Bangkok Terrace, Hawthorn East

A much cleaner and modern interior than expected... LIKE

Nice open kitchen set on a higher floor level...

Crispy Prawns with Green Rice Flakes (6 pieces) -- $18.00

Deep fried prawns coated with rice flakes served with sweet chilli sauce

These were a great starter! Love the look of them. Crispy and addictive...

Tom Yum Prawn

Traditional Thai soup of king prawns flavoured with lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves and chilli paste

The Tom Yum here was awesome! Clean yet full body flavour with strong aroma of lemongrass, felt really fresh. Definitely one of the better ones in town (if not best).

Panang Curry with Duck -- $19.90

Homemade panang curry cooked with chicken, beef or duck, mixed vegetables topped with crushed peanuts and sweet basil

Another ripper of a dish. The duck itself was roasted so perfectly it was just as prominent as the sauce which was thick and flavourful. Sweet, salty, creamy, it was great.

Steak Laos (Wagyu Beef) -- $19.00

Grilled marinated beef and mixed salad on side served with "nam jim hew", unique Thai traditional sauce made of roasted rice, sweet, spicy and sour

AWESOME. Each slice of beef was juicy and tender as tender gets. Really enjoyed the sauce as well. Hey, you know this place is great value when you get a pile of wagyu for under $20.

Pad Cha Crispy Rainbow Trout -- $24.90

Whole deep fried rainbow trout fish topped with chilli and home made spicy sauce, green peppercorn, kra chai, lime leaves

Spicier than we thought, but in a good way. I wasn't sure how I'd feel to have a rainbow trout deep fried whole and used in a Thai dish, but this was good. Flesh was still delicate and I enjoyed eating the fish head and sucking the crisped flesh off the bones.

BBQ Char Grill Lamb Cutlet -- $24.90

Marinated grilled lamb cutlet with special Thai herbs sided with homemade mixed vegetables stir fried with garlic sauce

One of the highlights of my evening (even though every dish was really good). Incredibly flavourful and juicy cut of lamb, with great char on the outside. So delicious!

Dessert Special: Pumpkin Cheesecake -- $10.90

Homemade pumpkin cheesecake served with green tea ice cream

Not the best cheesecake base but flavours are there and still a good dessert overall

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Must say that I was thoroughly impressed with my experience at Bangkok Terrace overall. It was recommended to me by a Thai person quite unexpectedly. Curious by this recommendation, I ventured out there with 5 of my other eating buddies last Saturday to try it out.

First, the ambience was much more sophisticated, yet cool and casual than we expected. We were expecting a Victoria St/iSpicy-esque establishment but this reminded us more of Red Spice Road/Chin Chin than anything else. It was buzzing and food at every table looked amazing. Completely packed out even though it was sort of in the middle of nowhere... How have we not heard of this place before until now?!

The food was brought out one dish at a time, and we enjoyed every single one. Flavours and execution (even presentation) was top notch. Was it slightly Westernised? Yes. Was it the most authentic Thai food in Australia? No. But who cares? In a lot of ways, the flavours and methods were still very true. Also, it was incredibly delicious food in a great setting and prices were really, really reasonable! The 6 of us ate till we were so full for only $30 per person. It's not a lot when you're getting quality AND quantity, IMHO.

It's been awhile since we've seen a good Thai restaurant in Melbourne so I'm very glad to have come across this place and able to share it with all of you today. I do hope you give this place a go because I sure as hell am going to come back again. A great place I would love to bring my family and visitors to eat any day. 

Brunching in North Melbourne

1. Auction Rooms

Fried Duck Eggs with Morcilla & Smoked Bone Marrow

Slow Cooked Lamb Shoulder with Roasted Garlic, Smashed Peas and Mint

Brought my parents to Auction Rooms on one of their visits to Melbourne. We ordered these two dishes because they really jumped out of the menu to us. As much as I'd like to say that we enjoyed it, we really didn't... Surprisingly enough (given the rave reviews from every one else about the place). Overall, both dishes severely lacked flavour. 

The morcilla was meant to give the punch to the dish but was completely bland. I love eating blood sausage for the bold flavours and the one here was missing that completely. The whole dish lacked sauce and taste to bind it all together. There was nothing much I could enjoy with the toast. Lamb was tender, yes. But completely lacked excitement. The sauce wasn't enough to lift the dish and it's unfortunate when smashed peas excited your palette even more than tender lamb shoulder. 

What a disappointing experience at one of Melbourne's most "famous" cafes. It may be a once off experience but with that sort of queue I'm not interested in coming back to give it another go anyway. There's other places just a skip and hop away that I'd happily revisit any day, as you'll see.




2. Twenty & Six Espresso

Mocha

Soy Piccolo

The Cassoulet - $17.90

Duck fat baked haricot beans with pancetta, pork & fennel sausage, sourdough and a garden herb crust.

SOOOOOOO GOOD!!

The Kahvalti - $10.50

Toasted muesli with poached fruits and yoghurt

Finally caught up with Mich, a former food blogger, for the first time here late last year. The cafe is small but comfortable. White walls and plenty of light shining in with a few quirky little items to give the cafe a little more character. I loved it.

I love a good Cassoulet and the one I ordered was seriously DELICIOUS, I couldn't get enough of it. It was piping hot and full of flavour from the duck fats. The sausage was tender and delicious against the beans which had soaked up the flavours of the sauce with the fragrance of the thyme. Topped that with a perfectly crunchy crust, I was in heaven. It was seriously my kind of dish, I didn't want it to end. Flavour, texture, it has it all. No need for the poached egg on top, else it might be too rich.

Mich's muesli was a standout as well, with all the flavours marrying beautifully together. Nice and crunchy too. Again, flavour and texture, it has it all. 

Good coffee, great food and cosy ambience, I must say I really enjoyed my experience at Twenty and Six, definitely can't wait to come back again. I'm a fan.




3. Fandango 

Poached Eggs, Avocado and Bacon on Toasted Sourdough - $15.00

Poached Eggs, Bacon and Pesto on Toasted Sourdough -- $15.00

Pesto Scrambled Eggs - $16.00

Soft scrambled eggs flavoured with flecks of basil, pine nuts, garlic and parmesan. Served with grilled tomato and toasted sourdough

Caught up with my two good friends Kel and Aaron one Sunday morning at Fandango. With so many Melbourne cafes taking a much more creative (and hence, complicated) twist to their menus these days, sometimes you just crave a simple eggs breakfast, y'know? Good, old fashioned eggs brekkie at your local neighbourhood cafe. Ant this is exactly why we chose to eat at Fandango that morning.

The boys ordered poached eggs with a side of their favourite items. As for me, I opted for the pesto scrambled eggs (as I had recently made pesto at home and was on a pesto high). It was fantastic. Absolutely spot on. The ribbons of deliciously silky and creamy eggs against the hint of pesto was serious perfection. The flavour and crunch of the sourdough was unmistakeable too. I was very, very glad we came here for brekkie as each of us seriously enjoyed our food. 

It was fuss free and reminded you of the simpler times. It was worlds apart from Auction Rooms even though it was literally 2 doors down from this place. Fandango is a much older, classic, traditional and thus, simple establishment compared to most cafes in Melbourne these days. Despite the perpetual change in food trends in the brekkie/brunch scene, Fandango hasn't changed one bit and I love that about them.

Auction Rooms, Twenty & Six Espresso and Fandango are honestly just down the road or round the corner from one another. Each with a very distinct personality and I would happily dine at the latter two any day. 

Rabbit Ragoût with Pan Fried Gnocchi and Green Olive Tapenade

I heart French food. 

It's actually a cuisine that I've always been particularly motivated to cook at home. Why? Because I love the food so much but it almost seems like everywhere that serves French food in Melbourne is too expensive for me to enjoy, as often as I'd like to. I don't think French food needs to be as complex as what you'd get at many French restaurants in Australia. I know that for myself, I was actually surprised by how simple/delicious it was to make it at home. Take for example the Beaurre Blanc Sauce (French butter sauce) and Creme Brulee recipe that I've shared in the past.

I haven't cooked French in a while so I was especially thrilled when we decided to have a French potluck at Agnes' house on Bastille Day last week.

I immediately turned to this cookbook that I received from my dear friend Jade on my 21st a couple of years ago. There's so many great French bistro recipes in there that I've been meaning to try and this recipe was definitely one of them. 

It looked like a dish that I would actually pay to eat at a restaurant and enjoy. Oh and of course, the rabbit. I've only had them about a handful of times so I thought it'd be interesting to cook it at home for the first time. And even though there were quite a few of them, but the steps were rather straightforward... Sweet. 

I won't lie by saying it was a quick dish to make, because it wasn't. But I do like to cook something completely different than what I normally would, despite taking longer than usual. And cooking for people whose company you enjoy is always a great excuse/motivator to provide that extra labour of love in the kitchen. Without that, you would just be stuck with cooking the same, old, boring thing every day like me, wouldn't you?

The green olive tapenade was definitely a great addition to the dish

As for the taste, I thought it was pretty delicious and well worth the hard work. Even though the rabbit, on its own, was a very tasteless meat, but I was surprised by how nice the dish tasted overall. The sauce was thick and flavourful and the rabbit was more tender than I thought. Plus, I absolutely LOVE the dollops of Green Olive Tapenade in the dish. Completely lifts the whole dish and gives it an interesting twist and finish to each bite. Completes the dish and really recommend you make it too.

So, if you've got an occasion coming up and looking for a recipe that's slightly out of the ordinary to try, I'd definitely suggest you give this a go. It's a tasty dish and fun to serve rabbit to your friends because it's different for a change. My advice is that if you're going to make this dish, make a big portion of it like I did, since you're going through all the effort anyway.

Anyway, hope you enjoy and wishing all of you a smashing start to the week! =)

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Rabbit Ragoût with Pan Fried Gnocchi and Green Olive Tapenade

(serves 8, adapted from the book "Must Eat by Russell Blaikie")

Ingredients:

For the Rabbit Ragoût:

5 tbsp olive oil

2 whole rabbits (about 750g each) *

2 onions (chopped)

5 gloves of garlic (minced)

2 celery sticks (chopped)

2 large carrots (chopped)

5 sprigs of thyme

2 sprigs of rosemary

2 bay leaves

1 tsp white peppercorns

500ml white wine

700g truss tomatoes (chopped)

2 litres chicken stock

* Note: Get the butcher to cut to joints for you

For the Pan Fried Gnocchi:

6 tbsp butter

2 packets of gnocchi (500g each)

3 large tomatoes (deseeded and diced)

Freshly ground salt and pepper

Parsley to garnish

Photo taken from my Instagram (@winceeee)

For the Green Olive Tapenade:

15g salted capers
200g green olives (pitted)
40g cornichons
1 tbsp chopped parlsey
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1 tsp fresh thyme leaves
50ml extra virgin olive oil
1 hard boiled egg (peeled)
Freshly ground black pepper

All ingredients readily accessible at most delis. I got all these from Victoria Market

Method:

1. To make the rabbit ragoût, heat the olive oil in a large saucepan/dutch oven and sear the rabbit in batches until golden on both sides. Remove.

2. Drop in the onion, garlic, celery, carrot, herbs, peppercorns and saute for 5 minutes. Add the wine, increase the heat and cook for 5 minutes.

3. Add in the tomato and chicken stock. Once boiling, return rabbit to the pot, bring heat to low and allow to simmer (covered) for 2 hours.

4. Remove the rabbit and allow to cool. Strain the cooking liquid, separating it from the vegetables. 

5. Pick out as much of the peppercorns and herbs as you can from the vegetables and blitz in a food processor to a fine puree. Place the liquid back into a pot and reduce on a stove on medium - high heat until liquid is thickened and reduces by slightly more than half. Switch off heat.

6. Shred the rabbit meat from the bones with your fingers. Meat attached to the outer epidermal skin of the rabbit may be discarded as it can be quite tough. Place shredded meat back into the pot with the reduced/thickened liquid and set aside until ready. 

7. To make the tapenade, soak the salted capers for 30 minutes in warm water. Rise in cold water and drain.

8. Combine all ingredients (except the egg) into a food processor and blitz until well combined. Remove and place into a bowl.

9. Press the egg through a mesh sieve into the bowl of tapenade and stir through to combine. Season with black pepper to taste. Reserve in refrigerator until needed.

10. Heat up a large saucepan and add the butter. Once melted, add the gnocchi and fry in batches until golden and crisp on both sides. Set aside in a large tray/pot.

11. Stir through the gnocchi with the diced tomatoes and pureed vegetables. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Transfer to large pasta bowls or individual plates.

12. Spoon the rabbit and sauce on each bowl/plate. Top with a few dollops of green olive tapenade and garnish with fresh parsley. Serve warm.

A lengthy recipe but well worth the effort. Great, tasty dish to share with friends on a special occasion. 

Enjoy!!

Eating Korean Chilli Cheese Chicken Around Town

Korean food in still one of the better cuisines to eat in the CBD when you're on a budget. One of the more popular Korean dishes, especially amongst the uni students (myself once included) has definitely got to be the Korean Chilli Cheese Chicken. A dish my friends and I crave from time to time when I was in uni. 

Essentially, it is grilled/fried chicken pieces served on a hot plate and topped with a mountain of gooey tasty mozzarella cheese. Never tasted it? Like I said, you'll be surprised by how damn popular it is, especially amongst the students. It ain't about gourmet eating when we were students...

Let's start off by Melbourne's most famous place for this dish: CJ Lunch Bar, before heading to a more recent establishment that's been gaining popularity for the same dish: Mook Ji Bar. Both are located in the CBD.

1) CJ Lunch Bar

The famous CJ Lunch Bar Cheese Chicken Bulgogi -- $16.50

Good but a tad oily, especially at the bottom

Budae Jjigae (or "Army Stew") -- $25.00

Most people struggle to comprehend the appeal in Army Stew. A kimchi based stew with a whole bunch of perishable foods, such as instant noodles, spam, hotdogs, macaroni, canned beans and even has sliced processed cheese too. It goes back to when this dish was created during the Korean War. Hence, the name, "Army Stew".

As much as people are repulsed by the very notion of this, I LOVE it. I like that it's got history. I like how it's a nice big dish to share. I like kimchi based soups. And I especially like that it's essentially got all the things that I secretly love (but really seldom eat) chucked into one. 

For me, it comes down to the soup base, and the one here was delicious. Look, it really is a dish that you either love, or you don't. Question is, which side are you on?

2) Mook Ji Bar

Suun Du Bu Jjiage (or Spicy Seafood and Soft Tofu Stew) -- $15

Soup base was not bad but no ingredients besides tofu in this one lol

Chicken Bulgogi with Cheese -- $15

Slightly different version than the rest, where the ones here uses fried chicken wings instead of grilled chicken pieces

Tteokbokki -- $15

Dumpling Soup -- $12

I LOVE this dish here!! The dumplings were so silky and slippery and had a tasty, tender filling. The soup was light but peppery, highly addictive. Plus, it was a massive bowl too with so many dumplings. Very value for money. Will come back to order this again

3. Darac Grill & Bar

This picture was taken from my previous blog post on Darac a while ago. Full post: here 

As for my overall thoughts on eating the beloved (to some) Chilli Cheese Chicken or Chicken Bulgogi with Cheese around Melbourne, I can see why CJ Lunch Bar is still most people's favourite go to place for this dish (including many of my friends). Tender and delicious, but I found it to be too oily. I can also see why Mook Ji Bar has got most people talking, especially with the use of fried chicken wings (who doens't love fried chicky wings?). 

But, I thought the wings were so tiny and didn't like that the sauce was so thick and jam like that I couldn't help but be reminded of coagulated blood when I eat it. In the end, Darac is still my favourite. I like that it wasn't so overbearing with the cheese and that the chicken is grilled so perfectly that it's just so fragrant and delicious. I actually ate this dish at another Korean place in the CBD called Yumi Yumi (can you tell I eat a lot of Korean?) but I can't recall what it was like, so I'm guessing it's fairly average. 

At the end of the day, it really does come down to preference. Is it a dish I am particularly a fan of? Probably not as much as my friends. I prefer something healthier. But it's nice to go to places that others enjoy and seeing them feel so happy from eating a dish they like is always a good thing for me. 

So tell me, what are YOUR thoughts on this Korean dish? Yay or Nay? Let me know! =)