Brother Baba Budan

My stop in to Brother Baba Budan was delightfully spontaneous – after an afternoon browsing the shops, the buzz and an impulse drew me in to this hole-in-the-wall coffee den. Not being a coffee drinker, I chose peppermint from a minimalist tea menu, and then I spotted the donuts and my impulse was rewarded. I picked the choc-mint over the iced vovo, although both looked great, and took a seat at the bar at the back. I watched my tea being brewed while I started on the delicious donut. The donut itself was soft and not too dense, whilst the icing was evenly spread across the top and just a little bit melted (perfect!). There were sprinkles of mint sugar on top which flavoured the whole donut. The tea was made from loose leaves although the brand was not listed on the menu. It came out in a gorgeous iron teapot of just the right size, with a small cup that meant the tea didn’t cool too quickly. The brew itself was just the right strength and left a lovely peppermint aftertaste. The staff were happy to let me finish my tea even after they’d closed up for the day.

Brother Baba Budan, 359 Little Bourke Street, Melbourne VIC http://www.sevenseeds.com.au

Wafflemeister

I came across this photo from my holiday a few years back and couldn’t resist sharing (#flashback). Waffles are a legitimate breakfast food. Really! They’re even more so when you’re on holidays. I met friends of mine also holidaying in London to check out the Natural History Museum, but before a day of museum exploration, a sturdy breakfast was in order. That’s where Wafflemeister came in. Near the South Kensington tube station, this outlet of the waffle-producing chain was just too tempting to resist. I chose a ‘waffle au chocolate’, and picked milk chocolate for the drizzle on top (dark and white also available). You can add fruit to your waffles and I opted for fresh raspberries. This turned out to be an excellent choice – the waffle was fresh, crisp and light, and the milk chocolate was rich and smooth, with just the right amount to stop the waffle from being dry. But the absolute highlight was the raspberries – they were juicy, tart and intensly flavoured. I can honestly say I’ve never had such delicious berries before in my life! The serving was quite large and I couldn’t quite finish it, but I did finish all the raspberries! They also made me feel a bit less guilty for having a sweet treat for breakfast.

Wafflemeister, 26 Cromwell Place, South Kensington London, UK http://www.wafflemeister.com/

St Ali

Note to self: the South Melbourne markets aren’t open on a Monday. Luckily St Ali is – in fact they’re open 365 days, so you can’t get it wrong (like I did with the markets). Instead of wandering through the markets a friend and I settled in at St Ali for afternoon tea, soaking up the sunshine from their outdoor seating which looks out onto the street. We were both tempted by the cake display and I caved first and ordered the fruit danish and a ‘hydrate’ juice, while my friend picked the lemon and marshmallow tart and a ‘detox’ juice. The juices were served in large, tall glasses and didn’t have much foam – mine had watermelon, apple and mint, although I could still taste the carrot from the detox juice which must have gone through the juicer first. The danish was lovely and crisp, with the pastry flaking off in large pieces to enjoy. The fresh blueberries, apricot and strawberries sat on a bed of custard which brought the whole sweet to life.  I could have happily eaten another if it hadn’t been so filling! Definitely a great place to while away an afternoon.

St Ali Coffee Roasters, 12-18 Yarra Place, South Melbourne VIC  www.stali.com.au

Royal Copenhagen

Hello #icecreamthurs! Glenelg has so many dessert options that it can be hard to choose – showing friends from Canberra around, they asked which of the icecream options was the best. I hadn’t had icecream down there for a while (usually opting for fondue), so picked Royal Copenhagen hoping that it would pass muster. Luckily, it did. I chose a single scoop of the Vanilla Meringue, Passionfruit and Raspberry icecream, having never come across this flavour before. It was a good choice – the icecream was beautifully creamy, the sweet vanilla meringue flavour was clear and well complemented by the tartness of both the raspberry and the passionfruit. My only criticism was that the meringue flavour seemed to fade the more you ate, but this is a fairly common issue with icecream. It didn’t hurt that they offer self-service toppings, including sprinkles and nuts – I added plenty of the latter to mine! We also had donuts to share, which came out piping hot and well dusted in cinnamon sugar. They were lovely and soft and I could have happily devoured several more. Royal Copenhagen didn’t disappoint!

Royal Copenhagen Icecreamery & Dessert Bar, 15 Jetty Road, Glenelg SA

Movenpick

Brisbane is a pretty warm city, especially in summer, so inevitably you end up wanting something of the icecream variety to cool you down. Luckily, there are quite a few options – I was excited to see that Movenpick is one of them. I first tried Movenpick in 2009 in Auckland and was very impressed with the quality of their icecream and the variety of flavours on offer. Luckily the Brisbane store is equally impressive. I will always choose a sorbet over icecream when possible, and I was pleased to see that Movenpick has a raspberry sorbet – one of my favourite flavours. I ordered a small cup and was amazed by how true the raspberry flavour was – the intensity of it was incredible. The sorbet is perfectly balanced between being tart and sweet, and even has little crunches of raspberry mixed throughout.  The serving size was just enough for an after-dinner treat, the service was quick and the staff were friendly. Perfectly sweet and refreshing on a warm Brisbane night.

Movenpick, Shop 6A, Little Stanley Street, South Bank QLD http://www.moevenpick-icecream.com/au/en/

Bracegirdles

All throughout my university days and even now when I visit Adelaide, Bracegirdles is my go-to for a decadent treat. Their chocolate is my absolute favourite when it comes to boutique chocolatiers across Australia, and I think it’s at its best in molten form. I don’t think I’ve ever ordered anything at Bracegirdles apart from their chocolate fondue – they offer a range of sizes with different accompaniments, but the ultimate for me is the fondue for four with fruit, shared with friends. You have a choice of milk or dark chocolate for your fondue. After ordering at the counter and admiring the range of truffles, there’s a cozy upstairs space with armchairs which is lovely in winter, or the balcony overlooking Jetty Road for people watching in summer. The plate arrives with banana, strawberry, orange and pineapple, all fresh and sweet. They do offer a lolly version for those with a really sweet tooth, but I found it a bit too much, as their chocolate is very sweet. One of the best things about Bracegirdles is that they sell their chocolate buttons for DIY fondue, so interstate visitors can recreate the magic at home. Love it.

Bracegirdles, 31 Jetty Road, Glenelg SA                http://www.bracegirdles.com.au/

Cumulus Inc

Friends had raved about the breakfast at Cumulus Inc when we were last in Melbourne, so on this visit I made it my first stop. Like Akiba in Canberra, Cumulus is friendly to the solo traveller, seating me along the bar overlooking the kitchen where I could watch the chefs bustling away. I started with a glass of berry lemonade, which was beautifully refreshing and had the underlying bitterness of homemade lemonade. The berries added sweetness without being sickly. I chose the heirloom tomato dish to eat, and added the optional Serrano jamon. The dish was perfectly presented, with the straciatella cheese layered under the jamon and the seasoned tomatoes. A perfect mouthful had a bit of each element, including the divine bread which added so much flavour to the whole. The cheese had a distinctive flavour that matched the tomatoes really well and the staff were happy to let me enjoy it slowly while I read my book. To finish I treated myself to a canelle, which was done in the authentic French style – an almost burnt outer shell with a soft and delicate inside. I now see what everyone has been raving about, Cumulus is all class.

Cumulus Inc, 45 Flinders Lane, Melbourne VIC                 http://www.cumulusinc.com.au