Enlightened Cuisine, Southbank

It is not easy to find a good Chinese vegetarian restaurant in Melbourne. Nowadays, it is easy to find a few dishes on the menu in any Chinese restaurant that caters to the vegetarian taste, but I have been trying to find a restaurant that serves only Chinese/Cantonese vegetarian fare. This includes mock meats, tasty meat substitutes made from mushrooms, gluten and soy.

There are a couple of restaurants nearby our place that I have tried, only to find the food too greasy (somehow vegetarian restaurants always seem to try to compensate for meat with oil!) or not reasonably priced.

So when we happened to be around the Crown Casino area, I did not think twice about dining in Enlightened Cuisine. I have had my eye on this place for quite some time. In fact, the restaurant has been opened for a long time, but since the timing has not been right we have not been able to visit this restaurant at least one year since I knew about it's existence.

 The interior of the restaurant is bright, clean and neat. Big plus sign!! We ordered two dishes:

Duck with Mushrooms - Pieces of mock duck in a claypot with three types of mushrooms (enoki, straw and shitake). It was really delicious. There was a good balance of 'meat' and mushrooms. The mushies were fresh and really tasty. I really liked this dish.

Stir fried fish - We expected a whole 'fish' fillet but these 'fish' tofu were quite good. The tofu was not laden with msg, and it retained some tofu flavour which was fresh on the palate. Again, we really enjoyed the balance between the mock meat and the vegetables.

The prices were very reasonable, however we were informed (on the menu) that there is a 5% surcharge during dinner time. In a way, this is a 'tip' for the efficient waiters and waitresses who served us during the night.

I really like this place and would return in a heartbeat. However, as the Driver does not want to travel too far away for dinner, I am at his mercy!!!

Grand Designs Melbourne 2012

I saw Kevin McCloud up close and personal today at the Grand Designs Live in Melbourne 2012 today! Two years ago I would not have known about him at all but an accidental switching of the channel to ABC brought me to Grand Designs and I have been in admiration of his style of presenting, his knowledge of the subject and his passion for sustainable building ever since. Yet, Grand Designs is now in it's twelth year and still going strong as is evident from his many fans in the convention today.

From Grand Designs, there have been a few spin off programs such as Kevin's Grand Design where he undertakes a public housing project with a focus on sustainability and community networks, and Kevin's Grand Tour of Europe. He has even written a couple of books and launched simlar conventions in the UK.

We got to the show half past the opening time at ten a.m. The line to get into the venue was long but luckily it was fast moving. The first impression I got was 'wow'.. The layout of the booths was orderly and the decoration of real blossoming fruit trees - cherry, plum, apple caught my eyes. I think they looked beautiful.

Although we already had breakfast, I couldn't resist a taco at the Grand Cafe. We had a spicy slow braised pork taco with Asian slaw topping. The sauces were at another booth where we could take what we wanted. I loved the chipotle mayo, and guacamole but Gaz also had lemon and chilli mayo on his side of the taco. Hmmm.. With our tummies filled, we made our way to the Grand Theatre (not so grand because there weren't enough seating for us who had to stand) to hear Kevin talk. We could neither see nor hear anything so we wandered to the booths instead.

We sat in on the House of the Future presentation where the latest gadgets where shown. They include a mirror which turns into a tv, a tv which moves from its position to suit the angle you want which is good for tight spaces, an escape pod which is a meditation and relaxation hideout, a clear shower stall glass which clouds when you wish it to for privacy, a Dyson hot and cool fan (we have this, so I guess we're one step closer to the future!) and an elevator oven (pretty cool, it is hidden in the kitchen bench and elevates up when you need to use it).

Despite the crowd, we did manage to hear Kevin talk later in the day. We also saw many more gleaming kitchen appliances, pretty pictures of homes, beautiful bidets which is one of Gaz's faves since our trip to Japan, and unique home accessories (one booth showed a revolving shoe rack... Now that's something I like!).

'Hands up those who would like to have dinner with me!'

However, one of the events I would have liked to have gone for is the Miele Kitchen demonstrations where guest chefs such as Matt Stone and Maggie Beer cooked for the audience. We did not manage to get a seat or a good standing space (only the people on seats were provided samples of the food cooked) so we had to leave both times we were there.

We left at closing time, at 6 pm and this officially makes it the longest time I have ever spent at an expo!

Biting the Hand that Feeds

I was trying to help someone today when that person betrayed me the moment I had my back turned. It was a terrible feeling...

Hellenic Republic, Brunswick

Gaz and I went for an early dinner at Hellenic Republic last week, at 5:30pm!! When I booked, the lady asked if I would prefer 5:30 or 9:15pm! It's better to be early than late so I chose the earlier version but if it hadn't been a recommended restaurant I would not have proceeded with the booking. Really, do anyone even eat so early as five or as late as nine if they can help it?

Anyway, we arrived at six and was told that we have the table only until 7:30. Luckily we can eat quite fast! Gaz chose the saganaki with peppered figs, beetroot salad and skewer of pork belly with fennel salad while I chose potatoes fried with olive oil and rosemary, and whole flathead from the grill.

The saganaki came first, on a hot plate. We both loved the fried cheese. The sweetness of the figs offsets the saltiness of the cheese with a tint of peppery taste. Nice combo.

The other dishes came a while later, during which I perved at the tall and muscular waiters. The waiters all seem to be so tall! And they wear tight short sleeve shirts and trousers which shows their muscles so well..

After about fifteen minutes, our dishes arrived at the same time. The pork belly skewers were four two inch cubes. They were tasty but the cuts we were given had a lot of fat.

The flathead was more work that we thought it would be. The first few bites were filled with little bones which immediately brought back memories of eating fish congee as a child. No, choking on fish congee would describe the memory better... The fish was grilled nicely and I enjoyed the walnut dressing scattered on the top of the fish.

I did not enjoy the beetroot salad though. It was me, not the beetroot though I did not think the sesame labna anything special. The last dish being fried potatoes was nothing I thought it would be... I had imagined small cubes of potatoes fried with oregano but it really was just hand cut fries. I thought the ones by Grill'd were better.

The food was good quality (with exception of the fatty pork, too fatty!) and well cooked but nothing we ate that night was so special to attract us to return.

A Day at Domaine Chandon

It was the only sunny day of the week and thankfully I did not have to spend it indoors. Instead, we visited the Domaine Chandon vineyard in Coldstream.

We joined the free guided tour of the place which are held every 11am, 1 and 3pm. We were given a brief history of the place a guided tour from the time the grapes are delivered to the winery to the cellar where they are matured.

I thought the tour to the cellar (called the Riddling Hall because it was used to rid the bottles of the murky yeasty sediment used to ferment the grape juice) was the most interesting part because the cellar was dark, cool, and full with dark bottles... very mysterious. Later, I found out that the winery even hosts operas in the cellar... I wonder if they have to ensure the opera pieces do not have high notes?

After the tour, we went for wine tasting. Gaz paid $5 for a taste of a selection of white and red wines. I sipped a little from his glass but I turned lobster red so quickly that I stopped at wine no. 5. Gaz however continued, and he became a little tipsy because he was drinking too quickly.

To let the alcohol work its course, we went outdoors and walked around the place where we stumbled upon a little two room brick cottage. The first room upon entry has a large in-built stove where Gaz dreamt of a large pot of soup on a cold wintry night in the cottage, and did star jumps in the compound. Gaz becomes very silly after a couple of drinks! We then walked to the historic homestead which now houses the administration office. The delicate lattice and simple cream walls made it look younger than its 100 year old history. Amazing what makeup can do!

Later, we went for lunch at their on-site restaurant, the Greenpoint Brasserie. I ordered the slow cooked served with celeriac mash, broccolini and quince jus ($33) while Gaz ordered the braised lamb shoulder ($26) and tempura eggplant chips ($8) to share. We had amazing (and I mean ammmmaaaazing!) eggplant chips at Movida previously and I just couldn't wait to sink my teeth into crispy batter on the outside and creamy goodness in the inside of the eggplant chips. Unfortunately, some of the eggplant batons were uncooked on the inside, and they were definitely not as creamy as the Movida ones.

My duck still had a little 'stubble' on the skin but the puree was creamy and nice. Gaz enjoyed his braised lamb which was tender albeit a little fatty. His only complaint was that the pearl barley was not well cooked. We weren't sure if the chef meant for the texture of the pearl barley to be hard, but we felt like we were eating uncooked pearl barley... which wasn't pleasant.

Compared to Yering Station's onsite restaurant, and Matt's Bar (also at Yering Station), I think that the food at Greenpoint falls short. Although, a point to note is that the prices at Yering Station's restaurant are about $5 more expensive. I also prefer the view from the Yering Station's restaurant better.

Nevertheless, we enjoyed the drive to and our day at Domaine Chandon, and laughing at Gaz's antics when he gets a little tipsy is a lot of fun!