free food at snag stand

Snag stand just recently opened in Melbourne Central. It just opened yesterday and there was a massive queue for the hot dogs. So I decided that it would be better to go today.
Snag stand is a small stand with no seating inside, but outside. They had a promotion for free hot dogs if you join their page on Facebook. But its only for yesterday and today between 3 and 4pm to promote their business. Who loves a freebie? Yours truly loves one.
Yesterday I was given a few buy one hot dog (or Haute dogs) as they call them in Melbourne Central by one of their staff

There were free chips for everyone to try but they have been sitting around for a while and were cold.
Like Brunettis they have these buzzer things that ring when your meal is ready. The lady there did not smile. I think she was a bit rushed off her feet by all the customers, but give them time and they might settle.
They are supposed to be a stand with designer and different types of hot dogs. I had the Spanish chorizo (normally $8 or $9) one. It was supposed to be hot as Chorizo is a spicy hot Spanish sausage, but it was mild and small. It came with lots of tomatoes instead of the hot sauce and the cheese was alright. It came without onions.
I can get much better than this at the Queen Victoria market. I don't think I'll come here again, unless they drop their prices.

ice cream at city Brunetti store

Today was a warm day and I felt like gelato again. So off I raced to Brunettis in the city square. I promised myself that I'd go there last week, but with the protest about housing and all occupying City Square it was a bit hard for me to get there and enjoy myself.

But today was not too bad... with one beggar asking for money. The view of the city and the park was lovely. It was a nice day to be sitting in the outside area. Come here on a wet day and you'll find that you might get wet. There are no indoor seats, but there are plenty of outdoor ones. Plenty of room for prams and a comunual table for those with families or large groups.
This is just like any of the other Brunettis, except this time I went for the ice cream. Here they only had limited flavours, unlike their other stores. $5.50 for three scoops! What a bargain compared to other places! These scoops were not only just good, they were absolutely amazing. Of course I went with my usual lemon, strawberry and mango flavours and they are just divine!
I'll have to come back with Big Fil

coffee @ naturally on high and lunch @ maney's

I went to Bundoora RMIT today to do a bit of study so I needed a coffee hit on the way there.
So I went to Naturally on High in Thornbury.
This shop is an organic shop selling produce and drinks. They also make their own chocolate truffle balls, one of which I got to try ($1.50 each). I also tried their short black ($3.80). Their short black didn't have a lot of flavour to it, but it was sweet. I added the two sugars that were offered.

Then later on I trudged to Maney's. Here it is in Bundoora shopping square, where the Greek market and other student eateries are. Here they cater for all the international students studying in RMIT and at LaTrobe.
They were not too busy when I arrived at 12pm, but they took quite a few bookings for dinner.
Here most of their meals are under $10. So much so that they have an EFTPOS policy of spending more than $25. Thankfully I had cash.
On recommendation from Eat and be merry I had a noodle dish. This dish had prawn wontons and their noodles which Big Fil said that it was handmade. This was $8.00. I also had the spring onion and chives pancake ($3.00). I think this had way too much oil, but the noodles had no msg which was perfect and filled me up.
I would have liked to try the pork dumplings, but was too full.
This is a nice place for a suburban restaurant and I would return. But if this were in the city, it might need to lift its game.

Greek Coffee @ Sweet Greek

Today I had that funny feeling of having some strong and new types of coffee. So I went to Prahran market and a shop that I keep on passing called "Sweet Greek". Last time I went to Prahran market they weren't there, because the owner was sick and there was no one to open the shop. They are open everyday that the market is on.
They are featured a few times in the newspapers and magazines such as "Gourmet Traveller". They were reviewed by Gourmet Traveller in last year's Greek edition.
Not only do they sell cakes they also sell homemade Greek meals.
I have never tried Greek coffee before, but read that it is pretty strong. It was served to me in a small cup. I read that it is made out of a pot on a stove and then served without milk or sugar. Now this is my first time trying it and its not bad at all. It came as a $6 cake and coffee combo.
I loved the cake- it was not too custardy or sweet. This is also my first time trying the cake. I can't remember the name, but it sure was good.
The baklava was huge, not like the ones found in the city. It was very filling. For an extra $2 I have added this to the combo.
Kudos to the Greek lady who was nice to me and I shall be back with Big Fil from Eat and be merry.

International students: have you tried Greek food? Outline some of your experiences down here.

coffee at ablas in prahran

Abla's coffee house is a small Lebanese/Turkish coffee place that has a wide range of coffees and limited food. They also sell baklava and turkish delights by the pack ($5-$7.50 each for a small pack and about $12-$25 for larger packs).  Baklava is a Greek dessert. It is really sweet and they are small squares of filo and filling. You can also sample the baklava which I did. They do have one special of $3.50 for any coffee and a baklava.
I got a short black as well as a baklava and a rose Turkish delight ($0.50). They didn't have Turkish coffee at the time.

The short black was a little on the weak side and the baklava is the best that I have tried. Its not too sickly sweet. It has the right amount of sugar in it.
The turkish delight was good too. It is marshmellowy like it should be and not too sweet.
The shop was really quiet, but the guy said that come Friday it will be packed. Big Fil from Eat and be Merry for tomorrow we diet blog if you are reading this, you'd love to come here just for the coffee. Sorry there is not much food sold.

Lunch at Cafe Viva

I had lunch at Cafe Viva with two of my friends A and B. We felt like going somewhere close to home, since B had to meet her boyfriend and see her parents.
So after much trouble with parking and being indecisisive we found this place: Cafe Viva.
Here it was pretty quiet, unlike other places in Moonee Ponds. Up the road at FIX expresso it looked pretty busy. So this was not a good sign and we should have noticed it straightaway.
The wait staff here were not too bad, although I did see one just checking her phone every five seconds and not doing much else. But the older woman took care of us, asking how our meal went etc. Service was a bit slow though.
B looked at the menu and saw that the salads here was overpriced. So she ended getting a penne pasta and an English breakfast tea. This tea appeared to be on the weak side, which was fine for her.

A got a smoked salmon pasta and a chai which was full of powder. I got to taste some of A's pasta and chai. I found that the pasta was smothered in too much salmon sauce and was overcooked. A didn't finish her pasta. B also said the same thing about their pasta. The chai tasted like the ones you get in a packet, not like real chai.  I got a Italian breakfast with scrambled eggs and spinach ($11.90). B said that she hated scrambled eggs so she didn't get the breakfast. I also got a hot chocolate ($3.50).
The hot chocolate was really nice and thick which was good for a cold day. It was not too sweet for me.
My Italian breakfast did not have  much bread in it to soak up all the juices from the eggs. Hence it was a bit soggy. Eggs were done nicely, but I would have liked a bit of onions in there or something. Some olives on the plate would be nice. It did have a lovely spread of pesto to it which was nice. But a bit more bread for the amount of eggs I got would be better.
I would revisit the place if the food was done much better.