Review – Los Amates.

Ola Mexican! It has been too long!

I am probably preaching to the converted here – but Mexican food is awesome. There are very few restaurants that will happily take a group of 6 who have spent the last 3 hours drinking in the pub. But Mexican joints will welcome you with open arms, and give you a tequila.

The secret to their success is that they are casual, inexpensive, fun, tasty, and a meal will usually involve drinking a range of tasty beverages, from perhaps my favourite beer – Modelo, through to sangria and margaritas. Frankly, what’s not to like?

Some of my favourite cheap eating haunts in London were Mexican – La Perla in Charlotte St, Desperados in Upper St, Loco Mojito in Brick Lane, the borderline dingy El Paso in Old St, and the ever growing Wahaca chain. All were great places to take a drunken crew, or to have a quick post-work bite that wouldn’t break the bank.

So it was odd last night, when I turned up to my friend Ali’s birthday dinner at Los Amates on Johnson St, Fitzroy, to realise that I hadn’t once been out for Mexican in the three months I have been back in Australia. There just don’t seem to be as many Mexican options here, with the old Taco Bill chain falling a long way short of the kind of dining establishment discerning Melbournians like to frequent.

But then, as Los Amates are quick to tell you in their menu, and their tagline, they are the “Only Authentic Mexican in Restuarant in Victoria”. Whether this is strictly the case or not, they explain that most Mexican we eat over here is not authentic Mexican, but rather an Americanised Tex-Mex version made popular by places like BBNT, and the El Paso taco and burrito kits.

And at first glance, Los Amates certainly do seem to be as they claim. An authentic little Mexican restaurant, with nice decor, bright coloured, Mexican inspired decorations, and a great enclosed back area, utilising corrugated iron fencing, and printed rugs to really give you the feeling you really are in a Mexican garden party – with not a sombrero, cactus, or pinata in sight!

The menu too actually requires careful thought. It is not simply a choice between the tacos, burritos and echiladas, or the chicken, beef or pork. There is a wide range of tacos options, with different flavours and styles from different regions of Mexico. The main courses are also varied, and give you the chance to order based on heat levels. There are delicious sounding (if somewhat pricey) lean steak options, chicken fajitas which you can have with mole or salsa verde, and prawns in a range of styles, from a la diabla (very hot), to al mojo de ajo (with a garlic and pineapple sauce).

On my visit the staff were very friendly and attentive, ensuring that our large group were well looked after, and always had water, and drinks. I jumped in early with a large sangria (when in Mexico), and many others on the table soon followed. Had it not been a Wednesday night, I would have started sampling the margaritas too! They also offered special Mexican spiced beers and were on hand to explain, and recommend them to us.

We started with some basic nachos for the table (always a winner) and then (after asking which of the tacos wasn’t too spicy, as these weren’t spice-graded like the mains) I had the Tacos al Pastor – Mexico City style grilled pork, which was served in a clay dish, with little ramikins of spicy achiote sauce, pineapple, chopped onion and coriander on the side. Jealous that some of my dining companions appeared to have that amazing Mexican cheese on their meals, I asked the cute waiter for a bowl of the cheese too, and even though he was asked for about 5 other things at the same time, he brought it out for me straight away. The tacos were all served with soft tortillas (the traditional way to have tacos), which were hot, fresh and delicious.

Given that I’m a fan of any Mexican food, I can’t say I was being super-discerning about the food – but it was certainly very good, and the entire table seemed to agree, with a chorus of “this is sooo good” generally emanating from their satisfied mouths. I can say my pork was sweet, and mild (just as I requested) and the pineapple, onion and coriander gave it a real freshness. If I had one complaint it would be that I would have liked more pineapple, but it is such a small complaint that I can’t say it really affected my enjoyment of the meal.

I certainly look forward to going back there, and getting stuck into the extensive tequila menu. Honestly, the service alone warrants a return visit, but if you haven’t had proper Mexican food before, then I can highly recommend it.

Have you had good Mexican in Melbourne? Or somewhere else? Tell me about it…

Tags: Fitzroy, Los Amates, Melbourne, Mexican, sangria, tacos, tequila

Don’t be a hater.

Cooking dinner for friends can be a perilous thing these days. Some people are vegetarian (or worse, vegan). Some people are wheat intolerant, or lactose intolerant. Some people only eat white meat, or only eat fish. Some people will die if they eat crustaceans or nuts. And then there are just the weird things that people hate. There are the obvious, common ones – brussel sprouts, broccoli – and then there are a whole host of random things people seem to dislike for no apparent reason. In my time I have known people who don’t like peas, pumpkin, cauliflower cheese, fruit, hot custard (but not cold custard), pink fish (but not white fish), rice (yes, really – they eat curry and chinese with chips!), tomatoes, salad, eggs, the list goes on and on.

Now I will freely admit there are some things I am not a massive fan of – coriander and capsicum being two of them. But I will cook with these things when a recipe calls for them, and in moderation they’re fine. I can categorically say I don’t like coffee, because I have tried to drink it a hundred times, and every single time I screw up my face and wonder how on earth people can enjoy the stuff – but I accept that they do. I also accept that sometimes people don’t like things because they have an allergic reaction to them, or because it is a strong and aquired taste, like vegemite, or Dr Pepper. But most of the time the food-hates people have are for very basic food items, and they stem from childhood. It is usually something you were forced to eat as a kid, and decided you didn’t like. And for the most part, people haven’t even tried to eat it again since.

However, this unreasonable aversion can be problematic as a grown-up. I have to say, I find it somewhat unattractive when I go out to dinner with a guy who won’t eat vegetables, or has a strange aversion to rice (frankly, order chips with your curry and I’m out the door). Or when he won’t drink wine. A beer with a pub meal is fine, but at a nice restaurant, seriously, drink a glass of wine! And women are not exempt from this – and can be far more annoying. I once sat next to a woman who ordered a whole fish and then sent it back because it had a head and scales on it! Jesus lady! Why order a “whole fish” then? (But annoyingly fussy women are almost another post entirely.)

Basically, what I really want to do today is encourage you to at least try something you think you hate. Just give it a go! There are countless things I used to hate that I actually really like now. Here are some of them:

Curry.

Yes, another picture of curry.

When my Mum used to make chicken tikka drumsticks, I used to roll my eyes and say, “Oh yuck. I hate that!”. Even in my early twenties, when my friends suggested we go to an Indian restaurant I would always say I didn’t like it, and persuade them to go somewhere else. It may be because I was (and am still) not very good with really spicy food. I would have flashbacks to the one time I had Indian as a kid, and spent the meal suffering from a burning mouth, glugging down copious amounts of milk to put out the fire.

But when I was about 23, and living in London, I was going out with an English musician. We were having a lazy winter day in bed, and I said to him, “We should go out for dinner… If you could have anything in the world right now, what would it be?”. “Curry” he replied. I couldn’t argue with that. So we braved the January weather, and went to a lovely Indian restaurant near my place, in St Katherine’s Dock. I remember I had a mild prawn curry, and it was damn straight amazing. In one meal, I was completely converted.

I spent the next few months travelling around the UK, and in every town I would find a little Indian place, and order popadoms with chutney, lamb tikka massala and pilau rice. I had it in Bath, Okehampton, Penzance, Oxford, Stratford, Chester, Edinburgh, Fort William and Oban. And to this day it is still what I order whenever I have curry, and I would rate it as one of my all time favourite meals. A long way from the little girl who hated curry.

Avocado.

I know it’s favourite for many people, but to be honest I struggled with avocado for a long time. I think it’s partly the texture, it just felt funny in my mouth. In short, it just didn’t float my boat. But over the years the green squishy fruit has won me over. I think this is in part due to an explosion of love for mexican food, with guacamole being an integral part of the cuisine.

In fact, I can safely say that I had never actually bought an avocado for personal consumption until  I decided to make my own guacamole a couple of years ago. I accidently forgot to check for ripeness, and ended up buying a hard avocado, which was fairly difficult to mash into guac, I can tell you!

Now I quite like a bit of avo in a salad, or on a sandwich. I’m not likely to just sit there eating one with a spoon, and I do think it’s massively overused in sushi handrolls, but I’m definitely on board the avocado boat these days.

Chili.

As previously mentioned, I struggle with spicy food. And it’s really not something I want to have an issue with, as so many great cuisines have a tendency to be spicy – Indian, Mexican, Thai, Korean, Jamaican etc. I also used to get served spicy food when I went round to other people’s houses, and it was always very embarrassing when I couldn’t eat it. A particular memory of being served an unbelievably spicy stir fry by a friend’s Dad sticks in my mind. He was quite offended when I could only eat about three mouthfuls! The rest of the meal went downhill from there.

As a result of meals like this I used to just not eat chili full stop, but now I know I would be missing out on some of the best food in the world if I threw the spice out with the satay. So I mostly just order the milder dishes, or ask for it no to be too hot – and by trying to add little bits into my food, now I can certainly handle a lot more than I used to be able to.

I have noticed that Australians are massive fans of spice, and seem to have a higher threshold when it comes to spice levels than say the English. Despite their love of curry, in particular the vindaloo, in England I didn’t usually have to enquire about the heat of a chili con carne, or thai green curry, knowing I could usually take it. In Australia I have to be a lot more cautious, and read menus very carefully for the mention of chili. I get very disappointed when I order a meal I’m really looking forward to eating, and then I can’t because it’s just too hot. But I will cook with chili now, and that way I know how much is going in, and I can keep it mild, but tasty. I usually chop up the rest of the chili and let it sit in some olive oil so that might spice loving guests can give their meals as much heat as they want.

There are lots more too (I mean, I remember when I didn’t even like beer or wine – can you imagine?) but we don’t want to be here all day. I guess in the end I’m just saying, don’t be a hater. You might have only not liked something because of the way your Mum cooked it, or it was served at school camp. Your palate will have matured, and you may find cooked in a certain way, something you hate could become something you love. Life (and food) should be full of adventure. And you never know, until you try.

I want to know what food you hate? Why do you think you hate it? Would you be prepared to give it another go?

Tags: Avocado, Chili, Curry, Food hates, Fussy eaters

Memoirs of a Melbourne Foodie in London.

London (and England in general) gets a fairly bad rap in terms of culinary culture. Much of the world gets the idea that the height of English gourmet sophistication is fish & chips, and steak & ale pie. Which is ironic because the English have created almost all the world’s most famous TV chefs (Gordon, Jamie, Nigella, Heston) and are constantly on the cutting edge of food trends; being among the first to tap into and even create the market for locally sourced, organic products.

That being said, if returning to Melbourne has taught me anything, it is that food here, overall, is superior. Modest corner cafes regularly turn out sensational homemade pies and salads, and unbelievable breakfasts. Unassuming local pubs which are in no way aiming for the “gastro” tag will produce amazing steaks, grills, and other dinners for under $15. And with all the other top notch Melbourne restaurants, these little places are really the unsung heroes of the town. Casually and without fanfare serving up plate after plate of delicious, high quality food.

But perhaps that is just the culture. Melbournians don’t do chains. It is the first place in the world where Starbucks had to close stores rather than open them, because we just couldn’t come at the idea of American chain coffee stores. Perhaps we have the luxury of small local places being able to afford to open up and run their dream cafe or restaurant because, as yet, and as opposed to London, the rents are still affordable. Well, just about! So, as a result of this Melbournians have become foodies, even food snobs, by default. Years of being served food of a high standard has left us unhappy with anything less. And considering there will be somewhere a few doors down that no doubt does it better, you can’t keep customers in a town like this for long if you don’t serve top shelf grub.

But while I have been loving being back in foodies paradise, there are a lot of things I miss from living in UK, and London in particular. True, I can now get pints and good cider in nearly every pub – which is very different to when I left 5 years ago, and a very pleasant surprise. But otherwise, here is a list of my culinary longings:

1. Good cheap curry.

Ok, so there are Indian restaurants in Melbourne, and granted I have only been back for a couple of months, but boy do I miss calling the local Indian on a Sunday night and for under 10 quid ($20 equiv) getting a delicious lamb tikka massala, poppadoms, chutneys and pilau rice all delivered to my door. I have been to a couple of cheap Indian joints since I have been back, places which are very popular, but have found the food, atmosphere and service in them disappointing. So if you know of a good place that feels like it wouldn’t be out of place in Brick Lane, let me know. Of course, if they’re offering free drinks and 20% off like they do in Brick Lane, that would be a bonus!

2. Pret a Manger egg & bacon baguettes.

If you have been to the UK you will know how much they love a chain. It is something that, as a Melbournian, can take some getting used to. But once you learn to stop fighting the inevitable and accept that you will eat at these places, it can be good (I know, it sounds shocking, but just go with it!) Sometimes in London (and the UK in general) when you are eating down the cheaper end of the scale, the food can be hit and miss. There isn’t a prevalence of good independent cafes, they are usually greasy spoons, and while these are good for a hangover brekkie, they’re not your Sunday lunch type of joint. But after a while, you come to rely on a good chain to constantly deliver decent cheap food. Wagamama, The Real Greek and Pizza Express are all good examples of this. And the chain sandwich shops (eg Pret, Eat etc) also have their place. Day after day, no matter where in London you are, you know you are only a block away from one of these places. You know what they’re going to have, and you know it will be decent. Not amazing, but decent. And I think my favourite, and the thing I miss the most, are the Pret bacon & egg baguettes. Crusty white baguettes, crispy bacon strips. creamy egg mayo. So wrong, but on a day when you are hungover and late for work – so right.

3. Morgan Spiced Rum.

Probably the thing I miss the most. Or at least, the thing I notice isn’t there the most. Morgans was something I would drink most nights I went out. And given that there isn’t even anything similar on most Australian bars, it is difficult to know what to swap it for. I have found myself drinking Canadian Club recently, and it’s just not right! A lot of bars will have Barcadi or Mount Gay, but this is nowhere near the same thing. Morgan Spiced, a drink which first became popular in Scotland, has spent the last 5 years gradually flooding the English market, and can now be found as a basic spirit in most places there. Why? Because it makes coca cola taste like vanilla – and it’s just freakin’ delicious. So listen up bartenders of Melbourne! Get some Morgans pronto! Or even some Sailor Jerry’s, Appletons or something good in the rum department. No Captain Morgans is NOT the same thing!

4. Brick Lane salt beef beigel.

Brick Lane is a pretty fascinating place. Before the hipsters moved in, it was the Indians and Bengali’s, evidenced throughout by the countless Indian restaurants, and cheap leather shops. But before that for a long time the area was popular with Jewish immigrants, fleeing persecution as far back as the 1870′s. Most of the traces of this history are gone now, you can occasionally spot a faded, old sign saying “R. Katz” or some-such to remind you of a world that has essentially disappeared. Except for perhaps the two most famous eateries in Brick Lane. The beigel shops. Of the two of them, everyone has their favourite. Long queues can often be seen winding into the street on a busy Saturday night as drunken East Londoners (and destination drinkers) wait for their favourite post inebriation snack. The salmon and cream cheese is an eternal favourite, but it is the salt beef beigel that is the most special. It is served best with gherkins and a little hot English mustard. And given that it is an essential part of the history of East London, drunkenly hoeing into one of these while you’re waiting for the night bus (damn you no. 8!) is even cultural!

5. Sunday Roast Beef with Yorkshire Pudding.

Ok, so we do roasts here. Good ones. But there is something about an English pub on a wintery afternoon, relaxing in a leather armchair in front of the fire, and ordering the Sunday roast. For the English, the roast is an art form. Come Christmas every TV chef will be recommending the best way to make the perfect roast potato. And Sunday roasts at the pub are as much an institution as Australia Day barbeques, and Eggs Benedict brunches are to Melbournians. With the prevalence of amazing gastropubs in London you can get some damn fine roasts these days, usually with meat sourced from top notch organic farms. Sure, you’ll pay top dollar (or pound rather) but you know it will be good. Traditionally though, you only get yorkshire pudding with beef, so I am hardpressed not to be swayed by the possibility of that particular gravy filled treat. Don’t forget to ask for your side of hot English mustard to make it complete!

Of course, these are all just cheap little things and places I miss. I went to Fifteen, and Gordon Ramsay restaurants too, but that’s a post for another day…

Are you still in London? What are your favourite cheap food spots? Or have you returned from your stint there and miss anything in particular?

Tags: Brick Lane beigel, Brick Lane curry, Gastro pub, London food, Morgan Spiced, Pret a Manger, Roast Beef

Recipe – Hairy Bikers’ Somerset Chicken

Hairy Bikers' Somerset Chicken

On one of my last Sunday’s in London, two of my very good friends (Shannon and James) took me to Hampton Court Palace. It was almost amazing that in my 5 years in London I had never been there, and even more amazing that the weather was beautifully sunny! It was a wonderful day, and after we had our fill of Henry VIII great palace, the gorgeous gardens, and a few post palace ciders by the Thames, I offered to cook dinner for them at James’s house in Chiswick.

Hampton Court Palace

But what to cook after a sunny day, that had been so quintessentially British? It had to be something that was traditional, and bear all the hallmarks of England’s culinary history, but it was much too nice a day to make shepherds pie, or bangers and mash. And where’s the challenge in that anyway? And then I remembered a delicious looking recipe I had seen on The Hairy Bikers’ Food Tour of Britain – one of my favourite ever cooking series. Somerset chicken.

So a quick, hectic trip to the madhouse that was Sainsbury at Clapham Junction station, and we were off to Chiswick, with all the necessary ingredients to make this almost lost old Somerset favourite. I had never made it before, but what the hell, I thought. If I can pull it off, it will be amazing.

So I got James to work peeling potatoes and apples, and I got cooking (the recipe is below). By the time it was done, the sun was almost setting, and we sat enjoying the last of the warmth of the sun on our skin, drinking cider and rose, eating our dinner on his beautiful roof terrace. It was a memorable meal, after an even more memorable day.

Recipe

Hairy Bikers’ Somerset Chicken

(These amounts will serve 6 people, but to make dinner for fewer people just reduce the amount of everything. For 2 chicken breasts I would use 1 apple, and 2 medium potatoes, but it is up to you really. Oh, and it’s tempting to use a lot of cider, but go easy, it tends to overpower everything else!)

• 6 boneless chicken breasts, skin on
• 3tbsp olive oil
• 75g butter
• 2 onions, sliced
• 4tbsp plain flour
• 2tbsp mustard of your choice
• 2 dessert apples, peeled and sliced
• 110g button mushrooms, sliced
• 250ml chicken stock
• 300ml cider
• 100-200ml double cream (depending on taste. can use low fat if you want – although the Hairy Bikers would never dream of it!)
• 1tbsp finely chopped sage leaves
• 300g Cheddar cheese, grated
• 4-6  potatoes, peeled and sliced (depending on size)

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C (gas mark 6). Season the chicken breasts with salt and black pepper.
2. Heat a large saute pan and add 2tbsp of the oil and 50g of the butter.
3. Fry the chicken breasts in batches for 1-2 mins on each side until golden. Put them into a deep-sided oven tray and roast for 25 mins until the chicken is cooked through.
4. Add the remaining butter and oil to the pan and cook the onions for 4-5 mins until softened but not coloured. Add the flour and mustard to the pan and cook for another 2 mins. Add the apples, potatoes and button mushrooms and cook for 1 min. Pour in the cider and cook off the alcohol, then pour in the chicken stock, bring to the boil, and cook for 5 mins. Add the cream and sage, cook for another 5 mins, then season with salt and black pepper.
5. Take the chicken out of the oven and pour the sauce into the dish to cover the chicken completely. Preheat the grill to high. Sprinkle the cheese over the chicken and place under the grill for 5 mins until the cheese is melted, golden and bubbling.

I recommend serving with a green salad of rocket and spinach, and a glass of ice cold white wine, rose or cider. Yum!

Tags: Hairy Bikers, Hampton Court, Somerset Chicken

Review – Floating Yum Cha.

At a little before midday yesterday (Sunday) some good friends and I gathered down at the Docks. And no, we weren’t sailors looking for a good time, drug smugglers, or angry dockworkers staging a protest. We were dressed in our Sunday best, hungry, excited and waiting for the Floating Yum Cha boat to arrive.

As a part of the Asian Food Festival, Floating Yum Cha is a once a year event, where a couple of hundred patrons clambour on board a two storey, ferry-style boat, which putts around Port Phillip Bay for three hours while they all dine on dumplings, fried wontons and other dim sum treats.

The day began humourously as, laughing on the dock, we watched the boat attempt to moor three times before crunching into the concrete pylons and throwing down the gang-plank. We joked that perhaps the captain was as hungover as a few of us were – after spending much of the afternoon and evening the day before drinking together.

But our excitement and longing to eat copious dumplings overrode any fears we had for our safety, we filed on board and were taken to our little table. The six of us crowded around our little rectangle of formica. We were disappointed to have a table without a window, so despite enduring the sensation of the floating, we didn’t actually have a view of the Bay. We were in good spirits though, and put the thought out of our minds, getting on with the more important task of going to the bar.

Once we had procured beer and wine, the Yum Cha commenced. I think I had imagined it would be a slightly classier affair. Or perhaps more traditional – waiters floating gracefully past with trays laden with amazing Chinese delicacies. Instead the set up was a buffet, which we were instructed to “be courteous” and approach table by table. We were given small plates, and knives and forks instead of chopsticks. The streamed dumplings were in fact quite tasty, but there was a paucity of fried options – which my hungover body was desiring above all. However, the har gau (traditional prawn dumplings), steamed bbq pork buns, shanghai dumplings, and sesame red bean balls were all top notch. I was a little thrown by the sweet and sour looking sauce, which in fact turned out to be really spicy and I had put all over my fried wontons – but when were invited to make our trip to the buffet for seconds, I did not make the same mistake again!

The eating completed, we were free to enjoy the remaining hour or so, chatting, drinking, laughing at the pasty white man in the terrible rastafarian shirt, singing the odd sea shanty, and wondering who on our neighbouring table had the smelly shoes on. We occasionally popped out onto the deck to get a look at the not so scenic Bay (Melbourne has a lot of world class drawcards, but a beautiful harbour is not really one of them!), but we sailed past Williamstown, and across to St Kilda, and it was definitely a novelty, and a fun way to spend a Sunday.

Photo by Craig Burke.

Once we had docked again, this time more successfully, we walked into the city and drank the afternoon/evening away at the Charles Dickens Tavern – notable mostly for it’s excellent collection of Samuel Smiths beers in a bottle, for being amazingly vigilant on the glass clearing front, and well, for putting up with us for about 5 hours!

So all in all it was a fabulous day. Thanks to Bethy for organising it, and to all my mates for being such funny punk weasels.

Photo by Craig Burke.

Tags: Chinese, Dumplings, Floating Yum Cha, Melbourne Cruise, Melbourne restaurant reviews, Yum Cha

Review – Bar Lourinha.

Apparently these days the hottest restaurants in Melbourne don’t take bookings. Which is great for the disorganised and spontaneous among us. A last minute decision to go to Izakaya Den, or Mama Sita, and if you’re patient and prepared to wait, you will get a table. And I understand the logic of this. Having worked in an extremely popular gastro pub in London, we often turned away a lot of people, only to have a couple of bookings not turn up. And empty tables don’t make money.

I suppose it just takes some getting used to. In the old days, you booked a table, had drinks around the corner and turned up just in time for your sitting. Now, things are a little different. You turn up, and have the drinks while you’re waiting for your table. But once you let yourself embrace the new system, and accept things, it can be a lot of fun – if you’re looked after.

Last Friday, Liam and I went to Bar Lourinha, in Little Collins St. After some pre-dinner drinks at the delightful Red Hummingbird in Russell St, I was starting to feel light headed with hunger. Perhaps the cocktails, and gin and sodas didn’t help either! But I knew I had to get food into me – fast. A quick dash (through the rain – again!) and we were at the door of Bar Lourinha – and the place was packed. I was suddenly very concerned I wouldn’t get food into me before I expired with hunger!

But we were met at the door by a lovely, and accommodating maitre d’ who assured us the wait wouldn’t be longer than half and hour, and promised to get us some drinks and nibbles – stat! We were ushered to the back of the packed restaurant, where we were placed in a queue in what is essentially the hallway to the toilets. And while, I think this whole “waiting for your table” thing would be a lot more acceptable and comfortable if patrons were provided with a bar or lounge area, the attentiveness of the staff more than made up for our cramped waiting space.

Within minutes we had a beer in hand (recommended by our waitress) and a bowl of almonds to keep me from keeling over. When she saw that I could not nibble on almonds and hold a beer at the same time, she swiftly found a bar stool which we could use as a little hallway table.

And sure enough, within half an hour we were sat at the bar, and ready to order. Now in some circumstances a bar seat would be unacceptable, but Bar Lourinha is in fact a bar, rather than a restaurant. All the seats are either at the bar, or surrounding small bar benches, with a scattering of lounges at the front window.

Once seated we were greeted and served by two very friendly, but super cool and knowledgeable bar tenders, one of whom reeled off an amazingly extensive list of specials almost perfectly, from memory. We ordered a delicious, and reasonably priced bottle of French red (2007 Chateau de Caraguilhes) from a list which featured mostly international wines – a nice change in a market flooded with Australian fare.

For food, we ordered the sardine special, a cabbage and lubna salad, and the slow cooked wagyu shoulder with shaved hourseradish. The sardines came out first. They were were big, whole and absolutely yummy. The salad followed soon after, with a big chunk of complimentary bread. I must admit to being skeptical about a cabbage salad, but with the lubna cheese, a hint of parsley, and what can only be described as a touch of magic, it was damn straight delicious. We found ourselves trying to hold ourselves back from eating the lot before the beef arrived.

But when it did, we were not disappointed. It was soft, unctious, and rich, with the peppery horseradish sprinkled on top to give it an edge. Somehow, even though they weren’t deliberately matched, the salad and the beef went perfectly together. We ate the lot, and soaked up the scraps with the bread. To be honest, I have been to Barcelona, and Madrid, and it was possibly the best Spanish style food I have ever tasted.

The whole evening was so delightful, in spite of the queue and the crowd, I could have sat there and had another bottle of wine quite happily. Hats off to the staff for amazing service on a crammed Friday night.

Tags: Bar Lourinha, Melbourne restaurant reviews, tapas

The best udon in Adelaide.

Mmmm, udon...

To be honest, I was always a ramen fan. I don’t know why, but I had always assumed I didn’t much like udon – despite loving almost all other Japanese food. I mean, okonomiyaki, yakitori, katsu curry, what’s not to love? Perhaps I had eaten a bad udon once, and decided it wasn’t for me. But sometimes one amazing meal can change everything – which really is a good reason to try something new occasionally.

Which brings me to a rainy July evening when I first came back to Melbourne. I caught up with my favourite dining buddy Liam and we began what is now a Friday night tradition – having a fabulous meal in the Melbourne city. He took me to Izakaya Chuji on Lonsdale St – izakaya’s being a Japanese bar/food fusion, a style of dining which Melbournians are passionately embracing. Having already shared a cheeky bottle of red in a little alcove at Troika we were just hungry and drunk enough to be adventurous. So after ordering a couple of tasty looking things from the menu, I asked our waitress what she recommended. “The tempura udon”, she replied with enough enthusiasm and certainty that we promptly said yes, and closed our menus.

A nip or two of ice cold Sapporo’s later and our food arrived. There were little croquettes, some amazingly tender beef skewers, and a steaming bowl of tempura udon. And it was absolutely delicious. Delicious enough to completely reinvent my feelings about udon. In one serve of slippery noodles I had gone from hater to lover. Although, I didn’t know then that I had opened the gateway to a serious addiction.

But in the days that followed, I couldn’t get that udon out of my head. And with the prevalence of Japanese cafes in Melbourne, I was given chance after chance to try and see if lightning could strike twice. While some of these cafes made a valiant effort, and some pretty decent udon, I was still chasing that perfect bowl, that noodle hit that was just like the first time.

A week later I moved to Adelaide to visit my parents for a couple of months. Now Adelaide is not Melbourne. Japanese cafes are a little harder to come by. Sushi – everywhere. Udon – not so much. And so began my tireless search for the best udon in Adelaide. Every street was scoured, every purveyor of hot Japanese food located, every noodle supped. I ate bowls of tempura noodles made up entirely of batter with nary a vegetable in sight, I ate some rather rank looking floating chicken which gave me a stomach ache, I searched food courts and high streets, side streets and alleyways.

And then, when all seemed lost, I stumbled upon Sushi in the City in Gawler Place, right in the heart of the city (as the name would suggest). And not only did they serve the best udon I had tasted in Adelaide (and second only to Izakaya Chuji itself) but they had proper tasty looking sushi (not tinned tuna, or teriyaki chicken drenched in browned avocado), chicken katsu and tonkatsu curry, and some amazing looking bento boxes. I was in Japenese heaven!

Now I am back in Melbourne, and the search goes on. Will I ever find another bowl of udon as good as Izakaya Chuji? The perfect balance of noodle, soup stock, veg and meat, the crispy fried prawn, the seaweed and egg. I can tell you this much – I will enjoy trying!

Have you had the best udon in Melbourne, or Adelaide? Where was it?

And has anyone been to Izakaya Den yet? I’m dying to go and check it out!

Tags: Izakaya, Izakaya Chuji, Sushi, Udon