Phoenix Palace, England by Bureaucrat

Yum cha at Phoenix Palace was a nice surprise - better than expected and also is apparently quite the place for celebrity spotting.


Located just off the busy main road near Bakerloo Station, PP is decorated in traditional Chinese style - lots of redwood furniture, golden and red highlights.


It's like it's perpetually decorated for Chinese New Year or an Asian wedding.


I'm usually not a fan of Har Gao, but these were nice and plump.


The Xiao Long Bao's were slightly disappointing - I think it was overcooked, as there wasn't the soup within the dumpling. And it didn't come served with the red ginger vinegar.


Dried shrimp and spring onion Cheung Fun. Lovely squidgy, slippery rice noodles, with plenty of dried shrimps. Yummo.


PP also have a chef's special section. And here we found the more traditional style dishes - yumminess! At 6.80 pounds, we only ordered one dish. Thank god for that - as the dish was quite small for the price! Nonetheless, the cold jellyfish with cucumbers were pleasantly squidgy and crunchy. The flavour was a delicate balance of sweet and sour. A rather stingy serving of jellyfish and too much cucumber - it should be the other way around (I mean, I'm not paying almost 7 pounds for cucumbers!).


The pan fried turnip cake was a bit salty but had a good amount of Chinese sausage.


The Lawyer ordered the beef balls - I never liked these, so I didn't try them. However, the Lawyer said that they were nice.


The pan fried dumplings were nicely crispy all over.


The egg tarts were on the small side, but tasty.

Overall
The price was similar to that of those dodgy/touristy yum cha places in Chinatown. But unlike those places in Chinatown, the decor, service and quality was definitely more upmarket.

Also, I liked the fact that the yum cha menu included some traditional dishes, which are usually quite hard to find in London - jellyfish, preserved eggs, etc.

At the entrance, there are many photos of the celebrities that have dined here - David Tennant (Dr Who), Barbara Windsor (East Enders, Carry On...), David Suchet (Poirot), Jimmy Choo (shoemaker), Tony and Cherie Blair, plus a host of Asian celebs and politicians.

Top marks for food, quality, service and decor. We left with a full belly and very happy.

Address
Phoenix Palace
3-5 Glentworth Street
St John's Wood NW1 5PG
Telephone: 020 7486 3515

Pound Bar, South Yarra by Snooze

After every meal Big Fil and I like to take a walk, usually for miles, but that's a whole other story. A few weeks ago, after breakfasting at Lawson Grove Shop in South Yarra, we wandered along Church Street. Our wanders have a number of advantages ... we find a lot of great things and one of them was Pound Bar, a place on Big Fil's huge list of place to try but also somewhere he couldn't remember the location. Problem solved!


It wasn't that brilliant a day and we were happy to sit inside and watch the rain. Big Fil and I always like to turn up early so as to get the "perfect" seat, this time close to the window and in a location where we could watch what was happening.


Since we were visiting the "Pound" Bar, somebody had to select the pound (lb) option and Big Fil bravely put up his hand: the pound Russian egg salad with salmon on pannini. I thought Big Fil got the beter of the food we served and definitely the more adventorous option on the menu. The egg salad was smooth and nice, and contrasted well with the salmon. A good sized serve for the price.


I went with the poached eggs on toast with a couple of side orders: avocado, bacon and home made baked beans. It was all cooked well, especially the poached eggs and toast. But the bacon was a little oily and heavy, and my choice felt like a safe option.


Big Fil always likes to try a dessert and since we'd been talking about vanilla slices the day before he quickly snapped one up. The custard was lovely, soft and moist, and sandwiched between delicate pastry. Noteworthy, the slice wasn't topped with a thick concoction of icing, which I'm not a fan of. Definitely a vanilla slice to recommend.


Overall
A nice little place as a local, with well cooked food if a little on the safer side. The service was very good; the kind you feel as though the staff enjoy their job of looking after you without having them constantly hovering over you. One point to note is the restaurant isn't large and it fits a surprising number of people, around 35 or so. When we arrived there were only a couple of people at the back but the place filled up quickly, and by the time it was full it would be noisy with people sitting very close together ... not fun if you're over six foot like Big Fil.

Verdict
Food - 7
Service - 7
Ambience - 7.5
Price - 7

Address
Shop 5/566 Chapel St
South Yarra VIC 3141
Tel: (03) 9826 1114

Selera Singapore Asli, Nunawading by Big Fil

Selera Singapore Asli is a small family style Malay Singaporean style café next door to Persian Flavours. While I already have a very good local Indonesian café (Indosari) I want this one as well. Not because I am greedy mind (well at least not just for that reason) but because it's one of my favourite styles of food.


The café set up is very basic. A few tables at the front, a bain marie where you can order a few simple dishes to go with some rice and a large cooking area where you can watch your food being prepared. It's one of the most authentic Malay style places around Melbourne. Ms Counting her Calories even commented that the heat of the kitchen combined with the humidity that day meant it felt like being back in Malaysia. All it needed was to be a few degrees hotter and some ceiling fans.


The food itself I'd describe as not outstanding Malay food but very good for the price. Most mains are priced at either $8.50 or $9, with the cheapest being the nasi lemak at $5.50, with the most expensive was the serve of seven sate sticks at $12.


As there were the five of us we decided to share our own Malay style feast. The Nasi Lemak comes with fried egg, sambal, ikan bilis and sliced cucumber and we also ordered two serves of each of the beef rendang and sotong (squid) to go with it. I liked that the sambal was spicy and the beef rendang tender, but I loved the crunchiness of the ikan bilis and that there was not a hint of chewiness about the squid. I would have liked a bit more pandan flavour in the rice but appreciated the way it was served on a traditional banana leaf.




Snooze later commented that her favourite dish was the Lontong. This comprised rice cakes with boiled egg, sambal, and vegetables with coconut gravy. The rice cakes were good and provided texture to the dish.


Surprisingly I'd never tried Mee Rebus before, yellow noodles with boiled egg, fried shallots and spring onion in a sweet potato sauce. The sauce was runnier and sweeter than I'd expected but went well with the noodles. Like the Lontong, it wouldn't be the first thing I'd order if (when) I return, but I wouldn't object to having it again either.


Our preferred Rojak wasn't available so for our final main we ordered was the gado gado, an Indonesian style salad with rice cake, tempeh and vegetables in a peanut sauce. Normally when I order this it has come with a dry sauce poured over the top, more like a paste, whereas this sauce was runnier and the salad effectively sat in it. Given that two of the other mains had similar wet sauces I'd have preferred a drier sauce for the contrast, but still a good dish.


We also decided to order the sate. These chicken weren't available so beef it was. These were very good, tender but with some char marks and a peanut sauce that avoided the trap of being over sweet. Well priced and better than those available in many restaurants.


Finally, for dessert we each ordered a serve of the bubur pulit itam (black rice in coconut milk) and a fried banana ball which we split between us. The pulit itam was slightly runnier than I like it (thick with a bit of coconut milk board over the top), but served just warm and well flavoured with a few pieces of pandanus leaf. The banana ball looked dry and a bit unappetising when we ordered it, but when divided up proved still moist with a good banana flavour and texture reminiscent of banana bread.




Overall
Good authentic Malay home cooking. The aunties were friendly and helpful especially when we tried work out the arrangements for ordering some kueh to pick up the following week (apparently it's only made on the weekends). Prices are good - we effectively ordered 6 mains and 6 desserts for just over $66. I would have preferred a couple of the dishes to be a little spicier (not hotter), but would have no problems at all in making a return visit and have put it on the list to take Hungry Pete the next time he visits from Adelaide. Something worth noting though, the restaurant is aimed more at lunch than dinner and some items may be sold out and not available later in the day.

Verdict
Food - 7.5
Service - 7
Ambience - 7.5
Price - 8

Address
334 Springvale Road
Forest Hill VIC 3131
Tel: (03) 9878 0310

STREAT, Melbourne CBD by Snooze

Big Fil, Ms Counting her Calories and I visited the STREAT food cart on the strength of Ms Counting's fondness for burritos. Alas, the menu had changed only a few weeks earlier in favour of gourmet sandwiches, but that in no way dampened our enthusiasm for supporting STREAT itself (which is fondly known as "calories with a conscience" by us).


For those who haven't heard of STREAT, it's a social enterprise providing homeless youth with a supported pathway to long-term careers in the hospitality industry. STREAT runs street cafes in Melbourne where youth get their hospitality training. Our food is inspired by street hawker food from around the world. There's another in Melbourne Central, serving drinks and pastries that I pass each day on the way to work.


The menu board showed four options to choose from but with no takers for the grilled Mediterranean veggies with sheep's milk fetta and the Moroccan chicken off the menu for the day, the three of us chose from the two remaining options. I was disappointed about the chicken because that definitely would have been my choice.

Both Big Fil and I chose the Korean soy and honey braised pork with toasted sesame and kimchi. The choice of ingredients sounded lovely together but unfotunately in the execution the pork was bland and that let the sandwich down. Not something I'd try again.


Ms Counting chose the slow roasted Argentinian beef, smoked paprika mayo, pickled red onion and Chimichurri sauce. I was a little jealous of Ms Counting's choice as the beef was much tastier. I especially liked the red onion as it cut through the meat and sauces.


Overall
STREAT's such a worthy cause it's hard not to feel enthusiastic and want to support it. Unfortunately the sandwiches didn't live up to their title "Gourmet", despite the obvious thought that went into them and their being made up fresh on the spot.

Verdict
Food - 6.5
Service - 7
Ambience - 7
Price - 7

Address
St Paul's Court, Federation Sq
Melbourne VIC 3000
Tel: 0425 058 724

Nelayan, Melbourne CBD by Big Fil

Nelayan, which means fisherman, is a mid-sized café selling a variety of simple Indonesian food on Swanston Street. Price and quality are perfect for the student and office worker crowd, and in a good sign a majority of the crowd always appears to be Indonesian.


The main attraction here is the bain marie. While some food suffers badly when treated in this way, a lot of Indonesian food requires slow cooking for the flavours and soft textures to properly develop and it often improves when it has been sitting in the tray for a while. You can choose three items with rice for around nine dollars and the one dish that I always go for is the beef rendang. I know Ms Counting her Calories is a big fan of the rendang at Rich Maha, but I think Nelayan's is the best I've had in the city. At its peak it's rich, slightly spicy and very, very tender, and you know it's going to be good when you don't have to bother cutting it with your knife, that your fork is enough.

Other options that are usually good include the beef with potato and the soft tofu with vegetables. This beef is usually a bit firmer than the rendang but as rich in flavour and still very tender, as are the potatoes. The tofu is of the soft and silky variety and the vegetables crisp.


I also often go for the vegetables in coconut milk or the fried chicken (ayam goreng). The major issue with the chicken is that while the beef improves in the bain marie, the chicken does not. I normally go for the leg and even then it's a bit of a lucky dip. It can be really dry if it's been sitting around too long.


You can also order from the dishes pictured behind the counter. These include the usual suspects - Gado Gado (egg salad with peanut sauce), satays and mee ayam (chicken noodles). While these are generally ok I don't think they are as good as the bain marie food, which has richer and more complex flavours.


Nelayan also does a small range of desserts. The fried banana (pisang goreng) never seems to be available so I went with the es campur (mixed ice). This is kind of like a sweeter version of a Malaysian ais kachang. Shaved ice with condensed milk poured on top, in a sweet syrup with cubes of jelly on the bottom, a more accurate description might be a very much sweeter version of an ais kachang.


They also have a small selection of cakes and kueh, including onde onde and cassava cake. I prefer those at Straits Café though.


Overall
Somewhere I've been to dozens of times over the years and great tasty value. It's not the Ritz but is more comfortable than most student eateries around town and love that rendang.

Verdict
Food - 7.5
Service - 6.5
Ambience - 6
Price - 7.5

Address
265 Swanston Street
Melbourne VIC 3000
Tel: (03) 9663 5886

The Old Brewery, England by Bureaucrat

I had high hopes for The Old Brewery at Greenwich. Colleagues told me that TOB was a microbrewery, with a gastropub and located next to the Naval Museum with a gift shop (I'm a gift shop junkie). With those credentials, I just had to try it.


So for a post-Xmas lunch, the Lawyer and I decided to go for a good meal followed by a mosey around the gift shop.


Initial reaction was slightly disappointing. It just seemed like an average family friendly pub. Split into two dining areas, the dining area is decorated with glass bottles and a history of beer on the walls.


For entrees, we shared the half dozen oysters. These were medium sized and fresh, and were served with shallot vinagairette, tabasco and a beer-based dressing. I tried one with the beer dressing, which I didn't feel like it added much to the oyster. I ate the rest with a squeeze of lemon juice.


For mains, I ordered the mutton burger. This was quite bland and just scraping average. The mutton was meant to be seasoned with harissa, but I could hardly taste any zingyness. However, when the Lawyer tried a bit, he said it was strong with the earthy heat of the harissa. The bun was grilled, but it couldn't hide the fact that it was stale. The chips were refried (I'm not impressed), while the salad had a rather dodgy looking squirt of dressing.


The Lawyer ordered a pint of prawns. For UK standards, these were pretty good sized prawns. While the Lawyer demolised the prawns, as with the burger, I felt the prawns were a bit boring in presentation and flavour.

Overall
Going by the advertising, it seems TOB gets more 'gastro' and less 'pub' in the evening. I'm still intrigued enough to possibly try TOB for dinner, but I wouldn't make the effort to go back for lunch.

Address
The Old Brewery
Old Royal Naval College
Greenwich SE10 9LW
Telephone: 0203 327 1280

London Tavern Hotel, Richmond by Big Fil

Sometimes it feels like the only places we visit around Melbourne arecafes and cheap Asian restaurants. I know Melbourne specialises in these but we've made a conscious decision to try a few more pub meals. First off the rank was the London Tavern Hotel.


The London Tavern is located in a Richmond side street a couple of drop punts away from the old Punt Road Oval. You probably wouldn't come across it unless a local or making a special visit like we were. Out the back is a very spacious beer garden, partly undercover and partly out in the open. On a fairly miserable day it was still pretty nice out there and quite popular. I would have preferred something with a bit more individual styling though rather than red brick walls, brown wooden tables and a plasma screen TV playing the NBA all-star three point shooting contest in the background.


The blackboard menu contains some old pub favourites like chicken parmas and steak sandwiches, as well as some more modern Australian pub dishes, particularly amongst the entrees. My choice of the day was the chicken parma. Now it's years since I've had one of these, having previously been scarred by dry, overcooked meat topped by sloppy tomato paste and gloopy cheese. London Tavern's version came with thick, moist chicken breast meat, thick cut chips and a fresh garden salad. The balance of chicken to toppings was good and the serve generous. A simple dish really, but well prepared and presented.


Foghorn Leghorn went for the scotch fillet, with mushroom polenta, mushroom and spinach fricassee and artichoke chips. A good piece of meat, it also arrived rare as ordered. Not especially cheap but still comparatively good value for a Melbourne steak.


Ms Leghorn went for the Atlantic Salmon, with nicoise salad, pesto mayo and anchovy paste. Comment was made that this was good, better than expected. In particular she liked the way the yoke in the egg in the salad was still moist and not hard boiled.


Ruby Grapefruit's choice was the baked chermoula harpuka, served with slow cooked eggplant and tomato salad, yogurt sauce and eggplant fritter. While there could have been a bit more salad, the North African style chermoula spice was delicious on a good sized serve of fish.


Snooze went for a common choice for her - dahl curry with coconut sambal and roti bread. Again the serving size was generous, the dahl was well flavoured, spicy with a touch of chilli and full of curry leaves. The roti was also as she prefers it: crispy, a little dry and a large serve. Alas, the only photo Snooze forgot to take for the day was her own lunch!

We all made sure we saved room for dessert. I must admit to be a little disappointed with my chocolate 'fudgy' cake with raspberry coulis and clotted cream. The cake was thick and very chocolatey, and neither the cake or raspberry were overly sweet. So why didn't I like it? Probably because raspberry and chocolate isn't my favourite taste combination, and the cake was a bit of a compromise when my preferred dessert (creamed rice with rhubarb) wasn't available.


Dessert of the day was definitely Ruby Grapefruit's Persian Fairy Floss. A very large serve of what looks like unspun wool, light and sweet with an underlying nutty flavour (which we thought might be sesame) cutting through the vanilla flavours. Best of all, it was just fun to look at and eat.


Snooze went for the Turkish delight. Now I'm not a huge fan of rose flavoured Turkish delight but Snooze felt it was a good sized serve to go with a post meal tea or coffee, and that the flavours were delicate and avoided the common problem of being cloyingly sweet.


Foghorn Leghorn has absolutely no sweet tooth so he and Ms Leghorn went for the cheese plate. Three types of cheese with quince paste and sliced pear, with crisp bread on the side. Best of the cheese were the blue and brie, both of which were good. The cheddar though was a little bland.


Overall
Better than your usual pub grub but probably not at the head of itsclass, the London Tavern was a reasonable option the day we went there. Staff appeared efficient and despite being quite busy our food came out in a respectable amount of time. However, it's a large place and it may not work as well when full rather than half empty, and even half empty it was quite noisy next to a couple of large groups. It was a bit of a trip for everyone to get here so I'm not sure we will be back in a hurry, but it would make a good solid local.

Verdict
Food - 7.5
Service - 7
Ambience - 6.5
Price - 6.5

Address
238 Lennox Street
Richmond VIC 3121
Tel: (03) 9428 6894