Stovetop, Carlton

Stovetop - Waffle ice-cream sandwich - Red velvet waffles, chocolate ice-cream, salted caramel, chocolate shavings, freeze dried raspberries, fairy floss ($16)

06 Feb Stovetop, Carlton

Posted at 16:09h in Cafe, Carlton, Food, Stovetop by A Chronicle of Gastronomy 0 Comments

Stovetop has moved to a bigger premises and it seems to be a hit. Even before students have begun their semester at the nearby universities, it’s absolutely buzzing during our visit for weekday lunch.

Stovetop - Crispy skinned pork belly - Dry red curry, snake beans, sweet potato, kaffir lime leaf, chilli, Thai basil, basmati, poached egg ($18,50) — Crispy skinned pork belly - Dry red curry, snake beans, sweet potato, kaffir lime leaf, chilli, Thai basil, basmati, poached egg ($18,50)

The menu boasts a great variety of dishes, with Asian influences seen here and there. If you’d prefer something less bready you’re covered with the likes of pastas and rice. We explore some Thai flavours with the Crispy Skinned Pork Belly, cooked as a dry red curry with snake beans, sweet potato, kaffir lime leaf, chilli, Thai basil, basmati and poached egg. It’s aromatic, and comes as quite a decent serve too.

Stoavetop - Baked eggs - Merguez sausage, burrata, tomato, cumin, morcilla crumb, grilled sourdough ($16.50) — Baked eggs - Merguez sausage, burrata, tomato, cumin, morcilla crumb, grilled sourdough ($16.50)

Stovetop - Sweet potato chips w truffle and parmesan ($9) — Sweet potato chips w truffle and parmesan ($9)

The Baked Eggs have a great richness to the sauce, and though we aren’t quite sure where the burrata is, it’s a full-flavoured combination of Merguez sausage, tomato, cumin and morcilla crumb. The Sweet Potato Chips with truffle and parmesan are a highlight. The truffle flavour is well distributed throughout the bowl, making us think it has truffle salt added rather than a drizzle of truffle oil.

The Waffle Ice-cream Sandwich is made with red velvet waffles, chocolate ice-cream, salted caramel, chocolate shavings, freeze dried raspberries and fairy floss. The ingredients list sounds like it could be overpoweringly sweet, but thankfully we find it not to be the case. The waffles, which are slightly crisp on the outside and soft on the inside, hold the ice cream well, and the salted caramel adds in that extra bit of rich indulgence.