Ferran Adria

I know it's probably a bit late now, but The Weekend Australian Magazine had its yearly food issue last weekend. If you can still get your hands on one, it's worth tracking down. I think it's the only edition from the whole year that I (almost) read from cover to cover. It usually takes me a few weeks to get right through it, but I'll get there in the end.

Anyway at this early stage the only article I've read is the one about Ferran Adria on page 31. Ferran Adria is widely regarded as one of the best chefs in the world at the moment, if not the best. His restaurant in Spain, elBulli, is apparently impossibly difficult to get a table at. But every time I read about elBulli I want to jump on the next plane to Spain. Fancy a cherry dipped in Iberico ham and raw egg yolk wrapped in caramel or a parmesan and ice cream sandwich? Then try and get a reservation at elBulli.

Anyway we are in luck because the great chef is coming to Australia to promote his new book, A Day at elBulli. Unfortunately though he's not making it to Brisbane. But if you're looking for an excuse to get to Melbourne or Sydney, then I've found you a darn good one. Ferran Adria is in Sydney on 17 October 2008 and in Melbourne on 19 October 2008. You'll need to pre-book tickets through Ticketmaster. A copy of his new book and a ticket will set you back $75. He hasn't been to Australia since 2002, so I don't think tickets will last for long.

The Press Club

"Food is family, family is life, life is everything". That's George Calombaris' outlook on things, and it sounds on the money to me.

Every now and again we escape Brisbane and get to graze at some great places. We organised our last trip to Melbourne around dinner at The Press Club, where George Calombaris' food has been receiving rave reviews.

The first thing we noticed was how busy the room was. It was 8pm on a Sunday night and the place was packed. It was a wide selection of diners - young people, families, children, you name it. Always a good sign.

The other thing that really stood out was the service. Throughout the meal, the service was friendly, professional, knowledgeable and only there when you needed it. When we made our booking we were asked if we had any special dietary requests. I'm a coeliac but don't usually make too much of a fuss about gluten free food at restaurants as good as this one. However I was absolutely amazed when our waitress brought the bread out at the start of the night, only to tell me that the gluten free bread was being warmed and would be out in a minute. It's never happened to me before, and will stick in my mind for a long time. Little touches like that can transform a good night into a great one.

Happily munching on my crumbly gluten free bread while dipping it in some great olive oil (which is a good experience) we then had to make a few choices off the menu.

There are plenty of options when it comes to food at The Press Club. The menu is split up into orektika (small dishes - $19.90 to $24.90), kyria (large dishes - $34 to $39), synotheftika (side dishes - $9 - including the obligatory lemon potatoes), glyka (sweets - $17.90 to $21) and cheese ($11 to $24). If you'd rather leave what you're eating in the hands of the chef, then there is also the kerasma or tasting option, ranging from $65 for 4 courses to $82 for 6 courses. You'd have to be pretty fussy not to find something that takes your fancy here.

Time to order. First of all, I have to apologise that some of the items we had are not currently on the menu, so if I don't get the description right, please forgive me.

I started off with a crab and watermelon "sandwich" ($21.90). I can't recall if it was described as a sandwich on the menu, but that's what it looked like. Beautiful slices of pink crunchy watermelon took the place of bread, with tasty, delicate crab as the filling. This was one of the best, and most innovative, starters that I have had for a long time. It really was a fantastic way to kick off the night.

My dining partner had the beetroot salad ($17.90) as a starter. This was served as chunks of beetroot, with a spiced pistachio tower, soft feta and micro herbs. Again, this salad got rave reviews. Beautiful flavours, which complemented each other perfectly. Things were looking good.

On to mains. I didn't find anything on the main menu which jumped off the page as much as the crab and watermelon sandwich. After much debating, I went for the yoghurt braised neck of lamb with olive oil pomme puree ($36). Although it was tasty, it lacked the wow factor of my starter. Perhaps I should have gone with the "hot off the press" lamb spit with white bean skordalia, lemon potatoes and marouli salad ($37). To criticise the lamb neck in any way would be wrong, it was beautifully tender, it just lacked that extra special quality that I had been hoping for. We also had the raviolo of peppered fig ($18.90), a vegetarian dish, which was excellent.

We certainly weren't leaving a Greek restaurant without having some sweets. There are some great ones to choose from. We thought about going for the selection of dessert mezedes, but decided against it. Instead we ordered the "breakfast at Santorini" ($17.90) which tasted as good as it sounds. Great, tangy, flavours with lemon curd and yoghurt sorbet. I had the Chios mastic panacotta ($17.90) served with marinated strawberries. I've never had mastic before, but this was a great way to end the night. Whatever you do, make sure you leave room for sweets, as there are some fantastic (and unusual) options at the Press Club.

Another great thing about the Press Club is the Greek wine on offer. I enjoyed some great wine in Greece, but it seems to be very hard to find a decent selection of Greek wine in Brisbane. The wine list here is really impressive and has been put together after a lot of time and thought.

During the night we had glasses of the Kir-yianni ‘Petra’ roditis (white) 2006 from Naoussa ($12), Gaia agiorgitiko (red) 2005 ($12.50), Kir-Yianni ‘Paranga’ xinomauvro, merlot, shiraz blend 2005 ($11.50) and the fabulous dessert wines from Samos, ranging in vintages from 2000 to 2005. I've never had a Greek dessert wine before, but these were the perfect way to end the evening. I was draining my glass for every last drip. By the way, our dessert wines were served in cool Riedel "O" series glasses. I was impressed.

If you're not a fan of Greek wine, there are lots of other options. In fact the drinks menu runs for 27 pages and includes Greek beers (Alpha, Mythos and Vergina), a good selection of Ouzo, cocktails and plenty more.

It's hard not to enjoy a night at the Press Club. Beautiful flavours, brilliant service and a terrific wine list round out a great place to spend the evening. Not only that, but it all comes in a relaxed, fun surroundings. Make sure you give it a try next time you are in Melbourne. Be warned though, it's popular, and you'll need to book.

What does all this mean? Excellent modern Greek food, brilliant service and a wine list that will keep you drinking all night.

food bling ratings
Food - Great
Service - Top Shelf
Ambience - Modern, relaxed surroundings
Value for Money - Good
Wine - Top Shelf
Vegetarian - Good
Gluten Free - Good

The Press Club
72 Flinders Street
Melbourne VIC 3000
P - 03 9677 9677
E - admin@thepressclub.com.au
W - http://www.thepressclub.com.au/

Thanh Ha

I know this is supposed to be a Brisbane food blog, but I've now been to Thanh Ha in Melbourne twice and the food is so good, it's more than worthy of a mention.

Thanh Ha is on Victoria Street in Richmond, along with another 20 or so Vietnamese restaurants. You can stroll along Victoria Street until one takes your fancy. Most of them are BYO and extremely well priced.

The ambience here isn't anything to write home about. It's no nonsense, with the tables crammed in. But you're here for the food, not for fancy surroundings. Don't come here if you are planning on lingering for hours over a slow dinner, because it isn't going to happen.

Menus are provided as soon as you sit down, as is a thermos full of jasmine tea. There is a good range of Vietnamese food to choose from. On this visit I had the Pho as an entree, which was very tasty. I am a big fan of Pho as a starter, and this one didn't disappoint. If you find it's not hot enough for your taste, you can throw a chilli or two into it to spice things up.

Although I was thinking my Pho was pretty special, I eventually tried one of the vegetarian rice paper rolls that we had also ordered to kick off the night. They were pre-made, but they were without a doubt the tastiest rice paper rolls I have ever had the fortune to try. They were delicious. The difference seemed to be the inclusion of a very tasty mushroom in the roll. Make sure you give them a try, as they were excellent.

On to main course. Like last time I was here, I went for the crispy chicken with 5 spice sauce. Although there are some great sounding dishes on the menu, this one was so good last time, I just had to have it again. And it didn't disappoint - the crispiness of the chicken, which was tender underneath the skin, coupled with the terrific flavour of the sauce makes this dish a winner. I could eat this all night. Luckily I was getting fairly full by that stage, so I didn't need to.

We also had a vegetable rice noodle soup for main, which comes with bean sprouts and chopped fresh chilli. Again, this was clean, tasty and disappeared pretty quickly.

We couldn't help but notice that the omelettes are very popular at Thanh Ha. They come out looking like a massive pancake, but they must be good, as most other diners had at least one on their table. I'll have to try one next time.

Service here is adequate and not fussy. Last time we ate at Thanh Ha our entrees and mains came out in no particular order until we had 4 dishes plus rice on the table all at one time (just for 2 people). We didn't care as the food was so good.

I haven't yet mentioned the prices. They are fantastic. Our bill for 2 entrees and 2 main courses was $31. No more really needs to be said there.

Thanh Ha is BYO. There is a pub right across the road, otherwise there are a number of Asian grocery stores along Victoria Street where you can pick up a good bottle of white on your way.

Finally, if Thanh Ha is full, try Thanh Ha II, which is also on Victoria Street, slightly closer to the city.

If you find yourself in Melbourne looking for a fix of Vietnamese food, jump on a tram to Richmond and treat your tastebuds to a fine night out at Thanh Ha. You won't be disappointed.

What does all this mean? Excellent, tasty Vietnamese food at crazy prices.

food bling ratings
Food - Great
Service - OK
Ambience - not a lot, but you won't be here long enough to worry about it
Value for money - Top Shelf
Wine - BYO
Vegetarian - Great

Thanh Ha
172 Victoria Street
Richmond VIC 3121
P - 03 9429 8130

Bar Lourinha

Are you looking for the perfect wine bar? Then look no further. I know its not in Brisbane, but next time you are in Melbourne, make sure you don't miss Bar Lourinha.

Its a fairly small room, and you either sit at the bar, or at high communal tables. We chose the bar, mainly to eye off all the great spirits behind the bar. The room is decorated with a few eccentric knick-knacks, to give the place a bit of atmosphere.

So first up, drinks. The wine list is one page, but its a great page. There are a small amount of wines available by the glass, but don't expect what you would see in many Australian restaurants. Here you'll see Spanish, Greek, German, Italian and a few French wines. Don't know your albarino from your touriga franca? Well then you've come to the right spot. Bar Lourinha is all about immersing yourself in these fantastic European wines. And the prices are reasonable, which makes the whole thing even more attractive. Start with a manzanilla sherry, move on to a vinho verde, then a tempranillo, and you're set for a great afternoon.

If you're not into wine, then there's Kirin beer on tap, and a great range of spirits.

So what's the food like? Perfect portions to have with a glass of wine. These dishes are great for sharing, so pick a few and start nibbling away. We started with the Wagyu carne cruda ($15) and the cabbage salad with feta and mint ($13). I don't eat a lot of rare meat, but was willing to give the carne cruda a go. It was a generous serving, paired with some shaved horseradish, beetroot, radish and flat leaf parsley. The beef was extremely tender, but it was a very rich dish, which I just managed to finish. Needless to say it was a great match with my joven tempranillo. The cabbage salad was zingy and herby that was the perfect starter. The menu made no mention of the coriander, dill and flat leaf parsley that was also in the dish, but it was a fantastic salad. My dining companion was a bit narked to find her despised coriander appear, but it was removed and the dish disappeared pretty quickly.

Then for the next round, which was the house made chorizo with apple cider ($15) and the asparagus with labneh ($15). The chorizo was my favourite dish, served swimming in sauce. It was everything chorizo should be - salty, savoury and completely moreish. The crunchy pieces of apple that accompanied the chorizo gave the dish a good contrast of textures. The asparagus with labneh was solid, but nothing memorable. I thought it was a bit strange that it was served cold, but I'm finding that its now almost becoming mandatory to ask if a dish is hot or cold when ordering, because sometimes you just don't know. Anyway it was a decent selection of green and white asparagus, but there are probably more interesting and tasty options that may be a better choice.

At this stage, we didn't really need any more food. But we'd ordered it, so kept going. To finish up we had ordered the tallegio with celery and apple salad ($10). A couple of small, very cool china plates were brought out to us for this course and together with a cheese knife and silver forks really added to the character of the dish. Anyway this was a great way to end the afternoon - some fairly young tallegio with a great, crunchy salad of celery and apple.

For those that need some dessert, there are sweet options too, or you can order a selection of cheeses.

Finally, the service is informal, relaxed and completely unpretentious. The waiter at the bar will be more than happy to guide you through all those wines you've never heard of, or heard of but never had the chance to try.

All the ingredients are here for a very long afternoon or night. At the end, the bill was $117, and that covered 5 dishes, 4 glasses of wine and 2 spirits. At those prices, its hard not to enjoy yourselves.

Get along to Bar Lourinha. As much as I love Anise in Brisbane, this place is even better. I'll definitely be back next time we are in Melbourne.

What does all these mean? Fantastic wine, food to share and a long, lazy afternoon.

food bling ratings
Food - Great
Service - Good
Ambience - Understadedly Eccentric
Value for Money - Great
Wine - Top Shelf

Vegetarian - Good
Gluten Free - Good

Bar Lourinha
37 Little Collins Street
Melbourne VIC
p - 03 9663 7890
w - http://www.barlourinha.com.au/