PCL

Like Shin said earlier, Tea House does comfort food really well. To be honest, their drunken squab is one of the best I've had outside of the Far East.

Thanks for the quick response Chris. I have to admit that I do not know. I am assuming that by green you mean unroasted beans ? Because if so, roasted beans are easier to come by and more familiar to work with, shall we proceed in that fashion then?

Greetings. On behalf of a friend, I have the following query to put forward: How is traditional cardamom flavoured coffee, popular amongst Arabs, prepared? We live in Australia, and Melbourne is one of the most ethnically diverse cities in the world (well, to us 'natives' anyway ) so access to ingredients, types thereof and bits and pieces is not a problem. Specifically, I think the following questions are pertinent: - ratios - brewing technique - serving etiquette - to sweeten or not Basically, we are looking to preparing a treat for a special guest to remind him of home and hope to make it as well as possible. Thanks in advance!! Pein

Drunken squab and sometimes chicken, are both a little pink. The alcohol involved must help in some ways to 'cure' the meat. Each time I've had these dishes at Tea House, they were superb. TCO, I am in wholehearted agreement about hainan chicken rice. And re: white cut chicken, it should not be cooked right through. A hint of pink must remain especially in the dark meat. Good chickens are a must. Not many places in Australia would dare do it properly out of insecurity I'd say.

Thanks for all the input guys. I'll get to work on a list soon. Even managed to talk the office into having yum-cha for our break up lunch next week.

The squabs are definitely either steamed or poached prior to the ROASTING....

Helen, from my time in the UK, the Home Office offers help in terms of repatriation of British subjects and their belongings. That might be somewhere to start. Alternately, try contacting a wine seller in NZ direct as I'm sure a lot of them would know a thing or two about shipping the good stuf around the world. There will be import duty, excises and VAT payable. Also, you might want to check up on prices before you leave. I found that in many cases, the retail price for New World wines in the UK were cheaper than cellar door prices in the country of origin. Which leads me to a bugbear... why the hell do we pay more for stuff here than it people overseas... oh, yeah, market forces...

I beg to differ Shinners... how's about red-cooked belly?

Well...HK$1000 = US$128 or so. Still expensive, still glamorous no? We went hard for my mum's recent 60th birthday at the Flower Drum here in Melbourne, arguably among many critics one of the finest Cantonese restaurants outside China/HK. AUD$1288, an auspicious number. 7 diners. Click here for a review.

Anytime dude, anytime... email myself or Dan, more than happy to go on a tour, any excuse, any excuse...

This has been sitting on my desktop for a while, almost completely forgotten, so here goes: The weekend ended with dinner, again with the whole family at the Tea House on Bourke, Camberwell. Run by Flower Drum alumnus Laurence (I am so ashamed I don't know his last name off-hand), the Tea House started life in Little Hong Kong, aka Carrington St, Box Hill, and has since moved to its current premises on Bourke Road, opposite the Camberwell train station. Given the excesses of the previous two evenings, it was time for a home style meal, catering for the hoard, I mean, tribe. Now, we seem to be creatures of habit when dining en masse, especially at a family favourite like Tea House. The menu: - “Pat-Po” Duck… braised stuffed duck with a ‘hundred treasures’ - Twice cooked (I suspect!) pork belly/spare ribs with apple!! Not quite fusion, but not not fusion either. - Salt & Chilli Whiting - Roast Squabs - Vegies in stock - Fried rice with salt fish and chicken - Steamed oysters with XO and vermicelli Nothing too fancy, with the correct combination of meat/seafood/game/veg and fun. The “pat-po” duck is not for everyone, given it’s traditional context. The treasures involved include gingko nuts, chestnuts and presumably 98 other things I can’t name but have never bothered to ask because it simply isn’t something I eat all the time, but mum loves it, so there you go. I do like the sauce though, ducky and juicy and tasty. They have a way with pork belly at the old Tea House. It was soft, pliant, with just a little chew left in the rendered fat, and paired with a soy based reduction and slivers (julienne almost) of fresh crisp apple… bloody fantastic. I took home the leftovers intending it for Monday lunch, but there was none left when I got up. My sticky lips told the tale. And the squabs… wow. Crisp skin, gleaming almost, flesh cooked through, but NEVER dry. Dip first in some lemon juice, then gently into the spiced salt. Eat, suck on bones, lick fingers. Ethereal. If you can handle it, ask for the heads and necks. If you can’t, try it anyway, you owe it to yourself. Billions of people cannot possibly be wrong. The familiarity of something like crisp fried whiting in the ubiquitous “salt + chili” format may not excite some people, but for me, Tea House is a place for comfort food, and reassuringly, this dish could be elevated to signature status. It’s simply the best around. It is probably precisely this comforting familiarity that explains the appeal of the Tea House, along with an excellent kitchen and staff of course! The diners are usually in groups, and family groups seem to dominate. The fitout does not impose and offers improved acoustics over what one had to contend with when they first opened in Camberwell. But of course, it’s what’s on the plate that matters, and we’re talking refinement and clarity of flavour, matched with impeccable technique and homage to tradition. The wine list is decent enough and reasonably priced for Camberwell, but to be honest, I don’t know it that well. If we’re drinking, I bring my own, and if it’s only myself drinking, I ask for something by the glass. I should also note that I”ve never set eyes on the contents of the menu, preferring instead to consult with Laurence.

Basting with cooking juices helps. As does salting the skin. Brining is one thing, but salting it lightly with fine salt helps.

For the past year or so, I've been visiting Canberra at least twice a month. This is my list of places, honed after many many many disappointments: - Mezza Lira, Italian, City - Ottomans, Mid-East, Barton - Marinetti's, Italian, O'Connor - Silo, Modern Australian/Bakery/Cheesery, Kingston - Ali Baba, Northbourne Ave, City - National Library Cafe, Barton

Silo occupies a special place in my heart whenever I visit Canberra. The cheeseroom ain't that small for a restaurant!!

Au Contraire, Shal-man There are quite a number of Sth Americans in our fair land, but not many of them have the resources to start up their own businesses. Like, there's quite a decently sized Chilean population, and judging from the Hispanic Fiesta in Melbourne, there's enough of them to warrant their own festival. However, I think it's only a matter of time before we start seeing more of their influences in mainstream dining. For example in Adelaide, there's the great Gaucho's on Gouger St, serving up Argentinian/South American goodies. But back on track re: British born/trained cookies in Australia... there were heaps of them at the charity soccer tournament over the weekend... VdM, Circa... yeah, there were a few, no doubt quite a number due to relaxed working holiday visa requirements.

yeah, and on the weekend, The Point went head to head with Interlude... more on that in the kicking lumps thread to come... I don't know about the pricing of NZ pinots. Otago, Marlborough. They don't get out of bed for less than $35 usually, and really, most times, I find them a little formulaic, but then I probably need to spend quality time with some of them to fully get to the bottom of it all. Interestingly, we slurped on Charlie Melton's Rose of Virginia 2005 last night. Aromatic on the nose, suggesting ripe sweet cherries and even a bit of lychee. And it tasted just like that, slightly syrupy on touchdown, then smoothing out. For me, it's sweeter than I'd expected given several decent sessions last year with gee, I can't remember the vintage. But it worked well with dry-rubbed baked spare ribs and a simple salad.

Mr VdM isn't a pom is he? I mean, he worked there then came home right?...

So I take it that the next book will be titled "Ra" seeing as they only called it "Saha" this time 'round...

I had a taste of the calamari last Thursday for lunch. Was good this time round. Was yours battered?? As in floured etc, not bashed up

I second the call for Leo's Food and Wine. The Kew store is the closest to me, and man, the meat section is like, top of the range. Very cool, very good quality. If you're looking for top shelf condiments, it's the place to go. And service is great!

I can't say I enjoyed Courgette when I was there. Do give Ali Baba another go though. And you might want to try Mezza Lira in the Melbourne Building. Good Italian, professional if cold service, and decent wine list. Nice steak too, done in an almost traditional Tuscan 'tagliata' style, served sliced on a bed of 'wild' rocket.

Shal, I need names, names man, I say... going to be in Sydney next week most likely and will be looking for a fix. And fou, the criteria is quality of food. I couldn't give a shit about service at a decent yum cha place so long as the dumplings are sublime, and everything else is fresh and good. Must do a treatise on this, or to be more realistic, whack up a post on the China board.

Yeah, it's going to be serious. Been told that Guy Grossi's been motivating his team with professional help, and that A-League ref's have been recruited by Robin to keep things, um, friendly...

Crow's Nest... mmm, lots of Izakaya's... Japanese eating/drinking places. Summer, cold sake, mmmmmm....

Is aluminium safe?? I mean, for deep frying?? I mean, it loses structural integrity at around 650celcius...