Mushrooms

Aunt Billies Cafe

Backyard Brekkie

(eggs anyway, garlic and thyme mushrooms, pumpkin, haloumi, kale, bean ragout)

Hearty and satisfying.

★★★★☆

Billie’s Bowl

(cauliflower, freekah, kale, avocado, seeds, almonds, grains, currants, poached egg)

A substantial salad that could have been improved with a wider variety of textures.

★★☆☆☆

Roasted Mushrooms

(mushrooms, kale, toasted hazelnuts, goats fetta, lemon, and a poached egg on grain toast)

★★★☆☆

Overall:

Solid dishes, down to earth staff, welcoming and cheery atmosphere. No wonder this little suburban cafe was packed when we went. Note that this place takes bookings.

Aunt Billies Cafe

184 Surrey Rd, Blackburn, VIC

(03) 9894 7774

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.

O.My

23 Woods St, Beaconsfield 9769 9000

House-made bread with cultured butter

Fabulously soft bread, and the cultured butter was absolutely delicious as it had a noticeably fresh, tangy and of course buttery flavour

= Good

Pastrami cured salmon in pork broth with radish and watercress

Fresh salmon, fantastic pork broth

= Good

2.5 hour roasted cauliflower, leek, red wine gel, fresh grapes

Cauliflower is one of my least favourite vegetables but this dish was seriously amazing.

= Excellent

Homegrown leaves, King Prawns, King Prawn powder

The King Prawn powder was rather salty and overpowering so only a tiny bit was needed and the rest just got pushed to the side

= Good

Dehydrated and powdered mushrooms, dehydrated jerusalem artichoke

= Excellent

Pork, dehydrated carrot, parsnip puree, oats, jam

= Not bad

Honeycomb, caramel, Italian merigue, crème fraîche, sticky date

= Not bad

Buttermilk gel, buttermilk foam, coffee gel, honeycomb, chocolate mousse tart, chocolate sorbet, sweet potato gel, dehydrated sweet potato, fresh grape

An odd assortment of items that tasted fine on their own but not so fine once they were combined together

= Not bad

Overall:

Three brothers (Tyson, Blayne and Chayse Bertoncello) own and run this family business, and it is a business that they should definitely be proud of. The food here was innovating (we noticed that the chef had a fondness for food that was dehydrated, in powder form and in gel form) and was genuinely fresh. The menu here constantly changes according to produce that is in season and the produce that they use is locally grown. They even use herbs and vegetables that they grow organically themselves! After our meal one of the Bertoncello brothers (not sure which) enthusiastically showed us the beautiful garden that they have out the back. He informed us that this was one of many gardens that they owned and that the plan is to get a beehive and possibly some chickens (for fresh eggs) some time in the future. He also mentioned that during the warmer seasons they have a few tables available in the garden so that diners are able to enjoy their meal amongst the greenery.

Throughout the night service was fantastic however the ambience was somewhat dark and moody. The intimate dining area (which seats no more than 30 people) was predominately black, and the artwork here can best be described as eccentric (particularly this one painting of a pig that had bright red blood seeping from its gouged eye). Note that O.My also have a private dining room at the back that can seat 10 or so people, and that they are closed on Mondays and Tuesdays.