The Kettle Black

Yes, I made it, I finally made it. To The Kettle Black that is, the latest venture from the masterminds behind Top Paddock and Two Birds One Stone. Located in leafy South Melbourne, The Kettle Black is like a dream come true, absolutely gorgeous with its Scandinavian palette of crisp clean lines, impeccable craftsmanship and understated elegance. Oh, swoon !

The menu here is everything but ordinary, and pushes the boundaries with its strong Australian Asian influences to bring you the best of the best. After an avocado smash ? How about seasonal avocado with citrus, toast and local kelp salt. Or perhaps a polenta porridge with burnt maple, textures of strawberry and basil to Robbins Island wagyu skirt steak in a striking black bun - The Kettle Black promises to bring it to the next level.

King Island Crayfish Ash Roll

A million oohs and ahhs later, I went for the King Island Crayfish Ash Roll. The feathery light bun was full of succulent chunks of crayfish – sweey, silky and springy. The dish was brought together with a squirt of tangy yuzu mayonnaise and crisp magenta-streaked leaves. Overall, the flavours were light, clean and refreshing.

House-made Coconut Yoghurt 

On the other end of the table was the House-made Coconut Yoghurt spotted with gluten-free grains, seeds and nuts and a selection of fresh and dehydrated fruits including tissue-thin slices of Toorak Station prickly pear and poached rhubarb. A sprinkling of citrus powders and scattering of edible flowers, this work of art on a plate was utterly mesmerising. Sadly, I was unable to say the same for the taste as I found the overall fragrances too strong. That might just be me though as it seemed to be well received by everyone else.

The Kettle Black in a word ? Beautiful. The space, the coffee and the food - all beautiful. And you know what they say, you are what you eat. Hehehe.


The Kettle Black
50 Albert Road

South Melbourne, VIC

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South Melbourne Market Dim Sims

The South Melbourne Market has to be one of Melbourne's most popular markets. And it's not hard to see why - over 133 unique businesses all under one roof. And in my mind, The South Melbourne Market triggers two things - quality fresh produce and the famous South Melbourne Market Dim Sims. 

South Melbourne Dim Sims can be found just along Cecil Street - a simple hole in the wall among the energy and excitement that the market brings. Sure, you may not notice the signage at first, but you would have to be blind to miss the line of devotees waiting eagerly to sink their teeth into a dimmy or two.

Service here is fast - to cater for the hungry masses, it's really the only way. In the line we go, and out we come with their famous dim sims (steamed and fried) and a spring roll.

The dim sims were not only noticeably bigger than your average fish n' chip dim sim, the same can be said for quality and freshness. Have your pick, either straight out of the steamer, or piping hot out of the fryer, these dim sims are the perfect pick me up before, during, or after your shopping trip. 

At $1.80 a pop and guaranteed yums, there's really no need for second thoughts - only second helpings.

confessions of a little piggy was invited as a guest of South Melbourne Market Dim Sims

South Melbourne Market Dim Sims
Cecil St
South Melbourne, VIC

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Kamel

Seriously craving flavoursome food, and with a quick comb through Urbanspoon landed four hungry piggies at Kamel in St Albert on Hump Day.

Designed to share, we selected five dishes to taste between ourselves. As we finished up ordering, the waitress kindly informed us that four dishes would be plenty enough. Obviously, she didn't know us very well ! We stuck with five dishes.

Chilled Turkish Apple Tea

Middle Eastern Plate 

The Middle Eastern Plate starred rolls of fatty lebanese sausages and thick slices of grilled chorizo, both full of flavour and smokiness. The sides included caramelised apple, and salty crumbly feta, marinated olives, and deliciously flavoured garlic & herbed bread. 

Lamb & Lentil Filo Triangles with Yoghurt

Next came out the ever so delicate, light and crispy Lamb & Lentil Filo Triangles with Yoghurt. Unfortunately, I found the yogurt a little dull. An improvement I would love to see in this dish would be some more flavour to the yogurt. Perhaps a squeeze of lime, a dash of spice or some fresh herbs added would bring the yogurt to another level.

Baked Saganaki Prawns

My friend absolutely adores saganaki. So as soon as she saw this little number on the menu, she was sold. However, what was presented were small baked saganaki prawns which swam in  pool of spiced tomatoes with red capsicum & spanish onion sauce. With a fresh spritz of citrus, the flavours were certainly delicious. However, the dish to me, seemed more like sauce with prawns.

Twice Cooked Rolled Duck

The boys chose the following dish, and had been looking forward to it the whole night. It was a definite yes as soon as the menu was flipped open. Probably one of the favourites of the nights, the twice cooked rolled duck stuffed with figs, buckwheat & ginger was ducking good. The sweet figs made the perfect addition to the succulent bitefuls of duck.

Tagine of the day

For our last dish, my eyes wandered as the wait staff walked by with various dishes. I was keeping an eye out for the special tagine earthare pot, or the little tipi hut as I would call it. However, it was to my surprise that Kamel served it without the lid. Th tagine of the day was mint harissa and pomegranate molasses lamb tagine with lentils, served with saffron couscous scattered with dates and pistachios.

Our dishes at Kamel came out progressively, which allowed time for our stomachs to digest and also encouraged conversation by the fireplace. But if you ask me, I found that food was coming out a litttle too slow, and a little small in size. I was so suprised that the waitress had thought that four dishes would have been enough. Nonetheless, majority of dishes were full of flavour, heat and satisfied our tastebuds, but not so much our rumbling tummies. It was definitely worth the visit, but not somewhere I would be rushing off to dine at again.


Kamel
19 Victoria Avenue 
Albert Park

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Chez Dré

My last visit to Chez Dré was premature, and so I'm back. I told you I'd be back.  How could I not be ? Chez Dré is home to the most amazing and high quality house-made french style sweets. Having said this, I did take my sweet time inspecting each picture perfect goodie behind the glass counter till I made my final decision.

Flat White

Hazulnut-Praline Crunch

A perfect cube of tonal browns - a base of chocolatey goodness, followed by layers of both delectable chocolate and hazulnut mousse. In contrast, the top was balanced with hazulnut praline and sprinkled with flecks of gold leaf. This was like a Ferrero Rocher gone super-saiyan. I loved the play on texture and dimensions in this dish, from the cumbly base, the melt-in-your-mouth mousse, to the crunch of the praline. 

Lychee, Raspberry and Coconut Petit Gâteau

In't this the cutest jelly mound you've ever seen ?  Of course, even the inside looked as perfect as the exterior. Each layer was executed beautifully. From the cool refreshing lychee jelly, sweet raspberry tier, to the heavenly coconut base. With so much contrast between the taste and the texture of the different layers, every spoonful was luscious, soft and left me asking for more. 

Everything and every thing about each dessert was flawless. The creativity, presentation, the textures, and the fusion of flavours were all perfect. It was everything I had hoped for plus more.

Chez dré
287 Coventry Street
South Melbourne

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Dead Man Espresso

Dead Man Espresso provides a delightful spot for a coffee or two. Located on Market Street  away from the hustle and bustle of Coventry, DME is home to coffee lovers and foodies alike.  The space was stylish and oozed cool vibes. With unique decor here and there, my eyes got a work out from darting around the place.

My lunching partner today and I both agreed that the coffee here were amazing, and really stood out from the other coffees we have had before. Very keen to expand my knowledge of coffee, I took note to ask about the house blend. The flavours of the Seven Seeds house blend ( 50% Colombia, 25% Costa Rica, and 25% Brazil) was described to have flavours of sweet stone fruit, balanced acidity and a chocolatey body. The espresso cut nicely through the milk, and the temperature was just right. I hope Seven Seeds consider making coffee pods so I could have this every single day !

Sautéed winter mushrooms on herb and gruyere creamy 

white polenta, herb salad & slow cooked egg

As a dish that was highly recommended by the waitress, I had high hopes. In terms of texture and flavour, the chewy mushrooms paired the polenta nicely. However, I found the polenta was quite bland. I could see the herbs and the gruyere with my eyes, but my taste buds begged to differ.

Panko crumbed chicken schnitzel 

with pickled apple fennel slaw & lime mayo

The flavours of the slaw and tangy lime mayo were a great match of sweet, sour and savoury. Though, what wasn't on par was the chicken. As it was described to be panko crumbed, I had imagined airy crumbed chicken, crunch with every munch. Instead, the chicken was a little too moist and heavy.

Food wise, I was quite underwhelmed. I had planned to go to DME solely for their BLT, but was sadly informed it was sold out. Pretty bad luck for me. However, my flat white was an absolute pleasure and sure woke me up from the dead.

Dead Man Espresso
35 Market Street
South Melbourne

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Giddiup

Strolling in at 1.00pm, my mum and I were out looking for something yummy a very very late breakfast. Checking my 'to eat' list, today was Giddiup's chance to shine. 

With St Ali just a minute away, and  Chez Dré a few metres ahead, this little café could be easily missed. Good thing I kept my eyes peeled. Sticking to the basics, this café kept it minimal with black and white. On this surprisingly sunny day, I wanted to be greedy and soak in as much of the warmth of the sun as I could and so, I made my way to the table closest to the elongated windows. Moments later, a friendly waiter came over to inform me that we ordered lunch and paid at the counter first. This was when, to my disappointment that I found out that breakfast was no longer being served. Breakfast closed at 11.00am. Silly me. In response to my reaction, the waiter let out a friendly chuckle, and advised me that there were soups and rolls that I could order at the counter. Making my way over, what was on offer was selected, but there was still enough to choose from to please most brunchers. As always, mum gave me full control, and trusted me to order the dishes for both of us to share.

My flat white was amazing, exactly how I liked it. Strong flavour, not bitter and extremely smooth. Sipping away at my flat white, I was rewarded with that caffeine hit that I loved.

Pork Roll

My eyes sparkled with glee and mouth drooled as the waiter brought over this vibrantly coloured roll. The crispness of the warm bread contrasted nicely with the tender pulled pork, while the apple coleslaw complimented it well with a little bit of tang and sweetness. To pull it altogether was a beautiful jalapeño sauce and gruyere cheese. Both mum and myself agreed that the flavours were refreshing and taste bud exploding.

Lamb Soup with Olive Sour Sourdough

This lamb minestrone was packed with lamb, tomatoes, zuchinnies, carrots, onion and barley, and full of flavour. Tearing and dipping the Noîsette olive sourdough bread in the soup, this dish made a nice light lunch

All in all, I ate both dishes greedily and licked my fingers at the end. Friendly and efficient customer service,  nice clean space with delicious food, this café was a a big thumbs up in my books. What impressed me the most was the pricing - good food for insanely great value. With majority of dishes at $10, Giddiup is truly a wonderful bargain. A definite mustang out place.

Giddiup

269 Coventry Street
South Melbourne

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Long Dragon Dumpling House

It was 4.00pm, probably one of the hardest times to find something to eat. Breakfast is definitely finished, lunch is over, and dinner is yet to start. Cue: dumplings. 4.00pm is dumpling time ! So, Long Dragon Dumpling House it was.

Every time I go into the city, or anywhere that is North or West of Melbourne, I drive past this dumpling joint. However, I never gave it much thought. One day, just as my mum and I drove past, we thought, why not ? Taking a U-turn we made our way back. At 4.00pm, the restaurant was empty, and we had come to find we had intruded on the staff having their dinner ! However, with a bounce in her step, the Boss Lady greeted us in Chinese and welcomed us in. 

Fried Pork Dumplings

Dumplings ! Dumplings are simply the best. These dumplings in particular reminded me of little golden money bags. Nice and crispy on the outside, and juicy on the inside. The pork and vegetable filling was a good ratio, however a little more ginger wouldn't hurt anyone. Having been drained, I was especially happy to see that these babies weren't drowning in oil.

Shanghai Fried Noodle

And then of course, you have to order the Shanghai fried noodles. Everyone knows that. 

Spicy Fish

Wanting a little more variety, we also ordered the (not so) spicy fish. Surprisingly, the spicy fish here wasn't fully submerged in oil, like what I was accustomed to. Despite not being so spicy, it just meant I could eat eat and eat without worrying about the evil tingly peppercorns. 

Half slurping her noodles, and half serving us, I reckon she did a pretty good job. And honestly, I didn't mind at all. I actually felt more comfortable this way. I mean, we were at a dumpling house anyway. Overall, it's not the best dumpling house on offer, but if I were in the neighbourhood at dumpling pm, and looking for something easy, I would definitely pop in for a quick bite.

Long Dragon Dumpling House

322 Kings Way 
South Melbourne 

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St Ali

Tucked down a graffitied lane-way sat this old warehouse turned cafe. As expected, upon arrival there was already a line. As there was only two of us, it wasn't long before we were seated. As we walked in, the place was buzzing. Music was pumping, people chattering on large communal tables and the warehouse was filled with natural sunlight. 

However, this didn't last long. We were led around the corner to a table where we were smooshed onto a not-so-large table next to four others for brunch. There was no more natural sunlight to be seen, there was hardly any room to move. The ambience had suddenly changed for the worse.

Coffee orders were taken instantly. I liked this. Coffees in hand, we just tried to ignore our location in the warehouse. In our little corner, lit by a small lamp hanging over our heads, we scanned through the menu.

Having read and heard so much about St Ali's famous My Mexican Cousin, I had to try it. Meanwhile, the friend chose the Breakky Burger with the Lot.

My Mexican Cousin 

Secret recipe corn fritters with poached eggs, 

grilled haloumi, rocket & tomato relish

To be completely honest, for $21.50, I was expecting a little more. 

Corn fritters had crispy exterior yet encased a tasty fluffy interior. Don't judge these little things by their size though, they proved to be very filling. A little on the oily side if you ask me.

Brekkie Burger with the lot 

Breakfast bun w fried egg, istra bacon, breakfast sausage,

 flat mushroom & home made brown sauce

Unsure of what brown sauce was, my friend asked the waitress. She responded "'BBQ sauce." Not a big fan on BBQ sauce, my friend asked if they could substitute it with something else. The waitress happily informed us that she could swap it for aioli. In the end, the $14 burger was disappointing.

... I really wanted to like St Ali :(

St Ali
12/18 Yarra Place
South Melbourne, VIC

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