Third time’s a charm

[St Edmonds, 154 Greville Street Prahran]

Just over a month ago I finally got to try some of St Edmond’s finest breakfast offerings, however I’m not going to lie… I did have a few sneaky peaks prior to this visit….

My first cheeky visit was a very chilli Wednesday eve for German “class” with my beautiful tutor (which reminds me to book in for another sesh soon!) & I was pleasantly surprised with the lack of “hustle and bustle” that goes part ‘n’ parcel with “newest kid in town”

On that occasion, I had the Calamari, and it was delicious! (but not enough) I had thought THEN the portions were quite small for this “working mans all day eatery”

Even the second little visit I had before the big “breaky date with the fellas” was a little (very teeny) disappointing… not as bad as going to SAT2, but it was still a very teeny let down.

The foundations were there though:

a) Great buzz in and out of the eatery.
b) Adorable staff that are well-informed with the menu and the design (a la Scanlan and Theodore, Projects of Imagination)
c) Pretty excellent atmosphere and design (They were playing they very beautiful self titled Bon Iver and that made everything dissolve away into a buttery dream…)

*In case things got a bit heated during your breakfasting…. 😉

 

Third times a charm as they say, and it was surely a charm…

Breakfast was with the “fellas” and it was a feeding frenzy on/off chapel street that morning!! We had just missed the ravenous queue that we successfully ignored as we feasted, none of us were willing to sacrifice a “slow breaky” experience for that fast crowd.. sorry!

Mr “wrapped to be back” and I ordered “Spanner Crab, Chilli omelette and Sesame crumble”:

It was delicious and crisp like a fresh winter’s morning:

Mr “I eat for two, but don’t look it” ordered the big breakfast with a perfectly poached pair of eggs:

Mr “good, thanks” ordered the scrambled egg and bacon (in a very teeny teeny) roll:

Someone once described Melbs to be like one big “small-town”… and I’d have to agree – I was discussing the very ups and some downs of St. Edmonds, and it wasn’t until I had spilled my guts to a particular waiter at my local lunching hole (aka urbanspoon’s “worst server ever” haha!! :)) he decided to advise of his connection to the all day eatery *insert embarrassment here*

Bother dinners were lovely, but not amazing…
Price vs Portion vs wait time was a little imbalanced, however not worth disregarding a repeat visit for.

Breakfast with the boys was a very excellent combination of Great food/friends/vibe.

The food was fast and delicious much like the waiting staff 😉

Don’t let my inconsistent experience deter you from trying the cutest little hangout south of the river. Much like any great eatery, the menu is ever evolving and they are amongst a handful of “new kids in town” so give ’em a chance and hit it up next time you’re in the Prahran area!! 🙂

Tastefully yours,

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Tennis ball vs MCC young members ball

. . .

[MCC young members ANZAC ball, Melbourne]

For many, Holy Thursday is the start of some heavy partying/drinking being Good Friday the next day and nothing being open.

Good Friday for some is a “write off day”, well it was for me: hot cross buns for breakfast coupled with unregretfully lounging in my PJs all day- “good” friday. I could go on about this day being the holiest on the christian calendar… but this is not the platform for my waning religious concerns…

This year, the Easter long weekend and ANZAC day falls on the same consecutive days of public holidays.
It is a good time to reflect on sacrifice, in whatever form that may be.

For me and my friends, it was sacrificing our dignity and “being a lady”, and just having a “leg-pumpingly” great evening. (“Leg-pumping”: a term coined post an incident involving a boy, a girl, and some leg pumping. Needless to say, it was a night full of laughs, regrets involving fast food binges and …memories)

We knew it was going to be large… on this eve, it started off with a tennis ball…

In the midst of the chaos of Work, work easter egg hunt and a delayed tram: I had 45 minutes to shower, get ready, and be at Miss P’s house. (Jesus!!)

Shower: TICK
Dress: TICK
Nails: “I’ll do it in the cabbage”
Cab: TICK
Shoes: TICK
Bag: “keys/cash/phone”
Tennis ball stuck IN THE GAP BETWEEN HEEL AND SOUL!!!!???:…. tick!! (how this even occurred without my knowledge is beyond me)

Yes, it was going to be a good night…

And this is what we feasted on:

I know right?…. Set menus usually kill me slowly with boredom – but I was excited!

Entrée: “Ocean Tray”

I actually like my scallops with roe – its visually more attractive and I love seafood, so I don’t see the problem with taste. (it’s a personal thing I know…) Everything else was moorish little mouthfuls. Not a fan of cauliflower mash with raisins though…

Main: Alternative between Chicken/couscous

or Veal on a bed of potato mash and beans.

I was secretly hoping for veal, and the girls were wanting chicken: win for me 🙂

The veal. was. delicious!!! Melt in your mouth, delicious. Albeit a bit cold as we were running a muck in the “vintage photo booth” (love!)

I’m a “vege-aquarian” (she says tentatively)…so I don’t eat much meat, however on the off chance I do, and its like this? YES PLEASE, Meat me!….. meat me please.

Dessert unfortunately was untouched…
My Pavlova tasted like cough syrup…

In the words of our P.I.M.P (b-rad), “Panna Cotta is always such a disappointment at these things” and plus, by this stage we were getting our dressed up selves on to the D-floor to join a bunch of white people dance like black people.

There was a lot of “dougie-ing”, and maybe a few “catdaddy-ing”. Watching men (some were boys) getting down with it, and sweating their bootys up a storm is truly entertaining.

This of-course wasn’t the last meal we had… HJs was good to us: chicken wrap… fcking awesome in the middle of the night 🙂

Hope you’re enjoying your time with family/friends and kick started this fine long weekend in style.

. . .

Tastefully yours,

Polished it all off.

. . .

[Borsch Vodka and tears, 173 Chapel St Windsor]

tel: (03) 9530 2694

Boasting more than 50 different types of vodka, this Polish Vodka bar and restaurant offers the best of the southside of Chapel street in a perfectly polish themed destination.

Whether you are a vodka fan or not, I’m postive either one of the following will win you over: Vibe, knowledgable friendly staff and amazing food – the kind of food that would give your grandma a run for her money!

We tried some flavoured vodka, some clear vodka and some truly amazing homely food.

Ang ordered “beetroot soup”…. I was dubious about this as I’ve never heard of it before, and couldn’t get the taste of canned beetroot soaking through bread out of my mind.

We were in for a surprise!

First, the colour was amazing and vibrant, and the aroma of the soup was overpoweringly goooood!

Most importantly, the taste was amazing. It was light and full of beetroot flavour, but not in a canned way.

Laura ordered Goulash, which was again amazing…. moorish, and full of flavour.

And I ordered a Polish style gnocci in broth which was also out of this world.

We had polished it all off in true Polish style, and sat back to enjoy the warmth of the food and vodka as we caught up on each-others lives.

(Yes, I have a tendency to add ‘non breakfasty’ type entries… In my defence however, I really think breakfast can be enjoyed many ways including last night’s leftovers or a traditionally ‘lunch type’ food. Breakfast is what you make it. Technically the first meal of the day, and I would be more than happy to enjoy a warm hearty soup some melbourne mornings 🙂 )

. . .

Tastefully yours,

A perfect embodiment of a concept

. . .
[The Paragon, 651 Rathdowne Street, Carlton North VIC]

Phone: (03) 9347 7715 ‎

Paragon, definition:

• an ideal instance; a perfect embodiment of a concept
• ideal: model of excellence or perfection of a kind; one having no equal

Had to get out of the house on this particular day… so Ang and I took a drive down to her ‘home away from home’ in leafy carlton – and we took a stroll to The Paragon.

Did some reading, and this establishment has been around for over 25 years!!! whoah baby! and I’d never stepped foot into nor heard of it before… awkward.

Ang, being a big foodie and coming from a big family of foodies, had heard about this place, so we just had to try it.

We werent that hungry (due to the heat) and so we were fancying a shareplatter of some sort.

Antipasto platter:

Looks amazing doesn’t it?…and it was except for the ‘so off it was tangy’ roasted capsicum… fail!.

Fortunately for us, the waiter/waitress was amazing (we had one older charming gentleman, and a friendly waitress fighting for our table ;)) and were able to promptly bring us out another platter…that wasn’t tangalicious.

Take 2:

With a beautiful wine in hand, we people watched, and enjoyed the balmy evening in leafy Rathdowne street.

Prices are reasonable for such a polished establishment, and service was quick and very charming – pity the food wasn’t checked before sending it out… uhoh!

One of the beautiful qualities of melbourne is our love of food, and the outdoors…I’d missed that being away. Sure there is an unbelievable amount of culture and history in Germany, but the variety choice doesn’t exist.

Having said that though, my stadt (city) Trier, in Germany, was one of the most amazing places I have visited. Living there had its ups and down, but overall I enjoyed coming home to Trier. It was my home away from home.

Sara, if you’re reading this HELLO! 🙂 wie gehts? Ich vermisse dich! and ofcourse Russell – greetings to you too! (Hope you’re well lubed up with a cocktail or two for birthday celebrations!! blue cadillac much? :))

To all in the fairy tale city of Trier, I hope you’re safe, warm and having fun. I miss you all and hope to see you all one day very soon.

bis bald!

Tchuess!!

. . .
with love and tastefully yours,

Angels in London [part 1]

[Delhi Grill, Angel]

Being in London again was a strange feeling – like awaking from a really vivid dream. I visited my old place of work, and caught up with my dearest ex-boss and it was like I’d never left. Except so much had changed, including myself.

It’s an amazing buzz just to be surrounded by the assorted energies London has to offer. Coming from the somewhat quiet ‘town’ of approx 100, 000 populated Trier [or 120,000, depending on who’s talking] it was a shell shock for approximately 1/2 hour, then the ‘city’ me kicked in…I walked a little faster and was  a little bit more aware of my surroundings. I whipped out my Oyster, as I whipped my hair back and forth…[hehe!]

I was getting the feeling that I could absolutely MURDER SOME INDIAN & ASIAN FOOD!!!! and pretty much as soon as I walked through customs, I was on my hunt for a) Amazing LDN Indian food & b) Salt pepper squid!!

We went to this amazing Indian place round the corner from Roy/zel’s on Chapel Market in Angel by the name of ‘Delhi Grill’

[I had an excess of images, so I bunged them all into a sweet package for your viewing pleasure….]

We feasted on Lamb, Chicken, Beef, Lentils, Samosas, Naan and Papadams. For dessert Kulfi was on the menu!! – I’ve never tried this before, but it was amazingly creamy and decadent.

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I think this is where I totally need to apologise for comments re: LDN food/customer service… I take it back. I really do, I have to give LDN credit for some perrrty good Indian, and Delhi Grill is, as they pride themselves on ‘Indian food as it should be…freshly ground spices, slow cooked and not swimming in oil. It was a delicious guilt free meal that was easy on the hip pocket.

If you like a bit of Indian to warm up a ‘brain-freeze’ worthy evening and NOT feel like you went for a curry swim – head to Delhi Grill, satisfaction guaranteed.

. . .

Tastefully yours,

Joanna

Decadent, moorish Onion soup…

[Wirthaus zur Glocke, Trier]

The thought of warm, homestyle German food saved me from drowning under snotty tissues that weekend…

We FEASTED on some of the most delicious food in Trier. Paul and I had been there previously whilst his folks & Linda were down and it was a hit for all the senses!! So we thought only fit to present this little gem to the 2 out of 3 Ts that were down to celebrate Paul’s geburtstag [birthday] 🙂

The 3Ts opted for matching meals for a team bonding session : Cordon Bleu Veal from the ‘November Menu’

Cordon bleu Veal
filled with ham and mozzarella cheese,
to potato wedges and sprouts
€ 15.80

And I opted for the Onion soup from the regular menu, and Mussels from the ‘November Menu’

Mussels with White wine sauce

(500 grams)
served with Pumpernickel and mild salted butter 
€ 11.90

 

 

The soup missed its portrait shot as it went straight into my tummy… 😮 But the pictures of Mussels above don’t do it justice… THEY WERE ABSOLUTELY GIANT PORTIONS!!!

The soup was so good in fact, it shooed my cold away!!! Extremely delicious and creamy and…. I just cant praise it anymore.

If you’re wandering the streets of Trier, you must tuck yourself away for a real treat of the town!

do it! ☺

 

. . .

Tastefully yours,

. . .

Delicious & beautiful

[La Llavor dels Origens Restaurant, Barcelona]

Love it when I see a forecast like this! It’s sunny and blue skies. Even though the actual temperature is low, the sun is warm and soaks right into your skin.

So, yesterday morning [when I STARTED writing… finishing now :)] I was listening to Rosie on Triple J requests whilst indulging in some natural full fat yoghurt with honey – streaming it of course and some Live recordings of Jonsi came on – what a perfect way to spend a little blogwritn in the sun listening to that magical sound. 🙂 right?

Lets get right into it then….

Restaurant La Llavor dels Origens has 4 destinations tucked away in Barcelona – we happened to stumble along the one in the ‘Born zone’ [please click here for other locations] I think it’s always a good sign when a restaurant is filled to the brim with locals! – and this was no exception.

A lot of work has been poured into the overall ambience, menu, website and the ‘brand’ . By promoting locally produced and organic goods the restaurant holds strong and in the minds and mouths of the customers.

The vibe is adjacent with the view – its warm, inviting, relaxed and ‘organic’…if that makes sense? i.e. everything has a very natural feel including the very personable staff and the presentation. Very ‘home-cooked’ and oozing with love in every corner. Its warm and informative staff glide across the restaurant floor chatting and taking orders and laughing. I know… it sounds all very exaggerated…but it honestly just felt as thought they were merrily gliding along they merry way.

We were presented with what is essentially a magazine… menu yes, but it definitely covers all questions, if you had any, about the produce, the wine even right down to the vinegar.

Initially we were overwhelmed, but our angst was quickly lessened by the information provided – it essentially empowered the consumer to make the right choices for the evening and beyond.
As the menu seemed extensive and so very packed with useful information, the decision was becoming harder and harder to make.

The tasting platter choice was appealing, however maybe a little TOO much food… even for me. 🙂

Wine for the evening was the local speciality:

Now, the photos really don’t do the food justice… the lighting was low and all I had was my phone. But I tell you, the food was amazing! seriously tasty and simple food. Def worth a second, third… repeat visit.

We ordered a few dishes to indulge in together, starting with the Roasted zuchinni with mozzarella:

& Stuffed octopus with squid ink:
[this was delicious but were left with black teeth and mouths… so maybe dont order this on a date :)]

Slow cooked rabbit with caramelised onion and potatoes:
I’m not a fan of rabbit…so I didn’t have much of this one.

& Last, but not least, baby octopus stew type thing cooked in own juices and served with soft and delicious beans.

I felt satisfied and ‘culinarily’ loved through and through… after all that wine and gorgeous ‘homestyle’ local food – I was pretty much ready for a lie down and taking off the belt :)…BUT…we somehow found some room for gelato, which was down the road at Gelaaati di Marco.

This was some seriously delicious gelato with the usual and the very unusual flavours : eg Avocado, croissant, Rice…

You can never really be too full for amazing dessert like this…. really 🙂
Hopefully this cleared the bad taste in your mouths after reading ‘a huntsman abroad‘… sorry about that 🙂

. . .

Tastefully yours,