Pork

Ikkoryu Fukuoka Ramen

There’s a new ramen place in town Melbourne! Ikkoryu Fukuoka Ramen is a well known ramen chain based in the Philippines and this particular restaurant is in fact the first that has been opened in Australia. I recently had the opportunity to attend their soft opening event and was quite impressed with the decor (particularly with the wall paintings and Japanese calligraphy).

I’m not the biggest fan of sake…

But once it’s mixed with juice, it becomes refreshing and tasty!

Yakimeshi (Japanese Fried Rice)

Simple and light.

★★☆☆☆

Gyoza

These were really good: crispy on one side, soft on the other side, with a delicious filling.

★★★☆☆

Spicy Tobanjan Tonkotsu

Ramen with mildly spicy Tobanjan paste, pork, green onion, egg, black fungus, bean sprouts and dried seaweed.

★★☆☆☆

Ikkoryu Original Tonkotsu

Hearty Tonkotsu ramen with pork, green onion, egg, black fungus, bean sprouts and dried seaweed.

★★★☆☆

Overall:

I have always liked places where you can customise your own ramen. Now although the ramen here was good, it certainly wasn’t the best that I’ve had in Melbourne. The broth could have been creamier and portions could have been somewhat larger (considering the prices of these bowls). Nevertheless I think Ikkoryu Fukuoka Ramen has the potential to become a great izakaya with its delightful space and snack varieties on offer.

Ikkoryu Fukuoka Ramen

Basement, 27 Russell St, Melbourne

(03) 9659 3708

Home Page

*Disclaimer: I dined as a guest of Ikkoryu Fukuoka Ramen.

CJ Lunch Bar

Japchae (stir fried sweet potato noodles, vegetables and beef in soy sauce)

★★★☆☆

Bibimbab (steamed rice topped with sautéed vegetables, beef and special chilli sauce)

★★☆☆☆

Fried chicken served with cabbage salad

★★☆☆☆

Cheese chicken bulgogi (chicken bulgogi topped with cheese and spicy sauce)

★★★★☆

Kimchijeon (pan fried kimchi with vegetables and special flour batter)

★★☆☆☆

Dongaseu Don (deep fried marinated pork loin with rice)

★★☆☆☆

Overall:

Slightly cramped seating, efficient service, good portions, fantastic value. (eg. the Dongaseu Don was only $6!)

CJ Lunch Bar

Shop 2/391 Little Lonsdale St, Melbourne

(03) 9602 1155

Mama’s Buoi

Mama’s Buoi is all about authentic home-style Vietnamese cuisine. Unlike other Vietnamese restaurants, this place offers more than just pho noodle soup and rice paper rolls. Co-owner Tin Ly explained to us that he could never get his favourite Vietnamese dish “caramelised pork belly hot pot” from anywhere but home. I had never even heard of this dish before and couldn’t wait to try it out.

Chicken and pork liver pate with sesame crackers

Pulled duck pancakes with hoi sin sauce

Rice noodles stuffed with pork, mushroom and fried shallot

Shell on school prawns with salt, pepper and citrus

Steak roll Vietnamese salad wrap with citrus and green chilli dressing

Roast pork belly and crackling with pickled veg

Reconstructed Can Chua (sour soup) with fried noodles, mussels, calamari and prawn

Ginger chicken stir fry with bok choi

Steamed barramundi wrapped in bamboo with lemongrass, chilli and citrus dressing

Mushroom and snow pea stir fry

Caramelised pork belly hot pot with boiled egg

Reconstructed three colour drink with black jelly, pandan jelly, rum and mung bean puree, basil seeds, jack fruit and coconut milk

Lychee & Watermelon Martini

(vodka and lychee liqueur muddled with lychees and watermelon)

Overall:

Talk about being well fed. Not only did the food look amazing, it also tasted fresh and delicious. The standout dishes for me were the chicken and pork liver pate, the shell on school prawns, the reconstructed three colour drink and of course the caramelised pork belly hot pot! The cocktail list here was also quite interesting. I wasn’t daring enough to try their ‘pho’ cocktail, however I was pretty happy with my lychee & watermelon martini.

Mama’s Buoi has opened me up to a whole new range of Vietnamese food. With its cheery homely atmosphere (bright colours, raw timber tables, festoon lighting, photo album-like menu), this is a place I would gladly return to.

Mamas Buoi

Mama’s Buoi

G25 Postal Lane, GPO, Melbourne, VIC

(03) 9671 3426

Home

*Disclaimer: I dined as a guest of Mama’s Buoi.

Flavours of Asia Market Festival – 28 February 2015

I was recently lucky enough to be invited to a sneak preview for the Flavours of Asia Market Festival that is part of the 2015 Melbourne Food & Wine Festival and Sportingbet Blue Diamond Stakes Day. The Flavours of Asia Market Festival is one of the first events on the 2015 Melbourne Food & Wine Festival calendar and will feature a range of delicacies from across the continent, cooking demonstrations and live entertainment. The festival is designed to bring together an array of authentic Asian street food with dishes starting from $5. Expect to find delicious menu items from Hammer & Tong, Hoy Pinoy, Wonderbao, Overdosa, Lankan Tucker, Uncle, Gogi and Eat the Chicken.

What: Sportingbet Blue Diamond Stakes Day – Flavours of Asia Market Festival

When: Saturday 28 February 2015

Time: 12:00pm – 6:00pm

Where: Caulfield Racecourse, Station Street, Caulfield

Cost: Adult $20, Concession $10, Children Under 14 Free (includes admission to the racecourse and the Flavours of Asia Market Festival.)

Tickets available via: mrc.racing.com

Now onto the menu preview. So when we first arrived we had the opportunity to sample the Flavours of Asia Market Festival’s feature cocktail ‘The Market Mule With A Kick’ which was a fusion of vodka, dry ginger ale, lime and chilli. I was a little apprehensive about the chilli at first but it actually gave this refreshing cocktail a nice gentle heat. It was seriously good. So before I knew it I had polished off my cocktail and I had forgotten to take a photo of it. Whoops. Here’s a picture of a lady dancing instead.

Wonderbao’s Pork Bao

Fluffy steamed buns filled with sweet tender pork

★★★☆☆

Hoy Pinoy’s Lechon Kwali (slow braised and crispy fried pork belly with buco, chilli and yemma sauce)

Absolutely incredible! Delicious sauce, super crispy crackling and pork that simply melts in your mouth.

★★★★☆

Hammer & Tong’s Red and Black rice salad (pomegranate, broad beans, peas, mint & grapefruit mignonette)

A light rice salad with a lot of flavour and texture.

★★★☆☆

Marinated barbecued skewers cooking over a customary BBQ from Hoy Pinoy. Candied meat. Mmmmmm. Notice that the skewers are delightfully sizeable!

Inihaw na Baboy (pork belly skewers in banana ketchup glaze)

★★★☆☆

Inihaw na Manok (chicken skewers in traditional soy glaze)

★★★★☆

Wonderbao’s ‘Roast Pork Belly Gua Bao’ with cucumber, pickled carrots, daikon & hoisin sauce and ‘Fried Silky Tofu Gua Bao’ with pickled mustard, coriander and crushed peanuts.

★★★☆☆

We also had the opportunity to see the making of Hammer & Tong’s famous Soft Shell Crab Burgers .

It isn’t surprising that up to 1000 soft shell crab burgers are sold during a night at Queen Victoria’s Wednesday Night Market!

Soft Shell Crab Burger (brioche bun, sriracha mayo, sesame seed slaw, soft shell crab, spring onion and coriander)

The perfect soft shell crab burger.

★★★★★

Wonderbao’s Ice cream Gua Bao (golden fried bao dusted with sugar and filled with sesame seed ice cream, caramel and nuts)

★★★☆☆

*Disclaimer: I dined as a guest of Melbourne Racing Club

Hammer & Tong

Rear 412 Brunswick St, Fitzroy, VIC

(03) 9041 6033

Home

Hoy Pinoy

Location varies, Melbourne, VIC

Wonderbao

4/19-37 A’Beckett St, Melbourne, VIC

(03) 9654 7887

Mister Jennings

Frozen kangaroo, wasabi, nashi

As soon as I began chewing this icy cold dish, I realised that frozen meat is not something I enjoy. The idea is for the meat to thaw in your mouth thereby changing its flavour and texture. It was an interesting experience but not for me.

★☆☆☆☆

GMS sirloin

★★☆☆☆

Pork, lime pickle, silverbeet

★★☆☆☆

Overall:

Small portions, efficient service, orderly decor. Not a place I am likely to return to.

Mister Jennings

142 Bridge Rd, Richmond, VIC

(03) 9078 0113

http://misterjennings.com.au/

Cafe On Eaton

12 Eaton St, Oakleigh 9568 4668

Open Pork Yiros Plate with Greek salad, Pita bread, Tzatziki and Chips

Generous portions however the pork was slightly dry and salt needed to be added to the chips.

★★

Chicken Yiros Souvlaki (wrapped in lightly grilled pita)

The chicken was deliciously moist, the yogurt sauce was terrific and the fresh salad gave the souvlaki delightful crunch.

★★★

Overall:

Quick service, simple decor, tasty souvlakis. Note that orders here are taken at the counter.

O.My

23 Woods St, Beaconsfield 9769 9000

House-made bread with cultured butter

Fabulously soft bread, and the cultured butter was absolutely delicious as it had a noticeably fresh, tangy and of course buttery flavour

= Good

Pastrami cured salmon in pork broth with radish and watercress

Fresh salmon, fantastic pork broth

= Good

2.5 hour roasted cauliflower, leek, red wine gel, fresh grapes

Cauliflower is one of my least favourite vegetables but this dish was seriously amazing.

= Excellent

Homegrown leaves, King Prawns, King Prawn powder

The King Prawn powder was rather salty and overpowering so only a tiny bit was needed and the rest just got pushed to the side

= Good

Dehydrated and powdered mushrooms, dehydrated jerusalem artichoke

= Excellent

Pork, dehydrated carrot, parsnip puree, oats, jam

= Not bad

Honeycomb, caramel, Italian merigue, crème fraîche, sticky date

= Not bad

Buttermilk gel, buttermilk foam, coffee gel, honeycomb, chocolate mousse tart, chocolate sorbet, sweet potato gel, dehydrated sweet potato, fresh grape

An odd assortment of items that tasted fine on their own but not so fine once they were combined together

= Not bad

Overall:

Three brothers (Tyson, Blayne and Chayse Bertoncello) own and run this family business, and it is a business that they should definitely be proud of. The food here was innovating (we noticed that the chef had a fondness for food that was dehydrated, in powder form and in gel form) and was genuinely fresh. The menu here constantly changes according to produce that is in season and the produce that they use is locally grown. They even use herbs and vegetables that they grow organically themselves! After our meal one of the Bertoncello brothers (not sure which) enthusiastically showed us the beautiful garden that they have out the back. He informed us that this was one of many gardens that they owned and that the plan is to get a beehive and possibly some chickens (for fresh eggs) some time in the future. He also mentioned that during the warmer seasons they have a few tables available in the garden so that diners are able to enjoy their meal amongst the greenery.

Throughout the night service was fantastic however the ambience was somewhat dark and moody. The intimate dining area (which seats no more than 30 people) was predominately black, and the artwork here can best be described as eccentric (particularly this one painting of a pig that had bright red blood seeping from its gouged eye). Note that O.My also have a private dining room at the back that can seat 10 or so people, and that they are closed on Mondays and Tuesdays.

KOBA

119 Hardware St, Melbourne 9973 8425

Korean Sliders

Sweet brioche bun served with short rib patties, Korean slaw, ssamjang mayo and crispy onion rings

= Excellent

Beef Taco

Marinated beef, tomato salsa, kimchi and Korean slaw

= Not bad

Kimchi Fries

Crispy fries topped with cheese, kimchi sauce, onion relish and sour cream

These fries were so addictive. Who knew Kimchi and fries went so well together?

= Good

Koba Fried Chicken Wings (Soy Garlic)

Not so crispy but well flavoured juicy chicken wings, with a sprinkling of quinoa for added texture

= Good

Spicy Pork Korrito

Sweet marinated pork, kimchi rice, melted cheese, tomato salsa and kimchi

= Good

Overall:

Incredibly tasty Korean-Mexican fusion! Service was quick and the staff were very helpful and friendly. Note that there is limited seating here (as this place is tiny) so grabbing takeaway is a good idea.

Kong BBQ

Smoked Brisket with Ssamjang and Kimchi Bun

★★★★☆

Spicy Pork Belly with Pickled Cucumber and Kong Crazy Horse Chilli Bun

★★★☆☆

Korean Fried Wings with Honey, Garlic and Sesame

Super sticky, super sweet

★★☆☆☆

BBQ Corn with Chilli Salt and Miso Butter

★★☆☆☆

Kong Bossam BBQ Tray – Pulled Chicken and Pork, Pork Belly and Beef Brisket, Pickled Kimchi, Walnut Ssamjang and Lettuce

★★☆☆☆

Teriyaki Roast Ora King Salmon, Wok Fried Broccoli and Tomato Roti Roll

★★★☆☆

Pulled Pork with Slaw, Kimchi and Burnt Chilli Mayo Roti Roll

★★☆☆☆

Overall:

We came on a late Sunday afternoon (to avoid the queues) and were immediately seated. The place was bright and open with the kitchen being in plain view from the dining area, and the service was very efficient. The ‘Chin Chin’ cookbooks that were neatly lined up along one of the shelves remind you that Chris Lucas (the brains behind this place) is also the brains behind other restaurants such as Chin Chin on Flinders Lane and Baby pizzeria in Richmond.

The fusion of American, Korean and Japanese flavours create a very unique menu here at Kong BBQ. So if you are a fan of Asian fusion cuisine, this place is definitely for you.

Kong BBQ

599 Church St, Richmond, VIC

(03) 94271307

https://www.kongbbq.com.au/

East of Everything

Level 3, 72 Auburn Parade, Camberwell 9882 4216

Cajun sweetcorn fritters with avocado salsa

Crispy fritters packed with juicy corn kernels and lightly drizzled with a spicy Cajun sauce. My only complaint with this dish was that there should have been more of the terrific avocado salsa!

= Good

Pulled pork quesadilla

Sweet smoky pork. Delicious!

= Good

The “Dom” – beef debris served on a bed of crispy chips with Cajun remoulade and pickles

If only this dish came with slightly more beef and slightly less chips it would have been perfect.

= Good

Southern fried chicken Po’Boy

Crispy tender chicken + fresh crunchy coleslaw = a winning combination

= Good

Peanut butter and chocolate cheesecake

Solid and difficult to cut through, this sweet homemade cheesecake was reminiscent of a Snickers bar.

= Not bad

Overall:

Quietly hidden away up a small flight of stairs, East of Everything know how to serve up some great Southern food. The menu is small and simple, the atmosphere relaxed and the staff friendly.