Blue Chillies

Blue chillies – Rockling w curry leaves, spices, chilli & buttered egg floss

Blue Chillies is a Malaysian restaurant on Brunswick street in Fitzroy, which has been around since 1999. Yep, that’s 16 years. The Malaysian flavours and modern execution provide a sensational dining experience. For the restaurant to be around for so long and still growing strong is testament that the food is delicious.

Blue Chillies – Black pepper soft shell crab & sweet potato & whitebait fritters

First up whitebait & sweet potato fritters. It’s a great concept and tasty too, nice and crunchy. They came with a lovely chilli lime dipping sauce I wanted to swim in. It was fresh and zingy with hot chilli, fantastic.

Then we had the black pepper soft-shell crab, battered and fried of course. It had a thick ground peppercorn sauce, which was thick and peppery, it complimented the crab well.

Blue Chillies -Yee sang salad w salmon

The Yee sang salad is a traditional Malaysian salad with finely sliced shreds of crunchy vegetables. It was dressed with a sweet apricot plum sauce and had thinly sliced pieces of sashimi salmon with roasted peanuts on top. It had a really nice balance of flavours and crunch.

Blue Chillies – Rockling fillets

The Rockling was one of my faves. It was rockling fish fillets dusted with a light potato flour batter and deep-fried. They had a lovely crunch on the outside and were beautifully soft in the middle. It was cooked with curry leaves, chilli, spices & buttered egg floss. Those shredded strands of crispy buttered egg were fantastic! This dish was delicious.

Blue Chillies – Duck rendang

The duck rendang was tasty. It was slow cooked and full of flavour with roasted coconut & Malaysian spices, fresh ginger-root, garlic & chillies. It had punchy flavours that worked together in harmony, served with rice. Yum!

Blue Chillies – King prawns wrapped in vermicelli

The king prawns were big and juicy wrapped in thin vermicelli rice noodles, which gave it a great crunchy texture. It sat in a on a bed of tomato puree with pineapple & coconut milk, which tasted savoury with a subtle sweetness.

Blue Chillies – Sticky pork ribs w chilli jam

The short pork ribs were great they were sticky and caramelised and covered in a rich sweet and sour chilli jam.

Blue Chillies – Thrice cooked duck

The thrice-cooked duck was incredible. The duck had a crispy skin and melted in your mouth. The sauce was a blend of wild ginger flower, lemongrass, chilli and lime juice. It had fragrant and harmonious flavours with a fantastic zing that cut through the richness of the duck. It was delish. Definitely one of my faves.

Blue Chillies – Black sticky rice pudding

For dessert we had black sticky rice pudding sitting in a coconut cream and palm sugar syrup. The rice was cooked perfectly and I could feel the texture of the rice grains, which I loved. It was topped with shredded coconut that had a lovely toasted flavour and crunch.

There’s no wonder they have been around for 16 years, the food is absolutely delicious. Their dishes have exciting flavours and textures, which makes for a truly satisfying meal. Blue Chillies incorporates traditional Malaysian flavours in a creative and modern way and are sure to be around for many more years to come.

I heart Blue Chillies!

Olives x

Address: 182 Brunswick Street, Fitzroy VIC
Website: http://bluechillies.com.au/
Phone: 03 9417 0071
Trading Hours: Lunch: Mon-Fri:12pm-2.30pm Sat- Sun:11am-2.30pm
Dinner: Mon-Thu: 6pm-10.30pm, Fri-Sat: 6pm-11pm, Sun: 6pm-10pm

Note: Olive Sundays was invited as a guest to Blue Chillies.

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The Vertue of the coffee drink

The vertue of the coffee drink – Street view

Finding this place is an adventure in itself. We walked down past the petrol station and I was almost certain we were not in the right place, but then we saw a sign that said coffee with a finger pointing left. We turned left and sure enough there was two big doors with an old English lamp above the entrance. Step one complete. We found the place.

The vertue of the coffee drink – Venue

For some reason because it was a somewhat hidden location I thought it would be a really small place but I was wrong. It was spacious with high ceilings with a coffee bar with a glass cabinet of delectable sweets and an open restaurant eating area.

The vertue of the coffee drink – Coffee grinder

In the centre of the space was a gigantic coffee-grinding contraption. When you see that beast of a machine, you know you’re in for a good coffee.

The vertue of the coffee drink – Mmm coffee

Step two we ordered coffee. And as expected it was delicious.

The vertue of the coffee drink – more coffee

More coffee.

The vertue of the coffee drink – Scotch egg

The scotch egg was delicious. It was soft with a crunchy crumb, sitting on a bed of onion marmalade, which added sweetness. There was a slice of pork cotechino, which is like an Italian charcuterie meat, which was lovely with the sour of the caper berries and the piccalilli (pickled veg relish) mayonnaise which was a bright yellow sauce. Then there was the light and crunchy pig skin cracker, and toasted brioche soldiers, which were soft with a lightly toasted outside.

The vertue of the coffee drink – Smoked ocean trout

We also tried the smoked ocean trout, which was cooked to perfection and had a really strong smokey flavour. It was great. The curried arancini were so yum I could have eaten a whole plate of them. There was a silky yoghurt dressing, a creamy soft duck egg and a sticky sweet mango and chilli jam. The flavours together were interesting and delicious.

The vertue of the coffee drink – Mad as a hatter chai w soy

Their ‘mad as a hatter chai w soy’ had a strong spicy flavour, which was lovely. It was served in this exquisite copper pot with a long golden handle. Very cute. And if you want a chai but need a dose of caffeine, you can order the ‘dirty chai with a shot of espresso.’

The vertue of the coffee drink – sweets

They have the perfect selection of baked goods to go with their exceptional coffee. The big round cookie was deliciously crumbly and shortbreadesque. And it had big badass chocolate chunks throughout. We got a salted caramel butterbing cookie sandwich, which was absolutely delicious. It was a deliciously rich chocolate cookie sandwich with the perfect balance of crunch, chew and crumble with a smooth salted caramel filling. They had kwak scrolls, the cinnamon ones, which were incredible. I was covered in icing sugar and I did not give a care. I was blissfully unaware of my surroundings they were so yum.

The vertue of the coffee drink – Max n the Portugese tart

Max was loving the Portuguese tart. It was really good.

The vertue of the coffee drink has lots of character and a quirkiness about it, which is also reflected in the meals they create. The meals are inventive and unique and mouth-wateringly delicious. The staff were really lovely which added to its charm. It is definitely worth tracking this place down for some great coffee and a whimsical brunch adventure.

I heart The Vertue Of The Coffee Drink!

Olives x

The Vertue of the coffee drink
Address: 8 Raffa Place, Carlton VIC 3053
Website: http://vertuecoffee.com.au/
Phone: 03 8060 6987
Trading Hours: Mon-Fri: 7am-4pm, Sat-Sun: 7.3-am-4pm

Kong

Kong – Venue

Kong is owned by the same people who do chin chin and baby pizza, The Lucas Group. And like its other restaurant counterparts, it has a cool vibe and has people queuing out the door for quality dining. Kong creates modern dishes with Korean inspired flavours, lots of intense flavours and lots of BBQ’d things.

Kong – Woodgrilled endamame w chilli sea salt

The endamame was delish. They saw some heat on the wood grill and were seasoned with chilli & sea salt. Excellent starter.

Kong – BBQ corn w miso butter chilli

The BBQ corn was juicy and had a nice char to it. It was covered in a delicious miso butter and sprinkled with chilli salt.

Kong – Miso caramelised eggplant

The miso eggplant was beautifully caramelised. And it was served in iceburg lettuce with sesame, chervil & yuzu. Easy to eat and really tasty.

Kong – SSAM roti

The roti was nice and soft and was a good dipping tool to savour all the flavour in the saucy dishes.

Kong – Korean fried chicken wings

The Korean fried chicken wings were doused in a thick, sticky honey garlic sauce and was topped with sesame seeds, spring onion and coriander. The sauce was really flavoursome and intense. They were super tasty but I couldn’t eat a lot of them in a row.

Kong – Salmon roti rolls

We had the salmon roti rolls which was teriyaki grilled salmon w rocket and spicy tomato salsa. I knew it was salmon because I ordered it but otherwise I wouldn’t have known it was salmon. It was okay but probably my least fave of the night.

Kong – Soft-shell crab bao

We tried the soft-shell crab with salted duck egg relish & coriander. The bao was so soft and smooth, I was patting it like it was my little pet. It was crunchy, tangy, fresh and delicious. Yum!

Kong – Kong Bossam BBQ tray

The Kong Bossam BBQ tray was a platter of different meats, which included a little tasting of pulled chicken & pork, pork belly & beef brisket. The meats were tasty and had different flavours and textures. There was some lettuce leaves to put the meat in and pickled veg for freshness and some tasty condiments like kimchi & walnut ssamjang to add a chilli kick. Very tasty indeed.

Kong – Dukkbokki rice-cakes

The Dukkbokki rice-cakes were sort of like over-sized, oddly shaped noodles that resembled little alien tenticles. The sauce was thick, spicy and delicious. It had red chilli, gochujang & roasted parsnip. It was a great vegetarian option. The rice-cakes soaked up the sauce so well and each bite was full of flavour.

Kong – Black sesame ice cream

The black sesame ice cream looked fantastic. It was smooth and the flavour was nutty sort of like tahini. I’m not a huge black sesame ice-cream fan but this was pleasant.

Kong – Apple & walnut tart w miso butterscotch

The apple & walnut tart was delicious. It had thin slices of soft apple and a crunchy walnut crumb on top. There was miso butterscotch poured on, over and around the tart, which was a thin sweet and sticky sauce. On top of the tart was a scoop of Japanese whisky ice-cream. The Japanese flavours take this dish to another level. It has the essence of a traditional apple pie but with a modern Japanese twist. It’s a good one for winter.

Kong – Coconut sago, passionfruit & pineapple trifle

The coconut sago trifle was heavenly. The sago was covered in creamy coconut, the passionfruit layer was a burst of fresh fruit and the pineapple layer tasted sweet and caramelised. Absolute bliss.

It’s a walk in restaurant so you can’t make a booking and it gets really busy so you can expect to wait over an hour at peak times. We left our name and number and visited the pub down the street (Prince Albert Hotel) for some drinks to pass the time and they called us when our table was ready. You also have the option to take-away if you prefer. The food came out pretty quickly and the staff were fantastic, very friendly and attentive. And the food was full of flavour and super tasty so definitely worth the wait.

I heart Kong!

Olives x

Kong
Address: 599 Church St, Richmond VIC 3121
Website: https://www.kongbbq.com.au/
Phone: 03 9427 1307
Trading Hours: Mon-Sun: 11am ’til late (open 7 days)

Dead man espresso

Dead man espresso – Venue

If you’re on the hunt for amazing coffee in South Melbourne, dead man espresso is one of the best. They make a killer coffee and a delicious meal to go with.

Dead man espresso – Coffee

The coffee is incredible. And the venue is located on a corner covered in wooden decking. Inside it has wooden walls and has a warm cosy cabin sort of feel which was nice considering the cold Melbourne weather at the moment.

They have a variety of dishes on the menu but you can tell by this post we were in a fried chicken kinda mood. You know it happens.

Dead man espresso – Deadman chicken burger

When the chicken burger came out I was like whoa! It was mammoth. I took a few seconds to contemplate on how best to eat it and then before you knew it, I had picked it up with my bare hands and devoured the gigantic thing in a matter of minutes. It was delish. I was concerned about the vegemite mayo because I thought it would overpower the dish. But no it was subtle and just added an interesting salty bitterness to the burger. The slaw was nice and crunchy and the Buttermilk fried chicken was moist and delicious. Buttermilk does wonders for chicken. And the house-made pickles were sliced thinly and placed on top of the multiple layers of fried chicken. Loved it.

Dead man espresso – Roscoes chicken & waffles

Roscoes chicken and waffles were tasty. Good American soul food. Fried chicken! It was boneless chicken cut into pieces, which were tasty and crunchy on the outside and moist in the middle. The chunks of chicken sat on top of a soft waffle (more sort of the texture of a pancake) and drizzled with maple syrup. Together it was a great combination. My bf got a hash brown on the side, which was a big wheel of fried potato, how could you go wrong.

Dead man espresso – Orange & tonka bean doughnut

They had some amazing sweets sitting at the counter and I couldn’t walk away without trying one. We tried the doughnut filled with orange and tonka bean custard. Yum! Tonka bean is similar to vanilla but a little more complex. It was delicious.

Dead man espresso – Max knows good coffee

Max can smell a good coffee from a mile away.

For a great coffee and a tasty meal, Deadman espresso is definitely one to visit. The staff were lovely and it has a really cosy atmosphere.

I heart Dead man espresso!

Olives x

Dead man espresso
Address: 35 Market St, South Melbourne VIC 3205
Website: http://www.deadmanespresso.com.au/
Phone: 03 9696 3912
Trading Hours: Mon-Fri: 7am-4pm, Sat-Sun: 8am-4pm