Lolo and Wren

484 Albion St, Brunswick West

Crispy Croque Monsieur

Sweetcorn and Zucchini fritters

Brioche french toast (half serve)

Thoughts:

Crispy Croque Monsieur – I didn’t realise it at the time, but this was listed in The Age’s guide to Melbourne’s best sandwiches. It consists of shaved leg ham, swisse cheese, cheese and chive cream, coated in crisp breadcrumbs and fried, served with homemade tomato relish. Crispy, greasy and deliciously cheesy; this sandwich was awesome = Excellent

Sweetcorn and Zucchini fritters – crispy light fritters that contained more corn than zucchini, served with peperonata (stewed sweet peppers), Meredith soft goats feta, pebre salsa (Chilean chili salsa), chilli jam and avocado = Good

Brioche french toast – served with lemon curd, fresh orange, ricotta, candied zest, raspberry compote, baby basil and burnt orange syrup = Good

Overall:

Located on a suburban street underneath some modern green apartments, parking is close and plentiful. The decor is simple and the service varies from average to fantastic depending on who is serving you. The menu here is fresh and interesting, and bookings can be made before 10am and after 1pm.

Afghan Salang Restaurant

343 Lonsdale St Dandenong, 8774 6778

Bolani

Kebabs

Afghan bread and salad

Burani bonjon

Mosh palow

Chicken korma

Jalebi

Thoughts:

Bolani – thin traditional flatbread layered with pumpkin or potato, capsicum, onion, coriander, garlic and herbs, served with a garlic infused yogurt dip. The potato bolani was good but the pumpkin one was even better! = Excellent

Kebabs – tender pieces of deliciously smoky charcoal cooked chicken and lamb, served with a fresh chunky dip made from parsley, coriander, jalapeños, 5 types of capsicum, celery and vinegar = Good

Afghan bread and salad – comes with the kebabs. The afghan bread is plentiful and freshly baked while the salad is just a regular salad = Not bad

Burani bonjon – golden fried eggplant topped with garlic yogurt and spice = Good

Mosh palow – brown rice and beans. Recommended by our waiter, this dish was very tasty = Good

Chicken korma – not as heavy as an Indian chicken korma, this chicken stew was filled with a interesting blend of spices = Not bad

Jalebi – deep fried dough soaked in sugar syrup = Not bad

Overall:

The food is freshly made and is actually quite healthy as they do not use coconut milk, cream or cooking wine. Service is friendly and attentive while the atmosphere was dim and average.

White Chocolate Brownies

Recipe from: Food.com

Overall:

I had leftover white chocolate and raspberries from the muffins that I made a few days ago, so decided to make these and replace the chocolate chips in the recipe with raspberries instead. The result: brownies were fruity, slightly crumbly, deliciously rich, and very addictive!

The European

161 Spring St, Melbourne 9654 0811

Confit duck and mushroom pie, mustard and prune sauce

Tortelloni of roast pumpkin, ricotta and pine nuts

Seasonal mushroom risotto with truffle oil

Banana and date souffle, caramel and walnut ice cream

Thoughts:

Confit duck and mushroom pie – delectable pastry, enjoyable duck and mushroom filling, overwhelmingly sweet prune sauce = Good

Tortelloni – one word: bland = Not bad

Mushroom risotto – had an unusually high mushroom to risotto ratio, and a lovely aroma of truffle = Not bad

Banana and date souffle – light and fluffy. The banana and date combination made this souffle very sweet = Not bad

Overall:

Good service, relaxed atmosphere, food is average and rather pricey for the quality and quantity that you get. Would I come back? Probably not.

Raspberry and White Chocolate Muffins

Recipe:

2 cups plain flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 cup caster sugar
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 cup milk
2 teaspoons vanilla essence
2 cups frozen raspberries
1 cup roughly chopped white chocolate
icing sugar (for dusting)

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 180°C

2. Place flour, baking powder, sugar, egg, oil, milk and vanilla in a bowl and stir until just combined

3. Fold through the raspberries and white chocolate

4. Spoon mixture into muffin cases and bake for 20-30 minutes (or until cooked through when tested with a skewer)

5. Cool on a wire rack and dust with icing sugar to serve

Overall:

Raspberries + White Chocolate = Great combination. The tanginess of the raspberries balanced out the sweetness of the white chocolate making these muffins very scrumptious.

Dukes Coffee Roasters

169 Chapel St, Windsor 9521 4884

House cured ocean trout, heirloom beetroot, goats feta, poached egg, german rye

Avocado hummus toast, poached eggs, honey candied bacon and dukkah

Thoughts:

House cured ocean trout – ordinary trout, perfectly poached eggs, white/golden/red beetroot and slivers of apple added a nice sweetness, the german rye was extremely tough and chewy = Not bad

Avocado hummus toast – the avocado hummus spread and the honey candied bacon were delicious. However the toast itself was rock hard and impossible to cut! = Not bad

Overall:

I think my expectations for this place were just set too high. After hearing about how great this place was, I was left a little disappointed. The service was average, the food nothing extraordinary and the decor dark and offbeat.

Bent Espresso

2/385 Centre Rd, Bentleigh 9557 1339

Beetroot relish, avocado and goats cheese on toasted sourdough with poached eggs and dukkah

Sautéed garlic mushrooms, spinach and goats cheese on toasted sourdough with poached eggs and dukkah

Potato and herb cake topped with smoked salmon, asparagus, poached eggs, soft herbs and horseradish cream

Thoughts:

Beetroot relish – the combination of the sweet beetroot, the salty goats cheese and the creamy avocado made this dish quite enjoyable = Good

Sauteed garlic mushrooms – the fresh, buttery, garlic infused mushrooms were fantastic! The sourdough was a little bit over toasted but everything else on the plate was delicious = Excellent

Potato and herb cake – the potato cake itself was crispy and full of flavour while the horseradish cream added a mildly pungent element to the dish = Good

Overall:

I can’t imagine what this place would be like when it gets busy as they do not have a waiting list of any sort here. You simply loiter around and hope that the staff know who arrived first, or that the people who arrive after you follow the honour system and don’t jump the queue. The place itself is very small, with a funky huge mural along the back wall and bright red retro style chairs and tables. The staff are friendly and efficient, while the food here is delightful (perfectly poached eggs and all). On a side note, they do not have a toilet here so you have to use the public toilets located outside near Bentleigh Station (which were apparently revolting).

Baked Fish and Chips

Recipe from: Taste.com.au

Overall:

This recipe took a lot longer than expected (next time I’m going to use bigger strips of fish so that I don’t have to spend ages with the triple coating step), but the results were definitely great for something that is healthy for you. The baking process also took longer than expected with the baking time being closer to 30 minutes. I didn’t end up making the tartare sauce as I already had some in the house, but the recipe for it looks simple enough. Perhaps I’ll try it next time.

Anzac Biscuits

Recipe from: Donna Hay

Australia’s favourite biscuits are easy to make and are quick to disappear!

Joe’s Bar and Dining Hall

64-66 Acland St, St Kilda 9525 3755

Greenvale Farm Pork Sliders

Bucket of JFC

Harissa chicken salad

Romsey range beef burger

Sausage sizzle kransky

Mac ‘N’ Cheese

Thoughts:

Greendale Farm Pork Sliders – pork, pickled cabbage, BBQ sauce and apple puree. The hint of sweetness from the apple puree completed the taste of these yummy sliders = Good

JFC – four huge pieces of crispy (boneless!) chicken served with chipotle mayo = Excellent

Harissa chicken salad – tender harissa chicken, beetroot, goats cheese, rocket, pepita seeds and quinoa. I normally don’t order salads but I’m so glad that we did because it was surprisingly fantastic! = Excellent

Romsey range beef burger – deliciously juicy Romsey range beef, lettuce, cheese, red onion, pickles, mustard mayo and tomato sauce. A tasty no frills basic beef burger = Good

Sausage sizzle kransky – salty kransky served with cider onions, vermont cabot cheese, bourbon mustard and cabbage = Not bad

Mac ‘N’ Cheese – macaroni pasta with vermot cabot cheese and a sage and garlic crust = Good

Overall:

It’s a shame that this place always seems to be quiet whenever I pass by because the food here is something worth talking about. Not to mention that you get also get complimentary chipotle popcorn! The staff here are great however service from the kitchen can be a bit slow. The atmosphere is average but if you go on a friday or saturday night, there is a house DJ (who is awkwardly placed on the far side of the room near the toilets) that plays from 9pm till late.