Eat. @ Kitty Burns

24 Acacia Place, Abbotsford (03) 9427 0164

For our last weekday brunch roulette prior to Little Man starting prep (or as they call it nowadays "Foundation" *why why why?*) we headed down to Kitty Burns. 

This new cafe, like many around Melbourne these days, is on the ground floor or a mid sized apartment complex in Abbotsford.  I'd watched with anticipation as works went under way for the cafe, since we've often utilised the lovely bike path that winds its way along the Yarra past the new buildings around here.

The menu was quite varied, and offered lots of healthy choices like smoothies and raw cakes, as well as the decadent, like the luscious donuts sitting on the counter.  I ordered the Torched kingfish, with kimchi mayo, leek ash, sea succulents, with a roast sesame dressing, edamame beans and Japanese rice. ($22.5)  This is one of the more successful fusion lunch dishes I've had, and it's gorgeously plated.

Little Man shared lots of my brunch as always, but I did order him a Mac n Cheese ($8) off the Kids Under Twelve menu, which he in turned shared back with me.  This is a golden slab of crumbed mac n cheese, sprinkled with more cheese.  I don't think anything more needs to be said about that, and it obviously went down pretty well.

It was a raining and cold summer day, but the bright, cheery and beautifully designed interiors definitely marked a stark contrast to the dull weather. 

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!

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!

David Tsirekas Dinner @ Hellenic Republic Kew

26 Cotham Rd, Kew ph  (03)  9207 7477

I was very fortunate to be invited to the special David Tsirekas event a Hellenic Republic Kew a few weeks back.  The Hellenic Republic restaurants are a favourite of mine, since I love the inventive twists to Greek food they come up with, and they are a very kid-friendly group of eateries in general.  

The room was packed to the rafters with guests.  After everyone was seated, a curtain pulled back to reveal an open kitchen, where George Calombaris, David Tsirekas, Travis McAuley (executive chef, Hellenic Republic), Arron Lynch (head chef Hellenic Republic) and Alex Xinis (head chef, Hellenic Kew) worked their magic preparing dishes under the fascinated eyes of their captive dinning audience.  

David (of Perama and Xanthi) from Sydney is a friend of George Calombaris and their easy camaraderie was sweet and clearly reflected their respect for each other's skills, and the opportunity to hear David's tales of his experiences was both heartwarming and fascinating. 

I was expecting a 4 course dinner, but in fact it was a 4 part dinner with 13 different dishes, each one created by one of the chefs.  The dishes were wonderful fusion dishes merging Greek origins with interesting new elements, some with surprising combinations, some with a touch of whimsy, but all with great thought and amazing execution.

Mezethes

We started with David's Tarama churros, latholemono, a savoury churro, a fabulous Greek take on the Spanish "donut".

The Smoked bone marrow, beetroot, feta, horseradish by George was probably my favourite dish of the night.  I love marrow, but this dish took it to the next level with its amazing flavour as well as it's pretty-as-a-picture presentation.  The chefs joked about the amount of work it took to clean and prepare the marrow and bones, and I am sure it's absolutely no joke!

The Ouzo cured ocean trout, Jerusalem artichoke, cucumber by Arron Lynch  was another beautifully presented dish.  I don't love ouzo but what it does for the trout is pretty awesome.

The Sheftalies, tahini yoghurt, caper leaves by Travis was more of what I usually expect of Greek food.  The meat was perfectly cooked and the yoghurt gave it the tang that elevated this dish to sensational.

The kefalograviera saganaki by Alex Xinis was a wonderful version of the traditional dish.  I love, love, love those caramelised grapes!

Psari

We watched the chefs dish up the Seafood kokoretsi, skordalia by David Tsirekas with fascination.  In essence a seafood filled roll with a crispy pastry, the crunchy outer shell contrasted wonderfully with the delicious and luscious seafood it encapsulated.

George Calombaris' Tartare of tuna with all its frills, prawn crackers was a fun dish clearly coming from the cheeky side of the chef.  The individual components of the tartare was served up separately with a bag of prawn crackers, and once mixed you eat it in the cracker.  It got all the guests at our table talking and giggling like kids.

I loved Alex Xinis' Melitzanosalata - I love eggplant in general, and the dish really showcased the fabulous versatility in texture and tastes you get get with the humble eggplant.

Kreatika

Each of the dishes were shared by 4 of us at the table, but by this stage I was honestly wondering how I would be able to finish all the food that were to come.  The duck and quince by David Tsirekas made it easy for me to "exercise"..... my ability to stretch my stomach to accommodate more food!  The sweet and tangy sauce perfectly balanced the duck meat that had been cooked to perfection.

The wagyu tongue and flat iron kalamaki by Tavis McAuley was grilled nicely and full of flavour, not your average meat on a skewer!

And then came Arron Lynch's Lahanosalata.  I am a big kid and I never liked Brussels sprouts, but these were so delicious that I have been ordering sprouts more and more when I go out (next step is learning how to cook it so that it's THIS flavoursome!)  The salad could easily be eaten as a meal itself.

Glyka

No meal is complete without sweets for me!  David's Touloumba, warm rosewater custard, honeyed walnuts was a traditional and comforting dessert with a lovely custard....

....whilst the "Magnamopolous" - Greek yoghurt ice cream, caramelia, mastic, fruit was another one of George's marvellously fun creations, a tilt of the hat to Australia's favourite Magnum, with a slap of Greek pride and a wonderful tangy twist with the use of frozen yoghurt and fruit.

The dinner costs diners $95 per head for the night, and even though I was there by invitation, we all agreed that for that amount of high quality food and free flowing drinks and ouzo, the meal was definitely value for money.  My kidlets love George's cook book for kids and I bought a signed copy to surprise them in the morning.  They ooh-ed and ahh-ed over the photos of the food I had and I had to promise to bring them back soon for another meal, and of course they were jealous of my photo with George, haha.

Filming for Masterchef had just concluded and we were all amazed at the amount of energy George has, as he had a packed international schedule on top of organising this top notch dinner.  I will have to organise to come with Hubby the next time as I have no doubt he would enjoy a similar great night out. 

Disclaimer : Eat.Play.Shop. attended the David Tsirekas dinner by invitation of Made Establishment and Hellenic Kew.  Opinions are my own.