Espresso and Matcha's Foodie Odyessy - Melbourne Day 4 Lunch : Udon Yasan

After an arduous morning of shopping, we headed back to the cbd for lunch. Looking for some simple but nourishing Japanese food, we came upon Udon Yasan along Bourke Street.

Being akin to Mappen, it was set in a factory chain like manner, with noodles or rice being served first, and then sides being obtained on a DIY basis before paying and finding a seat.

Available sides were generally of the fried variety as well.

After paying, we had options of free condiments and a selection of free teas, which I was very impressed with.

My confidante had the beef udon, with a side of karrage chicken, crab cream croquette and karaage chicken. I tried some of the beef, which was thinly sliced and very tender. However the sides were unfortunately cold by the time we had it.

On the other hand, I had a plain udon with sweet beancurd, and a side of crab cream croquette and inari (which I had started to eat before remembering that I needed to take photos of it). Again, I found the udon to be amazingly fresh, springy, and cooked to a very delicious texture. Served with the light broth and unlimited shallots and wakame seaweed, it definitely outdid Mappen on that basis. However, the sides could have been much better if heated properly. Whilst the inari could be cold, the crab cream croquette definitely can't.

Price Range: $7 - $15pp

Taste: 8/10
Value: 9/10
Service: 7/10
Environment: 7/10

Espresso and Matcha's Foodie Odyessy - Melbourne Day 4 Morning Tea : American Doughnut

During our morning at the markets, we stumbled across American Doughnut which had quite a lineup. With my usual curiosity when there is a hype, my confidante and I joined the line.

With the deal of $5.50 for 5 pieces, that's what we got.

Being vastly different from the ones at Krispy Kreme or Doughnut Time, they were quite hot for being freshly fried, and covered with a simple light sugar. Being quite doughy, and filled with a little strawberry jam in the middle. Because it was so doughy, the two of us had a lot of trouble finishing the five pieces. Nevertheless, with the uprise of highly coloured highly frosted doughnuts, I can definitely understand the allure of reverting to traditional styles of doughnuts.

Price Range: $5.50 for 5 pieces

Taste: 8/10
Value: 9/10
Service: 7/10
Environment: 7/10

Espresso and Matcha's Foodie Odyessy - Melbourne Day 4 Breakfast : Queen Victoria Markets

For Day 4 of my Foodie Odyessy, we decided for breakfast to pay homage to one of Melbourne's icons - the Queen Victoria Markets. Being relatively close to where we stayed we opted to take the opportunity to explore Melbourne by foot, and walked there for breakfast. We noted that there were a lot of other people, and thankful that it was indoors as it was quite rainy that day. 

Our first stop for the morning was the Bratwurst Shop, which was both highly popular and also very crowded. There was a large range of sausages available, along with sandwiches, pastries and drinks such as coffee. We were really attracted to the smell of the sausages on the grill, roasting away. And so we lined up and ordered. 

There were a large range of condiments and additions, such as onions, cheese sauerkraut and pickles.

Opting to have here, meant carrying the hotdog and coffee whilst in hunt for a table, which was very difficult to find.

I had the Weisswurst with mustard and cheese. Weisswursts are traditionally made of minced veal and pork, mixed with parseley, lemons and mint. Apparently there is a rule that as you eat them freshly made, they shouldn't be eaten after lunch due to its perishable nature, thus I had it for breakfast. The sausage had a far finer texture compared to other ones I've tasted, and it was grilled to have a crispy outside and the filling was quite soft. The cheese was coarsely grated, and the heat as insufficient to melt the cheese, and the mustard added quite a lot of zing to the hotdog. The bun was quite a letdown though, tasting akin to the supermarket varieties.

I also ordered a cappuccino, which was pretty standard fare, but nothing special. 

My companion, who was not feeling too well that morning, opted for soup that morning, which he sourced from Ladle and Tong, next door from the Bratwurst Shop. From their range of soups he opted for the chicken and mushroom soup, which was quite thick. He said it reminded him of quite a homey soup that one would make at home. He also found it to be slightly salty, but the aftertaste was quite delicious, which was quite comforting start to the morning.

Espresso and Matcha's Foodie Odyessy - Melbourne Day 3 Lunch : Tim Ho Wan

The day that we arrived at Melbourne also happened to be the day that Tim Ho Wan opened in Melbourne. Not wanting to take part in the first day hype, I waited until Day 3 to go and try it out.

With our rather filling breakfast, we opted for lunch rather late in the afternoon, but not surprisingly, still had to line up. Luckily our line up was only for a short period of half an hour

Luckily for us, the illustrated menu was situated outside, so we could consider our options whilst waiting in line.

Once we completed our lineup, we were promptly seated. Condiments and cutlery was already placed on the table.

 

We ordered via the double sided tick sheet, and the bill came right after. The staff would tick each item off the bill as it came.

We started the meal with two cups of Chinese tea, whilst we didn't get a choice on the brew, it was a warm soothing Pu Er tea. 

The first thing we had was the beancurd roll with pork and prawn. I really enjoyed this in their Sydney store, and found it also very enjoyable in this store. The sauce was not as gluggy as other places, but rather rich in taste. The beancurd was fresh, and there was quite a lot of prawns in the filling, and the flavours complimented one another quite well.

The Siu Mai came out second. With its goji berry on top (as opposed to the usual little piece of carrot), my impression was a good one. The fillings were fresh, and the pastry was reasonably thin. Best of all, it was served straight from the steamer.

On the topic of steaming though, the prawn dumplings, which are the most well known of yum cha dishes was unfortunately over steamed to the point where the skin had started to disintegrate. Other than this major flaw, it would have been quite a delicious dumpling, as the prawns were quite large and fresh albeit overcooked.

Although I wasn't a particular fan, my companion loves his steamed meat balls. My companion particularly likes the fact the beef balls did not come with the Worcestershire sauce served on top as for him he prefers the sauce separated from the dish. My companion noted the meatball was well seasoned, the meat was springy and not dry from overcooking. I noticed the tofu skin was light and clung to the meatball. Although steamed it was a generous serving and well flavoured.

Our next dish was one of Tim Ho Wan's signature dishes, the Baked bun with BBQ  pork. As you can see unlike the steamed variant the pastry is baked! Despite its crumbly outer shell, the pastry itself was surprisingly soft. Inside the meat was very saucy and well seasoned. My companion enjoyed the bun as well and we both agreed it certainly was the signature dish of Tim Ho Wan.

Overall we enjoyed our time at Tim Ho Wan, with the retro Hong Kong beats and the din of busy diners it captures a golden era of Yum Cha dining that today is rarely replicated in other establishments. With it's emphasis on quality, it is understandable why Tim Ho Wan was voted the best restaurant in Asia.

Price Range: $20 - $25pp

Taste: 7.5/10
Value: 7/10
Service: 7/10
Environment: 9/10

Espresso and Matcha's Foodie Odyessy - Melbourne Day 3 Breakfast : Hardware Societe

Day three began as quite a rainy day, which cooled us down quite a bit. Still, my confidante and I braved the rain to walk across most of Melbourne's CBD (we still hadn't gotten used to the trams yet), and made our way to one of the most popular breakfast spots in town. The Hardware Societe, situated on Hardware Lane.

Being such a popular breakfast joint meant that of course it was packed full when we arrived. Having much prior experience with waiting for extended periods of time for breakfast, we had expected quite a long wait. We were given nice cushioned seats in front of the pastry cabinet, and then pleasantly surprised at the efficiency of staff, and were provided with a table in less than 15 minutes.

A menu was provided and we ordered drinks simultaneously (efficiency yet again!). The menu was very extensive, and contained things that I wouldn't normally expect in a cafe, let alone during breakfast time, such as Confit Duck and Lobster Benedict. However, being the risk adverse conservative people we are, we settled for regular breakfast style foods.

Our drinks came within 5 minutes, and we ordered our food at the same time (again, EFFICIENCY!). My confidante had the English Breakfast tea, which came in an adorable tea cosy. It would seem that tea cosies are really popular in Melbourne. So popular that we bought one home later in the day. He liked the strength of the tea and commented that it was perfect to warm him up after the rain. As for me, I got the cappuccino, which was strong but not acidic, whilst retaining its creaminess. What we both particularly enjoyed though was the little cake/cookie? that was complimentary. It was a little crunchy on the outside and coated in sugar, but was soft on the inside like a cake, with a strong caramel smell to it.

We appreciated the sight of the chefs busily cooking away whilst sipping on our drinks, and before long, our food was also served.

My confidante ordered the Croque Madame, which contained pork rillette, seeded mustard bechamel, with a beetroot and fennel salad

I opted for the Deux Baked Eggs, which contained choizo, potato, piquillo peppers, queso mahon, toasted almonds and aioli. It came in a little cast iron pot, and had some bread on the side. It turned out to be a very comforting dish, with the creaminess of the eggs, cheese and aioli contrasted with the spiciness of the chorizos, the almonds added quite a bit of crunch to the pot, and I really enjoyed it.

Price Range: $20 - $25pp

Taste: 8/10
Value: 8/10
Service: 9/10
Environment: 8/10