2012 in Review

Best wishes for a Merry Christmas to all Gourmet Chick readers.  It's that time of year again when I get all nostalgic and look back over the year that was.  2012 has probably been the year I have done the least travelling since I was at school and I must admit to getting itchy feet for a holiday by this stage.  I did manage a few trips to Sydney along with some getaways in the beautiful Victorian countryside plus I have spent a lot of time getting reacquainted with the restaurants and bars of my hometown of Melbourne.  Here are my highlights (and lowlights) of the year.

Gourmet Giveaway - 10 free magazine subscriptions

In a final Gourmet Giveaway for the year I've got 10 free digital magazine subscriptions thanks to Zinio.  As a magazine and iPad addict I'm pretty excited about this giveaway.  Zinio includes thousands of magazines from all over the world like Vogue, Frankie, Rolling Stone, Inside Out,  Marie Claire and Conde Nast Traveller.  Of course there are heaps of food magazines as well like Saveur, Delicious, Donna Hay, and Feast and if you want that obscure Japanese food magazine it is probably on Zinio as well.  The subscriptions vary in length but most are for a year.

Gourmet Giveaway - 10 free magazine subscriptions

The Builders Arms

If you remember The Builders Arms back in the day you will be pretty surprised by its transformation.  Its the most recent addition to Gertrude street by the prolific McConnell brothers, this time it is Andrew behind the new look pub.  No longer a true boozer the place is all polished up although the bistro itself is pared back and very minimalist withe the only real decoration being some neon installations on the walls.  The new look comes at a cost and you get stung on the drink prices but the food is top notch quality and offers an interesting twist on the usual pub food.  

Fish pie at The Builders Arms

Sponsored Video - Blacksticks Blue Cheese

Christmas is a great excuse to make up a cheese board so I thought it was worth letting you know about Blacksticks Blue cheese.  It's a British Blue cheese created by hand at Butlers Farmhouse Cheeses dairy in Inglewhite. Blacksticks Blue is smooth and creamy with a subtle blue tang and distinctive amber hue.

A classic Christmas cheese board - that's Blacksticks Blue on the left

The story behind the cheese is that Richard and Annie Butler purchased the farm back in 1932 and then started making cheese to sell at the local markets.  They created Blacksticks Blue in 2003 and now you can find the cheese in miniature whole truckles in Sainsbury's and Booths in the UK this Christmas.  Australian and US readers sadly I don't think you can get Blacksticks Blue here but you may be able to get some recipe inspiration anyway from the Blacksticks Blue website.  Being new age cheesemongers you can also find the Butlers on Facebook and Twitter.

Bring on the Christmas cheese board!

This post is sponsored by Butlers. 

Stokehouse Cafe reopens

There's a Josper in Melbourne! Josper (pronouced H-osper) is a Spanish super hot charcoal oven.  When I left London they were the latest thing with top restaurants like Hawksmoor and Heston Blumenthal's Dinner featuring Jospers and now we have one in Melbourne thanks to the extreme makeover which has been given to downstairs at The Stokehouse, now called the Stokehouse Cafe.

View from Stokehouse Cafe

Top Ten Restaurants in Melbourne

I've been back living in Melbourne for a year now so it seems the time is about right to list my top ten Melbourne restaurants.  The year has flown by and has involved a lot of new discoveries after spending five years eating and drinking my way around London and the rest of the world.  I've revisited old favourites as well as headed off to new restaurants, cafes and bars which have only just opened their doors this year.  This list only includes those restaurants which I have actually been to in the past year so there are a few glaring omissions (I still haven't been to Attica) but there are only so many places a girl can eat at in a year.  Let me know what should be on my wish list for next year.

Chin Chin's lychee cocktail

Hutong Dumpling Bar

It's all about the dumpling at Hutong Dumpling Bar.  Walk in the door and through a glass window you can spy the chefs forming rows and rows of perfectly pleated dumplings.  It's impossible not to order some of these little beauties and any fanaticism about dumplings all becomes clear when you try Hu Tong's xia long bao (XLB for short).  The gossamer thin wrappers ooze hot soup when you bite into them ($11.80).

Best brunches in Richmond

While house hunting for the last couple of months I have been renting a friend's place with Meat-and-Three-Veg (MTV) in Richmond.  It's been a good opportunity to discover the Switzerland of Melbourne.  While Richmond is technically north of the river I think it is viewed by both north and south siders as a neutral zone wedged in between the two warring sectors where both groups can meet to go for dinner, the footy, have drinks, shop at the discount stores or of course have brunch.  Luckily Richmond really does excel itself on the brunch front so with a plethora of places to choose from these are my favourite four places.

Potato hash with bacon, poached egg and lemon myrtle hollondaise at Gypsey and Musquito

Best cook books of 2012

The first step is admitting it right? Then perhaps I should come clean, I am addicted to cook books.  My book shelf groans with them and I have been known to have a quick flick through a cook book before falling asleep in bed at night.  As MTV man (correctly) points out it would be impossible for me to cook every recipe from every cook book I own and some of them I may actually never have cooked from.  I justify my habit on the basis of reference material, entertainment and inspiration.  Still, I do take his point so I've pulled together my list of my favourite cook books published this year and I've narrowed it down to those books I actually use rather than merely admire.

Captain Melville

Bushrangers are back! Captain Melville is the newest place in the city housed in Melbourne's oldest pub.  The old bluestone building was most recently called Mac's hotel but has been reinvented as Captain Melville, named after one of Victoria's most notorious bushrangers.

Slow cooked lamb in brik pastry at Captain Melville

Bess Richmond

Everyone needs a good local restaurant.  It needs to be the type of place that is a short walk or drive away and you can turn up without a reservation with a good chance of getting a table.  It can't be too expensive so that it doesn't have to be a special occasion to head there.  Since moving to Richmond two months ago that place for me has been Bess.

Angel hair pasta with seafood at Bess

How to make Ottolenghi's mango and soba noodle salad

It is so hot today that it hurts to go outside.  Sorry to make you jealous readers in the UK and USA who are in the depths of winter but we are really sweltering at the moment here in Australia.  Which makes it the perfect weather for Yotam Ottolenghi's mango and soba noodle salad.  With slippery cold noodles, sweet mango and spongy eggplant to soak up all the dressing this is a salad that is so refreshing in hot weather.  If it is cold where you are, just turn up the heating and eat this salad anyway, it's really that good.

Rockwell and Sons

It's Wednesday which means the week is halfway through and also its fried chicken day at Rockwell and Sons, one of the newer addition to the Smith Street restaurant strip.  The restaurant is stripped back and bare with exposed brick walls and bare tables, it looks a bit like a bachelor pad where nobody has bothered to finish decorating or to put up any photos.

The spread for fried chicken Wednesday at Rockwell and Sons - Picture thanks to Joyce at Mel Hot or Not

10 best places for group dinners in Melbourne

Christmas party season has begun.   Around this time of year the most common thing I get asked is where is a good venue for a Christmas party or even just Christmas catch up.  So I've done the leg work and investigated the best private rooms and restaurants with banquet menus who are nice to groups.  Don't think of this just as a Christmas party list many are excellent for hens parties, birthday parties, any kind of party really.

It's simple, champagne = party

Union Dining

Art, sunshine, food and wine.  These are a few of my favourite things and they all came together at the unveiling of the "Two Years on the Wall" prize at Union Dining this week.  I was invited to dinner on the rooftop terrace of the popular European bistro in Richmond to see the presentation of this new biennial art competition that Union Dining is running in conjunction with TarraWarra estates.  As well as admiring the winning entry, an amazing paste-up of Melbourne artist Baby Guerrilla I was also able to try Union Dining's new spring menu from talented chef Nicky Riemer (previously of Melbourne Wine Room).

Spring vegetables with parsley cream at Union Dining

Gourmet Christmas Gift Guide 2012

It's that time of year again... time for the Gourmet Chick Christmas Gift Guide.  This contains all of my suggestions for what to get for that person in your life who is food and travel obsessed, or indeed what to put on your own Christmas wish list.  This is a completely independent guide - I have not received any payment or compensation of any kind to feature these products.  They are all my favourite things and I'm buying quite a few of them for those on my own list.  I know Gourmet Chick readers are spread around the world so everything I've included is available online and some from stores located in the UK (you can tell by the £) and others in Australia ($).  Happy shopping.

Soho - South Melbourne Hotel

I love getting tips about new restaurants so was happy when my friend JJ said a Gourmet Chick reader had a recommendation for a recently opened restaurant in South Melbourne.  Soho is new enough that it doesn't show up on Google Maps properly yet but just look for the old Palace by Luke Mangan.  The place has had a makeover with the restaurant flowing easily between inside and outside thanks to lots of courtyards which even include a tiki bar.  It's the perfect place to head on a summers night.

Son in law eggs at Soho

Taste of Melbourne 2012

Walking shoes and eating pants on.  Check.  Sunglasses and umbrella.  Check.  I was ready for Taste of Melbourne.  If you are wondering about the need for sun and rain protection it's because this year for the first time Taste of Melbourne is outdoors - at a great location on Albert Park Lake.  Given that even Taste of London is outdoors I'm actually surprised Taste of Melbourne hasn't made the move to being alfresco earlier.

Yes they even have their own branded cup cakes at Taste of Melbourne

Mamak

I've managed to make a few trips to Sydney this year but during my time in the Harbour city I never actually made it to Mamak.  This acclaimed Malaysian restaurant has queues out the door and down the street most nights in Sydney so after failing to get there several times I was pretty excited to hear Mamak had come to Melbourne.  Problem solved.  I wasn't the only person to think this obviously though as word of mouth spread so the queues in Melbourne for Mamak look just as long.  It's not all bad though, the queues moved quickly on my visit and what's more you also get to watch the theatre of the restaurant's roti being rolled and twirled in the open kitchen which faces onto the street.

Roti action in the open kitchen at the front of Mamak

How to make chocolate olive oil and sea salt cup cakes

The end of the spring racing carnival has left me with aching feet, a slightly sore head from all the champagne and an empty purse.  It sure was fun though.  One of the highlights was organising a car park at the race course on Cup Day with my friend Jo.  We ordered in sandwiches from Chimmys and petit fours from Brunetti but as we are both keen cooks we made quite a lot of the food ourselves as well.  I've already shared my recipe for the chorizo sausage rolls we served so I thought I would post about these chocolate cup cakes which are topped with sea salt to give them a hit of savoury as well as sweet.The cup cakes are made using olive oil rather than butter which gives a looser crumb.  Eat one with a glass of champagne for a taste sensation.

Berth

It's tough going for restaurants in the Docklands.  Some excellent restaurants including LiveBait and Mecca Bah have gone under with high rents and unfulfilled promises for the area cited as factors in their demise.  So it was with some trepidation that I accepted an invitation to dinner at Berth, I half expected to be one of the only people in the restaurant on a Thursday night.

The antipasto platter at Berth

Gourmet Giveaway - Free Tickets to the Taste of Melbourne

I've never been to Taste of Melbourne before but after attending Taste of London a few times in the UK I'm interested to see how the concept translates over here.  This year Taste of Melbourne is going outdoors and will be held at Albert Park lake.  It runs from Thursday 15 November to Sunday 18 November.  There are master classes, demonstrations and menus of starter size dishes including restaurants like Mamasita, The Aylesbury, The Point, and Taxi.  Participating chefs include Ben Cooper of Chin Chin, Frank Camorra of Movida and Philippa Sibley of Albert Street Food and Wine.

Suckling pig from Fino restaurant at Taste of London

How to make chorizo sausage rolls

Spring racing fever has hit Australia as the Melbourne Cup rolls into town.  It's called the race that stops the nation for a reason and overseas Gourmet Chick readers may be amused to hear we actually get a public holiday in many parts of Australia for this horse race.  This year I'm organising a car park at the Melbourne Cup with my friend Jo.  We've got some catering in with chicken sandwiches from Chimmy's and pastries from Brunettis but we both love to cook so have been making some of the food ourselves along with the all important job of buying lots of champagne.  One thing that is always popular is sausage rolls. Of course I couldn't make plain old sausage rolls and after getting lots of good feedback for this recipe for sage and apple sausage rolls I decided to add a few extra ingredients to my sausage rolls.  The result is these chorizo sausage rolls which are a little more fiery and flavoursome than a standard sausage roll.  They're also flecked with pieces of slow roasted red pepper to give some added sweetness and zing.  Even if you are not track side these sausage rolls are the perfect party food to pull out at around 3pm and will help soak up the booze everyone is bound to have consumed by that stage of the day. 

Senoritas

Get your ghoul on as today is Day of the Dead.  This Mexican holiday is the perfect excuse to check out one of Melbourne's current rash of restaurants and bars serving tacos and tequila.  A whole festival has been set up for "Dia de Muertos" with events running culminating in a fiesta at Senoritas on Sunday 4 November.

The setting at Senoritas is pretty spot on for Day of the Dead

Brooks of Melbourne

Ignoring the increasingly casual dining scene in Melbourne and the city's penchant for no bookings Nicholas Poelaert has opened a proper, old school restaurant complete with white linen tablecloths.  Brooks is located in the heart of the city in the glamorous basement restaurant which once housed Greg Malouf's MoMo and Jamie Oliver's Fifteen.  

Chicken parfait at Brooks

Ladro

Most Thursday nights I spend collapsed on the couch with a glass of wine watching reruns of Modern Family.  But last night I had a very active Thursday and spent my evening at Ladro checking out their new menu by new chef Niko Pizzimenti before heading off to see Mumford and Sons' Melbourne gig.

The entrance to Ladro in Greville Street

Best brunches in Albert Park

I spend most of my Saturdays driving around Melbourne looking at houses at the moment as we want to buy a place.  Any novelty in house hunting wore off after the first month and MTV and I both regard it as a torturous activity now.  I told MTV that I couldn't wait to finally get a place so we could spend our Saturday mornings at the local farmers market instead.  He snorted and mumbled something about spending the morning at home with the sports section of the paper.

Corn fritters at Mart

Arts Centre Melbourne

The thing about art centres in general, including Arts Centre Melbourne, is that food and drink is not their main thing.  So the best you really hope for  is something not ridiculously expensive that might take the form of a box of Maltesers or an ice-cream.

Pressed watermelon and duck prosciutto at Arts Centre Melbourne

Summer in Sydney

Admittedly we haven't actually hit Summer yet but I was up in Sydney for work last week and it was feeling pretty Summery.  I got to pull out my Summer clothes and even when it rained one day it was that warm tropical rain which makes it very clear you are in Sydney not Melbourne.  It was a bit of a flying visit but while there I managed to eat at one of Sydney's latest openings not once but twice and also to check out the noodle markets which are currently running in Sydney as part of the Crave Food Festival.

Night Noodle markets at Crave Food Festival

Eat Your Books - Gourmet Giveaway

Have you heard of Eat Your Books?  If you are like me and slightly (!) addicted to buying cook books then it is one of the best websites out there.  The people behind Eat Your Books have indexed hundreds and thousands of cook books, magazines and blogs including the majority of the ones I own from my back issues of Gourmet Traveller to my dog eared copy of Stephanie Alexander's Cooks Companion.  Joining Eat My Books means an end to dilemmas like "I bought a heap of broccoli but what can I cook" or "I'm sure there was a recipe for chocolate cake made with olive oil in one of my cook books but I can't remember which one".  You just type broccoli or chocolate and olive oil into Eat Your Books and it will give you recipe suggestions along with identifying the cook book in your collection you are looking for.

The Eat Your Books homepage featuring Gourmet Chick and the other new blogs added

Seoul Soul

I was pretty excited when Seoul Soul opened its doors on Victoria street.  What could be better than a decent Korean barbecue restaurant in Melbourne? Bring on the kimchi and bibimbap.  My first impressions were also good with the slick interior design immediately setting Seoul Soul apart from its neighbours. Architect turned owner Insu Kim has given the tiny restaurant an industrial feel, with white tiled walls, raw concrete floors, wire light fittings and table top grills dominating the restaurant.  

Kimchi at Seoul Soul

Hong Kong Street Food: Gourmet Chick in Hong Kong

Sadly Hong Kong's street food is an endangered species.  One of my favourite things when I visited the city was exploring the tiny street side food stores known as dai pai dongs with local food writer and blogger Janice.  Dai pai dongs first appeared in Hong Kong at the end of World War II and used to be plentiful but only 28 remain today.  The Food and Environmental Hygiene Department in Hong Kong does not issue new dai pai dong licenses anymore and so with every dai pai dong licence holder who decides to shut up shop another dai pai dong is lost (the only exception is that dai pai dong licence holders can pass the licence on to their children).  It will be a real shame for Hong Kong for these little stores to disappear as they add a bit of grittiness and colour to what is an increasingly homogenous city.  Plus they're a great place to get a cheap eat.

Locals eating at a dai pai dong in Hong Kong

Horn Please

The chaotic roads in India are strictly organised according to a hierarchy of size (cyclo, tuk tuk, car, bus, truck then cow) and of horn.  A reminder of the hierarchy is painted on the back of every truck and bus - a cheery "Horn Please!" - which makes it the perfect name for an Indian restaurant.

It's a fun fit out at Horn Please

How to make chicken and cranberry parfait

In the latest batch of new cook books to hit the shops there's one in particular that caught my eye.  Billy Law's first cookbook Have You Eaten? would probably have interested me anyway because I'm a big fan of Billy's blog A Table For Two.  What's more the book certainly looks great with interesting recipes like black pudding scotch quail egg sliders and vegemite cheesecake, great photos and typography.  But I was particularly interested to check it out because I helped with some recipe testing for the book.  After all the most important thing about a cook book is that the recipes work and I know from the small role I played that Billy was meticulous in making sure each recipe in the book is easy to understand and to follow while producing perfect results.

My version of the Have You Eaten? chicken and cranberry parfait for testing

Virginia Plain

It's funny how your experience paying the bill can make such a difference at a restaurant. I've been to Virginia Plains, the latest restaurant to open in Melbourne's Flinders Lane dining hot spot, twice now.  I came away with a bit of a different take on the place both times mainly because on my first visit to celebrate the launch of the new website and TV show Love To Share, the kind people at Love To Share shouted the bill (check out the show on Saturdays if you haven't already), while on my second visit with a group of my girlfriends I paid for myself.

Scallops and black pudding at Virginia Plain

Cutler and Co

Last week I managed a spontaneous dinner at Cutler and Co.  Being the disorganised person I am I have never managed to make a booking at Cutler and Co in enough time to get a table on a night I wanted and not two months in advance.  So just turning up on a Friday night at about 9pm with MTV and having a drink at the bar turned out to the the perfect way to score a table.

Moonlight flat oysters at Cutler and Co

Battle of the Bao: Wonderbao v Bao Now

Melbourne is going barmy over baos with the opening of not one, but two restaurants entirely devoted to bao.  Previously I've only eaten these fluffy puffs of goodness as part of a meal at a Chinese restaurant but apparently the buns have reached such cult status that they can support two stand alone stores.  I blame David Chang and Momofuku.

Wonderbao's tofu bao

How to make labneh

All it took was one trip to Lebanon a few years ago to leave me officially obsessed with labneh.  This creamy cross between cheese and yoghurt is everywhere in Lebanon - generally served up to be shared before meals smeared on pita bread.  What I didn't realise is how easy it is to make labneh yourself.  It just takes a little bit of time to make this addictive Middle Eastern cheese.

The finished labneh

Huxtaburger

Have you heard the news? Huxtaburger is headed to the city and set to open a new store on Fulham Place between 333 and 357 Collins Street at the start of next year.  That's going to be pretty handy when a lunch time burger craving hits and the announcement made me think it was probably time to write up Huxtaburger on here.

Looking through the window of Huxtaburger

Where to eat in Sydney

I've been heading up to Sydney a bit recently as Mr MTV is working there at the moment.  While I'm a proud Melburnian I must admit it's been very nice to soak up a bit of Sydney sunshine (those extra three degrees or so make all the difference) as well as checking out some of the Sydney restaurants on my wish list.  Here's my favourites out of the places I tried:

Bronte Beach Sydney 

Tomboy

You can tell that Tomboy is owned by girls.  It's immediately obvious from all the sweet little details like the jam jars of flowers, leather detailing on the aprons worn by the waiting staff and the bright candy cane striped straws our juices come served with.

Mandarin juice at Tomboy - completed with straw

Meatball and Wine Bar

Do one thing and do it well is the philosophy behind the newly opened Meatball and Wine Bar in Flinders Lane.  I was invited to check the place out with a heap of other bloggers and journalists which is interesting in light of yesterdays Twitter storm about restaurant freebies.  If you missed it there was a raging debate about the potential conflict of bloggers who work for restaurant groups and also bloggers accepting freebies (like this dinner at Meatball and Wine Bar).  Have a look at the Twitter feeds of @Tomatom, @PaulMathisMelb and @Sharking4ChipDrink if you want to catch up.

Window gazing at the Meatball and Wine Bar

How to make caramelised apple cake

I'm always on the lookout for an easy dessert as I have a habit of cooking elaborate dinner parties and then I need something quick and fail safe to fall back on at the end of the meal.  Well this dessert fits the bill, it's an apple cake that is lovely served warm out of the oven with ice-cream melting on the side or you can serve it up cold if you want to get ahead.

Apple cake ready to go

Martha Ray's

Staff with beards.  Tick.  Vinyl collection.  Tick.  Austere white washed interior. Tick.  Yes, Martha Ray’s at the city end of Brunswick street is a hipsters paradise.

Pork belly sandwich at Martha Ray's

Shark Fin Inn

It was the morning after my friend Clare's wedding and I was feeling very hungover.  There was only one thing for it - yum cha.  Unlimited dumplings and a bottomless cup of green tea has to be the best hangover cure out there.

Yum cha at Shark Fin Inn

Santorini (Gourmet Chick in Greece)

This time last year I was in Santorini.  Arriving there I felt like I'd been wearing sunglasses for the rest of my life.  The sky and sea  in Santorini are deeper blues than you thought possible while each house and building positively beams with whitewash.  The place oozes with romance and you feel almost left out if you are not snuggling up to someone to watch the sunset.   In the past year alone I have had one friend get engaged on the island and another married.  Typically,  rather than a romantic holiday I first visited Santorini ten years ago as a smelly backpacker with a big group of friends and my most recent visit was for a family holiday and birthday.

View over Oia on Santorini

Manchester Press

It's all about bagels and coffee at Manchester Press.  In fact that's all Manchester Press is about, there's not much else on the menu.  In typical Melbourne style you only find the cafe when you wander down a laneway off a laneway.  Once inside the sliding door you enter an airy warehouse space.  Industrial windows let in light and the space is decorated with drawings by local artist William Montgomery and salvaged, worn furniture.

Inside Manchester Press

How to make hedgehog

A couple of weekends ago MTV and I headed up to the snow for the weekend with a group of friends.  Yes, readers in the UK and Europe it does actually get cold in Australia and we even have snow in some mountains including at Mount Hotham which is where we went.  I think the steep price of eating out at ski resorts is a world wide phenomenon and so I decided to make up a batch of hedgehog for snacking on.  You've got to keep your energy up for skiing somehow and a chocolate treat is often the easiest way.

Chocolate hedgehog - ready to be taken to the snow

Middle Park Hotel

The Middle Park Hotel has really transformed itself from the days when I used to live just around the corner and it was a fairly standard pub with parmas on the menu.  These days the place has a polished wooden bar, sports memorabilia on the walls and a modern British menu from chef Paul Wilson.  There's also a strong focus on wine at the Middle Park Hotel with a proudly all Victorian wine list and the pub hosts a regular series of wine dinners, one of which I was invited along to.

Our first wines for the night at the Middle Park Hotel

Good Food Guide 2013 Winners

The annual gongs for The Age's Good Food Guide for 2013 were awarded tonight at a champagne fuelled ceremony that looked very glamorous from the vantage point of my Twitter stream.  Since the Michelin guide doesn't cover Australia a hat in the Good Food Guide is as close as a restaurant can get to the Michelin star system.  

Mandarin dessert at Provenance in Beechworth - Best Regional Restaurant and Best Chef at the Good Food Guide