PCL
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Posts posted by PCL
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I've been away far too long from the boards, this one anyway, and for that, I'm sorry for not keeping in touch. Especially Dan.
Let me know if you've got time for coffee.
Or just come over for a weekend lunch and I'll get some good bread, cheese, and other stuff.
Unless, of course, you're talking about some other Dan.
Thanks Dan. Coffee is a definite possibility. PM me your mobile number please?? I'm in town from the 14th to 19th at least.
But stay on topic mate! Where's good to eat these days?
My folks went to Interlude recently and were not totally gushing in their feedback.
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If you will be in Melbourne between May 30 to June 3 (as I will be there even longer than that...as least 3 weeks) ....checkout the Melbourne Food and Wine festival. It will be interesting...
austramerica
As a former Melbourne resident (that sometimes gets homesick) the MF&W was never a highlight of my year. I simply found it too superficial.
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Hiya people, old friends and new ones.
I've been away far too long from the boards, this one anyway, and for that, I'm sorry for not keeping in touch. Especially Dan. Life deals weird hands sometimes, and in seeing a few rounds through, I've had to cut back on eGulleting, although my weight has not noticeably suffered.
And now I come slinking back for advice...
I'll be in Melbourne for a short visit, attending a wedding over the Grand Prix weekend, and will be looking to eat out Friday night and Sunday and Monday and Tuesday nights...
There'll be some old favourites, like Kenzan, and maybe the European, but if there's anything that counts as a must-eat, please please let me know.
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No worries... might bump into you there!! If you're reading and it's almost 8pm, I'll be in a North Face vest... kinda Chinese looking guy with glasses and unshaven and my wife in also a North Face fleecy thing, black.
No problems with the Cafe. Popped in at around 1.30 after a trying session at Gare du Lyon trying to re-arrange travel plans for Monday, and my constitution and general good will towards the world was restored. Rabbit was the plat du jour, which I had after the foie gras maison. We also tried the Potage St Germain... yummy like yummy should be, and the boeuf tatare. Excellent glasses of Cote du Rhone to wash things down and reacquire equilibirum.
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Thanks Phyllis, I think the 12th is where L'Os a Moelle are right? or left?
Le Comptoir for lunch today, two of us, no worries. Got in around 3pm. Sat by the door. The soup of the day for my good lady, and the lobster salad. I wolfed down the pot au feu terrine and the pied de porc. Wickedly good. Snuck in a creme brulee after and an armagnac.
Will probably go to Cafe des Musees in a few minutes.
Hope the luck with my 'no reservations' policy holds out!!
Thanks again.
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DOn't agonize. Go to La Regalade, Yves Camdeborde's original restaurant before Comptoir. New chef, new owner, somewhat new menu. They've taken a year or two to find their way and it's now terrific.
Will do hugh. Thanks for the heads-up. Some people have said the same and I will make the trip out to the 12th!! With or without my companions. Hope the wife is up to it!!
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Good morning!
Many thanks to everyone, especially Tarte Tartin!!
Au Bourgignon du Marais was good. I was there a few years back and only stumbled past while walking and decided, let's eat here. We ate: 6 oysters No.3, 6 escargots, a terrine de carnard, magret de carnard and an andouiillete... Nice wines from you know where and a sensational warm chocolate cake washed down with a Macon dessert wine... that one blew the budget at Euro65!!!
I will head to Levain du Marais now!! Your post, Tarte, just reminded me of many things in the area!! I guess 4 years can be an eternity, but with a little hint, it comes back!! Like Proust!
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Come to Britain, it's only a train ride away
Um, thanks mate, appreciate it... but I lived in London for a few years, and Paris was my escape from Blighty so there you go...
Thanks John. You're a champ. I had dinner tonight at Au Bourgignon Du Marais. Excellent escargots, fantastic terrine canard with pistachio and mmmm Andouiliette.... Full of burgundy and ready for bed, and a day of agonising tomorrow.
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Hi All,
It's been about 4 years since I've been back to Paris, and I've suddenly found myself here for a couple of days.
I've been to some old favourites such as Chez Denise near Les Halles and someplace else also in the same area.
I'm with some none-too foodie types but I'd dearly love to be able to munch on something lovely that won't exclude them. Around Euro30-40/person is the budget and we're staying in Le Marais.
How's our chances of a meal at Le Comptoir if we walk in? Knowing it's low season now I'm kinda confident.
How's L'Os a Moelle doing these days? Last time I was there, I almost died with happiness.
Thanks for reading and for your help, in advance.
Cheers,
Pein
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This is a cool venture and it's about time. Sydney really needs a facelift in terms of its bar scene. So staid, and too many pokies.
Intimate bars make for more socially responsible drinking, but this is my opinion only. In Melbourne, one would hardly find people getting rowdy or out of control and the hole-in-the-wall joints described. Whereas expand the venue tenfold, with a couple of bars to boot, loud music and cheap flooring and decor... Yobo-breeding becomes inevitable. But that's what I think.
Good on ya in Sydney.
Pity I won't be back in Oz till March 08.
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I was just in HK two weeks ago, and here are some of the places we ate at:
Marco Polo Hotel in TST, next to Harbour City Shopping Center, it's massive, you can't miss it... the Ye Shanghai Restaurant is fantastic.
Intercontinental Hotel in TST, The Steakhouse is totally fab.
Superstar Seafood, NAthan Road, TST, above a closed down Watsons... great place for dim sum if you want atmosphere. Get there before 12 for brunch, open daily.
Yaginiku at Four Seasons, IFC in Hong Kong... Sushi Bar is a great place to dine, service, and quality of sushi/sashimi. Sake menu very extensive. About HKD800 per person. Wagyu set meal is a bargain in my opinion at around HK1250 for multiple courses including seafood tepanyaki.
And of course, Mak's Noodles, Yee Wo St, Causeway Bay. The wonton noodles and soup are simply iconical and refined.
Next door, or rather, a couple doors down is a small shop selling tofu.. meaning grilled tofu, tofu-fa (a dessert) and soy bean milk. EXCELLENT...
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You can tap your fingers at the Drum, no worries, why not? It's a Chinese restaurant and the staff are all Chinese so they understand what it means, but it's only really meant for tea / beverage service.
ANyone been to the Drum lately??
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I was in Hong Kong over the weekend, and dropped in to try the Iganiku Japanese Restaurant at the Four Seasons Hotel, IFC.
I'd heard good things about the sushi bar, so that's where we planted ourselves. First impressions of the dining room?? A little confusing. There were open stations, like Teppanyaki, Tempura, and Sushi, and the main dining area with a great view of the harbour, but it was noisy!! Too much glass and stone, and nothing to soften things down.
Sushi wise? I asked for Omakase and they obliged, although after 10 pieces or so, they stopped to ask if I was 'pau-pau' (whether I was full, in Cantonese). Heck no!! BArely touched the sides! So it went on till I'd swallowed around 24 pieces, before moving on to Wagyu and Tempura.
The damage came to HKD2100.00 or so for two, including a 300ml bottle of yummy sake. Not bad, considering they charged me the price of a deluxe sushi plate for the Omakase experience. They kind of whispered each description of the sushi so I never really caught what around 30% of what I was served was, but there was ample quantities of tuna, first class toro, uni and whitefish, which I'm really sure was sea bream.
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Wow.
Thanks Shin.
That is so... sad...
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Now this is what I call thread resurrection!!
I'm not in Melbourne at the moment, but recent stories about the place have been positive. I have relatives that end up there every now and then after trying out the latest fads, and for them/us, it's almost like a homecoming thing. You have to be away to fully realise what's so good about what you already know.
Just try to stay away from the lemon chicken and ask for what the Chinese folk eat.
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Hi Shinners!!!
Here's a tip for dry aging in the 'fridge courtesy of an Observer article I read where they quoted Heston Blumenthal extensively...
- use a plastic punnet but sized large enough to hold your steak or whatever piece of beef you're going to age. Failing the punnet, just use them supermarket meat trays.... these are good options because they are disposable... but...
-... if you're conscious about what you're throwing out and want to contribute to reducing the amount of garbage being pumped out of affluent countries/cities/whatevers, then just use a small plate...
-...then lay on a couple pieces of kitchen napkin/towel and plonk said meat on top. Beforehand you should make sure the meat-to-be-aged should be completely as dry as you can make it, especially if it's just out of a cryo-vac pack. Don't save on the kitchen towels in this process, just make sure you're using the unbleached variety if you're being conscious as described in the point above...
-...then cover the piece of meat loosely with another piece of towel and plonk the dish/punnet/tray in a not so cold part of the fridge... One of the middle levels should do, and leave it there for a couple days, or even a week, depending on your courage and resolve... A good experiment would be to age a few pieces of the same cut simultaneously and consume them at different times to see just how far you should go... personal record here of 2 weeks for a piece of skirt.. worked a treat...
-... some slight trimming of the meat after aging should be done for cosmetic reasons if you're conscious of those issues too, but otherwise, just bring to room temperature, and grill to just under medium...
YUM
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Hi fou... long time!! Hope you're settling in after what...almost a year now in Melbourne??
Anyhow, I digress... greetings all from Guangzhou, China..
I remember a place on St Kilda Rd, near 441 St Kilda Rd (don't ask me why I remembered that number, long story) on the Albert Park side of the street... Barbarino's... great ribs, but I don't know if it's still there...
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One can go fancy and try to dry-age the meat from the Asian butcher in the fridge before consumption/cooking I mean, after all, some people can eat their meat raw... hmmm.. weird day.... for me... rain... falling... outside... hmmmm
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The Wasabi Japanese restaurant at the Mandarin Oriental is very good. Pricey, no doubt, but if you're thinking Lafite or even Cilantro as possibilities, then Wasabi should make the list.
It's consistent and prepared dishes, as opposed to Sushi/Sashimi, are always of impeccable quality and presentation.
Having said all that, you do pay. Last time I was there, RM780 for 3 persons, including boat loads of sake though
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You'll definitely find skirt and flank steak at most Asian, read Chinese or Vietnamese butchers in major Australian cities...
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Did you have any fried kampung chicken??
I went to Jogjah (as some people call it...) not long ago, and actually ate better in Solo. I was guided by a local business associate that I met for the first time and it was Ramadan, so only ate one meal a day after sunset...
But the fried chicken... divine...
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Many thanks, as usual!!
Anyone else with ayam kampung goreng recommendations?
Over in KK, it's like... wow, pretty easy to get, but only at Malay stalls, which are outnumbered by Chinese and Kadazan-Dusun stalls, and surprise surprise, only 3 or 4 mamak places a'la Devi's Corner in the whole city!!!
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Touché...
I suppose if they ventured into territory involving fugu, or live manta ray or rare mountain goat's penis' the chap might get a call...
No white truffles this time 'round.
Will make it back for the uni...
And did I mention the burgers were tops? Sure you'd expect them to be, but hey. What a great combo, like a rossini in a bite... plenty of foie too.
Should also mention the wine pairings with the tasting menu, they gave me 4 californian wines, the most notable being an 01 Chardonnay that well... tasted like a riesling... an over ripe riesling...
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Was in HK for three nights, and braved the Atelier. To continue from previous posts, it came to a total of around $4500 for two. I had the tasting menu, and my partner went a'la carte...
The Uni Jelly disappeared too quickly before I could get a taste, but then managed to get a good quarter of the truffle tart... Truffle tart was good... the onion confit rocked... and the foie gras burger... very cool.
The tasting menu kind of blazed by, and while it held my attention, there was this one guy in a suit, so I take it he's a manager, behind the counter speaking endlessly with the couple next to us about each and every dish, deconstructing it down to like, how the fish is stored and how much it costs, and how the truffles are sliced, and how much it costs and so on... This is a little rant on its own, but I was amazed by how some people would rate their meal by the cost of each item. The couple left after leaving business cards and instructions to the manager to ring if expensive menu items show up...
Return to Melbourne...
in Australia & New Zealand: Dining
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So the Nobu machine has rolled into town. Yes, have tried the Ubon in London, and almost tried the Nobu in NY, and friends in France have been urging me on to try the one in Melbourne, but to be honest, I'm looking for less event-oriented dining (after spending recent months in Europe and having had a gut-full).
How's about notable eateries in and around the inner suburbs?