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Jack Horner, Brunswick East

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1 September 2015

MELBOURNE | Jack Horner Brunswick East is the newest venture from Pope Joan owner Matt Wilkinson. Occupying a space at one corner of the Tip Top apartment development just off Lygon Street, Jack Horner is part delicatessen, part canteen, part milk bar, part cafe. Prior to opening Jack Horner, Wilkinson expressed a desire to find the tastiest food and flavours and his belief in in-season produce and put that into a community element. Has he succeeded?

The space certainly has a “canteen” vibe about it, an open kitchen displays a variety of meals, hot and cold for people to choose from. Whether it’s one of the 4 hot meals bubbling away on the induction cook-top, a roast chicken, a seasonal salad or a sandwich, there’s no shortage of choice. Simply grab a tray, slide it along the rails you remember from your childhood and purchase either 1 or a range of dishes as part of a combo.

For those who aren’t looking for a meal, the cafe counter offers a range of cakes, pastries and other ready-to-go options along with coffee and a few other drinks. Breakfast is also available, from a concise menu of toast, muesli, yoghurt, jaffles and a few not quite the full English hot options.

The aptly labelled “Beer” is in fact the Cavalier Pale Ale with a custom label. A solid choice for a house beer.

…and if you’re looking to grab a few high quality grocery items, there’s a section dedicated to that too. Bread, butter, milk and a focused range of products can be found in the grocery section, with a mixed assortment of local, high quality produce, niche imported items, and things like Cadbury chocolates and Kraft peanut butter. There’s not real rule to what’s on offer – it’s simply the stuff that Wilkinson thinks people might want and things that he personally likes and wants to sell.

As mentioned earlier, there are a range of food options available. Everything can be ordered individually however we went for 2 of the combo #1. The pricing is such that these combos do provide you with the best bang for your buck.

Canteen Combo #1 ($14.00)

Combo #1 gets you 2 small salads and a sandwich. We went for the vegetarian Gardener sandwich and the Beef & Black Bean sandwich. Individually these go for $6.00 each. The sandwiches were both quite tasty. I preferred the Gardener while Lauren enjoyed the Beef & Black Bean more. Both were undeniably of top quality, with the freshness of the produce really shining through.

The salads are constantly rotating. For one of our combos we chose the Asian coleslaw and the winter tabouleh. Very fresh and light, these salads really hit the mark.

We also went for the roast pumpkin wedges with smoked yoghurt as well as a Cajun brown grain salad. Again, the flavours were spot on here – nothing fancy, just classic flavours done right and allowed to shine.

Medium Salad Plate ($14.00)

Also offered are small, medium and large salad plates. You can choose whatever you want until the plate is full, and our friend was quite happy with her selection of salads.

Coffee beans are provided by Allpress Espresso, and is served äs you like it”. The espresso was exactly what was required to start the day, with the “Supremo” blend having a slightly nutty element to it.

There are a range of pastries and sweets available at the counter, and I fell for the old sales trick of placing something appetising near the register. Needless to say, my decision to purchase this raw chocolate and salted caramel slice wasn’t regretted.

We like what Matt Wilkinson has done with Jack Horner. The concept fills a niche that’s been left open in Melbourne for a while now, namely the availability of high quality, precooked meals for those who live busy lifestyles. We made use of these sorts of stores when we lived in London and it’s nice to see a similar sort of thing finally happening here. The service was great and the food was tasty, however we can’t fail to mention the pricing, which is undeniably on the high side for both the cooked food and the groceries. You always have to pay more for quality and convenience, and only time will tell as to where the balance between price and willingness to pay lies in this fast developing part of town. It’s definitely a concept we want to see succeed.

Jack Horner

179 Weston Street
Brunswick East
Victoria 3057
Australia

Telephone: (03) 8534 8999
Email: [email protected]
Website: http://jackhorner.net/

Open
Mon – Fri: 7:00am to 8:30pm
Sat – Sun: 8:00am to 4:00pm

Gas-Light Izakaya Launches

Paul

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31 August 2015

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MELBOURNE | Gas-Light Izakaya Collingwood is a collaboration between The Gasometer Hotel and Northern Light. The Gasometer Hotel dates back to the 1800s and has been through a few incarnations in its time. Since current owners Clint Fisher (Retreat Hotel) and Shan Vanderwert (The Post Office Hotel) took over in 2014, they’ve been running it as a pub with a band room featuring independent local bands. It feels like a proper pub, the kind of pub that seems to be disappearing from Melbourne. While the guys have nailed the pub/live music side of things, the food has been harder to pin down, with a failed American BBQ experiment being one of the few things that has been tried.

Adam Liston, head chef and co-owner of Northern Light has his finger on the pulse when it comes to Japanese food in Melbourne. He’s one of the most passionate chefs we’ve encountered when it comes to Japanese food and he uses authentic flavour and techniques that we rarely see outside of Japan. He’s not about what you think Japanese food is, he’s about what Japanese food actually is. The collaboration between “The Gaso” and Northern Light might seem unusual at first, but makes a lot of sense when you think about it. In Japan, Izakayas are a huge part of the late night culture and what are the hallmarks of a proper Izakaya? Good beer and food that works well with beer. The City Lane was invited to the launch of Gas-Light Izakaya and we were keen to see what was on offer.

Northern Light’s sous chef Joel Baylon will be heading up the kitchen, which features 2 binchotan white charcoal grills that have come directly from Japan. It might but pub grub, but all of the produce is ethically sourced, hormone free and, where possible, organic. On the drinks front, along with a range of local craft beers on tap and in bottles, wines and spirits, you’ll now be able to get Sapporo, Orion and a few sakes too.

Jalapeno & Cheese Korokke, Shichimi Togarashi

These are really moreish and the heat comes not so much from the jalepeno, but from the molten deep fried cheese that oozes out when you take your first bite. Total comfort food and something you don’t see enough of in Australia – deep fried cheese is super common in Izakayas in Japan.

Chicken Thigh & Pork Belly Yakitori

There’s a range of yakitori on offer at Gas-Light Izakaya and it’s just what yakitori is supposed to be. The chicken was minimally seasoned with some lemon and shichimi pepper, and the beautiful smoked flavours from the binchotan charcoal came through nicely.

The pork belly yakitori was equally delicious.

Katsu Sando

There are a few katso sandos on offer, which are basically sandwiches with deep fried crumbed meat inside. At Gas-Light Izakaya they are done more in the style of a burger which really works. We tried the tonkatsu (fried pork loin) with cabbage and cheese. Ridiculously tasty.

Chicken Rib Karaage

Crispy fried chicken. Speaks for itself really.

Wok Fried Greens and Shoots, Oyster Sauce

If you wanted something light to break up your meal, there is salad.

Pork Loin Katsu & Field Mushroom Katsu

There are a few katsu options on offer too. We tried the classic pork loin katsu or “tonkatsu”. It’s served atop a raised metal tray so that it doesn’t go soggy with tonkatsu sauce, cabbage and lemon on the side – proper Japanese style.

There are actually several vegetarian options on the menu, including these tasty morsels of deep fried mushroom.

Of course there was live music on the night. It’s encouraging to see someone buy a pub these days and reinstate, rather than remove, the band room

Much deserved chill-out time for the kitchen crew and some of the bar staff after keeping us well fed, with drinks in our hands through the night.

If you’re into great live music and want to enjoy some authentic Japanese pub food along with some great drinks, Gas-Light Izakaya is for you. It might not look it from the outside, but the food you’re getting in here is the real deal – authentic Japanese pub grub. Kanpai!

Gas-Light Izakaya

The Gasometer Hotel
484 Smith Street
Collingwood
Victoria 3066
Australia

Telephone: (03) 9416 3335
Email: [email protected]
Website: http://www.thegasometerhotel.com.au/

Open
Tue – Wed: 5:30pm to 9:30pm
Thu: 5:30pm to 10:00pm
Fri – Sat: 12:00pm to 10:00pm
Sun: 12:00pm to 9:00pm

Nutella Popup Comes To Melbourne

Paul

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30 August 2015

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MELBOURNE | Yes you heard right, there’s a Nutella Popup and it’s coming to Melbourne. The City Lane has been planning a popup for a little while and after several months of trying out recipes and using our secret tasting panel (ok, our mates) to help refine things, we are ready to unleash our creations on the Nutella crazed public. This isn’t sponsored by Nutella, it’s just us sharing something we love with all of you (well actually all of us except Lauren – despite being the one who came up with the recipes she ironically has a severe nut allergy).

On Saturday 12 September from 9:00am we will be taking over the front window of The Alehouse Project, which opens onto Lygon Street in Brunswick East. Here’s the deal – $10.00 gets you a Nutella “bento box” which contains one each of:

Nutella Peanut Butter S’mores
Nutella Salted Caramel Chocolate Truffle
Nutella & Maple Syrup Tart With Smoked Hickory Italian Meringue

Trust us, all 3 of these creations are as good as they sound. Be quick though, as there will only be 500 bento boxes available and when they’re gone, they’re gone. It’s takeaway only until the Alehouse opens up at midday – from then you’re more than welcome to enjoy your bento box inside, and maybe a craft beer or wine too.

We will also be serving up Japanese style V60 pour over coffee for $3.00 a cup using the delicious Hey Daddy filter blend from Padre Coffee.

Something else that we will be doing is to share video of the behind the scenes going ons in the days leading up to, and on the day of, the Nutella Popup. Follow us on Snapchat (thecitylane) to get a sneak peak us attempting to put this thing together.

We’re really excited about our first popup and would love to see you on the day. Oh and one more thing, it’s cash only. Buon appetito!

Nutella Popup

When: Sat 12 September, from 9:00am

Cost: Nutella Bento Box $10.00; Filter Coffee $3.00. Cash Only. Limit 1 box per person.

Where: The Alehouse Project. 100 Lygon Street, Brunswick East

Untraditional Vietnamese Pho: Recipe

Lauren

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29 August 2015

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I discovered Pho in my early 20s when I was working in a predominately Vietnamese area in Perth. I would often finish work late and the only place open was a little unassuming Vietnamese restaurant. The restaurant was tiny, white tiles on the floors and walls and only 4 tables with plastic chairs. Despite the sparse decor the aromas that would come from the kitchen were captivating. Here I tried Pho for the first time and really fell in love with this noodle soup. Pho is light yet it has an incredibly complex flavour thanks to the broth which slowly cooked over many hours.

Over the years I have altered this recipe many times and while my version of Pho isn’t exactly traditional, it’s a good option when you are craving a light, healthy, fragrant soup.

Preparation Time: 20 minutes / Cooking Time: 6 hours / Serves 6-8

Ingredients

2kg soup bones
1kg oxtail
5cm ginger, cut into slices
2 brown onion, cut in half
muslin cloth and string
1 cinnamon stick
15g whole coriander seeds
15g fennel seeds
6 cardamon pods
6 whole star anise
6 whole cloves
1 garlic clove, crushed
3L water
30g coconut sugar or brown sugar
30-60g nuoc mam

To serve:

1 soft boiled egg per portion, halved
1 bunch mint or perilla
1 bunch coriander
1 bunch thai basil
50g bean sprouts
250g rice noodles, cooked as per the packet’s instructions
2 birds eye chillies, sliced
2 limes, quartered
1 spring onion, sliced
30g fried shallots
oyster mushrooms (optional)
Hoisin sauce
Sriracha

Method

Heat a dry frying pan
Add the cinnamon, cloves, cardamom pods, star anise and fennel. Dry roast for 2 to 3 minutes.
Remove the spices from the pan and place them on a piece of muslin.
Gather the muslin around the spices and tie with string to form a bundle. Set aside.
Place the ginger and onion into the pan and cook for 5 minutes.
At the same time, add the soup bones and ox tail to a large pot. Brown the meat for 4-5 minutes.
Add the muslin bundle, water, onion, ginger and garlic to the pot.
Boil for 30 minutes.
Skim the top of the soup to remove any soup scum.
Reduce to a simmer for 5 hours. Skim the soup every hour.
After 5 hours add the sugar and wait for it to dissolve.
Remove the broth from the heat.
Discard the bones, onion, garlic, ginger and muslin bundle, however retain any meat that may be in the broth.
Add the nuoc mam (fish sauce) a little at a time, tasting the broth as you go to obtain the level of saltiness you want.
To serve, place some rice noodles in a bowl, add whatever combination of toppings from the list above you would like. Add a few ladles of broth and enjoy.

Notes

If skimming the pot is a little to time consuming, you can complete the first skimming then wait until to the broth has finished boiling. Remove the bones then allow the broth to completely cool. Once it has cooled down you will be able to easily scoop off the fat layer which has formed on top. Then you can return the broth to heat and warm it through. Then continue with Step 14.

Border Force Melbourne Dining Guide

Paul

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28 August 2015

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Edit: People power has won this round. The Victorian Police and Australian Border Force have cancelled the operation.

Authorities have recently announced that this weekend will see the arrival of a combined border patrol force to Melbourne. This crack team will be checking people for visas in Melbourne’s Central Business District (electronically, you won’t need your actual papers) in a way they have assured the public will not be racially motivated.

To assist the authorities with “promoting civil cohesion”, and to avoid your personal rights being violated, here are a few suggestions to beat the blues, so to speak.

Dining

We know you really wanted to get Chinese food this evening, but perhaps you would prefer something closer to home. Maybe a meat pie from 7-Eleven? Perhaps something deep fried? The important thing is to act like an Australian from Australia doing typical Australian things. You might be able to get away with a souvlaki, but we wouldn’t risk it.

Drinking

We know you’re a great fan of beer of all types and from all countries but maybe this weekend you should stick to something closer to home. Carlton Draught and Victoria Bitter should be safe (although their foreign ownership may get more attention than you like) or you could try wine from one of the many great Australian wineries. Consider going to an English pub, because as we all know, English people never overstay their visas.

In the end, whatever you do, we wish you the best of luck in keeping your privacy this weekend.

The City Lane team.

London Chicken Wing Challenge

Paul M

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27 August 2015

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LONDON | We had a mission. It was simple. We wanted to find the best chicken wings in London. And so The City Lane’s first ever London chicken wing challenge was born. Doing this on our own would have been tough. There are only so many portions of chicken wings we could get through, so fortunately we were able to enlist the help of 4 friends to help us find a winner – and they eagerly accepted the challenge.

Each person was assigned a contender. The planning and co-ordination was meticulous. We needed to make sure all contributions arrived at their optimal eating temperature. There is rumour that the planning and execution of the challenge will form the skeleton plot of the next Ocean’s film. The highlight of which will no doubt be how George Clooney’s chin copes with so much buffalo sauce.

Once the signal was given we descended on the 6 venues, collected 12 chicken wings, and met in a central location. We selected Liverpool Street as a meeting point due to the plethora of solid wing options that are easily reached on foot from the station. It just wasn’t going to be possible to get wings from opposite sides of the city for the one challenge (although it does give us an excuse for running another one in a different part of London). In no particular order the contenders were:

MEATmission – 15 Hoxton Market, London, N1 6HG
Sticky Wings – 40 Brick Lane, London E1 6R
The Orange Buffalo – Old Truman Brewery, E1 6QL
Bodeans – Various locations around London including Soho, Clapham, Old Street, Tower Hill, and Balham
Patty & Bun – Various locations including Liverpool Street, Marylebone, and London Fields
Clutch – 4 Ravenscroft Street, London E2 7QG

Some of these venues focus their talent purely on chicken wings. In others it can be seen as perhaps more of a sideshow to their more well-known offerings. We were pitting the old vanguard (Bodeans-a first mover on the London BBQ scene) against relative newcomers on the London wing scene. Broadly, the wings fall into the three camps: Asian, BBQ or Buffalo. In an effort to not cloud the competition too much, we went for each venue’s signature wing. As MEATmission and Clutch both offer distinct two types of wings (with neither being a “signature” wing), we put 2 from each of them to the test.

We tried each wing and then cast our vote, rating each wing 1 out of 10, 10 being the best. In a testament to the mantra that every vote counts—the winner captured first by a fraction. Without further ado, here are the results from last to first place. Here’s the before and after shots.

8. Clutch: Honey & Sesame (6.2 points)

Perhaps the most obscure choice in the line-up, Clutch is located just off Columbia Road. They tote themselves as “the home of guilt free fried chicken”. All their meat is free range and the coating is made from free range eggs and free of trans-fat. Clutch offers 12 wings for £12.00 – we got lucky and they gave us half a dozen of each variety. We were definitely impressed with the size and quality of the chicken. This crispy sweet wing is very hoisin-esque but doesn’t really get the flavours right. For us, this wing is something you’d want as an appetizer only.

7. Clutch: Sour & Spicy Chilli (6.2 points)

The Asian inspiration definitely comes through in this wing. It is very hot, with slices of freshly cut chilli enhancing a spice kick that continues long after each mouthful has been swallowed. The spice is long lasting and the wing is quite bulky. Unfortunately for Clutch, it seems in a judging panel dominated by Americans their non-buffalo sauce offerings were least appealing. We wouldn’t say this is necessarily a bad thing, and the variety was certainly welcome after consuming so many chicken wings. We look forward to sampling more of Clutch’s menu in the future as there’s a lot of potential here.

6. Meat Mission: Sambal Wings (6.6 points)

MEATmission is part of the MEATliquor family which now commands locations across the UK (and Singapore). We are huge fans of their burgers and wanted to test how their wings stood up against the competition. MEATmission wings will set you back £7.00. We had big expectations given the use of spicy Indonesian sambal. These tender, messy wings have a mild sweetness and aren’t as hot you’d expect – if you’re going to use sambal, you have to go hard!

5. Patty & Bun (7.2 points)

Patty & Bun is arguably the home of London’s best burgers. We’ve been several times for burgers but not everyone on the panel had tried the Patty & Bun chicken wings before, so expectations amongst this lot were high. The winger winger chicken dinner costs £5.50 and will provide you with a nice serving of chicken wings that have gone through an 18 hour confit cooking process – definitely the longest cook of any of the wings on this challenge!

These wings are super tender and instantly fall of the bone. We recognise that the optimal level of heat and sweet balance in any dish is a matter of personal preference, and these wings were a bit too sweet for some of the judges. While they work well as a side to a burger, they do become a bit sickly when eaten stand alone. If you haven’t tried them before, we highly recommend giving them a try along with a burger, just watch out for the mess, and don’t try them on a first date!

4. MEATmission: Bingo Wings (8 points)

The Bingo Chicken wings (£7.00) are slathered in house-made buffalo hot pepper sauce, served with a blue cheese dip. These wings are tender and very easy to eat, with a small zing after the wing touches the tongue. There’s a mild heat to each wing and noticeably, these wings have the least amount of meat compared to others in the challenge.

Much like Patty & Bun, MEATmission will serve you up some pretty tasty dishes to go with your wings. There are times in life when a Dead Hippie burger, bingo wings and fries are going to be tough to beat.

3. Bodeans (8.2 points)

We were expecting good things from this veteran contender. Bodeans is London’s original smoke house, and pre-dates the explosion of American themed casual dining around London. During the challenge we noticed that some of the wings mimicked the food from their restaurant. Close your eyes and the char grilled, smoky BBQ joint taste makes each wing almost mimick ribs.

Bodeans offer 6 large buffalo wings for £8.95. When they say large they aren’t kidding. 6 of the Bodeans wings were roughly equivalent to 12 from some of the other places in the challenge. The mixture of tangy and nutty flavours of these wings, combined with the classic American BBQ flavours meat that these rated highly. Everyone in the group was a fan. Definitely one of the contenders for the best chicken wings in London top spot.

2. The Orange Buffalo (8.4 points)

Last year, The Orange Buffalo won best Buffalo wing at the London Wing Fest and best “crazy” wing for the recipe they created especially for the event. They serve their free range chicken wings from a truck in Shoreditch just behind the Old Truman Brewery, but also have a permanent space at the Joker in Brighton.

We went for the signature buffalo wings, which are your typical all-American wings. They were reminiscent of Hooters world famous wings. They were swimming in a pool of sauce and had just the right amount of kick after each bite. The home made blue cheese was the perfect complement to moderate the spice of each bite. Buffalos may not have wings, but these wings were flying off the plate they were that good.

And the winner of The City Lane’s 2015 London Chicken Wing challenge is…

1. Sticky Wings (8.5 points)

Sticky Wings is a wing-lovers oasis in the middle of Brick Lane which touts itself as “the UK’s original buffalo wing shack”. Sticky wings has commanded accolades from several media outlets, and we’re happy to add our commendation to the list. Sticky Wings is a proper buffalo wing with a perfect orange hue. Buffalo sauce is made from butter, hot sauce, cayenne pepper, vinegar, garlic powder, salt, and Worcestershire sauce. The buffalo sauce blend has transformed the desirability of the chicken wing from the throw away cut to one very desirable bar snack. There are competing stories about the origin of buffalo sauce. Whatever the origin, we’d argue that it is the best damn export from the city of Buffalo.

Sticky Wings has both American and UK portion sizes to cater to every appetite (we went for the £9.99 “US Portion”). Some say that size isn’t everything, but when it comes to wings we beg to differ. These wings are massive and awesome, and served up with all that important side of blue cheese sauce.

Taste wise they hit all the right notes with the perfect amount of crunch. For the Americans on the panel, the moment these hit the tongue it was like we had been transported across the pond. We understand why these wings are consistently named the best wings in London. For now, we’d argue that these wings are the best you’ll find this side of New York. The wraps, burgers and cheesecake on offer are also well worth trying.

From the above, you can see that competition was tight and all the contenders performed above average. Finding the best chicken wings in London isn’t easy! None of these wings should walk (or is that fly) away feeling disappointed – as the saying goes “ain’t’ no thang but a chicken wang”. It was difficult to select the winner, but we sure had fun giving it a go. It’s great to see places experiementing with different flavours, but at the end of the day it was the flavours of the classic buffalo wings that hit the highest of notes. We look forward to another contest when we put South and West London’s wings to the test.

We encourage you to grab a wingman or wing woman and enjoy London’s flavourful wing scene. What do you think are the best chicken wings in London?

S02E08 – Season 2, Episode 8

Chris

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27 August 2015

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PODCAST | In this guest-filled episode, Chris and Paul drink something that claims to be an apple beer but doesn’t quite make the grade; guest host Annabel drinks a coffee induced porter and brings notes about it; and Ben takes a mystery beer challenge and quickly realises why it was the cheapest one on the menu. We also discover two really amazing beers from Lagunitas Brewing Company and fall a little bit in love with them.

And if not wasn’t enough, we find ourselves in awe of Stone Brewing Company’s very clever social media campaign that combines two things we love, hashtags and bottle caps.

Featured beers: Velvet by Homestead Brewery and RuinTen by Stone Brewing Company.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Captain Baxter, St Kilda

Jeff

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26 August 2015

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MELBOURNE | Captain Baxter St Kilda is located right on the foreshore and delivers Asian fusion cuisine in a waterfront setting. We were recently embarked on an afternoon of checking out bars south of the river so decided that this would be good place to stop in for some lunch at the start of our journey.

Captain Baxter is located within the broader St Kilda Sea Baths complex, and for anyone who has not been down there before (which we hadn’t) actually locating the venue can be a little tricky as it is not particularly well signed and we circled the building a couple of times before working out where to go – hint: if you’re standing in the car park it’s on the left side of the building.

Once inside we found a spacious dining area with a modern feel with a variety of seating arrangements including low tables, booths and high benches which caters for all preferences. The location of the restaurant on the corner of the building facing the water means that there is plenty of natural light and this combined with the internal lighting created a very pleasant atmosphere for our meal. The venue is also very child-friendly – one of our party had a young child and the staff were more than happy to arrange suitable seating for and there was plenty of space for her to wander around.

A location on the foreshore of course also means the potential for some amazing views and Captain Baxter does not disappoint in this regard either.

The drinks list at Captain Baxter is extensive, with a wide selection of Australian wines available both in bottle and by the glass, as well as a similarly impressive cocktail list that included a number which have been designed by the venue and represent twists on established classics – for example the Green Knoll Mojito which is a traditional mojito with watermelon and green tea and was very refreshing indeed. A wide variety of each of the major spirits is also available for those who don’t like to mix drinks. The beer list was short with a focus on lagers which is sensible given the setting, and we also found a few old favourites like the Hargreaves Hill ESB and the Stone and Wood Pacific Ale.

The food menu is designed for sharing, with a range of Asian-inspired food that either comes is multiple pieces or which is assembled by the diner (the so-called ‘DIY’ section). The staff were very knowledgeable and provided very helpful guidance on how many dishes we should order, information about the dishes themselves and dealing with dietary requirements.

Coconut Snapper Ceviche, Toasted Black Rice, Thai Basil & Scud Chilli ($17.00)

We started with the coconut snapper ceviche, which was done with black rice, basil and chilli. This dish was ‘saucier’ than a traditional ceviche, however the fish was prepared well and the coconut, basil and chilli flavours combined well to create a very enjoyable dish.

Fried Chicken & Peanut Spring Rolls With Betel Leaf Wraps ($13.00 for 3)

Our second starter was the fried chicken spring rolls – these were reasonably standard although on the plus side they were quite generously sized relative to spring rolls that you might get at other restaurants. The staff were also very happy to add an extra spring roll for us so that no-one missed out.

Sticky Beef, Steamed Buns, Peanut Sambal & Nashi Pear ($24.50)

Next up were the sticky beef steamed buns, which are Captain Baxter’s take on the Asian bao which is an ‘in food’ at present. The components themselves were excellent – the buns were soft and fluffy, the beef was tender and flavoursome, the sambal had a good amount of kick without being too spicy and the nashi pear salad provided a nice crunch to complete the dish. In terms of the method of service, the advantage of this approach is that individuals can customise the mix of the ingredients to suit their taste preferences – but the downside is that this can result in the the relative quantities of ingredients provided and/or the overall flavour balance being not quite right. On balance, whilst we liked the communal aspect of DIY food we would probably rather that the chef used their experience and knowledge of the ingredients to combine the elements so that the diner can enjoy the dish the way it is ‘supposed to be’.

Glazed Duck Pancakes, Cucumber, Spring Onion & Spicy Plum Sauce ($25.00)

We also ordered the duck pancakes from the DIY menu which were an interpretation of the another Asian classic, Peking Duck. This for us was a little bit of a let-down as the duck was done braised in the Western-style rather than roasted, the flavour and texture of the lettuce didn’t really work in this dish and the flavour of the pancakes was not quite to our liking. Also, unlike the beef which was easy to cut up and distribute, the fact that the duck provided was the drumstick made it a bit inconvenient to cut up so the DIY approach also didn’t really work for this dish.

Glazed Sticky Pork Belly With Mandarin, Chilli, Palm Sugar Caramel & Brown Rice ($34.00)

Next up was the pork belly, which was done with palm sugar caramel and chilli and served with brown rice. This for us was probably the standout dish of the day, the pork belly was tender, not too fatty and cooked perfectly and the caramel glaze added a nice sweetness that didn’t overpower the dish. The chillies were actually reasonably potent which was a nice surprise as often one can find the chillies used in Asian fusion food to be decidedly underwhelming which is usually an attempt to compromise between traditional Asian flavours and the Western palette. The brown rice was a nice addition also which helped to break up the flavour of the pork and avoid the ‘flavour fatigue’ that can arise when eating a very meaty dish.

We really enjoyed our meal at Captain Baxter and our experience there sent us off on our afternoon adventures both well fed and in excellent spirits. The combination of great views, a well-executed Australian interpretation of some classic Asian dishes, excellent service and an extensive drinks list means that we would recommend Captain Baxter to anyone looking for a place for a casual group meal south of the river.

Captain Baxter

St Kilda Sea Baths
10-18 Jacka Boulevard
St Kilda
Victoria 3182
Australia

Telephone: (03) 8534 8999
Email: [email protected]
Website: http://captainbaxter.com.au/

Open
Mon – Thu: 6:00pm to late
Fri – Sun: 12:00pm to late

Dinner At Your Door With EatFirst Home

Paul M

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25 August 2015

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LONDON | The City Lane was recently invited to try out a new London-based dinner delivery service, EatFirst Home. The premise being that you place an order online (up to 4:00 pm of the day you want delivery) and your high-quality chef-created meal is delivered to your door. It’s a space that’s set to become more competitive as people realise that supermarket frozen lasagne is a hideous crime against meal time.

In our time poor modern world it can be easy to compromise on our dinners. The problem is, once you do, you are probably making your dinner less interesting, tasty, varied, and/or affordable. The popularity of the ubiquitous cooking shows on TV suggests we don’t want boring, bland meals no matter how convenient they are.

We could just eat out right? Well yeah, you could. But you live in London, and you probably already do way more of that than you probably should. If you get to the end of the week and feel a little guilty about how many times you’ve eaten out, or if you have tentative plans to convert the under-used kitchen in to something more useful, like an extra bedroom, then you might want to start eating at home a bit more.

This is where EatFirst enter the picture.

Each day there are 5 mains, 1 dessert and 1 drink to choose from. These options rotate throughout the week, offering something for every taste. You can order for any weekday in the current week. Mains range in price from £6.95-£8.95. We were tempted by everything on offer on the day we ordered. However, after some careful deliberation we plumped for the Beef Osso Buco and the Gnocchi with Butternut Squash. The other options for that day – Grilled Salmon Teiryaki, Wild Mushroom Parpadelle and Braised Beef Tortellini – will have to wait for another day. For those curious about all things nutrition, the details are are there on each meal’s page.

The online ordering process could not be any simpler. After deciding what you want to eat, you then need to choose a delivery time slot from the list. Slots run throughout the evening in 30 minute blocks. We were conveniently kept updated about the progress of our meal delivery. First we were sent a reminder about it, and then notification that the driver was making their way towards us. The driver indeed arrived on time, right at the start of the delivery slot. With punctuality like this, you need not miss the latest scandalous twist in your favourite soap opera.

The convenience of the timing doesn’t end there. The meals we sampled, and so we assume all of them, have pretty consistent reheating instructions. Reheating is done in either the oven or the microwave, and at some point you will probably need to combine a variety o additional ingredients. Each meal comes with a few ingredients in separate containers all grouped together in one box per meal. The reheating instructions were printed on these boxes for each meal. Fortunately the abundant packaging is all recyclable.

Another winner for the convenience is that the main portion of the meal comes in a container that can be used for the whole reheating and combining process. So by the end of the meal you will only really end up needing to wash up whatever utensils you use. If you choose to eat straight out of the box, we’re not going to judge you. If you decide to eat straight out the box, using just your hands, we still won’t judge you, Neanderthal.

All of this is great, but if the food isn’t up to scratch it’s a bit pointless. Fortunately we can report that not only is the food pleasant to eat, you could be forgiven for thinking you were in the latest pop-up hipster restaurant designed to look like someone’s living room. In fact on close inspection, you pause and dwell on the notion it looks very much like your own living room.

The meals were very good. The Beef Osso Buco had been pre cooked to perfection, the beef falling away as you would hope. The saffron risotto brought back memories of eating down a hidden Milanese alley. At this point I’d like to apologise for not arranging the beef on to a bed of risotto as one might expect from this dish. I prefer clear segmentation in my meals! This is one of the real benefits of EatFirst, you can make a fool of yourself eating high-quality dinners and no one need ever know about it. Well, apart from the date you’ve fooled in to thinking you’ve just knocked up a restaurant quality dinner in your fairly basic kitchen.

The Gnocchi and Butternut Squash was also impressive. The gnocchi itself was spot on in texture – light and bouncy, with the creamy butternut squash paste adding rich flavours throughout. Both meals were ideally proportioned. Anyone who’s resorted to a supermarket ready meal will know the pain and immense sadness you feel when you realise just how little of the headline ingredient is in your meal. This is not the case here with EatFirst. You ordered a Beef dish? You get a beef dish! Not a garnish of beef flavours. We were suitably satisfied after completing our mains.

When we decided it was time to dig in to our Classic Italian Tiramisu, we realised that we had left it a little too long. The bottom layer of sponge fingers had become a bit mushier than we would normally enjoy however the taste was good. It was a generous portion though, and in hindsight we probably could have split 1 between 2 people and still been satisfied.

We think EatFirst has found themselves a nice little niche in the dinner market. There are many things we liked about EatFirst Home. The variety of meals on offer is the big initial plus. Combining the variety with minimal preparation at home is a revelation. Letting you place your order up until 4:00pm is a master stroke – given my mind has already wistfully wandered through all my options a couple of hours prior to that. I also think the price point is fair, given the quality of the meal on offer.

If you want to try EatFirst Home, I suggest you first check out the impressively large delivery map to make sure you are living in the right area. Make your selections, and if you are planning to heat in the oven, get the oven pre-heating a little before the driver arrives.

Food For Thought At Babu Ji

Paul

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25 August 2015

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MELBOURNE | Food For Thought is a new programme that’s been launched by Opportunity International Australia (“Opportunity”)and we were invited to kick things off in Melbourne at Babu Ji St Kilda. Opportunity is the Australian branch of global charity Opportunity International, which aims to provide financial solutions to those in poverty who have an entrepreneurial spark and need assistance to help them transform their lives by turning their ideas into reality. Opportunity provides assistance primarily by way of micro-loans and business education.

Many are hesitant to lend money to those in poverty, asking “how will they pay me back?”, however the repayment rate on these micro-loans averages 98%, which is better than that experienced by most financial institutions. Even more impressive is that these repayments are then recycled to help others in need. We were really impressed with what Opportunity does, and were happy to attend Melbourne’s first Food For Thought event and learn more about Opportunity, and of course experience some excellent authentic Indian food at Babu Ji.

Food For Thought is a campaign that’s aimed at raising money to use for micro-loans by way of a series of food related fundraisers across Australia. It’s as simple as that, and Opportunity Australia hopes that by the end of 2015 there will have been at least 100 of these events held across Australia, and that they will have been able to raise $100,000. To put things into perspective, this sum equates to providing 1,429 people with micro-finance loans to start their own businesses. Anyone can sign up to create their own fundraiser here.

Mani Waraich, owner of Babu Ji was very proud to be hosting Melbourne’s first Food For Thought fundraiser, and keenly told us about his own experiences and what the concept meant to him. He also put together a menu featuring a “greatest hits” of dishes from the restaurant for us to try. You’ve heard about what Opportunity Australia does, now it’s time to hear about the food.

Babu Ji aims to bring authentic Indian food to Melbourne, and the dishes on the menu span a range of regions from India’s central and northern regions. There are dishes on the menu that many Australian won’t have heard of, and this is not by chance. Mani wants to show Melburnians that there’s more to Indian food to curry, more to Indian food than heat. It’s about simple, home cooking, traditional dishes and a focus on quality produce and flavour.

The space is that of an nice Indian cafe and on the drinks front there’s a decent wine list and, see that beer fridge in the photo below? That’s full of craft beer, and customers are encouraged to go and take a look at the beers and help themselves to what looks interesting. Mani operates on trust and you pay for the bottles that are left on your table at the end of the meal.

Pani Puri

Pani Puri are fried puff pastry balls filled with mashed potatoes & chick peas. Tangy, sweet and spicy, they really tantalised a range of senses.

Achari Fish Taka

These tandoor cooked Atlantic salmon pieces with ginger, pickle and punch phoron were beautifully light and fragrant. Very different than the usual way I eat salmon at utterly delicious.

Bharwa Mushroom

This is the kind of dish that make you realise that being vegetarian isn’t as hard as it sounds. I love meat, but there’s not denying that there are some amazing vegetarian options out there, with Indian being one of the highlight cuisines. The Bharwa mushroom is a stuffed mushroom with spinach and green sweet corn kernels. Texturally interesting and very tasty.

Tandoori Chicken

A classic Indian dish, and for good reason. Marinated spiced free range chicken cooked in the tandoor. Succulent, tender and delicious.

Batata Vada

This is a popular street food item from Mumbai, and consists of a spiced lentil and potato parcel topped with fresh radish, mint and tamarind. The tamarind really stands out here, and it’s a unique little bite.

Lamb Gushtaba

This ground Keema meatball filled with ricotta cheese topped off with a mint jelly & saffron transported me back to Iran. That lamb and saffron combination impresses every time.

Tandoori Basil Prawn

This was one of the highlights of the night. Tandoori roasted prawns marinated in hung yoghurt with lemon grass, lime & basil. The charred flavours balanced with the fresh herbs to create something heavenly.

Curry

We were all quite full by this stage, but then came out the curries, a selection of curries that can be found on the menu. Butter Chicken, Fish Curry, Lasooni Palak Paneer, Gobi Musallam, House Dal, Naan and Rice – we were in heaven. My favourite was the fish curry, which consisted of blue grenadier, turmeric, mustard seed & coconut milk. The Lasooni Palak Panner, a combination of spinach with homemade cheese cubes, fresh garlic, mustard leaves & fenugreek was another stand out.

Kulfi

To finish, was a sweet Indian ice-cream that combined cardamom, honey, pistachio and cinnamon. A very solid yet creamy texture – I really enjoyed it.

The chefs came out to say hi at the end of the meal. Unsurprisingly, they got a huge round of applause and a lot of thanks from everyone at the table.

Food For Thought is a great idea and we wholeheartedly support the great work that Opportunity Australia is doing and, if you’re in the mood for some of the most authentic Indian food you’ll find in Melbourne, we can definitely recommend you visit Babu Ji too. Hopefully Mani’s support for the initiative inspires you to organise your own food related fundraiser!

Babu Ji

4-6 Grey Street
St Kilda
Victoria 3121
Australia

Telephone: (03) 9534 2447
E-mail: n/a
Website: http://www.babuji.com.au/

Open
Sun – Wed: 5:00pm to 9:00pm
Thu – Sat: 5:00pm to 10:00pm

THE CITY LANEEAT & TRAVEL LIKE A LOCAL

THE CITY LANEEAT & TRAVEL LIKE A LOCAL

Canteen Combo #1 ($14.00)

Medium Salad Plate ($14.00)

Jack Horner

Jalapeno & Cheese Korokke, Shichimi Togarashi

Chicken Thigh & Pork Belly Yakitori

Katsu Sando

Chicken Rib Karaage

Wok Fried Greens and Shoots, Oyster Sauce

Pork Loin Katsu & Field Mushroom Katsu

Gas-Light Izakaya

Nutella Popup

Ingredients

Method

Notes

Dining

Drinking

8. Clutch: Honey & Sesame (6.2 points)

7. Clutch: Sour & Spicy Chilli (6.2 points)

6. Meat Mission: Sambal Wings (6.6 points)

5. Patty & Bun (7.2 points)

4. MEATmission: Bingo Wings (8 points)

3. Bodeans (8.2 points)

2. The Orange Buffalo (8.4 points)

1. Sticky Wings (8.5 points)

Coconut Snapper Ceviche, Toasted Black Rice, Thai Basil & Scud Chilli ($17.00)

Fried Chicken & Peanut Spring Rolls With Betel Leaf Wraps ($13.00 for 3)

Sticky Beef, Steamed Buns, Peanut Sambal & Nashi Pear ($24.50)

Glazed Duck Pancakes, Cucumber, Spring Onion & Spicy Plum Sauce ($25.00)

Glazed Sticky Pork Belly With Mandarin, Chilli, Palm Sugar Caramel & Brown Rice ($34.00)

Captain Baxter

Pani Puri

Achari Fish Taka

Bharwa Mushroom

Tandoori Chicken

Batata Vada

Lamb Gushtaba

Tandoori Basil Prawn

Curry

Kulfi

Babu Ji

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