Chianti, Adelaide 06-2016

The night was for celebrating and so an appropriate venue had to be selected. Surprisingly in researching, there were only a few places that seemed to interest me for the occasion. They were Jolley's Boathouse, Concubine and Chianti (and I had already chosen Delicatessen and Press for the previous nights more casual meals). In the end Chianti won due to an exciting take on classic Italian and the locavore mentality. Jolley's had higher ratings but the menu didn't excite and Concubine is unlikely to be much better than all the equivalent Melbourne versions.

For a place with white-table service, the atmosphere in Chianti is surprisingly cosy and homely. I liked the plates decorating the walls with Audrey Hepburn-type faces.

Complementary ciabatta, some mild EVOO and a small amuse bouche of veal with herbs started things off.

- Antipasti Misti (Local artisan cured meats, prosciutto di Parma, arancini, grissini, mozzarella di buffala, local sardines pickled ‘in saor’, baccala mantecato, balsamic marinated mushrooms, marinated zucchini, olives & additional daily appetisers) $38.0 - the proscuitto was very mild flavoured and the softest I've ever tried, arancini crisp with rice that tasted slightly mushroom or truffled, fresh mild mozzarella and two warm meatballs in ragu;
- Girello di Vitello (slow poached veal girello, truffled anchovy mayonnaise, caper leaves & Ortiz anchovies) $24.9 - very nice individual elements (particularly the anchovies) but not so overwhelming overall. I'd probably go for the octopus or lamb brains next time;
- Fiori di Zucchini (zucchini flowers stuffed with ricotta & smoked mozzarella, lightly fried in batter, served with capsicum & almond Romesco) $24.5 - large lovely flowers skilfully fried with a nutty red pepper sauce. I wish there were more than 2 flowers.

After a short intermission the mains were brought out in all their glory:

- Fazzoletti con Anguilla (house-made pasta ‘handkerchiefs’, smoked eel, black truffle & walnuts) $35.9 - excellent unusual pasta dish with eel and crunchy textural walnuts. I couldn't detect much black truffle. Note to mix the pasta sheets early as a few stuck together toward the end as the dish cooled down;
- Linguine allo Scoglio (Spencer Gulf king prawns, Coorong pipis, mussels & fish, Frank’s tomato passata, white wine, garlic & olive oil, no shells) $36.9 - beautifully presented seafood in a clean and much milder than expected sauce;
- Arrosto d’Agnello (roasted Pure Suffolk lamb rump, marinated eggplant, roasted garlic & crema di fagioli) $39.5 - a perfectly cooked lamb with nice eggplant and very discernible garlic flavour;
- Coniglio al Forno (Chianti’s traditional slow cooked Adelaide Hills farmed rabbit, pancetta, port & sage) $39.9 - often rabbit is dry and so it was a small risk but with that description, I couldn't avoid it. The rabbit had one tender piece and one slightly drier piece but overall excellent with a meaty pancetta sauce that lifted the insides of the meat.

Insalata di Campo $11.9 was a side of mixed leaves and not much more. I'd probably try the green bean or tomato salad next time. None of the dishes came with vegetable accompaniments so it is a necessary side.

The food and cooking quality is excellent, as expected by this kind of restaurant with the associated prices. Fried lambs brains and the Budino di Cioccolato hot chocolate pudding will be certainties for next time. I could smell the pudding from the surrounding tables but unfortunately didn't have the stomach capacity this time.

The service is overall very good. One thing I would note is that in being friendly, you are occasionally forgotten briefly due to attention and conversation being paid to other customers (and I suppose other customers would feel the same way when I had the attention). For example ordering took a little while, waiting for the dessert menu too (which in the end opted to end the meal rather than wait longer) and paying the bill too. The service still warranted a decent tip (which is very rare for me in Australia) so that still says something.

Chianti Menu Reviews Photos Location and Info - Zomato

Afghan Charcoal Kebab House, Adelaide 06-2016

Everything was booked to precision. Arrival into Adelaide at 9:05pm, taxi to the hotel, then dinner at Delicatessen 10pm. A few days earlier I received an email asking if I could change the booking to 7:30 or 8pm as "it is busy earlier" but obviously couldn't. Then Qantas delayed the flight and arrival at dinner wasn't going to be before about 1030pm. I called up and they said it would be fine, then received a call back a few minutes later saying it was too quiet and they wouldn't stay open for me. DIsappointment.

The complete and utter lack of food venues at 1030pm on a Thursday in Adelaide astounded me. Maybe I just haven't lived somewhere small for a while but surely Adelaide isn't that small? Anyway a walk to about 15 different places I found on Google and Zomato proved fruitless.

Eventually the mother of all late night dining venues came up - kebabs. The Jerusalem Kebab House was on my list but wouldn't be open late enough. So then came Afghan Kebab House, it's closer proximity and slightly later hours.

- Lamb kebab platter with pita bread $22 for 4 skewers - very lovely lamb skewers cooked to order over charcoal and the heavy flavours blended with yoghurt and spicy tomato sauce and vegetables into a make-your-own pita wrap; 
- Qabuli pulao $18 - basmati rice spiced with butter/oil/ghee/something and housing soft, tender and meaty lamb that fell off the bone. A touch of yoghurt sauce and lemon lifted it. A few more currants or some nuts would have made it perfect.

Both were really great. I probably preferred the strong meat flavours of the kebab but I'd be very happy with either (and happier again with both).

There's also chicken biryani and BBQ chicken for next time. Thanks for being open and cooking fresh for me.

Afghan Charcoal Kebab House Menu Reviews Photos Location and Info - Zomato

Happy Bowl, Adelaide 06-2016

Geez Adelaide, you need to do something about your food hours. After noticing how early things close on Thursday evening, seeing that many things are closed on Sunday afternoon is ridiculous. Even places that Zomato and Google state are open weren't. In particular, I really wanted to try Kutchi Deli Parwana (whose own website states open 7 days per week) but the closed door on a Sunday 2pm said otherwise.

After seeing Golden Boy, Mandoo and many others also closed I had to wonder why Sunday lunch is such a desolate field in Adelaide.

Eventually I settled on Happy Bowl, a small Chinese place where I everyone else was a Mandarin-speaking student-aged person.

- Spicy Chicken Noodles $10.8 - the chicken was strongly flavoured, however limited in amount and parts even cold in the middle (obviously precooked and refridgerated). The soup had a bit of spice but lacked actual broth flavour;
- Fried Dumplings in Chicken Juice $10.5 - I'm not sure where the chicken juice is, but these homemade dumplings were fantastic. Good dough, nicely fried bottom, juicy tasty filling that was enhanced by Chinkiang vinegar, and some kind of small tasty brown crisp wisps full flavour.

Next time I would order a whole lot of dumplings and be happy with that meal.

Happy Bowl Menu Reviews Photos Location and Info - Zomato

Larry & Ladd, Adelaide 10-2015

I arrived at my hotel around 730am. That's one of the issues flying from Canberra - there's only two direct flights per day at 6am or 7pm. The hotel had a check-in time of 2pm which left a solid amount of time to sit around before deciding that sitting elsewhere than the hotel lobby may make time go faster.

After a quick search of the Rundle Mall area, I came across high reviews for L&L especially for coffee and toasties. I found it after a short 10min walk (tempted by other coffee places and a food court along the way). It's located in a stylish looking arcade and has a definite hip feel about it. There's sitting space both inside and outside to enjoy relaxing and chatting, using your phone, people watching or pulling out the iPad/MBA.

The coffee looked well constructed, but as a non-drinker I settled for a soy chai latte which was good - not overly sweet, not syrupy, not too heavy in cinnamon, nice. I'd also read about the Bolognese & Bechamel Toastie ($7) which was thickly sliced pressed bread with some nice cheese and meat sauce. I think it could have used more sauce overall as some bites had a bit too much bread and dryness (especially the crust areas) but it wasn't a big deal.

The menu prices are excellent too. A reasonable sized bircher is $5 for a healthier breakfast option. 

If I ever find myself straggling during an Adelaide morning, I'd definitely come back here.

Larry  Ladd Menu Reviews Photos Location and Info - Zomato

Nove on Luce, Adelaide 10-2015

In quite possibly the funkiest decorated cafe I've ever seen, this place would have been fantastic to have more time to sit, read a newspaper, scroll through a phone and enjoy the atmosphere.

The menu is quite limited with the specialty being pies, sausage rolls and a handful of sandwiches.

My first day there I felt like bircher muesli. They didn't have this but accommodated by making me a takeaway cup of yoghurt with granola. It was adequate but nothing special. Some fresh fruit would have probably made all the difference.

The second day I sat for a bit longer and had a croque monsieur. The cheese was nice, the ham was fine, but the bread quality could have been more exciting than plain wholemeal. I suppose I would've preferred something seeded or even slices of a sourdough loaf.

To takeaway I had a homestyle sausage roll and a famous neufchatel (cheese) chicken pie. Both were eaten 3 days later and remained quite delicious. The pastry was more flaky than buttery, but that could be attributed to the delay and rewarming in the microwave then oven at home.

Overall the setting, friendliness and more time to enjoy would bring me back here. I'd settle for a fresh sausage roll or chicken pie or try their roast beef on sourdough.

Nove on Luce Menu Reviews Photos Location and Info - Zomato

Yianni's on Hindley, Adelaide 10-2015

I was looking for something close to my hotel (Adelaide Rockford) to eat during a late Wednesday afternoon. Interestingly enough Zomato didn't have many options that were open, looked relatively fast and very decently rated. Funnily enough a souvlaki store down west past the university and away from all the other food places seemed to shine out.

Considering the Greek influence I became subjected to in Melbourne around the high school age of 16, I've valued a really great souvlaki. Over the past 4 years my favourites have changed from the supremely tasty and fatty Stalactites, to the wonderful authentic pork version in Bairaktaris and more recently the upmarket tender lamb version from Jimmy Grants. In Adelaide I had previously tried a place up north designated "home of the Ab" and found their meat to be reasonable but still lacking the intense herbed flavour I prefer.

Yianni's on Hindley had pretty good comments and there were plenty of workman ordering the enormous full sized yiros. In order to try 2 of the 3 meats on offer, I purchased 2 mini sizes. Each of those is very big on their own and could easily be a full meal (for $7!!). I ordered the lamb (as typical for yiro in Australia). In retrospect I should've made the other chicken for a bit of contrast, but the pork version from Athens weighed heavily in my mind. The lamb was nice, reasonable flavour, decent meat with some fatty bits. The pork version was a bit chewier and didn't really have much additional marinade flavour.

Next time I would order the chicken version to see how much flavour they can get out of it. Otherwise I'll settle quite happily for a mini yiro lamb.

Yiro or giro?

Yiannis on Hindley Menu Reviews Photos Location and Info - Zomato

United Latino Cocina, Adelaide 10-2015

During my last trip to Adelaide in February I starred a lot of places around Rundle Mall. It was unexpected that the highest rated place on Urbanspoon was ULC - a lunch only Mexican place with remarkable reviews.

Finally on a hot 33C October afternoon I made it there walking through the sunny streets in a suit. Considering it would quite possibly be my last trip to Adelaide for a long time I had to ensure that the heat didn't affect my food choice, particularly when it came to adding the selection of spicy sauces.

- Elote (grilled corn on the cob with chipotle mayonesa, lime & dry cheese) $3.90 - my hybrid recipe using Thomasina Mier's, Melbourne's Mamasita and online recipes is still my overall favourite, but this was a nice version with juicy corn, salty cheese and a mild chilli mayo;
- Mexican Traffic (fried eggs with pork chipotle mince, fresh tortillas, cilantro pesto, rice, black beans, crema & salsa Mexicana) $14.90 - of all the menu items I think the reason I picked this was that the overall ingredients list appealed to me. I think in overall combination it is something I wouldn't usually have selected for myself. It was a nice meal of carbs soaking up the sauces and various condiments. It wasn't as (heat) hot as I expected for a rice dish and I ended up adding quite a lot of extra sauce to add the taste which I wanted. It was decent but not particularly special and I'd try a different dish next time.

Next time I would order Sloppy Jose, ULC Dog or Quesadilla and an added taco (probably fish) on the side. I'd wash it down with a Latin American flavoured soda also.

United Latino Cocina Menu Reviews Photos Location and Info - Zomato

Phonatic, Adelaide 10-2015

On my most recent trip to Adelaide, I stayed at the Adelaide Rockford Hotel. The location was selected due to its proximity to the Adelaide Convention Centre, but it seemed a short walk only to the main shopping and food area that I had starred in Google Maps from my previous visit. Due to the 30+ degree heat, I found myself often not really wanting to walk too far away so started looking at food options closeby. There was the restaurant located at the hotel (Asian, decent sounding menu, rather ordinary reviews for the prices), an Indian curry place across the road (didn't look too interesting from the outside, decent reviews online), a souvlaki place further away from town and a nearby highly rated cafe. It wasn't until my last night staying at the hotel that I noticed from the window of my hotel a girl standing outside the restaurant across the road advertising to people walking past.

Usually that's not a great sign of things - I specifically can mention Lygon Street and the restaurant street Rue de Bouchers in Brussels for this. Additionally I have to admit I found it unusual that pho was being touted by a non-Vietnamese (and more specifically non-Asian) person. Funnily enough the relative health safety of Vietnamese food (with the exclusion of banh mi that's been sitting in the sun), the minimal amount of distance to cover, and quite simply I had a hankering for decent Asian noodles brought me in.

I found out that this was day 10 of the restaurant's opening, and the owners/management were Vietnamese and very friendly. The fit out was modern and slightly edgy with a flair of traditional, similar to the new-age Asian restaurants that are the rage in various cities.

- 3 Colour Drink - if I had any particular recommendation for improvement, it would be on this. The best 3 Colour Drinks are made with finely shaved ice that melts easily when stirred into the coconut milk. Unfortunately this had thick chunks of ice that mean you spend a lot of time crunching through, with dilute flavours and having difficulty finding the elements;
- Wagyu Beef Pho - given the restaurant name, my pho craving that evening and the delicious wagyu pho from Bistro Nguyen, this was an easy choice. The noodles are well cooked and slightly uneven (this probably means they are fresh not dried, possibly handmade but you'd expect this to be advertised, or just unevenly machine cut). The meat was nicely soft and tender. The broth is very strong and full of the flavour of pho spices.

I was impressed that evening by the atmosphere, setting and general friendly vibe from the staff. Considering the location I ended up back the next day to try the other classic Vietnamese noodle soup. Actually I particularly wanted banh xeo, but they told me that was only on the dinner menu.

- Bun Bo Hue - the broth was flavoursome and not overly spicy and lightened with lemon. The large size is quite hefty such that I had difficulty finishing it along with my jackfruit smoothie (maybe too much liquid overall). The thick rice noodle was unfortunately slightly overcooked and so was quite soft rather than the characteristic slight firmness of this noodle.
- Jackfruit smoothie - not sure why I ordered this since it usually is made from canned jackfruit marinated in sugar syrup. However this one wasn't very sweet and a little dilute of jackfruit flavour.

Overall the food was very tasty with strongly flavoured stocks and I would be happy to eat either the pho or bun bo hue again. To my taste I think the drinks could use a bit of improvement. Perhaps I'll try the freshly squeezed sugar cane juice or avocado smoothie next time.

Phonatic Menu Reviews Photos Location and Info - Zomato

Nano Cafe, Adelaide 02-2015

Ebenezer Place seems to be the current trendy area for Adelaide's coffee and breakfast needs. At 745am, my first target was East End Providore (Urbanspoon 95%) which seems to be one of the newer ones and for that reason (or maybe it's also just plain good) the coolest of the lot. However considering the place didn't open until 8am, the ensuing 10minutes allowed me to read about it - that there is a limited menu (especially for breakfast) and some of the great ratings relate more to the providore/deli side of things. In any case it was more of a time factor that led me elsewhere on this occasion.

Wandering less than a minute in either direction or across the road gives the options of Sad Cafe (91%), Hey Jupiter (84%) and Nano (90%). Sad Cafe wasn't yet open (although already had 3 people waiting outside) and Nano was better rated than Hey Jupiter and seemed to be the oldest institution of the lot making the decision for me.

Clientele was a mixed combination of beards, suits and bike shorts with some random Italian phrases being thrown around too (presumably because the owners are Aussie-Italian). The menu reflects this and it largely Italian bread/pizza based with a slightly disappointing lack of fresher options (only saw one with yoghurt and fruit). In any case the Incarozza caught my eye (holy bread sauteed with egg, crispy pancetta, mozzarella, napoletana sugo) as interesting. It was a quite delicious thick serve of bread seemingly panfried on both sides embedded with fried egg. The topping had (not very crisp) pancetta, some melted cheese and a lovely tomato sugo and a few basil leaves (would definitely have appreciated more). It was reasonably heavy for early breakfast but a satisfying start to the morning.

Given the air was bordering on 30C, ice coffee was a welcome treat. Unlike the typical liquid versions with a token scoop of icecream, this was more of a blended smoothie incorporating coffee, icecream and (probably) ice into a thick smooth whip. It was great.

Next time I would order for lunch and test out some other bread/pizza options. I think for breakfast I'd try one of the other 3 places for something a bit lighter.

Nano on Urbanspoon

Mandoo Korean Dumplings, Adelaide 02-2015

Over my last three trips to Adelaide, I've slowly starred more and more places on Google maps to remind myself of things worth trying. The list (admittedly) tends to be Asian focussed. So far the list entails Ricky's Kitchen (for chicken rice) or Warong (for Indo-Malaya laksa) or the nearby non-Asian United Latino Cocina (Mexican, fish tacos) which I discovered are sadly all only lunch options. Then there is Chinatown's Ying Chow (for duck and some kind of beans dish) or Concubine (other Chinese) which were a little too far away to walk to. Lastly near the Royal Adelaide Hospital is Golden Boy (modern Thai) which has a great sounding menu and I was very close to ending up in, but strangely only has average reviews (due to flavours, serving size, price).

In the end it came down to well rated dumplings place called Mandoo. I must admit I don't think I've ever had Korean dumplings, even in Seoul. My staple Korean dishes in Australia tend to be bibimbap and the occasional BBQ. Given the reviews and very high ratings, my curiosity and dumpling-cravings drew me in. Funnily enough just down the road looks like another reasonable Vietnamese-based place called Sit Lo which has the widespread open baos and pho as their specialty. Maybe next time.

Openly on display inside Mandoo is a large number of stacked metal steamers with the large parcels being assembled on a small bench in front. I positioned myself directly in front to watch the skilled action. The namesake dumplings come in two varieties - steamed or fried. From vast experience, I know that steamed are usually the basics and the marker of true greatness whereas my palate prefers the flavour and texture of fried. Luckily since all the servings are in 8, there is an option for half-half for $1 extra.

I ordered steamed kimchi mandoo (for the difference), fried pork mandoo (because fried pork is always the best flavoured) and beef bibimbap to wash it all down. They asked it I was ordering for 2. No, just 1. I smiled.

One of the reviews on Urbanspoon opined the mandoo themselves have little intrinsic flavour and it is the dipping sauce that brings it to life. I have to agree. Firstly the dumplings are huge (compared with typical Chinese or Japanese) each one being having a rounded diameter of 4-5cm. The steamed skins are thin and not too gelatinous which is fine but also means once you bite or dip, the large size is difficult to hold together and the filling comes out. The fried version on the other hand holds much better as expected. Kimchi filling was very very mild compared to usual kimchi vegetables. The pork filling wasn't very seasoned either but was fine. The dipping sauce of vinegar, chilli, sesame gave the dumplings a huge kick of flavour and intensity.

Bibimbap was a well sized bowl of steamed rice, lots of vegetable combinations, flavoursome beef and an excellent gochujang sauce with a perfect amount of chilli. One disappointment was my hope of serving or cooking in a stone pot with the bottom rice becoming crisp and burnt. This is my favourite textural element of bibimbap but didn't detract from the other nice flavours and textures. It also came with a small bowl of nice fish-konbu soup that would otherwise serve the base of their menu udon dish.

Next time I would order the fried chicken mandoo (to see what if they had more intrinsic flavour than the pork) and try either the udon or mandoo dumpling soup. For a one dish dinner, the bibimbap was more satisfying to me than the fried pork mandoo. But ideally try both and prepare to package a bit for takeaway.

Mandoo Korean Dumplings on Urbanspoon