melbournesnapshots

In Darwin Tonight - Tim's Surf and Turf

I have commenced a "Schapelle Corby Supporters" site at www.schapelle.com and as I am in Darwin at present on business, here is a review of the restaurant where Gary (my business colleague) and I dined this evening, after a hard day's work in downtown Darwin.

One of the first things that visitors to Darwin notice in the "wet season" is that it is DAMN WET!!. The air is laden with moisture, you constantly wipe the sweat from your brow and the back of your neck: it rains, then pours ... and then there are periods of fine mist precipitation - the main effect being that it seems like there is water, moisture and wetness everywhere, and of course, all the outdoor tables and chairs are in a constant state of wetness.
Gary suggested that we have dinner at one of Darwin's better known eateries, "TIM's Surf and Turf". We entered a very large palm courtyard, romantically lit (pity I am with Gary) with tables and chairs that were all wet from the most recent precipitation. So, wanting to sit outside, it was over to the bar for us to attract the attention of a lovely bright young waitress who immediately asked us if we would like a table, outside? and then offered to "wipe down" our choice of table and chairs in the courtyard. Before Gary and I could move away from the bar, we immediately spotted the six inch long baby crocodile in the fish tank on the main bar... and, after asking the obvious question "what happens when it gets too big for the three foot tank?", we were told that it is taken back to the "croc farm" and exchanged for a new small one. Basically, in Darwin, you can get your croc for $180, then apply for your "croc permit" and, after they become too big for their tank, you can take the big ones back and swap it for another baby croc "for free"... as long as you swap it for the same type... that is you don't swap a "salty" for a "freshy" or a "freshy" for a "salty".
So, after all the excitement, Gary and I perused the Menu. A great selection of seafood and fine steak meals to choose from ( and very reasonable prices as well). We placed our orders... Gary - an entree serve of crumbed crocodile - ME, half a dozen oysters mornay.. Gary main, a seafood platter (for just $20) and me an eye fillet steak.
Whilst waiting for our meals, we were treated to "flaming" magic tricks by our host Tim ably assisted by his wonderful operations manager (whose name Tim will EMAIL me).
The real treat of the night was the EXCELLENT service that we received from our waitress Sarah.
Sarah, born and bred in Darwin made us feel very welcome, shared with us her menu recommendations and patiently answered all of our crocodile questions for what must have seemed like hours to her. "Sarah, do you worry about being taken by a croc when you walk home from work late at night?" ...."Sarah, have you ever seen any crocs in the actual streets of Darwin?" etc etc... very patient lovely girl that Sarah. At the end of our meal, we went to pay and started speaking with the man himself "Tim". As well as being a great restauranteur, our host TIM HAYWARD is also a very impressive magician. Not only was he able to create flames spontaneously when opening a bill-fold at our table - he was also able to do some very impressive "disappearing tricks" - unfortunately, making the bill disappear was not one of his tricks but, given the quantity of food we had and the quality as well, the bill was actually very reasonable. All in all a great night. DEFINITELY a "must do" for any visitor to Darwin or Australia - Tim's Surf and Turf offers a true Aussie eating experience in a tropical palm enclosed indoor and outdoor area that evokes the very best of true Australian dining. Who wants to go to Darwin and eat Pizza or Chinese or Indian - no we want the real, the ultimate Australian seafood, beef and crocodile experience.

Here is a picture of TIM and SARAH

(Disclaimer: No crocodiles were harmed during the production of this Blog Post)

Mecca Bah - Docklands

Quite simply, the Mecca Bah at Docklands would have to be one of my very favourite restaurants. It is situated in a circular building in front of the MAB New Quay apartment buildings (North side of the Yarra) and it offers sensational views of the Melbourne sun setting behind the Bolte Bridge reflecting hues of gold from the length of the Yarra river stretching up West all the way towards the Marybinong.

Kylie and I went to Mecca Bah this evening for an early dinner. Please note however that we chose to go there tonight, a Tuesday night, as we wanted to be sure of being given a table as soon as we arrived at the restuarant. The one issue that I have with the Mecca Bah is that they do not take bookings - can you believe that? The last three times that we have attempted to go to the Mecca Bah on a Friday and two Saturday nights, we left before dining as we were not able to be given a table for at least one to one and a half hours - one of my pet hates is having to wait so we left each time and chose an alternative eatery on those occasions.

But the food and the surroundings are truly exceptional. The restaurant is reminiscent of an opulent tent from the "Arabian Nights" - a sheer purple and gold curtain from floor to ceiling covers the glass circular wall to the west and shields patrons from the setting sun creating a shimmering mirage of gold light which reflects off the intimate gold metallic surfaces of the small brass tables scattered around the perimeter of the restaurant.

The cuisine is Moroccan - (I could not tell you if it is authentic Moroccan as I have never been to Morocco but it is definitely unique. We like to have a "mezze" style of meal - basically numerous serves of various dishes rather than individual meals. The dips (tahina, Humus and babaganoush) and Turkish bread are a wonderful starter - and quite filling. Complement the dips with a serve of Turkish Kofte (Spicy minced lamb meatballs, tender and juicy, surrounded by yoghurt - they just disappear! Then order some Kataifi (cheese balls encased in very fine pastry) and some pine nut lamb boureks (little pasties with the flakiest crispest pastry filled with a lamb and pine-nut filling) and you will have totally arrived in gourmet heaven.

Bright, Generous and Fresh

Melbourne flirted seriously with Spring this weekend just past. Both Saturday and Sunday boasted crisp sunny still days with clear blue skies - a real teaser of what we Melbournites have to look forward to in the coming months... Bring it on! So, following a well practiced Melbourne week-end ritual, Kylie and I decided to have a mid-day breakfast on Sunday. But we also decided to avoid all our regular breakfast haunts and explore some new horizons. I love sitting in the sun so we decided to find a new weekend breakfast venue that would offer us a really nice side-walk table in the sun - no shade - just full sunny exposure. So, whilst driving down the "Broadway" in Elwood, we decided that when we found a parking space, we would stop and choose one of the "eateries" that appealed to our sense of what a great breakfast looked like. Sure enough, someone was just moving out of our car space so we parked, walked about 30 metres and who should cross our path but a waitress carrying two humungous breakfast meals to an eager couple sitting at a side-walk table in the sun. A quick clandestine scan of the dishes about to be served indicated that this establishment was nothing if not generous so we sat down at one of the side-walk tables, relaxed and enjoyed the warmth of the sun streaming down over us until a friendly waitress approached our table to take our order.
The cafe we had chosen for our relaxed Sunday indulgence was called Aroma. We ordered two large freshly squeezed OJ's and each glass had to be at LEAST a litre of the freshest freshly squeezed OJ we have ever had - truly excellent.
The menus at Aroma are presented like a DVD cover in a video library - you open the cover and there is the menu inside - very neat! Buoyed with confidence by our viewing of the meals we had seen and the quality of the OJ's, we then proceeded to confidently order our breakfast - one of us ordered the Oz Breakfast - two eggs, toast, steak, bacon, sausages, grilled tomatoes, hash brown, baked beans (hold the bacon, eggs poached with a side serve of hollandiase) and one of us ordered eggs benedict (hold the ham, side serve of tomato sauce). The eggs were great, perfectly cooked poached eggs are to be truly appreciated and the rest of the meal wa very good; fresh although the steak was not up to the very high standard of the rest of the meal - it was reasonable quality and fresh but possibly not the right choice of cut for a breakfast - a little too tough... The hash-browns were like baked potatoes but soft and fluffy inside - very good.

In all a very highly recommended experience and most enjoyable meal that both Kylie and I will look forward to enjoying again in the near future. Well done Aroma - 8.5/10. (The Oz breakfast was $21.90 but you do pay for what you get and I would rather pay a little more and be assured of the excellent fresh and high quality ingredients on which Cafe Aroma can justifiably pride themselves on.