Launch of La Maison Maille (by invitation), Mt Eliza by Bureaucrat

If you're the food shopper in your household, you've most likely have seen the curvy jars of Maille mustard (prounounced, MYE-il), with its distinctive black background and gold lettering.  It's definitely one of the posher brands of mustards that you get from the shops.  As we're loving this sharp, hot condiment of mustard seeds, olive oil, lemon and vinegar, Maille is one of the top five mustard brands in Australia.  

In a unique partnership, Ritchies IGA in Mt Eliza has become the first La Maison Maille (House of Maille) in the southern hemisphere.  

At La Maison Maille, you can taste a range of its products, which includes 22 types of mustards and other condiments, such as white balsamic vinegar and passionfruit and mandarin vinaigrette).  In doing so, it's definitely putting Mt Eliza, and the Mornington Peninsula region, on the global foodies' map.  Maille has in recent times opened up other La Maisons in Paris, Dijon and London.

Throughout the event, the guy on the left stood guard over the jar of Maille Chablis mustard with Black Truffle ($100), which is made from wine sourced from the Burgundy wine region and black truffle from Périgord in France.  The Maille Chablis is only available for about four months each year.

Pappa Rich, Glen Waverley by Bureaucrat

Relishing a day off work, I had an opportunity to have lunch with Mother Hen and Mr Strong.  I can't remember what we were doing, but we needed to have lunch early before going somewhere else.

While I'm not as keen on dining in the Kingsway area in Glen Waverley as I used to be (it's too busy and hard to find a park without getting some degree of road rage), as it was early, I figured we could park, dine and leave before the inevitable lunchtime crush.

For something a little different, we went to Pappa Rich.  I've only ever been once to Pappa Rich - and that was the one in QV over a year ago (see Big Fil's review in Dec 2012).  However, both Mother Hen and Mr Strong have made almost a ritual in going to the Pappa Rich out in Chadstone Shopping Centre.  None of us had been to the one in Glen Waverley.

I have to say, I do like the Colonial style charm of the whole set up and what appears to be a benevolent Pappa Rich smiling at you with a cup of coffee in his hand.  

Ensconced in our booth, Mr Strong got the char kwai teoh.  Reasonable wok hei, and I liked the presence of the egg all tangled up in the noodles.  There also appeared to be a reasonable amount of prawns and fish cake. 

Mother Hen got the Hainanese chicken rice...

...which came with the soup and condiments.  I liked how the chicken came with a serve of beanshoots.

I got the Ipoh Koay Teow - rice noodles in a chicken and prawn head broth...

...served with a side of steamed chicken.  The slippery rice noodles were slurpworthy yumminess in its very chicken-y and very prawn-y broth.  There was something very comforting about the noodles and broth.  I could have easily eaten it on its own.  However, there was a nice plate of tender, silky, de-boned chicken to go with it.  I reckon this is a great alternative to Hainanese chicken.

Verdict

Food - 7.5

Ambiance - 8

Service - 7

Price - 7

Overall

For me, Pappa Rich is a safe bet.  As it's a chain, you know what you're getting each time.  And the food here is reasonable but if you're wanting something less formulaic, you'll need to go elsewhere.  If you want cheaper, bigger serves and more homestyle Malaysian, then go two doors down to Straits of Malacca.  Or, you can go to my perennial favourite, Danny's Kopitiam, which is a one minute drive away from the Kingsway area.  It's a bit more pricier but excellent quality every time.  Although, annoyingly, it's closed on Sunday nights, Mondays and Tuesdays.

Address

Pappa Rich

92-94 Kingsway 

Glen Waverley 3150

Telephone: 9560 0968

Cafenatics, Melbourne CBD by Bureaucrat

As we were running late for a catch up, I suggested to Mr S that we go to Cafenatics.  Although I have used their catering service several times (great salads, great price but delivery is always late), I had never eaten at a Cafenatics - a chain coffee cafe that's dotted around the CBD.

While I had checked online that there's a Cafenatics in QV, I struggled to think of where it could be.  It wasn't until I walked up to the cafe, that I knew it was there.  

It's so nondescript that I realised that I had walked past this place lots of times but never twigging that that was it.  The interior is decked out in shades of corporate-style warm browns and with simplistic industrial light fixtures.

We arrived towards the end of the lunch hour (about 1.45pm) and I was surprised to see that everything had almost sold out and also that they didn't have any of the yummy salads that they have through their online catering service.  With this rather dismal display of leftover wraps and rolls, I had wanted to go elsewhere, but it was late, we were hungry and we needed to get back to the office chop chop.

Mr S got a latte.

For eating, Mr S snaffled the last satay chicken roti wrap - which was the wrap that I wanted to get.  Going by looks, Mr S' wrap was the better looking wrap and most likely the better tasting one.  I based this on the fact that Mr S finished his wrap.

With my first (and only preferred) option taken, I made do with the Thai curry chicken wrap.  My foodie instinct told me that this was a wrong choice - and I knew it.  But there wasn't anything else remotely nice left.  To be fair, the individual components of the wrap were okay, but when put together, it was rather ick.  My main beef with the wrap was the coagulated, mass produced 'curry' sauce.  It ain't curry and it ain't sauce. It was some gooey emulsion from a big vat.  Because of that 'sauce', it made everything unappetizing.  

The good points were that there was lots of chicken (albeit bland), quite a reasonable amount of rocket and spinach inside and the roti was thin.  However, the whole was not greater than the sum of its parts.  I didn't finish this, and just picked out some of the chicken.

Verdict

Food – 6

Service – 6.5

Ambiance – 7

Price – 6.5

Overall

Quite disappointed with the food at Cafenatics.  I was hoping that I could at least get the healthy and filling salads that they have via their online catering service (where the food comes from these cafes themselves).  So it's a bit puzzling that if they can make the salads for catering within the CBD that they don't have them on sale in the cafes.

I'll continue to use their catering service but won't go back for the food in the cafes.

Address

Cafenatics

Red Cape Lane

QV

Melbourne 3000

Telephone: 9654 9096

Coles' 100 year centenary (by invitation) by Snooze

Writing about food allows us to visit all sorts of interesting places with the most recent an invitation to the 100th centenary launch of Coles in its recreated original and landmark store at 288 Smith Street, Collingwood. 

 A little history for those interested, and I have to say it was this that really intrigued me. The Coles empire began in this very store in 1914, when G J Coles and his brother James formed a business partnership to open Australia's first variety store. Some vital statistic for this first store: 850 items, six staff and four departments (fancy goods, drapery, crockery and ironmongery. And the takings for the first ten days: a whopping £935, 4 shillings and 1 penny. There was clearly a demand in Collingwood for a variety store.

The Odd Pod, by invitation, South Melbourne by Bureaucrat

During the week, I was lucky to try a new online lunch delivery service called The Odd Pod.  Between the hours of 9am to 5pm each work day, this bureaucrat lives and breathes (and may occasionally push some paper around) in her little green pod with her fellow podders.  When I'm not filling out a form in triplicate, I ponder what I should eat for lunch.  

It's pretty universal for any office worker that deciding what one should eat for lunch can become quite a chore.  It has to be fresh.  It has be tasty.  It has to be healthy.  So anything that can solve this dilemma is a good thing.  This is where The Odd Pod comes in.  A new online lunch delivery service that have delicious and creative salads on offer.  We're not talking about boring potato or Caesar salad, or even those semi interesting salads that are then a complete let down when you realise that it's mostly shredded iceberg lettuce drowned in harsh 'light and tangy' dressing.

When my three salads arrived at my office it attracted a lot of curious looks from colleagues.  To help me try out the salads, I enlisted Ms H and Ms C.  When I opened up the three boxes, Ms H spontaneously blurted out to me "omg, I'm going to be your friend forever!"  I couldn't help but smile at this - Homer Simpson take note, you can make friends with salad!

The first salad was the Jewel of the Nile which is made up of roasted pumpkin, cauliflower, chickpeas and steamed green beans with quinoa, pomegranate, nuts and parsley.  This was the prettiest of the three salads - the bright orange pumpkin, green beans and the red from the pomegranate arils.  I really liked the balance of ingredients and textures here.  There was a sprinkling of chickpeas but not so much that made it boring.  The nutty flavour was boosted by the crunchy, toasted almonds and the bed of quinoa.  I also appreciated the al dente beans, pumpkin and caulis.  

The universal favourite was Chango - a salad of roasted chicken breast, quinoa, mango, snow peas, capsicum, cucumber, chopped mint and sesame seeds.  This was filling, fresh and zesty.  We were all won over by the fragrant mango cubes.  I absolutely lurved the zingy lime-based dressing mixing with lots of refreshing chopped mint.  Although you can't see it in the photo, I also loved the squeaky fresh snow peas and red capsicums.  The chicken was so tender and juicy that I had thought it was poached and not roasted.

Our second favourite was the Hola Chica - a salad of shredded chicken, lettuce, tomato, black beans, char-grilled corn, avocado, coriander and feta with a chili lime dressing.  Pleasingly, it only had a small amount of iceberg and had lots of chopped toms, black beans and avo.  I particularly liked the fresh corn off the cob and the big fat coriander leaves. The dressing was creamy but it wasn't heavy or unhealthy.  It add just a right amount of richness and a little piquancy to the salad.  The corn chips were a nice touch, but they were a smidge soft and chewy.

For all three salads, I loved the use of quinoa as the 'filler' - I love quinoa as it's gluten free, packed with protein and a supergrain.  

Verdict

Food – 8.5

Service – 7.5*

Ambiance – 7^

Price – 7.5*

* Scores are notional as I was a guest of The Odd Pod.

^ Score is notional as this is a delivery service.

Overall

This is the future of the workday lunch.  Each day there is a different range of yummy salads.  Prices range from $11.50 to $15, and I believe that you definitely get that back in the quality and freshness of the ingredients and the exciting types of salads on offer.

The salads have great names such as: the Moo Thai Boxer (rump steak w baby spinach, finely sliced carrot, celery, caps, toms and cashews) and Brokeback Brisket (overnight roasted pulled brisket on a bed of purple and white cabbage, carrots and coriander served w jalapenos).  There's also the Salmon Sultan of Tarator, Baa-toush, Nazcar Roast and Barley Legal.

Ms H, Ms C and I agreed that it would cost the same (if not more) if you were to purchase all the individual ingredients and prepared them yourself.  At least this way, you avoid all the shopping, chopping, cooking and cleaning!  I especially liked the attention to detail that lifts these salads to a higher level - the prompt delivery, the super fresh and varied salad ingredients, the herby garnishes and the dressing being served separately.

There are also a range snacks and drinks on offer.  You have to order a day ahead - and don't dally in placing your order as the salads do get sold out.  There's a minimum order of $40 which includes free delivery - this will be easy to achieve if you get a bunch of friends at work and make an order.  Take the hassle out of your weekday work lunch.  Given how hot this summer is, treat yourself to a fresh, tasty lunch that's delivered to your door.  Remember, you can make friends with salad!

Address
The Odd Pod
178 Ferrars St
South Melbourne 3205
Telephone: 9973 0941

Metropolitan Hotel, by invitation, North Melbourne by Bureaucrat

Over the weekend, Snooze and I dined, by invitation, at the Metropolitan Hotel in North Melbourne.  

It is located near the Vic Market, surrounded by Victorian era houses and exudes the laid back vibe synonymous with the many non-clock-watching uni students that still live and study in the area.

The hotel is a gorgeous building, with its beautiful stained glass windows, high ceilings, ceiling roses and the warm wooden floors.  

Care has obviously been taken to ensure the period features of the hotel are kept in pristine condition and empty or full it’s a great place to grab a drink and look around.  The bar area, where we chose to have lunch, is more relaxed in its vibe.  

However, we both admired the gloriously elegant dining room with its gilt framed mirrors, crisp white linen and tasteful artwork.  I couldn’t help but imagine the Honourable Miss Phryne Fisher at lunch with a client in this dining room, while Cec and Burt enjoying a cold one in the bar next door.

To start, Snooze got a lemon, lime and bitters.  I got a delicate pot of tea served on a quaint little tray, jug of milk, sugar and spoon.

I thought the menu has something for everyone.  A range of eclectic small dishes to share, gastro-pub main dishes and also the traditional pub meals.  On offer are also specials of the day.  In keeping with the time of day and the bar, we shared three small entrée style dishes and a dessert.

First up was one of the specials, Vietnamese style banh mi: a crispy roll with a creamy duck pate and savoury goat mince.  The finely grated pickled carrot added a nice taste and textural contrast.  While we both liked the flavours of the banh mi, we both hoped the flavours were punchier.  I would have liked a more generous smear of the pate, while Snooze would have liked more coriander and the fish sauce that often comes with banh mi.  That said, the banh mi were a nice size for a finger food dish, I liked the fresh roll, crispy salad and the lemongrass flavour in the mince. 

Next was the arancini with wild mushroom, pecorino and truffle aioli: three golden balls of risotto flavoured rice.  I suspect these were deep fried, as each ball had a lovely, even crunchy crust, which we both really liked.  Although they were fried, these weren’t greasy or oil at all.  Inside, it was very hot, with the subtler flavour of the arancini with its molten cheese and slices of mushrooms going well with the stronger, earthy, musty flavour of the truffle oil.  

If you haven’t had truffle oil before (I’ve yet to experience truffle au naturel), it has a very in-your-face aroma and it seems like everyone has their own views in terms of describing that very indescribable but distinct aroma/flavour.  To me, the truffle flavour/aroma creeps up on you.  It starts off subtle... it’s earthy, woody and mushroomy (like shiitake and porcini all mixed up together).  

Then as I eat a bit more, it becomes deeply musty, a bit pongy (like blue cheese) and I wonder “what is that smell/flavour?” and that’s when I realise there is truffle present in the dish.  The flavour/aroma definitely lingers in my mouth and all I can smell is truffle.  Because it lingers, it caused me some taste confusion when I tried our next dish.

The next dish was the cured apple and vodka ocean trout, ruby grapefruit, avocado mousse, black sesame seeds and wasabi leaves.  A colourful dish of orange and greens – I loved the colours.  As we had eaten such a strongly flavoured dish before (the arancini), the trout came across on the muted side in flavour.  The burst of sweet-sour ruby grapefruit came through, as did the tender, peppery wasabi leaves.  

As we ate this dish, I thought I could definitely taste five spice or an anise-y/cinnamon bark flavour in it.  Snooze shared a similar thought.  The five spicy flavour would come and go, so we systematically tried out each ingredient on the dish – the fish, the grapefruit, the avocado mousse, the sesame seeds and the leaves.  But we couldn’t pin point where the flavour was coming from.  

We asked David, our waiter and bar tender, who checked with the kitchen – the trout was seasoned with cumin and fennel.  Based on that, I think I was tasting the fennel and perhaps had some of the truffle aroma in my mouth.

For dessert, we both wanted to try the cherry pie served with coconut sorbet.  I loved the look of this dish – the purpley-red pie contrasting with the white sorbet on the black slate.  Plump de-stoned cherries that had a nice sour twang to it, however, the filling was a tad rubbery in texture (perhaps too much gelatine?).  Props for using a seasonal fruit – I haven’t come across many cherry based dishes across town.  I also liked the chocolate/cocoa biscuit base and which wasn’t too sweet and suited me just fine.  The coconut sorbet added to the summer fruit theme. 

Overall

A nice pub that has the best of both worlds – a chillaxed bar area that’s comfortable but with old school charm, and a proper dining area for the times you want a more civilized experience.  We were attended to by David who was attentive and friendly (and is also like that based on a December 2012 work Christmas party lunch).

In terms of the menu, there’s a lot on offer in terms of tastes (oysters with finger lime and champagne dressing, venison carpaccio, soft shell crab po boys, king fish with enoki and dashi broth, a ‘fat arse chook’ parma, duck breast with cauliflower and vodka puree) and flexibility (snacks, full meals and something in-between).

We like the direction the Metropolitan Hotel is going.  We liked the flavours of the dishes, and would love to see the flavours of the dishes to be stronger so that diners can better appreciate the thought and effort that’s gone into creating the dishes and the flavour/texture combinations - more lemongrass and coriander in the banh mi, more mushrooms in the arancini, more sour-sweet-hot in the ocean trout, more sour cherries in the pie.

Verdict

Food – 7

Service – 7.5*

Ambience – 7.5

Price – 7*

* Scores are notional as we were guests of The Metropolitan Hotel.

Address

The Metropolitan Hotel

42 Courtney St 

Melbourne 3051

Telephone: 9328 4222

Miniature world food art in pictures, by Bureaucrat

I read this cute article in the online Guardian Australia and just had to share it with you, dear readers. 

Italian artists Antonio Magliocchetti and Stefano Adorinni create everyday scenes in minute detail using food and drink.

Icing: skiers on a cake. Photograph: Barcroft India

Rustica Sourdough Bakery, Fitzroy by Big Fil

Sometimes when your primary choice for the day isn’t open you have to wing it.  That’s how we ended up at Rustica Sourdough Bakery, somewhere we’d never heard of but which looked good when we walked past it while wandering along Brunswick Street.

Part bakery and part cafe, Rustica Sourdough was definitely somewhere worth stumbling across.  Sweet treats to the right, sandwiches and salads to the left and breads at the back, It’s big, its light and when we visited it wasn’t too crowded.  The menu isn’t overwhelming in length or choice and unsurprisingly is focused on dishes which highlight their sough dough bread.





This included crushed avocado on sour dough, eggs on sour dough or Snooze’s choice the Rustica Breakfast Board. This comprises housemade granola with organic yoghurt,  poached fruits, a poached egg on sough dough, crushed avocado and fruit juice.  No complaints about the bread which was very good as expected, but what surprised me was the absolutely delicious crunchy, nutty and light spiced granola.  Also I liked the way that the avocado hadn't been matched with feta, something I find results in a heavier dish than I prefer.

My choice though was the lamb burger, herb infused lamb on a brioche burger with pickled cucumber, gruyere, roasted garlic aoli and rocket.  The lamb was nicely pink in the middle, and the cucumber cut through any possible over sweetness from using a brioche bun with a burger (something I find happens all too often).  Not a traditional old school burger like I generally prefer but still meaty goodness on a bun.

Our visit would of course not be complete without a breakfast dessert and these did look pretty good.  Best of all though was seeing they had cronuts, which I heard had appeared in Melbourne and had yet to try.  Imagine a donut, but rather than the normal batter it is made using laminated pastry, like a croissant (hence the ‘cro-nut’).  The strawberry cronut was crispy, crunchy, light but a little oily.  Nice flavours and a great texture and something I’ll be looking out for in the future.

Overall

It’s not just a bakery where you pick up your bread but somewhere you can sit and have a light meal.  The service was very friendly and the only thing which disappointed me a little is the normal range of delicious sounding pies weren’t available, as apparently demand drops during the warmer time of year.  I guess that means a return visit is called for when the weather cools down a bit.

Verdict

Food – 8.5
Service – 8

Ambience – 8

Price – 7

Address

402 Brunswick Street
Fitzroy

Telephone (03) 9417 7775

Mei Jing Chinese Restaurant, Wantirna by Bureaucrat

For a celebration, we wanted to go a bit old school and have yum cha.  It's been some time since I had yum cha - I think the last time was about a year ago at Gold Leaf in Docklands.  I did a bit of research in picking out the restaurant for our yum cha outing.  I wasn't keen on heading into the city/Docklands/Southbank (working in the city means it feels like a drag to go there on the weekend).  Nor was I keen to visit the usual suspects located in Burwood, Doncaster and Templestowe.  I wanted somewhere where we hadn't tried before.  More importantly, I wanted to go somewhere that didn't have dodgy reviews (although I suspect a good number of them are fake/malicious reviews).

Running out of ideas, I made a booking at a restaurant that will remain nameless.  I was taken aback to be told that each sitting was only one hour and that there was only a small table left, which would mean it'd be very squishy for the seven of us.  I went ahead with the booking, but decided to do more research for an alternative (better) place.  I'm glad I did, because I then found Mei Jing Chinese Restaurant.  A good sign was when I rang up, they offer two hour sessions and had a nice big table for us.  None of this "wham, bam, xie xie, ma'am" of the other restaurant.

As I didn't try everything we ordered, I'll only provide a few brief comments and let the photos do the talking.  Also, we got the staff to divide/cut up most of the dishes that we ordered so that we could share them easily.

Combination deep fried thingies (I don't know what they're called in English).  These remind me of my childhood as I'd always order them at yum cha.  These were pretty good.  Nice savoury filling and only a smidge of MSG.

Siu mai and pork and prawn wrapped in beancurd sheets.

I quite liked these - steamed Japanese egg tofu w minced prawn and scallops.  Silky, subtle and very morish.  Definitely one of the healthier options on the menu!  And fairly decent sized scallops, which is a plus.

Steamed pork.

I can't remember what the prawn dim sum was but I remember being impressed by the size of the prawns.  The chicken feet were lovely and deep flavoured.  Eating chicken feet at yum cha is probably the only time that I enjoy gristle.  Plus, recently I found out how much effort that actually goes into making this dish, so I was able to appreciate it more (I didn't realise that the feet were deep fried, then plunged in ice water for hours to make the skin puff up, after which they are braised).

Deep fried wontons.

Steamed prawn rice noodle.  Reasonable sized prawns (three each in each noodle).  Fresh noodle and not over cooked, which you could tell by the non-gluggy texture of the noodle.

Steamed meatballs.  Beaker loves these.  I never understood the appeal of these Chinese style meatballs that have an odd bouncy mouthfeel, a single green pea as a garnish and is served (even more oddly) Worcestershire sauce.

Glutinous rice with chicken wrapped in lotus leaves.  These come as a pair, and the above picture shows one of them with half of it already eaten.  Reasonable amount of ingredients in there - pork, shiitake, salted egg yolk, chicken and dried shrimp.  And you can properly taste the smoky, woody aroma of the lotus leaves. This is one of my favourite yum cha dishes.

A plate of seaweed - just like the ones you get in a sushi shop.

Deep fried sesame glutinous balls.

As we can always make room for desserts, both the big and little kids took the opportunity to order a few sweets.  First up, how could we not order some egg tarts?  Lovely, flaky pastry with a wobbly custardy center. 

My favourite yum cha dessert has always been mango pudding.  That solidly set jelly with that fake mango flavour and real mango bits mixed up, surrounded by a pool of evapourated milk.  

Bubba Chuck insisted that we order this for her - melon balls with jelly cubes.  It's a shameless dish that's obviously targeted at kids.  Although we were all skeptical that she'd actually eat any of the melon, she did eat some of it.  The staff even very kindly (and indulgently) allowed Bubba Chuck to swap the French flag with the closest flag resembling the Australian flag (the British Union Jack), which they had to go into the kitchen to get... you can't fault her on her patriotism, or her influencing skills!

Last but not least, a big bowl of tofu fa.  Big slices of that wobbly, white stuff.  Beaker said that this was pretty good - not too sweet, good amount of ginger in the syrup and lots of tofu.

Inside and outside, it's very Chinesey.  Lots of red and gold furniture with big auspicious paintings and bright lighting.  It's fairly spacious inside too.  Surprisingly, it wasn't fully booked out.  I suspect this could be because MJCR is in the outer suburbs.

Verdict

Food - 8.5

Ambiance - 8

Service - 8

Price - 8.5

Overall

I'm pretty impressed with yum chat MJCR.  The food was tasty and quite decent serving size.  Price wise it was pretty good - about $125 for seven of us (for some of the dishes, we ordered more than one serve).  We were all contentedly full - but not in an overeaten, belt un-buckling sort of way.  Propz also for the minimal use of MSG.

Services was above average for a suburban yum cha restaurant.  Friendly and prompt.  The food came out quickly - there were no long waits between the different rounds of dishes that were being carted out and they never ran out of stuff that we wanted to order. 

Seating is comfortable and you're not packed in like battery hens.  Also, it's not as loud and chaotic as some yum cha dining experiences can be.

I'd definitely come back again for my next annual yum cha fix!

Address

Mei Jing Chinese Restaurant

703 Boronia Road

Wantirna 3152

Telephone: 9887 1508