I never realised how much my diet can change, depending on the city that I’m living in. Italian fare is like a staple food for all families within Australia, we eat it every week over here and it has a deep impact on how we go about enjoying our nights out! The untold truth about Australian cuisine however, is that many of the Italian food here will be cooked by the 2nd or 3rd generation Italian immigrants. It is still pretty good mind you, but to the discernible foodie’s palate, one can still really tell this has now transformed slightly into an Aust adopted Italian style of cuisine. Much of the same can be said about New York style Italian food, which either goes the way of being Modernised Italian in philosophical approach rather than based on traditional Italian recipes and ingredients, or else trying to cherry pick the few of the selective and often sensationalised authentic recipes and then aiming to find a combination of a few winners within! Sicilian Orange is an Aust-Italian owned restaurant. The locals certainly love it, and here they even insist on serving purely, imported Italian wines.. What can I learn from my visit tonight?
Love this sitting-to-be-too-close Dining Room -
It’s what Italian food is about,
even when outside of Italy
San Pellegrino Mineral Sparkling Water - AUD $8
Not cheap, but nowhere as ridiculously priced as the one I had at Maison Boulud a Pekin in Beijing!
Very Decent Bread -
This carried a sourdough traditional baguette taste,
which is what real bread really is about. Served cold, as it is fresh bread.
This isn’t Hong Kong afterall…! ~ 8/10
Salumi Misti -
Prosciutto, Mortadella, Peppered Salame. Pretty ordinary fare, not bad but not exceptional.
~ 6.5/10
Sarde Fritte -
Light fried sardine on rucola, pretty decent starter and perfectly executed.
I don’t think this place is about surprises, it’s more about comfort food ~ 7/10
Spaghetti Messina – AUD $18
This is the dish-of-the night! Thin long pasta is tossed with white anchovies, fresh tomatoes, chili and olive oil. This was cooked perfectly in both balance and pasta texture. The anchovies and a hint of heat really made it very lovable by nature. A very good rendition of a simple pasta dish. ~ 9/10
Penne Con Pesce Spada – AUD $19
Short tubed pasta with sword fish pieces, zucchini and EVOO. This is a very simple dish, with a hint of balsamic vinegar input. Nothing to be faulted but fairly generic. I could eat this all day but at this price, it had better be good! ~ 7.5/10
Spezzatino - $25
A traditional stew. I guess there isn’t any issue of this being either an authentic Italian or Australian-Italian recipe, as everybody does their own version somehow. This was done really well and is a wintery dish deserving of praise. I like how the veggies and the meat were all cooked separately to their desired doneness and perfectly synchronized in timing. If not just a little too pricey, vs the missing of flavouring complexity ~ 7/10
Fagiolini - AUD $9
French String beans are cooked with olive oil and parsley. Decently cooked but a bit generic, may be, that’s what vegetables are about? Keep intact as much as possible of its original chlorophyll taste. Cooked spot on nevertheless, but slightly too dry ~ 6.5/10
Sicilian Trifle - $10
Never really heard of a Sicilian Trifle before, but this was filled with half chocolate mousse and half Marashino filled sponge. It’s almost like like hybrid between a frozen cassata and a tiramisu, lined with savoiardi fingers. Very enjoyable in terms of taste rather than pure authenticity in recipe ~ 8/10
Cannolo di Ricotta - AUD $5
Cannolo skin with Ricotta Cream cheese filling and a bit of orange zest. The filling was really great, but the pastry was too hard compared to the one served here: Antica Gelateria di Roma . The one here was good but a bit too crunchy to my liking. ~ 6.5/10
A decent local joint…
There are some better Italian food to be found in town,
but on the other hand, you’ll be hard pressed to find anything less than decent.
Everyone goes out eating, with high expectations in their minds these days!
Price: AUD $30-40 per person
Food: ♕♕♕ 1/2
Opening Hours -
7 Days a week - Breakfast / Lunch
Tuesday to Sun - Dinner
Address: 115 Greville Street, Prahran, Victoria
Ph: (03) 9510 1051
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