H is for ........HUNGARY!

An overnight stay in Richmond coincided with the Hungarian Restaurant, the eighth locale in our ‘Alphabet Eats’ journey and also conveniently located in Bridge Road. Fortunately we had booked earlier in the week, as the place was full when we entered but then we were surprisingly shown to our table which seated four. A very quirky menu introduced us to many Hungarian sayings, as did the walls which surrounded us. Apparently ‘name days’ are very important to Hungarians, and today happened to be a day when, if your name was Justin, your received a free dessert.

We decided to break the rule of no alcohol, as we didn’t have to drive and the ‘home-made’ red wine certainly enticed Ms X, as it not only came out of a wooden barrel in the corner of the restaurant, but her was also uncommonly filled to the brim. Mr X went with the Hungarian brew called Dreher, which he immediately sampled and approved of. After some debate, it was decided to share a Hungarian version of nachos, which tasted ok but we both felt it wasn’t really a traditional dish.

So for main course we shared chicken and pork crepes, and a plate of Hungarian goulash. The crepes were delicious, the goulash what we probably imagined a goulash to be.

Ms X then had a jam pancake for dessert, at the same time finishing off her very tasty and well-chosen wine.

The owner’s obvious sense of humour continued when Mr X visited the toilet, a solitary outhouse way down the back of the yard at the rear of the premises. The wall was festooned with heaps of amusing trivia and fun facts. I’m sure these would have come in handy for the woman who was waiting to enter when Mr X emerged from the only toilet available! The service was efficient but somewhat speedy, as we were done and dusted in 90 minutes. However, it was definitely value for money, friendly and an enjoyable place to have dinner, whilst at the same time an opportunity to learn a little more about another international culture.

 "THE HUNGARIAN"   362 Bridge Road Richmond.

Food                 He 7     She  7
Ambiance          He 8     She  7
Service             He 8     She  6
Value                He 8     She  7
Accessibility      He 7     She  7         Total: 72

G is for..........................GERMANY

Gabon? The Gambia? Georgia? Ghana? Grenada? Guinea? Guinea-Bissau or Guyana?  All so hard to locate in cosmopolitan Melbourne.

As I pondered what it was to be I narrowed it down to three hopefuls.....Guatemala, mmm  think we might get confused with thinking we are up to M for Mexican. Greece was always possible but oh so predictable.

So Germany it would be as we carnivores were always up for some schnitzel. Off we went to MUTTIS ( a colloquialism for Mother’s Kitchen in Austrian-German) found at 118 Elgin St Carlton. From the moment we arrived, the staff were friendly and welcoming however Mr X always maintains that there can be too much cheerfulness at times. Having eaten in Germany itself  we were prepared for a lot of wood and things on walls. Mr X in fact didn't know what country Ms X had chosen until he read the menu. "Not authentic!!" I hear you cry but relax, this is a modern contemporary version and so cuckoo clocks and traditional dress were not necessary to get us in the mood. The lone large print of a German village on the wall did the job.
We decided to share an entree of Pork & Wild Fig Terrine - slow cooked, wrapped in speck, with polish pickle, radish salad, home made walnut & apple rye bread. We had taken 2 mouthfuls when our happy-happy wait staff checked in on us "How's the terrine?" Mr X was being tested early. The bread was still warm and the terrine was delicious. Glad we shared it as the serve was very generous.

As we waited for our mains to arrive, we watched the table beside us get served a huge leg of pork surrounded by crackling. Oh how the Germans and Austrians love their beasts.
Of course by this time it was time for the happy-happys to check in on us again and true to form, they told us that they were sorry that there was not enough room in their ovens for all the beasts that had been ordered that night (not just by us!) Lovely service Ms X acknowledged however Mr X was less than impressed as he hadn't even digested the terrine let alone start pining for the mains!

Ms X's Muttis Pork Schnitzel kipfler parsley potato, brown butter, garden greens, preiselbeer relish, lemon and M X's Slow Cooked Pork Belly with golden crackling, braised red wine cabbage, caramelized apple, and rahm kartoffeln didn't disappoint one bit.
The meals melted in our mouths.The accompaniments also complimented the dishes.  Mr X had to help out Ms X with eating hers and of course the happy-happys were very pleased to hear that we too, were happy when they checked in with us. Mr X had of course ordered his mandatory side dish of fries and they too were worthy of mentioning. They were beer battered and served with lemon aioli.... yummo.
So, dessert? Of course Ms X was going to partake as that is why she had off loaded some of her schnitzel. she had been reminiscing about former strudels, both here and abroad. If there was one piece of feedback for the happy-happys it would be about their strudel.

"Don't get me wrong, it was good but it could have been an even greater dish if the apple had been cooked a little more and diced, not sliced, Ms X said in a Matt Preston whisper. However, she just couldn't bear to pass that info on as they checked in yet again. Why take those smiles off their faces!

Food                 He 8   She  8
Ambiance        He 6    She  7
Service             He 7    She  9
Value               He  7   She  8
Accessibility    He  6   She  7   Total: 73

PS.  The place was full so make sure you book, and let's face it, Carlton is never going to bring good scores for accessibility!

F is for ...............FRANCE

Mother's Day was the scene for our latest culinary escapade, where the letter "F" led us to France Soir in Toorak Road, South Yarra.

Due to the important occasion we were forced to book in for a 3:00 ‘linner’ session, and a car park directly out the front afforded us a minimal drenching as we entered a very crowded and obviously popular venue. Peering out from behind the bar was the obvious owner who greeted us in a very suave and irresistible French accent, and a similarly fluent waiter then showed us to our table.

Champagne was immediately ordered by the femme fetale, a kronenburg by la pere and the next ten minutes was spent eating the fabulously fresh French bread, which garcon promptly replenished as soon as we'd scoffed the first basket! It was then agreed that the soup of the day was to be had by all..... soupe de morue aux pommes de terre et poireaux, which translates into cod soup with leek and potatoes.

Main course consisted of three steak au poivres, which included a scotch fillet in peppercorn sauce, a scotch fillet with a mushroom sauce and a further scotch fillet with a red wine sauce.

However, when Mr X requested his to be extremely well done, the waiter laconically replied, "I will tell the chef, and then I will run from the kitchen!"

It was also unanimously agreed that three courses were the order of the day today, with the chocolate mousse in the glass cabinet alluringly catching Mr X’s discerning eye. But the waiter’s eyebrows were once again raised when Mr X asked for double whipped cream with the mousse…… "But the mousse does not come with any cream Monsieur". "Well, I’d like some please" was his uncompromising response!"

Tarte Tatin (apple tart) was ordered by the ladies and duly arrived with the mousse. However, Mr X wasn’t quite finished with the mind games with the waiter, as he quickly polished off the cream and promptly ordered another serve  It’s safe to say he has NO French blood flowing through his veins!

The scores will reveal what everyone thought about the afternoon, but it was somewhat soured when the bill revealed an item that literally jumped out from the tray and grabbed us by the throat. Namely, two glasses of champagne that cost $56! However, we were somewhat comforted by the fact that it was their Mother’s day special. Phew  Hate to think what it normally costs.

Food                       He:  8      She:   9
Ambiance:              He   8      She    7
Value for money     He   6      She    7
Accessibility           He   9      She    7
Service                   He   8      She    8           Total  77