I have riden my bike to Jell's Park since I was a wee tacker. On recent trips, and actually paying attention to my surroundings a little more; I noticed there was a nice looking cafe there.

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Whilst walking from the carpark about 1km away from The Espy, it's hard not to notice when you are a non-smoker, the constant haze of nicotine in the air. But forgetting that, the sun was shining (thank you daylight savings) and we were close to the ocean; gorgeous.

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So, I mentioned in my fudge post I was going to be exploring the new eateries around my new office. I walk past Nest every day on my way back to my car. It looked so cute, and I always checked out menu whilst walking past, planning on what I'd like to try.

So I headed down at about 2:45pm, when I took my 30 minute break from the stresses of the office, with plans of a brown rice salad. Sure, 2:45pm is a little late for lunch, but I was hopeful. I had to wait whilst the waitress socialized with another customer....wasting precious lunch break minutes. When I finally requested my salad of choice, she had a look in the fridge and said there was none left. I requested if there was any of the tuna, avocado and beetroot salad left. She didn't seem too enthusiastic, but offered to make me one. I accepted her offer, paid and took a seat outside.


It wasn't until about 20 minutes later till I received my salad. Was I impressed? Hardly! Considering I was the only customer at this time.
$9 for a small bowl of canned tuna, some lettuce, beetroot, cherry tomatoes, cucumber and a lemon wedge.... that took at least 20 minutes to prepare. It wasn't even really that tasty.

Well, it's fair to say, I won't be returning. Not for that price, for that service, for that portion size. I know where I want to dine out next though!

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So I reviewed Brown Sugar a couple of months ago, and loved it so much, I couldn't wait to return to try the other delicious items on the menu.

Brown Sugar Cafe is definitely one of my favorite hidden gems of Melbourne. So cosy, so reliable, SOooooooo many things on the menu I still want to try. The staff are always friendly, and more than willing to help with any requests.



Some of the cute characters I found in windows whilst wondering around the city!

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I have a massive back log of posts, so I will be trying to pump them out as much as I can, whilst doing more cooking and eating out.

On a recent trip to Costco, I stopped for brunch at The Coffee Club, in the Harbour Town shopping centre. I haven't been to a Coffee Club for about 5 years now I reckon, but I didn't think much would have changed. But I left feeling a little ripped off, and with no urge to return.

We sat outside, enjoying the gorgeous Spring sun. It took us a little while to get served, but it didn't matter too much; other than the fact we were slightly hungry! Although a nice big glass of pineapple juice was a good start to the day.


I ordered the French toast with icing sugar & maple syrup with fresh strawberries. Despite me ordering this, fruit toast was brought to the table. Since I was rather looking forward to French toast, I sent it back, and waited for what I had my sights set on.

I can't remember the price of the dish, but it sure did not look worth the money we paid for it. However, it was still pretty damn tasty, and the fact that I was having a lazy Sunday in the sun, not cooking or washing up, made it worth it.


Would I return to The Coffee Club? Most likely not. I'd rather try an unknown franchise store for my next pre/post Costco feed.

Check it out, I got 20 Carman's muesli bars for $10!! Insanely cheap! I also got x2 4gig SD cards for my camera for $40!! They will come in handy when I head over to Tasmania at the end of the month. Thanks Costco.

And check out all the cooking material I have accumulated over the last few weeks! 2 books bought from Costco. And just looking at this, I realise I haven't included Matt Preston's new book, Cravat-a-licious, and another cookbook mum picked up; not to mention all the Epicure sections from The Age!... light reading weighed in at 6.5kg. Hopefully that won't end up on my butt either, hehe.

Whilst I am talking about books, any food lover should read I Loved, I Lost, I Made Spaghetti. I only just started reading it. I am loving it so far, and I just love that she has included all these amazing recipes for the food she talks about. I can't wait to try the muffin recipe, and the pasta sauce.

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Lately, I just feel the need to get out of town on the weekends and go exploring. On a recent trip out to the Yarra Valley region, I stopped at one of my favorite breweries again, White Rabbit.

Some of you will remember on my trip to Marysville I popped in to check the place out. This time, I stopped to feed my face!

Since White Rabbit is mainly just a brewery, there isn’t a fully equipped kitchen. So don’t go expecting meals like at Little Creatures. But you can still leave feeling full. I was tossing up between the Ploughman’s Board and the Weekend Sizzle. Due to the horrible rainy weather, I went for the Weekend Sizzle as it was going to be hot and comforting.

My partner in crime and I sat down with a nice glass of White Rabbit dark ale and waited till our sausages were cooked.  We were given a table number, which also contained our serviettes; some tables got their cutlery also put in their table number holder. It was a bit Alice in Wonderland, which I thought was pretty cute.

We were then brought over to the massive skillet and given a massive bread roll that had been cut down the middle. We had the option of onion and sauerkraut to go in the bread roll along with the sausage. I got both, and topped it all off with the spicy capsicum and tomato relish. Other condiments on offer were tomato sauce and seeded mustard.

The “local snag in bread” went PERFECTLY with a nice tall glass of beer. I can see why those Germans love a good sausage with their beer! Not to mention the sheer size of it all! It was insanely huge; money well spent.

I am just in love with the Little Creatures Brewing Group. They just seem to have a funky way to go about things, making everyone who walks through their doors feel like part of the family.
I thought it was pretty cute they way the wrote the recipes on the kitchen wall tiles.

So next time you are passing through, why not stop by for a beer tasting, or a quick bite to eat. Although it will be a tough decision, since White Rabbit is located next to the Beechworth Bakery & The Giant Steps (which is meant to be a foodie's heaven I'm told... I'll check it out next time).

Eaten at White Rabbit? Vote now:

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Last night, my mum’s boss took us all out for dinner. He does this from time to time, and it’s a nice way for us all to socialize and hear about any dramas happening in the office.
We have dined at many different locations, including; Carlton, St Kilda, Brighton and Richmond. However, this time we stuck a little closer to home, and hit up a local shopping centre. I had already checked out the menu online during the day, so I knew what I was ordering.

Montania has a reputation for serving South Yarra type food in the suburbs. It is a cozy, yet roomy restaurant. I would recommend booking; just to be sure you can get a table.

We ordered drinks, and mum’s boss ordered a tomato juice. He requested it be laced witht and worcestershire sauce. The waitress checked with us shortly after delivering the juice to see if it was to his liking. Little touches like this can really make you appreciate friendly staff.


We started with dips to share. We dined on; avocado, spicy capsicum and roasted eggplant. The Baba Ghanoush (roasted eggplant) was by far my favorite, followed closely by the spicy capsicum.
The bread was fresh and crisp, not oily at all.

Mum’s boss went for the rib eye. He raved about how amazing the lamb shanks were, but wanted to try something different. It was beautifully presented, and cooked to his liking. A generous serve, indeed.

Mum and Dad ordered the lamb shanks and the seafood crepe to share. I’ve noticed Dad has become aware that if everyone ordered different dishes, it makes for great blogging. (For more food blogger facts you should know, check out Not Quite Nigella).

The shanks were divine. The meat just simply fell of the bone, and the sauce was extremely tasty. A generous portion size with two massive shanks, unlike a previous dining experience at Credo. These shanks were well worth their money.

The seafood crepe was on the specials board, and my parents do love their seafood. Dad remarked how light and fluffy the pancake was. It looked pretty damn delicious too.

I went for a man’s meal; ribs.
I have been craving ribs ever since watching the Food Safari episode on USA food. Luckily, these ribs did not let me down. They were ribs on steroids! There was far more meat than bones. This was not a problem, but I had to share the last one and half ribs with the rest of the table, or else I would have become morbidly obese.
The BBQ sauce was really something special. I guess they aren’t their famous ribs just for the portion size. The chips soaked in the smoky BBQ sauce was just the icing on the cake. The salad, TOTALLY unnecessary, but I guess that what makes the dish some what healthy.
I was given a bones dish and a finger bowl, but since there was so much meat, I didn’t need to get my fingers messy; a knife and fork did the job quite well.

Mum chose a dessert for us all to share… not that we needed more food after the main courses.
I told her she couldn’t order the crepes since she had them as part of her main meal, but she wanted to try them regardless.
WOW. They were so good! I’m glad we shared though, there is no way I could eat this on my own. Deliciously sweet with plenty of strawberries inside and outside. It’s fair to say, we were quite stuffed after this.

With fantastic staff, very generous portion sizes, mouth watering food and lovely atmosphere; it’s not wonder the people keep coming back to Montania.
You can stop for a meal, or just a coffee and cake. In the warmer months, the French doors open onto the outdoor dining area.

I’m looking forward to going back to try the other yummies on the menu.

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Today we took my gorgeous Grandma out for lunch since it will be her birthday on Tuesday. Whilst we could have hit up the usual local Italian restaurant, we have been there far too many times in the last few months; the thought of eating there again made me feel a bit ill.

So we headed up to the Dandenong Ranges to a restaurant I have always eyed off when driving through, Credo. Always looked a bit special from the outside, and the menu online sounded nice, so this seemed like the best option.

I called up to make a booking, as I wasn’t sure how popular it would be. I left a message, they didn’t call back so mum called up to make sure they got the booking. We arrived, and there was maybe 4 people in the restaurant, and turns out we didn’t need to book at all. The first thing we noticed though, it was very hot inside. On a 19 degree day, sure it was a bit nippy, but there were far too many heaters on, and created more of a sauna atmosphere than a cosy climate.

Credo had quite an extensive menu. I was actually surprised how many dishes there were to choose from. Breakfast is served until 4pm on Sunday, or you can order off the lunch /dinner menu.
Drinks took a while to arrive to our table as the wait staff were too busy catching up with people at the counter.

Grandma ordered the risotto. The prawns were well hidden in the rice, but there were quite a lot, and they were huge prawns. She finished it all and didn’t complain.


I ordered the kangaroo as it seemed like a nice change to the usual dishes I would order. The kangaroo was overcooked, a bit dry. The pomegranate molasses was nice and tart, teamed with the sweet potato mash and beetroot chips it worked well. The mash itself was a bit bland though.

Dad had the rib eye and it was cooked just the way he ordered it, rare. There was mustard in his mashed potatoes, which was a nice touch.


My other choice was going to be the lamb shanks; mum ordered them so I got to have a little taste. They were alright, I was expecting more flavour from them.

As to whether I would go back or not, I’d probably have to say no. Unless it was with a group of friends that really wanted to go there. Food wasn’t the best, I much prefer The Ranges up the road.


Anyway, we went back to Grandma's house to pig out on a slice of cake:

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