Dean Street Townhouse, Soho - London

(Mixed grill)

I entered the Dean Street Townhouse with excited anticipation. It feels like a first date. No, not with you, The Peanut Gallery, who will order a chardey (only if it's oakey), wrinkle your nose at the nearby try hards and have me guffawing about today's most inane office incident within 30 seconds of sitting down. No, the occassion feels like a first date with Dean ST itself. Because, I have that heady feeling I will fall instantly in love with its old school glamour and charm and be left donning the rose coloured glasses as I try madly to assess the food and service objectively for you my dear readers (Mum, Dad, Martha-the-dog etc. Get your paws off the keyboard, Martha.).

(The morning after...)

I'm greeted at the grand Georgian frontage by the friendly doorman (nice touch - so far, so dangerous), and the preliminaries including the taking of the coat, the showing to the table and the offering of water (no qualms about the tap option) are all handled seamlessly by a super friendly bevvie, including (comfortingly) Velma from Scooby Doo. Velma proves herself to be an absolute champion throughout the evening and I really need to find out where she got those specs.

(Clearly, I am shaky, judging from the snaps)

I swig on a big glass of Syrah to calm my first date nerves. Because it's gorgeous and it's already buzzing by 6.30pm on a Friday night. Soft candlelight flickers throughout the room revealing low tables with plush red seating, brass fittings, artwork scattered along the walls and a long wooden bar, lit by small table lamps. This is old school, classic glam - right down to the Tom Collins I almost ordered and the little Manhattan cocktails with the cherry inside (aww). It's got me. Keep your head, Greedy, keep your head.

As I peruse the menu, I become even more deeply infatuated. I love the simplicity of the stripped down British classics on offer. I already anticipate a long and steamy relationship ahead. I try to act casual, but I'm already playing footsies with the table leg.

After some serious deliberation, I settle on the double baked smoked haddock souffle and the mixed grill (a girl needs her iron). TPG, after his big work lunch, behaves like a twiggy teen model, ordering the chicory, pear, Barkham Blue and almond salad followed by pan fried ray, brown shrimps, capers and parsley. We order some sprouts and sprout tops on the side. For desserts, we go for the warm chocolate cake with choc chip mint ice-cream for me (a child at heart) and, of course, the rice pudding with jam for TPG - no surprise there.

(Souffle - dieter's delight)

My souffle only enhances the infatuation. It's lovely. Rich, light and fishy, I'm on a winner. TPG's chicory salad is ok. The Barkham Blue is divine and the dish as a whole is crisp and fresh (in contrast to my indulgent souffle). However, TPG alarmingly reports a slight chemical aftertaste about the chicory and its dressing.

(TPG's chicory salad)

I have big expectations for the climatic mixed grill. And it partly delivers. The lamb cutlet is tender, the fillet steak juicy, the bacon crisp and the whopping Cumberland sausage was tastier than expected. I loved the bubble 'n squeak which was big and full of hearty chunks. I made the mistake of thinking of might have developed a taste for liver - bah bowww. One tiny bite and it took a whole glass of emergency Syrah to wash away the foul aftermath and calm the taste buds. As far as liver goes, it might have been good, but I am not the person to judge. There was also some kidney which I left for the birds. The accompanying jus was lovely, but I could have done with a bit more of it. All up, a really good dish although I felt it was missing the X factor, which the mixed grill I had at the The Britannia pub (in Victoria Park) earlier in the year (pre-blog days) delivered admirably.

(Ray & sprouts)

TPG's ray was well cooked, but too quickly became a little same-same. Perhaps a greater assortment of sides would have added something. The sprouts were perfect.

The wines were delicious, but the only service failure of the night was the fact that the wines we ordered to accompany our mains came 10 minutes after our food.

My chocolate cake was really a pudding, and was gooey and delicious. The ice-cream was the highlight - superb minty flavour and delicious, big flakes of chocolate were generously folded into the mix.

(Choc pud)

TPG's rice pudding with raspberry jam was disappointing (especially when compared to the king of rice puds at St John). There was a strong orange flavour throughout which detracted from the comforting, creamy goodness you want from a rice pud. Next time, if I could get consensus with the TPG (we fiercely differ on desserts), I'd go for the steamed ginger sponge with custard or the sherry trifle (both are dishes for 2).

(Rice pudding & jam)

The crowd was not as trendoid as I had feared. The ultra artsy and their Pete Doherty hats mix freely with normals, and much entertainment was had watching 2 foolhardy lads at the bar continually hit on blondes sitting with their boyfriends. What the...? I found the G label on the bathroom door confusing and came face to face with an unexpected urinal (G is for "gentlemen", not "girls" - duh) - however, I can now report that the Ladies room is soooo much nicer than the Gents.

As you could almost guess from first glance at its style and menu, Dean ST is brought to us by Nick Jones (Soho House Group) and Richard Caring (owner of The Ivy, J Sheeky, Le Caprice, Scott's etc). So it has a solid pedigree.

However, my overriding sense as I departed Dean ST some time later was that it has the right formula, and we could have had something great, but somehow it just fell short of sweeping me off my feet. The atmosphere is right, the service is terrific, but the food needs some work to take it to the next level. The beauty of a simple menu only works if each dish is executed perfectly. Dean ST has the potential to be a lower priced alternative to The Ivy. But it needs to lift. Just a little. That said, I certainly liked it and appreciate what it is seeking to accomplish enough to give it a second date. I'd like to try the high tea, including cakes, crumpets with picalilli, and other British bits 'n pieces like sardines on toast and the Scotch Egg (now priced at £5.50, down from £7.50).

Until then, I am left pondering what could have been. In the immortal words of Maxwell Smart, "missed it by that much".

Dean Street Townhouse, 69-71 Dean Street, Soho, London, W1S 3SE

Gluttonous Travels: Greedy Diva's Marvellous Melbourne (Australia) - Part 1

Wandering around the cobbled, bustling alleyways of Melbourne, the sandy streets of its leafy beachside suburbs in the south and the charismatic grungy lanes of the north, it was clear to me over Christmas how much my love of food, and my passion for exploring for new edible adventures, has been shaped by this diverse and vibrant city.

Although you'll still find the odd bod who has never tasted avocado, it's been a long time since food was all about chops and 3 veg in Australia. Decades of immigration from both Europe and Asia has brought with it a thriving culinary life to my old home town. From satisfyingly greasy souvlakis to huge whole baby snappers cooked with lemongrass, lime and roasted chilli, from laid back side walk cafes where you can sip a 5 star coffee in your flip flops to high end fine dining where black is always the new black, Melbourne does Italian, French, Greek, Chinese, Thai, Indian, Japanese and Vietnamese food with gusto.

(Snapper at Longrain, City)

Melbourne is also rightly reputed for its fiercely proud coffee culture. While only a handful of places have mastered a decent espresso in London (an otherwise often underrated food city), it's almost hard to find a dud in Melbourne - you can generally follow your nose and the rich, roasting coffee bean aroma to find a stunningly good flat white without raising a sweat, particularly in the city centre and the cafe hubs of Carlton, Fitzroy, Collingwood, St Kilda, South Melbourne and Prahran. It says a lot that most Starbucks stores have shut down in Melbourne - in a city with inhabitants who have espresso running through their veins, only 5 Starbucks stores remain.

There are some distinct regions known for particular ethnic delights:
* Lygon Street (and Carlton generally) for Italian (although much of Lygon Street is largely touristy and not where you'll get the best Italian food in Melbourne);
* Victoria Street in Abbotsford for cheap and delicious Vietnamese;
* China Town in the city for Chinese (the pinnacle of which is The Flower Drum, a Melbourne fine dining institution); and
* Acland Street for cakes and pastries (although these shops are largely overrated with the exception of the delicious chocolate kugelhopf at Monarch Cake Shop).

However, the best of each ethnic cuisine is not necessarily contained within these culinary cul-de-sacs. Some of Melbourne's best bars and edible heros are tucked away off the main drag in dimly lit, cobbled alleyways, or within the limbs of upbeat inner suburbs.

Have grown up in, and devoured my way around, Melbourne for 30 years without holding back, it's impossible to list all worthy Melbourne eateries here. But this is a guide to my current sentimental favourites and others I'm still bursting to try (having been thwarted somewhat by Christmas trading hours on my recent visits).

PART 1: BREAKFAST, BRUNCH AND OH-SO-GOOD COFFEE

Despite numerous new coffee shops opening throughout Melbourne (and every one I managed to try during limited Christmas trading hours was good), my trusted Grocery Bar on Fitzroy Street (St Kilda) was consistently the best. Rich, strong, creamy and soothing - coffee of the Gods, in a relaxed "sit back and watch the passing crowds" atmosphere. You can play lawn bowls and drink beers with the cool kids at the St Kilda Bowling Club just across the road.

(Grocery Bar, St Kilda)

Another old faithful is rustic Italian bakery, Il Fornaio, at the lower end of Acland Street (St Kilda). Excellent coffee, great bakery items (including my favourite almond croissants in the world and the TPG's beloved beignets with either a jam or custard filling) and terrific for brekkie, lunch or dinner. The blood red orange juice is delicious. Eat inside, or outside on the terrace where the bayside sun flickers flirtaciously through the tree tops.

A relative new comer which we tried for the first time is St Ali (South Melbourne). Tucked away discreetly in an industrial laneway of factories and run down blocks, this fabulous new cafe has high ceilings and industrial fittings, with outdoor decks for summer (coffee) lovin'.

Its award winning coffee is also sold at Liar Liar (Hawthorn), Outpost (South Yarra), Globe Cafe (another GD favourite when shopping on Chapel St, Prahran) and Sensory Lab (David Jones, City).

I adore this place and visited several times, sampling the delicious lamb pizza (more like a wrap with pizza dough, with pine nuts, spinach and yoghurt), the huge, fresh and feisty prawn pizza (care of The Peanut Gallery), toasted banana bread with coffee marscapone and topped with a refreshing salad of orange, mint, almond and rhubarb, and the Mexican breakfast (Mum's wise choice) with a giant corn fritter, 2 fried eggs, relish, spinach and grilled haloumi. Absolutely delicious. And they even serve my beloved watermelon juices. Definitely a new breakfast fave.

I have already sung the praises of my old local, Mart 130 (Middle Park), and its sensational, gigantic corn fritters with sour cream, bacon and relish here.

Magnificent Melbourne coffee can also be sampled at:
* Gas (South Melbourne, near the market - delicious tapas and brekkies/lunches, and I love the baked Turkish eggs);
* Dead Man Espresso (South Melbourne, another newbie winning acclaim for its weekly changing single origin coffee and Seven Seeds house blend);

* Wall Two 80 (St Kilda East, popular grungy hole in the graffiti clad wall complete with a basic cafe out the back);

* Small Block (Brunswick East) and the gorgeous Sugardough Panificio & Patissserie (Brunswick East - tiny, but so much good stuff to devour, including delicious pies, spanakopita and custard or jam bomboloni (doughnuts));
* The newish Carlton Espresso (Lygon Street, Carlton - everyone working here is a heavily accented Italian for extra authenticity, which gets me every time - would love to try the pizza here also);

* City stalwarts: Journal Cafe (which transmorphs into the Journal Canteen later in the day for tasty Sicilian fare; opposite the City Library), Postal Hall (in the old Australia Post headquarters), Il Solito Posto (bustling Italian restaurant set underground in an alleyway, Geroge Parade) and Rosati (housed in a former fabric warehouse, although the restaurant itself has lost some of its lustre in recent years, they still make a fine coffee). Each of these old haunts helped get me through many a long day at the office in my former Melbourne working life; and

* For a shot of the good stuff in Armadale, Cafe Bouchon (which also serves a seriously good granola).

In Australia, milk bars are corner shops, scattered around suburbia, selling your daily staples such as milk, break and, most importantly, sweets. Seven 11's have not killed them off yet. Cute milk bar cafes include Jerry's Milk Bar (Elwood - also famed for its sausage rolls and milkshakes) and Cowderoy's Dairy (although beware of prams and small children, St Kilda West).

Still to try - the following hot new coffee spots: Proud Mary (Collingwood), Seven Seeds (Carlton), Ray Cafe (Brunswick), Liar Liar (Hawthorn), 7 Grams (Richmond), Brother Baba Budan (city). The Peanut Gallery made multiple visits to De Graves Street (a fantastic, and very Melbourne, laneway in the city, bustling with delicious cafes) for the egg, bacon, cheese, mayo toasted bagel at Jungle Juice, and I still haven't heard the end of it. He's talking about it again, right now.

(Sensory Lab, City)

Stay tuned for my next post on Melbourne's Lunch, Dinner and Snacking opportunities - from glammed up fine dining, to crispy battered fish and chips on the bay....

Gluttonous Travels: Fancy Birthday Dinner at Jacques Reymond (Melbourne, Australia)

"Only a bad meal is an expensive meal",
Shannon Bennett (chef and owner of Vue de Monde, Melbourne)

(Dish of the night: Wagyu beef rump, oyster sauce, ravioli of
daikon and spicy celery, mustard ice cream.)

You gotta love a birthday. Especially your own. The early morning champers quickly dispels any niggles about the unrelenting years piling up, the ever deepening crows feet and the fact that (a) you now delight in receiving soap and hand creams as gifts and (b) technology is moving faster than you can replace destroyed brain cells (Twitter? TiVo? Wii? What the...?). Plus, there's presents.

So the day was already off to a flying start, even before my lovely Peanut Gallery whisked me off into the sunset for a seriously fancy dinner at my favourite lah-di-dah Melbourne restaurant, Jacques Reymond.

Good old JR was originally from Burgundy, but has long been a stalwart of the Melbourne dining scene. His eponymous restaurant occupies an august Victorian mansion tucked away in the leafy parts of Prahran. Its 3 formal dining rooms are graceful and elegant, the food is modern and innovative while the value on service is classicly and classily traditional.

JR remains hands on in the kitchen - diners can sneak a peek of him at work on route to the loos. Me and my celebrity-sighting-loving-head-on-a-swivel only slinked past 4 or 5 times, I promise. (The dark glasses and "Mission Impossible" style manouvres were probably unnecessary.) And he pays a visit towards the end of the evening to discuss the meal with his customers - always a nice touch. (Note to self: Must think of something intelligent to say next time a big time chef visits my table - a flushed "that was so delicious" does not cut it.)

His restaurant has consistently been awarded 3 chef's hats by The Age Good Food Guide (JR and the fabulous Vue de Monde are currently the only Melbourne restaurants with this highest of local culinary credentials) and it received "Best Fine Dining in Victoria 2009" award from the Restaurant and Catering Association. JR's contemporary Australian cuisine is based on the classics, but draws on Asian flavours to create modern and innovative dishes which consistently have the likes of me swooning (although perhaps not for those who are sceptical of the odd saucy flourish on a plate). The TPG (totally selflessly) declared that nothing less would be in order for his greedy gourmand on her self-proclaimed big day.

JR was one of the first Melbourne chefs to offer a degustation menu. It aims to reflect the flavours of the season using Australian produce, and we were happy to settle in for the 8 courses + petit fours and coffee.

(Gourgeres)

After his traditional amuse bouche (cheesy puffs ("gougeres") which look comfortingly like Beard Papa cream puffs), our culinary marathon started with the rock lobster chakin resting in a broth of parsnip and Jerusalem artichoke, with a subtle hit of Stilton blue cheese. The broth was gorgeous, and the flavours here were subtle but intensely satisfying. This was matched by a deliciously super sweet La Grima Ramos Pinto White Port, from Porto Portugal.

(Rock lobster)

The hiramasa kingfish with ponzu, Hervey Bay scallop, spiced nougatine with peanuts, warm leek and a streak of chilli gherkin dressing followed (matched by the same glass of wine continued over 2 courses - more on that later). A lovely dish.

(Kingfish)

Next came the snapper with four peppers, fennel and white balsamic, sencha and lime emulsion matched by the 2008 Toolangi Estate "Jacques Reymond Selection" Yarra Valley, Victoria. Now, I don't mind the odd artistic skid mark on my plate, so long as the flavour adds something - and I don't mind a bit of flourish to remind me that I did not cook the meal. However, foams leave me cold. I can't chew them, I can barely taste them, and they're just too much about artistic frou frou when, in the end, a girl just wants some good tucker. This dish was lovely, but nothing special - perhaps partly because the foam is always a back stiffener that leaves me wanting to find fault in a dish that might be trying too hard.

(Snapper)

I was much happier with the crispy quail breast, tajine flavours, black rice & whipped Persian fetta. The quail package was packed with juicy, meaty goodness, and anything with Persian fetta or Meredith goats cheese is winning me over of late. The matching wine was the 2008 Galli Estate Nebbiolo, Heathcote, Victoria. The Heathcote wines we have tried on this trip have all been delicious, and being a lover of an easy Nebbiolo, I was happy to swill away at this one.

(Quail - wtih saucy dribbles)

Since eyeing it on the menu, I had been bracing myself for the Flinders Island wallaby and kombu swede cooked in salt crust dash and apple jelly, cider vinaigrette. (Matched with a 2006 Gevrey Chabertin, Domaine Phillipe Collotte, Burgundy, France). I love kangaroo when it's cooked well, but wallaby is a rare sight on a menu. The wallaby meat tasted similar to kangaroo but more light and tender, with a delicately rich flavour and a deep burgundy colour. Thumbs up.

(Wallaby - excuse the grainy photos which were taken with
maximum speed and minimum interruption of the JR experience)

But then in sauntered the Grande Dame of our evening's fine dining experience - the wagyu beef rump, oyster sauce, ravioli of daikon and spicy celery, and mustard ice cream - all topped with Tasmanian truffles (although presumably out of season, they still tasted fresh enough to me and added a rich earthiness to the dish). Mustard ice cream? Mais oui - perhaps not one for Norgen Vaaz, but absolutely amazing here. This dish was the corker, the supreme taste of the evening, that will stay with us for many a year. Lusciously rich, each mouthful was something to be savoured, eyes closed, head nodding. Not only was the combination of flavours and textures unique and fabulously matched, but individually each element was first rate in quality.

The 2005 Dalwhinnie "Jacques Reymond Selection" Shiraz, Pyrenees, Victoria matched fairly well.

(Wagyu)

I adored the martini of bittersweet chocolate, whisky and espresso granita, bourbon vanilla chantilly (no wine pairing).

(Martini)

And I thoroughly enjoyed the pear and caramel, earl grey and orange tea ice cream, broken Pedro Ximenez. Anything with Pedro Ximenez will catch my attention, and I seem to have a thing for tea flavours in ice-cream. This was paired with a 2005 Chateau Roumieu Lacoste Sauternes, France.

(Ice cream)

Our tea and petits fours (lemon tart, licorice jelly, pistachio macaroon, chocolate slice) were all delightful, although fairly standard for a restaurant of this ilk.

(Petit fours)

I would love to tell you what the a la carte menu is like, but we can never go past the extravagance of the degustation. We did come this close [signals miniscule gap between thumb and pointer] to going for the a la carte this time as it sounded just so good - take for example the sweet and sour pekin duck like tucupi (a spiced nougatine of flaked salt and ginger, lemon sauce, sourness of wilted sorrel and crispy duck skin salad, four pepper squid and yoghurt) or the rocks - rouget and abalone (seared rouget and pak choi sesame, ginger and kaffir lime, abalone and turmeric kohlrabi, seaweed wakame and a clear citrus and cucumber vinaigrette).

This was a wonderful birthday dinner. Service was attentive and friendly (the maitre d' is always excellent) and the food was as formidable as ever. Our only quibble was with the wines - no real knock outs from sommelier Nathalie Reymond, and while each was lovely in its own way, none of them seemed to us a perfect complement to the food. Also, places like London's Le Gavroche are generous with wine servings, filling up glasses which empty too quickly and no dish is served without a matching wine (even if a cherry beer is the pairing of choice) - the servings were a little stingy at JR considering the cost of the wine pairing adds $90 per head, there were no re-fills and 2 courses came without matching wines.

Also, I like the degustation menu to be kept on the table so that my wine sogged brain cells do not need to keep up too accurately with the speedy explanation of the waiter as each plate is laid down.

However, JR remains one of my favourite, classic Melbourne fine dining establishments. The memory of my wagyu with truffles and mustard ice cream will send me off to sleep with a smile on my face for some time yet - even if it means a few extra smile lines.

75 Williams Road, Prahran, Melbourne, Australia