Category Archives: eatie-foodies dining out

a ninja’s guided tour of the local indian cuisine

I haven’t known Tristan for a very long time, but one thing I noticed about him when I first met him is his boundless enthusiasm to try anything new. This of course translated into food – we’ve both been to some fantastic places in Melbourne of all price ranges hunting about for a good feed. Tris is mainly the tech arm of Eat, Drink, Stagger but both myself and Ryan had been gently cajoling him to do a guest piece pretty much since the blog’s inception.

Finally, we have it. It turns out that Tristan is web dev by day, and ninja (of sorts) by night. You can find his personal non-food writings at Obfuscure, and he is also on Twitter as @tristankenney.

Initially I thought it wouldn’t work to align ninjas with Indian food, but I am sorely mistaken. Especially when said ninjas are locals at said Indian restaurant that Tristan is reviewing for us. We hope you enjoy the review, and that we can coax another post from Tris.

As a ninja I need to be at my absolute peak, all the time. Ninjas must defend against shuriken attack, poison darts, surprise attack ad infinitum. To obtain and maintain these vital razor-sharp reflexes – preventing a violent an untimely death – a ninja must train, and train hard. To maintain focus whilst training, a ninja needs to be nourished. As all ninjas (and ninja groupies / fanciers) know, a ninja’s favourite genre is Indian. Thus, prior to most ninja training sessions I can be found at the Indian restaurant Moza Corner in Clayton.

It was a summer night when I rounded up my ninja posse: my partner Ms G; my father (Ole Man) and step-mother (S. Mother); and my Auntie, or ‘Aunty’ as we fondly call her. Bundled into the ninja mobile (a 2009 Mazda 3), we set out across the great feudal wastelands (the eastern suburbs) to Moza Corner.

Bursting through the door, thumbs in kimonos we were an impressive sight.

We were quickly ushered to our table, menus in hand. While looking at the menu you can’t help but notice the television blasting the latest-and-greatest in Bollywood. Thoroughly entertaining but not optimal for conversation. But who am I kidding, we were here for the food.

As Ole Man and myself were (curry) battle veterans (of the establishment), we took charge and made dish selections for the ‘crew’: saag paneer, dhal makhani, goat vindaloo:

Goan fish curry and eggplant curry:

The requisite vegetable biriyani:

Lastly, the mandatory serving of naan (in this case, Kashmiri naan):

Prior to ninja training session when Ole Man and myself would eat at Moza, we kept coming back to the same combination of dishes: saag paneer, eggplant curry, vegetable biriyani and garlic naan. Between the subtle curd-like cheese and spinach of the saag paneer, and the bombastic smoky flavours of the eggplant curry – coupled with the complimentary biriyani and garlic naan – it was the perfect selection for two.
Of course now that we had fellow ninjas, (or was that ninja fanciers? I forget) we needed to expand the curry bonanza. Ms G added the dhal makhani, one of her favourites. I tend to find lentil dishes a bit bland but fortunately for me, the dhal makhani was a flavoursome round-house kick to the taste-buds.

For the ‘vegetarian’ ‘Aunty’ we added the Goan fish curry (apparently fish is flora as opposed to fauna, at least according to some). The fish was tender. Ole Man chimed in and added a goat vindaloo. Again, lovely tender meat – just not enough of it for my liking. All of the dishes had wonderful sauces – a highlight of the Moza Corner experience. This ‘saucetopia’ resulted in members of the posse jostling to mop up the remainders, and despite a tense stand-off between Ms G and myself over the remainders of a dish, no ninja blood was spilt. After a quick survey of the table, the ‘ninja crew’ unanimously concluded the dishes were a hit, and at the price (of between $8 to $12) why wouldn’t they be?

Aside from Moza’s famed reputation as a ‘sustainer of the martially artistic’, it is also known for its prowess as an Indian sweet-maker, receiving a mention in The Age. Because of this, members of the posse were held at shuriken point and force-fed sweets. All members, except Ole Man that is. He is currently in the midst of a bloody war with that foul beast ‘Fructose’ *cue music*. Apparently showing one’s (mildly obsessive) father a video about the ‘evils’ of fructose will lead to fructose-induced paranoia and hysteria. But, back to the desserts. For me the kala jamun, gulab jamun for Ms G, and pista burfi for S.Mother and ‘Aunty’. By all accounts the sweet maker reputation was well deserved.

Despite the come-hither-you-naughty-boy appeal of the sphinx-like guardians of the coffee machine…

…we all declined after-meal drinks. The coffee machine didn’t look like it had been used since Indian independence was granted, and to be honest we were all too full for tea. So, with ninja-like grace we rolled out of the restaurant – full to bursting.

[DISCLAIMER]: I’m not really a ninja. I do, however, practice Kalis Ilustrisimo, which is just like being a ninja (only without the cool weapons and outfits).

keeps the costs down

2 Replies

Birthday week is getting exhausting. If not my birthday week, then it’s Bit O’ Meat’s! Birthday weeks equals lots of dining. Gee, it’s a hard life, giggle.

Not far from work, and also just round the corner from Chai – Eat Like Malaysian, I’d read some good things in the food blogosphere on Norsiah’s Kitchen. It’s good for late-night nosh, for supreme affordability (I paid just over twenty dollars for two mains and two drinks) and convenience. Don’t go in expecting any service, however. Perhaps this is how they keep costs down – it seemed to bother Bit O’ Meat more than me.

I was feeling like absolute shite with a headcold, so it was soup for me. Norsiah herself made sure I really wanted fish balls in my noodle soup. Erm, yes, I do. There were no thin rice noodles, so I got the thick, flat ones. There was a choice of yellow (egg) ones but years of being force-fed substandard ones have scarred me for life. I’m sure there’s a psychoanalytic reading in that somewhere.

A tad salty, but pretty sure the MSG and the garlic combined to have me at three hearts’ full health again. Yep, that was a retro video game reference. I also think the thick, flat rice noodles were more suited than thin ones. Harder to grasp or scoop but they soak up the broth better.

Bit O’ Meat had plain ol’ chicken curry (curry ayam). Instead of cooked to order like my dish, this was served from the bain-maries at the main counter though they were cooking up a fresh batch when I ordered. I remarked that I was really coming around to Indo/Malay curries, that which I had not liked before. He asked me what the difference was (to Indian) and I couldn’t really provide a coherent response. I think Indian curries just have more spices, though Malay/Indian love their chilli. This might not be entirely accurate as the heat of an Indian curry will depend on what region has influenced it. Amusingly enough, I tolerate hotter (Indian) curry than my (Anglo-Indian) father.

Though I had to wait a while for it, I got the ‘teh tarik halia’ – ginger tea with condensed milk. Why isn’t this more commonplace? It’s wonderful! Very strong, sweet black tea laced with ginger.

With bellies full on the cheap, it was time to dash across to the Nova, and meet up with some mates for a very late session of a film.

There’s ample seating at Norsiah’s and there is also a steady stream of customers for takeaway. It’s not the sort of place I like to sit down and dine at, but beggars can’t be choosers, eh? However, don’t let that put you off. It’s busy for a reason.

a carb-laden visit to the old hood

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Naughty @cloudcontrol of Half-Eaten blog has been singing the praises of Maria’s Trattoria, which is situated near the Queen Victoria Market, and I could ignore the siren call no longer. I used to go to Maria’s very regularly for the gorgeous pumpkin-filled agnolotti – an entree serve, which would still have me tottering out in pain, sans dessert. Sadly, when I lived in the area, I didn’t get around to going. Seeing as it was my dear partner’s birthday week, I insisted upon taking him.

Even on a Monday, Maria’s is still frantic. Our young waitress was slow, but also very apologetic, and we were in no rush, so it was okay. I saw the familiar face of one of the older ladies who works there – she has a well-coiffed copper bob. It felt like home.

Perhaps foolishly, I ordered the pasta mista for two – your choice of three pastas, served in one big plate. We chose the pumpkin agnolotti ai funghi, the tortellini alla romana, and the spaghetti con cozze. This last one was not available, and the lovely copper-bobbed waitress suggested two other selections that might suit and I said the spaghetti pescatore was more than a suitable subsitute.

Wisely, my pre-meal bread consumption was kept to a low. If nothing had changed at Maria’s, then I was guessing the serves would still be big-arse. The menus, I noted, have been reprinted and look snazzier than previously.

When the food arrived, there was no doubt that it’d be enough.

Time to get reacquainted with an old fave. I’d forgotten just how sweet the filling was. The creamy sauce and mushrooms offset this well. Still remains a favourite.

I’ve mentioned previously in my Libertine review that I’m not a big veal fan, and even less so in stuffed pasta. The tortellini, which was stuffed with veal, was delicious. It must’ve been that such examples of veal-stuffed pasta in the past were, quite bluntly, appalling.

Already full after these two stuffed pastas and there’s still the spaghetti to go!

We made a good go of it, and paid extra attention to nicking mussels, squid, and octopus tentacles. Oh okay, I did.

So with a big-arse plate of pasta, and two glasses of house red, my wallet was just over fifty dollars lighter which is excellent value for a meal for two. More importantly, the birthday lad felt pampered and such. Maria (yes, the actual lady herself!) said thank you and goodbye to us, and I left grinning like a fool.

I often forget to go out for Italian because, to be honest, it’s so readily available. This makes me forget that it can actually be good. Maria’s Trattoria is not top-end dining and does not boast a fancy wine list or anything like that, but I love its charm. It’s busy for good reason. Cheers Billy for reminding me of its existence. One friendly tip – if you’re going, make sure you take a good appetite with you. I only wish I could dine here and have room for dessert. Perhaps when I embark upon a career as a professional eater.

eat, drink, stagger

a very tame lone wolf (formerly in cahoots with riff-raff) who loves to do the above

Category Archives: eatie-foodies dining out

a ninja’s guided tour of the local indian cuisine

keeps the costs down

a carb-laden visit to the old hood