Royal Stacks, Collins Street, Melbourne CBD

I read about Royal Stacks a while ago. What piqued my interest was that I had thought that their burgers sounded suspiciously similar to Shake Shack or Omakase Burger. Albeit one that was "made down under" if you got my drift. 100% Australian GMO free beef American styled burgers. They were even priced quite similarly.

These guys even have an app for their shop.

I got a Bacon Bacon which was basically a bacon double cheese burger with caramelized onions. This was a pretty nice burger. Crusty patty and salty yellow cheddar with bacon. The onions were delicious in a way that added to the burger rather than detracted from it. I'd rank it as one of the better fast food burgers I've had - up there with Burger Project. 

Their Nutella shake was sadly a waste of money. That shake had very little body just like melted ice cream and felt limp. I know it's not the best choice of words for a shake but this particular one was weak. I thought the flavour was a little peanut buttery and a little chocolate-y but not exactly Nutella-y. If that was any indication of their other flavours which I suspect to be the case, well..... 

Hopetoun Tea Rooms, The Block Arcade, Melbourne CBD

We chanced upon Hopetoun Tea Rooms (The Block Arcade, 1-2/282 Collins St, Melbourne, tel : +61 03 9650 2777) - a Victorian-esque styled tea place after stumbling into The Block Arcade via one of the alleys last year. The queue looked a little insane so we made a mental note to return another time. We came over a little earlier in the day this time round and managed to get a table just before the queue started forming.

Vienna coffee for me. 

It was a stiffer brew than I had expected (I came with little expectations) and I actually enjoyed it.

Their lobster ravioli looked like wanton. The cognac "scent" in the bisque was also kinda faint. Not one of the better sauces of its kind around by any stretch of imagination but we didn't really come here for their food.

There was a lamb fillet sliced up on some smoky babaghanoush. Not too bad.

We were told that the seafood linguine was a popular choice. It tasted ordinary. 

Their sandwiches tasted pretty much like how they looked. Nothing out of the ordinary here.

We had a black forest slice. Not bad. Not as good as Atout's or Stuttgart's though.

This cake which was called Fig Delight was also not bad. It has a base that tasted like carrot cake which had spices going on.

France-Soir, South Yarra, Melbourne

France-Soir (11 Toorak Road, South Yarra, Melbourne, tel : +61 3 9866 8569) came recommended for old school brasserie styled French food down at the South Yarra.

Here's a peek at what the restaurant offered.

We were brought some fresh warm baguette with butter which were promptly refilled whenever they were emptied.

Escargots were....just escargots. I was never much into them and most of time they tasted mostly the same to me.

We ordered their tripes au riesling because it was described on the menu as tripe cooked in a tomato and Riesling sauce. Instead, it came with what tasted like minestrone soup. We felt deceived. This was disappointing. 

However the fried lamb brains were delicious. A crisp batter shell with creamy brains beneath, crispy capers and some buttery sauce. I'd come back here just for these.

Lamb cutlets were very competently done pink. Delicious and left one wanting more because of the petite portions

Their magret de canard was sweet. Sweet like I've never had duck breast before.

France-Soir's crème brûlée was outstanding. The creamy custard beneath the torched sugar shell was velvety and delicious.

Tarte tartin was not bad. These ones had pretty chunky apples.

Finished with a café royal that had too little cognac.

A dim sim from South Melbourne Market Dim Sims

Here's a first and probably last taste of dim sim for me. Not dim sum. Dim sims are apparently something in Melbourne. A dumpling of "mystery ingredients" of the fried or steamed variety that one could pick up from most if not all of the fish and chip shops around. It could be viewed as a siew mai of sorts if you would.

This one was from a shop in South Melbourne Market (Stall 91, South Melbourne Market, Coventry Street & Cecil Street, South Melbourne) that apparently sold nothing else and had a queue going on.

I didn't like it. It was greasy and very salty. I couldn't understand the protein and cabbage mash that constituted the stuffings and didn't think it was delicious, drunk or not.

Top Paddock, Richmond, Melbourne

At the time when I was "researching" breakfast in Melbourne, Top Paddock invariably came out in one result or another. So I thought why not breakfast at Top Paddock (658 Church Street, Richmond, Melbourne, tel : +61 3 9429 4332) to start the day. 

If I had to describe the place, it's a hipster magnet - not unlike countless cafes in the city and also other cities. While these guys might have been one of the fore runners of cafe-bar/communal table for social brunch/breakfast type of place with possibly enough gravitas for name dropping, it has also occured to me that they have likely remained the mirror images to the clones that have spawned off themselves.

Food wasn't bad though. We ordered a bunch of items to share.

We had a blueberry pancake with ricotta. As much as it looked the part, it was not a salad. In fact, underneath the pretty shrubbery was pancake enough to feed two. Or even three. Comfortably. Which made its price tag of $23 look pretty reasonable if one had the sharing planned out.

There was a bacon and egg roll with cheddar and barbecue sauce. Solid and dependable greasy salty food group of carbs, protein and fat. Pretty big portions too.

Their 14 hour smoked O'Connor brisket was tender, fatty and flavourful. It was also a pretty sizeable portion. A much larger slab of brisket at 80% of the cost of what Decker Barbecue was charging.

That's eggs with asparagus with fried saltbush on toast. The menu mentioned the inclusion of Mountain Man washed rind cheese which was suppose to be a little pungent and complex cheese. Apparently also not good enough to register as a flavour component compared to the fried saltbush.

Balkh Bakery & Charcoal Kebab, Dandenong, Melbourne

Our friends mentioned Afghan food which they had stumbled upon previously and enjoyed in Dandenong where they occasionally do their marketing. They brought us down one evening to see how we liked Balkh Baker & Charcoal Kebab (256-258 Thomas Street, Dandenong, Melbourne, tel : +61 3 9794 5558).

The restaurant baked their own bread and from what I was told, that bread was made fresh on service. The portions above were a single serving. While it took a while to arrive, it was also worth the wait. One could taste the freshness in and underneath the crispy surface. Made a great vehicle for their charcoal grilled meats too.

One of the things they did at their grill was charcoal chicken. It was competent but it wasn't as impressive as their kebabs.

Their shish kebabs - which was pretty much what everyone else were also having were awesome. We had a mixed plate. The chicken ones were possibly the best I've had anywhere. Their spice mix was great flavouring but I thought being juicy and hot off the grill helped do the trick as well. This was some expert level kebab grilling here. I liked their lamb shish over the lamb koobideh. 

There was a rice dish on their menu which I later learnt was their rendition of the Afghan Kabuli palaw - a pilaf with sweet carrots and deliciously plump raisins. There was definitely some grease in the rice which I suspected but was unable to confirm were from the drippings of their meats. Delicious.