Eat and Be Merry teams up with Entertainment Book

This year, the Eat and Be Merry Crew is raising funds for FareShare (which is a Melbourne-based charity that rescues surplus, quality food from supermarkets, farmers and other businesses and transforms it into free nutritious meals for Victorian charities) by asking our dear readers to buy a copy of Entertainment Book 2016-17.

The Entertainment Book is a hefty tome that's full of dining offers – from high-end dining, cafes, pubs, bars and fast-food eateries, plus a whole heap of non-food offers, including lifestyle, entertainment, beauty and travel – which is published each year.  I love flicking through the Entertainment Book to get ideas of where I could go for my next meal – especially for a fancy dining experience!

Most offers typically give you 25-30% off your total bill (some offers give up to 50% off) or a 2-for-1 deal.  While that's pretty sweet, it gets sweeter as the book helps raise much-needed funds for charities and not-for-profit organisations.  It's also a great way to try out new restaurants and making it easier on the hip pocket at the same time.


Photo credit: Entertainment Book

Depending on which region you live in, the book costs between $55-$70 (plus postage) and comes in a hard-copy or digital version (there are separate books for each state and territory).  In my family, the savings we get from eating out at two fine-dining restaurants (i.e., the 'Gold Card' restaurants in the book) more than make up the cost of buying the book.  Plus, if there's more than six of you, you can use up to three Gold Cards in one transaction – score!

Cultural Commons, Springvale by Obelix

Cultural Commons now stands in what used to be an old strip joint. Or so says my male friends. Hmph. It's surprising how much historical knowledge these guys can dredge up on topics of interest. Set in the unlikely place of downtown Springvale, right opposite the train line, it is an anomaly in the land of pho. P and his mates have been raving about their burgers for some time now. So one weekend, Kiddo, P and I decided to hit them up for a greasy feed.


Instagram feeds have been full of soft shell burgers lately so I figured why not joint the fray and order one myself. The burger itself came on a brioche bun, suitably buttery. The soft shell crab was deep fried and unfortunately I could not taste the crabby flavours above the oil it was fried in. Whilst it was indulgent, it made me feel a bit sickly for the remainder of the afternoon. I could feel my cholesterol levels rising with each bite... The chips were considered light in comparison. Crispy with some sort of tex mex spice, the chips felt like a salad on my palate in between mouthfuls of soft shell crab burger. 

Stop 17, Fitzroy (by invitation) by Bureaucrat

Wordsmiths, foodies and coffee lovers have a new hangout - Stop 17 on Smith St, Fitzroy.  As the name suggest, Stop 17 is located at, well, stop 17 of the 86 tram route.  Despite being only a few weeks old, locals are embracing Stop 17 and having had brunch there recently, we can definitely understand the appeal.

There's an all day breakfast menu which includes Stop 17's version of the typical brunchy dishes.  However, the Lawyer was intrigued with the cutely named Krabby Eggs - it's not often you see crab in breakfast dishes and he was keen to try it.  

This ain't no ordinary plate of scrambled eggs - this was da bomb!  I had serious food envy and couldn't stop sneaking a forkful or two three of these delicious eggs.  Imagine blue swimmer crab meat sautéed with garlic, ginger, shallots, red chilli and curry - don't be misled by the ingredients... this ain't curried eggs nor was it Asian style scrambled eggs.   This was a beautifully flavoured and balanced dish.  It was slightly sweet, a deep savoury umami flavour, a touch of zing from the chilli and loads of freshness from the ginger and shallots.  It was a really gorgeous balance of strong flavours that came together perfectly without overpowering the gentle sweetness of the crab.

Barnacle Bills, Cairns (QLD) by Bureaucrat

Eating out in a tourist town is always going to be a risky gamble - the odds are usually not in your favour.  Tourists run the risk of putting up with crap food, poor service and exorbitant prices.  Despite doing some pre-holiday research into Barnacle Bills (not to be confused with the franchise, Barnacle Bill), I was bitterly disappointed with the food and cannot understand how glowingly other diners seem to rate this place.

Even taking into account our 20% off early bird dinner offer, our meal was a rip-off.

The Lawyer ordered the seafood saffron risotto ($38.90) had fish, prawns, scallops, mussels and chorizo.  He thought the dish was a tad bland and the rice was on the mushier side.  The good points were that there was plenty of seafood and there was actual saffron in the risotto.

Tutto Bene, Southbank (by invitation) by Bilby Blue

Sensational! Benny and I had been invited to Tutto Bene to sample its new breakfast menu and we were totally blown away by some amazing food. Indeed “tutto bene” is Italian for “everything’s good” – a totally accurate description of our experience.

We have dined at Tutto Bene on several occasions – the restaurant has been at Southgate Melbourne for more than ten years – and we have very fond memories, particularly of its risotto. Recently reopened after extensive renovations, Tutto Bene (reviewed by Obelix back in 2014) now offers breakfast as well as lunch and dinner.

Head chef Nathan Scarfo is a second generation Italian-Australian who is passionate about fresh seasonal ingredients and superb Italian produce. So what do Italians have for breakfast? According to Nathan, they are generally on the go, so they grab a coffee plus a little something that is fast to prepare and fast to eat. Maybe savoury, maybe sweet. In Italy the main emphasis is on lunch and dinner, so breakfast is generally a light affair.

However just because speed is of the essence does not mean that quality is compromised.


As much as possible is made in-house by Nathan and his team – they even bake their own sourdough rye bread, which we saw proving before the bake for the lunchtime service.

Piccolina Gelateria Naturale, Hawthorn by Bilby Blue

Having set ourselves the task of exploring the best gelato that Melbourne has to offer (including Tutti Frutti Artisan Gelato) the following words were guaranteed to spur us into action:

“Have you been to the new gelato place in Hawthorn? You MUST go – it is fantastic!”

Benny and I were on its doorstep just over 24 hours later – on a warm Melbourne summer evening that was perfect for frozen treats.

Our first impression was blue. Deep saturated shades on the awning and footpath umbrellas outside, on the interior walls, and on posters listing the available flavours and explaining Piccolina’s gelato philosophy. It is not a large shop – only a few small tables and stools inside, plus a couple of tables on the footpath.


Passionfruit and coconut

On entering, we were enveloped in a heady aroma of passionfruit. This came from a large pile of freshly halved fruit sitting behind the counter, in the process of becoming tomorrow’s batch of passionfruit sorbet. A good sign – illustrating Piccolina’s commitment to using fresh ingredients.

88 Melbourne at the Australian Open 2016, by Obelix

A full memory card on my camera has prompted me to do some much-needed culling of photos!  I forgot I had these gorgeous pics of my dinner at the Australian Open earlier this year and I want to share them with you now before they are forever deleted.

The tennis gods were shining on me this year when I was invited as a guest of P to attend the Australian Open Women's Finals in style.  It was an edge-of-the-seat match to witness live with Serena Williams and Angelique Kerber but this post is going to focus on what preceded the game...the dinner.  P and I were invited to dine at 88 Melbourne, one of the pop-up restaurants at the tennis.  88 Melbourne featured an a la carte menu with a smart casual dress code.


For the entrée, I decided on the Chef's special which was a vodka cured salmon.  It was cool and fresh version of sashimi.  Paradoxically the vodka gave it a lightness.

Dos Diablos Mobile Cantina, by Obelix

Tacos are synonymous with food trucks and Dos Diablos Mobile Cantina majors in tacos and smoky spicy chips.  My friends and I tried a selection of tacos from Dos Diablos as well as their famous shoe string fries with a Tex Mex spice.


I had the vegetarian taco which came with black beans.  I would have preferred a bit more piquancy with the chilli and spice.  The black beans were comfortingly cooked down.  The taco shell was just a wee bit cold for me.  I would have preferred it if the soft taco shell was warmed up a bit which would have given it a bit more pliability.

La Pizza, Cairns (QLD) by Bureaucrat

On 1 March, a number of 'firsts' occurred for me.  It marked the occasion of my first visit to Cairns, my first flight on TigerAir (which wasn't as bad as everyone made it out to be) and my first booking into an AirBnb accommodation.  For the Lawyer, Mr Strong, Mother Hen and I, we had high hopes of a relaxing few days that would be highlighted by spectacular local produce - especially the seafood.  While the views were stunning, it wasn't until the latter half of our holiday that we started to encounter good grub.

One of the things we had read and heard about Cairns is that, being a tourist town, there's lots of tempting deals to get tourists to part with their money in exchange for great food.  I can confirm that, yes, there are many lunchtime and early bird dinner deals (e.g., $15-$20 for lunch including a drink, or 10-20% off early bird dinners) but the quality is less than desirable.  Most nights we ended up going to local fish shops and buying the fresh seafood and cooking it ourselves - it worked out cheaper and tastier!


Not wanting to walk too far for lunch (oy, the heat and the humidity!), the Lawyer and I surveyed the immediate restaurants along the Esplanade and picked La Pizza.  The daily lunch specials were squid fettuccine or a roast veggie quinoa salad.  We both went for the fettuccine because, well obviously, of the squid.  For $16.90 the fettuccine came with your choice of beer, wine or soft drink. For something that was described as "Squid fettuccine - crispy prosciutto, baby capers, Spanish onion, tomatoes in white wine and olive oil" the dish was nice but underwhelming.

Eau de Vie, Melbourne CBD by Bureaucrat

While I eschew wines and beers, to the point that many may think I'm a teetotaler, my poison of choice is a damn fine cocktail.  The elegance, the sophistication and the absolute creativity (in terms of taste and presentation) you can get from cocktails are why I love them.  Plus, it doesn't hurt that if you want to get nicely stewed, then combining spirits is the way to go.

Ms G introduced me to a damn fine cocktail bar called Eau de Vie.  As a typical Melbourne hipster watering hole, Eau de Vie is located in an assuming laneway and is, of course, not signed.  Eau de Vie specialises in cocktails and whisky - of which they have lots!  So many in fact that the drinks menu is about 20 odd pages and, god help me, I can't remember what we ordered.  Suffice to say, they all tasted great and when you've got great company and the cocktails that are sharp and zingy, who cares what they're called!  Just do what we did and point to what other people ordering and add it to your tab.

This was one of my drinks, which was served in this gorgeous copper cup.  It was tart, sour and had freeze-dried citrus and crystallised ginger pieces with a foamy egg white top.

Black Seed Cafe, Werribee by Benny

A pet crisis sees us visiting the critical care clinic of the University of Melbourne’s School of Veterinary Science in Werribee. It has been quite a while since I was last in Werribee – as a young child I used to fish for bream at the mouth of the Werribee River with my father and brothers. Back then, the town was a sleepy rural centre quite separate from Melbourne.

A lot has changed in the intervening years – engulfed by an expanding Melbourne, Werribee now has a bustling retail centre, happily with lots of lunchtime options. Traffic is crawling along the main street even though it is only just after 12 noon. Car parking is clearly inadequate.

Bilby Blue’s online investigations have us heading for the Black Seed Café, and two small strokes of luck suggest that this was meant to be: first, we amazingly find a parking space right in front of the café; second, just as we enter the packed dining area a table for two is vacated.


Baked egg shanklish

The Black Seed Café presents as a typical modern café: footpath tables under branded umbrellas, commercial espresso machine by the cash register and a glass display case offering house-made savoury pastries and dessert treats. There are some attractive decorator touches – including a rusty ivy-entwined bicycle and large station clock – but nothing to mark this place as anything special.

Then you see the food being served to other patrons – excellent, imaginative presentations and generous portions stimulate the eyes and the appetite. The menu beckons.

Chef Lagenda, Deer Park by Obelix

Chef Lagenda delivers a roaring trade at their Flemington location (see Big Fil's review) and when J invited me down to Deer Park, to their other location, I readily took her up on the offer.  Located in a shopping strip on the side of Ballarat Road, this Chef Lagenda is a bit more spacious than their Flemy counterpart.

The menu is similar to that in Flemington, a bit of Malaysian hawker style favourites mixed in with Hong Kong style roast meats and congee.  J was in the mood to go "all out" and we ordered a massive Assam Steamed fish to share with rice ($28).  What came was a fragrant steamed fresh water fish...I'm guessing it was a barramundi.  The Assam sauce which we had chosen on the recommendation of the waitress was delightfully spicy and sour with braised pineapple, eggplant and tomatoes.

Three One 2 One, Richmond (by invitation) by Benny

Hamburgers are hot. They are a major part of the dude food movement and imagination is encouraged to go wild. Where once it was de rigeur to wedge a slice of tinned beetroot between the beef patty and the iceberg lettuce, now pretty much anything goes – as long as you can put it between two halves of a roll and eat it in your hands. There are a number of places around Melbourne that are pushing the boundaries of hamburger possibilities, and one of them is Three One 2 One.

It wasn’t that long ago that Three One 2 One was one of those all-day-breakfast bars, but over the last several months it has been gradually transformed into a dedicated burger joint. The experiment started with just a burger or two added to the breakfast menu, but they proved to be so popular that ‘breakfast’ has disappeared and the range of burgers expanded, including one that has quickly become legendary – the Kick Ass Mac ‘n Cheese Burger. The modern take on milk-shakes (served in a jar and topped with sweet goodies) has also been embraced.

The Kick Ass Mac 'n Cheese Burger

All the new burgers have undergone a rigorous process of taste-testing, but what makes this reinvention all the more impressive is that the owner Krishna is vegetarian, so there is only one item on the burger menu that he has tasted – the veggie burger. Has the risk been worth it? Read on…

Palinka Bar and Kitchen, Fitzroy (by invitation) by Bureaucrat

What I loved most about Palinka Bar and Kitchen is that there's a lot of love in the air - not just from David and Zsolt (who looked after us during our meal) but also from the diners and people wandering in from the street who were lured in by the infectious energy yet laid back vibe of Palinka.  Hipsters, hippies, couples on date night, golden oldies and young families gather here for the Eastern European-inspired tapas and impressive range of European spirits and beers.  You know you're in a special place when diners and passersby start an impromptu jig in the street as a response to the music being performed by the local band.

Eastern European tapas is a great concept.  I love hearty, stodgy and comforting food - especially in winter.  However, in the warmer months, tucking into a big plate of goulash, spaetzle or pierogi that's laden with sour cream and sauerkraut isn't quite as enticing.  Palinka hits the nail in the head by making smaller sharing dishes that's perfect for nibbling on while soaking up the sun with a cold drink in hand.


Beaker and I ordered a couple of dishes to share.  First up were these Iberian twice-cooked chicken wings which came with a Gorgonzola dip.  It had a gorgeous, crisp crumb crust and the chicken, despite being twice-cooked, was juicy and tender.

Little Mushroom Co, by Obelix

Little Mushroom Co is the first of a series of food trucks posts I'm excited to present.  Essentially this food truck offers two items:  mushroom burgers and Mexican corn.  One could get a meal deal ($12) which encompasses both.


Apparently Little Mushroom Co are renowned for their Mexican Mushroom burger which I have been told packs a medium intensity heat and is their most popular item.  As one to buck the status quo, I tried their Greek Mushroom burger which interestingly had a honey dill mayo laced throughout and rocket and grilled haloumi sandwiched within a ciabatta bun.  It sounded intriguing and it tasted mighty fine albeit a little messy to eat as the mushrooms are moisture drenched sponges.  I just wished it was more substantial.  The mushrooms themselves were portobellos.  Whilst I was expecting a whole grilled portobello, it was in reality a few cut up pieces.  The haloumi was a little too thinly sliced for me to appreciate what would have been a salty intensity to contrast with the sweet honey mayo.