Eat. @ Naked For Satan & Naked in the Sky

285 Brunswick Street, Fitzroy 3065 ph (03) 9416 2238

It's Kinder Girls' night out time again and this time we headed to a spot that is decidedly kid-unfriendly.   It's Sarah's turn to pick a place, and the plan was for vodka and pintxos at Naked For Satan, then heading upstairs to Naked in the Sky, the rooftop restaurant, for a bigger meal.  There's a no booking policy which I am usually not a big fan of, but given that we could just hang out downstairs with our drinks and nibblies whilst we wait for a table upstairs, it's not as big an obstacle!

I was so excited at the selection of pintxos I forgot to take photos of the delicious cocktails that the others' had whilst we were downstairs!  Here's a picture of the Blueberry Crush my friend Jodi had on her second round.

Pintxos are little bite sized tapas nibblies which you can self-serve from the counter and you pay at the end by the number of toothpicks you end up with.  They're usually $2 each but were only $1 each midweek!!!  What a bargain!

We had quite a selection of different toppings including prawns, goats cheese, chorizo, squid ink risotto with calamari, eggplant chip, smoked salmon and a warm one with grilled vegies.  An excellent "bar food" to help soak up the alcohol from the vodka!  I could've kept eating these except that I was mindful of leaving space for more food upstairs.

Before we knew it we got a call on the mobile to let us know that our table was ready.  So up the little elevator to the top floor restaurant we went.  We were seated in the centre part of the restaurant which is under cover, with the peripheral section of the restaurant catering for roof top open air dining.  The views over Melbourne were spectacular from there but I wasn't too disappointed to not sit outside as it was quite chilly that evening.

We ordered several dishes to share and we started with some marinated green olives ($8).  These are quite tart and not as salty as I'm used to.

The Soft Shell Crab ($16) is another good starter (excellent with a jug of cocktails I would imagine - next time Ladies!!!)

Our favourite dish of the night was the Roasted Figs and Goats Curd, with agrodulce pinenuts and currants ($16).  The contrast of sweet and salty flavours and soft and crunchy textures was brilliant mix of opposites that worked amazingly well together.

I must admit I did not know what to expect when we ordered The Mushroom Parfait ($16), and was quite surprised this is a bit of a ploughman's lunch board with a slice of mousse textured parfait with intense mushroom flavour, onion jam, smoked almonds and radish.  There was also sultanas and greens thrown in the mix.  Again a lovely mix of flavours and textures and a great sharing dish.

Migas ($19) was a dish with broken bread, cooked with spinach, tomato, garlic, capsicum and cider.  A more comfort food style dish with a lovely soft texture.

The Fried Cheese and Walnut Croquettes ($12) were just plan yum.  What's not to like in a soft cheesy croquette with a crunchy skin?

We finished our meal with the Crema Catalana ($9).  We had a great time chatting as we all cracked through the toffee top and dug into soft custardy goodness.

I love exploring new places with my Kinder Girls and always look forward to our nights out together (sorry kids!)  Thanks Girls for another wonderful evening of fun, food and non-alcopop drinkies!

Eat. @ MoVida Bar de Tapas Y Vino

1 Hosier Lane, Melbourne CBD 3000 ph (03) 9663 3038

My latest catch up with the "Kinder Girls" brought us to a fantastic night out at MoVida.  None of us had been before, and if I must say so our nights out are getting more adventurous, in a good way!  We have gotten into the habit of ordering a lot of dishes to share, rather than sitting down for a traditional 3 course meal, so that we can all try something new and different.  Movida was an excellent choice as the menu is full of sharing dishes.

After ordering wine we went straight down to the business of ordering.  The first thing to arrive at the table was the only dish we didn't share. The Anchoa ($4.5) is a hand filleted Cantabrian artisan anchovy on crouton with smoked tomato sorbet.  Salty, bitey anchovy with crunchy crouton and the tart sorbet all contrasting with each other for a really interesting taste.  

The reason I had the lone Anchoa was because the other girls went for the Maiz ($4.5 each), and I'm not a fan of baby corns. (Big boy and girl corns yes, and even the popped variety, but not so much the babies!)   Lucky for me, the girls didn't think I missed out on much, as they found the corn pleasant but not overwhelmingly memorable.

From here on everything was delightfully delicious.  I'm not being lazy (well, only a little), but I'll let the pictures and the food description do most of the talking!  Croquetas de Choco En Su Tinta ($4 each) are squid ink croquettes with cuttlefish.  We all agreed we could eat a whole tray of these!

Bunuelos de Bacalao ($4 each) are deep fried salt cod and potato fritta with pil pil.  Not your ordinary potato croquette!

Pescado Ahumado ($6 each)  is a plate of house cold smoked yellowtail kingfish with pine nut gazpacho sorbet.  It's served covered, and when the lid is opened with a flourish the smell of the smoke that escapes is amazing.  

Sardinilla con Salsa Agril Dulce ($4 each) is a baby sardine with lemon crumb and sweet and sour pickle.  Pretty and yummy!

Bogavante ($11 each) is Tasmanian Southern Rock Lobster Sashimi with Russian Salad.  Whilst I could not fault how fresh and delicious it tastes, $11 for a mouthful might not be the thing to order if you're starving!

The Queso ($4 each) was one of my favourite dishes of the night.  These little quince paste cigar with whipped goats milk cheese are sweet, savoury, crunchy and smooth all rolled into one!

Pollo Escabache al Miguel ($4.5 each) is a spiced chicken escabache tapa on crisp crouton.  

We also shared dishes listed under "Raciones", which means rations, and are bigger serves for sharing.  The Pulpo a la Galeega ($16.5) is a dish of Galician Style slow cooked octopus with potato that we all agreed was delicious and great as a share dish.

The Setas Asadas con Jerez ($13) is a serve of oven-roasted Portobello mushrooms finished with sherry vinegar.  They may not photography well but they tasted amazing, and I am not a fan of the fungus usually!

In contrast, the Pure de Cocido de Verano ($12.5) is a beautiful looking dish of Summer chickpea cream with Heirloom tomato salad.  This was a very pleasant surprise to me, as it's not something I would have ordered ordinarily, but turned out to be one of the most delightful dishes of the night.  The simple presentation of the dish surprises with the complexity of its flavours.  We could not get enough of that chickpea cream (recipe anyone?) and ended up soaking every last bit up with our bread.

For dessert my friend Jo went for the Flan as she's always been a fan.  (I'm a cheap poet, I know it I know it!)

I,  however, could not go past the Churros ($11). Four freshly prepared churros, served with a pot of rich and smooth chocolate for dipping.  Along with my English Brekkie tea, it was an awesome end to an awesome meal.

Fantastic food, lovely company and the cosy ambience made for another excellent night out with the girls.  Special thanks to my friend Jodi, who since learning of my blog, has become my "lighting director" for all my photos.  The girls are so patient and tolerant of me snapping away prior to anyone else touching the food!  So grateful for your friendships!