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

 

Humble Rays - Carlton

A few Sunday's ago, we paid a visit to Humble Rays. It was only a 10-15 minute wait around midday. I didn't realise it was so close to the CBD!

DRANKS

Kevin got an Iced Chocolate ($4.50).  I got the Roseberry Soda Pop ($7). It was rose soda lime, mix berry puree and pomegranate popping pearls. This was soooooo good. Properly sweet and the popping pearls were a delight.

Crab Meat Scramble

I got the Crab Meat Scramble ($18.50). This was crab meat scramble eggs, Asian herbs, fried shallot, sriracha mayo, red chilli, chilli oil served with crossaint. Bloody yum. The crab flavour was so distinct and the eggs were nice and fluffy.  I thought this dish was great but it was missing a bit of acidity, some cherry tomatoes would've rounded it off nicely.

Egg Benny

Kevin got the Egg Benny ($18.50). This was ginger braised pork belly, Miso and potato korokke, almond & cashews dukkah, poached egg, yuzu hollandaise, chilli bacon jam and parsley crumbs. This was pretty good as well. Very rich in flavour but a little on the heavy side. A simple apple slaw could have provided the acidity it needed.

SPREADDDDD

Inside was cute

Outside was cute too

Overall, we had a great time at Humble Rays. The cafe was super cute and waitstaff were friendly. The dishes were near perfect. We had no room for dessert but the puffles look so cute. Next time!





Taste: 8.5/10
Presentation: 8/10
Value for Money: 8/10
Service: 7.5/10

Faraday's Cage - Fitzroy

Our friend, Viv (aka @ourfavouritepasttime) got invited to eat at Faraday's Cage and she asked us to come eat with her. Faraday's Cage has been on my list of brunch places to go for ages and this was the perfect opportunity. We were seated in the courtyard and were given a selection of dishes from them.

Yay Faraday's Cage!

Juices and Chai

Pastries!

So flaky!

To start we were given a selection of house made pastries. They were deliciously flaky and Viv said it was the closest to what she has eaten in France. That's a winner for sure!

Best croissant ever!!

We also shared a freshly baked croissant with Australian cultured butter and homemade peach and passionfruit jam. It was just the perfect marriage of flavours.

Chilli Scrambled Eggs

MMMM this was the Chilli Scrambled Eggs ($15.50). It was scrambled eggs, chilli, Persian feta on sourdough toast. The eggs itself were soooo fluffy and silky. We devoured this so quickly. I loved the hidden pops of creamy feta.

Smashed Avo

Dat egg yolk tho

Next was the Smashed Avocado ($17). This was beetroot hummus, black olive soil, Meredith's goat cheese, breakfast radish, kale salt, rye sourdough toast and topped with an extra poached egg ($2). I don't usually order the smashed avo because it is usually too basic for me but this was jam packed with goodies. I loved the addition of the vibrant beetroot hummus. Just a really solid dish that let the avocado shine.

Granola

For the sweeter side of things, we were given the House-Made Pear Granola ($13.50) which was saffron poached pear, house granola, honey, thyme labne, acai and seasonal berries. I am definitely in the savoury camp when it comes to food so wouldn't usually order granola at brunch but it was interesting to try it. It was really different and the fruit and honey lent sweetness to the neutral granola and labne. Viv and Quynh really enjoyed this one.

Ricotta Pancakes

To finish the meal, we had the Ricotta pancakes ($17). This consisted of caramelised white chocolate, broken meringue, passionfruit, maple syrup, dehydrated strawberry, lemon balm, marscapone and berries. The pancakes were ridiculously fluffy and I loved the contrast of the fresh and dehydrated fruits. All the toppings were very generous.

Amazing spread!

Overall, Faraday's Cage exceeded my expectations. It was truly a delicious meal, that I was super impressed by. The wait staff were friendly and we felt welcomed to dine there. I loved the presentation and how vibrant the dishes looked. I am pretty keen to come back and try the hot smoked salmon and fritters dish. Thanks for having us!!




Taste: 9/10
Presentation: 9/10
Service: 9/10

Penta - Elsternwick

Penta in Elsternwick is killing it in the social media game and it was about time I tried it for myself. The wait was only 20 minutes on a Saturday afternoon.

Chai Latte ($6.50)

Grilled Shawarma Chicken

 I got the Grilled Shawarma Chicken Salad ($22). It was a warm grain salad, with farro, red quinoa, sorghum, cranberries, pomegranate, fetta, herbs, spinach, pepitas, and sumac labne. The grain salad was just so delicious! So many different textures and a really generous serving of the labne. i was really impressed. The chicken was a tad dry so that stopped this from being a 10/10 dish.

Penta Benedict

 Quynh got the Penta Benedict ($19) which had braised beef cheek, watercress, poached eggs and jalepeno hollandaise on sweet potato waffles. This was pretty good too. A bit on the heavy side but lucky we split our dishes 50/50 so we had the best of best worlds. I would've liked the sauce to be a bit more acidic to provide some relief though.

How can we go to Penta and not get their famous Nutella Panna Cotta ($19.50). This was accompanied by a nut banana sushi, honey joy crumb, strawberries, pomegranate molasses and torched marshmallows.  The pannacotta itself was wobbly and a great Nutella flavour. You can't go wrong with Nutella. It was elevated by the other components. I only did not like the nut banana sushi as it had a weird texture but Quynh didn't mind it.

3 dishes for 2 please!

Overall, Penta was a pretty good experience. I can understand why it is so popular and the dishes are very instagrammable. The grain salad was on point and I think I will be ordering them a lot more from now on when I eat brunch. The service was decent for a pretty busy Saturday. I would definitely be keen to try the other cafes the owners run.


Taste: 8.5/10
Presentation: 9/10
Service: 7.5/10
Value for Money: 7.5/10

Baba Sus - Glen Iris

I have been really excited to try Baba Sus for quite some time now. On a super sunny Sunday, we decided to make the trek to Glen Iris. And by that, I mean thanks for driving me Kevin.

Matcha Latte ($4.50)

Banana & Lychee Smoothie & Matcha Latte

 The latte art is so cute here!!! I wasn't the biggest fan of the smoothie, too much banana and not enough lychee!

Japanese Corn Croquettes

 I got the Japanese Corn Croquettes. In case you haven't noticed, I love anything corn! I'm not sure if it's still on the menu but this was delicious!!! It was paired with avocado puree, cured salmon, herb cream, asparagus & bean salad, tobiko and poached egg. The croquettes were creamy with nice bits of corn. All the other components complemented it beautifully. I liked that the salad wasn't minimal like a lot of places. Ooh and that egg, it gave me the perfect yolk porn boomerang. Yeboi

The Baba Sus

 Kevin got The Baba Sus ($21.50). This was crispy pork belly, carrot miso puree, baby carrots, apple sauce, apple salad, shallots, chilli and nuoc nam dressing. Kevin liked his dish and said it was a generous serving size. We agreed it was more a modern Asian restaurant dish rather than a classic brunch dish. The crackling was spot on and the watermelon was a little weird ahah. I'm not a fan of fruits in salad.

OOFT our spreadddddd

Hong Kong Waffles

These Hong Kong Egg Waffles ($15) were bomb! Even though we were stuffed, we couldn't go all the way to Baba Sus and not get these famous waffles. They were wonderfully stuffed with gooey vanilla custard and topped with berry compote, green tea ice cream and pistachio praline. The waffle itself wasn't doughy and no individual element was overpowering. Great balance of sweetness and acidity. I just wanted more of that green tea ice cream! Yum!


Overall, we had a great time at Baba Sus. The food was top notch. It was definitely worth the drive. 




Taste: 9/10
Presentation: 9/10
Value for Money: 8/10
Service: 7/10