01.07.11 – Cafe Ish
I had to try this place after perusing the menu because there aren’t many places you can go for “Native Australian/Japanese – no sushi!”. Our experience was indeed, something different but not necessarily because of the menu (but more on that to follow shortly).
We started off with some beverages – Thien went for the hot chocolate, which he said was delicious and I opted for the Café Ish Masala Chai which was described as “an authentic recipe for Indian spiced tea with a touch of Australiana”. Now, I have a confession to make… I actually prefer the powdered pre-mix that your average cafe tends to serve up over real chai tea lattes that I’ve had in the past (maybe because they’re milkier) but I have to say that I may have found my perfect cuppa here. It was milky, smooth and sweet enough without compromising the complexity of the blend of flavours.
Reuben ish, aniseed myrtle corned free range Wa Gyu, braised cabbage, seed mustard, bush tomato aioli, Kraft cheese
Croc in the rock, crocodile sausage, egg, shallot and organic fetta in toast with tomato relish with a side of potato mochi
Potato mochi = awesome. Fluffy potato encased in a deep fried glutinous rice skin - I wish it was readily available as a side everywhere I went!
Ai’s freaking awesome fried chicken, vinegar, shallot & garlic sauce
Funny thing happened with this dish… We weren’t sure what to expect but we sure didn’t expect what we got! There was a very strong taste of what we thought was a spice or herb, so strong that it was bitter. We weren’t sure if there was something wrong or if we were just being pussies (it was supposed to be freaking awesome, after all) but we battled on with it because we’d be damned if the chicken was too awesome for us. The table next door also ordered this dish and it turns out that it wasn’t supposed to taste the way it did. The chef explained that he had mistakenly used bi-carb instead of corn flour which is why it tasted so acrid – and offered to fix us up with another dish. Moral of the story: never question your tastebuds… but I guess it is a bit hard to some times when goat’s cheese is supposed to be appetising…
Thien with Will’s skill tester winnings – Sony catplush toy & Pedobear earphones
