Nabie – Smith Street Collingwood – Pavlov’s Duck rebrand

14 Apr Nabie – Smith Street Collingwood – Pavlov’s Duck rebrand

Tucked up in a little cafe in the wintry weather outside. Nabie is a gorgeous place to huddle in from the cold.

My intuition told me that I would only jump the inertia hurdle and work if I went out and found a fragrant chai hot drink out in the world.

My intuition was correct. There is something about pulling up a pew in a cafe and dragging Pipeldoot out onto the table that makes an afternoon session of work flow.

Introducing nabie

I am at a cafe on Smith Street in Collingwood called Nabie. I came here because it used to be called Pavlov’s Duck, and it was one of the few places that makes beautiful Chai with tea leaves and steeped in milk, as a latte.

Despite the fact that the name, the furniture and the decor has changed, the same person seems to be managing this cafe and the menu is pretty much the same as Pavlov’s Duck, the font is even the same.

This is comforting to know, as their menu is quite nice and a little bit unique! (With a few new additions)

Perusing the menu makes me realise how little I eat out these days. It is true that eating at home is healthier, but it is also cheaper. I recall eating out a lot more in previous years in Melbourne. I am sure I am not the only one and that cafes are feeling the pinch.

For this reason, it can be good to have a few special dishes that might be nice if I ever do decide to step out for brunch or for lunch.

My picks off the nabie menu

On this menu I am curious about the Crab Chilli Scramble. In fact I am very curious how scrambled eggs would go with potato salad and sweet chilli and if the crab meat is tasty – since I have realised how much I detest soft shell crab.

I still have not eaten a Hopper from this lovely, warm, friendly cafe, so I will have to come back to try one too.

The Mushroom Forest was on the menu previously and it was always delicious. Mushroom varieties can have such unique flavours, so having a medley of them on toast can be really special. I am not sure that the previous version of this dish had hollandaise sauce, and I am not sure I am willing to ingest that much dairy in one hit, but it does look yum.

I seem to recall that one of the signature dishes on the Pavlov’s Duck menu was a Pumpkin Benny, and I remember eating it when I would come to this cafe and study on the weekends.

Drinks

As I say, if you are looking for Prana Chai in the inner north of Melbourne, particularly the bottom – (topographically speaking) end of Smith Street then you can’t go past Nabie.

Their Prana Chai Latte is steeped in your choice of milk, and is wonderfully creamy and spicy. It is a wonderful pick me up, that tastes like heaven on a wintry day.

And the best thing?! nabie is open until 4 PM every day!! 401 Smith Street.

The tea is that the owner sold this cafe to new owners but they struggled to make it work and so they called him up and asked him to take over again. I do remember having a particularly awful coffee at Pavlov’s Duck last year sometime, so I am very happy that this clever gentleman has taken charge again. He is trying to bring more Korean flavours to the menu, as that is where he is from. I feel compelled to go on an adventure and try some of the food soon!