PCL

I rang my dad straight after seeing this posted. He is so difficult one lah! He said, 'Melbourne lobster the best..." then hung up. Turns out he'd been there a couple times, it's near his hairdresser you see... can't please anyone it seems, but they do look good! For the record, we don't have lobsters here in Australia, we have crayfish...

It seems that Per Se is receiving press over here (Australia) for the tipping policy. This article in Epicure, part of The Age newspaper, compares how the other half lives. Registration might be necessary to read the article.

No cheese that night. Didn't feel like it. The Southern Rhone I really liked thinking back about it. Affordable too. To be fair, Shin suggested the sticky. I'm not much of a sticky person usually, and would normally defer choice of one to someone else. Must work on that this festive season! As for dining partners, watch the ISO space up top of the forum!

A word first on the food... They can be unpredictable, depending on Stephan's mood, but his sauces when he hits the mark are good. The guys at Paris Go gush on and on, and once, I heard someone at France Soir do the same. I tend to get to AB's midweek, like Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday and avoid Friday and weekends, unless I've called ahead to um, give 'em a heads up. And re: kids, the least you should worry about are other diners who wrinkle their noses. I agree that its barbaric (my words!) in a bistro to not accept children, and the fact that the staff fussed over you all, great. To the rest, stuff 'em.

There is a huge thread running in the Media Forum on Charcuterie. Click here for the thread. There is also another thread about cookbooks published in 2005, click here.

Our houseguest decided to do some cleaning up for us over the weekend, well intentioned of course, and she ended up scrubbing my skillet so well with steel wool and detergent that 70% of the patina (dark brown/black carbon layer) was removed. Then it was stored, dried, in the cupboard. I found it Sunday morning and there was already rust forming in small patches. The cure? Fried up a ton of bacon, slowly, for breakfast. Then ran the thing under hot water, wiped down with a kitchen paper towel, then heated it up and more oil and more heat (low) for 10 minutes or so. The evening saute session progressed with minimal fuss, although it will take some time for the patina to build up evenly again.

Yes, L'Oustal's cassoulet certainly cuts the mustard. It was an assembled piece really, much like how Keller might do it. One crit would be that the sauce could have done with more body. Overall, at L'Oustal I feel that they could do with more BUTTER.

What is an SAHA? Where can I get one? It is cool? Like, are they a publisher? Is that a book? I'm so confused.

Apparently there's an Ali Baba here in Melbourne too at the QV building, but I'm in no hurry. If I want Ali Baba, I'm going to Canberra.

I have been informed that there's a mistake in the original post, the address should be: The corner of Northbourne Ave and Alinga Streets, NOT Allara.

Okay, this might be more of a building design term than anything, but 'aspect' can also be called 'orientation', or where the thing is facing in relation to the cardinal points... Northern hemisphere locations would generally have farms/agriculture/plantings in a southern 'aspect' to catch maximum sun, and vice versa for the southern hemisphere.

On the corner Northbourne Avenue and Allara St in Civic, there lies the cave. Well, not really a cave, but it could be considered a glazed cave... No need to say 'open sesame' to get to the treasure and believe you me treasure is what you'll find. Mr Adhami and crew run a tight operation, and despite what I've been told about the restaurant/takeaway being part of a chain, this is one place where the operator makes all the difference. We're talking kebabs, grilled meats, excellent chicken, salads, vine leaves, hummus...etc. Everything fresh, kebabs done a'la minute when they're ordered, salads and dips glistening under ample natural daylight (Canberra is like, bright dude...). And the chicken actually tastes like chicken. I've been taking lunch here every time I've been in the nation's capital for the last couple months and I suggest doing the following: - go with a group of people - ask for Mr Adhami - say you want a platter to feed so-many-people - sit back, relax, compose yourself - when platter arrives, go hard The platters generally don't come with chicken in my experience, but then again, I haven't paid much attention to the menu. I'm sure they will be happy to accommodate requests, and of course, you can order off the menu. I am acquainted with Mr Adhami's son in a professional capacity (architecture/design... not food!) but nonetheless, this is a quality adventure if you're ever in the ACT.

Some keywords keep recurring: 'terroir' 'aspect' 'soil' etc etc etc Would this be a 101 topic or a 201 topic? Not being American, I'm not totally au fait with academic topic designations

The chicken liver/foie gras pate was more like a mousse, as noted by Shin. To me, diluting something as precious as foie gras in mousse largely dominated by chicken liver might be trying a little hard, but like as Shin said, if that's what the local population want, then so be it. Big points on the wine side of things, with a number of selections available not only by the glass but also by the carafe. The Chateau Quiot was a grenach/shiraz/mouverde blend, ie. typical of the Southern Rhone. As Shin said, a little gamey thus reminiscent of some pinot like qualities, but also powerful on the nose and well harmonised on the palate. Not like our own GSMs which generally blow you out of the water before you even taste it. Don't worry shin, we'll teach you all about pinots in good time.

Great notes bill. Good to see our humble Fox Creek holding up against the rest of the world. The JSM is a constant in my 'cellar' and I only have a 3 or 4 bottles of the '98 left. Chargrilled rib-eye basted with EVOO soaked rosemary stalks...mmmm

A few of us are going to be there through the course of the weekend, so it might be an opportunity to hang out, whatever. If anyone is interested in hooking up, we should exchange details over PM or email, in accordance with the eG policy.

Love the Avatar, Emma... Yeah, tell us which cities you're thinking of prospecting in...

Pinot noir doesn't generally work with lemon flavoured food, as you've just discovered it seems. IMHO, the riesling would have worked, the chardonnay would have worked. Something about fruit and spice I'd say, but there are others better qualified to expand on this. If red, I'd suggest a zin, or a the Australian tradition of CabSauv/Shiraz... I think Yellowtail have one, and they are by no means expensive.

There is a thread in the Food News & Media forum concerning an article published in LA about the scene in Sydney. Might be interesting reading for some, or even better, a decent discussion. Head over here to join in.

A timely question... I've just sharpened everything in my kitchen... well, not everything, just the knives I use and I treat the Globals in the same way. I use a fine grain oil stone, for sharpening and 10 - 15 degrees is fine for the Global. I don't use a guide, but Global sell them however you can get cheaper. The ceramic 'steel' is a lot finer than steel of course, and the VG10 recipe global and others use produces a softer steel for the knife. The ceramic steel is supposed to make it easier to hone to the blade and also allow for greater margin for error. I don't have a problem with using a regular steel for honing my Globals. I have a chef's and a meat slicer, both ground on both sides.

See, for some of us, coffee can't be had due to the shakes... i find tea to be better... Yetty, bet the coffee's from the Evil Empire

Thumb strength differential... interesting... anyway, i've been working late most nights this week, in the office, and it's been difficult. at 7pm or so, I raid the kitchen for biscuits due to low blood sugar levels. no coffee, because i need steady hands ( i draw a lot) then around 8.30/9pm I have to resist the urge to call the pizza joint. running down the street for a souvlaki has worked wonders now and then. but the pearler this week came about when a bunch of us took turns over 2 nights to bring in food from home... our wives delivered on time, at 8am, straight into the office oven and we had lasagna one night and meatloaf the next... no salad, no vegies... yeah...

Just going from first principles, to avoid the chicken drying issue, I'd suggest simmering the herbs with chicken broth. Or if it seems that simmering with a chunk of breast meat/thigh meat improves flavour, then doing so might be the way to go provided a second batch can be added a'la minute for serving up. This could be the Thomas Keller approach to CKT!!! Edited to add: Um, I think trillium already said what i just did

Look, I've had it, and it ain't so bad, so by all means, knock yourself out! But I don't like CKT with breast meat. In fact, I don't like chicken breast at all... except in drunken chicken... In my opinion, dark meat from chicken works better in CKT. There was like a chain restaurant in KL, Mungo Jerry's... can't believe I remembered that!!!... that sold CKT. With CKT, the soup is only subtly different from a pork based soup. Less fatty I think and less meaty in taste, but the gist of it is there... I guess... And Starbucks.... oh... empire of evil....

Stumbled back on this thread.... God, I miss Bodean's... visited vicariously through a couple friends who were visiting London.