Osaka and Melbourne became sister cities in 1978, which was our towns first sister-city relationship.  So I probably shouldn’t have been surprised to stumble across Melbourne House restaurant in downtown Osaka (right next to the Aquarium and Ferris Wheel). Specialities of the house included Australian Beef, and they even had VB!  Impressive.

On a side note, be sure to catch the fantastic Kimono Exhibition at the Immigration Museum, which is part of the 30th anniversary of the sister-city milestone. It’s on till September 14th.

241 Victoria Street, Richmond
Phone 03 9416 1889

Prompted by a review over at where’s the beef, I decided to drag this post from the depths of my drafts and put some words to the photos (only 70 odd drafts to go!).

Anyway, just like Claire and Michael, EG and I were similarly confused at the emptiness of Bodhi cafe, despite the fact the interior is inviting, the vegetarian fare tasty, and the service gentle and friendly.

On the particularly cold and rainy day we visited, a steaming pot of red date and longan tea was wonderfully warming, and I adored the cute glass teapot and shinto-red cups in which it was served. We visited Bodhi twice, so the following is what we sampled on those two occassions.

We shared the vegetarian duck roti roll ($5), and I must admit it was surprisingly good. The faux duck tasted meaty, although I am not sure whether it was the “duck” or the flavoured floss sprinkled on top that gave it flavour. A thick mayonnaise and crisp greens filled up the rest of the space, and the roti was tied quirkily into a roll with twine.

The pan fried tofu slices with lemongrass sauce ($5) again was a great starter (if you like tofu), sitting on top shreds of iceberg lettuce. The sauce was slightly sourish, a little more lemony/tamardindy than lemongrass.

The vegetarian spring roll ($4) came with lettuce to wrap (Vietnamese style), and sweet chilli sauce to add a little bite. Pretty standard fare.

For mains, EG chose the herbal soup noodle with chinese cabbage ($8.50) and was impressed with the herbally fantasticness of the dish. He said it reminded him of something his Mum makes - the wolfberries especially giving piquancy and sweetness. He said it felt very restorative.

I chose the Thai green vege “chicken” curry ($9.50) and very much enjoyed the flavour, although found it be to a little soupy for my liking. It had a nice mild kick, and the “chicken” was tender while the sliced vegetables tender crisp.

On another visit I chose the tofu don ($8) which was a soupy braise of silken tofu, sliced shitake, egg and onion. It was served with fluffy white rice sprinkled with bonito shavings and a flavoured floss. It felt warmly homestyle.

EG went the mixed mushroom don ($8) which was a hearty serve of shitake, oyster and enoki mushrooms braised in a sweet dark soy. It was served with a fresh salad and rice with floss.

275 Exhibition Street, Melbourne
Phone (03) 9663 7994

Prompted by Claire over at the fabulously revamped Melbourne Gastronome, I’ve dragged this post out of my drafts to finally see the light of day (nb. I have been somewhat remiss in blogging due to life getting in the way of things. But rest assured, I have still been eating at some great places!).  As mentioned by Claire, Trunk has received a few positive reviews in the press, but little has been heard  around the traps. For me, the fact that it’s a block from work and I walk past it on the way home was the main drawcard.  How can one not be drawn in by this fabulous facade and front yard space? It is ever so conducive to imbibing and socialising on warm sunny days, which is something I certainly took advantage of in the warmer months. The building itself, a revamped synagogue is now a smart, elegant warehouse type space that Claire so wonderfully dubbed as having “a general air of fabulousness”.

The food dabbles in Italian, and you can choose to eat from the bar menu, or the restaurant.  I must admit I haven’t actually made it to the restaurant yet - the bar menu providing too much of a temptation (and shoot, their pizzas really ARE good).

To begin, we may as well start at some starters. The salt cod green chilli fritters ($13.50) tasted as great as they look - but then you can’t go too wrong with deep-fried quenelles of salted cod and mashed potato coated in fresh breadcrumbs.  They sat in a garlicky pool of aoili and a crisp garnish of lemon dressed parsley, red onion and capers perfectly cut through the richness of the dish.

Once again some deep fried goodness, this time in the form of porcini and taleggio arancini ($8). They too sat in a pool of aioli, and were crisp and salty on the outside, warm and gooey on the inside. The tallegio was dominant in the aroma stakes, and the porcini added a nice tasty earthiness.

Now on to some pizza’s (nb. these pizza’s were consumed over a number of visits), we sampled pizza Number 2 - Pomodoro “Plus” - tomato, mozzarella, basil, olive, capers and chorizo ($17.50).  What impressed me most was the base. Beautifully yeasty, filled with air and crisped in a wood fired oven, the pizza’s don’t go the route of too many sliced and diced toppings.  Just a handful of good quality ingredients. The chorizo was especially spicy on this one.

The pizza itself is certainly enough for two, especially if you have it in combination with a nice salad. That being said, I have managed to polish off a whole one by myself!

The Number 6 - Prosciutto - was topped with Fratelli Galloni Parma Prosciutto, tomato and buffalo mozzarella ($22.50).  As you can see the star of this pizza was the cured prosciutto, one of the better hand cured meats from Italy with its hallmark rosy white fat.  Mmm…salty and good.

Number 8 - Mediterrano: Prawns, mussels, chilli and roast cherry tomatoes ($21) was actually consumed by one of my mates, and they heartily concurred it to be ‘da business’. The prawns were generous and tender, and the whole roasted cherry tomatoes popped like bombs of sweetness in the mouth.

Number 7 - Funghi: porcini pesto, buffalo mozzarella, sauteed mushrooms ($18) is a splendid way of having pizza without the tomato.  The buffalo mozzarella was deliciously molten when it arrived at the table, covering large slices of garlicky sauteed field mushrooms.  The porcini pesto was a bit of a non-event though - I did expect it to be a little punchier.  But I did very much enjoy this pizza, and look forward to trying it again.

To keep things somewhat healthy, the wild rocket and parmigiano reggiano salad ($8.50) is a great accompaniment to the pizza.  Good olive oil, perky peppery leaves and slivers of pungent parmigiano.

Obviously being a bar, the wine, beer and cocktail menu are pretty impressive, and you won’t want for anything.  The service too is slick, smart and generally friendly.

I am torn though.  Yes, it is ever so nice to sup outside in the sunshine, but it would be a shame not to experience the “air of fabulousness” of the interior.

Cart 123, 163 Commerical Road, South Yarra
Phone 0414 724 578

When I worked in Prahran a few years back, one of my all-time favourite lunches was grabbing a quick falafel from the Falafel Man (not his name, just what I call him) at the Prahran Market. On a recent trip back to my old stomping ground, the smell of deep fryer ignited those long forgotten cravings, and I was lured ever so seductively back to his cart.

You can buy the falafels all wrapped up and smooshed with salad into soft pita bread, or for $8 have the falafel plate (as above), which includes cous cous salad, lemony green salad, pickle-y cabbage salad, crushed hot chillis and four falafel smothered in tahini spiked hummus.

I reckon Falafel Man has the tenderest falafel’s in town.

Top tier: Japanese short grain rice sprinkled with roasted black sesame seeds, umeboshi plum.

Bottom tier: Edamame in their pods, cherry tomatoes, sauted carrot and burdock kinpira, sliced and steamed broccoli stems, mini hamburg sitting on top of sauted spinach leaves with a teriyaki onion sauce.

I think this has been my favourite bento so far!

When I was at FujiMart in Prahran the other day I found frozen burdock already cut up into matchsticks. Oooh..how fantastic! Regular burdock can be such a bother to prepare, so this is a real timesaver.

Bento No.3, and I’m getting into the swing of it. This is fun!

Top tier: Japanese Short Grain rice spiked with a multigrain mix (see note below), home-made shiso tamago (Japanese omelette rolled with shiso leaf)

Bottom tier: steamed broccoli florets, cherry tomatoes, slices of Mr.Lee’s Kitchen Savoury Pressed Tofu, simmered kaboucha (pumpkin), shelled edamame, umeboshi plum.

In regards to the multi grain mix, I found an interesting product from a company called Greenmax. While the grains are Australian, the packaging is in Taiwanese, so excuse the scratchy details. Anyway, the fine multigrain mix contains Australian brown rice, jobs tears, sorghum rice, barley, buckwheat, pearl rice, gordon euryale seeds, millet, wheat, oats and black glutinous rice. Phew! Anyway, I add about one tablespoon of grains to one cup of uncooked rice, and place the whole thing in the rice cooker. It comes out perfectly.

Found this weird little treat at Greater Eastern on Russell St. It is a sweet and soft, delicious tasting (well, it says so on the pack!) potato cream maccha omelette. While the cream was obviously sweet, it was definitely potato flavoured which was a wee bit disconcerting. It felt like I was eating a squashed green tea flavoured potato twinkie.

A few weeks ago EG and I had an extremely memorable long weekend away in the Victorian Alpine region. Memorable not only for the amazing food we ate, wine we drank, place we stayed at and views we admired. But memorable for the fact that EG proposed! Yes…that’s right. I am the soon-to-be Mrs.Gourmand!

But let me digress back to our dining experience. This is afterall a food blog

Opening in 1994, the Epicurean Centre is Brown Brothers foray into the foodie world by doing what is only natural for those that like to drink wine; offer food in which to pair it with. The Centre is a showcase of local produce with a menu that changes seasonally. At lunch they offer any two dishes with a glass of matched wine for $42. Each additional dish (and glass of wine) is an extra $14.

EG chose the char-grilled pork kassler with salted cabbage, horseradish and potato puree. The kassler was incredibly smoky and tender with just the right hit of salt. The tang of the sauerkraut offered good contrast to the gamey meat, as did the horseradish spiked puree. It was matched with a 2005 Barbera that was high in acidity and generous with plummy flavours.

I chose the mix of slow braised mushrooms served with a truffled parpardelle and aged reggiano. As you can tell the mushrooms were the star of the dish - a mixture of enoki, field mushrooms, shitakes and carrots (for sweetness), braised heavily in a truffle infused broth. Fresh thick-cut parpardelle sat on top, themselves sauted in a truffled butter and herbs. To top the whole thing off, generous shavings of parmigiano. This went well with a buttery 2005 limited release Chardonnay, which was subtle in oak and deliciously rich in the mouth.

A good sticky date pudding is often hard to find, but this Brown Brothers version was text book perfection. It was served with a Gundowring Tokay and date ice cream, which itself was worthy of being plated as a dessert. But what shot this dish into absolute perfection was the wine match - a chilled Brown Brothers Very Old Tokay. The caramelly/treacle flavours of the pudding were absolutely echoed in the Tokay, and caressed the tastebuds as it slid ever so deliciously down the throat. Oooh yes.

Anyway, we honestly didn’t think that dessert could be topped. But with a penchant for goat cheese, the Milawa Capricornia (one of my all-time favourites) beckoned seductively. It is an aged, nutty cheese with a subtle hint of lipase heat. It paired fantastically well with local walnuts, Milawa walnut bread and the 50th anniversary special 2004 Shiraz Mondeuse Cabernet, an almost black, finely tannic blend of berries and spice.

What a perfect way to start an absolutely amazing weekend.

I love dabbling in unfamiliar culinary territory, so when I saw this recipe over at Smell & Taste are my memory, I just had to try it. The recipe uses two ingredients I hadn’t used before, taucheo (fermented soy beans) and black fungus.

Fermented soy beans are a pungently aromatic ingredient that is generally used in moderation. It adds a salty, savoury, umami type flavour - leaving a lingering olive-ish tang on the palate (excuse my westernised comparison). It can be purchased as a paste or as whole beans; EG’s Mum advised I buy the whole bean product as one can always mush them up should the recipe require it. The ingredient is common in Chinese and South East Asian cuisine, generally used when cooking/braising fish. It is also used as the starting base of some soy sauces.

Black fungus, commonly referred to as cloud ear or jelly mushroom, comes in a dried form that must be reconstituted. It doesn’t provide much in the way of taste, taking on the flavour of whatever it is cooked with. But it adds rubbery bite and visual appeal to the dish. In Chinese Herbal Medicine it is attributed with improving circulation and fluidity of the blood.

When the fungus is reconstituted, you can clearly see why it is given it’s billowy name of cloud ear. Each “ear” is about the size of a twenty cent piece when dried, and will reconstitute to about the size of your palm. Just pop the “ears’ in cold water for about half an hour. When reconstituted, delicately wash between the frills to remove any sandy sediment.

So let’s get onto the recipe! I did adapt it to add a carrot (I have a glut of them in the fridge), but otherwise I remained faithful to Lao Cha’s recipe. This really is a magnificently satisfying dish, hitting all the right buttons on the tastebuds. I served it with some stir-fried greens and steamed rice.

Ginger & Black Fungus Chicken
Adapted from “Thai Cooking Made Easy” and Smell & Taste are my memory

Ingredients:

1 1/2 tablespoons cooking oil
2 inches ginger (peeled and cut into thin strips)
1 small red onion (quartered)
1 medium carrot (sliced)
4 pieces dried black fungus (pre-softened in warm water for 30 minutes, then cut into strips)
1 teaspoon fermented soy beans (taucheo)
1 skinless & boneless chicken breast (cut into strips)
1 teaspoon oyster sauce
1 1/2 teaspoon kecap manis (sweet soy sauce)
1 teaspoon sugar
2 tablespoons water

Method:
Heat up the cooking oil in a wok and stir fry the ginger strips until aromatic. Add in the onions, carrots and black fungus and do a few quick stirs. Add the fermented soy bean before adding the chicken strips into the wok. Stir-fry the chicken meat until the color changes, then add in oyster sauce, kecap manis, and sugar. Stir all ingredients together before adding in the water. Do a few quick stirs, dish out and serve hot.

I took a bit of a different tack with my second bento, preparing the nori wrapped chicken cakes the night before (which took about 10 minutes). Then in the morning all I had to do was cook the rice, steam the greens, simmer steam the pumpkin with a bit of water, mirin and shoyu, cut up the pickles and box it all up (another 10 minutes). This was one very tasty bento.

Top tier:

• 5 grain rice mix (doongara long grain rice, basmati rice, black glutinous rice, red and brown unpolished rice)

Bottom tier:

• Nori wrapped chicken cakes
• Steamed snow peas
• Simmered kaboucha (pumpkin)
• Cherry tomatoes
• Steamed broccoli
• Umeboshi plum with shiso
• Pickled daikon