Dinner @ Mr Fusion, Lt Collins St Melbourne

I do find it a bit strange that this place isn't more popular and nobody has previously blogged about it. Mr Fusion is a restaurant we actually found through one of those Urbanspoon ads, which to be honest, most of the time we ignore. However, on that occasion, we were looking for a Japanese place in the CBD one evening for dinner and Mr Fusion popped up. In addition to that visit, we've now been back twice more and we'd go more often if I didn't live in another city.

On this most recent occasion we were greeted by our super friendly waiter Harry, who remembered us from our two previous visits. Harry's a very nice guy and his is typical of the service at Mr Fusion, very friendly, personal and down to earth. The owner, Mr Fusion himself, is also lovely. But it isn't just the service that sets Mr Fusion apart. The food is always delicious and very good value.

Sashimi platter (small) $26

 The fresh wasabi

Our favourite thing to get here is for sure the sashimi platter. The small size (16 pieces) is the perfect, but generous, size for two sashimi fiends like us. The sashimi is always super fresh and on this occasion we got a nice little surprise in the form of sashimi prawns, something I love but that M had never tried before. What really makes the sashimi here amazing though is that with i you get FRESH wasabi and truffle oil with your soy sauce. The truffled soy sauce I could totally take or leave but I seriously live for the fresh wasabi, which is strangely both more refreshing and packs more heat than the dried/premixed stuff.  Correct if I'm wrong but as far as I'm aware this is the only Japanese restaurant in town which serves fresh wasabi, even the most expensive ones like Koko, Shoya, Yu-U, Kenzan & Nobu give you the packet stuff.

Tori nanban $10.50

Baked jaga $16.50

We've now probably tried most of the dishes on their many and they've all been pretty great. On this occasion, we went for the Baked Jaga butter with wakadori, the Yukke, the Tori Nanban and the Nasu Dengaku. We've had the eggplant here before and at other restaurants; Mr Fusion's version is delightly tender and sweet and flavoursome from the miso. The Yukke was a great rendition of a beef tartar, the beef was high quality and very nicely flavoured. The Tori Nanban (like a karaage topped with slaw) was super yummy while the Baked Jaga was also delicious. The latter dish while normally made with potatoes was tonight substituted with winter vegetables and tasted amazing. In this dish the chicken was totally overshadowed by the veggies for me.

Nasu Dengaku $7.90

Yukke $9.50

We also asked to see their lunch menu (for which they do takeaway, which they don't for dinner), which looked amazing—many Japanese classics like katsu don and Japanese curries etc but I'm sure done super well in the Mr Fusion way, and the prices were also ridiculously good. M is about start his new job close by so he'll probably be frequenting this place for lunch regularly.

Seriously guys, if you haven't been yet to Mr Fusion, do yourselves a favour and book a table. You won't regret it. Try the hotpots (something we've yet to do) and tell us what they're like.

Photo of the week: beef bulgogi @ Darac, Melbourne

Ahh Darac, our old friend. One place that it took ages for us to try after being my my list for so long, but one that we've kept going back to when the craving for smokey bulgogi or a stone bowl bibimbap inevitably hits. Their bulgogi and other of their hot plate meats (e.g. chicken and cheese) are in our opinion the best and charriest in town. They also have great value lunches. Now if only they'd start doing their own KFC...

 

Dinner at Sushi Hotaru, Melbourne

Sushi Hotaru has long been a a firm favourite of ours or a while—our go to when we want cheap, fresh and most importantly, tasty sushi and Japanese. This sentiment seems to be shared by others in the city since nowadays if you want to eat at Hotaru you have to either a) go early e.g. at 5pm or b) be prepared to wait a long time, usually 30 minutes plus. A big factor behind its popularity is definitely its value for money; all sushi plates here are $3 and their sides and sashimi dishes are very reasonably priced too. However, some plates are definitely better value than others and after having being here a several times, we've learned which dishes are worth getting and which aren't.

At the very top of my list for me is their plain udon noodle soup. At $3.50 it's not necessarily extraordinarily cheap for what it is but it is ridiculously delicious—the dashi based stock is sweet and umami while the noodles have the perfect amount of chew. Importantly, the soup is also always piping hot—something of a prerequisite for soups in my eyes. I almost always get two bowls of this stuff every time I come.

The other top favourite for us are the scallop nigiris—both seared and non seared. The seared one is my fave with its lovely charry/smokey flavour and super soft flesh. Other dishes we consistently get are the inari parcels, the octopus nigiri and the scallop/salmon box nigiri. On this occasion we also got the $7.90 sashimi platter but there is definitely better sashimi to be had around Melbourne.

One thing we've noticed of late is that the service has been improving. While the waitstaff used to be rather standoffish, impatient and borderline rude—something very unusual for Japanese staff—nowadays they are perfectly welcoming and obliging. All in all definitely worth the extra effort to get a table here, especially considering you can easily eat very well for around $20-25 per person.

#throwbackthursday review: Tickets by Ferran and Albert Adria, Barcelona

This is a semi-repost from my tumblr.

M and I were really looking forward to our dinner at Tickets as we had always wanted to eat at an Adria restaurant and of course, since El Bulli is long closed, Tickets and its sister restaurant 41° were the next best thing (at the time; they've since opened more restaurants/bars). We had to be very organised and book well in advance (I think it was 60 days?) to get our table, because a booking here really is the hottest ticket in town (*badum chh*). We have friends who have gone to barça and missed out. 

Tickets is a tapas restaurant with a box office theme, which was actually really cool. A person dressed as an usher welcomes you at the door and the whole restaurant is decked out to make you feel like you're sitting in a theatre. The ambiance was super stylish but like any true tapas restaurant, relaxed. It was an open kitchen so we could see the chefs at work. The head chef was an amusing combination of sexy and stern. We had the following dishes: 

Jamon iberico gran reserva: To say that M and I love jamon iberico is a gross understatement, we often half seriously discussed buying a leg from Spain and lugging it home to Australia (although there was the small issue of customs). This was the best we’ve ever had and trumped the one we had at the Mercado in Madrid by a mile. We had it served with tomato bread, which as our waitress Laura told us, is traditional in Catalonia.

Charity olives: these were one of the signature dishes of restaurant and they were typical Adria. These little gel pillows of pure olive deliciousness which burst in the mouth. I’m a bit iffy with olives as I find some of them too bitter but these were exactly what I like in them: tangy, salty and oily. The first one I had, I wasn't prepared for the violent burst and half of it ended up on my trousers but I got the hang of them after that.

 Artichokes: I can’t find the actual name of this dish as I can’t find it on Tickets’ online menu but it was artichoke hearts with cheese (I think it was manchego?) and a white sauce of some kind. Tasty but didn’t blow our socks off.

Ceviche san choi bow: Again I can’t find the actual name of this but this was a white fish (possibly kingfish?) ceviche in little lettuce cups, like Chinese san choi bow. This was super delicious and I kinda wish we got more of them.

Razor clams escabeche: This was the dish that M and I had planned getting like months in advance (we clearly have nothing better to do) because I love razor clams and I love escabeche and M had never had razor clams before. These clams were different from the ones I’d had before (apparently the varieties in Europe are different from the ones we get in China), they had a really pleasant al dente texture which I really enjoyed and of course, the flavours were amazing. Definitely one of the highlights of the meal.

Codfish canchaina with its biscuit: This was nice but ridiculously umami, even too much for my liking. M and I both agreed that this was our least favourite dish of the night.

Grilled marinated Bresse quail: They gave us wet towels with these and it was a good thing because these were literally finger lickin’ good (I don’t think KFC uses this slogan anymore so I’m stealing it). I love quail at the worst of times but these had flavour all throughout the meat and it managed to both be charry and juicy. The accompanying potatoes were also delicious.

Mugaritz torrija with orange zest ice cream: Based on the name, I’m guessing the dish/recipe was from the famous Mugaritz restaurant in San Sebastian (where M and I are planning to dine in the not too distant future). We had to ask Laura what this was and she very cutely explained that it was a traditional dessert which they “impregnated” bread/cake with milk and then fry it. We were so glad we ordered it because it was seriously delicious, imagine a cross between the most delicious bread & butter pudding and creme brulée you’ve ever had.

Cotton Candy tree: We weren’t sure what this was gonna be like when we ordered but since I love cotton candy (or what we call “fairy floss” in Australia), I had to have it. We were wowed when it arrived and it was literally this gigantic tree with fairy floss splayed all over it and little berries (including alpine strawberries) hidden inside like little treasures.

What made the meal extra cool was that towards the end of the meal none other than Ferran himself walked in, quietly sat by a window and had a beer. Nobody bothered him and we didn’t either, but I did squee a little inside being in the presence of a legend.

The service from our lovely waitress Laura was super attentive and friendly, and added to the overall experience. As a side note, it was very reasonably priced; I think it came to a little over 100 euros or so, which is basically what we’d pay for a nice dinner in Melbourne. All in all it was an amazing, thoroughly enjoyable experience and we would love to go back again the next time we're in Barcelona.

Quick dinner @ Oppa Kitchen, Swanston Street Melbourne

A few days ago while walking along the ever bustling Swanston Street, we'd noticed a cool-looking new Korean restaurant spring up. The next day, we decided to pop in for a quick dinner.

The attractive white and neon facade was matched by the hip interior—all geometric white and neon with clean lines and a quasi-futuristic feel.

 Fried seaweed rolls $5

 Sweet soy KFC (small) $5

After a friendly greeting by what seemed like the lone waitress, we quickly decided what we wanted from the menu. It's no secret that M and I love Korean Fried Chicken (KFC), our favourite being Mook Ji's rendition, so we couldn't resist getting one here. We got the small sweet soy version, which in combination with the other entree we ordered (fried seaweed rolls), was the perfect sized entree for two. On the cute little plate came not only the chicken, but (weirdly enough) a few potato wedges, a fried rice cake, slaw with spicy mayo and some delicious pickled cucumber (more salty and much less sour than traditional western pickles). The accompaniments were similar for the fried rolls. These rolls, while tasty due to their deep fried-ness, were a bit boring and bland for my liking. Perhaps that was just in comparison to the chicken, which was delicious—perfectly crispy, juicy and very flavoursome despite being boneless.

Spicy pork meal bucket $10

 Beef bulgogi meal bucket $10

We also each got a $10 meal bucket, he the spicy pork and I the beef bulgogi version. As has been the case lately, M managed to pick the better dish. His spicy pork was suitably spicy and he got the added bonus of kimchi, which I missed out on. My beef bulgogi was not so stellar, the beef was cut so thin that it was rendered rather flimsy and had almost the same texture as minced beef.  It addition of carrots which seemed like they'd been pre-cut and sitting around for a while before being cooked also took away from the dish. Neither of us were crazy about the mandarin dressing; I found it too bitter and astringent for my tastes and I've never been particularly fond of fruit based salad dressings. However, the potato croquette, although cold, was still very crunchy and surprisingly delicious.

All in all though we were happy with our meal—great value at $30 for the two of us—and will definitely be back for more of that KFC. We both get the feeling that this was only a 'soft' open, the current venue looks definitely set to change, the place is yet to be licenced (I don't think I've ever been to an unlicenced Korean resto before) and the place is still cash only. Thus it would be great to come back once they've done a full open to see everything this Oppa has to offer.

Small bites @ Gyoza Gyoza, Lt Bourke St Melbourne

Okonomiyaki, Chicken Karaage and Gyoza (all $6.50)

Tuna Tataki and Fried Rice Cakes 

If you are looking for quick and cheap Japanese tapas in Melbourne, a visit to Gyoza Gyoza on Little Bourke street isn’t a bad choice.

They are famous for two things, their extensive range of interestingly flavoured gyoza (served either steamed or fried) and their $6.50 a plate tapas.

I tried the Wagyu Beef fried Gyoza, Okonomiyaki, Chicken Karage, Tuna Tataki, Fried Rice Cakes and the Tempura Veg.

Flavours were rich and pleasant (other than the Fried Rice Cake that was nice and Miso-rich on top, but flavourless at the bottom) and all of the dishes were nice.

Portions were good as well (other than the Tuna Tataki which felt a little on the light side) and value for money was definitely there.

The beer and sake list was also extensive, and there were plenty of good drops to match any meal combination or preference. If I need somewhere to take a group of friends or colleagues on short notice, I would definitely head back.

Photo of the week: cookieee om nom nom

Border butterscotch crunch from Scotland: quite possibly the nicest packet biscuit known to man.

Noodle reviews: ramen @ DonToo and boat noodles @ Thai Culinary, Melbourne

Miso ramen with extra egg $10.80

 The money shot

The gory ending

DonToo

This is our pick for the best tasting bowl of ramen in Melbourne. While others will disagree and while it's certainly not the most authentic ramen out there, it's the one we consistently go back to. So why is it the best? Firstly the price: at $9.30 their miso ramen is ridiculous value, especially considering that other ramen joints easily charge you $15+ to get the sorts of topings you get as standard in DonToo's version. It's also just super yummy and ridiculously comforting: the homemade noodles are always lovely and chewy (and you get to upgrade to 300g worth for no extra cost), the broth is delicious and flavoursome, something I have found lacking in other bowls of ramen, the pork is super flavoursome and not too fatty (although this is a personal preference, others prefer a fattier cut of pork like the traditional rolled pork belly), there are plenty of vegetables including my fave—the corn, the marinaded egg is absolutely delicious, well flavoured and gooey in the middle (so much so that I almost always order extra egg), and last but not least free condiments!!! At the counter you can pick up cute little jars of garlic, chilli, pepper and sesame oil. I add all of them in abundance to my broth while M prefers to go au naturale; but hey, it's nice having a choice, right?

Beef boat noodles (no beef balls at my request) $9

Thai Culinary

As previously alluded to, when the hankering for boat noodles hits, we generally go to Jinda Thai in Abbotsford to quell the craving. However, like the last time we wanted some Thai, Jinda was booked out. Instead, we headed round the corner to Thai Culinary, which is usually pretty good if you want a quick meal on the cheap. I've ordered the boat noodles a few times at TC now, after changing from my previous fave of pad see ew. The first time I got the boat noodles here, it was a huge serving, with really nice soft meat and bits of crushed whole garlic cloves for extra flavour. Nowadays, the serving is definitely less generous, the meat not as nice and no more garlic. That said though, the flavour of the broth is still really nice and even though it lacks the blood which is traditional, it's still very very flavoursome so I'd still recommend it if you have a hankering for a hot bowl of spicy and fragrant noodles in the CBD.

111 Spring Street at the Hotel Windsor, Melbourne

The chicken main: elegant plating at its finest

I decided to treat my father to a nice dinner as a Christmas present and made the mistake of letting him choose the venue. Of all things he picked 111 Spring Street (the in house restaurant at the Windsor Hotel – the home away from home for Victoria’s pollies). After an utterly disappointing and horrendously expensive meal, it has become my pick for the best way to waste $200 in Melbourne.

This place would have been R’s worst nightmare and was probably the worst nice meal I have had in my life.

Entrée

For entrée I ordered the Miso Cured Salmon with kolrabi, puffed rice and a buttermilk sauce. It tasted of… absolutely nothing. Like, seriously, there was perhaps the slightest hint of umami and bitterness from the kolrabi, but it was like they had taken the time and effort to expunge every ounce of flavour from the dish. The texture of the fish was fine and indeed all the ingredients were of the highest quality, its just that the chefs seemed to apply all their expertise to making sure it was bland bland bland.

My dad got the Flinders Island Wallaby (complete with chlorophyll! Mmmm!) and said that it was ‘lovely’ but he is absolutely the target audience – very old, very white. For my thoughts on the mouthful I tried, see the Miso Cured Salmon above.

Mains

Chicken, one of my favourite meats. Even when it’s bad, its normally reasonably tasty. Thank you 111 Spring Street for being an exception to this rule! For my main I got the Roasted Organic Chicken with Avruga Caviar, Macadamia Crème, Crispy Kale and Kelp Liqueur. That is the dish pictured above and it just… well look at it really. That leafy mass all clumped together, that was fried sage. Just there. Like a vegetable (Pro tip, 111: sage is not a vegetable!). The caviar was nice, like really actually quite nice, flavourful stuff, but muddled in with 3 competing flavours in this wet, runny, macadamia excretion. It didn’t work at all. Also the chicken was bland. Nicely cooked, and good meat, but again WHERE IS THE FLAVOUR, 111?

Dad got the Slow Cooked Lamb Saddle with a range of marginally identifiable things as sides. It was OK, just barely OK. It was also 38 dollars. The same price as the frankly fantastic lamb dish I had at Cutler & Co the week before. Groan.

Dessert

I shouldn’t have gotten dessert. It wasn’t like we were on a set menu, and we were already having such a fantastic meal by that point. But Dad wanted the third course, and hey, it was Christmas!

I had the White Chocolate Mousse with Lemongrass Curd, Macadamia Polovrone and Lemon Balm. The sweet bits were barely flavoured. The sour bits were overwhelmingly bitter. The Polovrone was, like eating mouthfuls of macadamia flavoured talcum powder. Seriously, I think the pastry chef personally hated me or something.

Dad had this plum and chocolate thing – I tasted it and can confirm that it technically met the definition of a dessert.

Service

The service was OK, the wait staff were friendly and we got exactly what we ordered (even though none of it was nice). The 1.5% card surcharge was quite frankly ridiculous though, and I didn't even use a credit card! It left nearly as bad a taste in my mouth as the dishes.

Conclusion
GG 111 Spring Street, you have finally beaten Attica for the title of ‘M’s least favourite restaurant’.

Even with all the vitriol above I cant begin to describe how… sad the whole experience made me feel. You would have more fun eating in a palliative care ward.

Seriously, this place is like, the dining equivalent of a reasonably well made fake watch or handbag. It approximates something good, people clearly tried hard in its creation, but it isn’t – and will never be – anything even marginally desirable.

Avoid like the plague.

#throwbackthursday review (New Year edition): NYE dinner @ Iris, Edinburgh

This week's #tbt takes us to Edinburgh where M and I spent New Years' Eve attending the city's Hogmanay celebration. The Hogmanay party itself was kinda shite—wet, ridiculously cold to the point that I couldn't feel my toes, and packed full of drunk, hair-pulling vagabonds, half of whom were probably Australian. While I accept that this is many people's idea of a good time, these teetotalers didn't enjoy it. We were having such a miserable time of it that we headed back to our hotel room before midnight. The photo above was taken through our room window looking towards Edinburgh Castle.

Some 5 hours or so before we were sitting in a warm and cosy restaurant in the heart of New Town. We had chosen Iris because of the good reviews and because the other restaurants we had an eye on were already booked out.

Iris is hidden away in a dark cobbled side street in New Town and it felt like a bit of an adventure finding it around the gated off Hogmanay section of the city.  Walking in, it definitely had the feel of a cosy neighbourhood restaurant adored by the locals.The mirrored walls gave the illusion that the restaurant was much bigger than it actually was.

The food itself, while the photos aren't amazing, was actually pretty good. My favourite dish of the night was the pork rolled with spinach and prosciutto served with a seeded mustard sauce. The pork was pink, flavoursome and very tender, while the sauce was a nice accompaniment that elevated the dish. The duck entree was nicely cooked but we found the sauce a little too sweet for our liking.

The restaurant was also very good value, with entrees priced well below £10. All in all a much more pleasant experience than the one we were about to experience at Hogmanay.