By Two Sisters, Melbourne CBD by Bureaucrat

With the proliferation of food trucks, we're definitely seeing more eateries that are mobile and not located in a fixed location.  Perhaps an offshoot of the food trucks are the food delivery eateries.  What do I mean by this? 

For example, By Two Sisters is a Vietnamese eatery that doesn't really have a fixed location, per se.  You order your meals online and they deliver it to you.  Alternatively, they have outlets dotted across the city.  This is how I came across BTS.

While on the hunt for lunch one day, BTS had a little stall set up to promote its business.  This included taste samples of their four dishes.  Having had a squizz of the samples, I thought I'd try this for lunch.  I headed over to the closest outlet - in this case, Food Inc, on Elizabeth Street.

Although I was told by the staffer at BTS that these outlets know that they stock their dishes, when I ordered at Food Inc, the kitchen staff looked a bit confused.  After a moderately long-ish wait, I finally get my order - betel leaf beef w vermicelli noodle salad.  First impression when I took the lid off was, 'hm'.  This wasn't quite what I was expecting.  I definitely didn't expect a plastic pouch of nuoc cham dressing.  I just seemed a bit manufactured and clinical.  Given its name "By Two Sisters" I was expecting something a bit more homemade and less prepackaged.

Having set aside the pouch of dressing, I saw the noodle salad and thought "hmmm....".  A rather uninspiring melange of shredded lettuce, beanshoots, sliced cuces and mint.  An average amount of vermicelli and four or five rolls of betel leaf beef.  I'll start with the one good point - the betel leaf beef.  Tightly wrapped with betel leaves, the beef was flavoursome.  The betel leaves had its nice grassy and slightly smoky flavour to it.

The not-so-good points were the salad itself.  The dressing was quite bland and toned down in flavour - as if to make it appealing to as many people as possible.  I really didn't like the dressing at all.  The noodles were a tad undercooked - maybe they were trying for al dente - but it came off as been a tad raw and hard in texture.  For the price ($12), I was expecting more beef and salad ingredients.  I didn't finish the salad and got something else to eat instead.

Verdict

Food - 6

Ambiance - 7*

Service - 6.5

Price - 6.5

* Score is notional as it's a takeaway service from an outlet or via online ordering.

Overall

While I like the variety that online-delivery eateries bring to the food scene, I'm not yet convinced that they've perfected the implementation of it.  While they do give convenience, for the price and what you get, it's not worth it.  Having tried BTS, I'd definitely prefer to get the same types of noodle salads from Roll'd or Rice Paper (I've got a review coming soon), where you get more for your money.

Address

By Two Sisters

131 Queen Street

Melbourne 3000

Telephone: 1300 721 179

Microwave cooking by Bureaucrat

Ah, the humble microwave.  So handy for zapping up popcorn, reheating a cuppa and leftovers.  We tend not to think of using the microwave as a legitimate means of cooking food.  The reasons for this are many - the perceived bad health of eating foods that have been zapped by radiowaves; the dry, chewy texture it gives the food; or it just explodes inside and makes it hell cleaning it up afterwards.

Over the years, I have heard the occasional story or two where people use the microwave to cook proper meals - anything from a whole chicken to desserts.  But I never thought of trying it myself.... until now.

When Mr G invited me to join their weekly Fish Thursdays lunch, I was a bit skeptical.  Cooking fish in a microwave... and at work?  It seemed to be a recipe for a pongy office and wasted fish.  However, in the interest of trying something new, I tagged along one Thursday.

My ocean trout a-cooking in the microwave.  Within two minutes, it's ready.

Afghan Tasty Food, Dandenong by Bureaucrat

It's not often that I head out into Dandenong.  However, on one weekend, we happened to be there.   With my blood sugar plummeting, I needed food... lots of it!

As we weren't familiar with the area, we opted to try our luck on one of the main streets in the area.  With a few Afghani restaurants along the street, we went with Afghan Tasty Food, and boy, did it live up to its name!

Inside, it's simple, clean and homely, with a sense of pride.  The tiled floors give it a typical takeaway shop feel.  However, the strong, sturdy wooden chairs make it feel like you were walking into someone's dining room.

A friendly staff (I suspect he was the manager) took our order. As I needed food immediately, I got a serve of their dessert.  Unfortunately, I forgot the name of this, but they're deep fried batter (sort of reminiscent of an Indian sweet).  Sticky and drenched in honey and lemon.  Despite being a health bomb, the texture is light and it breaks away quite easily.  You'll definitely need a strong cup of tea to enjoy this.  A steal at $1 for four.  

Now, the mains - yum, YUM, YUMMY.  To share, we got the shami - beef kebabs.  Juicy, deeply spiced (complex flavours), tender beef.  I gave up trying to determine the many herbs and spices there were - I could taste cardamom.  I've never had kebabs quite like this.  They just slid off the metal holders.  They were juicy but not fatty, and had a hint of smokiness from it being flame-grilled.

They came with a serve of freshly baked Afghani bread.  Light but with a pleasant chewiness.  

We also got one of the combination dishes.  Here, the qabuli palow (candied orange peel, almond, pistachio rice).  Fluffly, long grain rice, cooked in stock.  I loved the colour and presentation and the texture.  Sweetly tinged, yet savoury, rice.  While I could taste the almonds, I couldn't find much of the pistachio.  Next time, I want to try the other palow, which is made with grated carrot and raisins.

Along with the rice was was the lamb kofta.  Tender lamb, a lovely thick, tomatoey sauce w chickpeas.  Not a hint of gamey flavour in the lamb.

It also came with a crisp, simple salad and a fresh, green chutney.

I also had to order a serve of garlic bread.  OMG.  Freshly baked bread that was loaded with minced garlic and a bit of butter.  I could just eat this forever.  Aromatic, bready and so moreish.  The best garlic bread that I ever have had!  

Verdict

Food - 10

Service - 8

Ambience - 7

Price - 8

Overall

It was clear that ATF is a favourite of many Afghani and local people.  Quite a few people were coming to collect their order of freshly baked Afghani bread (buy the armful).   Prior to this, I had never tried Afghani food.  But I'm now definitely a fan!  I love the food!  So full of flavour and textures.  We polished everythign off - it was that good.  And I do regret that I don't live close enough to eat the garlic bread more often.  Quite reasonably priced, too.  I'll be back very soon, and this time, with my family in tow.... yum, yum, YUM! 

Address

Afghan Tasty Food   

365 Lonsdale St 

Dandenong 3175

Telephone: 9792 4945

Thuy Linh Vietnamese and Chinese Restaurant, Glenelg (SA) by Big FIl

Sometimes your preconceptions can lead you to miss things right under your nose.  A good Vietnamese place on Jetty Road Glenelg, how likely is that?  Well, while I was surprised at the quality of our meal here Hungry Pete later confirmed that it was a bit of a favourite in the area, somewhere that he'd been to a few times only had neglected to mention.

When you enter the restaurant first impressions are good, with moderate lighting levels, red and green lanterns, paper umbrellas and unfortunately plastic bamboo decorations around the room.  I think what helps in this regard is the exceptionally polite service, a little slow when we first arrived when one of the wait staff arrived late but certainly much better than in most Vietnamese restaurants around town.



The menu comes divided into Chinese and Vietnamese dishes.  The Chinese side of the menu isn't too exciting, looking very much like your typical suburban Chinese restaurant.  We stuck to the Vietnamese side and my recommendation is that you do to.  First up was our combination rice.  Served in a claypot the rice comes topped with bbq pork, Chinese sausage, shitake mushroom, lily roots, chicken, shrimp, onion and topped with a fried egg.  Before I could get a photo our waiter had whipped it all together and served into our bowls, but the end result was a very classy variation on your normal fried rice.



Second dish to arrive was another claypot style dish, caramelised pork ribs.  Slow cooked and served with onion and shallots, these were beautifully tender, almost melt in the mouth stuff.



One of the things I almost always order at Vietnamese restaurants is the beef salad.  My biggest peeve with this dish is when the beef is over cooked and specifically asked for the beef to still have a tinge of pink.  This was spot on how I asked for it, tender and juicy with the herby salad and a small bowl of peanuts served on the side.



Having saved a little room for dessert I also decided to indulge in the sticky rice coated banana topped with sesame seeds and coconut milk.  Served warmed this is a comforting type of dessert, not complex or subtle in flavour but a comfortable way to finish off the meal.



Overall
It's certainly not your everyday cheap and cheerful type place but the food and service are good, the prices reasonable.  While the weather was bad and I expected to be the only ones braving the cold night air there was a steady stream of apparent regulars passing through, ordering their favourite dishes from the menu.  If you are looking for a Vietnamese restaurant with a bit more class than most you could do a lot worse.

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

Address
168 Jetty Road
Glenelg SA 5045
Tel: (08) 8295 5746

The Proud Peacock, Mount Waverley by Bureaucrat

In an attempt to find a good Vietnamese restaurant in my local area, I noticed the Proud Peacock, which is a few shops away from Straits Kitchen.

The PP is situated in the Pinewood shopping area.  However, it’s a little bit away from the main hustle and bustle of the shopping area.  The PP is a simple restaurant, quite small and squishy inside with mismatched furniture.   Just a few tables crammed in, with an even smaller kitchen and a skeleton staff – just one waitress and a cook in the kitchen. But you immediately get a feel of homely vibe to the place, with a reasonable number of locals, including young families, dining in and getting takeaway.

I ordered the grilled pork w vermicelli.  I also asked if they had three colour drinks.  The waitress said that they used to have it on the menu, but no longer have it.  It was because they found that not many people around this area knew what the drink was and didn’t order it.  Rather nicely, the waitress then poured me a complementary glass of juice – which was very nice and thoughtful!  She also brought out a rather generous serve of complementary cake and oranges (all tables get this).

The grilled pork and vermicelli ($9) was a notch above average.  I liked how the grilled pork had a bit of fat on it.  For me, pork has got to have some fat on it for it to taste good.  Too many places serve overly lean pork.  The juicy fat makes it succulent.  Lots of vermicelli and a reasonable amount of salad (iceberg, beanshoots and herbs).  I also liked the toasted peanuts.  The nuoc cham was good but bit too fiery for me – too much fresh chilli in it meant that I was only able to use a little of it.

Verdict

Food – 7

Service – 7

Ambience – 6.5

Price – 10

Overall

Given it’s lean set up, the cheap prices, the Proud Peacock is doing pretty well.  Definitely a cheap and cheerful sort of place.  You would be hard pressed to find another ‘cheap eats’ place that doles out so much complementary food, and where some of the mains are less than $10.  Also, I noticed that if you do order any drinks (soft drinks or juices), you simply get given a two litre bottle of the drink and you just help yourself to as much of it that you like.  Service is friendly, but (understandably) gets a little bit frazzled when there’s more than a few diners in the restaurant.

While the PP may not be my new go-to Vietnamese eatery, I would return again.  I like the vibe and the whole approach to the place – it’s like you’re visiting a family friend who’s serving you a decent meal.  Certainly that seems to be thought that’s shared by other reviewers on Urbanspoon.  It’s rustic, and that’s part of its charm.

I’ve also read some of the other reviews that are bit negative on the service and set-up.  I think it’s a bit unfair to be that critical of the Proud Peacock.  It is a small restaurant and the prices are quite cheap.  If you’re wanting something a bit more polished, then you’d need to go somewhere that’s bigger and also priced accordingly.

Address

The Proud Peacock

71 Centreway, Pinewood Shopping Centre

Mount Waverley 3149

Telephone: 9803 8862

Ichi-ban Boshi, Sydney (NSW) by Bureaucrat

Heading into the CBD, I wanted a quick, light dinner before my flight back to Melbs.

Ichi-Ban Boshi is apparently a place that serves nice Japanese food at a reasonable price.  It was recommended by some Sydney-siders, who in turn recommended it to the Lawyer.  They all liked the food there, so without further ado, we went there for dinner.

I-BB is located upstairs in this small shopping complex.  It was mid-week, and just gone 6pm and I was surprised to see how full it was and the number of people who were waiting for a table.  It’s not exactly a restaurant as such – more of a cordoned-off area.

There was a slight vibe that I picked up from the staff who, while nice and well intentioned, were a bit frazzled.  After taking a while to flag down a waitress, we placed our order of two entrees and a main.

The two entrees came out at different times, but were served in a reasonable timeframe.  The first was the seaweed salad.  A perfunctory amount of seaweed, and the rest of the salad was some crisp veg matter – cucumber, butter lettuce.  I did like the aromatic sesame oil-based dressing.

The okonomiyaki was okay.  A thick-ish pancake but it a bit doughy/heavy in texture.  I prefer ones that are more veg (grated yam, cabbage, onion) and less flour in the ingredients.  A moderate amount of pickled veg, seaweed and bonito flakes.  It was fine but nothing exceptional.

Then we waited for the main – a ramen.  Ramen’s aren’t that difficult to make, so we wondered where ours had got to.  We asked the waitress who seemed confused.  She went to the kitchen, and they were confused.  They realised that the order had gone missing.  The waitress was apologetic and said it’d be ready soon.  More time passed, and I wasn’t getting happy.  We flagged the waitress again and explained that I had a plane to catch, and was the ramen coming soon (by this time we had waited over 20 minutes for it).   She checked with the kitchen and said that they were about to start making it and it’d be ready “soon”.  There was nothing in the waitress or the kitchen that gave me the impression that they were indeed going to make it soon.  I cancelled the order and we left.

Verdict

Food – 7

Service – 5

Ambience – 7

Price – 7

Overall

While I only sampled two dishes, the food was okay – nothing exceptional.  As with other reviews on Urbanspoon, I’m not sure what’s so special about the food here, and I certainly don’t understand why so many people were queuing up to eat here.

As I said, the staff are nice, but frazzled.  Not sure how they cope when it gets busier.

Surely, there are other Japanese places that are better in the city?

Address

Ichi-Ban Boshi

Level 2, 500 George St
Sydney NSW 2000

Telephone: 02 9262 7677

Jumbo Thai, Pyrmont (NSW) by Bureaucrat

Still stomping around Sydney, I wandered around the Pyrmont area in search for lunch.  

In my previous visits to the area, I had spied Jumbo Thai.  It always has a sizeable crowd of office workers and uni students dining there and also getting the bain marie takeaway dishes.

Menu-wise, it’s a sort of upper end of cheap eats.  This was also reflected in the decor – simple with a hint of a design theme.  You place your order at the front, and you can help yourself to bottles of tap water from the fridge.

Soon after, I got a large plate of chicken pad Thai.  I definitely liked the large serving size.  Lots of noodles that didn’t clump together and reasonable amounts of chicken breast meat.  It had a reasonable amount of wok hei – evident by the swirls of steam that escaped as I ate the noodles.  I also liked the nice wedge of lemon and toasted peanuts (I hate it when places skimp on garnishes).  The only neg is that I thought it was a tad saucy for me but that’s just a personal preference.

Verdict

Food – 7.5

Service – 7

Ambience – 7

Price – 7.5

Overall

A simple, no-fuss place for lunch.  I reckon I’ll be back.  It’s always good to know where to get a cheap and tasty meal. 

It may be a little tricky to find, as it’s not obvious from the street level.  JT (and a number of other eateries) is on Union Street which is sort of an underpass.  Regardless of which direction you’re coming from, you’ll need to take the stairs down to find these places.

Address

Jumbo Thai

60 Union Street

Pyrmont  NSW  2009

Telephone:  02 9566 1211

Gabriel Gate's A Cook's Tour of France, by private invitation by Bureaucrat

On Sunday, I was invited to attend an event for Gabriel Gate’s latest book—A Cook’s Tour of France.

Mother Hen and I enjoyed a three course lunch with wine at the Stamford Plaza Hotel who was hosting this event with Reader’s Feast Bookstore.  I grew up watching Gabriel on day-time cooking shows, back in the days before the flood of ‘celebrity TV chefs’.  As we dined on the recipes in his book, Gabriel gave us a talk about the dishes we were sampling and also regional French cuisine.

BBQ King, Sydney (NSW) by Bureaucrat

Alrighty, with too much eatin’ and not enough time spent writin’, I’m facing a back log of places to review.

A few weeks ago, I was stomping around Sydney again.  As I was staying around Chinatown, it was a no brainer as to where I’d be eating.   As with any Chinatown in any city, I find it hard to determine which places are the genuine good stuff and which ones are the crappy touristy fare.  Having spotted BBQ King from across the street, I thought this could be a contender for dinner.  However, as I walked closer to it, it looked less appealing with its shabby-ish exterior and interior and the neon lights in its BBQ takeaway area.  My mind couldn’t help but wonder about the cleanliness of the place.

Just was I was about to walk away, a large group of about 10 diners walked into the restaurant for their booking.  And I thought, what the hey, if it’s good enough for them, it’s good enough for me.

Inside, it’s a like a time warp back to a Chinese restaurant in 1980s surburbia.  Decorated (and I use that term loosely), in mustardy hues, vinyl chairs, plastic flowers (covered with dust) and some really dated posters and artwork.  The restaurant is moderately big in size, but given the floor plan, it feels more pokey than it really is.

While the decor wasn’t that impressive, the service was friendly and prompt.  I was quickly shown a table, and before I realised, a pot of tea and menu appeared.  It was time for comfort food, so I ordered fried fish w sweet corn sauce on rice.   And no sooner that I placed the order, a big bowl of complimentary soup appeared.  While I think it’s a nice touch when restaurants offer the complimentary soup, I’ve never been a fan of it.  So aside from having a sip, I didn’t touch it.

Soon, my meal arrived.  An impressive mound of rice smothered in fish and sweet corn.  Everything about it was reasonable (neither bad nor great) and there’s not much to say about it.  There was plenty of fish; it had a light batter.  Plenty of sweet corn sauce.  No msg, which was a good thing.  There was just much of it that I took 2/3rds of it in a doggy bag. 

I also got a mixed BBQ roast (roast duck and char siu) w rice and veg as a takeaway for the Lawyer.  He quite liked it and it was pretty good value, I thought.  Both the duck and char siu were lean and tender, and the roast duck had a nice crisp skin.  Reasonable amount of meat (I loathe places where you get gristle-y bits or the back parts of the duck where there's very little meat).

Verdict

Food – 7

Service – 7.5

Ambience – 6

Price – 7

Overall

I have nothing against BBQ King.  Going by the conversations and the greetings between the staff (including the manager) with the diners, it was clear that many were regulars.  Young families, solo office workers and friends out for dinner all seemed to like this place.  Given its size and its longevity (going by the decor) it seems like BBQ King may be an institution in the local area.

The food is fine and the serves are generous.  Service is friendly and prompt.  Nothing fancy here, but it’ll do the job.

Address
BBQ King
18 Goulburn St
Sydney NSW 2000
Telephone: 02 9267 2586

Spoonbill, South Yarra (by invitation) by Bureaucrat

Located in South Yarra, Spoonbill is the restaurant that's attached to the boutique hotel, The Olsen. We were invited to review Spoonbill's six course sharing menu w a glass of Laurent Perrier champagne.  I was looking forward to it because, well, this bureaucrat feels a bit of dag to go dining or shopping along Chapel Street.

As I'm not au fait with restaurants along Chapel Street, I wasn't quite sure what to expect.  Arriving for an early dinner on the weekend, I was pleasantly surprised to find a not-too-expensive parking space near the restaurant (I had thought I would have had to be driving around cursing for an expensive parking spot).


Laurent Perrier champagne

Inside, the space is divided into a bar and a dining area.  The bar area was quite popular with the bright young things and not-so-young things.  The dining area had a warm ambiance and decorated with contemporary furniture.  It had gauzy curtains so that it provided some privacy from the un-scenic traffic intersection that it overlooked, yet at the same time, it provided you with the opportunity to people watch the stream of revelers who were ready for a night out.

More importantly, and more enjoyably, I much rather peruse the sharing menu.  Unlike other fixe prix menus where you choose dishes for yourself to eat, here, the sharing menu means that you choose dishes that you share with another person - ergo, you both get the same starters, mains and desserts.


Bread w olive oil

There's a reasonable number of dishes for each course to choose from.  Propz for the range of dishes on offer - the dishes are definitely more gourmet than your average fixe prix restaurant.  I loathe the places where they only give you two or three options per course.  Extra propz because of the flexibility of the sharing menu at Spoonbill.  We did two entrees, two mains and two desserts, but you can do any permutations so long as it added up to six dishes.


Without further ado, here are the entrees. Cloudy Bay oysters w pickled ginger and spring onion. Medium-sized oysters which were served with the shells on (I took them off for the photo).  Clean, simple, fresh.


Our next entree was seared scallop w chimi churi and cauliflower puree.  Reasonably plump scallops.  I liked the fresh, crispness and colour from the chimi churi.  However, the Lawyer and I both felt that this dish needed some extra salt to bring out the flavours.


For mains, we chose the Aylesbury duck breast w wild mushrooms, duck confit w pureed beans, zatar spiced livers w spinach and shallots.  This was the hands-down favourite for the night. The duck breast was flavoursome, tender and not overcooked (nor was it too pink in the middle).  A nice thin layer of crisp duck fat and skin made it all the more morish.  I loved the pairing of wild enoki mushrooms - it some how brought out the flavour of the duck even more.  Yum, yum, yum!

The duck confit had an even crispier skin, and the meat was falling off the bone, as it should be.  It was served with this punchy puree of white beans, tomatoes and spices.  Despite the colour, it there wasn't any chillies (thankfully!).  I'm not a fan of lentils, however, I am a fan if they all tasted like this!  The duck livers were plump and creamy (and hidden underneath the spinach and shallots) and the shallots helped cut through the richness.  Although, I couldn't really taste the zatar.


The duck was served with two sides.  The first was the witlof, grilled pear, walnuts and blue cheese salad.  Hurrah - proper salad!  No icebergs here.  Young, crunchy red and white witlof, with sweet pear.  I loved the textures and the flavours from the walnuts and the blue cheese.


The second was steamed brocolli w smoked almonds.  More propz for the generous vegetable side dishes.  I find that too many places focus on the meat and forget the need for vegetables to balance out a meal.  The smokiness from the almonds turns an otherwise plain veg into something nice.


While we were wowed by the duck, the next main dish didn't make quite the same impression.  Given how delicious the duck was we were expecting a really nice seafood paella.  The good points were the presentation and the amount of seafood.  The mussels were huge - the meat within the shell was about 2/3 the length of the side plate.  Despite its size, there were very tender - they were sourced from NZ.  In addition to the mussels were clams, large prawns, squid and fish.  The not-so-good points was the rice itself... it was watery, bland mushiness.  I'm not sure if the paella was cooked with stock or was simply not seasoned enough.  Also, there was still quite a bit of liquid (be it stock or water) at the bottom of the pan... definitely no socarrat (crust) there.


For desserts, we went for the fruit-based ones.  First was the passionfruit creme w poppy seed tuille, vanilla bean ice cream, crunchy matcha cake w macerated strawberries.  The creme was smooth and wobbly with lots of tart passionfruit which helped cut through the richness.  The ice cream was lovely and vanilla-y.  I didn't mind the crunchy matcha cake (it was quite crunchy!), I guess that was added for texture.


The last dessert was our favourite. A cacophony of flavours and textures that all melded into each other, creating lots of different tastes.  The nicely poached pear (not too soft or too hard) was the centrepoint for you to eat it with the many tid bits on the side - the crunchy honey brittle, the caramelised citrus peel, ginger crumble, pureed pear (I think) and the ice cream.  Although the menu said it was ginger and pear ice cream, we distinctly tasted minty and it even had green streaks through it.





Verdict
Food – 8
Service – 9*
Ambience – 7.5
Price – 8*

*Scores are notional as we were guests of Spoonbill.

Overall
The food was a bit mixed in terms of what we were expecting.  The definite stand out dishes of the night were the duck, the two side dishes and the poached pear dessert. The two entress and the passionfruit dessert were of the quality that you'd expect a restaurant of this ilk.  While the paella wasn't up to our expectations.

Having said that, I do like the sharing menu and think it's quite value for money.  Regular readers would know that I like fixe prix menus, so now that I know (and tried) Spoonbill, it's definitely made it onto my little foodie black book.  Also, given its location, Spoonbill gets me out of my usual stomping grounds, which is a good thing.

We had an incredibly professional, friendly and knowledgeable waiter.  He was so enthusiastic about the food and drink on offer - taking the time to explain the menu, ingredients and what wines on offer to match the dishes.  While we only went for just a tasting of the matched wines on offer (neither of us are big wine drinkers), it was fun listening to him explain what we were drinking.  I reckon any one who considers them a wine expert would really enjoy his advice on what wines are on offer.  I do know that the wines are special and are not available from retail wine shops.

The other staff were also very friendly - and not just to us.  They all check in with the tables, even ones that they're not assigned to, to see how things are going.  This was a nice touch.

Address
Spoonbill
637 Chapel Street
South Yarra
Telephone 9040 1333