Muddings Bakery, Glen Waverley MELB

I have a habit of buying cakes from a different bakery each time I am in charge of getting a cake. Call it curiousity if you may, but it can be a rewarding experience if one is lucky to find a hidden gem.

Not saying that Muddings is a hidden gem as it has been in the suburb for some time and having stumbled upon it after a quick Google search, I wasted no time in booking in 2 cakes.

Strawberry cream cake - freshly prepared as the strawberry aroma was quite prominent here. Sponge was light, airy and certainly layered with a good serve of cream in between it's layers. The danger of this is having one too many slices considering how light it is.

Brandy snaps sponge cake layered with cream and lightly brushed with apricot jam - the lady who took my order convinced me to try this and yes, it lived up to my expectations. I love how both cakes were not sickeningly sweet and used fresh cream in the process, something uncommon these days.

Highly recommended cake shop! And price was reasonable too:)

 

New Jaffa, Collingwood MELB

Prior to relocating to Melbourne, I was very religiously in my food choices and often it would take a lot of effort to convince me to try another cuisine. It’s been almost 5 years since my arrival here and I dare say I’m a lot more adventurous and have a newfound love for middle eastern types of cuisines.

I’ve always been a fan of syrupy drenched floral scented desserts and soon after, I became obsessed with having my savoury dishes infused with aromatics, preferably generously jewelled with ruby red pomegranates or the much sought threads of saffron.

A rather impromptu (or greedy) decision brought me to a restaurant recommended by a friend in Collingwood. This may be one of the few times whereby I’d encourage anyone dining here to seat outdoors and admire the restaurant’s colourful glass decorations and lush greenery.

Hummus - As agreed with Faty, it is difficult to find a good plate of hummus in Melbourne ad hoc and so, we did not waste any when this got served on our table, paying attention to lapping the plate clean with bread.

Braised beef cheeks - ticked all the right boxes for a good piece of braised meat. Not a big fan of the parsley salad that it came with but did enjoy the dish nonetheless.

Lamb and beef kebabs with green tahini and harissa - prepared medium rare and albeit generous in terms of size, I do think the dish can be improved by serving it in smaller sized portions which also meant that there is a higher meat surface area in contact with the other aromatics on the plate.

Cauliflower - Am obsessed with this method of preparing cauliflowers and loved the addition of runny egg yolk to combine everything together. Middle eastern spiced vegan mayo had a nice subtle flavour to it which paired with the cauliflower really well.

Kanafeh - kadaif noodles with ricotta, homemade halva, rose water syrup and pistachios. Amazingly delicious and one that I’d recommend. Not overly sweet and noodle pieces were still crispy despite the syrup coating.