Top 10 2011

C's:

Surpringly quite a few corn, and salted caramel dishes in last year's list (pregnancy hormones to blame?), with Attica scoring two dishes in the top 10. And yes, my number one dish of last year was a simple caramel slice, but it was THE BEST caramel slice I have ever had, and I still dream about it...

1: Caramel slice - Louttit Bay Bakery

2: Raw chestnuts, salt baked celeriac, Pyengana - Attica

3: Polenta, wild thyme, slow cooked organic egg, parmesan, corn - Charcoal Lane

4: Chocolate parfait, sour cherry and pistachio financier, cherry ice cream  - Centonove

5: Strawberries and cream - Persimmon

6: White chocolate eggs with caramel - Attica

7: Soft poached egg, polenta, truffle, brioche crumbs  - The Point

8: Soft centered Valrhona chocolate biscuit, almond praline anglaise and Tahiti vanilla bean ice cream - La Petanque

9: "Street Style" chargrilled corn with queso, chipotle mayonnaise & lime - Mamasita

10: Butterscotch popcorn ice cream - Burch & Purchese 

Worst dish of 2011: Pumpkin pasta in a sage and burnt butter sauce - Sosta Cucina

I was 6 months pregnant AND starving and I still couldn't eat more than a mouthful.

Mr.M's:

1. Marron, leek, egg yolk - Attica

2.  Cured kingfish, wasabi - $25 - Cutler & Co

3. Violet honeycomb crumble ice cream -Burch & Purchese

4. Violet crumble - Attica

5. Shiitakes & meat from the Pearl Oyster - Attica

6. Bitter chocolate fondant, griottine cherries, malt ice cream, brown butter crumbs - Persimmon

7. Peanut butter parfait, bananas, bitter chocolate - Persimmon

8. Hopkins River Eye fillet steak sandwich, beetroot + blood orange relish, caramel onions, bacon, roast tomato, aged Maffra farmhouse cheddar + a poached googie egg - Snow Pony

9. Main: Roast suckling pig boudin noir plum and kohlrabi - $46

10. Zuchhini flowers - Grossi Florentino

WORST DISH EVER
Pumpkin pasta in a sage and burnt butter sauce - Sosta Cucina

Still remember the bad taste in my mouth. 

Studley Park Boathouse - Kew - review

Name: Studley Park Boathouse

Address: 1 Boathouse Rd 
Kew, VIC 3101
03 9853 1828

Food: ModOz, European

Average price: Entree: $11-$19, Mains: $26-$35, Dessert: $14-$18.50

Complimentary:  Nothing.

We ordered: 
Main:  Housemade gnocchi panfried with pumpkin sauce, ricotta and walnuts - $18

The gnocchi was really soft. the pumpkin sauce was a touch on the sweet side and therefore I would have preferred a saltier cheese, such as feta, than the mellow ricotta. The walnuts were yummy but also sweet. Had this been a touch more salty it would have been really fantastic, but overall it was still a nice dish that I would order again.


Boathouse burger with bacon, cheese, BBQ sauce, fries and salad - $24

Mr.M: It was beautiful

Dessert: Belgian chocolate mousse cake - $10.90

The mousse was a touch too gelatinous for me, being on the firm side also subdued the chocolate flavour I was hoping for, instead it was more akin to a vanilla/sweet mousse cake than Chocolate. Texture and flavour aside it was still decent.

Service: A little over attentive. Our food came out fairly quickly and our water was never less than half full but a lot of the time the waiters would just be standing behind us, waiting, which was a little off putting as we felt a lack of privacy.

Atmosphere: Surrounded by nature. The river, trees and wildlife makes for a truly relaxing atmosphere, on a sunny day up on the balcony it is truly wonderful. Although if a swan squabble arises there will be some noise :). The restaurant itself is done in a neutral minimal decor.

Parking: Ample on site parking. Also nearby street parking.

Website: http://www.studleyparkboathouse.com.au/

Hours: Wed-Fri & Sun noon-3pm, Wed-Sat 6.30pm-10pm (cafe hours: Sat-Sun 9am-11am, daily noon-4pm)

Would I return: Yes, lovely location and good value for food.

Burch & Purchese - South Yarra - review

Name: Burch & Purchese

Address: 647 Chapel Street
South Yarra, VIC 3141
03 9827 7060

Food: Sweets

Average price: $4.50 - $170

Complimentary:  Nothing.

We ordered: Puffed quinoa & malted orange caramelised white chocolate - $11
Salted caramel spread - $12.50

 
Once again I've been led astray by other's raves. For me this bar was equally sweet and bitter.  It was cloyingly sweet with bitterness from the orange. There was a hint of caramel but it was lost in the flood of sugar. The texture was also a touch grainy after the melt.

Salted caramel spread - $12.50

Well, I am a sucker for salted caramel so it's no surprise I was eating this out of the jar. I will, however, not be buying it again as there is no ingredients list and I fear that its texture may be due to either corn syrup or even gelatine, neither if which I wish to consume. I wish they would list the ingredients so those who are vegetarian or have intolerances could consume their products.

St Clements & vanilla marmalade - $10.50

This is heavy on the peel with quite a bitterness to it, but I still enjoyed it. A decent marmalade, albeit rather pricey.

Chocolate, caramel & hazelnut spread - $12.50

If they hadn't sold this as their version of 'Nutella' I might have liked it's rather bitter non-chocolate taste, but alas I was expecting sweet chocolate with hazelnuts and a hint of caramel, which it did not deliver. To me this had zero chocolate taste and was predominantly a bitter nutty caramel. It didn't tickle my tastebuds at all.

Passionfruit meringue cloud - $4.50

The best out of the three, I really needed the tartness to soften the saccahrine sweetness. Unfortunately, as with all three meringues, there was a heavy raw egg flavour that I just couldn't get past. I also found the thick harder shell rather 'chalk-like' on my teeth which was unpleasant texture-wise. It seems the meringues just aren't for me.

Strawberry meringue cloud - $4.50

Really sweet and bubblegum-ish.

Blackberry meringue cloud - $4.50

Quite sweet with a really subtle blackberry flavour.

Butterscotch popcorn ice cream - $12

If I could only eat one ice cream for the rest of my life this would be it. Exactly as described this creamy concoction tasted of salty popcorn and toffe-esque butterscotch upon an almost vanilla ice cream is sublime - 500ml ain't large enough!


Violet honeycomb crumble ice cream - $12

My husband almost kissed my feet when I handed him this. Attica's violet dessert is his all time favourite and now he can relive that delectable pleasure every night with this ice cream. I have a feeling next time we go he will be emptying the entire supply and that still won't be enough.

Banana, caramel, rum - $9
caramelised white chocolate & vanilla mousse, macadamia spiced speculaas, caramelised banan cream, passionfruit jelly, caramelised milk solids, passionfruit curd, chocolate vevet spray

After all the hype I was left feeling a little blase about this one; to me it was rather 'baby food bland' with only sweet banana coming through. The passion fruit was the saving grace for me with its vibrant bursts of tartness, wish there had been more.

Chocolate, mandarin, salted caramel - $48
Kendari 60% chocolate mousse, Murray River salted caramel, burnt mandarin cream, St Clements marmalade, aerated choclate shortbread, chocolate mirror glaze

This was a gift for my gorgeous K who loved it. It's the classic 'Jaffa' flavour done really well.

Service: Over the phone they were absolutely lovely and helpful when I placed my order.

Parking: Street parking but Chapel st can get rather busy.

Website: http://www.burchandpurchese.com/

Hours: Tues - Sun 10-6:30pm.

Would I return: Yes. We will be loading up on their ice creams as per hubby's request.

Churchill Cafe & Larder - Surrey Hills - review

Name: Churchill Cafe & Larder

Address: 13 Hamilton St
Surrey Hills, 3127
(03) 9890 3444

Food: ModOz, Cafe,
Average price: $3.50 - $20

Complimentary:  Bread and hummus.

We ordered:
Main: Eye fillet, sautéed mushrooms, smoked bone marrow, pomme frittes and red wine jus - $36

Mr.M: Very tasty. I usually don't like mushrooms on my steak but they were nice. Nice charcoal flavour and the fries were good.


Mushroom risotto, peas, asparagus, goats cheese and truffle oil -$30

Nice mushroom flavour but the rice was watery and lacked the oozy cohesiveness I like in a risotto. I would have like some more cheese as well to add that sharp punch and interest to the rice. Overall it was OK

Dessert: Chocolate fondant, rum and raisin ice-cream   - $15

Mr.M: It was great. Nice ooze. Ice cream was strong in alcohol but still nice.

Vanilla Crème brulêe, with rhubarb compote - $15

The brulee had a fantastic 'crack' - the sugar top was great. Whilst the custard was extremely smooth it was also extremely bland. There was no flavour to it, and if eaten without the sugar topping there was no sweetness to it whatsoever, it was almost akin to whipped cream. The bulk of flavour came from the tart rhubarb, the custard of the brulee was basically acting as a plate for the fruit and the sugary crust.

Service: OK. We went on a Thursday night and were the only people in the entire restaurant, even upon leaving there were no other patrons so it is hard to judge the atmosphere or noise level. Despite being the only two people in the place it still took over 40mins to get our order...the waitress was great though and kept our water topped up.

Atmosphere: Shades of brown. The decor is modern punctuated by artwork and a communal mosaic table. Despite also being open for dinner the room maintains its cafe-vibe.

Parking: Good - there's a decent amount of street parking and a carpark for Mont Albert station that runs alongside the road.

Website: http://www.churchillrestaurant.com.au/

Hours: Dinner wed-sat 6.00pm- late, Breakfast sat 8.00am-11.30am, Breakfast/lunch sun 8.00am-3.00pm

Would I return: Yes. My dishes weren't stellar but hubby's were good enough to warrant a second try.

The Village Cafe - Balwyn North - review

Name: The Village Cafe

Address: Shop 2/74 Doncaster Road
Balwyn North
(03) 9859 8111

Food: Cafe

Average price: Breakfast $3.50-$14.50,   $Lunch7.00-$18.00

Complimentary:  Nothing.

We ordered: French toast with maple syrup & berry compote - $13

Mr.M didn't enjoy this as he found the toast too soggy for his liking. I tried some and whilst I agree that the middle of the toast was also rather eggy and wet, I still thought it was nice flavour wise.

Forest mushrooms on toast with goat's cheese - $11

I thought this was lovely, although the serving size was a little small. The mushrooms were well cooked and seasoned. The bread was soft and easy to cut through  and the creamy goats cheese was wonderful. Quite satisfying.

Big Breakfast - $16.90
 two eggs, bacon, sausage, mushroom, tomato & hash brown served on toast

S and A thought this was fairly average.

French fries with aioli - $6
 

Chips were cooked well and aioli was nice, they did taste like they had come from a freezer packet though.

Passionfruit muffin

Nice, large muffin that was moist within. The passion fruit flavour, whilst there, was muted though as the muffin was quite sweet. Would have enjoyed it more had the passion fruit been more prominent.

Lemongrass & ginger tea - $3.80

Lovely tea. Must warn you though that some of the tea leaves can end up looking like short black hairs in your cup. After thinking my tea pot was dirty they replaced it with another bag and tea pot and the same thing happened, so don't be alarmed as it's just the tea leaves.

Chai Latte - $3.80

Mr.M: It was alright.


Mocha - $3.50

Affogato - $4.50

Service: OK. Food came out fairly soon after ordering, but they didn't offer us any water despite the fact we all ordered coffees.

Atmosphere: Local cafe. The glass windows flood the cafe with light giving it an 'airy' feel. We went on a Sunday so the cafe was filled with well dressed church-goers coming in for a coffee after mass. The noise level was decent.

Parking: Ample. There are 3 medium sized carparks as well as street parking. But if you go on a Sunday be warned as the church causes spots to fill quickly.

Website: None.

Hours: Mon-Fri 8am-4.30pm; Sat-Sun 9am-3.30pm

Would I return: No. There are many cafes to try nearby.