Melbourne, New York, Paris… Sunshine?
Not being a typical wish list destination for most people’s food or cultural experiences, the Sunshine Business Association is taking aim to change this perception. Playing host to a progressive cultural dinner experience and walking tour around the western suburbs of Sunshine for the final Friday of the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival MFWF.
Vegemite, Tim Tams, Fairy bread, Lamingtons, Pizza Shapes and a snag on the Bunnings BBQ are just some of the collective responses.
When Argentinian grill San Telmo was asked to think outside the square for the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival they decided to stay on home soil and take inspiration from local Aussie ingredients and time honoured home-grown favourites.
Konjo Cafe and Restaurant Footscray was the scene of an abundant Ethiopian Vegan Feast last night.
All part of the annual March Melbourne Food and Wine Festival (MFWF), an intimate gathering of about 25 people gathered into the cozy Konjo dining room, eyeing off the bubbling buffet pots with anticipation (and more than a few tummy rumbles).
One of the stellar things about heading to an MFWF event is experiencing cuisines, dishes and cultures that may not be part of your usual “go-to” options.
Head Chef Michael Slade, really knows his way around the innards of an animal.
It isn’t a big deal to eat offal in a lot of cultures.
Whilst the “nose to tail” food movement might be a trendy sustainability move for a lot of Aussie meat eaters, it’s merely a way of life for many people.
Hang ups about people choosing to eat a plant based diet, a pescatarian, vegetarian or paleo caveman diet can be left at the door. You do you.
One thing I do believe in wholeheartedly is in trying new things and never, ever knocking something till you’ve given it a go. Especially if you’re the kind of person who doesn’t feel satiated until they’ve had meat with a meal. This one’s for you.
Last weekend, I found myself at not one, but two vegan Melbourne Food and Wine Festival events.
The Melbourne Food and Wine Festival has some amazing events for you to sink your teeth into no matter what you’re craving. Every year I make it my mission to find a couple of events to try out dishes I otherwise mightn’t order. It’s excellent hunting grounds for strange and unusual eats.
This is the meat at Bluebonnet BBQ … seriously drool worthy.
Because in Melbourne, so is everybody else.
You can barely swing the proverbial cat without someone telling you where the best coffee shop is, who does the greatest dumplings or which place they prefer for sushi. We’re incredibly spoilt for choice, any night of the week and we’re not afraid to let everyone else know about it.
Josie Bones’ Bar
Other than the previously mentioned fried dried fish skins and possibly jerky there are few more appealing beer snacks.
What if your pork crackling resembled a pigs face? How would you feel about cutting into it and nomming on it then? Luckily for me, I don’t suffer from the common “I can’t eat it if it has a face” dilemma so when a friend recommended I try the roasted 1/2 pigs head at Josie Bones in Smith Street Collingwood I jumped at the chance!
The epic pig’s head
For the unacquainted Josie Bones is known for its approach to cooking the whole animal and using beer when appropriate to cook. They also stock a ridiculously large menu of local and imported beers and are willing to recommend according to your taste.
As any large piece of meat should, it takes a while for a pig’s head to come out of the kitchen, so naturally it made sense to order a couple of the “bites” items off the menu beforehand and a couple of beers. Oysters natural, Quail Egg and Leek and Bone Marrow croquettes. Other than the oysters being incredibly fresh the other two dishes were nice but not outstanding. It left us wanting more.
You ask and you shall receive! When the pig’s head arrived we almost regretted ordering entrees as… it’s a beast! Seriously a pig’s head is really quite a thing to behold in real life, well… roasted life. The ear, the huge jaw complete with teeth, the snout and the delicious looking cheek that you could just tell would hold such juicy meat, it was very exciting and a little overwhelming deciding where to begin!
The cheek
We started on the cheek, the skin gave way under the sharp knife with a satisfying crack and pop and the meat complete with crunchy skin atop lifted away from the bone with little effort. It was served with a jus (well I think it was a jus!) which cut through the very salty flavour very nicely and let’s just say that cheek was demolished in a time that would be the envy of most competition eaters!
The Kipfler potatoes on the side and seasoned rocket were mostly ignored amongst the mountain of pork, however it was nice to munch on something else to break the flavour up at points. We were recommended to try a certain beer with the pork, a sweet and sour beer called HaandBryggeriet. Whilst I understand the concept of the sweet and sour matching well with the pork, it didn’t quite do it for me. It’s a VERY strong-tasting beer that leaves a rather strong aftertaste which coupled with salty pork has more flavour overload than an original sour warhead. A pint of apple cider however… magic!
Sweet and Sour Beer
It really is surprising how much meat is on a head, other than the obvious cheek and snout it was surprising that around the eye socket and forehead held quite a bit of flesh, all with varying strengths of pork taste and all covered in more crackling than you can poke a stick at… no we didn’t eat all the crackling, I’m pretty sure if we did I’d be writing this from a cardiac arrest ward.
All in all between two people we ate the majority of the meat and I would say if you wanted a hearty meal for two with no entree this would suit most people. OR as the waitress suggested it would be an amazing thing for a larger party to order and share.
The Finished Head
One thing I really liked about the place was the fact that we did not feel rushed to leave. I’ve been to so many Melbourne restaurants that are happy to serve you dinner, get your drinks and the bill then rush you out of there to seat the next group. Whilst I understand it’s in the nature of the business, it’s nice to sit back after such a meal with another drink and not feel pressured to exit the building.
Definitely an experience!
When I saw that San Telmo, a very well renowned South American cuisine restaurant was participating in the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival “Winter Roasts” event and that they were serving Alpaca for a few limited Fridays my curiosity was piqued.
The Hungry Ginger 