Melbourne :: Movida Bar De Tapas

Spanish Tapas!

Well, wasn't I miss fancy-pants in Melbourne. I arrived, backpack strapped and not expecting to find such a range of belly-pleasing delights. I definitely stepped it up a notch in Melbourne.

One of the most popular spots in Melbourne is the beach - St. Kilda. I am not a fan of crowded, touristy areas so this was definitely not my cup of tea - er, I mean coffee [Melbourne is obsessed with coffee]. The market was full of kitschy souvenirs and I wasn't interested in meeting the other travellers. I wandered around, feet burning in the sand, and spotted an alarming amount of dead jelly fish along the coast...

The beach was full, the crowd was noisy, and it was searingly hot - after a quick browse of the area I ended up wandering away, and headed back to the city centre. Also known as the CBD in Australia.

After finding more and more graffiti in the area, I popped into MoVida to meet a friend's friend so we could stuff our faces with the oh-so-popular spanish tapas bar. Wanting seafood, we ordered a respectable spread, considering that we were just warming up for the market.

Vieira
Oven-baked Scallop with Jamon and Potato Foam

I love scallop shells. Nice for presentation - like abalone, they ought to be served like this more often in restaurants! The pork was a good salty companion to the scallop - well, okay that should be obvious. When is pork not a delicious friend to food?
The scallops were moist and flavourful - I failed to ask if they were local but given the geography, I would assume so!

The foam was surprisingly rich. When I think of foam, I assume that I'll receive something like Brasaii's beet foam. This was on the creamy side - however upon reflection this makes sense. Beets can be much stronger in flavour than potato - and Brasaii's foam was definitely very sweet and distinct. In contrast, it's harder to do that with a light potato foam.

Monte y Mar
Pork-stuffed Calamari with Squid Ink Dressing

Hah - more pork with seafood! It's such a winning combination. This was well done - I'm always pleased when restaurants cook calimari just right. Not rubbery at all - the pork filling was not as memorable as it really could have been, I wish it had more of a snap. Nonetheless, it was a juicy, shredded serving that made me want more.

Mojama 
Air-cured Tuna Loin with Set Almond Milk and Roast Almonds

Ohh yes. I remember this quite well. This was a win, and something that I would not have envisioned on my own. Almond jelly was tucked underneath cured tuna ribbons, and the combination was wonderful. When I look back at this, I am apalled that I haven't tried this at home ever since. I imagine that a touch of dense fruit jelly would be a lovely touch too - blackberry perhaps?
Overall, MoVida was a great, albeit not backpacker price friendly, experience. While quite busy, since there were only 2 of us there was no problem grabbing a seat at the bar. The food scene in Melbourne and Sydney definitely gives Toronto a run for its money!