French kiss me, Mr Croque.

. . .

[Bibo, 205 Sturt Street Ballarat 3350]

That below is an sneaky shot of the menu front cover…. it is also pretty much what I look like in the face of great food lending to the embarrassing “Homer Simpson drool” moments I often experience. The longer the wait, the longer the drool, and the harder the food needs to work to satisfy… if you get my drift?

Basically, we waited for quite a L-O-OOOOOONG time for the food to arrive, and as I was a hungry little hippo, I thought I was going to eat my ARM before the breaky beauties arrived. Luckily for lil Mr Bibo, his breakfast arrived, and it delivered! *Homer Simpson drool* (due to foodporn in the shape of fried, cheesy, melty yummies)

Menu, voi la!:

Eggs Florentine:

Just LOOK at the gorgeous fatty deliciousness. mmmmm

Croque Monsieur:

Oui monsieur, tres bien!

The food was pretty tasty, but the service lacked immensely. Which leads me to a question I often ask : Would you prefer good food/Bad service, or vice versa?

At the end of the day, its how the food tastes and looks etc… however the service and overall vibe of the venue plays part too. But we’ve all been to an eatery where the service is a real treat for the senses, and that all adds to the perfect breakfast experience.

ps. the place could do with a bit of a scrub and re-arranging, there seemed to be some very excellent booth areas that Mr and Mrs Cardboard box and his kids were occupying.

Next time you’re in “the rat”, be sure to at least pop by for a real treat. Just make sure you bring your patient hat, and hopefully it will be worth the wait!

. . .

Tastefully yours,

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Somewhere over the river

[Ray’s Cafe, 332 Victoria street Brunswick 3056]

Well hellooooo!,

You’re probably wondering who the hell this is??!!! yes, its been way to long, and I’m just about ready to burst at my seams with breakfasty goodness. My apologies for my extreme case of “cbf”…

This second part of 2011 seems to have been a slippery little sucker and time has got the better of me.

However!!!, I shall break that cycle today whilst I “break my fast”… (wow, I am in Dad joke mood!) 😉

So!, shall we?

Let me introduce you to Ray’s cafe:

[image below is from: http://www.yourrestaurants.com.au/guide/?action=venue&venue_url=ray]

You could probably tell from my very “south of the river focus” blog entries that I reside on the south of the River – that being the Yarra River for those of you playing along across the states or oceans. And yes, I know all the culinary excitement is all very much happening in the Brunswick/Fitzroy neck of the woods, however by the time I get ready and get over to the “other side”, I’m so ravenously hungry I could’ve eaten my arm! (so to speak)

So, about 450 odd days ago (not kidding, apparently its been about that long since I wrote anything!!!), I ventured out far and beyond to the lands across the river to test how long I can travel for without breakfast. I’m not going to lie, I had a mini meal before I left incase I turned into some sort of monster on PT.

[image below is from: http://www.yourrestaurants.com.au/guide/?action=venue&venue_url=ray]

I had the French Toast w/ sweet Labna and maple syrup.

The service was lovely and friendly, well presented, and great price… however it just wasn’t amazing. In hindsight, it would have been great to have some sort of compote or fresh strawberries, even orange and cinnamon to play with on this dish.

Mr “All sorts of lovely” had Poached eggs (perfect) on toast with capsicum and dukkah playmates. This is really what I should’ve orderd – hello food envy! lol!

It was fresh, balanced and owners of two very perfect poached eggs!

As Ray’s source their produce from local middle eastern suppliers, every dish had a unique middle eastern flavour that only a cafe off Sydney road could have.

Ray’s cafe offered great value for money and is tucked away off the buzzing Sydney road in Brunswick.

It however failed to completely excite me based on my dish alone, and with that I can only conclude will have to try it again 🙂

Hope you’ve been good to your taste buds and tummies, and stay tuned for the next update of “My life as a food junkie” lol! 😀

. . .

Tastefully yours,

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,

Solo Escorregadio

. . .

[RoseGPO Hotel, 1003 Point Nepean Rd Rosebud]

Open: All day, everyday for breakfast, lunch and dinner

Phone: (+613) 5982 3200

&

[The Box Stallion, 64 Tubbarubba Rd Merricks North]

. . .

Solo escorregadio, slippery when wet in Portuguese!!

No, I’m not learning Portuguese, however it does dance very fresh in my mind as I had a just a little taster for it and enjoyed and introduction into the language.

This girls’ weekend was a spit, drizzle and downpour away from being a washout. Lucky no-one slipt… 😉

We had breaky altogether on the saturday morning before we parted ways into impossibly heavenly Hot Springs and the surrounding area.

There was an unspoken consensus to order death by hollandaise sauce… I hardly order Hollandaise sauce, as it’s always so dubious and can easily go wrong. However, we ordered, we drowned and most were very satisfied.

(#1 was repeated a few times 🙂 )

Death by Hollandaise #1 with ham

Death by Hollandaise #1, with smoked salmon

Scrambled eggs and bacon

I’ll be honest, there was a little too much inconsistency and “blase” waiting staff. We had dinner there the night before and the young waitress brought my Pinot Noir over…it was white. Upon asking if that was supposed to be Pinot Noir, and she slaughed and said “yes, ofcourse”

It was one of my more embarrassing moments to advise the young lady that Pinot Noir is red wine… awkward.

Having said that, the eggs were perfectly poached (mmm poached-poke-ooze heaven) but I would’ve gone without the overtaking lava of Hollandaise.

Next stop on Ladies weekend was the Peninsula Hotsprings…. wow!

Below is a picture from their website of how magical it is as the sun sets.

We were there during the lunch/late lunch and were lucky enough to soak in some sunshine at points and some drizzle in others, that was also truly beautiful.

We left all lovely and pruned and relaxed like you wont believe and floated all the way to The Cups Estate and experienced some very lucky sunshine (much like last week!) and got some supplies for the weekend. Just quietly, this winery has probably one of the most beautiful views (see below), however their website doesn’t even market this serenity and landscape… strange.

Anyway, it’s an intimate and gorgeous place for lunch, pit stop or some wine in the sun overlooking the beautiful property. Bit muddy when wet, so bring appropriate footwear. 

Saturday evening was interesting… it all got very interesting upon entering the mostly 17-year-old infested time warp that is The Conti” (The Continental Hotel, Sorrento)

. . .

[The Box Stallion, 64 Tubbarubba Rd Merricks North]

Sunday, we had some wine tastings and settled down for some lunch under the heater at The Box Stallion

There were a few functions on, so it was bustling with laughter and the waiting team darted in and around the smallest of the clients.

Something to remind me of my old home…

Probably the most crunchy and “so bad for you”chips I have ever eaten…. soooo good. exactly what we needed after the night of Ace of base and dirty RnB.

The beautifully presented trio of dips with yesterdays bread… yesterdays bread was a special touch. *insert blank face here*

Lil miss “eww” and I shared some Beetroot, candied walnuts and feta salad which was just the most excited textures and flavours to have dancing around in our mouths!

For main, I ordered the below.
What is it? Juicy succulent garlic and buttery prawns on a bed of “risotto”, or rather soggy rice with sad celery that clearly wanted to die in yesterdays soup… (sorry, it was a strange contrast of “amazing and fresh” and “amazingly dead…”)

Chicken saltimbocca:
One really enjoyed hers, and the two other ladies thought it was bland and dry and didn’t enjoy the Polenta. (Me however, being a polenta fiend thought it was lovely)

Now this was, in hindsight, what I should’ve ordered!
Perfectly cooked Salmon on a bed of fresh salad and Haloumi. 🙂

Dessert was melt-in-your-mouth moorish and delicious! (but didn’t quite want to get my gear off…)

Sticky date pudding playing in caramel sauce: (DROOL!!!) with a side of fresh cream…. droool again!

Chocolate cake with strawberry reduction:

Girls weekend was such a success and can not wait for the next one 🙂
Always lovely to share good food, moments and laughs with a bunch of great quality ladies who will support you on your best and worst day.

thank you ladies for a lovely weekend, til next time…

. . .

Tastefully yours,

Menus:

While you wait…

Good morning (just) breakfast/food lovers,

Feel my pain if you will, I had written a fairly long entry about a beautiful and very tasty weekend with the girls and for some ridiculous reason it didn’t save…. Defeated, and drained, I went to bed to wait for a new day for inspiration.

In the meantime, for a food related read and pics, click and “like” the link below.

Link…. HERE! 🙂

(shameless, shameless plug)

Tastefully yours,

D) All of the above

. . .

[St Kilda Pelican, 16 Fitzroy Street St Kilda, Melbourne]

Food envy for me is part and parcel of my dining experience, that’s why I love when its tapas style – “mi casa es tu casa” (so to speak) & I’ve been to Pelican on numerous occasions, ironically never for breakfast and it’s always been on a warm summers eve getting amongst the warm summer vibe…

I know, I know, Melbs hardly experiences a TRUE winter (we’re currently sitting on 12.5 degrees….however, I AM COLD! …How did I ever survive a German winter…?

In this instance, I once again pretended it was summer and we sat outside… rookie error! Who can concentrate on pretending its summer, sipping a pretty summer drink when its freezing??

So we migrated to the cosy comforts of the indoors, surrounded by the aromas of the kitchen and the light hum of the conversation, normally quite busy – it was intimately quiet. 🙂

As I was too preoccupied trying to get my gear off at pretty much every mouthful and every drop of wine, this unfortunately hasn’t been properly visually documented.

However, I do have a little mish mash of photos from previous visits….(excuse the bad lighting and flashless phone camera)

Arancini balls lying on a bed of “heart attack” 🙂

(Fcking delicious)Moroccan lamb meatballs in sauce with yoghurt:

Char-grilled Calamari with a side of rocket drizzled with “delicious”

The one thing I couldn’t help but document was the dessert.

My English teacher taught me once that DESERT (as in “Bear Grylls stuck in the middle of a…”) has one “s”, and the other-DESSERT (the sweet delicious kind) has 2 “s” because you want more.

Fair enough.

And boy did I want more! We in fact went for an option called “All of the above” – I thought it was a joke, and cross my heart (Burz, this is for you beb) this was no joke!.

Please see below for “how I got diabetes”: (clockwise)

1) Creme Brulee with short bread (O.MY……..sweeeet Jesus, Mary and Joseph…..)
2) Minted lamington (hmmm, could’ve gone without)
3) Peanut brittle ice-cream (I went to the bathroom, and came back to find it mysteriously gone….so the verdict is good 🙂 )
4) Rich chocolate mousse cake (heavens above!!)
5) White chocolate Rocky Road with pistachio (mmmmmm)

Excuse the commentary, but seriously?? What in the world of decadent, moorish heaven was that??

I suppose “all of the above” options eliminates any chance of “food-envy”, it did however leave me in a severe sugar/life high.

(Pinky promise, my next Pelican visit will involve breakfast :))

. . .

Tastefully yours,