Intimate in Melbourne

REVIEW: SUD 

For a Sydney blog, I have been writing an awful lot about Melbourne lately. That said, there is something about the Melbourne dining scene that is missing in Sydney. My theory is that, although the food is similarly priced, being a lower cost city allows enterprising Melbournians to experiment a bit more with their restaurants. Not only are liquor licences and rents lower than in Sydney, but the lower cost of living means that you are more likely to find professional wait staff.

I found myself at Sud last week, having travelled south of the Murray for a work trip. Unfortunately this review will be short, due to the passage of time and alcohol through my system since then.

We were greeted by Vincenzo, the larger than life maitre-de (and owner of Sud, I think?) Sporting a very cool nose neighbour, Vincenzo explained that Sud does not operate with paper menus. Everything is on the wall, which allows the kitchens to cook what is fresh, and what suits their fancy.

Entrée for me was a de-boned quail on a rocket salad. The quail was tender and rich, although like any quail, a bit lean on the meat. It was well complemented by the rocket salad and proved a good starter for the evening.

An oven-braised rabbit leg followed, served on a polenta and herb base. Tasty but not gamey, I thoroughly enjoyed the rabbit. To me, the polenta accompaniment was good but not spectacular – I think I expected something with a bit more kick to partner the dressed down rabbit. I am not a big liver eater, but the fried rabbit liver, wrapped in prosciutto, went down a treat.

Unfortunately, I didn’t taste much of the dessert, being too busy chatting away to my dining buddies. I did lunge at an oh-so-rich looking scoop of chocolate gelato, only to be beaten to it by niftier fingers.

Sud is a fine example of what people mean when they say dining in Sydney and Melbourne is different. Located in the CBD, in a space which you would likely walk past if you didn’t know to look out for it, a part of Sud’s charm is that it is frequented by loyal diners who count the small establishment amongst their favourites.

Details:

The Place: Sud

Where: 219 King Street, Melbourne (Ph: 03 9670 8451)

Food: Italian

Tip: The menu is always changing – go with what your gut tells you

Butcher’s Bill: Entrees about $17-20, Mains about $28-33

Who should go: Anyone looking for a intimate but fun evening

 

Trading on Clooney’s cachet

MOVIE REVIEW: MICHAEL CLAYTON

Michael Clayton (George Clooney) is not your run-of-the-mill lawyer. Working in one of New York’s top firms, Clayton’s job is to “clean up” the mess of other lawyers/clients. What sets him apart are his contacts – in the government, in the police force and in other law firms around the country. He is definitely a flawed character – a seemingly indifferent father and addicted gambler. He is not what you would call the “noble lawyer”.

The film’s beginning sets a suspenseful tone which carries the whole 2 hours, however, after the first act, the plot becomes fairly predictable. This is not a wholly terrible thing, as the direction (Terry Gilroy) keeps you guessing when the next plot turn will happen, not if it will happen. And this is probably the greatest weakness of the film. It doesn’t take much imagination to guess what will happen, and how the protagonist will respond.

After making a house call on a client who was just involved in a hit and run, Clayton takes a drive to where the accident happened.  What occurs next doesn’t really make much sense until you get to the end of the movie – Clayton steps out of his flash Mercedes to take a breather with a harras of horses.  What happens next will be the only “jump in your seat” surprise of the film.  What follows is the recent history leading up to that point, which includes corporate conspiracies, mentally unstable lawyers and a twisted love story.

In terms of being a critique of the corporate world or class-action litigation, the film fails on both counts – first for being completely over the top (I cannot imagine any large corporation or general counsel doing what they do in this film), and because there was no need for the evil-doers to pursue such a villainous course to achieve their aims. From the side of the “good guys”, Clayton does not actually make any moral decisions during the film – his pursuit of the bad guys only starts once other people have started connecting the dots for him, and culminates only after things get personal. By the end of the film, I left with the feeling that Clayton’s character ends how it began, without any nobility gained.

Tilda Swinston, playing in-house lawyer Karen Chowder, for my mind provided the best performance. Although Chowder is the villain in this corporate drama, in Swinston’s skilful hands, she comes across as the all-too-loyal servant who is in over her head. (She reminded me of so many managers/supervisors I have had who display very little scruples when it comes to saving their own skin.) It is Chowder and not Clayton who faces the moral dilemmas – and I am not too sure that, if faced with a similar predicament, that Clayton would have chosen the better path.

Michael Clayton has received rave reviews both here in Australia and around the world – however, I am convinced that much of this is due to Clooney’s cachet. By the end, the bad guys were just too malevolent to be any real critique on today’s corporate world, and I am not convinced that the good guys are really all that good.

One Man’s Rating (out of 5):

 

One Man’s Paella

This is my paella recipe which I have developed over the past couple of years. Like all my recipes, I started with a basic recipe I found in a cookbook, or on the internet. After my first attempt, I mixed in other ideas until I found something I could easily remember and prepare.

At home, I use an electric pan because it is the only thing large enough. I haven’t tried this recipe with a traditional paella pan, but I can’t see why it wouldn’t work.

This recipe may seem long, but if you think of it as consisting of four separate stages, you will have it memorised in no time.

This is a recipe for six. If you don’t like seafood, replace with an equivalent amount of chicken. Skip the stock preparation step, and cook the chicken with the chorizo. You could also add in peas or a sliced onion if they take your fancy.

Ingredients

500-750g medium green prawns
1kg of vongoles (you can use pipis or mussels instead)
1 medium sized chorizo
3 cups calasparra rice or Arborio rice
8 cups of chicken stock
1 bunch of continental parsley, cut the stalks from the leaves
1 pinch of saffron threads
1 tablespoon of smoked paprika
3 large roma tomatoes, diced (a tin of diced tomatoes could probably substitute)
1 garlic clove, diced
1 large capsicum (or use a small green and red capsicums for colour), sliced into thin strips
1 lemon, cut into wedges

Prepare the seafood

Because you will have three things cooking away at the same time, it is easiest if you cut up all the ingredients ahead of time. This is the most time consuming part of the recipe, but once everything is ready, the rest is a cinch.

1. Peel shells and heads of prawns – leaving only the tail section. Keep the shells and heads to the side.
2. Prepare the rest of the vegetables in the manner described above.

Prepare the stock – in a pot

3. Pour the stock into a pot with the prawn shells and heads
4. Bring to the boil then reduce to simmer.
5. Add the saffron and leave for about 20-30 minutes, stirring occasionally. I prefer adding the saffron at this stage because it gives the stock a richer colour and flavour.

Prepare the tomatoes – in a smaller pan

6. In a pan (not the paella pan), heat some olive oil and over medium heat, brown the garlic.
7. Add the tomatoes and the paprika.
8. The aim is to soften the tomatoes and release the paprika, so medium heat is fine. Don’t let any of it burn!

Prepare the rest – in the paella pan

9. Add oil to the paella pan, and, when hot, cook the chorizo.
10. After a few minutes, but before the chorizo goes black, add in the rice.
11. Give it a quick stir, to get the chorizo off the bottom of the pan, then strain about 75% of the stock into the pan, and add in the tomatoes.
12. Mix it all through. Once the stock starts to boil, reduce the heat to low-medium and let the rice cook. Keep the lid on the pan.
13. Every 5 minutes or so, add a splash more stock to the pan to keep the rice wet. The rice should be wet but not soupy – so you will need to judge how much stock to add – you shouldn’t need more than the 8 cups of stock for this amount of rice (my rule is that the cups of stock you will need is double the cups of rice, plus two).
14. After about 15 minutes of the rice cooking, you can add in the prawns, vongoles and capsicum – either stir them through or arrange them on top. If you don’t have a lid for the pan, you will probably have to mix it all through.
15. Once the rice is cooked, arrange the lemon wedges, and serve from the pan!