It’s funny I never use to have many friends in Hong Kong, because I never studied there and went to a fairly Caucasian-based high school. But then when I got into University, I met more friends including Sasa  best friend and Mr Bao who’s also from HK. And then through blogging I have also met a whole new group of friends One of these new friends is Margaret, if you have Instagram you may know her as little_meg_siu_meg.

Margaret has such strong passion towards food, I don’t think there’s any moment in the day when she’s not thinking about food I think that’s one of the reasons why we get along so well! She is also one of the most knowledge people I know about food ~ I think it helps when you have a brother who was a chef at Quay and is now working at Noma wow!

Last time I was in HK, Margaret and I met up at Boulangerie Bistronomique one of the new cafes that have opened in the Western District. As the name suggests it is a French cafe specialising in baguette sandwiches and pastries. They also have a few shelves with selling jams, pates and other delicacies. I almost forgot that we were in HK and thought we were back in Melbourne at one of the cafes ~

Both feeling a bit hungry, we chose the baguette lunch set for $98HKD ($12.25AUD) you got a baguette of your choice, a mini salad and a soup. I really liked the little bamboo boards that they used to serve it on ~

Ham & Cheese Baguette with salad and soup $98HKD ($12.25AUD)

I went for the classic ham and cheese baguette, from the first bite I knew it was a delicious baguette with a good crust but still remained soft with air bubbles inside. Apart from Paris I haven’t been able to find many good baguettes, they’re either too hard or too airy that feels hallow. The ham was thinly sliced and not too salty while the cheese gave the baguette the saltiness it needed. One word YUM! Sometimes I think all we need is a simple good baguette While the pumpkin soup was very smooth but felt a little diluted and lacked seasoning and the salad was just a mini bowl of rocket and drizzle of balsamic vinegar.

Tete de cochon baguette with pig head’s terrine in a set $98HKD($12.25AUD)

Margaret also chose the Tete de cochon baguette, I wasn’t sure what it was but she explained to me that it was a pig head’s terrine with gribiche sauce, pickled pepper and mustard. Even though flavours were good, as she thought “… the thin layer was completely overwhelmed by the egg salad and gribiche sauce”. A bit of a shame because it looked and smelt wonderful but once again she loved the texture of the baguette which is a win ~

Margaret’s secret salt containers

And just before Margaret had her soup, she opened her bag to get these two little cute salt containers from her purse. If you know Margaret you will know her love for salt, she collects them by the bottle and  always has at least two types of salt in her purse, that day she at Maldon sea salt flakes and a finer table salt Now I want one of these salt containers!

Pastries and Cakes

Time for pastries and cakes They had a good selection in their cabinet ranging from tarts to mini cakes to eclairs. But I was meeting up with my family afterwards…so couldn’t go too crazy so we got one dessert each ~

Starting with the Paris Brest, another uncommon pastry, haven’t seen it in many places in Melbourne so was surprise to see it in HK. For those who are unfamiliar a Paris Brest is made out of a choux pastry the same as eclairs, piped into a circle like a donut and filled with a praline cream and topped with crushed nuts and icing sugar.

Paris Brest $45HKD ($5.6AUD)

I was quite impressed with the choux pastry as it was very light with a good crispy texture on the outside ~ while the praline cream was sweet with a nutty flavour. I also liked the crunchiness from the crushed nuts. Now I just wished more cafes would start making these Paris Brests

Mille Feuille $45HKD($5.62AUD)

We also ordered the Mille Feuille, it looked magnificent with the flakey layers of puff pastries and the little black specks in the creme patisserie . Unfortunately, this mille feuille was a bit of a disappointment, the puff pastry was not at all flakey, it even felt a little soggy. While the creme patisserie was smooth and lovely, but then the white icing paste of top had a very strong nearly bitter taste. It’s such a shame as we enjoyed the other dishes and I had such high expectations of their pastries.

I think Boulagerie Bistronimique is a great place for HK people to visit if they want a taste of Paris and if they need a break because we all know how busy and fast-pasted HK can be. It’s located in a quiet area and offers fresh and delicious lunches, even though some of their pastries and cakes can be a hit or miss, I really enjoyed their baguettes and Paris Brest. Next time I go I’m definitely going to try their eclairs and mini tarts

Boulangerie Bistronomique
Shop 1A, G/F, 1 Davis Street,
Kennedy Town, Western District
西環堅尼地城爹核士街1號地下1A號舖
PH: +852 2872 0811

Yesterday was a special day for a very special person It was Shellie AKA Queen of Balls birthday!!! Happy Birthday my lovely blogger friend! I’m not sure if you guys remember but I wrote on my ‘About Me’ page that Shellie was actually one of the people that inspired me to start my blog

So happy that we got to celebrate Shellie’s birthday on the exact day, we met up with Ms-Ihua, Zeboy and Mr Bao at Merchant’s Guild for brunch, everything was so delicious especially the pancakes! Will blog about it soon!

I couldn’t go empty-handed and simply had to bake a cake. A birthday is not complete without a cake! Now as you may know Shellie loves her BALLS So I decided to make her a cake with balls ~ After doing some research I decided on Steph’s Chocolate Milo cake with a super thick condense milk buttercream filling topped with balls (Maltesers and Ferrero Rocher).

This is probably by far one of the prettiest cakes i have made So I’m super happy! But then need to Thank Mr Bao as well because I curdled the ganache and he had to help me fix it ~ If you like chocolate, Milo and Condense Milk this cake is FOR YOU. Hope you’ll like it as much as I do!

Recipe – Chocolate Milo Cake adapted from Raspberri Cupcake 

Yield - A double layer 20cm cake

Ingredients 
125g unsalted butter, soften
50g (1/4 cup) caster sugar
195g (1 1/4 cup) plain flour
2 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
150 (about 1 1/4) Milo Powder
3 eggs
120ml (1/2 cup) buttermilk

Condense Milk filling
150g unsalted butter, soften
350g icing sugar
2/3 cup condense milk

Milo Ganache 
300ml thickened cream (35% milk fat)
400g dark chocolate
1/2 cup Milo

Garnish
Maltesers
Ferrero Rocher

Method
1) Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F), spray and line a 20cm round springform cake tin with baking paper.
2) Using an electric mixer or standmixer, cream butter and sugar until light, smooth and pale in colour. Add egg one at a time, beat until incorporated.
3) Combine flour, baking powder and Milo together and sift together. With the mixer on a low-speed gradually add the flour mixture to the butter and sugar.
4) Once combined, gradually add buttermilk until just combined – Do not overmix.
5) Pour into prepared cake tin and bake for 40 to 45 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. If the top starts to brown, cover loosely with foil.
6) Remove from oven, let cake cool in tin for 10 minutes before placing it onto a wire rack to cool completely.
7) To make the condense milk buttercream filling. Using an electric mixer or standmixer, beat butter until light and fluffy, add icing sugar and condense milk and beat for another 3 to 5 minutes until fully incorporated and spreadable.
8) To make Milo ganache, chop chocolate into small pieces and place in a large heat proof bowl. Heat cream in a saucepan until it simmers but not boiling, add the Milo and whisk until well combined.
9) Pour heated cream over the chocolate and set aside for 5 minutes, then whisk until mixture is smooth and glossy. Set aside and let it cool until mixture thickens and is spreadable.
10) To assemble, carefully cut the cooled cake in half and level the top. Spread a generous amount of condensed milk buttercream on one of the cakes and spread evenly. Then cover with the other cake.
11) Cover whole cake with Milo ganache spread until smooth. To garnish smear a little ganache onto the Maltersers and Ferrero Roche.

Notes:
- The original recipe was a three layer cake, but I didn’t feel confident enough to cut my cake into three layers
- You could substitute Milo with other chocolate malt powders such as Ovaltine or mixture of milk powder and cacao powder

Credit: Ms I-Hua

Loved this photo Ms I-Hua look of the cake Thanks for letting me use it!

Dear Readers, I’m currently going through another food crave and this time the victim is ‘Polenta’ not sure what started but all of a sudden I have constant cravings for it! In cakes, part of a dish or chips everything and anything with polenta I want it! Hahaha you don’t need to be too worried about me, I go through many phases every year actually every month, soon enough I’ll get over it

So in my quest for the best polenta dishes in Melbourne, I turned to Twitter and asked my dear friends ~ There were a few suggestions Libby (The Very Very Hungry Caterpillar), Ash (Im So Hungree) and Amy (Melbourne Food Snob) all suggested The Mess Hall on Bourke St. I haven’t heard of it before nor visited but realized that it was one of those oldie but goodie restaurants that have been around for quite a few years.

Initially wanted to catch up with Libby and Ash as well, but seems like April is a busy month, so Amy and I caught up with our partners The boys start off with a drink, a Gypsy Pear cider for Mr Bao ($8.5), he’s really into ciders lately which is fine because I prefer it much more than beer ~ It’s quite light tasting and not too sweet for him.

Gypsy Pear Cider $8

First thing we ordered was the polenta chips with parmesan and roasted garlic aioli. I couldn’t withhold my excitement when i saw these golden fingers! I took a polenta chip smeared a thick layer of garlic aioli over it and immediately popped it into my mouth. But unfortunately, it didn’t have the ‘crunch’ factor I was longing for… it didn’t feel very hot either like they had pre-fried them but flavours were great not too salty or bland. A shame as I’ve heard that the chips are usually piping hot and super crunchy

Polenta chips with parmesan, herbs and roasted garlic aioli $9.

Another starter was the arancini with herb mayo they were super tasty with blue cheese filling inside as well, but the risotto was a little hard in my opinion. But I’ve heard that traditionally there should be a bit to risotto and I assume with arancinis as well ~

Arancini with herb mayo $12.5

Moving onto something more substantial the Bianca pizza with pumpkin, potato, goats cheese, buffalo mozzerella and sage. I liked the flavours of the toppings, especially the pumpkin and goats cheese was such a nice combination, however, I found the pizza dough to be too thick and dense, not exactly what I expected.

Bianca pizza with pumpkin, potato, goat’s cheese, buffalo mozzerella and sage $17.5

I’ve actually never had Gnocchi alla romana which is a variation of gnocchi which is made out of semolina instead of potato. I don’t really know the difference between semolina and polenta because they taste quite similar to me, and I loved it! especially with the prosciutto and smoked mozzerella love that bouncy texture. After all that polenta I’m still not satisfied think I’m going to have to buy some and make it at home

Gnocchi alla romana wrapped with smoked mozzarella and prosciutto on minted zucchini $22.5

I love how Amy is a dessert lover as well, I quote “It’s not a review without dessert”, I couldn’t agree with her more! So we ordered 3 desserts to share, starting with the Tiramisu which came in a small coffee cup. We were quite impressed with the tiramisu as it had strong coffee flavours without being to over powering and the mascarpone cheese was very smooth. It also wasn’t very sweet so perfect for those who like a lighter tasting dessert ~

Tiramisu $12.5

Next up was the Sticky Date Pudding Bob (Amy’s partner) wanted to order, I already had a sticky date pudding that day at Red Cup Cafe, but who said one can’t have more than one puddings in a day This sticky date had a texture more like a cake than a pudding, and I found it a little dry. But really liked the mascarpone cream and think it’s better than regular whipped cream ~

Sticky Date Pudding with mascarpone cream $11.5

Was surprised when Mr Bao initiated that he’d like to try the Nutella Calzone, he doesn’t normally ask for desserts. For those not familiar with calzones they are like folded pizzas and can be hand held, to me like an Italian sandwich made out of pizza dough with the toppings enclosed inside instead. They can be made savoury or sweet, and this one had a generous amount of Nutella in the filling and vanilla ice-cream on the side. I can’t complain about the Nutella or ice-cream because they’re both my favourite but once again I found the dough to be a little thick and too doughy, it would have been the perfect dessert if it was not for the dough.

Nutella Calzone with vanilla ice-cream $12.5

Overall, it was a pleasant meal at The Mess Hall, we found some dishes to be hit and miss for instance, the arancini were great, while the dough for the pizza and calzone to be a little thick. But I am still going to come back and try the polenta chips again as I have been told that they are generally very fresh crispy and maybe I just went on a busy night If you’re looking for a casual restaurant to catch up in the CBD, The Mess Hall is a good choice especially since they open all day from breakfast till late ~

Over Easter Win Win came to Melbourne for a super short 6 day trip by herself ~ Initially she was going to come back with Aden (my nephew) but he had school and couldn’t come. I was so disappointed >_< I really wanted to spend some time with him. Even though it was only 6 days, Win Win and I had the best time! It’s rare that we get to spend time just the two of us ~ We were eating, drinking and shopping way too much!

The Premises

But why must good times end so quickly Because very soon she had to leave on Easter Sunday on the earliest flight back to  Hong Kong at 8:30am. Meaning we had to get up at 5:30am to make sure she gets to the airport on time. Mr Bao was great and didn’t even complain once about getting up so early, I promised him that we’ll go to a nice place for breakfast afterwards in compensation We made it to the airport in time, said our goodbyes and Win Win was on her journey back home, while we went for breakfast.

Thanks to Catherine (Petit Miamx) who wrote a post about the cafes that will be open over the Easter holidays, I chose ‘The Premises’ which has been on my list for the longest time ~ But never had the chance, as it’s in the West and we don’t venture out there very often (we should though!). The Premises is quite well-known among the Melbourne cafe scene and have been known for their consistently good coffee and breakfast dishes ~

Mocha $3.8

We got to the Premises a bit early and they weren’t open yet, but the waitress was very friendly and told us they’ll be ready in a few minutes. About 15 minutes later they were open and ready and so was my tummy it was growling hahaha it needed food We started off with our usual drinks. My mocha was pleasant and gave me the coffee hit I needed to stay awake ~

Single origin magic $4

Mr Bao’s single origin magic was by Seven Seeds but sorry can’t remember which country it was from but he described it was more acidic and quite strong. While I found it to be a little too strong for me

Pan fried Free range eggs on organic toast with wild mushrooms, crumbled feta and hollandiase $19

I was tossing between the pancakes or this special which was organic toast topped with wild mushroom, crumbled feta, poach eggs and hollandaise sauce. It was a simple healthy and vegetarian breakfast and exactly what I wanted, the mushrooms were buttery, crumbled feta was creamy and salty. Eggs were poached perfectly just look at yolk running out ~ last but not least the hollandaise sauce was divine! I don’t want to know much butter was used

Yolk Porn in Action

Mr Bao chose a dish in the regular breakfast menu and ordered the pan-fried sardine with saffron potato salad and fennel salad with a poached egg. It was a very Moroccan inspired dish with the cumin, fennel and saffron. Every component in this dish was nice but I think this was more of a lunch dish and too pungent for us in the morning, so we didn’t enjoy it as much. But nonetheless a good dish and would recommend if you like those Moroccan flavours

Pan-fried sardine fillets with a saffron potato, pickled fennel salad, haydari and soft poached egg $18

I’m not sure if Mr Bao was really still hungry or if he just wasn’t satisfied because he wanted more food I was a little embarrassed when I told the waitress I wanted more food hahaha but she was very friendly and said “I always order 3 dishes to share with my man as well, so you’re fine!”. She recommended the slow roasted pulled pork which was served on a board and is great for sharing. It’s a very generous serving and the pulled pork was tender and not at all stringy. It was surprisingly sweet as well which balanced out very well with the pickled fennel salad and rocket ~ Very satisfying dish!

Slow Roasted Pulled Pork open on a board like a sandwich great to share $19

Still sleepy, Mr Bao ordered another latte and this time just with their home blend, he described this one as more earthy and a rich body.

Latte $3.8

I was pretty full by I really couldn’t leave without ordering something sweet, I had a look at their cake cabinet and immediately knew I wanted their lemon pistachio loaf cake. It was one of the best loaf cakes I’ve had, it was moist, soft and lightly dense with just the right amount of lemon and pistachio! Now I’m really going to search high and low for a recipe and make this at home. The waitress also mentioned that they bake all their cakes and muffins on premises, which is another bonus as many cafes nowadays simply buy their cakes from suppliers.

Lemon, pistachio loaf cake $6.5

We really enjoyed The Premises, food and drinks were good with great flavours, staff were friendly and helpful. It’s just a shame that it’s so far away from us and it can be a bit for us but definitely good place to go after an airport run

I love afternoon teas And I’m sure if you’ve read my blog for a while you will know hehe I love everything about it the concept of girls ( and maybe boys) sitting together enjoying scones and just chatting about everything ~ I’ve been very spoilt and tried out many afternoon teas in Hong Kong, but unfortunately it doesn’t seem as common in Melbourne.

The Gables

That’s why when Alice and Annette my colleagues asked if I’d like to join them for afternoon tea at The Gables, I immediately jumped at the opportunity The name ‘The Gables’ immediately reminds me of the book that I use to read as a child ‘Anne of Green Gables’, have you read that book before? I use to love it and read the whole series! Anyhow, I have  heard of The Gables House and Mansion in Malvern East before but didn’t know that they offered afternoon tea every Wednesday for $45 and Sunday $55 both include a class of French Champagne.

We booked for the early Sunday seating which started at 11am and ends at 1pm, not very long for an afternoon tea and it should really be called a morning tea instead There is ample parking in front of The Gambles mansion, its a Victorian style house made out of brick with white fences all around it ~ very nice and can see why many people choose to this as their wedding venue.

Dessert Buffet

Upon walking in, we were immediately greeted by a friendly waitress and also a large table filled full of desserts That’s when I realised that desserts was going to be served in a buffet style ~ I couldn’t have been happier!

The waitress then led us to a room on the right where there were 5 to 6 tables, we were placed in the middle of the room, which was fine, but we would have wanted a little more privacy and could hear the conversations from the tables around us and would have preferred a table closer to the window.

Champagne

Another waitress then came to offer us a glass of Champagne but unfortunately, I couldn’t see or remember the type but I know it was from France hehe it was a rather light tasting Champagne and not my usual favourite Moet & Chandon.

Very quickly our ginormous 3-tiered stand full of savouries arrived at our table My colleagues aren’t really use to going out with a food blogger, that’s why I quickly took the photos and didn’t want to take took long taking the photos. So sorry in advance for the not-so-great photos ~

Sandwiches

Starting at the bottom, there’s a range of little triangle sandwiches with a variety for us to choose from – egg and lettuce, chicken and chives and smoked salmon with caper berries. I was impressed how fresh and soft the bread was and the filings in the sandwiches were also delicious. If I was to be picky, they would have looked better if the sandwiches were cut into little squares instead to make them look fancier

Mini pies and quiches

The middle layer had mini beef and burgundy pies and spinach and feta quiches, unfortunately they look and tasted like supermarket-bought quality. The fillings for them were nice but the pastry was very thick and not very buttery which was a shame.

Scones plain and fruit scones

At the very top layer was the scones, plain ones and other which we can’t work out, it tasted like whole wheats with some mixed berries. It was also served strawberry jam which looked and tasted more like strawberry jelly and also whipped cream. I found the scones to be strangely moist and dense and not as fluffy as I would have liked.

Jam, cream and butter

The afternoon tea also provided unlimited teas, they had a good variety of teas from the regular English Breakfast through more exquisite teas such as green tea with jasmine flowers and Galle District OPI Orange Pekge) tea.

English Breakfast Tea

Even though the savouries and scones weren’t that exciting, I was super excited about the dessert buffet   on the large table in the foyer. They had such a large range of goodies macarons, cupcakes, variety of slices, mini tarts, fresh fruit and little chocolate profiteroles.

Dessert Buffet Table

So many to choose from! We had a hard time deciding! But once again, I recognised some of the desserts and have seen them at many cafes, I suspect from the same supplier.

My selection

I am trying to learn the art of eating in moderation so I only got a small plate and tried a few things Starting from the left the coffee panna cotta tasted more like coffee mousse topped with a thick layer of coffee jelly and dollop of whipped cream. The berry jelly and chocolate mousse was nice and smooth, but the pistachio macaron shell was too hard and had barely any filling and last but not least the mixed berry cheesecake was actually my favourite, velvety rich cream cheese with crushed berries through it.

Regrettably, I wouldn’t describe this afternoon tea to be one of the best, but it was certainly lots of fun and good to spend some time with the girls. We have now moved into different teams and work on different sites, so it’s hard for us to meet up. I would still recommend you visiting The Gables for afternoon tea if you’re looking for a nice quiet place near the city for tea that also offers a dessert buffet this is the place It’s also perfect for Mother’s day since it’s just around the corner, a shame my mother will only eat Chinese food and afternoon tea is out of the question

The Gables 
15 Finch St, Malvern East
Melbourne Victoria
PH: +61 3 9563 6108 

Dearest Readers, have you ever thought, how nice it would be for us to have 8 days instead of 7 in a week. We would work 5 days, have the weekends to spend with family and friends and on the 8th day…it’s for ourselves…we can do whatever we want – sleep, eat and rest! I am forever complaining that I need more time in a day, I simply don’t have time to do everything that I want and need to >_< Mr Bao and my friends are always telling me, I need to slow down but some how I can never just sit and home and do nothing.

8 Days Cafe

Pushing my wishful thinking aside, we may not have 8 days in a week but we can go the 8 days cafe in Armadale for brunch and try to pretend that its the 8th day and we have it all to ourselves I was super lucky and was invited by BBFF Shellie and 8 days cafe to try out their brunch menu last week on Anzac day. I’ve driven past before but haven’t had the chance to try and since Ms I-Hua did a post, I knew it was going to be great ~

Mocha $3.5

We were given a small table in the corner, which was nice and quiet and thankfully had good lighting I started off with my regular mocha to be slightly watery but nonetheless warmed me up and made my tummy grumble as it was getting hungry.

Smashed avocado & Persian fetta on 6 grain w/smoked bacon & poached eggs $18

First up was the smashed avocado with Persian fetta with smoked bacon and poached eggs on a thick slice of bread. I’m a fan of avocado and fetta, but this Persian fetta was amazing it was very smooth and not at all crumbly. Would love to know which brand they use so I can buy some myself ~ The bacon had a slight smokiness to it which made it even better. This was probably my favourite dish

Toasted Glicks bagel w/smoked salmon,spinach, avocado, poached eggs & chilli lime hollandaise $18

Another avocado dish, this time it was a bagel with smoked salmon, spinach, avocado poached eggs finished with some chilli lime hollandaise sauce. They use Glicks bagels here which in my opinion is probably one of the best bagels you can get in Melbourne, it has all that perfect chewy but soft texture. I also liked the chilli lime hollandaise which really helped cut through some of the richness from regular hollandaise.

Baked eggs w/ Tuscan bean cassoulét ,salsicchia & petite rocket salad $16

Next up was the baked eggs with Tuscan beans, salssichia which I found out was an Italian sausage and rocket on scattered on top. It was a very large serving! I don’t think I could have even been able to finish half if I was by myself, glad that we shared it between 4 of us I loved the spiciness from the salsicchia and sauce and the beans were nice and tender.

Avocado & Persian fetta on sourdough w/ chilli, basil & minted broadbean dressing $17

We then got another avocado and Persian fetta dish but this one was vegetarian dish with a chilli, basil and minted broadbean dressing. This is super healthy and probably a good choice after a big night out and you really need a cleanse the next day. But probably a bit too healthy for me

Croissant French Toast with poached pears, candied pistachios, Crème fraîche and maple syrup $16

Now I’ve had different types of French Toast using a variety of breads, but never have I had one made from croissants. But it’s actually a genius idea because the texture of the croissant makes a great sponge and soaks up the eggy mixture. It’s then topped with wonderfully poached pears, candied pistachios and a dollop of Crème fraîche. My only complaint would be it needed a little more maple syrup ~

Spanish omelette with potato, piquillo pepers, onions, sauce ramesco, jamon and rocket salad $17

When I first saw this, I thought this was a pizza, but in turned out to be a Spanish omelette with potato, peppers and onion filling topped with jamon and rocket. I really liked the texture of the omelette which was rather light and kind of souffle like ~

Wagyu beef burger, brioche bun, gruyere cheese,smoked bacon,tomato relish & sliced pickles w/fat chips, crisp baby cos,tomato & aioli $21

Just when I thought the food has stopped coming, the waitress brings over a mini Wagyu beef burger with cheese, bacon, tomato and chips served with tomato sauce and aioli. I’m so glad that there were 8 of us sharing this burger. Jo (Second Helping) did a great job and was able to divide this burger into 8 perfect bite size for use to try! Thank you I really liked the Wagyu beef pattie and thought it was very flavoursome and nothing beats melted cheese on top.

Cherry ripe mud cake

Clearly, we didn’t need any more food but… Veda (The Hospitality Window) may have made a comment to the owners that I love my desserts and told them my blog name and soon enough they brought over a huge slice of Cherry Ripe Mud Cake. I was slightly embarrassed but at the same time so glad that I got to try it! It’s super rich, chocolatey to the max with a thick layer of cherry coconut filling.

I had a lovely breakfast here at 8 Days cafe and enjoyed their dishes as well as meeting new bloggers that I haven’t met before Would also like to thank 8 Days cafe for inviting me! Mr Bao was quite jealous of all the photos I had posted on Instagram so I think we’ll be coming back soon.

Daisy@Nevertoosweet attended this event as a guest of Iron Chef Shellie and 8 Days Cafe. 

Never thought this recipe would get so much attention from friends and family So many people have left me a message, texted me and even colleagues have asked me to post the recipe. So by request here it is! Last week my parents came over for dinner with two large grocery bags and inside we found so much fruit including 3kgs of red and green grapes! Keep in mind there’s only Mr Bao and I living here hahaha I think this is an Asian parent thing because my other friends say it’s common.

We have been trying to eat the grapes at any chance we get, as morning snack, taking it to work and after dinner. But still there is so much left! So I decided to hit the books and find a few recipes that used grapes, this is when I came across Stephanie Alexander’s recipe of grape, ginger and yoghurt brûlée. It seemed easy enough and good as dessert or breakfast.

Basically it’s a ramekin filled full of grapes, then it’s covered with super thick Greek-style yoghurt and then a cinnamon brown sugar mixture is sprinkled on top. It is then placed under the griller and let the sugar melt and bubble wait for it to cool and hardens. I think it’s quite nice as breakfast with the grapes and the yoghurt being slightly warm and the sweetness and crunch from the sugar topping

My apologies for the lack of photos >_< Mr Bao made this and we weren’t planning to blog about this recipe and didn’t have time to remake it. But when we remake it I’ll update this post with more photos This recipe may sound a little strange but it’s really quite nice  ~ Hope you’ll like it!

Recipe – Grape, Cinnamon and Yoghurt Brûlée from Stephanie Alexander 
Yield – 4 ramekins (125ml) 

Ingredients
300g seedless red or green grapes, stems removed
200 ml Greek-style yoghurt (I used Chobani)
1/4 cup (55g) soft brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Method
1) Pack grapes really tightly in a single layer into each ramekin (125ml), they should be nearly fill the dishes. Spoon yoghurt over and smooth with the back of a spoon.
2) Chill the filled dishes in the refrigerator for 1 hour or overnight.
3) Preheat overhead griller to maximum.
4) Mix brown sugar and cinnamon ensuring there are no small lump in sugar. Sprinkle an even layer of sugar mixture over yoghurt and smooth with back of spoon. Ensure you can no longer see the yoghurt.
5) Place ramekins on a baking tray and slide under the griller and watch it carefully. It should take less than 1 minute the sugar will melt and caramelise. Remove baking tray and allow ramekins to cool slightly as the sugar will be very hot. 

I recently heard from someone that everyday 5 new cafes open in Melbourne. It’s quite an alarming figure, but I definitely believe this to be true. There are seriously so many cafes it’s practically impossible to keep up, even if you treated it as a full time job, you would need to go to at least 3 to 5 cafes a day to go through them all! The cafes don’t only open up in Melbourne CBD, there are also those cute hipster cafes in further out suburbs. Lady Bower is definitely one of these hidden cafes, Mr Bao had to be somewhere in Reservoir and asked me to go with him.

It was an early Sunday morning, I wasn’t going to just go to Reservoir with him and wait…so I did some research and found Lady Bower a café. I realised Byran (Fat Boo) had blogged about it before and enjoyed the dishes. Our car pulled up in front of the café at around 9:30am and I was surprised to see such a large venue, which spans over 2 to 3 stores.

Cake display

Walking towards the café, the waitress eagerly opens the door for us, I was immediately attracted to the glass cabinet where they display their cakes. You could tell instantly that they were homemade which is great!

Mocha $4

My mocha was a good temperature but tasted more like a hot chocolate than a mocha and would have been better if it had more coffee to balance it out.

Latte $3.5

Mr Bao got a latte with the house blend from 5 Senses and described it as quite buttery with low acidity and floral notes. He ordered another one after the meal and asked for a strong latte but found that one too be to strong and sour.

Breakfast of Champions $18

Mr Bao found the menu to be more ‘vegetarian-friendly’ so he immediately said he’s getting the Breakfast of Champions which was Lady Bower’s version of the big breakfast. It has the usual bacon, beans, mushrooms but then what surprised me were the meatballs! I didn’t think we were going to have meatballs for breakfast again anytime soon The meatballs were delish! Homemade, full of flavour and wonderfully light. The thick cut bacon was also Mr Bao’s favourite, I think it’s a trend because many cafes are now serving their bacon super thick ~ Unfortunately, the poached eggs were a little overcooked and the yolk wasn’t rushing out as I expected.

I chose the smashed avocado with a dollop of sour cream and chilli oil on the side topped with a poached egg. Once again my poached egg wasn’t as runny as I would have liked, but nothing beats the silky and buttery goodness of the smashed avocado and the sour cream just made it even more indulgent ~ Mr Bao did like the chilli oil and found it too spicy but I loved it, and think it’s a great idea and definitely taking this idea home with me

Smashed avocado with sour cream, chilli oil and poached eggs $13.5

I thought I had misread the specials menu when I saw a handshaken lamington milkshake. I asked the waitress and she said ‘yup it’s a lamington flavoured milkshake’, I couldn’t resist and immediately ordered it. It surprised me when she came over with a large glass jar, but then it made sense to me because it’s handshaken they must have shook it in the jar ~ Very clever! They did a great job getting the lamington flavour spot on! It had the chocolate base, with a slight tanginess from what I assume to be strawberry jam and also desiccated coconut YUM! Highly recommend you trying this!

Handshaken Lamington milkshake $4.5

To finish up Mr Bao and I shared the pear and chocolate ganache cupcake, the cake itself was deliciously moist and light, while the chocolate ganache was sweet and rich. Only complain would be the amount of ganache and the tiny piece of pear, with a thicker layer of ganache it would have been perfect

Pear and chocolate ganache cupcake $3.5

We were definitely impressed with this little cafe in Reservoir and even though its out of our way, I definitely recommend it for locals in the area and I’m coming back just for the lamington milkshake!

Aussies especially Melbournians love their football! So whenever there’s a match, there will be hundreds of people who go to the MCG (Melbourne Cricket Groups). I am a failed-Melbournian because I have actually never been to the MCG and most definitely do not watch footie Sorry to all footie fans out there! Reason behind this story is because recently, I was lucky enough to be invited by Wrights PR and GG’s to try out their brand new restaurant in East Melbourne super close to the MCG.

MCG

Source: Wikipedia

As a matter of fact, they named the restaurant GG’s for two reason, one for Grandpa Guiseppe and the other G stands for the MCG ~ It was a week day lunch so I ducked out of work and headed to Clarendon Street in East Melbourne, just be careful you don’t get confused and go to Clarendon Road in South Melbourne

I rarely go to East Melbourne and only know of the hospitals around there, but I forgot that it is actually a very nice quiet city suburbs ~ GG’s is just opposite the Fitzroy Gardens is a fairly large restaurant with a long wide bar area and also casual and more intimate tables.

Bubbles

I wasn’t sure who was going to be there, so was glad to see a few familiar faces Joyce (Mel Hot or Not) and Catherine (Petit Miamx) We were immediately introduced to Chef Paul Dunlop who has previously worked for George Calombaris at St Katherine’s in Kew.

Chef Peter Dunlop

We started off with wine probably not a good idea to drink too much at lunch time when I have to go back to work but…it’s worth it hehe

Bubbles

We were then given some starters to share, at the front is the fried green olives with gremolato mayo, I don’t eat olives so didn’t try this but I know the others on my side of the table really liked them. On the left is the Arancini stuffed with mozarella, parmesan and peas, it was my favourite starter with the melting parmesan cheese gushing out The chicken wings were also tasty with smoked almond vinaigrette.

Starters – Fried green olives, Arancini, Chicken Wings

Grilled Haloumi courgette pickle

I’m a fan of Haloumi cheese love the saltiness and bouncy texture, so I knew I was going to like this dish with the chargrilled haloumi cheese, it was also paired up nicely with the thin ribbons of courgettes and mint leaves.

Crab crostini, shaved fennel, tarragon

Another starter that was my favourite was the crab crostini with shaved fennel and tarragon, I really liked the soft, delicate and sweet taste of the crab and was surprised that the tarragon complimented it so well.

Smoked ocean trout sesame, soused cucumber, apple

The smoked ocean trout with soused cucumber, apple and a sesame wafer was very light and refreshing with a slight tang, perfect way to ignite our appetite for the other warm mains that were coming ~

Pan seared Tasmanian salmon, fennel puree, caramelised fennel, bisque sauce

We were then offered a pan seared Tasmanian salmon on top of fennel puree, caramelised fennel and bisque sauce. I never knew fennel puree could be so smooth and have such a creamy texture, I also liked the caramelised fennel which was sticky and sweet.

Lamb neck, shallot puree, black garlic

I’m not a lamb-eater, but couldn’t help try a little bit, because the it smelt so good. I’m glad the lamb wasn’t too gamey and had the perfect fall off the bone texture. I also liked the black garlic that is lighter in flavour and not as pungent as the average white garlic ~ I knew Mr Bao would have loved this dish! He likes his lamb!

Tomotoes basil, buffalo mozzarella balsamic

As a side we were given a medley of tomatoes basil, buffalo mozzarella and a balsamic dressing. I thought it was a nice palate cleanser after having the more stronger tasting lamb dish. I particularly liked the buffalo mozzarella cheese.

Unfortunately, that was the last dish I got to try and I had to skip dessert because I had to rush back to work I was super sad when Catherine told me the lemon curd cake was to die for! Please go to Catherine’s post and Joyce’s post to see the dishes I missed ~

I enjoyed the lunch here at GG’s and I’m definitely going to schedule a time to go back to try their desserts

Daisy@Nevertoosweet attended this event as a guest of Wrights PR and GG’s all opinions are honest and based on time of visit. 

Today, I have a confession to make and that is…Mr Bao and I have found a new addiction and that its PEANUT BUTTER! I know it may sound awfully strange to most people, because most like if not LOVE the good old peanut butter but neither of us did We never put it on our toast, would never order a PB dessert or even buy a jar! Then…last year April (My Food Trail) made us some chocolate peanut butter brownies for Christmas and has totally converted us! All of a sudden we liked the salty peanut flavour especially with chocolate, since then we’ve made PB Brownies, PB molten cakes and now I present to you the Peanut Butter Cup Cookies

Recently I took my parents to Costco being their first time they were amazed at how big everything was and they had fun buying everything in bulk. I’d had my eyes on the 1.5 Kg Reeses Peanut Butter miniature cups for a while but didn’t want to buy it. But dad saw how I was lurking around same aisle sagain and again so he ended up getting it for me! YAY to parents who spoil their kids

Immediately that night, I wanted to make something with PB, so ended up making these cookies which are essentially chocolate chip cookies but I replaced some of the chocolate chips with chopped pieces of PB cups and to top it off I placed a whole PB cup in the middle for baking them ~

I think next time to make them even more Peanut Buttery I’m going to add some Peanut butter to the cookie dough batter I wonder if we’ll ever get over this addiction but for now its here to stay.

Recipe – Peanut Butter Cup Cookie adapted from Taste.com.au
Yield – 20 Cookies

Ingredients
185g unsalted butter, softened
1 cup (200g), brown sugar
1/2 cup (100g), caster sugar
1 egg
1 egg yolk
2 cup (300g) plain flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
200g Reeses Peanut Butter cup, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup chocolate chips (dark or milk)

Method
1) Preheat oven to 180°C. Line 2 baking trays with baking power
2) Use an electric mixer to beat butter and two types of sugars in a medium bowl until pale and creamy (approximately 3 to 5 minutes)
3) Add the egg and egg yolk and beat until well combined. Add flour and baking powder, stir with a wooden spoon until well combined. Alternatively continue beating with electric mixer until just combined and finish up by hand. Add Peanut butter cups and chocolate chips and stir to combine.
5) Using an ice-cream scoop or spoon, roll two tablespoons of cookie dough into a ball and place on the lined tray, slightly flatten with fingers.
6) Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes or until slightly golden (leave in oven if you like it crisper). Remove from oven and cool on tray before transferring to a cooling rack.

Dearest Readers, do you know anyone who doesn’t like chocolate? I remember once I bought a chocolate mango cake for a friend’s birthday and was so excited about giving it to him. At midnight we sang happy birthday and gave him the cake. He politely accepted but then said “I’m sorry but I don’t eat chocolate, mango or cream, it’s ok I ll take it all out and just eat the sponge cake”

Melt Chocolate Festival 26/5

Anyhow in contrast, I eat chocolate lots and lots of it in fact that’s why I couldn’t pass the opportunity of going to the preview of the Melt Chocolate Festival at the Immigration Museum. They are currently holding displays and exhibitions of immigrants from Brazil, Mexico, Belgium and their communities in Melbourne. The festival held this Sunday, will feature a wide range of chocolates and sweets from these three countries.

Mexican Champurrado (Thick Hot Chocolate)

The lovely lady then told me that this is a traditional breakfast dish in Mexico and surprisingly the men wake up and make it ~ now I d like to have that tradition here in Australia ~

Mexican short bread

We then moved onto the Brazilian brigadeiros  which is there version of chocolate truffles, we tried a variety of flavours – chocolate, coconut, strawberry and one with sprinkles. They have a very soft smooth texture and a familiar sweetness which I think comes from condense milk. I may or may had 3 in a row sooooooo addictive.

Brazilian brigadeiros – white chocolate, coconut, chocolate, sprinkles

Belgian chocolates

Chocolate Skull Decorating

My chocolate skull

Mr Bao’s kissable skull

Ash’s pretty skull

I constantly get people asking me for recommendations of a good restaurant and before I give them any recommendations I always ask budget, location, cuisine and most important how many boys or girls It makes a drastic difference to the bill if you went to a fine dining restaurant with all boys as opposed to all girls A couple of weeks ago Mr Bao and I caught up with Yue (my colleague), I knew these two boys were going to skip breakfast and be famished at lunchtime, so I needed to take them somewhere that would fill them up without hurting their wallet too much…so that’s how we ended up at Etto Pasta.

Before going I read up on Ash and Libby’s blog post, I knew Etto Pasta was in South Melbourne, but I didn’t realise that it was only a couple of stores up from Max Brenner ~ I expected Etto to be more of a sit-down restaurant, but was more like a takeaway store with only a few tables inside. As soon as we walked in we could smell all those Italian flavours like tomato sauce, cheese and basil ~

I really liked the one page no nonsense menu it was all there in front of you. I particularly think the little chart which explains the different thickness of the pasta was very clever as I never would have know what parpardelle, which turns out to be the thickest long pasta they offer

The boys were hungry so we quickly decided and ordered at the counter, Yue suggested a creamy based pasta and ordered the Smokey Pancetta Carbonara with leak and a crunchy herb bread crumb topping and we chose parppardelle pasta. We were all impressed at how light the carbonara was and not at all oily or heavy. I also liked the thickness of the parppardelle which was covered in that delicious sauce ~

Smokey Pancetta Carbonara $13

It wouldn’t be an Italian meal without meatballs! This was the 100% wagyu meatlballs with salsa verde and once again topped with crunchy herb breadcrumbs this time with linguini. Meatballs were delish with the fattiness and flavour from the wagyu beef, once again the sauce was light with a tang from the tomato.

Wagyu Meatball Polpette 100%$13 linguini

Italians also like their sausages, this time the boys wanted to try the short pasta so opted for the rigatoni with the spicy Italian sausage, I love anything spicy with some heat. So this was probably my favourite dish I wondered how they cooked it so well, usually at home when I get short pastas, I either overcook or undercook them. But the rigatoni was  al dente with a good bite to it ~ Mr Bao also liked the basil pesto which added a nutty flavour.

Spicy Italian Sausage Rigatoni $13 free range pork sausage with basil pesto

Last pasta dish was the black angus beef ravioli in a white wine sauce, the ravioli pasta dough was light but still firm, they were also all the same size with the perfect amount of beef filling. The filling was delish and full of flavour which is important to me ~

Black angus beef with white wine and vegetable Ravioli $12

After all that carbs the boys were finally full but I insisted I wanted a salad, they wouldn’t even touch it! Fine I’ll eat it all by myself and I enjoyed it ~ It was healthy, refreshing and actually quite tasty because of the parmesan cheese sometimes the simplest things can be so satisfying

Rocket and Parmesan salad $7

We all enjoyed Etto very much, all pastas were homemade, cooked wonderfully with a great bite. But to me the sauce is crucial to all pasta dishes and they were amazing especially the creamed based ones that had all the flavour but wasn’t too heavy ~ The boys were happy and rubbed their bellies as we walked out, they both said they’re going to return for lunch after a morning basketball session My only complaint would be that they don’t offer any desserts…I think a tiramisu or scoop of gelato would have made it even more satisfying

Growing up what did you have for breakfast? For me, I would go through phases of having Coco Pops and milk, bacon and eggs and occasionally Mum will make or buy more Hong Kong style breakfast like congee, Chu Cheong Fun (rice noodle rolls) or ham and macaroni in a chicken broth. A while ago Mr Bao and I felt like brunch that day, we wanted something a little different and that’s how we ended up at Middle Fish ~

I’d been following their Instagram account for a while and her photos always makes me crave Thai food, I have also read that so many of my food blogger friends have visited and enjoyed it. Middle Fish is easy to miss as it’s on a quiet street in Carlton, but if you know where Seven Seeds cafe is, you’ll find Middle Fish next to it

It’s a fairly large space with a warehouse fitting, I liked how spacious it was and also the retro looking tables and chairs they used. I know they also rent out their space for private events and functions, it’s actually a really good idea and has given me ideas for my birthday next year hehehe

It was relatively quiet when we visited so we got to pick a nice table at the back with great lighting Realised they constantly change their menu, I wasn’t sure what to expect, after having a quick look I settled with the omelette.

Middle Fish crunchy mussel omelette $16.50

This is the Middle Fish famous crunchy mussel omelette with spring onions and sri ra cha sauce. It was super crunchy and and quite airy with a generous amount of mussels. It reminded me of the Taiwanese omelette (蚵仔煎), however, that is made of oysters instead. I actually think the mussels were nicer as they provide a sweeter taste as opposed to the metal taste oysters can some times give off ~ I’m also in love with the sri ra cha sauce as well super hot and addictive.

Thai congee with pork spare ribs $13.50

I recently watched Marion’s Thailand a new cook show and learnt that it’s actually quite common for Thai people to eat congee in the morning, very similar to Chinese people ~ Mr Bao felt like something lighter that morning and chose the congee with soft poached egg, fresh herbs and spiced pork spare ribs. He found the congee to be thicker than our Chinese congee with a slight spiciness. The pork ribs were tender and delicious. He also liked the idea of the soft poached egg in the congee and we might put one in next time we make a congee at home. His only complaint was he found the congee a little lukewarm, we’re not sure if this is how the Thai like it but he’s just not use to it

Caramelised banana roti with summer berries, coconut ice-cream and maple syrup $11.50

Still feeling a little peckish, of course I ordered dessert We got the caramelised banana roti with summer berries, coconut ice-cream and maple syrup. It totally MADE MY DAY! The roti was super fresh and still piping hot, the banana were sweet and warm but what topped it off was the coconut ice-cream! It divine just like you were eating a fresh coconut super smooth too! Oh and lets not forget the maple syrup which I could have done with some more but that’s just me ~

Deserves another photo

We washed all that food down with some refreshing ice cold drinks ~ I chase the Thai Milk Tea as that’s my favourite Thai drink. I could have drank this all day long, it had the perfect balance of ceylon tea and then sweetened with condense milk. Just remember to drink it as soon as you get it because the ice can dilute the drink

Thai iced milk tea $4.50

Mr Bao chose the Thai iced coffee which reminded us very much of the Vietnamese ice coffee, but had a lighter coffee flavour and felt more refreshing ~

Thai iced coffee $4.50

We thoroughly our Thai brunch at Middle Fish all dishes were cooked very well and we felt that it was quite authentic, when compared to the dishes I had in Bangkok last time I visited ~ Service was friendly and efficient which is always a bonus. I also spoke to the owner and she said that they are now in the process of obtaining council permits to open Middle Fish at night for dinner service. I can’t wait for when they open for dinner as well, it’ll be a great spot to have dinner and also imagine the Thai curries they will serve

Dear Readers do you like going to museums or do you find them boring? Come on admit it, I wont judge you I actually don’t mind going to museums and find them really interesting and a good way learn about history. But having said that I don’t remember the last time I went to the Melbourne Museum, I drive past it nearly every time I go into the City and have gone to the Royal Exhibition Building next to it, but never gone into the actual Museum.

Melbourne Museum

Until a few weeks ago, when Sofia invited me to a Afghanistan luncheon at the Melbourne Museum cafe. The cafe usually serves sandwiches, pies and salads, however, to accommodate the Afghanistan Hidden Treasures exhibition they have on at the moment, the cafe is now offering a range of Afghanistan inspired dishes.

Source: Melbourne Museum

At the lunch I was joined by Ash and Joyce and her little baby boy who was so well-behaved, I nearly forgot he was there There were quite a few dishes to choose from and nearly all which I haven’t heard of let alone tasted so I let the ordering to Sofia who decided we’ll get one of everything ~

Sabzee vegetarian filo with salata $9.80

We started off with the Sabzee vegetarian filo which is a filo pastry with vegetables all through it then coiled into a snail shape so you not only get the crunchy filo pastry on the outside but also inside. It also came with a side of salad and yoghurt, I really liked the flakiness of the filo pastry and because it was baked and not fried it wasn’t oily or heavy and turns out to be one of my favourite savoury dishes. We were also told that this dish is called the ‘Afghan hat’ because it resembles a hat.

Mourgh Delight (Chicken Dish) $9.8

This is the Mourgh Delight chicken dish where the chicken is traditionally marinated in yoghurt to tenderise the meat and then grilled or roasted. I liked the juiciness of the chicken thigh and also the subtle orange flavour, paired up with white crusty bread and salad perfect lunch dish for one ~

Qubili Pilau (Lamb Stew) with yellow rice $12.50

We then tried the Qabili Pilau which is a National Dish of Afghanistan. You will need to dig through the yellow rice to be able to find the lamb stew underneath, even though I don’t eat lamb, I tried a little bit and found the stew to be really nice and had flavours similar to an Indian curry. I suspect this may be because both cuisines use similar spices ~ I also liked the sweetness that came from the  raisins and dried apricot.

Afghanistan bread filled with Lamb cumin feta served with yoghurt $12.50

I always thought Afghanistan was more like a naan and baked in a tandoor very much like the Indian flatbread. However, this homemade Afghanistan bread had the texture more like a Turkish bread, with a good crust  on the outside but still remaining soft in the inside Unfortunately, I didn’t really like the lamb and cumin filling as I’m not a lamb eater and this a little too ‘lamby’ for me but the other girls liked it ~ So I’m sure other lamb-eaters will too hehe

Grilled chicken, orange, saffron vinaigrette $9

Our last dish was a grilled chicken and orange salad with a saffron vinaigrette which was a great accompaniment to all our other meat and more filling dishes. I particularly liked the saffron vinaigrette which gave it more flavour ~

Afghan inspired cakes, sweets and tarts

As soon as I walked in, I already had my eyes set on the Afghan inspired sweets ~ so glad we got to try them all Starting with a moist vanilla mini cake with a cream cheese frosting and crushed pistachios can’t go wrong with cream cheese Then we tried the orange curd and rosewater tart, I was worried that it was going to be ‘fragrant’ with the rosewater, instead flavours were quite subtle and the orange curd was sweeter than lemon curd. My favourite was probably the Halwa and Zardak pudding which is a rosewater, cardamon and carrot pudding and it was complimented very well with the thick Greek yoghurt. I’m now on the hunt for a recipe for this! Last but not least was the Sheer Pavra fudge which is the most delectable fudge. It had flavours of cardamon, cinnamon and pistachios, it’s very sweet so automatically my favourite!

It was a wonderful lunch with the girls and a great introduction to Afghanistan food as I’ve never had it before ~ I have already come to the conclusion that I really like their cakes and sweets. Now I’m going to have to drag, Mr Bao to the Afghanistan Hidden Treasures exhibition to see it with me and most importantly go back to the cafe for more fudge

Afghanistan Hidden Treasures exhibition is on until 28th July 2013 for more information check their website.

Melbourne Museum
11 Nicholson St
Carlton, Victoria, 3053
PH: +61 3 8341 7777

Daisy@Nevertoosweet dined as a guest of Word Salad and Melbourne Museum 

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I’m also super excited to tell you guys that I was recently interviewed by the amazing Maureen (The Orgasmic Chef) over at Food Friday Writer please check it out if you’re interested

For Readers who follow me on Instagram and Twitter you may have noticed a few weeks ago, Mr Bao and I made a whirlwind trip to Singapore. I know it may sound a little extreme to go to Singapore for only 4 days and 3 nights, but I don’t have much annual leave left and really wanted to go away somewhere outside of Australia Even though it seems like a super short time, we managed to meet so many people, eat at so many places it’s quite ridiculous! I think we’ve outdone ourselves And now i’m super excited about sharing our adventures with you ~

Garden By The Bar, Singapore

We caught an early flight from Melbourne and arrived at Singapore at around 5pm, we quickly checked into our hotel (Hotel Ibis Beecoolen) and immediately jumped into a cab to our first stop Maxwell Food Centre. We were intending to go to Tiong Bahru Market but the taxi driver suggested that we go to Maxwell instead as it was closer to us. Someone has once told me, taxi drivers are one of the best tour guides as they consistently drive through the city, so we took his advice.

As we walked in, Maxwell Food Centre reminded me of some of the food courts that can be found in other Asian cities, but it was very clean clean and organised. No wonder every comments that Singapore is super clean. Even though the food centre isn’t air conditioned it does have fans to keep patrons cool.

Before coming to Singapore I had bugged all my Singapore friends Yue, Lianne, Siok and Beth to give me their recommendations of where to eat so I knew the famous Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken Rice was at Maxwell. But unfortunately, when we went I think it had already closed and we didn’t get to try Doesn’t matter because we found Heng Heng Hainanese Chicken Rice instead ~

Hainanese Chicken rice $4.5SGD ($3.7AUD)

I couldn’t believe that all this food was only $4.5SGD which was an equivalent of $3.7 Australia dollars! We can barely buy a drink with that here in Melbourne! Mr Bao was super hungry and got extra rice for 50c more ~ The chicken was boneless but more importantly it was tender and succulent covered in the essential soy sauce.

What blew me away was the chicken soup, it had such intense chicken flavour, I can just imagine the number of chickens that have boiled in the soup and the chicken bones added to give it even more flavour. This was a new experience to me, because I find the chicken soup in Melbourne to be very diluted and often just a combination of water, salt and even worse MSG. While the rice was more on the firmer side, each and every grain was flavoured with chicken stock as well. I’m not really even a rice eater but even I had more than usual ~ I also couldn’t get enough of that sticky dark soy sauce which was distinctively sweet, have never been able to find it here

Oyster omelette $8SGD ($6.5AUD)

Next was the oyster omelette, I’m not really sure if this is a Singaporean dish but it was very similar to the Teochew oyster omelete I’ve had before in Hong Kong. It was made to order and piping hot, a lot of egg yolks must have been used as it had a strong egg flavour and also had little oyster mixed through. It was most delicious when dipped in the sambal sauce.

Curry Laksa $3SGD ($2.45AUD)

Once again I was in disbelief when Mr Bao told me that this bowl of laksa was only $3SGD! How is it possible to make something so delicious yet sell it so cheap The coconut curry soup was so much stronger and spicier than the ones I’ve had and also liked the addition of clams instead of chicken. We also liked the fish balls as we found them be firmer and with more flavour.

Bee Hoon Noodles

I also realised that the noodles they use is quite different here in Singapore. Thanks to Instagram, I found out that this type of noodles is called Bee Hoon and in Singapore nearly all curry laksas use these noodles. While Malaysians will use a mixture of rice vermicelli and egg noodles and that’s the type that I’ve been eating in Melbourne I can’t really say which type I like more because the bee hoon has a more ‘bouncier’ texture and I quite liked that ~

Satay $6SGD ($4.9AUD) Pork, chicken, beef 60c and lamb 70c

Still feeling hungry we ordered a plate of satays, once again great value. Pork, chicken and beef for only 60c each and lamb satays were 70c. I couldn’t really tell which one was which hahaha but they all tasted good to me, they’re also smaller than the ones I’ve had before, it was like one bite per skewer. The satays would not have been the same without the curry peanut sauce

Hahaha because it was so hot, Mr Bao was sweating like a dog so he needed lots and lots of drinks to cool down

Sugar Cane Juice $1.5SGD ($1.2AUD)

Starting with the Sugar Cane juice, we were so excited to see this on sale as it’s becoming hard to find these freshly squeezed sugar cane juice in Hong Kong. It was sweet but not sickly so and definitely helped quench Mr Bao’s thirst and cool him down a little.

Young Green Coconut $2.8SGD ($2.3AUD)

I’ve never seen such a HUGE coconut! But then realised it’s a young green coconut so it hasn’t matured, I found the juice to resemble very much like water but with subtle taste of coconut. I think I prefer the young coconuts as the juice is much sweeter Having said that the flesh I had lots of fun scooping out the flesh from this young green coconut!

Tea tarik $2SGD ($1.65AUD)

I thought that was enough drinks, but Mr Bao was still thirsty so we grabbed a Teh Tarik from Soon Li Coffee, but was a little taken back when the owner was quite rude and gave us a hot Teh Tarik when we asked for a cold one. The Teh Tarik itself was quite good but it wasn’t as strong as I expected and was slightly watery as not as creamy but was still nice.

Almond jelly and lychee on shaved ice $2.5SGD ($2.05AUD)

Yes I had actually planned to have desserts after dinner with friends…but I couldn’t leave without a shaved ice of some sort Mr Bao said he couldn’t find me Ais Kachang maybe because it’s a Malaysian dessert? So he came back to the table with this almond jelly with lychee on shaved ice. The almond jelly was quite firm and very strong almond flavour while lychees were very sweet. The shaved ice was also sweetened with a sugar syrup. Perfect way to end my first meal in Singapore

If you stayed around the China town area, we would definitely recommend you visiting Maxwell Food Centre as it’s a great place to get a taste of local Singaporean hawker foods. You’ll find yourself leaving with a very full and satisfied stomach and only having to spend $10 or so Singaporean dollars!

Maxwell Food Centre 
1 Kadayanallur Street, Singapore 069184

Do you know someone who you consider to be Mr Nice Guy? Someone that is always nice, friendly and helpful? I think I’ve been very lucky and have met many Mr Nice Guys and Ladies ~ but one person that springs into mind would be Garfield (not his real name hehe) an old friend from High School. He was always the one to save my from my klutzy accidents, solve my computer issues and tell me nicely that car wont start because I had put it in neutral

Last week Mr Bao and I paid the brand new cafe Mr Nice Guy a visit on their 4th day of operating ~ I had been following the development and renovations on Instagram and very excited that they finally opened up.

Do the chairs and deco look familiar? Remember my recent post about Thai brunch at Middle Fish? Yup that’s right it’s by the same team ~ They have ventured out of Carlton and started up Mr Nice Guy on Healey’s lane another one of Melbourne’s hidden laneways. I had promised Siriporn and David that we will visit them soon, so immediately went there when we had the chance hehe

As soon as we walked in, we were warmly welcomed by Siriporn she is one of the friendliest and energetic person you will meet It was relatively quiet that morning so we were given a nice spacious table at the back facing the kitchen and could see the chef and staff working like busy bees ~ Siriporn then told me she named the new cafe ‘Mr Nice Guy’ because that’s what she use to call her Fiance when they first started going out ~

Siriporn said they will be placing more focus on coffees here and the beans will also be provided by Proud Mary. Mr Bao was excited because Proud Mary is one of his favourite coffee suppliers in Melbourne ~ He’s really become quite the coffee snob!

Latte

Mr Bao’s usual latte, he described that it was a very good temperature not too hot with a mild citrusy flavour which was very well balanced.

Latte

Sorry but I don’t have the prices for the coffees, my latte was just was definitely welcomed that morning, I was rather sleepy. Like Middle Fish, the menu at Mr Nice Guy offers western breakfast options and also Thai dishes, Siriporn said that they have brought the most popular dishes ~

Mr Nice Guy’s Egg Benedict with Home-smoked bacon, Sriracha Hollandaise, Poached eggs $16

But something that is very different here at Mr Nice Guy is that they try to make everything from scratch. For instance, their Egg Benedict uses their own home-smoked bacon with Sriracha hollandaise and of course poached eggs. The eggs were really cute as they were quite small but still ooey gooey inside, the home-smoked bacon was a thicker cut and was full of flavour but didn’t have that overpowering taste. Sriracha hollandaise sauce was a clever idea because it gave it a bit of kick. My only complaint wanted more of everything

Home-smoked lemongrass cured salmon, scramble eggs and coconut reduction with toast $17.5

We then ordered the home-smoked lemongrass cured salmon with scramble eggs and coconut reduction. The salmon tasted like it was between sashi and smoked salmon The scrambled eggs was smooth and silky and Mr Bao said it might have been cooked with some coconut as he could taste it. My favourite was definitely the coconut reduction, it was so rich and intense coconut flavour. Immediately thought of Gem (Cupcake Crazy Gem) I could have ate it by the spoonful.

Baked eggs, oven dried tomato, bean and capsicum puree $15.5

We were already pretty full but Siriporn ordered  the baked eggs vegetarian dish with oven dried tomato, white beans and capsicum puree for us. Even though there wasn’t any meat this dish was very tasty and definitely comforting ~

Will’s Coconut pancake, smoked pineapple, lemongrass sugar and condensed milk $14.5

I really enjoyed the roti dessert at Middle Fish last time, so knew these coconut pancakes were going to be delicious. These pancakes were dense with a moist centre and were more like hot cakes which I really like. The lemongrass sugar was the best and complimented the pancakes very well. There was more of that amazing coconut reduction and to finish off condense milk ~

Hot Chocolate from Mork

Siriporn also thought I might like to try their hot chocolate from Mork Chocolate, it was a rather light tasting hot chocolate and not sweet enough for me hehe but great for those who are looking for a hot chocolate thats not too rich ~

Macarons – Asian flavours

Hahaha I couldn’t stop laughing when Siriporn said “You are the Queen of Desserts, I follow your Instagram! Try these macarons!”. I was surprised to see that Mr Nice Guy not only sells their in house made muffins but also macarons. They’re also Asian-inspired flavours – Thai Milk Tea, Lychee, Chocolate, Mango, Passionfruit and Caramel. Siriporn said she’s wanted to sell macarons for a long time, but wasn’t able to find a suitable supplier. These macarons are actually made by a Medical student who bakes them on the weekend They were very well made, great shell with good feet and texture, I was also impressed with the filing. Our favourite were definitely the Thai Milk tea and the mango, they’re not common flavours and it didn’t taste artificial. I’m excited that they now sell them, definitely need to go back and get some more!

Mr Nice Guy did not disappoint us It offers delicious and affordable Thai dishes and will also be opening for dinner service Wednesday through to Saturday ~ Compared to Middle Fish it offers more stir fried dishes such as Pad Thai and Fried Rice. But still remains the same friendly and casual atmosphere ~ We’re looking forward to come back for dinner and try their new dishes.

My Mr Nice Guy

And just before I go, Garfield is still a nice guy but Mr Bao is now my Mr Nice Guy Meaning he’s the poor fella that has to put up with me 24/7

Daisy and Mr Bao @NeverTooSweet dined at Mr Nice Guy at a discounted price 

To my loveliest Readers have you read Fifty Shades of Grey the erotic adult novel? I know it was huge last year and was a sell out, sales even surpassed JK Rowling’s Harry Potter books and Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight series.

I actually never got around to reading the book ~ My colleagues were obsessed and some finished it without days! While others said it was written quite badly and told me not to bother Having said that they’ve told me enough about the story line and I still don’t really understand the complex and absurd  relationship between Ana and Christian.

Anyhow, moving away from the Fifty Shades of Grey, have you heard or seen this book 50 Shades of Chocolate? I first saw it in a news agency last year during my lunch break at work and couldn’t help but blush at some of the photos taken in this book, they were definitely raunchy, sexy and leaves a lot of room for imagination!

This is one of the more milder photos in the book It is written by Claire Preen the chocolatier and owner of Blue Mountain Chocolate Co in Sydney. In the book she shares her favourite chocolate recipes but also some more unique ones such as 6 aphrodisiac chocolate recipes and also Edible Chocolate Massage Body Oil.

I was recently sent a copy of 50 Shades of Chocolate and was also permission to share a recipe with you I wanted to keep the recipe G-rated so Mr Bao and I chose a Shamelessly Chocolatey Cheesecake. He did complain that the book was very distracting to cook with hahaha

Recipe – Shamelessly Chocolatey Cheesecake from Claire Preen

Yield - 23cm cake

Ingredients
150g plain digestive biscuits
50g milk chocolate buttons
80g butter
500g cream cheese
1/2 cup icing sugar
1/2 cup milk
150g white chocolate, tempered/melted
150g dark chocolate, tempered/melted
1 1/2 cup thickened cream
100g milk chocolate

Notes
*Recipe asked for tempered chocolate using the recipe in the book, but if you don’t have the book simply melt the chocolate in the microwave or a bain-marie.

Method
1) Either crumb biscuits and add 50g milk chocolate in a food processor or place biscuits and chocolate in a ziplock bag and use a rolling pin to ‘bash’ them into little pieces.

2) Tip crumbs into a bowl and add the melted butter. Combine using your fingertips, place and press crumb mixture into the bottom of a lined cake tin. Place in the fridge to set.

3) Beat the cream cheese, sugar and milk until it is velvety and smooth. Split the mixture in  between 2 bowls. Pour the white chocolate into one bowl and the dark chocolate into the other. Stir. Then gently fold the cream through the chocolate mixtures.

4) Pour your dark chocolate mixture over the biscuit base and freeze for 10 minutes. Lightly pour the white chocolate mixture onto the dark chocolate. Leave to set.

5) Decorate the top by dusting cocoa powder and grated chocolate.

This was seriously a chocolatey cheesecake, with the rich dark chocolate layer then the lighter and sweeter white chocolate layer on top ~ I of course shamelessly ate this cake with a lot of joy

Now thanks to Word Storm one lucky Reader will get the chance to win their own copy of 50 Shades of Chocolate! So then you too can make your own aphrodisiac chocolate treats for you and your partner hehehe

To enter this giveaway:
- Leave a comment and tell me will you make that Edible Chocolate Massage Oil recipe in the book?
- Please like the 50 Shades of Chocolate Facebook page (you must like this page to enter)
- For more entries please ‘Like’ me on Facebook and Follow me on Twitter ~ If you’ve already done that please let me now! Thank you!
- Giveaway ends on the 12th June (Wednesday) 
- You may reenter daily, one entry a day
- Winners will be chosen by random.org and announced on this blog and notified via email
- Open only to all Australian residents (Sorry International Readers!)

Dumplings, I’ve grown up eating them On my Dad’s side our family originated from Shanghai so we eat dumplings like Xiao Long Bao, probably one of the most known dumplings ~ But technically they’re supposed to be little buns because Bao means buns. While on my Mum’s side they’re from the Canton reason so the dumpling they eat are more like dimsims and Shu Mai are definitely my number 1 favourite!

But I’ve actually never heard of Shan Dong dumplings, and didn’t know that they had their own version of dumplings ~ I first heard about Shan Dong Mama from Ms I-Hua’s blog post about them a few months back and have been dying to go. Laziness got the best of me, because Shan Dong Mama is in the shopping centre in China town, parking is a nightmare and I try to avoid that area at all costs

Finally a few weeks ago, we so happened to be in the city catching up with Yue and they once again came to me for suggestions and I immediately said “ShanDong Mama”, especially since they were driving hahaha I called up before but was told that they didn’t take bookings.

Fortunately, they weren’t too busy on a Friday night and we immediately got a table. If you’re a frequent guest of Chinese restaurants you will immediately recognise the bright lights, brown tables and chairs and also super quick service at ShanDong Mama hahaha it’s all about serving customers efficiently so they’ll eat and leave

We flicked through the menu and found a good range of dishes and not just dumplings, it also offered side dishes, snacks, rice and noodle dishes but of course no dessert We had a bit of a laugh at when we saw this ‘translation’ on the menu ‘Yuro’ and ‘Daryl’, we suspect it’s because it’s too hard for people to pronounce the Chinese translations.

As an appetizer we ordered the homemade smoked spiced fish, it’s a dish that my grandma makes at home all the time, but I know there are many versions of it and uses different types of fish. I’m not really sure what fish this was but for $8, we thought it was a very generous serving. If you haven’t had Chinese smoked fish before, the fish pieces are marinated in Chinese spice such as ginger, Chinese rice wine, soy sauce, star anise and then deep fried in peanut oil. It is then tossed in sticky sweet sauce very similar to those used for the marinade This one didn’t feel like it was deep fried instead it was pan fried then covered in sauce. Either way it was quite good, even though Mr Bao thought the sauce was a little sweet.

Initially we wanted the Daryl, but they had sold out so we opted for the Yuro. Still a good choice, with noodles and fish pieces and lightly scrambled eggs through a thick sauce that they called gravy ~ We really liked the flavour of the fish and the chewiness from the black fungus. The gravy was quite thick and I think we would’ve preferred if it was thinner and more like a noodle soup dish instead.

Melbourne Dumplings $13.8 – Diced seafood and chicken mince lemon rind olive oil parsley and garlic

Wanting to try both steamed and pan-fried dumplings, we started off with the Melbourne Dumplings steamed. I was very curious to what filling it will have and how will it reflect ‘Melbourne’ Turns out it was a combination of diced seafood, chicken mince with lemon zest, olive oil, parsley and garlic. I liked the diced seafood with prawns, calamari, mussels fish and also chicken but I found the lemon zest and parsley to be a little out of place but still tasted nice.

Dill-icious Pork Fried Dumplings $12.8 – finely chopped pork mince and fresh dil

Another funny name for dumplings the ‘Dill-icious’ pork fried dumplings hehe the filling had pork mince, fresh dill, spring onions, ginger, dried shrimps and a sesame oil. The dill really gave the dumplings extra flavour along with the dried shrimps and sesame oil, was the favourite dumplings of the night.

Prawn, Black fungus and chives dumpling $12.8

We also tried the prawn, black fungus and chives dumplings, it tasted a little similar to the Dill-licious dumplings, we liked the black fungus and the replacement of dill with chives instead ~

Left – Prawn dumplings Right – Dill-licious Pork Dumplings

Both dumplings looked very similar so thought I’ll take a photo of them both together to show you what the filling looks like inside ~ The dumpling skin was a good consistency and not too thick, I also liked the  crispy bottom.

That sums our my first experience trying Shan Dong dumplings and it was great ~ We all really enjoyed the dumplings here. I also agree with I-Hua that because there was so much flavour in the dumplings itself, unlike Shanghainese dumplings, we didn’t have to use any sauce like vinegar and soy sauce

Shandong Mama is definitely worth recommending to those who like dumplings and want to try something a little different It’s also a bonus when reasonably priced, with all this food it cost about $22 per person, just don’t forget it’s a cash only restaurant ~

Even though Melbourne is relatively small,  there is always room for a new cafe and also in a new part of the city that I’ve never really explored. The Grain Store had quietly opened up a few months ago. I received an email from The Reading Room to say that they have a new cafe and this time in the CBD. I was immediately excited because Mr Bao and I had enjoyed The Reading Room

I persuaded Mr Bao to drive me to work and have breakfast with me at The Grain Store, I did my internship in one of the office building close by so I knew my way. The cafe is situated in the quieter side of town, on Flinders Lane between King St and Spencer St. There is ample parking in front of the cafe and conveniently there is a car park underneath and The Grain Store customer get a $5 discount parking on weekends. Which is great because you can park, have brunch and then go shopping without moving your car

I really like the ambience at The Grain Store, it’s really bright and spacious with a few large communal tables and also smaller tables on the side . I think I could bring my laptop and work here all day long ~

They also had a long bench to the right of the counter which displayed all their pastries and in-house baked goodies such as muffins and cookies.

Magic $3.5

Mr Bao started off with a magic which is a single origin, I’m sorry I forgot which origin. He described it as quite buttery ending with a floral note. He complimented it that it was a good temperature and not too hot.

Mocha $3.5

My mocha was just as pleasant, had a good chocolate flavour but then ends with delicate coffee taste. I think everyday is a good day if we could start with a nice warm cup of mocha ~

Bacon steak and corn caramelised onion fritters kale, egg sunny side up, pear and cider relish $17

Feeling pretty hungry I ordered the bacon steak and corn fritters. I definitely think bacon steak or thick cut bacon is the new ‘trend’, many cafes now order it on their brunch menu. And I think once you’ve tried it ‘thick’ it’s going to be hard to go back to ‘think’ bacon. I find that it has a lot more flavour and great texture. I was also impressed with the caramelised onion fritters, they were ever so crispy and light with a sweet caramelised onion filling. The pear and cider relish also provided extra sweetness, last but not least can’t think you can go wrong with an egg sunny side up

Dry Cured bacon and molten alp cheese with fire roasted onion and caramlised apple jam, smoked jalapeno on toasty sourdough with a fried egg $12.5 plus $3 for egg $15.5

Mr Bao was being very indecisive and didn’t know what he wanted for breakfast, I suggested the steak but he wanted something different, so instead he ordered the dry cured bacon and cheese with toasty sourdough and decided to add a fried egg to it. He really enjoyed the dry cured bacon saying that it was crispy but preferred the flavour of my thick cut bacon more I had a bite and really liked the caramelised apple jam, loved the balance between sweet and salty.

Muffin banana and walnut $4

I overestimated my appetite early in the morning because I also wanted to order the French Toast, yet we were too full and even Mr Bao said he couldn’t eat any…so I decided to leave desserts for next time. But how could I leave without something sweet? So I grabbed one of their banana and walnut muffins, I love the rustic look, like the muffins I make at home It was divine, fluffy, light and super moist inside, surprisingly it’s actually quite hard to find decent muffins at cafes nowadays, so I was definitely impressed with this one

Our first visit to The Grain Store was wonderful and I don’t really think I can fault it in any way, I think they’ve done a very good job with the menu offering dishes that are slightly different but still with ingredients that are familiar to customers. A few days later, I still couldn’t get their french toast off my mind and didn’t want to do a post without a dessert as that would be a sin So we went back hahaha yup twice in a week!

Mocha $3.5

Once again my mocha was just as good as last time, but I found that it was more ‘chocolatey’ the second time, which is always a good thing to me.

Flat white $3.5

This time Mr Bao wanted a flat white instead, which was weaker than this Magic last time, he quite liked it saying that it was light tasting and less floral notes.

Breakfast Steak with sunny side up eggs and chips $23.50

This time Mr Bao decided he wanted to steak for breakfast with two sunny side up eggs and also chips on the side. I seriously thought this was a little too much and heavy for breakfast for hey, maybe he wants to try out the paleo diet

The steak was cooked to perfection, mediu rare with the lovely pink colour. We’re not sure which cut they used but we assume it was the sirloin, and had good flavour and quite tender. We thought the chips could have been a little crispier and golden in colour ~

Grain Store Toasted Muesli and Quinoa milk $9

I wanted to have something light and healthy because I wanted to save room for the french toast, so I chose their toasted muesli with quinoa milk. The muesli was a combination of chia, sesame and pumpkin seeds and also some nuts. It was also topped with poached rhubarb and vanilla yoghurt. Melbourne has definitely caught the quinoa bug and it’s now offered in a lot of restaurants and cafes especially in salads, but I’ve never thought that it was possible to make milk out of it. I was very surprised that the quinoa milk was actually very creamy and very nutty but most importantly it tasted like quinoa. I spoke to the waitress and she said, she found the quinoa milk when she recently went on a diet where she had to cut out on dairy products. I think it’s a great alternative for those who are lactose intolerant For those interested in trying she said that it is available at some selected health food stores ~

Banana and buttermilk French Toast with crisp pancetta, peppered caramel and whipped mascapone $16

Finally got the chance to try the French Toast ~ It’s a different type of french toast with both sweet and salty components. The banana and the whipped mascarpone was the sweet and complimented the french toast very well, but it also had crisp pancetta which was as thin as a potato chip which was the salty component. It also had a peppered caramel that gave the dish a little spice. I found this dish more of a savoury dish than sweet and I think it would’ve been better if it was paired with a sweeter syrup but that’s just me

Another great breakfast, we didn’t think we were going to go back so quickly. Then about a week later, I received an email from The Grain Store and they invited me and 3 friends to their official launch party So we went back and brought also invited Yue to come with us ~ It was great to see so many other bloggers there as well, Lianne, Ash, Adrian, Wince, Sophie, Elisa, Allan, Sabrina and many more.

Red Wine and 2 Step Cider by Mountain Goat

As soon as we walked in we were offered drinks, Mr Bao went for a Shiraz and I chose a 2 Step Cider by Mountain Goat, because I was the designated driver, so couldn’t drink much ~

Canapes – Black sausage on pikelet, grilled chorizo, polenta chips and baked potato and house cured salmon on potato chip

It was a very relaxed environment and a great chance for us to catch up with everyone As it’s hard for us all to catch up at once. Canapes were then offered to us, my favourite would have to be the polenta chips, they were freshly fried and very well seasoned. The grilled chorizo was also spicy and delicious, I don’t eat black sausage but found them to quite nice as they weren’t too gamey.

Chef Inglo Meissner

We were then invited to go into the kitchen to meet Chef Inglo and do a masterclass with him. I’ve seen Chef Inglo a couple of times at The Reading Room and the previous times when we visited, but it was nice to have the chance to meet him officially He’s originally from Germany and has worked all around the world and said if he didn’t settle down in Melbourne he would probably live in Switzerland ~

Steak Tartare ingredients

Can you tell what we’re learning from the ingredients? Theres beef, mustard, Worcestershire sauce hehehe it’s STEAK TARTARE! I loved seeing the huge smile on Melissa’s face (Lianne’s Sister in Law) because that’s one of her favourite dishes ~

Chef Inglo made it look so easy to make, buy the highest quality beef you can find, add  mix mayonnaise, white vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, Dijon Mustard, Parsley, Capers, Shallots, Olive oil and season with salt and pepper then mix mix mix.

Placed on brioche bread base

Finished product

Once it’s done, a generous spoonful is delicately placed on these round brioche bread bases. Because the beef is hand cut it kept its shape better and wasn’t too soft. I actually didn’t know that there were so many ingredients used to make steak tartare, but now I know where all the flavours come from ~ I particularly liked the kick of acidity this one had towards the end.

It was a great party and definitely good to meet and catch up with everyone We were also given a little treat box to take home with their homemade chocolate chip cookie and chocolate walnut brownies, sorry I consumed it before taking a photo The Grain Store is a fantastic new cafe to have brunch in the city, I have enjoyed all three visits and know that they consistently change their menu and have already seen some new dishes that I would love to try ~

Daisy and Mr Bao @Nevertoosweet paid for the first two meals individually and was guests of The Grain Store at the launch party. 

When Adrian (Food Rehab) first told me of the new restaurant ‘Meatmother’, I shook and thought I heard him wrong so I asked him again ‘What’s it called?’. He confirmed me that it was called ‘Meatmother’ hahaha now is it just me or is the name of this restaurant borderline rude?

Anyhow rude or not, Meatmother is the newest American BBQ joint in Richmond and they’re here to serve serious ‘dude food’ slabs of meat, beer and bourbon. We visited on a Friday night and joining us was Adrian and Christian ~ Like all other Melbourne new and trendy restaurants, Meatmother doesn’t take reservations. Thankfully Mr Bao and I arrived at quarter to 6 and there was already a few people waiting for them to open.

The restaurant it quite with a small bar area downstairs and a larger dining area upstairs, we chose to sit on the bar table ~ The boys particularly liked the display of the different bottles of bourbon. I’m not much of a drinker and could only recognise Jim Beam hehe we also wondered if the bartender would actually climb up to the top for the bottle or if he had another bottle underneath.

Bourbon display

Mr Bao didn’t feel like any bourbon but stuck with his new favourite drink and that’s cider, this was a Henney’s dry cider imported from England. It’s not as sweet as the average cider and tasted a bit like beer but without the bitterness. Now he’s always looking for dry cider when we go out hehe

Henney’s dry cider $11

The menu was a very simple one-pager, all meats were served on a tray with one side and Texas toast. There’s four types of meat on the menu, pulled pork, beef brisket, beef short ribs and spare ribs. We obviously ordered them all. Hahaha I haven’t seen so many trays of meat in front of me before

Let’s start with the pulled pork with mac and cheese. The pulled pork was very tender and not chewy at all which is definitely something I look for when having pulled pork. I do, however, think it could have had some more flavour maybe some sauce or seasoning would have made it even better. The mac and cheese and served in a little cast iron cocotte, super cute. It’s a rather light tasting mac and cheese and wasn’t too rich, Christian and Mr Bao really liked it, while Adrian and I prefer ours creamier ~ The toast was also amazing very crispy on the outside and super fluffy on the inside, the waiter tells us that it’s

Pulled pork with mac and cheese $19

This is the beef brisket and we decided to order another serve of mac and cheese. The meat itself was very well cooked, thinly sliced and quite soft. But once again we found it to be sightly bland and some sauce would have made it much better. I sprinkled some of their homemade vinegar and found that it really made a difference ~

Beef Brisket $19 with mac and cheese

The beef ribs was probably the best dish! It’s probably an over used phrase but it really was ‘fall of the bone’, we didn’t even really need to use our fork to separate it because it was so soft. Not only that it was full of flavour, the meat itself was smokey and then a generous amount of barbecue sauce spread over it. Delicious! The potato mash was nice but nothing out of the ordinary and could have been improved with a tastier gravy. The beef ribs were so good that we ordered another and paired it with BBQ Beans, didn’t think it was going to be as  exciting but we were so wrong. The beans were stewed in a thick chipostle sauce and had minced meat through like a chilli corn carne amazing! Sorry forgot to take a photo of it! Next time I promise!

Beef short ribs $21 with potato mash and gravy

The last meat we tried was the pork spare ribs, and they didn’t disappoint, these ribs will make you use your hand and get your face dirty until you suck all the meat off the bones Hahaha the chipotle slaw was the only vegetable side, it was a classic slaw with cabbage and carrots, it instantly made me feel healthier eating some salad.

Spare ribs $21 with Chipotle slaw

We didn’t stop there with the food, we also tried the BBQ Chicken wings, they were hot and spicy and had a good barbeque flavour. I think Win Win would have loved to try these but she’ll need a huge pot of blue cheese to cut through some of the spiciness.

BBQ Wings $6

There wasn’t any dessert options on the menu, so didn’t expect any. But the friendly waitress offered as she was taking our plates, ‘Would you like to hear about our desserts?’ my face immediately lit up. They serve dessert YAY! Definitely got extra points from me hehe

Frozen Key lime pie $8

There were two desserts that night, this is the frozen key lime pie, it was quite sour and citrusy with a chocolate cookie base, I really liked Adrian’s description that it tasted more like a frozen lime drink. It was quite good but i found it a little too sour.

Sticky toffee pudding $8

The other dessert was the sticky toffee pudding which is like the sticky date pudding without the dates, and because of this it wasn’t as sweet, especially with the saltiness at the base. The pudding was also  warmand moist topped served with vanilla ice-cream and a salty toffee syrup. Another highlight of the meal! Christian said he could ‘EAT IT ALL NIGHT and next time he will order one for himself” and I couldn’t agree more, I could probably eat two myself!

It was a wonderful catch up with Adrian and Christian, we thought portions are generous, environment is chilled and staff are friendly. I’m definitely going to come back for more meat, drinks and desserts!