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Handshaken Lamington Milkshake – Lady Bower

Australia, Melbourne, Reviews May 9, 2013 Comments: 27

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.

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

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

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

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

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 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.

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

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

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

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!

An Extra Day – 8 Days Cafe

Australia, Melbourne, Reviews May 4, 2013 Comments: 28

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

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 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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Australia, Melbourne, Reviews April 29, 2013 Comments: 35

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

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 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.

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

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 We started off with our usual drinks. My mocha was pleasant and gave me the coffee hit I needed to stay awake ~

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

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

Yolk Porn in Action

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

I’m not sure if Mr Bao was really still hungry or if he just wasn’t satisfied because he wanted more food 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

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

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

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

Breakfast Balls – Meatball & Wine Bar

Australia, Melbourne, Reviews April 8, 2013 Comments: 47

A few weeks ago, I was sent by my company to do a 2 day intense training course called ‘Business Acumen’, where we were split into groups of 4 and had to run our own business. Surprisingly I was appointed as the CEO of our company! Gosh I have no idea how to run a business and certainly don’t know how to be a good CEO. But thankfully my team mates were great and very supportive of each other Even though our company was fake and it was a game, we were all very serious and it was actually very tiring, going through the facts and figures and trying to make the best decision.

Meatball and Winebar

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day and Fake CEO’s need to eat well Mr Bao was very sweet and drove me to the training site because it’s too hard to find parking, so in return, I offered to take him out for breakfast. I wanted to take him somewhere special and not just have bacon and eggs, so I did some research the night before and found that the Meatball and Wine Bar was now serving breakfast as well!

We have never had meatballs for breakfast so was intrigued to try. We got there just past 7am and they were still setting up the tables, but the waiter was very friendly and immediately showed us a table. I don’t think I’ve ever seen the Meatball & Wine Bar empty and quiet, as usually it’s packed full of people.

The breakfast menu was quite simple – balls, balls and more balls I can’t help but think of the Queen of Balls hahaha you know who you are! The concept was quite similar to their lunch and dinner menu where it mainly focuses on meatballs with sauce of your choice.

Baked egg and balls with beans $12.5

I chose the Baked eggs and balls with beans and chose the pork meatball, they did have a vegetable meatball option as well I really liked the flavour of the meatball and thought it went very well with the red sauce and the end. But found the beans to be slightly undercooked and a little firm. But I understand that we were the first customers and the kitchen may not have had enough time to cook them.

Breakfast sliders $12

Mr Bao ordered the Breakfast sliders with an egg ball with bacon and red sauce. This seemed a little heavy for me but…if he can have a burger for breakfast I’m sure sliders will be fine too I thought the idea of the egg ball was very clever, and the waiter told me that they created it by baking the egg in a round tin in the oven, like the ones used to make cake pops ~ Now I’m interested to borrow that idea next time I have a party. Mr Bao liked his sliders commenting the buns were soft and fluffy, however, would have liked the egg balls to have some more seasoning.

We both got up at around 5:30am and could barely keep our eyes open so had to have a latte ~ The coffee provider is ‘Dukes Coffee Roasters’. I think the barista knew we were really tired because it was quite strong but didn’t have any bitter aftertaste ~

Latte $3.5

We probably wouldn’t have meatballs for breakfast on a daily or weekly basis, but on the odd occasion I think it’s actually quite nice and fun It also helped fill me up until lunchtime which was great since I didn’t have a lot of time to eat. Fake CEO’s are so busy

I won a bottle of wine

As for the game? I think I have potential to become a REAL CEO My team won the challenge making 15 million in profits and won a bottle of wine each! I learned so much from the Business Acumen training and now understand why companies make the decisions they do. Just curious, my lovely Readers are any of you a CEO or business owner and how do you make important business decisions in a short period of time?

New With Potential – Miss Frank

Australia, Melbourne, Reviews March 25, 2013 Comments: 43

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

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.

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

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 $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

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

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

Even though we were satisfied with our brunches, we still had room and I obviously wanted to try their sweets and cakes 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

Never Too Sweet

Tag Archives: Coffee

Handshaken Lamington Milkshake – Lady Bower

An Extra Day – 8 Days Cafe

Airport Run – The Premises

Breakfast Balls – Meatball & Wine Bar

New With Potential – Miss Frank

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Tag Archives: Coffee

Handshaken Lamington Milkshake – Lady Bower

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An Extra Day – 8 Days Cafe

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Airport Run – The Premises

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Breakfast Balls – Meatball & Wine Bar

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New With Potential – Miss Frank

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