Friday 28 February 2020

The Stable of Como - South Yarra

We went to The Stables of Como to celebrate my friend's 25th birthday. Thought it would be nice to dress up a bit in matching floral themes and be classy and have high tea.









House-cured Salmon, Horseradish on Rye 
Truffled Croque Monsieur on mini English Muffin



Dill Cucumber, Creme Cheese on Tin Loaf

Aggies lemonade scone, house made Jam and whipped Chantilly cream

Aggies lemonade scone, house made Jam and whipped Chantilly cream

Red Velvet Tea Cake

Choux pastry filled with Vanilla Creme, Berries

Ginger Brulee Tartlet

Happy Birthday Gurl!

Overall, we had a good time. The savoury bites definitely outshone the desserts. The truffled croque monsieur on mini English Muffin was delicious! The best dessert was the scones and cream, honestly you cannot go wrong with this classic. It is really a cute spot and you can explore the gardens after eating. Service was prompt and good. I probably would not return since it was a bit too expensive for the amount of food we received. Not going to lie, we went to eat more food after this. However, free-flowing mimosas for an additional $5 is an absolute steal but unfortunately we did not opt in for that, regretsssss. They do have a Guy Tea menu which has heartier bites (rather than cakes and sandwiches) and TBH that looks more appealing for my palate but oh well. 

Taste: 6/10
Value for Money: 6/10
Service: 7/10
Presentation: 7/10



The Stables of Como Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato 

Thursday 27 February 2020

Mercer's - Eltham

Birthday celebration at Mercers last year. This is their Spring menu which is most likely not valid anymore since I am posting this literally at the end of Summer so I'm sure their Autumn menu will be amazing! I got the matching wines menu which I highly recommend, really good pairings to the food.


Bread & Butter: Enough Said

Cute pumpkin soup shots

Beetroot and goat's cheese carpaccio: FRESSH

Malaysian Dancing Prawns: Delish and full of flavour

Japanese beef tartare with wasabi sorbet


Tandoori quail with fried potato boreks: these boreks thooooo, little crispy nuggets of goodness

Spiced glazed duck 

Porterhouse with textures of onion

Le Grand Dessert for two




What an enjoyable meal. What made it even more amazing was the personable touch this restaurant had with their great service. It was fine dining but really intimate and cosy and we had the absolute pleasure of chatting to the owner and head chef, Steve Mercer.



Mercer's Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato



White Oaks Saloon - Prahran

On a Tuesday night a few months ago (okay October), we ventured out to Prahran to try Tex-Mex inspired Southern American food at White Oaks Saloon. A perusal of the extensive menu gave us a very bad attack of choice paralysis, so we decided to stick with the classics.






To start, we ordered the Sweet Southern BBQ Baby Back Ribs ($16). Described as beef ribs with classic dry rub, served with our choice of spicy Carolina BBQ sauce, picking this was a no brainer. The thiccc (triple C) hunk of meat fell seamlessly off the bone. I would've loved more of the sauce. Is it too much to ask for a pot of that sauce so I can dip the tender meat in it?



We also ordered the Carolina BBQ Pulled Pork Chimichangas (2pcs/$14). Twice cooked pulled pork, Carolina style BBQ mopping, green bell peppers, fresh jalepenos and creole spices wrapped and baked in a tortilla. I picked this because of its Mexican flavour profile, he just like saying the word, chimichangas. This was the least impressive dish of the night. It was a bit on the bland side with no promised creole spices shining through. The salsa was fresh enough to balance the heaviness of the meat and tortilla. 



He is an absolute sucker for shoe string fries so the Cajun fries and Cajun tabasco mayo ($16) was a much anticipated dish. To his delight, and okay mine too, the fries were hot and crispy and generously loaded up. The Cajun seasoning was great but were not as generously coated on the fries at the bottom of the bowl. The mayo while deliciously creamy, was missing that spicy kick I was craving. 



How could we not order the Buffalo Chicken and Jalepeno Ranch ($19). They came in cute bite-sized nuggets of boneless chicken. It was a very generous serving. I did miss the fun in devouring buffalo chicken wings but this did the trick with absolutely zero mess. The tangy sauce is just so complementary with the cool ranch. 





Overall, I had a fantastic time at White Oaks Saloon. It was a haunt we stumbled upon and I would definitely come back to try the other dishes on their menu. They have quite a few restaurants from the same owners as well. It doesn't hurt that it is partnered with Zomato Gold which meant our Beef Ribs were not charged. The service was warm and friendly. The interior has saloon touches which we enjoyed and the bar is a sight to look at. The food was great and definitely left us feeling full and satisfied. I just would've loved an extra notch on the spice levels. 


Taste: 8/10
Presentation: 7/10 
Service: 8/10
Value for Money: 7/10


White Oaks Saloon Bar & Dining Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato