KOI Dessert Bar

by Helen Le

When we heard that Reynold Poernomo from Masterchef was opening a pop up stall of his KOI Dessert Bar in Melbourne for just 3 months, we knew we had to check it out. His desserts have always looked amazing and now was our chance to finally try them!

Located in the HWKR Food Centre in the Melbourne CBD, along with a number of other pop up stalls, KOI provides a dessert menu you can order from until sold out. In addition they also have pre-made dessert delights behind a glass window.

We opted to order the Mr Grey on the menu which had French earl grey cremeux with strawberry white chocolate, yuzu, yoghurt sorbet, lychee and mint. The dessert was presented beautifully and I loved the earl grey flavours that came out from it. The sorbet and fruit made it really refreshing.

We also ordered one of the desserts behind the glass which was the Berry Cheesecake. This had almond sable, lemon cream cheese mousse, blueberry myrtle coulis and baked lemon cheesecake. It was such a pretty dish and the lemon cream cheese mousse was so soft and creamy.

Overall it was a good experience, we probably enjoyed the dessert prepared from the menu more than the pre-made desserts but of course you would expect the dishes on the menu to be better. The service was also really good and staff were friendly and efficient. They asked us how the desserts were when they cleared our tables away and were very open to feedback.

So if you’re interested in checking out the pop up stall, make sure you go soon before they leave on 30 April 2018!

KOI Dessert Bar
Pop up stall until 30 April 2018
Approx $15 AUD per person
Address: HWKR – 137 A’Beckett St, Melbourne VIC 3000
Phone: +61 3 9018 7135
Website: koidessertbar.com.au

KOI Dessert Bar Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Twenty Pho Seven

by Helen Le

We were recently invited to dine at Twenty Pho Seven located on Russell St in the CBD. Yes you read right! It’s a play on words for a twenty four seven pho place! For those of you who may not know what pho is, it is a Vietnamese bowl of soup noodles. Being Vietnamese myself, I have had many bowls of pho in my lifetime, through my family cooking it up at home, at authentic local Vietnamese restaurants, and even in Vietnam when I went on a family trip many years ago. So it’s safe to say that I had high expectations on the pho at this place!

Our first observation when we arrived outside was that it was a perfect location for a 24 hour restaurant. It was in the heart of it all and I could really see people showing up in the wee early hours of the morning after a night out partying in the city for a hearty bowl of pho for the soul. It provides a great alternative to greasy fast food. Why wouldn’t anyone want some soup noodles to cure a hangover? We also loved that on the feature wall, there was Bruce Lee holding a bowl of pho.

We were warmly greeted by Taeeun who provided us with some menus and talked us through the options. We started off with a couple of cocktail bubble cups. I ordered the Whisky Business and Davin ordered the Good Morning Vietnam. I’ve always loved whisky sours but this one was probably more on the very sour side. The Good Morning Vietnam cocktail however was really good! It was a unique take on the traditional Vietnamese coffee and we loved it.

For entrees we ordered the Bo la lot Beef Skewers which is beef in betel leaf skewers served with nuts and nuoc mam sauce. This was super tasty! The beef was flavoured really well. We also got the Nem Nuong rice paper rolls. The rice paper rolls were huge and the ingredients were really fresh. The Nem Nuong was not salty at all which can often be the case.

Our highlight entree dish however was the Hanoi honey glazed fried chicken. Oh. My. Gosh. It was SO good! They came out piping hot, the skin was super crispy and yet the chicken was so moist inside. In fact when I took a bite, I think some of the moisture from the chicken dribbled out onto the table. Oops. The flavours were also spot on, it was sweet, tangy and really appetising.

For mains I of course had to order my usual pho of choice which was also their best seller, pho with sliced beef. Given I had already ordered pho, Davin decided to opt for the Bun Bo Hue which is a spicy noodle soup. The bun bo hue was probably not as flavoured as the soup base tasted a bit watered down. However the pho was really good. The soup base of the pho was flavoured really well and I loved that they provided extra pickled onions on the table. My only comment was that the sliced beef was more on the tough side, ordinarily we love our beef on the rarer side. However other than that it was a pretty decent bowl of pho!

Overall it was a great experience and a place we would definitely come back again when we’re in the CBD and craving those deliciously fried chicken wings and a hearty bowl of pho!


Twenty Pho Seven
Approx $30 AUD per person
Address: 138 Russell St, Melbourne VIC 3000
Phone: +61 3 9654 2024
Website: twentyphoseven.com.au

Twenty Pho Seven Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Whisky & Alement

by Davin Lee

Bringing you guys something a little different today…. a whisky bar review! I had been coming to Whisky & Alement for a number of years now, even back to when they were called ‘Chez Regine’. Whisky & Alement have really expanded their whisky range throughout the years, and have always been one of the go to places in Melbourne for one’s malt addiction.

It’s an intimate affair inside Whisky & Alement. It’s a small space with close and limited seating. The chances of getting a seat is higher if you come in a small group, be prepared to wait or get relegated to the smokers area if you come with a bigger group. I’ve made this mistake before, and this made me feel quite claustrophobic. Luckily on this particular occasion, it was just myself and Helen so we were able to get a spot at the bar straight away.

Their whisky range here is massive, and can be very overwhelming. Most whisky drinkers will have a country and region which they prefer, and their menu does cater for this in order to make your selection easier. Anyone that’s new to the game can ask the bartender to recommend a single malt and they’ll be more than happy to pass on their recommendations. I’ve been drinking scotch whisky for over 6 years but I still consider myself a beginner, I have a certain flavour profile which I love and stick to. I prefer peat monsters from Islay, Scotland.

Peat is not to be mistaken with smokey. I would describe the flavour of peat as more of an earthy, soil, decaying vegetation taste. Smokey is like what you’d smell/taste from a burning campfire. Doesn’t sound very appetising does it? Well I can tell you the peaty flavour profile is highly addictive, ever since Helen had started appreciating peaty whiskies, my collection at home has vanished!

On this particular occasion, the drink of choice was Bowmore 15 and Ardbeg Corryvreckan. The dark green Ardbeg bottle always gets me excited, it sends out a message ‘don’t mess with me’, but you gotta live life dangerously sometimes! True to it’s word, when I nosed the Ardbeg, it smacked me in the face! The 57.1% alcohol content is no joke, certainly not for the faint-hearted. I had to put a few drops of water in to tone the beast down, only then was I rewarded. The taste of peat was prominent, along with hints of salt, smoke, and pepper. As good as it was, I personally preferred the Ardbeg Uigeadail, one of my favourite whiskeys of all time. We both didn’t enjoy the Bowmore 15 at all, it was pleasant enough on entry but then it hits you with a strong smokey bitter aftertaste. You win some, you lose some, that’s the beauty of trying whisky at a place like Whisky & Alement, it saves you money from buying a whole bottle!

Overall it was a peaceful Sunday afternoon… you guys may gasp at us for drinking at this time of day, but we would rarely have more than one shot each when we’re at a whisky bar. We drink it really slowly and appreciate every sip, because the intention is not to get drunk, but to enjoy the moment so to speak. The bartenders here are professional as always, they will not bother you if you don’t want to be bothered, but they’ll always welcome whisky talk if you wish to head down that path. I will finish up with a word of caution: the alcohol content is really high in whisky, so make sure you find appropriate transport home if you choose to have more than one shot. Happy whisking!

Whisky & Alement
Approx $20 AUD per person
Address: 270 Russell Street, Melbourne VIC 3000
Phone: +61 3 9654 1284
Website: whiskyandale.com.au

Whisky and Alement Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato