The contents of this blog are matters of opinion formed over one more visits. There has been some artistry applied and metaphors and similes should not necessarily be taken literally.
This beef jerky was very thin and crispy, with a natural-tasting beef flavour, a little salt, but not much else in terms of seasoning – generally flavoured in more of a Western style compared to most Chinese jerkies. Allegedly spicy but imperceptibly so.
The thinness, allegedly at 1mm a slight, I thought was a bit overboard, in that it actually became sharp enough to be uncomfortable when poking the oral mucosa.
I had two things from Wok N BBQ tonight, purchased on the way home from visiting a friend and with the express intention of eating it slowly over the next few days. “Groceries”.
The crispy pork ($42/kg) had a good crisp to its crackling skin and a good mixture of fat and lean meat, as well as some soft bones which my partner would’ve enjoyed had she been around, however I felt it was unfortunately oversalted.
The soy chicken ($17 for half) was conversely undersalted, even when fully dipped into the sauce, though this was made up for but not balanced by the quite salty ginger and shallot mix. The texture was tender and silky, which is a plus.
Overall I did not feel that Wok N BBQ provided an exemplary experience and will hesitate to go back given multiple other superior options in the vicinity.
I really wanted to go back to Agathe a couple of weeks ago when I was in Melbourne for a quiz, but between cramming, spiralling, and Agathé’s rather tight opening hours I sadly wasn’t able to. Spanish bakery La Colmena is where my (local) friend and I settled with in the end, after taking into consideration my bakery desires, our relative starting locations, and the limited time I had before flying out (flight was delayed 2 hours, but I didn’t know this at the time).
The basque cheesecake ($14) we shared was pretty good, although sweeter than I would’ve liked. The texture was very nice, probably the best I’ve had, with a creaminess on the outer layers and a very gooey centre, although I think weighing up the strengths and weaknesses I probably still prefer one I’ve had at a Korean bakery in Sydney that offers a less sweet option for the Asian palate.
The flor manchega ($6) was extremely whatever – essentially thin, multilayered crispy pastry, dusted with sugar and with a bit of an aniseed/liquorice flavour. It is apparently culturally significant, but there are definitely other pastries out there that both have a rich history and taste interesting.
Maybe we just didn’t order the right things?
La Colmena Prahan Market, 163 Commercial Rd, South Yarra VIC 3141
These shepherd’s purse and egg buns came recommended by a reader, though I actually already had them in my freezer by the time the comment came through.
They are part of the ‘paper skin’ line, which is an accurate description given the superb filling to skin ratio as seen on the cross-sectional image provided. The skin, despite its thinness, was extremely strong, bouncy, and held up well to steaming.
My wife and I were less impressed by the filling, however, and felt that the taste was a bit bland. This was easily corrected with a bit of chilli crisp and vinegar, but having to add flavour to a prepackaged frozen bun isn’t exactly my dream.
I wouldn’t get these again, but I do like some of Ruyee’s other offerings.
Ruyee Steamed Bun with Shepherd’s Purse and Egg 如意纸皮包子 荠菜鸡蛋味 EAN 9309000476008
I sat out on the first order from Granville Kebab House on our run of nights, but after letting my colleagues test the waters on night one, I took part on night two.
Contrary to the opinions of my colleagues, I did not feel that this lamb kebab ($17.50) was the best. I would rate it in the bottom quartile of lamb kebabs I’ve had, purely because of the quality of the meat was lacking. While it’s usually nice to find a kebab with something resembling actual meat as opposed to mystery meat, I found the meat in this kebab to be unpleasantly chewy and gristly, with at least a couple of mouthfuls where the meat was impossible to chew to a small enough particle size to swallow, and had to be discreetly spat out instead. Factors counting in favour of this kebab however include its huge size, though another factor detracting is the $1 surcharge for tabouli. Perhaps a mystery-meat and chicken mix kebab would be a bit better.
I had only a single soggy bottom chip from this large snack pack ($22), but I wanted to add this photo to show just how huge and heaped it was. The concave upper lid was packed to the absolute max. I appreciate the effort, but would appreciate it more if the portion sizes and prices were both smaller.
Granville Kebab House 17 South St, Granville NSW 2142 0410 801 801
