Saturday, July 12, 2014

Earl Canteen, Emporium, Melbourne & Australian Food and Wine Exhibit

 

I am rather late to the Earl Canteen party, but ever since I read about their pork belly sandwich in The Age, I wanted to have one.   However, 500 Bourke Street is well out of my way, and I understand that they sell out of their best sellers, so time dragged on and I still hadn't managed to make it there.

Fast forward to 2014, and Earl Canteen has opened another outlet in the swanky food court on Level 3 in  Emporium.  Hooray!  Cue me finally getting to try their famed pork belly sandwich. 

Earl Canteen sells its premium "restaurant quality" sandwiches made to order.  They also sell pre-made sandwiches ($8.50-$9) and salads (~$12) in their "every day" range. 

My pork belly sandwich order came out very quickly.  In fact, it came out so quickly that I was still taking photographs for this post, and didn't hear my number called.  I only twigged that my order was sitting there waiting for me when people who came after me grabbed their orders and went off to enjoy them.



My sandwich came in this rather snazzy cardboard box:



Inside was the pork belly sandwich ($13.50) that I had craved for so long - free range pork belly, crackling, apple and fennel slaw and wilted silverbeet on a Turkish bread roll:



Apparently the Turkish bread roll is a newish innovation as the previous sour dough roll was considered too chewy.  Although I never tried the old style pork belly sandwich, I can say that this "new" one is very good, and I would rather be able to bite into my sandwich easily.  It's a win from my perspective, and I would happily pay the premium price for this sandwich again.

On the day that I bought the pork belly, they had an Australian Food and Wine display in the bottom of my building.  I bought this scrumptious salted caramel and chocolate mini cupcake ($2.50) by Sophisticakes:
 

The lady running the display was keen to sell me some Springhill Farm baked goods as well.  They were all rather pricey ($12 for a small square slab of bar cookies, or "slices" as we Aussies call them), so to make the lady's day, I bought 4 mini bites for $5 (they were $1.50 each for a 25g serve):   


From left to right, they are:  lemon and yoghurt, rocky road, sundried apricot and wildberry and nougat.  I have only tried the wildberry one so far.  It was OK - quite dense with pieces of nougat and a yoghurt style icing, but not worth the price tag.  I can make this kind of thing myself easily for much cheaper.  On the plus side, I like their bright and breezy packaging.


Level 3, Emporium
Melbourne 3000   
Ph: (03) 8609 8145   

2/1 Glen Iris Rd
VIC 3124
Ph: 0422 504 050

13 Paddy’s Drive
Delacombe VIC 3350
Ph: (03) 5335 6800
 

4 comments:

Mae Travels said...

Cupcakes, I see. Every newspaper here is covering the shut-down of a major cupcake bakery chain here, declaring the cupcake craze to be at an end. Yours sounds good. The pork belly sounds over-the-top.

Susan @ My Wholefood Family Essentials said...

That pork belly sandwich looks absolutely scrumptious!! Will keep it in mind next time we're in Melbourne.

Johanna GGG said...

I'd love to try an earl sandwich but there is only one vego one and it is mushroom which is not my favourite filling but they do some like they do great sandwiches

Kayte said...

Such fun to see the food and packaging of things you get there. I always want to go immediately and get some, too. Just to try it all. And I am not a fan of pork belly at all...but that photo of that sandwich had me thinking that I should re-visit that idea. You don't have to share that chocolate cupcake, however. :-) Surely there was another one of a different kind for me there.