Missy Ness' Train of Thought

As part of my usual weekend affairs I like to brunch, but instead of going with D this time, I decided to take Mum and Sis to Carlton, to try out Eden's Backyard. Eden's is one of the newer brunch cafes in Melbourne. Their Nicholson Street location is a great balance of the hip vibe in Carlton, but yet laid back enough to be away from the Brunswick Street.

We got there pretty late (around 2.30) and were all starving, so we got four things to share amongst the three of us.

Since Mum and I were both slightly sleepy (ok I will be honest, I was slightly hung over from the work Christmas party), we both got a coffee to wake us up, and Sis got a cold press (Eden's temptation). The coffees were okay, wasn't a stand out coffee. Sis enjoyed her combination of apple, pineapple, spinach, cucumber, lemon, banana and coconut water.



Mum chose the Bacon and Eggs. A classic which is a favorite, however instead of opting for sunnyside up, as mum normally likes it, went with poached ins…

Located on Chapel st in Prahran it was recommended to us by one of D's colleagues. FU and A was in town so it created the perfect opportunity to go out for a big feed. we booked in advance and lucky we did. The place was packed and buzzing.

To start we got the coconut pancakes to share, this came with 3 flavours peanut, chives and corn. These were very light and the coconut filling was just solid enough. It definitely got our taste buds moving.




The first dish was the Larb Gai. The spicy mince chicken was tossed with crushed chilli, toasted rice, red onions. Very refreshing but more on the spicy side, I won't recommend this if you can't handle the heat. Most of us struggled with it, D was the only one who was able to power through to finish it

Then we moved onto the Crying Tiger with Jim Jaw. The rump steak was well marinated and served sliced. The meat was succulent and soft, when paired with sweet and sour chilli sauce, it was the perfect texture and taste.

Next was Gat…

Whenever I catch up with Mrs W, it seems to be over something edible. This time was no different, we had brunch at Pillar of Salt, located on Church Street in Richmond.

Richmond is not bursting with cafes and Pillar of Salt has been there for awhile now. It is well known to the locals and all the gym bunnies from the Fitness First across the road.

For us, it was just another place to check out, while we shared our travel stories.

We started with a coffee each, soy latte for me and skinny cap for Mrs W. Good roast with smooth flavours and the milk was just the right temperature.


For brunch, we ordered 3 things to share (more due to the fact I skipped dinner the night before and was famished). Mrs W picked the Kimchi, Corn and Sweet Potato Fritters. This was a rather different brunch dish, it came with wombok/pineapple slaw, grapefruit cured kingfish, kimchi and a poached egg. The fritters were a good combination of spicy, sweet and textured. It got a bit messy to eat, but it had the ri…

So what does one do when they are hungry at 9.30pm on a Friday night? Well... in my case I look for a burger to eat. Given a person should only have so many calories a day, I like to make sure I consume all mine wisely. My favorite way is generally with a good gourmet burger. So this time, it meant that I pay Mick Adam's Burger Bar a visit.

Located on Portman Street in Oakleigh, this is a the located burger shop for the ones who live nearby and lucky for them, it's gourmet. The shop layout has that raw, rustic fit-out, which makes a good casual catch up spot with friends.

The menu is armed with a lot of choice. D and I decided on a burger each with a bowl of chips to share. D went with the Petey Sweetie, which had a beef patty, beetroot, fried egg, bacon, caramelized onion, lettuce, jalapeno mayo, emmantal swiss cheese and tomato relish. This is pretty much the burger with the lot. The patty was perfectly medium rare.  It would have been good if they stabbed the burger with a …

D and I don't have very many date nights now, so when we do we like to spend it wisely. When we were at the Taste of Melbourne, we tried Circa the Prince and loved it so mu that, we went to the restaurant at the first chance we got.

Located on Acland St in St Kilda, Circa has a beautiful vibe and windows where you can look out to the water. It was definitely the perfect atmosphere for us.

Since there was a lot on the menu we wanted to try, we opted for the 6 course degustation. While we were waiting I got myself a cocktail to start my evening.



To start we were given the Cured Duck with Rye. This was a very interesting tapas, it came presented like a cigar. The texture was like bread, slightly chewy with strong flavours of cured duck throughout.

Next was the Spring Peas with Broad Beans. It was served with Garrotxa which was a soft tasting goat cheese broth. It created a balance of freshness with the peas and milkiness of the cheese. I really enjoyed this; could have easily had a s…

Another weekend, means another brunch date with K. This time R joined us as well, where we ventured toward Prahran to pay From On High a visit. K draw my attention to this one as she was loves to hunt for new brunch places, as much as I do.

It's located on High Street with a very cute cottage like exterior, great little cafe for local to visit. The atmosphere and the decor brings out it's rustic charm and the mode of operation also matches

We all ordered our usual, latte, flat white and soy latte. Coffee was quick to come and great on the lips.

K was very disappointed that the Waffins were sold out, as we specifically came for that. However it didn't take her long to spot another sweet dish on the menu. She chose the Pikelet Stack instead. This came as a thick fluffy stack, with vanilla mascarpone cream, fresh berries, honey comb, chocolate soil and finished with a dusting of icing sugar. I particularly like the vanilla mascarpone on this. The creaminess tied all the elements…

While I was away overseas I started seeing articles and lots of instagram pictures from a place called Mammoth, this got me curious. So after a bit of researching and google stalking I found out that the brains behind Touchwood and Barry is the owners of Mammoth. I didn't need much more convincing, it's located in Armadale in a leafy location close to the train station, so it was the perfect Saturday brunch spot for me.

D and I got there around 2pm and waited for about 5 minutes to get a table. We shared a table with another couple but we didn't mind and neither did the other couple. The place has sunshine penetrating through all it's windows and buzzing with people. I loved the upbeat atmosphere with the clean cut french provincial decor.


To begin we got the usual normal latte for D and soy latte for me. Our coffees didn't take long to come and it was a great blend too. Smooth and full bodied, perfect way to kick start our brunch.

D got The Benedict. Unlike the tr…