Salford Lads Club

Salford Lads Club 
1 Fennell St, Port Melbourne VIC 3207



There's some great places hidden around Melbourne in unsuspecting locations, and the Salford Lads Club is one of them. Hidden away in the back blocks of the Port Melbourne industrial area, between Globe and Toyota. Only a short ride away from the CBD, I visited one morning while taking a "mental health day" from work.







I love pork, so I couldn't go past the ultimate breakfast - Pork cooked 3-ways (bacon, sausage and crispy pork belly) with poached egg and corn relish. Fantastic combo, with a nice soft egg and fresh corn relish.


RMIT Superbike commuter

 
"Coffee Supreme" beans


A great place to kick back and have a coffee (or two), read the paper or watch the world go by.





B.

Thursday Night Drinks - Beer Deluxe

Beer Deluxe
Federation Square/Flinders Street, Melbourne VIC 3000

Thursday night, warm weather and the sun setting over Flinders Street Station - the best way to enjoy a beer and burger at Beer Deluxe. Usually the $10 beer and burger deal, the price increase to $14 still offers great value for money. Along with the "Burger Deluxe" (double patty, lettuce, mayo, cheese, bacon, onion and deluxe sauce) on a fancy stone platter, you get fries in a fancy basket and a schooner of beer on tap. Probably $25 worth of burger and beer for only $14? That's my kind of deal. 



The burger stack is quite large with the double patty, which was well cooked but not pink on the inside. Difficult to eat the whole stack in a single unless you can dislocate your jaw. The brioche bun is too delicate for the size of the burger, and fell apart with all the juices and the bacon was a little undercooked. Overall the burger was enjoyable though, value for deliciousness factor was high. Include a great beer and you've got me covered!

B.

Downstairs @ The Merrywell, Crown Casino

The Merrywell
Corner of Clarendon St and Crown Riverside, Southbank VIC 3006 
 
Visited the West-end of town and dropped into The Merrywell, Crown Casino for a bite to eat with the dinner club this week. "Gourmet" burgers of all shapes and sizes have swept across Melbourne, and this American-styled pub features a casual burger bar downstairs. A simple menu of burgers, sandwiches and snacks is followed by an extensive drinks menu, featuring everything from spiders, cocktails and even jugs of sangria.



I decided on the Merrywell burger, and the Merrywell spider - can't go wrong with the house named meals, right? At $20 (incl. fries) the burger is a bit on the expensive side, but that's to be expected when dining at Crown. 

At first glance, the burger isn't massive but on the inside it looks impressive. The robust, flour-y white bun was a good fit for this burger, soaking up the special sauce and holding together well for a relatively mess-free meal. Nice juicy patty, perfectly cooked ("All burgers served pink and juicy" is the tag line on the menu). Melted cheese flowing down the sides and topped with bacon, pickles, onion, lettuce and tomato. Only downside was the bacon was slightly over-cooked, with charred edges and a slight burnt flavour.


On the side, I had the Merrywell spider which was just a basic root beer and vanilla ice cream.


The others rated the food quite well, which were:

The Bangin' Banh Mi (fish fillet open sandwich)


Veggie Boom (falafel burger)


Onion Rings


Overall it was one of the top burgers I've had in Melbourne, if a little on the expensive side.

B.

Coffee Shorts - Little Lonsdale St

I don't pretend to be a coffee expert, able to taste all the different characteristics of the beans grown at 6000ft in the Guatemalan highlands. I do love sitting down for a great coffee; but nothing is worse than a burnt, overly sour coffee. 

Most mornings I'll start up my Rancilio Silvia at home on which I pull my own shot, so when I'm out I'd expect something at least up to my own (mostly average) standard coffee. My habit is usually a caffe latte or flat white in the morning, and a macchiato or just a short black if I'm drinking in the afternoon. Below is a list of my favourite local coffee providers, just along Little Lonsdale St in the city. 
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Cafenatics QV
Red Cape Lane, QV Building, Melbourne VIC 3000




The Cafenatics chain has made a big name for itself since starting in 2004 in the Melbourne CBD, they now have around 10 shops dotted around the city. The QV location is my local coffee shop, if I'm not making a coffee at home I'll grab one here on my way to work. Always friendly, remembering my order and saving a muffin for my breakfast; consistently good coffee (across most of the Cafenatics I've been too as well); not overpriced, $3.30 for a "regular" 8oz (if you have a "large" 12oz Keep Cup it's the same price), $5.50 for a coffee/muffin combo.

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2Pocket Coffee
277 Little Lonsdale Street, Melbourne VIC 3000



2pocket is one of the newest coffee shops to open in the city selling fairtrade coffee, tea and other products. Their mission is "to support disadvantaged producers to improve their lives through business and commerce." A regular coffee is $3.80, while a large is $4.50 - and also beans @ $15 for 250g. When you keep in mind that a portion of the profits go back to the producer and supplier, it's a great price for a coffee. Got my coffee here this morning on the way to the market, still a bit quiet but very friendly and good coffee.
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Hardware Societe
120 Hardware Street, Melbourne VIC 3000 



Sitting at the top of the Urbanspoon "Melbourne Brunch Spots" list is Hardware Societe. This cafe always has a queue on a Saturday morning, I reckon if you weren't in before 9am you might not get a seat for 45 minutes! Whilst I haven't had the food here, the production line pumping the Padre beans through the coffee machine means that I've never waited more than a few minutes for a coffee. The coffee is decent, and the mini-donut on the top is a neat touch.
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1000 £ Bend
361 Little Lonsdale St, Melbourne VIC 3000



This hip little hangout has a very non-descript entrance, but inside the old Harley-Davidson assembly factory has been turned into a cafe with a large gallery out the back and a film room upstairs. The comfy grungy couches and outdoor seating area gives everyone a place to sit and relax, and maybe get a spot of work done with the free Wi-Fi. Coffee before 10am only costs $2.50 for a small (weekdays only), and on tight-arse Tuesday nights they serve $8 burgers and $2.50 pots. 
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The League of Honest Coffee
8 Exploration Lane, Melbourne VIC 3000 



The team behind Padre coffee run this Mon-Fri coffee shop, featuring the absolutely beautiful green Slayer machines on the deck. I'm a big fan of the Padre "Daddy's Girl" coffee blend, regularly running it through my EM0480. Definitely honest, good coffee here though I don't visit as often as I'd like. I'll usually visit Padre @ South Melbourne Market on a weekend for my Padre fix.
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The Moat
Basement @ The Wheeler Centre, 176 Little Lonsdale St, Melbourne 3000 VIC



I love a hidden cafe or bar, knowing that just above you or behind the door are hundreds of people passing by who have no idea what's there. The downstairs entrance to The Moat (under the Wheeler Centre, State Library) fits this bill perfectly. I've only ever popped down for coffee, but the food I've seen makes me want to return for even more.
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Plantation
Shop 253, level 2, Melbourne Central 300 La Trobe Street, Melbourne VIC 3000



This coffee shop is a hidden gem in the Melbourne Central shopping complex, run by the guys from St Ali. The focus of this outlet is cold drip coffee, but their regular coffee is great too. $3.80 for a regular is on the expensive side, but I'll sometimes grab the "Dark Horse" blend from here if I'm low on beans (roasted by Sensory Lab/St Ali). 
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In the future I'll have a few other lists in this series of "Coffee Shorts", around the city and near my work. Let me know if you have a favourite coffee place not on my list, make a comment below and I'll give it a visit!  

B.

Rose Garden BBQ

Rose Garden BBQ
435 Elizabeth Street, Melbourne VIC 3000

If you came across the line outside Rose Garden on a weeknight or even at lunchtime, you'd think a hot new establishment had just joined the likes of Chin Chin and Mamasita with its "no bookings" policy. However, this is an old Melbourne institution feeding hungry students and office workers their meals with the quickest chefs in town.  

Its position at the top end of Elizabeth St, adjacent to RMIT and Melbourne Central, means it has customers all through the day. Outdoor seating helps with the overflow and is the place to sit, with the longer daylight hours and warmer weather coming up.



Luckily this place covers most of my rules for Chinese restaurants; full of Asians, chairs from the 70s and sticky menus. Hilarious clip art adorns the menu items plastering the walls. The table menu is fairly exhaustive, but you'll find a handy Top 10 list to help you out. 

The first dish came out mere minutes after ordering, the spicy beans and beancurd. Both deep fried to perfection, and a nice amount of heat from the chillies. Not too salty either!
  

Crispy noodles with mushrooms and beancurd were not bad, could've done with more noodles.



I would highly recommend getting the spicy chicken ribs, just brilliant. Not finger-licking good, this was plate-licking good..


They also do some nice siew yuk (roast pork) and siew ngap (roast duck) 


It was a hot night, so I also got my favourite boxed ice tea, Teh Kotak. 


I think the total for 7 of us was around $85, another cheap night out!
 

Empress of China

Empress of China
120-122 Little Bourke St, Melbourne VIC 3000

Looking for a cheap eat in Melbourne? Look no further than Chinatown, running along Little Bourke Street between Swanston and Exhibition Streets. With so many offerings, everyone has their own favourite place to go. Whether it's cheap or expensive, spicy Szechuan or delicate Japanese, noodles or dumpings - Chinatown has you covered.



Despite breaking my #1 rule of Chinese restaurants (more Caucasians than Asians = probably less than authentic food) the offerings at Empress of China aren't too bad. The ambience is authentic China, you'll be setting your own table and pouring your own tea. Don't expect a smile out of the staff either, it also helps if you're a "waiter whisperer" to get any service. That's what I love about this place though, it's an unpretentious eating house to go with a big group of friends and enjoy some food and a few laughs without being bothered by anyone.

Once ordered, the food comes out pretty quickly - order something off the wall if you like food roulette, you never know what might be good! The garlic cucumber we had once was surprisingly good. Yes, it was just fried minced garlic on cold cucumber slices but for $3 what could go wrong? This time we had mostly the usual, which cost less than $10 a head for 7 people.

Chinese Brocolli with Oyster sauce - not overcooked or drowning in sauce, good for trying to have a balanced dinner!

 
Pan-fried vegetarian dumplings - dumplings were well packed with a variety of random vegetables.


Pan-fried pork and vegetable dumplings - standard pork fried dumplings, delicious and filled with hot soup to burn your mouth as soon as you take a bite.


Xiao long bao - not the most delicate dumpling casings in Melbourne, but still a good bite. As above, filled with delicious hot soup to spill. Slightly more robust casing means that this will probably occur right above your lap instead of in the serving basket.


Fried green beans and mince - THE classic Chinese dish for me. Not as good as my mum's, this one was a bit salty and the beans weren't crispy enough. The beans are typically deep-fried, then stir-fried again with the mince meat.


Shanghai fried noodles with chicken - not drowning in sauce and well cooked, tasty stomach filler.


I'll feature a few more of my other Chinatown picks in the future; Shanghai Noodle House, Sichuan House (those cumin pork ribs!), Shoya, HuTong Dumpling, and many others.. So stay tuned!

B.

Friday Night Drinks - Katuk

Katuk
1F, 517 Chapel Street, South Yarra VIC 3141
 
Friday nights; unwinding after a long week, catching up with mates, enjoying a bite to eat and down a drink or two. One place that has become a regular haunt is Katuk, at the top end of Chapel Street. A nice little upstairs bar, with a balcony out the front and a semi-open deck at the back - great vibe that doesn't turn into a club after dark like most places.

Happy hour on Friday runs from 5-9pm, get in early and grab some seats - the place starts to get pumping after about 7pm. Awesome homemade pies for $2.50, beef ones are the winners with nice chunks of steak in gravy (and free sauce!). $8 jugs of Boags, $9 cocktails and $3 wines make for a cheap night on the town.






B.

Mr Huang Jin

Mr Huang Jin
Rialto Towers, GF (near King St corner)
525 Collins St, Melbourne 3000



Another night with the dinner club - this time we picked a new dumpling restaurant in town, Mr Huang Jin. Very little info on the internet about this place, but I was told it was related to Din Tai Fung in Sydney so I was itching to check it out. 



The fitout was smart, with funky chairs and an airy atmosphere thanks to the full height glass walls. The clearly new, though very attentive, wait staff filled our water glasses and there were edamame beans to snack on while perusing the menus. 




We ordered a few plates of dumplings to share, plus an interesting "main".

Prawn and pork wontons: Very nice dumplings with a great chilli sauce.


Chilli pork dumplings: Excellent dumpling casing, great soup, a little low on chilli heat.


Fried beef dumplings: A bit plain and dry


There was a bit of a gap between the dumplings and the mains, but finally it came out. 

DIY roast pork buns: Delicious and very innovative serving method, though I was expecting more of a braised, caramelised style pork belly with the "sticky sauce" description.





Overall cost at ~$25pp was a bit more than the usual dumpling shop, but if you're over this side of town and feel like dumplings then it's worth a shot. 

B.

v1.0

Every time I head out for a meal with friends, it's always: 

"Hey, where should we eat?" 

"You've eaten here before, right?" 

"I can't tell what's good on the menu, you pick!" 


Now I've decided to start a food blog to share my experiences and help you devour the best food in Melbourne (and potentially around the world!), and also give me an excuse to eat everything I come across. 

B.