Easy Tiger

96 Smith Street, Collingwood

Thai food in Australia has evolved in recent years due to the emergence of restaurants such as Longrain, Nam Thai and Ginger Boy which have taken the old Friday night takeaway or cheap and cheerful BYO to whole new levels of flavour, spice and texture.  With Easy Tiger, the classics are still present; however they are now crafted with traditional spices and modern techniques that leave the diner wanting more. Easy Tiger certainly deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as the restaurants listed above and warrants its place at the forefront of Thai cuisine in Melbourne.

The restaurant itself is tiny, a narrow Smith Street shop front that has been turned into a sparse yet chic space, holding just 25 diners inside. Two long tables run down the centre of the room which is intended for sharing, along with three small tables of two along the wall and a couch area in the front window where diners can choose to eat or wait for a table with a glass of wine and something from the ‘Street Food’ menu. There is also a small court yard at the rear of the building but with the cold, piercing wind picking up and being a mid winter’s evening we happily opted for a seat inside.

Unbeknown to us on arrival we were told there is no à la carte menu on Sunday evenings and instead were presented with two banquet options; a three course menu for $65 ahead or a two course menu for $45 ahead. At first I was not thrilled with the idea of being unable to choose our dinner, especially as I am addicted to reading the menu online beforehand and had been dreaming of the yellow curry of roasted thirlmere duck with baby corn and salted pineapple, however I put this behind me and settled on the two course option and wow, we were not to be disappointed!

First out came freshly shucked pacific oysters with red chilli nahm jim and ma hor (prawn, pork & chicken mince cooked in palm sugar, served on fresh watermelon).  The oysters were deliciously fresh and salty with a good hint of chilli and the ma hor, although not looking that appetising, the texture and taste were both very pleasing to the palette. Following these was our last entre, betel leaf with prawn, peanuts and fresh coconut. I cringed when the waiter happily explained the dish ending with the well used line of “they are like a little flavour explosion in your mouth” but after just one bite and the overwhelming sweet, sour and salty taste that accompanied it, I must admit it was an apt way to describe them.

Our second course consisted of tea smoked ocean trout with cucumber, lemongrass, peanuts and chilli jam, a green curry of organic beef shin with snow peas and winter melon and son in law eggs. The waiter suggested to us that the best way of eating these dishes was to add all three to our plate, crack the egg over a bed of steamed white rice and take a little of each on our fork. We duly followed his instructions and immediately we were hit with the intense and delicious flavours of the dishes. The beef shin had been slow cooked and it just fell apart with one touch of the fork, the mixture of ocean trout with the creamy lemongrass and peanuts was rich and powerful and together balanced the meal. The son in law eggs were cooked slightly too long and didn’t have the same tangy chill jam that had accompanied them at Ginger Boy but were still very pleasing. Overall the meal was again, cringe, a sensory overload!

With satisfied tummies and our taste buds in a tingle we left the restaurant which was the perfect cure for the Sunday night blues.

Bill: $45 per person; Wine: cheapest bottle $45

Rating: 16.5 O’s out of 20

Gills Diner

Corner 358-360 Little Collins St & Gills Lane, Melbourne CBD

After hearing both yays and nays I was looking forward to testing out the bakery turn restaurant for myself, so last Saturday evening we headed into the CBD, down Gills Lane and into the world that is Gills Diner.

Like so many good restaurants in Melbourne Gills Diner has its own personality, from the concrete floors filled with wooden bench top tables straight out of the old class rooms of yesteryear and set for sharing, the yellow and white tile covered walls, to the high wooden ceiling with low hanging lights and fans, Gills identity is both unique and welcoming.

Walking in I was struck by the unmistakable smell of freshly made bread baked earlier in the day and served in the small semi attached bakery next door, with the delightful smell awakening the senses and getting the taste buds ready for the meal ahead. 

Once seated we were handed the wine menu and served a basket of thick peasant style sour dough, which I duly spread with butter to keep my hunger at bay whilst we waited for the food menus that were conspicuously  absent from the table. When the waitress returned to take our drinks order she explained that there is no ‘formal’ menu and that tonight’s choices are outlined on the black boards scattered along the walls, a quirky idea that themes nicely with the overall appeal of the restaurant.

For starters we shared three tapas styled plates of chorizo, mushroom and farro salad, baby carrots with yogurt and harissa and smoked eel with celeriac remoulade and beetroot.  Each, although not my traditional choices of tapas, had good use of flavour’s throughout and despite my initial hesitation towards the eel I did go back for seconds!

 

A large plate of thick chestnut pappadelle with a wild mushroom and sage sauce was presented in front of me for the main course and I was instantly taken back to Chianti, Italy. The pasta was deliciously soft and the subtle, rich flavour of the mushroom bought to the fore memories of last year’s vacation. Around the table other choices included the Porterhouse with chickpeas, carrot, ox tongue and onion jam which was well presented though slightly over cooked from the medium that as requested. While the taste was evident in the nicely cut portion of steak, it lacked the melt in the mouth sensation of a perfectly prepared steak. Also ordered on the night was ravioli filled with a ragu of rabbit and carrots, topped with a prune and pine nut sauce. Whilst this was an adventurous, although slightly too sweet a dish, it was enjoyable and every last mouthful was gladly eaten.

Sitting back in our chairs, finishing the last of the sangiovese and taking in the now bustling atmosphere, our table echoed an agreeable yum as we reflected on an eventful day and delightful evening.

Bill:  $55 per person including drinks

Rated: 15 O’s out of 20.

Until next Friday,
Olwen

Ablas Lebanese Restaurant

109 Elgin Street, Carlton

In my quest to try all things new and old in and around Melbourne,  this week’s date night took us to the old, Abla’s Lebanese Restaurant just off the ever colourful Lygon Street in Carlton. Having read great reviews I had tried unsuccessfully to make a reservation earlier in the year and was excited that we could finally be ‘squeezed’ in at 8.15pm on this cold and wintery Friday night.

Abla Amad has been running Ablas’s for over 30 years and when we first walked in I could imagine that I was seeing exactly what her first guests had when she opened the doors in 1979. The place is tiny, two steps in and you are standing in amongst full tables loaded generously with delicious looking food and you are instantly engulfed by the buzz of conversation. Looking around at first, I thought goodness maybe they hadn’t been able to fit us in after all, however before I knew it  a friendly waitress waved us towards the kitchen and guided us awkwardly up a tiny, creaky  staircase to the second level.

Once comfortably seated in what could have doubled as a living room straight out of the 1970’s, the waitress took our wine, yes BYO, which is always a big tick in my book although something of a rare gem to find these days, while we took a minute to soak in the atmosphere. Pondering the menu my eyes went straight to the banquet, it was 8.15 and I was ready to eat! The waitress was very helpful pouring our wine and warning us that the banquet was very large, was this a challenge that she was setting us? Deciding to make our own choices we ordered the mixed dips; Baba Ghannooj, Hummous bi Tahini and Labnee, the Ladies' Fingers and the Chicken Wings with the intention to order two mains to follow.

Our dips arrived and the flavour of each could not be faulted. I find there is something very comforting about a well made, traditional hummus. The remaining dishes arrived promptly and luckily changed my focus as I had failed to hold back on the dips despite my desire to not fill up on them. The Ladies Fingers were filo pastry cigars filled with minced lamb, pine nuts and spices. Biting in I was expecting a more powerful flavour to hit me, instead it was a rich, well cooked taste of mince that only your grandmother can accomplish through hours of browning  and adding the right amount of spices at the right times. The Chicken Wings, baked with garlic and lemon juice, just fell off the bone and had an amazing rich and tangy flavour, a flavour hard to describe but impossible not to recommend!

After the richness of our starters we decided on just one main, Chicken and Rice, flavoured rice pilaff with minced lamb, chicken and almonds. Again the flavours were rich and homely. As I ate I could imagine Abla sitting at her kitchen table as a child eating the same dish made from her mother or grandmother. The dish summed up exactly what I felt the restaurant embodied, that being a sense of home, warmth, a love of food, family and most importantly, tradition.  

We left the restaurant with the taste of strong Lebanese coffee and the sweet after tones of the best homemade Baklawa I have had. Mimicking George Calombaris from his recent Master Chief episode “Buk – La- Va” we chanted down the street to our car!! I felt full and comforted after another great Melbourne dining experience.

Rated: 14 O's out of 20

Until next Friday, 
Olwen.