More miso please

On Hardware Street, lives a place whose name represents a 'convenient lunchbox' in the Japanese culture. They go by the name Bentoya and lucky for us they don't only do lunch, but they are open for dinner too!

On a cold Wednesday night, a group of us indulged in an 8 course Izakaya Banquet to celebrate getting through 'hump day' (one step closer to the weekend!). This banquet brings the group together with the art of sharing, by allowing you to sample a variety of flavours that the Japanese cuisine has to offer - including the perfect, light start of edamame.

Every course that came out provided a unique experience, with different flavours to entertain the pallet as we journeyed through the banquet. While the presentation made even the simplest of dishes appealing to the eye, making us eager to dig in!

 

Although each dish held such individual flavours, my favourite of the night would have to be the miso fish hotpot. With fresh greens and fish so tender it melted in your mouth, this certainly made the perfect spoonful to warm up on a cold Winter's night.

This is only a small establishment and with the crowd I sat among on a Wednesday night, I would imagine that weekends get quite full - so I would suggest making a booking.

I am certainly looking forward to heading back for some more miso to warm me up during the many cold nights to come.

Top Paddock

I can never resist a post about my favourite mealtime of the day and this time my brunch adventure lead me to Richmond. Just over Church Street Bridge, is a corner cafe where the natural sunlight is plentiful and the chairs on the decking are creatively designed from recycled street signs. My brunch hot spot for the long weekend is Top Paddock.

As a friend recently became a resident to the area, we thought we'd take advantage of the rare sunshine in the Winter, by going for a walk to this fairly new establishment.

Unsure whether leaving our brunch date until later than planned would dampen our chances of getting a table... we were pleased to find that upon arrival we were seated immediately, due to the attentive staff and the team's strategic plan to cater for large weekend crowds. This cafe was larger than I expected and gladly so, as it meant no long waits for the deliciousness that lay ahead.

We sat outside on the decking where we could enjoy the fresh breeze and greenery of the street, while pondering over the many tasty options on the menu.

As I can never seem to resist poached eggs on my brunch plate, I went for the establishment's self-titled meal 'Top Paddock' which included their house made sausage which melts in your mouth... especially in combination with the relish! My friend went for a sweeter option, choosing the ginger bread with roasted blood plums and chocolate mascarpone (basically heaven on a plate!).

I left with a very full and satisfied appetite and as we enjoyed the walk home, we both agreed that this place deserved many more visits for future brunch dates!