Outer Circle Social Club

Melbourne is in Stage 4 lockdown at the moment, so it's a very sombre mood everyone here is feeling. This is not a good time for business owners, and I hope that I won't see too many of our local favourites close down for good when we emerge from lockdown. Outer Circle Social Club is one of our favourites for coffee and brunch around here. It's tucked away from the main street in the middle of a light industrial area, and this is the closest cafe to our house that serves superb coffee and delicious food. The space is a cleverly converted warehouse with a bright and modern minimalist design. Service was genial and welcoming, and the coffee and food certainly warrant coming back for more. I loved the quirky names for the menu items. Although hubby has enjoyed a few coffees here since we first discovered this little gem, we only managed to squeeze in one brunch date here before the Covid-19 lockdowns happened. I miss dining out, I miss kid-free time, and we will most definitely revisit Outer Circle Social Club regularly once we can dine out again.

Ample outdoor dining space:

Converted warehouse interior:

Excellent coffee:

Pig In A Blanket - smoked pulled pork shoulder wrapped up burrito-style with slaw, avo and a black bean, corn, jalapeno salsa:

Old Mate Ruben The Reuben Is Still Here - house-smoked brisket piled high and toasted between rye bread with Swiss cheese, sauerkraut and thousand island dressing; served with crisps and a pickle:

Outer Circle Social Club
1/299 Arthur St
Fairfield VIC 3078
Australia
Tel. +61 3 9486 3119

Exquisite afternoon tea @ The Hotel Windsor, Melbourne

Last week, hubby and I celebrated a milestone anniversary. I won't say how long we've been married, only that we got married 10 months before I started writing in this blog! How far we have come since - the adventures we've had around the world, living in three different countries, and raising three beautiful children. It hasn't been all sunshine and roses, but the challenges we've encountered and overcame together, I hope that these have helped forged our bond stronger. To celebrate our anniversary, I booked us to have high tea at The Hotel Windsor, which claims to be Melbourne's most famous afternoon tea. Regardless of the fame, the experience we had was nothing short of fabulous. We were informed that the hotel has been serving afternoon tea everyday except Christmas since 1883! The interior was grand and elegant, the service we received was impeccable, and the food was exceptional. The maître d' who greeted us at the door gave us a warm welcome, and acknowledging the occasion we were celebrating, he sat us at a window table, which was a pleasant surprise as it was something I did not request nor expect. We enjoyed our glasses of bubbly aperitif, and we did not have to wait long after being seated before the 3-tier high tea set was served. We didn't feel rushed nor hurried as we savoured every bite of the afternoon tea. I liked the bottomless coffee and tea, and we enjoyed a cup of cappuccino each as well as two different types of tea (we tasted each other's teas, so we actually tried four different types of tea). We had a really good experience, and I highly recommend the afternoon tea experience at the Hotel Windsor.

Classic and timeless decor:

Our glasses of French sparkling wine:

Savoury pastries, exquisite patisserie and ribbon sandwiches on a three-tiered stand:

Cappuccino:

Warm savoury canapes: Roasted jerusalem artichoke tart, ricotta, thyme, fine herbs; and Parmesan crusted gougère with Gruyère fondue:

The gougère had a delicious cheesy filling:

Sweet patisserie: pistachio macaron (macaron biscuit, roasted pistachio, Sicilian pistachio ganache); vanilla and yuzu religieuse (vanilla bean mousse, yuzu sauce & crémeux, mirliton (almond) sponge); and longchamp (Milk chocolate mousse, hazelnut praline):

Ribbon sandwiches: free range egg with saffron aioli & mustard; Waldorf smoked chicken salad with Victorian walnuts; and cucumber with peperonata & Yarra Valley fetta:

Our teas were served in elegant silver teapots:

My cup of sencha. I haven't enjoyed a good green tea for years, and drinking this brought back nostalgic memories of our years in Japan:

Freshly baked traditional and sultana scones, served with housemade strawberry jam and thick double cream:

I actually forgot about the scones, and I was already full from the pastries and sandwiches, but I love scones and none went to waste:

At the conclusion of our high tea, we were served this plate of cake:

The Hotel Windsor
111 Spring St
Melbourne VIC 3000
Australia
Tel. +61 3 9633 6002
Bookings can also be made online

Delicious French bakery cafe and kiddie fun @ Maison Saint-Honoré, Caversham (Western Australia)

And just like that, we are in 2018. I've been away from this blog for more than a month because life happens, and unfortunately so does death. That is all I will write about it as my heart is still grieving the loss. This was the first time in 12 years since moving away from Perth that I've stayed for more than two weeks, and though the circumstances were much less than ideal, I could take a more leisurely pace than the usual rush-to-see-everyone-and-do-everything Perth itinerary. I visited Maison Saint-Honoré in Caversham twice, the first occasion with baby girl when I met up with a friend prior to hubby and the older two kids arriving in Perth, and I liked it enough to suggest a revisit with the whole family and my mother-in-law. It took us 30 minutes to drive out there, but it was worth it. I love the large outdoor play area for the kids, the fantastic pastries and baked goodies, and the gorgeous French accent from most of the staff. Coffee is great here, and the food was fantastic, even the fussiest kid enjoyed her food. All up it's just the perfect place to enjoy the beautiful Perth summer days with the whole family.

A large outdoor play area to enjoy the Perth sunshine:

So many macaron flavours!

More baked goodies by the cashier where the orders and payments are taken:

The kitchen staff busy at work:

Various breads, cheese crackers, condiments and other food products for sale:

The main dining room:

The outdoor dining area:

Beef Brisket Baguette with caramelised onions, cheese, aioli and coriander:

Salted Caramel Cruffin:

Burger Pulled Pork with brioche bun, caramelised onions, camembert, curry shallots sauce, relish and roast potatoes:

Quiche of the day:

Egg Cocotte - two soft boiled eggs in cocotte with curry shallots sauce and mozzarella with rocket and croque monsieur:

Maison Saint-Honoré
100 Benara Road
Caversham, WA 6055
Australia
Tel. +61 8 9377 4674

Another brunch @ Sprolo, Perth (Australia)

We revisited Sprolo when we were in Perth a few months ago. I got to try out the Traditional Singaporean Breakfast with kaya and I loved it! I also got to try the Chicken Congee which was tasty and satisfying. The coffee was great, and the kids kept themselves busy playing in the small play area.

Traditional Singaporean Breakfast (AU$13) with housemade cultured butter and kaya with slow-cooked eggs

Chicken Congee, topped with two slow-cooked eggs:

The congee with condiments (which includes soy sauce, white pepper, cut chili and crispy fried ikan bilis (anchovies):

The Scrambled Eggs on Toast (AU$12.50) is a favourite of my son's, which was simple and delicious:

Sprolo
138 Canning Hwy
South Perth WA 6151
Australia
+61 401 625 134

Delicious French @ Scarlett Café & Wine Bar, Hong Kong

We've recently had to say goodbyes to a few families as they moved away from Hong Kong, and we were particularly sad to see good friends of ours go to Japan. We'd only met them a year ago through our kids who went to the same playgroup, and we hit it off instantly. We managed to have a second and final double date at Scarlett Café & Wine Bar on a Friday night, and I was reluctantly pulled away only a couple of hours later by a crying baby at home who refused to settle back to sleep. Y suggested this place, and she's got good taste in food! The good: food was absolutely fantastic and delicious. The bad: service was a bit slow, but it was a busy Friday night, so I'm willing to overlook that. I'd come back again just for the food.

Oysters were the special of the month, and Y and I could not resist indulging in a few (the boys didn't care for them much, which meant more for us!):

The cheese platter was great for sharing between the four of us:

Y ordered the Beef Tartare, and the french fries was yum:

Hubby got the Duck Confit, which was just delectable:

The Apple Tarte Fine was the perfect dessert to round off a meal - just sweet enough but not heavy on the tum:

The Warm Molten Chocolate Cake was to die for, and a must for chocolate lovers:

Scarlett Café & Wine Bar
2 Austin Avenue
Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon
Hong Kong
Tel. +85 2 3565 6513

Kid-friendly brunch spot @ Sprolo, Perth (Australia)

These days, my criteria for restaurants is that it must be kid-friendly. That must go without saying, with a hyperactive 7-year-old in cahoots with a rambunctious 2-year-old, and an ever-increasingly mobile 7-month-old. The alternative would be not to dine out at all, which is not an option. Not for me. (Of course, on the odd special occasions when we want to dine in peace without the rugrats, we will make it count and splurge at a fine dining restaurant.) The same criteria applies to our trips overseas too. When we met up with my friends in Perth who are now also mums of young kids, we had to go somewhere that was kid-friendly. Sprolo came on my Perth radar when my ex-classmate from university opened it two years ago, and mutual friends of ours raved about the coffee. The catchy name Sprolo comes from the barista's abbreviation of espresso ('spro') and 'yolo' (acronym for "you only live once"), which is quite appropriate for my ex-classmate who left his engineering career to follow his passion to open up a cafe and coffee roasting business. Sprolo has a small play area, and I suggested it to my friends who were keen to meet up for brunch there. I can confirm that the coffee is good. It's made from beans roasted in house by Blacklist Coffee Roasters. The menu was innovative and the food delicious, considering the fact that Sprolo is a cafe with no real kitchen. The exception was the scrambled eggs, which didn't look like scrambled eggs but resembled a fine spongy foam (I really can't think of a nicer description). The flavour was fine, but the texture and appearance didn't match scrambled eggs. It was my son's order, and he ate it all without any complaints. The sous vide machine on site ensured that the sous vide eggs came out perfect, and I would love to revisit for their famous Traditional Singaporean Breakfast with kaya (coconut jam).

Order and pay first at the counter:

And then wait for the food and coffee to be served at the table. The play area was good to keep the kids occupied for a short time:

Hubby's flat white (AU$4.20) was good, and I was curious about the Gula Melaka Caramel Latte (AU$5.50, with the option to add coffee). It was nice but too milky for me (I don't drink much milk, being lactose-intolerant):

Babycino for the little ones:

Hubby ordered the Smoked Salmon Waffle (AU$16.50) with cream cheese, oven roasted tomatoes and basil pesto. The savoury 3-cheese & chive waffle was delicious, and the smoked salmon was good quality stuff:

Scrambled Eggs on Toast (AU$12.50) - see what I mean by fine spongy foam? I must reiterate that it tasted fine:

Sous Vide Eggs on Toast (AU$12) - simply delicious (if you like eggs like this):

Sprolo is worth the visit just for the coffee alone.

Sprolo
138 Canning Hwy
South Perth WA 6151
Australia
+61 401 625 134