Invasion of the Aussies

Aussie seems to be the theme dominating the tone of F&B outlets. I recently went to The Daily Grind in Bangsar Shopping Village and was told that the outlet was inspired by a place the owners frequented and really liked in Australia. Delicious is inspired by Aussie eateries and delis that the owner liked to frequent. It apparently is also the reason for the 'rustic' style of the food in the restaurant (I prefer to just think of the food at Delicious as 'rough' rather than 'rustic' but that's me grinding my axe).

But back to my original point about this whole fascination with going Aussie. From my experience a few years back at the KL Hilton's Senses (Aussie Fusion) to my lunch at the Daily Grind (i have a few other bones to grind there but...let's stick to the topic - more on the Daily Grind later), it's hard to have good things to say about Aussie-inspired cuisine.

Yet we have the famous 'Bills' restaurant in Sydney. His Sydney Food cookbook is incredible - amazing photography, yummy ideas especially for breakfast. It all goes great until you get to the Asian-oriental creations. That's when I have to roll my eyes. The decidedly Aussie OTT tone about 'beautiful' and 'fresh' produce feels a bit dated because that's what all chefs will tell you. Honestly, I have yet to meet a chef that advocated using 'old' produce or 'rotting' produce but there you go.






Those who want to take a peek at Sydney Food and do the Malaysian thing(read:copy the recipes) Alexis@The Gardens has a copy - a great distraction whilst you await your coffee and cake.

Then there's Tetsuya, that 'must visit' for any self-respecting gourmet. But then juxtapose that with the mixed culinary bag called Kylie Kwong, and the fondness Curtis Stone (he of Discovery Channels Take Home Chef) displays for making Asian food or Asian flavours, despite um, obviously being better at making the European stuff, and you really have to wonder: WHAT IS SO AMAZING ABOUT AUSSIE CUISINE?

Caveat: I have never been to Australia, but have eaten at some Australian delis in Hong Kong, and the ones known to be inspired by Aust in KL.

Why isn't anyone setting out to open a proper French bistro serving good quality European food with a decent plat du jour and prix fixe menu for LUNCH? Or a nice little Italian trattoria with nice anti-pasti and modest portions of rustic pasta? Heck, I would hanker for a decent spot of pub grub any time - a proper roast beef, or a nice pie, or a simple fish and chips, done well. Of course, all this is available if you are brave enough to venture to KL, but the fact is that most of the eateries coming up are 'daily' eateries (places you can eat at say, for lunch most days) rather than places you would go to for a night out with friends. And they are mostly opening up in places in PJ or bordering PJ, rather than KL.

I don't fault the quality of produce that comes from Australia (great lamb, and beef, as well as good dairy products). And yes, there are lots of talented Aussie chefs cooking in restaurants in London and we seem to see a lot of them on television. And yes, Aussie cuisine in itself has tremendous breadth and range. And I've eaten at one or two Australian-inspired delis in Hong Kong that were quite good (Percy's in Kennedy Town comes to mind).

BUT, something seems to be lost in the translation here in KL. What I've eaten doesn't feel like its Aussie by any stretch of the word when it comes to the quality of the food, or the kind of zing in flavours that one would expect. What you get is Aussie Outside - the look, the concept, and the menu - but none of the execution inside. (the breakfast menu at Delicious, and their ricotta hotcakes being a good example).

It's Lamingtons for the sake of Lamingtons, if you like.

As for the whole 'rustic' look and style being marketed as something different or 'homey', frankly rustic is hardly uniquely Aussie - it's a common thread that runs through all classical cooking. Think Ratatouille. Think La Cucina. Think good-old fashioned English food. Think Swiss food.

And if rustic is supposed to translate to better flavours (as opposed to the conventional Malaysian thinking of 'portions like mom makes it'), then we're not getting rustic either in my view.

Frankly, the Daily Grind and Delicious (and arguably Senses in KL Hilton) are in my view, not a measure of how good Aussie cuisine is, and can be, from what I have eaten, and what I see on TV on 'Surfing the Menu'. Eateries here are but pastiches or homage to a place, or a notion of food, that countless Malaysians, educated in Australia, have of what Australian food is.

I don't care in a sense what the inspiration for the food is, as long as its good and decently priced. but why it is that there always has to be a toss up between indecent quality and decent pricing and indecent pricing and decent quality?