Kane and Ellise eat Melbourne

Portofino’s poxy pancakes pandemic!

kanem1 — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 08:49:15 +0000

Ok, so today, Monday, we decided to walk the dog to the beach at Port Melbourne and after looking for a place to eat decided to try Portofino’s on Bay St. It was a nice quaint cafe come ice-cream parlor and the prices and menu seemed appealing. I ordered a Latte and a “Portofino’s Breakfast”, with which I was very contempt with and enjoyed perhaps more than yesterdays breakfast, although the atmosphere was not as enjoyable, nor was the coffee. The coffee was certainly not award winning, but did the trick and was quite in-expensive for $3.60 per mug, my experience was perhaps a little burnt or overdone but I wouldn’t complain too much…

The omelette Ellise had for breakfast was, as she put it - ”oishi” (delicious in Japanese). The omelette consisted of smoked salmon, dill, fetta and sour cream. The baguette, filled with sundried tomatoes, chicken, lettuce, avocado and swiss cheese was certainly enjoyable. We also enjoyed fresh sqeezed juice, but when we asked for ice to cool them were told that there was no ice, and what kind of cafe doesn’t keep ice on hand at all times, let alone a cafe/ice-cream parlor… but here is where we the pancakes plop onto the table.

The pancakes were just terrible, there is no other word to describe them… oh wait, maybe rock, rubber, burnt or frisbee would fit the bill. First they arrived cold on the plate, and after sending them back for “fresh” ones they arrived back 10 minutes later… stale. Literally, a knife and fork struggled to penetrate the pancake surface, and to eat they were like rubber in the mouth. After discussing the pancake situation, we came to the conclusion that the pancakes must have been re-heated, and made days earlier.

Overall, Portofino’s was not so great… it was situated on a busy road and the food and service were both lacking. For a nice breakfast at an affordable price (don’t get the pancakes!!!) I would recommend Portofino’s, but if you’re looking for something more in your experince then go elsewhere. Simple but average, Portofino’s rates around a 5/10.

Kane & Ellise

Dundas & Faussett

kanem1 — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 08:46:58 +0000

South Melbourne’s trendy little cafe/eatery “Dundas and Faussett”, nestled on 111 Dundas Place in Albert Park is a trendy, simple and delivering haunt. Our first experience was really very pleasant, our group of 7 went down for a Sunday breakfast and enjoyed excellent coffee and a range of breakfasts from salads to french toast and eggs. The coffee (latte and cappucino) was strong and flavorful with a nice crema. The food was certainly greatly enjoyed, although was let down in areas of presentation and for the breakfast dishes with eggs a nice chunky slice of sourdough would have been more suitable over the few slices of rye instead offered up. The salads were nice too, but lacked dressing and perhaps were a little too lettuce-heavy. The french toast was offered up sprinkled in icing-sugar and served with maple syrup – this dish was sensational and highly recommended, a perfect balance of flavours with a clench for the morning sweet-tooth.

The atmosphere at Dundas and Faussett was simple, relaxing, chilled and laid-back . The service was excellent – the staff making changes in seating to accomodate for our group and fit us in amongst the already busy tables. Overall, “Dundas and Faussett” provided a creative, scheik atmosphere accompanied well by great service and very friendly and attentive staff.

Ellise and Kane highly recommend “Dundas and Faussett” for a great breakfast experience, overall we would rate it about an 8/10.

Welcome…

kanem1 — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 06:25:02 +0000

Hi, I’m Kane, and this > is Ellise. We are good mates and are housesitting in South Melbourne for a couple of weeks and have decided that it will be fun to share with the world the things we do, the places we go, and the people we meet. Keep an eye out for some finger-licking good reads.

Ciao, Kane and Ellise