Friends of Mine

The school holidays have arrived and my sister Pip has been able to sneak away for a few days and stay with me again. Of course going out for breakfast was on the agenda and we headed a bit closer into the city to Richmond to Friends of Mine, a very gorgeous corner cafe recommended by Pip's daughter Meagan who lives nearby.

Friends of Mine  506 Swan Street Richmond VIC 3121
Phone: 9428 7516

We could have sat under the trees outside, but as it was a fairly warm Autumn day, we decided to go inside instead.

That was a good choice as it had a very welcoming and homey feel about it with its slightly distressed furniture invitingly set and an interesting mix of art work on the walls. By the way, the toilets were beautiful and clean as well.

We loved how the reserved signs on the tables were from an old scrabble set - too quirky!

The most important thing - coffee - came good and fast, although I felt that my normal sized cup was just a bit too small!!

We just couldn't decide what to choose from their interesting menu, so decided to share a savoury meal first. We finally chose perfectly poached eggs on cheesy herbed toast with smashed avocado and crispy bacon accompanied by a pot of a particularly delicious eggplant relish on the side.

We should have stopped there, but couldn't resist sharing their banana bread which sandwiched mascapone and fresh bananas, and was topped with toasted, chopped pistachio nuts, the whole lot covered with stewed berries. It was just so yummy!!!

We totally overdid it and just couldn't finish it off! 

 After another round of coffees we staggered off to do some bookshop wandering. 

We will most definitely pay Friends of Mine another visit next time Pip hits the big smoke.

CERES

Today I caught up with my dear friend Denise. We love to ride our bikes, so I caught the train to Clifton Hill and Denise rode out from the city and met me at the station. We rode along the Merri Creek bike path until we reached CERES - the Centre for Education and Research in Environmental Strategies. A funny place to have breakfast you might think!!

CERES Stewart St Brunswick East VIC 3057
Phone: (03) 9389 0155

According to their website:

"CERES is an award winning, not-for-profit, sustainability centre located on 4.5 hectares on the Merri Creek in East Brunswick, Melbourne.

It is also a thriving community, an urban farm, Australia’s largest deliverer of environmental education, an event and conference venue and a place rich with social and cultural diversity. CERES is recognised as an international leader in community and environmental practice."

Certainly when we first rode into this haven in the middle of inner city Melbourne, we were struck by the quirky sculptures ...

and random mud brick buildings tucked away all over the place.

We are guessing the mosaics originated here...

and even extend to the toilet signage!

CERES has a beautiful community feel exemplified by the notice board filled with an eclectic mix of flyers and hand written notices.

Things go at a fairly relaxed pace here, although fortunately the coffee (which was delicious) arrived fairly quickly - it was 10 o'clock by then and we were good and ready for our first caffeine hit! The food took a long time to come but as we had heaps to chat about it didn't worry us unduly. You probably wouldn't want to eat here if you were in a hurry.

They have quite a wide selection of different breakfast offerings here. I chose poached eggs on sourdough toast smothered in hummus all sitting on a bed of fresh baby spinach with crispy bacon on the side. The thick sprinkle of dukkah over the top was a tasty addition.

Denise chose an Indonesian breakfast - two fried eggs on coarsely grated vegetables on top of rice with a spicy tomato chutney on the side. She said it was delicious and left her lips tingly!

Being right on the bike track is very helpful for Melbourne's merry band of cyclists - we had to skirt around many parked bikes - as it is so easy to have a hop on, hop off brekky!

         

We had a great catch up and a lovely meal - what a beaut morning!

Volumes

Bill and I had time for a quick breakfast and as it was my turn to choose I thought we could head over to the nearby suburb of Eltham to Volumes, a place I have been to many times but never breakfasted at!

Volumes cafe, gift and book shop: 70 Commercial Place Eltham VIC 3095
Phone: (03) 9431 500

You can see it from the Main Road, but you actually access it from what appears to be around the back.

As this sign out the front proclaims, it isn't just a cafe, but also a spectacular gift shop (which is why I have been there so often) and a bookshop too.

As you wander into the entrance you pass by another gift shop on the right which is also worth having a meander through.

Naturally enough you are FORCED to walk through the shop on the way to the cafe which is nestled down the back - the things they have here are so beautiful that it is hard not to stop and look and touch.

We did finally make it to the cafe which is deceptively huge. They don't have any small tables for two, but are not at all worried about small numbers of people taking up whole large tables - great if you want to spread out your newspaper for a good read over your coffee!

Eltham is a very arty, creative little town and this cafe is no different. Besides the eclectic mix of paintings adorning the walls, this brightly coloured mural entirely covers the back wall. It looks as if it would be garish, but actually fits in beautifully.

We made our choices from the menu and ordered at the front. The service was really quick - I had barely sat down and there it was in front of us. I chose the Aussie breakfast sandwich, a great huge sandwich chockablock with bacon, cheese and two fried eggs! The pot of delicious relish on the side was a nice touch. The waiter raised her eyebrows when she saw that it was me who had ordered this meal, and I can see why as I just couldn't finish it.

Bill went for the poached eggs and sausages which were beautifully cooked.  I was very proud of him for choosing something other than scrambled eggs which are his all time favourite breakfast.

His coffee looked very extravagant with the chocolate flower perched on top!

They have a balcony overlooking the Main Road and railway station which would be a lovely place to sit on a nice day. It was pretty wet in Melbourne this day so we stuck with being inside in the cosiness.

I'll definitely head back here again.

George's Gourmet Food Store

My goodness, this is the third breakfast in one week!!! Maybe I am overdoing it a bit, but when Donna and I decided we wanted to catch up with our dear friend and past colleague Polly, well breakfast just beckoned. As the other two live out Croydon way, we thought we would taste the local delights and went  to George's ...

George's Gourmet Food Store  22-24 Hewish Road Croydon VIC 3136
Phone: (03) 9723 5036

...which is tucked away at the back of the shops in Croydon. Here is Polly waiting so patiently  for us!

Our first coffee arrived in pretty quick time and included a cute little Aussie animal biscuit nestled onto each spoon.

We got down the serious business of choosing our food and they have quite a lot of choice, although we all felt it was a bit pricey.

Donna had the muesli and declared it delish ...

Polly decided on pancakes (but that is no surprise as she ALWAYS chooses pancakes) ...

and I went for the fruit toast which I am fairly partial to.

They cater for lunch as well here and have a small but OK wine list and no, we didn't indulge at 9.00am, although I have been known to enjoy a Buck's Fizz first thing in the morning sometimes!

We enjoyed our meal here -  the food was OK, the service good, but a bit expensive for us for breakfast.

Red Door Corner Store

Hooray!!! We did it! Bill and I finally breakfasted together and he even chose the spot!! We knew it would happen - we just had to be patient. We set off this beautiful Melbourne morning to a mystery location. I love surprises but Bill doesn't, so he did very well keeping this to himself until we arrived. He took me to Red Door Corner Store in Northcote.

Red Door Corner Store 70 Mitchell Street Northcote VIC 3070

Phone: (03) 94898040

In Melbourne many of the milk bars, or corner/convenience stores have closed their doors and been refurbished as very quaint, inviting cafes - this is one of them.

It is set right on a roundabout in the middle of a stunning old residential area, surrounded by beautiful houses like this one.

The area is brimming with young families, many of whom were enjoying the joys of this welcoming eatery. Some arrived pushing strollers, others walked or rode their bikes, a very common past time in this part of the world.

You can sit outside here on the footpath on an eclectic mix of stools as the street isn't too busy, but we headed inside to soak up the atmosphere. We ignored the bad headlines on the ad for this morning's paper on the verandah post as we wanted to feel totally self indulgent just for a short time.

The decor is earthy, homey, with a selection of delicious looking goodies to buy and take away if you haven't the time to prop, as we did.

We chose to sit on a bench in the front window as we are both a couple of sticky beaks and enjoy watching the passing parade outside on the street.

I wasn't terribly hungry so chose the Breakfast Tart - cherry tomatoes, feta, caramelised onions and bacon enclosed in a thin crust of pastry. It was the perfect size and the flavour was just fabulous. I ate it slowly so I could relish every mouthful!

Bill chose scrambled eggs on Dench's toast with smoked bacon and it was a huge meal. We had to sit for a while just to let everything settle!!

Before heading off (we do have to work sometime) we had a little wander around the shop and just loved their decor - basic materials from around the home, but beautifully arranged.

Bill, you did well - now the challenge is back on me. Hmmmm, where to next?

Kuranga Native Nursery Paperbark Cafe

Okay, I know, I know, I know - another breakfast without Bill!!! But it wasn't my fault! It was supposed to be a catch up for Donna and me with our great friend Rolf over a cup of coffee - I couldn't help that we ended up somewhere which has such an interesting breakfast menu and we were all starving! What is a girl to do? Yep, we ended up eating breakfast at the Paperbark Cafe in the Kuranga Native Nursery in Mt Evelyn.

Paperbark Cafe at Kuranga Nursery
118 York Road, Mount Evelyn
Phone: 9760 8100

Not only is it gorgeous and earthy on the outside...

 York Road Mount Evelyn 3796   T. 9760 8100

 ... the inside is a homemaker's dream - just look at that shop!

We managed to walk through the shop and out to the cafe without buying anything (not an easy thing to do!). We could have sat inside, but we chose to head out onto the balcony - we are such outside people - and it felt as if we were right in amongst the plants. Yes, by the way, they do sell plants here!

They also have heaps of beautiful garden art such as these pottery hangings and many other things, all presided over by these magnificent metal sculptured eagles - awesome!

Coffee came quick smart which was fabulous as we were really ready for our caffeine fix by the time we had all arrived. Donna and Rolf didn't waste any time catching up!!

Then the difficult decision - what to order? The menu is an all day one called "Muncheon"- a combination of what we would normally consider breakfast foods with other interesting fare, all with an Australian native ingredient flavour to them - almost a bush tucker feel.

Donna went for a dried fruit salad with granola and fresh natural yoghurt, Rolf had scrambled eggs with an outback twist and I ordered a salmon roulade on spinach. All very different and all voted delicious!

After another coffee and heaps more chatting, we staggered off to work knowing we wouldn't need to eat again until tea time. If we had the time we could have meandered around the extensive native nursery or back into the shop - maybe next visit.