Operator 25

Disclosure: I dined at Operator 25 as a guest

There are two things that will often turn me off from visiting a cafe for brunch. Firstly, queues. If the place is popular, I'm not keen to wait for an hour plus. I will do it on occasion, but not regularly for sure! The second thing, is parking. Have you guys been noticing all the regulations get tighter in many of the inner suburbs? Totally peeves me! 

Fortunately on a Sunday, Operator 25 is on the west side of town, located near the Queen Victoria Market and Flagstaff Gardens, where it was surprisingly easy to find a carpark just a minute walk away. Particularly handy on a cool morning!

I think it is so cute that Operator 25's name is a nod back to the heritage of the building. When it was first built, it was used by phone call operator ladies who would sit at switchboards connecting calls all day. 

The interior keeps a cool warehouse feel to it, with mismatched brickwalls and high ceilings, but still has a warmth to the place. Perhaps due to the layout, grouping tables together in cosy enclaves and not getting too lost in the space. 

My hot and smooth chai is just the thing in the morning, giving a nice hit of spice and not being too sweet. Brad's coffee looks just beautiful as well, their beans coming from Code Black Coffee in Brunswick. 

So breakfast. The menu has a healthy selection of options and after uhming and aahing for a while, Valerie, of Bacash heritage, who happened to be working the floor, suggests lamb.

Lamb for brunch? 

Why not?

Well okay, it might actually be from the lunch menu, but let's keep that to ourselves now hmm?

But my gosh, was I pleased to have ordered it! The braised lamb shoulder with spring vegetables, pea puree, romesco and lamb jus was just a stunner. One might think I'm actually at a much fancier restaurant, having a sumptuous dinner! 

The tender lamb shoulder was rolled in a thin and crisp pastry, a great play on textures and although very rich (and delicious), the freshness of the vegetables balanced it all out. It may only look like a few little pieces of lamb…but believe me, my belly was feeling it by the end of the meal! 

In comparison, Brad's baked eggs with great Northern beans, chorizo, goats curd and house made corn bread was a little less exciting and maybe a touch on the small side for him, but still a lovely staple. The sweet tomato really comes through, making it maybe a touch sweet for my tastes, but have a mouthful with chorizo and a bit of goats curd, and it all works out quite nicely. I enjoyed the little nibble of dense corn bread I had as well. Goes well with the beans!

So although I might have been pretty full after our meals, having seen the next dish on Instagram on multiple occasions, I kind of had to have it.

This must be a signature for them by now, and if it's not, they need to print pictures of it and wallpaper it around the restaurant. Because it's totally awesome. Although listed under the breakfast menu, it wouldn't be out of place under dessert either, with it's light and creamy texture and sweetness.

I'm talking about the tonic bean and coconut sago, citrus curd, mango and pistachio salted caramel crumbs.

Oh. My. God.

I think I might have let Brad had two nibbles, before I snatched it back and inhaled the rest of this. Everything works here, bring Asian dessert flavours to breakfast. The cool and zingy curd, with an extra punch from the pistachio. The sweet, sweet mango just marrying with the coconut sago to give a boost of smooth fruity sweetness and I totally went gaga over the pistachio crumbs. The slightly chewy texture, with the nuttiness and the sweetness, went a long way in giving the…parfait? Can I call it that? Anyway…giving the parfait depth in flavour and texture. 

Heaven. I could totally get used to more breakfast desserts (that aren't waffles). What more do you need? 

Operator 25

25 Wills Street

Melbourne

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Hawthorn Common

Despite the name, there's not that much common about Hawthorn Common. 

When I visited with my mum on a rainy Thursday afternoon, keen to check out the new kid on the block, rather than quietly sneaking in and taking a seat, I was spotted straight away by the owners, Sian and Danny Colls (who you may recognise from Silo by Joost), as I got recognised from my Instagram account, after I had followed them. 

Not that I could complain! With smiles, introductions and handshakes, they quickly whisked me off on an impromptu tour of the place, proud parents showing off a brand new baby!

Hawthorn Common takes over a space that has seen a fair few changes the last few years, in a slightly tricky spot in Hawthorn. And although the bright and inviting, modern art-deco interior isn't completely foreign to Melbourne cafes, there's still a whole lot that the guys are doing a bit differently.

The huge kitchen houses a healthy number of chefs, some apparently from Vue, although I did not pry to find out more. The kitchen does need to be generous though, as at Hawthorn Common just about everything is made in-house. They even mill their own wholemeal flour, to bake their own breads and sweets, in this nifty little Scandinavian looking machine! 

Sian made an interesting comment that the chefs initially struggled with the wholemeal flour, as it's much denser than the standard store bought flour, which is usually much, much more processed. 

Mum and I also had to ask about this cute little machine sitting out on one of the counters. It's designed for rolling out oats (in the jar next to it), which they do to order. Why's this? Apparently (I'm looking for some research to support) oats lose most of their goodness and nutrients after an hour of rolling or opening up the husk,  so if you want to get the most benefits from them, you should be having them fresh!

Although I'm sure they're still great for you regardless!

One of the other things I really liked about the interior were the black and white portraits of smiling people that were plastered around the walls, which I quickly came to realise were actually pictures of the staff. The team here are clearly family, and the fun, unguarded smiles welcome you to their home. 

But onto brunch! Although the menu is not long, the pickings are good and it doesn't take us long to order. Mum was happy to have a good solid coffee after being in Singapore for two weeks and my chai was quite pleasant, a touch on the sweet side for my liking, but perfectly satisfying on a cool and rainy day.

After all the talk of their freshly rolled oats, and mum being a bit of a porridge lover (especially in the winter), we had to order their porridge with nuts, fruit and honey. Mum loved it and I kind of wished I had ordered it myself! It's a healthy serve of porridge, with a really great slightly crunchy texture, packed with nutty flavours, and not overly sweet. Even the poached pear isn't overly sweet, and the addition of fresh fruit adds some brightness. Although Brad won't believe me when I say that the porridge was delicious (he thinks porridge is boring), I would definitely return for this.

I went for the vegetable fritters (which happen to be asparagus) on a chickpea, tomato and corn salad. A gorgeous clean golden colour, the fritters are light and airy, with a delicious crunch on the outside. The chickpeas are nicely seasoned, and the olive oil they've been drizzled in is full of flavour and beautifully aromatic. The charred corn is lovely, although a little messy to eat (although I love finger food, I prefer it around lunchtime or dinner) and the tomatoes are zingy and juicy. Although perhaps a bit light in portion size for some of the men in my life, for me, it was a reasonable sized feed.

Although mum and I had to run off, as we were eyeballing the sweet cabinet up by the counter, Danny was kind enough to treat us to a couple of sweets that I happily demolished when we got home. Or well, I smashed the doughnut and mum nibbled on the madeleine. In the sweets, the wholemeal flour really makes a difference, the custard doughnut having a lot more body, flavour and density to it than any other doughnut I've had. 

Different, but nice!

Although I never made it to any of it's predecessors, I think Hawthorn Common is shaping up pretty well, with a takeaway kiosk still under construction on the ground level, a deck that will be awesome when we get some more balmy weather (that they also do yoga on during the weekends I think) and some tasty food going on!

Hawthorn Common

302 Burwood Road

Hawthorn 3122

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America - New York - Day 1 and 2

It feels quite bizarre to still be writing about America, even though it was more than 4 months ago since Brad and I were there! But it's also such a nice opportunity to reflect and look back on the fond memories. Especially when it comes to New York. Ah. New York. There's just something about her isn't there? 

As much as I do love spending time with Brad, and have no issue being in his company all the time, I was quite excited on our third night in Rochester to be picked up by my cousins from Canada and go on a little drive with them to New York City, with a pit stop along the way.

The pitstop is absolutely necessary, as it's actually a solid 8 hour drive or so to New York City…and also because we planned to stop by the Woodbury Common Premium Outlets…total must do!

So after kissing Brad goodbye for a few days, we drove a couple more hours into the night and spent the night in a random hotel, in which my cousin nearly kicked me out of the bed we were sharing. Kids these days…

My cousin Brandon is the same age as me, whilst Serena is 3 years younger, and even though we don't always see each other, we're always in sync when we catch up. Especially Serena and I, she tells me that I pretty much taught her to embrace her own fashion style when I introduced her to two of her now favourite brands, which makes me pretty proud! 

So it's only natural we'd have a total ball at the Woodbury Common's, where 220 different outlets reside. From high end to high street, it's pretty much heaven for any fashion lover. 

We were very lucky with the glorious weather we had, as it is an open air mall, so we got to work on our tan as we flitted from shop to shop. From Dior, Tom Ford, to James Perse, Ralph Lauren and so many more, I don't think I even got to visit every single shop I wanted to go to in 4 or 5 hours. 

One of my favourite buys was my Furla bag that I got at about 50% off! Been using it almost everyday now and still totally in love.

So yeah, we did pretty well I think…

For the couple of nights we stayed with my cousins, we actually stayed in New Jersey…in a room that somehow fit the seven of us. With two doubles, a sofa bed and a rollaway as well (which Brad crashed on once he arrived). It was cosy, but we were hardly there anyway!

From New Jersey, we would drive over to the Park and Ride, just a couple of minutes away, park the car (as the name suggests) and then ride a bus through the Lincoln tunnel to New York City. The bus tickets were $12 return (if I remember correctly) and conveniently dropped us off into Port Authority, which is pretty much the heart of Manhattan, just a stones throw away from Times Square. Although this worked for a couple of days, I was honestly quite pleased to move into Manhattan with Brad once they left, as it is a bit tiring and means you do have to keep to a curfew to catch the last bus, but it's certainly an option if you're very tight on the cash, as accommodation in New Jersey is much more reasonably priced! 

After settling into our hotel, we definitely needed a bit of grub, and Serena and I hadn't quite kicked our shopping bug yet, so on the bus it was over to New York City. 

There's really something so exciting going over the bridge to Manhanttan. To see the city off in the distance, twinkling in the evening sunset, is just magic. Even if you've been before, you can't help but feel the excitement build. Stepping off the bus in Port Authority, and descending the steps down into the terminal, I could already smell doughnuts, and it was glorious. 

Sure the bustle of people can be a headache, but it's so exciting too, especially if you're more of a city girl (or guy) like me. The bright lights, the yellow cabs whizzing by, it's a sensory overload but one you could easily trip on for ages.

My aunt had already booked us a table at Qi in Times Square, as they had randomly stumbled upon it last time and really enjoyed it. I instantly felt a touch underdressed in my shorts and tee in the palatial cream fit-out, with glowing chandeliers encased in perspex. It was an odd mix of incredibly flash, with the diversity of Times Square, so you had the dressed up crowd, but you also hat the tourists like us walking in straight off the street. It made for an interesting dynamic.

Although a little more light wouldn't have killed anyone!

I didn't bring my camera out with me (for whatever reason) and since it was so dark, didn't really bother with pictures, but the food was alright. The noodles in the pad thai were too thick, the curries were creamy and quite pleasant and Brandon's sesame crusted salmon may not have been authentically Thai, but it did have some nice flavour going on. 

I was amazed when we left the restaurant and wandered over to Times Square, at close to 10pm, that the shops were still open and that the crowds were still crazy! I didn't remember New York being this busy, but maybe I just wasn't around Times Square as much last time? 

The next day was the Gay Pride Parade, which I had watched and cheered and taken a lot of pictures at on my last visit. Although my cousin and I had all intents on watching it…we ended up completely missing it since we felt it would be appropriate for me to introduce her to Buffalo Exchange. Hey, I found her a pair of gorgeous Miu Miu heels for $50, and we picked up some Alexander Wang dresses for $70 a pop (RRP $600)…so it was worth it! We did pass by some rainbow fabulousness on the way over though!

By the time my aunt, uncle and Brandon found us, we had seriously stocked up on our wardrobes, without crushing our credit cards too harshly. God I miss Buffalo Exchange! Since it was nearing 2pm though, we took the recommendation of some of the girls in the shop, and made our way down to Mexicue for some cheap and easy Mexican.

Maybe not as cheap as LA, but still a heck of a lot cheaper than back home in Melbourne! The small shopfront had seats upstairs, in comfortable air-con conditions, which was just right for tucking into green chilli brisket tacos. Not as good as LA, and a touch on the dry side, but it'll do. Aww yeah.

Brandon also briefly thought he was back in the 1960's in the Madmen era, overlooking the streets of New York. Might have helped if he held his electronic cigarette properly!

Victoria's Secret had a free photobooth. Hell yeahs!

We had driven into Manhattan this particular day, as we were planing to pick up Brad from the La Guardia airport in Queens in the evening. Although the prices are pure daylight robbery, it's actually not too bad if you're a big group like we were (6 in all), as a day of parking averages from $35 to $40, and it would have cost us $12 each anyway if we had bussed in.

We did nearly have a dilemma though, when we learnt that Brad's flight was delayed, and my uncle had already taken the car out of the parking garage…thank god though that it was Sunday and therefore we managed to find a free street park! Phew!

Whilst Brandon and my uncle wandered off to do a bit more shopping, Serena, my aunt and I decided dinner was in order and popped across the road to Inakaya for some light Japanese. 

It's a pretty big space, with high ceilings, and a huge sushi bar. The chefs greet you with a cheery 'Irashaimase', and use big wooden paddles to deliver sushi to customers sitting at the bar, as there's a bit of a moat of fresh fish between them.

We opted to just get a regular table and ordered a bit of sushi and soba to cool us down in the warm New York weather. The sushi was alright, perhaps a bit too much sauce for me, but I loved the cool soba and was smitten with the colourful seaweed. Being so accustomed to the one type of seaweed that most Japanese restaurants serve up, I loved trying the different textures and flavours, which were subtle but lovely and clean.

Later that night we drive over to pick up Brad, give him a peek of Manhattan as we drove through it to get back to New Jersey, and had a late night run to the Wendy's down the road from us. A successful first few days I think…now that Brad was with us, it was time to squeeze in a bit of sight seeing...

Qi Times Square

675 8th Avenue. (Between 42nd and 43rd Street)

New York 

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Inakaya

620 8th Avenue

New York

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