Banana

Three Williams

Duck Narnie

(peking duck, cucumber, shallots, fried onion, coriander, cabbage, orange hoisin)

★★★★☆

Wild Mushrooms

(lemon and garlic sautéed with wild mushrooms, mushroom and goats curd tapenade, fried egg, hazelnuts, truffle oil, parsley, sourdough)

★★★★☆

Golden Gaytime French Toast

(crunchy brioche french toast, vanilla ice cream rolled in a chocolate cookie crumb, chocolate crisps, fresh strawberry, toffee sauce)

★★★★☆

Splice Shake

(orange, apple and coconut blended with ice cream)

★★★☆☆

Banana smoothie with native honey, macadamia and wattleseed crumb

★★★★☆

Super Smoothie

(kale, apricot, apple, linseed, sunflower, almond, banana, ginger, cinnamon)

★★☆☆☆

Overall:

Terrific food, friendly service, minimalistic decor. There are often queues for this popular place during the weekend so we decided to visit on a weekday and were seated straightaway. It’s a place that’s definitely worthy of a return visit.

Three Williams

613A Elizabeth St, Redfern, NSW

(02) 9698 1111

Home

Pavlov’s Duck

Lankan Frenchy

(organic croissant, soft boiled egg, chilli fried potatoes, Asian tabouli, fish and potato fritter)

★★★☆☆

Sweet and Savoury

(bircher muesli mixed berries, coconut chia pudding and clustered granola, boiled egg, sourdough toast)

★★★☆☆

Red Velvet Pancakes

(with lemon curd, grapes, banana, almond flakes, raspberry jelly, agave syrup and crispy bacon)

★★★☆☆

Milk Rice

(rice pudding with chilli chicken curry, spicy onion relish and an Asian pretzel)

★★☆☆☆

Kottu

(chopped roti, vegetables, spices, fried egg)

★★★☆☆

Hoppers

(three plain hoppers with dhal, coconut sambol and chilli onion)

★★★☆☆

Monsieur Truffe 70% Hot Chocolate

Rich and velvety, one of my favourite hot chocolates at the moment.

★★★★★

Overall:

If you are looking for a unique brunch menu, look no further than Pavlov’s Duck! The Sri Lankan inspired dishes here are bold, full of flavour and wonderfully plated. Service was down to earth, and the warehouse-like space is typical of a hipster brunch place. A hoppers making station can also be found at the front so you can watch your hoppers being freshly made. In any case, I’m coming back for the hot chocolate.

Pavlov’s Duck

401 Smith St, Fitzroy, VIC

(03) 9416 4336

http://pavlovsduck.com.au/

Mykonos Cafe And Crepes

Little Venice Crepe

(banana, strawberries, oreo, nutella, coconut)

Thin crepe with crispy edges and a generous amount of filling!

★★★★☆

Bougasta Crepe

(semolina custard filling, icing sugar, cinnamon)

A satisfying crepe, but after the first bite all I wanted was a real bougasta instead.

★★★☆☆

Platter with dips and bread

★★★☆☆

I can’t remember what these were called but the lovely owner gave these to us on the house after telling us how he made them by hand earlier that day.

★★★☆☆

Overall:

Stepping into this place is like stepping into a holiday. The beautiful decor and ambience takes you straight to Mykonos. The staff were very welcoming and the crepes very tasty. A great addition to Oakleigh (aka ‘little Greece’).

Mykonos Cafe And Crepes

58 Portman St, Oakleigh, VIC

(03) 9569 6767

http://www.mykonoscafe.com.au/

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/

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.

Porgie and Mr Jones

291 Auburn Rd, Hawthorn 9882 2955

Smashed avocado with thyme buttered mushrooms, marinated feta, basil and poached egg on wholegrain toast

Shakshuka – two eggs slow baked with spiced tomato, silver beet and feta

Toasted banana bread with maple syrup mascarpone, fresh banana, berry compote and crushed pistachio

Thoughts:

Smashed avocado – absolutely delicious! Mushrooms were bursting with flavour, egg was perfectly poached, the toast was thick and fresh, and the marinated feta added a slight sharpness which balanced out the creamy avocado = Excellent

Shakshuka – the slow baked eggs mean eggs that look poached, but are actually cooked all the way through. This dish was full of spices and went well with the warm pita bread = Good

Banana bread – more like banana cake than banana bread (was moist and light). I liked how they incorporated slices of banana in between the two slices of banana bread which made the whole thing taste a lot more fresh = Not bad

Overall:

A great place to have breakfast/brunch as the food here is fresh and tasty. There are three main dining areas: the quirky hipster room (wooden benches, funky artwork), the formal dining rooms (known as the “good rooms”) and the bright garden terrace. Service was average and note that this is a cash only place.