We finally embarked on our relaxing Aussie trip for 2016!
After a red-eye flight, we made our way to our Airbnb apartment, dropped our bags, and went to meet our friends to have our first meal in Melbourne. And it was pancakes!!!
We decided to check out the relatively new French restaurant at Upper Thomson (which took over Crust Pizza which was sharing the shop front with One Man Coffee) before we fly off for our 2-weeks break! 😛
Since it was quite near to closing, we decided to just try out a couple of items on the standard menu.
We were glad that another French restaurant has opened, since the last one had given way to bingsoo. There were actually some monthly and today specials that we intend try sometime soon 🙂
Note: Only cash and NETS accepted here. Water is available freely at the cutlery counter.
Contact:
|
A new kid on the block, and the waffles were calling out to us!
We got ourselves the Red Velvet and Charcoal flavours ($6.90 each), and a Sambal Beef Wrap ($5.50). The waffles were huge, and we belatedly realised that we could have ordered a half-and-half, after the staff mistakenly did one, so we ended up with 2 half-and-halfs. Hahah. Half-and-half looked prettier, and were crispy outside, soft on the inside.
The staff described Melon Milk ($4.50) as “melon with milk” and then everyone burst out laughing! Anyway, this was not bad. The melon taste was quite fragrant without being too cloying sweet. The Green Tea Milk ($5) was basically matcha latte which was not bad, while the Iced Doi Chaang ($6.50) was alright, but it was abit hard to judge since it was iced.
It was quite a cosy place to hang out and chit chat, and we had fun trying to find the countries in the “world map” on the wall.
Contact:
|
We were here for some Japanese-European fusion food because of the Chope offer!
Though there was a larger outdoor seating area, we opted for indoors, thinking that it would be less hot and more quiet. Erm, it was quite quiet when the blender was not in use 😛
It was ladies’ night today, so ladies get a free drink and 3 oysters at promotional prices. The staff said it is men’s night everyday; the men foot the bill everyday. Hahahaha!
To start, we got a Lychee Sake Cocktail and 3 Fresh Oysters to share. We also had a Raw & Cured Platter ($36++), Hamachi Collar ($21.90++), Charcoal Griled Saikyo Miso Ginger Spring Chicken ($24++), Jumbo Crab Meat Linguine ($29, free with Chope offer).
JY helped to make reservations here, and so the 3 of us were here at Shisen Hanten (who recently won 2-Star Michelin in the 2016 MICHELIN Guide Singapore) to try some Szechuan food by the Japanese chef Chen Kentaro.
We liked the decorations and the lovely view of the restaurant with the very high ceiling on a very high floor.
Once we were comfortably seated, we were served the menu (with crumbs on them *gasp*). My friend said it was a good sign; for it meant that the restaurant was busy!
Our brunch part 2, we had chanced upon this cafe, and food models of pancakes were calling out to us!
A few touches on the iPad, and we got ourselves a Caesar Bacon Pancake set, with a pot of Sangria Tea (set cost $16.80++, with additional $1++ for premium tea selection).
The Sangria tea was a fruity blend and really whet our appetites! It was also fun to play with the Gravitea pot, as the tea would flow out after we align the tea pot on top of the cup. Though the tea was non-refillable, the pot was sufficient for more than 2 cups of tea.
Made with eggs, flour, sugar and milk on hot cast iron pans straight from the oven, the Dutch Baby pancakes actually originated from Germany. The sweet pancakes and salty bacon balanced each other out, and the texture of the pancake reminded us of egg omelette with crispy edges. It was quite delicious! The generous amount of vegetables was quite refreshing.
Note that Fruit Paradise is the sister brand, so you can also order their fruit tarts here 🙂
Contact:
|
We were looking for a quiet Sunday brunch place, and Laurent’s Cafe seemed to be a good option 🙂
This is a casual dining cafe opened by French artisan chocolatier Laurent Bernard among his other dessert cafes and serves hearty French food, as well as his well-liked chocolate desserts and cakes.
Our friend offered to drive us somewhere ulu for dinner, and we figured that the Handlebar was definitely located at an ulu enough place, and almost inaccessible at night without a ride. We did walk to this place during broad daylight before, back when Bottle Tree Village was still around, and it was a fair bit of walk! So much easier with a car 😀
We were seated by one of the benches, and it was fortunate that we had called in advance to make reservations, for it was full house tonight!
We liked the environment, and it was very relaxing to chill here. Water was available freely.
Contact:
|
A relatively new kid on the block, we decided to satisfy our dim sum cravings here!
Our first impressions was that this was a kids-friendly restaurant, as there were corner bumpers at all tables. The other 2 groups of customers all had kids in tow. Food started arriving within 10 minutes upon ordering.
Chope had a flash giveaway for noodles and pasta today, and so… We made changes to our dinner plans and ended up at Napoleon 😛
And we ended up realizing that there are so many restaurants in this stretch that we have been wanting to try out 🙂
Eat.Eat.Walk.Walk . 吃吃走走 