Happy Easter All
We will be trading as normal throughout the Easter period with a bit of a sleep in on Good Friday opening at 8:30am. Our hours are:
Good Friday: 8:30am till 2:30 ish
Easter Saturday: 7:30am till 3pm
Easter Sunday: 7:30am till 3pm
Easter Monday: Closed as usual
Easter Tuesday: Closed as usual
What is this Fūl medammis you may ask? This is the story behind this weeks menu addition:
Egyptian style slow cooked fava beans, fried egg, lemon, parsley, olive oil, cumin, sourdough
During the day, bath-attendants stoked the fires heating the qidras, huge pots of bath water. Wood was scarce, so garbage was used as fuel and eventually a dump grew around the baths.When the baths closed, the red embers of the fires continued to burn. To take advantage of these precious fires, huge qidras were filled with fava beans, and these cauldrons were kept simmering all night, and eventually all day too, to provide breakfast for Cairo’s population.
I find it interesting that in the middle ages people lived their lives around the production of these food staples and it ends up on a plate in South Melbourne in our convenient times.It has taken so long. They would have really benefited from twitter and facebook.
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For this week the “classic” dish is Coconut Pancakes with Passionfruit curd and fresh berries.The coconut pancakes tick all the boxes, light, flavoursome with a curd that is to die for.
We were pleased to hear our food blog, described by one of our esteemed customers as “food porn”. That’s right you know who you are…………..When the meal looks great and is fulfilling what more could you ask for.
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An increasing amount of people these days are being diagnosed as gluten or fructose intolerant among other health concerns. Where we can we like to offer a flavoursome and appropriate alternative, this is a great option.
We are now serving Dench’s bread as one of your gluten free alternatives.We have been trialling this for a few weeks and are excited to put this on the menu.
One of our taste testers described the bread as “a crunchy crust with a really nice flavour”.
Below is the list of the ingredients, which one would think as a bonus, are all quite healthy for you.
MMMMMMMmmmmmmmmmmm Harissa. We have adapted the North African spicy spread, added a dollop of mayo and served it with fried eggs on Dench sourdough, a tomato and spanish onion salsa to balance out the flavours to leave you licking the plate. Anyone caught doing this receives a free coffee 
You may order with a side of smoky Istra bacon if you so desire.
To make the Harissa, the garlic, capsicum and chillies are roasted in the oven for about 20 mins. The roasted garlic permeates the kitchen always making me extremely hungry. To make things even more tempting the cumin is toasted, (thats it I want some now) and added with passata, olive oil and seasoning to be blended to a smooth spreadable consistency. We have made the perfect amount of Harissa, so as, for the next week the folks in the kitchen will be having all things harissa. Harissa sandwiches, harissa eggs, harissa toasties , with flathead, prawns………..It reminds me of that scene in Forest Gump, shrimp cocktail, shrimp stew, shrimp salad…….. Its terrible the depths we have to go to to make great food for you. (i think this is were I insert LOL or so I am told).
And a pic for the Carnivores.
Last week we sold out of Ham Roesti stacks , so we have extended this Q11 classic for another week.
Hey guys don’t forget to MAKE YOUR BOOKING for Grand Prix weekend so as to guarantee your table. No waiting just walk in.
Your menu addition this week is:
Braised Mushrooms, French butter, fresh herbs, garlic, ciabatta
As for the mushrooms there is a selection of field, enoki and oyster. They have been braised in French Butter, a dash of red wine vinegar, heaps of fresh tarragon, parsley and lemon thyme, lemon zest. Simple flavours with heaps of buttery goodness.
Ham Roesti stack, Kassler ham, quinoa and potato roesti, balsamic roasted tomato, spinach and onion relish.
One thing stands out when you look at the presentation of this dish is the stack, remember the time when everything was stacked, eggplant springs to mind.We have had a lot of requests for this one to come back on the menu.
It’s a dish with some great stand alone items, balsamic roasted tomatoes, the quinoa roesti, the perfectly poached egg and the Kassler Ham. You cannot go wrong when it comes to Istra products, full of Salty goodness.Once you start eating and the flavours combine, the egg breaks and drizzles on to the Kassler, slightly smashes the crispy fried roesti and combines with the onion relish. Delicious.
And by default the dish is gluten free.
Inspirational Food Video
Check this video The Journey of a dish, from the Royal Mail Hotel, Dunkeld.
This is inspirational stuff. Taking food to the upper limits Australia has not seen before. It takes you through the stages from paddock to plate.
MOROCCAN STYLE MEATBALLS, SPICY TOMATO PASSATA,
A POACHED EGG, GARLIC BRUSCHETTA
Another brekkie menu addition for you guys this week.
Moroccan inspired beef meatballs sitting in spicy tomato sauce. We have broken protocol and purchased our Passata from the NEW PASTA SHOP at shop 22 Sth Melbourne market, check it out when you are here.We have had some amazing pasta during the week, fresh sweet potato, leek and goats cheese ravioli, the filling as soft as the dough.
Back to the sauce, we have adapted the passata with olive oil, Moroccan spices and fresh herbs, finished with a poached egg and grilled Ciabatta bread with a hint of garlic oil, just for mopping up that passata.
And of course the Bircher has made it onto the menu this week.
See you all on the weekend.
On occasion for a menu addition we will be going through the vault of recipes and pulling out your classic favourite meals you have enjoyed over the years. A bit like a greatest hits but new and improved.If you have any requests you remember please post them below. This weeks is:
CAULIFLOWER FRITTERS, POACHED EGG, SPICED YOGHURT, ASPARAGUS, DUKKAH
We have just put together a batch of fritters ready to go.The cauliflower is blanched and crumbled through a mix of lemon zest,parsley,spring onions, peas and fresh sour dough crumbs. 
This mix is bound by egg yolks and has the whites folded through.
The fritters are pan fried, really light, great for mopping up the spiced yoghurt and dukkah on the base of the plate. Fingers are very handy to finish the job.
The rest of the description speaks for itself, delicious.
Poached egg, Dench grain sourdough,Istra chorizo,Dutch cream potato, Meredith goats cheese, smoky red wine vinegar dressing
This dish could be described as a bruschetta I guess. The Istra chorizo has been pan fried releasing all the oils and flavour, to be picked up by the Dutch creams in the pan. This is added to the Meredith goats cheese, some fresh parsley and lemon, ala warm salad. Served on sourdough, a poached egg, and drizzled with a smoky paprika, tomato and red wine vinegar dressing to bring all the flavours together.
And everyone’s enthusiasm for the bircher will not go unrewarded for another week.