Peas

Ciao Cielo

Bacalhau ravioli with broad beans, capers and dill

A pretty yet unmemorable dish.

★★★☆☆

Fried calamari, dried oregano, rocket, garlic aioli

Light crispy batter, fantastic use of oregano.

★★★★☆

Truffled potato dauphine, truffle pecorino

Golden balls of fluffy potato that practically melt in your mouth! I couldn’t eat very many though as they were quite rich.

★★★★☆

Pan fried potato gnocchi, roasted pumpkin, walnuts, dolce blue, spinach

★★★☆☆

Rockling fillet, peas, goats curd, roasted fennel

★★★☆☆

Overall:

The food was good but I was expecting amazing after reading all the positive reviews about this place. The decor was sleek however all the tables were positioned quite close to one another due to the venue being so small. Service was fine except there was one particular waiter who kept on wanting to clear our plates even though we hadn’t finished.

Ciao Cielo

171 Bay St, Port Melbourne, VIC

(03) 9645 1568

http://www.ciaocielo.com.au/

The Roving Marrow

Manuka smoked duck breast, liver parfait, caramel apricot

Well cooked duck with a wonderful combination of flavours.

★★★☆☆

Mozzarella pasta, peas, goats cheese

The mozzarella pasta was so amazingly smooth, while the fresh peas and goats cheese added incredible taste and texture.

★★★★★

Whole wheat sour dough with burnt butter

Quality butter and delicious sourdough fresh from the oven.

★★★★☆

Hen’s egg, smoked potato, shiitake, mushroom

Small but tasty.

★★★★☆

Potato chips and dip

These triple cooked chips were ordinary however the wasabi aioli dip was seriously top-notch.

★★★☆☆

Skull island prawn, creamed corn, kimchi salt

More delicious prawns please!

★★★☆☆

Strawberries, meringue, lychees, fragrant watermelon jelly

If only this strange watermelon jelly sheet contained something that looked and tasted more inspiring.

★★☆☆☆

Overall:

Sleek decor, attentive service, exceptional quality food. A place I would happily return to.

The Roving Marrow

418 Lygon St, Carlton, VIC

(03) 9347 7419

http://www.theastorcarlton.com.au/restaurant/

Pea and Spinach Risotto

Recipe adapted from The Healthy Chef

Ingredients:

1 onion, finely diced
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
Olive oil
2 cups Arborio rice
1L stock
2 cups water
500g green peas (frozen or fresh)
4 large handfuls baby spinach leaves
Parmesan
Salt
Pepper
Lemon juice

Method:

Heat olive oil in a pan and saute onion and garlic until softened.
Add the rice and stir through for about a minute.
Add 2 cups of stock and simmer over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally until absorbed. Continue adding stock and then water, 1 cup at a time, waiting for the liquid to be absorbed before adding more.
Blanch the peas for 1 minute in boiling water and then drain.
Add half the peas into a high performance blender or food processor and puree with half the spinach until smooth. Combine the pea and spinach puree along with the whole peas and spinach into the risotto and stir through.
Add parmesan, salt, pepper and a good squeeze of lemon juice to taste.

Overall:

I don’t think I’ve ever made a risotto this green before! This risotto was creamy and light, and tasted almost too good to be healthy.

Garagistes

103 Murray St, Hobart 6231 0558

Smoked new season pink eye potatoes, sauce of whey, garlic scapes, herbs, flowers

Tartare of veal leg, uni and pine nut cream, nasturtium buds, speck and aged buffalo cheese

Green feast peas, lovage, samphire, lardo

Venerupis clams cooked in kombu butter, chicken and anise hyssop dashi

Garagistes smoked eel, poached rhubarb, laver and pickled hawthorn blossom

Lightly steamed Tasmanian blue eye trevalla and oyster mushrooms cooked over charcoal

West Hobart lime posset, iced fig leaf kefir, caraway and dill shortbread

Kunzea blossom ice cream, elderflower milk crisp, green almond cream

Overall:

Garagistes offer an ever-changing five course set menu with optional artisanal sake to match. The food here is beautifully presented and has interesting flavours, however portions are quite small (I left still feeling a bit hungry). Service was friendly but slow, and the decor was simple (eg. plain wooden communal tables) and dark (eg. black walls, dark floors). Not a place I am likely to return to.

Note that this place opens Wednesday to Saturday from 6pm, and that reservations open two weeks in advance.

Markov

350 Drummond St, Carlton 9347 7113

Wagu burger (free range bacon, cheddar, beer pickles, avocado, relish) served with fat chips

= Not bad

Pan fried rock ling, pancetta, peas and chick pea chips

The rock ling was nicely fried while the chick pea chips were melt-in-your-mouth soft and reminded me of tofu (in a nice way)

=Good

Deliciously fiery fried chicken wings that were covered in hot sauce, served with ranch dressing

=Good

Overall:

Step through the front bar and you will find yourself in a simple gastropub that has friendly staff, a succinct menu and plenty of beer.

Cutler & Co.

55-57 Gertrude St, Fitzroy 9419 4888

Seaweed and tapioca cracker with eggplant puree and black sesame

Rye toast with crème fraîche, smoked trout and Avruga cavier

Kingfish sashimi, green strawberries, sorrel and apple

Peas, baby zucchini, toasted seeds, onion and bergamot

WA marron, buttermilk potato, fermented carrot and Espelette

Smoked duck breast, boudin noir, beetroot and sour cherry

Wood grilled beef rib, kohlrabi and sesame

Cream, watermelon and lychee granita

Earl grey ice cream, chocolate, cherries and brandy jelly

Overall:

I was very excited to finally try out this place as I am a fan of chef Andrew McConnell having previously dined at his other restaurants Cumulus Inc. and Golden Fields, and absolutely loving the food. Located in an old metal works factory, this restaurant occupies a large interesting space filled with stripped back brick walls, high ceilings, exotic ferns and warm wooden tones. We decided to get the degustation menu (which changes quite often) and were quite impressed with the food served. The only problem with having really delicious degustation food is that before you know it, your plate is empty and you are left wanting more! This is definitely a place that I would visit again.

Coco Lounge

93 Kingsway, Glen Waverley 9560 9705

South Carolina tacos

Falafel burger

Seafood spaghetti

Thoughts:

South Carolina tacos – 2 soft shell tacos with dry shredded pork shoulder, spicy BBQ sauce and plenty of coleslaw = Not bad

Falafel burger – warm brioche bun with an extremely thick home made falafel patty, caramelised onion, tasty cheese, beetroot, tomato, lettuce and chilli aioli. A really filling burger = Not bad

Seafood spaghetti – pan seared prawns and scallops with preserved lemon oil and lots of baby peas = Not bad

Overall:

I have been to this place numerous times and have always found the food at dinner to be nicely presented but merely average tasting, whereas the food served at breakfast is quite good. The service is friendly and the atmosphere is casual. There is also an upstairs lounge bar which opens every evening from 5pm until late. Note that this place is in the Entertainment Book.