MoVida (Melbourne)

By St

I've had this one up my sleeve for a while waiting for the new Masterchef season. Last season was a phenomena  and even though they are bringing more culinary big wigs onto the show this year and going to more countries (and oh yeah, blowing ch10's budget), the contestants haven't wooed me yet. Why the Masterchef talk (esp since many working in the food industry a la apprentices detest the show)? Last season, the only person to win an immunity pin was Marion, and it was against MoVida's chef, Frank Camorra. (Photo from: http://www.masterchef.com.au/masterchef-2010-episode-recaps.htm#). Ever since the show, I wanted to try the cornets but we were too full (damn paella) for dessert this time round.

George, Marion & Frank Camorra of MoVida (Masterchef Season 2, 2010)

 

Bocadillo de Calamares (calamari sandwich with Basque guindilla & mayonnaise) $6.50

Bomba (potato bomb filled will chorizo) $4

Grilled scallops with salmorejo, fried almonds & cauliflower $21.50

Pancetta con morcilla (confit pork belly, morcilla & poached blood plums) $23.50

Gambas a la sidra (prawns cooked in terracotta with garlic & cider) $22.50

Paella de Marisco (bomba rice cooked in seafood & saffron) $60/$95

The best dish of the night goes to... the calamari sandwich! Just so tasty, that mayonnaise sauce with the calamari is to die for. Biggest disappointment were the prawns which were very average and  overpriced. The pork belly was great and very filling (enough to share between 4) and the boys loved the crusty and juicy paella. 

There are several MoVida in Melbourne now, the original being the one in Hoiser Lane with the iconic graffiti walls outside, same one where Marion had her Masterchef celebrity challenge. It's a very small place with bookings for up to 6 peopler only.  You can try your luck at 'MoVida Next Door', literally  next door which doesn't take reservations. We went to MoVida Aqui which fits more and easier to book! Some really really fantastic tapas, some so-so and it can get pricey but would come here again.

Wok rating /5:

MoVida Aqui

Lv 1, 500 Bourke St

Melbourne

03 9663 3038

View Larger Map

Tomislav (Darlinghurst)

By St

With uni eating up my words (and time), my blog entries will have a new twist- more photos! Unfortunately, this entry doesn't show my new direction in the best light (hehe) but hope you enjoy it!

Wanting some molecular gastronomy with a great view, look no further than opposite the Coke sign. On a platform sits Tomislav, a modern Australian dining that was the trending place in the foodie blogosphere late last year.

It is named after it's chef, Tomislav Martinovic, who has worked in the kitchens of Aria, Bennelong and The Fat Duck (Heston Blumenthal). Their signature dish is the O'Connor scotch fillet with the unusual roasted bone marrow- it won't be everybody's liking, to me it tasted like mushy adipose tissue (fat). A special mention to the thrice fried chips (inspired by the work of Blumenthal) that takes 9 hours to prepare- super crispy and chunky!

Complimentary bread & butter

Scampi canneloni- grilled scampi with raw cauliflower, $24

Basmati rice risotto with grilled Yamba prawns, chives & lemon zest, $22

Crinkle cut chips, $9

Braised Kurobuta pork belly with XO sauce, sweet corn & golden baby beetroots, $36

Pasture fed O'Connor scotch fillet with roast bone marrow & smoked potato cream, $37

Timmy liked the scotch fillet while I liked the pork belly but I must say, it was quite fatty!

Wok rating /5:

Tomislav

2/13 Kirketon Rd,

Darlinghurst

02 9356 4535

View Larger Map

HuTong Dumpling Bar (Melbourne)

By St

Don't bother fronting up to HuTong Dumpling Bar on a friday night without a booking. It's packed and you will find yourself wandering Chinatown to find a good eat (I'm guessing that was the fate of the 2 tourists who were turned away).

Once inside, it looks deceptively small until we were seated up on the third and highest floor. It's interior impressed me with it's dark Chinese-inspired furniture and amber lights illuminating the moody brick walls. I thought HuTong was one of the small and dirty eateries that produce good dumplings but I was wrong about the dirty bit- it's clean and polished with good service and I wished we were seated on the other side of the room with powers to unleash those bamboo curtains for our own little partay!

Red radiance and screen mechanics

Onto the food...

Xiao long bao $11.80

Wontons in Sichuan chilli sauce $8.80

Steamed eggplant with scallops hotpot ~$18

Crispy fragrant duck $25.80

It might look like enough food for 3 but we ordered an extra dish before the duck came out (hence you might notice the doggy bag below). Here was how the votes turned out:

 

2-1 to chilli Sichuan wontons! That was the dish of the night. Despite the xiao long bao (soup dumplings) being the signature dish, both the dumplings and wontons arrived lukewarm and the dumplings were slightly soggy and to be honest, mediocre. They do no compare with Din Tai Fung in Sydney http://wokyoutalkingabout.blogspot.com/2010/11/din-tai-fung-sydney-cbd.html . The wontons were saved by the tasty Sichuan sauce that you just want to scoop up and dip everything with it. Talitha and I added extra chilli satay to it to really give it that explosion in the mouth.

The steamed eggplants are always a delight but the scallops were so-so. I would order and try the eggplants with pork mince next time. Timmy's fav was the crispy duck (don't ask me what was 'fragrant' about it).

Unofficially named the best dumpling place in Melbourne, I disagree with this a bit seeing as the non-dumpling dishes were trumps. Maybe we will get a fresh and hot set of dumplings next time to change my mind. Despite this, everything else was enjoyable.

Wok rating /5:

HuTong Dumpling Bar

14-16 Market Lane (off Bourke St)

Melbourne

03 9650 8128

For a 'proper' review, you can also check out what Matt Preston had to say: http://www.theage.com.au/news/entertainment/epicure/much-ado-about-dumplings/2009/09/25/1253813603716.html

View Larger Map

Cala Luna (Mosman)

By St

Retro-review from December 2010

Hello blogworld! It's been a while but it's the lovely Becc's bday today so this is dedicated to her ;) 

Timmy and I don’t usually venture out for Italian but we made an exception for Cala Luna since its been praised by our fab friends, Becc+Nate. The restaurant was small and packed but luckily we scored a side table for two in the annex which was full by 8pm. Our Italian waiter for the evening was so lovely and I could not fault the authentic service here.

Cala Luna annex- feels like in small shack overlooking the water

We were presented with a complementary starter consisting of warm mix of carrot, cauliflower with a touch of fennel. It tasted like good old pumpkin soup but thinner consistency (compared to the usual Campbell's tin soup I eat- don't judge me!).

Soup starter of carrot, cauliflower & fennel

For starters, we had the BBQ Yamba prawns, vincotto and cherry tomatoes. With the bold, vibrant hues of red, green and orange emanating from the plate, I expected some flavoursome BBQ prawns but was disappointed. I experienced the flavours I was after from the vincotto salsa instead. 
 

BBQ Yamba prawns, vincotta & cherry tomatoes $22

We can’t stop at one starter so we chose the fried calamari too. These came cutely wrapped in an Italian newspaper cone and had a wonderfully light batter and still crunchy but not overwhelming.  I don’t usually mind the heavy crunch from deep fried calamari but these were just light and right with the rocket (sauce very mediocre). I didn’t want to overload on the “friedness” seeing as Timmy ordered chunky fries as a side!

Shallow fried squid with tomato and chilli salt $19

Chunky fried chips $8

Main time. In one corner it was Miss Gnocchi Handmade with pancetta and duck ragu. On the other corner was Mr Lamb Loin with salad and red wine jus. Both players were great sport, soft and tasty but there was a  bit of heaviness in Miss Gnocci (can't blame her, look at that serving hand). Hence I admit I swapped teams and went for Mr Lamb. Equally as soft as the duck but that salad mix of apple, celeriac, rocket and walnuts went so well with it- overall all-round champion.

Handmade ricotta dumplings with pancetta and duck ragu $23 (sm)

Southern Highlands lamb loin with salad of apple, celeriac, rocket, walnuts and red wine jus $32

So far we have failed to listen to the dietitian's mantra of portion control and ate pretty much everything on the plates. It was time to say grazie and leave, however dessert came with our meal so make it a big fat F- for my bulging tummy and self-control. The profiteroles were good but again too heavy for us at this stage. The gelato and sorbet were wonderful! Such pleasant claasic tastes to end our night.

Creme profiteroles with chocolate sauce and shaved almonds $13.90

Chocolate and vanilla bean gelato and strawberry sorbet $14.50

Becc had alerted us to the Eatability online deal for Cala Luna: 3 course dinner for $50 pp (shock horror we ordered more on top, O poor tummy). I would come again even without this deal (and without the BBQ prawns). Get mooooing to Cala Luna!

 

Wok rating /5:

Cala Luna

235 Spit Road

Mosman

02 9968 2426

View Larger Map