Following on from my breakfasts, desserts and sweets in Melbourne posts, I’ve put together some lunches in Melbourne.
Tipo 00
I’d heard good things about Tipo 00 and fortunately the restaurant was extremely close to my hotel. The restaurant was one of the few on my hit list that was still serving food around 2.30pm. I ordered one of the most popular dishes – the hand made gnocchi with duck ragu. It was simply divine. I loved the freshly made gnocchi which had been cooked perfectly. The ragu had been stewed for several hours and had such a full body of flavour. The duck meat was oh so tender and fell apart easily. I could tell it had been stewing for a few hours and would gladly order this dish again. Service was great with my choice of water provided, and the dishes explained when asked. The food arrived quickly and I just loved it!
Tipo 00 can be found at 361 Little Bourke Street in the Melbourne CBD.
Gradi at the Crown
Gradi’s margherita pizza had been voted the World’s Best back in 2014, so J and I decided to make a stop for lunch to try it out. The dough was thin with a puffed up chewy crust which we loved. I do like the simple combination of tomato, mozzarella and basil. It didn’t disappoint but we did feel that we’d had similar quality pizzas elsewhere. Perhaps because we tried Gradi at the Crown rather than the original Brunswick shop.
Gradi at the Crown can be found at 8 Whiteman Street in Southbank.
Long Story Short Cafe
Apart from the fairy floss dessert burger, I also tried the matcha white chocolate at Long Story Short Cafe. This was served with the matcha in one small beaker, and a white chocolate ball in a cup, where I got to pour the matcha over the ball and watch it melt.
Short video below.
I’m not a big fan of white chocolate but this did taste pretty good. I wonder if they can make it with milk/dark chocolate instead?
I also tried their crispy soft shell crab burger and was happy with the portion of crab received and the crunchy batter. The celeriac and green papaya slaw helped balance the burger providing freshness and a nice Asian twist. Service was pleasant and friendly.
Long Story Short Cafe can be found at 40 Crockford Street in Port Melbourne.
Matcha Mylkbar
I first heard about Matcha Mylkbar from Instagram where I saw so many different latte options – I’m talking mushroom, blue algae and other strange latte flavours! I love trying unique and strange things so I made sure to catch a tram out. Being a weekday, I thought the place would be relatively empty and was surprised to find every table taken! Luckily, they could fit me at one of the small communal tables. I ordered the sample paddle of 4 mini lattes (chef’s choice). I ended up getting a pretty boring sample – cacao, matcha, turmeric and apple pie. Of the 4, the only new item was the apple pie which tasted like an apple and cinnamon tea. The cacao was too watery for me and I’d much prefer a hot chocolate than a cacao latte.
Though I do love my matcha and turmeric lattes, I was disappointed that I didn’t get to try the more crazier flavours. So I ordered the blue algae as well. It was a lovely bright blue with a dusting of pink powder on top. It tasted sour and a little bit like yoghurt. Very much all latte’d out after this meal.
I also tried the matcha burger with chicken and sweet potato fries. The chicken was a little crispy on the outside, with a bit of mayo and cabbage. I thought the chicken to bun ratio could have been improved with a bit more chicken. The sweet potato fries were amazing – deliciously crunchy on the outside with natural sweetness on the inside.
I should also mention that I waited 40 minutes just for my burger. As I was at a communal table and not provided a table number, there was a mix up when another person sat down half an hour after me and ordered the same burger. So when my order finally arrived, the waitress gave it to the other girl, who had only waited 10 minutes and inadvertently stole my order. I should mention I was very HANGRY by this stage. Not happy at all. After about 5 minutes of disbelief and stewing, I walked up to the counter to tell the waitress of the mix up and that I was still waiting for my meal. My burger ended up coming out within a few minutes so all was well again. So just a word of warning: no table numbers are provided. It was difficult getting someone’s attention to order my meal, even from those simply clearing plates away.
Matcha Mylkbar can be found at 72 Acland Street in St Kilda (near Luna Park).
Dinner By Heston
I thought my lunch at Dinner By Heston deserved a stand alone post, so here’s the link.
For more posts on Melbourne:
If you want more random photos and updates about food, I’m on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram:
Facebook: /foodpornjournal
Twitter: @foodpornjournal
Instagram: /foodpornjournal