Demi Tasse

Demi Tasse

550 Lonsdale St, Melbourne

(Ph) 9642 3571

☆☆

Lunch with P again! Another Cheap Eats Guide find - this is actually right next to Le Traiteur, so many good lunch places at this lawyer end of the city!

What a cute little cafe! There are Tin Tin books on the shelf by the window! =)

And there's a Backgammon game under our table! We wanted to play while we wait for our food but we don't know how to play =P

This was on our table... think there's only 2 teaspoon of sugar in it? haha how cute.

I wanted the Pork & Veal Meatballs with Tomato Sugo & Crusty Bread $10.50 since I had heard this was good from other bloggers =)

Pork & Veal Meatballs

Mmm meatballs! Lots of herbs in "sugo" which is an Italian tomato juice, kinda like a bolognaise but more watery. P said it felt like it was missing some spaghetti =P But I thought it was very tasty with the crusty bread soaking up the tomato sugo =) Just thought it was missing some shaved parmesan cheeese! =P

P wanted the Salmon Terrine with Basil Mayo & Salad but they ran out for the day =( So he asked the waiter what was good and he suggested Pan Seared Flathead Tails with Rocket, Kipfler & Tartare $16.00 He said he's not suggesting it 'cause it's expensive, but 'cause it's actually good =P

Flathead Tails

And yes it really was tasty! The flathead was very fresh and well worth the $16! The rocket was also very fresh and went very well with the tartare sauce. Too bad the serving wasn't very big - lucky P wasn't too hungry =P

Food~

Pork & Veal Meatballs - 7.5/10 - full of flavour, if only they sprinkled some cheese over the top =)

Pan Seared Flathead Tails - 7/10 - very tasty, but a little bit small =(

Atmosphere~

2/5 - We sat right next to the counter so the people (many lawyers) coming in to order would be standing right next to us, a little bit claustrophobic - it would have been better if we got a table inside.

Service~

2/5 - you order and pay at the counter, and the table was full of bread crumbs when we sat down. But the food came quickly =)

C.
xo

St Ali

St Ali

12-18 Yarra Place, South Melbourne

(Ph) 9686 2990

☆☆☆

Finally got a chance to go to St Ali - I've been wanting to come here ever since going to Dead Man Espresso. Surprisingly it doesn't have any stars in the Cheap Eats Guide (mentioned for good coffee) but has 3 ☆☆☆ in the Good Cafe Guide =)

We got there at 10am on a Sunday. We initially went down the wrong alley and couldn't find it, called the cafe and no one picked up - we were so worried the place was closed on Sunday but I was 100% sure it'd be open! Then we realised we were in the wrong street =P There were a few people waiting outside - a group of 4 decided to "go to the other cafe instead" - think they were heading for Dead Man Espresso =P We got a table pretty much instantly - jumped in front of a couple but I guess our table was for 4 anyway - lucky we were in a group of 3 then! =)

We sat in front of this very cool tea machine and were instantly intrigued.

The waiter asked us if we wanted any drinks and we asked her about the machine - it's for the Syphon - a clean, delicate brew that will enlighten you to the intricacies of speciality coffee of our "Champion" house blend. The menu says "market price" - we were so worried it'd be very expensive but we decided to get one after our meal - it's meant to be taken afterwards to cleanse our palate =)

This cafe reminds me of Auction Rooms with its old warehouse look... their lights are just hung on wires... looks so dangerous!

And their random furniture like the target wardrobe... don't think anyone plays it =P

They use beer bottles for water here lol..

N felt like seafood - so he got the judith bit - house cured sake salmon on toasted bagel with avocado feta and horseradish cream cheese $17.00 - the closest thing to seafood on the menu =P

the judith bit

Very generous with the smoked salmon =)

P got coronary - slab of berkshire bacon with poached egg, witlof salad and roasted almonds in smoked paprika with a slice of sourdough $21.00

coronary

Wholy moly... I've never seen bacon like this before... really a SLAB of bacon haha! It was more salty than what bacon is like normally... more like cured meat... different but very tasty =) P liked the witlof salad but I'm not a fan of it, kinda bitter =/

I wanted the my mexican cousin - secret recipe corn fritters, baby spinach, haloumi and kasundi with poached or fried eggs $17.00 - of course I got poached eggs =P

my mexican cousin

Mmmm I <3 corn fritters after trying the yummy one at Mart 130 =) This didn't have bacon or any meat in it but it was delicious, the fritter was so crunchy and full of flavours! P doesn't normally like to eat my food but he kept taking my fritter =P Kasundi is a hot Indian tomato relish though I couldn't really taste the hotness... was so delicious I finished my meal before the 2 boys finished theirs =)

After our meal we decided to try the interesting coffees... we thought they'd make use of this massive coffee machine but it looks more like decoration than use =P

All 3 of us are coffee n00bs but N decided to get a long black geisha, whatever it was but it was one of the coffees of the day.

Geisha

Doesn't look that special (no coffee art?) but N liked it even though it was quite strong.

P and I decided to share a syphon and watch the barista perform the art in front of us =) He weighs the water and the coffee beans precisely on a digital scale...

Boils the water to the specified temperature...

Adds the crushed coffee beans to the filtered cup and gives it a stir...

And when you take it off the flame the coffee filters down to the globe...

The barista explains what's so special about this syphon coffee - something about how it's a tea like coffee, how initially you can taste the cherry flavour then the actual coffee hits you... can't remember what else he said but he sounded very knowledgeable =)

Tada! =)

Was a bit bitter for our liking... P and I thought it tasted like Chinese herbal tea lol =X But N suggested we add some sugar to it and tada! It tasted very different and was quite nice =)

Not sure if I'd go for it again, more 'cause I'm not a fan of coffee, but the whole show was quite entertaining! =)

Food~
coronary - 8/10 - very interesting interpretation of bacon and eggs.. but definitely not good for P's coronary system lol!

my mexican cousin - 8.5/10 - gotta say was one of my favourite brunch dishes of all times!

Atmosphere~
3/5 - a little bit squished but given it was a Sunday morning what do you expect =P

Service~
4/5 - came around a few times asking us what coffees we want etc and food came very quickly =)

Definitely worth coming back for!

C.
xo

Stalactites

Stalactites

177-183 Lonsdale St, Melbourne

(Ph) 9663 3316

The famous 24/7 Greek restaurant! P wanted to go out for dinner before our movie - we were going to go to The Taiwan Cafe but there was a 15 minute wait. We decided to walk along Lonsdale Street, but then it suddenly started pouring rain, so we decided to go in Stalactites instead of walk back to Swanston Street. There is usually a waiting time for Stalactites as well but they gave us a table straight away =)

I haven't been to Stalactites for a few years - it's always the restaurant people go to after a late night partying (apart from McDonald's =P). Don't really know what stalactites has to do with Greek food - but the restaurant has all these fake stalactites on the ceiling, doesn't look very realistic but anyway =P

We used to always order a Souvlaki each and a bowl of chips, but we decided to go for something different this time. A waiter came and asked if we were ready to order after only a minute of giving us the menu - you'd think that's good service but it felt like they were rushing us in and out or something =/ P wanted to order a Mixed Dips - tarama, melitzanosalata, tzatsiki & hommus $9.00 and 2 pita breads $1.70 each.

Mixed dips & pita bread

I knew the dips were pre-served already but it seriously came out half a minute after we put the order in. So I guess the pita breads are warmed up constantly - wouldn't they burn or get hard?! The tzatziki was slightly spicy - was interesting and different to what it normally is like. Not sure what the powder sprinkled over the hommus was - couldn't really taste it. The melitzanosalata was P and my favourite - eggplant! Even though he doesn't like eggplant normally =) The tarama was very tasty too - fish roe =) For some reason the next table's tarama was a lot more orange compared to our pink one - makes me slightly wonder what it's meant to be..

P decided to order from Dimatra's Traditional Home Cooking menu - Lemonato - oven baked lamb with oregano and potatoes in lemon and extra virgin Greek olive oil - entree $16, main $24, all served with a side of bread. I told P he should get an entree size but he said we always order 2 mains and some chips so he ordered a main - massive regret!

Lemonato

By the time we finished our dips and our mains came, we were half full already. This dish was ginormous! The lamb pieces were very tender and quite tasty but it was very oily - though it does say it's in extra virgin Greek olive oil =P and P loves his olive oil! Though P felt a bit sick after eating a little, don't know how Italians can drink olive oil like it's water =/

P was so full he only ate one piece of the bread and left the other 2. I actually think this bread and butter doesn't really go well with the dish or the style of restaurant, you'd expect like a roll or something?

I went for the typical Mixed Souvlaki - combination of lamb and chicken from the spit, crisp lettuce, tomato, onion and homemade tzatziki all rolled in warm pita bread $12.50

Geez it was so big! I couldn't decide if I wanted chicken or lamb so I got the mixed, but then realised it's a strange mix of flavours. The chicken was quite tender but the lamb was quite dry and tough =/ I was a third through the roll when the paper wrapping started to wet and break from the sauce and my souvlaki broke and half the meat fell out =/ It turned out a very messy eating experience. In the end I took the paper off and ate with knife and fork - should have paid extra for an open souvlaki lol.

 So full we couldn't finish our food! And I very rarely leave food I hate wasting =( Next time P really should listen to me =P

Food~
Mixed Dips - 8/10 - all the dips were tasty! Would have been better if the price included the pita breads (who orders dip without bread anyway?!), 'cause now I feel jipped they made me pay for more

Lemonato - 5/10 - I didn't mind this but P didn't like it very much - he said it was too oily for his liking but I thought the lamb was quite tender and tasty

Mixed Souvlaki - 6/10 - was pretty good overall but the lamb meat was really quite tough and dry =(

Atmosphere~
2/5 - quite loud and roudy in there, but what do you expect on a Saturday night =P

Service~
3/5 - very prompt, but like I said, don't know if that's 'cause they want to get us in and out quickly =P When we asked for water they gave us water from a jug on the table which was at room temperature - that was a bit disappointing =(

Probably won't come here for a while - until the next time I need their 24/7 service! =P

C.
xo

Old Kingdom

Old Kingdom

197 Smith St, Fitzroy

(Ph) 9417 2438

I had been to Old Kingdom since ~5 years ago, P loves Peking duck and found this place after much research online, and since then, have been coming here a couple of times.

Pretty much everyone who comes here comes for their Peking duck. $55 for a duck, served 3 ways - Peking duck, stir fry duck meat with bean sprouts, and duck and tofu soup.

Came here with some college friends - 6 of us, 3 girls and 3 guys - we couldn't decide whether to order 2 or 3 ducks, but decided to be more lavish and order 3 ducks (partly 'cause another guy was going to come but decided not to eat). You have to order how many ducks you want prior so they can prepare the numbers for the night - though we've never tried to just rock up at the restaurant. They do 2 sittings here - 6pm or 8pm. We booked for 6pm but knew we had to be kicked out by 8pm lol

P and I came late, we sat down and told them they could serve the food. The manager? (or a guy who was behind the counter and took our bill etc) came out with a Peking duck after only 5 minutes - we were hungry so we were happy =D He cut the duck in front of us, seemed like such a pro but I guess you would be after doing it so many times every day =P He asked us if we knew how to eat Peking duck, we said yes so he didn't bother explaining to us how, though it's pretty self-explanatory =P

Tada! A beautiful plate of Peking duck skin with bits of meat stuck on it =) He cut us the duck leg and wings as well - lots of meat on the leg! =D

A plate of very thin pancakes - the thinner the better but not easily ripped =P

A pancake, a piece of cucumber (normally with a spring onion as well - but I'm not a fan so I didn't put one in), some Peking duck sauce (kinda like a mix between plum sauce and hoisin sauce) all wrapped in the thin pancake - deliciousness! We finished one plate of duck, then they brought out another plate, all cut up already (finished performing in front of us so not necessary anymore =P) and another one. I probably had about 10 pancakes all together? I actually lost count but I was quite full from the Peking duck already. Plus one duck leg with it's delicious meat =)

Next came the second course of duck - stir fry duck meat with bean sprouts. The waiter separated it into 6 equal bowls of stir fry - should have given more to the boys but P said he was too full to have any of mine anyway =P

Our vegetables for the night lol - lots of tasty duck meat =) The boys said it was a bit too salty to eat by itself without rice, but we were so full definitely could not fit any rice in! I of course don't mind, I never eat rice anyway so I didn't find it salty but was full of flavour =)

Seriously could not fit anymore in, but the third course, the duck soup came last.

Duck broth with tofu and vegetables - a tad too much pepper but I quite like that. Cleanse the palate after all the duck oiliness - ended the meal very nicely =)

After we finished one large bowl of soup, the manager came and said we can ask for more soup if we want, so we did =P Except the duck bones piled up so there was only 80% of the liquid from the first bowl =P We finished the second bowl and asked the same waiter for another serving =P By the end of the third serving, the bowl was 50% filled with duck bones lol =P

Food~
Peking duck - 10/10 - definitely thumbs up! That's what we come here for =)
Stir fry duck with bean sprouts - 7/10 - a tad too salty to eat by itself but I didn't mind it
Duck broth - 8/10 - very nice way to end the meal, cleanse the palate =P

Atmosphere~
2/5 - very typical Chinese restaurant feel, and very squishy between the tables - lucky we weren't upstairs or it's even more of a squish there! I guess it's a very authentic Chinese feel =P

Service~
3/5 - the waiters were very prompt with serving up the food and clearing our plates =P Probably 'cause they wanted to kick us out by 8pm =P

We were all clutching our stomachs afterwards - definitely worth it and definitely will be coming back!

C.
xo

Kinfolk

Kinfolk

673 Bourke St, Melbourne

☆☆

We had walked past this cafe so many times before but it always looked so artsy and we thought they only served coffee here so never stepped inside it. But I saw it was in the Cheap Eats Guide with ☆☆ so thought should check it out =)

It's a very unique cafe - all their ingredients are organic and fair-trade, and either donated or bought at cost, and most of the workers are volunteers. All the profits go to charities - at the end of your meal, you put a coffee bean in the charity of your choice which gets converted to cash =)

The cafe has a very op shop feel - I'm pretty sure their tables and chairs are donated 'cause they're all different =P

And they don't really have a cutlery set either - their coffee/tea cups are all different =P

But they have very cool wall decorations! A bird cage with a fake bird...

A ladder bookshelf - how ingenious!

And very cool artwork on the wall =)

The waiter - she looked very young, like 15ish - volunteers of all ages! - came and explained the menu to us, which changes daily. P decided to get the Convent bakery sausage roll with leaf salad and relish $12.50

Sausage Roll

Was YUM! The salsa was delicious with the sausage roll - crispy pastry and filling full of flavour, though a touch too salty. The salad was very fresh - tasted like it came strange from the ground =)

I ordered the Poached chicken, avocado, Angel hair, cabbage & aioli open sandwich $9.50

Chicken Open Sandwich

Looks a little bit disappointing, but looks deceive! Chicken with cabbage and shaved almonds and avocado on fresh bread =) Not sure if there really was any Angel hair in it - couldn't really taste the pasta lol, but it was delicious like it was =)

We're not very Melbournian, not drinking coffee and not even trying a coffee at this coffee bean cafe, but it was just such a hot day I really didn't feel like it =X

After our meal, we took a coffee bean each, and put it in our charity of choice - though all 4 jars are quite full already =P Felt good helping charity =)

Food~

Convent bakery sausage roll with leaf salad and relish - 8/10 - delicious! Just a touch too salty  but very fresh and tasty overall =)

Poached chicken, avocado, Angel hair, cabbage & aioli open sandwich - 8/10 - yum! I'm not a fan of sandwiches normally but this was delicious!

Atmosphere~

3/5 - felt very artsy but it was nice with the sunlight streaming in, the chairs weren't very comfortable but it's all part of the cafe atmosphere!

Service~

4/5 - very good service, considering they're all volunteers! Explained our menu to us and took our orders quickly =)

Definitely will come back!

C.

xo

Taste Gallery

Taste Gallery

Market Square Shopping Centre, 

Shop 20B, 341 McCullough St, Sunnybank, Brisbane

(07) 3423 8483

I didn't go out much when I went back to Brisbane, but one of the places I did want to try was the new Taste Gallery at Market Square. Seemed like it popped out of no where but then I realised Coco Fruit Market is not there anymore?

We got there at 7pm on a Sunday night - the waiter said there'd be a 15 minute wait, so we sat down and were given a MASSIVE menu, seriously so heavy and big and requires 2 people to hold it... how awkward =/ 

The decor is quite fancy here with chandelier and all, and kinda like Din Tai Fung where you can watch in the window at the chefs busy wrapping your dumplings =)

We only waited 5 minutes before they said there was a table for =) The tables here are very small, and feels too high compared to the chairs. And they cramped wayyy too many tables in, so you can barely walk between them to get to the bathrooms etc =/

And yes, the menu really did take up the whole table, no wonder the waiter only gave us one menu lol..

My parents decided to go all out 'cause I was only going out once with them this weekend =P

So of course we had to order Shanghainese steamed mini pork bun (8 pieces) $8.80

Xiao Long Bao

Mmmm my absolute favourite food in the whole wide world! <3 Skin was thin but not easily torn, and there was lots of delicious soup inside =) Meat wasn't too tough or anything - just the right size =) too bad they don't give free ginger slices here, which you're normally meant to eat with XLBs but I don't really like ginger anyway so I didn't really mind.

Their specialty here was the Multicolour's Mini Pork Buns (4 pieces) $6.50. It's really XLBs but with a coloured skin.

1. Spinach (green) - "taste the fresh spinach with pork dumpling"
2. Purple cabbage (purple) - "a magnificent feast of taste"
3. Pumpkin (yellow) - "unmistakable taste of Pumpkin"
4. Carrot (orange) - "these morsels are infused with pork and delicate the taste of the carrot"

Multicoloured XLB

Hmmm the orange doesn't really look orange - more like a brown lol. I had the spinach one, and if I really concentrate and use some imagination, you can "kinda" taste the spinach? Lol not really =P the soup and meat inside was the same as the normal XLBs and just as delicious =) though this skin was more delicate, my mum broke her's when she picked it up, probably 'cause they've mixed stuff in to the skin.

My parents had tried the Pan fried pork buns (4 pieces) $4.90 at Shangpaign Kitchen at Pinelands - it's opened by the same people but much smaller and less fancy there and smaller menu. They said the buns were very tasty so we ordered some too.

Pan fried pork buns

And yes indeed they were just as they're meant to be! Crunchy base with a much thicker bun compared to XLBs but still lots of soup inside - I'm pretty sure the inside meat and the soup is the same as XLBs?

Dad wanted a Panfried pancake stuffed with garlic chives, egg shreds and glass noodles - $1.80 each. He felt bad just ordering one, but we were ordering too much food, and we're Asian, can't feel bad about things like this =P

Chives pancake

Super crunchy on the outside =)

And lots of filling inside =) their own version of a 葱油饼 but chives instead of spring onions =)

My brother wanted to try the Potted broth with stewed Korean ginseng and duck $6.80
Functions: Effectively enhancing vitality, refreshing mouth, and stabilizing spirit - lol, whatever you say =P

Ginseng broth

It was full of flavour - I love double boiled soups =) Kinda oily but yeah, it's meant to be good for you =P My brother even ate the ginseng though I think it doesn't taste very nice - once you cook it in soup, the goodness gets into the soup, right?

Mum said she had always wanted to try the Crispy sweet and sour whole fish, but unfortunately they ran out of live fish and only have frozen fish for $23.80. When we asked the waiter what fish it was she said she didn't know and didn't even offer to ask for us or anything =/ But anyway, we decided to order it anyway.

Crispy sweet and sour fish

It was very crunchy, but my parents said they should have cut more slits into it so more bits of the fish were crunchy, they only made large cris-crosses in it. And the belly part was kinda bitter 'cause it wasn't fresh - boo =( They poured sweet and sour sauce over it, and the poured some cooked prawns over that as well?! the prawns weren't cooked with the sauce - weird lol.

My brother wanted to get the Stuffed with stir fried pork shreds and bamboo shoot strips with sour & spicy sauce $15.80, served with pancake (10 pieces) $5.00. He was choosing betweent his and Braised pork belly with chestnuts and brown sauce $17.80 - ugghh, that would 100% go to my butt lol.

Stir fried pork shreds

Kinda a mix between Peking Duck and San Choi Bao =) Though it was kinda too hot for my liking, and I don't like bamboo shoots so I wasn't really a fan =/ They only gave 10 pancakes and we didn't want to pay for more so we just got a doggy box and packed it home =P

We were SOO full after all this - could barely finish the fish and we were just sitting there like slobs =P and then my brother says he still wants to order his dessert =P Boiled glutinous rice balls in sweet rice wine (small) $4.50

Glutinous rice balls in rice wine

Lucky I don't really like these glutinous rice balls, especially not in fermented rice wine lol =P they said it was very tasty though =) kinda reminds me of soup rice - my grandpa used to put rice in soup so that the rice would soften... *shivers*

Food~

7/10 - overall was quite good, the best were the Shanghainese favourites, xiao long baos and fried pork buns =)

Atmosphere~

2/5 - felt a bit cramped and the tables were so small, lucky all the dishes are small so finish them rather quickly or we would not have fit all our stuff. They try to make it super fancy and high class but fail in so many aspects lol.

Service~

2/5 - we tried catching their attention soo many times to ask for extra bowls but they don't have enough people working =/

All in all was quite an enjoyable night though =)

C.

xo