Friday night date and we decided to try Northern Light with unknowing expectations. We stepped in and I loved the low hanging lights and the long central bar. It was hip, it was casual, it was low key.

The welcome was warm and stayed that way throughout the meal. Seated at the end We were waited on by attentive staff every step of the day and enjoyed chatting to co owner Glen Bagnara learning about the development of this wonderful place.

Under Glen's guidance we made various course choices and started off with golden egg, caramel, fried shallot, furikake. One egg each. Beautiful yolk , just set white with a deep fried exterior, sweet caramelised onions and hit a of spice. This was a most memorable egg and better than a chocolate one!

We had a duck spring roll each  wrapped in cos lettuce and with a spicy sauce. Cripsy, hot and meaty, again delicious.

Chicken skewers, honey, katsuo soy came next and these were sweet and salty made with juicy chicken thigh.

So far all the dishes we'd had were yummy and they continued in this vein:

• Air dried Blackmore beef, wasabi, yolk, fried potato
• Xinjiang style lamb ribs, bbq pepper
• Braised wombok over duck - but we can't remember!
• Fried rice, shrimp, pork, egg, smoked soy

This modern style Asian fusion dishes were about clean flavours and we certainly enjoyed them and were really quite full by the end. But we had room for dessert!

We decided to share the broken ice cream sandwich which was vanilla icecream, chocolate biscuit and salted caramel. In spite of rich flavours, actual execution was very light. The ice cream wasn't too creamy or custardy being on the lean side rather than rich and the broken biscuit followed suit. Steve felt there could have been more salt in the caramel but I enjoyed the pared back flavours and overall lightness of dessert especially when full from the previous courses.

Dinner at Northern Light was exciting and to hear that the menu changes regularly keeping things fresh means it will be a favourite for us.

Sunday morning brunch and we stumbled on Tomboy in our neughbourhood, I love the retro milk bar feel and the vintage sign over the counter. Atmosphere is fairly subdued although perhaps on other days the built in counter speakers could spice things up? Perhaps the subdued and darkened room feel was to ease the pain of those with a hangover?

Anyway like all hipster joints, my drink (fresh orange) was served in a jam jar and continuing the vintage theme was the stripey paper straw. OJ was fine, English Breakfast tea was weak.

Menu choice is not the widest but I guess for those with a hangover (oh no not us) bacon and eggs always fit the bill and that we had with some spinach and mushrooms and a cheeky sausage.

Quality of the food was very good and we left feeling satisfied and energised rather than grease laden and lethargic. So conclusion is that food is great but it's not the place to sit and laze and read the papers for a long time as no real vibe.

Steve and I were kindly invited to try out The Rickshaw on Gertrude Street along with other bloggers and we were treated to a set sit down meal on a warm evening last week. The invite advised 6pm and I was there then and Steve arrived a touch later. There was a lot of general mingling and we were treated to canape style servings of two dishes:

Penang Bowl - Our twist on the traditional satay with ground chicken but made without peanuts served in a bowl served with a butter fried naan bread

Chicken 65 - Fried chicken with curry leaves, slit green chillies and spicy yoghurt sauce

Both were delicious. I loved the sweet creaminess of the satay - almost like a sweet Thai red curry with the soft naan bread. The Chicken 65 came with an explosive kick that hit the tastebuds in a fiery but delightful way.

The restaurant isn't huge - maybe 30 seats and it has some stiff neighbouring competition with Anada next door and Cutler and Co not far away. However there probably isn't an Asian offering. The concept is unified Asia so dishes that are from specific parts such as the Thai satay and the Southern Indian Chicken 65. There are Japanese dishes, Chinese dishes...Speaking to the owners, there is a lot of passion for what they want to do and achieve and they really do enjoy the dishes they have put on the menu. They are true advocates of what they have done.

There was quite a bit of mingling before we were invited to be seated and then another wait for the food. Once it got going though, things moved quicker. We enjoyed the following dishes:

Duck Salad - Shredded duck leg, cucumber, green papaya, lychee, red chilli and papaya dressing

Pui’s 3 Fungi Rolls - Cabbage rolls, each filled with a mix of enoki, oyster and shitake mushrooms, served with garlic konbu sauce

Pani Puri - Mini puff pastries stuffed with potato, chickpeas, pomegranate, tamarind sauce and served with spicy water

Black Cod - Black cod fillets marinated in Saikyo miso, served with grilled asparagus and baby carrots

Achari Rack of Lamb - Braised and slow cooked rack of lamb in mustard oil, flavored with Fenugreek, fennel, cumin seeds & cloves,

Drunken Noodles - Stir-fried flat rice noodles, chicken, green peppercorns, wild ginger and Yamazaki whiskey

Lemongrass Crème Brulée

Thai Tea Panna Cotta with Honey Syrup

Coconut Sago Pudding - Young coconut meat, roast coconut flakes, corn and micro herbs

I'm just going to discuss some highlights and lowlights and although Steve and I were invited to this meal as guests, what I write comes from my heart and mind. The duck salad was fresh and zingy - on the spicy side but a good duck salad. The black cod had a hint of the Nobu signature dish but was actually very white with none of the black cod skin. It was flavoursome enough and a decent interpretation. The lamb cutlet was tender and tasty of Indian spice again with a good chili explosion.

The pani puri felt a little copy cat to Tonka's version and not quite as refined. I wasn't that impressed at Tonka and the same applies here. The cabbage rolls weren't my bag either as I felt they were a bit too bland.

The three desserts were surprisingly good and I'm not really an Asian dessert fan. The creme brulee had a lovely creamy and silky consistency that was rich and just with a hint of lemongrass. The panna cotta had a beautifully sexy wobble to eat and I enjoyed the sweet tea flavour. The coconut sago pudding was probably the least favourite as it was quite solid in texture and didn't really have much flavour but I suspect it was overpowered by the sweetness in the panna cotta and the creme brulee.

I hope The Rickshaw does well. There is passion there but I'm not sure it can manage to draw in the crowds it needs to every day especially earlier in the week. It would be good to see it succeed.

We had a truly lovely Sunday lunch here during the run up to Christmas. We found the service charming and the food just delightful. It was as good as the first time round before the award and all the hype. Our chef's menu comprised of:

• Wagyu bresaola, shallot rings, confit yolk and hay ash with shaved Perigord black truffle
• Atlantic salmon, shaved calamari, oyster, squid ink and saffron
• Salad of green vegetables, goat's curd and pickled shimeji
• Swordfish, Mooloolaba prawn, Nicola potatoes and kohlrabi
• Greenvale pork, curried raisin and heirloom carrots
• Apricot, peach, nectarine, goats milk and muesli
• Mango, coconut, vanilla and verbena

Food was initially accompanied by 2010 Matošević ‘Alba’ - Malvasia Istria, Croatia which after a couple of mouthfuls I realised we'd had last time. Must be almost like their house white or the one the sommelier always recommends.

With the pork we indulged in a Chablis Premier Cru which was steely dry and delicious and with dessert something sweet but light. I think it was the 2011 Schloss Lieser ‘Braunenberger Juffer’ Kabinett - Riesling QMP Mosel, German.

The Wagyu bresaola with some Wagyu tartare hidden beneath was just so delicious. Beefy flavours spiked with capers, sweet onion, rich egg and then our indulgent supplementary heady truffle. Amazing!

The other savoury courses were also exceptional. The swordfish was a deeply flavoured meaty delight and the pork just cracklingly crispy and the meat tender.

I've always thought that dessert at The Estelle and also during our previous meal at Saint Crispin was the weak point and they'd always been a bit lacking for me. Not this time! Oh I loved the zesty freshness of the apricot, peach, nectarine, with the crunch of muesli and then the yoghurty sharpness of the goarts milk sorbet. It refreshed my palette and jolted me out of that food coma.

The second dessert was less zesty and sharp being more mellow and rounded in sweetness but still so delicious.

Oh Saint Crispin you were a great start to our Christmas indulgence!

Sunday lunch at a pub - what better way to spend a Sunday afternoon with the lovely companionship of dear friends. And the Grace Darling was a pleasant place to do just that.

We found the bar staff and wait staff friendly and flexible. I'd booked the table for 12:30pm but we ended up not taking the table until almost 2pm as we had a few pre lunch drinks! I guess the fact that it wasn't busy and there were lots of tables helped but still nice of them to be so accommodating.

Between the four of us we had the burger, the Sunday roast, the chicken kiev and the corn and jalapeno fritters. Steve had the burger which looked impressie and the chunky chips were delicious.

The Sunday roast came in a cast iron pot with veggies and gravy and Rachel and Tim enjoyed that. I think they almost forgot there was no mash when mash is a crucial element of Sunday lunch!

The chicken kiev I had was definitely enjoyable with the potato rosti and coleslaw. The breast meat was moist and the herb butter oozed out as it should . The crispy coating wasn't too think and whilst I initially thought coleslaw was a strange accompaniment, it actually went well with everything. The croquettes were also crispy and then fluffy on the inside and I liked the chilli hit.

All in all we had a jolly good pub lunch at the Grace Darling. Probably not great enough that we'll become regulars and frequent every Sunday but enough to add it to the list of pleasant places to while away a Sunday.

Anniversary day! And if you follow my blog you will know we've been celebrating the 9 years somewhat excessively already so what to do on the actual day which fell on Wednesday?

Well what with extravagances the weekend prior and more to come I decided I wanted to try Pabu on Smith Street.

I liked the bar feel of Pabu and the giant abacus on the ceiling. I'd seen this before but couldn't remember where. We were shown to a table for two towards the back of the restaurant with a view of the long bar.

There's lots of choice and at first it seemed easier to perhaps go with the Chef's Banquet so we did but we ordered an extra dish or two that we fancied trying and I'm glad we did as one of them was the dish of the night!

Gyu Tataki - Thinly sliced seared beef with wasabi mayo, garlic, ginger & citrus soy
Hamachi Sashimi - Thinly sliced fresh king fish with jalapeños & yuzu (citrus) soy sauce

Opening up we started with two options we love at Nobu. First impressions are good. The dishes are appetising and attractive. I'm not entirely convinced by the fluorescent strips of pickled ginger not being a fan. The slices of the meat and the fish are thicker and generally larger than that of Nobu and yes, the dishes lack that visual elegance. However the gyu tataki is half the price at Pabu and the kingfish a good $9 cheaper so expectations need to take this into account.

We enjoyed the "steakiness" of the gyu tataki. The kingfish is also a winner and enjoyable. Both don't surpass Nobu but they're not meant to. These are like the homely versions. I think the citrus soy used lacks that zing of citrus though and that spike could elevate the dishes. Also my personal preference is for coriander to go with the kingfish and not the pickled ginger but that's because I love coriander but don't like pickled ginger.

But so far so good...

The next two dishes were are extra choices that we added to the Omakase set menu.

Sake Aburi Sashimi - Slices of salmon lightly seared with hot sesame oil, ponzu soy, ginger, spring onion & roasted sesame

Maguro and Salmon Salad - Fresh tuna & salmon topped with rocket salad tossed in sesame soy served with our chef's secret spicy sauce & mayo

Again loved the thick slices of fish and the fact that the servings are so generous. And again, didn't like the use of the pickled ginger.

The salad, which was the extra dish we ordered, didn't have the ginger and was enjoyed even more so to the extent that Steve proclaimed it the dish of the night and so original it was unlike anything he'd had ever. And I have to agree that this one dish demonstrated creativity whereas the other sashimi dishes were either a replica of a traditional dish such as the gyu tataki or following the styles of trailblazer dishes now made classic by the likes of Nobu.

The sesame tones and the fruity sweetness of the secret sauce lifted the richness of the chunks of tuna and salmon.

I forgot to take a picture of the Ebi Kara Age - Crispy spicy prawns that came with a spicy mayo dip and they were flavoursome enough served in a paper cone.

Mix Nigiri Sushi - Assorted nigiri sushi (fish on rice)
Buta Gyoza - Juicy pan-fried pork dumplings with spicy ponzu sauce

The mixed sushi was as expected and pretty run of the mill. The gyoza looked like other gyozas but we had to admit they were particularly good.

The last savoury course was Kushi Mono - A variety of charcoal grilled skewers consisting of beef, pork & chicken. Oh and we sneakily added the scallop wrapped in bacon one. Special occasion and all that!

The skewers were good enough. Well seasoned, tender and no gristle.

We ended the meal with the dessert plate which consisted of ice cream - green tea. black sesame and yuzu sorbet as well some mochi which is ice cream wrapped in this sweet, chewy, doughy sweetened outer layer like a thick dim sum wrapper.

The ice creams are smooth and flavoursome. I like the toastiness of the black sesame one. The yuzu sorbet is a bit lemon cheesy with that yoghurty tang. Not unpleasant at all but unusual. I usually love mochi but I don't like melon and sadly these were melon flavoured so fell into the don't like camp.

We enjoyed Pabu's offering and it represents good value for money. It's not earth shatteringly good or original but it's a good neighbourhood restaurant and if you're in the area and fancy Japanese, it's not a bad option for you at all.

A sunny Sunday afternoon and Steve and I headed to Fitzroy for a walk and some lunch. So hard to choose between the delights on Smith St but we decided to go with Po'Boy Quarter and placed an order and took a seat out on the street.

It didn't take very long for our order to arrive at all!

We did a 50 / 50 split of the catfish po'boy and the pulled pork. Both were pretty good with Steve preferring the catfish and I think I marginally preferred the pulled pork. The catfish was done in batter and was crispy without being greasy. The pulled pork was soft and juicy and sweet with a BBQ spiciness.

Now I'm not getting involved with what bread a po'boy should be made of and / or whether this version is authentic or not. The main thing to me is whether it tastes good and these sandwiches do!

The fries are nice enough too - possible a little beigey anaemic looking and maybe could do with being crispier but then we had enough crispiness going what with the mac and cheese croquette and the crispy bread.

Onto the croquette, reminiscent of a patty from back home it was super crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside but a little bland really. It could have been gooeyer and cheesier and just a bit more...well somethingier.

Po'Boy Quarter - enjoyable enough.

It's taken us three years to get to Huxtable and we may have been delayed but our welcome on a sunny Saturday afternoon was fresh and friendly,

I liked the bright dining room with lots of natural light coming in from the windows. I liked the wooden table and the grey banquette we were seated at. The neutral tones kept things informal and relaxed and that's how we felt throughout the meal.

We pretty much worked our way down the meny sharing all the way.
Xo bun with crab, jalapeno, thai basil mayo (not pictured)
More like a crab mayo sandwich I didn't get much heat or spiciness. It was light and fresh but wasn't the most flavoursome or memorable mini bun dish. The pork belly slider at Spice Temple still holds that crown.

Jalapeno & cheddar croquette
Two small crispy balls soft and fluffy on the inside spiked with a jalapeno heat. These were delicious and as good as the amazing wild mushroom croquetttes at The Commoner.

Duck liver parfait donut w cognac glaze
This was a bite size canape and really too rich for my taste but Steve loved it. I found the creaminess of the parfait and the intensity of the foie gras too much and too decadent that I couldn't have any more than the half bite I took but Steve argued that he could have had the whole thing and more!

Pork rillettes, black pudding, apple, toasted milk bread
Great flavour combinations here - white potted pork, spicy black pudding that was a but flabbier than what I'm used and worried me as I don't like that sort of gelatinous texture  but when used as a spread was fine and the some sweetness from the apple and the toasted bread.

Tuna tataki, bonito soy dressing, dashi, finger lime, daikon
Clean flavours, quite heavy on the salt but the meaty tuna coped with that.

Korean bbq pork ribs, spicy slaw, chilli gherkin
Excellent deep fried golden goodness and I loved the coleslaw and the crunchy gherkin. I think what could have elevated this dish to being sublime would have been perhaps some apple through the slaw - just something a bit zingy to cut through all the fattiness. The gherkin did it a bit but apple would provide the tartness but also a little sweetness.

Roasted lamb rump, smoked eggplant, farro & kale
Beautiful slices of pink meat with some flavoursome accompaniments - really nothing to dislike!

Sweetcorn, macaroni & smoked mozzarella, chipotle
An amazing bowl of comfort homeliness. Al dente macaroni not reduced to a sticky gloopy mess but coated in a silky sauce. Loved the sweetness and then the smokiness and creaminess and then the spike of chipotle. Very clever combination of flavours.

Roasted peanut parfait, brioche crumbs, raspberry jam & sorbet
A lovely sweet salty and fruity dessert to finish off a great meal.

We thoroughly enjoyed our meal at Huxtable and were impressed by the creativity and the passion in the food, Looking forward to the next visit already. Indeed, what took us so long to get there in the first place.

Sounds so cute - The Gem. We decided on a different dining style for the get together with Ling, Noah and Stef and through a little bit of discussion and research I found The Gem and booked a Friday night table.

It was nice to sit in a homely cosy place on a cold Wintry evening and I liked our large wooden table with the benched seating.

Our waitress was friendly and offered advice over our menu choices and really gave high praise to the steak special making us all drool for it and raised our expectations....

We started off sharing a few items:

Kafalograviera saganaki with zaatar, grilled Turkish bread and lemon
Salt and pepper calamari served with rocket, lemon and aioli
Buttermilk fried chicken tenderloins with smoked chipotle mayonnaise
Crispy lamb short ribs with warmed hummus, harissa and jus

Strange that the waitress didn't assist with the lamb short ribs order as only two ribs arrived so we kinda shredded the meat off the bone and each had a mouthful. It would have been nicer to have a rib each and we did ask that by sharing all these items whether we'd have enough...Stand out dish was probably the fried chicken - boneless tenderloins true to their name by being tender and in spite of being deep fried, remained juicy.

Between us for main courses we had:

14 hour pulled pork sandwich with coleslaw and southern BBQ sauce served with fries
Boeuf bourguignon pie served with creamy mash potato, peas, carrot and thyme puree
Fish `n ́ chips, battered or grilled served with salad and homemade tartare sauce
Steak special with potatoes, onions and chimmichurri

The two boys had the pie and it looked nice enough if a bit dry. Steve said it was fine but I think Noah would have liked some gravy. Steve's ok with dry food.

The fish and chips were ok - just fish and chips but a bit greasy.

Stef and I shared the sandwich and the steak. The boys helped with the steak though as it was pretty big. The steak had been overhyped. It was a good texture and there was a sweetness to it from the marinade and the chimichurri was pretty zippy. Stef said it didn't live up to expectation. Steve didn't like the smokiness and said the chimichurri was too overpowering. I liked the texture and thought that alone raised the quality given we were in a pub. I didn't mind the smoky sweetness from the BBQ but agreed the chimichurri was too vinegary,

The pulled pork sandwich was pleasantly good. Soft roll, sweet pork and coleslaw.

Overall the Gem provided us with a filling meal at ok prices. I wouldn't rush back but it wasn't the worst place to dine. I liked the cosiness of the dining areas and the food whilst not faultless was decent pub food.

We've been waiting our turn to for a blessing from Saint Crispin which has opened to rave reviews. I don't think I've heard one bad thing about it. We went with Chris and Kerry. I met Chris through work and he knows Scott, head chef at Saint Crispin and we made plans to try it out together.

The restaurant has the relaxed vibe that The Estelle has and I love the double ceiling height which makes it feel airy and roomy. The tables are comfortable to sit at and large enough for all the dishes so there's no uncomfortable plate Tetris going on. Service was snappy and personal throughout and the place had a real electric buzziness going on but not overly so that it becomes overstimulation.

Proceedings began with some snacks - black olive macarons, truffle marshmallow and some crispy pork scratchings seasoned with spices. The macarons and marshmallow were more sweet than anything else and then the salty pork scratchings balanced the sweetness with some salty spiciness. Very more ish.

First course was the Wagyu bresaola, shallot rings, purple cauliflower and hay ash and there was a secret quail's egg amidst the slices of Wagyu. Slightly warm in temperature I loved this take on a steak tartare. Meaty and then a tang from the pickled purple cauliflower and some smokiness from the hay ash. Delicious.

The next dish was a duck salad with foie gras parfait and different leaves topped with shaved black truffle - kind of like a charcuterie plate. I got the impression we had gone off menu here and this was a gift from chef!

King salmon, shaved calamari, oyster, squid ink and saffron came next and this was right up my street. The salmon was so rich and fresh and the oyster added saltiness. Steve's not a fan of salmon so this was probably his least favourite but he still ate it all.

Another popular dish arrived - Pullet egg, mushrooms, parmesan, goats curd and black rice. I was advised that a pullet is a hen that is less than 12 months old and the eggs they lay are smaller in size which means that they are more yolk than white which in turn makes them richer. So this dish had an oozing egg underneath the goats curd and rice. Taste wise - I loved it all the. Rich runny egg yolk, creamy cheese, earthy mushrooms and then toasty brown rice. So creative and so clever.

By this time our tummies were getting full but we persevered. The John Dory, octopus, red wine and chickpeas was taking us to the comfort food and more classical dish space. Clean flavours of delicious Dory, chickpeas and braised octopus.

And then we were onto the main meat dish which was the veal cheek, hand rolled macaroni and miso which was topped with shaved black truffle. This is a special dish and I wouldn't be surprised if it becomes a signature dish. The veal is sticky, rich and heavy and is lightened by the green veg and the two tubes of pasta which have soaked up all the meat juices. Loved the macaroni so much. Having had so many courses though and they were all super generous in size meant that by the time this arrived we were probably not as appreciative of it as we could have been. I think that if we were on a two or three course a la carte then it would have been heavenly but as the end to the savoury courses on the degustation, it was just a smidgen too heavy. Fine line between ending heavenly and heavily!

Now I recall dessert at The Estelle being my least favourite so I wondered what delights would be here at Saint Crispin.

A cube of pumpkin, pecan, maple and cream cheese arrived. I guess it's like a deconstructed pumpkin pie / cheesecake but pumpkin isn't really a dessert to me and I just felt it should have tasted savoury like pumpkin soup than like a mousse. Steve enjoyed it though and ate mine for me! We also had a second cube of blood orange parfait, white lemon, yoghurt and mandarin which was more my thing but not something that was hugely memorable. There was a chocolate, earl grey, milk and ginger on the menu that sounded intriguing and I think I'd have had liked to try that. Next time maybe.

There was also a little oaty flapjack type disc that came after we paid the bill and that was a delicious end to an incredibly impressive meal. Highly recommend Saint Crispin for its creativity, ambience and definitely for the savoury dishes. In my opinion they do the savoury better than the dessert. Don't get me wrong - dessert isn't bad, just not my thing. I'm itching to return though and try more. Saint Crispin definitely has its place in the Melbourne hotbed of amazing restaurants and what is impressive is that it has secured its place in such a short time. Mighty achievement.