Spatula, Spoon and Saturday

This was back during the awful hay fever episode. I remember it distinctly as the night I barely slept and woke up at 6am and couldn’t go back to sleep. Generally, I would pick myself out of bed and go for a morning walk/run but because I barely slept I was just too tired so I figured let’s just hit Degraves St. for breakfast. So I pulled poor Josh out of a bed with a promise of breakfast treat.

(eggs florentine, poached eggs with spinach and hallandaise sauce – $12.00)

It was a lovely warm day and the day was heating up already (loves it) but we went in and sat in the booth at the back anyway. Unfortunately, I was grouchy to the max from lack of sleep and the fact that I had to be at work soonish didn’t help either.

The cafe was warmly decorated with interesting black and white photographs and while it was quite warm at the back, I didn’t mind. I am a tropical girl, after all. The breakfast options weren’t large with a few daily specials. Read the rest of this entry »

Maya had just come back from Raya at home in Singapore and she was desperate for a good cup of Melbourne coffee. So during a lunch time (she had an extra day off the lucky thing).

We decided on Centre Place/Degraves St. area since it’s the closest place where there is the most number of cafés in small areas. We landed at Cafe No. 5 because it looked nice and cosy.

(sorry about the picture, it’s the only one I have of the wall)

The shop itself was rather funky. We plonked ourselves on the communal table. The walls were adorn with paintings and other interesting artwork. Maya promptly ordered a coffee. I believe it was her second one in about 3 hours of landing in Melbourne and since I spent 13 months in Singapore, I can vouch that Starbucks is considered good coffee in Singapore. So enough said about the state of coffee affairs in the little island nation. Read the rest of this entry »

A quick one before I run off yet again. Nicole and I were trying to find Journal Canteen – of course we  failed abysmally the first time and ended up at Journal. I mean, how were we supposed to know? They have practically the same name and they are in the same CAE building!

We have been there a couple of times since the space is rather awesome to just discuss work – usually a bit of a brain storming session. Coffee is usually good (and they have freshly squeezed orange juice) but the last time they unforgivably burned my espresso so I’m still considering the next return.

(roasted pumpkin and rocket salad – $15.00)

Anyway, the food was rather nice despite limited menu. We both settled for salad on the day. Nicole went for roasted pumpkin and rocket salad. She said it was good despite not being able to finish it (“I can’t eat too much pumpkin!”)

(prociutto and witlof salad – $15.00)

I went for the prociutto and witlof salad, which seemed the most interesting thing on the menu. It was beautiful. The salad was made of witlof (of course) but with a bit more concentration of raddichio, pear slices, blue cheese and walnut. It was perfectly dressed and topped with slices of prociutto. Definitely ++ for this little gem.

We were given two slices of toasted crusty bread drizzled with olive oil. Carb-free meals are overrated.

A great space for casual coffee and lunch. The salads weren’t bad either! Still undecided about the coffee.

Journal, Lower Ground Floor, 1/253 Flinders La., Melbourne VIC

Jacqui had been raving about Dweezil for the past few weeks now. She worked in the area and reckoned the food there was the bee’s knees. She also mentioned nonna-made pasta which sold me. Who am I to argue against a Nonna-made pasta? Plus I ran out of peanut butter and the Carlisle Health shop nearby sold the most yummy fresh 100%-peanut peanut butter.

We arrived at Dweezil in the afternoon, starving. But that didn’t stop me from admiring its warm wooden interior. I loved the way the place was decked out. They had the usual cafe fare like breakfast dishes, toasted foccacia, pastry, sandwiches and various cakes. And of course the daily pasta specials.

After pondering whether I should go for a breakfast dish (as usual) and decided against it (as usual), I settled on the day’s special: Spinach and Ricotta Cannelloni. Josh, being a predictable soul, went for the Chicken Puff Pastry Calzone.

(Spinach and Ricotta Cannelloni – $10.00)

This. Was. The. Yummiest. Thing. Ever. Served by Nonna herself, I don’t know how else to describe it but it was one of the best pasta dishes I ever had. It’s as good as Pelligrini’s lasagne (which I think is the bee’s knees) except it had ricotta and spinach in it – two of my favourite things in the world.

(Dweezil’s cannelloni – it ain’t pretty close up but it’s beautiful!)

The sauce was yummy. The pasta was yummy. The filling was yummy. Everything was yummy. Jacqui was right.

(Chicken Calzone – $7.50)

(the chicken calzone filling)

Josh’s calzone came with tomato relish. It was lovely. Of course I had a bite. Josh reckons it was ‘better than that chicken pie at that place with the cute waiter.’

(Side salad – $6.50)

We both wanted side salad but Josh’s calzone had an option to include salad and mine didn’t, we ended up with a serve of side salad on its own to share. It was very good. Very well-dressed and the lettuce were beautifully crunchy. I didn’t realise normal iceberg lettuce could be so yummy. I think side salad should be something that makes or breaks the dish and often it’s what I use to determine how good a cafe or a restaurant is. If they do side salad properly, everything is bound to be good.

(Lemon tart – $4.00)

Being greedy guts that we were, we opted for dessert. I went for the lemon tart (How could I not? I was told,  ‘I have the best lemon tart in town’) and a coffee while Josh opted for a hedgehog slice.

(Hedgehog slice – $4.00)

The lemon tart was good though I’m not too sure about best in town but it was yummy nonetheless. Josh liked his hedgehog slice. I’m not a fan and never really found one to be any good anyway. We were served our dessert and I pulled out my camera to take pictures, the waiter/cafe manager saw and said ‘Do you want me to pretty them up for the pictures?’ so I said yes. She came back with coffee beans on the hedgehog slice and lemon slices on the tart with a bit of icing sugar dusted on them. Very creative!

(coffee – $3.20)

It was lovely. The coffee was also very good. I love it when I get a bit of latte art on my coffee. We would be sure to go back when we’re on that side of town again!

Dweezil, 172 Carlisle St., St Kilda

I would like to be known one of those ladies who lunch – I really do. It’s one of my greatest fantasies. Replete Providore, it seems, is totally the place for the ladies from leafy Eastern suburbs who lunch. And I discovered that by accident.

(inside Replete after the late lunch crowd left)

Josh and I rocked up there due to the Age Cheap Eats recommendation. Cheap Eats. Ladies who lunch? Who would have thought? But that’s where we were there one Thursday around 1.30pm.

The place was absolutely packed! We were very surprised because it wasn’t anywhere near a popular strip. It literally stood on its own near mostly residential areas and schools. But we did score the last little table. An oh-so-cute waiter (‘he-was-oh-so-cute-I-stayed-for-dessert’ cute) gave us menu to ponder (for quite a while). They served breakfast dishes well into the afternoon (this is what I love about Melbourne café) but I decided I wanted a lunch dish.

(Genovese Chickpea Faritana – $15.00)

I ordered (and I wrote this down because the name totally didn’t make sense to me) Genovese Chickpea Faritana ($15.00). It was basically savoury pancake made with chickpea flour (and other things) topped with sautéed zucchini (with rosemary and garlic, I liked it so much I came home and tried to replicate it), prociutto, parmasan and rocket leaves.

(a bite of my lovely pancake)

It was very yummy. I was very hungry! Our food did take a while, but then again, the place was packed.

(Deep Dish Pie – Chicken, Spinach and Pesto – $15.00)

Josh decided on the Deep Dish Pie – Chicken, Spinach and Pesto ($15.00) which came with side salad (which was a bit overdressed and oily) and some sort of tomato chutney (‘yeah it’s nice’).

(inside the pie)

Because my lunch wasn’t so big and I hadn’t had breakfast, I decided that I could do with a bit of cake and coffee (that, and the waiter was oh-so-cute. I really should stop talking about the cute waiter. Josh did spend two hours listening to me gushing over the cute waiter. I think that may be the end of his tolerance). The dessert choices were mostly slices and only two types cakes – orange flourless and chocolate and coffee torte. Josh detests anything coffee so we went for flourless orange.

(caffè latte and orange flourless cake – $8.00)

I have to admit I was quite confused about the pricing. The menu said the cake was $4.00 and 50 cents for cream or yoghurt. We weren’t asked if we wanted any cream or yoghurt on the side but it was served with cream anyway. I didn’t know how much the coffee was. But it was either $4.00 for the coffee (steep by Melbourne standard? or maybe I have been away too long and things have gone up since) or we were charged 50 cents for the cream we didn’t ask for.

(flourless orange cake with cream)

Either way, the cake was delicious and the coffee was fantastic! It was my first cup of coffee since I came back to Melbourne and boy do I miss good Melbourne coffee! Most of all, have I missed the whole relaxing Melbourne cafe vibe.

I did feel like a lady who lunches, even though I went with my husband. Close enough. Mission accomplished.

Replete Providore, 302 Barkers Rd., Hawthorn