The reason I haven’t eaten at many of Melbourne’s newest, hippest restaurants isn’t because I shy away from hype. It’s because of that damned no booking trend. I’m not a no booking person. I like knowing that I can book a table and be seated at a certain time. So lining up for a table just isn’t me.
That’s the reason it’s taken me so long to get to the Duchess of Spotswood. I’ve heard SO many good things about it, but I’ve also heard how busy it is in the weekend. And we all know what busy means – having to wait for a table.
Alastair and I are quite different, but we have a really good relationship. Part of that is because despite our differences, we have the important things in common. We hold similar political views, are non-religious, and most importantly – neither of us are morning people!
Even though we’re not morning people, we’ve recently started getting up earlier in the weekend. And you know what? There are so many more hours in the day! The day never seems to end! It’s amazing!
Recently on one of our “get up early” Saturdays, we returned to The Premises for coffee and lunch. Because we had been up for several hours already, we had eaten toast for breakfast at home several hours before. (more…)
On Australia Day last week, Alastair and I celebrated by jetting off to New Zealand. Yes, very patriotic indeed!
Our flight was early in the morning, so we skipped breakfast and took the opportunity to eat at the newish Café Vue at the Melbourne Airport international terminal.
This Café Vue outlet is open rather long hours (4am-1am daily) and offer breakfast, lunch, dinner, as well as pastries and take away boxes for the plane. From what I saw of the breakfast menu, prices of the food look similar (if not the same) as the other Café Vue outlets. Breakfast and lunch take away boxes were $15, and a dinner box was $30. I was kind of astounded, because one of the things I hate the most about eating at airports is the outrageously marked up prices for horrible, substandard food. And here they hadn’t marked up the prices to gouge a captive audience?? Amazement! (more…)
I love a leisurely weekend cafe brunch, but I have quite specific brunch desires when it comes to eating out – the café must have interesting sounding savoury options. I don’t want to eat somewhere that just does eggs and toast and muesli. I can eat that at home!
Alastair and I were down in Kensington Village the other weekend, and there appears to be a couple of new cafes that have opened up. We had breakfast at The Premises, located on the corner of Bellair Street and Macaulay Road. If you’re familiar with the Village, it’s the funny L shaped shop that has an entrance on both streets. (more…)
The other weekend Alastair and I started things off with a rather good brunch at Q Eleven. It must’ve been a sign of things to come because we enjoyed good eating for the rest of the weekend. That evening we met up with Maria and Daz for dinner at Horoki before going to see Tripod. Dinner was great, and Tripod were fantastic. On Sunday we had a home made breakfast (pictured above) with scrambled eggs, fried chorizo, a big fat grilled mushroom and hash browns (supermarket ones… I’m not ashamed to say that I like them!). For afternoon tea later that day there was freshly baked banana cake with a cup of strong tea, and then finally for dinner Bro and I made Hainanese chicken rice. It was so good. I just about had to roll my way out of bed on Monday.
But back to Q Eleven. Alastair and I were in South Melbourne for my regular market wander. Food shopping bores Alastair senseless, so he rarely gets dragged out for food shopping these days. Bro and I normally go together, but as he was busy Alastair had to be the dutiful husband. I thought that he needed some food to shore up his patience so we headed to a cafe for breakfast.
Q Eleven is “cozy”, and seems pretty popular, so we were fortunate to get seats! It’s popular for good reason – as soon as I opened the menu, I was excited. It’s not just bacon and eggs here! With items like the creamed sago pudding with lime, coconut, berries and yogurt, or the warmed rhubarb and apple compote with pistachio crumb fingers of French toast, or the refried beans, with fried eggs, pumpkin and coriander roesti, salsa and chipotle mayo, choosing only one thing to eat was difficult!
Alastair had the omelette with crispy potato, roasted capscium, feta and gremolata ($13.50). He gave me a taste, and even though I’ve mentioned before that I don’t like open omelettes, this was pretty good. No rubberiness here!
I had the ham and roesti stack ($16.90). It truly was a stack – out came a soft poached egg on top of a slice of Kassler ham, a quinoa and potato roesti, and spinach. Perched at the very top was onion jam, and on the side of the stack was rosemary roasted tomatoes. It was good, the rather salty ham providing the seasoning to the gooey egg, soft roesti and spinach. I really enjoyed it.
Fortified by a good breakfast, we were able to make the market rounds. As for Q Eleven, I would definitely go back – even now I’m still wondering about the creamed sago pudding. Next time!
Last weekend the Boys and I went to see the Penguins! at the Melbourne Aquarium. We got up early and had brunch in the city before heading there.
Brunch was extremely forgettable, so I think I’ll tell you about a couple of past visits to our favourite cafe instead!
A wee while ago, Bro and I had a Saturday brunch with the other KKC members, while Alastair spent the day working.
Bro and I both had something that was on the specials board – baked eggs with pepperonata, feta and tomato sauce served with grilled pide ($15.50). It was great! The yolks were still gooey, perfect for dipping the pide in, and the pepperonata was sweetish and slightly tangy.
On a different occasion, we went back to Plum for brunch on my birthday. The Boys both had a special – Grecian omelette with roasted tomato, feta and sourdough toast ($14.50). Franco drizzled some chilli oil on top – yummo!
The French toast with bacon and maple syrup was amazing, as per usual. It was such a nice way to start my birthday.
Back to the penguins at the Melbourne Aquarium. The Melbourne Aquarium recently completed renovations and opened the Antarctica exhibit, showcasing Gentoo and King Penguins. The ones in my photos are the larger King penguins.
The new penguin enclosure is great. The best part was the wall where you could see the penguins in the water – they swam and darted around, showing off their agility and gracefulness. Penguins are cool!
One sunny but slightly chilly Sunday, we went looking for a good brunch option. We came across Sugarbeat, a small (or intimate, if you prefer an euphemism) café in Ascot Vale.
Bro had the Catalan eggs ($13) – fried eggs topped with chorizo and corn salsa. The chorizo had a fair kick to it! And check out that yolk just about bursting out of it’s skin.
I had the Bedouin eggs ($13). These were poached eggs with green harissa, spinach, feta and dukka on top of toasted Turkish bread. The harissa was pretty spicy, which I LOVED but I think some people would find it a bit much. The egg yolks were still nice and oozy – I love letting the yolk soak into toast. Yum!
Alastair had a toasted tortilla wrap ($11) – filled with egg, bacon and a bit of spinach and some salad on the side.
On the whole we had a nice brunch, but I do have one small criticism – our food was a bit cold. It didn’t help that we were sitting outside in a bit of a breeze, but the food didn’t seem very warm to begin with. But apart from that, we enjoyed it. As an added bonus, even my Bro thought that Sugarbeat was good. He is very picky about our brunch options, as it’s hard for cafes to measure up to our favourite, but Sugarbeat received a tick of approval. Hooray!
Sugarbeat 5A North St Ascot Vale 3032 VIC Phone: (03) 9372 7118
Auction Rooms 103-107 Errol Street, North Melbourne Phone: 9326 7749
Claire highly recommended Auction Rooms, so a couple of weekends ago we went there for brunch. It’s a large, impressive space, all wooden beams, eclecticness and hipsters, and was very busy and bustling when we arrived.
After a look at the brief menu, I decided on the chorizo open sanga – a panfried chorizo with roasted red capsicum, mushroom paste and apple sauce on toasted sourdough with rocket salad ($13). I would’ve liked to have had a spicier chorizo, but I was happy with my brunch. The apple chunks were interesting – at first I couldn’t figure out what they were. I thought they may have been pineapple due to the sweetness and appearance, but they also tasted very gingery.
Bro had the beans with bacon – Italian slow cooked baked beans, sage, basil, and rosemary infused olive oil served with sourdough toast ($11 without bacon, $13.50 with bacon).
And Alastair had the opening bid – poached eggs, roasted cherry tomatoes, bacon and spinach on sourdough toast ($15).
Coffees were very, very good. I don’t have sugar in mine, but nevertheless I adored the little soup cans on the table that the sugar sat in. Bro was a bit grossed out at them (the cans did look a little rusty around the top…) but they were very, very cute and totally fit the aesthetic of the place.
A few weekends ago, Alastair and I made an unusual trip south of the river to have brunch with a friend in Windsor. We do tend to stick to our part of town – not because we’re north of the river snobs – the truth is that we’re just lazy!
My short mac came with a little jug of extra milk. How cute!
Whenever I see items on a brunch menu that’s a bit different to eggs on toast, I tend to gravitate towards them. Which is how I ended up with a grilled kipper with horseradish butter, with a poached egg on sour dough toast ($15). It was a touch salty, and I thought it was a bit expensive, but apart from that I was pleased with it. The watercress was lemony and great with the kipper.
Alastair had the omelette with corn, coriander, chilli, and guacamole ($13.50). I’m sure he didn’t care, but I was pleased to see that it was a proper omelette (I don’t like open faced omelettes and don’t consider them worthy of stomach space).
And of course, it wouldn’t be a good brunch post without a couple of brunches at our favourite café!
During a visit several weeks ago, there was a new item on the specials board – black sticky rice with caramelised banana, surrounded by a pool of coconut milk. Alastair ordered this for brunch, and a damn good choice it was! Sweet and fragrant with chewy glutinous texture, it’s not the kind of thing that I would ever think to have for brunch, but it was delicious.
I had a roti wrap filled with scrambled eggs, potatoes and bacon. Yuuuummm… the roti was crispy and jam packed with filling.
And Bro had a HUGE serve of scrambled eggs with smoked salmon, and a bit of chilli oil/sauce on top.
On a different occasion, we arrived at Cafe Plum a bit later than usual, so we all ordered lunch. Bro had herby chicken meat balls with linguine ($16.50).
And Alastair and I had shepherd’s pie with a rocket salad ($15.90). Underneath the creamy mashed potato were chunks of tender meat and vege in a tasty sauce. The rocket was good too – just the right amount of peppery bitterness.
On a chilly Sunday, Alastair and I headed out for brunch and came across Fräus. Fräus specialises in chocolate and crepes – both good things!
It was busy when we walked in, and as all the inside tables were taken, we were given the option of sitting in the back courtyard. It was FREEZING outside, but we were persuaded by their offer to turn on the outside heaters.
So we headed out the back, strategically choosing a table as close to the gas patio heaters as possible! True to their word, a staff member followed soon after to switch on the heat. Unfortunately he had a bit of trouble lighting the heaters, so we sat in the cold for ten minutes while he tried to figure it out.
When we first sat down out the back, I was slightly concerned that we would be forgotten about, but I was pleasantly surprised to find that service was very prompt and attentive. All the staff were lovely by the way – very sweet and charming. It was all very endearing.
There’s about 20 different varieties of hot chocolate on the menu, and as it was so cold, I ordered a dark hot chocolate ($4.00 for a cup, $4.50 for a mug). Stupidly (greedily?) I asked for a mug. I should’ve just had a cup. The hot chocolate was soooooo thick, like eating a warm chocolate pudding. It was delicious and decadent, but there was no way I was going to be able to finish it. I think I gave myself a chocolate headache trying!
For his meal, Alastair had the salmon benedict galette ($15). It had two eggs, smoked salmon, and baby spinach in a thin buckwheat crepe with hollandaise sauce on the side.
After examining all the savoury options, I decided on the kransky galette ($12.50) – kransky sausage, mushrooms, tomato, onions and cheese in a thin crepe with tomato sauce on the side.
The night before we had spent the evening with friends drinking wine (brandy may have also made an appearance). I wasn’t hung over, but I was craving something unhealthy and fatty and this was perfect. The kransky was so tasty. Yuuuuuum.
I had optimistically mentioned to Alastair that we could have a sweet crepe after our meals. But I found that my galette was very filling, and combined with the hot chocolate, there was no room in my stomach for anything else. Oh well! Guess we’ll have to return in the future to try one.
Fräus Crêpes & Chocolat 345 Victoria Street North Melbourne VIC 3051 AUSTRALIA
Do you find that sometimes you get bored with things that you enjoy? Fortunately that hasn’t happened so far with our favourite café – Plum. The boys and I went there for brunch (again) the other weekend, and I wasn’t intending to blog about it since I’ve already raved about here, here, here AND here. And really, how many different ways can you find of saying, “this place is great”?
Me, being me, I took photos of the food anyway, even though I wasn’t going to blog the meal. Yeah, I know, I think it might be a compulsion.
Alastair ordered the French toast with bacon and (real) maple syrup (about $13 from memory). His meal came out first, and I snuck a bite after taking a quick photo. I’m glad I took a photo because:
Oh. My. God. Best French Toast Ever.
The inside of the bread was perfectly cooked and soft, but the outer edge was crispy. It was fragrant with just the right amount of cinnamon, and the sweetness was perfectly judged. So good!
It was lunch time by the time we arrived (we slept in!) so Bro and I ordered off the lunch specials board. I had the potato and ricotta fritters with smoked salmon, horse radish, creme fraiche and tomato and chive salsa ($16.50). Bro had the rigatoni with meatballs in a rich tomato sauce ($16.50).
Our meals were good, but Bro and I had food envy after we tasted Alastair’s French toast. Normally neither of us would order a sweet brunch, but when Alastair couldn’t finish his French toast, we polished it off for him!
After we finished, Franco (the owner/chef) came up for a chat and – get this – asked us if we had a blog. And, what’s more, asked if it was this one. Totally found out! 🙂
On the last Sunday of the colder months, Cafe Plum does a roast dinner. We always intended to go, but never got around to it. It just so happened that the following night was the May roast dinner. Franco started telling us what was on the menu – duck. As soon as the Boys heard duck they were sold (they love it).
So the next evening, we went back to Plum for dinner! It was a three course set menu ($38). There was a vegetarian option, which we didn’t try.
The first course was a beetroot soup with goats cheese crostini. Look at the beautiful colour in that soup! The soup was thick with a bit of sweetness and perfect for a cold Sunday evening.
The main course was a roast duck confit with marsala glaze and served with a parsnip gratin. Everyone received a large maryland and the small drumstick pictured. I’ve mentioned before that I’m not a big fan of duck, but I really enjoyed this. The duck wasn’t very gamey, with the hint of marsala complementing the slight gaminess, and the flesh was moist and tender.
The parsnip gratin was eggy and cheesy with the flavour of the parsnip fairly subtle. It was a large slab and very filling!
There was also some crunchy, dressed greens – snow peas, green beans and spinach.
Dessert was a choice between cheese or a pannetone pudding with chocolate ice cream and custard. I had the pudding. A posh bread and butter pudding, it was sweet and rich, plus soft and almost gooey in the middle. There were occasional bits of glorious crunchy toffeed crust.
The cheese was a Gorgonzola with spiced walnuts and crackers. The Gorgonzola was very tingly and pungent!
I think the next roast dinner is on Sunday 29 June. Call to check (and book). We had a great time, and will definitely go again.
