Don't get me wrong; I have enjoyed the "modern Indian" food that Melbourne offers at Tonka and Mukka and whilst it's delicious, it's just not the same and it's pricier. And then the more traditional Melbourne Indian offerings have been ok but off the mark.

I arrived early on a Thursday evening and was warmly welcomed and shown to a table.

​Decor is very classic and traditional and so we expected the food to follow suit. There's a glitzy, shiny gold panel wall and some colourful dimmed lighting. I found the staff friendly and helpful and as I waited for Steve to arrive was served some poppadoms and dip.

The mint yoghurt dip was thick and creamy with a nice balanced flavour. The dark chutney was fruity and sticky and both went so well with the crispy, fresh poppadom. This serve of poppadoms exceeded my expectations and raised the bar for what was to follow.

As we were guests of the owner, I thought it would be a better idea to leave the menu choices to the restaurant staff so they could showcase what they were most proud of. Our waitress who was friendly and obliging helped us and we started off with:

• Veg Manchurian - Homemade Vegetable Balls cooked in chef’s special sweet and sour Indo Chinese Sauce
• Chicken Tikka

The Veg Manchurian was unexpected; potato patties almost suet dumpling like (but obviously not suet) were soft and pillowy topped with a spicy sweet sauce. At first I felt that the serve of 8 balls was going to be too much but surprisingly I managed to eat my share!

The chicken tikka was a classic representation executed satisfyingly well. Juicy and well flavoured; it was like chicken tikka should be.

The butter chicken was creamy and rich with the tang of tomato in the background. The lamb rogan josh was well spiced, not with chilli but with aromatics like warm cinammon, black pepper and cardamom that could be tasted. The meat in both dishes were tender.​

But it's no UK curry house...rogan josh in UK has bags of flavour; onion, coriander, tomato. The sauce is thick and the flavours run deep. And then there are baltis and bhunas and dupiazas and jalfrezis and none of this exists here on this side of the World. If it does, I've never found it and not for want of trying.

So the verdict is that the Punjabi Curry Cafe is a good neighbourhood restaurant offering classic Indian cuisine. It doesn't try to be modern or offer anything out of the ordinary but what it does send out of the kitchen is satisfying by Australian curry standards. Out of the Indian meals I've had in Australia, it fares well enough but it hasn't satisfied my craving for king prawn puri and a chicken rogan josh!

Whilst the story behind Papirica intrigued me; home cooking becomes a pop up and then a permanent cafe I have to admit that my experience of okonomiyaki, that Japanese pancake, hasn't really been all that positive. Granted I have never had it in Japan so have nothing to compare it to and the versions I have eaten have been on the heavier, mushier and greasy side of things so I'm not sure I'll enjoy this but happy to give it a try...

The menu is short and the meat is mainly pork. There are three different types of okonomiyaki, three rice dishes and three sandwiches. There is plenty for vegetarians too. We order:

• Pork with bonito flakes okonomiyaki with extra of mochi rice cake and a fried egg
• Buta kim chi donburi which is stir fried pork and kim chi with a sesame mayo dressing on rice topped with a fried egg

It's not too long before the dishes arrive. I do wonder if the place is busier whether there would be time delays. Both dishes look appetising. The okonomiyaki is pretty much smothered in sauce so we have to pull it apart to try and see what's in there. When we do so we see thin discs of pork, some dense rice cakes and the layered pancake with what looks like cabbage - almost rosti like.

The homemade sauce and mayo is not as overpowering as it looks and the pickled ginger adds a nice tang that cuts through some of the density of the dish. It's rib stickingly good. Great to share - not sure who I would fare with a whole one. I'd like to try it with cheese next time which is on the add on list.

The donburi isn't the biggest bowl of rice in the world but it's sufficient. The quality of the kim chi is up there. It's not as astringent and strong as some and I really enjoy this mellowed out version. There's tang and spice but just enough.

Special mention to the two fried eggs - perfect egg yolk cooking!

The okonomiyaki ends up being $21 with the extras and the rice dish $15. I'm sure there are cheaper and likely larger versions out there but I am convinced of the quality of both dishes that I think it's a fair price to pay.

New kid on the Queen Street block and the Asian hipster family, Homi is a smartly decked out and fun noodle bar. I'd seen some social media on it so paid a lunchtime visit with friend and work colleague. It was a cold and wet Melbourne day so soup noodles were going to be a saving grace.

I arrived first and the welcome was friendly and I took a seat up at the bar. There was one other person there so it was a pretty quiet vibe. Whilst we were there a couple of other diners came in but it's still pretty much a slow crowd. The menu was explained to us with some sparky personality and passion and we both went with the banh canh cua which are rice drop noodles in a crab broth with soft shell crab, quail egg and a prawn a $15.90. We also went with the Eggplant Balado; grilled eggplant with balado sambal, an Indonesian chilli sauce.

The food didn't take too long to arrive. The eggplant looked pretty small for the $9 or $10 charged. Three thin slices making it at least $3 a slice, I can get a sushi roll for $3! The eggplant was a bit chewy. I like it when the eggplant goes mushy and creamy whereas this was still pretty cardboardy. The coriander and chives were nice enough but not good enough to rescue this dish.

The noodles come in a deep, stone bowl that looks chic. It's deceptively deep and there are a lot more noodles in there than you first think so it's better value for money than the eggplant was.

Surprisingly the crab broth is actually that almost gelatinous, thick kind of soup like chicken and sweetcorn soup from a Chinese takeaway or restaurant made with cornflour. I don't mind that kind of soup but I know it's not for everyone and coupled with slippery thick rice drop noodles it gets kind of thick and gloopy. The flavours are pretty good though and the fried soft shell crab is tasty and manages to stay reasonably crispy. It's a pretty carb heavy dish though so it is very filling and isn't the light Vietnamese style noodle dish you might expect.

Although it wasn't quite what I had in mind, I did enjoy it enough to perhaps visit again and try something else. Maybe something less thick and heavy next time. Initial service was friendly but water glasses weren't topped up regularly and wait staff stayed behind the bar rather than working the floor. I guess perhaps it was because the restaurant was pretty empty. I think there's some fine tuning needed but all in all for somewhere new it was a decent start. Onwards and upwards Homi!

Our first visit to Faraday's Cage wasn't quite as successful as we'd hoped and it appears that owners Kim and John felt the same way after reading the review. Consequently, they took on board the comments with the most gracious of attitudes and very kindly invited Steve and I back to experience their improvements. Lots of respect to them for the way they take on feedback.

​The first review is below this one.

The warm hospitality started from the moment we sat down. Kim offered us a croissant to start proceedings accompanied by a choice of 3 jams from the Yarra Valley. The croissants are pretty big but they're not heavy on the tummy as they are super light and airy and aren't greasy or overly buttery. We've had the joy of sampling croissants from all round Fitzroy and our comments are that that the offering from Faraday's Cage don't have the gloss of Lune but they're still pretty damn good and there's no queue! Babka croissants have a bit of chew about them which depending on preferences can be appealing but they are more filling and greasier.

Like the previous visit the dishes were very prettily presented with lots of vibrant colours, They're also generous in size. This time the flavours were a lot cleaner and clearer. Sweetness and spice in the fritter dish really came through and that crispy cream cheese filled jalapeno popper was so delicious we were sad to have to share! If these make it on the menu as an extra, fill your boots and add them to every dish! In fact just order a bowlful...

The mushrooms were heady with truffle. I left my half of the crispy poached egg too long so it lost its crispiness and the coating became more gluey and gelatinous so if you go for this dish, eat the egg quick.

And then we were onto the final course...the pancakes were fluffy and light. I loved the pairing of the burnt white chocolate and the strawberries. In spite of having eaten so much, we were able to finish this off because it was so delicious.

We had a problem with the tea last time and I'm pleased to say this time it was piping hot and flavoursome. 

We were sent on our way with some more pastry goods and a baguette which Steve used to make sandwiches for his packed lunch and declared it good!

Thank you Faraday's Cage for inviting us back and treating us with such warm hospitality and to some great breakfast fare. We love the fact we can book a table which is rare for brunch places and will take advantage in the future. Thank you for receiving feedback so graciously and for acting on it. You deserve every success!

The review below reflects our first visit. We were invited back later and our thoughts on the second visit appears at the top of this page.

Faraday's Cage is really close to home but we've never quite made it there so we decided to try it out one Sunday morning after a pilates class. Peak time to rock up for brunch but we are able to secure an outside table underneath a heater so we settle in and order.

First drinks, orange juices arrive pretty quickly but our second drinks, English Breakfast teas take so long and I actually ask to cancel them as we're at the end of our meals but I'm assured they're on their way and it just takes a bit longer to make teas! I'm confused by that statement but I wonder if it's because they like to brew them longer but when the teas arrive, they are so weak that is far from the truth and it's hard to extract flavour as the water is not boiling hot. Fail on the tea front!

So onto the food:

• Eggs Benny - 12 hour pulled pork shoulder, poached eggs, chipotle hollandaise, bacon crumb and pickled chilli
• Chilli Scrambled Eggs, Persian feta, sourdough toast and bacon

The dishes are attractively presented and generous in portion size. Given how busy it is, they don't take too long to arrive. Steve and I both feel that they look better than they taste. My Eggs Benny could do with some better seasoning and just a general whallop of more flavour. And Steve says the chilli scrambled eggs could do with amping up on the flavour front. We conclude that the other neighbouring competition such as Sourdough Rustica, Addict, Sir Charles all fare better.

The waitress we had was very apologetic for the tea. She was also very apologetic to the neighbouring table as she had to convey the message from the very busy kitchen that there could be no alterations to dishes but for dietary requirements they would alter dishes...some flawed logic there I think or a situation that could be taken advantage of...Anyway she tried hard.

Unlike the waitress who took our money at the till. I'd heard so much about the sausage rolls here we decided to order some to take home and I also spied a pastry on the end but didn't know what it was and so I asked. The response was to the effect of that she didn't know or know how much it was and the chef had left for the day so there was nothing more she could really do or help on that front...strange situation! Again she was apologetic and friendly but it was a bit awkward and ineffective. 

So in all, I was a bit disappointed with Faraday's Cage. It's a nice space but the food and their tea making skills lacked lustre.

The menu is mainly chicken; brined and marinaded for 48 hours in spices and dark beer, smoked and chargrilled on site. The smoker is an impressive shelved cupboard behind the counter and yes, it smokes enthusiastically so it's not just the chicken that gets a good smoking but anyone and anything within 10 feet!

There's also 4 tyopes of empanadas, fries and condiments, some tasty sounding salads and ice cream. Although the machine looked like it was out of action and someone was tinkering with it when we were there so no ice cream for us.

Steve placed our order at the counter and sat and waited. The food wasn't particularly quick and our empanadas didn't materialise so I'm guessing there's still some teething to be teased out. It was pretty obvious, Chef was training one of the guys behind the counter and we saw some fries get thrown out for not being prepared correctly.

So the chicken arrives first because our empanadas got lost. It looks dark and juicy and it is delicious. It has a kick of spice to it so it's probably not one for the kiddies; and although the place seems family friendly I'm not sure how many kids would actually enjoy this chicken as it's quite adult in flavour...maybe an idea is to have a toned down, non spiced version for the little ones?

The fries (unpictured) are super crispy and also delicious. I love the herby, garlicky chimichurri. We also have the chicken salt but I find it's not necessary with all the other flavours going on already.

The empanadas are good - my fave is the chicken. They're filled nicely and the pastry is a great texture. But the chicken is better. And at $26 for the whole chook it's pretty good value. If I'm to be super picky, I like the look of the earthernware / terra cotta dishes but the feeling of using the knife against it is like nails on blackboard and it cuts right through me. All the more excuse to dig in with the hands right?

I'm definitely a fan of this new neighbour; that chicken is yummy. Hopefully with a bit more time to bed things down the food will come out quicker, empanadas won't go missing and ice cream will be available. In the meantime, I'm happy enough with that chicken to forgive the rest!

I really don't want to impose on the other couple so I ask about the tall bar table we stood around and if we could sit there. I figure if she's prepared to cram us in a small corner space then, this bar table is not off limits either and she replies briskly with an affirmative and says she'll have someone set the table for us. She's pretty scary actually and we hear her being quite directive to one of the waiters to move another table out quickly; straight to the point and no niceties!

It's actually not a bad table. The stools are comfy enough and the table has plenty of surface area for lots of dishes. Slight downside is that every time the door opens, there's Winter breeze blows through and when it gets busier and people wait for tables they hover around us. But it's better than squishing or waiting till 8:30pm. I'm just surprised she didn't offer it to us.

Anyway we settle in and although Zoe is 10 minutes away we make the decisions and start ticking that order sheet.

Lobster rolls are as good as ever. I always think they're pricey at $15 each but admittedly they taste wonderful. We also enjoy the pan fried dumplings and the steamed chicken and chilli dumplings. 

The duck bao which Zoe shreds for us goes down well. It's really all the favourites that are as good as I remember and no surprises.

Dessert is a new one for us - that taoyaki. Fish shaped waffley, spongey things filled with chocolate. Again classically good. Wouldn't say no to a bit more chocolate filling though or Kirsty's great idea of a chocolate dip to lift the deliciousness stakes higher.

The food is the standard I've come to expect from Andrew McConnell and I don't think there's any difference to the quality when comparing to the CBD offering. It calls itself a canteen but it's not canteen prices, it doesn't feel like a canteen in setting and the speed the food comes out is also not canteen. The only canteen thing about it is perhaps the brusquely efficient way the front of house manager turns round those tables getting people in and out; a task which would be easier if the food came out quicker no doubt.

So in terms of dining experience I prefer the CBD option as it's just a bit more relaxed and the hospitality is warmer. There's little if not no price differential, the food comes out at the same pace so why wouldn't I take the non canteen option? I can't see the benefit of the canteen unless I was a St Kilda resident and didn't want to travel.

Golden brown, crispy bread and oozy cheese it's absolutely delicious and stays on the right side of greasiness...just! I definitely need to play bingo here and try everything they have to offer. That blow torched Reuben is one to watch and one that needs to be eaten! I guess we'll be coming Southside more often!

I have seen far too many pictures of Penta's Nutella panna cotta that it was inevitable we would one day cross the river and make it. Saturday was the day!

We arrived about 11:45 and there was no table available and a likely 20 minute wait so we put our name down and walked down the main street to kill some time. The 20 minutes went by reasonably quickly and we were soon seated at a roomy table and ready to order.

I opted for the grilled chicken shawarma salad with poached egg. The chicken breast was marinaded in spices and was deliciously tasty and juicy. Loved the grain salad with pops of pomegranate and creamy feta and yoghurt. There was probably a touch too much of the dairy goodness but I just left it to the side.

Steve had the Penta Benedict which is braised beef cheek atop sweet potato waffles with poached eggs and hollandaise and he enjoyed that very much too. He also added some mushrooms.

Our waitress was cheery and friendly and we were able to put the panna cotta on hold until we were ready for it.

And soon the anticipation was over and she arrived in her wibbly wobbly gloriousness! Her beauty is down to plating technique and burst of colour from the fruit and the flowers. It's definitely Nutella in flavour and the little dome of panna cotta is deceptively large so plenty to share. The strawberries were a delicious accompaniment cutting through the sugar. And the crumb was a welcome texture contrast. I'm not a huge fan of banana but I guess Nutell and banana are a classic combo that please many others so it makes sense. My personal preference would be more strawberry!

Penta certainly ticked all the boxes. Good strong tea served hot, friendly and efficient service, not too long a wait considering how busy they were for food and top quality dishes. It's a shame it's so far away! But yes, it's worth the drive!

Called in after dinner on the way home to try this healthy plant based, sugar free dessert. There were a couple of people in front of us in the queue, and one of the two servers stopped serving people in the queue to work on some Uber orders so progress was slow.

I saw someone order the grown up choc top and it looked impressive so followed suit. The ice cream choices in the chiller cabinet didn't really appeal. So the verdict; I enjoyed that it was light and not sweet. I found the coconut aftertaste not unpleasant but not delicious either. It was the texture I found unappealing...it's a bit too airy and for some reason wasn't very cold. I also felt it left a bit of a film in the mouth. So as someone who is not vegan or vegetarian or lactose intolerant, I've got to say I would not choose this over other ice cream.

Steve felt much the same and sadly we didn't get through the whole thing as it was just not for us. 

So for those that have dietary requirements and need an ice cream substitute, go for it. But not for me!

Kinfolk was the venue for a team breakfast on Friday and one of my colleagues was able to book the larger communal table for us. The team at Kinfolk were very accommodating of us arriving in dribs and drabs. There were times when it was difficult to flag down someone such as when we wanted to order and to pay but we got there in the end.

The coffee was declared good. My English Breakfast tea could have done with being hotter to draw out more flavour from the the tea leaves as well as to be at my preferred drinking temperature.

I enjoyed the Egg Special which was a 63 degree cooked egg with greens and a capsicum smear and I added the maple bacon which was deliciously thick and sweet / salty.  The bacon was an extra $5 for one slice which I thought was expensive. 

We enjoyed our breakfast but I think the general concensus was it was 10% pricier than it should be or there should be an extra egg or slice of bacon in the dishes. I understand it's a worthy social enterprise and I'm not begrudging of the money they need to make but even at 10% less or the extra food item, I suspect there would still be profit and would be more aligned to other cafes so the margin needn't be as inflated as it is.