Breakies worth getting up for

Verb Café

2010-09-20T22:32:00.004+10:00

Verb Café
336 Racecourse Rd, Flemington, VIC
Atomica Coffee

Opposite Social Roasting Company, in the corner, is Verb Cafe... also a second-hand book store. You won't be rushed as you sip their very decent coffee while reading the Sunday paper.Several interesting options on the menu: the classic Green eggs and ham ($10.50), the hearty Baked eggs with roma tomato salsa, goat's cheese, herbs and spinach ($10.50) and the healthy Granola with berry compote and greek style yoghurt ($7.50). Food portions are generous.

We tried the Big breakfast - parmesan pork sausage, tomatoes, grilled haloumi, wilted spinach, onion jam, bacon and fried eggs ($16.50). It was enough for a cardiac arrest... the dish probably would have been better with poached eggs. Sausages were tasteless and tough, bacon was over fried, tomatoes were even saltier than the bacon! Overall it was like those nightmare-ish plates of ingredients you could have prepared at home put together - one of the common flaws of big breakfasts. Why can't they be more like Madame SouSou?

The Breakfast Quesadilla - grilled tortilla filled with relish, cheese, bacon and a fried egg ($9.50) was slightly better. Tasty, but also full of fired ingredients. The side of potato parmesan roesti ($3) was disappointing. It was packed full of parmesan and thyme but I'm not sure why it was so hard, chewy and dry? Only the brown outsides were eaten in the end.

The Commoner

2010-09-20T22:24:00.004+10:00

The Commoner
122 Johnston Street, Fitzroy VIC
Bean Ground & Drunk Coffee

The Commoner's food is Middle Eastern influenced… and things like yogurt, chickpeas, spiced lamb etc don't appeal to me much. Also, there's a very limited window of opportunity for breakfast so I had not eaten there before this, even though I've heard excellent reviews about how fresh and original the food is.

The place is small… I guess you could call it cosy. Service was prompt & friendly. Coffees were good. I didn't fancy the menu but that's just because I'm picky. Ended up ordering the Poached Eggs with spinach, crisp pancetta and Soldiers ($16). The soldiers were dripping in EVOO, which was nice but considering the pancetta was deep fried, I felt slightly sick after eating the dish. I guess unhealthy food is tasty though…

He had the Honkey sandwich - crispy pancetta, harissa, fried free range eggs, spinach and aioli($16), which had some spices I didn't appreciate. But he enjoyed it!

Babble Bar & Cafe

2010-09-20T22:19:00.003+10:00

Babble Bar & Cafe
4b Izett street, Prahran, VIC
Griffiths coffee

Offering a heap of dining options, this corner cafe just off Chapel and Greville St was bustling at 2pm. After a short wait, we were seated near the window, with plenty of newspapers to keep us entertained.

The hot chocolate ($4) was huge and chocolatey, but pretty sweet. Coffee was pretty bitter.

Breakfast is served to 4pm so we ordered the House Frau Omelette with sausage, salami, cheese, onion & mushrooms ($16.50), add a side of hash browns ($3.50) and the French Fruit Toast with mascarpone cream, bananas, strawberries & maple syrup ($16).

The former came without the hash brown (but since I was full from the hot chocolate I didn't bother asking the waitress for it). It also came really spongy and tough, despite us telling the waitress to keep it runny and not overcook it - she even wrote it down! Must have been like 4 eggs inside this ginormous omelette, which had decent ingredients.

The French Fruit Toast was ingenious, but fully soaked with egg hence really dense. It also caused it to be really soggy... but that may be due to the copious amounts of maple syrup the toast was swimming in. Fruits were delicious, but far too little to be actually promised in the description.

When we went to pay, they charged for the hash brown but took it off without fuss when we told them it never appeared.

Not too sure what all the crowds were for, in my opinion it's not worth going back to at those prices!

Apte

2010-09-20T20:45:00.002+10:00

Apte
538-540 Heidleberg Road, Alphington, VIC
Their own house blend
Best Pikelets

Update (yet again):

The consistent excellent performance of the Banana pikelets won this place a new award. In fact, if you compare the photos, there's much more fruits than previously. If only there were more pikelets too... it's still too small!

You know the dishes are good when I order the same thing over and over again =)
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Update (again):

I haven't been back here for awhile... was a little worried when I heard they changed hands. But to my relief, nothing has changed. In fact, I think it may have got better!

The Apte Scramble ($12.50) - scrambled free range eggs with fresh herbs and feta on toasted organic sourdough was a no-fuss quality dish. Unfortunately it was also not-much-excitement.

The Spanish Baked Eggs ($13.90) - free range eggs baked with cannellini, red kidney beans and chorizo sausage topped with a parmesan crust and Turkish flat bread was very "beany" and akthough good, was no match for the sweet food!

There's now a Mixed Platter ($15.50) - half serve of ricotta hot-cakes and banana bread... that's what you get when you can't decide between their 2 famous sweet breakfasts! The hot-cakes, served wuth poached seasonl fruit, honey and orange infused ricotta were as good as before. The banana bread had a coconut element to it, and was served with honey labne, pistacios and rubard. Best of both worlds? Maybe... but the next dish was the absolute bomb!

I think the Pikelets ($10.50) are new and I hope they stay on the menu for a long long time. The crisp, light banana pikelets with beautiful clotted cream, crunchy, sugared pecans and fresh berries was amazing! My only complaint? Such a tiny dish! I needed more... lots more!

There's also a whole lunch menu - including this lamb dish my friend ordered. But with breakfasts so wonderful, I haven't ventured on to the next page yet!
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Update:

We went back to confirm the 4 beans rating (which it was) but only to find out a week later that the owners have sold this cafe... they're moving on to something similar in the carlton/brunswick/fitzroy area i think. Yay for me!

We had the big breakfast again - it was as good as before. We also tried the Smoked Tasmanian salmon with a corn, pea and feta fritter, with avocado, rocket and dill sour cream ($15). I it, except for the corn. But I guess I saw that coming from ordering corn fritters! A much less picky partner thoroughly enjoyed the whole deal.
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Who would have thought Apte was an acronym for "a place to eat"?

There's a handy car park at the back (the little road beside allows permit parking only) but beware of cars trying to come out at the same time - it's a crowded breaky spot. Entry from the car park leads to a courtyard with crates of toys and kids' books. A little too child-friendly maybe?

Anyway, we managed to score a bar stool spot almost immediately but the bigger groups that came at the same time ended up waiting for more than half an hour. Service is amiable, and while the menus are not groundbreaking, the execution is zinging. Mayo, cakes, pesto, etc is made on site with excellent quality produce and ingredients.

The big breakfast ($16) includes 2 perfectly poached free range eggs, sausages that I surprisingly found nice, bacon, delicious house made relish (which you can buy in bottles), mushrooms, spinach (which had a bit of soil/sand taste still), tomatoes and organic toast - one multi grain & one white for variety.

After we waited pretty long for the eggs, we were worried our order of Ricotta Hotcakes ($13.50) to come after was going to take just as long. It came in perfect time. Not as good as Replete's let alone Bill's, but definitely better than Rathdowne St Food Store's. Plump, light and golden and served with poached fruit, honey and orange infused ricotta. Despite the dishes being generously proportioned, both plates went back clean.

Social Roasting Company

2010-09-20T20:13:00.004+10:00

Social Roasting Company
307 Racecourse Road, Flemington, VIC

You can guess from its name that the coffee is going to be good. 100% ethically sourced coffee, lovingly roasted and delivered by bike as part of a non-profit enterprise with an employment philosophy that favours the long-term unemployed.

To avoid sitting outside, we sat at the bar facing the street and craned our neck to see the menu on the huge blackboard beside us. The waitress had some difficulty understanding us but service was extremely friendly.

The popular dishes include Spiced lentil dahl with poached eggs and roti served in a terracotta pot ($13.50) and Baked eggs with hash brown, cherry tomatoes, olives, spanish onion, sliced parmesan, basil and chorizo, served with pide in a cast-iron skillet ($14.50). The latter was a tad overcooked and dry.

Another popular dish is the Pancakes with maple syrup, berry compote and honey labne ($13). The crumble of toasty pistachios was nice but the pancakes were hard. Maybe I'm too used to soft and fluffy ricotta hotcakes.

The Scrambled eggs with fetta and fresh chilli ($11) was good but not as outstanding as Le Chien.

Mr Tulk

2010-09-20T19:37:00.006+10:00

Mr Tulk
State Library of Victoria, 328 Swanston St, Melbourne, VIC

Located on the ground floor of the library's north-west wing, Mr Tulk (named after the 1st state librarian, Augustus Tulk) is a welcoming place for students, bookworms and business people alike. Huge, arched windows provide lots of natural light in this high-ceilinged cafe which has a communal table perfect for spreading out The Age if you are feeling anti-social or for holding meetings otherwise. There's also smaller wooden furniture around the communal table, 60 plus seats outside, a coffee counter and a large cold cabinet for takeaways.

The menu is kept fairly simple with a range of baguettes, flatbreads and scrumptious sweets, supplemented by daily specials. Case in point: Avocado on sourdough with fresh lime and black pepper ($10), Steamed egg with vegemite soldiers ($8.50), Porridge with banana and date ($10.50), Bacon and egg pizza.

We had the Corned beef hash with poached eggs and Dijon Mustard ($15). It was breaded and fried 'til nice and crispy. Together with the mustard, it was a match made in heaven!

The other dish we tried were the Zucchini fritters with labna ($9), add bacon ($4). Another place which serves over-fried bacon crackers!

Birdman Eating

2010-09-20T19:25:00.006+10:00

Birdman Eating
238 Gertrude Street, Fitzroy
Genovese coffee

From the ancient myth of Icarus, whose wings got burnt by the sun, to crazy people jumping in the Yarra for the Birdman rally, part of the annual Moomba festival to this small, cosy cafe with padded fabric panels and miniature vases dangling on fishing wire from the ceiling...

Genovese coffee hardly goes wrong and this is no exception. But compared to other cafes in Fitzroy, they need to up their game. Food-wise, the diverse breakfast menu goes beyond the norm of muesli, big breakfasts and pancakes.

The Coconut quinoa porridge with palm sugar and banana ($11.50) has a massive following. Other simple dishes include House made crumpets with leatherwood honey ($7.50) and Toasted Banana Bread with Coverture Chocolate, Hazelnut & Olive oil Spread ($9.50) which was slightly disappointing. Dry bread and oily, not very rich flavours from the spread. But then again, I do make the best banana chocolate bread myself... and I'm not one to be proud =P

More fancy dishes include Grilled kippers with fried potato and horseradish butter ($17), Cheese kranksky with bubble 'n' squeak and poached eggs ($18) and Black pudding with braised tomato, potato hash & fried egg ($17.50). The last one was delicious (so said the boy) - tangy, rich, tasty and hearty.

What Birdman is most famous for though, is probably their baked eggs. A choice from 4 combinations, they come in black metal skillets mixed with an ever-changing selection of accompaniments like braised beans and fetta or chorizo, dill, braised fennel and flaked trout and spiced tomato, broccoli and kaiserfleisch.

Oh there's Coco pops on the menu too.

Proud Mary

2010-09-20T14:08:00.000+10:00

Proud Mary
172 Oxford Street, Collingwood, VIC
5 Senses Coffee

Update (again):

We found ourselves back here because it's convenient and the coffee is good... it's even worth the terrible wait for tables! After about 40 minutes, we decided to squeeze 4 people on a table meant for 2. On finishing our coffees, some of the bigger tables were cleared but the waitress offered us a complimentary muffin if we stayed at the small table as there was still a waiting list. Oh well, we're easily bribed!

This time, I ordered the green eggs on toast ($8.50) add herbed mushrooms ($3.50) thinking green eggs meant pesto scrambles but it was just the kind of eggs used. My (vet) friend politely told them green eggs are not healthier contradictory to popular belief! Really plain dish though...

The Hotpot - slow braised ham hock, bean & egg hotpot, crusty bread & butter ($14) was pretty good, especially on a cold, wet day like the day we were there!
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Update:

So Proud Mary had potential to reach 4 beans last time. Unfortunately it's exactly the same this time... I have to go back to see if I can push it up.

Coffees were amazing. One of the best non-real-chocolate mochas ever! Saw the chilli hot chocolate ordered by the guy next to me on the communal table - with a real chilli slit in the middle placed on the side like a cocktail! So pretty, but I'll never order that again, not after the awful experience at Max Brenner's 5 years ago...

New season, new menu - we were warned food may take awhile but i didn't take long at all. The Crispy hash is still on the menu although it's sightly changed - bacon for the smoked salmon and bagna cauda for the crème fraiche. It's $1 cheaper too! Unfortunately, this is what prevents Proud Mary from proudly getting 4 beans. You know there's something wrong when aside from the egg and spinach, the bacon is the least salty part of the dish... You would expect the Italian anchovy sauce to be salty, but not the hash so you can eat them together. I thought the salt was unevenly distributed (as many places do) on my 1st mouthful, only to realise it was extremely salty throughout! At least the hash was well frid, unlike the overly crackly bacon - my pet hate... after all, we're not in America!

The 2nd dish redeemed Proud Mary, but do share this between at least 2 people - it gets a bit much after awhile as it is seriously rich and sinful! Cocoa bread and butter pudding with rubarb compote and amareto mascarpone ($13). The delightful consistency of the pudding went perfectly with the not-as-sweet rubarb and even the amaretto, which I predicted I will hate, went pleasantly well together (there wasn't a very strong almond taste).

Oh, the rubix salt and pepper shakers have been replaced by light blue (like the coffee cups) wooden grinders...
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Nolan Hirte started work at APTE, where the owner invited him to be his business partner at Liar Liar, which was eventually sold to St Ali, but not before becoming hugely successful. So no doubt the coffee was going to be good, especially with that ludicrous 6 group head synesso!

Proud Mary is set in the industrial area of Collingwood on the corner of Oxford & Stanley Streets and the inside has kept that old warehouse feeling but the finishes are outstanding. Beautiful wallpaper, solid communal tables, a blackboard filled with all sorts of drinks including non coffee choices like granitas, milkshakes, smoothies, fresh juices... rubix cube salt & pepper shakers anyone?
I was told by my boss to order the Ricotta hotcakes with caramelised peach, white chocolate semi freddo and orange infused maple syrup ($14) and was expecting great things. Unfortunately though the semi freddo was delicious (especially coming from one who doesn’t like white chocolate), the maple syrup needed a stronger orange taste and the hotcakes weren't as fluffy as expected.

The Crispy hash, smoked salmon, wilted spinach, chive crème fraiche and poached egg ($15.50) was delightful though, especially the hash, which was crispy as promised. I'll probably order that again if I go back - not sure if it's because it was good or because there's not much else I would order…

St Ali

2010-06-06T16:42:00.003+10:00

St Ali
12-18 Yarra Pl, South Melbourne, VIC

St Ali coffee

Named after Ali ibn Umar al-Shadhili, who is said to have kicked off the coffee craze, St Ali is first and foremost a coffee wholesaler, but part of the old warehouse space is dedicated to sharing the caffeinated love with the general public. Positioned in an otherwise nondescript laneway, St Ali has a spacious designer industrial look and feel, with a clever use of recycled materials to break up the space. There's an outdoor area, but it is not pet friendly. There's always a queue, so I guess that's why they started selling takeaway coffees from the garage across the road.

St Ali is one of the original third-wave coffee makers, distinguished by their dedication to extracting the best from coffee in its purest, unadulterated form. All the single origin espresso is made through $32k Slayer. That being said, I don't think my coffee was that fantastic... but I'm no expert and wouldn't be able to tell the difference.

Ben Cooper and Kate Holloway's menu is Modern European/Middle Eastern-influenced cafe fare, accentuated with syrups and reductions. Both the Hangover cure ($17.50) with chorizo, cherry tomatoes, onions and spinach and the Sweet french toast ($15.50) with balsamic strawberries proved that and looked gorgeous. They certainly "plate" up well. But both were drenched in the reductions, making the toast soggy and with far too strong a taste. It was a major disappointment, but only because I expected so much from this place...

Julio

2010-06-06T14:55:00.005+10:00

Julio
171 Miller Street, Fitzroy North, VIC
Coffee Supreme Fairtrade

On a residential street corner opposite Merri Creek Primary School, there's a café famous for its bomboline-style doughnuts… there weren't any on the day we visited, despite it being a weekend =(

We sat at the high communal table, on wooden stools carved with a "J", half reading the papers with excellent coffees in hand, half people watching. Lots of families, and a huge crowd of people entered just after us holding floor plans and other evidence that they just came from an inspection/auction down the road. Better get our order in!

There's Romeo & Juliet - white cheese & quince paste on sourdough ($8.50), Spanish style omelettes ($12.50), Turkish breakfast plates ($9.80-$14.60), Baked organic eggs ($14) and a range of sandwiches ($7.80-$10.50). Both orders turned out to be from their specials. Firstly, French toast with apple, whipped cream and maple syrup. One of the worst French toasts ever. The taste was as unappealing as the look (like a layer of egg stuck onto bread by frying), except think stale and soggy bread, hard apples, cheap maple syrup and cream where the only taste was from the cinammon sprinkled on top.

The other dish, Scrambled organic eggs with Tom Cooper smoked salmon and roast tomatoes ($15) was a totally different story. Smooth scrambles, sweet tomatoes, fresh salmon and excellent sourdough made me wonder how could a cafe serve the 2 extremes?

Lawson Grove Shop

2010-05-01T22:05:00.000+10:00

Lawson Grove Shop
1 Lawson Gr, South Yarra, VIC
Gravity Coffee

Update (again):

What I like about this place is there's always someting new to try. This time it was Full as a Goog! ($19) - poached eggs with bacon, avocado, tomato, mushrooms and relish. While it is true, this sort of big breakfast is very hard to go wrong, it's also quite hard to be impressive. This one was definitely one of the better ones. Every single item was fresh, tasty and prepared with love!

If you go there often enough, there's probably no change in the menu but there's still specials to rely on! It was Croque Madame today - ham, gruyere, bechamel and egg. Again, one of the better croques I've had.
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Update:

We took the dog there again and confirmed the 4 rating. He had the Son-in-law Eggs ($14.50) – wok fried eggs with bean shoots, herbs, chilli, peanuts and nan jim sauce served in a lettuce cup. Great idea, but they should leave the execution to the Thais. Maybe I’m slightly biased after eating at Longgrain, where beanshoots are prepared in the freshest styles and still full of taste. But he liked it anyway.

I had the Breakky Burrito ($15.50) – spring onion scramble on a tortilla with a tomato, avocado and chilli salsa and crème fraiche. Now this was full of flavour. Comparable to Las Chicas, although I haven’t been there in ages due to the queues! Everything was finished clean.
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South Yarra's 'best kept secret' isn't so well kept after all. Not just locals visit the charming shop nestled in the back street just off Caroline St. Inside, there's many imported groceries, oven-baked goodies and large fridges full of take-home meals.

The boys were really friendly towards their regulars as well as the many dogs that sit outside - professionals with a relaxed attitude. We even saw 2 huge 35kg Chows that resembled bears!

A lot of care goes into the food here - the meats are from Jonathon's and Gary's, the eggs are free range and the bread is Phillipa's. Six degrees darker Gravity beans makes good coffee, and the chocolate coated marshmallow has a layer of chocolate inside too... So unique!

Food is good, but we need to revisit the place to try out the specials as well as other dishes to confirm the 4 rating. How wrong can the Pita Pizza ($13.50) go? Lots of tasty ingredients though – egg, ham, scarmozza cheese with fresh rocket.

The Spring Eggs ($15.50) – asparagus with poached eggs, parmesan and truffle oil, needed some sauce, but that may have covered up the rich truffle taste.

Don't try to park in Lawson Grove - but definitely make the visit there.

Caffe Panette

2010-05-01T21:48:00.000+10:00

Caffe Panette
144 Cecil St, South Melbourne, VIC
Grinders Coffee

Update (again):

Went back and ordered the safe choice of Joe's Melting Muffins. It still deserves 3 beans...

The Smoked Salmon Scrambled Eggs - served with chives and sauteed spinach on toasted sourdough was ok too, but neither of them were very filling!
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Update:

So we went back and this trip Panette got downgraded to 3 beans.The meal started well with the waitress giving us complimentary baguette slices which were crisp, fragrant and nice. Maybe 'cos 1 of the items we ordered was more for lunch than for breakfast?

We ordered a special of the day: smoked salmon & savoury pancake stack with a red onion & caper salad dressed with creme fraiche ($17.90). The dish was pretty well thought of and presented. Ingredients were fresh but i just didnt like how healthy the buckwheat pancake was.

We also had the Croque Madame which didnt look nor taste very nice. Far too much mustard and the toast was over fried to a almost black biscuit.

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Occupying a sunny corner position opposite the South Melbourne markets, there are nice big windows that allow for people watching. It seems the locals here love their dogs, especially with a huge pet shop & dog day care in the vicinity, and smaller pet stores in the market. So the many tables outside the café are popular too.

On a Sunday it was hard to find a park with the bustling market. So we expected to wait for a table for ages but were pleasantly surprised to be shown to the last empty seat straight away. Coffee wasn't great, but there was lots of chocolate syrup in my mocha, making it taste better, but slightly too sweet.

The food that came out of the kitchen looked impressive. Scrambled eggs on sour dough ($8.50). House-made baked beans - ham hocks and haricot beans served in a rich tomato sauce ($13.90). French toast with caramelised apples and double cream ($12.50).

There was no big breakfast option so I ordered Joe's melting muffins ($13.90) - toasted English muffins with bacon, roma tomatoes, avocado and cheese melted on top. Lovely. I also ordered a side of roesti ($3), which was generously sized, very tasty, crispy at the top and had great texture. Only beef is that it was too salty.

The Eggs a la mer ($14.90) are a simple yet pleasing combination of poached eggs, smoked salmon, champignon mushrooms and hollandaise sauce. The dish was elegant, but the smoked salmon could be fresher.

Overall, these are just tiny criticisms amongst really good brunch.

Dench Bakers

2010-05-01T21:45:00.001+10:00

Dench Bakers
109 Scotchmer Street, Fitzroy North, VIC
Genovese Coffee
Best fruit danish, fruit tart & brioche

Update (yet again):

This place has moved up to 5 beans - so far there's only 3 places in Victoria with that rating!

We visited on Easter Monday - it was packed but service was still great. No surcharge either! But the hash was slightly soggier today... maybe the kitchen was rushing? Despite that, this is becoming to be one of my favourite dishes... there's not many I would order time and time again...

We had to try something different so we went with one of the specials - brioche with ricotta, rose water and baked fig. It was almost as impressive!
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Update (again):

Service by John Dench himself was delightful and attentive. He's such a sweet, kind man!

The Chive-scrambled eggs on brioche were as good as I remembered.

The Potato hash with smoked salmon, creme fraiche, rocket and poached eggs was excellent.

The fruit tart was as orgasmic as ever. And it was only $4.50 this time. Think I got cheated last time. But omg, double orgasm!

This place is moving up to 4 beans.

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Update:

Check out the updated list of "Best..." for Dench. The fruit tart was orgasmic. Pity it was a freakin $7.50! I thought they short changed me when I receive my change from a $10 note...

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You'd understand why Dench excels at what it does - Chef John Dench, who has cooked at Mario's, The Continental, Rathdowne Tavern and Enoteca Vino Bar and son Tony Dench, a baker by trade whose resume reads like a who's who of bread in this town, including working at Baker D. Chirico since its inception and, before that, Babka, come together with a shared love of food.

Breads sit on exposed frame shelves, tempting all that eat here to buy a loaf back. There's house white, house stone, olive, baguette, baton, walnut, spelt, grain, farmhouse, light rye, foccacia, schwarzbrot, raisin loaf, ciabatta, brioche - mostly around $5-$6. We bought a ciabatta - disappointing as all the breads looked so good.

Other items to tempt you include the pastries (I was torn between the chocolate croissant and the fruit danish (both $4.50) which I eventually bought and was divine),the sweet and savoury muffins, the egg and bacon pie ($7.50), the duck and shitake pie ($11.90), the banana cake, etc.

Dench is all about service and quality.

Customers sit at compact tables along the wall or at the window bench looking out to those sitting under the red Genovese umbrellas (We had a very well-behaved maltese-king charles to entertain us). It’s not a group venue - probably not ideal for groups bigger than 3 or 4. We had to wait for a table but staff were happy to serve us coffees while we cluttered up their pathway just so we wouldn't freeze outside.

Glasses of water came without asking after we were seated and John came out to take our orders personally. The creamy, chive-scrambled eggs were served on the best brioche I've ever tasted ($9.50) with a side of organic bacon ($3.50).

The filled croissant with ham, cheese and tomato ($8.50) was decent.

There are also daily specials like the fried eggs, corn fritters, bacon and avocado salsa.

I didn't fancy the red pesto scrambled eggs on olive toast with Italian sausages but that’s ‘cos I'm not a fan of capsicum (the red in pesto), olives and sausages. But others gulped it down. All I can say is that I ate the entire sausage and the bread was much better than the one with olive spread on it from Spuntino.

There's other items available in the all-day breakfast menu like French toast with maple syrup or berry compote ($9.50), granola, etc. The lunch menu includes prepared paninis, focaccias and sandwiches ($9.50). A highly recommended venue - even if only to take away some pastries.

Red Star Cafe

2010-05-01T21:12:00.007+10:00

Red Star Cafe
315 Coventry Street, South Melbourne, VIC
Red Star coffee

So I was impressed by the coffee at Le Petit Gateau and asked them where it was from. Turns out it's a local place so I just had to visit the cafe! Coffee was disappointing though... too milky here. The berry smoothie had too much yoghurt but delightful on a warm day. Outdoor service wasn't very friendly nor responsive.

With not much I would order e.g. Muesli, boring pancakes/french toast, the usual hollandaise variations, I chose the safe option of the Big Breaky ($19) - 2 eggs with bacon, chipolata sausages, hash brown, tomatoes, mushrooms & Schwobs light rye. The hash was a ridiculously oily, overfried disc, the mushrooms were tasteless and the bread obtainable from Coles.

Their "Chef Roxy's Breakfast favourite", Huevos Rancheros ($17) - 2 poached eggs cooked in tomato and parsley sauce served with chorizo, fetta cheese and toasted sourdough didn't deserve the "South Melbourne Locals No. 1 Choice for Breakfast" award either... but I have to admit the chillis have kick!

I guess the prices didn't register until I paid the hefty bill. Felt cheated by the substandard, expensive breakfast! Even worse when I discovered later that day, that this place had a coupon in the Entertainment book I could have used...

Mart 130

2010-05-01T14:37:00.000+10:00

Mart 130
107a Canterbury Rd, Middle Park, VIC
Genovese Coffee
Best Pesto

Update (again):

I don't know why I give this place so many chances. I ended up here yet again, hoping to bring this place back to 4 beans.

Coffee, despite me mentioning previously Genovese can't go wrong, was really bitter and had a burnt taste.

I decided against the pancakes (even though I remembered I should try them and not the French toast) 'cos I wanted something more substantial so I went with Mart eggs #1 ($16.90) - free range scrambled eggs with chives, shaved parmesan, truffle oil, mushroom and sauteed spinach. Ok I admit that was not entirely true - the truffle oil enticed me too much! Sadly, there was hardly any truffle oil unlike the Asparagus dish at Outpost and nothing exceptional either. In fact, the spinach was rather bland. The mushrooms, while tasty, were microwaved...

He went with Mart Eggs #4 ($16.90) - free range poached eggs with avocado, smoked salmon, creme fraiche, fresh spinach and a cucumber, red onion, caper and dill salsa. He said the best part was the salsa, which is the only part I didn't try as it was a combination of my "favourite" ingredients! Imagine that. Needless to say, I wasn't impressed.

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Update:
Mart 130 got downgraded back to 3 beans! Service was slow 'cos they were packed as usual but they seemed to ignore the people sitting outside too!

To be honest, I forgot what this was called. it involved hollandaise sauce, poached eggs, chorizo and onions in some sorta tomato sauce, served on hard toast. Only ordinary and food was cold!

I couldn't remember if I tried the french toast or the pancakes last time - I wanted to order the other one which I remembered looked good on another table. I ended up ordering the savoury french toast, which was what I ordered last time (except I had the sweet one)! Argh. To make matters worst, the french toast was cold and bland... nothing similar to the last trip!
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I didn't realise the significance of its name until I reached the place & saw the 'R' flipped horizontally. MART is TRAM spelt backwards, at stop number 130 on the No. 96 light rail to St Kilda. It's built on the platform of an old station master's building. Cool eating spot - who comes up with ideas like that?

Directions ('cos it's hidden away & you probably won't find it unless you take a tram there): From the city, get to Albert Rd. Turn left to Canterbury Rd, drive down & it will be on your left. Abundance of 4P parking.

The venue is small - a trackside dog-friendly area where the pooch can watch trams go by, the cramp inside where we ate last time (and were slightly disappointed due to extremely high expectations), and the enclosed deck behind overlooking Albert Park & some tennis courts where we ate recently (because we wondered if we were missing something with all the hype).
Don't get me wrong, the food was good last time. I ordered Eggs #2 - Fleshy poached eggs with mild hollandaise sauce, creamy avocado & scrumptious bacon on sour dough. Except after reading reviews, we expected this to be the number 1 spot in Melbourne for breakfasts, and it fell short of that. Maybe it was the famous corn fritters with bacon, relish & sour cream that we should have tried?

This time, we lowered our standards & were pleasantly surprised. When we entered, a waitress totally ignored a "Hi, can we get a table for 2?" In my head I was thinking *minus points for rudeness*.

Thank goodness it was only her, and after a short wait not long enough to read the menu on the blackboard, we managed to get seats. My hot chocolate ($4) was less milky & more chocolaty than usual. And Genovese coffee doesn't go wrong. It was Australian Open season, so he was entertained by all the young Hewitt wannabes playing at the court. I was entertained by the millions of doggies that ran past. At least it made the long wait for the food (small kitchen syndrome) pass quicker. Oh, that and eyeing other patrons' food. He commented on how good the Bircher Muesli looked. I, on the other hand, drooled at the pancakes.

We still didn't order the corn fritters. The word "coriander" scared us.

Service was excellent. The waitress (not the same rude one), without asking, brought a side plate with 2 sets of cutlery & quality napkins 'cos we were sharing scrambled eggs on sourdough with bacon & pesto. While the toast was a little too hard & the scrambles were good but not quite Fandango or Bills, the bacon was thick & tasty. The star however, was the pesto. I've never tried pesto so yums that I couldn't resist eating it on its own, garlic, parmesan & all…
About service (I tend to digress when it comes to food), the waitress cleared our plates & told us the French toast with mixed berries and vanilla mascarpone that we requested to come after the savoury was on it's way. She then brought another side plate & 2 sets of cutlery. How thoughtful!
It was heavenly. Tonnes of berries oozing with juice, light mascarpone & French toast of the right consistency.So after the satisfying breakfast, we up-ed the rating since the previous trip. No credit cards or eftpos though, so remember to visit the ATM before!

Three Bags Full

2010-03-14T00:35:00.003+11:00

Three Bags Full
56 Nicholson St, Abbotsford, VIC
5 Senses Coffee

Three Bags Full is the latest cafe from the crew that gave you APTE (Delicious Magazine's National Cafe of the Year 2009) and Liar Liar (The Age Cheap Eats' Caffeine Hit of the Year 2009). Similar to the above 2, Proud Mary, St Ali and Seven Seeds, the main focus is coffee. And judging by the crowd that has gathered within 2 weeks of it's opening, there’s always room for one more warehouse-turned-chic-cafe-with-a-clover in Melbourne. Within a few months owner Nathan Toleman will be opening an even bigger cafe complete with a small roasting facility in North Carlton. No doubt there'll be trouble getting a seat there too.

The interior is special - business cards and cupcakes sit in antique scales. A bowling lane has been turned into an impressive communal table. Seats are made from road signs. Light fittings include inverted tea cups and saucers. There are potted plants by the window and the venue strikes a balance between concrete/brick and colour.

Favourites from APTE like the Toasted house made banana & coconut bread with honey labna, pistachios & roasted seasonal fruit ($13.50) and the Ricotta hotcakes with poached seasonal fruit, honey & orange infused ricotta ($14.50) appear in the bright yellow menu, along with exciting new additions like the cauliflower fritter with haloumi. Sticky black ginger bread with roasted plums and mascarpone ($13.50) walk a fine line between breakfast and dessert.

We had the Big breakfast ($16.50) – 2 free range eggs, bacon, roast tomatoes, spinach, mushrooms, cheese kransky & tomato relish. The tomato relish was amazing... so amazing I wanted to buy a bottle home but decided I'll wait til I finish my current one (homemade from a colleague). The bacon was just right - smoky and neither too lean nor fatty. The mushrooms could improve.

And because I was happy with the ingredients & portion of the above, I let him order whatever he wanted. No surprise he went for the breakfast special 'cos of the main ingredient (it's either chorizo or salami with him) - Omelette served with salami, Swiss cheese and roma tomato ($12.50). It was too dry and generally unimpressive. Then again, I've never tried a good omelette outside. Maybe my definition of good isn't normal?

Sweet Source Cafe Patisserie and Larder

2010-03-14T00:05:00.001+11:00

Sweet Source Cafe Patisserie and Larder
288 Rathdowne St, Carlton North, VIC
Coffee Supreme

Update:

This time we called to make sure there were waffles. And boy were they nice. Crisp (though they could be thicker) waffles, covered with delicious berries, finished off with lemon curd for a nice zing. Reminded me of ricotta hotcakes toppings... mmmm.... The waffles alone moved the ranking up to 3 beans!

The Egg & bacon tart was cold and not fantastic... although the yolk was surprisingly gooey!
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As the name suggests, savouries are just accessories to the sugary decadence, rather than the main event. Something about Boston baked beans served on toast with avocado/curried sweet potato and ricotta tortilla? I can't remember, not that I really care.

Walking in, you notice the gingerbread houses gracing the windows, as well as the many cookies, slices, scrolls, tea-cakes and cupcakes on display at the counter.

The hot chocolate was disappointing. Where was the "real chocolate" they promised? Tasted like warm milk to me... I wanted to try their waffles but unfortunately it was "too late" and they had already cleaned their machine - this was 4.30pm when they close at 5pm. So much for customer service... So we tried the linzer torte as it looked so pretty with the raspberry jam oozing through the lattice top. The pastry was too thick and didn't have the "baked goods" fragrance. The pecan tart was pretty good.

The 2nd time we went back, it was slightly earlier - 4pm. Still "too late" for waffles... do they just not use their machine so it stays clean all the time? Don't think I can go any earlier for my sweet treats... oh well.

The coffees were surprisingly good after the hot chocolate debacle - perfectly roasted and prettily presented. The flourless chocolate cake was moist but not extremely special. In fact, I think I make a meaner version. Only thing is, mine doesn't come on a mismatched antique floral nanna-crockery plate!

El Mirage

2010-03-03T18:54:00.004+11:00

El Mirage
349 Lygon Street, Brunswick East, VIC

At the more industrial side of Lygon St, we were delighted at the decking set up outside (yet away from the main road) - perfect for doggies! Service was efficient but not so friendly (with the exception of an Asian lady who didn't speak the best English but kept smiling at us).

There's Bircher muesli with a raspberry compote ($9.50), Pancakes topped with lemon curd, mascarpone & maple syrup ($12), Poached fruit cobbler with yoghurt ($8.50) or more substantial egg items. We tried the Eggs Benedict ($12.50), which came with a not so pleasant yellow hollandaise and prosciutto.

More unusual was the Machacado – scrambled eggs with chorizo, mushrooms and tomato ($14.50). While there wasn't anything in particular to complain about, there wasn't anything that special either. A slight disappointment!

The Galleon

2010-02-21T21:17:00.001+11:00

The Galleon
9 Carlisle St, St Kilda, VIC
Di Bella coffee

Update:

I'm not sure whether we had a above average 1st time or a below average 2nd. Maybe it was the St Kilda Festival? I'm not sure why we didn't have trouble getting a table, my mocha was not very nice, the waitress got our order wrong and the pikelets weren't fantastic. But I'll give them the benefit of the doubt and leave it at 4 beans for the time being.

We had the Eggs Benedict with spinach ($11) - isn't that just called Eggs Florentine? Add house meatballs in napoli sauce ($5) and mushrooms ($2.75). Meatballs were still tasty but not as warm and comforting as remembered. The bagel was actually quite nice!

The pikelets were less fluffy (compare pic below), less ricotta-ish and the strawberrys were not cut into thick slices but more like thin slivers.

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We finally had the time to wait for a seat on our 3rd visit there. The waiting list moves faster than they promise. Inside, food takes a while to arrive but the venue is perfect for people watching (the clientele is just about as unique as they come), reading magazines/newspapers and being amused with the surroundings - the mismatched laminex tables, the share-house noticeboard, original artworks and found objects, from a table shaped like the prow of a boat that protrudes from a wall, to the "Philips Schoolroom Map of Australia".

The Gaggia, Galleon's signature vintage coffee machine has finally been replaced with a newer version, but coffee is apparently still as good.

The menu is extensive. We tried the Sweet potato, basil and feta hash browns served with wilted spinach, one poached egg and house made relish ($11.50), add meatballs in Napoli ($5). Who said sides had to be boring? The meatballs were tasty and gave me a warm, fuzzy feeling on a cold morning...
For a sweet treat, we had the Pikelets with lemon butter and fresh strawberries ($8.50) which were actually ricotta pancakes, much to my delight. Boy were they good. We expected them to fail in comparison to Bills but I'm proud to say Melbourne can definitely hold her own against Sydney.

There's also French Toast with bacon and maple syrup ($10.50), rice pudding spiced with cinnamon and served with poached fruit and almonds (5.75), Eggs Benedict ($11), the Drunken Sailor's Big Brekky ($14.50) and the Galleon Style ‘Bubble ‘n’ Squeak’ ($10).

Wonderful - we haven't found a new 4 beans café for some time. I just wish it wasn't so crowded!

Outpost

2010-02-21T20:50:00.006+11:00

Outpost
9 Yarra Street, South Yarra, VIC
St Ali coffee

Another one of these cult specialty coffee houses… it must be getting more popular nowadays, as is opening cafes under apartment/office blocks. But this is the... erm... outpost of St Ali… so you know the coffee is going to be good. What's great about this part café, part retail coffee outlet, unlike the recently reviewed Seven Seeds, is that it actually bothers with the food too!

Fitted out in the same laboratory style as St Ali, the Sensory Lab in David Jones and most probably the soon to open Plantation in Myer, diners actually sit in the kitchen and are part of the action, although perhaps the serious stuff should be left to the experts.

The 1st time we went there, we were told kitchen problems meant a 45 minute wait for food. We said we'll order coffees first and wait. After scanning the daily menu, we tried to order to which the reply was "we aren't serving food at all". Confused, we explained we didn’t mind waiting but still no luck. Why tell us lies, proceed to seat us and give us the menus then???

It wasn't newly opened at that time but we figured we should give them some time to get their act together. So 1.5 months later, we went back and were amazed with the service. What happened over the Christmas break? Friendly staff that made light conversation and kept checking on us made up for the previous visit.

Paul Jewson is brilliant. He makes homely food with an exotic twist. Like the Fresh cut papaya with fresh lime, Greek yoghurt and pomegranate ($9.50), the Outpost homemade toasted banana and coconut bread, vanilla ice cream, maple syrup and Anzac crumbs ($12.50) and the dish I had: Grilled asparagus with truffled mascarpone, Tasmanian oak smoked salmon, poached egg and rocket on sourdough ($18.50). The truffle oil smelled stronger than it tasted but everything was amazing together.

He had the Free range eggs on toast with homemade tomato relish ($9.50), add balsalmic and thyme roasted field mushrooms ($4.50) and grilled chorizo ($4) which wasn't as special but still good. The chorizo especially, as I don’t normally like chorizo, but found myself saving it for last =)
There are also egg bacon breakfast rolls, tarts, croissants, pastries and gluten free cakes near the cashier. Oh and the coffee was excellent. But that's no surprise.

Amici Bakery

2010-02-21T20:09:00.002+11:00

Amici Bakery
Cafe 242, Chapel St, Prahran, VIC
Piazza d'Oro coffee

Update:
We wanted to try Outpost but after some very bad service (more about that later), we ended up at the only place nearby again...This time we tried the Amici Brekkie - 2 eggs on toast with sauteed tomatoes, onions, basil and spinach, topped with hollandaise sauce ($16.50), add mushrooms ('cos they were so good the last time). The Hollandaise was foul but the mushrooms didn' disappoint.

The Italian Breakfast - homemade spicy pork and veal meatballs in a rich napoli sauce served with 2 poached eggs on toasted ciabatta ($16) was pretty good but I was comparing the meatballs to Galleon's and wasn't that impressed. The ciabatta on the other hand, was amazing! Such beautiful bread (& olive oil) that we had to buy a loaf home! No change in overall rankings though...
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Service at Amici was a little bit haphazard, but the place was buzzing & we were sitting outside so they probably deserve some slack. Coffees were pretty, and breakfast is available all day.

We had Eggs Fungi ($15.90) - Pesto cornbread with tossed mixed mushrooms, 2 poached eggs and a fresh tomato salsa finished with herbs, add house made cheese chive hash brown($3.30). They went overboard on the pesto and I didn't like the cornbread but the mushrooms were very tasty.

We were delighted to see on the menu: House made waffles ($11.90) topped with strawberries, maple syrup and honey cinnamon yoghurt. Not so delighted when it came out as flat as the ones from the normal waffle irons, not the thick ones from industrial waffle irons. At least they weren't Belgian waffles. The yoghurt had far too much cinnamon but the strawberries were nice.

They also have what everyone claims to be an excellent big breakfast ($17.90) and Eggs on Toast ($8.50) with a huge range of extras including scrambled tofu, breakfast steak, halumi, cottage pesto potatoes.

In addition to other eggs variations, there are savoury pastries, salads, and a huge range of breads. The Cassalinga loaf ($5.50) was beautiful.

Amici also caters well to the sweet tooth. We bought the petite fours(or fives) which were not too bad tasting and really pretty. And the menu couldn't possible get bigger with interesting smoothies on offer as well!

Seven Seeds

2010-02-21T19:36:00.006+11:00

Seven Seeds
114 Berkeley Street, Carlton, VIC
Their own blend of coffee

“You get the feeling that they know they have a great product, so there is no need to sell it, or be pretentious about it, just get the job done. They do it well.”

I agree with the above quote. Granted, I didn't expect much since it's the sibling of Brother Baba Budan (which I've only tried once but left me feeling extremely underwhelmed).

I know the main point of this industrial height ceiling warehouse (which left me feeling very cold) is coffee. But what's with the food? You only get a choice between an A5 page of muesli, sweets and sandwiches.

We tried the Thyme mushrooms, toasted pinenuts & fontina hot pressed sandwich ($9.50). The mushrooms were good, but not tasty enough to be one of very few ingredients. It came served with some attempt of a chopped lettuce salad with a few sesame seeds. No cutlery is expected to be used. The Dench bread was good but eating a vegetarian dish, I wanted something a little less healthy and seedy...

The Egyptian Eye – fried egg, smoked bacon and roasted tomato relish hot pressed sandwich ($10.50) was a bit better due to the relish and bacon. Like the now closed Filter (big loss to Fitzroy), the egg was fried in the bread.

If you can stomach sweets 1st thing in the morning, try the French toasted brioche with banana, butterscotch sauce, peanut brittle and marscapone ($11.50). Delicious and the only dish worth coming back for. Unique and well executed.

Even sweeter is the Dench sourdough served with Middle Eastern 'Nutella' ($9). I haven't tried it but the girl next to me on the communal table ordered it and it looked sticky as promised and indulgent to the point of sinful!

It's my local so I'd visit it again. But I'm not sure anyone else would… unless they mad keen about single-origin beans!

Ellery and Co

2009-12-02T18:47:00.003+11:00

Ellery & Co
46 Church Street, Hawthorn, VIC

This place was a shocker... looking at the menu I thought it would be good - plenty of chorizo items for the boy and big breakfast/pancakes/other egg dishes for me. But the experience was so appalling the quality of the food doesn't compare.

We sat down on the non-communal table and ordered coffees while browsing the menu. 15 minutes later, not only did the coffees not arrive, nobody came back to take our order, nor could we get the attention of a waitress. Mind you the place isn't that big. Another 5 minutes the boy finally stood up, ready to order at the counter and the waitress (let's call her pink - she was wearing a pink 3/4 sleeve top) came over. She took our order and asked if we wanted coffees, to which our reply was "we've already ordered them".

Another 5 minutes later, we realised all the tables that came in after us were being served so they must have forgotten out order (you would think pink would follow up on it after we told her we have ordered). After a big effort of getting her attention again we finally asked her to check on it. Judging from the barista's reaction when pink told her, she obviously forgot about it. No apologies, no sign of rush... they came out after the 3 takeaway orders!

The coffee was watery but the hot chocolate was better than average... not worth the 45 minutes wait though.

Pink brought the food out and realised (on her own accord) we needed cutlery. She went back to get it, came out and hovered around the 4 non-communal tables. Then she turned back and got napkins, before coming back and laying the cutlery for the table next to us (whose food had not arrived yet). The best part is yet to come... She had no more cutlery in her hands after setting the other table but had 2 napkins in her hand. She turned back and I assumed she would get 2 more sets of cutlery for us but instead she put the 2 napkins down!!! WTF. I was hungry and grumpy already and food going cold in front of me did not help. We called another (more competent) waitress over and she gave us cutlery.

I wish I could say all was forgiven by the food... My Potato hash with smoked salmon, avocado, crème fraiche, roquette and a poached egg ($14) was presented nicely but the hash was just tasteless BOILED potatoes squished together. And it was watery, indicating they cut it up before boiling instead of after!

His Spanish omelette with chorizo, red onion, tomato, capsicum and parsley ($14) was a special of the day and it was the most rubbery omelette ever.

If I wasn't starving by then I would have left my share untouched. Instead, I ate a bit and did some appropriate "art" which I hope they noticed when clearing the plates...

We dropped by Ikea after to get some stuff and saw the sign of the $2.95 breakfast. Everyone knows it’s more the value than the quality there but after the awful breakfast, we'd wished we ate at Ikea instead!

Le Chien

2009-12-02T18:37:00.004+11:00

Le Chien
5 Gamon St, Seddon, VIC
Supreme coffee

All the reviews I've read told me to come early for a seat - we were fashionably late on a Saturday morning yet all was calm. We sat in front of the massive wall mural of a lady on all fours, a barren urban landscape and an old car in the background - if only I knew what it meant!

The name struck me as being Asian influenced, and the dish we ordered – Free range scrambled eggs with fresh chillis ($9.50) reinforced that impression. However, the menu has European/Scottish/French influences to prove me wrong. That said, the scrambles were amazing... Creamy, dreamy and almost like Bills. The chilli was hot, even for my standards, and made me devour it faster. The side of black pudding ($4), however, was nothing to shout about.

Coffee was surprisingly not bitter and the man ordered a 2nd - something he hardly does so I guess it was good. The hot chocolate, like most cafes, was more quantity than quality.

We also had the poached eggs on sourdough ($7.50), add mushrooms ($3), smoked bacon ($3.50) and tomato pickle ($1.50). The mushrooms were orgasmic - so tasty and not microwaved, which so many places do nowadays! The relish had too much Moroccan spice for me to eat it and the bacon was overcooked.

Other breakfast options were: Promite toast topped with poached eggs, tomato and avocado ($11), Welsh rarebit aka spicy cheese on toast ($7) and Lots lof avocado & tomato on sourdough ($8.50).

More substantial lunch/dinner options were: 6 varieties of pides, pappardelle with a beef ragu, veal scaloppini and an eye fillet served with a red wine sauce and tattie scones.The 2nd time I went there, the scrambles were just as good but the mushrooms seemed to have slipped.
The BLT sandwich with honey mustard mayo and rocket ($10) was well done.

If only they could get everything right, 'cos what they do get right, is amazing...

Grigons and Orr Corner Store

2009-12-02T18:27:00.006+11:00

Grigons & Orr Corner Store
445 Queensberry St, North Melbourne

Kellie May Grigons and Margo Orr, who also own the Order of Melbourne, took a trip down memory lane one soda float at a time with their corner store. They're selling all sorts of grocery items such as homemade jams, relishes, spam, butter by the pound, organic milk in glass bottles, lollies and mystery tins!

After reading Matt Preston's review, where he said Grigons & Orr is one of his favourite places to breakfast in Melbourne, we had to try it. We've passed by many times, seeing as we live so near, and there are always people standing by the road waiting for tables. Today we were one of them. I guess it's a normal process when they have a box of crocheted blankets outside for people to wrap themselves up if it gets cold.

We ordered coffees while waiting and they came in old china tea cups, not takeaway containers as expected. The teaspoons were all different and looking like something that belonged to my great grandmother. Coffee was ok, mocha had real chocolate but pity it was of poor quality.

When the seat beside the traffic light became available, I had to squeeze my butt to get to the inside seat (there was a guy sitting on the next table so I couldn't use the outside seat). A full bottle of water with strawberries (including the leaves) was promptly brought to the table and started to spill as the table was on a slope.

We waited for about 30 minutes after ordering before asking the waitress to check on our food. Another 5 minutes passed and she didn't come back any reply, not even the usual "it's on its way". During this time we overheard someone asking the guy if business has changed since Matt's review. "No, not at all - it's always busy on the weekend." Another 10 more minutes, we got our food... with no apology whatsoever.

I wish I could say the wait was worth it. The Apple fritters with hazelnuts & caramel sauce with yoghurt, dusted with a minted sugar ($9.50) was sold out. So I went with the Ricotta Pancakes with brandied blueberries, toasted almond flakes & Barbados cream ($12). They were the hardest pancakes ever, Maccas would beat them hands down if not for the over zealous amounts of baking powder.
He wanted the Shakshouka - Baked Israeli Eggs, spicy Napoli sauce, served with yogurt ($12) but I didn't allow him to order it so he chose the poached eggs with sides of mushrooms, sausages and hash browns ($18). They forgot the hash browns we already paid for but we didn't want to wait another 45 minutes so we didn't bother telling them. The mushrooms were bland and the sausages, while tasty, were dripping with oil.Clearly Matt Preston gets preferential treatment!

Le Triskel

2009-12-02T18:22:00.000+11:00

Le Triskel
32 Hardware Lane, Melbourne, VIC
Organic Fairtrade coffee

Update:

This time we went there, we managed to get the French Hot Chocolate. The waitress warned us that it was very bitter but I found it just right. Could be more chocolatey though...
The L'estivale ($13) had ricotta, chives and smoked salmon, topped with sundried tomatoes. While nice, I felt cheated that it didn't come with a salad and bagette slices as promised!
To finish, we had the Cafe au lait which came in a huge bowl and a pain au chocolat which was delicious!

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They make themselves out to be "Arrogantly French" - although I would say "Overtly French" is better to describe the quaint café on Hardware Lane. The amiable staff chat amongst themselves in French, the food is authentic (savoury buckwheat galettes not crepes), French magazines e.g. Vogue are available, French music plays in the background, drinks are uniquely French (from Ciders to French wine to Orangina to French Hot Chocolate to Cafe au laits), and there are also 2 very instructive screeds written on the walls in chalk - 1 instructs you how to order your breakfast in French, the other on how to say it was jolly good.

They ran out of the French Hot Chocolate and I had to settle for the normal hot chocolate. The coffee was pretty strong, and the cider a bit more dry than usual. The crisp galettes are folded like an envelope over fillings such as quality French cheeses, hams and prosciutto, French béchamel sauce, salmon, vegetables and lots more... gluten free and vegetarian options available. They come with a bowl of olive oil/sesame dressing salad and 2 small rounds of crispy baguette. Crepe ingredients range from sweet melted chocolate, pure maple syrup, jams to fresh fruits, some available flambee-ed.

We ordered La Triskel ($11) - an egg was gently placed in the middle on top of the gruyere, surrounded by tasty mushrooms and gently encased by the prosciutto. There was more ingredients than usual, and quality ingredients at that (just wish I ordered ham instead of proscuitto as it was very overpowering) but the galette wasn't as fragrant as I wished it to be, which explains why the charming café didn't smell like the Harajuku Crepe place in Melbourne Central.For dessert, we shared the Warm raspberry puree, melted chocolate and vanilla ice-cream ($8.50). It was pretty good too.

Concorde

2009-12-02T18:04:00.004+11:00

Concorde
Kiosk 3, Melbourne GPO, corner of Little Bourke and Elizabeth Street, Melbourne, VIC
No coffee

An outdoor takeaway kiosk that specialises in crepes only. Coffee? Get it from Federal Coffee Palace next door. I've tried it there a few times and it's not bad (Genovese hardly goes wrong) - sure beats the ones we had from the famous Brother Baba Budan (maybe they were just having a really bad day?)
While being made on the hot plate, fragrant aromas that seem to be non-existent in the truly French creperies like Breizoz & Le Triskel hit me. Mmmm. The all-day breakfast menu has different combinations of free range egg, jarlsberg cheese, bacon, mushrooms, spinach, smoked salmon, etc. I stare at the menu for ages before deciding on the free range egg, jarlsberg cheese and bacon ($8.90). The crepe was beautifully crisp, but a little thick and doughy =(

The ingredients are surprisingly fresh for such a tiny stand. Desserts range from lemon and sugar ($5.90), poached pear and custard ($6.90), stewed apple, cinnamon and organic yoghurt ($7.50) to banana, ricotta, almonds and maple syrup ($8.50).The lunch menu has more interesting flavours: ripe roma tomato, basil and jarlsberg ($7.50), swiss brown mushroom, thyme, spinach and 3 cheeses ($9.50). On another occasion I take away the ham, brie and grilled asparagus ($8.90) and it was yummy. Salt flakes made the asparagus tasty and the brie gave a creamy finish to the crepe.

Jones the Grocer

2009-12-02T16:51:00.006+11:00

Jones the Grocer
Shop F032 Chadstone Shopping Centre, Chadstone, VIC
Di Lorenzo coffee

Yet another place for fromage fans... Now open in the new Fresh Food Precinct at Chadstone Shopping Centre is the largest Jones the grocer cheese room, housing over 120 international and local artisan cheeses. There's also an extensive deli and charcuterie counter, complimented by the exclusive range of Australian and imported gourmet foods.

There were plenty of seats inside the café as well as outside in the alfresco dining area, which was a surprise. Service staff were generally very pleasant, attentive and keen to help. You could tell the coffee, while bitter, was made by an excellent barista. The breakfast menu changes depending on what is in season.

Lunch ranges from baguettes, house made pies and salads to a wagyu burger served with olive oil fries. The website advertises daily tarts, macaroons and cakes, but I must have been blinded by all the other goodies on offer to notice any.

I had the Jones traditional English breakfast ($13) - 2 perfectly poached eggs with salt flakes sat on top of beautifully toasted sourdough, surrounded by tiny bits of mushrooms sautéed with flat leaf parsley (not the tastiest). The pancetta wrapped chipolatas were delicious, as were the slow roasted tomato. I didn’t try the black pudding.
The Spanish Eggs ‘en cocotte’ ($9.50), baked with baby spinach, smoked bacon and jones tomato relish was pretty good too, except the eggs were way overcooked... Then again most baked eggs are. Oh and the ground pepper from the Maxwell & Williams grinders on the table was fabulous too!

Madame SouSou

2009-09-12T22:32:00.000+10:00

Madame SouSou
231 Brunswick Street, Fitzroy, VIC
Genovese Coffee
Best 'the lot' & crepes

Update (again):
This has moved to 5 beans! Again, we ordered the same combination of 1 coffee, 1 thick European hot chocolate (above), 1 savoury and 1 sweet.

The SouSou Breakfast has gone up in price ($18) - damn inflation! It' still so good though, paprika sausages, hash fritters and all...

The crepes are back, slightly different from the last time, but better in my opinion. It's now with strawberry compote and fresh ricotta. No orange liquor but compared to the last photo, has shrunk in size too =(
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Update:
There are no more crepes! =( They were replaced with either Waffles with maple cream and honeycomb or Waffles with Belgian Chocolate sauce and cream ($17). We ordered the former which tasted very fragrant, with excellent maple cream unfortunately they were Belgian waffles, so were quite solid and tough, unlike the light and crisp English waffles.

The hash brown in the Sousou breakfast also changed to a mix of zucchini? and potato mash, breaded before being fried. Still tasty though!

I was amazed at how good the Smoked salmon corn fritters were... the best corn fritters I've tried by far. the only one I would order again in fact...
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The venue is an extremely tres chic, sexy, French style brasserie - posh without being stuffy. In the morning, it feels decidedly cafe-like before dressing up for dinner. There's thick European hot chocolate on the blackboard too, for a very reasonable price.

Again, we did the one savoury, one sweet option and shared them.

The SouSou breakfast ($17) had perfectly poached eggs, double-smoked bacon, roasted tomato, sausages, sourdough toasted just right, tasty mushrooms, and who could forget the golden, delicious home-made hash brown. The best all round breakfast I've had.

The strawberry crepes had a little orange liquor to it & just as exceptional.

It's so seldom I'd order the exact same dishes when I go back, but I just had to when I brought my family there. Except this time, we changed the poached to scrambled eggs. There was still no let down with the buttery scrambled eggs.

Since we were there late, they were changing over to the lunch menu and we took the opportunity to order the veal. Superbly scrumptious and so tender...

Now I have to go there for dinner, and try the organic pork belly with crackling, apple glaze and semolina dumplings.

Being French, there's also a selection of croissants, and a pear, fig and walnut "French" toast, with cinnamon mascarpone and clover honey. Perhaps giving Madame Sousou a rating of 4 beans is a bad idea because it will raise peoples' expectations should they decide to go. But my 2 experiences were truly sensational! It's more on the pricey side, but we felt it was excellent value for money.

Bosisto's Liquor Bar

2009-09-12T22:09:00.010+10:00

Bosisto's Liquor Bar
318 Bridge Road, Richmond, VIC
Rom Caffe coffee

This is the very understated take on a classic Euro café from the same owners of well-known bars, Double Happiness and New Gold Mountain. Cured meats hang over the counter, ever-popular wooden booths lead to a back room with a crackling fire, while Italian tomato tins are displayed as proudly as the alcohol.

Wine is the primary focus here and the 1 page list proves "less is more" as it spans everything from Cristal ($500 per bottle) to Italian 'goon' ($5 per glass). The night-time menu is short, affordable and sounds interesting: from fried haloumi, sliced meats and Sicilian olives to more substantial items like pork, veal and mushroom meatballs with pesto.

Coffee was pretty good here, and so was the warm service.

We had the famous dish of Eggs as you like with prosciutto, fior di latte mozzarella & roasted tomato ($16.50). The mozzarella was a tad daunting but went down nicely with the other ingredients. That said, I have tasted much better mozzarellas. The prosciutto was the star - so fresh and delicately sliced by their in-house slicer.

The Poached eggs, white anchovy, aioli & rocket on toast ($13) was good too, but the panini needed to be toasted (a little more) for it to be excellent.

Cafe Sweethearts

2009-09-12T21:59:00.000+10:00

Cafe Sweethearts
263 Coventry St, South Melbourne, VIC
Genovese Coffee
Best Variety of Eggs

Update:

This time, we booked in advance...

I had the Blueberry Stack - 3 plump pancakes (with slightly too much baking soda but lots and lots of yummy blueberries which I guess is what everyone raves about), topped with male butter, served with grilled bacon and a hash brown ($17). The hash was slightly disappointing and I would have much preffered the roesti which I remember to be excellent from the last trip.

He saw kippers on the menu and immediately said he was having that until I made a fuss that he had that the last time and it wasn't fantastic. He grudgingly chose the Eggs Mediterranean - poached eggs on grilled herbed polenta with sauteed spinach, roted red capsicum and herb pesto ($15.50), although I don't think it turned out to be a better choice. At least it was different. I'm not a fan of polenta nor capsicum. All I can say is: the pesto was nice.

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No fewer than 53 breakie options are available (more if you count side dishes), including 14 varieties of eggs-any-way-you-can-imagine (if you prefer yolkless eggs they’ve got it too!). Apparently the pancake range is not neglected - with fruits like blueberry and banana cooked through the pancake, and some tasty savoury options.

While breakfast is available all day, there is also a lunch menu. However the place is always crowded and booking is recommended as the place shuts at 3pm. The beige walls and bentwood chairs give the place a slightly sterile feel. There's also a handful of tables on the pavement, appealing to smokers and dog-lovers alike.

Coffee is good as expected. The staff were quick although I'm not sure if that is a good thing (while we were going through the massive menu, a total of 3 different people came to ask if we were ready to order. We finally ordered from waitress 1 who came back a 2nd time).

We tried the Eggs Romano – poached eggs on toasted English muffins with spinach, hollandaise sauce, tomato concasse and fresh basil ($12.50) add roesti ($4). The range of extras was pretty hard to fault. I was impressed with the roesti and spinach.

The Grilled Scottish kippers on toast served with lemon, tomato and fresh basil ($12.50) was pretty unique but the toast... a thin slice of light rye got soggy pretty fast.We also saw the Eggs La Mer ($16) coming out from the kitchen - English muffins coupled with poached eggs, topped with slices of smoked salmon and a generous drizzle of creamy hollandaise sauce looked irresistible. But the next time we go back I want to try the pancakes.

Sweethearts is not a cheap venue for breakie. You'll be lucky to get out there for under $17 a head, but you do get slightly better quality food and coffee, an excellent location and great variety. It's no wonder this old-timer has so many loyal fans!

Mocha Jo's

2009-09-12T21:53:00.004+10:00

Mocha Jo's
87 Kingsway, Glen Waverley, VIC
Dimattina coffee

An east suburban favourite in the heart of Glen Waverley's shopping and entertainment precinct, it can be really difficult to get a seat if you don't book.

We wanted a table for 8 but were squeezed onto a table for 4. The cute waiter very politely asked the lady beside us if she would mind shifting to another free table to let us combine her table with ours (after all, she had finished eating and was only doing some work on her laptop). She took forever to move but we finally got seated comfortably and ordered.

The mocha was big and not bag at all. Unfortunately it was $4.40 (I guess they knew everyone would order a mocha at Mocha Jo's and hiked the price up. But the other coffees weren't that much cheaper either... $4 for a latte. Yikes!)

I had the Scram Fritter Stack ($13.90)- Zucchini & basil fritters, scrambled eggs and tomato chilli jam. The fritters were far too doughy and lacked ingredients other than flour.

He had Billy's Breakie ($16.20)- Avocado salsa, smoked salmon, two poached eggs, multi grain toast and tomato chilli jam. This was much better and presentation was good on a rectangular plate with each item separate. However, that meant a small portion.

What was a huge portion was the Scram Special ($15.90) - Eggs scrambled with ham, capsicum, button mushrooms, roma tomato, mozzarella cheese on a toasted bagel.

Overall not worth the drive but a great café if you're in the area.

Inkr7

2009-09-12T21:50:00.000+10:00

Inkr7
7 Inkerman Street, St Kilda, VIC
Genovese Coffee
Best in Melbourne

Update (again):

On the last update, this cafe moved from 4 to 5 beans. This update, the status has moved to Best in Melbourne. Nothing much to add that I haven't already said... Excellent food yet again!

Green pesto eggs with spinach and ham

Zucchini fritters with smoked salmon and spinach, add mushrooms

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Update:

This time we brought a whole lot of people here. We called in advance to make a booking for 8, only to be told they don't do reservations but they will try their best. We rock up slightly later than planned and the guys have kept the long table in the middle room free for us! Talk about great service...

Amongst the usuals ordered, there were 2 specials: Eggs Benedict with Sweet Chilli Hollandaise ($13.50) and Poached eggs on sourdought served with asparagus, smoked ocean trout and a lemon/caper mayo ($15). Both were delicious but the capsicum hollandaise eggs benedict and the salmon eggs below were better respectively.

Someone ordered the Vegetarian ($13) - 2 eggs on toast with fresh avocado, grilled zucchini, fresh baby spinach finished with roasted tomato relish. Wow, for once not a vegetarian dish with things I don't eat inside e.g. capsicum. I was told the mushrooms were to die for!

The food once again proved have (good) quality control and the excellent service this trip made me up the rating to the coveted 5 beans! Best in Melbourne so far =)

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The minute you walk into the café, the friendly owners and staff welcome you and the cosy venue complete with a lounge area and a long communal bench make you feel at home. The coffee (complete with fern latte art) was wonderful - no surprise there. What was shocking was the variety of yummy food options, especially for such a tight kitchen space.

We scored a table right in front of the lovely cupcakes and sweet slices on display. Thankfully we managed to resist ordering them ‘cos the breakies were HUGE. I had the Salmon Eggs ($13.50). 2 poached eggs on toast (I chose Turkish instead of Sourdough) spread with their own pesto mayonnaise, with baby spinach and lots of atlantic salmon (it was folded up in the picture). A unique dish, wonderfully executed, with the freshest ingredients possible at such a reasonable price. I was in love with this place already.

He had Eggs ‘the lot’ ($14.50) – 2 poached eggs served with pesto, honey smoked leg ham, fresh tomato, swiss cheese and spinach. Lovely too, but not as amazing as the Salmon Eggs.

When I brought my family here, it was a late Saturday morning, and it was packed. While waiting for a table we eyed the other patrons’ Dutch fruit loaf ($11), with sweet mascarpone and vanilla peach compote. The Muesli was served in a glass and layered so prettily I almost ordered it. But we all know Muesli is too healthy for me…

We ended up sitting at the serene courtyard at the back. Food took longer than last time to come out. Luckily there were tonnes of food magazines to keep me entertained.

There are usually 4-5 daily specials. The Capsicum Eggs Benedict was served on pide, not muffins. My mum added mushrooms and requested for the capsicum hollandaise to be put separately for my sake (I hate capsicum). We were all blown away by the quality. The hollandaise was excellent, and even though you could taste the capsicum in it, it was delicious.

My brother ordered Eggs ‘the lot’, added mushrooms. I still didn’t appreciate it as much as the Salmon Eggs, but he (who doesn’t eat salmon) raved on about it. Even said it was better than Madame SouSou. Bold statement…

There's also a lunch menu with more substantial food. The beef wrap was a little dry and nowhere as special as the breakfast dishes.

When we went back the 3rd time, we sat at the same table as the 1st time, and thankfully they weren’t too busy. Service and food were consistently good. The mocha had lots of chocolate to make my day start off well, and the power juice of the week ($5) was apple, beetroot, orange & lemon. Weary of the beetroot, the waiter assured you can’t really taste it, and if we didn’t like it, the waiter would finish it for us. It really was refreshingly good.

I had the Salmon Eggs again – ordered the full size again although I told myself to order the half serve ($8.50) last time. It was too delicious to resist. The special today was Eggs Benedict with a wholegrain mustard and hollandaise ($12.50). Although the mustard was a little too strong for me, it was superb – but we didn’t expect anything less from Inkr7.

Sezanas Coffee Shop

2009-09-12T21:40:00.001+10:00

Sezanas Coffee Shop
247 Clarendon St, South Melbourne, VIC
Coffico coffee

100% of reviewers liked it on Urbanspoon - I'm now guessing those 5 reviewers were insiders. Should have guessed it from them only having done 1 review each. One said "Great coffee, even better breakfasts". Why I was so disappointed? There wasn't much breakfast to choose from - most menu items were paninis/lunch stuff. So I went with the special of eggs, bacon, hash browns, mushrooms and tomatoes on toast ($12 including coffee, which was not "great") Mushrooms were really watery and buttery, 1 egg was far too over poached, the sole hash brown was under fried and the tomatoes were roasted, but hard.

Richmond Hill Cafe & Larder

2009-09-12T21:19:00.003+10:00

Richmond Hill Cafe & Larder
48-50 Bridge Road, Richmond, VIC

Gastronomer Stephanie Alexander is no longer involved with RHCL, which could go some way to explaining why I was disappointed, and had had such high expectations in the first place.

It was packed on a late Saturday morning so we had to "entertain" ourselves with branded preserves, condiments and other goodies while we waited 20 minutes for a table. We weren't the only ones as it was freezing outside so the waiters were giving us looks for standing in their way.

When we realised we were the next table for 2 on the waiting list and there was one that had been available for 5 minutes, we asked. Apparently they were keeping it free for a 12pm booking. It was 11am! So we promised to be out of there by 12pm and got seated.

The restaurant was established in the year 1998. The original partners have gone their separate ways but some things haven't changed: the "aroma" in the Cheese Room is completely overpowering! To fromage enthusiasts it will be complete heaven though... Now they only open at night on the 1st Friday of each month for a wine and cheese soirree or for private functions.

The menu evolves seasonally, but the high prices stay constant. I wish I could say they were worth it, but both dishes were a bit pedestrian.

'The Lot' - 2 poached eggs with bacon, mushrooms and tomato ($17.50). I thought the 2 different sizes tomato halves were different (they had smoked, roasted and fresh on the menu) but they were both fresh aka normal. My partner cooks tastier mushies. The added homemade Giorgio's spicy breakfast sausage ($5) was ok if not a little too solid, and not worth the price.

My partner had the Borlotti beans baked with tomato, ham hock & maple syrup, gratinated Taleggio cheese served with basil pesto and grilled organic sourdough ($18.50). I'm not an appreciator of beans so it's hard to comment fairly. But he wasn't raving about it either. The only thing he said he liked was the olive oil on the toast but there was too much salt on it to be enjoyable.

Maybe we should have gone with what everyone raves on about: the famous grilled cheesy toast ($11.90) or the Scrambled eggs with Tasmanian smoked salmon, sour cream and chives ($16.50). Other special items were the Buttermilk pancakes with blueberries, pecan brittle, blood orange curd and pure Canadian maple syrup ($18.50) and the Baghdad eggs - 2eggs fried with lemon & garlic, sprinkled with cumin and mint on grilled flatbread ($17.50). The lady beside me had the Corn and coriander fritters with smoked salmon, poached egg, spinach and RHCL Tomato & Capsicum Relish ($18.50) which looked amazing if you like corn.

Service didn't improve at the end when I went to pay the bill - it was a bar and the guy kept attending to (older) people that came after me. Pure discrimination! So after waiting 8 minutes to pay, needless to say I didn't leave them a tip.

Barista 101

2009-07-12T00:02:00.004+10:00

Barista 101
100 Flinders Lane, Melbourne, VIC
Coffex coffee

An anonymous reader left a tip in my Bistrot d'Orsay post to try the Raspberry & White Chocolate muffin here after the inconsistent muffins in Bistot and the inconsistent opening hours of Animal Orchestra left me hanging...

This place is actually really near my office and it's a regular for lunch - the Fishmonger ciabatta ($8) is my favourite and so big I can spread it over 2 meals! It's always really crowded for the coffee (supposedly the best) but I prefer my usual coffee guys at 2 Fingers down the road on Russell St. Maybe it's only popular with the people working in 101 Collins?

Anyway, back to the muffin ($3). As the reader pointed out, they do sell out really early. I can understand why. When I went before work, it just came out of the oven. Because it was warm, the white chocolate buttons on top melted and formed a layer so it doesn't look so good in the picture above. Boy did it smell good... I have a weak spot for warm muffin tops - this one had a sticky honey-like substance around the sides too, which made the top even more fabulous.

Unfortunately, that was were the fabulous ended. Being a huge muffin, there wasn't enough ingredients in the middle, which left it being slightly too dry. I couldn't finish the whole muffin, nor did I want to, but needless to say the muffin top never reached the bin.

Replete Providore

2009-07-12T00:01:00.000+10:00

Replete Providore
302 Barkers Rd, Hawthorn, VIC
Di Bella Coffee
Best Brownies

This suburban foodstore cum café was number 1 on my breakfast rankings for a long time until I tried too many places, each with their own draw, & gave up ranking them 'cos it was just too hard.

They serve breakfast & lunch daily, but if you're going on a weekend, go early or you'll be waiting outside for a very long time. Especially when you go in a group bigger than 2 - in which case, you'd probably get one of the bigger tables at the back of the Edwardian building with lots of cushions. The staff are genuinely friendly.

So what's all the fuss about? Ricotta hotcakes with lemon curd & strawberries – winner of The Age Cheap Eats '05 Breakfast Dish of the Year & truly deserving, coming from someone who doesn't fancy hotcakes too much. Crispy on the outside, moist on the inside - without that baking soda texture.

I usually share that & the Replete breakfast with a friend so we can get both savoury & sweet. It's basically 'the lot' with bacon, mushrooms, sausages, hash brown, roast tomato, eggs of your choice, toast & relish.

Ive also tried the French toast with bacon & maple syrup which is good, but not as outstanding as the previous 2.

So after sharing the 2 big plates of food, we're always stuffed & don't have room for the brownie, which is excellent. Just the way I like it - chocolatey & with no walnuts. They have other sweet treats too, amongst which is the lemon slice which is divine. Probably 'cos it's similar in taste to the lemon curd on the hotcakes.

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Update:

It's been too long since I've been back here, mainly 'cos my partner despises the hotcakes. I admit, the hotcakes aren’t the best, but it’s the whole package – the tangy lemon curd and the sweet berry compote. Any boy did I get a lot of that today (just compare the pictures)… yummy! I still maintain there’s too much insides though. Just like muffins, I want more crispy outsides and less filling dough! When we paid the bill, we noticed they sold the lemon curd by itself at $5.50… does anyone else have the same thought as me??? Hmmm.

I did finally try the famous Corn Fritters with smoked salmon and tomato relish when my partner ordered it-. While I didn’t appreciate the cumin? in the fritters, I did appreciate how the corn was in bigger chunks so picking them out wasn’t as difficult as some other places. Haha. The smoked salmon on top was fresh (the layer in the middle was cooked due to the heat of the fritters) and the relish was as good as I remembered it. What I didn’t remember was the hash browns being not to my liking and I ordered it as a side. It tasted like it was made of radish not potato, and had uneven patches of salt.

Service was so good - prompt, friendly and the cute guy even came to check on us halfway through our meal (although I was too busy chomping down the hotcakes to talk so just nodded like a ditzy blonde)...
I will keep going back here, if only to drop in and buy the brownie ($4.20). If I dare say so, I make a mean brownie (my friends know me as the brownie girl) but Replete whoops my ass! So rich and with a texture that melts in your mouth, but with a crisp top layer – it really deserves the best brownie award.

Fandango

2009-07-11T23:25:00.000+10:00

Fandango
97 Errol Street, North Melbourne, VIC
Organic Fairtrade Coffee Supreme
Best Scrambled Eggs

After the slightly less than average breakfast at Errol's Pantry & Bakehouse just down the road, I was a little doubtful of North Melbourne. But Fandango delivered.

The staff were friendly and were happy to shift us inside when a table was available (the place is tiny & the table outside had the sun beating down on my back). We ordered the scrambled eggs and asked for pancakes to come after. The waitress suggested we order the dessert later - she guessed (correctly) that we'll be full after sharing the scrambled. So we didn't get to try the pancakes. The pesto-scrambled eggs was exceptional. Rich, tasty and flecked with crunchy bits of pine nut. The bacon and grilled tomato were pretty good too. Definitely a must visit when my mum comes down.
The 2nd time we went there it was much less crowded. Probably 'cos it was late. But they serve breakfast all day! Coffees ($3) still weren't that fantastic but the seeing how carefully the barrister makes the coffees & hot chocolates made me appreciate it more. Service was just as good as the last time - they cleared and cleaned the table between dishes, told us what was not available when we were 1st seated (not when we wanted to order it), and the waitress even brought out a water bowl specially for this well behaved bichon-maltese mix sitting outside.

We made sure we were hungry this time & didn't order the bacon ($2.50 more) with the Pesto Scrambled Eggs ($12). Pleasantly surprised when it came with 2 huge halves of roasted tomato with thyme sprinkled on top... and the scrambled eggs was just as heavenly. The best scrambled eggs period. We were kinda full at the end of it but seeing how delicious the food on other tables looked, we had to try something new.

There was Poached eggs with beetroot and fetta relish served with spinach on toasted sourdough ($12) and an Apricot & date loaf toasted and served with homemade honeyed cream cheese ($4.50) amongst others for breakfast. Lunch, available from 11am, included a Chicken, cheese & chutney melt ($7), and a BLAT sandwich/wrap/pide ($7/$8/$8.50).

We sticked with the the Triple stack of pancakes topped with banana, strawberries, homemade honeyed cream cheese and maple syrup ($10). Sort of a let down 'cos while the toppings were yummy, the pancakes were solid, hard and dry.

So Bills has no competition in that dish. The rating increased from a 3 to a 4 soley for the excellent scrambled. I'm even craving more now, just hours after the delicious meal. And at that reasonable price, I wouldn't be surprised if you find me back there very soon.

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Update:

So we went back to finally try the Fandango grande aka big breakfast ($17) but the menu has changed! All of the other favourites are still there, but the extras increased by $0.50. Damn inflation. Service was excellent as usual.

The Pesto Scrambled eggs are less green but still tasty and deserving of 4 beans.

The Avocado and tomato with basil pesto and cracked pepper on toasted sourdough was good, but the outstanding item was the Bacon side we ordered. It had always been this good but I only noticed how exceptional it is after my aunty (who works in the meat industry) pointed it out. We wouldn't repeat the homemade tomato relish though.

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Update:

I don't know why we keep coming here. Maybe it's the excellent service. Maybe it's the location. Maybe it's the pesto scrambles. But not today, I wanted something different and for the 1st time, the pesto star didn't make an appearance on my table.

We tried the French toast with bacon, baked apple and homemade maple butter ($10). It was nice, but artery clogging. Turkish toast drowned in male with yummy butter on top and icing sugar for a finishing touch... Not to mention all that maple made it really soggy really fast.

The Egg and Bacon Sandwich with spinach, cheese and homemade tomato relish on toasted pide ($8) was bad. Even the takeaway place near work does better sandwiches. Sigh... how could a sandwich go wrong? Well, the bread was not toasted properly (invest in a sandwich press!), the egg was fried in a hot mess with the bacon and didn't resemble an egg (there was no defined yolk), there was too much lousy tomato sauce which made the badly toasted bread soggy and the spinach wasn't very fresh. Not to mention, the side of mushrooms ($3) I ordered were not very tasty and were microwaved (when the inside is freaking hot and the outside only slightly warm, it's a giveaway!)

I really wanted this small local cafe to remain a 4 beans. But unfortunately I can't justify it when it's a 1 trick pony =(

Woodstock Espresso Bar

2009-07-11T23:15:00.004+10:00

Woodstock Espresso Bar
Shop 1, 1150 High St, Armadale, VIC

The venue sits on a corner with some street-side tables, some inside tables, and some upstairs tables (in a sort-of roof-top deck area). All this right in the middle of a buzzing shopping district.

At lunch there are salads e.g. smoked salmon with asparagus, capers and dill crème, or tuna with semi-dried tomatoes and a basil mayo. There are ciabattas or something more substantial like fish and chips. At night, Woodstock becomes a bar and serves some tapas-style bar snacks e.g. chicken skewers, marinated meatballs, dips or antipasto platters.

The hollandaise on the Eggs Benedict ($17) was on the verge of being too sour but thankfully didn't cross that fine line. Nicely poached eggs and average ham on decent muffins. I added a hash brown side ($4) thinking of a golden brown roesti and was disappointed to find a greasy frozen one instead.

The Baked Spanish Eggs with chorizo, tomato, onion and mushroom, served with parmesan and charred wheatmeal toast ($16) was really tasty and full of ingredients. Perfect for a winter's morning. So I guess the price was justified, at least a lot more than the Eggs Benedict/sole flat hash brown!

The Hot Chocolate ($4.50) was also way too expensive for the hot milk with a design of chocolate sauce lining the inside walls of a tall glass! There were other interesting items on the menu e.g. Pumpkin poached eggs - 2 poached eggs, honey roasted pumpkin, spinach and fetta on wheatmeal toast with a sun dried tomato dressing ($18). But at those prices, I doubt I would be going back anytime soon.

Gingerlee

2009-07-11T23:10:00.004+10:00

Gingerlee
117 Lygon St, Brunswick East, VIC

Middle eastern takes on your standard breakfast food. They make it veryclear that they strictly will not modify any items on the menu...

And my choice of Poached eggs served with bacon and chilli jam came with either a Bloody Mary ($18.50) or a Virgin Mary ($16.50). He had to drink theformer, and complained it had too much Tabasco. Nicely poached eggs and lots of bacon on yummy Dench sourdough. But the chilli jam I was so keento try tasted almost like Nasi Lemak (a Malaysian dish) chilli for the ikan bilis (small fish).

Having not read any reviews prior to going, we didn't know the SyrianFrench toast with honey yoghurt labna, rhubarb, orange blossom syrup and pistachio kernels, atop crusty and buttery French bread was the specialty. Darn it! Even with some ingredients I wouldn't usually eat, I would have ordered that had I known it was a must-try on almost every review written.

The other dish mentioned a lot on reviews was the Poached eggs, shaved ham, roasted tomato, spicy pork and fennel sausage, shallot jam and rocket. Specifically the pork sausage. We didn't see that on the menu!

He had the Shashouka - baked eggs in a spicy Israeli style tomato casserole ($11). Too much coriander and spices for me.

Just remember it's "Gingerlee" not "Ginger Lee" for the latter shouldnot be googled at work!

Porgie + Mr Jones

2009-07-11T22:56:00.004+10:00

Porgie + Mr Jones
291 Auburn Rd, Hawthorn
Allpress coffee

You know it's a funky café when the venue is warehouse-like with naked bulbs, white birdcages, flowerpots, modern paintings and an alluring back area full of clubby couches and wingback chairs. The facebook page confirms that.

With Daniel Schelbert's (formally Head Chef of Ceconni's and Bottega) arrival, it's now open for 4-course dinners every Friday + Saturday evening ($65) but I'm going to focus on the breakfast.

The environmentally-aware and diet-conscious are looked after with organic, free-range eggs and, where possible, local ingredients. Also note that P+MJ only accepts cash.

There's Berocca - original flavour ($3), Carmen's bircher muesli with rhubarb + cinnamon compote and honeyed yoghurt ($10.90), Toasted Noisette fruit bread ($6), and Croissant with Bonne Maman jam ($5.50).

The McPorgie – English muffin stuffed with ham off the bone, Emmental cheese and “creamy dreamy" scrambles seemed tempting at $4.90 but I decided against it after realising it was premade.

We had the P+MJ - eggs, bacon, slow roasted tomato, avocado + thyme buttered mushies ($18.90). All items were good but not great. Maybe we should have gone with the famous Smashed avocado with thyme-buttered mushrooms, marinated feta + torn basil on wholegrain toast ($16.90 or $18.90 with a poached egg) which everyone recommends but looking at the ingredients, I can't imagine it to be all that different.

We did try another famous dish: Mr Jones' scrambles folded with fresh herbs + holy goats cheese on wholegrain toast ($12.90). I don't see how fabulous the scrambles are meant to be... Have these people not tried Bills? Maybe the goats cheese did it for them - for me it had the opposite effect!

But perhaps the most spectacular dish is the Toasted banana bread with maple syrup mascarpone, fresh banana, berry compote and crushed pistachios ($14.90). It looked simply divine coming out of the kitchen... a must order if I'm back there!

Cumulus Inc

2009-07-11T22:54:00.001+10:00

Cumulus Inc
45 Flinders Lane, Melbourne, VIC
Single Origin Organic coffee
Best Poached Egg

We went to Andrew McConnell's (of Circa and Three One Two) baby with high expectations. It's reputation does precede it. Close to the Spring Street end of Flinders Lane, the "Eating House and Bar" is a big, open, informal, architectural loft with a white-and-black paint job. But the open kitchen and busy bar staff give Cumulus a warmth many of its minimalist peers lack.

With no bookings for groups under 8, we were pleasantly surprised when we scored 2 seats at the bar immediately. Unfortunately it wasn't the eating bar but the drinking bar so we couldn't watch the chefs busy at work.

The coffee was not the best but the Hot Chocolate was divine. No such thing as a "skinny hot chocolate" here, I was warned, as there's plenty of cream inside. Ooh - I was expecting Koko Black. It turned out similar, but the chocolate could be just that little bit darker. Which explains the price ($5) being just that little bit less than Koko Black.

The food is really original and stimulates both the mind and the palate, leaving the diner satisfied more than bloated. Tom Cooper's smoked salmon, 65/65 egg, sorrel, apple and dill ($16)was a work of art.Slow poached in its shell at 65 degrees for 65 minutes, the egg was a perfect gooey texture (not too runny) that melted in your mouth. It was placed on a slice of very hard sourdough, surrounded by smoked salmon, sprinkled with a few shreds of sorrel and dill, and topped with apple slices.

While amazing, it was too small so a more filling option may be the full English - farmhouse slab bacon, blood sausage on toast, fried eggs & smoked tomato ($18). The smoked tomato was so smoked it tasted fake! But an extraordinary kind of fake that is... The fried eggs were slightly overcooked at the bottom and undercooked at the top. I didn't appreciate the black pudding at all but the bacon tasted wonderful - just wished it was slightly more tender.

It lived up to expectations, but some things could be improved on before this venue makes 5 beans.

Auction Rooms

2009-07-11T22:51:00.000+10:00

Auction Rooms
103-107 Errol Street, North Melbourne, VIC
Organic coffee

Marcus Mottram and Andrew Kelly have cleverly adapted the beautiful Melbourne Auction Rooms, built in 1873, into a unique, open area with high ceilings, full of natural light and an entire wall replaced by glass panes.

The centrepiece is the red roaster right smack in the middle of the café where Andrew delivers his own specialty roast. Auction Rooms is perfect for groups of all sizes, and from the few times I've been there, I've never needed to wait for a seat.

There's no generic breakfast dishes here - the menu isn't filled with unusual ingredients as such, but their arrangement speaks of innovation. For example, the menu is relatively egg-free. When they are served, they are free-range 'green eggs'.

The breakfast dishes are named after the place. The Opening Bid ($16.50) - poached/fried eggs with andrew's choice smoked bacon, braised field mushroom, grilled tomato and sauteed spinach on dench sourdough was not bad.

There's also the Counter Bid ($12.50) - avocado and soft ricotta on toasted dench sourdough with fresh mint, chilli and extra virgin olive oil. Silent bid ($16.50) consisted of eggs steamed with bonsoy, sesame and light soy with asian mushrooms, spring onion sambal and toasted rice cake.

We also had the Shady deal ($15.50) - casa iberica chorizo, hashed with spiced potato carrot and baked eggs, finished with fresh lemon and parsley, add andrew's choice black pudding ($3.50). Whoever invented this must be really creative. Too bad I didn't appreciate the "spiced" part. The boys loved it though.

The house made fruit brioche with jam ($7.50) was full of cinnamon and fruit peel so I didn't like it. I think in my mind I was imagining a mix between Dench's brioche and Yak's Fruit toast and this fell short.

Overall, it's an interesting place worth a try. Better do it before it's "going, going, going...GONE!"

Ecabar

2009-07-11T22:35:00.003+10:00

Ecabar
128 Darlinghurst Rd, Darlinghurst, NSW

We stumbled into this local café after discovering La Gerbe D'or was closed – for the public holiday or for good I’m not sure. It seemed pretty crowded but unfortunately it must have been for the location & availability of outdoor sun-facing seats. The coffee was pretty bitter.

Somehow my camera's memory card failed and I don't have any pictures of the food. We had the Pesto eggs on Turkish Toast ($12) add mushrooms ($2.70) which was only ordinary and the Ricotta hotcakes with triple berry coulis and creamy ice cream ($11.50) which did not come with the promised ice cream (not that we really wanted it, being in the morning and all, but it was stated clearly on the menu!) and had too much baking soda.

Oh and boo to the 10% surcharge on Sundays and public holidays (5% on Saturdays)! Might as well go to Bills nearby...

Las Chicas

2009-05-17T21:52:00.001+10:00

Las Chicas
203 Carlisle Street, Balaclava, VIC
Di Bella Coffee

Update:
Take 4: We were hoping to push this up to a 5 beans but Las Chicas didn't deliver this time so it remains a solid 4 beans.

The Eggs Benedict - 2 poached eggs on bagel toast topped with smoked salmon and hollandaise sauce ($14.30) was not as good as the BBB below.

The poached eggs on turkish bread add hash browns, mushrooms and bratwurst was only OK. Nothing spectacular, and I expected more from the bratwurst for the amount I paid!
____________________________________________________________

The shop runs long and thin parallel to Balaclava train station, and there's a courtyard at he back. However the venue still can’t handle its fame, and neither can the small kitchen.

Take 1: Be prepared to wait for everything... we waited for 15 minutes for a table of 6 which is pretty normal. Once your order has been taken they will forget you exist! We weren't warned that the food would take around an hour - my friends just finished a marathon and were starving!

There were many exciting options on the menu: French toast with fresh banana, strawberries, pistachio ricotta and maple ($11.50 or $9.50 for half serve); Breakky Bruschetta of scrambled eggs, smoked salmon, spinach and pesto sprinkled with pine nuts ($13); Roasted field mushroom topped with a fresh rocket, goats cheese & roasted tomato salad, drizzled with a fresh lemon & olive tapenade dressing ($12.50).

I ordered the famous Bikini Blowout Benedict aka BBB ($14, $2.90 less for half serve). Highly creative, very satisfying - it was served on bagel toast with a layer of avocado and crispy bacon. 2 perfectly poached eggs under a thick blanket of creamy hollandaise sauce. I heard the next table say: "Pop one of these creamy yolks and all your dreams come true (except for the bikini ones)." Amusing but so true…

Take 2: We thought maybe the wait the 1st time was a once off, & even though it put us off, we should give it another try. After all, the food was good. We went there and was told it was a 45 minute wait for a table and another 45 minute wait for food. At least we were warned. Decided to try Lava instead. Big mistake.

Take 3: We thought we would try it again because we were up early. This time, it was a 20 minute wait for seats and 30 minute wait for food. Didn’t want to make the mistake of settling for somewhere else again so we persisted. Ordered take away coffees and a strawberry and dark chocolate muffin to settle my hunger.

Turns out, they exaggerated – a table in the courtyard (with many cute doggies) was available even before our coffees were made. Food came in about 15 minutes. I guess they need to ‘scare’ people away to offer decent service to the loyal customers.

Food was worth waiting for. The half serve BBB was filling but with hollandaise that good, my stomach felt greedy. I forgot to change the bagel to sourdough though…

The Breakky Burrito of scrambled eggs, bacon and rocket wrapped in a tortilla and topped with avocado and fresh tomato salsa ($13.50) was terrific too, except the scrambled eggs could have been improved.
Overall, we were happy customers =)

Grandma Funks

2009-05-17T19:13:00.005+10:00

Grandma Funks
256 Swan St, Richmond, VIC
Own blend of coffee

It looks as if the owners have pinched their own grandmas' furniture - the bustling, funky, retro diner is decked out in shades of orange, green and red with a hot pink mirror ball. If you're lucky, you may just score one of the few couches. Even luckier if it's the one with the vintage Space Invaders arcade game as a coffee table!

There's something for everyone (even grandma) here. Open from morning until late, there's good coffee, prompt service and fantastic food at seriously down to earth prices. Not to mention the menu is so extensive you'll never be short on options plus there's also the daily specials board!

Interesting items on the lunch/dinner/supper menu include Focaccias like the V(Veal).B.L.T. and Grandma's monster meat lovers - beef, chicken, prosciutto, caramelised onion, cos lettuce, cheese, tomato and mayonnaise; Funk's couch potatoes baked with sautéed bacon, caramelised onion and melted cheese, served with sour cream or sweet chilli; crispy wood fired nachos served with Grandma's special salsa and house-made guacamole. There's the usual risottos and pastas like Spaghetti Bolognese too.

Breakfast is available from 8am to noon weekdays and until 4pm weekends. We had the Grandma's Zoobreaker ($7.40) - a toasty croissant sandwich with bacon, cheese, tomato and a fried egg with hollandaise, and added a hash brown and some mushrooms (only $1.40 each!). I won't really call it hollandaise but it was tasty. So was everything else inside, especially the mushrooms.

We also tried the Avocado, Cheese & Tomato Omelette ($9.90), with ham ($1.80) and caramelized onions ($1.40) as extra ingredients. Ingredients were fresh and portions huge.
The Savoury Eggs ($9.50) – Fresh tomato, caramelized onion & ham tossed through scrambled eggs & served on toast was similar too, just wish the toast was more fancy than the kind you get at home.When I went back the 2nd time and ordered the Grandma's Zoobreaker, add mushrooms, hash brown and avocado, I noticed some differences: the mushrooms weren’t inside the croissant this time and the croissant wasn’t pressed in a sandwich press so it looked much more presentable.

The food isn’t the best but it’s decent, at really good value.

Flow Cafe

2009-05-17T18:45:00.006+10:00

Flow Cafe
4/663 Victoria Street, Abbotsford, VIC
Coffee Supreme

A bluestone cafe situated amidst the offices opposite Richmond's IKEA, this cosy cottage squeezes their own juices, including a signature mix called the Flow Lube, and has a lunch menu with a wide choice of favourites such as frittatas, soups, pasta, lasagne and risotto along with baguettes, salads and a variety of sides.

The coffee is strong - so strong I had to put sugar in my mocha to make it drinkable. Surprisingly the cappuccino wasn't as strong...

The breakfast menu ranges from toast soldiers to leaded/unleaded breakfasts - leaded for meat lovers - unleaded for vegetarians ($18 each).

We had the Corn fritters with smoked salmon, avocado and rocket, add potato roesti and balsamic mushrooms ($3 each). It took pretty long to come, considering there was only 3 other customers at that time. And the waitress gave what suspiciously looked like our meal to one of the other 3. 3 minutes later another meal popped out of the kitchen and the waitress realised her mistake. She went to correct it (the lady hadn't started eating as she was tending to her baby) and brought that very same plate from the ladies table to ours! Pretty disgusting if you ask me, but luckily the lady didn't look germy/breathed down our food. It was above average so we decided to order something else.
The French toast with cornflake crust & maple syrup ($9) was a mistake. Sounded interesting, was highly recommended but big disappointment. Overly deep fried in 'stale' oil and swimming in maple syrup. Luckily the portion of the 1st meal was big enough for us to leave the diabetes behind.

Mitte Cafe

2009-03-22T22:29:00.003+11:00

Mitte Café
76 Michael St, Fitzroy North, VIC
Atomica coffee

Just had to try The Age Cheap Eats 2009's breakfast place of the year...

Named after Berlin's hip café quarter, Mitte is yet another fine example of the off-the-beaten path café. Situated on a sunny residential corner, huge windows light the cosy indoors or, if you prefer, there are lots of pavement tables.

What I didn't like was the fact that food sits on the counter until all dishes for the table are ready. Not only does it go cold, there were tonnes of houseflies - presumably from the fresh fruit.

The menu is surprisingly broad, given that all food is cooked in a tiny makeshift kitchen. Needless to say the wait for the food was pretty long. Looking at the orders go out, the popular choices were a lavish freshly cut fruit salad, combining peach, pomengranite, kiwi, lychee, banana, segmented orange and pink grapefruit with mint and syrup, served with yoghurt ($10), Poached eggs with a middle Eastern chick pea bake, topped with Meredith marinated goats fetta and a shallot and herb salad, served with avocado, lemon and Dench toast ($15), and Pikelets with mascarpone and lemon curd or berry compote ($10).

We tried the famous Poached eggs Caesar style on sourdough with a garlic aioli, crispy bacon, cos lettuce, shaved parmesan and anchovies ($15). The deconstructed salad was imaginative and well executed.

The Breakfast crumble - vanilla and cinnamon poached apples and seasonal apricots topped with a toasted macadamia nut crumble, served with marscapone ($8.50) was warm and comforting. Overall, I won’t agree with Cheap Eats, but it was pretty good!

Ici

2009-03-22T22:17:00.005+11:00

Ici
359 Napier Street, Fitzroy, VIC

This tiny cafe is not on the main strip of Fitzroy hence most of the regulars are either locals or people who are specific about what they eat - Ici places an emphasis on the use of organic, free-range and chemical-free products, and provides vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free meals.

The interior is decidedly old European, but with Asian décor. East meets west again in the impressive offering of tea varieties, ranging from English classics and chai to brewed Dandelion, smoky Lapsang Souchong, and a selection of Japanese greens.

A chalkboard guides you through a small selection of unique breakfast options. Apparently it's famous for the French toast with mixed berries and cinnamon mascarpone ($15.50).

We decided to have the Ici omelette with hot salami, grana padano cheese, spring onions & tomato chilli jam ($15.50) as the other options e.g. Free range eggs with bacon ($9.50), Asian prawns with scrambled eggs, spring onions, tamari & sesame seeds ($14.50) didn't appeal to me. There was hardly any salami and the jam had a distinct Indian flavour to it that I didn't appreciate.
I couldn't resist the gigantic banana dark chocolate muffins on offer. The top was great as expected. The inside was better than expected as chocolate buttons were scattered throughout, not just at the top.

Breizoz French Creperie

2009-03-22T21:38:00.000+11:00

Breizoz French Creperie
Cnr. Gertrude & Brunswick St, Fitzroy, VIC
Grinders coffee

Breizoz French Creperie owner and chef Jean-Marie Blanchot grew up in Brittany, the home of the beloved crepe and galette (savoury crepe madewith buckwheat flour). Watch your crepes being made at the counter - free smells while it looks deceptively simple.

The traditional drink to enjoy with crepes is cider so we had to try it. Lower in alcohol than the English variety and softer and drier than the Australian kind but I'm still not a fan.

Service was cheery in this little nook. Food was really good. The Boudin Blanc aka Veal sausage & mushroom($14.00) was delightful. Enough ingredients and quality ingredients at that.

The Praline & Chocolat ($9.50) although very normal a combination, was fresh and complemented each other perfectly.

______________________________

Update:

We went back & chose to enjoy the sunshine on the tables outside but this turned into frustration as we waited forever for service to order, for water, and for food! The place still delivered excellent crepes, just be prepared to wait.

We went back to basics with the egg, ham and cheese crepe ($9) - we actually ordered the super complete which had those ingredients + mushrooms & tomatoes but they got it wrong & we didn't want to wait for another 40 minutes to allow them to get the order right so we just made do... A tad salty but the egg was delicious.

We also had the Banana & Rum Flambee ($11) which came flaming as promised and overall really well presented. My only complaint being how stingy they were with the bananas. Or should I say banana? Not as if they were $14/kg like 2 years ago!

Until I find a better crepe place, this remains a solid 4 beans.

Batch Espresso

2009-02-08T15:52:00.004+11:00

Batch Espresso
320 Carlisle Street, Balaclava, VIC
Supreme coffee

The café's name is derived from the New Zealand word for 'holiday home', Bach. Batch's home away from home environment is cosy, casual, organic, friendly and sincere. The kiwi influence extends as far as the patriotic silver fern latte art, and the tips jar is even labelled 'TUPS'. The beverage list is made up of entirely New Zealand wines and beers, as well as Wellington based Supreme coffee, Phoenix juices, and the full 42-Below Vodka range. Eagle-eyed expats can also find NZ lollies such as K-Bars, chocolate fish and Perky Nanas lurking in the wine fridge.

By comparison, Las Chicas down the road is more mainstream, and together they make Carlisle St representative of Melbourne's famous café culture.

As New Zealand coffees are all pretty decent, this was no exception. But I still prefer Genovese. Coffee connoisseurs say this is more subtle than the Italian influence obvious through Genovese.

The menu boasts unique, slightly inspired combinations like Avocado and feta mash on toasted ciabatta ($11), Zucchini + goat’s cheese fritters with avocado, tomato and basil salad ($12.50) and Fried eggs with cumin, lemon and mint on toasted ciabatta with babaganoush ($12). There's the simple Coco Pops with milk ($5) or 2 free-range boiled eggs with toast soldiers ($6.50) too.

The menu changes but there are a few items that don't go off. Like the seriously hearty Potato + spinach hash with crunchy cornichons (gherkin-like things), a runny poached egg and optional chunks of juicy corned beef ($15). Cheap Eats described this dish is a stroke of brunch genius. A must-try if you're a fan of the spud.

We also tried the Chocolate + raspberry buttermilk pancakes with orange blossom ricotta and maple syrup ($12.50). The ricotta tasted like Lemon Pledge (the furniture polish for those non-domestics out there, and no I haven’t tasted it, the taste smelt like it). The pancakes were poor quality and the raspberries were the only saving grace. Pity for this dish – the place could have possibly been a 4!

Achelya

2009-02-08T14:48:00.004+11:00

Achelya
23 Aquitania Way, New Quay, Docklands, VIC
Mio Coffee

This Docklands eatery offers a menu to suit a wide rage of tastes fromTurkey to the Mediterranean with a little bit of everything in between. Pity they spread themselves too thin though, as service was belowaverage and food even worse. The coffee wasn't usual Mio quality either.

We ordered the Savoury Pancakes ($12.50) - Ricotta cheese pancakes topped with bacon, grilled tomato, poached eggs and hollandaise, add mushrooms and hash brown ($2 each).

The sides came on a separate plate. The frozen hash could be done betterin an oven at home and the mushrooms were pretty bland.

The pancake was the best part of the meal. The bacon and tomato couldn't go wrong, but the eggs were watery and the disgusting hollandaise wasstraight from a squeeze container.

Walter's Wine Bar

2009-01-24T17:35:00.005+11:00

Walter's Wine Bar
Shop UR1 Southgate, Southbank, VIC
Lavazza coffee

As the name suggests, the attraction here is liquid. But the breakfast is pretty good too. No queues, no noisy atmospheres and excellent views.

Mexican Eggs ($10.50) - Scrambled eggs with chorizo, paprika & coriander served on toasted baguette. Wasn't sure what exactly went into this and I didn't enjoy the 1st taste but it grew on me. The baguette was outstanding and the dish was deceivingly small.

The Wine Bar Big Breakfast ($15.50) - Fresh, crunchy sourdough toast, topped with a generous serve of sautéed spinach, two poached eggs and hollandaise. At the side, rashers of tasty grilled bacon, a couple of sausages, delicious mushrooms, a hash brown and roast tomatoes. It was difficult to cut on the bowl-like plate because it was so packed!

Pearl Café

2009-01-24T17:12:00.006+11:00

Pearl Café
599 Church Street, Richmond, VIC
Gravity coffee
Best Mocha Presentation

Geoff Lindsay recently opened Pearl Cafe - the sister to his fancy fine diner just metres up the road. The light, airy corner space is painted white and dominated by a high communal table. On the smaller tables, cutlery sits enveloped in their own sleeves in a chemistry beaker, just beside the Japanese Alessi salt and pepper servers. And on the corner shelf, a figurine of Chairman Mao. Not too sure what's going on with the décor - maybe an attempt to be fusion like their food?

Breakfast hours are strict: 7am-11am weekdays and 8am-11am weekends. The 1st time we came 5 minutes too late, and were offered any paninis ($8) left over or their mod Asian lunch menu - which supposedly is really impressive. Determined to try their coddled eggs, we made a conscious effort to wake up early this time. Seems like queuing is a common thing though, so after waiting at the entrance for about 10 minutes, we were shown to the communal table where we ordered coffees and stood for a further 5 minutes before we got a table.

Gravity coffee - 6 degrees darker to be exact, was slightly bitter but smooth. Who knew my skinny mocha would come so well presented? A glass of mocha, with dark chocolate shavings at the side and an extra portion of frothed milk allows you to create the perfect mocha. Only wish it was slightly hotter to melt the shavings better...

The food took longer than expected to come. At least you could see effort in the presentation - a transparent sheet on the bottom of each dish bearing the café's logo, and the eggs arriving in tiny casserole dishes with the wait staff removing the lids after it is served.

Two organic coddled eggs served with your choice of
1. Smoked salmon, capers, chive and sour cream, toasted poppy seed bagel
2. Chorizo and roast tomato with a Manchego cheese melt
3. Wild + gathered mushrooms, double smoked bacon, sage and burnt butter, toasted multigrain
4. Thick cut ham off-the-bone and a Brie cheese and Dijon mustard melted on baguette
5. Buttered English spinach, little lamb fennel seed sausages, spicy tomato jam pearl bread toast (all $16)

We ordered 1,2 and 3 - 3 had the tastiest egg but needed more bacon and 2 had nice chorizo but not enough. Toasts were not to my liking, especially when I wasn't allowed to change my multigrain to anything else...

For something lighter there are muffins ($5), a Watermelon and strawberry fruit salad with rose water ($10), Bircher muesli with biodynamic yoghurt, fresh grated corella pear and toasted linseed ($6), etc. And who can resist something sweet: Rhubarb trifle with vanilla custard and berry compote, sesame praline Passionfruit pavlova ($10 each) or Valrhona chocolate crackles ($5).

Shire cafe

2008-12-06T22:23:00.002+11:00

Shire cafe
69 Victoria Street, Fitzroy, VIC
Griffiths coffee

Opened recently on the ground floor of a new apartment development just off Brunswick St, it's a lot quieter but still offers the relaxed and intimate café atmosphere that Brunswick St is known for. Parking isn't any easier though. The cafe sits on either side of the apartment building's central stairway, linked by a corridor that tunnels beneath the stairs. Note the fake stag's head. Otherwise, the décor (including the fireplace) is classy yet cosy.

Lots of appealing menu varieties. We tried the Free range scrambled eggs with pesto, roasted tomato, spinach & mushrooms ($14.50) which had yummy mushrooms but the scrambled wasn't as good as Fandango's. Then again, probably nothing will be.

The Grilled chorizo, tomato, spanish onion & coriander omelette ($12.90) was nice too, except it could do with more chorizo.

Next time we'll probably try the Triple stack of pancakes w caramelized banana or blueberries, strawberries & pure maple syrup ($11.90) or the Toasted open Turkish pide w crispy bacon, roquette, avocado, cottage cheese, tabasco & lemon ($11.90)

With lots more choices for lunch and dinner, I'm pretty sure the people staying upstairs aren't complaining!

Veludo

2008-12-06T22:21:00.003+11:00

Veludo
175 Acland Street, St Kilda, VIC
Coffico coffee

Not the sharpest waitress around, when she screwed up our order of Pesto infused scrambled eggs on toast served with smoked salmon ($10.50 as compared to with gypsy ham $9.50), add hash browns ($2.50) by giving us Scrambled Eggs ($6.90) add smoked salmon ($3) & hash brown. At least she was really nice about it and proceeded to takeit back to the kitchen.

When we went to pay, being the honest people we are, we pointed out thatthey charged us less (the meal she had originally given us costs lessthan the one we ordered). They must have found it weird that people wantto pay more so when she recalculated the bill, she charged the hamversion, not the smoked salmon version so the final figure ended upless. Oh well, didn't want to argue anymore - we gave them a chance,they didn't take it so why should we argue to pay more?

That aside, the food came out quick, and it was reasonably good. Nothingdisgusting, nothing great. Oh, except for the maple syrup on the Frenchtoast with banana and bacon ($10.90) which was to die for. Not that I'll go back for maple syrup though.

On the way out we heard a few people laughing at the menu - Big fat Pommy bastard ($19), Mr Benedict and Miss Florentine ($12.90 each), before realising we forgot to take photos of the food!!!

Terra Rossa Restaurant Bar

2008-12-06T21:34:00.003+11:00

Terra Rossa Restaurant Bar
87 Flinders Lane, Melbourne, VIC
Coffico coffee

A restaurant, bar, lounge and cheese room all in one long, narrow space. The elegance and style of the design captures you instantly - the fireplace set into a wall of stacked logs, the resin bar at the front, the stripped brick walls of the main area, the leather couches for the lounge and the phalanx of chandeliers above.

Breakfast has some unique choices, but all executed only to a moderate standard. We had the Green Eggs with ham ($11.50) – scrambled eggs with pesto mixed throughout served with toast, and the Flinders Lane ($13.50) – your choice of eggs with mushroom, roast chutney, spinach and spicy beans (changed to bacon) served on toasted bread.I’m more likely to return for dinner where there's a tapas menu as well as a contemporary Italian dinner menu…

Carousel cafe

2008-11-01T19:42:00.005+11:00

Carousel cafe
22 Aughtie Drive, Albert Park Lake, VIC
Grinders coffee

The function venue looks too grand to be affordable. Luckily for us, there’s a café beside that. It was a warm beautiful day, should have brought my doggy to sit on the deck. Oh well, at least sitting outside avoids the pesky flies… although the café was fully equipped with aerosol!

We were tossing up between 3 options for the all day breakfast: Croque monsieur toasted sourdough with smoked leg ham, gruyere and dijon mustard ($11), Poached eggs, toasted muffin, smoked salmon, baby spinach, tarragon aioli and roasted tomato ($15), and Carousel breaky -scrambled eggs, toasted pide, tomato pesto, sautéed mushrooms & crispy bacon ($15). We ended up ordering the latter 2.

It was definitely a high 3. The mushrooms in the Carousel breaky could be tastier.The poached eggs could be slightly more cooked and the toasted muffin could be more crisp instead of hard but overall it was scrumptious. Especially the tarragon aioli and tomato pesto.The couple beside ordered an apple crumble lookalike and if I wasn’t so full, I would have ordered either that or the chocolate truffle cake in a flash. The mocha was pretty good too.Service was friendly and food came out fast. With such a great location (what a better way to spend a lazy Sunday than eating brunch beside a lake full of swans and watching the joggers go past!), we’ll be back pretty soon.

The Carlton Paragon Cafe

2008-11-01T19:18:00.003+11:00

The Carlton Paragon Cafe
651 Rathdowne Street, Carlton North, VIC
Coffico coffee

It sits on the corner of Rathdowne and Newry Streets, with low hanging lights and a European-feel bistro layout. Despite the drab weather, the place was half filled with young families and couples.

Breakfast is served until noon with all the usual favourites offered. We had the Spicy Sucuk (Turkish sausage), capsicum, tomato, onion & cheese omelette ($13.50) which was huge but unfortunately rubbery on the outside and full of a Dukkah-like spice I didn't appreciate. Not to mention the ingredients were not chopped up refinely. The Eggs Benedict ($13.50) had a really sour Hollandaise and while the eggs were perfectly poached, the mound of spinach (it seemed as if it didn’t matter if we ordered Benedict or Florentine) which wasn't very tasty put us off. The side of hash brown we ordered was the best part of the meal, and I'm pretty sure it was the same one you can buy frozen at the supermarket. Oh, the wholemeal toast in the omelette was pretty good too. So basically, the only things worth eating there are the toast and hash browns. Quantity not quality... There's heartier dishes for lunch/dinner like the BBQ marinated eggplant, roasted capsicum, basil pesto & tasty cheese focaccia ($9.90); the Paragon risotto with braised chicken, spring onions, semi sun-dried tomatoes and a sprinkling of parmesan cheese, or the Paragon gnocchi with prosciutto, tomato, and sage butter sauce, finished with French style brie. I'm pretty sure they would be better than the breakfast...

Enoteca Oggi

2008-11-01T19:00:00.005+11:00

Enoteca Oggi
237 Lygon St, Carlton, VIC
Segafredo Coffee

There wasn't much appealing in the breakfast menu so we just ordered the Big Oggi Breakfast – 2 eggs any style with bacon, sausage, tomato and mushrooms ($14). Slightly disappointed with the quality of the toast & the quantity of bacon though the rest was ok.
The most attractive features of the place were probably the quieter atmosphere and friendly service (free bread which unfortunately was not fresh and bad balsamic). Oh and the blackboard outside displaying the lunch specials, all for $15 with a glass of wine. Talk about good value, the serving of our home made gnocchi with tomato, garlic and basil was huge! Pretty soft although there wasn't enough sauce, but definitely better than their breakfast. The table beside us ordered the salmon fish cakes (hardly saw any salmon in it) and linguine marinara – the dude looked quite happy with it.

Café Denaro

2008-11-01T18:35:00.009+11:00

Café Denaro
104 Fletcher St, Essendon, VIC
Di Bella Coffee

Coffee could be better but the food was good, and service efficient.

Breakfast Stack ($13.90) - homemade hash brown (read: roesti), sauté baby spinach, poached egg, smoked salmon, avocado, wild rocket & hollandaise. The hash brown was crisp and not too salty - a rarity! The egg was perfectly done and the salmon fresh (but not enough).
Impressed, we ordered the French Toast with caramelised banana & bacon ($13.90) which was pretty good too. The menu has lots of variety with dishes like Ricotta Pancakes with mixed berry compote ($10.50) that caught our fancy so we wanted to go back and try to push this up to 4 beans. Unfortunately, the 2nd trip confirmed 3 beans.

The Denaro Special ($14.90) - 2 poached eggs on an english muffin, ham, baby spinach, melted cheese topped with Napoli, hollandaise & fresh herbs was pretty bad due to 1 main ingredient – the hollandaise. It was a sour lump of yellow jello which tasted so foul we had to scrap it off to save the rest of the food which was decent.
The Big One ($14.90) - Bacon, sausages, hash brown, baked beans (we asked for it to be put separately), poached eggs & tomato was nothing to shout about either.

The Victorian

2008-08-12T23:12:00.005+10:00

The Victorian
123 Beaconsfield Pde, Albert Park, VIC
Coffee by 5 senses

Today we wanted to try something different for breakfast. The coffee was good, the hot chocolate not so good. But it was so huge you'd be full from $4. The Breakfast Pizza ($11.50) – egg, bacon, cheese, napoli on Turkish flatbread was decent (how wrong can a pizza go?) but I was disappointed the mushrooms I added were champignons, not fresh. The Terracotta Breakfast Tagine ($13) – oven baked minced lamb, pine nuts, smoked tomato, crumbed fetta & egg was delightfully presented and pretty tasty although slightly oily and the mountain bread was those you get at the supermarket - not great.The service was excellent (at least the guy who basically did a 1 man show from showing us in, taking our order, making our coffee and serving us. The lady who we only noticed when we went to pay the bill wasn't the happiest) and the venue cosy.

Grocery Bar

2008-08-12T22:53:00.005+10:00

Grocery Bar
135 Fitzroy Street, St Kilda, VIC
Coffee by 5 senses

We happened to stumble into this place after discovering Baker D. Chirico didn't serve any hot breakfasts. Apparently they also have an East Melbourne store, which would have been much nearer for me. Other than the fact it was pretty busy, it didn't look like somewhere that will rate well - it had the small kitchen syndrome. But I was delighted to read how much pride they take in their coffee, getting guest baristas in every month. It was in fact, pretty good, slightly more bitter than Genovese but still good.

Food was served surprisingly fast. I had some excellent poached eggs on toast ($7.50) add bacon, delicious roasted mushrooms and basil mayo which wasn't very different from mayo ($1-3 each).
The customers beside me, including the toddler crawling along the sofa seat, frequently disturbing me, were all eating the home-made baked beans, so I'm assuming they must be the signature dish. Oh well, my loss I guess. They also had Eggs on multigrain with avocado mash and smoked salmon ($13.90) which was unique and creamy-good.

Endis Cafe

2008-08-12T22:42:00.003+10:00

Endis Cafe
276 Brunswick St, Fitzroy, VIC
Genovese Coffee

We were attracted by the "Espresso Bar" sign outside. What a mistake. While the coffees were decent (Genovese can't go that wrong), the food was disgusting. We shared a Country breakfast ($10.90) - 2 fried eggs on normal toast, with onions, crinkle cut chips, sausages and a salad made of all the things I dislike (celery, cucumber, raw onions, olives). The eggs were fried using an egg ring so ended up chewy and overcooked on the bottom. The chips were the frozen kind from the supermarket. We also added mushrooms and hash brown ($2 each), which was from the supermarket too but ended up being the nicest part of the dish.

Arcadia

2008-07-20T11:59:00.004+10:00

Arcadia
193 Gertrude Street, Fitzroy, VIC
Supreme Coffee

A buzzy venue with a choice of inside, street-side and courtyard seating. Service is pretty bad unless you're a regular, in which case, it's very warm. I guess that's why there aren't any signs/service to let new customers know they have to order at the counter - many end up waiting at the table for ages to get a menu. Bad service was evident when we asked a waitress for sugar - her reply being, "I'm new here" and not referring us to someone else.

The menu is diverse - sushi, Turkish pide, burgers, lots of vegetarian options. The more unusual items were: Wok-fried Shanghai eggs with oyster sauce, chilli and spring onions; parmesan scrambled eggs with oven roasted tomato.

Both of the options we tried were hearty and good value for money.

The Pan fried mushed potato cakes with poached eggs, spinach, bacon on toast with mayo & pesto ($16) had excellent runny poached eggs, crisp, fresh toast, a generous blob of chunky pesto (that had a little too much parmesan for me) and a soggy potato cake.
The Big plate - wok-fried eggs with marojam, spinach, mushrooms, tomatoes and chipolatas on grilled ciabatta ($16) had tasty but cold tomatoes, good mushies, 1 chipolata and slightly too much cheese on the eggs.

Acquum

2008-07-20T11:48:00.004+10:00

Acquum
364 Victoria Street, North Melbourne, VIC
Di Bella coffee

This place was recommended by a friend so I tried it for dinner. Food was pretty good, fairly priced and had a good atmosphere given it was a mid-level Melbourne bistro. It was empty (3 couples) on a Friday night so imagine our surprise when we turned up for brunch on a Saturday and it was much busier!

We were the only people who sat outdoors 'cos it was cold but my doggy was with me. Yet, the waiter never ignored us. Food came out in a jiffy. It was restaurant-grade service, without the stuffiness. Hence the 25% tip at the end of the meal.

Coffees weren't fantastic. Neither was the Acquum Big Breakfast ($16.50) – 2 eggs as you like with bacon, slow roasted tomatoes, hash brown, pork breakfast sausages & grilled field mushrooms, which caused us to think twice about the sweet order we wanted to arrive later.

But being the pigs we are, we pressed on with the Buttermilk pancakes ($13.50) with a berry compote and vanilla bean mascarpone & toffee syrup. This dish moved the rating up to 3 beans. It wasn't thick and doughy, it had some kinda sauce in between each of the 3 layers, and the sour berries complemented the toffee perfectly.

Chappellis

2008-07-20T11:30:00.004+10:00

Chappellis
571 Chapel Street, South Yarra, VIC
Rubia Coffee

Being a 24 hour café on Chapel St with all the clubs must give Chapellis some edge, because the food and coffees don't. Or at least the breakfast. The pastas and cakes look sinfully yummy.

Let's start with the service. The waiter had a weird mannerism. Didn't understand us half the time. He asked the guy next to us 'Are you sure you want to sit there?' and the guy interpreted it as the waiter was chasing him out. No he probably didn't mean to be rude (in fact he was just concerned that a tall guy sitting on a low seat would be uncomfortable) but it did seem that way.

On to the coffees. Who's heard of Rubia before??? Not only did it smell burnt and rancid, but it tasted turpeny, almost quite ashy. The hot chocolate was a better option.

The food was slightly better. The Big Breakfast ($18) had big portions, ok quality. Notice the hash has changed in recent years from

Also, they don’t allow any changes. We could choose scrambled eggs a few years ago…

The Mediterranean breakfast ($17) – scrambled eggs, semi-dried tomato, spring onion, pesto served on toasted olive bread lacked ingredients.

The eggs benedict ($12.50) wasn't as filling. Same quality though...

The French Quarter Patisserie

2008-07-13T18:41:00.005+10:00

The French Quarter Patisserie

Shop 1/570 Queensberry Street, North Melbourne, VIC
Di Bella coffee

I've been wanting to try this newly opened patisserie for a while. However the last time I called around 12pm on a Saturday, the girl said it wasn't serving breakfast anymore. Imagine the thoughts running through my head when I realised they are open 7:30am to 5:30pm daily.

Anyway, the venue with outdoor furniture replicating the cafes along the Champs d’Elysee is famous for its coffee and hot chocolate - apparently the best outside a chocolatier in Melbourne. I've tasted better Di Bella coffees and while the hot chocolate scored top marks for its presentation (especially the chocolate crumbs), and it was slightly thicker than the normal cafe hot chocolate, it was made using milk not dark chocolate and the chocolate stick was powdery and had a weird taste.

We realised it was the same chocolate used for the sides of the Mini Chocolate Truffle cake ($4.95), which should not be called a truffle cake. It was a an extremely dense flourless chocolate cake - nothing good about it.

We tried the Egg & Proscuitto brioche - the proscuitto was nicely cut up so flavour was all around. The brioche was sinfully good (just below Dench's though), but the egg was baked til hard and chewy.

The sweets make any customer spoilt for choice. Escargot, Pain au Chocolat, Almond and Apricot Brioche, Croissants (plain or filled), New York Baked Cheesecake, Strawberry Tarts amongst others are on offer. The Almond croissant was not as expected. It wasn't crisp on the outside, and the inside filling was extremely sweet and I couldn't even finish my half.

There's also fresh baguettes and bread loaves on sale. The white loaf ($5.95) we bought back was pretty good. Even after 2 days. A nice surprise after expecting a let down like Dench's breads.

Harveys

2008-07-13T18:29:00.003+10:00

Harveys
10 Murphy Street, South Yarra , VIC
Vittoria Coffee

There's a certain charm about this place. Perhaps because it's situated in the quiet South Yarra street of houses, perhaps it's the cosy venue, perhaps it's the crisp white linen, or perhaps it's the dog-friendly, leafy courtyard. Whatever it is, that charm soon disappeared. The waiter told us to wait for a table - so we started reading the menu pinned up on the door, only to find the waitress seat the trio after us when a table freed up. Innocent mistake, but when she realised, she told us another table will be available shortly (not true). The waiter came out and explained the situation to the trio who were less than understanding and chased them out of their seats to accommodate us. Good on him.

Breakfast is offered daily - the bircher muesli with seasonal stewed fruit ($10) is a favourite of regular morning diners. Roasted banana pancakes with fresh banana and honeycomb butter ($14) will satisfy the sweet tooths. He ordered the Potato roesti with smoked salmon, poached egg and sauce remoulade ($18).

I wanted the Scrambled eggs, sourdough toast, bacon and slow roasted tomatoes ($14) but change the bacon to chipolatas – same price - (I had this weird craving for sausages and scrambled eggs when I usually avoid them) and add hash browns. The waitress told us she would have to order it as scrambled eggs with sides of chipolatas, roasted tomatoes and hash browns. Fine. Whatever works.

The food came. His was pretty good except the roesti was a tad salty, chewy, and had the reused-a-few-too-many-times-oil taste. Not to mention tiny! Even the sole egg was small – definitely not the minimum 59g you buy at the supermarket…

My scrambles were normal, and while the tomatoes and chipolatas were nice, the hash was a salty, oily (same bad oil) disc of potato.

Then the bill came. A whopping nearly $50. We realised the small glass of juice was $5.50 - a little cheeky, especially considering it wasn't all pulpy and freshly squeezed! My meal was charged as a Scrambled eggs, sourdough toast, bacon and slow roasted tomatoes ($14) add sides of hash brown and chipolatas ($4 each) - extra cheeky as I didn't even get the bacon! Expensive meals. Impeccable service? I don't think so!Needless to say, there wasn't any tip (other than the $4 for the mysterious bacon) for the waitress and we won't be going back. Pity 'cos the elegant restaurant was so full of potential...

Babka

2008-06-21T21:06:00.004+10:00

Babka
358 Brunswick Street, Fitzroy, VIC
Caffe Rome coffee

We were surprised when we managed to get a table straight away at this cosy Brunswick Street institution that has been delighting locals for years with its dumplings, borscht, blintzes and Eastern European traditions. As the sign on the door read, "No prams please - Prams big, Babka small".

Babka (which means grandmother in Russian) lives up to its name with warm, yeasty, freshly baked bread smells, boosted by the sweetness of cakes and savoury aromas, with hints of coffee.

The waitress seemed to be in a hurry to get our order so we started with drinks. The hot chocolate was not bad, only it was $4.40. The cappuccino ($3) was served in a latte glass and was terribly bitter.The danishes and cakes didn't look too tempting (Dench has set a high standard!) so I chose to order poached eggs on toast ($8.40), adding bacon and mushrooms ($3 each) and changing the toast to a croissant. I'm glad I did 'cos the croissant was the highlight of the meal. Cut in half and toasted, it was light and crisp. The bacon was a 'lil too crisp and the mushrooms, while tasty, had too much thyme for my liking.One of the specials was Scottish kippers served on buckwheat blinis with spinach and horseradish ($15). A salty meal but good nonetheless.And of course, we had to buy an Egg loaf ($4.40) on the way out. This was just as I imagined it to be, yummy, except full of sesame seeds on top. But I'm just picky...While everything (including the service) was OK, nothing really justified the hype. Maybe I should have tried what they are famous for - the Russian blintzes filled with sweetened cottage cheese & sultanas, served with a citrus sauce ($9.50), or the shoo fly buns - a combination of fruit, citrus and a yeasty bread dough in a bun shape with a sticky glaze (similar to hot cross buns but made all year round!)

Big Mouth

2008-06-21T19:31:00.002+10:00

Big Mouth
168 Acland St, St Kilda, VIC
Genovese Coffee
Best Hash

I wanted to try Circa before my mum left Melbourne but it was no longer serving breakfast so we walked along Acland St & decided on this place solely for the coffee. The menu had variety too - the usual favourites as well as those with slight twists.

The St Kilda Hash ($14, supposedly the best in St Kilda) included smoked bacon, spinach, a poached egg, unripe avocado and the biggest but tastiest hash I've ever eaten. Not even sure what’s inside.
The Big Ben ($13), add mushrooms ($2.50) was excellent but the hollandaise could be improved.Overall, definitely worth going back. And I did… even ordered the same dish. The St Kilda Hash’s avocado was better this time, but the poached egg undercooked. The coffees were excellent but cold.

The Red Hot & Grilled ($14.50) was described as ‘Man food’ – fried eggs, chipolatas, bacon, tomatoes (with feta on top), mushrooms, toasted pide with butter on a sizzling hot skillet. It obviously was too hot that all the ingredients, while nice and tasty, became far too overcooked. And where was the mushrooms promised? Seems like they forgot…

Balzari

2008-06-21T18:31:00.004+10:00

Balzari
130 Lygon St, Carlton, VIC
Rom Caffe Coffee
Best Baked Eggs

Lygon Street boasts a wealth of dining options, however most of them lack the ability to differentiate themselves from the rest. Which is a reason why I never noticed Balzari. Having an exam in 3 days, I wanted to go somewhere near with good coffee, decent food and fast service. It met those 3 criterias.

The open frontage displays a classy and comfortable space. The lunch/dinner menu features simple Mediterranean fare. The breakfast menu had many good options. The choice was obvious for me though - Breakfast with the lot.
The boys ordered the baked eggs & eggs benedict.
A very hot pan... filled with 3 baked eggs, softened capsicum, Spanish onion, chorizo, tomato and fetta. Without a doubt the best baked eggs I've ever had (although I can only compare it to Animal Orchestra).

Apparently the eggs benedict had rave reviews. I only sampled a taste of the hollandaise which was not bad, but a little too sharp for my liking.

Mario's

2008-06-14T15:37:00.006+10:00

Mario's
303 Brunswick Street, Fitzroy, VIC
Grinders Coffee

No credit cards - there's an ATM out at the back. Surcharge on weekends & public holidays. No bookings - but I've managed to get seats fairly quickly the 3 times I've been. A massive reputation as a Melbourne institution, as it was the first to embrace the concept of 'all-day breakfast' & the coffees, although Grinders, is excellent. Lots of chocolate in my mocha. Yum. Not many places do that.

Service is usually sharp and the food, decent. It was one of my favourites at the start, but I've since tried many nicer places. Their eggs benedict is respectable, even though they use Bernaise rather than Hollandaise.
Look out for the specials of the day on the board – they can be pretty interesting. Other things we tried were: Ham & Cheese Croissant (not as good as Les Croissants Des Halles), and Scrambled Eggs, add mushrooms. The desserts don't look very appetising.

Circa

2008-06-14T15:31:00.004+10:00

Circa
2 Acland Street, St Kilda , VIC
Grinders coffee

They end breakfast at 11am. So after many attempts to try this much talked about restaurant with 2 chef hats, we finally made it at 10.20am on a Saturday. The dining room is beautiful - spacious and stylish with white leather comfy seats and fresh white chiffon curtains masking the light from the wall lamps. Service was excellent. So was the Hot Valrhona Chocolate ($6) & coffee ($4).

Food, however was disappointing. There wasn't much on the menu. Nothing exciting either, and certainly no waffles I was craving for. I ended up ordering the Sauteed mushrooms on toast, truffled egg ($14). Everything was ordinary, even the egg which was just poached - and overcooked too! I've certainly tasted better for much cheaper.

He had the Fried eggs, thick bacon, pork chipolata, tomato ketchup ($17). Thank goodness the classy restaurant didn't serve ketchup from a bottle... it was more like chutney. Still nothing spectacular. And tiny portions too…

Liar, Liar

2008-06-02T22:05:00.007+10:00

Liar, Liar
90 Kinkora Road, Hawthorn, VIC
Their own house blend

Liar, Liar shares the same parents as Apte but is newer, hence more modern. There's backlit wall panels, dark-stained wood tables and padded stepping stools as seats. Everyone is fascinated with the door handle as it is the filter/handle thingy ground coffee is placed in for an espresso machine. The coffee is just as popular with the customers, but I still didn't fancy it.

The hot chocolate is better than average, but still not good enough. Extra points for presentation though... As we entered, we noticed the waiter making 4 Purple Sunrises - a beetroot-ruddy mix that also contains ginger, celery, apple and carrot. Looks better than I imagine it tastes. There's other freshly squeezed juices on the menu though.

Breakfast is served until 3pm, and lunch starts at 11am. The menu of the latter includes a variety of quiches, pides and pizzas, and BLAT - bacon, lettuce, avocado and tomato with aioli on sourdough ($10.50) - the guy opposite me on the communal table seemed to enjoy it even though the toast was paper thin.

For breakfast, there's not much choice. I ordered poached eggs on sourdough ($7.50) with sides of mushroom, bacon and hollandaise ($3 each). The eggs were perfect, the toast way too burnt and hard, the mushroom and bacon average only, the hollandaise excellent. There were other sides like smoked trout & a pea & feta fritter for $4.50 too.

He ordered the Liar, Liar scramble ($14) - supposedly it's specialty. It is a hearty mess of soft tofu, spinach, olives fetta and herbs served on 5 grain bread. It sure looked interesting. However, one bite and I lost my appetite. It was the most disgusting concoction ever. Made the rating go down from a 3 to a 2… and we expected a 4 like Apte… disappointing!

European

2008-06-02T20:00:00.000+10:00

European
161 Spring Street, Melbourne, VIC
Rom Caffe coffee
Best Salmon

This place is so popular that the 1st time we went during freezing winter, we had to sit outside. This time, we insisted on waiting for a table inside. The service is neither the best nor the fastest, but I guess they don't need to think about that with the steady flow of people.

Coffee beans were good, barrista had a unique way of making a mocha - by making a latte and putting a huge dollop of chocolate powder on top, as if it was the sprinking of cocoa. Somehow the black & white chequered floor left an impression on me, as did the price.

Both items we tried on the 1st trip: the Eggs Benedict ($17.50) and the Croque Monsieur - ham, gruyere, bechamel and mustard toasted sandwich($12.50) were delicately prepared and delicious. This time, we had the European Breakfast - eggs, tomato, bacon, a huge mushroom on freshly baked toast ($17.50) which was good but nothing to scream about, and the Tom Cooper salmon with pancakes ($18.50). That was the star of the meal - the freshest smoked salmon I've tasted, if there's such a thing. No skimping on portions too - well worth the money. The supposed pancakes (more like piklets to me) were tasty too, and the caviar added a nice touch to the dish.

Bistrot d'Orsay

2008-05-14T17:05:00.003+10:00

Bistrot d'Orsay
184 Collins Street, Melbourne, VIC
Genovese Coffee

This is where I 1st realised my love for Genovese Coffee. The Age comments about the atmosphere, the smart waiters & the wine list. Situated next door the Athenaeum Theatre and with views of Regent Theatre directly opposite, Bistrot D’Orsay is ideal for pre theatre dinners. I never thought of dining near my office until I heard rave reviews about their Eggs Benedict, which did not disappoint. Delicately prepared poached eggs with toasted muffins & delicious hollandaise.

They also had the newly best (after discovering Animal Orchestra) Raspberry & White Chocolate muffins ($3) - 'had' being the key word. When I went back recently, the same muffin had changed it's look & sadly, it's taste too.

Other downs: It's slightly pricey for the portions. They end breaky early so no sleeping in. The menu has not much variety so we ended up ordering eggs add bacon & mushrooms. The sides were good, but the scrambled eggs cost $1.50 extra and were laced with egg-shell.

Animal Orchestra

2008-05-14T16:49:00.007+10:00

Animal Orchestra
163 Grattan Street, Carlton, VIC
Best Sticky Date & Muffins

I decided to try the famous baked eggs after my neighbour (who works there) gave me some of the best (Raspberry & White chocolate) muffins ever after her shift one night.

After squeezing inside the funky venue with low lighting, randomly collaged walls (or maybe it was art?), lots of mirrors & petite tables, we ordered the baked eggs with smoked salmon, dill & capers but there was also other varieties: bacon, tomato, mushroom and cheese; potato & leek; sardines & fetta. A 'lil too 'rubbery' for my liking, but maybe I'm just not a fan of baked eggs.

Their sticky date pudding however, lived up to it's claim of 'Carlton's best' & possibly even Melbourne's best (not that I've tried that many though). Never too early for a sugar rush I say.

My uni friends recommended their foccacias - chicken with bacon, thyme, pesto and cheese; Viet pork with hoisin sauce; Mushrooms with chilli, garlic, roast almonds and cheese. The students are probably their main clientele, considering they are closed most non-office hours. Big tip: call before you go! Even at night they close at different times depending on their mood...

Spuntino

2008-04-13T17:42:00.007+10:00

Spuntino
56 Acland St, St Kilda, VIC
Genovese coffee

Part of Dog's Bar next door, Lo Spuntino café was refurbished & reopened as Spuntino end 2005. It remains low key, with friendly waitresses & a stream of regular customers (some with huge dogs as there's tables on the pavement, as well as those in the dark indoors and the veranda with funky looking seats).

Breakfast is served until 3pm and the menu consists of Traditional Spanish Omelette ($12.50) with onion, potato, olives, peppers & chorizo – all the items I don’t like, poached seasonal fruit & vanilla mascarpone on toasted croissant ($7.50), and pancakes ($12.50) amongst others.

We ordered the Spuntino Big Breakfast ($13.90) – consisting of a choice of eggs on sourdough with chef’s choice of 5 half sides. Luckily the sides were not the ones I didn’t eat. Chipolata, wilted baby spinach, roasted tomatoes, thyme & garlic roasted mushrooms, smoked bacon. All really tiny serves, and only the mushrooms were nice.

The poached eggs on olive Turkish bread ($13.90) was deceiving. It was bread with an olive spread, not olives baked in the bread. It came with spinach & gypsy ham, topped with hollandaise. Not my type of dish that’s for sure.

Gluttony, It's a Sin

2008-04-13T17:31:00.007+10:00

Gluttony, It's a Sin
278 Smith Street, Collingwood, VIC
Vittoria Coffee
Best Cafe Name

My friends went on & on about this place so I finally tried it early 2005. Had the Scrambled Special - scrambled eggs topped with sautéed spinach and lime Dijon hollandaise on a potato, mushroom, onion and tomato fry-up all on a slab of thick cheese toast. It was sinful, and oh-so-good (especially considering the amount you got for around $12+).

So I decided to bring my family here late 2005. This time I tried the Warm Deluxe Breakfast - poached eggs on a mixture of baby greens, bacon, massive croutons, avocado and smoked salmon. It was bland, the portions seemed to have shrank, the price seemed to have increased and service was cold. Not to mention the salmon wasn't the freshest.

To check if they were just having a bad day, we went there again early 2006. Poached eggs, lime dijon hollandaise, bacon, cheese toast amongst a roquette-tomato-red onion salad.

Other dishes my friends ordered (I can’t remember their names - there’s quite a lot of variety)…

It seems Gluttony is not all it used to be... Service was just as bad, unwilling to change anything on the menu (and they weren't crowded). It definitely does not represent it's name - such a pity.

Lava

2008-03-24T16:49:00.002+11:00

Lava
219 Carlisle Street, East St Kilda, VIC
DiMattina Coffee

We ended up here because Las Chicas had a 45 min wait for tables & a further 45 min wait for food. There was another café in between the 2 but it was too empty for a Sunday brunch so we didn't want to risk it. All I can say is, maybe we should have waited for Las Chicas.

Service was bad.
1. The waitress seemed to forget about the people dining outside.
2. When she remembered, she asked us to wait while she took the order of the table beside us (who came later than us) because they wanted coffee. Err…so did we!
3. Ordered a Lava Breakfast, add sausage. It came with the sausage replacing the bacon instead. 4. Ordered the dish called 'Mushrooms' - which included ricotta baked toast and mushrooms, add poached eggs. It came just as 'Mushrooms'. They brought it back, took forever & it came out as poached eggs on toast with a side of mushrooms. At that point, we cancelled the order.

Incompetent waiters & waitresses. Or maybe it was the silly naming of the dish.

The Lava Breakfast was reasonably big with the 'healthy' toast being fresh but over toasted til hard. Scrambled eggs & mushrooms were plain & unappetising. Avocado was ok. The sausage was the best ingredient. & you know something is wrong when I say that 'cos I don’t like most sausages.

3 Monkeys Cafe

2008-03-15T15:04:00.004+11:00

3 Monkeys Cafe
131 Darby St, Cooks Hill, NSW
Best Smoothies

The converted split-level terrace house sits in the quaint, charming area of Darby Street. They stand out from the other cafes because of the unusual name & weekend breakfasts until 4pm.
Service was good, hot chocolate was terribly milky plain. The Monkey Junkie Smoothie with an espresso shot and banana was exceptional. Shows good things don't come in small packages.

We tried the Monkey Fry ($18) - eggs to your liking, bacon, sausages, tomato, pumpkin ricotta & corn fritter, mushrooms, tomato & onion relish & toasted pane de casa. All was pretty good, except the corn fritter which had a weird texture and I felt was disgusting. We wanted to try the Banana crepes ($13.50) too - crepes filled with caramelised banana served with maple syrup, mascarpone & dusting of icing sugar, but the portion of the Monkey Fry was bigger than expected so we had to give it a miss.

Trademark Cafe

2008-03-15T14:51:00.003+11:00

Trademark Cafe
201 Queens Parade, Clifton Hill, VIC
Maranello Coffee
Best Eggs Florentine

Where I held my birthday party. Loved the atmosphere, the lights, the service. Even the toilets were unusual. Had dinner there twice - one wasn't good except the garlic cheese bread, the other being my birthday with soft & tasty gnocchi. Lunch (entrees & dessert) wasn't fantastic. Breakfast definitely is their best.

I ordered Madame Florentine ($13.50) - poached eggs, lots of atlantic salmon, spinach and hollandaise sauce on a croissant . Made me fall in love with the place (breakfast was the 1st time I tried the restaurant).

The salami omelette with olives, spanish onion and mushroom served on ciabatta with grilled tomato ($12) was a let down, but that's 'cos I don’t fancy the ingredients - the one who ordered it liked it...

The Rising Sun ($13.50) consisted of 2 eggs, bacon, sausage, mushrooms, spinach, hash brown and grilled tomato on ciabatta. Everything was excellent.
They also have a range of burgers, vegetarian options and sweet items like triple stack of homemade pancakes. All are reasonably priced.

Don’t forget the Italian Hot Chocolate ($5.50) – the thickest hot chocolate ever. Even thicker than Brunetti’s…

The Botanical

2008-03-13T22:43:00.002+11:00

The Botanical
169 Domain Road, South Yarra, VIC
Lavazza Coffee
Best Eggs Benedict

Update:
I did try the Smoked salmon eggs benedict ($17) and it was delicious. Especially due to the caviar on top, which gave it a special touch.

The Botanical Breakfast ($19.50) - cheese kransky, roasted tomatoes, braised cannellini beans, BBQ bacon, poached eggs & toasted english muffin was pretty good too, except I avoided the beans.
_________________________________________

It's hard trying to get a seat at The Age's Good Food Guide Restaurant of the Year 2004 for a weekend brunch. Even the communal tables by the road right under the scorching sun are always taken. In the room full of wines & Moet, there's a counter with freshly baked muffins, croissants, pecan bread, doughnuts & other pastries in the cake display tempting you as you place orders & pay for outdoors dining.

I shan't attempt to describe the Eggs Benedict ($14.50) 'cos no description will do it justice. It's really that good. Doesn't really matter that the menu isn't too wide because I'm pretty sure you'll order the Benedict time & time again…

Field mushrooms on toast with avocado, iceberg & roasted tomato ($12.50), add bacon. The ingredients sat prettily in lettuce cups & while each ingredient tasted good, there was nothing as special as the Benedict.

Looks like I got to try the Salmon Benedict ($16) next.

Le Croissant Des Halles

2008-03-02T10:45:00.004+11:00

Le Croissant Des Halles
507 Elizabeth Street, Melbourne, VIC Coffee
Mio Coffee
Best Croissants

Situated at the corner of Queen Victoria Market this bakery stall has a huge 'Post Office' sign outside. It serves pies, roast beef sandwiches, danishes, sweet slices & the tastiest croissants ($3.50). Fillings range from ham & cheese,

bacon & cheese with white sauce, spinach & cheese, hot dog, tomato & cheese. The cherry slice is worth trying too.

Sour cherries with a sweet, crisp merengue dusted with icing sugar and flaked almonds top on pastry… just sometimes the pastry has a thick glue-y layer on top. Their French breakfast ($6.95) comes with 2 fried eggs, bacon, tomato, mushrooms and a croissant. Alternatively, I like to buy their plain croissants ($1.50), go home and fill them myself.

Blue Tongue

2008-02-23T16:26:00.000+11:00

Blue Tongue
62-64 Ormond Road, Elwood, VIC
Coffee Supreme Organic Fairtrade

Located on a quiet, tree lined and neighbourly bayside street, the street-side tables with padded seats are favoured over the wooden tables & chairs inside during the summer months, despite the strong glare (excuse the red photos). Maybe because it is dog friendly…

Just down the rod from Turtle café, I expected the Eggs Benedict to be just as respectable. It was.

So was the lot with scrambled eggs on toast which I didn’t quite appreciate, hash brown, sausages, tomatoes, spinach and bacon. But both weren’t fantastic.

Other interesting items on the menu were: French toast with grilled banana, bacon and maple syrup, polenta bread with smoked salmon, dill, goats cheese soufflé and cherry tomato salsa.

Milano Café

2008-02-23T15:41:00.006+11:00

Milano Café
501 Swanston Street, Melbourne, VIC
Classico Caffe Circi

One of the advantages of being relatively new & patronised mainly by people staying in the Milano apartments/working nearby is that there are no problems finding seats & items are cheaper than most. I was late for work so I just took away a muffin & coffee ($4.90).

The blueberry muffin (baked fresh daily) looked divine, tasted only ok - not enough blueberries, only the crisp golden brown top was delicious. When the guy asked if I wanted sugar in my mocha, I was expecting it to be bad. It surprised me – I guess the barrister was good – he made nice froth, although he forgot the cocoa on top. Was slightly bitter, but nowhere near Vittoria coffees.

My Dog Café

2008-02-18T20:47:00.003+11:00

My Dog Café
Station Pier, Port Melbourne, VIC
Best Dog-friendly venue

The place is only open during the warmer months and don't go when it's raining cats & dogs, 'cos it's outdoors near the Spirit of Tasmania (pretty hard to find).

Pretty limited menu for the human diners, and let's just say I'd rather take away fish & chips from D'Lish Fish in the future. The eggs in the Eggs Benedict ($14) were runny, the hollandaise cold and disgusting. The ham a little smelly (read: off). The scrambled eggs came with stale smoked salmon, dill mascarpone, sourdough and rocket.

But it's breaky heaven for the pampered pooches. They choose what they like from the doggie menus at doggie heights, have a drink from the dog bowls, socialise with other 4 legged friends, or if there's nobody around, admire the huge Westie fountain. They can lounge on the beanbags beside the padded wooden human seats while they wait for their Puppy-cinos (made from warm milk and carob) and main course - Pav ordered veal bolognaise but there were other gourmet 'specials of the day' like lamb shanks, Osco Bucco beef, etc. Beware though, it's served on a plastic plate so your $6 spent may end up on the floor with your pooch frantically licking and pushing the plate off the platform.

Ferguson Street Provisions

2008-02-18T18:38:00.006+11:00

Ferguson Street Provisions
62-64 Ferguson Street, Williamstown, VIC
Coffico Coffee

Bitter coffee. Kerb-side seating and doggie biscuits ($0.50 each). All day (kitchen closes at 3pm) breakfast includes oat pancakes (from $10.20), mushrooms on wild yeast with whipped herb fetta ($10.50), Basil Breakfast ($13) amongst others.

The hollandaise on the Eggs Salmon ($16) was sour, the salmon was ok (not the freshest but edible). It was served on toast not muffins.

The Provisions Breakfast ($14.90) had way overcooked bacon, pesto which had a strong parmesan taste, 2 eggs any style, tomato, delicious mushies and toast that was like the kind you get at the supermarket...

Filter

2008-02-09T18:56:00.002+11:00

Filter
285 Brunswick St, Fitzroy, VIC
DiBella Coffee
Best Creative Dish

Update:

Unfortunately this place has closed - Brunswick lost a great cafe!
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The venue seems quite spacious, capable of fitting many people in. The fit out itself is very clean and well designed. The coffee is good. Tempting too are the freshly squeezed fruit juice combos like Thirst Busters’ blend of watermelon, apple, strawberry and mint.

Breakfast is served all day here, accommodating the late risers. You'll be spoilt for choice here: 3 different omelettes ($14.50) including smoked salmon, dill and brie; Classic Eggs poached on muffins with asparagus wrapped in prosciutto and topped with hollandaise ($15.50); Eggs Benedict or Florentine ($13); Eggs Atlantic or Bacon Benedict ($14); Brekkie Stack of poached eggs, hash brown, salmon, avocado, hollandaise & sourdough ($16.50). There’s even vegan scrambled tofu ($12) and a Breakfast Trifle of yoghurt, muesli and berry compote ($6.50).

And don’t forget to check the specials on the board – today there was banana bread with honey, ricotta hotcakes with poached fruit and cinnamon and more omelettes like the pumpkin, fetta and bacon one ($15 .50) amongst others.

The Brunswick Brekkie ($17) with two eggs, bacon, tomato, mushrooms (with thyme), sausage, hash brown and sourdough – all quality ingredients, but the hash brown definitely stood out.

The signature dish of Filter Eggs ($15.50) was exceptionally creative, and just as delicious. 2 round holes were cut in the middle of the sourdough and 2 eggs were cooked in the holes. It was topped with bacon, rocket, aioli and the 2 circles of sourdough, surrounded by a ring of pesto, with "filter" scrawled across the plate in balsamic reduction. Cheap advertising. But this fancy smanchy dish delivered. It's not often I'll prefer a dish with fried eggs to poached but this surprised me. And the sourdough circles were absolutely delectable, though probably really unhealthy…

Turtle Café

2008-02-09T18:51:00.000+11:00

Turtle Café
1 Ormond Road, Elwood, VIC
Genovese Coffee

The Turtle lives in the corner, on the round - if that makes sense. It's famous for its Turtle Eggs - Mushrooms to die for, superbly poached eggs and good sourdough. The hollandaise sauce is pretty outstanding too.

Balgownie Estate Vineyard Resort and Spa

2008-02-09T18:22:00.001+11:00

Balgownie Estate Vineyard Resort and Spa
Melba Highway and Gulf Road, Yarra Glen, VIC

As part of Balloon Sunrise's hot air ballooning package, a supposedly "5-star gourmet champagne breakfast" is included after the flight. Non-flying guests are welcome to join you for breakfast at an additional cost of $35 for adults and $25 for children under 12. It was decent, definitely not worth the price - coffee was bad and i still can't down champers at 10am in the morning. A good spread of jams, not the best eggs & sides. Guess everyone is so pleased with the flight nothing else matters.

The Green Grocer

2008-02-09T18:03:00.000+11:00

The Green Grocer
217 St Georges Road, Fitzroy North, VIC
Jaspers organic coffee

If you're an organic freak, this place will suit you right to the core. Everything on the menu is more than 70% organic. It was also quite nice to be surrounded by the organic vegetables, although I'm not sure if I'd be so appreciative if someone was actually doing their weekly shopping next to me.

The coffee seemed burnt. Their organic hot chocolate was kinda weird.

The Grocer’s Breakfast (originally called the Big Breakfast but was suitably changed after many people complained their portions shrank) consisted of a herb and fetta pancake, with spinach, tomato, a mushroom, a strip of bacon and a poached egg piled on top, with a wedge of ripe avocado and a hash brown beside, and basil pesto prettily drizzled around the pancake. Quality food, but too small a portion (note singulars in bold above) considering it costs $16.

Same story with the poached eggs on sesame-encrusted sourdough, add avocado, mushrooms & sausage.

A little tray containing what I thought might be a bill was placed on the table. But it wasn’t how much they wanted me to pay at the register and vacate the seat for other customers waiting, it was simply the waitress’ order slip with no prices added. Pretty rude – I thought only restaurants in Chinatown did that…

Café Victoria

2008-02-09T17:58:00.000+11:00

Café Victoria
Victoria Market, along Elizabeth St, Melbourne, VIC
Segafredo Coffee

Bad coffee, bad food. Went there to try the crepes but was disappointed. Only thing fancy was the playing cards used to identify table numbers.

Aix Cafe Creperie Salon

2008-02-07T18:50:00.000+11:00

Aix Cafe Creperie Salon
24 Centre Place, Melbourne, VIC
Caffé Aurora Coffee

The place positively bustles over breakfast and lunch Mondays to Saturdays. Take away filled baguettes or soups, but if you want to eat the crepes there, go early so that you manage to catch one of the few small just enough to fit a plate.

Some flavours they have: Tandoori Chicken, Smoked Salmon, Orange Blossom Honey, Apple & Cinnamon, Lemon and Sugar, Banana, Ricotta and Honey.

The famous Peking Duck with lettuce, cucumber and a very weird, disgusting plum sauce ($8.50) lacked ingredients & had a pretty thick crepe. Disappointing.

The crepes I tried on other occasions were much better: Lamb, Berry & Rosewater Yoghurt, Chocolate Hazelnut.

With so much variety, friendly & helpful service, and nothing over $8.90 on the menu, you'll leave satisfied. Just don’t order the Peking Duck.

Five

2008-02-03T18:02:00.000+11:00

Five
Centre Place, Melbourne, VIC

The Eggs Benedict ($11) was cold although freshly prepared and not the best. Their muffins however, are a different story. Especially when they just come out of the oven, still in the silicon baking trays. Raspberry and white chocolate - yum.

Rathdowne Street Food Store

2008-02-03T17:42:00.000+11:00

Rathdowne Street Food Store
617 Rathdowne St, Carlton North, VIC
Rom Caffe Coffee

It's usually hard to get a table but it was a breeze for us. Parking was just as easy, despite it being amongst the strip of cafes. The food store part of the homely café sells a great selection of homemade preserves and pantry staples. The interior was seriously mismatched - wooden chairs, butcher-papered table tops, red velvety cushions, opera music in the background… But I liked the casual atmosphere and friendly (though not very attentive) service. What I didn't like was the insect that resembled a baby cockroach crawling around on the sofa.

Coffee was good, the Italian chocolate was ok. Not bad but not what I expected. It looked more promising than it tasted. Maybe 'cos I'm used to thick, rich chocolate like Koko Black or Brunetti.

We ordered the poached eggs with salmon & avocado on toasted muffins with hollandaise, & added hash browns. The quality of everything was good, but nothing to rant about. The cylindrical-shaped hash browns were tasty, but they could have used fresher oil to deep fry them in.

Portions weren't scarily oversized so we ordered the ricotta hotcakes with a poached pear and lavender ice cream. The pear was delightful but the hotcakes had a strong cinnamon taste which I dislike. I ended up picking at the sides 'cos they had less spice & were slightly crispy. Ice cream tasted like vanilla which was disappointing, but at least it wasn't the creamy vanilla I hate… it was more of the vanilla bean vanilla.

Icoco Cafe & Food Store

2008-02-03T00:17:00.000+11:00

Icoco Cafe & Food Store
143 Victoria Avenue, Albert Park, VIC
Their own brand of coffee roasted & prepared on premises

Their breakfast menu includes smoked salmon with hollandaise and poached eggs, and apple syrup-drenched ricotta pancakes with citrus wedges. Food isn't fantastic but I guess the stellar attraction is supposed to be the coffee.

From the outdoor tables the aroma of the woven beans lures passers-by to check out their onsite coffee roaster and the range of caffeine-related gadgets including a range of metal jugs judiciously designed for milk frothing. A coffee-lover's heaven? Maybe not - I was disappointed. The coffee was far too intense & bitter for my liking.

Café Notturno

2008-02-03T00:09:00.000+11:00

Café Notturno
179 Lygon Street, Carlton, VIC

Established in 1978, the original owner wanted to create a venue that was unique to Melbourne - a large Italian-style cafe that never closed, which is how the name “Notturno” (meaning nocturnal in Italian) came to be. Today the hours aren't quite so long (closes at 12 midnight or 1.30am on weekends), but with pizzas, pastas, salads, coffee, cake and even fancy cocktails on the menu, it's a great place to catch up with your mates… hence the slogan "Meet you at Notties" and as their logo states "Where friends meet".

It offers an all-day, all-night breakfast menu. I tried their Queens Breakfast - Smoked salmon, poached eggs, spinach, tomato with hollandaise sauce on crusty vienna. The salmon wasn't the freshest, and the poached eggs looked and tasted like they were from a machine. Overall satisfactory, but that's taking into considering the very reasonable price (less than $13).

There's also the usual Eggs Benedict, Muesli, Raisin Toast, Super Breakfast (the lot) and Pancakes.

Muleta's

2008-02-02T23:53:00.000+11:00

Muleta's
422 Queen Street, Melbourne, VIC
Coffee Mio

Comfy seats, mouth watering cake display (their sauce for the sticky date has too much orange peel in it), all day breakfast, the biggest pancakes I've ever had.
Too bad it wasn't as good as it looked.