The Mess Hall

The Mess Hall

The Mess Hall

51 Bourke St 

Melbourne, VIC 3000

Ph: (03) 9654-6800

Website

Up at the top end of Bourke Street, The Mess Hall is pretty nondescript. I must have walked past it dozens of times without noticing it, and the first time it caught my eye was out of sheer necessity. We'd just had dinner at nearby Shimbashi, followed by gelato at Spring Street Grocery. It was about 10 pm, and we weren't quite ready to call it a night, but definitely weren't up for hitting a nearby bar. (What can I say? I'm a grandma and sometimes even the notion of a nightclub or even a quiet cocktail bar is just too exhausting to contemplate!) We just wanted somewhere warm where we could sit and keep chatting. The Mess Hall was open and had a free table - success!

I felt a bit self conscious just ordering hot drinks, and checked with a waitress if it would be okay before we sat down, but there was no problem at all. Even though the four of us literally only ordered a cup of tea each, the staff were really friendly and super-chilled. So nice of them! The plates of food being delivered to nearby tables looked and smelled fantastic too, so we decided that we simply must come back and try their food.

And that's exactly what we did a couple of weeks ago on a Friday night! Cheers to the weekend!

Campari soda 

A Campari soda was the tipple of choice for both Adrian and myself - although it was pretty funny, one came out obviously stronger (i.e. much redder) than the other... no idea why! We actually swapped after the first couple of sips because Adrian got the stronger one and found it too bitter, and I was dissatisfied with my insipid one. I want ALL OF THE CAMPARI!

Being super indecisive, we spent ages umming and ah-ing over the menu, which is a concise list comprising a few starters, some pizzas, pastas, salads and three "main plates", but all ended up choosing pasta or risotto. I actually threw out the receipt before writing up this post, and the menu online seems to be a bit out of date, so I don't have exact prices for the dishes, but the pastas and risotto were all around the $22 mark, and the dessert was about $11.

Pumpkin-filled pasta with burnt butter, sage and amaretti biscuits 

No surprise, I went for the dish that had pumpkin, burnt butter and sage. I know that it's classic to crush sweet amaretti biscuits over this type of dish, but I'd never tried it before. Newsflash: it's amazing. The pasta parcels were filled with soft, sweet pumpkin, and I loved the nutty burnt butter and the herbal hit of the crisp sage.

Risotto of the day - prawns, shrimp, fresh peas - $22.50

Even though I only tried one spoon of the risotto, I was really impressed by it. The rice was perfectly cooked, and had a wonderful rich seafood aroma, and was generously studded with prawns and shrimps. (The specials board, intriguingly, listed "prawns" and "shrimp" as separate ingredients).  It can be hard to find a good risotto around town - there are many good ones, but also many very bad ones, and I'm especially wary of seafood risottos - but this was excellent. I highly recommend it if it's on the specials board!

Chicken, ricotta & walnut tortellini w goats cheese and mushrooms

Sandra's chicken, ricotta and walnut tortellini was also a winner. The tortellini themselves were generously sized, and the mushroom sauce was quite intense, but in a pleasant, rather than overpowering way. The walnuts seemed to be an unusual addition (perhaps common in Italy, but not one that I see too often here), but fit in really well with the dish, providing both flavour and texture. This also reminds me that I really must try making that pasta with walnut sauce that Nigella made on one of her Christmas specials many years ago!

Orange chiffon cake

The only letdown was dessert - we shared a piece of orange chiffon cake, and whilst it was pretty nice (moist, and with lots of nice pieces of candied orange), it felt a bit small for something that cost over ten dollars.

Despite the dessert, we really liked The Mess Hall - they serve well made, tasty and unpretentious food in a relaxed yet buzzy environment. I'd definitely want to go back! Whilst the risotto and pastas we tried were indeed, very good, we saw a few plates of their pork belly dish being ferried around and it looked and smelled incredible!

The Mess Hall

The Mess Hall

51 Bourke St 

Melbourne, VIC 3000

Ph: (03) 9654-6800

Website

Up at the top end of Bourke Street, The Mess Hall is pretty nondescript. I must have walked past it dozens of times without noticing it, and the first time it caught my eye was out of sheer necessity. We'd just had dinner at nearby Shimbashi, followed by gelato at Spring Street Grocery. It was about 10 pm, and we weren't quite ready to call it a night, but definitely weren't up for hitting a nearby bar. (What can I say? I'm a grandma and sometimes even the notion of a nightclub or even a quiet cocktail bar is just too exhausting to contemplate!) We just wanted somewhere warm where we could sit and keep chatting. The Mess Hall was open and had a free table - success!

I felt a bit self conscious just ordering hot drinks, and checked with a waitress if it would be okay before we sat down, but there was no problem at all. Even though the four of us literally only ordered a cup of tea each, the staff were really friendly and super-chilled. So nice of them! The plates of food being delivered to nearby tables looked and smelled fantastic too, so we decided that we simply must come back and try their food.

And that's exactly what we did a couple of weeks ago on a Friday night! Cheers to the weekend!

Campari soda 

A Campari soda was the tipple of choice for both Adrian and myself - although it was pretty funny, one came out obviously stronger (i.e. much redder) than the other... no idea why! We actually swapped after the first couple of sips because Adrian got the stronger one and found it too bitter, and I was dissatisfied with my insipid one. I want ALL OF THE CAMPARI!

Being super indecisive, we spent ages umming and ah-ing over the menu, which is a concise list comprising a few starters, some pizzas, pastas, salads and three "main plates", but all ended up choosing pasta or risotto. I actually threw out the receipt before writing up this post, and the menu online seems to be a bit out of date, so I don't have exact prices for the dishes, but the pastas and risotto were all around the $22 mark, and the dessert was about $11.

Pumpkin-filled pasta with burnt butter, sage and amaretti biscuits 

No surprise, I went for the dish that had pumpkin, burnt butter and sage. I know that it's classic to crush sweet amaretti biscuits over this type of dish, but I'd never tried it before. Newsflash: it's amazing. The pasta parcels were filled with soft, sweet pumpkin, and I loved the nutty burnt butter and the herbal hit of the crisp sage.

Risotto of the day - prawns, shrimp, fresh peas - $22.50

Even though I only tried one spoon of the risotto, I was really impressed by it. The rice was perfectly cooked, and had a wonderful rich seafood aroma, and was generously studded with prawns and shrimps. (The specials board, intriguingly, listed "prawns" and "shrimp" as separate ingredients).  It can be hard to find a good risotto around town - there are many good ones, but also many very bad ones, and I'm especially wary of seafood risottos - but this was excellent. I highly recommend it if it's on the specials board!

Chicken, ricotta & walnut tortellini w goats cheese and mushrooms

Sandra's chicken, ricotta and walnut tortellini was also a winner. The tortellini themselves were generously sized, and the mushroom sauce was quite intense, but in a pleasant, rather than overpowering way. The walnuts seemed to be an unusual addition (perhaps common in Italy, but not one that I see too often here), but fit in really well with the dish, providing both flavour and texture. This also reminds me that I really must try making that pasta with walnut sauce that Nigella made on one of her Christmas specials many years ago!

Orange chiffon cake

The only letdown was dessert - we shared a piece of orange chiffon cake, and whilst it was pretty nice (moist, and with lots of nice pieces of candied orange), it felt a bit small for something that cost over ten dollars.

Despite the dessert, we really liked The Mess Hall - they serve well made, tasty and unpretentious food in a relaxed yet buzzy environment. I'd definitely want to go back! Whilst the risotto and pastas we tried were indeed, very good, we saw a few plates of their pork belly dish being ferried around and it looked and smelled incredible!

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

My New Wave Multicooker and the Amazing 7-Minute Risotto

Just under a month ago, I was approached by Kitchenware Direct to see if I'd like to test out one of their slow cookers or pressure cookers.  Y'all know how obsessed I am with cookware, so of course my answer was yes!  After looking through all the slow cookers and pressure cookers on the website, I ended up choosing the New Wave 5-in-1 6L Multicooker, which has both slow and pressure cooking functions!

When I was a kid, my mum often used an old-school stove top pressure cooker - it rattled, it shook, and it spewed forth loud bursts of steam.  In short, I was terrified of it.  Many years later she upgraded to an electric pressure cooker, but we only used it a few times before it got relegated to the cupboard.  I guess at that point we just didn't cook enough stews to make it worthwhile.

So given my past experience with pressure cookers, I was pleasantly surprised by how much I like the Multicooker and how often I've been using it!  One issue though: the accompanying instructions aren't very clear, so it took quite some time and effort for us so set it up and actually start cooking.  The first time I used it for pressure cooking, I was actually kinda winging it - but luckily it's pretty intuitive and has always worked just fine.  And as soon it was set up it, it's been all-systems-go: stews, braises, soups, risottos, and more.  I've found it so useful to make hearty dinners after work in a short time.  And some examples...


Shiraz Braised Beef

Tonight I made shiraz-braised beef, which only took 30 minutes on the pressure cooking function, plus about 10 minutes either side to brown the meat and veggies, and to thicken the sauce at the end.  Pretty good going for a dish that usually takes 3-4 hours!

The browning function heats up very quickly and evenly, and it's easy to get a nice crust on meat.  You can't adjust it though, so sometimes it can be too strong if you're, say, sautéing onions as the first step of a stew.  I'll often turn the heat off if it's getting too hot, and turn it back on again to keep the temperature under control.

While the stew was having its 30 minutes pressure-cooking, I whipped up some petits pois à la Francaise and some potato/celeriac mash.  Wonderfully comforting for such a cold and blustery day!

Pea and Ham Soup

The soup function is pretty much the same as the low-pressure function, and I've found it useful for making soups (duh) and stocks in a short amount of time.  For example, let's take a look at this split-pea and ham soup I made!

It took 25 minutes to go from this...

... to this!  A hearty, smooth soup.

7-Minute Mushroom Risotto

Perhaps the most exciting discovery we made was that you can make risotto in 7 minutes in the cooker!  There was a recipe for mushroom risotto in the instruction booklet, and I must admit I was curious, and more than a little skeptical about a pressure-cooked risotto.  You start as per a standard risotto: cooking onions in a little oil, adding the rice and some wine.  But rather than ladling in stock bit-by-bit, you tip it all in, with the mushrooms.

Mushrooms

Chuck it on the high-pressure function and cook for 7 minutes.  And then - ta-dah! - al dente grains of rice! Not gluggy, not mushy, no crusty baked on bits on the bottom of the pan!  And best of all: no stirring.  Love it!

We've been eating a lot of risotto since the cooker arrived.  I've done mushroom risotto twice already this month, and have also made cauliflower risotto using the same method.

I've been really happy with the cooker, and significantly, it's already become a regular part of my standard kitchen kit.  In my enthusiasm, I also picked up a cheap, old-fashioned "Pressure Cooker Recipes" cookbook, and am really looking forward to making more warming dishes for this wintry weather!

Sarah received the New Wave 5-in-1 6L Multicooker courtesy of Kitchenware Direct.

Just under a month ago, I was approached by Kitchenware Direct to see if I'd like to test out one of their slow cookers or pressure cookers.  Y'all know how obsessed I am with cookware, so of course my answer was yes!  After looking through all the slow cookers and pressure cookers on the website, I ended up choosing the New Wave 5-in-1 6L Multicooker, which has both slow and pressure cooking functions!

When I was a kid, my mum often used an old-school stove top pressure cooker - it rattled, it shook, and it spewed forth loud bursts of steam.  In short, I was terrified of it.  Many years later she upgraded to an electric pressure cooker, but we only used it a few times before it got relegated to the cupboard.  I guess at that point we just didn't cook enough stews to make it worthwhile.

So given my past experience with pressure cookers, I was pleasantly surprised by how much I like the Multicooker and how often I've been using it!  One issue though: the accompanying instructions aren't very clear, so it took quite some time and effort for us so set it up and actually start cooking.  The first time I used it for pressure cooking, I was actually kinda winging it - but luckily it's pretty intuitive and has always worked just fine.  And as soon it was set up it, it's been all-systems-go: stews, braises, soups, risottos, and more.  I've found it so useful to make hearty dinners after work in a short time.  And some examples...


Shiraz Braised Beef

Tonight I made shiraz-braised beef, which only took 30 minutes on the pressure cooking function, plus about 10 minutes either side to brown the meat and veggies, and to thicken the sauce at the end.  Pretty good going for a dish that usually takes 3-4 hours!

The browning function heats up very quickly and evenly, and it's easy to get a nice crust on meat.  You can't adjust it though, so sometimes it can be too strong if you're, say, sautéing onions as the first step of a stew.  I'll often turn the heat off if it's getting too hot, and turn it back on again to keep the temperature under control.

While the stew was having its 30 minutes pressure-cooking, I whipped up some petits pois à la Francaise and some potato/celeriac mash.  Wonderfully comforting for such a cold and blustery day!

Pea and Ham Soup

The soup function is pretty much the same as the low-pressure function, and I've found it useful for making soups (duh) and stocks in a short amount of time.  For example, let's take a look at this split-pea and ham soup I made!

It took 25 minutes to go from this...

... to this!  A hearty, smooth soup.

7-Minute Mushroom Risotto

Perhaps the most exciting discovery we made was that you can make risotto in 7 minutes in the cooker!  There was a recipe for mushroom risotto in the instruction booklet, and I must admit I was curious, and more than a little skeptical about a pressure-cooked risotto.  You start as per a standard risotto: cooking onions in a little oil, adding the rice and some wine.  But rather than ladling in stock bit-by-bit, you tip it all in, with the mushrooms.

Mushrooms

Chuck it on the high-pressure function and cook for 7 minutes.  And then - ta-dah! - al dente grains of rice! Not gluggy, not mushy, no crusty baked on bits on the bottom of the pan!  And best of all: no stirring.  Love it!

We've been eating a lot of risotto since the cooker arrived.  I've done mushroom risotto twice already this month, and have also made cauliflower risotto using the same method.

I've been really happy with the cooker, and significantly, it's already become a regular part of my standard kitchen kit.  In my enthusiasm, I also picked up a cheap, old-fashioned "Pressure Cooker Recipes" cookbook, and am really looking forward to making more warming dishes for this wintry weather!

Sarah received the New Wave 5-in-1 6L Multicooker courtesy of Kitchenware Direct.

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Magshop and the 'Ultimate Italian Experience'

This post is sponsored by Nuffnang.  Please see here for my policy on sponsored posts and advertising.

I was lucky to get some awesome gifts for my birthday last week, but Mother's Day is coming up and it's time to start thinking about what to get your mum!  Magshop are currently running a Mother's Day promotion where you could win an amazing trip for 2 to Italy!  All you have to do is subscribe to one of their many titles.  A magazine subscription could be a great gift for your mum: there are titles for every taste, and the gift lasts all year long.

For Mother's Day this year, I'd like to make my mum a delicious Italian meal featuring her favourite ingredients.  My mum loves pumpkin and feta, so maybe a pumpkin and feta risotto, with homemade basil pesto and a rocket salad.

Another option could be homemade pizza.  My mum doesn't often eat pizza at home, so it would be a special treat.  I'd make the dough from scratch, and top it with thin slices of pumpkin and decadent buffalo mozzarella.

Or maybe tagliatelle with roasted cubes of pumpkin, and sage leaves fried in burnt butter.  It's a classic combo, and with the burnt butter sauce, would be a very indulgent meal.

I bet my mum would love any one of these dishes.  I hope you've enjoyed seeing the ultimate Italian experience I'd like to give my mum this year!  What is everyone else doing for Mother's Day?

Don't forget: subscribe now to House & Garden Magazine or to a cooking magazine via Magshop and you could win a trip of a lifetime to Italy!

This post is sponsored by Nuffnang.  Please see here for my policy on sponsored posts and advertising.

I was lucky to get some awesome gifts for my birthday last week, but Mother's Day is coming up and it's time to start thinking about what to get your mum!  Magshop are currently running a Mother's Day promotion where you could win an amazing trip for 2 to Italy!  All you have to do is subscribe to one of their many titles.  A magazine subscription could be a great gift for your mum: there are titles for every taste, and the gift lasts all year long.

For Mother's Day this year, I'd like to make my mum a delicious Italian meal featuring her favourite ingredients.  My mum loves pumpkin and feta, so maybe a pumpkin and feta risotto, with homemade basil pesto and a rocket salad.

Another option could be homemade pizza.  My mum doesn't often eat pizza at home, so it would be a special treat.  I'd make the dough from scratch, and top it with thin slices of pumpkin and decadent buffalo mozzarella.

Or maybe tagliatelle with roasted cubes of pumpkin, and sage leaves fried in burnt butter.  It's a classic combo, and with the burnt butter sauce, would be a very indulgent meal.

I bet my mum would love any one of these dishes.  I hope you've enjoyed seeing the ultimate Italian experience I'd like to give my mum this year!  What is everyone else doing for Mother's Day?

Don't forget: subscribe now to House & Garden Magazine or to a cooking magazine via Magshop and you could win a trip of a lifetime to Italy!

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Tasmanian Yumminess

And to wrap up my series of posts on Tasmania, I'd love to show y'all some of the other yumminess we enjoyed!

Tant Pout Tant
226 Charles Street
Launceston Tas 7250
Ph: (03) 6334-9884
Website

Tant Pout Tant was a 2 minute walk from our accommodation, and sells a range of delicious pastries, breads and cakes.  They also do cooked breakfasts and good coffee!

On our first morning in Launceston, we popped in for a quick breakfast.  They had a steady stream of customers, buying bread, picking up celebration cakes and so on.

Flat white, caffe latte

Raspberry Brioche

Cherry Danish

Mmm... cream cheese interior

Prices are reasonable, at around $3.50-$4.50 for the pastries.  However, prices are slightly higher if you eat in.  So come to think of it, we could have taken the pastries back to the apartment and eaten them there. Oh well, next time!



The Christmas Hills Raspberry Farm & Cafe
9 Christmas Hills Rd
Elizabethown, TAS 7304
(03) 6362-2186
Website

About an hour out of Launceston is the Christmas Hills Raspberry Farm and Cafe.  As it wasn't raspberry season when we visited, we just had a nice relaxing arvo tea in the cafe.  (This was after the 2nd huge day of driving, when I was in much need of reinvigoration!)

They serve some savouries, and a wide range of raspberry-based desserts - raspberry cheesecake, waffles, pancakes, crepes, scones and more.

Rapsberry latte - Cafe latte served with raspberry syrup and dusted with 'lust dust' - $4

Sandra got a large serve of raspberry waffles (the difference between this and a "small" serve is one extra scoop of ice-cream).  Mega rich and filling!  It was yummy, although it did look like it might have been sitting out for a while, as the ice-cream and cream had already melted a bit when it got to our table.

RASPBERRY WAFFLES - Fresh 'home made' waffles served with homemade raspberry icecream, hot sauce & cream - $12 for a large serve

I had a small serve of crepes, chosen because "it's the one with the most raspberries in it!".  Normally I find cream AND ice-cream together to be a little OTT, but the rich cream was really necessary to cut through the sharpness of the raspberries.

RASPBERRY CREPE - Thin crepe filled with raspberries, served with hot sauce, raspberry icecream & cream - $9.50 for a small serve

Down at the Launceston Seaport, there is a hotel and marina, with some restaurants, cafes and food stores.

Silt
31 Seaport Boulevard
Launceston Tas 7250
(03) 6331-0557
Website

Silt (and the nearby "Mud") restaurant came recommended by locals, and had a casual warehouse atmosphere, with service that was friendly, but very slow.  To be honest I found the food very overpriced and not too impressive.  I get the feeling it was recommended to us because it's in a touristy location, not for its food.

I started with oysters, which were delicious and fresh.  I really liked the Japanesey dressing that accompanied it.

1/2 Dozen Oysters "freshly shucked from the East Coast", served natural with ginger, soy and mirin - $15

Chicken Breast Risotto with asparagus and hollandaise - $29

Sandra's chicken risotto with hollandaise was a well-executed but very odd combination.

I was in the mood for something simple, so ordered fish and chips, with grilled fish.

Classic Fish and Chips (grilled), with house-made tartare, thick chips and salad - $31

I was very disappointed by this.  $31 for a few chewy pieces of fish, a small salad and a bowl of chips.  I feel we would have been better off spending a little bit extra and going back to Stillwater or the Black Cow Bistro, or just going to a cheap takeaway for fish and chips.

What I did like about Silt, however, was their desserts! 

Vanilla & pear crème brûlée - w/ tuille biscuits & ginger ice cream $11

Silt serve classic desserts, with little unique twists.  I really liked the rhubarb and apple sponge pudding I ordered, especially with thick lashings of King Island cream.  Presentation was cute too!  I'm pretty sure I could make something similar at home... time to put my thinking cap on!

Rhubarb & apple sponge pudding - w/ ice cream & King Island cream $11

Fish 'n Chips
30 Seaport Road
Old Launceston Seaport
Launceston, Tas 7250
Ph: (03) 6331-1999
Website

On our last day in Launceston, we grabbed some a quick bite on the way out to the airport.  This time, back to the Seaport, but to the more casual fish and chips place.  It sure was nice to sit out on the water and enjoy our food in the sun!  I've actually forgotten the exact prices, but they were on the slightly high side of reasonable.

***EDIT: I found the receipt from the fish & chips place, so I've added in the prices. Yay!***

Oysters with cocktail sauce - $8 for four

Small Chips - $4, 80c for tomato sauce

Crumbed scallops - yum yum - $8 for 5, 80c for tartare sauce

And that, folks, wraps up my Tasmania posts!  Hope y'all have enjoyed them.  We absolutely loved Tassie, and can't wait to make another trip down there, and check out the other parts of the island.


To help me discover Tasmania, Tourism Tasmania generously provided return flights and car hire for the trip.  However, I selected all accommodation, tourist destinations and restaurants personally and visited as a paying customer.

And to wrap up my series of posts on Tasmania, I'd love to show y'all some of the other yumminess we enjoyed!

Tant Pout Tant
226 Charles Street
Launceston Tas 7250
Ph: (03) 6334-9884
Website

Tant Pout Tant was a 2 minute walk from our accommodation, and sells a range of delicious pastries, breads and cakes.  They also do cooked breakfasts and good coffee!

On our first morning in Launceston, we popped in for a quick breakfast.  They had a steady stream of customers, buying bread, picking up celebration cakes and so on.

Flat white, caffe latte

Raspberry Brioche

Cherry Danish

Mmm... cream cheese interior

Prices are reasonable, at around $3.50-$4.50 for the pastries.  However, prices are slightly higher if you eat in.  So come to think of it, we could have taken the pastries back to the apartment and eaten them there. Oh well, next time!



The Christmas Hills Raspberry Farm & Cafe
9 Christmas Hills Rd
Elizabethown, TAS 7304
(03) 6362-2186
Website

About an hour out of Launceston is the Christmas Hills Raspberry Farm and Cafe.  As it wasn't raspberry season when we visited, we just had a nice relaxing arvo tea in the cafe.  (This was after the 2nd huge day of driving, when I was in much need of reinvigoration!)

They serve some savouries, and a wide range of raspberry-based desserts - raspberry cheesecake, waffles, pancakes, crepes, scones and more.

Rapsberry latte - Cafe latte served with raspberry syrup and dusted with 'lust dust' - $4

Sandra got a large serve of raspberry waffles (the difference between this and a "small" serve is one extra scoop of ice-cream).  Mega rich and filling!  It was yummy, although it did look like it might have been sitting out for a while, as the ice-cream and cream had already melted a bit when it got to our table.

RASPBERRY WAFFLES - Fresh 'home made' waffles served with homemade raspberry icecream, hot sauce & cream - $12 for a large serve

I had a small serve of crepes, chosen because "it's the one with the most raspberries in it!".  Normally I find cream AND ice-cream together to be a little OTT, but the rich cream was really necessary to cut through the sharpness of the raspberries.

RASPBERRY CREPE - Thin crepe filled with raspberries, served with hot sauce, raspberry icecream & cream - $9.50 for a small serve

Down at the Launceston Seaport, there is a hotel and marina, with some restaurants, cafes and food stores.

Silt
31 Seaport Boulevard
Launceston Tas 7250
(03) 6331-0557
Website

Silt (and the nearby "Mud") restaurant came recommended by locals, and had a casual warehouse atmosphere, with service that was friendly, but very slow.  To be honest I found the food very overpriced and not too impressive.  I get the feeling it was recommended to us because it's in a touristy location, not for its food.

I started with oysters, which were delicious and fresh.  I really liked the Japanesey dressing that accompanied it.

1/2 Dozen Oysters "freshly shucked from the East Coast", served natural with ginger, soy and mirin - $15

Chicken Breast Risotto with asparagus and hollandaise - $29

Sandra's chicken risotto with hollandaise was a well-executed but very odd combination.

I was in the mood for something simple, so ordered fish and chips, with grilled fish.

Classic Fish and Chips (grilled), with house-made tartare, thick chips and salad - $31

I was very disappointed by this.  $31 for a few chewy pieces of fish, a small salad and a bowl of chips.  I feel we would have been better off spending a little bit extra and going back to Stillwater or the Black Cow Bistro, or just going to a cheap takeaway for fish and chips.

What I did like about Silt, however, was their desserts! 

Vanilla & pear crème brûlée - w/ tuille biscuits & ginger ice cream $11

Silt serve classic desserts, with little unique twists.  I really liked the rhubarb and apple sponge pudding I ordered, especially with thick lashings of King Island cream.  Presentation was cute too!  I'm pretty sure I could make something similar at home... time to put my thinking cap on!

Rhubarb & apple sponge pudding - w/ ice cream & King Island cream $11

Fish 'n Chips
30 Seaport Road
Old Launceston Seaport
Launceston, Tas 7250
Ph: (03) 6331-1999
Website

On our last day in Launceston, we grabbed some a quick bite on the way out to the airport.  This time, back to the Seaport, but to the more casual fish and chips place.  It sure was nice to sit out on the water and enjoy our food in the sun!  I've actually forgotten the exact prices, but they were on the slightly high side of reasonable.

***EDIT: I found the receipt from the fish & chips place, so I've added in the prices. Yay!***

Oysters with cocktail sauce - $8 for four

Small Chips - $4, 80c for tomato sauce

Crumbed scallops - yum yum - $8 for 5, 80c for tartare sauce

And that, folks, wraps up my Tasmania posts!  Hope y'all have enjoyed them.  We absolutely loved Tassie, and can't wait to make another trip down there, and check out the other parts of the island.


To help me discover Tasmania, Tourism Tasmania generously provided return flights and car hire for the trip.  However, I selected all accommodation, tourist destinations and restaurants personally and visited as a paying customer.

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Pure Italian Cafe, North Balwyn

I was quite surprised when I went through my old neighbourhood and saw that the cafe "The Meeting Place" had closed down, and was going to be replaced by an Italian cafe. For most of my childhood the site housed a hairdresser, and later on it was bought over by a nice couple from the country and became The Meeting Place. They ran it for a little while, but, bless them, I don't think they were very keen on the whole cafe business. I once asked the lady what time they opened on Saturdays, and she replied, "Aw yeah, it's meant to be 8 o'clock... if I can get up in time!"

They sold the business to a family from China, who ran it for quite a few years. They did the standard suburban cafe stuff - decent coffees, sandwiches, cooked breakfasts, and quite a few cakes and biscuits (all bought in). They were friendly and worked really hard to establish their cafe, and business seemed steady, even if customers weren't breaking down the doors.

A couple of months ago I drove past and saw the windows all boarded up, with a sign "Pure Italian... cafe coming soon!" I'm not sure what happened to the Chinese family who worked so hard there, but I wish them all the best!

Pure Italian
249B Belmore Rd
North Balwyn
VIC 3104
(03) 9857-3961

I visited Pure Italian with my parents on a Saturday afternoon a week or so after they'd opened, and it was absolutely chockers! I didn't even know we had this many people in North Balwyn! We popped in at about 2pm, and got a table straight away, but it was super-packed and there was a steady stream of customers coming in for the rest of the afternoon.

We started off with lattes, which were a little hot and strong for my liking, but otherwise pretty decent. (You can imagine that many of the locals in the exciting area of North Balwyn like their coffees hot hot hot, hehe).


They had a menu up on the wall, with items like pan-fried prawns on parmesan polenta ($17.50), lentil soup ($9.50) and pan-fried scotch fillet with roast potatoes & mushrooms ($17.50). They've also got a cabinet up the front with things like arancini, salads, cakes and biscuits. Some Italian gourmet grocery items are available (think olive oil, pasta etc.), and they also sell loaves of bread from the Abbotsford Convent.

My parents ordered the risotto with forest mushrooms ($15.50) to share.


It looked quite nice, and had a good mushroom flavour, but unfortunately the rice was way undercooked. I don't mean al dente, I mean actually undercooked - the grains of rice were hard and still chalky on the inside. Oh well. We didn't send it back, partly because I did not want to have that al dente / undercooked argument. (Although I actually think they would probably have been fine about it if we had complained - our waitress was super-friendly and the owners are really nice!)

I did better, ordering an eggplant fritelle from the cabinet.

It was basically an eggplant fritter, crumbed and fried and dusted with parmesan. I love eggplant, and I really enjoyed this! The salad that came with had baby spinch, fetta and beetroot, with a nice little crunch from the sea salt in the dressing.

As I mentioned, they do have some biscuits and cakes up at the counter, but as we had a Swiss roll waiting at home, we decided to give them a miss. I must make a visit back to try the cakes. The new owners have put a lot of thought and effort into the new venture and have created a place that is clearly a hit with the local neighbourhood. Well done, and I hope they (and the crowds of customers) stick around for a long time!

I was quite surprised when I went through my old neighbourhood and saw that the cafe "The Meeting Place" had closed down, and was going to be replaced by an Italian cafe. For most of my childhood the site housed a hairdresser, and later on it was bought over by a nice couple from the country and became The Meeting Place. They ran it for a little while, but, bless them, I don't think they were very keen on the whole cafe business. I once asked the lady what time they opened on Saturdays, and she replied, "Aw yeah, it's meant to be 8 o'clock... if I can get up in time!"

They sold the business to a family from China, who ran it for quite a few years. They did the standard suburban cafe stuff - decent coffees, sandwiches, cooked breakfasts, and quite a few cakes and biscuits (all bought in). They were friendly and worked really hard to establish their cafe, and business seemed steady, even if customers weren't breaking down the doors.

A couple of months ago I drove past and saw the windows all boarded up, with a sign "Pure Italian... cafe coming soon!" I'm not sure what happened to the Chinese family who worked so hard there, but I wish them all the best!

Pure Italian
249B Belmore Rd
North Balwyn
VIC 3104
(03) 9857-3961

I visited Pure Italian with my parents on a Saturday afternoon a week or so after they'd opened, and it was absolutely chockers! I didn't even know we had this many people in North Balwyn! We popped in at about 2pm, and got a table straight away, but it was super-packed and there was a steady stream of customers coming in for the rest of the afternoon.

We started off with lattes, which were a little hot and strong for my liking, but otherwise pretty decent. (You can imagine that many of the locals in the exciting area of North Balwyn like their coffees hot hot hot, hehe).


They had a menu up on the wall, with items like pan-fried prawns on parmesan polenta ($17.50), lentil soup ($9.50) and pan-fried scotch fillet with roast potatoes & mushrooms ($17.50). They've also got a cabinet up the front with things like arancini, salads, cakes and biscuits. Some Italian gourmet grocery items are available (think olive oil, pasta etc.), and they also sell loaves of bread from the Abbotsford Convent.

My parents ordered the risotto with forest mushrooms ($15.50) to share.


It looked quite nice, and had a good mushroom flavour, but unfortunately the rice was way undercooked. I don't mean al dente, I mean actually undercooked - the grains of rice were hard and still chalky on the inside. Oh well. We didn't send it back, partly because I did not want to have that al dente / undercooked argument. (Although I actually think they would probably have been fine about it if we had complained - our waitress was super-friendly and the owners are really nice!)

I did better, ordering an eggplant fritelle from the cabinet.

It was basically an eggplant fritter, crumbed and fried and dusted with parmesan. I love eggplant, and I really enjoyed this! The salad that came with had baby spinch, fetta and beetroot, with a nice little crunch from the sea salt in the dressing.

As I mentioned, they do have some biscuits and cakes up at the counter, but as we had a Swiss roll waiting at home, we decided to give them a miss. I must make a visit back to try the cakes. The new owners have put a lot of thought and effort into the new venture and have created a place that is clearly a hit with the local neighbourhood. Well done, and I hope they (and the crowds of customers) stick around for a long time!

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Tutto Bene

Tutto Bene is still one of my favourite restaurants. After many years and many visits, they still produce reliably delicious Italian food, at a reasonable price and with good service. We visited on Australia Day Eve, for a relaxed and casual dinner before seeing Nine (which was horribly painful to watch, but at least we were full and happy!)

Tutto Bene
Mid Level Southgate
Melbourne
Vic 3006
(03) 9696 3334
Website

When we made the booking, we were told that we could definitely have a 6pm table, but we may have to leave before 8, due to lots of bookings for the tennis. As we were prepared for this, and the food came out speedily, this was definitely not a problem. In fact, I think it was very considerate of them to tell us when we booked!

Woo! Go Melbourne.

For drinks, I had an aperol spritz - aperol and sparkling wine. (I tweeted about this, and then re-created it at home for our Australia Day BBQ the next day - divine!)

Lovely drink. Plus you can see me tweeting in the background.

For starters, we shared the mozzarella special - burrata with fresh pea puree and cherry tomatoes. The little leaves you see scattered on the plate tasted like very fresh coriander, but I'm not sure what they actually were.
Mozzarella special - $18.50

Love the pea puree swirl - they've certainly got a bit more cheffy since the last time I visited!

I'd never had burrata before, but was very keen to try it. The outside is normal mozzarella, whereas the inside is a mixture of mozzarella and cream, giving it a very soft, almost liquid centre.

It was absolutely delicious, intensely milky and soft. It was fabulous with the herbs, peas, tomatoes and bread. And a generous sprinkling of salt!

You can't go to Tutto Bene without having a risotto...

But first, let's check out this funky risotto spoon!

I've noticed that they seem to change at least one aspect of the plates and cutlery almost every time I visit. (April '07, September 07, April '08, Feb 09... and those are just the visits I've blogged, hehe.)

For myself, I ordered a new addition to the menu - risotto with prosecco and scallops. (If you can't tell, I'm a sucker for any type of sparkling wine.

Risotto with prosecco and scallops - $28.50

Although it looked great and had perfect texture, I was slightly disappointed with this one, as it was a little bland for my taste.

I was suffering some serious plate-envy when I saw Sandra's mushroom risotto!

Risotto ai funghi misti - $22.00

Classic. I love how there's such a huge variety of different mushrooms in there.

After all of that deliciousness, there was still heaps of time, but alas, no room for dessert, so all that was left was a leisurely walk up to the cinema!

Tutto Bene is still one of my favourite restaurants. After many years and many visits, they still produce reliably delicious Italian food, at a reasonable price and with good service. We visited on Australia Day Eve, for a relaxed and casual dinner before seeing Nine (which was horribly painful to watch, but at least we were full and happy!)

Tutto Bene
Mid Level Southgate
Melbourne
Vic 3006
(03) 9696 3334
Website

When we made the booking, we were told that we could definitely have a 6pm table, but we may have to leave before 8, due to lots of bookings for the tennis. As we were prepared for this, and the food came out speedily, this was definitely not a problem. In fact, I think it was very considerate of them to tell us when we booked!

Woo! Go Melbourne.

For drinks, I had an aperol spritz - aperol and sparkling wine. (I tweeted about this, and then re-created it at home for our Australia Day BBQ the next day - divine!)

Lovely drink. Plus you can see me tweeting in the background.

For starters, we shared the mozzarella special - burrata with fresh pea puree and cherry tomatoes. The little leaves you see scattered on the plate tasted like very fresh coriander, but I'm not sure what they actually were.
Mozzarella special - $18.50

Love the pea puree swirl - they've certainly got a bit more cheffy since the last time I visited!

I'd never had burrata before, but was very keen to try it. The outside is normal mozzarella, whereas the inside is a mixture of mozzarella and cream, giving it a very soft, almost liquid centre.

It was absolutely delicious, intensely milky and soft. It was fabulous with the herbs, peas, tomatoes and bread. And a generous sprinkling of salt!

You can't go to Tutto Bene without having a risotto...

But first, let's check out this funky risotto spoon!

I've noticed that they seem to change at least one aspect of the plates and cutlery almost every time I visit. (April '07, September 07, April '08, Feb 09... and those are just the visits I've blogged, hehe.)

For myself, I ordered a new addition to the menu - risotto with prosecco and scallops. (If you can't tell, I'm a sucker for any type of sparkling wine.

Risotto with prosecco and scallops - $28.50

Although it looked great and had perfect texture, I was slightly disappointed with this one, as it was a little bland for my taste.

I was suffering some serious plate-envy when I saw Sandra's mushroom risotto!

Risotto ai funghi misti - $22.00

Classic. I love how there's such a huge variety of different mushrooms in there.

After all of that deliciousness, there was still heaps of time, but alas, no room for dessert, so all that was left was a leisurely walk up to the cinema!

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