Naughty Boy Cafe

This is one of those Instagram cafes that I keep seeing pop up, anyway so I decided to finally stop giving myself excuses and organised brunch with some friends and drove out to Carlton. We were in a group of 6 and it was a lovely day so we sat outside.

Once I got there (yes I was late and the last to arrive), I told the guys about the insta freak shakes, so a few of us got them to dry. They had a few options but we ended getting the same thing. Pavlova for the ones of us who are lactose intolerant, Chocolate & Nutella Fudge for those who aren't.

The  Pavlova was made with coconut milk, vanilla, lime, passionfruit curd, kiwi fruit, mixed berries and Turkish fair floss. This was one big drink that was packed with a million different flavours (ok maybe not exactly a million but you get the point). The actual drink work great with the coconut milk base it actually made it lighter compared to milk. As you get through the meringue, passionfruit curd, and berries, it really does remind you of a liquid pavlova. The fairy floss was that nice finishing touch on it. If you have a sweet tooth you, this one is for you. 

The Chocolate Nutella Fudge is one rich and decadent shake. It comes with a chocolate brownie, white chocolate mousse, freeze dried fruit, nutella and a big blob of whipped cream. It really was more like a fully loaded chocolate shake, where the brownie was in the shake instead of outside the shake. A nice treat but definitely only a "sometimes food".

For food, I got the Buttermilk Waffles. This was served with pineapple and kiwi sauce, passionfruit sorbet, mango, dates laced with rum and pina colda anglaise. The concept of fruity waffles is a fresh change to the typical chocolate and strawberry options you see on menus. It wasn't bad, but sadly they didn't provide me with good service to match it. My waffles came 25 minutes after all my friends got their meal. I didn't make them wait for me to start but they felt bad I was just eating them eat, so they all gave me bits of their meal to try. By the time my meal came, I wasn't really hungry anymore.

C and Ace both got Eve's garden. This was interesting as it was made up of eggplant, roast pumpkin, grains, poached egg, avocado and cherry tomato. C was hungry so he got a side of salmon with his as well. Eggplant and pumpkin is not something you would normally eat or breakfast in Melbourne. However given it was more a brunch it didn't feel so out of place. The warm vegetable concept actually worked well as you got that savoury hit without the usual heavy hitters like bacon and fried egg.

T was easy to keep happy, she got the Breakfast Roll. Nothing fancy about this one, just a classic to curb the craving of bacon and eggs with haloumi and green tomato relish on a noisette roll.However the fried haloumi made it a bit too oily.

N ordered the The Naughty Boy which is like a big breakfast. Bacon, tomato, mushroom, poached eggs, skordalia (puree of potato, garlic and walnut) and falafel. It it the option if you want a bit of everything, I would consider it the 'simple guy' type of breakfast.

D got the Sweet Corn, Zucchini Fritters. This came with broad beans, mint, dill, tomato & feta salad, poached eggs and finished lemon olive oil. A good alternative to the typical breakfast options, the board beans and mint combination was refreshing and a lighter breakfast alternative.

Overall 14.5/20 I really liked the shakes, some of the breakfast items were good. I was very disappointed with the service, there was no apology or explaination on why my meal took so long to come. 

Eden's Backyard

As part of my usual weekend affairs I like to brunch, but instead of going with D this time, I decided to take Mum and Sis to Carlton, to try out Eden's Backyard. Eden's is one of the newer brunch cafes in Melbourne. Their Nicholson Street location is a great balance of the hip vibe in Carlton, but yet laid back enough to be away from the Brunswick Street.

We got there pretty late (around 2.30) and were all starving, so we got four things to share amongst the three of us.

Since Mum and I were both slightly sleepy (ok I will be honest, I was slightly hung over from the work Christmas party), we both got a coffee to wake us up, and Sis got a cold press (Eden's temptation). The coffees were okay, wasn't a stand out coffee. Sis enjoyed her combination of apple, pineapple, spinach, cucumber, lemon, banana and coconut water.

Mum chose the Bacon and Eggs. A classic which is a favorite, however instead of opting for sunnyside up, as mum normally likes it, went with poached instead. The egg was runny on the inside and had a generous serving of bacon on wholemeal toast.

Sis got the Kev's Secret French Toast. This had nutella, poached pear, berries on a brioche french toast and caramel sauce to finish it off. This is definitely one of those naughty breakfast. It felt like more of a dessert than breakfast (not that I mind). This is one for the sweet tooth.

I went with the Smoked Salmon Benedict. It came with Norwegian smoked salmon, poached egg, homemade hollandaise sauce on sour dough toast. This was the breakfast I needed to fill in the starving spot in my stomach. The sauce was good but there was too much of it. It also makes me ask...... should the menu really call the sauce "homemade" when it's more store or cafe made? I would order it again, next time I am in, but I will probably ask them to go easy on the sauce.

Finally we also got the Abang Apam Crepes to share. Actually this was the reason I took my Malaysian Mummy here. Abang Apam is actually one of her favorite things to eat and always says she wish she could get it more easily here in Australia. She tends to make her own at home, but since Eden's offered it, I had to bring her here to try it. It served with mixed berries, vanilla ice cream, oreo/peanut/oats crumbs. Inside the crepe there was sugar, peanuts and a bit of creamed corn. This was interesting and the first time I had it outside my Mum's house in Australia. It was a good change to the usual pancakes and waffles for breakfast. I might be bias here but I really enjoyed it and would recommend this dish.

Overall 17.5/20 I was pleasantly surprised and really enjoyed the things I tried. Service was friendly, the staff was a little slow but I think it might have to do with the fact, they were new. Only downside was the coffee, mum wasn't very impressed with the coffee. Though I think the items on the menu would still entice her back here for another visit.

The Town Mouse

I wanted to come here for ages so I was stoked when D finally got us a table for date night. It is located off Lygon and had a great atmosphere. We were seated by the bar so we got to see some of the bartender action.

We wasted no time and got ordering straight away.Once the order was in, we were given some fresh bread with house-made black sesame butter. I went gaga over it. 

First thing we got was the fresh oysters, this came with a chardonnay/vinegar sorbet served with a wedge of lemon. This was not the usual way I have my oysters but I loved it, the acidity and sweet balance in the sorbet was a great way to get taste buds going. I wish we ordered more.

Goat cheese profiterole and duck liver parfait were the first tapas entrees we got. The goat cheese profiterole had honey and thyme with it so it gave a nice balance to the creaminess. The duck liver parfait came with pickled cucumber and a super thin potato crisp. It was intense and luxury on the lips. I wish I had bread to make this go further.

Smoked eel brandade was a nice surprise, I have never had brandade before so it was a nice surprise. I quite enjoyed the saltiness paired with the thin sourdough toast. I would have preferred the toast to be not so thin as it kept breaking each time I tired to spread the brandade on it. Overall still very tasty with the intense punchy flavours

For the main to share we got the snapper which came with grilled broccoli and clams. The fish was fresh and retained good flavour as it was cooked just right. The grilled broccoli with clam and olive oil was a nice complement that wasn't overpowering and provided just enough bite

Creamed corn was our side of choice. This came with creme fraiche and tarragon. Once spooned through this was like a thick, thick corn soup with a punch. It was heartwarming like a soup but not quite a soup

Lime posset with green apple, white chocolate and matcha. That layer so sugar film was finely created and the thing that held everything together. This is a great dessert for anyone who prefers a more of a fresh taste and not the typical heaviness in decadent rich chocolate desserts. The line cut through the sweetness and there was just enough sweetness

Yoghurt semifreddo with hazelnuts and feijoa. I really just ordered this because I saw the word feijoa, it one of the fruits I love but sadly not everyone knows how to use or have even heard of it. The semifreddo was lighter than ice cream but still enough to be cut and served like cake

Overall 17/20 enjoyable experienced and food. Liked all the dishes we tried and would go back again to try other things on the menu.

Nero Group

Recently D and I had a catch up with Mr Lego, Stacky, Princess D and Pasta. Mr Lego suggested Nero Group on Lygon in Carlton and seeing I haven't headed out that way in awhile, it made the perfect reason for me to drive there. Italian food and good friends, I really couldn't think of a reason to say no.

Nero is located on Lygon St, opposite the park. On a beautiful sunny day, it's the perfect spot to get a bite, chat with friends and just watch the world go by.

Since none of us were particularly hungry, we decided to skip entrees and just get a bunch of mains to share. Princess D, Mr Lego and I had all eyed the squid ink risotto on the menu, so we ordered 2 portions to share along with other things.

The squid ink risotto was served with seared scallops and fresh calamari. The scallops were beautifully seared and the calamari was finished with lime for a light zesty flavour. This was a good dish in general but I found it lacking in flavour or just more saltiness. By the time I added salt it was fine, but I find it disappointing when I need to reach for salt, I am a firm believer that when a dish is served to the table, the flavours should be all there and only a small group of people who like their food salty should reach for the salt. I know I am normally not one of those people, so that to me indicated it was a bit bland, though Stacky and Mr Lego disagreed with me. This one might be one of those dishes you need to try and form an opinion on your own.

The other pasta we got was the taggliatelle which came with wild boar ragu and mushrooms. The tagliatelle was cooked to the perfect al dente. This was not the usual tomato base ragu but a more refined and stewed boar ragu. The meat was soft and just fell apart, it wasn't as heavy as I had imagined. It was a pleaseant surprise and plenty of meat on the plate.

First pizza we got to share was the valentia. Tomato, mushroom, fior de latter (buffalo mozzarella), proscuitto, rocket and parmesan. This pizza has everything I like in a pizza, done on a thin base and with just the right quantity of topping. I made sure I got seconds.

Second pizza was the contadina, this came with pork sausage, cherry tomato, spinach and fior de latte. This was a light and tasty pizza, created with simple toppings. The bite size bits of pork sausage worked well to create a proportional intensity of taste. Cherry tomato and spinach give that small element of freshness; and the cheeses just tie it all together.

On top of the mains, Stacky and I also ordered a side of the handout chips with rosemary.

Overall 14.5/20 I walked out happy and content. The pizzas were good and I would happily go back for a revisit. It was good to see squid ink on the menu, besides the lack of salt it was very enjoyable.