Ants on a Tree

Ok ... M IS IN THE CLEAR!!! So we are sorta out of the woods at the moment. I just have to concentrate on what ever the hell it is I'm doing. But it makes no nevermind, M had his appointment on Tuesday just gone at 4pm. He was out of there by about 5-ish and I suggested we have a meal to celebrate.

He swung by to pick me up and we ended up parking across the way and going to Trunk for a couple of drinks. They do a mean Mojito there by the way. But I tell you that now, and when you go, some work experience nit will end up making yours with half a plantation of lime and you'd be like what the ... this is a shit blog!!!

Anyhoo, we popped over to the Seamstress to check out menus, and deciding that the food would serve us better if we were in a big group (mental note - organise dinner at drinks at Seamstress forthwith!!), we moseyed down Ltl Bourke St checking out potential places to eat at.

Feeling a little more adventurous than usual (i.e. I couldn't get any of my usual asian food "kakis" - don't stress its a malay expression, meaning legs, and by extension support and is basically a way of saying "partners in crime" or "friends" - on the phone) we ended up at ANTS BISTRO on Corrs Lane.

The Matt Preston review I have hyperlinked to gives its a resounding "meh"! But we actually enjoyed the food.


Let me preface this by saying that we were in a pretty excitable mood. And I have decided that we really know how to order food, in that we always luck on the prefect combination of complementary flavours (yes let me beat my own drum every now and then!!), and this night was no exception.

We decided to go for 2 starters. I was in the mood for something clear and fresh on the palate, and something pungent to go with it.

So we had a plate of Jellyfish:

I love jellyfish, although I'm used to having the strips a little smaller and thinner. I love the crunch and the freshness of the coriander and the hint of sesame oil ... its the thing I go to most on Cold Dish platters that you get as first course in a traditional 10 course chinese meal. (haven't had one of these for a very long time ... and they don't give you a free packet of Marlboros for each table anymore!!!)

We also ordered a 5-spice smoked fish:

M really liked it but I was looking for something more pungent so it those terms in was a little dissappointing.


For mains we had to try Ants on a Tree!! It was what attracted us to the menu in the first place. Of course it wasn't really Ants (although I have had those and I'm not a real fan of that slight ozone tint they have) but minced pork with glass noodles and finely chopped pickled veg, mushrooms and eggplant.

To complement this, we ordered tea leaf smoked duck:

 
Although parts of the duck were too dry for my liking, it was conveniently deboned and the smoky flavour was just right, not too heavy.
 
We were drinking a fair bit of Evans and Tate shiraz so perhaps there should be a disclaimer to this review - "flavour may vary according to amount of alcohol consumed"
 
But if you're ever stuck for a quick cheap no fuss meal ... you should check this out.