Dukes: Leaders in their own right

. . .
[Dukes, 169 Chapel Street WINDSOR]

Open: 7-4pm daily

Duke: A duke or duchess is a member of the nobility, historically of highest rank below the monarch, and historically controlling a duchy. The title comes from the Latin Dux, ‘leader’ (Wikipedia)

There is nothing more perfect than great Melbourne weather + beautiful company + amazing breaky.

On days like this, you could seriously soak in some of Melbourne finest vibes and fall into a beautiful food/coffee induced coma…

As weekends are a feeding frenzy on chapel street, all the best are packed to the rafters, as a result we sat up against the window – which was a blessing in disguise. I could “food-perve” without too much fuss :), and check out talent on chapel street-such a multitasker ;).

Aesthetically beautiful & simple menu: 

Smooth, creamy, deliciously & sensual Soy Chai Latte:

Beans on toast:

Shy had the very simple-sounding beans on toast, it was in fact the most fulfilling and rich marriage of flavours – perfect for the “day after the night before”

I had the free-range poached egg on avocado smeared (amazing) toast with CANDIED bacon… one word: WOW!

Fresh, creamy, and slight delicate “nuttiness” of the sesame seeds were a perfect accompaniment to my soy chai latte.

And did I mention: CANDIED BACON??? wow!!! 🙂

Check out this “poached-poke-ooze”: (drooling. right now!) 
Duke, a latin derivative of DUX: meaning leader is a very fitting name for densely populated location for coffee and breakfast.

. . .

Tastefully yours,

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Just ‘bent’ around the corner

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[Bent Espresso, 2/385 Centre Road Bentleigh ]

Phone: (03) 9557 1339
Open: Weekdays 7:30-3, Saturday 8-3, Sunday 7-2:30

I’m looking at the opening hours..and to be quite frank, I think I’m lying (got the information from here, so blame them :))

So Caz and I used to frequent this cute place in Hughesdale called “turtle” cafe like all the time!! (no, not the one in Elwood) And it was getting worrying that we only knew ONE place to breakfast. Then, it closed. Problem solved!!

On this fine day, we decided on somewhere local – we chose Bent espresso round the corner from us. We exchanged stories of the past year and what we’d been up to and enjoyed the mix of young and old (and middle) in a little cafe tucked away on Bent street in Bentleigh. (I’ve been here with Jess before I left for Germany, and had some amazing light treats) It was nice to do a full circle.

I’ve been on this savoury breakfast bandwagon for a while now, and as a result chose ‘corn fritters with bacon and 2 poached eggs.

(loving the way this looks right now)

Now, I dont want to spray too much negative commentary as the service is immaculate and I hear the coffees are to die for… I just think they were having an off day. Which is unfornutate, as I happened to experience that.

The meals were beautiful presented, the vibe was right, the service and clientele relaxed yet chatty… but the EGGGSSS!!!!! the beautiful poached eggs had been sitting a tad too long waiting….and consequently started to cook through.

Its really not as bad as I make it out – but there is something so sensual and exiting about a beautifully poached free range egg as you break through the whites to get to the gold inside…. The gloriously aesthetic yoke slowly oozes out like a volcano and I just can not with to taste it… not this time folks!!

I break thought the white eagerly and…

it just sat there all sad and solidified… my breakfast looked embarresed…

To give it credit though – its not as bad as Riverland…. oh god, Definately not as bad as that!!!!

I really don’t enjoy saying bad things about a cafe that is sooo good in so many other ways and especially since my previous experience was immaculate, but I’m sorry consistency is important. There’s no point having great eggs only when the good chef is working… 😦

The sad thing is, I loved my morning there with Caz, the atmosphere was buzzing and it was great to not be working on a “school day”. To me, the poached egg should be perfection, and its also saddening that everything else (atmosphere, service, fritters, bacon…) were all amazing. I just happen to be a poached egg freak!.

. . .

Tastefully yours,

High street, not low street

. . .
[ Grapeseed cafe, 1084 High street Armadale]

I have a friend called Angela, and all throughout highschool we called her Ang – and spelt it without an ‘e’ at the end…all of a sudden she decided to add the ‘e’… it has totally thrown my meaning of life… I guess its another reminder that nothing is permanent and I will have to get used to the change…

Change can be a wonderful thing, but often isn’t the easiest thing… so in the spirit of change, Ang(e), I have decided NOT to write about a certain amazing visit to Carlton, but in fact to complete the back log of yummies to get all up to date.

This gorgeous little place – actually not so little inside, is situated on High street near the corner of Kooyong and is a hub for the ‘yummy mummy’ type mixed in with the ‘pre-child young couple’ type and 20 somethings that wonder down for a quick bite or ‘lartay’ – clearly thats Ozzy for cafe Latte for those playing along at home. 🙂

I was here to meet my ‘little sister’ of Dining Room Diaries for a great big ol catch up since it had been a while.

We joked and ate and shopped all morning and just enjoyed the relaxing energy of High street.

She ordered 2 Free range poached eggs on Sour dough with a side of Avocado

And I ordered what I believe was from the lunch menu: Avo/Tomato/Crumbed fetta on toasted turkish bread. But in the spirit of ‘available all day’, who says you can’t eat ‘lunch’ for breaky?…. unless the waitress specifically says so, then i guess you’ve been told. *awkward*

I have to say, a little bit more on the presentation would have just done it… it was missing a gorgeous drizzle of olive oil for taste and aesthetic value. (Same goes for lil H) But it was still very delicious and very melbourne…and thats really what I was after.

And ofcourse, to wash this all down I ordered a fabulous soy chai latte which was pretty damn creamy and tasty 🙂

Prices are very average and anyone on any budget can find something delicious and quick to munch here, the service is quick and very friendly, and if you’re there on a sunny yummy day like ours – you’re mostly likely to sit back and soak in the warmth of the sun and energy of high street.

Now Ang(e), I do promise you will be ‘famous’ :), but as they say patience is a virtue… but you’re right, basically I need to stop procrastinating and get my groove on with these blogs!!!…

Please take a moment to pray for/think about the victims of the Floods in QLD and now Victoria… its time like these you realise your problems aren’t as big as others.

Please donate to the Queensland government to show your support. Click here for website

[If you’d like to view a review: click here]
. . .
Tastefully yours,

Joanna

Adiós. . . for now ☺

[Caffe Fiorino, Barcelona]

Heres a little picture story for my last spanish blog post…. for now 🙂

We started with creamy coffees and fresh OJs at Caffe Fiorino.

The view inside is warm and inviting with quick and simple food.

[Euskal Taberna, Barcelona]

We then decided lunch would be a ‘grazing’ affair, and in true spanish style we dabbled in tapas and sangria @Euskal Taberna. 🙂

The sangria was sweet, delicious and just what we needed after being on our feet all day.

[Taller de Tapas, Barcelona]

Paella was on the menu for dinner @ Taller de Tapas

Galician style octopus was amazing as usual, the fresh grilled ciabatta with garlic and tomato was crunchy and a nice break to cleanse the palatte.
And the Paella in broth was morish but quite simply not enough. We wanted more 🙂
We ended with a perfect espresso which was oddly strong for Barcelona, but still very welcomed.
As we were also quite close to Gelaaati di Marco, we once again had a nice serving of diabetes… eek!!

This concludes the ‘foodaholic in Spain’ segment… for now 🙂
Stay tuned for some more german flavoured tasty adventures 🙂

. . .

Tastefully yours,
. . .

Diagonally shopping [part 1]

[Diagonal Mar shopping centre, Barcelona]

[image from here]

I’m supposed to be posting all the lovely foods of Barcelona, but I just cant stop listening to Burberry acoustics tunes online… SO GOOD!!!

So here I am bopping away to tunes with a British flavour, reminiscing the delicious flavours of Spain…

I probably should put out a warning regarding the next few posts…
WARNING: If you dont like spain [why on earth would you not???] and/or spanish food [again, WHY??], then please, refrain from reading the next few posts… they will be covered in paella and delicious jamon. DROOL!!!!

Normally I wouldn’t be wasting a beautiful day in a shopping centre, especially in Spain, but it was a miserable day and as the gods would have it shopping was on the agenda for that day. [I am sooo smiling from ear to ear :)]

So, first point of call is naturally breakfast!

Here goes:

A view from where we were sitting at Khenyan Classic coffee. We were at the s/c super early like eager beavers, so this was one of very few open at this hour.
As lovely as the spanish are, I’ve become used to the German punctuality and as a result just ended up waiting for a lot of things to open…. but meh! We were on holiday- all the time in the world.

Fresh croissants and coffees: you can really tell here, but spanish croissants are GIANT and drowning in glistening sugar coating. [no complains here :)]

And here we have a beautiful espresso and my new obsession: Iberico Jamon bocadillos…. oh how I miss you!!!!

after breakfast, we were off to conquer the big beautiful world of spanish shopping…. Dynamically, diagonally shopping 🙂

. . .

Tastefully yours,

L u x e m b o u r g : c o f f e e

[cafe knopes, Luxembourg]

errrgh! I have such a back log of posts… this was from a couple of weeks ago, but its pretty good coffee, and its always really nice to wonder through Luxembourg oldtown when youre filled with sunshine and warm coffee. delish! 🙂

Les Coffeeshops Knopes sont des endroits entièrement dédiés au café. Que ce soit pour déguster un café sur place, demander des conseils de préparation, emporter un sac de café fraîchement torréfié chez soi, vous y trouverez tout ce que vous voulez savoir sur le café. A côté du café, nous vous proposons aussi des thés, boissons fraîches et originales ou encore des en-cas sucrés et salés.

Ouvert depuis 2002, ce Coffeeshop est situé dans une cour intérieure près de la bourse de Luxembourg. Cet endroit est devenu une référence au centre de Luxembourg pour tous les amateurs de café. Venez partager notre passion du café dans un endroit intime et chaleureux.

english: Coffeeshops Knopes The locations are completely dedicated to coffee. Whether for a coffee on site, ask for advice on preparation, carrying a bag of freshly roasted coffee at home, you’ll find everything you need to know about coffee. Besides coffee, we also offer teas, soft drinks and original, or sugary snacks and savoury.

Open since 2002, Coffeeshop is located in a courtyard near the Luxembourg Stock Exchange. This place has become a reference center in Luxembourg for all coffee lovers. Come share our passion for coffee in an intimate and warm

For some [beautiful] reason, whenever I have a coffee at Cafe Knopes its always sunny… I hope this coffee phenomenon  lasts all through the cold f*ck that will be winter… hahah, scuuuse my french, I’m just super anxious about the onset of a German/Luxembourg winter.

We had some super nice weather over the w/e, but today is serious poo!, and i’m only thinking its going to get colder and greyer… I hope it gets so cold though that it turns white. 🙂 or maybe I can just have an espresso, and all will be sunny and delicious again! 😉

Anyway, I hope its sunny where you are 🙂

. . .

Tastefully yours,

C a n t u c c i n i : b i s c o t t i

[meine wohnung, Trier]

I do this thing where if I eat really healthy, I think it gives me the license to then consume something not so…

For example, last night we had:

* Brown rice w/lentils, barley, mushrooms and tomatoes.

* Falafel.

* & a fresh leafy salad with a red wine from Apel.

so.. this morning, I felt like eating biscotti in my trackies… 🙂 Alright! 🙂

. . .

Tastefully yours,