The Pour Kids

Address: 1E Winter Street, Malvern, Vic 3000
Phone: (03) 9077 3847
Website: thepourkids.com.au
Facebook: The Pour Kids

Ada and I caught up again the other day for breakfast near her place at The Pour Kids. I'd been drooling at pictures over this cafe for ages, and Ada was a regular at here, so I was happy to meet her at The Pour Kids. And I'm glad I did because I liked almost everything about this place. Let's start with the food....I ordered a Stacks On.

One of the fun and quirky things about The Pour Kids is the names of the dishes. They all have fun names that sound like titles of Children's story books, or cheeky little rhymes. The Stacks On dish was very much a piling up of house-made potato hashes, chorizo sausages, guacamole and roasted corn relish with a dab of sour cream to the side. I really loved the crispy hash with it's warm, shreds of potato. The corn relish really sweetened the flavours and the guac and sour cream gave it a smooth, creamy element. A warning though: Those chorizo sausages are very spicy! They were a tad bit too crispy for me, but everything else was wonderful about this dish!

Ada ordered the Duck for Cover, which comprised of prok sausages, burnt-butter gnoochi, fried egg and swiss chaud. As a regular, Ada knew exactly what she wanted...I developed serious food envy from the pillowy gnocchi on her plate which was wafting with the scent of butter. I also ordered a House-Brewed Chai, which was really frothy and spicy with Chai flavouring, though not too sweet.

My food envy was so serious that I decided to visit The Pour Kids with the intention of getting the Duck for Cover when I was close to the suburb later in the week. However, the weather was too hot for a filling meal, so I went with a lighter dish - Seeds the Day! The dish felt quite healthy and refreshing. It was pretty much a chia seed pudding topped with crunchy, toasted seeds, slices of strawberry and kiwi, raspberry compote and goji berries. It had the perfect balance of sweetness and tartness....I was so happy to have ordered this dish!

Here is the Chai I mentioned before. To quench my thirst on my second visit, I also ordered an iced latte. All very refreshing. 

Another thing I really liked about The Pour Kids was the fun interior design of the space. The walls were filled with black and white art reminiscent of Banksy's graffti style. In fact, the logo looked remarkably like a Banksy piece I'd seen somewhere on a wall in London! There were wooden chairs in pretty primary colours, unusual bouquets of flowers and lights in basket orbs that cast interesting shadows on the walls. 

Both the front and the back of the space were pretty, with the black table featuring a bunch of wooden rainbow stools to complement the rainbow chairs. The walls were all black and white with a beautiful patterned tile wall for the front counter. It really stood out from other cafes I had visited with its matching theme!

Did I love The Pour Kids? Yes, I did. The food was good, the space was beautiful and the waiter was really nice. I was a little unsure about how I felt about the waitress we had on my first visit because she was a bit blase about serving us. But it was pretty packed the first time I came. The second time I visited, it was quiet and the waiter was lovely. I will definately be back to visit again...I'm determined to try the rest of the dishes here, especially Ada's dish!

Ratings

Service: 7/10

Ambience: 10/10

Food: 19/20

Worth Visiting? Excellent food, pretty space! A lot of love going out to The Pour Kids

Price: $$ (You're looking at an average of about $15 per dish - the cheapest dish is around $7.50)

Wonderbao

Address: Shop 4/19-37 A'Beckett Street, Melbourne, Vic 3000
Phone: (03) 9654 7887
Website: www.wonderbaokitchen.com.au
Facebook: Wonderbao

We've been lucky enough to have Wonderbao with us for a couple of years now. I've been visiting whenever I have a bao craving. Some of you may ask, what is a 'bao'? It's the Chinese word for bun and it refers to the white steamed buns you find in restaurants and street vendors in China, Hong Kong and many other parts of Asia. These buns can be plain or filled with some delicious sweet or savoury filling. They can also come flat, like taco shells, to be served with slices of meat and vegetables. These are known as Gua Baos and are quite popular in Taiwan as street food. 

Since opening in 2012, Wonderbao has made the Gua Bao popular in Melbourne, serving three regular combinations, as well as some unique versions for events as such as the Night Noodle Market. With a craving for some baos the other day, I ventured in for a late lunch and ordered one of each of the different flavours.

In general, my favourite is the Roast Pork Belly Gua Bao. The bun is very soft and sweet plum sauce and pickled carrots are used to flavour the slice of pork belly, providing a zest that offsets the richness of the meat. The pork belly is soft and tender with a good balance of fat and meat. 

This goes for the pork in the Braised Pork Belly Gua Bao as well. The Braised Pork is the traditional flavour that you'd find if you were to visit a Taiwanese night market. I'd say that Wonderbao has been pretty faithful to the street snack, serving it with the exact same pickles and crushed peanuts. I'm not a fan of pickles in general but the coriander and peanuts make the bun agreeable.

The Fried Silky Tofu Gua Bao has a thick slice of fried tofu, which I like a lot. But the pickles are quite strong, so I have to pick them out whenever I buy this one.

On my last visit, I also ordered a warm soy milk so I could stay to read my book as it was too sunny to read outside. When I finished hanging around, I ordered another, more traditional bun as a dessert - a Nai Wong Bao, or in English, an egg custard bun. Wonderbao make really nice egg custard buns. The custard is thick and slightly more creamier than the other egg custards you get when you buy Nai Wong Baos. The buns are also fluffy and not at all dry like the ones you have to defrost yourself. 

I think I mentioned ordering a soy milk before? That's right, you can get warm or cold soy milk at Wonderbao. The warm soy milk comes in a cute Wonderbao cup. Or, if you're not a fan of Asian soy milk, they also have a bunch of other drinks (from Asian Grocery stores) on sale. I had to laugh when I saw that they'd called them F.O.B drinks! 

Wonderbao a nice space to sit and eat lunch or to grab take away from. I've had various degrees of friendliness from smiling and conversational staff to nonchalent-hipster types serving me...but the service is always quick and efficient. The store itself is pretty cute and a good place for a quick catch-up with friends. But it's very busy with university students around lunch time due to its affordable prices and convenient location...I'd wait till after 2 o'clock if you want to hang around in the space. But do I recommend Wonderbao? Hells yeah.

Ratings

Service: 7/10
Ambience: 7/10

Food: 17/20

Worth Visiting? Cheap, quick, tasty, filling...What's not to like?

Price: $ (You're looking at $2-$5 per bun. Depending on which buns you order, you may just fill up on 1 or 2!)

Event: Royal Croquet Club 2015

Have you been to the Royal Croquet Club yet? The event is coming to its last few days, ending on the 1st of February, so if you're a fan of food and croquet, make sure you catch it before its gone!

I, myself, have been on a number of little adventures to The Royal Croquet Club and checked out many of the stalls there including: Mr Claws, Meatmother, D.O.C, Miss Chu, Gelato Messina and St. Ali. I liked the options available, but some of my friends were left feeling not so impressed - there were few vegetarian options and no value-meal options. I could understand the cost factor for those who don't love the idea of dining out. But as a foodie, I enjoyed myself thoroughly.

I had dinner there on my first visit. Of course after seeing the lobster rolls by Mr Claws I had to get my hands on some. I tried the Buttermilk Lobster Roll and the Spicy Lobster Roll.It was pretty much big chunks of Lobster meat with a creamy sauce in a toasted sweet and buttery brioche roll. Mmm. Although I liked the Buttermilk Roll a lot, I couldn't really tell the difference between that and the Spicy Roll. The Spicy Roll was not Spicy at all. Only the chives on top differentiated the two. I'd only recommend the Buttermilk roll. At $12 a roll, they aren't cheap especially as they're very small in size. But if you love your seafood, as I certainly do, it's worth a go.

I also tried some of the Vegetarian Net Spring Rolls by Miss Chu's, which were the most affordable of all the snacks, with 4 rolls for $6. The Spring roll skins were crispy, flakey and delicious, though I'm probably biased because I definately prefer 'netting' on my spring rolls. Miss Chu's also got the filling right with tasty vegetables and vermicelli. I've had so many terrible spring rolls in my life, especially vegetarian ones that I was pretty impressed. Despite being to Miss Chu's many times before, both in Melbourne and Sydney, I'd never tried their vegetarian dishes before. But I'll probably try them all now, the next time I visit.

An interruption to the food photos to show you the pretty flags all over the place...

To wash down dinner...Pimm's! Quite non-alcoholic here, watered down with ginger beer, lemonade, fruits and mint...but it was sweet and refreshing. I like my drinks, but I also enjoy it when my drinks are fruitier in the Summer....

Of course, we had to try dessert before heading off. So at sunset, we went to try Gelato Messina's ice-cream sundaes in soup tins. I love the creativity of this dessert house. They're always getting up to some quirky or cheeky idea that appeals to the Melbourne scene. So I visited on two nights and tried two different sundaes, as well as one other flavour which I bought for my sister. My favourite would be The American Chow-Down. I think it won for the best flavour because it was a creamy Peanut Butter gelato with a decadent Cream Cheese mousse and Oreo Custard. A heavenly death right there. 

The Faux Pho was a strange combination that I was at first reluctant to try, but it turned out to be quite fun and exotic (Also, having been stood up by a friend who cancelled last minute on me, I was feeling adventurous. But luckily I ran into some work friends and it turned out to be muchos fun. But I digress.) It was a lot of coconut with a whiff of lychee cream and crunchy chilli cashew nuts. Almost like the peanuts in the American Chow Down. The Zuppa Duppa had a thick layer of crumbled biscuits and pistachios. But once I'd dug under that, there was a rich hazelnut gelato that reminded me at once of Ferrero Roche and Nutella together. So good.

My advice for the event? Come prepared with cash - the ATMs there are costly and run on good old dial-up technology! Slop on the sunscreen too because the weather has been warm...but high in UV rays. And prepare to enjoy the atmosphere and dine on summer snacks!

Also come before 5:00pm to ensure you don't have to pay a $5 entry fee...though if you stay until it gets dark your bound to see the place light up brilliantly.

Tea Elegance and Aromatic Company

Address: Stud Park Shopping Centre, Stud Park and Fulhm Road, Melbourne, Vic 3178

Phone: 0430 348 384

Website: teacompanyonline.com.au

Facebook: Tea Elegance and Aromatic Company

I've been meaning to visit the Tea Elegance and Aromatic Company (or T.E.A Company) for a looong time. I'd always walked past it when running errands and admired the beautiful teapots lining the windows of the store. So on my day off, I decided I'd visit the little teahouse with my sister. I like tea a lot, which was my main motive for visiting but I was also charmed by the little cupcakes in the display cabinet. Between the two of us, we ended up trying 3: Red velvet, Orange velvet and Lemon Squeeze.

The cupcakes certainly looked pretty with a lot of edible glitter and decorations. Such nice colours, particularly the Orange velvet one. In fact, I'm pretty sure I picked that one solely on the pretty decorations on it...

But I can't say that it was the best cupcake experience I'd had. I'll start with the green one, Lemon squeeze. The cupcake didn't taste much like lemon. Only the buttercream icing was slightly lemony. Also, I suspect that the cupcake given to me had been around since the end of December, as I noticed that it had a Christmas Tree decoration on it (The ones in the window had fondant heart decorations, which was kind of what I was expecting to get.) So the cupcake was kind of dense and hard. Don't get me wrong, it was edible and not stale or anything...it just wasn't very soft either.

My sister said the same thing about the Red velvet one. It didn't taste much like the traditional mixture and the cake was not very soft. We shared the Orange velvet one, which turned out to be much more pleasant with cream cheese frosting. It didn't taste very much like orange either, but the cake was more moist than the others. As pretty and as unique as the cupcakes were, they were not to my personal taste. I think my sister and I are a fan of softer, fluffier cupcakes. 

There are many other food items at T.E.A. The rest of the cabinet was stocked full of pies, quiches, tarts and cakes. A family next to us were trying the English High Tea, which looked alright. But my sister had just had lunch so we didn't try it ourselves. But I did go for some tea and really enjoyed it.

Tea is pretty much my lifeblood. I probably drink tea the way other people in Melbourne drink coffee. I also happen to like floral Asian teas, so I was pretty stoked to discover that they had the kind of tea that blooms in your teapot. 

I selected the Green Tea and Peach flavour, which was nice and fragrant and tasted a little fruity. The weather was warm, so we took to the outside to enjoy their shaded seating. After we'd finished with our tea time, we had a look at the shop component of the cafe. There were lots of pretty Chinese trinkets, house decorations and tea-related presents for purchase.

Before we left, I stopped to admire the window housing the collection of teapots. Such a colourful window! 

Overall, the space was pretty, the tea was enjoyable, but I was not sold on the sweets, which were a bit dry for my liking. Was it a nice place to visit? By all means, the service was pleasant enough and they were happy to refill my teapot, so I'd recommend the T.E.A company as a place to bring a book and enjoy a peaceful afternoon tea. 

Ratings

Service: 7/10

Ambience: 8/10

Food: 12/20

Worth Visiting? Enjoy an afternoon tea, but maybe lay off the cupcakes, kids.

Price: $ (You're look at around $2-$10 for tea and cakes. They also do Chinese tea with some Yum Cha foods and English High Tea which may cost more.)

Supernormal

Address: 180 Flinders Lane, Melbourne, Vic 3000
Phone: (03) 9650 8688
Website: www.supernormal.net.au
Facebook: Supernormal

A few days ago, I had my first food adventure for the new year. Kind of late, I know, but I thought it'd be better to start visiting restaurants after everyone had left on their summer holidays. My sister and I had talked about going to Supernormal, another venture by Andrew McConnell (who you may remember was the chef behind Cumulus Up), pretty much since it's opening. But we didn't get around to it till the other day. We arrived at 2 o'clock, to a comfortable open-space environment and ordered some dishes. The first one to arrive was the New England Lobster Rolls. 

The brioche buns were crisp on the edges and deliciously soft and buttery inside. Wedged between each bun was a slice of tender lobster meat which laid on a bed of shredded lobster and mayonnaise The combined flavour of the buns and the lobster meat was sweet and satisfying. At $16 a pop, they were by no means cheap. But I had no regrets ordering these rolls and I would have totally ordered another if I had not made so many dinner plans for the following week which would require saving some cash. But yes, those lobster rolls. So, so delicious.

Next came the Pork Baos with Tamarind Sauce. Baos are all the trend in Melbourne at the moment and pretty much all modern or fusion Asian restaurants will offer an interesting take on the traditional Chinese bread. The Pork Bao was interesting at Supernormal. Instead of streamed or straight out fried meat, the pork patties were crumbed nuggets of juicy, chunky meat served with a spicy, Tamarind sauce on top of some cucumbers. It was definitely not the traditional filling for a Bao, but the meat was flavoursome. I don't think I enjoyed the Tamarind sauce too much though. But the Bao texture and consistency was just right. It was good, fluffy steamed bread.  

For our mains, my sister and I shared a fish, The Whole Roasted Flounder with Seaweed Butter, Potatoes and Spring Onions. For some reason I pictured this dish a little differently...probably because I assumed the potatoes would be roasted as well. But it was still an enjoyable dish. The fish was fresh and melted in your mouth with the seaweed butter. The potatoes turned out to be potato shreds, which were crunchy and also deliciously addictive when served with the seaweed butter sauce. I wish they'd actually provided more potatoes, rather than the spring onion as it could have made for a fancy fish and chips dish!

The part of lunch that we both looked forward to the most was dessert. I'd heard about this Peanut Butter Parfait with Salted Caramel and Soft Chocolate since the opening of the restaurant and I knew that if I had to try one thing at Supernormal, it'd have to be this dessert. And it did not disappoint.

The parfait was silky and creamy, with a light peanut butter taste. It was my favourite part of the dish and it was paired perfectly with the sweet, rich, salted caramel sauce that it was swimming in. To conteract the sweetness, the soft chocolate ganche on top was made from dark chocolate. It was slightly bitter, the natural bitterness of unflavoured cocoa, which helped to offset the sweetness. When all the elements were gathered together, along with some of the roasted peanuts sprinkled on top, it was an explosion of dessert flavours and textures that delighted the taste buds.

What my sister had been really curious about was the Miso and Fuji Apple Soft Serve Ice-cream. We'd seen some pictures of the pretty looking sundae and wondered what Miso Ice-Cream would taste like, so my sister ordered one. It turned out to be an interesting experience, but not one I'd be keen enough to try again anytime too soon. The yellow soft serve was the Miso component and it was mighty salty. Sort of like frozen, sweetened Miso soup. The pink soft serve was the Fuji Apple component and it was sour, with a slightly sweet finish. So when combined together it was a bit like salty apple. It reminded my sister of sun-dried apple chips. I will add that I really liked the seasame brittle on top. It was very thin and caramel-flavoured and the seasame was not over-powering, as with the case with some sesame biscuits.

The restaurant had a lovely dining area. Large and open with long counter-tops and simple furniture. It was lined with some Japanese sake bottles and plants. Nothing super fancy....just Supernormal. Hahaha, sorry, couldn't resist. At two o'clock lunchtime, it did have a business lunch and intimate date vibe, but not exclusively so as there was a family with some kids dining there too.

My favourite decoration in the restaurant, apart from it's hot pink neon sign, was the giant Bonsai they kept in a glass case by the front of the restaurant. It looked a bit like a Japanese pine tree. Kind of cute in it's glass case. There's something nice about plants in restaurants, don't you think?

My final verdict? I loved a lot of the items that we tried, particularly the Lobster Rolls and the Peanut Butter Parfait. But some dishes felt like they needed a little more to make them more desirable to me as I mentioned with some aspects of the Bao and Fish. All in all, it was a super pleasant experience. 

The service was polite and on point. If we asked for something, we'd get it in good time. It did take awhile for the fish to come out though, but perhaps it was the cooking time required for the dish. It was an enjoyable meal and I'd love to come back to try some other dishes sometime. 

Ratings

Service: 7/10
Ambience: 8/10
Food: 18/20

Worth Visiting? Yes - Peanut Butter Parfait! And other dishes are lovely too!
Price: $$$ (You're looking at anything between $6-$69. There's some entree dishes, Baos and such, that are well over $10 for a very small serving. But if you'd like to try them, they are quite enjoyable. Most filling main dishes are about $30-$40, with rice at a separate cost.)

Cumulus Up

Address: 45 Flinders Lane, Melbourne, Vic 3000
Phone: (03) 9650 1445
Website: cumulusinc.com.au

Cumulus Up is one of many ventures owned by the talented Andrew McConnell, who has redefined the Melbourne dining scene with restaurants such Supernormal, Moon Under water, Luxembourg Bar and Bistro and Cumulus Inc. Cumulus Up, an extension of Cumulus Inc., is a fancy wine bar, which also serves fine foods to be shared between guests. 

When catching up with Ada, a friend I hadn't seen in a long time, I suggested Cumulus Up because I thought it'd be fun to test a variety of dishes while we talked about all the things that had happened this year. I'd been to Cumulus Up for the first time not long before and I was keen to try some of the dishes I didn't get to try last time because everything sounded so good.

We started off with the Grilled King Prawn with Creme Freche and Lemon. The tender prawn meat was enhanced by the creamy, zesty flavours it was served with. Really a delicious entree dish. The only issue I had was scooping the meat from the shell - every bite required a bit of work. But I suppose that what you get when you order prawns!

The next dish we tried was the Duck Waffle with Foie Gras and Prune. I'd tried the Duck Waffle on my first visit and fell in love, which was why I recommended that Ada order it too. This is the dish that you go to Cumulus Up for. Rich, buttery, melt-in-your mouth foie gras is served with sweet, prune jam on top of a light and crispy waffle that has tiny, shredded duck pieces folded into the batter. It's a rich dish, but so flavoursome and delightful that I'm pretty sure it'd be a sin to come to Cumulus and avoid this one.

After the duck waffle, our mains came. I'd picked the first two dishes, so it seemed only fair to make Ada choose something too. (And honestly, I hate making decisions when everything looks good!) Ada ended up picking the Pork Rack, which came out beautifully presented.

The pork belly was so soft and tender with a thin brittle layer of cracking above. The meat was flavoured by the basil, parsley and olive oil green sauce or Salsa Verde. It really added a salty and herbyedge to the white bean puree and the pork cuts. On the topic of the puree, I really enjoyed it. As a thick, creamy paste, it added a smooth texture to the the dish.

To go with the Pork Rack, we also ordered a Roast Potato side. I generally love potatoes (even though they bring on the carbs), but these were really something. They were covered with a thick Confit Garlic sauce, which added a strong salty taste to the soft, warm potato flesh in their crackling skins. 

I think Ada enjoyed her meal...and I know most certainly did. Maybe it could be accredited to good company too...you know what they say, good company makes good food better.

In terms of the restaurant, the interior was beautiful with jagged mirrors, flowers and wine bottles lining the walls. On this visit, we also had a really friendly waiter, who came to our table three times (as we kept forgetting to look at the menu, getting deep into conversation) without showing any attitude. He was patient and smiley, which really made a good impression on me. He also gave us a cheery good-bye and thank you when we paid for our meal. 

I feel I should also talk a bit about my first visit too although that was about a month ago. It was a meet-up with high school friends who seen Cumulus on a list of Must-Tries for Melbourne. Although it was a catch up with a group of people, I somehow manged to weasel my way into taking some nice food pictures, even with the lack of natural light inside the restaurant (We were dining at 8pm) and the 10 people who had to wait for me to do the happy snaps before they could dig in.

On that night, I started off with a cocktail - I can't remember the name of it, but it was not my cup of tea (Or rather, glass of gin). It tasted a lot like cough syrup, unfortunately. Though it did have a lovely misty purple hue to it.

We tried the Duck Waffles and the Roast Potatoes on my first visit, as I mentioned before. But we also shared a number of other dishes including the Spanner Crab and Brioche...These were crunchy, toasted brioche fingers, oozing with oil and topped with a creamy Spanner crab and salmon mixture. Definitely rich, but in their tiny size, a good amount to excite the taste buds without being too much for the stomach.

Another dish we tried was the Ricotta Dumplings with Burnt Butter and Pine Nuts. In my mind, dumplings are always filled with meat...probably because I grew up on Asian-styled pork dumplings. So I was initially weary of this dish. But it turned out to be delicious - round parcels of thin skin that melted with the fluffy ricotta filling. It had the lovely aroma of pine nuts and melted butter. Again, rich, but delicious with a small tasting.

We then got into the Whole Rock Flathead and Mussels En Papillote with Herb Salad. Perhaps it's because I don't know if I like Mussels or not, but this one didn't have as much pulling power over me. The fish was fresh and tender and the herbs flavoured the subtle taste of the fish. But I can't say much about the mussels - I didn't try any. I guess I enjoyed the dish, but perhaps not as much as the others.

Finally, we tried the dried aged 600gr. rib fillet. My friends kind of dug into it by accident before I got a picture. But it was delicious...and kind of difficult to share with friends because you wanted to go back in for another piece.

All in all, I really liked dining at Cumulus Up. It serves some interesting dishes, unique to the venue, and really balances subtle flavours with more rich and tasteful elements. It can be a bit pricey depending on what you're ordering and how many people you're dining with, but I tell you that you'll have an experience worth every dollar paid and more.

Ratings

Service: 7.5/10
Ambiance: 8/10
Food: 19/20

Worth Visiting? Definitely...so many delicious dishes. Easy, classy shared dining.
Price: $$$ (You're looking at servings from $7 per piece to dishes priced $12-$68. You'll need to order a few dishes to fill up, but it's great for trying all the different options.)