Gaijin

135 Commercial Road

South Yarra, VIC 3141

03 9804 8873

www.gaijinmelbourne.com

My first visit to Gaijin was in 2010 and we went for the "All You Can Eat". After that I have been to Gaijin for several times because I love Japanese fusion and I have never been to any similar places yet.  

Don't you want these cuties? I do even though I'm not a fan of Sake and Wasabi :)

We started with Edamame (soybeans in the pod), in fact we ordered another portion later because mom, dad and lil bro loves it. A healthy appetiser so why not?

Edamame - $4

We meant to order Dynamite but there was a confusion so we ordered Big Bang. Aris (my bro) had asked the staff to change it but somehow it didn't get through as we ended up getting Big Bang. We had no problem with it because this dish was so YUM. Its basically crab stick, mushroom, cream cheese wrapped in a salmon slice baked with Gaijin special sauce.

BIG BANG - $10

Aris also ordered Salmon Sashimi for himself as mom and dad don't really eat raw food and they're FRESH! 

Sashimi 3pcs (Salmon) - $4.5

I ordered this Spider vs Dragon roll just because I couldn't resist those unagis on top. This sushi roll is filled with tempura crunch, soft shell crab and cream cheese.

Spider VS Dragon Roll - $13

As stated by its name, this roll is all about spiciness and salmon. Salmon slice and spicy sauce on top, spicy raw salmon and tempura crunch inside. This one tasted as beautiful as its presentation <3

Crunchy Spicy Salmon Roll - $13

Actually, the salmon roll was our last order at first before Dad wanted a real carbo, by this I mean a noodle or rice dish. The udon was good and the chicken was tender and sweet.

Chicken Udon - $18

Although there were only two staffs in the front, the service was great. It would be excellent if they didn't forget our alteration but its totally forgiven.

FOOD : 4   SERVICE : 4

Coming back? Yes I would but not so often as its a bit pricey for the portion sizes.

Huxtaburger

106 Smith Street
Collingwood, VIC 3066
03 9417 6328
www.huxtaburger.com.au

WHO haven't been to this burger joint? I assume 7 out of 10 foodies have paid their visits as Huxtaburger has been listed in the "Talk of the Town" of Urbanspoon for more than a year. This was not my first visit too because I couldn't resist the hype :p

Their menu is really simple, Huxtaburger and its variations plus a tofu burger which I think is new because there was still no vegetarian options when I came. 

Huxtaburger is built up with beef pattie, mustard, mayo, ketchup, tomato, cheese, lettuce and pickles. 

A really guilty burger I'd say with its oiliness and juiciness of pattie. I really like their brioche bun, super soft and crisp but it was not as sweet as before, a bit burnt this time. 

HUXTABURGER - $8.5

Denise is basically Huxtaburger plus jalapeno and sriracha mayo. It was written as the hot one, but Fabian said it was not.  

DENISE - $9.5

I had warned Ricky and Brian about the small portions so they decided to order THEO burger which has double pattie, double cheese, bacon and bbq sauce. The picture might not portray the truth but it was actually big, more oily and more guilty I guess.  

THEO - $11.5

Service was average, they helped 6 of us with our tables and did not forget our water like some places do but the waiting time for food was quite long which shouldn't be for a more take-away place.

FOOD : 4  SERVICE  : 3

Coming back? More likely yes until I find another place with sweeter buns and better overall. 

Manchester Press

8 Rankins Lane

Melbourne CBD, VIC 3000

03 9600 4054

www.8oz.com.au

Manchester Press is a place everyone will mention for sure when ask to recommend a brunch in CBD.

The barista

And finally I had a chance to visit this Place along with my two lovely girls. 

Olympia, Me and Olivia

I doubted we can find the place straight away and I was right, we walked pass the alley and had to go back to actually find the spot. Its not like it's located in the front but more like in the middle of the lane with only M --> P sign on it. 

The spot is based in a warehouse where sharing is truly encouraged as there are more big tables than small ones. 

As usual we ordered our coffees. Cappuccino for me, Mocha for Olym and Flat White for Olivia. 

Coffees are great, I mean look at that... smooth, excellent crema! 

Flat White - $3.5

Just one thing, we expected to see a face or rabbit latte-art on our coffees like how people posted but we didn't get any :(

Cappuccino - $3.5

Mocha - $4

MP is well-known for its Bagel and I couldn't say otherwise really. The bagels were dense, a bit chewy and crisp!! I'd say they are better than Las Chicas. 

Olivia's 12 hour pulled pork was really tender, sweet and juicy. I love it and certainly will order this next time. 

12 hour roasted pulled pork with lettuce, bbq sauce and apple slaw - $ 14

I couldn't really remember the taste of the pastrami but this one was a safe option, it was like having your usual combination of Ham, Cheese and Tomato.

Thick slice pastrami with tomato, swiss cheese and thousand island dressing - $ 13

They melted the cheese in each bagel where I prefer it's melted with my creamy tuna. Jalapeno was not as spicy as I thought so I was safe :)

Tuna, mayonaise, cheese and jalapeno melt - $10

Service was good but not great, the waitress were not as helpful as we thought. We asked for her recommendations but she barely helped us. 

Coffee : 5  Food : 4  Service : 3

Coming back? I will whenever I crave for Bagels but not for eggs as they dont have many options for that. 

Hopetoun Tea Rooms

Shop 1 & 2, 282 Collins Street

Melbourne, VIC 3000

03 9650 2777  

www.hopetountearooms.com.au

I had an interview last week far far away at Dandenong where I'm working now as a trainee :) Anyway, I had nothing to do after that while my tummy kept on calling so I decided to meet my lovely little sister in the city. I chose Hopetoun although it was lunch time. As usual, there was quite a line in the front but it only took us 10 mins to get a table. We were seated in the very corner behind the coffee machine. Its not bad, its just not enough lightning and yes this is my alibi for the bad pictures :p

I'm sure anyone who come to this place will be mesmerised by their cakes. They don't have that elegant looks but somehow they are pretty and delicate. Me and Olivia had our own turn to go out and pick one cake. Well, we couldn't control ourselves and kept the staff asking anything else...

ME and OLIVIA

This drink was a bit weak to be called an iced chocolate, the milk truly overpowered it :( 

Iced Chocolate 

The pavlova was the winner. The meringue was crisp and soft while the inside was really light and sweet. We kinda doubt the choices of acid fruits but after we ate all together its all perfectly balanced. 

Tropical Fruits Pavlova

The chocolate mousse was chocolatey with praline base, more of dark than milk chocolate. It was good but I couldn't say its great.

Royal Chocolate Mousse

Olivia's brother told her to try the egg tart so she did. I truly like the custard filling but the pastry itself was a bit soggy rather than crisp. 

Portugese Egg Tart

The staffs, mostly girls, were all wearing black and so pretty with their smiles on all the time. The service was excellent, as expected from a place like this. 

Drink : 3  Food : 4  Service : 5

Coming back? I will for sure because I know they have more goodness for me besides some of the disappointments.

Mart 130

107 Canterbury Road
Middle Park, VIC 3206
03 9690 8831

Selly, Angelika, Sandy and Vincent

A second post in 2013 and its BRUNCH again... And now you know how much I love this meal of the day. MART is a very famous restaurant known for its strategic location and great breakfast. Actually, this was not the first time I went to Mart, in fact, this place was the one that introduced me to Brunch in 2010. No matter how many times I've been to this place, I always feel amaze looking at this place as soon as I step out from the tram.  

This is the inside area and look how homey it is! 

That sign above the door tells us exactly that we are at HOME <3

Vincent had a flat white and he said its pretty good without further explanation, hmmmm..

Flat White - $3.5

I, on the other hand, felt that I need something cold so I had an iced chai. The drink was weak but its all good with the sweetness of the ice cream.

Iced Chai - $5

I ordered the special menu on board which was basically egg benedict comes with spinach and thick istra ham. Everything else was good except the bread, it was over-toasted and came out really tough. 

Mart Benedict - $18.5

Selly and Vincent went for Mart Eggs #2 which a lot similar with mine but it came with avocado and bacon instead. The problem was the same too its the bread and they found something a bit sour which might be from avocado. 

Mart Eggs #2 - $18.5

Sandy ordered Mart Eggs #4 which a bit different because it had smoked salmon and dill-caper salsa instead of hollandaise. He was disappointed with the poached eggs as they're overcooked and not runny at all when he cut them. 

Mart Eggs #4 - $18.5

As I suggested Angelika had the famous Mart corn fritter with grilled bacon, tomato relish and sour cream. She said its really delicious and there I know she was pleased with her choice. This dish might look okay in the picture but in real the serving's huge that she couldn't finish the last stack. 

Most Recommended!

Mart Corn Fritter Stack - $18.5

The service was really good, we were friendly welcomed and asked for orders by the same guy whom I think might be the owner. He smiled at us and made quite some jokes. 

COFFEE : 3  FOOD : 3  SERVICE : 5

Coming back? Yess, I would forgive the bread and egg for this cute little spot and this is such a nice place to visit with someone outside Melbourne. 

Breakfast Thieves

Shop 1, 420 Gore Street
Fitzroy, VIC 3065
03 94164884
www.breakfastthieves.com.au

First post in 2013 and its BRUNCH!

This place had been on my wishlist for almost a year so i said yes straight away when my friend texted me to join at 1am. Well I don't know what're they thinking in the middle of the night but I'm all in :)

Its hard to find a place especially when you have the wrong address. Yes thats what happened to us, we're looking for number 240 for quite some time until we realised it should be 420. In fact the place was really close to the tram stop... 

We got there around 12pm and there were no one sitting inside so we're free to choose our table. However, not long after we ordered, the place started to get busy. 

From the top left Elly, Me (in stripes), Nadia and Christine.  

++ Breakfast Thieves serves breakfast all day and lunch starting from 11.30 am. 

I wish I have this kind of shelf at home. 

I love this conclusion which tells us that its good to eat chocolate!

I wanted to order the Breakfast Chain at first as so many people talked about it but this tongue of mine craved for bacon and egg. I don't have a soft spot for this kind of bread roll yet I like this ciabata because it was crunchy and not tough at all. Moreover, the tomato relish was deliciously sweet to balance the saltiness of Jack's reserve cheddar and John Harbour bacon. I also ordered garlic mixed mushrooms and didn't mind at all paying an extra $3.5 because it was so good.

THIEVES ON THE RUN - $11.5 and Garlic Mixed Mushrooms - $3.5

Elly went for this crisp sweet corn & goat's fetta fritters dish. She was extremely pleased with her plate and I know why after I had one bite of this amazing fritters. Not only the taste but the presentation of this dish is also beautiful. Highly recommended! 

THE LEPRECHAUN - $16.5

Rido's baked eggs was a bit so so. No complaint about the garlic toast but the dish in the red bowl was a bit disappointing for him. I had a taste and I think a stronger flavour would definitely lift up this dish. Another opinion was it might be because its vegetarian.

THE LEGEND - $17

Unlike the others, Nadia decided to try the lunch menu. Every component in her dish was cooked perfectly, crispy enoki and the "char siew". The downside was only that there were too much fat for barbecued pork.

BOTAK CHIN's LAST CIGAR - $17

I didn't get to order coffee because this stomach still needs to adapt with Melbourne's portion.
(FYI I just got back from Indonesia)

Food : 4     Service : 5

Coming back? I will so I can get myself a plate of fritters or the toasted soldiers.