After getting TimmyC the Melbourne experience, which involved a trendy haircut complete with a manscaping shave, we were off to get brunch. I had my eyes set on Cumulus Inc. down the road just a tram ride away. Of course, every Melburnian and person who can google were also there waiting in line and we joined the end of it.
We happily get to the front of the line to only be told that there were only 20 minutes left of breakfast time and they could not guarantee that we would get a table. Breakfast is only served between 8am – 11:30am, while lunch is not served until midday. What do they do in between 11:30-12? They can offer you a muffin or madeleines filled with lemon curd.
Being the optimist that I am, I opt to wait by the window in hopes that someone leaves their table before 11:30. We were one of the last people to be let in, the line behind me dissipated. They were probably turned away or weren’t willing to satisfy their brunch cravings with a small baked treat.
I start staring down everyone happily talking, eating and sitting at their tables, unsuccessfully trying to control their minds to get them the hell off the table so I could catch breakfast.
11:28am- no one looked like they were moving. They didn’t care that a girl looked hungry by the corner of the restaurant constantly looking at her watch wanting time to slow down (or someone to hurry up). I must have looked desperate as the maître d came over with a menu and said that he would take our order now and give us the next available table. We didn’t need to look at the menu, we had already decided before we got there, I wanted the LUNE croissant, burnt butter sauce and spanner crab ($16.00) and TimmyC had his eye on the crumpets.
There are no LUNE products left and the strict ‘no variations’ rule on the breakfast menu meant that I had to choose something else. My heart sinks but I quickly decide on the Cumulous Inc. breakfast and as soon as we ordered, a couple finally left the bar.
Cumulus Inc. breakfast – boiled egg, toast, preserves, yoghurt, organic orange juice and coffee or tea ($16.00). I have a short attention span so a breakfast with so many different things to eat really worked well for me. The egg was cooked perfectly, I liked the variety of spreads and the yoghurt was really tart which worked well with the rhubarb topping. There was a nice selection of bread served with only just enough butter (a little more couldn’t hurt). I had the orange juice while TimmyC had the coffee.
A perfect egg to dip my toast into.Nothing special about their OJ, it’s organic and comes from a bottle but it is nice to have a beverage included in the breakfast and not pay $7 for it.
House made crumpets, whipped ricotta and rooftop honey ($10.00). Towards the end, I stole the rest of TimmyC’s breakfast. It’s not like I didn’t enjoy mine, I just loved his. The not too dense texture of the crumpets made for the best vessel to get as much whipped ricotta and honey to my mouth as possible. It wasn’t overly sweet and I loved the flavour combination.
Flat white ($4.00). TimmyC loved his coffee so much, he ordered a second.
Despite being very busy, all the staff were very friendly and attentive. It was a simple breakfast done well, I would have liked to have something more complex but in my mind, I didn’t have a plan B when the crab dish was unavailable. It looks like I will have to arrive a lot earlier next time or stay around for lunch.
Venue: Cumulus inc.
Address: 45 Flinders Ln, Melbourne VIC 3000
Phone: (03) 9650 1445
Prana Chai hand-made and blended in Melbourne from all natural ingredients and 100% Australian quality honey blended with tea and whole spices ($4.50). I love how they have chosen locally based items, it really shows that they have given the same attention to their beverage menu as well as their food items. This was a beautiful chai steeped in soy milk, I would have preferred it a touch sweeter though.
Large flat white ($4.50). TimmyC quickly ordered another after drinking the first one.
Brunch Weekends 8:00am – 3:00pm~
Two free range eggs cooked to your liking on sour dough ($11.00) with a side of dry cured bacon ($5.00). They also gave TimmyC some sort of chilli jam which I loved and I spread it all over his bread and then ate it all.
Portobello mushroom and raclette potato rosti poached eggs, spinach leaves, hazelnut hollandaise ($18.00). The mushrooms were plump and juicy, I found the potato rosti had a strong thyme flavour but it was offset by the fluffy potato. I really enjoyed the hazelnut hollandaise which topped off the whole breakfast perfectly. I could eat this every day if someone made it for me.
Coconut semolina porridge and brulee banana lemongrass apple coulis, vanilla rhubarb, pistachio ($15.00).
Dry cured bacon and smoked mozzarella bagel egg sunny side up, chipotle aioli, house ketchup ($16.00). I loved how the yolk pooled in the hole of the bagel. Definitely more upmarket than your average bacon and egg roll.
Desserts~
Crunchy and gooey, just how all cookies should be.
What I love about their menu is that they have good ol’ breakfast classics like pancakes and eggs on toast but if you’re a little more adventurous, there were plenty of options. I found it hard to decide what I wanted because there was so many good choices.
Peter Pipe’s pickled lemon lemonade lemon juice, lemon brine, lemon sugar, soda ($14.00). My mouth is watering just thinking about this drink again. Man it was intensely lemony and tangy.
Complimentary~
Starters~
This is truly a work of art.
Rice & Flesh saffron, curried kangaroo, red wine and amaranth ($38.00).
Savoury Porridge garlic and parsley butter, grilled abalone, pickled beetroot and fennel ($36.00). The texture of the oats along with texture of the fennel reminded me of the snail porridge from 
Mains~
Chicken cooked with lettuces grilled onion emulsuion, oyster leaves and spiced parsnip sauce ($58.00).
Specials~
That marbling- WOW!
The triple cooked chips were really crunchy.
Desserts~
Want a bite?
The beautiful pineapples slowly being spit roasted while being basted every now and then.
Chocolate bar passionfruit jam and ginger ice cream ($30.00).
The Lamington cake raspberry jam, toasted coconut, rum and vanilla ice cream ($30.00).
A little something something~
We found the service to be very attentive, efficient and friendly. I wouldn’t wait for a special occasion, just come here and experience fantastic food.
Venue: Dinner by Heston Blumenthal
Garden herbs in a light chicken stock. Errr, eating got the better of me and only when I was almost done eating, did I remember to take a photo. Just take my word that it was beautifully presented. The stock was really light and all the flavours came from all the interesting herbs and flowers, I just wished that the starters were more spaced out so I didn’t feel rushed while finishing my broth to attend to the next dish.
House made bread and condiments.
Macadamia purée with macadamia oil and saltbush leaves.
Look at that amazing colour.
So much prettiness in the detail.
Yeasty potatoes with cheesy rind sauce. I love potatoes and I love cheese so this dish was perfect for me. There was definitely lots of depth to this dish; the array of flavours became more intense the more you ate. It left me feeling warm and comforted, with a craving for more cheese sauce.
142 Days on Earth emu with baby red cabbage. So cutely named because that is the time it took for the cabbage to grow and get to your plate. Just when I thought the dish was complete, the server kept on adding more and more on top. I have never had emu before and I naively thought it would taste like chicken, instead, it was a dark heavier meat. This dish to me felt like a rich heavy stew mixed in with the delicate leaves of the baby cabbage. It was really interesting and I love how this dish was prepared and so thoughtfully named.
Half time oranges. The flesh of the frozen orange segment was replaced by orange sorbet and lemon myrtle. We were taken outside for a spot of ‘tennis’ (our skills really sucked) and then we were undeservedly rewarded with our half time oranges. It was really cold on my teeth but it made for a refreshing palette cleanser despite being a little salty and tart.
We were taken into their garden with lots of beautiful flowers and herbs for the ‘half time show’.
Dessert~
How beautifully delicate is this dessert!
It was wonderful to have been served by lots of different people and chefs, it allowed the people who helped create the dish to be proud of their work and serve it to happy customers.
I’m so Fancy ($65.00)~
Creamsticle. I thought these were adorable. Not much particular flavour to them but they are so teeny tiny.
Complimentary~
I loved their personalised wine glasses.
A delicious peek into the crispy croquette.
Barramundi special ($27.00). The fish was soft and moist while the asparagus was cooked perfectly allowing the fresh flavours to really shine through. It was nice to have a lighter main among all the deep fried tapas and heavy meals.
A peek inside the cafe: the view from the outside.
Kong apple and cinnamon iced tea ($6.00). TimmyC and I found the cinnamon a bit OTT but it was cooling and refreshing on a hot summer’s day.
Bao~
Fried chicken with spicy corn and edamame salsa ($7.00). The chicken must have been just fried, placed in the bao and served straight to me because it was so hot and fresh. I really enjoyed this bao and it was possibly my favourite pick (pork was a close second but the chicken had a better filling to bao ratio).
Soft shell crab with salted duck egg relish and coriander ($8.50). I was surprised to see the soft shell crab was so small, the tiny legs meant that there was a lot of batter and I found it more oily than ‘meaty’. Not worth the higher price, I would stick with pork or chicken. 
BBQ soy chicken wings with sesame and spring onion (6 pieces $12.50). I found these overly sweet and as much as I love chicken wings, I think the sticky marinade over powered all the senses.
BBQ baby back pork ribs with soy and sesame (half 300g $22.00). I found the same problem with this as I had with the chicken wings, the sticky sweet salty marinade was over powering and you couldn’t taste the pork meat at all, although the meat itself was very tender.
Bossam – BBQ Cape Grim black Angus sirloin bulgogi marinated with walnut ssamjang, kimchi and lettuce ($29.00). I have a habit not really reading all the menu, take exhibit A. I read that there was Cape Grim beef, I wanted it so I ordered it. So I was some what surprised when this arrived and the server explained to wrap the beef in the lettuce with the condiments like a sang choy bao. As much as I wanted to like this, I did not like the marinade and the beef was oddly dry and chewy in some parts. The only saving grace of the dish was the walnut ssamjang.
Oh Cape Grim beef, why were you not as delicious as I wanted you to be?
Fried rice with kimchi, beef brisket and egg ($16.00). I love a good fried rice, there is little ingredients so there is nothing to hide behind. This was amazing. Not a strong kimchi flavour but everything combined: hot rice, kimchi, beef and the runny egg yolk was the perfect combination. I would definitely order this again!
BBQ zucchini and spice crusted silken tofu salad with soy vinegar dressing ($17.00). While ordering so much meat, I start to feel guilty that there was little vegetable content so I ordered this from the ‘greens’ section of the menu. It wasn’t what I expected but this surprisingly was one of my favourite dishes of the night. The tofu was ever so delicate covered in a thin crispy batter which paired well with the refreshing BBQed zucchini.
Look at that beautiful tofu.
This place was packed and clearly popular with the Melburnians and I can see why. We waited happily at a trendy pub down the road for almost 45 minutes for our table and when we came back, it was busier than before it that was possible. I would probably steer clear of meats with heavy marinades and stick to the baos, fried rice and accompanying dishes.
Dishes arrived when they were ready but the spacing between dishes were pretty close together; our table filled up very quickly.
Food came out almost instantly from the kitchen so kudos to them for getting the orders out so well despite being ridiculously busy. The waiters were really friendly, attentive, and knew what they were doing which really helped with the efficiency of things, although towards the end they did start packing my plate away while I was still eating the bao above it and we felt a bit rushed to leave.
We can spot the joint a mile away!
There is some seats outside if you don’t want to dine in the train carriage.
BLT streaky bacon, egg, ketchup and double cheese ($6.00).
Sausage and egg sanga sausage patty, egg, ketchup and double cheese ($6.00). I love cheese so the double cheese was great for me but I wasn’t too big on the texture of the sausage patty (think sausage meat shaped into a patty), which was somewhat springy. Still, it was only 6 bucks.
Just in case you wondered what it looked like under all that cheese.
Chicken tenders three southern fried chicken pieces with perinnaise ($5.50). I really enjoyed this over my breakfast burger. The chicken was super crispy but the flavour hit definitely came from the sauce.
When we ordered water for the table, we were very grateful that all the glasses came with lots of ice. It can get hot up there, even with the air con on! 
I took the stairs going up to see the cool graffiti art but the lift going down. 
It might be the world’s slowest lift, but it will take you to the 4th floor when your legs cannot.
The view from the window.
I was trying to concentrate on what I wanted for breakfast but it was a bit hard when their display cabinet had the most beautiful and enticing pastries and sweets. I believe this is the very definition of food porn! Wow, it was really amazing to see. One of the biggest food regrets that I have is that we didn’t order that blueberry danish pastry.
Our meals arrived pretty promptly which was good because we were getting hungry.
Scrambled chilli eggs with spring onion, coriander, bacon, shaved pecorino and sourdough ($16.50). Once I eventually dragged myself away from the counter and sat myself down to look at the menu, I knew exactly what I wanted within 5 seconds (which never happens). This had everything that I would want in a savoury breakfast and it was delicious! I personally would have upped the chilli just a little.
Eggs anyway on sourdough ($9.00) potato hash ($3.00).
Lobster eggs benedict lobster, apple, green salad, poached eggs, hollandaise and a brioche bun ($22.00). I believe this is when my sister would say “that’s what rich people eat”. Lobster for breakfast, why not? I particularly liked the sweetness and crisp texture of the apple and sweet salad.
We finished everything but the brioche bun, it was too filling so we only ate half of it.
Cronut salted caramel? ($6.50). Now I don’t remember the exact flavour of the cronut but it doesn’t matter because it was hands down the best one I have ever eaten. It was so buttery and sweet but what was perfection was the texture. As you bite down you could feel all the pastry layers break, I’m drooling just thinking about it again.
Ispahan Croissant twice baked, rose, lychee, almond, raspberry ($6.50). I know this croissant is why we came to this bakery but in comparison to the cronut, it wasn’t as good. It had nice rose and raspberry flavour through it, although I couldn’t detect any lychee flavours.
I seriously wish I grabbed a sour dough under my arm on the way out so I had something to munch on at the airport. I really want to come back here and eat more!
TALES OF A CONFECTIONIST 