Haymisha Bakery, Balaclava by Bureaucrat

Okay, I'll admit that this review is a bit half-baked because I don't know what I ate..... yes, I did just go there.

Following my uncharacteristic foray into having breakfast at Las Chicas, we happened to walk by Haymisha Bakery.  As I had planned on baking a cake or some such later that day for arvo tea, I thought I could spare myself that bother by buying a baked goodie from Haymisha.


Haymisha is a Jewish bakery.  Inside, it looks like the place has seen better days. However, there was a tangible sense of homeliness and permanence about the place.  I make assumption that HB is a genuine, bona fide Jewish bakery by the fact that it had a few Jewish people inside already buying loads of bagels and other treats.

Feeling somewhat out of my depth, I pointed to one long, twisty plait.  I know for certain that it was a cinnamon flavoured plait (and there were poppy and chocolate flavoured ones too).


I do rather regret not asking the friendly staff there as to what I actually bought. Because since devouring the plait (which everyone in my family enjoyed), I want to know what it was that I ate!  It was yeasty, mildly sweet and just so light but had a nice chewy texture. It was everything a good yeasty sweet bread should be. The cinnamon went well with the yeasty aroma. So scrumptious with a nice cuppa.

Since that day, I have been trying to track down the name of this baked good.  Beaker insists that it's a babka.  I'm not sure, as my limited understanding of babkas are that they are round and cake-like. Plus, I know her reference point is based on a Seinfeld episode.

The closest I think is Ms H and Ms C's assessment.  Ms H and Ms C are of central/eastern European descent. They both reckon that it's an Easter bread, as both their mothers bake a very similar bread (yeasty, not too sweet, plaited) themselves.  What do you think, dear readers?

Whatever it's called, it was yum. Now that I know how yummy it is, I'd definitely go back and get myself several of these breads next time!

Verdict
Food - 8.5
Ambience - 6.5
Service - 7
Price - 10

Address
Haymisha Bakery
320 Carlisle St
Balaclava 3183

Telephone: 9527 7116

Curry & Chips, Mount Waverley by Big Fil

Curry & Chips, what's that all about then?  Sounds like some local neighbourhood Indian joint in deepest, darkest Belfast but it's actually a Sri Lankan restaurant in Mount Waverley.



The restaurant is casual but nice, as was the friendly greeting from the floor staff.  The smell of the curries is mouth watering and the restaurant filled up rapidly after we arrived, despite it being a cold Sunday night.



On weekends they have hopper nights and that was what we were there to try.  Hoppers are crisp, tasty alternatives to rice with your curry made out of rice flour.  While string hoppers (which are noodle like) are also fairly common on this night there were two versions of the bowl shaped hoppers available - plain and with egg (an egg is dropped into the hopper for cooking in the hopper itself).



For $17 you can eat your fill from the assorted curries and sambals at the front complemented by the freshly cooked hoppers.  There was a certain symmetry at work with four curries and four sambals, including vegetable, daal, fish and beef curries, eggplant, onion and coconut based sambals, as well as one which seemed mostly chilli and packed a bit of heat.




Given the bain marie help yourself serving style reminiscent of a school cafeteria the curries themselves are surprisingly good, the beef and fish tender and moist and not dry as so often the case.  Nothing too deep or complicated about the flavours but this is more about comfort food than something to challenge your tastes buds with.  I loved the onion sambal though and was reliably informed the eggplant was also tasty although I didn't try it.  Not so fond of the prison style metal trays though, which may be practical but are definitely not attractive.



Overall
If you are looking for a place which combines the feel of a comfortable neighbourhood favourite with food a little out of the ordinary, Curry & Chips fits the bill.  Friendly staff, comfortable atmosphere and tasty food all at a reasonable price.

Verdict
Food - 7.5
Ambience - 6
Service - 7 (it is mainly self help)
Price - 7.5

Address
250 Blackburn Road
Mt Waverley VIC
Telephone (03) 9802 3732

Jacques Reymond, Prahran by Bureaucrat

The trouble with being a famous/lauded/hyped restaurant is that, well, it's hard to determine whether they actually deserve all the praise that it gets.


Second course - sashimi yellow fin tuna and a smoked salmon mousse 

Today's case study is Jacques Reymond - a restaurant that has been awarded three hats and many other accolades.  For a special dinner, the Lawyer and I took Mr Strong and Mother Hen there.  I had been looking forward to our dinner there as I wanted to find out if JR is indeed worthy of its status.


Upon entering the lovely restored Victorian mansion, we were led to our table. Inside, the layout is that of a house.  Each area is decorated in a different colour scheme but all the rooms retains the same decorative vibe.  The room that we were in had warm reds, crisp white linen; which was simply and tastefully decorated with a massive gilt mirror above a fireplace, white orchids and a statement lamp above.  All the walls have these long elegant fabric panels, which gave me the impression that we were in a very fancy and expensive padded cell in a lunatic asylum.

For a restaurant of this ilk, and the money that we'd be forking over, I was looking forward to being pampered and have a wonderful dining experience.  However, the trouble with first impressions is that you only have one chance to make it.

Within five minutes of being seated, Mother Hen had to visit the ladies' room.  She got up, and asked one of the waitresses that was walking by as to where the bathrooms were located.  This waitress, with a sourpuss expression on her face, extended her arm out and pointed frostily towards the direction of the bathrooms.  There was nothing polite or friendly in her attitude.  No words. No "this way, madam" or "down the hallway, madam".  We were all shocked at the outrageously rude behaviour... this was not something you'd expect from a fine dining restaurant.  It was at that moment I decided, regardless of how the food would be and what the rest of the service would be for the night, Jacques Reymond will not get a tip from us.

Thank god she was not our waitress.  Our main waiter was this French guy.  He was formal and polite but he was a softly spoken guy with a strong French accent.  This made it difficult to understand what he was saying at times (especially when he presented each course).  Unfortunately, we also couldn't help but notice that he had a strong body odour.  I know that that is not deliberate but it did mean it wasn't pleasant each time he came by to change our cutlery or top up our drinks.

In terms of food, there's the degustation menu or the a la carte menu (which requires you to order 4-6 dishes - in essence, it's like a mini degustation).  Everyone went for the meat-based degustation ($185pp without wine), while I opted for the vegetarian one ($140 pp without wine).  I did this because at our last degustation at Stefano's in Mildura, I was so incredibly full by the end of the meal.  So by going the veggie option, I was hoping to be satisfied but not be over-indulged.


To kick things off, we were present with a freebie - cheese gougeres.  They were served warm from the oven, and was as light as air.


Then came several freshly baked breads on offer.  This would continue throughout the meal.  I had one to begin with but I wanted to save room for the degustation dishes themselves.


First course - clear broth of shiitake, lemon balm, ginger cake and salsify (V). 

The meat version came with a small chicken rib instead of the ginger cake. The broth was served in these cute, warmed pots.  A very clean shiitake flavour but without being overpowering (which shiitake can be sometimes) - a very controlled flavour which no doubt took some skill to get the right balance.  The broth had a small piece of sea cucumber at the bottom. The ginger cake  wasn't very gingery in flavour and had the texture like the filling for a dumpling. A simple dish done well but we were all hoping that for something with more of a wow factor.


Second - zuchinni, fromage, spiced nougatine, togarishi and caviar (V). 

The zucchini and fromage went really well together.  Slippery yet waxy texture from the zucchini, which when well with the silky fromage. I liked especially the spiced nougatine - which was a thin layer of crispy, sweetness (kinda like the top of the creme brulee).  The meat version of this course was sashimi yellow fin tuna and a smoked salmon mousse (see first pic).


Third - King George whiting w picked Japanese veg.  


Third - leek terrine w picked Japanese veg (V).  

The whiting was very fresh and sweet - I think we all thought the serve could have been a bit bigger!  The leeks were baby ones and tender and sweet.


Fourth - cuttlefish, pork and crispy chicken skin. 


Fourth - beanshoots, swede and turnip w crispy zuchinni flower (V)

By this course, I started to get envious of the meat based menu.  Somehow a mound of beanshoots with some root veg just cannot compete with a nice chunk of juicy pork and tender cuttle fish.  The dish was Asian in style. Both had a very morish soy-based sauce.


Fifth - parmesan custard, peas, macerated grapes, wasabi and apple granita w tomato skin (V). 

For the fifth course, the meat version was the same, except it had a piece of pancetta instead of the tomato skin.  When I saw this on the menu, I was curious to see how the parmesan custard would taste like.  It wasn't anything special - not particularly cheesy in flavour and had a slightly curdled texture.  The granita was really nice.  We all liked the crisp flavour and it being a palate cleanser. However, I couldn't taste the apple flavour - to me, it tasted like a lemon granita. Similar with the fourth course, a tomato skin cannot compete with a piece of crispy, salty pancetta.  I had some of the pancetta with the granita - and wow, great flavours and texture.  Salty, yet sweet and sour and cold all at once!  The tomato skin just did not achieve the same effect.


Sixth - salad of lamb, smoked eucalyptus scallop, scampi and masterstock.


Sixth - salad of root veg, smoked eucalyptus potato, stinging nettle and lemongrass masterstock (V)

Serious food envy on my part for the next few courses.  I got to eat Mother Hen's lamb as it was too rare for her.  It was great flavour.  Everyone enjoyed the juicy scampi and scallop.  I had to make do with the small pieces of veg.  Honestly, how is a piece of potato commensurate to a scallop, scampi and lamb??? I couldn't taste the smoked eucalyptus in the potato.


Seventh - tart of king brown mushroom, candied tomato, burnt onion and coffee (V). 


Seventh - meat version was wagyu beef with the burnt onion and coffee. 

Again, no mushroom, however, royal, can equal wagyu.  Also, again, I swapped dishes with Mother Hen because she isn't a fan of rare meats.  The wagyu was proper wagyu.  Buttery and beefy... yum. Mother Hen said she quite liked the flavours of the tart.  For this dish, you could opt for 2 grams of freshly shaved truffles (for an additional cost).  As we're not fans of this earthy fungi, we passed on it.


Eighth - carmague red rice, apricot and sencha sorbet w champagne foam. 

This was just a rather bland and ho hum dessert.  A mouthful of apricot muesli is what it tasted like. The best bit was the boozy foam.


Ninth - spiced cherries, chocolate and chestnut mont blanc, bay leaf and cassis.  

We all liked this dish.  The cherries were waxy and very cherry flavoured. The brownie was slightly gooey and chocolately but not overly sweet.  The cassis couli and sorbet tasted like Ribena. While the chestnut and mont blanc (whipped cream) was a nice chestnutty and morish cream.


We finally reached the end.  So out came two plates of petit fours and coffee.  The Lawyer and Mr Strong particularly liked the smooth coffee. However, as with the start of the meal, the end of the meal gave rise to another terrible example of JR's service.  The coffees were being brought to our table. This waitress (a different one to the waitress with the sour disposition), tersely barked out "COFFEE" and plunked the cups of coffee on the table.... it's like, what the hell is your problem?!


From top right and clockwise - fruit pastille (another Ribena flavoured thing), some sort of macaron w citrus filling, marshmallow, lemon tart (very gooey and lemony), salted caramel and peanut butter candy w edible wrapper, a melon flavoured macaron, the same pastille, chocolate Madeleine, the same marshmallow and dark choc truffle.


Churros dusted w citrus sugar w melted choc.  These were okay. I couldn't taste the citrus though.



Verdict
Food - 7 for veg; 8 for meat
Ambience - 7.5
Service - 6.5
Price - 6 for veg; 7 for meat

Overall
The chefs need to re-think the veggie menu.  I was still hungry by the end of the night.  Luckily for me, Mother Hen gave me the rare/raw meats to eat.  If it wasn't for that (and that I resigned myself to eat a few more bread rolls), I would have been far more hungry.  The veggie menu could definitely do with some protein such as eggs, tofu or lentils and legumes.

While the meat menu was more filling, that didn't mean it was filling.  Both Mr Strong and the Lawyer had about 6-8 bread rolls to go with their meals.  They both said that if there wasn't any bread offered, they'd definitely be still hungry.

Generally, the quality of the food is as what you'd expect for a restaurant of this ilk. However, there's nothing that I would rave about - there was nothing that made us think: OMG YOU HAVE TO TRY
THIS!

Flavour-wise, I had difficult discerning the flavours that are stated on the menu with what I tasted.  I couldn't taste the ginger in the ginger cake; apple in the apple granita; the parmesan in the parmesan custard; the smoked eucalyptus in the smoked eucalyptus potato; the burnt onion and coffee in their respective sauces; the sencha in the sencha sorbet; the citrus in the citrus sugar.

If you want to have a degustation dinner and want to spend some cash, I say go elsewhere.  Jacques Reymond isn't bad, it's good but it isn't great.  My thoughts on the food and the overall food experience seems to be a common theme with other diners' reviews.

Service is mixed. Two waitresses with serious attitude problems - surely for a restaurant like this, they're a liability.  Like the food, the rest of the staff were good but not great.

Parking is limited on site.  Good luck finding a spot in the narrow residential streets nearby.

Address
Jacques Reymond
78 Williams Rd
Prahran 3181
Telephone: 9525 2178

Myeong-Ga Madang. Melbourne CBD by Big Fil

I read an interesting comment the other day, that Korean was set to be the next 'it' cuisine in Melbourne.  I know that with Melbourne's winter upon us I am certainly eating a lot more of it than I used to, although its mainly been at the cheaper student end of the spectrum, bibimbap and bulgogi with rice.  But Benny's brief return gave us the opportunity to head somewhere a little more upmarket, Myeong-Ga Madang.



You wouldn't pick it from street level though.  It's kind of hidden away up a dodgy looking set of stairs and not very inviting looking for passing trade.  Go to the top of the stairs and turn right and you are in for a nice surprise, a mixture of the industrial and the opulent that is both upmarket and very Melbourne.



The menu is fairly extensive as well as being a little unfamiliar so ordering took a while.  There were two things I particularly wanted to try, the KFC (Korean Fried Chicken) and the seafood Pancake.  We eventually settled on the Beef Bulgogi and Bossam for the other two dishes, which proved a more than ample amount of food for the four of us.

First to arrive was the Bossam, a steamed sliced pork served with a spicy raddish and apple salad.  I was a little apprehensive about this, as while I love roast pork other ways of preparing it sometimes leave me a little cold.  This was very nice, great meaty flavours and textures complimented by a bit of a kick from the accompanying salad.



My favourite though was the seafood pancake.  This is the one thing I always try to order when visiting a Korean restaurant and a bit of a barometer as to whether I like it or not.  This was undoubtedly the best I have had, crispy and generously full of fresh tasting seafood.  Prawns and octopus and squid, no seafood extender here.  Strangely Benny wasn't such a fan, guess it just goes to remind us that everyone's tastes are just a little different.



The other two dishes I thought were good but didn't impress me as much.  The beef bulgogi had that typical slightly chewy texture but I found it a bit sweet.  I did like the condiments served with it though, including kim chi, bean sprouts and a great little noodle salad we struggled to identify.





I am probably being a little unfair on the fried chicken, but given I'd heard so much about Korean style fried chicken I think I was expecting some sort of poultry epiphany.  And there is no doubt it was good fried chicken, crispy on the outside, moist in the middle and not a hint of a drop of grease or oil.  Where we all thought it could have been improved was a few spices being added to the batter, although this could have been related to us not ordering the spicy version - there can't be too many places that offer multiple versions of fried chicken.



Overall
Service was friendly if a little slow, particularly in terms of how long it took our rice to arrive.  I don't think any of us were too worried though, as it have us more of a chance to catch up with Benny and Ms N and our booth was such a nice place to sit.  Definitely somewhere to return for another lunchtime visit, especially given it's just a couple of minutes walk from work.

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

Address
1/258 Lonsdale Street
Melbourne VIC 3000
Tel: (03) 09663 1112

 

Las Chicas, Balaclava by Bureaucrat

Long-time readers of our blog would know by now that Big Fil, Snooze and I each have our own preferences when it comes to checking out places to review for the blog. Sometimes, the three of us (and our other food bloggers in tow) will all want to try the same place - which is a good thing, because it means we don't have to negotiate with each other as to where we should go eat (believe me, deciding on where we should eat can get laboured at times!).


French toast

Other times, a little, or a lot, of negotiating and convincing is required.  While, for other times, I do want to check out the places that Big Fil and Snooze have in mind, but as I love the freedom to sleep in on the weekend, it means that I often forgo joining them for breakfast.

To say that I'm a newb on the breakfast cafe scene is an understatement.  Case in point, on the rare occasion when I joined them for breakfast at Grace recently, when I ordered the "brat breakfast", I thought I'd be getting a sausage and not a bacon, rocket, avo and tomato sanger.

So, on one recent weekend, I managed to get out of bed in time for us to meet Ms C for breakfast at Las Chicas.  Arriving around 10.30am, I was surprised how many people are already awake and lining up for brekkie at Las Chicas (don't people sleep in at all??). Fortunately, we only had to wait 10 minutes before we were seated. Inside, the place was packed and there was a energetic buzz in the air from diners who were loading up on the great looking food and cups of caffeine, and the zippy staff.


For drinkies, we got a latte and two pots of chai.  The chai was reasonable and good quality.  I'd prefer it to have been a bit stronger but that's just me.

Onto the food. Despite the busy crowds, the food came out at a reasonable time.  So points for that.


Ms C got the breakfast burrito.  This was a mighty dish!  A burrito wrapped around eggs, bacon, aioli, rocket w avo and salsa and served w some chilli sauce on the side.  I tried some of this, and wow, it's mighty tasty.  The eggs were fluffy and not overdone.  The bacon was properly crispy (almost like crackling).  Points also for the generous serve of avo and the flavoursome, fresh, zingy salsa.  The serving was massive, it could easily be enough for two. I reckon this was the best dish of the three of us - Ms C seemed quite happy with her dish!

The Lawyer got French toast w strawbs, banana and pistachio ricotta, served w proper maple syrup (see first pic). This was pretty impressive too. Lovely golden chewy bread, with nice crispy bits.  As with Ms C, the Lawyer was pretty happy too.


I got the buttermilk pancakes w lavender and blueberry compote, mascarpone and cinnamon sugar. This was okay and a bit of a let down, as I had serious food envy of Ms C and the Lawyer. The pancakes were reasonably fluffy, but I have a suspicion that the pancakes were made from a mix - albeit a better quality pancake mix.  As I make buttermilk pancakes, I know how the texture should be. The compote was okay too. I could taste the blueberries but I couldn't taste the lavender.  Plus, the compote made the top pancake a bit soggy.  I also really couldn't taste much of the cinnamon.  As an aside, I only have proper cinnamon at home - it's very aromatic and there is a bit of heat from it too. Once you have the real deal, all the generic cinnamon you get from the shops just won't do.





Verdict
Food – 8
Service – 8
Ambience – 8
Price – 8

Overall
Great food, great vibe.  Servings are quite generous and the food is fresh.

Service was generally good - it was friendly and prompt, even with the crowds of breakfasters (and the Lawyer got some extra VIP service for being a cutie...hehehe).  However, what I didn't like was being presented with the bill before we had finished.  I know the place is busy and popular, and it's not like we were out-staying our time there, so I thought it was a tad rude of the staff to do this.

Have a gander of Big Fil's review of Las Chicas back in June 2010.

Address
Las Chicas
203 Carlisle Street
Balaclava VIC 3183

Telephone: 9531 3699

Alice Nivens, Melbourne CBD by Big Fil

A morning tea at Alice Nivens has left me a bit in two minds.  I mean, it’s hard to tell which is the cutest, the freshly baked scones and cakes, the flower laden tables or the staff.  What isn’t open to doubt though is that it is a much needed oasis of refinement in a desert of arcade dining.

Because of its offbeat location you could be forgiven for not noticing Alice Nivens was there.  I walk through the Port Philip several times a week but even I had only paid minimal attention to it.  This was not helped by the fact that it only seems open weekdays during normal office workers – very inconvenient for office slaves like Snooze and myself.  But one Friday both of us had the first part of the morning off so by using my well honed powers of negotiation I was able to convince Snooze that she really wanted to try this place.

The amount of cakes and scones on display was limited, I am not sure whether that is all they have for the day or whether they continue to bake but fortunately our early arrival meant it was not an issue for us.  First thing both Snooze and I fixated on was the scones, served with vanilla crème and jam.  While we both thought the scones were good Snooze would have rated them a bit better than that, very good through excellent.  For me though, while light and fluffy, they lacked two things I particularly like, a top that sounds hollow when tapped and the little cloud of steam you get when breaking open a freshly baked scone.  What I did like very much was the fresh vanilla cream.

Unable to help ourselves we of course had to also try the cakes.  The white chocolate and coffee gateau was light and fluffy and delicately flavoured.  Very pretty presentation too, while admittedly coffee flavoured cakes are not my favourite I did enjoy this.

What I really enjoyed though were the pistachio and chocolate cupcakes and the honeycomb and strawberry jam brownie.  I usually find cupcakes overpriced and a little mediocre, similar to macarons I love the good ones but am rarely willing to sift through all the dross.  Our cupcake here was one of the best I’ve had in Melbourne, with full pistachio and chocolate flavours particularly in the delicious icing.  Best thing of the day though was clearly the brownie, which was rich, moist, well flavoured, interestingly textured from the honeycomb, something I just wanted to let sit and nibble rather than bite so as to savour every last bit.

Overall

Lovely friendly staff, decor that makes you want to just stay and great fresh baked treats, while we didn’t get to try the lunchtime sandwiches I am confident they would be just as good.

Verdict

Food – 8.5

Service – 8.5

Ambience – 8

Price – 7

Address

Shop 13 Port Philip Arcade (Between Flinders Street and Flinders Lane)

Melbourne VIC 3000