Chill Gelato, Mt Martha by Bilby Blue

On an unseasonally warm and sunny Sunday in August, we had motored down to Mt Martha. Obviously a day at the beach requires a gelato hit before returning home, so we considered travelling back via Mornington’s Tutti Frutti. Then we spotted Chill Gelato…

Chill Gelato is in a rather unprepossessing small shop in Mt Martha village. Later investigation discovered that it also has an extremely light digital footprint. There were a couple of tables inside and the tables outside in the sunshine were rather pleasant on such a superb day. Chill is obviously popular, even on a winter Sunday afternoon – while we sat outside eating our gelato there was a constant stream of people ordering frozen treats.


The triple scoop - chocolate, blood orange and coconut

Shimbu, Brunswick East (by invitation) by Obelix

Tibetan food is a new thing for me.  I've pretty much tried all the cuisines from the neighbouring countries:  Nepalese, Indian, Burmese to name a few, so it was with much eagerness we descended on Shimbu, a restaurant and bar owned by Tenzin and his family.  Shimbu in Tibetan means delicious as well as highly pleasing to the senses.  It is an apt name for this family run restaurant.  Much love and care has been poured into it's establishment.  Tenzin and his father man the kitchen whilst his mum and daughter take care of the front of house with warm Tibetan hospitality.

Food-wise, Shimbu does traditional Tibetan fare as well as modern takes on the traditional such as pork belly tacos (yum!) but I'm here to experience traditional Tibetan fare so I've earmarked the modern interpretations for my next visit (forward planning is my forte!).


Good ole traditional Tibetan fare...

The Burger Project, Melbourne CBD by Benny

Having recently indulged in a few really good burgers (from Burger Block, Three One 2 One and billies) my interest was instantly piqued when I read that no less a luminary than Neil Perry (of Rockpool fame) had opened a burger bar in Melbourne. Folklore has it that Burger Project is a spinoff based on the popularity of the Rockpool wagyu burger, but while Rockpool may be able to charge $22 for a burger, a burger bar cannot – even if it’s located in the rather stylish environs of The Aviary, a self-styled ‘collection of restaurants offering a unique Melbourne dining experience’ on the top floor of Melbourne’s latest upmarket retail destination, St. Collins Lane.

The Aussie

East, Mt Martha by Bilby Blue

It had all started so well. On a gorgeous sunny winter’s day three of us – Benny, Broadhands and I – had motored down to the Mornington Peninsula in search of a special lunch. Beautiful location with bay views, tick. A table available in a stylish contemporary setting, tick. An innovative menu that celebrated fresh local produce, tick.

So we had very high hopes for East. But then, one by one, the wheels started falling off.

Yes, we totally get that an extraordinary level of creativity and skill is needed to produce high calibre dishes. And that delivering the dining experience is incredibly hard work. But there are other aspects that are essential for the diners’ enjoyment and in this respect East just kept missing the mark.


Sweet potato

Melba, Southbank by Bureaucrat

If you want to impress your date/in-laws/partner, then treat them to a seafood buffet dinner at Melba - the in-house restaurant at Langham Hotel in Southbank.  Over the years, I've been to Melba for their gorgeous buffet, but it had been over five years since my last visit. There's seafood on offer on most nights but on Tuesday nights, there's the king of seafood available: lobster!


All-you-can-eat grilled lobster with garlic and cream sauce

To ensure that the lobster is cooked to perfection (and to also minimise wastage), the lobster (along with certain 'premium' dishes, such as the Peking duck) are served to you by the staff - that is, you're not going to get away with loading up your plate with a mound of lobster.  Having said that, they are generous - with each serve, you're guaranteed two big juicy, meaty pieces of lobster.  Further, you're more than welcome to go back for seconds, thirds and fourths, if you so wish.  I had one serve of lobster (see above pic), which was absolutely lovely.  Fresh, sweet, meaty lobster.  I loved the car-grilled flavour and the delicate sauce.

Celadon, Kuala Lumpur by Bilby Blue

Thai food is very popular in Malaysia and I have found that it is often every bit as good as you would expect in Thailand. On a recent trip to KL I checked out Celadon, on the top floor of the Pavilion shopping mall in the Bukit Bintang district.

Dining opportunities are everywhere in KL, ranging from amazing street food right through to fine dining in posh hotels. However for a solo female traveller KL shopping malls are very attractive – the food is generally of a good standard and transport is readily available. Not to mention all the shops…

Pad thai goong

Mrs D’Ebro’s High Tea at InterContinental Melbourne, Melbourne CBD (by invitation) by Benny

‘High Tea’ has always evoked a feeling of decadence for me – more a social outing than a meal; a celebratory extravagance of times past. So I was surprised to learn that it actually started out in the mid 1700s as a no-nonsense working man’s meal served about 3pm, consumed standing up or sitting on tall stools, thus ‘high’. The afternoon extravagance that we now know as High Tea is likely an amalgam of that working man’s meal and the leisure classes’ Afternoon Tea, which was more a social event with tea (tea then being hugely expensive) and light snacks.


Irrespective of the history, Bilby Blue and I were delighted to be invited to a modern High Tea at the heritage-listed Intercontinental Melbourne – The Rialto. The Intercontinental provides the perfect setting for an indulgent social event from centuries past: it is housed in a beautiful reinvention of two heritage listed buildings from the 1890s – the Wool Exchange and the Rialto Building, both products of the post-gold rush era when Melbourne was the richest city in the world. You enter directly over the bluestone cobbled laneway that runs between the buildings, now transformed into a stunning multistorey atrium that bathes the hotel interior in natural light. The décor is as refined as you would expect from an international class hotel, and the Market Lane Bar (at street level, just inside the Wool Exchange) is a comfortable modern bar. Tables are laid with cloth napery, white crockery and fine, old-fashioned tea cups with a pastel pearlescent glaze.

Runya’s Room, Melbourne CBD (by invitation) by Ruby Grapefruit

Runya’s Room café and tea room is a new establishment located in the St Collins Lane retail mall. I was invited to sample their high tea which included a selection of savoury and sweet bites with a distinctly Middle-Eastern twist.

This is the lovely three tiered cake stand that the high tea is presented on.

The Resident, Ashburton by Bureaucrat

The Resident is one of the more trendy new cafes popping up along High Street, Ashburton.  Having loved the food at Two Seeds (a few doors down from The Resident), I had high hopes for The Resident, which is situated near the bridge across Ashburton train station.

With high-gloss white walls, geometric tiling, pops of colour from the furniture and an enticing display of baked goodies, The Resident was primed to be a contender of 'favourite cafe' for me.  However, when the food arrived, it was clear to us that all that glitters is not gold.

Obelix had a choose-your-own breakfast dish, comprising of toasted sourdough bread, poached eggs, wilted spinach, pan fried mushrooms and topped with snow pea shoots.  She wasn't too impressed with it - as you could see in the pic, the pea shoots looked decidedly limp and she reported that the spinach was not washed properly as it was rather gritty.  

The Canteen By Chef Adu, Kuala Lumpur by Bilby Blue

A truly serendipitous discovery on my recent visit to KL was that the onsite café at the National Textile Museum is now part of Chef Adu’s empire. My planned visit to the museum turned into an excellent opportunity to try some (hopefully) amazing Malaysian food. And I was not disappointed!

Mee Bandung

Pepper Lunch, Hawthorn (by invitation) by Bilby Blue

It was a cold winter’s night and Benny and I had been invited to Pepper Lunch in Glenferrie Road, Hawthorn. Founded in 1994 in Japan, Pepper Lunch now has over 200 outlets across Asia, as well as two in Melbourne (the other is in the CBD - see Bureaucrat's review) and outlets in Sydney, Canberra, Adelaide and Perth.

DIY teppanyaki steak

Probably best described as a do-it-yourself teppanyaki, your food comes to the table on a patented single-serve sizzle plate. The plate has been heated to a blistering 260°C (according to Pepper Lunch it only takes an awesomely short 70 seconds). You swizzle the food around on the plate using a spoon or chopsticks as it cooks, adding sauces to taste. For those unsure as to the technique, a video was playing in the background showing exactly how to cook the dish.

Mamaduke, Caulfield by Obelix

Got to love serendipity! I came across Australia's #1 Salmon Chef who was also ranked #2 Salmon Chef internationally at Mamaduke, a little cafe in Monash University, Caulfield campus. World Salmon Chef Championships?! Who knew? What's more astounding was that there were no signs or banners to state the fact such a salmon celebrity was residing there. We walked in to grab a quick bite and there was the usual display case of pre made foccacias, etc. I went for lunch expecting to eat a sandwich and I ended up dining on this magnificent fish dish prepared for the said accomplished chef.

Ta Da! - that's the award winning salmon dish...

Terraces Restaurant, Mainbeach (QLD) by Obelix

On our recent trip to the Gold Coast, we met up with some friends at Terraces Restaurant which is the buffet restaurant within the Sheraton Grand Mirage Resort. We were there eight years ago and recalled it to be very kid-friendly dining with the chef rushing off to cook a batch of hot chips when he saw toddler sized Kiddo troop in. So this time around, even though the kids we had with us were much older, we thought it would be a very civilised place to dine. 

Seafood abundance...

Vegie Mum, Doncaster East by Obelix

I can be a bit of pain to dine out with.  I generally steer towards pescatarian or vegetarian meals when out unless the providence of the animal can be vouched for.  So it was a relief to discover Vegie Mum and walk and know that I don't have to scrutinise the menu to choose amongst slim pickings.

I visited Vegie Mum on two separate occasions both to dine solo.  Each time I visited it was on a weekday and I was surprised to find largish tables (four or more diners) doing weekday lunch in a proper Lazy-Susan dining style, as in several communal dishes on the table being shared via a spin top table.  I was expecting solo lunch grabbers like myself but it was pleasant to see a dynamic atmosphere.


On the first occasion I had their fried rice with egg, vegetarian of course ($8.50).  The serve size was reassuringly massive and came with their house made chilli sauce.  The rice itself featured a nice medley of greens and shroom all chopped up to match the little grains of rice.  It had good 'wok hai' and I was pleased that Vegie Mum, one can take home leftovers in a doggy bag as I sure did.  It was enough for dinner as well!  Good cheap eats.

Limonetto Gelati, Docklands by Bilby Blue

Docklands in July. Everyone knows what that means. Cold, bleak and windy. At least it wasn’t raining. So why were we there? Benny and I were working through our itinerary for Open House Melbourne and had just disembarked from a cruise of the docks, courtesy of the Port of Melbourne Authority. And our obvious next step – given our seaside holiday mood – was to indulge in some gelati. Regardless of the chilly conditions.

Summertime dreaming...with mango and pistachio gelato

The Snag Stand, Broadbeach (QLD) by Obelix

The thing about gigantic metropolis type shopping centres like Pacific Fair is that the many eateries there compete for business. It's a good thing for the hungry consumer. Kiddo, P and I can probably get fed on samples alone that service staff hand out outside their restaurants in The Patio, one of the designated dining areas at Pacific Fair. The samples are meant to lure you into their honey pots. And tempted we were by samples of loaded fries from The Snag Stand.

Said loaded fries...

Yokoyama, Doncaster by Obelix

A girls' night out sans children is a rare and wonderous event and to properly mark the occasion, M, P and I decided to treat ourselves to some fine dining for us fine ladies.  M and P chose Yokoyama as being locals, they have dined there before and loved it for its authentic Japanese fare.  At the risk of sounding like "ladies who lunch", we all had some form of dietary preference or another e.g. lo-carb, pescatarian, etc, so going Japanese made sense.

Yokoyama is unassuming to look at decor-wise.  By that I mean the appearance of the establishment is in no way correlated to the quality of the food and the price tag.  We sat down to a welcoming chorus from waitress in kimonos and got to studiously studying the menu and listening to the waitress outline the specials.  Being a Japanese restaurant which prided itself on it's fresh seafood, think sashimi and sushi, the service staff steered us towards the spoken menu of specials rather than ordering off the printed menu. This makes for a delightfully fresh seafood experience however writing up about it is slightly more difficult as I can't recall what types of sashimi I ate...


M took charge of most of the ordering.  All of our dishes were to share.  We started with a platter of sashimi which I overheard M requesting for some of the sashimi specials to be incorporated within.  The fish were fresh and firm with good selection of texture and mouth feel.  To be honest I don't recall what types of fish were featured in the platter and nor is my palate for raw fish that refined to differential the types bar the very obvious, but I enjoyed it nonetheless.