Bistro Morgan Pop-Up

Disclosure: I was invited to a preview of the pop-up prior to opening

What were you doing in high school? I for one, was simply a quiet nerd (read: loser), who spent lots of spare time reading, playing video games and drawing.

Not Morgan Hipworth though, boy genius behind Bistro Morgan. He’s making doughnuts, and running a doughnut wholesale business! His doughnuts are handmade, and hand-dipped, and supplied to a few cafes around town on the weekends (after he’s done his homework!) 

But just for this week, until Sunday the 25th of September, instead of wondering what flavours will be available at Kitty Burns or Two Birds Cafe, you can get them all in one spot - at the Bistro Morgan pop up!

Open from 10am, doughnut and sugar lovers can get their fix at 190 High Street, Windsor. I personally really enjoyed the couple of flavours that I tried, the white chocolate with raspberry jam was one of my favourites - enjoyed the tartness of the raspberry and that the doughnuts were not heavy in sugar. They’re actually really well balanced.

The Ferrero Rocher doughnut is also a winner, topped with the namesake chocolate and absolutely filled with nutella. It’s lush. 

But really, how can you go past the golden gaytime? With salted caramel by the syringe full. Heaven right? 

Bistro Morgan

190 High Street

Windsor

Open from 10am daily until the 25th of September.

 

Chandon in the City at the Emerson Rooftop

Disclosure: I was invited to dine as a guest

I know I often mention whenever I go to a regional restaurant how lucky we are that we have so many different wine regions within an hour from us…but even then, I still don’t find myself taking advantage of this fact often enough. 

Heck, when Melbournians are even reluctant to cross the river, why would they travel an hour (gasp) out of town? 

Domaine Chandon, one of the most well known wineries in the Yarra Valley (for plenty of good reasons), has considered this, and so, instead of having the visitors come out to them in the Yarra Valley, they’re bringing the cellar door and a taste of the vineyard restaurant, Greenpoint Brasserie, to the Emerson in South Yarra instead through the month of April.

Beginning from April 5th (I’m a bit late, sorry!) to the 28th, on Tuesdays to Thursdays from 5pm, visitors can pop up to the gorgeous Emerson Rooftop and either indulge in a dinner menu curated from Greenpoint Brasserie, or sample the range of wines Chandon have on offer; including some that are usually only available at the Cellar Door in Yarra Valley. 

Although you’d be missing the beautiful scenery out at the winery, you will instead get the beautiful skyline view of the city, so I suppose that’s not such a bad trade off!

Stay a while and tuck into the charcuterie board that should be appropriately matched to a magnum (it’s huge!), we loved the terrine and bresaola in particular or get stuck into grilled lamb cutlets on a bed of eggplants, raisins, pine nuts and ancient grains. Equally, if you’ve got to dash, the oysters with Yarra valley salmon roe and lime are simply superb and the cured ocean trout is meaty, gorgeously pink and perfectly paired with some herbed creme fraiche. 

Or you could just stroll around with bubbly in one hand and lobster roll in the other; what more could you want?

Speaking of bubbly, although from Chandon it is a given (and delicious), be sure to give some of their other wines a go. I loved how refreshing the rose was, not too sweet, and the vintage bubbles are sublime. 

Although you can pop up Tuesday to Thursday with a few friends to sample the wines, if you can round up 30; you can book out the rooftop and have a full degustation experience. Talk about luxury hey? 

The Emerson

143-145 Commercial Road

South Yarra 3141

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

Storm in a Teacup Swan Street Chamber of Commerce Pop Up

Occasionally (or maybe a little more than occasionally) I can be strategic with where I request to go for a meal. Last weekend, I was in the mood to revisit Feast of Merit, for the deliciousness the kitchen pumps out…but it also happens to be on Swan Street…just down the road from the newly opened Swan Street Chamber of Commerce…which happens to have My Two Mum’s ice-cream sandwiches…and I happen to love ice-cream. How convenient!

Unfortunately, we were a little too early for ice-cream, so I instead drooled over cronuts that Rustica Sourdough had on offer and checked out the pretty bits and bobs in the main area (I do wish they had a bit of seating down there…). 

I eventually explored out back where there was a food truck, as well as a set of stairs that curved around with bright graphic text adorning the walls, adding a bit of life to the space. These stairs led to the Val Cinemas, which are super cute and I definitely want to watch a film there sometime, but also to the Storm in a Teacup pop up. 

Especially since it was relatively early, the place was quite quiet, and rather soothing and calming, with a fair few number of tables and stools. It’s the kind of place I could sit with a good book and read quietly for a while and also the right kind of space for Storm in a Teacup I felt. It might be even bigger than their Collingwood store!

But what I couldn’t stop looking at, since entering the room, was the slick looking, very modern, beast of a machine sitting up on a counter, the centrepiece of the room. It definitely wasn’t a coffee machine. So what was it? 

This was the Alpha Dominiche Steampunk machine. Steampunk.

The name’s kinda hardcore. It’s pretty hardcore. 

And they’re using it for tea. I dig it. 

Apparently it’s relatively common in the states, and used for filter coffee, but this might have been the only one I’ve seen in Melbourne, and instead of coffee, it’s perfect for tea. 

The girls at the shop kindly let me watch the process, when I swapped my order from an iced matcha to a matcha laced sencha tea, just to see the machine at work!

It heats up water by introducing steam, and then when your tea leaves are popped into the top, it introduces steam again to brew it, at just the right temperature that’s dictated by the touch panel, before it’s dispensed out at the bottom. 

It’s the future. Whoa.

My tea itself was also delicious, apparently using the machine leads to better flavours, as more exposure to fresh steam introduces more oxygen, so like wine, deepens the flavours (or something like that I assume). Normally, I can swig a cup of tea in minutes, but with my matcha and sencha, I was quietly sipping and savouring the flavour. Also loved the fact that it was pretty much electric green in colour, so fun! Would definitely have it again…

…but then there is the chai to try as well…

Storm in a Teacup Pop Up

Swan Street Chamber of Commerce

214 Swan Street

Richmond 

Supernormal Canteen

Looking at the definitions for the words 'super' (very good or pleasant), and 'normal' (conforming to a standard), you'd think it's a bit weird for a chef to name his restaurant 'Supernormal'. 

Although, maybe he's making a statement, and saying that there is a certain level of quality that we should be expecting when we go out, that our level of 'normal' should really be 'super'. 

Or maybe I'm just reading into it too much. 

Andrew McConnell's newest addition to the Melbourne scene comes in the form of a pop-up, slotting itself neatly next door to it's much much bigger brother, Cutler & Co. The concept of a pop-up seems to get mixed reviews today, but I like the buzz they bring to the Melbourne dining scene (that's already bustling as it is), allowing chefs to try stuff out and have a little play. After all, creativity has to stem from somewhere!

Supernormal Canteen is cheeky and fun, bustling on a weekday at 7:00pm, with it's startled cartoon lanterns filling the ceiling and arrows pointing everywhere, adding some fun details to an otherwise minimalist space. 

While I waited for a spot to clear on one of the two communal tables, I perched on a couple of milk crates in the corner, next to some vending machines with brightly coloured Hello Kitty and Thomas the Tank Engine pocky...as you do. Here I was fed plum wine, dancing delicately over my tongue, and boiled peanuts which were a refreshing change to the usually over salted ones you get at most Chinese restaurants, and also very, very addictive. Before I knew it, one little tray was gone, and between Ricky and I, when he arrived shortly after me, we nearly cleaned up another two. Oh my!

Supernormal keeps the menu short and sweet, condensing the food and drinks all into one strip. The menu was saturated in Asian flavours, but all grown up. 

Our night started on an enourmous high with the kingfish sashimi, seaweed and radish. Textures galore, with generously thick slices of kingfish, perfect for sinking your teeth into, with a feathery crispness sneaking in from the seaweed and burst of freshness from the radish. I could eat this every day. I know. Big call.

The famous lobster roll was pretty much a no brainer, although I have to admit I wasn't as blown away as I would have liked to be. The bun was sweet, the lobster cool, but I felt the flavour was more muted that I expected it to be. Sure, I always love a bit of a mayo hit, but I want the sweetness of the lobster to come through as well. 

The soft shell mud crab and fried egg mayo was served as a deconstructed san choi bao, pop a dollop of the sauce in the heart of a lettuce leaf and wrap it around a piece of crab. Sumptuous, with all levels of crispy from the lettuce to the crab...my only complaint was that the serve was positively tiny!

The pig's head bao with kimchi cucumber, is not actually a whole head, but instead a croquette rolled out of the best bits and crumbed ever so lightly. In fluffy, cloud-like, steamed buns, there was nothing to dislike here. With a pinch in the mouth of chilli, it kept one quite excited. Definitely a highlight.

Surprisingly, one of my favourite things of the night? Peas in XO sauce. I wish I was kidding, but I'm not. A combination of loose peas (the scandalous things) and sugar snap peas in a very light coating, really just a delicate sheen, of XO was just amazing. Served room temperature, the crisp texture and overall freshness of the product really shone through. Don't be deceived by the simplicity, and don't miss out if you visit!

With only 4 items on the dessert menu, it only made sense to eat half the menu. Right?

A cocononut panna cotta with fresh lychees simply sings of a balmy breeze at the beach, almost looking like a bouquet with a sprinkle of raspberries...or something.

But really, the star attraction for me in the sweets department had to be the soft serve white miso with pink lady ice-cream.  

Ooh lala, she was so fruity with a surprisingly comlimentary richness from the miso, giving a delightfully strong kick of umami to the senses. Don't miss this before the summer is over. 

Andrew McConnell always knows what he's doing, and this addition, even if it is a temporary one, to his empire is definitely worth a visit. It'll be interesting to see how the vibe changes, or what makes the final cut to the menu at the more permanent residence in the CBD when it opens up.

However, I suggest you don't wait until then, and actually get in for some of the best peas of your life and umami heavy desserts. Aww yeah. Maybe that could be Supernormal's super power? Super umami? Mmmhmm.

Supernormal Canteen has extended it's closing date from the end of 2013 to March 1st 2014.

Supernormal Canteen

53 Gertrude Street

Fitzroy

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