[Travel Melbourne] State Library Victoria, Lunch at Pho Thin and Gelato at Piccolina

steps leading to State Library Victoria

gull

Went to eat grab pho after the visit to State Library.

 

signage

lunch hour

small spaces

The shop was busy as it was lunch hour and we waited for about 15 mins for a table. Scan the QR code to order. I got myself the fatty brisket while Hence got the non-fatty version. 

The brisket slices retained quite a bit of chew and the soup was certainly comforting on a cold day. The noodles were softer than expected and pretty similar to hor fun.

fatty brisket @AUD16.50

softer than expected

fatty, indeed

plenty of greens

There's still water from the dispenser, and cutleries self-service from the counter.

fried donut (cute looking doughstick) 

pickled garlic slices

Pho Tin has another shop opposite the one that we dined in.

Pho Thin 13 Lo Duc MELBOURNE

Address: Shop 3/399 Lonsdale St, Melbourne VIC 3000, Australia

Website: https://www.foodbooking.com/ordering/restaurant/menu?restaurant_uid=3336ba80-9783-40f2-977a-d49fbb815e7d

Business Hours:

Daily: 10:30 am–8:30 pm

We saw the gelato shop during the daytime but only Ivan had space in his stomach for some. Then, we returned at night for some more!

time for some sweets

guess which flavour I got

stracciatella and pistachio (double)

Staff said I made a good choice when I wanted the pistachio and stracciatella. Didn't know what's a stracciatella and thought it could be some sort of cheese  but it turned out to be vanilla with some choco bits in it. The gelato was really good and I enjoyed it. Double scoop was a good value too!

Piccolina Gelateria

Address: 43 Hardware Ln, Melbourne VIC 3000, Australia

Website: https://www.piccolinagelateria.com.au/shop

Business Hours:

Daily: 12–11 pm

Dessert Time @ Yat Ka Yan 一家人 Fortune Centre

It was a Friday evening and we decided to have dessert ahead of dinner because, why not? Located at Level 2 of Fortune Centre, it was about 10 minutes walk from Bugis MRT station.

We queued up at the entrance counter (cashier?) intending to place our orders first while waiting for a seat. And lucky us, a staff came over to aide and informed that we could be seated at Table 13 and then order from the counter.

interior

 

The place has a retro feel and the menu have a couple of savoury snacks that one could choose from instead of just having sweet dessert. Tempting, but we stuck to our mission of having the sweet stuffs!

menu

Ice Jelly Passionfruit with Soursop @$5.50

Durian Chendol @$7.50

Chendol @ $4

Fresh Mango Sago with ice-cream @$7

Service was fast and efficient with the desserts served within 5 minutes after placing our orders.

The Ice Jelly Passionfruit with Soursop was only mildly fragrant with the passionfruit sauce/syrup, and some sweetness with a slight satisfying tangy flavour, distinct to soursop. Jelly was not too chewy and slid down well after a few bites. Refreshing and perfect for the hot and humid weather. Noted that after mixing the ice, one might not be remember that there's passionfruit in this concoction. 

Yen was funny. She was raving about 'Avocado Sago' (as seen from Insta) and was recommending it to us when we were thinking of what to order. As you might have guessed from the photos, we didn't. Haha!

She went with Durian Chendol, so we ordered a regular Chendol to do a comparision taste test. Verdict, unless you have a craving for durian, I would recommend the regular chendol simply because when one has durian as a topping, the rest of the ingredients will be overshadowed. I enjoyed the original flavours of the chendol, and it was adequately sweet with the fragrance of the gula melaka. The texture of the green rice flour jelly, was one of the better ones I've tasted.

Personally, my favourite goes to Fresh Mango Sago Pomelo with ice-cream. That dollop of ice-cream was really generous! Plus, one gets chunky sweet mango and that brown sugar jelly bits in the bowl added to the enjoyment. A bowl of cold, creamy dessert with fresh mango. Yums!

Icy adventures with Jingwen, Yen and Eric.

Yat Ka Yan 一家人 Dessert (Fortune Centre)

Address: 190 Middle Rd, #02-08 Fortune Centre, Singapore 188979

Instagram: https://instagram.com/yatkayan

Contact: +6587989292

Business Hours:

Closed on Tue.

Mon, Wed - Thu: 12–10 PM

Fri - Sun: Friday, 1:30–10 PM

Café Kitsuné @ Capitol

Yen chose the place for tea after our lunch at Suntec. This place is nearer to Wu Pao Chun side. Was there around 4pm and we waited for a table.

shopfront

Staff was nice to pass us the menu and to talk to us a bit about the menu. The available bakes are visibly displayed, so one could just go over to that counter to see what's available for the day.

drinks menu

After half an hour, we were presented with a choice on whether we would like to continue waiting for a slightly larger table or all 5 of us squeezed to the smaller table. We didn't mind the smaller table plus I got tired of waiting. Hahaa!

table decor

Iced Houjicha Latte @$8.50

It was a warm day, so I opted for Iced Houjicha Latte. Pretty mild but it's likeable. The hot drinks looked pretty good with the latte art.

Latte @$7.00

Sesame Latte @$7.50

Tried a sip of the sesame latte and it tasted just like the sesame paste dessert albeit not so thick. Lovely flavour if you like sesame.

We got  a couple of the dessert, so our table was pretty busy with all the small plates.

Strawberry Shortcake @$13

I liked the cake. Tasted as how a strawberry shortcake would be.

cross section view

Think Wendy chose the Yuzu Pistachio. Hmmm, it was tiny. It tasted sweet, slightly tart and tangy. 

Yuzu Pistachio Strawberry Tart @$13

inner view

Actually, Yen just wanted the shortbread. Because of its shape. Cute fox shape. We got 2 out of 4 flavours. Had the plain and the choco ones.

Kitsune Shortbread @$4 (one piece)

photogenic

Also tried the Paris-Brest. Paris-Brest by far, is a good choice. Well, my sampling size was rather small. In reality, am only eating this like once in every few years? Ginett version was giant-sized in comparison.

Paris-Brest @$12

The cream was delicious, although one of friend would disagree. But this dessert is my kind of thing. And the shortcake.

Overall, the place seemed popular. There was a small line outside when we were there.

Café Kitsuné Singapore

Address: 13 Stamford Rd, #01-11, Singapore 178905

Website: https://www.instagram.com/cafekitsune

Business Hours: 

Daily 10 am–10 pm

[Melbourne 2022] Fairfield Park Boathouse & Tea Garden

Tracy says this place is for scones. So we had our breakfast at South Melbourne Market, and right after that, we're doing lunch at Fairfield Park Boathouse. WoOhOoo! Eating with foodie gang, is like eating challenges.

I went along with the group and didn't research anything on the places that we'd be going except for some and this place wasn't one of them. Surprising find of such an old school charm in the middle of a park!

let's have some scones

entering the boathouse

Guests are welcomed to take a seat at its indoor area or the outdoor where one could dine with the lakeview and under the trees. 

Paper menu are available at the counter or at designated boxes in the restaurant, so feel free to pick one up and peruse it before ordering at the counter.

food menu

Once payment is made, the staff would handover the foods such as the cakes/dessert and coffee/drinks and guests will take it to their own table. Other food that requires longer preparation time, will then be served to your table later.

Fish & Chips

Fried food served piping hot, what's there not to like? Especially on a cold weather like this, it tasted more delicious! But, can do with a little less salt on the chips though.

The coffee here is from Padre, and it was enjoyable. Not too acidic and adequate strength without it being too bitter.

The hot chocolate here looked thick and rich.

Italian Hot Chocolate Royale @AUD7

We also had the vanilla slice, and I discovered that vanilla slices in Melbourne could taste pretty different at different places. Interesting!

This version here is with a slightly firmer custard.

Boathouse Vanilla Slice @AUD11.90

But we came here for scones, and boy, the Devonshire scone here was lovely.

Devonshire scones, jam and cream @AUD14.90

The scones here are huge! One scone here is of the size of two scones back in Singapore. Hahaa! It is of a different texture as well, and not as 'biscuit' like, more fluffy like soft bread. Generous with the servings of jam and cream. Nice!

boating

One could do a bit of boating (to impress your date, maybe?) at this place, but during my short stay there, I had witnessed at least two different parties where the primary rower having some difficulty in controlling their oars. It was rather comical most of the times and thankfully, all returned safely. There is one or two staff around the bank that could assist, for rowers who had difficulty in returning their boat to the starting point.

Fairfield Park Boathouse & Tea Garden

Address: Fairfield Park Dr, Fairfield VIC 3078, Australia

Website: https://www.fairfieldboathouse.com/

Contact: +61 3 9486 1501

Business Hours:

Daily

Mon-Fri: 9:30AM–5PM

Sat-Sun:  8:30AM–6PM

Sweet and Fluffy Soufflé Pancake @ Flipper's Singapore (Takashimaya) and Flipper's Kyoto 京都

Flipper's Kyoto

First experience was in Kyoto 2018, and I was searching for pancakes to indulge in. There's plenty of options in Kyoto such as Happy Pancake, Flipper's, Cafe Elk etc.

The yellow banner was attractive from afar, and thus to Flipper's it was!

Flipper's 京都

 

The service staff was friendly and welcoming. As a tourist, I'd go for their Kyoto Limited Special Pancakes on the menu.

let's get Kyoto Limited

Kiseki Pancake Uji Match with Coffee Set @ ¥1400+ (~SGD19)

Curious guests could take a peek into their kitchen. The staff in there was cute too!

making pancakes

cosy cafe

of red beans, uji matcha cream

nice and fluffy

It was a nice experience at Flipper's Kyoto but the store has since closed.

Flipper's  京都 (Permanently Closed)

Address: 323-4 Ebiyacho, Nakagyo Ward, Kyoto, 604-8076, Japan

Flipper's Singapore (Takashimaya)

Fast forward to 3 years later, and Flipper's had arrived in Singapore. Managed to try it recently with Wendy. I realised that the 3 fluffy, airy pancakes is still too much for one person to have it all. Best shared!

Seasonal Limited Edition (Feb 2021)

Hahaa, the modus operandi seemed to be, just try those seasonal limited edition!

nice to see this colour again

outside seats

guess what Wendy chose

served with two forks

Japanese Awayuki Strawberry Souffle @$24.80

These pancakes in Singapore, was more eggy which I liked, but it also deflated pretty quickly too. Maybe due to the weather here?

Hinata

The strawberry cream was good and the fruit itself had a tinge of tangy and was mildly sweet.

pretty colour

We visited at about 3pm, and the interior were full, so only outside seats remained. Walk-in is possible during that time. Otherwise, could visit their FB page to get the reservation link.

Flipper's Takashimaya

Address: 391A Orchard Rd, #B1-56 Ngee Ann City, Singapore 238873

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/flippers.singapore/

Business Hours:

Daily: 11am to 9pm