Bababoi Kitchen & Bar

One of the few restaurants in Melbourne to serve Peranakan or Nyonya cuisine, Bababoi stands out from the crowd with offerings that really pack a flavour punch.

The Nyonya cuisine is a Malaysian cuisine which combines Chinese, Malay and other influences into a unique blend resulting in dishes that are tangy, aromatic, spicy and herbal.

The menu is extensive with something to suit everyone - From well-known crowd pleasers like their 5 spice marinated chicken to authentic Nyonya dishes like the Ayam buah keluak which is not served anywhere else in Melbourne. 

The food boasts beautiful flavour courtesy of the house made rempah (a blend of fresh spices which are ground together) that are meticulously prepared.

Lobak 

Our dinner commenced with a plate of Lobak from their “Something Light” section of the menu. The Lobak is a mixture of ground up lean pork, water chestnuts and herbs wrapped in a beancurd skin which has been steamed and then pan fried until crisp. The crispy beancurd exterior, juicy interior and salty-sweet chilli sauce makes for an excellent appetiser. 

Tamarind pulled pork (a.k.a. babi assam)

A dish of pulled pork with hints of tangy tamarind, the dish displayed a depth and complexity in flavour and had a lovely hint of tangy sweetness that complemented the overall savouriness of the dish. 

Nyonya chicken curry (a.k.a. ayam kapitan)

This classic Malaysian chicken curry was a stand out. Boasting creamy coconut and aromatic kaffir lime leaves and lemongrass, it was wonderfully hearty. We enjoyed the richness of the curry and the generous use of spices which showcased the customary punchy flavours exhibited by Malaysian curries generally.  Together with steamed rice, it was an addictive and comforting dish.

Chocolate chicken (a.k.a. Ayam buah keluak)

The chocolate chicken was yet another highlight. Particularly enjoyable for its robust and fragrant nutty flavour. Each morsel was cooked to the point where the meat simply melted in our mouths. The flavours from the herbs and spices were unique and very enjoyable.

The Jewellery box - Earl grey pannacotta topped with black tapioca pearls

The visually attractive pannacotta was a wonderful creation of melt in your mouth pannacotta and perfectly chewy tapioca pearls. Absolutely delectable, this dessert was a masterclass in textural balance and great use of flavour. The pannacotta was textured perfectly. A welcome departure from the mundane dessert items usually found, this dessert offered its own unique characteristics. 

Bababoi celebrates the fusion style of Nyonya cuisine, with distinctive blend of Chinese and Malay techniques, flavours and spices. If you like your South East Asian flavours rich and gutsy, you cannot go wrong here.

Location: Shop 2, 60 Siddeley Street, Docklands

Phone: 0490 029 968

Link: http://www.bababoikitchenandbar.com/

Cuisine: Asian, Chinese, Malaysian











Gastrology bloggers dined courtesy of MATRADE's Malaysian Kitchen Program.

Din Tai Fung

Finally. It’s here. Din Tai Fung, arguably the world’s most famous dumpling specialists, has opened their first venue outside of New South Wales and their biggest Australian restaurant yet at Emporium Melbourne.

Shrimp and Pork Jiao Ze

Like each venue, the restaurant features Din Tai Fung’s signature glass-enclosed dumpling kitchen. The theme of ‘yin yang’ with a mainly monochrome fit-out exudes a casual and comfortable surrounding. 

The Din Tai Fung brand has earned cult status since introducing Australia to its world-class Xiao Long Bao dumplings seven years ago (2008) at its flagship World Square Sydney restaurant and it is easy to understand why.  

Avocado Chocolate Swirl; Mango Tango

Pork Dumpling / Xiao Long Bao

While many Chinese restaurants serve Xiao Long Bao, Din Tai Fung’s variety are a cut above. The allure of Din Tai Fung’s legendary Xiao Long Bao lies in their gracefully delicate pastry skin enveloping rich pork-seasoned broth.  

Usefully, Din Tai Fung’s staff are on hand to provide instructions on the recommended steps for consuming the Xiao Long Bao - steps which involve piercing the pastry skin to suck out the broth within and then subsequently flavouring the remaining pastry and minced pork dumpling with black vinegar and shredded ginger.

These soupy morsels may demand more effort than your run-of-the-mill pork dumpling, but we assure you - you will be rewarded.

Vegetarian Bun

Truffle Xiao Long Bao

An absolute show stopper was the bespoke Truffle Xiao Long Bao. The steamed pork dumplings were infused with shaved truffle and truffle oil and tasted nothing short of amazing. It was a decadent dumpling with fragrant aromas.

Water Spinach with Garlic

Shrimp and Pork Wonton with Tangy Sauce

With the extensive publicity received by Din Tai Fung’s Xiao Long Bao, the Shrimp and Pork Wontons with Tangy Sauce, which prevail in both taste and texture, can easily be overlooked. These pork and prawn filled wontons are wrapped with a blissfully silken wonton pastry and bathe in a mind-blowing concoction of chilli oil and sesame oil. Cooked with the perfect amount of heat, these wontons certainly tantalised the taste buds.

Vegetarian Jiao Ze

Shrimp and Pork Shao Mai

The Shrimp and Pork Shao Mai was yet another highlight. We loved the slightly thicker dumpling pastry which was beautiful in texture and the decadent broth accompanying the prawn topping.

Our evening at Din Tai Fung concluded on a sweet note with a duo of their most popular desserts.

Taro gelato with Golden taro Bread

The taro gelato was wonderfully creamy and went well with the taro bread which was perfectly crisp on the outside and featured gooey luscious taro on the inside.

Mango ice dessert

A towering mango slushy ice dessert, we loved the use of fresh mango with the shaved ice. It was a playful dessert which rounded out our decadent meal.

Din Tai Fung is certainly a welcomed addition to Melbourne. With its superb execution of Chinese cuisine and dumplings which are made with the same surgical-like precision that Din Tai Fung is renowned for, there is no doubt that this new outpost will soon be firmly entrenched as a Melbourne dining institution.

Location: Level 4, 287 Lonsdale St, Melbourne

Phone: (03) 9654 1876

Link: https://www.dintaifung.com.au/

Cuisine: Taiwanese, Dumplings

Gastrology bloggers dined courtesy of Din Tai Fung.

OLDTOWN White Coffee

OLDTOWN White Coffee recently opened its first Australian outpost mid last month.

Established in 1999, OLDTOWN White Coffee is Malaysia’s largest white coffee café chain.

The menu pays homage to Malaysian food in general with particular emphasis on dishes from its place of origin, Ipoh. 

Sotong Kangkung Rojak

We started with a dish of cuttlefish and spinach (also known in Hokkien as “Jyu hu eng chai”). A “salad” of sorts, the dish had beautifully wilted water spinach and tender cuttlefish laced in rojak sauce which is a flavoursome concoction of  shrimp paste, black caramel sauce, belachan, sugar, tamarind water, lemon juice, chilli powder and fresh chillis. 

Sotong Sambal Petai

The Squid with Petai beans cooked in sambal was delicious. One of our favourite Malay dishes, we enjoyed the gentle bitterness from the Petai which cut through the richness of the sambal. 

Assam Pedas Fish

The Spicy Assam Fish was yet another highlight. The perfectly seasoned assam curry broth possessed the customary punchy flavours exhibited by Malaysian curries. We loved the beautiful tartness from the assam base which goes particularly well with fish.

Whether you’re looking for a light snack of kaya toast and coffee, or a Malaysian feast, OLDTOWN White Coffee delivers with their great range of Malaysian cuisine. 

Location: 303, Elizabeth St Melbourne Vic 3000 

Phone: 03 9939 4268

Link: http://oldtownwhitecoffee.com.au/

Cuisine: Malaysian

Gastrology bloggers dined courtesy of MATRADE's Malaysian Kitchen Program.

Special occasions with T. Cavallaro & Sons

Best known for making the best cannolis in town, T. Cavallaro & Sons is a Melbourne institution. We remember our first visit. It was truly love at first sight. 

As soon as we stepped through the doors of T. Cavallaro & Sons, we were immediately swept away by the aromas of baked pastry, roasted nuts and sweet syrup. 

T. Cavallaro & Sons was founded by Tommaso Cavallaro in 1956 and proudly catered for the Melbourne Olympics in the same year. The cafe proudly represents the European migrant families who made Footscray their home in the ’40s and ’50s. Since 1956, the cafe has been open every Easter and every Christmas, making sure their customers are well taken care of. 

Today, Tommaso's sons, Tony and Carmelo (who has worked on the premises since its inception in 1956) continue the legacy. 

Behind the shop front is where the magic happens. There, endless trays of freshly baked sweet treats and pastries are being made. The contents of which scream only one thing – decadence.

With recipes that have not changed since 1956, use of time-old techniques and fresh ingredients, the proof is in the tasting.

The sweet treats at T. Cavallaro & Sons are baked to perfection so when Gastrology got hitched recently, it only made sense that we would get our cake from these passionate creators. 

We absolutely loved our 3 tier octagonal white fondant chocolate marble cake.

Every bit was handmade and absolutely moreish. Every element of the cake was perfect: the beautiful flavour, the design, the decorations and even the size. The cake truly impressed - it was beautifully moist and had the perfect airy yet dense texture.

If you have a sweet tooth or need a cake for a special occasion, we certainly recommend taking the trip down to Footscray to see what the fuss is about. 

Location: 98 Hopkins Street, Footscray

Phone: 03 9687 4638 

Link: http://www.tcavallaroandsons.com.au/

Cuisine: Coffee, Bakery 

Waterslide Bar

An exciting new addition to the Southgate precinct, the
Waterslide Bar is located in the precinct’s opening onto the spiral staircase
overlooking the Princes Bridge and city skyline.

Waterslide’s Venue Manager Tim Wastell has an impressive resume. Australian Bar Manager of the Year 2009, Wastell has plied his
craft at some of Melbourne’s best loved bars such as The Blue Diamond on Queen
St and The Saint St Kilda. He comes to Waterslide after a year pursuing excellence
at Rockpool Bar and Grill in Perth.

Less than a week old and the bar is already making splashes with its tribute to the colourful area once known as “near Princes Bridge”. Favoured as a circus location and outdoor playground since
the 1870s, Princes Bridge was Melbourne’s entertainment hub until well into the
20th century. Just metres from Southgate’s spiral staircase, adventure seekers
used to hop into a water chute taller than the skyscrapers of the time. They
would then be propelled down a wooden waterslide, fully dressed to the nines!

Various elements from the history of the cocktail were an inspiration
in the concept with added contemporary quirky characteristics like, swing seats,
lounge nooks, dramatic bottle display, rocking chairs and rotating stools as
subtle touch points for customers to draw to.

Tones of gold, dark timbers and deep reddish-purple hues set
the scene for the interior, through the use of curtain waves, eccentric
banquette seating and reflective metallic mirror finishes.

Wastell has joined forces with Black Pearl’s Fred Siggins to design a fun and accessible cocktail menu and drinks list that incorporates modern techniques, seasonal ingredients and unique flavour combinations, as well as the highest quality spirits and some cracking grower produced wines.

We commenced our evening with a couple of outstanding
cocktails.

Grace Kelly

Our first cocktail of the evening was the Grace Kelly cocktail
which was made from Hendrick’s Gin, fresh pressed pear juice, Earl Grey, honey,
cinnamon syrup, dehydrated apple garnish. A delicious fruity cocktail with
plenty of character, it was an enlivening start.

Sage Advice

Our favourite cocktail of the night, the Sage Advice was
magnificent. Not one for the faint hearted, the cocktail was a heady
combination of Talisker 10yo Scotch Whiskey, Johnny Walker Black Label,
Benedictine, apricot & sage syrup and orange bitters.

While Waterslide Bar is dedicated first and foremost to the
art of drinking, the bar also offers a laid back environment for catching up
with friends and family with Mediterranean inspired food designed to share which
goes down a treat with their drink offerings.

Hand harvested Cuca sardines in olive oil and crusted
ciabatta bread

Don’t let the “being served from a can” aspect fool you. The
sardines were a delight, boasting a wonderful depth of flavour.

Market choice fish carpaccio, Juliann fennel, dill, lemon
and olive oil

The fish carpaccio was beautifully presented and tasted even
better than it looked. It was a wonderful mélange of different textures,
natural sweetness and acidity. The fresh cured slices were embellished with
pockets of fennel and dill. The lemon and olive oil dressing added the final
touch to an enlivening combination of ingredients.

Mediterranean style pickled and marinated octopus with
grated goat feta

The octopus pieces were tender and matched well with the
medley of herbs and luxurious feta.

Cuban sandwich Roasted pork, premium shaved ham, melted
gruyere cheese, Dijon mustard and pickled cucumber

An extravagant toasted ham and cheese sandwich containing
luscious roast pork, gruyere cheese, pickle, mustard and slices of ham which
added a nice touch of saltiness to the creamy cheese fusion. The sandwich was the
perfect supper treat.

Suntory Yamazaki 18 y.o. Osaka

Our evening at Waterslide concluded on a great high.
Overwhelmed by the brilliant choices available, we asked for a Japanese Whiskey
recommendation and were presented with the outstanding 18 y.o Suntory Yamazaki.
It was a delicate yet profound expression of a Japanese single malt. Smooth, well-balanced
with great complexity and a lovely balance of fruit, silky malt and a touch of
smoke. Just one of the many examples of the high end offerings available at the Waterslide.

The Waterslide Bar is the answer to your dreams. Finally, a
bar that takes its drink choices very seriously, but not itself. With offerings
for all enthusiasts (whether you are a craft beer aficionado, cocktail geek,
spirit epicurean or wine appreciator there are a range of choices to suit your
needs), the bar caters for everyone from those that are out for a fun night with mates to those looking to be inspired.

Location: Shop MR3, Mid Level East, Southgate Avenue, Southbank

Link: http://www.waterslidebar.com.au/

Cuisine: Bar, Mediterranean, Cocktails, Wine, Spirits

Gastrology bloggers dined courtesy of Waterslide Bar.