Not your typical sandwich, ma'am.

I've not only heard so much about EARL Canteen from friends, I've also read really good reviews at a couple of Melbourne food blogs. So, of course, I had to try out for myself! ;)

EARL serves gourmet sandwiches with a higher price range of $11-$16. But if compared to other cafes that charge you $6-9 for a normal sandwich which you could probably also make at home, why not pay an extra few bucks for something of a higher quality? ;)

Apparently, they source and serve their sandwiches using ingredients that are used in high end restaurants. So, like the phrase that goes, "you pay for what you get", it works the same with these sandwiches too.

Duck Confit ($16) - Sandwiched in between the ciabatta were confit duck, caramelised wild figs, walnuts, onion jam, radicchio, and watercress.

My cousin really enjoyed the duck confit a lot. She even reported back saying it was her favourite among the three sandwiches that we tried.

Well, I had a bite too, but I personally reckon it was a tad bit too salty for my liking. To me, it was nice, but I guess I'd say it wasn't too 'OMMPH'.

REAL Steak sandwich ($13.5) - There you have the grilled skirt steak, caramelised onion, provolone, beetroot, tomato, cos and mustard in between the focaccia.

To be honest, the REAL Steak was quite a disappointment. I've read such awesome reviews bout it that I prolly had my expectations pushed up a little too high. *shucks* :$

My cousins and I agreed that the steak was way too chewy and a little too hard to bite. Speaking of which, the EARL Canteen is not a place to head to on your first date if you want to impress. It can get a little messy. :P

Also, I personally reckon it best without the mustard too, but that could be just me since I've all along never liked the taste of mustard anyways.

Pork Belly sandwich ($13.5) - The oh-so-glorious crisp skin Otway pork belly, sandwiched with apple, cabbage & fennel coleslaw and wilted silverbeet in a baguette.

This was insanely awesome! Ah, the skin went crackling-crackle as I bit in... It was the BEST among all three! If I were to return, I'd definitely opt for this pork belly sandwich again. Nom nom nom! Sooooo heavenly!

And of course, if you've heard or read about EARL, you would definitely have heard about how good their macarons are.

I wasn't convinced though. The first time I ate macarons, it was at Lindt Cafe last year and I didn't like them at all. It was way too sweet, I almost puked, no kidding! Since then I dare not touch macarons again.

I contemplated this morning if I should give the macarons at EARL Canteen a go, but since almost every friend and food blogger agreed that they were awesome, I thought alright fine, I had to give macarons another chance. And I'm so damn glad I did! :D

For someone who once had a thing against macarons, I gotta say that these were soooo fantastic! I'm a macarons-convert now, and I will definitely go back to EARL again for these pretty yummeh babies. :D

Or maybe I could get my brother to take-away for me since he works just upstairs at NAB. Yeap, that sounds like an awesome plan. I shall suck it up to him later this evening when he comes home. :P

The yummeh macarons flavour clockwise from top:

Rose, Salted Caramel, Pistachio, Passionfruit w/ choc

They all had an excellent texture, and I really enjoyed the fact that it wasn't too sweet. Everything was 'just right' and perfect for me.

I love the passionfruit with chocolate filling one most. Yes, so much I'm actually considering if I should call the brudder like naooooo, so he can buy one home. Should I or should I not? But I just had them like two hours ago! How?!! *shrugs* :$

EARL Canteen wasn't opened quite too long ago, so if you've not heard bout them before, fret not! It doesn't matter because you have now. It is a must visit cafe so take note that they're located on 500 Little Bourke Street, in between Queen and Williams St. ;)

Oh yes, I almost forgot to mention that their coffee were pretty good too but I forgot to take 'em pictures because I was too busy scoffing down my yummeh macarons. Oh, nom nom nom! :P