Hello Dear Readers!
Hope you all had a great weekend! I know I certainly did however lacking plenty of sleep in the process.
I decided to go to Melbourne last weekend to catch up with Miss Teepot and while I was there Mr & Mrs Papparazzi happened to coincidentally also be in Melbourne for a birthday so it was great to catch up with everyone in a different state exploring what the Melbourne CBD had to offer. Miss Teepot was our tour guide for the day showing us all the small laneways of Melbourne with plenty of interesting graffiti art spread across all the walls. We definitely had a blast taking numerous photos, doing silly poses and taking various panoramic shots with our trusty iPhones.
We headed out to lunch together and decided to eat in one of Melbourne’s popular laneways. Miss Teepot decided on eating in one of the cafes in Degraves Street. The street was packed with people as it was around lunch time and a lot of people were lining up for the cafes situated in this street so it was very difficult to get a table in one of the cafes. We settled on eating at “The Quarter” as we were in luck and found a free table and their lunch service was just about to begin as we sat down so it was good timing. I was saddened at first as I was really looking forward to having some breakfast/brunch food but was in luck when they handed us a menu with a few items they do for all day breakfast..I will always pick breakfast food over lunch food any day just like I will pick dessert over dinner ;P
Photos are courtesy of Mrs Papparazzi…I figure I should let her take all the photos as she is more professional..thanks again Mrs Papparazzi! Stay tuned for her new upcoming blog for all her photos..definitely a must see blog!
Mr Papparazzi’s meal: Lamb Backstrap served with roasted potatoes and beans
Mr Muscles meal: Rib Eye served on a bed of fetta and olive oil mash accompanied with spinach and Portobello mushrooms with a beef jus.
Miss Teepot’s meal: Salad Special: Tandoori Chicken Salad
Mrs Papparazzi’s meal: Pasta of the day: Spaghetti in a tomato based sauce with an array of flavours (I think there was chorizo, corn and many other flavours)
My meal: Smashed Avocado – Poached Eggs, Avocado, Fetta served on rye bread
I enjoyed my meal however I found the bread to be a bit soggy due to the poached eggs and avocado which had been sitting on the bread for too long. The avocado paired well with the eggs and the fetta gave a nice saltiness to the dish.
We decided to get Miss Teepot a cupcake to celebrate her birthday (belated). How cute is this cupcake! It’s a cookie monster cupcake with a chocolate chip cookie, Oreo frosting sprinkled with blue sprinkles on a chocolate cupcake.
Mr Muscles wanted to visit “Wonderbao” after lunch as we had both heard so much about this bun shop in the Melbourne CBD. As it was about a 15 minute walk there, we explored a bit of the Melbourne CBD along the way and of course this gave us a chance to burn off some of lunch before we continued to eat and indulge in more food.
I was very excited to finally try “Wonderbao” as I had read a few reviews and knew exactly what I wanted to try before I got there. Since I have a sweet tooth and I had just eaten lunch, I knew that I wanted to try some sweet dessert buns. The others all tried out the savoury buns and were quite happy with their choices.
The place is hidden in a small arcade which leads to more laneways with graffiti walls. The shop itself is quite small featuring many bamboo steamers for the assortment of buns they sell. There are a few stools where you can enjoy your buns with a cold drink from the fridge but mostly this place has a lot of customers who come in and take away the food to eat elsewhere.
Mr Muscles really loved Wonderbao and couldn’t stop raving about it when we got back to the hotel. We both agreed that it was a great concept with many places trying to imitate the famous Momofuku pork buns and as you all must know by now, I love all things to do with steamed buns so I know we will be back to visit again on our next trip to Melbourne.
Wonderbao’s menu
A map of how to get to Wonderbao
The array of bamboo steamers filled with plentiful amounts of steamed buns
Braised Pork Belly Gua Bao with pickled mustard, coriander and crushed peanuts $3.80
Roast Pork Belly Gua Bao with cucumber, pickled carrots & daikon and hoisin sauce $3.80
Taro Bun $1.70
An inside shot of the taro bun I ordered
I really liked the taro bun as it was not too sweet and you could tell that they used fresh taro for the filling as it had more of a savoury taste to it.
Nai Wong Bao (Egg Custard Bun) $1.70
An inside shot of the egg custard bun – look at that lovely yellow custard!
Mr Muscles knew I wanted the egg custard bun as well so he ordered it and split it in half to share with me and I was not disappointed. The bun was soft and the custard was smooth almost melting in your mouth. I love egg custard buns and if my stomach could have fit another bun, I would have ordered another. I was already in quite a heavy food coma so I had to settle with the half that I ate. I will definitely order this again next time I visit this place.
A panoramic shot from my iPhone of one of the laneways with graffiti on the walls
After a heavy food coma, we decided to retreat back to the hotel and have a bit of a nap being grandmas and grandpa after all. After a quick nap we woke up and got ready for dinner. We chose to eat dinner at the Crown as we were planning to try our luck at the tables after. I had never been to Bistro Guillaume before but had read quite a lot of reviews on this place so was eager to visit this place.
The atmosphere of the place is very vibrant with green doors, a green bar and green menus contrasting to the bistro feel of the restaurant with dark wooden chairs and tables, lantern like lights and a chalk board for the specials.
The entrance of Bistro Guillaume
The green bar
The Menu
Daily Specials
Complimentary Sourdough Bread which was crispy on the outside and light and soft on the inside
An assortment of Freshly Shucked Oysters served with Shallots and Red Wine Vinegar $3.50/ea
Mr Muscles entrée: Steak Tartare with Pommes Gaufrettes $24.00
A closer view of the steak tartare
Miss Teepot’s Main: Berkshire pork belly with pickled cabbage and apple salad $36.00
Mr Muscles Main: Chargrilled King salmon with fennel puree and a herb salad $36.00
My main: Spanner crab salad, avocado, cucumber and coriander $24.00
Paris Mash $9.00
I have such a weakness for potatoes and I couldn’t resist. The mash was so smooth and creamy that I had to keep going for seconds and thirds ;P
Miss Teepot and my dessert choice: Vanilla bean crème brûlée $15.00
This dessert was really delicious with the right consistency not being too thick or too runny. You could see speckles of vanilla bean throughout the whole dessert. The dessert was served with a lovely vanilla shortbread but by the time I had devoured my creme brulee I was feeling the food coma again and could only eat half of the shortbread. A really wonderful dessert which I plan to order again when I visit this restaurant next time.
Miss Teepot’s plate of dessert – Happy Birthday again! Hope you had a fun time indulging in a plentiful amount of food!
Until next time!
x
Jackie
The Quarter
27 – 31 Degraves Street
Melbourne VIC 3000
Phone: (03) 9650 6156
Trading Hours:
Mon-Sat: 7am-late
Sun: 8am-5pm
Website: http://www.thequarter.com.au
Wonderbao
Shop 4/ 19-37 A’Beckett St
Melbourne VIC 3000
Bistro Guillaume
Crown Entertainment Complex
Southbank, VIC 3006
Phone: (03) 9292 4751
Trading Hours:
Lunch & Dinner 7 days a week noon until late
Website: http://bistroguillaumemelbourne.com.au/
