Kalimera Souvlaki Art, Oakleigh MELB

Every now and then I crave for a high protein meal and when that does happen, I jump straight to looking at a few restaurants that I know would not disappoint.

Highly regarded as one of the better souvlaki restaurants in Melbourne, it comes as no surprise that the bulk of their menu consists of a choice of meat with carbs in the form of chips and freshly made bread. One has the choice of either chicken, pork or minced lamb; each served either in the form of a wrap or platter.
 

My friend had the pork platter whilst I opted for lamb. Both were served with a side of chips, bread, thinly sliced raw onions, tomatoes and a dip. Not accustomed to eating raw onions, I understood it’s role of refreshing one’s palate from an otherwise rich meal after a bite of the combination.

I would like to say that we had tzatziki although it does taste creamier in comparison. Lamb mince kebabs were well seasoned and had a very strong grilled fragrance to it. I was expecting it to be dry but on the contrary, it was juicy. I’d recommend trying this out if red meat is a favourite of yours.

 Pork souvlaki too did not disappoint and had the same amount of juiciness with a notch less smoky aroma to it compared to the lamb. In both instances, I didn’t think the overall meal was too greasy at all and would happily drop by again whenever I need an energy boost.

Gazi, CBD MELB

Having been to both of George Colambaris's restaurants, The Press Club and Hellenic Republic, I was drawn to visiting another one of his ventures, Gazi, conveniently situated next to the higher end Press Club restaurant. The sister and I booked a week in advance and boy, most of the dinner times had already been booked in advance and we were informed over the phone that we may have to be seated at the bar.

Upon arrival, the restaurant is loud with chatters, indirectly making the restaurant's music selection appear weaker in comparison. Waiting staff zipped around us hurriedly and hungry patrons steadily streamed in, anticipating attention and seats, obviously. Luckily we managed to get a table to ourselves although conversation wise, not much could be heard.

We settled for the 8 dish sharing menu after being advised that the 10 dish option would be an unwise decision - one that we did not regret at all.

Taramosalata with prawn crackers and beetroot, feta and walnut dip. Our waiter was kind enough to ask the kitchen if we could get the beetroot dip, perhaps because one of us looked a little famished. Both dips were equally delicious but I preferred the beetroot one as it was much fresher and vibrant in flavour. Unlimited supply of pita bread is a bonus in my  books.

Saganaki - cheese served with a fruity relish. Melted cheese at it's finest.

Souvlakakia - duck and crab. Both incorporated Asian flavours that worked brilliantly well. Equally fried to perfection and given a good dose of mayo and herbs. Wouldn't mind ordering this again!

Tuna - grilled and only needing a little squeeze of lemon over it, this was a simple dish and one that I suppose, gave us a break for all the previous dishes.

Chips - double fried for extra crispiness and sprinkled with a crumbs of feta cheese. I love chips and this has to be by far, one of my favourite chip dishes in a restaurant.

Chicken with pepper and feta puree, served with walnut dressing. A simple wood fire dish that was easy to digest, being that the meat is quite tender.

Smashed cucumber - paired with the wood fire chicken for a bit of freshness.

Loukoumades - Greek doughnuts drizzled in a chocolate sauce and sprinkled with nuts. A light finish to our meal and in a way, made me curious as to how the sharing platters would fare in comparison :p

Hellenic Republic, Brunswick MELB

Close to a month ago WL brought me here after seeing how excited I get whenever I gushed about George Colambaris's restaurants. I love the idea of hearty meals shared around the table and we all know the Greeks and Italians do this best.

Semi-casual atmosphere, efficient service and friendly staff - next thing to do is to pick our meal, of which, is no simple task for first timers and so, the sharing menu became our next best bet. Feed me more, please :p

Mezzethakia - selection of small tastes including pickled vegetables, pita bread, taramosalata, kefalograviera saganaki, pastourma and kingfish. Sadly, our table was not big enough to accommodate the many little dishes presented to us and I felt a little rushed to finish off each plate in order to make way for the others. Portion wise, was a little small albeit being well presented.

Grain salad - always a big fan of grains and salads and thought this was one of the yummiest versions I have had. Slightly sweet and packed full of flavour.

The next course was the main which compromised of slow roasted lamb shoulder, chicken from the spit, lahanosalata (cabbage salad) and tzatziki. One of my favourite courses as we all know how well the Greeks are with turning their protein into succulent, drool worthy morsels. A meal combo that I won't mind ordering again at subsequent visits.

Dessert came in the form of loukoumades and risogalo. Loukoumades was polished off in less than a minute. Crunchy, fluffy and sprinkled with a good dose of sugar, followed by a generous drizzle of syrup or honey. The risogalo was a milder version in contrast as it was not as sweet although secretly sinful from the addition of a salted caramel layer.

The Press Club, CBD MELB

My first visit to Melbourne was in 2011 and it was love at first sight for this state the moment I touched down. One of the highlights of my trip was a meal at the Press Club, as seen here and I can still recall the pleasant aroma of Aphrodite lingering around my palate that day.

Seeing as the sister is in town, we decided to reserve a table here for dinner and treated ourselves to some excellent Greek fare - a first for me and a second for me.

Both of us ordered the house made alcohol (which I cannot remember what sort of concoction it was) and we thoroughly enjoyed George's brilliant play on the humble but necessary piece of the drink aka the ice which had been slowly infusing flavour and fragrance to our drinks. Highly recommend you give this a try.

We were then served with miniature buns that had a savoury filling. Wouldn't mind a bigger version of this pillow-y soft and fluffy piece of entree.

We were then served entree sized portions of food to kickstart our palates. Pictured above is a savoury version of loukoumades aka Greek honey balls which were used to lap up that silky smooth dipping cream topped with fish roe.

Crisp chicken skin that has a few dollops of pate and cream on it.

Toast with fruity toppings ~ more so verging on the tangy side of things but has a good balance of sweetness to it.

I love the idea of having a set of cutlery at our disposal, to be used whenever necessary.

Octopus/hummus/lemon ~ a piece of octopus prepared with such simplicity and complimented well by the acidity from the lemon and creaminess from the hummus.

Pig spanakopita/date/garlic ~ not sure how the pig was prepared here but boy, did they have a crunch factor.

Potato skordalia/walnut ~ one of my favourites for the night. I love how creamy and smooth the potato was and it blends so well with the nutty flavour from the walnut cream/sauce.

Mussel/ avgolemono/ celeriac ~ after a few plates of slightly bolder flavours, we came back to a mildly flavoured dish that is perfumed with a wonderful seafood aroma.

Dory/ cauliflower/ shittake ketchup ~ Dory was still succulent and had a lovely caramelized exterior to it. The shittake ketchup was really salty but harmonized itself with the cauliflower's tamer flavour profile.

Chicken and beans ~ ok, my description does not do this dish any justice at all. It may look like something that came out of a non-professional chef's kitchen but it is truly a well prepared cube of chicken that easily melts away, leaving a pleasing trail of roast flavour on your palate.

Lamb/beetroot/ yoghurt ~ I love lamb dishes and yoghurt so this was a real treat for me. A few pieces of fruit were incorporated for brightening up and adding a sweet/ fruity flavour on the plate - all of which, toned down the stronger flavour from the lamb. Drizzled with a good amount of beetroot to counteract the sweetness, do enjoy this dish slow - you do not want to regret cleaning your plate too quickly;)

Hazelnut, coconut and blood orange ~ palate cleansers to prepare us for desserts:)

Quince and nut crumble ~ I love love the dollop of burnt butter ice cream and goodness me, each piece of quince used in the terrine was uniformly sliced and assembled with such perfection - I could not resist picking at the individual layers haha. Favourite dessert for the night:)

Apple baklava/ ginger beer/ smoked chocolate ~ a refreshing and light dessert to conclude our entire 9 course meal.

Petit fours ~ marshmallows, carrot cake with cream cheese biscuit and jelly. Both the sister and I are suckers for marshmallows and were so amused with the clothes hanger way of serving the petit fours.

My verdict? Easily still one of my favourite places to dine at when I want to spoil myself. My only request would be for them to bring back Aphrodite because damn, it was such as wowzer of a dessert. Pretty please?;)