Ora Cafe, Pakington Street, Kew

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The Age Good Café Guide Awards named it Best Food Café

The Age Good Café Guide Awards were announced in June. One café which garnered an accolade was Ora, located on Pakington Street, Kew. It was named Best Food Café.

It has been a while since I enjoyed a weekend brunch. With James being away, I lacked someone to have weekend brunch with in the far flung places in Melbourne. So when he agreed to have brunch, I immediately seize the chance to suggest Ora since the menu looked rather interested and it had received fairly good reviews. 

The drive to Kew was rather pleasant, though it was bit further than expected. Apparently it is about nine to 10 km away from the CBD area. During the drive, James made a passing comment that he wouldn’t mind purchasing a house in Kew if he were to settle down in Melbourne.

We arrived at Ora after a twenty-something minute drive. Thankfully there wasn’t much of a queue. We had the option of doing al fresco along a long bench, but we decided against doing so and opted for a table inside. The space is rather compact. Apparently it seats about 50 people or so.

 

James was thinking of ordering the peri peri pork roll as it seemed more substantial. But I guess he was more intrigued with the Spiced Tiffin Egg – Bombay Hash, Kasundi, Cashew Crumb. I opted for another of Ora’s specials – Prawn Toast – Avocado Whip, Lime, Sesame and Poached Egg.

 

Prawn Toast is an Asian style dish. It was interesting to pair with a poach egg and with avocado. It was like a east-west marriage, or an East-West fusion kind of dish.

 

I was generally satisfied with this dish. The creaminess of the avocado went well with the thick fluffy prawn toast. However the poached egg seemed a bit out of place in this dish though I do enjoy having an oozing yolk drench my bread. The taste/sweetness of the prawn could be a bit more pronounced. I would have liked that the café would be more generous with the prawn paste. The sesame lent a nice crust to the dish. The accompanying salad was tangy and appetising, but I enjoyed the presentation of the dish with its beautiful colours.

 

The Spiced Tiffin Egg also came beautifully displayed with a runny yolk reminiscent of the eggs that accompany ramen. It somewhat reminded me of a scotch egg, except that the yolk is much running. The cashew crumb crust wasn’t too hard. I would have to commend the chef for the execution of this dish. It takes a bit of effort preparing the egg. However, this dish isn’t as substantial as the prawn toast.

 

I had also ordered a flat white to start off the meal. The coffee was okay, I just found it lacking a bit of body and depth.

Is Ora deserving of the award for Best Food Café? It’s probably rather subjective. But the tiffin egg and prawn toast certainly allows Ora to stand out amongst the various brunch spots in Melbourne.

IL DOLCE FREDDO (LYGON STREET, CARLTON)

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Rated highly on TripAdvisor

I love ice cream. My quest for specialty ice cream in Singapore has taken me to many places – Fanny Ice Cream, Merely Ice Cream, Daily Scoop, Ice Cream Chefs, Scoopz, the now defunct Nelly’s Ice Cream. Creamier, Udders, Island Creamery, Shrove Tuesday, some ice cream place in Bedok North, and Salted Caramel…amongst which I rate Salted Caramel, Creamier, Fanny, Island Creamery and Daily Scoop as my favourites.

Therefore it is no surprise that my gelato quest/hunt in Melbourne continued with Il Dolce Freddo. It has been rated highly on TripAdvisor and has been named one of the best gelato shops in Melbourne. At this time of writing and posting, it is currently No 1 on TripAdvisor list of restaurants in Melbourne.

I had ordered three scoops of gelato – mango sorbet, tiramisu and rum and raisin. I had also tried the coconut pandan during a taste test. The taste of the coconut and pandan was rather overwhelming, and definitely more defined and pronounced than Gelateria Primavera. However, the bright green can be a bit of a turn off if it is artificial coloured. If you are into exotic flavours (not to exotic if you’re Singaporean), there is the durian gelato available.

Dolce means sweet in Italian and the gelato here did live up to its name – not in a bad way, but it provided a sweet end to a evening on a high note. The rum and raisin gelato was generous with its rum-soaked raisin. The mango sorbet was still creamy without being runny. The tiramisu flavour was decent.

Deciding on which gelato is the best is really subjective. I still like Pidapipo amongst the lot I tried. Not that Il Dolce Freddo doesn’t live up to reviews or hype, it is still one of the better artisan, non-chain gelato shops around. It is still milky without being overly cloying or rich, but I feel it lacks a certain silkiness as compared to Pidapipo. That’s just me. But still, this place is worthy of repeated visits to satisfy one’s gelato craving.

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There is more to the Middle East than just unrest and conflict.

   Mention ‘Middle East’ and that would conjure images of camels, sand dunes, sheikhs, oil, spices, and the terrible words of ‘war’, ‘death’, and ‘conflict’. Indeed the Middle East is hotbed of conflict these days, that the word cuisine and food might take a step back in one’s thoughts.

I am so glad James is back from his travels. Having him around is fun, he is willing to try food, and he has a car, making it possible to venture out further from the CBD area for meals.

But the blessing of having a car can turn out to be not a blessing at times especially when one is trying to find free parking in popular spots on Saturday nights. I had initially settled on a place in Fitzroy, but finding a spot to park proved to be a pain, so we headed out to Brunswick instead where the same unable to find parking problem persisted. It took about 10 minutes of circling around Lygon Street before we were able to find a spot.

Rumi was our first choice, but I was momentarily distracted by wanting to dine at 400 Gradi. However it turned out the place was full and a seat would only be available at 930pm. So we headed back to Rumi.

The ambience in Rumi was rather soothing, inviting and classy with its dimmed lighting. Its emphasis on its Middle Eastern roots could be seen with Arabic words in frames around the restaurant. According to its website, it was opened by a husband-wife team who puts a contemporary twist and approach to reflect Levantine and Persian flavours.

This is my first time experiencing Middle Eastern cuisine other than the usual kebabs, so it proved to be an exciting experience for me.

The freekeh salad –almonds with ewe’s milk feta and pomegranate dressing (recipe available on Rumi’s website) was simply appetising. The salad was bathed in olive oil and there was a sweet and sour tang to the dish owing to the vinaigrette. The saltiness of the cheese, the sweetness of the raisins and the crunchiness of the raisins lent a nice mouthful and flavour to the dish.

 

The fried cauliflower – caramelised onions with currants and pine nuts might sound ordinary, look ordinary or unappetising due to its appearance, but it certainly was a crowd pleaser, at least for both James, and myself. The cauliflower was marinade in spice and cooked to a slight crisp. However, eating the cauliflower on its own, is just like eating cauliflower and nothing memorable, but pairing it with the onion relish and currants brought a layer of sweetness to the dish and uplifted an ordinary, simple dish.

 

The fish curry in Iranian style was in my opinion a little disappointing. The fish portions were a little small and did not really soak in the flavour of the curry. It seemed a little divorce. The taste of the curry evokes Indian curry/curry fish head. Perhaps it is due to the tamarind used. In retrospect, I should have opted for the lamb instead, but the last few times James and I had dinner, we had ordered lamb, so I kind of wanted something different.

 

Overall, it was a great dining experience, and a nice first experience with contemporary Middle Eastern cuisine. I would be back for more.

 

Joomak, Swanston St, Melbourne

A very hidden place 

Located in a basement of a four or five storey building along Swanston St, and with no visible sign indicating its presence, Korean restaurant, Joomak, is one of those blink and miss places.

It’s been a while since I sat down for an average Korean meal. The last time would be Hansang during the Lunar New Year holiday back in Singapore. While I had Korean food during my house hunting trip in Melbourne, it was a disappointing dining experience that I was about to swear/write off Korean food here in Melbourne.

But thankfully, Joomak restored this battered confidence a little.

When we reached there, it was a full hose and we told that there won’t be a table until 8.30pm. But after negotiating with the wait staff, we were allowed to have dinner at the bar counter which turned out to be quite a good idea.

The menu’s fare is pretty standard. Nothing really outstanding that caught my eye.My dining partner and I ordered three dishes to share. The first was a kimchi stew with tofu and pork. The stew had a robust flavour and I could not help but to lap up the liquid. The portions of meat silvers were pretty decent. It was a comforting dish on a chilly, wintry night.

The next dish was something called braising chicken. On checking with one of the staff, he told my partner and me that the chicken is cooked and simmered in a sauce. It came with a spicy or non-spicy option. As my partner could not take too spicy after the kimchi stew, we stuck to the non-spicy option.

The chicken wasn’t bad. The chicken drumlettes were cooked in a soy type of sauce I believe and was serve with potato and carrots. It was pretty decent, but nothing to shout about. I would have preferred the more intensely flavoured Peranakan-style Pongteh instead on a cold night.  

The kimchi jeon (pancake) with seafood sealed the deal for me. I love Korean style pancakes after discovering it in Sydney. The best Korean pancake I had ever eaten would be at Sydney Madang. I am salivating just thinking of it.

Joomak’s version is decent. It was crispy on the edges even though it was rather thick – at least thicker than a thin-crust pizza; the crisp remained even though it was left untouched for a while as I focused on the other items. It wasn’t oily and there was no taste of batter or flour due to the pancake being undercooked.

One gripe I have about Korean restaurants here in Melbourne is the lack of banchan or side dishes. My experience so far with the Korean restaurants is that they serve two, maybe maximum three side dishes, one of which would be the standard cabbage kimchi. It’s refillable of course, but compare to the four of five side dishes I receive in Singapore, I can’t help but feel a little disappointed.

Nevertheless, Joomak did leave a fairly good impression on me, in part due to the pancake and the stew and I would be willing to try the other items on the menu in the future.

SHANGHAI STREET (LITTLE BOURKE ST, CHINATOWN, MELBOURNE CBD) AND NEW SHANGHAI (EMPORIUM, MELBOURNE CBD)

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A tale of two Xiao Long Baos

 

(L to R) Xiao Long Bao from New Shanghai and Shanghai Street 

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the best of Xiao Long Bao, it was the worst of Xiao Long Bao.

Shanghai Street 

Diane had been craving for some Xiao Long Bao that Saturday evening and she decided on Shanghai Street. We ended up at the branch on Little Bourke St in Chinatown. There are two other branches – one at La Trobe St, and the other on another part of Little Bourke St. 

Shanghai Street apparently offers one of the best Xiao Long Bao here in Melbourne. I had eaten at the La Trobe St branch once with a friend. So this marks my second time at Shanghai Street.

I had not been to Shanghai so I’m unable to comment how authentic the Xiao Long Bao is compared to those in Shanghai. My only reference would be to Din Tai Fung in Singapore and Paradise Dynasty.

Don’t expect a myriad of flavours at Shanghai Street a la Paradise Dynasty. You won’t find any No truffle infused Xiao Long Bao, or cheese-infused Xiao Long Bao or the likes. Xiao Long Bao is just Xiao Long Bao. We had the Nan Xiang Xiao Long Bao. The Xiao Long Bao here is not a picture of daintiness. It’s not petite nor demure. But I guess its selling point would be the plumpness, and being packed with porky goodness. However, this girth comes at a cost – the skins are a bit thick to hold the filling, which may cause some alarm bells amongst purists or those who like the skins thin. But nothing beats biting off a bit of the skin, and then slurping the rich broth that is so reminiscent of the precious first dew of dawn.

 

The Hong You Chao Shou or Sichuan pork dumplings in chili oil was given an interesting and liberal interpretation here. Instead of the just the peppercorn chili oil treatment, I believe that peanut butter and crushed peanuts were added. It wasn’t numbing. But I found this version rather interesting as I lapped my dumplings up with the peanut sauce.

 

The Pan Fried Dumplings or Sheng Jian Bao is essentially the pan fried version of the Xiao Long Bao. The skin is much thicker here than the Xiao Long Bao. Don’t eat it when it is just served or you may scald your tongue and throat. It was juicy and one could just slurp the juice. There was a nice char taste of flour which I liked.

 

Overall the meal came to about $15 per person. This was really an affordable meal and I found the food better than average.

New Shanghai

My next Xiao Long Bao adventure led me to New Shanghai at Emporium (Melbourne) after seeing Diane’s pictures.

The Xiao Long Bao here is like a slim China doll. It did well in terms of taste. The broth was flavourful and robust. The skin here is thin than Shanghai Street. My dining partner didn’t seem impressed by the Xiao Long Bao here though. However, the flavour here seems muted [less salty] as compared to the other dishes that we had ordered. 

The Pan Fried Buns were a little burnt and charred. My dining partner didn’t like it. But It had a nice crisp when I took a bite out of the buns. I must say that the flavour is a little on heavy and salty side.

 

But the biggest let-down, or possibly what set the tone for a less than perfect dinner was the Shanghai noodles with meat and vegetables. It was served first, and boy was it really salty. It was probably one of the most salty noodles I ever had in my life. Avoid this.

 

At this end of this tale, which Xiao Long Bao would you prefer? The plus size chick or the slim model? For me, I would still go for the plus size chick anytime, any   day.

Gelateria Primavera (Spring Street, Melbourne)

Interesting flavours

In my research for the  best Melbourne gelatos in Melbourne, I chanced upon Spring Street Grocer or rather Gelateria Primavera, just located at the Eastern end of the CBD, just opposite Parliament House.

I don’t know about you, but unlike some who faithfully stick to just one flavour no matter which ice cream shop they visit, I like variety. But that’s also my weakness – I would always encounter a difficult time a long and hard struggle in choosing the flavours I want. I am attracted to the novel, but like the tested and traditional…life’s pretty complicated when it comes to choosing ice cream isn’t it? But secretly, I would like to try all the flavours in one go, but even though are no constraints on the wallet, there are constraints on a certain line.

Anyway, my first encounter with Primavera was after a meal at The Imperial. Primavera is just a stone’s throw away from The Imperial. So it made for a good excuse to head for some gelato.

The prices are $5 for one flavour, $7.20 for one to three flavours and $8.20 for one to four flavours…can’t remember. But having overspent on dinner, I had to settle for one flavour, so I opted for something rather novel and unique – the cardamom, saffron and pistachio.

The gelato was milky and smooth, but I felt it lacked something – maybe it could have been milkier. Meanwhile the cardamom, saffron and pistachio blend had a nice spice to it which remained in my mouth for quite a while. There were bits of pistachio embedded in the gelato. I can’t say I like this flavour very much.

My second time at Primavera was on Monday after a night’s out with some classmates at Mamasita (I won’t be blogging on this as I didn’t take photos). I was craving for some gelato and decided to stop by Primavera (since I was already on the east end) on my walk home. I decided to go for a more Asian flavour – coconut pandan. This flavour didn’t disappoint. It was aromatic and tasted like kaya (coconut milk and egg jam scented with pandan leaves). Both the taste of the coconut and kaya was pretty pronounced and I felt I was back in the tropics of Singapore.

My third time at Primavera was last Saturday. I decided to go for three flavours. I had a taste rest of the rose lassi which I didn’t particularly take to. Instead I opted for rice pudding vanilla raisin, hazelnut and the non-dairy dark chocolate orange.

I enjoyed the rice pudding flavour with the speckles of vanilla bean and specks of rice. The dark chocolate orange was fulfilling without being too cloying. The hazelnut was decent.

While Primavera’s gelato may not be as luxurious as Pidapipo, it is certainly one of the more decent artisan gelatos in the CBD area that is worth a visit every now and then. 

Coconut House (Elizabeth Street, Melbourne)

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Not nuts about this place

At a friend’s suggestion, we went to Coconut House along Elizabeth Street for dinner.

It serves Malaysian-Singapore style food. I can’t remember the exact menu except for Laksa, Wanton Noodles, Pan Mee with curry other curry dishes. The eatery itself is small and appeared rather dingy, reminiscent of those shop house eateries in Singapore. At least it brought back some sense of familiarity.

I ordered the nasi lemak set with fried chicken. It came with a drumstick, an omelette with a runny yolk, ikan bilis (anchovies), peanuts and sambal chili.

The price at $8.60 is decent for Australian standards, but I could get this for four dollars in Singapore.

The nasi lemak was decent. The rice was infused with coconut, though I felt the flavour could be a little more intense and fragrant. I would have preferred to see more separation of the rice grains. The fried chicken was sorely lacking in crispiness. It could probably do with a bit more spice in the marinade.

I really liked that they served the nasi lemak on a banana leave. The ikan bilis and peanuts were crispy and crunchy. The sambal chili had a nice kick to it. Overall this dish satisfied by pangs for Singapore food.

I also ordered the chendol (not pictured here). It was good as a thirst quencher but it lacked the punch of what a solid chendol should be – the lack of quality Gula Melaka, a little diluted with the coconut milk and the chendol bits were probably ready-made than made in store.

Overall Coconut House is a decent place to have decent Singapore/Malaysian food at decent prices.

Universal Restaurant (Lygon St, Carlton)

Huge chicken parma. A value for money joint.

 

At the suggestion of my dinner partner, we headed down to Universal along Lygon Street. There was a short queue, but it moved pretty fast, and we were soon ushered into the restaurant within 15 minutes.

What caught my attention was this brown statue which I thought was St Clare, and after enquiring turns out to be that of Mary.

My dining partner and I order a Chicken Parmigiana and a small Meat Lovers pizza to share between the both of us.

 

The pizza wasn’t fantastic. It was dry. The only saving grace would be the amount of processed meat slapped onto the pizza.

The size of the chicken was a bit of a nice surprise. It was my first time eating chicken parma in Australia. It was crispy. The meat was still tender and wasn’t dry, but it somehow lacked juice. I probably enjoyed the beer battered chips more.

Based on these two dishes which came to about 26 or 27 for two, Universal is one of those value-for-money places where you could enjoy a hearty meal without bursting one’s wallet.

You can’t say you have had the complete Aussie experience if you miss out on a chicken parma at a pub.

 

I have always turned my nose up to chicken parmigiana or chicken parma.

Perhaps I think it’s just pub grub…nothing too exquisite, exciting or exotic that the pretentious foodie in me would like. It’s probably as humble and common as the chicken wings that our Singapore PM Lee Hsien Loong queued up for at Redhill.

Or maybe I just think chicken parma is artety clogging and fattening. Breaded fried chicken breast + cheese + ham = recipe for putting on weight.

Eventually, I succumbed to chicken parma. Many cafes, restaurants, pubs, food courts, eateries have this on the menu (unless they’re fanciful or pretentious). Australia is just crazy over chicken parma.

The most important thing about chicken parma is size. It needs to be big to be that satisfying. The chicken breast is then breaded and crumbed and fried. The crumbs should be light, crispy with a nice orange/gold hue. The tomato sauce or Napoli sauce should be tangy and piquant enough to balance out the melted cheese with a gold hue and the fried chicken. Some places would add in a piece of ham, although this is arguable whether it is necessary.   

For the Singaporean – think chicken parma as your chicken cutlet slathered with cheese, Napoli sauce.

After last week’s chicken parma at Universal (which I will blog about in another post), I was left craving for chicken parma. Well, let’s just say, I didn’t want to wreck my brains on what to eat, and since T suggested going to a pub, why not? It was between one in North Melbourne and The Imperial at Bourke Street (the end). After checking out the menus, I thought The Imperial was more appealing and so The Imperial it was.

According to the website, The Bourke Street Imperial is the third oldest pub in Melbourne. It screens sporting games so it gets pretty crowded during such telecasts. It was when I arrived at around 7 on Saturday but we managed to get seats.

I had the pub’s specialty –The Imperial Parma (Hand crumbed chicken breast fillet topped with champagne ham, basil infused tomato ragout, and two cheeses served with beer battered fries and cherry tomato, rocket & parmesan salad). I washed the heaviness of the meal with a cider.

While the chicken parma didn’t look as massive as the one at Universal from last Saturday, it certainly made up in terms of taste and quality.

I’m not saying Universal’s was bad. The chicken was crispy and succulent. It was neither too soggy on the parts where the cheese was slathered on, nor did it feel too bready or dry. Thankfully the ham wasn’t too salty and the cheese wasn’t overpowering. The sauce added a nice kick and tang to the chicken so it didn’t require additional condiments or sauce. Oh, and I enjoyed the beer battered fries. Best chips ever.

 And a trip to the pub without a drink? No way. The cider was a nice refreshment with just the right alcoholic content to pair with the grub and for chilling on a Saturday evening. 

At $25, it is however a little pricey, but overall, the meal was satisfactory and I enjoyed the chicken parma very much. Not bad for a pub grub, and to bring myself a few notches down to enjoy simple everyday common nosh.

Pidapipo, Carlton, Melbourne (now closed)

A pop-up gelato shop. Parting is such sweet sorrow. Adieu...So long…till we meet again in September.

By the time this post is published, Pidapipo would have sold its last scoop of gelato.

Pidapipo was meant to be a “test kitchen”, “test lab” or a pop-up shop. It opened last December along Faraday Street in Carlton.

I was first introduced to this place by Diane when I had dinner with her a few weeks back. And I had wanted to return here ever since, before it shutters down.

According to articles on the internet, the owner, Lisa Valmorbida, who has Italian roots, headed all the way to Italy, spent some number of weeks there to complete in an intensive gelato course at a gelato university, following which she spent some time working in a gelateria. She hopes to bring an authentic Italian gelato experience with traditional Italian flavours and quality ingredients.

So far I have tried four flavours over the two visits – Nutella swirl (which is Nutella drizzled on top of a fior di latte which is really just milk – no additional of vanilla or any other flavouring; peanut butter, Bacio (Hazelnut and chocolate), and Crema, rhubarb and vincotto swirl.

The texture of the gelato was smooth and creamy, but not too overly rich. It also looks natural – and not artificially coloured. I’m not sure if this is close to the real thing in Italy – it has been a while since I had gelato in Italy, but this gelato is definitely one of the better ones around Carlton.

Above: Bacio and Crema, rhubarb and vincotto swirl

I enjoyed all the flavours – particularly the Bacio for the taste of hazelnut, the Nutella swirl, the generous drizzle of Nutella uplifts the fior di latte, where you could really taste the milk and cream and in unadulterated form. I like the Crema, rhubarb and vincotto swirl as the sharp, tart and tangy taste of the rhubarb bits helps to balance the creaminess of the gelato.

Above: Nutella (Nutella over Fior di latte) and Peanut butter

At $4 for a scoop, $6 for two scoops and $7 for three, it is still rather affordable and good value for money, product wise. I would miss you in the meantime. Hope to see you again soon.