Cafe

by

Nunam Thai – North Perth – Saturday 25 June 2016 – Lunch

Caramelised Crispy Pork hock with kimchi and a herb salad

Caramelised Crispy Pork hock with kimchi and a herb salad

Sometimes a lack of knowledge is the best tonic for pretention. For the record, our lunch at Nunam Thai was magnificent, but first I need to explain some discomfort.

When we arrived at Nunam my only expectations had come from the previous occupant, Nahm Thai, which has the same owners, and funnily enough, as I understand it, more or less the same food. I had been past many times when I used to live in Perth and I had taken note that the dining room is clean and good looking. On top of that I knew the food of the old Nahm Thai was excellent across many reviews and many years.

So I was a little surprised when we arrived. Actually, we had to ask if we were in the right place, and Mum had earlier arrived and done exactly the same. There is a café at the entrance and there is not exactly a royal greeting for what appears to be quite a fine establishment. Next we were seated in the café part with comfy banquettes and cushions, rather than where the linen and stemware is set. We asked our sole waitperson and he said that the dining room is for dinner, leading to the only conclusion (which the table next to us voiced at the same time) that lunch is not a popular affair here.

Duck pancake with spring onion, cucumber, coriander and hoisin

Duck pancake with spring onion, cucumber, coriander and hoisin

Never mind that, after all it is a very comfortable room and we easily settled in. When our waitperson took our BYO Perrier Jouet out to the café we had a sinking feeling that we might never see it again. I need to say that it was obvious he didn’t have a huge amount of experience, but equally experience does not dictate friendliness, or how hospitable someone is, and he did a great job. We had to have a little chuckle when he helpfully filled our Champagne glasses up with about 25ml, as if we were at a tasting (or a child at a wedding for the toast!)

Salt & pepper soft shell crab, charred watermelon and herb salad

Salt & pepper soft shell crab, charred watermelon and herb salad

What followed was an afternoon of impressive Thai food, lots of laughs and conversation, and the feeling we could go back again in a flash. The duck pancake to begin was about as good an entry into a meal that I could imagine. Smacks of flavour, classically combined, and duck that starred rather than falling into the background of the other flavours, as can happen in this amazing snack.

There was a resounding request for the salt and pepper soft shell crab dish, served with charred watermelon and a herb salad. While I’m not sure you can actually char watermelon, the combination again is terrific, and the treatment of the soft shell crab, which can be fickle, is extremely good.

Pad thai noodles with chicken, prawns, tofu, egg, sprouts, chives, dried shrimps, crushed peanuts

Pad thai noodles with chicken, prawns, tofu, egg, sprouts, chives, dried shrimps, crushed peanuts

For mains we have another highlight dish with the caramelised crispy pork hock with kimchi and a herb salad. This is seriously well executed food, and I haven’t had perfect pork hock since Ezard. The sauce is beautifully balanced to provide enough acid to cut through the fattiness of the pork, which has deep flavour under the impeccably formed crispy skin. Delightful stuff.

It is difficult for a pad Thai to live up to a dish as good as the pork hock, but it still does a good job in itself. The noodles are a touch soft, which is not unusual, but I have liked some recent renditions I’ve tasted where the noodles are a bit firmer (like al dente pasta). The prawns presented on top are not just garnish, they are fresh and juicy, and actually add to the dish. Lastly, the stir fry Asian greens with garlic, chilli, yellow beans and basil, is refreshing, but there is a strange lack of the first named ingredient. There seems to be a lot more tomato, and it is nice, but feels like we have received the wrong dish.

Black sticky rice, mango, ginger-palm sugar syrup, coconut cream

Black sticky rice, mango, ginger-palm sugar syrup, coconut cream

There were some decisions to be made on dessert and we ended up sharing the black sticky rice and coconut cream, with mango; and the lime tart with vanilla ice cream. The first was refreshing at the end of a heavy meal, but still having the impact of Thai flavours, some of which we don’t encounter enough. The tart on the other hand, while very nice, was a more familiar dessert, with some quite ordinary vanilla ice cream.

Lime tart, ice cream, passionfruit

Lime tart, ice cream, passionfruit

What a tremendous meal. Along with the ability to BYO wine there is very good quality Thai food with absolutely no pomp and ceremony about it. Really quite a find for weekend lunches.

Nunam (Nahm Thai) Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

by

Higher Ground – Melbourne, City – Saturday 9 July 2016 – Breakfast

Lamb sausage roll, cucumber pickle, garlic, anchovy

Lamb sausage roll, cucumber pickle, garlic, anchovy

It is difficult to do justice to this venue in words. It may be the epitome of what a next generation cafe looks like. This is without doubt, one of the most beautiful converted and renovated buildings I’ve ever seen.

To have a place like Higher Ground in our incredible city is a testament to the rise, and rise, of Melbourne as a dining destination. Indeed this would be a difficult undertaking, even in the world’s busiest cities. To go ahead with a project such as this, you need the funds, but much more importantly, the overt confidence, to know you can execute in gusto.

The owners and connections of Higher Ground have built up the funds and confidence for this ultimate of dining projects over a long period of time. High ceilings, several open mezzanine levels, arch windows, sleek lounges, and modern furnishings, show extreme attention to detail. Even after the hour long wait, and the time spent perusing the menu while sipping my first coffee, I couldn’t get over the architecture which needs to be seen to be believed.

The Square One coffee being used is roasted only a couple of streets away from where I live, and it is excellent, with two single origins from Kenya being offered today. I try them both, but the decision on what to eat is not as straightforward. We came for breakfast but it is well and truly lunchtime, and we have been up and about shopping for a couple of hours, building up an appetite in the process.

Slow cooked beans, green sauce of rocket, spinach and cress, poached eggs, feta, fried croutons, pine nut crumb

Slow cooked beans, green sauce of rocket, spinach and cress, poached eggs, feta, fried croutons, pine nut crumb

Catherine narrowed her choice down to either the mushroom and polenta dish, or the slow cooked beans. Unfortunately she chose the latter which needs some work. Under a generous serve of perfectly poached eggs sits too few beans, dominated by the green sauce which lacks seasoning. The main question mark is what the slow cooked beans have been cooked in, because on their own they lack flavour too. Neither of the star ingredients have impact.

My dish on the other hand is up to the standards of sister cafe, Top Paddock. While I’ll definitely be back for the wagyu short rib roll which looks fantastic, I went out on a limb to try the lamb sausage roll. For $20 you expect something out of the box, and this one delivers flavour in spades. The lamb mince is rich, the pastry is delightful, and the anchovy and garlic sauce adds the usual softness. This is a well thought out dish, with the pickled cucumber working beautifully, adding acidity to cut through some of the richness, whether in the same bite, or separately.

On the whole I thought service was reasonable, considering this was the first Saturday the cafe had been open, but I expect some natural improvement. One thing I did notice is the staff knowing a customer on our communal table and that seemed to translate to their order coming far quicker than anyone else. It’s fine to have a network, but I suggest offering special people their own table so our thirty minute wait (after happily waiting in line for an hour) isn’t even harder watching the newcomers get served first having ordered long after us!

You can tell that as Higher Ground settles into its groove that this will become a flagship cafe, with a must-go reputation for locals and tourists. Perhaps it will be mentioned in the same breath as Cookie Rooftop, Supper Club, or Chin Chin one day? There is reason to be incredibly excited. Places that set the scene like Higher Ground are why I live here.

Higher Ground
650 Little Bourke Street, Melbourne
https://highergroundmelbourne.com.au/
info@highergroundmelbourne.com.au