If you live anywhere near South Yarra then you have definitely heard of the Tan or The Botanical Gardens. Yep, heaps of Melburnians usually run around The Tan and what happens after the usual run? Brunch and coffee time! Conveniently located in the garden sits Jardin Tan, a Vietnamese and inspired cafe.
We got our Sunday arvo started with some drinkies. The mocha was bloody fantastic. It wasn’t too chocolately and it wasn’t too coffee-y, it was perfect and so damn amazeballs. Oh chocolate lovers, the hot chocolate was smooth, rich and not overly chocolatey if you’re worried.
Mocha – $7 Hot Chocolate – $7
Mr D of course got the Vietnamese Ice Coffee and hot damn it was so good here. It came out exactly like how you would get it in Vietnam where the coffee drips into a cup with condensed milk. Once that’s done you mix it up and pour it into the glass full of ice. Sip and enjoy. There were coconut shavings in the glass AND it was totes AMAZEBALLS. Definitely get this if you come here.
Vietnamese Ice Coffee – $7
Banh cuon are rice noodles wrap with pork mince inside and other fillings depending on where you go and what you order. Then there’s nuoc cham drizzled over it. I wasn’t a huge fan of this dish but it wasn’t terrible either.
Banh Cuon – $19
Fresh banh cuon wrapped pork mince with spring onion, nuoc cham
The salt and pepper squid is one of those dishes that you can generally get anywhere and unfortunately there wasn’t anything special about this dish. The side salad that comes with it was refreshing though.
Muc Chien Muoi Tieu Ot – $21
Salt & pepper squid, tomato chili jam, basil
We’ve been waiting for the signature banh xeo to come out. Banh xeo is one of my favourite dishes in the world and so you can imagine my excitement when I saw the yellow pancake come over. It was the sweet potato instead of the usual prawn and pork. So basically you tear a piece of the pancake and wrap it in a bit of lettuce and dip it in the nuoc cham. The flavour of the banh xeo was great but it was quite thick and not as crispy as it could have been which was a shame. It was already filling and then to have sweet potato as well made it way too filling.
Sweet Potato Banh Xeo – $21
Sizzling mung bean, tumeric, rice flour & coconut pancake with lettuce and nuoc cham
My favourite dish was the Blackmore Wagyu cooked in a spicy coconut base. It wasn’t overly creamy and that wagyu was cooked to perfection. It just fell apart so easily and my gosh that flavour was outta this world!
Ca Ri Thit Bo Blackmore Wagyu – $28
Blackmore Wagyu cooked in spicy coconut, fresh tumeric
Finally dessert! Out came the caramelised croissant and ice cream sandwich. The croissant was a touch small BUT it was crispy, fluffy and oh so delish. The croissant was warm and the vanilla ice cream was the definite balance it needed. The salted caramel sauce gave it a sweetness the dish needed. This was an awesome dessert.
Kem Chien – $12
Caramelized croissant and ice cream sandwich with salted caramel sauce
Jardin Tan is a great cafe to check out if you’re visiting The Royal Botanical Gardens. The coffees are amazing, especially the Vietnamese coffee. We would recommend the Blackmore Wagyu as a main and the croissant ice cream sandwich for dessert and you will not be disappointed.
Verdict: 🍷🍷🍷
Food: 🍷🍷🍷🍷
Service: 🍷🍷🍷🍷
Value: 🍷🍷🍷
Disclaimer: I was invited to dine by Jardin Tan and all opinions expressed are my own.
Royal Botanic Gardens, Birdwood Ave, South Yarra VIC 3141
Tel: (03) 9691 3878
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