Malaysian Oriental Wok

Malaysian Oriental Wok (hmmm, surely the inclusion of the word Oriental is somewhat superfluous?) is tucked into The Causeway, a narrow alleyway off Bourke Street Mall. A few months ago I was idly googling my way around the interwebs, looking for good Malaysian in the CBD, and I stumbled across Harbx's 2006 review of their Hainanese Chicken Rice. Best chicken rice in town, eh? We'll just see about that!

Post-R4K brunch at Flavours of Lakhoum

My brunch, the Flavours of Lakhoum Breakfast ($13), consisted of eggs on Turkish bread, tomato, olives, sliced cucumber, fresh baby spinach leaves and a wedge of sharp-flavoured feta: it was excellent. I'll do a second post about Lakhoum sometime in the next few months to cover a few more overtly Middle Eastern dishes from their lunch menu. My advice is to try and visit the cafe outside of peak hours, so that Chris has time to create an artwork in ALL of your coffees...

Sangas at lb.

B-f-K and I invariably end up cranky if we spend too much time up the South Yarra end of Chapel Street, because we both dislike just about everything about it: the "classy" fashion boutiques, the stereotypes (the snooty society matrons AND the hot-headed wankers in big sunglasses and souped-up cars) and almost all of the restaurants - which is often a problem when we're looking for a bite to eat before or after a film at the Como.

So thank God for "lb." (aka Pound), a cafe near the Jam Factory but just off the beaten track, with a slick interior, excellent food and busy but friendly staff. If only it were open in the evenings too!