Cafes

Café Gaia, South Yarra

~ culinaldi ~ Leave a comment

Having lived in South Yarra for two years, I thought I knew of and had visited every café in the immediate area. Yet when I went looking for a place to have breakfast along Toorak Road, by happenstance I discovered nestled barely twenty metres back from the busy street corner, a lush green canopy of trees which had been protecting one of the suburb’s best kept culinary secrets from my line of sight.

Cafe Gaia, South Yarra
Cafe Gaia, South Yarra
Cafe Gaia, South Yarra
Cafe Gaia, South Yarra

The café has a unique charm and ambience that reminded me of a small wooden cabin or cubby house with a covered verandah, large open windows and quiet cosy nooks to hide yourself away from the busyness of the world close by.

Cafe Gaia, South Yarra
Cafe Gaia, South Yarra
Cafe Gaia, South Yarra

The morning was unseasonably warm allowing me to retreat outside on the deck and enjoy the serenity. Although the café is extremely popular (it appears that I must be the only person in the area who wasn’t aware of its existence), the service is readily attentive and quick to ensure that your coffee order is taken and on its way. The all-day brunch menu is not overly exhaustive with only several signature dishes to focus your attention. The dish that immediately caught my eye, and to be fair probably because it was the only sweet option on the menu, was the exotic sounding Dr Marty’s Crumpets with citrus curd, aerated rhubarb mascarpone, toasted macadamia and sesame.

Dr Marty's Crumpets with citrus curd, aerated rhubarb mascarpone, toasted macadamia and sesame - Cafe Gaia, South Yarra
Dr Marty’s Crumpets with citrus curd, aerated rhubarb mascarpone, toasted macadamia and sesame – Cafe Gaia, South Yarra

If I could describe autumn on a plate, this dish would be it. The spectacular arrangement of colours, flavours and textures on the matt black plate was beautiful to behold and resembled my favourite season. My eyes were immediately drawn to the dollops of lemon curd perfectly curated on the plate and the pillows of whipped mascarpone placed beneath the crumpets.

The crumpets were deliciously moist and dense – enough to absorb all the elements on the plate. Whilst the poached rhubarb was sharp on the palate, the strawberries in comparison were sweet to taste and balanced the tart flavour of the lemon curd. The hero of the dish was the rhubarb mascarpone with the consistency of a dessert mousse and therefore a rare treat for breakfast.

Working my way through breakfast, there were morsels of macadamia and pistachio nuts and a smattering of sesame seeds interspersed beneath the crumpets to provide another textural element to the mix.

I love finding hidden treasures, especially ones with outstanding food and service and thankfully Café Gaia is no longer obscured from my view.

Cafe Gaia on Urbanspoon

Café Fez, Myrtleford

~ culinaldi ~ Leave a comment

I’m in the throes of designing my apartment balcony area and have my heart set on recreating the beautiful Moroccan simplicity and elegance that I was able to enjoy in some of the riads that I stayed at last year. Bargaining in souks is definitely not my thing, but I am starting to wish that I had taken the time to scrounge around for an ornate metal lantern or two as reminders of my time there. Surfing on the web for inspiration and ideas, I found that “Red Ramia Trading” in Myrtleford stocked various treasures from North Africa and the Orient, including my desired Moroccan lanterns. Trinkets weren’t the only things I found on the website – I was intrigued when I saw a link for their onsite eatery “Café Fez”. After I had looked at their breakfast menu, I began to make plans to go there when I next travelled home to Wodonga to see my parents over the Melbourne Cup long weekend.

The weather in North-East Victoria during November is usually glorious – blue skies, sunshine and temperatures escalating during the day. I was somewhat disappointed by the heavy rain and freezing winds that greeted me when I woke up on Saturday morning but I was resolute in taking the forty-five minute drive to Myrtleford to have breakfast at Café Fez. I told my family that there was probably better weather in that part of State in an effort to entice them to come with me!

Cafe Fez @ Red Ramia, Myrtleford
Cafe Fez @ Red Ramia, Myrtleford
Cafe Fez @ Red Ramia, Myrtleford

The rain followed us all the way to Myrtleford, so my parents and I literally ran into Café Fez and found a corner table near the heater to dry off and keep warm. The interior of the main dining area has a collection of mosaic tables, old timber doors, lights and lanterns which makes you feel like you’ve escaped to a scene straight from Arabian Nights.

Cafe Fez @ Red Ramia, Myrtleford
Cafe Fez @ Red Ramia, Myrtleford
Cafe Fez @ Red Ramia, Myrtleford

The all day breakfast menu has only seven key dishes, but each description is full of exotic sounding ingredients and references to the Middle East and the Mediterranean. The “Café Fez Big Breakfast” with Turkish eggs, sweet potato falafel, lamb kibbeh, grilled haloumi, garlic and herb mushrooms, bacon steak with Milawa corn bread for $25 seemed to be the best bang for our buck and a perfect brunch option for a cold day.

Cafe Fez Big Breakfast - Cafe Fez @ Red Ramia, Myrtleford
Cafe Fez Big Breakfast – Cafe Fez @ Red Ramia, Myrtleford

Shortly thereafter our breakfast arrived on large rectangle white platters laden with delicious food and accompanying condiments on ceramic spoons. Breakfast was indeed big – not just in size but also on flavour. The lamb kibbeh, a traditional Lebanese recipe, was made with ground beef from the region and a layer of lean lamb mince in the centre. Large pine nuts were generously mixed within the kibbeh. If it wasn’t such a cold day, you could be forgiven for thinking that the white pine nuts in the brown meat were somewhat of a suspicious nature, but the kibbeh was delicious and paired with the homemade tomato chutney.

The large Turkish eggs were soft poached and sprinkled with ground cumin. The haloumi was crispy on the outside but soft to taste on the inside. It was so yummy that I happily traded half of my serving of mushrooms for another piece of cheese. The bacon steak (or kaiserfleisch) was extremely moist and tender and thickly cut and so I exchanged the other half of my mushrooms for a little bit more.

The sweet potato falafel was also a surprise hit – soft textured and flavoured with spice, it was hard to decide whether to add the yoghurt dressing or enjoy the large patty on its own.

Cafe Fez @ Red Ramia, Myrtleford
Cafe Fez @ Red Ramia, Myrtleford
Cafe Fez @ Red Ramia, Myrtleford

No sooner had we finished breakfast, the sun and blue skies decided to make their welcome appearance. Perfect for exploring the hidden treasures within Red Ramia.

Cafe Fez on Urbanspoon

http://redramia.com.au/

Lolo and Wren, Brunswick West

~ culinaldi ~ 1 Comment

After last week’s impromptu adventure on the No. 55 tram, I decided that the Brunswick area was now my new go-to destination for breakfast. Surfing my Urbanspoon app for places to eat, I couldn’t contain my excitement when I saw that Lolo and Wren was located near one of the tram stops on the same route. I can’t quite remember when I first read about this café but it has definitely been on the “must visit” list for a very long time.

Lolo and Wren, Brunswick West
Lolo and Wren, Brunswick West
Lolo and Wren, Brunswick West

Walking down Albion Street, I almost stumbled upon my intended destination when I saw a group of people eating outside a residential apartment building and then I noticed the blackboard sign outside. The café was extremely busy when I walked inside, but thankfully a table had been vacated just as I arrived. Despite the unusual location, the café does seem to be a popular destination, and in no time there were a few more people waiting for a place to become available.

The menu is intriguing to say the least and it’s always refreshing to see different offerings or interpretations of breakfast items on order, which included two full pages of original and mouth-watering dishes. You know that you are in the right place when “Patatas Bravas” is readily available as a side dish for breakfast! Despite the delectable sounding sliders and burgers on offer, I kept to the classic dishes and found myself ordering the Brioche French Toast “St Clements”.

Lolo and Wren, Brunswick West
Lolo and Wren, Brunswick West
Lolo and Wren, Brunswick West

“Five Senses” coffee blends are quickly becoming my favourites, and the quality of the roasted beans in the house blend was evident on the first sip of my skinny latte. The creamy texture, rich aroma and slightly sweet finish was delicious and well worth traversing across Melbourne for.

Brioche French Toast "St Clements" with lemon curd, fresh orange, ricotta, candied zest, raspberry compote, baby basil and burnt orange syrup - Lolo and Wren, Brunswick West
Brioche French Toast “St Clements” with lemon curd, fresh orange, ricotta, candied zest, raspberry compote, baby basil and burnt orange syrup – Lolo and Wren, Brunswick West

Trying to make sense of what “St Clements” meant in the description of the dish I had ordered, all I could think of was the line in the age-old nursery rhyme, “Oranges and lemons, Say the bells of St. Clement’s”. Certainly the description on the menu seemed to support that assertion. With lemon curd, fresh orange, ricotta, candied zest, raspberry compote, baby basil and burnt orange syrup adorning the French toast, there was a strong citrus theme.

My French toast looked spectacular when it arrived, with so many delicious elements on the plate it was difficult to know where to start. The thick-textured dollop of lemon curd looked inviting so I started there. With almost a custard-like consistency, the curd had a tart, zesty flavour and to my mind, was the highlight of the dish. The fruit and the fresh ricotta were also scrumptious when paired with the soft brioche, providing lots of flavour but the burnt orange syrup took the dish to another level with its caramelised intensity and added moisture. Thankfully the slices of brioche toast were on the smaller side of the equation, which meant that overall the dish wasn’t too substantial and much more enjoyable.

Despite the unpretentious surroundings and unique location, the coffee and food are well deserving of all the accolades I keep reading about. Now that I know how easy it is to get there, a second visit to sample those patatas bravas is definitely on the cards.

Lolo and Wren on Urbanspoon