The Days of a Silly and Ordinary Girl! :D: 2019

[Travelogue] Melbourne: Last Day | Cento Mani Cafe : The Cheapest Ticket to Colombia | sillyandordinarygirl

By Lasmarya Hadi Purwanto - July 12, 2019

2 Comments

[Travelogue] Melbourne: Day 5 (2/2) | Higher Ground | sillyandordinarygirl

By Lasmarya Hadi Purwanto - July 05, 2019

Hi, there!

So, picking up from the Melbourne series, after we finished our Yarra Valley day tour, we asked the tour guide/driver to drop us off at this "not quite a cafe, not quite a restaurant" in Little Bourke Street, called Higher Ground to have our dinner.

Photography : Gareth Sobey
https://www.broadsheet.com.au/melbourne/food-and-drink/article/nathan-toleman-sells-his-iconic-melbourne-cafes-higher-ground-top-paddock-and-kettle-black

The people that transformed this former power house into a very cool dining place are those behind the famous Top Paddock Cafe and the Kettle Black, the Mulberry Group, a hospitality company based in Melbourne. Although the three famed cafe/brunch restaurant were recently sold to the Darling group in November 2018.

The lighting was quite dim, and yellowish so sorry, these were the best that I could get.

The 15-meter ceiling definitely gave the spacious feeling, in contrast to the rigid-looking facade. The geniusly designed mezzanine floors also allow it to fit a lot of tables and somehow didn't make us feel too packed even with the crowd.

It was on a Friday night, and we got really lucky to get a table right away when we arrived, but the other tables were soon occupied as the dinner time approached. We were seated on the ground floor, so I didn't get to see how it was on the upper floors.

But if you're curious of how the whole place looks, with better lighting and so on, check:
http://explodingbelly.com/2018/05/13/higher-ground-melbourne/

Now, let's get to the highlight of our dining experience here.

So, we were offered a special menu, I didn't know whether it's a seasonal menu, or one-time thing menu, but I couldn't find it in any of their online menu, I tried to google it and also checked other blog posts which might have it too, but apparently, I found nothing. (They have a very cool website, btw!)

Well, this menu was actually a Wallaby dish. Yes, with Wallaby meat, Wallaby, the smaller version of kangaroo. I forgot the whole name of the dish. I suggest you try checking their menu, and see whether you can memorize any, and you'll understand why I can't either XD

higher ground wallaby sillyandordinarygirl

But yeah, the main point is, we both tried and ate the Wallaby meat for the first time. The meat was surprisingly very tender, cooked very well, didn't have any bad smell also (like the smell of lamb when it's not cooked well enough), it was, in fact, quite good. I'm glad we had a try. It would be an experience I won't forget. Eating Kangaroo/Wallaby meat in Australia ✔

Trivia: When I joined a walking tour in Sydney, the guide told us that Australia is the only country in the world to eat its national animal's meat, which are Kangaroo and Emu! Seriously, you can find both Kangaroo and Emu meat in the supermarket!

The other dish that we ordered: Pork Belly, Toasted Buckwheat, Nduja and Fennel (AUD 32.50)
This dish too was very nice, the meat was also very tender and with the crispy layer, yum!

higher ground pork belly sillyandordinarygirl

Walking back, we encountered some very surreal mural paintings on some buildings near Higher Ground and I just have to show them to you! Melbourne is literally an art scene, where you can find art works in most corners of the city. I really like how Melbourne embraces and showcases art in public places that makes it feel even more artistic.