Avocado

Servery & Spoon

Morning Super Salad

with kale, broccoli rice, toasted quinoa, beetroot, avocado, super seeds and a poached egg

Tasted healthy but lacked flavour and texture.

= ★★

Buttermilk French Toast

with quince, lemon curd labna, sugared pecans and date maple

= ★★★

Eggs

Crispy Dukkah Crusted Eggs

with smashed avocado, crumbled feta and grilled orange on sourdough

Not sure if the grilled orange was necessary but the rest of the dish was delicious!

= ★★★★

Overall:

Well presented food, friendly service, open inviting space. Be sure to try the Crispy Dukkah Crusted Eggs.

Servery & Spoon

137 Waverley Rd, Malvern East

9571 7495

Vincent the Dog

Green Tea Latte

★★☆☆☆

Poached eggs, smoked salmon, goats cheese and avocado on sourdough

First thing I noticed about the eggs were the cling wrap marks on them. Nothing wrong with that as long as the eggs are properly poached (which they were).

★★☆☆☆

Pulled pork shoulder open waffle sandwich with pickled red cabbage, coleslaw and chipotle aioli

Generous amount of pulled pork piled on top of a crispy waffle.

★★★☆☆

Overall:

This cosy little place offers more than your typical brunch menu items. Not only did they offer waffles and bagels, they also offered dishes such as Shanghai-style braised pork belly and Chinese donuts filled with melted cheese. The service and atmosphere were easy going however the limited seating deters me from coming here during the weekend. Note that this place is closed on Tuesdays.

Vincent the Dog

348 Drummond St, Carlton

(03) 9348 2068

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/

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

Woodland House

Purple congo potato crisps

House-cured Atlantic salmon, avocado, radish

Goats cheese bavarois, watercress, spring greens

Rockling, black barley, fenugreek

Poached and roasted spatchcock, nicola potato, asparagus

Tête de Moine cheese

So this particular cheese was prepared at the table using a girolle (cheese curler) which produced thin shavings that resembled rosettes. By creating a larger surface area, more oxygen was able to come into contact with the cheese and enhance its odour and flavour. Out of all the cheeses we sampled, this one was undoubtedly my favourite.

Farmhouse cheeses

Vanilla parfait, Yarra Valley berries, wild fennel

Cocoa covered mixed nuts, yuzu jelly

Herb and vegetable garden

Overall:

Established in an old Victorian mansion that was previously Jacques Reymond, Woodland House is a place of class and elegance. The decor is refined and the staff are extremely polite and attentive. The food is of a high standard as the kitchen is run by two of Jacques Reymond’s former chefs Thomas Woods and Hayden McFarland. We sampled the House Lunch menu and found every single dish to be fresh and enjoyable. The rockling and the spatchcock in particular were cooked to perfection, and the flavours of the vanilla parfait dessert were amazing. Note that this place is closed on Mondays.

Woodland House

78 Williams Rd, Prahran, VIC

(03) 9525 2178

http://www.woodlandhouse.com.au/

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.

DakDak Cafe

Unit 2, 1-3 Bignell Rd, Moorabbin 9532 2749

Bartholomew’s Baked Eggs

Lamb, spinach and pine nut sausage, free range eggs, sautéed spinach, kalamata olives and feta cheese in a tomato and herb sauce, served with buttered sourdough toast

= ★★

Vegorama

Poached free range eggs, homemade hash brown, avocado, sautéed mushrooms, over roasted tomato and truffle hollandaise served with buttered multigrain toast

= ★★

Overall:

I loved the retro vibe that this garage-turned-cafe had going on! A small powder blue caravan served as a kitchen, industrial shelves and recycled furniture filled up the place, bright green artificial grass covered the floor, and there was Volkswagen memorabilia everywhere (which was expected as this place is named after the signature stuttering of the Volkswagen engines). Service was friendly although it took a while before our orders were taken, and then much longer for our food to arrive. This unexpected cafe (as is it located within Moorabbin’s industrial area) is a comfortable and quirky place to hang out, but they need to up their game a tad when it comes to service times.

Sushi “Cake”

How time flies! It’s been a whole year since I made a Fruit “Cake” for my mum’s birthday and I needed another cake alternative for this year. I saw a savoury sushi “cake” at a work lunch a few years ago and I remember thinking to myself: THIS IS GENIUS!

Ingredients:

3 cups sushi rice
8 tbsp sushi vinegar
425g canned tuna
4 eggs
Smoked salmon
Cucumber
Avocado

Method:

1. Rinse rice under cold running water (stirring occasionally with your hand to remove any excess starch) until water runs clear. Drain well.

2. Place rice and water in a rice cooker to cook (easy option), or in a large pot to cook. If cooking in a pot, have the pot covered and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and cook (covered) for 15 minutes or until the water is absorbed. (If rice is still not soft, add more water) Remove from heat. Set the rice aside and allow it to cool slightly.

3. Using a wooden spoon, gently fold in sushi vinegar.

4. In a loose base cake pan, place half the sushi rice on the base of the pan. Layer on the tuna and then layer on the remaining sushi rice.

5. Make an omelette from the eggs (I added a splash of soy sauce to my omelette), and place the omelette on top of the sushi rice.

6. Arrange the smoked salmon, cucumber and avocado on top of the “cake”.

7. Remove pan from around the “cake” and serve.

Chick-In

G23/620 Collins St, Melbourne 9973 6244

Gang Jung Soy Chicken

Sweet crispy chicken pieces combined with potato wedges (which I found to be strange and unnecessary) and rice cake, served with a cabbage salad which was drenched in an incredibly sweet mayo dressing

= Not bad

Salmon Bibimbap

Essentially rice, avocado, salmon and salad drizzled with soy sauce

= Not bad

Overall:

An unremarkable dining experience.

East of Everything

Level 3, 72 Auburn Parade, Camberwell 9882 4216

Cajun sweetcorn fritters with avocado salsa

Crispy fritters packed with juicy corn kernels and lightly drizzled with a spicy Cajun sauce. My only complaint with this dish was that there should have been more of the terrific avocado salsa!

= Good

Pulled pork quesadilla

Sweet smoky pork. Delicious!

= Good

The “Dom” – beef debris served on a bed of crispy chips with Cajun remoulade and pickles

If only this dish came with slightly more beef and slightly less chips it would have been perfect.

= Good

Southern fried chicken Po’Boy

Crispy tender chicken + fresh crunchy coleslaw = a winning combination

= Good

Peanut butter and chocolate cheesecake

Solid and difficult to cut through, this sweet homemade cheesecake was reminiscent of a Snickers bar.

= Not bad

Overall:

Quietly hidden away up a small flight of stairs, East of Everything know how to serve up some great Southern food. The menu is small and simple, the atmosphere relaxed and the staff friendly.