The Kettle Black, South Melbourne

The Kettle Black is one of those cafes that you gotta check out at least once whenever you are in Melbourne. Whether it's for their instagrammable food or the stunning architecture and interior design of the cafe. For most of 2015, I've been wanting to go back to Melbourne to make a visit to The Kettle Black or their older sister cafe Top Paddock (sadly, still haven't been) so a brunch catch up with my Melbourne friend T was a perfect opportunity to check out the hype.

Long Black ($4.00)

It was not hard to miss the grand white terrace building standing out amongst the modernised towers surrounding it. Wasn't surprised when I spotted the queue in front of the cafe and being told that there will be a 45 min wait for a table for two. We were both fine and chilled around the area with take away coffee. What surprised us was when the staff informed us that the table was ready and it was roughly around 20-30mins wait at most. Neat huh?

Confit free range pork, compressed pear, poached eggs, butter emulsion ($19.00)

While this dish didn't look as pretty as some of the other dishes available here, it was very tasty for us. The pork was well cooked and seasoned, plus the runny poached eggs were on point.

Hotcakes with ricotta, berries, pure maple, double cream, seeds and nuts ($20.00)

No visit to The Kettle Black could be complete without trying their famous ricotta hotcakes! So much prettiness on a plate especially with all those edible flowers! Loads of sweet and fruity flavours coming from the rich hotcakes, various berries and the maple syrup. Personally I'm biased against double cream (sorry everyone), so T helped in eating that part. The serving size was incredibly generous that it could easily be shared between 2 or 3 people. Even had leftovers to take-away back to the hotel!

Service was efficient despite the usual busy atmosphere of the typical Sunday brunch in Melbourne. While the dishes lean on the pricier side there are a few dishes such as the hotcakes which certainly deliver on the value for money with its generous servings. If I lived in Melbourne, I would love to check it out again for a few of their other dishes such as their Cape Grim Beef Bun or the equally pretty Polenta Porridge

The Kettle Black
50 Albert Road, South Melbourne VIC 3205
(03) 9088 0721
Mon-Fri: 7:00am - 4:00pm
Sat-Sun and Public Holidays: 8:00am - 4:00pm
http://www.thekettleblack.com.au/
 

Single O CBD Launch Event, Sydney CBD

If you are a CBD worker and a fan of the coffee from Single Origin Roasters but you don't have the time to check out its original Surry Hills cafe and the Botany branch, you will be very pleased to hear that it has now opened its doors on York Street in Sydney CBD. Unlike the other branches, Single O CBD is take away only, although you can chill out in the standing area on the side of the cafe.

Kombucha on tap - finger lime and ginger infused ($4.50)

Regular tea samples were offered at the counter throughout the evening. Apparently, Single O CBD is the first cafe in Sydney to offer the Japanese inspired Kombucha tea and the Cascara coffee cherry tea. While the Kombucha had a sparkling and slightly sweet flavour, the Cascara was bold, deep and intense. For the Single Origin coffee lovers, the cafe is currently serving their Reservoir blend (great with milk-based coffees), plus selected blends from Columbia, Tanzania and Ethiopia as well as the "filter of the week" for something a bit more random.

Sparkling Cascara on tap - coffee cherry tea ($4.50)

All the guests were treated to samples of delicacies that will be on offer at the cafe. My personal faves include their ham, cheese and pickled veg toastie, the mini bacon and egg rolls, braised beef sliders and the espresso buttered banana bread.

"Mr Croque" - leg ham, cheddar bechamel, pickled veg toastie ($11.00)

Avocado, fetta, cherry tomatoes, rye toast ($12.00)

A variation of the "Breakkie box" - poached eggs, flatbread, coriander salad, hummus ($12.00)

Braised beef cheek, pickles, slaw, brioche bun ($15.00)

Bacon roll, red eye mayo, fried egg, tomato apple ketchup ($12.00)

Banana bread, espresso butter ($6.00)

Thanks to the neighbouring bar "The Barbershop", we were also treated to their salted caramel espresso martini. There's a strong sense of coffee in this cocktail with a hint of sweet stickiness from the salted caramel. Sadly this isn't on the menu but I'm pretty sure The Barbershop will be happy to make it for you if you ask.

Salted Caramel Espresso Martini (not available at Single O CBD)

It's quite easy to miss Single O CBD due to its tiny space, but that's what makes hole in the wall cafes special. While the menu is limited, the cafe does all day breakfast, which is a major bonus if you don't have time to stop for a quick breakkie in the morning. My only qualm at this stage is that they do not have skim milk in case that's how you prefer your milk (which rules out nearly everyone at my office). Hopefully it will show up once the cafe settles in its new location. Despite that, it's a great way to discover or rediscover the excellent 3-cup awarded coffee that Single Origin Roasters has to offer in this side of the city.

Disclaimer 1: The Random Foodie attended the Single O CBD Launch Night as a guest. 
Disclaimer 2: The sample serving size of the food in this post does not reflect the actual size of the food served at the cafe. Prices reflect on the full size of the above menu items offered at the cafe.

Single O CBD
89 York Street, Sydney NSW 2000
(02) 9279 2677
Mon-Fri: 6:30am - 4:00pm
 

Eating Around Melbourne - The Coffee Edition and Queen Victoria Market

For those who followed me on Instagram or know me personally, yes this Melbourne trip happened back in April. Yes, it's harder for me to remember how everything tasted back then. But I still want to share these moments to the rest of you...even though my recollection may not be as strong. And yes my backlog is bad right now thanks to full time work, gym, various social outings, tiredness after work, and a horrible addiction to endless episodes of 'If You Are the One'...

Sadly for myself, I had to arrive late on Friday due to work so I didn't end up going to as many as I hoped especially when other plans were in the works and some had to return to Sydney very early on Sunday. While everyone was planning to go on a trip outside of Melbourne, I decided to stay and continue my foodie journey on my own.And you know what? It is actually not as bad as you may think! So this post will be basically a collection of mini reviews (or should I say adventures?) that I've had in roaming around solo in Melbourne CBD, South Yarra and Fitzroy. Heck it's better than a $65 banquet at a single fine dining restaurant and you're still hungry (sorry guys :p). This post will be about my many coffee adventures in two days as well as a trip to the markets to clear my head in the morning.

QUEEN VICTORIA MARKET

One of the sights that I regret missing out on last year's Melbourne trip was a visit to the famous Queen Victoria Market. Thankfully this was the first thing on my agenda for this trip. While there were aisles of second hand clothing, flowers, and of course groceries; the section that caught my eye the most was the deli and cheese. Since it is one of Melbourne's main attractions, it was no surprise how chaotic it really was when I was trying to walk around (sorry about the pics). 

So much meat and cheese on display. There's also a few stalls dedicated to fresh and dried Italian pastas, sweets and a few popular takeaway delicacies such as "borek" and "bum burner" (I believe this was extremely spicy sausage...looks like it. The only thing that saddened me a bit was that there wasn't many stalls doing cheese tastings...though I guess you could ask the people selling it. Otherwise, you could easily spend many hours walking around the whole market. You can even grab a doughnut at the American Doughnuts van parked at the markets.

BROTHER BABA BUDAN

Not long after this, I was already in need of a caffeine hit. Brother Baba Budan is one of those really tiny cafes where you can get a quick coffee or a sweet snack whether it's for a quick take away or a sit down to chill...if you can get a table. Despite the little space, there were hoards of people crowded inside but that was part of the vibe of BBB. It's signature clutter of chairs stuck to the ceiling was an eye catching moment.

Skim Latte ($4.00)

It was actually thanks to this coffee spot that I discovered how much I really lie lattes. While they use their own house made coffee beans, they also source coffee from their equally renowned sister cafe, Seven Seeds. The latte itself had a smooth and light texture with a fruity aroma. It also still had enough intensity for that caffeine hit without that strong, bitter flavour. It's a busy yet lovely hangout which has that unique, funky atmosphere that makes it look so...Melbourne! (*facepalm*).

Brother Baba Budan
359 Little Bourke Street, Melbourne VIC 3000
(03) 9606 0449
Mon-Fri: 7:00am - 6:00pm
Sat: 7:00am - 5:00pm
Sun: 8:00am - 5:00pm
  


MANCHESTER PRESS

Literally just around the corner from Brother Baba Budan in a hidden laneway was Manchester Press. I was slowly getting hungry but since it was just me roaming around the city (while everyone was off to the hot springs at the Peninsuila), I sadly knew I had to be a tad selective. Operator25 was on my mind and around the area so...I got ANOTHER COFFEE. Plus the queues were quite busy. If you love your bagels, this place is certainly worth the wait with its varied selection of toppings to choose from. Interestingly, by the time I've finish ordering my coffee, the queues have moved quickly but alas, too late. As for the mocha, it was not too sweet with a good amount of bitterness. I believe they use the coffee beans from Coffee Cartel Roasters so there was a more roasted flavour. Oh yeah, that was my third coffee of the day. Booyah.

Skim Mocha ($3.80)

Manchester Press
8 Rankins Lane, Melbourne VIC 3000
(03) 9600 4054 http://www.facebook.com/manchesterpress/
Mon-Fri: 7:00am - 5:00pm
Sat-Sun: 9:00am - 5:00pm
 


OPERATOR25

Skim Mocha 

At the time of my visit, Operator25 has been one of the hottest cafes with countless fellow Sydney bloggers and instagrammers also making visits there this year so I knew I had to make a visit while I'm in this part of Melbourne. Interestingly, instagram was flooded with pictures of the food here from fellow Melbourne foodies. Turns out that they only just released their Autumn/Winter seasonal menu on that same weekend. Got yet another mocha, which was also decent quality. Coincidentally, they also use Cartel just like Manchester Press but the mocha had a smoother texture at Operator25. Didn't want to drink the coffee at first because of the look of that coffee art.

Balinese Pulled Pork Burger with sweet potato wedges ($20.00)

One of the dishes I tried was the Balinese Pulled Pork Burger. Looking back, I'm not sure why I chose that dish especially when checking the menu again and spotting a few other dishes that I would have ordered instead. Probably due to my usual indecisiveness and asking the staff for recommendations. The pulled pork had an overly strong flavour possibly from the various seasoning in the meat combined chilli mayo, cabbage and carrot slaw in the filling. The saving grace was the gooeyness from the fried egg as well as the crispy and not-too-salty sweet potato wedges. I'm guessing this wasn't the right dish for me but I'm still keen to make a return to try one of their other dishes depending on the schedule.

Operator25
25 Wills Street, Melbourne VIC 3000
http://www.operator25.com.au/
(03) 9670 3278
Mon-Fri: 7:00am - 4:00pm
Sat-Sun: 9:00am - 4:00pm
 


BOWERY TO WILLIAMSBURG

On our last day in Melbourne, AC and T wanted to go to Passionflower while I was keen to try one more eatery. Unfortunately my original plan for a takeaway at Huxtaburger on Collins Street was way too far from where my friends were. So I settled on a quick and final coffee fix at the very hidden and hard to find Bowery to Williamsburg on Oliver Lane. The interior has a more American - New York metro style from the decor as well as some of the items on the menu such as the Reuben Sandwich, Philly cheese sandwich, bagels and melts. They also have a salad bar if you're are up for clean eating. 

Skim Mocha ($4.50)

The coffee at Bowery to Williamsburg was made with Padre coffee beans from Brunswick and served with a complimentary Hershey's Kisses chocolate! The flavour had a stronger, bitter flavour with its texture leaning on the more robust, grainy and rustic side compared to the other mochas. Whih is good sine it gave me enough energy to last for the rest of the day without any extra caffeine hits.

 Bowery to Williamsburg
16 Oliver Lane, Melbourne VIC 3000
(03) 9077 0162
Mon-Sat: 7:30am - 3:00pm
Sun: 8:30am - 3:00pm
 

Stay tuned for more Melbourne recaps coming up soon on The Random Foodie including more savoury and even more sweet eats!

Cuckoo Callay, Newtown

Bacon! Bacon! Bacon! It was no surprise that I jumped for joy when I first heard about Cuckoo Callay holding a Bacon Festival back in February. Was even happier when I realised this will be going on for 12 weeks. Fast forward many weeks and multiple visits later. Well I haven't managed to try the whole menu but for what I did try, I was really satisfied. By now, this post is probably a bit too late since it will be ending pretty soon but hey better late than never? 

Conveniently located right next to Newtown station, there is so much to love about Cuckoo Callay when it comes down to their fun and down to earth approach. Even on the menu with lots of cute names such as "Birdy Nom Nom", "Cinderella's Breakfast", "Georgeous George and #HashTag Browns 3.0 (heh). According to the take-away menu on the front, they give out free hugs but I haven't had the guts to ask. I probably need one though sighs.

Skim Mocha ($4.00)

Skim Latte ($3.50)

Cuckoo Callay uses Single Origin Roasters house blend. So far, I've been really impressed by the coffee here. The mocha was slightly sweet but not in an overwhelming way and the coffee art was always a highlight. Been starting to drink lattes as well and the one I've had was smooth and not too bitter.

Drizzle Sticks ($10.00)

Bacon dipped in chocolate may not sound as appealing at first but it got quite addictive after a few bites. Loved biting into the sweet chocolate while getting mesmerised by the meaty bacon strips. Great to have when the weather was warmer.

What a Croque of Bacon ($19.00)

As a lover of croquettes (if it's done right), I couldn't go past this dish. It looked slightly similar to the #HashTag browns 3.0 dish on the regular menu except without the avocado and replacing the bacon steak/salmon/haloumi with long Bourbon bacon strips. The thick-sized vintage cheddar croquettes were chunky and creamy on the inside whilst crispy and crumbly on the outside. Enjoyed mixing the bacon and croquettes with the pea puree and the gooey egg yolk (more on that later). With its reasonable serving size, it was definitely one of my fave dishes that I would order again if I get the chance. Just the colourful appearance of this dish alone will bring a smile to your face.

Bacon All the Rules ($24.00)

If you really LOVE your bacon then get this dish. There's 5 (YES FIVE!) different types of bacon in this one dish alone. This consisted of Black Forest Smokehouse maple bacon, bourbon bacon, bacon steak, bacon sausage and (*gasp*) bacon-crumbed poached eggs served on sourdough toast. Man I'm getting meat sweats just writing that last sentence. Yup this was certainly not one for the faint hearted but I couldn't look away. Just that experiencing so many different forms and textures of bacon was a culinary journey that I was gladly happy to explore whether it was the tiny specks of crumbed bacon or the salty yet juicy bacon sausage or that thick slab of bacon steak.

Oh yeahhh

That yolk porn...

Also the poached eggs NEVER EVER fail to disappoint me. So many gooey times here.

Ya Bacon Me Crazy ($20.00)

While it may be a dish that you would likely to get for dessert after a savoury meal, it was surprisingly filling enough on its own to satisfy your hunger. Thanks to the maple bacon and the waffles, there was still a bit of that warm, savoury and slightly salty flavour as you sink your teeth into this towering plate of cinnamon ice cream and choc-coated bourbon bacon indulgence.

Best. Chips. Ever ($9.00)

While I can't comment on whether these chips were the best ever, they would certainly rank high on my list. So thick and crispy on the outside and incredibly fluffy on the inside. Great to share with a group of friends though it can be very addictive.

While the food may be on the pricier side of the spectrum, the service has been welcoming and accommodating. The portions were quite generous so that made up for the price. Sadly the Bacon Festival is ending very soon after its 12-week run (around early-mid May which is just around the corner!) so if you love your bacon, hurry to Cuckoo Callay before the pigs fly away!

Disclaimer: I paid for every single meal mentioned in this post.

Cuckoo Callay

324a King Street, Newtown NSW 2042

(02) 9557 7006

http://www.cuckoo-callay.com.au/

Mon-Fri: 6:00am - 4:00pm

Sat: 8:00am - 4:00pm

Sun: 8:00am - 3:00pm