As former Manly residents, Mr NQN and I always like coming back. It’s the laid back atmosphere, the friendly locals and the beach views. Sure, we moved and that was because the last straw was watching a drunk guy being carried out of the notorious pub with one bouncer carrying each of his limbs which seemed to be a too frequent late night occurrence on Saturday nights. So we fled to the nearest safe enclave Mosman and then over the bridge to the East although we do like to revisit Manly as we feel like we know it like a local.

We had first heard of Frankie’s Number from a colleague of Mr NQN’s and we thought that we would try it out one weekend. We were also finally mobile after 2 months of immobility (Elphaba our naughty green car was too temperamental) and we had a new set of wheels called Purdy our new beloved Prius on loan from the kind people at Toyota and the world was our oyster!

We arrive at 7pm after nabbing a park it seems miles away. We had rung that afternoon and asked if we needed to make a booking. Since there were just three of us, the woman on the phone told us that we could come in and they’d find us a table. But knowing how popular this place was we didn’t leave it to chance and arrived at 7pm which proves fortuitous at 7:30pm when the bar and restaurant swells with people.

Decorated in a 50/60′s style with a pin up girl in their logo poster there is some fabulous retro furniture. As Queen Viv, a child of the 60′s says “They’ve nailed the 60′s atmosphere” and it reminds her of a bar set up in someone’s rumpus room “But in a good way” she adds winking. It’s comfortable and service is friendly and personable in that Manly way. And why the name Frankie’s Number? Frankie is the owners  Staffordshire Terrier who used to get chased around a lot in the park so they would say to each other “Frankie, the other dogs have got your number!”

Mr NQN and Queen Viv order wines but I can’t have any as I’m driving and Mr NQN asks for a recommendation. The waiter, who we later learn is one of the owners Justyn, confesses that wine is not his forte but asks his partner Sahra behind the bar to make some recommendations. She has previously worked behind the bar at Pocket Bar and as a wine rep for Winestock. Mr NQN orders a glass of Tisdall cabernet merlot on their recommendation and it’s a good choice. All wines are available by the glass.

White Bean Cassoulet with Chorizo, Quail Egg and Toasted Sourdough $17

We ask for some menu recommendations and end up with one entree and two mains to share as well as sides. The entree is the white bean cassoulet with chorizo, quail egg and toasted grain bread. The cassoulet is quite light in flavour whereas a cassoulet is usually quite bold with all of the various types of meat like pork belly, toulouse sausage, confit legs, pork hock and salt pork submerged and cooked for hours. This is a much lighter version with just the chorizo and reminds us of baked Turkish eggs with beans that you can often get at cafes for brunch rather than the full bodied Winter beast that is cassoulet.

Pork loin, rolled in porcini dust, parsnip puree and black pudding $29

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If I said the words “Whose cuisine reigns supreme?” I would hazard a guess that most of you would know that I was quoting a line from the television show Iron Chef. You may also know the names of the Iron Chefs who grace our television screens every Saturday night for seemingly the last few decades (do they ever run out of episodes?). The studious may even know which of the three main chefs has the highest percentage of wins over losses (it is Iron Chef Japanese Michiba at 86.5% followed by Iron Chef French Sakai at 83% and Iron Chef Chinese Chen at 76%). And knowing that they have a loyal fan base, each year the Iron Chefs visit Australia to hold some very special dinner. For $485 per person you can snag a place at a table and for $585 you can get yourself a seat at a VIP table within sweating distance of the chefs.

Each year the event always seems a little different and they appear to have heeded some of the criticism of the last Sydney event in which only one course from each Iron Chef was presented. This year diners receive two courses from each Iron Chef plus two courses and canapes from the RACV chef Mark Normoyle. This is Melbourne’s first Iron Chef dinner and expectations are high and diners are excited. Held in the ballroom of the RACV it is a little function room like and reminds me of the Hilton last year although here we do get windows and a view.  I still loved the room at 2007 Observatory Hotel the best for atmosphere as the over the top opulence matches the dramatic campness of the television show.

I wish I could have brought you some pictures of the canapes and they looked wonderful but in the crush every time I spotted a tray heading in my direction, by the time it got to me it was empty! But before I know it we hear the sounds of the taiko drummers and head inside.

There’s something to be said about VIP seating. And when your seat is right in front of the stage at Iron Chef you realise what a whalloping good view you have of the chefs. There are two huge screens with a Brillat Savarin quote “Tell me what you eat, and I’ll tell you who you are” and the taiko drummers have taken centre sage and are beating out a rhythm that gets the crowds excited. This is Melbourne’s first Iron Chef event and diners appear to be thrilled to be there.

Iron Chef Sakai

They’re not mucking about tonight, Simon Thomsen is up on stage in his  black velvet mandarin jacket and he is playing a less flamboyant Chairman Kaga. He bites into a fruit with gusto and introduces Iron Chef French Sakai who takes his place in front of his picture. He stands holding a pear and waves to the crowd who are cheering enthusiastically. Then a cleaver wielding smiling Iron Chef Chinese Chen comes to take a bow to just as much applause then followed by the RACV’s chef Mark Normoyle.

Iron Chef Chen

“Gonna Fly Now” from  Rocky sounds and the Iron Chefs do a lap around the room. I’m convinced Sakai does it just to check out the pretty girls in the audience as he likes to do. The Iron Chefs are ageless and having a read of their bios I am somewhat surprised to learn that Sakai is 69 years old and Chen is 55 yet they look exactly like they did on the television show which was filmed from 1992-1999.

Chef Mark Normoyle

Sakai looking for girls again!

Iron Chef Sakai is reflected on the screen back in the kitchen where we get glimpses throughout the night of the action happening in the kitchen. They tell us that there are 80 chefs working in the kitchen, many who have just come in on an unpaid volunteer basis just to have the chance to work with the Iron Chefs.

Video of the first course being prepared

And Sakai busy at work

Sakai explains the dish that he has prepared and host Mayumi Uchida translates for him. For this dish they have used 9,000 kilos of Western Australian marron and $2,000 worth of caviar and each guest will get about ten dollar’s worth of caviar in their martini glass. They show a short video of the kitchen preparing the dish that was filmed earlier. Interestingly, the glasses are filled while within plastic lined cardboard boxes and with a prompt the tens of white gloved waiters head towards the kitchen.

Iron Chef Sakai: Marron and pearl meat salad on vichyssoise, mango, consomme jelly,  caviar served with 2009 Phillip Shaw No. 11 Chardonnay, Orange

A few minutes later a martini glass filled with Iron Chef Sakai’s dish arrives. There are plump morsels of wonderfully cooked marron-sweet and tender and not chewy at all. The costly pearl meat has a wonderful texture, softer  than marron and lobster and spongier but not wet and it seems to be the ingredient that many are using nowadays. There are waves of delicately flavoured consomme jelly and a creamy cold vichyssoise soup although the mango flavour is mild in mine and I don’t taste much of it. This dish is really an exercise in slippery textures and it is similar to the first course that he made last year in Sydney.

Iron Chef Sakai and Adam Liaw

They scan the crowd for opinions on the dish and they settle upon Adam Liaw and his girlfriend Asami Fujitsuka who are sitting next to me. Sakai appeared on Masterchef and judged Liaw’s dish and he said that it was good but had some way to go. Liaw is diplomatic when it comes to judging Sakai’s dish and says that when he tried it, he realised that he still had some way to go.

It’s game time as all of these Iron Chef events have had an element of games and fun and Iron Chef Sakai peruses for crowd for girls… ahem I mean judges. Thomsen asks for a giggling female and people that can do American accents before Sakai chooses two women and one man to come back into the kitchen to participate in a challenge.

Iron Chef Chen and his son on the left

The screen flickers again and this time it is Iron Chef Chen. If Sakai is girl mad, Chen is golf mad and they ask him what his handicap is (six by the way) and when Thomsen says that is the Tiger Woods of cooking Chen quickly says “No No no Tiger Woods” (although we’re not sure if he is being modest or averse to being associated with the promiscuous Woods!). We watch some video of Iron Chef Chen and his son who travels with him to all of these events. For this dish, they are using a Victorian abalone.

Chen’s challenge to the three contestants is to plate up the next dish. Ever the clown Chen shows us by plating up the liver sauce haphazardly banging the spoon on the plate and making a mess. He then challenges the three to better his work. The three have 30 seconds in which to do it and they all do a great job. He draws out the suspense for the three by stopping at each one and lingering before declaring the gentleman Salvatore the winner. “Salvatore? Sal…va…to…re?” he says in wondernment of the winner’s name.

A very happy winner!

Iron Chef Chen: Abalone fritters with seaweed salad and roe sauce served with  2010 Petaluma Bridgewater Mill Pinot Grigio, Adelaide Hills, SA

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“Are you embarrassed of me?” I asked Mr NQN on the phone.

He looked at me nervously. “No…why would I be?”

I considered my answer. Of course I knew the reasons; the Morticia Addams appearance, love of Halloween, out of tune singing in public, the happy dances and the OCD behaviour.

I cleared my throat and said brightly “No reason! So why don’t I ever get to meet any of your colleagues?” I asked him.

I heard a loud, long sigh and then silence. “Okay fine, come and meet us tonight” he said resignedly.

So that’s how I came to be chatting to Mr NQN’s work colleagues one evening. One of them, Dave is about as obsessed as your average food blogger and he mentioned his local restaurant in Five Dock which he visits anywhere from three times a week to once a month. And given that we’re getting a bit peckish this one evening it seemed like a good time to visit his local.

Filicudi, which is actually an Island near Sicily in Italy is on a nondescript part of Ramsay Road in Five Dock and there’s not much there in that small stretch of road apart from a Thai takeaway. The first thing that strikes us as we go in in the chianti bottles on display-just look up and the ceiling is full of them. A picture of Pavarotti sits behind the large landscapes of Filicudi that cover both walls entirely. The restaurant has been around for 35 years under different guises and 20 or so years under the name Filicudi. Dave tells us that they have real Italiana nonnas in the kitchen cooking up classic, traditional dishes.

Service is charming. It could be because we’re with a frequent diner but we suspect that you can’t turn the charm on and off. It’s gently teasing and warm and before long we’ve arrived at a range of dishes to try. The restaurant is full but as the dishes come out many families leave and the full carpark around the corner quickly empties once it comes to 9pm. And everyone that leaves has the door pulled open for them as a farewell greeting from one of the staff.

Polpi al Sugo $17.50

This is Mr NQN’s favourite as he loves spice. The polpi al sugo is soft braised octopus in a tomato based sauce. And the bread that we’re given is perfect to mop up the spicy juices. The octopus is so, so tender it just melts in the mouth.

Funghi  della casa $23.50 for 3 mushrooms (usually 2 per serve at $17.90)

We all adored the portobello mushroom topped with garlic prawns. It’s a retro dish, to be sure but let’s not dismiss this as a suburban slightly retro gem. The mushrooms are meaty and garlicky as are the prawns. Served on peppery watercress we mop up all of the garlicky, lemon juices with our bread.

Penne Granchi $24.50 (large serve)

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