Gazi @ Exhibition St/ Flinders St

Street food, I love; Street food done well, what more can one ask for. This tasty soft shell crab souvlakakia has sent me into George’s Greek embrace. George Calombaris, everyone knows him as the chilly-hating, tweezers-loving judge on Masterchef Australia. In a nutshell, Gazi is all about putting tasty, casual, affordable Hellenic street food on a plate.

Gazi has replaced The Press Club at No. 2 Exhibition Street. Well, I haven’t been to the latter but who cares. The moment I stepped into the restaurant, my eyes can’t help but fixated upon the orange sheet of upturned terracotta pots that filled the ceiling, drawing attention away from the exposed un-rendered concrete walls. The high-back booth seating, black communal tables and metal chairs gave the place a rustic, laid-back and casual vibe.

What I love about this place, is the open kitchen, which reminded me about Penang Street Food. To me, the assembling of a dish is an art on its own. The sounds, the smells, and the sights of cooking can absolutely help one work up an appetite. The place was crowded and booking is essential, thanks to my dear friend, L we managed to secure a table for four at 1pm.

Service was unexpectedly quick. Before I could snap enough photos of the interior decor, food was already on the table. Time to dig in!!

Grains – $12.50

A healthy start to a great meal. The combination of freekeh, quinoa, barley, poppy seeds and pistachios offered a light crunchy texture. The yoghurt gave the dish a refreshing taste and lifted the otherwise boring grains to a whole new level. Simple yet with good flavour combination. The salads and grains dishes range between $9.50 to $12.50.

Wood Fire Spit Roasted Pork Belly - $32.00

Spit Roasted Pork Belly married with white beans, apple skordalia and walnut dressing. Skordalia is a traditional Greek sauce usually made from potato and flavoured with garlic, lemon juice and parsley.  Hailing from Malaysia, roasted pork belly is a staple street food (we call it “Siu Bak” meaning roast pork). Just when I thought I knew how a roasted pork should taste like, this dish showed up. The moment I sank my teeth into that juicy, tender, well seasoned meat, I thought: “man, this is how a roast pork should taste like”. That crackling, three words – OH, MY, GOSH – amazing. Those ear splittingly crunch was just music to mah (my) ears. The apple skordalia on the other hand offered a nice contrasting balance to the slightly salty pork.

Soft Shell Crab Souvlakakia – $12.00

Souvlaki, the ultimate Greek street food. Gazi’s souvlakakia (meaning small souvlaki) however is an absolute winner. What they lack in size and tradition,  they make up for in taste. That crispy fried soft shell crab with the right touch of mint, coriander, honey and mayonnaise; enveloped in a pillowy charred flatbread was smashing. If I have a bottomless stomach, I could easily use a second helping. The other souvlakakia variations (which we did not try), were duck, chicken and beef brisket, all three combos (except for crab) are served with fries wrapped inside.

Risogalo Jar – $14.50

One of the best desserts I’ve taste. Upon opening the mason jar, I kinda expected a theatrical smoke to uncover, which to my slight disappointment, did not happen. This jar contains layers of rice pudding, banana, smoked almonds and salted caramel. Not too sweet with smudges of airy milk chocolate throughout. It’s one of those desserts that you wish you could snatch the jar away from your friends and dig into it alone. Opps….

Pavlova – $12.50

I usually am not a fan of meringues because they are often disgustingly sweet. BUT, this, this is not any pavlova, this is George’s pavlova. The fun just got tuned up another notch. First, an interesting meringue dome, painted with dehydrated raspberry, smash it, and inside reveals a picture perfect scene of white chocolate sorbet and lemon curd, fresh meringue, musk sticks, and pomegranate seeds. The perfect ending to a great meal.

Needless to say, I am in love with this place. Given any day on any occasion, I am happy to revisit Gazi in a heartbeat. That chili-hating judge may be short but he sure is a smart bloke. Gazi is a perfect example of clever cooking, quick customer turnover and most importantly delectable food. 

Gazi Restaurant

Address: 2 Exhibition St, Melbourne VIC, 3000 (at the intersection between Flinders and Exhibition St_

Contact: 03 9207 7444

Opening hours: 11:30pm – 12am

Nearby Eats: Om Nom Dessert Bar, Hardware Society, Manchester Press

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Om Nom Dessert Bar @ Flinders Lane

It started with:

• A gruelling elimination challenge on MasterChef
• Christy Tania’s mouth-watering signature dish, Mango Alfonso
• A visit from mum……..

And I found myself sitting on the posh floors of the 40-seat Om Nom Dessert Bar. Labelled as the “female Adriano Zumbo”, Kristy Tania’s  simple yet complex desserts proved that her appearance as guest judge on MasterChef was no fluke.  Once the youngest project manager of IBM Singapore, Kristy Tania packed her bags and headed off to France where she trained under world renowned chef Alain Ducasse and now head chef at Melbourne’s new Om Nom Restaurant.

Up a short flight of stairs and you will come upon what looked like a hotel-reception desk where a friendly receptionist will direct you to the a longue consisting of eight black cauldron tables. Above is a ceiling of hammered copper-coloured metal reflecting the interior of the lounge and the soft glows of candle-light.  

Walking into a restaurant where traditional main courses were treated as ‘bar snack’ to the featured mouth watering desserts, I had no idea what to expect. First glance of the menu was rather unexpected and was different from the menu I browsed from their website which features ala carte savoury dishes (perhaps they have changed it). Now, dinners get to select from three different savoury menus, each featuring different dishes from savoury to desserts – Express Menu $69, Tasting Menu $79 and Degustation Menu $99. The bar snacks were mainly entree dishes rather than main courses.

I’ll be frank that I planned on having a Pan Seared Duck breast ala cart, plus a couple desserts but with the new menu, we certainly were not prepared to drill a dip hole in our wallets for a three course meal, hence we skipped right to the dessert menu and sampled three desserts. Not the cheapest of desserts with prices ranging from $25 to $28, or you can opt for the “Dessert Degustation” where you have three desserts for $55 per person.

Mango Alfonso – $27

Yes, it was the dish that sent the MasterChef’s contestants into a whirlwind of pain as they struggle to recreate the hero of the dish – the choux pastry. And yes, it tasted just as good as it looked on TV.  I tried really hard not to make a mess as I attempted to disassemble this edible work of art. The mango moose in the profiterole was to-die-for, silky with a good mango punch. Sandwiched between the two profiteroles were liquid fondant and tempered dark chocolate. On top of that sat two halved spheres, one half was the mango moose and the other aws shiso cremo. Displayed on the sides were poached diced mangoes and two pops of coconut spheres that burst in your mouth. On the far left, was a coconut-lemongrass-ginger foam piped on top of a serving of smooth calamansi (a type of citrus that grows in tropical areas) sorbet. The ten elements on this dish were subtlety flavoursome and had a cohesive balance.

Basil Garden – $25

Mum’s and Cutie’s favourite. The centrepiece, a dark chocolate pot filled with vanilla, olive oil and honey ice cream and four orbs of lime, basil and white chocolate creameux. The dark chocolate crumble was quite savoury and bitter which balanced out all the other sweet elements.

Raspberry Field – $27

Our last dish, the Raspberry field featured two meringue stems, perched on top of them were two mushroom-heads of frozen raspberry sorbet. Surrounding them were raspberries, syrup coated lychees, strawberries plus raspberry and rosewater creamuex.  Whilst I enjoyed the sorbet and meringue, in comparison with the earlier two dishes which had something to balance out the sweetness, this felt just a tinge too sweet in comparison. Nevertheless, I must say that if you have a sweet tooth, this might be tailored made for you. Hands down the prettiest dessert I’ve every seen, displaying an orchestra of absolute finest and refined artistry.

The only downside of this bar is that the dishes are over-priced. Having said that, in exchange for that extra ka-ching $$$, you get sophistication, classy, balance, creativity, originality and finest. Well, just enough to pamper yourself and make you leave the place a happy person, contented yet yearning for more. Om Nom Dessert Bar is truly something special and the young, talented Kristy Tania is the one to watch.

Om Nom Dessert Bar
Address            : Adelphi Hotel. 187 Flinders Lane, Melbourne VIC, 3000
Contact No.       : +61(3) 8080 8888

Operating Hours : Breakfast 7am - 12pm
                            Dinner & Desserts 6pm - 12am, Mon to Sat
                            High Tea 12pm - 4pm Sun

Nearby Eats      :  Hardware Societe, Manchester Press

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Wantan Mee: Chulia Street or Burma Road

Back in primary school, virtually everyday, my grandma would treat me for lunch at Mount Eskine hawker centre where I would happily slurp in a plate of wantan mee. Ah..those where the days. Well, it's been two odd months since I left Penang, but it's never too late to publicise my two favorite wantan stalls in Penang - Burma Road and Chulia Street.

A few words about wantan mee in Penang, instead of the sticky sweet char siew (BBQ pork) that adorns versions in Ipoh and Kuala Lumpur, it is more often served with pink-edged lean barbequed pork. Wantan mee eaters in Penang may choose their noodles to be served in soup (“teng”) or dried sauce (“dry”) which is usually accompanied with steamed or deep-fried dumplings.

Wantan Mee @ Burma Road (Large – RM4.50, Medium – RM4.00, Small – RM3.50)

We started at the Wantan Stall at Burmah Road, a stone throw away from the famous Apong Guan. I have been eating the wantan mee served here by a son-mother team since I was a child. What I love about this dish is that there is less use of dark sauce  hence less salty compared to the norm which allows one to savour the springy and elastic texture of the noodles. 

The viscous gravy had a incredible meaty flavour. The char siu shavings that sat atop the noodles were moist, however the icing on the cake had to be the flawless wantan. The skin thin yet robust enough to hold it’s form in the hot broth. At the nudge of your tongue, packs of flavoursome pork filings effortlessly melts on your palate.

For the soup based dish, rather than having the noodles drowned in a tub of soup (typical in wantan stalls elsewhere on the island), their noodles are served in a small portion of broth. A good serving of wantan noodles noodles can never do without the fragrance of lard oil dressing. Also don’t forget the pickled green chillies. Those tiny gems just ties the whole dish together, adding a hint of sourness, sweetness and heat, perfectly complimenting the slight saltiness of the gravy.

Wantan Mee @ Chulia Street (Large – RM4.50, Small – RM3.30)

The second Wantan Mee stall, that I reckon for most Penangites need no introduction, is located on Chulia Street.It’s just like the Hunger Games out here, first you have to wait with prying eyes, ready to “pounce” at any vacant table once available. Then, you have to maneuverer your way past hungry customers and finally shout your order.  Not the most ladylike sight, but that’s how things operate around here.

The attraction here, is the texture of the noodles. This brother-brother-mother team master the art of handing the delicate noodles, producing the ultimate textbook “Q”, meaning chewy, springy and elastic. Their method –boil, soak in cool water, reheat with a quick re-dip into boiling water,  wait patiently for water to drain off and evaporate before transferring the noodles onto a plate of dark sauce with long wooden chopsticks.

Also noteworthy is that the wantan appears two ways: deep-fried and boiled. Most diners prefer their noodles “dry”. Why they do so? Trust me, it will become evident as soon as you have your first bite. Not having the noodles drench in soup allows the sauce to provide just the right amount of coating to sustain moisture and the springy irresistible Q-ness of the noodles. Located beside this stall is the famous curry mee stall. Chulia Streets seems to be more popular than Burma Road, nevertheless, it all boils down to individual preferences. Personally I would prefer the wantons in Burma road, however noodle wise, my vote is with Chulia Street as they are more chewy and springy. Either way you’ll leave feeling satisfied.

Wantan Mee @ Burma Road

Address: Jalan Burma (beside Union Primary School), 10050 George Town, Pulau Pinang.

Operating hours: 10am to 5pm

Other popular choices nearby: Apong Guan (beside), Him Heang Confectionary (opposite)

Wantan Mee @ Chulia Street

Address: Lebuh Chulia, 10100 George Town, Pulau Pinang.

Operating hours: Nigh time

Other popular choices nearby: Curry Mee (beside)

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The Best Penang Curry Mee @ Lebuh Keng Kwee

Four weeks in Penang, I’ve eased into a routine that I could only dream about. For far too long I’ve been cycling my way across the streets of Melbourne. In Penang, I could finally get behind the wheel and drive wherever and whenever I want. Shopping at the morning wet market with mum, finding “our” regular butcher and exchanging hellos with “our” fishmonger. I’ve spent hours along Lebuh Keng Kwee, hunkered over bowls of Curry Mee, Chendol and Laksa. If you’re contemplating on roaming the streets of Georgetown, you’d be crazy to skip Lebuh Keng Kwee.

Curry Mee aka Curry Laksa (RM3, RM3.50, RM5.50)

Hands down, the best Curry Mee EVER!! Located up the street from the “famous” Teochew cendol. To savour this bowl of spicy goodness, timing is of the essence. Eng who’s the chef and owner is off every Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. The ever cheerful and voluble Eng is kinda semi-retired and loves travelling. Hence it did not come as a surprise to me when she took the whole of Chinese New Year off. “Whole” as in the first to the fifteenth day.

A generous spoonful of sambal. The secret to Eng’s flavoursome sambal is the addition of curry powder and chicken stock. Eng is never stingy with her recipe. Yet who cares, it’s almost impossible to replicate this bowl of divine goodness.

A bowl of thin yellow noodles and string thin mee-hoon (rice vermicelli) served with curry broth, pig’s blood cubes. chilli sambal, coconut milk, dried tofu puffs, chicken, soaked cuttlefish slices, mint leaves and finely sliced ginger flowers. Although many might shun away from pig’s blood cubes, Penang Curry Mee will not quite be the same without them.

Unlike most Penang Curry Mee, Eng’s curry mee is more inclined towards the Nonya style of cooking with the addition of sliced ginger flowers (bunga kantan) and fresh mint leaves. Balancing that fine line between creamy coconut milk and refreshing mint leaves. I usually request for chicken drumstick instead of wings and she delivered. Eng’s attention to detail is simply impeccable: from the careful handling of the noodles to the large blob of sambal in our spoon, the springs of fresh mint leaves and the finely chopped ginger flower that garnish each serving. It is evident that Eng has put a generous amount of ingredients in her curry broth as the complex flavours just burst in your mouth. Spicy, sweet, rich, aromatic, fragrant – everything about it was right. It almost felt like I was in her home rather than her shop.

Address: Lebuh Keng Kwee, off Penang Road

Contact: +6016 4620257

Opening hours: 8am to 4pm. Weds to Sat. Closed on Sun, Mon and Tues.

Nearby eats: Penang Famous Teochew Chendul, Laksa

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Ping Hooi Coffee Shop - Tiger Char Koay Teow, Loh Bak, Wan Tan Mee

 

Tiger Char Koay Teow (without eggs RM4.50; chicken eggs RM5.00; duck eggs RM5.50)

One can never say that one have been to Penang unless one tasted the authentic Penang Char Koay Teow (Stir-fried rice noodles). These days they’re so common internationally and found virtually in every Malaysian restaurant worldwide. In other words, you don’t have to visit Penang to eat Char Koay Teow. So what’s the big deal? Why down a greasy plate of noodles?

 

 

What I have above is a plate of Tiger Char Koay Teow – a personal favourite. Even the late “Mr Honda”, Loh Boon Siew was a weekly customer at this stall which have been operated by the Yeow family for three generations.. How should I describe this dish? Fluffy rice noodles charred to perfection, crunchy bean sprouts and chives, fresh and juicy prawns, airy eggs. Yes, airy DUCK eggs is the most sough-after characteristic of Tiger Char Koay Teow. It’s almost uncanny that a simple duck egg could elevate both the texture and flavour of this dish to a whole new level.

 

 

In the red-hot wok, a considerable amount of pork lark, bean sprouts, rice noodles were continuously mixed, pushed, stirred, flipped, cut, churned at warp speed. The end result, a small serving of heavenly goodness that quenches your thirst for Char Koay Teow, leaving you yearning for more. The only thing that stopped me from ordering a second dish was the calories!!

 

For decades, Yeow (the present owner) had been playing second fiddle to his father. But, ever since taking over the business, he has never cease to improve his skills. Today, this dish more than anything, tells me that Yeow is a maestro of his art.

 

Special Loh Bak (RM3 to RM5 depending on selected ingredients)

Situated next to Tiger’s stall is this Loh Bak stall which sells an assortment of battered fish, bean curb, prawn fritters and Loh Bak (deep fried five spiced pork wrapped in tofu skin).

 

 

Unlike the conventional fatty grounded pork, here, the pork layers were quite lean, springy and juicy. Served with a small bowl of Loh (a thick broth thickened with corn starch and beaten eggs) and chilli sauce.

 

Address: 179, Carnavon Street, 10300, Georgetown, Penang.

Opening hours: 8am to 2:30pm. Opens Daily.

Contact number: +6016 258 0926

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