round two at jackson dodds

Being the closest brunch destination to me always meant it was going to get a second round – so last Sunday I headed back to Jackson Dodds in Preston for an early morning brunch (thanks daylight savings!).

any breakfast spot with street art on the building wins points with me

it was nice to see their menu had expanded since I had been last

the jack’s breakfast – two poached eggs w/ grilled haloumi, sautéed spinach, avocado & house made tomato relish on sourdough with bacon – in a word yum!

I do think they may have forgotten our order at one point – as our food took some time – but it was worth the wait. I think round three may be in order soon.

pomona cafe

So it seems that Preston is booming with new cafes lately. Yesterday morning a friend and I headed to pomona cafe, the intention was to walk, but we awoke to massive thunderstorms and rain, so we took the easy option and drove down.

We arrived at just past 9, and the cafe was pleasantly not packed (although it was getting that way by the time we left). The cafe was deceptively large, with tables out the front, and then a massive communal table as you walk in, and then past the kitchen there is another set of tables and another outdoor area. Unfortunately the second outdoor area was not quite free from the rain, so we settled on a table just outside the kitchen.

The menu was like most brunch menus, with cute quirky names for the items, but you also have the option to make any bread item gluten free, so perfect if you have any dietary requirements. I went a bit off book and ordered the do you speak french?

I don’t usually ordered something sweet when I head out to brunch, but the caramelized bananas just pulled me in. Taste wise the dish was amazing – it wasn’t so sweet that you felt sickly, and the ricotta was a great neutralising agent to the sweet syrup and caramelized bananas. I certainly didn’t regret my pick – it was delicious!

My friend went for the pomona scrambled:

I had a bite of the components and I loved the addition of sweet potato on a breakfast dish. Although I can’t rate the dish, he seemed to thoroughly enjoy it – so apparently a thumbs up.

The only downside was they haven’t had their business cards printed yet, so I wasn’t able to grab one for my collection – however I just think this will mean I will need to head back to grab one when they do!

breakfast at turtle and makeup on chapel

Yesterday morning I headed south of the city to meet up with my sister for a day of catching up. We went out first thing to The Turtle in Elwood for breakfast and I got the turtle benedict -

It was delish! It was placed on gourmet hash potatoes which soaked up the egg and hollandaise perfectly. It was a great start to a Tuesday morning. We then headed to Chapel street to do some shopping, and we ended up heading into Kit, a makeup store which stocks a variety of makeup brands. I have needed a new foundation for a little while now, however I have found the choice slightly overwhelming, and some brands didn’t even have a shade light enough for my skin. I ended up purchasing a primer, foundation and powder from the brand Smashbox – I hadn’t heard of them before but the lady in the store was incredibly helpful and guided me to these products. I’ll let you know how it goes after the next few weeks, hopefully it is a step up from my previous routine.

(please excuse the iphone photos)

 

yummy breakfasts and other cooking adventures

So there has been a lot of food been eaten of late:

The first of my healthy fish dishes – cajun fish with avocado salsa. Although Phil enjoyed it, not quite sure I am fish person. My kitchen also still smells of fish – not impressed.

Falafel with cucumber and yoghurt. Loved this! A nice light dinner for those hot nights.

Sunday breakfast out, we went to Dood328 in Brunswick. I went something different and had the corn pancakes – delicious!

Phil’s had the big breakfast. Love that it was all cooked in the one pan.

I am headed to Canberra tomorrow for Australia day so I cooked some Australian treats - anzac biscuits.

and easy vanilla slice

So much food!!! Luckily the biscuits and the slice will be eaten by lots more people – and not demolished by me.

weekend happenings

This weekend has been full of bits and pieces – nothing too much to note, but a few mini adventures along the way.

On Saturday morning Phil and I headed to breakfast at Minimo on Sydney Road in Brunswick. We both had eggs with hollandaise – however mine with prosciutto and his with smoked salmon.

Yum!

I also managed to frame the four pieces of japanese paper I bought on my trip at the beginning of the year. They are now hanging in my hallway at the top of the stairs.

gingerlee breakfast

I love going out for breakfast. It’s really the only meal of the day I can’t be bothered to cook for myself (other than making toast or cereal).  So on Sunday morning we headed out to Lygon St in Brunswick for some Breakfast. Again I consulted the cheap eats 2010 to make our choice – however this time I did so on the new Cheap Eats 2010 iPhone app. I was at first sceptical paying $8.99 for an app which I already had the book version, however I am so glad I did – it has so many neat functions, like putting on multiple search filters, searching by map, and also user reviews. Our first choice was ‘Poached’ on Lygon st, however without a seat in site we walked further down to ‘gingerlee’, which had one last table left in the warmth of inside. At first I was disappointed at the lack of eggs Benedict on the menu – by usual go to breakfast meal, but I did end up ordering a bacon and egg ciabatta which was scrumptious! and a very generous size. Phil ended up getting a gingerlee breakfast, which was eggs, toast, sausage and mushrooms.

Lygon street seems to be proving itself as one of the best streets to have breakfast on!

tom phat

Woke up this morning at the early time of 8:45 to head out for breakfast (the main reason being we had run out of milk and bread – essential breakfast items). We were going to try out APTE (a place to eat) in Alphington, however we needed to back before 10am, and didn’t want to rush breakfast – we instead settled for a previous favourite, Tom Phat in Brunswick. It is a strange mix between asian and traditional breakfast – with a relaxed decor to match. I ordered the roti omelette, topped with a tomato salsa, accompanied with a green tea, in my individual tea-pot.

Phil opted for an omelette special which contained chorizo and roasted tomatoes, with a banana/coffee/cinnamon smoothie.

The square things on the left of the plate are hash browns – which were apparently delicious. All in all a fantastic breakfast venue – definitely a keeper!