Lamb

Brae

Asparagus, sea butter, olive plant

Raw pea & lemon aspen tart, Brook trout & nut butter crisp

Prawn, nasturtium, finger lime

Iced Oyster, Beef tendon & mountain pepper

Chilled broth of broad bean, green almond, strawberry, fig leaf & yoghurt whey

Sourdough (made from hand milled wheat and baked on site) & freshly churned butter (made from locally sourced jersey cows)

Calamari, black lip abalone, broccoli & blue mackerel

Artichokes & salt grass lamb washed with mussel juice & citrus

Potato & jerusalem artichoke crisps served with a single poached yolk

Bass groper, cured back fat, walnut & butter braised turnip

Aged Pekin duck wood roasted on the bone, quandong, dried liver

Milk, honey & mandarin

Parsnip & apple

Rhubarb, pistachio, blood & preserved blackberry

Overall:

I visited Brae late last year so this post is a bit overdue.

Impressively ranked at number 87 in the world’s 100 best restaurants list of 2015, Brae is undeniably a place where you will find quality food and innovation. Located 130km southwest of Melbourne in the small town of Birregurra, our visit to Brae was indeed a fun little road trip. As soon as we arrived we noticed some construction happening right next to the parking lot. We later found out that this was to become six on-site accommodation suites which will open from February 2016.

As we stepped into the simple weatherboard farmhouse, we were warmly greeted and guided to our seats. Service throughout our meal was exceptional (as to be expected), with the staff being friendly, courteous and efficient. The origins of each dish was diligently explained and all my random questions about the food and the restaurant were happily answered. The atmosphere in the dining area was bright and comfortable, and we were also able to get a glimpse into the kitchen from our table which was nice.

A great deal of care and attention to detail was seen with the presentation of each dish, and although I throughly enjoyed sampling everything on their degustation menu, I did have my favourites and my not-so-favourites. My not-so-favourite was easily the asparagus. Sure it was fresh and crisp, but a single stalk of asparagus does not get me salivating. Luckily the asparagus was served first because it all went uphill from there. The absolute stand out dishes for me were the prawns and the iced oyster. The prawn heads and the prawn parcels bursted with amazing flavours, while the iced oyster turned out to be sweet and creamy, similar to a deliciously smooth ice cream with a gentle hint of oyster.

Our visit to Brae was a lovely experience and it is a great place to head to for memorable world class food.

Brae

4285 Cape Otway Rd, Birregurra, VIC

(03) 5236 2226

http://braerestaurant.com/

Bomba Downstairs

Natural Oysters

★★☆☆☆

Sourdough and Olive Oil

★★★☆☆

Charcuterie

★★☆☆☆

Smoked Eel Croqueta

★★★★☆

Pumpkin Soup with Candied Pistachio

★★★★☆

Moorish Spiced Lamb Cutlet

★★☆☆☆

Charcoal Grilled Corn with Dried Maize

★★★★☆

Quail with Pistachio and Buckwheat

★★★☆☆

Pedro Ximenez Braised Pork Jowl with Celeriac

★★★☆☆

Freekah Salad with Cauliflower, Almonds, Barberries, Sumac and Mint

★★☆☆☆

Chargrilled Bay Bug with Lime Pil Pil

★★★★☆

Overall:

The 9 course set menu was amazing! The courses came out at a perfect pace, the food was delicious and it was also great value for money. Service was friendly and efficient, and the atmosphere lively. I look forward to returning to this place.

Bomba Downstairs

103 Lonsdale St, Melbourne, VIC

(03) 9077 0451

http://bombabar.com.au/

Afghan Rahimi Restaurant

Salad, Dips (chilli, mint and yogurt, carrot and yogurt), Naan bread

★★☆☆☆

Mantu

Steam cooked traditional Afghani dumplings made from pastry, lamb mince and onions, served with lentils, topped with yoghurt and tomato gravy.

★★☆☆☆

Vegetarian Ashaak

Steam cooked pastry filled with chives and leek, served with lentils and chickpeas, topped with vegetable gravy and yogurt.

★★★☆☆

Meatball Curry (Kofta)

Lamb mince meatball served with a tomato and pea gravy.

★★☆☆☆

Traditional Afghani Rice

★★★☆☆

Borani Banjan (Eggplant)

Fried Eggplant covered with a tomato and yoghurt sauce.

★★★☆☆

Chicken Korma

Chicken thigh fillet cooked in a mild tomato curry.

★★☆☆☆

Lamb Backstrap and Chicken Tikka skewers

★★★★☆

Overall:

We decided to get the $35 banquet option which was satisfying and extremely filling! The smoky charcoal cooked skewers and the borani banjan were the highlights for me, although the borani banjan could have been less salt-heavy. Service was lovely (the owner of this place is super friendly and we felt very well looked after), and the decor was quite lavish (lots of hand crafted solid wood furniture and Afghan artwork). A good place to come to if you are after a big feed.

Afghan Rahimi Restaurant

23-29 Walker St, Dandenong, VIC

(03) 9793 9981

Home 2

The Baker’s Wife

The Lamb

(crisp spiced lamb shoulder, pumpkin hummus, fried chickpeas, beetroot relish, paprika yogurt, cucumber and mint salad)

= ★★★

The Bubble and Squeak

(Bubble and squeak croquette, Italian sausage, roast tomato, fried egg, sourdough, house relish and house BBQ sauce)

I really enjoyed the croquette but the sourdough and the sausages were simply tough and dry.

= ★★

The French Toast

(The Baker’s Challah, rhubarb and strawberry compote, spiced ricotta and Canadian maple syrup)

= ★★

The Cheeseburger

(150g beef patty, Swiss cheese, brioche bun, pickled cucumbers, American mustard, lettuce, tomato and chips)

= ★★★

The Barramundi Roll

(crumbed barramundi fillet, brioche bun, fennel, apple and celery slaw, fried capers, dill aioli and chips)

Delicious combination of ingredients. Plus the barramundi fillet was very tasty and had great crunch.

= ★★★★

Nutella Donut, Hot Jam Donut, Raspberry and Custard Cruffin, Chocolate Cruffin

I definitely liked the cruffins more than the donuts…

= ★★★

Nutella Donut

…although the donut fillings were delightfully bounteous!

Overall:

Warm inviting atmosphere, average service, good selection of pastries and muffins (which are baked fresh on the premises).

The Baker’s Wife

414-418 Burke Rd, Camberwell

9809 1133

Blue Cafe Bar

Salmon tartare, seasoned nori, radish, ginger and soy dressing, avocado puree, bonito

Very small serving, tasty combination of ingredients.

★★☆☆☆

Flinders Island lamb rump, baby carrots, eggplant and chickpea tagine, almonds, poppy seed labneh

Deliciously succulent lamb.

★★★☆☆

Crispy duck, green papaya, pineapple, mango, tomato, cucumber, cashews, coriander, bean shoots, nahm jim

This was more like a pineapple salad with a few other ingredients tossed in.

★★☆☆☆

Cold drunken chicken, tiger prawns, roasted chilli and sesame mayu, soba noodles, cucumber, kohlrabi, spring onion and ginger dressing

★★★☆☆

Overall:

Located in a converted tram pay station, this laid-back cafe has an interesting Asian influenced menu.

Blue Cafe Bar

Inveresk Railyards, Launceston, TAS

(03) 6334 3133

http://www.bluecafebar.com.au/

Shesh Besh

365 North Rd, Caulfield South 9578 8350

Chebureki

Thick deep fried pastry with a succulent lamb and onion filling, served with sweet chilli sauce

= ★★

Marinated chicken shashlik

Chicken skewers served with small roast potatoes and a salad

Portions were small considering that this dish was from their mains menu. I initially enjoyed these skewers but once they cooled down, an odd ‘leftover’ taste was noticeable.

= ★

Vegetarian Manti

Pumpkin, onions and spices wrapped in a homemade pastry, served with yogurt sauce

The pastry was enjoyable (soft and delicate) however the vegetable filling left an unpleasantly bitter aftertaste. I had to pile on the yogurt sauce in order to get through one of these dumplings, and even our waitress wasn’t a fan saying that we should have ordered the lamb manti instead.

= ★

Baklava

Crispy sheets of phyllo pastry with honey and chopped nuts

= ★★★

Overall:

Friendly staff, simple decor, mediocre food. Thank goodness we used a Groupon voucher and didn’t have to pay full price.

Note that this place is closed on Mondays.

DakDak Cafe

Unit 2, 1-3 Bignell Rd, Moorabbin 9532 2749

Bartholomew’s Baked Eggs

Lamb, spinach and pine nut sausage, free range eggs, sautéed spinach, kalamata olives and feta cheese in a tomato and herb sauce, served with buttered sourdough toast

= ★★

Vegorama

Poached free range eggs, homemade hash brown, avocado, sautéed mushrooms, over roasted tomato and truffle hollandaise served with buttered multigrain toast

= ★★

Overall:

I loved the retro vibe that this garage-turned-cafe had going on! A small powder blue caravan served as a kitchen, industrial shelves and recycled furniture filled up the place, bright green artificial grass covered the floor, and there was Volkswagen memorabilia everywhere (which was expected as this place is named after the signature stuttering of the Volkswagen engines). Service was friendly although it took a while before our orders were taken, and then much longer for our food to arrive. This unexpected cafe (as is it located within Moorabbin’s industrial area) is a comfortable and quirky place to hang out, but they need to up their game a tad when it comes to service times.

Persian Flavours Takeaway & Eat In

338 Springvale Rd, Forest Hill 9878 3087

‘Dough’ yogurt drink

A traditional Persian drink comprising of yogurt, water, mint, black pepper and salt.

The predominant taste of this unfamiliar drink was yogurt and salt. In fact when it comes to quenching your thirst, this drink does the complete opposite. Nevertheless it is a good accompaniment for spicy dishes.

= ★★

Zereshk Polow

Rice with sweet barberries and smoky fried onions

= ★★

Plain naan, Maast-mose (yogurt with cucumber and garlic flavour), Mixed kebab (combination of chicken kebab, lamb tikka and lamb koobideh)

= ★★

Garlic naan, Chicken masti (chicken marinated in yogurt, ginger, garlic, spices), Cheese naan

= ★★

Butter chicken curry (charcoal chicken cooked with onion, garlic, cashew nuts, cream in gravy and butter sauce),

Mixed veggies curry (mixed vegies with cashew nut cream and gravy sauce),

Beef massala (beef cooked with onion, garlic, yogurt, cream, sultana and tomato sauce)

Each curry was light and well seasoned however we found the butter chicken and the mixed veggies curry to be exceedingly sweet.

= ★★

Overall:

I really wanted to like this place but the food simply did not excite me. I couldn’t help but compare the curries we had to the rich Indian curries that I’ve had in the past, and the rice and kebabs we sampled to those that I’ve had at Afghan places. Perhaps Persian/Iranian cuisine isn’t for me. Service was quick and the decor was simple. A nice experience but not a place I see myself returning to.

Maha Restaurant

21 Bond St, Melbourne 9629 5900

Cherry, Pomegranate & Bitters Mocktail

(uludag sour cherry soda, pomegranate juice, rhubarb bitters)

Smoked hummus, lamb, cashew, cumin seeds, almonds

Local olives, maltese fel fel

‘Aegean coast’ – Wild greens, beach bananas, oyster cream and pork crackling

Zucchini falafel, almond, handmade haloumi and radish

Braised lamb neck, brik pastry, smoked eggplant and harissa pickled cabbage

Silverbeet borek

Market fish, parsnip, sesame, wild autumn mushrooms and hazelnut

Cracked wheat pilaf, barberry, date and almond

Fattoush, caramelised garlic, tomato and cucumber

12 hour roasted lamb shoulder, sumac, garlic, green olive tabouleh

Crispy skinned chicken leg, Iranian smoked rice, BBQ corn and egg

Vanilla rice pudding, toasted marshmallow ice cream, pekmez ganache and almond biscuit

Peanut butter and chocolate opera cake, brioche ice cream, salted caramel and lemon meringue

Turkish delight filled doughnuts, honey and walnuts

Overall:

Each serving comprised of a spectacular array of flavours and textures, and I truly enjoyed each dish down to the last bite. However I do want to give special mention to:

1. The hummus – fantastic! The underlying smoky flavour took hummus as I knew it to a whole new level

2. ‘Aegean coast’ salad – the smooth oyster cream was simply divine and provided a lovely contrast to the crispy pork crackling

3. Turkish delight filled doughnuts – crispy light dough with a tasty dollop of sweet Turkish delight inside

This place transcends you to somewhere else with its exotic rhythmic music and its dark elegant decor. In addition it is located in a sub-basement venue so that it perpetually feels like night. The service is efficient and the portion sizes are quite generous. (I originally had my eye on the 6 course menu but as it turned out the 4 course menu was already a struggle to finish) Note that the menu here changes regularly so that there is always something new and exciting to tantalise your tastebuds. If you haven’t been here before, put this on your places to try list!