Melbourne:

FLOWER DRUM (17 Market La., Melbourne, VIC, Australia                            Phone: 03/9662-3655)

Under the meticulous owner, Gilbert Lau, Flower Drum is acknowledged as  country's finest Chinese restaurant serving  Cantonese and Sichuan cuisine.                            The decor is restrained and elegant; service is skilled; the wine list is awesome. A typical dinner might consist of crisp-skinned Cantonese
roast duck served with plum gravy, succulent dumplings of                            prawn and flying fish roe, a perfectly steamed Murray cod, or                            huge Pacific oysters daubed with black-bean sauce. Whatever you order will be superb.
 

RICHMOND HILL CAFÉ AND  LARDER ( 48-50 Bridge Rd.,                            Richmond, Melbourne, VIC,    Australia,   Phone: 03/9421-2808)
 
Esteemed chef and food writer Stephanie Alexander (the Julia Child of Australia) and cheese master Will Studd own this casually attractive bistro/cum-produce store. The bill of fare ranges from an
old-fashioned steak sandwich to a chicken, almond, and mushroom pie or a terrific bouillabaisse. Conclude with some marvelous cheese and country-style bread from the  adjoining store.

CHINTA BLUES ( Kilda, Melbourne, VIC,  Australia,                            Phone: 03/9534-9233)
 
This delightfully funky Malaysian place is not only jam packed with beautiful people -- it is also dirt cheap (a copious dinner for four came to under $70 U.S. with beer). Tables are simple plywood; seating consists of communal benches, and the walls are covered in dark wooden shelves stocked with Asian groceries. Curry  laksa,  oodles of noodles, chicken, and prawns in a zesty  broth is worth a flight to Melbourne in itself. Spinach blachan (with                            fermented, dried shrimp paste) and spicy wok-fried noodles is wonderful and anything based on tofu will knock your socks off. Great! Great! Great!

Sydney:

To make the most of your time in Sydney, visit fabulous harbourside beaches, the delightful zoo and restaurants with BEACH HOPPER WATER TAXIS.  Beach Hopper Water taxis will spirit you across magnificent Sydney Harbour to the restaurant of your choice, then          return later to bring you home.  (Sydney Harbour,  SYDNEY  NSW 2000 AUSTRALIA                            Tel: (0412) 40 0990     Fax:  61 (02) 9968 2633,  Email: beachhopper@one.net.au,                                    Web:<http:// www.watertaxi.net.au>.

Two of our favorites with breathtaking waterside views:

Watermark restaurant (2A The Esplanade, Balmoral Beach 2088,  Tel: 61 2  9968 3433,                                          Fax: 61 2  9960 4293)

Pay a visit to Balmoral Beach (far less commercial than the over-hyped Bondi), one of Sydney's more picturesque and tranquil seaside haunts, and you'll  more than likely be drawn to the Watermark Restaurant (ignore the guide books and hotel concierges that tout the nearby Bather’s Pavilion.

Chef/co-owner Kenneth Leung's menu highlights include:  e n t r é e s (we call them appetizers) such as   Hot and sour duck broth served with   duck gow gees, bok choy, broad beans  and taro noodles  $19.00 (all prices Australian $),  Queensland Sea Scallops wapped in                                                  egg pastry, with slow roasted vine ripened tomatoes, mustard leaf, topped                                                  with shaved parmesan   $24.00,  Grilled quail fillets served on a brown                                                  mushroom risotto, topped with spinach, smoked speck and quail jus,  .                                                                               $25.00 With sides such as Spinach and cheese wontons with                                                  tomato salsa going for  $9.50 &  mains (what we call entrees) like Grilled Tasmanian Salmon served with   a poached green asparagus, an eggplant                                                  puree, topped with ribbons of crab meat,  hollandaise sauce and a honeyed                                                  vinaigrette  $34.00 &  desserts: Soufflé of the Day served with                                                  King Island double cream and  creme Anglaise                                                                                 $16.00, it becomes painfully clear that even with the favorable exchange rate ($200 U.S. buys $300 Aussie), prices are so high to begin with,  you’ll feel right at home in that department.

Wines, on the other hand, are less than in most American restaurants & many restaurants in Australia allow you to BYOB for a modest fee ($2 to $5 a head for any number of bottles). Some examples: LENGS & COOTER SEMILLON    1996, S.A. $11.00 (glass) $38.00 (bottle) and a  CALAI ESTATES 1996  SHIRAZ, HUNTER VALLEY $39.00.

My other favorite view-restaurant is part of a restaurant complex a few steps away from the Hyatt.

RESTAURANTS OF THE  ROCKS,   THE WATERFRONT ( 27 Circular Quay West,  The Rocks, Sydney 2000,   Phone: (02) 9247 3666,  Fax: (02) 9252 2481,      E-Mail: waterfront@restrocks.com.au)

<http:// www.restrocks.com.au>

 
This  Seafood restaurant with its breathtaking views across the Sydney                                                    Harbour and the Sydney Opera House is a must for any visitor                                                    to Sydney. All four restaurants (there is a Chinese, Continental and Steak Restaurant as well) offer a perfect setting in a splendid historical converted stone warehouse with an outdoor terrace, perfect for al fresco dining all year round.
 

We dined at the seafood store and didn’t expect to be wowed. But the food, cooked by an Asian kitchen staff,  was delicious. Waterfront restaurant's unique nautical decor creates a splendid ambiance, fisherman’s  nets, ships bells, rudders and other treasures of the marine world with nautical mood  carried on right to the water's edge. The gentle breeze from the surrounding sea creates  a languid, holiday feeling. This was our final lunch before leaving Sydney and was a perfect sendoff.   Entrées included:   Blue Swimmer Crab Cakes - Wasabi  Dill Mayonnaise,  Cold Seafood Plate - Scallops, Bugs, Prawns, Smoked Salmon and Oysters and a lovely version                                               of Tempura Prawns - with Sweet Chili  Sauce.

Mains that captured our fancy ranged from  Waterfront Fish & Chips - King George Whiting Fillets Fried in Panko Crumbs to a knockout Mud Crab - Singapore Chilli Crab.

The wine list was inexpensive and included the helpful Australian appellation on Chardonnays  “oaked” or “unoaked.” Some samples from my notes: Lindemans Premier Selection  Chardonnay (oaked)  $27.90,  Richmond Grove French Cask                                                                                $32.90,   Fiddlers Creek Semillon  $29.90, Katnook Estate Riesling                                                                                $34.90. Of the  red wines,  Stormy Bay  $7.50,                                                                               $29.90, Fiddlers Creek, $28.90, St. Huberts Cabernet  Merlot,                                                                               $38.90,  Katnook Estate $68.90 (again, all prices are in Aussie $).

Two other restaurants worth noting, Edna’s Table, an interesting Aborigines restaurant that was highly touted, but had moved to fancy new quarters and was disappointing (the chef  had an emergency that evening, which perhaps explains the mundane food). The charming co-owner (the chef’s sister) did her best to make us feel pampered and brought a large platter of what appeared to be an offering of fresh sea creatures. A look of horror appeared on her face as well as Nancy’s, as I popped one of the devils in my mouth and heard a squishy sound. “Oh no,” she exclaimed, as I swallowed. These are the raw ingredients we disguise in the dishes so our customers won’t realizes what their eating. I had unfortunately selected a live worm!

The second restaurant, a cutting-edge Indian restaurant so exciting that  Danny Meyer might consider importing the chef  to NY for Tabla.

Zaaffran (Darling Harbour, Level 2, Phone (02) 9211 8900)

Zaaffran (Indian for saffron),  an  extraordinary restaurant that has opened at                                                    Harbourside as part of Darling Harbour's $60 million redevelopment. This stylish restaurant, with   an innovative cuisine not previously served in  Australia, is the inspiration of Freddie Zulfiqar, a  businessman from Bombay.  This stylish restaurant is unlike any other in                                                    Sydney with a modern interior with gleaming white surfaces, Australian timbers and a glass-fronted  cellar with the fine wines provided by Anders   Josephson. The main focus of the room is the magnificent view of the harbour to Cockle Bay and Sydney's skyline.

Chef Kapoor has created a sumptuous menu offering a wide selection of exotic  dishes, most not previously served in Australia. It features such unusually preparations as banana prawns, tandoor glazed with green chilies, yogurt and coriander paste and a crown rack of lamb, marinated in pickling spices and finished In a sesame, mint and caramelized onion reduction.

So ends our Pacific Underatures Series. Note: Wine-On-Line will publish a special feature on Australian & New Zealand wines in August & our “Auckland Add On” follows tomorrow.

I'm J. Walman & my reviews are available & have been seen on the Internet <http://punchin.com/punchin>, The Culinary Gourmet of New York <http://culinarygourmet.com>, Broadway-On-the-Net <http://punchin.com/punchin/broadway.html>, Dinner’s On Us <http://www.dinnersonus.com> Or Click here to see the review on the worldwide web <http://punchin.com/punchin/wevd/oz5.html>.

J. Walman’s reviews have been seen in Fodor’s & Mobil Guide Books, Chocolatier, Troika & Metropolitan Millionaire Magazines, The National Forward, Women’s wear Daily, The NY Post, The NY Times and other newspapers & magazines throughout the world, syndicated via the Punch In International Network. Send your e-mail address for a complimentary subscription. This review  may be reprinted free of charge, so long as source & byline credit are included.