A Blessing in Disguise

What a wonderful restaurant! Michael had said that the few times that he went in the past the experience was great. But not being a huge fan of Italian fine dining, I was a bit skeptical. We organized Cafe Di Stasio early Tuesday night for a catch up with our dear friend, who was down from Sydney, and before our James Morrison show.

As it turned out, James Morrison’s concert was cancelled. So it was a blessing in disguise because I would rather spend time with my friend than see James Morrison…

The bow-tied white jacket clad waiters were attentative, enthusiastic and knowledgeable. The specials were extensive and recited with pride by the waiters. The wine list was expensive :P In the end, we settled for a French Island Vineyards Pinot Gris ($56!!) – light, citrus, and slightly bitter. Should have ordered the Medhurst Rose, which would have been brilliant.

We settled for the following selection

A dozen of natural oysters with wedges of lemon to share
Mixed Salad with chargrilled seafood

Chargrilled Eye fillet with truffle oil and a roasted tomato
Pasta of the Day – Angel Hair with pesto and scallops
Roasted Lamb Loin…
Rocket salad with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil

Muscat Liqueur Tart
White Chocolate and Tart
Loose Leave Plunger Peppermint Tea

Such a cozy place to catch up with your friends and the service is impeccable. Everything was delicious, that is rare for Michael and I that we enjoy everything. The dishes were served as described in the menu – straight forward, no nonsense and nothing decorative. Even the tarts were served on big white plates with neither droplets of chocolate sauce nor dollops of cream. The eye fillets were sliced and sufficient for me, but for grown men, maybe not. And so it was for the meals… I think this is a restaurant that you will be able to have three-courses - no problems.

Our tarts were fabulous. I have read that the crepes with the fresh strawberries are meant to be fantastic but I wasn’t sure whether it would be too much… oh well next time!


Cafe Di Stasio
31A Fitzroy Street
St Kilda
(03) 9525 3999

Monk and Me

Better write this while it is still fresh in my memory.

Monday night, my girlfriends and I dropped into Monk & Me for a catch up dinner. The place was a little hard to find. Evans Place is actually on the side of the large car park in front of Rivoli Theatre, or the back of Bourke Road, Camberwell. But technically it is Hawthorn East.

I had a look at my Good Food Guide and Cheap Eats guides and didn’t see the restaurant mentioned, so I went to the place not knowing what cuisine it served and how good it was.

Once at the restaurant, there weren’t many people, so I could easily spot my friends. The decor was simple, with wooden communal benches in the centre of the room, and wooden square tables on the side. There was some attempt at creating an Asian feel with antique Asian decorative carved wood window panels and artwork on the walls. It reminded me of Omah’s at Port Melbourne, but less sophisticated. So I didn’t think much of the place, but after looking at the menu and tasting the offerings… I would definitely go back.

Our dinner began with two entrees, Lohbak – Minced chicken blended with five spices, wrapped in bean curd skin and fried; and Ling – Rockling fillets marinated in curry paste and snap fried.

Then we got a bit greedy and ordered three mains: Chicken Red Curry, Mee Goreng (Indian Style) – Wok-tossed Hokkien noodles with a blend of spices, bean curd, potatoes, tomatoes, chicken, egg and prawns, garnished with fresh lettuce, shallots and a wedge of lemon; Gado Gado – Mixed vegetables, tofu steamed and topped with peanut sauced garnished with egg slices and pappadams; and a side of Roti slices with peanut sauce.

All the food was awesome! I loved the lohbak especially with the light plum sauce provided. The rockling fillet was fried just right, and great with the sweet chilli sauce provided. Mains were spicy, fresh and delicious. The chicken was so infused with the red curry that it was a reddish-brown colour, which I first mistook for slow-cooked beef. Roti slices were a bit oily and the mee goreng a bit salty but very flavoursome.

One thing that slightly diminish the overall enjoyment was that the waitress gave us the bill without us even asking for it, even though she said “Here’s the bill but in your own time”. I don’t know, I just found that somewhat rude, and that would never happen in a fine dining restaurant. I know it’s not a fine dining restaurant but I would not except that from a well-decked out place. Our bill came out to be $25 each including wine – Evans & Tate Estate Shiraz (creamy and delightful).



Monk and Me
9 Evans Place
Hawthorn East
03 9813 1151
http://www.monkandme.com.au/

Three Days in Wellington

Three days in Wellington already made me fell in love with it. Upon touching down into the Wellington airport, the small plane window showcased a dramatic scene of plunging shores and crashing waves, white foams gathering around the rocks. Amazing.

The drive to the city centre showed me a city that was a mix of Nordic and Urban. Imaginge getting a holiday house here on the hill overlooking the water… Wellington city is so close to the shore! Even walking to work you can see the water.

Upon recommendation by my colleague, I stayed at Holiday Inn Wellington, which reminded me of Central Equity apartments - modern and adequate but not of the best quality. The furniture is modern but Dare Gallery like. My room service was served without a table as my laptop was on the desk, and the kitchette was too tall for eating from. So I ate on the bed with the tray on my knees… hmm... not the most comfortable. But who cares if you’re on a holiday right. Amenities are basic. But the space is very function, with a fully equipped kitchette with microwave, kettle, toaster and lots of storage space. I do like the bathrooms – clean lines and functional. And that is what the hotel is about - functionality.

I got a tour of the gym and spa after I got back from work, and the long thin lap pool looks fantastic. At the end of the room, there was a large spa enough to fit six people. There were a large steam room and a sauna. However, there the gym area was sparse with only a treadmill, exercise bike, exercise ball and a yoga mat…

Typical hotel breakfast was rather expensive – full breakfast at $29. So I went to have breakfast outside on the last day at Leuven Belgian Beer Restaurant on the way to work. $6 for a poached egg and bacon on toasted French bread, with a hash brown and half a tomato. With a foamy hot chocolate, the meal came to $9.00. Pretty good.

On the first night, it was beers on Featherton Road at Arcadia, followed by Zibibbo for dinner. I had the Rotisserie Duck with White Truffle and Honey Glaze, and a few glasses of the divine Ata Ranga Sauvignon Blanc 2004. The Zibibbo Tapas Platter - for Two entree was absolutely fantastic. It’s set out on a lovely wooden tapas board with individual nine ceramic square plates filled with savouries from chorizos and beans in extra olive oil to freshy made foie gras. My colleague, who have moved here from Sydney, told us that there aren’t many restaurants in Wellington and to survive they have to be good. So you can’t really go wrong with any restaurants here in Wellington.

For dessert, two of us ordered Tamarillo Creme Brulee with Berry Sorbet. You think that’s good, our other two colleagues decided to share the Dessert Tapas Platter - Tasting Plate for 2, which had small bowls of all six of the desserts on the menu. Ahhhh, I thought they meant the savoury platter! Why wasn’t I listening? The platter looked great….

After that, we went downstairs for some beers, franchelico and their home-made sangria. Boy did the sangria have a kick to it…. That was my night-cap.

…Walking to our client’s site is like walking on a cliff, the wind was so chilly Thursday morning… From the hotel restaurant window through the chain curtains, while having breakfast, I saw people streaming pass in waterproof and wind proof jackets… no one carried an umbrella… hmm…

Second night I had dinner in, and after receiving good reviews from my colleague about Plate, the restaurant downstairs, I was confident that my dinner would be fantastic. I was not wrong… My wood roasted salmon – succulent, with the right balance of fat and flesh, with a sudden taste of capers and the freshest nicoise salad and salsa verde with brushed potatoes, boiled eggs, extra virgin olive oil. So simple, but so so tasty. It really highlights that if you have great produce, what ever you make will be good... just don’t over complicate things.

I also had mandioca fries, a type of potato, which is chewy, paprika and roasted onion like flavours, no sweetness just texture and flavour. It came with roasted red onion flavoured mayonnaise. Fantastic! Last but not least, a caramel flan with rum and raisin syrup. Can you believe it was cold enough in my room that the syrup was solidifying! I didn’t know how to work the air-con… Facing the harbour, didn’t help. Ah well I worked it out in the end…. And it was time to sleep…

“Can you take me to the International Airport”
“Domestic and International, they are all the same place”
“I see…”

Video from the drive to the Airport

Zibibbo Restaurant and Bar
25 - 29 Taranaki Street
Wellington, North Island, New Zealand
(04) 385 6650
http://www.zibibbo.co.nz/

Leuven Belgian Beer Restaurant
135-137 Featherston Street
Wellington, North Island, New Zealand
(04) 499 2939

http://www.leuven.co.nz/

Subsequent Wine Tasting Sessions

Wine Tasting Session 2

Last week, we went throw 10 different wines and without much in our stomachs, the whole class was pretty chirpy by 9pm. We seriously went overtime last week. Anyways, here are the top picks of the night:

1. Houghton Riesling 2002 – Straw in colour. On the nose, mushroom, honey and gooseberry. On the palate, toasty, woody, herbaecious with a caramel toffee after taste.
   Vasse Felix (Partly Oaked) Semillion 2005 – Straw in colour. On the nose, pine nuts, lemon, passionfruit and spices. On the palate, woody, nutty, acidic and lemony. Simple little wine.
2. Jim Barry Cover Drive Cabernet Sauvignon 2005 – Dark red / purple in colour with full rim and core. On the nose, herbaceous, earthy, spicy and plumy. On the palate, plums, fruity, a bit of tannin, delicate with a long finish.
3. Glaetzer Bishop Shiraz 2005 – Dark red core and rim. Vanilla, plums, black pepper and herbs on the nose. Tasty chocolate, plums and tannins.
4. Red Edge Shiraz 2005 – Dark red core, with lighter rim. Berries, zucchini, oregano and nuts on the nose. Granny-smith apples, spicy nutmeg with a long finish.

For dinner, we went to Torimatsu for a quick and simple Japanese.

Wine Tasting Session 3

Most of the wines at yesterday’s session I loved… and lucky for us, we tried various wines from Australia and Europe – 12 in all. Here are the ones I loved:

1. Bollini Pinot Grigio 2005 – Straw in colour, tropical pineapple and citric on the nose with spells of unriped pears. A little sweet on the palate with a hint of honey, under-riped fruits, mango lemon tannins and a good length.
2. Scorpo Pinot Gris 2006 – Pale straw with a pink tinge in colour, citric with a hint of honey and tobacco on the nose. On the palate, tastes of seaweed and moss, with apricot acidity. Soft and sweet, rounded with a good length.
3. Hugel Gewurztraminer 2004 – Deep straw in colour. On the nose, honey, tropical fruits, floral, lycee and rose water. On the palate, notes follow through with tannin and nutty.
4. Redbank The Widow Jones Viognier 2006 – Deep straw. On the nose, citrus, nutmeg, apricot kernel, moss and capsicum,. On the palate, dried apricots, a hint of spices, dry with a good dose of tannic acids.
5. Turkey Flat Rose 2006 – Light ruby red in colour. On the nose, apple, vanilla, honey, fruity, nutmeg, of the forest smells. On the palate, a little sweet, earthy, with swirls of cherry, strawberries. Lolly lolly lolly.
6. Pizzini Sangiovese 2005 – Browny red with deep core. On the nose, spicy, peppery, leather with notes of plums and clay. On the palate, spicy, acidic, dry. Need food with it.
7. Telmo Rodriguez Tempranillo Rioja 2005 – Ruby red with deep core. On the nose, petrol, fungus and rare salmon skin. On the palate, dried orange skin, woody, with a candy floss after taste.
8. Fire Block Old Vine Grenache 2002 – Red with even core and rim. On the nose, spicy and peppery, with a hint of cooked tomatoes. On the palate, a little sweet, spicy, swirls of dried prunes and burnt taste.
9. Stanton & Killeen Rutherglen Durif 2002 – Browny-red with deeper core. On the nose, chocolate, mushroom, hazelnut, meeting with a hint of spice. On the palate, a little sweet with cherry taste, dark chocolate, sultanas and a little spicy.
   

• Interesting information:
  - Out of the white wines, Marsanne, Semillion and Riesling can be cellared while the rest should be drunk young.
  - Sometimes when the wine is sweet on the palate, it means that the grapes have been left longer on the vine.
  - Durif is often known as Petit Shiraz because of it’s spicy notes.

Afterwards, we went to Grill’d in Windsor and ordered my usual Simply Grill’d with Cheese on a Multi-Grain Bun and Herb Chips.

* The world is in mourning for Virginia Tech – How could they have let this happen….”

Tuesday Nights Wine & Dine

This Tuesday was the first class of our Introduction to Wine course at The Wine Society. This course goes for four weeks either on Tuesdays or Wednesdays each month. The course is quite popular, as we found out last night!

There were 18 people in the class with varying levels of wine knowledge and we had to introduce ourselves at the beginning of the class and express what our goals were from this course. My lovely husband told everyone that he was doing the class in order to keep domestic bliss and harmony, in other words, I made him take the course with me. The whole class got a good laugh from it while I turned beetroot. So I introduced myself after him as "Hi, I'm the Wife".

For me, I'm doing the class because I am fascinated with how people describe and judge wines. Sometimes, I am confused by what the waiters say when they are describing a recommended wine to me. I just nod and say "Sounds good".

The first class was an intense two hours testing 7 wines - 3 whites and 4 reds with labels covered. The instructor encouraged us to keep an open mind about what types of wine we like. For example, I've always thought that I didn't like Shiraz, but I was pleasantly surprised when I actually enjoyed the two Shiraz we tasted. Lucky for me, M and I actually liked the cheaper one.

Here are my "L-Plate" tasting notes:

1. The Wine Society Tasmanian Riesling 2006 - Pale straw colour suggesting youth. Dried paw paw and mango on the nose. On the palate dry, tangy, with notes of graphfruit and unripened kumquat, with a little apple after taste. Good length.

2. Giesen Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2006 - Straw colour, fresh cut grass and capsicum on the nose with strong citrus fruit aromas, intense, tangy lemon on the palate and pretty good length. (I liked this one)

3. Tarra Warra Estate Chardonnay 2004 - Straw colour, dried blackcurrant, fresh citrus fruits, vanilla and hazelnut aromas with smokey, caramelised durian flavours with a hint of bitterness.

4. Smith and Hooper Wrattonbully Merlot 2004 - Ruby red core and rim. Earthy charcoal aromas with spices and oak. On the palate, tastes of nutmeg, dried sultanas and oak. (I liked this one)

5. Rymill Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon 2001 - Dark red concentrated core with bright red rim. Strawberry jam, vitamin pills, cedar and pencil shavings aromas with spicy and dried blackcurrant notes.

6. Ingoldby Shiraz 2004 - Purple red core and lighter rims. Fruity plum, berries and woody overtones with a hint of pepper. (I liked this one)

7. Wolf Blass Grey Label McLaren Vale Shiraz 2004 - Rich purple red colour. Aromas of ripe blackcurrant, mocha, dark chocolate, with a hint of oak and pepper. On the palate, peppery and spicy. Good length.

The course has so far taught me that you can describe the wine well without liking it but at the same time the more you can describe the wine that you drink the more able you are to distinguish what is it about a particular wine that you like. I'm also starting to know what to taste for in wines which allows me to appreciate the variety more, and have been brave enough to try even the spicy shiraz with my dining experiences.

After drinking the rest of M's Ingoldby Shiraz, we staggered to the nearby Hanabishi to have a late dinner. I haven't been to Hanabishi for awhile and the meal jolted happy memories. As always each dish was excellent, except for the Teriyaki wagyu which was overcooked and tough. Their entree is always a juicy meat ball in its little bowl of sauce. Then we had the Sashimi Main (which tends to be smaller in quantity than other Japanese restaurants), Natural Oysters Four Flavours, Scrampi Special Tempura, Deep-Fried Soft Shell Crab with Asparagus Tempura, Bamboo Leave Salt-Baked Barrumandi, Teriyaki Wagyu and Wafu Salad with Salmon Skin. Every dish was impeccably decorated with seasonal foliage such as hazelnut branches and bamboo canes. This attention to detail really makes the experience all the more special.

I'm looking forward to the remainder Tuesdays, hmmm where should we eat!

Hanabishi Japanese Restaurant

187 King Street

Melbourne
03 9670 1167

Ratings

Food: Impeccable Traditional Japanese Fine Dining

Top Dish: Best Soft-Shell Crab (so far :) )

Atmosphere: Elegant and Modern

Service: Seemless service

Booking: Recommended