Pre-dinner tacos and tequila @ Hello Jose

Not really sure exactly what we felt like on a cold winters night in North Melbourne, my friend GL and I decided to check out Hello Jose. HJ is a hole in the wall style taqueria that serves traditional soft tacos, salads, an extensive range of tequila and not much else.

We both decided to go for a tequila and two soft tacos, with both of us choosing one crispy pork belly (the house speciality) and a chipotle beef. All of HJs tacos come on a fresh, soft, corn flour, pillow of awesome, with a delicious red cabbage salad for colour, crunch and astringent complimentary flavour. That part at least was amazing.

The toppings were more hit and miss. I really loved the beef - slow cooked in a great spice mix with chipotle mayo and jalapeños as a garnish - spicy and very moreish. The crispy pork belly with apple slaw I could take or leave. It tasted a bit like bad crackling - that is crunchy, but gamy and pork greasy to the max - and the apple slaw did nothing for it. It markedly improved when I dumped a lot of their house made salsa onto it, but still wasn't great.

Interestingly, GL, who spends a lot of time in California for work said the tacos really took him back to some his more adventurous eating in the food trucks and markets of LA and The Bay Area. When we were asked by the Aztec poncho wearing hostess if we enjoyed our food, he told her they were the best tacos outside of California, much to her obvious, mexicocentric, chagrin.

We also sampled a variety of interesting tequilas - including an interesting anejo (aged) tequila with a smokiness that reminded me very distinctly of a nice glass of Laphroiagh.

All in all, I'd be back - however I'd stay away from the pork.

-M

Aeropress @ Grandpa Joe

So, I own an aeropress and while it has made me some excellent cups of coffee, making sure that I can get the coffee to brew just right before it leaks through the filter has always been a challenge. That was at least until how I saw them do it at Grandpa Joe.

Push the plunger in to make a seal, invert the whole apparatus, put in your coffee and water and let it steep. Then when you're happy, attach the filter spin it back around and press out a beautiful cup.

The one I got at Grandpa Joe was good, but it was just a step on the road to my mastery of aero pressing.

Reuben and Horchata @ Twenty & Six Espresso

With a lunchtime flight interstate, I felt I needed to pre-game with a sandwich that was better than what Qantas was going to be offering me. So prior to taxiing out to the airport I stopped for a coffee, a Ruben and an iced Horchata at Twenty & Six in North Melbourne.

My Ruben came on a delicious rye with pickled onions, lashings of house made sourkraut, a delicious Russian dressing and a side of pickles and salad. The coffee was strong and nutty and my Horchata was just sweet and rich enough to take the edge off my morning.

Twenty & Six also has a lovely range of breakfast and lunch options (though trending more toward the 'lunch' end of the spectrum as most of North Melbourne seems to be. The pastries and the staff are also great and I'll definitely be back.

Breakfast @ Grigons & Orr

Grigons & Orr (Grigsons and others if their name is a law report citation joke as I suspect it might be) is a pleasant little outfit in North Melbourne that I often frequent when I am wandering the area with friends.

On this particular morning I enjoyed an excellent coffee along with the 'Salmon and Rosti' eggs (two poached eggs, smoked Tasmanian salmon, spiced potato Rosti, smoked aioli, pickled carrot and cress) while my friend had the 'Italian Stallion' jaffle (Italian prosciutto, spinach, sundried tomatoes, a mixture of hard and soft Italian cheeses, toasted on white in a jaffle iron with a side of pesto).

My dish was really nice, the eggs were perfectly poached and richly flavoured. The smoked salmon was fresh and flavoursome and offset the smoky, garlicky, richness of the aioli very nicely. The Rosti could have gone with a little more flavour or kick, but as absorbent base to the dish it picked up many fine flavours from the other components. The cress was good but the carrot added... not much really.

My friend enjoyed his coffee and found his jaffle quite satisfactory. He had wanted something sweet to begin with, but went for the jaffle because the flavour combo appealed to him and his verdict was that it worked just as well on the palette as it did on the menu.

Grigons & Orr is well worth a visit if you're over the more mainstream North Melbourne joints. I will say though, it seems like their menu has shrunk and focused more on lunch than brunch. So perhaps the long predicted death of brunch is finally upon us. Snowcrabnebula will keep our eyes peeled for any other harbingers and report the, as we see them!

Coffee and antipasto @ A25

My friends and I, all being foreign policy tragics, were originally enticed into A25 at the Yarra end of Chapel Street because of the prominent photos of former Italian President, billionaire and noted sex pest Silvio Berlusconi as well as a selection of quotes from the 'great' man that adorned the walls.

It was fortunate that we chose to go in as they brewed a damn fine coffee and offered up some great antipasto to go with it.

Along with our long blacks and lattes we shared a platter of fine imported small goods and cheeses as well as a delicious herb focaccia.

The coffee was excellent. A25 use Dukes coffee and the blend they chose made for a great cup while our charming Italian waiter pulled us a series of great cups.

The antipasto platter was also fantastic. We enjoyed some fantastic bresaola, salami and perfect prosciutto. In addition there was a fine gorgonzola as well as a collection of hard cows and sheets milk cheeses.

Finally the focaccia was freshly baked and had a great chewy texture with a crisp base. It went very well with the platter.

If you're venturing down to the cooler end of Chapel, A25 is highly recommended.

Quick burger @ Dikstein's Corner Bar

Dikstein's generally makes me my morning coffee (along with some of Melbourne's finest and most interesting muffins - Blueberry Crumble or Bread and Butter Pudding anyone? Oh yes!)

So I thought I would try one of their lunch offerings. I wasn't disappointed.

I got a waygu beef burger (Turkish roll, Gruyere, fried onion, bacon, and all the usual trimmings).

The patty was absolutely wonderful, moist, flavoursome and fresh tasting - no smelly beef here. And the rest of the burger was delicious.

It was a little expensive at $13 (but then so is everything they sell - other than the cheap pizzas to draw the Barristers in for a bottle of Wolf Blass or five), however I would recommend a visit.

Quick dinner @ Hakata Gensuke

So like any good salaryman I enjoy a quick bowl of ramen on my way back from work. So one night recently I decided to join the line of eager people waiting for a seat at Hakata Gensuke the "Ramen Professional"'s first outlet in Melbourne.

This place has been incredibly hyped and though it did me a nice enough bowl of noodles I don't think I'll be rushing back.

I got the black Sesame soup base along with charsiew and egg.

I was pleased when ordering that I could customise almost every aspect of my dish from how long I wanted my noodles cooked to the specific combination of garnishes on top. However I was less happy about the fact that almost each aspect of the dish excluding the soup, noodles and spring onion was an optional extra that came with an additional cost. The base bowl was like $11 as eaten it was $15 and had I wanted a more complete bowl it may have pushed over $20.

$20, for a ramen? That's definitely on the steep end of the ramen price spectrum. And it wasn't even very good. Like at best it was ok. I much preferred Mugen and obviously DonToo is my gold standard.

In short, I wouldn't recommend it. I have no problem with paying for quality, but when you charge through the nose you need to deliver and Hakata Gensuke really didn't.

Photo of the week: cocktails @ Lui Bar‏

Whenever I have a friend in from out of town and we decide to do drinks one of my favourite places to take them is Lui Bar attached to Vue de Monde in the Rialto.

Pictured is a Vodka Pour Over. A generous helping of Grey Goose poured over ice and finely ground high-altitude coffee before being filtered at the table. A lovely way to end the day or start the night! At $24, it's never going to be the cheapest cocktail in town, but let's be honest you're paying for the amazing view.

Tapas and cocktails @ Ba'get, Argus Building Melbourne

A couple of weeks ago we were invited to a special sitting at Ba'get in the Argus Building (my future home once I can scrape the pennies together) for a preview of their new tapas and cocktail menu.

So I had been to Ba'get once before, and enjoyed a reasonable Bahn Mi and a delicious pastry for lunch. I was unaware that they had been planning an expansion into evening tapas and cocktails, however I was pleasantly surprised to be invited to attend a preview dinner to eat through their new menu. And you know what? I thoroughly enjoyed the unique tapas and cocktails Ba'get have on offer.

The menu contained the following:
- Battered and fried white bait with herb aoli;
- Build-your-own rice paper rolls with char siew pork that had been sous vided before being grilled;
- Deep fried chicken wings with coleslaw and chilli-vinegar dipping sauce;
- Fried calamari with siracha mayo;
- Pork and taro spring rolls with herbs and lettuce for wrapping;
- Chicken and pork salad with prawn cracker 'bowls';
- Fried prawn trumpets with herbs and siracha mayo;
- Five spiced sweet potato fries; and
- Grilled meat balls with salad.

Accompanying the tapas were two kinds of cocktails a Vietnamese take on a Mojito with rum, Vietnamese mint and coriander, and an absolutely delicious gin, ginger and chilli concoction that was sweet, fizzy and fiery all at once. I thoroughly enjoyed these and think that for the price ($10) you would almost make a detour past Ba'get just for these even if you didn't feel like a snack to go with them.

Working my way through the menu was exciting and tasty.

The white bait were crisp and nicely spiced and didn't have too much of that overpowering 'fishy' flavour that I generally associate with white bait. However they certainly weren't my favourite of the dishes.

The build-your-own rice paper rolls were a fun experience. A cool little gadget was brought to our table that allowed you to wet the rice paper roll and then get it onto your plate prior to assembly. I think Baget would do a roaring trade if they started selling those for $15 a pop. The pork was really nice, lean and chary as anything. Our host explained that it had been sous-vided prior to being grilled, and although I cant verify whether this had any appreciable effect on it versus non sous-vided pork, it sure was delicious.

The deep fried chicken wings that came next were apparently made to the old family recipe of our host's mother and were one of my favourites for the evening. The batter was light and crisp and the flavour was intense. I am a big buffalo wings guy and these were right up there with some of the best hot wings I've had, with the key advantage of not being soaked in a thick chili sauce.

The fried calamari was as advertised, fried calamari. It was nice and clearly quite fresh, however it wasn't particularly 'Vietnamese'. It would make a good bar snack with a beer or cocktail though.

The pork and taro spring rolls were an interesting choice. Taro is a sweet-potato like substance that makes it way into a lot of Asian dishes, and it went very nicely with the pork. I am not sure how many of those I could eat in a row however, They were quite rich and there wasn't enough chili in them to cut through that richness. Perhaps they would work well for a big group where everyone had just one.

The chicken and pork salad was a nice touch, it was light and refreshing and the idea of making it easy to share out between friends gy giving you extra large prawn crackers to use as edible 'bowls' was a pretty cool twist. It had a great herby/citrusy/chili twist too it which I enjoyed as well.

The prawn trumpets which came next were ok. They had lots of nice prawn in them, however I think by that point I was a little over fried spring roll type dishes. Had at the start of a meal, I think you would be very satisfied with them.

Finally came the grilled meat balls. These were probably my favourite dish of the night. They were caramalised on the outside with a sweet sauce that gave a crisp toffee-apple-esque hard shell on the outside that shattered as you bit through to reach the wonderfully spiced and fresh pork on the inside. Along with some salad and herbs to be wrapped up in lettuce leaves and a hoysin and chili dipping sauce these were fantastic. I would highly recommend getting a plate to yourself if you go as they will fly off the plate if you are sharing with friends.

To the public each of the tapas and the cocktails will be $10 and are great value at the price.

Dinner @ Mugen Ramen

Ramen is one of those things, when you want it, you want it, and you want it to be good.

So I am pleased to announce that discerning ramen fans now have one more excellent options among Melbourne's noodle houses to add to the list of ramen places that actually deliver the goods.

Mugen looks like it belongs in Gibson's sprawl-era Chiba, all glass and pre-weathered concrete in the above ground bar, and neon lights and dark wood panels in the dining room two flights down below street level.

The place oozes cool, down to the manga toons on the menus, and I started to wonder if the food could live up to the hype that they were trying to build. The answer is yes, it absolutely did.

I ordered the Miso Ramen (Miso and Dashi based broth, house made Ramen noodles, slow cooked chashu pork, bean shoots, pork mince and corn) and my dining companion has the Hiyashi Ramen (Cold Ramen noodles on a fresh green salad with finely sliced omelette, slow cooked pork and sesame soy dressing). We also split a Tsukune (Grilled chicken skewers made from chicken thigh and soft chicken bones, drizzled in Teriyaki sauce and with a fresh egg yolk as a dip).

The Tskune arrived first and it was both beautifully flavoured and had an amazing texture. The 'soft bones' on the menu are small chips of chicken cartilage boiled and boiled and boiled until they reach a texture that is both crunchy and delicate all at the same time. They were mixed up with a perfectly spiced mince of chicken and then grilled to chary perfection. The addition of one perfectly formed (and utterly whiteless) egg yolk as a dip was sublime, the texture and subtle egg flavour perfectly glazed the skewers and really elevated the dish.

Then came the Ramen. And what Ramen it was! The noodles were absolutely perfect, chewy and fresh. The broth was both delicately flavoured and like nothing that I have had with Ramen before. It was a really good mix of sweet and salt and umami, and offset everything else perfectly. Only one downside was the minced pork, it wasn't bad, it just didn't really add anything. Nonetheless, the Miso Ramen comes highly recommended.

My dining companion also loved his Hiyashi Ramen and said that it was the perfect Ramen dish for summer.

There aren't many seats in Mugen, so get there early to make sure you are filling one of them ASAP.

On a ramen related note, SCN have been invited to the soft opening of a new ramen restaurant in the Melbourne CBD. Stayed tuned for the review at the end of this month. In even more exciting news, we found out very recently that we will be eating at the most coveted table in town next Saturday. Don't want to give too much away, but most of you can probably guess...

Photo of the week: dessert @ The Girl with the Gris Gris, Melbourne

Chocolate and walnut bread and butter pudding with brandy cream sauce at The Girl with the Gris Gris.

Dinner at  Gris Gris wasn't the raging Cajun sensation I was hoping for, at least until dessert arrived. 

Rich (but not too sweet), dense (but not too dry), bursting with flavour and doused in the most amazing boozy sauce, the bread and butter pudding makes a trip to Market lane well worth the trek.

Sadly they don't do coffee to go with it, however a nice glass of good Bourbon would really suit the dish and TGWTGG has cool Bourbons aplenty.

Coffee and dessert @ Dex2Rose Nitrogen Gelato

So Nitrogen Gelato is the new cupcake store, it's clearly a fad, 90% of the places won't last the distance, but there are the occasional points of interest that make you see why it became a trend in the first place.

I think Dex2Rose is one of those places. I really liked it and I think it may have what it takes to make it, provided they can attract customers to their slightly oddball location.

I was first introduced to the brand when an earnest young man shoved a sampler pot of Walnut-Maple-Vanilla into my hand as I was walking back from the Australian Open. Some weeks later, out with my friend D, I needed a late night hit of coffee and sugar and the memory of Dex2Rose surfaced in my mind.

I had the 'Lazy Dinner' (sage, burnt butter and vanilla ice cream with caramel sauce) and D had the Pink Flamingo (moscato and peach gelato with coconut cream). We also both ordered one of their iced filter coffees.

The Lazy Dinner was AMAZING. It is the nicest ice-cream that I have had anywhere in Australia for a very long time. The sweet/savoury combination of the sage, burnt butter, rich vanilla and the bittersweet caramel was just perfect. The staff told me the owner comes up with all of the flavors, and so a massive shout out to someone who has a great talent for creating taste sensations.

D said that the gelato component of the Pink Flamingo was amazing, but that the coconut cream worked against it. He was still however very impressed and wolfed his down.

We both loved our coffees. They came in this amazing little brown glass bottle and the flavour was perfect. Not a hint of bitterness (which is so so rare for iced filter coffee) and just the perfect beans for the job (light and tangy, but not too acidic).

Seriously, take the time to duck down the side alley off Little Bourke where Dex2Rose have their HQ, you will not be disappointed.

Coffee and Dessert @ DOC Espresso, Lygon Street

Lygon Street is basically a theme park. It thrives off the fact that large numbers of people perceive it to be an accurate simulacrum of some dining district in Rome and that somehow, because of that, it is a classy place to go. So they dress up in their Armarni Exchange jeans, put on their best fake Gucci glasses and arrive to have overpriced rubbish at Brunetti, listen to idiots rev out their mid-90's Ferraris and bask in their own 'culture'. I was as guilty of this as anyone until R pointed out to me that the whole place was more Eastern European sleaze than it was high renaissance glory, and that the pushy touts out the front of every restaurant are about as authentically Italian as a McCafe Cappuccino. I have now repented.

However, there is a glimmer of the real Italy in the Lygon wasteland - DOC.

Both of the DOC outlets, the Pizzeria and Mozzarella bar and DOC espresso make excellent food with great Italian service.

I went with my friend J to Doc Espresso for a late night coffee and sweet treat. We were not disappointed.

I had a long black with a Nutella Pannacotta and J had a latte with a Goats Cheese Tiramisu.

My coffee was excellent, from the roast to the expression to the funky little cup and saucer set up. I really enjoyed it and it was the perfect nightime pick-me-up. J really liked his latte and the pattern in the foam had all the continental flair you might expect.

My Pannacotta was smooth and richly flavoured. You could taste the rich choc-hazelnut of the Nutella as well as the quality of the other ingredients. The crunch of toasted pine nuts sprinkled on top was also a nice touch.

J's Tiramisu was interesting and I am keen to try a full one. The single mouthful I had was rich and tangy, with a deep choc-coffee flavour permeating the delicate sponge at its heart. I'm not sure that I'd go for making a Tiramisu with Goat's Cheese myself, but it was an interesting deviation from the norm.

If you find yourself, by some strange misfortune, on Lygon Street in the near future, do yourself a favour and head to one of the DOCs, you won't be disappointed.

Coffee @ Snow Pony, Balwyn

I have wanted to try the coffee at Snow Pony for quite some time. It gets quite high praise for its hot drinks and pastries so I thought I would stop by for a quick morning coffee.

So, it was OK I guess, not amazing.

First, the coffee. There isn't a photo because it wasn't worth it - there was no crema and so it just looked like a black puddle. Crema is one of my favourite parts of the coffee experience, and a long black without any suggests that the crew manning the coffee machine was just too overworked. Not to mention it took ages to arrive, although I guess the place was pretty full.The flavour was up there though, so I would definitely like to check it out again sometime.

Or at least I would have, but for the pastry. So, I get that in cafe math, a pastry is automatically $4.50+. That's fine. It should cost more than my coffee. However, when it is the size of a postage stamp and tastes like... nothing, that's just criminal.

Anyway, if I happen to be passing by I might stop for another coffee. Otherwise, no dice.

A king's ransom of food @ Brim CC, Melbourne

I had heard amazing things about Brim CC and was not disappointed.

I went to their hole-in-the-wall place down Little Collins on a warm summer night with a hankering for a nice Japanese Curry.

I ordered the Beef Curry Set (Vegetarian Japanese Curry on Organic Black and White Rice with an Organic Beef Rissole, Pumpkin Soup and Vege sticks with garlic-miso dip.

Brim use only organic produce and products in all of their food, and the flavours really came through.

Starting with the 'Vege Sticks and Dip' side - the veges had been cut earlier in the day (leaving the cucumber to go a bit soft) but otherwise the quality was amazing and the taste was great. The dip was a stand out, a perfect combination of the salty-spice of miso with the rich flavour of roast garlic.

Next, the soup. Thick and flavoursome, the soup was a very nice addition to what was already a serious spread of food. The soup could have been a lunch in its own right (provided you ahd some bread or rice with it) and indeed Brim is known for soups at lunch.

Finally, the Curry. Spicy and fresh, with plenty of beautifully cooked vegetables on a bed of really cool mixed grain rice. The rissole was grilled, and tasted much like the 'hamburg' steak that you occasionally find at Japanese places that echo some of the neo-weird of their cultural inspiration. I probably would choose the vegetarian curry in the future - not because the beef wasn't nice enough, but just because no sane person could eat as much as arrived in front of me, and all for a very reasonable price.

I would definitely be back - in particular to try their deserts, which look amazing!