Scarf Community Dinner

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Scarf Community

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A few months ago, I heard about a fabulous little Melbourne organisation called "Scarf Community." For those of who you don't know about this brilliant organisation, let me tell you a little bit about it... Scarf provides hands on hospitality training to marginalised youth who might not otherwise be able to afford or get access to training or employment. They "borrow" restaurants around Melbourne from some very kind, generous owners who are willing to lend their venues to the Scarf crew on Monday nights (the traditional hospitality night off) for a 10 week period, over which the students are able to hone their skills in providing a real dinner service to real, paying customers, while being helped along by their mentors.

The mentors involved in Scarf are all people who currently work in the hospitality industry, and volunteer their time to guide their charges along their way, providing them with both industry knowledge and connections. Upon finding out about this amazing organisation, I knew I had to get involved, and immediately emailed to arrange a dinner booking.

We arrived at Mixed Business (486 Queen's Parade, Clifton Hill) at 8:30pm on a cold, Melbourne night for our dinner booking, and wondered on in just as a large group was leaving, so we stood around for a minute or two before someone realised we weren't with the departing bunch. We were quickly shown to our seats, just by the bar/counter.

Our table was set with an eclectic mix of plates and knitted napkin holders, which I loved - it had a very homely, welcoming feel.

After a few minutes, our wonderful waiter took our drink order, and then presented us with our menus. A two-course set menu for $35, we had the choice between three entrees and three mains.

With our orders placed, we waited another five minutes or so before our waiter came back with some bread and olive oil for us... great way to get our hunger happening!

We waited only another five or ten minutes before our entrees came out. Sous-Jeff ordered the potato, leek and bacon soup with crispy parmesan, and I ordered the risotto with roasted salmon, basil, fetta, lime and spinach.

Sous-Jeff enjoyed his soup, especially the crispy parmesan. It tasted like a beautiful, comforting, home cooked meal, which was perfect for the freezing cold night.

Potato, leek and bacon soup with crispy parmesan.

I'm actually not at all a salmon eater, but the combination of lime, fetta and spinach made me decide to give the risotto a try. I am soooo glad I did! Although there wasn't a strong fetta or lime flavour, it was creamy and the salmon was perfectly cooked. I really enjoyed this dish, even more so because I was so apprehensive about it!

Risotto with roasted salmon, basil, fetta, lime and spinach.

Next out were our mains. Sous-Jeff went with the braised chicken with fig and pomegranate molasses and cous cous, and I went with the Osso Bucco Milanese.

The chicken wasn't at all what we'd expected - we thought it might come out as a chicken breast or thigh covered in sticky, fruity sauce, on a bed of cous cous. What Sous-Jeff had placed in front of him instead was a stew-type bowl of chicken with a bowl of cous cous on the side. The chicken had a strong cinnamon flavour and was well cooked, and again Sous-Jeff felt like he was eating a beautifully home cooked meal.

Braised chicken with fig and pomegranate molasses and cous cous

My Osso Bucco had high standards to live up to, and it didn't disappoint. The veal was so tender and soft, it just fell off the bone. The sauce was delicious too, but lacked a flavour punch - it was just a bit under seasoned.

Osso Bucco Milanese

With dinner done and dishes cleared, we were handed a dessert menu. Well, I just can't say no to dessert, so we decided upon a piece of cake and a shared plate of home made sweets.

The raspberry cake was beautifully presented, but unfortunately for me, had quite a bit of cinnamon in it. Sous-Jeff was happy to capitalise on my misfortune and gladly polished it off! Thankfully, he left the berry compote for me, which went down very, very nicely with the small bowl of vanilla ice cream that was served with it. At an additional $12.00 for the cake, we did however feel like it really wasn't very good value for money.

Raspberry cake, $12.00

The plate of homemade sweets was gorgeous! A pink little meringue (which tasted a little like rosewater...), a yo-yo with a creamy, sugary filling, and a delicious little chocolate chip cookie all disappeared in the blink of an eye, and they were all beautiful! Perfect way to finish a meal, and at only $2.00 for the plate, it was a winner for us!

Plate of homemade sweets, $2.00

After dinner, I met up with the lovely Jess, who is one of the mentors and leaders at Scarf. She showed me into the kitchen, where our wonderful waiter was preparing to take out his next round of dishes. We also said hello to some of the other happy faces around the Scarf kitchen, the wonderful people who brought us our fantastic meal.

Our receipt for dinner, along with some Scarf info and business cards came out to our table in this gorgeous little, homemade pocket, which pretty much summed up our evening; warm, comfortable, homely.

It was a fantastic evening, and I really was impressed by the level of quality food and service provided by the Scarf team, remembering that they're not yet professionals. It truly is a credit to the hard work put in by the wonderful volunteers and students, and I was so happy to have the opportunity to support such a fantastic cause. If you haven't yet had the pleasure, I can't recommend attending highly enough. A lot of hard work, care and love went into our meal, and it was evident on everyone's faces that both the diners and the "staff" were truly appreciative of the opportunity. Our waiter, in particular, was a perfect gentleman; we were greeted upon arriving, farewelled upon leaving, and approached with a smile throughout the entire evening. A huuuuge thanks must go to him for making our night so lovely :)

If you'd like to support this wonderful organisation, a 2 course set menu dinner will only cost you $35.00 per person, with a range of beer, wine and soft drinks, as well as desserts available to you. 

Email Jess at jess@scarfcommunity.org or call on 0488 777 527 to make a booking!

 Would rate it 7 out of 10.

Maroush

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Multicultural Cuisine of... Lebanon

Maroush

1092 Main Rd,

Eltham

(03) 9439 5665

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With the plethora of delicious and diverse cuisines available it the Melbourne CBD and surrounds, it's so easy to forget about your own backyard. Which is exactly what Sous-Jeff and I have done. There's this restaurant that we drive past a dozen times a week, which we've been invited to for dinner before but didn't make it, that we're um-ed and ahh-ed over for years - you know that restaurant? We all have one. Maroush was ours. Until Saturday night - we decided to finally give it a shot. We decided to book a table, just in case, even though we didn't think it'd be all that busy, because it was just a local little restaurant. Wrong. It was darn lucky we did book, because it was packed! The car park was full when we arrived at 7pm, with the 50m either side of the restaurant lined with parked cars too. Awesome, we think, it must be good it it's this busy!

We ascend the tiled steps and make our way through the big, wrought iron gates, and past a big, terracotta coin fountain. We make our way through the front door and almost walk into the front counter/kitchen area. The restaurant is divided into two seemingly identical sections, one to the right of the kitchen, the other to the left. We are led around to the right hand side, and seated on a table below some beautiful, huge, golden engraved discs.

Directly opposite us is a large mirror, framed with Lebanese knick knacks and a painted mural on the wall behind my seat.

But enough of the view, time for the food! Neither Sous-Jeff or I had eaten Lebanese before, and were a little scared of what the food might be like... we really, honestly had no idea what to expect! So, what better way to try it than to go with the banquet?! The lovely waitress we had was fantastic - she knew the menu like the back of her hand and explained every dish (all 14 of them!) succinctly and simply. 

First out for our entrees was a trio of dips with warm pita bread and also fried pita bread. 

We had Hommos, which was nutty, meaty, grainy and earthy - it tasted like real chickpeas, and was absolutely perfect!

Hommos

Baba Ghannouj, which was perfectly silky smooth, and had the most beautiful smokey flavour which was perfectly married with the eggplant.

Baba Ghannouj

Lastly in our trio was the tabouli - lemony and zesty, perfect to refresh our mouths in between what was to come!

Tabouli

Next out were the falafels, a spicy mix of beans, vegetables and herbs, made in meatball form (which were just a little too spicy for me!) with a beautifully smooth tahini sauce which had a great lemon flavour. Unfortunately, there was one grumpy waiter in the whole place, and he happened to be the one who brought out this dish to us, plonked silently and unceremoniously on the table, and off he stomped to the next customers. Sous-Jeff loved the falafels, being the spice fiend he is, and was surprised that a vegetarian, gluten free dish was so delicious!

Falafel with tahini sauce

Next out were the meat cigars; spiced, lean lamb and pine nuts, wrapped in filo pastry, with a sweet, syrupy, unknown sauce on top. Thankfully, the lovely waiter who brought these out to us was more than happy to explain what everything was when we questioned what the previously mentioned falafels were. He said it was fantastic that we wanted to know more about our dishes, as it showed that we were excited about the food - very true. He happily explained what the meat cigars and the falafels were, and to the credit of the staff, the waiter and waitress we had for the remainder of the evening enthusiastically explained each following dish to us with a great big smile on their faces. I loved these little cigars, and was was relieved to find they actually weren't spicy at all! I think "spiced" means "herbed" or "flavoured with spices," not actually hot and spicy! I'm not sure what the sauce was, but it didn't seem to really go with the cigars... it was tasty, but it just wasn't quite right.

Meat Cigars

Along with the meat cigars came with Sambousik - fetta cheese with onion and mixed herbs, wrapped in filo pastry again. This was one of my favourites, I loved the creaminess of the fetta, which wasn't overly salty, contrasted with the perfectly crisp pastry.

Sambousik

Then, out comes the Makanek, which are grilled lamb sausages with lemon juice and sumac, which were very tender and tasty.

Makanek

And they were followed by the Ors Kafta - grilled lamb patties with onion and fresh parsley. They were perfectly cooked and tasted beautiful with fresh lemon squeezed over them. 

Ors Kafta

With our entrees done (yes, all of that was just the entrees!), the waitress clears out table and tells us she'll give us a few minutes to digest before bringing out our mains. We nod appreciatively. 10 minutes or so later, out come the mains. It's a smaller version of the standard sized main (thankfully!), and we get a beautiful platter of Shish Tawook and Shish Kabab on different rices, and a little side of salad with a garlic and lemon dressing.

Right: Chicken Shish Tawook on almond rice. Left: Lamb Shish Kabab on saffron rice

Side salad

We tried the Shish Kabab first, which was the marinated lamb on skewers, served on a saffron rice. I must admit, I'm not really a lamb eater (hence why we went for the lamb first) and was quite apprehensive at the sight of the menu with all of the lamb... but it was all cooked magnificently and I probably would eat lamb more often if it was always done so well! It was very soft and tender, and the saffron rice was beautifully flavoured - they went together so well that I left my last few bites of rice and lamb to eat after the chicken (I like to finish on a high note!).

Shish Kabab on saffron rice

We tried the chicken next, the Shish Tawook (marinated in garlic and lemon juice), and it was also very soft and tender, but, and I can't believe I'm typing this, but I actually enjoyed the lamb more! I wasn't a fan of the almond rice as it was laced with cinnamon (and I'm just not a fan of cinnamon), but Sous-Jeff quite enjoyed it.

Shish Tawook on almond rice

With our mains finished and bellies full, our plates were once again cleared and we were given another 10 minute reprieve, before dessert was served. We were given a small platter of Turkish Delight, Baklava and Mahalabia. Neither Sous-Jeff nor I are particularly fond of Turkish Delight, but in the name of trying anything once, we give it a crack. It's ok, but not really our cup of tea, so hard to say how good it was, sorry!

Turkish Delight

The Mahalabia was a traditional Lebanese custard, topped with honey syrup, pistachios and blossom water. The first flavour to hit my taste buds was the lavendar flavour of the blossom water, which was incredibly sweet. The custard itself was beautiful, and reminded me a little of panna cotta. Sous-Jeff absolutely loved this, and actually ate half of mine. I traded him for his bit of baklava.

Mahalabia

I've saved the best (in my opinion, anyway!) until last. I've never had Lebanese Baklava before, and was a little worried that they may have snuck some cinnamon in it, which would have rendered it uneatable for me... but alas, my dessert prayers were answered, and it was absolutely perfection. Layers of crispy, golden filo pastry with assorted crushed nuts and the most beautifully sweet honey syrup. The flavours were perfectly balanced and it was absolutely magnificent. I begged Sous-Jeff to let me buy a $5.00 take away/take home pack, but to no avail. Will definitely be going back for some more soon though!

Baklava

With dessert eaten, we shuffled out of our seats, barely able to move we were so full. That enormous banquet came to a total cost of $42.00 each, which we felt was absolutely fantastic value for money. The food was all beautifully prepared and very delicious. We were very pleasantly surprised after initially going in quite hesitant, and we certainly plan on dining there again. Unfortunately, we were met with the grumpy waiter on our way out, but other than that, the staff were friendly and well organised and efficient, considering how busy they were. 




Would rate it 8 out of 10.




How many of you have gone into a dining experience full of hesitation, only to be very pleasantly surprised?