Restaurant Review: Mezzo Bar and Grill

Location: 35 Little Bourke St, Melbourne
Phone: (03) 9650 0988
Link: www.mezzobar.com.au
Cuisine: Italian
Overall Impression: 7.5/10

Oyster on Little Bourke used to be one of my very favourite restaurants. So I was heartbroken when it closed down at the end of 2009. A restaurant named Mezzo Bar and Grill took its place but I didn't really take notice until I found out it was actually run by the executive chef behind Oyster, Joseph Vargetto! There had actually been an executive and strategic reason behind the change. In essence, Oyster never really "closed down". Instead, there was a name change to showcase Joseph's evolving Sicilian food.

Beautiful bread that was served with delicious extra virgin olive oil

From the moment we arrived, we noticed how lovely the ambience was. It was a formal dining space, and yet the ambience maintained an air of casualness about it. The wait staff that took care of us was excellent. He provided us with great service and care. He was even attentive with the amount of bread we had for the table. And the extra virgin olive oil we had with the bread was seriously divine. 

Entree: semolina dusted calamari, shaved fennel and herb salad, salsa of sultanas, lemon and capers

The calamari was cooked perfectly and the accompaniments provided such a balance of acidity to the dish. The crust was crisp, the calamari was tender. And the flavours.. Oh the flavours. There was a burst of Middle Eastern tasting flavours. Which I found very interesting. This is an entrée I would highly recommend.

Main: cavatelli (semolina gnocchi), pork and veal ragu

When I read 'gnocchi' on the menu, this was certainly not what I was expecting at all. In my mind, I thought it would resemble the semolina gnocchi I had at Café Di Stasio. Nevertheless, the pasta was cooked perfectly and the pork and veal ragu was tasty and hearty.

Main: angus porterhouse served with caponata 'messinesi', herb oil

Of all the dishes, this was the biggest let down. The steak itself was tender and perfectly cooked. However, the caponata was not to my liking. The flavours tasted like run of the mill café mixed vegetables you could order on the side.  

Dessert: tiramisu della nonna . my nonna's recipe

The tiramisu was great. Everything you would expect from the perfect tiramisu. Every morsel was moreish. It was an excellent way to finish a lovely meal.

Another great thing about Mezzo is that they certainly do not skimp on portion sizes. You *will* leave well-fed. Extremely well-fed.

Recipe: How to make a giant cupcake

 Giant Red Velvet Cupcake Recipe

I decided to bake J a giant cupcake for his birthday because he loves things that are the wrong size but to scale! E.g. A Jeroboam (double magnum) from Yering station:

So I thought a giant cupcake would be a good idea. The only problem is my lack of skill in the kitchen but I really tried my best and after lots of trial runs, here is the recipe I came up with. Because I didn't want to buy a special giant cupcake maker, I used an oven-safe bowl for the dome-shaped upper tier of the cupcake and a regular round cake tin for the lower tier. Make sure that the bowl fits nicely on top of the cake tin. Happy baking!

Makes 16 servings.
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes

INGREDIENTS

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 1/2 cups self-raising flour 
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter, softened
2 cups granulated sugar
4 eggs
1 cup greek-style yoghurt
1/2 cup milk
30ml Red Food Colouring
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Frosting:

250gms butter
2 cups icing sugar
juice of 1 small lemon
2 "triangles" of Happy Cow cheese
Lollies etc to decorate your giant cupcake. (I used mini marshmallows)

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour an oven-safe bowl and a round cake tin. Sift flour, cocoa powder and salt. Set aside.

2. Beat butter and granulated sugar in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed 5 minutes or until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, 1 at a time. Mix in yoghurt, milk, food color and vanilla. Gradually beat in flour mixture on low speed until just blended. Do not overbeat. Pour batter into prepared pans.

3. Bake 35 to 40 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean in both the cakes baking in the oven-safe bowl and the round cake tin. Cool in pan 10 minutes. Remove from pans; cool completely on wire rack.

4. For the Frosting, beat cheese and butter in large bowl until light and fluffy. Gradually beat in icing sugar until smooth.

5. Cut the top bits of the two separate cakes from the oven-safe bowl and round cake tin.

6. Spread frosting on the bottom part of the dome shaped cake.

7. Place the dome shaped cake on top of the round cake.

8. Frost the dome shaped (top tier) part of the cake with frosting until it looks like a giant cupcake!

Cafe Review: Badger Creek Blueberry Farm Winery & Cafe

Location: 11 Garnook Grove, Badger Creek

Link: www.mantirri.com.au
Cuisine: Cafe style food

Driving up and around the Dandenongs, we noticed a 'Blueberry farm' sign. We decided to follow the signs and we found ourselves at the Badger Creek Blueberry Farm Winery & Cafe.
As we had already had lunch, we decided to each have lovely iced coffees together. Very quickly, we realised there were blueberry smoothies on offer but it was too late as our iced coffees had arrived. Will definitely make a point to come back here to give those smoothies a go the next time I'm in Healesville.

Overall Impression: 6/10

What a lovely cafe with beautiful surrounds. Really wish we had more time there to actually go on a blueberry picking adventure. 

And on a side note, Badger Creek reminds me of Badgers. And Honey Badgers...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4r7wHMg5Yjg

Restaurant Review: RA, Collins Quarter

Location: Collins Quarter, 86a Collins St,Melbourne

Phone: (03) 96508500
Link: http://www.collinsquarter.com/
Cuisine: Modern Australian
Overall Impression: 6/10

RA is well known among the younger corporate crowd. Jam packed on a Friday night, this upmarket city pub is tucked away in an alley (in a very Melbourne sort of way). Less known is the fact that they offer delicious food for those seeking to reward their taste buds.
I had the opportunity to sample their Christmas menu…

 Turkey Gallotine
Stuffed with Lemon and Oregano served with Tequila cherries and caramalised pistachio

 Pims!

 Roast Pork Belly with Bread Stuffing, Grain mustard coleslaw and Roast yellow peaches

Christmas Pudding with Brandy Anglaise
Service was prompt and friendly. The food was wonderfully Christmas-y =) The pork had good crackling, the turkey was tender, the pudding was moist! It was simple and to the point.

Restaurant Review: Woolshed

Location: t18/161 Harbour Esplanade, Docklands

Phone: (03) 8623 9640
Link: www.woolshedpub.com.au
Cuisine: Modern Australian

Had the opportunity to try their Christmas dinner menu. This gastropub dishes up delicious food. Everything was plated up beautifully and tasted just as good as it looked! Great for a group function.

Restaurant Review: Om Vegetarian

Location: Level 1, 28 Elizabeth St, Melbourne
Phone: (03) 9663 0062
Link: www.omvegetarian.com
Overall Impression: 5/10

Was catching up with the lovely Phermonh. Being vegetarian, she suggested this restaurant called Om Vegetarian. I have actually never heard of this restaurant until then. She sold it to me as being $6.50 for an 'all you can eat' dinner. I was shocked but also now very curious. So I spent the rest of the week before our catch up getting really excited about what a $6.50 buffet would look like.

When we arrived, I realised it was not so much 'all you can eat', but more feel free to ask for more, which in my opinion, are two very different things. The latter requires a thicker skin.

What happens is you are served with a plate filled with food (as pictured) and you can go up to the counter and ask for refills.

I ended up asking for a little more of the basmati rice and curry potato and we both left well fed.

It is hard to say anything too harsh about a place that charges you $6.50 for dinner so I won't. The food was very basic but at the end of the day it delivered what it promised. Thanks for the lovely catch up, Phermonh! I look forward to more vegetarian meals with you.

Dulce de Leche (Spanish caramel) at Koko Black

Dulce de Leche is a thick, caramel-like milk-based sauce or spread popular in Latin America. It was by chance that I discovered its deliciousness. Travelling around Europe with my family and spending some time in Argentina when I was about 12, we met a friendly young girl who was about 18 at that time (the same age as my sister who had not come along with us on the trip). She asked if she could be our pen-pal to improve her English and my sister and little Miss Argentinian developed a friendship over the letters they sent each other. She decided to visit us during the Melbourne summer a year later and we welcomed her into our home. She brought along with her, jars and jars of Dulce de Leche and that was when I had my first taste. It was delicious. I spread it on everything I could - bread, crumpets, pancakes, crackers! It was a good summer.

Since then, I have been in search of places where I can have good Dulce de Leche.

Koko Black is one such place.

Over Easter, my mom surprised me with these Dulce de Leche filled bunnies from Koko Black and they were delicious. There are many other products in store at Koko Black that have Dulce de Leche in them and it is always a treat!

:)

Cafe Review: CHATIME

Location: 28 Elizabeth St, Melbourne

Phone: (03) 9663 9998

Link: http://www.chatime.com.au/

Taro Milk Tea with pearls

Matcha (Green tea) and red bean with pearls 

Step aside Bubble Cup, there is a (relatively) new kid on the block!

Chatime offers a premium milk tea and pearl experience. As ridiculous as that sounds, it is true.

The use of good quality Taiwanese tea and flavourings that are far less artificial than the usual deal means that this store usually has a queue. But it is well worth the 2 minute wait. What you get is a delicious and refreshing milk tea. The only down side is that it commands a slightly higher price for its premium offering. It was $5.70 (excluding extra charge for pearls etc) for a large 'Taiwan Taro Milk Tea' (pictured above). But I don't think I have ever taste Taro milk tea so good. It tasted very natural and the bits of creamy taro were delicious and added a nice textural element to the drink.    

Overall impression: 7/10 

Restaurant Review: Ga mi

Location: 535 Lt Lonsdale St Shop G, Melbourne

Phone: (03) 9670 3232

Cuisine: Korean

Overall impression: 7/10 

I have never eaten a plate of Chicken anus before. Nor have I thought it would ever be necessary. That was, until that ill-fated night, when I lost some weird game we were playing at the table at Ga Mi and I took my first bite. To be honest, it really did not taste as bad as I had thought it would. It was foreign and strange, as opposed to gross (taste-wise, that is...). The plate of chicken anus that Ga Mi had plated up was filled with flavour, so I don't blame the chef for the unpleasant experience I had. It was the textural elements of the anus itself that I had a problem with. I don't think I have ever tasted anything quite so muscle-ly, sinew-y and packed with cartilage. Like I said, it was strange.

But the chicken anus dish is not what Ga Mi has gained a cult following for. The reason I love Ga Mi is for its fried chicken. It comes in three varieties- original, sweet chilli and garlic. Personally, I prefer the original (sans sauce) chicken. Crunchy and tasty. It is kind of like KFC, but for the fact that it taste a lot less artificial. Its hard to describe but I'm sure you will understand once you've tried it. And how could you ever go wrong with a nice bucket of fried chicken. Yum!

Cafe Review: Best Vanilla Slice: Just Fine Food

Location: 23 Ocean Rd, Sorrento, 3943

Phone: (03) 5984 4666

Cuisine: Cafe style

Overall impression: 7/10 

We were in Sorrento for a relaxing weekend away with my sister, my brother-in-law and my beautiful baby niece. It's cold this time of the year but we enjoyed how much more tranquil Sorrento felt. It was a wonderful trip filled with wine-tastings, wine-purchases and excessive food consumption.

We decided to try out the illustrious Sorrento vanilla slice from Just Fine Food. Its always interesting to see whether something lives up to the hype that surrounds it. And in the case of this vanilla slice, it certainly did! My tastebuds were in heaven, every moreish morsel was delectably balanced. I find vanilla slices in general far too sweet for my liking but these struck the perfect balance.

The pastry quite literally melted in my mouth and yet did not lose its sheet-like textural elements. The custard filling was smooth and delicate with a hint of lemon twang to it. It was delicious. I tried not to think about the amount of calories I was consuming because it tasted decadently deadly.

But yes, beautiful.

Restaurant Review: Crystal Jade

Location: 154 Little Bourke St, Melbourne

Phone: (03) 9639 2633

Cuisine: Chinese

Overall impression: 5.5/10 

Crystal Jade is one of the few restaurants that offer yum cha alongside good and prompt service. It has a nice ambience and if you are seated near the glass windows, it is such a delight to look out and see the bustle of China Town. 

As far as the yum cha experience goes, the food certainly meets expectations. Although the Xiao Long Baos do not hold a candle to Hutong's offerings, the rest of the items were very good. The following are some of the dishes we had.

 

It was perfect for the relaxing Sunday brunch we were after.

Cafe Review: Barista Espress

Location: TG03, Ground Level,  Goldsborough Lane, 181 William Street, Melbourne

Phone:  (03) 9670 6620

Cuisine: Cafe-style food

Overall impression: 5/10 

     

I finally got to catch up with my  wonderful ex-colleagues after months of planning! It wasn't a particularly good day for a catch up. The weather was horrible - it was absolutely freezing, and very soon, we could see the rain falling down from where we sat.

We quickly forgot about the weather.  JW had just returned from an exciting trip and it was really good to see her and ASP had exciting news about a delicious man in her life.

Neither of us had eaten at Barista Café but this was a pleasant experience. The food met expectations, the coffee was better than average and the service was prompt.

Being in Goldsborough lane is pretty cool too cause that meant we could do a bit of shopping before returning to our respective work places.

 Pizza with side salad

Creamy mushroom and avocado rigatoni

Restaurant Review: Margo's (Revisited)

Location: Crown casino, Southbank
Link: http://www.crowncasino.com.au/margos
Cuisine: Modern Australian

Was craving veal shanks so I suggested we all head to Margo's. This is my fourth visit and even though having dinner inside a casino is not exactly ideal, I have always found it an enjoyable casual dining experience.

It happened to be Ben's birthday and after telling one of the staff members, we were served with a complimentary glass of sparkling wine each and a nice coffee and cherry cake to end the meal. The cherries on the cake were delightfully alcoholic.

 Veal shank slow-cooked veal served with mashed potatoes and vegetables

Again, the veal shanks were very good.

J ordered the 'surf & turf' - moreton bay bug and 200g porterhouse steak with chips and salad.

He said is was 'ok'. The bug was good and the steak was cooked 'medium', like he had requested.

I guess the food isn't all that fantastic but I find Margo's really honest. It’s a weird way to describe a restaurant but its just fair. The food is consistently what you expect it to be. It might not be a magical meal but its always enjoyable and suitably casual.

And the complimentary sparkling wine and birthday cake was a nice touch. Well played, sir. Well played.

Cafe Review: Eclipse

Location: Rear of the Intercontinental Hotel – enter off Flinders Lane, 495 Collins Street, Melbourne

Phone: 03 9629 7703

Cuisine: Cafe-style food

Link: http://www.eclipsecoffee.com.au/temp/

Overall impression: 7/10 

J and I decided to try the coffee at Eclipse.  Apparently coffee places are ranked with "beans" and only a few have a three bean status (Eclipse being a café that does).

And the coffee certainly did not disappoint! The lunch menu looked really good as well so we'll definitely need to go back and try it out. 

Caffè macchiato

Restaurant Review: Nam Loong Chinese Restaurant

Location: 223 Russell St, Melbourne

Phone: (03) 9663 4089

Cuisine: Chinese

Overall impression: 1/10 - in relation to noodles, 8/10 - in relation to Pork Buns (Char siew bao)

They have the best steamed pork buns in Melbourne but the noodles we had were unbelievably tasteless. I guess the lesson of the story is, do yourself a favour and stick to the yummy steamed buns!

Restaurant Review: Michel's Restaurant & Bar, Novotel

Location: 270 Collins Street, Melbourne

Phone: +61 3 9667 5800

Link: http://www.novotelmelbourne.com.au/melbourne-cbd-restaurant.html

Cuisine: Modern Australian

Overall impression: 6/10

There is a stigma related to restaurants within hotels. There is always a presumption that the food will be well presented but for some reason have that sort of this-food-was-prepared-in-a-hotel taste. I'm not sure how to describe that sensation but hopefully you know what I mean.

As such, I was pleasantly surprised at my experience at Michel's. I had the opportunity of indulging in their buffet lunch. I generally dislike buffets because I have self-control issues, but I'll leave that for another day. Now, back to the restaurant.

The food was actually very enjoyable. I particularly liked their chickpea salad, roasted chicken and cashew nut and peach salad. Desserts wise, the highlight was definitely the delectable pecan tart.

Even though the experience didn't blow my mind or anything, it was nontheless worth blogging about. Oh and great service. Very attentive staff who were just the right amount of 'friendly'.

Restaurant Review: Old Kingdom

Location: 683 Canterbury Road, Surrey Hills, 3127
Phone: (03) 9898 3343
Cuisine: Chinese, Malaysian
Overall Impression: 6/10

The service was appalling but with Peking duck that good, I must admit, I will definitely be back.

 The duck was simply perfect. The skin was deliciously crisp, with a thin and perfect layer of fat (its always disastrous when the fat is too thick or chewy - personally, that produces a gag effect). The crepes were moist and delicately thin. The plum sauce concoction was good. The only thing I could fault them on was the lack of condiments to go with the duck. Give me more cucumber and spring onion!

The other dishes that come with ordering the duck (i.e. leftover pieces of duck stirfried in bean sprouts and the soup) are not really worth commenting on.

But yes, very good Peking duck.

YUM!

Leftover pieces of duck stirfried in bean sprouts

Duck soup

Complimentary fruit to finish the meal

Lantern Ghost Tours (Point Cook)

http://www.lanternghosttours.com/

The ghost tour was a bit of fun. I really enjoyed myself even though I found myself leaving the lights on in my room when I went to bed that night.

The ghost tour was led by a lady who looked the part. She claimed she was a clairvoyant. The whole experience was very interesting. It was nice listening about the various events that had taken place at Homestead Point Cook.

Restaurant Review: Lentil As Anything

Location: 41 Blessington Street, St Kilda
Phone: 03  9534 5833

Link: http://www.lentilasanything.com/restaurants.html

Cuisine: Vegetarian and Vegan

There is such a buzz about the place. Located in trendy St Kilda, Lentil As Anything has managed to maintain a humble presence. The concept is interesting.

"The pay as you feel philosophy is simple – we invite you to pay what you think the food and the experience is worth."

The food is hearty, the service is warm.

The kitchen area

Dhal and rice

Chai Latte

The Best Macarons in Melbourne: Emerald Deli

Macaron vs Macaroon?

It's easy to make that mistake.

A "macaron" is characterised by a dome-shaped biscuit made of egg whites and almond meal, hard to the touch with a chewy interior.

A "macaroon", on the other hand, is a small meringue cake, typically made of coconut and often dipped in chocolate.

Macarons have hit Melbourne like a storm. But the question is, where can you find the best Macarons in Melbourne?

Emerald deli, in South Melbourne market will not dissapoint. They seriously the best macarons. Lemon, strawberry, pistachio and double chocolate

They taste even better than they look! Beautifully luscious, both the top and bottom pieces that sandwich the centre, have a beautiful crust that cracks with every bite, revealing a gooey sweet "cookie dough" like interior. Unlike your usual macaron, these are sizeable enough that you can truly enjoy the gooey-ness of the sweet interior.
Perfectly sweet and smack filled with flavour, they certainly have 'bite'.