Kazbah, Balmain by Big Fil

I don't get to Sydney nearly as often as I would like but a work business trip provided the chance to visit our older and brasher sister to the north. Catching up with a friend I hadn't seen for a while evil Jaime and posse decided on dinner in a part of Sydney and with a style of food I wasn't that familiar with - Middle-Eastern and North African food down at Kazbah in Balmain.


Immediately on entering I was quite taken with the set up for this restaurant. Lighting levels were a little lower than I prefer but my first impression was of a restaurant that successfully straddled the line between formal and casual dining. Not so casual that it felt like somewhere you would eat at everyday but not so formal that a fairly wacky group in a mischievous mood couldn't give play to their natural inclinations. One thing which was a bit incongruous though, the white paper over the table and crayons provided for writing on it. That's something I'd associate more with a cheap neighbourhood café than a moderately upmarket restaurant, though that didn't stop us writing on it.


The menu provides a reasonable range of mezzes and mains. To sample a range of dishes we started with the mixed mezze plate to share. From memory and with the waiter a little hard to hear over the background noise babaghanouj, taramasalata and carrot dips, grilled haloumi cheese, quail, white anchovies, camel kafta and tabouli. The dips were light and creamy, more subtly than robustly flavoured, with the babaghanouj as usual my favourite. The haloumi and quail were nicely cooked, the tabouli fresh and light and the white anchovies - which I hadn't had before - nicely flavoured and presented if not really my thing. A bit of a disappointment though was the camel kafta, which I thought was small and overpowered by the sauce.



Jaime was also keen to try the Zataar bread. For this version a significant amount of olive oil had been poured over the top, more than I really liked. Consequently it didn't seem to have the almost citrusy tang of some versions that I've tried.


For mains we ordered the Casablanca Royale to share - 12 hours braised lamb shoulder with roast vegetables and sultana jam, served with cous cous on the side. As you would expect with such slow cooked lamb it was deliciously moist and tender, with the fat almost melted into the meat. No need for knives here, as the meat easily fell away under slight pressure from the fork. Combine this with firm vegetables and warm, light and fluffy cous cous and it was a rustic style winner.



With some of us nearly full by this stage we shared two desserts amongst the four of us. My choice was the Halwa ice cream with affagato and Frangellico. Served on what looked like a birds nest and topped with Persian fairy floss, I thought it was a generous sized serve and an interesting mix of creamy and tangy flavours.


Competing with the lamb for dish of the night though was Jaime's choice from the night's specials, a Turkish delight cheesecake with ginger sauce. I was a little concerned about this, not being a fan of Turkish delight. However, with its crunchy base, smooth texture and wonderful flavour it may have gone some way to converting me.


Overall
Ok, while the food was very good, there were a number of let downs. First of all, the service. The waiter who took our order was obviously very familiar with the menu and I know we weren't the most organised of groups and took a while to come to a decision on ordering. However, that's no reason to be so obviously frustrated with us so as to pull a face when attempts to up sell us from mineral water to a cocktail or additional food fails. That being said, the waiter who delivered the food to our table was friendly and polite.

Secondly, while first impressions of the venue were good as the night wore on and it started to fill it became increasingly noisy, to the extent it became hard to hold a conversation.

And lastly, while Sydney does have a reputation of being a pricier place to eat out in Melbourne, even my Sydney hosts felt the price was a bit on the high side. A pity really, because I did enjoy the food very much.

Verdict
Food - 8
Ambience - 7
Service - 6.5
Price - 6

Address
379 Darling Street
Balmain NSW 2041
Tel: (02) 9555 7067

Pho Chu The, Richmond by Big Fil

Feeling an unusual urge for pho after work it was off to Victoria Street to a place that I'd heard of but never tried. With the name Pho Chu The it should come as no surprise that here it's all about the pho. The main board offers a dozen or more varieties and the only regular non-pho food is rice paper or spring rolls. If you want something else then you are probably best pho'king off elsewhere.


Unlike most Vietnamese restaurants in this strip the name isn't pasted in big letters on the front window, I actually walked past twice before double checking the number. Inside though is much better than the usual, quite tastefully done in a minimalist sort of way. At just after 5 on a weekday only a few tables were occupied, but I can imagine it gets very busy at peak times.


Depending on your level of adventurousness you can go for a fairly simple pho through to one with all the trimmings. First choice was a basic beef and tendon pho. First two things to strike me were the huge bowl and wonderful smell. Closer inspection revealed thin strips of medium rare beef swimming in a steaming hot rich beef soup. Bean sprouts and mint are served on the side so you can add as much or as little as you want. It's the same with the chilli but watch out, not knowing how hot though were I was a little enthusiastic and still have the scorch marks on my tongue several days later.



The second and more adventurous choice was the 'special' chicken. This includes lots of the tasty bits that scare many white folks for some reason. I can confirm though that it is offally good. Tender just cooked chicken with scattered bits of kidney, heart and liver, I didn't think it had the same smell as the beef pho but tasted equally as good.


Discussions with a colleague of Vietnamese extraction also revealed that while he hadn't been here he understood that their meals were msg free, and that from the photos the meat appeared to be hand cut with the broth nicely light and clear.

Overall
I'm not a regular consumer of pho, preferring the stronger flavours of a rich, hot, creamy laksa for my Asian soup kick. However, despite not having a huge number of experiences to compare it to I thought the pho here was pretty good, well flavoured and filling. I don't think it's converted me away from a good laksa, but it's sure better than a bad one.

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

Address
264 Victoria Street
Richmond VIC 3121
Tel: (03) 9427 7749

All Bar One, England by Bureaucrat

For lunch one day, we decided to make use of the five pound deals from All Bar One.


ABO is a chain pub/cafe. I hadn't been to one before, but I quite liked my experience.


Inside, it was decorated with light wooden furniture and warm lights. The voucher limited us to a selection of main dishes.


Voucher Boy, Ms S and Ms B all went for the falafel burger, which came with chips and tomato chutney. They all thought it was yummy.


I got the beef and coriander burger. I couldn't quite taste the coriander, but it was a decent burger nonetheless. I loved the chutney, which was chunky and flavoursome.

Overall
For a fiver, ABO gives a good deal for lunch. I would go back even without a voucher. One the day we went, the service a bit slow - other tables who came in after us had their meals served before ours. ABO has a nice, casual atmosphere - you can easily linger here. The food is above average. All in all, a good, reliable place.

Address
All Bar One
58 Kingsway
Holborn WC2B 6DX
Telephone: 020 7269 5171

Blue Sky Chinese Restaurant, Melbourne CBD by Big Fil

It's mainly wall to wall Chinese, Japanese, Korean and Malaysian restaurants along Little Bourke Street in Chinatown. What sometimes gets missed are the many restaurants hidden away in the little side alleyways towards Lonsdale Street. While these restaurants may be less well known and quieter than some of their more prominently placed Chinatown contemporaries, the food can be as good or better. The reason is they're forced to rely more on repeat and less on passing traffic to bring the customers in. One of these hidden away places and somewhere I'd been curious to try for a while is Blue Sky Chinese Restaurant, a fairly obscure restaurant in Waratah Place.


Not much to look at from the outside, the inside is spacious, well lit and clean, three things not always associated with cheaper Chinese restaurants. Customers were a mix of Chinese and Westerners and with the restaurant only around one quarter full it was easy to hold a conversation and to get staff attention when we were ready to order. Put this together with a fairly extensive and varied menu and lunch was off to a promising start.


The number of types of dumplings available is small but listed on a paper sheet stuck to the wall was an unusual fish and chives dumpling we were curious to try. They looked a little grey when they hit the table, were a bit soggy and could have used a little less chives and more fish. While they got the thumbs up from me and Snooze, looking back this was probably as much for the novelty value as anything else.


Better were the stir fried prawns and snow peas. Not perfect but a reasonable number of well cooked prawns complemented by crunchy snow peas. The only issue to me was that I thought it was a bit oily, but Snooze also thought the sauce had been overly thickened.


Snooze's favourite was the braised beef and radish hot pot. This is normally a real favourite dish of mine and this version was liked by everyone. Comment was made that it was easier on the use of star anise and other spices than is usually the case, resulting in a lighter and more 'beefy' flavoured dish. I also thought the beef was nicely tender, although I would have liked the addition of a little tendon.


We weren't quite sure how, but one of the dishes which we ordered came with a complementary soup and drink. While the soup was a bit ordinary the iced milk tea, something which I'd not normally order with lunch, was pleasant enough.




















Overall
Nothing spectacular but a good place for a quick lunchtime meal, our food was above average, service was more attentive than many other similar restaurants and the prices reasonable. Not fine dining but the sort of place that's great for a quick lunch on a work day. It also has a variety of lunches available on rice which, judging by the other dishes, would make good student meals.

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

Address
7-9 Waratah Place
Melbourne VIC 3000
Tel: (03) 9663 9888

Coq d'Argent, England by Bureaucrat

A few weekends ago, the Lawyer and I made a rare trip into the city during the weekend. Given that I work in the city, any allure of the city has long been forgotten - I associate the city with the dull and tiresome journey commute of being squished into the smelly and overcrowded Tube.


However, I had to make an exception one weekend, when we made reservations for lunch at Coq d'Argent. Although CdA is located at the Bank tube station, the restaurant is actually situated above the street level.


As the elevator opened to the restaurant, we were thankfully above the hustle and bustle (and riff raff) of London below. The gods must have been happy that day because the weather was sunny and we opted to sit outside on the covered verandah.

We made sure to eat a light breakfast, as we were embarking on a three course meal.


After briefly discussing the ethics of foie gras, the Lawyer ordered the duck foie gras with sherry dressing for his starter. While we both love chicken liver pate, we're less experienced with foie gras. To me, it kinda tasted like a farm-house pork-based pate. The vegetables were lightly pickled which contrasted with the richness of the foie gras. Although the foie gras didn't come with any bread (which I thought was a bit unusual), the waiters do come around offering freshly baked bread while you're ordering and during your first course.


I went for the mushroom parfait with port jelly, spring vegetables and beetroot dressing. I quite liked my parfait, which was delectably smooth and rich in texture (but not overly so). The fresh spring vegs were very sweet and tender, and some of them were lightly pickled. I especially loved the presentation of the parfait.


For the mains, the Lawyer got the slow-cooked rump steak with watercress aioli and vegetables. The steak was flavoursome and was melt-in-your-mouth. The steak was served medium - I don't know how they managed to make it so tender while keeping the steak pink in the middle...I wouldn't mind learning this trick.


I went for the seared salmon with red wine butter sauce and spinach. I loved the red wine sauce, which was foamy and pink in colour - how cool is that! I liked the fact that the flavour of the sauce wasn't dominating the salmon. The salmon had a lovely crispy skin and perfectly seasoned.


For desserts, the Lawyer got the baked white chocolate and strawberry tart with lemon and yoghurt sorbet. The plate was sprinkled with this tart strawberry dust. The tart itself had a rich filling (but not overly sweet) and a lovely buttery pastry.


I got the frozen violet and blackberry parfait. The parfait had a delightful meringue 'skin' and inside was a very smooth icecream.

Overall
Great service, food and ambiance. The waiters were very accomodating (such as arranging more comfortable seating for families with small children) and friendly.

I loved the fact that the restaurant was situated above street level - it somehow made it a bit more special..an oasis away from the hoi polloi. I also loved the presentation and the quality of the food. We had a great time savouring our lunch in the sunny afternoon. Top marks!

Address
Coq d'Argent
1 Poultry
Bank EC2R 8
Telephone: (020) 7395 5000

Friends of Mine, Richmond by Big Fil

Spring has sprung into Melbourne this week. The skies are blue, the clouds are fluffy, the cafes are full ...well, most of the better cafes are full whatever the weather but it will probably get even worse over the coming months. Spring is also the season of freshness and renewal, which is an appropriate for a visit to Friends of Mine. This is because to me the highlight here was the freshness of the food, from the house smoked salmon to the still gooey chocolate in my muffin.


Toasted banana bread with maple syrup mascarpone, fresh banana, berry compote and crushed pistachios 

Located in the semi-industrial suburb of Burnley, Friends of Mine is another café given over to Melbourne industrial chic. There are three separate dining areas to choose from: outside across the road from the park, the shared table and window seating room, or the more 'formal' separate table room. On both my visits I was relegated to a window seat, which appeared to be this cafés equivalent of the singles table at a wedding reception. It's unfortunately not my favourite place to eat, with the combination of light and shadow making it hard to take a good photo and the more limited bench space making it difficult to read my paper without jostling the neighbours. One major highlight though, I have to love the amazing lights scattered around the place. I want one for home!


As mentioned, everything sampled was almost bursting with freshness. First up was the smoked salmon on corn pikelet, avocado, herbed cream fraiche and a poached egg. Good, somewhat softly flavoured salmon on a yummy corn pikelet and properly runny-yoked poached egg. Surprisingly though I was left a little disappointed. On occasions I can be a big flavour kind of guy and the flavours here were more on the subtle side than I would have preferred, which is more a reflection on my likes than the dish.

No such problems with the banana bread (see first pic). Toasted banana bread with maple syrup mascarpone, fresh banana, berry compote and crushed pistachios. A generous serve with generous flavours - thick, lightly toasted bread, firm banana and the pistachios giving a crunchy texture. I rarely have banana bread because of a dislike of soft, squashy banana but I loved this and was left wanting more.


To top it all off, a freshly baked chocolate and pistachio muffin and hot chocolate. The muffin was delicious if a little crumbly, with pieces of warm still runny chocolate gooeyness on the inside.


The hot chocolate was also how I like it, with a good strong chocolate flavour and a layer of liquid chocolate at the bottom for scooping out with the spoon.

Overall
The food was a definite hit but I have two caveats about Friends of Mine. One is, if you are going to take a common approach to lots of other places, to stand out you have to do it better. The industrial café look is a good one but here it didn't quite hold together for me. I might have been a bit prejudiced by my window seat but I never really got comfortable and couldn't imagine wanting to hang around for long after finishing. Secondly, without doing a direct comparison it did seem a little pricier than other similar good Melbourne cafes, not unreasonably so but just enough to notice. But all up, a good place to eat and somewhere I'd more than happily return.

Verdict
Food - 8
Service - 7
Ambience - 6.5
Price - 6.5

Address
506 Swan Street
Richmond VIC 3121
Tel: (03) 9428 7516

Kenzan@GPO, Melbourne CBD by Big Fil

It was a last minute decision to visit Kenzan@GPO. We'd already been to Ramen Ya next door only two days earlier and our aim had been to try the dumplings at Shanghai Street Dumplings. Fools that we were we thought we could get a table if we rocked up at 12.01 on a Friday afternoon. Wrong!


Fortunately our next choice Kenzan was busy but not full. On an overcast day its mixture of low and high lighting levels made it feel cave-like, with most of the lighting falling behind the long glass counter that contained a variety of neatly packaged sushi and rice rolls. It didn't feel a terribly inviting environment to eat to me, although most of the seating is in the nearby alleyway so it isn't really an issue.


This time it was my turn to order the bento with miso soup on the side and Snooze the ramen. While we ordered at the same time my meal came out several minutes before Snooze's and Benny's, so by the time they started eating I was already three quarters finished.

My hopes were high after the soup, which was nicely flavoured, and the bento box looked good when it came out. No issues with the flavours either, with the pick probably the rolls. I also liked the beef a lot, which looked like a piece of steak but had a texture more like meatloaf. However, I was left with a vague feeling of disappointment after finishing. Yes, it was comparable to the best of the admittedly limited number of Bento boxes I've tried in the city. But then I'd expected it to be as it was probably the most expensive at $20 and fairly or not I'd had visions of a little more both in quantity and quality.



Benny's choice was one of the specials, the tonkotsu ramen: sliced pork belly with vegetables and egg. This looked interesting with its sliced, pickled pork and slightly thickened broth. In the interests of the blog Benny sacrificed a slice of the pork for Snooze and myself to try and it was a nice piece of pork, flavoursome and very tender.


Snooze went for the tonton ramen: spiced pork mince with egg. This looked a little oily and not as attractive as the other ramen, but the main issue was it was beyond Snooze's usual tolerance for spicy food. Both Bennie and I tried it and didn't find it that hot, but we both agreed that while the flavour was nice it felt like there was something missing. Bennie thought it tasted like the mince from Ma Pa Tofu but missing a few ingredients, whereas it reminded me of the sauce from a mild Dan Dan Noodles but without the Sichuan Pepper.


Overall
It's hard not to compare Kenzan and Ramen Ya given our visit to Ramen Ya was only a couple of days earlier. Kenzan felt more professional but Ramen Ya more friendly. The price at Kenzan reflected its aiming at a higher level but unfortunately it missed on a couple of elements and nothing made us go 'wow' to compensate. I've since heard good things about the sushi and will return to try it. On the whole though it was one of those places which was fine but it felt like it could have been better.

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

Address
Shop G28 GPO Building
Melbourne VIC 3000
Tel: (03) 9663 7767