Standing in line at the packed-to-the-rafters Pacific BBQ Cafe, we felt like Elaine in the 1992 Seinfeld episode “The Suicide“. After fasting for 3 days for a medical test, she deliriously exclaimed at the hospital, “But here it was: mountains of duck, and not Fatty duck either, but juicy tender breasts of duck, beautifully sliced, you can takes as much as you want.” We salivated for Pacific’s speciality of Cantonese roast duck too, especially since the line was cruelly next to where the glistening birds were masterfully chopped up, plated and sent out to eager patrons.

Thankfully, as with many Chinese restaurants, turnover of tables is quick and after 15 minutes or so, the three of us were seated. As you can see from the picture above, the space inside is pretty large and brightly lit and coloured. We really liked the student buzz and vibe of the place, a nice change from the Lonsdale Street Greek precinct crowd who frequent Pacific’s neighbours. Pacific also has siblings located in South Yarra and Richmond.

You will never lose sight of the menu either, as it laid under glass on top of the table - a great idea! Pacific serves Hong Kong cafe-style food, including various stuff on rice (like moreish pork chops), hot pots, fried rice, soup noodles, and things like spaghetti (baked or fried) and sandwiches. Even Spam was on the menu! Of course, they are also famous for their roast meats, which include duck, soy chicken, roast pork and BBQ pork. A range of drinks like ice milk tea and bubble tea round out the Canto-pop experience.

So what did we order? Well, after pining for it whilst waiting for a table, we couldn’t go past the roast duck, which was $19 for half a duck. It was certainly one of the best versions of this dish I’ve ever had! The duck arrived nicely plated, skin glistening with sauce. The meat was tender and smokey, not dried out as some ducks can be; the skin was crisp and beautifully marinated. The sauce was piquant and redolent with spices. One special mention has to go to the chilli oil (lar chiu yeow) that was on every table - one of the best chilli oils I’ve had which went beautifully with the duck. Two thumbs up! As only the roast duck was available on the night we visited (Pacific had only recently opened), we made a point to go back again in the future to try their other roast meats!

A chicken with ginger and shallot hot pot ($18) arrived piping hot, with pieces of moist tender chicken and big ginger pieces swimming in a beautiful gravy that went a treat with plain rice.

A plate of stir fried seasonal vegetables ($15), which in this case turned out to be bok choy, rounded out the meal nicely. Bok choy is one of the best veg to accompany roast duck.

Service was efficient though brusque, understandably because the cafe relies on turnover of tables to accommodate its already immense popularity. They coped admirably on a busy Friday night, with dishes whipped out to our table in record time and a pay at the counter policy ensuring no long waits for the bill.

Pacific is highly recommended; the roast duck itself is worth the price of admission! We can’t wait to go back and try out their other roast meats. We definitely won’t be satiating our duck cravings as Elaine did, by eating Newman’s Drake’s coffee cake!

Ah street fare. Is there a more simpler or honest way to sample the local flavours of a place? In countries like Singapore, I often prefer the street and hawker foods to cafes and restaurants, for the price but also for the fantastic flavours and lively atmosphere that such food is cooked and eaten in.

When we visited Osaka, we stayed in Dotonbori, a busy and touristy shopping/eating street next to a rather stinky canal. Movies like Blade Runner were inspired by the sci-fi-esque neon signs of Dotonbori, where spruikers loudly attempt to lure passerbys into blaring pachinko parlours, amusement centres and any one of the seemingly endless number of eating establishments. Despite the gaudiness of it all, there was a certain charm to this mad and chaotic scene.

Street fare also caught our eye, particularly the stall in the picture above (if someone can translate the name, that would be ace!) selling Osaka’s famed street snack of takoyaki, or octopus balls. No, these aren’t octopus testicles but rather a dumpling-like snack consisting of batter with a filling of diced octopus, which are fried in a special cast iron takoyaki pan that has hemispherical molds which produces the takoyaki’s ball shape. After frying, the takoyaki are topped with a moreish combination of okonomiyaki sauce, green laver (aonori), mayonnaise and katsuobushi (fish shavings). The fish shavings have an interesting, if somewhat freaky effect, as they “wilt” from the heat of the balls and look as if they’ve come alive!

We bought ten or so of the tasty treats and enjoyed them on the Nipponbashi Bridge, as many of the locals did. They were heaven - hot, chewy and doughy on the outside before one reaches the smokey octopus within. The toppings provided a melding of sweet, salty and creamy flavours that went perfectly with the takoyaki. It was so wonderful tucking into these snacks with toothpicks whilst looking out at the neon glare over the bridge. Man I love street food!

Written by Elegant Gourmand

Let me set the record straight right from the start, I am a Pho Dzung man. It’s important to state this, as people are very loyal to their favourite CBD pho noodle shop, and this loyalty can be as divided as Ford or Holden. My preference for the Dzung is not necessarily because it is the best in town, but because it is the closet one to my work. However, being a fan of the noodly and beefy soup goodness that is the mighty pho, I am not averse to trying other places.

Mekong is located smack bang in Swanston Street. It proclaims to serve “original Vietnamese rice noodle soups” and is certainly one of the first, if not the first, Vietnamese noodle soup places in the city. The interior is typical pho-shop chic: bright lights, laminex tables complete with an array of condiments and ever present flask of tea, Viet-pop blaring on TVs, and a drinks fridge stocked full of coconut and tri-colour refreshment. Drawn by the cheap prices, this is a favourite student haunt, so be prepared for sharing tables or waiting.

Mellie tried the fish ball soup that came with egg noodles.

I tried the rare sliced beef and beef ball pho. And the verdict? Well, a sign outside Meking proclaimed that Bill Clinton once had two bowls of Mekong’s pho. If that’s the case, he must have as great a liking for MSG as he did for interns, for I found the MSG levels of Mekong’s soup to be too high for my liking. Of course, this made the soup very tasty indeed, but the effect of MSG is that it gives you an almighty thirst afterwards!

I realise that most, if not all pho shops put MSG in their broth, and that the amount can vary even from day to day. But on the day that I tried the above soup, I found that the MSG level was too much.

That said, it was a decent bowl of pho, with nice beef slices and beef balls. They were a little stingy on the sprouts and basil though, and I thought the fish balls in Mellie’s dish were a little sub-par (then again, fish balls are not Mekong’s speciality).

Mekong is still a good, cheap and fun place if you’re in the area. There are better pho places in the suburbs, particularly in Springvale, Richmond and other Vietnamese areas, and I still prefer Pho Dzung to Mekong. However, for a quick pho hit, Mekong can more than amply provide. Just drink plenty of water aftewards!

Written by Elegant Gourmand

Visiting Tokyo’s Tsukiji fish market is a surreal experience. If the 4am start doesn’t do your head in, the madness and chaos inside the market definitely will. The highlight of any tour to the fish market is the frozen and fresh tuna auctions that conclude at 7am, after which you will be feeling delirious from the sensory overload and, more importantly, hunger.

What better way to satisfy those tummy rumbles than by breakfasting at one of the tiny sushi restaurants located within the Tsukiji fish market?

Ever since we touched down in Japan*, I had craved authentic super fresh sushi prepared by bona fide masters. Tsukiji didn’t disappointment. Located down “sushi alley” are a number of restaurants, some of which have been operated for well over a hundred years by multi-generational families. All restaurants are super tiny, with room for only a small number of customers at a time, resulting in queues. The most famous is Daiwa Sushi, which our learned guide claimed was the “No. 1″ sushi eatery in these parts. A two hour wait was not uncommon at Daiwa, and the Saturday that we went was probably no exception, as a line the length of the alleyway snaked from outside Daiwa’s doors. Even the “No. 2″ sushi place (whose name escapes me) had a very long queue!

We were famished and not willing to wait too long, so our guide took us to the “No. 3″ sushi restaurant, Sushi-Bun. We still had to wait 15 minutes to get in, but it was a damn sight better than 2 hours! A sign outside the restaurant encouraged diners to be considerate, and to give up their seats after they have finished, particularly if the restaurant is busy.

We did not take any photos of the interior of the restaurant nor any of the food, as the aforementioned sign also requested that no photos be taken. We respected that. However, the picture above, and a quick look at Sushi-Bun’s website will give you some idea of what the place looks like. The website also provides a brief history about the place. My impressions at the time was that it was one of the tiniest restaurants I have ever dined in! A sushi counter dominated the small space, behind which two chefs deftly prepared nigiri-sushi and maki rolls in ridiculously cramped quarters. The space was so small our backs nearly touched the wall!

Sushi a la carte is available, as are three sets. The above picture shows Set B; sashimi is also available. On the recommendation of our guide, Mellie and I ordered Sushi Set C which, for 3750 yen, consisted of “Extra special quality 10 different pieces of sushi, 3 pieces of roll and house made omelette with miso”.

As was expected of a place located in Tsukiji fish market, the 10 pieces of nigiri-sushi were ultra fresh and tasty - my favourite being Toro, the fatty underbelly of the tuna, which was so rich, soft and flavoursome, it was no doubt the piscatorial equivalent of foie gras. One piece, which I suspected was Akagai (arc shell), had an interesting crunchy texture. The Anago (sea eel) was sweet and smokey. I had also never encountered the quantity of Uni (sea urchin roe) that we received in our gunkan-maki, but it was nevertheless delicious and creamy, although a little overpowering if eaten in excess. The Tamago (egg omelette) was delicate, light and fluffy, quite unlike the dried out and over-sweetened stuff that passes for tamago in Melbourne. I also greatly enjoyed the miso soup, whose red miso base was greatly enhanced by the addition of small pippies, resulting in an intense but very delicious broth. I was in sushi heaven!

Our sushi experience was over far quicker than we would have liked, but that is the nature of breakfasting at Tsukiji. Respecting the wishes of Sushi-Bun’s owners, we didn’t dally when we finished and quickly gave our seats up to the next set of eager customers, sadly walking out on one of my favourite dining experiences in Japan. Sushi-Bun far belied its status as the so-called “No 3″ place in Tsukiji, and will definitely offer you the sublime sushi experience that Tokyo is famous for. If you can’t stand the lines at the other places, Sushi-Bun is well worth checking out!

* The authors visited Japan in October 2007

Written by Elegant Gourmand

Came across a neat little video on the Gourmet magazine website (US) about the slowfood movement in Australia (in particular, Melbourne). It is a great showcase of some of the more interesting slow food producers in this state. You can view the video here.

If you plan on watching it, brace yourself for the vomit inducing intro that is almost a call to arms for foodies (take a deep breath Ed) -”We are called foodies, and the world of food is where we live.” Bleh…are we so marketable now?

Other than that it is a solid documentary with some very quotable quotes:

Michael Harden (Food Editor) - “Melbourne is the food capital of Australia. We are actual food fanatics. We are food obsessed.”

Brigette Hafner (Food Writer/Editor/Chef) on how she shops at markets “I never plan anything till I get there. We’ll just have a roam, see the vegetables and see what’s beautiful.” - that’s my kinda gal.

Miranda Sharp (Manager - Veg Out Farmers Market) on the current trend of supermarket advertising - “The advertising on at the moment is just obscene. Using the good, clean fair sort of images. Fresh, direct from the paddock to the supermarket. If that’s the case where do they get the wax and the stickers put on?!? It’s absolute bullshit!”

Christine Ross (Owner of the Yarra Valley’s East Wind Rare Breeds) on her litter of Large Black Pig piglets “They’re practicing to be sausages. They all line up, head to toe…”

Di McDonald (Nagambie Rhubarb grower) on stringing rhubarb “…some woman on a program here took the string off it and I almost put my foot through the TV! She’s taking the strings off and I’m saying ‘you stupid woman!’ I’ve gone to all this trouble to grow all this beautiful rhubarb and she’s pulling all the colour off it!”

James Broadway (Gertrude Street Enoteca) - “The slow food movement is proving to be a major political force.”

Mike Boudry (Goulburn Terrace Winery/Cellar Door) - “This is the more practical way of getting wine out of a barrel. There are more specialised devices for doing that, but I find a disposable syringe does an excellent job. It says single use only, but I think I’ve gone past it.”

Greta “rockstar winemaker” Moon (Goulburn Terrace Winery/Cellar Door) on her apple orchard “Mike likes to keep them all for us. He doesn’t like me selling them. It’s always a battle. He says ‘Don’t sell them. Don’t sell those ones, they’re my favourites’. He says that about all of them.”

During our Japan trip in October 2007, we wanted to see both the old and the new, the traditional and the modern in Japanese architecture and culture. So, rather than check out just temples and traditional festivals, we also visited interesting skyscrapers and experienced contemporary festivals. The Umeda Sky Building, in Osaka, offered both. The ultra-modern and futuristic design of the building, resembling a big computer chip, has divided both locals and visitors. We loved it though! In real life, it was a very striking design, and a ride up the glass escalators to the Floating Garden Observatory at the top of the building offered great views of Osaka.

We were fortunate that, on the day when we visited the Sky Building, the Osaka International Beer Festival was also happening in the building’s forecourt. Tents and stalls were set up, offering tastings of beers and food from all over the world. You can even purchase tasting glasses, which allow you to sample a number of beers. A few stalls offered games of chance - Mellie even managed to score herself a free beer!

This stall was selling yakitori - skewered pieces of chicken and other meats grilled over charcoal. The waft of the grill from this stall was mouthwatering, although I am unsure what “sausages and Popeye” could be - see one of the signs. Spinach maybe??

As you can see from the flag, this stall had Italian fare, mostly pasta. The beers were also of an Italian flavour, featuring the very tasty Nastro Azzurro.

We sampled a few brews, including this Osakan label called Minoh Beer. I recalled that the pale ale was my favourite because it had floral tasting hops very reminscent of one of my fave beers, Little Creatures. Mellie preferred the weizen (wheat) beer.

We decided to try non-Japanese food at the festival and went with the above Pad Thai from one of the more popular stalls. It was nicely smokey, though I found it to be a bit too sweet. We also made the mistake of putting too much chilli in the Pad Thai, which literally singed our tastebuds and had us clamouring for a beer to put out the fire!

There was also an Indian stall there, selling naan, curries and meats from the Tandoor oven. The smells coming from the stall were irresistable, as were the Indian guys spruiking in accented Japanese but also switching from Hindi to English, depending on the customer - quite a scene to behold! The above dish of tandoori chicken was very tasty, with white fluffy naan that totally satisfied our cravings after a few breadless days.

A band playing easy listening music added to the laid back vibe of the festival, as people relaxed and eased into the afternoon - merry laughter indicating the enjoyment of many beers and good street food. It was a fantastic, cruisey afternoon, and a respite from an otherwise modern and fast-paced city.

I wish to dispel the myth that Japan is a very expensive country. Don’t get me wrong - there are certainly things there that will cost you an arm and a leg. However, as with most countries, if you do as the locals do, things like eating out can become very affordable.

Yayoiken is one such example. Recommended to us by our friendly ryokan owner in Kyoto, and previously visited by other food bloggers like Helen from grabyourfork, Yayoiken is a chain of teishoku-ya, located in numerous places in Japan, and all serving simple, homely and cheap lunch and dinner sets. How cheap? Try around 700 yen (AUD$7) for a set that will contain a meat/fish dish, miso soup, side dish, pickles, and bottomless bowls of rice from a huge help-yourself rice cooker. The chain is also opened 24 hours!

Cheapness in the prices certainly doesn’t mean cheap and drab surrounds: Yayoiken is a clean and very pleasant space to dine. Key in your food choices from the vending machine, insert money, then hand your ticket to the waitress, who will show you to a table. Menu choices are vast - everything from tonkatsu and yakitori to healthy grilled whole fish, stir-frys and desserts. They even have breakfast sets!

Over the course of two dinners, we enjoyed some very tasty food:

A simple and healthy stir-fry of pork and veggies was full of flavour, nicely accompanied by a tofu side dish. I had three bowls of rice with this dish!!

The tonkatsu here was obviously not as good as some of Japan’s speciality tonkatsu restaurants but it was nevertheless crunchy and yummy. Can you believe that the set above costs less than AUD$10?!

The classic Oyako Don was a no nonsense rendition of this moreish chicken and egg dish. Look how lovely that miso soup is!

What I really love about Japanese eateries is that you can always get fish at very cheap prices. Here, a beautifully grilled and butterflied piece of fresh white fish (we couldn’t identify what type) went wonderfully with a wedge of lemon.

For me, Yayoiken debunks the myth that eating out is expensive in Japan. It is a simple chain that serves delicious, straightforward food that is a cut above your normal fast food places, and is certainly cheaper than similar Japanese cafes here in Melbourne.