Why Hobba? @ Hobba (Vail Chowder House)

Out with the old and in with the new.  2011 was a massive year for the culinary industry with many exciting new openings throughout Melbourne.  For just one example, Asian inspired Melbourne powerhouse Chin Chin opened, where the secondary question to “how was the food” was always “how long was the wait?” (with the answer to both usually being “whatever, it was worth it”).  On the breakfast front 2011 saw countless new additions, see Coin Laundry in Armadale, Friends of Mine in Richmond and Pope Joan in East Brunswick – it seemed like the more new venues opened up, the longer the lines became. 

One of these new places was Hobba in Commercial Road, Malvern.  In typical new opening style, Hobba has been constructed in a generously sized stripped out tyre garage with minimal furnishings. I really liked the different seating areas comprising regular tables, larger share tables and my personal favorite, wooden booths.  I also thought the service here was outstanding and we dealt with multiple staff members and each were friendly, non-pretentious and helpful.  The coffee (5 Senses) was also exceptional.

On the downside, Hobba represents a trend in breakfast eating that I’m not particularly fond of.  Similar to a recent session at St. Edmunds in Prahran, Hobba has gone for the OTT-uber-gastro-gourmet menu e.g. "62.5c egg, asparagus, myrtleford butter poached salmon, goat’s cheese, pickled celery, apple, peas" which will set you back a lazy $21!  I know this is Malvern but this is only $10 less than a very decent main at one of Melbourne's top restaurants.

So my lovely companion ordered the bubble and squeak (fried egg, bubble and squeak, farmhouse slab bacon, roast tomato, brown butter hollandaise at $15.90) – she asked me what it was and I said it was basically something you would make yourself if you came home smashed after a massive night out and saw bacon, potatoes, eggs and onions in the fridge and threw it in the frying pan.  I expected it would look more glamorous here. And it was, I would describe it as precious (pictured left). 

Similarly the Hobba breakfast I ordered was equally precious (eggs, tomato, bacon, mushroom, cumberland sausage, sourdough grain & relish at $16.70 - see pictured below).  So precious it looked like the kitchen had measured each element of the dish so that it would not exceed the pre-ordained weight.  1 roma tomato 38 grams – check, 1 sausage 63 grams – check, tablespoon of relish - check, etc.  The bacon was undercooked, the bread relatively tasteless, the dollop of tomatoey relish scooped out of a Maggie Beer jar.  The upside was the eggs which were cooked at 65 degrees and come out somewhere between poached and soft boiled.

And this takes me to my point – before breakfast was cool it was a necessity.  You needed it to cure a hangover or you needed it because you were about to work a 12 hour shift on a building site.  I hate this trend of precious, delicate breakfasts that sound impressive on the menu but leave you asking “where’s the beef” (or bacon!). 

That leads me to wish a very solemn condolence to one place that knew what a real breakfast was – you would never leave this place hungry. Never.  For less coin than the Hobba breakfast, at Hepburn Springs’ Chowder House you could get freshly home baked sourdough bread (3 slices buttered), 2 poached eggs, shredded salty hash brown, lashings of crispy bacon, generous serving of spinach, multiple perfectly cooked mushrooms and 2 baked tomatoes.  This was a rustic big breakfast.  This would cure a hangover.  This is the sort of breakfast you would order before winning a war! 

Unfortunately after so many great breakfasts here, with exceptional hospitality and service, best non-city coffee, mornings doing the newspaper quiz with the rest of the diners, discussions about football and so many fond memories, Chowder House seems to have closed its doors.  So vail Chowder House and vail the big generous breakfast.  Might have to stick to the Bircher from here on in.

Got what you need @ Fitzrovia

Just as Collins Street has its Paris end (being the Spring Street side), so too does Fitzroy Street (being the St Kilda junction side).  It's amazing how different the street is once crossing Grey Street.  On the Paris end, the honour roll starts with Andrew McConnell's Golden Fields, upper market Chinese specialist Mahjong through to The Melbourne Wine Room at The George and Pizza E Birra on the opposite side of the street.  Cross Grey Street and the mood changes quite distinctively - Archie's, Leo's Spaghetti Bar and many others.  


In the month when North Korea farewelled it's dear leader, Kim Jong-il, the North and South of the Korean peninsula resembles the Eastern and Western parts of Fitzroy Street.  And when it comes to a Saturday night on Fitzroy Street, you sure as hell don't want to piss anyone on the other part of the street off, especially on the Eastern side (ask Ron Barassi).  Just like the South never wanted to piss off Kim Jong-il.  



Anyway, there was no such international brinksmanship on the occasions I visited Fitzrovia in the Paris end, adjacent to Golden Fields.  Fitzrovia's niche is that its produce is sourced from free range and organic ingredients with minimal food miles.  This place ticks all the boxes.  Hearty breakfast, leisurely catch-up, salubrious lunch, afternoon snack, early evening aperitifs or wholesome dinner. 


For lunch I had a Coconut poached Bacchus Marsh free range chicken salad with nuoc cham, cashews and snow pea sprouts (pictured above) - this is a dish I've had many times at Vietnamese restaurants but I feel like I never gave the dish much credit until I tried it here.  The chicken was supremely tender and the coconut flavour complimented the nuoc cham - a perfect Summer dish. 


My companion had Otway free range pulled pork shoulder ploughman’s, with Pyengana cheadar, Scotch quail’s egg, sourdough bread and  an apple, sour cherry and fennel chutney (pictured left). This was like a picnic with lots of different components, each excellent, especially the pulled pork.



The second trip was breakfast with a big group - in addition to the exemplary company, the coffee was as good as your top end places and the the food was impeccable (pictures left and below). 

Although we (being my initial companion, the Cook and I) did learn a valuable lesson - never publicly slander a decaf latte because the person next to you could have ordered it! 
Overall, I strongly recommend this place.  Great quality produce, friendly service and, one of my favourites, no 20 minute wait. 
On the left are free range poached eggs with House sugar cured Tasmanian salmon on sourdough with avocado and fetta mash and home made tomato relish.









This is Crème brulee French toast with vanilla poached pear, frangipani crust and rhubarb mascarpone.  

This is Istra Daylesford drycured bacon, smoked mozzarella and pear 
relish toasted doorstop sandwich.  This is like a croque monsieur on steroids. 

Boxing Dumplings @ Auntie's Dumplings

Boxing Day - notwithstanding the online shopping epidemic, we thought it best to avoid Chadstone on the 26th of December this year.  We had planned a nice venture out to Windsor to see what bargains we could track down and support the Occupy Christmas movement (i.e. the movement asking shoppers to support independent local retailers). Even though the Boxing Day cricket test was warming up, we had been sitting around eating since Xmas morning and thought it best to get out of the house.  But in true Melbourne fashion, the rains came and our plans were dashed.  What to do? Where to go?  Boxing Day - what's open?  Hmm....With a movie booked for that afternoon, we decided that the best way to kill an hour would be dumplings. 

My last blog about dumplings was from Yokohama near Tokyo where I experienced some incredible Xiao Long Bao dumplings. Since then, I have gone through countless plates of the delectable morsels throughout Melbourne.  There was a professional work lunch at Hutong's off-shoot China Red, there was a mid-week catch-up of old friends at Flinders Lane dumpling strong-hold North East China Family and of course a late evening snack at Hutong itself.  Dumplings are now, and have been for a long time, an integral part of the Melbourne culinary experience.  

What about non-Melbourne CBD dumplings?  My experience so far has been limited.  But I was recommended Auntie's in Koornang Road, Carnegie and was told to prepare to queue.  Fortunately this Boxing Day, the rush for dumplings was not as manic as the Myer's rush for discounted underwear.  We walked straight to a table.  

In typical dumpling house tradition, the place was squalid with all the atmosphere of an opium den (if you were in China, and the place was empty, you would walk past) - dirty plates strewn everywhere, waiters run off their feet and service demanded not offerred.  But that's what you expect so you don't complain about it.  The junkies in an opium den don't care about the decor - they are there for the goods, and at Auntie's the dragon being chased is ingested, rather than inhaled (although sometimes you may think otherwise).

We shared steamed beef dumplings, steamed chicken & prawn (perfectly cooked, light pastry, reasonably good quality stuffing) and Shanghai mini fried pork buns (lightly fried, very generously proportioned, and overall excellent).  

Auntie's rates highly on the dumpling scale, probably behind Hutong but definitely well in front of North East China Family, Shanghai Village and China Red.  Do you have any other dumpling suggestions, particularly non-CBD? Happy to hear them!