Senoritas, Melbourne

By Liz Ledden. First published on Travel Wire Asia, 22 July 2012

MELBOURNE offers a little touch of cosmopolitan Europe in Australia – think a cool, cultured urban centre, winding laneways packed with cafes, hidden arcades and interesting neighbourhoods. Melbourne attracts weekend getaway crowds for its sporting and cultural events, but these drawcards aside, there are excellent eats, small bars and cafes to explore. Here is a trio of possible pitstops on a quick Melbourne getaway:

COFFEE

Brother Baba Budan

There is coffee available on every corner in Melbourne, and though the city has a reputation for serving up some of Australia’s best brews, it still pays to seek out some of the better coffee establishments for a quality cup. Seven Seeds is one of the city’s more serious coffee purveyors, with an emphasis on single origin brews and blends using ethically sourced coffee bought direct from farmers from around the world, and then roasted on-site. Brother Baba Budan is one of three cafes operated by the Seven Seeds crew, with others in Carlton and Fitzroy. This outlet is named after the 17th century Islamic scholar who is said to have smuggled seven seeds of fertile coffee out of Yemen and have them planted in Southern India, thus beginning the global coffee trade. Tiny, with a rustic, industrial fitout (check out the wooden chairs suspended from the ceiling) the small space concentrates on coffee and coffee equipment – pick up a handgrinder or Aeropress with your Seven Seeds latte or single origin espresso.

Brother Baba Budan, 359 Little Bourke Street, Melbourne, tel: 03 9606 0449

DINNER

Senoritas

A seriously cool Mexican restaurant, Senoritas has a more downtown NYC vibe than the generic Tex-Mex diner the name evokes. Dark and moody with Day of the Dead inspired décor, the restaurant has a lively atmosphere, perhaps in part due to its lengthy tequila and margarita menu (think jalapeno infused cocktails and rare, aged tequilas). The menu is authentic and tempting – the head chef is Mexican, and has a culinary pedigree including a stint at the Mexican embassy in Switzerland. Dishes include Senoritas take on ceviche, featuring kingfish and scallops, a delicious cactus tostada, and slow roasted pork on a corn tortilla with sides including a fiery habanero salsa. A standout is the Oaxacan tamale filled with roast duck and tamarind mole, and there’s much, much more to tempt. It’s best to come with a group to sample as many of Senoritas small plates as possible.

Senoritas, 16 Meyer Place, Melbourne, tel: 03 9639 7437

DRINKS

Double Happiness

The perfect place to be on a cold Melbourne night, Double Happiness is a small vintage/retro style bar featuring a roaring fireplace, a cozy ambience and kitsch Chinese propaganda posters and trinkets decking the walls. It’s dark, moody and charmingly low-key, with its Asian theme evoking cool, off the radar finds in Bangkok or Shanghai. If you’ve been to Asia you may wince at paying nearly $10 for a beer that may set you back a $1 at a bia hoi stop in Hanoi, but the cocktails are excellent and well worth it – try the potent lychee martini to evoke holidays and happiness in Asia, or just to celebrate a weekend of food finds in buzzing Melbourne.

Double Happiness, 21 Liverpool Street, Melbourne, tel: 03 9650 4488

Bun cha, lemongrass and chilli prawns, salt and pepper squid and fried spring rolls at Hanoi Quan

From its Vietnamese eateries to its new wave of cafes, Marrickville seems to be the place to be right now for good value yet delicious eats. I’ve raved about the cafes (here and here) and the stylish addition to the Vietnamese scene, but here are a few more Marrickville eats I’ve tried lately:

Edamame
Tucked away in the square next to Post Café, Edamame serves innovative Japanese food and might just be Marrickville’s best kept secret. There are all the usual sushi and sashimi suspects, but along with the standard fare are some standout creative takes on Japanese cuisine, like miso cured duck and scallops with popping bacon bits. There was no bacon available when we ate, so they offered to replace it with popping pickled vegetables and we warily accepted – luckily, the result was an amazing, Heston-ish take on sea scallops, like savoury popping candy meets succulent seafood. Can’t wait to try more of their dishes!

Vesbar
The café scene in Marrickville just keeps on growing – from Coffee Alchemy, Double Roasters and Cornersmith to newcomers Vesbar and Beejays. Vesbar is a tiny, Italian style café with Campos coffee, home-style pastas and paninis, and tempting sweets like cannolis sourced from Sulfaro’s in Haberfield. The décor is cute, the service excellent and the sugared donut confections the perfect accompaniment to the rich, smooth coffee – a welcome addition to the area and no doubt beneficiary of the Cornersmith overflow. (I’ve realised the trick is to go mid-week and between meal times – and totally forget about Saturdays – to ensure a seat, and to sample the amazing, seasonal menu. So, so good).

Hanoi Quan
This is old school Vietnamese food at its best – generous, hearty servings of flavoursome food in a casual, boisterous environment. The kitsch, carved wooden décor, boxes overflowing with lemons on the crammed shelves and garish plastic dishrack visible through the front counter are all reminiscent of little finds down a Hanoi alley. The salt and pepper squid is delicious (and massive – think enough for 4-6 people to share) and the lemongrass and chilli prawns are heaven.

The destination: Bamiyan, an Afghan eatery opened in August 2011 set in an eye-catching, cheery yellow painted building in the unexpected locale of otherwise-Italian Five Dock.

The vibe: Warm, comfortable and welcoming.

The eats: An extensive and enticing menu reveals Afghan cuisine’s influences, from India and Nepal to the Middle East. There are delicious dumplings, pumpkin stuffed naan bread, beef, lamb and chicken curries, and tasty vegetarian dishes like banjan boranee (fried eggplant with a yoghurt and tomato dressing). Our standout dish was the Kabuli pallow, a fragrant platter of rice studded with spices and served with a creamy chicken korma.

The verdict: Impeccable customer service, an open fireplace, delicious, fragrant and spicy eats and the unexpected boon of a liquor licence make Bamiyan the ultimate winter warming restaurant. A wonderful introduction to Afghanistan’s varied, exotic and delicious cuisine.

More info: Check out these reviews on fabulous food blog Grab Your Fork, Time Out Sydney and News.com.au

Bamiyan, 175 First Avenue, Five Dock. Tel: 029712 7801

EATS

Albee’s Kitchen, Campsie
Albee’s is a great little hole in the wall Malaysian place in bustling Campsie. Think a small, simple space with picture card menus on display, packed with hungry patrons. We had prawn laksa and chicken satay, both delicious, but the menu’s extensive and there’s lots more to try, including some Sarawak specific dishes from the owner’s homeland, each available only on specific days. One to return to!

Thai Paragon, Marrickville
An unassuming looking little eatery from the street, inside, Thai Paragon looks and feels just like a cute, contemporary Thai place you’d come across in Bangkok. The staff are super friendly and the food excellent value and really authentic, from a slow cooked mussaman curry to tasty chilli basil chicken. And they even give you chocolates at the end.

El Loco, Surry Hills
An explosion of colour (think hanging pinatas) in an otherwise cavernous, simple space, El Loco is a festive and fun taqueria and bar. Part of the Excelsior Hotel and the Merivale empire, El Loco features $5 tacos and cocktails of the margarita persuasion. Try the Pink Cuco ‘house slushie’ made with pink grapefruit juice and the spit roasted pork taco with pineapple salsa – so good.

Tokonoma Lounge, Surry Hills
All sleek and chic and moody, this is the bar at Toko, a gorgeous Japanese restaurant with izakaya style eating (wih many a gourmet twist). There’s an amazing light fixture and curved wooden ceiling feature, an extensive menu of sake, shochu, wine and cocktails, and you can order some of the snacks from the menu at the bar – loved the spider maki roll with soft shell crab.

SWEETS

Gelatomassi, Newtown
A gelato experience up there with Gelato Messina, Gelatomassi is an award winning gelateria for good reason. The chocolate is rich and luscious, the mango amazing and the pannacotta, sweet and light and moreish.

Pasticceria Papa, Haberfield
This corner pasticceria in Sydney’s Italian hub is almost always packed, with people queuing for biscotti, gelato, cannoli and cake from one of the most enticing, sweet laden counters I’ve ever seen. So many sweets, so hard to decide, so I stuck to cannoli and they didn’t disappoint.

Sideways Deli Cafe, Dulwich Hill
Sideways does a really good chocolate brownie. At $4 a pop it’s a no brainer addition to a coffee order – moist, fudgy and most importantly, not sickly sweet (yes, this sweet tooth has limits!). There are friands, muffins, and cakes aplenty here too – the pear and chocolate cake is another winner.

I’m loving the latest addition to the burgeoning cafe scene in urban, industrial Alexandria. The Grounds is aptly set in a former warehouse, converted into a coffee lovers’ haven featuring on-site roasting and serious coffee wizardry.

It’s well and truly on every food blogger/reviewer/lover/seeker’s radar right now, hence the crazy weekend queues with everyone keen to follow the buzz.  The baked goods are luscious (think Bourke Street Bakery/Black Star Pastry standard) and there’s a fantastic breakfast and lunch menu featuring seasonal gourmet fare.

The vintage/industrial interior is gorgeous but the drawcard is the oversized courtyard full of vegetable and herb gardens and even chickens. There’s a small playground corner and chalkboard for kids, and you can order takeaway to eat outside (hint: with the current crowds or if you have kids or a dog in tow this is the easiest option). With excellent coffee and loads of urban gardening inspiration, it’s easy to see why The Grounds is drawing crowds.

The Grounds, Building 7A, 2 Huntley Street, Alexandria, Tel: 02 9699 2225

Inspiring interiors at Bloodwood

Inside Freda’s

Need some date night inspiration in the inner city/inner west? I recently bar and restaurant hopped around the perfect combination of venues – a trio of places featuring amazing drinks from great wines to boutique beers to innovative cocktails (at Bloodwood and Freda’s), delicious food using quality, seasonal produce (at Spencer Guthrie, which is currently BYO) and cool vintage/industrial decor and atmosphere at all three.

First stop was Bloodwood down the southern end of Newtown’s King Street for cocktails, marinated olives and their amazing fried polenta chips with gorgonzola dipping sauce. A chic bar in Newtown, Bloodwood has a fantastic wine list, impeccable service and for the interiors obsessed, covetable furniture like colourful Tolix stools. Next, we headed (conveniently) across the road to Spencer Guthrie, a gorgeous, tiny, newly opened bistro. From their small menu (that’s constantly changing to reflect what’s in season) we had an amazing entree of beetroot and goats cheese salad with crushed walnuts and fresh horseradish, and another of chorizo, baby octopus and kipfler potatoes. Then it was onto gnocchi with lamb and mint, and a gorgeous deboned spatchock with mushroom, corn and barley – hearty, flavoursome, perfect!

Next, Negronis at Freda’s, a converted warehouse space tucked down an unassuming little alley off Chippendale’s Regent Street. Exposed wooden beams and a dark, cavernous space give the bar an underground, industrial feel. For directions on how to find Freda’s (and you must!) see their blog. A tried, tested and totally recommended trio of yay!

Images courtesy Bloodwood and Freda’s