Burger Adventures @ Royal Stacks

 470 Collins St, Melbourne Vic

9620 0296

11:30am - 10:00pm Mon - Sat

Closed - Sunday

The US-Inspired / homage to the popular US burger chain 'Shake Shack'  is what Royal Stacks has introduced themselves as into the Melbourne burger scene. I've seen plenty of videos and photos from American youtubers and in terms of how the burgers look, Royal Stack definitely has the American burger 'look'.

 Bacon Bacon ($13.9)

2 Australian pasture fed beef patty, double bacon, american cheddar, caramelised onion, american mustard, tomato sauce, pickles

Loads of grease, a heck load of melted cheddar and glorious bacon. This is precisely how I want  my burgers. Unfortunately I can only base my opinion off a one and only bite of my mates burger, and honestly It wasn't amazing, the flavours were there but it didn't 'wow' me. It was exactly what you would expect from the ingredients in the burger. 

(6/10)

 The King ($13.8)

All Australian pasture fed beef patty, tomato, butter lettuce, hand made mac'n'cheese croquette, american mustard, special burger sauce

The mac'n'cheese trend has been popping up all over Melbourne burger joints and I absolutely love it. I've tried a few mac'n'cheese burgers from numerous burger joints and I can gladly say that Royal Stack is one of my favourites. The tiny macaroni size combined with what I'm assuming is a mixture of cheeses really boosts the overall flavour. 

The burger itself is quite heavy because there's so much flavour and ingredients going on. So a fair warning, this burger is not for the faint-hearted :) 

(7.5/10)

Cheese Fries / Gems ($5 / $7.2)

To be honest, the cheese fries and gems is way too heavy for me. I'm pretty sure the cheese was melted american cheddar and it was too heavy and made me feel sick after a few bites. Perhaps some other toppings to lighten the intense cheese flavour would be good but I won't be ordering this again.

(3/10)

 Banana Milkshake ($6.5)

 
Straight up, the banana milkshake was the amazing!, though obviously not healthy as it's filled with sugary and milky goodness. A plus is that the drink wasn't heavy at all which was great as it pairs well with the burger and fries.

(8/10)

Food - 6.3 / 10 

Ambiance - 8 / 10

Service - 7 / 10

Total FoOodie Points - 21.3 / 30

Cooking Adventures @ Japanese Bento

Hey everyone! this is actually my first post in the brand new "Cooking" section of my blog. First I want to mention that the "Cooking" is more based on my personal adventure as I've always wanted to try to cook at home for as it's a useful skill to have and I figured that it'd be a great idea to post my adventure on my blog as well!.

Whilst majority of the recipes are not my original recipe, since i'm a complete beginner. I have tweaked some of the recipes to suit my tastes and will be posting the recipe I used as reference below. I want to use the blog as a reference to showcase all the cooking 'adventures' I have embarked on over how ever long I keep blogging for!

As literally everything I post will be my first time cooking the sorted dish unless stated otherwise, I will be linking the recipes I've used. Well, let's begin!

The above photo are majority of the ingredients I have used to make the bento from scratch, you can find them in the recipe links below.

Bento Attempt 1

The concept for my first cooking adventure is 'Bento', which is a Japanese-styled lunch box which usually consists of numerous dishes. The reason for the 'Bento' concept is because my friends decided it was a great idea to have a Bento session for fun and I figured "hey, why not use this as an excuse to stop being lazy and start learning how to cook" 

Dashimaki Tamago

The main dish of the first bento is the Dashimaki-Tamago, which is a Japanese egg roll which involves a Japanese stock called dashi.
I tried making one with and without Dashi, and found out that the dashi-infused egg roll had more flavour and a softer texture.

Ingredients for Dashimaki Tamago (combined in a bowl)
4 eggs
4 tbsp Dashi
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp mirin
2 pinches of salt

For the Dashimaki-Tamago, I used a small 12-inch round pan. 

To be honest, I had to cook it 2-3 times until I got the hang of rolling the egg into the perfect shape and maintaining the soft and fluffy texture. Definitely a difficult dish for a beginner such as myself but the taste is AMAZING!

Though a heads up, if you do decide to make dashimaki tamago. Make sure you prepare the dashi the day before unless you want to sit down and wait for 1 and a half hours like I did since the process is quite time-consuming.

Make sure to get a bamboo rolling mat as well, since it's crucial for the shaping of the dashimaki-tamago and the rolling of the sushi roll (which I will explain below)

Recipe for Dashi; 

 http://www.justonecookbook.com/how-to-make-dashi
(I used an extra egg compared to this recipe since I wanted a thicker roll)

Recipe for Dashimaki-Tamago; 

http://www.justonecookbook.com/tamagoyaki-japanese-rolled-omelette/

For the rest of the bento, I decided to make my own hand roll sushi which I will go more indepth below. I used the leftover dashimaki-tamago and made it into a poor attempt of a nigiri (not too bad for a first time haha) and added sliced cucumber topped with Japanese Kewpie Mayo for a side dish. In the end I finished it off with some chopped green onions and sesame seed and sprinkled it over.

Bento Attempt 2

Since we had 2 seperate 'bento' sessions, I decided to make a similar one but with some grilled salmon, rice topped with chopped roasted seaweed and sliced tomatoes.

Hand Roll Sushi

To be honest, I first thought rolling sushi would be pretty easy. But boy was I wrong! I wasn't sure if I simply wasn't doing it correctly or if I stuffed up on the ingredient preperation, but overall it tasted good.

Ingredients for Sushi Rice
(1 rice bowls worth)
1 bowl of cooked short grain rice
2/3 tbsp rice vinegar
1/2 tbsp sugar
pinch of salt
1 tbsp dashi

The great thing about sushi rolls is that you can put absolutely whatever you want when you're making them at home. For my case, I made a tuna and mayo with cucumber filling, and another roll with a teriyaki glazed grilled chicken with mayo and cucumber.


Recipe for Sushi Roll; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eLRL18LvVyo

As this was my first time cooking dishes I've never tried before, I can say i was quite happy with the outcome. Safe to say my bento compared to all my friends was not that amazing but it was perfect for a filling lunch and is definitely fun to make as it utilizes creativity and you can use almost anything for a bento as well.

Anyways this concludes my first cooking adventure! I hope you enjoyed it :)

Dessert Adventures @ Mork Chocolate Brew House

150 Errol St, North Melbourne

9328 1386

9am - 5pm Tues-Sun 

Closed Monday

I was finally able to come down to North Melbourne to try out Mork Chocolate Brew House famous delicacies after seeing all these posts from social media. The interior of the brew house was simple and relaxing, with white walls and the minimalist design.

The brew house also sells baked goods which have all been made with Mork chocolate.

Salted Caramel Chocolate Slice

Since the cake wasn't on the menu I don't remember the exact name of what this was called. I do remember it was along the lines of a salted caramel and chocolate slice. 

For someone that doesn't like excessively sweet food, the slice did not suit my palate. It was too rich which left me finished after eating 1/4 of it.
 My friend 'D' on the other hand loved it but thought it was too rich.

(6/10)

Layered Chocolate ($8)

Hot/Chilled Chocolate, aerated warm custard with kaffir line and vanilla pod

The Layered Chocolate was delicious, the hot chocolate was smooth and flavoursome whilst the aerated warm custard added that extra kick to the flavour. Would definitely recommend this to anyone.

(8/10)

Campfire Hot Chocolate ($8)

Hot chocolate, beechwood smoke and toasted marshmallow

The signature campfire hot chocolate, I came here purely to try this as I saw it all over social media. Unfortunately, it was a letdown for me. The smokey taste of the hot chocolate was quite unique but as an overall drink, I wouldn't get it again as the smokey flavour was too strong.

(5/10)

Whilst the signature drink which I was looking forward to came to a disappointed, I'll definitely be back for the other signature drinks and baked goods as the relaxing ambiance was perfect for a casual chat

Food - 6.3 / 10 

Ambiance - 10 / 10

Service - 8 / 10

Total FoOodie Points - 24.3 / 30

Cafe Adventures @ Auction Room

103-107 Errol St, North Melbourne VIC

9326 7749

7am - 5pm Weekdays

7:30 - 5pm Weekends

Absolutely loved the interior of the cafe, gave off a modern simplistic look though I wasn't able to get a photo unfortunately. 

Iced Mocha

Way too much ice, the taste was diluted and lost flavour by the time it arrived to my table.

(4/10)

Corned beef brisket & Potato Hash ($19)

shredded cabbage, leek, poached eggs, grilled pita, sriracha hollandaise

To be honest, it wasn't what I had pictured in my head to be, but still good regardless. I loved the sriracha hollandaise, it gave a great kick to the dish, though I was disappointed in the lack of beef brisket.

(7/10)

Pressed Pork Shoulder ($19)

white bean puree, morcilla, pickled carrots, sweet potato crisps, slow poached egg

overall, a hearty dish with vast combinations to choose in terms of flavour. Unfortunately the pressed pork shoulder was a tad too dry which is disappointing as its the heart of the dish. The sweet potato crisps provide a great crunch and provides the dish with great contrast in texture.

(6/10)

Food - 5.6 / 10 

Ambiance - 7.5 / 10

Service - 7 / 10

Total FoOodie Points - 20.1 / 30

Cafe Adventures @ Kitty Burns

24 Acacia Pl, Abbotsford VIC

9427 0164

8pm - 4pm Everyday

Found out about this little gem from photos all over Facebook and Instagram so I had to hop on the hype train to try it out. Kitty Burns is situated right next to a river and the cafe was filled during my visit. With a beautiful interior which a sunny day compliments the atmosphere I couldn't help but feel at absolute comfort and joy as there were also plenty of dogs on site.

Banana Salted Caramel ($12)

Frozen banana, cashew milk, coconut nectar, dates, vanilla, himalayan salt, mesquite, lucuma

A healthy milkshake is what I would describe this. Not too heavy and sugar inducing, the drink was both aesthetically appealing for my eyes and body. Though in my opinion the drink lacked that sweet sensation a milkshake should.

(6.5/10)

 Omelette "Arnold Bennett" ($23)

 slow poached smoked rockling, clove & bay bechamel, aerated hollandaise, parmesan, toast 

The "Arnold Bennett" Omelette is absolutely divine, the omelette was soft and fluffy, and the aerated hollandaise gave the dish that stunning flavour. I absolutely enjoyed it and could not find much fault.

(8.5/10)

 Mac & Cheese croquette ($6)

You can't really go wrong with Mac'n'Cheese, especially in the form of a croquette. Though for $6, it does reach towards the more expensive side.

 The outer layer was crispy whilst the interior was filled with delicious cheese-y goodness. 

(7/10)

 Meet Mr Burns' ($22.5)

dry cured bacon slab spiced bon bons, bacon jam, clonakity black pudding, 63/63 eggs, mushroom, spinach, my gentleman's relish, toast

Many elements on the dished that worked and didn't work. It was my first time having spiced bon bons, and to be frank, it just wasn't my cup of tea. The taste of it when mixed with other elements of the dish is too contrast. Though, everything else tasted good but flavour could improve. 

A big shout out to that 63/63 eggs, they were cooked to perfection resulting in a divine ooze

(6.5/10)

Food - 7 / 10 

Ambience - 10 / 10

Service - 7 / 10

Total FoOodie Points - 24 / 30

 

Australian Adventures @ Meat Fish Wine

31 Artemis Lane, Melbourne VIC

8660 6333

12pm - 3pm Lunch

5pm - 10pm Dinner

Closed Sunday

Definitely a classier atmosphere than I expected, I've been pretty excited on coming down to Meat Fish Wine since it first opened. Enchanted by the modern and fancy interior the restaurant gave off a fine dining vibe. 

Coming with a group of 4, we came during lunch time of a weekday, and surprisingly the restaurant was empty during the rush hour. 

As I was late, I awkwardly made my way through the restaurant as I was completely under-dressed and totally didn't fit in at all (learnt my lesson) 

2 of us including myself opted for the express lunch special which included and entree, main, dessert and a glass of wine. Whilst the other 2 decided to order a main and side from the a la carte menu

Complimentary Bread, Butter & Olive Spread

We were served complimentary bread, some sort of butter and olive spread right after we ordered. I don't remember what the waiter said as he was explaining what was what on the plate. 

The olive spread was absolutely delicious, I've never had it before but I wanted more. The butter on the other hand was nothing special, definitely had a great flavour but I preferred the olive spread by a mile.

(8/10)

Spiced Duck Liver Parfait

Onion relish, parsley, cornichon salad

My friend (R) who opted with the lunch express set with me ordered the spiced duck liver parfait as his entree which he said he enjoyed. I had a bite and it was a unique dish which I haven't tried before. The texture was smooth, when combined with the mini-toast, created a unique flavour. Unfortunately it wasn't my cup of tea.


(5.5/10)

Beetroot Cured Salmon

beetroot and mizuna salad, avocado puree

I instantly knew which entree I was going to get. With my history and love of salmon, I had no choice but to choose this dish. 

The beetroot cured salmon itself was delicious and fresh. with many elements on the dish there was numerous combinations of ingredients that made this dish enjoyable. The avocado puree worked well with the salmon and the black rice cracker which I didn't know was included in the dish was delicious.

(7.5/10)

Lamb Rump ($40)
celeriac & apple puree, dates, puffed quinoa

My friend (D) ordered the Lamb Rump, I wasn't able to try the dish but she did quote "The presentation of each meal was so beautiful. The lamb was dayum good, cooked nicely & went well with the combination of sauces of the plate"

Snapper 

smoked cauliflower, "noir cracker" & sea foam

(R) and myself ordered the Snapper for the main dish. I absolutely loved this dish, the snapper was tender, flavorsome and cooked to perfection. Though the rest of the dish was questionable. 

The sauces which I believe was mayonnaise, a type of spicy sauce, sea foam and I have no idea what was in the 3 bubbles in the photo. First of all is that those bubbles are extremely sweet and in my opinion, did not work well with the dish at all. The other sauces were mediocre and underwhelming, I felt like there could've been much better alternatives to the sauces as the fish was absolutely stunning.

(6/10)

Wagyu Rump Cap ($55)

garlic butter

My friend (S) got the wagyu rump cap, I didn't try any of the dish but she did mention that the steak was underwhelming and "not that good" for the price. With such a large price tag she would've much preferred Meat & Wine Co steak instead.

Vanilla Creme Brulee 

Lastly is the dessert, both (R) and I ordering the creme brulee. The creme brulee was underwhelming and wasn't my cup of tea. There was home-made ice cream which accompanied the dish, and to be frank, it tasted bad. I had no idea what was in that nor what flavour it was but I did not enjoy it.

(4/10)

Overall Meat Fish Wine has a few hit or misses and I feel they could improve on food. Service was attentive but at the same time there was only one other table dining during the time we were. I will definitely come back as I've heard they have changed their executive chef and perhaps the food will be much better than it was on my experience. 

Food - 5.75 / 10 

Ambience - 10 / 10

Service - 9 / 10

Total FoOodie Points - 24.75 / 30

Japanese Adventures @ Shujinko

225 Russell St, Melbourne VIC

9654 0989

Open 24 Hours

The infamous 24 hour ramen shop, it's the perfect restaurant after a night out if it weren't for the long queues. Dining here for a late dinner, the atmosphere was definitely loud with the occasion Japanese greetings from the workers, a comfortable environment. 

Tsukemen ($14.50)

various vegetables, and special seafood sauce with thick and chewy noodles

Ordering the Tsukemen for myself, I found the dish to be quite underwhelming. The broth lacked flavour and depth, whilst the noodles, in my opinion did not match well with the broth. I've had plenty different types of Tsukemen before but unfortunately this is rated quite low in my list. 

(5.5/10)

I also had the gyoza which I forgot to take a photo of, and it was pretty good. Delicious flavour and made the dish even better with the dipping sauce, I would highly recommend it on the side. 

(7.5/10)

Food - 6.5 / 10 

Ambiance - 8 / 10

Service - 8 / 10

Total FoOodie Points - 22.5 / 30

Cafe Adventures @ Manchester Press

8 Rankins Ln, Melbourne VIC

9600 4054

7am - 5pm Weekdays

9am - 5pm Weekends

Hidden in a secret lane in Melbourne CBD, Manchester Press has been renown for their famous collection of bagel indulgences. From savoury, sweet and even a bit of both, you'll be sure to satisfy your bagel-cravings at Manchester Press

If you've never been here before, then bear in mind that you might need the great power of google maps in finding this place as I wandered around for like 5 minutes before deciding to rely on it.

NY Lox ($14)

a mountain of smoked salmon & baby capers, served on top of a fresh dill cream cheese

A generous serving of smoked salmon had me salivating when the dish came out. The salmon was delicious, but I felt that the dish could've been better if there was more of the dill cream cheese. The bagel itself was quite dry and hard.

As this was my first time ever eating bagels, I wasn't sure if that's how the texture is supposed to be.

(7/10)

Mel's Maple Mayhem ($13)

Toasted blueberry bagel topped with grilled bacon, mascarpone, sliced banana & drowned in authentic canadian maple

I've always known that bacon and sweet flavours were a trend, but I never pictured it being that great to be honest. After having a bite of Mel's Maple Mayhem, I could see why it's popular. The bacon flavour works really well with the maple syrup, banana and blueberry bagel, but the bacon was quite dry and was difficult to chew on which is either from over-cooking or the bacon was left out ?

(5.5/10)

Chorizo ($14)

grilled spanish chorizo, spinach, sliced tomato and cheese topped with tomato relish

The chorizo was amazing!, bursting with flavour, they worked well with the other components of the dish. To be honest it was my favourite out of the 3 that I tried, and i'll definitely be getting this the next time I come back.

Though the only fault which may be due to personal tastes is the toasted bagel. As mentioned above I wasn't sure if the bagel being really dry is normal. Maybe another visit will let me know.

(8.5/10)

Salted Caramel Cookie

&

Vanilla Bean Cookie

Finishing off with irresistible desserts which I saw on the counter, the Salted Caramel & Vanilla Bean cookie were absolute delicious. But a warning, this isn't a sweet to have all to yourself. After the first few bites the cookie becomes overpowering with sweetness and becomes too much.

(8/10)

Food - 7.1/ 10 

Ambience - 7 / 10

Service - 6 / 10

Total FoOodie Points - 20.1 / 30

Korean Adventures @ Yami Yami (LaTrobe)

200 La Trobe Street, Melbourne, VIC

9654 4460

12pm - 9:30pm Everyday

Another Yami Yami post, but this time it's the Latrobe / Melbourne Central edition. 

Compared to the Lonsdale St Yami Yami, this store features different dishes that aren't seen in their sister store. Though both stores have their own specialty / exclusive items.

Beef Japchae

In terms of quantity, Yami Yami La Trobe beats a lot of other Korean joints by far, the flavour is on par with many other places I've been too which is a good thing as I have yet to try a japchae which I actually dislike.

(7/10)

Seafood & Spring Onion Pancake

Tasted too "flour-y"?, I didn't like the seafood and spring onion pancake as much, the overall flavour wasn't that great and was disappointing in general.

(4/10)

Deep Fried Chicken w/ Spicy Rice Cake & Cheese

This is a specialty at this store, I've ordered almost every time I come here with my friends as it's the 'must have' dish when it comes to sharing and I highly recommend it. It's a combination of fried chicken and spicy rice cake (Ddeokbeokki), and you simply can't go wrong with that. 

A warning though, if you can't deal with spicy food, then this isn't for you. The spiciness level can vary depending on your visit, but most of the times I've had it, it was extremely spicy but so delicious. 

(7/10)

Kimchi Pancake

Definitely the better pancake if I were to compare it to the seafood and spring onion one. the kimchi flavour is delicious and works amazingly well when you dip it in the soy sauce.

Unfortunately from experience, the kimchi pancake can vary in quality sometime, with one time I went, the pancake was dripping in oil and tasted bad. But from what I've seen, they've maintained their consistency.

(7/10)

Food - 6 / 10

Ambiance - 7 / 10

Service - 7 / 10

Total FoOodie Points - 20 / 30

 

Cafe Adventures @ Eden's Backyard

161/163 Nicholson St, Carlton VIC 

9663 8887

Monday: Closed

Tue - Fri: 7:30am - 4:00pm
Sat - Sun: 8:30am - 4:00pm

I've been meaning to try Eden's Backyard for quite some time now. From their adorable coffee art and delicious looking food on my Zomato feed, I was excited. 

My friend 'D' and I came in around 2pm and there was plenty of space inside. with a cute garden theme at the back, the interior of the cafe was chic and laid-back.

I was planning to order the 'Bob The Burger' after much deciding on the tram to the cafe, but my hopes and dreams were ruined when we were informed that they had ran out of ingredients. Devastated and hungry, I decided to order my 2nd option which was the Lasagna.

Green Tea Latte ($4.5)

To be honest, one of the main reasons I wanted to come here was so I could see this adorable whale art in person. The green tea latte as a drink was average at best, the matcha taste wasn't distinct and lacked overall flavour

(5.5/10)

Brekkie Chicken Lasagna ($18)

Chicken ragu, light bechamel sauce, sauteed spinach, ricotta, mozzarella, fried egg

The lasagna was delicious!, served piping hot, you can taste the ricotta and mozzarella cheese really well on each bite of the lasagna. The fried egg enhanced the flavours of the cheeses and delicious chicken ragu. Though I felt that the presentation of the dish can be improved as it looked quite boring. Perhaps a salad or some sort of side would work better.

(8.5/10)

Shephard's Lover

Mild chicken curry w/ cheesy potato mash

The Shephard's Lover was a potato lovers heaven. The cheesy and smooth potato mash was delightful, and the chicken curry at the bottom worked well with the potato mash when combined. Whilst the potato mash was good, the flavour was quite overpowering, as there was much more mash than curry..

(7/10)

Food - 7/ 10

Ambiance - 7 / 10

Service - 7 / 10

Total FoOodie Points - 21/ 30