Cobb Lane Cafe & Bakery

Matt Forbes, an enthusiast pastry chef from the UK who is quickly dominating the Melbourne sweets and pastry scene. Having been trained by Culinary royalty such as Raymond Blanc and Michel Roux, it wasn't a surprise that Vue de Monde, Maze and Mr Hive all wanted him in their kitchens.

Finally in 2013 Forbes opened up Cobb Lane bakery which has been delighting Melbourne with his freshly baked bread and heavenly sweets.

A quaint little cafe in Yarraville adorned with gorgeous blue tiling, it is the best place to finally enjoy Forbes' treats made fresh.

With lots of unique and extraordinary flavours such as Earl grey, passion fruit and chocolate or Ginger and Toffee there's a little something for everyone. You can also come in early for a delicious savoury weekend brekky.

If you can't make it to Yarraville, Forbes' products are stocked in 16 different cafes all around Melbourne so there's no excuse not to get your hands on his cookies, cakes or doughnuts.

Alice Nivens Cafe

Take a step into wonderland and join Alice Nivens for afternoon tea.

Janet Wong's alter ego has manifested itself into the hidden gem that is her cafe. Tucked away in Port Phillip Arcade, Alice Nivens bakes delicious new treats everyday that are served alongside lovingly made coffee and tea (from Storm in a Teacup). 

The cupcakes, muffins and cakes change on a daily basis so there's always an excuse to come back and try something new.

If the sweets aren't enough to lure you in, simply popping by to chat with owner, Janet is as good a pick me up than any coffee will ever be. Her energy and passion is simply remarkable.

Open Monday to Friday, it's perfect for your early morning coffee or for a bit of afternoon tea.

Top Paddock

After walking past the construction site 3 times a week for about 9 months now, Top Paddock has finally arrived. Proudly brought to you by the same masterminds behind Three Bags Full and Two Birds One stone, Top Paddock is their new baby located in Richmond (and fortunately next door to my work)

My first visit was unfortunately after 3 o'clock so their kitchen was already closed but I was able to order from their tapas menu. I went for White Anchovies on Toast.

An extremely simple dish that packs a punch. The anchovies were delicate and flavorsome and just a dash of oil gave it a real zing!

Soon after, the cakes cabinet beckoned my name and before I knew it a gorgeous Vanilla and Lemon curd cupcake was placed before me. The fluffy vanilla and lemon curd center was the perfect treat with the addition of an incredibly light and creamy frosting on top.

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For my second visit I made sure I came before 3 o'clock, with a few girlfriends and starving! 

We had such an pleasant time sitting outside and enjoying the sunshine all whilst having a fantastic lunch.

I decided to try their Soft Shell QLD Mud Crab with dill, fennel and lime mayonnaise on Brioche. I've heard a lot of good things about this dish and thankfully it did not disappoint. A very unique but tasty burger made with brioche from MoVida Bakery that is to die for. A fluffy and buttery heaven!

Photo courtesy of  Carmen

My sister ordered Gin and lime cured trout, poached eggs, potato galette with a feta and beetroot relish. I got a serious case of food envy when this was brought out. I of course stole a bite and it was divine, such simple and clean flavours. A very refreshing and suitable lunch for such a hot and sunny day.

Photo Courtesy of  Ngoc

My friend had their signature Top Paddock breakfast. It looked so beautiful, I'm definitely getting one ALL to myself next time. 

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After some gossip and drinks, we decided it was dessert time.

I chose their Chocolate Ganache tart with Raspberries. A gorgeous and rich tart with the bonus of being gluten free for the celiacs reading this blog! 

Photo Courtesy of Ngoc

My friend had this revelation of a Chocolate cheesecake brownie! It was highly recommended by all the staff and our waiter couldn't help but mention it was "life changing" as he placed it down and boy, was he right!

I had a small bite and it was absolutely mind blowing. It's as rich and chocolatey as a cheesecake but somehow is so light and creamy it melts in your mouth before you can even feel guilty! My only fault is that I did not order this myself. 

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 With a spacious design and floor to ceiling windows that let in the summer breeze, Top Paddock is the ideal cafe for any typical Melburnian looking to sloth it out in comfort and style in this summer heat. 

Chef Jesse McTavish ensures that all the ingredients used are of the highest quality, so you know you'll be eating nothing but the best as you're trying to decide which coffee to try from their huge selection.

I'm most definitely going to become a regular, so keep an eye out for me! 

See you next blog !

Top Paddock
658 Church st, Richmond 3121
Ph: 03 9429 4332

La Petite Creperie.

Bonjour mon ami,

If you're still out there, I'm back again with more food.

Uni has started recently so it's a bit difficult for me to find time and write a blog but i'll sure try.

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Today I ended up eating a lot of french food, which I absolutely love.

I met up with my two friends for lunch and we ended up at a delightful little creperie in Hardware lane.

I really liked this place, it was really relaxing to eat outside. Unfortunately they ran out of their bread so I couldn't order their Le Croque Monsieur so we ended up ordering a crepe called La Broceliandre. It was French Bechamel, Gruyere cheese and mushrooms with a choice of either prosciutto, ham and turkey in a buckwheat crepe. I chose the turkey.

A lovely golden brown crepe finished off with a lovely cup of French Earl Grey Tea.

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Right next door was a macaron place, called La Belle Miete. 

We noticed that there was a really long line coming out of the shop so I thought it might be worth a try.....

We bought 6 macarons, I tried 2, which were flavoured Passionfruit and Milk Chocolate and Pistachio. I absolutely loved the passionfruit flavour, it has a beautiful affinity with chocolate. The other flavours were Pink Grapefruit, Moet and Chandon, Caramel and Pomegranate. 

The macarons were exceptionally well made, they had a good size and  delicate biscuit and a good ratio of biscuit to filling. These are all the qualities I look for in a good macaron.

Even if you're not into sweets, the place has a really cute decor which is worth paying a visit to have a peek inside. 

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That's all for now, I'm having a taco night with some friends so maybe pictures of that will be in my next blog.

Au revoir~ 

Brunch date with Mum at Cafe Vue

Evening, readers!

I'm back with another tasty blog about my eating experiences.

As a late mother's day celebration, I took my mum out for a nice brunch at Cafe Vue 401 on St Kilda rd.

It was a quaint cafe with a cool interior and rather friendly staff.

We started out with tea and coffee. Cafe Vue have their own coffee called, 5 senses that is, according to my mum quite good. 

My mum and I had their Wagyu beef burger and house chips. Such an excellent burger, there's not that many ingredients in there but it's a simple burger with A LOT of flavour. 

My sister and her boyfriend both had this Wagyu beef pie. I had a taste and it was great! So delicious and hearty and I just love how they plated the mash as well.

We loved the food so much we decided to go for Round 2!

We ordered their "Melbourne Club Sandwich" It was a BLT, A chicken and watercress and a ham sandwich. My favourite was the ham sandwich, it was not your typical school lunch ham it looked gorgeous and the flavour was intense.

Finally, just before you thought we couldn't eat anymore food we had dessert. It was just a macaron each for me and my mum, whilst my sister had a Trio of Chocolate cake.

Unfortunately I have officially made my stance on Macarons....I really don't like them anymore. They're just toooooo sweet for me. However Cafe Vue do make excellent macarons though, they were probably one of the best I've ever had so if you're a macaron lover give these a try.

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So I've had a pretty big marathon day of eating today i'll just leave you with a couple more pictures of the food I've tucked into lately.

A friend of mine in my last Japanese class made some fairy bread to celebrate. It was so nostalgic, I haven't had fairy bread since I was in primary school!

A Wagyu beef hot dog from the Snag Stand at Melbourne Central. (just realised I've had a lot of Wagyu lately. haha)

Finally some spanish donuts from Mocha Jo's in Glen Waverley. I prefer my spanish donuts nice and crispy but these were okay. It's such a shame that strawberries aren't in season though.

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That's all! See you next blog. :)