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Kingston Samosa Man Goes 'Down Under'
by
Ian Tebbutt |
When
curry fan Ian Tebbut transposed from Kingston just outside London to
faraway Melbourne he found that, whilst he missed his favourite
Kingston samosa house, he found himself in foodie heaven.
Melbourne is
one of the great undiscovered food destinations in the world .....
not that I'm biased of course. Its an incredibly diverse city, with
many ethnic groups keeping their culture and food, while still
integrating into the Aussie dream. So food-wise we have just about
everything - the Greek, Italian, Vietnamese, modern Australian
(fusion) stand out. Overall the impressive thing is the quality - it
really is exceptional and we get all of this for way below the prices
of Sydney, let alone European restaurants of the same quality. Up at
the rarefied end of the market, you can easily pay $100+/person, but
at that level you get a real food experience, extensive wine list,
and brilliant service. Many restaurants at the upper end of the
market employ sommeliers and specialised pastry cooks etc - they
really do know what they're about. In comparison that's 40 quid in
good old sterling - you know that kind of money doesn't go anywhere
in the London.
As an example,
our very first night in Melbourne was spent in a random motel in
Oakleigh - a burb, about 15km out. This area is more known for its
car yards than its food, but we had to eat in as that was part of the
cheap deal we were getting. I ordered steak, as good beef is
everywhere, and it,s hard to do badly. What I received was a stack
with brilliant mustard mash as the base, a perfect rare steak
balanced upon that, and an impressive looking (and fairy light) sort
of onion/egg lattice to top it off. There was even a 50/50 sauce, one
side of the plate was pale pink peppercorn, the other a tangy
mushroom. The (very) young chef explained that he needed to show some
experience before he could even begin to look for work closer into
the city, so he worked in the Motel, and took every opportunity to
practise his technique. One of the best meals I've had, for its sheer
unexpectedness. The coffee here is awesome too and I look forward to
sampling the fabulous selection of products and cuisine Melbourne has
to offer.
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