Melbourne Alleyways

Wow I have just realised I am not yet done with blogging about Melbourne! I am so sorry, dear readers, for the snail pace in which I am distributing my Melbourne adventures :( It's good to look back on this trip and realise that it was actually Melbourne that converted me into a little bit of a coffee fanatic. All those wanderings through the alleyways to discover a lot of cute cafes with quirky names really couldn't scream hipster at me any louder.

Skim latte, $4.00?

Gingerbreadmanne and I wanted to go to eat buns at Wonderbao but they weren't open yet so we sat down inside a cafe just around the corner called A Little Bird Told Me. How adorable are the ceramics here? That pretty shade of aqua that is reminiscent of Tiffany's and the little blue flowers that held the brown sugar were too pretty for words. The latte was definitely a good one. Sigh, I miss you Melbourne coffee.

A Little Bird Told Me
29 Little La Trobe St
Melbourne, VIC, 3000

Opening Hours
Monday - Friday: 7:00am - 4:30pm
Saturday: 9:30am - 4:00pm

Wonderbao's menu is short, concise and straight to the point of what they sell best. Buns. You can get open buns, closed buns, meat buns, vegetable buns, even sweet custard buns for those feeling like a little bit of dessert afterwards.

L to R: roast pork belly gua bao / braised pork belly gua bao, $4.20 each

Check out the glorious pieces of fatty pork belly and that generous lashing of sauce on top. Whilst the braised pork belly was already really yum with its pickled mustard, coriander and crushed peanut topping, it was the roast pork belly that really made my tastebuds sing with happiness. It was as though the Vietnamese pork roll secretly had a love child with the Chinese man tou. Definitely Vietnamese inspired with its pickled carrots, daikon and cucumber but also Chinese with the hoisin sauce.

Why oh why do you not exist in Sydney, Wonderbao?

Wonderbao
Shop 4/19-37 A'Beckett St
Melbourne, VIC, 3000

Opening Hours
Monday - Friday: 8:00am - 6:00pm
Saturday: 11:000am - 4:00pm

Purple Peanuts Japanese Cafe, Melbourne CBD

Walking around the unassuming streets of Southern Cross Station, we discovered a little Japanese café just on Collins St. And with a name like Purple Peanuts Café, how could we not enter?

Tuna onigiri, $4.50

I couldn’t help myself but order the tuna onigiri. The little triangles looked too tempting. And at $4.50, how can you resist the cheap deal? We had a choice to douse it in chilli, sesame or teriyaki sauce and we went with chilli. The onigiri itself had been fried to give a nice brown hue so that the rice had crunch with every bite. The chilli sauce wasn’t that spicy, but instead provided more flavour which had me coming back for more.

Katkuni pork $9.50

Ah, pork belly, one of the fattiest cuts of meat but also one of the most delicious. This particular dish comprised of pork belly that had been braised over several hours so the fat simply dissolved on your tongue and the meat was so tender.  Ah,it was bliss to eat.

Goma bean salad, $4.50 for a small

Coz we had to make up for our unhealthiness from the pork belly, we got a side of vegetables too. Carrots and beans mixed through sesame sauce.

They also sell some interesting desserts like matcha tiramisu and green tea chocolate that they make themselves! A bit on the pricey side, but you wouldn’t expect things to be cheap if they were handmade.

We stayed for a while, discussing our group project and weren’t pushed to leave. It was relatively quiet though they still had a steady stream of customers. But I was very happy with the discovery of the pan fried onigiri – that is something I ought to experiment at home with! Maybe after I learn to make the actual onigiri first :P

Purple Peanuts Japanese Cafe

620 Collins St
Melbourne, VIC, 3000

Opening Hours

Monday - Saturday: 9:00am - 8:30pm

Movida Aqui, Melbourne

When in Melbourne, I managed to catch up with my doctor girlfriend A for dinner! And to give her 21 macarons for her 21st birthday from my Sydney friends and I ;D (oh the cheese). I managed to spend a lovely night chatting with her and  her boyfriend at Movida Aqui along with dessert at Brunetti afterwards! I know there's a Movida in Sydney now, but there are so many Movida joints in Melbourne so I couldn't help myself from dining at one.

Sangria, $9.00

We started with a glass of sangria, though a jug would've been preferable ;) There's something so refreshing about sangria with all the addition of fruity goodness.

Complimentary bread

 Nice crusty bread with olive oil to begin our meal.

Carrillera de buey, $23.50

I couldn't help myself from ordering the slowly braised beef cheek in Pedro Ximenez. It came sitting on a beautiful cauliflower puree that tasted almost like a dessert! It was so creamy and delicious that I could probably just eat a bowl of it by itself :P The beef cheek was extremely tender and just fell apart as soon as I prodded it with the spoon - win!

Cordorniz con lentejas, $21.50 + not sure how much extra for the third piece

I was very fascinated as to how rabbit would taste as I've never had it before. The rabbit had been minced and stuffed inside the quail along with pinenuts and jamon. The quail itself was still a shade of blushing pink and very tender and came sitting atop a bed of braised green lentils.

Movida Aqui seems to be a lovely place for social gatherings - it was very busy when we popped by and looked to be very popular with the locals!

So do let me know, has anyone tried rabbit and if so, what was your experience like?

Movida Aqui
500 Bourke St On Level 1
Melbourne, VIC, 3000

Opening Hours
Monday - Friday: 12:00pm til late
Saturday: 6:00pm til late

Macarons of Melbourne

Sorry I've been away for so long fellow readers... I have disappeared for good reason though. I've been eating my way through Melbourne! There were two places in particular that I knew I just HAD to visit. They contain one of my favourite things in the world. Macarons!! Yes, I know they are an expensive habit in terms of eating. Yes, I know there is sooo much sugar in them. Yes, I know they are only a sometimes food. But give a girl a break alright? I was on a mini-holiday!

Our first macaron visit was to La Belle Miette, hidden in a cute unassuming store nestled within Hardware Lane. Isn't it just darling?

There was a huge variety to choose from. I was on a mission here to gather 21 macarons for my friend's 21st so we managed to snag at least one of each flavour for her. But of course, I couldn't let the opportunity of trying some macarons in Melbourne pass me by either so my friend and I decided to share a box. The store ladies were absolutely lovely and ever so patient!

The packaging is also very pretty in shades of pastel.

Left to right: violet & blueberry, salted caramel, mango & coconut, strawberries & cream, rose, cherry blossom & sake, $2.50-$2.75 each (I think?)

I was surprised by the blueberry and violet because I was a bit wary of how strong the floral scent of the violet was. But it was actually very subtle and enhanced the flavour of the blueberry. Very lovely! I was expecting more flavour from the mango and coconut though. It was hard to pick out either one of those BUT there was a tiny dollop of mango puree in the middle! The cherry blossom and sake definitely amazed me. Loved it!

Left to right: pistachio, vanilla, strawberries & cream, mango & coconut, salted caramel, hazelnut

My beautiful friend who studies over at Monash University also bought me a box to try! How sweet of her - I am blessed to have such good friends :) The salted caramel is a flavour that never fails me time and time again! I also particularly enjoyed the creaminess of the strawberries and cream macaron. The texture of the shells were also soft just the way I like it. Though I also love the chewier textured macarons too!

La Belle Miette
30 Hardware Ln
Melbourne, VIC, 3000
www.labellemiette.com.au

Opening Hours
Monday - Thursday: 10:00am - 6:00pm
Friday: 10:00am - 9:00pm
Saturday: 10:00am - 5:00pm
Sunday: 11:00am - 4:00pm

Store number two is further away in South Yarra! But it is also known for their macarons so it was a trip I had to make!

Box of 8 macarons, $22.00

Left to right: carmelised white chocolate, heilala vanilla creme brulee, sour strawberry, passionfruit & kaffir lime, ribena lemonade, pandan, coffee candy (kopiko), bamboo oolong tea

Can I just say oh my god about the flavours? They were all so good! And the best thing was, they managed to stay alive through the flight back to Sydney! I had packed the box with tissues around it due to my paranoia that the delicate macarons would get destroyed during transportation and I was surprised that they did indeed survive the long flight. I was scared air pressure would ruin them but they were as good as new when I opened the box (to my relief). I definitely have favourites - hello creme brulee and pandan!

We also managed to talk to the head pastry chef, Bernard Chu, who was ever so nice as to recommend the best restaurants of Melbourne! It was our last evening there before we had to fly back to Sydney and he encouraged us to make our way to Cumulus Inc (more to come later!) because my friends and I were going to make our way to Chin Chin again. Apparently Sydney's Ms G's run by Dan Hong is better ;) He also mentioned that he was just in Sydney the other week at the Shangri La hotel. Pity the Sydney weather echoed that of Melbourne when he was here - rainy and cold! Fingers crossed he'll get nicer weather when he's next in Sydney :P

Oh macarons of Melbourne, please come to Sydney.

LuxBite
38 Toorak Road
South Yarra, VIC, 3141
www.luxbite.com.au

Opening Hours
Open 7 days 10:30am - 7:00pm