Awesome paella at Pesci's Restaurant, Cairns

Pesci's Seafood and Mediterranean Restaurant

http://www.pescis.com.au/
Menu: http://www.pescis.com.au/food/pescismenu
Open for lunch and dinner daily.
Mains around $30 but some seafood dishes are more expensive. Paella $39. 

We sampled four dishes at our table:
The ubiquitous child's bowl of chips (unremarkable).

Paella $39.50
Seafood flavoured spanish risotto served in a "paellera" with fresh local fish, prawns, calamari, scallops, chicken and chorizo. Garnished with black mussels and Moreton Bay Bugs.

Local Leader Tiger Prawns $35.00
Sashimi style or grilled served with saffron rice and seasonal vegetables, lemon butter sauce.

Lamb Rack $36.00
Oven roasted lamb rack with rosemary and garlic. Served with roasted vegetables and chef's own jus.
We also shared a jug of Sangria (pleasant, fruity and light).

I'm told that the Leader Prawns were acceptable, but perhaps one prawn short of a good meal.

An elderly relative, normally a modest eater at best, made short work of the rack of lamb and polished off the while thing. This is probably the best compliment you can possibly have for this particular dish!

A sibling and I both had the Seafood Paella. I have eaten a lot of very ordinary paellas in the past, but this one was good. I had pronounced to the table when ordering that making a good paella is a test of a chef's skill, and this one did not disappoint.

It is cooked and served on an individual basis on a low dinner-plate sized black cast iron dish, which keeps it warm for a long time. When it came to the table it was clear that it had been cooked in the pan and all the fluid had been absorbed into the risotto, creating plump and tasty golden grains of rice. The rice at the bottom of the pan was slightly caramellised, with a more intense flavour. Interspersed amongst the rice was a generous amount of chopped chicken and fish and small and tender calamari rings together with several medium-sized prawns. All of these ingredients were nicely cooked and appropriately tender. As well on the top of the dish could be found two black mussels, two scallops and two pieces of Moreton Bay Bug. The mussels were tender and not at all chewy or stringy (to my relief, as I am generally not a great fan of mussels) and the scallops were not overcooked but perhaps a little on the thin side. The Moreton Bay Bug was a little dry. Possibly the star of the dish was the sliced spicy chorizo sausage, which appeared perhaps to have been char-grilled on the outside.

The wait staff (both French) were helpful and attentive, and our young guest was allowed to touch one of the blue crabs in the nearby tank who were somewhat grimly awaiting their fate. The largest one disappeared while we were there and later reappeared on a nearby table.

We had an outside table but there are some tables available inside the restaurant.

It was a pleasant dining experience and I would definitely recommend the Paella!

Some precious metal at Zinc, Port Douglas, Far North Queensland

Open 7 days a week from 9am.
http://www.zincportdouglas.com/index.html
Menus: http://www.zincportdouglas.com/restaurant_menus_wines.html
Children's menu around $15, entrees around $18-$20, mains on average around $30.

We sampled four dishes at our table:
(Children's Menu) Hot chips with tomato sauce $6.90 (very salty).

(Entree) Trio of Seafood Vichyssoise Style $19.90
Served with smoked oysters, gravalax ocean trout, truffle oil and salmon caviar.

Saffron Linguini $31.00
Served with local banana prawns, chilli, thyme, lemon zest, olive oil, wild rocket, confit cherry tomatoes, lemon juice and picked parsley.

Prawn and Mussel Laksa $29.90
Served with Laksa sauce, rice noodles, prawn, mussel, stir fried vegetables, egg, asian bean sprout salad, lime, coriander and fresh red chilli.

The Vichyssoise was the stand-out dish, with an inspired combination of flavours. The creaminess of the soup was beautifully complemented by the stronger savoury flavours of the seafood. The gravalax was nicely prepared with dill, and the orange-coloured caviar came across as little exploding bubbles of taste. I would definitely recommend this one.

I was told that the Saffron Linguini was nice enough but not remarkable.

I had the Seafood Laksa. When I think of a Laksa, I always think of the steaming hot traditional Malaysian Laksa, with the coconut and curry-based soup and a wide variety of ingredients, including noodles, vegetables, chicken, seafood and bean curd. This one was quite different. It had the spicy curry base and some thin pale noodles and seafood, but lots of bean sprouts and some other crunchy vegetables as well as some slightly soft egg quarters. There was an attractive little dish of accompaniments on Asian spoons - a braised half-lime, some crushed pineapple with coriander (a lovely refreshing combination) and some chopped chilli with coconut. It didn't quite work for me as both the vegetables and noodles were bland and it was a bit of an effort to chomp your way through them all and the egg seemed strangely out of place. The seafood components were nicely prepared. The accompaniments were tasty. Overall it was a bit disappointing, so I wouldn't have this one again.

There are seats available both inside and outside. The service was attentive and friendly. One interesting touch is that there is a large aquarium directly outside the toilets and it also forms one of the internal walls for each gender. There were some brightly coloured reef fish, a stingray and a large ramora suctioned onto the wall of the gents!

Hellenic Republic caters for the masses!

Hellenic Republic
434 Lygon Street
Brunswick East 3057
Tel: (03) 9381 1222
www.hellenicrepublic.com.au

It's funny how much the unspoken fear which grips us all after a tragic event such as the abduction and murder of Gillian Meagher after an evening out in nearby Brunswick surfaces when you approach the area driving alone to go to dinner. You start thinking about where you will park and how far it will be away from the safety of lighting and other people, mentally noting that you hope that you transferred your hand-held alarm and torch into your substitute bag whilst the normal one was in the wash (it transpires I forgot!). It turned out that I was not the only one conscious of such things - I accompanied one of my colleagues to her car and she then kindly drove me to mine, ensuring that I got into it safe and sound.

This was a Christmas function for one of my occasional jobs. The set menu was $58.00 per head and the waitpersons were most remiss in not informing us that tea and coffee were extra. The cappucino was $3.50 and of an acceptable quality. Plain water was free of charge but the mineral water appeared to be $2.00 per person.

Let me say up front that this large open-roomed restaurant was EXTREMELY NOISY and it was hard to hear the person next to you and you basically had to shout to be heard. It is not the sort of place for a quiet conversation or to take hard-of-hearing elderly relatives. However, one of our party did mention that it was a little quieter for Sunday lunch.

We arrived at 8pm but the food service did not finish until close to 11pm, so this was rather disappointing. There was a plate and cutlery change between the starters and the main course, and fresh generously sized paper napkins for the mains and desserts. The food was all well prepared and of good quality, but there was a bit too much salt and heaviness for my palate and I would have liked to see more greenery/vegetables to balance out the meal a bit more.

For starters there was some pita bread and taramasalata made with white cod roe, and this was followed by some small (somewhat tasteless) green peppers, crumbed flavoursome fish balls and a slab of fried haloumi cheese served with sweet small honeyed figs. Another platter came out with tender grilled pieces of fish and a crumbed scallop for each person accompanied by a tabbouleh type salad, tzatziki and a small amount of possibly basil dip. Next were some roasted chicken and lamb pieces served with whole roasted potatoes. Unfortunately the meat was a little dry. Finally dessert was delivered in the form of creamy individual rice puddings with salted caramel, pistachios and a crunchy topping.

The amount of food per person was well-balanced and you did not come away thinking that you had eaten too much but were rather comfortably full.

If you like Greek or Middle Eastern food, then you will probably appreciate these offerings as being of good quality. However, the set menu is a bit on the pricey side and the amount of noise alone would be a sufficient deterrent to prevent me from going back again.

Curry to write home about - Downunder Curry, Northcote

Downunder Curry
Nepalese and Indian Cuisine
417-419 High Street,
Northcote Victoria 3070
Tel: (03) 9486 5333

Fully licensed and BYO (wine only)
Free delivery within 3km radius (min. order $28).
Sun, Tues and Wed - 5.30-10.00pm
Thurs, Fri and Sat - 5.30-10.30pm.
Closed Mondays.
Group bookings welcome.
www.downundercurry.com.au




(Updated 28 February 2013 - additional dishes and photos added.)

Take-Away Value Pack $38.50 
Momo (chicken or lamb - selected)
Butter Chicken (selected) or Nepalese Chicken Curry
Lamb Rogan Josh (selected) or Beef Curry (Rogan Josh(
Mixed Veggie Curry or Aloo Matar
2 x Basmati Rice
2x Naan
1 x Raita
3 x Pappadams
(There is also a take-away Family Pack with more contents for $49.50). 

The Momo (five Nepalese steamed home made dumplings served with fresh tomato chutney) came with a slice of tomato, cucumber, carrot and onion together with some lettuce and a sliver of lemon. The lamb mince was coarsely ground and lightly spiced and the dumpling pastry, whilst not completely 'melt in the mouth', was still very pleasant. The stand-out performer was the tomato chutney, which had a delightful lightly spiced and smoky taste.

The chilli pappadams were crunchy and delicious.

The Mixed Veggie Curry contained peas, potato (sauteed), cauliflower, broccoli, eggplant - moerately spiced, fresh-tasting (the presence of coriander and some more musky-tasting spice noted). 

Lamb Rogan Josh - the main ingredients were lamb, capsicum and tomato. It was strongly spiced with generous chunks of lamb. Some of these were a little bit dry but still tender and not stringy. There was a good amount of flavoursome sauce with a rich meat-stock underlying taste.

The Butter Chicken consisted of a goodly amount of tender tandoori chicken pieces and was moderately spiced. There was a rich, glossy and ever so tasty tomato-based sauce (which was slightly sweet).

The Naan was lovely - fluffy, light, flavoursome and thick. The creamy Raita was made up of yoghurt, carrot, cucumber and tomato. It was a little sweet but fresh and refreshing.

The curries were seriously good and great value. Highly recommended!

After my ill-fated trip to Nepal just over twelve months ago, I was deeply sceptical about Nepalese food and definitely never wanted to see another sauteed potato in my entire life (all together too much being expected to eat these for breakfast, lunch and dinner), but I do recall that the Momo were touted as a typically Nepalese (and quite pleasant) dish. That sorry tale is perhaps a story for another time, but Downunder Curry have definitely won me over with the quality of their food and good value. They also recently hosted a very successful fundraising event for the Friends of Baucau (an East Timorese support group).

P.S. Much better value and more generous than other local Indian restaurants Everest and Himalayas.

(Updated 28 February 2013 - additional dishes and photos added.)

Aloo Matar
This was a delicious combination of potato and peas in a spicy curry sauce. The potato was cut into wedges and was nicely cooked through and succulent. Out of all the curries this was the most generous serving in terms of substantial contents versus sauce.

Beef Rogan Josh
This was a nicely spiced traditional Rogan Josh sauce with mostly large chunks of beef. A disappointing aspect was that some of the chunks were way too big and overcooked and dry or full of gristle. Generally the smaller chunks were more palatable.

The garlic naan was very nice too but very garlicky!

Kenneth Branagh's "Wallander" - Why I don't like it!

Readers of this blog will know that I am a fan of the Swedish dramatisations of the stories of Henning Mankell's fictional detective Kurt Wallander. The only one of the books I have read was the final one ("The Troubled Man" - reviewed earlier), which I found very disappointing.

Although I found the idea of making an English version of Wallander quite strange when the Swedish ones were so good, I decided to watch it and see what it was like. At first it seemed quite bizarre that the setting and props were all Swedish, but the characters were speaking with quite distinct English accents. It was also a bit unsettling that some of the characters and their relationships were quite different to the Swedish portrayals e.g., the prominent role of Wallander's father in the early episodes and the presentation of his daughter Linda, who was also a detective in the Swedish series and only became pregnant in the final book.

The stories are generally very tortured, 'noir' and depressing, athough at times the writers seem to try to infuse them with an element of hope. The crimes are often very violent and unsettling. Branagh's Wallander lacks conviction compared to the portrayal by Krister Henricksson. He is perpetually unshaven, often impetuously driving long distances alone through the bare and evocative southern Swedish countryside, and struggles to relate to colleagues, family or lovers in a meaningful way. There is something 'namby-pamby' about him - a certain timidity or blandness stemming from an apparent uncertainty about who he is other than a detective who is good at solving crimes. There is a sense that he wants to live in the world and be 'good with people' but is it that he doesn't know how or that he is simply incapable?

Wallander's colleagues seem stiff and unsure of how to deal with him, and they do not have the same range of idiosyncratic interest as their Swedish equivalents. It just all seems too anguished, and I am not drawn in and engaged - the plot just seems to go on for far too long.

Sadly SBS is running its repeats of the Swedish version in the early hours of the morning. However, several series are available on DVD at reasonable prices from places such as JB HiFi.

The spy who fell to earth - Movie review: Skyfall

I would have to say that it is many years since I have seen a James Bond film, and that the Austin Powers spoofs are far more memorable. I went to see this one with my brother, who has been following them more closely and feels that Daniel Craig is the most realistic Bond.

I suppose all these films are somewhat formulaic, but this one must represent a transitional phase and celebrates the 50th anniversary of Bond films.

The musical theme is reasonably attractive and sung in a "lazy lounge singer" mode by Adele.

The opening sequence is quite spectacular, involving Bond chasing a 'baddie' who has stolen a hard drive containing the names of undercover agents. The iconic Hagia Sophia is visible across the rooftops of Istanbul. A train-top wrestle results in Bond being shot during the tustle (on the orders of M) at the last possible opportunity prior to entering a tunnel and disappearing from view by a 'Foxy Lady' agent (who turns out to be Miss Moneypenny). Bond falls into the river below, and the villain disappears with the hard drive.

Just as an aside, there are two Swedish connections in this film. Firstly, Daniel Craig, with his impossibly blue eyes enhanced in this film, took the starring role of Mikael Blomkvist in the Hollywood remake of "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo". The second is that the opening villain (Patrice) is played by Ola Rapace, (former husband of Noomi Rapace, electrifying as Lisbeth Salander in the original Swedish version of “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”) who played the tortured detective Stefan in the Swedish Wallander series.

Bond goes "missing in action", relying on hot women and cool drinks near a beach somewhere to get him through the day. He eventually returns to London after MI6 is bombed, presumably by the person in possession of the hard drive. After this debacle MI6 moves to Churchill's wartime bunker under London, and Bond goes through a series of tests designed to assess his fitness for service. Unbeknownst to him he fails every test, but M tells him he is fit for service. He is assigned a new quartermaster ("Q"), who is a geeky computer nerd. In a break from the tradition of lots of high-tech gadgets, Bond is simply given a gun (programmed to his hand-print) and a radio homing-beacon.

M is called to answer some hard questions about how the bungle of the loss of the hard drive could possibly have occurred. Dame Judi Dench as "M" is simply brilliant in this film. She is tough, decisive and uncompromising in her belief that there is still a job to be done and that she is not going to be forced into retirement until the job is finished. M rightly makes the point that the people they are dealing with "live in the shadows" and do not play by the normal rules.

Bond eventually catches up with the villain in Shanghai as he is carrying out an assassination and after the villain falls to his death without spilling the beans he catches the eye of a beautiful and exotic woman in the building opposite where the assassination has occurred.

Predictably Bond by coincidence meets up with this beautiful exotic woman in a casino in Macau and ends up sailing with her to an island to meet her puppet master, who is the real villain of the piece. However, he finds time to get up close and personal in the shower on the way to the island.

The villain, Raoul Silva (played by Javier Bardem) is a talkative and twisted former MI6 agent, who reminded me of the Joker in Batman, and was equally annoying. He talks at length about cornered rats eating each other. The woman is insouciantly killed by Silva, and then courtesy of the homing beacon, reinforcements arrive and Silva is captured and taken to London. Not surprisingly, after a chat with M, whom he blames for all his problems, but hardly remembers him, he escapes into the sewers of London. He is pursued by Bond, who has a couple of unpleasant close encounters with trains as a result. It turns out his real target is the Houses of Parliament, where M is appearing as a witness in front of an enquiry.

Bond manages to get there in the nick of time and spirit M away in an antique roadster (one of the earlier Bond cars). Her trusty assistant is left behind in the rush. Bond drives M to his family home, Skyfall, in the glacial landscape of the highlands of Scotland. In the dour bluestone building he encounters the Kincade, the gamekeeper, who informs him that as he was presumed dead, all the contents of the gun cupboard bar his father's ancient shotgun have recently been sold. However, with a bit of imagination and some handy dynamite they rig the property in preparation for the coming invasion. There is a priest's bolthole which leads to the outside and escape across the moors to the nearby chapel, and this proves to be useful later on.

When Silva and his cronies eventually arrive in style on foot and by helicopter, the weapons in Bond's car prove useful and all three stage a handy resistance. However M is injured, and Bond orders M and Kincade to escape to the chapel, where he will meet them. The gamekeeper is a perfect gentleman, and he is very protective of M, and for a moment I felt some hope that they would all get out of this alive and that the widowed M would find happiness with the gentlemanly gamekeeper, but this was not to be.

Bond does a pretty good job of finishing off nearly all the baddies, but alas Silva has followed the torchlight across the moors and confronts M and Kincade in the chapel. Bond arrives and makes a comment about the last two rats left standing, and the villain meets his demise. Sadly, also does M.

In the graveyard of the chapel is a tombstone for Bond's parents as he was orphaned at an early age. They both bear the name "Bond", but wasn't that a code name?

Back in London, Bond is briefed by Gareth Mallory, the new M, a former politician who was initially trying to force M (Dench) to retire, but was also a soldier who had seen service, and played a handy role in the parliamentary siege and was wounded in the process. He is capably played by Ralph Fiennes, well-known for his role in Harry Potter (Lord Voldemort). Miss Moneypenny has decided to stick to a desk job (much to the relief of Bond) but there appears to be some "UST" (unresolved sexual tension) between them, so this is sure to play a part in future storylines.

This film has been promoted as "Bond getting back to basics", and there are strong performances from Craig and Dench, and I thought M's assistant was terrific. Ralph Fiennes (Mallory/new “M”), Naomie Harris (Moneypenny) and Albert Finney (Kincade, the gamekeeper) were also good supporting characters. It is a pity that the villain was so annoyingly 'over the top' as this detracted from the potential enjoyment. Violence and death are of course common bedfellows in Bond films, and it is ironic that in our desire for Bond to succeed we overlook the fact that he is a cold-blooded hired killer! It is a clever and visually spectacular movie, and Craig is convincing as a very human Bond seeking redemption through the thing that he does best. In a way it is also closure, as his family estate is pretty well destroyed by the end of the siege, and he simply says "I never liked the place"!

If you are a Bond fan you are likely to enjoy this one, but as an action adventure movie it probably occupies the middle ground - neither bad nor exceptionally good.

Through Twitter I was alerted to a really fabulous article on the ABC website by Jeff Sparrow on “Skyfall as a parable of reactionary generationalism” – well worth a read!
http://www.abc.net.au/unleashed/4423982.html.