Cupcake Central - Keep calm and eat cupcakes :9

http://www.cupcakecentral.com.au/

The best cupcake shop in Melbourne for me. You can find them in Hawthorn, Melbourne Central and  Highpoint. I usually go to the one in Melbourne Central and now that I've lived just accross the road, its worrisome.  I have met Sheryl, the owner in person on Cake Expo last year where she showed us her amzing piping techniques. She also told us her story, how she pursued her dream and made it come true. Its inspiring and I hope I can be like her one day, . 

 FYI, I'm a huge chocolate fan, so I will always choose death by chocolate cake over any berry crumble or fruit cake. But somehow if I can only buy two cupcakes, I'll definitely skip the chocolate ones for these two.  I love cream cheese so much and that might actually explains why :9

 I really love the berries in the bottom, it gives that sweet and tangy taste in your mouth balancing the sweetnees of the frosting. 

Mixed berry yoghurt & Raspberry white chocolate - $4 each

My friend really enjoyed the peanut butter as the base is actually brownie instead of normal chocolate cupcake. And the red velvet is still the best I've tried so far, or maybe second after mine (subjective). 

Peanut butter brownie & Red Velvet - $4 each

Dekcik just couldn't take his eyes when he saw the oreo on top of the cupcakes so we got the cookies and cream too. It was good and sweet as expected with actual cookie crumbs inside. 

The right one was my pick, gooey salted caramel inside and again salted caramel buttercream on top.  

Cookies and cream & Salted Caramel - $4 each

Will I come back ? Yes of course, this is my to go cupcake shop!

Hammer & Tong - Crabbers !

412 Brunswick Street
Fitzroy, VIC 3065
Closed on Monday 
http://www.hammerandtong.com.au/

We went to Hammer & Tong on Saturday directly after lining up from Lune because we're so hungry and need some savouries. We got there around 9am, they're pretty busy but we got our table straight away. I was really excited to finally come and check in as this place has been on urbanspoon front page for ages.

We didn't order any coffees since all of us had our caffeinne fix earlier at Lune. But looking at the machine, it must be good..

A lot of sweets on the display, so tempting.. but we knew very well that our buttery croissants are waiting :)

All of us ordered the soft shell crab burger that everyone's been talking about. Too mainstream I know but they're indeed really good.   

Soft Shell Crab Burger - $12

The brioche bun was super soft, buttery and sweet while the soft shell crab was cooked to perfection. You can easily grab the burger with one hand and eat it at once as the size is quite small but for $12 this is top.

Soft Shell Crab Burger - $12

No wonder this place ranked first on urbanspoon, they sure do serve great food and excellent service. Staffs were really friendly and helpful, they kept coming back to check whether we need anything and no hurry in getting us the bill when we finished.

Will I come back ? A big YES.. to the burger and maybe something sweet at the end.  

Lune Croissanterie - Fly me to the moon

29 Scott Street                                                                                        Friday : 7.30am till sold out
Elwood, VIC 3184                                                                    Saturday and Sunday : 8am till sold out
http://lunecroissanterie.com/

Please beware, this post might contain serious temptations! :9

This was my third time waking up early and lining up along with the other croissant hunters. We (me, Fiona, Maya & Suri) got there at 7.45 and the queue was NO JOKE ,,,,,, I mean, the shop is not even open yet... I did ask Kate, the sweet lady behind the masterpiece, about the line and she reckons the croissants are selling faster every week. So if you want to grab these beauties, you better wake up early and join the force. 

Tips : Better come on Saturday or Sunday so you have a chance to bring back 6 as she distributes half of what she makes on Friday to Patricia Coffee Brewers. 

While waiting, Kate and the other staff came over to take our coffee order. I asked for skinny mocha but unfortunately they only use the milk they use in making croissants so yes its full cream.

My mocha tasted so much like cappuccino because I couldn't really taste the chocolate for some reason. The coffee is a bit more on the acidity side as I had that tangy feeling at the tip of my tongue.

Coffee & Hot Chocolate - $4.5

I was afraid that we might end up with 2 croissants again but amazingly we were the last ones to walk out with 6!! Thank you for the people in front of us who are kind and not greedy like us <3

Me, Fiona, Maya and Suri so happy :)

 We did a little bit of photo session and the photos turned out to be really good. So prepared yourself, there are a lot of goodness on the way. FYI all photos were taken with iPhone 5s since my camera was hiding somewhere that day. 

Goodness on a chopping board <3

My most favourite is the Kouign Aman though the photo was a bit .... I think this is the first time I had this baby, it tasted like my childhood cake back in Indonesia. The KA was really crispy, buttery and the sweetest as it has caramelised sugar on top. Kouign Aman and milk will be my perfect breakfast!

Kouign Aman - $5

This is what everyone's been talking about, CRUFFIN! Kate's own invention, a hybrid of croissant and muffin. As you can see they have the flaky textures of croissant but they are less crispy compared to the others. I shared this with a friend so we cut it into two and I cut it wrongly. We didn't enjoy it that much since one side had all the caramel and the other had all the peanut custard :( 

Snickers Cruffin - $6.5

Suri had the blackberry cruffin and she liked it. However, the filling was not enough for her liking, the blackberry was literally that much (refer to photo).

Blackberry Cruffin - $5.5

These are the twice baked croissants!! I have a thing for almond croissant and this is a real deal, good pastry, full of almond flakes and not strong on the almond flavour as I prefer. I had one from Zumbo sometime ago and I just didn't like it as the almond was so strong that it tastes like medicine. 

Twice baked almond - $6

This one was the special that day, macadamia and salted caramel. The caramel was not too sweet and the macadamia was totally crunchy. 

Twice baked macadamia & salted caramel - $7

I could say that Kate can read minds. She combines everything that we have been thinking of, almond and chocolate, what more do you need? Hmm more chocolate maybe? I was told that in Paris, they put a little bit of chocolate inside so that it won't overpower the pastry. I will used to this type eventually..

Choc almond - $5

Pain au chocolat - $4.5

On my second attempt, I was a bit disappointed because I only got the leftovers which was the plain and ham&cheese croissants. I really shouldn't judge the book by its cover, the plain croissant really blew me away. I could smell the butter before I even bite into it, very flaky and I remembered having all the flakes everywhere like a kid.  

Plain croissant - $4.5

For you who prefer savoury over sweet, don't worry as she also makes Ham & Gruyere. I didn't get to try this one as I gave this to my Boss.

Ham & Gruyere - $5.5

You don't have to worry about the service, if Kate works for KFC she will definitely get a 100% CHAMPS check. She frequently counts how many croissants are left and how many people lining out there. So despite the super long queue, she will make sure everyone gets home with croissant on their hands. 

Will I come back ? A big YES, especially after I see her posting what she's selling on instagram. 

De Clieu

187 Gertrude Street
Fitzroy, VIC 3065
http://www.declieu.net.au/

Today is Labour Day which means public holiday meaning NOT WORKING !!! I, Maya and Suri decided to celebrate the day with brunch at Hammer & Tong. We were waiting in the tram stop for number 86 to come while looking over photos on urbanspoon and deciding what to order. We were so excited to try this place which has been a hype for quite some time that we kept on flicking the photos until Suri saw the home screen and said "they are closed on monday". After searching for sometime, I came up with Proud Mary and there we go. This time we did check the opening times and they do open on Monday so nothing to worry. We arrived and found a closed sign on the door, no luck at all. Then we decided to go to De Clieu, the place we passed by and definitely open. It was 12.30pm when we arrived, there were 6 or more people waiting to be seated so I thought I'm gonna be starving for another hour. Luckily when we asked the staff who is BTW really cute, there was a table for three in the corner.

I started with Skinny Mocha which was beautifully presented. But when I touched the glass it was too hot, I had to leave it for a couple minutes before I could drink it which is a bit disappointing.

Mocha - $4

The menu sure offers a lot of things from egg benedict, broadbean fritters, honey braised lamb bun and even scrambled tofu. But I had to go with the pork neck, the dish every one has been ordering.

The pork neck came with spring onion roti which was really good, thin and crispy like canai. The meat was tender and I must say they are really generous with the portion. The tonkatsu sauce was also good but it was a bit too much, less sauce would be better for me.

Berkshire Pork Neck - $17

Suri went for the broadbean fritters and she was happy with her choice too. I had a bite and the fritter was really crisp and full of flavors. The portion was a bit small compared to the others but it was enough to keep her full.

Miso and  Broadbean Fritters (vg) - $16,5

Maya ordered Wagyu beef burger which was the special of the day. The bun was sweet and crisp just the way I like it. The chips and onion rings were great (nothing could go wrong with deep fried). However, the patty was a bit dry and it falls apart when you bite it which more like eating minced beef rather than a patty.

Wagyu beef burger - $15

Service was excellent, the waiters were friendly and helpful. One funny thing was we saw a cockroach on the wall next to our table, none of us was brave enough so we asked for help. The cute waiter laughed a bit and caught that brown little thing. Whenever we saw him, he smiled and said sorry. We also stayed for another two hours chatting and none of the staffs came to our table to offer a bill which happens to most places because they need us to leave. The other waiter also helped us take a picture :)

Me, Maya, Suri <3

Would I come back ? Definitely yes, to try their eggs benedict and cured salmon.

Gaijin

135 Commercial Road

South Yarra, VIC 3141

03 9804 8873

www.gaijinmelbourne.com

My first visit to Gaijin was in 2010 and we went for the "All You Can Eat". After that I have been to Gaijin for several times because I love Japanese fusion and I have never been to any similar places yet.  

Don't you want these cuties? I do even though I'm not a fan of Sake and Wasabi :)

We started with Edamame (soybeans in the pod), in fact we ordered another portion later because mom, dad and lil bro loves it. A healthy appetiser so why not?

Edamame - $4

We meant to order Dynamite but there was a confusion so we ordered Big Bang. Aris (my bro) had asked the staff to change it but somehow it didn't get through as we ended up getting Big Bang. We had no problem with it because this dish was so YUM. Its basically crab stick, mushroom, cream cheese wrapped in a salmon slice baked with Gaijin special sauce.

BIG BANG - $10

Aris also ordered Salmon Sashimi for himself as mom and dad don't really eat raw food and they're FRESH! 

Sashimi 3pcs (Salmon) - $4.5

I ordered this Spider vs Dragon roll just because I couldn't resist those unagis on top. This sushi roll is filled with tempura crunch, soft shell crab and cream cheese.

Spider VS Dragon Roll - $13

As stated by its name, this roll is all about spiciness and salmon. Salmon slice and spicy sauce on top, spicy raw salmon and tempura crunch inside. This one tasted as beautiful as its presentation <3

Crunchy Spicy Salmon Roll - $13

Actually, the salmon roll was our last order at first before Dad wanted a real carbo, by this I mean a noodle or rice dish. The udon was good and the chicken was tender and sweet.

Chicken Udon - $18

Although there were only two staffs in the front, the service was great. It would be excellent if they didn't forget our alteration but its totally forgiven.

FOOD : 4   SERVICE : 4

Coming back? Yes I would but not so often as its a bit pricey for the portion sizes.

Huxtaburger

106 Smith Street
Collingwood, VIC 3066
03 9417 6328
www.huxtaburger.com.au

WHO haven't been to this burger joint? I assume 7 out of 10 foodies have paid their visits as Huxtaburger has been listed in the "Talk of the Town" of Urbanspoon for more than a year. This was not my first visit too because I couldn't resist the hype :p

Their menu is really simple, Huxtaburger and its variations plus a tofu burger which I think is new because there was still no vegetarian options when I came. 

Huxtaburger is built up with beef pattie, mustard, mayo, ketchup, tomato, cheese, lettuce and pickles. 

A really guilty burger I'd say with its oiliness and juiciness of pattie. I really like their brioche bun, super soft and crisp but it was not as sweet as before, a bit burnt this time. 

HUXTABURGER - $8.5

Denise is basically Huxtaburger plus jalapeno and sriracha mayo. It was written as the hot one, but Fabian said it was not.  

DENISE - $9.5

I had warned Ricky and Brian about the small portions so they decided to order THEO burger which has double pattie, double cheese, bacon and bbq sauce. The picture might not portray the truth but it was actually big, more oily and more guilty I guess.  

THEO - $11.5

Service was average, they helped 6 of us with our tables and did not forget our water like some places do but the waiting time for food was quite long which shouldn't be for a more take-away place.

FOOD : 4  SERVICE  : 3

Coming back? More likely yes until I find another place with sweeter buns and better overall.