KoKo Black, Lygon St

So picture a cold, wet, miserable Friday night and you probably start thinking chocolate. Actually maybe that's not everyone but we certainly think that. So we headed down to KoKo Black on Lygon St in Carlton, we had been there before for these amazing iced chocolates, so i thought why not do it again. You may well be thinking why would you want an iced drink on a cold night but that's before you have seen them. Anyway so we thought we might get one of the tasting plates which KoKo Black do. They are about $25 for a little sampler plate and two hot chocolates or iced chocolates. Beware the small print however as the iced chocolates incur a $1 charge per person (definitely worth it however).



We ended up siting in these huge old chairs which looked like they belonged in front of an open fire. Very comfortable but slightly awkward with a tiny table in the middle. It didn't take too long for the plate to come out and the iced chocolates which looked as they should. Unfortunately the taste was not up to scratch this time. The ice cream in the iced chocolate had ice through it which was pretty bad. Apart from that though the iced chocolates weren't too bad.




The next thing to try was the chocolate ice cream, well now that was just amazing. Velvety smooth just the way the ice cream in my iced chocolate should have been. That was gone extremely quickly :). Moving on to the chocolate mousse ...... mmmmmm .....chocolate mousse.... gorgeous, absolutely gorgeous. Comes out with a small sprinkle of crushed peanuts on the top and when you dip your spoon into this little bowl and pull out some of this beautiful mousse, you will be addicted. My suggestion is to go for the mousse first when sharing cause then you get more. Just a suggestion. Next up there was the little chocolates which are filled with a light brandy gooey fudge. I'm pretty sure they bring out different once each time but KoKo Black does chocolate very well so whatever is on your plate i am positive it will be fantastic. The shortbread is shortbread, i mean...well...its shortbread. Moving on to the little chocolate cake. Bit disappointing actually cause it looks lovely but it was a little dry for me and Laura thought the same.



All in all though i would definitely go back and would encourage anyone who hasn't been to head out and try it. Great place to relax with chocolate.

Pie in the Sky, Olinda

Devonshire Tea.. Anyone?

So it was a cold, rainy saturday afternoon and I had a sudden craving for scones :) with homemade jam and cream. I thought.. why not drive up to the Mount Dandenongs where this sweet is their specialty and stop fighting the cravings! This is what we did.




About an hour and a half out of Melbourne is the little town (by little I mean a few cafes and gift shops) called Olinda. I have heard of 'Pie in the Sky' a cafe which serves delicious pies and award winning devonshire tea. Located at 43 Olinda-Monbulk Rd, Olinda 3788. Phone: 03 9751 2128, Web: www.pieinthesky.net.au





The little "cottage" was full of diners and had a long line of people ordering take away pies from the counter (priced between $3.99-$5.99).


So we ordered two servings of scones and waited impatiently! It felt like forever (but only 10 minutes) when a basket of warm scones was served to us and we were quick to break them open. For one serving of devonshire tea (2 scones) with a coffee or tea the price is $8.50 which is very cheap. Now these scones were tasty, but I was a little disappointed because I like scones to be soft and fluffy on the inside and crunchy on the outside. These scones were melt in your mouth soft so it was more like eating a muffin. The homemade raspberry jam was so delicious that I wanted to buy a jar (which they indeed sell), but the whipped cream had not even a hint of sweetness to it.


So I'd have to say that next time I have a craving for scones, I should just ask simon to make them - as they are better than any I have eaten at a cafe. Plus, I can have ALL of the cream that I desire, without the extra charge or judgment!

Argy Bargy's, Balaclava

Simply the Best...Pizza



"Argy's" as it is affectionately known by locals, is a great place to chill out with friends, a beer and some delicious pizza. The staff are very relaxed so do not expect attentive service or any sort of 5 star restaurant treatment... but this is part of Argy's charm. Located at 263 Carlisle St (corner of Westbury St) in Balaclava, (03) 9527 2122, www.argybargy.com.au.

The menu consists of a variety of pizzas including yummy desert pizzas with chocolate, tim tams and mascarpone. Sides include fries, salads and a large serving of wedges, just how we like it, with sweet chili and sour cream.

If you are feeling a bit peckish at lunch time they have pizzas for $8 and on Mondays after 8pm their pizza and a pot is $12. Yummy!! We love cheap places with good food.


The 80's theme will please most, from the comfy couches and booths to the cool cartoon artwork all over the tables and walls. The big screens showing the footy, music clips and astro boy should please the others. Vinyl spins on the decks which gives Argy's a cool, relaxed vibe.

The first pizza we sample is the "Sheep Shagger" ($12.90) with spicy lamb mince, capsicum, mozzarella & greek yoghurt. This is the immediate favourite and a must try for all! Full of flavour and with a bit of spice, it is definitely not like any pizza I have tried before.


The "Il Salzone" ($13.90) with smoked salmon, mozzarella, spinach, cream cheese, cracked pepper & herbs is an absolute standout. The saltiness of the salmon with the oh so creamy cheese is just amazing!


Next up is the "Hokey Pokey" ($9.90) which is Argy's version of the margarita with tomato, mozzarella, basil, crushed garlic & herbs (we added olives) is tasty! I am not usually a fan of margaritas as I like a lot of toppings but this was a nice pizza that won't disappoint cheese fans.


The "Argy Bang!" ($11.90) with salami, mozzarella, mild chili & garlic was a hit! Verrrrry tasty I must say!


For a relaxed and funky feel, the only place to be is at Argy Bargy's. The no-fuss atmosphere is perfect for a night out with pals and pizza!

Campari, Port Melbourne

It's Brunch Time...

So we headed down to Port Melbourne on the weekend and decided to have coffee and a pastry at a restaurant called Campari (2 Waterfront Place - Station Pier, Port Melbourne) Phone: 03 9676 9230. The location is great, overlooking the water and the million dollar yachts of the wealthy.. it is nice to pretend that one of them is yours.

Well, the service here was mixed - the two male waiters were lovely and attentive BUT the young female was terrible. She did not bring any water to the table, mixed up the coffee orders twice and was quite unpleasant.

When we finally received the correct order for drinks, our coffees were very weak. It is disappointing to find so many bad coffees amongst such an array of great cafes and restaurants in Melbourne.


The prices of the croissants were quite high, although this was expected because we were in the 'trendy' suburb of Port Melbourne. I ordered the croissant with strawberry jam ($6.00) but was told "We have run out of our strawberry jam" so I decided to have orange marmalade instead. I was quite disappointed when the dish came out with two sachets of Kraft marmalade, not even home made jam. The croissant was yummy, despite the processed spreads :)


The other croissant ordered was with ham, cheese and tomato ($8.00). This was a little soggy because of the tomato.


Overall, it was an okay brunch but nothing exciting. Campari has a large menu for both lunch and dinner, unfortunately I do not think that I will be back to try it.

Las Chicas, Balaclava

The Breakfast of Champions...

One of our favourite little breakfast spots is Las Chicas - 203 Carlisle street, Balaclava, Phone: 03 9531 3699. It is a well know place for locals who want a scrumptious serving of well cooked eggs in a cosy atmosphere. The tip is to get there early... unlike our ritual of turning up for breaky at 1pm on sunday afternoon and its BUSY. There is usually a wait of 15-20 minutes but the food is well worth the wait, leave your name at the front with the 'door man' and he'll keep an eye out for a table.

The reason Las Chicas is so busy is the good service and consistent high quality of its dishes. So many places loose their 'flair' for good servings once they have managed to pull in the customers. But not here, a tasty breakfast is their specialty. You can't help but to get excited when the waiter gives you the much anticipated nod of approval. There is also an outside seating area in a relaxing garden setting with heaters that warm patrons on cold winter days. The coffee is good, but not the best that I have had. It tends to come out warm rather than hot, although by mentioning this to the waiter when ordering should any prevent disappointment.

So many good breaky options that your head will spin! The menu includes french toast or pancakes (with fresh banana, strawberries, pistachio ricotta and maple syrup), bircher museli, eggs benedict an the famous breaky burito. One of our favourite dishes is the "Baked Bean Breaky" - two slices of pumpkin and polenta loaf, topped with hot baked beans, spinach and a perfectly poached egg. We added a tasty side of bacon :)


The polenta slices are lovely and thick... oh so soft and tasty. The spinach, sauteed in butter is anything but tasteless. The baked beans are the type of comfort food you need on a sunday morning and the bacon is crispy and delicious.

Next up is the "Big Mama's Breaky" which is... BIG.


Two slices of multi-grain sourdough, two poached eggs, mushrooms, spinach, tomatoes and bacon (although we exchanged the bacon for a sausage). The mushrooms are sauteed in butter and rosemary and I think I taste a hint of balsamic vinegar, they are just amazing. This breaky is so yummy, it s a must try.

The BLT focaccia was a surprisingly not a heavy option - with bacon, rocket, tomato, aioli and caramelized onion.


The turkish bread at Las Chicas is great as its always crunchy on the outside but soft and buttery on the inside :) Although, I must say that the breaky BLT was a little bare for my liking and compared to the other breakfast dishes it was a bit of a letdown.

The last option was just thrown together by me - two poached eggs on a bagel with a side of avocado and smoked atlantic salmon.


The poached eggs are always cooked to perfection, the yolk is runny while the whites remain cooked.. something I have never managed to do properly at home, hence why we go out for breakfast so much! The salmon, when paired with poached eggs and a crunchy bagel is just delightful. The avocado is fresh and drizzled with lemon, I do prefer to have a side of avocado which is sliced rather than mashed, but it is still a tasty side.

Not only is the food excellent, and reasonably priced, but the venue is always buzzing with a lively atmosphere. The outdoor courtyard is dog friendly so feel free to bring your bestie along. So I recommend heading down to Las Chicas for some good food and trust me you will keep coming back for more!

Rocket and Ricotta Gozleme

Ok, so here is our first blog in our Food Diary.

Rocket and Ricotta Gozleme which originally is suppose to be Leek and Ricotta from the ready steady cook website but we didn't have leek and we did have Rocket so we thought we would give it a try. We also didn't have any plain flour at home so we used self raising flour :) Anyway the end product was pretty good, we added sun dried tomatoes to the mix just to give it a bit more flavour. So the recipe is as follows:


Ingredients:

1 cup plain flour
1 tbs olive oil
½ cup room temperature water
¼ cup shredded baby beetroot leaves
100g ricotta, crumbled
1 tbs finely chopped basil
2 tbs finely chopped flat leaf parsley
Grated rind 1 lemon
Olive oil
1 Lemon, halved

Method:

1 Combine flour, olive oil and water in a bowl, mixing well to form a dough. Knead on a lightly floured surface until dough is smooth. If time permits set aside 10 minutes. Roll dough out on a sheet baking paper to rectangular shape 10cm x 25cm.

2 Top half the dough with beetroot leaves(rocket), ricotta, basil, parsley, sun dried tomatoes and lemon rind. Season with salt and pepper and fold remaining dough over to seal, press edges together.

3 Heat a large frying pan over medium heat. Brush pastry well with oil, and cook gozleme for 8-10 minutes, turning often until pastry is golden and crisp.

4 Meanwhile, add lemon to hot pan, cut side down and cook 3 minutes until warmed through and charred. Cut gozleme in half and serve with lemon.