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Showing posts with label brunch. Show all posts
Showing posts with label brunch. Show all posts

The Kettle Black

22:17 | Labels: , , , , , , ,

I really should start blogging again and keep it up this time. So I am back with a post on one of the newly opened cafes here, at South Melbourne to be exact. I was excited to try it out when I found out that those responsible for setting up this cafe are part of the Top Paddock and Two Birds One Stone group! It has a very laidback feel despite the more impressive sounding menu. I liked that they have bigger tables to cater to bigger groups as well. Their waiters and waitresses are really friendly with excellent service. Decisions were made, orders were taken and the wait for the food was short.

So feast your eyes on what I tried:

The weather was lovely so we chose the outdoor setting with the spacious round table!


Seasonal Local Mushrooms: There were both cooked and raw mushrooms to give this dish added texture and flavour. It was served on toast with fragrant chestnut powder and fresh curd. S added bacon and scrambled eggs to accompany her dish. Their bacon was delish! Thick cut and smokey with the fatty bits in it that most cafes are removing from their menu, which I personally find is a shame.

 Robbins Island Wagyu Skirt Steak on The Kettle Black Bun with housemade mustard, seasonal fruit relish and vege. This is a heavier meal for those who are looking for something meaty and filling. The buns combined with the steak was pretty good. The steak's texture could be improved on though.
 Fresh Kingfish with potato crisps, tomato, avocado and salad: The Kingfish was truly fresh and sweet with the flakes falling apart in your mouth. This matched with the potato crisps and avocado made for a great combination.


Chilli Scrambled Eggs with air-dried Flinders Island Wallaby (yeah you read that right, wallaby!) topped with Feta Cheese and Salad. Personally, I love my scrambled eggs to be slightly runnier so I found the ones served here to be a tad overcooked. Do not worry about the Chilli part as it was not spicy at all. The most/only interesting part of the dish that I was looking forward to was the wallaby! It was really tender and juicy but the smell was a bit too strong for me.

If you feel like the Scrambled Eggs will not be enough, add on their juicy bacon to go with it!

Housemade coconut yoghurt with Gluten Free Grains, seeds and nuts:  Now, for those looking for something sweeter, lighter and healthier, I recommend this! It is so refreshing and tasty, it just wakes you up and makes you happier! In the middle, there are Toorak Station prickly pear, rhubarb and fruits. Citrus powder and flowers finishes off the plating.

Housemade Ricotta Hotcakes: I was saving my favourite for the last! We have been back here twice and their hotcakes never fails. Blueberries, Maple, Double Cream and seeds joins the hotcake. If you love maple syrup, requests for more! It is a really good meal to start you day with especially during winter as it comes steaming hot for you to dig in. The outsides were cooked to perfection, crunchy and fragrant, and the insides fluffy and warm. When the double cream melts into it, it was heavenly! Will definitely be back for more hotcakes!

Overall, I was pretty disappointed. Yes some of the dishes like the yoghurt and hotcakes were lovely, but I had expected more after falling for Two Birds One Stone. 

The price ranges from $7.50 (toasts) to $23 (meatier dishes).


The cafe is convenient to get to as it is only a short walk from Domain Interchange, down Albert Road. You will be able to spot them first from their coffee cart stationed outside the cafe with the friendly barista for takeaway coffees.




The Kettle Black is located @
50 Albert Road
South Melbourne
VIC 3205

May you find as much joy in food as I do,
foodbabydreams

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Brunch AND Lunch @ Hardware Societe

06:53 | Labels: , , , , , , , , ,

SUNDAY BRUNCH
N and I had brunch at the Hardware Societe on Sunday. I love the quaint French-themed ambience. It's a lovely place to go to for a brunch date or with a couple of friends. We reached around noon, gave our name and was told by the friendly waitress that the wait would be roughly 1/2hour. Expect to wait on the weekends as it's a pretty popular brunch spot. The weekdays are less busy but they will still have a full house.

Upon being seated (we were offered their outdoor setting), we ordered our coffee. N had a flat white and I a mocha. The next thing was to decide what to eat as most dishes on their menu sounded delicious! I settled for the Croque Madame and N had the scrambled eggs with chorizo.



Their mocha is really good for chocolate lovers who want a shot of coffee in their hot chocolate. After pouring the rich hot chocolate into the cup to mix with the espresso shot, there will be another 3/4 cup of hot chocolate left over for you to enjoy after your caffeine fix :D


 This was N's scrambled eggs with chorizo. It came with a simple sandwich that had some greens and roasted capsicum in it to balance the eggs out. The eggs were rich and creamy and the chorizo had a spicy tang to it so I would not recommend it to those who are sensitive to spicy food.


My very filling Croque Madame, which was a ham hock sandwich with Gruyere cheese topped with a fried egg accompanied with a side of potato and leek salad. It was delectable! The bread itself made me want to have more, so good! The bread balanced out the saltiness of the ham hock and cheese.

It'll be tough for me for when we go back for brunch again to decide between trying something new or going back to either one of the above.


THURSDAY LUNCH
Few days later, N wanted to try out the lunch offered at Hardware Societe so we came back sooner than expected. This time, we did not need to queue. We arrived at 2pm and were promptly seated, indoors this time. A slight change in ambience was nice. Once again I had the mocha (best thing ever for a chocolate lover who wants some caffeine in the system) and N had the flat white. The lunch menu sounded just as good as the brunch had.





 N ended up with their Wagyu Beef Cap with romesco sauce (made of almonds), roast onion, heirloom carrots and finished with a dark sherry glaze. The beef was done medium rare and was yummy. The glaze really did a good job on the beef and made me ask for another slice because it gave off an aromatic fragrance as you chew it. The sauce was too nutty for my liking since I'm more of a pumpkin or potato mash with beef kinda girl.


I had the Duck Confit with goat's chevre & shallot tart, beetroot remoulade and orange jus. My only complaint would be the duck being a tad too dry. The beetroot remoulade was paired well with the duck but the tart was even better. The cheesy tart tasted heavenly when eaten with the duck *drools




The Hardware Societe is located @
118-120 Hardware St 
Melbourne, VIC 3000

Opening hours: 7.30-3pm
Price range: $15-25

 May you find as much joy in food as I do,
foodbabydreams

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