Melbourne Food: The End
The moment is finally here for my final post about all of my Melbourne food. I'm now in Sydney finishing out my trip so I figured I'd get my last general Melbourne food post out of the way! There may or may not be a special donut feature soon to come.
The Vertue of the Coffee Drink: The most Instagrammable meal of my life. Also, one of the most delicious. The dish was called Waffle On and it was composed of waffle, textures of raspberry, chocolate soil, mascarpone and popping candy. In simpler terms, three Belgian waffles, fresh raspberries and raspberry powder, chocolate candies or something, mascarpone and PopRocks. Also, pansies for decoration!
Mr. Tulk: This cafe is attached to the beautiful State Library of Victoria and I went with Maya one morning. Per usual, I had a flat white to drink. Delicious, as usual. I ate their avocado toast on sourdough with Yarra Valley (local) feta and it was amazing. The feta was so creamy and thick but not overpowering. The Aussies have an obsession with avocado toast and I am down with it.
# Speciality Coffee and Roaster: While I didn’t eat at # (pronounced hash), I did have two espresso drinks so they are worth a mention. I had cold drip, which is very concentrated cold brew and also a flat white. The cold drip came in a cute beaker of sorts and was presented on a small wooden cutting board. It also included a small cup of water to dilute the drink with. It tasted great and was presented in a cute hipster way. My flat white had great art and the perfect bit of foamy flavor on top.
Fonda Mexican: The South Yarra/Windsor neighborhood is home to lots of shops and the usual cafes and restaurants. Personally, the main road was heavier on the shopping than food, which was unusual to me for Melbourne. Fonda is an airy restaurant with a selection of quesadillas, burritos, tacos and salads. I had the Grilled Chicken Sandwich that included: “Rocket, shaved cabbage, quinoa, black beans, sweet potato, smoked corn, minted baby peas, coriander, pepita seeds, lemon vinaigrette.” Pepita seeds are pumpkin seeds, FYI. This was my first salad in Melbourne and it was delicious. Everything was chopped so the flavors were mixed and meshed so well. Maya a quesadilla and chipotle chips (so I obviously ate chips, too) and the chipotle aioli that came along was so good. Melbourne has really nice sauces.
Bistro Morgan Doughnuts: Now, my first encounter with Bistro Morgan was at the Flour Market. I had the Golden Gaytime doughnut at the Market and at the actual store I opted for a special of the week, which was a Crunchie bar! So yummy. It was the traditional brioche donut with a dark chocolate frosting and Crunchie bar pieces. What’s really cool about this donut shop is that it was founded by a 14-year-old with his parents. Morgan cooked at home and then started baking and supplying 10 Melbourne cafes with baked goods before opening Bistro Morgan. His mom and dad were working when Maya and I visited.
Victoria Night Market - Round Two: Since I was in Melbourne for another Wednesday evening, we went back to the Night Market! Woo! This time I had arancini from a cart called Arancini Siciliani. I had three filled with meaty ragu, tomato, mozzarella and a bolognese sauce and three of the vegetarian arancini filled with mushroom and spinach topped with a bechamel sauce. Bechamel is a white sauce made with butter and flour. I got a cup of mulled wine for only $8! The sign at the stand warned customers to drink with caution because one cup is equal to two standard drinks. That really says a lot because it is a small cup and wow, it definitely was strong! I wish mulled wine was a bigger thing in the US. Dessert may have been the best part of the Night Market, and no, it was not a donut. Churro Kitchen serves up amazing churro bowls covered in cinnamon and sugar, topped with vegan vanilla bean ice cream and hot hazelnut sauce. I devoured it (was the first one done out of the four people eating them) but I was cautious, too. I took the time to ensure each scoop had churro, ice cream and sauce so there were an array of textures. So, so, so good.
Zambrero: For a quick but filling meal prior to going to the cinema, Alaina and I dined at Zambrero. It’s a quick casual place billed as Mexican with a Mission. They’re trying to have a very low carbon footprint and they donate a plate of food to a developing country with eat burrito or bowl sold. They also donate to local Australian communities when other items are purchased. The best comparison is Chipotle or Qdoba but with less options. Alaina had a vegan burrito with cauliflower and veggies. I opted for a bowl filled with refried beans, chicken, lettuce, cheese, guacamole, corn salsa and tomato salsa. Very delicious and fresh. Also, Alaina left her wallet behind here and no one stole it from the floor so that’s an added bonus!
Manchester Press: This is a cute cafe in a laneway near the CBD. Maya and I popped in here for savory food after a donut tour (that will be in an upcoming post). The food was delicious but large. We should have shared. I had the Avocado and Fetta Smash on a sesame bagel. It was: “avocado, lemon and chili smash topped with Persian fetta and micro herbs.” The feta was divine but the herbs were continually falling out of my mouth because I am not civilized at eating sometimes.
Vegie Bar: What a popular and unique restaurant! It is situation in the Fitzroy neighborhood and everything on the menu is vegetarian with many vegan options as well. Vegie Bar has a very diverse menu and everything is delicious. There were four people dining and we all had different cuisine and each person loved their choice. I had Mee Goreng, “ classic Malaysian inspired dish of hokkien noodles wok-tossed with mixed vegies, tofu & sautéed potato in a lightly spiced peanut satay sauce.” Maya had a seasonal pizza with pears. Alaina went for the Tofu and Quinoa Burger, “A smoked tofu & red quinoa patty, butter lettuce, tomato, avocado, vegan cheese & spicy Sri Racha mayo in an organic kamut burger bun. Served with sweet potato chips & chipotle mayo.” To close it out, Louisa went for their special curry with roti. Maya and I also shared sweet potato chips with chipotle aioli and it was amazing. I tried my best to finish it all but I didn’t make it fully to the #cleanplateclub at Vegie Bar.
Brother Thomas: My last full day in Melbourne took me to Brother Thomas, another cute cafe just a five minute stroll from Alaina’s apartment. I drank a long black (so good, this one really tasted like a strong Americano and I loved it) and had more avocado toast! Brother Thomas’ iteration of avocado toast included: “Smashed Avocado with mint, baby spinach, persian fetta and a poached egg on organic sourdough toast.” I spiced it up a bit and had quinoa toast, added bacon and gave the egg to Maya. Really scrumptious and the cafe itself is very cute. It is rather large and they did a great job of not adding too many tables. Maya and I sat there for a bit after finishing our food to write, search Airbnbs and ponder life.
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