We waited for about 15 minutes before our names were called.

Service was excellent. A staff came to take drinks order as soon as we had settled down. We had Flat White ($4 each),  and as usual a Babyccino ($0.5) for Lil’ M.. The coffee was quite good here, comparable to our favourite at Market Lane Coffee. Ms. L. actually prefer St. Ali‘s coffee now. We (, actually I) took awhile deciding on what to eat. The menu was fancy though.

Straight away, Ms. L. went for the corn fritters, My Mexican Cousin - secret recipe corn fritters, baby spinach, haloumi and kasundi with poached eggs ($17.5). We added a side – Avocado and Feta Mash ($4.5) for Lil’ M.. We saw most tables having the corn fritters. It was delicious! The way the fritters were made was different than the ones we’d tried. Ms. L. mentioned that it was comparable to Mart 130‘s. The St. Ali‘s version came with two eggs (none at Mart 130)!

This was one of the rare trips that I messed-up my order! I actually went for a salad (for brunch ? are you kidding me!?) – My Body is My Temple – raw beef salad with kholrabi, diakon, carrot with fish sauce, lime juice, coriander and sesame seed ($19.5). It was a good raw beef salad, very Asian, but wasn’t my kind of taste. Fortunately, Ms. L. passed over some of her fritters …

Despite the noisy atmosphere in this warehouse, brunch was great for Ms. L. and Lil’ M.. I shall let Ms. L. order for me when we return here (surely will!) for the corn fritters.

There were two little dramas that happened after paying for this meal. Firstly, I was charged $1 for credit surcharge though I actually paid with saving. I went back to St. Ali and the cashier gave me back a dollar. It was strange that the item charged for $1 was a ‘Single Origin 250g Open’ (?). After getting back in the car, I took a glance at the receipt again and saw that our corn fritters – My Mexican Cousin was charged $19.5 instead of the menu price of $17.5. I went back to St. Ali again and questioned the cashier. At first he said he’ll call his manager – but then he said “I trust you” and gave me $2 (?) Hmmm, well, it’s just $2 for me, but imagine the number of orders for My Mexican Cousin … no wonder this place is doing well! Anyways, do check what you are paying for here. (I went back to check St. Ali‘s website for their Dec 2011 – Jan 2012 menu and the My Mexican Cousin was $17.5)

While waiting for all to arrive, we had complimentary olive oil, herb and spice flakes, bread and grisinni.

The (food) menu was huge and was artistically designed, and of course – (very) Italian in content. The wine list came shortly but we gave it a pass as I ‘needed’ to be back in office after lunch!

We ordered three items as starters from the ANTIPASTO section. The first was the Crocchette Di Maiale – Pork croquettes, salsa verde ($12). (I forgot to bring my usual camera and had all these nice photos taken with my Sis’s camera – thanks!). This dish was quite good. Ms. L. almost missed the salsa verde at the bottom!

Secondly, we had the Panzarotti – Fried pastry, Fontina and pancetta filling ($12).

This was followed by the Anatra Pressata – Slow cooked pressed duck, Shiraz jelly ($12). We loved the Shiraz jelly!

We ordered the Risotto Coniglio – Risotto with Rabbit Ragu ($25) for Lil’ M. and requested for entrée portion. We were quite surprised with the portion served – it was bigger than expected! This gave everyone a chance to try the dish. Most of us haven’t really tried rabbit meat – and it tasted like chicken. The Risotto was quite good.

I went for the Girarrosto Del Giorno – Today’s rotisserie, Pork ($38). Our wait staff told us that it will come with two slices of pork and I figured that I’ll have dessert if I can’t get enough from my main dish and surprise, surprise – my dish came with two big slices of meat! The meat was very juicy and tender while the herbs and spices attached worked very all together.

My Sis ordered a Spaghetti Al Pesto Trapanese – Garlic, tomato, almond, chilli pesto ($25). We were all VERY impressed with this dish. It was perfectly cooked, the right texture savored and the sauce that consisted almond was pretty unique and tasty. Ms. L. was relating the taste to our Indomie (an instant noodle) while I was thinking of Mamee (snack food)! Again, we all commented (no complaints) on the big portion served here!

Ms. L. went for the Costolette Di Agnello “Scotta Ditto” – “Castricum” Lamb chops ($36) from the LA GRIGLIA section. She received huge chunky meaty chops that were perfectly grilled. The lamb was tender and well flavored from the grill. Through a quick Google, I found that Castricum relates to the Castricum Brothers’ high quality lamb products.

By the time we were ready for dessert, The Grill was packed with lunch crowd. We ordered (a non-alcoholic) the Panforte – Traditional Siena chocolate, almond, figs ($5) for Lil’ M. to keep her occupy while we enjoy our dessert …

… we ordered ‘a’ Tiramisù - Mascarpone and pavesini trifle, coffee and liqueurs ($18) to share.

(Apart from the price,) We were all impressed with the food served at Grossi Florentino (especially the pasta ). Although we kept commenting on the size of our orders, we actually did manged to clean-up our plates! We will surely return here in the near future for the dinning packages offered (too bad it was not offered in December!)

Recent Award: Two Chef’s Hat – The Age Good Food Guide 2012

As always, we took ‘care’ of Lil’ M. first. We ordered a California Roll with Crab and Avocado (Cut Roll, $21). The portion of this cut roll was surprisingly smaller than the Soft Shell Crab (also $21) ordered during our first visit here – same price though (?). Fortunately, it was pretty tasty – we could really get the crab out of it! (yes, we taxed a couple of bits from Lil’ M.’s!)

Here’s what we found in our lunch boxes:

Nobu Bento Box ($46.5 each)

• Sashimi Salad with Matsuhisa Dressing
• Chef’s Selection of Assorted Sushi
• Black Cod Miso
• Baby Tiger Prawn with Butter Ponzu
• Sauteed Vegetable with Spicy Garlic Sauce
• Rice and Miso Soup

The Miso Soup came first.

A stacked of four boxes, Bento Boxes, came shortly …

… two boxes for me, and two boxes for Ms. L., simultaneously revealed in front of us.

Being familiar with Nobu‘s menu, we knew that one box contained the items from the Hot Dish section and the other was filled with items from the Cold Dish and Sushi sections.

Reversely, we tackled the box with Hot Dishes first. It was the box with three compartments. In the ‘middle‘ of that box, we found our ‘precious‘ – the Black Cod with Miso; a must for patrons of Nobu, and you’ll understand after reading my post of  “this one dish who rule them all” at Nobu Melbourne. [with all these LOTR prompts appearing, it really gave me a buzz to post my foodie adventure in New Zealand recently! - to-be-posted]. To the left was the Sauteed Vegetable with Spicy Garlic Sauce served on top of white rice. To the right was the Baby Tiger Prawn with Butter Ponzu. The prawns were really good – perfectly cooked and tasty Ponzu batter.

Next was the Cold Dish box with two compartments. The compartment on the left contained the Sashimi Salad with Matsuhisa Dressing. The slightly seared Salmon Sashimi with the house dressing was fantastic. I think we both had up to four slices each. To the right was the  Chef’s Selection of Assorted Sushi. Although our wait staff mentioned that wasabi was included in the Sushi set, we had to ask for extra to better savor them!

This was yet another unforgettable dining experience at Nobu Melbourne. The service again was excellent and the portions of the Nobu Bento Box was just right for us. We will surely return to Nobu Melbourne for another great meal if time permits

This time around, we didn’t manage to have dessert as we were due to visit the Crown’s Christmas Spectacular (at the Atrium, run till Sunday January 1, 2012, at Crown) and performance by CHIME choir (specific schedule till Sunday December 25, 2011). Here’s a couple of shots from Crown …

We departed from Pete’s Farm around late morning and were headed towards Punakaiki. Along the way, we stopped by at Oxford for coffee as I needed one  – driver’s privilege! Actually, this stop wasn’t in the plan. We bumped into the Oxford Farmers Market which is held every Sunday from 9am till noon.

I grabbed a Flat White from The Coffee Guy – Mobile Espresso … nice coffee!

We put up our first night in New Zealand at Pete’s Farm Stay. Pete’s Farm Stay is located about 45 minutes from The Flying Buritto Brothers, Christchurch, and about 5 minutes away to the nearest town, Rangiora. We took the self contained cottage that included breakfast. I forgot to take a photo of our breakfast which was a typical buffet-styled breakfast, all available on the table. We had a great stay at Pete’s. The accommodation also included a farm tour and sheep shearing demonstration.

First flock of New Zealand sheep encountered here …

… and alpacas … next stop – Oxford.

After snacking at the Coca-Cola Christmas in the Park, Hagley Park, we planned to have dinner at Tutto Bene [to-be-posted] on Papanui Road. We were surprised to find a huge crowd when we entered this Italian restaurant. As there was no booking made on a booked-out Saturday night at Tutto Bene, we went for Plan B (?). We collected the restaurant’s card to make booking when we return here in a week’s time after the completion of our round trip back to Christchurch.

Plan B was The Flying Burrito Brothers with no bookings too! Surprisingly and fortunately, we managed to secure a table at this Mexican restaurant. Based on the recommendation by our wait staff, we started off with a pitcher of the Daily Special Margarita ($20). I think it was a mixture of Sauza tequila, triple sec and house sour mix, enhanced with mango and passion fruit (?). It was pretty good but it was a ‘small’ pitcher …

We ordered a Burritos Chiquitos (menu designed for amigos under 12 years, $12) for Lil’ M.. The Starter was a bowl of corn chips with melted cheese. It was a big bowl, enough for all to share!

From the Lil’ M.’s Burritos Chiquitos Mains, we chose the Quesadilla de Queso - grilled flour tortilla filled with melted cheese and served with Mexican rice and salad.

Ms. L. and I share a Fajitas – served on a sizzling skillet with capsicum, onions and soft flour tortillas. For the meat, we went for a mixed of Carne (tender slices of beef) and Pollo (tender slices of chicken) ($26).

My Sis and Mom shared one of the The Flying Burrito – a grilled flour tortilla parcel drizzled with coriander oil and served with rice, sour cream, salsa, guacamole and salad greens. For the meat, they picked the Smoked Chipotle Chicken ($24).

Lil’ M.’s Burritos Chiquitos came complete with a Dessert – Vanilla Ice-Cream topped with Mexican chocolate sauce and raspberry coulis.

The turnover was high in this restaurant. I guess our timing was perfect when we came in for a table. Atmosphere was chaotic on this Saturday night but the service was excellent. From all the items ordered, we were impressed with the Fajitas. The grilled slices of beef and chicken were pretty tender, and the condiments were authentic in taste.

After our first dinner in New Zealand, we drove on to our first accommodation in New Zealand – Pete’s Farm Stay …

We were driving around town and bumped into this annual event, the Coca-Cola Christmas in the Park, held at the Hagley Park, Christchurch.

These were the first few ‘New Zealand Food’ we’ve tried …

American Hot Dog ($?, New Zealand ?).

Another variation of Hot Dog ($?, New Zealand ?).

Whitebait is seasonal in New Zealand and we were fortunate that our timing was spot-on. The first whitebait we’ve tried wasn’t worth-mentioning … we bought a Whitebait Patties ($7) and it was so ‘fishy’ – not sure if they were fresh!

Later through this trip, we actually develop a taste for this New Zealand delicacy. Stay tune … and continue on to our first dinner in New Zealand at The Flying Burrito Brothers …

DAY 01 – Melbourne, Australia to Christchurch, New Zealand

We were on a budget flight from Melbourne to Christchurch where lunch was not included. Ms. L. stumbled upon this cafe during her planning stage of this trip – Café Vue at Melbourne International Airport, and thought that it would be a nice treat to the start of our journey to Aotearoa, ‘The Land of the Long White Clouds’. Café Vue at Melbourne International Airport was a recent addition to the Café Vue series owned by Shannon Bennett of Vue de monde.

We ordered two of the Café Vue Plane Boxes – Lunch Plane Box ($18). It took more than 25 minutes to receive these boxes.

This is what we found in the Lunch Plane Box:

• Starter – Saffron Aioli and Potato Crisp (top right corner)
  
• Salad – Pea Salad and Lemon Dressing (top left corner)
• Savoury – Pork Roll (bottom left corner)
  
• Sweet – Mandarin Pavlova (bottom right corner)

Apart from the long wait, this quick meal-in-a-box was pretty good. We enjoyed the potato crisp with saffron aioli dip the most. Check-out our first foodie experience at Christchurch, at the Coca-Cola Christmas in the Park, Hagley Park …

After putting down our orders, the papadum came with a couple of condiments. They disappeared in seconds as we were ‘pretty’ hungry!

I ordered a Mango Lassi ($4) while Ms. L had a Sweet Lassi ($3.5). My lassi was very thick and was quite good but Ms. L.’s was just ok because it wasn’t chilled enough.

The first dish in the menu that caught our attention was the Goat Curry ($15.9, authentic goat curry with bones) … and truly, it was very good. The goat meat was very tender and the curry was delicious. We requested this curry to be slightly spicier and it came out perfect.

The next dish ordered was the Baingan Ka Bartha ($11.9, eggplant cooked with onions, tomatoes, green peas and spices). We actually had a different picture of how this dish would be but it was not too bad. It seemed like each Indian restaurant has their own style of making this particular eggplant dish.

We also ordered a Plain Pulao ($4, Basmati rice with cumin and spices) and …

… a Garlic Naan ($3.5, Naan brushed with freshly crushed garlic). The Naan worked really well with the goat curry!

Another dish that turned-up really well was the Mughlai Chops ($11.9, tender lamb chops marinated overnight with rum, spices and cooked in tandoor) – very tender, juicy and tasty. Lil’ M. was able to nibble on it like a chicken drumstick!

This warm and cozy restaurant isn’t that spacious and we were glad we made booking on this auspicious day.

Finally, we ordered a Kulfi ($4.9, frozen dairy dessert/Indian ice-cream) to share. The Kulfi was well-balanced, not too ‘dairy’ like the ones we had in another restaurant.

We had a great Deepavali dinner at Mehfil. Unfortunately it is a great distance from home but we’ll surely drop by if there’s a plan to visit the temple.

I dropped by  MYER Melbourne CBD during lunch time to see Bill Granger giving autographs on his recent book – Bill’s Everyday Asian. Really nice guy, exactly like how he was on-screen! If you have missed my earlier related post, do check-out our visit  to his restaurant, bills in Sydney early this year.