Melbourne

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Pastuso – Melbourne, City – Friday 28 November 2014 – Lunch

Suspiro A La Limena - Creamy Peruvian Caramel, Port Meringues

Suspiro a la Limena – Creamy Peruvian Caramel, Port Meringues

South American cuisine became a little hotter with the opening of Pastuso. Whilst there has been a steady emergence of restaurants honouring South American cooking for some years, it is by no means the strong theme of recent times.

San Telmo has been my main education on Argentinian grill; I’ve travelled to Brazil earlier this year for the World Cup and experienced some of what South America has to offer in Salvador; but I haven’t been to a Peruvian restaurant so this is a first, and my only anchor on flavour is my experience today which has nothing to do with expectation or prior experience. Yet, sitting here in this very cool looking restaurant, I don’t feel out of my comfort zone. Many will with offerings such as alpaca meat, beef heart and a ceviche bar, which would put fear into some, and excite just as many!

At night, the name of the restaurant is brightly lit and can be seen down ACDC Lane from Flinders Lane, which has to be the hottest street for restaurants in Australia, if not the world. Something draws you in to this wide fronted, airy and modern restaurant, that has a particularly long bar to the left and an open kitchen along the length of the back. It is extremely well thought through with private intimate spaces, interspersed with many tables where you don’t know which direction to look given the natural movements in the bar, kitchen, on the floor and in the entry.

I’m with a couple of mates and with a focus on catching up we put ourselves in the hands of the chefs with a several course tasting menu for the very reasonable price of $59. To begin we are presented with two ceviches. One seems quite familiar, albeit flavoured with aji amarillo sauce and rococo jelly; and one is quite unfamiliar even though it has snapper as the protein. It is at this stage that the glossary on the menu starts becoming handy. The swordfish loin has a surprisingly delicate texture, but the strength to defend against the aji amarillo which is a yellow Peruvian chilli pepper and rococo which is a spicy red pepper. So really swordfish with some cucumber and some mild and hot spice. Makes sense right? The snapper on the other hand is flavoursome at first, but the leche de tigre traditional Peruvian marinade of citrus, chillies, coriander, garlic, scallops and fish, is really, really tart. I recommend it for a taste or two because the fish was amazing. However, probably best to stop there and go on to the next dish because it is full-on.

The next taste was the low point of our meal. The “el choro chalaco” black mussel served on a seaweed crisp, just did not appeal. It is not a textural issue for me because I love mussels, but the combination lacked any punch or flavour. Instantly the mistaken mussel was rectified with oomph and heart. The “anticuchos” are beef heart skewers with sliced potatoes, grilled corn, huacatay (Peruvian black mint) and amarillo sauce. To say they were delicious is an understatement and there were almost battles for the fourth skewer. The “yucas” cassava (Amazonian root vegetable) chips are fantastic too. The pendulum had swung.

Nuestra Causa De Pollo - Peruvian yellow potato with marinated chicken, avocado, cherry tomatoes, & Aji Mirasol

Nuestra Causa De Pollo – Peruvian yellow potato with marinated chicken, avocado, cherry tomatoes, & Aji Mirasol

While the chicken was indeed marinated, it was also fried, making the next dish quite indulgent. The Peruvian yellow potato, avocado and cherry tomato base combined beautifully with the chicken and the aji mirasol (sun dried yellow chillies) brought it all together. To finish the savoury courses we were brought “pierna de cordero”. The slow cooked lamb covered with seco sauce (coriander and beer sauce) is decadent. The lamb we were served fell apart like a dream and the taste was just that. The Peruvian rice served with the lamb is great too but the lamb just stole the entire show. It was at this stage that we were all getting pretty full and satisfied and dessert was still to come.

The staff are fairly well drilled here on the dishes but some need to speak more clearly when explaining them because of the lack of familiarity of most diners to this cuisine. Service on the whole was fair to good in a semi-busy Friday lunch period. It was lucky that the teething problems in the fitout (a leaking water pipe one table away from where we were initially seated) did not affect us besides moving tables. Overall, there is a lot to like here, and many of the staff seem energised by being able to educate Melburnians about Peruvian food.

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Pierna de Cordero – slow cooked lamb leg with seco sauce

On to dessert and it was really tasty but a bit of an odd dish to share between the three of us. The “suspiro a la limenas” creamy Peruvian caramel with port meringues was playful, tasty, but awkward as an ending. To begin, you crush the meringue and mix it through the caramel. The meringue achieves both an aesthetically pleasing presentation and a nice texture through the caramel. The caramel itself is rich and luxurious but I really would have liked one for myself!

As I think about the Peruvian style food I shared with mates a week ago I find myself wanting to go back and try several other parts of the menu, including the alpaca. Forget some teething problems with the restaurant and the quite legitimate steep learning curve for the staff, there is plenty to like about Pastuso and it should be on everyone’s list for its diversity, uniqueness and intrigue.

Pastuso
19 AC/DC Lane, Melbourne, VIC, 3000
https://www.pastuso.com.au/

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Tonka – Melbourne, City – Monday 17 November 2014 – Dinner

Tuna tartare, rice pappadum, pomegranate, ginger and fresh wasabi

Tuna tartare, rice pappadum, pomegranate, ginger and fresh wasabi

Indian food is deep in flavour, rich, complex, and generally, the ugly ducking of culinary history. We all know beauty is only skin deep but presentation makes a difference. A restaurant purporting to be modern Indian poses many questions. These questions were answered in the affirmative by Tonka.

It is Monday night and our first choice of restaurant was not available due to a large function. Not far away down an alley is a space where I’ve had one huge night and many, many, rejections by the door person. I stopped trying to get in to Honkytonks nightclub. Luckily, there is space on the restaurant bar free after only five minutes and we are “in”. The nightmare rejections have come to an end and all it took was for the club to turn into a restaurant!

Pani puri, crispy parcel filled with spiced potato, mung beans, date and tamarind chutney with aromatic water

Pani puri, crispy parcel filled with spiced potato, mung beans, date and tamarind chutney with aromatic water

The menu comes out and it is down to business. As our bar/waitperson begins her definitive affinity to smashing perfectly good Riedel glassware, we read through the smaller single bites, smaller share plates, and bigger dishes. We are out on a school night having heard Alice Waters of Chez Panisse fame speaking at the Athenaeum Theatre about slow food culture. Suddenly it hits me that this is not your normal school night out place and it is pretty expensive. Most glasses of wine (and certainly the ones we chose to go with our food) are $17 to $19 a glass. It could possibly be a premium for all the ones being smashed.

I have wanted to try Tonka since it opened so I forget about the prices and start focussing on how to narrow down the menu which is full of terrific looking dishes. To start we try the pani puri. There is a light “aromatic water” that you pour into the open crispy shell. By necessity you are guided to then eat the entire package in a single bite which explodes mainly with soft potato and spice. It’s fun and a nice way to start.

Avani’s lamb curry with roasted coconut, black cardamom and white poppy seeds

Avani’s lamb curry with roasted coconut, black cardamom and white poppy seeds

Next we share the tuna tartare which is beautiful in both its presentation and taste. The serving is quite large, giving you the opportunity to almost cover each pappadum with the tuna. The pappadum itself is infused with spice and like no other I’ve tried – it doesn’t breakdown when bitten, is still crunchy, and adds flavour rather than being merely the vessel. Pomegranate bursts through each bite, there’s chilli and coriander for punch, and the tuna is superb. It is an impressive dish and answers some questions about how to do contemporary Indian.

Avani’s lamb curry with roasted coconut, black cardamom and white poppy seeds

Avani’s lamb curry with roasted coconut, black cardamom and white poppy seeds

The lamb curry comes out in standard style though the lamb itself is absolutely perfect. Too many times you find Indian restaurants either not cooking meat for long enough, or not using consistently good cuts (it’s not about the quality cuts – it’s about the right cuts). Here, the lamb is singing and the sauce is divine. Besides the basmati rice, we were encouraged to get a side of fried cauliflower, which we in fact didn’t need, but definitely enjoyed. Again there’s a modern touch and promotion of the main ingredient into a different league.

Ginger beer cake, walnut, pear and buttermilk

Ginger beer cake, walnut, pear and buttermilk

Service had been good despite the unfortunate continued difficulty with carefully getting glasses out of the dishwasher. While we were completely satisfied, having had such good savoury courses we needed to see if the modern touch on dessert works here too. In a word – yes. The ginger beer cake is amazing and the pastry chef’s here know technique well. Each component was well executed and combined together deliciously.

From initial surprise at how busy the restaurant is on a Monday, to being a little taken back by the prices (our original aim was a much cheaper and less indulgent meal), by the end I was thoroughly satisfied and impressed. My questions were answered, and the answers were delicious.

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