Chez Dre, South Melbourne by Bureaucrat

Ah, Chez Dre. One of the stalwarts in the Melbourne breakfast/brunch circuit.  It's known for its brunch stuff and its pastries.  I figured there'd never be the opportunity to see for myself what the hoopla is about given that I don't live near or tend to visit South Melbourne much nor am that enamoured with having eggs done my way to bother lining up for a table.

But it was the Lawyer's birthday and it called for a special meal.  With that in mind, we made plans to meet at Chez Dre on a Saturday morning to line up for a table.  The food had better be worth my time in lining up for an indeterminate period of time.  I know the reasons why places have a 'no booking' policy.  Frankly, I'd much rather pay a deposit to secure a table than to be told that I'd only have to wait "15 minutes or so", which in reality actually means a 30 minute wait, standing around like an idiot.  A question for our readers: has anyone ever turned up to a cafe with a 'no booking' policy, slipped the door b*tch/m'aitre d' a twenty and got a table immediately?

Anyhoo, congratulations if you've made it through my rant(!).  Once (finally) seated, we quickly placed our orders.


Mr Strong's smoked salmon and poached eggs on sourdough was delish.


The birthday boy got this pork dish.  It was an array of colours and textures and he thought it was absolutely scrumptious.  It had thick slices of slow-cooked pork, which was topped with crispy pancetta, kale and was served on a bed of pumpkin puree, sourdough and poached egg.  He licked the plate clean.


I had the smoked fish brandade served with poached eggs, sourdough and capsicum sauce.  I loved the smokey fish.


Mother Hen ordered the croque madame and asked for the fried egg to be served fully cooked.  She enjoyed the quality ham, bechamel sauce and the crispy pan fried bread.


For drinks, we got some pots of chair...


...latte...


...and herbal tea.





Verdict: we loved it

Overall
Okay, the quality is second to none and I begrudgingly acknowledge that the food here is worth lining up for.  I can see what the fuss is about Chez Dre.

Service was a bit flakey.  At times we weren't sure if our waiter had understood our order.  All the food came out promptly but we had to follow up on the tea three times before it came out.

See also Big Fil's review back in 2013.

Imperial Hotel, Melbourne CBD by Bureaucrat

Although work planning days ain't fun, management usually throws in a free meal to entice everyone to hang around in a 'social' setting in an effort to convince ourselves that we like working with each other.

A free dinner when you're part of a very big group is never going to be memorable unless you're at some seriously swish restaurant and there is no limit to the food budget.  That said, there are other reasons why the meal is memorable.  In this case, this dinner was memorable because some people got sick after being served an under-cooked chicken parma.


But before I get to the salmonella chicken, here are some pics of the properly cooked meals, including the chicken tandoori pizza...


...my steak and veg.  The steak was okay in quality but it definitely was not the best grade of eye fillet... it was a tad rubbery and carpet-like in texture.  The three veg and mash had the hallmarks of being pre-made and sitting in a bain marie.  The quality of the dish is reminiscent of a "beef or chicken" option you'd get at a 1990s wedding reception.


The burgers looked pretty decent in size.


And here is the infamous chicken parma.  About eight people ordered this.  The good points are that it's HUGE.  Definitely get your money's worth in ingredients.  The rocket salad is fresh and the chips are super morish.  Unfortunately, that didn't change the fact that inside the parma the chicken was raw.  We're not talking about a smidge of pink in one of the dishes.  We're talking pink, pink and more pink for all of the parmas... for some of the parmas, the chicken was practically clucking at us.  The management was nice, though, to take them all back and got new ones made up, which were all properly cooked through.  They also didn't charge for those parmas.

Verdict: we wouldn't return.

Overall
Points to the management for rectifying the raw parmas and not charging us for them.  However, while we waited for the new dishes to come out, we couldn't help but check the online reviews for the place... and we found that under-cooked parmas is a speciality of The Imperial Hotel - it's well known for it.  In light of the consistent reviews of the raw parmas, it makes you wonder why the kitchen/management haven't done anything about it.

Cappa Rossi's, Kinglake by Bureaucrat

A lazy drive around the Kinglake area resulted in us having lunch at Cappa Rossi's.  It's only one of a few eateries in the central Kinglake area.  It's friendly, spacious and has a strong family vibe to the place.  

Dosa Plaza, Camberwell by Obelix

I've been circulating the relatively new Dosa Plaza in Camberwell with curiosity for the past few months.  Plastered all over it's windows are the words, "vegan", "go veggie"...mmm...I hazard a guess, a vegetarian establishment?  As a part time vegetarian, I was rather excited by this.  So a bit of Googling ensued and I found out that Dosa Plaza is an Indian franchise and offered an assortment of Indian and curiously, Chinese, Italian and Mexican dishes.  Part of my extensive research in the name of gastronomy led me to a Scoop-on deal which essentially was a half price voucher - buy a $30 Scoop-on and get $60 worth of food and drinks.  With  Scoop-on voucher in my hot greedy hands, P, Kiddo and I rocked up for dins.  It was a family friendly restaurant with plenty of pram space and high chairs.  We over-ordered but it was in the name of research and cross sampling. 


For starters we had mini idlis (12 pieces) with dhal and raita dipping sauce ($6.50).  This wasn't as exciting as I had hoped.  It was my first time eating idlis and I had romantisied them to some extent as I had heard so much about them.  They were warm steamed rice cakes. Bland if it weren't for the dhal.  I saw young toddlers at the next table chomming into idlis as their dinner so perhaps they are more suitable as nursery food. 

The samosas (2 pieces) for $4.50 were more my thing.  Big, deep fried pastry with a melange of veggies enclosed within and came with a tamarind dipping sauce.  Would happily order this again.

P decided that when in Dosa Plaza, one must at least try a dosa.  So we ordered the rocket mysore dosa ($8.50).  It was a conical lentil crepe with a savoury glaze with accompanying dhal and raita.  Nice but nothing to write home about.  Not bad for the price. 

To go with our main dish, a curry Makhanwala ($10.50) we ordered a few carbs in the form of tandoori roti ($2) and garlic naan ($3).  The roti was rather dry and cardboard-like but I suspect that was because it was a wholemeal roti.  


The garlic naan was sublime, loads of garlic.  My pick of the night is the Makhanwala which was a delicious creamy sauce, reminiscent of a butter chicken sauce but sans chook.

Kiddo decided to go for the Punjabi Thali ($12.50) which came with a few curries of the day, a cardamon almondy dipping sauce, raita, pappadum and rice.  It was substantial and what I would order if I was dining alone as it had a little bit of everything. 

We went to town with the drinks.  Kiddo had a mocktail called Cool Sky ($4) and it was vividly blue which only afterwards I realised had blue curacao in it.  It was billed as a 'mocktail' on the menu and with the price, who would have thought it would have alcohol in it?!  


I had a clearly non alcoholic mango lassi ($4) and P was greedy and got a royal falooda with ice cream ($8.50) and a 'mocktail' called Irish Berry ($4). 

Verdict:  We liked it.

Overall

Apart from the awful feeling that I unwittingly gave a minor an alcoholic beverage due to Dosa Plaza's loose definition of a mocktail, I did enjoy my dinner there and it was particularly good value with the Scoop-on voucher.  

 

I Love Pho Express, Melbourne CBD by Bureaucrat

The convenience of the Emporium means that there's more options for lunch on a rainy day.  Having had a 'meh' lunch at Mama's Buoi, this lunchtime I tried out I Love Pho Express.

It's a place-your-order-take-a-buzzer kind of a place.  Having got there around 1pm, I was scrounging for a seat nearby.  My small beef pho was okay.  Reasonable amount of noodles, broth was moderately deep in flavour but nothing to write home about (just barely enough for a blog post).  Everything seemed like it was measured (x grams of noodles, x slivers of beef, etc).



Verdict: we liked it

Overall
The pho here ain't rocking my world but it's good enough on a rainy day where you can't be bothered venturing outside and getting your feet wet.

Short Round, Thornbury by Obelix

The Bureaucrat and I don't often get a chance to explore the Northern neck of the woods so when the opportunity arose, we did a reco down High St.

We spotted Short Round cafe which seemed quite popular (a good sign), had side street parking (also a good sign) and it looked rather appealingly renovated (a very good sign).  We siddled up for brunch.

I decided to try their omelette with cauliflower, comte and chives on a sourdough bread ($16.50).  I was very happy with this order - substantially sized, loads of cauli within and the melted salty comte went very well with the cauli.

Here's an interior shot for you.

The Bureaucrat was in a strange frame of mind...she ordered herself a side of bacon and some fries.  I nibbled a bit of her shoestring fries and found them a touch over done, a hairsbreath away from burnt. The sides were $5 each which wasn't a bad deal.

We were both very impressed with the 9 Spice Chai.  ($4.50).  Creamy and heavenly spiced.

Verdict:  We liked it.

Overall
Short Round is a pleasant cafe serving brunch / cafe offerings at reasonable prices.  Their al fresco area off to the side street is an inviting place to loll around for awhile.

Gail's Bakery, Battersea (UK) by Bureaucrat

Who doesn't love a good bakery?  I heart carbs, especially carbs that are light, fluffy and full of delicious gluten.

Following our hearty, stodgy lunch at The Northcote, Ms S and I decided to grab some baked goods as a light dinner.  I got a trio of delectable goodies that were just a-may-zing. I'm usually not a fan of sausage rolls as they're filled with some form of unidentifiable meat and cardboard pastry, but this pork roll was divine.  Proper porkiness, seasoned with lots of herbs, encased in a buttery, light pastry.  Dang it, I should have bought a few more to nibble on.  The blueberry custard brioche was generously topped with a not-too-sweet streusel; while the hot cross bun was utter perfection - light in texture, full of spices, and sticky, shiny glaze.

This here is Ms S' selection for herself and husband.  She was equally enamoured by the quality and flavours.

Verdict: we loved it

Overall

Omg.  I so wish I lived in Gail's Bakery so I can try everything twice!  It's a cute space, bright, light and I love the visual display of the baked goods.  If I was in London again, I'd make a special trip to Gail's just to have it again!

Mama's Buoi, Melbourne CBD by Bureaucrat

If you ever want to eat with a mama's boy, then head to Mama's Buoi.  Located in Postal Lane (where the GPO is in the city), Mama's Buoi is a mid-range Vietnamese eatery.  A splash of colour and a sort of indoor-outdoor seating makes for a nice place to escape the daily grind from the office.  

Ruby Grapefruit, Big Fil and I shared an entree of delicious chilli, salt and pepper school prawns. Though a tad pricey for an entree, it was totally yummo.

Ruby Grapefruit and I both went for the grilled pork and spring roll bun - a warm noodle salad.  While it was fresh, it was rather lacking in ingredients... you definitely get a whole lot more salad and pork and spring rolls in Richmond, Springvale and other other places.  The pork was disappointingly lean (health crusaders...grr!), but the slightly chewy spring rolls was quite nice.

Big Fil opted for the beef and brisket (I think) pho.  While I didn't get to try this, he said the beefy broth had a nice depth of flavour.

Verdict: we liked it.

Overall

The food is good and the set-up is classier than the many Vietnamese eateries in the city (Ba'get, Twee's Hut, Rice Paper, to name a few) but the price is a bit dearer.  I still feel that I get much better bang for my buck at Ba'get and Rice Paper.  Service was quite slow even though we got there by 12pm and it was a mid-week lunch.

 

The Food Republic, Blackburn by Obelix

In between dreaded errands which my sister and I have been putting off, we decided to fuel up at The Food Republic.  We've driven pass many a times, drawn by the wrought ironworks in the front and the relaxed atmosphere.


The interior, I thought was pretty spic.  It was like Martha Stewart had landed.  The cafe styling was provincale by way of the Hamptons.  I loved it.  I wish my own house was decked similarly.  The menu was brunch focus.

I ordered the Eggs Royal which was a benedict but with salmon.  So loads of spinach, a few slivers of smoked salmon, poached eggs, Hollandiase on top of split English muffin.  This was $19.50.  It was ok.  I somewhat regretted my choice three quarters into eating it because I found the Hollandaise combined with the smoked salmon a bit sickly rich.  But that was my fault for perhaps not making the right choice off the menu.

My sister had the fish and chips for $23.  The chips were crunchy coated and the salad was fresh.  It came with house made aioli and what looked like bonito flakes to sprinkle over.  My sister reported the fish was ok.  It was frozen fillets but it had a good batter.

I was recommended their ginger tea with honey and lemon. It was lovely for a good winter's day.

A peek a boo at their cake stand...

Verdict:  We liked it.

Overall
The Food Republic is quite a happening cafe with lovely decor, decent brunch offerings with handy parking close by.  We recommend booking as it appeared quite busy.