Ahh, the simplicity and fantasticness of a glass of red and a plate of cured meats after work at City Wine Shop.

After reading about Ichi Ni over at Ed’s blog, and with our inclination for all things Japanese, we of course had to head over to this newish izakaya/eatery for a looksee.

The venue itself, which sits on the Esplanade overlooking the [...]]]> 12 The Esplanade, St.Kilda
Ph 03 9534 1212

After reading about Ichi Ni over at Ed’s blog, and with our inclination for all things Japanese, we of course had to head over to this newish izakaya/eatery for a looksee.

The venue itself, which sits on the Esplanade overlooking the bay, reminds me somewhat of Gonpachi in Tokyo.  It has a kitschiness which is kind of enthralling, keeping your eyes entertained as you check out all the features. In the entrance is a little take-away vestibule where you can pick-up takehome packs of sushi and sashimi, and Japanese beers and shochu.  I noticed similar vestibules in restaurants in Japan.

There is the obligatory cry of “Irrashaimase” (welcome) when you walk through the door, which is kind of nice too.

We started with a small plate of nibbles while we sipped our Kirin and waited for our dining companions to arrive.  There was warmed briney edamame, burdock kinpira and a zucchini tsukemono (pickle). They were all very authentic, and very good with beer.

After Bria and Cam arrived, we decided to skip the main dishes and go with all the smaller dishes and kushiyaki (skewers), to get a good cross section of what was on offer.

Salmon carpaccio was a great starter – slivers of salmon sashini dressed in a light dashi/mirin/shoyu combination. It had been garnished with nuts and slivers of crunchy snow pea shoots.

Tofu with avocado was also very interesting – a dice of firm pressed tofu and avocado, dressed with a sweet miso paste concoction.  It came served with sheets of toasted nori, so you could wrap mouthfuls of the stuff in salty seaweedy goodness.

Oysters, served with a ponzu and spring onion dressing.  The oysters were plump and fresh.  Love the detail of the little sakura shaped pickled carrots on the side.

One of Dan’s favourites, chicken karaage, is practically an izakaya staple.  These spiced deep fried morsels of chicken thigh meat (no breast please) is certainly one tasty morsel, and perhaps one of the best I’ve had in Melbourne.

Then a sashimi plate to share.  I can’t remember how much this cost, but I remember being surprised at the value.  It was wonderfully fresh; salmon, tuna, kingfish, swordfish and roe, just to name a few.

Then it was time to start the kushiyaki, or grilled skewers.  We of course had to start with the wagyu (which wasn’t cheap!), and to be honest, I’m not that sure it was worth it.  I’ve had wagyu which knocked my socks off, and this was just…meh.  It was served, as it should be, with wedges of lemon.

I think I have forever been spoilt in regards to consuming grilled eel, after sampling the delights at Fujitaya in Miyajima.  Nothing compares to the delicateness of their anagomeishi, and everything else just seems clunky and overly sweet in comparison.  That being said, this was your bog standard unagi (eel), slathered in LOTS of sweet sauce.

Tsukune are chicken mince meatballs, skewered and grilled with a sweet teriyaki style sauce.  They were fantastic.

Wedges of eggplant grilled on the stick, and covered with melting cheese.  I must admit I would have liked the eggplant to have been caramalised more, and the cheese to have more colour.

Ebi (prawn) salad was a kickarse dish of freshnesss.  Perky salad leaves, pickled red onions and carrot julienne, and prawns cooked and coated in a spiced mayonnaise dressing.

Then onto dessert. How’s this for an ice-cream degustation?

As there were four of us, we decided to sample all four ice-creams.  From the top we have pumpkin – a wonderfully creamy pumpkin pie spiced flavoured ice-cream (my favourite!).  Then cheesecake – another creamy, lemony New York style cheesecake ice-cream.  The balsamic vinegar – a really bizarre gelati style ice-cream, that yes, was overtly balsamicy, but good.  Then edamame – a vanilla ice-cream studded with edamame (soy beans), which were like chewy frozen nuggets of beany flavour.  I think i’d go back, just for the kookiness of the ice-cream alone!

Overall, I like Ichi Ni, and look forward to going back to try a few more dishes.  There were a few misses, but then, there were some amazing hits.  Definitely worth the journey.

Looks like a new izakaya might soon be giving the very popular Izakaya Chuji a run for its money. J-Pub Shogun sits on the corner of Tatterstalls Lane on Lonsdale, only a few short blocks away. The venue is [...]]]> Shop 3, 233 Lonsdale Street, Melbourne
Phone 03 9663 3996

Looks like a new izakaya might soon be giving the very popular Izakaya Chuji a run for its money. J-Pub Shogun sits on the corner of Tatterstalls Lane on Lonsdale, only a few short blocks away. The venue is still being fitted out, but I spied a rather nice yakitori/sushi counter through the front door the other day.  Looking forward to some good Japanese beer on tap – fingers crossed for Kirin!

I am quite partial to a bevy at Troika, especially after a hard day at work.  They do a pretty good bread/dips plate too.

Bars with manifestos. Hmm…I don’t know whether to wince or to whoop in excitement as it toes that very fine line of pretentious gitdom.  The manifesto at this particular bar is that it has a strict no pints, no alcopops, no [...]]]> 249 Little Lonsdale Street, Melbourne
Phone 03 9564 6522

Bars with manifestos. Hmm…I don’t know whether to wince or to whoop in excitement as it toes that very fine line of pretentious gitdom.  The manifesto at this particular bar is that it has a strict no pints, no alcopops, no energy drinks and no chart tunes policy, which ever so delicately excludes a younger more pisspot set. The no sky sports, no quiz nights and no pork scratchings gets rid of the others.  This is Match Bar and Grill, a hip venue with a mission to “fix great drinks for a mixed crowd of grown-ups who appreciated the difference.”

And I must confess, appreciate it I do.

My first visit was for a casual Friday lunch, my second, dinner the following night. Why? Well it’s just ever so cool to sit on the balcony overlooking the State Library, good food in one hand and good drink in the other. The service (despite the proliferation of British accents) is friendly, professional and slick, and the whole feel of the place is relaxed and cruisey.

I went the steak ciabatta ($18), and as you can see, this was one mean steak sanga. Inside the dense crusty ciabatta lay tender slices of beef, topped wth caramalised onions, a perky horseradish cream and peppery rocket.  Hand cut chips (drool) sat to the side, sitting proud with their skins still intact.

Dan went the ol ‘pub grub favourite – Bangers & Mash ($18). Two juicy Andrew’s Choice pork sausages sat beside piped buttery mash. It was drizzled with a light onion gravy that was delightfully free from thickening agents.

On Saturday, I chose the Chicken schnitzel ($22) topped with a lemony red cabbage slaw, toasted pine nuts, raisins and cress. As you can see, freshness and excellent produce is the de rigueur here.  Dan went the garlicky/lemony/chilli crab linguine, but somehow I forgot to take a photo! (I think I was just really excited by my schnitzel!)

Foyer entrance of Match Bar & Grill

The other unique drawcard of Match is the DIY wine service.  Uh huh…charge up a card and enter the wine tunnel and have fun with the enomatic wine samplers that have been designed to store, preserve and serve wine at its best.  Starting from 30ml shots up to a full glass, you can sample a unique range of wine from the rather special 1992 Henschke Hill of Grace Shiraz ($40 for 30mls) to the 2006 Innocent Bystander Sangiovese Merlot ($2.50 for 30mls). Full glasses range from anywhere between $8 to $180 (uh huh, the Henschke again).

They also do some rather good cocktails and mixes, and beer is restricted to a choice of three brands, bottles only. If you dine in, the cucumber-infused table water is an absolute winner, making me craving a No.1 cup of Pimms.

I’m sure I’ll be back, and soon.