L is for Latvian

I must begin this post to say we had tried to go Lebanese a few weeks ago, but all to no avail as we couldn't get a car park within a bull's roar of East Brunswick, so bad luck Lebanon. Therefore, inspired by a Seinfeld episode in which Latvia was featured, we ventured to the Crimean, a thoughtfully renovated restaurant housed in the former Sir Robert Peel Hotel in North Melbourne. As the restaurant encompasses those countries encircling the Black Sea, Latvia itself is but one of those Russian republics featured.

Many people stagger OUT of restaurants, but on this occasion Mr X staggered INTO one. He had decided to wear a pair of shoes which had been hiding in the back of his wardrobe for a lengthy while, and unbeknowns to him (and mankind), they had developed leprosy during their enforced isolation! No kidding, his heels were literally falling apart as he walked, beginning with huge chunks being left behind on the car floor, followed by a leather trail a-la Hansel and Gretel along the footpath. It was extroadinary how both shoes basically exploded as he walked. Ms X saw the funny side of it while Mr X tried at least to appear sober as he entered the restaurant.

Once inside, we were shown to our table where Ms X ordered a wine and Mr X a Lasso pilsener from Slovenia (no breweries in Latvia apparently). A free Herring appertiser quickly appeared, followed by an entree of potato and quark vareniki for Ms X and chicken kiev croquettes for Mr X. Main course consisted of a Balkan filo pie full of zucchini, feta, dill, smoked tomato and honey sauce (guess who had that), and lamb meatballs with yoghurt sauce (for the other one). We also ordered a side plate of roast potatoes with paprika and kaskaval. very yummy and extremely filling, so much so that sweets were unbelievably eradicated from the menu on this occasion.

Whilst we my have taken a bit of political license with the Latvian side of things, it does crack a mention on their web-site and I'm sure I saw George Costanza dining in the corner with his Latvian hat on (he did kindly pose for me, as you can see). Waiting for the bill, Mr X attempted to sweep different sized chunks of leather under the table, and upon exiting he maintained excellent balance for someone who appeared to be walking on wafer-thin ice.

Scores:                           Mr X                        Ms X

Accessibility                    9                                9

Service                             8                                8

Ambience                        4                                6

Value for Money             5                                7

Food                                8                                 8

Total: 72

K is for KOREAN

We now have what we call our cult following. Those who ask when we see them 'what letter are you up to?' and of course, are more than keen to contribute their opinion for the next letter.
Ms X is thrilled to announce this blog entry's special follower goes to Queenie, her nail technician, from Nailz by Jade .  Queenie, we are sure will also get another mention when we get to V as I am sure Ms X will pick her brains for a recommendation then.
Why is Ms X mentioning Queenie now? Apart from doing a lovely manicure, It was she who steered Ms X to KOREAN sharing her knowledge and experiences of the Korean flavours, especially KIM CHI.

Now, let's get one thing straight. Korean is a lotta work and this workin' girl doesn't want to do  a whole lotta work in order to get fed by someone else. So with that said, it wasn't getting off to a great start!
Firstly, you have to be patient in finding the address. Shop H Healeys Lane, Melbourne. Hmm  thank goodness for Steve Jobs and google maps we eventually found not only Shinssi Hwaro but also Little Korea in a pocket of Melbourne that we didn't know existed!

The tables are all arranged with BBQs in the centre and flue over the top. There's not a lot of Korean-feel about the place however, given that we have both not been to Korea, we will cut them some slack on this.
With menus sorted, and food ordered, one doesn't know the routine however patience is a virtue and also an understanding that, relax and it will work out became the theme.
After several attempts to light up the thing ( they obviously didn't know about the ever ready bunny!) we got some action.

However- there was no action on this thing for our entree that arrived pronto.

Some fried dumplings and spicy fish cake with Kim Chi.....not a big fan of the old Kim Chi at all but we both loved the dumplings.

Ms X was still  worried that the BBQ wasn't heating up however she did know her place in regards to who had the balance-of-power and had to be resigned to sitting on her hands and practise that patience-thing.

If you don't want to see the raw product of what you are about to eat then maybe this place is not for you. We had ordered the pork belly and our waiter placed down the ingredients in front of us. I guess now was not the time for Ms X to begin worrying about her heart, cholesterol or waistline, however seeing the raw fat on what you are about to consume can't get the picture of Rosemary Stanton and Biggest Loser's Michelle Bridges out of your head.  

They do have these natty scissors that they cut up the meat with, so Ms X did a bit of trimming before it had time to go to her heart and thighs! Our second dish  DAK BUL GO GI- was the chicken and that also looked mighty similar to the pork and tasted very similar- given the sauces were the same.Washing it down with a Korean beer- CASS, also added to the experience for Mr X.

For novelty effect, then the Korean BBQ had its moments.  For flavour, maybe not....... or maybe we needed Queenie with us to order perhaps!

All important scores:

Food                           She    5        He    4

Ambiance                  She    6        He     7

Service                      She     6       He      6

Accessibility              She    6       He      3

Value                         She     5       He      4

TOTAL: 52