Your typical brunch fare won't be found here. Aucuba offers a menu that is mainly plant-based, noticeably Japanese-influenced, and shies away from same-same dishes like smashed avocado and pulled pork everything (though I do have to say I love a good pulled pork dish). As its name might suggest, Aucuba also roasts its own specialty coffee in-house and boasts its own dedicated brew and espresso bar, which takes up nearly a quarter of the floor space in the front section of the cafe....

Head chef Ehud Malka migrated permanently to Australia three years and decided to set up a little café right here in South Melbourne. Up every day at 3am, Ehud bakes bread from scratch at The Left Handed Chef, everything from brioche to multigrain. The bread is used in the breakfast and brunch dishes and also for the sandwiches at the counter. Sweet goodies are made in house as well, and there are many gluten free options too. [caption id="attachment_11825" align="aligncenter" width="800"] Cappuccino and Latte[/caption] Their own special blend of coffee...

Stokers used to be a two store affair, but the land where the original Ivanhoe restaurant sat had to be cleared and developed into apartments. The South Melbourne site is still alive and kicking, serving their famous pancakes to all. [caption id="attachment_11912" align="aligncenter" width="800"] Mr Big - Yerling Station beef patty, with BLT[/caption] So, not a pancake, but dad ordered the Mr Big burger, filled with homemade Yerling Station beef patty, BLT, cheese, caramelised onion, and garlic parsley mayo. It's a simple and honest, non-greasy burger. Burgers also come, not...

Occupying a cosy little building in South Melbourne, Kuu is a Japanese café open for breakfast right through to dinner. The menu largely revolves around healthy, balanced food, but popular not-so-healthy things like katsu and karaage are also served. [caption id="attachment_11922" align="aligncenter" width="800"] Large Match Latte ($5)[/caption] [caption id="attachment_11915" align="aligncenter" width="800"] Matcha Affogato ($5)[/caption] The matcha latte was milkier and less intense with the matcha flavour than Little Rogue’s version. Matcha affogato came with an intense matcha syrup to pour over the vanilla ice cream rather than the traditional coffee, and...

A visit to a café in South Melbourne was followed by a drop-in to Agathe Patisserie at the South Melbourne markets, and the enticing smell of butter filled the car on the way home. [caption id="attachment_11908" align="aligncenter" width="800"] Plain Croissant ($5)[/caption] We bought two croissants that day. I was hoping for a pandan croissant, but there weren’t any available on our visit. The plain croissant had a good, crispy and flaky shell, and the airy, spiraling interior was tender, stretchy and moist, not doughy. The rich fragrance of butter was...

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