On cloud nine at Kumo Izakaya

(degusted 27/8/2011)

It was only a couple of months ago that we went to IzakayaDen, in Melbourne's CBD, and there we found a haven for Japanese tapas that did three things for us – (i) reinforced the fact that we love living in a diverse foodie's paradise such as Melbourne; (ii) gave us beautiful memories of our all to short time visiting Japan, and (iii) left us up on cloud nine for quite some days afterwards. We were pleased and intrigued therefore when we heard Kumo Izakaya – a Japanese "tapas" style sake bar - was opening its doors out in East Brunswick, and we had been looking for a good excuse to try it out. 

That excuse came in the way of a city excursion (and we encourage you all to try it) – starting somewhere for breakfast (in our case, Demitri's Feast), taking in random and as yet unexplored parts of your home city all day long (who knew the "Docklands shopping precint" was a real thing!?), and randomly end up somewhere for dinner. 

Deguster N was unaware that Kumo Izakaya had been Deguster S's  target all day long...

At first impressions, Kumo's facade is a stand-out for a couple of reasons. First it is a large, somewhat imposing modernist 'cube' that juts out and is certainly unique in this Lygon streetscape (NB: it's NOT in the Carlton end of Lygon st), and the other is that the hard and sharp lines of this cube contrast to the soft and lofty impression that a "cloud" (kumo) would normally be thought to have. Push through the oversized door and you're welcomed by the friendly staff and enter the large wareshouse-esque space. Despite the size of the space, some nice 'cozy' nooks can be found – get a booth along the south wall, sit along the moody bar on the north side, or get upstairs to float above it all. Whatever you do, you'll soon be on your own little cloud of food ecstasy (or woozy from all the sake – whatever is your preference)....

Mrs Parma's (Melbourne CBD). The Parma yardstick?

(degusted 15^th July 2011)  

 If you want a decent, well cooked parma, with a range of toppings choices (and even if you’re a vegetarian), you'd be mad not to go to Mrs Parma's at least once if you’re out and about in the Melbourne CBD. We have a lot of faith in Melbourne's food scene, so we would not rule out the possibility that there are better parmas to be had elsewhere, but those on offer at Mrs Parma's were pretty damn good.

The Parmageddon - Chicken Parma with chilli sauce.

The humble “Parma”. It's a relatively simple concept: take a slab of chicken or other meat or equivalent substitute, flatten it, cover it with crumbs, cook and smother in sauce and cheese. Bake until cheese melts and goes a little brownish. Serve with chips on the side (do NOT place the chips under said slab of crumbed meat or equivalent). Salad is optional and probably won't be eaten by a true “parma-phile”.

The concept is straightforward – and mastered comprehensively by Mrs Parma's – a little gem at the top end of Little Bourke street. With it's neighbours being some fine-dining heavyweights, like the Flower Drum, Grossi Florentino's, Longrain, & Gingerboy to name a few at this end of town, Mrs Parma's holds its own by doing one thing extremely well – consistently good parmas. Just as well, given the name (which for some reason whenever I hear it I can only think of “Mrs palmer and her 5 daughters”)…

Dining area at the back - looking forward to the bar.

On our visit on a Friday night, we were welcomed into what is essentially a typical pub-style scene: post-work beers flowing around the bar, and a cluster of tables beyond for the super-early or those with bookings.

The bar stocks a selection of craft/ micro-brews and has a good range of both permanent and special items. I tried a ‘limited time only’ dry hopped topaz from Hargreaves Hill  – of which they only had a single keg.  It was really nice, had a slightly fruity nose and a refreshing flavour with a good hit with a sharp hopsy finish that lingers, in a good way. A very pleasant drop to start off the evening.

Build your Parma

There are lots of options  - chicken, weiner schnitzel, or eggplant as the base – then 10 different topping suggestions – including vego options. You can of course also modify the toppings to suit. Next time, we will give some chorizo and jalopenos a try.
A re-visit to try out some new combinations are already scheduled to happen - updates soon!!

Our companions  on the night (regulars at Mrs Parmas) modified
their parma with a good scattering of Jalopenos. Thumbs up from them..

Menu has non-parma options, too

Toppings options for your parma.. You can mix and match if you like ;-)

Vegetarian

Yes indeed, there are vegetarian options here. The eggplant parmagiana with the pumpkin, feta and basil was a really good, solid alternative if you’re “that way” inclined. Even the obligate carnivours were impressed and would happily substitute this for a meat version. The eggplant was not ‘gooey’ as such, so some might say this was undercooked – however this slight resistance to the tooth was actually what made it so good as a parma.

Eggplant Parma with pumpkin, feta and basil.
Even meat-eaters would be happy with this one!

Parmageddon

As soon as The Degusters see anything advertised as “the hottest '<insert dish>' in Melbourne”, we consider it a challenge. Such was the case with the Parmageddon – apparently the hottest parma in Melbourne. This may indeed be true, but perhaps is just a reflection on the general low level of chili tolerance in this city. For us, the chilli sauce (with FOUR different types of chillies, no less) did not pose much of a challenge... It did not even elicit as much as a mild brow sweat - more of a Bunsen burner than the raging inferno we were expecting.. We should have asked for the kitchen to load up the Parmageddon with a few handfuls of jalapeños to warm it up some more (which they do supply either as a side dish to allow you to add your own as you go, or they will add it to your parma when they make it).

The chicken was real chicken – clearly a good quality fillet (not a processed mash of offcuts a-la Maccas nuggets), and the size of the feed was sensible – and realistic. We've seen monstrous schnitzels elsewhere in the past, which are more comical than anything else – where do chickens grow so big as to be able to supply a breast fillet 50cm in diameter!? The meat was moist inside, the crumb was crispy (both keys to a well-cooked parma), and there was the right amount of sauce and cheese topping off the schnitzel. The quality of the servings across all plates at our table of 8 settings was consistent; everyone at the table was impressed with their food.

Chips. Don’t forget the chips.

For the table, we were served only two bowls of community chips. When they were placed on our table we were all channelling Oliver Twist – “please sir…” … you know the rest. These two bowls, however, held some really good chips – not the best I've ever had, but still pretty good chips (the best chips we had ever degusted were served at Raze Gourmet Burgers in Mooloolabah QLD - unfortunately we believe they are no longer open – big sadface). After all the fuss, we didn’t actually finish the chips, so I reckon they’ve titrated the optimal quantity per person.

Drinks:

Cheeky Rascal Cider. We tried the Cheeky Rascal strawberry and apple cider. It was a nice, sweet cider that had a delightful stawberry flavour. Very refreshing and we have already recommended this drink to others who like a sweet drop. A top-notch effort from this Mornington Peninsula winemaker, Robello Wines.

Beer: As mentioned above, we had the dry hopped topaz from Hargreaves Hill. Much enjoyed, and it impressed us greatly.

Special thanks to K & J (Tza Tza!) for organising this visit. You guys rock.

A final thought:

Chicken Parmas... on paper they are a simple dish. Why then all the fuss about finding a good one? The question should be why do some restaurants get the parma so wrong? Perhaps because their cooks have never eaten a truly excellent parma and so, don't know how bad their own offerings are (I'm thinking of Just Degusting's experience at the pub on crown (blecgh) and a recent re-visit to Hoo Hah kitchen). We reckon Mrs Parma's could be the yard-stick against which others should reference their own efforts.

Rating:  Nom(x3)

Meh                      It’ll Do                   Nom(x3)                              Must go back!

Done and Degusted @ Mrs Parmas

-Chicken Parmageddon (Melbourne's hottest parma - according to Mrs Parmas)
-Eggplantwith roasted pumpkin, feta and basil.

Napoleone & co Pear Cider. Quaffable. Very quaffable.

"If you generally like other ciders, you’ll probably really like this one."

 (Quaffed 7th and 15th July, 2011)

I remember some time ago, peering into a mate’s bachelor-pad (bar)fridge you'd have slim pickings of a VB, Fosters (heaven forbid!) or perhaps a Melbourne Bitter. If you wanted something else there was a bottle of spirits (that you'd have to mix with softdrink yourself), or - if you could stand up to the ridicule - a strongbow. 

I wish I could forget.

Thank goodness things have changed since then. Blokes will now actually contemplate wine as something they can drink openly with their meal, and microbreweries are doing a splendid job keeping us refreshed and our palates interested.  While we’re all getting a little bit sophisticated, there’s been a renaissance of sorts when it comes to ciders, and I reckon it’s great when a wine maker puts their brewing nouse to good use and comes up with a cider that is more than just a soft alternative to beer.

Punt Road wines (under the Napoleone & Co label) have put together this great Yarra Valley creation that I reckon is worthy of inclusion on your "give it a try" list, and would not look out of place in your grown up, twin-door, whiz-bang family fridge.

Napoleone & Co pear cider has the typical sweet, fruity nose that you’d expect of a cider, with quite a pale straw colouring - but surprisingly there is more to it than that.  I picked up more complex flavours than most of the “also-ran” ciders, with some yeasty notes that almost made me think I was drinking a nice fruity wine. In that regard, I was delighted that – to my palette, and as the label hints - it was more towards the wine end of the drink scale, rather than the sugary fruity alco pop end that I fear to admit I might be too old to enjoy.

It looks and feels like a grown up cider that makes me thankful for the sophistication and evolution of Australia's wine and beer makers, and something that I’d be proud to serve up to my friends and family. It’s also nice to boast about something that comes from around my old stomping ground.  Don’t get me wrong, this is not re-inventing cider – it’s evolving to something a little more special than “just a cider”. I’d love to have managed to get my hands on a bottle of Napoleone’s Methode Traditionelle Pear Cider to see how good this cider can really get... (But alas, they are all sold out)... Note to self: Get onto the next year's vintage when it's available.. I must also try their apple cider too, to see how it compares..

It is a sweet and fruity drink (compared to a strong full-flavoured lager), but not overly sweet. If you generally like other ciders, you’ll probably really like this one.

 

Where to get it? Check out Punt Road Wines' website (link above), or Y&J's in Melbourne CBD has a new cider bar...

Footnote: 

If you do happen to like your drinks uber-sweet, and want a cider rather than a moscato, then this probably won’t cut it (as was the case with a friend of ours last week – (sorry, K.)) – in such a case maybe try a strawberry and apple cider under the Cheeky Rascal label (from Robello Wines), another yummy, but much sweeter drop, which The Degusters thought was also a top-notch effort from this Mornington Peninsula winemaker.

Monteith's Black Beer

(Quaffed 19th March, 2011)

Not into beer? You might also like to check out our other post:

Napoleone Pear Cider 

 

Bored with your standard old lagers? I am. This offering from Monteith's had me thanking my lucky stars that I had grabbed a couple of these blacks in a random mixed dozen from Dan Murphy's. The crisp maltiness and deep caramel and coffee tones made it a true delight.

I guess I'm not a beer purist - I'm more than happy to have a few other flavours in my beer to supplement the hops, barley and yeasty flavours - so overall I tend to lean towards the lighter ales with fruity or honey flavours. This Black Beer from Monteith's gave me another range of tastes - hints of biscuit, caramels and coffees, in a nicely balanced beer that has some good crisp maltiness. Recently having developed a taste for some fine whiskeys, I found this beer to be similarly complex in these rich deep flavours, especially that roasted coffee note. Something to really savour, but which could just as easily be quaffed down.

After a long day of kitchen renovations, I threw a few gourmet snags, kransky's, steaks and prawns on the barbie, and washed it all down with a few Montheith's blacks. What a great way to polish off the day.

Monteith's black beer with BBQ.
The crisp maltiness and deep caramel and coffee tones make this a true delight.