The popularity of  lamb shanks inspired us to try a Lamb Shank Pie. There was nothing individualistic about our group and we all ordered the same.  A brief discussion and we thought the meat from the shank should be delicious in a pie.

What arrived was a dinner in a pie.  It was all there the shank, mashed potatoes, carrots and peas.  It was rather fun opening this huge dish and letting out the steam.  It tasted good too. The meat on the shank was tender and tasty and the gravy soaked, deliciously into the mashed potatoes.  The pastry was a nice touch.  Priced at $21.00.

The Local Pub
Bay Street, Port Melbourne
22-24 Bay Street (the Beach end)

Phone:- 9810 0076

Opening hours:-
Daily from 11am

Related posts:

1. Hotel Albion, Port Melbourne – Great Bar-Food and Good Value Nights.
2. Cricket Club Hotel South Melbourne – ideal eating on a cold night
3. Station Hotel, Napier Street, Footscray – lunch in their European-style dining room.

Grosvenor Hotel

We arrived shortly after 6pm and for a good three quarters of an hour we had the Bistro to ourselves and the waiter’s full attention.  We needed this attention.  The Bistro has an Italian flavour and lacking knowledge of the Italian language we found some of the expressions and words on the menu confusing.   The waiter who had memorised the daunting number of specials was able to explain what we needed to know.   It makes for secure dining when your waiter knows what the food is all about.

Bistro – Grosvenor Hotel

One of the group chose ‘Durum wheat fusilli, almond, chilly and parsley pesto from Trapani with pecorino pepato’ This was listed under pasta and that, of course, is what it was.

Durum wheat fusilli

My other companion and I ordered ‘Kid goat slowly roasted in wood fire oven with peas, potato and five herbs’.  This was much the better choice.  It was delicious and the meat just fell off the bones.

Kid goat slowly roasted in wood fire oven

My friend who had the pasta felt it was a little bland and wasn’t hot enough.  She believes that they served it early and kept it waiting.  When she mentioned that she would have liked it hotter it was explained that was how it should be – something to do with the cheese.  So if you like your pasta steaming hot this isn’t the dish for you.

There is an array of desserts.  Our table had ‘Tiramisu al Fruiti Di Bosco’ which tasted good but unlike your average Tiramisu but none the worse for that.

Tiramisu al Fruiti Di Bosco

And ‘Buffalo Panna Cotta with cantucci crumble, orange and vin santo syrup’,

Buffalo Panna Cotta

We shared a bottle of Merlot Çhurchview ‘Silverleaf’ Margaret River $26.00.  Very good drinking especially with the goat.

Seven o’clock appears to the magic hour for dining in St Kilda and when the clock hit seven the restaurant began to fill up.
The food was interesting with the goat being outstanding  for a cold winter’s night.

We plan to return and try the bar food menu.  It is opens for lunch so that could be an option.

The menus are available on line here and I suggest you have a look at it before you go.  That would have served us well.  We could have given more attention to the specials and with so much to ponder I missed an entree that I later wished I had tried ‘stuffed zucchini flowers with ricotta and pecorino pepato mousse, fregola salade’.

The wines on the wine list are all available in the drive through bottle store at $10.00 less than the wine menu price. So if you liked your choice you can grab a bottle on your way out, knock $10.00 off the price and drink more at home.

The menu identifies dishes that are gluten free and vegetarian.

Where:-
Grosvenor Hotel
10 Brighton Road
St Kilda East.
Phone: 9531 1542
Web: http://www.grosvenorhotel.com.au/

Opening Hours:-
The Bistro opens for dinner from 6pm
The Wine Bar is open all day from 12 noon.

Getting there:-
Tram : 67 tram stops out side
Car: There is a  parking space behind the hotel with the entrance off Grosvenor Street and street parking in the side streets – try Brunning Street

Related posts:

1. Lunch at Hotel Nest – Albert Park
2. Cricket Club Hotel South Melbourne – ideal eating on a cold night
3. Station Hotel, Napier Street, Footscray – lunch in their European-style dining room.

I need to give you an up-date on  my post about the Wayside Inn Hotel on the corner of Ferrars Street and City Road, South Melbourne.

I wrote of the good meal we had and that we would be back for more of the same.

Friends turned up to the Wayside Inn Hotel for dinner last week to find it was all over.  No dinner and a few staff hanging around not knowing what to do but not serving dinner.  They said that they thought the premise had been sold and their jobs, like dinner were a thing of the past.

Does anyone know?

The cook could be worth following.

They have changed their phone number too.  It is now 9682 1544 – courtesy of Telstra.

If you know anything do  comment.

Related posts:

1. The Wayside Inn Hotel South Melbourne – good eating – with a new cook and new management.
2. Cricket Club Hotel South Melbourne – ideal eating on a cold night
3. Lunch at Hotel Nest – Albert Park

It is mind boggling to think how many watering holes were needed to supply liquor to our forefathers.

The Wayside Inn Hotel has recently come under new management with a new cook.  They describe their food as having a  ‘Rustic Italian’ influence.  The meal we had on a recent Thursday evening bore this out.
We arrived straight from work on a cold wet evening at around 6pm.  They have a flexible finish time for happy hour and our glasses of a house Margaret River Merlot were still the Happy Hour price of $4.00 –  exceptional value at $4.00

On Thursday they serve a $15.00 steak  and it came with Caponata a Sicilian vegetable stew.  This was delicious.  The Caponata has a sort of sweet/sour taste ( nothing like a serving of Chinese sweet and sour sauce).  It was a subtle but unique taste to me and it went perfectly with my steak that was cooked to perfection.

The menu is small and I believe it changes. For desert there is no menu.  There is one choice.  On that Thursday it was Panna Cotta with caramelized figs and syrup.  Perhaps it is always Panna Cotta.  As Pana Cottas go this was up with the best.  I’d go back for the Pana Cotta and coffee.

The interior is smart with a hard edge.  The heaters warmed it, the nosh and the wine were good – not a bad way to spend time on a winter evening.

There is a beautiful garden room that makes me think even more of summer.

The bar is cosy with a fire in one corner and comfortable couches around it.  You can also eat in the bar.
The staff were wonderful and the cook popped out to discuss the Caponate with us.  I was surprised at how few people were there that night.  However I’m told that Karaoke Night on Friday draws crowds. It begins at 9.00pm.  Karaoke isn’t my thing but I will be back for the food.  I can see that the garden bar will be a good place for idling away time on  a warm evening.

The web site www.waysidehotel.com.au gives a menu but it differed from the own we saw.  I like the idea of the menu being flexible  and depending on the cook.

The Wayside Inn Hotel
446 City Rd
South Melbourne VIC 3205
Phone (03) 9682 9119

Opening hours:-
12.00  noon until late.

Getting there:-

Trams:-
Tram 112 from the CBD goes along Clarendon Street.
Get off at the corner of Market and Clarendon Street and wander along Market street until it joins City Road.  The Wayside Hotel is on the corner of City Road and Ferrars Street.
Tram 96 (light rail) Get off at the South Melbourne Station and walk along Ferrars Street to City Road.

Car:-
There is parking in Ferrars Street

Related posts:

1. The Wayside Inn Hotel South Melbourne – an up-date
2. Cricket Club Hotel South Melbourne – ideal eating on a cold night
3. Red Star Cafe right opposite The South Melbourne Market, Clarendon Street

The grand staircase leading to the Melba Room.

On this cold, bleak, winter Friday the dining room was almost full.  Proving what I have always thought; a cold bleak day is an ideal day to spend eating.

This trip empathized just how great and varied the food is at the Melba Room buffet.

The Melba Room opens at noon and steadily fills up.

To me the lunch time buffet in the Melba Room is all about eating.  The light, bright and elegant dining area is heavy with food and it needs to be eaten.

As we had been before and knew what was available we decided to plan our meal.  That is, put some order into our eating and treat it like traditional feast with numerous courses.

I decided to pass on the soup – it was vichyssoise (leek and potato) which I make myself.

I began with hors d’oeuvres and headed for the cold meats and salads – delicious.

Then on to the fish course – prawns and crab and I added sushi to this course as a sort of sub course.

The sushi is made to your own personal order.  The more knowledgeable about sushi you are the more you can vary what ends up on your plate.

I liked the idea of a stir fry for the next course, it was light with rice noodles available and scallops.  The scallops were for use only by the stir-fry cook, not to be confused with the fish course– again we chose the ingredients.

You may think by now enough food has been consumed but think on those long Italian Lunches; course after course comes from the kitchen to the table and into continually munching and talking mouths.

It was now time for roast beef and the wonderful roasted vegetables – a sort of heavy main course.  It  lacked  Yorkshire pudding. I wonder if the cooks can cook Yorkshire pudding.  Has it gone out fashion?  My mother always cooked it with roast beef.

By this time a good two hours had gone by and it was time for deserts.

Each desert is a perfect miniature

This slice was a work of art – as nice to look at as it was to eat.

Finally coffee and cheese.

We will be back and then I’ll try the curries.  What course in a great English feast would include curry?  And I missed the Chinese dumplings on this visit…………there is still more food to sample.

Times:
The Melba Room starts serving luncheon at noon, the hot food is removed at 2.30 and the restaurant closes at 4.00 to prepare for dinner.
Costs:
Monday to Friday  $49.00.
Prices in the weekend are higher
Saturday $75.00
Sunday $84.00
It is suggested you book especially on Saturday and Sunday when it can be very busy.

Getting there:
The Melba Room, The Langham Hotel, 1 Southgate Avenue, Southgate  8696 8888.
You can enter from The Southbank Promenade along the river or it is just off St Kilda Road, in Southgate Avenue

Trams:
Any tram that goes to Federation Square or Flinders Street Station will get you there.

Cars:-
There is parking underneath – remember to get your parking ticket validated when you pay for your meal.

Related posts:

1. Opulence and Food, the Melba Room at The Langham Hotel,CBD
2. The Wayside Inn Hotel South Melbourne – good eating – with a new cook and new management.
3. Cricket Club Hotel South Melbourne – ideal eating on a cold night

The Oriental Tea house in Chapel Street was once a pub

Yum Cha on Sunday is something I enjoy – watching the trolleys come past, studying the food and deciding ‘yes’ or ‘no’.  The frustrating part is that when I have eaten enough I see something new appear from the kitchen, glide past me and I am temped all over again.

At the Oriental Tea House there is none of this.   You order your Yum Cha from the menu.  It is rather like a ‘Chinese Tapas’.

You can pop in at any time during the day order a tea and a Yum Cha snack.

I ate at the Oriental Tea House on Chapel Street for the first time before we attended a gold class session of ‘Sex and the City 2’ at the Jam Factory.

We went early to give us time to talk, relax and to get into the mood for the glamour and style we were to see on the screen. It was a good choice.

The good thing about the Oriental Tea House is that it severs the same food all the time so we could create our own stylish early dinner.

The name ‘ The Oriental Tea House’ appeals to me.  Just the sound is relaxing.  The clean white open space when you enter, with the store of interesting teas and other merchandise including Chinese herbs in the front and then the restaurant at the rear, is welcoming and soothing.

I like the emphasis on tea but as we were preparing to watch over-the-top glamour on the screen we decided bubbles were appropriate.

This is what we ordered:-

Spinach Seafood Soup

Won Ton Soup

Vegetarian Buckweat Dumplings with Chilli

Delux Basket (nine different pieces of dumplings steamed in a large basket).

Calamari in Spicy Salt

The dishes appeared haphazardly with the squid coming a distant last.  It occurs to me now that each dish may travel from the kitchen as soon as it is cooked – something to think about when you order.  If you order soup it is nice to both get your soup at the same time.

The dumplings are delicious. The best I have had recently.  As I write this I am still thinking about them and plan to pop in for one of their teas and a ‘variety basket’ of dumplings.  At $6.90 it is excellent value

We didn’t try the Tea-Tails – cocktails made with tea blends.  The idea of a tea based cocktail served in a teapot is a whimsy that brings a smile to the face – it has to be worth a try.
Here is an example of some that are available:-

Campari Treasure 8.5
Bitter sweet with a hint of orange Campari.
+ Calm & Concentration TEA served on ice

Russian Spy in Shanghai 8.5
This one really packs a punch with Vodka
+ Gun Powder TEA served with fresh lime

Baileys Kiss 8.5
Spicy with a tasty kick of Baileys & milk
+ Chai TEA served over ice

Luck of the Irish 8.5
One to really help you unwind with a warm blend of Irish Whisky
+ Relaxing TEA

Where:-
The Oriental Tea House
455 Chapel Street
South Yarra (opposite Bridie O’Reilly’s)

Phone:-Restaurant 9826 0168

Web site:-

http://www.orientalteahouse.com.au/chapel-street/w1/i1001202/

Opening Hours:-
10am until late – every day.

Getting there:-
No 8 Tram to Toorak. Get off at the corner of Toorak Road and Chapel Street.
No 78  Tram – this tram runs along Chapel Street from St Kilda to Richmond.

Related posts:

1. Cricket Club Hotel South Melbourne – ideal eating on a cold night
2. Trash, Treasure or vintage? It is hard to decide in Womango, 47 Chapel Street, Windsor/Prahran.
3. Eating Korean at Dae Jang Geum Korean BBQ – Korean Food, Melbourne’s CBD

As a by-product of local advertising I found myself there on a cold winter night because a friend reads the back of her super market dockets.  A deal gave two meals for the price of one.  She suggested we “give it a go”.  In view of the wintery weather a pub meal seemed like a good idea.

The Cricket club hotel has been in operation at the Albert Park end of the Clarenden Street since 1870. I’m told it is the nearest pub to Albert Park but I haven’t checked this out. It has had many face-lifts since 1870 and I understand that the most recent was in 2007.
The two for one meal is obviously trying to drum up custom.  This could mean anything and we prepared ourselves for hot food on a cold night but without any great expectations of quality.

We arrived at 6pm and found our way through two bars, one with a large TV screen and the other with a charming nook for a bit of time out.

We were first in the dining room and they turned on the heat and settled us by the fire.

There is small menu of standard fare.  M ordered corned beef and I had a chicken parmigiana.

Chicken parmigiana

Corned beef

This food was excellent M said it was the best corned beef she had.  I said the same about my parmigiana.  It was delicious.  Not as big as some servings are but quality.

This part of the meal was so good it was a pity the choice of wines by the glass was so limited.  I had a glass of Penfolds Koonunga Hill Shiraz Cabernet 2007.  The 2008 is on sale for $10.00 in my local bottle shop.

The desserts weren’t of the same standard as the main course.  A sticky date pudding was okay but the rhubarb and pear crumble served in a ramekin lacked the crumble.  The thin oat mixture on the top was soft and lacking flavour. I look for a crisp crumble that has a rocky road surface.

The dining room filled and warmed up.  The service was friendly and attentive.  I was grateful for having a friend who reads the back of the super market dockets and suggested she kept reading them.  We will back.  We may give the dessert a miss but the main course even at the full price is good value.  Prices are the usual pub prices.

Where:-
The Cricket Club Hotel
435 Clarendon Street
South Melbourne
Phone 9690 5941

Opening Hours:-
The dining room is open every day
Lunch 12.00 to 3.00
Dinner 5.30 to 9.00

Getting There:-
Tram no 112 travels along Clarendon Street and turns into Albert Road.
Get off at the stop before Albert Road
Stop no. 130
Tram no 1. Get off at the corner of Clarendon and Park Streets.
Continue walking along Clarendon Street towards Albert Park the Cricket Club Hotel is on you left.

Related posts:

1. The Wayside Inn Hotel South Melbourne – good eating – with a new cook and new management.
2. The Wayside Inn Hotel South Melbourne – an up-date
3. Lunch at Hotel Nest – Albert Park

Station Hotel Footscray
One such pub is the Station Hotel on the corner of Napier and Hyde Streets  in Footscray.  The owner and Chef is Sean Donovan who has worked in France and England and the Botanical in South Yarra, Melbourne.

The building, built in 1864, has no great architectural merit but the new colours have given it a bit of style.    Inside there is a bar with an outside courtyard attached for a casual drink and a large dining area at the rear.

The dining room has an old world – European – atmosphere with a lot of dark wood, white table clothes and sparkling glass wear.

I had been told that the service wasn’t good but we had no complaints.  We booked for lunch, we were greeted on arrival, seated, given menus, the specials of  the day and the one omission from the menu explained to us.

The Station Hotel’s menu is extensive and interesting and is the same for lunch and dinner.  The house specialty is steak.  Here are the steaks that are available.

“200g Stockyard (QLD) 200 day grain fed wagyu “Bavette Steak” $28
250g Rangers Valley (NSW) 300 day grain fed Black Angus rump $28
250g Sher Wagyu (VIC) 450 day grain fed Wagyu rostbiff $32
300g Clare Valley(SA)150 day grain fed Black Angus scotch fillet $36
300g Clare Valley(SA)150 day grain fed Black Angus sirloin $36
400g Gippsland (VIC) dry aged grass fed Black Angus rump steak $36
200g Goulburn Valley (VIC) grass fed Black Angus tenderloin $38
400g Gippsland (VIC)dry aged grass fed Black Angus
New York strip steak$38
500g Greenham (TAS) grass fed Black Angus t-bone $38
500g Darling Downs(Qld)grass fed Black Angus rib eye $42
All served with hand cut chips, salad and béarnaise sauce or pepper sauce”

(These prices were correct at the time of writing – you may want to check them here.)

There are also a number of unusual  items such as;  Serrano ham with figs and Cashel blue cheese aioli.
We started by thinking we would try one of these but our minds slipped into the old worn tracks and we ordered conservatively.

200g Stockyard (QLD) 200 day grain fed wagyu “Bavette Steak”

The waitress didn’t know what ‘Bavette Steak’ was but Wikipedia explained [it]  “is a beef steak cut from the abdominal muscles of the cow”   or otherwise the flank.  There is a choice of  sauces.  Unfortunately the béarnaise sauce was considered strong by the diner who ordered it.   She would have asked for sauce on the side had she known.

Marinated ocean trout with warm buckwheat blinis.

This was pronounced delicious by the diner who chose it  and she would order it again.

Gippsland lamb rump with boulangere potatoes – the beans were ordered as a side dish.

There were no complaints about this choice.

Station burger, onion fries, bacon and fried egg

With all the interesting and exotic choices it seemed a pity to order a hamburger but two of us did that.  It was a pity we were so wedded to ‘pub’ food.

This was a very ordinary hamburger except for the caramelized onions on top   The onion rings were greasy and with a very small shaving of onion. I feel it is over priced $18.00.  There are better hamburgers around.

Valrhona chocolate mouse with griotinnes and kirsch

We all had a mouthful of this and we all thought it was one the best mouses that we have tasted.  Very rich and fit for the gods.

Some great food at the Station Hotel – possibly a little over priced for lunch but then we are no longer talking about pub food – this is fine dining.

Where:-
Station Hotel
59 Napier Street, Footscray – Phone 9687 2913

Web site - Station Hotel

Opening Hours:-
Open 7 days a week
Lunch 12.00 to 2.30
Dinner 6.00 to 9.00

Getting there:-
Driving
Melways Reference -     There is some parking in the street and a car park at the side of the hotel – entrance from Napier Street

Train
It is within walking distance from the Footscray Rail Station
The Sydenham, Werribee and Williamstown lines service the Footscray Station

Related posts:

1. Lunch at Hotel Nest – Albert Park
2. Opulence and Food, the Melba Room at The Langham Hotel,CBD
3. The Melba Room at the Langham hotel-a return visit and another great eating experience.

The facade is even plainer than many pubs around Port Melbourne, Albert Park and South Melbourne– see the post on Hotel Nest.

Someone may know something of the Hotel Albion’s history and what makes it remarkable.

It has had a bit of a make-over but it still retains the ‘pub atmosphere’.  There is a Bistro Bar, a fine dining area and a room that can be booked for grander functions.

At the moment it is remarkable for its ‘local’s nights’.

On Monday and Tuesday all items on the Bistro Bar menu are $14.50.  The menu is on the wall and you order and pay for your food at the bar; Pub style.  With a $6.0 glass of the house wine which is better than a lot of house wines you have a meal for $20.50 that is  excellent and several cuts above the usual Pub fare.

It is tempting to go for the most expensive thing on the menu, that’s the  Steak of the Day usually at $24.00.  That is very good and the Hotel Albion makes the best hamburgers I have had for a while.  The usual price for a beef or chicken hamburger is $17.50 so not such a great bargain at $14.50 but I love the hamburgers.

The Albion serves superior bar food.  On Monday and Tuesday  the food looks and tastes like the steal it is.  The place obviously employs a good cook.

These meals have all been given a large tick by the diners  who ate them and who would order them again.

Grilled Atlantic Salmon with Nicoise Salad.

Steak of the day with mashed potatoes and red wine gravy.

Grilled Chicken, avocado, prosciutto, and salad.

Falafel Vegie Burger, and salad

This is casual eating and on Monday and Tuesday the place is crowded.   The Bistro area has groups of locals and families and can be busy and noisy.    For some reason the area around the central bar is designated Bistro and Fine Dining.  For the cheap Bistro meals you need to sit at a table without a white table cloth.   The table cloths are for fine dining and there is a separate menu.  This is a nuisance because the tables covered with pristine white starched linen are the ones that are empty.

If you feel like good food, good prices and a local pub atmosphere head for the Hotel Albion at 146 Evans Street; on the corner  Raglan and Evans Streets, Port Melbourne.

There is a tram stop outside in the Turner Reserve. You can hop off the tram eat and then jump back on again for a walk around Port Melbourne.

Getting there:-

Tram  109 to Port Melbourne.  Get off at stop 127 called North Point. Cross Turner Reserve and you are at the Albion Hotel

Opening Hours:-

Bistro Bar Open from 6.00pm to 9.00pm daily except Sunday when it is closed

Monday and Tuesday are the Local’s Night Special

Related posts:

1. Local Pub – Bay Street, Port Melbourne
2. Cricket Club Hotel South Melbourne – ideal eating on a cold night
3. Opulence and Food, the Melba Room at The Langham Hotel,CBD

The Langham Hotel overlooking the Yarra River catching the last rays of the day’s sun.

This hotel used to be called the Sheraton Towers.  It retains the sophistication, service, stunning entrance foyer and has an easy welcoming ambiance.

The Melba Room hosts a buffet luncheon every day.   It is at the top of the Grand curving staircase that has a centre fountain which takes your breath. The feast  is an extravaganza and it is well worth missing breakfast for.

I was there to celebrate a birthday.  We had booked a table by a window that looks onto the Yarra River.

At one stage clouds came over and the skies darkened,  “How cosy!  How wonderful,“   We exclaimed.    We gazed onto the river with the rain spotting it  and watched people along the Promenade scuttling for cover.   We relaxed in our comfortable chairs and wondered what to eat next.

I am the first to admit that there is something rather uncouth about a buffet.  My group behaved as if we hadn’t eaten for a week.  Other groups did likewise.  There was a group celebrating the end of a year twelve commitment.  They were very dressed up and sophisticated but they couldn’t resist the temptation to pile their plates and then go back for more and more.

This can be a leisurely feast.    Start with soup, three choices, then move to the seafood and fill your plate with oysters, prawns, crab and a choice of mayonnaise.  That just gets you started.  A couple of year twelves had several seafood courses before they progressed.  They mentioned this to me as I was wondering about more prawns.

That is the beauty of it.  You can make your whole meal of prawns and oysters.  But why would you when there is every variety and mixture of food possible including Japanese?  A Japanese chef is there to help you make choices.

The desserts are interesting and the chef  knows you are going to want to try everything.  Mini, individual servings are produced of dozens of items.  Rather like mini works of art.

There was coffee and cheese and biscuits to finish.

The quality of the food?   It did vary a little but I loved the Japanese, the seafood and the curries and also the breads.
We plan to return for another celebration.

A very different light fitting hangs over the Japanese food.

Times:
The Melba Room starts serving luncheon at noon, the hot food is removed at 2.30 and the restaurant closes at 4.00 to prepare for dinner.
Costs:
Monday to Friday is $47.00 with a reduction for senior card holder of $4.00 and on Monday $8.00
Prices in the weekend are higher with no concessions:-
Saturday $69.00
Sunday $75.00
I understand that the prices will go up nearer Christmas when they provide a special Christmas menu.
It is suggested you book especially on Saturday and Sunday when it can be very busy.

Getting there:
The Melba Room, The Langham Hotel, 1 Southgate Avenue, Southgate  8696 8888.

You can enter from The Southbank Promenade along the river or it is just off St Kilda Road, in Southgate Avenue
Trams:
Any tram that goes to Federation Square or Flinders Street Station will get you there.
If you take your car there is valet parking.

Related posts:

1. The Melba Room at the Langham hotel-a return visit and another great eating experience.
2. Station Hotel, Napier Street, Footscray – lunch in their European-style dining room.
3. Hotel Albion, Port Melbourne – Great Bar-Food and Good Value Nights.