St Ali South

Today is the last day of my exam and I am psyched. So I  wanted  to  energize myself near the exam venue, I thought that I'd try St Ali. St Ali coffee place as I read online is a great place. In fact it is in the 100 best restaurants list on Urbanspoon.com. I found that it was hard to find without the map from Google. But I had a map, and still got lost, because they looked a bit like a factory. I knew that I had to take the 112 tram from Collins st in the city all the way to York St in South Melbourne.
They are from London and are known to be really hip. The waitresses sure looked cute and very retro. They were friendly, but often delivered the wrong orders to the wrong tables. Luckily mine was not wrong
St Ali roasts their own coffee. They also have barista training courses as well as do their coffee in a sypron filter. The atmosphere is like that of Stax/Miss Libertines. At times it is a bit cramped in here, because it is really popular with the locals and tourists a like. They do sell wines and beers here, as well as some European and Mexican meals. Here they do quite a few vegetarian dishes. One dish that I heard was good was the pork belly baguette which I did not try this time because I felt like eggs and fish.

The syphon filter for coffee

look how hip the menu is!

Some of the coffee products they sell which I saw people buy

What I had:
1) Hot chocolate- $5.00. Here they use real cocoa unlike some of the other cafes. They also use brown sugar which is sweeter.

Look at the art. Isn't it pretty?

2) Mr  Mexican Cousin Brother ($17.00)- Here the dish is not as spicy as I thought it would be, but still a good combination of things. I added smoked salmon to it for $4.50. The salmon was really fresh. I loved the corn fritters not too starchy and not too oily. I loved the rocket leaves around the plate as a decoration. I also loved the poached eggs and the yolk. It was so runny. I thought that they could have used a spicy tomato relish instead of a sweet tomato one though. Here I didn't get the combination of flavors.

You probably are thinking that this a beer bottle. But guess what! Its a water bottle.

3) After that I ordered a pear and pecan cake ($5.00) with coffee mascarpone ($2.00). I wanted to try out the coffee mascarpone since they specialize in coffee. Guess what- it tasted divine. It had the right amount of coffee powder to give me a really good kick. The pear cake was rich in moisture and tastes great. The flavours were balanced out really well.

It looks like normal cream, but its actually coffee mascarpone.

I would come back here only on a special occasion with a friend. It is too expensive to go there on my own. And next time when I'm here I should try the sandwiches, soup or fish and chips.

in a rush soup place in QV

The weather is so cold here that I felt like a nice bowl of soup and hot chocolate to warm me up. I didn'l feel like walking far from my work so I went to a place called In a Rush. This place is in QV where Woolworths is. Lots of trams go past the QV building and it is about 2-5 minutes walk from City and Business (Tivoli) campus. They specialise in soups and salads. I came here about 1:40pm, just after the lunch rush.
Here they had quite a few lunch specials on offer, all under $11. The one I ordered was a pasta salad and a pumpkin soup at $10.90. I threw in a hot chocolate at $3 for a regular cup.
The server did not seem very friendly to me. Did not smile. I think that she must have been tired from the busy lunch rush. I know that sometimes I am too, but it does not hurt to smile.
This place is merely a takeaway place in the food court, therefore there is not much seating.

All the sandwiches and salads they have

The types of soup they sell. You pick the one that you want and they do it for you

My pasta salad which looked a bit squashed, but was ok.

The pumpkin soup (their speciality) did not have much taste to it. I couldn't tell whether it was freshly done or made from a can. I think that it had a little bit too much msg in it. Next time if you are going to order a soup and salad share it with someone as the portion is big enough to fill up two people.
The bread was crusty though. It was really fresh.
But I liked the pasta salad though. It didn't have many vegetables though, but what I did like was that the vegetables were fresh and tasty. The pasta was al dente, but they put too much in there. They should have put more vegetables though.
Next time when I come I should really order the sandwiches. They looked really fresh from the display.

International student guide- another website

http://uniaustralia.com.au/articles/study-in-australia/an-ozzie-adventure-a-survivor’s-guide-for-international-students/
All new international students should read this as it contains loads of information about Melbourne

Lunch in two French places

I went to two French places on Hardware lane for lunch. They are really good places. Hardware lane is just a five minute walk from the city and Business campus and is in between Elizabeth and Queen sts.
Hardware lane is one place known for its quality and premium dining in the CBD. If you have a chance you should visit.


1) Bon a' manger
This place is like a school canteen; you just grab whatever you want and you pay for it, only except this place makes great quality coffee and hot chocolates. They sell salads, yoghurt, fruits, baguettes, sandwiches, pies, quiches etc. It is like Pearson's and Murphy's in terms of what they offer.
The server there, unlike the Vietnamese place in Moonee Ponds was lovely and attentative as all waiters should be. He was really pleasant and treats his customers well.
The lunch did not disappoint me. I had the pumpkin soup and bread ($6.50 for a large bowl) and a lovely light and foamy hot chocolate ($3.50). I had to ask for the sugars though. I could taste all the pumpkin and corn bits in it which means that it was made freshly. It tasted like it was homemade and not from a can.

Look how luscious my macaroon is. See the jam inside!

The soup pots. You choose your soup and the server fills the bowl for you.

Look at how good the artwork is.

the french tea organic blend

Next time I should come with my library group though. They would like the food here.
To promote themselves they could be an Entertainment book web offer (http://www.entertainmentbook.com.au/)

2) La Belle Miette
This place is well known for the French macaroons. These macaroons were sweet and light and puffy, not like some of the ones that I bought earlier. All of their macaroons come from their main restaurant which is Richmond.
The lady there was really nice and knowledgeable about the products sold. She reccomended the new persimmon macaroon ($2.50). Dark red in colour, this was sweet with a hint of tanginess from the persimmon. She also said that they do take away macaroons in a box- $15 per box (I think that it is for a box of 6 macaroons. I'm not sure how much it is for 12 macaroons though, but they do 12 macaroons as well).
I also ordered a cherry and sake one ($2.50), lemon ($2.50) and a pink one (can't remember the name- $2.50). This place is famous for their French teas. I also had their famous green tea which was nice and refreshing ($3.50). It was also very relaxing. They also sell lemonade, but I didn't feel like it on a cold winter's day.
This place is a nice place to study in, as there was no need to hurry. Even though there is limited seating I loved their furniture, nice and cozy. I also took some pictures of the decor and the macaroon tree.
My verdict: its probably nice to go there once in a while, not every day though. I will come back with a friend or two or my library group for tea and macaroons. And to promote themselves, they could have an offer in the Entertainment book as a web offer (www.entertainmentbook.com.au).

what is bratwurst

Bratwurst is a type of German sausage. You can have it mild, spicy or hot. A great way to eat it is in a German hot dog ($7.80 at the Queen Victoria Market's Bratwurst shop. It is also sold at other markets and maybe restaurants around Melbourne). Here it comes with Saukeraut (Pickled cabbage thinly shredded), mustard (American, English, Djoinaise etc- your choice), sauce (tomato, hot chilli, ketchup, sweet chilli etc- your choice), more onions and cheese.

Here's a picture of a yummy bratwurst. We, the Melburnians like eating bratwurst especially in winter. This is bought from the Vic Market's Bratwurst shop.