Chocolate Buddha

January 31, 2026

   

Weirdly, we're gonna commence our Cheap Eats 2006 two decades on reviews with a restaurant that we've never before blogged: Chocolate Buddha. Chocolate Buddha has never truly drawn me in on its own merits but it's very convenient for fitting dinner in around a CBD-based cultural event. It's embedded in Federation Square and turns around decent Japanese food, fast. It always seems bustling, and you can lock down a booking before your ticketed show. At the same time, their kitchen is open to a reasonable time and if you walk in as a small group there's a good chance they'll have room for you. Most recently, Michael and I tried walking up at 8:30pm after an ACMI Tony Leung Chiu-wai movie and squeezed into the bench by the window.

   

Vegetarian and vegan dishes are marked and scattered across the menu, and there's a dedicated column for gluten-free friendly items (with a contamination caveat). We grazed on some of the more shareable options: crispy-fried green gyoza with wasabi mayo ($15), a simple tofu katsu ($11; in lieu of their sold-out nasu dengaku), seasonal green veges in a garlic, ginger and sesame dressing ($12), and steamed rice ($5).

   

Agedashi tofu ($16) is a staple; this one came with lots of broth and a helpful ladle for sharing.

Prices have increased since 2006, of course: side dishes were once $4-13 and now sit around $5-20; mains were $14-20 and are now $23-30. The Cheap Eats reviewer warned that staff could be "harried and humourless" but we experienced the complete opposite in 2026: the four staff we interacted with kept pace with confidence and a smile. Chocolate Buddha might never make the where's the best? page, but it's undeniably handy to fall back on when you feel like a tourist in your own city.

   

____________

Back in 2006, Morsels & Musings loved the food, but like Cheap Eats they bemoaned the service at Chocolate Buddha. Since then it has received positive reviews on This and That, The Food Joy, Weekend Notes, and Mamma Knows Melbourne.

____________

Chocolate Buddha

Federation Square, Swanston and Flinders Sts, Melbourne CBD

9654 5688

food, drinks

https://chocolatebuddha.com.au/

Accessibility: There are both steps and a flatter entry point to Chocolate Buddha, but I'm not sure there's a way of avoiding the undulating, cobbled Federation Square. Furniture is densely packed with reasonably clear but busy walkways - mostly low tables with backless stools, some backed metal chairs outside and some backed chairs and booth seating toward the back inside. We ordered at our table and paid at a low counter. We didn't visit the toilets. 

Gochujang & tofu ragu with gnocchi & pickled cucumber

January 4, 2026

   

Cindy keeps a reasonably close eye on Meera Sodha's vego food column for The Guardian, and flagged this one as Relevant To My Interests as soon as it popped up. It really does tick all my boxes: chilli forward, carbs and protein and something you can throw together on a school night. I liked the idea of the fresh cucumber pickle as an accompaniment too, so I went all in on Meera's vision, and added some bonus broccoli. 

It's a fun dish - a kind of gnocchi ragu, with the blitzed tofu standing in for mince, but the flavours are not very Italian, driven by chilli bean sauce, gochujang and sesame oil. It works for me, and just writing this up has reminded me that I should cook it again soon.

Gochujang & tofu ragu with gnocchi & pickled cucumber

(based on this recipe from Meera Sodha)

pickled cucumber

1 decent sized cucumber

2 tablespoons rice vinegar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon sesame seeds

gnocchi

500g gnocchi

2 tablespoons olive oil

200g spring onions, sliced finely

1 head of broccoli, chopped into bite-sized pieces

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 tablespoon minced ginger

300g firm tofu, blitzed to a mince-like consistency

2 tablespoons chilli bean sauce

1 tablespoon gochujang paste

2 tablespoons tomato paste

1 tablespoon tamari

2 teaspoons sesame oil

2 teaspoons maple syrup

While your gnocchi cooking water is heating up, start making your pickle: combine the salt and cucumber slices in a bowl and then pop them in a sieve over a bowl to drain out the moisture.

Cook the gnocchi as per the packet instructions and drain.

Put your oil in a large fying pan over medium heat and add in most of the spring onions, the garlic and the ginger. Cook, stirring, for a few minutes, until the sting is out of the garlic. 

Add the broccoli and tofu and turn the heat up, stir-frying your mix for 8 or 10 minutes, until the tofu mince browns up a bit. Stir in all your sauces and seasonings and then add in the cooked gnocchi plus about a cup of water. Bring the mix to the boil and then kill the heat and stir through your leftover spring onions.

Take your drained cucumber and pop it in a bowl, along with the rice vinegar and sesame seeds.

Serve it all up and enjoy.

Terror Twilight

January 3, 2026

   

We had a couple low-obligation days in the new year before returning to work. Michael did a little online research and suggested we try Collingwood's Terror Twilight for lunch. Located on a corner, sunlight streams in from two sides, and there's a bit of a diner feel to the whole set-up. The menu's a little fancy: banana bread comes with burnt miso caramel butter, the ham toastie is actually mortadella, and eggs benedict is served on brioche with a green mango salad. Half of the menu columns are taken up with "build your own bowl" and "build your own broth" step-throughs. Vegan, vegetarian and gluten-free options are well-marked through the all-day breakfast, but less so in the build-your-own sections, even though it's potentially the easiest way to meet one's dietary requirements.

   

I love to see a house-made soda on a menu, too - at this time they were specialising in rhubarb, strawberry and mint ($7.50).

   

The spicy green eggs ($26.50) naturally caught Michael's attention - it's a modest round of Turkish bread stacked with folded eggs, spring onion and green chilli relish, a herb salad, grated haloumi and crispy fried shallots, and a little pool of parsley-salted yoghurt to drag it all through.

   

I was intrigued by the eggs kurosawa ($27) and ultimately loved every bite. Under a furikake-dusted rice cracker, I took my sweet time over folded eggs, brown rice, bok choy, avocado and fried tofu finished with dabs of pickled ginger, miso mayo and teriyaki sauce. 

   

Terror Twilight's staff were chipper and welcoming. The more-is-more menu seems to be executed well and there is nothing hidden about this gem, with a steady stream of customers flowing through. I'd be interested to come back to build a bowl or sample some of the sweet stuff.

____________

There's a positive review of Terror Twilight on Melbourne Lifestyle.

____________

Terror Twilight

11-13 Johnston St, Collingwood

9417 0129

food, drinks  

https://www.terrortwilight.com.au/

Accessibility: There's a ramp up to the door, a flat floor and a wide pathway through the centre of the café. Furniture is mostly densely packed regular height tables with backed chairs and benches. There are a couple of booths and a high bench with fixed, backless stools. We ordered at our table and paid at the high counter. We didn't visit the toilets. 

Coffee streusel slice

January 2, 2026

   

It would seem that, for the third year in a row, I've gotten nostalgic over my Christmas-new year break and pulled out the Australian Women's Weekly Big Book of Beautiful Biscuits. This isn't actually a recipe we ate back in the 1990s; my brother would not have accepted the walnuts and neither of us would have been interested in the coffee. My tastes have changed! A biscuity based covered in coffee caramel, walnuts and a streusel topping is right up my alley.

My adjustments were minor. Worried about spreading the biscuit base as far as I needed to, I used a smaller, square baking tray than what was recommended and ended up with a taller, chunkier slice than the one in the book's photo. I was not interested in freezing and grating the streusel, so I just lightly crumbled it with my hands. Given the accessibility of dairy-free condensed milk these days, this would be easy to veganise.

The outcome was sweet and golden, and the walnuts almost melded into it. (Maybe I'd enjoy a coarser chop for greater contrast?) The small quantity of instant coffee powder didn't make an impression and I'd gladly add a lot more. This was a pleasing interplay of what I've always loved with what I've come to appreciate over time.

Coffee streusel slice

(slightly adapted from The Australian Women's Weekly The Big Book of Beautiful Biscuits)

base

125g butter, at room temperature

1/4 cup caster sugar

1 1/4 cups plain flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

filling

400g can sweetened condensed milk

30g butter

2 tablespoons golden syrup

3 teaspoons instant coffee (or add more, to taste)

1/3 cup walnuts, chopped

topping

1 cup plain flour

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/3 cup brown sugar

125g butter, at room temperature

Preheat an oven to 180°C. Line a 20cm square baking tray with paper.

Make the base in a medium-large bowl. Use an electric beater to beat together the butter and sugar. Sift in the flour and baking powder and stir until well combined. Spread the mixture evenly across the base of the baking tray, and bake it for about 15 minutes.

While the base is baking, get a small saucepan out and set it over medium-high heat. In the saucepan, stir together the condensed milk, butter, golden syrup and coffee. Bring the mixture to the boil and let it simmer for 3 minutes, until thickened. Stir in the walnuts. When the base has baked, retrieve it from the oven and pour over the filling. Allow it all to cool for 10 minutes.

While the filling is cooling, prepare the topping in a small-medium bowl. Stir together the flour, cinnamon and sugar. Chop the butter into cubes and either rub it into the flour or (my preference) mix it in with a fork until well combined. Break the mixture up into uneven chunks and drop them all over the top of the slice. Bake the slice for 20 minutes, until lightly browned, and allow it to cool within the tray.

Cheap East 2006, 20 years later

   

We started where's the beef way back in 2006 when we moved down to Melbourne from Brisbane. That means, of course, that it's 20 years since we started exploring Melbourne veg dining options and posting low quality photos of delicious food. 

Our bible for the first few years was The Age's 2006 Cheap Eats Guide, a region-by-region guide to 473 cafes, bars and restaurants across Victoria that promised meals for less than $25 a head. We checked back in 2016, revisiting a bunch of old favourites and checking the stats. At that point, 282 (59.6%) of the places listed were still open, and getting blogged by us in 2006 or 2007 was associated with a very large benefit (around 80% of the places we had blogged stayed open compared with 56% of the unblogged places).

Another decade has passed, so it's time to update the figures! The decade since 2016 has been a tough one, with the number of places still open falling by about half - we're down to 144 out of the original 473 (30.4%). There are a range of factors that predict longevity, but the key finding: being blogged by where's the beef will boost your business' survival. 

   

Between arriving in Melbourne in late 2006 and the end of 2007, we visited and blogged 43 places from the Cheap Eats, and 21 (48.8%) are still trading two decades later, compared with just 28.6% of the places we didn't blog. Now that's influence. In a fully adjusted logistic regression model, getting a wtb review before 2007 was linked with a doubling of your odds of staying open for 20 years! Incredible stuff.

   

There's some interesting variation between venues. Pubs seem to have the most staying power. Vietnamese restaurants in particular have struggled through that second decade, with only one of the twenty places in the Cheap Eats still trading this year. 

   

This is echoed in the regional data - the Inner East (which has a strong Vietnamese history and community) experienced the most closures, but more than half of the listed places have closed in every region. It's a tough industry.

We're going to revisit a bunch of places from the early years of where's the beef this year and check in on how they've changed (or not) since the heady days of 2006. Stay tuned!

where's the best in 2025?

   

Mankoushe back in 2012

It's here - probably the last 2025 retrospective you'll see circulated! The blog has experienced lags before, though none of this length. Chalk it up to some minor health hiccups, some other interests to pursue, and - probably most of all - some very screen-heavy times during my job that put me off ever opening a laptop in my off-hours.

This lapse has enabled us to report a resurrection! Our local all-you-can-eat Sri Lankan restaurant, Maalu Maalu, closed mid-2025 and has reopened in 2026! We'll have to get back in and report any changes we've noticed. The incredible Vola Foods closed around the same time, but it's worth keeping a sharp eye on their social media for pop-ups. This Borderland gave us a generous 8 month warning of their planned closure, enabling us to enjoy one more meal. There've been the more usual briefly or unannounced closures - Milkwood, Small Axe Kitchen, Banh Mi Nights, Ge'ez Ethiopean Restaurant, Big Esso, Madame K, Girls & Boys. The one that's hit hardest is Mankoushe - in the 15 years that they operated, we blogged them 11 times and visited many more besides. 

   

Just one way to enjoy Tofu Shoten

Happily, there are plenty of new and new-to-us eateries to celebrate. For 2025, the where's the best? page welcomes Beautiful Jim Key, Beit Siti, Lunar, Short Round, Sleepys and Walrus to our inner north brunch listings. The Sporting Club Hotel is back and bougier than ever; there are also good dinners to be had at Biang! Biang!, Chanhouse, Miss Moses and My Asian Neighbour. Perhaps the best of all is Tofu Shoten, a takeaway that is an entire category unto itself.

2025 was the first time in six years that I crossed the Australian border. We had some really memorable times and meals in Japan and Taiwan (captured in one, two, three, four posts.).

   

Miyo sensei and Naoko guide us through vegan Japanese cooking at Idées Kamakura

Browsing through the two past years of cooking turned up recipes that have earned repetition and where's the best? status. Michael, more than me, has logged hit after hit from Hetty Lui McKinnon and Meera Sodha: charred cauliflower & crispy tofu with sweet peanut sauce, sesame noodles with charred broccoli & chilli oil, celery-cashew stir-fry with a food court omelette, caramelised garlic, zucchini & butter beans, tahini & soya mince noodles with pickled radishes, blistered beans with gnocchi Trapanese, kale dumplings with brothy butter beans, omelette roll sushi rice bowl. Dinner has been transformed! 

My kitchen wins have skewed cosy: porridge in our relatively new microwave, cheesy scone wedges to accompany soup, and vegan chocolate cupcakes with peanut butter buttercream, just for the sake of testing out my op-shopped silicon moulds. We've had a lot of fun with friends getting back into vegan potlucking, usually with a feature ingredient in mind. It's inspired me to sneak odd fruits into crumble and potato chips into biscuits, try making sesame toast at home and even buy an ice shaver off facebook marketplace. Michael and Lui McKinnon teamed up once again for some show-stopping salt'n'pepper gems.

   

Mushroom sesame toast

2026 is already a quarter done, so I've got a head-start on forecasting what's ahead for the blog. This is the year that where's the beef? will turn twenty years old. It marks the anniversary of Michael's and my move to Melbourne, when we walked down to Carlton Readings and bought a Cheap Eats 2006 guide. We've held onto that guide and we'll be returning and reviewing a bunch of stalwarts throughout the year. I hope you'll join us!

Corn & sour cream filo pie

December 25, 2025

   

My mum, brother and aunty visited our place for Christmas in 2025. They don't expect anything fancy of us but are always very appreciative when Michael and I cook. The weather was right for a picnic at the nearest park so we planned a menu that we could feasibly take down there. The centrepiece was a filo pie stuffed with charred corn kernels, spring onions, feta and sour cream.

I adjusted the recipe to suit my style. I thought, mid-summer, that fresh corn would be much more fun than canned. I sautéed the spring onions, instead of mixing them into the filling uncooked, because I prefer my onions tender. Dragging the pastry sheets through the thick filling seemed unwieldy, so I just layered up the filo and filling in turns as I'm accustomed to. And I used the whole box of filo, instead of the fraction suggested in the recipe, for convenience.

This pie was worthy of the occasion, standing tall and golden with a creamy and gently savoury centre. We didn't mind spilling pastry shards all over the blanket. The pie was well teamed with a pomegranate molasses-dressed tomato salad and roasted asparagus topped with capers and almonds. We followed up with bienenstich for dessert at home. 

Corn & sour cream pie

(slightly adapted from a recipe by Yotam Ottolenghi in The Guardian)

the kernels from 2 cobs corn

300g spring onions, finely chopped

1 tablespoon olive oil

3 eggs

300g sour cream

200g feta, crumbled into 2-3cm pieces

100ml milk

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

salt and pepper

spray oil

375g box filo pastry

1 tablespoon sesame seeds

100g baby cornichons

Place a medium frying pan over medium-hot heat and add the corn kernels. Stir them only occasionally, allowing them to char. Before they properly burn, transfer the kernels to a large bowl. Keep the heat in the pan going, and sauté the spring onions in a bit of oil until tender; when they're ready, turn off the heat and add them to the corn in the bowl. Beat the eggs and pour them onto the corn; add the sour cream, feta, milk, baking powder, salt and pepper, stirring everything together until well combined.

Preheat an oven to 200°C and line a springform cake dish with baking paper. Unpack the filo pastry and roll it up in a lightly damp tea towel. Spray oil into the cake dish and build up some filo sheets to cover the base and sides. Spoon in about half of the corn filling, then scrunch up some more pastry sheets and spray them with a bit of oil in between; repeat with the remaining corn filling and messily layer the rest of the filo sheets with some oil on top. Give the top a final oil spray and sprinkle over the sesame seeds. 

Bake the pie for about 40 minutes, until golden on top, then allow it to cool for up to an hour, before serving with the cornichons on the side.

Daphne

December 11, 2025

   

Daphne is the younger sibling of Etta, probably our favourite fancy restaurant in Melbourne - it arrived in time for a first visit on my birthday. Daphne is going for a more casual but still-special experience compared to Etta, and it was near-full and absolutely buzzing on our visit. The menu is varied and clearly demonstrates what they have to offer - a martini club, a steak night, oysters, homemade pasta with a glass of wine, a fancy hot dog with fries and tarragon mayo, a bougie little kids' menu. The emphasis is far from vegetarian but there's more than enough to cobble together a meal. 

We started with cocktails! Of the four martinis on offer, Michael tried a Daphne Dirty ($25), which featured olive oil washed Vansetter vodka and Perello Picante olives. Extending the theme, I sipped an olive oil sour ($24), which mixed Buffalo Trace bourbon with amaretto, the titular olive oil, honey and citrus.

   

We started with a medley of melon, cucumber, goats' cheese and sorrel ($16). It was novel, summery and spicy. (It was tough to choose between this and the Bloody Mary heirloom tomatoes.)

   

Asparagus soon followed ($18), showered with capers and parmesan.

   

I felt ready for the second Cobb salad of my life ($29) - all I remembered of the first was that it was huge, and involved lettuce and mock bacon. 'Huge' does seem to be the defining feature, with this one similarly piling on the lettuce, corn, avocado, cherry tomatoes, beetroot and capsicum, with a bit of boiled egg, chives and plenty of ranch dressing to go around.

   

This all had us working up to the heartiest vegetarian dish on the menu, a leek and cheddar pot pie ($28) with some compensatory mixed bitter leaves. It's hard to fault a rich pie like this in any season.

   

For dessert we shared a chocolate crémeux topped with fior di latte gelato and chocolate crackle ($14). It read a little ho-hum to me but actually I loved these contrasting textures and shades of milk and chocolate - it reminded me of my beloved frozen chocolate crunch. The staff recommended an excellent wine for Michael to pair with it too (I think it was Lichtenberger González Blaufränkisch).

This first meal at Daphne was a piecemeal but fun ride - it'll be interesting to see how this venue evolves with time.

____________

Daphne

52 Lygon St, Brunswick East

9191 9410

food, drinks

https://daphne.melbourne/

Accessibility: Daphne has three steps up on entry. Furniture is moderately spaced, a mixture of low tables with backed chairs, high benches with back stools, and booth seating. We ordered and paid at our table, and didn't visit the toilets.

Sticky apricot, rosemary & almond cake

December 10-11, 2025

   

Long time readers will be well aware that Cindy is really the baker in this household. My attempts at sweet treats are occasional and perilous, usually limited to a work morning tea or, classically, Cindy's birthday. In the months before the big day this year, one of my more talented baking pals started raving about this cake, an apricot, rosemary and polenta situation from the Kitchen Projects substack. December is stone fruit season, so it seemed like a perfect solution to my annual baking challenge.

It's entirely gluten free, but heavy on the dairy and eggs. The most surprising step in the recipe is the use of cooked polenta, which is blended up with eggs as kind of the core of the cake batter - it's a bit of a faff, but the smooth, dense texture is worth it. I could have pressed the apricots in a bit deeper and baked the whole thing for a bit longer, but this was still a delicious outcome - the sweet, sticky apricots go nicely with the rosemary. Definitely a winner for the coeliacs in your life, and probably a hit with everyone who likes sweet treats.

   

Sticky apricot, rosemary & almond cake

(from this recipe on the Kitchen Projects substack)

115g butter

110g sugar

2 eggs

40g dried polenta

140 almond meal

3g baking powder

3g salt

cooked polenta

20g polenta

100g milk

topping

4 apricots, halved

30g butter

30g sugar

a couple of teaspoons of chopped rosemary and some small little bushels

Cook your polenta first, by heating the milk up to a gentle simmer and whisking in the polenta - keep whisking until it's creamy and smooth and then kill the heat and leave to cool.

Once it has cooled down blend the cooked polenta with your 2 eggs and set aside.

Now cook your apricots. Melt the butter in a decent sized frying pan. Add the sugar and, once it's bubbling, add the finely chopped rosemary and pop the apricots in, cut side down. Sprinkle the rosemary bushels in and cook on low heat for 8-10 minutes, until they've got a little bit of colour on them.

Now pre-heat your oven to 170°C and line a round 20 cm cake tin. Time to put your cake together. Cream the butter and sugar in a big bowl and then beat through the blended polenta/egg mix. 

Combine all the dry ingredients in a separate bowl (almond meal, dried polenta, baking powder and salt) and then stir the dry mix into the main batter bowl. Pour the mix into your cake tin and then press the apricots into the batter, before pouring over the rosemary/butter/sugar mix over the top.

Bake for at least 30 minutes - I got worried at about 35 and took it out, but it could definitely have been pushed a bit further to get a really nice golden top. 

True North VI

December 11, 2025

   

I'll be honest: I was actually hoping to have my birthday lunch at Beit Siti. But they were taking a well-deserved break and it was no disappointment to head a little down the street to True North instead. Their menu is full of fun foods, with endless adaptations explicitly laid out. Do you want yours with Nuttelex or butter? An added egg? Bacon or facon? Some feta, or even salt and pepper tofu? They can do that. Also, they have a list of seven house-made non-alcoholic drinks! I had a blackberry and ginger fizz ($7).

   

I went back and forth on the Fermental As Anything ($24): uninspired by the name yet into the idea of smashed avo with pickley bits; not thrilled by the toast stacking or the possible domination of colourless tomato and raw onion over avocado... ultimately actually very, very pleased and finishing the lot! This was pebre, not salsa - lighter on the tomato with more chopped pickles than onions, a dash of rocket, and a train of fermented chilli tahini. This meal was bright, summery and satisfying.

   

Michael gets a bit excited every time he sees congee on a menu, so it was immediately the vegan-friendly Oatis Redding ($24) for him. As the name suggests, it's oat and not rice based, built up with mushrooms, kimchi, spring onion, chilli oil, fried shallots and, for a fee, salt and pepper tofu (+$6). He loved the lot, and I was impressed by the tofu chunk he let me taste - they're available direct from the sides list and I wanna get my own serve with whatever I order next at True North.

   

True North need never just be a Plan B - they've brought their A game every time we've visited.

____________

You can read about one, two, three, four, five of our previous visits to True North.

____________

True North 

2A Munro St, Coburg 

9917 2262 

food, drinks

https://truenorth3058.com/

Accessibility: There's a small step on entry and a pretty crowded interior (especially on the weekends when the stools at the bar are in use). We ordered at the table and paid at a high counter. The toilet is a narrow non-gendered cubicle.

Beautiful Jim Key

December 11, 2025

   

Cafe Beautiful Jim Key popped up in a new apartment block on Wilson Ave last winter, and seemed immediately to be very popular. Michael suggested we give it a shot on a Thursday morning, when there was less of a contest for a table. The all-day menu largely covers the brunch items we expect - granola, bircher, avocado toast, French toast, a big breakfast, eggs on toast with a list of add-ons. It is scattered with vs, vgos, vgos and dfos, though it's missing a legend. I've no idea how they're veganising their smoked sausage and cheese roll but they'll allegedly do it.

   

Maybe it's not the best way to judge a cafe on the first visit, but I'm often drawn to a savoury muffin when it's on offer. The zucchini and parmesan one on offer here was rich and fluffy, great stuff. I cut through the cheese with a tropical fruit juice ($7). I also noticed a nice little list of other non-alcoholic drinks that I'd enjoy later in the day - butterfly pea and jasmine iced tea, housemade blood orange soda, and Non 1 Salted Raspberry and Chamomile.

   

Michael picked one of the more original items from the menu - curried soft boiled eggs teamed with mango chutney-spread toast ($22). It was silky, warmly but not hotly spiced, something he'd gladly come back for.

Our first encounter with Beautiful Jim Key was a very good one! It'll certainly be high on our list for a revisit.

____________

Beautiful Jim Key

7 Wilson Ave, Brunswick

0400 124 414

food, drinks

https://www.beautifuljimkey.com.au/

Accessibility: BJK has a flat entry and medium-spaced furniture, a mixture of bench seating along the wall, low tables with backed seats, then a high communal table with backless stools. We ordered at our table and paid at a low counter. We didn't use the toilets, but I think I spotted a reasonably spacious unisex cubicle.

Kilcunda

December 6-7, 2025

   

We had an overnight stay in Kilcunda this summer, motivated by a live music show at Archies Creek Hotel. The weather was pretty miserable (excepting a 20 minute period in which I took the above photo), but the eating was an unexpectedly bright spot.

____________

   

I looked past the name and booked us dinner at Udder & Hoe. It has a compact circular floor plan with an arc of floor-to-ceiling windows facing the (on our visit, very dreary) beach, and millennial-instagram vibes. We picked most of the vegetarian options across the menu - it doesn't explicitly mark dietary suitability but it's the kind of place that lists all the featured ingredients rather than naming dishes.

   

What we ate, we liked a lot. Sourdough came with sweet, fluffy Tenby Point honey butter ($8), and a flat little chickpea crumpet ($7) was topped with Prom Country feta and a tangle of pickled zucchini and fresh herbs. The same salad mix was teamed with radish and almonds, atop a burrata ($18) with a side of croutons. A third time, a pickled onion version garnished a deceptively small, very hearty mushroom and kale lasagne ($30). Lasagne isn't a summery food, but then this wasn't a particularly summery evening. It's probably for the best that we didn't order the side of organic salad leaf with pickled onion ($14). We skipped dessert but picked up a block of chocolate from their display of fancy groceries and trinkets.

__________

   

kgs' eclectic outdoor furniture looked abandoned on our evening walk, but the morning confirmed that it's a bright and very-much-in-business cafe. We started early and had our pick of the more carefully curated indoor furniture and booth seating. The menu covers off on the breakfast classics, and leans towards burgers and wraps for lunch. Again, we relied on ingredient lists and not markers for dietary interpretation. I chose a cosy plate of sourdough crumpets ($19) teamed with tangy strawberry-rhubarb compote and yoghurt plus a toasted oat crumb. Michael tried the on-trend hot honey toast ($17.50), which actually featured smashed avocado, Danish feta and a bit of chilli. 

   

____________

While we didn't get to enjoy Kilcunda's beach as we might have hoped, the catering far exceeded my expectations... all the more reason to come back when the forecast improves.

Miss Moses

November 29, 2025

   

We've visited Brunswick bar Miss Moses a few times over the years for live music, trivia and food, but this is its first appearance on the blog. It's had decent vegetarian options as long as I've been visiting, and it currently offers a full page vegan menu separate from its mainstream menu. Dairy-free and gluten-free options are also well-marked (although the kitchen is not guaranteed coeliac-compliant). There's a lot to choose from: little snacks like pickles and olives; classic fried sides like chips, onion rings and potato cakes; tortilla chips, the now-ubiquitous cauliflower 'wings'; a couple of tacos, seven burgers, and three counter meals. That they were out of mock-fish on this day was disappointing but hardly limiting.

   

Michael chose the Spicy Chook burger ($23); the chicken tenders were doused in a tasty gochujang hot sauce, though Michael could've taken it hotter. It's teamed with pretty classic pickles, aioli and lettuce, then a serve of very decent chips.

   

I was still eating more mindfully than usual, and figured the chicken burrito bowl ($25) was my safest option. I picked my way carefully, focusing on the bed of rice, slaw, corn, beans and salsa; nibbling at the juicy seitan and tortilla chips, spreading the guacamole around judiciously. This was a great plate, and in other circumstances I would have forked it up with great enthusiasm.

I'm not currently in my pub era, but should I ever get back there, Miss Moses will be highly ranked.

____________

Folks on The Chicken Scene were underwhelmed by the fried chicken burger.

____________

Miss Moses

581 Sydney Rd, Brunswick

8374 7825

standard menu, vegan menu 

https://www.missmoses.com.au/

Accessibility: Entry is flat and there's a clear corridor through the centre. Furniture is medium spaced; a mixture of low tables with backed seats and high tables with backless stools. We ordered and paid at a high bar. We didn't visit the toilets, but we noticed that they're located up a full flight of stairs.

Shaved ice summer

November 24 - December 8, 2025

   

So my little errand was to pick up a $10 ice shaver that was advertised on facebook marketplace. This idea had been churning in the back of my mind since before I encountered several excellent specimens in Taipei. You see, we'd arranged for a noodle-themed potluck with our vegan pals, and I was plotting cendol for dessert. I had the non-perishable ingredients purchased from KFL and stocked in our pantry at least a month in advance: the box of cendol, some sweet canned jackfruit, sweet red beans, toddy palm seeds, grass jelly, coconut milk, and palm sugar.

   

The ice shaver took a couple of goes to get the hang of, was particular about the ice shapes I put in, and was loud. But it worked! I layered up my cendol ingredients and crowned them with feather-light ice shards shot through with palm sugar syrup. I had enough ingredients to last several weeks, and I experimented with different serving vessels - the plastic bowl in the second photo became a favourite. This was quick enough to arrange that I could whip one up for afternoon tea on a work-from-home day.

   

Once I'd exhausted my cendol supplies, I experimented with other fruits (while continuing to make palm sugar syrup - it's really good!). I made pandan-infused coconut jelly set with agar in my silicon cupcake trays, and teamed it with watermelon or mango. I've experimented a little with flavoured cordials, and have a can of lychees in the cupboard waiting for their moment - I just think they'd be great with lemon, lime and bitters! It's shaped up to be my shaved ice summer.

My Asian Neighbour

November 22, 2025

   

Back in Melbourne, we had a little errand to run in Reservoir, and it was a nice excuse to visit My Asian Neighbour for a sunny daylight-savings dinner. This venue is cheery and sprawling, with indoor seating, a courtyard bar, and astroturfed street-side outdoor seating - we picked the latter. The Indonesian menu is extensive, with lots of well-marked vegan and gluten-free options.

   

My digestive system was still a little delicate, and I decided that the Gado Gado ($25) might be safest option. 'Safe' couldn't get more joyful than this bright bowl of contrasting colour and textures - the classic hard-boiled egg, potatoes, green beans, bean sprouts and tofu were layered with satay sauce, a snowstorm of crushed garlic crackers, and a generous drizzle of sweet dark soy sauce.

   

Michael's no-holds-barred Nasi Campur Banquet ($35) was an even greater sight to behold, with a corn fritter, a tempe fritter, deep-fried eggplant, a trail of rich rendang curry, a medley of fresh veges, garlic crackers and a bowl of dark sweet soy sauce all clamouring around a hefty mound of rice. Only the sambal was really fiery, so it was possible to measure out the heat to taste.

   

The staff were a mixture of experienced and efficient with new and eager-to-learn. We weren't left wanting... unless you mean wanting the stomach space for dessert. I've got my eye on the pandan pancake for next time.

____________

My Asian Neighbour

760 Plenty Rd, Reservoir

9470 5481

entrees, sides & specialties; mains & desserts; drinks

https://myasianneighbour.com.au/

Accessibility: In short, a bit chaotic. There's a lip on the door and a crowded-looking interior (we didn't explore far). Outdoors there's a medium-density mixture of high tables with backless stools and regular-height, not-so-sturdy tables with those pinchy metal chairs (booo). We ordered at our table and paid at a regular-height counter inside. We didn't visit the toilets.