Food- St. Ali nights

St. Ali Nights

12-18 Yarra Place, South Melbourne 3205

St. Ali has become an institution not only to South Melbourne but also to many cafes scattered throughout this city.

Not only is their converted warehouse interior and day menu reputable, but their beans have become a staple amongst some of Melbourne’s finest cafes. With their own roasting house in store, its no wonder why cafes such as Bouchon, The Mailing room or most importantly my apartment ‘The Attic’; are taking on the incredible roast that is St. Ali.

For the last two months St. Ali nights has been operating, and to be honest I am surprised I wasn’t there sooner.

I was sceptical for some absurd reason, and I am feeling very guilty for that.

“A quick bite to eat, a quick night to check out what’s on offer” this may have been our intentions but what resulted was an epic two hour exploration into something quite magical.

There is almost too much to mention; where do I start.

Firstly our waitress Tania was amazing. It is not often that such a highly renowned cafe would appreciate each and every customer and make him or her feel like they were the only people sitting in the room- but Tania took us through each dish, explained which wine would match certain meals and answered any questions we had. Her knowledge was impeccable.

In terms of wine we decided to try something new and go with a Rose’. 'Scorpo' from the Mornington Peninsula, was one of the smoothest and enjoyable glasses I have had in a long time. It complimented our entree perfectly.

Tempura Asian mushrooms with soy dipping sauce and wasabi mayonnaise- soft, Delicate, and rich in flavour.

For main: Twice cooked duck with orange, cucumber and black fungus, Szechuan and coriander salt- this meat melted in my mouth, the orange was a subtle hint, and whatever Szechuan is... I liked it.

The thing that was most interesting about this experience was what makes St. Ali nights stand out. "The concept here is to match food with coffees from the freshest single growing region in the world." This is where siphoned coffee comes into play.

Tania invited us to come and see how siphoning works; I will try and explain it in a nutshell.

This contraption almost looks like an elaborate Bunsen burner/laboratory experiment, where two glass mixing pots are positioned above each other. The lower pot containing water is heated until boiling point, where increasing pressure forces the water into the upper pot. Then the coffee ground is added and the brewing process begins. This is left for 3-4 minutes, before the heat is turned down and the coffee pours into the lower pot through a thick cotton cloth, which filters the coffee to make the purest most delicate siphon. All residues are removed.

The result is what looks like a herbal tea; light in colour and rich in aroma. Tania informed us to take staggered sips of our siphon, as each minute that goes past; the coffee will increase in flavour.

It was an extremely odd experience to be drinking coffee with my main meal but an amazing one at that. The coffee grew in flavour as it cooled, and complimented the duck in a most surprising way.

Dessert was an easy choice; apple wantons with goats cheese ice cream- I think someone may have told head chef Ben Cooper of my love for cheese because this was a disturbingly good treat.

The south east Asian inspired menu is a winner sampling two legs, sea legs and four legs-very unique. There is not a huge menu, but each meal has obviously been well thought out. The flavours of each dish will stay with you for longer than expected.

St. Ali nights encourages food sharing. Which is a good idea when you look at prices. Between the three of us we left completely content after sharing an entree, main and dessert. Servings are ample.

I will be back at St. Ali within a week. An amazing venue that really deserves so much credit.

Date Rate: Uber impressive.
Coffee Cure: The connoisseur’s experience.
Hangover Happy: n/a
Price: a well worth night out

Source: St. Ali website