Coffee

Lawyers, Guns and Money

Chicken Congee, Ginger and Spring Onion

★★★☆☆

Crispy Wonton Skins, Masterstock Egg and Century Egg

★★☆☆☆

Fish Fragrant Eggplant

Spicier than expected and had a distinct fish sauce flavour.

★★★☆☆

Trung Nguyen Black Coffee with Condensed Milk

★★★☆☆

Ceylon Tea with Condensed Milk

★★★☆☆

Overall:

Whenever I travel to South East Asia I often have Hawker style congee for breakfast, so I love the idea of having more places like this available in Melbourne. That being said, I couldn’t help but compare the quality and quantity of congee at this place to that from overseas. The chicken congee here was $12 for a relatively small bowl and while it was warm and comforting, it wasn’t anything spectacular. So although Lawyers, Guns and Money provides something that is out of the ordinary, I think I’ll stick to ordering congee while I’m overseas (or making it myself at home).

Lawyers, Guns and Money

505 Little Collins St, Melbourne, VIC

(03) 9614 5989

http://lgmmelbourne.com/

Axil Coffee Roasters

Red velvet pancakes with cream cheese ganache, raspberries and black sesame ice cream

A must try for all those with a sweet tooth! These glorious pancakes had fluffy centres and crispy edges, and were almost cake-like. The cream cheese ganache and black sesame ice cream were delicious accompaniments, while the raspberries provided some lovely tartness to this overall sweet dish.

★★★★☆

Beechwood smoked duck breast with fennel, blood orange, pistachio and vincotta

Well cooked duck breast served with a fresh zesty salad.

★★★☆☆

Overall:

An excellent place to head to for good food, friendly service, and of course quality coffee.

Axil Coffee Roasters

322 Burwood Rd, Hawthorn, VIC

(03) 9819 0091

Home

Journeyman

Latte

Aromatic, noticeably milky.

★★★☆☆

Almond and cornflake crispy chicken with red cabbage slaw, coriander, lime, corn and tomato salsa on a brioche bun

Talk about a good burger! The chicken was satisfyingly crunchy and the slaw was delicious. Plus it was decently sized and very filling. I can totally picture myself ordering this again.

★★★★☆

Pulled pork benedict with poached eggs, cider vinegar hollandaise, apple and spinach

Everything was tasty except for the hollandaise sauce. It was more like a butter sauce. It was so overpoweringly buttery that I had to scrape it all to one side in order to taste the rest of the dish.

★★★☆☆

Overall:

Previously known as Dukes Coffee Roasters, Journeyman was renamed in 2014 to separate the cafe from their coffee roasting business. The menu as well as the decor have pretty much remained the same, and service was efficient. So give this place a go if you are after great coffee and/or a great chicken burger.

Journeyman

169 Chapel St, Windsor

9521 4884

http://www.journeymancafe.com.au/

Moroccan Soup Bar

Hummus, yoghurt, olives, potatoes, eggplant and pickled carrots served with flatbread

Roasted eggplant, yogurt, rice, almonds

Tomato rice, yogurt, eggplant, salad, almonds

Rice and vegetables (cannot remember what this was exactly)

Chickpea bake (sumac, almonds, yoghurt, chickpeas, crunchy pita crisps)

Stewed pumpkin

Rice and salad (cannot remember what this was exactly)

Turmeric rice, lentils

7 Vegetables with couscous

Fried doughnuts, coconut date balls, pistachio baklava

Mint tea

Black coffee

Overall:

Whenever I used to think about Moroccan Soup Bar, I always thought about their chickpea bake. I had it for the first time a few years ago and I remember being blown away by how deliciously crunchy and creamy it was. I was seriously looking forward to sampling it again. The first thing I noticed about the chickpea bake this time around was was how oily it was. A lot of oil pooled on top of the yogurt and the pita crisps were also quite oily. I could only eat so much before I had to stop. Don’t get me wrong it’s still a nice dish, but I definitely did not enjoy it as much as I did previously.

A verbal menu is used here and this usually results in people choosing the easiest option which is a banquet. A $23 banquet includes dips, mains, dessert and coffee while a $28 banquet includes starters, dips, mains, dessert and coffee. We chose the $28 banquet which offered a good variety of dishes that were average to good, as well as extremely sweet desserts. The mint tea served reminded me of toothpaste while the coffee was nice and strong.

Service was average and the atmosphere was pleasant and homely. A few things to note: this place is closed on Mondays, bookings can only be made for 6 or more, and you need to bring your own containers if you order takeaway.

Moroccan Soup Bar

183 St Georges Rd, Fitzroy North, VIC

(03) 9482 4240

http://www.moroccansoupbar.com.au/

Dex2rose Nitrogen Gelato

I love the theatrics involved with liquid nitrogen gelato. No matter how many times I see it, I still find it incredibly cool. (haha get it?) Once liquid nitrogen is added to a gelato mix, freezing occurs almost instantly resulting in tiny ice crystals and gelato that is deliciously smooth and creamy.

Dex2rose Nitrogen Gelato offer eight different flavours at any one time, with flavours changing every 2-3 weeks.

After Ate

(milk chocolate gelato infused with peppermint oil and churned with crunchy brownie chunks, topped with fresh vanilla cream)

I was hooked after the first bite! Incredibly smooth and chocolatey with a hint of fresh peppermint.

★★★★☆

W.I.T.S

(watermelon iced tea sorbet made from fresh watermelons, limes, mint leaves and brewed tea)

Fruity and extremely refreshing.

★★★★☆

Lazy Dinner

(sage, burnt butter and caramel gelato, topped with sticky caramel sauce)

Sweet and buttery with a subtle aroma of sage. However after a little while this flavour became too rich and heavy for me.

★★☆☆☆

Pink Flamingo

(peach and rose moscato sorbet, topped with rosewater coconut cream)

Amazing sorbet! But the combination of peach and rose moscato with the coconut cream was a bit odd for my liking.

★★★☆☆

Cold Pressed Juice (rock melon, mango, granny smith, royal gala)

Juices here are pressed in store daily with seasonal fruits so flavours are constantly changing. Cold pressed juice apparently retains more flavour, nutrients and enzymes compared to traditional juice. In any case the juice I sampled was very fresh and very tasty.

★★★★☆

Cold Brewed Coffee

Containing up to 67% less acidity than hot brewed coffee, cold brewed coffee is naturally sweeter, more intense and has less of a bitter aftertaste.

★★★☆☆

Overall:

Located down a small CBD laneway, Dex2rose Nitrogen Gelato is without a doubt a place worth visiting. A lot of testing, tasting and sourcing of quality ingredients is involved with every gelato flavour produced here. It was obvious to me that owners Jesse and Wei Ming are extremely passionate about their jobs. In fact Jesse informed me that he wanted every single person leaving the place to feel happier compared to when they walked in. And this is easily the case considering how amazing their gelato/juice/coffee is and how friendly the staff are. I really liked the space and the layout of this place as it felt like a nice spacious cafe that you could sit down and relax in. What I also liked about this place is how the team here are environmentally conscious and only use reusable bottles for their beverages. (Bottles can also be purchased if you really like them). Note that fresh pastries will soon be available here so that is something to look out for.

*Disclaimer: I dined as a guest of Dex2rose Nitrogen Gelato.

Dex2rose Nitrogen Gelato

377 Little Bourke St, Melbourne , VIC

(03) 9078 0784

Home

A La Folie

Raspberry vanilla macaron

Praline petits choux, Rose delight macaron, White peach and blood peach petits choux, Salted caramel macaron

Chai latte & Soy latte

Overall:

A delightful French patisserie that specialises in macarons and petits choux. The macarons were good however the petits choux were simply marvellous. Light and delicate choux pastry filled with delicious crème patissière and topped with a colourful fondant. My favourite was the praline petits choux. Unfortunately the drinks we had were very watery so I suggest that you stick to the pastries. Definitely try one of their petits choux the next time you are on Chapel St.

A La Folie 2

A La Folie

589 Chapel St, South Yarra, VIC

(03) 9827 3337

http://www.alafolie.com.au/

*Disclaimer: I was invited as a guest of A La Folie.

Demitri’s Feast

European style thick hot chocolate

Thick and decadent without being overly sweet.

★★★★☆

Latte

Strong and aromatic.

★★★☆☆

Ouzo Cured Salmon with dill, crème fraiche, spinach & poached free range eggs

Well poached eggs, tasty salmon, however the bread was extremely hard and difficult to cut through.

★★☆☆☆

Maria’s Eggs Saganaki with confit cherry tomato sauce, basil, feta & chilli

Slightly sharp sauce but otherwise a nice dish.

★★☆☆☆

Baklava French Toast with walnut praline, sweet yoghurt & orange blossom syrup

Fantastic! I would have rated this as 5 stars however towards the end, the taste of egg took over this dish.

★★★★☆

Overall:

Relaxed atmosphere, good service, and an exciting Greek inspired menu. Note that this place does not take bookings.

Demitri’s Feast

141 Swan St, Richmond, VIC

(03) 9428 8659

http://www.demitrisfeast.com.au/

Einstein’s 251

251 Hawthorn Rd, Caulfield North 9939 5135

The water comes in a conical flask (!)

Soy Hot Chocolate

Latte

Brazilian Super Smoothie

Mumma’s Latkes

Kaz’s Japanese Teriyaki Burger

Egyptian Brekky

Braised Eggs

Thoughts:

Soy Hot Chocolate – not too rich, not too watery = Not bad

Latte – weak and tasted slightly burnt = Not bad

Brazilian Super Smoothie – THICK blend of acai berries, banana, granola, apple juice, yogurt, topped with coconut. This smoothie was almost a meal in itself = Good

Mumma’s Latkes – thin crispy potato and spring onion latkes served with smoked salmon, a poached egg, radish slithers and a horseradish sour cream = Good

Kaz’s Japanese Teriyaki Burger – wagyu beef burger with teriyaki aioli, tomato and lettuce on a challah roll, served with wasabi aioli drizzled crispy sweet potato = Not bad

Egyptian Brekky – baked eggs with eggplant, spinach, beetroot relish, feta, dukkah and green tahini. Best to get this dish with the spiced lamb otherwise it is quite ordinary = Not bad

Braised Eggs – baked eggs in a sour middle eastern tomato sauce, onion, capsicum, crispy zaatar mushrooms and goats cheese served with toasted seeded sourdough = Not bad

Overall:

If only the food here was as good as the decor.

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.

Stokers Coffee Lounge

1033 Heidelberg Rd, Ivanhoe 9497 4488

Raspberry and white chocolate pancakes

(All the pancakes here look pretty much the same hence the one photo)

Overall:

The pancakes themselves were quite thin (almost crepe-like), made fresh to order and had a variety of fillings available (both savoury and sweet). The atmosphere was dim and cozy with wooden tables and benches scattered around, an old wooden upright piano sitting in a corner waiting to be played and an open fireplace in the middle of the room. Although the food and the service here is average, this place is open until 2am (except on Sundays when it is until midnight), making it a great place for a late night nibble.