Andrew McConnell's Field of Gold

Becoming a noted chef in Melbourne can be a tuff gig, there's incredibly fierce competition and if you don't bring your A-game you'll be putting up a closed sign on your door before you can say 'fussy Melburnian's'.  But there's one guy, by the name of Andrew McConnell, who has seemingly relished the challenge and has propelled himself to the forefront of Melbourne's dining scene in a matter of years. McConnell has not only opened some of Melbourne's most popular restaurants, including Cumulus Inc, Cumulus Up and Cutler & Co, but has also done much to define food trends and cuisine in this very culinary conscience city. Luckily for me, I had the opportunity to dine at his St Kilda venue Golden Fields a few nights ago and was able to see what all the hype about McConnell was all about.

Located on the so-hip-it-hurts Fitzroy Street in St Kilda, Golden Fields gives off a wonderfully laid-back modern vibe without feeling like it's trying too hard. The space, created by Melbourne architects Project of Imagination, is clever and considered with an open kitchen and long marble bar that gives the whole space a, airy and honest vibe without a hint of pretension. The Asian-inspired menu offers a broad selection of sharing dishes that draws on McConnell's years spent working in Shanghai and Hong Kong, where he was exposed to traditional street food as well as modern interpretations. The extremely helpful wait staff explained the well thought out menu, which is divided into 'Raw', 'Starters', 'Salads and Veggies', 'Meat and Fish' and 'Dessert', which makes ordering less of a minefield. It means you can avoid choosing the braised lamb shoulder that is quite frankly, huge, for an entrée...because we all know that's not going to be pretty for anyone. The only problem that I encountered with the menu was that, most unfortunately, I wanted to eat everything on it...I know, first world problems. But how could I not be tempted with dishes like tuna, white miso and eggplant, fried chicken with sticky soy and ginger or the pan roasted John Dory with mussels. Still I made my decisions and I was more than happy with all of them.

To start we had the wonderfully light kingfish sashimi with avocado, fresh wasabi and konbu. It was fresh with clean flavours and the wasabi was a delicious addition that was more for flavour than blow your face off spice. Thank-god. We also couldn't go past one of Golden Field's signature dishes; the mud crab roll. Fried soft shell crab sandwiched between two soft brioche buns with a healthy dose of kewpie mayo for good measure. The crab was crunchy on the outside, soft on the inside and wonderfully sweet, with the mayonnaise adding necessary punchy flavour. I can now understand why this dish sent shock-waves through Melbourne's epicurious stratosphere about a year ago (seriously, I'm pretty sure I read about 43 articles on this one little burger), because it is very good. To finish our starters we chose from the wednesday night dumpling menu (a great little additional menu) and had the fried shiitake and cabbage dumpling with sweet chilli sauce. Of course these were delicious, they're dumplings!

For the main course we braved the heat with spicy fish, sichuan chilli broth and glass noodles. It was indeed spicy, but not enough to make my taste buds go numb, I was still able to enjoy the perfectly cooked and delicately flavoured fish, the freshness of the spring onions and the smooth glass noodles slicked in broth. Over all a winner of a dish. To accompany the fish we opted for the refreshing sounding marinated eggplant, silken tofu, coriander and chilli vinegar. I like to think of eggplant like a flavour sponge and this was no exception. It soaked up the beautiful marinade, leaving it wonderfully soft and intense in flavour. The tofu was soft and decadent and was a welcomely refreshing after a few mouthfuls of our sichuan fish. For dessert we could hardly pass up another signature dish; the peanut butter parfait with soft chocolate mousse and salted caramel. Oh yes, it is as amazing as it sounds. To sum it up in one word, all I can say is deliciousness. I'm not a huge dessert person, but if there were one dessert to float my mostly savoury-dominated boat, it would be this one. The parfait was beautifully peanutty, the chocolate mousse was creamy and rich and the salted caramel wasn't overly sweet or cloying. Scattered peanuts over the top added a necessary textural crunch to keep things interesting. All up, the dish was balanced, texturally perfect and not too heavy.

Now for the bad news. At the end of March Golden Fields will be moving to Flinders Lane and turned into Supernormal, a new venture by McConnell. But before you begin to have nightmares about missing out on the peanut butter parfait (I would if I hadn't tried it either), take heart, because Supernormal will follow a very similar structure and menu to much loved Golden Fields. It promises to be just as laid back and with the Asian-inspired sharing menu still in full swing. McConnell also intends to fill the Fitzroy Street space with another restaurant, meaning that the loss of Golden Fields will actually bring the eager public a gain. So now all we have to do is wait and see what McConnell comes up with...seriously, does this guy ever sleep?

Chin Chin To That

There are some things in life I'm happy to wait for. The release of a new Chanel nail polish, a parcel filled with wonderfulness from ASOS and, of course, a table at one of Melbourne's best restaurants. Sure, people may call it a wank and roll their eyes when you tell them you waited for 72 minutes just to sample some of Melbourne's best dumplings and ask sarcastically if the wait was really worth it. And was it? You bet your darn Xiao Long Bao it was! So, When the opportunity arose to eat at one of Melbourne's most popular restaurants, Chin Chin, I wasn't at all fazed by the prospect of a 90 minute wait. If feasting on some of Melbourne's finest food means wearing queue-appropriate heels for the evening, then that my friends, is a sacrifice I am willing to make.  

When it took up its position on Flinders Lane a few year back, Chin Chin quickly became the most talked about restaurant in the biz and, rather than the hype dying down, its popularity has only been on the rise. It's not really any wonder why either. Modelled on the bustling hawker-style dining halls of Bangkok, Chin Chin is a fun, modern and fresh take on traditional and delicious East-Asian street food. The menu offers a variety of small dishes such as dumplings, son in law eggs and DIY spring rolls (about the only kind of handiwork I can manage...particularly after two or three cocktails) which allow you to be adventurous with your choices. There are also larger dishes which comprise of the 'Scud City' jungle curry (if you enjoy the sensation of your cheeks being slowly and painfully melted away by chilli then this is your go to dish) and salmon wrapped in banana leaf.

I'm one of those people who doesn't regularly eat at the same restaurant twice. When I live in a city that's got more restaurants than Miley Cyrus has scandals, why would I waste my time eating somewhere twice? Chin Chin however, is one of my only exceptions. Here, it is like every dish could be a signature dish because the flavours are so extraordinary. There is one dish that I continuously crave  and that is the Kingfish sashimi. With it's perfect balance of lime juice for zing, chilli for heat, coconut for sweetness and Thai basil for freshness, I find this dish totally irresistible. In fact, it's kind of like getting a big plate of James Franco served up to you...though probably much cheaper. I also sampled the truly remarkable betel leaf of braised lamb neck with smoked eggplant and mint relish, topped with cashews and Thai basil. Who knew that so much flavour could be packed into three small mouthfuls. From the larger dish section, we enjoyed the Pad Kaphrao, stir fried minced chicken with silken tofu, baby corn, basil, oyster sauce and some of that spicy scud chilli, as well as the aromatic yellow curry of roast pumpkin, chargrilled tofu and green beans which was a personal favourite. As with every other dish at Chin Chin, the flavours were intense, yet not over-powering and perfectly balanced. There is also an all Australian wine list with a different region featured each week and a crazy cocktail list that will have you umming and ahhing for a good fifteen minutes. I, with my awesome cocktail-selecting ability, chose an amazing, an somewhat theatrical (frozen ball of rose petals, anyone?) lychee cocktail that complimented my meal perfectly.

 

So next time you're wondering if the wait is really worth it or, even worse, you start to feel yourself becoming one of those sarcastic eye-rollers (curse them!), then simply dine at Chin Chin. Sure you may have to wait for 90 minutes, but while you do you can enjoy a fantastic cocktail and be safe in the knowledge that you're about to taste some of the best food that Melbourne has to offer. Remember, good things come to those who wait.