Anada

Every should just CALM DOWN, I'm still blogging. So CALM RIGHT DOWN. Well, I suppose you're all wondering why I've been a bit quiet for over a week now. Work has taken over my life at the moment, and last week was perhaps one of the hardest weeks that I've been through for long time. I expect much of the same this week, I really think I need to visit MoVida sometime this week just to calm my nerves.

Anyway, on Wednesday, as the shit had hit the fan I thought I'd just try out Anada, have a beer and a few bites in solitude and gather my thoughts. Well, much like bar lourinha, food was good, beer was good (moritz), and bar seating. There isn't that much to fault. Creme catalan was good, but again, MoVida.

Well, I'll be going to Tempura Hajime next week, will let you know more then! Come hell or high heaven, I will be going, there is no way I'm working past 6pm on Monday.

Ladro

OK OK, this isn't a "restaurant review" as such, but more a **** I'm a pig type of review. Anyway, as all of you know I've resumed learning Spanish, so hopefully in a few months I'll practically be mexican but until such time I'm still a beginner because I've forgotten EVERYTHING.

Well, being in North Fitzroy and class finishing way past dinner time, I tend to have pitstops just to provide sufficient nourishment. When I say sufficient nourishment, I really mean indulge in gluttony. Ladro is only a few minutes from where my classes are and like Spanish, I too have resumed my Wednesday tradition.

If those of you that are not familiar with Ladro, you're missing out, big time. Wood oven fired pizzas that have a crisp base with enough toughness to give it that chewyness that makes a wood fired pizza awesome. Because as you know, after a shit day, nothing fixes things better than a pizza (except MoVida's flan - creme caramel).

Their toppings are super simple, super fresh and unbelievable. My Wednesday tradition consists of "Hi, can I please get two take away pizzas, one xxxxx and one xxxxx" (which today was the bascaiola and a prawn and peas one - which was amazing!!) and then when I get into my car I tear one up so I can eat it during my drive down the Eastern Freeway. I'm all class.

Once I scored two speeding fines in as many weeks....class indeed.

Surely you don't have anything obsessions as gluttonous (is gluttonous a word?)?

Where?
Gertrude St, Fitzroy

Hanabishi

You know if I don't rave about something in the first sentence the story isn't going to be that exciting. Well, there goes the first sentence.
I remember Hanabishi, I remember how good the patagonian toothfish was as it came out with the cedarwood still searing in front of you. The magic that unfolded. Well, I thought magic would be recreated for our dinner last night. It wasn't. I think if I could describe the experience, it could be quite rightly summed up with "underwhelming".

When I placed my reservations, I was initially asked to pre-order given our party size so I decided I would call up once  I had finalised numbers. Well, I did call up, and told them that not everyone will eat sashimi. Fault. We had sashimi appetizers, with only repetition of that very fact that they changed the second course. Don't get me wrong, I FREAKEN LOVE sashimi, but I love to not listen to people complain more!


Well, the food was ok. Like my Rockpool experience, I can't pinpoint whether it is me that is spoilt and have ridiculously high expectations, or whether or not the fault was of the restaurant. We had the Miyabi set menu, which was meant to be a pretty good representation of what Hanabishi does. To be fair, it featured the patagonian toothfish, but given how much I love fish and how much I loved that dish, I think something was wrong with it. Maybe it was a Friday, and they don't open on Saturdays or Sundays....but I won't go there.

Basically, the Miyabi course was:

1. Japanese appetisers
2. Sashimi / California Rolls
3. Patagonian Toothfish in Cedarwood
4. Tempura soft-shell crab
5. Mango Sorbet Interlude
6. Duck (I dispute this!!)
7. Dessert


Now, note #6. I could have SWORN it was not duck, but I forgot what was on the menu until I checked it in preparation for this blog. It was not duck. I don't remember it being duck. I know what DUCK tastes like. It tasted like pork and it looked like pork, so it was pork. Funny how we weren't informed.






Overall, I think I will stick to lunch at Hanabishi. There are better japanese restaurants for dinner. The fact that the strip joint next door had a spruiker trying to drum up business from people walking by and leaving the restaurant left a bit of a dirty taste...we had window seats too. Classy.

Where?
Hanabishi, 187 King St, Melbourne