Eat Like Ushi

I haven't actually eaten at Thanh Nga Nine before. Even after living in Abbotsford on & off for 4 years I've walked past countless times but never inside.

Other than Vietnam, before Pho Phu Quoc in Canberra (http://eatlikeushi.posthaven.com/pho-phu-quoc-canberra-09-2014) I hadn't actually had a meal of shared dishes in a Vietnamese restaurant. But they changed this and I started to think about somewhere to go for this in Melbourne.

Recently Victoria Street had their annual lunar new year street festival and amongst the typical fare of bo la lot and the rice square dish with fried eggs was a little gem - spit-roasted pork with salad served on a roti. This was exceptional from the juicy flavoursome pork, the crunchy contrast of vegetable textures, the tart and salty sauce and the warm chewy roti.

I don't think they'll serve this on their restaurant menu but I'm going to have to try their shared dishes now and hope for the best.

It's been a long time since I've been to Vegie Bar. I remember a brief romance with their Mee Goreng starting back in 2000 under the influence of a girl who took me there. I never thought vegetarian could taste so good back in those days.

Fast forward 15 years later and the institution still stands, although much less niche and more standard. Because it was 330pm this day, a full meal was unnecessary, but a few snacks were ordered to tide things over before dinner later.

- Raw Malaysian Curry (daikon, carrot capsicum & vegies tossed in lemongrass & coconut raw curry sauce, served with bloomed wild rice & currants, snowpea shoots, coriander & lime) $17.5 - essentially raw vegetables with satay sauce. I suppose I underestimated what "raw" meant in this dish but I know this is not the type of "curry" I like to eat;
- Samosa (filled with mild vegetable curry, served with tzatziki & fresh chilli sauce) $5 - nice, hot and crispy;
- Rice Balls (blend of brown rice & finely chopped mixed vegies, topped with peanut satay sauce) $7.5 - excellent firm outsides and delicious chewy textures centres.

I wasn't hungry enough to experience all Vegie Bar has to offer so will have to leave it for another time to test my memory of mee goreng.

01-2016

After moving house and not having a fridge or cooking facilities for a while, eating out becomes a little tedious and a bit of a chore. As vegetables tend to be the least value for money or (in many places) the least exciting dishes, one becomes quite devoid of vegetable nutrition. Enter us back into the dinner realms of Brunswick Street.

- Mee Goreng (hokkien noodles wok-tossed with vegies, tofu, sauteed potato in a lightly spiced peanut sauce) $17 - as excellent as I remember with thick noodles and sauce and solid ingredients;
- Moroccan Stew (rich tomato & chickpea stew with roasted eggplant, currant & almond couscous, mint yoghurt, marinated cucumber, hazelnut dukkah & fresh parsley, served with warm pita bread) $16 - the dish mainly tasted of tomato to me with hints of other middle Eastern elements;
- Vegan Nachos (oven baked corn chips topped with vegan cheese, Mexican black beans, tomato salsa, spring onion, guacamole, jalapenos & vegan cashew sour cream) $16.5 - a nice snack but not overly exciting to me especially given the price. I suppose the vegan part makes it more expensive and unique (and difficult to make);
- Crispy Green Salad (blanched snow peas & green beans, toasted hazelnuts, pomegranate seeds & snap-dried mandarine with an umaboshi, tahini & orange dressing) $12 - great combination of textures and flavours.

These 4 with a serve of rice balls were too much for a hungry 3. Interestingly Vegie Bar do not allow you to take away leftovers (however they seem to allow takeaway orders - not sure how that works...)

They've stood the test of time and even though not many other dishes appeal to me, I'll happily go back for the rice balls and mee goreng. I've been meaning to try Yong Green Food nearby but each time they've been closed.

Finding a relatively nice place for a birthday dinner around Footscray was actually quite difficult. There seems to be a couple of token Italian and Singaporean restaurants, some nicer looking Vietnamese places and a smokehouse I recently saw, but the choice is not nearly as much as what I'm used to around Abbotsford.

Thonglor Thai is a relatively expensive but nice looking Thai restaurant at Edgewater, which unusually divides its menu into different Thai regions. It actually makes ordering decisions a little difficult, but I suppose if you wanted to theme your dinner to one Thai region then it would help.

- Eggplant Salad (grilled eggplant, pork mince, prawns, boiled egg) $27;
- Deep fried whole barramundi (mixed herb sauce) $37 - excellent quality fish cooked well and topped with herbs;
- Larb Duck $27 - shredded duck with herbs and the occasional hit of chilli;
- Dessert of delicious coconut icecream, sweet potato and tapioca balls with a warm coconut milk syrup.

No photo:

- Khua Kling Nuer (stirfried beef mince with homemade chilli paste, lime & lemongrass) $23.90 - I thought it was a little bland and found out that they intentionally reduced the amount of chilli paste (so as to not make it too hot, even though we asked for it to be made at normal strength) and therefore the flavour was reduced;
- Beef Massaman Curry (with coconut milk, potatoes & peanuts) $19.9 - mild creamy curry;
- Roti with peanut sauce $8 - standard;
- Coconut rice $3.9 per person - a bit expensive to pay $20 for rice but it was good quality at least.

The food is good, the flavours are nice, and my only criticism (other than the high cost) is that the first three dishes all had very very similar dressings - fish sauce, sugar, lime. I didn't get the chance to order my standard setters of tom kha or red curry duck, but I'll be sure to try those next time and see.

It's been a long time since I went to Samurai on Glenferrie Road, possibly the last would have been around 2006 or 2007. My first time there was probably around 2003 (I don't even know when they first opened) and one of the places I particularly started enjoying salmon sashimi. Back then the Samurai noodle soup for around $6 was a delicious meal of noodles packed with chicken on top and in a dense thick soup.

Fast forward to a time in 2016 looking for delicious affordable Japanese food. They apparently renovated last year and the decoration is now whiter, flashier and more modern. There is a back area or upstairs (I think) and the clientele remains the attractive private school students (albeit more trendy fashion these days) with some smatterings of others. I am proud to say I was there before (almost) everyone there.

The menu has expanded quite a bit too.

Firstly the green tea milkshake is exceptional. Very nice strong green tea flavour seemingly from a combination of icecream and milk. Probably the best version I've tasted.

- Takoyaki - not overly crisp but quite nice and with visible pieces of octopus;
- Tempura Soba $9.5 - nice chewy soba in tasty broth. Tempura served separately is a nice touch (as it should be to preserve the crisp batter) but the one prawn and odd vegetable medley were a bit average;
- Samurai Egg Noodles (fried chicken, egg noodles in miso base) $9 - the bowl has increased in size quite a lot since 10 years ago. The chicken is ridiculously tender and the noodles are perfectly cooked with some residual bounce. The broth is more watery and less rich than I remember.

The food isn't as exciting as I remember, but it's still very good. For the price and location (with relative ease of parking) it still can't be beaten for cheap Japanese food. Ocha-To-Go is another nearby one but my last visit 5 years ago was quite pricey and not as enjoyable.

I'm starting to explore my new neighbourhood and discovered the suburb of Seddon. A. Bongiovanni & Son was a nice local organic grocer that I'm sure I'll spend more time in. But the first cafe visited (and there certainly seem to be a few) was Seddon Deadly Sins complete with devil-looking images throughout. Funnily enough the menus are handed out in children's books and the dishes named after sins. The breakfast menu looked more interesting than lunch even though I went in at 3pm.

Coffee was reportedly decent and strong. Chai tea with milk was served in a pot with a squeezer of honey. The chai was nice but only very mildly spiced.

- Beer Battered Haloumi (with onion, fig & chilli jam, on baby spinach with bacon & two poached eggs) $17.5 - beer battered haloumi?? I can't say I've seen it before, but the haloumi is deepfried in advance, refrigerated, then re-fried for 3-4mins on order. The result is a very tasty crisp batter and soft cheese inside. The outside reminded me of the Chinese fried mantou bread (which is delicious). The rest of the dish fills space but the haloumi is the star;
- Sloth (housemade flourless chilli corn loaf with crispy bacon, guacamole & spicy baked beans) $16.5 - a local rendition of Irish cornbread with a hint of chilli and not dry like I've had elsewhere was excellent and I hoped there would be more. The guacamole is served cold and the baked beans could have used a little more seasoning but complete the dish.

Bacon overall was crisp and flavoursome, but I still have (Australia's best) Pialligo Estate bacon fresh in mind.

I was impressed with what I had and the Wrath (Spanish eggs), sweet potato latkes (whatever they are) and Envy (green eggs) will certainly be eaten at some point.

I had Mocan & Green Grout on my eat list for a while. I can't quite remember where I read about it, most likely a Canberra recommended food list or best breakfasts or something along those lines. New Acton wasn't the most convenient area for me to get to any morning, so this was likely the main reason it took nearly 2 years to get there.

It's a small cosy place where opportune seating means you can watch the cooking action unfolding in front of you in what I would've thought was an impossibly small area to feed the hungry waiting for gourmet breakfasts and coffees. The menu is also quite small (which probably helps given the limited space) and makes decisions easier.

- Chai tea - I'm slowly turning from chai lattes to chai tea with milk (courtesy of Local Press). This version was ok but I'd probably get a smoothie instead next time;
- Smashed Eggs with Smoked Trout, Nettle, Sorrel, Parmesan $18 - I can't say I've ever seen smashed eggs before and it does look a bit like a mess. It seemed a bit of an odd way to present the dish with the expensive ingredient of smoked trout hidden underneath (and only a small amount of it);
- Baked Eggs, Charred Eggplant, Harissa, Meredith Chevre $17 - baked eggs

What I can say is the bread from A. Baker is phenomenal. I went to follow up by buying my own loaf from there but they were out of loaves that appealed to me. I'm happy I finally tried this place, but I do personally prefer the food and drink at others - Local Press, Cupping Room and ONA would be the main ones. 

If I was in the area I'd probably try the breakfast at A. Baker considering their excellent bread and also the outstanding dinner from 2014 (http://eatlikeushi.posthaven.com/a-baker-canberra-11-2014). Slow cooked local eggs, crispy smoked salmon, sauteed silver beet, ginger, charred bread and a takeaway of 100% dark rye or dark ale sourdough sounds like an excellent morning.

After the exceptional meal of 2015, I couldn't leave Canberra without one final booking. This restaurant thoroughly deserved the one chef hat accolade in their first year and I was excited to come back especially after re-reading my previous review (http://eatlikeushi.posthaven.com/lilotang-canberra-06-2015).

I couldn't resist re-ordering my favourites from the last visit. I held off on the pork belly skewers (for no particular reason) but otherwise obeyed my "next time I would order" reminder. The complimentary grilled edamame was flavoursome as I remember and started the stomach juices flowing. Quail kara-age (still succulent, tender and delicious), black cod saikyo miso (still incredibly flavoursome, delicately textured and well cooked) and the Wagyu sirloin (seemed a little more cooked and chewy and slightly less melting than last time). The kaki-age tempura rice was much less moist than last time and therefore much better. One dessert was also a repeat with mochi tofu and green tea ice cream better than I remember and now presented in a glass.

New dishes tried were:

- Chargrilled Baby Octopus, Mizuna, Pinenuts, Mustard Miso $15 - I had to look carefully to see if this was raw. The texture is so soft that it almost feels that way but didn't have any chewy or stringy parts. It's cured in sake and mirin overnight and tenderised to the point that it doesn't require extensive cooking; 
- Chicken Meat Ball, Creamy Egg $13 - nice smooth minced chicken swathed in a liquid egg yolk. The egg isn't the easiest thing to eat with the meat balls but brings a different flavour and texture;
- Sardine Namban, Spicy Tartar $15 - a beautifully presented and exceptional dish of chewy (essentially) de-boned fish that was an absolute pleasure;
- Shitake, Enokitake, King Brown Mushrooms, Selected Special Soy $12 - strong flavours enhanced by a touch heavy of salt on the shitake;
- Roast Fuji Apple, Yuzu Ice Cream, Walnuts, Honey-Infused Umeshu $15 - a warming dessert of slightly tart yuzu icecream that held well without melting too quickly on roasted apples cooked to retain a small amount of internal crunch and walnuts. Excellent. Last time I had the persimmon version which was also great.

Having eaten here twice, the quality is not fluke. The food and flavours are strong, bold and excellent (if you like strong flavour). 

The cumulative dishes I've tried means that my favourites list for next time (which I'm sure there will be some day) are: edamame, quail, pork belly skewers, sardines, black cod, possibly Wagyu, roast apple for hot dessert and mochi tofu for cold dessert. And this is all before I've managed to try the chicken thigh skewers, lamb backstrap with eggplant, pork spareribs, duck sukiyaki or tea pudding with sweet potato. Hmm.

I was really excited to read about Fillos coming to The Hamlet. I'd long yearned for a souvlaki and as good as Yarralumla Pide House is, the flavour is just different to souvlaki (as it should be since they serve doner).

Unfortunately despite it being on my list, it seemed I'd never get there. I'd even removed it from my list given the realms of possibility. But after the hasty last night minute arranging of farewell drinks at Hopscotch, I knew it could be done.

After a few drinks (which is often the best time for souvlaki from a van), I ordered a lamb souvlaki. Overall it didn't live up to my expectations. The meat was from a kebab rather than a yiros and it seemed tough (where my standard is now Jimmy Grants (http://eatlikeushi.posthaven.com/jimmy-grants-melbourne-01-2014) and didn't have the characteristic Greek-charcoal-oregano-lemon flavour (where my standard is the over-the-top flavour at Stalactites).

I'm looking forward to getting back to my favourites in Melbourne.

I've finally left Canberra. Living in Kingston, the easiest and most accessible quick meal (which also served as an indulgence) was Brodburger. Wednesday even turned into The Bachelor and Brodburger night for a while. The mobile ordering app that saved the 30-40min wait there and allowed a timed pickup then the option to sit or takeaway was a God-send to many.

In the 2 years spent in Canberra, I've enjoyed Brod more than any other in town. There were multiple in 2014 (http://eatlikeushi.posthaven.com/brodburger-canberra-2014) and certainly many more in 2015 including once at Broddogs (http://eatlikeushi.posthaven.com/broddogs-canberra-02-2015). And during the final housemate meal on a Wednesday after we'd all slaved away packing our lives for removalists and bursting cars, it seemed a fitting end.

I've enjoyed 4 things particularly at Brodburger and have never been able to stray.

1) The easiest to discuss is the fries. $2.50 for good side serving is great value. Although they look like McDonald's, they are crisper and hotter (make sure you ask for fresh fries if they've been sitting in the bag and soft when you receive them) and less salty but enough seasoning such that they taste similar to the tears of enjoyment of the meal;

2) Brodburger - the simplest burger is the one I ordered 90% of the time. I used to ask for rare (instead of the default medium rare) but I don't think it made a difference and the burger was always enjoyable. A thickish good quality patty and an overall complimentary set of ingredients;

3) Brodveg - I'm not joking when I say there has never been a better vegetarian burger anywhere. The intense salty halloumi, the grilled eggplant, the tangy capsicum and there's more. I always took a few bites of someone elses so got lucky and didn't have to order it myself;

4) Brings me to the mother - Brodveg with beef patty (pictured). A friend suggested this one day and it combines the greatness of 2 and 3 together. Keep in mind, a full size one of these is huge and almost akin to the ridiculous size of Broddeluxe (which I wouldn't advise due to the size and to me disproportionate ingredients) and so a Baby Brodveg with patty might be the way to go.

I'll be thinking of you Brod. Thanks for the memories.

After 4 years away I was finally returning to Melbourne. Whereas I'd previously lived in Abbotsford, my new haunt was going to be Footscray. In the midst of December summer heat and the tedium of rental hunting, I was glad there was a reputed burger joint in the area. Considering the burger craze of everywhere 1st world, it wasn't surprising someone had brought it to the western market.

What I like is the nerdy-geeky old school gaming feel. There's even an arcade machine in the corner (that may be decorative - I didn't get close enough to look). What I also like is the open kitchen, watching the staff hard at work cooking and assembling and also mildly concerned (or amused) at the pool of black grease hanging off the ceiling...

- 8bit with Cheese (beef, tomato, lettuce, red onion, pickles, mustard, cheese, ketchup, 8bit sauce) $9.50 - I had to try the namesake standard burger for a comparator. It was quite nice however to me the patty was too thin. Considering they advertised medium-rare (did they advertise this or was I just hoping/expecting this?), it was too cooked for my liking and I can see with a thin patty how easy this is to do;
- 1 Up Mushroom Burger (crumbed mushroom, cheese, tomato, red onion, green tomato relish, lettuce, mustard, 8bit sauce) $10.00 - the vegetarian burger offering had a lot to live up to considering the incredible BrodVeg (http://eatlikeushi.posthaven.com/brodburger-canberra-2014). There's no way it could've compared given the ingredients (essentially the same as the beef burgers but with mushroom) but having said that the burger overall was good quality and tasty;
- Chilli Cheese Fries (beer battered fries, chilli beef, cheese sauce, jalapenos, spring onions) $8.50 - ever since MEATliquor (http://eatlikeushi.posthaven.com/meatliquor-london-03-2012) Chili Fries I've had to order these every opportunity I get. Good on 8bit for an offering. I haven't found one that gives me the same feeling, including using the one from the MEATliquor Chronicles cookbook, but 8bit had a good solid attempt with a strong cheese sauce. It's not a replacement but for now it'll definitely do.

I'll be back, not just because I'm now going to be local, but because I want to.

Next time I would order the After Burner (beef with chilli) or Golden Axe (fried chicken) burgers, the Fatal Fury hotdog (topped with chilli beef reminiscent of my best ever dog at MEATmarket), chilli cheese fries or the excessive looking Loaded fries, and wash it down with an unhealthy sounding Strawberry Cheesecake milkshake.

02-2016

I decided to have a second run at 8bit after wandering through Footscray deciding what pho I should have.

After re-reading my earlier post, I settled on the After Burner and the Loaded fries.

After Burner $10.50 was definitely a more enjoyable burger for me than the 8bit. The brioche bun was particularly soft with crunchy edges on the flat side adding nice texture. The beef was once again thin and more cooked than the advertised medium rare. The collation of tomato, red onion, lettuce, jalapeno and the fused sauces of chilli, chipotle and mustard worked well. I think the cheese made it too much for me and toward the end it was the dominant flavour.

Loaded Fries $10 was excessive. The first few bites were great, of potato gems with crispy salty coatings, chilli beef, cheese sauce, salty bacon and some pickles, cucumber, jalapenos and onions for contrast. Toward the end, the saltiness of the gems and bacon and cheese got too much for me and I couldn't finish it (I suppose it wouldn't be expected for one person to finish an entire serve though). I think the gems were nicer than the fries from last my visit, but I'd have to think hard whether it would be worth ordering the Loaded over Chilli Fries just for that.

After all the saltiness as I stood to leave I asked for a cup of tap water. It was refused and I was told "we don't serve tap water". I'm expected to buy a bottle of water or another drink? Sorry, but that's crap.

06-2016

I couldn't decide what to eat for a birthday lunch. Of all things, I looked to the internet and various "what is my favourite food" surveys and their incredible inaccuracy and bias toward food types of the commoners. Not that common foods are bad, but I doubt these surveys were designed with the connoisseur of any food in mind.

Nonetheless with an indecisive mind and no other guidance, the three common themes were fried chicken, burgers and 40% junk food (which really isn't that much). I decided a fat treat of 8bit seemed to fit.

The Golden Axe burger has a thick fried chicken patty a bit of slaw and some token cheese. The chicken had decent texture and some crisp coating but the flavour seemed very mild and didn't really have a strong "chicken" presence. What stood out the most was an intense slightly buttery flavour from the bun and possibly the chicken, as well as some kind of burnt sensation from the chicken coat. The butter taste was much too strong for me and I'm surprised how it even got there at high levels.

The potato gems reinforced themselves as delicious salted parts ruffled to maximise fried surface area, crisp and good. Even the small serve was too much for me to finish on my own but that doesn't detract from how good they are.

I'll stick to the After Burner burger (with or without cheese) and some gems (loaded or naked) to share from now on. The dog does intrigue me still so perhaps give that a go.