Melbourne, the food capital of Australia, has a plethora of amazing dining options in the heart of the CBD. Here are just a few of my most memorable dining experiences during my 2016 solo trip to the city.
Cumulus Inc. is a casual eatery that's open throughout the day, serving breakfast all the way to dinner. There is also a wine bar upstairs called Cumulus Up for wine-lovers that opens in the evenings. I decided to have dinner here on the last weekend of August.
One of the plus points about dining here was the option to have half serves in order to try more dishes, and was especially suitable for solo diners like myself. Even so, I was still really full and satisfied after the meal. Most of the dishes I selected were based on what the waiters recommended and I wasn't disappointed at all, with consistently high quality of food. Speaking of which, they really knew the menu well and were attentive to diners' needs, so points again for good service.
Since I was dining alone, I sat at the bar counter, which had a good view of all the food preparation. I could definitely see the amount of care they put into the food, ensuring that plates are consistent and service is prompt - a really professional kitchen indeed. It's no surprise that this restaurant has consistently earned chef hats from The Age Good Food Guide for the past 6 years or so.
I had two amazing entrees to start - the smoked mackerel and smoked brisket. The mackerel was served on a toasted brioche and flavours were perfectly balanced, but the dish was a bit oily. The brisket, meanwhile, tasted divine together with the pickled kohlrabi and horseradish.
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| Smoked mackerel, brioche and roe |
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| Smoked brisket, pickled kohlrabi and horseradish |
I also enjoyed my first time trying a duck rillette. This was already a small dish to begin with so I was recommended to get the full portion. The duck was really tasty - the result of the meat being cooked slowly in fat (or so says Wikipedia); sinful but totally awesome.
I also got a serving of spanner crab salad. A light and refreshing dish that was still very tasty and a good warmup for the next dish, which was also my favourite of the night: the ricotta dumplings.
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| Duck rillette, pickled grapes, cornichons |
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| Baby cos, ruby grapefruit and spanner crab salad |
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| Ricotta dumplings, pumpkin and pinenuts |
The dumplings were served with a rich and smooth pumpkin puree, and combined with the pinenuts sprinkled on top and the crispy sage leaves, a truly outstanding and memorable dish.
Finally, I ended the meal with a rhubarb and hibiscus jelly dessert. The jelly was smooth, and it came with a refreshing coconut sorbet. Ginger beer was another interesting flavour that really tied the whole dish together.
Nicely done, Cumulus Inc. and Andrew McConnell! In total, the meal cost me about $70, which I felt was very reasonable for the quality of food and overall experience.
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| Rhubarb and hibiscus jelly, coconut sorbet, ginger beer |
Tonka serves modern Indian food, and is the sister of Coda restaurant. It is located along Duckboard Place, a laneway that's lined with many popular upscale restaurants. Both Tonka and Coda have received numerous awards, including one chef hat from The Age Good Food Guide Awards, just announced days ago. I had a great lunch here. All the recommendations were superb, service was great, and the dishes were all pretty unique and beautifully plated. Despite calling themselves an Indian restaurant, the concept is extremely modern.
They didn't have any tasting menu, so I just ordered a handful of small plates, and it was a truly mind-blowing experience. First, I tried the
Pani puri, which was a crispy parcel filled with spiced potato, mung beans, date and tamarind chutney with aromatic water. It was the perfect start to the meal; a burst of aromatic flavours when I put it in my mouth. The picture shows the aromatic water having already been poured into the parcel.
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| Pani Puri |
I had three other dishes, and every one was excecuted to perfection, full of flavour but nothing too overpowering. The
mustard chicken tikka from the tandoor with radicchio and puffed quinoa was small but certainly packed a punch. The chicken was delightfully tender and the mustard provided that extra kick of spice. The
soft-shell crab pakora was also another flavour bomb, with a excellent combination of pickled cucumber, lemon, chilli and mint. The crab was fried perfectly, with just the right amount of crunch. I also thoroughly enjoyed the
gin cured kingfish. The dish was beautifully plated and every element tasted as good as it looked on the plate. It came with tempered yoghurt, golden beets, asparagus and papadi.
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| Mustard chicken tikka |
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| Soft-shell crab pakora |
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| Gin-cured kingfish |
Finally, it was time for dessert, and I got their signature
Tonka carrot cake, served with carrot halwa, cream cheese ice cream, whipped marscapone, apricot coulis and cinnamon walnut crumble. It was another amazing looking dish and by far the best carrot cake I've tasted in my life. It looks nothing like a traditional carrot cake (or those you find in Singapore's hawker centres for that matter). The cake itself was absolutely delicious and everything else accompanying it was just perfect - possibly my favourite dessert in the entire trip.
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| Tonka Carrot Cake |
I did some research on popular burger places in Melbourne and
Huxtaburger was one of the top results. The burger definitely did not disappoint - instantly becoming my all-time favourite burger. The original filling "Huxtaburger" that includes beef patty, cheese, mustard, mayo, tomato sauce, tomato, lettuce and pickles goes for only $9.90 but I decided to get the "Bills" ($13.50) which has all of the above plus bacon, pineapple and beetroot. The flavours were phenomenal! With fries the meal cost me $18.
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| The "Bills" at Huxtaburger |
I actually arrived quite late (past 3pm) because I had just returned from a half-day trip out to the Puffing Billy Railway at Belgrave, so there were only a couple other customers. Aside from the branch in the CBD that I visited, there are also several other outlets in the suburbs. I had a hard time finding the place because I followed instructions on the website to access via Fulham Place, a small alley, but actually the joint is accessible via the main building entrance along Collins Street as well.
A quick mention goes to
Pei Modern, which has unfortunately since closed for good. It was featured in one of the team challenges in this year's Masterchef Australia. They offered a 3-course "Eat Pei Quick" Lunch menu for $49 inclusive of a cup of coffee. Good thing that lunch service was quite long (12-3pm) because I arrived quite late after a free tour of the Melbourne Town Hall that ended just past 2pm. Despite the fact that the service was ending, the food I received was still of really good quality. For entrée I had the potato and leek soup, followed by a really tender and tasty spatchcock, finishing off with a hearty bread and butter pudding. All were good but my favourite would have to be the main.
