This sunny Sunday we happened to be driving around and it soon got to lunch time and we needed inspiration...I consulted my list of places I want to visit and we decided to try St Cloud in Hawthorn East. There were a few tables dining so it was pretty straightforward to get seated. The place is modern, casual and a little bit funky.

The chicken wings were a bigger serve; four piece atop two cubes of sticky rice all glazed in caramel deliciousness. Thoroughly enjoyed the tasty sweet glaze and the tang of the pickles to cut through it all.

Prawn and pork spring rolls were also tasty with lettuce leaves, beanshoots and coriander to wrap together and dip in the piquant nuoc cham. From a doubtful start of scallops, we were much happier with what followed.

Having shared entrees, we chose our own mains:

• Pho special of the day (chicken) served with beanshoots, chilli, lime, sweet basil, sriracha and hoi sin
• 5 spice roast pork belly vermicelli bowl, herbs, pickles, nuoc cham

I had the pho which was a much darker broth than I usually see but I enjoyed the depth of flavour that was probably richer than what I'm usually used to which I wasn't quite sure was the best with chicken and maybe red meat would be a slightly better match. The noodles were a touch overcooked so a little bit soft and I really missed having some fresh coriander in it. It wasn't bad and it was tasty but I think Steve's main was far better.

Steve wolfed his vermicelli salad declaring it really good. I enjoyed the taster I had. Actually we enjoyed the whole meal. It wasn't perfect but it was fresh, good quality ingredients and definitely tasty enough.

Saturday morning and we found ourselves in Hawthorn which isn't a suburb we visit often. We were there to drop off a baby cot I'd borrowed from friend and colleague Ashleigh for my niece Amelia's visit over Christmas. 

I'd asked local resident Ash for a breakfast recommendation and she gave me several that I researched the day before. I decided to go with Crabapple Kitchen because unusually it took reservations! And I wanted to be sure that I wouldn't have to wait for a table. I love that  it takes breakfast reservations. Who wants to wait for breakfast over the weekend?

We took a short walk from Ash's apartment and found Crabapple Kitchen on Glenferrie Road and there were people milling around the takeaway window. We were shown to our table and settled in.

It's a chintzy, cute place and really reminded Steve and I of a tea room from home i.e. UK. I don't know whether it was the floral benches or the pictures on the wall but it felt welcoming and homely in a light, bright way.

Drinks orders were taken quickly and we were left with menus presented on large wooden boards which took up a bit of room in such a small space. A bulldog clip fastened several bits of paper to the board and I completely bypassed the breakfast menu! Anyway I found it eventually and I'm glad I did!

Choices, choices. Our orange juices arrived quickly. They were freshly squeezed but I found mine a little watery. Maybe it was the ice though.

I went with the:

Tunis, Tunisia ‘Shakshouka’ — A Middle Eastern classic baked eggs in tomato with bell peppers, chilli & chickpeas, sweet smoked paprika, crumbled housemade ‘Shanklish’ cheese with cumin on grilled flatbread 

And I added a side of bacon!

Steve said he couldn't get past the:

Myrtleford buttermilk pancakes with Autumnal pears, almond & pink peppercorn praline, lemon & vanilla mascarpone and pure Canadian maple syrup plus maple cured bacon


Presentation wise, the baked eggs looked more appetising colourful and appealing. Steve's dish looked a little more anemic and a bit bland. Both didn't look like we thought each dish would. Baked eggs, we tend to expect them to be served in a pan or oven dish and I though the flatbred would be served separately. We thought the pancakes would be more American in appearance stacked high.

Appearances can be deceptive and as Steve cut into his pancake his heart sang...apparently. It was fluffy and light and tasted amazing. Sweet and then with the salty bacon. Perfect.

I enjoyed the baked eggs on top of the flatbread as it kept the bread soft and soaked up all the flavours. Sometimes baked eggs just taste of tomatoes but this had a good blend of spices and depth to it. Very enjoyable.

Our tea was strong and flavoursome too - just how we like it and I loved the retro orange tea set.

Definitely a good breakfast option and reliable because of the reservations option. Steve rates the pancake dish up there as one of the best breakfast dishes in Melbourne up there with panko egg on roti at Sir Charles in Fitzroy. High praise indeed!

We sat next to an older couple who were very sweet and were obviously regulars. They knew what they wanted without menus and shared a porridge that was split and plated up separately for them and then had a soft boiled egg each and he had two slices of toast and she had one. So cute and so nice of Crabapple Kitchen to accommodate their requests.

We also felt very welcome and whilst it was busy and people walked past us often as it's a narrow room and we were seated at a table in the main thoroughfare, we didn't feel trapped or claustrophobic or rushed. Service was friendly, kind and genuine.

We were very kindly invited to Hooked in Hawthorn to try their fishy goodness so we decided to swing by after work during the week. Entering the shop front, first impressions are that it's light and bright and appealing.

Steve had the fisherman's box for one and I had the special fillet marinaded in soy and ginger that was grilled. Loved the selection of sauces and we also had some potato cakes to share.

I enjoyed my grilled fish. It was light and cooked nicely. Steve isn't a huge calamari fan but found he enjoyed this one as it was tender. Chips were good too. Potato cakes a little greasy.

Condiments wise, the salsa verde (unpictured) was delicious with my fish. Fresh, grassy and herbaceous I didn't think I'd like it but I loved it. And I didn't even ask for it, it just turned up.

We thoroughly enjoyed our dinner so thank you so much for the invite.

Friday night date night comes round quick! This week we headed to Ocha in Hawthorn for our 8:15pm sitting. We were a little late and when we arrived pretty much every table was taken.

Our welcome was warm though and we were seated quickly and a drinks order taken whilst we considered the menu.

We were given a specials menu as well as the a la carte but weren't told about any degustation or feed me options which we later heard wait staff tell other tables so we missed out there. Never mind though as there was lots to choose from and we were able to select what we thought would suit our palettes.

Beef tataki carpaccio of rare grilled porterhouse served with ponzu sauce was the first dish out and it set the bar. It was beautiful to look at and to eat. Tender seared pieces of beef and starting off brown at the edges transitioning to pink and then to a beautiful red bullseye in the centre. Flavours were well balanced and we loved the thicker than usual slices.

Gyoza - panfried pork and vegetable dumplings came out next and they weren't my choice as gyoza well they're everywhere right and most of the time they're ok but not amazing and some of the time they're pretty average or even bad.

I changed my mind after this gyoza though and now every gyoza will be compared to this one. The filling was dense and not mushy - there was crunch from the veggies and the pork was meaty with some texture. The wrap was delicated and silky with some crispiness on one side. A very good gyoza!

Ocha had definitely come out of the starting blocks a blazing!

Sashimi - 18 piece selection of the day’s freshest fish and there was salmon, kingfish, tuna, scallop and snapper.

All was spankingly fresh and lipsmackingly good - just excellent sashimi and probably ever so slightly better than Kenzan from the previous week.

We moved onto fried dishes next and the spanner crab tempura was next in line. I liked the description of spanner crab wrapped in seaweed and deep fried with some green tea salt. It was an ok tempura but erred on the heavy and greasy side and then the crab was sweet and so was the seaweed so overall it was all bit too heavy and rich. Not terrible but not good enough to be moreish.

We also ordered the spicy crunchy fish of the day served on a salad with fresh chilli and garlic. This was very flavoursome and the dressing that came in the bottom of the bowl was pretty intense, The little crunchy pieces of fish were good and the whole dish was unusual and interesting. Flavours were strong and textures were many.

We moved onto miso duck - pan fried duck breast pieces in nutty miso sauce which we enjoyed with some steamed rice. Effectively a stir fry we liked the nuttiness and the thick sauce. I prefer my duck roasted and pink rather than stir fried and well done though but this version was still tasty.

Nabeyaki udon - bubbling pot of udon noodle, chicken, shiitake and egg topped with a tempura prawn was our final dish and it was really pleasant to end on something very clean testing and pure. Loved the savoury broth and the udon noodles. Only slight issue is I prefer my tempura on the side so it doesn't go soggy but that's a personal preference. Ocha's udon soup noodles are now my favourite.

I really enjoyed the start of our meal and the ending and those dishes strike me as more lunch dishes whereas the heavier main courses were not quite my thing. I'd love to return for lunch.