Tuesday, March 20, 2012

No bullshit @ Nobu, Crown Casino

Sushi plate at Nobu 
Some love to loathe Crown Casino, whilst others swear by it.  I lean towards the loathe side.  I love the restaurants (Giuseppe Arnaldo & Sons, Rockpool, et al) but pretty much hate the rest. Why?







  • I hate ending up back where I started when trying to take a short-cut through the gaming room;
  • I hate Club 23 for its tacky decor and tackier clientele;
  • I hate walking the death gauntlet on the Southbank promenade late at night;
  • I hate waiting in the endless line at the cab rank on Spencer Street;
  • I hate the tempting grease in mid-casino food-court; 
  • I hate not being certain whether the security guards are attacking or defending; and
  • I hate the fireballs mainly because I'm a red head and I think James Packer is mocking me in some way. 
Crispy Rice with Tuna at Nobu
I previously wrote that I loved Giuseppe Arnaldo & Sons because when you are there you actually don't feel like you're in the casino. Similarly in the Melbourne branch office of worldwide chain Nobu you can escape the hoi polloi and live in another world, you can almost imagine yourself on the Paris end of Collins Street!  Although, can you really?  We went on a Saturday night on grand prix weekend and the place was busy.  So busy that I was sitting back-to-back with an unknown acquaintance on the table behind me. But that doesn't faze me.  The crowd is a little different though, not quite the same crowd you would get at a Flinders Lane hole in the wall or a Gertrude Street eatery.  The crowd is not Melbourne, it more often than not, imported.  But I'm no xenophobe, so I won't complain about that.  
Miso Cod at Nobu
Beef Tataki at Nobu
Let's talk about the main thing here and that is the food.  Thanks to some very deft choices by our gracious hosts, we were able to sample an incredible selection of food from the Nobu menu without opening its cover.  
The first dish was Crispy Rice with Spicy Tuna which consisted of a deep fried block of sticky rice which you dip in a spicy fresh raw tuna mix. Very high quality, soft tuna, great level of spice and combined with the crunchy texture of the rice, this was a great starter.
Second up was Beef Tataki - this is a dish I could never get sick of eating, especially with such quality tender beef.  Third was a Black Cod Miso which was an incredible piece of fish with a sweet flavour topped with ginger.  Fourth was a bowl of miso.  


Fifth was Wagyu Gyoza - this was a really interesting dish as usually you would get pork gyoza.  The texture of the dumpling casing was spot on, the meat was really rich which made it hard to eat too many (and with a big plate of these in front of us, it made for a real battle between stomach and mind).  
Sixth was some sort of beef which was easily the highlight for me, perfectly cooked medium rare and so damn tender.  Seventh, and as the food coma was really starting to kick in, a big plate of mixed sushi was laid before us and this was easily the closest thing I've had to Tokyo sushi since I left Japan. 
Some sort of incredible Beef cooked to perfection
Overall, I would recommend going to Nobu but a couple of pointers - (1) If you are going on a date, it might be nice to sit upstairs rather than downstairs because there were a lot of big groups down there (which was fine for us but might be a bit noisy for something romantic) (2) Be prepared to spend - Nobu does not come cheaply and (3) Drive - you really don't want to be queuing for a cab home from the casino on a Saturday night. 

Nobu
Crown Casino Melbourne
Address: 8 Whiteman Street Melbourne, Victoria, 3000
Contact: +613 92927879
Website: http://www.noburestaurants.com/melbourne/experience/introduction/ 
Map: http://maps.google.com.au/maps?hl=en&tab=wl&q=Giuseppe%20Arnaldo%20%26%20Sons






Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Valentine's Day Guide

There was an article describing the perfect place to take a girl on Valentine's Day - a woman responded that if a guy to took her to Bar Lourinha and ordered her oysters she would surely be his.  


With the day fast approaching, I was thinking about where to take my significant other and I thought it would be helpful to list a few suggestions categorised by girl:


1.   For the sultry and sensual girl who wants to sit close to you while you share tapas
Bar Lourinha  (http://www.barlourinha.com.au/)
Alternative: On a warm night, The Aylesbury upstairs (http://theaylesbury.com.au/) or Anada (http://anada.com.au/)


2.  For the laid back, down to earth girl who loves rustic home-style Italian food
Bar Idda (http://www.baridda.com.au/) 
Alternative: Il Solito Posto (http://www.ilsolitoposto.com.au/) or for something more classy Becco (http://www.becco.com.au/)


3.  For the European girl who loves her family's home cooking but still wants to be taken somewhere her mother isn't working the grill
The Crimerian (http://www.thecrimean.com/)
Alternative: Borsch, Vodka & Tears (http://www.borschvodkaandtears.com/)


4.  For the girl who waits outside the house for delivery of The Age on Tuesday mornings so she can read The Epicure, thinks Broadsheet is the new New Testament, and wants to make her friends jealous about where she went for dinner
Attica (http://www.attica.com.au/)
Alternative: Ezard (http://www.ezard.com.au/) or Cumulus Inc. (http://cumulusinc.com.au/)


5. For the girl who you just met on RSVP.com and who you are brazen enough to take out for the first time on Valentine's Day
Maha (http://www.mahabg.com.au/) - dark enough so you look good
Alternative: City Wine Shop (http://www.citywineshop.net.au/) - casual but cool and if things go well, you can always head to Siglo to keep the night going. 

6. For the girl who will strangle both you and the waiter simultaneously if she gets an entree sized main and thinks share plates are for the underpriveleged
The European (http://www.theeuropean.com.au/)
Alternative: PM 24(http://www.pm24.com.au/)



7.  For the fashionable just alternative enough girl who whilst saying she might just want something "low key", would love you to impossibly pick that perfect place that is both understated and mind-blowing. 
Albert Street Food and Wine (http://www.albertst.com.au/)
Alternative: Rumi (http://www.rumirestaurant.com.au/)

8. For the girl who is taking her 2012 New Year's Resolutions 'life-and-death' seriously and accordingly flatly refuses to eat anything other than sashimi 
Kumo Izakaya (http://kumoizakaya.com.au/)
Alternative: Yu-u (google it for details)


9.  For the rich bitch who you're going to unceremoniously break-up with and walk out on after mains
Vue de Monde (http://www.vuedemonde.com.au/)
Alternative: Cutler & Co (http://www.cutlerandco.com.au/)


10. For the girl who simply says: "Fuck dinner, let's get a drink" 
The Everleigh (http://www.theeverleigh.com/)
Alternative: Eu de Vie (http://eaudevie.com.au/Melbourne/)

Monday, January 23, 2012

Yes Summer @ Scorched (17 The Esplanade Torquay)


Full time employment and summer were never friends.  There is nothing worse than sitting in an office breathing in re-filtered 22.3 degree air while staring out the window and seeing a sun soaked city ripe for the picking.  And this particular January may be even more difficult to be cooped up in the sky prisons, with most professionals returning to much quieter economic conditions than previous years.  So what should you do?  Dip into your precious annual leave and make the most of the glorious weather - not only will you be thankful, but your employer will be too.  
That is what I decided to do this week, having just returned from a few glorious days in the Torquay / Jan Juc region.  This is another fond place in my heart because it was where our family used to come for weekends to on the beach.  A lot has changed since then (not least of all I've dispensed with the fluro coloured rashy).  On the development front, some looks passable, others atrocious, note the monolithic Torquay golf club development towering over the course and no doubt obstructing some previously magnificent views.  

But on the plus side, and in addition to the stunning beaches, there is some incredible food available around this region so I strongly recommend a visit.  The lovely mother of our very hospitable 'host family' recommended 2 almost  diametrically opposite culinary items - (i) the deep fried dim sims at Torquay fish & chippery Flippin Fresh (a great hit but definitely not one for the calorie conscious) and (ii) the duck pies at the more up-market Scorched (outstanding - see below).


Scorched is the kind of place you walk into and pray the  signature dish isn't Oyster Kilpatrick.  By this I mean, the aesthetics here don't give anything away - it could be an incredible beachside restaurant sourcing exceptional local produce or it could be a run-of-the-mill gastro-bistro under new management.  Thankfully for us, it was the former.  On a sultry January evening, the extremely well thought-out middle eastern inspired menu made for much selection anguish amongst our team of 7.  

Here is the run-down of some of what we had: 
- Octopus salad, white beans, picked red onion & dill (photo 1)
- Beetroot & pistachio salad with whipped goats fetta (photo 2)
- Bastourma & baby tomato salad, housemade and ricotta & sumac (photo 3)


- Lamb kofta, hummus & tabbouleh (photo 4)
- Little duck pies, sweet cinnamon (photo 5)
- Dessert tasting plate (photo 6)

Although it might sound obvious and simple, we really appreciated that even though we ordered everything together, the dishes came out in 3 waves, the more meze lighter dishes first, the heavier meatier dishes second and the dessert last.  The highlight was by far the duck pies - they were the perfect segue between main and dessert with the light pastry and rich, almost pate like duck filling, covered with sweet cinnamon icing.  The highlight of the dessert was definitely the vanilla fairy floss.  Our group also made special mention of the service which hit the sweet spot of being attentive and friendly without being annoying. 

Overall in terms of middle eastern food, I recently ate at Maha in the city and a while back at Rumi in East Brunswick.  There is no reason at all why Scorched couldn't sit at the same table with these Middle eastern super powers.