Restaurant Review: The Deanery

Location: 13 Bligh Place, Melbourne
Phone: 03 9629 5599
Link: thedeanery.com.au
Cuisine: Modern Australian
Overall Impression: 7/10

With an extensive wine list that you can be assured has been cellared appropriately, The Deanery has quite the reputation as a wine bar. 

Making Christmas a Highpoint

Our Christmas celebrations started early this year.

With two of our closest friends planning an overseas trip over the Christmas period, we decided to have an extra early Christmas dinner with them last weekend.

Event Review: Taste of Melbourne

Taste of Melbourne is a food festival that celebrates Melbourne's culinary scene. This year, Taste of Melbourne was held in Albert Park for the first time at the beautiful lakeside location, Pelican Lawn. A number of Melbourne restaurants participated, offering tapas sized dishes for visitors to buy and try.

Restaurant Review: Locale (De Bortoli Winery and Restaurant)

Location: De Bortoli Yarra Valley, Pinnacle Lane, Dixons Creek
Phone: 03 5965 2271
Link: debortoli.com.au
Cuisine: Italian, Coffee
Overall Impression: 9/10

The weather is warming up and plants are blossoming, revealing their gorgeous springtime colour. While the Yarra Valley is beautiful all year round, spring is a brilliant time to visit. Many inspiring private gardens open to the public and the National Rhododendron Gardens’ Spring Floral Display is in full bloom. In addition to the stunning scenery, J and I love the Yarra Valley for its beautiful food and, of course, spectacular wine.

Restaurant Review: Di Palma's

Location: 688 High Street, Kew East
Phone: 03 9859 8999
Link: dipalmas.com.au
Cuisine: Italian, Pizza
Overall Impression: 6.5/10

Di Palma’s serves hearty and affordable Italian fare at two locations (Hawthorn and East Kew). One of the few family-friendly restaurants with white table cloths, it has become a regular place for my family when we dine out for a lazy Sunday lunch with all the kids. They have a children’s menu that comes with free ice cream that the children are always excited about and for the adults, the menu ranges from wood-fired pizzas to pastas and also includes a good variety of mains.

Cafe Review: Clement Coffee Roasters

Location: Stall 89, Market St, South Melbourne
Phone: 0410 377 813
Link: clementcoffee.com
Cuisine: Coffee
Overall Impression: 7/10

Hipsters should hurry over to Clement before it becomes officially cool.

Review: Burch & Purchese Sweet Studio

Location: 647 Chapel Street, South Yarra,
Phone: 03 9827 7060
Link: burchandpurchese.com
Cuisine: Desserts/Ice Cream
Overall Impression: 6/10

We arrived at Burch & Purchese Sweet Studio (B&P) filled with excitement and anticipation. J and I had been looking forward to relaxing with cups of tea and some sweet treats. When we arrived, it became apparent that B&P was not at all what we had expected. B&P is not a "cafe" in any sense of the word but instead, as its name suggests, a sweet studio offering a spectacular array of sugary delights (including tubs of ice cream) to take away. Annoyed at myself for assuming it was a cafe, we decided to buy a couple of treats to take home and enjoy with a pot of earl grey I had blended myself courtesy of Mr. Twinnings.

Restaurant Reviews: Pho Hung Vuong 2 | Thanh Phong

Pho Hung Vuong 2
Location: 150 Victoria Street, Richmond
Phone: 03 9428 8680
Cuisine: Vietnamese
Overall Impression: 7/10

Beef Pho

Pho Huong Vuong 2 is a little eatery along the Vietnamese food oasis, Victoria Street in Richmond. As a regular visitor, I have found their Beef Pho to be particularly impressive. The broth boasts rich and intense flavours and it is consistently served with generous slivers of tender beef.