Mondo Organics for Lunch

Mondo Organics
http://www.mondo-organics.com.au/ 

I'm not one of those people who are obsessed over organic this and superfood that. I do try to eat healthy but I love all kinds of food way too much to be a health nut. Of course, if something is marketed to me as 'organic' I get a positive boost from thinking it's doing good for my body. Mondo Organics is almost walking distance from my home but I'd never been there before because it's not the type of place I can drag Marc to. Luckily I have a team of girlfriends who aren't as narrow-minded in their feeding habits.

Last weekend, Tracy and I tried Mondo Organics for lunch. It can be stressful trying to find a park in West End but Mondo has an area of exclusive parking spaces behind their building. We didn't make a booking but managed to get a table without much drama. There was seating outside but with the heat being so intolerable, I happily took up a table inside where there was airconditioning.

Cool drinks on a hot day

I ordered a cocktail to start with. At home, I often make myself 'healthy' cocktails with freshly squeezed juice and booze. I liked the sound of Mondo punch (I think that's the name) because it seemed like a similar concept of using wholesome ingredients on an alcoholic drink. This turned out exactly as I had hoped: fruity, refreshing and not too sweet.

For weekend lunch, there is a set meal option with either 2 or 3 courses (optional matching wines available). We went the whole hog and chose 3 courses because... why not. We're young and happy and life is good :).

Charcuterie, sourdough, house made pickle

The first of our courses was a shared charcuterie board with breads, dips, relishes, pickles and cured meat. This was a great way to start the meal because there was a variety of things for us to pick and nibble at. I liked the bread with chutney, the meat and picked caperberries.

For our main, Tracy and I had a shared serving of pork belly. We were also able to choose 2 sides and we went for the salad and potato cubes.

Crispy pork belly - with carrot puree,  purple cabbage pickle and crispy kale chips

The pork belly was cooked perfectly with crispy crackling and tender meat underneath. It was served on a bed of pureed carrot and pickled cabbage which gave it a welcome sweet and sour to cut through the fat. I really wanted to eat more of this but it was so filling that we were struggling by the halfway mark.

Crunchy potato squares with  aioli and garden leaf salad

It didn't help that the sides were so filling too, namely the potato squares. These are exactly what they sound like and taste like less fatty versions of hashbrowns cut into cubes rather than slabs. I thought they were very yummy!

The garden salad was perhaps the least exciting of everything we ate but to be honest it was good to have something that was light and fresh. We had a lot of heavy foods on the table so a bit of green here and there kept it enjoyable. It was a very simple salad with some bitter leaves and light vinaigrette.

Dandelion chocolate pudding - with strawberry ice-cream,  almond crumble and pure cream

We were carrying on so much about how full we were that our waiter actually looked surprised to hear that we wanted dessert. Dessert was also served on a share plate and we chose the chocolate pudding with strawberry ice-cream. This is such a classic combination but it worked perfectly and was delicious. The pudding was a warm chocolate fondant and paired with creamy ice-cream, each mouthful was heaven.

We had a lovely lunch at Mondo Organics. The food was tasty, fresh and so filling. Presentation was also delightful. It was a bit warm where I'm sitting so I suspect the air-conditioning was struggling against the heat. Our drinks were good and I liked that food was brought out at reasonable intervals (not too slow or rushed).