Tag Archives: Cafe

Handshaken Lamington Milkshake – Lady Bower

I recently heard from someone that everyday 5 new cafes open in Melbourne. It’s quite an alarming figure, but I definitely believe this to be true. There are seriously so many cafes it’s practically impossible to keep up, even if you treated it as a full time job, you would need to go to at least 3 to 5 cafes a day to go through them all! The cafes don’t only open up in Melbourne CBD, there are also those cute hipster cafes in further out suburbs. Lady Bower is definitely one of these hidden cafes, Mr Bao had to be somewhere in Reservoir and asked me to go with him.

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It was an early Sunday morning, I wasn’t going to just go to Reservoir with him and wait…so I did some research and found Lady Bower a café. I realised Byran (Fat Boo) had blogged about it before and enjoyed the dishes. Our car pulled up in front of the café at around 9:30am and I was surprised to see such a large venue, which spans over 2 to 3 stores.

Cake display

Cake display

Walking towards the café, the waitress eagerly opens the door for us, I was immediately attracted to the glass cabinet where they display their cakes. You could tell instantly that they were homemade which is great!

Mocha $4

Mocha $4

My mocha was a good temperature but tasted more like a hot chocolate than a mocha and would have been better if it had more coffee to balance it out.

Latte $3.5

Latte $3.5

Mr Bao got a latte with the house blend from 5 Senses and described it as quite buttery with low acidity and floral notes. He ordered another one after the meal and asked for a strong latte but found that one too be to strong and sour.

Breakfast of Champions $18 – big breakfast, bacon, poached eggs, meatball, rosemary mushroom and toast

Breakfast of Champions $18

Mr Bao found the menu to be more ‘vegetarian-friendly’ so he immediately said he’s getting the Breakfast of Champions which was Lady Bower’s version of the big breakfast. It has the usual bacon, beans, mushrooms but then what surprised me were the meatballs! I didn’t think we were going to have meatballs for breakfast again anytime soon :P The meatballs were delish! Homemade, full of flavour and wonderfully light. The thick cut bacon was also Mr Bao’s favourite, I think it’s a trend because many cafes are now serving their bacon super thick ~ Unfortunately, the poached eggs were a little overcooked and the yolk wasn’t rushing out as I expected.

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I chose the smashed avocado with a dollop of sour cream and chilli oil on the side topped with a poached egg. Once again my poached egg wasn’t as runny as I would have liked, but nothing beats the silky and buttery goodness of the smashed avocado and the sour cream just made it even more indulgent ~ Mr Bao did like the chilli oil and found it too spicy but I loved it, and think it’s a great idea and definitely taking this idea home with me :)

Smashed avocado with sour cream, chilli oil and poached eggs $13.5

Smashed avocado with sour cream, chilli oil and poached eggs $13.5

I thought I had misread the specials menu when I saw a handshaken lamington milkshake. I asked the waitress and she said ‘yup it’s a lamington flavoured milkshake’, I couldn’t resist and immediately ordered it. It surprised me when she came over with a large glass jar, but then it made sense to me because it’s handshaken they must have shook it in the jar ~ Very clever! They did a great job getting the lamington flavour spot on! It had the chocolate base, with a slight tanginess from what I assume to be strawberry jam and also desiccated coconut YUM! Highly recommend you trying this!

Handshaken Lamington milkshake $4.5

Handshaken Lamington milkshake $4.5

To finish up Mr Bao and I shared the pear and chocolate ganache cupcake, the cake itself was deliciously moist and light, while the chocolate ganache was sweet and rich. Only complain would be the amount of ganache and the tiny piece of pear, with a thicker layer of ganache it would have been perfect :)

Pear and chocolate ganache cupcake $3.5

Pear and chocolate ganache cupcake $3.5

We were definitely impressed with this little cafe in Reservoir and even though its out of our way, I definitely recommend it for locals in the area and I’m coming back just for the lamington milkshake!

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Lady Bower Kitchen on Urbanspoon

An Extra Day – 8 Days Cafe

Dearest Readers, have you ever thought, how nice it would be for us to have 8 days instead of 7 in a week. We would work 5 days, have the weekends to spend with family and friends and on the 8th day…it’s for ourselves…we can do whatever we want – sleep, eat and rest! I am forever complaining that I need more time in a day, I simply don’t have time to do everything that I want and need to >_< Mr Bao and my friends are always telling me, I need to slow down but some how I can never just sit and home and do nothing.

8 Days Cafe

8 Days Cafe

Pushing my wishful thinking aside, we may not have 8 days in a week but we can go the 8 days cafe in Armadale for brunch and try to pretend that its the 8th day and we have it all to ourselves :D I was super lucky and was invited by BBFF Shellie and 8 days cafe to try out their brunch menu last week on Anzac day. I’ve driven past before but haven’t had the chance to try and since Ms I-Hua did a post, I knew it was going to be great ~

Mocha $3.5

Mocha $3.5

We were given a small table in the corner, which was nice and quiet and thankfully had good lighting :) I started off with my regular mocha to be slightly watery but nonetheless warmed me up and made my tummy grumble as it was getting hungry.

Smashed avocado & Persian fetta on 6 grain w/smoked bacon & poached eggs $18

Smashed avocado & Persian fetta on 6 grain w/smoked bacon & poached eggs $18

First up was the smashed avocado with Persian fetta with smoked bacon and poached eggs on a thick slice of bread. I’m a fan of avocado and fetta, but this Persian fetta was amazing it was very smooth and not at all crumbly. Would love to know which brand they use so I can buy some myself ~ The bacon had a slight smokiness to it which made it even better. This was probably my favourite dish :)

Toasted Glicks bagel w/smoked salmon,spinach, avocado, poached eggs & chilli lime hollandaise $18

Toasted Glicks bagel w/smoked salmon,spinach, avocado, poached eggs & chilli lime hollandaise $18

Another avocado dish, this time it was a bagel with smoked salmon, spinach, avocado poached eggs finished with some chilli lime hollandaise sauce. They use Glicks bagels here which in my opinion is probably one of the best bagels you can get in Melbourne, it has all that perfect chewy but soft texture. I also liked the chilli lime hollandaise which really helped cut through some of the richness from regular hollandaise.

 Baked eggs w/ Tuscan bean cassoulét ,salsicchia & petite rocket salad $16

Baked eggs w/ Tuscan bean cassoulét ,salsicchia & petite rocket salad $16

Next up was the baked eggs with Tuscan beans, salssichia which I found out was an Italian sausage and rocket on scattered on top. It was a very large serving! I don’t think I could have even been able to finish half if I was by myself, glad that we shared it between 4 of us :) I loved the spiciness from the salsicchia and sauce and the beans were nice and tender.

Avocado & Persian fetta on sourdough w/ chilli, basil & minted broadbean dressing $17

Avocado & Persian fetta on sourdough w/ chilli, basil & minted broadbean dressing $17

We then got another avocado and Persian fetta dish but this one was vegetarian dish with a chilli, basil and minted broadbean dressing. This is super healthy and probably a good choice after a big night out and you really need a cleanse the next day. But probably a bit too healthy for me :P

Croissant French Toast with poached pears, candied pistachios, Crème fraîche and maple syrup $16

Croissant French Toast with poached pears, candied pistachios, Crème fraîche and maple syrup $16

Now I’ve had different types of French Toast using a variety of breads, but never have I had one made from croissants. But it’s actually a genius idea because the texture of the croissant makes a great sponge and soaks up the eggy mixture. It’s then topped with wonderfully poached pears, candied pistachios and a dollop of Crème fraîche. My only complaint would be it needed a little more maple syrup ~

Spanish omelette with potato, piquillo pepers, onions, sauce ramesco, jamon and rocket salad $17

Spanish omelette with potato, piquillo pepers, onions, sauce ramesco, jamon and rocket salad $17

When I first saw this, I thought this was a pizza, but in turned out to be a Spanish omelette with potato, peppers and onion filling topped with jamon and rocket. I really liked the texture of the omelette which was rather light and kind of souffle like ~

Wagyu beef burger, brioche bun, gruyere cheese,smoked bacon,tomato relish & sliced pickles w/fat chips, crisp baby cos,tomato & aioli $21

Wagyu beef burger, brioche bun, gruyere cheese,smoked bacon,tomato relish & sliced pickles w/fat chips, crisp baby cos,tomato & aioli $21

Just when I thought the food has stopped coming, the waitress brings over a mini Wagyu beef burger with cheese, bacon, tomato and chips served with tomato sauce and aioli. I’m so glad that there were 8 of us sharing this burger. Jo (Second Helping) did a great job and was able to divide this burger into 8 perfect bite size for use to try! Thank you :) I really liked the Wagyu beef pattie and thought it was very flavoursome and nothing beats melted cheese on top.

Cherry ripe mud cake

Cherry ripe mud cake

Clearly, we didn’t need any more food but… Veda (The Hospitality Window) may have made a comment to the owners that I love my desserts and told them my blog name and soon enough they brought over a huge slice of Cherry Ripe Mud Cake. I was slightly embarrassed but at the same time so glad that I got to try it! It’s super rich, chocolatey to the max with a thick layer of cherry coconut filling.

I had a lovely breakfast here at 8 Days cafe and enjoyed their dishes as well as meeting new bloggers that I haven’t met before :) Would also like to thank 8 Days cafe for inviting me! Mr Bao was quite jealous of all the photos I had posted on Instagram so I think we’ll be coming back soon.

8 Days Cafe on Urbanspoon
Daisy@Nevertoosweet attended this event as a guest of Iron Chef Shellie and 8 Days Cafe. 

Airport Run – The Premises

Over Easter Win Win came to Melbourne for a super short 6 day trip by herself ~ Initially she was going to come back with Aden (my nephew) but he had school and couldn’t come. I was so disappointed >_< I really wanted to spend some time with him. Even though it was only 6 days, Win Win and I had the best time! It’s rare that we get to spend time just the two of us ~ We were eating, drinking and shopping way too much!

The Premises

The Premises

But why must good times end so quickly :( Because very soon she had to leave on Easter Sunday on the earliest flight back to  Hong Kong at 8:30am. Meaning we had to get up at 5:30am to make sure she gets to the airport on time. Mr Bao was great and didn’t even complain once about getting up so early, I promised him that we’ll go to a nice place for breakfast afterwards in compensation :P We made it to the airport in time, said our goodbyes and Win Win was on her journey back home, while we went for breakfast.

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Thanks to Catherine (Petit Miamx) who wrote a post about the cafes that will be open over the Easter holidays, I chose ‘The Premises’ which has been on my list for the longest time ~ But never had the chance, as it’s in the West and we don’t venture out there very often (we should though!). The Premises is quite well-known among the Melbourne cafe scene and have been known for their consistently good coffee and breakfast dishes ~

Mocha $3.8

Mocha $3.8

We got to the Premises a bit early and they weren’t open yet, but the waitress was very friendly and told us they’ll be ready in a few minutes. About 15 minutes later they were open and ready and so was my tummy it was growling hahaha it needed food :P We started off with our usual drinks. My mocha was pleasant and gave me the coffee hit I needed to stay awake ~

Coffee of the Day $4

Single origin magic $4

Mr Bao’s single origin magic was by Seven Seeds but sorry can’t remember which country it was from but he described it was more acidic and quite strong. While I found it to be a little too strong for me :)

Pan fried Free range eggs on organic toast with wild mushrooms, crumbled feta and hollandiase $19

Pan fried Free range eggs on organic toast with wild mushrooms, crumbled feta and hollandiase $19

I was tossing between the pancakes or this special which was organic toast topped with wild mushroom, crumbled feta, poach eggs and hollandaise sauce. It was a simple healthy and vegetarian breakfast and exactly what I wanted, the mushrooms were buttery, crumbled feta was creamy and salty. Eggs were poached perfectly just look at yolk running out ~ last but not least the hollandaise sauce was divine! I don’t want to know much butter was used :P

Yolk Porn!! :D

Yolk Porn in Action :D

Mr Bao chose a dish in the regular breakfast menu and ordered the pan-fried sardine with saffron potato salad and fennel salad with a poached egg. It was a very Moroccan inspired dish with the cumin, fennel and saffron. Every component in this dish was nice but I think this was more of a lunch dish and too pungent for us in the morning, so we didn’t enjoy it as much. But nonetheless a good dish and would recommend if you like those Moroccan flavours :)

Pan-fried sardine fillets with a saffron potato, pickled fennel salad, haydari and soft poached egg $18

Pan-fried sardine fillets with a saffron potato, pickled fennel salad, haydari and soft poached egg $18

I’m not sure if Mr Bao was really still hungry or if he just wasn’t satisfied because he wanted more food :P I was a little embarrassed when I told the waitress I wanted more food hahaha but she was very friendly and said “I always order 3 dishes to share with my man as well, so you’re fine!”. She recommended the slow roasted pulled pork which was served on a board and is great for sharing. It’s a very generous serving and the pulled pork was tender and not at all stringy. It was surprisingly sweet as well which balanced out very well with the pickled fennel salad and rocket ~ Very satisfying dish!

Slow Roasted Pulled Pork open on a board like a sandwich great to share $19

Slow Roasted Pulled Pork open on a board like a sandwich great to share $19

Still sleepy, Mr Bao ordered another latte and this time just with their home blend, he described this one as more earthy and a rich body.

Latte $3.8

Latte $3.8

I was pretty full by I really couldn’t leave without ordering something sweet, I had a look at their cake cabinet and immediately knew I wanted their lemon pistachio loaf cake. It was one of the best loaf cakes I’ve had, it was moist, soft and lightly dense with just the right amount of lemon and pistachio! Now I’m really going to search high and low for a recipe and make this at home. The waitress also mentioned that they bake all their cakes and muffins on premises, which is another bonus as many cafes nowadays simply buy their cakes from suppliers.

Lemon, pistachio loaf cake $6.5

Lemon, pistachio loaf cake $6.5

We really enjoyed The Premises, food and drinks were good with great flavours, staff were friendly and helpful. It’s just a shame that it’s so far away from us and it can be a bit for us but definitely good place to go after an airport run :)

The Premises on Urbanspoon

New With Potential – Miss Frank

You have probably heard me complain again and again, that there aren’t enough good cafes around the Doncaster area where I like >_< We have plenty of Chinese restaurants and a great shopping centre but some how we just don’t have any decent cafes. That’s why I always get super excited when a new cafe opens up near our area. Miss Frank is the newest cafe to open up in the quiet streets of Surrey Hills, I found out about it from Winnie (Eat Play Shop) Instagram :) and immediately put it on my list.

Miss Frank

Miss Frank

Julz and I visited Miss Frank on a very hot day, we arrived at Through Rd and quickly found parking across the cafe. Upon walking in, I was surprised to see that Miss Frank was a relatively big cafe taking over two stores with 2 large communal tables and other smaller tables.

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We both liked the decor and ambience of Miss Frank, it was clean, simple and bright, we particularly liked the little hole in the table where the cutlery is placed and menus rolled up like newspapers ~ Along with the pretty bottle with coffee beans and a some flowers :) How much I wish I could keep our home so clean :P

Espresso Milkshake $6AUD

Espresso Milkshake $6

Given that it was a super hot day, I couldn’t make myself order my usual ‘mocha’ so decided to go for something cold, was intrigued by their Espresso Milkshake because I haven’t had one before. I was quite impressed with the strong coffee flavour and thickness of the milkshake, I didn’t expect it to be so strong as it looked quite pale :) If you like coffee and milkshakes, you’ll definitely like this!

Latte

Latte $3.8

Can’t believe Julz still ordered a hot coffee, she stuck with her usual latte and commented that it was rather watery and wasn’t very strong. I’m not sure what roasters or coffee beans they use but I’d like to go back again to try their mocha :)

Julz and I studied the menu and wasn’t sure what to order, we found the menu a bit restricted for instance in the breakfast section, they had the oats and muesli items and a big breakfast. But they didn’t seem to have any eggs benedict or florentine items which are quite common for brunch. Instead they had a DIY option where you get eggs-of-your-choice and then you add the items you would like. However, we found that to be quite expensive making the dish to be over $20 as items like avocado were around $5.

Maplenut crunch cereal topped with fresh fruit with milk and yoghurt $9.5

Maplenut crunch cereal topped with fresh fruit with milk and yoghurt $9.5

Eventually, I chose the maple nut crunch cereal with fresh fruit milk and yoghurt :) I was quite happy with my decision, I really liked how the plated it. The cereal was delicious with a lovely maple flavour and super crunchy, just the way I like it ~ Only complaint was there wasn’t enough cereal, I was still quite peckish after finishing the bowl, even though they had a good amount of yoghurt and milk to accompany it.

Beef and Mushroom $7.5

Beef and Mushroom $7.5

Julz decided to go to the lunch menu instead which just started at 11:30am, she chose the beef and mushroom which came with a tomato relish. It looked quite rustic, Julz commented that the filling was quite good with a peppery taste :)

Rapsberry Pistachio butter mini cake $5

Rapsberry Pistachio butter mini cake $5

Even though we were satisfied with our brunches, we still had room and I obviously wanted to try their sweets and cakes :P I was too lazy to go check out the counter hehe but Julz did and said they had a good range of muffins, mini cakes and biscuits. We settled for a raspberry pistachio butter mini cake, I thought it was going to be like a muffin, but it definitely had the texture of a cake. It was light and fluffy and had a gloriously buttery taste with little pieces of raspberry through the cake. But I couldn’t really taste the pistachio which was a shame as I love the taste of pistachio.

As a whole we enjoyed Miss Frank and believe it to have a lot of potential in becoming a fantastic local cafe in the area, but we found the menu a little limited and some items to be slightly overpriced. Having said that we enjoyed the dishes and drinks we ordered and that little cake definitely put a sweet end to our brunch ~ Looking forward to revisiting Miss Frank in the near future and hopefully see some more brunch items on their menu :D

Miss Frank on Urbanspoon

New Family Member – St Ali North

Before I left Melbourne I made sure I had a decent brunch because I knew I wasn’t going to get a decent cup of coffee in HK :) St Ali North, the newest addiction to the thriving St Ali (South Melbourne) family who also own and operate ‘ My Mexican Cousin’ in South Bank. This time they have opened up in the north and I assume hence the name, St Ali North. Mr Bao has always been a fan of St Ali, so was definitely interested in trying ~
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Initially, we were going to wait till I come back before we visited, just because we wanted to let them settle in and usually the first couple of weeks of a new cafe there will be some teething issues. But being the Christmas/New Year period, many cafes are closed, while St Ali North remains open everyday YAY! So just before going to the airport we decided to try them out :)
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The address for St Ali North says ‘Nicholson St’ but really it’s on Park St and behind the bike store ~ there’s quite a lot of street parking, so you shouldn’t have any trouble. I don’t think they take bookings (like most) so I suggest going there early to avoid crowds :D
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Upon arriving, we were both surprised to see it being such a large cafe ~ definitely much bigger than we expected with a row of chairs outside for customers to sit while waiting. We got there at around 10:30 and was very lucky, even though it was busy we didn’t have to wait for a table, and was immediately led to a table for two in the back, next to the baristas.
Mocha $4.50AUD

Mocha $5 AUD

Starting with my signature mocha and also savouring every sip it was presented very nicely and reminded me of Hardware Societe with the chocolate served separately. This mocha was lovely with a light coffee flavour and I could tell they used good quality chocolate as it deep and rich.
Pouring the YUMMY chocolate ~

Pouring the YUMMY chocolate ~

Mr Bao wanted to try the single origin and had it in a magic :) to me it was a little too bitter but he seemed really pleased with it and said it had some nice earth notes ~
Single Origin Magic $4 AUD

Single Origin Magic $4 AUD

I was tossing between a muesli and yoghurt based breakie (because I love yoghurt) or a egg focused one :) Mr Bao said its too ‘plain’ and boring to get a Bircher muesli. So after some deliberation, I decided to get the My Mexican Cousin, which were corn fritters with two poached eggs, halloumi cheese tomato and kasundi which is kind of like salsa ~
My Mexican Cousin $21.50 AUD

My Mexican Cousin $21.50 AUD

Even though everything was cooked well, but I didn’t quite like this dish as much as I thought I would. The corn fritters were very big and they reminded me of dumplings more than fritters, as I always think of fritters as being round and flat like pancakes.

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These were simply a little too doughy with not enough corn for me, but I know others like it, so it might just be me being weird :D However, I did like the combination of the chutney, salsa and houllumi which balanced everything out so well.
House bacon, bean ragout, pork and veal breakfast sausage and scrambled egg $19.50 AUD

House bacon, bean ragout, pork and veal breakfast sausage and scrambled egg $19.50 AUD

Mr Bao was either going to get the bone marrow dish but then decided against it and went for more a conventional breakfast ~ So he got the bacon with baked beans, scrambled eggs and pork sausages. We really liked the flavours of the baked beans, even though the canneli beans appeared slightly undercooked, and wasn’t as soft and had a firmness to it. The star of this dish was the pork sausages though, they had a strong lemon flavour some might find it slightly overpowering, but we loved it :) Mr Bao also liked the scambled eggs as they it wasn’t as creamy and in individual folds, while I prefer mine to be creamy and fluffy ~
Shaun Quades creations ~

Shaun Quade’s creations

I was so surprised and excited when I saw on the cake menu that they were made by Shaun Quade :D For those who don’t know Shaun he’s the extremely talented pastry chef, who had onced worked at Quay and since September have been offering a special dessert night at Duchess of Spotswood. I have gone twice (Sorry haven’t had time to blog about it) and immensely enjoyed it!
Lemon merengue cake $6AUD

Lemon merengue cake $6AUD

For once Mr Bao actually chose the dessert ~ hahaha I don’t really mind as long as we got dessert :) He did well, in choosing the Lemon Merengue Cake, which two sponge cakes and in between sandwiched lemon curd and I’m pretty sure caramel! It was SO delicious! The sponge cakes was soft and moist and went best part it’s GLUTEN FREE! Perfect for my friends such as Little Miss Melbourne YAY!
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Overall, we enjoyed our visit to St Ali North, just like its predecessor they do their food well and coffee even better :) There were a few things that coud have been improved, but given that they are still fairly new, I think they’ve done a great job settling in ~ We will definitely come back to try their other dishes that are more unique dishes such as the savoury ancient granola and bone marrow with egg yolk emulsion.

St Ali North on Urbanspoon

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