STREAT – Doing It For The Young Kids – Great Cause!

Inside STREAT

Inside STREAT

Inside STREAT

Menu on the walls

COFFEE at STREAT

Latte at STREAT

Kasundi Eggs – House made Eggplant Kasundi, Avocado, Dukkah Paneer, Fresh Herb Salad and Poached Egg on Sourdough

Yuzu Tea (Hot Citrus Tea)

Yuzu Tea (Hot Citrus Tea)

Baked Eggs with Hash Brown, Cherry Tomatoes, Olives, Spanish Onion and Basil with Toasted Pide with Chorizo

Information & Menu:

G and I were meeting up for brunch on the weekend and we decided to check out STREAT in Flemington. STREAT is a place with a story – they are a non-profit social enterprise that provides homeless youth with life-skills, work experience and training that they require to start a career in the hospitality industry. STREAT literally translates to Street youth + Street Food + Street Culture.

STREAT is founded by Rebecca Scott and Kate Barrelle. They got the idea after being inspired by KOTO – a training program in Vietnam that provides street youth with job opportunities. STREAT has come a long way from its humble beginnings in 2010 from two small food carts located in Federation Square in Melbourne to now having three stores – Flemington, Melbourne Central and McKillop St in the Melbourne CBD. They have grown rapidly have sold around 500,000 meals and coffees and provided almost 5,000 days of training and work experience to over 100 local street youth. Two of their trainees from the very first class are now fully qualified Chefs in Melbourne. They have also recently won an award for being Australia’s Most Innovative Social Enterprise.

The vibe at STREAT when you walk in in buzzing and it really does have a homely and welcoming charm about it. As you walk in there is communal table directly to your right, with wooden tables and mismatched chairs along the left hand side. There is the main counter area where you can order takeaway coffee or grab a sweet treat to go. The vibrant electric blue Marzocco coffee machine sits proudly on top at the front counter, adding a burst of colour amongst the black chalkboard and brown tiled walls. The kitchen is located at the very back of the venue. We are seated at the communal table – and the way in which we are facing allows us to read the menu off the chalkboard wall. The menu is displayed both on the wall of the venue as well as in booklet form which the friendly staff hand to you as you sit down and place your coffee order.

Coffee here is roasted on site in their vintage Probat coffee roasted, and you can have a choice between Single Origins – Colombia, Primavera, Tolima as well as Cold Brews – Honduras, Santa Marta, Pacamara. These of course change week by week and give the customers a chance to try coffees from different countries and regions.
STREAT also offers two blends – their Signature Social Blend as well as a darker Deluxe Blend. The blends are seasonal and change as new crops come through, altering the flavour ever so slightly.
I ordered a latte from their Signature Social Blend – which has notes of nuts and caramel with a creamy end note (thanks to the milk being frothed to perfection). It was a delicious and tasty coffee that exuded warmness.

What also caught my attention (as the couple next to us had ordered it) was the Hot Yuzu Tea (Hot Citrus). When it comes out all it is – is boiling hot water with the citrus kernels at the bottom of the glass. Once you stir it is when all the magic happens – the liquid is no longer clear but a warm yellow colour and the flavour is reminiscent of lemon, orange and grapefruit all mixed together. It was brilliant and perfect for my sore throat.

The menu is in booklet form and I love that it has a whole section dedicated to everything about STREAT as well as information such as what type of support they offer, who their major targets are, some facts and how you can get involved if you want to help out. What I also think is great is their Pay It Forward scheme – usually when you buy coffees and have a coffee card, the 9^th or 10^th coffee is free, instead at STREAT this 9^th coffee or meal (if you have had 8 previous meals then a meal will be given instead) is given to a homeless person. What a fantastic idea!

The food menu has a great variety and changes seasonally. When G & I went it was all about their autumn menu. You can find the usual suspects such as Eggs on toast where you can have added extras such as grilled tomato, bacon, avocado etc. There are also two different types of Baked Eggs, a French Toast dish (think cinnamon ganache, poached pear – yum!), Cauliflower cheese croquettes as well as a dish they called “The Hunter” (Poached eggs, bacon, chorizo, tomato relish) and “The Gatherer” (the vegetarian alternative – Poached eggs, Spinach, Mushrooms, Hash Brown). For the dishes that ebb ore on the lunch side – Salt Beef Bagel, Lamb in filo pastry, Beef Burger, Chorizo and Egg Roll, BLT and Seoul Sanga just to name a few.
Their food is handmade fresh every day and tries to use local produce from local suppliers where they can. They are also very happy to cater for whatever dietary requirement you have – G can’t have sesame seeds or nuts and they were happy to change the bread on her dish to avoid this.

I ordered the Kasundi Eggs – House made Eggplant Kasundi, Avocado, Dukkah Paneer, Fresh Herb Salad and Poached Egg on Sourdough – which was a special for the day. The dish came out looking like a breakfast tower – the bread at the base of the dis with the avocado, poached eggs piled on top with the eggplant kasundi drizzled on top and finished with coriander. The Dukkah Paneer was placed sporadically around the dish. The poached eggs were cooked perfectly and oozed rich golden yolk which worked well with the smooth avocado. The eggplant kasundi was delicious with a hint of spice – I would have liked more of it on my dish. Overall the dish was well flavoured and I loved the added texture combination thanks to the dukkah and the seeded sourdough.

G ordered the Baked Eggs with Hash Brown, Cherry Tomatoes, Olives, Spanish Onion and Basil with Toasted Pide with Chorizo – which came out looking rather impressive. The baked eggs came out in a black pan which was placed on top of a wooden board. The dish looked bright and colourful thanks to the yellow yolk, redness of the tomatoes and green herbs. The dish is quite filling and a very decent serving size which G enjoyed and said tasted good.

The service at STREAT is fantastic – we had an awesome waiter who was chatty, warm and welcoming (you can see him in one of the pics I took with his thumbs up). The vibe is buzzing and it really is a great place to come, sit and enjoy great tasting food and drinks – and what makes it even more worthwhile is the great cause they are supporting!

Rating : 4 Pandas
Price: $
Menu – Refer to Menu pics above. Flemington Cafe Menu – http://www.streat.com.au/food/flemington/flemington-menu
Fullness: 100%
Atmosphere / Ambience: Casual, Funky and Relaxed.
Service: Friendly, Welcoming and Inviting
Online Booking: No
Restaurant Details and Location:
http://www.streat.com.au/

Flemington Cafe
307 Racecourse Road, Flemington
Tel No:9372 3288
Opening Hours:
Monday to Friday: 7:00am – 4:00pm
Saturday & Sunday: 8:00am – 4:00pm

McKillop Cafe
5 McKillop Street, Melbourne
Opening Hours:
Monday to Friday: 7:30am – 4:00pm
Saturday & Sunday: CLOSED

Melbourne Central Cafe
Ground floor of Melbourne Central next to the escalators to the trains
Opening Hours:
Monday to Wednesday : 7:30am – 7:00pm
Thursday & Friday : 7:30am – 9:00pm
Saturday & Sunday: 9:30am – 7:00pm

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/streat.melbourne
Twitter: STREATmelbourne, Streatcafe, StreatMcKillop, Bec_Scott

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Short Round – Shiny, New & Delicious – A MUST TRY!

Short Round

Latte at Short Round

Cauliflower Fritters, Snow Pea Shoots, Pomegranate Molasses and Minted Yoghurt with a Poached Egg

Cauliflower Fritters, Snow Pea Shoots, Pomegranate Molasses and Minted Yoghurt with a Gooey Poached Egg

Hazelnut and Honey Meringue Cupcake

N and I were in the area of Thornbury after a wedding ceremony and Short Round had been on my list of Breakkie/Brunch places to try so we decided to check it out on a Saturday. We arrived literally just before 3pm (which was when the kitchen closed) and the waitress was nice enough to allow us to quickly order our food – and boy am I glad she did because the food was amazing!

Short Round comes to us from Libby and Claire Cains who converted this former butcher store and pet store into the beautiful, open and light filled venue. They had the help of their dad together with Libby’s partner to rejuvenate this building which was built in 1880. The end result is spacious venue with lots of light plywood and tiles, but keeping the buildings original character.

What makes Short Round unique as well is that they are committed to keep things local – the stools and benches were made by Northcote’s Pop & Scott, the collective and vintage chairs from the High Street retro store – Model 143. It doesn’t just stop at the furniture for the venue, but continues with the ingredients for the menu as well as the drinks list. The chefs are Kate Pratt and Jo Baring – with the menu being seasonal. This means that the menu changes with the season and will have the freshest of ingredients, however there will be staple dishes as well such as Bacon and Cheese Scramble.

Short Round is light, airy and bright and is a great place to start your morning, or even  late morning for that matter. The venue is fitted out with light timber tables and chairs and has a real modern but comfortable feel to it, accented with colourful wild flowers. As said previously the menu is seasonal – so when we went there were things like Breakfast Pizza, Bloody Mary Breakfast and Labourer’s lunch. You also get toast, oat porridge, muesli and waffles which I definitely have to head back to try. As avocado is in season there is a seasonal avocado dish on the menu that comes with corn salsa, chilli, lime and coriander all served atop toast. Coffee comes from Proud Mary and there are “Spring Drink Specials” as well such as a Single Origin Coffee, and a variety of different teas.

For my meal I ordered the Cauliflower Fritters, Snow Pea Shoots, Pomegranate Molasses and Minted Yoghurt and I asked for a Poached Egg to be added. People who read my blog will know how much I enjoy my fritters – this dish was right up there with the best of them. I have never had fritters with Cauliflower in them before. The presentation of the dish was superb as well – the fritters were the centre of the plate atop the minted yoghurt with shoots and pomegranate surrounding them. The fritters were dense yet soft and it really did feel like you were eating a cauliflower cloud – together with the sweetness of the pomegranate and the tang of the minted yoghurt it really did have a flavour party in your mouth. The addition of the Snow Pea Shoots was interesting and provided another layer of texture to this dish. The Poached Egg was perfectly cooked as well and oozed gooeyness.

N ordered the Potato, Chorizo and Manchego Omelette, Fresh Spring Onions and Harissa Yoghurt. The presentation was simple and had the omelette which took up most of the plate with olive oil and the Harissa Yoghurt underneath, finished with a sprinkling of Harissa. N thoroughly enjoyed this dish and I think this dish is very unique – I haven’t seen the combination of potato, chorizo, spring onions before. And the portion sizes of these dishes are very decent too.

At the bench top where the coffees are made and the register is there is a little case of cakes and cupcakes and I couldn’t look past one of the cupcakes that caught my eye. It was  Hazelnut Honey Meringue . It had shiny honey pieces atop of luscious looking cream that sat on the meringue cupcake. The cupcake was nice but was quite different to anything that I have had before. The meringue was not too sweet and the cream I thought needed a bit more sweetness to it, however once you bite into the honey pieces there was just the right amount of sweetness. The coffee here which is source from Proud Mary is quite good too but nothing overly fantastic.

The service of the staff is impeccable and staff are super friendly and as stated in my opening happy to help out where they can. This further adds to the atmosphere and general likening toward this new venue. For now Short Round is only open during the day time, but the sisters are considering the option of opening the venue up for night time dining and if they do – I cannot wait to see what special things they bring to their menu then.

Rating : 4.5 Pandas
Price: $$
Menu – Refer to http://www.shortround.com.au/goods.html
Fullness: 100%
Atmosphere / Ambience: Casual, Light, Airy and Fun
Standout Dish: Cauliflower Fritters, Snow Pea Shoots, Pomegranate Molasses and Minted Yoghurt
Service: Friendly, Helpful and accomodating
Online Booking: No
Restaurant Details and Location:
shortround.com.au
731 High St, Thornbury
Tel No: 9484 3904

Opening Hours:
Tuesday to Friday: 7am–4pm
Saturday & Sunday: 8am–4pm