Burger Adventures @ The Burger Block (Invited)

85 Willsmere Rd, Kew VIC 3101

9854 5771

7am - 3pm Mon - Fri

9am - 4pm Sat         

       Sunday Closed        

On the courtesy of Brenda, I was invited to The Burger Block to try out some of their signature burgers. Located on Willsmere Rd, Kew. the cafe is easily accessible by bus or tram, and even easier by car (which unfortunately I did not have).

I rarely travel to the Eastern suburbs as I'm from the West so this was quite the adventure for me.

Upon entering, we were greeted by friendly workers and a cozy atmosphere. With a display of burgers on their counter, there was so many delicious options to choose from

Red Lantern (JPN/THAI) ($12.9)

american cheese, bacon, spanish onions, lettuce, tomato & wasabi mayo

After spending a good 10 minutes deciding on what burger I wanted, I opted for the Red Lanttern. I find it pretty cool how the cafe labels their burgers with countries.

The burger was delicious!, packed with flavour, the bun was soft, juicy patty, everything worked really well together. Unfortunately I was expecting more spice as the burger had a 2 chilli rating on the menu. I wasn't able to get that punch I was hoping for, perhaps if they added jalepenos? or something with more kick then I would give it a higher rating.

 But overall a satisfying burger

(7.5/10)

The Black Jack (HK/JPN) ($13.5) (no tomato)

american cheese, bacon, grilled mushrooms, spanish onions, lettuce, black pepper sauce & jap mayo

My friend 'D' ordered 'The Black Jack'. the burger was just as great as the 'Red Lantern', but I preferred mine more whilst 'D' preferred hers. 

The black pepper sauce was strong, On my first bite I was greeted with a strong and delicious sauce which complimented the burger really well. 

Combined with the grilled mushrooms, spanish onions, bacon, cheese and the meat patty. Oh, it was a delicious burger. I would've loved to try this with tomato, but wasn't able to due to 'D' being allergic.

Perhaps next time :)?

(8/10)

Loaded Chips ($7.5) (Small)

Beer battered chips, aioli furikake (roasted seaweed seasoning)

I loved the 'Aioli Furikake', which was the roasted seaweed seasoning with I believe is with japanese mayo. It gave the crispy chips a lovely flavour. Though as you have more, the flavour can be quite overpowering, which happened to be towards the end.

(7.5/10)

Iced Chocolate w/ Ice Cream ($6)

Nothing to spectacular, the drink was nice, smooth and cold. The ice-cream added that extra element which made it more enjoyable, though I think the quality of the ice-cream can be better.

/7/10)

Iced Matcha w/ Ice Cream

Originally, I thought the 'Iced sencha & matcha green tea' was the iced matcha w/ green tea. Luckily, the girl working had a feeling that I wanted the Iced matcha, so she was able to get it for me. From my understanding, it isn't on the menu but you can order it.

The iced matcha was delightful, though it lacked in matcha flavour, it was creamy and delicious.

(6/10)

Food - 7.3 / 10

Ambiance - 7 / 10

Service - 9 / 10

Total FoOodie Points - 23.3 / 30

Cafe Adventures @ Scarvelli Cafe (Invited)

143 Whitehorse Rd, Deepdene VIC

9816 8887

           7:00am - 4:30pm Mon - Fri

 8:00am - 3:30pm Sat

  8:00am - 3:00pm Sun

On the courtesy of Carlos, I was invited to dine at Scarvelli Cafe to try out their refined paddock-to-plate dishes. Located on Whitehorse Rd, Deepdene, getting to Scarvelli is easily accessible via the 109 tram.

Upon being greeted, we were seated at a specially prepared table for us which was pleasing.

The cafe has an industrial chic interior which makes you feel at home, with the front counter featuring some of their bakes and coffees, you'll be salivating at first glance.

Wood Fired Salmon ($21.5) (GF)

Torn wood fired salmon, caramelised onion, minted pea & caper frittata rocket, avocado & tomato corn salsa

The wood fired salmon had a mixture of strong flavours in the dish, the combination of the avocado and tomato corn salsa gave a unique flavour which my friend enjoyed but wasn't my cup of tea. The wood fired salmon was delightful and paired well with the rest of the dish

(7/10)

Scarvelli Burger ($21)

Wagyu patty, american mustard, jack cheese, burger sauce, red onion, sliced tomato & lettuce on a broiche bun with chips & aioli

The Scarvelli Burger was magnificent, the wagyu patty was juicy and tender, and every single ingredient worked really well together. I would definitely get the burger if I were to come back. 

What I did feel would've been a good improvement for the burger is by adding bacon, or the giving the option of adding bacon as I felt the burger could've been even more enjoyable than it already was if it had bacon.

The chips were crispy and seasoned well, you can't really go wrong with chips, because if you do, you're clearly doing something wrong.

 The aioli sauce was also delightful and added that extra flavour.

(8.5/10)

Cookies & Cream Milkshake

Simply divine, the cookies & cream milkshake which my friend ordered was delicious, sweet and was exactly what I was expecting. Though to be honest, I may have gotten cookies and cream or oreo milkshake mixed up. But if you ever do dine at Scarvelli, you'll know what it is and trust me, get it.

(9/10)

House Juice / Super Juice (Specials board)

apple, pear, celery, lemon & ginger

I on the other hand opted for something a bit more healthy. Suggested by Carlos, the juice was delicious, the combination of ingredients complimented well with each other, though to be honest for my own taste, I should've taken out the celery in the order as I simply dislike it. 

Nonetheless it was a delicious beverage and satisfied my healthy cravings.

(7/10) 

A special shout out to their new release; Scarvelli, Our Paddock To Plate. A book released, to my understand, by the owners of Scarvelli cafe. Carlos introduced me to it and after reading bits and pieces, I can say it's a great read.

Featuring stories, recipes, tips on all sorts of things. Scarvelli, Paddock To Plate is a fascinating read which is to be released in middle of April.

Food - 7.8 / 10

Ambiance - 8 / 10

Service - 9 / 10

Total FoOodie Points - 23.8 / 30