Category: Australian

Scarvelli Cafe

Posted in Australian, Balwyn, Food Reviews, Restaurant ReviewsLeave a comment

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Having been up and down Whitehorse Road nearly everyday for a few years now, I’m still finding new places to try. Scarvelli Cafe is one of the many cafes on this long stretch of road but is located further down from the main hub in Balwyn. Scarvelli prides itself on the Paddock to Plate philosophy, sourcing fresh, seasonal produce from  the owner’s farm on the Bellarine Peninsula at Swan Bay for their dishes. This exciting concept, combined with Industry Beans coffee makes for a very appealing visit to Scarvelli.

Dined courtesy of Scarvelli Cafe

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Their Tassie Salmon with cous cous, tomatoes and grapefruit makes for a very tasty meal. The salmon is cooked well, and the acidity from the grapefruit adds this beautiful freshness to the entire dish. The crispy salmon skin is also a winner.

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Probably the highlight for me was Scarvelli’s Braised Swan Bay Beef. The slow braised beef cheek has this amazing, bold beef flavour to it. The mushrooms, again, fragrant and complements the beef with the creamy parsnip puree. 

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The Chilli Eggs and Ham is an interesting breakfast dish with a crumbed potato, sauerkraut and ham croquette and smashed peas. The chilli dressing reminds me of a chilli jam with some sweetness to it. The peas lacked a bit of flavour too. I do applaud them for keeping their menu varied though.

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Impressions

The braised beef dish along with their strong, Tanzanian coffee makes for a very delicious trip down to Balwyn. It’s also quite a popular breakfast, brunch spot so please do keep that in mind if wanting to make a visit there. I will definitely make plans to try their other dishes and of course, order another coffee to go with it.

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Scarvelli Cafe
143 Whitehorse Road
Balwyn VIC 3103

Two Hands Bar

Posted in Abbotsford, American, Australian, Food Reviews, Japanese, Korean, Restaurant Reviews, RichmondLeave a comment

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Initially I wanted to try Shizuku Ramen on Victoria Street, Richmond which is just next door. However, my poor eyesight lead me to Two Hands Bar which interestingly also serves Japanese cuisine. Their menu is a mixture of Western and Asian, also offering a breakfast menu for locals and workers in the area, burgers and also even Korean  but in addition as the name suggests it’s a bar as well.

Their lunch menu comes with complimentary soft drink or seaweed soup. One of their menu items is their Teriyaki Chicken with rice. The chicken is tender and marinated nicely, and comes with potato salad and interestingly dressed shredded carrots. The seaweed soup has a lovely seaweed flavour that isn’t too bold, but I found it just a tad oily.

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Another lunch item is their Deep Fried Chicken (Karage), the chicken is tender and crispy but requires the combination of mayo to accompany it to bring it all together. Otherwise, it’s particularly dry on its own with rice. As with the Teriyaki Chicken, it comes with the potato salad and carrots. Overall, it’s a decent deal with a drink.

Impressions

Two Hands Bar doesn’t set the bar high with its food, however,it is quite decent. I haven’t yet tried their burgers, but will definitely try them sometime in the future just to see how they taste like.

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Two Hands Bar
311A Victoria Street
Abbotsford VIC 3067

Platform 3

Posted in American, Australian, Box Hill, Food Reviews, Restaurant Reviews, WesternLeave a comment

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Finding a good cafe in Box Hill can be quite a challenge. You have the incredibly popular Red Cup Cafe towards the Middleborough Rd end of Whitehorse Rd but if you’ve read my review, you’ll know I was not overly impressed by it. Platform 3 complements the transport hub of central Box Hill, by stylising the place with some train station like aesthetics. What I like about Platform 3 is that although its located in the old Box Hill Central, it’s still far away enough from the bustling noises of the market and food court that you can relax in a quieter atmosphere with a coffee in hand.

Platform 3’s Corn Fritters were favourable in my eyes mouth. The corn flavour comes through the fritter quite well, it’s not dry and fried just enough. The addition of salmon and the poached eggs with hollandaise sauce give it that extra punch. I love a poached egg done well, and here it’s how you’d want it. Would definitely order again.

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Platform 3’s Big Breakfast can certainly be for two, but for one on a healthy appetite this meal can go down well. Comes with bacon, spinach, tomatoes, sausages, mushrooms and your choice of how the eggs are cooked. It really has everything you’d want and cooked well too. Enough seasoning to go round, it’s happy days for me with this one.

Impressions

While I’m quite fond of their breakfast menu, I haven’t yet delved into their lunch menu. Platform 3 not only do breakfast and lunch but they also have a lively night scene, with a bar for the evenings and serving for dinner. I believe it’s the only bar in Box Hill so you may understand the exorbitant prices for some of their drinks. Though it may just be worth it.

Platform 3 on Urbanspoon

Burch and Purchese

Posted in Australian, Desserts, Food Reviews, Restaurant Reviews, South YarraLeave a comment

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Burch and Purchese had been high on my to do list (or to taste list) for quite sometime. Darren Purchese had previously been featured in Masterchef Australia and B&P’s dessert combinations are one of most enticing and creative desserts in Australia.

Finally I found time to travel to South Yarra to take a look-see, and was surprised at how close it was (near the Como Building) and was so closeby to my old high school.

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Being someone who just has to try a bit of everything, and especially if there is nuts involved. We had to pick up this Peanut, Raspberry, Caramel and Chocolate dessert.  Layered with peanut chocolate brownie, chocolate wafer, roasted peanut cream, raspberry compote, salted caramel, peanut
butter mousse and raspberry jelly. Raspberry and peanuts isn’t a combination I’ve tried before, and let me tell you it’s amazing. I love the nuttiness, with the tart raspberries and that rich and delectable salted caramel. Yum! This dessert also comes in a cake which will be my next purchese purchase.

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B&P’s Explosive Raspberry Milk Chocolate cake is one of their more popular desserts, and who wouldn’t love popping candies in a dessert. It’s like being a kid all over again.

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Layered with raspberry cream, raspberry marshmallows, raspberry compote, choc chip cookie crumb base, raspberry & milk chocolate mousse and chocolate popping candy. It has become one of my favourites. That choc chip cookie crumb base is incredibly delicious and again the light chocolate mousse with the tart raspberry flavour works well together and then you get this little popping on your tongue. Memorable for sure.

Impressions

Now I see why B&P is held in such high regard. You can also definitely see the amount of work that goes into making one of these desserts with so many layers and I would assume a plentiful of processes before it’s complete. B&P was well worth the trip down, and my only regret was not trying it sooner!

Burch and Purchese

Burch & Purchese Sweet Studio on Urbanspoon

Third Wave Cafe Prahran by Night

Posted in American, Australian, Food Reviews, Prahran, Restaurant ReviewsLeave a comment

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I’ve previously dined at Third Wave Cafe in Prahran (just off Commercial Road x Chapel St) and tried their breakfast/lunch menu which you can check out here and I was thoroughly impressed by their dishes. Third Wave Cafe have generously invited my friend and I to try their dinner menu where their specialty is slow cooked, smoked meats and fish American BBQ style. Although their BBQ meats may be the attraction for some, they also have a Paleo menu and even dishes such as burgers and quesadillas to try. So for those that have tried Third Wave’s breakfast and lunch menu, it provides a small window into BBQ dishes but only when dining here in the evening will you find their expanded Slow Smoked BBQ menu.

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We ordered the Pork Ribs (450g/Half Rack), which were absolutely delicious. The pork is tender, easy to slice off the bone and cooked to perfection with just the right amount of BBQ flavour. Served with the Pork Ribs, are two different BBQ sauces, the Spicy BBQ sauce and Apple Bourbon sauce, both having their subtle flavours that match the barbecued ribs. I love the spicy BBQ sauce in particular, as it’s smokey yet not overpowering and the spiciness gives the ribs a little kick but even then you could go without any of the sauces as the ribs are seasoned beautifully with the tastes of southern American cuisine.

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Third Wave’s Chicken (Medium Plate) was also fantastic and it really isn’t a surprise anymore that the food here is a step above. From their menu’s explanation, it details that the chicken is marinated overnight and smoked using Maple wood for many hours. The chicken is moist, and the aroma of the smoked chicken is salivating. Often Chicken that is barbecued is tough and dry, and I find it very difficult to cook well but here they have done the chicken justice. The chicken here, like the pork ribs above is served with two different BBQ sauces which I believe one was the spicy BBQ sauce.

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For sides we ordered the Confit Kipfler Potatoes (Medium Plate) which are Kipfler potatoes confit in duck fat and seasoned with salt and rosemary. The potatoes were crispy and the subtle seasoning of rosemary is all you ever need, but the one downside was the liberal use of salt.

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Having a crispy theme going on with the sides, we ordered the Crispy Coleslaw that is a mix of apples, carrots, cabbage and with Third Wave’s own coleslaw dressing. There are hints of richness from the mayonnaise that is cut through by the slight bitterness to the cabbage and a hint of tang. It isn’t something I would order often but it does at least provide some lightness to your overall meal.

Impressions

Third Wave Cafe’s serves delicious dishes throughout the entire day, so it’s no wonder people come back for more and I definitely will keep coming back. One of the highlights in both their dinner and lunch menus is their smoked meats and BBQ dishes. Their Texan Fry Up and the Pork Ribs here are my personal favourites but with an interesting variety on their menu, there is room for some competition. I sincerely do recommend trying their menu at least once, tasty BBQ dishes breakfast, lunch and dinner and with friendly service, I don’t think there is much else you could ask for.

Third Wave Cafe – Prahran (Menu)
30 Cato St
Prahran 3181

Opening Hours (correct as at 4 July 2014)
Monday to Tuesday – 8am to 4pm
Wednesday to Sunday – 8am to 10pm

T: 03 9510 2991
M: 04 1255 0854

Tapas Cafe – Torquay

Posted in Australian, Food Reviews, Mexican, Restaurant Reviews, TorquayLeave a comment

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On my way back from a day trip to The Great Ocean Road and Otways, we wanted to stop by Torquay for lunch. Being later in the arvo, but still with plenty of people about, we came across Tapas Cafe. It’s a small-ish cafe but enticing nonetheless. Their menu is typical of many seaside cafes, but with a hint of Mexican cuisine on their menu.

Pictured above is their Sweet Chilli Fish with fresh salad and chips. Perfectly cooked fried fish with a sweet chilli sauce to match, it’s an interesting choice and it lets the fish flavour come through. The salad underdressed (not dressed at all) and with the fresh capsicum, I found it to be an odd addition as the salad was overall quite dry without any dressing. It may not be the best dish I’ve tasted, but definitely satisfactory.

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The Quesadilla with corn and cheese and spicy guacamole and salad was great on the other hand. I loved the quesadilla with the melted cheese and corn, although quite thin it’s richness compensates for a filling meal. The guacamole I found lacked the avocado flavour but that may just be due to the avocados being more subtle in flavour. Tasty dish.

Impressions

Tapas Cafe doesn’t appear to be too well known in Torquay but I think it offers something a bit different to your standard cafes or fish and chip shops which is welcomed warmly in my book.

Tapas Cafe on Urbanspoon

Tapas Cafe

9 Gilbert St
Torquay VIC 3228

Gourmet Girl

Posted in Australian, Blackburn, Food, Food Reviews, Restaurant ReviewsLeave a comment

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Gourmet Girl in Blackburn is a tiny little restaurant in Laburnum/Blackburn, situated close to Laburnum Train Station. Frequented by many of the locals, and it certainly piques my interest. Gourmet Girl by day serves your typical breakfast, brunch/lunch affair. Toasted sandwiches and Focaccias, salads, wraps, pies and pastries as well as a wide selection for breakfast such as pancakes, eggs, muffins, toast and of course your big breakfast. Variety is there and it’s certainly its strong suit and of course they serve your typical hot and cold beverages as well. By night they have a tapas menu with wine for an enjoyable evening out.

We ordered the Smoked Salmon topped with red onions, and served with scrambled egg with toast and a side of greens and tomatoes. It certainly looked inviting, the smoked salmon had a nice smokey flavour to the fish, but not over powering. The scrambled eggs however were on the bland side, and lacked any sort of pepper or salt seasoning. However, I guess the saltiness from the salmon is supposed to carry the dish so you are not overloaded with salt, but unfortunately the eggs did not have any richness to it, nor did it taste like eggs. It was honestly disappointing. The bread was also leaning on over toasted as well (the edges are slightly dark brown) and almost had a burnt taste to it. Care and attention to detail is key and it’s what made this a real letdown.

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The “Canadian” Focaccia that we ordered was also a Smoked Salmon dish with cream cheese, capers, red onions, avocado spread and mayonnaise served with a lightly dressed garden salad. Again you can see it was burnt on several parts of the bread, definitely over toasted. The bottom of the Focaccia was also visibly dark brown unfortunately. Flavour wise (apart from the burnt-ness), was decent. Although, on this occasion too salty. The capers and smoked salmon add the saltiness but there is nothing there to really balance it as you also have the richness of the mayonnaise and cream cheese. The avocado attempts to provide a milder flavour to the dish but the avocados here also lack fragrance.  The garden salad was basically a small pile of rocket and sliced cucumber with a huge chunk of grated carrot, with a generous drizzling of dressing. Presentation is not their strong suit. Again, I was not impressed with how this was served, lacking in any consideration and served blackened that definitely should not have gone out in any decent cafe.

Impressions

Gourmet Girl, leaves a bad taste both literally and metaphorically in my mouth. The customer service at Gourmet Girl was one of the bad experiences I’ve had to sit through. They forgot one of our orders (which was served to another table that came after us), which I admit can happen when its busy and I do understand. When we finally received our order after more than half an hour of waiting, what we received was above, a charred sandwich (as mentioned above). The kicker, no apologies made when they informed us of their mistake nor when actually providing the dish to us. They even asked if we would like to order drinks (to pay for) while we are forced to wait! Absolutely amazing.

I know this sounds like a rant, but good or even mediocre service can go a long way in providing a satisfactory dining experience. One poor (or many in this case) experience can ultimately damage any good will the place as brought with its dishes. Which unfortunately, in this situation it did not generate any.

To top everything off in our visit to Gourmet Girl, they misplaced our entire order when paying. So having to repeat ourselves of what we ordered, we were questioned on our one coffee. In which, the staff leaned over the counter to check the number of cups on our table. You know, that coffee we ordered while having to wait. That one. Served by three staff during our time there, none was positive and that’s not a good sign. Gourmet Girl certainly is a popular place but I’m unsure if its as a result of desperation for a decent coffee around these parts or if my situation was out of the ordinary.

Overall, I cannot overlook the poor service over the sub-standard food served. It would be dishonest of me to recommend this place to someone, but I do hope that if you do dine here that your experience is wonderful and pleasant and unlike mine. I do although prefer Red Cup Cafe which is minutes away by car over Gourmet Girl (both in service and quality of food).

Gourmet Girl on Urbanspoon

Gourmet Girl
21 Salisbury Ave
Blackburn VIC 3130

Red Cup Cafe

Posted in Australian, Box Hill, Food Reviews, Restaurant ReviewsLeave a comment

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If you’re ever travelling on Whitehorse Road in Box Hill, you may come across Red Cup Cafe, brimming with people on the weekends no matter how early or late there is certain to be filled with locals. Red Cup Cafe offers your typical dishes that you would find in any other cafe but it’s not what kind of food that matters, it’s the taste.

One of their offerings is the Baked Eggs with Chorizo, Tomatoes, Cheese and Spinach (shown above) and it’s an absolute stunner. The dish pan comes out straight from the oven with the cheese golden in colour. Mixed in with this is the spinach, tomatoes and the chorizos, served with a Spanish styled chilli sauce and toasted sourdough bread. The spiciness of the chorizo opens up the palette and complements everything extremely well and with just the right amount of sauce from the tomatoes at the bottom of the pan. Nothing to fault.

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Their Ham and Tomato Sandwich with Mayonnaise isn’t quite the looker and nor is it anything special, unfortunately. I would say it needs sauce or dressing and although the mayonnaise is supposed to fill that role, I find the mayonnaise too overpowering and too rich to be consumed with the sandwich. Some may prefer the tomatoes still to be cold even after the sandwich is toasted but I’m not one of those people. It’s a decent dish but not one you would solely come back for.

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Red Cup Cafe’s Steak Sandwich with chutney is also a slight disappointment. The centrepiece of the dish is supposed to be the steak and here the cut of meat chosen makes a poor filling for a sandwich. The reason being as the beef is extremely chewy, difficult to slice apart and lacks in any sort of seasoning whether that be pepper or salt. The chutney I find does not complement the sandwich at all, having a sweet and sour flavour to it that is jarring to the steak and salad within. A letdown of gargantuan proportions.

IMG_0455Customers coming to Red Cup Cafe wouldn’t come back if the coffee wasn’t any good and the coffee here is one of the better offerings I’ve found around these parts (Gourmet Girl’s coffee in Blackburn does not even come close)  At Red Cup Cafe they offer a Seriously large cup, which is made for two or maybe one that desires a significant coffee hit.

Impressions

Red Cup is a bit of a mixed bag. Their Baked Eggs is probably one of the better versions I’ve come across and yet their sandwiches do not meet the same standard. Luckily the coffee is good or otherwise I wouldn’t give this place a second look.

Red Cup Cafe on Urbanspoon

Red Cup Cafe
1124 Whitehorse Rd
Box Hill VIC 3128

Three Bags Full

Posted in Abbotsford, Australian, Food Reviews, Restaurant Reviews, RichmondLeave a comment

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 I heard about Three Bags Full from a colleague and since it was near where we worked we decided to give it a try. I’m not big on brunch, it’s basically just breakfast late or lunch early and none of those sounds overly enticing to me. Cafe food on the other hand is something I’m quite fond of, it’s not too expensive nor heavy but just enough to satisfy the stomach.

Three Bags Full is quite a large place, I was really surprised at how large the space was and it was very busy. I guess people in Richmond really like their brunch and coffee.

I ordered one of their specials which was a Beef Burger with tasty cheese, onions, tomatoes, pickles with wedges and tomato relish.

It is similar to the Steak Sandwich on the menu but you get a couple of wedges too. As a burger, I did really enjoy it apart from the pickled red onions. I found these to be too sour for my liking. The beef was cooked just right, still a bit red inside so definitely not overcooked and the cheese lent itself. What I mean by that is, sometimes cheese can be almost tasteless and I find that most with hard cheeses. There is very little fragrance around them, but this had a good cheese taste so I’m happy about that.

I had to eat the burger using a knife and fork (shock and horror) because it was too large to eat by hands. The aioli they dress the salad with gave it a nice mayonnaise like taste to it and overall I couldn’t be happier.

The wedges with the tomato relish was decent enough, I found they weren’t overly crispy but I did prefer them to be a tad more crisp. The tomato relish on the other hand I have no real opinion on, it was slightly sour but I felt lacked the tomato flavour. It was neither here no there.

Impressions

You can see why people come to dine here. For people just wanting to relax, chill and drink a cup of coffee this is the place. However, if you want some satisfying meals, Three Bags Full, luckily does that too.

Three Bags Full on Urbanspoon

Three Bags Full

60 Nicholson St
Abbotsford VIC 3067

Grilled Tiger Prawns (Neil Perry Recipe)

Posted in Australian, RecipesLeave a comment

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This recipe is so simple, so easy and yet so delicious. I found this recipe on Neil Perry’s Rockpool website and upsized it for the quantity of tiger prawns I had. Look at these prawns, I’ve never found such large prawns before in my entire life! I cannot find these gems again though, sadly.

Check out the recipe below

Grilled Tiger Prawns

 

Serves 2

6 green king prawns, cut in half and deveined (Or any prawns to your liking – with shells)

½ bunch parsley, chopped

½ bunch oregano, chopped

1 garlic clove, chopped

Zest of ½ lemon

Pinch dried chilli flakes

90ml olive oil

Salt, pepper

Lemon wedge, to serve

Neil Perry Fresh Signature Mayonnaise (Optional)

Method
1. In a bowl, combine the parsely, oregano, garlic, lemon zest, chilli flakes and olive oil. Add the prawns, toss well and leave to marinate for 30 minutes.

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2. Heat a grill or pan over a high heat. Season the prawns with salt and pepper and grill flesh side down for 30 seconds to one minute, or until just starting to colour. Turn the prawns over and grill for a further 10 seconds, then remove from the grill and pile up on a plate. I used a cast iron grill and it worked wonders for these prawns.

Serve with a wedge of lemon and Neil Perry Fresh Signature Mayonnaise.

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Impressions

I didn’t have any fresh oregano so I used dry oregano flakes from the supermarket, just sprinkled a bit more. I had fresh parsley from my garden though and grilling it with these prawns made them absolutely mouth watering.

Adding a tad more chilli flakes also added that nice zing to it and you hardly needed any further dressing or condiments to it as it is tasty just freshly grilled. Cooks extremely quickly, and is really one of those quick and easy meals after you have done your prep. This is one of my favourite recipes now.