Author Archives: gem

About gem

Born in London, lived in the Philippines, current Melbourne-based writer.

what to do at Co Do

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It came time to herd the pho-loving crew to Victoria Street in Melbourne. Given that there are no shortage of places, I suggested we try another place aside from our beloved Pho Chu The – Co Do, seeing as they were at the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival hawkers’ market. I didn’t get to sample their wares then and had promised myself I’d visit the restaurant instead.

action shot!

Pho club regular @techydude wasted no time in showing us how things were done once we all arrived and ordered. He got one of those cool beverages that actually reminded me of something I’d seen at Malaysian restaurant Coconut House. An amused @adnrw laughs on.

Tris and I got smoothies – he got an avocado one, and I got a jackfruit one! I love jackfruit and used to eat it in ice cream in the Philippines. Delish.

avocado smoothie

jackfruit smootie

Cam was kind enough to let me snap a photo of his pho choice (not before showing off his wonderful iPhone 4…grrr…). He had the braised beef pho.

braised beef pho

Which incidentally, we were told by the waiter, is exactly the same as the beef and beef brisket pho Tristan had?!?! They do look remarkably similar…hmm. So why they are listed as different items on the menu is beyond me if even the staff think it’s the same thing.

beef & beef brisket pho

I went all crazy Azn and got the pho bo ga dac biet (special beef and chicken combination rice noodle soup). It had sliced beef, sliced chicken, chicken and beef offal, and a gorgeous peppery beef sausage. Oddly enough, I only left my beef and chicken liver and ate most of that which I did not recognise. This pho kicked major arse in the meat and offal department, but sadly the broth was not quite as flavoursome and tasty as some I’ve had. Billy, bring on the congealed blood!

pho bo ga dac biet (special beef and chicken combination rice noodle soup)

However, it’s definitely worthy of a repeat visit and the menu is huge, containing many non-pho options. At around $10 a bowl, it’s not going to break the bank either. Thanks to all who made it to this round of pho club and stay tuned for the next one. Just make sure you skilfully avoid the junkies on your way out of the shop. Alas, T and I missed out on post-pho beers with the gang because we had to dash across town to Biero Bar and quaff some Mikkellers. It’s a hard life! .

Co Do on Urbanspoon

European-influenced dining for the night owls

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I am fast burning bridges to my former life as a pseudo-anorexic. The good thing about this is I eat out and enjoy eating out immensely. The bad thing about this is there seems to be so many wonderful culinary stalwarts around Melbourne that I’ve never dined at before. The European Restaurant on Spring Street in the CBD was till recently one such place.

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Dinner was at the rather late hour of 9pm. After a quiet, leisurely stroll through the Treasury Gardens and making friends with some possums there, I arrived to find I was first, and on time. A glass of manzanilla while I wait! Eventually a semi-apologetic T turns up having been wooed by the beer choice at Biero Bar over the other side of the CBD. Hello glass of amontillado! I am always reminded of Poe’s short story whenever I see the name ‘Amontillado’.

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We were still waiting on our chum Nat but she was running late. My tummy couldn’t wait much longer, so I ordered. I was in the mood for lots of small dishes, rather than one large main.

First up, sage and anchovy fritters. Beautiful, feathery-light batter coupled with the saltiness of anchovies. The accompanying sauce was zesty.

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Next up, some jamon Serrano with a generous amount of sourdough. If beer and cheese won’t be the death of me, then cured meats definitely will! I hadn’t had any cured meat for a while so this actually felt like a massive treat.

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But no, wait! I haven’t finished clogging my arteries with fatty, meaty goodness. Thus the duck terrine with house condiments and grilled baguette came to the rescue! T wasn’t too impressed with the stingy serving of the terrine. Haters gonna hate, as all you hip kids say. I loved the small side salad, it was so tart and set off the gamey flavour of the duck well.

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That was good! Yea, Nat arrived! She chose the Tom Cooper smoked salmon celeriac remoulade and horseradish cream.

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She twisted my arm and we both finished off with vanilla bean-flecked crème brûlée. Personally, I prefer mine with a thicker crust of burnt sugar. This one was politely singed.

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Still, quite a blissful late night meal. The main menu is available till 10pm and after that they change to a reduced supper menu which still has lots of substantial items to constitute a damned fine meal. Given my insomniac tendencies, I know I’ll be back.

The European on Urbanspoon

it continues – breakfast burrito hunting

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A few South Yarra dwellers on the twitters organise a breakfast burrito get-together every Sunday or so and @starinmelbourne very kindly got together a crew to head up north of the river to sample the breakfast burrito at Trippy Taco in Collingwood. When we arrived, they were deeply engrossed in some seriously cool word games, or as I like to call it, analogue Words With Friends.

Bananagrams-breffix burrito crew

To my glee, there was also a breakfast quesadilla on the menu so I decided that I’d get that to see how it compared to the breakfast burrito. The tortilla is really soft without having that tasteless doughiness. The fillings are delicious. If you were really hungry, you might need two. Delicious. I think it was better than the burrito.

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Tris ordered the breakfast burrito. Sadly, it is not adequate to feed the man-sized hunger that only a manly man can feel after a Saturday night of drinking. Kind of cool that it comes wrapped up and served to you in one of those plastic baskets that would be at home in an American diner (indeed, they use them at Misty’s Diner for their fries). I would probably order this if I were only peckish and felt pretty bad for T so made him have some of my quesadilla.

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I slugged my breakfast down with the help of a Colombian soy hot chocolate which tasted like it was laced with alcohol.

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It’s a pretty tiny place and the staff aren’t brimming with friendliness but I’d try this place for dinner. Do note that they are vegetarian!

Trippy Taco doesn’t open till 12pm on Sunday so we didn’t really go for breakfast or brunch proper. Good to know we have some options up north but I believe continuation of the hunt will take us south of the Yarra again…so far the south has served us well as you can see in this post. Just remember – if you go with this crew, you might have to play cool, nerdy word games. Thanks Em!

Trippy Taco on Urbanspoon