The Tippler & Co.

This was a restaurant Helen and I discovered upon returning from our first Europe trip. Trip Advisor is the preferred review site overseas, so out of curiosity I looked up what the top Melbourne restaurant was on Trip Advisor. To our surprise, it was The Tippler & Co! We had never heard of this restaurant before, so we were very curious as to why The Tippler & Co. were rated so highly by our international and local visitors. We made an online booking and when we got there we realised that a booking wasn’t really necessary. This continued to be a common pattern even until today. Out of habit I still call up to make a booking every time just in case. If you’re someone that links how busy a restaurant is to the quality of their food, The Tippler & Co. will throw that theory out the window because their food is amazing!

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Pan Fried Gnocchi with sweet potato, sage burnt butter, lemon, pine nuts, goat’s chevre

The food is based on a sharing plate menu. They have a wide variety of vegetarian and non-vegetarian foods which will appeal to a wide range of people. The menu also changes regularly so we do get excited when something new is added (and equally get disappointed when a great dish is taken off). I can tell when a restaurant gets their food right when I really enjoy their vegetarian dishes. I’m usually the type that goes looking for meat in a dish but I actually look forward to the veggie dishes here. As a matter of fact, one of my favourite and long standing dishes here is the roasted cauliflower salad! It consists of cauliflower, green beans, pine nuts, goji berries, quinoa, and tahini yoghurt. This salad is just so appetizing and I love how they just lightly roast the cauliflower. I’ve lost count of the amount of times other places have charred the cauliflower. Everything just goes so well together and being so healthy makes me feel good too. That’s until I move onto the smoked chicken ribs! Oh these were so good we ordered another serving last time we were here. They have a nice woody and smokey flavour that’s been fully embedded into the meat, it’s topped off with a barbeque sauce glaze. These are guaranteed to make you want to lick your fingers!

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Their pan fried gnocchi is another stand out. Sage burnt butter with lemon forms the basis of this dish. How can any dish go wrong with these two ingredients together? It’s just not fair! Then sweet potato, pine nuts and little balls of goat cheese are added in. While you’re enjoying the perfectly cooked and fluffy gnocchi, the goat cheese just bursts in your mouth. As the goat cheese flavour mellows down, the sweetness of the potato takes over. The problem with a lot of gnocchi’s is that it can feel a bit heavy and bloated, no such problem here even with the goat cheese. Other dishes such as the spatchcock and the chunky beef & wild mushroom pie were also exceptional. And this is what The Tippler & Co. does so well, they just understand how food should taste. It’s never bland or overseasoned, they just hit the mark consistently and they do it so effortlessly. Their dishes remind me of some country style dishes. Whilst there are similarities with the taste and ingredients used, what I’m really thinking of is the way the food here makes me feel. The food here gives me this warm and fuzzy feeling, the same feeling I get when I’m having hearty country style dishes.

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Chunky beef & wild mushroom pie – smoky cheddar scone, roast tomato ketchup

Now the big question on your mind right now is probably… price? Well it’s our go to place to take our friends because the prices here are really reasonable! The last thing we want is to make anyone feel uncomfortable with high food prices. The smaller items such as the roasted cauliflower salad and smoked chicken ribs are around the $10 mark, and the larger meals such as the pan fried gnocchi, pie and spatchcock are in the low $20 price range. Excellent value considering all the dishes come in very decent portions.

The service has always been excellent at The Tippler & Co. They seem to really enjoy their jobs and it shows in their level of service. They are attentive and also break down the waiting staff / customer barrier. My impressions of them are that they are honest and down to earth. If we over order they will be the first to let us know. Their menu knowledge is also impeccable and can pretty much answer any questions you may throw at them. All while still making the effort to come and have a chat with us about a wide range of topics. This is the service I feel most comfortable with and I really appreciate their efforts. One minor disadvantage of The Tippler & Co. is probably the location, it’s situated in East Melbourne and therefore a little far away from the CBD walking wise. However there is a bar here serving a wide range of spirits and beers which should make for a pretty good night! A part of me doesn’t want to give away this hidden gem of a restaurant, well what can I say, guess I’m just a generous person. Do give The Tippler & Co. a try and I’m sure they’ll fulfill your heart with warm and lovely foods.

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Ginger and date pudding – salted butter caramel and fried ice cream

The Tippler & Co.
Approx $35 AUD per person
Website: www.thetipplerandco.com
58 Wellington Parade, East Melbourne, VIC 3002
Phone:+61 3 9416 0618

The Tippler & Co. Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Fine dining in Prague

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When we were in the beautiful city of Prague a few months ago, we had the pleasure of dining at one of their Michelin star restaurants, Alcron.  There are only two Michellin star restaurants in Prague, both having been awarded a Michellin star each so we felt really lucky to be able to secure a booking at one of them.

Alcron is located in the Radisson Blu Alcron Hotel and is furnished beautifully with art decor and a fireplace from the 1930s. There are only 24 seats so not only did we feel lucky to get a booking, but as soon as you walk in, there is a real intimate and personal feel to the whole place.

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The staff were very welcoming, warm and friendly. They provided us with menus and explained that we were able to choose and create our own set menu ranging from 3 courses, 4 courses or 5 courses from their a la carte selection.  They were so flexible and were happy for us to choose whatever dishes we wanted to make up our courses and also suggested that we could order a few dishes first before we decided on the next dishes, or even stop if we were feeling too full. They were also very open to talking through the menu. Of course we decided to go all out and went with their 5 courses!

Alcron Collage

The food that came out absolutely blew us away. The restaurant aims to use the freshest ingredients and to perfect all their dishes. We were in awe of not only the quality of the food and combination of ingredients but the presentation of each dish, which were all like pieces of artwork.

Some of the highlighted dishes captured above include the tuna sashmi with tapioca, daikon and parsley mayonaise, the organic goats’ cheese with baked leeks and beets which tasted so heavenly, the marinated Scottish salmon in dark rum with tabouleh and ginger infusion, and the lobster bisque with sweet corn and poached egg yolk. The lobster bisque was rich in lobster flavour, and the poached egg yolk gave it a creamy dimension. It was definitely one of the highlight dishes of the night.

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The US-prime beef fillet and shoulder was complimented with a miso glaze and jasmine tea smoked potato puree. This was also a dish we really enjoyed as we found that the smoked potato puree went really well with the beef fillet. The combination of ingredients was exceptional.

Oh and have I mentioned the bread and butter? We had never come across a restaurant that offered such an extensive array of flavours. We had 9 different varieties of bread and 4 different kinds of butter to choose from. Some of the bread choices include pumpkin seed, green olive, black olive, onion, tomato, and the list goes on. Had we not been served their other dishes, we would have been happy eating just the bread and butter for dinner because it was so good!

We were so full from all the dishes that we had to settle for a very light dessert. We were really disappointed that we couldn’t fit their special ‘dessert painting’, which we could see another table thoroughly enjoying. This dessert painting was prepared right in front of them and the end result looked like something from an art gallery.

After trying numerous restaurants around the world, we came to the conclusion that this was the best 1 Michelin star restaurant we had dined at. The quality of the food in comparison to the price was unmatched. The dishes showed amazing cooking techniques and the presentation really wowed us from all aspects. We were also really impressed with the attentive and personalised service. I highly recommend Alcron to anyone visiting Prague!

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Alcron Restaurant
Approx 1500 CZK / $85 AUD per person (excluding wine)
Website: www.alcron.cz/en
Radisson Blu Alcron Hotel, Štěpánská 40,, Nové Město, Nové Město, Praha 1
Phone: +420 222820000

Restaurace Alcron - Radisson Blu Alcron Hotel Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Delicious Afghan Feast

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We discovered how scrumptious and delicious Afghan food was a few years ago when we decided to visit the Afghan town of Dandenong, where there are an abundance of Afghan restaurants to choose from. Ever since we had our first taste, we’ve never looked back!  So I wanted to share one of my recommended restaurants to go to if you are ever in town or wish to try out the cuisine.

Pamir Restaurant, which is located in the heart of Dandenong on Lonsdale Street serves up authentic and hearty dishes of Afghan food. On arrival, the entrance is narrow and leads you upstairs to their open and spacious restaurant. Once you enter you’ll notice the beautiful and extravagant decor and surroundings. The furniture is handcrafted with solid wood and complimented with Afghan artwork and decorations throughout. Staff are very welcoming and friendly and like to check in and make sure you are happy with everything.

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On this occasion we ordered one of their banquet specials which was $35 AU per head and included a bit of everything. It  came with steam cooked mantu, Afghani traditional rice, chicken and lamb kebab skewers, meatball Kofta, salad, dips and bread. All the dishes were amazing but the chicken kebab skewers in particular were to die for – the chicken itself was so super soft and tender. I also really enjoyed the Afghani rice here, the sweetness of the cranberries made it really appetizing.

The steamed mantu which are like Afghan dumplings with minced meat are also always a hit. Served with yoghurt, they tasted like soft, fluffy pillows, bursting with flavour. And of course I loved snacking away on the dips and warm bread which was probably why I felt so stuffed in the end but I couldn’t stop!

Overall, all the dishes were exceptional and we are always so full after an Afghan meal because they are ever so generous with their servings. As previously mentioned, the staff are all so friendly too which makes the whole experience worthwhile. I highly recommend checking it out as they never seem to disappoint us!

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Pamir Restaurant
Approx $40 AUD per person
Website: www.pamirrestaurant.com.au
195 Lonsdale Street, Dandenong VIC 3175
Phone:+61 3 9792 0197

Pamir Restaurant Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato