Hellenic Republic

In one of my recent posts, I mentioned that myself and the work gang headed to Izakaya Chuji to spend this year's hard earned tips money. However, what remained untouched were the tips we received from last year- which we never got around to spending. Once it was finally organised and everyone was free, myself and 5 of my workmates thought we'd pop in to say hey to Georgey Calombaris at Hellenic Republic.

Each booking has a two hour time frame- except after 8pm. We decided to book for 8 so we wouldn't be kicked out. The place was packed and super noisy. We had an idea of how much we had to spend, and decided to go for one of the banquets. This was due to a) the menu was so delish and we couldn't decide, b) we are all big eaters and c) banquets sound fancy.

The cost per person for the 4 course banquet we chose was $58. And the portions weren't normal sized portions. They were GREEK portions.

Once we ordered, the first course came in no time. Mezethakia (small tastes) consisted of pita bread, Taramasalata, Tyri Saganaki, cold eggplant salad and Hellenic potted salmon.

The taramasalata was the BEST I've ever tasted. There was no fishy taste but a nice salty smooth paste that you mopped up with the oven fresh pita...

Pita + taramasalata

Tyri Saganaki is essentially just a take on the traditional Saganaki. It's made from a cheese called Kefalograviera, but on top of Hellenic's version they featured peppered figs. The sweetness and juiciness of the figs was a win with the salty cheese. This dish couldn't have been better. Well done Georgy boy.

Saganaki cheese with peppered figs

The two dishes I preferred the least were the potted salmon and cold eggplant salad. The potted salmon were like little deep fried potato dumplings with specks of salmon, and the cold eggplant salad was pickled eggplant with herbs + spices.

Ooh and I almost forgot! We ALSO ordered the whitebait with ouzo mayonnaise- because no one cooks little mini fishies as good as the Greek do.

Maritha (Whitebait with ouzo mayonnaise)

And that was just the beginning. Before we knew it, our second course was being served. This course was called Thalassina- the seafood course. First came the healthy shtuff. The Cypriot grain salad. I had tried this exact same salad when I went for lunch at St Katherine's- and loved it just at much the second time round.

Cypriot salad of grains, pulses, nuts, pomegranate + yoghurt

I have a feeling the fish was snapper although I can't remember being told so by the waitress...it was served with a walnut coriander dressing.

Grilled snapper with a walnut coriander dressing 

My favourite seafood of the lot was the Htenia (Hervey Bay scallops with skordalia crust)(skordalia is a potato and garlic dip). Served in it's shell, the scallop was covered in a creamy rich sauce. I got to shovel down two because someone didn't want theirs. #thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou

Hervey Bay scallops with skordalia crust

I started getting that awkward top-of-pants-cutting-into-stomach kind of situation, and then the meat course arrived. There was SO much food. This course consisted of the meat of the day (which was slow cooked lamb and chicken on the spit), roast potatoes, cabbage salad and tzatziki.

Slow cooked lamb shoulder + chicken from the spit

Tzatziki

Lahanosalata (cabbage salad)

Tiganites Patates (potatoes fried in olive oil, oregano + salt) 

We. were. farrrked. We couldn't finish it all. I think I gained a k.g. or two. But wait! There's more. We still had dessert, which was Loukoumathes- Hellenic donuts with honey, cinnamon and walnuts. No matter how full we were, there was no way we were letting these little babies go to waste.

Sweet mother of god

We all had to sit for a while, just so we could ponder on how much we had actually eaten...

Meat being cooked on the spit

So there you have it, me eating my weight in Greek food. Hellenic is by no means pricey for the outstanding food you get- their servings are huge, and their staff are extremely knowledgable and helpful. I guarantee you will leave believing, that if this was the last meal of your life, you would a die happy chappy.

Hellenic Republic
434 Lygon Street, Brunswick East

Hellenic Republic on Urbanspoon

Coffeehead

From the makers of Fire chief Pizzeria, Goldilocks Cafe, The Sharing House, Taxi, SOS & 100 mile cafe comes Coffeehead, the newest addition to the growing cafe scene in Camberwell.

At 11am, Coffeehead, like every other decent Melbourne cafe, was packed. The waitress told us there would be a 10 min wait, and shortly after, we were seated at the bar.

The menu was big, as were the coffee choices. The lunch menu look delish, with options like fish tacos and pulled pork tacos (I like tacos...).

I wasn't very hungry, so opted for the porridge with poached pear, blueberries and honey. I realise that porridge itself isn't very exciting, but this one tasted like something I could have quite easily whipped up at home. There was a total of about 6 blueberries scattered on top, and at the most, 3 thin slices of a poached pear. Surely they could have been a bit more generous...

Porridge with poached pear, blueberries and honey ($12.50)

My fried egg loving friend ordered the...fried eggs. No sides, just eggs :)

Fried googies

Silky hot chocolate

They also have a variety of pastries and sweets at the front.

Variety of coffees to choose from

What is impressive is that Coffeehead serves 5 different coffee varieties for you to try. So the choice of bean is up to you. A busy, colourful, old school cafe (complete with a foosball table) in a good location (right near Camberwell station). With a bit of a spanish and mexican twist going on, next time I will definitely be ordering something different and getting around the tacos.

Coffeehead
8 Railway Parade, Camberwell

Spring

Although I have already written a post based on my trip to Brissy, I thought it was imperative I dedicated a whole one to a special restaurant I visited. Spring is a cafe/restaurant located in the heart of Brisbane CBD, and fortunately for me, right underneath my Dad's apartment. 

Not only is Spring a restaurant, it's also a cooking school. A little room on the side of the restaurant is kept for lesson bookings, and just a general area for the chefs to make their sweet little pastries and goodies.

Pink macarons being made

Even though we walked past Spring at least 5 times a day, we had never actually eaten there. It is only opened Monday-Friday, so it was decided that we had to go on Dad's lunch break :)

The menu is french-inspired and limited, with breakfast only being served untill 10:30am. This time we were too late for breakfast, although the menu looked inviting.

Some of the items on the lunch menu were exxy, but sounded delicious (braised beef cheek , Paris mash, cauliflower gratin $28). It's not often I would pay that much for a weekday lunch, and it seems like their clientele consisted of mainly businessmen on corporate lunches or unemployed rich trophy wives. But hey, I won't complain, seeings that I didn't have to pay...cheers Dad.

I decided to go with the soup of the day, which was pea soup with seared scallop & crispy leak ($12). Lucky I ordered a side of sourdough bread ($8) because the soup came bread-less (gimme sum carbs).

Pea soup with seared scallop and crispy leek ($12)

I know what you're thinking. Soup's not even a meal. Who orders soup right? Well before you judge, let me say that this soup was rich, thick and amazing. I love peas, and the combination of peas and scallop is a winner. I would go as far to say I would order it again. Yep. You heard me.

Freshly baked sourdough bread with "cultured" butter ($8). #howcanbutterbecultured

Dad ordered the Rueben sandwich, with pastrami, gruyere, sauerkraut and pickles ($12.50)

Mum ordered the steak sandwich, with came with a side of shoestring fries ($18)

Steak sandwich with shoestring fries ($18)

Wine time for mum

Parisian style decor. And a hanging head.

Naice coffee

Having walked around the city many times, I still believe this is the best looking cafe in the CBD. And now that I've tried the food, I seriously think it was top notch, fine dining kinda shit. Very nice staff, very very nice food. A must try if you're ever up here. Wheeere else, wheeeere else, where else but Queenslaaand.

Spring 
26 Felix Street, Brisbane

My BIG Brisbane post

Last week I was lucky enough to go up and visit my old man in Brisbane. My week was spent relaxing by the pool with mumma, various day trips to the beach and lotsa eating out. This post is dedicated to some of the places we ate at, as well as various other foodie pics.

During our first day exploring the CBD, we stumbled upon a Filipino festival. There were stalls and music, and for some strange reason, ice-cream dots. Couldn't think of how this resembled Filipino food in the slightest, but enjoyed it regardless.  

The Filipino festival also featured Hungarian pastries...? This one was chorizo & fetta, with za'ztar & sour cream dip.

That night for dinner we took the ferry across to Kangaroo Point. I don't know whether you've ever been to Brisbane, but every suburb is a stone throw away from each other. We decided to go and enjoy a pub meal, and went to the Story Bridge Hotel. We ordered from the share plates menu and enjoyed things like chilli and coriander crispy chicken wings with lemon mayo (6 pieces for $8), steamed prawn dumplings with soya chilli dressing ($9.20), el grande peppered beef strips with skordallia aioli and beer battered fries ($16.50) and Moroccan spiced calamari with green pea puree and saffron lemon jam ($13.50).

Story Bridge Hotel
200 Main Street, Kangaroo Point

The morning after was spent exploring South Bank. We visited the South Bank Surf Club for some breaky in the sun. 

South Bank Surf Club,
30 aa Stanley Plaza,
Parklands, South Brisbane

Aussie asian eggs with crispy bacon, BBQ tiger prawns, deep fried free range egg, oyster sauce, chilli & shallots ($19.50)

Fresh fruit plate with natural yoghurt ($12.50)

Corn fritters with avocado, tomato, spring onion and coriander salsa with bacon ($19.50)

That night we caught the ferry across to Bulimba, a trendy little suburb about 5-10 mins from the CBD. We were in the mood for some Greek or Lebanese, but found a nice Turkish restaurant called Ahmets. We ordered some beautiful dishes to share such as trio of dips platter with Turkish bread ($17), tavuklu pide (garlic chicken, capsicum, mushrooms and mozzarella- ($22), shepherds salad with tomato, spanish onion, cucumber, parsley, lemon dressing & shredded fetta ($8), lamb guvec (traditional slow cooked lamb stew with vegetables, tomatoes and spices and rice pilav ($25) and lastly the chicken shish  (marinated pieces of chicken cooked on a charcoal grill, served with potato and rice pilav ($25). Not only was the food amazing, it came with its own little belly dancing show. Theres nothing better than seeing the awkward expression on people's faces when the belly dancer goes right up and dances next to the table... 

Ahmets Turkish Restaurant
136 Oxford Street, Bulimba

Both Mum, Dad and I had gotten a little boozy at dinner so decided to head across to Max Brenner for some heart attack inducing sweets. I didn't have my glasses with me so couldn't read the menu too well...plus I was ready to eat any chocolate item that was placed in front of me...so mum chose and we settled on the Euphoria Banana Split Waffle Sundae ($14.50).

Double vanilla ice cream scoops, waffle squares, crunchy waffle balls, gooey toffee and fresh bananas served with pure melted chocolate and caramelised pecans.

One beautiful sunny morning we decided to road trip down to Byron Bay. I hadn't been before, and spent the day enjoying the beach and trying to get a table at a cafe in town..
We managed to find a busy little cafe called Byron Fresh Cafe and had some brunch.

Bacon and egg roll with wild rocket & homemade tomato relish ($14)

Bircher muesli with green apples, yoghurt & mixed berry compote ($11)

Buttermilk pancakes with banana, blueberries, lemon curd & strawberries ($16)

Byron Fresh Cafe
7 Jonson Street, Byron Bay

If you're a sushi lover, you will be mind boggled by the number of sushi and japanese eateries in the CBD. They are literally on every corner, and are chockers with corporates around lunch time. There is one particular sushi shop called Sushiro which I always visit. Their sushi rolls are the shit, they are HUGE and have a variety of over 25 flavours. I can't go past ordering the king prawn tempura roll...literally the best sushi I have ever tasted. Melbourne, get your act together.

Another Japanese restaurant Dad and I tried was Wagamama. Obviously not extremely authentic, but they served up some yummy dishes which we shared.

Tori kara age- deep fried chicken pieces marinated with soy sauce, sake, mirin, dried oregano, thyme and fresh ginger, served with a chilli, garlic sesame and soy sauce ($9.70)

Thai style stir fried noodles (sa japanese) ($18.90)

Chicken teiryaki raisu ($18.90)

Gyoza ($9.90)

A good friend from high school moved over to Brisbane 10 or so years ago, and we still manage to stay in touch. Whenever I go up to QLD it's most likely we will catch up. This time she took me to breakfast at Cliff's Cafe, a beautiful little cafe at Kangaroo Point, on the cliff (no way) overlooking the whole city.

The Cliff's Cafe
29 River Terrace, Kangaroo Point

Eggs benedict- poached eggs, wilted spinach, hollandaise sauce on sourdough toast with smoked leg ham ($18)

Orange zest and cinnamon porridge w rosella compote ($10.50)

Staying in the Brisbane CBD definitely has it's perks, and during the week the streets are buzzing with cafes and restaurants. However, on a weekend, the city feels like a ghost town. Apparently all the best cafes are found in the suburbs- so theres no doubt that next time I head up I will be scouting them out!

Wish I could have stayed just a few mooooore days....oh well....Christmas will be spent up there this year, and you can bet I'll be counting down the days!