Melbourne: Hammer and Tong 412, Fitzroy

We caught up with one of K's school friends over brunch at Hammer and Tong 412 in Fitzroy during our long weekend in Melbourne. Eating with 3 meant only one thing (apart from a good catch up!): we could order more food!

When we walked in, we immediately eyed this blueberry doughnut.  It had a gooey blueberry centre and the dough was wonderfully sweet and soft.  From memory they also had a lychee flavoured one. 

C had seen photos and reviews raving about this dish, so we had to order it.  It's the "Breakfast Ramen" - comprising a 62 degree egg (can't say no to that), bacon, shitake mushrooms, spring onions and a bacon dashi broth.  The dish is subtle but the Japanese inspired flavours work well together and feels very soothing to enjoy.  The bacon dashi broth is poured at the table for an added sensory experience and tasted great. 

Breakfast Ramen

Next up we had the corn and zucchini fritters with cumin spiced avocado mousse, manchego, tabasco jam, chilli, tomato and a poached egg.  The fritters were a little dry but the spiced avocado mousse was quite a clever idea. Overall probably not the best dish we tried that day.

Corn and zucchini fritters

Our Melbourne friend chose the healthy option but don't be fooled, healthy doesn't have to be boring! She picked the 5 grain porridge with coconut foam, mango and black sesame.  Who would've thought porridge could taste this good?  The coconut foam and acidity of the mango added a really special twist to the dish. And well isn't it just so pretty? 

5 grain porridge

And on the recommendation of our friend, we picked an extra dish to share: the soft shell crab burger and boy are we glad we did!  The crispiness of the fried crab legs combined with the softness of the crab flesh, juices, mayo and some sort of asian-inspired salsa makes it seriously one ammmaaazzzing burger.  

Soft shell crab burger

Overall, cafe worth visiting if you're in Melbourne - if just for the soft shell crab burger and nothing else!  Just one tip: they don't seat you until everyone in your table has arrived so make sure you coordinate your arrival time! 

Melbourne: Caffe e Cucina, South Yarra

Returning to restaurants from our recent trip to Melbourne, Caffe e Cucina was one that we visited on the recommendation of our friends.  One of our friends is Italian and described this as one of the most authentic Italian restaurants that they've tried (not counting in Italy itself!).  A pretty big call, so we knew we had to visit.  

The restaurant is cosy and the décor has a warm, homely charm to it. Upon arrival, we were greeted by very friendly Italian waiters.  According to its website, this restaurant was founded in 1988 - almost as old as we are!! 

We got a bit greedy and shared 3 entrées between ourselves (again, justified by being on holidays).  First up we ordered the Millefoglie di Melanzane which consists of eggplant layers with buffalo mozzarella, confit tomatoes and basil.  The flavours and ingredients all sound very familiar (and very Italian!) and sure enough it did not disappoint.  The buffalo mozzarella was fresh and not too overwhelming, the tomatoes were sweet and eggplant was not too oily (as can sometimes be the case).  Perfect combo!

Next up, we had the Carpaccio di Manzo - beef carpaccio served with rocket, shaved parmesan and balsamic glaze.  The beef was sliced a little too thin for our personal preference and seemed a little disproportionate in serving size to the amount of rocket we got.  That said, that balsamic glaze was beautiful! Nice and sticky with the perfect balance of tartness and sweetness.

Finally we had the Calamari Sant'Andrea - it may just look like your typical fried calamari but these were delicious!  The calamari was incredibly tender, and the batter only very thin and lightly fried.  Very moreish. 

Now onto the mains!  C ordered the Pappardelle con Speck, Champignon e  Olio Tartufato.  For anyone who has read a few of our posts, you'll start to notice a bit of a pattern....C can't get away from anything bacon/speck/prosciutto related so of course he opted for this dish.  The dish comprised of homemade pappadelle with speck, Champignon mushrooms and truffle oil. The pappadelle had a perfect al dente chewiness to it, the speck not too salty and the truffle oil....well truffle oil makes everything tastes better right?!

K opted for the Gnocchi di Zucca which is a homemade pumpkin gnocchi with parmesan cheese that has been aged for 24 months and a cream and balsamic reduction.  We had been told by our friends that if there was gnocchi on the menu we must order it and seriously, it was incredible.  It's the best gnocchi we've ever had, soft, fluffy, light and with a hint of pumpkin.  The combination of cream and balsamic sounded a bit odd at first but the tartness and sweetness of the balsamic actually lightens up the creaminess and you can't help but dipping the gnocchi into more sauce with every bite.  Even though C had speck and truffle oil, he had intense food envy.

We've never been to Italy before, so can't vouch for how this compares to Italian food there but this has definitely been one of the most delicious Italian meals we have had.  The ingredients may all sound like familiar Italian combinations but the dishes were executed really well and were combined with a cosy atmosphere and friendly and attentive service.