Degani@Camberwell

This should have been a post about a place called Via Verona in Kew however it turned out to be a bit of a sorry affair, not helped when the young female barista burst into tears and ran out the back. So needing a caffeine mix, we've headed to Camberwell to revisit, in my case, Degani.

There's a different barista on duty today and I've noticed that they have removed the words "australian champion barista" from the chalkboard.

The coffee comes out looking much as it did the last time - sans any latte art.


Paalo tries a raspberry muffin


and I have a full serve of their famous sultana bread. Once again these are huge slices - you can also have this served as a single. Two little packets of butter accompany the bread - I'm not a big user of butter on bread but even I thought that wasn't nearly enough. I'm sure they would give you more if asked but I think it would be nicer if they placed at least another one on there at the start.

Considering the size of the dishes served here and how many of them go back to the kitchen only half eaten because they are too big, it seems a bit odd to be so stingy with the butter.

The bread I must say was excellent.

Dinner @ Cafe Latte

Cafe Latte seems to have been around forever, in reality it opened its doors in 1992 and for the last few years has positioned itself to specialise in Puglian cuisine. A region of Italy I've yet to visit but would very much like too.

It has been a few years between visits so I'm most eager to see where things are at.

We arrive to quite a lively restaurant and after a bit of table confusion we are seated. After ordering some Prosecco to begin with, we are offered the wine list. 10 minutes elapse before the waiter returns asking if we'd decided on a wine. Apart from having a rather confused look on his face at the question, Paalo then had to ask for the menu.

Hmm. I don't know about you but I kind of like to look at the menu first and work out what I'm going to eat before choosing a wine.

After spending some time with both menus we settle on our order. We decide on a bottle of 2004 Antonelli Sangrantino di Montefalco DOCG - the last time we enjoyed this wine was during our stay in Umbria.

Before we start on the food I must say that the photos are not the best as the light was quite poor for photo taking but fine for dining.



Antipasto della casa ($17.50)
This is a serving for one that we are sharing - on the board we find a vegetable frittata, buffalo mozzarella, prosciutto, anchovies on rocket, stuffed mushroom, mixed olives, risotto ball

Paalo thought that some of the items could have been served a little warmer than they were.

Next we have pasta


Cavatelli con Ragu di Carne - Cavatelli served with Veal Ragu ($16.50)

Paalo's choice - the ragu was very tender and just fell apart.


Orecchiette con Gamberi e Zucchine - Orecchiette with Prawns and Zucchini ($18.50)

The orecchiette unfortunately were undercooked - I couldn't help but be reminding on an experience in Italy when ordering Pasta, the Chef asked if we wanted it cooked "al dente or correctly." It seems that pasta has gone from being served up like mush to being served up crunchy. Risotto has seemed to have followed this path as well with so many resembling fried rice.

Other than the pasta problem, the rest of dish was fine with a very generous amount of prawns used. If anything, we both thought these pasta dishes were way too big for a starter.


For mains:


Paalo's choice: Scaloppine di Vitello con Asparagi - Pan fried Veal Scaloppine with Lemon, White wine and Asparagus ($32.50)

A bit too much lemon used for Paalo's liking - I thought that that the wine hadn't quite evaporated leaving a sharp taste.



I have the Rotolo di Coniglio con Prosciutto - Rolled Farmed Rabbit stuffed with air cured ham and lemon rind ($34.50)

Tasty but it's always a bit off-putting when you find a piece of bone in the stuffing - it certainly makes you weary of each mouthful.

For dessert


Paalo's choice: Panna Cotta con le Pere - Vanilla Panna Cotta with Poached Pears ($13.50)

One of the better versions - it walks that delciously fine line between solid and liquid with just enough gelatine to have set it.


Sfogliatina con Mele and crème anglais - Puff pastry with apple and crème anglais($13.50)

I wanted something light and this was an ideal dish. Wonderfully crisp pastry presented simply.

We certainly couldn't help but notice that the place is full of regulars and the regulars also seem to know each other. The service towards them was of a different standard to that offered to us. It does pay to be known here. It certainly is worth another visit - if only to enjoy the Sangrantino.

The details:
Cafe Latte
521 Malvern Road, Toorak
Phone: 9826 5846

Open:
Mon - Sat: 8am til Late (Breakfast - Lunch - Dinner)
Sun: 9am - 3pm (Brunch)

web:
http://www.cafelatte.com.au/

Degani@Camberwell

Degani Bakery Cafe is a chain that currently consists of 14 outlets with another 5 on the way. As I was in the neighbourhood I thought I'd pay a visit to their newish cafe in Camberwell.



The interior is very much dark polished floorboards, maroon leather banquettes and bentwood chairs - a nod to the '70's I think.

The banquettes are very comfortable - nice deep seats though I think those bare wooden seated version of the bentwood chairs might be a trite uncomfortable (the padded versions are only offered along the banquette tables).

Next to the large front windows is a more intimate seating area though it's a bit to "franco cozzo" for me.

Service actually exists here unlike our Brunetti experience - sit at a table, peruse the menu and their eager staff will come and take your order.



First up was my cafè latte - isn't that heart just cute. There are chalk boards behind the bar area that list the drinks available and apparently the coffees are made by an "Australian Barista Champion".

As this is Camberwell, the coffee was a little on the hot side but not too bad.



I also decided to try their Sourdough Toast with Fig Jam and Mascarpone ($8.50). They are huge slices of sourdough and how refreshing to find that they are toasted on both sides! I don't know why or when it started happening but I can't stand those one side only toasted toast.

The sourdough is made by Degani - there wasn't quite enough jam but they happily gave me more when asked.

I also ended up ordering another coffee...



consistency rears its ugly head. Gone is the latte art and the coffee temperature has also risen. I also noticed when I went to pay that the rest of the coffees he was currently making were also bearing this lack of design. I'm not sure but I would think that an "Australian Barista Champion" would be able to maintain the consistency.


The details:
Degani@Camberwell
536 Riversdale Road, Camberwell
Phone 9813 0445

web:
http://degani.com.au/

Lunch @ Centonove

We're back in Kew to sample another of the areas stalwarts, Centonove. It is celebrating its 10th year of operation and it certainly has been a while since we've been here. Over Christmas the yellow washed walls have gone and have been replaced with a slate grey colour. I think it gives the place a more modern look.

Dinner @ Estivo

I don't know why we're never eaten here before - it's a place I've known of since it opened almost 3 years ago. I've always had it in my mind to go here but just never got around to it. Tonight that changes.

Estivo is located in what was previously (for 27 years!) a restaurant called Kew's and you'd be hard pressed to recognise it.

It's a nice light compact dining room- white tablecloths with a mix of leather banquettes and padded chairs



and what must be the largest mound of salt I've seen set on a table. I would highly doubt the kitchen is under seasoning the food, I think unfortunately, it would be more of a reflection on the palates of the diners.

We order 2 glasses of Yarrabank Cuvee to start off as we peruse the menu - indeed we have a good problem that there are quite a few dishes we'd like to try.

After some negotiation we finally settle on our meal choices - we also order a bottle of Kangarilla Road 2006 Zinfandel.

For starters:



I have the Tapas Plate - it consists of an oyster with a gazpacho dressing, prosciutto with fig and parmesan, smoked eel on endive and shredded apple and pork rillettes with plum.

The two stand outs were the smoked eel - unbelievable soft with a fabulous smoky taste and the pork rillettes - just the right amount of dill to compliment the richness of the pork.

One negative is the salt that is underneath oyster - it is loosely packed and so shifts on the plate as soon as you lift the oyster. This means you get bits of salt crystals contaminating the other items - crunching on salt when you don't expect it isn't a pleasant experience. They need to find some way to make the salt stick together.



Paalo has the Gnocchi with a ragu of Baby Goat and peas (entrée size - it can also be ordered as a main) - this is a special for the night, it usually comes with a pork and veal sausage ragu with peas and walnuts. Although the gnocchi are much larger than anything I'm used to, they are soft and light and taste of potato. They are excellent. The baby goat is also very tender.

For mains:



I have the Twice cooked duck - it is first braised in a stock of star anise and then roasted. It is served with corn mush and broccolini and a wonderfully rich reduction. The duck was ultra tender, the sauce gorgeously thick with a touch of sweetness.



Paalo has the Eye Fillet (cooked rare) served with Confit potat, beetroot, roasted onion and beetroot reduction. It was great to see that the fillet was indeed cooked rare - the maître d' coming to our table to ask if it had been cooked rare enough. It was sad but not all that surprising to hear that ordering it rare is something that happens rarely here and he lamented the fact that people order it well done! Such a beautiful piece of meat doesn't deserve to be treated that way.


We seem to be on a bean kick so for a side dish we order the beans with pecorino and shallots. Lovely and glossy with still a bit of bite in them.

Please excuse the poor photos of dessert - lack of light is the issue



On the left is Paalo's choice of panna cotta with berries and I ordered the frozen nougatine topped with Turkish fairy floss and served with a blood orange salad.

Both were well executed and provided a nice finish to the meal.

It may well have taken a while to dine here but we certainly will be returning.

The details:
Estivo
300 High Street, Kew
Phone: 9853 1727

Open:
Tuesday - Friday: 12pm - 3.30pm
Tuesday - Saturday: 6pm - 10pm

Dinner @ Koots

Koots is located within a ball-toss of the famous Kooyong Tennis Courts, one-time home of the Australian Open. As the Australian Open is currently underway, it's appropriate that we are here tonight.

First impression is that it is quite a small place - one room that seats around 40, although there is also an outside dining area.

As we do enjoy our bubble, we order a bottle of 1998 Pol Roger.



I think Elle would approve of these champagne flutes!

The menu is also rather compact - a choice of 6 starters, 6 mains and 4 side dishes.

To begin:



Paalo chooses the Hiramasa Kingfish, drizzled with a citrus sauce and topped with shredded wakame and flying fish roe.


My starter was char-grilled quail with balsamic reduction and a mille-feuile of eggplant purée and tomato concasse.

For mains:


Paalo orders the Lamb rack with Capscium Cannelloni - the cannelloni is quite clever, they use the flesh of a roasted red capsicum to take the place of pasta.


My Choice: 150 day grain-feed sirloin with bercy butter and hand cut fries. The bercy butter was excellent a mix of softened shallots, white wine and parsley and was solid enough that it was only starting to melt as I received the dish. The meat, though cooked closer to medium than rare was well flavoured and tender.



We chose a side of these simple green beans, arriving piping hot and still with a nice bite to them. They had obviously been flashed cooked in a really hot pan.

Since this is a French restaurant, cheese is next



Cheese platter for Two - Swiss Gruyere, Brie, Fourme and Milawa King River Gold

The cheese came out at the perfect temperature - it has obviously been sitting out of the fridge and so was at it's best. The last thing you want to have is cheese served cold.

As we have a problem with choosing, we also opt for the dessert platter for two:


Dessert Platter:
From top, going clockwise: Creme Brulee, Peach sorbet, Strawberry and Berries with Berry Foam, Apricots Mille-feuille - in the centre Almond Financier.

A much more reasonably sized dessert than that offered at Wildflower.

The only thing that was a bit off-putting was that the restaurant was empty by 10pm! The waiter, when serving the dessert, told us it was normal for them and that there was no rush for us to finish.

Overall, the food was enjoyable, the service efficient. We will probably return and see if we can make it to 11pm!

The details:
Koots
479 Glenferrie Road
Kooyong
Phone: 9822 3809

Open:
Lunch: Tuesday - Friday
Dinner: Tuesday - Saturday