400 Gradi, Helados Jauja, The Town Mouse, Top Paddock, Burch & Purchese, LuxBite and Tivoli Road Bakery - Melbourne

Where is the world's best pizza? It's at 400 Gradi, a title earned by owner Johnny Di Francesco after he won the Campionata Mondiale Della Pizza world pizza championships in Parma, Italy in April this year.  Di Franceso beat 600 competitors with his margherita pizza ($21), the simple but classic combo of tomato, buffalo mozzarella and basil.


Making pizzas ready for the wood-fired oven

They make their pizzas here according to true Naples tradition. Di Franesco was the first Australian trained in Naples to the rules of the Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana, a non-profit association that aims to promote and protect the "true Neapolitan pizza". The rules are strict, governing the ingredients, production methods and cooking times to ensure the pizza is "soft, elastic, easy to manipulate and fold".

Today Di Fransesco is the association's Australasian Principal, reviewing applications across the region before officially inducting them into the fold. There are now nine certified members in Australia.


Pizzas fresh out of the oven

While we wait for our pizzas to arrive, I hang around the kitchen with my camera. The guys by the pizza oven are quick to ham it up for the camera and are jocular with conversation. I soon find out all the pizza makers are from Naples. When I ask how long they've been making pizza, I find out they have more than 45 years' experience between the three of them. Impressive.


Caserta (ce) Caserta $25.50
San Marzano tomato, mozzarella di bufala, Levoni prosciuotto di parma and rocket

Back at the table, our pizzas arrive thick and fast. Everything arrives all at once so we barely have room for our plates and glasses. The margherita is simple but tasty, with an amplified zing of sweet acidity from the use of San Marzano tomatoes. The caserta pizza is draped with thin ribbons of prosciutto beneath a nest of bitter rocket leaves.


Zingara (rc) reggio Calabria $22
San Marzano tomato, fior di latte, hot salami and rocket

There's plenty of fire in our zingara hot salami pizza. It's explosive with chilli, tempered by molten puddles of fior di latte mozzarella.


Fruitti di mare (ct) Catania $26
San Marzano tomato, fior di latte, mussels, prawn, scallops, vongole, rocket and parsley

We also order the seafood pizza, piled high with seafood that's been cooked separately rather than incorporated into the pizza. It's a bounty of mussels, clams, prawns and scallops.


Pizza upskirt shot

The pizza base has all the classic markings of a woodfired pizza, but we do find our pizzas are bordering on cold (even after factoring in photography time). That may be why they're more on the dense and doughy side rather than light and springy. The G-Man says the pizzas were significantly better on a previous visit, even though the restaurant was busier last time.


Spaghetti gamberi $27.50
Prawns, zucchini, cherry tomatoes and crayfish bisque 

We dig into a bowl of their spaghetti gamberi too, coils of al dente pasta tumbled with fat prawns, zucchini and smashed cherry tomatoes. The crayfish bisque adds a complex sweetness.


Linguine pescatore $27.50
Fresh local seafood and shellfish, white wine, extra virgin olive oil, garlic and parsley

Linguine pescatore brings on more seafood. There's not a huge amount of sauce in either dish, but the seafood has been cooked well, so it's still plump and juicy.

Tiramisu $14.50

We can't pass up their homemade tiramisu either. We sink our spoon through layers of fluffy mascarpone, coffee-soaked savoiardi fingers and a dense dusting of cocoa.




The Town Mouse


Smoked duck liver parfait with pickled cucumber and crisp potato $3.50 each

Less than three kilometres south of 400 Gradi is The Town Mouse. I was keen to revisit to try more of their menu. Last time I'd only managed to sample a few dishes on my own.


Bar stool seating inside the Town Mouse

The restaurant fills quickly on a Saturday night. By 7pm the place is full. Last time I'd sat out the back, but tonight we're in the front bar area. Everyone's on bar stools at high tables and the mood is energetic amongst diners.


Complimentary sourdourgh with seaweed butter

It's hard not to ravish the complimentary sourdough, the soft but chewy slabs of bread slathered with lashings of umami-rich seaweed butter.


Oyster, chardonnay vinegar sorbet and lemon $4 each

We start with oysters, served au naturale with a quenelle of chardonnay vinegar sorbet that gives the oyster brine a refreshing lift.


Veal tartare, soured cream, horseradish, ginger and celery $15

The venison tartare has been replaced by veal tartare, hidden beneath deep-fried leaves of savoy cabbage. There's a frisson of tension as we part the leaves to finally reveal the treasure beneath, a dice of quivering pink veal seasoned with sour cream.


Heirloom kale, slow cooked egg, quinoa, comte and mustard $20
Black angus intercostals (500g), watercress and green chilli $39

Heirloom kale with a slow-cooked egg is a surprise hit of the evening, the runny egg yolk tossed through the deep-fried curls of kale so it forms a rich sauce. And the thick slices of black angus intercostals (the meat between the ribs) is lusciously fatty and flavoursome.


Buttermilk poached pear, walnut, caramel, roast chocolate and pear sorbet $15

We finish up with the dessert made famous on MasterChef, the buttermilk poached pear. It's a pretty picture of a dish, the quenelle of pear sorbet perched just like an egg on a nest of roasted chocolate coils. Beneath the soil of walnut and caramel rubble we find the slice of pear, poached gently in buttermilk until tender.


Helados Jauja



Rounding out our Carlton adventures is a visit to Helados Jauja. This Argentine-style ice cream shop was started up by ex-finance lawyer Po-Lin Lim after travelling through Patagonia. There she met artist and ice cream expert Lucia Adler from Helados Jauja in Argentina. After undergoing intensive tutelage, Lim opened up this artisan ice cream shop dedicated to small production and simple flavours with only one or two primary ingredients.


Ice cream cabinet 

The flavours in the ice cream cabinet changes every day, with weekly specials highlighted on the blackboard. They do free tastings too, so you can double-check that your chosen flavours are exactly what you expect before you order.


Durian and fior di latte; honey pistachio and yerba mate

We revel in the milky creaminess of the fior di latte, the toffee notes in the honey pistachio and the muted bitterness of yerba mate, a popular tea drunk heavily in Uruguay. The durian blows us away completely, not so hard to understand when you find out the Lim is of Malaysian-Chinese background. There's a fierce and unadulterated intensity that we durian fiends adore.


90% chocolate and mango raspberry pavlova

We dig the 90% chocolate too, deep with cocoa flavour, as well as the summer lightness of the mango raspberry pavlova. The texture is noticeably smooth too, and we fall a little in love with their sculpted scoops, deliberately shaped into mountain-like peaks as a tribute to its Patagonian roots.


Top Paddock



Closer to the Yarra River, we start breakfast one morning at Top Paddock, winner of best cafe in The Age Good Cafe Guide 2014 awards. There's a warm and cosy feel to the place, drenched with sunshine in a modern sophisticated fit-out of timber, tiles and steel.


Counter seating at Top Paddock

We nab one of the last remaining tables at 9am. By 9.30am there's a significant queue.


Three quarter flat white $3.80

Much of its popularity can be attributed to its reliably good coffee and paddock-to-plate inspired menu. They use 5 Senses coffee here and a custom-built milk-dispensing system that can hold up to 120 litres on tap. My three quarter flat white is just what I need for an early start. There's some deft barista action at work here.


Coffee counter

The all-day menu includes a myriad of options that range from savoury to sweet. There are 20 different options to choose from, ranging from light options like fruit toast or bircher muesli to more substantial dishes like gin and lime cured ocean trout and Rangers Valley wagyu steak sandwiches. There's a strong emphasis on sourcing local produce with a menu shout-out to several noted suppliers.


Chilli scrambled eggs with local seasonal mushrooms and feta on toast $17.50

The chilli scrambled eggs are a lesson in the magnificence of simplicity. The scrambled eggs are a deep golden yellow, cooked so there's still a rich wetness to them. Scattered across the top are a medley of mushrooms and a pristine white dollop of feta that ties everything together.


Fresh Queensland soft shell mud crab roll $17.50
with a fennel and dill salad and lime mayonnaise

The Queensland soft shell mud crab roll is so good that noone really wants to share.


Queensland soft shell mud crab

The toasted brioche bun is the perfect vehicle for the tangle of crunchy battered soft shell crab, amplifying its sweetness. Add a squeeze of lime and there's nothing but silence around the table.


Sticky black gingerbread with drunken berries and chocolate ganache $16.50

Sticky black gingerbread is the perfect segue into dessert. The toasted gingerbread has treacly notes, slathered with a compote of drunken berries and livened with pops of fresh blueberries and raspberries.


Blueberry and ricotta hotcake $18
with berries, organic maple, seeds and double cream

We couldn't resist ordering the blueberry and ricotta hotcake either, especially when we spy six of them on the table behind us, one for each female. It's hard not to admire its prettiness, garnished with sprinkles of sunflower and pumpkin seeds, fresh berries and edible flowers. The hotcake is a tad dense and stodgy - mostly due to its sheer size - but that's nothing a good smearing of double cream won't fix.


Tivoli Road Bakery


Cakes, cookies, doughnuts and tarts

We hit South Yarra for our own dessert trail of sweets, starting with Tivoli Road Bakery, once part of the Movida family but now trading on its own.


Lemon curd doughnuts

Tivoli Road might seem stuck out in the middle of nowhere, but patrons are spilling out of this tiny bakery, camped on the footpath with their haul of sweets.


Lemon and polenta loaf

We're a little bamboozled by the array of treats on offer at first, staring slack-jawed at the huge display of cakes, tarts and pastries in the window.


Salted caramel and lemon curd doughnuts $5 each

The doughnuts call out loudest though, especially with their fillings spilling out the top like leering tongues. The salted caramel doughnut is saved from being overly sweet but the lemon curd doughnut wins my heart. The doughnuts themselves have an enviable fluffiness, with just enough sugar around the outside to make a delicious mess.


Pisachio cake and lemon brulee tarts

They have a wide selection of organic stoneground sourdoughs too, and I take home a white sourdough ($6) and a soda bread ($7.50) that are so substantially heavy, it threatens to tip our group over our combined luggage allowance. I'm glad I persevered. They're both spectacularly good, especially the soda bread which has a nutty sweetness that I'm keen to try and recreate soon.


Burch & Purchese Sweet Studio


Meringue clouds on the counter at Burch & Purchese

Around the corner and up the road is Burch & Purchese, a wonderland of all things sugar by owner and chef Darren Purchese.


Explosive raspberry milk chocolate $9

The cakes display runs the length of the showroom, an army of perfectly lined up desserts with dizzying detailed descriptions.


Cake display counter

Staff always seem to be female, wearing frilly aprons in pastel pink.


Chocolates, sweets and preserves

The opposite wall is lined with all kinds of take-home goodies, including chocolates, sweets and preserves. I bought a jar of the strawberry, balsamic and chocolate jam that is disappearing at a rapid rate on toast.


Belgian white chocolate lollipops $5.50


Milk chocolate and hazelnut cream chocpops $3 each


Caramel, chocolate and hazelnut choux $9

There's no seating inside but they do have tables and chairs set up on the footpath outside. After much deliberation, we went with the caramel, chocolate and hazelnut choux, a massive orb of light pastry filled with a rich chocolate and hazelnut cream. The entire thing was crusted with hazelnut sable. Perched on top was a disc of dark chocolate covered with shards of salted caramel.


Beetroot, strawberry, rose and vanilla

The beetroot, strawberry, rose and vanilla sponge won points for creativity, a marriage of earthy beetroot with contrasting components of strawberry jam and yoghurt sponge. You could definitely taste the beetroot in the layer of sponge, as well as the teensy splodge of beetroot microwave sponge on top. Interspersed among all of this was white chocolate and vanilla cream and a layer of crunchy almond meringue.


Lux Bite


Lolly bag cake

Lux Bite is a further walk from Burch and Purchese than I remembered, but a little walk between desserts was definitely needed to offset our calorific intake for the weekend.


Cake and gateaux display

This eat-in cafe and cake shop packs in a serious amount of cakeage for the space. The back display cabinet is crammed with a rainbow of desserts, all meticulously presented on gold cardboard bases.


Caramel Cravings $7.50
Caramel on a chocolate and coconut base, topped with baby salted caramel macarons

The attention to detail by owner and head chef Bernard Chu is impressive. Originally from Kelantan in Malaysia, there's an eye-popping precision to each dessert, each one an exact replica of the one in front.


Green tea cheesecake $8.50
Green tea jaconde, Japanese rice wine, pistachio ganache, cream cheese and salted green tea crumble

Asian flavours rear their head in many of the desserts here, especially green tea. The Japanese drink Calpis even makes an appearance in the striking Blue Calpis cheesecake.


Meringue Monster $9
Green tea sponge, pistachio, watermelon yoghurt, sour strawberry mousse and merinuge


Blue Calpis $8.50
Calpis and mascarpone mousse cake, white chocolate sponge, blueberry jelly and blueberry cream topped with blueberry meringue and crumble


Endless love $9
Lychee ganache, rose cream, lychee and fresh raspberries


Kaya coconut jam $10

I grabbed a jar of the kaya coconut jam to take home. It's a rich concoction of egg yolks, coconut milk and pandan that needs to be spread generously on toast with lots of cold butter. It's also dangerously good eaten just with a spoon.


Meringue Monster $9
Green tea sponge, pistachio, watermelon yoghurt, sour strawberry mousse and merinuge

We settle in with the meringue monster, a tower of green tea sponge stacked with watermelon yoghurt and sour strawberry mousse. The fruity tartness of the middle is a well-balanced counterpoint to the sweetness of the blow-torched meringue on the outside.


Lolly Bag cake $7.50
[From bottom]: Banana lolly jaconde, Freckles crunch, mandarin jaffa ganache, musk mallow, banana lolly jaconde, spearmint leaf buttercream and Redskins glaze

And we had to try the lolly bag cake, another dessert that everyone knows from MasterChef. It's a multi-tiered construction of all your favourite lollies from childhood, although it's hard to discern each flavour if you eat all the layers at once. I have much more fun eating it layer by layer.

Together it's like your lolly bag melted in the backseat under the sun, but individually there's plenty of childish delight in unravelling each flavour. My favourite layer is the Redskins glaze on top, a vote that's unanimous around the table.

And that's the second last of my Melbourne eats. Only one more post to go!

>> Read the next Melbourne 2014 weekend post: Abbotsford Farmers Market and Beatrix
<< Read the first Melbourne 2014 weekend post: Cumulus Up, Supernormal and Om Nom





400 Gradi
99 Lygon Street, Brunswick, Melbourne
Tel: +61 (03) 9380 2320
Open 7 days 12pm-11pm


Helados Jauja
254 Lygon Street, Carlton, Melbourne
Tel: +61 (03) 9041 2927
Monday to Friday 1.45pm-10.30pm
Saturday and Sunday 1.15pm-10.30pm


The Town Mouse Bar and Restaurant
312 Drummond St, Carlton, Melbourne
Tel: +61 (03) 9347 3312
Lunch Friday to Sunday 12pm-3pm
Dinner 7 nights 5.30pm-11pm
Closed Dec 2, 2014 - Jan 13, 2015




Burch & Purchese Sweet Studio
647 Chapel Street, South Yarra, Melbourne
Tel: +61 (03) 9827 7060
Open 7 days 10am-6.30pm


LuxBite
38 Toorak Road, South Yarra, Melbourne
Tel: +61 (03) 9867 5888
Open 7 days 10.30am-7pm


Tivoli Road Bakery
3 Tivoli Road, South Yarra, Melbourne
Tel: +61 (03) 9041 4345
Monday to Friday 7.30am-4pm
Saturday and Sunday 8am-4pm


Top Paddock
658 Church Street, Richmond, Melbourne
Tel: +61 (03) 9429 4332
Monday to Friday 7am-4pm
Saturday and Sunday 8am-4pm


>> Read the next Melbourne 2014 weekend post: Abbotsford Farmers Market and Beatrix
<< Read the first Melbourne 2014 weekend post: Cumulus Up, Supernormal and Om Nom


Related Grab Your Fork posts:
Melb - Abbotsford Convent Farmers Market and Beatrix, North Melbourne
Melb - CBD: Cumulus Up, Supernormal, Om Nom, Gami, Fall from Grace + more
Melb - Fitzroy/Collingwood: Belle's Hot Chicken, Bluebonnet BBQ + more
Melb - Footscray and surrounds: 8bit Burgers, Candied Bakery, Cobb Lane + more
Melb - Seven of Melbourne's best cafes