Merchants Guild

680 Centre Rd, Bentleigh East 9579 0734

Soy latte

Pumpkin, feta and harissa polenta biscuit, free range poached eggs and za’atar

Shortcut bacon with an avocado and charred corn salsa on sourdough with poached eggs and jalapeño pesto

Doughnut french toast with vanilla mascarpone, peaches, berries and pistachios

Thoughts:

Soy latte – strong with a rich aroma = Good

Polenta biscuit – this polenta biscuit was fantastic as it was full of flavour, crisp on the outside, and soft and delicious on the inside. The eggs were nicely poached and the herbaceous za’atar added an interesting element to the dish = Excellent

Bacon, avocado, eggs – ordinary bacon, tasty avocado and corn salsa, terrific jalapeño pesto (it gave the sourdough a nice little kick) = Good

Doughnut french toast – delicious! My only grievance with this dish was the small portion size = Good

Overall:

A delightful gem of a place where the service, atmosphere and food is great. It’s comforting to know that there are terrific brunch places like this south side of Melbourne. I’m looking forward to my next visit.

Noble Calzones

238 Railway Parade, Noble Park 9791 2699

The Sweet Hot Chick

Pepper Steak with Goats Cheese

Choc Berry Double Bliss calzone

Thoughts:

The Sweet Hot Chick – sweet chilli chicken, capsicum, onion, fresh chilli (that is actually hot) and herbs = Good

Pepper Steak with Goat Cheese – sliced steak (bland and chewy), onion, capsicum, chevre (goat cheese) and peppercorns = Not bad

Choc Berry Double Bliss calzone – chocolate fondant and berry calzone served with vanilla ice cream. Although the photo I took of this is not particularly appetising, this calzone was actually quite tasty. The sweet butter dough reminded me of donuts and the fondant itself had the right amount of sweetness to it and was not overly rich = Good

Overall:

The terrific thing about this place is that all the meat and dairy used here are certified halal products and that no pork products are used or kept on the premises. The menu items that contain ham and bacon are in fact beef ham and turkey bacon (I had no idea that turkey bacon existed!). The service was incredibly warm and friendly, and the food tasty and exciting.

Mrs Kim’s Grill

136 Koornang Road, Carnegie 9563 4424

Moo set

Oink set

Thoughts:

Moo set – 350g of marinated Galbi beef ribs, 150g of Skirt steak, tomato and avocado salsa salad = Good

Oink set – 250g of chilli pork belly, 150g of pork neck fillet, smoked salmon and onion salad = Good

Note that each set comes with butter and garlic potatoes, corn, soup of the day (which was soy bean paste soup), and rice for two.

The complimentary side dishes that are served with all meals include: homemade kimchi, pickled onion, spring onion salad, ssamjang soy bean, dipping sauce, and pepper and garlic salt.

Overall:

Really delicious and well marinated meat! In fact everything here was very tasty. My only complaint is that the meat sets need to be bigger so that there is more meat to be enjoyed! The atmosphere is casual and the staff are efficient and friendly.

Pumpkin and Broccoli Ricotta Pasta Bake

Recipe from: Taste.com.au

Overall:

This vegetarian bake was very tasty and easy to make.

Captain Melville

34 Franklin St, Melbourne 9663 6855

Haloumi stuffed zucchini flower

Gnocchi

Pulled Pork Bun

Fried Chicken

Quinoa Salad

Thoughts:

Haloumi stuffed zucchini flower – chickpea batter, eggplant puree, pomegranate & za’atar = Not bad

Gnocchi – ricotta and basil gnocchi, yellow tomato sauce, smoked tomatoes, roast red onion and olives = Not bad

Pulled Pork Bun – western plains pulled pork, BBQ sauce, crunchy coleslaw, pickles and onion rings = Good

Fried Chicken – crispy fried chicken (which was well fried but lacked any taste) served with sriracha mayonnaise = Not bad

Quinoa Salad – golden beets, grilled asparagus, shanklish cheese and honey yoghurt = Not bad

Overall:

Unexceptional food, average service, relaxed atmosphere.

Humburger

789 Glenferrie Rd, Hawthorn 9818 3881

Salted Caramel shake & Malted Vanilla shake

Frenchy burger, The Hum burger, Parmesan & Truffle oil fries

Thoughts:

Salted caramel shake – essentially liquid caramel with a hint of salt, very sweet = Not bad

Malted Vanilla shake – strong malt flavour, also very sweet = Not bad

Frenchy burger – beef, crispy potato rosti, bearnaise, chunky garden mayo and cornichon = Not bad

The Hum burger – beef, cheddar, pickles, mustard, mayo and tomato sauce. Tasted similar to a McDonald’s cheeseburger = Not bad

Fries – the parmesan gets more and more intense as these thick crunchy chips cool down = Not bad

Overall:

Humburger is a ho-hum burger sort of place. The food was average and so was the service. The brioche buns were quite greasy and I found the burgers here to be a bit small compared to other burger places. Note that they no longer sell their ‘Hum Balls’ and that this place is cash only.

Basilico

216 Blackburn Rd, Glen Waverley 9887 6288

Al Salmone gourmet wood fired pizza

Polpette Al Sugo (Meatballs) Risotto

Belgian Dark Chocolate and Strawberry dessert pizza

Thoughts:

Al Salmone pizza – thin crispy pizza base topped with slices of tomato, cheese, salmon, finely chopped leek, fresh basil, spanish onion, spring onion and cracked pepper. There was a generous amount of salmon on this pizza which made it noticeably salty, however the sweetness from the leek and onion helped to balance this out = Good

Polpette Al Sugo Risotto – tender Italian meatballs in a Napoli sauce. The sauce itself was tasty but the risotto was unfortunately hard and undercooked = Not bad

Chocolate and Strawberry dessert pizza – thin crispy base topped with deliciously melted dark chocolate brownies, fresh strawberries and four massive scoops of sweet vanilla ice cream. The base was superb and the ample amount of topping was fantastic. Hands down the best dessert pizza that I have tasted so far! = Excellent

Overall:

Great pizzas (there is a large selection of gourmet wood fired pizzas to choose from as well as original wood fired pizzas), average service, casual family-friendly dining atmosphere. But seriously, come for the Chocolate and Strawberry dessert pizza!

B’Stilla

30b Bray St, South Yarra 9826 2370

Semolina crepe

Lamb ribs

Chicken wings

B’stilla

Seafood tagine

Vegetable tagine

Freekeh salad

Cous cous salad

Thoughts:

Semolina crepe – lentils, squash, green chilli = Not bad

Lamb ribs – tender fall-off-the-bone lamb ribs served with amlou (honey, hazelnut, argan oil) = Good

Chicken wings – crispy chicken wings served with a nutty pistachio curd and sweet pomegranate = Not bad

B’stilla – duck and chicken pie with almond and saffron, sprinkled with cinnamon and icing sugar. An unusual mix of savoury and sweet. The pastry was delicious, but I would have liked the pie better had there been more meat and less almonds = Not bad

Seafood tagine – spinach, mussels, fish, octopus and prawns = Not bad

Vegetable tagine – figs, goat’s curd, pumpkin seed granola = Good

Freekeh salad – chewy nutty freekeh, apple, walnut, cress and lime = Not bad

Cous cous salad – cous cous, pumpkin, charmoula, coriander and preserved citrus = Not bad

Overall:

Laid back atmosphere, good service, small serving sizes (the large plates are not particularly large). I had high expectations for this place as it was ‘The Age Good Food Under $30’ award winner for 2014. However I found the food to be underwhelming and not something that I would get a craving for.

Friends of Mine

Toasted piadini

(pork/chilli/fennel sausage, tomato chutney, smoked scamorza cheese and spinach)

Small portion size so wasn’t very filling.

★★☆☆☆

Smashed avocado

(avocado, thyme buttered mushrooms, poached egg, marinated feta and torn basil on toasted five grain bread)

This exact dish is bigger and better at Porgie and Mr Jones (same owners as this place)

★★☆☆☆

Eggs benedict

(smoked ham hock terrine, poached eggs, a rich and tangy apple cider hollandaise and baby herbs on an English muffin)

★★☆☆☆

‘Jack + Jill’

(toasted ciabatta, poached eggs, bacon, 12 hour roasted tomato, avocado and thyme buttered mushrooms)

★★☆☆☆

Citrus semifreddo

Sweet, rich and creamy, served with almond praline and raspberries

★★★☆☆

Overall:

A nice place to catch up with friends as the noise level is low and the dining area is quite spacious and comfortable. The staff (who wear these cute denim aprons that have the word ‘Friends’ on them) are lovely, the coffee is good, but the food is average at best. Note that this place is cash only.

Friends of Mine

506 Swan St, Richmond, VIC

(03) 9428 7516

http://www.friendsofmine.com.au/

Blue Chillies

182 Brunswick St, Fitzroy 9417 0071

Lohbak

Curry laksa

Thoughts:

Lohbak – spiced chicken mince and carrot wrapped in fried bean curd skin (that was very salty), served with a mild sweet chilli sauce = Not bad

Curry laksa – egg and rice noodles with bean curd, fishcake, fresh crunchy green beans and pieces of chicken. I could not get enough of this! Best curry laksa that I’ve had in Melbourne so far! = Excellent

Overall:

Great atmosphere, friendly service, amazing laksa. So I came here with a few girlfriends and after we had each ordered a bowl of laksa, we all agreed that it was better here than at Laksa King (sorry Laksa King). So if you are a fan of laksa (like I am), come and give this place a go (and let me know what you think).