Black Toro and Food Porn

Hello again,

The boyfriend and I tried out a new restaurant that opened up in Glen Waverely called Black Toro.

I would call it modern mexican/spanish food. I don't really eat this type of food very often so I was excited to try it out.

We went for a set menu where the chef decides what we eat and these are the dishes we got.

After some oysters with tequila and lime we had Grilled corn with chipotle mayonnaise and toasted masa. The sauce was really nice.

Next was a Scallop ceviche, radish and citrus oil. We ate all the scallop and left a lot of the radish. haha

Crispy cuttlefish and Spicy aioli. I really like aioli so I liked this dish a lot.

These are really adorable Wagyu Sliders with a tomato relish. So tasty and cute.

The main was slow cooked Pork Belly, Chickpeas, Chorizo and Tomato.

and finally for dessert, Creme catalan with a almond and cocoa-nib crum. I guess it's like a spanish creme brulee with a crumb over the top.

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The Black Toro had some really good food, we got quite a feed with their set menu and it was VERY good value for money. If we had ordered those dishes separately it would've been MUCH more expensive. 

The restaurant's interior is very nice but the service could do with some improvement. Everyone was very friendly but you can't help but feel that the staff were quite young and inexperienced, fresh faced waiters and waitresses who just got their RSA. Despite all this i'd be happy to come back for a good meal, definitely try it out if you love this kind of food.

Until next time~ 

The Unknown Fire.

Hi Everyone!

I'm back with another food blog today. Let's start off with Cafe Vue. Just in case there's any confusion, there are actually 4 Cafe Vue's in Melbourne. The one I took my mum to last time was in St Kilda, this time I went to try out the Collins Street one with my boyfriend.

Both Cafe Vue's have the same menu so I opted for something I hadn't tried yet and ordered the Duck egg quiche whilst my boyfriend had the Wagyu burger. In all honesty I was a bit disappointed.....Although I always enjoy a nice gooey egg yolk, the quiche lacked flavour. I was also saddened when the boyfriend said his burger was dry and bland as well. I don't think it helped that we were seated into a really awkward corner either.

So in my opinion, if you want to experience the best of Cafe Vue make the extra journey out to the St Kilda one. The Collins st one is more for your business types on their lunch breaks, The St Kilda is a lovely Sunday brunch place.

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Now for the exciting part!

This Friday night, the boyfriend and I tried a new restaurant in Glen Waverely called Shira Nui (which means the unknown fire). 

It's a modest looking Japanese restaurant that has its windows all covered up so it barely even catches your eye, but believe me this place is like a hidden treasure.

Highly recommended by my boyfriend's workmate, I was really eager to try this place out. If you wanna know what the sushi is and hover your mouse.

OH MY GOD! I am so glad we tried this place out. We managed to fit into their 6pm sitting as their 8pm was fully booked and we sat at the bar (which I recommend you do) for the Omakase, which is the Japanese version of the chef's menu, I suppose. I only took photos of some of the dishes we had but we had 9 courses of sushi all up. Everything from tuna, beef, oyster, kingfish, cod, japanese pike....We even found out that they had Ootoro and asked for an extra slice just before we tucked into dessert. Woo!

Speaking of dessert.....

Here it is! It's the most adorable Black sesame and Green tea Crème brûlée ever. The Crème brûlée was exactly how one should be, with that delicious tap tap sound on the top and a gorgeous consistency of custard on the inside, accompanied with a small bowl of fruit and ice cream cubes. Need I ask for more?

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Now the head chef's name is Hiro Nishikura and he is a very delightful man!

Nishikura-san's knife work is very impressive and together with his team works with great speed and diligence.  Needless to say he was quite intimidating at first but towards the end of our dinner service, the orders stopped piling up and he began to relax! He's actually super nice and said my Japanese was quite good, he gossiped with me about his regulars and I found out that he even knows my old Korean lecturers. Such a delightful man!

Before we left he gave us a gift each, it was a pen with the restaurant name on it. I was so touched, I just love how he is so friendly even with new customers like myself. If I could afford it, I'd become a regular too!

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Finally a little extra food porn. (Especially for Hieu read his movie blogs, they're sick)

Salt and Pepper Pork spare ribs.

An amazing slice of pork belly made by my freaking masterchef boyfriend.

The crispiest potatoes I've ever had also made by the boyfriend.

Some tapas.

And finally, finishing this blog just like I do with my meals in real life with some tea.

Bye for now!