Little Tommy Tucker

Finally there are the beginning  twinglings of good quality brunch places opening up south-side. Little Tommy Tucker is on the relatively busy side of Centre Rd in Bentleigh, very close to the station (so noone has an excuse not to hike out to suburbia!) It is a lovely set up inside with enough open space and light to remain friendly and open, coupled with a random/cute wooden cubby down the back where the kitchen operates.

Iced Coffee ($5.5) had a nice dollop of icecream, which made the coffee kick less intense.

The Chocolate Milkshake ($6.0) was not quite rich enough for me, very milky milkshake.

Lamb Sausages, Chilli Fried Eggs, Braised Baby Onions, Sourdough Toast, Celeriac Remoulade ($18.0) was the Big Breakfast option which I have vowed to never try - unless I am able to sample someone elses! The lamb sausage was meaty and dense, and I really liked the twist on the chilli eggs though they were not quite spicy enough for me. The sweet pickled onions were a nice lift on the dish, as was the creamy radish salad. 

  

The Crumbed Barramundi, Pea & Radish Salad, Herbed Couscous, House-made Tartare Sauce ($19.0) was soft on the inside and crispy battered on the outside. The tartar sauce wasn't too sour and the addition of the savoury sago balls was unexpected, but went surprisingly well with the dish. The salad was light and lightly seasoned; a nice healthy option.

The Kali Drinking Chocolate ($4.0) was on the bitter side, and quite a significant size too!

Tommy Tucker Wagyu Burger, Cheese, Lettuce, Pickled Cucumber, Mustard Aioli, Tomato Relish & Kipfler Wedges ($19.0) is a stocky, chunky burger, like those dudes you see coming out of the gym. It is packed with a juicy wagyu beef patty and pretty decent wedges. It probably isn't the soppiest burger I've had, so I would go elsewhere if I needed a burger hit.

This unassuming Pulled Otway Pork Roll, Fried Egg, Tomato Relish, Watercress ($13.0) was quite delicious. The pork was tender and tasty, and the tomato relish had a nice sweet kick to it. It was a nice simple little dish which ended up being surprisingly filling.

If you are looking for a traditional dessert dish, I would avoid the Cold Coconut & Chia Pudding, Maple Syrup, Banana & Walnut Crumb ($13.0). This was very strange, mostly due to the chia seeds being drenched in coconut milk and turned into a pudding that was almost too gluggy. That isn't to say it wasn't nice, but the taste definitely came as a bit of a surprise. It was a very light, refreshing dessert - almost not sweet enough for my liking, and the banana was slightly under-ripe, but I'm glad I stepped out of my comfort dessert zone. 

TL;DR Ultimately better food than Merchants Guild, though less variety. I'd return in a heartbeat - a small selection done well. 

Sugarhit K-Pop

The final in a series of three special collabs between Lux Bite x N2 Gelato x Mork Hot Chocolate, K-Pop celebrated the flavours of Korea, in the best form of all – dessert!

The warehouse style space was set out to facilitate walk-through queues so the crowd would (ideally) sample every stall holder’s wares.

#nextlevel CHOCO.PIE ($9.0)

The choco tart with whipped green tea ganache, dark choco coated yuzu marshmallow & caramelised rice puff was as beautiful as it sounded. It featured a rich chocolate base with green tea and white marshmallow covering the whole base. Kind of like a one-sided wagon wheel. It was decadent and delicious.

TUBE ($9.0)

This tube was so much better than the tart. It not only looked stunning, with its strawberry compote, Korean gold leaf plum wine jelly, black sesame milk, whipped cream, mocha and raspberry meringue, but it tasted unique on all the levels. The plum wine jelly at the bottom was light and refreshing, the meringue disc and raspberry compote tasted great and the addition of sago was ingenious. The only thing I didn’t enjoy as the line of sesame milk.

MELONA'S MELONS ($8.0)

Melon gelato with honeydew, rambutan & coconut jelly, finished with crystallised coconut shards & a yuzu sake pipette – not sure why I bought this as I’m not a huge fan of melon flavoured items, and while this didn’t taste as synthetic as other melon ice-creams, I still wouldn’t buy it again if I had the chance. The pipette was a cute idea though.

#LUXBITExN2 ($10.0) Inspired by Hotteok the Korean sweet pancake

Toasted waffle, brown sugar & cinnamon sauce, hazlenuts, roasted rice tea gelato & tea honey by N2, red bean, peanut butter snow. All waffles have the potential to be great in my books. Though I doubt LuxBite made their waffle, it was quite nice, even though it was slightly soft. The ice-cream was perfectly subtle, and the tea honey added a nice lift. There were hints of savoury from the red bean and hazelnut which was an interesting contrast but wasn’t particularly spectacular.

TL;DR Sugarhit have stepped it up each time, going to show that practice does indeed make perfect. 

Beatrix - rolling update

Beatrix is one of the few places I am willing to consistently travel out of my way for, even if it is just for a quick take away (the other being Messina Gelato). I have been a long standing fan of Nat’s delicious inventions snuggled in a fresh ciabatta roll, simply because they eat like a meal not just a simple baguette or sandwich. Also, her cakes are to DIE FOR. The biggest range is delivered with a smile on Saturday but each day’s delights are updated on facebook around 10am.

I’d suggest trying:

• the Coconut Shagg cake
• the Elvis cupcake
• the Vitty (sponge, marscapone, strawberries and marsala)
• Fig and ricotta tartlets in pinenut pastry / Ricotta and strawberry tartlets
• Peanut Butter caramel Banoffee Pie
• Pecan Maple and Bourbon Pie
• Dr Hogg apple pie with super rich vanilla custard
• Quince and brown butter tart
• Rhubarb custard crumble tart
• Flourless chocolate roulade with ricotta cream and strawberries

[I’ll post photos as I get them, lately I’ve just been stuffing face too quickly]

The raspberry and strawberry meringue roulade is one of my favourite cakes at Beatrix, unfortunately it only comes round during Summer. A light, addictive cake which hits all the right spots.

The Quince and vanilla Crème brûlée tart is a fantastic take on the traditional egg-y dessert. Made with organic eggs and vanilla bean, the crème custard is heavy but delicious. The only thing I would change is having a thicker caramelised top, to shatter and crunch through whilst enjoying the subtle quince taste.

The tiramisu tart in cocoa cookie crust is a perfect balance of marscapone and coffee soaked cake layers. Some tiramisu I have tasted in the past either have too much moisture, sweetness or the coffee overpowers the dish, none of which occur here.

Nat's Tarte Tatin is always a hearty affair, thick with apples and pastry perfectly baked with caramelisation around the tops and edges; baked fresh and served warm with chantilly cream it is one of the best Tarte Tatin's I have tasted but due to its irregular baking schedule I am constantly wanting more. 

The Saffron poached doyenne pear and chocolate frangipane tart is an interesting combination of a crumbly chocolate base with sweet poached pears. It is quite fragrant and not as heavy as other chocolate cakes.

The salted caramel chocolate slice is decadence in a slice. Each layer is a perfect size, the caramel is smooth and luscious, the chocolate is dark but not too bitter and the base is crumbly like shortcake. Quite a regular on most days so you won't have to worry about missing this one.

The Yotam Ottolambie; spiced and slow roasted Plains Paddock lamb, smoky eggplant/tomato/cucumber salad, herbs and toasted almonds. Yes, it really does taste as good as it sounds. Nat was inspired by chef Yotam Ottolenghi in this delicious concoction, and all I can say is how excited I would be if I were to be invited to Nat’s for a dinner party – she would represent. This ciabatta was so tasty, the lamb was juicy and tender, the salad rolled together with all the tastes of roast veggies at its best. The almonds gave a nice little crunch to each bite, adding texture to a dish that is so full of depth you wouldn’t believe it is presented in a roll rather than on a dinner plate in front of a fireplace in winter.

The Tuco; really slow cooked warialda belted galloway beef brisket, charred chilli salsa, corn, crema, radish and coriander slaw and crispy tortilla bits was like a Mexican fiesta in my mouth. I started off just tasting the corn and even that was so full of flavour, charred and popping sweet. Nat has considered every layer of this concoction. The beef has a delicious spicy kick to it and is so perfectly tender  The salad furthers this dish into the realm of meal once again, with the tortilla chips finishing off the ciabatta.

The Laika: Harris Smokehouse hot smoked salmon, fresh beetroot and dill slaw and Lightwood Organic's desiree potato salad; is probably one of my favourite ciabattas from Beatrix. The combination of salmon and potato can't be beat, except perhaps with the Lady Trout which is much like a Nicoise Salad in a ciabatta. The chunks of salmon are huge and satisfying and there is a perfect amount of potato salad mayo. So much win.

Other ciabattas you should try:

• The Babe: slow roasted pork shoulder, dill and pink lady apple slaw and crackling
• Lady Trout: harris smokehouse hot smoked ocean trout with kipfler potato, green beans, egg, roasted tomato and parsley with black olive aoili. 
• The Chairman: pork belly in our char sieu style sauce, iceberg, sesame mayonnaise, snow pea sprouts, mint and Szechuan pepper salt
• La Boef: cold roast beef, kipfler potato salad, beans, roasted tomato, roquette and tarragon mayonnaise.
• Senor Spud: (meat free) caramelised onion, potato and egg tortilla with roasted red peppers and green olive aioli
• The Furio: rare roasted Warialda Belted Galloway beef rump cap with tonnato mayonnaise (tuna and caper), radicchio slaw and crispy parmesan wafers

TL;DR Love me some Beatrix, the beginnings of my food adventures.

Burch & Purchese

Burch & Purchese have a lovely store off the quiet end of Chapel St, where you will often be rewarded with slivers of the latest cake or chocolate, and tempted by the mounds of meringue clouds, or freshly prepared chocolate blocks lining the walls. Darren Purchese is often seen, concocting his latest creations at the back of the shop, and sometimes serving with a smile. I however, am largely distracted by their cake cabinets, often wanting to try all flavours, all at once, all the time.

Pistachio, Green Tea, Yuzu, Blackcurrant, White Chocolate ($8.0)

I was drawn to this cake as I love green tea, and the Japanese inspired flavours seem to be quite popular these days, with Yuzu used as an alternative citrus flavour to traditional mandarin/orange/lemon/lime. This cake was quite delicate; with the hint of green tea sponge and cream so subtle I almost missed it. The yuzu jelly and curd and pistachio cake were the most prominent flavours which I tasted. Even the blackberry cream, which I expected to dominate the cake, was in the background of flavours, along with the white chocolate mousse.

Beetroot, Strawberry, Rose, Vanilla & White Chocolate ($8.0)

This multi-layered cake is made up of beetroot sponge, strawberry & rose jam, rose vanilla cream, yoghurt sponge, strawberry cream, crunchy almond meringue, vanilla pastry cream, white chocolate & vanilla cream, strawberry gel and topped with a micro beetroot sponge. The beetroot sponge was quite dry and not as spongy and moist like the pistachio cake base. The rose flavours came out quite strongly, but this cake was more balanced and cohesive than the Pistachio/Green Tea. I enjoyed the clear jelly-like layer on top of the cake, but unfortunately the crunch almond meringue was lost amongst the other layers.

Raspberry, Laurent Perrier Champagne, Peach & Lemon (Gluten Free, $7.0)

The tubes from B&P are constantly changing, and I think this was one of my favourites. It featured raspberry jam, lemon curd, blood peach cream, raspberry compote, white chocolate & raspberry blondie sponge, champagne & white chocolate mousse and a pink velvet spray which is quite signature to B&P. Though this tube is extremely sweet, and I couldn’t finish it in one sitting, the smooth mousse was combined very well with the more tart tasting curd and compote.

Explosive Raspberry Milk Chocolate (Nut Free, $7.0)

A heavier tube compared to above, the raspberry cream and marshmallow, fresh compote, choc chip cookie crumb, red chocolate velvet sprayed raspberry and milk chocolate mousse and chocolate popping candy made for deeper, more rich flavoured tube. Again, the raspberry was used to bring out some tartness to the dessert, but overall the best part was the popping candy!

Chocolate, Mandarin, Salted Caramel (Nut Free, 18cm cake, $49.0)

This cake was made from aerated chocolate shortbread, orange & lemon marmalade, mandarin cream, Murray River salted caramel cream, dark chocolate mousse, shiny chocolate mirror glaze and freeze dried mandarin. This mousse cake was a deep rich chocolate, highlighted with salted caramel notes. However, the orange and lemon marmalade made the cake quite sour and bordering on salty, which didn’t get balanced adequately by the chocolate mousse. Not my favourite choice from B&P, though it is visually pretty spectacular. 

TL;DR Burch and Purchese are one of my favourite, consistent cake shops!