Cucumber

Laurie Dee’s

Chili Cheese Fries

(fries topped with mild beef chili, cheese sauce and diced onions)

★★★★☆

Chicago Dog

(tomatoes, pickles, diced onions, relish, cucumber, mustard and celery salt on a butter toasted bun)

★★★☆☆

The Laurie Dee

(minced patty, caramelised onions, melted cheddar, special D’sauce, tomato, lettuce, diced pickles, relish)

★★★☆☆

Strawberry Shortcake Sundae

(vanilla custard with a base of shortbread crumbles, topped with real strawberry sauce, coconut flakes and whipped cream)

★★★★☆

Overall:

So the way it works at Laurie Dee’s is that you order and pay at the counter, receive a ticket number, and collect your food on a tray once your number is called out. The place wasn’t full at the time and we waited around 15-20 minutes for our number to be called out. As for the food, it was simple, greasy, and somewhat messily thrown together. There was almost a fast food quality about everything so as long as you know that this is what you are in for, you won’t be disappointed.

Laurie Dee’s

Epping Plaza Shopping Centre, 571-583 High St, Epping, VIC

(03) 9408 0196

http://www.lauriedees.com.au/

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

http://threewilliamscafe.com/

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/

Red Spice Road

Chiang Mai pork relish with cassava crackers

This relish had such fantastic punch! A harmonious blend of sour, sweet, salty and spicy flavours made this pork relish very Thai and very delicious.

★★★★☆

Tamarind chilli chicken with red peppers and green onion

Sweet, sticky, spicy, standard.

★★☆☆☆

Pork belly, chilli caramel, apple slaw, black vinegar

Just as amazing as everyone says it is! The pork was melt-in-your-mouth tender and had a marvellous crispy skin, while the vinegar balanced out the sweetness of the chilli caramel sauce.

★★★★★

Barramundi, watermelon, cucumber, hot mint, chilli and coriander salad

I liked this salad except for all the soggy pieces of fried fish. If only the fish had been served on top of the salad rather than tossed into it.

★★★☆☆

Overall:

We ordered the $29.50 per person Express Lunch Banquet which included an appetiser, 3 mains and steamed rice. The servings were surprisingly generous making this banquet option fantastic value for money. Although I’m not the biggest fan of their circular communal tables, I do like the atmosphere and I would definitely come back for the pork belly!

Red Spice Road

27 McKillop St, Melbourne, VIC

(03) 9603 1601

http://redspiceroad.com/

The Black Toro

Coconut Kingfish Ceviche – young coconut, tomato, cucumber, chilli

This basically tasted like an amazing curry dish – fresh and creamy, with a bit of heat from the chilli.

★★★★☆

Grilled Corn On The Cob – chipotle mayo, ground masa, lime

I love grilled corn and whenever I see it on a menu somewhere, I always order it and then compare it to the corn here at The Black Toro. It’s been years since I’ve had this and after my first bite I felt super ecstatic as the corn was still as incredible as I remembered it to be.

★★★★★

Spicy Pulled Pork Tacos – soft corn tortilla, sriracha mayo, cabbage slaw

These were some tasty tacos and I really appreciated how they were served on a warm plate so that the tortillas would remain soft and warm for longer.

★★★★☆

Salmon Tartare – avocado puree, radish, toasted black sesame, puffed rice chicharon

The salmon needed a bit more seasoning otherwise this was a light and enjoyable dish.

★★★☆☆

Crispy Pork Hock – masterstock braised pork, guajilo chilli caramel, green apple salsa verde, butter lettuce

Sticky, sweet, and full of flavour. I made such a mess wrapping my pork up but it was totally worth it.

★★★★☆

Dessert Tasting Plate

Can’t pick a dessert? Why not try everything!

★★★★☆

Passionfruit Tart – berries, toasted meringue, mint

Beautifully presented with a lovely balance of sweetness and tartness. Meanwhile the combination of the smooth filling, the fresh fruit and the dehydrated fruit provided delightful texture variation.

Deconstructed Peanut Butter Cheesecake – chocolate ice cream, peanut butter ice cream, honeycomb

Best eaten with a little bit of everything on your spoon, as the peanut butter was extremely rich on its own.

Chocolate Brownie – salted caramel, popcorn, vanilla ice cream

These brownies were phenomenal – extremely smooth and highly decadent. They tasted amazing on their own, and the other additions were merely added bonuses.

Arroz Con Leche – coconut rice pudding, saffron spiced pear, cinnamon, walnut

Creamy and satisfying.

Overall:

Always a great experience. The food, service and ambience is brilliant, and the grilled corn is still my absolute favourite in Melbourne!

The Black Toro

79 Kingsway, Glen Waverley, VIC

(03) 9561 9696

http://theblacktoro.com.au/

Le Miel Et La Lune

House made grilled cured salmon – served with yuzu cucumber, salad, red onion, strawberries, blueberries, poached egg and toasted mulitgrain bread

Apart from the overly sweet salad, I really enjoyed this dish. The salmon was well cooked and the egg perfectly poached.

★★★☆☆

Pork belly potato hash – potato hash, sliced pork belly, enoki, shimeji mushrooms, capsicum, poached egg, creamy sesame sauce

Drowning in creamy sauce, this ordinary dish was extremely heavy and difficult to finish.

★★☆☆☆

Lamb burger – tzatziki, beetroot relish and cheddar cheese served with chips

Average burger, bland chips.

★★☆☆☆

Iced Hummingbird chai latte

★★☆☆☆

Overall:

Korean fusion at a place with a French name. Although the service was good, the food was sadly nothing out of the ordinary.

Le Miel Et La Lune

330 Cardigan St, Carlton, VIC

(03) 9043 9767

http://www.lemiel.com.au/

45 Degrees

Vietnamese Pork Pizza

(five-spice pork, spanish onion, roasted red capsicum, fresh herbs, pickled carrots, cucumber, sliced chilli, aioli)

Vietnamese-Italian fusion that actually worked!

★★★★☆

Prawn Pizza

(garlic prawns, mixed olives, capers, green capsicum, feta, rocket, chipotle ketchup)

Great toppings. If only they weren’t spread out so far apart. I’d have one bite and it would be purely feta, then the next bite would be purely prawn, etc, etc.

★★★☆☆

Peruvian Chicken Pizza

(Peruvian chicken, sliced green capsicum, roasted red capsicum, corn, jalapeños, black beans, coriander, guacamole, Bloody Mary aioli)

It was like eating a delicious taco, except in the form of a pizza.

★★★★☆

Beef Cheek Pizza

(12 hour slow cook smoked beef cheek. mushroom, caramelized onion, candied pecans, fresh herbs, chimichurri aioli)

The centre was slightly soggy however the ample beef cheek was incredibly tender and its combination with the other toppings made this a very enjoyable pizza.

★★★★☆

Multigrain Garlic Bread

The bread was a bit tough, and a bit more butter would have been nice.

★★☆☆☆

Popcorn Chicken

Although over fried, the chicken was still tender and well seasoned.

★★★☆☆

Brioche Doughnuts

These doughnuts were AMAZING! They came out freshly fried so were crispy on the outside, and light and fluffy on the inside. There are two varieties available: Nutella doughnuts and Hot Jam doughnuts. Both were delicious but it was the Nutella doughnuts that made me go wow! Best Nutella brioche doughnut I’ve ever had.

★★★★★

Overall:

Fantastic innovative pizzas, funky urban atmosphere, quick and friendly service, and of course amazing brioche doughnuts! There are still so many items I want to try from their menu (eg. the Korean fried chicken pizza) so I must visit again soon.

45 Degrees

33 Bridge Rd, Richmond, VIC

(03) 9429 5577

http://www.45pizza.com.au/

Mammoth

Lobster donut burger, green mango and papaya slaw, cucumber jam, siracha kimpi mayo, salt and pepper

Talk about popular! Everywhere I turned, someone had a lobster burger sitting in front of them. And for good reason. The lobster was sweet and light, while the slaw and the sauces were perfect accompaniments. The only thing that spoiled this burger for me though was the donut bun. There was a lot of sugar on the already sweet bun, and each bite kind of confused my taste buds. I have nothing against mixing sweet and savoury but this burger just didn’t do it for me. Give me brioche any day!

★★★☆☆

Potato and goats cheese gnocchi, tomato and mint sauce, black cumin yogurt

Soggy gnocchi, sharp-tasting sauce, small portion size.

★★☆☆☆

Golden Gaytime panna cotta, honey comb, sablé biscuit, chocolate covered popping candy

The panna cotta had set a little bit too firm however it still tasted terrific.

★★★☆☆

Chai latte

★★☆☆☆

Soy latte

★★★☆☆

Overall:

This bright friendly place attracts quite a crowd with their inventive menu, attentive service and good coffee. So avoid peak times or expect a bit of a wait.

Mammoth

736 Malvern Rd, Armadale, VIC

(03) 9824 5239

http://www.eatmammoth.com/

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.

Stokehouse City Restaurant

7 Alfred Pl, Melbourne 9525 5555

Spiced zucchini fritters, fetta, dukkah yoghurt

= Not bad

Twice cooked half duckling, cucumber, orange and chilli

= Not bad

Jerusalem artichoke & goats curd tortelloni, burnt butter, rosemary and sunflower seeds

= Not bad

Roasted pumpkin, goats cheese, olive & hazelnut crostata, cavolo nero puree and watercress

= Not bad

Overall:

We went to the downstairs “casual bar and eatery” and found the food, service and ambience all to be so-so. There is also an upstairs “fine dining restaurant” where the menu seems much more enticing than the menu offered downstairs (which isn’t surprising as the menu upstairs is crafted by The Age Good Food Guide’s 2014 Young Chef of the Year, Ollie Gould). So if I ever do come back, I’ll be sure to dine upstairs as opposed to downstairs.