Big mouth, big appetite, big adventures!

[Big Mouth, 168 Acland Street St Kilda, Victoria]

[“Big Frenchy”, Big Mouth St Kilda]

It was a Sunday morning, and the morning was fresh and dewy from the pitter patter of light rain and brand new day. We were off to meet friends who were getting ready for a very big adventure for their little family. We ordered, and I was greeted with the above… Is it not just the most delightful, mouth-watering and beautiful combination of colours and ingredients you have ever set your “Sunday blues” filled eyes??

There is something about a perfectly poached egg, all bouncy, and ready to ooze its perfect “poached-poke-ooze”… You’ve heard me rant on about it before, but seriously… seeing that hot yoke slowly slide down the little poached egg white mountains as it meets the muffins and salmon – it is just divine!!

Have a peruse through the menu for something delicious that may come your way when you’re in St Kilda next.

& See for details (from their Facebook site):

Some people do yoga, exercise or anything to relax and remind yourself of how beautiful the world can be. I breakfast! and I breakfast often. Whether you’re a local or travelling through, be sure to try any of Melbourne’s finest breakfast offerings. It will bring a smile to your face and a warmth through your bellies.

Tastefully yours,

Advertisement

New York state of mind

Ah hoi hoi!

Approximately 2 years ago, I started blogging my food/travel/food+travel adventures, and I’ve rebloged one of the first entries from what feels like a lifetime ago.

I love breakfast (and food) a little too much, and I wonder where this near obsession will lead me to….?! So far, I have had the pleasure and honour of being a lucky little Melbournian Vegemite, so most of my adventures have been here.

However, over the years, I have been very fortunate to taste some very interesting dishes from some parts of the world. My adventures have only begun, travel is and will be a part of my life…for life.

So…. please join me walk through some delicious and “tasteful” memories of the past coupla years.

lots of love!! and tastefully yours,
Joanna

Available all day

. . .
[ New York tomato: Cnr New & York Streets, Richmond ]

For months I was calling this place New York Apple-for obvious reasons…It wasn’t until I went back for an encore I realised I’d been telling everyone about a mystery location! Oops!

So, a good travel buddy of mine suggested this amazing place nestled in the little streets of Richmond that was the perfect hang over cure! (good food, cosy, and you can wear your dark glasses and still look a little bit ‘last night’ and it’s totally ok!)

Boy was I in for a treat, this place is a cosy little hide out to discuss last night, to have a date, to be alone, to meet like-minded locals and just to enjoy your Sunday late morning nourishing your mind and feeding your soul.

The selection is wide and the choices are many… Sweet or savoury, fresh…

View original post 138 more words

Yup, i could go a cheese platter for breakfast.
That, coupled with a stimulating french pear cider… could possibly be in heaven.

*click on the link to have a read through a pretty gorgeous blog!

. . .

Tastefully yours,

SUGAR & CLOTH

What’s better than cheese and crackers? A good excuse to eat them. And that, my friends, is exactly what this super cute slate cheeseboard will give you– All for under $5.

1 | Slate tile (you can get free samples at tile & flooring stores)

2 | Felt Circles

3 | Olive oil

4 | Chalk marker / chalk (optional)

1 | Scrub (thoroughly) and rinse your slate piece, and pat dry.

2 | Coat all surfaces of the slate with olive oil, then scrub and rinse slate again. This will condition the surface and help create a barrier between the slate & food. Once you’ve scrubbed and rinsed the second time, apply one last coat of olive oil and dab away the excess. *

3 | Apply adhesive felt circles to each of the four corners.

4 | Using a chalk marker, label the cheeses.

5 | Display and…

View original post 89 more words

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,

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,

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,