[Travel Melbourne] Meatmaiden @ Little Collins Street

We were in the mood for a little bit of steak and one that doesn't requires us to cook it ourselves. Yeah, finally visiting a steakhouse during this Melbourne trip, yay!

It was an impromptu decision and on the very first evening of our Melbourne trip. Lucky us, Salina helped to secure a reservation to the restaurant on super short notice.

Its website stated "Meatmaiden is an underground steakhouse and cocktail bar in the heart of Melbourne where the classics are reimagined, reinterpreted and twisted."

entrance

going underground

Indeed, once we entered the building, we needed to get down the stairs to the restaurant. Somewhat exuding the dark, industrial decor yet classy.

booth seats

The place was bustling on a Saturday evening. We opted for an early dinner at 5pm otherwise the next seating was at 8pm.

menu

Selected a couple of appetisers, and two mains to share amongst the 6 of us as we had late lunch earlier at 2+pm. Staff was helpful with their recommendations as well. For the mains, we enquired about their specials (not in the menu) and Chef shared that we could opt for the Mayura Station Wagyu (full-blood wagyu) 600gm or 1kg as they have that on our day of visit. Ooh, let's try!

I needed to Google to find out more pertaining to the difference between full blood and purebred cattle. Full blood often refers to cattle that are 100% in breed purity. Purebred usually refers to cattle that are bred up fairly close to fullblood (~> 93.75%), but have the genetics of another breed.

Start

Grilled Bread

Grilled Bread, Cowboy Butter @AUD12

Oh my goodness gracious! I am impressed by the grilled bread. So so tasty with its sweet caramelized outer layer and fluffy-chewy bread, and topped with saoury-salty cowboy butter. Must try. Thank you Chef for sending these to our table.

Grilled Octopus

Charred Octopus @AUD26

Octopus was tender and paired well with the potato aioli. 

Roasted Bone Marrow

Roasted Bone Marrow @AUD24

Wow, I liked the bone marrow at Meatmaiden. More flavorful than any other bone marrows that I had in the past. Lovely combination with the raclete custard. Rich and delightful.

Burnt Ends

Burnt Ends @AUD23

Hmm, am not a fan of burnts ends as the ones that I had in the past, tend to be overly seasoned. The version here was strongly flavoured but not overly so. 

Chopped Wagyu Tartare

crisps

Chopped Wagyu Tartare @AUD24

The chopped wagyu tartare was by far, had the most interesting appearance amongst all the dishes served, with that cloak of green on-top of it. Hehe, this sure was a conversation piece. Mix it well and place a some tartare onto the crisps and enjoy. I liked the tartare with its Asian influenced flavours, without the crisps though. So good.

Again, thanks to Chef Jesse for sending the wagyu tartare over to our table for us to try!

Drinks

There's plenty of selection in their drinks menu, but I opted for red wine to complement the steak later.

Malbec, France @AUD17

Thank you the to staff who poured generously into the glass, cheers!

Mains

Smoked Short Ribs

Smoked Short Ribs @AUD54

The smoked short ribs was fork tender yet retained a nice chew for its meat. Loved the pickled cucumber ribbon on its side.

Mayura Station Wagyu Bone-In Ribeye Steak

Mayura Station Bone-In Ribeye (600 gm)

sauces: garlic & thyme jus, beef fat bernaise, three pepper sauce and wild mushroom

After having a taste, this has quickly became my current favourite steak of all-times! Well seasoned, and flavourful on its own. Paired with beef fat bearnaise for that additional oomph! Fantastic.

medium rare

Sides

Lobster Mac & Cheese

Lobster Mac & Cheese @AUD40

First time seeing, mac & cheese served with bisque.

mandatory pour-shot for the bisque

It was an interesting experience to eat the mac & cheese with the bisque.

All in all, it was an enjoyable experience at Meatmaiden where the flavours are very pronounced, and the staff were pretty good in keeping the guests well taken care of. So kudos, and thank you to the team!

Special thanks to Salina who introduced the place to us, and Gan and Jesse who made time to chit chat a bit with us.

Foodie experience with Ivan, Hence, Tracy, Salina and Shermaine. Thank you everyone as we managed to try quite a bit of things here! Legends.

Meatmaiden

Address: 195 Little Collins St, Melbourne VIC 3000, Australia

Website: https://meatmaiden.com.au

Contact: +61390787747

Business Hours:

Sun - Mon: Closed

Tue: Tuesday, 5–9:30 pm

Wed - Thu: 12–2:30 pm, 5–9:30 pm

Fri: Friday, 12–2:30 pm, 5–10 pm

Sat: Saturday, 5–10 pm

[Travel Melbourne] Biting into Lune and Bakemono

During the last visit to Melbourne 2 years back, we passed by Lune and there was a long line for its bakes. This time, we made it a point to check it out and hence, we were there before the shop opens to see how things are. Well, the queue is still there!

Lune

we were early

get your card ready

When you reach inside the shop, at the payment counter is also where they display their available bakes for the day. Take a quick look and place in your order, and pay by card.

guess which 3 we chose

Happy that the shop offers still and sparkling water dispenser, so help yourself to the water while waiting for the beverages and pastries. There's a long communal table indoor, so everyone who wants to dine-in will stand there to enjoy the pastries.

Thank you to the staff who brought the drinks and pastries to our table.

Carbonara (September Special)

Kouign Amann @AUD9.50

Cheese & Vegemite Escargot @AUD10.70

I was curious about the vegemite and it tasted as it looked. Savoury, salty.

The best tasting was the savoury Carbonara for its bacon bits, and cheese. Yummy.

Hot Chocolate @AUD6.10

White Coffee @AUD5.80 (Salina insisted on the placement of the paperbag =x)

Lune Croissanterie Melbourne CBD

Address: Shop 16/161 Collins St, Melbourne VIC 3000, Australia

Website: https://www.lunecroissanterie.com/food-menu-melbourne-cbd/

Business Hours:

Mon - Fri: 7:30 am–5 pm

Sat - Sun: Saturday, 8 am–5 pm

Bakemono

After which, we walked to our next bakery, Bakemono as this was recommended by Salina's friend and was also in our radar for one of the places we wanted to try during this trip.

let's queue

shop front for the curious

We waited in line, and as you approaches the side entrance to the shop, the available bakes for the day are displayed so one could have around that few minutes to decide on what they want before entering the shop.

guess what we chose

Go in, place your order and payment by cash or card. The staff would ask for your name and they will call out for you once the pastries are packed and good to go. Yeah, this place is for take-aways only.

So once you're done with payment, just wait outside of the main entrance for your name to be called.

can't wait to try!

There's a plain croissant, almond croissant, Spinach feta cheese danish and scones. We went to the park at the State Library Victoria to enjoy the pastries.

are you eyeing the pastries?

 

almond croissant

crisp flaky on the outside, and soft inside

this my favourite

Canele

The price range for Bakemono is around AUD6.50 onwards. Loved their croissant and danish with is extra flaky and buttery-ness. Staff was friendly and the queue moves pretty fast.

Bakemono Bakers

Address: 273 Little Lonsdale St, Melbourne VIC 3000, Australia

Website: http://bakemonobakers.com.au/

Business Hours:

Mon - Fri:  7:30 am–3 pm

Sat - Sun: Saturday, 8:30 am–3 pm

[Travel Melbourne] 茶记 HK Cafe Melbourne - HK Cha Chaan Teng

It was that time of the year again! Travel buddies gathered, planned and off we went to Melbourne in Sep 2024. Always grateful to have Hence, Tracy, Ivan and this year, Shermaine!

My first meal in Melbourne for this trip, was at the HK Cafe nearby our accommodation, Mantra on Russell Melbourne. Was super apologetic to Hence, Tracy and Ivan (and also Salina!) who waited for Shermaine and myself to arrive and by the time we were done with check-in, it was already 220pm. Thank you for waiting!

It was just a few minutes walk to the cafe after hotel check-in, so we didn't know it then but eventually we revisited the cafe once more as the menu had other things that we wanted to try.

Loved that their menu is on display outside of the shop, so one could decide what they want to eat even before stepping into the shop. For dining in, one could inform the staff the number of pax and they will look for a table for you. Might need to share table, but thus far, our party of 5 or 6 pax were big enough to warrant a table for ourselves.

There's a QR code on each table and once could view the online menu and place order. Payment is made online as well. Once submitted, the staff will bring out the beverages first and followed promptly with the food orders. At peak hours, some of the dishes may encounter a longer time to be ready. From our experience, all our food were served within 10-15 minutes of ordering.

Fried Spam and Three Eggs Rice @$15.80

Egg Sauce with Shallots and Shrimps Rice @$16.80

Super loved the 3 eggs with spam rice. Just simple soy on top of the eggs with runny yolk, and deliciously oily spam pieces. Yums!

Curry Fishballs (12 pcs) @$14.80

are you a fan?

HK Style French Toast with Maple Syrup @$8.80

there's peanut butter inside the french toast!

Sprite with Sour Plum @$6.80

Red Bean with Ice Cream @$8.80

First time trying the Red Bean with Ice Cream drink and it was better than expected. A dessert-drink and pretty filling!

On second visit, we ordered new things to try.

Spam with Double Eggs with Nissin Noodles Soup @$12.80

Ivan had the Nissin noodles and it took the longest to arrive. We had already finished half of ours when it arrived.

Baked Curry Beef Brisket Rice @$18.80

Satay Beef Rice @$15.80

Baked Pork Chop Rice @$18.80

The baked rice here was a good choice, especially the classic baked pork chop rice with the stringy melted cheese and as attested by Shermaine who was on her way in taking a bite before I stopped her for a photo. Oops!

nice and hot

The curry and satay sauce were of different flavours than what I am used to in Malaysia/Singapore. It is milder for the HK version and satay sauce was just in general, quite different.

But the beef here was nice and tender.

Chu Hou Paste Beef Brisket Noodles Soup @$14.80

my favourite noodles

I was very happy with my bowl of comforting beef brisket noodles soup. Chunks of tender beef with some tendons/fats, springy noodles and warm broth. Satisfied.

The ice-lemon tea can be requested to be sweetened or unsweetened. I prefer sweetened and it was just nice.

ice-lemon tea

All in all, the staff are generally friendly and efficient. We conversed in either Cantonese, English or Mandarin.

If you need additional customization to your dishes, do order and inform the staff at the counter.

茶记 HK Cafe Melbourne

Address: 171 Russell St, Melbourne VIC 3000, Australia

Website: http://hkcafe.com.au/

Contact: +61452391282

Business Hours:

Daily 11:30 am–9 pm