Eating Greater Melbourne

Part I: Overview & Family

Reports to Come
I'm spending the holidays this year visiting relatives in and around Melbourne. I come from a family of foodies, so my eating here is evenly split between lovingly and expertly prepared meals at home and the truly staggering international restaurant offerings for which Australia's second city is known. My hope is to contribute to LTH a body of specific recommendations for greater Melbourne (other LTH Australia threads are here and here) and also to share some of my family's enthusiasm for food and eating.

Reports that I've already started and will post over the next few weeks cover:

* The City Centre
* Chinatown
* Melbourne's markets
* St. Kilda
* Brunswick
* Fitzroy
* Carlton-Lygon St.
* Altona
* Yarra Valley

I was hoping for greater synthesis by locale, but given the overwhelming amount of information I've collected, the thoughts I'll share will remain chronological by day (so, not as neat as the list above). I may contribute reports on aspects of eating in Melbourne other than the ones I've mentioned if I can sustain my stamina for reporting, but...

Family First
After the long flight from Chicago, I arrived in Melbourne on an early afternoon and received a very warm and delicious welcome at the house of my cousin Rose.

Scones made from scratch before my eyes:


Everyone for hot scones and tea:


Helping the youngest kiddos dress their scones with butter, jam and cream:


It is summer here in Melbourne, so when the flies have not been too obnoxious, we've taken all of our meals at home outdoors, which just feels decadent and wonderful, even when it's just me and my morning Weetabix (or Milo cereal!), milk and tea or a late evening VB with my cousin. Dinner on my first night here was a quiet affair on my aunt's new veranda. The highlight of that meal was the grilled Barramundi stuffed with fresh coriander, ginger, onion and tomato.



The first full family feast took place the very next day--a lunch to mark my arrival from "America" and the departure of my cousin Psyche, who was visiting from Ireland.



It was a fairly standard but yummy Filipino spread. The exception would have been desserts, but, unfortunately, there were none because of a communication mix-up. My cousin was going to make profiteroles but then changed her mind because she thought my aunt would make sweet sticky rice. Said aunt decided not to bring sticky rice because she thought my cousin would bring profiteroles.* Such silliness--I would have been happy with both!

My next report from Melbourne: Yum cha in Chinatown...

*Something maybe important to note is that my family is just about as multicultural as the city of Melbourne. With the exception of an Italian (dear Uncle Matteo), all of my aunts and uncles are originally from the Philippines. The spouses/SOs of my cousins, however, hail from all over the world: England, France, Vietnam, Ireland, Thailand and Laos (so far!). As I've gotten older, I've become more aware of how these myriad origins manifest themselves in our family's cooking and eating, which I hope will come across in my reports...

Part II: Yum Cha in Melbourne's Chinatown

I had lunch with one of my aunts at Dragon Boat Restaurant in Chinatown yesterday. Established during the goldrush of the 1850s, Chinatown today is a narrow two-block stretch in the center of Melbourne.

The gates at Little Bourke St.:


My aunt explained to me that Dragon Boat is part of a restaurant group owned by Melbourne's lord mayor, which made me somewhat skeptical of what the food would be like. Overall, I thought it ended up being a little better than average dim sum fare. There were a few notable items. We got several orders of pretty standard dumplings plus an order filled with shark fin. During my time in Australia, I've been a little anxious about sharks at the beach. I didn't think about it until after our meal at Dragon Boat, but the shark fin dumplings were very empowering to eat and gave me a boost of confidence that I hope will carry over to the next time I get in the water. Besides proving to myself that I would eat shark before it would eat me, I actually like the taste of the meat--it has a very faint sourness (that I hope isn't just chemical preservative!), a pleasant nuance of flavor that I don't experience with the more standard dumplings, even with the best garnishes.

Shark fin dumpling:


At Dragon Boat, I also really enjoyed egg and pork dumplings:





I like eggs in general, but the hard-boiled quail here lent a heartiness to the dumpling that was new to me. I could have made a meal of these dumplings alone.

Finally, I also enjoyed a "special duck roll," kind of an egg roll-sized soggy dumpling filled with duck, rice noodles, mushrooms and green onion.



I cut one open and was at first disappointed by how little duck meat there was, but I soon realized that the specialness of the duck roll is not about the meat. It's about the flavor resulting from the combination of duck juice, the rice noodles and mushrooms. It was delicious. There were two suits at the table next to us who just ate three orders of duck rolls. That's it.

A final note: I'm not sure if it's because the food we ate was considered yum cha (I haven't yet been to a place in Melbourne with dim sum not considered yum cha), but the standard house tea served at Dragon Boat was significantly higher grade than I've ever had at a dim sum restaurant. I was really impressed by the tea.

Dragon Boat is a worthy stop. I'll probably be back before I leave Australia since our meal yesterday was limited largely to dumplings, all that was going around at the time we stopped in.

Dragon Boat Restaurant
203 Lt. Bourke St.
Melbourne, VIC 3000
(03) 9662 2733

My next report from Melbourne: Turkish in Brunswick...

Great reports so far! Looking forward to the next. I've got to get to Australia one of these days.

Part III: Turkish in Brunswick

One of my aunts lives in the Melbourne suburb of Brunswick, a 10-minute tram ride from the city centre. (Unlike Chicago, which isn't even all that sprawling, anything outside of the city centre in Melbourne is a suburb. If it was in Chicago, Brunswick would just be a city neighborhood.) The main thoroughfare of Brunswick is Sydney Road, a colorful, roughly 3-km stretch of small businesses and one of my favorite places in all of greater Melbourne. With some hesitation, I concede that Brunswick is primarily a Lebanese and Turkish enclave, but it's like any suburb-neighborhood of Melbourne. It's a Lebanese-Turkish enclave where I could easily find Greek, Italian Thai, Japanese, Sri Lankan or Indonesian food! In other words, we're talking prime LTH real estate.





My aunt lives in a very charming single-fronted [Aussie] Victorian house, just off Sydney Road. I love the juxtapositions on her street. At one time, I guess her street was dominated by shoe factories, but today I see mainly auto body shops and middle eastern bakeries.





After visiting my aunt, my other aunt and I spent the rest of the afternoon exploring Brunswick's main drag. I noticed two new-looking hookah lounges, on Sydney Road, just off Hope Street. There was Arabica Lounge, which was empty but still inviting on a Tuesday afternoon:



Not far away, on the same block, I noted Café Coco. Two friendly gentlemen sitting outside noticed my picture-taking and invited me to join them for a group shot and a smoke.



Farther down the street, my aunt and I stopped into Mediterranean Wholesalers, which claims to be Australia's "largest continental foodstore." My cousin told me it's run by a Sicilian family, but it stocks products from all over western Europe. MW is a truly awe-inspiring market for the variety it offers of sardines, dry pasta, cheese, salumi, torrone, fresh bread, liquor...and so many other foodstuffs. (It doesn't sell fresh produce though.)









After a few hours of walking Sydney Road, my aunt and I decided on dinner at Alasya. This restaurant is a special place for my family. It's been a go-to for birthday celebrations and weekend take-away dinners. I didn't learn to appreciate Turkish food until a few years ago when I shared a summer apartment with a woman from Turkey, but I love Alasya. Still full from a variety of snacks we'd had during the day, my aunt and I ordered a small but satisfying dinner.

House bread:


Tarama (caviar, lemon, onion, potato and olive oil):


Peynir (Australian feta, olive oil, mint):


Tabouli:


Vine dolmas:


Döner kebab


Highlights were: the house bread, made in Alasya's wood-fired brick oven; the tabouli, which was very fresh with assertive green onion; and the dolmas, also very fresh with perfectly cooked and seasoned rice and a lovely, lovely tomato sauce. Actually, the dolmas at Alasya made me realize that I had never experienced expertly prepared dolmas until now. I also enjoyed the döner kebab. It tasted good, but I'm generally not a lamb person--I hope to change this somewhat and eat more lamb while I'm in Australia so that I can be more discriminating when it comes to this meat. Finally, Alasya is also very respectable because of its lengthy dessert menu. I look forward to returning in the next month for the special Emali baklava which has Granny Smith apples.



To save room for dessert on my next visit to Brunswick, I'll likely just take away a bánh mì from K & H Hot Bread Bakery, where the sandwiches are straightforward but assembled with fresh ingredients right in front of you. I think I actually prefer the bread at K & H over the bread from Ba Le in Chicago. K & H's is less crusty-flaky with a little more resistance to each bite.



I'll be spending more time in Brunswick when I switch households and stay with my aunt there, so I may have more to report in the next few weeks. I'll call this a start.

Arabica Lounge
(I didn't get the exact address; it's near 573 Sydney Rd)

Café Coco
573 N Sydney Rd
Brunswick, VIC
(03) 9387 6322

Mediterranean Wholesalers
482-492 Sydney Rd
Brunswick, VIC
(03) 9380 4777

Alasya
555 Sydney Rd
Brunswick, VIC
(03) 9387 2679

K & H Hot Bread Bakery
(I didn't get the exact address; it's about 495 Sydney Rd)

My next Melbourne report: Queen Victoria Market...

Part IV: Queen Victoria Market

(Note: I am currently mourning the loss of about 150 photographs that were to accompany this post. I may try to re-shoot them later this month, but, besides the gross technological ineptitude that led to the loss of the photos, I also have a memory like a sieve, so I thought I'd contribute what I have of the post before I lose my sanity, too...)

I would like to nominate Melbourne's Queen Victoria Market as a World Culinary Heritage Site. "Queen Vic" grew out of a meat market that opened in Melbourne in 1869. The market as it exists today, with meat, fish, produce, deli and other non-food sections, opened officially less than 10 years later in March 1878. Today, Queen Vic is host to almost 1000 traders. Circa 1900, 60% of all of the traders were Chinese. In the 1950s & '60s, the market saw an influx of Greek traders, and now Vietnamese and traders from various parts of the Middle East make up the largest group. The market sees 750,000 visitors per week, and 42% of all international visitors to Melbourne visit Queen Vic.

One of my priorities for my extended holiday in Australia this year was to get to know the market as well as I could, like a local as much as possible with a month here. All of my family members, even my cousins who live 45 minutes outside of the city centre, do their weekly food shopping at Queen Vic. I set out right away to find out what their favorite market stalls and goods are. Given the scale of the market however, I wanted something more than these recommendations. I wanted to feel like I was diving in head first and learning about the market deeply right away so I signed up for the Foodies' Tour, a two-hour guided exploration of the market's history and its meat and fish hall, fruit and vegetable aisles and delis including tastings from the most respected traders. Anyone interested in food, whether Aussies or visitors from outside Australia should do this tour. It is the best thing I've done in all of the time I've spent in Australia. The tour is only $28 AUD, which is a ridiculous bargain given the sheer amount of information and food you receive.

Meat and Fish
As someone who rarely visits a butcher in Chicago, the 22 butcher stalls at Queen Vic made me feel like I was in another universe--all of that lamb, pork, beef and kangaroo and from traders who've been at Queen Vic for generations! I saw fresh lamb tongues and plucks, I think, for the first time... There were cases after cases of fresh sausages... The amount of female pork cutlets on display made me surprisingly uneasy.

Of the 22 butcher stalls, 50% are occupied by high volume sellers who sell 3000-8000 kilos of meat per week. These sellers are most easily identified by their bright signage announcing specials and dense displays of meat. In front of these stalls, especially toward the early afternoon when Queen Vic closes, sellers of the high-volume stalls, usually with booming voices, stand in the aisles of the meat hall trying to attract the day's final buyers. I got some really great sound recordings and video of these hawkers, which, very sadly, I also lost with my photos.

There were only two other people in my tour group, two lovely women from Queensland--Helen and Lucy--who taught me as much about food as our very knowledgable guide, Anne. Anne (who, BTW, bore a striking resemblance to Anne Willan!) noted that the majority of meat sold at Queen Vic is from Australia, maybe 90%. Helen and Lucy explained to me that pork imported mostly from Canada and the Philippines is becoming much more common in Queensland because of corn prices--just a point I thought was interesting. In examining the various tripe for sale at Queen Vic, Helen also said that Queenslanders actually go to Sydney just to eat ox tripe prepared at Bistro Moncur. I don't recall what exactly makes Bistro Moncur's tripe so special, but given Helen and Lucy's formidable food knowledge...well...I will pursue as best I can every single recommendation they made for cooking and eating.

I enjoyed touring the fish stalls, too. I never would have thought that seeing display case after display case of exposed red gills would be so thrilling! I loved seeing Darwin crabs for the first time in my memory. Besides whole fish, I also loved seeing all of the marinaras for sale, with the large chunks of fresh, fresh salmon and tuna. I was also pretty amused, until the day of my Queen Vic tour, by mudbugs wherever I saw them for sale and seriously considered having the Sydney variety as the secret ingredient in my family's upcoming Christmas Iron Chef competition. But, alas, and this will reveal how little I know about fish, I learned on my tour that mudbugs are just crayfish tails. (Now I'm thinking, since I can't seem to get away from crayfish, that the secret ingredient will be yabbies...that I catch myself! My new obsession is to find a dam where I can net some yabbies. We'll see... I'm working on it.) During our walk around the fish stalls, Helen and Lucy also shared some fantastic stories, strategies, really, for how one would...hypothetically...carry fresh salmon in one's suitcase out of Tasmania . Anne also shared histories of some of the traders. The Happy Tuna Company (a screen name for my next life), for example, has been at Queen Vic for 90 years, but they started out selling only rabbits!

Fruit & Vegetables
It is in thinking about Queen Vic's fruit and vegetable aisles that I miss my deleted pictures the most...Giant celery, Chinese cabbage, Swiss Brown mushrooms & pawpaws...apple cucumbers and Australian peanuts...Thai ginger, Northern Territory mangoes...Victorian Pink Lady apples...

Delis
My tour group sampled some fruit outside, but the taste of everything (some tomatoes, red apricots and strawberries) made obvious that it's just the beginning of the season. It wasn't until we got to the delis that the tasting bonanza began. There were five items that were delicious enough to make me weak in the knees:

* Grilled pepper kangaroo on fresh mint leaves (I was very, very grateful that Lucy did not eat kangaroo meat; I ate my portion and hers and could have gone on eating...) from the Chicken Pantry

* Paper-thin slices of Tasmanian Tasty topped with slivers of Warrnambool salted butter from Curds & Whey (this was like eating pure endorphins for the high it gave me! It's now in the top three best things I've ever eaten.)

* Tomato chili pesto and lime olive oil from the Australian olive oil stall (can't remember the name of the stall, it was in a picture)

* Slices of Australian ham embedded with pistachios (can't remember the name of the stall, it was in a picture)

* Dianne's pesto, red...green...all of them

We also sampled some Polish sausages, terrine provencal with cornichons and Tasmanian Heritage Signature Brie--all excellent but second to the items listed above. On one of my next trips to the market, I am determined to sample some emu salami and Wild Wasabi Ashgrove Tasmanian Cheddar, which Anne noted, just recently started being exported to Japan. I would also like to take home some fresh Peking duck ravioli...I think that would make a nice contribution to Christmas dinner. If time and will allows, I may also try to get some fresh guineafowl, which I learned is available from the Chicken Pantry at Queen Vic. Years ago, my best friend gave a boyfriend of mine that she really disliked the nickname "Guineafowl." I figure, if I can get the bird here, I might as well try it for a taste and belated laugh . In two weeks, I will also have the chance to go to the Suzuki Night Market, which I've heard is Queen Vic reinvented with live music.

Part of me wants to eat only from the market for the duration of my stay here, but I know that's unrealistic given the rich restaurant landscape. I'm off to Vue de Monde next week, and I'd also like to explore Aboriginal cuisine very soon.

Besides being a crash course in fresh food and shopping at a market on the scale of Queen Vic, I was surprised by how much the tour and what we tasted helped me learn about Australian geography. The day after I took the tour, I was watching the weather forcast on the morning TV news and for every Australian city or region mentioned, I didn't hear what the high temperature would be for the following day--I only thought of the food items I tried from that place at Queen Vic. Weather has never made me so hungry. The names of most of those places would have meant nothing to me before the truly splended exploration I shared with Helen, Lucy and Anne.

My next Melbourne report: Malaysian Hawker Food & Gelato in Carlton

(UPDATE: I've started to re-shoot my pictures of Queen Vic. Some can be found here. There will be more!)

Part V: Malaysian Hawker Food and Gelato in Carlton

I was very excited when my cousin Nolan told me he was taking me out for Malaysian food last week. Nolan is the family expert on the food of Malaysia, where he lived and worked last year. Malaysian food is very easy to find in Melbourne, which made me even more grateful to have Nolan as my guide. One of his favorite Malaysian restaurants in greater Melbourne is Nasi Lemak House, a small restaurant near the University of Melbourne and just off the popular Italian thoroughfare of Lygon Street in Carlton (immediately north of the city centre).



In particular, Nolan likes Nasi Lemak for its Penang Chow Kuay Teow—king prawns, cockles, fish cakes, chives, egg, bean shoots and flat rice noodles—which is apparently identical in preparation to the version of this dish sold by his favorite street food vendor on a small lane near Palange (sp?) Plaza in JB in Malaysia.



This dish was amazing. I've only had Malaysian food maybe a half dozen times in my life and never what would qualify as hawker food, but my first bite of the Chow Kuay Teow at Nasi Lemak was somehow completely novel and revelatory and nostalgic all at once. These were new flavors but in some way also extremely familiar, as if from one's favorite food of a lost time. In other words, this is comfort food at its best. The Chow Kuay Teow also made me realize how cuckoo I can be for cockles, which, in particular, held the spice (Nolan orders his Chow Kuay Teow “very spicy”) very nicely .

While we were eating at a table outside the restaurant, the owner, Elena, stopped by to see how we were enjoying our food. Nolan had never chatted with her before, and we learned that the same exact street vendor near Palange Plaza in JB that Nolan frequented was Elena's inspiration for her Chow Kuay Teow! It was very entertaining me to watch Nolan and Elena realize their shared fondness for this single vendor.

Elena was very affable in general. She talked briefly about the research she put into her menu, traveling across Malaysia to find the most compelling version of each dish. Elena also has a very clear vision for her business. She caters largely to the Malaysian and, more broadly, Asian students in the area and sees herself as a maternal figure to them. She's made Nasi Lemak House a welcoming space where visitors can get un-compromised Malaysian street food prepared with love.

I hesitate somewhat to mention what I ordered at Nasi Lemak on my first visit. When I explained my food interests and enthusiasm to Elena, she shook her head with pity and said that the dish I had ordered was only for people who “are fed up” . With food? With life? Elena's specific message wasn't clear to me, but I got the gist. (I know she was wondering how someone as knowledgeable about food as Nolan could be related to me...) Evidently, I made a big faux pas. She assured me that she would decide my order on my next visit . Just for the record, I had the Wat Dan Crispy Mee—king prawns, calamares, chicken, fish cakes and vegetables with crispy yi mien and topped with creamy egg gravy. I really enjoyed this dish—crunchy noodles and gravy was what I was after—but I guess I will never have it again, at least at Nasi Lemak, if Elena can help it.



I'm hoping that even if she doesn't “let” me eat it on my visit that Elana will teach me about the subtleties of Haiwanese style chicken. Also, I've been looking for someone with whom to discuss the politics of Halal meat (all of the meat at Nasi Lemak is Halal) in relation to Chinese-Malaysian food. I think Elena may be the person to entertain my questions.

After lunch at Nasi Lemak, Nolan and I made a quick stop for gelato on Lygon Street—a popular stretch of Italian restaurants and cafes—less than a 10-minute walk from Nasi Lemak. We went to Casa del Gelato, a colorful shop with maybe two dozen flavors of gelato on offer. I had the chili chocolate, torrone and passionfruit (left), and Nolan had the chili chocolate, tiramisu and Nutella (right):



The flavors were superb. I inquired what type of chili is used in the chili chocolate and received a curt but reasonable reply from the young woman behind the counter: “Chili powder. Just buy some regular chili powder and chocolate ice cream and experiment.” Fair enough. The gelato was the perfect [enormous] treat for a sunny afternoon.

Nasi Lemak House
113 Grattan St
Carlton, VIC 3053

Casa del Gelato
163 Lygon St
Carlton, VIC 3053
(03) 9347 0220

My next report: Cheese and Pet Food at South Melbourne Market...

Part VI: Cheese and Pet Food at South Melbourne Market

I continue to be amazed by how many permanent markets the greater Melbourne area can support. Though much smaller than Queen Vic, South Melbourne Market by itself would be a fantastic addition to a market-less city of any size.





























The produce is lovely, but my cousin dropped me off at South Melbourne Market last week with simple instructions: Get dim sims and hot jam donuts. I've learned that dim sims are an Australian thing. They are basically large, tangerine-sized, deep-fried (though a steamed variety is available) pork dumplings. They are served as take away food only in lined paper bags into which customers drizzle soy sauce from the large bottle available at the counter.



The Dim Sims stand at South Melbourne Market is apparently where it all started; the same company now supplies dim sims to eateries all over Melbourne and, perhaps, beyond.



I can understand the appeal of a quick, portable mass of pork as a lunch item, and I witnessed first hand how people line up for these things, but once I finally got one in hand, I was disappointed. It was very salty and otherwise tasteless.



The hot jam donuts were not where my cousin told me I'd find them, so I set off in search of them, making my own stops at various market stalls. The best part of my South Melbourne Market visit last week was Emerald Deli, where I befriended Julian--a clerk passionate about local, south Australian cheeses and, I discovered, food and eating in general. I told him I wanted to learn about Aussie cheeses, and he invited me into Emerald's cheese refrigerator.



I promise to keep this PG-13, but what ensued was a dreamy exploration of, well, cheese . I was taking notes and pictures, but I couldn't keep up with all of the cheeses Julian was giving me to sample.





The messiness of my notes evidences my delirium at Emerald's that morning, but I know I sampled at least the following:

* Tarago River Strzelecki Blue
* Milawa Blue from Yarra Valley
* Milawa King River Gold
* Ashgrove Cheddar from Tasmania
* Tasmanian Heritage Red Square Washed Rind
* Piano Hill Ironstone Gouda from Yarra Valley
* A Pyengana cheddar...

I loved everything from Milawa, and I think Tasmanian cheddars are going to be my new obsession. I recommend to anyone who's ever been bored with gouda to try the Piano Hill Ironstone, a beautiful, beautiful variety aged 18 months with an unforgettable sweet start.

I brought home a small variety of Aussie cheeses to enjoy with my Victorian apples:



My other memorable stop at South Melbourne Market last week was to Judy's Fresh Pet Foods.



I've been surprised by the sheer variety of fresh pet food available around Melbourne. It's available at chain grocers like Coles, and many stalls at Queen Vic and South Melbourne Market also offer meat cuts for pets.

Some of Judy's offerings:







There were also dried kangaroo tendons, pig trotters, clod bones and lamb liver.

I discovered the bus selling the hot jam donuts my cousin wanted me to try too late for me to get some, but I'm working on a run-down of hot donuts from Melbourne for LTH, so I will return to South Melbourne Market soon.



South Melbourne Market
Corner Cecil and Coventry Streets
South Melbourne, VIC 3205

My next greater Melbourne report: Yarra Valley...

Happy_Stomach,

An amazing series of posts, dizzying.

Enjoy,
Gary

Part VII: Yarra Valley

Last Sunday, my cousins David, Rosemarie and I drove out to Yarra Valley. I was amazed by the change in scenery driving just an hour outside of Melbourne.









It was a perfect sunny day. We made six stops in five hours, with no stop being more than a 10-minute drive from the next. I would estimate that I tried about 30 wines in all. Of course, I'd try new wineries on my next visit, but I'd keep the scale of the trip (i.e. number of stops, pacing, etc) the same--it was manageable and very enjoyable.

Oakridge Vineyards:
We arrived here at about 11:30 and were among the first parties for lunch (a limited menu with just three platter choices, served outdoors only). The Oakridge land was relatively flat compared to the other wineries we visited that day but beautiful nonetheless. We came here for a platter before commencing our wine tasting on the recommendation of the person at the Yarra Valley Visitor Information Centre. The platter was pleasant enough. My favorite things were the capsicum hummos, garlic yogurt dip, local olives, chutney with cloves and the oysters. (The oysters were actually just OK, but I haven't yet gotten over the thrill of being in Australia and being able to have oysters whenever I want.)



After the platter, we tasted maybe a half dozen wines. The most memorable was the 2007 Fumé Blanc, which is one of the most complex wines I've ever tasted.

Domaine Chandon:
My cousin Rosemarie loves Domain Chandon sparkling wines, in particular the Reserve Brut. I usually don't like sparkling wine, and none of the stills here excited me. The local olives on offer were the most memorable part of our stop.

Yarring Valley Dairy:
We didn't have wine here, but we sampled some fine fetta and fresh cowsmilk cheese. We picked up a small carton of Yarra Valley ice cream to share outside. The vanilla-mascarpone had potential, but it was too hard to really gauge the flavor.



We also took away one container each of their House Cow and Hot Cow, fresh cowsmilk with garlic and herbs, the latter with chili, which we enjoyed spread on rice crackers and baguette from Queen Victoria Market at my cousin Solomon's house later that day with a "cuppa."









Punt Road:
Punt Road was my favorite winery of the day. It seemed to be a smaller operation, with few visitors at the time of our visit. We were guided in tastings by the daughter of the man who owns the apple orchard on the adjacent plot.



Here I liked the 2005 Shiraz, which was just spicy enough. I also tried the 2006 Botrytis Semillon. I usually ignore dessert wines, but I'm glad I tried this one. It was an explosion of honey.

Yering Station:
Here I liked best the 2005 San Giovese, which was easy to drink and maybe nicer than a San Giovese I'd drink every day. The rest of my notes are unintelligible...

De Bortoli:
This is one of the biggest wineries in the Yarra Valley. We tried about a dozen wines here. I'm having a hard time remembering why I liked what I liked here being at the end of a day of tasting, but I noted the 2006 Yarra Valley Estate Chardonnay as enjoyable. We shared a plate of six cheeses--nothing overly unique or special but all satisfying. My favorites were the Rouzaire brie, Saint Agur blue and Farmers Union Centenary cheddar and the Tasmanian raclette.



This was my first visit to a wine region, and I understand now while people do it. It's an excellent way to learn about a place, agriculture and taste.

Oakridge Vineyards
864 Maroondah Hwy
Coldstream, VIC
(03) 9739 1920

Domaine Chandon
Green Point, Maroondah Hwy
Coldstream, VIC
(03) 9738 9200

Yarra Valley Dairy
Mc Meikans Rd
Yering, VIC
(03) 9739 0023

Punt Road
10 St Huberts Rd
Coldstream, VIC
(03) 9739 0666

Yering Station
38 Melba Hwy
Yarra Glen, VIC
(03) 9730 0100

De Bortoli Winery
Pinnacle Lane
Dixons Creek, VIC
(03) 5965 2271

My next Melbourne report: Vue de Monde...

Part VIII: Vue de Monde

Today my cousin Rosemarie and I enjoyed lunch at Shannon Bennett's Vue de Monde. Located in the stately Normanby Chambers building (in the city centre), I recognized Bennett as a chef acclaimed as one of, if not the best, in Australia. The distinction made me a little curious, but I didn't make my booking until my new trusted cheese friend Julian at Emerald Deli in South Melbourne Market told me that Bennett is actually the second best chef in Melbourne--a high compliment coming from Julian.* I was surprised to find out that Vue de Monde serves degustation menus at lunch, and since most of my evenings here are booked with family dinners at home, a visit at mid-day was perfect for me. We opted to have four courses selected by our waiter, but by our third and final savory course, I had noticed a few tables with foie gras courses and requested one for us to make, in the end, a five-course meal with two wine pairings.

_________

Pilchard marinated in hazelnut reduction with pea mousse
on snap fried fish skin served
over flute of cantaloupe egg with yolk of Spanish ham



I find the Serrano ham-cantaloupe combination somewhat cliché, but I love egg creations, especially made via sferication. When our waiter seated us, I explained that I was from Chicago and excited to experience Chef Bennett's food. His first response, joking, was, "Sick of Charlie Trotter?" We laughed, and then he inquired about Grant Achatz's health. I probably would have had Alinea on the brain anyway, but for this first course, my first thought was actually, "Alinea would have done this better with a starker temperature contrast." The gelatinous egg would have been colder and the ham broth warmer.

_________

Liquid mushroom gnocchi
with sauteed white asparagus, chanterelle mushrooms
and broad beans
with mushroom air



I can't say that this was one of the most visually appealing dishes I've ever encountered. First, I'm usually turned off by thick asparagus of any kind, and, well, the gray plastic-looking gnocchi pellets... It turned out to be pretty good, especially the broad beans dipped in the mushroom gnocchi filling.

Our first wine, served with the gnocchi course, was a 2004 Albariño d'Fefiñanes.

_________

King fish embedded with garlic and chive
topped with potato scallops
with a gel cannelloni
filled with broccoli cous cous
over currant sauce
with a side of mashed potatoes topped with daikon

(I forgot and took a big bite before my first picture!)







I thought this was the most inspired of our courses at Vue de Monde. I was really impressed by how the flavor of the chives embedded in the fish connected with the flavor of the potato scallops. I've learned that Australians are very fond of their sultanas and currants--the currant sauce was very tasty with the fish but a little too much currant with the cannelloni (which also contained currants). The Albariño complimented this course nicely.

_________

Tomato consommé



The still image doesn't do justice to this course, so here's some brief video.

I never really enjoy dishes that our overly science-experiment-y (i.e. with beaker-like vessels and such), and I generally don't like tomato soups (except gazpachos), but this dish was a fine palette cleanser (until I accidentally swallowed the piece of dry ice!). I liked the isolation of the tomato color--our waiter explained how they did this, how they kept the red from the liquid, but I can't remember... It made the same impression as clear cola, making you think you're drinking something more refreshing than you would if it was caramel- or, in this case, red-colored.

_________

Wagyu rump cooked in goose fat for 12 hours
with snail bourguignon
and bernaise sauce



Well, anything cooked in goose fat for any length of time is bound to be delicious, but this was, in fact, a very, very fine piece of meat, I reckon, the best I've had in a year. My only reference for snails is the black bean variety my family used to eat in Montréal's Chinatown every Sunday when I was growing up. The snails today fell flat, were tasteless even with the dressings. This course would have been fine without any snails.

We got our second wine with the Wagyu course.



This Shiraz was really unusual to me, with almost no spice. It was a competent pairing.

_________

Ethical pan-fried Strasbourg (Edel) lobe foie gras
with golden peaches over sauce of butter and Sauternes
with peeled walnuts, grapes and gin-8 spice



This foie gras was beautiful. The pairing with peaches, I think, had potential, but I didn't think the peaches were quite ready and could have been just a little more sweet. My cousin Rosemarie noted that she liked that the peaches were firm--I agree that a firm peach was essential--a softer peach would have interfered with the silkiness of the foie gras--but I wanted more sweetness. I was most surprised and impressed by the combination of the foie gras with the peeled walnut. The gin-8 spice was also very nice.

With the foie gras, we received a complimentary wine tasting.



I really loved this wine for its sweet-dry arc.

_________

Honey dew and rock melon lollipop



The lollipop was too icy for my liking.

_________

Mango shell with mango snow and bubbles
and de-constructed mango cake







I've been spoiled in Australia by the varieties of mango. The de-constructed mango cake was outstanding. The components were brilliant. This is the cake of my dreams.

_________

* Whipped and salted caramel cream chocolate truffle with silver leaf
* Cherries with lemon & thyme ice cream pit covered with lemon gelee
* Passionfruit and chocolate macaroons
* Pistachio nougat with carrot
* Lychee sorbet coated in peppermint gelee



My favorite items on our dessert platter were the cherries (all fruit should be filled with savory ice cream pits), passionfruit macaroons (I've learned that Aussies use passionfruit in wonderful ways) and lychee sorbet (the lychee-mint combination was revelatory).

There are some impressive things being made at Vue de Monde. I would like to probe deeper and try more of Chef Bennett's offerings. If I had the time on this trip, I would return to see how different a degustation menu at dinner would be. A side note about bread: Vue de Monde makes their own bread. I had an exceptional olive roll and commendable rye baguette.

_________

Vue de monde - Normanby Chambers
430 Little Collins St
Melbourne VIC 3000
(03) 9691 3888

My next Melbourne report: it's hard to tell which report I'll finish next since I'll be traveling away from Melbourne for a short while... It'll be Aboriginal cuisine, a survey of hot donuts or tapas at MoVida...

*According to Julian, Guy Grossi is THE best in Melbourne; I was hoping to eat at Grossi Florentino while I'm here, but they're closed for a holiday break during the time I can go. The maître d' suggested I try their sister restaurant, Mirka at Tolamo Hotel in St. Kilda, but their menu doesn't excite me at all.

Misc. Melbourne Food Photos

Because accessing LTH from Australia has been a royal pain in the butt, I'm able to send my food pictures to the LTH Flickr group well before I can post to this thread--lots of random food pictures there for anyone interested.

Part IX: Suzuki Night Market

I didn't expect my visit to the Suzuki Night Market to merit its own post, but, even with high expectations, I was pleasantly surprised by the bustle and offerings and just unique personality of Queen Victoria Market on a summer Wednesday night. Suzuki is a completely different beast than the day market. It takes place in a section of the rear stalls, where, during regular market days and hours, some fruits and vegetables are sold but also where the more fleamarket-like section, with clothing and other non-edible miscellany, is located. Suzuki is essentially a weekly (during the summer only) Taste of Melbourne--restaurants from across the city have stalls--with additional non-food stalls selling selling somewhat nicer, more upscale things like jewelry, leather goods and clothing.





When my aunts, uncle and I arrived at Suzuki for dinner this week, the act on the main stage hadn't appeared yet, but there was other music around including a performance by this drum circle:



The food offerings were plentiful and varied:

Kiymali Gozleme:




Veggie and bolognese arancini:


Okonomiyaki:


Paella:




Ethiopian stews:


ChoriOz:


Panzerotti:




Fancy cupcakes and other sweets:








Porketta panini:




Self-deprecating Mexican:


Additionally, there were German sausages, lots of Thai food, kangaroo burgers and emu sausages, crepes, Dutch doughnuts, continental honey dumplings and more. I got really excited when I saw spit-roasted "chook" on one of the menus, thinking it was a meat I hadn't tried before. Turns out, chook is just chicken. Somehow that term had escaped me until now. The beer and wine selections at the night market were also excellent. Several boutique wineries had their own stalls, including a trader from the regular day market, Flowerdale, who makes ports I really like.

The Suzuki Market is yet another major, vibrant, living Melbourne foodie institution. This city continues to amaze me with its dedication to eating and food.

Suzuki Night Market @
Queen Victoria Market, Melbourne
Pedestrian entry from corner Queen & Therry Sts and Peel St

My next Melbourne report: Tapas at MoVida...

Oh. My. God.

Thank you SO much for this compendium. I will be doing 5 days in Melbourne in January, and now I'm going to have to do some serious prioritizing!

threadkiller wrote:Oh. My. God.

Thank you SO much for this compendium. I will be doing 5 days in Melbourne in January, and now I'm going to have to do some serious prioritizing!

Let me know if you need any guides in Melbourne. I have family all over (Preston, Brunswick, Altona Meadows, Ringwood...), and they'd welcome any LTHer warmly.

Part X: Tapas at MoVida

It was 4:00 last Thursday afternoon, and I was hungry, having skipped lunch to catch a movie in Carlton shortly after midday. I'd had the recommendation for tapas at MoVida, made by my waiter at Vue de Monde, at the forefront of my brain, so I took a tram to the city centre after my movie and navigated my way to a quiet graffiti'd laneway across the street from Federation Square.



In the days since my meal at MoVida, I've been asking myself, "Could it be that the best Spanish food I've had was not in Spain but now in Melbourne, Australia?" Admittedly, I've spent a total of four days in Spain—two and a half years ago--limited to Madrid and day trips therefrom. I also don't remember Spanish food being anywhere in the long list of cuisines--trusted sources told me in preparation for my current sojourn in Australia--that are done very well in Melbourne. Greek, Turkish, Lebanese, Malaysian, Thai, Chinese...but no Spanish from what I can recall. All of this said, I've learned to identify solid recommendations when they're made to me, and such was the case with my waiter at Vue de Monde. I described the kinds of food and restaurants I like, and I could tell he listened and thereby made informed, specific, enthusiastic recommendations.

At MoVida, I intended to have a “snack,” knowing that I had a family dinner to attend later that night. I arrived 30 minutes before they were to begin serving their full dinner menu, so I opted to wait with a Cascade Pale Ale. Two and a half hours later, I left the restaurant very, very happy from my two tapas, main, dessert, two beers, sherry and tea . I realize lots of people know about MoVida, but the world needs to know about this place. Any visit to the southern hemisphere merits a detour to Melbourne and MoVida. More specifically, Chicagoans need to know that they're being horribly, horribly cheated with the likes of Avec (which I've liked very much historically). MoVida operates in another league.

I started with the San Jacobo de Cordonice, Hunter Valley quail deboned and filled with Mahon cheese and crumbled.Wow, wow, wow. The quail was cooked perfectly. The cheese was exquisite, and the breading was delicate but all-encompassing. (I attempted pictures of all of my food, but the bar area was very dim, particularly on this gloomy, rainy day--the sun didn't start to peak out until my dessert arrived.)

I was sure I'd be at least a little disappointed with the rest of my meal given the grand start, but I was wrong. Next, I had the Costilla de Sobragada, a roasted lamb cutlet encased in a Catalan pork and paprika pate. Again, the meat was cooked to the ideal moment. The pate sent me into the stratosphere—it was almost subversive in taste as a compliment to the lamb. Magnificent. Brilliant.

I ordered for my main dish--on the recommendation of the bartender--the morcilla, grilled house made black pudding in the Burgos style thickened with rice and spices. About two minutes before it was brought out to me, the bartender said, with a deep, indulgent inhale and a smile, “I can smell it...it's coming...” Accompanied by an Alhambra 1925 and the house bread (thick, almost overdone crust with the most pillowly interior....the best bread I've had in bread-weak Melbourne), this morcilla was by far the most decadent thing I've eaten in recent memory. It was beatific.

By this point in the meal, I remembered the family dinner that night for which I was supposed to be saving my appetite. I very reluctantly moved on to the dessert menu and decided to close my afternoon snack with classic drinking chocolate and churros. This dessert instantly transported me back to a non-descript Madrid laneway cafe on a late, warm May night (or an early morning adventure to find the best whole-in-the wall makers of churros in Madrid, which I also did on my visit there). At MoVida, the chocolate was very fine and the pile of churros slender and crisp.



MoVida is a special, special place. I must go back to try the:

* Carillera de Buez: Slowly braised beef cheek in Pedro Ximenez on a cauliflower puree
* Gambas con Pancetta: South Australian prawns wrapped in pastry with crispy pork belly and chickpea sprouts and
* Tortilla de Bacalo: Salt cold and leek tortilla with Majarero cheese

I could not recommend a restaurant more enthusiastically. Everything I ate was superb. (Also, a side note, about the tea I had...it seems that a lot of nicer cafes and restaurants in Melbourne serve T2 teas. It's similar to what happened with Mighty Leaf teas, or even Metropolis teas, and a lot of Chicago establishments, where it became a higher standard to serve whole leaf teas, loose or in silky tea pouches, even if the leaves themselves were average grade (though some Metropolis teas are commendable). I was pleasantly surprised to find that MoVida was serving teas from another source, which, unfortunately I didn't get down except to note that it wasn't T2. The chamomile I had actually had a very subtle sweet-floral taste, which is very hard to find anywhere even when you're getting whole-flower chamomile. I certainly have never had it in Chicago.)

Don't be deterred if you can't get a booking at MoVida. Show up and wait for a spot (or spots) at the bar. The staff is warm and accommodating, the space is cozy, and the kitchen is easy to watch from almost any seat in the restaurant. If you only have one meal at a restaurant in Melbourne, it should be here.

MoVida
1 Hosier Ln
Melbourne, VIC 3000
(03) 9663 3038

My next Melbourne report: The Vietnamese markets at Footscray...

Part XI: The Vietnamese Markets at Footscray

Somehow I've gotten into my fourth week in Melbourne and just this morning got to the Vietnamese markets at Footscray, a suburb about 5km west of the city centre. I felt confident that the Vietnamese markets here wouldn't overly impress me given the bounty around Argyle Street in Chicago and because Melbourne couldn't possibly have another mind-blowing market... Well, I was humbled again. Chicago doesn't have anything on Melbourne.

All of the Argyle Street district could fit into the smaller of Footscray's main shopping complexes, known as Little Saigon. The biggest of the complexes is known simply as Footscray Market. Both of these complexes are open every day, but, from what I understand, the meat and fish trading at Footscary Market is limited to Thursday through Sunday. Besides the main complexes, there are smaller markets, bakeries and shops galore...





I'm frantically trying to complete my remaining Melbourne food reports. I think my pictures describe the Footscray markets better than I otherwise could... (My pictures are limited to the big complexes. If I had more time, I'd go back and shoot the smaller shops, especially the bakeries. More of my Footscray food pictures can be found here.)

FRUITS AND VEGETABLES:














One of the things I love about shopping for fruit in Melbourne is that you can try anything before buying. In fact, most markets insist on sampling before purchase. At Footscray, I loved tasting fruit because of the variety but also because most of it was put out with a mixture of salt, chili and fish sauce like these nectarines (granted, not the best way to gauge the taste of the fruit itself, but that salt mixture was very tasty!):



MEATS (also lots of fish, of which I didn't take pictures...fish is better at Queen Victoria Market):
















PREPARED FOODS:










I'm trying not to declare every one of my food destinations in Melbourne a must-visit, but the Footscray markets should not be missed.

My next report: Christmas with Family in Melbourne...

Part XII: Christmas with Family in Melbourne

Christmas this year was extra special because I got to spend it with my family here in Melbourne. It was all very Aussie in regard to the meat pies, tiger prawns, oysters and custard-y lemon tart from Degani Bakery, among many other local treats.







However, the serious holiday feasting took place before Christmas day.

Lechon
For our pre-Christmas Saturday lunch, my family decided that no one wanted to wake up early enough to receive a pig, set up the pit in the backyard and tend to the roast for half a day, so we opted to have our 25kg lechon delivered prepared and ready to eat. Though the pig ended up being very flavorful, my aunt at first was disappointed by the skin. She said it wasn't crispy enough, so my cousins and I took out the heat gun and started to experiment with making crackling. We then shared carving responsibilities.







Iron Chef
On Christmas eve, my family held our own Iron Chef competition. I got to select the secret ingredient--Silver Lake smoked eel I picked up at the Grampians. It was a lot of fun, and all three teams turned out some tasty dishes, using exclusively ingredients from Victoria.

The secret ingredient:


Fettuccine with smoked eel, grilled aubergine and cherry tomatoes:


Smoked eel frittata with garlic & herb toast and orange & dijon salad:


Risotto with smoked eel & King Island brie, infused with fresh herbs and finished with a dash of cream:


I also learned after the competition that eel as an ingredient has special significance for my family. According to my aunt, my grandmother was quite adept at preparing eel for my mom and her sisters and brothers when they were growing up in the Philippines. Most often, she prepared grilled eel (the "bigger" variety) for dipping in garlic and vinegar and also made fairly regularly a delicious eel adobo.

We celebrated after the Iron Chef on Christmas eve with some Lake Champlain and Vosges chocolates I brought from the US, a bottle (or two...) of Swords Brut Cuvée and my cousin Rosemarie's mango sorbet, made with Aussie mangoes just over the peak of ripeness:



Cockatoos
My family took a break from holiday eating today--i.e. a break from feeding ourselves--to feed the local cockatoos, which was a nice change until this greedy cockatoo took a chunk out of my finger. Ungrateful bag of feathers . I'm going back to feeding just myself tomorrow!



My next Melbourne report: TBD...

Part XIII: Vietnamese Food in Greater Melbourne Reconsidered

It turns out that I didn't really know what I was talking out when I described Foostcray upthread as the main destination for Vietnamese food shopping. Last Friday, I got a proper introduction to Vietnamese communities in greater Melbourne by my cousin-in-law Phi, who immigrated from the Vietnamese city of Qui Nhơn to Australia when he was 10. I learned from Phi that there are four major Vietnamese communities in greater Melbourne. In terms of food, the breakdown is as follows:

* Springvale: the largest overall, a mix of both markets and restaurants, perceived as the "cleanest" of all of the Vietnamese hubs (I didn't see for myself what this distinction might actually mean, but several people described Springvale to me in this way...)
* Footscray: the most popular market destination, some restaurants, easier to get to from the city centre than Springvale
* Richmond: primarily restaurants, closer to the city
* St. Albans: the smallest overall, a mix of both markets and restaurants

In other words, Footscray is definitely a destination for shopping, but it has some competition. (I'm not good at using mapping applications, but this map should show the four Vietnamese hubs and how spread out they are. From anecdotal evidence, I think Springvale and Footscray draw the most people, but Phi and other relatives live close to St. Albans and are very content with the markets and restaurants there. I've heard from two trusted sources that St. Albans has the best noodle shops in greater Melbourne, but I didn't have a chance to check it out.)

Last week, we visited Springvale. We arrived after most of the markets had closed for the day (I've got a few Springvale market pics here, somewhat redundant with all of my other Melbourne market pictures) but not too late to pick up a snack of coc dressed with salt and chili.

For dinner, we ended up at Hoa Tran, a popular destination just off the carpark of the Springvale Shopping Centre. I left the ordering to Phi. We started with a classic broken rice dish, which was delicious, possibly the best version of cơm tấm I've ever had:



The pork patties were fried in an unusual way I can't pinpoint which made for a beautiful, crispy exterior and juicy, flavorful interior. This was not simple fried pork. Next, we shared an order of bún bò Huế, which was very good. The broth was complex, with a medium spiciness...lots of different cuts of meat including some nice fatty pork and the requisite pigs' blood jelly, which never actually does anything for me flavor-wise...



Finally, we shared a combination bánh canh:



This was very good, too, but doesn't compare at all to the version Phi's mom makes, with her hand-made noodles and a much thicker, cloudy broth. Actually, I've never found bánh canh along the lines of Phi's mom's preparation in a restaurant. Tank's version in Chicago, for example, has a clear broth too and is not "sticky" at all. Phi explained to me that Hoa Tran's bánh canh is something that would more likely be eaten for lunch in central Vietnam (i.e. he deemed it good for what it was), whereas his mom's version is considered more of a breakfast dish.

I wish I could spend more time exploring Vietnamese food in Melbourne, but, alas, I am out of time on this visit...

Hoa Tran
246A Springvale Rd
Springvale ViC 3171
(03) 9547 7879

My next Melbourne report: Yabbying in Yellingbo and galettes in Williamstown...

Part XIV: Yabbying in Yellingbo and Galettes in Williamstown

Yabbying
I love my family for innumerable reasons. Last Saturday, it was for the Melbourne send-off they gave me. It reached 40 C, yet we all packed up the car and drove for more than an hour through holiday traffic and summer road work so that I could catch, cook and eat my own yabbies. Because of the draughts in Australia, the first few yabby farms we called were closed. We ended up at the Gourmet Yabby Farm in Yellingbo. It was a splendid time--I couldn't have thought of a better way to bond with my relatives before returning to the US.





We ended up catching just over a kilo of yabbies (about 65) in three hours, but I will admit, despite my valiant effort, I contributed only two yabbies to our lot. (The effort actually wasn't valiant at all. I hadn't been any kind of fishing since I was maybe 10--turns out my reflex is to shriek very loudly with excitement when I get a tug on my line, and therefore I almost always scare the yabbies away .)

We caught two tupperware-full:


Because of the heat and early dinner plans, we didn't stay at the farm to cook and eat our catch. It wasn't until late that night that we experimented with preparing the yabbies. We ended up throwing half the lot under the broiler and boiling the other half. I preferred the broiled yabbies. The taste is very similar to prawns, but the texture of the broiled yabbies seemed more of a cross between prawn and lobster. The boiled yabbies were a little mushy for my liking, almost like white fish in texture. For a midnight snack, we dipped the yabbies in olive oil mixed with lemon juice and a pinch of salt. It was a good snack--I reckon I would have had to eat about 300 yabbies to make a filling meal. I'd go yabbying again, but, eating wise, it's a lot of work for little return.







Galettes
For dinner that same day, we headed to the waterfront suburb of Williamstown for galettes and crêpes at Breizoz--another favorite destination of my family. (Breizoz has two locations, the other in Fitzroy. My family unanimously prefers the Williamstown location, perhaps because of the building, which is really neat...stately and cozy at the same time. It used to be the Seamen's Mission, and there's a chapel in the back that is rented for functions.)



The happy_stomach clan in the front room:


A side note: My cousin-in-law Amelie, who was born in Lamballe in Brittany, is especially fond of Breizoz, for the galettes and crêpes but also because it's the only place outside of France where she's found her favorite cake from childhood, a soft meringue she knew as "Mont St. Michel." She and my cousin were married in Cotes-d'Armor but ordered this cake from the crepier of Breizoz, Jean-Marie Blanchot (who is also from Cotes-d'Armor) for the post-wedding garden party they had for friends in Melbourne.

Jean-Marie at work:


We had considerable ordering power the night of my send-off dinner, and I was therefore able to sample an array of galettes and crêpes. We also drank traditional cider with our meal. I typically prefer more simple galettes but got over-excited by the specials board and ordered the blue cheese and asparagus, which I found somewhat off mark. The cheese was too rich for my liking that night, and the asparagus was over-steamed. However, I very much enjoyed the smoked salmon and galette complet (egg, ham and cheese) I tasted from my cousins. The ingredients were fresh, and the preparation was simple. This is the beauty of galettes. For dessert, I ordered the lemon and honey crêpe, which was lovely and refreshing. I also tasted the house-made vanilla ice cream from my cousin's praline and cointreau crêpe, which was very good (the ice cream but also the crêpe), with a nuanced flavor--not ostentatiously bean-y the way house-made ice creams often are.

Blue cheese and asparagus:


The complet:


Pork sausage with tomate:


Smoked salmon:


Black forest:


After Breizoz, the few of us who skipped dessert crêpes headed down the block for gelati. My cousin Star thinks that Capriccio is the best gelateria on Nelson Place (Williamstown's main drag), and from what I tasted, it's quite possible she's right. Capriccio offers a limited selection of flavors compared to many other places around Melbourne--about a dozen only--but what they serve is fresh and bright tasting. I was particularly fond of the blood orange.

I love Williamstown--the views of the water, boats and city are superb, and the places to gather and eat are plentiful, but it's much more quiet and less showy than St. Kilda, a character which suits me very much.

The Gourmet Yabby Farm
(A few kilometres south of Yellingbo, VIC. Smiths Rd heads east off the Healesville-Koo Wee Rup Rd. It leads into Beenak Rd where the farm is...)
(03) 5964 8265 or (014) 024 240

Breizoz
139 Nelson Place
Williamstown, VIC 3016
(03) 9397 2300

Gelateria Capriccio
139 Nelson Place
Williamstown, VIC 3016
(03) 9397 0887

My next report: my Melbourne wrap-up...

Part XV: Melbourne Wrap-Up

Well, my time in Melbourne has come to an end. With a 100 degree temperature change, I'm back in Chicago. Summary is not one of my fortes, but here's a go...Melbourne is a marvelous place to eat. There are many treats to be had easily and inexpensively. Aside from meat pies, I found that good, cheap wood-fired pizza, take-away sushi, roasted chicken, gelati, souvlaki, bratwurst, street food from every country in SE Asia...is everywhere. It's apparent from my posts, but I've fallen in love with the markets of Melbourne. I've been extremely lucky to have had an extended visit, which allowed me to shop and get to know traders and cook an array of market finds. The markets of Melbourne are not a shadow of the markets of, say, France, Italy or (for fish) Japan. They really possess their own very easy-going character and reflect Australia's geography and its fascinating history of immigration.

Below are some miscellaneous food notes organized by neighborhood. In the next week, I'll finalize my Eating Greater Melbourne map and also clean up my posts upthread to make them easier to read and, hopefully, more useful (just minor edits, mainly for brevity). Family: maraming, maraming salamat. I'm in awe of your collective ability to cook, eat and wait for me to photograph everything...tirelessly. Until we see each other again... Cheers.

BRUNSWICK
Banh Na Thai: The restaurant of my newest cousin-in-law's parents, nothing very unusual but solid Thai take-away

Some yummy fried goodness; my favorite from the starters we had were the curry puffs in the foreground of the top picture:




CARLTON
Brunetti: Popular Italian bakery and cafe, widest selection of pastry I've seen around Melbourne--they make everything but don't seem to do anything really well (definitely not any individual-size pastry), also make really bombastic cakes like profiterole pyramids, a few varieties of their cakes are topped with giant chocolate shavings which make them look like Frank Gehry buildings gone very wrong

CHINATOWN
The Grand BBQ-Yong Ton Fu: In Target Centre foodcourt, roasted ducks and BBQ pork in the window, excellent soups on menu but most people seem to order from the soup bar where you choose:

* Any six main ingredients, choices include:
fish-stuffed green peppers, okra, red chilis,
bitter gourds, mushrooms, tofu (all fish-stuffed),
pork & prawn dumplings; crispy bean curd skin;
beancurd skin with minced pork, "fresh made"
fish cake...
* A broth: clear, curry or Tom Yum
* Noodles: egg, rice, Hokkien or spinach

The soup bar is really impressive. All ingredients seemed very fresh. Unfortunately, I couldn't get permission for a photo...

CITY CENTRE
Shuji Sushi: Lots of take-away sushi places in greater Melbourne, this is one of the more reliable chains, fresh ingredients, large rolls, Flinders Lane location seems to be the best and Galleria the most disappointing



FITZROY
Joe's Garage: Feels like a sit-down yuppie breakfast/burger place but menu has some interesting items, good value overall, inside layout more spaced out than a lot of other Brunswick Street/Fitzroy establishments, kid-friendly...My cousins and I stopped here for coffee and pastry one afternoon. We got an excellent sticky date pudding (i.e. cake) served warm with chocolate sauce and sub-par marmalade. The lemon tart was good but of the custard rather than curd variety (I prefer the latter, have had a half dozen lemon tarts in Melbourne--all custard variety, usually sprinkled with powdered sugar). Something I find curious about this place is that all of their cakes (the ones we had and others like carrot, honeycomb cheesecake...) are made in the same pan and therefore the same exact height and diameter--made me realize I enjoy a variety of size and shape in a pastry case--but this uniformity at Joe's did not affect taste. They also make their own herbal teas--lemon grass and ginger was fresh lemon grass and roughly cut ginger--which made me very happy.

Sticky date pudding:


Lemon tart:


Vegie Bar: Popular vegetarian restaurant with a punk vibe listed in Lonely Planet and probably other guidebooks, friendly staff, wide range of juice/smoothie & pizza offerings, flavors overall well-executed...I had a nice macadamia salad off of their specials board with mixed greens, cherry tomatoes, fresh green beans, avocado, citrus fetta and roasted pumpkin. I'm very fond of pumpkin--it took me about a week on this trip to realize that Aussies are, too. I found pumpkin in this salad at Vegie Bar, in a baby spinach-ricotta piandina I had at Queen Victoria Market, in a tart with caramelized onions and feta my cousin Rosemarie made for dinner one night and in quite a few dishes at Joe's Garage down the street...

QUEEN VICTORIA MARKET
American Doughnut Kitchen: Krispy Kreme madness is sweeping Melbourne right now, which is a shame because there are far superior doughnuts to be found there (I'm not really knocking Krispy Kreme; I won't queue up for it, but I'll eat it when it's given to me ). I started writing on the hot jam doughnuts found at Melbourne's markets, but then I stopped writing so that I could eat doughnuts full time. I didn't have a clear favorite; I loved them all. The ones from the American Doughnut Kitchen at Queen Victoria Market are pretty representative--made start to finish on a bus, sold right off the line individually or in bags of five, hole-less and palm-sized, filled with the smallest dab of jam. Heaven. My cousins were surprised when I told them that most doughnuts in the US aren't at all like the hot jam doughnuts in Melbourne. For my five-year-old cousin Isabel, there is no trip to Queen Vic without doughnuts. All kids should be brought up that way.





St. Kilda
Baker D. Chirico: Excellent French-style bakery...I enjoy browsing the cakes on Acland St. (St. Kilda's main drag), the windows full top to bottom of every kind of cake imaginable, but I found that these high-trafficked places lacked refinement in their pastry-making--like Brunetti in Carlton (see above)...a lot of cakes but no real specialty. D. Chirico was an exception, and it's also removed from the crowds of Acland, which I liked.

Cherry and pistachio tart:


(In alphabetical order...)
American Doughnut Kitchen
@ Queen Victoria Market
Queen Street Street
Melbourne, VIC 3000
(03) 94176415

Baker D. Chirico
149 Fitzroy St
St Kilda, VIC 3182
(03) 9534 3777

Banh na Thai
598 Sydney Rd
Brunswick, VIC 3056
(03) 9388 2133

The Grand BBQ-Yong Ton Fu
Target Centre
22 Bourke St
Melbourne

Joe's Garage
366 Brunswick St
Fitzroy, VIC 3065
(03) 9419 9944

Shuji Sushi
250 Flinders Lane
Melbourne, VIC 3000
(03) 9662 2861
(also multiple locations)

Vegie Bar
378 Brunswick St
Fitzroy, VIC
(03) 9417 6935