melalouise.net

It’s been a while since I’ve eaten at a Michelin Hat restaurant and also a while since I’ve discovered a new restaurant with gluten-free options.  My husband took me to Da Noi (on Toorak Rd, South Yarra) to celebrate my recent 30th birthday.  It was recommended to us by friends (thank you!).  Da Noi specialises in Italian food but the service has a twist: you can select an “a la carte” menu or the defustation menu for which you don’t have a say in the dishes.  You tell the service staff what foods you dislike or cannot tolerate and you then get what the chef decides to cook for you.  Now I’m open to new tastes but I can be a little fussy - I requested “gluten-free”, no shell-fish and no mushrooms as my absolute must-not-haves.  But I also dislike offal and one or two other “delicacies” and so was a bit worried about what we would be served.

I had no need to worry.  In fact, we were service five delicious dishes and sent every plate back thoroughly cleaned.  The food was light, tasty and served with minimal delay.  The first course was a mixture of small portions of vegetables served in pairs (eggplant with pecorino cheese, roasted capsicum, grilled zucchini), and small fish bites.  Second course was a delicious chick-pea soup (which was declared favourite by the both of us and probably a gluten-free alternative to the pasta dish).  Third course was a polenta “cake” with a strong cheese and truffle-oil sauce.  Fourth course was slow-roasted goat on roasted vegetables.  And dessert was vanilla bean pannacotta with a balsamic reduction, orange icecream, and a slice of flourless chocolate and hazelnut cake.  All absolutely delicious.  I accompanied this with a glass of probably the best white wine I’ve ever tasted (or at least, the most pleasing to my tastes!) and we followed with tea.

We will definitely return to Da Noi some time in the future.  The narrow, long Victorian building, with high ceilings, the bizarre mixture of art, soft lighting and relaxed music made for a cosy, and somewhat romantic evening and we left satisfied (but not over-full) and relaxed (quite unaffected by our position next to the long, narrow stairs, up which dashed wait staff every few minutes).

Da Noi does not have a website but you can find them at 95 Toorak Rd, South Yarra (03 9866 597).

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My husband and I recently took a drive to the Dandenongs and stopped for lunch at a small café in Sassafras (I think it was just called Sassafras Café - they serve Map Coffee). To my delight, they had a gluten-free menu with sandwiches, toasts, cakes and even scones! So I, being from Cornwall in England and very partial to scones, opted for the Devonshire tea. The scones were made in-house with a gluten-free flour bought from a local bakery. They were delicious, though a little crumbly.

So, I decided to try some out for myself, because I’m hosting an afternoon tea in a couple of weeks. I bought some Laucke Bakery flour from the health-food section at my local Coles and followed a recipe in my Stephanie Alexander cookbook (The Cook’s Companion). I used lactose-free milk, but normal butter, and needed a little more flour than the recipe called for. I was really amazed by the results, the scones were fantastic. They didn’t rise a great deal but they certainly weren’t crumbling apart. Definitely something I will have to try and reproduce for my upcoming afternoon tea!

Laucke Bakeries
www.laucke.com.au

Stephanie Alexander
www.stephaniealexander.com.au

It’s been a while since I’ve posted any new gluten-free dining options, but that’s because it’s been a while since I’ve discovered anywhere new.

I’m really pleased that I’ve found this place though. My mum came down for lunch this Monday and I remembered that our usual haunt, Pizza Piazza, is closed on Mondays. However, Hooked across the road from there was not and for a few weeks now I’ve had a craving for good fish and chips after discovering they had gluten-free options. So, we decided to go there for lunch.

Being from England we really appreciate good battered fish and “proper” hand-cut chips and such a thing is hard to come by in Australia - let alone free from gluten! We both ordered the standard battered fish and hand-cut chips (but gluten-free of course) and sat down at the long, cosy, communal table. After a 5-10 minute wait our meals were ready and we almost wished we’d ordered one serve between us because the plates were piled high. At $10 each, it was pretty good value and we both polished off most of the meal. We were both very pleasantly surprised at the lightness of the batter, the quality of the fish and the authenticity of the chips - especially given they were all gluten free. The meal really satisfied my hunger for a good plate of fish and chips such the likes of I haven’t had since leaving England 19 years ago. I’m not sure how “healthy” the meal was but it definitely wasn’t drowning in oil and there are plenty of alternatives such as salad. My mum, who spent much more time in the UK than I and is very choosy about her fish and chips, really enjoyed her meal.

I definitely recommend anyone, gluten-challenged or not, to try Hooked. I’ll avoid any jokes about being hooked, but I will say that I won’t hesitate to go there again. You can download the menu, which also includes dairy-free options, from their website.

www.hooked.net.au

172 Chapel Street, Windsor VIC

EDIT: I’ve been informed that Hooked cook their gluten free orders in the same oil they use for their regular fish and chips so there is a cross-contamination issue.  If you are Coeliac it would be best to check when you order.

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