Did a wonderful chocolate appreciation class at the delicious Monsieur Truffe, who is delicious not just for his chocolate, but for his wonderful French accent as well!

We learned about cocoa, where its grown, the different types of [...]]]> 90 Smith Street, Collingwood
Phone 03 9416 3101

Did a wonderful chocolate appreciation class at the delicious Monsieur Truffe, who is delicious not just for his chocolate, but for his wonderful French accent as well!

We learned about cocoa, where its grown, the different types of beans and what is involved in processing.  We discussed and tasted single origin, single estate varieties, and blends.  Nibs, powders and pucks, we sampled everything from Cadbury Old Gold to Michel Cluizel (mmm!).

But the best bit, was the tasting – and here are my tasting notes, complete with little happy faces for the ones I particularly liked.

I quite like Cibi, and not just for its food. It’s a little bit off the beaten track, so you know the clientele are there because they know, and not because they just happened to walk on by.  It is also [...]]]> 45 Keele Street, Collingwood
Phone 03 9077 3941

I quite like Cibi, and not just for its food. It’s a little bit off the beaten track, so you know the clientele are there because they know, and not because they just happened to walk on by.  It is also designer-cool, in a Japan does Danish kind of way. It’s part cafe, part art studio/gallery with an eclectic mix of furniture and homewares.

There is detail everywhere you look, from the cute little beaten aluminium Akao teapot (filled with wonderful organic genmaicha), to the lovely Studio 2000 spoons served with your coffee.

Cibi uses Romcaffe, which is my coffee of choice most mornings of the week. I love the heart too.

But on to brekky – and this, they only serve on Saturday.

The Japanese Breakfast ($14.50), while plated somewhat contemporarily, certainly pays homage to traditional fare.  To start with, perhaps one of the best bowls of miso I’ve had in this town, chock full of slivers of pumpkin and greens and heady with umami. On the main plate, a mix of brown and white short grain Japanese rice cooked to perfect stickiness, a small scoop of Japanese-style potato salad with a crisp leaf of immature cos, a lip smackingly good slice of shioyaki salmon – crisp skinned and salty, a small mound of wilted spinach sprinkled with sesame, and three slices of just cooked tamago (rolled omelette).

Oh, I do love a Japanese breakfast.  Why don’t more places offer it? And for those so inclined, they also do a vegetarian (with egg) version.

If you’re not into the Japanese thing, then you can choose from a range of birchers, toasts and potato salad sandwiches (yes…you read right!).

Check out the Cibi crew hard at work in the open kitchen, making our breakfast pretty much from scratch. I must say they were lovely, with a genuinely friendly approach.

But I MUST tell you about another of Cibi’s specialities, although I forgot to take a photo in my haste to consume it.  I spied some very appetising green tea muffins on the bench when I went up to pay, so decided to take some home for afternoon tea.  On devouring them later I was pleasantly surprised to find them filled with a delicious red bean paste.  Oh my…what lovelyness! I will crave these for sure for weeks to come.

This is the vegetarian Goma Udon ($12.90) from Wood Spoon Kitchen, a cute-as-a-button Japanese cafe in the funky end of Smith St. Apparently, the quality of udon (a thick white salted wheat noodle from Japan) can be measured in the sensory [...]]]> 88 Smith Street, Collingwood
Phone 03 9416 0588

This is the vegetarian Goma Udon ($12.90) from Wood Spoon Kitchen, a cute-as-a-button Japanese cafe in the funky end of Smith St. Apparently, the quality of udon (a thick white salted wheat noodle from Japan) can be measured in the sensory viscoelasticity of the noodle – it should be firm to the tooth yet soft on the chew, and slippery and somewhat elastic.

Deep in the bowl sat a textbook-perfect tangle of warmed udon, blanched bean shoots, sliced sweet beancurd sheets, crisp quarters of lotus root and sansai (Japanese mountain vegetables). It was dressed with a thick roasted sesame sauce and garnished with segments of soy egg quarters, diced tomato, sliced green onion and toasted black sesame seeds.

I just didn’t want this bowl of lip-smacking goodness to end!

I first came across Trippy Taco last year at Golden Plains, an awesome music festival held in the foothills of Meredith. After five too many beers, the lure of their fare was too much to resist (…but to be perfectly honest, [...]]]> 48 Smith Street, Collingwood
Phone 03 9415 7711

I first came across Trippy Taco last year at Golden Plains, an awesome music festival held in the foothills of Meredith. After five too many beers, the lure of their fare was too much to resist (…but to be perfectly honest, the five too many meant I didn’t photograph the food, and hence, I forgot what I ate!). That being said, I remember it certainly hit the spot!

Recently, the place was rememebered to me by where’s the beef, so with Dan’s craving for Mexican (and the excuse of a long weekend), we headed over to Smith St.

Bob Marley provided the soundtrack as we walked through the door; the two young guys behind the counter  very much into singing along with the Master of Reggae. The place is small, but vibrant for it’s vermilion walls and whimsical luchadore mascaras (masks). The menu is small, but covers all the regular Mexican staples such as tacos, burritos, taquitos and tamales, and all vegetarian.

We shared the taquitos, a crisp fried tortilla filled with refried beans and topped with fresh chopped salad, guacamole, soy cheese and salsa. To be perfectly honest, these trumped taquitos I’d had at Los Amates as they were wonderfully generous with the filling, which was the perfect foil for their deep fried casings.

We also shared tacos – the soft kind – and they were piled ridiculously high with black beans and all the trappings.  Don’t quote me on this, but I think the tacos were home made as there was a delightful irregularity to them, and the beans were slow cooked to the point of softness, yet still firm in their skins to maintain form.

One must of course avail themselves of the selection of hot sauces available. In fact, it would be a downright crime not to use them!  I felt they just gave the food that little extra kick, which had my mouth tingling and wanting more, only moments after I’d eaten.

Then to dessert – and Cindy…this one is for you. This is the sweet corn tamale with banana, cinnamon, maple syrup and ice-cream. Oooh…I tremble just thinking about it! The tamale itself was studded with nibs of real sweet corn, which turned this oft poorly prepared dish into something absolutely divine. Then top it off with the holy trinity of sweet stuff, and you have home style comfort food at its best.