First Taste Soup

104 Hopkins Street
Footscray
9689 4274

When one thinks of Footscray immediately the image of a busy market and great tasting Pho appears in your mind. With three locations in Melbourne already (in Footscray, Springvale and Box Hill), First Taste Soup tries to change these views with their great herbal soups and Clay Pot rice. This place is one of our firm favourites for a cheap and tasty meal.

First Taste Soup offers herbal soups like Buddha's Favourite Soup and Stewed Black Chicken soup which are cooked in their own pots. In Chinese tradition this is one of the healthiest ways of cooking and drinking soup, the Chinese believe that soup heals and is good for your health. The soup we had was Watercrest Stewed with Duck's Kidney - don't let the name put you off, this was very tasty and brought back memories of how mum would cook it at home.

As mentioned above, First Taste Soup also serve noodle soups and clay pot rice, like many other Chinese restaurants the menu is long and caters for all appetites and cravings.

We usually both order a clay pot rice (allow 15-20mins). These range in price from $8 to $9.50 and are excellent value. The one below is chicken and mushroom, the chicken was tender and marinated in a sweet sauce, this soaked through to the rice. The addition of chinese sausage added so much flavour to the dish (although those who have never eaten these may find them fatty).

The other dish was Quail on rice with extra Chinese sausage (add additional $2), the quail is consistently tender and tasty and the sauce does not overpower the quail.

One of the things that people most look forward to with clay pot rice is the rice crackling at the bottom of the pot, and this is hard to achieve as you don't want to burn the rice. Once burnt the whole pot will smell of burnt rice and mere seconds can make the difference between bad and good crackling. The crackling can be eaten on its own or some people like adding some water to it, absorbing all the remaining flavour and oil turning it into a nice soup.

As you can see, First Taste Soup gets it spot on. The crackling is crispy without being overburnt.

First Taste Soup is a great place to go to if you don't feel like pho or generic China Town food, the place is so cheap (less then $10 a meal) and with the effort that goes into each dish this place is packed with Chinese people and some smart Aussies. A must try.

The Baths Sorrento

3278 Point Nepean Road
Sorrento
5984 1500

After a wonderful and unforgettable morning dolphin swim we were ready to unwind and relax under the afternoon sun. The Baths of Sorrento are located right on the sand with uninterrupted views of the ocean.

The Baths are open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The menu is exactly what you would expect: burgers, foccacias, fish and chips etc. And with such views, the kitchen seems to only do what they need to. We would have preferred a little more attention to detail with the food.

We ordered some dips to start. The day's dips included bacon and spring onion, spicy carrot, and egg plant served with what they called Turkish bread. The dips were well made and very tasty but we would have actually preferred proper Turkish bread, as we were given toasted white bread.

We went for a light salad and toasted trout faccacia (we asked for no capers, but were told these were all pre made). The salad consisted of fresh figs (hard to find in Melbourne cafes), walnuts, rocket and shaved reggiano, the rocket was a bit old and was bitter.

The smoked trout faccacia was very dry and with it being pre made it meant when the kitchen toasted this up, the trout actually cooked all the way through, not what smoked trout should be.

The bar has a dangerous size cocktail rightly named the 'world's largest'. See the size in comparison to a standard pot of beer!

All in all The Baths of Sorrento are packed during the summer months with the influx of Melbournians, the restaurant does simple food which will never win any culinary awards nor would they need to with such beautiful views of the water. Sadly The Baths is one of those restaurants that sits back on their 'view' and does not try to have their food do the talking.

Montalto Winery and Restaurant

33 Shoreham Road
Red Hill South
5989 8412

Staying in Sorrento for the weekend we thought we would book one of the Mornington Peninsula's finest restaurants, with Montalto awarded a Chef's Hat in the last three editions of the Age Good Food Guide. Being one of the first people in the restaurant, we were made to feel welcome and this allowed time for us to take some nice shots of the winery.

The meal began with a complimentary serve of sweet potato soup, we had to refrain from finishing the shot of soup as we had a big dinner ahead of us. Bread is baked fresh on site with 3 varieties on offer, sour dough, olive and seeded served with their very own olive oil.

The restaurant's menu is small, consisting of about 8 entrees and 8 mains. There are no specials, instead the kitchen tailors the menu on a nightly basis according to what fresh produce the restaurant can source. More restaurants should do this.

The smoked salmon with spanner crab meat has to rate as one of the top 5 dishes we have had, this was a big piece for salmon which was very well priced at $22, the crab was flavoursome and complimented the salmon to a tee. The spicy tabbouleh wrapped with cucumber was a slight negative, but this did not take away from how well the salmon was cooked.

Wagyu is a meat that continues to gain popularity among Melbourne restaurateurs. Being such a delicate cut, Montalto offered it carpaccio style, and served with white and green asparagus it was very light in texture and flavor. These two entrees were great displays of what the kitchen are capable of dishing up.

Whenever there is duck on the menu we always seem to put our hands up to try it, rightly so, duck is one of those great meats that has such great flavor. Montalto cooked it confit style with shredded duck flavoured with spring onion and mushroom. The skin on the breast was crispy and the meat just cooked and slightly pink. The accompanying shredded duck was amazing, the flavors were intense yet light. We found this main course at $42 to be reasonably priced, given the generous serving size.

I love my meat but as I didn't feel like a steak, I instead opted for the lamb, like the duck this was cooked perfectly pink, it lacked just a bit of seasoning. It rested on a bed of beans and carrot, with a simple broth.

We still managed to find room for dessert, a panna cotta with raspberry and Red Hill honey jelly. Reading the menu description, we were expecting 3 seperate elements, so were delighted with the layered dessert. The jelly was rich in flavor while the panna cotta was creamy and very smooth. When eaten in a full scoop the mix of flavors makes this a must have dessert.

Montalto does not try to over-do anything when it comes to the kitchen, their flavors are light and intense, with the chef allowing the food to speak for themselves. The ingredients are fresh and local and as a result, the flavours are intense.

On the Saturday we were there the restaurant was full and the kitchen did not look overwhelmed at all, the wait staff were attentive but we would have liked someone to go through their wines with us, over looking their massive vineyard I am sure every table would have enjoyed a bottle of their famous Pinot Noir with their meal.

Montalto definitely deserves their one hat rating, and with the meal we enjoyed we believe they deserve another hat next year.

Montalto is open for lunch and dinner Monday to Saturday from Boxing Day to Australia Day, and lunch daily and dinner Friday and Saturday the rest of the year. You can also choose to experience a picnic at Montalto, where for $70 pp the restaurant kitchen will prepare a 3 course meal for you to enjoy in your own secluded picnic spot on the grounds of the vineyard, all set with linen, crockery, cutlery and glassware. Bookings are a must.

Just Fine Food

23 Ocean Road
Sorrento 3942
5984 4666

We recently went down to Sorrento for a beautiful weekend away (late Christmas Break). Our friend had recommended we must go to Just Fine Food for their famous vanilla slices. Their menu also consisted of large open fresh sandwiches and hot food. After a nice hour long drive we were feeling hungry and settled on a nice outdoor table.

We ordered the burger with the lot served with wedges which were a nice change from the standard fries. The burger was a tad dry with some overly large leaves of rocket.

The 'large' open sandwich of rare beef was large indeed, and the beef was tender however the horseradish mayonnaise was a tad overpowering.

Last but not least, the famous vanilla slice was ordered ($8). We were handed two for the price of one as the kitchen deemed ours was too small, but as the picture shows these were still big slices. The pastry was perfectly crispy and the custard stayed firmed yet light, and unlike other desserts this did not leave one with a sickening feeling.

The shop also sells many cheeses and a fine selection of olives, on our visit the next day for these items, we saw someone order 9 (yes 9!!!) slices to go... big family i guess. Just Fine Food is rumoured to sell hundreds of these a day.

The vanilla slice definitely lived up to the hype and well worth a try if you're down the coast.

Ajisen Ramen

130 Bourke Street
Melbourne 3000
9662 1100

After suffering Melbourne's hottest night, none of us felt like cooking and with the cool change having just arrived in the CBD it was perfect weather for ramen. We were at Ajisen Ramen only last week but did not have time to blog, so after two visits we feel it's a good time to write about it.

Ajisen not only do ramen, they offer a nice range of bento meals, rice dishes and mains. We thought we would stick with their popular ramens, their self named Ajisen Ramen was chosen as well as Yasai Ramen (basically Ajisen but with extra vegetables). The broth was very tasty and unlike some broths in the city not salty or with added MSG (a good way of telling is whether after the meal you feel thirsty). The dish consisted of Chasyu (3 slices of pork), half an egg, vegetables and lots of ramen. You can order a Chasyu Ramen which is served with extra Chasyu, we highly recommend this as the Chasyu is cut quite thinly. They are, however, very tender and tasty with just a hint of fatty goodness.

Ajisen Ramen

Chasyu Ramen (extra meat)

Some nice side dishes include salmon sashimi, this was great value with 6 thick pieces for $7. The Gyu Tataki ($8) photo on the menu enticed us to order it, sadly this was a disappointment, it was tasteless and a little tough.

We also ordered the Geso Karaage $6.50 (deep fried octopus tentacles with aioli), this was much tastier than the beef and would really go well with beer.

Seafood Yaki Ramen ($12) consisted of a selection of fresh seafood, calamari, fish, prawns and strangely massive mussels stir fried with ramen. The ramen was cooked well, not too sure what sauce they use for this, if anyone knows please let me know?

Ajisen Ramen is a great little place to visit as not many places in the city do any nice japanese noodles (udon, soba or ramen etc.) It's cheap and cheerful and service is quick and efficient. We have been told about Ramen Ya at GPO and it will be on our to do list.

Suzuki Night Market

Victoria Market
Cnr Elizabeth and Queen St
until 24 Feb 2010

After a phoenix like victory by Australia in the cricket we headed to the Suzuki Night Market. This weekly event has turned into a mecca for food, you can buy anything from a sangria to freshly squeezed lemonade. We always look forward to the dutch pancakes ($7), these were bite size, fluffy pieces of dough, we enjoyed ours with lemon and icing sugar, a la natural. It was only 6pm and the whole place was buzzing, they have extended the space by half an aisle this year, allowing for much for seating space and food stalls (but best to have someone find a table while the other gets the food - divide and conquer).

The European Pastry Gozleme ($10) was a great addition to the market, these are Turkish hand rolled pastries filled with wonderful lamb mince, they have others on offer. Cacik (Turkish Tzatziki) was light and tasty, squeeze of lemon and this dish is a must have. As you can see from the photo, anneanne (grandma) was out back rolling away like it was home.

By now we were actually starting to get full, so we thought two small soft tacos ($10) would be nice. The stall was very slow in preparing the tacos, maybe they were short a few people but the night was only going to get busier for them. The tacos were not much better, the chicken was over cooked and tasteless, the lettuce was roughly torn up, rice, beans, salsa and guacamole lacked flavor and was cold. It simple needed some salt and pepper.

The markets are always a great place to take children to see the world, but being in such a confined space I suggest you get there early. After a walk around all the wonderful shops selling things like handmade jewellery, coconut watches, wacky aprons, fisherman pants, wood pieces, wall stickers and the ever popular massage tables we were once again ready to eat once more.

Bretzels was manned by a wonderful German lady, these were doughy and nicely baked (not fried), fyi you can order one covered in chocolate.

The night had to end with a strawberry skewer soaked in chocolate, instantly the chocolate hardened and there are no words to describe how simple and amazing strawberries chocolate are. The stall also had marshmallow skewers, chocolate mousse, and ice chocolate slushies.

Try and make time on a Wednesday night to visit the night markets before it ends, there is bound to be something there to entertain and surprise you, but try and get there early. As you can see from the photos below it gets very crowded! The last photo was taken at 7.30pm, did someone say 'dinner time'?

Let us know which food stalls you enjoyed!

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Izakaya Den

Basement
114 Russell Street
Melbourne
96542977

Instead of starting with any of our favourite places, we thought we'd begin with the much-hyped Izakaya Den. This place has been reviewed often and is part of the so-called Izakaya invasion.

Our night started off down a difficult-to-find set of stairs, as dinners at Melbourne restaurants often do. Please keep in mind the Den does not take bookings. The fit-out is industrial basement chic. Seating is at the bar overlooking the kitchen, or benches along the LED-lit wall listing the specials.




























We firstly ordered the tuna tataki ($16). These were lightly seared slices of tuna on wasabi and chilli mayonnaises. It definitely was one of the most frequently ordered dishes. The mayonnaises were exciting and complemented the tuna very well.















The highlight of our night was the kingfish sashimi ($18) with asian style dressing (gotta love the vague menu descriptions in Japanese restaurants!). These finely sliced sashimi pieces were so flavoursome that we seriously contemplated ordering another serving. The sashimi was finished off with sesame and coriander.



The potato croquettes ($6) were a disappointment, we found these to be like Birds Eye potato gems.



We did however really like one of the specials of the night, stir fried peppers with konnyaku and chilli miso ($15). The addition of enoki mushrooms was a great surprise, peppers were still firm and the konnyaku was very tasty while the miso was good with steam rice.



The char grilled pork belly skewers ($16) were colourless and a tad too salty. There was nothing to differentiate this pork from any roast pork you would find in China Town, minus the crispy skin in this case.



Who would have thought deep fried sweet corn ($4) would be a star of the night. The corn was sweet and tasty, they went down really well with our beers. We wanted to take some with us to our movie (forget the popcorn).



Finally it was dessert time, green tea chocolate fondue ($14), accompanied by glutinous balls stuffed with macadamia to dip into the green tea and white chocolate fondue mixture. The green tea was able to balance the sweetness of the white chocolate and was a nice way to finish without being too heavy.



Overall the Den should be applauded for trying new things instead of sticking to the tried and trusted. Staff were friendly and a nice touch was the chefs bringing you the food they had prepared. Sitting at the bar allowed us to see the care that goes into each dish.

We will definitely go back and try some other dishes that looked appealing like the stir fried mushrooms, and the bresaola and daikon noodle salad.