Baked Eggs – ohdenny

Mr. Ed Cafe

May 5, 2017 Posted in Australian, Flemington, Food Reviews, Restaurant ReviewsLeave a comment

Mr. Ed Cafe is located along the busy Racecourse Road in Flemington and minutes walk from Newmarket Station. While their offerings for breakfast and lunch may, on first glance, be your typical cafe dishes. On some of them, they do an interesting take on it. For example, their Smoked Salmon comes with sumac rolled eggs or their Baked Eggs comes with leek and chorizo ragu and Persian feta.

What Mr. Ed Cafe calls their ‘Horse’s Feed’ is like your big breakfast, served with poached eggs, taleggio croquette, chorizo, bacon, tomatoes and mushrooms. The poached eggs were cooked perfectly, with that golden oozy yolk. While I would have preferred the bacon to be more crispy, it was decent and not overcooked. The chorizo, however, was interestingly sliced horizontally and pan fried. Overall I’d say it’s a decently tasty dish.

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Their Baked Eggs as mentioned before is very interesting, it isn’t your typical tomato based Baked Eggs. Instead, it comes with flatbread and yoghurt, and has like curry or Indian spices with beans and chorizo, and of course eggs. The eggs were a bit over cooked and I found it to be quite rich. However, it’s quite tasty and especially so with the flatbread.

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In addition to their menu, they also have muffins, and croissants if you want something a bit smaller as a meal or as a snack.

Not only do they have a breakfast and lunch menu, but in the evenings Mr. Ed also has a dinner menu which is basically all burgers and sides, and offering wine and beer as well.

Last words

Mr. Ed Cafe serves tasty food and offers something different to the norm.

Mr. Ed Cafe

285 Racecourse Road
Flemington VIC 3031

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Spanish Baked Eggs (Ms I-Hua Recipe)

April 4, 2014 Posted in Cooking, European, Recipes, SpanishLeave a comment

Having wanting to make Spanish Baked Eggs after being exposed to it here and here. It really does seem like a simple, yet delicious breakfast, brunch or even lunch dish that you can whip up yourself in minimal time. I found this recipe from Ms I-Hua which looked so inviting that I definitely had to give it a try. After making some tacos, I had left over corn and capsicum which I just added in and came out quite well might I add.

Spanish Baked Eggs & Chorizo (Recipe by Ms I-Hua)

Ingredients:
4 mid-large Eggs (room temperature)
1 mid-sized SpicyChorizo (sliced diagonally)
1 can (400g) of Diced Tomatoes
1 can (400g) of Cannellini Beans or Butter Beans (washed and drained) – I used mixed beans
1/2 can (200g) of Sweet Corn Kernels
1/2 Red Capsicum (diced)
1 French Shallot (diced)
2 Garlic Cloves (diced)
1/2 tsp of Smoked Paprika
1/4 tsp of Ground Cumin
1/4 tsp of Cayenne Pepper
1 tsp of Parsley Flakes
1 Tbsp of Ketchup
Salt & Pepper to taste
1 Tbsp of Olive Oil
Handful of Mozarella or Cheddar cheese shredded

Method
1. Preheat your oven to 200°C (degrees Celsius).

2. In a pan, heat olive oil on medium heat and add in diced garlic and French shallots. Cook until fragrant but careful not to burn them.

3. Add diced tomatoes, cannellini/butter beans, chorizo slices, capsicum, smoked paprika, ground cumin, cayenne pepper and ketchup. Cook for about 6-8 minutes till it reduces slightly. Add in the chorizo slices (Ms I-Hua’s recipe suggests you can add them in now or just before placing the dishes in the oven)

4. Turn heat off and add in parsley flakes with salt and pepper to taste.

5. Transfer into individual cazuelas (terracotta dish) or baking dishes.

6. Make a well in the middle and break an egg into each dish. You can add some cheese on top as well before placing in the oven.

7. Place each dish into the oven and cook for 8-12 minutes depending on how you want the yolk (oozy or solid). It will take longer to cook if the eggs are straight from the fridge.
(Ms I-Hua Note: It’s best to keep an eye out on the yolk as different ovens and baking dishes/cazuelas (flat or tall) may vary in cooking time)

8. Once the baked eggs are done, take them out of the oven carefully (it’s hot!) and sprinkle with a little more salt and pepper. Garnish with fresh chervil or parsley and some cheese if preferred. Serve with a slice of sour dough bread

Impressions
I loved this recipe. It’s especially fragrant and the right amount of spices. I kinda used this recipe to use up all my other leftover ingredients which suited the recipe here actually. The cheese gave it an added richness but you can always do without it.

I must admit I over cooked the eggs, but it still came out pretty well in the end. I’d also prefer more diced tomatoes in the mix, to give it a bit more sauce though. Would definitely recommend this recipe to others, you’d be amazed at how the simplest spices of paprika, cayenne pepper and cumin (in such small quantities) can really burst out in flavour and create a genuine crowd pleaser.

Red Cup Cafe

January 24, 2014 Posted in Australian, Box Hill, Food Reviews, Restaurant ReviewsLeave a comment

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.

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.

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.

Customers 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
1124 Whitehorse Rd
Box Hill VIC 3128

Third Wave Cafe – Prahran

November 15, 2013 Posted in American, Food Reviews, Prahran, Restaurant Reviews, Russian, Spanish2 Comments

Third Wave Cafe in Prahran is the sister cafe to their first cafe/restaurant in Port Melbourne. The Port Melbourne location specialises in American BBQ, and that also carries over to the Prahran restaurant. Third Wave Cafe Prahran mostly does breakfast/brunch/lunch but from Thursday to Saturday they do open their doors for dinner. The chef is Ryo Kitahara who is the protégé of Iron Chef Sakai, which I must admit is pretty special. I was a big fan of the Iron Chef series.

Their location might be easy to miss if you don’t know where you’re going, Google Maps took me into the other direction! It’s located across from a gym (could be an after gym workout meal), on the side of the Woolies and close by to the Prahran Market on Cato Street.

I was invited here by Third Wave Cafe to try their menu and I thank them for the opportunity.

It isn’t your typically cafe in the sense that it lacks outdoor dining but it’s such a pleasant atmosphere it isn’t missed at all. They have a bar stools area as well as your standard dining setting with plenty of lighting.

Their menu is diverse and you may find it difficult to finally decide on what to order. Having gone for brunch/lunch we ordered a couple of different dishes to try.

Third Wave’s Pulled Pork Slider with fries tastes as good as it looks. The burger itself contains the pulled pork, with pickled cucumber and fresh coleslaw and their own BBQ sauce. The just cooked pork is seasoned well (and not too salty), adding a bit of the spicy BBQ sauce it complements the slider well. The cold coleslaw in a burger is something I’ve often not tried but here it makes for an interesting combination and certainly feels fresh. The coleslaw itself is light and not too rich in its use of mayonnaise. The fries are also light and crispy, and not heavy in its use of oil. A very pleasant surprise on how well everything was cooked, without feeling guilty over eating a burger with fries.

One of Third Wave’s specials is their Texan Fry Up and just maybe one of my favourite dishes ever, really no joke. The slow cooked smoked brisket is the highlight of this dish. It is just simply cooked to perfection. The smokey brisket practically teleports you to an American Steakhouse. It’s most definitely the best meat I’ve ever tasted. Tender and flavourful.

The mushrooms, potatoes, tomatoes all complement the star of the dish and with a small amount of the spicy BBQ sauce it is just simply delicious. The poached egg oozes yolk although the outer most part of the yolk is hard boiled. Overall, it really makes me want to try their dinner menu because this dish is cooked so well here.

On a side note: this dish was oddly on the breakfast page of their menu under specials, but it seems more like a lunch item to me.

Their Spicy Ratatouille Baked Eggs also looks as good as it tastes. I’ve actually only recently tried a similar dish at Red Cup Cafe in Box Hill, both are similar in the ingredients they use and both I say are more than satisfying.

The Spanish Chorizos add the spiciness to the dish, and with the addition of zucchini, eggplant, red peppers, tomatoes and of course eggs topped with Asiago cheese is another winner. Served with toasted Ciabatta bread it is one of those feel good warm dishes that I can see myself eating on a cold morning. The saltiness of the dish comes from the chorizo’s and it could be too much for some but eating this injunction with the crunchy bread and baked vegetables I couldn’t be happier with the meal.

From my understanding, their hot drinks come with this bite sized mini meringue that has this surprising ginger and possibly cinnamon flavour. Eating this with your coffee, you may even find yourself thinking you just ordered a Chai Latte. Their Latte is light and not too intense. I usually prefer much richer, fuller coffee with not too much foam on top. This isn’t the case here but it is in no way bad, just a decent cup of coffee.

Impressions

Third Wave Cafe definitely impresses with their selection of dishes and the quality of the dishes as well. I really cannot recommend enough the Texan Fry Up and to a lesser extent their Spicy Ratatouille Baked Eggs and with Third Wave Cafe’s Sweets, Paninis, Russian Menu. I don’t think you’ll be bored by the menu anytime soon. Whenever I go back to Prahran, a visit to Third Wave Cafe is on order.

Third Wave Cafe – Prahran (Menu)

30 Cato St
Prahran VIC 3181

Opening Hours (Correct as at 15 November 2013)
Monday to Wednesday – 8am to 3pm
Thursday to Saturday – 8am to Late
Sunday – 8am to 4pm

T: 03 9510 2991
M: 04 1255 0854