On It Burgers - Ferntree Gully

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On It Burgers - Ferntree Gully

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Rating: 4.5 / 5

I am happy to say the trusty eastern suburbs came through last night.

My brother had been telling me about On It burgers and their black buns for some time but only last night was I able to experience them for myself. My requirement for burgers is that they are traditional, so traditionally I ordered the Double Classic. The Double classic sports two patties of prime grain fed beef, mustard, ketchup, double American melted cheese, pickles and red onion on a fantastic artisan bun. It was honestly something to behold.

The garlic and basil fries weren't too heavily seasoned but just enough to take them from fry to "oh my!" especially when dipped in the mayonnaise or the special smoky 'On It' dip.

The onion rings were pretty good, but I would rather them a little crunchier as described in the menu. They were little bit soggy than what I would usually like, but with a fine batter non the less.

Then there was 'The Luke'. This is the black bun burger that burns your retina but not your soul. American cheese, bacon jam, prime grass fed beef, pickles, lettuce, tomato, ketchup and mustard. Sounds like a lot but it works. The diameter of the burger itself is actually a little smaller that the classic variations but it has some seriously good flavors.

I originally thought that On It Burgers would be at a disadvantage being out in the eastern suburbs and not in the heart of Melbourne like the other burger joints littering our city, but I think the quality will make it a local regular and once they get known around the city people will start to travel for these burgers if they haven't already. If On It Burgers continue to do what they are doing, with their current market share in the east they will easily outlast their counterparts closer to the city.

Charlie & Co. Burgers - Melbourne Emporium

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Charlie & Co. Burgers

Melbourne Emporium

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I write this review with the intention of it being short. I liked Charlie & Co. Burgers at Melbourne Emporium. I wouldn't go as far as to say that they had the best burgers in Melbourne, but I thought they were very tasty. Having read the reviews on Urban Spoon I can't help but think that people are being a little harsh. A rating of 63% seems a little low too, I would have thought that at least 70% of people would have liked it, but maybe I just don't have the refined palate of the people frequenting Melbourne Emporium. Such trendy and healthy people you, but I digress.

I ordered the most expensive burger on the menu, which was the Mighty Charlie Burger and at $14.90 thought it was reasonable value considering the location of the restaurant and the quality of the ingredients. Every bite I took out of the burger I would look at my wife and make crazy eyes. So it tasted good! 

It had wagyu beef, smoked bacon, egg, cheddar cheese, sun ripened tomato, pickled gherkins, caramelised onion, lettuce, aioli and BBQ sauce. Did I mention it was really tasty? 

Now, as others have mentioned on reviews on Urban Spoon, I did find myself wanting more after the burger and the order of fries. Originally I thought it was just me being a greedy pig, but it turns out I wasn't the only one. I did think it was a reasonably sized burger. At almost $15, to put this burger together at Macca's with their Create Your Own Taste thing that they have going, would probably see you paying the same amount with potentially lesser quality ingredients, so I don't know what all the fuss is about. In saying that, 10 steps away at Jimmy Grants you could get a souva and chips for almost the same price as the burger (give a couple of dollars), and you can guarantee that the souva will make you feel like you are floating in the clouds.

So, if you find yourself in Melbourne Emporium and feel like a burger then I would suggest that Charlie & Co. Burgers would do the job for you. If I find myself wanting a burger next time I am at Emporium then I would probably go back.

"I would rather have a burger and beers with my mates, but I can't do that when I know I've got to dance" - Michael Flatley

1 Week A Vegan

Much to the dismay of my wife and mother, I made the decision on Monday to live like a vegan, well the diet of a vegan. You won't find me holding up a bloodied lamb in protest of Australia's sheep sheering industry. Don't get me wrong, I am all for animal rights, but the point of my decision to cut out animal products was purely a health based decision, sorry Lamb Chop, all those years as a kid I wasn't that entertained. I was just trying to work out the best way to cook a lamb puppet.

From when I woke up on Monday morning I just decided it. There was no precedent other than two food full Easter weekends, the joys of marrying into an Orthodox family. I just woke up and said it to myself initially, then to my wife when I got to work. The reply text was "lol", and plenty more of those followed throughout the day, along with some "Are you serious?" and "It isn't going to last! rofl" and "come on, stop it already". It turns out it was all very funny and she even went to the extent of discussing it and laughing along with her sister. Could it really be that hard to believe that someone like me could be a vegan? I was even referred to by my wife (with a smile on her face) as the fattest vegan alive! Well, that may be the case, but it is definitely worth the try... I am close to suggesting that I am currently dying of starvation while writing this, but that would be unfair to those that actually are dying of starvation. So instead I will try and put it another way... GIVE ME A F***ING STEAK ASAP!!!

So I have been a vegan for a week and I have to say, it was a struggle. For someone that is a big fan of all things meat, this thing has been killing me, but I think I have turned a corner. Scaled the first hurdle. Bitten off more than I can chew? Probably... it's only been a week, though I truly do think I am over that initial holy shit everything has animal in it! phase. It turns out not everything has animal in it, like carbs... well most carbs. See it turns out, without even noticing, I was eating animal when making home made pasta, because of the eggs. Stupid, tasty, no good, readily available, bastard, in everything, eggs! I have a friend who is allergic to eggs, poor guy. I now know how he feels. 

On Day 1 I just thought, hey let's have pasta with pesto tonight... as long as it is semolina pasta, not fresh. What? You serious? Man, so we had the packet pasta with a jar version of pesto which I quite like by our good friends at Barilla.
I forgot that most pesto has parmesan in it, shit! Day 1 fail.

Day 2 saw me throwing carrot, zucchini, onion and mushroom in a pan and stir frying them while whipping up some steamed rice in the Thermomix. I could have done it all in the Thermomix now that I think about it, but alas, I didn't. While I was stir frying my veggies my wife had me make her my famous omelette, so rude. Not only has she refused to cook for me this week but also made me cook something that I was not able to eat. Unbelievable! Anyway, the stir fry was a success and tasted quite good. The recipe for the Thermomix is for 500 grams of rice so it actually covered a few of my meals.

Day 3 was much the same with all that rice that I made which made the worry of now what do I eat? a non issue. Day 4 on the other hand didn't work out so well. The day started okay, foraging around the house for something to nibble on, but then my brought home some Arabic pizzas for dinner. I ate the curried mushroom one which was OK for Vegans, I think? But then I was still hungry, so I ate the vegetarian pizza too. It had cheese on it. So I officially failed at being a vegan on day 4.

Day 5 started well, made some pasta with a red sauce but even though I managed to refrain from adding parmesan to it, for dinner I caved and we ordered pizza from our local pizza shop. So day 5 really blew out any chance of considering this a vegan week, and I sure as hell wasn't going to ask for a vegetarian with no cheese. Am I right? But I think I will just have to next time if I want to make a serious attempt.

Day 6 is Saturday and football day. Carlton V Essendon, and there is my wifes left over pizza in the fridge. It has ham, and I eat a slice. Vegetarian chances this week also out the window. I think 6 days without meat is a pretty good effort. Especially if you knew how much meat I was eating. Went to mums to chill, had a burger from Grill'd. Saturday is not a good day to be a vegan.

Day 7, today, is an interesting day. Trying to keep myself busy around the house and on the computer to keep my mind off the meat. I look at my dogs and the cat and wonder how they would taste. They can't taste that bad surely. Take it easy, I'm not a feral, I wouldn't just cook them and eat them. I would probably serve them with a side of fries, or a salad.

Don't you all go worrying about my mental state now, I am not some crazed vegan that's going to go around telling the world. I don't want to be the butt of that joke, How do you know if there is a vegan at a bbq? Don't worry they'll tell you.
I will be using the vegan diet as an everyday lifestyle choice and where absolutely necessary I will eat animal stuff, ie when my Mum has us over for dinner, reviewing a restaurant (unless it is a vegan restaurant). So don't fear, my blog will still be full of amazing mouth watering reviews about meat and other such non vegan anomalies. Although this week is well and truly a vegan and vegetarian fail, I think I had a pretty good go at it and will be moving forward to seriously take this challenge on.

In saying all of this, if you vegans/vegetarians would like to see a review on a particular vegan/vegetarian restaurant or you can suggest any good places for me to try out, I would love to hear the names of the places. Just leave them in the comments section below. Until then, wish me luck on this long journey that I have (stupidly or not) thrown myself into.

In the words of Kirk Lazarus, Everybody knows you never go full vegan.

ITALI.CO Italian Restaurant

ITALI.CO

173 Barkly Street, St Kilda

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***

ITALI.CO sits in the heart of one of Melbourne's trendiest eating spots, St Kilda - just a short stride to Acland Street and not much further to the iconic Luna Park and Palais Theatre.

On this particular Friday evening we managed to avoid being stuck in traffic and easily found a parking spot 100 metres away from the front door, granted we booked for the unusually early time of 5:30pm, but I thought it was worth it.
The restaurant had a restrained elegance if you can work out what that means. It was subtle, but beautiful at the same time. Floor to ceiling windows surrounding the majority of the restaurant allowed for a naturally lit space, light timber floors and the white marble bar top contrasted will with the black chairs and was a nice change from the current tendency for restaurants to take the darker approach to their interiors.

A waitress brought us to our table which looked out at passing cars on the not so busy Barkly Street. The table sported 2 paper menus, a saucer with a small jar of red chopped chillies in oil and the obligatory salt & pepper grinders. We sat trying to decide what to order but were constantly distracted by the characters that would pass by our window, don't get me wrong, the drug fuelled exuberance of those that passed us by was definitely entertaining, but distracting nonetheless.

We decided to start with the Foccacia with Extra Virgin Ligurian Olive Oil, Garlic and Rosemary Salt to share, which was absolutely amazing for something so simple. The olive oil and balsamic vinegar were hardly required and rarely used. I ordered the Gnocchi Al Ragú D'Agnello which was home made gnocchi with a spring lamb ragú and carrot purée, and my wife; via the specials board, ordered the Duck with Parsnip Soufflé, Orange, Fried Baby Kale and Pomegranate. 

The Gnocchi was beautifully light and soft and the sauce was by no means too flavoursome as these types of ragú sauces can be, though I would have added more salt to the dish during the cooking process. I dislike the addition of salt to an already completed dish, it just isn't the same. The Duck was amazing, it was cooked to perfection and again the accompanying sauce was exactly that, just an accompaniment. It didn't detract from the duck at all but had an amazing flavour. To my surprise the Parsnip Soufflé was a great addition to the dish as well.

We made the dangerous but well thought out decision of ordering not one but TWO desserts, and I am glad we did. Being a massive fan of the Nutella Dessert Pizza at DOC just off Lygon Street I decided it would be a strong comparison for ITALI.CO's version. ITALI.CO fell a little short. I prefer the way DOC serve it as a Calzone, rather than a pizza. ITALI.CO's version was by no means a bad dessert (how can it be with a sweet pizza base covered in Nutella), but it just wasn't as good. The vanilla bean ice-cream wasn't too bad, but I have had better in that department too.
The other dessert we ordered was the Tortino Di Cioccolato Con Cuore Fondente, it's a bit of a mouthful but loosely translates to mini chocolate fondant cake. This was probably the best chocolate fondant cake that I have eaten. It was exquisite! The warm chocolate spilled slowly from the centre of the cake as my wife cut it open, an event which I would have filmed on my phone if it hadn't of decided to fail as it was happening. The 2 seconds of video isn't worth posting, so you will need to take my word for it. It tasted fantastic, and in addition to the chocolate awesomeness was the peanut butter fudge to make it that little bit more amazing. The homemade Tahiti Vanilla Gelato that is was served with, I could have done without. I would have much preferred the normal vanilla bean ice-cream that came with the Nutella Pizza.

ITALI.CO was a great place to eat. The food was great and the staff friendly. The cost was to the higher side of average I would say, but worth every penny.
Take your family for a nice meal or bring a potential suitor if you want to impress him/her with your impeccable taste for the finer things in life.

Pershing Square - New York City

***

"The only thing I like better than talking about food is eating"

John Walters

***

While we were staying in New York City on our USA trip a couple of years ago, we would constantly walk past Pershing Square as it was located directly across the road from our hotel at Grand Central Station. It didn't look like much from the outside; just your standard old school New York cafe, so we never really thought it that important to go for a meal. About a week into the New York visit, when we had run out of local places to eat hot dogs and pizza got a little boring, we decided to give it a go. It was pretty impressive.

You walk in through the front door and it transforms into this beautifully lit and decorated restaurant. It isn't like your typical New York cafe, which are a dime a dozen throughout Manhattan. It has an edge to it that is warm and inviting. It sported dark red tones throughout, and once you walk through a more relaxed cafe type area out front, you find yourself in a reasonably sized restaurant. 

The restaurants website refers to it as a "casual American cuisine in a bustling classic bistro environment" and boasts as having the "busiest and best breakfast in New York." I can't vouch for the breakfast claim, though I can confirm that they offer three all-day-breakfast options on the menu, plus a fairly extensive list of options for actual breakfast. The lighting set a nice mood and accentuated the dark red colour scheme, the little lamps on each of the tables were a nice touch too.

The service left a lot to be desired. Unfortunately we had come directly from Las Vegas which is a very hospitable city whose people seem to really strive to get that tip that they so desperately need, most of the New Yorkers aren't quite that way inclined. Very rarely are you offered a smile or any real earth shattering service, which is disappointing because I really did want to leave a reasonable tip, but we'll go into that a bit more as I explain further.

We went over the menu and I kept finding myself drawn to the Maine Lobster roll. This is where the service was first slightly troubling. I asked the waiter whether the lobster is actually from Maine, or whether it is just what they call the dish. I thought it was a reasonable question. He looked at me kind of puzzled and wasn't able to answer the question. Surely he is aware of the origins of the dish name. When I worked in a restaurant as a kid I was expected to know even the tiniest aspect of  each of the dishes, and we didn't accept tips... so I ordered the lobster roll anyway, and my wife ordered the House Made Ricotta Ravioli. I had never had lobster roll before, or since to be honest but it was beautiful and sweet, and weirdly enough the bowl of potato chips it was served with were a good accompaniment. The ravioli were very well done, but the sauce wasn't anything special. Most Italian restaurants back in Melbourne do it much better. In addition to these meals we got ourselves a bowl of fries which were pretty standard.

Up to this point, there was no offer from the waiter for a top up of our drinks and he pretty much ignored us for the rest of the night. We managed to get his attention so that we could order dessert. I had never heard the term New York style cheesecake and simply asked whether that meant that it was baked. Again, the waiter looked at me like I had two heads. I ordered the cheesecake anyway as I was curious. Since I have recently been more interested in food, I understand that it did in fact mean that it was baked cheesecake as we are used to getting here in Australia. But I didn't at the time, and still don't think that it was a particularly stupid question. The cheesecake was very good...

All-in-all the experience was fairly pleasant. Though the service could use some work (I may have caught the waiter on a bad day or something), the meal itself was very well done and sported some very fresh ingredients and was well presented. I have one concern that baffled me a little bit, for some reason this particular restaurant was the only one we went to in the entire USA that automatically charged an 18% tip to our bill without us being aware of it. I was going to give the guy a tip anyway, but in no way was it anywhere near 18% considering he did absolutely nothing for us other than write 5 words on a piece of paper and grunt when I asked questions about the menu. I understand that America's minimum wage situation makes it difficult for people to earn a good living. Automatically applying a tip to a bill means that they are then less inclined to provide a high level of service to your clients. Management should just increase their wages. Anyway, it is a nice place to eat and worth every penny.

http://www.pershingsquare.com/index.html

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Tookaiya Japanese Restaurant

Tookaiya Japanese Restaurant

314 Keilor Road, North Essendon

***

Japanese Proverb:

Tai-mo hitori-ha umakazu - Even sea bream is not delicious when eaten in loneliness

***

My wife and I are massive fans of Tookaiya Japanese. We try and eat there at least once a month to get the fresh seafood they are so famous for serving. We have our favourite dishes which we will order every time, though we haven't been disappointed with anything else on the menu so far.

On Monday night we decided we had waited long enough between visits and rocked up at around 6pm. Being a Monday night it was pretty quiet which was good for a change, no need to book a table.

Prawn inside out sushi rolls

We normally start with some inside out sushi rolls, my wife likes the prawn and I like the raw tuna or salmon, in this case, I went with the raw tuna. The light flavour of the fresh fish is so refreshing, especially in the warm weather, and you don't feel so bad when you are eating it either. The sushi rolls are covered in caviar giving you those beautiful little bursts of flavour when you bite into them. The size of these little parcels of joy are just perfect to slip an entire piece in your mouth without looking like you are gorging yourself.

Grilled butter and garlic squid

In addition to the inside out sushi, we will normally order a bowl of Ika Yaki which is grilled squid in a garlic butter sauce, I can't go to Tookaiya without ordering this dish. I have in the past been to Tookaiya not really very hungry but still had to order the Ika Yaki, it truly is a must have dish. It isn't anything that fancy, but has such an amazing flavour it is hard to go past. We will normally order the Gyoza (pot stickers) and the Yakitori (teriyaki chicken skewers). I am not going to lie, all this can be hard to get through but it is difficult to avoid ordering it all. The Gyoza are pretty good, though I must admit I have had better just from the local food court and the chicken skewers are pretty good too though I would take a satay skewer over a teriyaki skewer every day of the week. 

Teriyaki Chicken Skewers

Previous visits have seen us ordering some main dishes also. The fried rice here is pretty damn good, but I avoid it as I am already a frequent eater of fried rice and this place has so much good, fresh food on the menu I am able to avoid it. To accompany the fried rice I can suggest ordering the Teriyaki Chicken dish. It is a lot like the flavour of the skewers but has some veggies cooked through it and goes very well with the fried rice. Being a Japanese newbie, eating straight raw fish isn't something I would have normally gone out of my way to do, but this was the perfect place to get into it. The sashimi combination is a good way to start as it gives you a variety of different fresh fish to choose from. It isn't for everyone, even sushi rolls can be a stretch for some people which is understandable, but it is definitely worth a try. We are yet to taste any desserts, just can't seem to allow room for it. One day...

Gyoza

Tookaiya have been around for almost 16 years now, and have been a local icon in Keilor Road. I am only new to the sushi scene, but I would say that this is a great place to start if you want to try sushi for the first time. Saying all that, I have family and friends that are seasoned sushi eaters and they would agree that this is one of the best sushi places in Melbourne in it's price range. It is a very clean restaurant and the staff are very friendly and accommodating, though you should just be careful at busy times as you might not get a table without a booking over the weekend period.

CLICK HERE FOR LINK TO THE MENU

Black Rice - Why?

Ever wondered what the deal is with this black rice we are starting to see in a lot more sushi bars around the place? Black rice isn't a new thing, but is definitely starting to pick up pace in the sushi world, especially in and around Melbourne. Why should I pay more for black rice sushi? I hear you ask. That is a good question, allow me to explain.

The more common varieties of Black rice (or purple rice as some may refer to it, either is correct) are Indonesian black rice and Thai jasmine black rice. Until recently, black rice has been a secret that was protected from the rest of the world by Asian countries which made it a hard ingredient to come by. Emperors cherished black rice as they believed it held anti-aging qualities, and emperors were normally the only people that were able to get their hands on it. More recently though, there has been a lot of discussion surrounding black rice and it's natural healing agents and high levels of antioxidants, Vitamin E and fiber and the way that it acts as a natural anti-inflammatory. We now know that the emperors weren't far off the mark with their beliefs of anti-aging agents, as we are now aware thanks to scientific research that there is a strong correlation between antioxidants and anti-aging. Black rice is said to have even higher levels of antioxidants than the current leader of the "super food" category, the Blueberry. Research suggests that the consumption of black rice could lead to an increase in general well being through decrease in blood pressure and better blood circulation. It has also been linked to the reduction in the risk of developing conditions such as cancer and heart disease.

In general, it is suggested that black rice and all of it's healthy qualities can prevent cancer, diabetes, heart disease and Alzheimer's. In my experience, a sushi roll at the average cost of 2.50 per roll is a pretty good deal for lunch, so why not spend an extra 50c to $1 a roll to give yourself that peace of mind that what you are putting in your mouth isn't just high in carbs but also helping you to fight off any nasties that may come your way. Personally, since hearing about the health benefits of black rice I have had it for lunch almost every day for the last few months and don't plan to change that any time soon. It is a great way for those that are unable to always get the nutrients and antioxidants that they should be throughout the day, and besides who doesn't like a sushi roll for lunch.

Single best thing about owning a Thermomix

Last night I posted a cheeky Facebook status stating that I would need to now write something with some substance since MKR wasn't on for a few nights, as I had been recently doing an episode recap on my blog. My cousin suggested that I write about the single greatest thing about being a Thermi owner. So I am going to give it a go.

We all know from my Nutella Christmas Tree review that I am a pretty big fan of the kneading function, who doesn't want that? Saves a whole lot of exercise that's for sure, and we all know how annoying exercise can be. Am I right? Looking down at my guts.

So I have taken everything that the machine does into account and tried quite thoughtfully to think of the single greatest thing about it. So here it goes.

I approach the Thermomix being a bit technology obsessive, I would be lying if the touch screen and the recipe chip weren't enough to sell it, I am a bit of a sucker like that. I would like to see it link to wireless and kick off cooking remotely via an app, but we will have to wait for the TM6 for that I suppose. Off topic already, not good. What I would say the greatest thing is the minimal effort that is required across the entire cooking process. You hear people telling you things like that's not cooking, takes all the fun out of it. Those people obviously don't own a Thermomix, and when I hear people say those things I tend to be happy they don't own one. They don't get invited to dinner either... 

You are not taking away anything from the cooking, all you are doing is condensing the cooking process to the one location. Avoiding the spread of mess throughout your kitchen.

For instance, if I am making a zuchini slice, hand grating the zucchini and the onion for 20 minutes isn't going to make it taste better than the Thermomix chopping it in 3 seconds. Not to mention the fact that you measure your ingredients straight into the thermi like some sort of wizard! Plus, you save the tips of your fingers from trauma along with the crying onion eyes (I can hear a song with the words crying onion eyes playing in my head). Granted it wont julienne for instance, but if you are wanting to julienne something for a dish, then you just julienne it, chances are it's going to be some sort of wanky plating garnish anyway. Not sure about you folks, but when my wife and I are making dinner on a week night, the last thing I give a flying follicle about is garnish or how nice and fine my carrots are cut.

So, reducing effort isn't something that stops with the cooking process, it extends to the amount of bench space required and the amount of cleaning before, during and after you cook. For most recipes, you will find that the Thermomix performs around 80 to 90 percent of the process, through preparation, cooking and cleaning. This, I feel is the best part of the device. Less mess, preparation, and cleaning means more time, and more TIME is really what this is all about at the end of the day. 

Forget what I said about effort earlier, it's all about the time. The phrase time poor is probably the most promenent phrase that comes up in the sales spiel when you go to see one of these devices in action, and it isn't just something they say to suck you in. Vorwerk have been making Thermomix for a quarter of a century now and they know who their target audience is, and they have developed a product around that very audience. 
It can be hard to eat properly when you are time poor, there is a reason that all the doctors that my wife works with own one of these, they are probably in the most time poor profession around but they understand the importance of healthy home cooked meals.

So in conclusion, I would say the time saving that you get from using the Thermomix is the single greatest thing about owning one. I think if you ask my wife she will tell you the same thing, in fact she is the one that keeps telling me these things, I am just along for the ride. The tasty tasty Thermi ride to mushroom risotto heaven.

Take a look at GC's Galaktoboureko thermomix recipe below...

Hellenic Republic Brunswick East (Repost)

Don't judge me for this, but I distinctly remember when George Calombaris was on Ready, Steady, Cook flirting with Peter Everitt about how large his snapper was... on more than one occasion may I add. We all know how Peter swings, but it definitely made me question George's sexuality a few times. I took an instant liking to George, the man that now fills our screens every night of the week for most of the year... or so it feels with the forever growing Masterchef craze. And yes I do watch and thoroughly enjoy Masterchef for at least the first month, especially Friday Nights "Master Class" and the "Mystery Box". What are the crazy chefs (producers) going to throw at them this week? Anyway, I tend to like George on the screen and find myself liking him more since discovering Hellenic Republic.

If you know of the character that is George Calombaris and his on screen antics and find yourself enjoying them, then you will instantly enjoy Hellenic Republic Brunswick from the time you walk in the door... two doors. It's a long single room, with the option of a 'glass house' type area for those of you that aren't attuned to loud restaurants. It's tightly packed with rustic tables and chairs. Spare chairs hang from the wall to the right, while on the left is a long bar/service area which is bustling with chefs, bar tenders and wait staff. Staff seem to be of the more trendy variety, probably native to the East Brunswick area if my powers of observation serve me correctly.

My wife and I have probably been there a total of 3 times in as many months, which is a pretty good run for us, considering we are both partial to a slice of pizza from our local Italian restaurant. 

We usually start with something like Haloumi which is grilled cheese (very nice) topped with figs, and I don't mind the Greek staple Tzatziki dip, with some warm Pita bread. We will then normally get a serve of their awesome spit roasted chicken and a serve of the Lamb... making my mouth water typing this; damn it's good. We have recently; and when I say recently I mean 2 nights ago, experienced what is probably a new favourite in the Moussaka. For those of you that don't know, this is a baked dish with mince, and eggplant and covered in cheese, there's probably more to it than that, I'm no chef... but trust me, it's awesome!!!

Then to finish off you end up with dessert... this is where the problem is. What do you get?

There's the 'Hellenic Mess' which consists of broken meringue, orange blossom jelly, vanilla krema and strawberry ouzo sauce.

Then (my favourite) is the Bougatsa which is pretty much just warm custard wrapped in filo pastry... really healthy obviously!

You also have the option of the Baklava, Chocolate Souffle and the custard and cinnamon doughnut balls.

The menu is of average length, and obviously includes a lot more than what I have mentioned above, but these are just some of my favourites. Have a look at the website link at the bottom of this post for the full menu.

I have now learnt to skip lunch before visiting Hellenic Republic, and I am yet to be disappointed by the food or the service. Seriously suggest people check it out, because it is definitely worth it. You will need to book a few weeks in advance depending on the number of people you have in your party and the day you plan on going, so make sure you take that into account, and if you get in at the 6pm seating they'll kick you out (politely) at 7:50 for the next flock of hungry trend setters.

I'm hungry... time to book our next visit I think.

www.hellenicrepublic.com.au

Friendships and macaroni are best when they are warm

Nutella Christmas Tree - Thermomix Husband Review

If anyone has any requests on Thermomix recipe reviews (a husbands perspective) let me know in the comments, would love to know what everyone is interested in reading.

After my last Thermomix post, I received a number of questions regarding the Nutella Christmas Tree, so I thought I would write a review on it specifically. Let's be clear; in this particular situation, I had nothing to do with the actual Thermomixing part, but more to do with the rolling of dough, layering of nutella and dough and some input in the shaping of the end result (although I was told I could not be trusted with this part). Link to the recipe will be at the bottom of this review for your reference.

When my wife told me that such a dessert existed, I immediately ran to the pantry and spread Nutella about an inch thick onto two slices of bread. I ate them, and while doing so was toasting two other slices of bread for further Nutella spreading to take place, I was then ready to discuss this. We sat and spoke over a cup of green tea to offset the sugar overload, it didn't work. We discussed using the 5kg jar of Nutella that I had received as a gift just recently. I fought against the idea, but was unsuccessful, apparently 5kg of Nutella is too much for one person to consume, I refused to accept but it was of no use. The Nutella was to be used.

Nutella Christmas Tree - Thermomix Recipe

It is recipes like this that the Thermomix enters a league of it's own. The ability to knead dough automatically without having to lay a hand on it is such an awesome feature, I mean seriously. It only needs to knead for a few minutes! You are kidding yourself if you think you don't need a kneading function like this. YOU SIMPLY NEED THE KNEAD!
You let the dough double in volume by leaving it in a warm spot (don't be rude! This time of year in Melbourne, outside is perfect) and then you proceed to divide it into four equally sized balls. You need to make sure these things are shaped like balls, not like a tennis ball, but like a football. Trust me, four little footballs. Roll them out into a football oval shape (you getting the theme here?). When the dough balls are shaped like a football they are easier to roll into an oval shape, if they are spherical it makes it a little more difficult. This is my way of doing it, and the best way to end up with heaps of off cuts. If you want less offcuts, you should probably watch the YouTube video I have linked at the bottom of this review. Roll them out so that they are pretty thin, but if you start to see the bench you have gone too far. If you start to see the floor you rolled it off the bench. If you see grass then you are outside getting the dough which has probably risen by now. After all the rolling and spreading of nutella and cutting of the resulting Christmas tree, you stick it in the oven for a bit and get the best damn dessert this side of the Mississippi. Break off those twisty branches and stick em' in your gob! A bit of whipped cream could be a good accompaniment, though they were most enjoyed without anything extra at all. If you do want something to add on the side, try the vanilla bean ice cream, another earth shattering recipe that holds total disregard for your cholesterol.

As mentioned in my previous Thermomix blog (an essential read for the husbands that don't really use the things too much), we made quite a few of these Christmas Tree's as they were well received by the family. They are easy to do and a joy to share.
For my Thermomix related reviews I am creating a special rating system, complicated beyond belief, just goes to show my level of commitment to the cause.

Recipe Rating: 7.25 / 10

http://www.easycookclub.com/2013/12/christmas-tree-with-nutella-filling-with-thermomix/