1. A Day In BKK
2. Main Street
I have a bowls colleague who reckons he’s only been wrong twice. And the first time was only because he thought he was wrong, but he wasn’t, because it turned out he was right. Are you with me?
So how was I wrong? I’ve quoted myself as saying that Carol and I live in a culinary wasteland. While we love where we live because of its proximity to the Bay, access to public transport, schools, shops, etc, we’ve always felt there was a significant shortage in quality eating establishments. We always had to head towards town to find anywhere decent.
So, as a result of purchasing the Entertainment Book this year, we’ve decided to try a few local places and I’m pleased to report that maybe I was wr……….. Ha, if Fonzie struggled with it, then so can I.
The first place was a couple of months ago now – I’ve been meaning to blog about it but never quite got around to it. As a result, we’ve forgotten what we actually had to eat, but we can certainly remember the food was fantastic. It’s called A Day In BKK, BKK of course being the airport code for Bangkok. So full points if you’ve worked out it’s a Thai restaurant.
A Day In BKK is located on the Nepean Highway in Chelsea. Chelsea? “Hang on, is that the same Chelsea that…….?”, I hear you ask. Yep that’s the one. Down in the general vicinity of Frankston. It is a small family-owned and operated business where the food is brilliant and the service is incredibly friendly. It really is a little Thai treasure bang in the middle of Chelsea.
Secondly, to tonight. We’ve heard many people rave about Main Street (http://www.mainstreet3195.com.au/) in Main Street, Mordialloc (funnily enough). Everything about this place is terrific. For starters, I reckon their branding and the way they market themselves is brilliant. Being able to look at the menu on the web is great. How frustrating is it going to a restaurant on spec and not being able to find anything you really want to eat.
We shared the blackboard special seared prawns and scallops, and a saganaki for starters. This was accompanied by a real find for the night, a 2007 Dust Kicker Shiraz / Mataro, which we both enjoyed immensely.
For mains, I had a Moroccan Chicken Kiev (interesting mixture of ethnicities there) and Carol had the vegetable curry. Both had a slight over-reliance on potatoes unfortunately – the chicken could certainly have done with a couple of other vegetables. But all in all, two terrific meals. And the atmosphere was just fantastic – absolutely bursting with noise and every table full.
So both restaurants come extremely highly recommended. And maybe I need to concede I don’t live in a culinary wasteland. Just a small desert perhaps. The quest continues.
Paul Daniel's Views On The World, For What They're Worth 