Wednesday 27 July 2011

Midweek Dinner @ Colonel Tan's

Several weeks ago I braved the sticky floors to catch up with a friend at Colonel Tan’s (AKA Revolver Upstairs) for a final dinner before he jetted off to regions unknown. While I associate Revs with hipster bands and trashbags, I’d heard that Karen Batson of Cookie fame had transformed Revolver Upstairs into a cracking American themed Thai restaurant during evening hours. 

We drank Rekorderlig pear cider with our starter of corn fritters with sweet chilli ($9.50), which were satisfyingly crispy and excellent for soaking up booze. 


The pork and prawn donuts ($12.50) were accompanied by a chilli jam that was a piquant mixture of chilli, peanut, coriander and vinegar.


As we wanted to eat pretty much everything on the menu, we deferred to the superior knowledge of our waitress to narrow things down. The first dish she recommended was the stirfried daikon cake with mushrooms and bean shoots ($14.50). 


The gooey daikon cake went well with the umami sauce and Chinese fungus. She also recommended the ‘Crying Tiger’  ($14.50), which was deliciously rare slices of beef with chilli, thai basil, soy and lime. 


Colonel Tan’s provides a reasonably priced oasis for Southsiders. 
Colonel Tan's on Urbanspoon

Monday 11 July 2011

Weekend 'brunch' @ Batch Espresso

I recently caught up with a mate for a hungover late brunch at Batch Espresso. Batch is a haven for kiwi expats and Melburnians alike with its hipster décor and reasonable priced menu peppered with kiwi classics. 

Given our slightly rough state we started with decent coffees. 



I ordered the fried egg with roesti, rocket and harissa yogurt ($14). The yolk was runny and  the roesti suitably stodgy without being gluggy. The spicy harissa yogurt and peppery rocket were excellent accompaniments. 


My similarly hungover friend ordered the baked eggs with chorizo, chilli, manchego and sheep’s yogurt ($15). The eggs were perfectly cooked with runny yolks, which paired with the chilli chorizo were delicious to mop up with the crusty toast. 


The sight of baked goods tempted us to indulge in a slice of decadent rhubarb and apple pie ($5.5). It was cased in cake rather than short crust and served hot with clotted cream on the side. Yum. 



Batch Espresso on Urbanspoon
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