Melbourne

Baby Cafe & Pizzeria, Richmond

~ culinaldi ~ 2 Comments

I know it’s unusual to go to a pizzeria for breakfast but when the restaurant is the latest offering by the same owner of the recently defunct Pearl Cafe it almost seems like a logical choice after all.

While the hordes are queueing up to get a table at Top Paddock, directly across the road, there are no crowds and table and chairs a plenty. It seems somewhat selfish, but I was secretly glad that the masses were elsewhere and I could stroll into the courtyard at Baby and immediately sit down and enjoy the beautiful sunshine.

Tables in the sunshine at Baby Cafe and Pizzeria, Richmond
Tables in the sunshine at Baby Cafe and Pizzeria, Richmond

I will admit to trying to find out what dishes were on offer for breakfast at Baby, but the online menu available only showcased the lunch and dinner options. I even asked a friend at work who had breakfast there recently what was available but the only information that I could glean was that Baby had the usual breakfast offerings. So with much anticipation, I waited for the menu.

With so many delectable things to try, my eyes stopped agog at the sight of the word “panettone”. Panettone and I have a very special relationship with each other. This past Christmas, my niece and I had toasted panettone, strawberries and Jalna vanilla yogurt for breakfast (sometimes with a healthy dollop of Nutella). I even made a panettone and strawberry bread and butter pudding for dessert over the holidays (which I think the muchkins and I had for breakfast one day as well!). Occasionally a good friend of mine will give me a little box of panettone as a Christmas gift, which is always received with a happy heart.

Panettone (French toast), mascarpone and macerated strawberries - Baby Cafe & Pizzeria, Richmond
Panettone (French toast), mascarpone and macerated strawberries – Baby Cafe & Pizzeria, Richmond

When breakfast arrived, the panettone was cooked in a French toast style and looked delicious with the strawberries, dollops of mascarpone and syrup drizzled over the top. As I took my first bite, I could only think of one word – Christmas. The sweet flavour of the fruit filled panettone and the cooked strawberries was incredible, mingled with the additional sweetness of the mascarpone and the strawberry-flavoured syrup, it resembled and tasted like Christmas on a plate. As I devoured my breakfast and with the summer sun still shining, I could almost believe it really was December again.

Top Paddock, Richmond

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I love finding new places to eat and they don’t get any newer than Top Paddock, which opened last week.

I’ve had the pleasure of tasting ricotta hotcakes at APTE in Alphington and at Liar Liar in Hawthorn and naturally assumed that when the same crew opened Two Birds One Stone in my street last year, that there would be ricotta hotcakes on the menu. Although there were none to be had at Two Birds One Stone, when I was handed the new menu at Top Paddock, my heart almost leapt for joy at the sight of the ricotta hotcakes.

Ricotta hotcakes with blueberries, maple syrup, seeds and organic mascarpone - Top Paddock, Richmond
Ricotta hotcakes with blueberries, maple syrup, seeds and organic mascarpone – Top Paddock, Richmond

After I recovered from the shock of receiving my breakfast within five minutes of placing the order (my coffee hadn’t even arrived despite ordering upon arrival) the beauty and originality of the dish was simply stunning and exquisite.

Served as one large pancake with a crispy oven baked top, there was a visual garden with fresh blueberries and raspberries, pepitas and sunflower seeds, micro herbs and generous dollop of mascarpone slowly melting over the top.

The pancake was fluffy and hot with cooked blueberries dispersed in the mixture and occasional pieces of ricotta cheese throughout. I would very nearly say that it was one of the best breakfasts that I have had in Melbourne.

Top Paddock will definitely be the place to be in 2013.

STREAT, Flemington

~ culinaldi ~ 1 Comment

Last year I met some lovely new friends at an Exotic Persian and Middle Eastern cooking class at Spice Bazaar in Seddon (www.spicebazaar.com.au), whom I enjoyed cooking with and getting to know while eating our shared achievements. Since then I have been extremely fortunate to have Oz and Mez supporting my culinary adventures and their enthusiastic and positive comments about my blog.

When Oz suggested that I should be considering STREAT in Flemington for a catch-up and new breakfast destination, it was just a matter of when. After negotiating restricted public transport and new train routes on a national holiday, I arrived slightly late and harried but it was great to see my friends again and relax in STREAT’s warmth and ambience.

After a couple of weeks of selecting savoury dishes, I was in desperate need of something sweet although I did think very long and hard about the Beirut brekky with twice-cooked crispy sumac eggs, fatoush salad, labne and za’atar. After some deliberation, the description of the French toast with fresh peaches, bourbon salted caramel, cinnamon crème fraiche and pecan brittle was too powerful to resist.

French toast with fresh peaches, bourbon salted caramel, cinnamon creme fraiche and pecan brittle - STREAT, Flemington
French toast with fresh peaches, bourbon salted caramel, cinnamon creme fraiche and pecan brittle – STREAT, Flemington

Where do I start? I tackled the fresh White peaches first which were fresh and crunchy; its best to get the healthy stuff over and done with! The French toast was delicious with almost a bread-and-butter pudding type consistency that pulled apart easily. The cinnamon creme fraiche was light and fluffy with the spices permeating occasionally. Whilst I couldn’t detect any bourbon (which might be due to my finely honed Shiraz taste buds), the salted caramel was thick, sweet and delicious. And lucky last, the pièce de résistance was the pecan brittle. In my mind’s eye, I was worried that trying to shatter the praline with my knife and fork was going to send shards flying across the cafe, Pretty Woman style, but I managed to contain everything to my own plate. The soft pecan nuts and the hardened sugar was a lovely combination and perfect for mopping up left-over fraiche and caramel sauce.

Every dish that I saw being served at STREAT looked spectacular and stylishly presented. The hash brown on Oz’s “The Hunter” breakfast (poached eggs,           bacon, mushrooms, carluccio sausage, hash brown and tomato relish on sourdough) looked stunning and I secretly wished that I could make something like that.

STREAT is a social enterprise that seeks to provide homeless youth with a supported pathway to long-term careers in the hospitality industry. They run street cafes in Melbourne where youth get their hospitality training.

http://streat.com.au/food/flemington

I’m looking forward to the next culinary adventure with Oz and Mez with a Barefoot Bowls night and BBQ co-hosted by the Flemington-Kensington Bowls Club & STREAT Cafe on February 21. Check out respective websites for more details.