L B 2

Coffee has become a way of life for us here in Melbourne. I could not get through even a couple of hours of work in the morning without one. Luckily there are just about an infinite number of independent coffee shops within a 5 minute walk from the office. The problem with having so many choices is that it can make you indecisive, but one that we found recently called LB2 had me quit all other coffee shops in the vicinity. Located in the CBD, close to Southern Cross station, this is yet another coffee shop located in a laneway (aka alley). The coffee is fantastic here. Even though Melbourne has an abundance of coffee shops, I really can taste a significant difference between one served here and one served across the street. Not only is the coffee good (they have a lot of variety and consistently bring in new roasts to try), they have great people here too. While this place is located in the heart of corporate Melbourne (a lot of lawyers, accountants and consultants come here), Veng and Emily have become familiar faces to me now but they know their coffee inside and out and they help to create a laid back atmosphere to the whole joint. Anyway, talk is talk but they serve some fantastic coffee here. It is places like this that make me sad when I think about the options back in Vancouver. L B 2 Down a back laneway 2 Gallagher Place Melbourne, VIC 3000

H A M M E R & T O N G

This Easter weekend, our quest to find more great brunch spots in Melbourne took us to Hammer & Tong in Fitzroy. Fitzroy is one of those pockets in a city that is as creative as they come. A place where its age shows, this area of town is not lacking in character. Hammer & Tong sits just off of Brunswick Street (for people that live in Vancouver, it is much like Main Street or Commercial Drive) and is home to one of the more well known soft-shell crab burgers in the city. We arrived at the door at about 11am and was met with a lineup that took about 15 minutes to get in (not too shabby). Not surprisingly, the restaurant was bustling and very full. We were served some great coffee here in no time... what came after though, didn't come until almost 40 minutes later. Needless to say, we were starved by the time our food arrived. We get that the restaurant is busy but 2/3rds of an hour is too long. Having said that the food hit the spot and I suppose that was this experience's saving grace.

We ordered the smoked trout, kale, poached egg on a rye bagel with seaweed hollandaise along with the zucchini and corn fritters with poached egg. The smoked trout was good but maybe a little dry. The combination of the ingredients is what made this dish so memorable. It was delicious and we polished off that plate with ease. The fritters had a very mexican flare to it and it also had a great, crispy texture on the outside. To end our meal, we shared a soft shell crab burger since it was selling like hot cakes. Our conclusion? It was good - the bun was very soft and warm (I'm no good with descriptions as you can tell) and the flavor was distinctly asian - but it was a little too salty. Overall, we enjoyed it. We may have had better in Melbourne but this ranks right up there with the best. We'll be back. Hammer & Tong 412 Brunswick Street Fitzroy, Melbourne, Australia

C U M U L U S I N C

We love food so needless to say, when we have the opportunity to go out for brunch, we always try to find a new place. In Melbourne, it isn't so easy to exhaust your options even if you want to. Cumulus Inc. is heavily reviewed and very popular for both breakfast and dinner. We came here brunch and only had to wait about 20 minutes (not very much considering most popular places in town will require a bit of a queuing time). The restaurant is well lit and welcoming. We had the Cumulus breakfast which offered a boiled egg, toast, preserves, and yoghurt. We also had the smoked salmon on buckwheat waffle. The salmon was delicious and was easily the highlight of our meal. The coffee was not bad as well. The food was good and simple. It is refreshing to find a brunch place that does not try to do too much. But we both thought the food was just that... good. It wasn't outstanding but it was ok. It may have been all the hype from hearing others rave about this place. Anyway, would we come back? Definitely will one day. Afterall this is one of the better brunch options in the city. Cumulus Inc. 45 Flinders Lane Melbourne, Australia

T H E T O W N M O U S E

Melbourne is filled with great restaurants and since we moved to this city, I think we have barely scratched the surface of all the good eats this city has to offer. A great space with loads of light and limited space - and of course, great food. The dishes are meant to be shared with others so it was perfect that we had four of us there.

Pretty well everything we had was delicious including the oysters (simply done, just the way we like it and fresh too). The slow roasted red cabbage sounded interesting and it was different from any veggie plate we have ever had. We finished with three entrees including the charred pork loin, slow roasted lamb shoulder, and the red snapper. The lamb shoulder is huge but well worth it. It was fatty, tender, and perfectly seasoned. It was a great dinner and a great way to kick off the weekend. The Town Mouse 312 Drummond Street, Carlton Melbourne, Australia

M A N C H E S T E R P R E S S

Melbourne's greatest appeal to me has to be their appreciation for all different kinds of food. This is a city that loves to eat. This is no different on a weekend before lunch either - brunch is a favorite amongst many Melbournian's and the city has a great number of restaurants that serve up some great food that makes you feel ok with waking up a little earlier on a weekend. Manchester Press is in the Melbourne CBD, hidden in a laneway (never gets old). But despite being tucked away, this is a place that attracts a queue pretty well every time that I have been there. They make a great breakfast/lunch bagel in a way that I have never seen done before. Normally I go and get the pulled pork with Asian spices while Janice would get the smoked salmon. Simple but extremely tasty and well done. Very filling too. Couple that with a fresh orange juice or a nice cup of coffee and you're bound to start the weekend off right. We have been here several times now and we have taken friends that have come into town to visit too.  Manchester Press 8 Rankins Lane Melbourne