Sunday 26 February 2012

Hidden Italian Gem

A few friends have been madly raving to me about an Italian restaurant hidden in the heart of Melbourne CBD.

I have always struggled to find good authentic Italian cuisine in Melbourne's CBD without paying a visit to little Italy on Lgyon St.


Manchester Lane

Maccaroni Trattoria Italiana is secretly tucked away in Manchester Lane (located just off Colins and Swanston Street. Without word of mouth, I assure that you would not be able to spot this place.
The feeling of homely goodness immediately fills us as we step into the restaurant. The Interior is small and can be a bit of a squeeze, it literally only fit around 15 or so people (so not recommended for larger groups). The tables are set up along one wall, all adorned with cute red checked table cloths- adding to the authentic Italian feel.

Cosy interior

We have made 2 visits to Maccaroni now- we immediately fell in love with it after being introduced the first time, and just had to come back for more. On each of our visits, we happened to be seated in front of the open kitchen- witnessing the homemade food preparation in action.

Made right before your eyes

The menu is simple yet has plenty of options to tickle your fancy, with a number of starters, home made pastas and mains. One of the recommended dishes was the penne pasta with black olives, tomatoes and fresh chili. Mr S order that and I ordered the gnocchi sorrentino. We also decided to order the hot Sicilian 'Panelle' which is fried chickpea fritters as a starter


Adorable checked table cloths

The service is excellent, waiters are friendly and judging by their accents, all are authentically Italians. The portions of the panelle was generous and can easily be for 4 people. The batter was light and not overly oily, however I did find it a little over seasoned. We struggled to finish the dish as it is probably not one which you could have too much of.


Starter- Sicilian Panelle

Mr S was impressed with the penne- the pasta was fresh and cooked al dente, flavors simple yet delicious. The blend of both the chili and olives brought just the right punch of flavours to the pasta. In my opinions, the only thing missing from the dish was the lack of meat. In saying that, it's not often that Mr S says "let's come back here", so this place definitely won him over.


Spicy penne

The napolitana sauce on my gnocchi was rich but not over powering. I loved the stringiness of the melted mozzarella (mmm, love melted cheese!). The size of the gnocchi are a little bit smaller than your average, similar to the size of pearls in bubble tea. However, the taste is chewy, fluffy and flavoursome. Again, the only criticism I had of the dish was its lack of meat.


Gnocchi Sorrentino

The second time we visited, we had to try one of the popular main dishes- the Osso Bucco with risotto. I loved this dish, the meat was cooked to perfection and literally fell off the bone. The risotto was also perfectly cooked and has a creamy consistency. Definitely recommend this one!


Osso Bucco- delicious!

Although the food may not be helping your waistline but it definitely would not hurt your wallet. Pastas range from $11-1$4 and mains are reasonably priced between $15-$20.

I have also heard their tiramisu dessert is to die for, we will be saving our stomachs next time..


Dessert on display

Not often do I come a cross a gem this good and want to share it :)

Maccaroni Trattoria Italiana


Yum: 8/10
Price: 8/10
Service: 8/10

Maccaroni Trattoria Italiana on Urbanspoon

Ciao!
Miss Scribble

Tuesday 21 February 2012

The Crazy Wings Challenge

It has become a routine that every Tuesday after work, some friends and I would get together for a casual run/jog around the "Tan" (Botantical Gardens). Weirdly enough, we've called ourselves "The Crazy Wings" group- why the funny name you may question? This all originated from a restaurant called Crazy Wings- famous for their incredibly (I say this with much emphasis!) spicy chicken wings.

Don't underestimate these chicken wings! They may appear to be slightly darker in colour compared to normal wings- but boy are they deadly, they are called "crazy" wings for a reason. These chicken wings are actually inspired from the roadsides of Beijing China.

Crazy wings

Whenever there is a new comer who decide to join us for a run (not realizing what they are really getting in to), we would put them through the crazy wings challenge- that is to devour one whole wing. It's always amusing to watch how differently each person reacts- the usual reaction after one nibble would be "is this it?", but it's only after a couple more bites- the eyes will start tearing up, feelings of numbness in the mouth start setting in and hands start fanning wildly. We've also seen an occasional tear or too.. Not to mention the next day after effects, which I'll leave to your imagination ;)

Close up shot

One cure we found which helps (to some extent only) alleviate the spiciness is ...soy bean milk! It really does the trick and conveniently enough, is readily available from the Asian grocery store next door. Soy bean milk sale must have spiked up a lot since crazy wings opened.

The cure

Just a thought- maybe crazy wings should be renamed "torture wings"? Despite it all, I have actually yet to have the full whole crazy wings experience (only been daring enough to take a nibble). I intend to stay a crazy wings virgin! :)

Here are some entertaining photos of Mr. S second attempt at crazy wings (worst than his first time)

One drink just isn't enough

Sweating much?

The fanning starts

By the way, this is a legitimate restaurant and they do serve other dishes besides crazy spicy chicken wings such as noodle and rice dishes.

So, do you dare take the challenge?

Crazy wings
177 Russell st
Melbourne

Crazy Wings on Urbanspoon

Scribble you later,
Miss Scribble

Wednesday 15 February 2012

Gingerboy- Valentines day edition

Hi everyone,

I've been quite busy lately so haven't had a chance to update my blog. This is a bit of a belated valentine's day post.



Happy valentines day

This year, the boyfriend decided to book a surprise dinner (I'm surprised that he was so organised. He was very tight lipped about the location and only hinted for me to save my stomach for a 6 course dinner.

Barely able to contain my hunger on our way to the surprise destination- I soon found myself standing beneath Gingerboy. I was delighted as this was one restaurant which has yet to be ticked off my culinary list.



Entrance to Gingerboy

We were greeted and led into the dining area which was lit with bright lights scattered on the walls- which I thought was quite romantic. Something which had caught me by surprise was the simplicity of the furnishings, the seats were plastic and table bare of any ornaments- not exactly to my expectation of a hatted restaurant.



Romantic lit interior

Nevertheless, we took a quick browse of the set menu for the night and couldn't wait to be enticed.



Our feast for the night

The starter was a tasting plate with 3 appetisers- steam prawn dumpling, son in law eggs (one of the famous signature dishes) and grilled lamb in la lot leaf. Each of the dishes were accompanied by an unique matching sauce, which complimented the dish perfectly.



Starter plate

Just a tip to share for the son in law egg (quite a funny name don't you think?)- make sure when you eat this- the egg is thoroughly covered with the chilli jam as this is definitely the highlight of the dish. The egg itself was wrapped in a soft chewy tofu layer and as you take one bite, the yolk just oozeeeeee out! I love my oozy eggs :)



The famous Son in law eggs

Next course was two small salads- crispy duck with banana flower salad, and coconut chicken with green bean and mango. Boyfriend and I both unanimously voted the duck was the better of the two dishes. The skin was crisp, meat succulent and warm salad gave it a good balance. The coconut chicken on the other hand was slightly bland and there were very little mangoes.



Coconut chicken salad



Crispy duck salad

Main courses were up next, first was the lemongrass and chilli barramundi in chilli rock sugar sauce. Once again, the sweetness of the sauce was the winner for me. The barramundi was beautifully tender and infused with hints of lemongrass.



Lemongrass and chilli barramundi

Second main was sesame crusted wagyu beef loin with edamame puree and chilli jam- loin was tender and melts in your mouth without even being chewed. The sauce was a little bit of a let down, the chilli jam did not come across strongly and I thought it tasted a bit like black bean sauce.



Wagyu beef loins

Best was of course saved for last- dessert platter was 3 tasting dishes- brûlée with tapioca balls, chocolate ice cream with fruits and cream custard with chocolate soil.
My favourite was the brûlée, there was 3 different contrasting flavour layers - the crunch of the brûlée, chewiness of tapioca balls and a hidden surprise of chocolate at the end.



Dessert tasting plate



Dessert 1- Brulee with chocolate and tapioca balls



Dessert 2- chocolate icecream with fruit



Dessert 3- cream custard coated with chocolate soil

We ended the night with some tea to help calm our stomachs, which were presented in cute little glass tea pots. We both felt as if we were 3 months pregnant but walked out of the restaurant with beaming smiles.



tea to end the night

However, there was one downside- the price tag! I would definitely not recommend going to Gingerboy on public holidays or "special" occasion like valentines day, as the prices charged are premium and at least double normal menu prices.

Besides that, we had a wonderful night out! Hope your valentines was also filled with much love! <3

Gingerboy

27-29 Crossley Street
Melbourne

Yum: 8/10
Price: 5/10
Service: 6/10

Gingerboy on Urbanspoon

Miss Scribbles

Thursday 9 February 2012

Happy Weekend

I love this time of the week! I'm always in a good mood on Fridays because I know the weekend is approaching.


Some of my weekend favourites:

Not waking up to the sound of an alarm

A good cup of coffee


Taking Mocha for a walk

Retail therapy is a girl's best friend

Enjoying nature

Discovering new brunch places

<3 lazy Sundays

What are you doing this weekend?

Happy weekend everyone!

Miss Scribble

Sunday 5 February 2012

Kokoro Ramen

Hi everyone!

Time for another food post :)

Friends and I recently checked out a newly opened ramen place in the CBD called Kokoro Ramen located on Lonsdale St (right next to a favourite of mine Izakaya Chuji)




Outside Kokoro Ramen

Stepping inside, the interior was simple and almost reminded me of a food court, with spaced out casual wooden tables and stools. The menu was a bit confusing to understand, with the same ramen pictures repeated on each of the rows. But upon careful examination, turns out that it was the same options of ramen toppings but in different soup bases. The soups are all chicken/ pork stock based, with the options of normal, salted, soy sauce or soybean paste.




Interior


Ramen toppings selections are limited to 5-6 varieties with fried chicken, soft shell crab, charsiu (pork slices), pork belly and spicy mince pork. There is also the option of DIY ramen where you can select your own choices of stock and various toppings.


Confusing menu

I ordered the soft shell crab in soy sauce chicken/ pork stock broth. Servings of the ramen was generous, the soup base was rich and flavoursome, however I was only given one small piece of crab leg which had very little meat.. couldn't help but to feel disappointed.

My friend who ordered the soft shell crab but in soybean base also concurred with my disappointment of the lack of crab.




My softshell crab (in soy chicken/ pork broth)




Svv's dish- same as above but in soy bean paste soup



J's dish- Butter and corn ramen (he found the flavours interesting)

For the price of $15 a bowl, it is a little more on the pricier side compared to some other ramen places I've tried. Does it compare to Ramen Ya? Probably not

Thanks for reading :)

Kokoro Ramen
157 Lonsdale Street
Melbourne

Yum: 6.5/10
Price: 6/10
Service: 6/10 ( I forgot to mention that you have to order and pay at the counter)

Kokoro Ramen on Urbanspoon

Miss Scribble