Townhouse, Toorak

March 30, 2014March 30, 2014 ~ culinaldi ~ Leave a comment

Last year, I thought I would try and discover new breakfast destinations, courtesy of the Number 8 city bound tram. Whilst I was eager to visit all the cafés en route from the Domain Interchange through to Brunswick and Coburg, I also wondered what I would discover if I took a trip in the opposite direction. Its been almost a year to the day since I had walked up to Toorak village, and seeing as my days of living in the South Yarra area are almost coming to an end, I decided to catch the tram and see what new culinary adventure awaited.

A beautiful, sunny morning, it wasn’t long before I could see occupied chairs and tables outside on the footpath, and found an open and inviting café called “Townhouse”. The interior was stylish with touches of Scandinavian influence with clean wooden floors, chairs and tables, with an inviting dark grey, linen upholstered banquette seat opposite the coffee machine. I was captivated by the designer lighting over the counter area and secretly wished I had something similar in my pad.

I don’t represent myself as a coffee connoisseur, but I was in heaven upon first sip of my skinny latte. Without doubt, the best cup of coffee I have tasted in a long while, and you know that you are in the right place when you look up and see George Calombaris also enjoying breakfast there.

Townhouse, Toorak

The menu had the usual offerings of fruit toast, muesli, porridge, various bacon and egg combinations with accompaniments, smoked salmon with avocado and eggs, omelette and pancakes. I was intrigued by the description of the pancakes which sounded slightly healthy: Rye, Chia Seed and Blueberry pancakes with vanilla mouse and maple syrup. I can recall my Mum making a buckwheat version when I was a young girl and its taken years to blot out the memory of their terrible taste. Yeuch! Whilst I was a little apprehensive about the inclusion of rye and chia seeds, I was willing to try something new.

Although I had a case of food envy when a plate of Smoked Salmon on Dark Rye with poached eggs, avocado and preserved lemon hollandaise arrived at the table next to mine. The presentation was fabulous and I almost wished that was what I had ordered, and then my breakfast arrived. Also beautifully presented, with four pikelet sized pancakes and dollops of vanilla mousse artfully arranged on the plate. The mousse was extremely fluffy with faint hints of vanilla bean, slightly sweetened by the juice from the blueberries but had more of a foam-like consistency. The pancakes were moist and generously filled with blueberries and drizzled with maple syrup. I couldn’t detect any obvious taste of rye or chia seeds but the pancakes were extremely light and delicious.

Rye, Chia Seed and Blueberry pancakes with vanilla mousse and maple syrup - Townhouse, Toorak — Rye, Chia Seed and Blueberry pancakes with vanilla mousse and maple syrup – Townhouse, Toorak

The service at Townhouse is efficient, perfunctory and unobtrusive but dare I say it, there is a lack of genuine personal interaction. My coffee order was taken within thirty seconds of being seated; my plate silently whisked away as soon as I had finished and my empty coffee glass also wordlessly taken. I really wanted another skinny latte after having enjoyed my first cup, and the usual “Would you like another coffee?” wasn’t forthcoming. Before I could request one, the waitress had sped off. As there was nothing on my table, service staff had no reason to come near me, so my only recourse was sit and stare around the café until I gained someone’s attention. My payment at the cash register was similarly conducted with robotic precision and I walked out with the feeling that I was another transaction rather than a customer.

Aside from that, Townhouse is a lovely café with delicious food and I hope that it doesn’t take another year to wander up to Toorak village and enjoy breakfast there again.

Tyranny of Distance, Windsor

March 23, 2014 ~ culinaldi ~ Leave a comment

When I was in primary school, I loved the quirky Split Enz song, “Six Months in a Leaky Boat”. Although I had no idea what I was singing, over the years through my love for pub trivia, the one particular lyric I do remember is “the tyranny of distance, didn’t stop the cavalier”. I have no idea whether the inspiration for the name of this café came from this song, or from the famous book on Australia’s history, but not even the threat of heavy rain was going to stop me from walking the entire length of Chapel Street to check it out.

A petrol station in a former life, Tyranny of Distance is located in Union Street, around the corner from Chapel Street in Windsor. Their mission is to provide great, tasty food with all products in their dishes, made in-house and from scratch.

Tyranny of Distance is laid back and unpretentious, with eclectic collections of tables and chair settings and furniture. There’s a fabulous homage to the previous business, with several old gas bottles stacked upon one another to create a unique and colourful artwork, from which four gas heaters provide heat for the dining area that used to be the garage.

The service is also somewhat relaxed. I saw one table as I arrived, stand up and get their own menus and try to attract someone’s attention to place their coffee order. I had been seated for five minutes before I was served, but from that moment on, the service was friendly and attentive.

Tyranny of Distance, Windsor

The menu has a particular focus on egg dishes with offerings of baked eggs, scrambled eggs, omelette, herb eggs and that’s before you get to another sub-section underneath, with the heading of “eggs”. There are also a number of gluten-free specialities, including French toast, bircher muesli and “tyranny stacks” of differing compositions.

I liked the sound of the first stack which consisted of house cured salmon, beetroot relish, horseradish romesco, spinach, two potato rostis and two poached eggs and put in my request for breakfast.

House cured salmon, beetroot relish, horseradish romesco, spinach, two potato rostis and two poached eggs - Tyranny of Distance, Windsor — House cured salmon, beetroot relish, horseradish romesco, spinach, two potato rostis and two poached eggs – Tyranny of Distance, Windsor

The first thing I noticed when my dish was served was the wonderful smell of fresh dill wafting up to greet me and that sent my appetite into overdrive.

I was pleasantly surprised at how thick the fillets of cured salmon were on top of the rosti as I began demolish my stack. The thick texture and rich flavour of the fish helped balanced the two dense rostis, which consisted of coarsely grated cooked potato, fried to a rich golden brown colour, and with a nice crispy crunch on the outside. The eggs were hard poached, just as I had requested when ordering and served with fresh dill. All in all, the quantities of the salmon, eggs and potato in the dish created a substantial meal.

The beetroot relish was served with one rosti, underneath the salmon, while the horseradish romesco was served with the second rosti. The romesco was creamy white in colour and had a smooth texture but I honestly couldn’t detect any horseradish in the mixture. Similarly, the beetroot was moist but its distinctive flavour and sweetness seemed to be missing. Despite this, breakfast was still delicious and extremely filling. Feeling satisfied and having enjoyed my breakfast, I was very thankful for the long walk back home.

Enstitu – Istanbul Culinary Institute, Istanbul, Turkey (Tasting Menu for March 2014)

March 21, 2014 ~ culinaldi ~ Leave a comment

Having thoroughly enjoyed the February tasting menu on my first night in Istanbul, I was keen to come back and try the new tasting menu for March at Enstitu. “Enstitu” is the name of the working restaurant within the Istanbul Culinary Institute where third-year students have an opportunity to experiment, practice and showcase their new knowledge and skills using fresh, seasonal produce to create contemporary Turkish cuisine.

It’s the last night of my Grand Tour of Turkey and our tour group has arrived back in Istanbul without any formal dinner plans. I had mentioned the restaurant to my new-found friends Jay and Margaret from Dublin, and they were willing to dine at Enstitu, particularly as their son is also a third year culinary student back home. After nearly two weeks of buffet breakfasts, buffet lunches and buffet dinners, it almost seemed like a novelty to enjoy an à la carte menu again. I had raved about my previous dining experience at Enstitu and had talked my travelling buddy and gourmand partner-in-crime, Jane into eating there too. Jane deserves a special mention as she was giving up alcohol for Lent and I was worried that a six-course degustation with matching wine may be too much temptation, but she was keen to give it a go and so we made a dinner reservation that afternoon.

Upon arrival, we were seated at the upstairs dining area as the bottom section where I sat on my previous visit, was full. Our waitress for the evening was a young lady who seemed eager to attend to us, although I think her enthusiasm became short-lived when we started to encounter language difficulties and our inability to communicate in Turkish.

To kick off our evening, we ordered a bottle of Sarafin 2012 Sauvignon Blanc from one of Turkey’s premier wine producers. A pale lemon colour, with orange blossom and lychee detected on the nose, the wine was crisp, dry with light acidity and citrus on the palate. A lovely way to start our celebration of our last evening in Turkey together.

Tasting Menu for March 2014

Mushroom consommé – I’m not a fan of mushrooms at the best of times, but I didn’t find this soup too overwhelming, although my friends commented that it was very “mushroomy”. It tasted like a typical consommé should although the soup was a little lukewarm when served.

Sarafin Sauvignon Blanc 2012 (Istanbul Culinary Institute, Istanbul, Turkey)

Istanbul Culinary Institute, Istanbul, Turkey

Mushroom consomme (Istanbul Culinary Institute, Istanbul, Turkey)

Seabass ceviche with citrus, cucumber and avocado sorbet, celery stalk salad, carrot puree with coriander – a visual masterpiece but I think the hit for me was the cucumber and avocado sorbet which is a little complex to describe. Served on a bed of flaked almonds, the sorbet had a creamy texture on the palate which was attributable to the avocado but with a crisp, fresh cucumber finish. The creaminess of the avocado meant that the sorbet had more of an ice-cream consistency and texture but it was a taste sensation. The other highlight of the dish was the ceviche which again, had a smooth texture with sweet flavours. A delicious dish which was well matched with the Sauvignon Blanc.

Homemade ravioli with fennel and artichoke, fried artichoke (matched with DLC Sultaniye Emir) – another well presented dish although the pasta seemed a little dry and bland after the spectacular fish course, however the fried artichoke garnish which incorporated flaked almonds added a nice crunch and textural element to the dish.

At this point, we asked for our serving of red wine earlier as it is specifically matched to the beef dish, however from prior experience, the wine servings are generous and almost impossible to finish with the matched dish.

Duck leg confit, mini apple tartin, baby spinach with chilli, duck glaze – I loved this dish although we all agreed that the duck, while perfectly cooked, tasted extremely salty. The apple tartin was the surprise element with the sweetness of the baked apple cutting through the rich duck meat. The spinach was a perfect accompaniment although I didn’t detect any chilli on my palate but that may have been overshadowed by the strong flavours from the duck and apple tartin.

In hindsight, we were glad that we asked for our red wine offering earlier as the wine was an excellent accompaniment to both the duck dish and the beef dish. The red wine was extremely smooth, and beautiful to drink. With a light floral aroma and red fruit flavours, the DLC Öküzgözü had the softness of velvet on the palate, with faint hints of oak and vanilla. Almost as delicious as the duck dish.

Pan fried beef tenderloin, potato puree with parmesan cheese, oven baked root vegetables, red wine sauce (matched with DLC Öküzgözü) – a beautifully styled dish. The beef was cooked medium to medium-rare. The potato puree was nice but the dish was let down by the undercooked vegetables that didn’t look like they had visited the oven on that particular evening. The beetroot tasted as though it had been pickled and the sharp flavour was a little strong on the palate.

Seabass ceviche with citrus, cucumber and avocado sorbet, celery stalk salad, carrot puree and coriander (Istanbul Culinary Institute, Istanbul, Turkey)

Homemade ravioli with fennel and artichoke, fried artichoke (Istanbul Culinary Institute, Istanbul, Turkey)

Pan fried beef tenderloin, potato puree with parmesan cheese, oven baked root vegetables, red wine sauce (Istanbul Culinary Institute, Istanbul, Turkey)

Duck leg confit, mini apple tartin, baby spinach with chilli, duck glaze (Istanbul Culinary Institute, Istanbul, Turkey)

Dessert sampler platter: Orange jelly, mini pumpkin macaron, sour cherry ice cream, chocolate mousse cake – The dessert dish was a spectacular array of colours and flavours. I love rich, creamy desserts so my highlight was the chocolate mousse cake, closely followed by the delicious mini pumpkin macaron which had hints of spice, predominantly nutmeg. The sour cherry ice cream was a little sharp for my palate and I had a mouthful of the orange jelly, which was nice and simple but not my cup of tea.

Usually this dish is served with a liqueur, unfortunately for some reason this was not available on the evening that we visited. With our waitress unavailable for assistance, the head waiter downstairs was extremely obliging and offered us other refreshments as a substitute.

It’s a truth universally acknowledged, that when you convince your friends to come and try a restaurant that you have raved about, it is not going to live up again to your expectations. We had a lovely, memorable evening enjoying our friendship and celebrating good wine, food and each other’s company. However our dining experience was little marred by our waitress who went from enthusiasm at the start of our evening, to total avoidance as we progressed through our tasting menu. Whilst the language was a barrier, at all times we were polite and friendly and obliging, cognisant of the fact that we are dining in a training facility. That being said, if I ever have the good fortune to visit Istanbul again, I will certainly come back and visit Enstitu and enjoy another culinary adventure.