Frogmore Creek Winery

Frogmore Winery

Last September for my birthday we took a trip to Hobart over a long weekend to celebrate and just get away. I had never been to Tasmania before but instantly fell in love with the beauty and quietness of the city. I loved the crisp air, the slow pace and the picturesque views, laneways and buildings. What I especially loved about it was the amazing food it had to offer. As usual we had done a bit of research before we left and had a rough idea of the restaurants we were going to visit. Frogmore Creek Winery was one we were quite keen on as we discovered that it was a one hat restaurant and it actually ended up more than exceeding our expectations. I can’t stress this enough but It. Was. Amazing!

The winery is located in Cambridge which was less than a 20 minute drive from the city centre so we hopped into our rental car and got there in no time for our lunch reservation. On arrival the scenery was absolutely breathtaking. The winery was set upon beautiful lush greenery surroundings with an abundance of growing grape wines and a lake in the distance with houses dotted along the water. Inside, the restaurant was clean and modern with wooden furnishings and wide windows allowing natural light in. Wine barrels were used as decorations inside and outside, to hold plants and as tables in the outdoor seating area.

Pulled pork lollipop entree
Pulled pork lollipop with brocolli jelly

Now onto the most important part! An a la carte menu was available but we decided on the chef’s choice set menu which is $85 per head and was happy to be surprised by whatever they had to offer. You must allow a good few hours to enjoy this degustation experience. The presentation and quality of the food was spectacular. Each dish was assembled with such detail and care like a work of art, it was too pretty to eat so of course I had to snap lots of photos before I ate! When I finally got around to the food, I was blown away… all the ingredients were fresh based on its changing produce and combined in its complexity worked so well, it’s obvious that the chef has put so much thought into the creation of each dish. I could talk about how great the food was all day as every dish was so good but some of our highlights was the 42 degree ocean trout with potato salad, poached egg, mizuna lettuce, seaweed cracker and miso dressing, the pulled pork lollipop with brocolli jelly which came out looking like a dessert so it really surprised our palates! And the the lemon lego dessert with basil ice cream and lemon pana cotta, it was divine and I felt like I was in food heaven!

Ocean trout
42 degree ocean trout with potato salad, poached egg, mizuna lettuce, seaweed cracker and miso dressing

 

Frogmore Creek dish

Lego lemon dessert
Lemon lego dessert with basil ice cream and lemon pana cotta

The service was exceptional too and was as expected from a fine dining restaurant. They were friendly, efficient and very switched on. Overall it was the best winery restaurant we have been to so far and we were very impressed. I highly, highly recommended if you’re ever in Tassie to check it out!

Entrees

Frogmore Creek Winery
Approx $100 AU per person
20 Denholms Rd, Cambridge TAS 7170
Phone: +61 3 6248 5844
Website: www.frogmorecreek.com.au

Frogmore Creek Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Yum Cha at Tao Tao House

Since it’s Sunday today, I thought it was only fitting that I post a yum cha review! Last weekend, Helen and I were really craving for some yum cha when we woke up. I was kind of sick of the bad quality yum cha we’ve been getting around our area, so I quickly jumped online to see if there were any other alternatives. I came across Tao Tao House through my research and quickly learned that the chef had worked at Flower Drum for nearly 20 years. He also worked at Golden Dragon Palace afterwards, another very reputable yum cha place. Quite an impressive resume there, I quickly called up Tao Tao House to make a booking.

Tao Tao House - Inside

When we arrived I noticed that Tao Tao House was a lot smaller than other yum cha places we go to. Normally yum cha establishments are huge with a sea of people, but this had a more smaller and intimate feel. The interior had a bit of a purple colour scheme happening with purple chairs and purple table clothes. A little different from other yum cha places, but it was quite nice and I quickly got used to it. The waiter seated us down straight away with some jasmine tea. One thing I hate about a lot of other yum cha places was the wait to get the first dishes on the table. No such problem here, a lady walked by with a tray of food and we were well on our way!

Tao Tao House - Yum Cha

Tao Tao House -

We quickly filled our table with food. The dishes we ordered were Har Gau (prawn dumping), scallop siu mai, chive prawn dumpling, Chinese broccoli with oyster sauce, chicken feet in black bean sauce, BBQ pork puffs, Xiao Long Bao (pork soup dumplings), prawn rice noodle roll and Chinese egg tarts. All the dishes were extremely high quality, and I was very impressed with both the taste and texture of each dish. Some of my highlights include the Har Gau, the prawns were very fresh inside and you could taste the prawn pieces in the dumpling. At some of the other yum cha places, the prawn in the dumpling can taste mushy. The Chinese broccoli was really crunchy and blanched perfectly. The oyster sauce was light, and flavoured the broccoli nicely without being salty. The chicken feet was so good! As soon as I tried one, there was a burst of flavour in my mouth. The prawn rice noodle roll had a very thin outing which just dropped over my chopstick when I picked it up. A lot of places make the rice noodle roll way too thick, which can taste very doughy and non appetizing. The prawns inside were once again very fresh. As much as we wanted to finish with a mango pudding, we were just too full. We enjoyed some fresh Chinese egg tarts for dessert. The pastry was very light and flaky. The egg filling inside was silky smooth and actually tasted like egg, and not just a sweet filling. Simply delicious…

Tao Tao House - Egg Tarts

It felt like there were a lot of staff there for a smallish place. We never had any trouble getting anyone’s attention, which can sometimes be a problem at really busy yum cha places. The customer service here was actually really good. They were not only switched on and very efficient, but also spoke nicely and were very friendly. A very pleasant surprise in the yum cha scene. The food kept coming out with next to no waiting time, and we got full pretty quickly. The price at Tao Tao House is a little more expensive, we found ourselves paying about $20 more between the two of us compared to other places. No complaints though, as the quality of the food justifies the price. This is the best yum cha I’ve had outside of Hong Kong. The search for great yum cha certainly doesn’t end here, I will continue to try other yum cha places in Melbourne and will definitely keep you guys up to date. I highly recommend Tao Tao House and I’m sure you’ll enjoy it too!

Tao Tao House
Approx $50 AUD per person
815 Glenferrie Road, Hawthorn VIC 3122
Phone: +61 3 9818 0968
Website: www.taotaohouse.com.au

Tao Tao House Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Mrs Kim’s Grill


Last weekend we were hungry but we were feeling too lazy to travel far for a good feed. So while we were driving aimlessly and naturally heading towards the city, we suddenly thought of the travel cooking show we watched earlier on South Korea and had a sudden urge for Korean food. So we turned off into Carnegie knowing there would be a few options there. Mrs Kim’s Grill stood out as a bright modern place amongst the other restaurants so we were naturally drawn to it. I discovered that it had only opened in 2013 by a Korean migrant who has been using traditional methods of marinating meat and who has been wanting to share her traditional food with everyone. She started off marinating meats for events and BBQs and when she gained a loyal, regular stream of customers, decided to open her own restaurant.


The interior was also furnished with modern decor and it looked really clean and spacious inside. We were seated upstairs and handed nice modern looking menus to peruse. The first thought that popped to mind was that prices were quite reasonable for Korean BBQ compared to others we’ve been to, particularly in the CBD. They have the a la carte menu where you can pick from a range of Mrs Kim’s marinated meats, or you can also choose from their set menu options where you pick the meat of your liking and it is served with a salad, soup of the day, butter vegie parcel and rice. Each set menu is $39 and is for 2 people. We settled on the Moo set which consisted of the marinated Gaibi beef ribs (350g) and skirt steak (250g). We also ordered an extra serving of the chilli marinated chicken (200g). Of course we can’t forget the unlimited complimentary side dishes that always comes with Korean food.

The staff were very efficient, fast and friendly. They brought out the BBQ equipment and cuts of meat pretty fast and started cooking and cutting the meats for us. The side dishes particularly the kim chi was quite good and the rice was super moist. But the highlight was of course the meats. The meats were so nicely flavoured and SOFT! They practically melted in my mouth. I was quite impressed with the quality of the food and overall service. Not to mention the reasonable price for the quality that was served. I also like the story behind the opening of this restaurant so we’ll definitely be back when we have another craving for Korean!

  

Mrs Kim’s Grill
Approx $30 AUD per person
136 Koornang Rd, Carnegie VIC 3163
Phone: +61 3 9563 4424
Website: www.mrskimsgrill.com

Mrs Kim's Grill Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Seafood delight in Venice

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Venice is a city well known for it’s seafood, but with over 1000 restaurants, it’s clearly a land mine for tourists hoping to find a good seafood meal. Apart from the obvious places offering ‘turista menus’, there are a lot of other places which present themselves as offering the finest Venetian foods. A lot of these restaurants lure vulnerable tourists in, whilst offering food that’s below par.

I was determined to not be another statistic and did research on finding an excellent seafood restaurant in Venice. My research led me to this beautiful, cosy, 9 table restaurant called Osteria alle Testiere. This seafood restaurant is highly regarded in numerous articles, rated highly on Trip Advisor and also feature in the Michelin guide. Sounds like a winning combination to me! We wandered in for a late lunch, hoping to not have to wait. A beautiful aroma of fresh seafood welcomed us. The atmosphere looked casual yet classy at the same time. The restaurant was full and bustling, we couldn’t wait to join in on the action and taste the food. We were warmly greeted by Luca Di Vita, owner of Osteria alle Testiere. He said we wouldn’t have to wait long, and that a table would be available soon. True to his words, 10 minutes later we were seated and extremely excited.

Steamed spider crab
Steamed spider crab

The menu was a seafood lover’s dream! We wanted nearly everything on the menu and was in a real predicament on deciding what to get and whether we would be able to finish the food. We finally decided to order the sword fish carpaccio, steamed spider crab, spaghetti with ‘bevarasse’ clams, prawns in sweet & sour ‘busara’ style, scallops with orange and cervere leeks, and mussels ‘cassopipa’ style. Now the first thing I’d like to mention is the seafood was FRESH. Apparently the dishes are designed around the fresh daily seafood. We ordered a really dry and crisp local Tuscany white to enjoy with our seafood.

Swordfish carpaccio
Swordfish carpaccio

I really loved all the dishes and couldn’t fault anything about them. The dishes were clean tasting and simplistic. I’m a firm believer that with good seafood dishes, the chef should allow for the seafood to shine and allow it’s natural flavours come through. I find that a lot of chefs try to do too much with seafood, whereas I feel as though the seasoning should only compliment and play a supporting role with the dish. Osteria alle Testiere has achieved this perfectly, with every dish I am tasting the freshness of the seafood without any overpowering flavours. The sword fish carpaccio had the perfect acidity, the sweetness of the steamed spider crab came through, perfectly cooked al dente spaghetti flavoured by the natural saltiness from the clams, and the sweet & sour ‘busara’ sauce with the prawns were just to die for. I was a bit skeptical with this sweet and sour sauce because I automatically think of the Chinese version, which can really take over the dish. This busara sauce was really light and allowed me to fully appreciate the prawns.

Mussels "cassopipa"style & Scallops with orange and Cervere leeks
Mussels “cassopipa”style & Scallops with orange and Cervere leaks

We finished off with their homemade panna cotta for dessert. We tried to savour every bite as this was honestly the best panna cotta we’ve ever had! It tasted so milky and creamy, other panna cotta we have had just taste sweet. The texture was the real highlight of this dessert though, it was so wobbly that I was quite surprised it could even hold it’s own weight. I had never seen one made this well before. The lemon sauce and fresh berries that came with it just topped it all off! I was actually a little depressed after eating the panna cotta, as I was quite convinced that I may never experience a one this good ever again.

Overall, I absolutely loved every moment at Osteria alle Testiere. Luca was extremely friendly and provided a personable service. His recommendations on the wine, food and portions were spot on. The highlight was definitely the seafood though. I would say that this was probably the best seafood meal I’ve ever had. Now one thing I would say is that the price is certainly not the cheapest, and it makes for quite an expensive lunch. It would always be nicer to come for dinner but it’s extremely hard to get a booking. I thought the price was worth it, because dining at Osteria alle Testiere was one of my most memorable food experiences on our trip.

Panna cotta

Osteria alle Testiere
Approx €70 EUR per person
Calle Del Mondo Novo Castello 5801
30122 Venezia VE, Italy
Phone: +390415227220
Website: http://www.osterialletestiere.it/Testiere/Welcome.html

Crabapple Kitchen

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Crabapple Kitchen has been one of those places where we’ve walked or driven past numerous times while we were heading somewhere else but we’ve never actually thought to stop by and try out.  Well today was finally one of those days!  Upon arrival we already noticed that it was very busy however the waitress offered us seats at the bar which we were perfectly fine with it. Not very long after though a table opened up so we were able to move to it which probably worked out better in the end due to the amount of food we ordered!  My first impression of the surroundings was that it was a very cute cafe. The decor was lovely with the brick walls, pictures of cows and chalk boards. I was also surprised at how deep the restaurant was when we moved to a table.

IMG_3167

Breakfast is served all day and they also offer a lunch menu. I started off with my regular latte but also ordered their citrus sunrise juice which had ruby grapefruit, watermelon and orange. The coffee was okay, it could have been a little stronger but the juice was delish!  For starters we ordered the crabapple sliders for two which had spanner crab, granny smith apples, radish, mustard cress and Kewpie mayonaise in a brioche bun – it was very nice and refreshing and the brioche bun was toasted warm and crispy.  We also ordered the spanner cerviche which was accompanied with salted cucumber, sheep’s milk yoghurt, seaweed caviar, fried shallots and kale salsa verde. The presentation of this dish was exceptional and all the ingredients combined together quite nicely making it a very lovely dish.

For mains we ordered the Istanbul Turkey breakfast experience which consisted of a large chargrilled flatbread, spiced ground lamb, dukkah poached egg, garlic yoghurt, salad of freekah, red onion, tomato and harissa – each bite I took was a burst of flavours. We also ordered from the lunch menu the Ripal’s roasted pork neck stuffed with pine nuts, raisins and sage, sweet corn puree, braised winter greens and chorizo crumbs.  The pork neck was reasonably soft and the sweet corn puree was very tasty and went well with the dish.

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Crabapple sliders for two – spanner crab, granny smith apples, radish, mustard cress and Kewpie mayonaise in a brioche bun & Spanner cerviche with salted cucumber, sheep’s milk yoghurt, seaweed caviar, fried shallots and kale salsa verde
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Ripal’s roasted pork neck stuffed with pine nuts, raisins and sage, sweet corn puree, braised winter greens and chorizo crumbs

Service overall was quite good, the staff were attentive, friendly and switched on. One thing I do regret is not trying out their wines as they won the award for 2015 Australia’s Wine List of the Year and it felt like everyone around me was drinking wine. However what a great excuse to come back to not only try out their wines but perhaps check out their Friday Night Flights. They apparently offer a five course dinner for AU $45 a person so if we do try it I’ll definitely let you know!

Crabapple Kitchen
Approx $45 AUD per person
659 Glenferrie Rd, Hawthorn VIC 3122
Phone: +61 3 9078 5492
Website: www.crabapplekitchen.com.au

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