Delightful Dahlias

September 22, 2022September 23, 2022 ~ danib@eatmystreet.net

Dahlias are really having their moment. They seem to have quickly moved from drab to fab and I am very much here for this moment. They are colurful and gorgeous and they produce more flowers the more you cut them- this is just the lashing of generous love that we all deserve in 2022 when budgets are tight and strawberries are expensive. They look most fabulous sitting forlornly in a tiny vase on their own or swaying ravishingly in a field. They are the flower we wanted and the flower we need and they are even on sale at Aldi next Saturday. $7.99 for a small pack of tubers from memory. Get onto it, but please not before I get there.

I have planted tubers in my Melbourne garden already this year. Bulleen Art and Garden (the Holy temple for Melbourne gardeners who do it themselves) tells me that you can plant anytime from September onward. They also have a lovely range of Dahila tubers in stock at the moment and they were the first place that I ever purchased Dahlias’s from. At the time I was simply looking to plant something pretty near my veggie patch that would attract the bees and make me smile but from the first hot, dry Summer moment that they blossomed, I was hooked. Now I am rather serious about them and Summer would not really seem like Summer without their willowy embellishment.

I am not the only person to take them seriously. The Dahlia Society of Victoria was “formed to promote Dahlia culture”. Now I might be wrong but I am pretty sure that Melbourne is known as the culture capital of Australia and Dahlia’s really should receive more credit for the part they play in this . Amsterdam has their tulips, Tokyo has its cherry blossoms, Tuscany has it’s sunflowers and Melbourne has its wattle but if the Dahlia society has its way, also its dahlias. Get thee to Aldi and make it happen my friends.

Plant now and reap the benefits in Summer. Cut the flowers as they bloom and enjoy them in your home.

Here’s hoping mine survive the rabbits and my golden retriever who very naughtily seems to enjoy eating the tubers when he manages to dig them up.

Happy planting.

Dani xx

The French Saloon Melbourne

April 10, 2016 ~ danib@eatmystreet.net

The French Saloon

It is a long and complicated story that will probably never be told but I was this close to moving to Paris last year.

That dream has now been postponed and instead I find myself on a Friday night, eating in a gorgeous little French restaurant in the worlds most liveable city, Melbourne.

The French Saloon is the latest restaurant to open under the direction of Ian Curley: Chef extraordinaire and food empire building Godfather of the Melbourne dining scene.

Chef Todd Moses has come across from Supernormal to cook perfect, simple, French bistro style meals under the direction of executive Chef Ian Curley. When I say simple, I mean French simple, meaning excellent, well-chosen ingredients and dishes made with skill and precision in a classic way. Simple, but definitely not simple, if you know what I mean.

The A La Carte menu is divided into “to begin” “to continue” “steak” “mains” “sides” “cheese” and “dessert.” With all that choice what is a girl to do but agree to receive direction from her charming and helpful French waiter. I was very keen to save myself for cheese and dessert courses so we went straight to the mains.

John Dory with cauliflower puree was perfection on a plate with great balance between beautiful flavours; creamy cauliflower puree, soft subtle fish with a gently seared crust, and a gently acidic sauce to drown it all in.

My partner ordered the Steak Frites with Roquefort butter and he was equally smitten with the flavours on his plate.

We shared a side of the specials menu which was slippery jack mushrooms with artichoke two ways. This was a very decadent, creamy and delicious dish that we both enjoyed.

Then we moved onto the cheese course which was served with a little jar of honey and its honeycomb from a local rooftop beekeeper. This honey carried a lot of flavour and was a delicious accompaniment to the three styles of cheese we chose of the menu.

For dessert we were moved to the beautiful zinc bar that stretches its way down one side of the room. I am told that this fabulous bar was imported directly from France and it was certainly a great juxtaposition to the red timber pitched room and simplicity of the rustic timber floors and white painted window frames of the rest of the room. Tres chic.

Creme brûlée with chocolate Madeleine.

The John Dory and Artichoke side dish both take equal honours as my favourite dish of the year so far.

Service was excellent and did not really miss a beat with our gorgeous and knowledgeable waiter charming us from the moment we arrived.

Visit the French Saloon for intimate, old-school dining in a gorgeous setting with food that will make you forget you are not far from home.

Happy Eating.

Dani xx

The French Saloon

First Floor 380-384 Little Bourke Street (Via, Hardware Ln, Melbourne VIC 3000
Phone:(03) 9600 2142

Chin Chin

April 11, 2014 ~ eatmystreet ~ 2 Comments

I recently celebrated my 14 year wedding anniversary. To celebrate I headed into the city with my husband (I am thinking of trademarking that….. a noun to describe the man I am married to beside “other half” “himself” “MOTH”. I’ll let you know how I get on.) We in turn went to Chin Chin and ate dinner with two complete strangers (125 Flinders Lane, Melbourne).

Excuse me, how rude am I? They are not strangers, one of them was a backpacker out visiting Australia from Spain and the other was a young man who grew up in Melbourne with his sister before she moved to the Country, got divorced and then hooked up with the before mentioned back packer. I don’t know their names or anything because we were never formally introduced but we sat SO CLOSE TO EACH OTHER in the restaurant that I heard every word they uttered. If I were being precise (don’t worry I won’t make a habit of it) I would say that the young spanish gentleman was sitting closer to my husband than I was. At one stage they even offered to share their food with us. Wish I was brave enough to have pretended I did not realise he was joking…..

This is my prevailing memory of Chin Chin. Dinner with three dudes.

Now let me get to the food.

It was delicious, as befits the restaurant’s “hot as right now” status. Chin Chin’s has been hot right now for a while and I am desperately hoping that someone else will come along and steal their thunder so maybe they can concentrate on other things like separating their tables appropriately. How about Dutch food Melbourne? A restaurant in the shape of a clog in the forecourt at Fed Square. Croquette’s anyone? Lasagne with peaches in it? Oliebollen?

Hang on, shame on me for joking, Olibollen are actually delicious. Try them!

In the moments where my mouth could concentrate, I thoroughly enjoyed the corn and zucchini fritters with chilli jam. My husband ordered the Massaman curry because he always does. It was almost perfect. The meat was pre roasted and sticky and melty all at once. The onion and potatoes were also pre roasted and then they had gone all gooey in the massaman sauce. It was sweet and rich and probably had enough saturated fat in it to keep a whole family of walrus’ warm through winter. As always I benefited from his lack of interest in the health properties of a meal when ordering. I also ordered the Chin Chin pork roll ups ($18) and a chicken/ coconut salad. It was all very tasty and the highlight would be those fritters. Service was rushed and all of our food was brought out at once. I assume the line snaking out the door had something to do with this.

I really wanted to love Chin Chin’s and I thought I would. I had been turned back from the door before because the line was too long, I mean what is not to love about that level of popularity. All the cool kids seem to love it, the bloggers have gone mad for it. But frankly, it gave me the irrits.

I have been to LOTS of restaurants where it is all about the food and I am happy to ignore the decor and service (nearly every single dumpling house for instance). This was not one of them, nor were the prices reflective of this style of dining. This restaurant was reported to have ambience, je ne sais quois, X factor etc etc. But all I got from it was delicious food and a head ache.

Here’s a photo to distract us from my grumpiness (and I’m not even that old…..)

By the way, I think backpacker-guy (BG) and grew-up-in-the-city-but-sister-moved-to-the-country-guy(GUITCBSMTTCG) had a nice dinner. BG seemed to pass all the tests set for him by GUITCBSMTTCG (that is definitely too long). They enjoyed their meal.

It was just a pity that considering their proximity, I was not brave enough to sample their food. Maybe next time.

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