Melbourne 9 – LuxBite

If you’re sick of desserts that are just bland and sugary, then LuxBite is for you!

LuxBite’s chefs create the most interesting and mouth-watering combinations of Asian and European fusion style desserts! Their dessert creations are unique and definitely one of my favourite desserts places that I’ve been to!

Although it took us almost an hour to find this place in stormy weather, we eventually found this cute café near Chapel St.

We ordered the Tea Set for 2 which included 2 savoury dishes, 2 large desserts and 4 macarons with tea for 2.

One of the large desserts we chose was Endless Love with lychee ganache, rose cream, lychee, fresh raspberry in macaron shells.

How could you say no to this?

The other large dessert was Meringue Monster which had green tea sponge, pistachio, watermelon yoghurt, sour strawberry mousse and meringue.

Sounds like an interesting combination, right?

I don’t know how the chef came up with these combinations… but it just tasted so right! Perfect combination of the sweetness of meringue, sourness of strawberry mousse, tanginess of the watermelon yoghurt and just enough pistachio to blend with the green tea sponge at the bottom!

I could have this any day!

Even though I couldn’t take away these large desserts for my family, I bought some macarons for them and they were a.m.a.z.i.n.g! Definitely one of my favourite places for macarons!! Interesting flavours to note: oreo!, peanut butter and jelly, kaya, coconut, ribena, pandan!

Definitely pay this place a visit if you come to Melbourne! 

Melbourne 8 - Chin Chin

On our first visit to Chin Chin, the waiting time was 2 hours!!!

We decided to come back the next day for a super early dinner before our flight back to Brisbane. We arrived at 4:00pm and the restaurant was already half full!

This funky restaurant has a super vibrant atmosphere and it’s definitely worth a visit if you want to try Thai food with a modern twist!

I’ve realised that lots of Melbourne restaurants have adopted the “sharing” way of eating – ordering as many dishes as you want and sharing them with your table. That way, everyone gets a bit of everything and there’s more variety! It’s fantastic that Chin Chin has also adopted this modern way of dining out with friends and it makes the whole dining experience a lot more fun as well!

We got kingfish sashimi, pad thai, BBQ pork with mint and coriander salad and some cocktails and beer to finish off our night in Melbourne!

 

Dessert was burnt caramel sundae! Bits of the sundae was good but the burnt caramel was over-burnt for my liking.

If you’re dining at Chin Chin’s I’d suggest having dessert somewhere else. Otherwise, the food is quite interesting and appetising!

Melbourne 7 - The Hardware Societe

Hardware Societe is definitely one of the best cafes I’ve been to!

My friends and I woke up extra early just to make sure we were early enough to get a spot. In fact we were 15 minutes early so we were standing outside in 10degree weather half asleep just so we could try the food here!

Hardware Societe is located in Hardware Lane in Melbourne CBD and it’s tucked away nicely in an alleyway. With the vibrant interior décor and warmhearted outdoor seats, you feel the warmest welcome when you step into this café.

We were greeted by very friendly staff and opted for a table inside. Of course, I ordered my usual cup of latte. I’ve heard many great things about Hardware Societe – amazing food, amazing coffee, amazing everything! However, I didn’t want to have super high expectations was felt pretty neutral about coming here all the way from Brisbane.

The latte was very smooth – perfect for the weather that morning! It also came with a little cinnamon doughnut which complimented the coffee blend very well!

Hardware Societe definitely made my day with some exciting savoury creations!

Baked Eggs with chorizo sausage, paprika, spiced tomato concasse and milk cheese.

Served in a cocotte with dipping sourdough, appearance wise, it was definitely at 10/10!

I’ve never really had baked eggs before so couldn’t really compare this to other baked eggs. It was nice, but out of the 4 amazing dishes we ordered, this was probably my least favourite, purely because I’m not a huge fan of baked eggs.

Croque Madame with smoked salmon, fried egg, herbed crème fraiche.

Mmmm… words cannot describe how good this was! Thick crispy toast on the outside, runny yolk  combined with smoked salmon… perfect for rainy days!

Daily special – polenta with poached eggs and sausages.

At first, I didn’t know what to think of the dish because I’d never seen anything presented like this before. After I had a taste of it, I, fell, in, love.

The polenta was creamy but not too overwhelming and the poached eggs and sausages just complimented the taste of the polenta so well!

Scrambled eggs with smoked bacon, double brie and onion jam.  The BEST scrambled eggs I’ve ever had! The dish was presented really well – 10/10! The mini bacon, brie and onion jam baguette looked like a simple side but I was wrong – the baguette and scrambled eggs were the perfect combination!

Overall, Hardware Societe was definitely one of my best café experiences I’ve had in Melbourne and I’d recommend it to people who come to Melbourne or even for locals!

I’ve heard that their sweet dishes are just as good as their savoury ones… until next time, Hardware Societe! 

Melbourne 6 - The Sharing House

First of all, apologies for the low quality photos from The Sharing House.

The standard of food here doesn’t deserve this kind of quality but because I went to dinner for my friend’s birthday, lighting was impossible to take good photos of the food.

The Sharing House was recommended by another friend of mine from Melbourne.

I love the concept of this restaurant - sharing. The menu is arranged so that it suits individuals, couples, small groups and large groups. You can order things to nibble on, to share or even order substantial amounts to fill you up.

We certainly did overindulge that night.

Here’s what we ordered:

"Fish Fingers" - these weren't just any fish fingers. They were Spanish Mackerel pieces wrapped in sourdough and served with marie rose sauce. 

"Raw Meat" - Steak tartare served with chips. The chips were very interesting - you had to cut the potato by hand and then eat it with the tartare.

"Porcini" - Small 6 inch pizza with poricini, wild mushrooms, goats cheese and fresh lemon thyme.

"Surf and Turf" - potato gnocchi with spanner crab - AMAZING! The sauce went perfectly well with the crab and gnocchi! I strongly recommend this dish!

Duck breast and confit duck leg - THIS IS A MUST AS WELL!

Cheese platter - selection of cheeses from all over the world; full of surprises!

"Afternoon tea" platter of desserts. For me the desserts were only mediocre, maybe because the mains were so good?

Overall, dining at The Sharing House was a good experience as you could share most dishes and the mains were fantabulous!

The interior design of the restaurant is also very modern and quite cute! Unfortunately, I don't have a photo because it was too dark to take one.