A sunny Saturday morning spent wine tasting in the Yarra Valley; what a civilised way of life! With mum and sis in tow we indulged in some tasting and finished it with lunch at Rochford Winery. We arrived just before 1pm which was great timing given that two huge parties of people sat over several tables arrived shortly afterwards.

I-Lin ordered the chicken liver paté with toasted brioche and berry jam which looked a bit grey in colour but was pretty delicious. Steve went for the Manchego cheese and chorizo croquetas which were crispy and light with melted cheese. Lovely! I had the ham hock terrine with picallili; really deconstructed picallili but either way it tasted good. The terrine was very meaty with chunks of densely packed tasty ham. Definitely a good start and we eagerly awaited the main courses.

Main courses were a meat feast. I-Lin had a veal rib, Steve braised short rib, Mum had duck and I went for a Wagyu rump steak. We shared sides of fries,mash and a rocket and Parmesan salad. All dishes tasted good. Steve's short ribs looked a bit burnt but he said it tasted good. Mum's roast duck dish consisted of two chunky breasts and they were very juicy; probably the best dish. Fries were chunky and crispy and the accompanying aioli was tasty. The rocket salad also deserves a mention as it tasted great.

We share a desert of a chocolate cake with pouring cream but it disappeared quicker than I could take a pic! Lunch at Rochford was delcisiou and the portions were generous.

Momma had done some reading about restaurants in Melbourne and wanted to go to Dish so we willingly obliged! Dish is attached to a hotel but it doesn't come across as a hotel restaurant and you don't walk through a lobby or find any other indication it is so.

Steve ordered the pappardelle with aromatic braised lamb and parsley and hoovered it up pretty damn quick so I can only assume it was good. Mum's spaghettini with crab and tiger prawns, garlic, olive oil and chilli was well flavoured and yummy. My local calamari with rocket and romesco sauce was tender and well seasoned. I'd have liked a bit more romesco sauce. My sister ordered the Summer vegetable soup with orzo and pesto and didn't finish it. It was bit too tomatoey and bland. Nevertheless a pretty good start.

Wait staff were efficient if not the most engaging but we wanted for nothing and service was smooth so no complaints.

Main courses followed shortly. Mum opted for the salmon fishcakes and sorrel sauce. Three large fishcakes packed full of salmon - huge portion and pretty tasty too. I also opted for a fish dish and went with the local roasted snapper with potato croquette in tomato sauce and tiger prawns with aioli. The fish was well cooked and the tomato sauce went well with the fleshy fish. The potato croquette was a little heavy so I left half of it and ate the french fires we'd ordered instead. The french fries were super skinny and crispy so really yummy.

I-Lin (my sis) ordered the spaghettini my mum had as a starter for her main course and polished that off and Steve went for the grass fed Margaret River eye fillet with fricasée of mushrooms, potato purée and Bordelaise suace. He declared a really good steak and certainly a memorable one. I think it was the dish of the night.

Too full for dessert but we were convinced by my sister who loves dessert to all share the Spanish doughnuts with dark chocolate fudge sauce. Five strips of piping hot doughnut arrived. They were dusted in cinammon, crisp on the outside and fluffy soft in the middle. Very light and not greasy so eating a whole one was just the right amount. Steve and sis shared the last one.

Dish was a pretty good place for a meal and there'll be something on the menu for all tastes so a good place to go with a group of people or family.

We had no intention of eating here but stumbled upon it when hunger had struck. The sight of the chef making noodles in the window lured my mum in. We orderd some xiao long bao and fried dumplings to begin. They arrived first and were average. The XLB had split so a lot of the broth had leaked out making them drier than what they're meant to be like. The meat filling was also very salty. The fried dumplings were a little better but the skin was quite thick. The vinegar on the table didn't taste vinegary so that didn't help either.

We also ordered wanton soup noodles, seafood soup noodles and Shanghai fried rice cakes. These dishes were better than the dumplings although the soup wasn't pretty bland and the seafood smelt a bit fishy; and not in a good way. The Shanghai rice cakes was probably the best dish.

The food filled a hole and price wise is on par with Asian food in Melbourne but I thinkt here are definitely better places out there. We were very thirsty after our meal which is a sign of lots of MSG (flavour enhancer). Service was efficient but we had to ask for sharing bowls and water rather than have them given to us automatically.

I don't think I'd return to Noodle Kingdom. I have since looked it up on Urbanspoon and realise it is a place many people enjoy but it's not one for me!

Brunch on a public holiday at one of the busiest places; thank God for friends who will get in queue and save seats! This was Steve and my first visit to Three Bags Full and we were joining Charlotte and Vida on a sunny Monday. Unfortunately we headed to the wrong Nicholson Street which meant we were late in arriving and the lack of parking made it all a bit stressful.

Three Bags Full is a large red brick building done up in that Melbourne industrial chic way. We sat at the large communal table in the corner and ordered our drinks whilst eyeing up the menu and specials board. Totally torn between options like huevos rancheros, eggs in all sorts of ways as well as pumpkin and sage fritters with halloumi I chose a big brekky and Steve went for the asparagus special with poached eggs, honeyed prosciutto and Hollandaise on sourdough. Vida and Charlotte also opted for the asparagus.

The food is cooked fresh to order so it can take some time. Definitely a leisurely brunch option when time is not an issue. The ambience gets a bit frantic with clattering spoons and crockery and waitstaff always looking busy. Voices and chatter are on loud. A bit too hustley bustley for Steve who would like it all to calm down a few notches. It's not really the relaxed kind of ambience

Having said that the food makes the clatter and chatter all worthwhile and made us forget the stress we had in arriving here! Delicious softly poached eggs, buttery and creamy Hollandaise, good bacon, great piece of sausage...all very very good. Looking forward to another brunch there.

Sore head Sunday...this means we need a breakfast / brunch / lunch of champions especially as we managed to complete our household chores before heading to South Melbourne for some shopping and sustenance. We wandered the shops and also browsed the menus of the various eateries on the Coventry Street strip not really sure about which one to try and our cobwebby heads meant that decision making was not easy.

Steve finally conceded that out of all of them he wanted to try Gas but he wasn't sure if it would be too busy as when we walked past it the first time it looked pretty packed. Anyway we decided to re trace our steps and try. The glorious sunshine meant that all the outside tables were taken but when we walked in one of the helpful staff members directed us to one end of the large communal table and we soon settled into our spot.

The full name of this place is Gas Eatery and Supplies and the Gas refers to gastronomy as opposed to cooking with gas. Breakfast options are made to order and on a menu whereas lunch options involve gazing into glass cabinets filled with goodies; pastries, sandwiches, tapas style dishes and salads.

We decided to try a bit of breakfast, lunch and tapas by sharing a Mediterranean breakfast, some lamb kofta meatballs (lunch) and one serve of the chicken and halloumi sausages (tapas) with a small Greek salad so we get our 5 a day and all washed down with some English Breakfast tea. It was just what we needed.

The Mediterranean breakfast consists of a lamb sausage, bacon, feta cheese, toasted Turkish bread, a fried egg and a mound of home made baked beans. The beans were yummy; smoky and tomatoey with bacon bits and everything else on the plate was good too. The Greek salad was also very good with nuts and olives strewn throughout and a delicious creamy feta dressing. We enjoyed the lamb koftas although I did think there was probably a touch too much tomato sauce as it was quite overpowering but it just meant that we didn't eat all of the sauce so no biggie. Chicken and halloumi sausages were different and the bacon wrapped round each one was a yummy touch but I'd be happy to try something else next time.

Really enjoyed a relaxed breakfast / brunch / lunch here and would be happy to return.

Lucky me got to go to Nobu for lunch on Saturday and we lucked out in nabbing the last table that wasn't reserved. We ordered our favourites; yellowtail sashimi, crispy rice and spicy tuna, beef tataki, miso black cod and beef tenderloin toban yaki. Standards were just as high as previous times and every mouthful was a delight. The beef tataki was presented in a different way so I took a picture but it was just as tasty. I think it looks prettier presented this way. The miso black cod was super superb this time around and our fillet was a generous size. Whoever was cooking this Saturday afternoon was wonderful!

We tried ventured out and tried two new things; a hot course and a dessert which was coffee based so I had it so technically, I tried two new things and Steve tried one new thing. The Kurobuta Pork Belly with Karashi Su Miso and Nashi pear was juicy and meaty and bouncy in texture. I still prefer the beef toban yaki and the black cod more and probably the barramundi which we didn't have this time but it was good to try something new and be assured that it was tasty.

The other new dish was the Suntory whisky cappuccino layered with crunchy coffee cacao, coffee crème brûlée, milk ice cream and Yamazaki whisky foam. OMG! Taste sensation! Different layers of textures and flavours but all linked together seamlessly with whisky and coffee. The crunch bits made the flavours resonate and last longer. Easily my favourite dessert at Nobu now although the other desserts we've had have been excellent too so this shows just how superior this cup of deliciousness is. One slight comment about this cappuccino would be that it would like more cappucino-esque if there was a sprinkling of cocoa powder on the white foam. I am definitely having this little baby again and the great news is I don't have to share as Steve hates coffee!

Another great lunch at Nobu. Dear Steve, when can we go again?