western buds

Had one of the WORST headaches of my life last night, cuz I thought I could get through the day without a coffee. I was sweating and shaking profusely, felt like puking and it felt like my head could explode. I was trying to control my breaths steadily cuz everytime my heart pumped faster, my head pounded harder. Thankfully, I woke up with it all gone. Praise God.



After sending Alicia off to work, I called sis up for breakfast but was rejected due to unforseen circumstances. Haha. That's what we always wrote in letters to the school when we skipped classes.




Never knew it could be so scenic under the westgate bridge. I drove to this place in Newport for breakfast on my way home.




It's called "Pint of Milk", and although I wasn't ready to touch any coffee yet, I'm sure it was really good. They had Gridlock beans and a Synesso machine.



The thing I love about this place is how it's at such a peaceful location, almost like a well kept secret for the local residents. The lady who took my order was SO friendly, even sat down at my table when I told her what I wanted for breakfast.



Lovely start to a, hopefully, productive day.

bent that way

Bent Espresso. A random find from the internet.



Looking from the outside, I wasn't too sure if I wanted to go in. But even if I did, there were no tables for us. We waited. For a good 10 minutes, I think. That place is ALWAYS packed. Weird. It's in Bentleigh.



Patiently, we waited in the cold. Finally, there was ONE table for the 5 of us. Till the table next to us left, we were squeezed at the corner.



Everything I thought about the place was wrong. IT WAS GOOD. First meal on our trip to Mornington, BEST-NYA!



The coffee was AMAZING! I'm not sure if he was mocking me with the monkey on my coffee. It even had two front teeth. BUT WHO CARES, that was one of the best long macs I've had.




Apparently the hot choc was good too. Marshmallow on the side.



The Asians inside of us just had to stand up and take a photo each time a drink came. Even the guy next to our table took a shot of out dragon.




And that's the legend behind the.. the.. Simonelli. It's okay, they use Toby's Estate.


VERY good food too. But really overpriced for a suburban cafe.



So the next time you're in Bentleigh (who knows why you would ever be), you know where you gotta go.

montalto vineyard and olive grove

Ahhh.. Montalto montalto! What a beautiful place to be having our last lunch of the trip.



Sunlight pours in with no reserves. Thank God Red Hill Cheesery wasn't open, otherwise we wouldn't have been there.


Qivin totally kept his fine dining etiquette. Totally. Haha..



To start with, a choice of plain or olive bread. Dipped in their "limited edition" extra virgin olive oil of course. Available next door. Haha. SO GOOD.


Cauliflower souffle. Like steamed egg. Only better. Much better.


Snapper.


Mussels beside the snapper.


Duck. Recommended.


Lamb.


Sadly, we had no time for desserts. A baby was waiting for us in the city. But I guess it was a good thing, otherwise we'd have to wash their dishes for em.


Free macaroons!! Qivin already put one in his mouth before I could grab a photo........


So if you're feeling a bit posh and wouldn't mind the drive down, go check out country Victoria's best restaurant. So I was told.


We all went home with empty pockets.

manchester press

It was a mere 2 weeks old when I visited.



I had the Monday morning off, and a relaxed brekkie/stroll in the city was very much called for.



Tucked away in Rankins Lane was the smell of freshly ground coffee and an open warehouse shutter calling out to you.



Service was excellent (maybe because I was early and noone else was really there yet), but the place soon got busier.









Food was EXCELLENT, I had this chorizo bagel which I couldn't finish. I hope the portions don't get smaller as they get more popular.



And I discovered the tranquility of newspaper reading. Although classes in the afternoon was 30km away, that didn't bother me too much. Thus, a fantastic start to the week.

the duchess

Drove down to Spotswood today for a catch up with Andrew. Since we're both from the 2 extremes, we decided to meet in the middle.



Well, sorta. He had to drive a bit further than I did.

As you can tell form the photo above, kids now a days grow faster than you want them to.



Duchess of Spotswood.





It's the kind of place where you go home not adjusting the colours on any of the photos.





Coolest menu yet.