Etta III

 June 13, 2024

   

I was away in Perth for my birthday, so we booked a late celebration at Etta. I had fond memories of our earlier visits and Rhys Nicholson's Off Menu appearance was a good reminder that we should return. They've got a brand new chef and we were there in the first week of the new menu - spoilers: it's phenomenal.

 

   

It's got such lovely vibes - the staff are charming and relaxed, the atmosphere is buzzy without being deafening and the kitchen hums away efficiently in full view of the restaurant. It's the kind of place where you feel immediately welcome and immediately ready to indulge - I dove straight into the cocktail list and got myself a dirty martini ($26), while Cindy went non-alcoholic with an R & R tonic (fermented raspberry, rosemary, molasses and tonic, $16). Cindy's tonic was sweeter than she expected, and she couldn't figure out how to drink it without the rosemary sticking up her nose. Both were delicious - it's great that places are offering up some grown-up booze free options these days.

   

We put ourselves in the restaurant's hands and ordered the 'leave it to us' option, which costs $100 and gives you a full taste of basically everything vego they have to offer. As always, things start with fancy bread and butter, which is always going to hit the mark.

   

The bread comes from local heroes Wild Life and the butter was burnt and whipped and just sublime. I would have been happy if the whole meal was just six courses of this, but of course things just got better and better.

   

First up were these skewers: brussels sprouts with spiced yoghurt and jalapeno. These were bursting with flavour: caramelised sprouts all sweet and smokey topped with spicy, tangy yoghurt - a brilliant start.

   

Next up was this plate of eggplant with sambal and crispy onion rings. I think this was the dish when I knew we were in for a special night - zinging with heat, but also rich with sweetness. The eggplant was melt-in-the-mouth good and the light crunchy bits on top just sealed the deal. This isn't on the a la carte menu, so you basically have to order the banquet.

   

Only a few weeks ago I tried to make our turnip cake recipe again, which was an abject failure, so it was a double treat to get this dish: turnip cake with kang kung and sesame dressing. This was another triumph, a great balance of textures and flavours - the turnip cake was nearly sweet while the dressing and garnishes were rich and savoury. 

   

After a little pause it was time for our main and sides. The centrepiece was the chestnut zongzi with charred and pickled shimeji mushrooms and tea eggs. This was another dish with really punchy flavours - spicy sauce and pickled mushrooms adding zing to the milder rice and chestnut filling in the zongzi. As if that wasn't exciting enough, the fried and wok-tossed salt and pepper potatoes came out alongside. As with the fancy bread at the start of the meal, getting a high end restaurant's version of spuds is always worth it - perfection. The cos lettuce, nashi pear and curried egg salad was the ideal accompaniment to the other two rich dishes - light and acidic and fresh. 

The set menu comes with just a single dessert option, but Cindy had a quick chat with the staff and asked if they'd let us try one of each of the two dishes on the a la carte menu. They very kindly complied and we got to try both!

   

First up was the chilli oil parfait with lychee and lime leaf sorbet. They're hoping this will become a signature dish at Etta and you can see why - the chilli oil doesn't really have a spiciness to it, but it adds a fun complexity to this dish that otherwise bursts with sunshine-y flavours.

   

We closed things out with a more classic dessert: a piece of ginger cake with chestnut miso caramel and creme fraiche. The perfect complement - this was rich and dense and perfectly satisfying. 

We had the most spectacular meal at Etta - when we were last there the food was pretty straight-up European-inspired mod-Oz food, so it was thrilling to realise they'd taken a sharp turn into Asian flavours under the last couple of chefs. This was a bunch of big flavours, sophisticated but fun and consistently impressive. I've been a bit off fine dining in the past few years, but Etta really knocked me out - I can't wait to go back again. 

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You can read about our previous visits to Etta here and here. Since we were there BLK's Food Blog has visited a couple of times (one, two).

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Etta

60 Lygon Street, Brunswick East

9448 8233

cocktails, non-veg "leave it to us" menu, a la carte winter menu

https://ettadining.com.au/

Accessibility: The entry is flat and there is one step up from the bar area to the dining area. Tables are moderately spaced and lighting is quite dim. We received full table service. Toilets are unisex and spacious, but we didn't notice handrails or other mobility aids.

Raspberry cheesecake brownies

June 10, 2024

   

Our friend Natalie decided to have a little 'brownies and biscuits' gathering to celebrate her birthday this year. I've got a lot of brownie recipes under my belt but even more bookmarked to try so I went searching the latter set. In particular, I knew I had a vegan cheesecake brownie recipe tucked away. It uses cashews, one of my favourite dairy substitutes, and also aquafaba, which I'm inexperienced with. I thought a brownie might be a gentler way in to aquafaba than, say, a meringue.

I was in the mood for baking and optimistic about this recipe, so I went ahead and doubled it (though I've posted the original single quantity below). I included the optional orange zest because I'd received some homegrown ones from Natalie herself, and I thought it'd taste nice with the raspberries.

   

Whipping up the aquafaba went really well, and I managed to retain a decent amount of air as I folded in the other brownie ingredients. Nevertheless, the brownie mixture ended up quite thick. It definitely needed coaxing to spread evenly across the baking tray and the portion I held in reserve absolutely did not marble prettily with the cheesecake. Thank goodness for the raspberries to distract from those ungainly blobs!

I wasn't surprised that my double-sized brownie needed extra time to bake, and I didn't mind that that caused it to go extra-brown on top. Ultimately, the texture was excellent! Chewy around the edges, densely cakey in the middle, velvetty on top. I really liked the sour bursts from the raspberries cutting through the brownie's richness. There were no issues finishing off this extra-large batch.

   

Raspberry cheesecake brownies

(a recipe from lazy cat kitchen)

cheesecake layer

1 cup raw unsalted cashews

2 tablespoons margarine

1/3 cup caster sugar

1/3 cup vegan milk (I used almond)

1/4 cup lemon juice + zest of 1/2 lemon

zest of 1/2 orange (optional)

2 teaspoons vanilla

frozen raspberries, to decorate (optional)

brownie layer

150g dark chocolate

100g margarine

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 cup plain flour

1 tablespoon cornflour

50g cocoa powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

1/2 cup aquafaba (canning liquid from chickpeas)

1 cup caster sugar

Place the cashews in a small heatproof bowl and cover them with boiling water. Allow them to soak for at least 20 minutes.

In a medium-large saucepan, gently melt together the chocolate, margarine and brown sugar for the brownie layer. Stir them together to combine well, then turn off the heat and allow the mixture to cool.

Drain the cashews. Place all of the cheesecake ingredients, except for the raspberries, into a blender and blend until smooth.

Preheat an oven to 180°C. Line a 20cm square high-walled baking tray with paper. In a medium-sized bowl, sift together the flour, cornflour, cocoa, salt and bicarb soda. Stir them all together to combine.

In a separate medium-sized bowl, pour in the aquafaba and beat at high power for several minutes to form a foam that resembles whipped egg whites with soft peaks. Gradually beat in the caster sugar. Use a rubber spatula to gently fold the melted chocolate mixture into the foam. Gradually fold in the flour mixture until it's fully combined into the batter. 

If you want to attempt the marbling, set aside 1/2 cup of brownie batter and pour the rest into the baking tray, gently spreading it into an even layer. Pour the cheesecake mixture over the top. If marbling, drop spoonfuls of the remaining brownie batter across the cheesecake. Use a chopstick to swirl the brownie batter decoratively through the cheesecake. Drop raspberries across the top if you're using them.

Bake the brownies for 30 minutes. Cover the top with kitchen foil and bake for a further 13-15 minutes (I think mine actually took a further 20-30 minutes). The cheesecake should look cooked but it's OK if it fails the skewer test. Allow the brownies to cool completely and store them in the refrigerator, initially for 1-2 hours before slicing and serving.

Joanne's Pizzeria II

June 9, 2024

   

A couple of months after our first meal at Joanne's, it again became a cosy and convenient spot for dinner, this time after a movie at Nova. We chose new dishes with the same approach as last time, splitting an appetiser and a pizza between the two of us.

I'm fond of a basic cheap garlic bread of the likes you'd find at Domino's. Sometimes more gourmet Sversions switch up the ingredients well, but often I'm honestly disappointed. Joanne's home-made garlic bread with cheese ($9, pictured below) was one of the good 'uns: both crusty and soft, plenty buttery and generously but not excessively cheesed.

The vegetarian Joanne's special ($23) had generous and well-balanced toppings: thin slices of mock ham and salami, mushrooms, green capsicum, olives and garlic, with just enough mozzarella to bind it all together. Is 2024 the year I finally make my peace with olives? I'll have to update our bio.

   

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You can read about our first visit to Joanne's here.

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Joanne's Pizzeria

639 Rathdowne St, Carlton North

9813 3437

menu

https://www.joannespizzeria.com.au/

Accessibility: There are four steps up on entry. Furniture inside is quite densely packed with a reasonably wide path through the middle. We ordered at our table and paid at a high counter. We didn't visit the toilets.