December 30, 2010: LuxBite

On one of the more temperate days of our week off, Michael and I cycled over to the new dessert cafe, LuxBite, at South Yarra. They'd only been open a couple of weeks but already been covered by several food bloggers (see links below).  This might be explained by the pedigree of the chefs involved, their smart online engagement and/or the tendencies of Melbourne's food bloggers to pounce on anything new!  And their speciality is macarons, the dessert fad of 2010.  We were more impressed that they were open in the quiet Christmas-to-New-Year period, said so clearly on their website, and that they sent us a friendly tweet with their opening hours after we'd mentioned them on twitter.  LuxBite's web presence is off to a good start.

Their in-store presence was equally welcoming.  With only a few customers to serve at that time, the staff were generous with their attention, giving us a mini-tour of their display cases and modus operandi.  (It's possible they made a special effort for us after our twitter exchange, although none of us referred to it specifically.)

The neat rows of macarons next to the register are LuxBite's drawcard; they nominate their kaya toast one as their signature flavour.  Actually, Michael and I were more interested in their eat-in desserts.  The staff make whatever takes their fancy each morning so the selection is a lottery for us customers, with diminishing returns as the day goes on and the desserts sell out.

The apple crumble (pictured above) looked very much like Michael's kinda thing.  And it was a fine rendition - two parts gently spiced apple, two parts thick custard cream, one part sweet crunchy topping.

The mangos had arrived over-ripe that morning, we were told, so their mango and passionfruit pavlova was being served in a glass instead of in its usual spectacular manner.  Thankfully this layering didn't seem to adversely affect the textures - meringue, mango, passionfruit cream and flaked almonds all held their own.  We liked the controversial addition of a few coriander leaf slivers.

We're really not macaron connoisseurs (though we were privileged to sample some of Duncan's specimens at early food blogger get-togethers) but it seemed silly not to try the menu item that these chefs were most proud of.  We took a few home and enjoyed them very much.

But it's not the macarons we'll return for.  Nor is it the shop fit-out, the neighbourhood or the urban groove soundtrack.  It's the daily dessert rotation and the friendly service that will definitely lure us across the river again.  And I reckon they'll be luring a lot more customers besides in the coming months.

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Luxbite has already appeared on the blogs bellygood, 12 onions, the indolent cook, and Mmmm, Sugar.

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LuxBite
38 Toorak Rd, South Yarra
9867 5888
Unlicensed
desserts ~$3-12
www.luxbite.com.au

December 29, 2010: Sesame waffles + kaya

I've had a jar of kaya in the cupboard for a little while now.  I kept putting off opening it until I had a really good idea for how to use it.  Last month I got it into my head that the kaya was meant for waffles and mused for some time over complementary waffle flavours.  Eventually I decided that tahini might make a pleasing and slightly bitter foil for the sweet, sweet jam.

I whisked a few tablespoons of tahini in my standard (vegan) waffle batter and a few tablespoons more of black sesame seeds.  They didn't impart much extra flavour to the waffles but this was probably for the best; the kaya was much richer than I remembered and any more oily tahini would probably not have improved matters.

I confirmed one thing though - kaya is perfect on waffles!

(Any other ideas for a kaya-friendly waffle flavour?)

December 28, 2010: Chilli-sugared pineapple

Check it out - we have a blowtorch!  This was a birthday gift from K and Toby, and in the picture above Michael's using it to blast another birthday gift, coconut sugar from Steph.  (Steph has written a little more about coconut sugar on her blog.)

Since I first tasted pineapple and chilli together in Veganomicon's quinoa stir-fry, I've been keen to combine them in a dessert.  The aim here was to sprinkle finely chopped red chilli and the coconut sugar on fresh pineapple slices, then torch the sugar until it became a crispy caramel, topping it all with coconut icecream. This we did, though the effect wasn't quite as I'd hoped.  I think we need more chilli, more sugar, and possibly more patience next time.

December 28, 2010: Tortillas

When Michael made his arepas with the wrong kind of masa harina, Anna pointed out that he'd bought the right kind of masa harina for tortillas!  So we flipped to the homemade soft corn tortillas recipe in Viva Vegan and had a go.  Making the dough couldn't be easier - stir together masa harina, salt and water - but rolling and frying the tortillas caused some initial frustration.  Sandwiching a dough blob between two sheets of baking paper, it wasn't too difficult to roll a reasonably circular tortilla.  The challenge was prising it off the paper and landing it, unwrinkled, in the hot frypan.  I botched and cursed over quite a few dough balls, scraping them off the pan and re-rolling (and re-re-rolling) them.

Eventually I figured out that I was probably trying to roll my tortillas far too thinly and I had more success when I allowed them to be a couple of solid millimetres thick.  They didn't look too fancy but they were mighty satisfying to eat - nothing like the wheat-based ones that Old El Paso churns out, and perhaps even better than the near-authentic ones I've eaten at a few local restaurants.  But that might just be the pride talking.

After I posted a little tortilla-rolling grumble on twitter, nerdfish offered me this advice within seconds:

1. "you can use a heavy frypan to press them. Apparently a ziploc bag cut into squares > baking paper for pressing."
2. "you also want to knead the dough for a few turns - I find it makes it less prone to tearing. I also advocate tenting..."
3. "... freshly cooked tortillas in foil, it softens them nicely."
4. "I find the recipe on the back of the bag is waaay to damp for tortillas. And pressing makes all the difference!"

Lady knows her home-made tortillas!  These tips were a good fit for the hassles I'd had and were all the encouragement I needed to borrow a tortilla press and invite five friends over for a taco lunch a few days later.

December 28, 2010: A day in Dandenong

On the advice of our friend Erin we ventured out to Dandenong on one of our recent summer days off. She's vegetarian and has spent some time working in the neighbourhood so she had the expertise to map out the eating and shopping that would most interest us.

We strolled through Dandenong's Little India and spotted a couple of Fijian grocers on our way from the train station to Lonsdale street, but made our first stop at A1 Bakery.  Here, Erin advised, we should try the za'atar bread with salad and a non-alcoholic beer.  Sadly they were out of salad - which apparently includes some delectable pickles! - and our za'atar bread ($1.20) was comparable to the ones we've bought closer to home. The apple-flavoured 'beer' ($2) was more like a soda in flavour, and a great pair for the bread regardless.

A1 Bakery also stocks a range of Middle Eastern groceries - I was excited to discover and purchase a bag of Persian dried limes.

Our next stop was Aarththi Supermarket, where the convenience store-style entry gave way to shelves of Indian groceries.  We replenished our supplies of pickle and spices as well as picking up a small pouch of tandoori faux-chicken.  Savers then swallowed us whole; we emerged, dazed, more than an hour later with a handful of becoming garments for Michael.

We ate lunch proper at Lakshmi Vilas Vegetarian Cuisine.  This unassuming cafe is tucked away just behind the main street and offers a menu of Indian snacks, dosai, rice and thali plates.  In a reversal of our usual orders, Michael gobbled down a masala ghee dosa ($7) while I went the whole hog with a special thali ($9.50).  The three curries were terrific, including an unusual potato concoction, and the pappadum and chapathi were most memorable for their freshness and perfect texture.  I could barely touch the sambar and rasam - boy, were they hot!  Michael happily poured them over his dosa, while I 'borrowed' his coconut chutney.  Dessert was a new one for me - a small tub of thin noodles in a very sweet saffron milk (perhaps it was kheer or pheerni?).

We continued to collect Indian groceries at the enormous MKS Spices'n'Things, occasionally distracted (along with most of the staff and customers!) by the fall of several Australian wickets broadcast on their large screens.

Late in the day, and a public holiday at that, we gave up on any further op-shopping and made our way back to the train station with a short stopover at the Punjab Sweet Centre.  With a large display case full of treats costing just $1-$1.50 each I struggled to choose just two, though it was ultimately for the best.  They were both one-dimensional in their sweetness, lacking the hint of rosewater, saffron, cardamom or pistachios that I enjoy most in Indian sweets.  There are a few other sweet spots in the neighbourhood so I'll happily shop around for my sugar fix in future.

Our half-day tour of Dandenong was just the thing to amuse us on an obligation-free summer day.  We know this suburb has more still to offer and we're keen to return when a few more op-shops are open.  Please drop us a comment if you have other Dandenong delights to recommend!

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Check out another blogger's DIY Dandenong tour on Bear Head Soup.  A1 Bakery has appeared on I Eat Therefore I Am, while Lakshmi Vilas is blogged at The Yembire Strikes Back and In The Mood For Noodles.

A1 Bakery
201 Lonsdale St, Dandenong
9794 9500

Aarththi Supermarket
243 Lonsdale St, Dandenong
9794 8931

Lakshmi Vilas Vegetarian Cuisine
5/31 Putney St, Dandenong
9793 7726

MKS Spices'n'Things
23 Putney St, Dandenong
9701 3165
www.mks.net.au

Punjab Sweet Centre
2B Mason St, Dandenong
9792 1694