Bar Hopping, Melbourne Style

Today (Saturday) was going to be a day where we had no set plans, but rather would be going from place to place, with our final destination being the Night Noodle Market!!  I found out about that market doing something I had mentioned in an earlier blog.  When you are in a new city, search the internet for any festivals that are going on.  When I got up this morning, I started doing that and found out about this noodle festival.  It was a giant asian food event that had been going on for a few weeks.  And this was the last weekend.  Mapping out where it was, it was about eight blocks from our hotel.  And the path was along Exhibition Street which is filled with lots of interesting rooftop bars and other restaurants.   I highlighted several places that looked interesting on that street and by 11AM, we were ready to go get some lunch (or maybe it was brunch).

First stop was at Elephant and Wheelbarrow.  This was a typical English style pub.   If you have never been to one before, a couple of tips since they operate differently than your average bar in the United States.  There are usually no waiters.  When you are ready to order drinks and/or food, you go to the bar.  You will also need to pay when you order.   Most everyone in Australia uses their credit card and they are all set up to be able to "tap" the card onto the machine for easy payment, and without need for a signature.  While some US based cards have the tap feature, we found that the transaction always required a signature.  We mostly used cash for our purchases which made us stand out a bit give then standard for most Australian is to use their credit cards.

The menu had many specials.

I went with the old Australian staple of a parm - in this case the Chef's Parm!!

It was a huge piece of well fried chicken, with melted cheese and ham.  Kind of a twist on a chicken cordon bleu.  The flavors all worked well together!!  The fries were also well cooked and had the extra crispness that a beer batter brings.

My wife had bangers and mash which was also delicious.  These sausages had more fennel in them compared to other bangers and mash I have eaten.  The addition or broccoli and carrots to the party was also welcome, since normally you do only see mashed potato.  The gravy was rich without being gunky.  It was close to what you would serve with a pot roast.

With lunch complete, we were ready to move to the next place.  That would be Good Heavens roof top bar. 

Our view looked across to where we had lunch at the Elephant and Wheelbarrow.

A large list of cocktails.

From left to right are the Ritzy Ditz and the Melbourne Made.  Ritzy Ditz was a gin and tonic made with rosemary syrup.  So refreshing!!  And the Melbourne made was a twist on a whiskey sour made with apple pie moonshine!!  I loved how they made a pattern in the egg white foam  - like a barista at your favorite coffee shop.

Next up was the European Bier Care and Aer Rooftop.  Can you sense a pattern here that we like rooftop bars?  Melbourne has so many!!  This place had a lovely setting which was allowed you to stay away from any weather but still enjoy the outdoors.  And the special on Saturday was a carafe for $20 AUS!!  We went with Pimm's Cup.

The Pimm's Cup was refreshing with all the fruit included.  It was almost like a sangria.  There were limes, oranges, strawberries and some excellent slices of cucumber!! 

Down the street from Aer Rooftop was a place called Harley House.  By name alone, you would think this was a biker bar.  When we arrived there, it seemed like that was a possibility since the entrance was down a set of stairs into the basement of the building. 

The signature drink here was Pisco Sours.  Pisco is the national spirit of Peru.  It is a little bit like grappa but sweeter and not as boozy.   It is great in a sour.

They also had some great sour beers including this Watermelon Smash from Stomping Ground Brewing Company. 

This was Patacones con Chicharron or pork belly on plantain.  It was one of the best prepared pork belly I ever had!  Roasted enough to render the fat but still kept moist.   It came with what they called kapallaq.  I should have asked our server exactly what this was and google search was no help.  It came topped with a pickled cabbage and some small chicharrons for crunch.  A perfect bite of food!!

Next was one of the best pieces of chicken I have ever had.    On the menu it was simply called Pollo and came with a Panca marinade.    Exactly what is panca sauce?  Again I should have asked since google search was no help.  The taste was salty and sweet with a bit of mustardy tang.  The chicken itself was so moist and flavorful, with just enough char for added texture. 

I also tried this great Margarita Gose from Hargreaves Hill.

And our last bite was Conchita - or pan seared scallops.  I have proudly eaten a lot of scallops over the years.  These were the best ones I have ever eaten - no question.    These came with a saltado sauce which was a thin flavorful broth of tomato and vinegar.  It perfectly highlighted the scallop which had been cooked to a perfect medium rare.  Just a perfect bite, made even better by the fresh pea tendrils as a garnish.

I think this sign was a joke - or maybe not since guinea pig is served a lot in Peru.   If we visit Melbourne again we will come back on a Wednesday, pay our $50 AUS and see what we get served.  I am sure it will be delicious.  Put this place on your "must" list when you visit.

Our next stop was at a fancy cocktail bar called Eau de Vie.  We had heard about this place while we were talking to a couple at the Long Lunch in Lanceston Tasmania.  We heard it had a secret entrance.  Not so much secret, as it was non existent.  You had to trust you were going into the right place.

 
The menu was a booklet.

 I went with the Honey Old Fashioned.

The drink was okay  - I liked the addition of the honeycomb as a garnish.  The drink itself wasn't balanced.  I just tasted "sweet".    It needed more of the chocolate bitters mentioned in the description.   The prices of all the cocktails here were much more expensive then other bars, mainly because this is one of those bars that people want to say they have visited and post their Instagram moment.  Cocktails not worth the price in my opinion.  But go for the experience if you like people watching.  Reservations are recommended.

Our last stop was at the Night Noodle festival.

This was a large event space that had lots of mainly food vendors.

We went with the souffle pancakes.  They had a few different options, including with ice cream, but we got them "as is" which was just maple syrup.  These are made with a regular pancake batter where they must add whipped egg whites and perhaps more backing powder to build up the volume.  When cooked on the flat top, they puff up.  Each order had two pancakes.  They were very fluffy and tasted like a pancake.  Great to try them, but I think "one and done" for me.

  

Lot of pork and skewers being made.

The last treat we tried was something called a puffle.

This was like chicken and waffle.  Instead of a regular waffle it was a combination of a belgian waffle and Aebleskiver which are danish pancake "balls".  The waffle iron was specially made for these.  They folded the waffle when hot, and you could have KFC (Korean Fried Chicken) or cheeseburger.  They also had a combination of both.

This was the combo.  It was a great bite of food with the pillowy waffle, spicy chicken and savory beef all combining together.   I have yet to see these at any state fairs in the United States, but maybe in 2020!!  My wife and I joked that we should be the first to franchise these!!

After the very active day of checking out all the places on Exhibition Street, we were ready to head back to the hotel.   Tomorrow would be our last full day in Melbourne.  What would we do?  Look for that blog to be uploaded soon.