Cafe Adventures @ Shortstop Coffee & Donuts

12 Sutherland St, Melbourne VIC

Phone: N/A

7:30am - 4:30pm Weekdays

9:30am - 4:00pm Saturday

9:30am - 3:30pm Sunday

Mmm, delicious donuts & coffee, what more can you ask for?. Shortstop coffee & donuts specializes in a range of freshly baked donuts and hot coffees that draw in new and returning customers every day.

A shame that the store doesn't do cold drinks, as when I was craving an iced coffee when at the time, but nonetheless the hot coffees are still a delight.

The seating in Shortstop are quite cramped, especially since the store is usually filled with people wanting coffee and donuts so it's quite rare to see a vacant table / seat.

They also have their coffee beans on sale if you love their coffee.

I came here at the hour before the store closed so the donut selection was limited, but nonetheless there was a great selection for everyone. 

Cappuccino ($4)

A refreshing drink, perfect for the sleep-deprived such as myself. Nothing that really stood out but just tasted overall a lot better which is to be expected for a specialty coffee store.

(6/10)

 New Orleans Iced Coffee Donut ($4.50)

The New Orleans Iced Coffee Donut was definitely the best donut from what my friends and I ordered. Packing a huge punch of flavour upon the first you it had a perfect level of sweetness and was perfectly paired with the cappuccino 

(10/10)

 Earl Grey & Rose Donut ($4.50)

Didn't really meet up to my expectations, the donut wasn't as sweet as I thought it would be, but it's a great pairing with the cappuccino.

(5.5/10) 

To be honest I don't remember what this donut was, and I can't find the name of it on the menu or online. But if you do see it around when you visit shortstop, what I can say is that the donut was pretty average. Didn't stand out in terms of flavour.

(5/10)

Food - 7 / 10

Ambiance - 6 / 10

Service - 6 / 10

Total FoOodie Points - 19 / 30

Italian Adventures @ Maccaroni Trattoria Italiana

10/16 Manchester Ln, Melbourne VIC
9090 7634

9:00am - 9:30pm Weekdays

9:00am - 10:00pm Weekends

Located in Manchester lane, Maccaroni Trattoria Italian's, to be quite frank ranks at the top 3 of my go-to places when it comes to pasta. With a vibrant and dimmed atmosphere, it's a great place to eat with a small group of friends or if you're having a date night.

It's fairly easy to spot the restaurant, as seen above, you'll be able to see the bright and attractive signs as soon as you walk into Manchester lane.

With candle lit tables, relaxing music playing in the background, and also the light-lit plant (which can be seen above), This place has a pretty nice atmosphere.

Lemon Lime Bitter ($4)

Would have been a lot more enjoyable if the restaurant had not run out of ice, which eventually resulted in the drinks becoming warmer as time went by.

(4/10)

Misto Fritto (Serving for 2) ($15)

Bolognese Arancini, spinach aracini, ascolane olives and panelle 

An interesting dish, a lot of hit and misses. The bolognese arancini was definitely the standout and probably the only stand-out, as it was crunchy and had delicious mozzarella in the center. Spinach aracini was quite average, alongside the other bite sized delights. 

(6/10)

Gnocchi Mushrooms ($16)

Small potato gnocchi with mushrooms, cream & parsley

After a long research on what to eat, I've heard constant positive reviews about the gnocchi here with many absolutely loving it. 

My review, the gnocchi was cooked perfectly and was overall quite delicious. But I felt that it was lacking in something, or perhaps i'm not much of a fan of gnocchi since it was my first time trying it. But overall, an enjoyable experience.

(7/10)

Spaghetti Carbonara ($18)

Spaghetti with egg, bacon, cream, parsley and parmigiana cheese

The carbonara was absolutely beautiful, though not the traditional carbonara it was delicious either way. The creamy sauce paired incredibly well with the spaghetti and is just delightful.

(8/10) 

Chocolate Mousse Cake 

I'm not sure what the exact name / price the cakes were as the dessert menu is separated from the main menu, but i do remember the taste so i'll base it off that.

The chocolate mousse cake was underwhelming, lacking in sweetness, I was quite disappointed as it did look pretty promising.

(4/10)

Creme Brulee Cake

The creme brulee cake was pretty good, had a distinct coffee taste which is to be expected and was quite delightful. Though it's not as good as many other cakes I've tried therefore i'll rank it on the bottom half of the ranking board.

(5.5/10)

Food - 5 / 10

Ambiance - 9 / 10

Service - 6 / 10

Total FoOodie Points - 20 / 30

 

Japanese Adventures @ Bankara Ramen

305 Swanston St, CBD, Melbourne VIC

Phone N/A

11:00am - 12:00 Midnight Everyday

With just so many ramen joints opening up or already in the city, I've lost count for places that I need to try. But recently I just ticked off a recently opened chain store Bankara Ramen, which just opened up on Swanston street.

Renown for being an international franchise with atleast 80 stores over the world, I decided to come here to see what this place has to offer.

Exterior

The food display is just like the displays in Japan if you've ever been there, and I absolutely love it!. Just from the outside it let's you know what the dishes look like and is a perfect way to lure in customers such as myself.

Interior

The service here is pretty inconsistent, for example, my first visit, the service was amazing. The waiters greeted us, explained to us the different types of seasoning on the table and what paired well with what, poured water when it was close to empty, it was simply amazing service.

 But then on this visit there was none of that, the amount of customers was the same but there was barely any of the customer service mentioned before. Perhaps it's because we were seated on the upper level?.

To be honest, for a ramen joint, the food is pretty overpriced for what you get. As most ramen restaurants in the city usually serve classic ramens for $10 max, but here it's more than that, also mentioning that the extras / upgrades are pretty overpriced as well.

 Classic Tonkotsu Ramen ($13.8)

Tonkotsu ramen topped with pork chashu, black fungus and seaweed

I've been told that the Tonkotsu ramen isn't that good, but to be honest I absolutely love it. The broth is amazing and smooth, combined with the thin noodles and tender pork it's a comforting dish.

(8/10)

One of the cool things i've noticed is that for each type of ramen, they have a specific type of noodle that is paired with it. Which is pretty awesome as most ramen places use the same noodle for every soul base which sometimes doesn't work well. 

 Premium Kakuni Tsukumen ($21.8)

Cold noodles served with a side on rich broth, kakuni, pork chashu, seasoned boiled eggs, bamboo shoots and seaweed

I'll be frank about one thing, don't upgrade to the premium. The premium gives you the kakuni and egg, and to be honest it just isn't worth the extra $. The kakuni is tender, but it's quite average. 

The dish itself was pretty good and I enjoyed it, though I prefer the Tsukumen at Mugen Ramen, the tsukumen at Bankara is pretty high up in the list if you can deal with the price.

(6.5/10)

Chuka Soba ($13.8)

Chuka Soba topped with pork chashu bamboo shoots and seaweed

To be honest, it wasn't as good as the other dishes. The soup wasn't that great and the overall dish was quite disappointing. I don't recommend this but I do for the others.

(4/10)

Food - 6.5 / 10

Ambiance - 6 / 10

Service - 7 / 10

Total FoOodie Points - 19.5 / 30