El Coco

El Coco is a reasonably new Cuban pop-up bar, serving up food by the crew of Hammer and Tong.

Sitting on the corner of King Street and Little Collins, the setting of El Coco is delightfully refreshing with its fake palm trees, colourful wicker chairs and Cuban-esque feel. All that was missing was a Cuban-party vibe, with the venue being surprisingly empty for a Friday lunch.

The menu was quite limited - burger, tacos or sliders (don't come here if on a diet) so to eat I had the burger and chips.  While the food took awhile to come out, when it did the burger was outstanding - juicy meaty patty on a fresh fluffy bun, smelling like a Hungry Jacks whopper but tasting like a freshly made solid burger. The chips were also cooked well too - crisp and lightly seasoned.

But be warned, stay away from the bottled tap water - after a table debate of whether the water had a taste of parsley, lemon or stale lime, we came to the realisation that no, it just tasted like fridge.  So perhaps byo water.

Otherwise, with friendly service, cheap prices and a delicious food, I'd recommend heading to the El Coco pop up to give it a try while it lasts.

Food: 4/5

Décor: 3/5

Service:3/6

Total: 10/15
Verdict: Like - get around to trying it at some point

Tipo 00

Tipo is definitely one of old faves - a sweet Italian restaurant nestled in Little Bourke Street, with its sensational food and reasonable prices, it's always on my recommendation list.

On this occasion we had the Chef's Sharing Menu - 3 courses for $55. To start we had mushroom arancini (amazing as always), tomato roasted bread (take it or leave it) and calamari salad with squid ink charred capsicum (an interesting but delightful take on a calamari salad).

Calamari salad

Next on the menu was rabbit ragu pappardelle, asparagus tortellini and stinging nettle risotto, served with rocket, pear and balsamic salad, and green beans, goats cheese and almonds on the side. The salads were absolutely delicious and I would be pretty happy to eat a bowel of just the green beans for dinner.

While I am still left to wonder why the stinging nettle risotto didn't sting my mouth (but yet always stung my hands something rotten as a child) the risotto was cooked perfectly and the flavours were well balanced. The asparagus tortellini was a party in the mouth with its vibrant asparagus flavours and the rabbit ragu pappadelle was delicious with the juiciness of its rabbit and the crunch of its hazelnuts.

Asparagus tortellini

Stinging nettle risotto

Desert was 'Sem'oo'lina' with pistachio, apricots and fennel (my favourite - who knew fennel could work so well in desert?), pana cotta (good, but not as good as Gradi at Crown) and fig pudding (with fresh figs, it would be hard to go wrong).

Fig pudding

Sem'oo'lina

Another delicious meal at Tipo 00 - I look forward to coming back.

Food: 4.5/5

Décor: 4.5/5

Service: 4.5/5

Total: 12.5/15

Verdict - The new (well technically old) fave -  put it as number 1 on the to do list

Fat Bob's Bar and Gill

The time had finally come to try Fat Bob's Bar & Grill in Moorabbin - a burger joint that commonly features in Melbourne's top 10 burgers and, after the burger I had, I can completely understand why. 

Tucked away in an industrial estate in Moorabbin, you could almost blink twice and miss the place.  But once inside, it's like a funky southern saloon with neon signs adorning the walls and a friendly buzzing vibe.

To eat I had the Jackie O burger - 180g grass-fed beef pattie, tomato, spanish onion, fontina cheese, cos, mustard, tomato & Fat Bob's sauce...AMAZING.  The beef pattie was perfectly cooked - slightly pink on the inside, juicey and perfectly grilled on the outside.  The cos was crisp, the mustard was tangy and the Fat Bob's sauce was the perfect finish to a very exceptional burger.  With a side of onion rings, I was in junk food heaven.

While slightly off the beaten track - Fat Bob's Bar and Grill is definitely I place I would recommend if ever in need of a burger fix.

Food: 4/5

Décor: 3.5/5

Service: 4/5

Total: 11.5/15

Verdict: Love - rush out and try it soon!

Ike's Rack Shack

The plan was to go to the Fat Tuesday Southern Food and Music Festival in Carlton, but after arriving and being told it was just over an hour wait for food and drink, we headed off to Ike's Rack Shack to get our Southern food fix.

Unforunately, we weren't the only one's with this idea and Ike's was out of control.  But a huge applaud to Ike's with how they handled it.  While it took just over an hour and a half to get our food,  Ike's handled the delay exceptionally by offering us free drinks, free fries, and all still with a smile on their faces.  And boy, the food was definitely worth the wait.  To eat we shared the triple back rack shack ($66 but feeds 3) which consisted of a rack of pork ribs, beef ribs and lamb ribs.  The beef and lamb ribs were exceptional - slight crunch on the outside, moist and tender on the inside and with flavours that just scream down south. However the pork ribs were not so amazing - while very tasty, they were tough and difficult to get off the bone.

For sides we had the blue cheeses iceberg wedge salad ($12), shoestring fries ($8) and the house made corn bread with honey butter ($8).  The corn bread was absolutely out of this world - buttery, corn filled goodness, scatterd with bits of a jalapeno inside...some would even call it life changing! Spread it with the honey butter and it is a pure foodgam in the mouth.

Even if it is just for six serves of the corn bread, at such good value, fantastic staff and delicious food, Ike's is definitely somwhere I will return to soon.

Verdict: Love

Gradi at Crown

After reading so many scathing reviews on Gradi at Crown, I didn't go into the restaurant with high hopes or expectations. But luckily, just like its sister in Brunswick, it didn't disappoint. 

The occasion was a farewell lunch and the crowd was my former workmates - the very group of people who had convinced me to write a food bog in the first place (thanks guys!).

To eat we had the set menu for lunch, which consisted of enough food to feed a small army.  To start with we had a collection of cured meats served on Sardinian 'carasau' bread - absolutely delicious. We were then served bruschetta (slightly uninspiring and my least favourite meal of the day) and squid (which was ok, but some bits were slightly chewy).

Then came the mains - pizzas (slightly soggy but still good flavours - especially with lashings of Gradi's delicious chili oil), saffron risotto with pork sausage (yum!) and taglioni with mussels, clams, prawns and scallops (double yum!).  The seafood pasta was by far the dish of the day and was definitely I meal I would go back for. The seafood was cooked perfectly, the Napoli sauce  and the overall dish was not at all fishy.

To finish, we were served a variety of Italian deserts, but it was the panna cotta that took the cake (pun intended!).

Good wine (thanks to Kim, my sommelier of the day), amazing food and even better company - I will definitely be back to Gradi at Crown for more.


Verdict: Like

 

Lost Heaven - the Sichuan journey

Lost Heaven is the latest member of the Hutong Group and what a Sichuan delight!

Located on Bourke Street, Lost Heaven is as delightful and authentic as its predecessor Dainty Sichuan (which to be honest, is where we thought were heading before we arrived and saw the revamped /on-sold restaurant).

Friendly and attentive staff quickly ushered us to our table before providing us with ipad menus which showcased a picture of each meal Lost Heaven had to offer (who doesn't love to see a picture of what they could be eating!?)

Dinner consisted of chilli oil dumplings Xiao long boa, green beans and 'Mouth Watering' chicken. As a member of the Hutong Group, the dumplings didn't disappoint! A big call, but probably some of the best chilli oil dumplings and Xiao Long Boa I've had in the CBD for a long time.

Xiao  Long Boa

 

The 'Mouth Watering' chicken definitely looked mouth watering - but was surprisingly (and somewhat disappointingly) cold. But the flavours there and the dried chilli worked well with the crunch of the peanuts and the tang of the oil.

Overall, the service was exceptional, the price was spot on and the food was delicious - definitely a place I would recommend for anyone's 'To Do' list.

Verdict: Like

Rice Paper Vietnamese Restaurant

So much potential - unfortunately disappointed.

Situated next door to one of my favourite Pho destinations in Melbourne (Meekong ) I considered that Rice Paper Vietnamese Restaurant would have to be pretty decent in order to survive. And to be fair, the food was actually quite tasty. The reason for my unfortunate disappointment was that I woke up the next morning with an allergic reaction to what could only be attributed to copious amounts of MSG in my meal from the night before.

The venue was decent enough - not overly crowded, clean and the type of setting you'd usually expect from a cheap and cheerful Vietnamese cuisine venue.

To eat, I had the pork and prawn rice paper roll ($2.80) and the chicken pho ($9.50) - a cheap eat! The rice paper roll was quite delicious (although they gave me the wrong dipping sauce) and the pho was quite tasty - although I thought the bok choy was an odd addition (and didn't think it worked) but I am no pho expert and perhaps that what's expected from a traditional bowel of pho.

What I didn't expect was to wake up the next day with puffy lips and eyes - a dead giveaway of lashings of MSG.  Considering I usually associate Vietnamese with fresh and healthy ingredients (sodium in the soups aside), I was rather disappointed to wake up in such a state.  It is safe to say that next time I will be sticking to Meekong next door.

Verdict: Don't Bother
 

Lucy Lui Kitchen and Bar

As the home of one of my favourite dishes in Melbourne, this was not the first time I had been to Lucy Lui's and it will not be the last. 

Lucy Lui's is situated in the former home of PM24 - not that you would guess it with the venue being completely revamped to a funky and modern design.

While always flat out and buzzing, Lucy Lui's has bucked the trend of most Melbourne restaurants in its genre and allows guests to make bookings (a factor which definitely works in favour of it being one of my faves!).

Lucy Lui's also offers one of my favourite dishes in Melbourne -  the pork bun.  Seemingly a simple dish, Lucy Lui's has somehow taken to the pork bun to the next level and has exceptionally balanced the flavours and textures in the dish.  The softy fluffy bun with the tenderness of the pork and the crunch of the crackling  - offset with the spice of the spicy kimchi and the creaminess of the kewpie mayo, is just an absolute foodgasm in the mouth! A dish I would highly recommend to any Lucy Lui attendee.

Also on the night's menu was the barramundi and scampi dumplings (amazing!), prawn and bamboo dumplings (pretty good), green papaya salad with beans (amazing) and the tempura organic tofu (unfortunately rather mediocre.

The night was finished off the with my fave banana fritters in town (which is accompanied by coconut ice-cream and 'Lucy's Knickerblocker Glory' with lychee sorbet and a red fruit compote.

 

Thank you Lucy Lui's for another exceptional night.

Verdict: Love

 



Le Bon Ton - the latest new fave

Le Bon Ton - I'm calling it - it's the latest new fave!

Having a Texan family, I had high hopes (and standards) going into Le Bon Ton. On the outside it looks like a standard Collingwood pub that you find down the weaving side streets - the kind that looks slightly shabby but all the locals flock to as their local watering hole. But inside Le Bon Ton, it's like a sudden transportation to the American South with a saloon feel and an outrageously gorgeous beer garden (fairly lights get me every time).

The food was exceptional. To eat, I shared the vegetarian chilli fries ($15), the buttermilk biscuits with chipotle and honey butter ($8.50) and the kitchen sink salad with southern fried chicken ($21.50).

The chilli fries and the buttermilk biscuits were an excellent choice. The buttermilk biscuits were warm, soft, fluffy and the chipotle and honey butter just exploded in the mouth. They weren't quite like the biscuits I've had before down south (which I always thought were basically scones!), reminding me more of cornbread. Either way, they were damn delicious and a dish I would recommend.

The kitchen sink salad with southern fried chicken was another excellent choice. I feel guilty calling it a salad (which usually has connotations of healthiness) as this salad was piled high with corn chips, ranch dressing and deep fried chicken - but boy did it taste good. It wasn't overly creamy (which I often find can be the case with creamy salad dressings) and the chicken was surprisingly moist on the inside and crisp on the outside.

For a place that has its kitchen open until 6am on weekends, I wasn't expecting a great deal. But this new fave is definitely somewhere I will be heading to again (and hopefully soon!)


Verdict: The New Fave

 

 

BrimCC - Organic Soup and Japanese Cafe

BrimCC is without a doubt one of my fave spots for a nutritious and delicious lunch in the CBD.

The occasion was catching up with an ex-colleague of mine Emily – a truly inspirational woman who has ditched the corporate legal world to pursue her dreams in architecture.  The venue was BrimCC – a quaint little café on Little Collins Street (which on most days has a line weaving out of its doors – definitely a good sign for a Melbourne lunch venue).  

Even though the venue is always bustling, the staff are friendly and efficient in taking its customers’ orders, and even quicker at getting the food out to the hungry hoards – making it a timely option for an hour lunch break.

While I am not usually the biggest fan of Japanese Curry (I often find them gluggy and flavourless), the organic curry is definitely the go-to option on BrimCC’s menu and can be had on its own, or in a soup or salad combination. 

Today I had the large chicken and tomato curry with rice ($10.00) and Emily had the half curry with half salad combo – choosing the potato mayo salad at an incredibly reasonable $9.50.

 

As always, the food was exceptional.  The curry was light but flavoursome and the chicken was juicy and tender. After having food envy over Emily’s salad (who kindly let me have a bit) I can also attest to the potato mayo salad being rather delicious – not too much mayonnaise with the perfect hint of seeded mustard.

Yet again BrimCC did not fail to impress and is definitely a fave I will be going back to. 

Verdict: Love