Melbourne eats: MoVida Next Door

On my trip to Melbourne earlier this year, I finally made it to MoVida Next Door, the neighbouring tapas and wine/sherry bar to the original MoVida restaurant in the CBD's grafitti-ed Hosier Lane. It only took about one attempt each four previous times I'd been to Melbourne and a 4pm late lunch.

At the bar at MoVida Next Door, Hosier Lane, Melbourne

Having had my first ever MoVida experience in Sydney, I was looking forward to a bit of laneway wining and grazing on small plates. It has to be said that this is my favourite way of eating: fresh and tasty morsels alongside endless glasses of wine, or indeed, sherry.

The kitchen at MoVida Next Door, Hosier Lane, Melbourne

We were seated at the bar at MoVida Next Door, next to the intimately-sized kitchen, where it was prime viewing of food preparation and even staff meals.

The pull-down stairs that led up to either a larder or fridge above the kitchen demonstrates that big things are possible in small spaces.

Ostra - freshly shucked oysters

As we were right next to the fresh seafood cabinet, freshly shucked oysters were top of mind. I can't remember exactly where in South Australia the oysters were from, but they were extremely briny and nothing like a Sydney rock oyster in flavour.

I was also disturbed by one of the oysters being pierced during shucking, which wasn't a particularly good look for the plate or the oyster-queasy.

Padrón - deep fried peppers

I'd seen the deep fried padrón green peppers at MoVida Sydney, served simply with a sprinkle of salt flakes. Somewhat comforted by the fact that only about one in ten are hot, I dug in, relishing the saltiness of the mostly capsicum-like mild, sweet peppers.

Until I got a hot one. Holy MoVida, it was one of the most intensely hot things I've ever eaten with the most sudden impact on the palate. More bread and oil didn't help, white wine didn't help, water didn't help.

With the beginnings of tears in my eyes and plenty of hand-fanning-face action, I heard the chefs have a bit of a chuckle as I pushed the remaining half of the hot padrón aside. Lesson learnt, but I still wouldn't refuse them in the future.

Boquerone - White anchovy with tomato on crouton

The anchovy boquerone is one of MoVida's signature tapa, with a single, salty anchovy lined up alongside a tomato gel and a creamy sauce, aioli perhaps, on a thin, crisp crouton. Baby capers added even more punch and saltiness to each bite, with microherbs garnishing the simple and so-right tapa.

Smoked sardine and tomato salad

A salad of smoked sardines and tomato was exactly and simply those two ingredients, with a bit of baby basil and oil-based dressing adding zing. The firm-fleshed sardines were perfection: salty and smoky, matched exquisitely with the ripe, sweet tomato segments.

Brussels sprouts cooked with bacon and onion

With our tummies intrigued over a special of Brussels sprouts, it was nice to be offered the option of a half serve, cooked with liberal amounts of butter, bacon and onion. The Brussels sprouts had a somewhat stewed but still firm texture, basking in the rich sauce.

Despite the padrón experience, I still adored this light meal at MoVida Next Door. My persistence in getting there certainly paid off, as rhere's just something about the light, casual style of MoVida that has me hook, line and sinker.

Ipoh on York - street eats

Malaysian cuisine has taken off somewhat in Sydney, although not to the extent of Thai restaurants in the past decade or Mexican joints in the past two years.

But it does mean that quick and easy mamak style (Indian Malay) street eats are now readily available in town - none more convenient for the CBD's rat racers than Ipoh on York.

Chicken satay at Ipoh on York, York Street, Sydney

In a spacious, underground location (a few doors down from new small bar The Barber Shop), Ipoh on York looks a little like a fast food chain at first glance. Brightly lit menu boards and cash registers greet diners coming down the stairs, but then so do the Malaysian/Singaporean accents of the staff.

It's all too easy to pick out the mamak favourites from the menu, pay, sit in the extensive dining area and await the delivery of your selected Malaysian dishes.

Four sticks of satay arrived in a serve of the chicken variety, smothered in a nutty, creamy satay sauce with just not much of a spice kick. Raw chunks of cucumber and Spanish onion complete the satay appetiser, which is easily lovable and hard to get wrong.

Roti canai with plain curry

The plain roti canai is my favourite style of the fluffy, grilled flat bread and it's not too bad at Ipoh on York. Not quite as thin and delicately layered as that of Mamak, the roti still has great chew and texture for mopping up the accompanying bowl of spicy curry sauce.

Hainan chicken rice

It's hard, if not impossible, to go past Hainan chicken rice when it's on offer. My favourite part of the dish is actually the chicken stock flavoured rice, which is seriously decent at Ipoh on York with a definitive ginger aroma.

The gently poached and chopped chicken was typically lukewarm and smooth in texture, served with traditional condiments of pickled green chillies, ginger and shallot sauce and fresh coriander, with sliced cucumber on the side. Meanwhile, the bowl of chicken broth was a little on the salty side but included some greens.

Wonton mee soup

Least impressive of our order was the wonton and noodle soup, where the wonton dumpling wrappers were about as soggy as could be. Probably cooked at an earlier stage and reheated for serving, the wonton were at least tastily filled, with a fair bit of greenery in the bowl atop the still al dente noodles.

A relatively cheap feed in the Sydney CBD - that's Malaysian street eats for you.

Colombian beer Aguila launches in Australia

It's not hard to get a party started when you're offering free beer. But when it comes to what's known as Colombia's celebration beer, Aguila, launching on the Australian scene, you know it's going to be one hell of a party.

Aguila beer launch party, The Paramount Building, Brisbane Street, Surry Hills

Spanish for 'eagle' and pronounced “Ahh – gee laa”, Aguila has become available in Australia for the first time through select bars (including Opera Bar in Sydney) and other on premise venues.

The Aguila launch party crowd

Aguila has been a part of the Colombian landscape and culture for 100 years, having being first brewed in Barranquilla, Colombia in 1913.

It has a reputation for being the celebration beer in Colombia, and with its primary-coloured label (like the Colombian flag), it makes for a great party drink and decorative theme.

Aguila beer bottles

I found Aguila to be quite a light, easy-drinking beer that's not heavy on flavour. It's made using Perle and Nugget hop varieties, pale malt and rice, and has a 4.0% alcohol by volume content, making it a pretty good party beer.

Aguila beer bar

For the Sydney launch party, the rejuvenated Paramount Building in Surry Hills (opposite Longrain) was decked out in Colombian party spirit with a live Colombian band and dancers, a yellow confetti party zone, a lively and happy-to-drink-on-a-Sunday-night hospitality and media crowd, and of course, loads of Aguila beers by the bottle.

The confetti party area

Chelsea the miniature donkey outside The Paramount Building

There was even a miniature donkey named Chelsea out the front, welcoming party guests with her somewhat nervous stance and bashful fringe.

Cerveza Aguila cart

Empanadas

And responsible service calls for beer-soaking snacks, deliciously on-theme and circulating the room. There were golden-hued, hot-centred empanadas with a cornmeal casing, served with zingy and fresh salsas and chilli sauces.

Arepas

Arepas, thick discs also made of cornmeal, came with a DIY combination of toppings including Sydney's ubiquitous pulled pork, a chilli salsa, guacamole and untraditional sour cream that was so tasty in combination that noone was screaming "TexMex" in horror.

Palitos de queso - cheese sticks

Strangely enough, the battered and deep fried white cheese sticks also came with the same topping options. I love the idea of a fried stick of cheese and after a few Aguila beers*, topping the cheese sticks with salsa, guacamole and even pulled pork didn't seem like a bad idea.

The Aguila beer launch party

With Aguila coming to Australia just in time for warmer weather and party season, it's time to vive la vida Colombiana - live life Colombian!

*Food, booze and shoes supports the responsible consumption of alcohol at all times. Eat, drink and enjoy - responsibly!

Food, booze and shoes attended the Aguila launch party and received samples with thanks to Liquid Ideas.