Poached eggs

Tall Timber, Prahran

~ culinaldi ~ Leave a comment

After three days of continual dark grey skies, cold winds and drizzling rain, the thought of heading out outside for breakfast on Saturday morning felt more like agony than an adventure. Bracing myself for another miserable day, I could not believe my eyes as I wound back the bedroom blinds and stared into brilliant sunshine and clear blue skies. What a glorious day! I suddenly felt invigorated again, ready to stretch my legs and looking forward to going somewhere new for breakfast.

I must admit that in the area where I live, I’m relatively familiar with cafés and restaurants along the length and breadth of Chapel Street, but beyond its borders is a territory waiting to be discovered. With the warmth of the sun on my back, I started walking towards Chapel Street and then along Commercial Road, away from the Prahran Markets, past the busy construction site for a new apartment development, leaving the home improvement and interior decorator centres in my wake, and just when I could see Punt Road in my sights, I discovered “Tall Timber”.

The café is positioned on a street corner, with large windows along the front and sides providing lots of natural light into the main dining area. With polished concrete floors, high ceilings, white brick walls, dark grey Vienna café chairs doubling as furniture and wall art, track lighting and natural timber accents, the modern interior accentuated the light and perception of space.

Tall Timber is extremely popular and seems like the place to be. I was concerned for a moment or two when I walked in as to whether I would I get a seat, given that the inside communal table was full and there already seemed to be several groups of people also waiting for tables and seats to become available.

Tall Timber, Prahran
Tall Timber, Prahran
Tall Timber, Prahran
Tall Timber, Prahran

Thankfully there was room outside in the courtyard area which gave me another opportunity to enjoy the sunshine. I was expecting to sit on my own, however coming out through the back of the café is another large communal dining table that is almost the length of the courtyard, with market umbrellas providing shelter and a beautiful herb and vegetable garden creating an exotic and colourful centrepiece.

The menu at Tall Timber differs from others with its emphasis on superfoods such as goji, kale, quinoa throughout its breakfast dishes. My friends like to comment on my strong preference for sweet dishes over savoury, and while I was tempted when I saw House made banana and pistachio bread with espresso mascarpone, my eyes kept reading over the description of the Timber Benedict and within three minutes of being seated, I had ordered.

With such a busy enterprise and tables or covers constantly turning over in short periods of time, the quality and quantity of service given is spot on. I got a little kick of being called “Ma’am” when I sat down and then again when my coffee was delivered. My dish seemed to take a little bit longer than most others at the table and while I didn’t mind, the person who took my order, took the time to let me know what was happening in the kitchen and when I could expect my meal.

Tall Timber, Prahran
Tall Timber, Prahran

My skinny latte was delicious with a sweet creaminess that made it all too easy to disappear in two or three gulps, so another coffee was promptly ordered and delivered whilst I waited patiently for breakfast to be served. As I was surrounded by beautiful young people, mostly wearing lycra and eating delicious super healthy food, I started to wonder what had possessed me to order slow cooked pork for breakfast. The person on my immediate right ordered the Sauteed kale, asparagus, green beans with poached eggs, almonds & goats curd on quinoa loaf and it really looked fabulous and vibrant, probably what I should be eating on a Saturday morning. But after three big sessions of Body Pump during the week (hello Naomi!), my café outings have always been about trying dishes that I don’t eat at home, celebrating the end of another working week, and generally enjoying life, so bring on the carbs!

Timber Benedict with slow cooked pork shoulder, poached eggs and apple cider hollandaise - Tall Timber, Prahran
Timber Benedict with slow cooked pork shoulder, poached eggs and apple cider hollandaise – Tall Timber, Prahran

When my breakfast arrived, it looked sensational and I was extremely pleased with what I had ordered. While the slow cooked pork didn’t melt in your mouth, similarly it wasn’t dry and had small portions of crispy and crunchy meat throughout to give texture and additional flavour. My eggs were expertly poached to my liking with hints of the silky and slightly sweet apple cider hollandaise covering it to add another level of deliciousness to the mix. The wow factor on the plate was actually the finely julienned green apple which gave the dish a fruity, sweet component that naturally complements pork. There was also a small drizzle of runny honey over the eggs and pork to bring all the flavours together. With all the agonising of whether to have sweet or savoury for breakfast, this dish melded these two elements perfectly so that each mouthful was balanced in flavour. It was definitely worth the small wait and a great reward at the end of a morning walk in the sunshine.

In the end the only regret was forgetting to bring my sunglasses!

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White Rabbit, Brighton

~ culinaldi ~ Leave a comment

When I moved to Melbourne six years ago, I had the romantic notion that on the weekends, I would jump onto a tram or train, and travel to places and suburbs that I had never been to before and discover the city. I didn’t want to say that I had lived in Melbourne, but only be familiar with a very small part of it. There have been on occasions, times where I have been able to do just that and explore an area that is unfamiliar to me and enjoy discovering somewhere new, but with weekend routines and commitments combined with the privilege of having so many wonderful places to eat within walking distance of where I live, I’ve let my adventurous spirit have a little bit of a rest.

That is, until now. The other night I realised that whilst I have friends who live in Brighton, I am not familiar with the area or have really eaten there. So with a destination in mind, I jumped on the Sandringham line and took a trip of discovery. Getting off at the Middle Brighton station, there is a café called Track Three Espresso, which is literally a metre from the train platform. The café was extremely busy and looked like it was the place to be, with a small queue of people waiting for a table, although I decided to keep walking and see what else I might find.

Across the road, I could see another busy café called “White Rabbit” with an inviting outdoor dining area, large canvas umbrellas and white wooden chairs, although once inside it seemed to be more of a bistro or restaurant than a café. The place was almost full with groups of friends catching up over coffee and young families enjoying breakfast together, however I managed to find a vacant table down the back and sat down to take in the surroundings and look at the menu.

White Rabbit, Brighton
White Rabbit, Brighton
White Rabbit, Brighton

There were lots of surprises in terms of breakfast options on the menu, with exotic savoury focussed dishes such as spiced coated sardines, fritters with goats cheese, a breakfast bruschetta and burrito on offer, and even moussaka. I have fond memories of my Mum making scotch eggs for dinner as a child, so I ordered the Walnut Eggs, which comprised of walnut spiced crumbed eggs, kataifi nest, kasundi, fresh herbs pickled cauliflower, house cured bacon and buttered fried solders.

Walnut spiced crumbed eggs, kataifi nest, kasundi, fresh herbs pickled cauliflower, house cured bacon and buttered fried soldiers - White Rabbit, Brighton
Walnut spiced crumbed eggs, kataifi nest, kasundi, fresh herbs pickled cauliflower, house cured bacon and buttered fried soldiers – White Rabbit, Brighton

When my breakfast arrived, it looked like the Easter bunny had arrived earlier than expected with two witlof leaves masquerading as rabbit ears. With a generous serving of bacon on the plate, it was cooked well and relatively lean with the fat and rind removed, so it was easy to eat and enjoy and was not too crispy. There was a lot of kasundi relish at the bottom of the plate, which was full of roasted tomato flavour. The toast was great, although in hindsight, I wish I had eaten it first before it fell victim to the sea of kasundi. The eggs had been hard boiled and coated in a thin crust of walnut, spices and flour and although they were the feature of the dish, it was hard to detect any real flavour and there wasn’t a textural element. The standout component of the dish for me, was the lightly pickled cauliflower florets, shredded red cabbage and rocket salad which formed a colourful and delicious salad within the kataifi nest. It was fresh and full of flavour and provided the crunch that the dish needed. The kataifi nest, which looked spectacular, was a clever addition however it had an overwhelming taste of vegetable oil so it remained on the plate.

White Rabbit, Brighton
White Rabbit, Brighton

While the barista may not win any awards for coffee art, my latte was delicious. The service at White Rabbit was good considering how busy it was. I was lucky enough to have been looked after by someone who was attentive and doesn’t mind engaging with the customers, although another team member dropped by my table later and silently deposited my second coffee without a sound, so it’s hard to make a definitive statement in that regard. White Rabbit is situated right next to the railway line and there is the occasional loud rumble of the train either coming into or leaving the station, so don’t sit too close to the wall if you don’t like unexpected surprises!

White Rabbit Restaurant on Urbanspoon

Tyranny of Distance, Windsor

~ culinaldi ~ Leave a comment

When I was in primary school, I loved the quirky Split Enz song, “Six Months in a Leaky Boat”. Although I had no idea what I was singing, over the years through my love for pub trivia, the one particular lyric I do remember is “the tyranny of distance, didn’t stop the cavalier”. I have no idea whether the inspiration for the name of this café came from this song, or from the famous book on Australia’s history, but not even the threat of heavy rain was going to stop me from walking the entire length of Chapel Street to check it out.

A petrol station in a former life, Tyranny of Distance is located in Union Street, around the corner from Chapel Street in Windsor. Their mission is to provide great, tasty food with all products in their dishes, made in-house and from scratch.

Tyranny of Distance is laid back and unpretentious, with eclectic collections of tables and chair settings and furniture. There’s a fabulous homage to the previous business, with several old gas bottles stacked upon one another to create a unique and colourful artwork, from which four gas heaters provide heat for the dining area that used to be the garage.

The service is also somewhat relaxed. I saw one table as I arrived, stand up and get their own menus and try to attract someone’s attention to place their coffee order. I had been seated for five minutes before I was served, but from that moment on, the service was friendly and attentive.

Tyranny of Distance, Windsor
Tyranny of Distance, Windsor
Tyranny of Distance, Windsor

The menu has a particular focus on egg dishes with offerings of baked eggs, scrambled eggs, omelette, herb eggs and that’s before you get to another sub-section underneath, with the heading of “eggs”. There are also a number of gluten-free specialities, including French toast, bircher muesli and “tyranny stacks” of differing compositions.

I liked the sound of the first stack which consisted of house cured salmon, beetroot relish, horseradish romesco, spinach, two potato rostis and two poached eggs and put in my request for breakfast.

House cured salmon, beetroot relish, horseradish romesco, spinach, two potato rostis and two poached eggs - Tyranny of Distance, Windsor
House cured salmon, beetroot relish, horseradish romesco, spinach, two potato rostis and two poached eggs – Tyranny of Distance, Windsor

The first thing I noticed when my dish was served was the wonderful smell of fresh dill wafting up to greet me and that sent my appetite into overdrive.

I was pleasantly surprised at how thick the fillets of cured salmon were on top of the rosti as I began demolish my stack. The thick texture and rich flavour of the fish helped balanced the two dense rostis, which consisted of coarsely grated cooked potato, fried to a rich golden brown colour, and with a nice crispy crunch on the outside. The eggs were hard poached, just as I had requested when ordering and served with fresh dill. All in all, the quantities of the salmon, eggs and potato in the dish created a substantial meal.

The beetroot relish was served with one rosti, underneath the salmon, while the horseradish romesco was served with the second rosti. The romesco was creamy white in colour and had a smooth texture but I honestly couldn’t detect any horseradish in the mixture. Similarly, the beetroot was moist but its distinctive flavour and sweetness seemed to be missing. Despite this, breakfast was still delicious and extremely filling. Feeling satisfied and having enjoyed my breakfast, I was very thankful for the long walk back home.

Tyranny of Distance on Urbanspoon