HAPPY 1st BIRTHDAY TO...

Happy 1^st Birthday 'Food for You Reviews'.

It was a year ago today that Food for You Reviews was born - created and launched.  It all happened in the blink of an eye after abruptly waking up on this day 12 months ago at 5am.   The birds had only just started chirping and I had an uncontrollable desire to tell the world how I felt about my dining experience at ‘Masons of Bendigo’ from the night prior.

If I really reflect on it, the seed for this blog was well and truly planted a year prior to its launch when I was in New York City with my fab friend Gab.  We were dining at Gordon Ramsay’s restaurant at ‘The London NYC’ when I just naturally started to critique the entire spectacle – the meal, the staff, the decor.  Being a fashionista rather than a foodie, Gab was fascinated by my analysis and supportively suggested that I pursue reviewing restaurants in some way.

The food passion I have is in my blood.  There is no doubt about that for me.  Formally learning about the hospitality industry when leaving secondary school seemed like a natural progression for me.  Food and I are a fit…like bangers and mash or peas and carrots.

Recently I revealed my identity on this blog after being anonymous for the first 10 months.  That for me was a massive decision.  Even though my appetite for reviewing all things related to food is solid it doesn’t automatically mean that I am confident that people want to read about what I have to say.  Let’s face it every second person is a food expert these days!  However, I did let you know who I am and I’m glad about that. To read the post Who Am I? Click here

To celebrate the first anniversary of Food for You Reviews I thought it would be apt to revisit the place that I first reviewed and re-review them.  So this week I went back and dined at Masons of Bendigo.

Masons celebrated their first birthday a few weeks ago and I’m sure they would agree that it has been a spectacular year for them.  In many ways they have had an incredibly positive impact on the dining scene in Bendigo.  They have successfully introduced a share plate style of eating incorporating local Central Victorian produce that Bendigo was ready for.

One year on and Masons have not altered from their opening style of share plates so that your dining experience is enjoyed to the utmost.  The night that I went to re–review they were at capacity, demonstrating that what they are delivering is being widely accepted.

We shared from the ‘savory bites’ section:

Baked Rockwood Cottage lamb and pinenut kataifi cigar, Meredith sheep’s milk yoghurt $7

Bagshot Muscovy duck spring rolls, Chinese sausage, blood plum and hoisin dipping sauce $9.50

From the ‘larger dishes to share’ section:

Ballotine of Yapunyah chicken, fresh figs, Istra pancetta, sarladaise croquettes, organic leek, peas, jus gras $24

Roasted Kent pumpkin, cheddar cheese, hazelnuts $12

12 hour Inglewood beef cheek braised, sherry carrots, stuffed zucchini flowers with caramelized smoked onion, pancetta, red wine sauce (special) $27

Each dish looked like a work of art and delivered on flavour.  The Masons menu is very well complimented with a solid wine list and some terrific craft beers.  The real highlight of the night was our waitress Jess.  She was beautifully professional and held herself with a wonderful calmness and confidence during service.   Congratulations all round ‘Masons of Bendigo’ on a successful first year!

Coming up in this, the second year of Food for You Reviews, are some exciting things.  The blog will be having a big make over very soon with a hot new look.  I will be introducing a new series called ‘Quick Q 10’, where I will interview chefs, barista’s, sommeliers, restaurateurs and other hospitality types of interest by asking them 10 quick questions.  Plus I will also have some interesting feature stories and of course more reviews.

THANK YOU, all of you, for reading my blog.  Thank you for allowing me to pursue one of my dreams and giving me a full size smile every week when I publish my post.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY 'FOOD FOR YOU REVIEWS'!  

(Insert party poppers, champagne and birthday cake here!)

Movida Next Door

I had this unusually super exciting lucky day this week.  Mid week I’m just sitting there checking my twitter feed over lunch, as I do, and Em Rusciano has tweeted that she has three double passes to give away to her show, “Puberty Rhythm and Blues”.  Her show is currently on at the ‘Forum’ for the Melbourne International Comedy Festival.  All I had to do was send an email.

So I thought why not, nothing to lose right?  To my delight a little while later I receive an email back to say I’d been successful in gaining one of the double passes.  Me… a WINNER.  I won!  After reading the email 18 times I realised it wasn’t a mistake and I had actually won. 

I was so thrilled because I love Em.  I think she is awesome and she reminds me a little of myself.  Not in an outward way but inwardly.  She writes and talks about things that I have thought only go on in my head or in my life!  It’s like she’s the mouthpiece for what I’m thinking.  And she can sing.  I can sing too but I sound awful – she sounds great!

Off I go to her hilarious show and was super star struck as she delivered the very open story about her puberty and the impending puberty of her daughter! It was laugh so hard you’re rolling around on the floor.  Go see it if you can.  There is still time.

After the show it was time to eat.  Right next door to the ‘Forum’ is MOVIDA NEXT DOOR.  Perfect.  As my friend and I walk over I literally run into Andy Lee (from Hamish & Andy).  Another celeb that I just love…by the way he seems taller in real life… After I finish being an embarrassing celebrity spotter loser.  I gather myself and now go to eat.

And of course there’s a wait – the place was packed.  I felt so hungry I thought I might eat my own arm off.  But after only one drink worth of a wait we were seated at the bar. 

The staff at MOVIDA NEXT DOOR were very professional, polite and knowledgeable.   The way the waiter/barman explained the menu was considered and enticing.  It was around about now I wished I’d learnt Spanish at school.

With my eyes being way bigger than my stomach by this point, we ordered –

• ·      Monte Enebro $8 each
• ·      Pollo $8 each
• ·      Bocadillo De Chorizo $8 each
• ·      Remolacha $12.50
• ·      Berenjenas $13.50

I’m tempted not to explain the dishes any further and say just go in there and try them all because they were all perfectly divine!  Which they were but I should tell you what they translate to for the non – Spanish readers.

Monte Enebro – Roquefort culture semi soft goats cheese.  This cheese was flawless.  A balanced flavor matched with fig.

Pollo – Chicken skewer grilled on charcoal.  This was smoky, smoky goodness.

Bocadillo De Chorizo – Chorizo and pickled piparra pepper sandwich.  Try saying that after a few sangria's!  This was the cutest little sandwich I’ve ever seen.  My pick of the night.

Remolacha – Beetroot, goats curd, pickled garlic and honey roasted walnuts.  Put goats curd on anything and you’ve won me but topped off with the sweetness of the walnuts I was in LOVE.

Berenjenas – Eggplant chips with salmorejo.  I just can’t get enough of eggplant chips.  Who’d of thought it?!

MOVIDA NEXT DOOR has not lost any of its charm or purpose.  If you’ve never been, go – it’s tapas at it’s finest.

Food – 8/10

Service – 9/10

Ambiance – 8/10

MOVIDA NEXT DOOR

Hosier Lane, Melbourne.

(03) 9663 3038

www.movida.com.au

Meat Free Good Friday

I was raised a good Catholic girl.  No really I was.  At least that’s what my mother likes to believe.  I married a good Catholic boy.  True story!  And now my son goes to a Catholic school.  Which has been really interesting because he has been learning about God and Jesus and he is very in to it. 

He is a little confused about why Jesus’ mates couldn’t save him from his fate but is happy that Peter tried so nobly.  I’m guessing that's the way little boys can relate to bible stories is by comparing their own life and friendships to it. 

The other day when I picked my boy up from school he was very keen to tell me that if he had of known Jesus when he was put up on the cross to die he would have gathered all of his men – his dad, his grandfathers, his uncles, our male neighbours and all of our male friends, big and small and together they would have got the ‘baddies’.  Then Jesus would have been ok…

So of course we don’t eat meat on Good Friday. 

No really we don’t.  Except for all the times we have had to travel to visit family at Easter and my husband sneaks something with bacon in it on the mandatory road trip stop along the way.  But that was only because he ‘forgot’ that it was Good Friday so it doesn’t count, right?

So anyway this Easter we don’t have to travel anywhere so I thought I would post an Easter recipe.  In my mind I was thinking something sweet involving chocolate or yeast goods or Nutella (Nutella only gets a mention here because I have a new and possibly unhealthy obsession with it). 

I contacted my dear and beautiful chef friend Janelle.  I’ve wanted to feature Janelle on this blog for a while and I will properly at a later date.  Janelle is an awesome chef.  She used to be my chef when I owned my café, another lifetime ago.  She uses words like gourmet, schezwan and chiffonade like no other person I know!  Now she teaches people how to cook and become a chef at a TAFE in Western Australia.  Those people don’t know how lucky they are.  They are learning from one of the best.

To my surprise Janelle sent me a recipe involving squid.  I was surprised for one because she doesn’t eat seafood and for two I was expecting something of the sweet variety from her.   When I questioned her about her choice of recipe and why it was special for Easter she said, ‘the whole thing is special. I thought as it is Easter good Catholics should be eating seafood on at least Friday’.  Touché Janelle…touché!

People, Catholic or not, this is just a small example of why Janelle is one of the most super chef’s I know in real life!

Squid Salad mixed with special sauce, lemon grass and lime leaves

What you need (quantities are per person):

250 gram cooked squid (2-4 pieces) poached

1 stick lemon grass sliced very thin

1 shallot julienne

2 lime leaf julienne

10 mint leaves

2 tablespoons fish sauce

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1 tablespoon sweet chilli in soybean oil or sambal olek

What you do:

Place last three ingredients in bowl and mix. Place squid, lemon grass, shallot, lime leaf and mint leaves in that bowl and mix thoroughly. Serve with lettuce, tomato and cucumber.

Happy Easter one and all!