Strolling around in the city, you probably wouldn’t give much attention to those little stalls and buskers along busy Swanston Street. We normally don’t take the time to stop and take a look at our lovely city, but with this French creperie stall, we  recommended you to pause and allow the delectable waft of freshly cooked crepes entice you and make your mouth water. Situated on Swanston Street close to Little Collins St, this extremely cute crepe stall called La Petite Creperie is bound to lure you in with its delicious aromas on a cold winter afternoon.

We dropped by La Petite Creperie with a couple of friends at the end of the day to finally try these crepes that we’ve been longing to try ever since we noticed the adorable stall in the city. From our orders, the popular favourite seemed to be the Nutella crepes. Simple, easy and so good. Two other flavours we tried were the Sugar and Butter crepe and the super tasty Salted Caramel crepe. The Sugar and Butter crepe was said to be quite good although there might have been bit too much sugar added. If you’re a fan of salted caramel, this crepe is a definite must. The edges were a little crispy and the centre was generously filled with the delicious sweet and salty flavour.

The service wasn’t too bad considering the fact that there were only two people were operating the French creperie. As a small stall, their system is quite organised - you place your order and a ticket is given to you. For the effort of those two lovely French people, waiting a little while in line for those crepes was worth it.

Prices at La Petite Creperie vary with what you order as your filling. Starting from $4.00, with basic fillings such as sugar & cinnamon or sugar & butter, to $5.00 crepes with Chestnut puree or Maple syrup and finally the $8.00 crepes which can come with some fancy  additions like orange marmalade.

If you’re in the city, do yourself a favour and make sure you drop by and give La Petite Creperie a try. Great for a midday snack to keep you going for the rest of the day. Bon appetite!

www.lapetitecreperie.com.au
Cnr Swanston St and Little Collins St,
Melbourne 3000

Opening Hours
Mon to Thurs: 8am – 10pm
Fri: 8am – 11pm
Sat: 9:30am – 11pm
Sun: 9:30am – 10pm

Price range: all below $10
Service: friendly, organised, loved the French accents

Erawan is a little Thai restaurant on the corner of High street and Parkville road. The word Erawan itself is the Thai name for the three-headed mythological elephant in the Hindu religion. This cosy restaurant had a relaxed atmosphere with an interior painted in shades of purple with dark purple curtains and royal purple napkins. It wasn’t too busy when we dined so it was easy to have conversations and be tendered to when we asked for service.

When we sat down, we were immediately catered to, water was poured and we ordered. The first entre we had was the Tom Yum Gai with mushrooms, cherry tomatoes, baby corn, onion and bite-sized pieces of chicken, we thought it was supposed to be a little more sour but it was sweet and nice regardless.

The next entre was Nam Zod which was spicy minced pork  with really stong ginger, cashews, onions, and lemon juice. The dish was a little cold and we weren’t sure if its supposed to be served like that. The roasted cashews smelled great and started to make us really hungry. Next was Thai spring rolls with a minced pork filling, called Por Pia, served with viscous sweet chili dipping sauce on the side. They were surprisingly thin, similar to the size of a wafer stick but they were hot, crispy and had the right amount of crunch needed for a good spring roll.

Our final and probably the best entre of the night, was the Chicken satay skewers topped with peanut sauce and sesame seeds. The chicken was tender, you hardly had to chew and the peanut sauce was sweet and smooth, it was so good that we started scooping the leftover sauce to have with our rice.

Next were the mains, this dish wasn’t a very big serve, it had thinly sliced beef stir-fried with broccoli, carrots, onions and tomatoes. The meat was a little chewy, but other than that it was a pretty standard dish.

Next we had the Thai egg salad with fried bean curd, cucumber, tomato, lettuce and egg covered in the same peanut sauce that accompanied the chicken satay skewers. The beancurd was really crunchy and the vegetables were fresh, but again the serving was a little small, a little disappointing when the dish looked pretty easy to make.

The third main was the Charcoal grilled pork. This was liked by all, the pork was so lean, not one bit of fat could be seen which was good, the meat had a lovely smoky grilled flavour and it was a little charred and crispy around the edges. It was a little dry but the sweet chili sauce took care of that. Definitely one of the favourites for the night.

The last main was the Chicken Massaman curry, with cubes of potato and carrots topped with fried shallots. This dish was a pretty decent serving, or maybe we were already full from all the previous dishes. The potatoes could’ve been cooked for a bit longer, the curry was also little too sweet, more chili would’ve made it perfect but we finished it all off anyway.

For dessert, we finished off with two different flavours of icecream-  French vanilla which was standard and coconut which we quite enjoyed, the coconut flavour wasn’t overpowering and there were desiccated coconut pieces throughout, we could’ve easily gone for another scoop.

It was a pretty good dinner overall, although they could’ve made some of the dishes a little more spicy. We were pretty full by the end of it only because we ordered quite a few entres. Another thing we might like to point out is that the serving sizes of some of the mains could have been larger. Don’t know if it would score highly for the authenticity of Thai food, but it was enjoyable none the less.

(03) 9853 7636
8 Park Hill Rd,
Kew VIC 3101
www.erawanthai.com.au

Opening hours: open for dinner, seven days a week 6pm-10pm

Price range: $15-25
Service: fine
Interior: purple, traditional Thai decor

We decided to have a casual dinner at Rub!con, a cute cafe/restaurant/bar on Errol street. It was really easy to get to because it’s right next to the city and there’s a tram stop just outside it. The interior was warm and welcoming with candles on each table and the staff were really friendly and casual, service was quick and on the ball.

We started off with some crispy hot seasoned potato wedges ($11.5) served with sweet chili aioli. They had a really nice crunch and the inside was steaming hot, the sweet chili sauce went well with the wedges although they may have given us more sour cream than necessary.

For one of our mains we ordered the risotto with chicken breast cooked with sauteed shiitake mushrooms, spinach, onion and garlic ($16.5) We really liked this dish, every mouthful was flavoursome, the sauce was pretty creamy and tasty plus it was also a cold night, so the garlic warmed us up.

We also ordered the Saltati penne pasta with bacon, semi-dried tomato, spinach, onion and garlic ($16.5) which was alright, it tasted a little dry, although the semi-dried tomato was aromatic and the bacon was a good accompaniment to the dish.

Rub!con’s wood-fired pizzas were another thing we wanted to try so we also ordered the Chicken pizza, which had marinated chicken, pineapple, garlic, mozzerella cheese and napoli sauce ($14.5) The pizza itself was done well, not undercooked and or burnt, it was filling and tasted pretty standard. Recommend trying a different pizza if you want something out of the ordinary.

Even though we were so full from the mains, we decided to have some dessert anyway. We ordered the home-made tiramisu ($11.9) which was really creamy. The sponge had just the right amount of coffee flavour and each spoonful melted in your mouth. After we devoured the cake between the 5 of us, we sat back completely satisfied. But wait! We’re not finished yet!

We also ordered their Gelati tasting plate ($8) starting from the top, the flavours were: Bubblegum, Peanut, Mango, Cinnamon and Blood Orange gelati. After trying all the different flavours we unanimously decided that the Blood Orange gelati was the best. It had a tangy strong orange flavour which kept you wanting more. Mango was also a favourite with it not being too sweet and artificial. The scoops of gelati sat on top of crumbed biscuit which was similar to a cheesecake base, the crunchy texture was just what you needed as it complemented the smoothness of the gelati. It was the perfect way to finish off our meal.

Rub!con has a lovely ambiance, waiters are really friendly, serving sizes were perfect for us and the food was enjoyable. It was a good night out, we were content and would come back again.

(03) 9329 3389
www.rubiconcafe.com.au
50 Errol Street,
North Melbourne VIC 3051

Opening Hours
Tue-Fri 10am-10pm;
Sat 9am-10pm;
Sun 9am-3pm

Price range: entres/sides- $15, mains- $15 -30, assorted cakes/desserts- $8-12
Service: very friendly
Music: Oldies music
Vegetarian options: ✓
Gluten Free options: all risottos
Eftpos: ✓