The Resident brings a bit of inner-city cafe culture to Ashburton thanks to Clare Hu, who then started up Bluff Town, and more recently, Stepping Stone in South Yarra. Cafe-goers can enjoy a seasonal menu in a place that has plenty of outdoor seating, including some under the cover of the pergola, and in the dog friendly courtyard.

In a bit of East meets West, Baby Got Seoul sports Korean fried chicken, kimchi and cucumber. The base of the dish is like a spring onion pancake, but in moist, waffle form. A mini jar of BBQ maple sauce and a spoonful of gochujang mayonnaise can be conveniently added to taste. The BBQ maple sauce is spicy, with a tangy tomato flavour, and the bright red gochujang mayo has a touch of smokiness to it. It’s as if some of the typical flavours of the two sauces are mixed and matched, keeping us on our toes.

Confit Ham Hock comes with diced avocado, crumbled Yarra Valley feta, hollandaise, and an egg fried sunny side up. This all sits on chunky, well-oiled and toasted Turkish bread, which is rather tasty even by itself. The Super Bowl has roast cauliflower, broccoli, silverbeet, sweet potato batons, buckwheat kernels, and pomegranate. There’s plenty of texture from all the pistachios, pepitas and other seeds, as well as the chips. The tangy tahini dressing goes wonderfully with everything – I just wish there was more of it.

I seem to like banana dishes more than bananas themselves, and the Banana Pancakes are no exception. The three small pancakes are a little dry, but have a good banana flavour. Fresh strawberries and blueberries, sweet and tangy berry coulis swirled on top, and lightly flavoured passionfruit mascarpone all provide a nice freshness to the photogenic dish.

Disclaimer: I was invited to The Resident as a guest, however, opinions expressed here are purely my own, and are based on my experience at the time

The Resident
246 High St
Ashburton, VIC, 3147
www.theresident.com.au
(03) 9885 8777