Dumpling o'clock

I am beginning to realise that my obsession with dumplings is bordering on serious addiction. After chowing them down on Saturday night at Fitzroy and again on Sunday in Hawthorn (when I decided they were my new favourite hangover food), Thursday night came around and for the third time in less than a week, I found myself scoffing dumplings - yet again. Not that I am complaining.

Thursday night's adventures began in Chinatown, down Tattersall's Lane where a swarm of uni student types were rugged up and lined up - halfway down the narrow alleyway. To see this sort of queue on a random week night had to be a good sign - but we were starving and not sure whether we could handle waiting in line for who knows how long. Fortunately we made the right decision and shuffled along down the graffitied lane with the other hungry locals to join the end of the line. Waiting in the cold outside the neighbouring restaurants proved to be an entertaining experience in itself, with the interestingly named 'Gaylord' Indian restaurant drawing extra special attention from passersby. It made me giggle, but then again, I have a tendency to be easily amused. Anyway, now I have gone off on a tangent and entertained my lame self, I will have to make a point of eating at this Gaylord place sometime and discover whether I will have a gay old time and a religious experience with food, or if it's just a clever name.

Suddenly we are near the front of the line (only waited five minutes after all!) and being bellowed at from inside ("Two? Two? Two people!"). We squeeze through the crowd of salivating punters to be barely greeted by a flustered waiter and are ushered to a pair of seats along the wall. We are joining the end of a long eight-seat table, allowing us to soak up the chaos with randoms. I quite like the communal feel there is to this place: not only with the long shared tables, but the the self-serve corner with green tea and coloured plastic cups that look like they've been taken straight from someone's Mum's kitsch picnic set. I am certain I'm not the only person who was reminded of memories of school camp! Perhaps this is why so many just-out-of-school freshmen uni students seem to frequent Shanghai Dumpling, as some sort of weird sentimental experience? Hmmm. Probably not. More likely that they frequent it because of the ridiculous prices. And yes, I'm talking good-ridiculous. Most menu items were below $7, so my partner-in-crime for the evening and I shared three huge plates and two beers and our bill totalled about $30.

Egg fried rice, prawn and spinach wontons and steamed pork buns made the final cut. Plus two Tiger beers to complement our green tea in plastic cups of course. Fried rice came out first and was satisfying but not the best I have had - could possibly have been just the fact that I am not huge big fried rice fan. I'm a dumplings girl. Nevertheless, I drowned it in soy sauce and devoured it. Next on the table was an extremely generous serve of the prawn and spinach wontons - tender, juicy, fall-apart in your chopsticks-good. Couldn't get enough of those slippery little suckers. This dumpling palace sure knew to save the best for last. The pork buns came out perfectly steaming, sticky and oozing delicate flavours. It was sex on a chopstick.

To enhance the experience was a not-so-traditional soundtrack (think: Whitney Houston's 'Saving All My Love For You'), which was strangely fitting, and extremely attentive service. Whilst savouring our juicy conversation and the last few bites of our meals, our waitress came and asked if we were finished. Three times in the space of ten minutes. I ended up guarding my plate with both arms. When we actually had finished, we were virtually pounced on, plates removed and our barely-touched plastic picnic cups of green tea snatched away. Usually this sort of absurdity would seriously make me get all up in someone's grill, but I just laughed, because somehow, Shanghai Dumpling gets away with it. Plus I'm pretty sure I was in shock. As soon as our tea and plates had disappeared, the Manager hurried over, asking, "You finish?", which we took as more of a statement not a question - our cue to skull our beers and free up two seats for the next two starving dumpling-addicts.

Don't be deterred by the staff trying to hurry you in and out, it honestly just adds to the experience. I remember the grouchy, snappy old Japanese woman who worked at one of my favourite sushi spots in Brisbane, who actually ended up being my highlight of the whole experience. I used to make a game out of trying to make her crack a smile. Don't get me wrong - good service to me is just as important as the food itself, but sometimes, just sometimes, certain quirky little establishments get away with some very interesting definitions of 'good'. I prefer to giggle at the certain eccentricities which I think simply make the whole night more enjoyable.

Don't be deterred either if uni student scenesters aren't your preferred crowd to rub shoulders with, as Shanghai Dumpling is swamped with plenty of hungry locals: from families to business types looking for an after-work pork bun-fix. Among them were plenty of Chinese - which to me is always a good indication that the food is decent. Don't bother cooking tonight, go get in line and discover your dumpling addiction at this Melbourne institution and locals' favourite. I promise - it's an experience!

Shanghai Dumpling Restaurant
25 Tattersalls Lane
Melbourne
VIC
03 9663 8555

Chinese on Brunswick

I curled up in bed for a power nap on Saturday afternoon after a slightly boozy Friday evening. I awoke in a fluster, realising I had slept through my alarm that was set to wake me in time to be refreshed and ready for dinner with friends at 7.30. I hurried out of the house, hopped on a couple trams and made it from my bed in East Melbourne to the restaurant in North Melbourne, only an hour-and-a-bit late. Okay, to clarify: anyone that knows me would appreciate that getting ready in that record amount of time was pretty much a miracle for me. Despite being proud of my own ninja-like speedy efforts, my friends had admittedly finished their meals (and a bottle of wine). Not the best of starts to a night out, but at least I was in a great mood after a long, revitalising sleep!

Anyway, back to the point. Dinner was at Mao's, a small licensed and B.Y.O Chinese restaurant - bordering on daggy - in Brunswick Street: Fitzroy's main dining and bar-hopping precinct. I was warmly greeted by the waitress and my bottle of wine was promptly opened and poured. I was ready to eat my own arm by this point, so I picked three tasty-sounding entree items off the extensive menu so I could sample as much as possible, as soon as possible.

Fried bean curd arrived shortly after ordering and was presented in some sort of amazingly flavoursome, sweet Chinese sauce (almost like a soup). I wish I had noted down what it was! Alongside this, a generous serve of tender parcels of vegetarian dumplings (I had a serious craving for these) were perfectly accompanied by my favourite Asian veggie: bok choy.


The third dish was a bit naughty: fried calamari pieces that were served battered and crispy, which complimented the soft flesh of the calamari. This dish was the greasy one of the three, but I loved that about it - it was perfect with my wine and the girls couldn't resist stealing a piece!



My experience at Mao's was entirely satisfying: it was 'simple - done well'. Flavoursome food at affordable prices, a buzzing yet relaxed atmosphere and friendly, attentive (yet not annoying) service. I'm not usually a huge fan of Chinese food, but I think Mao's may just have converted me.


Mao's Chinese Restaurant
263 Brunswick Street
Fitzroy
VIC 3065
Ph: (03) 9419 1919

L'Espresso Monday

Easter Monday was spent with the rellies in Ballarat doing what I do best - eating and drinking and sussing out the local food joints. L'Espresso is a friendly, quirky cafe, bar and restaurant in Sturt Street which has been around for at least as long as me. The last time I was there, I was in nappies! The unique feature of L'Espresso is its extensive collection of more than 2000 CDs from around the world. The staff were friendly and accommodating, the atmosphere was very chilled out and the food and coffee were of high quality. Tender mouthfuls of fresh-made gnocchi accompanied with pancetta, chilli and napoli.



Dessert consisted of the best homemade hazelnut gelati I have ever tasted - and I have had more than my fair share of gelati in my time! A satisfying cup of espresso coffee topped off what was a very lovely lunch experience in country Victoria!


L'Espresso
417 Sturt Street
Ballarat
VIC
03 53331789

The usual place

Last Saturday night was treat night. A 9pm Comedy Fest show was decided on and my good friend (a fellow Brisbanite-turned-Melburnian) and I decided to visit another friend, who had been encouraging me to come and check out her work. I was initially hesitant when I was told there was essentially only pasta on the menu, because I tend to be stuck in the mindset that I can cook any old pasta at home whenever I want. However, when we arrived at il Solito Posto - a locals' favourite - tucked away down in the basement off George Parade - I swiftly realised this was not going to be "any old pasta". A few steps down into the softly-lit bistro and I am already at home: I can sense instantly that this will fast become a favourite. As the Italian name "il Solito Posto" suggests, this is likely to become "the usual place". Unfortunately in the English language, the word "usual" tends to conjure up notions of "common", which I feel is somewhat of an inadequate description of this hidden treasure.

Once inside, we were greeted by professional, friendly staff and a relaxed, inviting atmosphere. We were seated in a cosy corner at the bar - the only free space in the restaurant when we arrived - and perused the menu while we began a bottle of 2009 Christmont La Zona Pinot Grigio from King Valley. Shortly after ordering, we were able to move to a more comfortable spot at a table in the corner. After much ooh-ing and aah-ing, K decided on the Gnocchi Della Casa (truffled honey and pecorino gnocchi, almond flake and rosemary burnt butter) and I ordered the Fusilli Amatriciana (spirals of pasta with pancetta, chilli, onion and napoli).

To follow, we were spoiled with a complimentary dessert: warm soft-centered chocolate gnocchi with baci ice cream to share. It looked like a work of art and though absolutely stuffed full from our mains, it didn't take much convincing for us to scrape the plate clean.

The food was simply incredible. Every mouthful savoured and each one divine. But I won't even attempt to do this place justice with elaborate descriptions. All I can say is: go there. Tonight. Eat pasta, drink and be merry.

il Solito Posto
Basement, 113 Collins Street (entry on George Parade)
Melbourne
03 9654 4466
VIC

Eating & shouting

Two days as an official Melburnian and my Uncle has already whisked me away to his favourite little haunt in Melbourne's east, perhaps in a bid to cure my big city blues. After a spontaneous geographical leap from the sweltering sunshine state of Queensland, to the AFL-crazed cultural capital of Victoria, the reality of spending a Friday night alone in an unfamiliar city seemed depressing to say the least. We arrived at the Vietnamese district of Abbotsford - Victoria Street - and dodged peak hour traffic as we crossed the street to an unassuming little corner shop called Xiao-Ting Box, which my Uncle affectionately nicknames, "Shouting Box".




The Xiao - Ting Box is quite literally a "shouting box". A cosy yet comfortable restaurant that was packed and noisy - thanks to some great acoustics - but the atmosphere was festive and enjoyable. The interior was plain, yet its extensive selection of mouthwatering delights was anything but. We ordered a few plates to share amongst the four of us and each was sensational in its own right. We devoured the crispy fried duck, the five-spiced beef and the lightly battered tofu with chilli and spring onions. The real stand-out of the night was the simple yet succulent prawn and vegetable stir fry with crispy noodles. It may be the seafood-lover's bias coming out in me, but it was the most fresh and flavoursome asian dish I have had in my twenty-four restaurant-hopping years.




Xiao - Ting Box
371 Victoria St
Abbotsford
VIC
Ph: 94289588