Breakfast/Brunch

South of Johnston

SOJO Burger of the week (Pulled Pork Burger)

Satisfying burger filled with lots of juicy pulled pork

★★★☆☆

Pancakes topped with banana, butterscotch sauce, vanilla ice cream and toasted crushed hazelnuts

★★☆☆☆

Corn fritters with a poached egg, tomato relish, avocado, smoked salmon

★★☆☆☆

Overall:

Funky eclectic decor, ordinary food, ordinary service. Might be worth your while exploring Collingwood’s many other eateries instead.

South ofJohnston

46 Oxford St, Collingwood, VIC

(03) 9417 2741

http://southofjohnston.com.au/

Coombe – the Melba Estate

675 Maroondah Hwy, Coldstream 9739 0173

A little while ago I had the opportunity to attend a private garden tour and morning tea at Coombe – The Melba Estate. This stunning property was once home to Dame Nellie Melba, Australia’s first world-famous opera singer.

The 2.8 hectare garden was designed by William Guilefoyle, who also designed Melbourne’s Royal Botanic Gardens.

Hedge

Six hundred metres of beautifully manicured cypress hedges can be found here. By getting into a crouching position and slowly shuffling forward, I was able to squeeze into this particular hedge opening and experience being inside of an enormous hedge. It was pretty cool.

Not only does this spectacular garden contain plants (including rare ones), it also contains…

an old English oak tree (estimated to be over 180 years old)…

Victoria’s oldest swimming pool (built in 1913)…

vegetable gardens…

chickens…

a croquet lawn…

and much more. So after our garden tour, it was time for morning tea!

Top Tier: Fresh baked scones, Peach Melba Jam, Clotted cream

Middle Tier: Lemon meringue tartlet, Strawberry tartlet, Dark and white chocolate truffle, Friands

Bottom Tier: Pork and apple sausage rolls, Leek and Persian feta quiche, Coombe Farm pate on Melba toast, Asparagus dill cream cheese pinwheel, Smoked salmon ribbon sandwiches

Overall:

The restaurant is located within the restored motor house and historic clock tower, having a design that cleverly incorporated old and new. I found the huge glass windows that overlook the gardens to be particularly impressive. The morning tea served was good but nothing outstanding. Perhaps the brunch or lunch here is more delectable as seasonal and estate grown produce are used. Nevertheless I loved the history of this estate and the calming picturesque gardens. It’s amazing how after more than a century, this estate is now open to the public. Note that this place is available for weddings and private functions.

*Disclaimer: I was invited as a guest of Two Hands Agency. All food ratings & review are purely based on my own experiences and how I felt about the service, food and quality at the time of visit.

Ricotta Hotcakes with Banana and Honey

Original recipe from Taste.com.au, however I tweaked it slightly.

Ingredients:

1 cup self-raising flour
1 teaspoon bicarb of soda
Pinch of salt
2 tablespoons sugar
130g fresh ricotta
1 cup milk
1 egg, beaten
25g unsalted butter, melted
1/2 a lemon rind, grated
Olive oil
Sliced bananas and honey, to serve

Method:

1. Sift the flour, bicarb and salt into a bowl and stir in sugar. In a separate bowl, combine the ricotta, milk, egg, melted butter, and lemon rind, beating well until smooth. Gradually whisk this into the dry ingredients to form a smooth batter.

2. Heat oil in a non-stick frying pan and pour in batter to form hotcakes. Cook over medium heat until bubbles appear over the surface and then flip over and cook until both sides are golden brown.

3. Serve hot with banana slices and a drizzle of honey.

Overall:

These hotcakes were so good that the banana and honey were not really needed. Each hotcake was soft and fluffy with slightly crispy edges. The fresh ricotta gave some subtle creaminess and the lemon rind added some zesty freshness. Another quick and easy recipe.

The Parlor

The Parlor Tasting Board

An ample selection of lunch times dishes which included hommus, house made polenta chips, pork belly,prosciutto, steamed broccoli, roasted capsicum, cured salmon, calamari, roast chicken, and ciabatta. Sharing this huge tasting board is definitely recommended.

★★☆☆☆

Ricotta Hot Cakes

Creamy ricotta hot cakes served with berry compote, poached pear, maple syrup and mascarpone.

★★☆☆☆

Overall:

Random location (on a suburban street surrounded by houses), charming decor, friendly service, ordinary food.

The Parlor

40 Weatherall Rd, Beaumaris, VIC

(03) 9515 4514

http://www.theparlorkitchen.com/

Demitri’s Feast

European style thick hot chocolate

Thick and decadent without being overly sweet.

★★★★☆

Latte

Strong and aromatic.

★★★☆☆

Ouzo Cured Salmon with dill, crème fraiche, spinach & poached free range eggs

Well poached eggs, tasty salmon, however the bread was extremely hard and difficult to cut through.

★★☆☆☆

Maria’s Eggs Saganaki with confit cherry tomato sauce, basil, feta & chilli

Slightly sharp sauce but otherwise a nice dish.

★★☆☆☆

Baklava French Toast with walnut praline, sweet yoghurt & orange blossom syrup

Fantastic! I would have rated this as 5 stars however towards the end, the taste of egg took over this dish.

★★★★☆

Overall:

Relaxed atmosphere, good service, and an exciting Greek inspired menu. Note that this place does not take bookings.

Demitri’s Feast

141 Swan St, Richmond, VIC

(03) 9428 8659

http://www.demitrisfeast.com.au/

Jackman & McRoss

Everything looked delicious and it took us a little while to decide what to get.

Blueberry Coconut Cheesecake, Lemon and Ricotta Crumble Cake, Hot Jam Donut

★★★☆☆

Apple and Raisin Danish

★★★☆☆

Scrambled egg, bacon, tomato and avocado panini

★★★★★

Scallop & wakame pie

★★★☆☆

Pork, Sage and apple sausage roll

★★☆☆☆

Overall:

We grabbed some takeaway and found the food to be delightful. This place is well worth stopping by.

Jackman & McRoss

59 Hampden Rd, Battery Point, TAS

(03) 6223 3186

Innocent Bystander Winery

Wood fired pizza – spicy pork sausage, buffalo mozzarella, San Marzano tomato, chilli

Thin crispy base, spicy herby topping.

★★★☆☆

Moscato Granita and Moscato & Sipsmith Summer Cocktail

Both drinks were very refreshing however I enjoyed the granita more as it was sweeter.

★★★★☆

Overall:

Try the Moscato, it is fantastic.

Innocent

Innocent Bystander Winery

336 Maroondah Hwy, Healesville, VIC

(03) 5962 6111

http://www.innocentbystander.com.au/

Cafe Mondello

Smashed Avocado (Persian feta, toast, poached eggs, dukka, relish)

★★★☆☆

Eggs SS (smoked salmon, toast, spinach, hollandaise)

★★☆☆☆

Eggs Benedict (leg ham, toast, hollandaise)

★★☆☆☆

Overall:

Good solid breakfast fare can be found at this comfortable little cafe. Service is friendly and the atmosphere is relaxed, making it a great place to drop by before you start your day.

Cafe Mondello

242 Charles St, Launceston, TAS

0408 326 848

Raspberry Fool

Baked eggs (caramelised onion, ham and gruyere) with toast

★★☆☆☆

Scrambled free range eggs with chorizo and toast

★★☆☆☆

Poached free range eggs with sausage and toast

★★☆☆☆

Chocolate French toast with honey, yogurt and pear compote

★★★☆☆

Overall:

Small cafe with a small menu that offered friendly service and reasonable food.

Note this place is closed on Sundays

Raspberry Fool

85 Bathurst St, Hobart, TAS

(03) 6231 1274

The Jolimont

73 Jolimont Rd, Forest Hill 0438 333 595

Iced Chai

Sweet with a distinctive chai flavour

= ★★

Banana Milkshake

This brought to mind childhood memories of banana Nesquik

= ★★

Smashed avocado

(avocado, dill, lemon and feta cheese on seven grain sourdough, served with a fried egg)

= ★★

The Jolimont Platter

(antipasto platter with Chef’s selection of marinated vegetables, deli meats, cheese and bread)

= ★★

Overall:

This cosy suburban cafe serves up the usual breakfast/brunch items. Although nothing particularly stood out in terms of the food, service was great as the staff here were attentive, friendly and up for a chat.