The Hungry (Greedy) Hippo: Brunch in Melbourne: Part 2

Two other cafes that we tried a number of times, and really liked, were Top Paddock in Richmond and Chez Dre in South Melbourne. We went to Top Paddock around 3 times in a month, tried different things, and left satisfied each time. It's always busy on a weekend, but thankfully the queue moves pretty fast.

Only half the queue - the other half was loitering on the grass lawn.

Their eggs benedict with ham hock has to be one of the best I've had in Melbourne in recent times.

Another view of the dish- the ham hock was tender, and the hollandaise sauce perfectly seasoned. The poached eggs were, as expected, superbly done.

The omelette with mushrooms and chilli was not too bad. Quite decent, but probably not a dish to order again if there were other more interesting things on the menu.

This was the Top Paddock- you know it's gotta be special when it's the signature dish. It came with chorizo, fried green tomatoes, onions, relish and poached eggs. Perhaps a better lunch than breakfast dish, given the rather heavy flavours. Overall it was well-executed, albeit on the complicated side.

This was the gin and lime cured ocean trout with beetroot and goats curd. Although well-executed, it was also a better lunch than breakfast dish, given that the fish was served rare.

Super fresh though. Not an easy dish to pull off, with the different flavours and textures coming together really nicely

What the menu looked like some months back

They serve excellent coffees though. Even though Five Senses isn't our favourite, the barista does a pretty good job.

Their steak sandwich was a Kobe 9+ with tempura baby leeks and horseradish. Everything about the description in the menu screamed EAT ME. It's one of the best steak sandwiches in Melbourne, we reckon.

Seared perfectly on the outside.

The soft shell crab burger with chilli and lime mayonnaise.

Fennel, dill and other micro greens on a brioche bun roll. Super yummy but I dare say Hammer and Tong's version had just a slight edge, plus H and T's is also a few dollars cheaper.

The steak sandwich, however, was in an entirely different class of its own. Possibly perfect.

Chez Dre in South Melbourne was another place that we enjoyed immensely. The first time we were there was after I got off the red eye flight that signaled the beginning of our year long stint in Melbourne.

Classically good coffees.

The braised mushroom ragu with parmesan polenta was the standout dish for me. The truffle oil helped, of course, but I couldn't help thinking it would have been a tad more elegant to have omitted it altogether and let the mushrooms shine in their own right. Possibly one of the best breakfast dishes in Melbourne I reckon.

The glazed pork belly with a corn polenta cake and avo purée was excellent too. Writing this now makes me wonder why we haven't gone back more frequently than twice.