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.

Saint Crispin - Collingwood

Scott Picket and Joe Grbac, combined their impressive restaurant backgrounds and have partnered up to open the restaurant and kitchen they've always wanted. 

At St Crispin it's all about beautiful plates and seasonal ingredients. The menu is comprised of elegant and bold flavours at good value with 2 courses for $50, 3 courses for & 60 and a 7 course chef degustation for $120. If you're lucky they might test some new desserts on you, like the banana souffle I had. 

I always enjoy sitting at the bar. There I can sip on some refreshing cocktails whilst I watch all the action in the kitchen where chefs are serving up some succulent Bannockburn chicken or fresh yellowfin tuna with watermelon and caramelised yuzu. 

A noteworthy dish is their wild mushroom dish with slippery jacks, a hen's egg, wild rise and parmesan. An absolutely luxurious and flavourful creation and undeniable  proof that vegetarian food can taste good. 

You can also go upstairs to their bar, Thomas and Olive for some liquor and snacks.

Northern Light - Collingwood

Northern light is a recently opened bar and eatery that is quickly becoming a new favourite on Smith street.

Adam Liston, co-owner and head chef was influenced by his time in Shanghai and has created a constantly evolving menu with Japanese, Korean and Chinese influences. 

Having fresh sashimi, succulent wagyu and grilled scampi being a few of its many offerings, I found myself ordering practically everything on the menu. Every dish is an ingenious embodiment of Asian street food flavours with just the right amount of finesse, but any chef that shares my love for Asian food and mayonnaise has already stolen my heart.

All the food is designed to be shared in the laid back atmosphere with exposed brick and mahogany surroundings, where one can knock back a few Sapporos whilst snacking on some bincho tan grilled skewers.

Make sure there's room for dessert though. Northern light's notorious ice cream sandwich was without a doubt amazing. A revelation that apparently took the chef several years to perfect. The bitterness of the dark chocolate biscuit with gooey caramel and green tea ice cream was a well balanced and heavenly combination of flavours, simply a must try

Storm in a Teacup - Collingwood

Storm in a Teacup is the baby of Sarah Cowell former tea sommelier at Vue de Monde, whom I had the pleasure of meeting when I had dinner there. Her tea knowledge and passion is inspirational and I am glad she could share her love of tea with all of Melbourne now.

Basically Storm in a Teacup is a Tea bar, so they are a bar but specialize in brewing tea as well. A place like this was a heaven sent for me, there are very few places in Melbourne that do their tea justice. Most 'tea drinkers' are happy sipping from a teapot crammed with too many leaves, filled with boiling water, steeping for much too long. At Storm in a Teacup, no matter which tea you select from their extensive list, you can be sure that the tea you are drinking is brewed with the utmost respect and care. The water temperature is perfect, the steeping time is exact and the ratio of tea and leaves is well balanced.

photo courtesy of: http://storminateacup.com.au

In simpler words, they do tea RIGHT.

They also do some pretty damn good cocktails as well. ;)

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I, of course could not resist their little food menu. I shared a charcuterie board and a vegie smash plate with my friend. Charcuterie boards are always great but what surprised me was the vegie smash. I really really enjoyed the flavours; there was an eggplant, beetroot and pumpkin vegie smash. Just really good simple flavours that I polished off in no time. All the staff are very knowledgeable and friendly so they can really help you decide on a tea as well as tempt you to try their selection of cakes.

They're always baking something new so pop in and have a look. 

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If you're a true lover of tea, you'll love this place. It's just amazing that a place like this has opened, it's a reflection of Melbourne's growing tea community and the recognition of tea's importance in culinary society. 

I sincerely hope you guys check this place out, it's doing some great things.

Address:  

  48A Smith Street

  Collingwood, Vic. 3066

Telephone: (03) 9415 9593