Amber at The Scotch Whisky Experience

I tend not to write down a great deal when visiting places I intend to put on this blog. Maybe one or two notes punched into my phone. Usually I just take a few photos and hope that all the details will come rushing back later like some Proustian epiphany. Unfortunately this tends to be a cocky over-estimation of my capacity for recollection. It gets worse the longer I wait to get motivated and actually put fingertip to keyboard. Drinking with the meal just compounds the issue by an order of magnitude.

With that in mind: it has been at least 5 months since my buddy Tom and I were in Scotland; I wrote down absolutely nothing; this post is about a restaurant attached to a whisky museum where we were treated to five different single malts; we went to the bar and had at least that many more again after the meal (with which there was beer).

Happily the whisky made us fairly trigger happy with the cameras and we took several photos. I really can't remember very much at all so hopefully the pictures will make up for the words I would otherwise just be making up entirely.

I do remember this: the food at Amber is genuinely impressive and undoubtedly the best we had in Edinburgh's Old Town. I tried Haggis, 'Neeps & Tatties from four or five different places on our visit and this was the clear favourite. Haggis gets a bum rap by the way; the stuff is legitimately delicious. Too many people get grossed out by its reputation before they actually try it. If you're in Edinburgh and want to give it a go, you could do far worse than Amber's. There is a photo here of some kind of terrine that I seem to remember containing venison and a little blob of rosemary infused jelly that was original and quite delicious. 

On to the photos. The final is one Tom took of me in Makars' Court shortly after which I feel is a fairly appropriate expression of how I felt about the whole dining and drinking experience at Amber.

Amber Restaurant at The Scotch Whisky Experience

345 Castle Hill, The Royal Mile
Edinburgh, Scotland

0131 477 8477
www.amber-restaurant.co.uk

Mirka at Tolarno Hotel

While visiting friends in St. Kilda I had the opportunity to visit one of Guy Grossi's restaurants, Mirka at Tolarno Hotel. Currently serving up a special fixed-menu Sunday lunch of sneak-peak recipes from Grossi's upcoming cookbook 'Recipes from My Mother's Kitchen', a chance to eat at Mirka was not to be missed.

Mirka at Tolarno is the namesake of French-Australian artist Mirka Mora, who opened the location with her husband as a restaurant/gallery/studio called in the early 1960's. Grossi's father Pietro was one of the original chefs and it was in this kitchen where Guy spent the very earliest years of his cooking career. Having now taken over ownership of the restaurant, Grossi has revamped the building in it's original spirit as a restaurant and bar and planned gallery space. Mora's vibrant murals still adorn the dining room wall, making for a a very unique dining atmosphere.

As you can imagine, a traditional home-cooked Italian Sunday lunch is somewhat epic. The 'From my Mother's Kitchen' menu is certainly no different and would be challenging to get through if it didn't taste as good as it does. Our menu included Cauliflower and Gorgonzola soup, Chestnut and Mushroom Gnocchi, Carpaccio of White Fish, Calzone, Cassoulet, Roast Salmon with Letils, Tripe Sausage, Stewed Fruit, Rhubarb Pudding and the most amazing Honeycomb Semifreddo I've ever tasted. That's a LOT of food, even between four of us. We made an attempt on everything but there was a lot left over despite our best intentions.

For the most part the courses were top-notch; the soup was a stand out, perfectly balanced and with the cauliflower pureed just right to retain a bit of texture. Tripe sausage might not be everyone's cup of tea but all I can say is don't knock it until you try it. Besides, you're in very good hands here. Out of everything I probably ate the most of that. The desserts on the other hand were a little polarizing. It may have been that the semifreddo was so bloody good that it eclipsed everything else but the other two selections were a little lacking. The rhubarb pudding was boring and the stewed fruits didn't seem to be trying to be anything than stewed fruits (not that there's anything wrong with that). That semifreddo on the other hand, wow. It was like they got a cow on a massive sugar-high, let a bunch of bees sting it, milked it and chilled the cream. I could not get enough of the stuff. Total knock-out.

My only serious complaint (and this is something I see a lot of restaurants, no matter how good they are, tending to do consistently badly) was the coffee. We ordered a round of espresso at the end of the meal to finish off and after such a tidal wave of beautiful food I was so disappointed to find a thin, light, over-extracted shot of watery espresso in my cup. I don't understand why restaurants who take so much care selecting the best ingredients, wines, equipment etc. and doing the most with them don't seem to care about coffee. It's an odd experience drinking terrible espresso from a clearly custom made, Grossi crest emblazoned, porcelain demitasse. There are a few restaurants out there doing it the right way; sourcing their beans from local specialty roasters, using good equipment and training their staff properly, but for the most part I still see cheap equipment, bad technique and imported beans that are long stale by the time they reach our shores. I wouldn't suggest that all restaurants become specialty coffee merchants but as it stands, it's not good enough. Grossi is taking the time and care to brew his own beer (which is actually decent - very sharp and hoppy) but is still using a certain ubiquitous omnipresent imported Italian coffee that's just not up to scratch. And it's letting the food down.

Now that the rant is done, Mirka is definitely worth visiting, especially if you can book in for Sunday lunch and get a sneaky taste of some very good traditional Italian cuisine before it hits the bookstore shelves.

Mirka at Tolarno Hotel
42 Fitzroy St.St. Kilda, Victoria
03 9525 3088
www.mirkatolarnohotel.com

Piaf

I'll confess straight up that Piaf has long been one of my all time favourite Brisbane dining institutions and probably the single restaurant I've visited most in the city. For years they've consistently served quality French food at prices at least a few dollars less than what you'd expect to be paying anywhere else. There's barely a thing on the menu over $20.


Smack-dab in the heart of Southbank's array of multi-cultural restaurants Piaf is, as far as I know, the only  French restaurant of the lot (if you don't include their off-shoot cocktails/tapas bar Sardine Tin - just across the lane). Despite having the market cornered they remain affordable, delicious and casual yet classy. Open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, seven days a week, there's always something on offer any time of day. Seating choices are plentiful too, with Piaf offering indoor, outdoor and casual bar-style seating to suit just about any mood or occasion (personally I prefer to do breakfast at the bar, lunch outside and dinner indoors, where you can sit beneath a minimalist wall mural of Edith Piaf's nick-namesake Sparrow and inexplicable motorcycle helmet - confusing but somehow it works).


The best thing about Piaf is the simplicity. A small but quality selection of exclusively French wines makes choosing very easy and the menu is broken down into fixed-price courses, each with only four or five options. It's a small choice but certainly not one I'd refer to as limited. I'm usually always stuck between at least two of the offerings, which change regularly. At least a couple of  variations on 'the big classics' of French cuisine are always available and I'm pleased to report that Piaf is not afraid to serve up some of the more challenging dishes; on my last visit delicious fried croquettes of lamb's brains with capers and a fantastic rich, smooth hollandaise derived sauce. Most of the menu is suitable for the less daring, however, such as the warm salad of confit-duck leg, wilted spinach, crispy roast potatoes, feta and macadamia nuts.


Though nice, instead of dessert I'd recommend trying one or two of the regional French cheeses available on the chalkboard. Again, the selection is small but wonderfully diverse and is served with classic accompaniments such as tart apple slices, fig paste and cornichons.


Stylish, a little sophisticated, slightly daring and undoubtedly French, Piaf is at the same time entirely relaxed, very simple and incredibly good value. Piaf does a service to the spirit of its namesake and remains one of my favourite places to eat in Brisbane.

Piaf
5/182 Grey St.
Southbank, Brisbane, Queensland
07 3846 5026
www.piafbistro.com.au