MIZU @ West ENd

I got really excited when I found out about MIZU's recent opening in West End. Though West End is known for many good food places, I've always thought it lacked an authentic Japanese restaurant and had always hoped for one to open up! Alas, my dream came true!


MIZU serves izakaya-style dishes during dinner where the concept is to order many sharing plates of food and they are served as they are made. For lunch, they offer an affordable price range of lunchboxes! I love traditional Japanese lunchboxes - obento!

I've been here for both dinner and lunch and both are just are delicious! For me though, lunch is definitely more worth it because you get to try many side dishes with the lunchboxes you order.

My sisters and I came here for lunch and all were very happy with our orders - chicken karaage, pork katsu and salmon teriyaki. The pork katsu had one of the best batters in Brisbane - very crispy on the outside whilst the pork remains juicy when you bite into it. This was similar with chicken karaage as well!

My salmon teriyaki lunchbox was the best in my opinion - you could tell that they used very good quality fish and was cooked very well!




On a separate occasion, we came for dinner and tried some different dishes!

The first dish that came out was the renkon chips wtih tofu and avo dip. The renkon chips were very crispy and went very well with the creamy yet refreshing dip!


One of our favourites of the night was the tofu and nasu dengaku which had battered tofu, eggplant and zucchini drizzled with miso sauce - perfecto!



The tuna tataki salad was very fresh as well and the citrus based sauce was also very refreshing!



We were a little disappointed that our sashimi came out last (almost as if they had forgotten our order)...but it was still fresh anyway.




For dessert, we ordered one of the dinner specials which was a pumpkin cheesecake!!!! I am a big fan of pumpkin desserts so was really excited when I saw it on the menu!
The pumpkin cheesecake was good overall - the base had a hint of sesame which paired really well with the actual cheesecake. The actual cheesecake was quite creamy and didn't have as much of a pumpkin aroma than I thought it would. However, the whole cheesecake flavour was enhanced by the strawberry sauce that was on the side!




Overall, I think MIZU is definitely worth a paying a visit to! I'd recommend you to go for lunch because that's where you get your biggest bang for your buck otherwise, dinner can end up being quite pricey!

Will definitely be back for lunch soon!

Sourced Grocer @ Teneriffe

I had heard many things about Sourced Grocer and wanted to check it out myself!

I've been here on two separate occasions now and have both loved it!

Sourced Grocer reminds me of cafes in Melbourne with its interior design!

The great thing about Sourced Grocer is that they sell the ingredients that they use to make the food as well! So, if you fancy something from the menu, just enquire at the cash register and they'll be able to help you out!

I ordered their Bircher Muesli which is currently No. 2 on my favourite cafes for Bircher Muesli (1st place is still Lake Cafe on the Gold Coast)



Their breakfast muesli options are all very yummy as well because they use Farmer Jo Muesli.



My friend ordered the brioche, which unfortunately, I didn't get to try - but, she said it was very nice!


On a separate occasion, I tried their falafel salad and Sourced Sandwich, which were even better than what I had the first time!






Coffee here is very good - I love their cappucinnos because it's only a hint of chocolate that balances out perfectly with the coffee! Plus, mint green coffee cups always make my day!



The reason why Sourced Grocer is good is because they use top quality produce to make the food and really focus on making good quality meals, even if they are simple to make.

Sourced Grocer is definitely on my list of cafes with both good coffee AND food!!

Leaf Espresso Bar @ Tarragindi

My friends and I were searching for cafes to visit and decided on Leaf Espresso Bar because of it's interior design from photos we had seen on other food blogs!  We also saw some pictures of really delish food so definitely wanted to check this place out!

My verdict? 

The interior design definitely didn't disappoint - it had a very homey feel and eco-friendly atmosphere as the interior design used a lot of tree branches with hanging light bulbs and glass bowl terrariums in many corners of the cafe. 

The food? The food was average. Despite all the delicious-looking pictures on food blogs I had visited beforehand, taste wise, it was very average. I ordered the mushroom sautee which came with some spinach, poached eggs and sourdough. I love my sourdough and was a little disappointed when I realised that what they served wasn't sourdough. It was more like a white bread baguette. My mushrooms were quite bland as well.

My friend got the pulled pork burger with house made burger. That, however, tasted a lot better than my brunch dish! 

The coffee? Don't bother. The latte I ordered was mainly froth and my coffee was burnt. Nowadays, I think my palette has become very critical of coffees... not sure if this is a good thing or not if I'm this picky with my coffees...

Probably won't be back for another while... think I'll just be visiting my usual favourites if I have to drive all the way out of my suburb to get brunch. Maybe next time, Leaf Espresso!

Commune Cafe, Vintage Espresso, Canteen Kitchen

Recently, I’ve started to explore Burleigh Heads and have discovered lots of nice places that I want to share with everyone!

(1) COMMUNE CAFÉ

Situated on Lower Gold Coast Highway, Commune is a vintage café serving a big range of breakfast and lunch nibbles! Commune uses Campos coffee beans and the coffee is fantastic! Pricing is on the cheaper end of the spectrum but you get more than what you pay for! Fantastic salads and fluffy blueberry pancakes with coconut icecream and fresh bananas! Will definitely become a regular here!

(2) VINTAGE ESPRESSO

This is a small but warm-hearted café situated in Mermaid Beach. Unfortunately breakfast is not served all day and the lunch menu is a little limited. However, the food served is refreshing and the café also offers a wide range of home made desserts! Vintage Espresso is sister cafes with Elk Espresso in Broadbeach and both of their coffees won’t disappoint if you are looking for smooth, creamy and milky coffee.

(3) CANTEEN KITCHEN

Canteen Kitchen is situated in Burleigh Heads and serves a Mediterranean-influenced menu! Here, you’ll be able to try lamb koftas, tabouli, hummus, pita bread with many sides that you can mix and match with. Pricing is more on the expensive side of the spectrum. Coffee is served from Canteen Coffee, and the coffee here really gives you that little bit of an extra oomph compared to other cafes.

Melbourne 7 - The Hardware Societe

Hardware Societe is definitely one of the best cafes I’ve been to!

My friends and I woke up extra early just to make sure we were early enough to get a spot. In fact we were 15 minutes early so we were standing outside in 10degree weather half asleep just so we could try the food here!

Hardware Societe is located in Hardware Lane in Melbourne CBD and it’s tucked away nicely in an alleyway. With the vibrant interior décor and warmhearted outdoor seats, you feel the warmest welcome when you step into this café.

We were greeted by very friendly staff and opted for a table inside. Of course, I ordered my usual cup of latte. I’ve heard many great things about Hardware Societe – amazing food, amazing coffee, amazing everything! However, I didn’t want to have super high expectations was felt pretty neutral about coming here all the way from Brisbane.

The latte was very smooth – perfect for the weather that morning! It also came with a little cinnamon doughnut which complimented the coffee blend very well!

Hardware Societe definitely made my day with some exciting savoury creations!

Baked Eggs with chorizo sausage, paprika, spiced tomato concasse and milk cheese.

Served in a cocotte with dipping sourdough, appearance wise, it was definitely at 10/10!

I’ve never really had baked eggs before so couldn’t really compare this to other baked eggs. It was nice, but out of the 4 amazing dishes we ordered, this was probably my least favourite, purely because I’m not a huge fan of baked eggs.

Croque Madame with smoked salmon, fried egg, herbed crème fraiche.

Mmmm… words cannot describe how good this was! Thick crispy toast on the outside, runny yolk  combined with smoked salmon… perfect for rainy days!

Daily special – polenta with poached eggs and sausages.

At first, I didn’t know what to think of the dish because I’d never seen anything presented like this before. After I had a taste of it, I, fell, in, love.

The polenta was creamy but not too overwhelming and the poached eggs and sausages just complimented the taste of the polenta so well!

Scrambled eggs with smoked bacon, double brie and onion jam.  The BEST scrambled eggs I’ve ever had! The dish was presented really well – 10/10! The mini bacon, brie and onion jam baguette looked like a simple side but I was wrong – the baguette and scrambled eggs were the perfect combination!

Overall, Hardware Societe was definitely one of my best café experiences I’ve had in Melbourne and I’d recommend it to people who come to Melbourne or even for locals!

I’ve heard that their sweet dishes are just as good as their savoury ones… until next time, Hardware Societe! 

Melbourne 5 - Three Bags Full

Because I was only in Melbourne for two and a half days, there was no way in the world I could visit all the cafes I wanted to go to... If only my stomach was a bottomless pit...

So, I decided to visit Three Bags Full in Richmond with my friends.

The atmosphere is very vibrant and the staff members here are very welcoming as well.





Coffee in Melbourne is really quite spectacular and the coffee here did not disappoint me either!




My friend had their strawberry milkshake and it looked amazing!



I felt like a sweet brekkie option this morning so I went for the Apple Crumble Muffin!
Was indeed half crumble half muffin - good stuff!!!!






My friends had Eggs Benedict with smoked salmon and it sure was tasty!!