5.338 Wild Harrisa Spiced Wallaby Loin

Cycle 5 – Item 338

9 (Tue) December 2014

Wild Harrisa Spiced Wallaby Loin

3.5

at Charcoal Lane

-Fitzroy, Melbourne, Australia-

solo

Mission to Australia (Day 4)

- Day 1 (5.335 Chicken Tausi)
- Day 2 (5.336 Aussie Pizza)
- Day 3 (5.337 Kangaroo)
- Day 4 (5.338 Wild Harrisa Spiced Wallaby Loin)
- Day 5 (5.339 Roasted Squid)
- Day 6 (5.340 Fried Cauliflower, Chilli, Coriander)
- Day 7 (5.341 Cecina)
- Day 8 (5.342 Crocodile Meat with XO Chili Sauce)

In Melbourne. Here to participate in a “Training of Trainers” workshop organized by The McCabe Centre for Law & Cancer to develop capacity-building programs for government officials towards strengthening their national legal frameworks on NCD risk factors.

DINNER

From what I’ve gathered through scattered observations over the past 3 days, food described as “modern Australian” tends to involve a piece of meat or seafood, along with veg and carb of some sort, the more uniquely local the better, minimalistically prepared, often seasoned with exotic spices. Sounds like “Californian” cuisine, which now seems somewhat obvious, though it was quite radical back in the day.

So glad that the animals are dying for a great cause: expanding the number of exotic ingredients featured on GMTD.

Charcoal Lane is an Australian restaurant. Specializes in modern “native” Australian cuisine. Strong emphasis on indigenous goodies: both fauna (e.g., kangaroo, wallaby, emu) and flora (e.g., nasturtium flower, wattleseed, rivermint – whatever any of that may be).

Disappointed by the limited selection at The Meat & Wine Co yesterday, I was very happy to find that Charcoal Lane offered a wider range of cute local animals available for consumotion.

So long as I’m dining on big critters, I may as well drink Little Creatures.

The food was pretty good. The meal represented exactly what I’d looked forward to Down Under – even if Aussies themselves don’t really eat stuff like this. It’s like, say, visiting Nigeria and eating, say, zebra.

Chargrilled Kangaroo Sirloin (with chargrilled capsicum, rainbow chard on a bed of chorizo risotto topped with grilled chilli finished with native currant jus) (3.0): confirmed, kangaroo looks/feels/tastes exactly like lean beef.

Native Spiced Blackened Emu Fillet (with baba ghanoush, coastal succulents, and broccolini in wild tamarind sauce) (2.5): like kangaroo, like wallaby, the meat looked/felt/tasted exactly like lean beef; “blackened” = “burnt to a charcoal crisp;].”

The best dish was the Wild Harrisa Spiced Wallaby Loin. Not because of the wallaby itself, which, being a type of kangaroo, which, as noted yesterday, looks/feels/tastes exactly like lean beef, also looked/felt/tasted exactly like lean beef. Rather, I was intrigued by the quinoa, my first experience trying it; I found the seeds to have a pleasant popping texture that contrasted nicely with the meat and mash, and a light grainy flavor that paired nicely with the other minced veg and wild harrisa spice.

Quinoa are the seeds of a grain crop. Generally attributed to South America, specifically Peru, where it has been a staple for millions of years, now a globally recognized super food – good source of protein, fiber, minerals. Foodies freak out if it’s mispronounced: should be “kin-WAH” not “kee-NO-wah.”

MIDNIGHT SNACK

By good fortune, I booked a hotel in the St Kilda neighborhood, adjacent to St Kilda Beach, near McCabe Centre on the other side of Albert Park. It’s a hotspot for casual/hip food and drink. Reminds me of Berkeley.

Even at quick-fix, all-night kebab shops, I’ve been extremely impressed by the quality of ingredients: pristinely fresh, carefully prepared, proudly displayed behind glass for customers to see.