The Age from Melbourne, Victoria, Australia • Page 43

epicureating out TUESDAY 21 DECEMBER 1999 THE AGE 3 rnrnva Deja vu diiiiiig 1 mite 'H -w 'X JJ.U) ill Koots 479 Glenferrie Road, Kooyong Phone 9822 3809 Pictures: PENNY STEPHENS Standing at trta station: Koots ta a smart neighborhood bistro. 254 Thomas Sweet, Dandenong Phone 9791 2381 Thomas Street Dandenong is an unlikely place for Japanese restaurant. The street is lined with Chinese, Vietnamese, Indian and Middle Eastern eateries, but Kintaro, tucked behind a modest brown awning. Is one of a kind in more ways than; one. Chef and owner Hiroshl Nakano has been slicing Ulna In this spot for four years' nflW.

His place is tiny and, with half the floor space given over to' an opert kitchen, there's barely room for a handful of tables and chairs. He runs a One-rhen show, taking your order, duckipg pehind the counter to swivetnls pots and pans, and rapidly re-emerging with the goods. Service may be basic, but the food still rhanages to look great on the plate. With Its menu of Japanese cuisine's greatest hits (sushi, sashimi, tertyaW and tempura), Kintaro caters mainly for lunchtime office workers. Five gyoza (steamed and fried pork dumplings) came tucked-up together like bugs irfa rug, with minced pork, cabbage and spring onion gently pressed together inside a delicate Pieces of tempura were more like the onion brmjla they'd be serving in the Irldian restaurants down the road than the dainty, feather-light morsels you'd expect.

Thinly sliced onions were coated in thick batter and, while the flavor was sweet and delicious, the tempura was dripplrg with oil. On a lighter note, Kintaro does a range of sushi, from futomaki and California roll tft lnart (rice wrapped In fried bear! curd): arid salmon and cucumber rolls. Tw secret to good sushi Is in the irid Klntaro's is perfectly cooketfWxl lightly flavored with rice vinegar Far removed friSfl the pure and subtle flavors of sashimi is curry udon. Klntaro's version comes with a thick and full-flavored soup that has en appealing sharpness. Slices of onion and a few chunks of beef keep company 'with a bundle of wheat Kintaro does fine job of chicken tetlyaki as" well: thin slices of marytand WIef are steeped in a house-made marinade and quickly fried.

The result is sweet, tender and wholly satisfying. Prices: entrees mains Card: none. Open: il.30am-3pm Mon-Fri Carolyn Hotbrook used an awful lot these days: what we get is an unremarkable spread of white beans in a tomatoey thyme-infused liquid. Fine, but hardly revelatory. Prices generally are not high at Koots, a policy that applies to a nice little wine list, but side dishes are, at $6 for mashed potato and $6.50 for a rocket salad with candied tomato.

Other main options include a seared snapper fillet served aged rib-eye of zucchini and capsicum, diced tomato salsa and two fried chickpea cakes, could not salvage the fortunes of two pieces of fish with the texture of milk-soaked bread and a faintly unpleasant odor. We fare better with two small, nicely seasoned lamb racks The meat is good, although roasted a little longer than necessary, and served on what the menu describes as "conflt haricot beans, tomatoes and This word "confit" is Roasted rack of Iamb aaJjNj Main It has the regulation chunky TableKraft bistro cutlery, nice glassware and white crockery, paper overlays on the linen tablecloths, and some smart accessories such as groovy little metal bread baskets (in which they put good, French-style bread). The walls are painted various greens and terracotta, the canvases on the walls are an original series with an abstract-ish food theme, the floor polished cement Nothing to offend, except perhaps tiny tables, and much to appeal. But the name of the restaurant on the big, heavy front door, presumably play on nearby Kooyongkoot Road, doesn't say much about the place. The original proprietor is gone now, but with a series of chefs over a relatively short period under that owner, Koots has been an uncertain prospect for a reviewer.

Would the same regime exist in three months? This is the sort of small place that needs a cooking owner to give it some consistency and, indeed, new owner Patrice Repellin is also the chef, although I can't say we are uniformly thrilled by the food. Repellin, who bought the restaurant recently after working for year as head chef at South Melbourne's La Madrague, and who hails from the mountainous Haute Savoie in France, offers a summer menu that is brief, although not challenging. Perhaps it reflects the conservative nature of the area and the predominantly mature clientele -at least on the night we're there. It wears no regional cap and sensibly steers towards a lighter style of cooking. Entrees include a vichyssoise with truffle oil, a "tart tatin" of tomato, olives and goats cheese, and cured salmon with a dill and cucumber sour cream.

The two entrees we try are, satisfying. A rich and complex terrine of duck and prune ($12.50) is made with a good but not silly amount of duck fat melding the sweet-gamey flavors. It is served with a fine and sweet red onion jam, some walnut pieces, several slices of toasted dark rye bread and a dressed leaf of red IBM I With the mere sound of a bell, memories come flooding back. No, we're not talking about a Paviovian response. In this case, it is the level-crossing warning bells at Kooyong railway station, and suddenly I'm back there, a 13-year-old trapped in a boarding school.

I know there is an expert somewhere to contradict me, but only one set of level-crossing bells in Melbourne sounds exactly like this, and I heard them hundreds of times a week for two long years. The Kooyong station bells were a constant reminder of a freedom out there: trains, a ticket home, all the things you yearn for when your liberty has been surrendered to a boarding school's stem and moustached house master. Sitting at a footpath table outside Koots restaurant with a glass of red in hand, in the swish little strip of shops that is the Kooyong village of Glenferrie Road, the first clattering train to come along; followed by the sound of those bells, caught me a little by surprise. As schoolboys, this village was the target of our weekend assaults. We'd carefully plan a visit to the milk bar -strictly forbidden, of course which took us off the school grounds, and then across Gardiner's Creek, into Kooyong Tennis Club and, believe it or not, across centre court the closest we ever got to imitating Newk or Mick Jagger breaking cover at Glenferrie Road for a 50-metre sprint to the shop, lest a master should spot us.

Kooyong village has changed since the early 1970s, although boarders from nearby schools still sneak down here for an icecream or packet of gum. For a start, there are at least four places to go for coffee -not that any truant boarder wants to be caught with a caffe latte in hand -and "gourmet" food. One of them is Koots. Koots has been here about 18 months; a small, smart, glass-fronted neighborhood bistro perfectly placed to capture a well-heeled, conservative local clientele. YSTO EN JOY, WITH CELLAR a a coral lettuce.

The other, a warm salad of grilled sweet scallops (with roe attached), is served with shards of bitter-crunchy witlof and grilled asparagus, some more red coral and a walnut vinagrette. I would happily order either again. But a dish of grilled swordfish ($19.50) seems on this occasion to ignore the fundamental rule of simple, quick grill cooking: the produce has to be excellent In this case, some char-grilled eggplant, Entree Duck and prune terrine Owners: Catherine and Patrice Repellin Chef: Patrice Repellin Wine list: small but interesting, with reasonable prices Corkage: nla Vegetarian options: two entrees, one main Seats: 45 A lot beef with pommes frites and sauce beamaise; a fennel flan served with roasted vegetables and a cep-mushroom-infused sauce; and a roasted fillet of duck with onions, leeks and a sweet balsamic sauce. Genuine enthusiasm can at least be cranked up for the desserts here. A large poached pear, filled with a smooth-as-silk, bittersweet chocolate goo, is a delight, served as it is with a scattering of cracked pistachios and a thin creme anglaise Equally, thin and light-as-a-feather filo pastry bonbons ($8.50) like the sort you pull at Christmas come with a soft date filling and are served with a cold almond-flavored cream and an anglaise that is advertised on the menu as having some association with saffron.

Desserts at Koots show a flair that is hard to recognise in the main courses. Also on the positive side, staff here do their job well, with an easy manner and attention to detail. Hopefully, after some more time in his new restaurant, chef Repellin will strike a more confident note. 1 would have loved to have said at this point that the next time I hear those bells I'll instantly remember some magnificent French food at Koots. For the time being however, the only culinary association with those bells will be the boarding house fodder that took me from chubby child to skinny adolescent in just two years.

Eventually, everyone gets sick of spaghetti on toast. jlethleantheage.fairfax.com.au The summary 1320 goingfor it, but the food is the weak link in Dessert Poached pear filled with bitter-sweet chocolate the chain. Cards: AE DC VMC BC Scores: 1-10: unacceptable, don't bother. 11-12: just OK, some shortcomings. 13: getting there.

14: Recommended. IS: Really good. 16: Really, really good. 17: Excellent. 18: An outstanding experience.

19-20: Approaching perfection, Victoria's best. DAY NT bah iiotaJU ene Cantonese Cuisine -A ivmym joe joe Open for lunch 2412 Re-opcn Sunday 2612 Open for lunch 3112 Re-open Monday 31 "ST T.W cvtofet, alt ite Bourke Street, Melbourne 3000. Ph 9662 9100 OUR FOOD Berry Farm Cottages luxury sc set in orchard Drouin West (1 hrcast MelbCUD) Ph 03 5628 7627 for brochure KEW'S NEW YEARS EVE byo and licensed 9862 1727 330 High St Kew Nonsmoking area: entire restaurant Outdoor dtnlrtg: yes (footpath) Wheelchair friendly: not particularly Parking: street Hours: Lunch from midday Tues-Fri; Dinner from 6.30pm Tues-Sat Bill: about $68 for two (two courses and coffee) plus drinks Vet tJ i 3 ,1 76 ROSPARS 155 Fitzroy Street, St Kilda Tel: 9525 4748 XMAS LUNCH 4 Course Meal per person (food only) $45 children under 12 BOOK NOW FOR NEW YEARS EVE 4 Course Meal per person (food only) Menu Includes: oysters, Prawns, Salmon, Crayfish Corporate Functions encjulrles welcoiM BJ7aU Jf3C3iffTA 1 (DO u0 TWO COURSES OF YOUR CHOICE AND A GLASS OF WINE LUNCH SEVTSNT CiAYS 1 ENTREE ZUPPA CON ZUCCHINI Zucchini soup tr 1 i INSALATA Dl ANGUILLA Smoked ed with hcnxndishldrcaBiiift with fhah 6c chtvts sabd ORECCHIETTE CON BROCCOLI ACCIUGHE Orccchiette con broccoli, anchovies and garlic FETTINE DI CARNE PICCANtE Thin escalopes of yearling beef with chillios and lehmn juifce PEZZETTI DI POIXO CON ROSMARINO VINO BIANCO a main H.r Pan fried chicken pieces with hftenury' garlic and wfrite wine PESCE DEL isn 0 dessert CnJEGE APFOGATI COPPA DI RICOTTA wrtra TORTA DI MELE MOUSSE DI CIOCCOLTO "i ''''-if-' '-'tV' n-.