Review: Continental Albert Park

On Tuesday night, myself and the beautiful members of the #MelbourneFoodieHub were lucky enough to be invited to an exclusive after hours feast by the lovely people at the Continental Albert Park.  We were treated to a tasting of a delicious array of their WHOLE menu, including breakfast, lunch, dinner and dessert. I practically rolled out of the place, but it was seriously worth it. I mean, nutella waffles for dinner! What more could one possibly want in life? Without further ado, let's check out this absolutely monster feast!

Breakfast:

• Smashed middle eastern spiced roasted pumpkin on multigrain sourdough with hummus, almond feta, kale chips & Vincotto dressing ($16.90).  The pumpkin was so smoothly blended with the perfect array of spices that it developed a rich, golden hue.  It combined perfectly with the other elements, I mean who doesn't love a bit of hummus with their dish. And did I mention the almond feta was handmade in-house?  The Continental sure do put a lot of love and care in each dish.

• Quinoa Oat Porridge with blowtorched banana, blueberries & passion fruit sauce ($14.50).  Say goodbye to your boring old honey and oats, this is a super creamy porridge to keep you warm this winter.  The caramelised banana added the perfect sweetness.

• Acai Blueberry Smoothie Bowl with banana, toasted coconut, goji berries & crushed nuts ($14.50). Okay foodie confession time: I've never had an acai smoothie bowl before. I'd like to pretend that this is because I generally stray far from choosing anything that seems to be beneficial to my health. But its really because I didn't know how to pronounce 'acai' and was too scared to order it. Well, thank God that I now know that it's pronounced 'a-sigh-ee' so I can comfortably order this dish well into the future. The smoothie was super refreshing and the banana, nuts etc. provided a sweet, textural element.

• Belgium Waffles: Nutella, strawberries, crushed nuts, vanilla ice cream & floss ($16.90). Absolutely oozing with nutella, these waffles were heaven. 

• Belgium Waffles: Maple, blowtorched banana, crispy bacon & vanilla ice cream ($17.90). I love sweet and savoury dishes and this was no exception.  The caramelised banana and the maple syrup bring the sweet and the droolworthy, crunchy, crispy, absolutely perfect pieces of bacon bring the savoury. 

• Sweet corn & Goats cheese fritters with avocado salsa & rocket pesto ($17.50). The texture of the fritters was absolutely perfect, I loved the sweet pop of the corn combined with the saltiness of the goats cheese. And of course every good Melbournian breakfast must have a bit of avo!

Lunch:

• Homemade polenta fat chips with truffle oil, parmesan cheese ($9.50). These were THE BEST polenta chips I have ever had.  The perfect crunch from the first bite with a delicate, creamy texture inside.  The seasoning was just right and I can never refuse a good ol' side of aioli!

• Okonomiyaki- Japanese savoury pancake, pickled ginger & tonkatsu sauce, Kewpie mayonnaise, Bonito and shallots ($12.00). This dish was undeniably one of the highlights of the night, it was just so full of flavour! The pancake was cooked perfectly, the tonkatsu sauce added a lovely sweetness and I loved that heaping of Kewpie mayo. Seriously impressive.

• Spiced Fish Tacos- Lettuce, avocado, tomato, corn, coriander salsa & chipotle mayo ($16.90). Another fun little sharing dish. Chipotle mayo, I'm sold.

• Grilled pork belly bowl with sweet soy glaze, steamed jasmine rice, Asian apple salad, crispy shallots, toasted peanuts & fried egg ($16.90). I could see how this would definitely be a filling dish. The pork belly was cooked perfectly, I couldn't resist the flavours of the sticky glaze which had a nice saltiness that broke through the sweet.

• Thai Barramundi Bowl with grilled ginger barramundi, steamed jasmine rice, Asian cucumber & bean shoot salad, Namjin dressing & tempura asparagus ($16.90). What a beautifully delicate dish. I loved the addition of the tempura asparagus which added a nice crunchy texture to contrast with the smooth barramundi.

• Mexican Chilli Pepper Chicken with steamed jasmine rice, beans, guacamole, corn salsa, sour cream & toasted tortillas ($16.90).  Another Mexican-inspired dish, you can share this one with your tacos too! You could also have it all to yourself and hey, I'm not judging.

Street Food/ Dinner (some of the above lunch items are also available for dinner):

• Thai salt & pepper squid with chilli & lime leaf sauce, served with cucumber & fresh lime ($9.50). Cannot argue with that tasty glaze, definitely spiced up the traditional take on salt & pepper squid.

• Taiwanese buns ($6.50 ea)
• Pork belly, slaw, chilli, coriander, Namjin, Kewpie & fried shallots
• Fried chicken, kimchi mayonnaise, lettuce, cucumber & mint
• Pepper spiced tempura prawns, apple salad, chilli mayo & Tobiko

My anaconda don't want none unless you got buns hun! And boy, those buns were MASSIVE.  Can't deny the inventiveness of a tempura prawn bao, there's a fun bun choice for everyone.

Dessert:

• Banana Fritters Bowl with lemon caramel sauce, vanilla ice cream, crushed nuts, chocolate flakes, whipped cream, wafers & floss (Shared $14.90). Since when did banana fritters look THIS good! That initial crunch of the batter combined with the soft, caramelised banana- absolutely delicious. Also, who doesn't love fairy floss? 

• Strawberries & Cream Bowl with vanilla ice cream, toasted marshmallows, strawberry sauce, chocolate flakes, whipped cream, wafers & floss (Shared $14.90). Another beautifully presented dessert- all that red and pink, I'm swooning! The elements combined perfectly: the crunch of the wafers and chocolate flakes, super fresh strawberries, the tartness of the strawberry sauce and TOASTED MARSHMALLOWS aka the best thing ever invented.

Would I return? UM YES. There is such a wide variety of delicious dishes and what I love the most is that they are designed for sharing, so you don't have to commit to one dish on the menu (because let's be real that involves brain-wracking decision-making and a hell of a lot of loyalty to your food).  No, you can have a little bit of everything. Bring on round two!