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Here at Olive Sundays there have been a few changes behind the scenes and we are pleased to show you our new website.

What this means is we will not be posting on www.olivesundays.wordpress.com anymore, instead we will be posting lots of delicious things on our new website www.olivesundays.com.

So to continue your subscription with Olive Sundays you will need to follow us again on the new website where we will be writing heaps of mouth watering content for you all in the future.

Follow this link to go to the new site www.olivesundays.com

Thanks for your support!

I heart olivesundays.com!

Olives x

Hiatus

Hi there Olive Sundays readers,

Apologies no post today but I’ll let you in on a little secret. Here at Olive Sundays we are working on creating a new website that is one hundred times better! Stay tuned for the launch next week. And thanks so much for reading my blog :D

I heart Sundays!

Olives x

Haagen-dazs Pop-up Melbourne

Haagen-Dazs Melbourne popup – Federation Square

It only takes one mouthful of ice-cream for you to fall in love with Haagen-dazs. It’s smooth, creamy and the flavours are incredible. What makes it even more loveable is that each flavour is carefully crafted with pure ingredients, which makes the flavours more intense, real tasting and full of flavour. None of that syrup or fake flavouring stuff and by golly it makes a difference. Haagen-dazs is visiting Melbourne and have created a little pop up restaurant at Federation square so best you be making a trip down there soon. It’s only here for a couple more weeks and it’s definitely worth the visit.

Haagen-Dazs Melbourne popup – Inside

They have a little shed set up at Federation square where you can sit down and enjoy your ice-cream in a booth.

Haagen-Dazs Melbourne popup – Outside

Or you can sit outside in the sun amongst the park like atmosphere with the white chairs, big umbrellas and astroturf. Either way the icecream is awesome and your seating choice with not effect the quality of your icecream.

Haagen-Dazs Melbourne popup – All the ice cream

We tried the Belgian chocolate which had a beautifully intense dark chocolate flavour. It was like eating quality chocolate in ice cream form. It was rich and velvety.

Haagen-Dazs Melbourne popup – Strawberries and cream

The strawberries and cream was amazing. I loved it. They use strawberries that are picked in their peak season so the strawberries are irresistible. It literally tasted like the strawberry ice-cream you get at a strawberry farm.

Haagen-Dazs Melbourne popup – Salted caramel

The salted caramel had little bits of caramel throughout the icecream and was topped with a sticky caramel and salted butter sauce. The caramel had a lovely flavour not too sweet, not too salty, just right.

Haagen-Dazs Melbourne popup – Macadamia nut brittle

The macadamia nut brittle was vanilla icecream with toffee dipped macadamias. We all know vanilla and macadamia work, creamy and creamy. It was smooth with a bit of crunch.

Haagen-Dazs Melbourne popup – Mint choc love

I’m big on choc mint, it’s one of my fave flavours so I was so happy to see it was one of the twelve flavours touring Australia. But they do it a little differently at Haggen-dazs and it is absolutely delicious. They have actual pieces of spearmint leaves and chunks of chocolate fudge throughout the minty icecream. Love love love!

The caramel biscuit and cream was a caramel icecream with pieces of crunchy speculoos biscuit pieces. Kind of like cookies and cream with caramel icecream and caramel biscuits.

Haagen-Dazs Melbourne popup – Melted

We went to the Haagen-dazs POP up after going to the Andy Warhol and Ai Wei Wei POP art exhibition at NGV. So naturally when i looked at my almost finished plate of Haagen-dazs instead of seeing melted ice cream, i saw but a masterpiece. A piece i call ‘pop n daz’ ice cream on cardboard plate.

All of the flavours were super delicious and it makes me sad they wont be around for long. Also unlike some places that only take cash, this place only takes card, so bring your debit/credit card along. This Melbourne pop-up is open until the 16^th of April and then it heads onto Sydney so make it down there some time now. And if you’re like me and already feeling a bit of separation anxiety, maybe stock up with a few take home tubs to eat when they leave.

I heart Haagen-dazs!

Olives x

Haagen-dazs Pop Up
When: 11^th March 2016 – 16^th April 2016
Where: Federation square (opposite flinders st. mac store)
Website: https://haagendazs.com.au/

Olive Sundays Melbourne Easter Faves 2016

Luxbite – Easter shortbread biscuits (image via instagram:@glen_yeo)

Easter is near and hot cross buns are about. And I love that fact that I can lather my hcb’s in butter and eat lots o’ chocolate with absolutely no guilt because…Easter! Some of Melbourne’s restaurants celebrate the Easter holiday by creating special treats, putting hot crosses on everything and naming their creations after egg puns. It’s super egg-citing and personally I love a cheesy egg pun egg-specially during Easter. Here are my Melbourne Easter faves this year. Hop to it!

Rustica – Hot cross buns (image via instagram:@rustica_hq)

 Rustica – Hot cross buns. You know Rustica make egg-ceptional bread and because hot cross buns are kinda like little sweet spiced bread buns it’s a no brainer that the hot cross buns will be amazing!

Mork chocolate – Triple choc mork x buns (image via instagram:@morkchocolate)

Mork chocolate – Triple chocolate Mork X bun w dark chocolate pieces, candied orange and a soft chocolate ganache centre. If you prefer a chokky cross bun, Mork has got you covered. Not one, not two, but three times chocolate.

Short stop – Hot cross doughnuts (image via instagram:@melbournemamma)

Short stop – hot cross doughnuts. A doughnut and hot cross bun hybrid. Spiced dough with cinnamon, nutmeg, brandy-soaked dried fruit. Covered in honey glaze and topped with a cinnamon-spiked icing stripe.

Lune croissanterie – Hot cross cruffin (image via instagram:@lunecroissant)

Lune croissanterie – Hot cross cruffins. Lune cruffins have layers of buttery goodness and now they have a hot cross bun version. Hooray two of my favourite things unite. And now with their Fitzroy store I don’t have to wake up at 4 in the A.M. Winning.

Schmucks bagels – Hot cross bagel (image via instagram:@schmucksbagels)

Schmucks bagels – Hot cross bagel. Who needs a hot cross bun when you can have a hot cross bagel. Pair that with some almond milk co butter and an all press coffee and that’s what I call a good morning.

Eat a scroll – Hot cross scroll (image via instagram:@theplateproject)

Eat a scroll – Hot cross scroll. These cute little scrolls have a cute little Easter crosses. Cinnamon scroll topped with Gianduja (hazelnut choc) and a cream cheese cross.

Om nom – Egg-dulgence (image via instagram:@omnom_dessertbar)

Om nom kitchen & dessert bar – The egg-dulgence. Made with banana milk chocolate brownie, chocolate cream, caramel toffee, roasted mixed nuts and 58% cacao chocolate. Love the egg pun name.

Pidapipo geleteria x Baked chirico – HCB icecream sandwich (image via instagram:@pidapipo_geleteria)

Pidapipo Gelateria – Hot cross bun ice-cream sandwich. The hot cross buns are baked by baker D Chirico and are filled with a big scoop of Pidapipo crema and jam gelato. My kind of sandwich.

Doughnut time – The yolk addict doughnut (image via instagram:@doughnut_time)

Doughnut time – yolk addict. This doughnut has a milk chocolate and toffee glaze and is topped with a Cadbury crème egg. Who knew yolk porn could be so sweet.

Pablo honey – Easter shots (image via instagram:@pablomatcarps)

Pablo honey – Easter shots. These chocoaltey alcoholic shots are served in chocolate Easter eggs. I repeat. Shots in chocolate Easter eggs! It doesn’t get cuter than this.

Luxbite – Egg-licious (image via instagram:@luxbite)

Luxbite – egg-licious easter egg. We all know Luxbite have creative flair so we expect more from them. And they never fail to deliver beautifully eggs-ecuted Easter creations. Lemon mousse, stone fruit jelly, chocolate egg cup with strawberry and milk chocolate crunchy pearls hidden inside.

Hope you all have a wonderful Easter spent with loved ones and copious amounts of chocolate.

I heart Easter!

Olives x

Sabai

Sabai Thai Restaurant – RIchmond

A modern take on traditional Thai food is what Sabai is all about. The husband and wife duo have innovated a new and creative menu that excites. The food is bold, balanced and presented with style. And did I mention totally delicious?

Sabai – Venue

In Thai, Sabai means to be chill. And the relaxed atmosphere supports that vibe where you can pop in to eat for a little or a long time. You can spend time with your loved ones eating and relaxing. In fact this has now sparked my new mantra. Eat and be chill. Yep I like it.

Sabai – Soft shell crab sliders

The soft shell sliders were super cute. The mini buns were filled with crispy soft shell crab and a fresh apple slaw. I was worried I might get full on these because bread, but luckily the buns were fairly light so it wasn’t too filling. A great start to the meal. The only issue was deciding who got to eat the third slider out of the two of us.

Sabai – red curry pork ribs

Slow cooking does wonderful things to meat, which is why the pork baby back ribs were melt-in-your-mouth and were falling of the bone. The ribs were covered in a tasty red curry glaze, which was amazing with the pork. It was absolutely delicious.

Sabai – Duck salad

When the duck salad came out I was in awe of its beauty. It was a colourful rainbow garden of deliciousness. The slices of duck were tender, the vegies were crisp and the herbs were fresh. The sauce had a lovely savoury zing and then there was the caramel popcorn. What? Yes you read correctly, caramel popcorn. It totally worked because it allowed me to add a bit of sweetness as I pleased. Granted I initially want to just eat all of the caramel popcorn on its own, but I found that throughout the dish I could add a pop of sweetness to enhance the flavour. It was awesome.

Sabai – Crispy barramundi

The barramundi was cut into bitesized chunks, battered and fried. It was accompanied with a fresh herb and apple salad and a sweet and sour dressing with chilli and lemongrass. There were lots of punchy flavours; a great balance of sweet, sour, salty and spicy.

Sabai – Lamb shank massaman curry

We were impressed when the lamb massaman hit the table. There was a big slow braised lamb shank sitting in the middle. The meat was soft and juicy and the curry was full of flavour. It had potatoes and cashews and a calming cinnamon flavour. It was delish. I liked that it had bold flavours but was light and not overly creamy or sweet. It came steamed rice and roti. Yum.

Sabai – homemade coconut icecream

Now onto dessert. They make their own coconut ice-cream in-house and it’s super smooth and taste like fresh coconut. It’s served with a tropical assortment of jackfruit, lychee jelly and red syrup soaked water chestnuts.

Sabai – Thai tea panna cotta

The Thai tea panna cotta had that lovely sweet condensed milk tea flavour and was balanced with the tartness of the crushed frozen berries, fresh coconut and a little sprig of mint.

Sabai – Affogato w mini magnum

The affogato was unlike any affogato I had seen before. Instead of a scoop of ice-cream, there was a mini Magnum almond sitting in my Kahlua spiked espresso topped with toasted coconut. When you first pick up the mini magnum the chocolate is all melted and it is so good.

Each dish had a modern twist on Thai cuisine but the traditional Thai flavours were all there. It was full of flavour and presented with style.

I heart Sabai!

Olives x

Sabai Thai Restaurant
Address: 460 Church St, Richmond VIC 3121
Website: http://sabairichmond.com.au/
Phone: 03 8528 6884
Trading Hours: Mon-Fri: 11.30am-9.30pm Sat-Sun: 4pm-9.30pm

Uncommon

Uncommon – Street view

Uncommon serve unique dishes using organic and sustainably grown produce. The dishes are created with a combination of ingredients that aren’t commonly used together and the menu definitely excites and sparks curiosity. You will want keep returning to try everything on the menu. Items like salmon pastrami, green apple pesto & coconut bacon will keep you returning for more. The good news is that in addition to brunch they have recently opened for dinner. Hooray!

Uncommon – Venue

The decor is simple with white walls and lots of greenery in hanging pots. Really cute.

Uncommon – Salmon pastrami, whipped honey and herb scramble

Firstly for brunch and currently my favourite dish on the menu is the hand sliced salmon pastrami with a smooth sweet whipped honey on a thin slice of pumpernickel, which is a slightly sweet rye bread. The salmon was cut thinly and the whipped honey was sweet and creamy. Amazing! It was paired with soft herbed scrambled eggs with big pieces of fresh herbs throughout and there was salted kernels and chilli capers, which added good texture.

Uncommon – Greens on toast

The new season asparagus, silverbeet, & avocado is a great combination of greens and was complemented with a green apple pesto and wedges of lemon. It was fresh, had a lot of zing. It also had a creamy ewe’s milk cheese and a beautiful 65 degree egg and was served on toast.

Uncommon – roasted pepperberry duck

The duck was tasty. The tender pieces of roasted pepperberry duck were scattered over a combination of freekah salad, raw pear kimchi, thin slices of radish and a sour barberry vinigarette. There was a fried duck egg on top for good measure. The sour tones in the vinegarette with the duck went really well and the combination of texture made this dish wonderful.

Uncommon – banana and golden flaxseed pikelets

The pikelets are 90% banana & golden flaxseed. And these babies are gluten free. Since there is a prominent amount of banana they mainly taste like mashed banana in a good way though. They were topped with Yarra Valley strawberries, cherries, poached green paw paw, a toasted milk crumb and drizzled with pure maple.

Uncommon – purple sweet potato

Then onto dinner. We got to taste a few of the dinner samples at the launch and it was just as impressive as their brunch menu. They had maple roasted purple sweet potato rounds w sprouted leeks, sorrel, kefir ricotta, smoked coconut & green apple pesto. It was tasty.

Uncommon – cucumber salad

The cucumber was filled with a salad of texture. Buckwheat, roasted cauliflower, kale, chilli & tamari seeds with a tahini yoghurt dressing.

Uncommon – baby free range chicken

The baby free range chicken was delish it was topped with sour onions and cooked in whey, amaranth leaves, lemon and a savoury sauce.

Uncommon – cape grim pure beef

The cape grim pure beef melted in your mouth and was topped with green tomato, a mild chilli & river mint salsa, silverbeet and fresh avocado.

Uncommon – salmon pastrami

Lucky for me they have a dish with the salmon pastrami, whipped honey & salted kernals on their dinner menu. Love.

Uncommon – roasted ginger pear and figs

The roasted ginger pear was sensational it was beautifully poached and was packed with flavour. It was paired with seasonal figs, persian cheese and leaves. Yum!

Uncommon – Chocolate red sauerkraut brownies

Ok and finally for the chocolate red sauerkraut brownie with buckwheat granola and wattleseed whipped yoghurt. It was rich and chocolatey and the red sauerkraut almost acted like a subtle sour cherry and the granola on top added a beautiful crunch element. It was super moist and had a rich chocolate flavour. These were absolutely divine.

Uncommon serve great food and give a care about the environment. The staff are friendly and it’s a great place for brunch and now din dins too. Delish!

I heart Uncommon!

Olives x

Uncommon
Address: 60 Chapel St, Windsor VIC 3181
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/uncommon3181/
Phone: 03 9510 6655
Trading Hours: Mon- Wed: 7am-3.30pm, Thu-Fri: 7am-11pm, Sat-Sun: 8am-11pm

Changz Canteen

Changz canteen – Elsternwick

Changz canteen is an awesome place where you can catch up with friends for some burgers and bevvies. They are located in Elsternwick and do a mean cheesey. They do burgers but also have other tasty bits and pieces. And keep an eye out for their chilli sauces that are made in house. They are more tasty rather than burn your face off hot and are super delish. Changz has a laid-back atmosphere but the food is quality. My favourite kind of place.

Changz canteen – Venue

It’s a casual dining space with a relaxed vibe and some cool stencils on the wall. They have share tables for larger groups and outdoor seating out front for good weather days.

Changz canteen – Cheesey

The standard cheesey was delish. The beef was juicy, the pickles were sliced super thin, the cheddar cheese was melting, the onion was finely diced and Changz sauce brought it all together which was like a red chilli mayo (not hot).

Changz canteen – Fried chicken ribs w aioli

The chicken ribs were deep-fried, delicious and crunchy and were served with aioli, sesame seeds and spring onions. The chicken was moist and tender. They come in a serve of three or nine. I got three on this occasion but I could have easily devoured nine. Loved them.

Changz canteen – Spicy fries

The spicy fries were great. Firstly I love shoestring chips so that was an easy win but then they were coated in a delicious chilli salt which made them even better. The chilli salt is made out of their house made red habanero sauce, which explains why they’re so tasty.

Changz canteen – Double chilli cheeseburger

We also had the double chilli cheeseburger, which was good too. It’s the kind of place that lets you create your own monster of a burger so if you like to customize you can. Extra bacon, additional patties, chicken bricks, jalepenos etc.

Also they have some beverages available. An apple Somersby cider with my burger, yes please. The staff were lovely and the food was awesome. Gotta love a good cheesey.

I heart Changz Canteen!

Olives x

Changz Canteen
Address: 256 Glen Eira Rd, Elsternwick VIC 3185
Phone: 03 9077 0353
Website: http://changzcanteen.com.au/
Trading hours: Mon-Thu: 12pm-9pm, Fri-Sun: 12pm-10pm