Bites: Mart 130 @ St Kilda (Melbourne)

I’ve just gotten back from Melbourne two days ago.  After catching up with my friends and distributing most of the things I have brought back, I finally have time to update this space of mine in the sky.  I’m not really sure what I should post considering my options are aplenty.  But I think I will go with my final breakfast in Melbourne at Mart 130.  Mart 130 turns out to be highly recommended by newspapers and bloggers.  Most critics applauded the cafe owner’s smart move in turning this old tram station into a cool looking cafe while still being able to preserve its historic sentiments.  Getting to this place was a whole lot easier to get to I must insist.  Just head on over to Bourke St. and get on tram 96 heading towards St. Kilda and then get off at tram stop 130 the MiddlePark stop.  That is all you have to do.  Mart 130 is spelled in reverse of Tram 130 if you realise.  So simplistic yet so functional.  My name in reverse however, can probably only be used as a cover name in the Vietkong military :(!Table decor

 

Ok!  Enough talk more food! hehe!  To get our tummy started for the day, we indulged in hot drinks.  Xl and I opted for the hot chocolate: See the froth and get weak on your knees.  This is the thickest froth I have ever had in Melbourne.  And oh god it was sooo satisfying!! I cannot help but mention how important this layer of froth is in hot drinks.  Been to places that serves hot drinks with an almost non-existent layer of froth and that really shows how passionate they are about being a barrister.  With no froth, it feels as if the milk came from a microwave.  Mart 130 serves the best classic hot chocolate in Melbourne.  For me at least! :D!!  Even Max Brenner’s creative Malteser copy cat is no match ahah.

 

My brekkie pick.  Corn fritters with crispy bacon streaks serve with drizzles of relish and a serve of sour cream.  Hope I got that right.  I’ll soon elaborate more about this very fancy looking piece of edible art.

 

lil girl’s poached eggs on sourdough with avocado mash and crispy bacon with hollandaise sauce.  I would have personally chosen this as my favourite after trying all the food we ordered.  The eggs felt slightly overcooked as the yolk did not turn out to be as runny as I would have preferred.  Bacon streaks were crisp and slightly charred, just the way I like it.  And amazingly this platter of eggs, mash, bacon and bread turned out to be a whole lot more filling that I thought it would be.  Lil girl was overloaded.

Kelvin’s set was somewhat similar to XL with the exception of the avocado mash and bacon.  Instead, Kelvin had chorizos and olives cooked in what looked like an Italian herb tomato sauce.  The chorizos were yummy mummy but the olives were.. urgh @.@!   No olives thanks :D! 

 

I really think that any of those Mart 130 egg specials will be ok.  I particularly thought that Set #1 looked interesting served with spinach and mushrooms.  Mart 130 egg sets all cost the same at $16.90 each.   I do not see how any of these egg meals would end up in a disaster so I’d thoroughly recommend any of these to eggs lover or simply even if you are just a tummy left hungry. Ok time to get back on to my breakfast meal that I have yet to explained to you about. Ok peeps, this is the supposedly yummy oven baked corn fritters that my good ol buddy Yobi told me about.  And really, it is not only him that I’m getting this input from.  Bloggers love this dish from Mart 130.  The reception for this dish has been particularly impressive on that day as well.  I saw most if not all tables of 3 or more having at least 1 of it.  But for me unfortunately, I did not see a dish that reflected what I liked.  Firstly having said fritters, I was expecting something more airy and crispy.  So crispy that I initially thought that an additional set of eggs and bread was needed to make me full.  But instead, these were more of corn cakes heavily loaded with flour and corn which equally congested my digestive system.  The taste of corn was not lacking in any way which is good for corn lovers.  I like corn in a way that is buttered and done up through a grill in any flavour.  Nandos is one that I enjoy thoroughly.  But this one here just did not make the mark.  Maybe next time just a little crispier?  I finished last in this breakfast race. :'(

 

WenY

Date Night: Max Brenner

Kelvin left for his skiing trip after our lunch at Ying Thai @ Lygon street.  So that leaves Xin Ling and I since Pauline and our other friends left for Sydney almost 4 days ago.  After shopping around for my pair of jeans in which I chose Nobody over Ksubis, we had a slight dinner before going to Max Brenner for dessert.  Call us fat, call us greedy but hey! hey! We’re in Melbourne for goodness sake.  Not to mention, the Dessert House Eatery which we had our dinner at, the waiter told us that you can have the Mango Dessert with Sago just that they did not have any mango flesh and sago. @.@!

 

We had a problem deciding what dessert to have at Max Brenner so in the end the little girl asked me to surprise her and order what I think would suit us best.  Knowing the little girl I ordered:Hot Chocolate with Crunchy Waffle Balls!  One of the more delicious drinks at Max Brenner.  These crunchy Maltesers wannabe that floats so noticeably on the froth melts in the creamy hot chocolate before settling with a crunch in your mouth! 1 word, lovely!!

 

Malteser wannabe on macro mode!

 

As for the main dessert, I got us the fondue for two with an extra shot of strawberries for darling!  She loves strawberries!

Om nom nom nom!  Best source of Vitamin C for unhealthy kids.  Banana bread, strawberries and banana slices dipped in chocolate.  Both dark and milk are good sources of antioxidant.  Excuses to enjoy :D!

 

Marshmallows and banana bread.  The banana bread does not taste good by itself though.  Its only nice when dipped in chocolate.  The spongy marshmallows were the typical off the shelve hypermarket ones.

 

Fruit bowl!!  I think more assortments would be delicious but the standard strawberries and bananas do well too!

 

The extra serve of strawberries for the baby girl.  A definite win.  Liked her smile that came with the strawberries hehe.

 

At the end of the night, our tummies were bulging inches more than normal as if someone pumped too much air into the tyres but the grin on our faces is more than enough to show our happiness :)!  But one amazing thing is that from the first day of the trip until today, the weighing scale is showing 68kg :)!  Does that mean I’ve lost weight? ehehe!  Must have been all the walking I’ve been doing in this oversized city!

 

Time to sleep :D!

 

WenY

Bites: Ying Thai 2 @ Lygon St. (Melbourne)

Kelvin is not with us at the moment.  He went off with his friends to a national park in Bright before heading off the Alpines for a ski.  Before he left though, we went for something with a higher temperature to keep him warm during his trip hoho! THAI FOOD @ Ying Thai 2.  This little eatery has long been a famous eatery.  And there is no secrecy to its existence considering the queue during dinner and the lack of tables during lunch.  My fellow friends and readers (I hope there are some >.<) know that I’m a sucker for Thai food.  But only good ones though.  But luckily enough I have not had any sucky ones.  From my trip to Bangkok to S & T in Perth and now Ying Thai 2. Wow!  Undeniably, these were really good food.  Cleanliness in Bangkok well, it is something else but it was not detriment to me in anyway.

The interior is simple but felt as if we were in some fancy back lane cafe in Bangkok. Liked the drawings depicting village kids spinning the tops like the classics engaged in a road side battle.

 

We were looking at the menu to decide what would best suit our hungry tummies and looking up and about the papers, we decided to go with the lunch set menu.  I think part of our decision was caused by the pricey cost of the rice.  Its 3 bucks per head =.=!!

 

What we ordered?This is one of the best Thai food available.  Spicy minced meat with holy basil!  Forgot what it is called but oh boy! Its lovely! The only downside with this version at Ying Thai 2 is the spiciness level was nowhere within Kelvin’s region spiciness.  It is our fault really.  We only asked for mild spiciness.

 

Xin Ling’s tom yam soup here is every bit as Thai as it should be.  From the clarity to the tastiness.  Its a blast.  Its typically how my uncle Teow Loon would made it from scratch.  I know they had Kafir lime leaf, dried chillies, tomatoes, fish sauce I guess? And other extras hehe.  Really tasted delicious.  Maybe we will go there one more time and have it with extra chilli as Xin Ling confesses to a certain thrill when she is busy gasping for air to cool her burning tongue :)!

 

This was my Thai red curry with duck meat.  I’ve always avoided curries when I go to Thai restaurants but I knew I was in no position to resist when I saw this curry on the menu.  My first experience of a beautiful duck curry was on a flight to Bangkok on Silk Air.  The roast duck curry I had on the flight was by far the most tantalising meal I have ever had on an flight.  Even beating the juicy steak on the Malaysian Airlines night flight to Australia.  I was only 12 when I had that curry and this curry was close to replicating that experience.  The thick flavoursome curry going nicely with the addition of a rich and aromatic coconut milk.  My god. Its taste was totally smack!  Even after I was done, Kelvin happily spooned the remains into his mouth.  I cannot blame him really.  It is after all a wonderful serve of curry.  The only downside was the serve of duck meat was a little insufficient.  I know I only paid 10 bucks which is far too cheap for a serve of Thai food but I was hoping for a little more meat. ahah

 

By the end of the meal, we were all filled to the brim.  The serve of rice is really large.  But I almost wanted to order one more serve to go together with my curry but luckily I had some self control ahah.  Finalising this post, Ying Thai 2 on Lygon street is a MUST go.  Unless you are from Thailand that is.  The price for the set menu is really cheap and if you are going for dinner, do not be bothered by the price of the rice.  The serve of meat seems pretty damn large.  And if you’re having curry, rice overload is not an option.  Its definitely a must.  I have not tried but I think the green curry would not be any lesser (in taste) than the red one.

 

WenY