The New - Taxi Kitchen

What: Taxi Kitchen
Where: Level 1 Transport Hotel, Federation Square, Cnr. Swanston & Flinders Streets

Another year, another Melbourne Food & Wine Festival. As always, my favorite thing to do is enjoy the restaurant express lunches (2 courses, Glass of Wine for only $40).

It just so happened that my booking at Taxi Kitchen (formerly Taxi Dining Room) was on their second day after re-opening from renovations. And I have to say - they did a great job. Here is what we ate:

Mains:

Seared salmon, with warm sea lettuce & zucchini salad

Chargrilled spatchcock with wombok, and nashi pear salad

Dessert:

Lemon meringue pie – frozen like Nan’s

Mini doughnuts with caramelised milk jam

My Review = Delicious

Lush

La Tortilleria

What: La Tortilleria
Where: 72 Stubbs St, Kensington VIC 3031

This amazing authentic Mexican corn tortillas restaurant/producer will not disappoint. The menu is short, simple, and incredibly authentic. From the moment you walk in, the smell of "the real" Mexico hits you.

What we ate: 

• Quesadilla - Sencilla (plain cheese)
• Taco - Al Pastor (free range pork w/ pineapple)
• Gringas - Al Pastor free-range pork with cheese in between two big tortillas
• Mexican Hot Chocolate (just like you get in Mexico - AMAZING)
• POSTRES(aka dessert) - Flan

Review:  The food is simple, very quick and fresh. The staff are delightful, the decor amusing, the experience to die for. Additionally - make sure you pick up some take away Tortillas on your way out (they  freeze really well too).

Enjoy,
Lush

Sweet Home ... Carolina

What: Carolina
Where: 11 Nicholson Street, Brunswick East, 3057

This cute little hip cafe and bar certainly has charm and character. A true hidden gem, with fantastic food, a great atmosphere, and friendly staff. Located on Nicholson St, between Holden St and Park St, it is definitely worth the trip through an otherwise unremarkable set of shops.

What we ate:

Argo dulce onion tarte tatin w/ whipped goat cheese and rocket (the special that day)

The Ham and Cheese Sandwich (soon to be famous I would say - it is amazing)

Enjoy,
Lush

Nama Nama

On my (frequent) trips to Melbourne, I love to wander around the city. In terms of cities I've lived in and visited, it's not vast or even that busy, but I enjoy the quietness; a contrast to the weekday hustle and bustle.

I know I am not alone in this enjoyment, slowly there has been a shift in the weekend food options throughout the city. I'm not talking about the thriving restaurant business that requires hours of queing for lunch or dinner. I mean the small places that you can meander into, sit at a table by the window and settle in for a few hours of slow eating and world watching.

Nama Nama is opposite Treasury Gardens with views of Parliament House. It allows you to stare out at the lush greenery or watch as multitudes of wedding photos are taken...and if you are like me - the opportunity to critique their fashion choices!

Libertine

What: Libertine

Where:  500 Victoria St, North Melbourne VIC 3051

The final Restaurant Express lunch for 2013 was at this North Melbourne gem. Just up the road from the Queen Victoria Markets, this French restaurant is cute, quirky and charming with food is pleasing to the eye, the palate and even the wallet.

PM 24

What: PM24

Where: 24 Russell St, Melbourne CBD VIC 3000

This meal was the most underwhelming dining experience I have had in Melbourne in years. The extra $5 spent to get another course as part of the Express Lunch menu was a waste, and from the moment we walked through the door I struggled to be impressed. The most expensive meal of the three, not to mention the $44 (OMFG!) parking costs that were incurred to park in the inner city, meant that I will not be returning to PM24, and I would encourage others to try one of Melbourne’s other restaurants instead.

Persimmon

What:  Persimmon

Where: The National Gallery of Victoria, International. St Kilda Rd

For the 2013 Melbourne Food & Wine Festival I was lucky enough to accompany Lush to three Restaurant Express Lunches, as we had last year. The first of these, on the Labour Day public holiday, proved difficult to book, as most restaurants are closed on Mondays anyway! The premise of the lunches is a flat $40 for 2 courses, a glass of wine and tea or coffee. As I don’t drink alcohol, and Lush happily does, I ordered my vino for Lush's delectation. As we were two, we shared an entree, shared two mains and shared a dessert, sampling the widest array of flavours, ingredients and treats possible.

Albert St Food & Wine

What: Albert St Food & Wine
Where: Corner of Albert St & 382 Sydney Rd, Brunswick


One of the hippest food and wine stores to pop up recently, run by Executive Chef Philippa Sibley (who appeared recently on Masterchef).

The food, wine, produce and the ambiance all combine to make it my new favourite weekend lunch venue.

Here is what my last indulgence consisted of (with a friend of course):




Start

• Quince Bellinis
• Champagne mixed with quince poaching nectar – amazing (although quinces are seasonal)

 

Mains

• Seared Ocean trout, Balmain bugs, saffron potatoes 
• Crumbed pork scotch, turnips, watercress, green apple sauce

WINE: 

• 2010 Valley Vignerons Pinot Noir Yarra Valley, Vic
• Delightfully full flavoured, complex and long on the palate (perfect with any dish)

 

Dessert

(a must as Philippa Sibley is know for her desserts)

• Meyer lemon tart
• Million Dollar Bullet
• Think chocolate bullet flavours (but using chocolate mousse and liquorice ice cream)

In a word - Perfect!

Be warned though, the menu changes monthly so regular visits are wise.

Lush

Silo (by Joost)

What: Silo (by Joost)

Where: 123 Hardware Street, Melbourne 3000

 

Silo is the newest ‘zero-waste’ café in Melbourne by the eco-advocate and artist Joost Bakker.

Food

• A very small menu (available online) – but the coddled hen eggs (with mushrooms) are amazing.
• Plus the home-made lemonade is amazing (very fizzy though)

Highlights:

• A waste free menu that changes with the seasons.
• Food is from all local and organic suppliers
• All fresh produce is delivered in returnable, recyclable, reusable crates
• All organic waste is treated in the café’s own food waste dehydrator
• The café has a 15 seat communal dining bar

With only one communal table and the kitchen literally behind your back, the room is a bit cramped for me,  but I love the concept overall and the coffee.

Suggest going on a clear day and sitting outside.

Lush

Mexican @ Touche Hombre

What: Touche Hombre

Where: Corner Lonsdale St & Tattersalls Lane (Melbourne CBD)

This is one of the newest mexican places in town and I hope it’s here for good – because it is awesome. The food and the ambience are fantastic, even the authentic cups and plates add that something extra to the experience.

The menu is easy to understand and a manageable size AND the tequila menu is actually longer. I went for dinner the other weekday with a friend, and these are the tasty treats we tried.

Entree

Fatty Lamb ribs

- absolutely melt in your mouth, and with just enough sticky sweet honey

TFC (aka Fried chicken)

- the rich and creamy habanero sauce was the perfect match (finger lickin’ good)

Tacos (we tried 3 types)

De Carnitas (aka Pork)

- my favourite of the night

El Secreto (the daily secret surprise taco)

- this was great fun, we ate chicken hearts the night we went (it really is good although that they don’t tell you what the secret ingredient is till afterward)

De Jaiba (aka soft shell crab)

- the Crab batter was a bit too oily for me after our entree's, but it did work really well with all the other taco's flavours (perhaps get it to share)

And several Tommy margarita (delicious)!

Make sure you do give it a whirl (with several margaritas alongside of course), however I would recommend ordering a salad too as the meal sat a bit heavily in my stomach without one (or this could have just been a product of my over indulgence).

Lush

Di Bella Baby!

What: Di Bella Coffee

Where: 19-21 Leveson Street North Melbourne VIC 3051

Another amazing coffee and breakfast place – and just a quick walk from Vic Markets.The perfect place to have breakfast (or brunch in my case) before you go shopping for those local fresh ingredients.

The menu is full of delicious staples and breakfast classics. Get there early though – as it is a busy hot-spot for the locals – especially on the weekends.

Breakfast:

2 Poached eggs on Sourdough with my choice of sides

• Roasted Tomatoes
• Marinated Feta
• Smoked Bacon
• Sauteed Mushrooms

And of course – COFFEE, COFFEE & COFFEE

Review:

I say you can always judge a place by how they do their eggs – and these are some of the best in Melbourne.

Lush

Sweetness @ Pope Joan

What: Pope Joan
Where: 77/79 Nicholson Street, Brunswick East VIC 3057

All the blogs and food magazines are full of praise for the wonderful breakfast/brunch place Pope Joan and for good reason; it is amazing!

I could spend all day blogging and talking about the cornucopia of food at Pope Joan, but what really took my fancy last month when I was only a little bit hungry in the morning was their homemade Jam Doughnut, with Berry Jam and Cream – YUMMY!

The menu is constantly changing and keeping me guessing (but you can preview their latest menu on the website if you wish to be less surprised in the early hours of the day). I have personally been there several times and amongst my all time favorites are:

• Coffee, coffee and more coffee (of course)
• Boiled eggs, soldiers, bacon bits, herb salt
• Poached eggs w/ whatever they are serving them with this month (never been disappointed)
• The Cuban Sandwich: pulled pork, pickles n cheese (unbelievable)

Recent recommendations:

• Heirloom tomatoes roasted, basil, smoked mozzarella rarebit
• Spanner crab omelette, coriander, chilli salt

Make sure you do try it – you will not be disappointed.
Be warned it's busy, but well worth the wait.

Lush

Pei Modern

What: Pei Modern
Where: Collins Place, 45 Collins Street

Chef Menu (that day at least):

• Gazpacho with Blue Swimmer Crab  (see picture)
• Bullhorm Peppers, grilled Ox Heart & Harissa
• Streamed Barramundi, Sea Urchin Butter & Sweet Corn
• Coffee Sorbet w/ Chocolate Sponge

Wine:

• 2011 Enigma ‘Variations’, Syrah Rose (suited the meal wonderfully - its more full bodied than a white, but clean and light enough to eat with Seafood)

Review
The chef menu is set (but they will make alterations if you have dietary allergies) – as we had to in our case.

The Gazpacho was delicious, the coriander, grapes and parsley perfectly complimented the cold soup and blue swimmer crab chunks.

Ox Heart (which I had never tried before) was tender and delicious. However I did think the texture of the pepper seeds was not harmonious to the rest of the meal (therefore suggest scrapping them out when eating the dish).

The barramundi was perfectly cooked, but beware the Sea Urchin Butter is very fishy (to me the sea urchin tastes as intensely of sea as wheat grass does of grass). However it complimented the dish wonderfully – so glad I tried it, because I normally would not have ordered it.

Dessert of coffee sorbet with Chocolate sponge crumbs was wonderful. However – the caramelized tomato dessert which my friend had (as she is allergic to chocolate) looked amazing, and when I sampled it – this was the true winner of the day. Amazingly creative and flavorful!

Lush

Paco's Tacos

What: Paco's Tacos
Where: NAB building cnr of Willams & Little Bourke

Located in a great foodie square with Earls Canteen and Movida Aqui; this end of town is now spoilt for choice of gourmet, affordable lunches.

Paco's Tacos is the reincarnation of Movida Terrazo. With all tacos at $6 and quick service it is a great place for a workday lunchtime catch-up. It's also open for dinner and has a decent cocktail menu that empahsises Mexican flavours and evokes memories of warm, sunny evenings. And helps those of us struggling to get through the coming afternoon in the office! 

We had: 

• Carne Asada Taco
• Veduras Taco
• Crispy Pork Crackling

2 tacos are enough for a light lunch, but it is would be worth getting a third taco or something to share if you are feeling like a decent sized meal. The beef had a little heat to it, but I found the delicious green sauce (name unknown) added the necessary extra bit of spice that I look for.

The pork crackling was too rich for a weekday lunch. Basically deep fried pork crackling with salsa and guacamole; it was crispy and light, but I ended up equating each mouthful to an extra block I should be adding to my walk back to the office.

Highly recommend going here before the 1pm rush. It's not as busy as places like Tripy Taco, but the queue to order grows pretty quickly. A bit on the pricey side for the size of the meals, but all around an easy place to enjoy a Melbourne-Mexican lunch.

Glutton

La Luna

What: La Luna
Where: 320 Rathdowne Street Carlton North VIC 3054

Another Express Lunch, as part of the Melbourne Food & Wine, Restaurant Express Lunches
Yet again, best to go in pairs so you can share. This time we got one entrée, two mains, and one dessert.

Entrée:

• Lamb tongue croquette with labna

Mains:

• Beef ribs
• Lamb, fetta, spinach filo

 Dessert:

• Chocolate pudding with fig ice cream

Review:

• The croquettes were light and fluffy; perfect.
• The filo pastry was well balanced, crispy, and filling.
• The beef ribs were interesting, but a bit heavy (so make sure you are hungry).
• Overall it was unbelievably good value, and who doesn’t love La Luna (the chalk picture of the cow detailing all the meat cuts is a favourite of mine – after all you should know what you are eating).

Lush

Comme

What: Comme

Where: 7 Alfred Place Melbourne VIC 3000

Another Express Lunch, as part of the Melbourne Food & Wine, Restaurant Express Lunches
It is fantastic to be able to attend some of the best restaurants in Melbourne for only $35.00 per person, (which includes 2 courses & 1 glass of wine)

I definitely recommend going with a friend to all of them, so you can share. This time we did something a bit different, we only got one main, two entrees and one dessert. More than enough – especially considering they gave us great bread and coffee at the end.

Entree

• Soup du jour - potato & leek (very green due to the chefs using the whole leek I assume, and wonderfully thick and buttery, created a great mouth feel)
• Rillettes of Otway pork, spiced cherries, sage & sourdough (the sourdough was in the form of bread crumbs, so the dish was mainly meat - delicious and rich, just enough to entice the palate - a great entree)

Main

• Roasted breast of Hazeldene chicken with a tomato, shallot & soft herb dressing (actual quite disappointing - even though the meat was cooked perfectly, the 'dressing' was more like a bruscetta salsa, and very sweet - not a savour dish, to my palate it did not work)

Dessert

• St-Emillon of Valrhona Chocolate, macaroon crumbs, Armagnac and crème fraiche (thick and rich, a chocolate lovers dream - think chocolate mousse - perfect with the tang of the crème fraiche which acted to balance the rich chocolate)

Wine

• 2008 Mandala Cabernet Sauvignon, Yarra Valley, VIC (standard decent table wine, quaffable but not remarkable)

Money Order Office

What: Money Order Office (aka M.O.O.)

Where: 2 Driver Lane (near the Crn of Little Bourke St & Elizabeth St) Melbourne VIC 3000

As part of the Melbourne Food & Wine, Restaurant Express Lunches I went to M.O.O. Unlike other lunches I had attended that only offer 2 courses & 1 glass of wine for $35.00, at M.O.O. they gave us 3 courses plus a glass of wine.

Definitely recommend going with a friend, and getting all 6 options they have on the Restaurant Express Lunch menu – then you can share them and enjoy a wider variety of dishes.

Entree:

• Poached Pear Salad: Composed of poached pear, wild rocket & Valderon cheese with a lemon vinaigrette (glorious, refreshing, great textures, perfect blend of acid from the vinaigrette and Valderon blue cheese) 
• Roast Pumpkin & Pomegranate Salad: Roast pumpkin with pomegranate, toasted slivered almonds, goats cheese & pumpkin puree (a very dense salad, but wonderfully colorful, full flavored, and who doesn't love pomegranates - especially when someone else has done all the effort of removing them from the pith)

Main

• Pork Belly: Twice cooked pork belly with Jamon, savoy cabbage & cider foam (the foam is like a sorbet, which acts with its acid to balance the fat of pork, however the Jamon proscuitto was a bit salty - which I think slightly dominated the other flavors)
• Tempura Monkfish: Tempura monkfish with saffron aioli & watercress salad (I mean how can you go wrong with tempura and aioli - very tasty and light, especially when paired with the pork belly)

Dessert

• Crema Catalana: Catalan's version of creme brulee (amazing, perfectly creamy, with nicely caramelized sugar on top - favorite dish of the day)
• Vanilla & Goat Curd Mousse: Served with spiced orange & figs (refreshing and interesting, glad I tried it, but not a repeat order when I go back)

Wine

• 2009 Sally's Hill Pinot Noir (mature, full and round, fantastic)

Review:

Best value of the festival for me

The ambience is perfect for a date, good lighting, friendly staff, and nicely decorated. And AMAZING WINES.

Three Bags Full

What: Three Bags Full
Where: 60 Nicholson Street  Abbotsford VIC 3067

My Order:

• Skinny Latte
• One Big Breakfast: eggs, bacon, tomato, spinach, cheese kransky, tomato relish + toast

I had hollandaise added to my meal - since after all I was saving calories by having skinny lattes (either way, nothing like welcoming that early heart-attack)

Review: The breakfast was literally huge, but very delicious, perfect for the morning after a big night out, especially if your eyes are beginning to feel like lemons. The line outside can seem intimidating, but we put our name on the list and fifteen minutes later we had a table - definitely worth the wait.

Lush