Ay Oriental Tea House

I love the mango pudding that you get at yum cha - I think you can get instant mango pudding but I'm yet to try. Ay Oriental Tea House is what I would brand "posh yum cha" - not quite the loud food on a trolley experience in Chinatown or in Box Hill, and not so cheap that you roll out of the restaurant having only spent $15 a head.

Having opened a series of Ay tea shops and the Prahran restaurant David's, the owner opened Ay Oriental Tea House combining tea shop and restaurant in this "Shanghainese tea house". The tea list - for both purchase and consumption - is of course long and varied with recommendations for steamed and fried foods. The decor is "ye Shanghai" - think East meets West, art deco, red pillars, Shanghai in its hey day - and if you need dim sum at night, this is the place to go.

This photo was just at the start and how much food you get is dependent on how good the service is. Unfortunately this can vary depending on the number of diners and the number of staff on. You might be happy to order a la carte and I believe this was the original intention, but trays of food are brought out and I like seeing what the kitchen decides to send out - although inevitably, the one thing that you really wanted will be brought out at the end when you can't eat any more!

You'll get the usual choices but the food is good and there is a much smaller chance of getting a soggy dumpling or octopus swimming in oil (as you may in a restaurant churning out food for the masses). The Shanghainese fare like the dumplings were magnificent. Note that you do purchase tea by the cup (a big earthen mug); given "yum cha" means to drink tea you'd expect to get a refill, one mug just didn't do the trick.

Ay Oriental Tea House
455 Chapel Street,
South Yarra

Jackie's Kitchen

When Mellie talked about Jackie's Kitchen, I should have remembered the name.

I've now been there twice for dinner and had completely mixed experiences. The first time the service was really good and the food was ok. (You're not there for gourmet dining.) The last time... well when you're going to make a table of people shuffle around to create a gap for serving through, use it! We almost had food poured down us as the waiter shoved between two of us - in the "non-serving gap". This was weird: I thought I left my scarf at the restaurant and rang up, I was asked if I was sure I didn't leave a hat; oh that's why my scarf never wrapped around my neck?!

It's supposed to be really good for yum cha so maybe I'll test that out one day. There's a wall of Jackie Chan merchandise, I wonder how many T-shirts and jackets are sold as I know I'm not about to pay $300 for a puffy jacket! The thing is Jackie Chan apparently doesn't even have much to do with the restaurant, I think he grants naming rights and gets appearance fees in return.

I always look for the positive, there was plenty of parking at Shoppingtown!

Bluefire

We'd noticed lots of restaurants opening in Melbourne Central and thought we'd go for dinner and a movie. Conveniently located next to the Hoyts cinema was Bluefire (part of the Rivers group that also runs the restaurant cruise on the Yarra amongst many other things it seems) and seeing a good sized crowd, we thought we'd venture in. The restaurant is massive because it is split into 2 sections, the Churrascaria and the more casual pizza and tapas area.

The tapas menu was inviting so we decided to try the casual dining. Unfortunately most of the seafood items (those that did sound delicious) were no longer available but as per the photo, we tried the Moroccan meatballs, the crumb fried haloumi wrapped with prosciutto and the marinated octopus (no longer paired with mussel). The capsicum sauce for the meatballs was definitely required as the meat was a little dry and the haloumi was disappointingly chewy (it squeaked against my molars!) and far too salty to be paired with the prosciutto. But the marinated octopus was tangy and tender and that saved the platter.

Considering one origin of tapas is that a slice of bread would be put on top of drinks (tapa = lid in Spanish) to stop the flies from falling in and a snack later added on top of the bread, we weren't going to fill up on "snacks" and also had some pizza. We picked the Pork & Pancetta which had smoked pork and pancetta, with an onion compote, artichoke hearts, capsicum, parmigiano and mozzarella - all "glazed with BlueFire’s herb oil and a hint of spice". Yum! Not too greasy and they put real meat on the pizza. Other combinations were also enticing, Brazilian Fiesta (chicken and jalapeno salsa), Latino Chorizo... will be back!

But what I was disappointed in not being able to try was the dessert selection - I was too full, dessert stomach must have been used up! Check out this photo... no, behind the cute little cakes... that is flowing hot chocolate!! "Hot chocolate" is the "chocolate and coffee bar" offering cakes and home made ice-cream and liquer, all with a shot of hot chocolate.


What movie did we watch? Superman Returns we really enjoyed it and in fact tried to take some younger relatives (aged seven and eleven) last week. Maybe it's a generation thing, I remember growing up and watching Christopher Reeve's movies so I was looking forward to this version, but the seven year old was like "Superman? Nah, I want Click." Hmm, superman is a classic now? Ladies, Brandan Routh is easy on the eye and men, you have Kate Bosworth... although I really want to take the girl to Bluefire and feed her!!

Bluefire
Level 3, Melbourne Central
La Trobe St side

Builders Arms Hotel

I added back my Somerset Rarebit post with recipe.

But I bring you the Builders Arms Hotel...
The outside is deceiving; you think you're just going into a pub that has live music nights, but out the back is a sleek room of black and white wallpaper, red banquettes, a mirrored wall and funky flower lights as per the picture. (The same light fittings as Lounge Downstairs - the old Viz - on Swanston St!) This is a vibrant place to meet friends for a well-priced meal out. The dishes that dominate seem to me to be fusion Moroccan; not pub "parma and a pint" cuisine but you're not here for complicated flavours and new offerings either.

The above picture is of the chorizo salad. I didn't actually have it so I can't tell you how it tasted but I was told "fantastic so take a photo"! I did have the herb crusted veal which was just right - ie not soggy in the sauce - and it came with the most amazing pumpkin mash as an accompaniment. It's only pumpkin you say, but it was oh so sweet and creamy. From memory, the wine selection featured a few French entries but it was mostly Australian and a good selection. You won't break the bank for a great night out!

Builders Arms Hotel
211 Gertrude St
Fitzroy
(03) 9419 0818

Lord of the Fries

No, it's not a typo... Lord of the Fries (website isn't developed!) is a specialty "fries" shop that sells burgers too. You'll find fries covered in "international sauces" - aussie, mexican, poutine... Of interest was the Poutine; not only is this French-Canadian delicacy a whole discussion topic in itself, there was a friendly lady in line telling all within earshot about the wonders of poutine as she is from Quebec.

I just felt like sauce so "aussie" it was but now I know where to find my poutine!


Lord of the Fries
Cnr of Elizabeth and Flinders Sts,
Melbourne

J Cafe

I discovered this cute Japanese cafe on Exhibition St and went back to try their "Sushi Burger". Apparently it's a "concept" only available at J's - which incidentally has a mouthful of a restaurant name! The burger in the picture is the Kani Croquet burger which is a creamy crab croquet, lettuce and mayonaise based sauce, sandwiched between 2 "buns" made of rice with a sheet of seaweed wrapped around the whole structure. It even came in a polystyrene burger box.

It doesn't matter that you can pick up a piece or roll of sushi, it was weird picking up this rice block - but it tasted really good! There was a nice balance between the croquet's crunchy outer shell and the fluffy, creamy filling, the sauce was tasty and the rice didn't fall apart! I'm keen to go back to try the other varieties and there were some interesting sounding changing burger specials - although octopus was on offer the other day and all I could think of was tendrils poking out of a burger!

I've tried their lunch bento boxes and this place puts a lot of care into ensuring even the little accompanying dish isn't the usual carelessly tossed piece of lettuce sprinkled with beansprouts. The staff are friendly and although not cheap compared to a city deli sandwich, this place is worth going to.

Question that comes to mind: according to Wikipedia, "a cafe is a type of restaurant" and "cafes usually serve coffee and snacks", whereas "a restaurant is a place where prepared food is sold to the public". So what's a cafe restaurant?


Japanese Cafe Restaurant J
167 Exhibition Street
Melbourne

When it's 42C in Melbourne...

... except it said 45C on the car outside temperature guage! Well, it's been a weekend of icecream eating because what else is there to do when the mercury's rising?

Trampoline - gelato with flavour, made on site, hip.
I've been to the ones in Fitzroy and Hawthorn but they are slowly venturing further, with one opening soon in the city on Swanston St. There really is so much flavour!!
Especially recommend: Bloody Orange, Chocolate Crackle, and The Mint.

Gelo Bar - popular, icon. 74 Lygon St, East Brunswick.
Apparently there was a 10 minute wait as the queue extended to the back of the shop yesterday. Today wasn't as bad but we still queued past the tempting cake and biscuit display... if only we don't fill up on ice-cream each time!
Old favourites: Ciccolato, Nocciola
New, please keep it on the menu: Grape