Cafe Review: Badger Creek Blueberry Farm Winery & Cafe

Location: 11 Garnook Grove, Badger Creek

Link: www.mantirri.com.au
Cuisine: Cafe style food

Driving up and around the Dandenongs, we noticed a 'Blueberry farm' sign. We decided to follow the signs and we found ourselves at the Badger Creek Blueberry Farm Winery & Cafe.
As we had already had lunch, we decided to each have lovely iced coffees together. Very quickly, we realised there were blueberry smoothies on offer but it was too late as our iced coffees had arrived. Will definitely make a point to come back here to give those smoothies a go the next time I'm in Healesville.

Overall Impression: 6/10

What a lovely cafe with beautiful surrounds. Really wish we had more time there to actually go on a blueberry picking adventure. 

And on a side note, Badger Creek reminds me of Badgers. And Honey Badgers...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4r7wHMg5Yjg

Restaurant Review: RA, Collins Quarter

Location: Collins Quarter, 86a Collins St,Melbourne

Phone: (03) 96508500
Link: http://www.collinsquarter.com/
Cuisine: Modern Australian
Overall Impression: 6/10

RA is well known among the younger corporate crowd. Jam packed on a Friday night, this upmarket city pub is tucked away in an alley (in a very Melbourne sort of way). Less known is the fact that they offer delicious food for those seeking to reward their taste buds.
I had the opportunity to sample their Christmas menu…

 Turkey Gallotine
Stuffed with Lemon and Oregano served with Tequila cherries and caramalised pistachio

 Pims!

 Roast Pork Belly with Bread Stuffing, Grain mustard coleslaw and Roast yellow peaches

Christmas Pudding with Brandy Anglaise
Service was prompt and friendly. The food was wonderfully Christmas-y =) The pork had good crackling, the turkey was tender, the pudding was moist! It was simple and to the point.

Restaurant Review: Woolshed

Location: t18/161 Harbour Esplanade, Docklands

Phone: (03) 8623 9640
Link: www.woolshedpub.com.au
Cuisine: Modern Australian

Had the opportunity to try their Christmas dinner menu. This gastropub dishes up delicious food. Everything was plated up beautifully and tasted just as good as it looked! Great for a group function.

Restaurant Review: Om Vegetarian

Location: Level 1, 28 Elizabeth St, Melbourne
Phone: (03) 9663 0062
Link: www.omvegetarian.com
Overall Impression: 5/10

Was catching up with the lovely Phermonh. Being vegetarian, she suggested this restaurant called Om Vegetarian. I have actually never heard of this restaurant until then. She sold it to me as being $6.50 for an 'all you can eat' dinner. I was shocked but also now very curious. So I spent the rest of the week before our catch up getting really excited about what a $6.50 buffet would look like.

When we arrived, I realised it was not so much 'all you can eat', but more feel free to ask for more, which in my opinion, are two very different things. The latter requires a thicker skin.

What happens is you are served with a plate filled with food (as pictured) and you can go up to the counter and ask for refills.

I ended up asking for a little more of the basmati rice and curry potato and we both left well fed.

It is hard to say anything too harsh about a place that charges you $6.50 for dinner so I won't. The food was very basic but at the end of the day it delivered what it promised. Thanks for the lovely catch up, Phermonh! I look forward to more vegetarian meals with you.

Dulce de Leche (Spanish caramel) at Koko Black

Dulce de Leche is a thick, caramel-like milk-based sauce or spread popular in Latin America. It was by chance that I discovered its deliciousness. Travelling around Europe with my family and spending some time in Argentina when I was about 12, we met a friendly young girl who was about 18 at that time (the same age as my sister who had not come along with us on the trip). She asked if she could be our pen-pal to improve her English and my sister and little Miss Argentinian developed a friendship over the letters they sent each other. She decided to visit us during the Melbourne summer a year later and we welcomed her into our home. She brought along with her, jars and jars of Dulce de Leche and that was when I had my first taste. It was delicious. I spread it on everything I could - bread, crumpets, pancakes, crackers! It was a good summer.

Since then, I have been in search of places where I can have good Dulce de Leche.

Koko Black is one such place.

Over Easter, my mom surprised me with these Dulce de Leche filled bunnies from Koko Black and they were delicious. There are many other products in store at Koko Black that have Dulce de Leche in them and it is always a treat!

:)

Cafe Review: CHATIME

Location: 28 Elizabeth St, Melbourne

Phone: (03) 9663 9998

Link: http://www.chatime.com.au/

Taro Milk Tea with pearls

Matcha (Green tea) and red bean with pearls 

Step aside Bubble Cup, there is a (relatively) new kid on the block!

Chatime offers a premium milk tea and pearl experience. As ridiculous as that sounds, it is true.

The use of good quality Taiwanese tea and flavourings that are far less artificial than the usual deal means that this store usually has a queue. But it is well worth the 2 minute wait. What you get is a delicious and refreshing milk tea. The only down side is that it commands a slightly higher price for its premium offering. It was $5.70 (excluding extra charge for pearls etc) for a large 'Taiwan Taro Milk Tea' (pictured above). But I don't think I have ever taste Taro milk tea so good. It tasted very natural and the bits of creamy taro were delicious and added a nice textural element to the drink.    

Overall impression: 7/10 

Restaurant Review: Ga mi

Location: 535 Lt Lonsdale St Shop G, Melbourne

Phone: (03) 9670 3232

Cuisine: Korean

Overall impression: 7/10 

I have never eaten a plate of Chicken anus before. Nor have I thought it would ever be necessary. That was, until that ill-fated night, when I lost some weird game we were playing at the table at Ga Mi and I took my first bite. To be honest, it really did not taste as bad as I had thought it would. It was foreign and strange, as opposed to gross (taste-wise, that is...). The plate of chicken anus that Ga Mi had plated up was filled with flavour, so I don't blame the chef for the unpleasant experience I had. It was the textural elements of the anus itself that I had a problem with. I don't think I have ever tasted anything quite so muscle-ly, sinew-y and packed with cartilage. Like I said, it was strange.

But the chicken anus dish is not what Ga Mi has gained a cult following for. The reason I love Ga Mi is for its fried chicken. It comes in three varieties- original, sweet chilli and garlic. Personally, I prefer the original (sans sauce) chicken. Crunchy and tasty. It is kind of like KFC, but for the fact that it taste a lot less artificial. Its hard to describe but I'm sure you will understand once you've tried it. And how could you ever go wrong with a nice bucket of fried chicken. Yum!

Cafe Review: Best Vanilla Slice: Just Fine Food

Location: 23 Ocean Rd, Sorrento, 3943

Phone: (03) 5984 4666

Cuisine: Cafe style

Overall impression: 7/10 

We were in Sorrento for a relaxing weekend away with my sister, my brother-in-law and my beautiful baby niece. It's cold this time of the year but we enjoyed how much more tranquil Sorrento felt. It was a wonderful trip filled with wine-tastings, wine-purchases and excessive food consumption.

We decided to try out the illustrious Sorrento vanilla slice from Just Fine Food. Its always interesting to see whether something lives up to the hype that surrounds it. And in the case of this vanilla slice, it certainly did! My tastebuds were in heaven, every moreish morsel was delectably balanced. I find vanilla slices in general far too sweet for my liking but these struck the perfect balance.

The pastry quite literally melted in my mouth and yet did not lose its sheet-like textural elements. The custard filling was smooth and delicate with a hint of lemon twang to it. It was delicious. I tried not to think about the amount of calories I was consuming because it tasted decadently deadly.

But yes, beautiful.

Restaurant Review: Crystal Jade

Location: 154 Little Bourke St, Melbourne

Phone: (03) 9639 2633

Cuisine: Chinese

Overall impression: 5.5/10 

Crystal Jade is one of the few restaurants that offer yum cha alongside good and prompt service. It has a nice ambience and if you are seated near the glass windows, it is such a delight to look out and see the bustle of China Town. 

As far as the yum cha experience goes, the food certainly meets expectations. Although the Xiao Long Baos do not hold a candle to Hutong's offerings, the rest of the items were very good. The following are some of the dishes we had.

 

It was perfect for the relaxing Sunday brunch we were after.

Cafe Review: Barista Espress

Location: TG03, Ground Level,  Goldsborough Lane, 181 William Street, Melbourne

Phone:  (03) 9670 6620

Cuisine: Cafe-style food

Overall impression: 5/10 

     

I finally got to catch up with my  wonderful ex-colleagues after months of planning! It wasn't a particularly good day for a catch up. The weather was horrible - it was absolutely freezing, and very soon, we could see the rain falling down from where we sat.

We quickly forgot about the weather.  JW had just returned from an exciting trip and it was really good to see her and ASP had exciting news about a delicious man in her life.

Neither of us had eaten at Barista Café but this was a pleasant experience. The food met expectations, the coffee was better than average and the service was prompt.

Being in Goldsborough lane is pretty cool too cause that meant we could do a bit of shopping before returning to our respective work places.

 Pizza with side salad

Creamy mushroom and avocado rigatoni