Melbourne Cat Cafe, Good Measure and the Queen Victoria market

A few weeks back we had a visit to the Melbourne Cat Cafe, sandwiched between a borek from the Queen Victoria Market and a drink at Good Measure cafe.  It was a fun day of cute cats, good food and great decor, overseen by this suave gentleman, Simba (above photo).

We stopped at The Borek shop for a borek on the way.  I have been going here a long time but it has been a while between boreks.  I was surprised that they have doubled their space since I was last there.  The boreks are still delicious and cheap, though at $5 they are about twice what they cost when I wrote about the Vic Market in 2010.  Sylvia had a cheese and spinach while I had the spicy potato.

We had time for a quick look around the Deli Hall.  Strangely it is called the Dairy Hall on the Queen Vic website.  This is much more than a dairy hall.  Just look at this gorgeous display of olives and pickled vegetables.  There are also cakes, pasta, tofu, bread and chocolate.  In fact the deli hall was looking a bit more upmarket than last time I was there.

 For instance, there is now a Gewurzhaus spice counter.  They do the best spices and gifts.

Then we walked to the Cat Cafe.  It still has the same inviting sign that hung outside its old location in Guilford Lane in the CBD.  The old place closed mid-last year and they only reopened in a new home a few months ago.  Sylvia and E were there on day 2 and loved the tiny kittens.

Inside are a lot of the cool stuff and decor from the old location.  The front counter where we checked in was in front of a cute curtain and there are many cute cat gifts for sale around the room.  We had booked and were ushered in with other people starting their session.

We had a little entrance area where we took off our shoes.  In the photo above, you can see them fenced in like the animals and the cat relaxing on the seats.  Isn't it ironic!  The cats all have names but only some had their name on their photos.  We have identified Hazel, Simba, Mickey and Salem on the couches but cannot work out the name of the cat sitting in the tree.

There are lots of fun cat artwork and curios around the two rooms.  Ruby is sitting up high while Salem and Clyde are below.  I loved the Christmas tree in the downstairs room but never saw a cat try and climb it.  Surely this would be the place to see a cat in a Christmas tree. 

Above are a few of the cats.  The black and white ones are the kittens which have grown since Sylvia was here.  The one at the top is Ruby, a one eyed gunner!  The frill around her neck and other neckwear like Simba's tie are put on cats that like some attention.  Sylvia tells me the bottom grey cat is also Ruby because she remembers that she did not have the frill on when we first arrived and then the staff put it on her.

We started downstairs with most of the others starting a session and it was dim and felt chaotic with people trying to get the attention of the cats.  I went upstairs where they was more light and space and watched this little cat called Lana as she played on the cat furniture. 

This is the board of cat photos with names upstairs.  It was fun to find out some of the cat names.

I loved this cat called Yo Yo who sat in a box by the pictures like the keeper of the photos!

The entrance fee included either a soft drink or a small tub of dried cat food .  There were options to buy more dry food or packs of wet food.  You could see who was feeding cats.  They were the person with little pussycats clustered around with hopeful looks.  You can see the ginger cat called Churro above with the little kittens vying for food.  I even saw Churro swipe at another cat.  There can be a lot of competition for food.

The kittens were a little older than when this new location opened but they still were so cute to watch scrambling about. 

There were all sorts of cats.  The one above is one of those hairless cats that I am not so keen on.  His name was Dobby which was just perfect for those big flopping eats.

This was one of my favourite cats, called Hazel.  She looks like such a wise old cat with her droopy whiskers.

Churro kept us amused, especially when he sat in the sink in the corner for a while.  It is so typical of a cat to ignore all the cat play equipment and head for the sink.

I loved how the cats all settled down once most people had gone at the end of our 1 hour session.  I am sure they love all the pats and feeding but it must be quite overwhelming at times.

Once we finished looking in the gift shop, we walked down Lygon Street to Good Measure.  They were really busy so we could only find a seat in the courtyard.  It was a bit warm that day and we asked for an indoor seat when it became available.  This didn't take long and soon we were back inside with the leafy plants and wooden shelves of LPs.  You can even see a record player in the above photo.

Sylvia had been looking forward to her Mont Blanc iced coffee.  The menu describes it as filter coffee, black sugar, cream, nutmeg and orange.  Sylvia describes as having a cream cheese topping.  She is in agreement with the critics that it is heavenly.  Apparently this was one of the first places in Melbourne to serve this drink.  Meanwhile I had a lovely refreshing rhubarb lemonade.

We shared a slice of toasted chocolate babka.  It was amazing.  It was warm and crisp on top but soft and melty inside.  Sylvia found that it went really well with her coffee.  By then we were tired and after walking a few blocks along Grattan Street, we were really pleased to get a seat on our tram home.

Melbourne Cat Cafe
512 Swanston Street
Carlton
Opening hours vary
https://catcafemelbourne.com/

Good Measure
193 Lygon Street
Carlton
Open: Mon-Thurs & Sun: 8am-11pm, Fri-Sat: 8am-1am
https://www.goodmeasure.au/

The Borek Shop
Dairy Produce Hall Shop 93 - 96
Queen Victoria Market
Corner Therry and Elizabeth Streets
Melbourne 3000
Open early to 3pm weekdays and 4pm weekends
https://qvm.com.au/shops-stalls/the-borek-shop/

Strawberry and apricot chia puddings with granola

My regular breakfast for the past year has been diced seasonal fruit, unsweetened Greek yoghurt and home made granola.  It is so satisfying.  Tonight we had a version of it for dessert.  I have been planning to make it for the past week or two.  I finally made it last night because I had the energy after leftover soup and salad for tea and the fruit was not going to last much longer.  It was certainly worth the wait.

There were so many reasons to make this dessert and so many reasons I wanted to share it here on my blog.

• It is healthy, full of fruit and good stuff!
• You can use your favourite granola and/or dairy free yoghurt or omit either one to make it vegan, gluten free, nut free, dairy free or just to please different preferences!  Sylvia preferred cornflakes to my granola.
• On a warm Spring evening, we did not have to turn on the oven and it could be made quickly with minimal cooking.
• Stone fruit is in season.  Oh joy!
• It was quick and easy to put together.
• I didn't have any decent chocolate in the house.  I often have a square or two of dark Lindt chocolate  in the evening.  There are choc chips are in the pantry but they are a "break glass in case of emergency" sort of sweet treat.
  
• This is a great way to use up uneaten fruit that is past its prime. 
• Layered desserts in a glass always look so pretty.
  
• We have just put out our Christmas tea towels so it is a chance to use them in photos.

And we have finally got our old fluorescent light in the kitchen working again.  Luckily the light hasn't been working for the past few weeks in the period leading up the Summer Solstice when the sun is not setting til about 8.30pm.  But it was getting annoying.  Then, serendipitously, we had an electrician out to fix the electricity box that connects our units to the street supply.  I asked him to come and look at it.  He offered to put in a new fitting.  It was tempting but we left our old fitting in because he showed me how the light wasn't working when fully in but if we loosen it a little (not so much that it falls on our head but he said this would not hurt much if it did) the light will work.  Which means that I can take photos after dark in the kitchen light.  It is not as good as natural light but some days, that is my only option.

We make strawberry chia jam regularly but this is my first go at apricot chia jam.  It was excellent.  I am not that familiar with chia pudding recipes but I think they have this sort of texture as the chia jam we are used to.  After all, we often eat it by the spoonful.  A lot of chia puddings have sweet milky chia mixtures but I am not that into dairy so I prefer the fruity kind.  I topped mine with a little yoghurt and, because it is stone fruit season, a cherry on top.  If you want a festive version then a layers of strawberry and kiwi fruit would work well. I highly recommend you try it, however you like it.

More chilled fruity desserts on Green Gourmet Giraffe blog:
Apple crumble cheesecake
Caramel apple trifle
Choc-nut banana and fruit kebabs (gf, v)
Cranachan 
Creamy strawberry icy poles (popsicles) (gf)
Fruit salad (gf, v) 
Rhubarb and white chocolate ice cream (gf)
Strawberry soup (gf, v)
Strawberry sushi with chocolate sauce (gf, v)
Vegan peach cheesecake (gf, v)  

Strawberry and apricot chia puddings with granola
A Green Gourmet Giraffe original recipe

Strawberry chia jam (see below)
Apricot chia jam (see below)
Granola
Greek yoghurt, unsweetened
Cherries

Choose a glass to present your pudding.  I like to use small wine glasses that are about two thirds of a cup or 160ml and recommend you keep your glass small if possible.  Spoon about 2 generous spoonfuls of the apricot chia jam into the glass and smooth the top.  Repeat with strawberry chia jam.  Spoon in granola (about the same size of the previous two layers) and finish with a spoonful of yoghurt and a cherry on top.

Strawberry chia jam
Adapted from Green Gourmet Giraffe

375g (about 1 and 1/2 cups) strawberries
3 tbsp maple syrup
1 and 1/2 tbsp chia seeds

Hull strawberries (ie slice off green leafy tops).  Chop finely by hand or in a food processor.  Mix berries, maple syrup and chia seeds in a small saucepan.  Bring to the boil over low heat and simmer uncovered for 10 to 15 minutes until it is just thickened, stirring occasionally.  It will thicken as it cools.  Keeps in the fridge in a jar or tub for about a week.

Apricot chia jam

5 apricots (about 350g or 2 cups chopped apricots)
4 tbsp maple syrup
2 tbsp chia seeds

Halve apricots and remove stones.  Chop finely by hand or in a food processor.  Mix fruit, maple syrup and chia seeds in a small saucepan.  Bring to the boil over low heat and simmer uncovered for 10 to 20 minutes until it is just thickened and the fruit is cooked and soft.  Stir the mixture occasionally so it does not stick to the bottom of the saucepan.  It will thicken as it cools.  Keeps in the fridge in a jar or tub for about a week.

NOTES:

We let our finished dessert sit for about 20-30 minutes and ate while the chia jam was still lukewarm.  If I was feeling less impatient I would chill in the fridge, especially if I was organised enough to prepare my dessert before dinner.

As mentioned above, this is a dessert that is easy to change around to suit availability, diets and preferences.

The recipe make between 1 to 2 cups.  This is far more chia jam than we needed but it can be used to flavour yoghurts, spread on bread, used to top ice cream and other desserts or just eaten by the spoonful straight from the jar.  It keeps about a week in the fridge but ours never lasts that long! 

The chia jam recipes reflect what I did but the quantities can be changed depending on how much fruit you have.  I did not specify quantities for the puddings because it is easy to scale up or down, depending on how many you are serving.

On the Stereo:
Flood: They might be giants

Udon noodles with miso and edamame

We have a new easy noodle recipe.  It was that serendipitous moment when I came across monjayaki and a google search led me to Okonomi Kitchen where I stumbled upon Lisa's Sesame Miso Butter Udon.  It was such a simple and quick recipe that it did not take long to try it.  We have tweaked it and now Syulvia has it for a quick meal quite often.

The thing that really increased our intake of udon noodles at home was Lisa's comment that she preferred using frozen udon noodles.  Sylvia had eaten udon noodles in restaurants in the last few months and commented how much nicer they were than the dried and vacuum packed ones we had tried at home.  So we headed off to our local Asian supermarket and purchased a six pack of frozen udon noodles.  Since then we have kept the freezer stocked with these noodles..

The first time I tried the recipe I did it with just noodles.  Then because we loved the seasonings, I tried it with vegies as you can see above and below.   Lisa used frozen corn and cabbage or lettuce in her version.  I tried it with edamame, corn, cabbage and spinach.  It got more complicated but I enjoyed it.

The top recipe is from another go at these noodles.  I stir-fried some tofu puffs, then some red cabbage and added some frozen corn and edamame to my noodles.  It was a delicious dinner but the main event is the noodles.  You can see how it looks when you add the seasonings.  It always seems like they wont mix in when you start stirring them.  But they do.  And if there are some bits that are not quite mixed, they are always good once they are stirred in after the next blitz in the microwave.

When Sylvia wants an easy comforting meal, she loves making these noodles with just some frozen edamame.  They have replaced her ramen and packet seasoning.  Above is my version with a few vegies.  Below is Sylvia's noodles with edamame.  Both are great.  Lisa used toasted and ground sesame seeds which sounds great.  Maybe we would have tried it if Sylvia likes sesame seeds.  On the above bowl I added some furikake (sesame seeds, seaweed and seasoning).

The recipe I have shared below is the noodles and edamame version.  When I want to eat lots of vegies, it is easy to make this version and add extras like in the top photo.  Other days it is just enough to have some quick slurpy noodles with those green edamame nuggets of protein.  Those are the days to eat it straight out of the microwave tub.  It works either way.  And that is why we love these easy noodles so much.

More noodle recipes on Green Gourmet Giraffe:
Avocado, pickled ginger and tofu soba noodle salad (gf, v)
Lo mein (v)
Mee Goreng (v)
Tamarind tempeh with veg and noodles (v)
Vegan pad thai with besan omelette (v)
Zucchini and noodle slice
 

Microwave udon noodles with miso and edamame
Adapted from Okonomi Kitchen
Serves 1

250g frozen udon noodles
1/4 cup frozen edamame
1 generous tbsp miso
1 scant tbsp butter (or vegan margarine)
1 tsp tamari (or soy sauce)
1 tsp maple syrup (or other sweeteneer)
1/4 tsp garlic granules

Options for garnish: toasted sesame seeds, fried shallots, furikake, finely chopped nori, chopped roasted cashews, freshly sliced chillis, sliced spring onions.

Place frozen noodles and edamame in a microwave safe container with a lid (ideally with a vent but if not it should be left slightly adjar for the steam to escape).  Microwave for 2 and 1/2 minutes.  They should be starting to warm up and mostly thawed.  Mix in the miso, butter, soy sauce and maple syrup and microwave another 2 minutes.  Stir and transfer to a bowl.  If desired, sprinkle with a garnish.

On the stereo:
Boy Child 67-70: Scott Walker

Le Bajo Milkbar, Publique Bakery and Joy Exhibition at Immigration Museum

Last week we had a nice day out in the city after a visit to the allergy clinic at the Royal Children's Hospital.  t is hard to get appointments at that allergy clinic and when offered a time to follow up Sylvia's recent allergy testing, we could not say no.  We were not sure how the appointment would pan out but they just wanted to say that Sylvia was unlikely to grow out of her peanut allergy at this age and that if she had any allergic attacks it was best to transition to adult services.  Not that useful but is considered low risk considering that she has not had a peanut allergy attack since being diagnosed as a baby. (Touchwood!)

After our short appointment, we were delighted to be free to continue our previously planned afternoon: a Le Bajo Milkbar lunch and a visit to the Joy Exhibition at the Immigration Museum, with a drop in to Publique Bakery as an added bonus!

Le Bago Milkbar is near the Queen Victoria Market so we parked there.  The parking garage was near to Publique Bakery.  This is a a beautiful French-style bakery that has been a viral sensation.  We could not resist looking at their beautiful pastries.

Sylvia was looking out for the popular pistachio cronut.  There were none when we arrived and then to her delight, one of the staff brought out a tray of freshly baked cronuts of her desire and laid them out in a neat row at the counter.  They looked so pretty.

There were so many gorgeous pastries and breads.  Laid out neatly in glistening colourful rows.  So many temptations.

To the side of the counter we could see the staff working in the bakery, preparing pastries and bringing tray after tray of fresh baked goods out of the oven.

We made purchases.  Sylvia got her pistachio cronut and a canale.  I was tempted by the chocolate matcha chocolate crookie (croissant with cookie dough stuffing and topping) and a brioche style roll with cheese.  Sadly I did not take the name of the cheese roll because it was very good.  But the pastries were for later. 

Some months ago, Sylvia had lunch with her dad at Le Bajo.  She loved her lunch and told me it was a warehouse with lots of plants.

For lunch she had eaten amazing teriyaki butter chips and a really nice mushroom sandwich.  The sandwich was a large crispy deep-fried portobello mushroom with sundried tomatoes and lots of salad leaves.  She also loved her iced lemon matcha drink.

 

We talked about going there for lunch and finally last week was our day for it.  The warehouse was unassuming at first glance.  Inside it was fun and welcoming.  

Le Bajo Milkbar takes part of its name from Labuan Bajo in Flores close to Komodo National Park in Indonesia.  Since starting in Melbourne, the owners have opened two restaurant bars-cum-stores in Bali and Lauan Bajo.  

The "Milkbar" part of the name is pure Aussie.  Before Sylvia's time, many of us grew up with the milkbar on the corners where we would regularly go for the newspaper, bread, milk, lollies and cheap takeaway meals such as meat pies and lemonade.  These days the traditional milkbars have all but disappeared, replaced by seven-elevens and supermarket.  But I notice a trend happening in recent openings of small milkbar cafes offering cheap fun retro meals and shelves of bepoke groceries.  It seems milkbars aren't gone, they are just continuing to transform!

Le Bajo Milkbar's "menu" on the above sign sounds like the sort of food you might have bought at a milkbar: coffee, milkshake, juice, soda, sando (sandwich), toast, pastry and cakes.  It is slightly fancier and slightly more pricey but still can be considered casual and cheap dining.  Although it seems to have an Indonesian connection, the food has a distinct Japanese influence.

We started lunch with drinks.  Sylvia had a flat white with soy.  I had a strawberry and mint house made soda .  Mine was excellent: fruity, not too sweet and served with a straw that was wide enough to accommodate the crushed berry texture of the drink.  Behind the drink in the photo you can see the retro second hand items such as a record player, mini piano, lamps and pictures that make a place homely and welcoming. 

Sylvia was sad that the mushroom sando is no longer on the menu but she was keen to share the Pirikara Eggplant Katsu Sando ($20) with me.  It was in the Limited Time Only section of the menu and consisted of soft eggplant with a crispy crunchy coating, home-made miso saucecrispy salad leaves and tomato and sesame seeds sandwiched together with fluffy Shokupan bread and served with crisps.  I found it gently spicy and incredibly messy.

We also had to get the Dirty fries that were tossed in miso mayonnaise.  A small serve was $7 and very filling.  I found the texture of the crispy chips lightly covered in sauce a bit odd and would have preferred the miso mayo in a dipping bowl but either way it was delicious. 

We were there on a Wednesdays because Sylvia was interested to try the chickpea curry ($22) that is on the menu on Wednesdays.  It was a huge plate of chickpeas in a Japanese curry sauce with a mound of rice and a garnish of pickled onions in the centre.  It was all so good but our eyes were bigger than our stomachs.  Sylvia was too full to try much curry.  I ended up taking home enough curry, rice and a piece of fried eggplant for dinner.

Before we went it was nice to wander about and admire the plants and groceries.  This display of loaves of Shokapan bread, made on the premises, was both amusing and bemusing.  Could we touch it?  We dared reach out a finger.  It was rock hard and stale.

We have our Publique sweet baking waiting for us in the car so we just admired desserts such as the pretty green melon pan and the fruit sandos that had lashing of cream between the bread and pieces of fresh fruit.  I would have loved to try the mushie pesto scroll or the yuzu scones.  Maybe another time.  we were also intrigued by the pear tea jam that was on sale. 

We really enjoyed Le Bajo Milkbar.  The staff were friendly and the ambience was welcoming.  The food was delicious and interesting at a reasonable price.

After Le Bajo, we got a free tram into the city to see the Joy Exhibition at the Immigration Museum.  It is many years since we had been to the exhibition and I was sad that the immigration journey on old sailing boats is no longer on display on the first floor.  However we were there for the Jo Exhibition on the second floor.  As we travelled up the life with its colourful view out the window, we were already cheered up by the bright colours.

The entrance into the exhibition was along a glitzy runway with lots of shiny colours and lights.  It is called Bring it to the runway, runway by Spencer Harrison.  There is nothing like a runway entrance to make us feel special.  And given that this exhibition was all about feeling good, this was a great way to start.

Next was In Search of the Simurgh by Elyas Alavi and Sher Ali.  The mural illustrate the Simurgh, a mythical Persian bird.  You can see this is a bird of many colours and fine feathers.

The Joy Generator by Nixi Killick,"future positive" fashion designer, had layers of lights, colour and textures that made me reach out curious fingers to investigate.

Video Land by Callum Preston was a colourful re-creation of a video store with rows of video titles that made me nostalgic for the excitement of the video store in its heyday before streaming took away that fun.

Inside the store was a payphone.  This hulking orange beast with the push buttons brought back memories of when these were the only option for phoning friends and family.  My guess is that this was there in case you had trouble with selecting a video and had to phone home for help in choosing.

More fun was around the corner in the Bunny Dearest room by Beci Orpin.  The stuffed rabbit was so huge that we could climb onto its belly and lie down.  We lay there fantasising about having this oversized rabbit at home.  I wished for space for it, and Sylvia was working out what furniture she needed to remove from her bedroom to fit the bunny in there!

After the exhibition we sat at the table to leave a note on what brought us joy.  The coloured pieces of paper with visitor's idea of joy were then added to a wall that was remniscent of a display of paint samples in a hardware shop.  It was great fun to read.

Sylvia drew a cute picture of Shadow and wrote: my joy is my cat.

I drew a birthday cake with a plant and bookshelves and wrote: joy is good food, a good book and good company.

Finally we headed back down to the ground floor to admire the colourful mural pieces called Que te puedo decir, así son las cosas by Nadia Hernández.

By then we were tired and ready to head home and eat our sweet pastries.  Sylvia was so happy with her pistachio cream cronut.  I found my crookie a bit dry upon first bite.  Once I heated it slightly in the mcrowave it was so much better, though not as good as it would have been if I had eaten it fresh from the oven.  However I also had my leftover curry for dinner which was an excellent way to end a fun day.

Publique Bakery QVM
18 Blender Lane
Off Therry Street
Queen Victoria Market
Melbourne 3000
Open: 7.30am-4pm daily
www.publiquebakery.com

Le Bajo Milkbar
8-14 Howard Street
North Melbourne
Open: M-F: 10am-3pm, Sat & Sun: 9.30a,-3.30pm
lebajo.com.au

Joy Exhibition
Immigration Museum
400 Flinders Street
Melbourne CBD 3000
Open: 10am-5pm daily
The exhibition runs until 29 August 2025
museumsvictoria.com.au/immigrationmuseum