Patricia's tugging at my coffee heartstrings.

How good does a coffee have to be to get your customers coming back, even when you don't have a proper address, nor a namecard with any details whatsoever on it?

You have to be as good as Patricia's.

Patricia Coffee Brewers

Corner of Lt Bourke St and Lt William St

http://www.patriciacoffee.com.au/
Mon - Fri, 7am - 4pm

Picture was taken off Google, cause I can't seem to find the card I took. 

It's meant to be a coaster as well. Heck, how cool is that? It's their way of promoting themselves I suppose; to ensure that new customers in store are due to word-of-mouth. Or extremely lucky stumble-upon-ers.

It's really near EARL Canteen, just round the corner of Lt. Bourke and King St, really. Lucky office workers around the area! 

Look at who they get their beans from. I don't think I've ever tried Small Batch, but I've developed a liking for Proud Mary, Market Lane, and Seven Seeds beans over the past month or two.

Like Market Lane and Sensory Lab, practically the only thing on their menu (if there's one at all) is coffee. Many, many kinds of coffee.

Of course, there's the customary display of mini pastries and sweets, but it's clear that their focus is mostly on coffee.

Synesso.

When you walk through the door, there'll be someone very friendly by the counter, ready to take your order (if there isn't a line). You pay, you wait, you drink, and you leave. Happy. Very happy. At least, Lara, Adam, Iryan, Jason and I did when we went there (two different occasions).

  

The place is really small. Just a few lowly placed mantlepiece-like things to put your coffee on. No seats, no tables, and even no glass panes on their windows (or maybe they were too high for me to notice). 

These two baristas, so, so cheeky! I'd go back and take funnier pictures of them, but based on both my visits at completely different times, I'm guessing they're always pretty busy.

I know I haven't described the coffee, and this time, I won't. I won't tell you how good the coffee is. You've gotta go there and try it out for yourself. But you might be interested to know that it's easily the best coffee Jason's ever had, and that boy is P-I-C-K-Y with his coffee. 
Food: N/A

Coffee: 9.5

Ambience: 7.5

Value: 9

Staff: 8.5

I was so scared I'd annoy the other customers as my camera's generally pretty loud. I was noticed by a group of people though, who asked if I blogged, and for my link. (If you're reading this, thank you for the encouragement!)

how's the infinite scrolling?
may.

Happy Birthday Sieu Minn (Part One), at Friends of Mine.

First of all, happy (now belated) 20th birthday to one of the closest high school friend I have in Melbourne, Minn! I hope you enjoyed your day out yesterday! 

Of course it was a must for me to bring her out for brunch/lunch, and I picked Friends of Mine since it was also on Minn's list of cafés to try out.

Friends of Mine

506 Swan St, Richmond VIC

03 9428 7516
http://www.friendsofmine.com.au/
Mon - Fri, 8am - 4pm, Sat - Sun, 8.30am - 4pm
[ tram 70, stop 15 (Stawell St/Swan St), or train to Burnley ] 

The place wasn't very hard to find from the train station. It was about a 5 minute walk on the same side of the road on Swan St. You won't miss it; it's right next to the netball/basketball court, and it's probably the only café around amongst the warehouses.

There was a huge crowd inside; at least 8 groups of people waiting to be seated inside since it was a relatively chilly morning. We got a table in about 15 minutes, so no harm and no fowl. The hostess was really friendly, and really helpful as well.

Marzocco, again. This time a yellow one.

I do wonder whether it was meant to match the yellow roses placed on all the tables. How fitting, since yellow roses are meant to represent friendship.

When we walked into the dining area, it felt as if we've stepped into one of the classier restaurants along Lygon. You wouldn't think that you're in a café at all, from the decor and from the ambience. 

And despite the fact that it was packed to the brim, we had plenty of space between tables. Not once did we hear conversations from neighbouring tables, nor did we have other patrons banging into our chairs or tables while walking by.

Soy latté, $3.80 (I think).

The coffee was alright. I didn't really pay attention to the coffee that day though, so I'll get Jason to do that when we go back there. 

Berry 'noice' banana smoothie: berry compote, banana and vanilla ice cream, $7.90.

Minn's drink, since she doesn't like coffee (it's okay, don't attack her; she'll learn). It was really good. It wasn't overpoweringly sweet and the taste of the berries didn't seem artificial at all. And, very filling. 

Pick. Me. Up. Please. - brioche roll, bacon, tomato chutney, scrambled egg and cheddar, $5.50.

I'd just roughly quote what Minn predicted I'd type about what she ordered since she was pretty spot on. 

"Minn wasn't feeling too hungry since she ate long noodles (Chinese tradition that I never knew about, shame on me) so she ordered this. It was really, really small. But i guess with the smoothie, it filled her up nicely. Oh well."

But quotes aside, Minn did seem to enjoy her mini burger-like dish. Just based on that, she's more than willing to go all the way back there.

HUNGover: herb and melted cheese on toast, poached eggs, bacon, smashed avocado and eggplant kasundi, $19.90.

This (obviously, to some of you) is what Debra ordered after peeking at many, many tables. I tried out the cheese on the toast and that was just a sinful bite. Debra really liked it too, and she agreed with Minn with no hesitation that they'd come back.

A treat for those who love all that watery, gooey, yellowey, yolky goodness.

Toasted banana bread with maple syrup mascarpone, banana, berry compote and pistachio, $14.90

Just look at it. How could I not order it?! 

The mascarpone, which was very light, didn't bog down the already relatively heavy banana bread and you can never go wrong with berries and banana. The pistachios gave a different depth of flavour to the berries and the mascarpone. 

That's the only reaction I could give to the dish.

(if you haven't watch this video, you have to. here.)

I suppose the only qualm i had with the dish was that I can never be full with a sweet dish, so i was still hungry after. I'd imagine that it'll be ridiculous if they gave a bigger portion than that cause it'll definitely be too, what we Malaysians call, jelak (excessively satiated).

Toast with Vegemite (jam, or organic peanut butter), $6

Yea, I was hungry enough to order something else on top of that. The bread itself was good, you could tell by the softness that it was freshly baked.

The Vegemite itself, however, was just overpowering. I've forgotten how Vegemite was really salty, and i just slapped half the jar on the first piece of toast. Minn tried some and her reaction was just priceless.

Jou, if you're reading this, I know you're laughing. I know what you're thinking you sick sonovashit.

The bill came in these little cuties. Naw, I wish i could've taken one home. Would've made a great name card holder.

Overall, the three of us enjoyed lunch very much. Despite the wait for a table, the staff made us feel like we were more than just customers; the service was as excellent as the food was great (besides the Vegemite, but that's beyond the café control.).

Food: 9.5

Coffee: 6.5

Ambience: 8.5

Value: 8

Staff: 9.5

read the next post for the rest of Minn's birthday!

may.

Happy Birthday Sieu Minn (Part Two), at Strange Wolf.

Headed to Strange Wolf for dinner with a relatively big bunch of people for dinner. 

Strange Wolf 

Strachan Lane, Melbourne VIC 

03 9662 4914 

http://www.strangewolf.com.au/ 

Mon - Fri, 12pm - late, Sat, 8pm - late

 

The place is actually a bar, lounge, and a disco. It was really, really dark when we walked in and it took me a while to adjust to the surroundings.

It felt as if i was in a dungeon, really, just with air conditioning and alcohol. We got this massive table for our group at 16, and it felt as it we were dining in a castle with the candles and everything.

Their menu is really limited, just 6 burgers. Out of 6, the we ordered 5. I guess no one was interested in a pumpkin and pinenut burger (Fairy Godmother, $14). The burgers came pretty quickly, almost instantly in fact.

Most of them ordered The Wolf, $12 (bottom right), and by the looks of it, they seemed to like it. Or maybe they were just really hungry. Only Yusri and Russell ordered The Golem, $15 (top right) and Jo and Debra (i think) ordered the Bacon, $15.

I had the Shroom Burger, $12 (bottom left). It was pretty good. The bun was sweet and soft, and the massive portobello mushrooms were cooked well. I enjoyed the caramelized onions the best though. Portions were pretty big as well, and the chips were really good. Thin, crispy, and not too salty.

I'd say the Mongrel Deluxe, $18 looked the best (top left). It was massive!

Food: 7.5

Coffee: N/A

Ambience: 7 (considering it's a bar)

Value: 7

Staff: 8

Now, I intended this post to be a people post, not a food one, so that's where the food ends. 

Hi Aunty! Here's the picture of Minn and her food that you asked for.

We headed back to Minn's place since she was too shy to have her cake at the bar. The cake was a Mango Sorbet cake, from Bread Top. Good job Kit Yen for recommending this! It was really good!

Birthday girl with her birthday cake.

Out of all the candle blowing photos I've ever taken of people, you definitely look the best. Usually, it'll just look inappropriate.

I didn't get a proper reaction photo when she took her iPod out of the plastic bag, but I guess this will do. Thanks Debra, for choosing and handling Minn's presents!

Sherwin's gift to Minn.

Such a typical thing for Sherwin to do. It made (a very drunk) someone on the tram on the way back pretty happy though.

And inside that massive box..

Earphones. Noice. I hope you liked all the presents you got this year, Minn :)

/ people pictures start here /

Ian and Amy

Jocelyn and Sim

Kit Yen and Pock

Josephine and Russell

Eugene and Debra

Yusri and Jocelyn

Joo Lee and Sherwin

Minn and Joo Lee

Amy, Jocelyn and Minn

  

Mark and Minn

Jason and Minn

Minn and Josephine

Minn and Sherwin

Minn and the girls

Minn and the boys

Minn and all of them!

I've gotta say that among all my friends, she's the most camera-shy (more like camera hate) so the fact that I do have this many pictures of her is a big, big deal. Thanks for being cooperative, Minn =p. 

Love you long time. It's great that after a year in Melbourne, we're finally going out more! Don't be too stressed out about exams. I'm very sure, knowing how you were like in high school, that your exam demons will be battled down without a doubt. Now get off my blog and go study.

should i really get a name card?

may.