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.

Pillar of Salt

541 Church Street

Richmond, VIC 3121

94211550 

www.pillarofsalt.com.au

I don't have a boyfriend, but that doesn't mean I can't go on a date.

Today I had a lovely time with Olivia, a lil sister to me <3

Melbourne is cold and windy but that didn't discourage us to come to this lovely cafe on Richmond. This place has a lot of sitting from outside, inside and at its hidden back area. 

We sat on the table just behind the lady with the red jacket.  

I love our table not only because there's a heater that kept the two of us warm but also the brightness. 

I managed to take 10 photos of our food in total which is a really rare event.

This area looks like a coffee laboratory for me and it ain't be ordinary. Five Senses Coffee for Pillar house blend. 

They also have Geisha, the best coffee ever produced from Panama. 

Lovely latte art and froth for my cappuccino, but somehow the texture was not as smooth and creamy as what I had from Seven Seeds. 

Cappuccino - $3.5

Olivia trusted me to order our food and I already knew what I wanted to try as soon as the staff asking.  

This is because I had spent quite some time going through the menu on their website :p

We agreed to order two dishes and shared them half half. 

I never thought that apple and hollandaise make one perfect couple <3

The apple cider hollandaise was buttery yet not too salty and the sweetness from the apple just clicked. 

Green Eggs and Ham - $16.5

I was even more happy seeing the runny egg yolk once I cut it. 

The scrambled eggs were cooked to perfection. I could truly taste the chilli although it was not the spiciness I imagined from its name. I would be happier if the spring onions were cut smaller and they used brioche instead of toast like Miss Jackson. 

Red Chilli Scrambled Eggs - $16.5

Service was truly amazing, friendly from the moment we stepped in until we payed the bill and efficient that our food came within 15 mins considering it was a full house. 

Coffee : 4    Food : 4   Service : 5

Coming Back? Absolutely, I am so all over the couple (hollandaise + apple). 

Reading Room Cafe

88 Ballarat Road
Footscray, VIC 3011
0399194091
readingroomcafe.com.au

Brunch at Footscray? I don't think anyone would come across this suburb when it comes to breakfast. But trust me, this is a hidden gem unless you go to Victoria Uni. Its quite hard to find the place especially on weekend when almost all of the entrance doors are closed. I don't know how's the business doing during school days but that Saturday they were quite busy. They have quite a lot of seats inside and few long tables outside. This place is surrounded with glasses, like its name, its bright just how you want it when you're reading your books :))

They have a half open kitchen and you could see the cooking process with the stove. And i just love the way the chef posed when he saw me taking pictures since its not always comfortable to do that when the chef look uneasy.

They have a separate space for coffee across the kitchen and from how it looked I could tell that they're not ordinary.

I know that the places I go make great coffees, but sometimes I just have to ditch cappuccino for my new love. The chai latte was really good I'd say even though I prefer it to come in a pot with some honey. Both the latte and cappuccino were great with lovely latte arts.

Coffee Beans from @Sensory Lab - $3.3

Without further looking I went for the BFG and Yes I made the right choice. This was the first time I had French Toast with Bacon because I never like the idea of sweet bread and salty stripes. But every component worked out really well and yes so YUM. The brioche toast was crisp but super soft in the middle and I felt like eating cloud :))

The BFG - $14.5

The two guys went for nothing but Pork and they did not regret it. The pork belly was cooked perfectly and they had a unique way of eating them. Starting from the flatbread, then place everything from apple, zucchini, remoulade, coriander, pork belly and some chilli jam on top.

Crackle & Pop - $16.5

The portion of this breakfast was huge, and really amazed us just like its name "Great Expectations". I don't know how many eggs were used but its definitely more than 3 and they all just melted with the gruyere cheese.

Great Expectations - $13.5

Jacq went for the special menu, it might not look as good as the others but this dish was very good. The beans were soft and had enough flavour, eggs were runny and the halloumi cheese just YUM YUM YUM! Sorry for the exaggerating but it was!

Double Smoked Istra Bacons with White Beans - $16.5

Corn fritter was good but compared to other dishes, this might be in the bottom rank. Well, you can't really go wrong with this one and yes it is a safe option.

Fritter's Lane - $14.5

I was full and so the others but there were 4 girls and we always have room for desserts so I ordered the Coco Bananas. Well, banana bread was always good but I still prefer Auction Room's. The lemon crd ricotta was refreshing but I think I would be fine without the coconut.

Coco Bananas - $9.5

Coffee : 4     Food : 5    Service : 5

Coming back? Yes, definitely! Every thing was YUM and the ambience was great too. Plus the service was excellent, the lady always came and checking on us including offering us more dishes :p

Las Chicas

203 Carlisle Street
Balaclava, VIC 3183
0395313699

Las Chicas is a brunch spot that has a really strategic location. Once you walk out of the Balaclava station, you will see a long sign with pink stripes and its only 3 mins walk really. They do have a lot of seatings from indoor and outdoor but trust me most of the times they are full so you better come earlier. That Saturday I arrived around 11am with 6 other girls and as expected there was no seat for us. The staff told me that its gonna be around 20 mins wait. We're thinking of going to somewhere nearby after waiting about 10 mins, thanks God we didn't leave yet when the staff came out and said that the table was ready.

As usual we ordered our drinks first and start looking on the menus while waiting.

The latte was good and lovely with a simple heart shape on top.

Latte - $3.5

Dea went for the chai latte because she's a fan and I had a try and its really nice. Unlike other places, the honey was actually put in a glass in every table so you can have as much as you want.  and we used the honey dipper to get it :)

Chai Latte - $4

On the other hand, Selly ordered the Chocolate Milkshake which was kinda shocking since its already winter. But who could resist a cold and sweet rich chocolate drink with a lot of vanilla ice cream in it? I couldn't which was why I ended up sharing it with her.

Chocolate Milkshake - $6

Talking about the breakfast menus, there are a lot of options from vegetarian and non-vegetarian and the portions are big so be prepared!

Multigrain toast with sauté spinach, perfectly cooked omelette, smoked salmon, some pesto and  pine nuts on top. What else are you asking for?

Salmon Brekky Bruschetta - $15.5

Vina went for the French Toast with cinnamon sugar, lemon wedge and mascarpone. I heard that this is the sweet favourite and couldn't agree more. It wasn't just a normal French Toast, the crispiness from the batter and the creaminess from the mascarpone just brought this dish to another level.

French Toast with Cinnamon Sugar, Lemon and Mascarpone - $12

From my last visit, what I remembered about Las Chicas is their bagel, poached eggs and hollandaise. As a result the rest of us ordered dishes that had to do with these components. All the eggs were perfectly cooked and the egg yolks still runny, the hollandaise were delicious and creamy enough to complement the dishes. However, the bagels were the let downs, they were overcooked which kinda forced our muscles to work harder to bite and chew them.

Egg Benedict with Smoked Salmon - $16.5

I was so happy with my egg benedict because of the leg ham. I don't really go for ham usually but this time I chose to have them and they're above my expectation. I'm not sure if they're the dry-cured ham but they had that coarse and dry texture compared to the normal ones.

Egg Benedict with Leg Ham - $15.5

4 of my friends actually ordered the famous BBB. Like the name Bikini Blowout Bottom, the eggs actually looked like "Boobs" while the extra avocado gave it another colour to the dish.

BBB (Bikini Blowout Bottom) - $17.5

I would say the service was really great from the moment we arrived at the place. Although they did mistaken our orders and gave us all toasts instead of bagels but they were still friendly and changed them straight away.

Coffee : 4     Food : 4     Service : 5