Friday 31 May 2013

The Black Toro

Time: Dinner (1st session: 5.30-8pm)
Location: 79 Kingsway,
               Glen Waverley

Truck:
To help celebrate our 1st week starting up this blog, I have decided to blog about The Black Toro which I visited a couple of nights ago with DJ. I had heard that the former sous chef from Ezard started up this trendy restaurant - and since I am in love with the spectacular food served at Ezard, I was looking forward to trying Spanish/Mexican inspired The Black Toro.

The Black Toro has two sittings. DJ and I had a reservation from 6.30pm onwards and were told we had to be out by 8pm. Was it enough time? Definitely - the dishes came out at just the right intervals, giving us enough time to digest the meal before yet not so much time that we had to wonder when the next dish would come. The table service was a bit slow though - there were a couple of occasions during our meal where we had to ask for our water glasses to be refilled.

Between 2 people, they recommend 2-3 small plates and 1 large plate to share. Being on a budget, DJ and I decided to go for 2 small plates, 1 large plate & dessert.

 The menu 

Kingfish ceviche, cucumber, avocado & finger lime dressing ($18)
I love good raw fish and the kingfish in this dish did not disappoint. The kingfish was fresh, however the flavours were light and did not pack a punch. The avocado was a fair balance to complement the lime dressing but I did feel that the lime dressing might have been too overwhelming. Overall, a refreshing dish - one which I would recommend in summer but would probably stay away from in winter. 


Potato & chorizo croquette with manchego foam ($4 each)
In contrast to the previous poco (small) plate, the croquette was quite heavy in its flavours but absolutely delicious. Once you open up the shell of the croquette, you enter a wonderful smooth blend of potato and chorizo which by looking at it, would make your mouth water. The portion size was perfect - any more than 1 croquette would have been too overpowering. The manchego foam was a great addition. The only downfall (and this is me being nit-picky) was that I did not reach chorizo pieces until the last 1/4 of the croquette - maybe it was an inconsistent blend? But to be honest, that was the least of my worries.


 Sher wagyu eye fillet (220gm) with smoked potato mousse, garlic mojo, parsley & shallot ($38)
 Moving onto the grande (large) plate, we were presented with the wagyu eye fillet. The wagyu was cooked perfectly, it was soft, tender and the dish altogether was packed with flavour. Just looking at the size of this dish, however, made us raise the question .. is this really a main? The 3 slices of wagyu shared between the 2 of us was not enough to satisfy our bellies!


Deconstructed peanut butter cheesecake, chocolate ice-cream & honeycomb ($14)
The long awaited deconstructed peanut butter cheesecake. WAS IT WORTH IT? YES, every spoonful tasted like heaven. You cannot rush through this dessert, as one needs enough time to appreciate the flavours. The idea to deconstruct a peanut butter cheesecake is brilliant - it allows you to taste the different elements (the peanut butter cheesecake & chocolate icecream) separately, together, separately, together, separately, together.. until the dessert is all gone :O
Be warned though, the peanut butter cheesecake element of the dish does get a bit too sweet but that did not stop me from finishing it off that night!


Overall, the quality of the food was excellent but it did hurt the hip-pocket and both our appetites were not 100% satisfied by the end of the meal. The flavours are very different to the ones I have experienced at Ezard (fusion Asian) which just shows the versatility and skill of the head chef. Maybe next time I will save up and try the $60 banquet - instead of eating on a slightly overstretched student budget.


Post by Truck


The Black Toro on Urbanspoon

Wednesday 29 May 2013

Beatbox Kitchen

Time: Dinner
Location: Varies, but we got ours from Northcote

To help kickstart our food blog, a dear friend of ours, Teeny Weeny, brought home 6 burgers from the famous Beatbox Kitchen (food truck) for us to try. And what a better way to start our blog but with a delicious, juicy burger straight from a truck (excuse the pun).


 6x Raph Burgers ($11.00)
3x Shoestring fries ($5.00) with annie's home made relish & stereo sauce




Moƶ: Considering we chowed down these burgers at 8.30pm at night, after a feast of homemade sushi burgers, I would say these succulent, juicy patties are a must try. The beef patty was cooked medium well, topped with savoury cheese, fresh tomatoes and lettuce. Personally, it was a struggle to get it down after dinner, but it was well worth it. I would rate these higher than the ones at Huxtaburger. The fries are to die for, and this meal is definitely one that I will remember for a while.


Truck: After the 1st bite, the first thing I thought was "wow where did the salt come from?" But after a few chomps, the bun was so soft & fluffy that the amount of saltiness (mainly from the stereo sauce) didn't seem to matter anymore. Just be sure to have a litre or two of water handy afterwards to counteract the salt......

The burger was BIG (or maybe it was the patty?), but if I had to put the size in perspective with other well known burgers, the mathematical equation would be: Huxtaburger < Beatbox Kitchen < Andrew's Hamburgers. Moo has summed up the contents of the burger, and I felt that the beef patty was the main feature in this burger - so juicy and succulent. I wish they put the home made relish somewhere in the burger there too, it would have been a fab addition to balance the mayo. No problems - I just added it myself with the take home sauce that came with the fries.

Now, with the fries .. they were good and honestly, who can have a burger without any fries? But I have to admit, Maccas does it for better value and same taste.

To conclude, these burgers tasted good and are worth a try if you're in the area. You pay a price for the burgers but in return, you get a delicious, thick beef patty coupled with fresh ingredients in a fluffy bun.  For having them more than half an hour after they were made, they sure did make a good first impression.


Post by Moo & Truck

Beatbox Kitchen on Urbanspoon