Pepper Lunch, Melbourne CBD by Bureaucrat

One lunchtime, we headed out to Pepper Lunch, which had recently (ie, in the past few months) opened.  I think we were all intrigued with trying this place, since previously it was this crappy motorcycle shop (which none of us had ever set foot inside).

Upon entering, I was kinda bamboozled.... a bit of sensory overload was happening to me.  You order at the counter, which has a fast food sort of set up and vibe – which was something I wasn’t expecting.   Despite having ordered many a McValue meal in my life, I was struggling to make sense of the menu at PL.   In summary, on offer, are deconstructed ‘burgers’ (without the bun) and a range of donburi.  In the end, I just bit the metaphorical bullet and placed my order and trusted that I’d get something tasty.

From what we could gather, PL is a fast-foodish Japanese chain.  The food looks interesting as most of the dishes came out on a sizzling plate which had a paper barrier/border/wrapping(?) surrounding it.  The food came out quite quickly and I think pretty much all of the dishes come with a dusting of ground white pepper.  

First up was Snooze's salmon teriyaki.....wasn’t overcooked and was very light.   She thought it was a good option compared with the other heavier options.  Having said that Snooze would like to go back and try one of the others.

Chewy's dish was a chicken steak w rice and miso soup.  The meal didn't make much of an impression on him.  But the words that come to mind when he thinks about PL are “vapid” and “unremarkable”.

I wasn't sure what the Lawyer's dish was called, but it was some sort of beef w rice and corn. The Lawyer liked his dish.  He succinctly summarises it as the dish “doing its job”.  Simple, filling and reasonable.  He liked how the rice developed a nice crust from the hot plate – similar to bibimbap.

Big Fil got the Hitokuchi cut w chips.  His recollection is that it was more fun than good and that the cut of meat felt cheap (despite paying a bit more for it).  Similar to Chewy, Big Fil thought that while there was nothing particularly wrong with it he would have described it as mediocre.  He noted that the chips were better than the meat.

I got the cheeseburger w egg, fries and miso soup.  A sizzling beef patty and egg and veg that finishes cooking at your table.  I quite enjoyed the novelty of the cheeseburger.  I give it points as it’s comes sans bun, which makes it gluten free.  The beef patty was reasonably sized and I would say that it’s of a similar quality to a beef patty at Maccas.  There wasn’t any gristle but it was a tad lumpy in texture.  I liked the mild warmth from the white pepper – I think most dishes could do with a sprinkle of white pepper (as opposed to black pepper) before they’re served.  I loved cooking the egg and having the cheese melt all over the beef patty.  I then especially loved dunking the fries into this gooey eggy, cheesy, beefy mess.....Mmm Mmm Mmm!  In fact, I craved eating this in the days that followed this lunch.  Grease-wise, I’d rate this is as just a wee healthier than a Big Mac.

Verdict

Food – 6.5

Ambience – 7

Service – 7

Price – 7

Overall

Okay, so our reactions were a bit mixed.  This ain’t gourmet but it is fun, trashy, and therein lies its appeal (to me at least!).  I’d much prefer to go to PL than any of the fast food chains, and would definitely go again in the colder months when I need something hot and comforting.  And hell, sometimes we just need to eat something that’s just plain wrong! 

Pricewise it was pretty good and is competitive with its fast food chain competitors and also some of the other eateries nearby – I mean, you could do a lot worse.

The only downside is that because almost everything comes served on a hot plate, you leave with your hair and clothes smelling like you’ve been cooking in the kitchen the whole time.

Address

Pepper Lunch

309-311 Elizabeth St

Melbourne 3000

Telephone: 9078 6388

 

Burch & Purchese Sweet Studio, South Yarra by Bureaucrat

A while back, Beaker did some research into buying a cake for a special occasion. From her research, she found Burch and Purchese Sweet Studio.  Beaker was quite excited about the cake.  I was intrigued and wanted to try it, despite the fact that it had so many unusual flavours combined in the same cake.

Behold, the mango, milk chocolate and ginger cake.  The many layers of this cake are:
 - milk choc and mango cream
 - coconut meringue
 - Jamaican ginger cake
 - mango cream
 - milk choc sponge
 - mango custard
 - choc gingerbread teddy.

To cut to the chase, the cake was okay.  It wasn't great but it wasn't bad.  Frankly, I think the cake would work better if it didn't try to marry up so many flavours and textures together. What I liked was the many layers.  For me, the best aspects was the ginger/choc layers.  Nice, smooth choc flavour and the warm zing from the ginger.  The cake was moist and just a wee sweet for me.


What didn't work was the coconut layers, esp the coconut meringue, which had dessicated coconut in it (I've never been a fan of dessicated coconut... it's so dry and bleurgh). I was looking forward to the mango layers, but sadly, I couldn't taste it.  I think the middle white layer was the mango cream, but honestly, it just tasted like plain, butter cream.

Visually, I'm not sure I 'get' the teddy bears on top.

Verdict
Food – 6.5
Ambience – 7
Service – 7
Price – 6

Overall
Well, based on one cake, B&P does okay cake. I'd be interested to go back and try their other cakes and treats, but I'd probably avoid the ones with too many flavours combined in single cake.

Address
B&P Sweet Studio
647 Chapel Street
South Yarra 3141
Telephone: 9827 7060

Through Road Pantry, Camberwell by Bureaucrat

Feeling the need for some arvo tea, Beaker suggested that we get some baked goodies from Through Road Pantry.  Through Road Pantry is located in, well, Through Road in Camberwell. It’s a nice little strip of local shops. I’m told that while Through Road Pantry does nice baked goods, in recent times, its popularity has been eroded by the relatively newcomer in Through Road, Miss Frank (a more slick operation).


Having had a gawp at the goodies in both Through Road Pantry and Miss Frank's, I was more interested in what Through Road Pantry had to offer (an impressive range of goodies for one thing). It’s a simple bakery with a slight air of retro chic to it. In the window, all the many and lovely baked goodies are displayed, and when we walked in, there was an absolutely divine aroma of freshly baked sausage rolls that greeted us. In some ways, it felt like I was walking into nanna’s kitchen – warm and comforting, as opposed to the trendy and modern cafe that is Miss Frank's.


In keeping with the old school set up, there are no tables and chairs at Through Road Pantry. It’s the sort of bakery that you’d buy your treat and eat the treat from the paper bag as you wander down the strip to buy a newspaper and some sausages for lunch from the butcher.


Despite there being many things to choose from, it was obvious that I had to get the custard doughnut. Attentive readers will know that I am in love with the custard doughnuts at Walker’s Doughnuts. So how did Through Road Pantry’s custard doughnut compare? It compared pretty well – a close second to the ones at Walker's Doughnuts. It was a nice yeasty doughnut with a pleasant chewy texture. There was a good amount of custard, which was thick and luscious and not too sweet. The only thing that would have made it perfect was if it had a stronger vanilla flavour (made from real vanilla) to it. It wasn’t greasy and was the right size for satisfying a sweet craving without the guilt of indulging in something that’s so high in calories. And, it’s a snap at $1.90 (compared to almost twice the price at Walker's Doughnuts)!

Beaker got a slice of the black forest gateau. I have never understood the appeal of this cake. I’m guessing that that’s because in my experiences to date, all the black forest gateau have been from rather mediocre bakeries and cake shops. This one was moist, a good ratio of cake to cream and the Morello cherries were tart and not too artificial in taste. This is one of the better black forest gateau’s that I’ve had but I’m still not a fan. Beaker, however, quite liked it.

Last but not least was Bubba Chuck’s cupcake. She wolfed this down, which I take it as a sign of her approval.



Verdict
Food – 7.5
Ambience – 7
Service – 7
Price – 10

Overall
I love this bakery. Love the range, the retro vibe and the old school prices! I would definitely go back to try the sausage rolls and the pies.... and maybe a few more of the cakes..... Someone put a kettle on!

Address
Through Road Pantry
175 Through Rd
Camberwell 3124
Telephone: 9836 6385

Brunswick Flour Mill, Brunswick by Bureaucrat

Recently, Beaker, Bubba Chuck and I went went a-wandering in the Brunswick area.  In particular, we were hoping to have something Middle Eastern for lunch.

Despite GPS and Google Maps, we managed to walk up and down Sydney Road without being to locate the few cafes/restaurants that we had shortlisted.


In the end, we were fed up (no pun intended) with searching for these places, so we picked the first decent looking eatery to have lunch.  This is how we ended up at Brunswick Flour Mill.


Going by the decorations and the name of the cafe, we rather cleverly deduced that this was once a flour mill.


Getting down to business, I ordered a chai.  This was good but not memorable.


Bubba Chuck got chicken and chips.  When this arrived, I though this was kinda mingy... there were just two small chunks of chicken.  Bubba Chuck ate of the chickens and most of the chips.  Beaker and I then helped ourselves to the remaining chicken and chips.  And surprising, the chicken was bigger than it looked and had a simple but nice crunchy coating.  The chicken was moist and tender.


I got the toasted focaccia w grilled veggies. As you'd expect being in Brunswick area, the focaccia was handmade and totally worth ignoring my ban on wheat products.  Flavoursome bread with grilled eggplant, capsicum and pumpkin, spinach leaves, pesto and feta.  A nice ratio of veggies to focaccia.  Lovely.

Beaker lucked out.  She went for the calamari salad w tapanade.  It wasn't the prettiest of dishes and it's flavour was rather ho hum. The calamari was good but not enough for the price.  The salad was mostly chopped iceberg, red onions and tomatoes and it was overly dressed with a feta-based dressing, which made it somewhat salty.  Beaker avoided the tapanade, as that was salty.

Verdict
Food – 7
Ambience – 7
Service – 7
Price – 6.5

Overall
A nice run of the mill cafe (no pun intended, again).  It seems to be quite the place for coffee lovers.  Our lunch was mixed.  I certainly liked my focaccia and the children's meal was pretty good.  We weren't quite sure what they were going for with the calamari salad.

Address
Brunswick Flour Mill
341 Sydney Road
Brunswick 3056
Telephone: 9078 0497

Cajun Kitchen, Melbourne CBD by Bureaucrat

It’s usually my thing to eat dinner in the city when the temperature exceeds 30 degrees.  On this particular day, the Lawyer and I were joined by Big Fil and Ruby Grapefruit.


We were tossing up two possible eateries – Guzman Y Gomez or Cajun Kitchen (which I unintentionally keep referring it to as Cajun Chicken).  We opted for Cajun Kitchen.


CK is a small and narrow shop on Elizabeth St, towards Flinders St Station.  We got there and had a nice time trying to decide what we wanted to eat.  The staff there were friendly and were more than happy to help us decide what was good eating.  I was excited that they had po’boys, I was bummed that they didn’t have gluten free buns to go with it (I’ve been ever so intrigued with po’boys since Liz Lemon enthused about how delicious they are).


Instead, I went with the blackened fish salad.  The pros were that the salad was very fresh and I liked the use of cos lettuce (and not iceberg... ugh).  It was fresh, it was light and healthy and made me feel virtuous for not eating wheat.  The cons was the fish.  Though fresh (and not frozen), the three thin fillets of fish was lacking the punchyiness that I had expected.  In my mind, I had thought the fish would be zingy and bursting with flavour but it was quite mild and pedestrian.  I’m not sure whether they’ve deliberately dialled down the flavours to suit the average punter.  Plus, for the price, I had expected more fish in the salad.... I got hungry a few hours later.

The Lawyer, Big Fil and Ruby Grapefruit decided to share three dishes.


The first was the blackened fish taco.  This was more like a fish wrap than your typical taco.  Similarly, the fish didn't live up to expectations in terms of the flavour.  However, the Lawyer liked this and thought the flavours were well balanced.


The gumbo was the definite favourite.   The three of them went quiet as they savoured this dish.  From what I gathered, the flavour was deep and it was satisfying.  Ruby said she’d definitely have it again. The Lawyer also liked the flavour, the serving size and the shrimp. For Big Fil, he felt that this was more a rice dish and less a soup than what he understands the gumbo traditionally is.  He also noted that the gumbo having a lot of, or any, okra in the dish. Also, there was a bit of discussion as to whether the ingredients were authentic gumbo ingredients and how this differed to jambalaya.


The third one was the pulled pork po’boy.  We had to prompt the staff about this one, which they had forgotten.  When it arrived, I was glad I didn’t get this. It had a run of the mill white bun.  I didn't get much feedback on the pork.

We also got some chips which were quite nice with its generous drizzle of cayenne spiked mayo made them moreish.

Verdict
Food – 6.5
Ambience – 7
Service – 7
Price – 6.5

Overall
I think we have mixed views on CK.  For some of the food, it was really good.  But for other dishes, it was average in a not great but not bad vein.  I’ve had a read through other reviews and it seems to confirm this view.  I wish them well but it needs something more to get me to come back.

We liked the very friendly and cheerful staff.

Address
Cajun Kitchen
136 Elizabeth St
Melbourne 3000

Straits of Malacca, Glen Waverley by Bureaucrat

In the past two or so years since Straits of Malacca set up in Glen Waverley, I've been mildly curious as to what their food was like.  I knew it was popular, as it first started off in one shop, and has now expanded to the shop next to it.  It's usually quite packed, so I look elsewhere for dinner.

But on a summer's day, the Lawyer and I needed an early dinner.  As it was early, it meant that we could get a table at Straits of Malacca.  First impressions is that the staff here are very friendly and efficient.  Beaming smiles from all around, we were quickly seated in a nice corner, and quick as a flash, menus and our cups of tea appeared.  It was almost like a magic show!


Hainanese chicken

There's quite a list of dishes on offer.  As I couldn't make up my mind, I asked our waiter what thier specialty dishes are. While we waited for our food, the second impression we got was the serving size... and boy, are they big!  Some places do big plates with little food.  Straits of Malacca was big plates with lots of food.

Hungry Birds, Brunswick by Big Fil

It had been a while since Snooze and myself had checked out the brunches at any of Melbourne’s north side cafes, but when I read about a place doing things with a Mexican inspired touch I just had to check it out.

It’s a good thing I heard about this place through the internet grapevine though, because I doubt too many people are going to find it by accident. Located down the side of an office style building down a non-descript Brunswick Street, you’d probably not even see it if you drove past. Once you sit down though it is a nice place to eat. For me anyway it felt a little less like your typical cafe but more like a short term pop-up, something put in place to take advantage of a temporarily available space.

The range of drinks and food on offer is a bit more limited than in many places, maybe because the kitchen area looked quite small. But in terms of novelty and interest they’d rank up there with a lot of the best known cafes in Melbourne. For example, my salted caramel milkshake garnished with honeycomb. Great caramel flavours and the honeycomb did look good, even if it did annoy me a bit when getting stuck between my teeth. For Snooze a ‘Jamaica’, an hibiscus flower drink served with mint and lime. While the flavour was not as strong as I’d anticipated, the mint and lime would make this a very refreshing drink on a hot day.

For me the most interesting dish on the all day menu was the chicken mole. Mole is not something you see that often in Melbourne. It’s a real traditional Mexican sauce, and as I understand it comes in many, many varieties depending on both region and cook. What they all have in common is the use of the many varieties of chillies available in Mexico, and maybe the use of chocolate to give the sauce a rich flavour and thicker texture. Anyway, complexity of flavour is the calling card of the sauce, so how did the version here stack up.

Well, I suspect a mole purist might have some issues but I thought it was pretty good. Not as complex as I’d have hoped for but hey, for what you are paying it’s an interesting diversion away from the typical brunches available around town. Served with black beans, salsa and tortillas, what really boosted the dish was the slightly spicy and acidic kick from the salsa. Place some chicken in the tortilla, ladle on some of the mole, top it with some beans and a dash of the salsa and you have a pretty good anytime of the day meal.

Snooze's choice was one of the sandwiches, I forget the name of which but which came with lettuce, horseradish, avocado, tomato, beetroot spread and Gouda cheese. While I am not usually a huge fan of vegetarian sandwiches this was very good, full of big flavours. While my choice amongst the sandwiches and rolls would have been the pulled pork, I have to say Snooze did choose well here.

Overall

Friendly staff, rockabilly music, nice surrounding and a sunny day, there’s not much more you can ask for really. Other than maybe a slightly bigger menu and maybe somewhere inside to sit when the weather isn’t as good, but given the practical constraints of the space they have that may not be possible.

Verdict

Food (and drinks) – 8

Ambience – 8

Service – 7.5

Price – 7

Address

242 Victoria Street

Brunswick VIC 3056

Tel: 0401 540 872

Creperie le Triskel, Melbourne CBD by Bureaucrat

Back in December, I made a booking for lunch at Creperie le Triskel to farewell Ms B from our team.


As we were a group of about 13 people, I wasn't sure whether we could get a booking, especially in the lead up to xmas.


It turns out that the staff at ClT were very accomodating and they happily took our reservation.  Although they had originally planned to give us the space inside the small cafe, we ended up sitting outside (and taking up all the tables!) as it was a humid day.

Here is a selection of some of the things we ordered...


...La Biquette.  Buckwheat crepe w goats cheese, spinach, tomatoes and pine nuts.


...La M'sieur Bernand.  Buckwheat crepe w Swiss cheese, egg and ham.


...Croque Monsieur.  Although I thought the croque was a tad burnt, Mr U declared that this was most delicious.  It certainly looked cheesy and gooey.  I was more than a tad envious of him as my crepe was kinda boring and bland.


...I got La Korigan, a buckwheat crepe w bechamel, Swiss cheese, mushroom and spinach.  I also asked for the extra prosciutto, but it did not come with it (although I was charged for it).  The crepe was bland and wasn't bad but wasn't memorable - although, I do recall it not being hot/warm when it was served.  It wasn't too cheesy but with the absence of the salty, savoury prosciutto, it felt like eating salad with a buckwheat pancakes.  I'm usually quite full after a buckwheat crepe at Roule Galette.  However, I got hungry a few hours after eating my crepe here.  I definitely still prefer the crepes at Roule Galette (refer my review back in Feb 2012).

Verdict
Food – 6.5
Service – 7
Ambience – 7.5
Price – 7

Overall
Friendly, accomodating staff with French accents.  They do take bookings, although sometimes it's a bit hard getting a hold of someone on the phone.

Although we pre-ordered, it did take a while for the crepes to come out.  I know it's unfair to expect a small cafe to serve dishes out quickly (and they're probably juggling our orders with the rest of the diners) but there was quite a lag between some of us getting our food.

I don't mind ClT.  It has charm and it's cute.  However, my heart and stomach much prefers Roule Galette.

Address
Creperie le Triskel
32 Hardware Lane
Melbourne 3000
Telephone: 0466 406 404