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

 

Rumi

Friends really can come out of nowhere sometimes. I mean, take Em for example. The last time I had seen this girl was when we met up for dinner at Albert Street Food and Wine at the beginning of 2012 after meeting on twitter and deciding to meet up and hang out. 

Although we got along really well, we didn't meet up for another meal that year, for whatever reason, although we stayed lightly in touch on twitter.

Fast forward to September of this year, and I get a friendly 'Hey, let's get dinner!' tweet a little bit out of the blue. Of course, it's a yes from me, followed by a string of enthusiastic tweets with restaurant suggestions.

After all, why on earth would you say no to a potential dining excursion? 

And so, we ended up in Rumi, Melbourne's home to upmarket but homely Middle Eastern food, on a beautiful Monday night, where I worn jeans and she wore a leather skirt. Need to pick up my fashion game!

I will admit, I was a little surprised with how humble the decor was, with a clean and simple fit-out, with a just a couple of decorative touches to keep a Middle Eastern theme going. It was quite simple, but very classy, the perfect combination to invite both the diners going out for a casual meal, or for something a little more special. 

I'm always smitten with these water jugs, I think they're really just the most beautiful things…although dangerous too. I'm always terrified that I'm going to drop one!

I felt it was necessary to try a Lebanese wine in a Middle Eastern restaurant, so Em and I both started our evening with a 2012 altitudes Syrah Rose from Batroun, Lebanon. Not too sweet, a nice palate cleanser to whet the appetite.

Rumi's got a terrible menu. In the sense that everything on it sounds absolutely delicious, and it's not too long, so you are pretty much half tempted to order everything on it. So nearly did.

After the waiter comes over and suggests that 4 to 5 options was a good number to share, with maybe 2 things from the first section, 2 from the middle and one larger dish to share, Em immediately turns to me and says: "Oh, I think 6 things sounds good, don't you?"

Clearly, this is why we get along so well. 

We start with bastourma, the house cured beef, which comes as a hugely generous serve and sliced to almost paper-thin perfection, with a healthy drizzle of very aromatic olive oil. Why haven't I had olive oil on all my cured meats? Whilst the slight chewiness of the meat is pleasant, and expected, I love how the olive oil softens it all out, just a little bit. The flavour is soft, making it quite easy to keep stuffing them down the hatch (not to be crude or anything now). 

Sigara Boregi, cigar shaped pastries filled with haloumi, feta and kasseri, delight us with how crisp and flaky the pastry is, although I find it a bit too oily on the outside for my taste. The filling however, is just divine, although loaded with cheese, it's not too rich, with a lovely soft texture. 

On to spiced school prawns, with a tahini sauce on the side. It's really hard to go wrong with these little beauties, I love the spices that these crunchy little beauties were heavily dusted with at Rumi. Paprika galore! We both felt the tahini sauce really made this dish for us though, and would have liked a little bit more to go with it. 

After finishing our entree-type nibbles, we move on to the bigger dishes, starting with the crispy fried jerusalem artichokes. So earthy, and surprisingly rich, but definitely crispy. Would easily munch on these over potatoes any day. Yeah, I'm going there!

I haven't had a lot of experience with freekah, but Em has, and she loves it, so we had to get the freekah salad with almonds, ewe's milk feta and pomegranate dressing. I love the depth and all the layers in this, texturally and in flavour, from the toasted and crunchy almonds slivers, to the ever soft and creamy milk feta, that just attached itself to everything in the salad. Smokey and nutty, with a pinch of parsley for a spot more of freshness, it was the perfect side dish. 

We weren't quite sure what to expect with the poached veal bell, with mother's yoghurt, leek, dill and almonds, that we ordered on a bit of a whim because it sounded a little bit different! What we got tough was an absolutely gorgeous dish, the poached veal was such a smooth meaty texture, not fatty at all…and surprisingly refreshing. Not an adjective I would usually use with meat, but that's exactly the word for it! As I got full on the artichokes, I would revert to eating the veal and start feeling less full...go figure. The bed of sweet and tender leeks it sat on, inspired me to cook with leeks for the whole of the next week, they were just that good. 

And I say yes to more toasted, slivered almonds. Too good. 

So when I booked for a 6:30pm table, I was told they would need the table back by 8:30pm, which we were both fine with. However, when I checked my watch after all our savouries…um. It was well passed 8:30pm. Well, well past. Oops! Fortunately they didn't seem to be turning too many tables on a Monday night, so seemed happy to leave us there to talk food, booze and crazy shenanigans had with friends. 

Which only meant the next sensible move was dessert. Of course. 

Dates, filled with a dollop of tart labne and a sprinkling of pistachio, was very easy to like. I had made these at home before using Yasmeen's recipe, except her version was with ricotta, which was much milder than the lane. Both work well though, just depends on what your preference is!

The almond milk pudding with pistachio and barberry definitely caught the both of us off guard as I think it was quite a bit bigger than we expected! Whilst I generally liked it, I found the texture of the pudding a bit too…texturised for my taste, a little bit almond mealy almost, when I thought I would be getting something a bit smoother. Other than that though, I liked everything else, great flavours, the berry sauce made for a great topper. 

We also ordered some chai teas with our desserts, which if you ask me, are the perfect accompaniment and definitely one of the best chai's I've had in Melbourne (unexpectedly!). Rich, dark, rolling around the tongue soothingly, and punching your mouth with spice, I was half tempted to request for another glass to take home with me. 

To top if all off, I absolutely adored that we got a small box of gum to take home with us. What a clever, and thoughtful little token to aid the digestion…we both needed it! 

Rumi really was the perfect place for Em and I to catch up over a meal after over a year of not seeing each other, and by bonding over food that neither of us was eloquently versed in, meant it we both had a wonderful learning experience (not to mention tasty too). I can see why Rumi is a bit of an institution, and quite beloved by the regulars. With warm, smiling service, who never made us feel hurried and didn't judge us for being the two fatties we were (if you lost count, that's 8 dishes between two girls. We also pretty much finished everything…), and serving up such delicious and intriguing food…what's not to like? 

For the record, Em and I have already caught up for dinner again since, and think we'll be keeping up the habit a little more now that we've realised how well we get along again :)

Rumi

116 Lygon Street

Brunswick East

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Momo

It's not that often that Brad and I indulge in opulence. We're both pretty laid back people, Brad maybe more so than I, as I tend to have my moments of high maintainence. But that surely naturally comes with the whole being a woman thing right?

And as much as I do love my easy going breakfasts and smashing a pizza while bumming out in front of the tv, I do love dressing up and having a divine night out as well. Divine. Nothing less.

Agenda Melbourne had a private sale for Momo some months back now, their Saraban sharing menu, usually $100 per person, for $50 per person instead. I jumped all over it, made a booking, announced it to Brad that we had a dinner date in a few weeks and that was that. I can make shit happen. Yeah.

Momo is appropriately located up the 'Parisian' end of Collins St, where the Louis Vuitton, Gucci and Chanel lovers hang out.

Accessing Momo is a fun little adventure, whilst you head in the direction of the Grand Hyatt, before actually getting into the hotel, you access a discreet, private elevator that takes you right there. It has that 'oooh' effect, in that you don't know what's coming, that element of suspense.

Stepping out of the elevator doors, you're taken to another world almost. The place is lush. Soft, luxurious, gentle shades of blue and purple lights and opulent decor touches here and there. And although opulent, still entirely elegant. It looked like diamonds were dripping from the ceiling. It managed to exude the feeling of being somewhere exotic and moroccan...without being tacky about it.

The Saraban sharing menu allowed us to choose, two entrees, one main, one side dish and then finish up with the dessert mezza. It probably doesn't sound like a whole lot, but it was honestly, quite plenty!

I can't remember what wine we ordered...was a white, we had a bottle, it made me feel happy.

Before our Saraban sharing feast started, we were given some fresh vegetables, lightly dressed with a bit of pepper and with some olive oil on the side to start. I loved this idea. In such a food, nutrition and body conscious society, instead of bread, vegetables. They were so fresh and crunchy. Good variety too, radishes and cucumbers amongst a couple of other vegetables, which just freshened up the palate. You have to wonder why more restaurants don't do this!

Although having said that, we were still given a small serve of bread as well. Aren't they just cute? Warm little pockets of bread, filled with air. They kind of reminded me of little pillows!

At Momo, service is 'silver spoon' service. So our entrees and mains were presented to us and then spooned into two perfect serves on our respective plates. It was pleasant and bizarre to be so fussed over, since we're definitely not used to so much attention! With the general trend of friendly but casual service that most new restaurants strive to, this was a nod to something a bit more old school, that I very much respected, as they did such an amazing job.

So after showing us our entrees, cradling the bowl in one hand and using an absolutely polished and shiny silver spoon and fork to serve us, ever so neatly and delicately, I was able to take pictures of our food. One of our two entrees, the warm salad of roasted barramundi with fennel, tarragon and buffalo feta was probably my favourite of the two entrees. The barramundi was beautiful, sweet and tender, very, very nicely cooked. The fennel came in as a nice lively injection of flavour and crunch. It really brightened up the dish and was a nice light starting point.

The waiter was sure to give me the orange flower petal. Brad didn't get served a pretty flower. Teehee!

On the flip side, Brad commented that he preferred our other entree better (although we both agreed that they were both fantastic regardless), which was duck breast roasted on the bone with creamy lentil burghul pilav and baby beets. Again, in comparison to the barramundi, this was a much heavier and heartier entree. The duck was heady and delicious and the lentils rich and creamy. A very comforting dish.

For the main, we (or I may have scoured the menu the day before and already chosen) decided on the quail in dukkah crumbs, caradamom bacon, mushrooms and beans in verjuice. So delicately crumbed and so deliciously cooked. The meat was just gorgeous. The beans were a very nice accompaniment as they had soaked up all the flavour somewhere in the process and had a nice meatiness to them.

I had enquired while ordering, what exactly the salad-e 'shirazi' with edible flowers was. The response? 'The prettiest garden salad in Melbourne'. Well they're probably not too far off. It's possibly the most prettily coloured one, with a nice little light dressing. Flavour-wise, nothing particularly mind blowing, but I suppose we had mostly fairly bold flavours in all our other dishes, so this was really just to add something light and neutral to our meal. But I suppose eating does involve all our senses doesn't it? So it's always to have something pretty to look at while you're eating I guess!

And what I was most looking forward to really (after having done my research and reading up previous blogposts on urbanspoon), the dessert mezza. This had been highly rated, so it had a lot to live up to. But my goodness it did.

Even before the plate hit the table, the smell of strong, dark cocoa wafted to my nose as the plates came around the corner, which immediately had me drooling. But as much as I wanted to dive into the rich hot chocolate and kaluah cake stuffed with whipped medjool date....I was advised to save it for last since it was so much richer and would overwhelm the lighter more delicate flavours in the other desserts.

Suppose you can't argue against that.

The other two desserts were, in the glass, a lemon and orange flower ice-cream, dried rose and hazelnut crumble, and with the tree, a persian saffron tart, passionfruit curd and mascarpone cheese.

Oh where to start?!

The persian saffron tart, was just lovely and tangy, the passionfruit really came through and it just had a beautiful, smooth texture to it. It wasn't too sweet either, making it quite refreshing.

The lemon and orange flower ice-cream in comparison, was quite sweet, but in a delightful way. As per the waiters suggestion, we broke the hazelnut crumble into the ice-cream and mixed it all up together. So many flavours that all just worked! There was the citrus and bright flavours of the lemon and orange ice-cream, but a strong sweetness from the rose which was toned down by the hazelnut crumble. The hazelnut crumble added an earthiness to it which was a nice addition to all the fluffy light flavours. Such a playful dessert with lots of fun textures as well.

And of course. That chocolate cake. It was a sin. Tasty tasty sin. Rich and so cocoa-y. If you love your chocolate rich and dark, this is the cake for you. The insides just oozing out lovingly. My favourite. If you couldn't tell.

Throughout the whole night, service was just exceptional, with friendly but exceptionally professional staff, who pampered us all night. I'm still in awe at how they handle the spoon and fork to so elegantly plate everything, right in front of the customer, talk about pressure!

In regards to the food, it's not super innovative or mind blowing, ala Andrew McConnell style, but Greg Malouf does absolutely lovely, tasty food, that is exceptionally executed.

I may not come back to Momo so soon, as my bank account would be very angry with me, but I would certainly recommend it for a special occasion, as that all around special experience. There's not that many places that do service to this level and it's certainly a pleasure, albeit a bit strange as well (since I'm not used to it), to experience it.

Still dreaming of that chocolate cake....

Momo

123 Collins St (Lower Plaza Level)

Melbourne, 3000

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