“You Have Arrived” at Taxi Kitchen, CBD

This review is based on two visits over two months to the beautiful Taxi Kitchen above Transport in Federation Square. I attended Taxi on a weekday evening with some other food bloggers a couple of months ago, then visited again last week for a weekday lunch with a friend.

Location wise, Taxi is a dream. In bustling Federation Square overlooking the Yarra River and the Southbank shoreline, the view is epically beautiful both during the day and at night. The light filled windowed space is accessible for a variety of people- tourists checking out Melbourne, a family dinner, a business lunch, dinner and drinks with the girls, a family dinner; the list is endless. The innovative menu is elegant but fairly reasonably priced, and would be accessible for most diners on a mid-range budget.

The starters showcase some gorgeous seafood options, such as Bass Strait Scallops with red radish, smoked chilli mayo and kaitafi or  the beautifully presented smoked Ocean Trout with with capers, egg yolk, parsley and horseradish.

The stand-out starter is the famous candied pork with coconut salad and nam jim, a colourful dish that dances with your tastebuds and works so well texturally with the crispy, sticky pork and the crunch of the coconut salad.

The pumpkin and almond tortellini with buttermilk puree and crispy sage is a vegetarian or pasta lovers dream. The soft, perfectly cooked pasta pillows work so well with the zesty lemon sauce and crunch of the almonds and crispy sage.

There are many great sharing options for mains also, such as Szechuan Duck or Slow Roast Lamb Shoulder.

The desserts are also not to be missed. The Passionfruit Souffle with caramelized white chocolate and banana ice cream is a tropical delight, while the decadent dark chocolate parfait with macadamia nut and honeycomb crumble  and violet ice cream is a must for chocolate lovers.

Taxi Kitchen is the perfect spot for affordable, fun, fine-dining with a stunning view of Melbourne.

Please note: Foodie Melbourne dined as a guest of AMPR and Taxi Kitchen, but all opinions are authentic.

I hope you all had a delicious Christmas and weekend,

Foodie Melbourne

Fat feeds at Grand Trailer Park Taverna, CBD

Where does a foodie take their 14 year old cousin who pretty much lives on McDonalds on a Friday night? Not to McDonalds.

My gorgeous cousin was in town from Queensland for the weekend and I wanted to take her somewhere special. However, since her food preferences range from cheeseburger to chips, her food goals are a bit different than mine so I strived to find somewhere that could satisfy both of us. Enter, Grand Trailer Park Taverna.

This fun American diner in the CBD boasts some of the best, fattest burgers in Melbourne. The venue has a bustling, fun atmosphere that crosses between a cool bar and an American diner. Their alcoholic freakshakes and juicy, juicy burgers bring many Melbournians in for a feed. I am not much of a burger girl myself, but I had seen many a fat burger on Instagram and was very curious as to whether or not I could handle one of their mean feeds.

We started with the salted caramel and maple bacon freakshakes- I opted for the Bourbon in mine. My cousin was pretty happy with her KSA (basic burger) where she removed the lettuce, tomato and mustard. I don’t know how we are related. I guiltily ordered the Francis Underwood, complete with a beef patty, cheese, lettuce, tomato, mac and cheese croquette and special sauce. For someone who isn’t really a burger kinda gal, I smashed this and it was a delightfully messy feed. Is there something special about a burger that is so juicy that it falls apart and the juice dribbles down your fingers?!

Granted, this isn’t the kind of place I could ever visit regularly, as my arteries felt rather swollen afterwards. It is however, an eating experience I will look onto fondly, like “Remember the time I ate that fat burger with the mac and cheese croquette?!”

And the most successful thing was, little cuz was blissfully happy, and even thought it was better than McDonalds.

Have a delicious weekend- eat a burger!

Foodie Melbourne

Family Feasting at Belleville, CBD

A few months ago my Aunty from QLD presented me as the resident foodie in the family with what proved to be a most difficult task, even for a food obsessed Melbournian like myself. She wanted me to organize a dinner for 16 people on a Monday night as a surprise belated 21st for my cousin, who would be down from QLD for the Ed Sheeran concert. The basic brief was:
– on a Monday
– preferably not a set menu
– needs to have amazing vego options for my cousin who is vegetarian
– needs to have some simple options for my fussy teenage cousin
– needs  to be delicious enough to satisfy the family gourmets

This may sound relatively simple to some, and yes, I could have just booked us all into a Vietnamese restaurant in Chinatown, but being the foodie that I am I wanted to choose something a little different and impress. It was SO hard to find somewhere that was willing to let us come in a booking that big and not have a set menu, but thankfully Belleville Melbourne went one step further and we were even able to order and pay separately at the bar.

My cousin was super surprised and enjoyed the vego options, and the menu was affordable for everyone and heaps of variety.

Belleville is a hidden gem in Globe Alley, in Chinatown. A second story converted warehouse, it is a trendy and funky bar and eatery that would suit anyone from a group of hipsters to an older group of friends looking for dinner with some atmosphere. It is colourful and vibrant, and the Asian influenced tapas style menu carries the same find of vibe.

Our table as a whole consumed a huge amount of shared tapas- my pregnant cousin alone hilariously ate about 5 or 6 dishes. From poutine to cabbage rolls to rotisserie chicken to soft shell crab burgers, we probably tried practically the entire menu. Everyone was impressed with their meals, from my body builder brother, to my Aunty and Uncle who said ‘everything was wonderful’ to my vego cousin and her super fussy sister who just ate chips.

  
  

The stand out for me would have to be the Mac and cheese lobster croquette, and the deliciously naughty poutine! Definitely take your next cheat meal here…

The staff handled our big table beautifully- the food came out quickly and was served with a smile. The atmosphere was fun and lively, and we had the dining experience of shared food in a modern pub like atmosphere, something that is sometimes hard to find for a big group.

Recommended by me, and 15 family members!

Have a delicious weekend,

Foodie Melbourne

Not just pizza at Son of a Pizzaiolo in Thornbury

Son of a Pizzaiolo knows pizza. A sister restaurant of Woodfire in Ivanhoe, this newish Thornbury cafe and restaurant does great woodfired pizza also. However, the name of this hip new cafe and eaterys’ name is deceptive, because in addition to great pizza, SOP also does some incredible brunch and lunch options. From amazing pancakes to a nourishing super salad, there is much more than just pizza at this rustic styled, warm and welcoming eatery.

 I attended as part of a small bloggers table visiting for brunch on a Saturday recently, which meant we got to order ALL the food. Luckily, with the same motives, we were happy to all order different food so we could photograph and sample a large range of the brunch and lunch options on offer… Plus, I arrived first and got first pick. Boo-yah!

The Ancient Super Grain salad is the perfect nourishing meal, fitting for when you are super hungry but want something good for you. I have said in previous posts that if I am going to order a salad for breakfast, it needs to be substantial and this one is chock full of yummy ingredients like quinoa, avocado, goji berries, asparagus, fennel, yellow cauliflower, pumpkin seeds, poached eggs and so on… Yep, this ticks the substantial box.

I am not a huge sweet breakfast fan but I adored the mixed berry hotcake- definitely not to be mistaken with pancakes, this was a large, dense but fluffy ricotta hotcake covered with berry coulis, rich marscapone, fresh berries and crunchy pistachios.

 The stand-out brunch option for me was a delightful crispy skinned ocean trout with cauliflower puree, kipfler potatoes, pickled baby beets and apricot preserve. The sweetness of the apricot and beets was a lovely addition to the perfectly cooked trout and creamy cauliflower.

The other bloggers also tried an array of delicious options such as the smashed avo, breakfast board and brunch spaghetti.

  

As if this wasn’t enough, we were treated to a last minute pizza tasting session; as food bloggers, I guess it is in our job description to ‘force’ ourselves to eat a second course even when we are out to brunch! Not surprisingly, the pizzas were wood-fired perfection, with a range of different toppings.

  
 Son of a Pizzaiolo is a new little gem in Thornbury, delivering a lot more than its’ name suggests it would. Don’t count this out as purely a pizza joint, but visit for breakfast, lunch or dinner and try all that it has to offer.

I hope you had a delicious weekend!

Foodie Melbourne

Please note: Foodie Melbourne dined as a guest of Son of a Pizzaiolo, but all opinions are genuine.

A modern take on Thai at Son In Law, Collingwood

Son In Law is hidden just off one of my favourite foodie strips in Melbourne, Smith St Collingwood, on Johnston St. Easy to miss, but is very, very worth seeking out. A slight turn from the main drag will take you to a humble, colourful and friendly eatery serving up some creative and innovative Thai and South East Asian dishes at very reasonable prices.

This new husband and wife venture has been open for about three months and their Son In Law eggs have to be the most instagrammed eggs I have seen for a while, and it is easy to see why. Like the colourful and vibrant interior of the restaurant, the dishes are served on gorgeous and colourful crockery and plated beautifully. The restaurant has a few different areas to sit in, including a lovely little courtyard out the back. The owner, Tony, explained to us that his wife is the chef and he is the ‘kitchen hand’. When I queried the name of the restaurant and whether it was based on their delicious son in law eggs, he told us that most of the recipes are based on ones passed down by his mother in law, which is the link to the name of the eatery.

There are some more traditional Thai dishes on the menu; your old favourites Pad Thai, Massaman Curry and Thai Green Curry are still very much present. I am sure these dishes are beautiful, but we decided to try some of Son In Law’s more modern, exciting dishes.

The Son In Law eggs were everything I had hoped for after salivating over them on Instagram. Looking beautiful on a bright plate, they were soft little morsels of medium boiled eggs, fried and topped with sweet tamarind, chilli and fried shallots.

The Sweet and Crunchy Tamarind Salad was a really pleasant surprise. A light and crispy accompaniment to some of the heavier mains or the perfect main for a vegetarian, this salad contained some of my favourite Asian ingredients- bean shoots, carrot, green apple, roasted coconut and crispy noodles.

The battered tiger prawns were big and juicy, and served simply with mint, coriander, red onion, fried shallots and chilli jam which really allowed the prawns to be the main attraction in the dish. The herbs were a nice fresh addition to cut through the batter.

The deep fried chicken ribs were the owner’s top recommended dish, so even though I am not a huge fried chicken fiend, we had to try them and were really impressed. Think KFC but without the greasy, fatty bits… a very crispy, slightly spicy batter and well cooked chicken. Is Thai Fried Chicken a thing? It is now.

Dessert was a real treat; the second dessert in two months that have embraced a delicious duo of ingredients that should feature together all the time- chocolate and marshmellow! Son In Law does these in a puff, similar pastry to a curry puff, stuffed with oozy Nutella and Marshmellow and served with berries, crushed cashew nuts and vanilla ice cream. Small enough to just

Thai is something that Melbourne already does really well, so it is impressive to see that Son In Law is managing to crack into the competitive Thai market by bringing some new flavours to the yard and embracing the ‘small plate’, ‘large plate’ tapas/share food vibe that Melbournians love so much.

Please note: Foodie Melbourne dined as a guest of Son In Law, but all opinions are genuine.

I hope you are having a delicious week,

Foodie Melbourne