The Swedes are known for many things: inexpensive flat-pack furniture, boxy cars, fanatical tennis fans and 1970s porn.  Great pizza, however, is not in this company.  Or is it?  There are of course many variations [...]]]> 319 Stephensons Road, Mount Waverley
Phone 03 9807 3388
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The Swedes are known for many things: inexpensive flat-pack furniture, boxy cars, fanatical tennis fans and 1970s porn.  Great pizza, however, is not in this company.  Or is it?  There are of course many variations of pizza around the world and, apparently, the Land of the Midnight Sun is no exception.  But what distinguishes a Swedish pizza from, say, an Italian one?  Would it be topped by stinky herrings or Swedish meatballs?  With trepidation, we ventured out into the ‘burbs to find out.

But wait, there’s more!  The only place in Melbourne that apparently serves this “delicacy” is a Chinese restaurant that goes by the distinctly un-Nordic name of Great Eastern Hakka.  You’d be hard pressed to find the connection between the cuisine of a migratory Chinese ethnic group with roots in India to the descendents of the Vikings.  But it turns out that the Chinese-Hakka owners of GEH used to own a restaurant in Sweden in the late 70s, thus they are versed in both cuisines.

GEH is located on busy Stephensons Road in Mount Waverley; parking is available at the rear of the restaurant.  The interior is as suburban Chinese restaurant as you can get, with the exception of the marble bench top where the pizza’s are freshly made to order.  If you’re expecting blond Helga waitresses, you’ll be disappointed, not that the Chinese staff are any less attractive or friendly.

We were seated in a smallish booth and presented with the menu, which listed both standard Chinese dishes like stir-fries, rice dishes and noodles, and about 30 pizzas!  Do not expect fusion food here; the menu is strictly divided into East and West.  Prices were reasonable: Hakka specials were around $28, and the normal mains around the $20 mark.  Pizzas started from $8 for the non-gourmet ones, like margherita and capricciosa, to $18-$20 for the gourmet Swedish styles.  Takeaway is also available.

With morbid fascination, we decided to start with two Swedish pizzas.  The Kyckling was topped with chicken, curry sauce, onion, and fefferoni, and the Honoluleå with pepper sauce, cheese, sliced eye fillet, and bacon.  The verdict?  Two thumbs up for Swedish pizza!  My favourite was the Kyckling.  The base was deliciously thin and chewy, with a nicely puffy crust; the combination of chicken and curry sauce a revelation!  Thoughts of rancid rollmops dissipated as I enthusiastically tucked in.  The Honoluleå was excellent too – nicely peppery and cheesy (in a cheddary way).  My parents, who are quite the discerning eaters, also gave the pizza the thumbs up, so that’s a good sign for sure.  I now can’t wait to go back and try their other Swedish pizzas.

We followed the pizza with a dish of spicy squid and vegetarian Hakka noodles.  The squid was tasty and tender, nicely battered and accompanied by a soy and chilli-based Hakka dipping sauce that had my man-flower burning the next morning.  Approach the sauce with caution!  The noodles were tasty, though lacking in wok hei and was a tad oily.  Though tasty, we definitely preferred the Swedish pizzas to the Hakka dishes.

Dessert took a turn back to Scandinavia, and was another highlight.  Simply called ‘Swedish Cake’ and made daily by a Swedish lady for the restaurant, this yummy treat came in flavours of dark chocolate, almond/white chocolate and milk chocolate.  Accompanied by ice-cream and retro-ly plated, the Swedish Cake was the perfect end to a quirky, yet delightful meal.

So next time you’re in the hood of Mt Waverley and hankering for some pizza, drop into GEH for a surprising and delicious treat.  If requested in advance, the owners are also willing to make any Swedish dishes that you fancy.

Dan absolutely adores laksa. It calls out to him as a reminder of his birthplace, Singapore, where laksa is as firmly embedded into the national culinary soul as minestrone is for Italians. It’s not easy finding a good one in Melbourne [...]]]> 320 Racecourse Road, Flemington
Phone 03 9372 6383

Dan absolutely adores laksa. It calls out to him as a reminder of his birthplace, Singapore, where laksa is as firmly embedded into the national culinary soul as minestrone is for Italians. It’s not easy finding a good one in Melbourne – often they are too coconutty, too spicy or too sour. They leave off essential ingredients such as laksa leaf (commonly known as Vietnamese coriander), or they just use the wrong type of noodle.

After an extraordinarily bad rendition at Laksa Me the other day (so much so I have vowed never to go back!), we were both still hankering for a bowl that was authentic in its execution. While Laksa King is perhaps not too authentic (Dan’s parents said it was a very “Australianised” version), dang, it tasted bloody excellent.

This is the curry laksa, a bowl of two types of noodle – thicker egg noodles and thinner rice noodles.  The broth, whilst not too hot (just as I like it) had the perfect balance of curry and coconut. The toppings included slices of fish cake, prawns, shredded chicken, eggplant, fried beancurd puffs, fried shallots and mint.  Oh yes..the mint is actually a wonderful addition!

After we polished off the laksa, it was time for dessert.  My eyes lit up when I saw ice kacang on the menu!

Underneath all that ice sits a vertiable treasure trove of delights – grass jelly, attap chee (palm seeds), red beans, cendol (green coloured starch noodles), agar agar (red jelly), peanuts and evaporated milk.  Oooh…I LOVE ice kacang.

The restaurant itself sits in a dingy litle arcade, and is, like most authentic hawker-ish venues, quite utilitarian. That being said, you’re not there to relax in the ambience. You’re there to eat a damn good bowl of noodles (…and possibly, ice kacang if you can fit it in!)

I may have mentioned in previous posts my love for fish balls (and no, I’m not talking the balls of fish).  When I had a craving the other day, Dan suggested we visit Kum Den, a Chinatown institution (formerly) known for [...]]]> 3-5 Waratah Place, Melbourne
Phone 03 9663 6508

I may have mentioned in previous posts my love for fish balls (and no, I’m not talking the balls of fish).  When I had a craving the other day, Dan suggested we visit Kum Den, a Chinatown institution (formerly) known for the quality and bounciness of their balls.

See, fish balls are essentially made from a slurry of pulverised fish, which, during the process of beating, binds the proteins together.  This produces a texture somewhat akin to rubber, and the best balls are those that are “bounciest“.

Along with the fish balls, you get fish cake; essentially the same thing, but in a rectangular slab (sliced for easier eating). It will  normally be fried on the outside.

They also serve fish skin.  Uh huh..those knobbly things sitting on top of my noodles are curls of skin, floured, salted and deep fried. I must admit they were kind of tasty!

Well, the fish ball noodle soup most certainly satisfied, despite the prevalance of MSG in the broth (once again, it just makes it extra tasty!). You get a choice of noodles (I have a preference for egg), which were firm and to the tooth, and a choice of three different chilli sauces (for dipping your balls into). Sliced lettuce and green onions provide the vegetable matter.

Kum Den is perhaps a lil’ utilitarian around the edges, but if you’re after a bowl of soup noodles, or stuff on rice for a damn cheap price, well, this is where you’ll find it.

Time for another one of those token yum cha posts (Fatty McBeanpole -  I must confess I have done this a fair bit on my blog ). Alas, this time I’m sharing my visit to Yum Cha [...]]]> 193-195 Exhibition Street (cnr Little Bourke St/Chinatown), Melbourne
Phone (03) 9662 9668

Time for another one of those token yum cha posts (Fatty McBeanpole -  I must confess I have done this a fair bit on my blog ). Alas, this time I’m sharing my visit to Yum Cha Cafe, a new modern eatery in Melbourne’s China Town.

Yum Cha Cafe is more Ay Oriental Tea House than Shark Fin House, if you get my drift. There are no steamer carts or rattly trolleys; instead, waiters roam around with trays of food, which makes for an anxious pause as you watch them balance the food and try to stamp/write on your invoice.

The fit out is rather cool – highlights of imperial red with a generally black interior. Makes the white plates and food visually pop out from your table. They’re also rather into their tea, which I’ve noticed to be de rigueur of late.

Deep fried taro dumplings came out first, which are one of my all time favourites.  I just love the whole experience of chomping down on the bubbly, crunchy exterior, which yields to softly mashed taro and peppery pork mince. These were a damn fine example too.

Next up, some XLB’s, which I would have thought were good had I not been to HuTong, which forever impressed the standard of such delicate, infinately folded, thin skinned xiao long bao. Now I would rate them as just okay.

I’d never seen dumplings like this before…they look rather ugly, huh? But I must confess they were surprisingly good – chock full of a decent sized prawn and sweet (fresh) corn kernals.  Chopped chives added a little bit of visual green.

Oh yeah…pan fried radish cake…one of Dan’s favourites. Smeared with a little bit of chilli paste and a quick dip in some soy, and we were both in heaven. Radish cake is a popular dim sum dish, and is often eaten during Chinese New Year.  Check out a great recipe here.

The sui mai were also quite impressive, more so because they were actually half prawn (and a whole one at that), and half pork mince.  These too are one of Dan’s favourites, and his marker for good dim sum.  If they can’t get these right, then the place you’re eating at is probably shite.

I’d never had this one at yum cha before – small puff pastries filled with roast BBQ pork.  I’m not such a huge fan of BBQ pork, but ordered these as I know Dan loves them.  But to be honest I was so impressed with them, I fought him for the second one!

For some sweetness at the end of the meal we ordered the Mango Pudding, and were surprised to see it actually had bits of mango flesh in it.  Mucho impressed!

I must tell you that Yum Cha Cafe is a little pricier than others, but to be honest, it was worth it for the quality of dim sum. Staffing seemed a little weird – I don’t think they quite had the ratios right when we visited. But as its new, it takes time to work these things out, and at the end of the day, everyone was wonderfully polite and attentive.

What better way to celebrate Dan’s grandma’s birthday than with a bang-up banquet at a newly opened restaurant touting a celebrity chef from Hong Kong (unfortunately his name escapes me).   Welcome to San Choi on Chapel, sibling of San [...]]]> 353 Chapel Street, South Yarra
Phone 03 9826 9933

What better way to celebrate Dan’s grandma’s birthday than with a bang-up banquet at a newly opened restaurant touting a celebrity chef from Hong Kong (unfortunately his name escapes me).   Welcome to San Choi on Chapel, sibling of San Choi in Kew.

It was Dan’s Uncle that recommended the restaurant, and Dan’s Uncle who took care of the ordering.  Plate after plate of food arrived, and I was stunned at the array of dishes presented.  Unfortunately my camera (or should that be the user), forgot to change the setting from manual focus to auto, so my first few photos were all unfortunately blurred.

But to whet the appetite, we started with delectable snow crab sauted with thin egg noodles and duck liver pate.  Sounds a little weird, but it was surprisingly good in a meaty peppery liver-y kind of way.

Then it was on to some prawns, coated in salted egg yolk and deep fried. Yes, this is a contender for the deep fried goodness dish of the night, as the prawns were tender and the coating salty.  The yolk has the effect of making the coating feel almost powdery in the mouth.  An interesting effect.

Next up, a couple of cold dishes (oooh, I wish I got photos of these!).  First up, sliced jelly fish with roasted duck.  Secondly, jelly fish with sliced fatty pork and a vinegary carrot salad.  I find I quite like the crunchy gelatinous nature of jelly fish, despite its lack of flavour.  The taste comes from the vinegary and sweet dressings which usually accompany it.

Now to the pictures, and where we got stuck into the lobster (yes, this ended up being a rather expensive banquet!).  The first way we had it served was sashimi, raw and diced and ready for a hint of wasabi and soy.  Oh, I can not begin to express how wonderful raw lobster sashimi is!  It is sweet beyond belief.  As you can see in the photo above, all the dishes of the evening came with some rather elaborate carvings.  This carrot fisherman was entirely adorable!

The rest of the lobster was deep fried with salt and dry chilli.  I must admit I like my lobster to taste like lobster, and would have preferred this in a simple noodle braise with ginger and spring onion.  But, on the balance of the other dishes, some more deep fried goodness doesn’t go astray.

I must confess I didn’t not try this dish.  Chicken/Phoenix feet – yes, I have conquered.  Ducks feet…hmmm, perhaps not yet   Anyway, this hearty claypot braise contained the webby duck feet, bone marrow and sea cucumber.  We usually eat a similiar dish on Chinese New Year, but instead of the feet, we just have the duck.  And it’s much better.

This is one of my favourites – mainly due to my penchant for both tofu and fish paste. The blocks of firm tofu are hollowed out just a little bit and stuffed with fish paste.  The packages are deep fried and then braised, sometimes in a light gingery chicken stock sauce, other times in a thicker, heartier, oyster-ish type sauce.  Some steamed greens sat to the side.

Deep fried goodness again – a trio of white bait, scallops and squid done salt and pepper style.  The fisherman was busy at work on this plate!

Slowing down considerably (….but the dishes kept coming!), we had some stir fried quail meat and black fungus on garlic chives.  The sauce was heady with ginger, and quite rich and dark.

I hate to say it, but this looks like someone threw up all over the Chinese broccoli.  Alas, it was actually a salted egg yolk sauce, but my head just could not get around the presentation and this remained untasted.  Urgh…apologies if you happen to be eating dinner when you read this.

Lastly (well, for the savoury dishes anyway), was Mustard beef.  Tender cubes of rump had been pan fried with a wasabi / mustard flavour, although it was not hot in the least.  The beef was oh-so-tender, and the asparagus to the side tender crisp.

All up, the meal was a four hour eating fest, which finished with a strawberry birthday cake, which was thankfully of the light Breadtop variety.  The service was pretty good, but then, we were a big party buying up all the expensive stuff out of the tank!