[SS-Traveller]

"People who love to eat are always the best people." ~ Julia Child

We, as a family, have always been passionate about food - the recipes, the traditions, the processes, and of course, the adventures surrounding food. No one in the family was a chef though. But wait... our twelve-year-old daughter was hooked to those cookery channels on television - and a few years later, she decided she wants to cook as a profession.

Thus began our new journey into another realm...

To cut a long story short, our daughter, Darsh, qualified as a Chef de Cuisine from Le Cordon Bleu, Melbourne, in November 2018.





Our journeys to Australia, though, started in 2014, largely thanks to our dear friend and fellow BHPian rideon, who migrated to Melbourne a couple of years before that, without whose support we may not have narrowed down to choosing LCB Melbourne as the place for Darsh to study.

Disclaimer: Our dietary preference is strongly non-vegetarian, and vegetarians & vegans may kindly pardon us and avoid going through the photographs in this thread.

[SS-Traveller]

Kya cheese hai!

Australia has innumerable dairies, cheese factories and wineries dotting the countryside. We shall not talk about the wineries, since that would break the forum's rules, but dairies are worth a visit.

Our first visit was to the Bega Cheese Heritage Centre at Bega, New South Wales (NSW). This was in 2014, when we drove from Melbourne to Sydney with rideon. We gorged on the tasting bits (to our absolution, we were hungry after a long drive), and bought a huge amount - enough to fill up one backpack (and why not, since they sell at lower prices than at supermarkets!).















































Toilets!




Varieties of corn

[SS-Traveller]

This year in the beginning of July, Darsh and I visited the Yarra Valley Dairy, about 50 km north-east of Melbourne, for another round of cheese tasting and buying. The cheese here is handmade, and delicious (though more expensive than buying at a supermarket).









Rolling pins with measurements marked, to let you roll even pizza bases!














Farmhouse cheese platter, comprising (clockwise from bottom) ashed goat cheese (slice from a pyramid), fresh cow cheese with herbs, chèvre, feta, and cranberry & beetroot relish




Talking of handmade cheeses, here's a Brie that Darsh made herself.

[SS-Traveller]

Fishes and fishing

We're a fish-eating community, us Bengalis, and the varieties of fish available in Australia are very tempting for us.

In April 2017, we set off into the Yarra Valley to visit the Buxton Trout & Salmon Farm. When one can catch one's own trout, have them cleaned, and be able to barbecue and eat them right there, it has to be a fun experience! Darsh had been here earlier as a part of her educational tour, and she knew to carry her own knives.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ltWf0Ml73Y

We got a lemon free!








Wüsthof knives specially ordered for Le Cordon Bleu students, with her name on them


















Mercifully, one doesn't need to catch one's fish to eat every day, so off we go on some days to buy fish from the market!










Wild caught barramundi being prepared for baking at home. Wiki says the barramundi is the same fish we know as the bhetki in Bengali, but these taste somewhat different from the fish we get in India.

[SS-Traveller]

And some more fish

Wherever one is on the coast of Australia, fish & chips are a common staple - and we love it. There are multiple varieties of fish used, the commonest being what the Aussies call flake. Other fish varieties include sea bass, rockling, King George Whiting and blue grenadier. Not only fried fish, one can also buy fried prawns and calamari as well, in these fish and chip shops.

Here are a few memorable places where we've gorged on some lovely fish and chips:

At Robe, SA, in November 2018






Queenscliff, Vic, July 2019










San Remo, Vic, July 2019




Oysters are another delicacy one gets to buy at fish and chip shops, as well as in many markets (and restaurants of course, where they are mighty expensive!). Eating them is an acquired taste, and they taste best when fresh. I have had no prior experience with oysters, but I learnt to eat and enjoy them in the last few years, thanks to Darsh. We have found some of the best oysters at San Remo, as well as at the South Melbourne Market.







Another item I learnt to eat was mussels. Have come across mussels in Goa, but they were in the form of a curry, and spicy to taste. Here are some mussels at the Queen Victoria Market, without the masala, and they taste nice too!

[SS-Traveller]

Chocolates and chocolateries

Like dairies and cheese factories, there are numerous chocolate factories dotting the countryside in Australia, and our love for chocolates has drawn us to a few. The ones we had been to are:

Yarra Valley Chocolaterie & Ice Creamery































_______________________

The Phillip Island Chocolate Factory

[SS-Traveller]

On our trip to Perth this June, Darsh and I visited the Swan Valley, which is home to the Margaret River Chocolate Company & the Providore Store.


















Lilly pilly berries, an indigenous fruit of Australia, growing in the garden of the Margaret River Chocolate Company


Another place where we dropped in was Morish Nuts, a confectionary and the adjacent Mondo Nougat. The automobile enthusiast would love a couple of the displays!






























At each of these chocolate factories, complimentary samples are offered to prospective customers, and one can enjoy the sights and smells of these places while enjoying a cup of fresh coffee.

[SS-Traveller]

While at the Swan Valley, we stopped at the River Bank Estate for a sumptuous lunch. A friend of Darsh is a chef here, therefore we decided to combine lunch with a quick meet.













The Chef's Tasting Plate


1. Pork belly with romesco
2. Cheddar beignets with tomato relish
3. Pastrami and sopressa
4. Grilled chorizo
5. Cured salmon, avocado, wasabi mayo
6. Beetroot and goat's cheese panna cotta
7. Braised duck with balsamic and pepper coulis



Kangaroo steak with pear compote and chocolate jus

[SS-Traveller]

Of kangaroos, steaks, burgers and more

Talking of kangaroos, the National Animal of Australia, which outnumber the human population of the country by quite a few millions, yes, the meat is delicious. Supermarket shelves are stocked with a variety of preparations.



We have also tasted kangaroos on multiple occasions, and apart from the steak (last pic in previous post), we've tried home-cooked burgers and sausages. Here goes:


Our home-made kangaroo burger


Not that we don't love Macca's burgers (that's what the Aussies call McDonald's). A whole lot better than Indian McDonald's!




Not just burgers, we love our pizzas too in Australia - they are so much more satisfying than Indian Domino's and Pizza Huts. Here are a couple of large pizzas from The Wicked Tomato.
Gourmet meat-lover's pizza


Gourmet seafood pizza


Not just burgers & pizzas, we love a variety of meats. Here, Darsh roasted a leg of lamb




Darsh cooks a Scotch fillet steak to a perfect medium rare, with a mushroom cream sauce and caulilini






Cooking salmon fillets to make a Teriyaki Salmon


And then there was our memorable visit to one of the best steakhouses in Melbourne - Angus & Bon - for a taste of their Sher Wagyu eye fillet and topside with Béarnaise sauce...








...and grilled bone marrow with puffed grains, grilled sourdough & garlic butter


Another memorable steak - a rib-eye this time - that we enjoyed at Darsh's former workplace, a restaurant called Chiara (name changed now, under a different management) on Collins Street

[SS-Traveller]

Aussie bakeries, and indulging our sweet tooth

There's a bakery/chocolaterie/cake shop in India, that has the tag line: Run by a professional baker from Australia. Never tried them, but there are so many bakeries in Australia, and I'm yet to find a bad one.

On Darsh's 21st birthday, we decided to celebrate by going to the Lune Croissanterie at Fitzroy in Melbourne, a place that sells only croissants and coffee. One can make out the popularity of the place by the queue that formed close to midday on a weekday. Lune is rated to be Melbourne's best place for croissants, and it was worth the trouble to visit the shop.







Queueing up for our croissants and coffee on a weekday, almost at midday. The place is THAT popular!


The day's menu on display!








Our ham & Gruyere and pain au chocolat


Inside the pain au chocolat


The Black Forest Cake - the most expensive item on their list - the most delicious too!


Coffee with croissants


Another time, another place - this date and walnut cake served with cream was a wonderful experience for the palate


We dropped in at a San Churro shop at Sorrento Quay in Perth while we were visiting the Hillary's Boat Harbour, just because we were feeling peckish, and we had a load of delicious churros to indulge our sweet tooth.






Of course, one cannot be a foodie and visit Australia without savouring the iconic Aussie pie - one can call it Australia's National Dish - and here's a picture of one I had, at a little café in the Dandenong Ranges. Aussie pies are also available on supermarket shelves, but the fresh-baked ones are of course the best.

[SS-Traveller]

Cuisines of India in Australia

The large number of immigrants in Australia from various countries and regions of Asia have helped to popularize Asian cuisine in the country. For those Indians that feel the need for Indian food (and cannot cook!) there are always plenty of Indian restaurants to cater to their needs. We've never felt the need to visit these Indian restaurants, largely because the taste is modified to Australian standards and blander than what we are used to (also remember, we have a chef and her mother at home, who can turn out better stuff than these restaurants can!). However, here are a few restaurants for the homesick Indian in Melbourne:

Anshumann da Dhaba at Clayton




Saravanaa Bhavan in the CBD




Tejas Restaurant in the CBD, right opposite Darsh's workplace


Delhi Rocks, again in the CBD


Chilli Everest, a small Nepalese restaurant tucked away in a corner of the Melbourne Central Station




And of course there's the ISKCON Temple for vegetarian prasadam

Temple Feasts.pdf

[SS-Traveller]

Our experiences with Asian restaurants in Australia

Darsh wanted to try out a restaurant that is renowned for its Asian fusion cuisine on her birthday. So she chose Supernormal, a restaurant whose menu is "influenced by the cuisine and restaurants of Tokyo, Shanghai, Seoul and Hong Kong, classic dishes are revisited and some new favourites born".









Uni pastry & smoked caviar


Kingfish, mandarin dashi, hijiki


New England lobster roll


Prawn & chicken dumplings, chilli & vinegar sauce


Szechuan chicken salad, sesame, pickles & chilli oil


Flathead, burnt butter, wild watercress & kombu with steamed Japanese short grain rice


Slow-cooked Szechuan lamb, sesame bread & coriander paste


Peanut butter parfait, salted caramel & soft chocolate. The candle celebrates the birthday!


Pardon the poor quality of photographs, due to the low lighting in the restaurant. Using flash repeatedly is disturbing for other guests.

[SS-Traveller]

An excellent Asian restaurant

Red Spice Road is rated to be one of Melbourne's best Asian restaurants. Their website says: "Wrap your mouth around taste sensations from across the continent, without needing to leave Melbourne. Once you take your first bite, you’ll forget you’re in Melbourne, even on the greyest of days. From Thailand to Malaysia, China to Vietnam, and everywhere in between, our team deliver food so pretty you *almost* won’t want to eat it." Red Spice Road has been rated amongst the top-20 Melbourne restaurants, and we are proud of the fact that this is Darsh's current workplace too.



Darsh and I thoroughly enjoyed the dinner at Red Spice Road on the night before I flew back to New Delhi in the middle of July this year. The presentation certainly was pretty, but you judge for yourself. We didn't leave behind a single bit!







Kingfish, coriander, pickled garlic, chilli, shallots, crispy wonton


Singaporean barramundi curry, coconut milk, longbean


Moo ping - grilled pork saté, coconut sugar, white pepper, soy


Cumin & pepper crusted lamb ribs, soy, rice vinegar, sesame oil


Crying tiger beef, peanuts, chilli, lime


Peanut butter and chocolate Ferrero Rocher, dehydrated orange, passion fruit sorbet


Berry cheesecake, berry compote, cherry sorbet


Special thanks to CD, the sous chef at Red Spice Road, who took exceptional care of us


I am told that Red Spice Road makes the best pork belly in all Melbourne, but unfortunately, we did not get an opportunity to try it. I'll remember to indulge myself the next time.

[SS-Traveller]

Some more Asian food

Darsh loves to visit Ping's Dumpling Kitchen at Clayton - we've been there a number of times. Every time, we've found the place full and have had to wait for upto 15 minutes to get a table. That says a lot about their quality and popularity.




This restaurant next door has a lot less customers, and it obviously isn't as popular


Another restaurant frequented by Darsh is the Dragon Hot Pot, on Russell Street in Melbourne CBD. They're open 24x7, and make for a satisfying meal. The ingredients are sold by weight, and cooked in a broth of one's choice (the level of spiciness of the broth determines the type). From seafood to meat to quail eggs to vegetables to mushrooms to noodles, the choice of ingredients is immense, and one can easily take more than one can eat when visiting the first time!






Ajisen Ramen at Chadstone was our go-to place for a quick dinner before settling in to watch a fun movie called Stuber.


Seafood ramen for Darsh


Wagyu Ramen for me


Had never visited a Korean barbecue restaurant, so Darsh took me to Mrs. Kim's Grill. Their website says: "Mrs Kim’s Grill is the result of a Korean migrant wanting to share her home and food with her friends and the wider Melbourne community over 30 years ago. With nostalgia and a hint of home sickness; not being able to forget the food she grew up with Mrs Kim started to marinate meats for home barbeques and cultural events as her contribution to the community.
...
In 2013 when the opportunity arose to open Mrs Kim's Grill the first restaurant under the Mrs Kim’s brand it was essential that the hospitality you would receive would be no different to what you would experience at her home. "

It was fun to grill a variety of meats as well as prawns, and take our time to enjoy the flavours. A couple of pics:




This is by no means a comprehensive account of our culinary journey through Australia, curated by Darsh, and I assure you there's more to come. Till then, bon appétit!

[Eddy]

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