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 

Tonic that's good for the soul

When I think of eating Asian food, I think of Asian restaurants that are decorated in various shades of red or gold, food that is served by chefs who don't bother with the concept of "plating" and the soft notes of Kenny G or pan pipes playing the greatest hits of the 80s in the background.

So you can imagine my thoughts when I walked into the new Asian inspired restaurant,Claremont Tonic, to be greeted with the sounds of Nirvana's Come as You Are playing on the speakers and greeted by the front of house, an amazing looking rock chick with a blond Mohawk (her name is Sophia btw). Definitely not something I’ve seen before!

The restaurant is definitely not decorated in shades of red but shades of grey with exposed black beams crossing the ceilings. It has the feel and look of a hip New York city bar, crossed with a hip Asian influenced bar, crossed with a bit of rock and roll. It wasn't what I had expected given I had visited the Claremont Tonic's website earlier in the day to discover a life like drawing of a young Asian girl with long hair cracking a whip (sound effects are on so perhaps don't look at this website at work unless you want people to think you're secretly visiting 50 Shades of Grey fan websites......). Definitely no young half dressed Asian girls with whips in sight at Claremont Tonic, which is a good thing in my books, although some of you readers may disagree! It is definitely very hip and very cool, and really has the ambiance of a place that doesn't quite exist in this city.

The restaurant is the brainchild of Davis Yu, who currently has two other restaurants in Melbourne - Touche Hombre and The Millswyn. He has entered this venture in Claremont Street, South Yarra, with the help of chef Dylan Roberts, who was head chef at Ezard. You can kind of tell that some of the items on the menu do have that Ezard feel to it as the menu leans towards the Asian inspired/fusion type of dishes as opposed to Asian dishes on the menu at places like Chin Chin or Coda. The inspiration for the dishes stem from Davis and Dylan’s trip around Asia, and the menu is a true testament for their exploration across the continent. Some menu items are inspired by Japanese flavours, others by Chinese, Thai and even Vietnamese influences. Definitely some interesting combinations of food on the menu that are complemented by an array of teas from across the region (if cocktails or juices are not your thing!).

We started the night with a cocktail called Nakatomi Towers. We were told that this cocktail was Davis’ favourite, and after the first sip, I understood why. The Shochu, Japanese apricots, lemonade and Yuzu juice was the perfect combination of sweet and sour with a touch of tartness that is served in a bulbous glass. If you're going to have any cocktail, you have to try this one!

The menu has an eclectic mix of Asian flavours, divided into small dishes, land and sea dishes, larger dishes, sides of salads and vegetables, and desserts. We were lucky enough to sample a couple of dishes from each section of the menu, and by the end of the night, I literally rolled out the door into my car out front! 

First course from the Small dishes section were fresh oysters topped with rice nectar jelly, tobiko and wakame. It was a nice combination of flavours as the toppings complemented the flavour of the oyster rather than overpower it given the jelly flavour was quite subtle. Accompanying the oysters was a lime and oyster cracker. Reminiscent of a prawn cracker in texture, it was black and way better tasting than a prawn cracker. If they had that as something on the menu to order by itself, I would so order a whole basket full. Definitely worth trying.

My favourite dish of the evening was the "King of the Chimichangas", which was essentially a Japanese inspired taco! Nori seaweed lightly fried in what I assume was Tempura batter and folded in the shape of a taco. A small wooden box accompanies the nori tacos that is filled with raw salmon, rice, Kewpie mayonnaise, avocado, onion and small leaves. The idea is to build your own taco using the nori and items in the box. The result is a delicious sea inspired taco! It was simply gold. Definitely the best item on the menu and if I had been more greedy, I would have had another one! 

Other golden dishes of the evening included:

"CTs Pork Chipolatas" which was another DIY dish of slices of pork sausage, which you topped with XO sauce and soused cabbage. 

"Double Duck Blinis" were a patriotic nod to the Chef's Welsh heritage. Instead of Peking duck sitting on a traditional thin pancake, it sits upon a blini that works really well with the richness of the duck. The duck is roasted on the premise daily as emphasised by Davis. It was very good and definitely one dish to try if you go.

"Slow-cooked pork jowl" was also another standout dish. I'm not sure whether it's because I have a huge fascination (read: greedy tendency) with slow cooked pork, but this dish at Claremont Tonic was mighty tasty and really was quite distinct in its flavour of spices. The accompanying pear worked well the pork as it kind of made it feel less fattening....sliced fresh fruit always makes me feel that way! 

"Infinite Spiral Fries" were totes awesome. Yes I did just write that, but looking at them, they look like something you'd get at a theme park when you were young (that applies if you're as old as me!). The texture wasn't as crispy as I thought it would be, but the flavour of the curry salt was delish!

To help me make way for my "Happy Ending", I ordered the "Fck you Eddie" cocktail. Yes I just wrote "Happy Ending"....and yes, I thought it was hilarious too! The term refers to the dessert section of the menu which I'll get to next. But before I do, I have to mention this second cocktail I had. Given it's name, you'd kind of think it would be a cocktail to top them all, and to be honest, it probably is. It's served in what looks like a giant jar and is made up for 5 different types of rum, raspberry ice cubes, Thai lime sour and ginger beer. It was both refreshing and toxic at the same time. A genuine delight! 

 

Anyway back to my happy ending....

I really did get more than one Happy Ending...I got four of them! But out of all of them, my favourites were the Eliana Truffle which I basically hoovered off the plate, and the Yakusa Yuzu Sorbet which brought me full circle to the start of the evening when I was enjoying the tart taste of my first cocktail. 

The Eliana Truffle is a milk chocolate mousse creation, accompanied by crystallised shards of pineapple and small blocks of pineapple. It was divine. I swear if my skirt would have allowed, I would have asked for another!

And finally, the Yakusa Yuzu Sorbet was a delightful combination of sorbet, cold sake, yuzu and lemon jelly cubes. It was a refreshing dessert, and if you like sorbets this is the one to order!

Now most people at this stage of the meal would like a coffee, however the establishment doesn't serve coffee. Instead, it encourages diners to opt for one of the 10 teas on the menu, which are inspired by various regions in Asia, or a juice made from different combinations of fruits and vegetables, depending on your mood at the time! Or, if you were like me, you'd be going with a different cocktail on the menu....

All in all, I had a fantastic time at Claremont Tonic and can't wait to go back and try the other cocktails (many of them with names in honour of rock and roll legends), and try the rest of the menu!

I really liked the fit out and the ambiance of the place. And despite, half way through eating a dish, noticing that they were playing Prodigy, it really suited the atmosphere of the restaurant.

I did ask what inspired the name of the restaurant. I was told that obviously it was on Claremont Street, however, the concept of Tonic could be interpreted as a type of juice for life. I think it's the perfect explanation given the types of tonics on offer in a place where Asian food meets rock.

You can visit Claremont Tonic at the corner of Claremont Street and Yarra Lane, South Yarra

This article first appeared on www.couturing.com