Melbourne: The Best Soy Chicken @ Pacific Roast House, Lonsdale St.

A delicious Chinese roast is always up there amongst my list of comfort food.  Imagining crispy roast pork crackling, juicy roast duck, and garlicky Kailan with piping hot rice simply gets me drooling!  Pacific Roast House on Lonsdale St. serves a delicious Soy Chicken feed in town, and they are not shy the flaunt it.  With a full bird close to $40, it was easily the most expensive Soy Chicken in Australia.  A full bird at Good Fortune is only $24!

At Pacific Roast House however, the common protein is transformed in to a perfectly caramelised bird with a tender flesh.   Its skin is silky smooth  and I cannot help but feel terribly impressed by the Soy Chicken served at Pacific BBQ.  The colour itself just looks extremely tantalising.  To add to the glory, its accompaniment the ginger is generously formed and sautéed to perfection.  Salty, mildly pungent and extremely fragrant, it gingery flavours could easily make anyone eat a bucket of rice!

The duck here though is only mildly impressive when compared to the likes of my home favourites Good Fortune Roast house and HK BBQ house in Perth.  Nevertheless, it was not a bad eat.  Just nowhere near as outstanding at the Soy Chicken they serve.

Pacific Roast house has always been a good eat since my first time there 7 years ago, but never a good host. Unfortunately, if you frequent places that serves awesome roast, sometimes part of the dining experience is the attitude; bad ones where hospitality feels a bit more like hostility.  The waiter comes up with little courtesy and offers drink the typical way you get asked in HK.  It does not go “Would you like a drink?”, instead it will be “Drink!?”.  It just cracks me up knowing how many people suffer a culture shock coming to Pacific Roast House.  But a veteran eater knows that this is no more than a norm.  In saying that, it does not necessarily mean I agree!  Just that I expect it!

WenY

Melbourne: Brunches of 2014 (Breakfast Thieves)

Breakfast Thieves, Fitzroy

With my homies arriving from Perth, it was definitely time to reach out to more interesting places around Melbourne.  After a mediocre experience at Hammer & Tong, I was in not in anyway keen to return in the limited time I had.  But fret not, hipster suburb Fitzroy had plenty more on offer.  For today’s brunch, Breakfast Thieves situated just off Smith Street on the leafy Gore Street was our host.

Brunch at the Breakfast Thieves on cool Friday morning could not get any better.   Considering that it was a quiet day, the service was gratuitous and prompt.  The hot chocolate here was quality but not as stellar as the one I had at Architect & Heroes.  In saying that though, I could do with the $3.50 price tag any day!  For breakfast we had:

THE LEGEND: Spicy baked eggs with spanish chorizo, mushrooms, green peas, corn & feta served with herbed garlic toast

The cliché, with a little more swag is the right way to describe the Breakfast Thieves version of baked eggs.  The herbed garlic toast that came with it was a good enough reason to order this dish.  It has been a long time since someone served me an interesting carbohydrate on the side!  The smokey chorizo flavours through the goey yolk and tomato base paired well with the creamy, almost neutral feta.  Yummy!

LEPRECHAUN: Corn fritters on roasted fennel puree, burnt butter brussel sprouts, avocado mousse, pomegranate and raisin with poached eggs.

The highlight of the brunch at the Breakfast Thieves was probably the fritters.  Mildly crisp on the outside, fluffy on the inside, really there was nothing to hate.  Its fennel puree was seasoned well and every thing just seemed to complement each other really well.  Oh, do I even need to mention its picturesque plating too? Probably too obvious.    I do not normally harshly compare restaurants, but this really shames the fritters at Hammer & Tong big time.  Sorry bud.

THE BREAKFAST CHAIN: Quince & apple, almond crumble with triffle berry yoghurt, side of soft-boiled eggs & English cheddar melted soldiers.

A green chain with what I would consider a decadent vegan option is something AC ordered.  Needless to say, I was impressed and never would I imagine that something like that could be vegetarian!  Tasty soldiers for dipping were so good I ate it on its own!  However, the eggs here were a bit of a 50-50 as one was perfect whilst the other was overcooked.  But with two other sweet options  on the side, it was hard to stay disappointed for long!

The name Breakfast Thieves is definitely not representative of its prices but rather, how I would be willing to let this establishment play thief to my mornings if I become a Melbournian.  Its barely secluded location on a leafy street means that there was a lot of value in just the ambience itself.  Its food is far from the modern breakfast gastronome but what it does, it does well.  Really well in fact.  I would not like to talk this up because after all, hype kills.  Breakfast spot in Fitzroy?  Done.

Operator 25, CBD

Hardware Société, CBD

Hammer & Tong, Fitzroy

Seven Seeds, Carlton

LE MIEL et la lune, Carlton

WenY

Melbourne: Brunches of 2014 (LE MIEL et la lune)

LE MIEL et la lune, Carlton

A short track through the Carlton hills for a morning walk with my little girl Daisy means I was ready for a good breakfast.  Today’s brunch was at LE MIEL et la lune, a French sounding cafe situated just a few steps away from the busy Lygon Street.

At 9am, the venue was not overly crowded allowing a prompt yet welcoming service from the  LE MIEL et la lune breakfast crew.  Add that to a menu that is long and elaborate, it looked to be a promising morning.  But coming here solo means my choices are limited to one.  I learned the hard way when I ordered a pad thai and a beef salad all for myself just a day earlier at Ying Thai 2!

That morning, I wanted something special so I went for an extravagant French toast.  The one at LE MIEL et la lune came topped with bacon caramelised bananas, crushed pistachio and butter scotch.  Absolutely scrumptious.

Buttery brioche, silky thin butterscotch, and perfectly caramelised bananas sets the standard for the most orgasmic first bite.  The addition of the bacon can be likened to adding salt in a chocolate cake. It enhances the flavour.  Here it played the same role.  Textural wise though, I was not overly impressed.  Too damn soft =/.  Soft bananas, silky butterscotch, and airy toast was perfect but all that was missing was a few slices of extremely crispy streaky bacon.  I would have preferred that over the pieces of lean and limp ones! A personal preference I guess?  

So pretty!  This easily rivals or betters the one served at Gusto Food in South Perth. 

LE MIEL et la lune served me an indulgent meal today.  So many indulgences all on one plate, of which almost every element was done to perfection.  I was happy.  Very.  Any unhappiness would almost relate directly back to the fact that I was alone and could not sample the other awesome dishes like the pork hash, fritters and even the Korea inspire Gnocchi.  It was time to stop dreaming now.  

Operator 25, CBD

Hardware Société, CBD

Hammer & Tong, Fitzroy

Seven Seeds, Carlton

Breakfast Thieves, Fitzroy

WenY

Melbourne: Brunches of 2014 (Seven Seeds, Carlton)

Seven Seeds, Carlton

With a name more synonymous to that of an artisan coffee roaster, this was the last place I expected to find a brunch spot.  Last winter, I stumbled across this little institution about 200 steps from my friend’s abode in Carlton and had been keen to try it ever since.  Was their highly rated coffee as good as their brunch?  I headed there with XL’s housemate, KK to give the place a try.  He told me to expect a very healthy brunch which got me sort of concerned.  But without trying I would not know right?!

Housed in a refurbished warehouse, it was a busy place at 8am.  More interestingly,  diners are invited to see the Seven Seeds production line made in a room encased with glass.  More than half the space was dedicated to that whilst the kitchen felt no smaller than 10 squares max!  But hey, sometimes the smallest kitchens make the best food no?  Drinks here are fine, but the hot chocolate was not life changing one.  So duh right?  Its was a coffee place after all!

For my brunch, I decided to go for the WelshRarebit.  Imagine a toasted bread topped with a tasty cheese, and mildly pungent mustard mixture before being grilled momentarily to melt.  If you are a fan of both cheese and mustard alike, you would find that this was an absolute beauty.

Before I dug into the dish, I realised that Seven Seeds paid strong attention to detail.  On my dish, "fried poached eggs" sat on the rarebits with a refreshing mixed green leaf salad fixed atop. Altogether it looked sensational.  More importantly, this was not sickening in anyway as everything complemented each other well.  I am actually quite surprised that several greasy elements can come together without being cloying!  

While mine was not one of the healthier options, the Green Eggs was KK’s choice.

Whilst I had just a very little piece, it was yummy!   Nothing really outlandishly special but hard to dislike.  Perfectly poached eggs, well-presented and simple.   My only regret was perhaps not paying more attention to the sauce.  Was it a pesto?  Was it a chimichurri?  Or perhaps an avocado mix? 

Handmade crumpets with coffee-infused butter, toasted hazelnut crumb and coffee caramel was something I decided to share with KK to end our meals.

As a person who does not drink coffee, I actually enjoyed this sweet ending of mine for several reasons.  First off were the soft and fluffy crumpets which made eating a bliss. No knife or fork required here.  Additionally, the use of coffee gave this dish a lovely smell which made my senses tingle.  Lastly, its composition of which was sweet, salty, and fragrant altogether with the crunchiness of the crushed nuts was simply yummy!

Whilst I am unwilling to commit to saying that Seven Seeds is the best brunch in town, it would not be too far off.  Its casual yet relaxing environment makes this a likeable place to dine while still being conveniently located within walking distance from the city.  Add that to Seven Seed’s fair prices and well-prepared dishes like the green eggs, the Welsh Rarebit and coffee-infused crumpet, it was hard to say no!

Operator 25, CBD

Hardware Société, CBD

Hammer & Tong, Fitzroy

LE MIEL et la lune, Carlton

Breakfast Thieves, Fitzroy

WenY

Bites: The 7am breakfast, Architect & Heroes @ Subiaco

Waking up between 5 and 6 in the morning during my holidays sounds like an absolute waste after a long period of grinding.  Nevertheless, the term breakfast soon becomes something very relevant and interestingly rewarding.  My first morning at home was a breakfast date with my sister at Architects and Heroes.  This geek themed hipster-ish place in Subiaco has a cosy fit out which walls are graced by the many characters in comics.

My morning staple switches between a choice of tea or chocolate.  In this instance, it was the latter and I was glad to have ordered the hot chocolate here.  It is easily one of the best cocoa drink in town if not the best.  It tasted mildly sweet with a good cocoa intensity and more importantly, a smooth creamy consistency.  Give me a cup any day and I will gladly drink it up. 

Almond Croissant, what is there to dislike?

My initial choice for breakfast was the steak but the kitchen ran out of cooking oil or something. Taking a second look at the menu, I decided to go with a serve of green eggs.

Taste wise, the green eggs were really nice and the eggs were cooked well.  It was a shame that the yolks were not runnier.  My biggest dislike though was probably how the layout & presentation did not complement the eating.  I would have liked the slabs of ham placed on the toast before letting the eggs lay sexily on the toast and have the lot oozing with the green sauce.  Why the whinge?  The sauce was distributed quite poorly across the board leaving the dish quite dry at the end. =/!

Architect & Heroes is a promising cafe with heaps of potential left to tap.  Just not that morning whilst I was there.  As is, a little boring.  But with more attention to detail, and some TLC amongst the elements on the plate, this suburban eatery can propel itself to heroic proportions.  But its ok, most heroes never looked cool in their first costume anyway!  Better luck next time :P!

WenY

Bites: Modern Izakaya @ Bonsai Restaurant & Lounge, Northbridge.

During Halloween the canteen tried serving Teriyaki, I never knew a dish could be so relevant to a theme until I ate the Teriyaki Chicken they made. It surely was Halloween.  To help regain some comfort, I revisited one of the best Modern Izakaya in town, Bonsai.  Located on Roe St, this is my go to place which I visit for modern Japanese fusion that never leaves you walking out with a limp wallet.  My recent meal here was no different.

To start, we ordered a chicken salad topped with crispy wanton skin (extra $1.00).  Looking back at my previous posts, I labelled the salad here as a “convert” and this time around, it was not different.  This was simply my kind of salad; flavourfully robust, juicy, and fresh.  Always add the crispy wanton skin as it gives the salad a good crunch that matches with the fresh bite of the cabbage.

Next up was the Aburi salmon nigiri topped with a dollop of red miso.  Having the salmon blow torched gave the fish a really nice smokey fragrance while making it more tender too.  The Aburi here never fails to satisfy although this time around it could have been a torched a little more evenly.

A dish of seared scallops! Nom nom nom!  These little beauties were seared to perfection.  Loved the topping which Bonsai does for them lovelies.  It complements this dish well.

Some might consider the crab claws a little bit of a dud.  It is true, they are.  But when you bite into Bonsai's version of it, you will know why it is not.  So any perception you might have thinking that it is similar to the artificial ones bought from the oriental shop can now be discarded.  

Keep calm, dip into mayo.

Buta no Kakuni is a classic favourite of mine when I go to Japanese restaurants.  Braised for hours in a broth made from a mix of Mirin and soy, the humble pork belly is made into a melt-in-your mouth protein with a darkish brown appearance.  Its flavours are not meant to be overly salty or sweet but aim is to strike a good balance between them.  Here the sauce was all the rave but the pork felt lacking.  It was still hard and was not soft through.   It is in this aspect that Bonsai failed to deliver.  

For the mains we started with a crispy skin duck;

It was crispy skin with no doubt,while the duck itself was cooked to perfection with the middle slightly pinkish leaving it tender.  Equally impressive was its presentation which was pretty damn nice.  Looking on at the pictures I have taken, it was clear Bonsai was not there to make good food. But rather good looking ones too.  Imagine a manicured plant, because that is after all, the art of Bonsai.

The last main we ordered to share was the Teriyaki Wagyu Steak.

This has always been a favourite of mine since my second visit to Bonsai a couple years back.  With a  choice of how you want it cooked, we asked for medium rare and that is exactly what we got.  Topped with shavings of mildy pickled onions, they complemented the tender beef.  But the highlight of it all was the sauce.  A quality Teriyaki base with a subtle butter flavour made this dish simply sensational.  A dish which have been recognised by my peers, friends and family for not being 1 dimensional.Bonsai, you’ve done it again.  Thank you for the great hospitality and delicious food. 

WenY

Bites: A Chinese Banquet @ Northbridge Chinese Restaurant, Roe St.

Northbridge Chinese Restaurant also known as Lok Fook by the Chinese population in Perth is a popular Chinese restaurant on Roe St.  While it is popular, this place draws a host of criticisms from me in the past for its arrogant lady boss, incompetent service and inconsistent food quality.  Earlier this year, it became known to me that the chefs took ownership of the restaurants and so my family decided to have a family dinner here after a long time of being away.  Under the new management, Northbridge Chinese Restaurant is a fair bit different now that is has a level of service which is more acceptable.

That night we had two tables of 8, one for the youngsters and the other for the oldies :P!  Since it was a special treat for my parents as well as my two aunties who traveled from Singapore and Sydney, it was an all out banquet for the family.

The first dish to reach was an “egg drop" Chinese mushroom soup  The thick gelatinous soup did not quite tickle my fancy but was a decent start to the meal.  It is probably just me, but I have a preference that other than the good old Shark’s Fin soup with crab meat, I prefer Cantonese style soups which are thinner in consistency yet potent in the sweetness of its ingredients like pork ribs, lotus root, peanuts, dates and a host of other herbs.

Scallops on shell steamed with emperor soy, glass noodles, topped with crispy garlic oil and finely chopped scallions.  Scallops are always a treat when served not the table. This was no different.  The sweet protein of the sea when cooked to perfection is a no brainer.  Here it was  prepared simple, yet delicious but a tad overcooked.  Thinking of the perfect scallops, I feel the need to revisit Marea in NYC.  The scallops at Marea had to be the best I have ever had.  See this post here to get what I mean :P!

Next up was another dish that involved some intense finger action.  Snow crabs tossed in a salted egg sauce.  It is not hard understand why people go crazy over snow crabs.  Its large chunk of flesh from the claw easily overwhelms that of any other shellfish on earth.  Add a fragrant garlicky salted egg sauce to the equation and boy it was good.

At this point of the dinner, the chef probably thought that it was a good time to give our palates a rest and cooked up a piping hot serve of garlic Kailan.  A basic dish that never fails to satisfy. Easily cooked at home, but never the same, restaurants tend to use a bigger “burner”  resulting in a drier vegetable dish.  At home, most garlic kailan usually comes out watery!

Next was up was the boys favourite, the Pai Kuat Wong or the Emperor Ribs.  Crispy deep fried meaty ribs coat in a sticky sweet fruity sauce is a dish that tastes very similar to the Peking Ribs with the exception of the mayonnaise.  

Next was another deep fried dish @@!  It was a very unhealthy night but hey, once in a blue moon right? haha.  The last one was a fusion between an aubergine and a prawn/chicken paste of some sort.  I have to say, I was not the biggest fan of the dish for the sole reason of it being way too oily.  Aubergine is quite a spongy vegetable.  It absorbs things well.  Oil in particular. So deep fry something like that and oh that oil! Just a couple of days back we had another Chinese meal two doors down and they served their specialty chicken skin and prawn paste dish which was absolutely moreish when compared to this.

To end were the complementary fruits and sago in coconut milk.  Neither were particularly impressive but who am I to complain when the word complimentary is involved :P!

The meal at the Northbridge Chinese Restaurant was a very good one.  It is actually the second time I am visiting the place in the last 2 months as I had another big family dinner here when my relatives were here from Canada.  Altogether as a family, we were worried initially when we made the booking due to the poor the place rating it had on Urbanspoon.   Nonetheless, two successful dinners has shown that the new management is not short of skills when it comes to preparing quality Chinese.  This in itself is a good reason to come back.  But for everything else Chinese especially Chinese Roast, I would stray no further than my favourite HK Barbecue or Good Fortune :)!

WenY

Bites: American Barbecue @ Old Faithful Bar, Perth

Another RNR and a great meet up with some good old friends at the Old Faithful.  Here, one experiences American community dining where barbecue and alcohol becomes best friends. The bar and food area are separated so do not try getting your food from the bar.

The selection for drinks include a strong selection of whiskey. But a noob like me goes no further than the bourbon chocolate milkshake without the bourbon Need less to say, the bartender surprised that I am having no alcohol whilst most was always trying to get more.  In terms of flavour it was so chocolate-ty with a rich malt taste that reminded me of an old childhood drink called Horlicks. The only thing a little surprising was that with or without the bourbon, the shake still costs $14 which was on the pricey side. 

Food come straight from the counter, so do not expect table service.  The first attempt at ordering my food did not go to well because it seemed like a lot of the things we wanted was not available. No chicken wings, and no hot links. A problem that requires better management attention prior to service for sure. In saying that we managed to get our food sorted eventually. 

A shared platter of Big Sur came looking absolutely delicious.  Needless to say I was drooling!

One element aced without question by Old Faithful was the smokiness in each meat that was executed to a perfect intensity of the.  Brisket was juicy and the belly was exactly as you expect it to be, a little bit fatty, intertwined with the meat and at the same time it was all very juicy. No meat to my surprise was overcooked and dry. Everything here was superbly tender.  But other than that, the food did not go past the first base. Different textures were present as I went from the pork to the beef but I did not quite find them tasting substantially different enough (besides the smokiness) to make a big impact with the exception of the pulled pork which tasted sublime with the shaved onions and bread. Very happy with that! More importantly, among all the meat on the platter I enjoyed the bbq chicken the best. Tender, and superbly flavoured. Niceeeee!!!

On the other tray we ordered some sides to share. Blood sausages, corn bread topped with maple butter, deviled eggs and some pork chunks.  Most of my friends felt faint at the thought of the blood sausages but I am a big fan of this meaty coagulation.  More importantly, where it counts most Old Faithful had aced.  It was very well-seasoned and I enjoyed it. The serve of pork chunks were essentially deep fried breaded pork tossed in what felt like a mild hot sauce. Not bad but beware of chunks that contains nothing but fat. I love some juicy bits but a whole chunk of fat was a bit of a put off. 

Next were the devilled eggs which were a bit of an odd ball requested by Bel. I have to say though, it was a surprise win because the yolks were mixed together really well resulting in a fluffy filling for the egg white. Yummy :)!

Corn bread was, presumably meant to be a carb to go with the meat but it was not well received at the table. It tasted like day old muffin without sugar. I really could not make out what it was meant to be.  Eventually between wasting food and shoving it into our mouths, we went with the latter haha. 

At the end of the meal we received two cookies in place of two serves of pork crackle which had ran out.  The cookies were a nice gesture to compensate us for the lack of organization but it was not anything special or worth shouting about. 

Thinking back, I'm not sure how the math worked out and most of the table was confused too because a serve of pork crackle was around $9 while a cookie was $3.80. Presumably this was just a consolation prize and they had given us extra pieces of meat to make up for the difference paid for the crackling. Or at least I am hoping so because getting ripped of is not my idea of a good evening out!

Old Faithful is a nice addition to town especially in the bar scene where the staples are usually a boring chicken parmigiana, burger, steak or fish & chips. The venue was noisy as hell so be prepared for a battle of speaking on top of one another. Hey its a bar no? There was no dampener or opened windows to reduce the noise. Instead, the walls are graced by polished concrete and random art.  Saying all this it was a nice visit but it felt more of an afternoon venue after work rather than a late night one. Also, be prepared to smell like smoke when you are done. The venue was really smoky! Good thing though, the guy in the kicthen which I shall name 'butcher' looked super badass.

WenY

Bites: A Meal at the Vineyard @ Lamont's , Swan Valley

After a hectic week involving a car service, catching up with the ex-colleagues, my mentor and just getting through the chores around the house, I was in Swan Valley for a day trip.  More importantly, I discovered a whole new place of happiness in the Valley.  It is the famous Lamont’s Vineyard.  While the whole menu looked all very decadent, I was a little cautious after my last attempt to fine dine at Lamont’s Bishop went pear-shaped leaving a huge hole in my pocket.  Needless to say, a few queries at the counter to ask about the waiter's favourite dishes as well as her other recommendations soon had me decide on the dishes I was going to order.

The first to arrive was the crispy pork belly, cauliflower puree, and caramelised onions.

The puree was silky smooth and the pork was the crispiest.  Salad at the top was refreshing, and the onions were caramelised till sticky-sweet.  While most techniques were aced without question, it was the simplest detail that was left out.  Salt.  Spices.  I felt that the pork could do with more salt-marinade as it was a little bit bland and did not standout from the lot.  Still, it was a decent eat.

Deep fried prawns, grated coconut, and avocado soba was the next dish.  Splendid.  This was my dish of the day without question.  Prawn so amazing you thought you were at the seaside and soba so well modernised it felt just right.  Drizzling the lemon over the soba, you are left with a silky smooth soba with a creamy avocado coating.  This normally gets a little cloying but when you have the diced bits of onions and coriander playing with your senses where it was a little bit pungent, a little bit herbed and it all felt very interesting especially towards the end with a citrusy note from the lime juice.  I truly enjoyed it.  Despite being deep fried and having bits of creamy avocado, I did not feel overwhelmed at any one point!

Steak, croquette, caramelised root vegetables and salad, with a side of chips with truffle oil.  While it was hard to fault with the steak dish, it more -standard than special.  Still, there was nothing wrong.  The steak was well-cooked, croquettes crisp with a fluffy inside and over all just very nice.  But when you have a side of chips cooked so bloody amazing, you soon disregard everything else.  The chips at Lamont’s Vineyard soon became a highlight.  Yobi who was with me commented that why do most places do chips so bad.  This is amazing he says!  True enough, I was thoroughly impressed by the humble potato.  If you ever come to Lamont’s Vineyard, this is definitely worth ordering.  Even if you are here just for the drinks!

To end was a caramel tart that came highly recommended by the waitress. On the first bite, you might feel like you have had enough because it was so very rich but there always seemed to be a taste that had me come back.  The gooey texture topped with some crunchy nuts with its crumbly base made the tart a very yummy.  In the end, it was never quite enough to share for three. 

But having called too many dishes to share earlier means I was left to bring the macaron’s back home.  These were made by the famous Jean Pierre Sancho Patisserie.  Crunchy top with a chewy centre, there was nothing much too praise for a person who is not a fan of sugar.  Admittedly though, the macarons were very visually impressive.

Comparing the Vineyard to the fine dining establishment at Lamont’s Bishop, I really adored the former more.  Lamont’s Vineyard on a Saturday afternoon is a lovely place.  It was just so relaxed.   Food is simple, honest and not overly complicated.  The environment was relaxed and it all felt very comfortable.  Being with my old buddy and his girlfriend also meant that it was time spent well.  A lovely end to a long week I have to say :)!

WenY