19th June 2011
With my parents last night in Melbourne before they left for Brisbane, we decided to meet for a third meal for the weekend and met brother and his girlfriend came in for dinner. We had a walk down from their hotel to Crown and decided to try Neil Perry's new Chinese restaurant, Spice Temple.
We walked in and enquired about a table. Even though it was a Sunday night we had to wait in the downstairs bar for them to set up a table. Downstairs was a cool bar, however it was very dark and difficult to read the menu for some of our party (although i mostly blame that on parents having old people eyesight).
An extensive wine list and wide selection of drinks that you would expect from a Neil Perry restaurant and with Rockpool next door it was hardly a surprise. Halfway through our first drink we were ushered up to the main dining room. Not quite as dark as the bar the room was elegant but still dark and clubby but with simple quality wooden table and wooden blocks featuring chopsticks and soup spoon.
Given the design of the menu, the fact there was 5 of us and that the waitress stated that the dishes do not all come out together, we decided to all choose one entree and one main each and share the food. We possibly should have consulted each other as given our family's love of spice, we choose a lot of the red dishes on the menu (designated extra spicy).
The entrees which came out in various orders consisted of Smoked Bacon & Chili Hunan style egg noodles (great flavours and a hint of chili in between a healthy serve of quality egg noodles), Lamb & Cumin pancakes with a chili paste (pancakes had good flavour and were crisp on outside and the chili paste was also good), hot & numbing dry Wagyu beef (quality aged and dried wagyu beef with a spicy marinade that left the lip tinging a little bit), crispy quail in 5 spice (soft delicious and heavily spiced quail pieces left on the bone) and my favourite Caramelised Pork spare ribs (juicy tender meat with a excellent caramelised sauce with toasted sesame seeds).
A great selection of entrees each offering a different flavour and offering quality cooking - a major step up from a standard Chinese restaurant.
Next up was the main courses. This is where some collaboration on the spiciness of the dishes may have suited us better as we ordered 2 hot & numbing dishes (Pork and duck) as well as a dry spiced Kung Pao chicken that came served with a mountain of red chilis and some black chilis that we were told not to eat even though the black chilis stuck to the chicken & cashews. There were comments about why the dish would be served with the chilis especially the black ones which did indeed seem to stick to every piece of food that we tried to eat and someone accidentally did eat at one point.
However all three spicy dishes were cooked extremely well and offered a quality of flavour and texture and offered a decent hit of spice that few restaurants would be brave enough to attempt. The duck was beautifully pink and my favourite of these dishes. We also had 2 less spicy options and unfortunately these were served as some of the last dishes out. I am not sure if this was a factor as the spice diminished the more subtle flavours of stir fried beef with black beef and Guangxi style pork belly with coriander, peanut, red onion and sesame seeds. These 2 were my least favourite dishes as the pork belly didn't seem to match well with the coriander and red onion and the beef was obviously quality and cooked well but came in a big slab (difficult to eat with chopsticks) and the flavours of black bean offered very little.
I then followed this with the desert of Cherry Jellie & Peanut chocolate bar. The cherry jellie was the true star and the presentation being wrap in paper was great. The chocolate was good but there was little peanut flavour. However i thoroughly enjoyed it and despite the chili being present and tingling the lips whilst eating the main course, i had subsided by the time the desert came.
A very good meal and a big step up from regular Chinese restaurants. As Spice Temple opened after the 2011 Good Food Guide was published i would not be surprised to see it in the 2012 Guide and worthy of 1 Hat. (Note; As of the 2012 Good Food Guide this has been awarded 1 Hat)
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Monday, June 20, 2011
Bonus Item - Neuvo 37
18th June 2011
With my parents in town i decided to meet them for lunch on Saturday. They were staying at the Hilton at South wharf and having come down from Brisbane were not comfortable with the temperature so did not want to venture too far from the hotel. Also they had heard that the restaurant in the hotel was nice. It was in the good food guide even if it didn't receive a hat. At lunch the restaurant wasn't technically open but the wine bar served the same menu in a more relaxed atmosphere.
I choose the beef cheek cooked in red wine with an olive mash and roasted squash. A huge beef cheek (not sure how big the cow who has this size cheek is) that fell apart reasonably well. The beef cheek was not as good as the one i had at Maze but was still good.
I also has a desert tasting plate of raspberry sorbet (strong flavour and good texture), a sesame and mint cigar (crisp sesame and a hint of mint casing filled with a cream filling) and chocolate bread (a crisp brioche with a chocolate mousse).
Good food but a step below the Hat Restaurants i have visited so far.
With my parents in town i decided to meet them for lunch on Saturday. They were staying at the Hilton at South wharf and having come down from Brisbane were not comfortable with the temperature so did not want to venture too far from the hotel. Also they had heard that the restaurant in the hotel was nice. It was in the good food guide even if it didn't receive a hat. At lunch the restaurant wasn't technically open but the wine bar served the same menu in a more relaxed atmosphere.
I choose the beef cheek cooked in red wine with an olive mash and roasted squash. A huge beef cheek (not sure how big the cow who has this size cheek is) that fell apart reasonably well. The beef cheek was not as good as the one i had at Maze but was still good.
I also has a desert tasting plate of raspberry sorbet (strong flavour and good texture), a sesame and mint cigar (crisp sesame and a hint of mint casing filled with a cream filling) and chocolate bread (a crisp brioche with a chocolate mousse).
Good food but a step below the Hat Restaurants i have visited so far.
Donovan's
17th June 2011
Winner Winner Chicken Dinner! Number 21 has arrived and it featured the most beautiful chicken main course. For my brother's 24th bday he choose much to my delight to go to 2 Hat Donovan's for dinner. Therefore 5 of us trekked down to St. Kilda on a cold Melbourne night. Located right on the beach in St. Kilda it had a beach themed interior and felt like a persons holiday house rather than a restaurant. Warm and cozy with a fire located in the middle it was a delightful dining room.
We were offered a reasonably extensive wine and drinks list with some non standard beers including the Chimay beer from Belgium that i choose. We also choose a very nice bottle of wine and many drinks and laughs ensued.
For starter i decided to go for the warm salad of duck breast with vegetables and goat's curd. Thin slices of pink duck breast and whole mini vegetables adorned a plate accompanied the goat's curd. Quality flavours and even better presentation, it both looked and tasted like a dish of high quality.
Main course followed with a reasonable break but not so long that you wondered where your food was and given that the restaurant was completely full it was a good effort. I went for the old fashioned chicken and mushroom pie. Whilst this sounds fairly basic in concept nothing about it really was. Arriving with a plate of vegetables, the dish was held in a serving bowl covered in a crisp pastry lid, the pastry lid was removed placed on the plate with the filling carefully spooned into the lid. It smelled delicious and tasted amazing. A rich cream based sauce, perfectly cooked chicken and strong mushroom flavours and a pastry lid that remained crispy even after the filling was ladled in. Simple rustic food but food of the highest quality and skill. My favourite main course so far!!
I followed this with desert and had to have the Donovan's signature desert of Chocolate and Hazelnut bombe Alaska. Strong and rich chocolate and hazelnut ice cream covered in light and fluffy and slightly firm and cooked meringue. Accompanied by a rich dark chocolate sauce, it was a rich and filling but delectable desert. It was said that it was for 2 but after entree and main course, the three of us were only able to finish due to my love of chocolate and inability to leave any desert on a plate at the end of the meal.
Ambiance, theatre of the dining room and quality of food made this a memorable and 2 hat worthy restaurant that made a lasting impression and was talked about between the 5 of us over the course of the weekend. (Even if it was just our mum rehashing her terrible 'Pheasant' puns.)
Winner Winner Chicken Dinner! Number 21 has arrived and it featured the most beautiful chicken main course. For my brother's 24th bday he choose much to my delight to go to 2 Hat Donovan's for dinner. Therefore 5 of us trekked down to St. Kilda on a cold Melbourne night. Located right on the beach in St. Kilda it had a beach themed interior and felt like a persons holiday house rather than a restaurant. Warm and cozy with a fire located in the middle it was a delightful dining room.
We were offered a reasonably extensive wine and drinks list with some non standard beers including the Chimay beer from Belgium that i choose. We also choose a very nice bottle of wine and many drinks and laughs ensued.
For starter i decided to go for the warm salad of duck breast with vegetables and goat's curd. Thin slices of pink duck breast and whole mini vegetables adorned a plate accompanied the goat's curd. Quality flavours and even better presentation, it both looked and tasted like a dish of high quality.
Main course followed with a reasonable break but not so long that you wondered where your food was and given that the restaurant was completely full it was a good effort. I went for the old fashioned chicken and mushroom pie. Whilst this sounds fairly basic in concept nothing about it really was. Arriving with a plate of vegetables, the dish was held in a serving bowl covered in a crisp pastry lid, the pastry lid was removed placed on the plate with the filling carefully spooned into the lid. It smelled delicious and tasted amazing. A rich cream based sauce, perfectly cooked chicken and strong mushroom flavours and a pastry lid that remained crispy even after the filling was ladled in. Simple rustic food but food of the highest quality and skill. My favourite main course so far!!
I followed this with desert and had to have the Donovan's signature desert of Chocolate and Hazelnut bombe Alaska. Strong and rich chocolate and hazelnut ice cream covered in light and fluffy and slightly firm and cooked meringue. Accompanied by a rich dark chocolate sauce, it was a rich and filling but delectable desert. It was said that it was for 2 but after entree and main course, the three of us were only able to finish due to my love of chocolate and inability to leave any desert on a plate at the end of the meal.
Ambiance, theatre of the dining room and quality of food made this a memorable and 2 hat worthy restaurant that made a lasting impression and was talked about between the 5 of us over the course of the weekend. (Even if it was just our mum rehashing her terrible 'Pheasant' puns.)
Friday, June 17, 2011
Bacash
15th June 2011
With this latest restaurant i have now completed 20 Hat restaurants from the list. The dinner started well with the host immediately recalling my booking with the use of a log book and showing me to my table. And presenting me with a wine list that featured some good selection and wines (not over priced but no as extensive as some others). Then another server provided the menu and a run down of the daily specials and fish of the day.
Despite a preference for meat dishes coming to a restaurant that specialises in fish i decided that i must choose fish dishes and i was rewarded with this decision. For starter i choose the baby calamari served whole but cut at the top to resemble the rings that it is often served as. Served on a bed of warm du puy lentils and cubed tomato and chorizo pieces. Beautifully presented and very clean and simple cooking but great taste. The chorizo provided a good meaty contrast to the more subtle calamari without overpowering it and a squirt of lemon added some zing. Quality simple cooking and a real knowledge of cooking with the bounty of the sea.
For main course, i went on the similar fish theme and choose the Garfish. Two fillets of Garfish with the tail attached covered in a Parmesan crust and served with a frizee salad and a wedge of lemon. I also ordered a side of french fries. The fish was cooked well and the texture was great and the Parmesan crust added to the flavour without being too strong and overpowering the delicate fish flavour. The chips weren't anything special but were plentiful (possibly too many).
For desert i went with the Orange and Grand Marnier Souffle with chocolate ice cream. I have always loved the combination of orange and chocolate and this was no exception. The juxtaposition of the light Souffle and rich chocolate ice cream was great and the flavours of the dish were excellent. Superb cooking and well worth pushing through being slightly full by the time desert came around.
Not overly cheap given as most of the food is quality sourced fish, however the knowledge and quality of the cooking (if very simplistic) made this worth the price and the trip. They really know there fish but also have a strong cooking technique for deserts.
With this latest restaurant i have now completed 20 Hat restaurants from the list. The dinner started well with the host immediately recalling my booking with the use of a log book and showing me to my table. And presenting me with a wine list that featured some good selection and wines (not over priced but no as extensive as some others). Then another server provided the menu and a run down of the daily specials and fish of the day.
Despite a preference for meat dishes coming to a restaurant that specialises in fish i decided that i must choose fish dishes and i was rewarded with this decision. For starter i choose the baby calamari served whole but cut at the top to resemble the rings that it is often served as. Served on a bed of warm du puy lentils and cubed tomato and chorizo pieces. Beautifully presented and very clean and simple cooking but great taste. The chorizo provided a good meaty contrast to the more subtle calamari without overpowering it and a squirt of lemon added some zing. Quality simple cooking and a real knowledge of cooking with the bounty of the sea.
For main course, i went on the similar fish theme and choose the Garfish. Two fillets of Garfish with the tail attached covered in a Parmesan crust and served with a frizee salad and a wedge of lemon. I also ordered a side of french fries. The fish was cooked well and the texture was great and the Parmesan crust added to the flavour without being too strong and overpowering the delicate fish flavour. The chips weren't anything special but were plentiful (possibly too many).
For desert i went with the Orange and Grand Marnier Souffle with chocolate ice cream. I have always loved the combination of orange and chocolate and this was no exception. The juxtaposition of the light Souffle and rich chocolate ice cream was great and the flavours of the dish were excellent. Superb cooking and well worth pushing through being slightly full by the time desert came around.
Not overly cheap given as most of the food is quality sourced fish, however the knowledge and quality of the cooking (if very simplistic) made this worth the price and the trip. They really know there fish but also have a strong cooking technique for deserts.
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