Tasty tidbits, from fish and chips to duck parfait at IDES

Time for another blog amnesty post!  I wanted to share with you some westside and city dining highlights from the last couple of months.  First up:  IDES.

IDES is a pop-up dinner put together by mates and passionate chefs Peter Gunn and Lindsay Fush (second and third from the left above respectively), who met while working at the Royal Mail in Dunkeld.  Peter is now junior sous chef at Attica, while Lindsay is working at a local pub in Hamilton.  Late last year they formed their own catering business and then began to explore the idea of using their days off to host a pop-up tasting menu here in Melbourne.  You know how they say if you love what you do, you'll never work a day in your life?  These guys have obviously nailed it.

The menu is six courses of intricate yet playful food, a steal at $90.  It's at Tonik in Kensington, who provide drinks for purchase.  Sure, the space isn't nearly as classy as the food, but Peter and "Fushie" bring in all their own crockery and cutlery to enhance the experience of what's on the plate.

One thing I love is that with the exception of Raffaele Mastrovincenzo (front of house at Attica and wearing black in the photo above), the chefs do all the service, bringing out plates and chatting with you about their ingredients, technique and so on.

One of my faves was this exquisite duck liver parfait served with smoked salt, toasted black pepper and chervil, gorgeous heaped onto toasted bread.  I also loved a starter of an amazing, rich broth that was apparently only made with turnip, onion and mustard oil.

As of today, there are a mere 10 spots left for the next dinner on Monday, 23 September.  Book via the details above, and you can also check out the IDES Facebook page here.

Well, from the sensational to the...somewhat disappointing.  I was pretty stoked to hear that Dumplings Plus were opening a new branch at Highpoint.  If I'm stuck and starving, I'd prefer to have a choice like this rather than the usual food court suspects.

This wonton soup was spoiled, though, by absolute buckets of MSG.  Interesting exchange I had with a Chinese restaurateur recently, though - I said in my opinion restaurant X used too much MSG and he said, quite surprised, "You can taste MSG?"  I think it's like boar taint.  Some find it overpowering; others can't taste it at all.  Anyway, do try Dumplings Plus yourself - I'd go for the plain panfried dumplings next time.

What DOESN'T have a lot of MSG is this quite delicious beef pho from Green Leaf, Moonee Ponds.  We were so struck by its rich flavour yet lack of that particular "kapow" MSG denotes that we checked with the owner and there is only the tiniest pinch in a 20-litre stockpot.

Trying to convince a Footscray resident to go elsewhere for Vietnamese is like selling coal to Newcastle, but if Moonee Ponds is close to you, give Green Leaf a try.  Their prices are a bit dearer than Footscray or Sunshine but they have a lovely little story behind their business and their food is obviously made with care.  Their Facebook page is here.

Rockfish has changed owners and the word on the street is it's not the Rockfish we knew and loved.  I've been quite liking fish and chips from the very awesomely old-school Charles Street Fish and Chips in Seddon (67 Charles Street).

They have a really big range of fish, with ten choices including flathead, whiting, snapper, flounder and more.  Beer care of Seddon Wine Store.

With summer coming up, you could go and explore Point Cook Homestead.  It's quite odd to drive there, getting to the end of the glossy housing estates in Point Cook and suddenly being surrounded by fields and the odd horse, with the city hovering in the distance like a mirage.  The kids kept asking, "Are we in the country now?"  I didn't really know the answer.

You get the feeling they could do so much more with the space - there's a small but lovely old home that I think is mainly used for wedding photos, some empty stables, a herd of geese behind a gate and old farm machinery for the kids to play on.  The restaurant there is called Scrumpy Brown's and they do food that is not mindblowing but nice all the same.

Viz. this nice Caesar salad.  Lattes were pretty good too.

It's not far to scramble down to this lonely, lovely stretch of beach...

...and do some beachcombing.  (We put these back, of course.)  But do heed the warning signs of snakes - we nearly trod on a baby tiger!

Sicilian rosticceria at L'Angolo Italiano

This is a commissioned post by the Australian Mushroom Growers' Association for "Mushroom Mania".  The Mushroom Mania campaign is on for all of July 2013 and highlights the amazing mushroom dishes on offer at cafes, bistros, clubs, pubs and restaurants across Australia.  Check out their competition where you can win one of 40 $100 restaurant vouchers!  Full disclosure at end of post.

Imagine you've just landed in Melbourne and, wide-eyed, take the Skybus to the CBD.  Hearing of this city's marvellous food, you decide that what there is a lot of must be the city's most iconic food - and so your first meal in Melbourne is a Pie Face pie.  (What in the world do they use to draw those faces on - it grosses me out thinking about it!)  Luckily, if you applied the same logic when arriving in Palermo, I have it on authority your first meal would be a heaping plate of rosticceria - and your face would be a very happy one.

Rosticceria in Capri

Photo by Helen, available under a Creative Commons-ShareAlike licence

Rosticceria are carb-based snacks that are a Sicilian obsession.  Rosticceria (also the name of the shop) exist throughout Italy, differing between regions, but are basically always some form of "slow food takeaway" where food is precooked and ready to eat immediately.  In Naples there might be hot stuffed zucchini, in Venice creamy salted cod - but in Sicily it is all about the dough.

L'Angolo Italiano is Melbourne's first Sicilian rosticceria, where chef and owner Dario Montemaggiore makes every variety from scratch daily.  There are mini pizzas ("pizzette"), calzones, crostini (deep-fried ham and cheese sandwiches - OMG WOW) and crusty arancini (risotto balls).  For something sweet, there are Italian-style croissants (cornetti) filled with Nutella.

They are sold by weight ($30/kg, working out to about $1.50 each) and they are completely delicious!  In Sicily they might be eaten as a quick breakfast, or just a snack at any time of day.  At L'Angolo you can get two with a coffee for $5, or just get them to load up a plate with as many as you'd like.

Here's Dario, the chef and owner behind L'Angolo Italiano.  His father owned a rosticceria in Palermo and he has continued the family tradition here in Melbourne.  See how rosticceria are made with "Cooking with Dario" !

I had previously written about L'Angolo Italiano for Time Out, and thought Dario's rosticceria would be perfect for this year's Mushroom Mania campaign, put on by the Australian Mushroom Growers' Association.  Dario's other passion is homemade pasta, so I got in touch to see if Dario could whip up a mushroom special for me.

These pizzette or mini pizzas were loaded with creamy spinach, tomatoes and gorgeous, glossy field mushrooms.  Mushrooms, Parmesan cheese and tomatoes are just some of the sources of naturally-occurring glutamates, compounds that act like natural flavour enhancers.

Dario is a classically-trained Italian chef (one of his past jobs was as personal chef to the Italian ambassador in Budapest) and dough really is his passion.  Hot tip:  The printed menu at L'Angolo Italiano has a lot of "cafe classics" to appeal to the locals (think carbonara or big breakfasts).  Bypass it and look to the specials board, where Dario will always have a home-made pasta on offer - think squid ink linguini or classic Sicilian pasta with sardines.  This saffron pappardelle was deliciously al dente, the pleasantly thick pieces all tangled up with sliced button mushrooms.  I love that you can now get Swiss Brown button mushies in shops now - they have a richer flavour than their mild white button cousins that I grew up on.

Surprise extra dish!  Dario makes the piadina (wraps, essentially) in house daily.  Apparently they are a regular bread dough cooked in a pan like chapati - totally trying this at home.  They would normally be made up ready to go in the window but he zhooshed this one up.  The filling of mushrooms, tomatoes, cheese and sauteed spinach was nice but really I just wanted to eat the soft piadina by itself, it was so good.

Moonee Ponds has been a tough nut to crack for Dario and Lidia.  It's tricky as they feel they have to offer "Aussie" stuff like wedges but in my opinion that dilutes the Sicilian fare that is their strength.  Anyway, make the trip and try the rosticceria - it's fantastic.  Plus, did you know the tram from Footscray goes almost to their door?



L'Angolo Italiano (Facebook)
19 Pratt Street, Moonee Ponds
Phone:  9077 6735
Hours:  Tue-Sun 7.30am-5.30pm

Disclosure:  This post is the first in a series of two for Australian Mushroom Growers' "Mushroom Mania" campaign.  I had free choice of any Victorian restaurant and was required to choose at least one dish in which mushrooms were the "hero" ingredient.  I am being paid a flat sum for my writing which does not include meal expenses.  Reviews could be completed anonymously or with prior notice; I had previously completed an anonymous review of L'Angolo Italiano for another publication and chose to let Dario and Lidia know I was coming in this time.  Dario wouldn't let me pay for my meal but I insisted on leaving some money!  Australian Mushroom Growers and L'Angolo Italiano have not sought nor been given any editorial control of this post.

American-style sandwiches at New York Minute

A "New York minute" was explained to me as the time it takes for a New York cabbie to start honking his horn after the light turns green - as in, a millisecond!

New York Minute is a new cafe in Moonee Ponds doing cafe fare as well as three American-style sangers - pulled pork, brisket and Philly cheesesteak.

As someone married to an American, I am loving Melbourne's awakening in regard to American food.  Instead of lazy jokes about American cuisine being McDonald's, Melburnians are now increasingly savvy to and appreciative of American regional fare in all its full-flavoured, all-beef glory.

Pulled pork sandwich, $8

Pulled pork is a whole pork piece (often shoulder) slow cooked, perhaps in a very slow oven or 'Q, before being shredded, tossed with BBQ sauce and slapped on a cheap white bun with loads of creamy 'slaw.  I wasn't prepared for how delish New York Minute's version was.  True, the BBQ sauce was a bit one dimensional, being very sweet, and there wasn't nearly enough coleslaw, but gosh golly gee I enjoyed every bite.

Pulled pork is not hard to make at home.  It's not uncommon for people passionate about BBQ to make their own sauce, layering ketchup with brown sugar, vinegar and plenty of spice - there is a myriad of recipes online.  My favourite sauce for pulled pork, though, is a regional variation from North Carolina that's just apple cider vinegar, chilli flakes and black pepper.  With the rich meat and luscious, mayo-slicked slaw, it's a taste sensation.

Philly cheesesteak, $8

I have had a Philly cheesesteak - once.  I ate it in Philadelphia, and it was a gut-wrangling combo of sliced steak and craploads of melted orange cheese on a long white roll.  This cheesesteak didn't resemble that hometown version, and I have to say it was a huge improvement.  Tender, hot sliced steak, richly flavoured, with just a little melted cheese was delicious.

Brisket, $8 plus chips

Kenny was less enamoured by of his brisket sandwich.  It was served cold with a kind of relish.  Brisket is one form of American BBQ I'm not familiar with - it's big in Texas, which I've yet to visit.

Large chips, $5.50

Loved these chunky steak fries so much we had to order another bowl.  Perfectly crisp with seasoned salt.

Who would have thought this cafe in such a fly-over strip would yield such yumminess?  Western Melbourne, until our councils let the food trucks in and until the food trucks deign to come here, you can get your 'Q fix at New York Minute.

Thank you Kenny of Consider the Sauce for the tip, and lovely to meet Nat Stockley of Urbanspoon!



New York Minute
491 Mount Alexander Road, Moonee Ponds
Phone:  9043 1838
NB CASH ONLY


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Vicolo Risotto Bar

This is a sponsored post for Australian Mushroom Growers' "Mushroom Mania" campaign.  The Mushroom Mania campaign is on for all of July 2012 and over 2,000 restaurants are participating by putting delicious mushrooms on the menu.  Please see end of post for full disclosure.

Pizzeria, taqueria - so why not risotteria?  Vicolo is tucked away in Moonee Ponds and specialises in risotto.

From a somewhat uninspiring location off the Woolies parking lot, on a Tuesday it filled up fast with couples and families escaping the winter chill.  Vicolo has been open since 2004 and is very gluten-free conscious.

When looking at a menu, I often order what I would never or have no idea how to make at home.  Do you do this too?  So, duck - check.  Sous vide poached eggs - check.  My favourite Cantonese whole steamed fish with ginger - check.  Risotto largely falls into this category for me too.

Risotto Funghi e Salvia, $20.50

This mixed mushroom risotto was yummy.  Under a snowdrift of Parmesan grated tableside, a lucky dip of mushie varieties were ensconced in tender arborio rice.  I scored sweet little enoki, with tall stalks like tottering palm trees; fat, velvety oysters; and quartered, nutty buttons.  Fried sage leaves added a muted herby flavour.

Risotto Salsicce, $15 lunch special

Here, Italian sausage with fennel seeds and a good dose of chilli married well with sliced Swiss browns, their dark brown tops contrasting against creamy white flesh.  Delicious, comforting and just like wearing a big warm winter coat on the inside.

Pear tart, $12

Dessert was a lovely tug of war between pistachio panna cotta, orange creme brulee, good ole chocky self-saucing pudding and many other tempting tastes.  We went for this pear tart that was delicious, with tender pear halves on good pastry.  Caramel sauce, ice cream and icing sugar put it into sweet overdrive.

Vicolo also do pastas and daily-changing mains that abut the $40 mark.  A great deal is the $15 lunch, which gets you a plate of this winter warmer and a glass of house wine.  The best tip is that it's valid until 7 pm - Vicolo recommend aiming to sit down by about 6.30 pm so you're sure to order on the right side of 7 o'clock.

I know we love to have a whinge about the weather here in Melbourne (and believe me, when I got hailed on yesterday when it was sunny only five minutes earlier, I was doing more than having a whinge) but I say, 'tis the season of risotto, stew and other lovely slow-cooked things.  If you can't change the world, change yourself - embrace the season!



Vicolo
28-30 Young Street, Moonee Ponds
Phone:  9372 9500
Hours: Mon-Fri noon-3pm, Tues-Sat 6pm-9pm

Disclosure:  This post is the final in a series of three for Australian Mushroom Growers' "Mushroom Mania" campaign.  I had free choice of any three participating Victorian restaurants and was required to choose at least one dish in which mushrooms were the "hero" ingredient.  I am being paid a flat sum for my writing which does not include meal expenses.  The restaurants were not aware of exactly who was visiting and when but may have been aware that they would be reviewed at some stage over the course of the campaign period.  Australian Mushroom Growers and Vicolo have not sought nor been given any editorial control of this post.


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Chiba

Who would have thought that sushi would have become such a populist food in Australia!  Walking around Highpoint you can see many a squished sushi roll clutched in a toddler's fist (quite often that of my own kids).  What's not to love - sushi rolls are healthy, cheap and delicious.  It is important, though, to every so often remember that there is so much more to Japanese food than a chicken tempura hand roll and a fish-shaped soy sauce squirter.

Thank you then for the tip that led me to Chiba, a fabulous Japanese restaurant in Moonee Ponds!  I have come across a Japanese restaurant. Japanese-owned, serving AUTHENTIC, delicious food. Arguably one of the best in Melbourne... Chiba Japanese Restaurant, Moonee Ponds. Really worth the visit! said an anonymous reader.

Monday night, Christmas/New Year holidays - it will be dead, I thought.  Thank God we booked anyway as it was packed, with tables constantly turning over.  Complimentary edamame or fresh soybeans were delicious to start.  I know why these are the Hollywood starlets' snack of choice - they are so healthy yet tasty, much "meatier" than regular beans.

Osuimono, $5 and oskinko, $4.50

We bypassed the more ubiquitous miso to try something different, osuimono or "fish and tofu clear soup".  The soup was fantastic - a bright, clean, zingy stock base, I think made with dashi, a stock unique to Japan made by carefully boiling dried tuna flakes and a type of kelp (seaweed).  Inside the amber liquid floated juicy pieces of tofu, shiitake mushroom and white fish.  Between sips we crunched on a selection of pickles including purple, tangy and slightly sweet umeboshi or plums, sweet, fluorescent yellow pickled daikon or radish, and a dark green, salty and acidic gherkin-style pickle.

Entree sashimi plate, $13.50

Look at this plate of utter perfection.  The fish is the colour of delicate underwater coral, seemingly nestling between wavy fronds of green and white seaweed.  We mixed the wasabi with soy in our bowls and dipped each slice.  If there is anyone out there who has not discovered how good raw fish is, Chiba would be a great place to start.  While cooked fish has a not at all unpleasant flaky texture, the flesh separating in petals or threads, raw fish is more solid, more gelatinous perhaps - similar to rare steak.  The taste is actually much less strong than cooked fish.  Ah, New Year's resolutions - they are easy when you are dining on sublime, Zen-like Japanese food!

Nasu dengaku, $7

My favourite Japanese dish, fried eggplant spread with a smooth, sweet, white miso paste.  This eggplant was scored into diamonds, fried and then drizzled with sweet, nutty miso sauce.  With a bowl of gohan or short-grain white rice, it was divine.

Whiting tempura (entree), $10

Baby whiting fillets in that classic, ruffled tempura batter.  Good tempura batter is a mere whisper of crispness, merely clinging to the fish or vegetable.  These came with a "radish dipping sauce" that was very light and sweet.

Chiba have a lunchtime menu of noodle soups and rice dishes (which include a miso soup) that is exceptional value from $9.00 to $10.50.  There's an extra discount for takeaway.  A perfect coffee afterwards from Nabiha opposite would be just the icing on the cake.



Chiba
Address:  19 Hall Street, Moonee Ponds (map)
Phone:  9326 0248
Hours:  Mon-Sat 11.30am - 3pm, Sun - Thurs 5.30pm - 10.30pm, Fri & Sat 5.30pm - 11pm

Wheelchair

Small step to enter.