Maedaya, Richmond - a Japanese Izakaya

Before I went to Japan at the beginning of this year I was for the most part an izakaya newbie. Basically I hadn't really had much experience in drinking beer/sake and enjoying skewers and other nibbles at Japanese styled sake bars. Yuye and I went to a few while we were there and totally loved them. The food were fantastic, the alcohols alluring and atmospheres were exciting. There was a sense of joy and festivity and relaxedness in the air with the constant chattering and glowing red faces around me. Izakayas are places where people go to rest after a long day at work and gossip about new things happening in their lives.

I will be blogging about our experiences at some izakayas in Japan in a later post.

When we came back to Melbourne, we decided to try more izakayas as there are so many around and some are quite popular, one of them being Maedaya in Richmond. Maedaya has a no bookings policy unless if you're booking for a larger group and as the place is quite small, most of the time you will have to fight with the eager crowds lining up at the door. But of course, the smaller the group (we went as just 2 people) the easier it is to get seats.

Maedaya has a nice selection of Japanese sakes, umeshus and other alcohols where the bottles are neatly lined up on the shelf behind the counter.

We were seated at the counter where the skewers were made and the smell was so tantalising. It was 8pm and I was hungry.

Yuye ordered a regular Kirin Draught ($7.50) while I ordered a cooler Choya Blush ($7.50) which was fruity and sweet. Due to the ice and size of the drink, it wasn't as alcoholic which was a good thing for me. You can't go wrong with a pink drink!

The first dish of the night was the Kawari Tuna Sashimi ($12.80). To my surprise, it was actually a very large plate full of fresh and slightly scorched tuna pieces drenched in sesame oil and wasabi mayo and topped with a good amount of grated daikon. A bit too oily for Yuye and myself, but the taste was so good I ate all my share and part of Yuye's anyway. The tuna literally melted in my mouth which the flavours of the sauce and natural sweetness of the fish came flooding onto my tongue. I loved it together with the daikon as it was flavoured with a citrusy sauce (most likely ponzu). It was a most fitting start to the meal.

The next dish, something we order without fail if available on the menu, was the soft-shell crab. It came with 2 crabs which were very crispy and tasty but yet not that oily. Yuye and I chowed down the soft-shell crabs in a matter of seconds.

After the soft-shell crabs came all the skewers. It was a nice experience enjoying our skewers while watching the waiter behind the counter make them. The first skewer that we had was the beef skewer (gyu kushi) for $3.80. It was a tiny bit tough but very tasty. Yuye liked this one.

The next skewer was the chicken skewer or yakitori ($2.50). It was quite average and I noticed why. The chicken skewers were actually pre-cooked, most likely boiled, and then reheated on the grill and then dipped in yakitori sauce. When chicken is pre-cooking and then reheated, it tends to become a bit more dry and bland. Yuye and I both didn't like this one too much.

Three different skewers came on one plate after the chicken and they were (from bottom up) chicken skin (kawa - $2.50), pork belly (buta kushi - $3.80) and chicken & spring onion (negi tori - $2.50). Some people (in fact many girls I know) refuse to eat chicken skin. The notion of ordering a skewer with JUST chicken skin on it might be utterly unthinkable. However, I'm an avid lover of chicken skin and I loved this skewer. It was a bit crunchy and a tiny bit oily but definitely delicious. If you like chicken wings and eat chicken skin, I suggest trying this skewer. The pork belly was not bad although a tiny on the tough side but I liked the chunky salt on it and the chicken with spring onion was quite average as well.

One of my favourite skewers of the night was the next one - pork asparagus ($3.50). It was a slender long asparagus wrapped in a thin layer of pork and grilled. The asparagus was juicy and tender, the pork was salty which gave the whole skewer a balanced flavour.

We contemplated whether we wanted to order more dishes since we were mostly satisfied but could fit in a few more things. It was a bad decision really. We ended up ordering 2 more fried dishes, the first one being agedashi tofu. It was a bit different to the usual way of making it. Maedaya's version was very saucy and was topped with vegetables instead of grated daikon. I liked the sauce because it was sour and flavourful, but it was something that Yuye can make at home. The tofu batter was not that crunchy, partly due to them being soaked in the sauce. The major thing that I noticed with this dish though was the badly cut veggies. The carrot pieces were unevenly cut with some large and some small. If this happened on Masterchef as part of a challenge, it would not have fared too well for the contestant. Overall it was still a tasty dish but it didn't wow me.

The second fried dish we ordered was the veggie tempura. This was an even bigger mistake. I should have noticed the couple next to us ordering the same dish and stopped at that but I was too slow. As you can probably tell, the batter on the tempura was thick, oily and not at all good. It was like the batter on fish and chips. The batter should have been airy and light, a very important element in making good tempura. We ended up taking the whole outer layer off the bigger pieces and just ate the inside. They also didn't serve the tempura with a dipping sauce which may have helped ease the oiliness a bit in my opinion.

Although the last two dishes didn't leave such a good impression, we were still keen on trying a dessert. A separate dessert menu was provided and we chose the Matcha Warabimochi ($5.50) which is a chilled green tea mochi dish. It was very chilled indeed and was quite a nice end to the meal. The dessert came with honey to dip the mochi as by itself there would have not been any sweetness at all. Although I enjoyed this dessert, I did think it needed a bit more green tea flavour or a bit more bitterness since the honey really overpowers whatever flavour was in the mochi.

L'Olivo, East Malvern

Are you a person who likes to order everything on the menu? I know I do and I do it all the time. At the conclusion of every meal when I order too much, I tell Yuye to stop me next time so I don't make the same mistake again. But you know what? It's useless telling him to do that because I don't listen! I get too excited when I read a menu for the first time and anything and everything will make me salivate (my new favourite word as Gary Mehigan says on Masterchef ALL the time).

I'm also very greedy, I find all kinds of excuses to tell myself that it's ok to order a few more things. 'Don't worry, we can probably take it away', 'I'm very hungry today, I haven't eaten breakfast yet and it's already 2pm' or 'we've already come so far here, it's a shame to not order another entree…' are all the things I can say to Yuye as I put on that puppy dog face of mine and watery eyes and then he just goes 'oh alright then, don't tell me off later for not warning you.' I giggle with joy and put all my orders in. Then later I regret! Well, I don't regret all the time, sometimes I'm glad I ordered a lot and get to take a bit away.

About a week ago, we were lost as to where to eat for lunch. This sparked a decision to go through all of Urbanspoon in neighbouring suburbs and go with something that sounded good. As we had things to do that evening, we didn't really want to go too far. 'East Malvern sounds close enough' I thought to myself and so embarked on our little afternoon journey to L'Olivo, which is rated as the best restaurant in the suburb and it was literally a few stores down from Asakusa. This little family owned restaurant serves up traditional and modern mediterranean delicacies including tapas, pastas and pizzas. As we walked in, I could see many dishes in and on the glass counter. As I took a closer look, they somehow didn't look too appetising, the lettuce looked limp and dry, the meatballs looked discoloured and there was dirt in what I assumed was churros! I started to question whether I had made the wrong choice. Thankfully at that moment, the waitress walked over and informed me that these were for display purposes only. Phew! That was a big sigh of relief.

As I looked at the menu, my bad habit of ordering too much kicked in again. Two tapas and two mains. It's not THAT much right? The waitress took our orders and said 'I'll bring out the tapas first in case you think it's too much food'. She said that without me even saying anything! I must have ordered too much. I understood why when the free bread came out. These were big pieces of beautiful ciabatta bread served with fragrant olive oil and olives.

Complimentary ciabatta bread

There was no butter though but I was perfectly ok with that because the olive oil was splendid. It made me remember the big 25 litre can of olive oil that dad and my brother Jeff brought back from a small town called Bari in Italy 2 years ago. That was some good olive oil. The bread was so airy and soft as well that I couldn't get enough of it. The feeling of flour from the crust on my fingers as I grabbed another piece was so indulgent that I would have been satisfied if I didn't get any more food.

I was still licking my fingers from the flour as the first piping hot tapas was served. Again, I was happy with what was in front of me. Maybe it was the 2pm lighting that made the dish shine or maybe it was the sweet scallop scent that made my mouth water, whatever it was, it came at the right time for I was starving! I was expecting something a bit smaller, but this was good. Bigger was good. The scallops were cooked perfectly. It was juicy, tender and sweet, everything you could ask for. The sauce was actually quite sour, I was glad I didn't put on extra lemon juice. As with all seafood in my opinion, a slightly sour sauce goes really well with that naturally sweet sea flavour. The mash was great as well as it just soaked up all the remaining sauce and scallop juices.

Grilled marinated scallops $13

The second tapas dish wasn't as big (thankfully), but it wasn't small either. The prosciutto wrapped haloumi was a bit salty on the palate which was toned down slightly by the lettuce side. However, it was still a little too salty for my liking. I should have expected this though because I've ordered similar dishes at other tapas restaurants and they were too salty as well. Just the type of dish I suppose.

Haloumi wrapped in prosciutto $10.50

The Alchemist Cocktail & Tapas Bar, Fitzroy

Whenever I think of alchemists I think of people in cloaks drawing weird circles on the ground, creating fire from thin air, reviving the dead and making weird and wonderful things out of whatever are lying around. The influence was, of course, from watching too much Japanese animations, especially the one called Fullmetal Alchemist where two kids go on a journey to find the Philosopher's Stone in order to retrieve body parts that were lost in a failed attempt to revive their dead mother. I would never dare to revive the dead. How scary is that? If I was an alchemist, I would be the world's best pastry chef where I can make perfect desserts every time as long as I have the ingredients in front of me and what's better than doing it instantly by clicking my fingers together? :D. Oh, I might also make myself pretty clothes and handbags so I'd never have to go shopping again. Ah…I'm daydreaming…

The Alchemist Cocktail & Tapas Bar, situated in the middle of the hustle and bustle of Brunswick St Fitzroy, which is also a neighbour of Naked For Satan, is another bar that I've recently visited and liked. Prior to this adventure, I've never really fully enjoyed going to bars. I believe this could have been the influence of my Asian flush genes which renders me unable to drink more than one standard drink at any one time.

I liked the name and the idea behind the bar. The decorations are fitting although the open space in the middle of the room makes the place seem a little less mysterious. Maybe they should draw some alchemist circles on the ground! What I definitely liked was their website. If you haven't already done so, check it out at http://www.thealchemistbar.com.au/, it's very unique and a bit of fun to look at. I felt like I was casting spells!

They have a nice collection of alcohols available. Cocktails on average cost around $20 a glass. For the quality and size we got, I didn't think it was all that fantastic. It was by no means bad, maybe I'm just not used to such expensive drinks as I'm reasonably new to the drinking scene.

The cocktail I got was The Fifth Muskateer for $20 which is described as 'a beautifully balanced, punch-style cocktail with dried fruit and citrus flavours, made with Appleton 8yr old rum, classic muscat, Aperol, house-made pomegranate syrup and lemon. This is a hearty drink to enjoy at anytime.' The grapes were fresh so I'm not sure where the dried fruit comes in. It was definitely rummy in flavour but the citrus didn't stand out. It wasn't my favourite drink ever. Mind you the photo below is a bit deceiving because Yuye took a sip or two from the glass already.

I was there to catch up with Winwin and meet her friends so we got a few plates of bar food to share. The night was still young and the truth was, I was very hungry. Maybe I should have just ordered some mains and eaten dinner there! The snacks were nice though and freshly cooked. I didn't get to try the salt and pepper squid ($12). By the time I realised, they were already gone! Shows how good they were I think.

Naked For Satan, Fitzroy

There's something about the name 'Named For Satan' that intrigues people, at least it intrigues me. I think it's the kind of imagery that are conjured up in our sinful minds when we think of those words, and of course, the sinful cravings for something vodka and something pintxo.

The tapas bar that is situated on busy Brunswick St in Fitzroy has been the centre of attention since its opening in October last year. The word Pintxo comes from Basque Country in Spain, a popular tapas enjoyed mostly in bars and taverns while accompanying glasses of wine or beer and is the main attraction of this trendy, shiny bar along with its many flavoured vodkas. But of course, they also serve coffees and non-alcoholic beverages for those more able to control their sinfulness.

I'm not sure what Satan has to do with all the coppery tubes and ornaments that is so prevalent throughout the bar but it sure gives it a touch of extra funkiness.

This place works on an honour system where you grab a plate from the front counter and load it up with as many pintxos as you fancy and take it back to your table. Make sure you keep all of the toothpicks stuck in each pintxo as these are used to count how many you had. At the end of your meal, bring all of the toothpicks to the cashier and pay for your meal. They are 80 cents each for lunch monday through to friday as well as dinner from monday to wednesday. They are $2 for all other times. Quite reasonable if you ask me. I know they used to be 50 cents each during off-peak, however, it seems they had recently increased their prices. 50 cents was just too crazy of a price, even 80 cents is enough to get me running over during weekdays. If only I lived a bit closer :(.

Basque Tapas & Wine, Prahran

2010 was the first Christmas and New Year's I've spent in Melbourne since more than 10 years ago. I had clearly forgotten how deserted the city was on Christmas Eve so organised with Yuye to spend some time together at a tapas restaurant that day. We drove around the whole CBD and couldn't find anything that we wanted to have because most places were closed! After a number of tries, we ended up in Prahran. As we walked along Chapel Street, we were suddenly drawn towards a gathering of people and what seemed to be lovely Spanish live music. As we walked closer, we noticed it was Basque Tapas and Wine.

Basque was established on busy Chapel Street in 2003 and provides authentic Spanish tapas, delicious wines and Friday/Saturday night live music by a band called Solo Porque. The atmosphere was very fitting and exciting, probably the best place to spend Christmas Eve that I could have found.

There were also nice furniture and decorations that make me think of Spain.

Yuye ordered a Spanish beer called Mahou Cinco Estrellas made by the company called Grupo Mahou San Miguel which was first made in 1969. It was a little sweet and very easy to drink, even for someone like me who doesn't normally drink beer. I ordered a glass of Basque specially made Sangria. It was surprisingly delicious! For those of you who don't know, Sangria is a type of Spanish wine punch made from red wine, fruit, sweetener such as honey, sugar or fruit nectar, cinnamon and a small amount of spirit. I'm not too sure what their recipe was but it was distinctly fruity, sweet and tasted a bit like dilutely red wine.

We also ordered a number of tapas to go with the drinks and to fully enjoy the atmosphere. The first dish we ordered was Vieras con jamon con culi de piquillos for $14.50. This dish consisted of scallops wrapped in Serrano Jamon (a type of Spanish dry-cured ham) and piquillo couli (pepper puree). I thought the ham was a little too salty for my liking but Yuye found it to be just right. But it was definitely very tasty.

Remy, Malvern

A few weeks ago Y and I were lost as to where to have dinner (this happens quite a lot actually). Instead of going through the Entertainment Book this time, we decided to go on a little adventure down Glenferrie Road. Our adventurous hearts brought us to Remy in Malvern. The full name of this restaurant is Remy Bar Restaurant Tapas & Vino (or Cafe Remy according to Urbanspoon). They offer a wide selection of traditional Spanish/Mediterranean cuisine such as tapas, pastas, steaks and desserts.

Although on the slightly expensive side, this restaurant boasts an extensive wine list, a cosy atmosphere and delicious food. It even has its own bar (below).