Arisun

Contamination can be a good thing. So this is the Korean take on Chinese food. Why not when you’re armed with an arsenal of Sun’s chicken recipes to unleash on willing diners. Not quite fusion, but not strictly of one cuisine either. Koreanish options include springy noodles lathered in a pitch black, thick black bean sauce and a range of kimchi hot pots simmering wombok and sliced tofu. Chinesesy dishes come in the form crispy fried pork bathed in a sticky red sweet chilli sauce and salt and pepper squid. Deserving of a Buffer entrance announcement, assorted chicken bits of Sun’s chicken encased by a sweet soy flavoured, deep fried, golden brown batter that keeps the meat Amazon moist. Delicious, but over eating could lead to a face resembling the moon. Desserts unexplored, but surprisingly for an Asian restaurant, the service was just sweet enough.

3 / 5 yums!
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Where? Dixon St, Sydney, NSW
What? Under $20

Allpress Espresso

Rosebery has been blessed with this outpost that’s a magnet for caffeine lovers. It’s all about the coffee porn here folks. Although the industrial area is less than glamorous, the promise of a near perfect brew that’s strong, bold and flavoursome to rival the best in Sydney is well worth making the pilgrimage. Pastries, toasts and sangers refuel the travel weary. A mixed breakfast plate of triangle toast, avocado, freshly sliced tomato, provolone and hard boil egg equates to a guilt free start to the day. For the less fat conscious, there’s the generous shredded chicken that’s lightly poached in a ginger mixture sandwiched between spring onion, tomato, lettuce and panini. Thinly sliced corned beef with a creamy aioli styled dressing could be all that’s left if you get there too late. Highly recommended for the cuppa and perve on those sexy La Marzoccos.

3.5 / 5 yums!
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Where? 58 Epsom Road, Rosebery, NSW
What? Under $10

Adriano Zumbo

Adriano Zumbo, YO. The Sean P Diddy Combs of patisseries, majorly BLING BLING. Designer lamp shades, acrylic balls and stars suspend from the ceiling, the immaculately crystal clear sneeze guard display cabinets imprison the endless rows of sweet and savoury baddies. Find the notorious W.G. aka Wheely Good bursting with mascapone, white chocolate, pistachio and apricots, the dark chocolate coffee meringue Rokka, Mac Daddy macaroons and skanky tartes. Should you choose to free these innocent souls, just remember, everything in moderation, as over consumption of these treats could sentence you to a life with a spare tire.

3 / 5 yums!
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Where? 296 Darling Street, Balmain, NSW
What? Under $10

A Tavola

It is The Table that binds us, that brings us closer together. That is the “suck in your stomach to squeeze past” rhino sized communal tavola at, well, “To The Table”. Where I was expecting to be seated. Hidden is the back room, down the stairs from the main area, filled with tabelles for a more regular dining experience. Nothing showcases the authenticity of this Italian Gaststätte than having a blackboard with the presumably changing menu and vino scribed on it. But you can’t help but feel like you’re in sitting in an examination during reading time, flicking through the papers yet have no freaking idea what the questions. Finally a waiter arrives to help out the struggling diner who seems exhausted by the dual responsibility of translator and managing the floor.

And to translate the dishes using the official language of Jamaica, the salad of blanched borlotti, wedges of cherry tomato and slippery rings of calamari dressed in a citrus vinaigrette is a simple, fresh mouth amuser for the mains. Ravoli parcelled spanner crab, served with a dollop of tomato paste and garnished with capers good but unless the crustacean was hand caught, this reeked of a large profit margin given the less than generous portions. Thick ribbons of house pappardelle, is rustically arranged with a red wine enriched rabbit and pea ragu which again is pleasant without being mind altering, though it would be nice if the chef allowed for a longer tasting session. What is fairly apportioned is the pannacotta, custard you could bounce a coin off, hinted with lemon, is accompanied by slithers of mango and drizzled with a gentle sugar syrup. This example is a study of balance and perfection, one to be etched into dictionaries of any language.

Whilst the pasta cannot be faulted, it is the value of the dishes bought To The Table that lets this istituzione down. Which is a pity, because but for that, I would be saying bellissimo.

2.5 / 5 yums!
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Where? 348 Victoria St, Darlinghurst, NSW
What? Entrees $19, Mains $22 for regulars, $33 for specials, Desserts $12







Left to Right : Calamari and Borlotti Salad, Spanner Crab Ravoli, Rabbit Pappardelle

St Ali

“I’m a loser baby… so why don’t you kill me” – Beck

Those words from the wise man hit me like my mum does over the back of the head when I don’t wash up. He might have sang that to himself because he felt he was the worst rapper in the world. I sing that because I was never one of the popular kids like the ones who were invited to secret societies. Grade 6 first team Danish rounders. The Baby-Sitters Club. Bandidos. Why? I guess preferring to spend my spare time on this blog doesn’t help.

Like the song, St Ali is an instant classic and literally a hidden gem amongst the residentials of South Melbourne. It’s like the naughty kid that doesn’t want to be found because they’d split Milo over daddy and mummy’s new lounge room carpet. So quiet it could be mistaken for a library, no signage, just a Colgate white painted shop front, you’d probably drive right through the little lane it lives on if they hadn’t opened up the rollers to allow the exhaust in.

Step inside the converted warehouse, extension cords web the ceilings from which the light globes dangle, the large rustic communal tables provide the eating spaces, a few smaller ones for 2 or 3, the coffee roaster peers from the back where the beans are roasted in house and said to be some of the best in Melbourne. Big call… but more than worthy to the claim with a strong, flavoursome blend that could lead to caffeine poisoning if your discipline is low. Lucky you can distract the brain with the glorious menu that’s heavily influenced by the Middle East that simultaneously floods the conscious with electrical pulses of guilt because you feel like a thief at the prices they are requesting. Those feelings are soon forgotten once you chow into the delicately poached eggs, sesame, white sesame and pistachio flecked on top, slices of fresh tomato on a round Turkish roll and rocket provide the sideshow. A very veggie option comes in the form of sautéed mushrooms and labna on the same roll, more rocket and buttery stewed zucchini with a touch of lime. Ali’s take on the big breaky shows it’s not how big it is but how you use it, again the roll is topped with a sunny side egg, chorizo and a lovely salsa of tomato, Spanish onion, cucumber that’s herbed and a delicate tang. The dish to reinforce the minds of normal people that meat is a good thing, the meatballs, mounds of veal and pork cooked in a tomato based herbed stew that could give nonna’s best a run for it’s money.

Be honest when you settle the bill for the staff don’t record the order (though cheekily later on the computer), but strangely know exactly what you got as they place your dish in front of you. Ali’s is a steal, literally and metaphorically, if so you make it.

4 / 5 yums!
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Where? 12-18 Yarra Place, South Melbourne
What? Under $15

Yi’s Kitchen @ Hunter Connection

Another of them cheapo Asian joints in the Hunter, it’s a very Chinese experience you’ll get at this typical hole in the wall shop front. The special beef on rice had a sweet hoisin marinade to it garnished with a bit of fried onion, chilli shards and spring onion. Like a Gyu-Don but a much more inferior version. I’ll be sticking to Mikaru.

1.5 / 5 yums!
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Where? Hunter Connection, 7 Hunter Street, Sydney, NSW

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