Peanut butter

Devon Cafe

Eggs Blini

(buckwheat blini, citrus cured salmon, asparagus, chives, salmon caviar, maltaise sauce)

★★★☆☆

Breakfast with the Sakumas’s

(miso grilled king salmon, smoked eel croquette, 63° egg, radish petit salad, kewpie mayonnaise)

★★★★☆

Lost In Devonshire

(Devon’s style French toast, peanut butter, raspberry jelly, vanilla cream, chantilly, peanut butter cookies, freeze dried strawberry and maple ice cream)

★★★☆☆

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Ruby Heart Berry

(juniper berry, rosehip, hibiscus flowers)

★★★★☆

Overall:

Good service, nicely presented food, normal looking cafe in the front area, odd army-like decor and graffitied walls in the back area.

Devon Cafe

76 Devonshire St, Surry Hills, NSW

(02) 9211 8777

http://www.devoncafe.com.au

Reindeer Cookies

Ingredients:

3/4 cup peanut butter
1 1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup butter (room temperature)
4 tablespoons milk
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 egg
1 3/4 cup plain flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
Pretzels
M&M’s (I used brown milk chocolate M&M’s for the eyes and red crispy M&M’s for the noses, but any colour/type is fine)

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 180°C.

2. Combine brown sugar, peanut butter, butter, milk, and vanilla in a large bowl. Add egg and mix.

3. In a separate bowl combine flour, baking soda, and salt. Add to creamed mixture and mix just until blended.

4. Form dough into 3cm balls. To make reindeer-shaped cookies, pinch the bottom of the ball slightly to form a point, then gently flatten with your hand.

5. Place cookies on a greased tray and gently press pretzels onto each cookie.

6. Bake for 7-8 minutes or until cookies begin to brown.

7. Remove from the oven and IMMEDIATELY (and gently) press M&Ms in for the eyes and an M&M for the nose.

Overall:

How cute are these cookies? They are slightly crumbly, not overly sweet, have a wonderful peanut butter flavour, and are simply perfect for Christmas.

Miam Miam Restaurant

Chadstone Shopping Centre, 1341 Dandenong Rd, Chadstone 9569 4499

Iced matcha latte with matcha softee

Peanut butter and banana milkshake

Lobster bisque pasta

Mac and cheese

Famous French toast

Vanilla souffle

Thoughts:

Iced matcha latte with matcha softee – milky green tea latte that contained lots of ice, topped with a swirl of green tea soft serve = Not bad

Peanut butter and banana milkshake – thick, sweet, had small chunks of peanut added to it which gave the milkshake an interesting crunch = Not bad

Lobster bisque pasta – the soup base tasted purely of prawns (I did not detect any lobster), the pasta was well cooked and the dish was topped with parmesan cheese and a grilled tiger prawn = Not bad

Mac and cheese – strong cheese aroma, had a nice crunchy top from the Japanese breadcrumbs = Good

Famous French toast – thick slices of delicious classic French toast served with a dollop of cream and a small jar of maple syrup on the side (which is fabulous because it lets you control how sweet you want your dish to be) = Excellent

Vanilla souffle – reminiscent of Asian sponge cake, this souffle was light yet a little bit wet and distinctively eggy. I also managed to taste a bit of salt with every second or third bite = Not bad

Overall:

This French-Japanese restaurant is one of those places that has such an intriguing menu that it makes choosing what you want quite a difficult task. The atmosphere is very casual and the decor somehow reminded me of a country farm house (red bricks, wood chip walls, white window shutters, simple wooden tables and chairs). The service was friendly however the arrival of our food was very staggered. Hopefully that won’t be the case the next time I dine here (as there are still other dishes that I want to try).

Bowery to Williamsburg

16 Oliver Lane, Melbourne 9077 0162

Peanut Butter Hot Chocolate

Pastrami Hash

Thoughts:

Peanut Butter Hot Chocolate – a terrific blend of peanut butter and chocolate. It even comes with a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup! = Good

Pastrami Hash – 2 poached eggs with sweet potato, pastrami, corn and red pepper hash and wholemeal bread = Not Bad

Overall:

Tucked away in a small cobblestone lane, this place serves up American inspired food that ranges from bagels to mac and cheese. This place is quite small so seating can be an issue during busy periods. The breakfast menu comes on a postcard so you can imagine that the options here are quite limited. Service was average as was the food. If I ever decide to come here again, I think it’ll just be for drinks. Note that this place is cash only.