I've had "bottomless brunch" on my to-do list for ages. They started popping up around town a couple of years ago and seem to be everywhere now. I love the idea of a long weekend lunch - nibbling on delicious food and having a few lazy cocktails with friends. I hadn't done one since the All-You-Can-Eat (and drink) Yum Cha at the (now defunct) Roving Marrow three-and-a-half years ago, so I was totally overdue for another. I was thrilled when I got an invite to try out the Feed Me Menu with Bottomless Booze at The Black Toro's new location on Chapel street, and used the excuse to have a girls' day out with my buddy April!

The Black Toro

104 Chapel Street

Windsor, VIC 3181

Ph: (03) 9521-3858

Website

The Black Toro is a popular modern-Mexican restaurant in Glen Waverley, and they've just opened a new location on Chapel street in Windsor. The Feed Me menu is $60 per person, with the chef's selection of dishes to share, and on weekend lunches you can upgrade to the "Bottomless" option for an extra $28. This will get you 1.5 hours of bottomless frozen margaritas, mimosas and bloody Marys. Cheers! (For your reference I've listed the menu price of the items in the picture captions; that's how much they would cost if you were to order them à la carte).

We started with a couple of frozen margaritas - mango and pineapple for April, and coconut, lime and jalapeño for me. They were refreshing and sweet (but not too sweet), and I'm always a sucker for tropical flavours. All too easy to drink!

The Black Toro Guacamole - roasted tomatoes, queso fresco, corn chips - $12

The corn chips were great! Made from fried pieces of corn tortillas, they were a step above your regular Doritos or CCs. Super crunchy and fresh and totally compulsive. It was hard to stop picking at these throughout the meal.

Jalapeño & cheese croquette with lime crema - $4.5 each

I don't think you can go wrong with deep fried cheese and jalapeños! Crunchy, hot, melty, spicy happiness on a plate.

Porcini mushroom donuts with whipped crème fraîche - $12

Savoury donuts! These porcini mushroom donuts were crisp on the outside and creamy within, and quite strongly flavoured. Good drinking food!

Salmon sashimi, crispy ginger, coconut & coriander vinaigrette - $19

The salmon sashimi was probably my least favourite dish of the day - although the fish was lovely and fresh, the cold creamy coconut vinaigrette had the flavours of a Thai-style curry, so for me it was a bit incongruous to have those flavours in a cold dish.

Kingfish tostada - crispy tostada, guacamole, toasted peanut slaw - $14

Much more successful were the kingfish tostada - super fresh kingfish slices in a sour citrus dressing, with creamy guac, crunchy peanuts and finely-sliced cabbage, all on a crisp tostada. They were really tasty, and I loved the contrast of textures, but they were a little messy to eat. Definitely not date food! (Although come to think of it, I'd still order these tostadas on a date because deliciousness is deliciousness and would you really want to date someone who'd judge you for eating messily?)

Short rib tacos - hard shell, spicy sauce, radish - $14

These teeny-tiny tacos were super cute and really delicious. They were very simple and really well balanced - just a crisp taco shell, slow cooked short ribs, some spicy mayo and crunchy fresh radish.

Fish tempura tacos - soft corn tortilla, chipotle mayo, cabbage and herb slaw - $16

I can't resist a fish taco, and The Black Toro's version was a winner. I loved the crunchy tempura fish and the smoky chipotle mayo, all wrapped in a warm soft corn tortilla. Classic and perfect.

BBQ beef short rib - aji panca glaze, corn salsa - $36 Baby gem lettuce, manchego, truffle-caper vinaigrette - $10

And finally, out came the main dish! Phew! We had a BBQ beef short rib, with lots of delicious corn, both in kernels and puréed. The beef was tender and had a sweet, kinda char siew vibe. It went well with the fresh corn. Would order again. Also, special shout-out for the side salad, which looked simple but really packed a flavour punch. Crunchy leaves of baby gem lettuce were dressed in a punchy truffle-caper vinaigrette and topped with slivers of Manchego cheese - fabulous!

Peanut butter cheesecake - PB cream, chocolate ice cream & honeycomb - $15

For dessert, we couldn't go past the peanut butter cheesecake. This was a deconstructed dessert - two super-smooth quenelles of peanut butter and cream cheese mousse, one quenelle of chocolate ice-cream, some biscuit crumbs, and super crunchy honeycomb. It was very rich and decadent - perfect for this peanut butter lover!

We really enjoyed lunch at The Black Toro. I was impressed with the food, especially the tacos and tostadas, and the Feed Me menu was a very good feed! I liked the relaxed vibe and would happily go back on my own coin.

The days are slowly getting longer and the weather's getting warmer - I'm predicting (or hoping) for more bottomless brunches in the sun. Do you like bottomless brunches / lunches? Do you have a favourite one? Hit me up in the comments!

Sarah and April dined as guests of The Black Toro

Hello hello! Last weekend I spent a day down at CherryHill Orchard with a group of lovely food bloggers. There was cherry picking, cherry eating, cherry cocktails, cherry ice-cream and more. Not a bad way to spend a summer's day! I don't know about you, but that day my Instagram feed was awash with cherries!

Cherry picking is hard work, so after filling our buckets, we were definitely ready for drinks and lunch! (This lunch, by The Essential Caterer, was put on specially for our visit; however on regular days customers are welcome to bring a picnic lunch, and the shop at CherryHill sells coffee, cherry drinks, cherry ice-cream, and other sweet treats).

Cocktail fixings

Cocktail fixings

Cherry Spritzer

I don't normally drink soft drink - and I can't stand artificially "cherry"-flavoured drinks like cherry cola - but I totally loved the Cherish cherry spritzer. Made of cherries and carbonated water, it wasn't overly sweet, and had a really gentle, totally natural cherry flavour. Would drink again. I enjoyed mine mixed with soda water, bitters, and lime juice in a refreshing mocktail.

Cherry mocktail!

And here's the food! Over lunch, we also got to meet some cherry growers, not only from CherryHill, but also from other cherry farms in the region on the Victorian Cherry Trail.

Antipasto

Beef Crostini

Caramelised onion tart

Chicken Caesar Tart

Quiche and Cheese Platter

Cherry soft serve

CherryHill Orchards picnic area

Sarah visited CherryHills Orchard as a guest of the Victorian Cherry Association

So that was our brunch at Third Chapter! It was an enjoyable meal and a really pleasant spot for catching up and chatting. For me personally, it's a little far for frequent visits, however for those who live close by, Third Chapter would make a great local.

Sarah and Emma had brunch as guests of Third Chapter

I don't often visit new suburbs in Melbourne (definitely an east-side girl through and through), so it's nice when I get an opportunity to venture out of my comfort zone and visit somewhere new. Most recently it was to Elsternwick, for the preview dinner of Bang Bang. Walking the short distance from the station to the restaurant, I was surprised by how beachy it felt. The fact that it was a beautiful summer's day didn't hurt!

Bang Bang

So, Bang Bang. Bang Bang is a new French-Indochine-inspired restaurant and bar built in the old Caulfield Rifle Club. With a view over the park next to the station, and both indoor and outdoor seating, it's a nice spot to spend a balmy evening. (Or a balmy morning - they do breakfast too! #coffeetococktails - the hashtag of the night).

For the preview dinner, we were treated to a range of dishes from their dinner menu.

Left: Betel leaf confit duck with cashew nut chilli Right: Betel leaf pomelo with cashew nut chilli

We started with betel leaf appetizers. I particularly liked the confit duck one, finding it fresh and light, with a sharp dressing and a generous amount of fresh herbs.

Chargrilled King Prawn, roasted shallot, lime

The chargrilled king prawns were great, all plump and juicy and with a good charred taste and a spicy chilli sauce.

Sashimi of kingfish, caramelised cashew, trout roe

I've always loved sashimi. Salmon has always been my favourite, but lately I've been getting more and more into kingfish. The kingfish here was super fresh, and the dressing complimented the fish without overpowering it. Big yes to the crisp caramelised cashew and briny pops of trout roe too!

Crispy Chicken Ribs, house spice, bang bang Sriracha

I can never resist fried chicken, and Bang Bang's version was very good, with a crisp and spicy batter, juicy meat, and a super punchy Sriracha-based hot sauce.

Tofu, avocado and sesame seed, mint, black vinegar, ginger

This salad was a highlight of the meal. Tofu, avocado, coriander and black vinegar? Yes please! These are a few of my favourite things, mixed together into a dish that was creamy, yet totally light and vibrant.

Chargrilled Pork Neck, iceberg lettuce, red pepper jaew

The chargrilled pork neck was fine, but not spectacular - I found it a little dry, and the flavours weren't as memorable as the rest of the dishes we tried that night.

Top: Roasted pumpkin, kipfler potato, cinnamon, anise curry Bottom: Chargrilled Cape Grim short rib, wild ginger, holy basil broth

Much better were the next two main dishes that came out - a gorgeously aromatic and creamy pumpkin and potato curry, and a meltingly tender chargrilled Cape Grim short rib, in a clean and spicy broth of wild ginger and holy basil broth. Both of these, with some steamed rice? Delicious.

Black Sticky Rice, pandan sweet cream, mango, sorbet

The first of two desserts we tried was black sticky rice. This reminded me of my mum's bee ko moi (or pulut hitam), a sweet Malaysian soup made of black glutinous rice, served with rich coconut cream. Very sedap! Bang Bang's take on black sticky rice was altogether more pretty, and also lightened up with mango sorbet and fresh mango. I'm a fan.

Fresh Watermelon, chilli salt

I tend to prefer rich desserts to plain fresh fruit, but I really liked the watermelon with chilli salt - it was an unusual and refreshing way to finish a big meal. Very summery.

This was a really fun evening, and I was impressed by the food. I'm definitely keen to go back, especially to try their South East Asian take on Melbourne brunch dishes!

Sarah and Alaina attended the preview dinner of Bang Bang at the Rifle Club as guests