Eat. @ Cru

916 Glenferrie Rd, Kew ph (03) 9818 4366

So I've stared at this sign a lot and wondered if it's a co-incidence that it spells CRUSHED?

I have been meaning to blog about Cru for quite a while as it's become one of my favourites in recent months.  Don't be deceived by the small shop front on Glenferrie Rd.  The courtyard at the back of this little gem in Kew opens up to a lovely area perfect for families to enjoy their gorgeous coffee and food, especially on one of our beautiful autumn days.

Mochas ($3.5) are always perfect with beautiful latte art.

The kids love their ice chocolate ($5) on a warm sunny day.  Quite a generous serve so there's enough to share!

The menu offers many dishes that you'd expect at most of Melbourne's good cafes, but often with a great twist.  The Roesti ($18) with avocado, smoked salmon, red onion, crispy capers topped with a poached egg has all the elements I love in a breakfast, but also went together really well together.

My favourite dish at Cru however, is the LB's brioche french toast ($15), with bacon, banana,  and maple syrup.  Yep, that combo cannot go wrong with me!  It is such an amazing dish with the sweet maple, gooey banana and salty bacon all on a soft, almost custardy french toasted brioche.  Every bite is a "hmmmmm" moment.
  

Another view of this epic breakfast dish!

For the kids, the menu has a "Pipsqueaks" Section (so cute!)  The eggs n soldiers, knees n toes (even more cute!!!) is pretty good for $4 considering what lots of other cafes charge for  what is essentially eggs and toast.  The bread is brioche makes it even better (and more likely that Mummy will be stealing some!)

The runny runny yolk is of course perfect for dipping!

The Stop 80 ($5) which is a fried egg on brioche bun, with bacon and tasty cheese is a decent little snack for an adult or an excellent lunch option for the kids.

I've found the staff to have always been very friendly and accommodating with the kids when we've eaten here.  I must mention that on one of my visits I was gearing up for a coffee in peace as Bubs slept in the pram, when he suddenly woke up and shattered my vision of a stress-less brunch.  The staff appeared with a box full of colour pens and papers and helped me settle a slightly distressed post-nap Bubs, and I managed to still have a very enjoyable meal.  That combined with good food and coffee will no doubt help Cru become a popular local meeting place.  We'll be baaaaaaack!

Eat. @ St. Ali North

815 Nicholson St, Carlton North 3054 ph  (03) 9380 5455

St Ali has a new outpost, and it's bigger and better than the original in my humble opinion!  Apart from being a great place for cool young things, coffee aficionados, bike riders and Carltonites in general, this is probably THE perfect cool cafe for parents' with kids!  

We've been here quite a few times and each time the staff and patrons have been super helpful and friendly, and it's so lovely to feel welcomed.

Just past the railway line on Nicholson St in Carlton North, I was most impressed that I could actually get off street parking right near the cafe, a bonus when you have a wriggling, energetic toddler who likes to run and is not a fan of holding hands!  This of course is partly due to the fact that a lot of the patrons are bike riders, and locals who walk there.  

Being bike-friendly, it also has a "ride-thru" where you can grab your drink without even hopping off your ride (also excellent for take-away coffees).  You can also grab the excellent baked goods and baguettes on the go from there.

Speaking of coffee, the mochas ($5) here are fantastic, as one would expect from a St. Ali outpost!  The chocolate comes in a separate little pot so that you can control the amount of cocoa you want with your caffeine.  A tad more expensive than the usual at $5 but it's worth it!  

Their big breakfast is the Big English Ex Spanglish ($20.5), with eggs anyway (ours were poached), sour dough, house bacon, bean ragout, pork & veal breakfast sausage, field mushrooms and roasted whole tomatoes.  Enough to feed quite a few kids, or a hungry husband!

You can also build your own meal, starting with Just Eggs ($9.5) - I had poached, but good to see the 63 degree egg as an option here - on a choice of sourdough, multi-grain or gluten free breads.  I of course added an avocado and feta mash ($4.5), and  a side of house bacon ($4.5) ,because bacon makes everything super duper!

The kids have their own "Little People's Menu" complete with colouring pencils for entertainment after ordering.

The kids menu offers small versions of some of the big people's dishes.  Bubs had a half serve of Eggs Anyway ($8.5), served with a couple of slices of sourdough.

The inscription on the plate is just too cute! (And kinda lucky Bubs can't read yet?!)

I couldn't go past the Sweet 16 & Never Been Kissed ($17.5) which is the roasted stone fruit, with brioche, bacon ice-cream (!!!!) and fruit jus.  Bacon ice-cream sounds strange but it totally works, with the taste of the caramelised bacon infused in a vanilla based ice-cream, melting over the sweet stone fruit and brioche.  I will definitely have this again!

When you're done with the food St Ali North is conveniently situated right next to a park, which happens to be a good bribe incentive for the kids to behave during the meal so they can have a play afterwards.

If they just can't wait to play outside you can always grab one of the picnic mats and eat and drink outside whilst the kidlets run around to their hearts' delight.

When visiting without the family I like to sit at the coffee bar for a bit of coffee gazing and peace and quiet of dining out solo.

The baked goods here change regularly and are fantastic, very hard to leave without taking some with me!

And yes I am guilty of getting a danish (or 2!) as a take away for a sneaky afternoon tea when the kids are tired out from all the eating and playing.

Highchairs - yes
Toilets - yes

Eat. @ Candied Bakery

81a Hudsons Rd, Spotswood 3015 ph (03) 9391 1335

The kidlets love going to Scienceworks, and the trip across the bridge gives Hubby and I a good excuse to grab a bite from one of our favourite brunch spots The Duchess.  On our recent trip across town though, we tried out the new bakery kid in town, and had a fabulous lunch of baked goodness at Candied Bakery.  "An Aussie Bakery with an American twist, and a dash of European Influence" - this can only mean good things for the bakery-loving crazy chick in me!  The only negative was that I wanted to try everything but we could only eat so much in one sitting!

How was I supposed to choose from all this goodness??!!

We settled ourselves at one of the benches in the bakery and got into the serious business ordering.

Hubby and I started off with a mocha each.  I'm usually not impressed with coffees at bakeries but this was an excellent mocha.

The older 2 kidlets shared a Milo milkshake ($6.5) and gave it a big thumbs up.

I love a good Croque Monsieur ($8) and this one did not disappoint.  Perfectly creamy and served on brioche!

The beef pie ($5.6) oozed with tasty beef filling, with a beautiful flaky pastry.  This was served with the bakery's own home-made ketchup.

Likewise the sausage roll was delicious.  The sausage meat tasted rustic and home made (in a good way!) and had lashings of vegies through it (so I didn't feel as guilty having ordered two.......)

I was so excited to move onto desserts!  We couldn't decide between the two different doughnuts so....... we ordered both ($3.8 each)!  I liked the Zuppa Anglaise one better, entirely because I unconditionally love custard, but the jelly one was also yummy with the tangy jam oozing with every bite. 

I often use the almond croissant as a yardstick for comparing bakery standards and am happy to report this one ($5) was a winner!

And last but not lease we tried their home made soft serve ($4.5).  They had 2 flavours including peanut and jelly on the day, but Mini Me is a fan of vanilla so we had this, served with their sprinkles and crumble topping.   Perfect for this incredibly hot weather we've been having in Melbourne lately.  

The service was friendly and efficient, and plenty of families popped in for a bite during our visit.  Outdoor seating is available (perhaps not on an unbearably hot Melbourne day) and can be good for those with pets or bulky prams.

We will definitely be returning here the next time we come over this side of town, whether it be for lunch, or a quick pop-in to buy some baked goodies to take home.  Again I'm jealous of you west-siders!

Eat. @ Wonderbao

Literature Lane, Melbourne CBD ph (03) 9654 7887

I know we're really late hopping on the "Bao" train, but we finally got our groove on and tried out Wonderbao, in the RMIT precinct up towards the top our city.  Confession : I was never a fan of the "bao" when I used to go to yum cha as a kid.  I always found the "bread" to be bland and boring (obviously not a carb fan when I was young!), and never had an appreciation for any of the fillings.  It takes a bit to change me from my set opinions but Wonderbao has certainly made me think twice!

There always seems to be a long line in front of this little shop, with queues of people grabbing a quick bite on the go.  We were lucky to get a seat along the bench at the shop front.   As soon as we were seated the friendly staff brought our "baos" out.  First up the Roast Pork Belly Gua Bao ($3.8 each).  I know you've heard it before, but "Bao Wow"!  I really liked this combo of thickly sliced pork belly with a refreshing carrot and cucumber combo in hoisin sauce.  The bun itself was actually soft, and not at all heavy or doughy; perfectly complementing the heavier meat filling!

The Braised Pork Belly Gua Bao ($3.8) was slightly heavier but equally delicious.

Being less adventurous with Chinese food, Macaron Monster went for the good old Cheung Chay Bao ($2) with the chinese sausage.  Hubby topped up his meal with a traditional Char Siu Bao ($2) filled with BBQ pork.  Both were above the standards of the offerings out of a dim sum cart at yum cha.

One "bao" I've always loved is the custard bun.  Okay I'm biased as I'm a fan of custard in any shape or form.  The Nai Wong Bao ($1.7) filled with egg custard was one of the better ones I've had around Melbourne.

For drinks there's a fridge full of Yeo's drinks in different flavours.  Cheekily advertised as F.O.B drinks! ($1.6)

Or you can try their homemade soya milk ($2.8).  We had ours cold as it was a hot day, but you can order it as a warm drink.

Wonderbao offers a quick pit stop for those after a cheap snack.  Order a few items and you've got yourself a budget smorgasbord for lunch!  The shop is small so it's hard to get a seat, especially with a pram, so line up, buy your food and eat it outside like everyone else!   Eating Chinese street food whilst soaking up the graffiti-ed laneway ambience?  That is so essentially Melbourne nowadays!

Toilet and Highchair - No