Udon Yasan

Udonn Yasan is a cheap Japanese eatery in the city that suits all types of people from students to workers.

Here their prices start from $4.80 per udon/rice bowl and go up to $6.80 for a large bowl. You can add extras in for $1.50 to $3 per item. The toppings are free though.

There is one place were you order, then collect and then you pay at the cashier. Like Ikea you bring your dishes back.

Seeing as it was no meat May I went for the vegetarian one with tofu in it. I added a vegetarian croquette, inari, pumpkin tempura and an egg to my meal. It added up to $12.50. This filled me up and as a runner I needed my proteins and good fats.

The noodles were really springy in texture and the broth was lovely. It was a miso broth. Here I put lots of seaweed and spring onion in there.

I loved the tofu pouch.

The croquette was really yummy.

Tokyo District

This place is a new place in Midtown plaza. Here they specialise in Donburi and have a limited menu. They also have free ice cream for those that like their Facebook page.

They have many specials and this place is huge. It replaced Ramen Bankara.

Here their bentos were good but the kakkiage in the rice bowl had too much sauce added to it. The other kkkiage which I ordered on its own was just fine. The sauce was on the side and was the soy sauce and not the sweet one used for tempura.

Here they used authentic Japanese rice and the chawan mushi was quite nice. It was silky and smooth. The salad had waaay too much dressing to it.

The miso soup was the authentic Japanese sort. But it was powdered and the tofu gave it that nice touch.

Rating: 15/20- good. Do come here for authentic Japanese and service with a smile.

The resident cafe

The Resident cafe has been really busy on a Sunday which is a good sign. They are featured in the Age Cheap eats guide for 2017. This is another tick in my book.

It is a small friendly cafe in Ashburton and I was there for my long run deciding to visit Gardiners Creek Trail. I was facinated by the lovely building that I decided to go in.

The menu featured many breakfast items but most items have meat as per usual. I did however like the look of the guy's burger.

As per usual I love my soy latte and this one did not disappoint. But there was a wait and with that came a stuff up on the other tables meals when they got bacon and they didn't want it.

Here because it is no meat May I had the green omelette with Yarra Valley feta cheese, kasuandi and toast. This was $17. The green omelette had a lot of vegetables in there and it had avocado. That toast was nice but they could have given me more given that egg omelette was huge.

Do come by to this lovely gem in Ashburton. It is a stone's throw away from the station.

Melbourne Knowledge Week

Melbourne Knowledge week is a huge event and every year they have many free events and exhibitions for all to enjoy. Here they had a film screening on at General Assembly that I was invited to attend. This film screening was about how they created games like Minecraft and other building games.

The film showcased the cities of Kenya, Stockholm, Kossovo and the US.

This film let us saw how much gaming has changed in the last few years. In the last few years the gaming industry has spent billions of dollars on the games. People create the games in a uni computer lab which is hard because there is not enough money to make them. Then they have to work for the end user like myself. They have to be engaging for all.

If people don't like the game or if the game gets a bad review then the creators of the game go broke or out of business. To promote the game the creators went to a gaming expo to exhibit the game.

Today's video games help shape the future of our city and they too can help shape the future of Melbourne. They too can help create communities.

Then the Hackathon reinforced the theme of Then, Now and in the future as teams worked together at General Assembly on a Saturday morning and afternoon on a challenge. The challenge was based on Melbourne's public transport system and how it can be better for all. The best team won bags and free bitcoins. The Hackathon gave us a sense of how to solve real life problems in the world of work.

Do come to next years Melbourne Knowledge Week and thanks to General Assembly for the invite

Naughty Nuris

Naughty Nuris is a new Indonesian restaurant in Melbourne Central. They replaced the sushi train there. That sushi train wasn't doing so well.

Naughty Nuris have been open for a little while and they are doing so well with bloggers and foodies alike. Here their food is pricey but they do have $11.90 lunch specials and if you want a drink its $2 extra.

As it was 3pm the staff were bubbly and energetic and they were ready to serve you.

I had Mi Goreng. Normally it comes with chicken, seafood, egg, vegetables and noodles. As it is no meat May I had taken the chicken out of my Mi Goreng. I can have seafood though. Here the seafood was just alright and so was the Mi Goreng. As it is such a small one for the price of $23 I would be happy coming for lunch.

The noodles was just alright and if you wanted another egg you had to pay $1.

As I couldn't have dessert due to I Quit Sugar program I could not try the Indonesian desserts on offer. I would have liked to though.

Do come here for lunch and for Indonesian food.

Oakdene vineyard and Portarlington

We went to Ocean Grove for the day just to visit a friend. Yep me, Friend A and B. Here Oakdene had some nice views and the cafe there was great.

Friend A and B didn't really like the food all that much. But I enjoyed the pizzas and they would be great with a glass of wine. Here we ordered potato pizza and ham and mushroom pizza. I could taste the truffle in the potato pizza and I liked that very much. A white wine would work well with this.

Gardens

Linguini

Pizzas

As well as marinara, fish with apple slaw and crab cakes. I have had better marinara in the city which was worth the price tag. This marinara here was not fresh and the linguini was about a day or two old. It broke easily and there was too much sauce to it.

The apple slaw was very vinegary. Here the fish had a lot of batter and it was hard to eat. But the batter was crispy. It was a beer battered fish,

Whilst going around the vineyard and exploring my friends had coffee and they didn't enjoy it that much. I saw that they had high tea going for $45 which is a little bit pricey. They also had $5 tastings for their well known wines. For me that is also expensive seeing as city gives it for free. But I did love their dukkah.

The pier

The pier again

After lunch we went to Portdarlington which is about a ten minute drive away. There, there was lovely sea on a lovely sunny day. Here there was a mussel stall selling mussels at $5 a kg. Friend A wanted some so she got.

And then we walked off lunch. Around the bay we went and enjoyed some of the sights and here are the pictures.

Do come up for a road trip away from the city when you want a break.

Uni Curry Cafe

Uni Curry Cafe is in Melbourne Uni and I was around visiting their Farmers markets for some tasty snack ideas.

Here they have two curries and rice with mango lassi for under $10. But everything that morning was meat. As I was trying to stay true to the No Meat May challenge I had the salt and pepper fried fish with a pakora and lots of rice. In fact too much that I kept some for dinner that night.

The fish was a bit overcooked. It was tough in texture. But the pakora was good. It didn't have too much salt which I liked. I love to taste the flavours of the vegetables which was sweet. I also love how they didn't put any msg in there.

The rice was just rice.

Do come by for a student cheap eat when you are strapped for cash but still like your curry.

Cinco de Mayo in Hawthorn

I have been to the Hawthorn Guzman Y gomez a couple of times and really enjoyed it. I have bought one full priced mini burrito and this time I came back for the $5 Cinco de Mayo special and free chips.

The mini burrito was not good. It was lukewarm and soggy. I thought that since I have not written about this store I thought that I would give them another chance. That is on a busy day like today. The city stores were packed to the brim with workers.

Here you order and pay and then they give you a number. Whilst waiting you can help yourself to condiments and cutlery by their station. And then you find your seat. You can site outside or inside.  Because the shop is small many people like to get take away.

For the spiciness you can choose mild or hot spices. My burrito was not too spicy but I did add some jalepinos to give it that spice. It was a fish burrito since it was meat free May and I had to stick by the rules. The barramundi was fresh and the beans were plentiful.

The free chips were the best ones at Guzman Y gomez so far! And so was the guac. The guacamole was freshly made.

Do come by to the Hawthorn one as it is the better one out of all of them.

Pronto Pizza

Pronto Pizza is in Melbourne uni and is a favourite pizza place with the Melbourne Uni students. Everytime I go there I can smell the pizza being freshly made.

Seeing as this is owned by Melbourne Uni student union their pizza prices are cheap. It is about $13-$18 for a large pizza. Normally in a good pizza place it would be $20-$30 for a large. In here the large can easily fill two to three people. And a small is $10.

It was 10:20am when I came so the breakfast pizza was out. Here the breakfast was good but soggy as it had been sitting on the bain marie for some time. There was a bit of egg in this and it was very cheesey. It was $3.50 for a big piece of pizza. Buy two and a cold drink and its $9.50.

The latte I had was good. It was $4 for a soy one and it came in a big cup.

Do come on by and try their pizza for lunch. You won't be disappointed