Melbourne 2023

Carried on from my Sydney 2023 post (finally making some time in between drawings!), my first stop in Melbourne is almost always Brother Baba Budan. Having a 5PM closing time is handy!

Cumulus Inc is also generally my first meal stop! It's a bit different from what I remember in terms of opening times; it seems to not be open for breakfast these days? That's ok, I understand. Not sure if they're still doing half serves either but I managed to eat all the food I ordered! It was too late for lunch, too early for dinner. Some oysters, the tuna tartar, a cucumber salad which looked super interesting. And some mussels escabeche, because their seafood is always done so well, and this was no exception! Also managed to fit in a strawberry panna cotta!

Even though I was mostly full, I wanted to try one of the chinatown shops, just for something small, so that I wouldn't be starving at night. I liked the look of a shop called Crazy Wings, and I only learned later that apparently they had a fire recently! I also didn't realise I went in on a day when there was a buy one get one free on exactly the skewer I ordered, so I ended up with more food than I was expecting. Some really tasty chicken bits here! Wings, probably giblets, thigh, and some other things! The seasoning was a tad spicy so I had to chug the "plum juice", which turned out to be prune juice, which was also delicious. The chicken feet were also spicy but I really wanted chicken wings, and I was so full I had to take most of the feet back to my hotel.

There was a person next to me who also got skewers and this massive plate of fried rice that looked so good. This was funny because she got asked a few questions about the fried rice she was eating, and then some people also asked me for recommendations! What should I do? Should I say this is my first time and I have no idea what I'm doing? But I gathered enough from what the other person was saying that I managed to say similar things and then also give my own opinion! Definitely a place I'd want to eat at again!

The next morning I was off hunting for onigiri. 279 Victoria St is a musubi shop that came up on my feed a long time ago, and then my brother also visited recently and said it was really good. So, here I am! I wanted to not overcaffeinate so I went for a houjicha, even though they had an interesting line up of coffees. And oh my goodness, that is one delicious rice ball! Saba shio kombu is so good! I also saw kuzu mochi on the menu, so I had to have that too - though I was expecting arrowroot powder, and a triangular cut mochi - I am still haunted by the memory of that one time in Japan I didn't buy kuzu mochi after enquiring about it because it wasn't what I wanted at the time??? But I really need to know what kuzu mochi is like! And what I got looked more like warabi mochi, but it tasted so good! I love warabi mochi, so I was super happy!

I was a bit awkward and tried to ask about their kuzu mochi after I ate, hoping to find out how it was made. The chef came out and brought out an allergens booklet, but I tried to clarify and wanted to know more about the ingredients, and she mentioned tapioca starch, and so I want to try making warabi mochi with tapioca starch at some point! My only previous experience was using what I believe was sweet potato powder, which also turned out really well, but I guess everyone mostly uses tapioca starch so I want to try too!

Tarts anon also came up on my radar, so I had to try that. The agony of choice though! I needed the original custard tart, but also another flavour, so I think this was a white peach one, and then also a savoury one, which had chorizo in it, and all three were so good! Why do I want to eat so much food all the time! I love it when food tastes good and also has such a technically perfect structure and presentation!

And I managed to hang out with a friend and his dog! Isn't Tofu so cute???

I had some time to kill before dinner, so I figured, hey why not visit Melbourne Zoo!

Having worked up an appetite from exploring the zoo, I then headed to Komeyui for a delicious dining experience! It was a place that was on my list for a while, but Minamishima had taken precedence on my last visit, so finally this place made it to the top of my list!

And a cheeky crepe! I love the Petite Creperie! A classic lemon and sugar!

Wow, what a downpour! I was travelling super light so I didn't pack any rain boots, just regular boots that were okay for heavy rain but not super storms! I was absolutely drenched and my boots were wet for days after this! But I will trek through anything for food, and successfully made it to Hector's Deli for a beef sandwich. It was super comforting to eat!

The show had to go on, and luckily, the thunderstorm cleared up for the rest of the day.

The next coffee adventure was the most interesting one for this trip, my barista recommended that I go to the Zest Coffee tasting studio, and while the website seemed to indicate it required a booking, I decided to try my luck as a walk in. Ah, it's not a cafe! It's literally a "studio"! They do classes, sensory flights, etc here, and yes, it really is best to pre-book! But since it was a terrible and gloomy day, it was empty, so I managed to sit down and choose a tasting experience.

There are some wild price points here! The cheapest flight was $35, the mid range being $50, and ninetyplus costing $75. For three coffees. I actually didn't mind which set I tried, and after talking to the barista/owner, we settled on the Granja Paraiso 92 tasting (which was the $50 one). I'd had a Granja Paraiso 92 before at Blacklist, but this was a set of three different varietals which underwent the same processing method (thermoshock!). It was so good! The coffees were experimental and full of flavour, orange bourbon was my favourite varietal! I would have loved to have tried the sudan rume varietal too, but they were out. But that's ok, I was definitely very happy with my experience! We talked a lot about the coffee, he even had a book with photos about the farm visit they had. We then went on to talk about where I'd seen Zest coffee in other states, which was pretty fun!

Definitely a good visit, next time, I'll have to take a trip to Manta Ray coffee roasters!

Oh no. Zest Coffee Tasting Studio is near Collingwood, I kind of had to pass through it on the way back, oh no....

And so I ended up back at Proud Mary, only because I was too caffeinated to go to Aunty Peg's! I'm so silly like that. I got my short mac, because the east coast can do a proper mac (none of this Perth topped up stuff!), and the food was very welcome after so much coffee, this small prawn roll was good!

Hey it's Fluffy Torpedo! I had the strangest feeling I saw this place last time I was in Melbourne, but I don't think that's possible because it didn't exist??? I am not too sure. But this place is great for all of the crazy flavours it has! Think vegemite white chocolate! That's the scoop on top! I couldn't decide what other interesting flavour I wanted. I was going to go with a fruity/berry (maybe aeroplane jelly?) type but after tasting it and finding that it tasted pretty much like what I expected, I decided that the most interesting flavour to have was actually the liquorice, and wow, it was GOOD. I'm not exactly a liquorice superfan, so it did become a bit too much towards the end, but it was definitely amazing. Would recommend!!!

I don't remember what I had for dinner that night, but I am pretty sure it was trashy because I didn't want to spend too much money, and, I wanted to try different things. Somehow, that ended up being a Hot Star fried chicken, because the ones in Perth got rebranded, and my brother said that the Melbourne Hot Star was better than Sydney's. It's interesting because the fried chicken is coated in what feels like tapioca starch? It had a nice sweetness and chew!

And the morning before my fly out - a cute little cafe in the city called Hikari! This was a pretty good shokupan and the coffee was so good! It was a Glitch coffee so I couldn't resist - the barista was apologising for how long it would take to make my coffee due to their staffing levels, but it was totally okay! I felt bad that they were apologising so much.

Other noteworthy things from the trip that weren't pictured - right around the corner from Hikari, are Bakemono Bakers and Little Rogue - both are very good! Bakemono is extremely amazing; Lune is the whole "you have to try it at least once" but Bakemono is for people in the know. Little Rogue also does nice coffee, but what place doesn't!

It was such a great adventure!

Komeyui Melbourne

I only really wanted to choose one restaurant to book while in Melbourne, and Komeyui has been on my list for several years and seems to regularly pop up as a great restaurant to visit. Some of the research I did shows that this omakase would be interesting, since they also offer kaiseki options, so I wanted to see what dishes they'd have on offer!

Autumn sunset - fresh oyster, scallop, grapefruit, scampi caviar

Hello scampi caviar, I haven't seen you in so long! So many of my favourite things in a combo I haven't had before!

The Jewel of Heard Island - cured toothfish, shaved qukes, yumepirika tart, miso oroshi ginger sauce

Okay this plating is so fun and interesting too! I definitely love the way the dishes are presented here. This is my first time having cured toothfish too, and it was nice! The yumepirika rice tart was very crunchy, which was a great contrast to the fish.

Onsen Tenaga Ebi - steamed scampi, soy curd skin, ginger ankake

This was the cutest dish of the night! Look at it! An adorable little scampi complete with flower decoration! Of course, I took multiple pictures of it as a result. The chef also recommended to scoop the brains out of the prawn to mix into the ginger ankake. How fun and tasty!

Konnichiwa Wagyu-san! - Seared Mayura MB9+ wagyu, truffled creme fraiche, shaved shiitake

Even the menu description is excited! This doesn't look like much but it was my favourite dish of the night! I thought it would be the scampi, but as soon as I bit into the beef, I knew. The truffle oil and the shiitake made it nice and aromatic, but it was the bite of the beef that sold me. It was tender, but there was this lovely hint of resistance, like sinew? But not chewy - I don't know how to describe it exactly but it's my favourite kind of texture where it gives a little, before it gives way. Sooo good!

And then came the 10 piece nigiri selection!

Snapper, alfonsino, tuna, and Salmon with fried radish (I think it was fried radish) were the first in the lineup. The salmon was actually a pleasant surprise because that fried radish?? was very crispy and the texture worked so well! It's something I haven't had before in that combo so I was very happy with it!

Josper Wagyu Bouillon - Josper grilled MB9+ wagyu soup, cherry tomato, shallot, pumpkin.

Soup time! What a cute little soup! It took me a while to remember what a Josper was, but I recalled it being a super fancy oven! This was a light, clear soup that was perfect to have between courses.

The last few nigiri were kingfish, scampi, otoro, wagyu, scallop, and anago. I was curious as to how this wagyu would taste, considering the previous wagyu dish was so good. The seared wagyu and shiitake from earlier was definitely a clear winner!

What's also interesting is that I seem to recognise anago! The size and shape is different from that of unagi! It was good to have this as the final piece!

Born in Kochi-ken - matcha gateau, adzuki red bean paste, yuzu panna cotta.

I was super amused at the olive branch in the middle, only because my pigeons love olive branches haha! The waitstaff recommended alternating between the two desserts, but I had a clear favourite, the yuzu panna cotta.

There was also a most delicious matcha and soybean tea that was served at the end! Funny story, I tried to order this at the beginning, since I saw it on the menu, but I was told that coffee or tea was included at the end, so that I could choose another drink if I wanted. The tea turned out really tasty, and it was so good that I got an extra pour of it!

Overall it was quite enjoyable, and I liked the variety of dishes. It's been so long since I've done any kind of fine dining and this was a great experience!

And we're not quite done yet. On the way to the bathroom, I noticed the photo on the wall. Wow, pigeons!! Haha I can't believe they'd have a photo of pigeons! I found that adorable, but was also puzzled that someone would actually print a photo like this! I mean, I took a similar photo in Sydney lol, maybe I can "publish" a pigeon photo!

Melbourne 2017, the post I never got to make

I can't believe it. Finally, a Melbourne trip that I'm going to write up properly. It must be Christmas! Or shortly thereafter. It also took a lot of planning and a 4 day weekend to get to this stage, so here goes nothing! A blog about my second favourite city in Australia.My trip to Melbourne starts on the plane. I have a thing for flying full service, and here is my lovely meal to show for my money.Okay, it's the worst aeroplane meal I've had in a while. Those scrambled eggs weren't nice after a while, and the potato gems tasted like they'd been thawed then kind of warmed up. Ick. The sausage thing was okay though, so I ate all of that, and the tomato.It's also been forever since I've had a fruit yoghurt. Real mango bits? How do they not go off? Is it dried mango that's been put in yoghurt???I actually had a purpose in Melbourne other than just food and coffee. I was off to do some dancing, and my dance partner had taken a different flight. I had to wait for him, we went to our hotel, then, with precious little time to spare, I dashed off, and got to my favourite ceiling-chair cafe with 8 minutes to spare. Oh, chairs. You're so lovely.And look, I finally got a window seat! Yay! This place is usually packed out the doors, but going at closing time has its benefits. Next time, I  would love to just chill here and stare out the window.Even though I wasn't supposed to be consuming coffee, the opportunity was too good to pass up. So it was espresso and flat white for me. Both were delicious, and the espresso was tasting super yummy!A tinselly shot of BBB :)The next day, I decided that I'd go to Operator 25. I actually had a whole schedule set up of which cafe to go when, but I was never very good at following instructions, even my own. So I did everything in my own order. Their batch brew was okay, but not terribly exciting.I didn't really want a sweet breakfast, but it sounded interesting, so I went with the tapiocoa pudding with fruit and matcha coconut cream. That cream was really yummy! And I loved that there was some freeze dried fruit in here too! However my body wasn't used to the time difference yet, so it was difficult to muster up the appetite to eat it there and then. I hate adjusting to new timezones, but I know that food and sleep are the two most important things to assist with time shifting.The next day would be action packed, so I picked up some donuts for breakfast, since I'd need to be up horrendously early and had to be well fed at the same time. I also treated myself to this adorable star donut at Shortstop, which was eggnog flavoured!Swung by Hisense Arena to watch my friends. Yep, this was what I'd be doing on the weekend. How exciting! And nerve wracking!My Friday, Saturday and Sunday were blocked out, so there's not much of my own adventures over these three days except for a cheeky lunch at Cumulus Inc on the Friday, since it was my least busy day.Had a bit of spare time on the Sunday morning, so I went to cafe that I managed to spot while walking near the arena - Fifty Acres! They served up a tasty Duke's coffee.Their breakfast was delicious too! These weren't just any old scotch eggs, these were chorizo scotch eggs, and that made them the most delicious version I've eaten yet! My dance partner chose the pumpkin pancakes, which were amazing too.Then, with dancing over, it was time to move out and start hitting my cafes and restaurants hard.Lune. The best croissants in Australia. I love their little sign and the fact that they're tucked away in a garage in some out of the way street. Luckily, there's no queue on a Monday morning, compared to the massive queue I had to endure when I last visited on a Saturday.Behold the might and glory of the traditional croissant!!While the godliness of the traditional croissant was obligatory, it was the ice cream sandwich that I was after. Ice cream for breakfast, I love myself! A kouign amann cut in half, chocolate sauce and a perfectly shaped hazelnut gelato. The price tag of $15 was pretty hefty, but it was so delicious, especially as I've not had a kouign amann before, and the hazelnut gelato was so amazing! Yes! I'm so happy I got their special!Now to visit my other old favourite - Patricia. I managed to get a cool shot of something other than their windowsill and plants! I called this one Sunshine in a Coffee Cup.Okay, so I took a picture of the plants and window sill anyway. Mostly because the flowers had dropped into the sugar bowl. I also joined a great discussion about the Rowsaan spoons that they serve. About a year back, I had one of my Sydney baristas ask me about the spoons, so I took a picture, and then looked into it a little bit since he said that they cost $190 each. I thought it was a typo because I thought I'd seen them for $90 on their website, but no, today the barista confirmed they were indeed $190. Ouchies! What kind of a cafe can afford to stock $200 spoons?!?! Haha.I knew, then forgot, then remembered that Shannon Bennett now has a Benny Burger. I've tried Neil Perry's burgers, so it was time to see what Vue de Monde's executive chef's vision was. Also, I remember ages ago there being a joke about eating at the restaurant and then being left hungry so that people bought burgers at McDonald's shortly after.I hadn't done any research into the joint, but apparently they still had specials running! It was half price burgers for a good while, but when I got there, they were doing free chips and drink with every burger purchase. Nice! I wanted to try their chips! I didn't need the drink so I helped myself to the tap water.I chose the Cheesy Burns, which was their cheeseburger. Yep, it was cheap and tasty, just how I like it. The sauce in this one was really nice, and my conclusion is that it was on par with the likes of Burger Project and Shake Shack. What did intrigue me though, was that apparently they used wagyu in their burgers? But to be honest my favourite beef patty still come from Burger Project's Cape Grim beef. That stuff is just too good.The picture makes the cafe self explanatory! A lot of baristas talk highly of Everyday Coffee, so I had to pay a visit. I had a Kenya Kiamabara PB, which had loads of blackberry flavour! I took my time to sip away at this, watching the other two people in my view working away at laptops.That night was dinner at Embla, which has its own post. Even though the waiter had recommended that we go eat gelato from Spring Street Grocer, I did promise my friend that we'd go to the creperie. I changed my order this time, usually I get lemon sugar, but I figured, change is good, so I opted for chestnut paste this time. Quite nice, though a bit sweet for my palate (but it wasn't overly sweet).Aah, Proud Mary. I can't help but come here since I know their food is as good as their coffee. I didn't get a good shot of my espresso, and I only had the one coffee, since I had plans to geek out at Aunty Peg's instead.I also wanted the blue swimmer crab omelette for breakfast, but apparently the crabs that came in weren't right so they didn't have it available that day. The waiter did recommend the salmon pate and devilled egg instead, so I said yes! What a colourful looking and tasty breakfast!Ooooh I got here during a geisha party! Woohoo! There were three geishas on offer today, and I learned (by asking) that what happens is that Aunty Pegs gets a 2 week showcase, before rotating it onwards to Proud Mary. That's how it works! So I will always get a different coffee unless I clip the wrong Sunday + Monday visit haha. I had already tried Bambito Estate and Hacienda La Esmeralda, so this time, I chose Elida Estate. It was very very bright and fruity as an espresso, and when it cooled down as filter, it was so floral and delicious!The baristas here are always so knowledgeable and chatty, and were describing the estate as being part of a natural reserve, and that it was very picturesque with its rolling mists, since it was so high up. It makes me want to visit!Yes, I finally ate a Butterbing! This was at Aucuma cafe, where one of my barista friends was working, so I popped in and said hi. We walked around South Melbourne, but I didn't realise the markets were closed, but that was okay since we were happy to walk back into the city. When I talked about Spring Street Grocer, it turns out that she loved it too and also spoke highly of the pistachio ice cream! So of course, now I had to go get one.Well, after Minamishima, that is. There was no way I was going to enter a super sushi place without an empty stomach!While there was definitely enough food at Minamishima and I was full, I had to get gelato. If two people both recommended it, then it must be good. And they weren't wrong. The gelato here is kept under the metal lid things, just like Chicho back in Perth. And when the scoops came out - pistachio at the bottom, and white chocolate, yuzu, blackberry on top. Both flavours were amazing! The yuzu and blackberry were very prominent, and the pistachio one tasted exactly like pistachio! Yep, I'm glad I tried it!Next morning, I took my friend back to Brother Baba Budan since she tried to go before, and it was packed. We were early and it was quiet, but there were still enough people that the only seat we got was at the counter, staring at the machine. I decided that it was close enough to Christmas that I would treat myself to this lovely fruit mince pie!The picture of my piccolo came out horribly, so no post of that one.Look at this place. How sleek! I was told this was the best place to go by both the Aunty Peg's barista as well as my barista friend. It's a super white, minimalistic space with a roaster at the back! They also have a cute looking snack called kolache, which is basically stuff in buns. I tried the herbed omelette one and it was quite nice!As always, I went for the spo milk filter trio. All three were great. The Rwandan Kivu belt was what they had on filter, and the tasting notes were blueberries and blackcurrants. Those flavours definitely stood out, but I felt that it was at the expense of acidity, because I didn't get a lot of that. The espresso was Ethiopia Adado, which was nice, but not as tasty as the filter. Then the flat white for prettiness!It's a great little cafe and I'd love to visit here again and try more of their coffees!Finally, I visited 8 Bit, which is a little burger joint in the city. I always find this place so cute looking, and my friend was eating one of these the day before and it smelled so good, so I had to get a hot dog too - I was starving, wanted something small and tasty, but wouldn't weigh me down as I was about to enjoy the most epic meal I've had in a while.Then at night, I had a blast at Kisume. Oh yeah. That place was awesome, and I walked out feeling like a superstar.The superstar feeling carried on to the next day, when my time in Melbourne was finally up. Because of my recent mass of travelling (especially premium economy to Japan!), I managed to get some lounge passes. So I figured, I may as well use them since I won't maintain my status when it expires.The Virgin lounge in Melbourne is pretty cool, and has its own little express customs area so that you don't have to go back out and line up again with all the "commoners". What was really caught my attention after scanning the buffet tables, was the 1 press pancake maker! There were a couple of these machines. All you had to do was press the GO button, and it would start making pancakes inside. There was even a little progress bar that showed you what stage readiness your two pancakes were at, and then when done, out they popped from the side! It was so entertaining!I wasn't sure exactly what I wanted to eat, so I just piled on some blueberries, maple syrup and cream. But I also grabbed a sausage, some ham, and a boiled egg. On the same plate. Because sweet and savoury together is cool. Or something. Not too bad considering it was free! Also, while I was initially bewildered, I quickly realised that most of the people here were business people, so everything could be left unattended so that they could get food and drinks. Cool, it was nice not having to drag around my luggage just to get my breakfast!The view from the lounge is pretty cool too. I didn't realise it at the time, but that was actually my plane!Keeping those windows squeaky clean :DBye bye Melbourne, I love you! But only almost as much as Sydney.Onwards we go!!!

Kuro Kisume - The Table

There's classy, then there's classy. Want the ultimate exclusive experience? It doesn't get more on-the-surface-looks-so-pretentious-and-foodie-exclusive than this. But let me tell you now, it's the friendliest, silliest, laughter filled and delicious eating experiences you can get.I remember when trying to make a booking here, I thought that I only had 30 days in advance and that they were open 7 days a week. But I was specifically after The Table, which is a 12-seater room. Thank goodness I re-read the page a kazillion times, to notice that The Table has a 45 days in advance booking and that I could do it online. Phew, no more battling the phone! I got lucky that I was also bringing a friend along to this wild ride!We were a bit early, which was a good thing, since these things have synchronised start times. So we chilled at the bar for a bit and chose mocktails (I think it was the sakura one, which involved a rosewater aroma spray right at the end, but I failed to take a nice picture of it), before we were taken into the room.It was a small turnout tonight, which kind of surprised me - I thought these things were highly sought after and fully booked all the time, but we were a table of 8 tonight, out of a maximum possible of 12. Interesting. Our chef greeted us and apologised for his unhandsome look of sunburnt face, and then checked that we definitely didn't have any dietary requirements. Sure, we'd all be game enough to eat kangaroo balls and monkey brains if required... right???There was a quick Q&A around the room so that he could find out where we were from and why we were here, and for me it was interesting to hear it too, because I wondered if I could pick out what kind of foodie everyone is. Turns out I'm no good at it haha.He also made mention that unlike omakase restaurants, which were mainly sushi focused, and usually sourced Japanese ingredients, his aim was to use as many Australian ingredients as possible. I like the way he thinks, I love it when local produce gets showcased!

Spanner crab, udon dashi gelee, freeze dried apple

Look at that. Isn't it beautiful? He first showed us the shell of the spanner crab, and asked if we knew what it was. I really didn't want to draw attention to myself and I had no idea if he was asking rhetorically or actually looking for audience participation, so I stayed quiet haha. Also I didn't want to come across like a know-it-all, because that's sometimes how I feel since I love to play the game of "recognise that ingredient!"This was super tasty and it was like having solid crab broth! By solid I mean jelly, which is close enough. The flavours on this carried so much depth for a crab wrapped in dashi jelly thing! I could eat this solid soup for days on end!

Oyster with wagyu shaving, tobiko, finger lime

Finger lime makes an appearance again! I love that stuff! I felt the beef was a little overkill since I have a strong preference for natural oysters. But also this was served in a most interesting bowl, it was rocks stuck together inside a glass bubble plate thing.Oh yeah, the uni shell came out. I'm in for some good stuff.

Uni, roasted cauliflower foam, truffle

I secretly call this one the uni-corn, because there was corn puree at the bottom, then sea urchin, then covered in a cauliflower foam before being covered in shaved truffle. I love the flavour of roasted caufliower! And then the briny creaminess of the sea urchin hit, and that sweetness then carried into the corn. How delicious!Also, no, we couldn't eat the shell. Apparently some people have tried, so he has to give that warning every time!It might have also been around this time that the chef recognised one of the guests here - apparently a return customer? But he wasn't very sure for now...I spotted this little thing appear on the table, but I didn't actually realise what it was. I just thought it was cute, which is why I took a picture of it.Then this came out. BUT OF COURSE! It's an onion soup syphon soup like the one I had at Vue de Monde except it's got bonito flakes in it!!! Yeah?!?!?! I got really excited about this one and I felt like I wanted the whole world to know that I love syphons and immediately recognised what it was, but I also kept my mouth shut and let the chef explain instead.I felt a little bad because I was thinking, hey, I've seen a restaurant do this 3 years ago, so I know what's going to happen. But I had to remember that not everyone has seen it done before (especially as a soup), and you know what, it was a good thing that I continued to listen to the chef, because that's when I learned a little bit more. I had always thought that the heat causes the water to boil, and that's why it goes up into the top chamber, before cooling back down. However, apparently what actually happens is that their air expands as it's heated in the bottom chamber, and it's the expansion of the air that pushes all the liquid to the top. Is that why no boiling chips are needed? Lol, my days of high school science still kicks in every now and again, because I remember always wondering, if we had to put boiling chips in our round flasks to stop large bubbles bursting out of the glass, how come syphons never needed one? Maybe the bead chain did that? Either way, I have no clue, so now I will run around with both water boiling and air expansion in my head every time I see one of these :)

Siphon broth of bonito and storm clam, smoked eel

Oh look who it is. Storm clams make another appearance! This time in broth form. I liked the clams when I had them at Cumulus Inc better, but the broth in here was really yummy! It's what I aim for when I make seafood broths, but I can't seem to get the flavour as light and clear. I also found it amusing that there were zucchini balls in here. I wonder why there are zucchini balls in here?Ok everyone, what colour is the sky? Blue, but then we all started joking about it, red at sunset, grey if you're a Londoner, etc. And apparently there was one guy who got really serious and started describing it as colourless and that it was simply refracting light which is why we see it the colour we do....Too bad I already realised why he asked, possibly because I saw him hiding a very special caviar-looking tin behind his back while he was talking. Oh yeah. Imagine holding something like this in your hand!!! Wow!! He explained that tobiko was coloured and rather ordinary, but that this, this was real colour. Completely natural. Too bad I already knew this, having read some of Mr. Niland's description of tasting it. Ok yeah, I talk a lot about Mr. Niland lol.He was showing this around the table, so I took a picture and said that his hand would now be famous, haha!I also decided, you know what, I know how much a Perth retailer sold this for. So I'll see if restaurants get a better deal on it. I asked cheekily, how much does a tin like that cost him? The answer? $140 a tin. Which means they don't get a discount. They pay the same price as I would have. Ouch, that's the real deal when it comes to premium product! So now I know!

Scampi sashimi, nori puree, scampi roe

And this is how it was served. In a massively shiny golden-on-the-inside bowl. Oh yeah. But guess what... when I saw the ingredients being piled on, I realised something. THIS WAS THE EXACT SAME THING I HAD YESTERDAY AT MINAMISHIMA LOL. Excatly the same ingredients, but done in slightly different ways. The nori here was a paste rather than crisps, and the daikon was presented in a more pretty manner here. Apart from that, there was still finger line, and bottarga. Cool stuff. It's as if I wished really, really, really really hard that I really, really, really wanted this one again, and my wish came true!!!Given that the ingredients were the same, they were also equal in taste, so I was super happy. I absolutely couldn't believe my good fortune that somehow, I ate the most gorgeous dish twice, in two nights!The chef was kind of looking around expectantly at this stage, and then when no one talked (because we were all too busy enjoying our food), he announced that usually at this stage, more likely the girls, would ask where the bowls were obtained from. That's when we all joked that these were IKEA bowls. I couldn't actually remember where any of the servingware came from since I am not interested in that stuff, but it was something that was talked about in a lot of the dishes.Oooh, a smokey dome! I actually got a funny video of this but I don't have time to figure out how to convert and embed; the chef presented each one to us, but for mine, since I was filming, he made sure to stick his pinky out like a proper snob, and then swirled the glass round as he lifted it.

Grilled green lip abalone, charred eggplant, caviar

The smokiness was amazing and lingering here. I think it was applewood that was used to smoke this? The very question made me think back to Firedoor, where specific woods are used for specific food. While the abalone was nice, it was the eggplant that was the real flavour bomb here! So delicious!Watch out, tweezers in action! This smelled great while being made, and of course my eyes went straight to the broad beans. Just 3 on every dish, and I was so eager to eat them!!!

John dory katsu, spring garden

Look that those flowers so delicately and lovingly scattered upon the crispy fried fish. You wanna know the secret to edible flower arrangements? Flower bae, that's what. Salt bae was so 2017 :P even though it's still 2017. This was more fish than I was expecting, but it was perfectly cooked and I was really loving that crust!

Spring vegetable terrine

I was happily chatting to my friend and probably off in my own little head-world when this dish came out, but when I finally paid attention and looked at it, my face was just like OH WOW OMG WHAT IS THAT BEAUTIFUL PRETTY THING. Even the chef laughed because he says that people usually have my kind of reaction when this dish came out!My goodness. That knifework. It's no superfine dice, but this still requires so much precision. All the chefs who prep this have to be within 1mm of each other and the standard measurement of I think 12 or 15mm or something, for this dish to come together. Even then, each different vegetable is pickled and prepared differently too, before it all comes together. Man, that's some insane stuff. I would love to try this one day, but it's infinitely more daunting than trying to just finely chop onions as a show of skill.The chef also said that this was affectionately known as the V13. Too bad I didn't actually count all the vegetables though, I would have loved to, had I thought about it in the moment! I got as far as baby corn, pumpkin, zucchini, pink beetroot, there was probably a carrot, a yellow beetroot or yellow carrot, and other things. I can't remember what the green paste was, but I guessed correctly that those were elderflowers!What a tasty pickle dish!

Double toro sushi

This might be a kaiseki restaurant, but it can do sushi if it wants to! There was something curious about this though, and the chef told us to try and guess what was underneath the sushi, because it wasn't rice. One of the other people at the table tried to lift the entire plate to angle it to the light to try and get a visual on it, so I tried the same. Then I looked at it, then I tried to bite it on its own, then I just put the whole thing in my mouth.Apparently no one could guess what this was, but I felt it was a little like fish ball. What did it end up being? Well, hopefully you get served this to find out for yourself!Now, out comes the binchotan! This is super special pure charcoal which can burn really, really hot.OH YEAH LOOK AT THAT LEVEL OF SIZZLE OH MAAANWhat happens when a binchotan and wagyu beef kiss? Smokey, fatty, flavoursome deliciousness.

Aburi wagyu, sushi, chopped toro

And how it looks when it's all structured and plated up. This time, yes, there was sushi rice inside the beef. Then it was topped with toro, and it was a very decadent treat! What I loved the most about this was the lingering smokiness from the binchotan, I felt that it made all the difference when it came to making this piece unique from any other place where I might end up trying this again.It was funny though, because the wagyu slices looked so similar to that of Waku Ghin, and even after cooking, I couldn't stop thinking that this would be perfect if it was just the beef with some fresh wasabi... that dish was just too good....Oh. Oh, I get a claypot. Filled with morels. Oh my goodness, morels!!!! This was like what I would get at Den?!?!?! I was so excited!! This is kaiseki!

Morel mushroom rice

And there it is. The rice and roe to beat Minamishima's rice and roe. I was so happy with this dish, because it was what I really wanted to see, along with the Den salad, when I went to Japan, but couldn't because the restaurant was closed during my visit. This was amazing, the flavour was great, and while the roe was nice, I really didn't mind if it wasn't there.Did you know that this isn't just Yarra Valley hand milked salmon caviar? I mean yeah, I buy this for home, and everyone ("everyone" being Minamishima) uses it at restaurants, but the chef explained that this was the first harvest. So that means it's the one in the special little tins. The first harvest is important because it's when the eggs have the thinnest shells, so they are softer. Good to know!He also went on to explain how these were milked (too bad I already knew), but again, what was really fascinating and kept my attention here was that he explained how this was different from places like Japan. If the salmon isn't hand milked, then it's likely the salmon had its belly cut open and the eggs removed. So the poor salmon would probably be dead and hopefully, a really tasty dinner. That bit was enlightening and made me once again, appreciate that knowing where your food comes from and how it's prepared is a very important part of eating.

Blackmore 9+ wagyu, shio koji, asparagus

This was the most ordinary dish for me, but has a few interesting stories with it.First of all, I was talking to my friend when I stopped mid-sentence, told her I would stop talking to her, and my head whipped around to immediately stare at the white asparagus that'd just come out. Apparently this was so sudden and must have looked so insensitive that the person sitting across from me (the chef was in the kitchen at that moment) burst out laughing! I couldn't help the way I acted! It's white asparagus!! How exciting!!!My friend said that she'd seen white asparagus before, and that's when the chef talked about how white and green asparagus are the same thing, the white ones are simply denied sunlight and the opportunity to photosynthesise.These were served raw, but marinated in shio koji. I was surprised at the flavour and softness of these, mainly because I'd tried cooking some myself not too long ago and the outer stem was tough, and most of the sweetness came from being boiled (I don't have a steamer). But in this case, it was tender, but also, the shio koji was really strong! It didn't detract from the asparagus at all though, and I think it probably changed the outside texture of the asparagus ever so slightly, maybe.Then there's the wasabi. Look at that dollop of real, freshly ground wasabi, to complement the beef. Oh yeah, that was sooooo good. Wagyu and wasabi are a match made in heaven!! It felt like Waku Ghin all over again!The chef had actually talked about the wasabi earlier in the meal, explaining that packet wasabi contained little to no wasabi, and that wasabi likes to grow in cold, cave-like places and take a year to mature, which is why it's so rare. Another interesting tidbit of information!Not only that, he also went on to describe the wagyu grades. He touched on the marble score, but mainly, he explained what full blood wagyu is, and that the stuff at regular shops were partial breeds, so if you want wagyu, you have to make sure it's purebred. Of course, in Adelaide I already researched this since I saw Sher wagyu being sold as full blood, and thus looked up the definition since David Blackmore was the only one I really knew.Throughout the meal, the chef's memory of the return customer also kept improving, and he recalled more and more moments of that previous visit, even outlining where one of his friends had sat and said that he didn't like cauliflower, but then really enjoyed the cauliflower and uni dish! And one of the other guys at the table was increasingly bemused that the chef was remembering more and more as the night went on.That was the last savoury dish.Hey look, it's dry ice! Woohoo!

Pineapple, lychee, and passionfruit tube

And when the smoke finally dissipated, here's what was left. Fruit tubes! Three flavours, encased in a glass tube. How do you eat these? Apparently you just take one and suck on it! Yellow side goes first, but apparently, if you want to be kinky (chef's own words), I guess you could suck from the orange side :P He said he created it this way because he thought that the traditional Japanese style of sweet palate cleanser in the form of fresh fruit just a tad too simple. Aw, I would have loved a slice of yubari melon! Haha.Since we were at the end of the table, we got to watch as everyone else ate these, and still I was nervous because I had no idea how much force to apply to get all the flavours in one go - but it was as self explanatory as the chef made it out to be. What a tasty flavour bomb! I loved the combination, and even though they went into your mouth pretty much all at once, the flavours were still very distinctive. How fun!

Journey from light to dark chocolate

And the final dish. Dessert. From this angle, I felt it kind of looked like a dinosaur head. We were supposed to eat this from light to dark, and it started with coconut and vanilla flavours and yuzu meringue, then moved onto dark chocolate and raspberry sauce at the end. Those shards were absolutely awesome, and there was a black sesame flavour in there too! A really nice end to the night!Well. This was something else. As a whole, it was a totally new experience for me, since I've never done kaiseki before. It was a lot of fun, with great company from both the chef and the other customers, and the food was also really good, especially as some came with a lot of background information! There were so many elements that I picked from all the other restaurants I've been to, which was cool, because they gave me comparison points, but more importantly, I got to see why each restaurant is different, and that made me love things even more!There was a part in the evening where there was a discussion with the couple sitting next to us, and how they'd visited Jiro's sushiya before. The couple described it as a completely different experience that was so fast, and Jiro watches you and expects you to eat the sushi straight away, and you couldn't stop at any point, so the girl was so full, but had to keep going to avoid showing disrespect! With that kind of description, it sounded like a very intimidating place to go to, and all of a sudden I don't think I want to visit haha!Finally, the chef asked us what our favourite dish was. As he went around the room, everyone said the wagyu beef (I think the sushi version), but by the time he came to me, I said something different. For me it was the mushroom rice, because of how much I wanted a real kaiseki experience, and because I had wanted it at Den, but was unable to get a reservation at the time. The mushroom rice dish was so homely and different from what I could usually get at Japanese restaurants, so I really loved it! And my friend said the vegetable terrine. Go us!Yep, I definitely want to come back here. But, I am suffering from ingredient fatigue (when I'm not surprised to see blue scampi caviar... where do I go from there?), so I would love to somehow get rid of that first, and rediscover the joys in things that are new to others. While Minamishima ranks higher, I find Kisume more fun. They're completely different restaurants so I wouldn't say one is better than the other, rather, I would suggest one based on the preferences of whoever's asking.One last thing... the cost of food alone for this place was $220 per person, but it felt like it was worth so much more. I reckon this was closer to a $300 dining experience, but since that price doesn't exist in Australia (thank goodness!), I guess if they can do with $220, then that's good. But the quality is way up there, and I'd be happy to pay more.Melbourne, I love you so.Japanese food, I love you too.I love food so much!

Minamishima

Well hello gorgeous. Apparently the only way to book the best sushi restaurant in Melbourne is over the phone, and a friend of mine had been commenting about how difficult it is to secure a reservation. Well, I haven't really failed yet, so I decided to give it a go. As to not overwhelm the person (or people?) on the other end of the line, I decided to wait a few minutes after office opening hours before calling.My first go? Busy signal.Second? Busy signal.So on, and so forth.Maybe my phone was broken. Maybe theirs was broken.I tried calling Tipo 00 just to see if it was me or them. Busy signal.I tried calling Tipo 00 again. They answered. I had a super awkward conversation about trying to book a table for one (see my post about it).Tried calling Minamishima again. Busy signal.1 hour 10 minutes later, after about 80 dial attempts, someone answered! Yay!I think at this point I was actually really nervous, because what do I say now? Hi I'd like to make a reservation? Luckily there wasn't any awkwardness and I probably sounded like a normal person. Finally done, table for one.Well, I thought it was for one. A couple of days before my reservation, I received my confirmation SMS, except that the text said that I was reserved for two. Um, no? But I hit confirm since I needed my table. Also, it was a Sunday that day so I wasn't even able to call to double check! Luckily I had a friend on call just in case I did somehow magically end up with a two seat reservation. However, it seems someone at the restaurant noticed this, and I received a call shortly after anyway to confirm it was only one person. Phew!Finally, the big day came. And of course, there must have been a cancelled or broken down tram, because I had to wait super long for the next one, and when it arrived, it was a single carriage, so everyone had to play sardines :(I made it within 15 minutes of being late for my booking, but it was okay, it looks like there were several chefs who were keeping track of everyone at different paces anyway, so I settled down and placed a drinks order and listened to the specials.Woah, that was fast! I was already handed my first piece! Hokkaido scallop and seaweed. What a great little bite!Okay, now where was I. That's right, the specials. I had already overheard the person sitting next to me decline the one of the specials, so I kind of knew what to expect. Sooooo.... the specials were fugu, scampi with various toppings, and wagyu beef.Fugu!! Well, I thought about the chance of me dying a horrible death there and then, and decided, hey, why not, let's try fugu. So I said yes.I passed on the scampi because it was just scampi with toppings?And I was "bored" of wagyu beef.  But more on the definition of "bored" in a later post (Kisume).Junsai and edamame tofu. What a cute little starter! I love water plants, and these ones were great and gooey! The tofu was quite interesting. It felt more like a jelly made of agar agar than a tofu, but that's just me. Still very soft, and definitely had a soybean flavour to it!And here's my drink. It was a mikan shiso soda, with a surprise maraschino cherry inside! I chose this one since I sampled my friend's yuzu soda yesterday.Pretty water bottles!So you know how I decided to pass on scampi with toppings? Well, yeah. I saw one being made, realised exactly what "various toppings" were, and asked for one of these! My goodness, what a treat! What a superstar lineup of scampi sashimi on a bed of crispy nori, topped with none other than: blue scampi caviar, daikon and bottargar, finger lime. I was advised to eat these from left to right, and having the finger lime last provided a really nice zesty freshness! I can't believe I initially turned this one down! Never again!Alright, the main sushi course has started! First up, king dory. I think it was king dory, or something that sounded really similar. Quite nice, but I what I noticed here, is that I was comparing to the only other omakase I've had in Australia - Sokyo, and the one thing that's distinctly different is the rice. Here it's less vinegary, and a slightly different texture. I think I prefer Sokyo's rice.Cobia. Yay, cobia! I've been wanting to try this fish ever since I saw Mr Niland do cobia bacon. It's quite a nice piece of fish! I would compare it with the likes of kingfish in terms of flavour and fattiness. Always gotta do the action shots these days :)Calamari. Yeah, my opinion of squid hasn't changed. I still don't like it raw, lol.Octopus, on the other hand, is delicious! This was served slightly marinated, and with a dab of wasabi. The wasabi was for the octopus only, the chef explained. Yummy!I really liked this Queensland prawn with prawn powder. It was cooked and insanely sweet, and then the prawn powder on top gave it an extra flavour much like prawn crackers!This one was described as the edge of flounder. Hey, I think I know what he was talking about because I had a whole flounder not that long ago! It is literally the edge of the flounder, but deboned, so that the flesh was so soft but still all intact.Local tuna. I think he said local. That probably means it's yellowfin since they're found in South Australia.Look, a blowtorch has appeared!No don't worry, this bluefin toro wasn't blowtorched!This one was though. Both versions were tasty, though I can't quite remember which I liked better. Probably the not-seared one.The smoked bonito was a real treat!But this was more interesting. Mackerel and a type of seaweed. Quite nice textures on this one.Sea eel in a cute rectangular form! While it tasted good, I didn't find this one too special.But lo and behold, this was the showstopper tonight. When I saw the red plate come out, I figured, that must be my fugu!! So I started taking lots and lots of pictures.If I've previously said that a food was overkill, well, it's just been superseded. This was simply insanity. So many tiny different toppings went onto this, and then out came the microplane and the whole thing was smothered in foie gras! The fugu itself, I couldn't tell was fugu, because I didn't get any tingling. I'm also still alive, and the person sitting next to me asked how it was. I told them, if I'm still alive in half an hour, I'm sure I'm good to go. The texture was a little crisp and chewy, but lean. This was in contrast to the foie gras which was rich, smooth and melt in the mouth.Yay, salmon roe and rice! I actually laughed a little on the inside when I saw this, because I've actually been planning to make this during Christmas! But too bad, my restaurants beat me to it! A simple delicious dish.It was about here that the waitress said that it was the end of the savoury courses, and asked if I wanted to have anything else from the sushi counter. The guy sitting next to me had ordered two more cobia, and I was thinking of either that or the scampi, but I decided to be sensible and not overeat or overspend (lol), and didn't go with any extra pieces. Hooray for self control!And the little tamagoyaki to finish the night. This one was cute and had their name stamped on it! I'd say the texture of this is similar to that of Sokyo.A light broth made of snow crab, and in it was a little spanner crab "marshmallow" as I call it. Basically, spanner crab and egg white mixed together to be like a light and fluffy version of a fish ball. And a chrysanthemum leaf. Nice and clean!And to finish the night off, chocolate. Green tea, genmaicha, and houjicha flavoured. They were really smooth and enjoyable, and were an accurate representation of the tea! It was simple and it worked. I finished the night pretty full, but not nearly as roly-poly as my Tipo 00 experience.My verdict? It felt like walking into a real, classy sushi bar. It felt more "real" than Sokyo's omakase (but would never compare the two directly since the atmospheres are too different). This place had the right decor, setup and just overall feeling. My favourite special was that of the scampi, because the scampi was so sweet and I have a love for all three toppings. The cobia was the biggest surprise since I had no idea what to expect, and had a really good flavour and texture. I can see why the guy next to me really liked it, because it was my favourite piece of fish too! If I had to re-order a piece? The QLD prawn.The fugu was great to try once, but honestly, I don't think I would recognise it if I ate it again. It's definitely something that I would recommend getting, it's not as scary as I thought it was, and I said to the guy next to me, yes, I would order this again. I think I would. It has some strong competition though, I would always choose (and recommend) the scampi over the fugu simply because I like how it tasted a lot more (and scampi caviar! Bottarga! Finger lime!). Who cares about the wagyu, the best I've had was at Waku Ghin!What I also found funny, was that even though I was 15 minutes late, I actually kept pace with some of the diners who'd started earlier. They had a lot more drinks in between, whereas I had the single one and a lot of water. So even though I was taking pictures of everything as I went, I didn't actually spend a longer time as a result, which I thought was pretty cool, since social media is the death of dining times these days.The experience was totally worth it, especially as the base cost of this meal was less than $200. If you can't get to a high end sushiya in Japan, this is the next best thing.