Spice bar at Melbourne Qantas Domestic Business Lounge

[Ade]

MEL Spice Bar 24/08

Loving this eggplant mapo tofu dish. I loaded it up with Chilli paste (because what’s life without a bit of spice )

 

[JasonK]

MEL Spice Bar 08/08 ( a few weeks ago). I believe they had a pork version (this one) and a non-meat version. Was nice!

 

[Austman]

And the other choice today at the Spice Bar:



The teriyaki chicken. And I found a small cheese plate:

 

[SYD]

And the other choice today at the Spice Bar:

The teriyaki chicken. And I found a small cheese plate:

View attachment 289776

Is there liquid in that? It looks very dry - like it’s waiting to be cooked or something.

 

[Austman]

Is there liquid in that? It looks very dry - like it’s waiting to be cooked or something.

It was quite dry. Which I quite like. But not crispy dry…

The chicken, rice and pickled ginger all “moist”.

 

[SYD]

It was quite dry. Which I quite like. But not crispy dry…

The chicken, rice and ginger all “moist”.

Ah, the brown bits on the left is cooked chicken!

TBH, it doesn’t look great. @Ade ’s earlier post (presumably the same dish?) looked like something I might expect to see at a breakfast buffet in Singas that some Aussie concocted not really knowing what they were doing…

 

[Austman]

presumably the same dish?

That was the other choice.

 

[Berlin]

Hey- all looking really awesome to me!
Too bad I’m not scheduled to go through Melbourne any time soon.

Maybe it’s time for a spontaneous weekend away

 

[SYD]

That was the other choice.

Just common camouflage pilfered from Puckapunyal!

Maybe it’s time for a spontaneous weekend away

Ditto!

 

[Daver6]

Is there liquid in that? It looks very dry - like it’s waiting to be cooked or something.

I had it on Monday. Pretty underwhelming and bland.

 

[jakeseven7]

I had it on Monday. Pretty underwhelming and bland.

Which of the zillion condiments from the condiment bar to the left of the Spice Bar did you use? I usually ask the staff what they recommend per dish and they are really helpful and seem really happy that some people want to use them like you would in an Asian restaurant!

 

[sudoer]

I look forward to trying these both for lunch today, assuming they're still on the menu. Mapo tofu and teriyaki don shouldn't require condiments ... but let's see how we go

 

[jakeseven7]

I look forward to trying these both for lunch today, assuming they're still on the menu. Mapo tofu and teriyaki don shouldn't require condiments ... but let's see how we go

But let’s be frank they have to dial it down a little for the masses, even the premium clientele of the J lounge - hence the provision of the condiments to spice things up and open up the flavour buds like all good Asian restaurants.

 

[Austman]

I had it on Monday. Pretty underwhelming and bland.

Yes, the chicken was pretty bland. For teriyaki. The pickled ginger on the other hand wasn’t.

 

[Ade]

But let’s be frank they have to dial it down a little for the masses, even the premium clientele of the J lounge - hence the provision of the condiments to spice things up and open up the flavour buds like all good Asian restaurants.

This is true ... in my opinion the mapo tofu definitely needs a bit more flavour & spice.

I'm not a chef by any means, but a humble home cook, who meal preps once a week and IMHO, the thing about eggplant is that it has it unique earthy note that can sometimes, when not cooked/spiced properly, leave a mineraly note to the dish. This can be overcome by adding garlic or ginger to the dish. I think this is why the eggplant & mapo tofu is served with pickled ginger.

The junior* chef I spoke to is from a neighbouring state in India & I speak his local language, even though I'm not from his state. We had a chat for about 5 mins (when the queue to the Spice Bar had died down) and he said the kitchen staff are instructed to cook meals that borders on being bland and agreeably flavourful to cater to all the pax.. He told me that if someone were to pick up the dish and had it as is, they should be able to eat it without feeling like it's too hot/salty/peppery/spicy, but can still manage to eat it.

There is a selection of soy, fish sauce, siracha, chilli oil, crushed chilli, chilli flakes & fried onion in the condiments station so that pax can dress up the dish to their liking.

* I'm assuming he is the junior chef or someone who recently has joined the kitchen (he had the yellow VIC on his shirt, meaning, he is new to the airport and doesn't have an ASIC yet).

 

[Ade]

@Ade ’s earlier post (presumably the same dish?)

My post was for the eggplant & mapo tofu. It was bland as-is and I spruced it up with copious amounts of chilli & pickled ginger

 

[jakeseven7]

My post was for the eggplant & mapo tofu. It was bland as-is and I spruced it up with copious amounts of chilli & pickled ginger

See - exactly what it is for. I like your positivity

 

[Daver6]

Which of the zillion condiments from the condiment bar to the left of the Spice Bar did you use? I usually ask the staff what they recommend per dish and they are really helpful and seem really happy that some people want to use them like you would in an Asian restaurant!

Umm....none. I had no idea there was a condiment bar I was meant to use. I just figure that someone of Neil Perry's standing could just make a dish and serve it to me so it would taste good. If I need to start messing about to make it decent then the restaurant is missing the point. Or at the very least, advise me the dish isn't finished and point me in the direction I need to go </grumpy old man>

 

[Austman]

I had no idea there was a condiment bar I was meant to use.

It’s not so obvious now, but when it first opened that was very much part of the spice bar concept:

“... boosted by the spices and textures of the condiments you can add on top (I added a bit of everything)”

Review: Qantas domestic business class lounge, Melbourne Airport

If you haven't visited Qantas' domestic business class lounge in Melbourne over the past year, you're in for a pleasant surprise: not only has the lounge been expanded significantly, it's been entirely redesigned with several new additions. Among them, an Asian Spice Bar created by Neil Perry, a...

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[jakeseven7]

Umm....none. I had no idea there was a condiment bar I was meant to use. I just figure that someone of Neil Perry's standing could just make a dish and serve it to me so it would taste good. If I need to start messing about to make it decent then the restaurant is missing the point. Or at the very least, advise me the dish isn't finished and point me in the direction I need to go </grumpy old man>

It’s because they have to dumb it down for us dumb Queenslanders who can only eat pizza . The condiment bar is to the left, in the left food area. Tonnes of herbs spices sauces to add. Ask what they recommend next time