Saturday 20 April 2013

It's so Dandy, I'm not Lying

If you're wondering where you could enjoy a fancy evening, where the dishes are full flavoured and smacks you in the mouth, cocktails that can enchant you and is away from the hustle and bustle of the city then look no further.

Elwood has captured the ever enchanting and sleek 'Dandelion Restaurant' showcasing the true essence of Vietnamese with a modern swing to what was a very flavoursome evening.

We were overwhelmed  with the menu as our taste buds were tantalised as we read. The decision to go for the Feed me selection where an array of dishes are bought to you or do we go full guns blazing and create our own.

Of course saying this when we do go full guns blazing we go crazy..... you know what I'm saying, you've read my blogs. We always end up ordering enough to feed a party of 6 or maybe 10. Food babies turn into octuplets and we always roll out the door. Well tonight is no different, it was a special occasion, it's Paul's Birthday.

So let us begin. Some gorgeous tartare enhanced with some great kicks of chilli made for a great starter and got those chilli sweats going. Just make sure that if you are needing to cool yourself down from the burn, maybe not do what I did and order a cocktail that has chilli through it too. It doesn't help you in this instance, that burn keeps on going.

I did however get to enjoy the cool down from the Snails that were filled with pork and prawn. A big spin from the usual french version where it is doused in garlic butter. These shells were jam packed with flavour and with the slight essence of spice from the sauce, it did make for a rather enjoyable dish.

A palate cleanser of Locus stem salad with Vietnamese squash, crisp tofu, herbs, snow pea sprouts and a mulberry vinegar dressing was quiet delightful. The salad towered on the plate and is a great accompaniment with any large dish if you were looking for a lighter option to rice. It's also a great add to your selection of dishes to remove the powerful spice flavours during the evening.

For something more solid you have to go for their curries and clay pots. There was nothing but amazement with the boldness of the two dishes we chose to enjoy.

A delicate Duck braised in mandarin juice and Star anise with chilli, ginger and basil was simply delectable and was well balanced with the combination of flavours. Although rich the duck was tender and soaked up every inch of the sauce making every mouthful as enjoyable as the first.

The winner dish for me though this evening has got to be the Western Plains pork belly. Simmered with a caramel wood ear mushrooms there is nothing more mouth watering and tender. The flavours were soft and sweet and only made you return time and time again. The pork belly fell apart and was so succulent you would not want to miss out on this one.

Bulging at the sides from what is being an enchanting evening, both company and food combined there is just one more thing to do that would make it complete....... Dessert!

It's without fail that when deep fried ice cream is available it's always the must have. But when you see it as a Black Sesame deep fried ice cream the excitement is lifted even further. How gorgeous is the flavour of black sesame or even sesame in general. I could eat them all day long if given to me.

A golden ball of heaven was brought to the table and all though I couldn't eat it all I was one very happy person that I had the pleasure in attempting to do so.

Banana spring rolls was a pleasant spin on the standard banana fritter. Served with a passionfruit sorbet it made for a quaint ending to the evening.

Dandelion is surly a stand out and slightly hidden gem in Bayside and people should really get there to have their mind blown away with the depth of flavours that is captured and the elegance that is delivered in each dish.

It was and enjoyable night and made for Birthday celebrations to be even more perfect.



Dandelion Restaurant
133 Ormond Rd,
Elwood
9531 4900

Dandelion on Urbanspoon

Tuesday 2 April 2013

A Hawker Food Sensation


The term "Hawker" was once used to best describe vendors who moved around in mobile carts with delicious in-expensive dishes, bringing everyone out from their homes and onto the street to buy their favourite snack.

Developed into different fixtures;
Roving Hawker - a familiar fixture in the neighbourhood,
Roadside Hawker- setting up shop on the streets after dark when majority of the car parks were emptied and dining area of wooden tables and stools were bought out.
Pushcarts- doubled from a service section and a kitchen in one.

Alas hawkers have slowly disappeared from modern Singapore, but Hawker-styled food remains a huge success and has now found it's way to the South Wharf Promenade of Melbourne.

BangPop has Popped into Melbourne with a "BANG".  Delivering a magical combination of flavours, mouth watering dishes and ultimately a fantastic service from the entire team.

A lot of hard work has gone through to the study of bringing us Hawker styled dishes, staying true to the origin of the dishes and ensuring our experience sends us on a journey.

A serve of light and deep fried rice crackers were served with nam prik ta-kari to get us started along with some very tasty cocktails. If you enjoy a good bevie to get you started I'd highly suggest the Gin Pop - Gin, Lemongrass & Kaffir lime sorbet and soda water. A very refreshing cocktail and cleanser.

The rice crackers were delicate and light but don't go crazy on that sauce.... it's a Warning to you! If you want to feel the chilli hit on the way in and on the way out then go nuts. But I'd suggest to go gentle as there's more heat coming your way.

A combination of dishes for the entree:
Kor Moo Yang: Marinated char grilled pork neck slices with nam jim saap and sticky rice
Tod Mun Pla: Barramundi and red curry paste cakes with nam prik pla-grop
Sai Krok Isaan: Sour Isaan pork sausage with chilli, fresh herbs and cabbage

The Isaan pork sausage was a combination of 2 styles, one with chilli and one sour. Roll the pieces into the fresh cabbage, squirt some fresh lime juice and add some mint and basil and be taken away with some glorious flavour combinations in your mouth. This dish can be heated up with the addition of fresh chillies.

The fish cakes were soft in flavour, nothing over powering but very well balanced. You always appreciate fish cakes when you know they are fresh, bought in cakes always have that rubbery texture to them. But these delights were tasty and went fast, Medium in heat

Marinated pork neck, what can I say..... tender and delicious. Combined with the sticky rice it was magical. Not too much heat in this dish so it's a good break away from the chilli.

For Mains we saw more noodle and rice combinations that were truly to die for:
Pad Thai: Thai stir fried noodles with tofu, garlic, chives, bean sprouts and crisp shallots
Pad Ka Prow Nua: Stir fried beef mince, basil, garlic and chilli finished with a fried egg
Kang Daeng Phed: Slowed cooked duck leg red curry with basil, fresh chilli and roast coconut
Daily Special: Crisp skin duck salad, combined with lychee, fresh sprouts and herbs

My favourite dish of the evening was the Beef mince as well as the Duck curry.

The stir fried beef, was soft in flavours but what I loved was the fascinating fried egg that nestled itself on the top. A light golden colour on the out side but when you break through the egg a glorious golden runny yolk spreads through the mince. Just hints of spice to enhance the flavours but nothing to concern yourselves with

The Duck curry originally removed away from myself and my hubby by my sister explaining it was disgusting was to be very quickly discover that it was far from that. Tender duck leg sits in an aromatic spice powered red coconut sauce. The flavour combinations had essence of perfection in there also. A fight amongst the 3 of us as none of us wanted to share it. Combine it on top of some Pad Thai or just have some accompanying rice on the side, but know that you will not want to waste any of that scrumptious sauce.

The Pad Thai is everything you would expect Pad Thai to be but with a slight difference. Brought to you with all ingredients separated for you to combine it yourself. The flavours were fresh and tasty. Add some of the condiments on your table to enhance the well balanced flavours to your liking, or leave it ad grab a curry to enjoy the two together. Very filling indeed and glad to be sharing, medium in spice but you can go out with a bang by adding more chilli kicks to the dish.

The Duck salad was refreshing and light. Sweetness from the lychee added additional flavours to the crispy skinned dick pieces which nestled combined the fresh sprouts, basil and other beautiful herbs.  We were pleased to hear that now that BangPop has settled in that they will be bringing out daily specials just like this to entice you for your return..... It has delivered and has worked.

Although the 3 of us were bursting at the seams you can never pass up dessert, and with my sister getting excited about seeing pandan on the menu (she has recently travelled to Malaysia) room was made.

On order was:
Saku Song Kreuang: Tapioca and pandan pudding with mango sorbet
Aye-Teem Song Kreung: Mango sorbet, peanuts, young coconut flesh and coconut juice
Aye-Teem Krungthep: Bangkok street ice cream selection

All desserts were a refreshing finish to the evening, and a true palate cleanser removing all chilli burns from your lips and mouth. The sorbets are truly extraordinary, true powerful flavours and if you ever have the lemongrass and lime you will understand what I mean by powerful. It's lip smacking!

 Our evening was sensational and I have to applaud the Mathis Group on converting what was once the Sharing House into something new and fresh on the streets of Melbourne.

The Crew at BangPop delivered nothing but spectacular service through out. Hamish and the entire Front of house crew are showing everyone what service in Hospitality is all about. Happy to talk to you, explain the dishes and more.  Head Chef Kam McManamey and the entire Kitchen crew are continuously serving you immaculate dishes to get you heart pumping with chilli sensations but over all fantastic flavour combinations that will make you return for more. It's won me over and there is no doubt in my mind that they will be seeing me back there soon.


BangPop
35 South Wharf Promenade
South Wharf, Melbourne
9245 9800

BangPop on Urbanspoon