restaurant

Stumpy Gully Vineyard Lunch 2023

April 18, 2023

I recently went to Stumpy Gully Vineyard / Dining for a family lunch, and it was...fine.

I'm not sure if post-pandemic and lockdowns etc I've become used to a 'get in, eat and leave' sort of scenario, but it felt somewhat slow.

From arrival at 1:00 pm to leaving at 3:35 pm, it felt like a very long service for an entree, main and dessert.

The menu was small, 4 things on the entree, 4 on the main and 3 on the dessert.

Often when I'm going out eating somewhere I'm not taking photos of the food, as I'm eager / wanting to eat. I'm not a food blogger. (I'm not sure what I'd call my writings here, but not food blogging).

I was asked multiple times if I wanted to drink, no, I was happy with the sparkling water. Which was Italian and tasted fine, tasted of nothing really. I'd have preferred a locally produced sparkling water, there's a few that are Mornington Peninsula-based.

After ordering we were served slices of bread, which I'd assume was baked there, it had a good chew and soft interior. The butter was also made there and had a fennel pollen dusting. I'm willing to bet that herb pollens is a big thing for chefs trying to find something new, as soon as I heard them say it I thought I'd heard of it before. A while ago browsing the Essential Ingredient I found Dill Pollen for sale, it's out of stock, but it's $82 for 28g of the stuff.

I opted for the 'House Made Cotechino Sausage' as the entree, I like others at the table saw it, googled it and then...when it eventually came out to the table were a little perturbed. We'd all assumed it would be a single sausage, but instead it was a slice (albeit a chunky slice) of a large sausage - think slightly larger than a Polish sausage in diameter. It was served with a handful of beans, and a small leaf of radicchio.

Then, after some wait, the mains came out.

I had opted for the duck, unlike my fellows who chose the steak.

I like to cook, so if I'm out and about opt for stuff I'm less likely to cook at home.

The duck breast was quite large, perfectly cooked. It had a few forest mushrooms (tiny), pumpkin crisps, chickpea cream and tuscan kale.

I've never really been a fan of kale, despite its prominence in the last 10 years or so. I've tried a few times to cook with it at home, and tend to just opt for spinach, or if not, silverbeet. I've just found that it's a very bitter unpleasant vegetable, that you need to put a lot of stuff into to get a nice vegetable output.

Pumpkin Pie, with apple something beside it.

This kale was fine, it had been cooked in some sort of stock I'd assume, or had been salted and buttered and wilted, but retained a deep green colour.

Lastly I opted for the Pumpkin Pie, which had an...unappetising texture.

Very, if not extremely loose in its texture.

I have a photo of this, as I opted not to eat it.

I could have, it wasn't inedible, but what's the point of eating unless you're going to enjoy it?

The views from the dining room are nice.

Their front door is big, but easy to open.

Their dining chairs are uncomfortable, and I needed to keep moving to be comfortable.

The Grand Trailer Park Taverna

November 20, 2016

I should have gone to the Imperial Hotel for a chicken parma.

I was eating early because I was going to the Little Dum Dum Club which began at 6:30 pm.

I was going to go to the Arbory, except the weather was in the process of shifting from muggy to cool with a wind slowly blowing through the city and I was dressed for the latter so I didn’t want to go from where I had parked (Federation Square) down to Flinders Street station (where Arbory is) and then back up to the European Bier Cafe on Exhibition Street where the Little Dum Dum Club would be later in the evening.

I could have eaten at the European Bier Cafe, but I wanted to try somewhere different.
Often, when looking for places to eat in the city I turn to ParmaDaze.com which offers a good, single minded review of all things crumbed chicken-based.
Then in my searching I found Burgers of Melbourne not as detailed as ParmaDaze, but it’s certainly an interesting site if looking for real images of burgers, albeit a bit Instagram-styled images. Their site has a fairly detailed star rating breakdown, and gave The Grand Trailer Park Taverna a good rating.

I went into The Grand Trailer Park Taverna having looked at the menu online and thought that it would be an interesting place to go and try.

The interior was interesting, it’s got a food truck / trailer park sort of hipster aesthetic. Completely built inside with no readily apparent real original elements to it, as it’s on the second level of the building so everything that was within would have had to fit up the stairwell or perhaps through the balcony by crane.
The interior style they had created within was well realised.

I ordered the ‘David Chang’ - “Premium Aussie beef patty, American cheddar cheese, streaky bacon, egg, tomato, butter lettuce, sliced beetroot, special burger sauce & America mustard on a toasted brioche bun” $18.50
Maybe it’s my own fault for ordering something with fairly inconsequential sorts of flavours.
But that said, something like the ‘Mighty Melbourne’ from Grill’d which contains “Grass-fed lean beef, tasty cheese, crispy trim bacon, free range egg, a couple of slices of beetroot with salad, relish & herbed mayo.” manages to make for a fresh tasting and enjoyable burger, for several dollars less than the Grand Taverna.

I ordered beer battered chips with the burger, and a pot of coke. The latter of which was served in a big jar / mug thing.

In short order, possibly 10-15 minutes my burger arrived. I didn’t take a photo of it, and am glad I didn’t because that time taken would have allowed even more of the heat to drift away from it.

The burger and indeed the chips were, optimistically, warm. Near the back of the burger it was slightly warmer than the rest of the burger.

There were no real dominant flavours in the burger. It was warm, filling but it was all a bit...bleh. The mustard and special burger sauce had no real defining flavours to it. The butter lettuce looked like it was regular iceberg lettuce from looking at it before biting into it, and somewhat browned on the end at that.
The most positive thing I could say is that it was filling.

The chips were good, well, good enough. They were well battered, nice flavour, they’d been cooked in clean oil. They were vaguely warm, though retained their crunch even as they shifted towards room temperature.

I’m sure people hipsters and people in their teens and early to mid-20s enjoy this place. Booths, big tables, high stools and benches to sit at. It’s got a retro American aesthetic to it that speaks to a certain style, it’s all very...well designed. Well constructed to a point. It’s the point that kinda got me looking around, knowing that aside from the kitchen the whole space had to have been constructed from scratch, making it a very fake space. Perhaps fake is the wrong word, it’s well ‘designed’ but it’s been quite constructed in order to get there.
Maybe that element doesn’t matter, I’m not sure.

But I think whatever the design aesthetics of the space the food should speak for itself, and, it was rich, but no defining flavours. Soft, but no real contrasting texture. I couldn’t really describe one specific element of the burger except maybe a hint of the American mustard. Not even the beetroot provided much contrast as it like the egg was swamped by the ‘special burger sauce’.

Solo dining and the Arbory

April 08, 2015

I am a solo diner when I’m in the Melbourne. I go and see things there solo and dine solo. I don’t find dining solo too intimidating although I will admit that I won’t wander into any place to eat because it is intimidating wandering through the front door and asking for a table for one.

Father’s Office at the QV is one place that I’ve found to be rather nice for an early solo diner, they’ve recently changed, or rather consolidated their menu from what I recall from the last time I dined there. Hopefully it hasn’t changed because it offered a nice place to dine and they had some tables against the window where you could look out of onto Little Lonsdale Street.

The Portland Hotel used to be somewhere I’d go because it offered quick service and pretty good food with an odd flare of Australian native meats in the city. I wouldn’t say it was fantastic for a solo diner, but there’s enough traffic in and out that it’s never really quiet enough to feel any impressions from being a solo diner. I say used to, last time I went there the Wallaby sausage roll was somewhat dry and flaky and served on what appeared to be a cheese board, and a small one at that.

Also the steak I ordered; the horseradish butter that came with it had a film of plastic around it. Obviously from it being in a log and them slicing off a wad of butter for my meal and forgetting to take off the plastic. It wasn’t enough for me to kick up a stink, but it’s enough for me to steer clear for a while.

Which brings me in a rambling for of way to to

Arbory, Flinders Walk Melbourne.

Arbory’s contact information page on their website just lists that. Its entrance is next to Elizabeth Walk up some very wide steps.

From their signage and their website one would assume that’s what their establishment is called, but their Twitter account gives their establishment the full title of ‘Arbory Bar & Eatery’ and looking at various article about it refer to it like this.

Looking into some articles written about Arbory have said that is is Melbourne’s longest bar. Which it’s not.

A bar is something you can stand or sit at and from where drinks are served from. I believe this title goes to The Trust bar on Flinders Lane.

I have seen one article call Arbory Melbourne’s longest eatery, which is much more accurate and goes along with its longer title of Arbory Bar & Eatery.

At 150 metres it’s quite a long space. None of it that I could see except the toilets, kitchen and bar are what would be called “inside”. It’s all outside covered by umbrellas and canopy gas heaters. Although I should note I didn’t walk the full 150 metre length of the Arbory, I got to the second bar and decided to turn around.

But to roll backwards a moment I visited the Arbory Bar & Eatery on Sunday 5th April 2015.

When I wandered in there was only one security guy on the entrance. Which is notable. Whenever I’ve had the urge to dine in Federation Square (usually because I’ve parked there) I have always been tempted to go to the Taxi Kitchen. But every time I consider approaching the amount of security they have on their door and they stand there like bouncers....I just get an attack of the nerves and think ‘nope, I can’t deal with this’ and usually end up at Beer Deluxe. He was also dressed in a blue shirt, not as the full suit that the bouncers...I mean security at Taxi Kitchen wear. It’s a minor thing and maybe it wasn’t even deliberate on Arbory’s side, but it was notable to me.

I had prior to actually walking up to Arbory checked out their menus so knew what I wanted before I got to the bar, but I checked the menu anyways.

Arbory Crinkle Cut Chips with Truffle Salt and Pecorino

I ordered the Rare Roasted Salmon, Fennel, Orange and Hazelnuts and also a side of Crinkle Cut Chips, Truffle Salt and Pecorino.

I didn’t get an alcoholic drink as while they did have cider it was about 5% and I am a fairly cheap drunk / have a fairly low tolerance for alcohol. I know where my limits sit and they’re fairly low.

I selected a bar stool over looking the river and next to a tree branch. The perfect space for a solo dining experience. A single seat and a tree branch next to me so there’s no personal space invasions by others.

I’m not really sure how long my meal took to come out. Not very long, enough for me to tweet a bit and check my email.

The Rare Roasted Salmon was fantastic, meltingly tender cooked and salad beside it was complementarily sized.

The Crinkle Cut chips were rather large sized.

The salmon wasn’t hot, it was warm enough.

This doesn’t worry me that much because the space is 150 metres long and the table number they give you is just the regular pole with number on it often used in cafés. But there’s two bars and I think the kitchen is in the middle.

I assume they must have a system of guessing where people have sat, but it still is marvellous that they found me at all, given I was hiding behind a tree branch.

I don’t have a picture of the salmon. I’ve never really got into taking pictures of my food, I prefer to eat it.

I did take a quick photo of the chips.

I didn’t as the website invites “Stay awhile”.

Rather I ate and left.

But I did enjoy my meal there, and will very likely return.

The views of the Yarra are unparalleled in Melbourne.

No where is that close to the Yarra River. No where in Melbourne is that close to the Yarra with a quiet stretch of pedestrian walk beside it either. A lot of the Southbank restaurants tout their closeness to the Yarra, but given the walkway beside it and the boats that moor beside it’s more like knowing the river is there than seeing it. Similarly east of Arbory on the other side of Princes Bridge there are few cafés at river level below Federation Square, but they are also perched on the side with an alfresco area and an indoor area rather than being one continuous space.

Arbory’s space is one continuous space, you can walk along the length, but you’re not going to be interrupted by passers by or pedestrians and the like.

Tonight I could look down at the river and had I been inclined probably could have thrown the ice from my drink into the river.

Which incidentally where some of the squarest ice cubes I’ve ever seen in a bar.

I will be returning to the Arbory because it was reasonably priced, was lovely for a solo diner and has amazing views of the Yarra. I’m also curious what it will be like there in the dead of winter.

Although, I never felt cold while I was dining while facing the river. The canopy gas heater (one of several) which was behind me kept my back warm throughout.

Because I was curious about Arbory I have done a little reading of a few articles about the building of Arbory, its launch and other behind the scenes things like that. Several articles about Arbory assert that the toilets, kitchen and bar are shipping containers.

Which is probably an ‘on trend’ thing to think.

But very probably wrong.

Firstly, think on Arbory’s location.

While I didn’t out a tape measure while I was there I did take a few geotagged photos so I can work out some distances based on it.

Where I sat is about 70 metres into Arbory and the first bar was within probably another 5 metres or so.

Why is this relevant?

Because there doesn’t appear to be any easy road access to Arbory and shipping containerswhen they’re taken to a site either as storage (usually secondhand) construction (secondhand or new) or specialist fit out (what Arbory might have had, but I don’t think it has) they’re dropped off the back of a tilt tray truck or a truck with a crane attached (also known as a Hiab Truck).

There isn’t any road access to that part of the Yarra / Flinders Street station by a truck large enough to carry a shipping container.

There is road access beside Princes Walk on the other side of Princes Bridge, but it is closer to Federation Square rather than at river level.

I think it would be

possible

to get a shipping container to that area of the river, but it’d need to be on a barge, floated up the river. But this would present additional issues. Mostly due to the height of the bridges along the Yarra which are not very high in places. But it could be floated from the rowing club or somewhere like that. Princes Bridge has enough clearance to the site.

But that would only introduce other issues. Such as how you’d get the container off the barge once it’s moored on the side of the river. You could put a crane truck on the barge and then use that to move the shipping container into the right position.

But I don’t think a barge would be stable enough to do that with a crane truck. As a shipping container is between 2,360 kg - 3,980 kg depending on if you have a 20 foot or 40 foot container.

Or alternatively Arbory’s builders built shipping container-like structures within the space they are leasing.

Which is what is appears to be the case when through Arbory's Twitter media timeline from when they first opened.

It’s just a little disappointing everyone seems to be jumping on the shipping container concept without thinking through the complexities of what would be involved with getting shipping containers there.

Pondering on all this did leave me with one other question and that was the question of supplies.

As I said there’s no road access to that part of the Yarra.

The closes is the other side of Princes Bridge or road level St Kilda Road next to Flinders Street Station.

The most direct though hardly the cheapest would be by river, but I doubt there’s any delivery companies that deliver by water.

But it does make me wonder how they bring in kegs of beer and the food and everything.

There’s no access from the station, well not for patrons, maybe there’s something in their lease about having access via the station for deliveries. But even then there’s little road access to that part of the station. Road access to Flinders Street Station is from along Banana Alley. I think there’s station access along there, that might get you near the end of the station’s edge. But that’d still be on the wrong level. The road access for the station is at rail height and sort of at station height. While Arbory is sort of at station / rail height.

Perhaps they just walk everything down from road height, or around Princes Bridge. This question has been vexing me a little bit, so I’ve emailed them which, I assume if I were to look back on it now in the slightly harder light of day compared to when I wrote it late at night will seem a bit rambling. Oh well.

Royal Mail on Spencer

July 09, 2013

6th July 2013 - Dinner 7pm-ish

I rather like kangaroo, it's not something I cook often, as I am prone to messing it up, usually over cooking it or getting it a little too rare.
I order it when I go out as that's something for me, to order stuff I'm not good at or couldn't be arsed cooking at home. So unless it's a very nice sounding carbonara, herbed lamb rack or something chicken based I'm unlikely to order it as it's something I'm pretty capable of cooking up myself.

Kangaroo though is on a lot of menus, the other thing is salt and pepper calamari (more on that and 'trio of dips' another time). Often though kangaroo seems to be the alternative red meat, there’s steak and then there’s kangaroo. It’ll have a jus on it, because everyone likes a jus, it’s like a sauce, only minimal and stylish.

I’ve eaten at several places where they’ve done kangaroo...well enough. It’s not been messed up, but I’ve very rarely walked away going ‘wow that was an amazingly well prepared and cooked piece of meat’.

At the Royal Mail on Spencer on corner of Stanley and Spencer Street in West Melbourne I had a amazing piece of kangaroo, it was tender, amazingly so, flavoursome, while still maintaining its own flavour and well cooked.
Initially I thought it had been cooked sous vide, and then finished off on the grill it had such a wonderfully tender texture and flavour to it.
But I found out when paying that it gets marinated for a week, which would explain its tenderness. It was tender enough that I fancy I could have cut it with a butter knife and if pushed could have pulled it apart with a spoon and fork.
It was served with pickled beetroot, chickpea puree, kipfler potatoes and sour cream.

Earthy flavours are what goes well with kangaroo. Beetroot being one of those marvellously earthy and sweet vegetables it was present, pickled (making it take on a somewhat ‘tinned beetroot’ flavour). Personally I’d prefer it to have been boiled or baked, the segments would have been small enough when whole to have been boiled, retaining their sweet flavour.
The kipfler potatoes were searingly hot, well cooked and provided a nice about of heat to what was a somewhat cool assortment of items on the plate.
Chickpea is a flavour that goes well in small amounts in some places, with pork belly it helps to cut through the porky richness. But its spicy heat here, it does have the a familiar earthy sensation as the beetroot and potatoes do, but it seemed to challenge the kangaroo’s flavour a little too much rather than complement it.
The sour cream was actually a rescue on this front, with a touch of this with the chickpea and potatoes or beetroot helped to temper the chick pea’s flavour somewhat.

I also ordered, mostly out of curiosity the "crispy pigs ears" (prior to the kangaroo). I don't know what I was expecting. Pigs ears aren't exactly a go to ingredient. What I got was a bowl of thinly sliced pigs ears resembling pork crackling. The bowl, a "to share" item was rather big and lacking anything to dip or anything like that. I think these needed to be paired with something to make them somewhat more...fulfilling.
Maybe an apple salsa or maybe a salsa verde, something to add some greenery to it. Rather than what it was served with; a lime.

I had one drink with my meal, a 2 Brothers Gypsy Pear Cider.
One thing, I was sat down and handed the drinks and food menu and asked ‘would I like something to drink, a beer or wine?’. Okay, so I said ‘not for the moment I’ll have a look through the menu’, that thing I’ve had placed in front of me. The man seemed a little perturbed by this. Or perhaps you are meant to order a drink without looking at the menu?
The Gypsy Pear Cider was one of two ciders on their menus, the other was a Bulmers Apple Cider.
The Gypsy Pear Cider was good, fresh, not overly sweet as some pear ciders are.

The Royal Mail on Spencer is interesting in that it doesn’t really seem on the path to much, their site says “The Royal Mail on Spencer is a classic pub with a traditional bar 10 minutes from Southern Cross Station, Docklands and Telstra Dome.” Which is true, except Telstra Dome is now Etihad Stadium. It’s 1.28km from the stadium and around the same amount to Southern Cross Station. Although I do think that walking from the Royal Mail to the stadium/station would take 10 minutes (or so) the reverse wouldn’t as there’s something of a gradient change between the two which would slow you down.

The Royal Mail sits on the corner of Spencer Street and Stanley Street. Stanley Street is convenient for Festival Hall in that it has a lot of street parking, but is 2 blocks up from Dudley Street (which Festival Hall is on) / Rosslyn Street to which Festival Hall backs onto. Which means it’s far enough away so that you can easily enough get a parking spot on the street.
Also if you go further north up Adderley or Spencer Street the streets that cross them going east and west; Roden Street and Hawke Street also offer good opportunities for off street parking, and these are still closer to Festival Hall than if you parked in the Docklands.