2014: A tale of two years

The 12 months of 2014 have been some of the craziest yet in my life, and not in that drunken, dazed manner of my early 20s. With new responsibility, the year has had so many distinct twists and turns that it feels like at least two years in one.

Here's some of the high points of the year in food, booze and events, including highlights from contributors Hendy, Janice and Kath & Mark.

House charcuterie at Nomad, Foster Street, Surry Hills

I fell head over heels for Nomad this year, which seems to be a collection of all the things I love in a space I wish I had and done in just a slightly more hipster manner than I can identify with, But with the calling card of the platter of completely house-made charcuterie, Nomad well and truly has my number.

Mac and cheese at Miss Peaches Soul Food Kitchen, Missenden Road, Newtown

My appetite for pasta, and carbs generally, hasn't waned one bit and the American-style mac'n'cheese at Miss Peaches Soul Food Kitchen above Newtown's Malbourough Hotel hits all the right spots. Ridiculously cheesy and rich, garnished with chives and a house chilli sauce on the side, it's pure cheese and carb bliss in a side dish.

Insalata Caprese at Cipro - pizza al taglio, Fountain Street, Alexandria

It's taken me a while to discover the joys of thick-based pizzas at Cipro - pizza al taglio in Alexandria. And it makes me sad that I didn't know about their sensational Caprese salad earlier. Heirloom tomatoes, pickled Spanish onion rings and smashed green olives take the classic insalata Caprese up several levels.

Mussels.... at Three Blue Ducks, Macpherson Street, Bronte

I've really come to like mussels over the last couple of years post realising that they're only rubbery when they're overcooked. The best version I've had yet has to be Bronte's Three Blue Ducks' steamed mussels with coconut sambal, fresh herbs and cherry tomatoes - dish licking good.

Club Limbo at Pinbone, Jersey Road, Woollahra

Kath: Pinbone wins for making the best club sandwich ever. Turkey, confit duck leg, bacon jam, crispy prosciutto, lettuce, tomato, mayonnaise and chips on the side. More than enough said.

Anchovies and fish pate at Bodega, Commonwealth Street, Surry Hills

A relatively quiet achiever in the quieter but burgeoning western end of Surry Hills, Bodega is the older but seemingly more experimental sibling to the wildly popular Porteño in the same suburb.

Argentinian tapas produces the likes of a creamy fish pate served alongside pickled anchovies, loud music and unmissable rockabilly style.

Fried chicken with chilli powder at Hot Star Large Fried Chicken, Liverpool Street, Sydney

The mere mention of 'Hot Star' gets me salivating. From Taiwan, Sydney's first Hot Star Large Fried Chicken outlet in the city south is what 3am dreams are made of. A half chicken breast, deep fried fresh to order with a sprinkling of house recipe chilli powder, served piping hot in a paper bag - sweet dreams are made of fried chicken.

from the 'A Taste of The Dairy' at Intercontinental Sydney, Phillip Street, Sydney

The 'A Taste Of...' series of dinners at Intercontinental Sydney earlier in the year were excellent opportunities to learn about local producers and enjoy them in a fine dining environment. As part of the 'A Taste of The Dairy' dinner, the baked Reblochon cheese with confit fig was a knee-weakening rendition of a cheese course.

Carbonara from Roscioli Deli and Restaurant, Rome, Italy

Janice: My favourite dish this year had to be the carbonara in Rome. It was so spectacular because it's my quintessential dish of carbs, cheese (pecorino romano) and cured meat (guanciale or pig cheek, in this case). I've taken to never eating it when I'm out any more because nothing beats the ones I had in Rome.

Grilled octopus and white beans at Alpha, Castlereagh Street, Sydney

I'm glad I got to tick Alpha in the CBD south off the list this year, as was Kath. The grilled octopus tentacles were an unexpected standout for me, cooked tenderly and smokily for one of the best occy dishes I've had in ages.

Kath: Alpha was a highlight for bringing a modern twist to traditional Greek food. The highlight of the menu for me was the melt-in-the-mouth pickled octopus with cucumber and sun-dried olives.

Bacon aioli and bread at Bishop Sessa, Crown Street, Surry Hills

Bacon. Aioli. It's all I needed to hear at Bishop Sessa at the quieter end of Surry Hills' Crown Street. Their 'I Dream of Pork' degustation was absolutely dream-worthy with all sorts of porcine goodness ranging from chicarrones to blood sausage.

They had me from the bread course which was served with a smokey bacon fat aioli that was probably a nutritionists' nightmare but dreamy on all other counts.

Pork cutlet bun at Chefs Gallery Wynyard, Metcentre, Margaret Street, Sydney

Undoubtedly one of the naughtiest things I've eaten this year are the Macanese pork buns at Chefs Gallery Wynyard. Featuring a deep fried pork cutlet and spicy mayonnaise on a deep fried man tou style bun, the fried-on-fried burger oozed with fatty deliciousness.

Events

Long lunch for Melbourne Food and Wine Festival at Red Spice Road, Melbourne

I made it to Melbourne for their annual food and wine festival this year, joining in on the long lunch action at Red Spice Road. With numerous courses of shared dishes, heaps of seafood and wine flowing, it was a most pleasant lunch experience in one of Melbourne's iconic laneways.

Strawberry caipirinha from Flavours of Brazil dinner at Bridge Street Garage, Bridge Street, Sydney

Hendy: The emotional roller coaster that was the World Cup was hosted in Brazil this time round. We all shared moments of tears, laughter and joy at the Flavours of Brazil dinner at Bridge Street Garage, including this lovely and colourful Caipirinha. Unlike at the soccer, this was a winner from Brazil.

Atura Blacktown, Cricketer's Arms Road, Blacktown

A famil to Blacktown this year was quite an event for this inner city/inner west dwelling girl. Atura Blacktown is a relatively new boutique style hotel in the area next door to one of Sydney's only drive in cinemas. The hotel is modern, quirky and very well equipped for the Wet'n'Wild guest, business travellers and western suburbs tourists alike.

Chauffeur pick-up for Tanqueray Bar Hop for Good Food Month 2014, Sydney

Definitely the most fun event of the year was the Tanqueray Bar Hop as part of Good Food Month. One night, two girls, one chauffeur and four bars serving Tanqueray gin cocktail specials. I still keep a hopeful eye out for a chauffeur outside my work to pick me up and take me to a bar for cocktails.

Table of 10 dinner at OzHarvest HQ, Maddox Street, Alexandria

One of the more heart-warming events of the year was OzHarvest's 10 year celebration dinner at their new warehouse headquarters in Alexandria. With a combination of rescued and donated food, OzHarvest's chefs whipped up an amazingly homely, comforting and thoroughly scrumptious dinner, shared with great wines and even better company.

Carrots with organic yoghurt, black olive crumb from Sustainable Table dinner, Studio Neon, Raglan Street, Waterloo

Hendy: Also for Good Food Month Sustainable Table, an  innovative not-for-profit organisation from Melbourne, launched a clever campaign to raise awareness of food wastage. The food that was presented at the campaign dinner not only demonstrated the elegance of simplicity but also reminded us that good food and good produce can also look a tad imperfect.

Dîner en Blanc Sydney 2014, McKay Field, Centennial Park

The sea of sophisticated white that is Dîner en Blanc returned to Sydney bigger than ever. About 4,000 guests participated in the great white picnic in the secret location of Centennial Park this year and thanks to Seppelt Wines, we were wined and dined in total style - in full whites, of course.

Goodbye 2014!

As the year comes to an end, I'd like to send a huge thanks to my team of contributors - Hendy, Janice, Kath & Mark - for their inspired food-eating and photographing efforts this year. It's been loads of fun, sharing the passion for food and booze (perhaps less so the shoes?).

Thanks also to all the readers and followers over the past year, and the five years before it. It's been a year of change, some stress and new responsibilities - and always plenty of food, booze and shoes - thanks for joining me and the team along the way. See you around in 2015!

Kong BBQ - king of meat, Korean style

Bringing a new perspective to the barbequed meats trend that's so in right now, Kong BBQ in Melbourne introduces us to Asian barbeque and smoking techniques under a cutesy Japanese-styled panda logo.

Inside Kong BBQ, Church Street, Cremorne, Melbourne

By the same group behind the always popular Chin Chin in the Melbourne CBD, Kong BBQ in the inner Melbourne city suburb of Cremorne was impressively busy for our late lunch drop in, with plenty of couples seated around the open kitchen counter seats and groups contentedly hoeing into meat platters.

Kong house kin chi

We started on the house pickles and kim chi fermented cabbage; the latter full of crunch, squish and chilli heat. I adored the pickled carrot strips alongside interestingly soft walnuts, while daikon white radish rounded out the pickled offerings.

Wood grilled edamame with chilli and salt

Giving the usual edamame soy beans a new wood grilled look and taste, as well as keeping on the barbeque theme, the heavily salted edamame continued to ramp up the meal's spice levels.

Hot wings with gochujang and chipotle

Chicken wings were irresistible given a whole menu section dedicated to the boney cut and we opted for the saucy gochujang Korean chilli paste and chipotle variety.

Deep red and garnished with extra fresh chilli slices, the wings weren't overly spicy and featured some very juicy midwings.

Nasu miso - miso eggplant

I couldn't pass on one of my favourite vegetables, served with a twist on the traditional Japanese nasu dengaku style, in a lettuce leaf in Chinese san choi bao style.

The hunk of soft eggplant, beautifully caramelised and packed with miso flavour, was adorned with sesame seeds, fried strips of something and coriander in a clever fusion offering.

BBQ baby back pork ribs with Kong 'crazy horse' chilli

Our barbequed pork ribs selection seemed to feature the same red chilli sauce as the chicken wings, with the same chilli, spice and all things apparently "crazy horse".

The tender ribs on the bone made for an ideal lip-smacking, finger-licking main dish to share - carbs on the side would be ideal.

Bossam BBQ tray

Continuing on the sharing trend, the bo ssam BBQ tray was definitely the way to go for most groups and even some couples.

Served in the same style as American-style barbeque platters with a selection of meats on a metal tray, the platter arrived with kim chi, pickles, pork crackling and butter lettuce and perilla leaves for wrapping and eating in traditional Korean ssam style.

Bossam BBQ tray

There was smoky chicken breast, pulled pork, pork belly and my favourite, beef brisket - each with a slightly different cooking method, sauce and personality as part of the platter.

Between four of us and all the other dishes, we completely cleaned up the tray of meats.

Spicy cabbage salad with pickled veg and Kewpie mayo

We supplemented our meat-fest with a very well-executed cabbage slaw, with spice, pickle and Kewpie mayonnaise making it one of the more impressive slaw salads of recent times.

Bar and open kitchen

While it's so on-trend that it almost hurts, Kong BBQ is doing its Asian barbeque well with a sense of fun and a modern, casual approach. Meat and the charcoal grill are king at Kong BBQ, and it's so hot right now.

Good times collective #11: Melbourne must-eats

Even as a not-so-common visitor to Melbourne these days, there are places and dishes that are almost quintessentially Melbourne from a Sydney perspective, as I'm sure there are the other way around - though perhaps less so with various restaurants and trends capturing stomachs in both states.

Fried eggs with jamon, figs and potato tortilla from Hardware Societe, Hardware Street, Melbourne

The hype around CBD laneway cafe Hardware Societe doesn't seem to have died down at all, if my last two visits to Melbourne are anything to go by.

Always turned off by the usual breakfast queues, I was pleasantly surprised on a Thursday morning with no queue but still a jam-packed venue including a shared communal table.

Fried eggs with jamon, figs and potato tortilla from Hardware Societe

Breakfast at Hardware Societe is no light affair. With Spanish and French influences throughout the menu, breakfast is a little more glam than your standard cafe breakfast and quite irresistibly so.

Spanish jamon cured ham and a wedge of potato tortilla made an appearance alongside in-season fresh figs and a scattering of pumpkin seeds in a gorgeous spin on breakfast eggs and toast that was as gourmet as it was filling.

Herb roasted mushrooms with twice cooked gruyere de comte souffle from Hardware Societe

Even more rich was the vegetarian dish of buttery, herb roasted mushrooms atop seeded toast, with watercress and two fluffy cheese "souffles" finished with a herbed creme fraiche; certainly one of the richest, and ultimately deliciously filling vegetarian meals I've had to date.

Bills burger from Huxtaburger, Fulham Place, Melbourne

There's yet to be a burger joint in Sydney with the name and following of Huxtaburger in Melbourne, which has three venues throughout Melbourne and avid, die-hard fans. The CBD outlet, hidden in a laneway and backing out into a food court, is licensed and with indoor and outdoor seating.

It's a more of a scoff-and-dash venue, which is fine by the hungry devourers of the all-Aussie Bills burger featuring a fried egg and bacon with the juicy beef pattie, and beetroot and a pineapple ring in addition to lettuce and tomato - a burger doesn't get much more Australian than that.

Rudy burger with chipotle fries from Huxtaburger

After a holiday standard breakfast; that is, a relatively huge one, I could only manage a kids-size burger. And large fries but only because they were of the nostalgic crinkle-cut variety, tossed in a lightly spiced chipotle seasoning.

The cute Rudy burger on a shiny mini burger bun with a beef pattie, lettuce and tomato was a classic burger with both tomato sauce and mayonnaise. For a proper meat hit, though, go the full size.

Tam Tam ramen from Fukuryu Ramen, Corrs Lane, Melbourne

Melbourne's a little behind Sydney on the ramen game - while we can virtually turn any corner in the city and inner suburbs and find a great ramen joint (post coming next week on the new, second Ippudo in the Central Park complex, Broadway), it's not quite as easy in Melbourne.

Fukuryu Ramen is located up a couple flights of stairs in an aged laneway building, but once you're up there, it's like any other brightly-lit fast food restaurant. Order at the front and get a neat little tracker, rather than a buzzer, that alerts waistaff to your seating location once your food is ready for table delivery.

Offered in regular or large size (adults aren't allowed to order the kid's size - I tried), the mildly spicy, red-hued 'Tam Tam' ramen featured chasuhu roast pork slices and nori seaweed sheets propped up against the side of the bowl, as well as half a googy-yolked egg and pork mince through the soup. The broth had a fantastic smoky umami-ness that strongly encouraged one to finish the entire bowl of soup.

Miso ramen from Fukuryu Ramen

There wasn't quite the same depth of flavour in the miso ramen which had a chicken and fish based broth. It came with toppings of buttered corn, shallots, nori, chashu, egg and oddly, also some of the minced pork at the bottom of the bowl. While it was decently rich with miso, it wasn't the best miso ramen I've ever had and not nearly as good as my neighbouring bowl.

Sweet potato fries with Vietnamese spicy chilli mayonnaise from Lord of the Fries, Flinders Street, Melbourne

I'm actually yet to visit the Lord of the Fries outlet in Sydney, but happily divert to the store near Flinders Street station every time for a hit of fried potatoes - or in this instance, sweet potato.

Darkly fried, the sweet potato chips alternate between crunchy and soggy, enriched with the 'Vietnamese' sauce - a lightly spiced mayonnaise.

Ninjabread martini, Section 8, Tattersalls Lane

An outdoor, converted shipping container bar pumping with music in a Chinatown lane is quite the concept and Section 8 seems to pull it off effortlessly. Downstairs from other nearby bars, I assume the noise isn't an issue - how un-Sydney - and while sangria jugs and beers seemed the popular choice, I was completely and somewhat unexpectedly delighted with my Ninjabread martini.

Vanilla vodka featured with a touch of cream in the shaken cocktail that seemed to lack a real ginger hit, but it was the gingerbread crumb rim that won me over in the decidedly 'yum' cocktail.

Jia zhang noodles from Camy Shanghai Dumpling, Tattersalls Lane, Melbourne

After a drink or two, the allure of cheap dumplings and noodles nearby in Tattersalls Lane is hard to resist. The well-priced menu and brusque service go hand in hand, and there's even an all-you-can-eat option for the seriously hungry.

The meaty, saucy jia zhang wheat noodles are fabulous for booze-soaking, and general eating too. The generous bowl of dry noodles is topped with a fine pork mince and finely chopped other ingredients in the Asian bolognaise-like sauce, with Chinese greenery on the side.

Pan fried pork dumplings from Camy Shanghai Dumplings

The crisp bottomed pan-fried dumplings are also people-pleasers, with a unique situation where the dumpling wrapper is just as good as the juicy, porky filling. With vinegar sauce and a touch of chilli, these are the kinds of dumplings that I could just eat forever, for the rest of time.

Hot and sour soup from Camy Shanghai Dumpling

The generosity of serving sizes continued with the hot and sour soup, served searingly hot and thick, jam-packed with tofu, bamboo shoots and other goodies in a well balanced vinegary and chilli soup base.

Xiao long bao from Camy Shanghai Dumpling

The only disappointment at Camy Shanghai Dumpling were the xiao long bao soup dumplings which were quite terrible and even worse than the frozen, steam-at-home varieties. Cooked in a too-small bamboo steamer, the dumpling skins ripped and lost what little soup they held while the filling flavour was so mediocre that even vinegar and soy sauces couldn't help.

I always feel like I need a salad week or two after an eating and drinking weekend in Melbourne, but it's all about the balance and the good times afterall.



 

 

All about the balls at Meatball & Wine Bar (Melbourne)

Posted by Kath

On a cold, blustery day in Melbourne, it was the bold 'meatballs' sign of Meatball & Wine Bar in Flinders Lane that drew us in like a beacon. A typical Melbourne laneway full of creative and culinary delights, we were excited to discover the wining and dining potential in a meatball bar.

Front window of Meatball & Wine Bar

True to it's name, and as our waiter put it, Meatball & Wine Bar was "all about the balls" - meat or otherwise - and of course, the wine.

Deceptively narrow looking from the outside, we were please to find quite ample seating inside and, most importantly, respite from the chilly weather outside.

Boar meatballs, mash and peas

We got straight into the food with the meatballs of the day: a wild boar offering - and we couldn't resist having boar balls. Served atop a bed of mashed potatoes mixed with juicy green peas, the boar meatballs were tender and full of flavour, covered with a savoury jus.

Aside the balls was a meaty, slow cooked lamb rib which just fell away from the bone, and made the meal quite a substantial one.

Rare beef sliders and broccoli (in background)

A great share plate on the day's specials were the rare beef sliders, with sweet onion relish, melty cheese, leafy greens and slices of beef so soft and pink that they almost melted in the mouth.

While it might be all about the balls and meat at Meatball & Wine Bar, it's worth mentioning the market vegetable of the day: a beautiful and simple plate of steamed broccoli seasoned with salt, lemon and whole lot of butter which made this a real highlight.

Table setting and wine

What I liked about this wine bar, apart from the delicious food offerings and comfortable surroundings, was the fact that the wine selection wasn't overwhelming or unapproachable.

Whoopie Mac

To finish off we couldn't resist the Whoopie Mac; a build-your-own ice cream sandwich of sorts. Diners can choose whichever combination of cookies and ice cream that take their fancy.

We chose a soft and chewy chocolate cookie and a sugary and crisp pistachio meringue to sandwich a giant scoop of house-made fig and almond ice-cream, and had no regrets whatsoever.

Neon sign in restaurant

With both the meatballs and wine ticked off, I was certain that we we much better equipped to deal with the cool weather and life generally. After all, it's just all about the balls.