Cafe Review: St. Ali

Location: 12/18 Yarra Pl, South Melbourne
Phone: 03 9686 2990
Link: stali.com.au
Overall Impression: 9/10

J has become quite the coffee enthusiast of late. We find ourselves walking through the most obscure alley ways for coffee. St Ali is J's favourite place for a caffeine hit and it needs no introduction. One of the most distinguished Melbourne institutions for quality coffee, St Ali is a gem. Single origin, house blend, short, long, even siphoned – you are certainly spoiled for choice.

St Ali’s house blend is ultimately my favourite. Subtle without losing its delicate characteristics, it is well-balanced and certainly pleasurable. J and I enjoy it the most in the form of a short macchiato.

Siphon Coffee has been gaining quite a cult following lately. Fashionable back in the 1950s, its popularity has experienced stark ups and downs over the decades but it looks like the trend in favour of it has hit Melbourne like a storm in recent times.

Although delicate and inoffensive, it certainly has not replaced my love for a simple and good short mac. Don’t get me wrong, I can certainly see its appeal but I need my coffee with a little more “POW!”. That said, as far as Siphon Coffee goes, St Ali’s single origin style is the most pleasant we have tried.

It is definitely worth walking through the most obscure alley ways for coffee of this stature.

Restaurant Review: Enlightened Vegetarian Cuisine

Location: 113 Queens Brg St, Melbourne
Phone: 03 9686 9188
Link: ecuisine.com.au
Cuisine: Vegetarian
Overall Impression: 6/10

Good vegetarian places are hard to come by. I remember eating at a vegetarian restaurant off Nanjing Road in Shanghai that was absolutely amazing during my short visit. The faux fish and meat tasted even better than the real thing. It was strange and awe-inspiring at the same time. It was fit for any carnivore or vegetarian who was in denial. Since then, I have been searching for a similar restaurant in Melbourne. The menu on Enlightened Cuisine’s website looked promising so J, HR and I decided to dine there recently.

Beef Rendang

$18.90

Slow cooked beef in coconut milk and flavoured with our house-blend of Asian spices

The Rendang starkly differed from the ones I have eaten in Malaysia and Indonesia. This Rendang has a lot more coconut milk and has a much more fluid consistency. It was pleasant but I would describe it as a "curry" more than a "Rendang". In terms of taste, this dish was the most delicious course we ordered. 

Asam Fish  
$17.90

"Fish" prepared with brinjal, tomato and pineapple, enhanced with a hint of chilli and complimented by our own special hot and sour tamarind sauce

Ginger Duck
$17.90
"Duck" in ginger sauce

Kung Po Chicken in Nest

$20.90   

Chilli spiced "chicken" with mixed vegetables and cashews served in a potato basket

All in all, this was a very pleasant dining experience. It is notable that all the faux meat and fish tasted exactly the same, which was rather disappointing. As such, the food did not live up to my dining experience in that Shanghai restaurant. That said, the food was very much enjoyable to eat and the service was prompt and friendly. We will certainly return in the not too distant future

Restaurant Review: Meat and Wine Co

Location: Freshwater Pl, 3 Queensbridge St, Southbank
Phone: 03 9696 5333
Link: themeatandwineco.com
Cuisine: Modern Australian, Steakhouse
Overall Impression: 7/10

An hour lunch break simply isn’t enough for dining at a restaurant. This is where express lunches come in. They guarantee you will be in and out in a jiff when you feel like giving yourself a little treat without eating up more than the 45 minutes you have.

As far as express lunches go, the one offered by Meat & Wine Co is a bargain. For $25 you receive a delicious main and a glass of wine. In our experience, the food is consistently good. The following are our two favourite mains from the express lunch menu:

Pork Belly

"Twice cooked pork belly with sticky soy caramel, served with crispy shallot rice, roasted peanuts and Asian salad dressed with kaffir lime and chilli dressing"

This is very well-prepared. The pork belly has a good crackling and the salad is balanced and fresh.

Eye of Rump

"200g Eye of Rump grilled to perfection in our in-house basting and served with super crunchy chips"

The steak is always perfectly cooked - juicy, tender and absolutely scrumptious. Their famous "super crunchy chips" are everything you would expect - Yes, super crunchy.

Restaurant Review: Jacques Reymond

Location: 78 Williams Road, Prahran VIC 3181
Phone: (03) 9525 2178
Link: http://www.jacquesreymond.com.au/
Cuisine: French
Overall Impression: 10/10

Perfect. Jacques Reymond is awe-inspiring on every facet you could possibly imagine. The service, execution, and presentation of the dishes are faultless. Even the order that the courses come in is perfect.
Their 8 course degustation with matching wines is luxuriously sumptuous and designed to please. And please, it certainly does! This option will set you back a hefty $285 a head but is certainly well worth the experience. Each course is perfectly balanced and delicious. There is extraordinary attention to detail. It is apparent that everything has been intelligently designed. It is no coincidence but the work of mastermind, Jacques himself. Of course every good meal must be accompanied by good wine and in this instance; we were pleased to see that the wines perfectly matched the food. This truly added a whole level of enjoyment to the meal. I would liken the degustation to being taken by Jacques on a culinary journey. The following is a list of the courses we were privileged to devour and the matching wines we had, with pictures for your viewing pleasure.

Choux pastry on arrival

We were given several choices of bread to choose from.

Lemongrass, spinach and rock lobster soup, fragrant Tiger prawn, sweet potato and turmeric ice cream

Matched with: 2004 Tyrrell’s HVD Semillon, Single Vineyard, Hunter Valley, NSW

Sandwich of spanner crab, mirin and fresh wasabi jelly, lacquered Petuna ocean trout, black bean and sweetcorn dressing

Wild barramundi, almond and bush mountain pepper caramel, yoghurt and black garlic, kaffir lime and lemongrass espuma

Matched with: 2009 Toolangi Estate ‘Jacques Reymond Selection’ Chardonnay, Yarra Valley, Vic

Peking duck and Hervey bay scallops, peking juices, spiced marshmallow like a crêpe, ginger sesame and pandan oil

Matched with: 2007 Bass Phillip ‘Jacques Reymond Selection’ Pinot Noir, SE Gippsland, Vic

Highland venison like a warm carpaccio, horseradish mustard dressing, butternut pumpkin with honey and bitter chocolate beignet

Matched with: 2006 Dalwhinnie ‘Jacques Reymond Selection’ Shiraz, Pyrenees, Vic

Western plains suckling pig and tamarind, celeriac and bitter almond, dashi apple veil, dancing bonito flakes and rosella chutney salad, cavalo nero

Matched with: 2007 Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Clos du Mont Olivet, Les Fils de Joseph Sabon, Rhône Valley, France

Pacific Rim martini of pineapple, passionfruit and banana, liquorice ice cream and honeycomb
As far as pre-desserts go, this surpasses them all.

Millefeuilles of chocolate: white chocolate mousse, pure Caribbean chilli ice cream, dark chocolate mousse and praline ice cream

Matched with: NV SeppeltsField Grand Tokay (Topaque), Barossa Valley, SA

Coffee and petits fours

And I am still in awe.

The thing about dining at Jacques Reymond is that it takes dining to a whole different level. If you want to be awed and taste delicious flavours you never knew existed, this is where you want to go. Although some of the dishes are somewhat unconventional, the flavours ultimately match each component and what you get is one amazing dish after another. Expect everything to be cooked to perfection. And yes, everything will taste even better than it looks on the plate.

Restaurant Review: The Village Larder

Location: 81 High St, Woodend
Phone: 03 5427 3399
Link: thevillagelarder.com.au
Overall Impression: 5/10

The Village Larder is a cosy cafe in Woodend, just down the road from J and I's favourite pub of all time, Holgate. We had lunch here recently and although there are hits and misses, we found the food overall to be enjoyable. Unfortunately, the service we received was extremely disappointing. We waited for between 45 minutes to an hour for our soups and meals. The restaurant was far from full so it was difficult to see why the wait was necessary.

"Pappa Pomodoro" - Italian Thick Tomato Soup with Goats Cheese, Chive Flowers and Fried Basil $14.50
 The soup was far from the traditionally hearty soup we expected. It tasted watery and lacked flavour, leaving much to be desired.

The Village Larder Pork Burger with Cheddar, Egg, Baby Chard Leaves, House Mayo & Beetroot Relish $19

Roasted Western Plains pork ciabatta with house mayonnaise, fresh apple, rhubarb relish and cress $18

This was delicious. The tender morsels of pork were perfectly seasoned. The fresh apple and rhubard relish added the perfect level of acidity to the luscious mayonnaise and indulgent pieces of pork crackling. The ciabatta was beautifully light. This was certainly the highlight of our meal at The Village Larder.

As a whole, this was not an unpleasant dining experience. However, there was a very long and unjustified wait for the food. When the food finally did arrive, it was clear that the standard of the offerings lacked consistency across the menu.

Restaurant & Bar Review: Holgate Brewhouse

Location: 79 High St, Woodend
Phone: 03 5427 2510
Link: http://www.holgatebrewhouse.com/
Overall Impressions
Beer: 10/10
Bar dining: 5/10
Restaurant dining: 6/10

Sticking to their "Real Beer, No Bull" motto, Holgate Brewhouse continues its legacy of sharing premium boutique beer to its many fans. The one and a half hours drive from Melbourne CBD, is immediately justified with a pint of any of their hand crafted all malt real ales and lagers.

Being there on Cup Day weekend was probably not the best idea - the pub was packed to the brim.

The reason behind its popularity is easy to see. We started the day off quickly with their tasting paddles. It is an amazing way to drink your way through Holgate's full range of delectable beers before deciding what to get more of when you're done!

We decided to dine in the bar area for lunch and the restaurant for dinner...

Bar Meal: Istra sausages & mash

Bar Meal: Wagyu burger

The bar menu consists of old pub favourites. In terms of execution, the food is of a reasonable quality but certainly not above average. Not surprisingly, the quality and standard of the restaurant's menu is superior to that of the bar's.

In the past, the dining experience at the restaurant is one that I would certainly recommend. That said, the restaurant appears to be on a sad decline. It is a far cry from the establishment it was 2 years ago. As it stands, the food meets tolerable expectations but goes no further.  

The following are dishes from their restaurant menu for your viewing pleasure...

Duck Risotto

Fish and Chips

Chicken Risotto

Meat Platter

Bangers and Mash

Meat Pie

Holgate Brewhouse continues to be a temple of beer worship for those in the know. Unfortunately, the food on offer fails to be as impressive. That said, both the food served at the bar and restaurant are far from objectionable. Just expect an average dining experience and you will not be disappointed.