Hash Specialty Coffee

You know what I find kind of surprising?

On the weekend, in the city, there are actually not very many great brunch spots. Sure, every corner of the city has a good one, your Hardware Societe, the Grain Store, Operator 25, Bowery to Williamsburg…but what else? Lots of the cafes close on the weekends in the CBD (understandably though!)

So it’s always nice to have new and interesting additions to the weekend brunching scene in the city. 

Hash Speciality Coffee has picked a pretty ballsy, or smart position to be in (whichever way you want to look at it), just a few doors down from heavyweight Hardware Societe. It’s got a quirky interior going on, bit more dark and brooding, with lots of timber to contrast, and fun little additions like slanted bookshelves (used for coffee displays) and a great big retro hashtag sign. 

Brad and I luck out getting a seat right away on a communal table, as shortly after the place fills out!

Sparkling water is the house water here, and the menu reads a treat. 

But really, the reason we are here is because I’ve seen this hot chocolate everywhere on Instagram…and it was much too fun not to order. Mork hot chocolate, served next to a mug full of fairy floss. Too. Much. Fun.

There’s certainly an art to pouring the hot chocolate over your fairy floss to make it collapse neatly into your mug…which for some reason uncoordinated me managed to pull off! Once the fairy floss has completely melted into the hot chocolate (which happens pretty quickly), you’re left with a surprisingly thick and delicious beverage. I honestly was surprised it wasn’t as sweet as I expected, sure it was sweet, but not disgustingly sugary…even with all that fairy floss!

The menu is interesting, with lots of interesting options for breakfast. I opt for the leek and cheddar croquettes, cauliflower puree, ham hock, cavolo nero and a turmeric poached egg…because who doesn’t like golden fried croquettes for breakfast? 

This was hearty, and nice and filling, however, I felt like the croquettes were lacking a bit in flavour for me, they had the texture, but I wasn’t getting the sweetness of the leeks and the utter cheesiness you would hope if it’s filled with cheddar. The ham hock gave it a nice punch of salty to the plate though! Perhaps my biggest issue with this dish might have been the lack of variation in the dish, it was a lot of big richer flavours, which all kind of melded into each other, flavour and texture-wise, so there wasn’t a highlight for me, no sharpness or acidity to break through. 

Brad got the smashed peas and glazed bacon, smashed peas, mint with glazed bacon pieces, potato hash, a poached egg and smoky aioli. Again beautifully plated, and a hearty little meal, the portion size is on the smaller side, however, being the type of food it is, it leaves you very comfortable satiated. Loved them bacon pieces. 

Overall, Hash Specialty Coffee is a solid offering for the weekend. Although I do have some criticisms on my dish, it still was pretty good and tasty. The staff are a little inattentive at times, and it can be hard to wave someone down, but really, where are you rushing off to on a Saturday morning now?

Hash Specialty Coffee

113 Hardware Street

Melbourne 3000

 

Cooking Classes - Urban Kitchen & NEFF Kitchen

Disclosure: I was invited to the classes as a guest

Although I often tell people I’m not great at cooking, the truth is really, I’m not bad. I can’t make anything fancy, but I’ve definitely been getting better at working with what’s in my fridge and throwing things together. 

My problem, is that I’m getting a bit stuck in what I’m comfortable cooking (ie. curry chicken and big pots of ragu), and just need a little encouragement and guidance to see how simple it can actually be to do other things.

Doesn’t help that it wouldn’t really what I make, Brad and my brother would just inhale it anyway…so there’s not much motivation from them really!

A little while ago I was invited to check out a couple of cooking classes, which I both thoroughly enjoy…and would definitely not mind receiving as a Christmas or birthday present (just saying Brad….)

Urban Kitchen

17-21 Buckhurst St

South Melbourne 3025

After we meet for a pre-cook Corona or three in the foyer (perhaps a little dangerous considering we being handling knives a little late in the evening…), we are greeted by the sight of 44 commercial-grade cooking stations upstairs in Urban Kitchen. 

It’s a seriously impressive space. 

Urban Kitchen is run by Georgie and Ben Vile, who have spent a decade running Bay Leaf Catering, so know a thing or two about how a kitchen with lots of people should work! 

This particular evening, we’re getting taught how to make a couple of South American dishes by Paul Wilson, who’s recently opened Lady Carolina, and is also the culinary brain behind Acland St Cantina and Newmarket hotel, just to name a few. 

It’s an absolute pleasure to be able to hear from Paul himself, who simply knows everything about the cuisine, the differences in the regions, the culture behind the food, and the nuances in flavour. 

We get demos from Paul, who whips up a kingfish ceviche, and carne asada, which we then go make ourselves! Knives, flames and all! I love that we actually get hands on, and actually get pretty messy, which really, is the best way to learn and it’s not long before the kitchen is smelling amazing. 

Paul also invites La Tortilleria to talk to us about how they make their pure corn tortilla’s, the old fashioned way, with their grinding stones, as we stuff our faces with their delicious corn chips as well. 

After everyone finishes cooking the food, it’s all brought together to be enjoyed as a group…and if I say so myself, the results are truly delicious. I might’ve made myself 3 or 4 very full tacos that night!

We’re also introduced to Juan from Chill Bro, who make paletas, a popular Mexican ice-cream on a stick, made with real ingredients and packed full of flavour. I fall head over heels with their strawberry paleta with condensed milk filling. To die for guys! Been meaning to pop by Melbourne Central to try more of the flavours! 

Urban Kitchen’s upcoming schedule of classes is diverse and exciting, with some very reputable names taking the lead. Daniel Wilson’s burger masterclass sounds delicious, as does David Baron’s (from Ironbark BBQ) American BBQ class! Check out the schedule on their website. 

NEFF Kitchen

Stall 90, South Melbourne Market

Cecil Street

South Melbourne 

The South Melbourne market cooking school has had a beautiful facelift, following it’s partnership with leading Germain kitchen appliance brand NEFF Australia, to create the NEFF Market Kitchen. 

It’s beautiful, clean and crisp, and also very intimate, with space for class sizes around 10 to 15 people. 

We’re in for a treat this night, with Jesse Gerner from Bomba and Green Park, taking us through how to make some delicious Spanish dishes. 

Our class is a little more demo and less hands on (although I volunteer to expertly skewer the lamb skewers), but there is lots of questions and interactivity, as Jesse tells us of his favourite places in Spain, the history behind the dishes, and encourages us to smell and taste the three very different paprikas he is cooking with! 

Tapas, beautiful and simple clams, insanely delicious lamb skewers, a squid ink seafood paella and to top it all off, Jesse’s Pedro Ximenez ice-cream…it makes for an absolutely delicious and enjoyable evening. It’s definitely a space for story and experience sharing, and really getting to know the minute details in making a dish…and having the opportunity to taste what it should be like! 

Like Urban Kitchen, NEFF Kitchen also has an amazing line up of chef’s and classes, which all do sell out quite quickly (Adrian Li’s taste of Tokyo in November would’ve been amazing, but it’s all sold out!), so make sure you get on the website and check out what’s on offer. 

Sure I haven’t quite gotten around to recreating what I’ve learnt at these classes yet…but it’s definitely on the cards in the very near future! 

Gas-light Izakaya

Look, I gotta admit, when Daisy and I rocked up at the Gasometer Hotel early on a Sunday evening (with Liisa to arrive shortly after), to be greeted with an…enthusiastically loud live band in the front bar…we were on our phones looking for where else we could eat in the area. 

Fortunately the bar staff advised this was their last song, so we breathed a sigh of relief knowing that we could have dinner and actually hear each other and settled ourselves in to try the food from Gas-Light Izakaya. 

Gasometer Hotel is definitely not where three Asian girls would probably usually plan to have dinner, but when Adam Liston and Northern Light’s name is involved in the kitchen, we’re down. 

The menu is generous, and relaxed, taking what we loved at Northern Light into a more casual place, definitely reminded me of some of the places I had been to in Japan. 

The jalapeño and cheese korokke, with shichimi togarashi are served individually, but there’s a whole lot of attitude packed into each one. Fried perfectly golden and crunchy, the inside is exactly how you want it, melting in your mouth cheesiness with a punch of heat. We shared it quite comfortably between the three of us, it’s that big and filling!

I’ve been seeing a lot of cauliflower and broccoli on menus lately, and I’m totally okay with that. The fried cauliflower, with sweet and sour sauce (not the neon glowning type) with toasted sesame, had a lovely light batter, around the tender vegetable and a very familiar and comforting flavour to it. Kept going back for more!

You can’t go past the yakitori, we enjoyed the chicken thigh and chicken wing (I think), lovely and tender and charred to perfection. 

I was definitely into the Japanese vegetable curry, served with an onsen egg and steamed rice. On a cold night, this was pure comfort, and finally a Japanese curry that actually has a proportionate amount of gravy to rice! The spices were vibrant, and the gravy actually quite light, not heavy in the tummy. 

And to wrap up the savouries? Delicious, delicious pork loin katsu served with lemon and shredded cabbage slaw. The slaw itself was a little intense in the citrus for me, but I adored how crisp fried the katsu was. Easy, comforting food. 

We finished with the Yamazaki custard tart, which had a lovely and light pastry, but was a bit lacking in flavour overall for me. Wasn’t as excited as I was hoping to be. 

I’ve honestly never really been into traditional Australian pub food, but if I lived in Japan, I’d be totally down at the Izakaya’s all the time. To me, this is comfort food, and I’m so happy to see it in an accessible environment like the Gasometer hotel, and on top of that actually done really well too. I was also surprised how affordable our meal was, with a couple of soft drinks (hey, it was a school night), it came to around $27 a person, which I thought was very reasonable for the diversity of food we had. 

Next time, I’ll get one of those amazingly stacked Katsu-sando’s in me…

Gas-Light Izakaya

484 Smith Street

Collingwood 3066