Thai Culinary - Spicy Chicken Ribs

Spicy Fried Chicken Ribs #thaiculinary #chickenribs #melbournecbd #thaifood

A photo posted by saccha (@sacchaeats) on Jun 26, 2015 at 2:30am PDT

Chicken ribs? Anyone outside of Australia would be foreign to this cut of chicken, but over in Australia they are sold everywhere. You can get them at the butchers's, you can get them as ribs & chips with gravy, or at Asian restaurants and at Aussie BBQs! It is a such a delicacy that everyone else is missing out! Chicken ribs are so tender and easy to eat - they are a great alternative to chicken wings!

These Thai styled chicken ribs are really crunchy, the batter is really fragrant and spicy! As I'm not really a spicy person, I really prefer the salted egg yolk version of the chicken ribs, but these work really well too - just I can't eat as much as the other.

Address: 433 Elizabeth St, Melbourne VIC 3000
Website: http://www.thaiculinarymelbourne.com.au/

Mr Mister - Baked Eggs & Banana Bread

Baked eggs with wild mushrooms, celeriac creamed, truffled leeks, brie and toasted hazelnuts! #bakedeggs #weekendbrunch #mrmister

A photo posted by saccha (@sacchaeats) on Jun 27, 2015 at 12:15am PDT

Tried out the new addition to the myriad of cafes along Chapel Street - Mr Mister and it did not disappoint!

After being presented with the baked eggs, it reminded me of the Hardware Society version but it's not quite the same apart from looks. The combination totally works - loving the truffled leeks and mushrooms - the brie was a little strong for me at first but after mixing through the dish it wasn't as prominent. I choose not to the add chorizo because we had a second dish lining up, but I reckon it would have added another dimension of flavour.

Banana bread with caramelised banana, orange segments, vanilla mascarpone, hazelnut crumble and berry jam. #bananabread #mrmister

A photo posted by saccha (@sacchaeats) on Jun 27, 2015 at 2:42am PDT

Shared this sweet dish and while I wouldn't say it was amazing but it was a pretty satisfying treat. The banana bread had good flavour and it wasn't too sweet. The caramelised banana slices would have been better if the were more caramelised instead only on one side. The vanilla mascarpone was not a good as the one I had at Krimper - just wasn't as creamy and rich. The hazelnut crumble gave a nice texture, the berry jam & orange segments provided fruity freshness. The components are all pretty ordinary by themselves but when you add them all together - it's like the perfect bite! 

All in all, really loving this new cafe and I can't wait to try out the other items on the menu. To quote what someone else said to me this week, "Brunch in Melbourne is the reason why I can never afford to buy a house." - it's sad but totally agreed!


Address: 161 Chapel St, Windsor VIC 3181
Website: http://www.mrmistercafe.com/

Chez Dre - House Tea Smoked Salmon

House tea smoked salmon with fried garaetteok rice cake, soft boiled egg, pickled cucumber, daikon, radish,watercress, capers & dill yoghurt vinaigrette! #chezdre #teasmokedsalmon #southmelbourne

A photo posted by saccha (@sacchaeats) on Jun 25, 2015 at 11:49pm PDT

I have always felt that Chez Dre is always better at it's sweets like cakes and baked goods, but I thought I shall give the savoury dishes another shot. 

On the menu, it sounded great, but after being served this dish, I was honestly quite disappointed with this poorly executed dish. 

The most glaring fault lies with the rice cakes. These rice cakes are the Korean rice cakes which are used in many Korean dishes and everyone who cooks with them will know that it's something you need to eat while it's still piping hot. The moment it cools down it becomes rock hard, and they were hard and chewy, practically inedible, I cannot comprehend how they made it on to the plate! 

The salad was kinda meh - it was limp and soggy, the salad dressing was uninspiring and the flavours were not well balanced at all. 

On the more positive side, the salmon was nicely cooked and seasoned although I don't get any hint of the tea smoked flavour at all.

Overall, it was like a 6/10 dish, I did finish all the salad and the salmon - but the rice cakes were horrible. I might come back again to Chez Dre to try the pork belly confit, maybe, but definitely not ordering this one again!

Address: 285-287 Coventry St, South Melbourne VIC 3205
Website: http://www.chezdre.com.au/

Krimper - Almond Crusted French Toast

Almond Crusted French Toast with Caramelised Apple, Vanilla Mascapone, Honey and Dulce de Luche #frenchtoast #krimpercafe

A photo posted by saccha (@sacchaeats) on Jun 25, 2015 at 4:23am PDT

I would have never known that this place existed down this secluded alley, from the outside it just looked like an abandoned warehouse. If it wasn't for the bustling noise of the cafe patrons, I would have thought I was at the wrong place!

If you read my last post about my fall, you would have read about how I missed out on my sweet Waffee waffles treat, so instead of waffles I got something better - French Toast! Not just any french toast, Almond Crusted French Toast!

I don't usually go for sweets - they are my guilty pleasure so I try to indulge in them only once in a while, but sometimes it's really hard when you are feeling shitty and just need something really sweet to perk you up!

The almond crust provided a really nice crisp texture to the french toast, I always felt normal french toast can sometimes be limp and soggy to the bite which might be somewhat unpleasant.

I really love the vanilla mascapone with the french toast - it was so luscious and creamy that I tried not to think about it going straight to my hips. The caramelised apple was a little tart to me - I think they must be granny smiths, they could use a little more caramelising in my opinion. 

Lastly, adding another layer of sweetness to the dish (on top of the honey) is the lovely smudge of dulce de luche, made from cooking condensed milk in the can over low heat for hours - what's not to like?!

Address: 20 Guildford Ln, Melbourne VIC 3000
Website: http://www.krimper.com.au/

Ramen Ya - Chashu Ramen

At $11 for their Chashu Ramen, it's actually not bad!! #ramen #melbourneramen #melbournefoodies #ramenya

A photo posted by saccha (@sacchaeats) on Jun 23, 2015 at 10:02pm PDT

Long story short - I had a nasty spill down the stairs a couple of days ago, landed on my butt and now feeling really sore and bruised - literally butt-hurt. I just felt so shitty that I wanted to get Waffee's waffles to treat myself, but after making my way down to the Emporium Melbourne - Waffee was closed! Argh!

I was deciding what else to eat and I saw Ramen Ya - who can resist a bowl of ramen goodness? I remembered trying out Ramen Ya many years ago at GPO and it was pretty unremarkable - I did not think much about it, but I decided to give it another shot after seeing how popular it was during lunch time.

I didn't really like the texture of the noodles, it was rather chewy to the bite to me. The broth was decent, savoury and wholesome - all the good things you want from a ramen broth! What was most impressive were the slices of chashu, they were so tasty and just melted in your mouth. Lastly, my favourite condiment in the ramen, the half a tamago - it was tasty but quite salty. 

Overall it was a very decent bowl of ramen, packed with flavour and value for money at AUD$11 a bowl! 

Address: Shop LG-10, 269-321 Lonsdale Street, Melbourne, VIC 3000

Townhouse - Rye, Chia Seed and Blueberry Pancakes

Really missing the rye, chia seed and blueberry pancakes with vanilla mousse and maple syrup from Townhouse!! #pancakes #townhouse #maplesyrup

A photo posted by saccha (@sacchaeats) on Jun 23, 2015 at 4:42pm PDT

Whenever I'm out for brunch, I usually make an effort to order something which I cannot recreate at home and pancakes are one of them! I really enjoy making things from scratch but pancakes are something which I could never get right. Usually undercooked in the middle and I end up burning them on the outside, but not as simple as they look!

Anyway, I think these pancakes are not on the menu at Townhouse anymore. However, I still remember them as they had a lovely yet slight chewy texture as opposed to the usual floury type ones and the vanilla mousse was a refreshing addition to the dish with the maple syrup. 

Hopefully, they will be back on the menu after winter!

Address: 466 Toorak Road, Toorak VIC 3146

Miss Korea Kitchen - Army Stew

Korean Army Stew! Love it any day and time - but especially on a cold wintry night! #koreanfood #armystew #misskoreakitchen #melbournefoodie

A photo posted by saccha (@sacchaeats) on Jun 22, 2015 at 4:19am PDT

Miss Korea Kitchen does a few variations of the Army Stew, we opted for the Pork Shabu Shabu Sausage Stew - we were delighted that lots of meat came with it! 

I have always preferred Korean stews over Korean BBQ, they are so intense with flavour - spicy but not numbingly spicy, hearty and very comforting during cold miserable winter's night. Korean BBQs are just too much work and too smokey - it makes your clothes and hair smell like BBQ after!

I love this stew so much that after this meal I was inspired to make my own at home. It's actually pretty simple, try googling the recipe!

Address: Camberwell Shopping Precinct, 845 Burke Rd, Camberwell VIC 3124

Warra Warra Korean Kitchen - Bibimbap

Sizzling Stone Pot Bibimbap #koreanfood #bibimbap #melbournekoreanfood #melbournefood #warrawarra #sacchaeats

A photo posted by saccha (@sacchaeats) on Jun 16, 2015 at 4:47am PDT

Warra Warra is a great place for lunch specials in Melbourne CBD. Though tucked away in a sleepy corner of the city, it can get really busy during peak lunch hour. The bento sets are really popular, but my favourite choice is the sizzling stone pot bibimbap!

I really love all the ingredients of the bibimbap, the savouriness of the meat, the freshness of the vegetables and with the raw egg yolk really binds this dish when all mixed together in to a complete satisfying dish.

Address: Shop 19 & 20, Tivoli Arcade/235-251 Bourke St, Melbourne VIC 3000
Website: http://warrawarrakitchen.com.au/

South Society Cafe - Red Velvet Hotcakes

Red velvet hotcakes with white chocolate mascarpone, chocolate ganache & sweet dukkah! #weekendbrunch #redvelvet #hotcakes #melbournebrunch #southsocietycafe

A photo posted by saccha (@sacchaeats) on Jun 20, 2015 at 4:44am PDT

Heard of red velvet cupcakes? Now there's red velvet hotcakes! These hotcake are as delicious as they look, on their own they are somewhat plain but when combined with the mascarpone and chocolate ganache, they are to die for! Some might say it's more like a dessert than a breakfast type dish, I say life's too short, dessert for breakfast - why not?

Address: 435 Blackburn Road, Mount Waverley, VIC 3149
Website: http://www.southsociety.com.au/

Meatball & Wine Bar

Beef meatballs with potato smash & red sauce! #meatballandwinebar #meatballs #melbournecbd

A photo posted by saccha (@sacchaeats) on Jun 15, 2015 at 1:02am PDT

Nothing more comforting than hearty meatballs & potatoes, especially during this wintry season. I opted for the beef (pasture-fed angus beef) with potato smash and red sauce (Italian tomato). This was a very heavy dish, probably too much for lunch, but definitely still a great meal!

Address: 135 Flinders Lane, Melbourne, VIC 3000
Website: http://www.meatballandwinebar.com.au/