Light, delicate and absolutely moreish tempura lotus. I think I had way too much at this one sitting…

Guess where this is? And can you guess what I ate here? I’ll give you a clue – its long, thin and sits in a bowl of soup.

Kiyomizu temple at the edge of a cliff.

Tofu is unbelievably smooth and velvety in Japan.

This was supposed to be a “hello from Japan”, being a series of postcards intended to be shared with everyone whilst travelling across Japan, but have taken much longer to edit and publish than I had anticipated. There will be a much more extensive write up of all the places I’ve visited and ate at *cough* when I get some time to sit down to sift, edit and add captions. Enjoy.

A pair of Geisha’s walking down the cobble streets of Gion in Kyoto.

***

[Candidate 1] Poached egg, white polenta and black truffle @ The Point – Every mouthful of this dish oozes with the rich intensity of creamy polenta and perfectly gooey yolk of poached egg. The silky perfection is married with an earthy black truffle, which makes for an absolutely divine indulgence.

[Candidate 2] Hot, sweet, sour and numbing pork @ Spice Temple – Each piece had a crispy deep-fried shell covering the succulent pork interior. It was lathered in a sweet honey; tossed with tangy black vinegar and also had a peppery sharpness from the Sichuan peppercorn, which gave a slow-onset tongue ‘numbing’ sensation.

[Candidate 3] Snickers @ Il Fornaio by Philippa Sibley – Sandwiched between layers of glimmering tempered chocolate lay adorable scoops of milk chocolate mousse, interspersed with salted peanut caramel which almost oozed out of the sides – sweet, savoury and no doubt decadently luxurious! [Note: Philippa Sibley no longer resides here, but as of this month you now catch her here.]

[Candidate 4] Soft shell mud crab @ Cumulus Inc – a generous serving of large soft shell crabs served in a bowl-too-small. Delimbed and lightly battered, the crabs were delicately crispy, juicy and meaty as well. A dash of lemon adds just the right amount of acidity to balance the simple seasoning.

[Candidate 5] Vanilla bean crème brulee @ The Fog – The layer of caramelised sugar is hard but truly brittle, whilst the custard is smooth and fragrantly vanilla. Simple but perfect – custard heaven!

[Candidate 6] Chicken broth, enoki, shimeji mushrooms and lime @ Golden Fields – would easily be my highlight of the long lunch. It bursts at the seams with a beautiful ballad of umami between the juicy mushrooms, soft poached egg and chicken broth. A tiny touch of lime acidity added to turn a notch down on the indulgence.

[Candidate 7] Carrillera de Buey (beef cheeks) @ Movida Bar de Tapas – Slowly braised in Pedro Ximenez that gives it a luxurious but subtle sweetness and acidity of raisins and grape, this slab of beef cheek had a beautiful dark crust, with an incredibly juicy, tender and fragrant flesh, that just falls apart on your fork. Unless you’re like me and ordered way too much food, you will not want to share this with anyone.

[Candidate 8] Seared scallops @ French Brasserie – The plump scallops were perfectly seared with a crispy caramelisation and wonderfully moist bite. The smooth carotene puree and ginger puree provided a balance of creamy sweetness and mild heat, whilst the duo of baby carrot (cooked & raw) provided a contrast of bite. It is finished off with a mezze style chive tabouleh and baby coriander, for a touch of herb and tang. Sublime!

[Candidate 9] Chocolate ice cream sandwich, vanilla parfait & salted caramel @ Cutler and Co – The rich smoothness of the chocolate ice-cream and dense vanilla parfait, thrown against the almost-dangerously bitter chocolate – was a match made in heaven. The crumbs of sweet, nutty crunch and salty-sticky goodness (aka salted caramel) further lifted this dessert – dessert heaven!

***

Note: A much longer “guide to Melbourne” will be out after the New Year, with much more extensive list of my favourite eateries of 2011. =)

This is going to be a recurring theme (comment): this goes back several months now! SO I’ll stop saying it from now.

Please see here, here, here, and here for reviews written much closer to the date.

I must admit I’m not the biggest cook at all, and was somewhat hesitant to attend this fairly cooking-themed event. But reading closer, I realised former Masterchef contestant Marion Grosby would be guest appearing for a demonstration. So what does one do: ATTEND!

A few tasty bites from the kitchen at Brightspace Art Gallery, to get the ‘snapping’ happening.

Marion cooking up a storm with something from her product line of instant sauces / meals: Chicken Thai Red Curry. Simple, and definitely fail safe. I say that with a little irony, since Marion actually forgot to add something (can’t remember what) until close to the end. But it all worked out fine.

Then onto checking out some of the product samples on the night including: Maille mustards, The cheesecake shop, Cobram Estate, Annabel Trends and Allergy Riders.

Don’t mind me whilst I memory-drool over the profiteroles, coming in vanilla, chocolate and strawberry. I tried all of them.

Demonstration by Fissler and Bamix then followed. Of course, the end products were up for grabs: pumpkin soup, Moroccan spiced chicken, and mushroom risotto from the Fissler pressure cooker. And a lovely smoothie with Bamix.

And what is a night without a prize being drawn. Off the Spork was lucky enough to win herself a Bamix. Look how happy she looks. I would be if I had won!

Finally, before it is TOO LATE, you can visit Eat.Drink.Enjoy Facebook page to enter for a chance to win a Fissler Prize Pack valued at $750. Entries close 18th December. If you don’t fancy one of those, but have a minute to spare, then please go ahead and click LIKE on their page, and I would happily take the winnings if you win!

[Event courtesy of 360 Focus PR]

“On my way to Movida, I stumble down the uneven cobblestone pathway of Hosier Lane, surprised at first by how deserted and almost dangerous looking the alleyway looked, but then pleasantly astounded by the artworks that came to life off the old brickwork. If not for my hungry stomach I may have lingered a little longer… It is rather ironic, that food adventures has led me to discover parts of Melbourne I had not thought to visit before.” (From an earlier photography post)

With many fruitless attempts in the past to make a reservation at this hugely popular restaurant (albeit at night), I was rather sceptical I would get a walk-in table during their lunch time service on a weekday. Having parked much closer to Chin Chin, I pessimistically put our names down for a table there, assuming I would not get one at Movida – Jess Ho: “Should only be a 20 minute wait”. Just to try our luck, we strolled down leisurely to Hosier lane, to be surprised there were tables available. Luckily, Chin Chin was very polite and civilised about my cancellation soon after.

And here, as a Melbournian, is thus my first visit to Movida Bar de Tapas. It is a quite a small cosy space, with a soft stream of light from the laneway just enough to brighten up the fairly dark, smooth interior. I can imagine the pleasant ambience that would ensue in the later hours of the day here, but equally dread the poor illumination for camera work.

Like its other branches, Movida offers you the choice of both Tapa (small plate) and Racion (larger plate), which are generally designed to share. What it lacks in the variety in larger Racion items (i.e. paella) available at the larger kitchen at Movida Aqui, it rewards with a bigger variety of smaller items.

Anchoa – being one of the most lauded item on the menu, celebrating the saltiness of hand-filleted Cantabrian Artisan Anchovy with a delightful textural and thermal contrast given by the smoked tomato sorbet and crouton, I was left somewhat disillusioned by the heavy saltiness. I have had it before at Aqui, but do not recall it being as such. I guess I am not cut out to be a anchovy fanatic.

Agridulce con Pato – the pink flesh on the slow cooked duck shank was moist and tender, and not too salty. Hazelnuts, raisin and sweet bits of onion atop a puree of cauliflower made it quite a delicate yet fulfilling bite.

Pollo Escabache al Miguel – “Spiced Chicken Escabache Tapa on crisp Crouton” is how the description read. Moist poached chicken – tick, crispy-buttery crouton – tick, moreish creamy sauce – tick. Too bad there was not much in the way of spice, for that really would have fulfilled the picture I imagined.

Croquetas De Choco Con Su Tinta – these were the most petite little cuttlefish croquettes, easily gone in a single (or half) mouthful. They are however incredibly flavoursome with the simple but dark earthy umami from the squid ink encased in a light crispy shell, overlain with a paper-thin slice of cuttlefish. And a dollop of eggy aioli to dip.

Bistec Tartar de Wagyu – being in a mood for some rare meat action, this steak tartare of raw, grass fed Wagyu would be the perfect candidate for our next course. It is rich, rare, a little spicy and very meat-hunger-quenching; and I did I say: rich? For the first few croutons worth, it was incredibly satisfying, but quickly becomes a little overindulgent thereafter. Easily enough to share between 4 people (not 2).

Carrillera de Buey – I do not have a clue how I ultimately ordered 2 racion size items of beef, but I certainly have no regrets on this second one. Slowly braised in Pedro Ximenez that gives it a luxurious but subtle sweetness and acidity of raisins and grape, this slab of beef cheek had a beautiful dark crust, with an incredibly juicy, tender and fragrant flesh, that just falls apart on your fork. Unless you’re like me and ordered way too much food, you will not want to share this with anyone. Forgot to mention at the end here, that the cauliflower puree complements in quite a lovely Spanish manner, much like steak to mash.

So much red meat in one sitting…

Rating: Yummy+2. Though the floor staff struggled a little to keep up, I have no doubts this is still my new favourite Spanish venue with a truly delightful menu, and I would *ahem* be tempted to order the beef cheeks on every future occasion. Cross fingers, they don’t take this one off the menu.

P.S. I wouldn’t recommend having so much beef / meat in one sitting, and nor would I recommend waiting too long before you head over as you are clearly missing out if you haven’t been.

[Movida Bar de tapas]
Where: 1 Hosier Ln, Melb VIC 3000
Contact: 03 9663 3038
Bookings: please book or risk not eating.

You may also like other Spanish eateries: Anada, Movida Aqui, Naked for Satan.

From the unassuming exterior of this factory converted bakery / café, you step into a space of olfactory heaven. As a child, the waft of a bakery is one that I could never resist – it is absolutely addictive and intoxicating. The one wafting here definitely receives a tick!

This First Bake launch of Tony Papas and Michael Klausen’s brainchild gave us a glimpse at what we’ll expect to see at the fully-opened bakery-and-cafe. They brought their 16 year old sourdough organic starter southward from our north-side cousin Sydney. For those who haven’t a clue about organic starter (me included before this event), it is a culture of wild yeast and lactobacilli that is maintained over time, and used for leavening (i.e. the rise that happens in bread). It is Brasserie Bread’s philosophy that there are no short-cuts to making great bread that keeps them at it with the traditions of artisan baking.

Checking out the sourdough bread in the making.

A little wine and chatter before we begin?

Bring on the food I say!

I am sure I missed a few items here and there, especially amongst the chaotic struggle with trying to juggle my massive camera, a glass of wine and also gobbling food. There are a few lovely locally sourced products from around the state (such as Yarra Valley dairy, The Jammery and Gundowring icecream) to spice up the night, but really the star attraction would be the bread itself.

The sourdough was how it is meant to be, crusty, fluffy and slightly acidic. The banana bread was absolutely divine with a smear of Rhubarb and raspberry. Not to mention some small bites that would appear on the café menu – caramelised garlic and onion bread, Croque Monsieur (pictured earlier).

Having stuffed our faces (typical of bloggers, or at least of me), I was nearing full. There is however, always a little space for sweets. Having eyed the trays upon trays of shiny desserts, I was eager get my hands on some.

Here they come.

Coconut cupcakes with blueberry; chocolate ganache tarts; chocolate brownies – all made on the premises, apart from the Gundowring Ice Cream of course. I absolutely adored the chocolate ganache tarts – rich and melt in your mouth delicious. I had to give my thoughts of having a second taste, but struggled to rationalise it with my painfully full stomach.

Making the most of our inside-out view, before this area becomes off limits to diners.

A take home sample of the first bake. Yumm!

Rating: likely Yummy+1, but stay tuned for when I visit the café for a proper assessment!

For all those photos that I missed (or blurry), please see MsIHua for some visual compensation.  =)

[Brasserie Bread Melbourne]  
Where: 150 Thistlethwaite St, South Melbourne VIC 3205
Phone: 1300 966 845
Note: Super children friendly – every Saturday they run FREE kids baking classes.

You may also like other bakeries: Dench Bakers, Noisette, Parisian patisserie.

[Disclaimer: all food and wine courtesy of Brasserie Bread Melbourne]