MELBOURNE CITY GUIDE + 2024 FAVOURITES

Back in April I went on a short trip to Melbourne and I wanted to share a list of my favourite places in Melbourne! Hot tip: I always save my favourite places on Google Maps, it just makes it easier when wandering around the city. 

M U S T   S E E S

• Queen Victoria Market
• National Gallery of Victoria
• State Library Victoria
• Melbourne Skydeck
• Flinders Street
• FED Square
• Hoiser Lane
• Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria
• Chinatown Melbourne

C A F E S & C O F F E E S H O P S

• Puzzle
• Two Conversations 
• Overlay Coffee
• Palette
• OKO Cafe
• Maker Lt Bourke
• Keki Milk Bar
• Miyama Melbourne
• Hikari
• Lovey Patisserie Cafe
• Bakemono Bakers
• The Butter Room
• Tori's Melbourne
• The Kettle Black
• PLOT

L U N C H & D I N N E R

• Ondo
• Hakoya Izakaya
• Seven Star Pocha
• Piccolo Panini Bar
• Ichigo
• Johnny, Vince and Sam's Ristorante
• Waku Waku
• Reine & La Rue
• The Hardware Club
• No. 100 Flinders Lane
• Bar Romantica
• Mensho Tokyo Ramen

D E S S E R T S

• The Cookie Box CBD - Cookies
• Madeleine de Proust Patisserie
• Fresh Air & Pancake - Soufflé's pancakes
• Flinders Waffles - Taiyaki soft serve and the iconic Flinders Station waffle shape
• Pidapipó CBD - traditional gelato 
• Bingsoo
• KOI Dessert Bar Melbourne

H O T E L S

• Grand Hyatt Melbourne 
• Mercure Welcome Melbourne
• Imagine Lighthouse

MY 2024 FAVOURITES 

1. Books: Almond by Won-Pyung Sohn
2. Tv Shows: D.P S2 (kdrama), Culinary Class Wars, Love Next Door (kdrama), Squid Games S2
3. Movie: 20th Century Girl
4. Youtube: Jaz Hand, smileycitrus, saranghoe, daiz, Briddy, Ondo & viviandotme.
5. Music: Christian music.  
6. Food: Kyoto BEANing Vegan Ramen from Engine Ramen and SALT BREAD from Artist Bakery (seoul cafe). 
7. Drink: Fruit ades, apple & cinnamon tea from south korea and chai lattes. 
8. Clothing: Shirts that have bows on them and alexa high straight jeans from Dissh.
9. App: Youtube & Final Cut Pro
10. Accessories: Mini crossbody bags 
11. Beauty: Manyo pure cleansing oil, lip tints from amuse, clio, fwee, lilbyred & dasique
12. Brand: Dissh, Cue, Glassons, Maje, Blue Elephant & Gentle Monster. 
13. Other: Going on long walks either at the beach or at south bank (or just anywhere). 
14. Travel: Iceland, Jerusalem & USA (New York City & Chicago). 
15. Quote: 'And the next time that the devil tries to remind you of your past - remind him of his future'
16. Sweets: Leo Coco Belgian milk chocolate & hazelnut spread from Coles, Pisti pistachio cream & Biancos milk chocolate pretzels. 
17. Wishlist: Dyson supersonic hair dryer (✔️), Cannon powershot V10 vlog camera (✔️), and Gentle Monster - Jentle Salon in Wispy GR8 glasses (sold out, regrets not buying them in korea). 

What's your favourite quote?

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Nodo Donuts | Brisbane cafe

A new week results into trying a new cafe! Nodo Donuts (pronounced "no-dough") was founded in 2014 to 'spread happiness through beautiful baked goods that combine artisan methods and naturally gluten free ingredients'. 

What to order from Nodo Donuts? Here are some of my recommendations;

AVOCADO 
house pumpkin sourdough. crushed avo. mountain pepper dukkah. pepperberry goats cheese. dried blood orange

+ 

Hot Cross Bun Donut 

+ 

Organic Hot Chocolate by Heirloom

What are you looking forward to most in May? 

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PADDOCK BAKERY | GOLD COAST CAFE

Paddock Bakery is located at Gold Coast, Queensland where it offers wood-fired sourdough, plus brekkie and lunch, in a stylish weatherboard space with a leafy garden! A great place for brunch with friends and family. It opens 7 days a week from 6:30AM to 3PM, a perfect little cafe to go to before heading to work/university or school!

What to order from Paddock Bakery? Here are some of my recommendations;

Smoked Salmon Bagel 
New Zealand King Smoked Salmon, cream cheese, pickled red onion, capers, lemon zest and fresh herbs on our house boiled and wood-fired bagel 

or

Rustic Avo 
Fresh avocado served on our house 7-grain wholemeal sourdough toast with toasted pistachios, sunflower seeds & pepitas. Dressed with lemon juice, Joseph olive oil & fresh parsley

& Hot Chocolate!

What's your favourite breakfast meal?

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SONDER DESSERT | BRISBANE CAFE

Over the weekend I visited Sonder Dessert cafe, a Japanese tea and dessert house which has the most quirkiest and coolest desserts ever. I must say, visiting Sonder Dessert cafe on a Saturday night around 9:00 PM was not the best idea ever. The line was huge and my best friend and I had to wait outside and there was no free table - it was so pack!! So we decided just to do take away, a order a mini dessert to share! I definitely need to go back again but during the day and try out their teas and other Japanese inspired desserts! 

They  also have a wide range of ice creams and one of the flavours was black sesame (I wonder how that taste like)!! 

What's your favourite cafe? 

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COMINA CANTINA | BRISBANE CAFE

Last weekend, my cousin and I took a trip to Brisbane City to explore for some new and quirky cafes and we stumble across to a place called Comuna Cantina, a Latin inspired street food which offers a range of tacos, arepas and tortas! There was so many yummy food that we couldn't decided for a while which ones to try first. 

In the end, I ordered the Comuna Nachos which consists of corn chips, melted cheese, pico de gallo, black beans and sour cream and my cousin ordered the Abundance Bowl which had quinoa, black beans, mixed salad, roasted sweet potato, cherry tomatoes, crushed tortillas, pickled onion and a light dressing on top of it all! Of course we ordered some Agua Fresca (latin mocktails) which is a traditional drink found on the streets of South America made from local and exotic fruits which our mocktails was made from strawberries, lycées and elderflower syrup!

Have you ever tried South America food before?

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IVY & LARK CAFE | BRISBANE

Photo Credit

Can you believe it that its nearly the end of March? Which means were so close to Easter 2018!! What are your plans for Easter this year? My Easter break will be mostly me stressing and working on my university assignments and also preparing for my sisters wedding in April!! Anyways, last week when I was shopping at Chermside Shopping Centre in Brisbane, I stop and had a quick break at this quirky cafe - Ivy & Lark Cafe. 

When you walk inside the cafe you will see greenery simply everywhere, honestly it's spilling out on hanging baskets, or growing in stylish and quirky pot plants and also there are interior garden beds!! There are these gorgeous white French doors and beautiful ornate patterned tiles and lovely woven lampshades which creates a refreshing vibe. I ordered basically a hot chocolate with almond milk, which was seriously so yummy and also a vegan chocolate brownie, which was really good too. Ivy & Lark do breakfast and lunch and of course coffees, shakes, teas, smoothies and mocktails! 

I definitely recommend going to this cafe, if you are planning on visiting Brisbane or if you live near by! 

What are your plans for Easter 2018?

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JO-JO'S RESTURANT & BAR | BRISBANE

Over the weekend the girls and I brunched at this famous restaurant and bar in South of Brisbane. If you haven't heard of Jo-Jo's Restaurant and Bar before well then... let me tell you! It serves delicious cuisines from all over the world, shared eats, curated wines and delectable cocktails and mocktails too! It's basically where food and culture go hand in hand, sophistication meets warmth and tradition merges with new. 

The atmosphere in this restaurant is super great, really big and spacious and not your typical cramp style restaurant. We got seated straight away on a sunday morning around 11:31AM! But the truth is.. we waited around 15 minutes for someone to serve us and on top of that we also had to wait 45 minutes to get our food, which was a bit disappointing but luckily I wasn't feeling super hungry thanks to the mocktail I ordered.

But I do have to admit the wait was worth it, the food was incredibly delicious! What I ordered was the Lebanese Mix Platter: Toasted Turkish bread served with assorted dips, mixed olives, mini falafel, extra olive oil and balsamic vinegar. The other girls ordered Popcorn Chicken Pizza: cajun chicken, caramelised onion, bacon, mozzarella, rocket and aioli on a BBQ base and lastly the Sweet Potato Burger: Grilled haloumi, basil pesto, grilled capsicum, caramelised onion, spinach and tomato chutney served on a toasted brioche bun with a side of crispy skin chips. 

The drink that I ordered was the Strawberry Virgin Mojito: Strawberry, Lime wedges and Mint leaves. I definitely recommend that anyone who lives or thinks of visiting  Brisbane to check or this restaurant and bar! 

What is your favourite cafe to brunch at?

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EASY MELTED SNOWMAN CHOCOLATE BARK

Only F O U R more days until CHRISTMAS! Where has the time gone? I also finally finished my christmas shopping and boy the parking situation now a days at the shopping centres are the worst thing ever. I can only imagine the rush on boxing day. I wanted to share with you all my last christmas themed blog posts for 2017, this easy melted snowman chocolate bark inspired by this blogger and her blog post HERE.

PREP TIME: 6 MINUTES | COOK TIME: 0 MINUTES | DIFFICULTY: EASY 

INGREDIENTS: 

+ 1 package white melting chocolate

+ Mini Reese's peanut butter cups

+ Candy eyes

+ 1 small packet of Smarties 

+ Pretzel Sticks

+ Baking paper

STEP ONE:  Line a cookie tray with baking paper. Melt the white chocolate (according to the directions on the package).

STEP TWO:  Cut the bottom of the peanut butter cups off and put them back together, but slightly off alignment (this gives it the "hat" look).

STEP THREE:  Pour the white chocolate on to the baking paper and spread out using a spatula. 

STEP FOUR:  Place all of the 'snowman' parts on top of the chocolate. Place in refigerator for 10 minutes or so to set. 

STEP FIVE:  Carefully break into pieces. Enjoy!

There you have it a quick and easy melted snowman chocolate bark, super fun activity to do with your children, nephews or nieces too! This might be my last blog post for this year.. So I wanted to thank you guys so much for taking the time to read my blog posts this year! Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!  

BRING ON 2018!

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DIY HOT COCO MIX ORNAMENT

Only N I N E T E E N days until Christmas guys and before I forget.. Happy December! To start off my christmas themed blog posts for this month, I wanted to share with you guys this simple homemade christmas gift. These hot cocoa mix ornaments are a cute way to gift someone who loves this season. These ornaments are super easy to make and there are so many different hot cocoa varieties and you can even make your own kinda mix. 

PREP TIME: 5 MINUTES | COOK TIME: 0 MINUTES | DIFFICULTY: EASY 

INGREDIENTS: 

+ 1 single serving package instant hot chocolate mix

+ Sprinkles

+ 1 clear plastic or glass fillable ornament. I suggest finding bigger ornaments than small ones. 

+ White marshmallows 

+ Candy Canes

STEP ONE:  Start with a clean ornament and take off the top bit. Fill each ingredient into the ornament using a funnel. Start with the hot cocoa mix of you choice (milk/dark/white) then add either crushed candy canes, chocolate chips or sprinkles and lastly.. add the white marshmallows and put top back on. 

I definitely recommend that you use big ornaments rather than small ones.. I couldn't find any clear big size ornaments and unfortunately and did have bit of a hard time putting in the ingredients but in the end I got there. So it is possible! Hope your all having a wonderful start of the christmas season. 

Have you started your christmas shopping yet?

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PEANUT BUTTER CHOCOLATE NICE CREAM

If your wondering what the heck is an nice cream.. Well to put it in simplest terms, it's a frozen dessert, smilier to an ice cream BUT without any diary, eggs or sugar! So basically it's frozen banana's blended up into a soft serve but you can add in additional ingredients such as chocolate, nuts, berries etc. This recipe was inspired by a fellow blogger Andrea from earthyandy  "Peanut Butter Chocolate Mood, check her out blog and her vegan recipes too! 

PREP TIME: 5 MINUTES | COOK TIME: 0 MINUTES | DIFFICULTY: EASY 

INGREDIENTS: 

+ 8 frozen Almond Milk Ice Cubes

+ Almond Milk

+ 4 frozen bananas 

+ 2 tbs coconut sugar

+ 1/4 Peanut butter

+ 1/2 tsp vanilla extract 

+ 1 tbs cocoa powder  

STEP ONE:  Place the frozen almond milk ice cubes, frozen bananas, coconut sugar, peanut butter, vanilla extract and cocoa powder into the blender and mash it together until its thick and creamy. If you do not have a strong blender than just add almond milk into the blender to make it blend easier. 

STEP TWO:  When you have the right consistency of the nice cream (thick and creamy) serve it into a mason jar/cup or bowl and share it to your friends and family! 

And there you have it a quick and easy vegan peanut butter chocolate nice cream! This is such a great treat for kids and us adults during the summer months and also it's super fun to make with kids too, just remember to place the bananas and almond milk into the freeze the night before you want to make this recipe!

Have you ever tried a 'nice cream' before

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STRAWBERRY GHOSTS | HALLOWEEN INSPIRED BAKING

T o d a y I thought I would share with you guys this super easy and fun halloween treat which literally takes 5 minutes to make! These chocolate covered strawberry ghosts will be the hit at your halloween party! Also these strawberry ghosts are super cute and spooky and who doesn't love a chocolate covered strawberry? 

PREP TIME: 2 MINUTES | COOK TIME: 0 MINUTES | DIFFICULTY: EASY 

INGREDIENTS: 

+ Strawberries

+ White Chocolate

+ Candy Eyes

+ Baking Paper

STEP ONE: Melt the white chocolate as instructed on the packaging. Dip strawberries one time at a time in the melted white chocolate, dragging out some of the chocolate on the bottom to make a ghost "tail".

STEP TWO: Set on the baking paper. Place candy eyes on front of strawberry. Let the chocolate covered strawberries harden on the baking paper.

STEP THREE: Repeat until you get the quantity of strawberries desired! 

It literally took me 5 minutes to make these strawberry ghosts, it's a great treat to bake with your kids or nieces and nephews! ALSO you might be wandering what happened to my msznev.blogspot.com blog? Well I decided to change my blog name completely. I wanted to do this for a while and I'm glad that I finally did! Hope you guys like my new blog name "Adventures in May".

Have you guys started on any Halloween baking yet?

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LITTLE CLIVE | BRISBANE CAFE

Ok, I promise you that this is will be my last "cafe review" post on my blog for a while! During my university winter break, one of my goals was to visit as much cafes in Brisbane, which I can tick of my list. I probably went to 6 or 7 cafes in total, it was pretty cool trying new foods and discovering new places! Little Clive cafe is located on Little Clive street in Annerley, the cafe has an outdoor veranda setting which gives the cafe a 'chilled out' vibe with its recycled timber tables.  The veggie burger at the Little Clive cafe was super duper delicious, I definitely recommend ordering the burgers guys!!

I ordered a hot chocolate and the Pretty Patty burger, which was basically a veggie patty,  smashed avocado, lettuce and caramelized onions and a side of shoestring fries, which was super yummy. My sister ordered a hot chocolate as well and the PBJ Time Pancakes, layered with house jam, smooth peanut butter sauce, peanut brittle and floss, which was also very tasty. 

So there you have it! Hope you enjoyed reading my cafe review posts over the past few weeks. 

What are some of your favourite cafes to visit? 

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