Snow Pony Cafe, Balwyn

When I think of snow and ponies, the image of a mystical far away land covered with fluffy white snow comes to mind. There's not a soul in sight, apart from a lone pony trotting in the cold forest. On its back sits a fair skinned princess with blonde long hair, stroking the pony's hair and whispering into its ear. The more I think about it, the more my imagination runs wild. I'm not sure how the owners of Snow Pony Cafe in Balwyn came up with this cute name, but I'm certainly quite taken by it. Not only is its name intriguing, it's simple and funky interior (although totally different to my imagination), mouth-watering meals and friendly staff are all elements that appeal to me.

When I called up at 12:30pm yesterday, I was told the cafe was very busy but they will try to fit the 3 of us in for a 1pm lunch. I wasn't expecting much when I entered the cafe but to my surprise, our table was ready and my friend Racheese was already sitting there.

There's three areas that contain tables - the front of the house with a long communal table, the back room with its cute hanging light and slightly darker and more private setting and there's where we sat, the patio for a casual meal out in the sun.

The patio was just perfect. It was 30 degrees and the sun was shining on our table but in the excitement of trying this lovely place, I didn't feel warm at all. I spent the first few minutes just admiring the decorations and the awesome light fittings. This place was so photogenic!

I was dying for a coffee. For the last few nights, I've been staying up writing blog posts (doing it right now in fact) as Christmas gatherings and shopping took up most of the day and the only time I had to myself was when everyone else had gone to sleep. I'm obviously still getting into the whole posting once a day thing so I was in desperate need of a good caffeine hit. My latte arrived very quickly, far quicker than it took me to photograph it.

It was not a bad coffee at all, although it had a slightly bitter or burnt after taste. This 'burnt' taste was more just the taste of the coffee beans than anything else in my opinion, although Yuye didn't agree. Either way, it was my coffee not his, so I get the say.

Yuye didn't order a coffee like he normally does. I think the heat is finally getting to him. What he ordered though was no surprise - organic grapefruit juice ($5) while Racheese ordered a fresh orange juice ($4.5). They came in the cutest 'medicine bottles' as we called them. If medicines really came in these bottles, I'd have drank enough as a kid to never get sick. They looked especially gorgeous in the sun.

The grapefruit juice gave me more of a kick than my latte by far. It was a burst of sourness with a slight bitter aftertaste and the chunky pulp was oh so yummy. I can get addicted to drinking that all summer. The orange juice was not bad either, sweet and also very pulpy, it was a very refreshing and fitting drink for the hot weather.

There were so many things I wanted to order on the menu! I believe the menu changes seasonally, in fact the menu we ordered from is slightly different to the one on their website. I wanted to try a dish with an interesting name as I was very much into the whole pony deal, especially Giddy Up which featured my favourite poached eggs and roasted tomato. However, Racheese eventually pointed me in the right direction - the Hopkins River eye fillet steak sandwich ($21.90). As soon as I saw 'beetroot' I had made my decision.

This dish had beetroot + blood orange relish, caramel onions, bacon, roast tomato, aged Maffra farmhouse cheddar and a poached egg. It's everything I like, on the one plate! The placement of the ingredients was interesting too, it sort of made it look like a looney clown face with a huge smile, don't you agree?

The steak was very tender and juicy, the tomatoes were peeled and oven roasted (although I found them to be a tiny overcooked and mushy) and the relish was quite sweet. I couldn't really taste the blood orange but that didn't bother me because there's beetroot which is cooler than anything else. The only thing I didn't like about the dish was how the relish and tomatoes made the bread quite soggy in the middle. Perhaps it was better if the steak was placed on the bread before the relish.

this was the first time I only got 1 poached egg and it's probably a good thing as I've been eating a lot of eggs lately. I did find only having one egg a bit less than completely satisfying as I love the bread and meat to be smothered in the runny egg yolks. Only having one egg yolk means I only really had yolk on one piece of bread. Either way, I loved the dish and I was fighting over it with Yuye.

Yuye ordered one of his favourites (and probably also mine), the kransky with asparagus, mustard and potato salad ($18.90). The dish looked beautiful. As it didn't come with bread, I didn't think it would be very filling but it was.

The kransky was as expected, meaty and perfectly salty, although I'd have preferred to eat them with a piece of bread or some pancakes. I was however, surprised at how good it went with the mustard. Yuye agreed that we should eat mustard with our store bored kranskies next time. I found the asparagus a bit overcooked and was too soft. I like my asparagus just cooked and still green and slightly crunchy. Personal preference I guess.

The potato salad was very creamy and had a nice amount of seeded mustard mixed through. I love anything with seeded mustard as it gives the dish that perfect tanginess. The colours of the salad was also quite vibrant.

Racheese ordered a Spanish tortilla with chorizo and lots and lots of rocket and shaved parmesan ($17.90). This is a new dish not on the site menu.

Three Bags Full - breakfast, Abbotsford

When Dana suggested to meet up for breakfast at Three Bags Full one Saturday morning, I gladly accepted the invitation. Three Bags Full in Abbotsford has been on my 'to eat' list for a long time but since I'm not a good morning person, breakfast out has never really worked, except this time. Even after taking a wrong turn and late about 15 minutes, Dana was still lining up outside for a seat. It just comes to show how popular and good their food really is. A booking is definitely required if you don't want to be disappointed, although I found lunch to be a little less crowded (we took a while to have our breakfast).

Located on the ground floor of a renovated old hat factory turned apartment block, with the long line outside and many fashionable dog walkers passing by, it really is a sight to see in the mornings. Especially when just a few blocks away is busy Victoria St where many Vietnamese restaurants and grocery stores reside, it was as if we just drove into a completely different country!

The menu was almost good to eat as I drooled over the prospective breakfast items and having a tough time choosing exactly which one I will have that day. Would it be sweet or savoury? Am I hungry enough to eat a big filling breakfast? These were all very important questions going through my head.

In the end I couldn't decide and went for a special of the day - pan fried pork and fennel sausage with crispy potatoes, scrambled eggs & tomato kasundi for $15.50. No one really knew what kasundi was but after tasting it, we thought it was a bit like a herby, almost curry like chutney. It was a lovely dip for all the items on my plate. I loved the sausage, albeit being a little overcooked and a bit dry. It was very tasty and went so nicely with everything else. The scrambled eggs were a little watery but according to Yuye, good scrambled eggs are always a bit watery. Yuye is always right when it comes to food. The crispy potatoes were as expected and was very filling, I still ate every last bit of it though (with a bit of help from Yuye).

Pancakes in Paradise, Surfers Paradise

We had breakfast one of the mornings at Pancakes in Paradise just a stone's throw away from The Watermark Hotel where we were staying at in Surfers Paradise. It was what I believed to be a better version of the Pancake Parlour in Melbourne and around the same level or better than Pancakes on the Rocks in Sydney. Either way, pancakes are beautiful. I can never go past the sweet ones :D because they are just so appetising! The stacked pancakes sign outside said $8.95 (which has increased in price to $9.50 now) for all you can eat pancakes with whipped butter and maple syrup - what great value! Although it's probably better for people with big appetites unlike myself.

Inside the store, many colourful hot air balloon decorations can be seen, making the eating experience even more exciting. I felt like a child going on my first hot air balloon flight sitting in one of those stalls, eagerly waiting for my pancakes to arrive.

I, like always decided to order a sweet pancake and this time it was Passion Pancakes for $16.95. It consisted of fresh strawberries and sliced banana on two buttermilk pancakes topped with vanilla ice cream, freshly whipped cream and passionfruit bits. Doesn't just reading the ingredients make your mouth water? It was indeed delicious. WIth the right amount of sweetness, I finished the whole thing while craving for more. You can see the heart attacks sitting on top though, with the cream piled up that high. :P I found their pancakes were a bit thicker than the pancakes in Pancake Parlour.

The Hardware Societe, Melbourne CBD

Call me a sheep but I just had to try out Hardware Societe after reading so many blog posts about this little hidden gem (not so hidden anymore). It serves French/Spanish breakfast and lunch dishes (unfortunately no dinner yet) during weekdays and now on Saturdays as well until 2pm.

This place is probably totally packed for as long as it's open. It's no wonder as well because they are just so good! The food is innovative and delicious, drinks refreshing, desserts totally scrumptious and best of all, it's not expensive! The only problem you'll have with enjoying a lovely meal here is seating availability.