On a recent trip back to Melbourne all the memories of good Melbourne food came flooding back.
I don't profess to be a food critic and haven't visited as many restaurants as I would like. I would like to share my favourites however. Favourites that we came across by good planning, chance, or even mistake, but we returned again and again for the food.
Il Fornaio
www.ilfornaio.net.au
Il Fornaio means The Baker in Italian. Taking a peek out the back there's a lot of stainless steel ovens and equipment churning out delicious baked items of all sorts. Out the front they churn out great cafe food and fantastic coffee. IMHO the best coffee in Melbourne.
The place is decked out with wood tables, comfy seats, and polished concrete floors. It would be too dark if not for the good use of glass at the front of the cafe letting all the natural light in. Creates a unique atmosphere.
Try the Croque Monsieur, or just try it all...
Leroy Espresso
191 Acland Street St Kilda
A great cafe in Acland St with a little hint of the deep south coming through in their corn-bread brekky.
If you're feeling a little out of the loop with popular culture pop in for breakfast and reconnect - the walls are plastered with all manner of posters advertising the latest bands and comedic characters.
Chinta Ria
www.chintariasoul.com.au
A couple of doors up from Il Fornaio - this is a modern Malaysian style restaurant with hints of soul music in the decor.
This is where my obsession with cooking the ultimate laksa began. If they can do it surely I can do it too...
Nam Loong
223 Russell Street Melbourne
Good cheap chinese.
If you order entree and main don't expect them to come out in that order - food arrives rather randomly.
If the place is pretty busy they'll probably seat you next to and/or in front of a total stranger.
...but that's all part of the experience. The food it good and the slight chaos makes things fun. Make sure you grab one of their steamed buns on the way out.
The Croft Institute
thecroftinstitute.net
We returned here not for food, and in some ways not even for the drink - but for the place.
To get to the Croft Institute you have to wind your way through the back streets of Chinatown. You follow a long cobblestone lane to the end and enter a bar that resembles an old science lab. Glass cabinets line the walls full of beakers and test-tubes.
The first time we visited The Croft Institute it was quite empty which made things even more eerie. I half expected to wake up the next morning in a bath full of ice.
Monarch Cakes
www.monarchcakes.com.au
You have not truly enjoyed chocolate cake until you have tried Monarch's chocolate Kooglhoupf.
Sold by weight, look for one that has an irregular shape. That indicates there's a lot of the chocolate mixture that's ended up in the cake pulling it down from the inside by sheer force of weight. Absolutely divine.
