The world adores matt hayward

I thought all was lost when Cafe Zen changed hands on Chapel St. They used to have the best hollandaise sauce (with eggs Atlantic) ever. That place went really down hill service wise any way. But a few doors up down the Windsor end of Chapel St, I found my new thing: 80 Spaces.

Inside the decor is as arty and minimal as the name suggests. Choose something to eat from the blackboard and park yourself on a bench or table and watch a weekend breakfast slowly morph into a lunchtime beer! Food wise, it’s quick and simple. No big kitchens or even rendered walls to flaw you. Their baked beans are home made and nothing short on sensational. They have a bunch of open toasted sandwiches too. I’ve tried the salmon and dill toasty thing and it was sublime. Coffee is half decent too.

Not completely sure but I don’t think they make fresh juice and they don’t have any wireless internet, which is handy when you get bored of your skull working at home. Minor quibbles in an otherwise awesome place. So if you get bored of Orange and other places, check it out.

When you think Asian beer garden, you might think outdoor furniture, random chaos, icy cold beer and great hawker food. Hot and stinky, yet the patrons wouldn’t have it any other way. Not so at Cho Gao. Take all the bad things about a swanky, pretentious inner city bar, mixed with all the bad things from a swanky, overpriced pretentious inner city bar and you have Cho Gao.

You could start with the kitschy Chinese decorations, or the faux rustic brick wall on the boucany. Or even go as far as saying $12 for 3 satay skewers is beyond ridiculous. But it’s the lack of service which is truly exceptional. While there are some Asian staff hidden away from sight in the kitchen, the staff here look about as Asian as the token white guy in a Kung Fu movie. Better still, a ham sandwich.

Now an Asian beer garden should have Asian beer. Well think again. They only had Kirin First Press on tap and I couldn’t see any others bottled (well maybe Chang). No Tsing Tao, Asahi or especially my favourite Japanese micro brews.

I can’t personally vouch for the quality of my $21 chicken curry though. Because it never came. The kitchen must’ve loved it so much they took it to the framers. Those that did eat, got their meals 5 minutes before their rice came. When I finally cancelled the meal, about the time my mates were finishing theirs, there was no apology from the head waiter. He was ran off his feet attending a half full restaurant.

If you like a cultural experience devoid of any culture, service without food, over inflated prices and Asians that look like Ginger Meggs, all washed down with $8 tap beer, Cho Gao is the go. Otherwise a lobotomy might be a less painful experience. There are plenty of great, well established Asian bars in Melbourne: Robot, Double Happiness, you name it. This place just puts the Asian in cauc-asian and looks as if it would probably melt in the sun - no doubt before your meal arrives. Avoid.

Seldom do cook books truly overwhelm, but I am in awe of this one. The Curry Bible is nothing short of brilliant. Not that it’s hard covered, or 800 pages (it’s probably 150 odd). It doesn’t need to be. If the house was burning down though, this would be the one cook book I’d take with me.

Chapman is an English lad (presumably half caste) with a great insight into the methods and traditions of the curry. He lists the top 20 curries of the UK, each with its own story of how it came to be. These stories are worth the price of admission alone. For example, one curry that was invented by irate curry shop owners when pissed, racist Pommies would come in asking for something extra hot.  Kind of like a curry shop owner’s revenge!

Each of the curries has variations too, e.g. restaurant style, or traditional, vegetarian, you name it.  Each recipe is also broken down into its elements and nothing is left out. For example, how to make ghee, garam masala, a good curry ‘gravy’ etc. So after a few recipes you can start making your own variations.

Also handy is the A-Z of spices scattered throughout the book. Again explaining the etymology and how to use them. Chapman has truly left no stone unturned.

You don’t have to be a great cook for this. But the results will make others think that you are. Look at any other curry recipe in isolation and you’ll feel overwhelmed. Chapman has succeeded in making a book that’s both enjoyable readable and simplifies the art of curry making. Brilliant stuff.

This year it was a big call for what to match to the Christmas turkey. There were a few cherryish pinots from the Yarra Valley which i’ve grown fond of, but they’re nowhere near ready yet. There are big cab savs, but you’d need a really old one that had a bit of grace about it. This was the year for an odds on bet. I took out a 2002 Petit Verdot.

Make no mistake this is not a trendy wine. For a start it’s from the Murray Valley region, not some glitzy South Australian region. It’s also worth saying that despite the five gold medals on the label (not like the bottle pictured), it cost less than twenty bucks in a corner store. What it was, from this winery and in this vintage, was a sensation.

This verdot, with five years in the bottle, had been aged properly and had lost its harsh tannins. It had a very luxurious fruit/acid balance, with a subtle tinge of cranberry that suits roasted turkey. Mouth finish was viscous and bang on perfect.

If you’re wondering why you haven’t seen verdot anywhere it’s simple. It’s not cool. It’s been an anonymous blender in Bordeaux blends since Adam was a boy and the vine looks like brambles in full bloom. When most wine makers will only mix about 4% of petit verdot with a Shiraz or something red, you get the idea how hard it is to make 100% of it taste great.

So my advice to you is this. If you see a 2002 Trentham Estates verdot, just buy it and drink it now. Don’t go pass go, don’t collect $200. Just get the corkscrew and a nice looking woman. After the requisite five years it’s sublime. You won’t find one. But if you see a 2004 or 2005, I reckon it would actually be better.

If you drink it before hand, it will be a bit more gruff and in your face. But if you’re patient it will royally award you with something very special at a very bargain basement price.

Well here we are again. Another travel blog update. Rovinj is the city of artists on the Istrian coast. Istria is in the far north east of Croatia and was once a part of Italy, and until last century a big part of Austria’s economy.

Istria and Rovinj is absolutely gorgeous, except for the fact that were in an internet cafe listening to Bobby Brown. Music sadly doesn’t have the same life cycle that it does at home. In other words, crap music lives forever in Croatia. Only down side is that the ocean water is nowhere near as clear as it is down south in Hvar and Korčula. Nor do the locals speak as much English. So much so that if you come to Rovinj, its like getting a free stop over in Germany because there are so many German tourists here.

Rovinj would have to be a highlight of the trip so far. Because it has an old city (no city walls though), so much art and charm in abundance. Like down south, there are plenty of ferries to catch to little islands and stuff. But we’ve well and truly had our fill of that. And the weather has been a little more than average sadly for boating expeditions. Oh and truffles are incredibly cheap in restaurants up here. We had spaghetti and truffles for about $17 AUD. Awesome!

Speaking of good food, we’ve just come out of Monte’s, a restaurant not in any of the travel guides. We’ve had an incredibly sumptuous five course meal on par with View Du Monde in Melbourne with wine for approx $200 AUD. In many respects probably better than local fare through the creativity in dishes and quality of produce. If you end up this far north in Croatia, make sure you save your pennies for Monte’s. The food is much better up north and its far more of a Italian/Euro vibe here than in Dubrovnik and Hvar down south.

At this stage its worth noting that northern Croatia would be pretty inaccessible without a car. Its not cheap (petrol is roughly $2 a litre here) but it’s very so worth it. Especially the quaint little village of Vodnjan was worth the rental of the car alone. Its a little inland village that for all intents hasn’t changed in a 100 years. Not a hit of a fast food joint or chain coffee store anywhere. The antithesis of a tourist town! At the very least, it’s a taste of how Croats truly live in ancient little villages.

The real highlight of Vodnjan is the bizarre experience of seeing 6 sainted mummies in a Church in Vodnjan. One of these mummies was about 600 years old but still has elastic skin. Very, very very, freaky to see. They wouldn’t let you take photos. But we had these postcards that looked like they were from the cover of a Bloodduster CD. Easily the most freaky and macarbe experience of the trip.

Equally macabre was seeing the land mine warning signs on the side of the road to Politviće National Park. A grim reminder that war in that national park only really finished circa 1996. Sadly it was raining cats and dogs and we didn’t get to see the park. But it sure was an experience getting there. Should hopefully get back there this week.

Next update will probably be in Zagreb, the Croatian capital. Until then, rock out with yer cock out! I know I will!

A few weeks back the snow was pretty bad in Victoria. So we decided to drive up to Bright. A town about 3.5 hours out of Melbourne nestled between the snowfields, the King Valley gourmet region and Glenrowan.

The theory was that if the snow picked up, then we wouldn’t waste money going skiing. But if not, at least we were in town and there was plenty to do. As it turned out, we had a few cold days, but the weather was absolutely beatiful - for spring! Fantastic holidaying weather nonetheless.

Some highlights were staying at the Buckland Resort. These 4 self contained studio apartments have everything from an espresso machine to 3 choices of pillows, LCD TV you name it! It was pretty expensive (approx $200 a night per 3 nights) but exceptionally good value. In many ways, these apartments are better than mine! It’s only about 5km out of Bright town, with some exceptional views. So I really can’t recommend this place highly enough.

Restaurant wise, there are two, two hat highlights. Simones of Bright is brilliant. It’s a converted house so it has great ambience and reflects all the great Italian heritiage of the area. Venison mains (venison is big in these parts!) were quite simply unforgetable and their gnoccino (or just plain gnocci) was without doubt the best i’ll ever taste. Not cheap but reasonable. It’s a feed well worth staying in Bright for.

Next we ate at the Villa Gusto resort. Now this is la dolce vita! This place is a completely private Italian villa resort and they go out of their way to make the experience special. If it’s not the Sangiovese library (about 40 different domestic and Italian varieties available) the four course meals, the villa ambience of cosy open fires and second to none service make it all worth while. If I had to choose between the two, Simones is better, but the Villa is the shiznit for a romantic night.

Cafe wise in Bright there is at least one awesome gourmet cafe with a great selection of local gourmet products and wines to buy, plus friggin’ awesome coffee. Definitely not what you’d expect in these parts, and a great epicurean surprise!

We spent a whole day in Milawa, where seemingly even bird crumbs are gourmet. Everything in this tiny two bit down tastes better than if god cooked it. The mustard shop and cheese factory are brilliant. Just so much to try it’s unbelievable. The Milawa Brown Brothers’ winery has at least 40 red, white and fortified varieites to taste, so be warned! Several of which you can’t get anywhere but the cellar door. So bring an esky!

There are some other wineries worth checking out too. Gapstead has an extensive list for tasting. The Petit Manseng is the best buy here. It’s a wine that would go perfectly with Vietnamese rice paper rolls. The pick of the area would have to be the Politini Sangiovese though. It’s everything you like about a Shiraz, in a Sangiovese! Sangiovese really will be the next black and the King Valley are leading the way.

There is an awful lot of varietals around that are just plain Italian (Marzemino, Barbera, Nebiolo and and obtuse though. Bad Wineries? Well Michelini did nothing for us. Try with caution.

Anyway, the country doesn’t have to be meat and 3 veg. Bright, the King Valley and Milawa have some fantastic food and wine going on and make for a fantastic stay all year around. Snow or no show, give it a crack! I for one can’t wait to go back.

Ages ago on the Eat It program on RRR radio, they talked about some guy called Cameron doing a wild mushroom hunt by the coast. It’s $45 to basically fossick around roads in Red Hill, looking for edible wild mushrooms. Sounds like a rort but when you match it up to the T’Gallant winery and get a coffee and a nosh up afterwards it was pretty cool.

Firstly I should be honest though. I think I didn’t learn a huge great deal. You also can’t take your mushrooms home because even though this guy Cameron (who also sells wild mushies at the Queen Victoria Markets) is a bona fide boffin,  the risk of accidentally grabbing something wildly toxic is just too great. Infact only about 5% of the mushrooms sighted were actually edible. You certainly do learn a bit about mushrooms that can kill you though. So in hindsight, you don’t come out of the hunt with a PhD in mushrooms, but it’s fun and interesting enough to make you want to go and cook something.

Don’t bother booking lunch at the T’Gallant restaurant afterwards. Because when you get back to the vineyard, they will fill you up with mushroom pizza, very hot mushroom soup and a glass of Red Hill’s most lush pinot noir. It’s meant to be nibbles, but no one leaves hungry! They say that they will cook up your mushies when you get back. But meh they don’t and they probably wouldn’t have time to inspect and prepare them anyway.

Back at the winery there’s also ample tastings of the wineries soft reds, moscatos, pinot grigios and chardies. Frankly though, they looked very overpriced for cellar door prices.  It all works well though, after all this is Red Hill, the Toorak of the Bay and frankly I don’t think the locals who were settling in for a quiet bottle were phased, judging by the new Porsches, an Aston Martin DB7 and a Bentley Continental coupe that arrived in the car park when we finished the hunt! It’s all very chic!

If you choose to do this thing, it should only be on for autumn and you’ll need to wear your sturdiest shoes and warmest clothes you’re usually too cool to wear. And don’t worry about looking cool, that is until you get to the winery.

N.B. Red Hill is about 70 minutes drive from Melbourne CBD and very close to Arthur’s Seat and Phillip Island etc., so yeah, it’s worth the trip.

Links
Mushrooms in May Flyer
T’Gallant Winery

What to say about Lower House/Upper House? It’s tres chic Melbourne dining for the CBDophile. All the typical touches exist, the wine FOLDER (not list) yet cheeky touches like the daily menu served on cardboard cut out of wine boxes. How’s the food? Well good but typically on par. But the wine tasting! Well sir, so long as you’ve come on a Monday night after work, you’re in the right place.

"Ben Know’s Wine" is Ben Edwards sharing his knowledge and plonk for those with a keen ear and nose.  Being quite the sommelier (president of the Austrlalian Association thereof infact), each week you’re assured of tasting something very special. I wen’t tonight (15/05/06) and they featured the Blanck collection of wines from Alsace (pronounced Al-sass) France.

Also in tow was Fred form Blank wines and they featured some fine aromatics: Pinot Gris, Gurwutztraminer, Rhieslings and a Pinot Blanc. All came with tasting notes and expert winemaker commentary as they gracefully make their way around the tables. It has to be said that the last two aromatics were Grand Cru and Lieux Dits (designations of France’s most prestigious winemaking areas).

If nothing else, the night really taught you about the essence of good aromatic wines. So next time you’re drinking a dinkum Aussie Pinot Gris, or even a French one, you now have a respectable benchmark on which to judge it. Because chances are, you won’t often come across wine as great as what Ben is privvy to. Thank god he’s willing to share in the experience.

Suffice it to say, this is for the wine lover interested in the journey and not the destination. Every week apparently, there’s something different and new on offer. Lower House would hold about 70 people for tasting so best to get there at 5.30 when the festivities begin. After your tasting, you can select dinner from the regular menu, or a charcuterie platter, or make your jolly way home. Ben Knows Wine is on indefinitely, but it’s definitely not to be missed.

For more info, have a look at this Fed Square web page.

OK biznitches. This recipe couldn’t be easier or tastier if you get it right. Believe me it’s not that hard. You could probably turn it over in 20 minutes and be very contented. Perfect for a cold night and great with beer because of that rich chilli.  All this stuff (including the Lee Kum Kee) you can find in your average Coles or Safeway. But hey, if you can get down to Chinatown, you’ll do even better!

Mapou chicken. Feeds 3 with leftovers

What to buy:
-500-700gms chicken (or pork for infidels) mince. Or if you’re really good, get 2 or 3 chicken breasts and make your own mince. Depends how much you like your meat.
- 4 tablespoons of Lee Kum Kee brand chilli and garlic paste (if you like it extremely hot, double it.)
- one small tub of silken tofu.  The more delicate the better. Approx. 300 grams. Dice into 1cm cubes
- A handful of long green beans, topped and tailed, cut into 1.5 inch lengths
- very finely chopped clove or garlic, or 1tsp garlic paste
- oil
- 1 cup rice (jasmine or basmati. Or just plain old long grain)
- Cayenne pepper and salt

Steps (15-30 minutes):

   1. Put your rice in the rice cooker if you have one, or start cooking your rice the white boy way.
   2. Start boiling some water to cook your beans
   3. Once the water is boiling, put your saucepan on a hot flame and heat it up for a bit
   4. After a few minutes add the oil and garlic paste. Stand back! It will spit!
   5. Start boiling your beans for about 5 mins
   6. Start frying your raw chicken mince for 5 mins on a high flame. Add salt and pepper
   7. Bring down the heat on your chicken. Add your chilli and garlic paste
   8. Once your beans are ready, drain them and add them to the chicken. Add the diced tofu also
   9. Put a lid on your saucepan and let it gently simmer for at least 10-15 minutes. The longer, the saucier and spicier! Stir occasionally but be careful of the delicate tofu.
  10. Once your rice is ready, serve. Grab a beer. Bloody tasty stuff!

For those of you who know your wine, you will know that Tahbilk has some of the best vines in Australia. Their range toppers go back to 1860 and their Marsanne vines are probably some of the finest in Oz.

If you give the old Liqourland a cursory glance over the wine shelves every now and then, you will know their standard stuff well. Their Marsanne, Shiraz and Cav Sauv. What you should know is that this is literally the tip of the iceberg. Tahbilk are a family concern and seem far more concerned with the cellar door than selling out to the retail chains. They must have around 30 wines for tasting at the door.

Highlights
Of what was on offer, we must’ve tasted about 15. Their 1990 Shiraz/Malbec is sublime and quite reasonably priced (around $30). Malbec by itself is a bit so so, being a very light red (7% alcohol and lacking tannin) but combine the two and you’re so in business!

New to their range is their Sparkling Mousanne. It’s a bit yeasty, being their first vintage, but this is sure to become a classic. Quite simply there’s nothing to compare it to. It’s very different, but if you like your dry whites, it’s worth the drive alone.

New Sparklings
Also the new Tahbilk Sparkling Shiraz is remarkable. For sparkling lovers, this is not quite so intense with the fairy floss flavours of a freshly cracked bottle. It has all the pluminess of the non sparkling but is perfectly blended. Leagues apart from other Aussie sparkings which polarise wine lovers at the best of times.

Huge Variety
Some you will never see on the shelf are their [reds] Sangiovese, 1860 Old Vines Shiraz, Cabernet Rose [whites] Roussane, Verdelho, Viognier, Sauv Blanc and a few fortifieds. Arguable the biggest non-corporate, estate grown range of wines offered from a single winery in Australia. And to boot Heathcote, full of great cool climate Shiraz is just down the road.

The Restaurant
The cafe/restaurant just a short walk from the cellar door is absolutely picturesque. If you have some rellos coming from overseas and want to show them something Oz yet beautiful, drive straight from the airport here. Both times i’ve been there, the food on offer was baguettes, gourmet pastries etc. but not to their discredit. They were of the best quality the region has to offer. Living proof that there’s pies and there P I E S.

The Chateau buildings around the place are worth a look too for history boffins. It’s also by the Nagambie lakes, very pretty and there’s the unique (but crappy wine) Michelton winery down the road. It’s roughly a 90 minute drive from Melbourne central.

Walking around Tabhilk, you don’t see any of the hyper industry that you do around Penfolds, Zilzie, Lindermans and Jacobs Creek. No 20 story silos or ominous looking shit that belongs mor on an oil refinery than a winery. It may not be organic but it’s smaller scale and honest and that’s what counts

So quit buying your wine from a rip off, surface scratching supermarket chains and get to the source. Go to the winery, and make a day of it. Buy yourself a case of good estate grown Victorian wine and get into it! It’s cheaper and it’s a lot more fun when you see where it comes from.
http://www.tahbilk.com.au/