mykrocosm

Happy Birthday dear Flea!!

We went to the nearby Bombay Bicycle Club after work for drinks in the Rikki Tiki Tavi Bar. They did the whole thing up about four years ago in the British Raj style, with obviously, a huge Kiplingesque influence. The layout is clearly a compromise between the old hotel and the recent extension… the non-smoking area is sunken 2 metres below the smoking area (good) but you still have to go through it to reach the bar (bad). The decor is appealing and there’s plenty to look at and comment on. Not sure who did their research though - Flea noted that their historical timeline on the wall gave a date for the founding of Singapore that was wrong by about 200 years!

After drinks we had a nice dinner in Gungadins Restaurant, hidden away behind a heavy door in the hotel. They rate the hotness of their curries using chillis, both on the menu and in the presentation on the plate. I went for the 2 chilli Beef Vindaloo, while Flea boldly went for their 4 chilli special, the Rikki Tikki Tavi Tindaloo. We had to help each other out to finish that one! The service was a little abrupt at times though generally pleasant. We saw at least one kitchen worker with long hair that wasn’t tied back or netted, tsk! The restaurant is divided by three split levels and many walls and partitions, giving a nice ambience and some privacy. At around $30 a head plus drinks, it’s a fun place to mark that special occasion.

Here’s to many more

We went to the Greedy Goose with friends tonight for a triple celebration. An engagement, a birthday, a return from overseas. What better opportunity to check out the winner of 2005 My Restaurant Rules, now that all the cameras had left the restaurant to run on its own merits.. or lack of.

The first thing we realised is that the website is hopelessly out of date, including that exotic menu we pored over and eagerly preselected our entrees and mains from. The post-TV menu is much more sedate and mainstream. The irony is, our table could have been bigger as some people were actually put off by the “richness” of the online menu.

Still, we were able to try the famed Vincisgrassi Maceratesi which lived up to its reputation, and for mains virtually the whole table opted for the Blue Lake beef wrapped in prosciutto on a bed of confit potato and mushroom fricassee, which was delicious and didn’t disappoint. It would have been nice to have seen (and tried) some other dishes but oh well, what can you do when everyone’s in a steak mood?

It came to $60 a head, normally considered on the pricey side for Adelaide, but that included plenty of celebratory champagne and wine which went nicely with the meal. The ambience and decor is tastefully understated, lending itself to a pleasant experience.

We took our parents to dinner at Montpellier Grill, Brighton last night. This group of 3 or 4 restaurants has recently sprung up across the western suburbs of Adelaide, and they seem to be so new there aren’t any reviews or even mention of them to be found anywhere on the web! However they were one of the few places available during the busy December month, so with some trepidation I made a booking for their Jetty Road restaurant.

Despite being located near a busy beach esplanade on a Saturday night, there was a reasonable level of privacy at the rearmost table and while there was some background noise we didn’t feel intruded on by other diners. The ambience and decor was tastefully understated. In a nice touch the lighting dimmed almost imperceptibly as the night wore on, creating a more intimate mood.

The six of us decided to start off with oysters all round. Unfortunately their sole appearance in the entree menu was a rather unappetising “steamed oysters with ginger shallots”. A quick word to the helpful waiter and we discovered they could actually offer oysters in three other guises. We boldly ordered a dozen of each… oysters naturale, oysters Kilpatrick, and another type whose name escapes me, but was essentially raw oysters with Midori-imbued crushed ice on top.

As usual, the Kilpatrick bacon while delicious tended to overwhelmed the seafood texture. The oysters naturale were sublime, though perhaps a little more juice could have been retained in the shell. The Midori ice oysters turned out to be the least popular, as the crushed ice gave an slightly unusual sensation, which reminded me a little of consuming half-thawed oysters. Nevertheless, we finished our entree in good spirits, ready for the main course.

I had the 500g king rib special with honey glaze, an unusual cut being the rib-eye with a hefty chunk of bone attached. I do hope this was not included in the weight! Nevertheless there was just enough meat for my appetite, perfectly medium rare and nicely marbled as you’d expect. Their 300g scotch fillet was also deemed good though it had been ordered as medium so it was hard to compare. Dad proclaimed the Moreton Bay Bugs with chilli sauce exceptionally good, and the three women all opted for the fish of the day… the most delicious Atlantic Salmon done to perfection.

Their wine list is unashamedly non-pariochial and loaded with plenty of little known offerings from New Zealand and Western Australia, but our choices didn’t disappoint.

Montpellier Grill proclaim themselves a “Seafood and Grill” restaurant, and while I can’t speak for the rest of their menu, they presented very well in these two key areas.They certainly exceeded our tentative expectations, with a great meal and ambience for less than $50 a head.

We went to La Guillotine last night for my sister’s birthday. French restaurants are a rarity in Adelaide which is surprising considering the contributions they’ve made to cuisine - heck, they invented the word.

La Guillotine has been operating in Gouger Street for more than 20 years and apparently they specialise in excellent omelets, though we didn’t try any on the night. Feeling adventurous, four of us chose the Casserole d’escargots for our entree. It turned out to be delicious, though we felt the dish was overwhelmed with garlic and mushrooms. It proved difficult to get to the basic texture of the snails. Another escargot choice on the menu would have been useful, allowing us to sample different recipes.

The staff were attentive and the wine cellar well stocked. The atmosphere of La Guillotine is very provincial French, and several devices of that name are displayed as part of the decor, blades hoisted high.

For mains I decided to finally try the famous Boullabaisse - a heavy broth containing fish, prawns, mussels, and a quarter crab. The soup was very tasty and packed with flavour, however the shellfish - the crab in particular - had a mushy, bland texture that sometimes comes from being frozen. At nearly $30 it represented the most expensive dish on the menu, and given that most of the bulk came from the crab and pieces of bread, I felt there could have been more of the delicious tasting broth.

For a native meat not normally part of French cuisine, the Filet de Kangourou (kangaroo fillet with a cherry & port wine glaze) turned out to be the most acclaimed dish at the table - it was succulent and rare, and beautifully presented. Another attractive dish only recently added to the menu was the chicken breast stuffed with avocado in a cream sauce, well received by my sister and my mum. Flea reported that the Confit de Canard - duck leg served on mushrooms with an orange glaze - was delicious. The pork fillet turned out to be alright but left my father wishing he’d tried the rabbit dish, Lapin a la Moutarde.

All in all, a pleasant and professionally run restaurant and at under $50 a head including entrees, sides, wines and coffee, an enjoyable experience that won’t demolish the wallet.

We tossed and turned quite a bit last night - we’d had a smaller dinner than usual and I was conscious of wanting more food at the time I went to bed. It made me realise how unused we (and I imagine most people) are to hunger pains.

We’re so accustomed to keeping up a steady flow of fuel to our bodies, and it’s so easy to procur this fuel. If you’re short of time, away from home, or can’t cook for some other reason - no matter where you are, there’ll be half a dozen takeaway shops in the vicinity.

When I go shopping and I feel hungry or thirsty, I know I’m going to be home within a couple of hours. So I suck it up. I’m not gonna die there and then! I’m always dumbstruck when I see people suddenly go “oh, I’m thirsty” and plonk $3 down at the nearest cafe for a coke or iced coffee. Even the water bottles in the same fridge cost as much because it’s not the goods you’re paying for, it’s the convenience. Add that up every time you go out - and it’s a symptom of our quick-fix mentality.

So carry water with you, your body and your wallet will thank you. Oh, and sleep hungry once in a while… you’ll appreciate the meals you do have, and gain a better understanding of the portions you need, not the portions you want.

The Polish national dish bigos even has an official recipe issued by the Polish Government!

Polish bigos

Source : http://www.poland.gov.pl/?document=411

Might be worth a try .. sometime… maybe.

I’ve posted before about our Thursday curries from Curry Chong. We’ve recently started mixing that up with the odd delivery from Shankers - they have a $7.50 lunch time special. The first time I ordered Chicken Vindaloo and there was only 4 pieces of chicken floating in the curry sauce. It was a bitter disappointment compared to the wealth of meat and rice I’m used to in my favourite $7 combo from Curry Chong. In my hunger I was forced to eat a second container of rice. After that I pretty much wrote Shankers off.. until today.

I went with Shanker’s Beef Vindaloo. I was pleased to see a decent quantity of meat this time, and let me tell you, their curry packs a hell of a punch! My order was medium heat and it left me feeling dizzy and seeing spots in front of my eyes. Shit! This is real curry! You’ll feel it all over.

Shanker’s are clearly suffering from consistency issues - some people who enjoyed their first order weren’t as happy with today’s. But this restaurant is bringing a new experience to the table, literally.

Bang a gong! The Great Adelaide Curry Challenge is on!!!!!

The second boneless lamb roast I picked up from Conroy’s met its end today. Weight 3kg. Cooked for 2 hours at 160′C, then 1 hour at 180′C. Big thumbs up from the family, though they were pretty hungry by then.

PS - I just LOVE mushroom gravy!!

Remember the Fijian Lovo Feast our family had a month ago? I finally got the page with photos up. Read all about it here!

The boneless lamb I picked up last week turned out a treat on Friday night. I always used to think roasts were the arcane result of grandmother magic but over the years I’ve found they’re not so hard. You just have to have a go in the first place, and you soon develop a feel for it.

Seasoned with the usual mix of rosemary, mixed herbs, garlic and pepper. Whole peppercorn if you have it works well too. Thyme too but I didn’t have any handy, d’oh. I hit upon a neat trick - slice the garlic into thick slivers and mix them with the other spices in a bowl. Stab the holes in your roast and push the garlic in, the other herbs stick to the garlic and go along for the ride. Drizzled the lot with extra-virgin olive oil and rubbed it in a bit.

I’m a big fan of slow roasting if you have the time. First I bunged it in the oven for 80 minutes at 160′C, then put in the larger potatoes. Fifteen minutes later the smaller potatoes and the rest of the veg. Another 15 minutes, then I nudged the temp up to 180′C for the last hour. So just under three hours for a 2.7kg roast.

Juicy and packed with flavour. Let me tell you, it took a lot less time than that for the four of us to demolish the thing. Everyone had seconds! And the raspberry chocolate pudding for desert? Scrumptious, Lorna! By the way, one of my favourite parts of cooking roast is that the leftover makes such great sandwiches too. None of this pre-processed ham crap, it’s the good old fashioned real thing.