This post is brought to you by Nuffnang and Cats The Musical.

I remember back in Year 7, we studied the poetry of T.S. Elliot and some of the music from the musical Cats. I recall the poetry being slightly quirky, and our drama teacher went as far as to give us a task to create a performance around one of the poems. It was a lot of fun, and one of my few memories from my first year of high school. Fast forward a few decades, and T.S. Elliot’s Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats has been adapted to a stage musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber, and has come to Melbourne for a strictly limited season.

I was lucky enough to be invited to go and see the show just before Christmas and needless to say, I was just a tad excited. Whilst, I knew the trademark song, Memory (who doesn’t?!), and I had a vague memory of some of the poetry, I really had no idea what to expect from the show. This was just the way I liked it though, no expectations and all anticipation is the perfect formula to enjoy most things for me!

After a delicious burger at Grand Trailer Park Taverna (more about that in another post), we made our way to the Regent Theatre. The Cats production which is in Australian is the 2015 Olivier award nominated hit revival, which was reworked for the most recent season in the West End by the original creative team. It received excellent reviews and extended its season due to overwhelming demand, so it was quite a privilege to be able to see it in my home town.

Sitting in the grand Regent Theatre, the stage was set up in an elaborate manner, and as the lights went down and the music started, a stream of cats flooded the aisles, purring to audience members, jumping on the seats, and generally creating a hushed excitement through the crowd. It was one of the few times I have been grateful for an aisle seat!

The show begins by introducing the Jellicle cats who are preparing for the Jellicle Ball. Who or what are the Jellicle cats? You will just have to watch the show to find out! Amongst the Jellicle cats are a variety of characters, and as the show progresses, we get to meet them and learn about their characters.

The dancing in the show is one of the highlights. From acrobatics, to tap dancing, the dancers are all high class, and the co-ordination and timing is impeccable. As a dancer myself, I always pay particular attention to dancing of any kind, and on this occasion I was more than impressed. Two of my favourite dancing cats were Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer. They performed as a fun duo, and as they co-cartwheeled off the stage the audience broke into rapturous applause.

Delta Goodrem was cast as the ostracised, old cat, Grizabella. Her first song, Memory, coincided with the half time interval, and the theatre was awash with an eerie solemness as the power of her voice filled the space. She had, by far, the most impressive voice in the whole cast, and the part suited her perfectly.

Cats the Musical is playing for a strictly limited season at Melbourne’s Regent Theatre, and the touring to Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth. For further information, or to purchase tickets, you can visit the Cats The Musical website.

Disclaimer: I attended Cats The Musical as a guest of Nuffnang and Cats The Musical, however all opinions are my own.

One Saturday, just after picking up our City2Sea race packs, myself, the other half and the other half’s cousin, J, were wandering down Gertrude St trying to find a place for brunch. Generally when we go out, I have always done my research and have a place in mind, but this time I had no idea where to go.

As we meandered down, we passed numerous cafes that were either too full to get a table at, or too empty for us to have any confidence in them. Eventually we stumbled upon Arcadia. It had a reasonable crowd, but there were still some empty tables, and the menu looked interesting enough for us to give it a go.

We sat down, and grabbed some water from the table behind us. Not long afterwards, menus were handed to us and we set about deciding on what to have. We decided against coffees. We were running the next day, and it was probably a smart decision to stick to water for maximum hydration. Plus it was basically lunch time, so coffee really wasn’t necessary.

J stuck with his standard choice of a muesli variation. We always laugh when he goes out and orders muesli, but he loves it, so who are we to judge! This time he chose a porridge. It was an eclectic mix of oats, quinoa and chia seeds, combined with pepitas, sunflower seeds and almonds and topped with a poached pear, cranberries and pomegranate molasses. He was very impressed with his dish, even going as far as to say it was pretty close to his own muesli mix which he makes, and prides himself on. The serving was huge too, which was appreciated.

Whilst J’s choice was a traditional breakfast choice, the other half went the opposite way and chose a clear lunch option, the Arcadian burger. This burger was described with lots of flowery language on the menu: a Angus beef burger infused with spiced basil and tomato salsa, topped with cheddar on a bed of leaves and tomato, drizzled with baconnaise and served with pickles and hot mustard. The other half pretty much stopped reading when he came across the word baconnaise, because according to him, nothing could go wrong if it had baconnaise. He had never had this mystical baconnaise but the knowledge that bacon and mayonnaise were two of the greatest ingredients on earth gave him confidence that baconnaise must be amazing.

Alas, when his burger arrived, he tasted it and the baconnaise was really that much of a key ingredient. He commented that his burger was good, but not amazing, and definitely not at the lofty heights he had hoped it would reach.

I decided to order fried eggs with red and green salsa and spicy beans on stuffed cheese and jalapeno corn tortillas. Firstly the dish had us somewhat confused. It was listed on the menu as ‘Huevos (fried) eggs.’ Now, huevos is Spanish for eggs, so was I going to be having Eggs (fried) eggs? Perhaps double fried eggs? Or maybe an egg wrapped in a fried egg? It was confusing. Nevertheless I put a stop to the questions in my head and ordered the dish anyway.

What arrived was infact fried eggs on stuffed tortillas with beans and salsa. Just standard fried eggs. Not that I’m complaining, I love fried eggs and these eggs were good. The beans were also OK, but they definitely didn’t reach the spicy heights that I was hoping for.  But the real problem of the dish was the tortilla. As I attempted to dig in, armed with a knife and fork, I realised there was no chance I was going to be able to cut my tortilla. It was as hard as a rock. I think would have struggled to make a dint in it, even with a steak knife. As a result, my meal was a bit of a disappointment. Having to struggle so much to even eat my meal, meant my level of enjoyment was seriously hampered.

Other than the food the café was quite nice. The décor was pleasant, the staff were friendly and the service was prompt. It was unfortunate that the food didn’t hit the mark for me, although J was impressed and the other half was satisfied. Perhaps I had just picked a bad dish. Oh well, there’s always next time!

Thai restaurants have become very popular in Melbourne, popping up all over the place, but it is often tricky to find a good one. On our explorations of the Northcote food scene, we decided to try and nail a trusty Thai option. Some Zomato research led us to Inthanon Thai, and so together with the other half’s cousin, J, we decided to see if it was worth the high reviews.

Located almost directly opposite the Northcote Town Hall, the restaurant is set slight away from the main strip. This possible means that it gets less traffic that the other places, but don’t let that deter you, it’s obviously a very well kept secret.

We went on a Sunday evening, and the restaurant was very quiet. We were seated immediately and as our menus were handed to us, I stopped to appreciate the décor. The interior of the restaurant was not overtly filled with Thai knick knacks, but there were a few pictures on the wall, and a rather grand light fitting hanging from the roof.

With both J and I as vegetarians, we decided to exercise our balance of power and opted for a full vegetarian meal. The menu had a whole section dedicated to ‘Vegie Lovers’ so we were spoilt for choice. As a vegetarian, I am used to only having to choose from one or two dishes, so when faced with two pages of options, I didn’t know where to start! On top of that, as the food blogger, I was entrusted with the responsibility of ordering for the table. Talk about pressure!

Eventually we settled on a selection of dishes to share, so that we could all try some different things. The items are all listed with their traditional Thai names, so ordering was a fairly comical affair. The staff are very friendly though, and after a few mispronunciations and lots of laughs, we eventually managed to explain what we wanted!

We were all pretty hungry, so the wait staff were given instructions to not worry about what order the dishes were made in, and to just bring everything out as it was ready, so it wasn’t long before the food started to arrive at our table.

The first thing to arrive was some complimentary prawn crackers. Probably not the best choice when you have a table ordering a vegetarian meal, but nevertheless the other half was happy to munch on these as a starter! The food came almost immediately after, starting with Pad Thai Jay, or vegetarian pad thai. Full of bean curd, egg, vegetables and flavour, this was a good dish. Our pad thai standards are pretty high. I’m not sure if what we like is even traditional, but this version was good. If I had one criticism though, it’s that I felt that the dish was slightly too sweet. The other half disagreed though, saying that he thought it was perfect, so I guess it just depends on each individual’s tastes.

We also ordered a Gang Dang Puk, or vegetarian red curry. This curry was wonderfully creamy, with the slightest hint of spice. I wouldn’t go as far as to say it was spicy, but it was fragrant and flavoursome. This curry was probably my favourite dish, and also a favourite around the table.

To complement the curry, I decided that we should also have a wok tossed dish and had ordered Pad Ruammit. This was a dish of stir fried vegetables and bean curd with garlic and soy sauce. This is a fairly classic combination of flavours and whilst it was nothing exciting, everything worked well together and it was a welcome addition to our meal.

Our last dish was actually an entree! Taw Hu Tod involved battered, deep fried pieces of tofu served with chilli sauce. It is no secret that deep fried food is my weakness, and this dish was no exception. The tofu itself had little flavour, but the batter was so crunchy, and the sauce sweet, and everything combine made a great little dish to go with the meal.

Our meal at Inthanon Thai was great and we all agreed that this was definitely a great Thai option in Northcote. While we were there having our meal, the restaurant slowly filled up, and there was a regular stream of takeaway customers, so it was clear that the locals knew how good the place was!

Northcote has long been known for its hipster culture. Infact if you were playing a drinking game where you had to drink every time you spotted skinny jeans, a fixie or a  beard, you’d probably be hammered in about ten minutes (unless of course you are drinking a skinny soy latte with Equal). So it was fitting that we ventured out to try out a quintessentially hipster café, that in true hipster style is not on the main Northcote strip, and has received little recognition on the breakfast scene despite being bloody awesome.

Located on St George’s Rd, in a small strip of shops, The Breakfast Club is a tiny hole in the wall shop that seats about twelve people inside and another twelve outside. Apparently there is a seating area out the back too, but I didn’t venture out that far. The front window has a display of old, decorative plates with silhouettes on them, and there is a stockpile of souvenir spoons on the counter that are used to stir the coffees.

On the morning we went, most of the seating inside was taken, so we chose to sit outside. The menu was short, but quite interesting, and I found myself tossing up between the numerous vegetarian options on the menu. Almost every item was vegetarian, or could be adapted to become vegetarian which was very impressive. In the end I settled on potato croquettes served with avocado, chipotle mayo and poached eggs. The menu also listed bacon, which was obviously removed to make the dish vegetarian, but to my surprise the waitress offered to replace it with haloumi or mushrooms! Woo! I was a bit overwhelmed at having to make an on the spot decision about two of my favourite things (mushrooms and cheese) and in the end I hurriedly chose the mushrooms. I’m not sure if it was the better decision, and only time would tell.

The other half went for a sweet option – the banana and ricotta hotcakes, drenched in salted caramel sauce and topped with macadamia nuts, praline and a generous dollop of mascarpone.

Unfortunately we didn’t fully embrace the hipster culture and stuck with our regular, boring coffee orders, a latte and a flat white. The coffee was good, and we were both content. They hit the spot on a Sunday morning.

The service was friendly and efficient, and it wasn’t long before our orders arrived. As is customary now when eating with me, the other half patiently waited while I took photos of our food. It was a tall ask from me though, because everything really did look amazing, and it was quite an effort to not dig in immediately.

 My first observation was the large plates that our meals were served on. This meant that everything wasn’t crammed together, and there was room to spread all the elements out. Big tick from me. My plate had two big potato croquettes. They were big, plump balls of crumbed and deep fried deliciousness. As I took a bite, the soft potato fell apart in my mouth and I knew I had picked the right dish from the menu. The chipotle mayo was also good. There was not much heat (but perhaps I’m not a good benchmark for heat because my tolerances are apparently too high) but it was creamy and full of flavour. The mushrooms were also a real winner. They were sautéed in garlic, and tasted amazing. All the elements on the plate worked perfectly together and I was busy making sure I got a bit of everything on my fork with each mouthful.

Of course, the egg porn test had to be performed and my dish passed with flying colours.

 The other half also loved his breakfast, and I was lucky enough to have a taste from his plate. The ricotta and banana hotcakes were soft and fluffy and there was no skimping on the salted caramel sauce. As a sweet tooth, I have no doubt that this is what won him over. The big dollop of mascarpone was also welcome, and a pleasant deviation from the usual ice cream that is served with hotcakes. More people in the world need to learn that almost every meal can be improved by either deep frying or adding cheese.

As we sat in almost silence, busy scrapping our plates clean, we realised how big the serves were. Infact we were so full that we didn’t eat again until dinner, which is something that rarely happens to me (I am renowned for eating 76 times a day).

The Breakfast Club may not have received the accolades that many other cafes in the scene have received, or even the publicity across blogs and social media, but it is definitely a winner. Perhaps it’s better that not many people know about it, it means that I can always get a seat whenever I go.

Last year I was stupid enough to try and run a half marathon with no training. Yes, that’s right, NO training, not even a little 5km run within weeks of the big event. Amazingly, I managed to run all the way till 17km, and it was only then that my body gave up and I had to walk the rest. The worst part was the recovery though. I literally couldn’t move the next day, and it took me a good ten minutes to simply get out of bed.

This year I decided to do it all again, but with the difference being that I was going to train properly. I’m a very stubborn person, and when I set my mind to a goal, I give it 110%. This meant that for 12 weeks leading up to the race, I was training 6 days a week, in the morning before I went to work. It sounds crazy, but it very quickly became a habit, and on the few occasions where I skipped a morning run because I was sick, I really missed it. I never thought I’d become one of those people that were addicted to exercise, but by some strange phenomenon I think I have.

Anyway, all the hard work did pay off. I ran my half marathon last week, and I ran it comfortably. For me it was not about the time (which was nothing spectacular), but it was about finishing the race, finishing it well and enjoying it. There were so many things along the 21.1km run that really put a smile on my face. To the parkrun volunteer standing on St Kilda Rd yelling out words on encouragement, thankyou. Parkrun has become an integral part of my Saturday mornings, and everything associated with it makes me smile, so it was heartening to see a parkrun fluoro vest whilst I was trying to run four and a bit parkruns.

To the band that was singing Prince’s Raspberry Beret as we ran onto Albert Park Lake, thankyou. That song is one of my favourites, and despite huffing and puffing somewhat, I still managed to sing a few lines to myself as I was running.

To Melissa, who was standing on St Kilda Rd as I came back up from Fitzroy St, thankyou. It was so exciting so see you standing on the median strip, cheering everyone on, and hearing a ‘GO MONICA!!’ as I ran past! It certainly put a spring in my step, and a noticeable increase in my pace which can my seen on my Garmin stats.

But I don’t think anything excited me more than being able to run onto the MCG. I was so glad that I had something left in the tank because I absolutely ran my heart out as I entered Melbourne’s great sporting cauldron. I sprinted past people, I soaked in the atmosphere, and as an Indian, all I could think about was the fact that I was competing on the same turf that Sachin Tendulkar had competed on. It was just a little bit special.

Of course, once the half marathon was over, my stomach demanded some attention and I was desperate for food. I came home, devoured a massive bowl of risotto, ate half a pizza, and yet I was still starving. Greasy, salty foods are what I always crave after a run, so I decided that I could only be sated if I could get my hands on a burger and chips.  I wanted somewhere reasonably local, because I really was too tired to trek anywhere too far, but I wanted something good. In recent weeks my Instagram feed has been full of burgers from YOMG in Glen Waverley, so this is where we decided to go.

7pm in Glen Waverley and the place was pumping. It still amuses me to think that Glen Waverley is now a place where people come to hang out, and you have to struggle to find parking! When I was at high school, it was just another suburb, nothing special, and you definitely wouldn't plan a big night out there. How times change!

There was a line at YOMG and there was someone at the front writing names down on a waiting list. We were told there would be a ten minute wait for a table, and that if we wanted we could order right then and there, and by the time our food was ready, there would probably we a table ready too. This sounded like a good plan to us.

The menu is simple. YOMG were originally focused on frozen yogurt (hence the name), but the Glen Waverley branch has broadened its offerings to include burgers, fries and milkshakes. There are also chicken wings but this was of no interest to me!  There were two vegetarian burgers on the menu, the Hipster and the Mr. Potato Head. The Hipster was a mushroom burger, and I had been having a lot of mushroom burgers recently, so I opted for Mr. Potato Head. The other half went for one of the specials, which was a chicken burger with Southern fried chicken. We also chose some loaded fries, namely the Fetta Fetish. After all, the only way to improve deep fried potato is to serve it with cheese. The other half also decided that running 21.1k deserved a reward in the form of a milkshake so upon recommendation from one of the staff he ordered a salted peanut butter caramel milkshake. It sounded so indulgent!

As promised, our table was ready in about ten minutes, and almost as soon as we sat down, our food was ready too. The burgers and fries are served in cardboard containers on a tray which makes for excellent food porn photography. You only have to follow the #YoMyGoodness hashtag on Instagram to see how much fun people are having!

After our first bite, it was clear that YOMG knew their burgers. They were exactly what we wanted in a burger. This was no burger trying to disguise itself as healthy. These burgers weren’t hiding the fact that they were oily and fatty, but they were also not skimping on taste and flavour either. The Mr. Potato Head burger was definitely the right choice. To the person who thought of substituting a vegetable patty for a couple of potato cakes, you should be awarded a medal of some sort. It was genius. Add some cheese, some slaw, pickles, mayo, sauce and a fried egg, this burger was a heaven of sorts. It was exactly what my body was craving and I was a happy diner.

The other half was also very content with his burger. I don’t even remember exactly what was in it, but I know there was fried chicken and bacon. Apparently these ingredients are the key to a man’s heart.

I had high hopes for the loaded fries. There was a big container of chips, generously topped with fetta, dukkha, oregano, spring onion and a squeeze of lemon. It sounded amazing, but unfortunately I think it was a little too much. Loaded fries run the risk of becoming soggy too quickly, and this was the case here. It was also extremely heavy, and so we struggled to finish it. I think if would want fetta on your fries, Jimmy Grants does a better version. It is much more restrained, but it means that nothing gets soggy, and the subtle hint of fetta is more than sufficient.

The milkshake however was delicious. Sweet, with the hint of saltiness to bring out the flavour, which was truly indulgent. I am not a big peanut butter fan, but this was good.

When we finished our meal and left, there was still a queue of people waiting to order and get a seat. This was indicative of how good YOMG is. It’s not the healthiest meal, but that is the least of my concerns when I’ve just run a half marathon! It is however super yummy, and a brilliant option when you want a cheat meal.

Located in a small alley, at the top of a flight of stairs, is a place you may never have known existed – unless you are a ramen enthusiast. I had never tasted ramen before. It is a Japanese noodle soup, usually made with a meat based stock as the base, which doesn’t make it very vegetarian friendly. Fukuryu Ramen however, has developed a vegetarian ramen, made with a vegan broth and miso paste, which meant that I could taste it!

We got there for a late dinner one Saturday night. The restaurant was fairly large and only about half full, so finding a table was not an issue. All the ordering is done first at the counter and paid for before you take your seats. I was sure I was going to try the ramen, but the other half is not a soup fan, so instead he decided to try a variety of small dishes.

We sat down, got ourselves some self serve water (they have a choice of chilled, room temperature and sparkling!) and waited for our food. It wasn’t long before the dishes started to arrive.

Our first dish was some okonomi balls. These were fried balls filled with egg and pork belly and served with Japanese BBQ sauce and kewpie mayo. The other half said these were ok, but he wasn’t blown away. There were very heavy, and he didn’t manage to finish them all.

Next to arrive was the chicken karaage, which seemed to be the Japanese take on KFC. With Korean fried chicken, one of the latest fads, it seems only fair that the Japanese put their spin on it too. The chicken was served with citrus mayo and some fresh cabbage salad. In what was becoming a theme for the night, it was deemed to be OK, but again, nothing special.

My ramen arrived next and I was excited. On the tables there were a variety of condiments that you could add to your dish, so I added some chilli flakes. There was also a variety of sauces and oils, but I decided to take the conservative approach because nothing seemed to be labelled and I am sure that some of the condiments would have had fish sauce in them.

The vegetarian miso ramen came with buttered corn, grilled pumpkin and a gooey egg. There was also some soft noodles, mushrooms and sunflower seeds. The broth was lovely and light, and very comforting. The egg was perfect, and whilst I may not be a ramen connoisseur, I know a good egg when I taste one.  I had ordered a regular size ramen which was perfect for me. They also do a large size, but I think this would be too much for most people.

The other half still had another side dish to eat. He had ordered soft shell crab mini sandwiches. These were soft shell crabs served with cabbage and spicy mayo in a steamed bun. These were deemed to be delicious, but way too spicy. I think there were equal proportions of crab to spicy mayo and it was just too much. In the end the other half tried to scrape off as much of the mayo as possible, but it was still too spicy.

We also ordered some curry chips. I am a sucker for anything deep fried and I can rarely go past chips. In line with the latest craze of loaded fries, Fukuryu Ramen and loaded they fries up with some Japanese potato curry (yes, potato with potato) and cheese. The chips weren’t bad, but like all loaded fries, it was a very heavy dish, and because of the curry, the chips went soggy very quickly.

We also ordered a green tea parfait to finish off the meal. Unfortunately I am not a matcha fan, so I really didn’t like this dessert. It was basically matcha soft serve topped with cream. I forgot to take a photo of this one too, so you’re just going to have to trust me on this.

Fukuryu Ramen are also on the social media train. For any selfie you share of your food with their hashtags on Instagram, you can score yourself a free green tea soft serve. Once again, I’m not a fan, so not worth it for me, but for matcha lovers, I’m thinking this is a good deal!

On the whole we weren’t blown away by the meal. The ramen was lovely, but none of the sides were anything special. Still, if you are on the hunt for a decent ramen, perhaps Fukuryu Ramen is worth a visit.

Disclaimer: I dined here courtesy of Zomato and Fukuryu Ramen, however I was not paid for this post and all opinions are my own.

At the recent Age Good Food awards, Tipo 00 received the accolade for Best New Restaurant and also was awarded one hat. Given our recent dining experience, I can confidently say that the awards were deserved. Named after the traditional flour used to make fresh pasta, Tipo 00 prides themselves on their housemade pasta, but to be honest I think they do a pretty good job with everything else on the menu too.

We went there for dinner, and not wanting to have to decide what to order from the menu, we decided to indulge in the Chef’s Table option. $55 for a selection of entrées, two pastas and a dessert sounded fabulous, and the waiter told us that he could easily accommodate my vegetarian requirements, so we were all in!

The meal started with a series of small plates to share. Our first dish of the night was a mushroom and truffle arancini. These were delicious bites of a crisp and crunchy shell, full flavoured risotto and delicious gooey cheese in the centre. Mushrooms are one of my favourite flavours so, for me, this was the perfect start to the meal.

Our next entrée was a complimentary serve of bread, but in true Tipo 00 style, they took it one step further than a usual restaurant.   The bread was a freshly baked focaccia, and served with it was some fresh ricotta drizzled in basil oil. The flavour of the basil, the creaminess of the ricotta and the soft bread, made this dish amazing.

Our third entrée was my favourite. We received some beautifully dressed heirloom tomatoes, croutons of sour dough and the shining star of the dish, a big hunk of burrata. For those of you who haven’t had burrata before, do yourself a favour and try it. It is AH-MAZING. I don’t think anything I could write about this cheese would convey how good it was. You’re just going to have to trust me when I say that you need this in your life.

We thought this was the end of our entrées, but suddenly there was another dish placed on our table. Our last small dish was braised globe artichoke hearts, served with almonds and parmesan. This dish was definitely not as good as the burrata, but it was still good. It was served piping hot, and the contrasting textures of the artichokes and the almonds made it an interesting dish.

As we waited for our mains to arrive (I might add that the service here is super quick, so we didn’t wait long at all!), we took the opportunity to watch the chefs work at the semi open kitchen. Working at a large marble benchtop, it was special to watch them at their craft, whether it be shelling prawns, shaving prosciutto off a leg of ham or kneading dough.

Our first pasta dishes arrived. I received a cauliflower tortellini in a burnt butter sauce. Tipo 00 weren’t lying when they said that they prided themselves on their pasta. I am lucky enough to have some pretty amazing homemade pasta on a regular basis courtesy of some pretty amazing Italians in my life, and this Tipo 00 pasta was right up there. It was soft and melted in my mouth. The cauliflower filling was also beautifully flavoured and the rich butter sauce complimented it perfectly.

The other half received his first non vegetarian course of the night. It was a squid ink tagliolini with squid and botarga, which is a cured fish roe. This dish looked so pretty, and was deemed to be very tasty too.

My second dish was a stinging nettles and saltbush risotto served with pink peppercorns. Vibrant green in colour, and garnished with little pink droplets, the texture of the risotto was perfectly creamy. As expected, it was also full of flavour, and whilst I was a little disappointed and not being able to experience the amazing pasta again, the risotto was still appreciated.

The other half received what he declared as his favourite dish so far. It was a potato gnocchi served with braised duck, porcini mushroom and pecorino cheese. The gnocchi was described as soft and fluffy, but the highlight was the sauce. Rich in flavour, with tender pieces of duck, he said it was possibly one of the best sauces he had tasted. Big call for an Italian.

We also received a salad to have with our mains. It was a rocket, radicchio and pear salad dressed with lots of delicious, sweet balsamic.  The bitterness of the radicchio contrasted the sweetness of the pear and made it work. I hadn’t tried this combination before, but I think I may make it myself.

And then it was time for dessert. Tipo 00 had possibly saved the best for last. We had been eyeing off the desserts on the other table and suffering from a little bit of food envy, but to our excitement, we received two mini dishes of the infamous tipomisu, the Tipo 00 take on tiramisu.

There were little cakes of rich chocolate and coffee, and dollops of creamy mascarpone. Then the waiter poured hot, thick salted caramel over the dish. Oh boy. It was special.  I’m not usually a big fan of chocolate desserts but somehow this hit the spot. I think it was the salted caramel sauce that really made this dish, I could have drunk that by the cup.

We also received a second dessert to share. It was a lemon myrtle panna cotta served with toasted almonds, dehydrated mandarin and mandarin coulis. Panna cotta is one of my favourite desserts and this one was good. The flavours were delicate and fresh, making it the perfect ending to the meal.

Our experience at Tipo 00 was a special one. This is definitely a restaurant worthy of its accolades. Just make sure you book. It was busy on the night we went, and given all the recent publicity, I can only imagine that it will get busier.