The Grand Hotel, Richmond

Currently Melbourne's only pub with a Chef's Hat...

www.grandrichmond.com.au 

Attica again - Chef's Table

This is still one of my favourite, low key, unpretentious restaurants in Melbourne - Attica.

Gold finger potato, olive oil, pickled onion

WA marron tail, egg yolk, chorizo, wild cabbage leaves

Blue eye, shitake, quinoa, radish

Berkshire suckling pig, broccoli rape, beetroot pickle, watermelon

Strawberries, candied almonds, lemon balm

Excerpt from August 24, 2010 Chef's Table:
"None of these dishes have been produced before..." ~Ben Shewry

Chez Olivier

The agency that I work at had previously done some work with Olivier in the past and it made me curious about the self named 'Frozzie' (French-Aussie) Chef.

Bread starter

Les Escargots

Steak Frites

 

Cassoulet A La Jacky

(Traditional dish from the region of Toulouse with Olivier's duck confit - definitely the highlight!)

Ile Flottante
(First time I've ever had meringue that was poached - served on creme anglais - SO YUMMY!)

- T

"Escargot - Nobody is sure how this got started. Probably a couple of French master chefs were standing around one day, and they found a snail, and one of them said: 'I bet that if we called this something like "escargot," tourists would eat it.'  They had a hearty laugh, because 'escargot' is the French word for 'fat crawling bag of phlegm.'" ~Dave Berry

Vanilla Cakes & Lounge

My brother currently lives in Oakleigh so we decided to take the family to a local (and very busy) greek-style restaurant for dinner. The food was average, and although they offered a very wide selection of desserts, I don't think it would be a place I would recommend if you are looking for more than a coffee & catch up with friends.

Steak, chips, salad

Seafood linguine

Moussaka

Fish, chips, salad, tartare

The place does get busy, so dinner bookings (especially during the weekends) are recommended.

Vanilla Cakes & Lounge
17-21, Eaton Mall
Oakleigh

-T

"The Greeks' fierce pride in their heritage has kept the basic culture intact. Whether a slave under Roman rule, a captive under Turkish domination, or a newly arrived immigrant, the Greek is always aware that he is the direct descendant of men like Plato, Homer, Aristotle, Demosthenes, Aristophanes. The Greek who begins life in a new land on the bottom step of society as a dishwasher needs only to remember how Aesop left a legacy of poetry while cooking as a slave." ~Theresa Yianilos

Las Chicas... again

I'm going to stop blogging about Las Chicas because I go there so often and always end up eating the same few things!

What I posted in May and June.

-T

Nobu

For coffee & dessert...

Green tea trifle mousse, vanilla brulee, almond & coconut meringue, milk chocolate ice cream, lime & vanilla foam

Tofu cheesecake, green tea crumble, berry compote

Mochi - Japanese handmade rice cakes - in green tea, strawberry & azuki bean flavours

- T

"Life is uncertain.  Eat dessert first."  ~Ernestine Ulmer

Maze by Gordon Ramsay

The foul-mouthed chef's first Australian restaurant...

We had the 7 course degustation menu

I am obsessed with good bread. Served here with sea salt and seaweed butter.

Marinated beetroot with goats curd, Cabernet Sauvignon vinaigrette, toasted pine nuts

 Seared yellow fin tuna, white radish, yuzu, enoki mushrooms, black garlic 

Applewood smoked kingfish, fennel purée, pickled celery, globe artichoke, finger limes

Pan seared scallop, caramelised kelp, samphire, mussels, Champagne foam

Roasted quail, black olive caramel

 Pan roasted barramundi, butternut squash, compressed cucumber, pumpkin seeds

 Lamb cannon and shoulder, cauliflower purée, anchovy, stinging nettles

 Exotic fruit vacherin, passion fruit and banana sorbet

 Maze “lamington”, rosella jam

Petit fours - Bite-sized balls of strawberry ice cream dipped in creamy white chocolate!

 Complimentary Maze after-dinner sweets to take home

Love,

T x

"Great restaurants are, of course, nothing but mouth-brothels.  There is no point in going to them if one intends to keep one's belt buckled."  ~Frederic Raphael

Dainty Sichuan

Known for extremely spicy (and yummy) food...

Left: Spicy, sour salad Right: Cucumber in sesame oil and garlic (served cold)

Clear glass noodles stir fried with minced beef, chilli, spring onions - my fave!

Spicy fish paste egg plant

The only other dish with no chilli - stir fried chicken with mushroom, onions & veg

Spicy crab

Spicy lamb

Hutong Dumpling Bar

I've been wanting to blog about this fabulous dumpling place for awhile now.

I admit, when I first entered what looked like a clean, upmarket restaurant and was promptly greeted by a friendly smile, I immediately regretted making a booking.

A real, authentic dumpling place should be dirty, run-down and have atrocious service...

 ...or so I thought.

 The customary fresh ginger in soy.

Vegetarian dumplings.

Xiu Long Bao (soup dumpling) is what the restaurant is most famous for. SO YUMMY!

I originally thought that soup was somehow delicately piped into a pre-made Xiu Long Bao, but I have actually been told that solid meat gelatin is instead wrapped inside the dumpling and melts into soup during the steaming process.

Pork dumplings.

Mapo Tofu - A chinese dish from the Szechuan province. Tofu cooked in a spicy chilli and bean sauce with minced pork and spring onions.

Claypot style eggplant and scallops.

Fried long beans with salted pork bits - my second favourite to the Xiu Long Bao!

Spicy salt and pepper chicken ribs.

We are already making plans to return for their Peking Duck - a dish we couldn't help noticing other tables order. Oh, and despite what I've read online - service was polite and efficient. I had no complaints whatsoever.

Hutong Dumpling Bar is part of the boutique Cullen Hotel on 162 Commercial Road, Prahran. The venue is open for lunch and dinner seven days a week and bookings are recommended.

Cheers x

"When it comes to Chinese food, I have always operated under the policy that the less known about the preparation the better." ~Calvin Trillin