Hammer & Tong 412

Address: Rear 412 Brunswick St, Fitzroy 3065
Phone: 03 9041 6033
Website: http://www.hammerandtong.com.au
Twitter: @HammerandTong
Facebook: here

Foodie Partners: Ting Tangy

My couz Ting Tangy recently returned back from her trip to HK/Taiwan and bought me back a few goodies, so I thought I’d catch up with her over brunch and take her to the movies as a treat.
We decided to go to Hammer and Tong 412 for brunch after reading a few reviews on Urbanspoon and seeing other blogger’s photos on instagram.

The moment you step into Hammer & Tong 412, you will notice their industrial yet chic and spacious interior.

To start off with I had a flat white. The beans are by Dukes Coffee Roasters. I love how smooth and creamy my coffee was.
As for Ting Tangy, she had a cup of hot chocolate. Ting Tangy prefers her hot chocolate subtle in taste, so she welcomed the subtle chocolatey taste of her hot chocolate. In contrast, I prefer my hot chocolate, rich and velvety, so I personally found the hot chocolate to be too weak for my liking. I guess everyone has their own personal preference :)

We both decided to get a savoury and sweet dish to share.
First up was our sweet dish: Buttermilk Pancakes with Blueberries, Maple Syrup and Popping Candy.
I was so intrigued by the popping candy concept, yet I wasn’t sure how it would go with the delicateness of the pancakes. Strangely enough, Hammer & Tong 412 executed this dish really well.
The moment I took a spoonful of the buttermilk pancakes and popping candy, my mouth started a dance party! The popping candy started exploding! Once the popping settles, your tongue is then greeted with the soft and fluffy pancakes.
At the beginning, the sweetness of the dish was just right however once you get to the bottom layer of the pancakes it starts to get pretty sweet. It was expected as the bottom layers would have soaked up more of the maple syrup and sauce.

For our savoury dish, we both decided to share the Baked eggs with tomato fondue, chorizo, dukkah and flat bread. I was really surprised by the presentation as it really differs from the baked eggs that I’m accustomed to, as most places serve their baked eggs in mini casserole  dishes.

I was expecting the chorizo to be cooked together with the tomato fondue, but it was served separately. I welcome that decision in serving the chorizo separately, because chorizos are rather salty, and together with the manchego cheese, it would have been too salty. Eating the chorizo on its own was delicious – smokey and spicy.

I really love dipping the flat bread into the cheesy goodness and rich tomato fondue. The manchego cheese was very smooth and buttery, yet not over powering. I also love the dukkah sprinkled on top as it gave the dish texture.
Although you cannot see the eggs in the tomato fondue, I can assure you that the eggs were cooked to perfection.

Overall
- Innovative dishes, and executed in a very good manner.
- Spacious cafe, so you don’t have to worry about people invading your personal space.
- Staff are friendly.
- A bit of a wait time between drinks and dishes, but the dishes make up for it! :)

The post Hammer & Tong 412 appeared first on Melbourne Food Blog.