Adriano Zumbo Patissier - #MELB2014

DAY 3

Ah, Adriano Zumbo. He needs absolutely no introduction, and I was so excited to visit his Melbourne store especially after seeing all of his amazing creations on Masterchef as well as all over social media.

Zonut $5

Flavour of the week: Spicy chocolate mudcake and marinated cherries

The day this photo was posted on their Facebook and Instagram page was the day before we left for Melbourne so I immediately sent a screenshot to my friends who would be accompanying. Let's just say they weren't too pleased seeing as we had seen flavours such as 'mousse au chocolate with orange and brandy snaps', 'coconut and dark chocolate' and 'spiced mascarpone with caramelised pecans and candied orange' all over their Facebook page. It was actually an absolute delight! I realised I actually enjoy the combination of chilli and chocolate way more than I thought. The mudcake was rich and very chocolatey, and the amount of spice it contained was just right to provide a bit of a kick! The marinated cherries were sweet and reminiscent of jam, a perfect accompaniment to the mudcake. The zonut itself was flakey, buttery and all you could really want from a cronut.

Pars the strawberry gran $9

Strawberry & white chocolate mousse, frangipane, parsley jelly and granola

A super light cake with subtle, fresh flavours. The mousse was light and fluffy while the cake base was spongey. The parsley jelly had a very obvious parsley taste on its own, but when paired with everything else it was barely noticeable. The granola added a crunchy texture and nuttiness into the mix, giving a well rounded dessert. We all shared this but I could have easily eaten the entire thing myself!

Parsley jelly layer!

Zumbarons for the trip home! A dozen for $30

I am so disappointed to report that although they were beautiful, they didn't live up to my expectations. The textures all varied from crumbly and dry to slightly chewy. I found that many of the fillings contained too much butter (I think?) that the flavours weren't coming through very well. For example, the Grape Hubba Bubba (far right). Just look at that filling to biscuit ratio! Honorable mentions go to the Berry Brulee (2nd from the right) and Malted Milkshake (the blue one) which were my favourites in terms of flavour and texture.

I was a little let down by the Zumbarons but the cake and Zonut were fantastic! Can't wait for my next visit so I can try the other beautiful things on display. Service was friendly and efficient, and the store is gorgeous!

Soda Rock Diner - #MELB2014

Day 3 - Lunch

Already the last day of our super short trip! Today we wanted to fit in a trip to Chapel St as well as go to Adriano Zumbo, Burch & Purchese and possibly even Luxbite. Having already visited Zumbo in the morning, we decided to do a quick, fuss-free lunch. We really struggled to find a place to eat, and ended up here at Soda Rock Diner.

What a claim to make!

50s style booths with cute little jukeboxes. Our waitress was getting around in skates!

Chicken Breast Nuggets $7.95

Chicken breast coated in golden crumbs

Ordered to satisfy the little kid in all of us! I think this was also our first time trying ranch dressing. The nuggets tasted like your typical 'out of the supermarket freezer aisle' nuggets.

Cheese fries $7.95

A bowl of crispy fries smothered in melted tasty cheese

This looked ridiculously good when it arrived at the table. Unfortunately the chips had no salt on them so it was all rather bland.

   

Hubcap $8.95

Beef patty, lettuce, tomato, pickes, sweet pickle relish, mustard and mayonnaise

Cheeseburger $7.95

Beef patty, double tasty cheese, ketchup

3 of us went for their most popular burger, the Hubcap, and Kym went for something a little simpler, the Cheeseburger. All burgers were tasty but nothing special. The patties were inconsistently cooked, with some of us served very dry beef. I don't know about the claim of being Melbourne's best beef burger! We all thought the bun was going to be very dense and difficult to eat but it was actually very soft yet still held the burger together.

American candy and snacks on the counter by the till

Quite standard food but I really liked the relaxed vibe of the whole restaurant. Can't say it's at the top of my places to revisit the next time I'm back in Melbourne, though!

Shanghai Street Dumpling - #MELB2014

Day 2 - Dinner

I've been wanting to try xiao long bao ever since they first appeared on my instagram feed a while back. I wanted to try out HuTong Dumpling Bar but apparently you have to call and book in advance to secure a table. Instead, my friends and I dropped into Shanghai Street Dumpling which also seems to be rather popular. We decided to have an early dinner after an exhausting shopping expedition at DFO in South Wharf before spending the evening at the Eureka Skydeck and the CBD for more shopping and food, so getting a table was no issue at 5:30pm.

Seafood fried rice $12.80

Nothing really special about this - just your standard fried rice with prawns, fish and crab cake slices. The rice wasn't too soggy which I liked.

Fried pork dumplings $9.80

Tasty but nothing special. I liked how the dumpling skins weren't too thick.

Steamed chicken and prawn dumplings $9.80

These look rather sad, don't they? Again, nothing special!

Steamed chicken and prawn xiao long bao $11.80

I was so excited when these came out because I thought I was finally able to try my first xiao long bao! Imagine my disappointment when I placed one on my spoon and bit into the skin, only to find that there was no soup or even meat juices in it... Such a let down. The filling was identical to the steam chicken and prawn dumplings.

 Chinese broccoli with oyster sauce $11.80

We ordered this just to satisfy our veggie intake for the meal. You can't really screw this up and they didn't! My only criticism was that it was a little oily, but what else do you expect from Chinese food?

Unfortunately, that was a rather average meal and I'm so upset about the xiao long bao! This place would be good to satisfy your Chinese food cravings, as there is a decent menu and the food arrives at the table very efficiently. Warning - do not come here expecting fantastic service because you get the complete opposite. Honestly, the waiters and waitresses all look like they hate their job, and they will just plonk the dishes down on your table (even if the plate doesn't fit) and saunter off. Oh well...  

Manchester Press - #MELB2014

DAY 2 - Breakfast

Another place that was on my list of places to dine in Melbourne was Manchester Press. I knew it was hidden in a laneway so I expected it to be a little difficult to spot. We eventually tracked it down and thought it was closed because there was absolutely no indication it was even open! The laneway was completely empty, but we noticed the signage and found the entrance with ease.

Already pretty busy! Spot the cold drip coffee maker to the right.

Baked goods at the counter which we spotted only after we were absolutely stuffed and paying for our meal at the counter. I would've loved to try the Salted Caramel Cookie Sandwich!

Juice of the day $6 

Apple, Watermelon, Strawberries & Mint

BEST. JUICE. COMBO. EVER!

 Salami & bocconcini closed bagel $11.50

w/ pesto & roquette

Michelle's dish contained one my absolute favourite sandwich combinations ever, and it definitely didn't disappoint! Also, I've never seen rocket referred to as 'roquette'...

 Basil pesto & pasta salad $13

w/ tomato medley, kalamata olives & pine nuts

A super simple pesto pasta salad of yet another foolproof combination of ingredients. Kym thinks this would've been perfect for lunch!

 Open Smoked Salmon Bagel $13

w/ dill cream cheese & baby capers

If you love smoked salmon, this is what you must order. This is a very simple combination of flavours, with the bagel absolutely piled up with smoked salmon. Now I'm a huge fan of it myself,  but there was SO much of it. Camella was struggling!

Reuben Rachel closed bagel $13

Thick cut pastrami w/ swiss cheese, sauerkraut & thousand island dressing

I saw pastrami on the menu and just had to order this, and I'm so glad I did. All four of us agreed it was the best dish ordered! The pastrami was tender and full of flavour, and the sauerkraut wasn't too overpowering. Paired with swiss cheese and the dressing, and you've got yourself a winner! If anyone in Adelaide can suggest any places where I'll be able to get a good pastrami/Reuben/Rachel sandwich, I will be forever grateful! I seriously haven't been able to stop thinking about this combo. 

Up close. I'm craving this just looking at the picture while I type up this review!

Hands down our absolute favourite meal we had while in Melbourne. Nothing disappointed us, with the food all being delicious and at such fabulous prices! No wonder this place is well loved. I can't wait to come back to Melbourne just to have these awesome bagels again! I've heard the pulled pork is also amazing. Couldn't recommend it anymore!

Suda - #MELB2014

DAY 1 - DINNER

The original plan for dinner on Day 1 was to go to Chin Chin on Flinders Lane, but we were too exhausted from our crazy day of shopping to go looking for it and then be forced to wait at least an hour for a table. Instead, we visited Suda, a place closer to our apartment which came highly recommended by another friend who'd dined here multiple times and has never been disappointed. Looking at the menu before I was even in Melbourne, I'd say it's a fusion Korean restaurant with lots of modern takes on traditional Korean food.

The address was a little confusing, apparently located at 550 Lonsdale St which turned out to be in a lane just off Lonsdale St. It can easily be spotted by the sign out the front featuring a purple snail.

 Hot green tea

I first tried it earlier this year in Adelaide and just fell in love with it. I'd ordered green tea but found that the bag of green tea also contained brown rice. The rice gives it a really comforting, woody smell. Upon further research, I've discovered this is called Hyeonmi nokcha, a roasted brown rice infused green tea. So good!

Minty Plum Iced Tea $4

Apparently this tasted like cordial because of its sweetness!

The four of us opted for the 'Feed Me' option. For $29 per person, we had a chef's selection of 11 tapas and main dishes, as well as a dessert.

Soft tofu salad 

First up was a little salad presented in a cappuccino cup. Silken tofu sat on a bed of lettuce, topped with a creamy dressing which had flavours of soy and mustard. We all really enjoyed it and I thought it was a great way to start the meal with something light and refreshing.

Mini tteok-galbi burgers

Tteok-galbi, brioche, mayo, cos lettuce

Galbi is a marinated meat, usually beef or pork, that is very popular in Korean cuisine. The small burgers weren't that impressive, although I really liked the slight sweetness from the galbi marinade.

K-popcorn chicken

Korean style crispy chicken, peanut, spring onion, sweet chilli

I could have eaten this entire plate by myself! Perfectly sized, crunchy pieces of chicken covered in a sweet, sticky and slightly salty glaze. I feel like this would be perfect to snack on over a cold beer!

Lotus root chips and spicy mayo

These were probably the best lotus root chips I've had so far! I liked that the chips themselves weren't too salty so they tasted great with the mayo, which wasn't too spicy but still packed a bit of a punch.

Tteok & Haloumi

Crispy rice cake, grilled haloumi, plum honey, seeds

I love tteokbokki so it was different to see tteok used in a completely different dish. Tteok and haloumi is a combination I'd never even think of! The tteok was very glutinous and chewy, and had a very thin crispy skin as well as a sweet glaze of plum honey. A little odd, but I think it's worth trying!

Crumbed Seafood Pancake

Spring onion, seafood, bread crumb

Chunky bits of spring onion and squid were easily identifiable amongst the rest of the pancake. So tasty, especially with the light soy dipping sauce!

Gorgonzola garlic pizza

Gorgonzola, garlic, plum honey, seeds

I really liked the thin, crispy texture of the base but I found the plum honey way too overpowering. There was so much of it, it was dripping everywhere and eventually soaked into the base. Not our favourite dish of the night.

Bulgogi pasta

Bulgogi, shiitake mushroom, shredded egg

Our first main dish of the night and I really liked it! The pasta was cooked al dente and was coated in a delicious, slightly sweet savoury sauce. The bulgogi was also delicious, very tender and full of flavour. I could've finished this entire plate!

Tteok-galbi & kimchi gratin

Kimchi pilaf, cream sauce, mozzarella

The slightly spicy kimchi rice under the layer of galbi and mozzarella was ridiculously good. It packed the perfect amount of punch and I feel like it would be perfect on a winter evening. Also, the galbi was so, so tender. 

Kimchi pork belly stew

Slow cooked pork belly, kimchi, potato, tteok, a bowl of multigrain rice

This reminded me a lot of the tteokbokki I make at home using gojuchang, which is a Korean red pepper paste. This stew had a very obvious gojuchang base, and the pork belly was very tender and fatty. It was a pretty chilly night so this was perfect to have just before we headed out the door!

We'd originally chosen desserts to finish off with, but we were just so full after the mains. We ended up paying only $26 each. We loved almost all of the dishes, finding that our least favourites were all a little too sweet. The service was nothing special, but I do have to point out that they weren't very subtle at checking whether or not we had finished with each course. I guess I can't complain though, because everything was perfectly timed as we were brought out dish after dish. The 'Feed me' option is such fantastic value for money and I will happily come back here the next time I'm in Melbourne to try out more of their menu!