Zero Mode cafe, Box Hill

 

Today I had lunch at Zero Mode.  It was one of Sylvia's social media discoveries with pretty food and a pannacotta teddy bear in a drink.  We were meeting my friend Yav and her daughter.  They were happy with the choice but we were pretty distracted catching up.  The lunch had been planned earlier in the year but all of us have had our fair share of ill health that caused the meal to be postponed a few times.  It was worth the wait!

Although Sylvia and I both chose another drink, I could not resist ordering the Iced Matcha: with matcha choc panna cotta ($9.90).  Sylvia and I had loved the photos of the teddy bear drinks.  It is not clear on the menu which ones have teddy bears unless you are in the know about the panna cotta drinks.  Fortunately Sylvia had done her homework!

The cute little teddy bear was made out of panna cotta.  I had expected it to be out of frozen drink when I had seen the pictures.  It was served on a lot of ice with a bottle of iced matcha latte on the side. 

Once we had admired the teddy and taken enough pictures (are there ever enough when it is this cute), I poured the latte over the teddy.  I had intended to try and drink some.  One sip was enough.  Milky drinks aren't usually my thing nor is creamy jellied desserts.  Sylvia valiantly had it in lieu of dessert.  She had never had panna cotta before and she was very happy with her matcha choc version.

Meanwhile I loved my purple Butterfly pea lemonade ($8) and Sylvia enjoyed her Fat Boy: iced latte, cheese foam, brown sugar foam ($8.5).  Yav and her daughter had cafe lattes.

Sylvia had her eye on the Nori Chips with seaweed flakes ($14).  These were some of the most flavourful chips I have ever had, with their generous dusting of nori salt.

I ordered the Veggie Mode Poke Bowl which the menu described as avocado, edamame, bean curd, beetroot hummus, pickled radish, and carrot with a sesame dressing.  I chose my bowl be served with the kale and quinoa grain option ($24).  Other options were white rice, brown rice and coleslaw.  My bowl actually had coleslaw but not beetroot hummus.  That was fine.  I loved it.  There was a lot of food but it was delicious with the creamy sesame dressing.  The pickled radish was a lovely addition that cut through the rich dressing.  Yav also had the Veggie Mode Poke Bowl and her daughter had the Chicken Mode Poke Bowl.

Before we left, Sylvia and I went to look at the desserts.  They looked really good but we were too full to try any.  Sylvia has been looking at cream cakes online that have a plastic sleeve to keep the sauce in until it is lifted up to let the cream fall over the cake.  They look impressive but rich.  She particularly liked the look of the Thai Milk Tea Cream Cake but I would have chosen the Ferrero Rocher cream cake.

I could not resist sharing this notice of animal shaped macarons with interesting flavours such as a yuzu pikachu or a sesame koala.  It was not cheap but how cute is it!

Zero Mode was definitely worth the long drive there.  It is in the bottom of a new hotel building and has a modern yet welcoming interior.  Shelves of bottles and plants added to the ambience but I could have done without all the carcasses of some small animal on display.  It seems part of the Asian Australian fusion vibe of the place.  We really loved our visit and would definitely return.

Zero Mode
G03/850 Whitehorse Rd, Box Hill VIC 3128.
On the Ground Floor of Art Series The Chen Hotel.
Open: Mon-Thurs 8am-10pm, Fri-Sat 8am-Late
https://zeromode.com.au/