Bread

Polish Rye Crust Bakery

Breakfast Bagel

(hard boiled eggs, cheese, mayonnaise, tomato, beetroot, spinach, capsicum)

The freshly baked bagel was simply outstanding.

★★★★☆

Salt stick with cream cheese and cucumber

This may not look or sound very special but out of everything we sampled, this was actually my favourite. The lightly salted bread was perfect and worked fabulously with the cream cheese and cucumber.

★★★★★

Vegetarian Pierogi

(Polish dumplings that contained potato, cheese, spinach)

These smelt delicious and were pleasantly crispy on the outside, however the filling was somewhat lacking. If only these dumplings were served with some kind of sauce.

★★★☆☆

Cherry Cheesecake

The light cheesecake and the decadent chocolate cherry layer were nice separately but sensational together.

★★★★☆

Orange Zest Babka

I’m not an expert in babka, so I wasn’t sure if the dry crumbly texture was intentional or not.

★★★☆☆

European doughnut with plum jam

Wonderfully soft and fluffy with a slight yeasty taste.

★★★☆☆

Overall:

The bread here is AMAZING! And with more than 50 types of Polish and European breads available, there is something suitable for everyone! With so many menu items on offer and such friendly service, I can see myself returning over and over again.

Polish Rye Crust Bakery

101-103 Foster St, Dandenong, VIC

(03) 9706 9194

http://www.polishryecrustbakery.com.au/

Mesa Greek Cuisine

Fresh Bread with Home-made Dips (tsatziki, melizanosalata, tarama)

The bread was surprisingly outstanding! Crispy on the outside, warm and fluffy on the inside. Perfect with the tasty dips.

★★★★☆

Smyrneika Soutzoukakia

(baked beef rissoles in a fresh tomato saltsa)

★★★☆☆

Gigandes

(lima beans baked with tomatoes, onion herbs)

Hearty and full of flavour.

★★★☆☆

Chicken Wings with Olives and Tomatoes

Delicious fall-off-the-bone chicken.

★★★☆☆

Saganaki

(grilled Dodoni kefalograviera cheese)

★★★★☆

Fried Calamari

★★☆☆☆

Chargrilled Prawns

These were fabulously smoky.

★★★★☆

Fish Of The Day

Soggy and extremely salty.

★☆☆☆☆

Horiatiki Salad

(tomato, cucumber, peppers, feta, olives, extra virgin olive oil, balsamic)

★★☆☆☆

Lamb Cutlets, Gyros, Chicken Skewers

Although the presentation could have been better, the meats were tender and quite tasty.

★★★☆☆

Galaktobouriko (custard in filo pastry), Baklava (filo pastry layered with nuts syrup) and Seasonal Fruit

★★★☆☆

Overall:

Talk about being well fed! As delicious as everything was, we struggled getting through this seven-course banquet and ended up having to take some of it home. We dined with a Groupon voucher so the total was only $55 for 2 people, making this a bargain. The service was prompt and friendly, and the atmosphere warm and inviting.

Mesa Greek Cuisine

265 Johnston St, Abbotsford, VIC

(03) 9419 3388

http://www.mesagreekcuisine.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/

The Dough Collective

Shop G5 614 George St, Sydney NSW

Similar to Breadtop and Bonbons Bakery, the way this place works is that you walk in, grab a tray, grab a pair of tongs and then select whatever your stomach desires from within the glass cabinets and from the shelves.

The difference with The Dough Collective is that they create their dough from scratch and offer a unique variety of freshly baked goods. There were buns that contained black glutinous rice, rolls that contained brown sugar mochi, baguettes that contained fish roe and wasabi, and toast that contained Belgian chocolate and red wine. You can even try before you buy as this place offers plenty of samples!

I seriously wanted to try one of everything…

However I finally decided on: Gangnam Crown (Korean kimchi, cream cheese, condensed milk), Multi-grain lychee roll (dried lychee, walnuts, almond slices, black and white sesame, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, rum), Tea bread (walnuts, raisins, malt, earl grey), Chocolate surprise (Belgian chocolate chips)

If only there was a store in Melbourne…

Pumpkin Bread

Recipe from: Simply Recipes

Overall:

Soft, fluffy, moist and delicious! An easy way to use up leftover roasted pumpkin. (Note that I omitted the walnuts and allspice from the recipe as I didn’t have any in the house).

Lake House

4 King St, Daylesford 5348 3329

Olive crisps, churros and olive aioli

Tuna sashimi, sea lettuce, buckwheat, avocado, bonito aioli, nori, mojama

Freshly baked grain roll, flaxseed crisps, white bread rolls

Eel, pancetta, beets

Mt Mercer pork, fermented pickles

XO braised pastured beef, grilled bug

Brioche french toast, Holy Goat cheese, poached pear

Lollipop

(lemon curd covered with Italian meringue)

Chocolate mousse, raspberry sorbet, fresh raspberries

White chocolate and cranberry squares with almond biscuits

Overall:

A trip to Daylesford is never complete for me unless I dine at this outstanding restaurant. Situated upon Lake Daylesford, this place offers impressive views of both the lake and of surrounding wildlife (which includes a local kookaburra family who fly in everyday to be fed). The decor here is absolutely beautiful and service is very professional. The menus are altered twice each season to ensure the usage of the best available produce. We chose to get the Summer Tasting Degustation and found every single dish to be superb with all the fresh ingredients and amazing flavours. Definitely worth a visit the next time you are in Daylesford!

Marquee Restaurant

445 Toorak Rd, Toorak 9827 7938

Selection of breads accompanied with three house made dips

Mini wagyu burgers

Crunchy saffron arancini served with aioli

Braised lamb ribs served with sweet sticky sauce

Flash fried baby calamari

Grilled halloumi and chicken marinated in herbs

Thoughts:

Breads and dips – the ‘selection’ of breads comprised of sliced white bread and sliced wholemeal bread. These were cut up into primary school reminiscent triangles that were completely toasted so that they resembled slices of hard crusty croutons. I have never seen a restaurant serve sliced sandwich bread with dips before and found this to be quite bizarre and disappointing. The three dips that accompanied the bread were beetroot and sour cream, hommus and sun dried tomato. The amount of dip provided was certainly not generous and did not taste house made at all = Bad

Mini wagyu burgers – uninspiring wagyu patty served in a tough dry brioche bun messily thrown together with lettuce, tomato, relish, gruyere cheese and quails egg = Not bad

Crunchy saffron arancini – rather than being crunchy, these were stuck in your teeth chewy. I’m not sure how much (or if any) saffron went into these arancini balls but the only thing that I could taste was cheese = Bad

Braised lamb ribs – dry crispy ribs that came with a sparing but sweet sauce = Not bad

Flash fried baby calamari – the calamari was dusted with undistinguishable wasabi and was served with a side salad of pickled carrot and cucumber = Not bad

Grilled halloumi and chicken = reminded me of Nando’s lemon and herb chicken, but with haloumi melted onto the chicken = Not bad

Overall:

What happened Marquee? When I first visited years ago, this elegant restaurant served mouthwateringly delicious food. The menu used to be vast and interesting, and their mini wagyu burgers were unbelievably amazing, (one of the best that I have ever had) but not anymore. The quality of food here has definitely gone downhill and the menu is now limited to tapas. The restaurant itself is divided into two sections: a casual front section that is covered by gorgeous cream drapes that resemble a marquee (hence the name), and a stylish back dining section filled with dark leather seating and black timber furnishings. Although the dining area was fancy and relaxing, the atmosphere was unfortunately ruined by the out of place dance music that they had playing all night. Although the service is fast and friendly, I am sad to say that I don’t think I will ever venture here again.

Spilt Milk

288 Neerim Road, Carnegie 9571 8880

Donkey

Cow

Thoughts:

Donkey – overcooked poached egg, bacon (not the crispy kind) and fresh spinach on sourdough, served with spiced capsicum aioli = Not bad

Cow: baked eggs with fatty chorizo sausage, plenty of fetta and herbs served in a pan, with chewy light rye bread and sweet tomato relish on the side = Not bad

Overall:

The menu here is fun and unique as all of their dishes have been named after various animals. Portions however are quite small, as is the place, thus seating is limited. The staff are friendly and the atmosphere is cosy. Just note that there is no restroom here but they are in the process of installing one.