Bonus round in Melbourne. Loving the food and shopping!
For Part 3 of this post, click here ! :)
Pei Modern
Website: http://www.peimodern.com.au/
My first night of arrival in Melbourne and we headed to Pei Modern for dinner. Pei Modern was the winner of the Gourmet Traveller Maitre d of the Year so we were expecting some great service here. They did not disappoint, although there was an initial hiccup with our drinks. We sat at the bar whilst waiting for our table and ordered a glass of NV Andre Clouet Rose Champagne ($21) each. I was happily sipping and chatting away until my friend said, “hmm I think our drink is supposed to be sparkling but why is it flat?” We enquired and was told that they had given us the wrong drink! What the?? Haha they were immediately changed! Much better!
The restaurant…
For dinner we had:
- Complimentary Bread
- Organic Mussels & Fino ($18.50)
Bread came wrapped in a napkin. This is the second time that I have experienced such casualness in serving bread. The first was in a French restaurant in the Venetian Hotel in Vegas where the waiter just left the bread on the table (straight from basket to table top!). At least this was more hygienic! The bread was soft in the middle and crusty on the outside. Excellent! It went well with the Mussels that were plump and juicy in the fino sauce.
- Kingfish, Artichokes & Wet Walnuts ($35)
- Duck Breast, Boudin Noir & Clementine ($34)
- Charred Beets, Sweet & Sour ($9)
I had the Kingfish and it was tender and melted in the mouth. I love the crunchy walnuts on it too – great combination. The Charred Beets were excellent too, chunky pieces with a unique sweet and sour sauce. I have not had this combination of flavours before. Good to try something different.
The waiter was pretty smooth with his upselling skill and convinced us to order some wine to go with our meal even though we had told him we were going to a bar after and did not want to drink too much at dinner. We had the Chateau D’Esclans ‘Whispering Angel’ Grenache ($15). Very smooth wine and an awesome name!
For dessert, I had the Caramelised Tomato, Stuffed with Twelve Flavours, Star Anise Ice Cream ($17) and my friend had the White Chocolate Ganache Mandarin & Sorrel Sorbet ($15). My dessert sounded special but didn’t taste the same. The twelve flavors were full of spices and too rich for my liking and the star anise ice cream had a heavy taste. A creative dish though. I liked my friend’s dessert, it was refreshing.
Overall it was a great experience in a chic restaurant! We were also admiring the hostess casual but funky dress sense.
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Pellegrini’s Espresso Bar
We were recommended this place by a guy sitting next to us on the plane. He told us that this cafe had been around for ages and very much worth a visit! Simple on the outside, old fashioned on the inside, there were no tables/chairs like your usual cafe but stools and a long bar! We propped ourselves on one end and waited for someone to serve us. 
We waited and waited but no one came. I had to call out to a lady who was busy doing the stock take to get us a menu. “We have no menu” was the reply…(?????) This should be the sign for us to walk out but we persevered and instead asked what was on offer. “Just cheese on toast”. Hmm I didn’t come all the way from Perth to have some cheese on toast?? but my obliging friend agreed. Eeks! I asked whether there was anything else besides that, she said “Yes, ham and cheese on toast!” Sigh, I reluctantly said ok.
The toasts….get ready for the jaw drop…in shock! Haha
The Ham and Cheese Toast was layered with 5 slices of ham and a thick covering of cheese!! I felt sick eating it. Needless to say I couldn’t finish it. I felt a bit rude leaving half my dish on the plate but I really couldn’t take another bite!
Remind me not to trust a random stranger’s recommendation on the plane next time! :P
On another note the only saving grace was the coffee. My Long Mac gave me a big jolt to the system!
Rating: 1 out of 5 stars
Pappa Rich
Website: http://papparich.net.au
I was so excited to spy a Pappa Rich whilst shopping in Chadstone. I had to drag my friend away from Zara to have a late lunch there. Clothes vs food, for me it was the food, for her clothes! Haha
The place was packed even though it was quite late in the afternoon. I was still enthused even though we had to wait for a table, there were so much food on offer!! I decided on the Dry Egg Noodle with Curry Chicken ($10.90) and Bean Sprouts on the side ($2.50) for my lunch. The egg noodles had a nice bite to it and I loved the taste of the rich curry gravy with the noodles!
My friend ordered the Biryani Rice with Curry Chicken & Sambal Prawns ($11.90) with a Teh C Special ($3.90). I had the Pappa Cham (coffee + milk tea) ($3.50). The Pappa Cham was awesome! I wish they sell them here in Perth! Please open one in Perth!!
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Gingerboy
Website: http://www.gingerboy.com.au
I met up with a close friend from Perth who was incidentally in Melbourne as well on the same weekend. We went out for dinner at Gingerboy, highly recommended by her sister who was staying in Melbourne. As there was a big group of us, we had to order the banquet menu which was $80 each with lots of food to share! Very much worth it! You can pick the dishes from the Snacks and Street Food, Shared Dishes, sides and sweets.
For drinks, I decided to have this unusual cocktail I spied across the room. It was called the Thai Moon ($22) with coriander, ginger and lemongrass, sweetened with gula Melaka and mixed with house made chilli vodka. Wow it was hot alright, as in spicy hot! Very suited to the Asian fusion feel of the place.
The food…comments only on the favourites :)
- Son in law eggs, chilli jam and asian herbs ($13.50 for 3 pieces) – one of the best eggs I have eaten! They melted in your mouth!
- Crispy chilli salt cuttlefish ($16)
- Spiced duck and pork san choy bow ($18 for 3 pieces) – this was a favourite!
- Pork and garlic chive dumplings ($15 for 3 pieces)
- Grilled lamb in la lot leaves ($15 for 3 pieces) – this was served with sour chilli vinegar, was meaty but tender
- Roasted hapuka with bandit sauce, zucchini fritters, fennel and citrus salad ($39)
- Grain fed wagyu striploin with black pepper sauce and kim chi ($47.50) – another delicious meaty dish
- Fried whole baby snapper with hot and sour salad, coriander and mint relish ($37) – this is one of my absolute favourite! I love the multiple flavours that came with the dish, the hot, sour and seafood freshness. Went really well with the steamed rice.
- Red duck leg curry with shallots, thai basil and coconut cream ($38.50) – another favourite, the thick and creamy sauce with duck! Perfect combination!
- Red braised pork belly with Szechuan spiced pineapple relish, pickled papaya ($37.50) – the guys loved this dish. I love the fatty layer – an indulgence!
- Side of crispy fried sweet corn cakes ($8.50)
Dessert was a selection of their popular sweets presented as a share plate. There was the fruit salad, toasted coconut tofu cheesecake (wow!), some sort of sweet dumpling wrap with sorbet and black glutinous rice dessert with ice cream. As it was so noisy, we had to ask three different staff to repeat what was in front of us and we still couldn’t hear perfectly!
With the variety of dishes in the banquet menu, I thought it was well worth the $80 paid. Delicious food with beautiful ambiance (except the noise at the end when it got really busy)!
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
The Emerald Peacock
Website: http://www.theemeraldpeacock.com/
Next stop was a bar in the city for a quick drink before heading to Crown. We ended up at this bar as one of the guy in our group knew the owner of this place. Very chic decor!
We had the Madame Blush ($30 for big cocks) – labelled as elegant and sexy! Oooo! Chambord, strawberries, fresh mint, Gammay Blanc chardonnay & lemon juice. It was very yummy, I had to stop myself from drinking too much as it didn’t taste strong at all, but I know the after effects of too much alcohol in one go! Great bar!
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Crown Caffe Corso
My friend’s hubby got a bit tipsy (I think from the Madame Blush at The Emerald Peacock) so we wanted to find a place with coffee for him to sober up. All the places in Crown was packed! We couldn’t find seats anywhere except for this cafe. I decided to have my usual Long Mac and some macarons and tart. The staff was very rude when taking my order. Totally ruined my mood!
Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars
Hardware Societe
Back for some breakfast goodness at Hardware Societe. A long wait (more than 1/2 hour) but worth it! We had the two specials of the day – the Tuna Nicoise Salad with Poached Eggs and Cherry Brioche topped with Meringue. Wow the Brioche with the berry compote and cream was one of the best “dessert” breakfast I’d! I absolutely loved it! The food here never fails!
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Cafe Andiamo
Website: http://www.cafeandiamo.com.au/
We only had a few hours left before heading to the airport so we stopped by a random Italian cafe for lunch. It was not very flash. Felt like I wasted stomach space! We had the Parpadelle Arabiatta ($17.90) and a Warm Chicken Salad ($17.80) to share.
The Parpadelle Arabiatta came with thick pasta ribbons with salami, onion, capsicum, garlic, chilli and pomodoro sauce. Very average! It was the same with the Chicken Salad of mixed salad, cucumber, Spanish onion, roasted capsicum, sundried tomato with honey mustard dressing. Should have researched before eating here!
Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars
Little Cupcakes
Not wanting to end the trip with an average lunch, I popped by this cute little cupcake place for dessert. Loved the cuteness of this place! My Long Mac came with a side of warm bottled milk (aww!) and I managed to fit a Lemon and Devil’s Dark Choc cupcakes to my very happy stomach! Cool place!
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
It’s a byebye to Melbourne for now. Awesome in and out weekend trip. Hope I get to visit you again in the near future :)
