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.  

Anvil Coffee Co, Artarmon

Taking a brief break from recounting the rest of our food adventure in Melbourne, we recently visited Anvil Coffee Co's new Artarmon branch whilst K was waiting to start her new job.  Anvil Coffee Co is a popular cafe in Kirribilli which has started a branch in the industrial part of Artarmon - no doubt the first decent coffee spot in the area! 

We went twice as we missed out on breakfast the first time (oops...slept in...) - we promise we didn't eat brunch and lunch on the same day!!  Although being in the more industrial part of Artarmon means it is a little out of the way, it also means that it had a nice peacefulness to it during the two week days we visited.

We'll start with the breakfast:

K went for the buttered Arabian eggs and C chose the Smoked Scotch Eggs.  Portion wise, the Arabian eggs were a bit small for their price, but flavour wise, it hit the mark.  The description doesn't really give you an exact idea of how all the ingredients work together but some how it just does! And of course, the eggs were poached with just the right amount of gooeyness. 

Buttered Arabian Eggs

C chose the Smoked Scott Eggs.  Flavour wise, this was the favourite of the two breakfast options we picked.  The smoky beef and pork mince is packed with flavour and the carrot salad...well it was so refreshing and tasty that even C (who normally hates carrots) ate it! It balanced perfectly with the scotch egg so that overall the dish was not too heavy.  Our egg yolk inside was a little overcooked which was unfortunate but that aside, the taste of the dish was well balanced.

Smoked Scotch Egg

For lunch (on our first visit), we went for the buttermilk chicken breast and the caramelised cauliflower salad.

If you come here for lunch, you must order the buttermilk chicken!  The chicken is so moist and drizzled with tangy lemon juice and the batter is light and not too thick.  As with the Scotch Eggs, the cucumber salad brings a refreshing balance to the chicken.  K definitely secretly wished she ordered this instead of the salad.... A must try!

Buttermilk chicken breast

For the more health conscious, the salad is the way to go.  K has a bit of a personal aversion to parsley (and there was a lot of it) but this aside, the caramelised parts of the cauliflower adds a nice charred/smoky flavour to the salad.  And the chick peas were super crunchy!

Caramelised cauliflower salad

Awesome. Coffee. 

 Next time you're in the area, (e.g. servicing your car) be sure to pop by!

Melbourne: Om Nom Dessert Bar, CBD

After being featured a couple of times on Masterchef 2014, C+K made a mental note to visit Om Nom on their next visit to Melbourne. It was difficult to secure a booking but with a booking finishing earlier than expected, we managed to squeeze in despite our disorganisation.

Om Nom is a dessert bar in the Adelphi Hotel on Little Flinders Lane in Melbourne CBD headed by Christy Tania.  We were particularly drawn to this because of Christy's Asian heritage and use of Asian flavours in western desserts. We do not have a particularly strong sweet tooth and often prefer Asian desserts because they are less sweet so we thought we would give this a go.

Since we had an early dinner at Sugarbun (see previous post), we thought it justified to share 3 full sized desserts between the two of us (that logic works right?).

First up, we had the Raspberry Field which consists of raspberry sorbet, fresh lychees and raspberries, meringue and rosewater.

Raspberry Field

This was perfect and our tastebuds were excited. The flavours are subtle, nothing is overpowering but everything works together nicely. The rosewater isn't just some dribble of syrup on the plate...they are what looks like spherical jellies which bursts and floods your mouth with rosewater liquid when you bite into them. Follow the waitress' instructions and eat them in one bite otherwise you will lose some of the rosewater! A fun surprise to add to the theatre of the whole plate.

Next we had the Basil Garden being, a dark chocolate casing with dark chocolate dust, vanilla, olive oil, basil, honey, lime, white chocolate and meringue. This was probably the least impressive of the 3 desserts. The basil flavours were faint and at times missing and overall the flavours did not work together in the same way as the first. Admittedly, our expectations soared after the first dessert!

Basil Garden

Next up, we chose the Cendol - reminiscent of C's childhood and heritage. This dish is made up of a mango base, coconut, pandan balls, gula jawa (also known as gula melaka - i.e. palm sugar) and jackfruit. It is a refreshing dish with echos of familiar Asian dessert flavours. However, it lacked the surprise and punch of the Raspberry Field and in truth, we would probably have preferred just having a second serving of the Raspberry Field (yes, it was that good!).

Cendol

It was hard not to compare all the desserts to the first one we had but that Raspberry Field really blew us away and we would definitely recommend that to anyone who finds themselves at Om Nom.  The other were a little disappointing for us personally. After being featured on Masterchef, we are glad we tried it but overall, not in a rush to revisit.

Epilogue: Craving something a little more substantial and feeling the effects of an early dinner, we got a bit indulgent and decided to order room service and pig out on a wagyu burger and chips. In bed. Yummm.

Melbourne: Sugarbun, CBD

After a long day of walking (we didn't realise you need a Myki to take the trams in Melbourne!), K stumbled upon this little gem in Melbourne CBD whilst C was trying to decide whether to take a 10pm booking at Ezard for dinner.  We ultimately decided on a lunch time booking for Ezard instead so K proceeded to try out Sugarbun.  A quick google search revealed that Sugarbun was brought to Melbourne by twin sisters who's father runs the flagship Sugarbun in Malaysia and that part of the inspiration for opening the cafe was the lack of bak kut teh in Melbourne.  This got K excited, hopeful for a decent quality bak kut teh - which is so hard to find outside of Asia.

Sugarbun specialises in Borneo cuisine.  Borneo is the third largest island in the world and is divided amongst 3 countries - Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei.  The Sugarbun menu consists of a wide variety of foods, from fish burgers and broasted chicken to beef stew and of course their bak kut teh. This made us a little sceptical at first but our hunger pains took priority over our slight hesitation.

The interior is simple, fresh and minimalist.  It resembles cafes we would have eaten at during our university days - except cleaner!

The broasted chicken is apparently a speciality of Sugarbun.  According to google, broasting is a way of frying the chicken in a pressure cooker. The result? The chicken is a beautiful golden colour, crispy but incredibly moist on the inside. You can tell they've mastered the art of cooking this piece of protein - not overcooked or undercooked and with enough seasoning that it doesn't overpower the natural flavours of the chicken.  The coconut rice is fragrant as it should be and delicious as you combine it with their sambal ikan bilis.  For those unfamiliar with Malaysia food, sambal is a Malaysian chilli sauce and ikan bilis are crispy fried anchovies and are a necessary feature of any Malaysian nasi lemak

Nasi lemak with broasted chicken

K of course seized the opportunity to order the bak kuh teh.  The broth is not too oily and has a depth of flavours  and the taste of Asian herbal goodies which you know could only be achieved through proper slow cooking.  The dish comes with a serving of you tiao (Chinese fried breadsticks) and fresh cut chilli with soy sauce which remarkably adds to the flavours of the pork. Not sure if enoki mushrooms are meant to feature in tradition bak kuh teh but this did not really bother K.  In the soup is also a few pork balls which have an incredible burst of flavours. We suspect they are home made but can't verify this. Overall, definitely beats any bak kuh teh that K has tried outside of Asia (that is not homemade!) although admittedly still not as good as what you can get in Malaysia!

Overall we were pretty happy with this little surprise find. It's a nice break from all the cafe eating/western food if you are like us and need a dose of Asian goodness every now and then!