The Hardware Societe (revisit 2012)

If someone ask me about my favourite places in Melbourne, one of them surely is The Hardware Societe. The first time I went there the place was so cute but this time it is even cuter & bigger !

Last day in Melbourne, I had a class at Savour chocolate school at 9.00 am - 4 pm. which means I got 7.30 - 8.20 am period of time to enjoy my last breakfast in Melbourne. Joyce & Brenny didn't want to wake up early so only lovely P'Krit joined my crazy early breakfast :P 

A minute I walked in to the cafe, I knew a big smile was on my face :D

My skinny cap, isn't it cute? (coffee from Prade)

P'Krit had a hot mocha which seemed different from what I had last time, looked thicker (better), Once it was getting cold, it started to set ! Just like pure chocolate (in a nice way) haha.

Before I came here, I had what I wanted to order in my head, Fried brioche ! Deryk shown me his picture of fried brioche described as Deconstructed Cheesecake on Brioche with Grand Marnier oranges, looks so amazing ! But then I realized that they change menu seasonally :'(

Fried brioche with lemon curd, cloud meringue and passion fruit.

Luckily I like my brioche, sweet & sour, crispy & soft, buttery & tangy, Oh my ! (however, its way too big for me lol)

P'Krit had a baked eggs with chirozo?

We found it was a little bit overcooked and P'Krit thought it could be added something more interesting. Still not bad.

 The place is super cute & cozy, staff is friendly, food & coffee is nice. I would come here every time I visit Melbourne :)

The Hardware Societe 120 Hardware Street, Melbourne Tel : (03) 9078 5992

The Premises

The Premises was on my list of a wanna-go cafe in Melbourne but I was no idea where Kensington is. Until I knew that Deryk's new house is in Kensington area... Yes !!! I definitely hit this one.

The place is just at the corner opposite the train station, so easy to find. Even my schedule in Melbourne was very tight, I still managed to have a quick-visit there twice.

My skinny cappuccino, well made !

My second time here, had the skinny magic.  Nice and strong (Seven Seeds beans).

                                            

The food menu looks interesting but unfortunately I had no time :(

The Premises
202 Bellair St
Kensington VIC 3031 Australia
Tel: (03) 9376 7565

Opening hours :
Tuesday to Friday, 7am – 4.30pm
Saturday to Sunday, 8am – 4pm

Squires Loft Steakhouse

Worked at Bacco 2 years ago, now its time to catch up with my dearest Brenny & Juju at Squires Loft, P'Krit's workplace. (Does he allow me to post here? haha)

We had a bottle of 2010 Stumpy Gully "Magic Black"

Warm bread, I like.

Tiger prawn kebab : char-grilled with Squires Loft baste and served with garlic sauce on the side

Not a big fan of prawn but this was surprisingly good. Their special sauce brings the dish !

Baked mushroom & Fetta with garlic butter

The mushroom was so plump and juicy by it own, pairing with Fetta & garlic was even better. Some more it was a very healthy dish, wasn't it? ;P

Pork spare ribs (500g) : marinated in Squires Loft baste then char-grilled

Okey, once this one arrived at the table.. We were like.. "Ooohhhh..." It definitely was a huge portion of an appetizer. One bite, Juju & I made an eye contact ! Love the smokiness, tenderness of the pork.. and again, love the marinated sauce :)

Don't really need an effort to eat it, not too soft, not too tough, just nice.

If you know me, whenever I got a chance to see the kitchen, my camera is always there ^ ^

Here they are, Brenny, Juju & P'Krit

Come to the main !

Vegetarian Meal : 2 kebabs of mushroom, capsicum & zucchini served with grilled pumpkin and fried onion

Really like this one, good for sharing. All the veggies were sweet and flavoursome.

Rib eye on the bone (400 g). We ordered it with mushroom sauce and garlic butter sauce.

Such a big portion, lucky me sharing with P'Krit

Mine

Side salad

Sticky date pudding with extra ice cream lol

My cap :)

Such a lovely meal, thanks ka ^____^

Squires Loft Steakhouse

166 Toorak Road, 

South Yarra Vic 3141 Australia 
Tel :(03) 9824 0999

Taiwan Cafe Taiwanese Street Food

After had such a big eating day from Chez Dre and Burch & Purchese, we still hadn't stopped the day yet. Since everyone left, only P'Krit was the victim who had to be with me for dinner lol.

We were actually not really hungry, then ended up at Taiwan Cafe on Swanton St.

 

 

The place is quite small but luckily we can get the table without waiting. 

My favourite Taiwanese dish : Braised pork on rice (Lu Rou Fan) 滷肉飯: minced pork stewed with five spice and soya stock served with soya marinated egg on rice.

I first had this one at Cho dumpling King and fall in love with it ever since. Here was not bad but still far from many places in Sydney.

Beef wrap : Spring onion wrap with soya marinated beef slices garnished with spring onion and plum sauce.

Recommended by P'Krit and I love it ! Tasty and interesting cuz they use the hoisin sauce reminded me of a Peking duck.  And it was a very heavy dish... I think only half piece already enough for my dinner...haha

 

 Xiao long bao : steamed soup dumplings

Nothing special about it.

Taiwanese beef noodle soup : tenderly braise beef in an authentic herb and spice noodle soup

I was too full for this dish, then had only a few sips of the soup ;P

Even really full after the meal, we managed to get our dessert, a golden sand bun from a shop in China town which I didn't take a photo ^ ^"

Taiwan Cafe
273 Swanston St.
Melbourne, VIC 3000

Tel : 03 9663 6663