Tis the season to eat sweets!

Christmas is fast approaching so I've put together a small collection of my favourite Christmas themed sweets and treats available in Melbourne, which are perfect as gifts for family and friends or if you just wanna treat yourself to something special this year. 

Burch & Purchese

647 Chapel Street, South Yarra 

(03) 9827 7060

www.burchandpurchese.com

The team at Burch and Purchese have certainly embraced the holiday season and have introduced a bunch of new products, including a new chocolate character called Frosty the white chocolate Snowman.

For something extra special you can pre-order their Yule Log - Champagne, peach, strawberry, pink grapefruit and white chocolate. Get in quick, they're selling fast!

In addition to new creations, Burch and Purchese's usual cakes now come with with some complimentary christmas bling. Even Pablo the penguin has gotten a christmas makeover.

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Alice Nivens Cafe

Shop 13, 228 Flinders Street Melbourne

www.alicenivenscafe.com

To keep things exciting, you can pop down to Alice Nivens where they're doing a new Christmas treat everyday! Pay Alice a visit and see what she's whipped up for you. It could be Santa hat cupcakes or Christmas red velvet cake!

Keep an eye on Alice's Instagram or Twitter to see what they've got in store for you next!

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T by Luxbite 

2/517 Flinders Lane, Melbourne 

www.tbyluxbite.com.au

The Luxbite team have also come out with a range of adorable Christmas tarts that are almost too cute to eat. They're on sale from the 9th of December.

The Christmas Tree - green tea mousse, chestnut, coffee, milk chocolate, 100's and 1000's, almond tart.
The Bauble - Almond frangipane, lime, coconut, yuzu mango, vanilla tart.
The Wreath - Raspberry jam, cherry, pistachio white chocolate, almond, vanilla tart.
The Gingerbread man - Cheesecake, ginger, burnt sugar, essence of christmas mousse, caramel, chocolate tart.

There's also two luxurious yule logs to choose from that are available for pre-order now.

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Cobb Lane Bakery

13 Anderson Street, Yarraville 

(03) 9687 1538

www.cobblane.com.au

For those living in the west who are after something a bit more traditional, Cobb Lane has some gorgeous little mince pies ready to go. Take some home for the family or sit in the cafe and enjoy it with a nice cuppa.

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I hope no matter what you choose to sweeten up your Christmas with, you have a wonderful and Merry Christmas. Thank you for reading! 

Photos do not belong to me and are 

sourced from the respective shop's

 Instagram accounts. 

Good Food Month: Flinders Mixer - St Crispin

As a part of Melbourne's Good Food Month celebrations, popular Collingwood restaurant Saint Crispin celebrated the award winning offerings of Flinders Island. Flinders Island is special due to the strong ocean winds and the salt particles carried in the air. As a result the livestock which graze on its salt covered pastures have a distinctive and more complex flavour. Joe Grbac and his team came up with 5 courses and matching cocktails to honour Flinders Island and its excellent produce.

All the guests were seated together on one communal table in Saint Crispin's beautiful private dining room.

Our first course was the famous Flinders Island Wallaby served as a tartare with beetroot elements and marinated cabbage.  I simply love wallaby, it's best served raw or rare so I thought a tartare was a really good choice. The sweetness of the beets complemented the wallaby very well and the cabbage added great texture and sharpness.

Next was Grilled Garfish, charred asparagus and a smoked oyster mayo. This was my first time having garfish, it turned out to be a very nice, delicate white fish. The asparagus was charred perfectly and very earthy, which went well with the smokiness of the oyster mayo. 

The third course was Lamb shoulder. It wouldn't have been a celebration of Flinders Island without succulent, tender, melt in your mouth lamb. It was served along side some radishes, nettles and parmesan gnocchi. It was such a rich and indulgent dish, I would have been happy to finish with the lamb but Saint Crispin still had more in store for us. 

Our final savoury course was Saltgrass beef, strzelecki pepper and greens. So simple but so good, Flinders Island beef has such a a great umami flavour already, all it needed was a simple sauce and some crunchy greens.

We ended our meal with a beautiful dessert of Mango, tapioca pearls, mint, vanilla and a beurre noisette crumb. A great summer dessert with lots of lovely textures served in a cute little jar.

And of course it's not a mixer without some kick ass drinks. The team at Thomas Olive (Saint Crispin's upstairs bar) whipped up some pretty exciting drinks to go along with our meal, which included some wines, absinthe and even their own little bottled cocktails.

It was a great night. Lots of great conversation and drinks over some spectacular dishes. I can't wait to see what else Saint Crispin does in the future.

T by Luxbite - Launch Party

The newest addition to the Luxbite Family is T by Luxbite, where the T stands for tarts! Glorious glorious tarts!

Last night's launch party was a collection of the Luxbite team and pastry loves/enthusiasts alike. 

It was an unreal opportunity to rub elbows with some of Melbourne's favourite food bloggers and celebrity pastry chefs; including Adriano Zumbo, Christy Tania and Anna Polyviou (from Sydney)

The tarts are of course divine, where the usual Luxbite goodness is filled into delicate pastry shells. 

My favourites of the night were the Calamansi and Praline tart. I didn't get a chance to try the Picnic tart, which is adorned with beautiful spheres of choux pastry so that will be my first official purchase from T by Luxbite.

Their colourful variety of macarons are also available for purchase.

The official opening is on Friday the 28th of November, so pop in and get yourself a lovely tart or two.

T By Luxbite

2/517 Flinders Ln, Melbourne VIC 3000
tbyluxbite.com.au

ChocolaTea with Teasense & Citizen Cacao

Last Sunday I had the absolute pleasure of attending ChocolaTea - a collaboration between tea ninja/educator Sarah Cowell from Teasense and Georgie Castle, chocolatier extraordinaire from Citizen Cacao.

Hosted by Kinfolk Cafe on Bourke Street, this event celebrated the unconventional pairing of two things that I have loved my entire life: chocolate and tea.

The afternoon consisted of some very educational and inspiring talks by Sarah and Georgie and of course a few tastings of their beautiful teas and chocolates. We started off our tasting with a vegan chocolate chai tea, the perfect embodiment of Sarah's tea expertise and Georgie's skills with chocolate coming together. The chai was warm and creamy with the right balance of spice. It was served with a 70% cacao shard, which when dipped made the drink even more indulgent. 

Even though I spent an afternoon eating chocolate and drinking fine teas, Sarah's talk about the history of tea and what it means to her especially resonated with me. It was perhaps my favourite part of the whole afternoon. Her passion for tea is very clear and her belief that tea isn't just a beverage but more an experience is something I can strongly relate to. Her talk reminded me of my own travels in Yunnan and how tea played such a huge role in some of my fondest memories there. I was very moved, to say the least. 

Afterwards, we tried a Dong Ding Oolong tea from Taiwan, it was a lovely full bodied tea and its leaves were sprinkled on top of one of Georgie's hand dipped truffles. The chocolate was divine, the tea added depth of flavour and complexity to the rich chocolate. 

Sarah also prepared for us a very special Oriental Beauty tea in a traditional Chinese 'gai wan' for us. It was the only packet of that tea in the whole of Melbourne and we were lucky enough to drink it. The tea was insanely fragrant with sweet notes of honey or citrus, which is created by insect bites on the leaves which begin the oxidation process. 

Georgie's talks were also very inspiring. I realised I knew very little about the history of Chocolate and its origins so I learned quite a lot.  Whilst she dipped her truffles for us, it became apparent that Georgie has a very carefree but strong spirit and the story of how she became a chocolatier is testament to that. I truly admire her passion for chocolate and the transparency with which she runs Citizen Cacao. I think even if you aren't into tea or chocolate, Sarah and Georgie are wonderful examples of following your dreams and doing what you're passionate about. 

Finally our afternoon ended with one final treat from Georgie to pair with the Oriental Beauty tea. Orange zest and juice were added to the chocolate truffles to match the citrus notes in the tea and then painted gold as a small homage to the ancient Mayan origins of chocolate. It tasted amazing, so I took some extras home with me to share with my family. 

It was an honour to be apart of such a special event, I really think Melbourne is the only city in Australia where a tea culture can thrive and I love how it has evolved in recent years. For those who are even a little bit interested in tea, I urge you to participate in a class or attend another Teasense collaborative event. 

http://teasense.com.au/

https://www.facebook.com/CitizenCacao

some photos are courtesy of Carmen Nguyen

Finn Cafe - St Kilda

Run by husband and wife team Marcus Wilson and Laura Winter, Finn Cafe is a cute little addition to Carlisle street in St Kilda. 

The simplistic layout of the cafe and some of its menu items are inspired by Winter's Scandinavian background which is also why the cafe is named Finn. 

When I visited Finn, it was a sunny afternoon which warmed and lit up the cafe beautifully. They have an all day breakfast menu so I had their open mushroom omelette with taleggio and rye - a vibrant and delicious omelette that was plated very elegantly. I added bacon to my omelette and I liked how they incorporated it into the plating of the omelette as opposed to just placing it on the side. 

The rest of the menu consists of your usual brunch items with a few unique dishes; such as smoked salmon on sourdough with smashed peas and poached eggs or a plentiful breakfast board with granola, hummus, salmon, duck rilletes, boiled eggs, cheese and a baguette. There's also a gorgeous cakes cabinet located up front filled with lots of irresistible sweets and treats. 

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For me, the staff are always a huge reason for returning to any establishment and I found that the staff at Finn are very lovely and genuine people. There was a slight mix up with one of our orders so as an apology we weren't charged for any of our add-ons, which was a very generous and kind thing to do especially because we weren't too bothered in the first place. It's this type of hospitality that left a lovely impression on me. 

124 Carlisle Street, St Kilda
Ph: 0481 394 403

Hours

Monday - Friday 7:30am-4:00pm

Saturday - Sunday 8:00am-4:00pm

Brothl - CBD

Joost Bakker's hardware street cafe Silo has been transformed into BROTHL - the cheekily named soup specialist that is pioneering the 'Zero Waste' philosophy in Melbourne. Brothl takes unwanted organic waste and transforms it into delicious nutrient rich food.

 BROTHL does this by using left over bones provided by Rockpool and Attica combined with rainwater from Monbulk and upcycle them into flavoursome broths, which are perfect for the winter season. On top of being tasty, the broths boast numerous health benefits which includes boosting your immune system, reducing joint pain and even promoting healthier skin and hair.

The 'Zero Waste' philosophy is extremely admirable and that philosophy translates into the entire restaurant as well. The furniture and decor is made from recycled materials, even the bowls are adorable recycled pots - a hipster's paradise. 

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However as much as I like the concept and decor of BROTHL, I was left a bit disappointed after my visit. My waitress at BROTHL must have misheard me and my beef broth was missing a few items including the brisket, which left my inner carnivore unsatisfied. Aside from that, the broth itself was flavorsome and just what I needed to combat the cold Melbourne weather.

I'll be making a second trip to BROTHL very soon to finally get a taste of their brisket and to try out their other broths too. If broths aren't your thing I hear they also do a great chick pea falafel.

But whether you're a hipster who's keen on doing your part for the environment or just wanting to try something different, BROTHL is definitely worth trying out. 

MON – SAT 10AM – 10PM

123 Hardware street, melbourne 3000

PH: 03 9600 0588

E-MAIL: BROTHL@BYJOOST.COM

duNORD - CBD

Originally just a bar serving up little Nordic snacks, duNORD is now a full fledged restaurant and bar.

The dimly lit restaurant/bar is perfect for those wanting to try something a little different or even just for after work drinks. The space itself channels typical Scandinavian style by keeping things simple with subdued colours and blonde wood furnishings.The Scandinavian influence is also present in the food with Chef Matti Fallon (formerly front of house at Touche Hombre & Mamasita) using Scandinavian flavours and ingredients, like juniper, lingonberry and elderflower to create his own unique and inventive menu. 

For starters, we had Ocean trout, dill oil, linseed and caraway crisp with butter milk followed by Swedish meatball croquettes topped with a lingonberry foam. Both starters were excellent, with lovely combinations of flavour and textures. 

For my main, I had duck in a chocolate, lingonberry and blood jus with stone potatoes and foraged leaves. The duck was perfectly pink on the inside and the jus complimented it nicely. The plating was very beautiful - the duck breast was plated amongst foraged leaves and stone potatoes, that resembled smooth pebbles upon the ground.

Our other main was Venison with cacao poached apples, smoked potato puree and sour leaves. The venison was cooked really well, it had a lovely char on the outside whilst the meat was ridiculously tender and melted in your mouth.

To accompany our mains, we had Charred cauliflower in soubise, horseradish and mustard foam. It was a gorgeous cauliflower covered in a rich, creamy sauce with a hint of horseradish and mustard for an exciting kick. A moreish but refined take on your average cauliflower and cheese.

Finally after our meal, we were ready to order dessert. To our delight, our wonderful waiter had informed us that our dessert had already been arranged. Fallon sent us out a very pretty Parsley parfait with pineapple and shortbread. The parsley flavour was very subtle and I loved the gorgeous shade of green. The textures of the dish were fantastic, the creamy parfait  paired well with the crisp and buttery short bread.

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My night at duNORD was excellent. The staff were so kind and attentive and the food is exciting. Fallon has done very well interpreting Scandinavian food into his own individual style without falling into the trap of being too Noma-esque. His creativity and generosity is enough reason to go back. I'm definitely looking forward to the spring Menu and seeing just what ingenious new creations Fallon will come up with. 

367 Little Bourke Street, Melbourne 

ph: (03) 9642 0052
www.dunord.com.au