Travel Stop: Melbourne Munchies

I knew I had to find this store here in my time in Melbourne and I did. My favourite frozen yogurt place is even more awesome at its original store, with a cheaper rate of $2.90/100g, 2 additional flavors (Almond Mylk & Hazelnut, Dragon Fruit & Watermelon), and a wider range of toppings to choose from - from macaron shells to honeycomb chocolate bits. If you're in Melbourne, be sure to check this place out! 

Heartiness (portion): 4/5
Tastiness (product): 5/5
Worthiness (price): 5/5

Frozen By A Thousand Blessings has 4 outlets in Melbourne: Melbourne Central, South Yarra, Doncaster, and Richmond.

17/05/15

These beautiful looking macarons work out to be about $2.60 each. From the top row left to right, we have: Crème Brûlée, Rainbow Bubble Gum, Pistachio, Strawberries & Cream, Belgian Chocolate. Of all, the Crème Brûlée was the most tasty, with strawberry and chocolate falling behind. The bubblegum was a little too sweet and candy-ish for my liking, and the pistachio tasted like cough mixture... The macarons here felt a bit like a hit and miss, but I guess I can't really blame them as it is a family business, which means that all these are homemade. The size of these macarons are huge though, about 1.5 to 2 times bigger and thicker compared to one by Laduree. As with all macarons, consume them fast if not the texture will change according to the surrounding climate, not for the better. 

Heartiness (portion): 5/5
Tastiness (product): 3.5/5
Worthiness (price): 3/5

17/05/15

Similar to the hotcakes found at Paddy Hills and an even more uncanny resemblance to Stranger's Reunions hotcakes with the purple sugar. I'm pretty sure the cafes in Singapore took one out of Top Paddock's book. Although I haven't tried Stranger's hotcakes, the hotcakes here soar above the ones at Paddy Hills. The hotcakes here did NOT taste like a giant madeline; instead, it was soft, fluffy, airy, with crispy sides and exterior, plus the batter tasted really delicious. Moreover, the blueberries and ricotta inside the hotcake were flavorful compared to the ones at Paddy Hills which were sour. The double cream on the top was generous and tasted like butter with a softer and creamier texture. Its gotten popular and mainstream, but still I would think its worth a try. 

Heartiness (portion): 4/5
Tastiness (product): 5/5
Worthiness (price): 3/5

16/05/15

For eggs benedicts, the poached eggs are the star of the show. However, they are most often accompanied by a lacklustre supporting cast of meat; as Cephas put it "eggs benedict's suffer mediocre meat...". The main star put up an above average performance oozing out nicely from its shell of egg white. However, it seemed as if the supporting actor almost overshadowed his main man. Smoked ham was crazy juicy and had such a pure taste of meatish saltiness, definitely deserving an award for his stellar performance. The bearnaise was light and creamy, pairing well with his counterparts. One of the better breakfast dishes I had here in Melbourne. Worth the 40 minute wait. 

Heartiness (portion): 4/5
Tastiness (product): 4.5/5
Worthiness (price): 4/5

16/05/15

Turkish eggs of poached eggs with cumin and garlic yoghurt, sucuk sausage, sumac oil and Turkish bread 

I didn't like the ones at Penny U and neither did I like this one here. The Turkish bread tasted like naan with a sourdough texture which was not bad, and the sucuk sausage tasted like chorizo. The cumin and garlic yoghurt to me was just too sour for liking. I guess this confirms that I just don't enjoy Turkish Eggs in general.

Heartiness (portion): 2/5
Tastiness (product): 2/5
Worthiness (price): 2/5

16/05/15

Poached fig and Beechworth honey porrdige with gingerbread crumbs and bee pollen

This sounds and looks nicer than what it actually is. Note to self: when you order porridge in a cafe, expect to be served oatmeal, and not a lot of it. 

Heartiness (portion): 2/5
Tastiness (product): 2/5
Worthiness (price): 1/5

16/05/15

Here's featuring two of their sandwiches - the Hemingway (Free range roast chicken, BLT - Bacon, Lettuce, Tomato) and the 3 Cheese (Gruyere, Cheddar, Bocconcini, and Tomato). 

The Hemingway ($11.50) was a recommendation by the staff as the chicken was freshly prepared. True enough, the chicken breast meat was juicy and I liked the BBQ mayo sauce that came along with it. The 3 Cheese ($11) was reaaaallllyyy cheesy and rather oily as well, so if you're in for such an overdose it would be perfect, but it was a little too strong for me. The food here is pretty average but I guess the concept is pretty interesting as there's also a barber and a jewellery shop inside, plus the place turns into a bar (which is probably quite happening) when the sun goes down. 

Heartiness (portion): 2/5
Tastiness (product): 3/5
Worthiness (price): 3/5

15/05/15 

After spotting a snakish queue outside each time we walked by, we finally decided to try the ramen @ the Little Ramen Bar. Sadly, the ramen fell way below expectations. Pork broth was not strong and was porky, noodles tasted like cheap yellow noodles with an 'okay' Q texture, chashu was mediocre and the tamago egg yolk centre was slightly hard. Don't be fooled by the queue guys. 

Heartiness (portion): 3/5
Tastiness (product): 2/5
Worthiness (price): 3/5

15/05/15

Help yourself to beautiful pintxos (pronounced pinchos) at 1 dollar each during lunch time! ($2 at any other time of the day) It's kind of like spanish tapas and I love that one can get variety at such an affordable price. I can't list them all, but my favourites were the Tortilla with Aioli, Balsamic Caramelised Pear and Pistachio with Cream Cheese, and the Chocolate Rum Balls. 

Heartiness (portion): 3/5
Tastiness (product): 4/5
Worthiness (price): 5/5

14/05/15

A simple breakfast dish of mushrooms and egg. I really enjoyed the soft and creamy truffled polenta. The truffle wasn't strong but loved the texture. The egg yolk was very runny and the yolk-plus-polenta mix was a good base to dip the crispy toasted bread. Perhaps the star of the dish was the pan-roasted forest mushrooms in the centre. They were springy, juicy and super tasty. Wished there was more! And the pecorino cheese was nicely nutty and added weight to the flavours. A little too cheesy for me though. Overall a safe and enjoyable vegan breakfast dish. 

Heartiness (portion): 3.5/5
Tastiness (product): 4/5
Worthiness (price): 3.5/5

14/05/15

As its name suggests, N2 uses liquid nitrogen to create their gelato. Each cup of gelato is made-to-order which guarantees the use of fresh ingredients in your ice cream. The banana gelato that I got here was mixed with bits of marshmallow and cookies. More cookies are layered on the gelato, topped up with a torched meringue swirl and a syringe full of chocolate ganache. I really liked the gelato, the banana flavour isn't too strong, but it isn't too light either. The cookie layer gave it a nice crunch, and the torched meringue tasted a bit like melted marshmallow, adding more sweetness to everything. The chocolate ganache syringe wasn't much, but it was rich. Watching how this was prepared, as they poured in the liquid nitrogen, definitely added to the experience of consuming it. 

Heartiness (portion): 3/5
Tastiness (product): 4/5
Worthiness (price): 4/5

14/05/15

Soft shell crab, charcoal bun, black sesame slaw, coriander, sriracha mayonnaise.

This Soft Shell Crab Dog looks strikingly similar to a lobster roll, apart from the charcoal black bun and having a different crustacean as the main feature. The best way to eat this is like a traditional hot dog - with one's hands - to taste everything in a bite. The black sesame slaw contributed more to the texture which tasted and looked like sauerkraut. The sriracha mayo was a feature as it complemented well with the soft shell crab meat (who could go wrong with soft shell crab? love it). I felt the coriander was slightly unnecessary, but it did colour up the dish and gave it a leafy element to the dish. Portion wise, this daug was small as I consumed more than half of it in two bites. To be fair, I have quite a big mouth so its not exactly indicative.

Heartiness (portion): 1/5
Tastiness (product): 5/5
Worthiness (price): 3/5

14/05/15