Eat. @ A Little Bird Told Me

29 Little Latrobe St, Melbourne CBD 3000

A Little Bird told me a secret, about a little place called A Little Bird Told Me.  

Awesome coffee in a little shop near RMIT.  Lines of people waiting to get their daily fix of great coffee tells the story in itself.  My mocha ($5) was beautiful and delicate.

The carrot cake ($5) by Matt Forbes is one of the best I've ever had.  Moist, sweet but not too sweet, fragrant but not too spicy, topped with little piped dollops of cream cheese frosting sprinkled with nuts and peel.  Perfect with my morning coffee.

Beautifully simple and modern little shop, large communal tables and counter seats.  Friendly staff helped me find a place for Bubs and I.  Just be careful as the cool 3 legged chairs can be difficult to navigate for a toddler.  I will no doubt be back for more coffee and to try the other baked goodies.

Eat. @ The Foodrinkery

22 Banksia St, Burwood VIC 3125 (03) 9809 2468

Hi there!  It's been a while since I've blogged as I've been busy dealing with a whole lot of stuff in my non-blogging life, but I'm baaaaack!  I've been to The Foodrinkery on numerous occasions now but hadn't blogged about it because I had to sort out and process so many photos I have of their yummy food and of course I've been extremely lazy busy! Apologies in advance for how many photos this post contains but their goodies are all so yummy and photogenic!  The Foodrinkery is one of my favourite places to visit on this side of town, true to its name it's a great place for fantastic food and drink, and unlike inner suburbs there aren't many cafes of this quality out Burwood way!

Coffees and mochas ($3.5)  are always delicious and more often than not adorned with beautiful latte art.

Hubby's favourite here is the Lamb Meatballs Ciabatta ($11.5).  A "manly" serve of lamb meatballs with tomato sugo, cheesy bechamel sauce in a toasted ciabatta which we think was a special at one stage but had become a regular menu item probably due to its popularity.

I've loved most of the dishes here, but must say their Croque Madame ($9) is a firm favourite.  Pretty reasonably priced too I must add.

Just look at that ham and bechamel deliciousness, not to mention the perfectly poached egg.  

A fresh baguette with poached chicken, apple, celery, walnuts and home made herb mayo ($10.5) is a simple lunch option that always goes down well.

Baked Beans with ratatouille and sour dough ($12) and poached egg (+$2) is a meal that the kids like to share.  A very comforting dish for a hearty breakfast or lunch.

For something light I've tried their Coconut tapioca, citrus fruit, finger lime and ginger ($6) which is perfect for a light meal, or healthy breakast!

My favourite sweet here is the Brioche toast served with their lemon curd and toasted almonds ($8).  Oh the buttery brioche and the tangy lemon curd are so to-die-for!

The young ones are well catered for with their own menu of "Kids and Little People Stuff".  Bubs loves the Boiled Eggs and Brioche Soldiers ($8), dipping those butter soldiers into the runny egg being great entertainment as well as yummy for the tummy!

In summer the kids like to have frozen pops ($2.5) in a variety of flavours.  Here's one in Blood orange.

There are also some excellent specials that we've tried on past visits.  My favourite would be this awesome lemon cheesecake milkshake ($6) that I've had to fight the kids for!

There was a delicious sausage roll with tomato relish on another visit.

I'm a sucker for good cupcakes and there are often some at the counter to finish off the meal.  This one was a very chocolatey chocolate cupcake.

On nice days you can dine in the courtyard, which is always fantastic for families like us, where dining with 3 littlies can mean chaos and noise which is always less stressful when you're outdoors.  Then if they behave well the park next door is an excellent treat and an great way for them to burn off some of that endless energy whilst Hubby and I recover from the comfort of a park bench.

All in all, a lovely local cafe with friendly staff, great food and drink, that caters for big and little people.  Big tick from this family!

Toilets - yes

Highchairs - yes

Eat. @ MoVida Bakery

3 Tivoli Rd, South Yarra 3141 ph (03) 9041 4345

Fresh off my visit to MoVida, I headed down to South Yarra on a spectacular Melbourne autumn day with Bubs, and tried out the goodies at MoVida's Bakery outpost.  

It's a small place on a side street off the busier section of Toorak Road, but it's by no means quiet; and boy, do the baked goods pack a bang.

I started off with an excellent mocha with beautiful latte art. 

Then it's onto the gorgeous donuts I have read so much about.  Don't judge me, but I bypassed the savoury (there were sausage rolls and ham, cheese and tomato filled croissants), and my breakfast was made up entirely of sweet stuff.  Starting with a luscious donut with lemon curd filling. ($3.5), two of my favourite things rolled into one.  What's not to like I say!

Then it's onto the MoVida Portuguese tart ($4).  The tarts are bigger than the ones I'm used to and has quite a substantial yet smooth and creamy custard filling.  I was full by the end of it, definitely worth the $4 considering the much smaller ones you get for the same size elsewhere.

I wasn't about to leave empty handed!  A tray of donuts to go for the family, including a strawberry and rhubarb one.  All the donuts are delicious, but my favourite is still the lemon curd one, as I love the citrus tang offsetting the sweet sugar coated dough.

Having said that the salted caramel made quite an impression on the kids.  Look at the glorious oozy caramel!

And I couldn't go past the good old fashioned caramel slice ($4).  This one came with a surprise component - the salted popping candy sprinkled on top.  What a combo!  Absolutely loved it!

The shop itself isn't big, but plenty of families with prams came in and out the busy door grabbing baked goods and coffee to eat and drink out the front.  I can definitely see us doing a quick drop-by to buy takeaway donut treats in the future!

Highchair - No

Eat. @ MoVida Bar de Tapas Y Vino

1 Hosier Lane, Melbourne CBD 3000 ph (03) 9663 3038

My latest catch up with the "Kinder Girls" brought us to a fantastic night out at MoVida.  None of us had been before, and if I must say so our nights out are getting more adventurous, in a good way!  We have gotten into the habit of ordering a lot of dishes to share, rather than sitting down for a traditional 3 course meal, so that we can all try something new and different.  Movida was an excellent choice as the menu is full of sharing dishes.

After ordering wine we went straight down to the business of ordering.  The first thing to arrive at the table was the only dish we didn't share. The Anchoa ($4.5) is a hand filleted Cantabrian artisan anchovy on crouton with smoked tomato sorbet.  Salty, bitey anchovy with crunchy crouton and the tart sorbet all contrasting with each other for a really interesting taste.  

The reason I had the lone Anchoa was because the other girls went for the Maiz ($4.5 each), and I'm not a fan of baby corns. (Big boy and girl corns yes, and even the popped variety, but not so much the babies!)   Lucky for me, the girls didn't think I missed out on much, as they found the corn pleasant but not overwhelmingly memorable.

From here on everything was delightfully delicious.  I'm not being lazy (well, only a little), but I'll let the pictures and the food description do most of the talking!  Croquetas de Choco En Su Tinta ($4 each) are squid ink croquettes with cuttlefish.  We all agreed we could eat a whole tray of these!

Bunuelos de Bacalao ($4 each) are deep fried salt cod and potato fritta with pil pil.  Not your ordinary potato croquette!

Pescado Ahumado ($6 each)  is a plate of house cold smoked yellowtail kingfish with pine nut gazpacho sorbet.  It's served covered, and when the lid is opened with a flourish the smell of the smoke that escapes is amazing.  

Sardinilla con Salsa Agril Dulce ($4 each) is a baby sardine with lemon crumb and sweet and sour pickle.  Pretty and yummy!

Bogavante ($11 each) is Tasmanian Southern Rock Lobster Sashimi with Russian Salad.  Whilst I could not fault how fresh and delicious it tastes, $11 for a mouthful might not be the thing to order if you're starving!

The Queso ($4 each) was one of my favourite dishes of the night.  These little quince paste cigar with whipped goats milk cheese are sweet, savoury, crunchy and smooth all rolled into one!

Pollo Escabache al Miguel ($4.5 each) is a spiced chicken escabache tapa on crisp crouton.  

We also shared dishes listed under "Raciones", which means rations, and are bigger serves for sharing.  The Pulpo a la Galeega ($16.5) is a dish of Galician Style slow cooked octopus with potato that we all agreed was delicious and great as a share dish.

The Setas Asadas con Jerez ($13) is a serve of oven-roasted Portobello mushrooms finished with sherry vinegar.  They may not photography well but they tasted amazing, and I am not a fan of the fungus usually!

In contrast, the Pure de Cocido de Verano ($12.5) is a beautiful looking dish of Summer chickpea cream with Heirloom tomato salad.  This was a very pleasant surprise to me, as it's not something I would have ordered ordinarily, but turned out to be one of the most delightful dishes of the night.  The simple presentation of the dish surprises with the complexity of its flavours.  We could not get enough of that chickpea cream (recipe anyone?) and ended up soaking every last bit up with our bread.

For dessert my friend Jo went for the Flan as she's always been a fan.  (I'm a cheap poet, I know it I know it!)

I,  however, could not go past the Churros ($11). Four freshly prepared churros, served with a pot of rich and smooth chocolate for dipping.  Along with my English Brekkie tea, it was an awesome end to an awesome meal.

Fantastic food, lovely company and the cosy ambience made for another excellent night out with the girls.  Special thanks to my friend Jodi, who since learning of my blog, has become my "lighting director" for all my photos.  The girls are so patient and tolerant of me snapping away prior to anyone else touching the food!  So grateful for your friendships!