Monday, February 28, 2011

Ocha2Go

Ocha2Go is a very well hidden little local gem, close to Hawthorn station and extremely unsuspecting from the outside. I don't think I can count the number of times I would have walked by this place on my way to the train station to get to school or work or life. In general. I alway assumed it was just a extremely quick eat Japanese place, where you can get your sushi rolls to go and such and never really thought of the name correlation with it's mother restaurant, Ocha.

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How wrong can I be! Once you slip on in, the room is surprisingly bigger than expected, extending out towards the back in extremely vibrant shades of purple and orange. Not quite as zen as one may expect, but I like the contemporary feel.

With a varied clientele (mature couples, families, boys on a night out), comes a fairly varied menu. With an array of sushi, entrees, rice dishes and noodles, there's certainly something for everyone here!

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Can never go past a glass of plum wine, as sweet as it is. Mmmm.

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I decided to keep it fairly light and went with the sunshine roll. Salmon, prawn, avocado, cucumber and flying fish roe. Yeah a bit boring, but it was kinda hot and humid and I really wasn't in the mood for anything steaming! The flavours were okay and the salmon was quite nice, but I found the construction of the rolls to be a little poor, it wasn't very neatly compacted and felt like it was falling apart a bit.

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With my (gentle) encouragement, Brad got the beef and vegetable curry. Japanese curry sauces in my opinion are hard to fault, but I wasn't particularly impressed with how chunky everything was, the potatoes were quite large, carrots thick. Warming, but not as hearty as I would like. Still, curry gravy with rice? Instantly epic win!

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This was the absolute star of the night. Soft shell crab roll. Gosh, how do I start? The crab was...well not crunchy, but it had that incredibly light crisp around the outside and the meat inside was warm (a surprising treat) and tender. This was just perfect.

All in all a very satisfying meal and it's nice to know there's a nice, but casual Japanese restaurant just a 10 minute drive from my house.

64 Burwood Rd
Melbourne, 3122

Ocha2go on Urbanspoon


Thursday, February 24, 2011

Entre Tapas Y Vino

Who can resist a great deal? Whether it's on food, clothes or groceries even! I'm currently finding the phenomenon of 'e-coupon' deals (I'm not sure what else to call them), quite interesting. I'm sure you've heard of some of them, Crowdmass, Zoupon (recently changed to Dealz) and Team Spreets, amongst many others. Basic idea? Pre-pay for a coupon at a massive discounted rate for whatever the service or product is. I've signed up to a couple, because friends have told me to and although the majority of the time it's for haircuts, massages, facials...kayaking lessons? Occasionally, there are a few very sweet little deals for the foodie out there.

Zoupon had a deal for Entre Tapas Y Vino in St Kilda sometime ago last year, $120 worth of food for $49. DEAL?!

And so, this brings us to a very sunny Sunday and me moaning about how long trams take to get anywhere.

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Entre Tapas Y Vino (should I just abbreviate that to ETYV?) is quite a charming space, maybe more inclined for a dinner crowd with it's somber woods and mature mood, but the outdoor are was still quite inviting, which is where Brad and I perched ourselves.

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It was the perfect day for a (jug of) sangria. This thing? Insanely delicious. And incredibly potent. We easily got about 5 or 6 glasses each, EACH, out of the jug and 2 or 3 glasses in (it's all a bit fuzzy now), I was really feeling the alcohol. Doesn't help that it was a fine, warm and sunny day.

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The menu is quite extensive, with pages of goodies, varying from chefs creations to loved traditional tapas dishes. We tried to fit a bit of everything in. As always.

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We started off with chilli potatoes (didn't get the exact names of everything). Basically, potatoes with chilli sauce and mayo on top. They weren't bad to nibble on, but I was expecting the potatoes to be crunchy or with some texture, which they didn't have and the chilli sauce was really...not that chilli. I wanted something with a bit of bite and this was much too watered down for my liking.

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Next up was some chorizo, inoffensive, hard to go wrong with. Maybe again though, not quite spicy enough for me and a wee bit too oily. But didn't stop us from devouring it all.

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Prawns and black pudding. I was initially super excited when I saw this on the menu, I am crazy for black pudding! Although somehow they just didn't go very well together for me, I still loved the black pudding but I didn't enjoy the prawns so much...

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Beef cheek with mushrooms and...some kinda sauce. Red wine? Probably the highlight of the meal for me, the beef cheek was just tender and fell apart beautifully in your mouth and the potatoes were also super fluffy (which can only mean one thing...BUTTER AND CREAM!). This was easily my favourite. Shame it came out so late when I was starting to get so full...

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Now, now, we aren't silly enough to order the same thing twice, I think on the menu these were described as 'crumbed eggs with calamari (there were other options), served with potatoes', or something along the lines. It sounded much more exotic and then we were presented with...this. Presentation wise, it wasn't that appealing to me as it looked a bit lazy and uncreative and the thought of more potatoes wasn't very enticing either. The calamari were so small they looked like onions instead, although they were deliciously marinated and went so well with the egg yolk, as it happily oozed on out.

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Not my favourite, and I was quite disappointed at the overuse of potatoes, but if I didn't have the potatoes before, I probably wouldn't have minded so much.

At the end of the meal, Brad and I were absolutely groaning with fullness. Whilst definetly filling and value for money if you want your tummy fed, I didn't feel the quality or creativity or execution was quite there. It's not far off the mark, but there were quite a number of little things I didn't enjoy so much.

Maybe we just came on an off day, but I wouldn't rush to come back.

Except for that Sangria maybe.

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And as we were so full, we sauntered around St Kilda for an hour and a half, to of course make room for some gelato.

Entre Tapas Y Vino
2/12 Fitzroy Street
St Kilda, 3182

Entre Tapas y Vinos on Urbanspoon

Monday, February 21, 2011

French Fantasies

Ah, it's not quite Paris, but with French-accented waiters (who are cute to boot) sauntering around and delectable sweets, it is a bit of a French Fantasy world.

Especially when you have an afternoon like mum and I did!

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French Fantasies is located on the Punt Road side of Toorak Road and not too far across the road from LuxBite. My intentions were to actually go to LuxBite with mum for coffee and sweets....but silly me realised when we got there, it was Tuesday. Again. And they were closed. But we had parked our car right next to French Fantasies, so we figured we couldn't go too wrong there.

The place is just adorable, warm, woods all over, with a gentle glow from the dessert display....mmmm.

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Mum got a latte and I a chai variation. The chai latte was exceptionally sweet. I am a sweet tooth by all means, although I found this a little excessive. Can tone down the honey there a bit I think!

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After uhm-ing and aah-ing over the selection of desserts, I decided to go with a chocolate Opera cake and mum settled on a raisin danish.

Oh my lord. There was so much chocolate in that cake. It's a pretty decent sized serving, between two would have been comfortable, but just for one? Devastating. In the best way possible. It was so rich from the chocolate, yet light in the texture.

I loved how glossy mum's danish was....although we all know that means it's just covered in sugar. Mum enjoyed it...but enjoyed my cake better. Heehee.

Now!

While we were sitting, sipping and eating away, we happen to sit at a big four person table close to the door, so a woman bustles in and is greeted with compliments and familiarity by a man who had been hovering by our table.

They asked if they could join us at our table and started chatting away.

We soon learnt that she was from Sydney on a shopping expedition before she flew back that night...and he? He was Yves, one of the owners of French Fantasies.

So before long, mum and I were caught up in conversations of beautiful places to eat in Melbourne, where to go shopping and how much we loved macarons. It's fascinating meeting people who enjoy...meeting people. Yves is one of them, kind, generous, and incredibly curious, he could tell many a great story, with a very heavy French accent which encouraged you to crane in and listen more closely.

The woman (Suzie) and Yves, had us captivated for 2 hours (a bit longer than I planned my coffee break to be), as Yves introduced us to his business partner and told us about his trips back to France.

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Did I mention that we talked about how much we loved macarons? I was absolutely stuffed from an overly sweet Chai and rich chocolate cake, but Yves insisted that we let him treat us to some macarons. We had to wait 10 minutes before we could munch on them though, as he had extracted a hazelnut flavour (just for us), from the freezer, which is apparently the way to keep them. In the freezer (not the fridge, or they go slimy) and then before you want to eat them, just take them out for 10 minutes!

There was coffee, chocolate, pistachio, hazelnut and strawberry. Each luscious and delicious, airy and with just the right amount of ganache and sweetness. They are not as dense as some places I have been to, but just divine all the same. My mum was particularly impressed (and she isn't usually). Seriously guys, the hazelnut is to die for, easily my favourite. I made a little trip the other day to get one to bring home to mum after an excursion to LuxBite (I'm sorry, my macaron loyalties lie everywhere...).

Where was I?

Two hours later, after dropping Suzie off down Chapel street so she could find everything on her shopping list at the last minute, and heading home, mum and I were quite bewildered. I cannot guarantee you'll have the same experience I did at French Fantasies, but I'm pretty sure you will have a good experience (just ask for less honey in your chai).

Quite keen to pop back for brunch or the such sometime...

15 Toorak Rd
South Yarra, 3141

French Fantasies on Urbanspoon

Friday, February 18, 2011

Miss Jackson

It's amazing how connected people are these days, and the sort of people you can meet. Take for example, Brad and I, we actually met online back in February last year, went for a couple of dates in March and voila. Now he is my blogging enabler!

Have I mentioned before how much I like twitter? One day Linda (fellow photography and food lover) added me on twitter, told me she liked my blog (which is amazing, since she takes far better photos than I do!) and we decided to meet up for brunch!

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Which takes us to an absolutely perfect morning in St Kilda, at Miss Jacksons, with plenty of chit chat and cameras going ablaze.

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Settled into an old house, I like how the cafe is kind of segmented into different rooms and there are a couple of cute nooks and crannies for tables to hide in. We got a table out the back, right by the window (for the best natural light of course!).

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Linda's lovely looking coffee, I could never do coffee art while I was a waitress, so it always impresses me, and my lovely chai latte. Sweet, without being overly so and gorgeous milk.

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Oh my corn fritters. It had been waay too long since I last had you! Miss Jackson's came with some lovely vine tomatoes, avocado, salsa and bacon. The corn fritters were...well...corny (hurr hurr), and delicious, not too doughy, great texture. It went very nicely with the avocado, although I wasn't crazy about having bacon with it. But then again, whilst I do enjoy bacon now and then, it's not my favourite thing to eat (I'm sorry! I promise I'm a true fatty!). The salsa was lovely too, with a bit of a chilli bite in it. Mmm!

Would totally come back for this stuff!

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Linda had the herb scrambled eggs served on corn bread with avocado. Don't the eggs just look creamily delicious? Mmm! (Although they are hard to photograph prettily...) The corn bread was also quite different, it sort of had the consistency of cake, but was savoury. And corny (hurr hurr) again.

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It was only on the way out that I noticed the smorgasbord of sweets they had, although I (suppose) thankfully I was stuffed from eating all my fritters!

Miss Jackson is really such an accommodating space, bright and friendly, which goes for the staff as well, who heartily joked with us and were quite curious by all our camera action!

2/19 Grey Street
St Kilda, 3182

Miss Jackson on Urbanspoon

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Saint Peter's

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There's something romantic about approaching the glowing neon lights of Saint Peter's. The light reflecting a blue sheen off from the freshly rained on concrete, with the breeze lightly teasing to whisk my umbrella out of my hands (which could very well happen while juggling a handbag, a camera and wearing heels at the same time).


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So lest I be rained upon more, I quickly took my photos (or not so quickly. I was having fun) and followed the graffitied sailors into the haven where all good fish go....Saint Peter's Kitchen.


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I had visited Esposito in Carlton some years ago, but remember having an excellent time (although I was with excellent company) and some delicious food. So was looking forward to what the newer restaurant was going to be capable of.


I was on a dinner date with the lovely Miss Caryn, squeezing an outing with her before she jetted off to strut around in France and Italy (ah the life of the fabulous). I had jumped at suggesting Saint Peter's when I discovered they still had their "Split the Bill" promotion going, and when I told Caryn about it, she jumped at it too!


In contrast to the moody and broody exterior, inside the warm restaurant (upstairs was a little bit too warm for me considering how humid it was that day), it was streamline, minimalist and quite prim and proper. Oh and there were a couple of waiter's wandering around with French accents. Mmmmm. (Don't tell Brad.)


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While Caryn indulged in a bit of wine and bread, I opted out from alcohol, since I was still getting over the amount of wine I had drunk the night before at the Duckfest.


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These little Shark Bay Scallops entrees are a treat that aren't a regular on the menu. The benefits of signing up for restaurant newsletters (I do suggest you follow St Peter's, they have little specials usually once or twice a month)! The scallops were presented on a lovely little bed of what tasted like corn, so I'm assuming a corn puree? Topped with a tomato chutney of some sort. I loved the warm punchy colours and of course, the sweet tenderness of the scallop. Very sweet and just the perfect few mouthfuls to start the meal.


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Caryn and I decided to nibble on something (or two) from every part of the menu. So we started with a few 'Tastes', the first being this beautiful carpaccio of venison, with a couple of mushrooms and micro herbs delicately scattered over the top. The venison was just beautiful, sliced impossibly thin and oh-it's-so-tender-it's-melting-in-my-mouth. And surprisingly not too gamey (not that I would have minded).


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Next we had a...wait, what is that?! Straight after having my plate placed in front of me, a very energetic and wriggly little green caterpillar made it's way out of my bowl! This little fella had a lot of life in him which sent Caryn and I into a massive giggling fit until I managed to take a breath and wave down a waiter. My plate was immediately whisked away and replaced after a short wait with a fresh dish.


Some may get a bit snot-faced if this happened to them, but I look at it this way. The salad greens are exceptionally fresh! (As I assume he can't have come out of the zucchini...which is deep fried.)


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With that little episode out of the way, we settled into our second taste of the night. Zucchini flower with smoked eel mousse, beer battered and deep fried (what isn't good deep fried?!). The batter was fresh and fairly crisp, and I was all over that eel mousse! Although it definitely is quite smokey, if that's not your cup of tea.


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With tastes out of the way, it was onto entrees! After seeing this on a few blogs, I was intensely curious to try it for myself. A whole quail, wrapped in pancetta and stuffed with fontina cheese and mushrooms, with some vine dried tomatoes on the side. Although the presentation was absolutely, in my opinion, quite adorable, it frankly was probably the least memorable dish of the night. I didn't find the quail particularly tender nor the filling overly tasty. Also by using the whole quail, I found it quite bony and hard to eat around. The pancetta to me was a bit overpowering over the quail as well. It was okay, but not great.


Hope you enjoyed the food porn anyway. :)


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The kitchen quite kindly split this dish into two plates for Caryn and I, so we could get a neat little serving each. So this picture is only half of the serving! Carpaccio of yellowtail Kingfish with florets of broccolini, chervil and pomegranate dressing. This was nice and refreshing.


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Ah and (finally) onto mains we went!


Caryn went with the ocean trout, with prawns, cauliflower, coral mushrooms and horseradish. I just loved the presentation of the cauliflower and other accompaniments, it's like a pretty little floral arrangement, so delicate!


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I opted for the John Dory, with a white asparagus and a little salad (I think?) of mud crab, radish and a warm Cinzano Bianco mayonnaise. The john dory was good, inoffensive and well cooked. And I do like white asparagus. But for me, the thing I really liked most about the dish, was the mud crab in mayonnaise. The mayo was kind of sweet, like the Japanese mayonnaise, which everyone knows goes with just about everything. It was incredibly addictive, sweet and tender. Does this make it a not so stellar main? If I'm more enamoured with the mini salad rather than the main portion?


So while we both enjoyed our dishes, I would say I'm a little more impressed with the tastes and entrees. Again, more that 'good' not 'great' category.


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And of course to finish, dessert. Yup, we still had space for more. (Or we delude ourselves into thinking so)


Again, sometimes being the last blogger to the party has it's advantages, I had seen this on a few blogs and was adamant (not that Caryn put up much of a fight) to have it. It simply says 'Chocolate Semifreddo" on the menu. They kinda neglect to tell you that chocolate semifreddo is showing up with his entourage, chocolate ice-cream and chocolate fudge(?). Um yum.


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What, you need to know more? It was rich, and just heavenly, couldn't have enough of it! I loved how the dish had the different textures and consistencies, the super thick and dense fudge, next to the kinda spongy (in consistency) but light semifreddo and then the soft melty ice-cream. Although the ice-cream was a little annoying as it kept melting everywhere and it's kinda hard to scoop up on a plate!


Could and would (and will?) come back just for dessert. Yum.


Our bill at the end of the night, after the 50% discount, ended up being a perfect $100. $50 a head for so many dishes?! I ain't complaining. The service through the night was fairly professional, if a little cool and our food always came out efficiently. Although I think if it were full price, I would have ordered a little more carefully and maybe only had one entree before my main and dessert. I don't think it's bad value for money otherwise though, the produce is all quite fresh and well cooked, and the servings whilst maybe on the smallish size, are still quite fair. Although I am a woman talking. Gym junkies and testosterone fuelled males may want to defer instead to a steakhouse. Just sayin.


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Saint Peter's

6 Melbourne Place
Melbourne, 3000


St Peter's on Urbanspoon