Cheers Bar & Grill, Bangkok

When I first heard about a new place called Cheers on Sukhumvit soi 22, I couldn't help but think of Cheers, the fictional Boston bar that dominated tv screens in the UK and US back in the 80s.

I've been to a 'Cheers' bar before.  But that one was in London, back in the late 90s, when life was all about working and playing.  These days, it's more about working and eating . . . in my case at least.  

I arrived here yesterday lunch time, ready for a sit down and a bite to eat after a somewhat taxing language lesson. 

Having walked from Asoke BTS, it only took me about six or so minutes.  It was a nice day and frankly, I needed the walk.

Located underneath the Regency Hotel, Cheers Bar & Grill is on the right hand side of the Soi when walking down from Sukhumvit road.  

The interior looks brand spanking new, which is a good thing, seeing as this place only opened on 2nd December.  I must admit, I felt a little honoured to be one of their earlier customers.

Kitted out in teak wood, the bar is at the back, three flat screen televisions, plenty of tables and chairs and a couple of high tables on the balcony for those who love to people watch (although it can get noisy outside!). 

A waitress instantly greeted me, allowed me to sit where I wanted to - which was in the corner on the large table - and gave me a menu to study.

And study it, I did.  The frosted plastic covered menu is fairly extensive as menus go: sandwiches with chips from 200 baht, steaks (from 600 baht, pizzas, pastas, fish and chips, Thai and Isaan food from 150 baht.  I can't name them all, but there is lot on offer.  Apparently there was more, but it's been cut down?! 

For vegetarians, I did notice that there weren't any dedicated vegetarian dishes.  And as one customer politely pointed this out, she was duly accommodated and was able to have her dish prepared with no meat.

I, as a meat eater (trying to reduce my consumption though) ordered a simple dish, stir fried rice noodles with chicken and vegetables (sen yai phad se-uw gai) at 150 baht.  It came presented in a lovely clean white dish - which made for a refreshing change.  Usually, I get it slopped onto a plate, no wiping away any spills.  But then I am partial to eating this at cheaper, no frills spared establishments.  

This sen yai phad se-uw gai was steaming hot and after I got my compulsory four condiments to personalise it, I began to dig in.  It was tasty and hit the just right spot.     

This place is still so new, I feel it's yet to make an impact.  I imagine it's a busy place in the evenings where many 'farangs' would flock to.

Service is polite, the place is clean.  The other dishes that came out of the kitchen looked generous and my friend tells me, their steaks are pretty tasty. 

Likes: The clean plate that my noodles came in.

Dislikes: The slightly too loud 80s glam rock music (I'm not that young anymore) which I grew out of in my late teens.  But those with a glam rock disposition will love it.

Final Thoughts: I am sure this new kid on the block will be a popular place for farangs and tourists alike. 

Cheers Bar & Grill
12/3 Sukhumvit Soi 22, Klong Toei, Bangkok 10110
Tel: +66 (0)2 259 7420

Nearest BTS: Phrom Phong, exit 3.  Go down the stairs instead of into Emporium and carrying on walking straight ahead until you get to Soi 22 on your left hand side.  Turn down Soi 22 and Cheers Bar & Grill is a few hundred metres on your right.

Tweet

Bar Bar Black Sheep, Boat Quay, Singapore



If you grew up in England, then the name of the bar sounds familiar.  For those who didn't, who don't know what I'm talking about ... it shares the same sounding name as a fairly old English nursery rhyme. 

Anyhow, back to the bar, this place serves up Western, Thai and Indian food.  It's located pretty much in the middle of Boat Quay, which is packed with restaurants and bars.  A popular area with the afterwork crowd and tourists alike.

I met with an old friend who recently moved to Singapore for a quick afterwork bite and a catchup.  Seeing as I was in the mood for a burger (and my friend Mr. A was too), we decided to try our luck at this place.

With the few tables outside all occupied, as well as the bar stools, there were only a handful or so tables inside and we managed to grab the last available table at the back.

The waitress eagerly came along with menus and took our drink orders.  There's a good choice of food, but like I said, I was really hankering after a burger.  So of course being in South-East Asia, I went for the Rendang beefburger.  The waitress asked how I wanted it done, to which I replied, "medium".

Without trying to sound funny here, I was a little surprised not to see any lamb burgers on the menu.  I actually prefer lamb burgers to the beef variety.  Perhaps lamb costs a lot more than beef over here as they have to import it from further away, or maybe they are just not popular in Singapore to warrant putting on the menu ... who knows ....

My verdict on the burger; the bun had been toasted, but the bread was really chewy.  I also found the burger meat a little chewy, and it was medium to well done.  The sauce had a bit of a kick which added a subtle spicyness to the burger. 

Chips were good though and the coleslaw (like any regular commercial coleslaw found in supermarkets all over the UK) was a little bit too creamy for my taste, but that's only because I have grown to love good old homemade coleslaw.

For around $14.50, I guess it's not the cheapest burger in town, nor the most expensive either. 

Bar Bar Black Sheep, not a bad place to come with friends after work or even at lunch time.  Location is right on the river, the place is buzzing in the evenings, the bar is really quite pleasant and there are lots of other bars if you wanted to do a bit of a crawl.

Bar Bar Black Sheep
55 Boat Quay, Singapore 049844

HOURS
Mon-Thu: 12pm-12am
Fri: 12pm-2am
Sat: 9am-2pm
Sun: 9pm-12am

Tweet

Stacked, Robertson Quay, Singapore

Being a Sunday, I decided that dim sum would be the lunch choice of the day.  I love my dim sum, especially as it is in my heritage.

I was excited to be going to this place and when I got to Stacked Dim Sum Bar just after one o'clock in the afternoon, I was a bit stunned to find that we were the first in. 

This place is only open from one o'clock on Sundays which in my opinion is not a good start.  Traditional dim sum places start service early and it is not uncommon to find a good dim sum restaurant packed before midday.

The menu here isn't vast.  The traditional dim sums are $5.90 each, the special fusion dim sums are $8.90 each and if you get a stack of 3 traditional dim sums, you pay $15 rather than $17.70.

OK, so we went for the traditional dim sums rather than any fusion ones.  Why?  Because all the fusion ones that I have ever tried in the past have been pretty disastrous.  This place may be different, but I didn't want to risk it.

So I decided to play it safe and opted for the traditional steamed har gau (prawn dumplings); steamed siew mai (pork and prawn dumplings); pan fried chive dumplings and pan fried carrot cake.

Har gau are steamed prawn in translucent starchy rice wrap dumplings.  The rice wrappers on these were rather sticky and starchy though, in fact a little bit too much.  The dumplings themselves didn't impart much flavour either.

Siew mai dumplings are steamed minced pork and prawn, put together into yellow wonton wrappers.  These ones came out looking nice and plump, but unfortunately the wrappers were a little bit too dry and the bottoms stuck a little too much to the paper.

Onto the pan fried carrot cake, it wasn't greasy, but they weren't particularly amazing.  They were pretty average.

The pan fried chive dumplings turned out to be minced prawn with chopped chives.  They didn't look very attractive and I'm sure that these had just been quickly tossed in a wok to get a bit of colouring on the edges.  Pan fried, I'm not convinced. 

The dishes were a little bland and a real let down to what dim sum can be.  The fact that this place didn't fill more than three tables in the two and half hours I was there must be a sign that this place isn't quite what it is 'stacked' up to be.  Is it a bar, is it a dim sum place?!   I'm not sure even the owners know. 

Neverless, service made up for the lacklustre food.  But unfortunately, it wasn't enough to make me want to go back.  It's a great concept, just badly executed. 

STACKED

60 Robertson Quay, #01-13 The Quayside, Singapore

Tel: +65 9677 8281

HOURS

Mon-Thu: 3.30pm-11.30pm

Fri: 3.30pm-1am

Sat: 1pm–1am
Sun: 1pm-11.30pm

Tweet

European Bier Café, Melbourne

The European Bier Café takes pride of place on the North East corner of Exhibition and Little Collins in the CBD.  They do specials most nights of the week apart from Thursdays, tonight - which was typical!

Anyway, since a group of us were meeting to go watch a movie at the nearby Kino cinema in Collins Place, we decided to have dinner beforehand.

We all arrived fairly early, around 5ish and had no problem getting a table in their dining area.  Simply walk in and find a table. 

Their menu has an '$18 pub favourites' section as well as appetizers, mains, sides and desserts.  Banning carbs from my evening meals means that I am pretty restricted when dining out.  However, since I love salads, I opted for the 'Euro Chicken Salad' ($19.50). 

Once decided, we simply ordered at the bar, got appointed a table number and went back to sit and wait.  Seeing as we were early birds, it didn't take long for our meals to arrive.

My salad was a generous portion of rocket and spinach leaves, red onion and tomato.  It was all dressed in a tasty balsamic and olive oil dressing with delicious pieces of warm grilled chicken breast and warm grilled bacon pieces.  The chicken was succulent and the bacon pieces were wonderfully crunchy.  For a pub meal, I was very satisfied indeed.

One of my dining companions had the 'Risotts' ($18) from the pub favourites which looked pretty good.  It had generous pieces of chorizo throughout with spinach and generous shavings of parmesan on top.

Another dish was the 'Grilled fish of the day' - also from the $18 pub favourites.  Served with fries and garden salad with balsamic and olive dressing (which didn't look particularly appetizing), but was really good (as I was told).  And we assumed that it must have been the same dressing as mine. 

Staff are polite and friendly here.  It's got a great after work crowd vibe; it's easy, casual and a great place for a drink and a pub meal.

European Bier Café
120 Exhibition Street, Melbourne, VIC 3000
T: +61 (0)3 9663 1222

Hours
Mon-Thurs: 12pm-1am
Fri: 12pm-3am
Sat: 2pm-3am
Sun: 4pm-11pm

Tweet

Belgian Beer Cafe Eureka, Melbourne

This place sits at the bottom of the Eureka building on Southbank Boulevard.  There's plenty of outside seating and is perfect for those who want to get away from the busy thoroughfare of the main Southbank riverside

After a bit of ice skating this morning, my budding ice skaters and I decided to find some lunch at the Belgian Beer Cafe.  With plenty of tables available, we sat on a long wooden table outside.

The food menu isn't huge, but we all managed to find something.  I chose the soup of the day which turned out to be 'Minestrone & vegetable' ($9.50).  Didn't say whether it would come with bread or not, but I wasn't exactly fussed. 

My ice skating buddies chose between them the Chicken Chasseur pie with mash and mint pea stoemp (mash basically); Veal schnitzel and kifler potato salad (German finger potatoes); and a bowl of chips with aioli.

The Chicken pie arrived first with a little gravy drizzled over the pie.  Please forgive the picture, I took the photo after the pie had been cut into.  Otherwise, it did look rather good and intact.  I loved the bold green colour of the mint pea stoemp!  Apparently it all tasted good, although the pie was just average. 

The veal schnitzel came next which looked rather good.  At $18.50, they were generous with the veal schnitzel.  The herb and bread crumb crust looked delightfully golden and crisp.  Baby rocket was dressed with a mustard dressing and the kifler potato salad looked positively yummy!  Suffice to say, the diner of this dish seemed very happy.

My bowl of soup did indeed arrive without bread.  I wasn't bothered as most places don't offer a choice and more often than not, end up offering white bread if they do.  Why most cafes restaurants don't offer unrefined carbs to us 'no go refined carbers' I have no idea?!  Yes, that's right, I am no go refined carber.  Well except for the odd potato (a girl has to have her chips?!) and very rarely, white bread - which should be a complete no go as far as my head is concerned.

Nevertheless, my soup was tasty, not sure where the minestrone bit came into it.  It was just vegetable soup as far as I was concerned. 

Finally, the bowl of chips.  At $7.50, it was a huge bowl of chips.  I was rather disappointed that they didn't actually serve the typical Belgian french fries.  Surely chips is more British?!  Still, no one complained.  They tasted, well like chips.  They were hot and tasty.  What more can can I say...

Staff aren't exactly the friendliest lot but then again, maybe they were just having a bad day.  Who knows! 

The food is OK, nothing amazing, but nothing terrible either.  This is more of a place to come for a relaxing drink or two and some nibbles if you're feeling a little peckish.

Belgian Beer Cafe Eureka
5 Riverside Quay, Southbank, VIC 3006
Tel: +66 (0)3 9690 5777

Tweet

Bluestone Bar Lounge, Melbourne

Housed inside an historic old wool shed, Bluestone Restaurant Bar Lounge resides on Flinders Lane between Queen and Elizabeth Streets. 

Upon entering this establishment, take the stairs directly in front of you to the downstairs lounge area which is styled in the fashion of a New York lounge bar.  That is - modern, seductive and contemporary with little touches of cool; little Morrocan lanterns, gorgeous cushions, bare stone walls and so on.

There are leather Chesterfield chairs with low tables - perfect for a gathering of friends, comfy wall benches, ambient lighting and spatterings of floral wall paper covering. 

A party of six tonight, we decide to share some tapas - olives, goats cheese stuffed bell peppers and some ciabatta with olive oil and dukkah.  It was all good and plenty of bread!

We also ordered the special prawn skewers with a mango salsa.  Two skewers lined with small prawns.  Tasty, tangy mango salsa and succulent little prawns.

Seeing as I had read all about their infamous pizzas, I decided to share the number three pizza consisting of hot salami, olives, chilli peppers and mushrooms.  It was enough for two people and perhaps a side salad would have been a good accompaniment.  Something to remember for next time...

Being a midweek school night, this place was pretty quiet.  Service was polite and friendly though and we never felt rushed.  Playing upbeat grooves in the background, this is a great place to come for drinks after work or for get-togethers at the weekend.

Bluestone Restaurant Bar Lounge
349 Flinders Lane, Melbourne VIC 3000
Tel: +61 (0)3 9620 4060

Lunch: Mon-Fri - From 12pm
Dinner: Mon-Fri - From 5:30pm, Sat - From 6pm


View Larger Map

Tweet

Hairy Canary, CBD, Melbourne

Today was stifling hot in Melbourne and this evening, my friend and I decided to try out another tapas place.  Hairy Canary is at 212 Little Collins street, up a small flight of stairs which opens out onto a bar. 

By the bar, there's a chill out lounge area and past that are the dining tables.  There are a few red leather benches and we were put into a corner where the leather seating had torn somewhat exposing the foam seating below. 

Certainly not a good look in my opinion.  Perhaps management are either too tight to re-upholster or are just trying to be trendy.  Shabby chic can look good after all, when done correctly.  Personally, I think management are too tight to replace it.

Nevertheless, the waiter (an Englishman who hails from the East Midlands) brought over some menus.  The background music was funky ambient and certainly made for a relaxing atmosphere. 

We ordered the good old 'Patatas Bravas with tomato salsa', 'Chickpea, pumpkin and spinach salad', and 'Chicken meatballs in spicy sauce'. 

The patatas bravas arrived first.  No sign of the tomato salsa, but as we dug in, we discovered it at the bottom of the dish.  "Shouldn't it be at the top?!" we both proclaimed in unison.  Shrugging, we carried on...

The potatoes were generously coated in paprika and were steaming hot which was good.  All in all, a substantially sized portion with plenty enough for two. 

The chickpea, pumpkin and spinach salad came out warm, but it lacked any real flavour.  As a warm salad, it was OK.  However, since I had already sampled the one at Bar Lourinhã, I have to say that theirs is miles better. 

This one was nice enough as vegetables on their own.  It really could have done with some oomph!

The chicken meatballs came covered in a basil infused yoghurt.  It was certainly delicious and the tomato sauce was lovingly spicy.  In fact, the sauce tasted very good over the chickpea, pumpkin and spinach salad.   

It kind of reminded us of an Indian curry where you get the oily layer on the top.  Not the healthiest of tapas I guess, but it was quite tasty.

Of course, no tapas meal is complete without churros.  So, we decided to finish off with their churros con chocolate.  The mini bitesize churros were lukewarm, covered in melted dark chocolate and sprinkled with pistachio crumbs.   

They churros themselves were covered in cinnamon sugar, were too doughy and not crunchy enough for my liking. 

Neither of us thought they were good, in fact, I would go as far to say that they were pretty awful.

All in all, the food was very average tonight.  Apart from the upbeat English waiter, service was rather unfriendly.  The waitress had forgotten to give us any cutlery for our doughnuts.  Prompting my friend to pipe in that perhaps she thought we were animals considering the way that she was treating us. 

In the end, my friend went to get our cutlery from the tray since we couldn't catch her attention.  However, the waitress did notice and came over to apologise.  After that, she seemed to lighten up a bit.  All a little too late though.

Hairy Canary, I think is past its prime.  A place with a good name and a good location.  It could certainly do with a good update, an overhaul of its service and perhaps a new chef.

Hairy Canary

212 Little Collins Street, Melbourne, VIC 3000

Tel: +61 (0)3 9654 2471

Mon-Fri: 7:30am-1am

Sat: 9am-3am

Sun: 9am-12am

Tweet

Bar Lourinhã, Melbourne

I walked past this cute and curious place last week on one of my little city jaunts.  All the small trinkets on the wall caught my eye and I made a mental note of it.

Tonight was my weekly get together with a girl friend of mine and seeing as we both like tapas, we decided to meet here for some informal supper and a good old natter.

We arrived just before six-thirty and made our way into the hustle and bustle of the long open room.  A waitress greeted us and showed us to a couple of high stools at the bar.  Giving us perfect access to all the waiters and waitresses.

There is seating all along the bar which curves around the corner to the wall at the front.  By the front (and only) window, there is cushioned window seating with low mini circular tables.  If you can get one of these and, I am guessing you would have to come early or just be very lucky to do so - what better vantage point from which to soak up the atmosphere and take in the surroundings.

Two high, long wooden tables with wooden stools stand side by side behind all the seated bar diners.  "These are for larger groups", (i.e. more than 2 or 3) the waitress replied as I politely asked whether we could sit at one.

Still, we enjoyed sitting at the bar, right in front of the chalkboard which lists an array of wine, from sparkling to white to rosé to red. Bottles of spirits are perfectly lined up on a couple of mini wooden shelves, one on top of the other, running along the back wall.  

The walls are decorated with assorted bottle openers, a horseshoe, mirror, framed paintings and other nic-nacs.  One could call it an eclectic, shabby chic wall decoration.

The menu is interesting and tonight's specials that the waitress reeled off from her scribbled pad sounded delightful.  This is Portuguese tapas as opposed to the Spanish variety and it all sounded both curious and tempting.  We went for the Pimentos special ($16), the Spiced chickpea & spinach salad ($14) and a grilled King prawn ($10).

The green pimentos came out steaming hot in a cast iron skillet.  They were both garlicky and salty.  The shaves of crunchy garlic scattered all over gave them the 'wow' factor.  It was an eye poppingly beautiful tapas dish which tingled our tastebuds in a very good way.

The waitress came over with a complimentary wooden bowl housing a huge chunk of rustic wholemeal bread.  It looked more like a slab of cake the way it had been cut.  It was indeed very country rustic and was perfectly continental in flavour.  It was spot on for mopping up all the juices as well.

The grilled king prawn came out with metal skewer still intact.  It was steaming hot and tasted fresh, delicious and a little garlicky too.  Perhaps a little pricey for $10 considering how much meat we actually got from it.  But it really was delish!  We even got a fingerbowl to wash our greasy paws in afterwards.

As we took our time eating the pimentos and the king prawn, the chickpea and spinach salad seemed to be taking forever to come out.  It seemed to be taking so long in fact, I was actually beginning to think that they had forgotten all about it. 

Nevertheless, it did arrive, finally.  And it was well worth the wait.  As a hot salad, it was cooked to perfection.  The chickpeas were soft but not too much so.  The spinach had only just been wilted which is how they should be.  Again, more crunchy shaves of garlic and boy, the whole thing tasted utterly lip-smackingly gorgeous! 

I forgot to take a photo when it first arrived - probably due to my wiltering impatience and hunger for this dish.  But I did remember to take one halfway through devouring it, hence why there isn't much left on the plate...apologies...

We decided to that we couldn't possibly end the meal without trying their 'Churros & dulce de leche'. 

It came out with six blazing hot, sugary, crispy, doughy churros, along with a shot glass of the dulce de leche.  Dulce de leche is sweetened milk that has been heated through to create a thickened texture and an almost caramel like taste.

However, this dulce de leche was a real let down.  It was watery for start, nothing like the dulce de leche that I have had in Brazil (OK, not quite Portugal, but close enough!).  And so I can only compare to the Spanish version which is devine. 

Taste-wise, I can't really comment because after dipping the churros into it, most of it just dripped off onto my paper napkin before I could get it into my mouth.  Unless they improve the dulce de leche, I won't be having these again in a hurry. 

A great place to come with a friend or two, or three.  The staff seemed a little rushed off their feet and flustered at times.  They could do with being a little more friendly as well.  Don't get me wrong, they weren't rude in the slightest, but if I had to compare staff at other tapas places in Melbourne, Movida Next Door and Hairy Canary beat this place for friendliness

However, I will big this place up because it's got great atmosphere, more than worthy tapas and a good drinks selection.  It's a little quirky, individual and just a really relaxed, informal place to come for an after work drink, some great tapas and a good old gossip! 

Just a shame about the dulce de leche. 

Bar Lourinhã

37 Little Collins Street, Melbourne, VIC 3000
Tel: +61 (0)3 9663 7890

Mon-Wed: 12-11pm
Thurs-Fri: 12pm-1am
Sat: 4pm-1am

Tweet

The Melbourne Supper Club

More an upmarket, sophisticated havana smoking type of a place than somewhere to dine per se, The Melbourne Supper Club is a late night bar on the first floor of 161 Spring Street with fabulous views of Parliament House.

Patrons enter through an inconspicuous wooden door and take a short flight up some wooden steps.  Upon reaching the top, I was pleasantly surprised to see a long, airy light room with high ceilings and a huge arched window at the front.  A large framed picture dominates the main wall which is easily recognisable as, the lady with the torch that appears at the beginning of every Columbia Pictures Production.

The seating is a mix of leather Chesterfield and bright, lipstick-kissing red sofas, velvet tub seats and warn leather studded wooden dining chairs.  It's a little bit old school, but very cool old school.  Even the waitress with her quirky demeanour and head-to-toe black Victoriana-esque style added to the coolness the place.

Taking a seat by the window, the view over towards Parliament House and below, towards Spring Street were excellent.  With the dinner jazzy music playing in the background, the place took on a relaxing ambience.

On the table, our waitress placed a red hardback bound menu with 'Melbourne Supper Club Bar' written in gold stencilling on the front.  The menu reads like an extensive library list of wine and other alcoholic beverages.  For wine buffs, I can imagine that this place is probably a little like being in wine heaven.  The wines are priced by the bottle, but there is a separate page for wines that come by the glass.  The prices vary, but let's just say you could end up paying a few hundred dollars for a bottle of wine if you're not too careful.

On finding the food, I discovered the one and only page dedicated to it.  The choice was rather limiting which was a little dissappointing.  However, I guess this place executes the meaning of supper quite literally as 'a light evening meal'.  Seeing as we had come to eat, we ordered a couple of 'Around the Table' plates; Chevap sausage rolls and Selected house dips with Turkish bread.  Having never had Chevap before, I discovered that it is a Serbian type of sausage typically made from veal or beef.

As the evening sky turned to dusk, the place slowly filled out with groups of after-work office crowds and pre-theatre guests from the next door Princess Theatre.  Some took their place on the Chesterfield sofas, others headed up the stairs to the next level and out towards the roof terrace. 

Before my hunger had a chance to set in, our Chevap sausage rolls arrived along with our house dips and Turkish bread.  The sausage rolls were a beautiful golden crisp in colour and came with a side of tomato sauce and a side of tomato relish.  The pastry was deliciously chewy with just the right amount of meat inside.  They were hot and filling; for $16, you get six mini sausage rolls.

 

The trio of dips turned out to be salmon, tzatziki and hummus. The generous basket of bread consisted of warm Turkish bread and wedges of paprika pita. At $13, this was good value. The salmon was smooth and subtle, the tzatiki was light and fresh as one would expect it to be.  And the hummus was packed with a good garlic punch.  This turned out be my favourite of the three dips.

Having consumed a light supper, I felt more than satisfied.  As I sat back to soak in the atmosphere and take in my surroundings, I did'nt feel the need for anything else.

The Melbourne Supper Club has olde worlde charm mixed with modern day touches and a smattering of bourgeoisie about it.  It's grown up escapism in the city, yet only a stone's throw away from the bustling streets of trams, cars and crowds. 

The staff are not the friendliest, but they are polite.  They simply make sure that you are watered, and fed if you wish to be so. 

If you're after an early evening bite or even a late night snack where you want to sit back and relax, this is the place to come.  But if you're after a good substantial supper, I'd probably suggest you head elsewhere. 

The Melbourne Supper Club

Level 1, 161 Spring Street, Melbourne, VIC 3000

Tel: +61 (0)3 9654 6300

Tweet

Madame Brussels, Melbourne

I came across Madame Brussels late one evening.  I was doing an online search for places to visit for afternoon tea.  Suddenly, Madame Brussels popped up on my screen and I was immediately hooked. 

So the very next day, my fellow foodie and I felt compelled to pay this infamous Melbourne Madame a visit. 

It's located on Bourke Street in the CBD and having completely missed the doorway entrance, we had to pop into a nearby cafe to ask the owner for directions.  As we wondered back down the street, we came across an unimaginative office doorway leading into a murky brown tiled stairway.

We decided to ignore the lift and take the stairs.  We were there to eat cake after all! 

As we breathlessly climbed to the top of the stairs to the third floor, our eyes lit up as we saw what I can only describe as a sort of Old English country garden wonderland.  Complete with astroturf, a short winding brick path (not too far off from the Yellow Brick Road in the Land of Oz) leading to the trellis bar and a delightful roof terrace; any thoughts of apprehension were immediately dispelled.

We made our way to the roof terrace and took our pew at one of the duck egg blue garden tables, with white Provence garden chairs. 

A waiter (dressed as though he had just walked off a Fred Perry photo shoot), came to open out our carousel so as to shade us from the beating mid-afternoon sun.  He then proceeded to bring us two pretty pink hardback menus.

Inside, there is a brief bio of the lady Madame Brussels herself.  It makes for an interesting read and she was certainly no shrinking violet.  Then there is a list of thirst quenching cocktails from the 'Iron Fister' to the 'Horned Beast' to the 'Undress Me Sloely.'  I suspect they all taste mesmerisingly fabulous.  For those who fancy a light lunch, there is a snack menu of savoury treats such as housemade dips and bread, sandwiches, French cheese plate, Mother of Pearl sausage rolls and a few other deliciously sounding choices.

Nevertheless, we stuck to our afternoon tea theme and Miss Pearls (the glamourous proprietor and hostess with the mostess) was on hand to put in our order of a pot of tea accompanied by two lemon sponges with pink butter icing (at just $5 each).

Glancing around, I noticed a few other groups of ladies sharing an afternoon tipple and even a group of gentleman enjoying a glass of wine.  Despite its tranquil charm and quaint feminine surroundings (which are probably more at home with the ladies), this place obviously knows how to draw in both genders.  Another group of gentlemen arrived shortly after we had sat down and took their place in the corner of the sunny roof terrace.

As we relaxed in the afternoon sun, it wasn't too long before another Fred Perry-clad looking waiter arrived with our tray of tea and lemon sponges.  The knitted tea cosy was a cutesy pink and white in colour.  But on turning the tea pot around to face us, we were suddenly being stared at by a rather eerie looking doll face.  I imagined it coming from somewhere like a Stephen King movie set...

I proclaimed to the passing Miss Pearls what an intriguing tea cosy she had.  As she returned a cheeky smile, we became counsel to the story behind the doll faced tea cosies.

We learnt that everyone seemed to want a piece of Madame Brussels and in doing so, staff kept finding missing tea cosies, blankets and even menus!  In order to put an end to this light-fingered behaviour, Miss Pearls had asked her mother to buy the 'ugliest tea cosies' that she could find.

Her mother did not disappoint and came back with these doll faced knitted tea cosies, confiding in Miss Pearls that "these were the ugliest tea cosies that I could find!"  I have to say, I rather agree with her and I certainly wouldn't want to pinch one of these!

Moving on, the lemon sponges were divinely topped with lightly whipped pink butter icing and lovingly sprinkled with hundreds-and-thousands.  They sat serenely atop white paper doilies on little china saucers.  The hot pink paper napkins topped it all off rather beautifully.  It was a typical Victoria sponge (like mother used to bake), and with the butter icing and colourful sprinkles on top, I felt like I had gone back in time. 

Miss Pearls certainly pays attention to all the finer little details.  The staff are super polite and ensure that everyone is well attended to.  When the sun goes down and the cold air picks up, there are even blankets should you get a little chilly on the terrace.  However, with lots of outdoor patio heaters, I am sure no one is allowed to get too cold.  With these cute little touches and the quaint English garden décor, it all makes for a delightful and enjoyable time at Madame Brussels. 

There is even a function room at the back which is aptly named 'The Parlour', of which we were given a little preview.  It is wonderfully decorated in a fashionably frou-frou manner.  And in the spoken words of Miss Pearls, it is "The parlour, up the rear of Madame Brussels."  Of which it literally is!

What also makes this room even more special is that regular patrons can choose to purchase the sole use of one of the crystal decanters which are kept locked inside a wooden glass fronted cabinet.  In addition, owners can personalise their decanter by attaching individual charms to them if they wish to do so.  I'll leave you to guess who owns the one with the ivory pearl necklace.

It's all made to appear rather lavish here and Miss Pearls along with her staff make you feel very much at home.  Apart from the contrasting terrace views of the modern architecture outside, this place feels like a dreamy world away from the metropolis that surrounds it. 

 I simply cannot wait to go back for a spot of lunch!

Madame Brussels

Level 3, 59-63 Bourke Street, Melbourne, VIC 3000

Tel: +61 (0)3 9662 2775

Tweet

MoVida Next Door, Melbourne

Having arranged to meet a friend for dinner, we decided to go for tapas and what better place to go to than the much heard about Melbourne establishment, MoVida Next Door.

Movida Next Door is the 'no-bookings policy' sister right next door to the more grown up MoVida 'essential bookings' restaurant.  It is a small, but casual tapas diner that sits on the corner of Flinders Street and Hosier Lane.  With seats around the bar, wooden topped tables at the side and stools by the window, it feels all warm, cosy and friendly.

As we entered this little slice of Spain, a waitress instantly greeted and informed us that we could either sit at the bar to eat or stand by it to wait for available seats.  We opted for the latter and proceeded to order a glass of '07 Basa Blanco Verdejo, Rueda from the friendly and attentative barman.  By no means a wine aficionado, I will only say, it was light, fresh and perfect for this lovely Spring evening.

This place was buzzing tonight.  Every seat was taken when we arrived at six thirty.  Scanning the place, every diner looked happy, relaxed and extremely merry whilst chowing down the food.

The waitresses were constantly bringing out little plates of delicious looking morsels and I suddenly went from being 'I can wait a while' hungry to 'I have to eat right now' hungry.

Luckily however, we only had to wait about fifteen minutes before some seats by the window became free.  Do note, these seats make for excellent people watching!

Feeling pretty hungry but not wanting to be over zealous with the ordering, we opted for the Patatas Bravas (crispy fried spicy potatoes), Queso Zamorano (Cured sheep's milk cheese), Pincho Moruno (Moorish lamb skewers, grilled on charcoal) and Chistorra (house made chorizo in fino).   Like a lot of other tapas places that I have been to, the menu isn't huge, but is more than vast enough to order from.

Having no expectations whatsoever, the patatas bravas was the first dish to arrive.  At first I thought it was the chorizo.  But on closer inspection, it was indeed the crispy fried spicy potato slices - obviously my deliriously famished mind playing tricks on me?!  The spicy tomato salsa wasn't too spicy.  Then again due to my inherited South East asian palate, my definition of 'not so spicy' has been known to others as 'definitely very spicy'.  The paprika spiced mayonnaise was a little too much for my liking, but all together a tasty well rounded dish. 

Next to arrive was the Queso Zamorano, the cured sheep's milk cheese.  It came out in thin slithers with what we thought were bite size pieces of dried fig on the side.  We could be wrong about the fig though!  Nevertheless, the cheese was delicious and the only criticism is that we could have done with a little more on the plate.

As we continued to profess our delight in the food, the Pincho Moruno - Moorish lamb skewers arrived.  Looking utterly divine covered in herbs, I hastily grabbed a skewer and immediately started to fork off the meat onto my plate.  Cooked to perfection, moist and full of flavour, we both nodded in satisfaction.

Our final course, the homemade choriza arrived soon after.  The waitress had pre-warned us that they can seem a little dry on the mouth due to the paprika used in the recipe, but that they tasted sensational.  I eagerly tucked into our last course and yes, they did taste sensational.  They were light, juicy and oozed paprika.  At this point, we were both feeling well fed and watered with the conversation flowing.  Always a sign of a good meal in my opinion. 

By now, we had polished off all four dishes and confessed to not wanting any more to eat.  Sitting back to digest the meal, we curiously eyed up the plate of churros (Spanish donuts) with a cup of hot chocolate sauce being brought to the couple sitting next to us.  Our eyes lit up and it was a simple case of "should we, shouldn't we?" Of course we should!

The waiter came to clear our empty plates and asked if we wanted to see the dessert menu.  Too right we did and we both nodded in unison.  A quick scan through it, and the Churros con chocolate (Spanish donuts with hot drinking chocolate) came out as the immediate unanimous winner.  We gave the waiter our order and he returned not too long after with the churros.  They were lovingly covered in sugar and whilst blocking out all thoughts of calories, we both dug in by dipping the gorgeous churros into the chocolate.  The churros were hot and sugary and the chocolate sauce tasted just like heaven in a cup!  Think (english) custard made with the finest chocolate.  This dessert was so good that I imagine even Nigella Lawson would open her fridge in the middle of the night for these.

MoVida Next Door, I salute you.  This is a great place to come after work with a few friends to enjoy some delicious tapas.  The atmosphere is casual and the staff make you feel like a part of one big family of satisfied diners.

MoVida Next Door
164 Flinders Street, Melbourne, VIC 3000
Tel: +61 (0)3 9663 3038

Tweet