The Bakery, Warrandyte by Bureaucrat

A sunny weekend saw us exploring the main shopping precinct in Warrandyte.  Picture plentiful foilage, the Yarra River, artsy shops and galleries, and of course, eateries straddling both sides of the main street.

While there were many eateries tempting us, the Lawyer and I chose The Bakery for our pick-me-up.  Clearly, it's an institution in the area with many families coming in for their weekend baked goods and treats.  Further, as The Bakery is located along the banks of the Yarra River, it makes for a pretty and idyllic spot for a snack or lunch.

Fedele's, Glen Waverley by Obelix

A farewell lunch at work saw us descend en masse at Fedele's Ristorante Italiano.  They conveniently have a 2 courses + wine/beer for $40.  My only gripe about the lunch menu was that it didn't have any vegetarian options for mains.  The anti pasto for entree can be modified to suit vegetarians but that was about it.  I'm only mentioning this as it influenced my choices of two courses as I stuck to more of a pescatarian bent.  

Fried calamari salad...

Juno & May, Camberwell (by invitation) by Obelix

Juno & May provides an Asian inspired twist to Modern Australian cuisine.  Their food is centred around sharing plates combining great value with fulfilling meal and a slice of something new.  I also love the back story to Juno & May. The original Juno and May were dairy cows from owner/chef, Henry Honer's youth. Growing up in a large family on a cattle farm in the 1970s, Henry and his siblings sorely lacked a TV. His brother convinced his dad to buy two dairy cows which they would milk before and after school daily to save the family enough money in milk to afford a TV. Along came Juno and May.

In the spirit of sharing delicious food in convivial surrounds, M and I ordered a few dishes to share.  We started with two entrees from the specials...first, seared scallops in the shell on a base of pureed cauliflower and apple nam jim.  The contrasting flavours and textures were sublime.  The scallop was perfect with the creamy puree and the nam jim gave it a tangy finish.

Rustica Canteen, Melbourne CBD by Bureaucrat

There's quite a collection of yummy eateries around Lt Lonsdale Street/Guildford Lane - some of them have made it into my list of favourites eateries, including Gypsy & Pig (my fav non-sushi/sashimi Japanese restaurant), Krimper, Nieuw Amsterdam and Raw Trader.

Another eatery in that immediate area is Rustica Canteen, which popped up when the long-term road and building works in that area had finally finished up.  Rustica is a bakery and specialises in sourdough breads and pastries, which are made on-site.  It also dishes up some delish sangers and other bread-related fare.

My memory's a tad hazy as to what Ms B and I ate.  But I do remember eating a fish schnitzel that had a delightful panko-crusted exterior.  The schnitzel was golden, crisp, not oily and didn't have a fishy aroma.  It was wodged in with lots of fresh stuff - coriander, red onions and a generous smush of avo.  It came with a little side of a paprika-dusted, mayo-coated, cauliflower pickle-y/coleslaw-y sort of thing.  It was rich yet sharp enough to help cut through the heaviness of the bun.

Hue Kitchen, Springvale by Bureaucrat

I don't often head out to Springvale.  I associate it with crowds, parking road rage, poorly designed and maintained public areas, and that je ne sais quoi aroma.

In the last few months, I stumbled upon a Vietnamese eatery that has impressed me enough that I've got back a few times when I'm in the area.  Hue Kitchen is relatively new, clean and the food is definitely fresh and competitively priced.  Inside, it's bright, clean (did I mention that already?) and spacious - it's unlike the many pho shops nearby that are a bit grotty and cramped. It's owned/run by a Vietnamese family and you can often see their young kids playing around the place, and the owner is a nice guy that's happy to have a chat with you (which is also unlike the other pho shops where the service is often surly or nonexistent).


My usual go-to Vietnamese dish is the bun - a warm vermicelli salad with grilled meats.  This was a particularly nice and tasty one.  Generous in serve and I was very impressed with how much mint and basil there were in the salad (most places skimp on this).  The char-grilled pork was deliciously fatty and meaty - juicy!  It also came with lots of fresh salad leaves (none of the limp stuff or the stuff that's gone slightly brown), cucumber, grated carrot, bean shoots and lots of toasted peanuts on top.  I also was impressed with the properly al dente vermicelli.  Yum!

Flame Greek Tavern, Surrey Hills by Obelix

Take a evening stroll down the Surrey Hills section of Whitehorse Road on any given day around 6pm, your nostrils would be joyously inhaling the aromas of spit roast meats and grilled seafoods emanating from Flame Greek Tavern. The olfactory experience just gets my gastric juices on over drive and I'm sure I look like my dogs, unconsciously licking my lips as I saunter past. So after a few occasions of strolling past, Kiddo and I decided to stop there to grab some take away. 

The aroma of this lured me like a siren song... grilled calamari, scalloped potatoes, Greek styled slow cooked green beans and a veggie mornay

Yo My Goodness, Glen Waverley by Benny

The wattles are flowering, spring is just around the corner. We all know what this means – you can no longer put off all of those garden jobs that you have been ignoring all winter. And if you’re lucky, you might be able to co-opt a friendly helping hand (or two). Thus it is that Broadhands and I, fresh from a hard morning in the garden, join up with Bilby Blue and head off for a well-earned lunch.

L-R: The Black Pearl, 12th Hour and The Reaper burgers

With burgers on my mind (See Burger Project, Burger Block, Three One 2 One, billies) we are headed, somewhat surprisingly, for a frozen yoghurt parlour. Word on the street is that Yo My Goodness is offering some pretty good burgers from its Glen Waverley store (and at the time of writing, only the Glen Waverley store). Why would a frozen yoghurt place be offering burgers? I have no idea. But it takes just a glance at the large overhead menu to pique our interest – a good range of burgers with a tempting range of flavours and accompaniments. The beef is Angus, the chicken is ‘southern fried’, soft shell crab and pulled pork are rather interesting alternatives, and even vegetarians get choices.

Pho Minh Long, Ringwood by Obelix

I had waxed lyrical about Pho Minh Long Mitcham many moons ago.  Then I discovered there was a new Pho Minh Long a few kms further down Maroondah Highway.  Well, it would remiss of me to not check it out.  PML, Ringwood edition is a new establishment.  It's less crowded than its Mitcham counterpart and owned by the same people.  I am happy to report the quality and service was also on a par.

Kiddo stands by her 'usual'.  It is the Crispy Chicken with rice noodle soup.  It came also with its regular accoutrement of bean sprouts and herbs for dunking into the broth.  The chicken itself is a general crispy deep fried portion of Maryland accompanied with house pickled carrots (I usually knick these off her plate) and a chicken based pho.  It was simultaneously warming (pho) and naughtily delicious (fried chicken!).  The serve was more than plenty for a greedy 10 year old and we usually end up taking some of the chicken home for a snack afterwards.

Louis Sergeant, Wellington (New Zealand) by Bilby Blue

How can you describe utter perfection? Words and photos can only go so far. If I was marking Louis Sergeant out of 10, it would score about a 12. This is not food, it is high art that just happens to be absolutely delicious. And it is my benchmark against which all else is measured. While there are a few places back home in Melbourne offering fancy cakes, I have yet to find one that comes close to the experience of Louis Sergeant.

So when Rose Pink invited me to lunch on a recent visit to Wellington, I was eager to return. It had been around a year since my last fix of fine French patisserie with Benny.


Louis Sergeant is most famous for its patisserie, however the savoury lunch options are also excellent.

Saffron House, Blackburn South by Obelix

I love an honest to goodness authentic Indian feast.  The spices and flavours co-mingling in harmony, something I can never quite achieve the nuance of when I'm recreating curry at home.  As sublime as Indian cuisine smells and as much as my taste buds are awakened, Indian food in a takeaway container does not photograph well.  They invariably look like identical slops in a bucket but trust me, dear reader, they tasted waaaay better than they appeared.

We had an unexpected little Indian find in Blackburn South.  Our car broke down some months ago outside Saffron House and whilst waiting for the RACV, we inducted ourselves to Saffron House's menu.  So happy we were with the place, it ameliorated the pain of the broken down car.  However being in somewhat of a flap from the broken down car, I wasn't in the presence of mind to take photos to blog about it.  So a few weeks later, we ordered takeaway from Saffron House, in the name of blogging for you guys!  See how dedicated I am?!


Kiddo is not much of a meat eater however she makes an exception for Saffron House's tandoori chook.  To be honest, I forgot whether this was a half bird or a full one.  It doesn't have a pair of requisite parts so I'm hedging my bets it was a half bird yet it seemed like a really bit half bird...hmm...not sure.  Nevertheless, I'm not complaining.  It was wonderfully spiced with tandoor flavours and came with a mint and yoghurt raita.  

Enrik's, Blackburn by Obelix

A long over due catch up with a former work friend led me to Enrik's next to Blackburn station. Situated overlooking the trail line, it was a convenient meeting point. 

Enrik's is more of a bistro vs a cafe. It's offerings extend from breakfast to dinner. When we rolled up for brunch, it was quiet and I suspect the busy period is yet to commence.

I tucked into breakfast #2 for the morning. I've been trying to minimise bloating by avoiding wheat where possible however it was difficult to single out an item on the Enrik's menu which was gluten free. I eventually settled on sourdough with smashed avo, poached eggs and balsamic tomatoes. It was a bit light on with the avocado but the balsamic tomatoes gave a nice sweet tang to the creamy egg yolk and avo.

Reds Cafe, Wallan by Bureaucrat

Having heard Obelix rave about the Old Time Market in Wallan, the Lawyer and I decided to check it out ourselves.  And, as part of this, we naturally took the opportunity to have a bit of arvo tea to perk up the energy levels before our drive back home.

Reds Cafe is situated on the shopping strip that's opposite the market.  It's a cafe-gift shop.  We picked two sweet things to share.  The chocolate walnut brownie was nicely dense with a hint of fudgeyness.  

Axil Coffee Roasters, Hawthorn by Bureaucrat

Sometimes it's not only the food at a cafe that makes a great impression, it's also the ancillary aspects to dining.  Case in point, was my lunch with Ms G at Axil Coffee Roasters one busy weekend ago. Expecting that I'd have to circle around the side streets for a decent parking spot, I drove up to Axil Coffee Roasters and, voila, there was a fortuitous spot that became available right outside the cafe.  Even better, it was free parking and I wouldn't have to move my car during our lunch.

Axil Coffee Roasters is one of those too-cool-for-school sort of cafes - the ones where you can't make a booking.  But luckily, we only had to wait 15 minutes for a table.  Inside, it's packed full of people and there's an electric buzz in the air filled with chatter and clink of cutlery.


I had a delicious char-grilled squid salad.  Tender pieces of squid, cooked to perfection (not over-cooked but not under-cooked either).  I loved the fresh, generous amounts of coriander, pea shoots, squishy roasted eggplant and the fresh sweet pops of cherry tomatoes.