Saturday 29 October 2011

Axil Coffee Roasters

322 Burwood Road
Melbourne, VIC
3122

What does a foodie do when end of semester exams are looming? Clearly, the answer is ‘have brunch, and then spend three hours blogging about it’. And so, I found myself outside of Axil Coffee Roasters on a sunny Friday morning three days before my first exam, for what I’m insisting to be ‘much needed study sustenance’. 

Interior

This gem of a cafe is situated right by Swinburne (Chris’) University, making for a dangerously convenient location for a spot of brunch and a good coffee. Following the so-in-right-now trend of converted warehouses, Axil comes complete with exposed pipes and naked light bulbs hanging from the ceiling of a cavernous room. A wall of flowerpots planted with greenery adds welcome contrast to the industrial vibe, though I personally wonder just how long these plants can survive, given that there are only two windows to let in the sun.

Small Skinny Flat White ($4.5)

Being a specialty coffee roaster, and owned by one of the best baristas in Australia David Makin, I couldn’t go past a cup of sweet sweet caffeine with my brunch, even though I’m not used to enjoying coffee with anything other than a piece of cake or a good book. Smooth and full bodied, my small skinny flat white ($4.5) had a lovely hint of chocolate and no bitterness whatsoever, making for an easy to enjoy drink. Whilst still not as good as Brother Baba Budan, it went down wonderfully, and even the coffee-detesting Chris said it ‘wasn’t as bad as most coffees’. Heh.

Baked Eggs with Goat Feta, Dukkah and Peperonata Sauce with Toast ($15)

Baked eggs seem to have become our benchmark dish for assessing new brunch spots. The baked eggs with goat feta, dukkah and peperonata sauce with toast ($15) was a shining example of what good baked eggs should be. Piping hot with running golden yolks and a sauce that wasn’t too acidic, it was all-too-easily mopped up by the generous quantity of good buttered toast. A lovely middle-eastern twist on a classic brunch dish.

Breakfast Burrito with Scambled Eggs, Chorizo, Chilli Beans and Corn Salsa ($16)

I on the other hand, skipped past the menu and ordered the burrito with scrambled eggs, chorizo, chilli beans and corn salsa ($16) off the daily specials instead. I’m having trouble right now trying to describe what it was like – how does one describe the best brunch dish they’ve ever had? Whilst exceedingly messy to eat (as are all burritos), the pillows of scrambled egg, slices of squeaky chorizo, juicy corn kernels and the cleanest sprigs of coriander I’ve ever seen made for the most perfect mouthful you could wish for.  The portion was more than generous, but I hoovered it all up by myself without any trouble at all (sorry Chris!). Kudos to Axil for not skimping on the ingredients, I’m guessing 3 eggs and a whole chorizo went into this baby!

An hour later, we left Axil full, happy, and in my case, caffeinated and ready to take on the mountains of study ahead. And how did the studying go you ask? As if I would ruin such a good meal with something as revolting as study!

Rating: 15.5/20 – best brunch bought, burrito beats boyfriend


Axil Coffee Roasters on Urbanspoon

Tuesday 25 October 2011

Oriental Spoon (Guest Post By Chris)

254 La Trobe St
Melbourne, VIC
3000

Hi, this is not-Ming. By not-Ming I mean that Ming’s busy studying for exams and would prefer some time to be not-writing. More accurately, I’m Chris, and I’ll be filling in for today.

“Welcome, Mr Aaanderson,” I almost expected the waiting staff to say as we entered Oriental Spoon, the first restaurant I’ve seen where they have earpieces akin to those of the Agents in The Matrix.

Lights/Cutlery/Drinking Cup
 
But there’s no red or blue pills waiting for you inside Oriental Spoon, just a smooth, attractive interior of wooden floors, tables and walls, along with a bustling atmosphere should you be there right on dinnertime. This certainly isn’t one of those small, cramped places off Swanston or a laneway.

Banchan (kimchi/bean sprouts/squid)
 
Once we’d sat down, perused the menu and ordered, a waiter promptly brought us the complimentary dishes (Banchan) before our meal came. I’ll have to admit first off that dishes like these aren’t always to my liking, and so was mostly the case with these – of the beanshoots (kongnamul), kimchi, and squid we received, I didn’t much like neither the beanshoots nor the kimchi. However, Ming said that the kimchi was sweeter than she’s used to, and that the beanshoots tasted standard – the squid on the other hand tasted OK to me although nothing amazing.

Beef Bulgogi ($17.5)
 
Within a few minutes however our Jap Chae had arrived, followed shortly by our Chicken.... Beef Bulgolgi?? ($17.50) Despite ordering the chicken, it seems we had been served the beef instead. Somewhat surprising surely, and hopefully something that doesn’t happen very often, but we were hardly going make a fuss, especially when the beef looked delicious nonetheless, sizzling temptingly in front of us.

As we began to eat our food, I quickly forgot about ordering the chicken anyway.  Diving into the mountain of beef before me, I couldn’t help but stop and stare off for a few moments practically each time I ate one of the slices of beef – very well cooked and marinated in the bulgolgi sauce, the meat was juicy and full of flavour. There’s only one real phrase for this sort of food: Good Meat. There was an assortment of vegetables to accompany the meat, and I’m sure they tasted nice too, but in all honesty I just didn’t care with meat this good.

Jap Chae ($17.9)

Alongside all this of course was our Jap Chae ($17.90). This was a bundle of sweet potato noodles, beef and vegetables, with quite a good serving size. The sweet potato noodles, for a type that I hadn’t tried before, were quite nice – thinner than most noodles, the taste was a welcome change from the usual and they were still great to eat plenty of. The beef in this dish was also nice, though not as delicious as that in the Beef Bulgolgi, so it went somewhat less noticed as a result – but along with the vegetables gave a nice variety to the dish, making it enjoyable and filling.
By the time we made our way through both of these – and only barely – we were each full to bursting. It was even a struggle to get up and pay the bill, let alone walk out the door. But a feed like that without breaking the bank will certainly see us making the trip again someday I bet.

Rating: 15/20


Oriental Spoon on Urbanspoon

Sunday 23 October 2011

Nunawading Fish And Chips Shop

136 Springvale Road
Nunawading, VIC 3131


Plain Burger ($4)
 
In my opinion, everyone should have a decent burger place within walking distance of their house.  Nunawading Fish and Chip Shop may not be within walking distance per se, but it’s certainly convenient, located right by my train station for whenever I want a burger fix. Unaffected by time, it’s exactly what you’d expect a traditional fish and chippery to be – menu hand-written on a chalk board, complete with little drawings, and filled with the most delicious smells. I’ve never had anything of theirs except the burgers, but based on the burgers alone, I’ve reason to believe that the fish and chips, as well as their other miscellaneous fried goods are just as delicious. Shown above is the plain burger ($4). It comes with a coarse, irregular home-made patty that has crispy edges and a juicy, well-herbed center. None of that 98% fat free business here – you get to enjoy every drop of grease that soaks into the crispy toasted bun. Extras can also be added for a mere 50c each, though this burger doesn’t need any cheese or bacon to tempt me, it’s perfect just the way it is.

Rating: 14.5/20 – cheap and delicious burgers


Nunawading Fish & Chips on Urbanspoon

Thursday 20 October 2011

Ramen Ya

Shop 25G Melbourne GPO 350 Bourke St
Melbourne, VIC 3000


Where is Spring? Instead of being able to wear all the cute tops sitting in my closet, I’m forced to shiver in the same 3 jumpers. And instead of ice creams and impromptu picnics, I find myself reaching for hot soups and spicy curries, despite it being the middle of October. So when an unseasonal cold day (or should that be seasonal, given Melbourne) came up, my ramen switch was immediately flicked to the ‘on’ position, and I hit up Ramen Ya with Ethan for a spot of early lunch and a long-overdue gossip session.

Table Number/Plastic Food Display/Japanese Styled Pictures
 
And it’s a good thing we were early, because Ramen Ya may look empty now, but experience taught me that coming during the lunch rush will mean standing in line, waiting for a space to open up. But as it currently stands, we were able to get a seat inside the restaurant, away from the windy al fresco seating.

Lights

The menu at Ramen Ya is exactly what you’d expect it to be – lots of ramen, and a few bento boxes for the people who aren’t ramen-philes like the rest of us. There’s a choice between five different ramens: charshu, tsukune, gyoza, seafood gyoza, and strangely enough, kimchi ramen. Once you’ve chosen the type of ramen you want, you can then choose between tonkotsu, shoyu, or miso soup. And if you’re extra peckish, make that ramen into a set meal for an extra 4 dollars, which comes with the addition of gyoza or salad, and some miso soup. There are also a couple of sweet options but, like how almost no one comes for the bentos, there’s not much point in ordering dessert here. The ramen is where it’s at.

Gyoza Ramen with Tonkotsu Soup ($10)

Ethan went with the combination of Gyoza Ramen with Tonkotsu Soup ($10), which came with 5 gyozas and all the trimmings. It was nice to see menma (fermented bamboo shoots) in the ramen, as it’s not used nearly often enough in noodle dishes. The soup was also rather nice with a good depth of flavour, though perhaps not as fatty as I’d like it. The egg and the noodles however, were a bit of a disappointment. The egg was boiled within an inch of its life, and the noodles whilst bouncy and chewy, were egg noodles, rather than ramen noodles.

Charshu Ramen with Tonkotsu Soup ($10)

And being the charshu lover, I chose the Charshu Ramen with Tonkotsu Soup ($10). This was exactly like Ethan’s ramen, except instead of gyozas, the ramen was topped with 4 thin slices of charshu. Naturally, they were smoky and melt-in-the-mouth tender, but there was just so little of it!


 
Whilst not the best ramen in town, it’s definitely not the worst, and it’s perfect for warming up on a cold day. And I really do love the wooden tray that the ramen is served on, and the big wooden ladle you’re provided with for the inevitable soup slurping. 

Soup Remains
 
And if you do finish all your ramen, you’ll be rewarded with the sight of lights hanging above you reflected in the remains of your soup. And if you finish all your soup, you’ll be rewarded with a warm and happy tummy.

Rating: 13/20 – winter warmer


Ramen Ya on Urbanspoon

Thursday 13 October 2011

Cupcake Central Workshop

Level 2 Dining Hall, Melbourne Central
Melbourne, 3000
www.cupcakecentral.com.au

Logo

The fool-proof present. In my experience, there is no living soul that doesn’t express paroxysms of delight when presented with a box of lovingly decorated cupcakes. And the best place to get these little morsels of joy is at Cupcake Central. With their range of inventive flavours and a rotating cupcake availability, I often find myself going back multiple times each week to try a flavour that wasn’t available a couple of days ago.

(Top to Bottom) Cookies and Cream/Red Velvet/Chocolate Mint/Chocolate Hazelnut/Peanut Butter and Jelly, Rapsberry Lemonade

So for my sister’s birthday, I decided to pick up a box of 6 babycakes ($2ea). And possessing generosity I will never have, she immediately offered to share them with me.

Chocolate Mint Babycake ($2ea)

First up was Chocolate Mint. Funnily enough, my sister and I are the only people I know who have a liking for this flavour. Most people claim that it tastes like eating chocolate whilst brushing teeth. To each their own I suppose. Anyway, this was a fantastic example of stellar cupcakes. Moist rich cake with icing that isn’t too sweet, but was light, fluffy, and offered the perfect minty punch. I hate it when the icing on cupcakes is grainy and tough, but these had almost the consistency of whipped cream!

Chocolate Hazelnut Babycake ($2ea)

Next was Chocolate Hazelnut. Now this is a flavour that has been tried, tested, and perfected in a variety of desserts, so I expected it to be no less than divine. And it wasn’t. Once again, the light chocolate cake paired wonderfully with the creamy hazelnut icing, and the whole hazelnut in the middle was a lovely surprise.

Peanut Butter and Jelly Babycake ($2ea)

Peanut Butter and Jelly was a flavour I had tried previously, and I loved the slightly salty and nutty icing which went perfectly with the center of strawberry jam. The chopped peanuts on top added some wonderful textual crunch.

Lemon Raspberry Babycake ($2ea)

The Raspberry Lemonade sounded like a fantastic idea on paper, but it came out tasting more like raspberry lemon, which was much less exciting, but it will please the lemon-lovers out there. And I know I’m beginning to sound like a broken record here but, moist cake! Light creamy icing!

Red Velvet Babycake ($2ea)

It’s honestly very hard to say much about these cupcakes because they’re all so perfect and delicious, and this Red Velvet one is no exception.

Cookies and Cream Babycake ($2ea)

And last but not least, Cookies and Cream. The mini-oreo cookie on the top was a nice touch, and the cake was that unique combination of vanilla and chocolate that only something cookies-and-cream flavoured can provide.

But these cupcakes aren’t nearly all the ones Cupcake Central has on offer. Go on specific days of the week, and you’ll find yourself delighted by jam donut, mandarin and chamomile, green tea and red bean, cherry and pistachio (my favourite), just to name a few. And at $2 for a babycake, and $4 for a cupcake, it’s hard to resist grabbing one as an end-of-the-day treat on my way home from uni.

Rating: 15.5/20 – best cupcakes ever


Cupcake Central Workshop on Urbanspoon Cupcake Central on Urbanspoon

Saturday 8 October 2011

Burch & Purchese Sweet Studio

647 Chapel Street
South Yarra, 3141
www.burchandpurchese.com

ladybird cake/entrance/flower wall art
 
Where science meets sweetness. Anyone who is even vaguely interested in food probably knows that the phrase refers to Burch and Purchese Sweet Studio, a small unassuming shop tucked away on Chapel Street. Walk inside however, and you’ll be greeted with what’s possibly the most dessert-tastic shop in all of Melbourne. It’s like a Willy Wonka factory of assorted cakes, sweets, ice-creams and everything saccharine. The result was a place so photogenic that me and the birthday boy, K, spent almost an hour with our cameras out. So a big thanks to K for all the fantastic photos he contributed to this post (with his DSLR and 3 different lenses), and get ready for enough photos to give you a toothache!

cake cabinet (individual portions, $9)

The first thing that catches the eye as you walk through the doors is a long glass cabinet stretching across the room filled with cakes and more cakes of all shapes and sizes. The individual portions of cake sat in the cabinet looking like edible works of art. They were absolutely gorgeous. 

coconut, passionfruit, ginger, mint/vanilla, pistachio, lemon, green tea/chocolate, mandarin, salted caramel/raspberry, white choc, honey, lychee/raspberry & milk chocolate eclair/cherry, chocolate, cocoa nib
cake cabinet/vanilla, pistachio, lemon, green tea/chocolate, mandarin, salted caramel/flower wall art
 
banana, caramel, rum/cake cabinet/vanilla, pistachio, lemon, green tea/raspberry, white choc, honey, lychee

There was also a selection of larger cakes for sale. They were larger versions of a select few of the individual cake portions, but they looked no less stunning.

chocolate, mandarin, salted caramel/coconut, passionfruit, ginger, mint/banana, caramel, rum/vanilla, pistachio, lemon, green tea/rapsberry, white chocolate, honey, lycee
 
And sitting on top of the cake cabinet was a tower of meringue clouds. Fluffy, shiny, and subtly coloured, they actually did look like they were plucked from the sky.

meringue cloud stand

window display/strawberry meringue clouds/passionfruit meringue clouds/edible greeting card

When we finally managed to tear our eyes away from the counter, we turned to the shelf running the entire length of the store, groaning under the weight of all the goodies on it. There was everything from freeze dried fruit to salted caramel spread to edible clay to chocolate dominoes. We were literally big kids in a candy store.

50/50 chocolate hazelnut and salted caramel spread/chocolate bars/business card/gift pack

fruit salad white chocolate/freeze dried orange slices/coconut, passionfruit, ginger, mint/cake display

But wait! There’s more!

back room
 
Right at the back of the store sits the famed ingredient wall. Hundreds of jars of ingredients sat on a shelf that spanned from the floor to the ceiling. Some of the more unusual ingredients include wasabi, basil, and 8 different kinds of sugar.

ladybird cake/edible flowers/spring racing dozen

And sitting in front of the ingredient wall is a collection of lavishly decorated cakes. We couldn’t stop taking pictures. 

coconut, passionfruit, ginger, mint/ladybird/back room display

edible flowers/pig cake/chocolate cake/racing car cake

ladybird cake/cake cabinet/back room display

edible flowers

I was especially smitten with these edible flowers. Get close enough and you can actually smell the chocolate soil these flowers are ‘planted’ in. 

spring racing dozen ($115)

Equally beautiful were these small cakes sitting in a beribboned box. Aptly named the Spring Racing Dozen ($115), one can't help just imagine ladies in sundresses and bonnets tucking into these with a cup of tea.

spring racing dozen ($115)

chocolate cake/palette wall art/spring racing dozen

And right at the back of the store, the doors to heaven the kitchen was thrown wide open, giving us a peek into the kitchen where Ian Burch and Darren Purchese themselves worked on their latest creations.

kitchen

And now comes the hard part – choosing what cakes we wanted. After ten minutes of careful, agonised deliberation, we finally decided.

raspberry, white choc, honey, lychee (white chocolate & raspberry mousse, raspberry & lychee jelly, muesli & honey nut sponge, raspberry & hibiscus jam, honey lychee syrup, exaggerated raspberry cream, white chocolate velvet spray, $9)

K chose the Raspberry, White Choc, Honey, Lychee ($9)

(Kendari 60% chocolate mousse, Murray River salted caramel, burnt mandarin cream/St Clements marmalade/aerated chocolate shortbread/chocolate mirror glaze, $9)

Whilst I went with the Chocolate, Mandarin, Salted Caramel ($9)


We also picked up a Strawberry Meringue Cloud ($5), and our purcheses (pun intended) were boxed up for us to take away. I loved how they stuck the descriptions of the cakes inside the box so we knew exactly what we were eating.


Ten minutes later, we found ourselves in a nearby shopping center, ready to dig into our desserts. Then we encountered a problem – neither of us could bear to sink our spoons into our perfect cakes, it seemed almost criminal.

Strawberry Meringue Cloud ($5)
 
So instead we started on the strawberry meringue cloud. I will bet you anything under the sun that you have never had anything like this before. The crisp shell of the meringue disintegrated into the sticky, stretchy insides that almost resembled strawberry bubblegum. And the taste was unbelievable. I was converted over to two things I, a moment ago, disliked. Even if you hate meringue and strawberry like I did, you’ll want to give this a go. It will without a doubt change your mind.

The meringue was finished, and we couldn’t put it off any longer. We steeled our hearts, and sunk our spoons into the cakes. And once we did, there was no turning back.

Raspberry, White Choc, Honey, Lychee ($9)

The Raspberry, White Choc, Honey, Lychee was creamy, floral, and absolutely stunning. It was sweet and light with a strong raspberry taste without being tart. I dropped my half of the jelly that sat on top of the cake, but according to K it tasted subtly of lychee. It was a shame that we couldn’t really taste the lychee in this, or it would have been the perfect dessert.

Chocolate, Mandarin, Salted Caramel ($9)

My choice, the Chocolate, Mandarin, Salted Caramel, was as different to K’s in taste as it is in appearance. Rich and decadent, the chocolate mousse inside was shot through with the fragrance of burnt mandarin. It’s an absolute must for orange chocolate lovers. And right at the center was a perfect little orb of sticky salted caramel. My only complaint is that I wish there had been more of it.


 
But alas, all good things must come to an end, and a few minutes later, both our desserts have disappeared without a trace.

Rating: 14.5/20 – where science meets sweetness

Burch & Purchese Sweet Studio on Urbanspoon