#296 - 'The Railway Club Hotel'

Where? - 107 Raglan St. Port Melbourne

Price? - $20 in the Public Bar

Website? http://www.railwayclubhotel.com.au/

Reviewers – Lee, Nikki & Stefo

Way back in the early days of PD we paid a visit to South Melbourne's Hotel Albion for their "Grandeoso parma Wednesday" (You can read the review here). At the end of that review we staggered out of the Albion chock full of parma but not yet full of booze, we wandered over the train tracks and discovered another backstreets local - The Railway Club Hotel.

We only stopped in for one or two beers before heading home, but that pub always stuck in my head as somewhere we should pay proper attention to ... Unfortunately it took us just under 7 years to get around to it. 

The Railway Club is the epitome of a backstreets local. Cosy public bar swimming in atmosphere, plenty of on-street seating for a beer in the sun and exceptionally friendly service.

The pub was packed when we arrived, inside and out, but we managed to score a seat in the corner of the public bar. A perfect spot to drink in both the ambience of the pub and a few pints of Stone & Wood.

We checked the menu and spied our target for the evening.

It's worth noting that the Railway Club has different menus for the Bistro and the Public bar, tonight we dined off the public bar menu, not the Bistro menu. 

Tap list was decent. Nothing too out there but there was Carlton Draught for the traditionalists all the way up to Stone & Wood or Colonial for those who like their beers a little on the crafty side. 

20 minutes after ordering our boomerang's buzzed, we headed up and grabbed our parmas from the kitchen.

When I first saw this parma I was less than impressed. It didn't look great. However as we all know, the ugly ducking can sometimes become a beautiful swan. 

I'm mixing a lot of poultry metaphors here, but in short the chicken schnitzel was phenomenal. I'm going to use the word "juicy" about 30 times between now and the end of the review, but its hard to avoid because this parma was just so god-damn juicy it's ridiculous.

The pure white chicken breast was cooked to perfection, juicy and succulent. dripping with flavour. My one criticism would be that any crunch that was in the crumbs was long gone by the time the dish arrived, but that is a minor complaint with a parma this tasty. 

The napoli sauce on top of this parma was a true hero. Fresh, tasty and bursting with flavour - it complimented the juiciness of the chicken perfectly (see, I told you I would use "juicy" a lot). 

The ham was plentiful and had a great flavour that managed to come through despite a very strong napoli. The cheese was grilled to a gooey perfection. 

Rather than standard pub chips the Railway Club has opted for thick cut potato wedges, almost roast potatoes. They were crunchy and cloudy. Needed a little seasoning but otherwise fantastic.

The garden salad was simple, yet fresh and crisp. I'm not a fan of raw tomato, but this salad had both standard tomatoes and cherry tomatoes. A fine side to the dish. 

“An excellent home style parma! Nothing fancy but bloody tasty - Would definitely have again!”

— Stefo

“A great quality parma in a down to earth pub. Hard to fault this one, will definitely be back!”

— Nikki

For $20 I'd have this parma every day of the week without complaint. I think it's a bit pricier in the bistro and there aren't any parma nights that I could see, but $20 for a parma like this is very hard to complain about

The Railway Club touts itself primarily as a steakhouse, but don't let that fool you into thinking the other meals are sub-par. This parma is one of the best we've had for a very long time and I have no doubt I'll be back in the next few weeks to try one of their fantastic looking steaks as well. 

Parma - 8.83

Chips - 7.67

Salad - 6.63

Value - 7.83

Total - 7.96

The search continues...

Crossing the Road #1 - 'Your Tram Stop Kitchen'

Hello dear reader! Welcome to a brand new segment on ParmaDaze which I am dubbing "Crossing the Road".

The point of Crossing the Road is to feature some parmas that, while they may be great, never get a guernsey as they are only available via delivery. The Menulog, the Uber Eats, the EatNow, the Delivery Hero and the Deliveroo parmas that, while not boasting the same atmosphere and range of alcohol options as a parma at your local pub, afford the opportunity to eat a parma without pants and not be told "You have to put on some jeans or get out of the bistro", "people are trying to eat" and "for the love of god sir, where are your underpants?!"

Now this won't happen often, don't think I'm going to get lazy and just sit at home ordering delivery parmas from here on out (even though that is damn tempting), but my goal is to have it as an occasional pop-up, maybe even a bonus post in addition to the regular review (although not this week). 

So without further ado, lets get this chicken crossing the road!

Where? - Shop 3, 76-78 Keilor Rd, Essendon North

Price? - $16 for Standard/Bolognaise. $18 for Calabrese/Tropicana

Website? http://www.yourtramstopkitchen.com.au/

Reviewers – Lee & Nikki

Delivery areas - Aberfeldie, Airport West, Ascot Vale, Avondale Heights, Brunswick, Carlton North, Coburg, Essendon, Fawkner, Flemington, Glenroy, Gowanbrae, Hadfield, Kealba, Keilor East, Keilor Park, Kingsville, Maribyrnong, Moonee Ponds, Niddrie, Oak Park, Pascoe Vale, Preston, Princes Hill, Seddon, Strathmore, Sunshine, Travancore, Tullamarine, University of Melbourne, Westmeadows

Hot damn that is a lot of suburbs. 

So! When starting a new segment such as this I said to myself "How should I start a new segment such as this?". I had one place in mind that we had been recommended, but as luck would have it we decided to launch this little experiment on the one day of the week that the certain establishment I had in mind wasn't open for delivery - So that one will be pushed until next time. 

The most simple solution I could come up with was to fire up the app and pick the highest rated place I could find that served a parma. Onto the iPad I delved and brought forth the list

There she blows! Four and a half stars for Your Tram Stop Kitchen. For a little extra reassurance I checked out the user reviews to see what they had to say...

Thats a lot of tens! All seemingly from February 2017. I did a little research and it would seem that Your Tram Stop Kitchen Just opened this month, but nobody seems to upset! I checked the menu for our target

Four options, all reasonably priced. For the sake of variety Reviewer Nikki opted for the Parmigiana Bolognese while I went with the standard parma. 

No beers here I'm afraid. Had to go non-alcoholic this week, Luckily there were still some cans of 150 Lashes in the fridge from the weekend's festivities. 

25% off the first order meant a saving of over $10 - A very nice surprise indeed. 

I got the confirmation of order with an estimated delivery time of 1 hour. To kill the time I looked up Your Tram Stop Kitchen of Facebook and nabbed this photo of their interior -

Doesn't look too shabby! For all intents and purposes a nice, clean, well furnished take-away joint. 

30 minutes after advising the food would arrive in an hour there was a ring on the doorbell. Bonus!

I collected our dinner and spread it out on the dining room table for a photoshoot.

The Bolognese

The Traditional

The first thing that struck me, as I'm sure you've noticed, is that rather than opt for a full sized parma the Tram Stop Kitchen has gone for two smaller chicken fillets. both crumbed and prepared as individual mini-parmas. I'd normally be a little miffed at this but when I cut in to find pure, fresh chicken breast as opposed to Coles deli-window schnitzels (always a huge risk when ordering delivery) I was much more forgiving. I'll take two smaller real chicken breasts over a large slab of factory made crap any day of the week. 

The crumbing was fine, didn't have much of a crunch but its hard to expect anything that's taken a 10 minute drive in a plastic box to remain crunchy. The chicken, as mentioned, was real chicken breast, albeit a little dry. Not a terrible start to the dish!

The toppings on the traditional were fine. Good coverage of cheese and napoli. Nothing stellar, but they were flavoursome enough. Unfortunately this parma was without a slice of ham, something which would have really helped this dish. The Tropicana option that we didn't get comes with a slice of ham instead of pineapple. I'd get this instead if I ever returned to the Tram Stop. 

I asked Reviewer Nikki her thoughts of the bolognese parma and her response was "it's nice but it needs ham, and the bolognese needs more sauce - it's a little dry"

The chips, like the crumbs, didn't fare too well in the hotbox. They could have used some seasoning as well. But there was a decent serve at least and, although soggy, were still piping hot when they arrived. 

The salad was your traditional pizza place salad, which I couldn't describe more succinctly than this clip from Family Guy

But it was surprisingly fresh and un-wilted.

For only $16 I can forgive the majority of the slip ups, and the 25% discount for first time orders doesn't hurt it either. I'm not gonna hurry back to Your Tram Stop Kitchen - But I've got no problems knowing that its there. 

If you're in the delivery zone and can take advantage of the 25% discount I'd say give it a crack, Hell even full price is cheaper than what you'd get elsewhere so might as well try it then too. 

And that about wraps up the first Crossing the Road! I wasn't blown away but I'd call it a successful experiment. I'm not gonna score these as comparing a pub parma to a delivery parma is like comparing apples and oranges. Well. Not that much of a difference. Apples and Pears. 

Catch you next week for a proper pub parma, with beers and everything!

... Now where did I put my pants?

The search continues...

#295 - 'El Coco'

Where? - 120 King St. Melbourne

Price? - $21

Website? Http://www.elcoco.com.au

Reviewers – Erin, Fridge, Lee & Nikki

Here at ParmaDaze we have a little problem with pubs in Melbourne's CBD - Namely that we've done most of them. After 6 years of reviews finding a parma in the heart of Melbourne that we've yet to sink our teeth into is becoming rarer and rarer as the weeks roll on. 

I've had "El Coco" scrawled on a post-it note on the wall of my office for the better part of a year, but something about the name of the pub doesn't scream "Aussie pub", and thus it never really grabbed me, but we needed a parma in the city! It had been a while since we ventured into the CBD, so I figured it time to give El Coco a crack. The last time I was at 120 King st. it was known as The Exchange Hotel, and, while we never had a parma there, I remember it being a decent spot.

Imagine my surprise when we arrived at El Coco last night and found it (1) Utterly unrecognisable from when it was The Exchange and (2) Actually a damn cool space. 

The place is huge. A massive space with tables dotted around the room and plush leather couches wherever there aren't tables. There's a projector screen for sportsball games, a stage for live music and a massive skylight at one end for a pseudo-beer-garden experience.

We grabbed a booth and checked the menu ... there were some options...

The 3 novelties along with a specials board behind the bar (I think this week it was an Aussie parma) were our options for the evening. Around the table we stuck to the menu. Two Mexicans for myself and Reviewer Fridge, A Traditional for Reviewer Nikki and newcomer Reviewer Erin decided on a Hawaiian for her first foray into parma reviews.

We ordered at the bar, grabbed some beers and returned to our booth. Normally the wait for a parma is boring, but at El Coco you never need to be bored. There are board games, giant Jenga, table tennis, even a Nintendo 64 station with freakin' 4 player Goldeneye (along with a plastic tub of other games) set up to pass the time. Awesome. 

There were plenty of beer specials if you don't mind what you drink ($12 jugs!) but also a few crafty options should they tickle your fancy. They don't do pints, however the schooners of Steam Ale went down a treat.

Ten minutes after ordering our parmas arrived at the table...

The Mexican

The Hawaiian

The Traditional

Looked great! The Mexican especially, so I gave myself an imaginary pat on the back for picking well. 

The four of us picked up our cutlery, tucked in, and ... this is where consensus fell apart. 

Normally at ParmaDaze we walk away pretty much in agreement about what we just ate - Unfortunately opinions were split, in a very weird way.

Reviewer Nikki and Myself enjoyed the toppings. Nikki claimed that the abundance of ham on top both looked and tasted great. The cheese blend, jalepenos and sour cream worked deliciously together along with the guacamole (which I admit could have been fresher). Yet we both thought that the solid toppings were let down by a lacklustre, store bought schnitzel that tasted a little on the cheap side for an over $20 parma. 

Reviewers Fridge and Erin enjoyed the chicken, enjoyed the crunch in the crumbs and thought it a decent quality schnitzel - However they were less than thrilled with the toppings. Reviewer Fridge claiming the guacamole and sour cream tasted like they both came from a squeeze bottle (although he was also happy with the jalapenos)

Oddly enough as we were both equally impressed and unimpressed with our opinions of the parma (even though it was in different ways) our scores pretty much evened out. Even when we disagree the system works!

One thing we all agreed on? The chips were phenomenal. Beer battered, fresh and crispy. So well seasoned I didn't even consider adulterating them with sauce of any kind. The absolute highlight of the dish. 

The salad was ... okay. A small garden salad with not a whole lot involved other than some cucumber slices and mustard seeds. The dressing they overused was spicy and off-putting for a salad. As I said it was okay, but not great. 

“Had the Mexican which was nice, chicken was good and a nice crumbing - However the avo topping wasn’t the best. Great chips with plenty of crunch. Salad was nice but had a bit of spice through it which threw me off. Overall not bad! ”

— Fridge

“This Parma looked amazing when it was placed in front of me... then I cut into it and was extremely disappointed with the processed chicken and crumbs. This could have been amazing with real chicken breast. Lucky the chips were amazing and made it more enjoyable. ”

— Nikki

“As this is my first experience with ParmaDaze I may be being too enthusiastic! :) Bring on the next parma and I will judge accordingly... The wine was good!”

— Erin

For $21 I think this was a little overpriced, however El Coco's does a $15 lunch parma special which I would definitely recommend. If you're on a budget a $15 parma, a $12 jug and a few games of Goldeneye with some mates sounds like an outstanding way to spend an afternoon without breaking the bank. 

I really enjoyed El Coco as a venue. It has a laid back, casual vibe that you would expect to find in Fitzroy or Brunswick - Not in the middle of the city. The parma was okay, but I wouldn't rush back. Some of the $6 pizzas going past, however, looked pretty great, and I'll definitely be back for some of those and a few rounds of Table Tennis. 

Pros 

• Great venue. Friendly & spacious with a heap of entertainment options
• They have friggin' Goldeneye!
• Generously topped
• Amazing chips

Cons 

• Lackluster salad
• Low quality schnitzel
• Guac on the Mexican wasn't the freshest

Parma - 6.25

Chips - 8.50

Salad -  5.25

Value - 6.38

Total - 6.53

The search continues...

#294 - 'TAP831'

Where? - 831 Bourke St. Docklands

Price? - $23

Website? http://www.tap831.com.au/

Reviewers – Lee, Matt, Nikki & Tony

Normally I kick off a review with a little anecdote about how we discovered the week's pub in question, however I have no such story for TAP831 as I came across it almost completely by accident. I looked at our recent reviews and said to myself "Hm. We haven't been to the docklands in a while", so I opened up Google Maps, hovered over the docklands, searched for "pub" and hit enter. I tossed the places we had already been and the places that didn't do a parma and was left with one option that actually looked pretty decent ... TAP831. 

I didn't quite know what to expect with TAP831, but it was on the docklands so I was expecting a lot of polished concrete. On the exterior I was on the money, but imagine my surprise to discover that the inside actually had a bit of soul. The exposed brickwork and odd arrangement of the toilets (check them out when you get there) leads me to believe that, rather than a concrete box, TAP831's building actually was something before being repurposed into a bar. 

We arrived at about 6:30 on a Friday evening so, understandably, the place was heaving with the knock-off drinks crowd. We started off inside but extremely loud conversations about mismanaged IT department maintenance tickets drove us to the much calmer area out the front of the pub. The cool change hadn't quite kicked in yet so it was a pretty pleasant spot to sit on a Friday evening. 

We grabbed the menu and spied the parma with top billing - Always a good sign.

Placed our order at the bar and waited for the grub to arrive. 

TAP831 has a decent range of beers, both on tap and in the fridge. Plenty for all tastes from Carlton Draught to something more crafty - Beer of the night was "The Sesh" golden ale from the Stockade Brew Co. Although its name should have been a clue I wasn't expecting such a sessionable drop from such a dark coloured golden ale. Surprisingly light, crisp and flavoursome. Would definitely have again if I spotted it around. 

We were troubled for a moment when, five minutes after placing the order, the chef came out of the kitchen to confirm with us just how many parmas we ordered, but fears were allayed ten minutes later when our meals arrived from the kitchen -

Wow. This looked good! We picked up out cutlery and tucked in.

The chicken was cooked perfectly and of the highest quality. Juicy inside and packed with flavour. My biggest (and possibly only) gripe in regards to the schnitzel was the crumbing was a little on the thick side. Not criminally so, but noticeable - They packed a mean crunch none the less. Despite my whinging it was a great foundation to the dish.  

Other than a bit of schnitzel nudity (which I didn't mind too much as the schnitzel held its own without the toppings) the toppings were pretty solid. The cheese was flavoursome and grilled to perfection, the ham made its presence known and the napoli ... actually the napoli was a little sparse. Would have definitely liked an extra spoonful or two to really juice this parma up.

The chips were simply outstanding. Home made, hand cut wedges of deliciousness with a crispy shell and pillowy potato inside - All topped off with a divine blend of seasoning. Serving sized varied a little around the table, but when the biggest complaint is that you didn't get enough of something delicious it's fair to say you're on to a good thing. 

The salad was okay. After such an impressive performance from the parma and chips it was a little weak in comparison, but overall there wasn't much to complain about, just not outstanding. Garden salad with lettuce, cucumber, cherry tomatoes, onion and a few slivers of shaved carrot with balsamic dressing. It worked, but it also felt like a bit of an afterthought. 

“The parma was quite delicious with very tasty toppings. The hand cut chips were great however I didn’t receive as many as everyone else. The salad was nice, not amazing, but nice”

— Nikki

“Chicken breast was well cooked throughout and, while tasty, I felt the toppings were a little bland and could have been tastier. Great chips. While the salad was fine, it was a bit sparse. Overall great value though, did not walk away hungry!”

— Matt

“Overall a great meal and definitely worth the price”

— Tony

For the price I'd happily have this parma again. I would have zero qualms about shelling out another $23 for the parma on offer at TAP831. From what I could see on the menu they don't have a specific parma night, but the Friday night happy hour definitely alleviated the hit on our wallets.  

I went into this parma with no expectations for or against, so when we came across one of the best parmas we've had this year (granted it's only February) I was chuffed. TAP831 is definitely a spot to keep in mind, and its walking distance from Etihad Stadium if you feel like a pre/post footy feed once the AFL season kicks off. Worth a crack. 

Parma - 8.13

Chips - 7.50

Salad - 6.50

Value - 7.88

Total - 7.62

The search continues...

#293 - 'The Royal Oak Hotel'

Where? - 442 Nicholson St. North Fitzroy

Price? - $16

Website? http://www.royaloakhotelnorthfitzroy.com.au/

Reviewers – Lee & Nikki

Prices have been pretty high lately. We haven't tracked down a solid parma special in a while (with the exception of the Parma Knights of course, best parma special around!), and I realised its come to a rather sad state of affairs when I now think of a $20 - $22 parma as "pretty cheap". 

So this week I was on a mission, A mission to find a decent parma that didn't break the bank. I went out of my way to avoid parma specials as restricting a cheap parma to only one night a week can lead to disappointment. After a bit of Google-Fu I came across the Royal Oak Hotel.

I have passed the Royal Oak many times. Smack dab in the middle of Nicholson Street we have driven past it on the way to pretty much every parma we have done in Fitzroy, Collingwood, Abbotsford and beyond - Yet it never really caught my eye as a place to try a parma. So last night we loaded up the parma bus and headed to Fitzroy North's Royal Oak Hotel. 

I think the reason the Oak never caught my eye is that the exterior could use a bit of TLC. From the outside it looks like a bit of a dive - However walk through the doors and you'll find a quaint, cosy, almost country style pub in the middle of busy Fitzroy. 

There were a few folks sipping on after work beers in the public bar, but we opted for the quiet Bistro instead. It was clean, spacious and even had a selection of board games to crack out on a quiet night, and if it weren't 35 freakin' degrees I would have been stoked to see multiple fire places dotted around the pub, this place could be quite cosy on a chilly winter evening. 

Checked the menu for our target ...

... And placed the order. None of us were too adventurous with our sides, everyone sticking to the classic chips & salad as opposed to the mash & veggies option. 

Beer selection was minimal, If you're after something crafty you might want to head elsewhere. Draught, VB, Guinness, Lashes ... I think I saw a Fat Yak, and some cider. Enough to wet the whistle, but nothing too out of the ordinary either. 

After a 15 minute wait our meals appeared from the kitchen...

Imagine my surprise when this $16 parma arrived with a pure chicken breast. I thought for sure we were going to get store bought, but we were delivered a thick, plump piece of bird. The schnitzel quality was a massive plus, but also one of this parma's biggest failings as, although pure chicken, it was very dry.

The crumbs were thin and crispy around the edges, although slightly soggy in the middle where they had soaked up a lot of the napoli. Parma looked a little small on the plate, but carried a hefty thickness to make up for it. 

The toppings were generally pretty solid. The cheese blend was spot on with a strong bite and plenty of it. The ham had great coverage and made its presence known. The napoli was a little light, as I mentioned earlier a lot of it had been soaked into the crumbs, but there were "napoli pockets" spread out around the parma that survived and delivered a quite flavoursome sauce. 

The serving of chips was generous, plenty to go around. They were cooked well but needed seasoning. We were offered tomato sauce when the meals arrived without prompting, so points there as well.

Like the chips, the serving of garden salad was also generous. It was fresh and crisp with an adequate amount of ingredients - Could have used a splash of a more flavoursome dressing though. 

“On the verge of being a great option for a cheap parma, just stumbled at the finish line as the chicken was quite dry.”

— Nikki

I have nitpicked this parma a lot, but pretty much every complaint I have raised up can be ameliorated with the sentence "Good for the price". at $16 this is the cheapest non-parma night parma we've had in quite some time. It was by no means perfect, but for the price? Not too shabby.

If you're after a down to earth, home-style feed at a very reasonable price then it might be worth checking out the Royal Oak. It's got the vibe of a backstreets local on a relatively busy street. The staff were friendly, the vibe was fun and for the price it was a pretty decent feed.

Pros - 

• It's only $16 
• Large servings of chips & salad

Cons -

• Chicken was dry

Parma - 6.95

Chips - 6.50

Salad - 6.40

Value - 7.75

Total - 6.91

The search continues...

#292 - 'The Newmarket Tavern'

Where? - 386 Racecourse Rd. Flemington

Price? - $19.90

Website? http://www.newmarkettavern.com.au/

Reviewers – Lee & Nikki

I have often spied the Newmarket Tavern on trips up Racecourse Rd on our semi-monthly dumpling night at nearby I Love Dumplings, but I have always written it off as a dodgy pokies room that might have a bar attached. 

Imagine my surprise to hear that, not only is there a bar and a bistro attached to the Newmarket, but they have seemingly taken a cue from the nearby Sporting Globe and gone full sports bar with the place, mounting so many TVs across the walls (and over the urinals) that you'd struggle to look in a direction in which you can't see a sporting competition of some kind. 

We arrived, snagged a seat in front of the giant projector screen, and checked the menu for our target for the evening...

The menu gave me hope. A five line description for the parma made me think they may have put some love into their food and that this may be something more than a dodgy pokies pub. 

The beer list was long, but pretty boring. If it comes out of CUB they've got it, otherwise you may go wanting. Grabbed a pint of Fat Yak and waited about 15 minutes for our parmas to arrive -

First things first the board this parma is presented on is almost identical to the one used at our 2016 Parma of the Year winners, The Birmingham Hotel. Does this mean the parma has a chance to measure up? From the looks of it probably not, but I picked up my cutlery and dove in. 

The schnitzel was okay. Big enough and seemed like pure chicken breast, but the crumbs were thick, and carried that spongey dough layer synonymous with store bought schnitzels. Half good, half bad. It was thick in parts but petered out to some thin spots around the edges. 

The toppings were a mixed bag as well. The cheese was fine, had great coverage and was grilled perfectly. The napoli was hard to detect and barely showed up. 

The menu proudly boasted "Triple smoked ham", so I was expecting a god damn smoke show when I bit into my parma, Unfortunately I couldn't detect any smoke at all, however there were three layers of ham on the parma, so its possible that by "triple smoked ham" they meant "triple slices of smoked ham... that we forgot to smoke". Maybe. 

The chips were served beside the parma, seasoned well, and the caddy of sauces on every table was a nice touch - However I could have used half a handful more, and they were slightly undercooked. Definitely could have used another 60 seconds in the fryer. 

The salad was a total afterthought. Lettuce and some grated carrot. It was well dressed and tasted okay, but wholly unsatisfying as a side. 

“Nothing was bad, but everything on the plate could have been slightly better.”

— Nikki

In my mind I'd put this as an $18 parma, for that price I'd be happy for what I paid. Unfortunately the Newmarket is selling it for $19.90. The price, like every other element of this parma isn't offensive, but could be improved slightly. I can't see any mention of a discount parma night on their website or social media so I'm going to assume that their isn't one.

I went into the Newmarket with low expectations. Both the parma and the venue was much better than I was expecting, but still not great. I'm glad I know about what lies inside the Newmarket as its actually a decent sports bar if you're looking for somewhere to catch the big game, have a beer, and lose some cash in the pokies. 

Parma - 6.75

Chips - 6.75

Salad - 3.75

Value - 6.25

Total - 6.05

The search continues...

Special Attempt - Aussie Parmageddon @ The Skinny Dog

Where? - 155 High St. Kew

Price? - $20 Parmageddon special

Website? http://www.skinnydoghotel.com.au/

Reviewers – Cale, Daniel, Grace, Lee, Nikki, Shanan, Tony

Last week I received an email from the good folks at Kew's Skinny Dog Hotel with some news,  news that they were brewing something special for the oncoming Australia Day.

Rather than repeat all their plans for what took place I'll just show you one of their promo images that was circulated... 

Sounds like a fantastic day! On top of that, the Skinny Dog invited us down on the 26th to sample their range of Aussie themed parmas and make a very important judgement - Which of the Aussie parma varieties would take the crown as the Aussiest of them all. Sounds like a much better Australia Day than batch microwaving 10 frozen parmas! After the tradition of a barbie, backyard cricket and a few cheeky cans was complete we headed over to the Skinny Dog to see what they had to offer. 

I haven't been to the Skinny in quite a while, and it's great to see that they haven't lost their cool, funky aesthetic. The beer garden was pumping out the tunes so we took a seat in the quieter restaurant section (although it was filling up fast). The specials menu was already waiting for us on the table...

To be quite honest, they all sounded amazing. After making sure we had at least one of each being ordered around the table we placed our order and awaited the arrival of our dinner. 

Normally this is where I put in a little spiel about what beers are on offer at the Skinny Dog, but to be honest I didn't look past the $20 buckets of Colonial cans. Can't go wrong.

Shortly after ordering the parmas arrived and the judging commenced...

Apologies that I couldn't find an emoji to represent Melbourne. The Emoji gods really need to get on that.

Hot damn that was a big parma. Of the four options I selected the Brett Lee so my thoughts will mostly be on that, with some opinions on the other parmas from everyone else below. 

First up, the Schnitzel was phenomenal. Absolutely huge and of the purest quality chicken breast. It was crumbed ever so lightly and cooked to perfection with a satisfying crunch.

The thick cut bacon on the Brett Lee was an explosion of flavour that paired perfectly with the tang of the BBQ sauce. I'm not normally a massive egg fan, but the yolk on top of the Brett Lee was cooked just right, its juicy goodness flowing down around the other toppings and enhancing them all. 

It may have been the influence of the  cans that I had enjoyed before heading to the Skinny Dog, but I really enjoyed the Brett Lee.

We have visited the Skinny Dog before, and I've long held the opinion that their sides were probably the weakest part of the dish. Last night we discovered that this has changed, with both elements of the side dishes receiving a major upgrade. 

First up the chips. The first time we had the Skinny Dog's parma we god Maccas fries (ugh). The second time we got crinkle cut chips (better, but could use some improvement). Last night we got near perfection. Beer battered beauties that maintained a solid crunch on the outside while remaining hot, soft and pillowy on the inside. 

The biggest surprise was the salad - I'd go as far to say the best side salad I've had in at least six months. A sort of garden salad/coleslaw hybrid. Fresh, well dressed and absolutely bursting with flavour

Now, some thought from everyone else on their parmas -

“Overall the meal was great. Parma could have used a little more seasoning”

— Tony - The Melbourne

“Great value, big feed with a pot ... Great. Would have loved a bigger pie on the MCG”

— Shanan - The MCG

“Great value parma. Overall good flavour & sides were top notch. Well worth the $20”

— Grace - The Bondi Beach

“Not too bad this time around! Bloody great value with the beer”

— Cale - The Brett Lee

“Really enjoyed the parma & chips, however the MCG disappointed slightly with its promise on the meat pie on top”

— Daniel - The MCG

It would seem everyone walked away happy! With the most minor of gripes coming from the two that ordered the MCG, it would seem that, in their minds, they had pictured a full sized Four n' Twenty perched atop their parma, when in reality the MCG comes with a few party pies on top instead. 

For $20 on a Thursday with a beer thrown in this is an outstanding value meal that I'd have zero qualms recommending. Get down and try your favourite ASAP!

Now, as the Skinny Dog invited us down and new we were coming this one falls in the category of an unranked special attempt, I'm a little sad about that as there has been a marked improvement on this parma since we last visited - It's now definitely on our list for an official redo so you can expect to see it again soon. 

But which one was the most Aussie? My heart leans toward the Melbourne, as what is more Aussie that a good ol' Parma with chips, salad and some beers. I'm tempted to give it to the MCG out of sheer inventiveness, such a unique and Australian dish. The Bondi can get stuffed because we're from Melbourne and it's our legal duty as citizens of this city to refuse to acknowledge that Sydney is good at anything.

However... I think I've gotta give it to the Binga himself - The Brett Lee. Be it a burger, a pizza or a parma, A fried egg on top is synonymous with Aussie grub, and the Brett Lee at the Skinny Dog is as Aussie as they come. 

Massive thanks to the Skinny Dog Hotel for inviting us down for a great day! Hope you all had an Awesome Australia Day as well. 

The search continues...

#291 - 'The Water Rat Hotel'

Where? - 256 Moray St. South Melbourne

Price? - $24

Website?  http://www.thewaterrathotel.com.au/

Reviewers – Lee & Nikki

I've had a question in my mind for a while, I have posed it on Twitter a few times but never got a suitable response, and that question is "Where would I find Melbourne's highest parma?" Now calm down Cheech, by "highest parma" I simply mean the highest from ground level I would be able to partake in some chickeny, cheesy, tomatoey goodness. I thought I was onto something when The Imperial opened their rooftop deck, however after I found they made the shocking decision to not allow their parmas above ground level my dream of a parma with a view was crushed

Then a few weeks back my dream was re-ignited. I spied a post about the Water Rat Hotel their Twitter page, advertising that the sun was shining, the beers were cold and (most importantly) that they had a meals going on their rooftop deck. I pulled up the Rat's website and checked the menu...

Parma - confirmed. Rooftop deck - confirmed. ParmaBus - warming up. 

We arrived at the Water Rat a little before 7 on Thursday and was surprised to find it relatively quiet. The pub itself is beautiful. Recently renovated with a spacious front bar and an intimate dining space out the back. We made a beeline for the stairs, ascended, and (past the very striking function space) found the rooftop deck.

Now, being on the second floor I don't think it's going to win any awards for highest parma, but the sun was shining, the view of our gorgeous city was grand and the pint of Stone & Wood in my hand was ice cold. Happy days. The only thing that could improve this scene? A decent parma. 

Back down the stairs we trotted and placed our orders at the bar. I was delighted to confirm that it'd be no problem taking our meals on the deck, so we headed back up and basked in the Melbourne sun while waiting for our meals to arrive. 

I mentioned Stone & Wood but there are plenty of other beer options on tap at the Rat. From VB to Two Birds to Mountain Goat to Schofferhofe German wheat beer - There's something to suit everyone's fancy.

15 minutes after ordering I heard footsteps on the stairs ... The parmas were here!

The schnitzel, in short, was fantastic. It looked a little small on the plate, but that was due to all of the circumference going into the thickness of the chicken. Surprisingly thick and served steaming hot, The crumbs were non-intrusive and remained crunchy throughout - This schnitzel was everything you want the foundation of your parma to be. 

The toppings were mostly great as well. The napoli was heaped on with gusto and tasted freshly made with just the right amount of chunkiness. The cheese blend could have used a tad more zing to it but served the dish well and was grilled to utter perfection. The ham was there, but unfortunately was lost amongst the flavours of the other toppings - A minor complaint to an otherwise stellar parma.

I wish I could report that the sides were as on point as the chicken, but alas, this is where the Water Rat's falters a little. It's no secret that we are not fans of french fries (aka "maccas chips") beside a parma, although credit to them they were indeed served beside the parma and not underneath. For french fries they were okay. They needed a little seasoning but they were served fresh, hot and crisp at first - But the problem with fries is that they have a half-life of about 60 seconds before turning cold and rock hard. After enjoying the hell out of my piping hot parma I was left with a pile of cold, hard potato strips that weren't nearly as enjoyable as a good beer battered steak chip. 

The salad, like the chips, was okay but not great. It was fresh and well dressed (with some herbed dressing that made it taste more like a garlic and herb bread than a salad... weird), But I wish it had more to it than some leafy greens and a strip or two of grated carrot. 

“Loved the beautiful quality chicken and the toppings were tasty as well. The sides, however, definitely needed some love”

— Nikki

I would gladly shell out another $24 to enjoy this parma again. Despite my whinging about the sides this parma on that rooftop with the lovely view of the Melbourne city skyline was a damn enjoyable experience that I would be happy to repeat. Advertised around was the Water Rat's Tuesday $20 Parma & Pot night, which is a fantastic deal that you should definitely jump on should you be in the area. 

I enjoyed the hell out of my time at the Water Rat, I'll definitely be back for not only the parma but the majority of the rest of the menu as well, which also looked amazing. If they put a little more love into their sides this would be a real contender, but until then I'll put it in the category of "Pretty damn good". Oh, and if you have a suggestion of somewhere in Melbourne I'd find a higher parma, leave a comment below or follow any of the social media links below that to get in touch and let me know!

Pros

• Fantastic schnitzel, served piping hot
• Quality toppings

Cons

• Chips & salad need some work

Parma - 8.50

Chips - 6.50

Salad - 6.25

Value - 7.00

Total - 7.35

The search continues...

#290 - 'Bobo's Diner'

Where? - 294 Lygon st. Carlton

Price? - $29.90 for the King Parma

Website?  https://www.bobosdiner.com.au

Reviewers – Lee, Nikki & Stefo

It's Twenty-Seventeen! And ParmaDaze is back with a new look website and yet another year of the hunt for the perfect parma ahead. 

For the first parma of the year I wanted to find something special. The bar had been set pretty high as the first parma of 2016 was our current highest rated parma of all time, The Birmingham Hotel - Tough to beat! 

Bobo's Diner has been on our list for quite a while, I was aiming to get to their Ivanhoe location some time this year (they also have spots in Chirnside Park and Frankston), but it wasn't until a lazy lunch on Lygon (say that ten times fast) during the Christmas break that I noticed that Bobo's opened up a fourth restaurant smack dab in the middle of Carlton.

I had heard stories of Bobo's. Tales of gigantic parmas that were nigh on impossible to finish. Whispers of parmas so huge the menu carried a warning before they were ordered. It had to be done, and what better time than the first parma of 2017. We washed the leaves off the parma bus, loaded it up, and headed to Carlton.

It's hard to pin down what Bobo's actually is. Like a lot of places on Lygon Street it's not quite a bar, not quite a restaurant and not quite a cafe, yet a little bit of all three. I guess the closest thing you could pin it down as is what is written on the window, a Diner.

The menu at Bobo's is stuffed with classic american diner fare. Wings, Hot Dogs, Ribs, Subs, Fried Chicken, Burgers and a sinfully decadent dessert menu - It almost seems out of place to have a selection of parmas available, yet in the centre of the menu, as promised...

They are some insane sounding novelty options (and some insane prices)! Unfortunately none of the review team were quite ready to tackle one of the novelties just yet. We were all boring and ordered up a round of King Parmas for the table.

If you like American beer then Bobo's is the place for you. Only a couple of taps (Coors, Blue Moon & Cider) but a heap of bottled options - 15 that I could count, no less than 7 from the USA (Sierra Nevada, Brooklyn, Samuel Adams to name a few). Some more options on tap might be nice, but there was more than enough to make do. If your tastebuds feel like taking a trip beyond fermented malt, hops and grains Bobo's has a massive cocktail menu, including a selection of "adult" booze-laden milkshakes. 

Shortly after placing our order the waitress came around and swapped out our standard knives for steak knives ... I took this as a sign that we were about to encounter something massive, like the room full of ammo and health packs before a boss fight. About 20 minutes after ordering the parmas arrived at the table.

We're gonna need a bigger knife.

The rumours were true... This thing is a behemoth.

At least two hearty schnitzels fused together, I gathered up my cutlery and tucked in. The chicken beneath the mountain of cheese was pure chicken breast. The schnitzels were slightly overcooked, which led to some dry chicken within but not criminally so.

The crumbing had a solid crunch cut there were one or two slightly burnt spots, although with a schnitzel of this size there were a lot more not burnt spots than there were bunt spots.

"Holy crap thats a lot of cheese" was my first thought on the toppings of this parma. the mammoth schnitzel was topped with a mountain of gooey cheese - Far more than any human should ingest in a single meal, hell it was more cheese than a human should ingest in a week's worth of meals. The gooey goodness was grilled to perfection and complimented the schnitzel well. 

The ham was also plentiful, you can see from the photo below that it looks like nearly half a pig sitting atop this chicken - Unfortunately the ham itself lacked any real flavour, if you couldn't see it on the fork it'd be tough to detect it was there just from the taste. 

The napoli sauce was the only element of the dish I could have used more of, as I mentioned the schnitzel was a little dry, and a heaping of napoli would have helped compensate for that - unfortunately it was either in short supply or had soaked entirely into the crumbs as I couldn't really find any beyond a few pockets here and there on the back of this massive schnitzel (lets call those "red zones")

We have a phrase at ParmaDaze that you can check out in our FAQ & Glossary, we call it Big Parma Syndrome, a phenomenon that occurs with parmas that err on the side of massive wherein the bigger a parma gets the less overall flavour that comes along with it. Although it started strong, about halfway through this parma the BPS started to set in, there was nothing wrong with it, but it just got a little boring - perhaps I should have gone the novelty topping route after all to keep things interesting. 

The chips were pretty standard pub chips. Well seasoned with a few sauce options on every table (tomato, mustard & hot sauce). Serving them not underneath this behemoth of a parma was a master stroke, as you'd never see them again if they wound up under there. 

The salad was disappointing. It looked as if a massive bowl of salad was made in the morning that served everyone's plate with a fresh slice of tomato thrown on top to keep it looking fresh. Everything below was wilted and off colour. Not that I had much room for salad after that massive parma, but it would have been nice to be able to break up the cheese onslaught with something fresh and crisp.

“Massive. A meal for two if you’re a small eater like me. Not walking away from this one hungry, thats for sure! The salad needs a spruce up”

— Nikki

“This thing is stupendously big to the point of being unhealthy. It needs to be toned down considerably”

— Stefo

This is quite possibly the biggest parma we've had outside of a competitive eating setting, but its also the most expensive parma we've had outside of a competitive eating setting. $29.90 for the king parma blows out to $34.90 if you want one of the novelty toppings - But in saying that you are getting two parmas worth of chicken for the price. 

On Wednesday night Bobo's offers their King Parma and a pot for only $20. If its as utterly massive as the parma we consumed last night I'd say this is one of the best value parma deals around (behind signing up to a Parma Knight's membership ... hint hint). As the waitress collected our plates we were given the option to have what was left wrapped up to take home. For the frugal this parma for $20 on a Wednesday could conceivably feed you for two or three days depending on your opinions of reheating food.

If someone asks you where to find the biggest parma around, this is it. The Bobo's King Parma might not be the most flavoursome or have the juiciest schnitzel - It's not going to win any "best parma" awards, but it fills a very specific niche - If you're after a meal so big that you'll be clutching your stomach in pain on the ride home (and thats without another $5 of pulled pork or nachos with chilli con carne layered on top), then this is definitely one to check out.

Pros

• Massive. Unbelievably massive.

Cons

• Expensive.
• Disappointing salad
• Big Parma Syndrome

Parma - 7.00

Chips - 7.00

Salad - 3.40

Value - 5.67

Total - 6.01

The search continues...