Trips to Brunswick and Smith Streets usually bring unexpected discoveries for me. A small vintage shop here or a delectable cafe over there. I brought PM and JJ there today for some outlet store shopping. After feasting over vintage and sports clothing, we needed somewhere to rest our tired feet. We walked a fair bit along Brunswick when we passed by Little Creatures Dining Hall, thinking that this is just a cafeteria style joint where you queue up for food and drinks but we were in for a surprise.
We were ushered to a long, wooden common table and tap water was immediately served. A few seconds later, our waitress showed us the menu printed on brown paper. I think she is the friendliest waitress I've ever encountered since my food trips here in Melbourne and it is a real breath of fresh air. When she took our order, she's both professional and relaxed--she sat down as I dictated our order to her, like she's a friend sharing our table.
PM wanted chips and mayonnaise, JJ wanted pizza and I wanted dessert and white wine. The chips came first, crunchy and almost piping hot. The chips themselves were already flavor packed, herb-y and salty. The mayonnaise wasn't exactly mayonnaise but a light creme fraiche or sour cream for dipping.
JJ's pizza had chorizo, feta, corn and a few springs of parlsey on top. Yep. Never had these so gotta try it. Interestingly enough, this really works. Thinly sliced spicy chorizo, salty crumbled feta, tangy tomato sauce, sweet corn and fresh parsley. Simple combination but works perfectly.
I had a glass of chardonnay and apple and rhubarb crumble. The chardonnay is surprisingly crisp and light, almost sweet and had a slight taste of pears and none of the bitter taste at the end of the palate. A rhubarb inspired dessert has always been on my list of things to taste. I've only seen this in cookbooks and some tv shows and since rhubarb is not grown and sold back in Manila, this is quite exciting for me. Ok. The overall taste has that warm, sweet but a slight tang, maybe from the apples. The combination tasted good when the vanilla ice cream and cream were mixed together. The warm crumble and cold ice cream, that will be hard to beat. It was probably not the best rhubarb dish on the planet but it is pretty good for a newbie.
I really liked sitting at a common table with friends and strangers. There is something about that feeling that makes you want to strike up a conversation, have a good glass of wine, terrific finger food, slight pumping music (thank goodness that it was not too loud) and high ceilings. All that paired with good, friendly service makes up a good place to hang-out all day (or even night) long.
We were ushered to a long, wooden common table and tap water was immediately served. A few seconds later, our waitress showed us the menu printed on brown paper. I think she is the friendliest waitress I've ever encountered since my food trips here in Melbourne and it is a real breath of fresh air. When she took our order, she's both professional and relaxed--she sat down as I dictated our order to her, like she's a friend sharing our table.
PM wanted chips and mayonnaise, JJ wanted pizza and I wanted dessert and white wine. The chips came first, crunchy and almost piping hot. The chips themselves were already flavor packed, herb-y and salty. The mayonnaise wasn't exactly mayonnaise but a light creme fraiche or sour cream for dipping.JJ's pizza had chorizo, feta, corn and a few springs of parlsey on top. Yep. Never had these so gotta try it. Interestingly enough, this really works. Thinly sliced spicy chorizo, salty crumbled feta, tangy tomato sauce, sweet corn and fresh parsley. Simple combination but works perfectly.
I had a glass of chardonnay and apple and rhubarb crumble. The chardonnay is surprisingly crisp and light, almost sweet and had a slight taste of pears and none of the bitter taste at the end of the palate. A rhubarb inspired dessert has always been on my list of things to taste. I've only seen this in cookbooks and some tv shows and since rhubarb is not grown and sold back in Manila, this is quite exciting for me. Ok. The overall taste has that warm, sweet but a slight tang, maybe from the apples. The combination tasted good when the vanilla ice cream and cream were mixed together. The warm crumble and cold ice cream, that will be hard to beat. It was probably not the best rhubarb dish on the planet but it is pretty good for a newbie.
I really liked sitting at a common table with friends and strangers. There is something about that feeling that makes you want to strike up a conversation, have a good glass of wine, terrific finger food, slight pumping music (thank goodness that it was not too loud) and high ceilings. All that paired with good, friendly service makes up a good place to hang-out all day (or even night) long.
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