Eat. @ Sweetie & Moustache Dessert Lounge & Bar

Level 3 - 4, 205 Russell Street, Melbourne CBD. ph (03) 8657 8681

The kids and I stumbled across this interesting little upstairs lounge (on top of Sugar Bun) on a search for afternoon tea spots on one of our trips to the city.  I think this sort of cafes are quite common in Asia but my kids haven't been to something like this before and found it quite fascinating.

The decor was quite cute and the red phone booth was a sweet little feature.  The counter was set up like a little French cafe.

Their lychee lemonade mocktails came with moustachioed straws much to the kids' delight.

I had a matcha latte which was pleasant but lacked a good matcha punch.  The cup was cute with the moustache motif but was chipped.

Personally I was lured upstairs with the promise of crepe cakes.  We ordered the Mille fruits, with layers of fresh fruit and cream layered between sheets of soft crepe.  It was delicious but pretty pricey at $10 a slice.

We also shared an impressive looking Honeycomb honey toast ($19).  To be honest it was quite delicious, with crispy yet soft cubes of bread, delicious ice-cream and sweet honey and custard, served in a shelled out half-loaf.  Again I thought it was a bit on the expensive side for what it is, but I did enjoy sharing the experience of trying something new with the kids for afternoon tea.

Eat. @ Home - Yumi's Anytime Dips and Recipe for Cheat's Nachos

I was lucky enough to be sent a lovely package to try out the new range of Yumi's Anytime Dips.  To be honest I was already a fan, since I sampled some of their new products at the Royal Melbourne Show this year.  My kids have been asking me to get some from the supermarket but I am a terrible shopper and get so distracted when I'm shopping that I always forget stuff I'm meant to buy!  

Anyway, they are a real hit and my 3 munchkins rubbed their hands in glee to find themselves let loose on all the 6 flavours at once.  I found the great thing about them is that the new squeeze packs mean it's super easy for the kids to get them from the fridge and serve up their own after school snacks, and no contamination from knives from different tubs, double dipping or little fingers means that the product lasts longer after the pouch is opened.  I've been unwell recently and these have been a lifesaver as the kids sorted themselves out after school whilst I rested.

My favourite flavour is the curried egg, but the kids can't get enough of the garlic aioli one.  I had the midnight munchies one night and made myself some Cheat's Nachos with Yumi's Anytime Spicy Salsa in under a minute.  Here's the (non) recipe, well it's so simple I shouldn't really call it a recipe! 

Cheat's Nachos

Yumi's Anytime Spicy Tomato Salsa

Corn chips

Half an avocado

Cheese (cheddar or colby works well), grated

Lite Sour Cream

1. spread corn chips in one layer on your plate
2. sprinkle a handful of whatever cheese you have in the fridge, I used cheddar
3. pop in the microwave for 30-50 seconds until the cheese melts
4. spoon on some mashed avocado, lite sour cream and a big squeeze of Yumi's Anytime Spicy Tomato Salsa and off you go!

Disclaimer : The Eat.Play.Shop. kids and I sampled Yumi's Anytime range of easy to use dips courtesy of Yumi's and Get Glossy.  Opinions are my own.

Eat. @ Fat Boy Thai Kitchen

850 Glenferrie Rd, Hawthorn ph (03) 9818 7728

We stumbled across Fat Boy Thai Kitchen one day when we went for ramen at Hakata Gensuke but they were undergoing renovations.  The kids thought the name was hilarious and so we gave this place a try, and so happy to report that it was actually a really nice meal without any hype.

We started off with the fish cakes ($8.9).  Nothing fancy, but a tasty morsel of fish cake with a great sauce.

The crying tiger ($11.9) was a portion of marinated scotch fillet grilled medium.  Another tasty starter.

We couldn't go past the sticky pork ribs ($21.9) on the chef's recommendation in the menu.  These were fabulous, fall off the bone tender, with an amazing caramelised sauce with a touch of chilli.  The broccoli provided the healthy antidote.

We always order mussaman beef curry ($16.9) when we have Thai and that night was no exception.  The beef was tender and the sauce was perfect.  The kids loved this as it's not as spicy as the other curries, and it goes a long way with a nice bowl of jasmine rice.

Lastly we tried the red duck curry ($18.9).  You can't see much in the photo but here's some very nice pieces of roast duck in a delicious red sauce.  I always like the lychees in red curries as it gives a nice sharp contrast to the spicy curry.

We've been back a couple of times since the first time we stumbled across Fat Boy.  The service has always been courteous and efficient.  The upstairs area lets us come along with in bigger groups with friends and family and the lack of hype means we can go for a good feed of Thai food without too much planning or trouble.  Keep up the good work!

Launch Event @ Hellenic Republic for George Calombaris' new book GREEK

I was invited to the official launch of George Calombaris' new book GREEK last Thursday night.

The usually busy restaurant was packed to the rafters with George's family, friends and colleagues (Gary! Masterchef Family!).    

The foreword of the book was written by none other than Heston Blumental, who made a lovely and funny speech about their friendship.  I didn't get to meet him but it was pretty cool listening to him talk. 

George made a thanking his family and friends. He has remained super busy since Masterchef wrapped for the year and it's so nice to see how down to Earth he is despite his maga stardom these days.

A highlight was an amazing wall designed by the wonderfully talented Alexis Petsinis.  The brightly coloured mural was meticulously decorated with lemons, oranges, meringues, pistachios, and musk sticks, and was a whimsical montage of some of the key ingredients used in the new cook book.  Kudos to the effort that would've taken to put this beautiful creation together!

Of course it would not be an event at Hellenic Republic without some awesome food.  We had the opportunity to munch on some marvelous treats during the event.  My favourite is still the "Jimmy's Dimmies"!

As for the book, GREEK gives you some of George's best Greek recipe to be made at home, and he is proud of his heritage and the input that he's had from his family and friends over the years.  As with all of his other cookbooks, the photos are colourful and instructions easy to follow.  I love the super eye-catching yellow of the cover on this one!

Disclaimer : Eat.Play.Shop. attended the book launch for GREEK by invitation of Made Establishment and Hellenic Republic.  Opinions are my own.

Give Away @ Cake Bake & Sweets Show Melbourne 2015

Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre

Updated :Competition now closed, scroll below for winners!

For anyone who has come across Eat.Play.Shop. in instagram, facebook or on this blog, it will come as no surprise to you that I love to bake when I have time.  I'm a sucker for a good pastry, a nice slice of cake, a sweet dab of salted caramel, a perfect macaron, a freshly baked tart..... all with a nice cup of tea.  So I super excited this time of year because the Cake Bake & Sweets Show is on again.  I took the kids last year and they had a blast and I'm looking forward going again this year.

There will be demonstrations by world class bakers, dessert artists and TV personalities (Reynold Poermomo! Duff Goldman of Ace of Cakes! Pierrick Boyer of Le Petit Gateaux!) as well as the opportunity to enjoy the tasty treats on offer, learn about the latest tools of the trade and be amazed by the entries of the Australian Cake Demonstrating Championships.  I haven't told the kids yet but there will be a 10m chocolate river and garden installation by  the Queen of Chocolate Kirsten Tibballs.  I don't know who will be more excited when we get there!

Give-away : I have 2 double passes to give away and it's all happening this weekend, so hurry up and enter.  Competition closes Thursday 22nd October at 12pm and the winners will be randomly drawn by the Eat.Play.Shop. kids (without looking!).  Winners will be announced on the blog, as well as on facebook, twitter and instagram, and I will let you know how to obtain your passes on the day.  If I can't find you by 11pm on Thursday the prize will be re-drawn.

For more info check the website : http://www.cakebakeandsweets.com/melbourne/

WHAT: 

Cake, Bake & Sweets Show, Melbourne
WHEN: Friday 23rd October 10am - 5pm
Saturday 24th October 10am - 5pm
Sunday 25th October 10am - 5pm
WHERE:Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre
WHO:Duff Goldman (USA, Ace of Cakes), Miguel Maestre, Kirsten Tibballs, Reynold Poermomo (MasterChef 2015), Georgia Barnes (MasterChef 2015), Tim Clark, Pierrick Boyer, Katherine Sabbath and more...
WHY:Celebrity demonstrations
10m river of chocolate, complete with a 2.4m waterfall in the Willy Wonka Garden
Shopping and sweet treats

Competition Information :

One entry for each of the following, why not do all!

1) Commenting on this blog post

2) Sharing this blog post

3) Liking the Eat.Play.Shop. Facebook Page (comment here or on FB that you're a liker if you are already so!)

4) Sharing the Facebook Post on this Event on your Facebook

5) Commenting on the Facebook Post on this Event

6) Reposting the Instagram Post on your Instagram with #EPScakebakesweets

7) Commenting on my upcoming instagram posts on the Cake Bake & Sweet Show

8) Retweeting any of my twitter messages about the Cake Bake & Sweet Show

So many ways to enter, and only 48 hours to do so, be quick!

Competition now closed!

Such a big response!  Winners picked at random from a bag by the Eat.Play.Shop. kids :
- @eatingoffmyplate (via instagram)
- Catherine Porquier 
- Grace Koay

I will message you with instructions on collecting your prize very soon, please email back to confirm!

Disclaimer : double passes courtesy of The Cake Bake & Sweet Show and Thrive PR.

Eat. @ Sir Charles

121 Johnstone Street, Fitzroy 3065 ph (03) 9415 7077

Hubby and I are big fans of Axil so it was a no brainer for me to try out Sir Charles when I found out this was their new venture.  We've been here quite a few times and it has become one of the "regular" places we go to for a great brunch when we're not venturing out to new places.

One of the reasons for this is that the space is quite big and they are quite accomodating for our family of five and due to the number of tables we've not had to wait for more than 20 minutes (my limit of waiting for food with young kids!)

We often have our first coffee whilst we're waiting and their mocha ($3.8) is great as you would expect from its pedigree.

The kids love their little carrot cake ($4) and we've ordered this as a "snack" as well as a dessert.

The menu is quite interesting and a strong Asian influence is evident.  I think one of their signature dishes would be the Sir Charles Benedict ($18) with panko crumbed eggs, Sriracha hollandaise and bacon on roti.  The eggs are lovely and the roti is a genius twist to the good old muffin.  The hollandaise gives a tasty kick but my kids find it a tad too spicy so I usually get all the sauce (mwahahaha).

They have changed their menu quite a few times since our first visit and I'm always surprised by their new dishes and not been disappointed.  Some of these have included the corn fritters ...

The most amazing lamb ribs....

A Korean fried chicken burger.......

And a Fish Curry Special of the day.....

I can't wait to see what's on the menu on our next visit!