Nomada

How do you define breakfast? Or brunch for that matter? 

To keep it at it’s simplest, it’s the meal we eat in the morning - so what is that? 

Being in Melbourne, we are so blessed to have so many options available to us. Standard eggs and toast, if that’s all you want, pho if you feel like going Asian, and the ever growing cafe scene continues to push what we can eat at the beginning of our day. Glass cloches and scallops anyone? 

So why not tapas? 

Trust the - actually a Spaniard on the inside - Jesse Gerner (of Bomba, Andada and Green Park) to bring that idea to life, with Jesse McTavish (ex-The Kettle Black), Michael Burr, Greg McFarland and Shane Barrett. 

Housed in Hammer and Tong’s previous home, the team have teased in textures through the interiors, giving it a warm and homely feel. I particularly love the wooly throws over the back of the banquettes and the slate coloured slats on the counter, contrasted against the terracotta tile. 

The menu is broken up into price categories, with a $5, $9, $15 and $19 column - or a $35 per person chef’s menu if you just can’t decide what to put together. However, being the planner and control freak that I am, I have to DIY my menu as always. 

After a bit of consultation with the waitstaff, we opt for four $5 items, one $9 item and one $15 item, although there are so many other combinations you could easily do!

Coffees (and chais) first though! At Nomada they’re using Grounded Pleasures chai, which I had never had before. The star anise in this chai blend is intense. It’s definitely not going to be everyone’s cup of tea, but I didn’t mind having something a little different. 

Food comes out pretty quickly after, and our table fills up with plates and colours, and I just love the visual spectacle of the whole affair. 

My cutlery (or maybe I just went at it with my fingers) quickly go to grab a Blue Eye croqueta with fennel emulsion. What else can you expect but just a beautiful creamy and rich mouthful, encased in a crispy golden crust? I’m so down for this being a breakfast item on a regular basis (but maybe not so much my hips).

The coal blistered tomatoes with sherry, herbs and manchego, finely grated over the top so it’s melting onto the hot tomatoes are sweet and juicy little mouthfuls. And so moreish. 

I’m crazy for the house cured sardines, with a nice little tang to them. Chorizo with chill powder are dense, and with a good little kick to them and playing Russian roulette with blistered Padron peppers is always good fun. We were told that this season they seemed to be particularly and more regularly hot - but Brad and I seemed to have lucked out and not been gotten a super hot one!

To round it all out - we got the cured ocean trout with fennel salad and beetroot, sweet, silky in texture and just gorgeously done. I was actually surprised as well with how generous the serving was and how full I was after all our food. 

One thing that had been on my mind when we were ordering, was how much this would all add up - or how much more we would need to spend compared to a usual brunch for the tapas experience. 

To my surprise, our bill only came to around $60, maybe $10 more than we might usually spend for a dish each and a coffee and I think for the quality and quantity of food, it’s pretty good value. 

I also have the great fortune of being invited to check out a range of their day and night offering. I’d say in the evening, it’s compulsory to get a glass (or three) of Casa Mariol, the Spanish vermouth that the Bomba/Anada team import from Spain, which is available as both a white and dark vermouth (both very good). 

I’m not sure why I didn’t order the clacked egg on burnt hay when I went for brunch with Brad, but my goodness - it’s delicious. Especially when there’s truffle involved. 

Although they do brunch really well, the guys really show they can work that dinner protein gorgeously, with pan seared quail with saltbush, market fish with prawn bisque, buttermilk and nettle and the most tender piece of lamb loin I’ve had. 

So, whether you feel like tapas for breakfast or dinner, in true Melbourne style, there’s an option for you, in the shape of Nomada. 

Nomada

412 Brunswick Street

Fitzroy 3065

 

Breakfast at Marion

Although I love the bustle and energy of a cafe (paired with at least a 15 minute wait no doubt), there’s something special about breakfast places that are soothing, restorative and quiet - and they’re usually not cafes. Or at last not in the typical Melbournian way.

I never realised Marion, a wine bar, also did breakfast, until I saw someone visit on Instagram who posted a rather luscious picture of a good looking black pudding - and made the executive decision (as I usually do) that we should visit.

It was a slightly muggy and wet morning when we visited, which made the restaurant feel particularly soothing, a beautifully designed sanctuary filled with diffused light. The neat and smart interior, is also quite inviting, with comfortable looking banquettes and brick walls painted white. 

Coffees and chai are a touch short on the foam, but I’m not one to judge on technical execution. Milk was smooth, chai was sweet, but not too sweet - I’m easily satisfied with just a couple of little things.

Brad ordered the baked eggs with greens, labneh and Turkish chilli, which is a refreshing alternative to the usual saucy tomato based baked eggs, but equally as hearty. 

I don’t often order omelettes when I go out for brunch, but when I do, they better be as good as Marion’s omelette with zucchini, tarragon and buffalo ricotta. Oh lordy, someone let loose on the butter and I am so okay with that. Delightful moreish, and fluffy, I loved how the tarragon cut through the richness a bit, and although it maybe was just a tiny bit salty, I was much too content to be bothered. 

A lot of cafes you’re in, and then you’re out. But when you have a space where you feel comfortable so sit, and I mean really sit, not just perch at a communal table on a stool, with a newspaper (or just the news on the phone), it’s really quite a luxury. One I hope to enjoy again quite soon. 

Marion

53 Gertrude Street

Fitzroy 3065

 

Ichi Ni Nana

I love having foodie pals. We might not talk much during the year, especially if they’re residing overseas, but the second they’re back in town and we’ve got a meal organised…it’s always the best time. 

Em’s one of those people, when she sprung a surprise trip on family and friends earlier in the year (she lives in London at the moment), we quickly organised a trip to Fitzroy to check out Ichi Ni Nana, the newest in the Ichi Ni Izakaya family. 

The building is huge, spanning 3 floors with a different concept on each floor. I was a bit early for our initial booking, so headed straight up to level 3, to the rooftop bar where Melbourne turned it on with blue skies and sunshine. Dominique Portet rose from the Yarra Valley was the only suitable wine choice.

Before long, I got the call that we were perhaps enjoying the sunshine a little too long and were now running very late for our booking at Ichi Ni Nana! 

So back to the ground floor we went, and into the restaurant, dimly lit with dark woods, and a gorgeous covered courtyard. 

We left ordering in the hands of the owner and the staff and were not disappointed. 

We started with the Shiromi carpaccio, thinly sliced kingfish served with ginger wasabi sauce, which was a gorgeous and spritely way to wake the palate. Refreshing and zingy. 

Em was almost beside herself with the ebi mayo came out, battered prawns tossed in karashi mayo, and after a bite, I quickly understood her excitement. The prawns are meaty and sweet, with a light batter and all that delicious kewpie-style mayo goodness we love. It’s a decadent combination. 

Might not photograph well (dark, on dark, in a dark space…), but the wagyu gyoza (with what I assume is a squid ink skin) was rich and tender. 

The Lamb Saikyo Yaki - charcoal grilled sweet miso glazed lamb cutlets, are a bit pricey at $18 for two pieces, but they are tender and succulent. It’s terrible difficult to go past a sweet miso glaze as well, with the surface of the lamb with just enough char on it as well. 

The Volcano Roll is a pretty modern take on sushi, an inside out roll filled with asparagus, salmon and prawn, coated in flamed spicy scallop sauce which had a bit of heat (as promised). 

But the real masterpiece, and also why you shouldn’t let staff order for you, was the Ichi Ni Nana Platter…which came out at the end of our meal. What a feast on the eyes! This could have very comfortably fed Em and I in totality…but after a full dinner, it’s a lot of sushi to look at!

The quality of the fish was lovely, with cool, thick cuts of fish, that just melt in the mouth. I particularily enjoyed the scallop sashimi that were included on this dish, which had a dollop of hot sauce or something equivalent, which really popped against the sweetness of the scallop. 

And yet, despite all that we still squeezed in a green tea ice-cream at the end. Because if you’re going to go hard…you may as well go all the way. 

Ichi Ni Nana was definitely a fun girl’s night out; not all the flavours or execution are going to be traditional, but that’s not what these guys are doing. It’s fun, it’s big, it’s flavour and it’s a good time. 

Ichi Ni Nana

127 Brunswick Street

Fitzroy

 

Panama Dining Room

Disclosure: I was invited to dine as a guest of the restaurant

Now that Brad and I have been dating for nearly 6 years (somehow), it’s been interesting seeing how his tolerance for spending money on food changes, and the type of food he prefers. 

Modern Australian has become a bit of a ‘touch and go’ situation with Brad in the last couple of years, as there’s been some places that have been hits, where the food portions are generous and the flavours big and hearty, and some places where I can certainly appreciate the work that goes into the food, but it’s a little too subtle in flavour, a little too sweet, or maybe a little too pretentious, then I get a grumbly old man in the car ride home. 

Fortunately with Panama Dining Room, who recently changed owners and got a new chef in, the latter wasn’t the case. I had previously visited with a girlfriend, and although we had enjoyed our meal, I do recall it being a bit heavy handed with flavours and richness, so was looking forward to seeing how the menu had progressed.

On a Friday evening in summer, after climbing the three flights of stairs up, the dining room is inviting, softly lit with fading light through it’s gorgeously generous arched windows. Get window seats if you can, it’s just lovely. 

The cocktail menu thoroughly impresses me, not too much swirly girly stuff, but instead simple, yet unexpected and delicious sounding combinations for the educated drinker. Although I was going to just grab a classic gin and tonic, when I come across the Panama G’N’T, with Melbourne Gin Company gin, Aperol, plum and lime syrup, orange bitters and soda, I just have to give it a go. It’s a weird way to describe it perhaps, but it was kind of like a ‘jammy’ gin and tonic for me. I love the richness of the plum syrup, with a hint of citrus without being too zesty. 

Brad’s boring and just gets a gin and tonic. 

Beautifully fluffy house made bread is impossible to resist, especially with the cultured butter on the side that’s given a generous sprinkle of salt. Can everyone please serve up their salt like this more often? It is decadent salty heaven. 

In good form as always, we order too much. Starting with a couple of nibbles to share, the fried school prawns with fermented chilli mayo and lime are the perfect finger food. I feel like school prawns were the hip thing on menus a few years back but aren’t so prevalent these days…bring them back I say! I loved how crunchy, yet big and meaty these nibbles were, the serving is generous, but Brad and I ploughed through them in no time at all. 

Heirloom carrots, with cured yolk and soft brown butter are sweet honey and so delightful. I just want a whole plate of this as a salad. 

The grilled saganaki with honey, oregano and pistachio is also a delicious play on salty and sweet. The salty savoury goodness of the saganaki is paired beautifully with honey and sweet raisins, and again counterbalanced by the pistachios, which add a nice bit of crunch as well. 

Honestly, by the time I finished the three entrees, I was feeling pretty full; so little tip, perhaps just order two entrees to share if you’re both planning to have mains…and dessert?

I ordered the pork belly with apple, boudin noir, cabbage and kale, which perhaps wasn’t so smart on my half, because the portion of pork belly was absolutely huge, a real solid slice! The skin was lovely and crunchy, but I found the meat just a little bit on the dry side for my liking. The veggies on the side had quite a sharp dressing on them, which was really good for cutting through the richness of the pork belly, balancing it all out. 

Brad’s pappardelle with mushrooms, taleggio, brioche was so pretty, complete with a couple of edible flowers on top. This was a simple looking pasta dish, but it was very rich and filling, I particularly enjoyed the toasted brioche crumbs tossed over the top. 

If you want something on the side, ditch the diet and get the potatoes roasted in duck fat, rosemary and garlic. Oh lordy, these are delightful, perfectly done so they aren’t mushy but are soft and fluffy. Also duck fat. 

Although I very nearly declined dessert, when I was promised that the chocolate dessert was actually quite light and refreshing, and not that big, I just couldn’t resist. 

The chocolate with roast hazelnut crumble and caramel was exactly as promised, with fine biscuit sheets propped up on a bit of chocolate ganache or mousse, and a bit of ice-cream on the side (which just fits through the cracks anyway). I absolutely love that this is quite a light dessert, as it is a good compliment after an otherwise very filling meal, but that it is also a creative take on a chocolate dessert. 

I can’t decide if it’s a good or bad thing that Panama is three floors up. On the one hand, you at least get to work up a bit of an appetite, on the other side, it gets a bit dangerous when all you want to do when you leave is roll down the stairs at the end of the meal! 

I was absolutely stuffed, and delighted, by the end of our meal. I love the change of direction in menu that Panama Dining Room has now taken, and it also looks like that the menu changes quite frequently, in less than a month some of the items I had have already changed (or at least according to the website). 

Good food, good atmosphere, would absolutely recommend and look forward to coming back; it’d be the perfect spot for a girly catch up!

Panama Dining Room

Level 3/231 Smith Street

Fitzroy