Burger Theory

Disclosure: I was invited to dine as a guest

When Brad and I first started dating, we’d often find ourselves grabbing burgers at least once every one or two weeks. (Almost) six years later, it’s more like every couple of months. 

Just can’t get away as much as you used to when you were 21…

So when I do have a burger now, it better be a good one. These days we’re definitely spoilt with options, so when Burger Theory came into the scene, or more specifically the Melbourne scene, they’ve been in Adelaide since 2010, I was interested to see what they had to offer.

Walk into (or eventually stumble in, the entrance isn’t super clear) the eatery, joined next Tuxedo Cat, on Latrobe street, and you’re greeted by their spick and span prep room where all their meat (whole chuck steak muscles) and produce hangs out until it’s ground and formed into patties (which is done daily). 

This treatment isn’t just limited to their beef, the guys care about everything that goes into their burgers; chicken patties are made from free range chicken and fried to order, and for vegos the falafel patties are made in house, so it’s all good. 

The burger menu is short and sweet; the guys started from a truck originally and as such have stayed faithful to their original menu for the most part. 

I grab the #1 Beef Burger, which is as classic as you can get; beef patty (cooked medium), American cheese, crunchy iceberg, tomato and their homemade ‘truck sauce’ a tangy mayo. The only difference is that I get mine wrapped in lettuce leaves to keep my gluten-intolerant gut a little more pleased. 

It isn’t pretty, but it is delicious; the patty is perfectly pink and I love a burger that’s generous with the mayo. It’s very, very moreish and down the hatch without much of a thought!

My Canadian colleague Sarah got the Original Fried Chicken Burger, bun n’ all, with pickles and ‘special sauce’. Can I just say yum? The bite I had the chicken was so tender and lovely, and I just loved how zesty the pickles were. ‘Special sauce’ is also more mayo-y delicious goodness. 

We also got the spicy loaded fries; which is way dangerously delicious. Kimchi, gochujang sauce, sour cream and bacon bits are surely what all your dreams are made of. Although I’m a crispy chip kind of person, I actually liked the soggier chips under all the kimchi as it just absorbed all the flavour; big of spicy, bit of sour, bit of kick; all yum. And moreish. You will finish these despite how big they look!

When I was in the States, one thing that I ended up loving so much more than I was expecting was the Shake Shake….shakes (funnily enough). Not the burgers. I’m not quite sure how they do it, but I just love how thick and creamy and dense the shakes are, and also totally flavoursome without tasting artificial. 

Yet for whatever reason; we just can’t seem to emulate it back in Australia and I’m never quite satisfied whenever I order a milkshake (there’s also a good chance I don’t have enough milkshakes either). 

But Burger Theory has now come to my rescue. The chocolate shake I had, had me on cloud nine. Thick, dense, creamy, and so, so, so chocolatey. Highly recommended if you’ve had the same ‘Shake Shack shake’ deficiency that I have had. 

Although we are kind of reaching peak ‘burger’ in Melbourne, Burger Theory actually is a great contribution to the scene, especially on the Latrobe side of town where the burger offerings are a little leaner (unless you count Grill’d these days…?)

Burger Theory

293 Latrobe Street

Melbourne 3000

 

Ampersand Coffee and Food

Ampersand Coffee and Food is a gorgeous little cafe in Thornbury, on High Street. I first walked by it while in the area for a client meeting and the minimal, bright and elegant space caught my eye immediately. 

As did the gluten free waffles on the menu!

We popped into the cafe on a quiet Sunday (Valentine’s day actually), and quickly settled into our regular routine of coffee (Padre - Daddys Girl Blend) and chai (Prana Chai). Was very tempted to order an iced chai - as so few places offer it, but it was a little cool…so maybe next time! 

The menu is concise but reads fresh and bright, and on the healthy side (but in an unintentional way). I love the focus on local, with toast coming from just down the road at Northcote Bakeshop, and how  honest the dishes sounded on a whole.  

Brad opts for a poached chicken bagel, with shredded poached chicken, house dill and caper mayonnaise, roquette and house pickled cucumber. It’s a modest feed, but it is delicious and just right for Brad who’s not feeling too hungry this particular day. Just the right amount of mayo, and I simply love the pickled cucumber. 

I go for the acai berry, with acai, fruit, oats, chia seeds, threaded coconut and seasonal fruit…except that I ask for the gluten free version, which simply has the oats removed. Although the acai bowl was lovely, sweet and refreshing, a gluten free alternative (which I would have been happy to pay extra for) for the oats/granola removed would have been great, as it wasn’t as filling without a carbohydrate component for me…and I felt it also needed that crunchy contrast. 

Overall though, the vibe at Ampersand is very pleasant, with lots of solo diners obviously feeling the same way, and despite the menu being on the shorter side, it’s still interesting enough for me to want to return to try more. I didn’t get around to having the gluten free waffles this time…so I’m obviously due for another visit! 

Ampersand Coffee and Food

863 High Street

Thornbury 

 

Oasis Bakery

Disclosure: I dined as a guest of the cafe 

Living in the inner-city suburbs definitely has its perks. It’s easy to get around, to the city, to the hottest new openings and…well be basically spoilt in terms of food options.

One thing I have found though, it has made me lazy. Massively lazy to get outside my comfort zone, to travel more than 20 minutes to try anything most weekend mornings and give things a chance I normally wouldn’t otherwise; which means I’m missing out and not finding as many hidden gems (and let’s be honest, that’s always the most fun).

So although I was initially going to turn down an invite to Oasis Bakery in Murrumbeena, when my boss saw the invite, she told me to take a couple hours off work and go check them out. 

I’m pretty lucky, I know.

And, well, what can I say? It was definitely one of the best breakfasts I’ve had this year! 

Oasis Bakery is a family owned Middle Eastern bakery, supermarket and cafe, opened in the late 1990’s by Emad and Marwa Makool. It’s now had three generations looking after it day to day. The market is an absolute beast, it’s huge, well organised and with a fantastic range of products. 

The bakery is oh so tempting in the warm light; with pastries and sweets beckoning at you to come have a closer look. The homemade baklava in particular, generous in girth, just calls to me; especially when it’s topped with chocolate. Mmhmm!

But we’re here to try out the new breakfast menu, conjured up by their new chef (ex-Rockpool), and Emma quickly makes just about one of every dish appear from the menu in front of us! 

It’s all middle eastern inspired, but with fun and creative twists and turns, with some familiar brunch favourites thrown into the mix as well. 

The Smoothie Bowl with dragonfruit, pitaya, mango, banana and baobab smoothie on a bed of housemate granola topped with Archie’s Blend #1 and #2, chai seeds, fresh berries and shaved coconut is a colourful and delicious way to start the day, and also much more filling than one may initially expect! There’s a lot of crunchy granola goodness in there. 

The Spring Eggs are almost too pretty to eat, two poached eggs with citrus labneh, miso avocado, radish, halloumi and a tomato medley. Another bright and fresh dish, I absolutely cannot stop picking at the perfect grilled halloumi! 

Archie’s Avocado mixes up the usual smashed avocado offering with some charred corn and quinoa on the side, the the Shakshuka baked eggs is everything you want it to be (I know Brad (being the baked egg fan he is) would have loved this). 

The abundance of the Lebanese Breakfast is just gorgeous, and although it’s huge, with scrambled eggs with soujouk, ful medammas, olives, grilled halloumi, tomatoes, cucumbers, chilli labneh balls and pita, it is also so wholesome and balanced. I would honestly prefer this big breakfast over the average big breakfast any day (may help that there’s halloumi involved though). 

The Kim Chi Lamb is my surprise favourite for the day, and not a dish I would have expected out of a middle eastern eatery! Seared lamb is served with asparagus, scrambled egg, kim chi tabouli and black sesame on sour dough toast. If you’re into big flavours, you will love this, it’s bold and kinda punches you in the mouth with kim chi heat and rich lamb decadence. Would eat all the time.

In case you’re wondering, yes, you can get coffee (they use Rosso Coffee beans), tea from T2 and more importantly, do justice to Prana Chai. 

You absolutely cannot leave Oasis Bakery without something sweet, there are two amazing offerings on the menu…and the cabinet of baklavas are just impossible to walk casually away from. 

You’ve probably seen it making the rounds on Instagram, the Carnival Hotcakes are a child’s dream and a parents nightmare (but I guess we're all kids on the inside, so no problems!), with two buttermilk hotcakes, salted caramel sauce, honey popcorn, toasted marshmallow and fairy floss.

It’s pretty intense. 

The buttermilk hotcakes are both fluffy but dense; with a lovely cake feel in the mouth and I just cannot get over the salted caramel sauce on everything. 

I have to say though, I think I was a bit more of a fan of the PB & J waffles; two Belgian waffles with raspberry compote, peanut butter parfait, grape molasses, fresh raspberries and Persian fairy floss. I just loved the cold and creamy and delightfully bold peanut butter parfait with the tartness of the raspberry. I’m a peanut butter and ice-cream kid, what can I say?

To finish, even though my dining companions groaned of fullness, I could not resist a cheeky request for baklava. 

Although all the baklava is good, what you really want, is the big fat slices, which are actually home made by one of the aunt’s and have so much more flavour packed into each mouthful. Although it’s hard to go past the classic combination, I’m all about the one with chocolate rolled up all in it. 

I’m totally floored (and totally full) when we finish up at Oasis Bakery; I love that it’s surprised me, that the food is reasonably priced, that it’s absolutely bursting with flavour, that it’s a slightly different offering (which keeps me excited) and that everyone who works at Oasis Bakery is just so lovely. 

I know some of you must be like me, a bit lazy to get out, a bit lazy to travel some days, but seriously guys, make your way down to check out Oasis Bakery, you won’t regret it (and will probably leave with a boot full of groceries too)!

Oasis Bakery

9/993 North Rd

Murrumbeena VIC 3163

 

Häagen Dazs Pop-up in Melbourne

Disclosure: I was invited to the Häagen Dazs pop-up as a guest

I’ve told you guys before that I love ice-cream; seriously if anyone actually asks me what my favourite food is, I always respond with ice-cream, because nothing can fill up the void afterwards.

An ice-cream brand that I have loved since little is Häagen Dazs; I remember loving it in Hong Kong as a kid, and when I first moved to Australia buying the Belgian Chocolate flavour from Safeway (before they all rebranded to Woolsworth) on a regular basis. When they stopped stocking Häagen Dazs in Australia (for god knows why), one thing I would always look forward to on my trips to Asia was popping by the Häagen Dazs store; usually for a scoop of Dulce De Leche and Belgian Chocolate. 

Heck, when I was on exchange in Germany for 6 months, once every month or two I would have a night where dinner was about half a kilo of peanuts, and a pint of Strawberry Cheesecake Häagen Dazs ice-cream. Those were the days where it didn’t show on the hips…

Obviously, I have history with this brand.

So uh, you could imagine my reaction when I learnt Häagen Dazs was not only doing a pop up in Melbourne (which means a return to our stores, YESSS), but that I was invited for the ‘Ultimate Tasting’ of up to 12 flavours…

Located in the Federation Square amphitheatre, you can’t miss the cute the little setup; complete with cosy booths and a spot of greenery. 

The pop-up is in town until the 16th of April (just one more month!), where you can either pop in for one of the 12 flavours, grab a pint to take home (highly advised) or book in for The Ultimate Tasting. For $20 per person, it’s not a bad way at all to spend an hour, especially if you’re an ice-cream enthusiast (some say obsessed) like me. 

I won’t give away all the fun of what’s involved, as that would spoil the surprise, but it is a fun and interactive experience, which has you engaging in your palate preferences and getting a better understanding of what you’re tasting. 

The staff are also super knowledgable; did you know Häagen Dazs actually originated in America? Not Scandinavia as everyone seems to think? And all the ice-cream that goes overseas (except for Japan) is made in France?

I also love how natural and simple the product is, each ice-cream is always made with four base ingredients, and uses natural flavours and colours; no artificial colouring here. It took the founder 6 years to find the right strawberries to use in his strawberry flavour to make sure it carried the flavour he wanted without having to add anything else (and I can attest, it is delicious). 

Some of my favourite flavours that I tried that day included the caramel biscuit and cream (crunchy, sweet, caramel, unngghhh), the green tea, mint leaves and chocolate and belgian chocolate (there’s a nostalgic soft spot for that one). 

So guys, if you needed to find me over the next month or so (other than Mondays when the Häagen Dazs pop-up is closed), you’ll probably find me eating the guys clean out of their goods….

Häagen Dazs Pop-up in Melbourne 

Melbourne Federation Square Ampitheatre 

Until April 16th

Closed Mondays 

Tue - Thurs 5 - 10pm

Friday 5 - 11pm

Saturday 2 - 11pm

Sunday 2 - 9pm

Ichi Ichi Ku

It’s rare that Brad and I ever actually go out for what you would categorise as ‘lunch’ over ‘brunch’ on a weekend. We always end up just heading for eggs and coffee because Melbourne’s got so many cafes going on anyway, it’s always reliably affordable and…what’s not to like about our fantabulous brunch scene? 

But when Brad had a morning class to tutor online (from the comfort of my study (which is actually a shoebox of a room)), to cover for someone else on a Saturday…all sorts of options opened for a 1pm lunch. Ooh exciting!

With a game of lawn bowls happening later in the afternoon that day in Windsor, I decided we should pop down to Ichi Ichi Ku in South Yarra for a Japanese feasting. I had heard so much about it from other friends who were in love the place (possibly married to it from the sounds of it), that I was only too happy to tick it off my list. 

I was surprised to find how small and cosy Ichi Ichi Ku was, with far more limited seating than I expected. I loved though how much it reminded me of the little bars and izakayas in Japan, with traditional looking woods mashed up with posters, graphics and all forms of Japanese style illustrations. The exterior style structures also put inside was also pretty cool. 

I’m not sure what I was expecting at Ichi Ichi Ku, although my friends had told me how much they loved it, I was somehow still skeptical. It looked too cool, too western…but man. The food was awesome.

Brad got the Kitsune udon, in a hot udon soup (obviously) with flavour fried tofu, soft tofu and shiitake mushroom. Oh man; I could not stop reaching over to help myself to the broth. So flavoursome, with plenty of delicious umami kick. 

I decided to get the bento, which came with some sashimi, a seaweed salad, miso soup, hot veggies, brown rice, a fried item, and a little dessert (strawberry daifuku and a cherry on this occasion). My photos do no justice as to how big this thing was. It took up like half the table and everything tasted so good. The veggies were fresh, the sashimi was cool, and generous thick cuts. I loved the fried veggies/prawns (I think), which was so, so crunchy and liberally covered in this delicious barbecue style sauce. It’s a lot of food, but for the most part it all tastes delicious, but also quite fresh and healthy (apart from the one deep fried thing)! 

Great value if you’re hungry as well…it’s a hunger buster!

We also got a spicy tuna roll to share (had no idea the food was going to be all so big), which also proved to be a very big serve! I had thought initially $20 was a bit on the rich end, but when you see what you’re getting…it’s actually pretty alright. Again, beautiful fresh produce, the avocado topping the rolls is generously thick, and the spicy tuna got some serious kick. I could’ve just eaten this on it’s own as my meal! 

So now, having been myself, I’m part of the group who’ll totally harp on about how good Ichi Ichi Ku is. Although I thought the prices initially looked to be a bit on the high side, when you see what you’re actually getting, it’s awesome value and super delicious. I’m not in this part of town very often, but seeing as the same group has recently opened Ichi Ichi Nana…you might see me stuffing my face with sushi again very soon…

Ichi Ichi Ku

119 Park Street

South Yarra