Nobu - Melbourne

"THERE'S a Nobu in New York, London, Hong Kong and Milan, and now Melbourne has its very own branch of the modern Japanese restaurant where the A-list love to dine." - News.com.au

The A-list, I have always wondered what that really means and what it takes to be on the A-list. Is it like the A-team, a group of soldiers of fame and fortune, wanted for talents that they do not have? Or is it a more than that, maybe a group of people who really contribute to society, being role models for the underprivileged, destitute and easily influenced. I'd never really know because I haven't read a Woman's Weekly in a very long time. I am sure I'd find the answers amongst the glossy pictures of "footballers behaving badly", although Deborah Hutton seems to be in there a lot, so maybe she can tell me.

I might not know what the answer is but I sure like the result. Apparently, if you are on the A-list, hell even if you are C-list, you can get away with pretty much anything. Take, Steven Lawrence. Who you say? Yeah, I have now idea who he is either but he is my hero. Steven Lawrence assaulted a person at a pub last year (caught on camera too - maybe he is famous for that). Anyway, he got away with it. The magistrate, and I quote, said the incident was serious, but noted Lawrence's clean record, supportive character references and that a conviction could harm his career. WOW! So if I am on the C-list I can beat someone up and get away with it! Fantastic...I want to be on the C-list....but why stop there, if I can get on the A-list image what I could get away with. My mind whirled with all the possibilities, I had to find out how, so onto Nobu to find someone and ask how.

Nobu, with its waiters and waitresses all dressed in black with super occa accents looked rather simple but functional. You got a dimly lit room (presumably to conceal the "A-list") brown tables, with brown chairs that were too low matched with brown floors, walls. The chopsticks were those disposable ones you get in the local chinese takeaway, nothing but class. The menu, as the waitress said is different, no entree but its got cold and hot dishes. Um, why did I see entrees on the menu then?...these A-list places are so trendy.

With way too many choices, we went with the tasting menu (its called something Japanese but I forget) which is designed to showcase the chefs skills. Anyway, the menu did have the two signature dishes, the Yellowtail Sashimi with Jalapeno and the Black Cod with Miso, both were Delicious. Definitely go the Black Cod, it is sublime, never mind that it tastes like the marinated eel you get in the supermarkets of Taiwan.




After my meal, I went A-list hunting. Realising that I don't know what a A-list person looks like, my heart sank. I wish they would wear a badge or something, or have something tattooed on their forehead, like "Warning - A-list, I can do anything to you and get away with it". I saw a man there waiting in line, maybe he's on the list, hmmm...better not ask him, he might hit me....what to do....I had to do something, I took a deep breath (kiddies - not a good idea in the toilets) and did what I came to do, go to the toilet.

After using the facilities, I realised that I will probably never know what its like to be on the A-list, so I'll just have to do what ordinary people do in London, wear a hoodie, hit someone from behind and steal their phone.

Nobu
Price: Tasting menu AUD$110
Verdict: Nice modern Japanese set in functional surrounds, the tasting menu is nice but most of the dishses are available at the same quality at any decent Japanese restaurant. Like with any Asian restaurant, the desert is a big let down (green tea ice cream and chocolate pudding - boring) so give it a miss. I would not recommend the tasting menu if you are familar with Japanese food as you will be left underwhelmed for the price. Just order a sushi plate to share and the black cod. Both of these are brilliant.
Score: 3/5

Dinner at Savoy Grill

Well, finally got around to having dinner at the Savoy Grill. One of Marcus Wareing's flaunted restaurants. This time it was a £30 3 course deal through toptable.

No pictures unfortunately as the lighting was rather "ambiotic" [dark] and I don't think that the waiters would have taken too kindly to it. Added to the fact that I did not bring a camera with me.

Dinner was booked at 7pm but because of my nice little 2 week training course, we arrived at 6 and proceeding to wander around the Strand. 30 minutes later, we were hungry so we decided to grab a pasty from some pasty shop.

For entree we had the choice of Pork Terine with Foie Gras and apple, Haddock Omlet and soup. We (our party of four) went with 2 terines and Omlets. Both very nice indeed. The Omlet was presented in this little copper pot and smelt suitably cheesy. yum. I had the pork terine which can be best described as a cold slab of meat with jelly bits holding the various things together. It may sound a touch on the weird side but in my books, makes it very nice. There was a side salad which was also good (so says Hien).

Main was a choice of fish, chicken pie and pork cheeks. It doesn't side all that fancy but this is due to my inability to remember what was one the menu. The chicken pie was nice, not sure about the fish but the pork cheeks (which I had) were small, soft and tasty.

Desert was a choice between chocolate royale (described as chocolate mousse with chocolate pudding), creme brule with caramelised banana and cheese. We all went for the creme brule and it was fantastic.

Overally, I would say the toptable menu was pretty good. It probably did not showcase what the Savoy Grill would be capable of, but it was a good introduction.

Anyway, it was good value for the £30 and I would definitely go again but this time for the regular menu or the tasting menu.

Overall. A 3/5 for the toptable menu

Food: Lunch Pied à Terre

Welcome to Gary's guide to culinary delights in London and Europe. I have decided to rate and photograph most of the restaurants that I visit. I'll be using a scale is out of 5, with 5 being the best. The score will be based on the food that I order and will be adjusted according to price. I am not particularly influenced by the decor of a restraunt, nor the snobbiness of the waiters and as such, these facets will not be considered unless they truly stand out (i.e. super hot waitress or rat infested kitchens etc.).

Gary's Overall Rating Scale:
5 - the food is outstanding, one for special occassions
4 - the food was good and it is recommended.
3 - food is nice but you can do better
2 - the food is not very good but it is still edible
1 - don't bother

First restraunt off the rank is Pied à Terre. Given 2 stars by the Michelin guide, Pied à Terre had a lot to live up too. We chose the Lunch special, £25 for two courses, desert was an extra £10 or £5 depending on what you choose.

Pre Starter:
As with most of the starred restaurants, not only do you get a starter, you get a pre starter, which arrived on a oblong metal plate. The three pre starters where Foie Gras Crisps (this is really good), smoked trout (a bit sour and not that special) and pumpkin bun things (pretty ordinary).

Starter:
Terrine of Ham hock and Foie Gras with some other things that are French sounding. I should really write down the menu to avoid such rambling in future. A good dish, however one critism was that the Foie Gras was not as nice as the one inside the Foie Gras Crisps as it (the starter) seemed more buttery, but it was still a very nice way to start the meal.

Main:
Duck breast with pork underneath and some beetroot.
Calling this dish a main is like saying that Australia has a chance at the World Cup...way too optimistic. Anyway, size aside, it was a delicious dish with the flavours of the duck and beetroot going together quite well.

Pre Desert:
Yep,you get pre desert too. It was some rhubarb and panacotta thing which was rather nice.

Desert:
Rasberry sable with something lemon on the side (sorry, I will remember to write the menu down in future). Rather nice but with a hard biscuit base between the layers, it was very difficult to eat.

Overall, it gets a 4/5.

Food: Dinner at Supperclub in Amsterdam

To continue our culinary odessy we booked ourselves in for dinner at the Supperclub.

Its a rather funky restaurant with beds instead of tables, absolute indulgence - kinda of like how the Romans used to dine, but without the hygine problems and the stray dogs. The whole thing about eating then sleeping right away has a strange attraction.


The food was a 5 course set meal and we were warned to expect the unexpected. So we where eagerly awaiting debortuary or something along those lines. However, it was just a crazy woman with a puppet. Okay, i'll give them that, it was totally unexpected but it still sucked. At least my friend managed to get some action that night.

Anyway, it was an interesting dining expreience. To sum it up, the hot waitress was born a he, the waiters all danced to the tune of the Village people and the toilets were marked either Straight or Homo. Not for the down the line types but overall interesting nevertheless. Would I go back? maybe, I could really get used to lying down and eating.

Food: Dinner at Les Santos in St Tropez

One of the reasons we went to Provence was to eat the rich and slightly cheaper french cuisine. One of our destinations was Les Santos. Les Santos is a restaurant in the trendy coastal area of St Tropez with a Michelin Star. We chose the standard french "menu" which was a four course dinner for about €50-60.

I don't remember the details but in short the food was very good. Some of the highlights include the desert and the Lobster Risoto.

A french meal would not be complete without cheese. Let me just say that the cheese was the stinkiest, strongest stuff we had ever tasted. Ever hardenedd smelly food fanatics like ourselves had trouble handling it. We where totally upstaged by the little kids on the next table drinking wine and eating the cheese like it was coon tasty.