Dinner and a Show {Oishi Kitchen Review}

In my acting days, when I first moved to Melbourne, I spent quite a bit of time at Chapel Off Chapel- a fabulous gallery space and arts venue in Prahran. I also spent a fair bit of time eating burgers and huge pots of steaming hot noodles from the local eateries and dealing with a slightly tighter costume by the end of the run. So when I was meeting one of my dearest friends (in the universe) for dinner and a show (at Chapel Off Chapel) I did a spot of research into some 'healthier' options in the area and came up with Oishii Kitchen, a Japanese/Korean offering on Chapel St.

Before I go any further I should add that in true dear-friend-of-the-universe get together style, we proceeded to way over-order and any attempt at a light meal was thrown out of the galaxy.

Do you have any friends where, despite having not seen each other for 20 months, you pick up exactly where you left off, talking over each other to fill in details and can't stop grinning? I hope you do.

We had to stop ourselves chatting long enough to order because we did have a show to see after-all. Within a minute of placing our order this appeared

Freebies!

Prahran Pastry Palace {Abla's Patisserie, Prahran Market - Review}

Last week I was invited to try some of the traditional and new and exciting products at Abla's Patisserie in the Prahran Market. For those of you not in the know, the Prahran Market is Melbourne's Gourmet Market (yes, it deserves the capitals) with some of the plushest seafood, richest meat, freshest veggies and mouth-watering cakes, bakeries and cafes. You do need to check it out.

Now, before I go any further, a quick word on pronounciation. If you aren't from Melbourne it is important that you learn that Prahran is not pronounced poshly, like Prah-rahn, or Prah-ran...no, you need to pop on your best Aussie twang, flip the sound up into your nasal passages and run the word together. All together now.....Praaahnnn. Good work. Now the locals will understand you when you tell them you are spending the day there.

Back to pastry. I have spoken before about my fostered Greek heritage. I grew up eating baklava. I thought I knew everything there was to know about baklava.

I was wrong.

Baklava has multiple variations depending on the country (wikipedia has an extended explanation) but for the purposes of this review we will focus on the Lebanese approach, spelled baklawa and steeped in rose syrup.

I hope you've had lunch cause this is going to make you hungry.

Double Meat, Double Carb, BAM! {Third Wave Cafe- Prahran Review}

Late last year the team behind Third Wave Cafe in Port Melbourne opened a second cafe in Prahran, bringing their American/Russian (what a combination!) food to the Southside. I was invited to try their lunch menu not long after they opened (you can read about it here) and loved it. We ate big saucy burgers, what's not to love. So when I was invited back to try the American BBQ dinner menu how could I refuse?

But American BBQ isn't really something I have been schooled in. I had never eaten ribs and BBQ sauce was an optional condiment in a squeezy bottle, in my previous experience. So I took the closest person I had to an American with me, the Divine Miss R; who has been to America at least twice, is going back again next week and most importantly has a gorgeous American partner. I checked she wasn't vegetarian, warned her that it was expected she eat her own body weight in meat and with all the bases covered, we were ready.

But first, the wine. I was quite hungover from a vintage party the night before where multiple bottles of burgundy were produced driving so we were excited to see that they do a range of half bottles. Bring back the carafe I say! It allows the DD (designated driver) to have a glass of wine and their dining companion to have a couple without becoming completely splooshed (technical term). We chose the Selback riesling from Mosel in Germany- it has enough residual sugar to not taste bitter up against all that BBQ sauce, with some refreshing acidity to cut through the finger-licking greasiness.

American and Russian and Pale-o my! {Third Wave Cafe Prahran review}

Melbourne is saturated with cafes, we all know this, and standing out amongst a zillion (yes, that is the official figure) other options is the only way to keep going in our caffeine-enriched city.  So when the team behind 'Third Wave Cafe' in Port Melbourne opened a second venue tucked away behind Chapel Street (in a side street off Commerical Road) in Prahran, they had their work cut out. Chapel Street is a tourist mecca, it is hard work to coerce people away from the main drag with its plethora of offers.

The solution? Call in the bloggers. Greg, the co-owner has been inviting the 'talk about their food' types to try his new joint and I was happy to be included. It seems there is such a thing as a free lunch. It is a bold move (it could be suicidal having a bunch of snap-happy foodies documenting a new business' teething problems) and it speaks of somebody confident enough to stand behind their product from the beginning. Of course these guys have a  tried and tested formula at the successful and well-reviewed Port Melbourne venue and from our experience Prahran will follow suit.