Hammer & Tong, Fitzroy by Big Fil

It's been a while but it's time to get back into the blogging habit. First cab off the rank a fabulous place I've been to a number of times but never got around to blogging about; Brunswick Street's Hammer & Tong.

You can become blase about casual dining in Melbourne, but Hammer & Tong is definitely one of a handful of cafes contending for the best we've tried over the last three or four years. In terms of outfitting and style it's very much on trend but what makes it stand out is the quality of the offerings: delicious tastes, interesting textures and food that looks just gorgeous on the plate.

It's hardly a secret though, so arriving at around 10.30 on a Saturday morning meant we hada short wait for a table. The staff are quite well organised and after ten minutes or so we were sitting in front of one of the windows looking at the mural covered walls opposite. Not where I would have chosen to sit if I'd had the choice, as it was a bit cramped, but hey, if you don't get there before everyone else you need to take what you can get.

Given the number of interesting options on the menu we were surprisingly quick to choose - the corn and zucchini fritters for Snooze, the breakfast ramen for me. In place of the usual breakfast dessert we also decided to order the soft shell crab burger to share. Snooze also ordered her usual English Breakfast tea, something she thought better of when she saw an interesting Turkish Delight flavoured soft drink.


Because it was something we wanted to eat warm, first up was the soft shell crab burger. This has a bit of a reputation apparently and came highly recommended by our server.  It was well deserved.  Biting into the bun you’re met with a variety of tastes and textures, creamy, crunchy, soft, meaty, and with the sweetness of the bun and crab offset by just a touch of spicy heat.  It’s probably too small to make a meal in itself so would benefit from the addition of some fries or similar (sweet potato?), but that is its only downside.

I have a bit of a thing about ramen in Melbourne.  It’s not something I usually like – I don’t know if it’s the way it’s prepared here or maybe ramen just isn’t my thing but it’s often left me disappointed.  That said the breakfast ramen at Hammer & Tong is one I really liked and have ordered on my multiple visits here.  A generous serve of oyster mushrooms, slightly salty and fatty but delicious bacon dashi with a perfectly cooked egg and noodles, it comes served with the broth in a separate bowl you can add to the mix.  Pretty and tasty.

Snooze went for the corn and zucchini fritters, with avocado, spinach, chilli tomato relish and a poached egg.  The fritters looked hard on the outside but were light and fluffy in the middle, were complemented well by the soft creaminess of the avocado and the tomato relish rounded it all off with a nice, punchy tang.  And as usually goes without saying in Melbourne, a perfectly poached egg.

Overall

Friendly and efficient service, a nice if somewhat cramped cafe and excellent food, there was one other matter that we both commented on.  While Brunswick Street is definitely hipster territory, it was kind of funny that every member of the (male) serving staff came with well groomed facial hair, almost as if it was part of the hiring policy!

Verdict

Food – 9

Ambience – 7.5

Service – 8

Price – 7

Address

Rear 412 Brunswick Street

Fitzroy VIC 3065

Tel: (03) 9041 6033

China Bar, Glen Waverley by Bureaucrat

Following the “it’s hot, I can’t cook” vein, one night we headed to China Bar in Glen Waverley for dinner.

For some time now, Mother Hen is a fan of the roast ducks there.  According to her, the ducks are bigger and tastier than the many local Chinese restaurants nearby that do roast ducks.  With this high expectation in mind, the reality (at least for me on this particular night) was quite another thing.

This China Bar was squishy, noisy and chaotic inside.  When you first step inside, there’s not much room to move – you’re in someone’s way, and someone is in your way.  People mill about the front door (where there’s no waiting area/space) to pay their bills, wait for their takeaway or for a table.  It doesn’t help that the place is long and narrow.

I know that places like China Bar aren’t necessarily models of excellence when it comes to service and fit out.  The grubby, tattered menus, the sticky table, and the service with an attitude can be overlooked provided that the food is good.  However, when the food isn’t good, I get annoyed and wish I had gone elsewhere for my meal.

Because it was hot, we got some cold drinks.  I got an custard apple smoothie, while the Lawyer got the Chinese style three-colour drink.  The fact that they were big serves was the only positive.  My smoothie was bland and I could barely taste the custard apple.  

The three-colour drink was even less nice.  While Asian desserts tend to use ingredients that Westerners would consider to be savoury, (e.g., red beans and corn nibblets), when used properly in a nice recipe they can be quite refreshing with pleasing contrasts in taste and texture.  However, here, it really just tasted like a glass of red beans, corn, bland green jelly with coconut cream and shaved iced on top.  It wasn’t a drink, it was just some ingredients thrown together.

Foodwise, it wasn’t looking or tasting good, either.  The Lawyers combination seafood hor fun came out reasonably quickly.  Again, the fact that this was a generous serve was the only positive.  The Lawyer wasn’t impressed with the dish and described it as “just passable”.  Bland, frozen seafood and chicken pieces with a rather average eggy gravy on top.  

Meanwhile, I waited for my dish – roast duck on rice.  You’d figure a dish like this would come out quickly given that the ducks are already prepared.  But I waited... and waited... and waited some more.  I could tell the place was busy, but 15 minutes after the Lawyer’s dish had arrived, I flagged down a staff member to ask where my dish was (especially since the four tables next to me that placed their orders after us had already had their dishes served).  

They went and checked and said it was coming.  Ten minutes later, it arrived.  And boy, I was not impressed.  I didn’t touch anything on the plate before I took this picture.  I mean, come on.  I know you’re busy and that this dish was late, but you figured that they’d take the time to clean up the errant grains of rice and veggies on the plate to make it look a bit more presentable.  

Tastewise, it was not good.  Lots of rice (that’s the only plus) but it was lukewarm, and it was obvious that this rice had been around since lunchtime.  Similarly, the duck was not fresh and tasted stale and had that unappetising microwaved texture of dry meat (and very chewy in parts) and non-crispy skin.  The veggies were overcooked.

Verdict

Food – 5.5

Ambiance – 6

Service – 5.5

Price – 6

Overall

We weren’t happy and we’re not coming back.  Service is poor, and the food is not fresh.  With the many choices in the Kingsway area, there is no need to come to this China Bar.

Address

China Bar

68 Kingsway 

Glen Waverley 3150

Telephone: 9561 6808

Roast Duck Inn, Box Hill by Bureaucrat

In my not-so-humble opinion, when it comes to cooking duck, the Chinese are the ones that do it the best.  While the French do a mean confit and the Europeans have various versions of roast duck served with some sort of fruit (sour cherry compote or duck a l'orange, for example), nothing beats the crimson hued, guaranteed crispy skin and that juicy, deeply flavoured meat of a Chinese-style roasted duck.  

Indeed, in my family, Chinese roast duck is something we all agree on - and we never turn down a chance to eat it - be it takeaway or at the restaurant.  While our favourite place for Peking duck is at QuanJude (see my review in Feb 2012) which is great value for money (for a fine dining roast duck experience), it's not that easy on the hip pocket for an everyday meal.

Mother Hen and Mr Strong being shoppers of Box Hill had found a place that does a great value roast duck on rice.  I think the name of the place says it all: Roast Duck Inn.  One weekend, the Lawyer and I joined them for lunch there.

We got there early, just a bit before 12pm.  Already, the place was about half full.  Like most Asian eateries of this ilk, the place is a little squishy, a little chaotic and it has pieces of paper with the speciality dishes written in Chinese stuck up on the walls.  As we decided what to order, we were served complementary soup.

Naturally, we had to get roast duck on rice.  A big mound of fluffy rice and quite a reasonable amount of duck.  Pleasingly, I got lots of meaty pieces and not too many boney pieces.  The duck was tasty, wasn't too fatty or lean, and the skin was nice and crispy.  A few strands of al dente choi sum on the side. 

Mother Hen quite likes roast pork, and so she got that with rice.  The crackling was lovely and properly crunchy, while the pork was tender and had a nice meat-to-fat ratio.  While it was tasty, I still prefer the duck.

Mr Strong was the only one who didn't go for a roast meat dish.  Instead, he got one of the beef and tomato stir fry on rice.  He had ordered this before and really liked it.  I didn't get to try this, but Mr Strong said he liked the generous amount of tender beef and the syrupy, fresh tomatoey gravy.

Verdict

Food – 7.5

Ambiance – 7

Service – 7

Price – 8

Overall

I quite liked our visit to RDI.  I'd go back there again the next time I'm in the neighbourhood.  Service was quick.  While they aren't overt about it, you get the vibe that this isn't the place to go if you want to linger over your meal.

Address

Roast Duck Inn

29-31 Carrington Rd 

Box Hill 3128

Telephone: 9897 3788

Kitchen Inn, Melbourne CBD by Bureaucrat

It was lunch time.  It was hot and I wanted laksa.  The three of us were dithering between going into Kitchen Inn or Coconut House, which are located close to each other on Elizabeth Street (towards the Vic Market).  

Thankfully, for this occasion, we went with Kitchen Inn as it has air con.

KI is a place that Big Fil has been several times before but has never blogged about it (tsk, tsk!).  It's a smallish place but popular with uni students, office workers and families.  It's a little squishy, but the place is neat and smart - from the stone (marble?) topped dining tables, warm red colour scheme and the clean jugs of water and condiments on the tables.  There's also a nice family-run vibe to the place.

For drinks, Snooze went for the hot teh tarik, while Big Fil went with the sour plum drink (I think).

The menu is bigger than I thought it would be.  So much so, that I had difficulty finding the laksa.  There is only one type of laksa here - the Sarawak laksa, which is made up of vermicelli w egg strips, fish cake, chicken breast, prawns and bean spouts ($10.90).  Unlike the typical curry laksa, the Sarawak laksa isn't spicy, nor does it have a glistening reddy-orangey colour.  Instead, it's more brown in colour and...well, I don't know how to convey the flavour.  The soup tastes a little bit like a mild Asian herbal/tonic.  

Deceptively, this is a rather big bowl, as I had set aside a standard rice bowl of noodles for Big Fil to try, and I still struggled to finish this.  Lots and lots of noodles, the bottom of the bowl is has lots of tender, shredded poached chicken.  There was also reasonable amount of fine omelette strips, beanshoots, big tofu puffs, fish cake and about three or four prawns.

Big Fil got one of the specialities - Kampua special, which is handmade noodles served w BBQ pork, roast pork and prawn ($11-$13).  I didn't get to try this dish, but it seemed nice.  As with the laksa, there was lots of noodles, and quite a reasonable amount of the two types of pork.

I think we all agreed that Snooze's salted fish fried rice w prawns and chicken ($9.20) was the best dish.  A big mound of rice which had pretty good wok hei.  We all liked the aromatic eggyness and the nubbly bits of the salted fish.  There was also a few prawns in there.  Simple but tasty.  It was a nice balance of savoury rice and the salty fish.  Great value and I'd like to order this for myself next time.

Verdict

Food – 7.5

Ambiance – 7

Service – 7

Price – 8

Overall

Big serves is key here.  The food isn't fancy but it is quite reasonable and the service is friendly.  KI is a quiet performer.  Give it a try next time you're in the area.

Address

Kitchen Inn

469 Elizabeth St 

Melbourne 3000

Telephone: 9328 2562

Chat with Jake Dell of Katz's Deli NY, by Bureaucrat

You may not know of Jake Dell.  You might heard of Katz's Deli in New York.  But my money is that you know that scene in When Harry Met Sally where Meg Ryan's character shows Billy Crystal's character how men are easily fooled when it comes to... well, you know.

To fill in the blanks, Katz's Deli is where that scene was shot.  And Jake Dell is the third generation owner of Katz's Deli, which was established in 1888.  Apart from being featured in When Harry Met Sally, Katz's Deli is renowned for its massive Pastrami on Rye and Reuben sandwiches.  It's no wonder that it has a long list of celebrity fans, including Anthony Bourdain, Ben Stiller, Alicia Keys and Barbara Streisand, to name a few.

Hop Harvest 2014 at Circa The Prince (by invitation), by Bureaucrat

Beer is made of only four ingredients - water, hops, yeast and barley.  And yet with just only this quartet of ingredients there can be almost any number of beers (with varying tastes and textures) that can be made from it.

A few nights ago, I was invited to attend a degustation dinner at Circa The Prince as part of the Hop Harvest 2014.  Hop Harvest 2014 is to celebrate this year's harvest of hops and also to discover the beauty of hops in beer and food.  It was an enlightening and gourmet experience as I got to learn a lot more about beer from Peter David, master brewer at Lion, and Tim Charody, who has the lucky job of being the Beer Pilgrim.

Smith and Daughters, Fitzroy (by invitation), by Bureaucrat

Food is a wonderful thing.  Besides give us sustenance, food allows us to share love with those that are dear to us.  There's no greater joy than to see people's faces light up when they eat something that you've made or to finally convince them that they actually do like their hated/feared ingredient (be it spinach, beetroot or seafood, for example) when you've turned that same ingredient into something so delicious that they totally change their views on said ingredient.  Recently, I had such an experience with vegan food.  I was privileged to attend the launch of Smith and Daughters, a totally vegan restaurant in Fitzroy.  It was evident from the get-go that co-owners, Chef Shannon Martinez and manager Mo Wyse, have a lot of love to share - in particular, their love of vegan food.

There was a lot of excitement in the air - from the staff and the guests.  You can practically feel the positive energy coming from the staff who were so pumped at the opportunity to showcase the food, the service and the place.  Diners, like myself, were super excited from an evening of trying vegan food - as for many of us, this was a relatively unfamiliar foodie territory.  The core principle of vegan food is that it doesn't come from animals.  So unlike vegetarians who'd eat dairy products and eggs, vegans don't.  As such, I'm sure I'm not the only one to think, "well, vegan food can't be that tasty... it's only just veggies and I can't even smother it with cheese sauce". For those who hold such views, get thee to Smith and Daughters for a life-changing revelation!

My Tromba tequila margarita being made.

Before we sat down for dinner, we had a wonderful trio drinks (pina colada, margarita and sangria) to whet the appetite.  I love cocktails more so than wine and beer.  The Tromba tequila margarita packed a chilli punch but it didn't stop me from drinking it!  Showing true commitment to their beliefs, the rest of the drinks menu are also vegan friendly.  I also loved the Sailor Jerry pina colada which tasted gorgeously rummy and had a lovely roasted coconut flavour to it (it was made with coconut water, it's practically a health tonic).  It also had an impressively frothy and creamy foam on top, which is amazing considering everything that's made here does not contain dairy or eggs.  It was like an alcoholic cocktail version of the icy pole, Splice.  Very yum!

As we sat down to dinner, we heard from co-owner, Mo Wyse, who welcomed us to her restaurant.  She warned us in advance that her fellow co-owner, Chef Shannon Martinez (former head chef at the East Brunswick Club, Gasometer Hotel and Sweetwater Inn) does not understand the concept of small servings.  

The first three dishes were from their small plates range.  First up was the taste bud tantalising oyster mushroom and white bean ceviche.  This is a variation on the Central American seafood dish.  This was an amazing way to win everyone over!  It was zingy, it was fresh and it was an 'OMG' moment for all of us.  The simple ingredients belie the deep tomato and savoury flavours in the ceviche.  I was won over by the gutsy use of lime juice.  I suspect there was something else in it too to give it that really tart kick (maybe tamarind?).  The ripe tomatoes, finely sliced red onions gave the dish freshness and crunch.  While the lovely slivers of squidgy oyster mushrooms and the white beans gave a nice creaminess to the dish.

The ceviche was served w twice fried smashed plantain chips, which we dipped into the lovely sauce.  The chips had a lovely golden colour and weren't greasy at all.  

Testify!

The tuna and green pea croquettas were equally an 'OMG' moment.  Spanish bechamel w tuna and green pea, served with caper aioli and lemon.  They were perfectly fried so they had a lovely crunchy crust.  Inside, it was soft and gooey and creamy (despite it not being made from dairy products).  While there wasn't a tuna flavour, there was definitely a tuna-like texture from the fine flakey bits within it - I don't know what that could have been.  One word: yum!

Next was the Mexican dish called tamales.  Which is a mixture of masa (a flour made from maize) mushrooms, grilled corn then steamed in corn husk.  It was served w lime and hot sauce on top.  I don't think I've had tamales before.  The texture and flavour reminded me of the Chinese 'dumpling' zong zi (which is glutinous rice steamed in bamboo leaves).  It has a nice home-cooking vibe to this dish.  The flavours are subtle, and I reckon it's mostly a carb/filling sort of dish.  While it was nice, I didn't eat much of it because that hot sauce was hot!

Chef Shannon Martinez (L) and Mo Wyse (R) cooking up a storm.

By this stage, I was getting full.  I was fearing the next three courses as they were all main dishes.  But before we got to that, Chef Shannon and Mo came out with a massive paella pan to cook the, you've guessed it, paella!  This would be our final main dish for the night.  

While we watched the paella being made, we were served the deeply flavoursome pazole.  This was Smith and Daughters' version of the Columbian hominy soup.  Pazole is a chunky soup made with maize which has been soaked in an alkaline solution to turn it into hominy.  The broth here was fantastic.  It was more than just a basic vegetable broth - there was a lot of love that's gone into it to make the flavours so deep.  The soup had lots of black beans and was topped w tender sauteed oyster mushrooms, an avo and cucumber salsa, crispy tortilla strips, pickled purple cabbage and lime.  This would be perfect on a cold day - warming and filling and just so nourishing.

As we were getting full, we asked to share one serve of the next course instead of getting one serve per person.  This was chiles rellenos - a Mexican dish of chargrilled peppers stuffed w cream cheese and chorizo, then battered and fried until golden.  A very rich dish, which wasn't actually spicy.  The batter crust was thin and crispy, and hid the almost molten green pepper underneath.  And inside the pepper was very creamy cream cheese filling and a smoky vegan chorizo.  I was quite impressed with the texture of the cream cheese as it really tasted like and had the texture of your packet of Philly cream cheese.  The pepper was topped w tomatillo sauce, which wasn't spicy at all.

By the time we had finished the pepper, the paella was ready.  This was Chef Shannon's at-least 4th generation family recipe.  It's made with vegetable saffron stock, peas, veg prawns, sausage and scallops.  As with the pazole, you could tell that the vegetable stock was a pretty damn good one.  The rice was soft all over except for the chewy soccarat; and it had the lovely smoky aroma coming from the paprika.  The prawns, sausage and scallops were various types of mock meat.  I have to say, after all the wonderful dishes with only little bits of mock meat in it, this was slightly a let down.  I was hoping that there'd be less reliance of mock meat in the dish.  I was also rather hoping that there'd be some aioli to go with the paella.

Despite being really full, I was looking forward to dessert ever since I saw the quince-filled doughnuts on the menu.  I love freshly made doughnuts (it reminds me of childhood) and I love quince.  And these doughnuts were divine!  Thin crispy outer, light and fluffy on the inside.  Wonderful bite-size serves.  A sweet dusting of cinnamon sugar which almost melted into the molten quince filling.  I could definitely eat at least half of dozen (hell, make it a dozen!) of these babies!

Last but not least, the tarta de chocolate Azteca.  A rich, smooth chocolate top (almost a really thick ganache).  The middle was this gooey filling, which we all had differing views on what it was.  The Lawyer thought it tasted fresh with a hint of chilli; while others (including me) thought it tasted a little bit salty.  The bottom was a biscuit base.

Verdict

Food – 9

Ambiance – 8.5

Service – 9.5*

Price – 7.5*

*Prices are notional as we were guests of Smith and Daughters.

Overall

Wow-wee!  If this is vegan food, then I'm a convert!  Both the Lawyer and I, and the other guests next to us, did not miss meat at all.  We are so impressed with the strong, zingy flavours and the interesting textures.  There's nothing boring about this vegan food.  There was not a piece of tofu in sight (at least not in the typical cubed, white form that it usually comes in)!  

Propz also to the fact that Smith and Daughters use local suppliers and organic produce wherever possible, and also the fact that they prefer small producers.  

You'll definitely get caught up in the infectious energy and the love of vegan food that Smith and Daughters do.  Vegans, rejoice!  Omnivores, do yourself a favour and treat yourself and your tastebuds to the wonderful food and awesome drinks at Smith and Daughters.

Address

Smith and Daughters

175 Brunswick St

Fitzroy 3065

Telephone: 9939 3293

Gangnam Pocha, Melbourne CBD by Bureaucrat

When it comes to getting your nosh on for Korean, we’re pretty lucky in terms of choice.  I do love my bibimbap, the banchan, the grilled meats and delightfully chewy chap chae.  During the work week,  my two reliable Korean restaurants are Seoul Metro that’s located in a car park and Darac on A’Beckett Street.

Gangnam Pocha is another Korean restaurant which is located on Bourke St.  I think it opened around the time when Gangnam Style was going viral, and I thought that it was a bit faddish.  Certainly, with a caricature of PSY, the slightly daggy bar furniture and the signs advertising cheap drinks, it didn’t seem like a place that I’d try.

However, having had too much Thai food at FOMO (which is a few shops down), one night, I thought we’d give GP a try.  To cut to the chase, I ended up liking Gangnam Pocha.

The place is decorated in a mish mash of styles.  You’ve got the open windows, where punters are having a drink and a nibble, towards the back is the slightly daggy-looking bar (kinda like from the TV show, Cheers) and throughout the place, you’ve got statement gold and red flocked wall paper, standard restaurant chairs and tables, but with some Rococo statement furniture, and a projector showing K-pop videos on a wall thrown in for good measure.

And in the private dining room, it’s fully bling-ed up with gold, high-back chairs and a massive disc of what appears to be a Roman god hanging on the wall.

Menu-wise there’s a few different things on there than your typical Korean place.  But the menu is probably geared towards you ordering off their two or three course set meals.  There’s dishes listed under three columns, A, B and C.  ‘A’ and ‘B’ are like starters/entrees and the ‘C’ are the mains.  For each column, you have about six or seven choices to choose from.

We went for A+B+C, which sets you back $45 for two people.  A wee steep for a weekday meal – especially since you have to order sides if you want it.   We got two bowls of rice to go with our dishes.

For ‘A’, I had read online that the cheese and corn is a must.  Served on a hot, sizzling plate, this has to be the most cheesiest and richest cheese dish I’ve ever eaten!  Bubbly, sizzling and golden brown on top.  The corn nibblets are smothered in this gooey, stringy and oh-so-yummy cheese sauce.  There’s definitely a lot of mozzarella in it, but there is other stuff in it too.  There’s some other type of cheese in there, garlic, mustard and onion powder.  It’s very rich, very morish and very fattening.  It’s so good and so bad.... wonderful!

For ‘B’, I had to get the mackerel.  Mackerel is quite possibly my favourite fish – I love its meaty texture, juicy flesh and it’s tasty on its own.  I really don’t understand why more restaurants and shops don’t stock mackerel (either in fresh or tinned form).  It was simply pan fried and served with soy sauce and wasabi.   Propz to the chef for pin-boning the whole fish.

For ‘C’, we got the pork ssam—a warm braised pork served with cabbage leaves, pickled root vegs, slices of garlic and chilli, and kim chi.  While this was nice and a bit different, I was too enamoured with ‘A’ and ‘B’ to really appreciate ‘C’.  However, the Lawyer quite liked this dish and practically at the whole thing by himself.   The pork was tender and lightly seasoned.  It also wasn’t too fatty.  The rest of the dish was nicely done and were made from good quality ingredients but it was all a bit too spicy for me to really enjoy it.

Verdict

Food – 8.5

Ambiance – 7

Service – 7

Price – 7

Overall

If you can look past the odd decor, the food here at Gangnam Pocha is well worth a try.  Even if you’re not ordering off the A+B+C menu, it’s still a bit pricey.  I’m definitely going back for the mackerel and to try some of the other less known/familiar Korean dishes. 

Service is friendly and discreet.  We went there during the weekday for an early dinner, and it was pretty quiet (although there were a few other tables having dinner too).  I’m not sure what this place is like later in the night since it seems to be geared towards the drinking crowd.

Address

Gangnam Pocha

141 Bourke St

Melbourne 

Telephone: 9078 8882

Mr Hobson, Port Melbourne (by invitation), by Bureaucrat

On a bright, sunny day, I took up the invitation from the team at Mr Hobson in Port Melbourne to check out their extensively renovated restaurant, which is located on Station Pier (just meters away from where the Spirit of Tasmania is docked).  

Mr Hobson is one of a handful of restaurants at Station Pier.  As such, there's lovely laid back vibe from the sun and the sea; the upmarket low-rise apartment complexes and the tram stop nearby lend a villagey atmosphere to the area.

As Mr Hobson is located at Station Pier (as opposed to down road where the main shopping precinct is located), everything is a bit more relaxed and refined.  Even the seagulls are well behaved (they don't squawk or aggressively squabble over a chip) - they just patiently take turns standing on the bollards.

In recent times, Mr Hobson has had extensive renovations which as resulted in a spacious, light and airy cafe, bar and restaurant areas.  The expansive views to the sea and the open windows mean you get a lovely cooling breeze throughout the restaurant.  

The interior decorations has a hint of Scandinavian design that's adapted to Australian life - it's a sort of place where you wish it was your own house, or that of a good friend's house so that you can hangout there as often as possible.

While there are your standard main dishes, the menu is mostly centered on sharing plates.  As such, there's a range of starters, entrees, light dishes and sharing plates.  To that end, Mother Hen and I chose four dishes to share.

 First up was a starter - lamb cigars, which had slow cooked lamb wrapped in filo pastry, cucumber, lemon and yoghurt sauce. Tender, shredded lamb encased in the buttery but light filo pastry - it was almost like a mille feuille for lamb.  It was just the right size, as the cigars are deceptively rich but the size and the filo pastry give it an illusion of being a light snack. Plus, the lemony yoghurt sauce helps cut through the richeness.  It was a lovely way to start the meal.

Along with this, we had an entree - seared scallops w baby rocket, crispy prosciutto and truffled cauliflower puree.  A quartet of plump scallops cooked just right (not too under or over-cooked) with ripe cherry tomatoes.  The subtle flavours of the scallop was matched with the cauliflower puree.  It was good that the truffle flavour didn't overpower the scallops.  

For our next two dishes, we had seafood saffron fettucini w prawns, scallops, calamari and mussel, olive oil, white wine and chilli.  This was one of the light meals and we went for the entree sized version. Nice al dente pasta with a hint of chilli for a kick.  It had a fairly generous amount of seafood tossed through it (always a good thing!).  I loved the colours from this dish - and the fresh diced tomatoes gave it lightness.  Very summery, indeed.

To add some greens into our meal, we also got the main sized Mediterranean vegetable salad, which had grilled eggplant, zucchini, capsicum, pumpkin, bocconcini, kalamata olives and balsamic vinaigrette - not to mention lots of peppery rocket and sweet cherry toms. This was a very generous sized dish!  A good mix of all the veggies and I especially liked the char-grilled flavour.  We struggled to finish this.

Verdict

Food – 7

Ambiance – 9

Service – 7.5*

Price – 7*

*Scores are notional as we were guests of Mr Hobson.

Overall

Despite the fact that Mr Hobson is located on Station Pier (I'll admit that a pier is not where I would think to go for a dining experience), Mr Hobson is quite popular.  On the weekend, the brunch crowd was already out in force, soaking up the sun and the good vibes in the outdoor seating area.  As our meal went on, a mix of small tables, solo diners, young families and a large party came in to enjoy the view and the food.  I can imagine this place would have wonderful ambiance for night-time drinks.  I know I've said it alot, but Mr Hobson has a wonderful relaxed but special vibe about it.

Service is friendly and comes with a lot smiles.  There is quite a range of dishes to choose from and based on the dishes that we tried, the dishes are simple, clean flavours and executed well.  While we were guests, I did note that the menu items are a tad pricier than your average suburban cafe, but probably not unusual given the upmarket area.  However, for that view and the vibe, it's well worth it.

Address
Mr Hobson
9 Waterfront Place
Port Melbourne 3207
Telephone: 9646 6299