Fog Bar and Restaurant - Prahran, Melbourne

Its never a relaxing holiday with us Empty Fridgers. My poor other half - he knows that there is no sleeping in, no lazing by the pool and no romance as such. Demos and I have travelled together on mini breaks but we have NEVER had a romantic holiday getaway by the beach. Although we blame the lack of a beach body, the palm trees we usually chase are those that line Rodeo Drive. Which is why we are off to Melbourne for this Easter weekend. One short plane ride away and your at the beck and call of wonderful rooftop bars, wonderful basement bars, late night wine bars and umm.. wineries. Im not going to lie, its a fun place for your favorite boozehounds, well that and there's plenty of dining gems to discover to.

Now a while ago, I had to fly to Melbourne on a day trip to work. I came up with strategies - yes, strategies. Im a strategic planner - when it comes to food of course, and most of my trips away do involve a high level of obsession as to where to eat. Needless to say, my flight got delayed (Of course I booked the earliest flight to fit in two breakfasts..) and when I left to go to lunch - i had walked all the way down Chapel St only to find that I left my wallet in the office. 

Thank God for interstate friends who rescue sleep deprived disheartened eaters. We get to Fog and immediately I knew that this was exacly the place I wanted to be. Distincly cool interiors, a hip and not so corporate crowd (okay, it was a school night) and a beautiful bar.

Vino's and Veuve - oh my!

Fog has a very large dining area as well as an outdoor section, which I was told, get filled to the brim on weekends. Its such a lovely space, roomy and well laid out. To orientate us Sydneysiders, its just off the Prahan side of Chapel Street, on the very uber cool Greville Street. This place is super sleek, shiny black laquered columns - very sexy.. but now what about the food?

We started with the Spicy fried calamari with hot sauce, fire roasted peppers, chorizo and garlic aoli ($22). I was a bit apprehensive when I saw hot sauce, but im currently trying to build my tolerance from spicy foods. Some people exercise, I tame my tastebuds. My strategy was to dunk it in the tangy garlic aoli to cut the fire, but suprisingly I was able to tolerate it. The calamari was cooked perfectly, not ruberry and dusted with a light spicy coating. The serve was also generous enough to start off two hungry diners. 10 points for Fog.

Duke Bistro, Surry Hills

Late one evening we stumbled up the inconspicuous stairs to the side of the Flinders hotel; on a mission to make it to Duke and duke it out with the promise of awesome food,  imagine the horror to be told that we had no chance of getting a table that evening. Not too disenchanted we thought we would save it for another night, we here at the Empty Fridge are used to the new and cool places around Surry Hills not taking bookings, Duke being one such cool place. Luckily though one of us Empty Fridgers had the sense to call ahead a few weeks later (good work Gianna.) and managed to get a table at a reasonable hour on a balmy Friday night. 

Having heard nothing but good things about Duke we were really keen to try it out. Not only does it have one of the coolest names but the food has been touted as some of the best in the Sydney food and bar scene. With fried chicken on the menu and plenty of alcohol, it's pretty hard to get any better of a mix. Somethings are meant to be together, it is our belief that fried chicken and anything alcoholic just works and makes the world go around. However there is more to the Duke menu than fried chicken - with ex Tet's chef Thomas Lim and 2010's Young Chef of the year Mitch Orr in the helm they truly keep things exciting. There were  a number of delectable dishes that are well worth making the trip out to try including Smoked Eel with Saba and Pancetta but being indecisive we relied solely on our waitress' suggestions.

So what does the Empty Fridge duo do best when they are at a bar or anywhere licenced at all? Well they order a drink or four of course but being on their best behaviour (both of us had made the mistake of driving) we ordered some Monteith's Apple Cider ($8.50) and an Italian Highball - Campari, grapefruit and Fever Tree Tonic ($16). Refreshing drinks for a warm night and before anyone makes the assumption - the photo above is a bottle of water; served in a gin bottle, keeping in line with the Duke's left of centre approach to the dining experience. There is a wordly wine selection available, plus a mean cocktail list to match. Why oh Why did we drive? 

 

The bistro has a really cool vibe with a mixture of cool lights adorned with old veuve bottles and of course a boars head by the bar. It really is a pretty cool place and rightly so given that it's a right smack bang in the middle of Surry Hills hipster scene, with heaps of Sydney's cool kids coming out to eat and have a drink. Yes even Sydney's hipsters eat believe it or not, how can't they when the food on offer is as cool as Duke's.

A Cooking Class with South Australia's finest Chefs - Sydney Seafood School, Pyrmont

Its an exciting time for the dining scene in South Australia with plenty of creative juices flowing from up and coming young chefs taking the local produce new levels. We were lucky enough to learn first hand from chef Cole Thomas, Callum Hann, Lachlan Colwill and Emma Shearer as well the best produce South Australia had to offer.

Scallop with Squid Ink Soil, Trout Roe and Fennel puree

The venue for the evening was the Sydney Seafood School above the Fish Markets in Pyrmont. It is a very modern cooking theatre, complete with TV screens focusing on the preparation bench, where you can see in detail each demonstration taking place. Its like being back at Uni all over again for us Empty Fridgers, complete with fold away tables only this time we were attentive and well behaved students. Not even the Barramundi skin wallpaper could distract us as we wanted to pick up on any techniques and skills on show.

Sardine Spring roll and Chef Cole Thomas at work

 Exciting stuff is happening within the dining scene in South Australia and Chef Cole Thomas enthusiastically tells us about some newly opened restaurants. He is the Executive Chef of Hentley Farm at the Barossa Valley and also owns Cullenetic and the Adelaide Central Market Kitchen. Cole is all about innovative cuisine has a strong focus on optimising quality focus. He tells us of a dish he has developed a dish which involves levitating a small piece of tuna at the table giving new meaning to "flying fish".

Cole prepares a deep fried Spring Roll with macadamia nut pieces, apricots, capers, cabbages and a sardine fillet. Chef Cole has directly worked with producers in South Australia to shine some light on the under-utilised species of fish readily available. The sardines are just that, as well as flavoursome and an interesting addition. A Scallop entree is also prepared and Chef explains that the variety produced in South Australia is smaller but more dense compared to the water-pumped American counterpart. The scallop is served with squid ink soil, trout roe and a fennel puree. Both starters were interesting dishes showing how a mix of unlikely ingredients can be mixed together to produce great flavours, much like what is happening with the food scene in South Australia. 

Chef's Emma Shearer and Lachlan Colwill were up and ready to go for the next demonstration. The duo work together for the Trim Hospitality Group, The Grace Establishment and the Manse Restaurant where Lachlan runs the kitchen operations and Emma heads up the dessert pastry menus and is the Senior Pastry Chef. Lachlan also runs Sparrow Kitchen and Bar in North Adelaide. Emma demonstrates tonight's dessert which is a Barossa Vache Curd Mousse, Meringue, Lime Curd and Freeze Dried Passionfruit.

Vache Curd is produced by Barossa Valley Cheese Company and is similar to goats curd but uses cows milk instead. It takes two days to make the curd - one day for fermenting the milk and then another day for the curd to set. It was a good thing that both chefs were working together to make this dessert as Lachlan spent the whole time whisking the lime curd over the stove. The result is an interesting and loosely constructed cheesecake dessert with contrasting textures and flavours. The soft vache curd mousse adds a strong tart flavour, which contrasts the crunchy sweetness of the meringue. The freeze dried passion fruit scattered on top packs a vicious punch of unexpected flavour also.

Callum, everyone's favourite Masterchef runner up contestant hails from the Barossa Valley and was here to represent. Pairing up with Lachlan; the pair proceeded to demonstrate how to carve up a duck, showing techniques that can be applied to other winged creatures. The large duck we are working with tonight is from Waechter Dux, a free range duck far within the Barossa Valley. The ducks are on a special Barossa grain diet and lead a happy life roaming the farm fields. 

 The duck breast meat was to be part of the dish we would be recreating later in the evening. Lachlan demonstrated with ease how to carve out the breast from a full duck. In a nutshell the wings and legs are extended and the bones broken and cut off. Any joints are used as an indication of where to cut through the skin folds. Lachlan made this look very effortless, however this might not be the case when trying it at home. We were then showed how to cook the duck breast, pan frying it until golden and then popping it in the oven for 8 minutes to finish the job. Meanwhile Callum was showing everyone how to concoct the swede puree we would all be cooking later in the evening. 

 After the lesson in poultry carving we were presented with a big Kingfish. More specifically it was a Hiramassa Yellow Tail Kingfish, farmed by Cleanseas in South Australia. Lachlan was explaining that the quality of the fish is amazing because the flesh is not damaged or bruised. It's the perfect fish for sashimi because it is fleshy and full of flavour. 

He procees to then explains to us how fresh this partucular fish is with its firm texture, glossy sheen and as morbid as it sounds - the bright red blood. After a "gutting" demonstration, Lachlan expertly slices the fish along its spine from the base of the head working right down to the tail. With surgical precision, he produces a fine piece of boneless hiramasa fillet and proceeds to slice it into bite sized pieces. 


And now, it was our turn to re-create these delectable dishes.

 The second part of the Seafood School was the fully equipped modern kitchen. We were assigned groups and provided with the recipes to recreate the Kingfish and Duck dishes demonstrated earlier. Our group of five consisted of Bridget aka The Internet Chef, Carmel aka @CarmR, Bianca from the PEPR team and this Empty Fridge duo. Teamwork was cruicial in getting the two dishes underway and everyone was given a component of each dish to complete.

Revolver Cafe, Annandale

After five days in the week where I have to have my Special K or my my microwaved oats at my work desk I feel as though I have weekend breakfasts down to a sport. Its the one thing I know I will be up out of bed for, no questions asked. The hardest thing aside from being up before lunch is finding a place to go - the difficulty level in making quick decisions increase immensely when you are either A. hungry or B. hungover. I'd say that from past experiences I am often more hungry than hungover but they both indeed go hand in hand. 

Lucky for me Demos has a full page dedicated in his black moleskine planner of "Places to go to when we are too ______ to decide." The other half is borderline OCD kind of organised. Revolver Cafe in the leafy suburb of Annandale had remained un-ticked on that list for far too long.

We arrived just after 9:00 am and there was already a line for larger tables and lucky for us we were seated without much of a wait. I order my English breakfast Tea and I smile from ear to ear when it arrives. I felt so prim and proper, and its amazing how a dainty cup and saucer makes you sit up straight and brush the crumbs out of your shirt. I aquaint myself with my colourful china set and a clear glass teapot where the tea leaves infuse from a cylinder in the center. Now this puts a smile on my face as its a nice change from the bleak white ikea mugs I have at my desk each weekday. A touch of fabulousness in the morning never goes astray.

And now for something MANLY. No fine china for Demos - before him arrives his Revolver Big Brekkie - with two eggs, roasted tomatoes and mushroons, honey cured bacon, pork fennel sausages and some delicious sonoma sourdough toast ($16) And as you can see, its served in an iron pan. Come on, if you were given a choice to eat your breakfast straight off the pan, you know you would!

Revolver only serves free range eggs and meats on their menu - "Do what you love and love what you do" is their mantra and there is lots to love about this breakfast dish. You get lots of great quality and lean bacon, and the sausage is full of flavour. The roasted mushrooms and tomatoes ease the guilt of having such a meaty meal, and the crunchy toast just soaks up all the juices on the pan or the chimichuri type sauce on the side.

We go by the sweet/savoury rule at breakfastime where if one orders a sweet meal the other has to get a savory breakfast. Here at The Empty Fridge we are all about eating strategies to cover all bases. Ricotta hotcakes with a berry compote and maple syrup was my pick ($13.50). Heavenly. Fluffy, not sickenly sweet and when you cut into it, a big burst of steam puffs up. A perfect dish for the cold months. They were very generous with the compote topping, and I couldn't even finish my tarty beries on my picture perfect plate.

The atmosphere is great at Revolver, its a cosy yet bustling little spot. The staff are  friendly and fun which is what you really want on a lazy morning when your other half is going through a contingency plan for when Zombies attack (told you he was over organised) Apparently, the first thing to do is fill you bathtub with water because if you get holed up at your home and the water supply gets cut off by zombies....

My teapot actually came with a timer and I was told that I had to wait until time was up to serve my tea. This gives the tea leaves the right of time to infuse. And how awesome are the art deco salt and pepper shakers?

Fact. Tea time and Breakfast time is better with beautiful china. And it's not all posh here too - there is nothing on the menu that is over $16. The menu has a great breakfast selection. I'd like to go back for the Veggie Big Breakfast (served in a pan too) and also try the sumac cured bacon with eggs. 

The breakfast here is definitely something we will be returning to for a delicious, non pretentious and hearty breakfast. The Empty Fridge dish of the day has to be the Revolver Big Breakfast - it hits the right spot and it is a "big breakfast" that does not make you feel seedy and drowns you in cooking oil. The produce and the dishes served at Revolver are top notch, and not to mention a pretty damn cool place.

Open for Breakfast and Lunch Monday through Sunday