GONE GREEK - GAZI STYLE

Before the recriminations start, I know I haven't been on this site for a long long time. No excuses really except that I've spent a lot of time with my new nephew (who is a darling and I'm totally in love) and helping my sis out with her new little one. But babysitting and aunt duties are now required less and I'm back to roaming the streets of Melbourne seeking good food and drinks!

Admittedly I've been to lots of good places in the last couple of months, but my most recent venture into George Calombaris' restaurant, Gazi has made me smitten for Greek food! Most of the text below is extracted from my article on Couturing.com...with added comments to my special readers of the Greedy Kat.....enjoy...Meow x

There are two things you notice when you first walk into George Calombaris' new venture, Gazi. The first is the amazing ceiling - ceramic pots placed across the whole surface which makes you wonder for a moment, whether they might actually fall on your head! You're quickly distracted from that thought by the aroma coming out of the open kitchen. The smells are amazing but not so that your clothes smell at the end of the evening (this is a sore point for me when I come out of a restaurant smelling like the restaurant!) You know you're in for a treat when it smells so good and your immediately intrigued as dishes go past you! I swear I'm like a little truffle pig sniffing out the best truffles to eat!!!

On the nights I've been to Gazi (and it has been more than once!) the atmosphere has been buzzing and the food has been excellent. The menu is inspired by tasty Greek street food, but I have to say, having been to Greece, the food was better than anything I had over there!

What I loved, was that the menu provides a great selection of different types of dishes. You can try things that are more traditional or take a leap of faith and try something different. The menu is broken into several sections - smaller dishes under the amusing banner of Hellenic Dirty Food, a range of traditional and not so traditional souvalakis, items from the Grill or Spit, and a selection of vegetables/grains/pulses.

A must have are the homemade dips. The ones I've tried are flavoursome and if you're not careful you'll fill up before you know it. There are the more traditional dips such as Tzatziki, Spinach and Feta, and Taramosalata but then there are a few with a twist such as the Miso melitzanosalata which is a miso eggplant dip - I guess an ode to the traditional Japanese combination of those two flavours. I love Taramosalata - the saltiness of the sea really comes through but with a subtle fish roe flavour. The accompanying bread is soft and lightly grilled. A great starter to kick off your meal. 

Spinach and Feta Dip and Bread

A few additional small dishes such as Saganaki, Grilled eggplant, Short rib Moussaka were also tasty and were enough to share between a small group if you wanted something in addition to the dips.

Eggplant

I have to say that the epitome of the meal is the Souvlakakia - Souva for short. This is not something that's new to the dining scene, but there is something about these particular souvas that I like. I think it's partly the bread used to wrap the tasty souva filling, or it's the filling itself. With four different fillings - chicken, beef brisket, softshell crab and duck - you can definitely find one to suit your palate. The souva also has a few sneaky chips in it that gives the filling extra crunch and texture. I'm more a traditionalist, so I've tried the chicken souva and also the beef brisket souva. Definitely different than the ones from stalictites and definitely not as heavy. I swear I could've eaten two of them and added in the dips and been totally happy as larry. But I didn't want to appear like a fat bastard to my fellow diners!

Beef Brisket and Softshell crab souvas

If souva is not your thing or you're wanting a bit more, then make sure you check out one of the items from the spit. The pork belly came with a wonderful crispy skin, white beans and apple skordalia.

Pork Belly

If, after all that, you still have room, you have to try one of the amazing desserts. The Pavlova is presented as a pretty domed sweet, decorated with multicoloured petals and sugar sprinkles. Whilst it looks heavy, the dome is thin meringue and on the inside is mastic, ruby red grapefruit curd and cream. It's actually quite light and refreshing. The Acropolis Now is a picturesque blood orange mousse in the form of a column reminiscent of that from the Acropolis, surrounded by coffee and mastic.

I think my favourite dessert though was the Loukomathes - Greek donuts. Covered in nutella honey, and hazelnuts - a definite treat to be shared with whomever your eating with....unless you want them all to yourselves.

The Acropolis Now and the Pavlova

The wine list is extensive with a great range from Australia and Greece. If cocktails take you fancy, then make sure you try the "I heard it from the Grapevine" cocktail which is suitable for 4-6 people and comes in a beautiful glass jar with a tap to pour into uniquely delicate glasses. Sip on this over the course of the evening as you devour your tasty Greek food.

I have to say that Gazi is more than just street food. It's stylish and absolutely worth a visit! 

The restaurant takes bookings and walk-ins. 

With a great menu at reasonable prices, you get good bang for your buck eating here.

The Lazy Kat

I'm still alive....
So according to my blogging dashboard, I haven't done a post since October 2012. Now that's a long time. Shamefully I've been on a voluntary sabbatical because I've just been too lazy to write. I should rename my blog, the Lazy Kat. Terrible I know, but at least I'm being honest!

So what's been happening since October that has meant this blog has gone radio silent?

Well it's a combination of a few different things. I left my job at the end of November and went overseas (more on that later). Secondly, I started a new job in January so that's kept me busy with learning new things. And thirdly, my role at Couturing is taking more of my spare time than I had expected. Who'd have thought being a Beauty editor would be so time consuming?! Don't get me wrong, I love it but between coming up with ideas, reviewing articles written by my lovely team of writers, testing products and attending events, it's been super busy!

But enough of the excuses. I'm here in the now and I'm going to tell you about all the amazing food I've consumed over the last couple of months. Perhaps not in one go but I'll make a start (which is more than I can say about my entries for New York last year which failed to make it to Part 2 to mention the restaurants I loved).

So after I left my job in November, I headed overseas to attend a family wedding in Hong Kong.

I love Hong Kong - the food, the vibe, the shopping and the shopping. It's a dynamic city, with lots of people and lots of shops, and lots of food. Given the size of the place, there's not much else to do apart from shop and eat. Having said that you can wander around Hong Kong and discover places you never new existed.

I've been to Hong Kong many times before and I never realised that in the midst of the skyscrapers filled with international conglomerates, in the streets interweaving these buildings, you can find the most amazing things. In Central, on Hong Kong island, I was wandering the streets with my aunt who said she had to pick up a few bits and pieces. She led me to a fresh food market with vegetables, flowers, meats and also random stalls with freshly made tofu. It was amazing to see this amongst the tall buildings that dominate the city. The range of different root vegetables and the stalls with tofu products were really interesting (although part of me worried about the lack of refrigeration!!!)

One of things about eating in Hong Kong is that the range of food available is amazing. You'd be surprised that you can get a Michelin starred French meal as if you were in France. The number of Michelin starred restaurants has exploded in recent years and the restaurants that have received this coveted award do not serve Chinese food. I suppose this reflects the Chinese people's love of food. I think as a culture, we live to eat rather than eat to live. 

So you can imagine my delight of being able to have a bowl of wonton noodles for breakfast, followed by yum cha for lunch and then a dinner involving the best suckling pig I've ever had. Or having dumplings for brunch followed by a warm snack from a bakery as a snack, followed by a three course menu at one of Hong Kong's restaurants with a magnificant view of the harbour.

Ok let's get down to two places I went to when I was in HK.

One of the places that we definitely visit everytime I'm back is Crystal Jade. This is a chain of restaurants that is famous for its Xiao Long Bao - those chinese dumplings that have the soup in them. They're also famous for their Lai Mein which is a type of rice flour based noodle that is a bit heavier in texture than the flat rice noodles that you can get in your Char Kway Teo.

You can stuff yourself with good quality dumplings and noodles, and throw in a good spring roll or two as well. All for less than $30.

There are a few in Hong Kong - but the ones I've been to are in IFC and the basement level of Times Square in Causeway Bay. Sorry no pics - I think I was too busy getting into my food to take any pics.

The other place I discovered this trip was Maks Noodles in Central. The last time I was in Hong Kong we tried to go here on our last day but it had closed for the day and we ended up going to the restaurant opposite it (which was actually pretty good too!).

But this trip we went when the doors opened at 11am and had a bowl of wonton noodles. The wontons are small parcels of sheer tastiness and the noodles are cooked so that they have the right amount of chewiness without being sloppy. I don't know how they do it because when I try to cook egg noodles like that at home it never works. The bowls are fairly small but for the price of less than A$5, I reckon you could afford to eat too without batting an eyelid. The other thing that this place is famous for is its Beef Brisket. For those that have never had Chinese beef brisket - you need to try it. There's something about braising beef brisket so that it comes out all soft and delicious in this gravy. It's not the most appealing looking dish but forget looks and go for what tastes good!

If you're brave you can also try Beef tendon which, to be honest, doesn't really taste like anything except the sauce that it's cooked in. The texture of the tendon is what draws people in or it makes them hate it! A personal taste really. I'm all in for beef tendon! 

Accompanied by a nicely steamed/blanched plate of chinese vegetables with a soy/oil sauce - the meal is perfection.

Now I know that's only two places but it's a start. I'll dig up a few other gems in HK and post them soon...I promise!!!!

Over and out.
Meow

Balls Balls Balls

Meow!

Sorry I've been off the radar for a month. I've been busy with the new website where I am....the Beauty Editor! Yes not the food editor but the Beauty Editor. Not that I'm complaining, I mean can you imagine how fat I'd be if my second job was to eat and drink?! God forbid! But I think I'd enjoy it less because I'd have to produce reviews all the time, and as you can see from my history of blogs, I'm more of a sporadic blogger. Anyway it's not really a stretch being Beauty editor given my never ending pursuit to stay looking young and my penchant for trying new beauty products! If you ever need any tips, check me out at Couturing. 

Anyway, I've been out this evening at the closing night of the Italian Film Festival watching "To Rome with Love", Woody Allen's latest excuse to live somewhere awesome for a couple months and direct a movie! This reminded me of my love of Rome and pretty much everything Italian! A perfect segue to a newly opened restaurant here in Melbourne, The Meatball and Wine Bar.

Now as you can guess, the MBWB (this is how I'm referring to it at the moment) serves meatballs. Tasty tasty meatballs. Over the winter months I had been walking past the restaurant as it was being renovated, on my way for my morning coffee. I kept thinking about how tasty meatballs were when I saw the sign outside and therefore how disappointed I'd be if the place was no good. Seriously, I love eating meatballs (there is no innuendo intended there at all). Whether they're on a pizza, in a pasta, and even at Ikea, I'll always pick it off the menu. So you can appreciate my excitement when the restaurant was finally opened about a month ago. It's safe to say that after two visits for meatballs and many others for coffee (thank you to the Barista who makes THE most excellent coffee I need in the morning!), the place did not disappoint the Greedy Kat.

The restaurant has exposed brick walls and has the ambience of a very cool NYC bar feel. Now I was told by someone that this restaurant was a copy of some restaurant in NYC and that's why we shouldn't go there. Uh hello? I don't live in NYC and I doubt that there is a restaurant in town that isn't like some other restaurant somewhere around the world. I would think that you would rate a restaurant on whether the food and service was good. It's lucky I don't think that way, otherwise I'd lead a very sad life eating instant noodles at home.

Anyway I digress. I've been to the MBWB twice now and each time I've left extremely content. The menu is basically divided up into a few sections on the page. The left side of the menu has a few appetisers of cured meats, charcuterie board, different types of mozzarella, mini balls and jerky.

Square in the middle of the menu is your choice of meatballs and sauce. You get three balls in each serving and you can choose between beef, chicken, pork, fish and I think vegetarian (ok so I didn't get past land animals - do you blame me?!). Then you can select one of three sauces to accompany your balls. The red sauce is a beautifully cooked tomato/basil sugo which I thought was delish. The white sauce is a beautifully smooth kind of bechamel sauce and the Green Sauce is a pesto sauce.

The dish itself costs $14. Now if you want your balls to sit on something nice and tasty, you can choose between beans, potato smash, polenta, market greens or pasta for another $4.

Beef Balls with the Red Sauce

On my first visit, I had the charcuterie board which had cured meats - two different salamis, proscuitto and capocollo (cured pork shoulder which my bro-in-law keeps raving about!). Definitely a good starter if you are eating with a few people.
The next time I'm going to try the mini balls and jerky!!!

Beef Meatball Sliders

For main, I had the beef balls with the red sauce on top of smashed potato, accompanied by home-baked bread. Now to be honest, when I first saw the size of it, I thought, holy moly I'm going to have to order more. However I did order more (in the form of meatballs sliders - located on the right of the menu) and it was too much. Once again eyes bigger than stomach!! I only one additional slider and that made me too full for dessert.

Whoopie Mac

Having said that, there was no way I was going to leave the MBWB without having the Whoopie Mac. This heavenly dessert is a giant macaron with ice cream in the middle. It was delish and I look forward to having my next one sometime soon!!

Pork Balls with the White Sauce

On my second visit, I went for lunch this time and only ordered the meatballs. I had the pork meatballs with the white sauce and potato smash (I'm a total sucker for any mashed potato dish). The pork balls had more spice flavour in it (I think fennel seed), but I think the white sauce did well to complement the fuller flavour of the meat.
Unfortunately because it was lunch, I couldn't fit in the Whoopie Mac otherwise I'd fall asleep at my desk!

Both meals were accompanied by a carafe of Abruzzi Montepulciano. Stunning wine and quite affordable too!


Both meals were quite reasonable priced and I think with the never ending increase in menu prices around town, it's refreshing to be able to have a meal for less than $35 and feel satisfied!!

If you're nearby in the morning, then I would definitely recommend going to MBWB for coffee. The Barista, makes me remember why I live in Melbourne - because the coffee is made to perfection. The only thing that would round out my morning coffee would be some nice brekkie balls. Now that's something I'm looking forward to whenever their Breakfast menu goes live (rumoured to be in the next week or two).

Now that I've watched a movie set in Rome and talked about Italian cured meats and meatballs, I'm thinking I need to make a trip to MBWB urgently to get my next Italian food hit. Anyone care to join?!

xx

Changing seasons

Meow and welcome to Spring!

One of favourite times of the year as I know Summer is just around the corner.....Sunshine, warm weather, blossoms and general happiness that the dark days of winter are banished for at least half a year!

As outlined in my long winded Changing Seasons blog at the start of Autumn, I suffer from S.A.D. In case you're not down with hypochondriac language, it stands for Seasonal Affective Disorder which means I get sad (how ironic is that acronym!) when it turns dark and when it gets cold. The melancholy of it all and the desire to curl up at home on weekends with a glass of red wine in one hand, and the other with some sort of tasty carbohydrate based dish in front of the heater......I'm such a Winter hermit! 

But I've sprung back in the first couple of days of Spring and feel inspired to report all the things I cooked over Winter and all the things I've done....

Well I had a look back at my list at the start of winter and I only managed to cook four things out of the seven that I had endeavoured to cook. Those were:
- a Chicken pie
- Lamb shank stew
- Dumplings (although I made dim sims which I think still count)
- Beef ragu
All pretty tasty and all edible without being paid out by those that were eating my food (I have stopped giving disclaimers upon serving of food).

However, I still did not manage to have my parents over for dinner. Partly because I couldn't face my mother telling me I have too many shoes and clothes (which is partially true) and also I think the pressure would have gotten to me and I would have disappointed them with a terrible dish! I did however, manage to make them try my Beef Bourgignon which was met with the following comment "I tried your beef, and it was actually very nice".... Asian mother complement at its best!

I did manage to make a few things I hadn't done before. 

I did make Aussie-fied dim sims recently after seeing them on a menu. There doesn't appear to be many recipes on the internet but strangely a lot of forums talking about dim sims. People have way too much time of their hands. Anyway, when I was really young my grandparents owned a Chinese restaurant and I remember my parents helping them to stuff the pork/cabbage mixture into the dim sim skins. I have no idea what went into the dim sims but I took a stab at what went into it, and tried them out. The first batch suffered from the lack of fat in the pork and I mistakenly picked up wonton skins so they kind of all fell apart and stuck to the steamer! The second batch welcomed the use of pork mince bought from an Asian grocer. It's amazing what a bit of pork fat does! These worked much better than the last and were a hit with my sis and friends who tasted them! Not a bad effort considering I used the Asian force!

I also tried my hand at making Coq au Vin, Basil Pesto and also tried a few new asian dishes like lemon grass chicken, Hainanese Chicken Rice and Stir fried pork with green beans! Adding to my repertoire makes me think that one day I might actually be a good cook!

Aside from the random cooking I did over the Winter, I did dine out at a few establishments...ok a lot of establishments! Not all have made it to the site yet (including the restaurants I loved when I went to NYC), but as you can see I've had more posts in the last month than since the inception of the Greedy Kat blog!

My motivation became a lot greater after I was asked to attend an event at the invitation of my friends at Couturing.com. I was a bit hesitant to attend the Blogger review of Claremont Tonic as I wasn't allowed to bring anyone, and I have a small fear of meeting new people, but it ended up being a really good night. I rocked up sans giant professional SLR camera (I have to akin this experience to that of men's size envy - my compact camera was tiny compared to the others) and sans business card. A total rookie! But the photos came out ok I think and I think I did a pretty decent review of the restaurant! So it's not like my name was up in lights but it did give me a buzz that my review was on a website that people actually read....unlike this blog which gets the occasional read (thanks to those who spare the time to read my blog xx). So I guess my narcissism drove my motivation as I had not touched this blog for over two months, despite all the spare time I had when I was in Canberra for work.

Yes you read right, I spent most of the winter in the coldest capital city of the nation. Canberra. A city filled with too many roundabouts and probably too many public servants (sorry but seriously people, do some work!). It was an interesting experience and despite what everyone said to me, it is not a foodie town and everything is super dooper expensive. That's not to say that I didn't have nice meals. A memorable Asian influenced meal at Sojou girl in the city centre, a lovely Malaysian/Chinese meal at Timmy's Kitchen in Manuka and classy Pizza and Pasta (not be confused with chain Pizza and Pasta) at Public bar in Manuka. Sadly I'd also like to put in this list, a tasty slice of pizza I got from Costco during our weekly trips for something exciting to do (there is not much open after work for shopping!).

So I did eat extraordinarily well all Winter and gained a couple of Kgs which will take me forever to get off.....Perhaps I do need to make friends with Salad! 

As we head into warmer weather, and my love of light and low calorie foods return, I hope to do different things on this blog.
I'm hoping to do a big Spring clean out of my house and as such in the next few weeks I'll be running a blog sale on here with a few of my items.
Secondly, if I attend any cool events as part of my role as Beauty Editor on Couturing.com, I'll post them too!

Finally, as I love to eat, I'm aiming to do food recommendations. For example, recently I've had a hankering for almond croissants. I'm not sure why but if you get a good one, they're bloody good.  So far my favourite place for an almond croissant is a tie between Movida Bakery and French Fantasies.
I wonder what my next sinful hankering will be....ice creams perhaps....or it is the time of year for Champagne.....Perhaps I need to speak with Champagne PR people so I can do a product review and comparison!!!

I guess we'll wait and see....

Happy eating and drinking!

Chin Chin: Hype well justified

Chin Chin

I've always been one of those people who love to try new restaurants and whenever I read about a new restaurant, or walk past one that I haven’t been to before, I always get excited at the prospect of trying something new and adding to the “go-to” list. However, when there is a lot of hype around a restaurant, I'm always a bit skeptical having been subjected to more misses than hits! Compounding the skepticism is whether the restaurant serves Asian food but is not your atypical Asian restaurant. I’m reluctant to pay a lot for similar dishes in Richmond, Glen Waverley or Footscray. However, after visiting Chin Chin, I can say that this place is worth the hype. Chin Chin serves Asian food with a slight twist but truer to the origin of the dish and the variety, size and price makes it worth the wait and worth the visit!

The vibe at Chin Chin is electric. It always appears to be buzzing and the great thing about it is that it's open from 11am until late. So if you want to go there, you can have brunch, lunch, afternoon tea, dinner or just a snack! However your chances of getting a table without waiting requires strategy and an eagerness that knows no bounds! If you're anything like me, I'm happy to wait for a table at Chin Chin whilst enjoying drinks at GoGo bar which is on the lower level of the restaurant. You can start your gourmet adventures with a range of Chin Chin small dishes to whet your appetite when you make it upstairs to your table! 

Murtabak

On the Go Go bar menu is one of my favorite Chin Chin small dishes, the ‘Murtabak’. It is a pleasant snack size sandwich where the bread has been swapped for Roti, and the filling is a spicy Indian mix of curried mince. The dipping sauce has pieces of cucumber which works extremely well to cool the heat of the curried mince. I think it goes extremely well with my drink of choice, a refreshing gin and tonic.

If you're lucky enough to not wait and head straight to a table then may I suggest you start with some small dishes on the menu, notably in the “small dishes” section! I would recommend the ‘Chin Chin roll ups’. A fun “make your own” dish, where you take pieces of shredded pork and Asian salad and roll it up in a soft wrap. Sweet, thick hoisin type sauce (like the one used in Peking duck wraps) is the perfect accompaniment either in the wrap or as a dipping sauce. 

Kingfish Sashimi

The other stand out small dish is the ‘Kingfish sashimi’.  Thinly sliced Kingfish is lightly dressed with a light coconut cream and lime/chilli dressing. The subtle flavour of the Kingfish is complemented with the coconut cream and balances the heat of the lime/chilli dressing. It is a light and refreshing dish that is definitely worth trying.

The remainder of the menu is split between Rice/Noodle/Soup dishes, Asian influenced salads, BBQ and "A bit more" which are larger main style dishes. Generally, I go by the mantra of "you don't make friends with salad" however I have had a version of the shredded chicken, spanner crab salad with lime/chilli dressing and it was light and fresh. So perhaps don’t discount the salad section! 

Twice cooked Hopkins River Beef Short Rib

Of the other dishes on the menu, I would definitely recommend the ‘Twice Cooked Hopkins River Beef Short Rib’ as a must have. The meat is tender and just comes off the bone. Eat it by itself or with rice. The beef has been marinated with a semi-sweet marinade and if it weren't so rich, I would try to eat the whole dish myself! 

 The other must have is the ‘Caramelised sticky pork’. Wow. Delectable and tender pieces of pork marinated and coated with a sticky sweet sauce. Once again, you can have it by itself or with rice. A “go to” for everyone who goes, unless you have an aversion to pork! The pork is accompanied by a chilli vinegar and a sour herb salad. 

As an accompaniment I’d order rice (bowls are pretty big so if there are two of you, I’d order one to begin with), and my favourite side dish are the ‘Son-in-Law’ eggs. I can only describe them as eggs that have been boiled so that the yolk is soft but not runny, flash fried and served with a sweet/sour jam. 

However, before you decide on additional dishes if you’ve had all of the above, consider whether you have enough room for dessert...because there are two that you…must…have! Well there could be more, but I’ve never been able to make it past these two…

Banana Roti and the Palm sugar ice-cream sundae

The first is the ‘palm sugar ice-cream sundae’ with salted honeycomb and lime syrup. This dessert is divine. The palm sugar ice cream itself is wonderfully sweet without being overly sweet. It complements the salted honeycomb, and at the same time the honeycomb texture balances with the softness ice cream. Finally as you eat your way through the sundae, you get the delight of the lime syrup that is sickly sweet by itself but works incredibly well with the creaminess of the ice cream.

The ‘Banana Roti’ is also a great dessert and probably a bit heavier than the ice cream sundae. Caramelised banana sandwich between two pieces of roti and then a drizzle of condensed milk on the top, served hot. Absolutely glorious!

I've now been to Chin Chin, more than half a dozen times now and every time I go, I have fabulous time. If I had the time, patience (even my greediness has a time limit) and money I would spend my time trying every dish. I suspect I'll get to the point one day where I'll suffer from f.o.m.o (fear of missing out) because there are too many on my "must have" list.....

This article first appeared on www.couturing.com 

Images by Katherine Ng

The Usual Place

The Usual Place 

Ever since I started working in the city many moons ago, I can always remember going to Il Solito Posto for a great Italian pasta, after work, during work or just on the weekends.  And as long as I remember, I have always had a wonderful meal and a wonderful time there. Nestled underneath 101 Collins street, with the entrance on George Parade, it is a charming restaurant serving great Italian delights.

Il Solito Posto is Italian for “The Usual Place” and it is my go-to place whenever I feel like a great Italian meal.  The restaurant is made up of two sections: a casual bistro section called the Caffeteria, and a more formal dining room called on the Trattoria on the lower level. Usually I go to the Caffeteria section, however the dining room has a wonderful array of more formal Italian dishes. I like the casual feel of the Caffeteria and plus I kinda know the team up there and it’s nice to have a quick chat with Michael, Kosta or Steve! The restaurant has changed over the last two years, with renovations increasing the Caffeteria capacity. This has helped reduce the time spent waiting for a table in this section as they don’t take bookings!

Given my recent banishment to Australia’s capital for work, I had my cab stop off at Il Solito Posto so I could pick up my dinner on the way home (seriously, plane food is like half an entrée for me!)…..and boy did it hit the spot. That night I had a wonderful Pork Ragu Casarecce (a scroll like pasta) from their specials board.

The wonderful thing about Il Solito Posto is the variety that is available on the specials board. These are in addition to the solid menu that already details my favourite entrees and mains!

Whenever I dine in, I always like to start off with an appetizer….or two! It’s only been a recent thing where I like to have a starter, but given my penchant for wanting to eat more than my stomach allows, I’ve only given into temptation!

The antipasto plate is a great combination of different types of small antipasti, ranging from baked ricotta, marinated peppers or eggplant, olives, house smoked trout, Italian smoked goods, fennel salad. Previously they had a small scoop (which is not the technical term), of chicken liver parfait, which was simply gorgeous, however due to the popularity of the parfait, it is now a separate item on the menu. 

Alternatively, they have flash fried calamari, fresh oysters, fried whitebait, light salads as appetizers too. 

The selection of Mains can be made from the menu or alternatively, from the Specials board which has a variety of different types of pasta (ranging from Penne, to Casarecce, Rigtoni, Papardelle to Gnocchi) and also a soup of the day and a risotto of the day. I’ve had some memorable dishes from the Specials board, including a great Orichiette (ear shaped pasta) with potato, pancetta and broccoli, and a very memorable calamari pasta which I had years ago and always remember!

If nothing on the Specials board takes your fancy, then I always go to my three main staples on the main menu.

The first is the Seafood Linguine. The thing I love about this dish is that it is a pasta dish that really bases its flavour on the seafood which is generally a combination of prawns, salmon, white fish, calamari and mussels. It’s cooked in a light olive oil with a dash of fresh chilli, and garlic, a touch of parsley and potentially a splash of white wine.

The second is the Penne Ragu which is one of the staples I order, especially when I order take away. They slow cook the veal in a tomato puree for a long period so that the veal is tender and soft. Add a handful of parmesan and the dish is complete!

The third is the Salmon Farfelle. For those that love a light creamy pasta, this is your dish. The bow shaped pasta is cooked with pieces of salmon, broccoli and cherry tomatoes in a very light cream sauce. Whilst it’s probably the most wicked for your waist out of my three favourites, it is deeeelightful!

If, by now you’ve had as much as I have when I go Il Solito, may I recommend you one of the best desserts I’ve had in Melbourne. Now you may think I’m bias because this place is like my local, but I’ve loved the banana roti and palm sugar sundae at Chin Chin and the crème brulee and souffle at PM24. However, the soft centered chocolate pudding with salted caramel, banana and caramel ice cream is simply delectable. I honestly, love this dessert because the chocolate pudding is so perfectly baked so that when you cut into it, the soft chocolate section in the middle, oozes out onto the dish. Combined with the salted caramel and caramel ice cream, it is a wonderful combination of sweetness!

By this stage, I’m totally rolling out of the usual place….content with the delights that Il Solito Posto brings. 

This article first appeared on www.couturing.com 

Eating with a twist!

Eating with a twist

Sometimes I wonder why I love Italian food so much. It’s not like I’m Italian or grew up with many Italian friends or families, but if there is a meal I always go to, it’s a nice bowl of pasta. I guess the wonder of living in a place like Melbourne, affords you the ability to experience multi-culturalism in food! We all grow up eating so many different cuisines and we really are spoilt for choice. So you can imagine my delight to be able to attend a pasta making class at Bottega! The restaurant is celebrating its 10-year anniversary and is holding various events, such as this pasta making class, as part of its celebration. 

Gabriele Oliveri is Bottega’s head chef and is true blue…..Italian! Who better to teach us how to make pasta? We made three types of pasta: gnocchi, ravioli and stroprazetti, the latter being a twisty pasta!

One of the key things Gabriele taught us, was that we needn’t be afraid to use flour or semolina to dust the pasta or dust the surface! He suggested that you could always reuse the flour to make the next batch of pasta so as not to waste it! For the amount of flour that was thrown about, it was a very good effort by Gabriele not to get it all over the floor! He taught us how to make the pasta and knead it, and pass it through the pasta-making machine. To be honest it looked very easy, but I somehow doubt it was….

The class is interactive and you have the opportunity to help make some of the pastas, but given my known uncoordination, I didn’t participate! The stroprazetti was extremely interesting to make as it involved twisting the pasta between the hands and making the pasta like twisty worms!

He also provided very useful tips on how to store the pasta once you make it! For example, you can actually freeze fresh pasta after you make it (store it flat and then freeze it). Who knew?!

The end result was trays of gnocchi, lentil filled ravioli and stroprazetti. 

Gabriele was kind enough to pose with his trays of pasta for me to take this picture!

Now here comes my favourite part of the day…..eating!

The first dish that came out was the stroprazetti, which was teamed with a pork and beef ragu. I think one of the great things of this dish is the shape of the pasta , as it captures the sauce in the twists! It was absolutely delicious and the texture of the pasta was quite soft, especially given that the pasta doesn’t contain egg.

The second that followed was the gnocchi. Now I must admit, I generally don’t order gnocchi because I’ve had some not so great gnocchi experiences. However, I have to say that this gnocchi was absolutely perfect. Not too chewy or grainy. Accompanied by a Gorgonzola dolce, radicchio, and walnut sauce,  it was really a great dish. I think given the creaminess of the Gorgonzola it was set perfectly against the soft gnocchi texture. 

The final dish was the lentil ravioli, with char grilled cotechino (a type of sausage) and caramelized onions. The sauce was very light and I think this helped to draw the flavour from the ravioli. 

To top it off, we had tiramisu. This one came very cutely in a cup and I was surprised to get a bit of crunch in my spoonful from the crunchy biscuits that were at the bottom of the cup. Truly a delicious tiramisu with subtle coffee and liqueur flavours.

It was definitely an eye opening and a stomach opening experience! Definitely worth attending if you love pasta and want to learn how to make it!

This article first appeared on www.couturing.com