Kitty Burns: Review

24 Acacia Place, Abbotsford
Open daily 7-4pm .

Beautiful architecture. Beautiful setting. Beautiful people. Beautiful food. Is that the key to a popular cafe in Melbourne in the age of social media? Abbotsford’s new Kitty Burns exploded into our feeds a couple of months ago when it opened in Acacia Place, an apartment complex nestled next to the Yarra, all pastel hues and edible flowers. It is is good as the photos appear: a high ceilinged space full of Scandinavian-style pale wooden furnishings and vertical green indoor gardens, floor-to-ceiling windows opening out onto the outdoor seating areas, and plenty of room for waiting diners to sit in anticipation of their name being called. The coffee cart and take-away juice bar a la The Kettle Black outside seems a pre-requisite now for cafes where wait times of up to an hour are the norm.

The menu reflects current trends towards Pacific Rim flavours, restaurant techniques and housemade produce: the standard #avotoast is transformed into the ‘Spiced Togarashi Avocado’ with citrus, amami salt, avocado & edamame smash ($13.5), the big breakfast is the ‘Meet Mr Burns’’ (with dry cured bacon slab, spiced bon bons, bacon jam, clonakilty black pudding, 63/63 eggs, mushrooms, spinach & my gentleman’s relish), and the famous burger is ‘The KB’ – shaved free range pork belly on brioche bun with green mango & papaya slaw, kimchi mayonnaise, housemade pickles and kimchi. The coffee was just okay – we ordered five, and the slightly bitter aftertaste was a constant presence. Maybe the machine needed a clean after a busy morning.

Being a french toast fan from way back, I couldn’t go past the Kitty Burns version, complete with coffee ganache, roasted peaches, freeze dried raspberries, whipped maple syrup and quince. Although it was visually gorgeous, I can’t say it lived up to expectations – the french toast was dry, with no eggy custard interior at all, and the espresso flavour was so faint it was overwhelmed by the tender, juicy peaches. The latter was the highlight, cooked to their luscious best and tasting of summer.

We had more success with the torched kingfish, plated up with kimchi mayonnaise, leek ash, sea succulents, roast sesame dressing, edamame beans, Japanese rice and a 63/63 egg (63° for 63 minutes, in case you were wondering). Fresh and just seared, the kingfish was perfect.

The omelette “Arnold Bennet” was rich. Plated up as the prettiest omelette I had seen, it was paired with smoky slow poached rockling, creamy clove & bay béchamel, aerated hollandaise and scattered parmesan. Be prepared for creamy, cheese-filled egginess if you order this – but the rockling is the star of the show.

Our final treat, the Eton Mess, was another hit and miss. A terrarium-like jar of flowers and fruit, it was a base of strawberry coconut yogurt, activated buckwheat clusters, freeze-dried berries and fresh strawberries. The spiced meringue was thin on the ground, and the yogurt was just thick yogurt – neither here nor there, not particular special or particularly awful. Nothing that made you close your eyes and savour your mouthful in appreciation.

In all honesty, although I came away with some of the prettiest cafe food photos ever, I’m not sure I will be back in a hurry. Kitty Burns seems to be aimed at the ultimate instagram shot – but the taste means more than the number of likes, and the food needs a little more substance to match the beautiful aesthetic.

Rating: 6.5/10
Do: order the seared kingfish, even for breakfast. Bring along your camera if you must.
Don’t: expect to not have to wait at peak hours
Features: outdoor seating, coffee cart, bike racks, Morgan’s Donuts available on weekends

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Melbourne dining: legendary, unique, and precious to those who reside there. The culture of a weekend brunch date, the search for the ultimate flat white, the regular queues out the door of popular eateries, the increasingly decadent instagram shots, and the CHOICE. With hundreds of cafes and restaurants crowding the city and suburbs and newcomers opening their doors daily, the high standard and variety is unlike anywhere else in the world. Of those I managed to visit (which was quite a few!), here are my top picks from 2015. If you haven’t been, you are missing out – or if you need to impress others with your knowledge of the dining scene, take your pick of my favourite cafes for 2015.
(The correlating restaurants will be in the next post).

In no particular order…

1. Tall Timber | 60 Commercial Road, Prahran
   A unique menu with a health-food slant and a big reputation, Tall Timber caters for everyone, from those with food intolerances (kale and quinoa feature) to those just wanting the Timber Benedict (a mountain of slow-cooked pulled pork, eggs and creamy apple cider hollandaise). Just be prepared to have significant trouble deciding what to order and don’t expect to get a table without a wait at peak hour.

   
   

2. Hammer & Tong 412 | Rear 412 Brunswick St, Fitzroy
   Food chemistry is front and centre, with flavour combinations you might initially squirm at: a duck egg & candied bacon waffle is paired with sriracha caramel ice cream, toffee popcorn, maple & seeded mustard syrup, while ingredients like salmon roe, smoked mozzarella and black barley speckle the menu. Just trust the process. The soft shell crab burger is famous city-wide, and watch out for their food truck patrolling Melbourne’s streets and markets.
   
   
   
   
3.  Industry Beans | 3/62 Rose Street, Fitzroy
   A Fitzroy coffee roastery occupying a narrow, high-ceilinged industrial space (named best designed cafe in the world in 2014) with food to match. A dedicated coffee menu adorns each table, while the food options borrow from the techniques of high end restaurants (think coffee caviar, compressed watermelon and truffle foam). Brioche french toast is coconut crusted and accompanied by pineapple, crushed peanuts, lime curd and coffee caviar, while in the share plates mouthfuls of cured salmon are served on a base of fennel avocado mouse and kaffir lime jelly with tea marbled egg and crispy quinoa. Don’t leave without trying the coffee garden dessert, where a buttery pistachio sponge is topped with coffee custard pudding, pops of coffee caviar & cold drip gel and surrounded by textured chocolate soil & dollops of berry coulis.

   
   

4. Mammoth | 736 Malvern Road, Armadale
   A recent opening, Mammoth has already left its mark on Melbourne – maybe it is the infamous lobster donut burger (be warned, sticky fingers are unavoidable in this mash of sugar & spice coated donut, coriander & mint filled papaya-green mango slaw coated in a lime fish-sauce dressing, dripping sriracha kimpi mayo, more sticky cucumber jam and big chunks of lobster), or the more simple avocado dish (thick-crusted dark rye toast liberally smeared with a pumpkin seed hummus and topped with coddled eggs & chunks of avocado), but I can’t wait to go back (and neither can anyone else, by the looks of the weekend brunch queues).

   
   
   

5. The Kettle Black | 50 Albert Road, South Melbourne
   You may have already seen the ricotta hotcake on social media (golden, large enough for two and smothered in berries, maple syrup, double cream, seeds, and edible flowers), but it is the rest of the menu that really shines here. Occupying a half-modern-office building, half refurbished Victorian home with white decor, marble benches, floor-to-ceiling windows for maximum morning sun saturation, green potted plants and gold edged furnishings – it is an impressive eatery from the start. Top quality local, seasonal ingredients are front and centre – try the tataki ocean trout with raw kale & pickled vegetable salad, seaweek, nuts and poached eggs, or the creamy housemade coconut yogurt with artfully arranged berries, dehydrated fruit, nuts and freeze-dried powders.

   
   

6. BONUS: the favourite local from my two years at college out in the South-Eastern suburbs
    District Brewer | 36 Brewer Rd, Bentleigh
   Unusual and innovative menu options make this cafe unique: try the Mexican breakfast (fried queso fresco & jalapeño fritters on a bed of black bean hummus, smokey avocado & corn salsa with charred baby leek, red pepper jam & a fried egg) or the pretty-as-a-picture Black Forest Bircher – halfway between a dessert and breakfast, it is a little bit chocolatey, studded with pistachios and grapes  and topped with spears of crisp chocolate, pistachio-dark chocolate crumb, and scoop of bright pink cherry labneh.

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Industry Beans
3/62 Rose Street, Fitzroy
Hours: 7am-4pm Mon-Fri, 8am-4pm weekends

Innovative. Meticulous. Unique. Industrial. Contemporary.

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Melbourne Night Noodle Markets 2015
Birrarung Marr (near Federation Square)
12-29 November.
Hours:
– Mon to Wed 5pm–9pm
– Thu & Fri 5pm–11pm
–  Sat 2pm–10pm
– Sun 2pm –9pm

I got there in the nick of time.

From the 12th to the 29th of November, the Night Noodle Markets take over Birrarung Marr with dishes and experiences unique to Asian fusion restaurants and food trucks all over the city. A record 56 stalls launched last week, offering both the weird – insects (a som yam with fried mealworm by LadyBoy), nutella banana gyoza (see Harajuku Gyoza), ramen burgers (Everybody Loves Ramen), and deep-fried icecream bao (Gelato Messina x Wonderbao) and the well-loved – Red Spice Road, Chin Chin, Kong, Hoy Pinoy, Longrain, Mr Miyagi and Charlie Dumpling are some of the many Melbourne stalwarts head-lining the event. Last year 560,000 people went through the gates, but I suspect with this lineup it will be an even greater number this year.

With exams finishing up the day the markets opened, and flying out to Auckland two days later, I made the most of my one opportunity to visit. Sprawled out in full view of the city lights and Yarra river and lit up by lanterns and fairy lights, the scene gradually changes with the darkening, rapidly cooling night air – it is a view that encapsulates the Melbourne dining scene: modern, lively, passionate, and ever-competitive.

Along with photos to convince you that the noodle markets are something you need to visit, here are a few tips on what to eat:

• Hawker Hall: the newest venture from the Lucas Group and sibling of Chin Chin and Kong is offering up a rich, tender beef rendang, full of the flavours of lemongrass and coconut. One of the best curries around in Melbourne. The chicken and siracca bun was much less memorable.
• ChinChin: caramelized pork with fresh pickled vegetables and coriander are stuffed inside a fluffy slider bun – though the few bites worth seemed a little pricy at $9.50.
• Mr Miyagi: their tempura-nori tacos are the stuff of legend in Melbourne, and four versions are offered up at the markets. Would highly recommend the grilled salmon with sushi rice, kim chi, Japanese mayo & chilli oil, as well as the soft-shell crab with sushi rice, curried mayo, avocado guacamole & crispy garlic.
• Red Spice Road: the crispy five-spice pork belly chunks, bathed in chilli caramel sauce and served with a side of herby Asian slaw (with lots of Vietnamese mint involved) was my favourite dish of the night. A must try.
• Wonderbao: though some of the biggest lines were here, only the fried chicken gua bao was worth the wait. The pork version was dry and light on filling – would go for the Red Spice Road pork belly instead.
• Gelato Messina x Wonderbao: the David Bao-wy  – deep fried gua bao sandwiching salted coconut sorbet with white chocolate-mango ganache & crushed cashews – is worth a try if you are a bao fan, though we felt that the bao-to-ice cream ratio was a bit off (more ice cream to bread please!). Friends also loved the gold wrapped Bullion Bar – layers of gulamalaka gelato & condensed milk gelato, passion fruit jelly, nut crunch & banana bread.

Other things we didn’t try but wanted to:

• Hoy Pinoy: skewers of barbecued chicken and pork belly rotate over coals all evening and are served to the masses in the hundreds – just the smell had us salivating.
• Din Tai Fung: the legendary Michelan star awarded dumpling which opened in Melbourne this year is offering up a few dumpling varieties.
• N2 Extreme Gelato & Blackstar Pastry: Sydney’s Blackstar Pastry is serving up their famous strawberry-watermelon-almond cakes, as well as a cake smash collaboration with N2 gelato.

Find the rest of the menu here.

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Bawa Cafe: Review
248 Burwood Road, Hawthorn
www.bawacafe.com

Named after Sri Lankan architect Geoffrey Bawa, the new Bawa cafe in Hawthorn should be next on your to-visit list. With design inspiration from Bawa’s signature style of tropical Modernism, the cafe is all floor-to-ceiling windows with prominent hanging greenery, giving it a bright airiness that is successful in making diners feel at least partially outdoors. With those of Barry, Square and Compass, Pillar of Salt and Three Bags Full behind the scenes, it wasn’t surprising that teething hiccups were conspicuously absent – it felt like a cafe that had run for months, rather than just days. The wait for a table was just as telling – to wait for seats on a Tuesday is unusual anywhere, let alone somewhere that has so new a social media presence.

The menu was one of the beBst I had seen in a while, with subtle twists on classic dishes at reasonable prices. The porridge is black quinoa and paired with cherry, cacao & sesame snaps ($14.5), the avocado smash has creamed corn, feta, hazelnuts and lime ($15), and the chilli scrambled eggs are served with pickled mushrooms, kaiserfleish & reggiano ($17.5). The potato roesti was very popular, and by the looks of those near us, for good reason – a large, crispy edged potato roesti is a bed for slow braised pork, poached eggs and a striking green herb hollandaise ($18). Lunch offerings are just as good, and include a superfood salad reminiscent of that of Pillar of Salt (with quinoa, shredded kale, wild rice, coriander, charred corn, salted ricotta, black turtle beans, heirloom tomatoes, jalapeno, gojis and a spicy lime vinaigrette – $16), a seared blackberry and lime cured ocean trout, with radicchio, basil, tomato, samphire and buttermilk ($20) and free range panko crusted chicken schnitzel dish with celeriac slaw & pickled apples ($18).

The Middle-Eastern inspired pressed lamb shoulder ($20) was one we couldn’t bypass: a thick slab of tender, flaking lamb is served on a bright purple cabbage puree with dollops of spiced harissa and topped with a cauliflower tabouli packed with herbs, pinenuts, barberries and finely cubed tomato. The flavours were just as bold as the colour, and we were both left wishing we didn’t have to share.

The next dish was almost as good: ricotta fritters ($18), light and not too sweet, are paired with a few different types of strawberry – fresh, freeze-dried, pureed – as well as a lightly scented thick lavender custard and a nutty candied pecan praline. Sweet but not sickly, this is one of the few sweet dishes around that I could easily eat twice over, and the strength of the strawberry flavour, perfect for spring, was the defining feature.

We finished on the fresh, fruity flavours of the current omni-present cafe chia pudding ($16). Rich with coconut, the chia pudding is topped with fresh mango, a tart passionfruit-mango puree, fresh berries, dehydrated blood-orange and bright green pistachios. Another winner in my books – the passionfruit puree cut through the sweetness and occasional heaviness of the chia, and it successfully walked the line between healthiness and tasting good.

Our only qualm was the iced black tonic: being a hot day in Melbourne, the combination of espresso, lime and tonic sounded ideal, but for us at least (and the table next door), that did not seem to transfer to flavour. The lime was strong, but the bitter nature of espresso on top of bitter tonic wasn’t our favourite. I would go for a regular coffee, or try one of the blended drinks – the spinach, kale, green apple, chia, flax and coconut water smoothie was particularly tempting.

Honesty – I can’t wait to go back. Everything about Bawa, from the top service, the tropical modernism design and bustling atmosphere to some of the most colourful cafe fare I have laid eyes on, is up with the best in Melbourne.

Rating: 8.5/10
Don’t miss: the pressed lamb shoulder or strawberry ricotta fritters
Do: try an off-peak time to avoid waits
Vibe: outdoorsy, bright and modern

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