Dani Valent

Famous chocolate-cheesecake brownies make a comeback at Heide’s new-look cafe

What is art, anyway? For sure, it’s the Mirka Mora cherubic figures painted on the windows of Heide’s hilltop weatherboard cottage. And definitely it’s the photography in the modernist home on the grounds of this suburban museum and sculpture park.…

Famous chocolate-cheesecake brownies make a comeback at Heide’s new-look cafe

What is art, anyway? For sure, it’s the Mirka Mora cherubic figures painted on the windows of Heide’s hilltop weatherboard cottage. And definitely it’s the photography in the modernist home on the grounds of this suburban museum and sculpture park.…

40 under $40: Melbourne’s top restaurants for getting bang for your buck

There was one overriding feeling I had crisscrossing Melbourne to eat at these 40 restaurants. From the eastern hills to the western sprawl, the northern byways to the southern waters, the word that kept surfacing was “lucky”. How fortunate we are to…

Air fryers v ovens: Which cooked it best?

I’ve been nay-saying air fryers for ages, ever since I first encountered fans of the benchtop cookers about five years ago. I didn’t want to hear about crunchy chips ‘fried’ in air rather than oil. Hush with your finger-lickin’ rhapsodies about…

Air fryers v ovens: Which cooked it best?

I’ve been nay-saying air fryers for ages, ever since I first encountered fans of the benchtop cookers about five years ago. I didn’t want to hear about crunchy chips ‘fried’ in air rather than oil. Hush with your finger-lickin’ rhapsodies about…

Grana shows there's a will and a whey

I don't think I've ever been so excited to stand in front of a fridge. However, here I am, bright-eyed with delight, peering through tall glass doors into shelf after shelf of handmade cheese in a small, friendly Brunswick East wine bar. The handsome…

Grana review

331 Lygon St Brunswick East, VIC 3057 View map Opening hours Mon-Fri 4pm-9pm, Sat noon-9pm, Sun noon-8pm Features Licensed, Food shop Prices Moderate (mains $20-$40) Payments eftpos, Visa, Mastercard Phone 0402 349 353 I don't think I've ever been so…

Beef rendang meets baked eggs at Dale La Pau

13/20 Indonesian$$$ Opening hours Phone (03) 8528 0821 Website https://dalelapau.com/ Sometimes you see a phrase on a menu that stops you in your tracks. "Rendang shakshuka" did it for me. I'd never seen these two words juxtaposed until I spied them…

Dale La Pau brunch review

255 Camberwell Rd Camberwell, VIC 3124 View map Opening hours Breakfast and lunch daily; dinner Fri-Sun Features Outdoor seating, Breakfast-brunch Prices Moderate (mains $20-$40) Phone 03 8528 0821 Sometimes you see a phrase on a menu that stops you…

Sunshine Social is a friendly and tasty fuel stop

When we're all zipping around in electric cars, we'll need something fun to do with the petrol stations. Let's hope they all turn into a version of Sunshine Social, a cruisy western suburbs winner that's been feeding its community for six years. You…

Sunshine Social review

64 Glengala Rd Sunshine West, VIC 3020 View map Opening hours Tue-Sun 11.30am-close Features Outdoor seating, Licensed, Family friendly, Bar Prices Moderate (mains $20-$40) Payments eftpos, Visa, Mastercard Phone 03 9312 0223 When we're all zipping…

Shamiat review

64 Victoria Rd Northcote, VIC 3070 View map Opening hours Mon & Wed-Fri 5pm-10pm; Sat-Sun 11am-10pm; cafe Wed-Mon 5am-5pm Features BYO, Groups, Vegetarian friendly Prices Moderate (mains $20-$40) Phone 03 9486 4458 Would you like a crash course in…

PBK Noodles review

354 Clayton Rd Clayton, VIC 3168 View map Opening hours Wed to Mon 9.30am-3pm Prices Cheap (mains under $20) Phone 03 9544 2466 It's time to take a metal straw and blow some coffee onto a saucer so I can slurp it up. No, really. I'm sitting at PBK…

Top Melbourne restaurants make a flying start on reducing food waste with Bardee larvae

Top restaurants including Gimlet and Supernormal are transforming their food waste into fertiliser and high-protein feed for animals, with the bonus of reducing methane emissions and turning rubbish into a resource. The secret? Fly larvae. Andrew…

4 Sisters Kebab and Cafe review

It always happens. Cook enough great meals for family and friends and you'll hear these words: "You should open a restaurant." Most of the time, though, you shouldn't. Restaurants are complex machines and lots of fine cooks find out the hard way that…

Induction v gas: Which cooktop comes out on top in our road test?

The debate is certainly heated. Is it better to cook with gas or shift to electricity-powered induction? And what are the downsides to using a new-fangled induction cooktop? I'm not going to go as far as Californian chef Andrew Gruel, who recently…

Poh Ling Yeow takes over sushi train afternoon tea menu at QT Melbourne

Cookbook author, TV host and MasterChef royal Poh Ling Yeow is doing her first restaurant takeover, creating a temporary afternoon tea menu for QT Melbourne that will be served to diners via a sushi train in the lobby. Matched cocktails are by whisky…

Melbourne Food and Wine Festival 2023 brings the fun and the flavours

Melbourne Food and Wine Festival has just released its program for 2023 with a focus on fun and accessible experiences at Federation Square, plus a slew of high-profile guests jetting in from overseas. Curtis Stone will bring his lauded Los Angeles…

Affordable luxury: How to host your own tinned fish date night at home

​It's the easy, affordable snack that's gone from "eww" to "ooh" as "tinned fish date night" becomes a social media-inspired food trend. San Francisco chef Ali Hooke posted a TikTok video in August, stepping viewers through the weekly canned seafood…

Rufio restaurant and rooftop brings Latin American fusion to Carlisle Street, St Kilda

The renaissance of Carlisle Street continues with the arrival of Rufio, a Latin American fusion bar and eatery from the team that opened Elwood's Repeat Offender in autumn 2021. They've carried the Latin American theme across the highway to St Kilda,…