I love Melbourne, Especially Movida

We spent our last night in Melbourne at Movida , the best Spanish Restaurant in the country according to Australian Gourmet magazine.  It requires a bit of booking ahead but we were lucky and got a table within a couple of days. It was much too dark to take any photos but I have a photo from opposite the front entrance.  Melbourne is full of lots of little lanes  where we discovered interesting little bars and cafés to stop for coffee or wine.  The lanes also have some interesting graffiti art and this was one of my favourites outside Movida.

We chose to share a selection of different dishes.  My Mother had flown over from Perth to spend the week with us and it seemed a good way to introduce her to the  many tastes of Spain.  Check out the menu here.   Naturally we had the Iberico Jamon , Morcilla and Pulpo. I have one complaint - the Churros . They were great but the dipping sauce was not up to standard. The chocolate taste was over shadowed by the cornflour used as a thickener. A couple of days earlier we had shared a plate of churros with some friends in Ackland Street at an ordinary little Mexican restaurant - the dipping sauce was pure melted chocolate.

Our other memorable meal was at Hako . It took us a little while to find this place.  Stephanie had recommended the restaurant to me but it has moved since then. I sensed my mother and Bryan getting a bit cross as I insisted I had come this far and today I wasn't going to lunch anywhere else but Hako. We eventually found it at its new address 310 Flinders Lane.  Look out for a review in the Melbourne Age  in December - they were taking photos for the article when we arrived. The only decent photo I have taken here is of my mother having her first taste of Sake. Not a pretty sight.  All the more for me Mother.

I love Tempura and as soon as I saw it on the menu my decision was made. It was served as part of a Bento Box with the usual rice and miso. Excellent.

Plum had suggested a couple of her favourites. The first being Di Stasio where we had a quick pasta on our first night after arriving  late in Melbourne. It was a busy Thursday night and we walked in off the street around 9 PM. Service was slow and the portions, although tasty, were small. Bryan's pasta main was the same size as my pasta entrée although very different in price. So I did something I have never done before. When they made a mistake on the bill and didn't charge for one glass of wine I didn't point it out. I'm of the opinion if you are going to complain about being over charged you should be prepared to point out when you have been under changed. But not tonight. We paid the bill and made off into the night. Almost crashing into Ben Lee in our rush to disappear before they noticed.

Plum's other recommendation  Cacoa Café was more successful. Gorgeous chocolates and cakes. I had my eye on a particular bright lime green cake but on the day we visited the cake was gone and no more due in for a couple of days. If I couldn't have bright green I'd have something red - this pretty  strawberry and chocolate and vanilla mousse. Ohh YUM.

We visited Prahran Markets several times to pick up supplies for picnics when the weather was nice.  I'd shop here if we lived in Melbourne.  Here are a photos taken on our visits.

 

...and cupcakes from the Crabapple Cupcake Bakery

Next post : eating in Queensland