May Day

A while back a few of the girls and I decided to catch up and try a new brunch spot. It is not often I get to see other foodies outside events, so it was a great excuse to try out a new place and take heaps of  photos without making someone wait (since we usually are the ones with our cameras out). We decided on May Day (a new additon to the Axil family) located on Bridge Road in Richmond.  We got there around 11 on a Sunday and it was pumping. Luckily for us, the wait was only around 15 minutes which wasn't bad considering how busy it looked.

Once we were seated they were quick to come around with our menus but not so quick to take our orders. It was pretty clear at the time that they were still a very new operation, and were ironing out the kinks for a smooth service time.

Once our drinks were on the way we quickly got our food order in too, as it was busy and we didn't want to wait too long for the food to arrive.

Hungry Cookie went with the S'more Chocolate Waffles. Torched marshmallows, cookie parfait and topped with salted caramel and chocolate fudge. This was more of a dessert than breakfast meal. The chocolate was heavy but I am very sure that a kid will happily smash this down as breakfast.

Confessions of a Piggy and I both went with the Chargrilled Cauliflower. This came with feta, smoked almonds, a poached egg, cauliflower puree and finished with truffle oil. I quite enjoyed the flavour combinations, it was a nice savoury dish without being too heavy. I would have liked some bread to soak up the egg, but other than that it hit the brunch spot for me.

MG went with the Citrus Cured Ocean Trout. It came with a poached egg, potato and fennel croquettes finished with beetroot puree on top. The fish was light with a tang and the croquette gave it that bit more of a brunch feel without being too heavy.

Overall the menu was good but not great. Having said that, I will be going back a bit later when hopefully they ironed out the small things and to try the next edition of their menu. I felt it was very new and things could go more smoothly and there is definitely room for improvement to take it to the next level.

 

White Mojo

As of late there have been a fair few new additions to the Melbourne CBD brunch scene with White Mojo being one those that recently opened. It is located on Hardware Street, which you could call the brunch centre as there quite a few cafes around this part of the CBD.

D and I went late on a Sunday afternoon so we had no problems getting a table. We were whisked in and seated straight away. Rather than getting a coffee, we decided to get a smoothie bowl to share. We ordered the Green Matcha Super Power. This was a heavy smoothie made up of coconut water, avocado, spinach, kale, matcha, green apple and honey topped off with goji berries, dried coconut and almonds. There is a generous dose of matcha in here, and even with all the other things in it, this is the standout flavour of the bowl (a good thing). It is not too sweet but very heavy, and it is almost a meal in itself. Be prepared to wait as well. It was the first thing we ordered but the last thing we got. The bar/drink area was very busy, so be prepared to wait.

For the main, D really wanted the Cauliflower Pannacotta but they had sold out for the day (the downside of going late to avoid the queues). Instead D opted for the Pork Benedict. This was crispy pork belly, kale, two poached eggs with hollandaise sauce and chorizo dust. This is a heavy meal as the pork belly is quite fatty, but the pork is done very well. The apple and the hollandaise sauce helps to cut through the fattiness nicely. A good dish overall.

As usual I went for something sweet, to balance out the usual savoury dish that D orders. I had a hard time deciding between the Chia Pudding and the Eton Mess, and in the end I decided on the Chia Pudding because I saw someone have it next to me and it looked pretty (yes I am a total sucker for ordering what others have ordered). The chia pudding was made with white chocolate, freeze dried berries, white chocolate gel and fresh berries. I had to say I was disappointed with this dish - a week before I had an amazing chia pudding at The Kettle Black so I was somewhat expecting something similar. However, it was nothing like the one at The Ketlle Black as it was a completely different flavour base. The white chocolate felt a bit too sweet for my liking as a brunch option. Also, whilst I might be bias here, I didn't enjoy the freeze dried fruit. I would have preferred more fresh fruit to cut through the white chocolate sweetness. Overall a let down.

The doughnuts that I keep seeing on Instagram were sold out so I didn't get to try it. (insert sad face)

Overall I liked the creativity in the menu and I would go back to try other things on the menu.