Mr Ed Cafe - Flemington

Flemington has changed a lot over the years. In recent times we've seen an explosion of laksa joints, Japanese restaurants and dumpling houses squeezed in between kebab joints and fish and chip places; now Flemington can add a trendy new brunch place to its list.

Mr Ed Cafe, located on racecourse road is the latest addition to the Western suburbs growing brunch scene. It's a relatively large space decorated with Dom Sowersby artwork but the large display case is equally beautiful in comparison with lots of pies, cakes and other treats to choose from.

I ordered Braised pulled pork with a potato and feta hash cake and a fried duck egg whilst my friend had the bubble & squeak from their breakfast menu. I was really impressed by their bubble & squeak, it's a lighter, more attractive take on your traditional fry up. My only complaint is that there was a lot of pork on my plate for such a small hash cake, a piece of toast would've been great.

A sweet treat from their cabinet is of course hard to resist. I'm still so intrigued by their Cranberry, hazelnut, meringue cupcake. The outside is crispy and sweet like a meringue but fluffy on the inside, it's not really like anything I've had before.

285 Racecourse Road, Kensington, Victoria, 3031

Phone - (03)9376 6444

Email - info@mredcafe.com.au

Trading hours: Mon-Fri 7am-4:30pm Sat-Sun 8-4pm

Kong BBQ coming soon!

Occupying the previous spot of Pearl Cafe on Church Street, Chris Lucas' Kong BBQ is set to open up May 30th, Friday!

Headed by Chief Panda Benjamin Cooper and Pit Master Dan Briggs (from Chin Chin), Kong BBQ is a fun take on Korean BBQ and Asian street food.

Photos taken from Kong BBQ twitter

Some of the things to look forward to are fried chicken, pork belly and soft shell crab bao. If you can't wait, hop over to Collins Street where you can try something from their pop up restaurant.

Supernormal スーパー・ノーマル

Supernormal Kitchen's has relocated to its new and beautiful location on Flinders Lane. Adding another restaurant to Andrew McConnell's vast repertoire, Super Normal is his interpretation of Asian flavours inspired by his time spent abroad.

 

The space is modern and clean but with subtle traditional Japanese touches; especially because of the cloths hanging above the kitchen. McConnell has successfully encapsulated the unique Japanese style of blending traditional and modern aesthetics

Supernormal's menu is meant for sharing with a selection of raw dishes, dumplings or bao, veggies and larger meat dishes.

I thought the Pig head bao in particular was really good. He used an unconventional part of the pig but deep frying and packaging it in a Taiwanese bao was a great way of presenting it to a Western palate. The saltiness and spice of the sauce and the acidity from the pickles balanced out the flavours as well. We ordered a second helping before I even finished my first.

With McConnell in the kitchen, everything came out swiftly and beautifully. He did very well to capture typical Asian flavours, whilst eating I was reminded of my own travels through China and Japan.

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.

Mr Big Stuff

Mr Big Stuff has recently opened and they are serving up some serious Soul Food! 

Located in Meyers place with just an Afro-girl sign at the door, Mr Big Stuff is the newest addition to Melbourne's alleyway gems.

It's all about bold southern flavours and good vibes over there. The place is stylishly laid out and has a DJ in the corner, pumping out music that makes you wanna get groovin'

All the food exceeded my expectations. The pig ear chips were an addictive treat (would've been great with beer) and their ox tongue and cheek was incredibly tender.

I was particularly impressed by the Chicken and Waffles though. I had been disappointed before at other places by bland chicken and a sad limp waffle but Mr Big Stuff's was amazing. 

Crispy, well seasoned skin on a moist leg accompanied with a fluffy and crisp waffle dusted with just a touch of icing sugar. Perfection. 

My one complaint is that they say their menu is for sharing but if you're a big eater, one dish is more like a portion for one.

 But don't forget to wash however much you order down with something from their awesome drinks list. They've got plenty of Iced teas and even cold pressed Kool-aid with witty and clever names. 

Champion’s Bistro - Mother's day Lunch

In my opinion I had chosen the perfect place to celebrate with my family. Clinton McIver and his team are serving the most incredible food in the most unlikely of places.

There, you won't find ornamental decorations, you won't find Christofle cutlery and you won't find a 55th floor view of Melbourne but when the food is this good none of that stuff really matters in the grand scheme of things.

What you will find is McIver and his amazing team dishing out first class food and first class service in Clayton's local bowlo.

Everything was simply divine from the duck egg with hand foraged mushrooms to the luxurious Belgium chocolate mousse for dessert. The beef was definitely a highlight, a ridiculously tasty cut of Blackmore wagyu brisket that was cooked low and slow at 55 degrees for almost 24 hours.

Finally to top everything off, Lunch was 4 courses with a glass of prosecco for just $60. What incredible value for money.

Aline (Clinton's gorgeous girlfriend and superstar pastry chef/floor staff) has recently informed me that they've finally gotten through their VERY long wait list and that the new online booking system is now running so getting a booking will be a lot easier from now on. There'll be many more events happening in the future as well so stay tuned for more.

NOMA - Pop up in Tokyo

After much anticipation, Rene Redzepi has finally announced that he and his team will be opening their pop up restaurant at the Mandarin Oriental in Tokyo for one month.

It will be interesting to see how this all unfolds as they'll be ditching their usual Scandinavian ingredients and forages for the gorgeous and diverse produce of Japan.

I'm very excited to see how Noma will interpret Japanese food and culture as well.

There is no doubt that getting a booking on June 23rd will be utterly insane but this girl has her fingers crossed!

Visit http://noma.dk/japan for more info

The Commoner

The commoner's aim is to embody the honesty and skill of modern British cuisine. Jake Kellie, the head chef at just 23 years old has a deep appreciation of quality produce and seasonality, which has resulted in one of the best meals I've had all year.

The whole restaurant oozes honesty and charm, despite a recent fire The Commoner has still retained its gorgeous interior and courtyard, where I was able to eat on a warm evening.

The whole menu is designed to be shared, which is great except when your realise how good everything is and you want it all to yourself. A few highlights were the chicken skin with potatoes and my naughty housemade lemonade with a splash of gin. All the dishes are brilliant and demonstrate great skill but still let the traditional flavours shine through.

After our meal Jake gave us a small tour of the restaurant, which was just a delightful end to my night. I think he's a great chef, very young and talented. He's also apart of a lot of exciting food events in Melbourne such as Stage is Set, so expect ct great things from him.

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.

Rue & Co - Kong BBQ

Rue & Co have brought to our CBD 3 pop up restaurants to add to Melbourne's growing street food culture.

Today I tried Kong BBQ, an Asian bbq pop up located on Collins Street. Although bbq is written in Japanese on their sign, the place focuses on Korean inspired flavours. Their menu includes fried chicken, bo ssam (lettuce wraps), steamed buns, soups, salads and sandwiches.

All the meat is cooked very well. My wings were moist and covered in a rich Gochujang glaze and our pork belly had a crispy crackling. I found their kimchi was saltier than most though. 

If you're not feeling Asian food, next door to Kong BBQ is Jimmy Grants (George Columbaris' souvlaki joint) and St Ali's church of secular coffee (they play some pretty awesome music too). 

They'll only be around for 6 months but I really love that Melbourne is trying to build a street food scene. It's definitely one of the things that our city is lacking. I think everyone should experience the joy of snacking on freshly grilled meats whilst sitting outdoors on a cold winter's day. 

Northern Light

Northern light is a recently opened bar and eatery that is quickly becoming a new favourite on Smith street.

Adam Liston, co-owner and head chef was influenced by his time in Shanghai and has created a constantly evolving menu with Japanese, Korean and Chinese influences. 

Having fresh sashimi, succulent wagyu and grilled scampi being a few of its many offerings, I found myself ordering practically everything on the menu. Every dish is an ingenious embodiment of Asian street food flavours with just the right amount of finesse, but any chef that shares my love for Asian food and mayonnaise has already stolen my heart.

All the food is designed to be shared in the laid back atmosphere with exposed brick and mahogany surroundings, where one can knock back a few Sapporos whilst snacking on some bincho tan grilled skewers.

Make sure there's room for dessert though. Northern light's notorious ice cream sandwich was without a doubt amazing. A revelation that apparently took the chef several years to perfect. The bitterness of the dark chocolate biscuit with gooey caramel and green tea ice cream was a well balanced and heavenly combination of flavours, simply a must try

Waffee - CBD Opening

Once hidden away in Altona, Waffee is finally opening in the CBD!

There's nothing better than an authentic handmade Belgian waffle and a nice cuppa.

They have a gorgeous selection of waffles, my favourite is chocolate stick.

I can't wait until they're open so I can try them all.

They open on the 2nd of November. Go in and enjoy a waffle!

Mr. Miyagi

Mr. Miyagi is a newly opened Japanese eatery and bar located in Windsor. After hearing a few good things and seeing some promising photos on instagram, I thought it'd be a cool place to check out.

Unfortunately most of my experience with Mr. Miyagi proved to be utterly disappointing and I doubt I'll ever return on my own volition. 

For a place that tries so hard to look Japanese by plastering vintage Kirin beer posters and Japanese newspapers all over their walls and menus, they're probably as Japanese as a california roll. If they bothered to just do a tiny bit more research, they probably wouldn't have failed so much. After I noticed that the chopsticks were placed vertically instead of horizontally...I knew something was amiss.

There were a few other reasons why I left so unsatisfied, which i'll try to explain in this blog.

1. Firsltly, after being seated in a spacious booth the atmosphere was immediately ruined by the stench wafting toward us from the bathroom. It certainly did not get my appetite going.

2. Our first waitress was very nice but she obviously didn't know much about Japanese food. The way she butchered the word gyoza as 'guy-oh-za" or nigiri as 'nigehri' was kind of embarrassing but of course those are honest mistakes. However the second waitress was equally as nice but even more disappointing when she described the japanese omelette on our sushi platter as "a Japanese egg thing, I don't really know what it's called but it's sweet". It's never very reassuring when you know more than the wait staff.

3. Yes, the staff were nice but their incessant asking of if we wanted drinks started to get on my nerves. We were obviously not drinking as the majority of the table asked for mocktails (which were great) yet they still persisted.

4. The sushi and sashimi platter we ordered was just a complete disaster. We waited much longer than expected for it and when it did arrive I was almost....offended. Mr. Miyagi obviously didn't have a proper sushi chef or even a sushi knife from the look of our plate. The slices were ridiculously thick and looked as if they were hacked away with a butter knife. Some pieces were not clearly cut and were still stuck together, another even had a hole in it. The worst part was that they tried to hide these faults in the plating.

Don't even get me started on the nigiri sushi....the pieces were obviously mashed together by hand like a child with a mud pie until a sushi resembling shape emerged. What a bloody joke.

Thankfully there aren't many situations that deep fried food can not salvage and their Miyagi fried chicken with kyupi mayonnaise dipping sauce lived up to its reputation. Also their battered sweet corn, wagyu tataki and tempura battered crab roll proved to be popular items amongst the table. 

***************************************************

The place looks very trendy and makes up for the lack of any Japanese food on Chapel street but I'd prefer Izakaya den any day.

Jacques Reymond Cuisine du Temps - Jacques for Jack

Hello Readers,

It was recently my boyfriend, Jack's birthday and so to celebrate the occasion I made a booking at Jacques Reymond's eponymous restaurant. A little Jacques for Jack.

The gorgeous restaurant is located in Prahran, an 1880's mansion with a beautifully lush garden. We rang their doorbell and were warmly welcomed by the staff. We sat in the cellar room, a simple yet modern room with a vast collection of wines and champagne next to our humble little table.

After ordering myself a glass of champagne and having a glance at the menu, we of course decided on the 9 course degustation menu. I unfortunately forgot to take a picture of our first course but it was a flavorsome mushroom broth. A great start to the night that left my taste buds ready for more.

Our second course was yellow fin tuna, smoked salmon mousse, togarashi and lemon caviar. Described as one of the highlights of the evening, this was easily my favourite course of the night. The tuna was heavenly and melted in your mouth but it was the spiced nougatine on top that made this dish a revelation. The delicate snap and the sweetness of the nougatine paired with the tenderness of the tuna was an unusual but genius combination. 

Next was King George Whiting with an acidities of pickles and yuzu. A perfect example of Jacques Reymond's affinity for french technique with asian flavours, a prevalent theme in most of his dishes.

The fourth course was cuttlefish, pork shoulder and crispy chicken skin. A bold dish with an unmistakable Thai influence of tangy, sweet and sour flavours.

Our palate cleanser was the most interesting dish of the night. Parmesan custard, green peas, macerated grapes, wasabi and apple granita. A daring combination to say the least but one that surprisingly works well. The granita was my favourite component, such great and refreshing flavours.

Next was a salad of Flinders Island lamb, smoked eucalyptus scallop, scampi and masterstock jelly. An elegant surf and turf with unbelievably tasty lamb. There was so much flavour packed into that single slice of lamb, and with the addition of scampi and scallop, you simply can't go wrong.

Our next meat course was Sher Wagyu a la plancha, burnt onion and coffee. The beef was of course cooked to perfection and the sauces were a great accompaniment. The mushrooms and every other element of the dish served to enhance the flavour of the beef.

Our adorable little pre-dessert was Carmague organic red rice, apricot and sencha sorbet and champagne foam. The dehydrated raspberries gave the rice pudding a nice bit of bite but I adored the sencha sorbet. As a self proclaimed tea lover, I really enjoyed the it. The sorbet was sweet but still kept the delicate flavour of sencha tea.

Our dessert was Chocolate and chestnut mont blanc, bayleaf and cassis, bourbon chantilly and some spiced figs. What really made this dessert special was a little parcel that arrived with it, pictures above. It was warm and gave off a beautiful aroma that complimented the components of our dessert. It's those sort of little things that really impress me and give the whole dining experience an added....je ne sais quoi.

.

We ended our evening with tea and some petit fours. It was very sweet of the staff to write Happy Birthday in chocolate for Jack as well. It was a lovely evening, which I hope he enjoyed as much as I did.

********************************************************

After dining at Jacques Reymond's my boyfriend and I have officially eaten at all the three hatted restaurants in Melbourne. I feel like I've won some sort of culinary bingo hahaha.

Jacques Reymond has been an iconic Melbourne chef for well over 20 years but unfortunately he will a be retiring in December so I recommend you get in quickly before then. The restaurant will then be left to his two long time deputy chefs Thomas Woods and Hayden McFarland, appropriately renaming the restaurant to The Woodland House. I also hope to try as much of Jacques Reymond's food as possible before he retires so I've secured a booking at the Legends Dinner at Brooks in October, which he is a part of. I'll definitely write a blog about that dinner too.

Thank you for reading.

Steer Bar & Grill

This extremely overdue blog is about Steer Bar and Grill. It's a steakhouse near my work that's satisfying Melbourne's growing demand for a bloody good steak.

Their philosophy is simple; quality steak comes from cows treated with love and respect.

Whilst you're ordering, the staff comes around with a large wooden board with the various cuts of steaks they have placed upon it, which I think is a brilliant idea! Being able to see the steak to get an idea of its marbling and size is extremely helpful when trying to decide. The staff are very friendly and helpful as well, obviously very knowledgeable when it comes to steak.

********************************************************

We started our evening with half a dozen oysters, which were lovely. 

I would definitely recommend the house cut bacon, it is a must try! The bacon is a juicy and thick slice of pure guilt that comes with an extraordinary housemade BBQ sauce.

Our steaks, as expected were cooked to perfection, so tender and flavourful. No nonsense just the great taste of beef. Our steaks also came with a little bit of bone marrow, which was a tasty treat.

The foie gras potato puree was absolutely divine. I would personally like to thank the person who decided to combine foie gras and pureed potato. I could've polished off the whole bowl on my own, table etiquette was the only thing stopping me from licking the bowl clean.

****************************************************************

The desserts were also a highlight as well.

Their tart was lovely, it had a lot of different elements from marshmallows, jellies, meringues and ice cream.

The most memorable was the Bombe Alaska. The only way to make dessert better is having it set on fire! A touch of theatrics accompanied with ice cream enclosed in meringue. What more could you ask for?

The little bits of jelly with the Bombe Alaska went very well too, a little bit of citrus to cut through the sweetness of the meringue.

******************************************************

I have to confess I went to Steer twice within 2 weeks, I liked it so much I had to bring more friends. If you're one of my particularly carnivorous readers, definitely give this place a try. 

Thanks for reading, I'll hopefully dish out a new blog soon.