Auction Rooms

103-107 Errol St, North Melbourne Victoria

Since Mr Price wasn’t opened, we walked around the corner to Auction Room.

Did some earlier research of my own on this place and immediately recognised the worn blue building.

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It was very busy as we stepped in but the rather warm and chirpy door person in charge of table reservation (let's call him Mr Chirpy) put us quicky at easy assuring that we'll be seated soon, in about 20 min time or so!

It was cold and drizzly outside so we hung around the small waiting area patiently for our table. It was a good thing as we were able to observe and basically enjoy the atmosphere and surroundings. It’s a combination the energy, the crowd (should probably qualify that when I went it was full but not bursting mad so service was acceptable), the friendly staff, the vibe mixed with the modest yet rustic and modern surroundings that makes this an awesome place to hang out. Oh, the food and coffee is not bad too. We were informed by Mr Chirpy that it usually gets much busier than this and the waiting line into this place could crawl out around the building! So be warned.

The tiny waiting area is located just next to the kitchen so we got a pretty good view of everything!



Got down busy to studying the menu and asked for ideas on what maybe good, not to mention openly eaves dropping on what others thought sounded good too. But P looked at me and said "Why read when you can see what you want!" Stunned for a micro second, hey that was pure solid advice and so we passed our remaining time commenting and drooling over what potentially looked and smelt good from the kitchen.



Must be being in a foreign place that makes me a little bolder thick skinned cos the next thing I did was started food porning! *much to the shocking amusement of my friend – what can I say, I tend to forget myself when I’m around food???* Haha….the rest of you food porners appreciators no need to thank me, just enjoy the pictures ~ think I was pushing my limit as I was all ready be screamed at by the head kitchen chef for snapping pictures because as surely as a dish hit the serving counter, out comes my camera!! *click, click* Hahahaha – thinking about it now, I must have seemed rather silly but oh what a blast I had! :)



chai poached pear, quince, apple & rhubarb with hazelnut praline and vanilla labna.



coconut-stuffed French toast with tamarind caramel, vanilla crème fraiche, coriander and lime.



daily soup special served with toasted sour dough bread.



banana bread with espresso butter & maple syrup.



poached free range eggs on sour dough toast with vegetarian baked beans and spinach.

honey-toasted macadamia muesli with poached pear & cinnamon yogurt.


shady deal – Moroccan tomato & chorizo stew with olives, poached eggs, Meredith goat’s feta & dukkah served with grilled flat bread.



coriander falafel and poached eggs on grilled flat bread with cumin and mint yogurt, tabbouleh, dukkah & tahini dressing.



Being up close to the food snapping away, knew I just had to order this dish as the sauteed wild mushroom just smelt fantastic!!



poached free range eggs on sour dough toast.



poached free range eggs with toasted sour dough bread, bashed avocado and vegetarian baked beans.




Being giddy silly from the food porn I almost gave Mr Chirpy a hug when he finally announced that our table was ready!

As usual the coffees came first. Actually I'd much rather it come together served with the food but guess it kills the waiting time.



P had the knuckle sandwich – braised pork knuckle with piccalilli, rocket & montgomery’s cheddar in a warm ciabatta roll with a pickled chilli.
It sounded and looked interesting but......tasted so-so.


counter bid – sautéed wild mushrooms & baby spinach on rosemary and parmesan polenta, served with mascarpone & salsa verde.

This was what I order and it was every bit as G-O-O-D as it smelt! The smokey fragrance of the sautéed wild mushrooms paired well with the parmesan polenta soaking up the juices. Y.U.M!! Though next time will skip the eggs as it was all just a tad too much for me.



Just to wanted to make mention that I really like the working dynamics of the staff who were really relaxed, warm and friendly ~ though I'm not sure whether this will last in the face of extreme crowd pressure & stress when the cafe is bursting full with a super mad long queue waiting to get in. At my visit, even though the cafe was pretty busy, they were fabulous and didn’t lose their friendly composure. This is a BIG plus for me. You know what I mean right, there are places where the atmosphere and food is really good but the service and attitude just sucks, ruining the entire dinning experience.



I’ll definitely be back – so please stay good and don’t change for the worse OK!



Their own coffee grinder.

Mosey on to read what the local foodies have to say:
melbournegastronome
jeroxie
breakfastblog
breakfast1

Mac Hunt

Despite the title, must say that I didn’t intentionally seek out them out on the trip downunder. Surprisingly, these colourful, dainty, charming and yet fragile morsels are more easily available thesedays! Latest fad perhaps?? No longer an elusive rare treat found in specialist gourmet shops or limited to the regions of France, notably the famed Laduree or Pierre Herme. Though none could be found at McDonalds yet ~ read more here or here, needless to say there are some cries of outrage in the patisserie industry by the mere thought of it being sold there!! But as consumers I'm sure we aren't complaining.

In fact, easily found them from the cafes below (unfortunately didn’t manage to taste those from LePetit Gateau where I'm told is pretty good too).

Laurent – tried their mango-passion fruit, strawberry, chocolate & pistachio

Cacao – tasted their chocolate, salted peanut butter & passion fruit

Jones the Grocer – ate their pistachio

Browns – indulged on their blood orange

Side note that Browns also have other delicious looking desserts.

Assorted cakes.

Variety of muffins, cupcakes and sandwiches.

With a free flow of supply, couldn’t pass up on sampling some as I went along as I've been wanting to compare the difference between the homemade ones and those made ‘professionally’. NOT saying I make the best macarons but just wanted to check that I’m heading in the right direction so to speak.

OK, enough chatter, what’s my take?

Out of all the macarons tasted, my PERSONAL FAVOURITES are salted peanut butter from Cacao and mango-passion fruit from Laurent. The rest were a little dull in taste for me.

In terms of ‘size’ or value for money, Jones the Grocer wins this hands down. For AUD2.50, you’ll get a really BIG treat! Compare that with Browns which is small. In fact the rather tiny (if not a tad minuscule) circle might just make you cry – about the size of a AUD0.20 cent, mind you that their 20cent coin is about our Malaysian RM0.50cent coin.

BUT SIZE ISN’T EVERYTHING - is it??? lolz

Even though the macaron from Jones the Grocer is the largest, taste-wise and aesthetic appeal looks-wise it was lacking. Also found it rather chewy and bland in taste. As hard as I tried telling my brain that its suppose to be pistachio but sadly the taste just didn't come through.

Filling wise, Browns seem to have made and stored them at the right temperature as the fillings from the other stores were on a ‘soft’ side. A little too ‘mushy’ for my liking. But the Browns blood orange macaron was way too neon shocking orange; prefer them lightly pastel and more natural coloured looking.

As for the shell itself, noted that Browns were hollow. Should I be shouting for joy? Maybe not as some would say that it is not suppose to be hollow.

Cost-wise if you like to know and really with the marginal difference, what you really should be looking for is quality and the overall pairing with the filling combination:
Laurent – AUD2.40
Cacao – AUD2.4
Jones the Grocer – AUD2.50
Browns – AUD1.95

Yes what can I say, when you indulge on a macaron – you DO NOT just shove it into your mouth and devourer it all in ONE BIG BITE, but take tiny nibbles and dainty appreciative bites. Like fine wine or aged cheese, you first need to check for its appearance as to whether it has the very important ‘feet’ (like ruffled skirt bottoms), of the right ‘bite’ size and has a nice ‘dome’ shape. Actually only Laurent had really puffed out or obvious protruding feet while the rest had feet but the high ones – haha, hope I’m not losing you with the small semantics but I think the type of feet depends on which method the macaron is made ~ Swiss, French or Italian method. Don't want to bore you with technicalities, but if interested you can read more from Ms. Humble.

Before you write me off as a self-described ‘macaron snob’, I’m not. But having self-taught to bake these French confection from scratch the hard way, pouring through countless books and relying other blog bakers for handy tips and understanding how ‘finicky’ they can be to getting it right and perfect, its hard not to savour eat one without appreciating or getting all excited about them for their true essence.

There is not only a specific 'art' in making macarons but also on savouring this decadent dessert. What can I say – its French, and not just any French food but supposedly a ‘fussy high-class’ one too (thus all the elaborate ‘etiquette’ that goes with it)!!! haha

For more specific connoisseur instructions on how to eat a macaron, read more here or here.

In summary, you do not EAT macaron but savour and appreciate every indulging bite!!!

Shape, colour, size, feet, filling….what’s more important is not just that they are pleasing to the eye but also worthy to the palette, which you must agree with me is all very personal! :)

Will end the post by way of passing that if you want to experience the coffee café charms, Melbourne is really a place for this – there is so many cafes (each with their own unique charms and appeal) to choose from that you may have to be rolled out of Australia if you tried them all, not to mentioned that you’ll probably be super ‘high’ on caffeine!! In fact noticed a steady interest and trend with Melbournians, all taking their coffee to a very refreshing but also serious level!!! More about this in a later post.

Laurent Pattiserie

Starting with some playful shots....

guess this is what happens when you overload on macs and caffeine!! You start seeing things that aren't necessary there....haha!

If you didn't get that, here's another take.

This is a very cosy cafe - great for a quick lunch sandwich and other hot food. Its also comfortable enough to relax and catch up with your friends.

The main attraction for me however is the..... macaron! They have other pretty looking cakes but since they are mainly sponge cake with cream, I'd rather save my guilty calories for the former!

Mango-passion fruit - Y.U.M!!
Really dig the filling, full of flavours.
Enjoyed every nibble with my skinny late.



Like other customers, had a hard time deciding what to order.



Cosy interior of a Laurent outlet.



They bake their own fresh breads too so they have a great range of sandwich filling to be paired with different breads.


The good thing about Laurent is that they have a few outlets around Victoria making them easily accessible and convenient to visit!!

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Mr Price Food Store

502 Queensberry St, North Melbourne Victoria

I'd knew that I'll be ask ~ "Where do you want to go?"

So I was well prepared for an answer....

"Some place quirky please!"

quirky?? that really did put some mental headache on my friends who had to um-ha, let's see...errr....

Anyway, this is P's pick for some place "quirky".

Mr Price Food Store.

And what's so 'quirky' about it???

Was told that this cafe is operated and manned by the owner himself, Gary who also doubles or is that triple up as the host, the waiter, the chef and probably does all the washing and cleaning too. Talk about 'one man kick show' (in cantonese)!

Not only that what's available on the menu changes daily, depending on what Gary manages to source at the market that morning (and I suppose which side of the bed he wakes up too!!).

The decoration of the cafe is rather laid back with a homey feel, uniquely peppered with odd stuff that Gary owns including a good range of books he's read, furniture, some art pieces, pictures of places he has travelled, etc.

It's almost like dining and chilling out in someone else private living room or kitchen!

Interesting huh?

Unfortunately, the cafe was not opened when we rocked up for breakfast ~ either we were early (it past 9am) or perhaps the cafe only opens from 12pm on Saturdays??

So all I could do is peek in and take a couple of pictures of Gary's home albeit living room.

Noticed there's a piano too - wonder if Gary will entertain us with a song too?

Will have to ask Gary next time.

Mosey on to find what local foodies have to say about Mr Price Food Store:

halfeaten

startupblog

theage

Square cupcakes

D's been blowing my horn a tad too much (much to my annoyance)!! Was asked to show L how to bake cuppie cakes for Y, which I actually don't mind since I do enjoy baking.

But imagine baking in someone's kitchen with very basic (if none at all) baking tools and ingredients. Whilst the latter one can easily purchase the former seem to be more challenging since I didn't want to impose too much on L and cramp her kitchen with things she may not want in the long term.

Tried my best to avoid and after much bequest being put on the spot and just couldn't refuse, I did with what I could and unfortunately ended up with 'square' cupcakes!! *there goes my thunder, haha*

How did I get 'square' cupcakes??? Was hoping the paper cups would hold the shape even doubling them but alas, it didn't and so ended up basically with a MESS!!!

Tried to stay calm as possible! As surely, one man's 'meat' (or in this case messed up cake) can be another man's pie. Also consoled myself that I 'messed up' (coughs) so that L can avoid what I did, haha

The secret is in the dressing. Yes baby, its how you dress and sell it. As the cakes were expanding uncontrollably in the oven *sob* I quickly announced to Y that I'll be making 'square' cupcakes for her while her mother will make nice round ones another time!! Oh dear, thankfully Y accepted the explanation without any fuss!!

The 'square' cupcakes drizzled in blue chocolate, sprinkles, marshmallows and jelly beans.

Now what kid (not to mention grown up) would like it???

am i selling well????

If the 'square' cupcakes didn't manage to take your fancy, then perhaps one of these lovely white chocolate fudge balls would????

Actually these fudge balls were more of a hit than the dressed up 'square' cupcakes - must be more sprinkles since they are made from the same cake??? What do you think?


Shots of the cupcake tray.

More shots of our little cupcake party !!

As for me?????

Well I actually enjoyed the 'square' cupcake plain!

Despite the forlorn and want of a better looking shape, the vanilla butter cake tasted really good with a hot cuppa!! :)

What did Y think? Well needless to say she was very happy jumping (literally) around as I was dressing the tray with the cupcakes. She was also super good and helped with setting up the table with forks and plates as we had our little tea party.

Mentioned to L that there's definitely something MAGICAL about the colourful sprinkles that tames kids and make them all agreeable and willing to be well-behaved, wouldn't you agree?? (well...a few golden moments of peace until the sugar rush kicks in haha)