Taste of Spain at MoVida

Movida
1 Hosier Lane, Melbourne (map)
9663 3038


Through the magic of twitter, I found out about an event being held by Rathdowne Cellars in conjunction with MoVida and Scott Wasley from The Spanish Acquisition: lunch at MoVida accompanied by 13 rather special Spanish wines, $120 per person. I took along my father Rumpole as a birthday present, which he loved - the wine tasting notes in this post are his. :)


The restaurant was completely booked out (in record time too - I had to go on the waiting list to score two seats, but luckily they were able to fit us in). We were seated on a table with Eatnik and her +2, and we had the pleasure of meeting the lovely Kate from the blog Eating Melbourne.

I'd previously only visited MoVida at night... I like the way the sunlight filters in from Hosier Lane.


We started off with two cavas. Both 2006 Raventos i Blanc (D.O. Cava Vinos Espumosos (Penedes)): 'L'Heuru' Reserva Brut (light bodied; pale; limey nose; lacks acidity; flinty dry; pleasant hot weather wine (for breakfast?!!), 15) and then its tinted sibling, 'L'Heuru de Nit' Rosé (pale salmon; strong bead; again a limey nose; ow acid, easy drinking - more mouth-filling, 15.5).

The first tapa was the bouqueron, a pickled white imported anchovy skewered on a pincho with flat leaf parsley, a crouton and a slice of raw garlic. HELLO.


From D.O. Sanlucar de Barrameda, the Delgado Zuletta 'La Goya' Manzanilla (dry and nutty as a manzanilla should be; more mouth-filling than in the past, 16+), which Rumpole and I last tasted at the MFWF Cumulus Inc Oyster Class.

La trucha del océano: ocean trout cured in salt and sugar, served with juniper berry, beetroot cocotte and horseradish cream. One of my very favourite dishes - it was bursting with flavour.


Three wines that arrived at once were the 2008 Orden Tercera Verdejo (D.O. Rueda, nice gold; slightly sauvignon nose; so-so palate, 15-), the 2008 Pazo San Mauro Albariño (D.O. Rías Baixas (Condado de Tea), v. clean (austere); bone dry; some acidity; improved once it warmed slightly, 16) and my favourite, the 2008 Capçanes 'Mas Donis' Rosat de Garnacha (D.O. Montsant, lovely pink; floral; light but good grunt; very drinkable; happy to justify price, 17+).

I hadn't had this sensational anchoa dish at MoVida before: a hand filleted Cantabrian artisan anchovy splayed on a crouton with capers and - wait for it - smoked tomato sorbet. Yep. Wouldn't have thought it would work, but it totally did. The soft pulpo (octopus) was slow cooked sous vide, for 90 minutes at 62 degrees, and placed on a kipfler potato pedestal.


Here we have the two slow cooked meats: the one on the left was the last of the tapas, the one on the right was one of the raciones. De tenera con atún (left) was veal cheek that had been braised for two hours, served with cubes of yellow fin tuna and piquillo pepper. It may look a little dry but the meat was wonderfully moist and threaded with generous ribbons of fat.

The cabrito, baby goat, had been slow roasted for six hours until it was just falling off the bone. Served with carrot, celery, onion.


My favourite of the raciones was probably the espárragos, which was gorgeous in its freshness and simplicity. Confit green asparagus with jamon serrano and slooooow cooked eggs (four hours at 62 degrees).


Teamed with the cabrito and espárragos were the first three reds: the 2008 Artazuri Garnacha (D.O. Navarra, lovely perfumed nose; crystal clear garnet colour; mouth filling blackberry fruit; very good wine at this price, 17), the 2007 Telmo Rodriguez 'Gaba do Zil' Mencia (D.O. Valdeorras, rather flat, bland wine; lacks acidity; finishes rather dull; stewed prunes on nose, 15) and the 2008 Telmo Rodriguez 'LZ' Tempranillo (D.O. Rioja (Rioja Alavesa), barnyard nose; quite flat on palate; nice balance of briary/blackberry fruit and acidity, 15.5).


I liked that the two "vegetable" dishes, the espárragos and the menestra, both came with jamon serrano. The latter dish was fairly simple, consisting of spring vegetables braised in tomato. And the final savoury dish was yet another slow cooked one: carne de wagyu (9+), intercostal, braised, served with Jerusalem artichokes.


Three more wines from Rioja: the 2005 Remelluri Reserva Tempranillo (Rioja Alavesa, single estate pioneer in Rioja, highest vineyard in Rioja, minimal handling, French oak, elegant; sweetish nose of blackberries and raspberries; traces of leathery tempranillo characteristics; beautiful wine, 17), the 2006 Artadi 'Vinas de Gain' Tempranillo (Rioja Alavesa again, unfiltered, unfined, aged in new French oack, modern style, utterly elegant; "like a Prada frock"; lovely balance of fruit and acidity; terrific wine, 18.5+) and the 2005 Roda '1' Reserva Tempranillo (Rioja Alta, blue-black; liquorice; tannic; mouth-filling; elegant; aristocratic; superb wine; some capsicum on the nose - but what a nose! 18.5).

After our meal, executive chef Frank Camorra came out of the kitchen to introduce us to new MoVida head chef Dave Roberts (former head chef at Movida Next Door - I understand the chef rotation is due to the imminent opening of Bourke Street restaurant MoVida Aqui). Dave talked us through the menu. Scotty from Spanish Acquisition rounded off the event by talking us through the final wines.


The pan con chocolate was a fudge-like block topped with a fennel biscotto and an unusual olive oil sorbet. It was matched with the final wine, a sherry: Sanchez Romate Moscatel 'Ambrosia' (D.O. Jerez, toffee nose, with delicious prunes; big style; dried berry undertones; quite acidic undertones - but needed for forward sweet fruit; not as cloying as PX - finishes slightly dry).


A wonderful combination of food and wine. The wines we tasted were of course all available for us to order (at special prices): contact Rathdowne Cellars if you like the sound of any of them for yourselves...

Beast on a Block at The Point

The Point Albert Park
Aquatic Drive, Albert Park (map)
9682 5566

Sorry, vegetarians: very lambflesh-focused post today!


I'm afraid I'm not the first (or the second) to get around to writing up this event, but despite my tardiness and the interwebs duplication I couldn't resist writing up the AMAZING dinner I was invited to the other week, along with a small group of other Melbourne food bloggers.

The venue was The Point on Albert Park Lake, our host was The Point's executive chef Scott Pickett and on the evening in question Scotty broke down a whole side of lamb before our eyes, talking us through each cut of lamb and how it should be prepared. We then took turns popping into the kitchen to watch Scotty's team plate up one of the courses, and we tried to flesh out the deliberately minimalist menu above by guessing all the ingredients in each dish. So much fun!


I was running late because of a rental inspection that started behind schedule and a Swan Street discretionary taxi FAIL, but the others very politely waited for me to arrive (whilst sipping glasses of bubbly) before we went on a tour through the elegantly-appointed restaurant, behind the scenes into the kitchen and downstairs to one of the meat fridges. Those small red beasties hanging in the photo above are hares.


As Scotty took to the "stage" at the head of the table, we each yummed down a few Kumamoto oysters, freshly shucked and served natural.


The lamb Scotty was breaking down (using a very impressive Swedish steel Mizuno UX10 knife from Japan that had his name engraved on the side in katakana - !!!) was about 6-8 weeks old. It arrives weighing about 6.5-7kg (8-10kg when it was alive).


Scotty took us on a tour through the hindquarters, the forequarters, the rack, the saddle, the neck, etc etc. I loved how, when preparing a crown roast, he peeled back the flesh halfway off the ribs then sat the rack flat so that it looked like a prickly stegosaurus (above left photo). :)


The first official course on the menu was the king salmon: confit New Zealand chinook salmon posed on a dollop of goats curd, accompanied by a Chinese Lantern petal and three types of egg, each more decadent than the last: a quail egg cooked for 2 mins 15 seconds, salmon roe and Osetra black caviar. A potage Parmentier (warm Vichyssoise) was poured over the top. Spec-tac-ular.


I got to sneak into the kitchen to watch as the next course was cooked and plated. Unlike some other bloggers I've never worked in a restaurant (if you don't count the six months of lacklustre waitressing I did at the age of 16 in a rather dreary eastern suburbs French restaurant - I don't), so going behind the scenes was a rare treat for me. The huge vats of stock bubbling away had to be seen to be believed.


Finishing off the chicken in a pan and plating it up. Scotty said that he was inspirated for this dish by his local charcoal chicken joint.


It was a centre cut of roasted chicken wing, stuffed and caramelised with shallots and cream and an emulsion of potato and black truffle. Served on a crispy pumpkin gnocco and topped with a trompette (black death) mushroom. The swoosh of field mushroom and butter puree was stained with squid ink. A flavour EXPLOSION, I tell you.


Next up was butter poached Western Australian marron, fois gras parfait, sprinklings of salmon roe and black Cyprian salt, Chinese Lantern petals, cubes of apple jelly and a drizzled Sauternes reduction. It was a sort of richly-flavoured, "glammed up surf n turf".


Such cute Chinese Lanterns! I should also point out that the charming French sommelier was treating us to some truly lovely wines: the De Bortoli Yarra Vally Reserve Release 2007 Chardonnay was a great match for the food, and I lingered over this Haut-Médoc Bordeaux - the Chateau Tour du Haut-Moulin Cru Bourgeois Supérieur, 2001. Another very, very honourable mention goes to the Dr. Bürklin-Wolf Wachenheimer 2007 Riesling.


And now for the most important dish of the night - the lamb! On her blog, Sarah included a fantastic annotated photograph of this dish, with all of the parts labelled. From left to right, we have the kidney wrapped in jamón ibérico; a single clove of organic garlic confit and topped with a cherry tomato on (off) the vine; pomme fondant topped with glazed shank and an asparagus spear; half a globe artichoke topped with ramp/cannon/cutlet; a single broad bean; crumbed lambs brain sitting on a sauce gribiche; and finally the braised lamb neck in a ras-el-hanout spiced brik pastry spring roll, with curly whirly potato blanched, wrapped around it and deep fried. Modestly titled "a taste of new season lamb" on the menu, this dish was a show-stopper.


Mercifully, our palates were given a chance to breathe then refresh with the pre-dessert: a small tumbler of vodka and cranberry jelly, topped with basil foam and granita made from San Pellegrino blood orange aranciata and limonata. Loved it, particularly the basil vs cranberry and the foam vs ice textures.


Two different desserts were brought out for alternating guests, but Jack and I wisely decided to share two between us. For the pineapple dish, some of the pieces had been charred with a blowtorch, the others had been done sous-vide with chilli and their natural juices, then caramelised. There was also yoghurt ice cream, sprinkled bikky crumbs, colourless ginger jelly, baby lemon balm shoots and decadent coconut cream in tuille rolls. Tiny liquorice dots on the edge of the plate finished it off beautifully.


The other dessert was soft Valrhona chocolate and chestnut tortellini filled with ganache, served with coffee ice cream, chocolate and chestnut mousse (hidden under the ice cream in the photo below), caramelised pear and a foam made from French-imported tonka beans. Of the two I preferred the pineapple - the contrast between the two types of pineapple rocked my socks. Plus I was a complete sucker for the matching Muscat de Beaumes de Venise.

To well and truly finish us off a range of petits fours were brought out: salted caramel chocs, plum jellies and little musk marshmallows.


Once the banquet was finally at an end, several of us kicked back for a further few hours with the chef, laughing and talking food and knocking back stout (I liked the one I had from the Bellarine Brewing Company, brewed with Portarlington Blue Mussels). Scotty, himself an occasional blogger, is completely passionate about food and the sharing of food knowledge. Thanks a million Scotty for hosting us!


The other food bloggers and I dined compliments of the house on this occasion, but you'll be glad to know that many of the dishes we had are available on the current "Tasting Point" menu, $95 per person or $155 per person with matching wines. Do yourself a favour and try some of these amazing dishes while they're still in season!

Two coffee cafes, south side

In the space of two weeks I visited two separate and equally coffee-focused cafes south of the Yarra. These are their stories. CHUNG CHUNG!

Crue Coffee Lounge
194 Toorak Road, South Yarra (map)
9827 5058


When I recently tried out the new Outpost by St Ali Aaron suggested I also check out Crue, located only a stone's throw away on Toorak Road. Crue has been operating since about the start of the year and is also very much a coffee-focussed cafe where food plays second fiddle.

Coffee fetishists can enjoy watching their coffee (one of the many single or mixed origins on offer) being ground, poured and served via the live video camera feeds on the screens behind the counter. When I went in with Mum and Dad, we had coffees made from beans a customer had brought over from London coffee house Flat White.


While the food may play second fiddle to the coffee, we were all very taken with our brunches. Mum loved the taste (and the presentation) of the bircher muesli with poached pear, banana, kiwi fruit and antioxidant juice ($10).


Dad attacked the huge serve of baked eggs with masala spiced du Puy lentils, spinach and scented raita ($14). My order was a perfect hangover cure: dukkah spiced fried eggs with organic Merguez sausages, rocket, flat bread and roasted tomatoes ($14.50). Both dishes packed plenty of punch.


There were two other details about Crue that I loved. One was the blackboard of brainteasers, which is updated weekly. Answer all the questions correctly and get a free coffee.


The other detail I loved was next to the three group Synesso machine - a jar of dog biscuits. :)



Dukes Coffee Roasters
169 Chapel Street, Windsor (map)
9521 4884


Last Sunday I was meeting the divine Miss S for brunch (before she jets back overseas to continue her showbiz career). I suggested we try Dukes, which had been recommended to me by Jack. Dukes is in Windsor, just a few doors down from Borsch Vodka & Tears, so I strolled down from Richmond in the sunshine.

As you can see from the photos, the Dukes roaster is right there in the back of the cafe, and coffee paraphernalia abounds. I wanted to have a siphon* coffee, but the blondie serving us said they couldn't oblige so I settled for a latte instead.

* Can a nice coffee geek explain to me whether I should be spelling it siphon or syphon? I've seen both spellings used more or less interchangeably online - is there a distinction? Or a stylistic preference?


I rapped Miss S over the knuckles for ordering something as boring and unexciting-for-the-blog as poached eggs with a side serve of bacon ($13.50). I was hoping she'd try something like the buttermilk pancakes with vanilla bean mascarpone and citrus segments in a toffee syrup, or the sweet potato and corn fritters with crispy pancetta, spinach and harissa mayo! :)


I wasn't in the mood for eggs, so on the strength of Jack's recommendation I ordered the burrata on ciabatta toast with asparagus ($15). So glad I did! The fresh, vividly-green asparagus (don't you just love springtime?) tasted fabulous with the creamy, mozzarella-ey cheese and a squeeze of lemon. A great brunch dish.


When we visited, Dukes was PACKED. Blondie waitress apologised when she took our order, saying the kitchen was a little behind and that there may be a wait of about twenty minutes for our food. I appreciated that she told us upfront, and we weren;t bothered by the subsequent wait - it's all about managing expectations, eh?

Best Friends Brunch at Provenance (Collingwood)

Provenance Restaurant + Bar
288 Smith Street, Collingwood (map)
8415 0700


Provenance Restaurant + Bar (on the Collingwood-not-Fitzroy side of Smith Street, and not to be confused with the more formal restaurant of the same name in Beechworth) was the venue of choice for a recent impromptu brunch with three of my very favourite people in the world: best-friend-K, Schatzi and housemate DJ. Schatzi's partner M and their beautiful baby boy were also in attendance. I'd never been to Provenance before, but heartily approved of their tempting brunch menu and pressed metal ceilings.


Oh, DJ. Despite a massive night and very little sleep (and with a blood alcohol level that could still be accurately described as "festive"), he was still bouncing around making witty conversation, wearing my (womens) sunglasses and hiding behind pot plants. Play 'Spot the Housemate'!

DJ ordered the breakfast special, the Green Eggs and Ham ($14). They'd run out of the advertised asparagus, so substituted beans. Nice big dollop of pesto.


I ordered the mushrooms and peas with hazelnut, ricotta and thyme salad ($13). I'm not normally a big fan of peas, but I'd remembered someone writing positive things about this dish on Twitter so I ordered it. Glad I did. The ricotta and mushrooms blended nicely, and the hazelnuts were a lovely subtle touch.


B-f-K wanted something sweet, so chose the French toast with apricot, fig, maple yoghurt and hazelnuts (also $13). They like their hazelnuts at Provenance!


As well as being a reliable source for decent coffee and brunches on Smith Street, Provenance hosts a series of interesting-sounding degustation dinners based around key ingredients, eg "Get Fig'ed", "Quince This, Quail That" and "How Mushroom is Too Mushroom" (the last one was recently reviewed by Fitzroyalty). I'm keen to head down to one of these dinners soon.

The next event is a goat degustation this weekend (see site for details) called "Something to Goat About". It's being advertised using a photo of the most adorable soft-eared kid you've ever seen - awwwwww!

Parisian macaron degustation / get over it, George

Just a quick update tonight, mainly to show you some food porn photos of the INSANE Parisian macaron degustation that Essjay shared with a very lucky group of food bloggers on Monday.

We were at Gastronomica, the hugely enjoyable gastronomic trivia night run by Slow Food Melbourne. This time round it was held at Matteo's (where we ate very well - these days, the Matteo's menu is a whole lot more cosmopolitan than when I last visited several years ago for an Italian birthday banquet for Nonno). There was a table of us food bloggers at the quiz night and I must say, we romped it in! It was only the first time I'd been, but I'm looking forward to going back next time to help defend our title.


Anyway, Essjay was fresh off the plane after weeks of gastronomic delights in Spain and France, and our jaws dropped when she arrived at Matteo's carrying a Pierre Hermé bag that kept disgorging boxes of macarons, like clowns climbing out of a tiny clown car.


The round box was from Pierre Hermé, the small box from pâtisserie Sadaharu Aoki and the large box from Ladurée. In terms of looks, the Sadaharu Aoki macarons won hands down, but in terms of taste my favourites were probably the ones from Pierre Hermé.

Mellie (of Tummy Rumbles fame) and I had heaps of fun doing a side-by-side taste test of salted caramel macarons (my favourite flavour!!) from Pierre Hermé and Ladurée, and we decided the Pierre Hermé was superior.


The Ladurée flavour that I was excited to try cos it sounded so interesting, but that I decided was better in theory than in practice, was the apricot with white balsamic vinegar. The violet one from Sadaharu Aoki was pretty special though.

Only two and a bit weeks until my next trip to Sydney - looking forward to going back to Zumbo for some of his macarons!


Oh, and for those who missed it, George Calombaris made some rather snide and childish remarks about food blogs in an article about Melbourne food blogs in yesterday's Herald Sun. Kate from the blog Eating Melbourne wrote up an excellent post in response, which mirrors my sentiments exactly!