when croquetas are made with jamon, that’s a combination made in heaven. The ultimate beer snack? I think so.

Eating Out, Travel

Shinkanzen

April 7, 2015 Dan Leave a comment

Hi Tony.

Am currently sitting on an Asama 625 super-express Shinkanzen (bullet train) from Tokyo to Nagano. I’ve never been on one before, but can highly recommended it. Smooth is an understatement. All the while cruising at a lazy 325km/h. This is one of the older, slower trains. As you would understand, the red Shinkanzen is the really fast one.

We’ve just finished our stint in Tokyo. Off to the snow for some downtime.

Tokyo really did turn it on for us. Not only did we get thoroughly spoilt by our local friends, but we also happened to arrive just before cherry blossoms. There is a reason the Japanese celebrate this so passionately. While we had the pleasure of sharing the cherry blossoms with a few others in Ueno, we unfortunately missed the spectacle that is the Imperial Gardens. Next time perhaps.

Our food adventures continue, with breakfast being the only thing to disappoint. I just don’t get the infatuation with the worst that the US can offer. Bad, and I mean bad, coffee matched with an ultra-sweet donut. Try as we may, the best we got was a bakery for a croissant or one better, an almond croissant. Nice, but just not breakfast.

Dining at railway stations is a Japanese pastime. You wouldn’t do it in Australia, maybe Thailand? The choice of food types and quality on offer at Japanese railway stations is extra-ordinary. Cheap, fast, and chock full of stuff. Much of it I wasn’t able to identify, but it tasted damned fine.

Ok, on downside. I don’t get the Japanese fixation with smoking. You cant do it on the street, so they do it in restaurants instead. I’ve never wolfed down a bowl of piping hot udon as fast as when the table next to us lit up. Sometimes you find a restaurant with a smoking section. This is often neatly divided from non-smoking by a bamboo blind (or similar). I’m going to go out on a limb and say that it is simply shit at keeping smoke out.

Speaking of hungry. I’ve been told there is a snack trolley on the train. Yeah, no sign of that happening. Might put this on hold and explore the train a little.

Back. Hungry, bordering on hangry (hungry angry). The people across from us had a picnic they bought on the station platform. Smells great.

Ok, quick snack in Nagano station from 7-Eleven. They have sushi fresh daily and often find Japanese grabbing their lunch from 7-Eleven, Lawson or Family Mart. Don’t knock it until you’ve tried it. It actually works quite well.

An hour in a taxi to Hakuba, because we were too late for bus. Hakuba is a hot little snow town. We are staying in Happo One (pronounced “on-e”). Unfortunately it is very late in the season and a lot of bars and restaurants are closed. Despite that, we found and onsen in our hotel and there are a multitude of restaurants on the mountain where you can get ramen, katsu (fried pork fillet), ramen, curry, fried chicken, ramen, pasta or ramen. While a good katsu-don (fried pork fillet with egg on a bowl of rice) or katsu-curry (you get the picture), the ramen is often the way to go. Salty stock flavoured with miso or soy, some noodles, bamboo shoots, spring onions, seaweed and an egg, with optional slice of roast pork, tempura or similar. $6-10/bowl and you are good for the afternoon, even with some skis strapped on and lots of vertical feet to cover. Did I mention it is good washed down with an icy cold Kirin or Sapporo? If you are lucky they might even have some Suntory Malted, which is just that little bit more special than the standard lager.

Breakfast continues to disappoint us. Miso soup and trimmings is nice from time to time, but the Japanese appear to have determined that the US has the best breakfast offerings going. Sure, a stack of French toast with fresh fruit and maple syrup, with a side of crispy bacon is a nice treat, but even that is hard to find. Pale, limp bacon, scrambled “eggs” (not sure they are made from egg), pan fried potatoes and plump little pork sausages. Ok the sausages are good, but I can’t only have those.

We are off shortly to Japanese BBQ. It’s derived from Korean BBQ, but with some Japanese flare. Perhaps I should say “Japanese improvement”? I don’t want to be unfair to Koreans. We are planning a trip to Seoul next year and I am excited about that visit.

Better fly. Getting that hangry feeling again.

We’ve got another day here before Tokyo and home. Still plenty of time to eat.

Cheers,

Daniel

Eating Out, Travel

Oishi

April 1, 2015 Dan Leave a comment

Hi Tony,

Sitting in hotel room looking over a building site to Ginza. Before I even talk about food, there is the Japanese way of doing things. It is a fascinating thing watching the site. Everything is immaculate, right down to the guys hosing the tyres of the trucks as they leave, in case they were to drop dirt on the road. I’m now wondering if the building will be finished at a certain time on a certain date. Reckon I could set my watch to it.

If only I could bring these guys over to build our place?! Maybe even entice them to a tropical island to build something for you?

I had most of a day to fill in before Julia arrives, so I headed up to Kappabashi on the advice of a well researched, passionate knife collector colleague of mine, Justin. He armed me with just enough information to ensure I bought something pretty good, but avoid the exquisite ¥50,000+ works of art. So, I’ve ended up with a 210mm wa gyuto aogami with a kasumi finish. In short, I bought a very nice kitchen knife. Pic to follow (the thing is wrapped so carefully, I can’t open it until I get home).

We’re delighting in the Japanese food, as per usual. Alright, breakfast isn’t on our list of special cuisine, but the rest is just sublime.

Old dear friends of mine, Atsushi, and his wife Yumiko took us out to Soregashi in Gotanda. A favourite of theirs. While chicken is the theme and highlighted in many ways, it wasn’t all we ate. There was a healthy chunk of delightfully seared fois gras on a carefully constructed chicken rissole, for example.

Atsushi explained Soregashi over a few glasses of sake, which I will get to shortly. Soregashi is an old samurai word meaning ‘me’, or ‘I’. It is not a word used in today’s language and was really only ever used by a Samurai when speaking with a Lord or Shogun.

Every time we catch up with Atsushi and Yumiko we are treated to superb out of the way places. The sort of place that unless you knew about it…you get my drift. But not only is it a case of finding these gems (I’d never be able to locate it again without help), it’s the food and drink ordering that takes a seasoned expert. I can’t even tell you what we ate, but the chicken sushi, yes raw chicken, was delectable as was the celery sorbet to help close the night off.

What continues to surprise and impress me is the complexity and versatility of sake. Even here Atsushi sought advice of the “sommelier”. We drank a variety of sake, some of which could easily have been mistaken for some slightly obscure white wines.

The final sake was rich, sweet, but with a clean acidic finish. The sort of thing I would expect and get from a Auslese Riesling from the Rhine or a late harvest Semillon from the Hunter Valley. Which would I chose to finish a night off? Damned if I wouldn’t chose the slightly nutty hint in the sake. The name of it? Just grab it off the handmade paper label below…

After piling into a cab at 1am, not a bad effort given that Julia flew in from New York at 5:30pm and I had been on the go for about 40 hours, we remembered our deep fondness for this city.

We have pretty much opted for ‘fast food’ for lunches, which usually consists of ramen, katsu or ramen. Even better, wander off one of the main streets for 50m and you’ll find somewhere with a menu with pictures and a startlingly good feed for $6-8. Who knows what’s in it, but there is a reason there are a bunch of locals there.

We’ve got another day off tomorrow before we have 3 days of trade show goodness to get stuck into. Not sure what our diet will look like during those days…

Better kick this off to you.

Cheers,

Daniel

Eating Out, Home cooking

Cocktail Hour(s)

March 10, 2015 Tony Leave a comment

Hey Dan,

Yes, it has been too long. Oops.

The New Year’s Resolution was to put in a bit more effort at meeting people in our adopted hometown, so the plan is to go to the opening of a paper bag if there’s an invite.

As a result we’ve been doing a lot of standing around at cocktail functions, and noticing just how badly they’re done a lot of the time. So, in no particular order, here’s a list of things to consider for your next function from a (slightly pickled) expert:

honestslogans.com

1 Finger food. Notice the name. It implies food that may be eaten using one’s fingers. Anything much bigger than a Ritz cracker is not really going to work. Roast meat is lovely, but not to be served in giant slices at a stand-up cocktail function. If you expect people to balance a glass, a plate, a knife and fork, expect broken crockery and glassware. If you’re doing it at home here’s the world’s simplest recipe: buy roast duck from your nearest Asian restaurant; cut into pieces and place on plain rice crackers; add half a teaspoon of hoi sin sauce and a little spring onion. Viola! Finger food. How difficult is that?

Martini = no fruit!

2 Drinks. Okay, while it’s called a cocktail function, usually martinis are sadly absent. (When I say martini I mean gin and a waft of vermouth; anything with more fruit than a twist of lemon is not a martini). Why is it a cocktail function, and why must I wear cocktail attire, if there are no cocktails? Usually you’ll get wine of both colours and beer. If you’re lucky, one of the three will be palatable. Boozy types – yes, we’ve been to a few Austcham Thailand functions – will inevitably gravitate towards the service area. Set up a couple, otherwise those blokes in suits will have the effect of a black hole on light waves – nothing is going to get out. And here’s a hint: if you put the food and booze service areas in the same place in the venue, it’s going to get crowded there.

3 Venues. These types of functions are bread and butter for hotels, and most event organisers don’t have enough imagination to see past them. There are other options. In Hong Kong recently we went to an event at Umami Concepts, which is pretty-much a large two-room apartment with a big semi-commercial open kitchen. Stand-up cocktail party? Check. Cocktails even. Also cooking classes, events like olive oil tastings, and a decent place to film cooking shows, so I expect it’s rather busy. It’s a great idea in Asia, where space is at a premium, and because it was essentially run by the chef, with one waiter doing the clearing duties. Good thinking.

Now if you’ll pardon me – it’s getting close to the cocktail hour and I need to suit-up.

Eating Out, Travel

Kop gai lai lai

October 29, 2014 Dan Leave a comment

G’day Tony,

Well, it is week 2 of the honeymoon and I am still married, though I am not sure if I should worry about the suggestion that I take a Thai boxing class?!

I must admit I was a little sceptical of Gaggan after our experience at Nahm. Ok, I’ll give it to Nahm that the food was great, but just too many good things on the table at one time kind of made it less special. I’m pretty sure you said you liked Gaggan. Well, I sure did too! Wow. What a shake up of Indian cuisine.

To set ourselves up, and to continue exploring some of the rooftop bars of Bangkok, we took your advice and found our way to Speakeasy at the Muse Hotel. There was a private party happening on the top floor, but the easily found bar was still pretty nice. A cheeky cocktail served by staff taking the flapper theme just a little bit far, but it was still pretty fun.

We lashed out with the full degustation at Gaggan, because I don’t get the opportunity to go that often, unlike you can. I’ll run through some of the highlights below, but I doff my hat to their sommelier for the wine list. There was a healthy selection of approachable aromatic whites and some to challenge. I ended up opting for a Sancerre from Loire. Sauvignon Blanc as only the French seem able to do. I detected a subtle “something” on the nose and the sommelier was gracious in attending and confirmed no cork taint, rather a touch of bretamyacies as the wine maker intended.

Gaggan, as you know has the ability to surprise. What may look like a conventional dish, ends up being nothing like what you were expecting. Nothing like it. From the “poached egg”, which was instead spiced yoghurt, but with almost precisely the same texture as a poached egg to the sous vide lamb chops which were the standout for me. Oh, not sure if the mini-chocolate degustation for dessert should be counted, as it was mind blowingly good.

In the same “challenge the expected” theme, the venue is quite the surprise. Finding the place required asking directions of the front of house staff at Muse, then a security guard located near the entrance to the Soi. There is little chance I would explore such a Soi without knowing what lay near the end.

Would I recommend Gaggan to someone visiting Bangkok? In a heart beat.

We jetted off to Luang Prabang, Laos the next afternoon. I’ve been before, but it was a good 6-8 years ago. I kind of worded Julia up to what we were going to find, but I think it still surprised her somewhat. We stayed at Satri House, which was delightful, but a touch too far out of the middle of the action. The old president’s residence, apparently?! Truly stunning architecture and artwork and a very comfortable room.

Luang Prabang has changed lots. The demographic of tourists more than anything. The nightmarkets are full of Chinese made stuff, with only a smattering of Lao made wares. The backpackers are still there en-masse, eating buffet street dinners for 10,000 kip (~$A1.30) and sleeping in guest houses for not much more. Then there are those who are “well to do”, e.g. us.

We ate at Apsara on your recommendation. Turns out it is owned by the husband of the owner of Satri House. Food was nice. I really like my slow cooked buffalo cheeks in Lao spices. Didn’t really sing to me otherwise. A spot of rain chased us from alfresco on the banks of the Nam Kahm river to shelter under the beautiful French colonial veranda.

Our days were filled with strolling the streets, choosing random places to enjoy a Beer Lao, mostly on the Mekong side. A short, early trip was also had to the Kuang Si waterfalls. I’ve seen pics, but its pretty cool! There was nobody else there, which made it special. Then the car from Aman arrived and we left.

We also spent a day doing a Lao cooking course with Tamnak Lao. There were only 3 of us in the class, which started with a trip to the Phousi markets. We cooked, and ate lots. The food is so very different to Thai food, almost no chilli?! Far easier for we softies to deal with! If you get the chance, do the course.

A visit to LP wouldn’t be complete without a visit to L’Elephant. The food was nice, French, predictable, but the wine list gets me. Classic grand cru French wines for crazy prices. I forked out for a bottle of 2009 Mouton Cadet (white) which, while not overly expensive in Australia, is just unexpected there. Dinner with wine cost a whopping 817,000 kip (~$A120.00) for both of us. Compared with street food, ridiculously expensive.

Only 3 nights in LP, then to our fav, Koh Samui. Hope we get a chance to catch up with you while we are there?!

Better fly. My bride is wondering why I’m on my computer…woops!

Cheers,

Daniel

Eating Out, Travel

The morning after the morning after the night before

October 23, 2014 Dan Leave a comment

Hi Tony.

It’s great being in your home city. We always enjoy our visits to Bangkok. A big thanks for treating us to dinner at your “local”. I love that even with 3 large beer Chang and enough food to sustain at least a few extra people, it still only came to ~600B (~A$16) for the four of us.

I still find it hard to believe that people come to Bangkok and hate it?! Friendly people, great food, shopping, cultural highlights that are remarkable and a vibe, just a vibe.

Despite the myriad of new boutique and big name hotels, we really like the Metropolitan. We’ve always been well looked after here and generally have the run of the place. In fact, am looking out on the pool now and there is nobody in it. Might put this on hold and go take a dip.

Given it’s our honeymoon, we’ve stepped things up a little in terms of drinks and meals. I suspect we may actually overdo things some!

We shopped like bandits all day, as we usually do here, then had a much enjoyed foot massage at MBK before braving the rain and heading back to the hotel. Given it is our honeymoon, The Metropolitan was nice enough to spot us a bottle of bubbles and some truffle chocolates. We didn’t need much encouragement to crack into it.

Just to add an extra dimension to the night, we wandered next door to have a drink at Vertigo/Moon Bar (Banyan Tree). A cocktail on the roof at the 60-something floor is pretty special. We like this place as it doesn’t attract the bogan crowd that Sirocco does, curtesy of The Hangover movie.

As you know, and we have discussed numerous times, it’s hard to resist trying the “extra-special” restaurants in town. So last night we ate at Nahm. As you know, it’s in the hotel, so pretty convenient.

Ok, so how did I enjoy it? Once the parents and the 3 young children left (at 9:30pm), things quietened down. A complimentary glass of bubbles helped (for honeymoon, not the children running around the restaurant screaming). Who allows kids to run around a restaurant like that? Even more so a restaurant ranked # 13 in the world (and best in Asia)?

Alright, that wasn’t Nahm’s fault…the food? The amuse and the canapes were fabulous. I could have easily just kept eating them. What were they you ask? Check out the menu. The mains…this is where we were challenged, and I’m not sure in a good way. Sure the food was nice, but the flavours were all insanely over the top and the heat (chilli) in some of the dishes was simply too much for we mortals. We had: salad of fresh river prawns with pork and Asian pennywort (brilliant dish), kafir lime and smoked fish relish with sweet pork, salted fish dumplings and coconut poached bamboo and vegetables (equally brilliant), grilled duck curry with Bangkok plum leaves (we were told this was very spicy…it wasn’t, it was nicely spiced) and soft shell crab stir fried with chillies, holy basil and green peppercorns (this had the kick to it!). Julia had coconut and chicken soup with deep fried garlic, green mango and chilli and I had squid, pork and prawn soup. I couldn’t taste mine…the chilli had done its best on me by then!

I think the thing for us was that while every dish was great in its own right, the table full of them was simply overpowering. They each got lost in the power of the others.

Dessert was the standout. I tried to distract Julia so I could taste hers, but she has wisened up to me in only 3 days of wedded bliss! Julia had pandanus noodles with black sticky rice, water chestnuts, tapioca and coconut cream. Meanwhile, I was content with custard apple in coconut cream with sesame biscuits.

The wine list was a bit of a challenge. I simply wasn’t sure I was happy to fork out 4000B for a bottle of Thai wine? Granted, I know nothing about Thai wine. The balance of the selections was reasonable, but not inspiring. I was hoping a healthy selection of aromatic whites would greet me, a bunch of Gewürztraminers, Pinot Gris, Chenin Blancs and the like, but the choices were few and dare I say it, wanting.

Much more to do over the next little while. We’re off to Gaggan tonight, which I am thoroughly excited about, even if it is only ranked # 17 in the world!

Will let you know my thoughts on that before heading off to Luang Prabang on Friday.

Better head off for some more shopping.

Sawadee kap,

Daniel

Eating Out, Home cooking, Travel

Pre-wedding diet

October 13, 2014 Dan 1 Comment

G’day Tony,

Ok, so I had to dust off the cob-webs (pardon the pun) and put some electrons on virtual paper. Humblest apologies for being off-line for so long, that’s if you missed me. If you didn’t miss me, sorry I am back.

Winter left in a hurry, replaced by all that is good about spring…except the snow melting, strong northerly winds, hayfever, the smell of dynamic lifter on the garden, changing clocks forward (daylight savings time) and school holiday madness in the city. Other than that, I love spring and all that it brings!

Our final weekend at Mt Buller brought together a great group of friends for a little bit of skiing and a lot of eating and drinking. A boisterous group at the lodge on the Saturday night partook in an array of goodies lovingly BBQ’d by Jim…chicken pieces marinaded in rosemary, garlic, chilli, olive oil and lots of fresh lemon zest and juice, slow braised pork belly (bbq’d to give a really nice caramelisation) courtesy of Alex and lamb rissoles with cumin, turmeric, smoky paprika, sumac, parsley and feta cheese…yep, fetta crumbled through the mix. Much, much goodness!

Some salads and freshly baked bread to round out the meat feast. Oh, and wine. Lots of wine!

Dessert was a surprise. I whipped up a chocolate self saucing pudding, while someone mixed together the fixings for a sticky date pudding. Confusion, wine, not sure which, but flour was inadvertently left out of the sticky date. Unsurprisingly the mix didn’t set. It was only then that the error was picked up. So, I did what any hungry (I was stuffed the gunnels, but still wanted sticky date pudding) I added a half amount of self raising flour, mixed and popped back in the oven. The comments when served surprised me…best sticky date pudding ever! Score!

The last few weeks have been a blur of pre-wedding diet food. Some stand out meals. Nah, who am I kidding. The stuff is okay, but is never going to substitute for real home cooked food!

Julia and I have an agreement. We must visit one nice restaurant a month. Not a big ask in a city like Melbourne. But being away every weekend and both of us super busy during the week, it simply hasn’t happened for a while. About to make up for it, though.

Was taken to Zia Rina’s Cucina by Phil from Armadale Cellars the other day for lunch. Phil’s been around the block a few times and he rates chef/owner Rina as good as any Michelin stared chef he’s seen on the continent. Must admit, the food is blindingly good. So much so, heading back there this week with a good friend who will be in town from Dubai. If any place can float Nick’s boat, this should do it. Oh, it’s BYO too, so I am going to hit Nick up to dust something off from his Arabian cellar…no doubt I will be doing the same from my cellar.

Honey-moon is fast approaching (next week). A few nights in Bangkok, to get into the groove. So, I booked us into Nahm and Gaggan. Both are listed in the top 50 restaurants in the world, but are they that good?

Sure, you can live it up in Thailand without spending a bomb, but I fail to understand how Nahm (rated #12 in the world) can cost BHT2,000/person (~AUD75.00) for degustation dinner, while the highest rated Australian restaurant, at #32, is giving you their experience at AUD190/person. I know, I know, this opens a Pandora’s box of arguments.

Pretty soon, we in Melbourne will play host to The Fat Duck. Yep, that Brayside stalwart which boasts a number of Michelin stars. For 6 months and 45 seats, that means 16,000 people will be served while they are in Melbourne. Getting a table…forget it. Ballot it will be, but at north of $525/person (ex-booze), it is almost cheaper to fly to England and experience it in its home location!

How much are you willing to spend (not including tip) and a meal to remember? Does it need to be a restaurant that is rated by Michelin, or S. Pellegrino or whichever is your go to restaurant reviewers?

For me, that memorable meal may be as simple as some hawker food on the foreshore of somewhere tropical, but it’s not going to stop me visiting Nahm and Gaggan. In the meantime, it is back to the microwave to “cook” dinner for tonight *sigh*

Catch you soon!

Daniel

Eating Out, Travel

NZ eh!

August 26, 2014 Tony Leave a comment

Hey Dan,

Nearly a week on the ground in New Zealand, and I barely touched a sauvignon blanc or any lamb. But there was good reason: there must be about a million boutique breweries in NZ, and they’re doing some pretty amazing stuff – so no need to indulge in any cloying sav blancs. Plus, there were so many steaks on the hoof, that it would have been rude not to have partaken.

My ski season lasted all of one day. But it was a good one. And it’s nice to slide around the place with the benefit of heated seats – thank you very much BMW New Zealand and BMW Asia for the opportunity.

skiing with heated seats: hmmmm

What I cannot stress enough is just how beautiful the Southern Alps are – if I believed in a god (or even a God), I’d believe this was the place where s/he thought “yup, I got that bit right.” Absolutely stunning.

And there were some good meals too, thanks again to a range of quality local produce.

Saffron restaurant was a great introduction to the dining scene, as was an Emerson’s Pilsner at the related The Blue Door bar next door. A little local chardonnay with my crispy whitebait (it was whitebait season) followed by a baked puff pastry stuffed with confit of local rabbit, sultana and pine nut black pudding, double smoked bacon, and served with braised lettuce and what they called a cranberry jus. It’s a common mistake – the word is coulis – but I’m willing to forgive the faux pas, because it was bloody good. A nice Central Otago pinot noir hit the spot too.

Oddly enough, Arrowtown (it’s about 15km from Queenstown, and apparently where all the locals moved when property there got too expensive – it’s a pretty little gold-rush town, but at the end of a valley, so apparently is as cold as a witch’s something-or-other much of the time) is also home to a tapas joint, officially a wine bar, called La Rumbla, which was also pretty good.

Sharing plates. Some a bit hit-or-miss, but with sharing plates it matters less. And I did get some lamb here too, along with a couple of really nice hoppy ales. The boys went for girly tamarind cocktails, but seemed to enjoy them enough. It is another place to which I’d return.

And now on to more important matters: burgers. Queenstown, by which I mean the actual town (pictured above – is that not the prettiest city in the world?), is home to the Fergburger. Now you need to be careful about your pronunciation – a furburger is apparently something completely different (don’t Google that if you’re under 18, thanks). But log on to the official website – it captures the spirit of the place beautifully.

In Ferg we trust

Any burger joint that was set up to cater to drunk people – it’s open 21 hours – has to be good. And it is. My ‘Mr Big Stuff’ only just squeezed under the ‘if it’s bigger than your head, you shouldn’t eat it’ rule, but was pretty amazing.

Yeah, I’m eating it anyway

Sitting by Lake Wakatipu, taking in the scenery, and eating a Fergburger was pretty damned nice, despite the single-digit temperatures. I even saw people boarding the flight to Auckland with Fergburger bags. Probably the online ordering won’t work from Bangkok – I expect soggy rolls by the time the order arrives here – but it has set me on a mission to find the best burger in town. That’s for another post.

Meanwhile. What I’ve learned is that: You need to go to NZ; driving BMWs on ice is wickedly entertaining; you need to go to NZ; setting up a good burger shop catering to drunk people makes a lot of sense – at least if there aren’t any souvlaki joints in the neighbourhood; you need to go to NZ; and, you really should go to NZ. Seriously, it is the most amazingly beautiful natural scenery you will ever see. And they do good produce; they make great craft beers and wine other than sav blanc; they seem to enjoy life a lot; they don’t turn away boat people (unless they’re Americans with nuclear weapons); and they whip everybody in the world at rugby. What’s not to like?

Eating Out

Medium rare

July 17, 2014 Dan 1 Comment

Hi Tony,

It’s been a very interesting week. I finished up my last job on Friday (a solid 9.5 years of service) and have this week off before taking up my new, exciting role.

Here I was thinking that I would relax lots, catch up on some reading, spring clean the house and maybe even get out on the bike, despite the nasty weather. Instead I have been running around like a mad-man trying to tick off a long list of “to do’s”. Happily, I’ve managed most.

I was invited to a dinner on Tuesday by Armadale Cellars to look at a new-ish wine label out of the Yarra Valley.

The guys who set up Cabrolin Estate have real jobs and enough cash behind them to do it well. Only small plantings, about 5 acres, means the three of them do most of the viticulture, but most importantly, they have recognised they know nothing about making wine. So, what to do? Simple, engage Mac Forbes, a Yarra Valley guru for many years and the right hand man to the late Dr John Middleton of Mount Mary. In case you haven’t come across Mount Mary, their chardonnay and their cabernet driven Quintet’s are simply brilliant.

So, an interesting philosophy of Cabrolin is to have Mac assist them with every step and not focus on the selling price of their wines. The result? Well, they are only making Cabernet and Shiraz, with some blends, but I have to admit, the booze is really very good. The pricing is far from what you’d pay for a Quintet (>$100, if you can get your hands on some), hovering about $40/bottle-ish. Yes, I may have bought a little. Remind me when you are next here to drag out a bottle.

Another interesting aspect of Tuesday was the restaurant chosen. I’ve never been to Steer Bar & Grill before. After all, how often do I head to a steak house?! Sure, the beef was exquisite (I had a Sher 9+ Wagyu skirt steak done medium rare), but it was the conversation with chef Paul Wilson at the end of the evening that was MOST interesting.

I am now a lot less naïve about Wagyu . We discussed my beef (pardon the pun) about Wagyu burgers. Paul shook his head in dismay and explained how it works. There are only 4 producers of pure bred (9+) Waygu cows in Australia. This means their genetic make up is 95%+ of the pure breds in Japan. But, and here is the rub (pardon the pun), even if the animal is 45% Wagyu, some producers still call it Wagyu. There are any number of growers with “mutts”. Paul agreed that there is no point grinding good beef, Wagyu or not.

Something else I learned from Paul was that the better the grade of Wagyu, the more subtle the flavour. So, despite the hype, those looking for a steak are better off with a dry aged, grass fed Black Angus steak. Bring it!

Given the Sher “tomahawk” steak (2.2kg rib eye) at a lazy $270 which graces his menu from time to time and that he buys almost all of the prime cuts from all the pure bred producers in Australia, it makes me wonder what Wagyu is served by other dining establishments?

This reminds me of the hoopla around beef raised on a well regarded Australian island many years ago. Is it ok to call it “from a certain island” if the animal grew up on the mainland and only lived its last 6 weeks on the island? Is that enough time to change the character of the beef? Or…well, most disturbingly, when the milking cows go off their milk, turning them into beef? Milking cows are not bred for their beef. I understand this practice has long since stopped, but with the hype around the source of the beef nowadays, it makes me wonder.

In the interim, I can heartily recommend Steer. Word of advice, ask your waiter for help choosing a steak, don’t automatically head for the Wagyu. It might not blow your hair back.

Off to Mt Buller tomorrow. Lots of snow, so some skiing, red wine and work, not necessarily in that order.

Cheers,

Daniel

BrothersBites

Category Archives: Eating Out

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Beer snacks part 2

Shinkanzen

Oishi

Cocktail Hour(s)

Kop gai lai lai

The morning after the morning after the night before

Pre-wedding diet

NZ eh!

Medium rare

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