Taxi Dining Room

Federation Square
Level 2 of Transport Hotel, Cnr Princes Bridge & Northbank St
Melbourne VIC 3000
Ph: (03) 9654 8808


A group of us had gone to Taxi Dining Room to celebrate Ling's graduation from a double degree of Law and Engineering. She's one smart cookie. I had been wanting to go to Taxi for quite a while, hearing and reading lots of good review. And with one of Melbourne's most established chef in Michael Lambie, I was expecting a lot. I guess with great expectations can come great disappointment.


The Taxi Dining Room space is one of prime real estate. It's second story location over the river provides a beautiful view when the sun is setting over the city. It has a lovely airy feel since the windows were all open and light was streaming in everywhere.


Whilst we ummm-ed and ahhh-ed over whether to go the full 7 course degustation or the smaller 5 course, I got a photo with my number 1 food blog fan, Angie. She's apparently my most devoted reader, checking out my blog every day, only to find I haven't updated in ages. I should point her towards using RSS. It'll save her a lot of time due to my infrequent posting. Anyway, in the end we went for the 5 course degusation as the girls thought they couldn't finish 7 and we couldn't do a split course.


The first course was a Tuna Tartare with Caviar and a Soy Black Bean Sauce. This dish was absolutely melt in your mouth divine. I loved the finely diced tuna and how it just slid down my throat with the brilliant sauce. After this dish, my expectations were through the roof, but I was to be disappointed.


The next dish was a Prawn Gyoza. It was an ok dish, but actually no better than other dumplings that can be had around town. The skin wasn't particularly good, as that's where the biggest separator between a good and bad gyoza is I think. I once watched this Japanese anime about cooking where the chef threw away all the meat in the gyoza and just ate the skin. He said that the meat is there to just provide flavour to be absorbed into the skin. It was an anime so don't read too much into it, but the skin is the hardest part to get right for a gyoza I think. What do you think? Do you know of any extremely fantastic gyozas around Melbourne?


The next dish of Seared Kingfish with a Cucumber Lobster Salad and Celeriac Puree was actually a real let down. The kingfish was way overcooked until it was quite tough. I didn't think the matching condiments really went with the fish either.


The mains of Crispy Szechwan Duck with Lime Pickles, Vietnamese Salad and Tamarind Sauce was again quite disappointing. The flavour profiles worked quite well actually, but the duck was tough as an 18 wheeler truck. It was indestructible and we were all really struggling to cut it apart, let alone eat it. It was so chewy, it was ridiculous. The layer of fat under the skin was still so think and had not been rendered away at all. This meant we had to peel off a lot of the skin just to avoid eating all that duck fat.


The meal rounded off with a dessert of Pannacotta with Coffee Crumble and Coffee Ice Cream. It was quite a nice dessert, but a bit heavy with the coffee I think. That really dominated the flavour and you could hardly taste the pannacotta anymore.


The ambience in the restaurant is a bit strange. Since we were seated in the balcony area, I'm not sure what it was like inside the restaurant. But in the balcony, due to the open nature of the space, having tables set really sparse made you feel really isolated. I guess it's a good thing if you like that, but it makes the whole place seem a bit dead and dull. That's just my personal opinion, what do others think about table settings? Do you like them set really really far apart? I feel it detracts from the overall ambience of a place.

The service was acceptable but I felt it to be way too over the top. The waiters were reciting things as if they were in a Shakespeare production. Also, when they talked to us, it just felt like they were talking past us. How many times can you keep reasking the same question "Oh, so you just graduated right? What course did you do again?" without it feeling fake. Also, despite the massive number of wait staff, it was actually really hard to get their attention. And when we left and paid the bill, they couldn't even be bothered to say thanks and show us out, just left us confused as to whether we should go or wait for change from our money. We did intend to put the money as a tip, but we didn't know if we should wait for them to bring back the bill with the change or go. After ten minutes and no bill being returned, we just upped and left.

Overall Rating: 12/20, Food was good and bad. Service and ambience not very good.

Scores: 1-9: Unacceptable, don't bother. 10-11: Just OK,some shortcomings. 12: Fair. 13: Getting there. 14: Recommended. 15: Good. 16: Really good. 17: Truly excellent. 18: An outstanding experience. 19-20:Approaching perfection, Victoria's best.

Wa-Fu

927 Burke Road
Hawthorn East Vic 3123
Ph: (03) 9882 9818


A catch up dinner with Adrian resulted in us finding this cool Japanese restaurant on Burke Road. I beg of you to walk past the crappy Sofia's restaurant and spend your money on some real value at Wa-Fu.

The restaurant is a nicely decorated small space with low lighting. I wish they could make it a bit brighter. At the time of seating, we were the first customers so got the wait staff's full attention.


We decided to go for the banquet, which was $28. The banquet consisted of Japanese green tea, miso soup, gyoza, sushi and sashimi, tempura, teriyaki beef and finally green tea ice cream.

I was quite surprised at the quality of food. The gyozas were really good, with a think skin and a good stuffing that didn't reek of ultra strong pork smell from the bad cuts of pork. The sushi and sashimi were fairly simple but serviceable. I was most suprised at the tempura prawns and vegetables, which had a really light batter. The teriyaki beef was actually a whole steak cooked to your liking, brilliant.

At the end of the meal, I was so full I could hardly move. It was a very nice meal with excellent service worth of a hatted restaurant. The restaurant did fill up by nights end, so it wasn't that we were the only customers. The waitresses were just ultra attentive and kept topping up our tea and water and just did everything really efficiently. This place is definitely worth going to again.

Overall Rating: 14/20, Good simple Japanese food at a good price.

Scores: 1-9: Unacceptable, don't bother. 10-11: Just OK,some shortcomings. 12: Fair. 13: Getting there. 14: Recommended. 15: Good. 16: Really good. 17: Truly excellent. 18: An outstanding experience. 19-20:Approaching perfection, Victoria's best.

DON's Smallgoods

This post is sponsored by Nuffnang. The opinions, comments and recipes in this blog are the bloggers own and have not been supplied by DON Smallgoods.

“Is DON, Is Good”. That must be one of the best remembered slogans in Australia. I remember seeing the ads and everyone at school using the grammatically incorrect slogan for themselves. “Is Thanh, Is Good”, how does that sound?

DON has been a purveyor of fine meats since 1947, and I have been admiring DON’s fine salami (cmon, you didn’t expect me to write about DON’s salami without some innuendo) for a while now. I like DON’s Strasburg, Kabana and Pepperoni, but I’m an addict of their Hot Hungarian Salami. I have a constant year round supply of salami in the fridge so that I can eat them whenever I want.

DON is launching a website, Is DON, Is Good and “The DON’s ultimate gourmet creation” challenge. What the challenge involves is to obtain some of DON’s fine meats from the supermarket, and create the ultimate DON’s gourmet creation. Let your imaginations run wild and come up with new and interesting ideas. You can get some inspiration from visiting the DON’s website, Is DON, Is Good. The five most creative entries will be awarded a restaurant dining voucher worth $200 at a top restaurant in Melbourne. The entries will be hosted and judged by Nuffnang representatives.

To enter the competition, please go to the Nuffnang Official Page and submit your entries. Entries close at 9am on Monday 21 December. Winners will be announced on Wednesday 23 December.

To get you started, here are a couple of recipes that I like to use DON Hot Hungarian Salami for.

Salami and Bocconcini Pizza

This pizza is so easy to make and combines flavours that work together beautifully I believe. For me, it has to be DON Hot Hungarian Salami to get that kick, and I must have anchovies as I love that salty bite to the pizza. Using bocconcini helps to control the saltiness. There are no amounts in the recipe as you just put on as much or as less toppings as you like.

Ingredients
Pizza dough base
Tomato paste
DON Hot Hungarian Salami
Bocconcini
Capsicum
Spanish red onion
Anchovies

Method
1. Heat a pizza stone in the oven at 230 deg C for 10 – 20 minutes while you prepare the pizza. If you don’t have a pizza stone, a baking tray will suffice.
2. I use supermarket bought pizza bases as it’s easy for a quick meal but you can make your own base. Spread the base with a thin layer of tomato paste.
3. Put lots of medium thick slices of DON Hot Hungarian Salami onto the pizza dough.
4. Place a few strips of anchovies around the pizza.
5. Sprinkle over thinly sliced capsicum and Spanish red onion.
6. Take the pizza stone out of oven and put the pizza on.
7. Bake in oven for 15 – 25 minutes until base is golden.
8. Take pizza out of oven and rip chunks of bocconcini over the pizza.

Steak and Salami Sandwich

This is a simple quick sandwich that you can have for lunch, or serve with some fries for dinner. I like to use DON Hot Hungarian Salami as I like the kick it gives.

Ingredients
Bread – something firm like Ciabatta
Rump Steak
Thyme
DON Hot Hungarian Salami
Egg
Cheddar cheese, or whatever you like
Lettuce
Cornichons
American mustard
Pepper

Method
1. Rub steak with olive oil, thyme and salt.
2. Cook steak until desired amount, I like medium rare.
3. Put bread into oven at 70 deg C to crisp. Watch the bread so it doesn’t burn.
4. Fry an egg until desired amount. I love the egg to have a runny yolk.
5. Fry DON Hot Hungarian Salami for about 10 seconds just to warm it through and let the oils out so it’s even hotter.
6. Assemble sandwich. Place steak onto bread, egg, salami, cheese, chopped cornichons, lettuce, mustard and pepper.

Okra

159 Camberwell Rd
Hawthorn East 3123 Vic
Ph: (03) 9813 1623

Before watching the movie Moon (an excellent sci-fi film), John and I decided to have a quick meal at Okra. I thought Okra was supposed to be a Thai restaurant, but it seemed more like a Malaysian restaurant than a Thai one.

We ordered the Loh Bak entree, Massaman Beef Curry, Beef Rendang and Roti to share. The Loh Bak is something I've eaten a lot of, as Vietnamese cuisine has a similar thing. It's basically a pork spring roll where the skin is beancurd skin rather than pastry. It's very nice and served with a sweet sauce and some fried beancurd. The Beef Rendang is spicy and not too bad. The Massaman Beef Curry was lacking a bit in flavour.


The rest of the menu looked like a strang mish-mash of various cuisines. It seems to inhabit both Chinese, Malaysian, Singaporean and Thai food. The other dishes on the menu didn't look too appealing to me, although my work mate Joe says that he goes there a lot and that it's good. From what we ate that night, which wasn't too much, it was ok, but nothing special. And for the prices that they are charging, I would expect more. They're aiming for a fine dining type atmosphere but I don't think the food really works.

The service was very good, seeing as we were the only customers at the time. The restaurant filled up throughout the night but service was still good. The restaurant itself is a bit strange as it's a long space that makes it feel a bit closed in. However, we got the best table (in my opinion) right next to the window and got a good view of the whole restaurant.

I probably wouldn't go back as I've had similar food for cheaper, and reading the menu didn't really get me excited.

Overall Rating: 12/20, Food was ok but a bit too expensive for what it was, simple food.

Scores: 1-9: Unacceptable, don't bother. 10-11: Just OK,some shortcomings. 12: Fair. 13: Getting there. 14: Recommended. 15: Good. 16: Really good. 17: Truly excellent. 18: An outstanding experience. 19-20:Approaching perfection, Victoria's best.

Ajisen Ramen

130 Bourke St, Melbourne
Ph: (03) 9662 1100


Enthusiasm is very contagious. So when I read Dan from Tummy Rumbles articles about how good ramen is, especially the ones in Japan, and his constant pursuit for the best ramen in Melbourne, it got me really interested in ramen too. I order ramen at any Japanese restaurant that has them. But usually, those aren't even proper ramen, more like instant noodles. One recommendation from Dan that does authentic ramen is Ramen Ya. I really love the ramen there, so rich in flavour. So when Dan recommended Ajisen Ramen, I just had to go and try it.

The Australian branch of Ajisen Ramen doesn't have a website, but the Ajisen Ramen Singaporean website seems to offer a similar menu with a few extra dishes.

The restaurant looks like your typical Asian cafe with low undressed tables and stools. At the time that we went, it was fairly full, with most of the diners young student types of Asian descent (it's so PC now that you can't call people Asian on Crime Stoppers, but they're of Asian descent, so funny).


We pulled up a table and got some Japanese beer whilst perusing the menu. There is indeed a lot of options, and I wanted to try everything. In the end, Dennis and I both decided to try the Ajisen ramen (which is basically a charshu ramen) and Kevin went for the Tonkatsu ramen. We also got some Takoyaki and Tataki to share.

The takoyaki and tataki were actually both very good. My ramen was very good. It had a nice rich full flavour, the pork was soft and tender and the noodles were just right. I would definitely come back for the food. It's all tasty and at a good price. I actually prefer the Ramen Ya ramen, but these are also good and different in flavour.


However, as Dan had noted, there is indeed a smell wafting through the restaurant. We were seated near the toilets and the smell hit me immediately. I have an ultra strong sense of smell and it really assaulted me. Kevin also smelt it but Dennis didn't seem to. The smell is definitely that of pipes. It's not about the toilets but the pipes. I could also smell the toilet spray that they used to try and mask the pipes. It sort of works at times but then at other times I could smell the stink. Once the food arrived, I didn't smell it as much, but it was always there in the background.

Apart from the smell, the place has quite a nice feel and the service was fairly prompt. The prices are very good and I would come back to eat, albeit possibly sitting further from the toilets.

Overall Rating: 13/20, Good ramen at good prices. The stink from the water pipes may annoy you.

Scores: 1-9: Unacceptable, don't bother. 10-11: Just OK,some shortcomings. 12: Fair. 13: Getting there. 14: Recommended. 15: Good. 16: Really good. 17: Truly excellent. 18: An outstanding experience. 19-20:Approaching perfection, Victoria's best.

Pig And Whistle - Geocaching Pit Stop

365 Purves Road, Main Ridge
Cape Schanck
Ph: (03) 5989 6130


My work mate Steve is a dedicated Geocacher. Geocaching is the activity of using a GPS to find hidden geocaches (usually a small box with a few items to swap and a logbook). I asked him to take me on one of his adventures as I was intrigued about it and also wanted to visit some new places, which is the ultimate goal of geoacaching. We decided to go to Cape Schanck, with our other work mate John and Steve's son Tim also coming along.

We went to a few places, such as the Two Bays track and the Cape Schanck Lighthouse. The views were glorious, and the caches weren't too hard to find. The first one took a bit of finding, but after a while we got the hang of where to look.









It was quite exciting to find a cache. Even though it's only a small lunch box with useless things, it was a sense of finding it that was the thrill. I kept one of the little toys inside as a momento.


Look how excited I was at finding a cache.


Of course, geocaching makes one very hungry, so we had to stop for lunch. We stopped at the Pig and Whistle, a small tavern style place. The tavern is decorated in the traditional English style with beer paraphenalia hung all over the room.


I had the Crumbed Lamb Cutlet, which was nothing special. It tasted like what you could get at a million different pubs, but when you're hungry, it tastes really good.


The Sticky Date Pudding was good as well, albeit a bit sweet.


So, if you feel like exploring some unknown beautiful areas in Victoria, why don't you give geocaching a go. And when you've worked up your appetite, stop somewhere nice for a delicious meal.

Attica

74 Glen Eira Road
Ripponlea 3185 Victoria
Ph: (03) 9530 0111

For a work dinner, I suggested that we go to Attica. Much has been said and written about Attica of late. I guess when you're doing such innovative and delicious food such as what Ben Shewry is doing, word will get around. Before going to the dinner, I did my research. Firstly, I read the article in The Age. That had me salivating already and my expectations were extremely high. Obviously, I looked up blogs as well to get some more views. You can read about Attica at Melbourne Foodie, Eating Melbourne, Melbourne Gastronome, Taste Buds Galore, Tomato and Doublecooked just to name a few.

Since we had a booking of more than 8, we had to do the degustation or a parred down menu with fewer options. I don't like being forced to do the degustation or a reduced menu for a large group booking but I guess it's fair enough since it is extremely hard to coordinate so many dishes all at once. We chose to go with the reduced menu, which had three options in each category as opposed to six. Thankfully, all the dishes I wanted to try were in the reduced menu.

Not wanting to be late, we left work promptly and got there a bit early. So we walked the street to waste a bit of time and stood around waiting. Jordan, Hien and Esther happened to be standing around and I snapped a photo of them. All dressed in black, they looked like a three piece blues band posing for an album cover.


Here is the work team mid dinner, waiting for dessert.



The amuse bouche consisted of spring garlic that the staff had picked themselves from somewhere around the restaurant. The appetisers consisted of olives, organic almonds, salsa and house made butter. Seriously, I think this is the best butter I've tasted at any restaurant around Melbourne.




Jordan and I agreed to share our dishes so that we could taste more of the food. The first entree was "Snow crab". I didn't try this, but was told it was very nice.


Jordan got the "A simple dish of potato cooked in the earth it was grown". The whole menu is written in such simple terms, a change from the usual complex menus that are seen around other top Melbourne restaurants. The wait staff do explain the dish when it arrives, such is the modern fashion that one must know every single ingredient in a dish and how it was cooked. This dish consisted of a potato that was cooked for 8 hours. I thought the potato did taste good, and did indeed have an earthy flavour. The texture too was very nice, with the accompaniments enhancing it. However, unlike The Age article, I wasn't totally rapturous. It tasted like a well boiled potato at the end of the day.


I got the "Smoked trout broth, crackling, basil seeds, fresh smoke". Indeed there was smoke, which was displayed at the table by the waitress. Then, the broth was poured over the dish, and you got a visual, aural and olfactory sensation, all preparing the brain for the oral sensation to come. And it was a sensation to behold. I can see why this was named dish of the year. The broth was so clear in flavour and just infused the trout. The pork crackling really works in the dish as well.




For mains, there was "Kingfish, squid, almond". The dish looks so simple, and according to the others, it tasted really good.


The "Pork loin, morcilla, wild fennel pollen" was a lovely dish. I really liked the way the pork was cooked. Usually I'm not a fan of pork, but this was moist and tender. The black pudding was quite strong in flavour but I liked it. The apple sauce helped cut the flavours.


I got the "Lamb, spice, date, walnut". The lamb was done two ways, a roast medallion of lamb, which was good, and a confit of lamb with Morroccan spices, which was excellent. The date sauce again helped cut the spiciness of the spices.


So far, the meal had been good. But you all know I love desserts, and was awaiting the Terroir that I had read so much about. A quarter of the table went for the "Aged buffalo milk cheese, distilled red wine, walnut", which they thought was quite strange.


Another quarter went for the special, which was a Peach dessert. My memory fails me so I don't know what else was in it.


Half the table though, went for the "Terroir", which was mind blowingly good. The mixture of sweet and savoury and the texture combos really get your mind searching to try and pinpoint the flavours. There was beetroot, limes, berries sitting above some creme fraiche. I liked the chewy bits of fruit mixed with crunchy bits of something and the occasional savoury tones. I like to echo others by saying that this should have won The Good Food Guide dish of the year.


Service was what you would expect at a top restaurant, excellent. The service staff were efficient and also relaxed. They were slightly less attentive than the Vue de Monde staff, who I still rank as number one in Melbourne.

The ambience in the restaurant is very good. Surprisingly, it was a lot noiser than I thought it would be. The decor is very relaxing and the room is divided up nicely so that you don't feel like you have no space, but neither do you feel like you're isolated.

OVerall, the food was excellent, but lacked that extra little wow factor on some dishes that would make this a perfect dining experience. However, it is still right up there in regards to dining locations in Melbourne.

Overall Rating: 18/20, Excellent food and service. The Terroir is a must try.

Scores: 1-9: Unacceptable, don't bother. 10-11: Just OK,some shortcomings. 12: Fair. 13: Getting there. 14: Recommended. 15: Good. 16: Really good. 17: Truly excellent. 18: An outstanding experience. 19-20:Approaching perfection, Victoria's best.

Aya Japanese Restaurant

1193 High Street
Armadale 3143 Victoria
Ph: (03)9822 9571

I love Japanese food, so am constantly on the search for good Japanese restaurants. A flick through the Entertainment Book came up with Aya Japanese Restaurant.

Aya is located inconspicuously on High Street in Armadale. Upon entering the restaurant, it feels slightly and disjointed. The high booth seating creates physical and mental barriers between diners. It's good if you like some privacy, bad since it detracts from the ambience of the restaurant.

We are seated in the very corner area just inside the glass shop front. It's was a cramped spot, but the restaurant is small and I didn't mind that. The little touches of art made it all a very nice space. The only annoying part was a small water fountain that buzzed the whole night due to the pump.

For entrees, we decide on Agedashi Tofu, Tofu Salad, Gyu Tataki and Nasu Dengaku. The Agedashi Tofu was very good, with the tofu crisp and with a good sweet soy sauce. The Tofu Salad was not bad too, with the vegetables providing nice crunch. But regular readers know tofu isn't my thing, so I was looking forward to the Gyu Tataki. Besides sashimi, tataki is my next favourite thing at Japanese restaurants. This tataki was presented really beautifully, but strangely, it wasn't very good. With tataki, obviously the beef is key, and this was nice beef, but the sauce plays a really big part too. This sauce was just sour, and didn't have any hints of savoury and sweet. Finally, the Nasu Dengaku, looked a bit, ummmm, interesting. The roasted pieces of eggplants were actually quite tough and held together really stubbornly by the miso paste. It wasn't particularly to my liking as I would have preferred it to be softer.









The Sushi and Sashimi platters were really excellent. There was a large variety of fish, all very fresh. I would definitely come back just for the sushi and sashimi.




The mains were Tempura, Eye Fillet Beef and Teriyaki Chicken. Surpringsly, the Tempura prawns and vegetables were very good. The coating was nice and light and kept the flavours fresh. The eye fillet beef was tender with a good sauce. Finally, the teriyaki chicken was surprisingly good too. The chicken was grilled to give a nice flamed tasted, and the teriyaki sauce not overly sickeningly sweet.






The desserts consisted of a Plum Wine Jelly (not shown), Sticky Date Pudding and Blueberry Cheesecake. The plum wine jelly tasted exactly as you would think. The sticky date pudding (traditional Japanese?) was good but a tad too sweet. The blueberry cheesecake though, was insanely divine and had me going back for more and more.




Service was serviceable. All requests were fulfilled, but at times they were almost too polite and made us nervous.

Overall, I was quite impressed with the food. I was suprised at how good most things were. There was nothing innovative, but the regular Japanese dishes were done well. In terms of price, the food is not excessively expensive either. I think this will be another Japanese restaurant that I will frequent often.

Overall Rating: 15/20, The sushi and sashimi is very good.

Scores: 1-9: Unacceptable, don't bother. 10-11: Just OK,some shortcomings. 12: Fair. 13: Getting there. 14: Recommended. 15: Good. 16: Really good. 17: Truly excellent. 18: An outstanding experience. 19-20:Approaching perfection, Victoria's best.