Golistan Restaurant, Box Hill

Almost everyone in the office have been in limbo over the past few months. We have been anticipating a big announcement to come from the top echelons in regards to a restructure of the business for some time.

When the details were finally announced, they were as clear as muddy waters. What follows next could be inspiration aplenty for daytime soapie writers - they can easily spin at least 50 episodes on the drama that unfolded. But office politics is not something I would like to watch, particularly when it affects those close to me and makes me ponder on the negligible value of people to an organisation.

As for me, I will be entering into new territory. New, out of the box but not totally unfamiliar, not unlike the restaurant we visited yesterday. Golistan Restaurant on 768 Station St, Box Hill is Afghan restaurant serving halal food. I believe this would be the first time we visited an Afghan restaurant in Melbourne.

The menu is limited, but adequate. There were lamb and chicken korma, briyani, kebab and tandoori.

We were recommended mantu ($12), which is dumpling made with the thinnest skin filled with minced lamb, chopped onions and herbs. It is steamed then drizzled with tomato sauce and yogurt. Something familiar, but different.

I ordered bhurani ($12) - which was eggplant. This dish was drizzled with yogurt as well. It was smoky, mushy, delicious. Lots of oil on the bottom of the plate, which I suppose is synonymous with eggplants since it absorbs so much oil in the cooking process.

We used freshly made bread to mop up the lovely flavours of the manto and bhurani. The bread accompanies the dishes, but is also sold individually for $2 per piece. It is about 100 cms long but is broken before being served in a big basket (below).

When it first arrived on our table, we did not think that we would be able to finish the bread (there were about 3 pieces pp) but because it was so delicious, I could not stop eating and soon finished my half plus a little of Gaz's.

The bread is similar to turkish bread, but thinner and crispy. It is also made to order so the bread arrived hot and steaming to our table. Something so simple, but tastes so good.

While we were there, we saw many people ordering the tikka kebabs. These are grilled to order on a charcoal fire. We felt a bit left out, and will order the tikka kebabs when we visit next.

Gong De Lin Vegetarian Restaurant

Chinese restaurants serving purely vegetarian food are hard to come by so when I heard about Gong De Lin, I just had to try it out.

Their location at Swanston St is central, but nondescript. The only advertising is sign with an arrow pointing to Noodle Kingdom, the restaurant on the ground floor. Diners enter Noodle Kingdom and do a quick shuffle to the left where a small lift awaits. There are other restaurants in the building but in my excitement to get to Gong De Lin, I neglected to observe the board showing the other tenants in the building.

Our lift opened into a clean and tidy seating area with floorboards. We were ushered up the steps by a friendly waitperson to a little nook near the big windows which had 3 booths.

We ordered aubergine with bean paste and spicy mock beef. Dishes were served and eaten on clear and coloured glass dishes which I found so different to other places. Generally one would find ceramic and melamine dishes, not glass.

I liked the aubergine dish. The aubergine is first fried, then stir fried with hot bean paste and a little sugar for balance. It also had minced mock meat just like the non vege version.

The mock beef dish was also in the same sauce, so it felt like eating two of the same, just with different ingredients. We should have paid more attention to what we ordered but the rule was my friend would choose a dish she would like to have and I would choose the other to be fair. 

The food was good, and is a good break from the Cantonese style Chinese vegetarian restaurants around. The restaurant is easy to get to, so Gaz should not have any excuses the next time we go to the city!

Dumpling Kitchen, Blackburn Sth

There are several dishes that come to mind on a cold winter's night - steamboat or hotpot as some would call it, herbal lamb pot and boiled dumplings! Tonight we tried a new restaurant called Dumpling Kitchen on Canterbury Rd, Blackburn South. Opened only for three months, this family owned restaurant serves home made dumplings and noodles.

We ordered the Shan Dong noodle soup, fried rice noodles with beef slices and 10 pieces of Xiao Long Bao. Gaz loves XLB, it is his benchmark for a good dumpling restaurant.

The fried rice noodles were delicious, full of breath of the wok. Importantly, it did not appear too oily as some others are.

The Shan Dong noodles were highly recommended by the friendly owner. The family originated from Shan Dong province in China. The term Shan Dong noodles probably refers to the type of noodles and how it is made rather than the way the dish is cooked. In Dumpling Kitchen, the noodles are served in a home made chicken broth with chinese cabbage or wong nga bak, chinese mushrooms, slices of chicken, prawns and ginger. We were assured that the home made chicken stock will be free of any MSG. True enough, the soup was subtly tasty and the noodles were springy and fresh.

The XLB though not home made was pleasantly light. I have read somewhere that XLB is considered a peasant food as the filling is made from fatty bits and pieces of pork which produces the 'soup' in the dumplings. The owner told us that the rest of the dumplings are home made by her mother. The next time we visit this place, I'll be sure to order some of those!

Multicultural Harmony Fest, Knox

Last Saturday, Gaz and I spent half a day basking in the sun enjoying food and non-stop entertainment from around the world. This event was held at the Hungarian Community Centre on Boronia Road, Wantirna and organised by the Knox City Council alongwith representatives from the community.

We had great fun browsing the many stalls set up on the big lawn of the community centre. Some of these stalls sold merchandise, some provided information, the rest sold food. Yummy food from all over the world! We tried Persian meatballs with rice, Filipino roast pork (from a spit) with rice and spring rolls, Polish dumplings, Hungarian goulash (it was really delicious!), Hungarian cabbage wrap and German sausage in a bun. To end our meal, Gaz bought a cheesecake which he had most of. I am glad that they have priced each sample plate at $5 because it is a much more reasonable price compared to $10 charged in similar fests in other places like Glen Waverley, Box Hill and the CBD. The price was a big driver for us to sample food from more stalls.

The entertainment was great too! We watched the police band perform the bagpipes, a Persian dance, Indian dance performed by little 'prince and princesses', and Filipino dance.

We really enjoyed our day, and hope that the Fest next year will be as good or better!

Road Rage

Someone hit my car the other day and drove off. The damage was minimal but very unsightly. He (I saw the driver, but could not catch his plates) left a big dark scratch against the side of my right mirror.

Instead of stopping his car and exchanged details, he sped away.

I should have chased after his car and...

Stopped him in his tracks

'I want an apology!!'