June 2024: turning 30, new locals and a pan of cinnamon scrolls

In June 2024, I turned 30! Yep, I’m a 1994 baby and I had been staring down the barrel of 30 this year feeling very apprehensive but no need - it was an incredible birthday and a month of delicious eats and treats. Here is what and where we ate in June.

Out & About:

Sunhands, Carlton: I found them on Instagram which is hardly surprising because their food is extraordinarily photogenic for the ‘gram grid. They do a charceuterie/vegetable plate which is just divine. They also win for having their very own Duck Ragu stained glass window and mirror. Uber cool.

I have ordered the sunhands plate twice now for a midweek work day lunch.

4/5 - would visit again - lunch/cafe category.

Agathe Patisserie: obviously a Melbourne institution and obviously I got the pandan flan. I also got a cherry danish which was just as delicious. its beautiful pastry and like a lot of food you have to queue for in Melbourne, it is overrated. However, pastry is pastry - delicious and one of my major food groups. A delightful treat.

I had the pandan flan and the cherry danish.

4/5 - yummy but won’t be queueing for it again in a hurry - bakery/pastry category.

Tim Ho Wan, CBD: famous for being the world’s cheapest Michelin star restaurant. I don’t think it still has the star but it should because it is reliably delicious food and the service is lightening fast, you sit down and suddenly congee and pork buns appear. Delightful. Also makes a great hangover cure, see Birthday section below.

We order: pork buns, seafood congee, chicken wings, stir fry radish.

5/5 - will go any time, any day of the week - casual, mid week eats vibe.

Fresh Air Pancake, CBD: has been on my wishlist since I moved to Melbs and finally, 6 years later I made it and wow was it worth it. Such a light and not too sweet dessert believe it or not - perfect little treat to add another experience to your night out in the city.

We ordered the brown sugar boba one.

4/5 - a great dessert option and fun to watch them make it, will go again - post dinner dessert spot.

Dundas & Faussett, Albert Park: this is our local reliable, especially when we have let the day slip away and we are looking for food mid afternoon and most cafes have closed. Always reliably good food and drinks here and the outdoor setting adds to the outting.

We ordered: ricotta hotcakes and the beef burger.

4/5 - always a reliable favourite of ours, will be back soon - lunch/cafe category.

Dumpling Table, South Yarra: on a pretty steady rotation between Dumpling Table, Gai Wong and Jubang for midweek dinners. Authentic Chinese food, very reasonable prices and good serving sizes. Perfect mid week dining.

We usually order: the flower egg beef, mapo tofu, pork ribs and dumplings.

5/5 for casual mid week dinner, we will be back within the next week, I’m sure.

Uyghur restaurant, Carnegie: can’t for the life of me remember the name of this one - I will just have to go back to find out! Its a few doors down from Jubang in Carnegie and we definitely alternate. There is a chicken, noodle and potato stew here that I believe is peak comfort food.

We order: the chicken, noodle potato stew, century egg, soup.

5/5 if comfort food is what you are after - will definitely be back - casual, mid week eats vibe.

Jubang, Carnegie: Korean BBQ but we are more going for the seafood hot pot soup they have on the menu. A great spot to go with friends, JL has been twice now with his group of friends and we have been three times now in the past 4 weeks. Needless to say - we would go back.

We order: wagyu set for two and the seafood hot pot soup.

Gai Wong, North Melbourne: in our top 10 favourite restaurants in Melbourne. The perfect casual dinner spot: cheap, good serving sizes and delicious. Also, I love the limited menu - no brain power required after a long, hard day. We will often go here after work as I work close by and I religiously have the same thing every time.

We order: chicken rice, soy eggs, chicken curry.

6/5 - we love you Gai Wong! See you tomorrow probably. Causal, mid week eats vibe.

At Home:

Snack plates: any fruit, vegetables, cheese, meats and dips that I can find in the fridge all on a plate. This one has strips of steak, mushrooms, baby corn, baby bel with cottage cheese and mustard in the bowl and an apple for after.

Porridge: but better - with frozen raspberries, banana, yoghurt and honey. Maybe even some protein powder depending on the day.

French Crumpets [airfryer]: I made french toast crumpets in the airfryer - delicious, easy and super minimal ingredients. I shared a short video on how to make them on my Instagram.

Fish & Chips [airfryer]: very simple but tasty weekend snack - airfried potatoes and fish and had it with a whipped fetta and salsa verde.

Cinnamon Scrolls: made for my sisters housewarming party. I use the Beatrix Bakes recipe but this one was cinnamon and orange zest with a lemony cheesecake topping (not pictured).

Pork dumplings: very simple, nothing to see here really. I buy the wonton wrappers from Coles or Woolies in the fridge section, no time for wrapper making usually. These were filled with pork, spring onion, coriander, chilli and soy sauce which immediately makes them in-authentic. Traditionally, dumplings are made with very few and very simple ingredients - usually only salt and pepper!

Avgolemono: one of my top 10 meals of all time - I make it multiple times every winter. Its a chicken, egg, rice and lemon soup. It has a slight trick to it to get the eggs to emulsify in without scrambling but worth learning how to do it! Packs up beautifully for a work lunch or for keeping in the freezer for a cold winter evening.

Avo olive toast with scrambled eggs: avo on olive toast is so underrated. Don’t knock it until you try it! I add the scrambled eggs to the side to keep me full - I am boxing three times a week at the moment in addition to Pilates so keeping me full is a mission!

Soup au pistou: all the veg from the bottom of the fridge, some beautiful stock, some butter beans and some macaroni. Delicous the first day but more delicous-er as the days go on the flavours develop. Add whatever fresh herbs you can find - this had dill, parsley and I think thyme in it. This recipe here is a good base: https://www.davidlebovitz.com/soupe-au-pistou-french-vegetable-soup-recipe/

Tom yum tuna patties: an open jar of tom yum spice mix, a tin of tuna and my airfryer being my current obsession is how we got here.

New Locals:

Mr Squeeze Acai Bowl: one of the trainers at my gym (who is vegan) recommended Mr Squeeze after I mentioned how much I love acai bowls and I figured a vegan would know where the good acai was and yep, can confirm, they do! Fun fact about me is that I always take a spoon from home when going to get acai because I cannot bear eating off those wooden disposable spoons - horrible, 0/10 experience.

4/5 - would be 5/5 if they had non wooden-y spoons.

Saint George: Karen Martini’s new restaurant in St Kilda, I have been wanting to visit since it opened. Its an enormous restaurant but somehow still manages to feel lovely and intimate inside, made a great date night. The menu was great, I am looking forward to going back to try what else they have on the menu.

We ordered: seafood pasta, pork cutlet, the potato cakes and the mussels on toast.

3.5/5 - lost some points for not being great value for money but definitely a nice spot, will visit again. Date night category.

Post Office Hotel: we went for their steak night on a Wednesday. It was ok, I will give it one more try before I knock it. I just think Mt Erica does such a good steak, I am tempted to steak to the ol’ faithful but Post Office Hotel is walking distance, I wanted it to be great. Hopefully next time it IS great. The vibes and atmosphere are on point.

I had the steak, JL had the fish pie.

3/5 - food was not amazing but has potential, its the nice environment including amazing service that carried this experience.

Birthday Treats:

Laura, Point Leo: we attended the launch of this season’s Cape Schanck olive harvest at a lunch Laura and it ended up being the highlight, only just taking the win over 10 Minutes by Tractor which was also beautiful. There was a set menu that included oysters, scallops, wagyu, olive oil brioche, marron and finished with a beautiful chocolate mousse. They also had a birthday cake for me and even some handmade chocolate to finish. The service there is just beyond compare, the whole experience was an absolute delight.

5/5 - fine dining category

10 Minutes by Tractor, Red Hill:

Birthday weekend dinner was the tasting menu at 10 Minutes by Tractor. The whole setting is so intimate and luxurious although I would love to go back during the day to see what I am sure was a beautiful view! The best course here was the mushroom plate with lions mane, wild onion, escargot and bone marrow toast. The pale ale loaf with the tomato and coffee jam was also a standout - tomato and coffee is an amazing combo! I would love to try and recreate this at home. One of the loveliest touches here was not just a cake but all the staff had signed a birthday card for me! Very special.

5/5 - fine dining category.

The Rocks, Mornington:

We stopped at The Rocks en route to our weekend away for some seafood. We love this restaurant and will come to visit any time we are in the area. Good value for money seafood and always delicious, well made food. The drinks here are also great! Stop by if you’re ever in the area - the coffee is great, too.

5/5 - casual lunch spot category.

I was so lucky to have two beautiful cakes made for me!

One is from my beautiful friend Jane who baked this and decorated this for me especially, the second was a themed cake for my celestial birthday party by @macaron_song.e

I feel so blessed! It was a very special and indulgent month of celebrating.

Back to regular programming now xx

monthlyblog, localeatsBridie Williams WilliamsJuly 8, 2024Comment