Of Mexican!

Before going back to uni and back into studying, we had an amazing night planned. Of Monsters and Men were playing at the Corner Hotel; supported by The Falls and The Trouble with Templeton.

But before that, we had to fill up our bellies. So we opted for Mexican at Fonda Mexican on Swan Street! After reading several reviews, we decided to go extra early to ensure we had some grub before the show. However, this turned out to be unnecessary as the huge line was more for the take-away option than sit-down dinner. So we we're seated quickly and immediately I had to take out my camera to take a snap of that uniquely quaint wired chandelier which stood out boldly against the vintage-pressed metal splash back ceiling.

The menu was small, but those are the best kinds of menus in my opinion. We all opted for the charred corn; it was charred nicely with a generous amount of ricotta salata on top and tasted delicious, though messy. (However, Mamasita's corn on a cob still has to be favourite).

Charred Corn; with Chipotle aioli, ricotta salata and lime

We also got the Fat Chips to share which we're so hot that you knew they were a fresh batch of fatty goodness, topped with chipotle aioli. I got the fish taco (which in hindsight, I should of ordered a couple more) because they absolutely go down well! It was clean and fresh. The fish was freshly fried, not soggy. Along with the pickled carrots/onions, cabbage and chipotle aioli - my taste buds were salivating! And at $6 a pop, you can't go wrong! I also got the Horchata as a drink, which came in a jar with a funky retro straw. It tasted quite nice and mellowed out the Mexican well.

Fish (Market Fresh) Taco; chipotle aioli, pickled carrots/onion and cabbage

Alenka and Marija both shared one chicken burrito which they didn't quite like...for reasons I've forgotten now. But I tried it and enjoyed it. It was well balanced with a delightful texture (as I usually find burritos quite...stodgy), the chicken was grilled nicely that there was some crispy elements to it and the hint of heat was very much welcomed!

Grilled Chicken Burrito; Quinoa, salsa verde, corn, queso fresco and cabbage

This place is mamasita's without the long queue; but they really are Mexican restaurant worth visiting (and not only because you want to avoid a long queue). They are reasonably priced, fresh and quirky. I will definitely be coming back and ordering alot more than the last!

Until the next meal,

Char.

Double the brunch

Sorry for the absence in posting, but there hasn't been an absence of eating out in new and familiar places. It's the last week of holidays and I've finally decided to post about the places we ventured out to during our first week off.

It was a day filled with vintage clothing and me pointing out that The Block filmed here and there (in which I received many "shut up charlene!" remarks). Along with filling my wardrobe with pieces of clothing that we're pre-loved, I was filling up my belly!

We started off with breakfast at Olive's at 8am (or what I like to refer to as "Breakfast At Tiffany's"), last trisome breakfast for awhile, as that night she was to jet off to Europe. We whipped up blueberry pancakes, she made us a last cup of frothy cap and some nice Green Almond Tea. We shared our last hugs and goodbyes. Miss you dearly Olive!

Then Marija and I met up with Alenka and Yags to head off to the city for brunch (yes we ate a lot this day...), I kept urging us to go Madame Sousou and the tram stopped right in front of it!

It had very quirky decor, with a wall of wine and walls covered in mostly betty-boopish paintings. It was a very inviting and warm environment.

The breakfast menu had all the classics and all sounded delicious but both me and lenka opted for the Ceufs Van Dieman which consists of poached eggs on an English muffin with Tasmanian smoked salmon and tarragon hollandaise sauce.

Ceufs Van Dieman

It tasted absolutely delicious! The eggs were cooked to perfection, with the yolk oozing out once punctured. The hollandaise sauce was well balanced and not overly tangy. One of my favourite combinations for breakfast!

Marija ordered the Ceufs Florentine consisting of poached eggs on a English muffin with spinach and tarragon hollandaise sauce. They were gone faster than I could pick up my cutlery!

Ceufs Florentine

Finally, yags opted for something sweet -  the French Crepes with banana and hazelnut praline cream. I got a taste of the hazelnut praline cream and it was incredibly delicious! It tasted just like Ferrero rocher and there was a generous scoop of it too!

French Crepes with banana and hazelnut praline cream

Overall, Madame Sousou was a real treat. It is very affordable, lovely atmosphere and most importantly - delicious food! Will definitely visit again!

It was approaching late afternoon and we found ourselves wandering with a very empty stomach. And after two breakfast, we thought why not have some greasy goodness! We headed down to Chapel Street and went straight to Soda Rock Diner. I had the chilli fries with chilli con carne and cheese (which I wish they were more generous with) and I stupidly ordered it in "hot" instead of mild thinking it would go down better...boy was I wrong. It was nice but would definitely go for mild next time!

I would definitely come back to Soda Rock for a casual lunch and maybe try the "hop" burger next time!

Until the next meal,

Char!

Breakfast @ Heirloom

A few weeks back, it was my cousins Hen's day/night (keep a look out for my post on High Tea @ The Windsor Hotel...coming soon) and after a very fun-filled night, we awoke famished and in need of food before we headed off  home. We we're staying at Mantra on Exhibition, so it's not the usual place I'd have breakfast in the city but we'd have to make do.

We decided to take a walk and just go into the first restaurant/cafe that looked good. So we ended up at Heirloom.

Although the breakfast menu was pretty standard. Nothing too out of the ordinary. I opted for the "Breakfast burger" with fried egg, bacon, tomato, lettuce, beetroot relish and mayonnaise. And a cappuccino which was complemented with a nicely toasted biscotti.

 Lovely cap

The Breakfast Burger

The burger was delicious, the buns were nicely toasted covered with just the right amount of mayonnaise and the lovely beetroot relish. The cheese was oozing and I just couldn't dig in quicker when it arrived at the table.

The service was really friendly and the waiters kept refilling our water glasses throughout the meal. I would definitely come back again if I was ever in the area.

Char.

Win for Chin Chin

Without a doubt I've abandoned this venture of mine into food blogging but this weekend me and one of my besties, Marija, had a very exciting Sunday planned. We were going to be ambitious, food wise, and make a long overdue visit to Chin Chin before seeing Florence and The Machine (!!!) later that night. Knowing that there would be a wait, I was anxious that we would get a fed at all.

We arrived at the well deserved, number one most talked about restaurant on Urbanspoon, Chin Chin at around 5:30pm. The waiter kindly told us that there would be a 45 minute wait (which I heard 5 mistakenly twice and got excited...just goes to show how deaf I can be). They directed us to the underground bar. We browsed through the menu for some non-alcoholic concoctions but there were none. But the waitress kindly asked us what we liked and they would make something up for us! Now that's service. Without thinking I said citrus (but really I meant tropical), good thing M had her mind in gear and said fruity or else I would be in all sorts of tingles.

Our surprise mock tails - They tasted exactly to the description of what we ordered and went down quite well with the delicious fed we had ahead.

 Earlier that expected, we receive a text message telling us our table was ready...and it was right at the kitchen bar! I could not be more excited. Seeing those chefs in their element, pumping out consistently well plated dishes was mesmerising for me. If we had more time on our hands, I would happily sit there for another good half hour watching them. Well enough about our seating arrangement, lets get down to business!

We ordered the Wok fried salt and pepper squid, Chilli salt chicken wings, Shredded chicken, spanner crab salad, roti and after watching them dish up several desserts at the bar we just had to order one!

The Wok fried salt and pepper squid - tender and flavoursome, delish! Best eaten with all the condiments.

The chilli salt chicken wings - melt in your mouth!

These are by far the best chicken wings I've ever devoured! They were melt in your mouth, packed with flavour and not oily which most chicken wings are. They went down an absolute treat. I'm yet to try more of their savory dishes but this was my favourite one that night. Highly recommend!

The shredded chicken and spanner crab salad

This salad was definitely tasty but the chicken was abundant and sadly the crab was scarce. But that was expected. It had jellyfish in it as well which I enjoyed, but not so much M. She was almost too scared to even try the dish after I told her "what are those slimy strings?". 

After our meal, we decided we had to try their dessert. And that definitely filled us up, good thing we only ordered one to share!

The Palm sugar ice cream sundae with salted honeycomb and lime syrup - this has won me over towards lemon-y desserts

Boy, this dessert is absolutely delicious. I've never been a fan of lemon-y desserts but this moderately sized cup of refreshing goodness has definitely won me over. The crunch of the salted honeycomb, then you hit the sweet sugar palm ice cream with subtle hints of coconut (or am I just going nuts) and to really hit your palate, the well balanced lime syrup hits all the right spots. We we're each prolonging each spoonful. This dessert alone is enough to make me go back.

I can't wait for my next visit. 9/10!

Char!

Dumping the books for dumplings @ HuTong Dumpling Bar

The Trisome have officially reunited over some dumplings last friday, with exams finally over, we we're set to dine out without the guilt of knowing that we should be studying instead like our previous hang outs. Initially, we we're meant to go to HuTong in the CBD, with Olive suggesting that I book the saturday before (which I should of listened to) but instead I waited until wednesday and they we're all booked out for three on friday. So we had to quickly make a booking for their newly opened store, situated in The Cullen Hotel, Prahran.

Pot of peppermint tea (which proved hard for me to order that day, I couldn't seem to get the words out and I'm pretty sure the waiter thought I was illiterate - "can I have a pot of pottermint tea?")

We made a pretty standard order when one goes into a dumpling bar. Xiao Long Bao is a must (especially with all the good things I've heard about the ones at HuTong) and they sure did deliver! (Maybe abit too much if you asked Olive, who bit into one and had the soup go all over her clothes) As for me, they were the best I've tasted. They came out steaming, the skin was a delicate texture but still managed to hold in all the soup, it was definitely my favourite. Must come back on a colder day to really appreciate them.

Steaming Xiao Long Bao

We also ordered two serves of the Peking Duck, which were average in my opinion and much too over priced. With that money, I could of bought a whole duck and made it myself (though no one trusts me with a cleaver so maybe that isn't an option).

Peking Duck

We sure love our duck, so we followed suit with an order of Duck springrolls and I was rather disappointed that there were only two for the price charged but both Marija and Olive liked them so I'm sure they were worth it.

And of course one cannot go into a dumpling bar without ordering fried dumplings. We opted for the Fried Pork Dumplings. Which were succulent. The skin was tender (and most importantly, not too thick! Which is the crime of most dumpling shops these days), it had this fried pan skin aswell which is something I haven't seen. Another instant favourite.

Fried Pork Dumplings

Overall, the customer service was better than expected and the food was as expected from all the hype surrounding HuTong Dumpling Bar. Definitely coming back again to try their Chilli Wonton!



Char!

Seven Seeds

It's been quite awhile since I've posted up a review, it's not that I haven't eaten out lately but it's been due to a combination of a couple of things: a broken camera, exams and sheer laziness to actually blog. But I've gotten a new camera, and frankly, I'm not exactly studying that hard. So I decided to start blogging again. My apologises for the lack of photos of food accompanied with some random's review.

So last thursday, we embarked to the city for two reasons: studying and eating, is there a time where the two don't come hand-in-hand? Probably not.

We walked down a quiet street near Melbourne University, and if we didn't know what the place was called we probably would of missed it.

Looking into the cafe, the place was packed out with students, Oak's day race-goers and just your usual indies que individuals. The wall by the entry had hanging bikes which was interesting and fun. And really just made me want to hop on one and ride!

We only had to wait a couple of minutes for a table and soon we we're seated and ready to order. Though the breakfast menu was quite limited in choices, both me and Marija settled for the Breakfast Bun. Which I coined a fancier, gourmet version of a McMuffin (but obviously tasted much better, and maybe slightly better for you). Accompanying our breakfast, of course is a latte. Skinny latte for Marija, regular for me (plus a heap of sugar, of course). I would say it's the best latte I've had so far, it was rich, creamy and smooth - went down a treat. And the latte art didn't hurt anyone.

 Skinny Latte

Regular latte

Breakfast Bun - Fried egg, hollandise sauce, sundried roasted tomatoes, crispy bacon, buttered buns - delish!

Overall, the coffee was fantastic and the food was just an added bonus. I will definitely come back whenever I'm near the area. I think this is the beginning of my breakfast series on this blog so stay tuned!

Char

Mexplosion

Where do I even start with Mamasita's?!

Last friday, me and my friends went into Mamasita's after a day at the zoo which proved to be one of the ideal times to dine there. As it was after lunch and before dinner. So there was no queue and there was a bustling but not crammed amount of customers in there which added to the very cosy atmosphere.

Upon arrival, I noticed how grand yet unpretentious the bar looked - certainly inviting. And the dangling light balls/things which added a more modern edge to the place.

We we're greeted politely and taken to our table. The service was impeccable for a casual dining place such as Mamasita's. Waiters and waitresses readily poured water into your glass and helped us through the menu during ordering. So as service and atmosphere goes, this place gets a 10 out of 10 from me. But now to the food. Oh, the food!

When I had to explain my experience at Mamasita's last friday, I was literally out of words as I was slowly...or rapidly building up to a mild heart attack in Olive's car. I was just lost for words, all I could manage to articulate between taking in deep breaths were remarks such as "explosion of flavours", "my mind was blown" (and still is) followed by a whole bunch of moans and sighs. I'm not even sure how'd I'd describe my attempt at describing my experience as anything less than "this girl may just be a little too enthusiastic, borderline crazy!". At one point, I liked my reaction to that crazy cat lady who made a real/spoof (yet to know which one it is) eharmony video - "I want them in a basket!". But seriously, I WOULD want Mamasita's famous Corn on the Cob (appearing as "Elotes callejeros" on their menu) in a basket!!

And yes, I know that "corn on a cob" doesn't sound too exciting maybe even slightly messy (which it is) thus putting you off ordering it BUT believe me when I say it is the BEST corn on a cob I've ever and probably will taste in my life, it's worth getting messy over! It literally BLEW my tastebuds away, I was buzzing with excitement as I savoured each kernel of corn on that cob! The melt in your mouth kernels covered with a generous amount of queso (some sort of awesome tasting cheese which I first mistakened for coconut), mayonnaise, lime (if preferred) and then the BANG of the chipotle that's smeared neatly on that cob. It really does make for the perfect starter. Just talking about it gets me excited, I want some right now! But we also ordered the Tortilla chips with both salsa and guacamole to accompany those salty, corn crisps (what I assume are house-made chips) to share. The guacamole was the stand out between the two for me.

We each ordered our own tacos and I ordered the "de Camarones" which is simply their prawn taco which Jen said was meant to be really good. And boy...did it hit all the right spots! Each prawn was journey in which I didn't want to stop taking. Marinated in habanero chillies & chipotle almond salsa, those prawns had hints of spice but it wasn't overpowering, it was just enough to wake up your tastebuds if they weren't awake already and the almond rounded off the spice nicely. Will definitely go back for this too.

We also ordered the "Enchilada de calabaza con pipián rojo" to share which were two stuffed tortillas filled with roasted pumpkin and caramelised onions with a "pipián rojo" sauce and "queso fresco" cheese. This was certainly more subtle in flavours, tasting similar to butter chicken. The cheese and the sauce go really well together. As a whole, this was a very comforting dish.

At first I rated the food 9 out of 10 but now that I think about it - it certainly deserves a big fat 10! I can't really find any fault in it. I simply LOVED it. And I will definitely go back again and again. I cannot recommend Mamasita's enough! Seriously. Especially for a casual day or night out. GO THERE NOW if you can!



Char out!

P.S: Thanks Z!