Melbourne - Verge

Last half-day in Melbourne with a 7.5 hour plane ride ahead of us bound for home. Try to do the sensible thing and go light? There is Verge. Modern European with Japanese touches - sounds like jackpot.

If you're not familiar with the area, the non-descript bar entrance on the ground floor may throw you off, but the restaurant on the first floor, with floor to ceiling glass windows overlooking Treasury Garden across the street, is a good place to sit and watch the Melbourne CBD crowd enjoy their lunch outdoors or Melbourne's trim and fit hit the park for their lunch-time run or yoga sessions.

Verge offers a set lunch menu but we decided to try their main menu since we may not get a chance to visit again.

The veal tartare, granny smith apple, mojama, red miso, and fried tuna mayonaise was a decent and fresh start. Not spectacular but an interesting mix of flavours. The use of granny smiths was quite clever since they lent both a sweet but tangy flavour to the dish.

Our first main of Japanese eel tortellini, califlower, rice senbei, melon and spring onion was good if not too tiny. Thinking this was Australia, we opted for the starter portion almost at the hint of the waiter, who probably thought little of our Asian appetites. A little unfortunate but we did savour what there was. If we weren't pressed for time, we would have ordered another but service was a tad slow despite it not being very busy.

Our mains was the catch of the day of Barramundi with pumpkin and sea urchin foam. While it was decent enough, the fish was a tad overcooked and there was no hint of sea urchin. An otherwise blah dish although their pumpkin was unusually sweet and creamy.



All in all, interesting takes on food but not for the hungry. If you really don't feel like eating too much, and just want to watch people and listen to the sparrow mock you about the bird-sized portions from the tree next to the window, go. Otherwise, you might give this a miss.

1 Flinders Lane

Melbourne

Victoria 3000

Telephone: +61-3-96399500

Melbourne - Giuseppe, Arnaldo & Sons

Back to Melbourne, yeah! Back on a Sunday night, oh no!! Not having lived in a western country for a while, I forget that Sunday is a rest day and dining out is a limited adventure. Thank goodness for the Crown Casino, there is a wide range of cuisines available and while I generalise that most of these establishments don't usually surprise (pleasantly at least) nor have the best value, we were quite pleased with what we got at Giuseppe Arnaldo & Sons.

Because you can't look into the restaurant from the outside, there is that slight feeling of walking into a mafia meeting as you pull the doors open but step in, and it's a jazzy, noisy Italian kitchen and bar at work. Great for a relaxed and casual dinner.

The placemat menu was impressive. A lot of interesting dishes, some traditional, some with a modern twist but the overarching denominator was the fresh produce, a lot of which are made in-house.

We started with the Ossocollo - made from the neck fillet of larger Berkshire pigs where there is natural heavy marbling. Rolled, tied and hung for 3 to 4 months to age, it had a nice sweetness to finish as you savour each thinly sliced piece. The marbling was not at all greasy but lent a smoothness to the cuts. And in this decade, as we become even more conscious about the effects of the environs on our food, etc., the meats here are both gluten and phosphate free.

The "Punterella" wild Italian chicory salad, exclusively grown by the group, and served with salted anchovy, Asiago cheese, shallot dressing and 3 vinegars was nice and fresh. The leaves aren't as bittersweet as their Italian counterparts, but if you like your leaves a little more peppery, you would like this more. The various parts to the dressing were well balanced to provide harmony to the palate.

Our first pasta dish continued along the own produce theme. The Mezzi Rigatoni, made with their very own pork sausages, tossed with sage, tomato, garlic and chilli was very robust. The sausages, broken down into little pieces for saute-ing, were very tasty and provided a fantastic base. Brings new meaning to Ragu.

Our other choice of Spaghettini with sea urchin was not available so we were recommended the Lumarche, which was a broccoli based pesto laced with anchovies, garlic and a tiny amount of chilli. While it wasn't spectacular, it was a nice contrast to the rigatoni, and provided good balance. And as pestos go, this wasn't too bad.

The calamari fritti with zuchinni and mint was an interesting twist to the usual seafood only dish. The tempura-ed zuchinni and mint added crunch and freshness respectively. Of course, not detracting from the very well and just-cooked calamari. A little much on its own, but perfect to share.

To finish, the baked chocolate pot with chocolate pearls, served chilled, was decadent goodness. With Melbourne's obsession with chocolate, this certainly did not disappoint. Very smooth, rich and not at all cloying. Definitely ends the meal on a high, accompanied by a good Flat White.

Thus saved our Sunday night in an otherwise ghost town.

Crown Casino

Ground level

8 Whiteman Street

Southbank

VIC 3006

Tel: +61-3-9694 7400

Melbourne - The Chokolait Hub

A chance find while walking along Little Collins. The Hub Arcade is a quaint little mall with little boutique shops but quiet. Walk through and it's a pleasant enough experience but you don't expect to find treasures but lo and behold - follow the signs and you end up at The Chokolait Hub.

Love chocolate, and you will love the Chokolait Hub. With a focus on Belgian chocolates, they have hot and cold drinks with chocolate as the focus. On a cold and cloudy Melbourne afternoon, nothing is more comforting than a hot chocolate. But who would have known that a non-descript shop with a very inviting interior would serve up such magic?

My Milk Belgian was luscious, smooth and rich but not cloying. How they achieved it was beyond me - that's just the quality of the produce isn't it? Priding themselves in importing direct from Belgium keeps the standards.

Alas, I had no room to try the other goodies on offer but given a chance again, I certainly would especially if my beautiful beverage was anything to go by..

Shop 8 Hub Arcade

318 Little Collins Street

Melbourne 3000

Australia
Tel: +61-3-96396188

Melbourne - Bistro Vue

Helmed by Shannon Bennett, Vue de Monde offers classic French inspired cuisine in the heart of Melbourne's CBD. Situated at Normandy Chambers since 2005, the location does inspire a sense of arrival into something traditional, yet modern in decor. Its bistro - Bistro Vue - next door, which can be entered via the side lane, however is a nice throwback into provincial France, where some of the classics can be enjoyed.

On this late morning, I was ushered into the bistro from the main restaurant, and woke up to the day with a Flat White while taking my time to pore over the menu. The waiter, who had a sense of humour and some great recommendations, was of great help.

We started with the French onion soup with beer, topped wtih gruyere. A light contrast to the classic, the beer lent a nice twang which made for an appetising start. And the gruyere, oh my, has got to be one of the best I've had in a long time. Combined with the pastry which was crisp over the top and chewy around, yummy!

At our waiter's suggestion, the plat du jour for a Friday was a decadent but oh so good Pied de cochon - pig's trotter stuffed with chicken and liver served with a buttery smooth mash. The trotter served like a sausage was softly chewy on the outside with a hearty inside which was meaty in some parts and livery smooth in others. A good variety of textures within one serving and made even better with the mash and excellent reduction (probably a combination of the meat's juices with a madeira of sorts). Traditional goodness. And served with a regional Pinot Noir and salad on the side, it was quite a bargain.

The seared tuna, wrapped in crispy bread, served on a bed of Asian coleslaw was better than it sounded. The tuna was of decent quality and a nice melty smoothness in contrast to its crispy bread coating. The Asian interpretation of the coleslaw was cool and crunchy with Japanese sprouts and Coriander in addition to the usual cabbage and carrot julienne in a mildly sweet dressing. Very fresh.

Of course, any trip to a French bistro is never complete with Pommes Frites - and these did not disappoint. Fresh cut potatoes deep fried in a fragrant fat. Mmmm...

Unfortunately, that left absolutely no room for dessert from an enticing classic French dessert list but with a 3-hour drive ahead, I just couldn't possibly risk falling asleep at the wheel, could I!?


430 Little Collins Street (entrance via New Chancery Laneway)

Melbourne VIC 3000
Telephone: +61 3 9691 3888

Melbourne - Brother Baba Budan

Melbourne is known as the coffee capital of Australia, with every other shop a cafe, competition is keen and yes, they do take their coffee seriously. So on this short visit to the city, I wanted to get a sense of how good it really is.

First stop, Brother Baba Budan - an eclectic place on Little Bourke Street, where all the action is centred around the espresso machine, amidst spartan to no decor, just some stools along the wall and a bench where customers can just grab a quick seat, sip and go.

But as you sit and sip, remember to look upwards - although the sight of the guhzillion chairs might make you uneasy, since they look to be just precariously glued to the ceiling and may fall into your coffee any minute.

My choice of the flat white was mistaken since I couldn't really taste the coffee through all that milk.. I really should have gone for a black to get a better taste for the beans and their roasting skills. I will go back since it's close enough to the hotel. The pastries look dismal but don't be fooled, they were quite good, in particular the chocolate brioche. Soft, chocolatey and perfect with the cuppa, not overpowering it.

And if that isn't enough, Little Bourke is a great collection of little delis and smallish restaurants where you can find interesting eats for brunch/lunch.

359 Little Bourke Street

Melbourne 3000

Australia

Telephone: +61 3 9606 0449