MELBOURNE | In April 2018, when Japanese ramen chain, Ippudo, opened their first Melbourne store on Artemis Lane in QV shopping centre, it heralded what would become a complete transformation of what was a relatively uninspiring, functional thoroughfare. Today, Artemis Lane is home to several quality dining options. The most recent addition, Amiri Cafe, opened late last year. I recently popped in to grab some photos for What’s On Melbourne.
Amiri Cafe is a broadly East Asian inspired cafe. It continues a trend that’s been adopted in Melbourne in recent years, open from the morning until late at night. A wide selection of ONA coffee and alternative lattes (try the durian cheese latte), savoury food options, and pastries are available all day, while the extensive dessert menu is available from 2:00pm onwards.
Presentation of the dishes is primed for social media, but thankfully it’s not a matter of style over substance. There’s crowd pleasers like a wagyu beef katsu sando, smashed avocado on toast, and bingsu, plus creative options. The eggs benedict, for example, sees two pieces of roti topped with sticky soy bbq pulled pork, kale, gochujung hollandaise, chilli jam mayo, and poached eggs.
My pick of the savoury dishes is the Kyoto-style omurice. A fluffy omelette atop a teriyaki hamburger patty, pickled radish, and steamed Japanese rice, served in a bed of Japanese curry. The buckwheat soba topped with Hokkaido scallops, seared salmon, tobikko, and cold yuzu soy dressing is another great choice.
For those with a sweet tooth, the dessert menu is enticing. There’s slices of cakes and pastries, plus special desserts. I highly recommend the ‘Dragon Eggs’, theatrically served on a steaming ‘nest. They’re essentially thin walled sweet potato donut shells, filled with your choice of salted egg sauce, or matcha sauce. The ‘Cafe Island Coconut’ is another great option. It’s a milk chocolate base shell topped with a coconut and pandan sponge cream cake, filled with young coconut cream, and toasted shaved coconut.
Amiri Cafe
Shop R02, QV Melbourne
Lonsdale Street
Melbourne
Victoria 3000
Australia
Telephone: n/a
E-mail: [email protected]
Website
Open
Sun – Thu: 9:45am to 10:00pm
Fri – Sat: 9:45am to 11:00pm