Eat. @ Po' Boy Quarter

295 Smith Street, Fitzroy 3065

Yet another fun and trendy take on fast food from overseas.  This time it's Po'Boys from Louisiana, but at a much closer destination in Fitzroy.  We visited on a Saturday afternoon, when there was a steady flow of diners, and we were happy to grab a table for the five of us.  

Po'boys, as I found out, were crusty baguettes with fillings like meat and fried seafood like shrimps and oysters.  We ordered a few to share as they are quite big servings.  First off the Cajun battered cat fish ($9.9), nice crunchy pieces of cat fish in a fresh baguette with lashes of Louisiana hot sauce along with tomato and lettuce.  Nice crunchy fish in a fresh baked baguette, and a decent size serve for lunch.

Next was the Beef Debris ($11.9) which had 10 hour braised beef shredded with cajun gravy, mustard and hot sauce.  A lovely slow cooked flavour and a comfort food type of roll.

We also tried a piece of the Southern Fried Chicken ($5) as a side.  A great piece of fried chicken in a tasty and crunchy batter.

The side of french fries ($5 each) were covered in their amazing sauce which made the chips super more-ish.  The kids wouldn't stop eating them!

We had wanted to try their house made New Orleans Lemonade but they had just run out, so we tried their Canadian Ginger Beer instead.

Yet another good spot for fun food in Fitzroy.  Totally spoilt for choice when you're in the area!

Toilets - Yes

Eat. @ Jinda Thai

1-7 Ferguson Street, Richmond 3067 ph (03) 9419 5899

I was a super lucky girl this year for my birthday, as I got taken out to quite a few dinners (I guess everyone knows my love for trying new places to eat!)  "The Gym Girls" suggested Jinda Thai for our dinner, which was fantastic as I'd been hanging out to try this much talked about Thai restaurant in Richmond.  I'm the type of person that goes to the gym only for exercise classes (because I need someone to yell at me and be too embarrassed to just walk -out mid-class) and I mostly just zone out and run around doing my jumping jacks and not saying anything.  So it's extra cool that I now have "gym friends" and ones that seem to love eating out as much as me at that!

We started with a round of Cha Yen - Thai milk teas ($3).  I'd never try this before, and it's interesting how different Asian Cuisines all offer a slightly different version of this drink.  I really like my tea, it's quite a strong tea and not too sweet nor milky.

We couldn't come to a Thai restaurant and not have Pad Thai!  We ordered ours with prawns ($14.9).  This was really delicious and fragrant, not too salty, with a little bit of sweet.

We ordered a small serve of the Boat Noodles ($6) to try as we've heard that this is is quite  a famous dish.   It was pleasant but not something I must have to have every time.

The Fried Soft Shell Crab  ($15.9) was super yummy though.  Good sized pieces with that lovely and slightly spicy dressing which I really liked as I find that this dish can be quite heavy without a good sauce.

The Barramundi with the Green Apple Salad ($19.9) was equally delicious, again the tangyines of the salad gave the dish a good balance in both texture and taste.  

My order for the night was the Red Curry Duck (($15.9) which is what I like to gauge a Thai restaurant by.  Fortunately this didn't disappoint and was wonderful with some fragrant rice.  Like all Thai curries a little goes a long way when eaten with rice, and this was a pretty decently sized serve.

Emily was keen to try the Pineapple Fried Rice with the combination seafood ($14.90) and this was a pretty big serve with a curried fried rice.  I liked the rice although by this stage I was getting really full and knew I NEEDED to save room for my birthday cake!!!

Of course I had to have the famous Crepe Cake ($8.5 served with ice-cream).  We shared 3 pieces between the four of us and tried 3 different flavours : Pandan, Coconut, and Thai Milk Tea.  Whilst Emily liked the pandan, Nancy, May and I all liked the Coconut.  I like the Thai Milk Tea one also, but the delicate coconut flavour was just that more-ish!

After the dinner we wandered into the Thai Grocery Store next door and did a spot of shopping.  Yep, we can shop anywhere anytime!  To our delight we found the lovely crepe cake (which I found out later were made by Tata Bakery) in little take-away packs for $6.5, so Hubby got a piece to try that night!  I have been back quite a few times since to buy more but they are so popular they are often out of stock.  Please feel free to tweet me if you're there and find the cakes in stock!

I finished off the night with some lovely Koko Black chocolates that Nancy, May and Emily had given me.  Thanks Girls for a lovely birthday dinner out!  I look forward to taking Hubby and the kids back to try out other dishes at Jinda Thai and have not doubt this will be a fast favourite of ours.  I suggest booking ahead as we have so far not been able to get a table at short notice!  

Eat. @ Mr Hendricks

469 Whitehorse Rd, Balwyn 3103 ph (03) 9830 7579

A new addition to Balwyn's cafe line-up is always an exciting thing for me.  As much as I love all the cool cafes in Fitzroy and Collingwood, a nice, dependable coffee hangout nearer to home is always welcome.  I've quickly fallen in love with Mr Hendricks (new man in my life?  Sorry Hubby!)  and have had quiet a few visits since.

My first visit was a coffee catch up with my good friend Helen.  The mochas here ($3.8) are exactly the way I like them.  Smooth, rich coffee with no bitterness and the subtle chocolate giving them the perfect amount of sweetness.  I'm also happy to report that they have been quite consistent (despite different coffee-art) on my subsequent visits.

Bubs had no kinder that day and tagged along and of course I had to get him his favourite "eggies".  The Crispy Eggs ($18) are soft boiled eggs which are then crumbed, served with smoked ham hock, sweet potato puree, fennel, radish, and walnuts on sourdough bread.  The house made honey mustard dressing lifted this delicious combo to amazing.  Everything on the plate was yummy, and I could see this becoming my go-to dish when I visit.

The next visit was for Saturday brunch with Hubby, and we sat outside in the back courtyard and enjoyed our coffee with some vitamin D.

Even though I wanted those crispy eggs again, the Blogger in me made us order something else.  The things we do for a photo op!  We shared a serve of Mr Hendrick's Big Breakfast ($19), which had fried eggs, bacon, sausage, black pudding, potato hash, tomatoes, mushrooms, baked beans, housemade BBQ sauce and some sourdough to top it all off.  A very tasty and decent sized serve of a "big brekkie" dish, and quite comfortably shared between two.

But of course we have to have something sweet, and the French style crepe with lemon curd ($9.5) was one of the nicest crepes I've had.  The house made curd was perfect in tanginess, the crepe was thin and light.  I swore THAT was going to be my go-to dish from now on!

I loved it so much that we came back 2 weeks later for my birthday brunch, because I'd been hanging out out for more of that crepe!  But wouldn't you know it the menu had changed and you should've seen my long face when I found out the crepe's not on the new menu!!!  It's my birthday and I'll cry if I want to!  Okay, I didn't cry, but I did order the next sweet thing on the menu which is the Brioche French toast ($14.5) with vanilla poached pears, caramel sauce and double cream.  Indulgent and oh-so-delicious, this is a fantastic dessert-as-breakfast dish.  I still love the crepe though so I hope to see it back on the menu!

Hubby had the Breakfast Cassolet ($19) served with confit duck, toulouse sausage, persillade and fried eggs.  This is a delicious but pretty heavy dish, and combined with the brioche french toast we didn't eat anything that day until dinner!

The staff are friendly and helpful, and on my first visit with Hubby they took the time to warn us that the food might take a little longer as they were very busy and a bit behind on the day, which we appreciated to help us plan the morning, but ultimately the food was ready in under 20 minutes which was quite reasonable.  The seating inside is quite cozy, with an ancilliary room off to the right for more seating, and the decked out courtyard out the back more friendly for kids.  Mr Hendricks is currently one of my favourite locals and I hope that they can keep up the great standards so far and look forward to many future visits.

Toilets - yes
Highchairs - yes

Eat. @ Canton Kitchen with Menulog + Our first Give-Away!

4/261 Blackburn Rd, Doncaster East 3109 ph (03) 9842 8082

We're now right in the middle of winter and our household is crazier than ever!  Juggling kids going to school/kinder/activities,  along with my increased work hours mean that "take-away" nights are sometimes almost a necessity.  I was recently contacted by Menulog to try out their website, which is an online delivery site that lets you order from participating restaurants that deliver in your area.

All you have to do is enter your suburb or postcode and the list of eateries that deliver to you pops up.  You can then click on the links directly and order from there.  We haven't had any good old Chinese take-away for a while so we ordered from Canton Chinese Restaurant, a little place which has a decent reputation for authentic Cantonese food around the area.  I chose the "Now" option for delivery, and an SMS text was sent to me right after I finished ordering, letting me know that dinner would be arriving in around 35 minutes.  In fact it arrived in 15! 

We ordered the Fillet Steak with Cantonese Sauce ($18) which was a tangy plum-saucy fillet steak.  Often I find Chinese food quite heavy and I like that the sauce in this dish makes it a bit lighter and it goes so well with rice!  I did however think $18 a little pricey though.

The kids' choice was the Crispy Lemon Chicken ($13), no surprises there.  It was a decently sized serve and the chicken was still crispy (with the sauce being packaged separately) at delivery which was great.

Lastly we ordered the quite traditional Salted Fish and Chicken Fried Rice ($10), a good sized serve for the price!  I love salted fish, and this is such a delicious alternative to the usual fried rice.

We got a free serve of prawn crackers (free for orders over $25 with orders through menulog) , which I had to hide from Bubs because given the chance, they are all he will eat.  It was a great bribe for the older ones to finish their dinner in a timely manner though!

Overall Menulog is a handy website for ordering take-away.  It's great that you can browse through the menus and order directly from one place.  The types of food delivered obviously depends on the suburb ( I did NOT know there were that many pizza places near me!), and will further improve if more restaurants around your area offer ordering through the site.  

The folk at Menulog have given me the opportunity to host our first give-away by giving one lucky reader the chance to try Menulog out for yourself with a $20 voucher!

To enter the draw :

1) Like us on Facebook here and leave a comment on this blog post about what your favourite take-away foods are.  If you're already a liker just say so in the comment :)

2) Share this post (or the facebook post) on your facebook page and you'll get an extra entry.

The competition ends at midnight 6th July 2014.  The winner will be randomly drawn, and the results posted with an update on this blog post.   The winner will have 3 days to send their email contact details to : eatplayshop@gmail.com so the voucher can be sent through.  Australian residents only.  Voucher conditions - expires 1 month after winner selection.  Delivery, Credit Card and 1 use only.

Disclaimer : Menulog provided us with a $30 voucher to try their service, the rest of the meal was paid for by us.  They will also supply the $20 for the winner of this competition.

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner

And our winner is : anastasiastarz!!!  Please contact us with your email details within 3 days to claim you prize!!!

Eat. @ Scarvelli and Goodies. @ Lune Croissanterie

143 Whitehorse Rd, Balwyn 3101 ph (03) 9816 8887

I finally got an opportunity to catch up with Jo and the Angmoh from The Hangry Bitch a while back when they graciously came over to my side of town and had brunch with me.  I'd been to Scarvelli a few times with Hubby for coffee and dukkah eggs at breakfast.  The cafe wasn't super busy and I enjoyed a lovely chat over brunch, it's always so much fun meeting other bloggers!

I had a tea on the day, but the mochas ($3.8) here are quite nice, and I've always been impressed with the coffee art!

Jo had a prana chai latte ($3.8) and the Angmoh had a Lindt hot chocolate ($5), which were unfortunately both too milky.

Jo had the Smashed avocado ($15) with a poached egg ($3) which was served with persian feta, roasted vine tomatoes and toast.  She quite enjoyed it but would've liked it with a squeeze of citrusy lemon or lime.  

The Angmoh likes Dukkah Eggs ($17.5) and of course he ordered this.  These are crumbed poached eggs, served with cauliflower puree, pinenuts, pomegranate and sauteed spinach.  I have ordered this dish the last few times I'd been there and had enjoyed the crunchiness of the pinenuts, the tart sweetness of the pomegranate combined with the creamy, comforting cauliflower puree.  The Angmoh liked the dukkah eggs but suggested that bread would be a great addition to the dish to mop up the generous serve of puree. 

I decided to go for something from the lunch menu and had the Cured ocean trout ($16.5) which came with pickled radish, cucumber, fresh dill and horseradish creme fraiche.  This dish was ultra healthy as there was a lot of greens, and protein from the delicious house cured trout.  The creme fraiche was too heavy in a giant dollop though, and I would've preferred if it had a drizzle of citrus to give the dish a bit of a lift and moisture, and some carbs in the form of potato latkes or some bread would make this a fantastic lunch.

Overall Scarvelli is a great addition to Balwyn's cafe culture and I particularly like their wider range of dishes and more roomy setup as compared to nearby eateries.  

I was a lucky, lucky girl that day, as Jo had gotten up early and visited Lune Croissanterie in Elwood, and generously gifted me with some of the goodies she got there.   I love, love, LOVE good quality pastries and have been dying to try the "best croissants in Melbourne", but have never been able to juggle my love of sleep and children well enough to wake up that early (some queue from 5am!!)  and make the trek across town to queue for these goodies.    

The Cruffin was filled with..... wait for it.... peanut butter custard!  And it was absolutely as awesome as you would think this combo would be.  

The Kouign Amann was layers upon layers of buttery goodness with the the perfect amount of sweet.  

Let's just say that there was a no-sharing rule at my house when these arrived home!

I had a great time catching up with Jo and the Angmoh and I really do enjoy meeting other  bloggers and chatting about a shared passion for good food!  I cannot thank you guys enough for your amazing pastry gifts and look forward to brunching again with you in the near future!