Peddler Cafe

The "Campfire Eggs" at Peddler Cafe definitely make it worth the drive. Situated in Nunawading , Peddler Cafe is as homely and welcoming as the tree lined streets it is situated on.

Bustling at 10.00am with most of its indoor and outdoor seating taken, Peddler Cafe is obviously the local favourite. Offering an extensive breakfast brunch menu, it has all of the favourites from eggs benedict to avocado on toast.

But back to the best bit - the "Campfire Eggs". Whilst baked eggs are often at risk of just tasting like a can of crushed tomatoes with a few stray bits of chorizo stirred through it, this was not the case for this incredible dish. Filled with chorizo, bacon, butter beans, chilli, parmesan and Napoli sauce, these baked eggs were rich with flavour and each bite of this dish left you wanting more. My fellow diner definitely had food envy after a small taste of my dish.

Another incredible looking item on the menu was the field mushrooms with rosti, goats cheese, mushroom duxelle, poached egg and onion jam - definitely a dish I will be trying next time!
With its Friendly staff, and wholesome and delicious food, Peddler Cafe is definitely on the 'love' list.

Food: 4/5
Service: 4/5
Venue: 3/5
Total: 11/15
Verdict: love - get around to trying the baked eggs soon!
295 Springfield Road, Nunawading

The New Fave dined courtesy of Peddler Cafe

Aunty Franklee

Aunty Franklee is a new Malaysian restaurant just opened up on Russell Street (Sugar Bun with a face lift!). Serving up traditional Malaysian cuisine, you will find everything on their menu from Chinese donuts to old fashioned bak kut teh - a meat bone tea.

The turmeric chicken served with multi grain rice and tea egg was out of this world - the chicken itself was tender and juicy, and the whole dish was the perfect balance of sweet and sour, crunch and creaminess, spice and flavour.

The golden fritters - being a giant bowl of fried vegetables - were fried to perfection and were an excellent addition to the turmeric chicken to add an extra element of crunch.

Next up we tried the "Let's Meat Up" which consisted of smoky pork ribs, meatballs, okra and lotus root in a garlic soy sauce with chillies. Unfortunately, the pork ribs in the dish were on the tough side, but otherwise, the flavours in the dish were vibrant and tasty and the okra and lotus root were a delicious touch.

As Aunty Franklee's tumeric chicken is up there with potentially one of my top 20 dishes of Melbourne, I will definitely be back to Aunty Franklee's soon.

Service: 3.5/5
Food: 4/5
Venue: 3.5/5
Total: 11/15
Verdict: Love - get around to trying the turmeric chicken soon.

The New Fave dined courtesy of Aunty Franklee 

El Rincon

El Rincon is a new tapas bar located near the Queen Victoria Market.  Offering authentic Spanish cuisine, it's not hard to feel as though you may actually be sipping on Sangria in Spain as soon as you walk through El Rincon's doors.

There are two important things to note about El Rincon.  The first is that they have Sangria on tap, that's right, on tap - and it's absolutely delicious. The second (which is just as important as the first), is that El Rincon would have to have one of the best croquettes I've had in Melbourne. Rich, gooey, and full of flavour, the croquette with jamon serrano and choriza was fried to perfection.

Another incredible dish of the night was the salmorejo. Similar to gazpacho, salmorejo is a cold tomato soup which is often served as a starter in Spain.  Robust in flavour, and beautifully complimented by the dried jamon, it was easily a dish that I would come back for.

The albondigas (spainsh meatball with almond sauce), whilst terribly unattractive, was also delicious and flavoursome.  It could, however, have done with some acidity (such as the tomato salsa which accompanied the croquette).

Unfortunately, with my dislike of both sardines and cod, the fried sardine with cod croquette never really stood a chance.  However, even if I was a fan of the old sardine, I would have hoped for the batter to be a touch crispier.

With such warm and welcoming staff who have such a love for delicious authentic Spanish cuisine, I'm sure El Rincon will do well in Melbourne.

Service: 5/5
Venue: 4/5
Food: 3/5
Total: 12/15
Verdict: Like - get around to trying it at some point

The New Fave dined courtesy of El Rincon

Uncle

Uncle has all the makings of a great Summertime restaurant - an incredible outdoor courtyard (tick), a  menu filled with fresh Vietnamese cuisine (tick) and a drinks list worth not being the desi-driver for (tick).  However, unfortunately its food didn't manage to hit the mark.

To be fair, two out of the three dishes we had, whilst not spot on, were quite tasty.  The free range chicken slaw with fragrant herbs, bean sprouts and chili came out looking spectacular - but lacked a punch in any of its flavours.

The flavours, however, were spot on in the chicken tenderloin steamed bao with  Vietnamese mint and spicy pickles, but the fried chicken was a touch on the soggy side.

 

 Unfortunately, the lamb curry with okra would have be one of the worst dishes I have had in Melbourne.  Am I exaggerating? When you actually have to spit out your meal into your napkin I would say absolutely not.  The flavours were there (I'll give them that), however, there was barely any sauce and the lamb was so fatty and filled with cartilage/bones, I'd be surprised if there was actually any meat on it. Indeed, it was a mouth full of cartilage that made me spit out my food, which is never a nice look at any restaurant.

Whilst the venue was incredible, and the staff were amazing, the food alone is enough for me to not want to go back.

Food: 2/5
Service: 4/5
Venue: 5/5
Total: 11/15
Verdict: Don't bother - there are much better Vietnamese restaurant's out there

Newmarket Hotel

Newmarket Hotel is a Melbourne Institution - having been around for years, this Inkerman Street establishment in St Kilda is definitely a household name. The venue itself just oozes with character - looking almost like an old factory from the outside, the inside is elegant whilst still being dim and enchanting.

Serving up a menu inspired by Californian cuisine with a hint of the south (think cheesy quesadillas, soft shell tacos and Latin cured meats) the food on offer is both mouth watering and extensive. The fiejoada taco with braised black beans, cured pork and brisket was delicious - however I definitely had food envy of my friend's crispy john dory taco which had sea urchin sauce, artichoke and scallop cake. The corn on the cob was also tasty, but not quite as good as the like's of Mamasita's or Paco Taco's.

The smoked 24 hour angus beef brisket just melted in the mouth and was bursting with flavour.  The sprout slaw was also a different, but inspiring accompaniment to the meal and was absolutely delicious. 

Unfortunately I forgot to take a photo of my favourite dish of the night - the mushroom and spinach quesadilla with pinto beans, sour cream and huitlacoche. It's fair to say that this may even by one of my favourite dishes in Melbourne. Huitlacoche is actually a fungus which grows on corn which has the most incredible flavour - definitely worth giving a try!

The staff were also a stand out of the night - from the person taking our orders, to the person taking away our plates, everyone was amazingly helpful and friendly. The friend I dined with is fructose intolerant, which can often put a restaurant into a spin, however, the people at Newmarket hotel were absolutely wonderful about it! Thank you for such a wonderful night!

Food: 4/5
Venue: 4.5/5
Service: 5/5
Total: 13.5/15
Verdict: Love - get around to trying it soon

Dundas & Faussett

From the crowds that are drawn to Dundas and Fausett every weekend morning, you would think that it would certainly be a place worth talking about. Situated on Victoria Avenue in Albert Park, and offering both indoor and outdoor seating, Dundas and Faussett offers the standard cafe venue setting.

The most Instagramable worthy dish on their breakfast menu would have to be the Ricotta hotcakse with banana, palm sugar caramel, hazelnut crumble and fresh berries. Coming out looking as pretty as a picture, whilst definitely delicious, my friend who is known for her sweet tooth found it so sweet that she couldn't even finish it - indeed, after the bite I had, whilst it was delicious, I was sculling down the water - the giant chunks of sweet hazelnut crumble were quite unnecessary.

 

The breakfast bruschetta was another dish that came out looking amazing.




Unfortunately, my dish (smoked salmon with potato rosti, avocado salsa and poached egg) was the least prettiest dish out of the three and the most underwhelming - my egg was overlooked, the toast was so tough I almost sprained my wrist trying to cut through it and the rosti tasted like dry ball of flour.

The coffee, however, was spot on and the staff were friendly - so whilst not a complete ride off, it's definitely not the new fave.

Food: 2.5/5
Venue: 2.5/5
Service: 3.5/5
Total: 8.5/15
Verdict: Like - get around to trying it at some point

111 Dundas Place, Albert Park