We all know about Don Too, the slicker more grown up sibling of the grungy Don Don.  Don Too does a roaring lunch trade, but many a time I have lamented the fact that it’s not open for dinner, particularly [...]]]> 6/340 Little Lonsdale St, Melbourne
Phone (03) 9670 7113
( Show on map )

We all know about Don Too, the slicker more grown up sibling of the grungy Don Don.  Don Too does a roaring lunch trade, but many a time I have lamented the fact that it’s not open for dinner, particularly when Japanese cravings ensue.  To utilise such a wasted opportunity, Mellie and I have often thought what a great idea it would be to hire Don Too out and put on renegade ramen nights.  I mean, it’s got the perfect set up: a big modern kitchen and funky noodle-friendly interior.

Well, Don Too’s owners must be telepathic, for they have indeed now opened for dinner, and in a somewhat brave move are serving only ramen.  Yes folks, imagine my reaction when I first saw the sign on their window.  I damn near came in my pants!

As ramen tragics, we just had to try it out ASAP.  There was trepidation when we walked into the completely empty cafe with bebop jazz blaring a little too loudly on the stereo.  The spider sense was tingling even further when we spied Laksa Ramen on the menu.  Laksa Ramen?  Surely a travesty!  Nevertheless we persisted, and was very glad we did.

We started with some very nice gyoza – nicely grilled parcels of garlicky and gingery pork filling with a beautiful caramelised bottom.  Dipped into the vinegar soy, they were so delicious, especially when washed down with a $5 Asahi.

Then came the piece de resistance.  Our first impressions were: wow, look at the egg with a googly soft centre!  An essential element of Japanese ramen, the googly egg is almost never done right in Japanese restaurants in Melbourne, who tend to hard boil the crap out of the egg.  Big brownie points to Don Too for the egg.

One slurp of my charshu ramen revealed a tasty broth that was quite delicate but with a very nice depth of flavour.  Not as fatty as I would have liked it, but neverthless a fine broth redolent with a slight hint of garlic.  The noodles were absolutely superb, and the highlight of the dish for me.  They were not overcooked, retained a great bite and were eminently slurpable.  The generous slices of charshu were very tasty but again, not fatty enough for my liking.  Mellie loved the charshu though.  The egg was salty and superb, well cooked and seemingly braised in the same liquor as the charshu.  The crispy bean sprouts and broccoli were a nice healthy touch.

They also serve the ramen with a little ball of bum-searingly hot chilli (well, we’ll know tomorrow won’t we), that I think is part red miso, part dried chilli flakes.  A great addition to heat up the stock base.

Mellie had the miso ramen and I must confess, she had the winning broth.  I really love the unctious miso flavour that was more robust than the charshu ramen.  Mellie has actually declared that it’s her best ramen in Melbourne!  Being a discriminating ramen eater, that’s quite a compliment.

Is it the best ramen in town for me?  It certainly comes very very close.  I love the fact that they only serve ramen, and have come up with a version that’s tasty, flavoursome and cooked with care.  It’s not as authentic as the ramen in Japan, but it’s certainly a winner for me, and especially when they’re right on our block!

Looky at what Trunk has gone and done. Some bright spark had the idea of using the space that is otherwise the lets-get-tanked-outdoors drinking area, and turn it into a hipsterdooferish American Diner.  That’s right, coffee and pastries, salads and baguettes, burgers and [...]]]> 275 Exhibition Street, Melbourne
( Show on map )

Looky at what Trunk has gone and done. Some bright spark had the idea of using the space that is otherwise the lets-get-tanked-outdoors drinking area, and turn it into a hipsterdooferish American Diner.  That’s right, coffee and pastries, salads and baguettes, burgers and beers, in a plastic curtain clad, heated…er…car port. But it is a superdooper car port with light features and a few wooden crates for designer effect!

Jesting aside, it does have a touch of ubercool about it, and I must give props to the sign writer.  Love his work.

Anyway, here is where it gets interesting.  This is the wagyu burger ($10) – a tightly packed puck of juicy flame-grilled beef on a toasted brioche bun, with cos lettuce, tomato, onion and house made pickled zucchini.  I chose to pimp my ride with a slice of gruyere ($1.50), and a side of fries ($3), although other pimps include a variety of cheeses, grilled onions, jalapeno or crispy bacon.  I like the way  they  plate it up too, paying homage to “diner” fare of old; instead of a metal tray with a plastic chips basket, you get a lacquered wooden tray with palm leaf bio platter.  Must give props to the zucchini pickle too – it was awesome and I want the recipe.

A range of condiments awaits your saucing pleasure; brown barbecue, tomato ketchup (and a thick one at that), and two types of habanero chilli sauce, red and green. We watched in horror as the guy at the next table squirted the incendiary-hot green chilli sauce all over his chips like it was ketchup!

Trunk Diner is open for brekky and lunch, and I’m looking forward to trying out a few more of their dishes, especially the breakfast waffles with grilled bananas, hazelnuts and maple syrup.  The also have a neat range of naffy snacks at the counter, such as caramel corn, juicy raspberries jellies and Junior Mints.   Ooh, this is all sounding rather fun!

I’ll be back.

The Melbourne Food & Wine Festival is now officially an adult, after clocking up 18 years of interesting food and wine themed classes, demonstrations and dining experiences.  2010 is set to be another great year with over 250 events scheduled across 12 days.  The only difficulty now is figuring out which events I [...]]]>

The Melbourne Food & Wine Festival is now officially an adult, after clocking up 18 years of interesting food and wine themed classes, demonstrations and dining experiences.  2010 is set to be another great year with over 250 events scheduled across 12 days.  The only difficulty now is figuring out which events I want to go to!

To celebrate the upcoming festival, the festival organisers hosted a media launch for both industry and media, and even a few of us pesky bloggers.  We were to be led up the garden path by Michael Ryan from the Provenance Restaurant in Beechworth (@theprovenance), and Nicolas Poelaert (@NicPoelaert) from Embrasse Restaurant, with a feast inspired by regional produce and wine.

The event was held at The Abbotsford Convent, a corker of a venue perfect for such a convivial gathering.

The first course was created by Michael Ryan; raw zucchini, goats curd, zucchini confiture, parmesan gel, olive and tomato sauces and thyme.  Despite looking rather delicate and summery, this dish was infused with some great flavours.  The parmesan agar added an interesting glutamate, and with the pickle-y confiture made me think this dish could almost impersonate a carpaccio.

Michael followed this with another dish that showcased the wonderful heirloom tomatoes that are just so perfect this time of year.  The tomatoes had been prepared in a number of ways; olive-brined, dried, slow-roasted and just sliced fresh.  It tumbled down the plate on top of a spicy and sweet gazpacho,and sourdough croutons added crunch. This was just summer on a plate.

Nicholas Poelart took the helm with the next dish, a visually impressive john dory cooked with squid ink, Daylesford Organic beetroots, burnt carrot puree, rice paddy herb and glory spinach. In fact, it was not only visually impressive, but aromatically impressive as well; I could smell the sea before the plate was even put in front of us.  I just loved, loved, loved the beetroot; a variety of different colours and textures on the plate. But I can’t help chuckling when I think of Ed (@tomatom) affectionately referring to this dish as a squidmark on a plate .

The mains were served platter-style for sharing, above Nicholas Poelart’s Mt.Donatis pork belly with Warrandyte cherries, QV Market fresh mustard, Embrasse’s own white carrots rolled in very starchy potato and stuffed capsicums from Albert in Sunbury. The highlight for me, funnily enough, were those carrots, which were a sweet distraction from the richness of the meltingly tender pork.

But one of my favourite dishes (apart from dessert to come) was this creation from Michael Ryan – confit chicken wings, dashi braised eggplant, daikon, spring onion and konbu no tsukudani. This dish just tasted of Japan to me, and makes me ever so jealous to think that Michael today is jetting off to Japan for a holiday!  Anyway, the chicken wings had been boned for our convenience, and were absolutely sticky with chicken flavours.  The braised vegetables were highlighted with umami flavours, care of the dashi and the konbu, and I think the braise had been thickened with kuzu to make it silky smooth.

But the dish that had us all in awe was Nicholas Poelart’s hazelnut parfait with meringue, honey / chocolate and sorrel mint granita.  How fabulous does this culinary landscape look?  The “forest floor” was made of cakey crumbs, “mushrooms” from the meringue and parfait, “moss” from the sorrel and mint granita, and then shards of chewy honeycomb. This was an absolute delight to eat.

So which Melbourne Food & Wine Festival events are you going to?  Being a CBD resident, I’m looking forward to seeing the City Square turn into an edible garden. *sigh* I just wish something like that could be a permanent installation.

Many eateries, such as Old Town Kopitiam, Blok M Express and Singapore Chom Chom, have all tried to evoke the memories of hawker fare back home by naming themselves after famous food districts and icons.  Most of these do not live [...]]]> 111 Kingsway, Glen Waverley 
Phone 03 9561 1388
( Show on map )

Many eateries, such as Old Town Kopitiam, Blok M Express and Singapore Chom Chom, have all tried to evoke the memories of hawker fare back home by naming themselves after famous food districts and icons.  Most of these do not live up to the standard of their namesakes, but they certainly bring out the feelings of nostalgia in so many of us.  Petaling Street is another such eatery, named after the Chinatown district of Kuala Lumpur’s Jalan Petaling, famous as much for food as it is for pirated goods.

Petaling Street has two locations, one in Hawthorn and another in Glen Waverley.  Both do not have counterfeit Rolex watches (that I know of), but hawker food is definitely the name of the game here.  The Glen Waverley restaurant is situated on the busy Kingsway, a buzzy strip filled with shops, restaurants and cafes.

The interior of Petaling was bright and cheery, with cafe style seating and a neat mural of KL’s Petaling Street covering one side of the room.  The menu lists well over a hundred items and covers the gamut of hawker classics.  You are sure to find something you’ll like here.  Prices were also reasonable; most of the hawker dishes were around $9 and serves were pretty massive.

Dad had the char kuey teow, which was a winner.  Nicely balanced, it had a fantastic smokey charry flavour, with a good lick of chilli for measure.  The dish also contained fat prawns and lap cheong (Chinese sausage).

I greatly enjoyed my mamak mee goreng.  A squeeze of lemon added a nice tang to an otherwise well balanced dish, the fat egg noodles accompanied by generous chicken pieces and prawns.

Mellie’s nasi lemak special certainly looked the part, with sambal, egg, fried peanuts and ikan bilis.  However, it lacked a certain oomph, with the rice nowhere near coconutty enough.  The curry beef that came with the rice was quite nice though, with a surprising spicy kick.  Mum had previously tried their Hainanese chicken rice and was similarly underwelmed.  Perhaps their flavoured rice dishes are not the way to go.

Mum had the winner of the day with the seafood hor fun.  No kidding, this was one of the best hor fun’s I’ve had – not too sweet or too gluggy from excess thickeners.  As with the char kuey teow, it had serious wok hei (breath of the wok) that imparted a beautiful smokey taste to the rice noodles.  The prawns, squid and other seafood were also nicely cooked.

Alas, we didn’t get any satay but we’ll definitely be back to try them, and other dishes.  The quality of the hor fun and char kuey teow suggests that all their wok-fried dishes will be a winner.  From other tables, the curry laksa also looked interesting.  Maybe avoid the flavoured rice dishes, although their fried rice and plain rice dishes (with rendang for example) might still be OK.

The food was also very cheap – $40 for all of the above, plus one ice tea.  Man I love suburban prices!