Huff Bagelry

Time: Lunch (1pm)
Location: 112 Koornang Rd,
                Carnegie

Truck:

It has been awhile since our last post and I have eaten at so many places so I solemnly swear that this post will be the start of a string of blog posts about food.

Last weekend, I met up with a good friend Hulk for lunch. Having never eaten bagels before in our lives, we were curious to try out Huff Bagelry. We have had a couple of friends who came back from America exclaiming that the bagels there are amazing, and although we aren't in America, we wanted to get onto the bagel hype here in Melbourne.

Huff Bagelry is a small, quaint cafe along a row of shops in Carnegie. We were both a bit confused when we first stepped into the cafe, as there people sitting down on the side waiting. Waiting for what? We initially thought these people were waiting for a table, but low and behold, they were just waiting for their take-away order. After realising this, we made our own way to a free table and had a look at the menu.

The menu (although slightly out of focus)

Everyone's orders getting prepared

This cafe seems to be quite popular with the locals, as during our lunch, we saw a lot of people just walk in and out. I did not get a chance to take a photo of the layout of the cafe which is a shame because Huff Bagelry is set up with quite large spaces in between the tables - as opposed to other brunch spots which try to squeeze in as many patrons as possible so that you are uncomfortably sitting next to someone's handbag or unintentionally listening in on the next table's conversation.

This spacious layout was definitely a thumbs up for me

 Tuna melt - open toasted bagel topped with tuna & cheese, served with relish ($9.00)

Hulk ordered this, predominately for the extra protein. We both had a bite and wow, there was a lot of cheese. The cheese almost overpowers the entire bagel but thank goodness we had the relish to balance  the flavours. I cannot even remember what type of bagel he chose - I think the cheese was so overpowering that it masked the flavour of the bagel itself.

#1 - smoked salmon, cream cheese & capers ($8.00)

I got the smoked salmon, cream cheese & capers on a poppyseed bagel. IT WAS DELICIOUS, a perfect combination of flavours. I have never been a fan of capers myself but the capers in this bagel added that extra saltiness and 'oomph' to the bagel. The poppyseed bagel itself was fresh, straight out of the oven and was a delightful change to a plain bagel. 

I have heard that the good bagels run out quick here but luckily when we arrived, we still had the full options available to us. 

 Hot chocolate

A wonderful way to wash down our bagels. Who can go wrong with hot chocolate? P.S if anyone was wondering, the water here is self-serve.. I did not realise this until I watched a little girl serve herself some water from a bench. Props to the little girl for teaching me something I didn't know :)

Overall, our experience here was lovely. Huff Bagelry is one of those cafes where you can sit for hours on end, enjoy your meal and chat away. Not once were we ushered to leave so we stayed here for a good 2+ hours.  It was a great place to catch up with an old friend as the cafe is not cramped or too noisy. That being said, with the perfect ambience, delicious bagels, friendly staff and abundance of cushions on the couches (they are sooo comfy), this place has left a good first impression and I will be back! Just make sure you don't come too late or else all the good bagels will be gone!

Post by Truck

The Black Toro

Time: Dinner (1st session: 5.30-8pm)
Location: 79 Kingsway,
               Glen Waverley

Truck:
To help celebrate our 1st week starting up this blog, I have decided to blog about The Black Toro which I visited a couple of nights ago with DJ. I had heard that the former sous chef from Ezard started up this trendy restaurant - and since I am in love with the spectacular food served at Ezard, I was looking forward to trying Spanish/Mexican inspired The Black Toro.

The Black Toro has two sittings. DJ and I had a reservation from 6.30pm onwards and were told we had to be out by 8pm. Was it enough time? Definitely - the dishes came out at just the right intervals, giving us enough time to digest the meal before yet not so much time that we had to wonder when the next dish would come. The table service was a bit slow though - there were a couple of occasions during our meal where we had to ask for our water glasses to be refilled.

Between 2 people, they recommend 2-3 small plates and 1 large plate to share. Being on a budget, DJ and I decided to go for 2 small plates, 1 large plate & dessert.

 The menu 

Kingfish ceviche, cucumber, avocado & finger lime dressing ($18)

I love good raw fish and the kingfish in this dish did not disappoint. The kingfish was fresh, however the flavours were light and did not pack a punch. The avocado was a fair balance to complement the lime dressing but I did feel that the lime dressing might have been too overwhelming. Overall, a refreshing dish - one which I would recommend in summer but would probably stay away from in winter. 

Potato & chorizo croquette with manchego foam ($4 each)

In contrast to the previous poco (small) plate, the croquette was quite heavy in its flavours but absolutely delicious. Once you open up the shell of the croquette, you enter a wonderful smooth blend of potato and chorizo which by looking at it, would make your mouth water. The portion size was perfect - any more than 1 croquette would have been too overpowering. The manchego foam was a great addition. The only downfall (and this is me being nit-picky) was that I did not reach chorizo pieces until the last 1/4 of the croquette - maybe it was an inconsistent blend? But to be honest, that was the least of my worries.

 Sher wagyu eye fillet (220gm) with smoked potato mousse, garlic mojo, parsley & shallot ($38)

 Moving onto the grande (large) plate, we were presented with the wagyu eye fillet. The wagyu was cooked perfectly, it was soft, tender and the dish altogether was packed with flavour. Just looking at the size of this dish, however, made us raise the question .. is this really a main? The 3 slices of wagyu shared between the 2 of us was not enough to satisfy our bellies!

Deconstructed peanut butter cheesecake, chocolate ice-cream & honeycomb ($14)

The long awaited deconstructed peanut butter cheesecake. WAS IT WORTH IT? YES, every spoonful tasted like heaven. You cannot rush through this dessert, as one needs enough time to appreciate the flavours. The idea to deconstruct a peanut butter cheesecake is brilliant - it allows you to taste the different elements (the peanut butter cheesecake & chocolate icecream) separately, together, separately, together, separately, together.. until the dessert is all gone :O
Be warned though, the peanut butter cheesecake element of the dish does get a bit too sweet but that did not stop me from finishing it off that night!

Overall, the quality of the food was excellent but it did hurt the hip-pocket and both our appetites were not 100% satisfied by the end of the meal. The flavours are very different to the ones I have experienced at Ezard (fusion Asian) which just shows the versatility and skill of the head chef. Maybe next time I will save up and try the $60 banquet - instead of eating on a slightly overstretched student budget.

Post by Truck

Beatbox Kitchen

Time: Dinner
Location: Varies, but we got ours from Northcote

To help kickstart our food blog, a dear friend of ours, Teeny Weeny, brought home 6 burgers from the famous Beatbox Kitchen (food truck) for us to try. And what a better way to start our blog but with a delicious, juicy burger straight from a truck (excuse the pun).

 6x Raph Burgers ($11.00)

3x Shoestring fries ($5.00) with annie's home made relish & stereo sauce

Moö: Considering we chowed down these burgers at 8.30pm at night, after a feast of homemade sushi burgers, I would say these succulent, juicy patties are a must try. The beef patty was cooked medium well, topped with savoury cheese, fresh tomatoes and lettuce. Personally, it was a struggle to get it down after dinner, but it was well worth it. I would rate these higher than the ones at Huxtaburger. The fries are to die for, and this meal is definitely one that I will remember for a while.


Truck: After the 1st bite, the first thing I thought was "wow where did the salt come from?" But after a few chomps, the bun was so soft & fluffy that the amount of saltiness (mainly from the stereo sauce) didn't seem to matter anymore. Just be sure to have a litre or two of water handy afterwards to counteract the salt......

The burger was BIG (or maybe it was the patty?), but if I had to put the size in perspective with other well known burgers, the mathematical equation would be: Huxtaburger < Beatbox Kitchen < Andrew's Hamburgers. Moo has summed up the contents of the burger, and I felt that the beef patty was the main feature in this burger - so juicy and succulent. I wish they put the home made relish somewhere in the burger there too, it would have been a fab addition to balance the mayo. No problems - I just added it myself with the take home sauce that came with the fries.

Now, with the fries .. they were good and honestly, who can have a burger without any fries? But I have to admit, Maccas does it for better value and same taste.

To conclude, these burgers tasted good and are worth a try if you're in the area. You pay a price for the burgers but in return, you get a delicious, thick beef patty coupled with fresh ingredients in a fluffy bun.  For having them more than half an hour after they were made, they sure did make a good first impression.


Post by Moo & Truck