Woodville South, SA

restaurants

The Pizza Hub

Right opposite Prahran Station is one of the most UNDISCOVERED YET BEST pizza spots in Melbourne – in such an unassuming place, Pizza Hub is now one of my favourite spots in Melbourne with highlights from beginning to end. I wouldn’t call myself a pizza connoisseur, but my expectations and standards of pizza ARE HIGH – now Pizza Hub isn’t the classic Italian pizza spot I’ve been to, but it captures the best essence of Italy nonetheless whilst adding its own unique spins. With their own-crafted toppings of ragu, dry aged beef, Italian meatballs, Pizza Hub created a truly memorable experience for me and all for a reasonable price. The good fat: We started off with the beef ragu arancini – and with its cheesy interior, crispy golden crust, and small splash of bolognese sauce underneath, it was the perfect melt-in-the-mouth starter. The satisfaction of watching the cheese pull apart within as you cut through was food porn at its best. The calamari was also a surprisingly light starter – house made and coated with semolina rather than crispy bread crumbs, we were treated to these soft, tender pieces of lightly lemon and peppered calamari. The uniquely named pizzas caught our eye and so we first opted for the Alessia, with fior di latte and dry aged eye fillet. The fior di latte was unparalleled in its sense of milky, creamy smoothness, and the dry aged component added a light element of saltiness and flavour. But the show stopper was the Michelle pizza, with my absolute FAVOURITE beef ragu (similar to the arancini) and an aromatic smokiness from the smoked mozzarella that distinguished it so clearly from every other pizza we’d had. The beef ragu, was once again, on a backdrop of the JUICIEST tomato base reminiscent of the simple tomato base of a Naples margarita pizza, and the additions of peas dotted around the pizza gave really interesting popping texture that definitely gave another pleasurable element. The desserts were equally as impression, with an absolute diabetes overload in their nutella donuts – they were freshly handmade balls of yum! Likewise, the cannoli was exceptional in its subtlety of the orange-infused filling, and the shell managed to attain the perfect crunch. The bad fat: NOTHING – I wish I had a bigger appetite and faster metabolism to try even more flavours of their pizzas! FAT-O-METER: 5/5

Moonee Ponds, VIC

restaurants

Il Caminetto

Il Caminetto in Moonee Ponds, a well-established Italian restaurant in the Northern Melbourne suburbs was one of the first wood-fired pizza restaurants in Melbourne! So it was unsurprising that they had perfected the authenticity of their Italian pizzas. I loved the layout of the restaurant, with so many bustling chefs around the massive wood-fired oven up front, friendly waitresses around, and a larger group space towards the back. The chefs were so kind to even let me try my own hand at handling the wood fired pizza pan! The good fat: I’m so biased to squid ink pasta and good Italian pizza so when I noticed that Il Caminetto had both of these options, my expectations and excitement were HIGH! The squid ink pasta with spanner crab was definitely enough to satisfy my squid ink cravings – it was a light pasta, with splashings of zucchini and softened tomato confit that complemented the seafood flavours nicely. Spying the buffalo mozzarella and prosciutto on the menu – the Italia was an easy choice of the pizza. The base was next to perfect chewy, but also slightly crispy and charred on the bottom – and the helpings of prosciutto on top were so generous. The Italian-styled creme brûlée we finished off with was also quite special – I loved the caramelised char that we got to crack, before digging into the light creamy dessert underneath that almost felt like eating a smooth, sweet yoghurt! The bad fat: The Caprese salad was a little underwhelming as the buffalo mozzarella used at Il Caminetto seemed to miss a milky/cheese quality that other Italian places have captured, and it would’ve been great to have it sliced up, or use smaller pieces rather than a huge centrepiece. Being a seafood pasta, the taglierini alla chitarra was a little lacking in seafood flavour, the spanner crab pieces could’ve been more generous and I missed the taste of the sea that I was hoping to get. The tartufo dessert with hazelnut gelato tasted more like regular chocolate icecream as it lacked the smooth and softer consistency of gelato – even though I can’t say no to chocolate icecream anyway! FAT-O-METER: 3.5/5

Ivanhoe, VIC

cafe

DOCASA

Once again we ventured to the Northern suburbs of Melbourne to the pleasant surprise that was Docasa. Already a well established local café, it’s really no surprise to see the swarm of people filtering in throughout the entire day, even at seemingly quite hours between meals. The Italian owner is not only passionate about his café and his food, but also holds a wealth of knowledge about the European fusion-styled dishes that Docasa deliciously presents. Definitely one of the most unique Melbourne cafes I’ve been to and absolute a must-try for Melbourne brunch goers! I wish I lived closer to here or there was a similar concept near the city. The good fat: Boasting both a tapas-styled menu with exotic names like “Duck Cigars,” and a standardised brunch affair featuring their own Mediterranean twists, Docasa was a delight from start to finish. The duck cigars were crispy flaky pastries coating a confit-styled, pulled duck type of filling, complemented with a citrus reduction and porcini powder. Mushroom and scamorza croquette was also another light, tasty entrée that graced our table, with the all-too-familiar drizzle of truffle aioli. Moving on to the slightly heavier dishes, Docasa’s seafood gnocchi became one of the best ones I’ve had to date. Not usually a huge fan of really carb-dense gnocchi, this one was the exact opposite – the little balls of pasta were like small airy pillows of potato with a slight starchy consistency to it. With prawns and calamari, how can you go wrong? Trying to taste all the winter warmers before winter is truly over in Melbourne, we also opted for the sausage hotpot that kind of reminded me of Korean military stew, yet the flavours of cherry tomata, pepperonata and napoli . Another great option for a light, healthy meal is the goat’s cheese and zucchini blintzes – balanced on a bed of quinoa salad, the flaky pastry was yet another unique dish I hadn’t tried before. Flaky layers of pastry, with zucchini and the strong pervading flavours of goat’s cheese embedded like a paste within – you can’t go wrong with this healthy Melbourne breakfast, especially for those goat’s cheese lovers! The bad fat: Perhaps we were too full to truly appreciate the hotcakes, but by comparison, the hotcakes was less memorable compared to everything else we had there – despite the fact that the texture was perfectly moist. Perhaps the flavours overall were a bit less interesting than other hotcakes around. SHOULD YOU GET FAT HERE? YES – What a unique Melbourne café – now that I’ve had Mediterranean fusion brunch, I don’t think I can go back! FAT-O-METER: 5/5

Camberwell, VIC

cafe • restaurants

Short Black Cafe Camberwell

Short Black Cafe is a spacious, vibrant cafe in the lovely suburb of Camberwell. With round the clock, bustling vibes, Short Black gives a sense of a casual Melbourne cafe or restaurant that you could easily spend hours just chatting away in, especially over some award-winning coffees and INSANELY delicious dessert! They have quite a large menu, featuring not only simple brunch dishes, but also an extensive Italian feature, from house-made dry aged prosciutto, to pasta and wood-fired pizzas. The good fat: The dry aged prosciutto as part of their antipasto platter was so light in texture, with fringes of fatty meat on the set yet had tinges of that classic, cured Italian taste that makes it so delicious and addictive to eat – especially with an olive and feta on the side. The flavours of the gnocchi were very pleasing – as we’re not usually fans of the gnocchi, the pumpkin gnocchi with mushroom cream sauce definitely changed my opinion. It’s hard to pinpoint exactly, but the creamy sauce was earthy, grounded and had hints of a cheesiness without it being too overpoweringly creamy. The perfect sauce with the perfect gnocchi! Funky-shaped sizes also gave it a sense of hand made love. Absolutely loved LOVED the dessert. I am somewhat of a cheesecake expert, having had not only incredibly ones around Melbourne, but also around the world – and the Tim Tam Cheesecake from Short Black now goes on my list of my favourites. Worried that it was going to be too sweet, these thoughts quickly dissipated as I munched my way through the light layers of caramel glaze, subtle chocolate cream, and dense layers of cheese cake that somehow came together to be of perfect balance, and not at ALL too sweet or sickening. Likewise, the lemon rhubarb tart was actually the perfect accompanying dessert – refreshingly sour from the lemon curd, complete with a crumbly short-crust base. The bad fat: Our seafood risotto, whilst still hearty and satisfying to eat, with delicious helpings of fresh prawns, was a little stock-standard in comparison. The rhubarb from the tart also failed to come through the strong flavours of the lemon. SHOULD YOU GET FAT HERE? YES! Camberwell is full of classic Melbourne brunch cafes – and Short Black lives up to this neighbourhood. FAT-O-METER: 4.5/5 (5/5 DESSERTS THOUGH!)

Southbank, VIC

restaurants

Gradi at Crown

The best thing about living in Melbourne is the wealth and immersion of world class international dining options, and Gradi Crown, headed by the award-winning chef, Johnny Di Francesco, who owns the Gradi Group of restaurants, is certainly one such restaurant. Winning the 2014 World Pizza Championship, Gradi is not only home to the delicious sensation that is their Margherita pizza, but is also complemented by bustling, Italian-esque vibes, warm customer service, and an extensive, authentic Italian menu prepared by chefs who have a genuine passion and cultural awareness about Italian cuisine – making it a truly wonderful addition to Melbourne’s Italian food scene. The good fat: So before we start with the dishes, we were treated to a unique, Italian experience of creamy iced coffee! Blended espresso with a granita machine, this napolitan style creamy espresso is not what we expected. The texture is somewhere between mousse, ice cream and marshmallow, all with the strong coffee flavour infused within. It was a whole new experience that made us feel like we were food adventuring for the first time! The calamari entree was a simple and light way to begin our Italian food adventure – crispy skinned and perfect with a drizzle of balsamic over the rocket. Understandably, the Margherita pizza was the highlight of our meal at Gradi. Charred and crunchy on the bottom, atop a light and classic Neapolitan crust. Say goodbye to soggy crusts with Gradi! Once you try this Margherita, there is no going back to any other pizza in Melbourne – definitely a testament to Johnny’s 2014 award. Complete with the juiciest san marzano and the lightness of fior di latte. The capricciosa featured a heartier, and more generous pizza topping than the traditional Margherita. The prosciutto gave that delicious, savoury kick whilst the tenderness of the mushrooms came through with its earthiness – once again, atop of a perfect Italian crust that is relatively difficult to find in Melbourne. When our stomachs were already stretched far enough, our favourite course of dessert, came along and how could I ever say no to tiramisu? It can be hard to make tiramisu look as good as it tastes, but this tiramisu won me over in both aesthetics and taste, with a drop of espresso cream and 2 cute macarons.. can you get any better? The bad fat: Wish my stomach was bigger to fit all the food in… but looks like it just means I’ll have to go back next time! SHOULD YOU GET FAT HERE? YES! Melbourne is the home of authentic, Italian food and the internationally-award winning restaurant that is Crown Gradi is definitely one to add onto your list. Also maybe a bit overpriced for a casual lunch, but definitely date-night worthy, and certainly in line with the standards of pricing in Crown especially with the vibes and service. One of the best Italian restaurants in Melbourne! FAT-O-METER: 5/5

Melbourne, VIC

destination

Melbourne

Semplice cooking, meaning “simple” in Italian, is headed by the Italian-born, and charismatic, Michele, who offered to provide this incredible experience for us. So what does this entail? Michele, with a strong passion for Italian cooking, brings to your home, all the ingredients for an authentic 3-course Italian meal – but there’s also a bonus! Not only do you get a delicious meal prepared with love, you get an added interactive component as Michele teaches you how to make the pasta, from rolling the dough, to cutting the tagliatelle and operating the pasta machine! Semplice revolves around the concept of keeping Italian food simple, stressing that authentic Italian cuisine does not require all the fancy garnishes recreated commonly in Melbourne Italian restaurants. Michele provides a unique experience that is unparalleled by any modern place restaurant, drawn from his own experience in learning how to make pasta with his grandma, but now he shares that same culture with you in the comfort of your own home. He provides such a holistic experience, even bringing a portable speaker with an Italian playlist to experience the true culture! As a group of 5 friends, we started off with making our pasta, the mushroom tagliatelle. We were more than excited to cover our hands with Tipo 00 Semolina flour (the most traditional pasta-making flour), cut each piece of wonky tagliatelle, and play with the strings of pasta that we portioned out on each plate. As a bonus, we also had the pleasure of making our own, huge, raviolo with fresh ricotta inside! I can’t decide if making or eating the pasta was the best part. We waited keenly for our entree which consisted of fresh Italian parmagiana, chilli sausage, fresh ricotta and Michele’s handmade capsicum – a recipe passed down from his grandmother. The capsicum melted in my mouth in a combination of sweet and sourness! Having had a recent bout of making pasta with store bought pasta, it was interesting to notice how big the contrast in texture and flavour between hand made and machine processed pasta. Our tagliatelle, perfectly al dente, (credits to Michele of course), was delicately springy in texture, making it the best pasta to complement the mushrooms. The creamy base of the mushroom sauce didn’t require any added components, as using the mushroom water was simply enough to create that wholesome and earthy burst of flavour. This pasta was the definition of “Semplice” – simple, yet authentic and delicious! Yum! Despite our full stomachs from the main, we couldn’t wait for the tiramisu. Having been made by Michele earlier and kept in the fridge, we had the best Italian experience of sharing from the tub together. The tiramisu was creamy, light, with the best balance of espresso-soaked Savoiardi embedded in small chunks within – this is by far one of the best tiramisu I’ve had! Semplice gave us all such a wholesome experience – Grazie to Michele for providing us not only with a lively dinner handmade with love, but also an added appreciation of Italian culture and cuisine that any Melbourne Italian restaurant can’t recreate. If you want to have the pleasure of this Italian experience with your friends, whether for a birthday, celebration or just something different to going out, make sure you check out Semplice Cooking at their website below – we can’t recommend this enough!!

Melbourne, VIC

cafe

Pezzo

Pezzo is an Italian casual dine in or take away restaurant part of the huge Grossi restaurants dotted all over Melbourne. Targeted towards office worker lunch-type crowds, it’s speciality is a 48 hour fermented, dough baked “Pezzos” filled with Italian/European-styled fillings that are guaranteed to be a hearty lunch feed. The good fat: The pezzo dough was a highlight – it resembled Napoli pizza dough, but denser and molded into the shape of a cute pizza pocket! With a extensive range of different fillings in these pezzo pockets, the Shepherd was the best blend of flavours for me. The soft, lightly seasoned rosemary potatoes were the star, working nicely with the Italian herbiness of the parsley and the roasted lamb shoulder. The bad fat: Despite being a convenient and affordable lunch, I found the flavours a little strange and the meats overcooked. The roast pork was particularly dry, and the sauerkraut was definitely way too overpowering – being such a strong, pickled vegetable, the balance was starkly skewed and I felt that the majority of the pezzo was overtaken by sauerkraut. The red sauce was a little chilli but also didn’t really work well with the roast pork, which could’ve opted for a slightly smoky/BBQ type option instead. Likewise, the lamb shoulder was a little over-cooked. SHOULD YOU GET FAT HERE? Definitely a filling lunch and convenient for local officeworkers in the Melbourne CBD but there are other options to try! FAT-O-METER: 3/5

Fitzroy, VIC

shopping

Gelato Messina Fitzroy

HWKR is a food court-styled place modelled off Hawker centres in Singapore and Malaysia, filled with rotating vendors, such as MasterChef winner, Diana Chan’s Chanteen, the famed lobster-spot Pinchy’s, and in its latest bout, features an epic dessert cross between Gelato Messina and Wonderbao – two cult-like food spots of Melbourne. Their desserts, not only Instagram-worthy, but are also a blend of complicated ingredients that do something magical when all put together so I would highly recommend the Cocoa Nib Cake and the Magic Mushroom for all my Melbourne dessert lovers! The good fat: Anyone with an interest in Melbourne food is surely to have seen this cute “Magic Mushroom” pop up on their Instagram feed lately! Lucky for you, it’s one of the desserts that lives up to its hype! The icecream x dessert skills of artisan gelateria, Gelato Messina, means it manages to create a unique, whilst delicious dessert, full of complementing flavours between chocolate, caramel and peanut butter, not forgetting about the varying textures from the perfect crunch of the feuilletine, the softness of the gelato and the gooey-ness of the caramel. The highlight, on the other hand, was the cocoa nib cake! Featuring a multi-dimensional blend of crunchy nuts, roasted cocoa flavours and sweetness from the caramel and nougat, the cake was a blend of subtle flavours that worked deliciously when all put together. It wasn’t overly sweet and I loved the nougat + nut insert in the middle giving that added CRUNCH when biting through the layers of soft gelato. The bad fat: The macaron gelato sandwich was way too sweet for me. Although the idea of cream cheese gelato sounded perfect to me, the sugariness of the yellow macaron and passionfruit insert was way too overpowering and all the other subtler flavours were lost behind it. However, for those looking for a strong, sweet + sour kick, this may be the dessert for you! SHOULD YOU GET FAT HERE? YES – The Evil mushroom has been popping up everywhere over Instagram – so why not grab one for you and a friend to share! (or not hehe) FAT-O-METER: 4/5

Albert Park, VIC

restaurants

la baia bar cucina

Having travelled through Italy last year, quality Italian food is something that I have grown to become more and more familiar with, especially with the exceptional range offered in Melbourne. I was more than surprised with the absolutely authenticity, decadence and all-round deliciousness presented by La Baia Bar Cucina. A relatively new Italian restaurant run by a lovely Italian couple, La Baia has a prime location over looking the beautiful beach promenade along Albert Park, making it the perfect classy meal or date night location. I cannot wait to come again and experience this truly pleasurable Italian restaurant and its faultless execution. The good fat: We had the perfect calamari entree to start – definitely one of the best-cooked calamari I’ve experienced! Fresh, tender strips that still preserved the slightest elasticity for chewing, but had hints of moisture with each bite. The Vincigrassi features multiple layers of hand-crafted pasta, perfectly textured so that it melts into the braised beef cheek whilst still maintaining individual integrity. How can you go wrong with 12 hour braised beef check? Not only were the ingredients prepared decadently, the bechamel sauce was warm, creamy and tomato-y without being too overpowering. Parmigiano layers on to provided the perfect savoury kick! Seafood linguine is an absolute must for me at any Italian restaurant – and I was always waiting to find one that could beat or live up to my first one from Thirty Eight Chairs and this linguine allo scoglio certainly is up there. Perfectly cooked prawns that fell out of its shell, a creamy yet spicy white wine sauce draining through the layers of smooth al dente linguine… how can you ask for more? After such incredible mains, dessert was definitely going to be the make or break. Wow! I’ve definitely had my fair share of great tiramisu over the past year (each one making me love tiramisu more and more!) A creamy, sweet blend of espresso liqueur soaked crumble, soft sprinkles of chocolate/espresso powder, and layers of cream in between meant it was a faultless way to end this impressive meal in true Italian style. The bad fat: The tiramisu was the slightest bit more liquid-y than I would’ve liked but it was still undoubtedly delicious! FAT-O-METER: 5/5