Krispy Kreme's Original glazed

Krispy Kreme is a doughnut chain store and there are a few in the city. I had always wanted to go to the Southern Cross one as it is bigger and cleaner. And there is seating.

Today was free Doughnut day and so with this I got a free Original glazed doughnut. Here they were small and are normally $4.50.

This one was not sickly sweet like some of them are. But I did feel a little bit greasy afterwards.

The store was clean and big and its right near the train station. They do have milkshakes for the weary country travellers waiting for their connecting train or bus back to the airport.

The service was fast and friendly and there were two lines- one for the free doughnuts and the other for the paid stuff.

Thanks Krispy Kreme for the free doughnut and make sure to stop in on your way home for that occasional treat.

Agathe Christie's french bakery at South Melbourne

There is a new French bakery store in South Melbourne market and I have been wanting to try this for ages. But wanted to wait until the right moment to do so. Joyce from MEL: HOT or NOT liked the cash only place.

They have two stores: one in Prahran market and the other one at South Melbourne market.

Here I went on Market week as the market is busier and more vibrant.

I love the baked goods, baked freshly every day. The escargot was sweet but not too sweet and it was really small. Perfect for a snack.

I also loved the madeline ($2) bought last time. It was sugary and perfect for that afternoon sweet treat.

By 2pm most of the things are sold out so you should go in there earlier. Agathe is only open on the days that South Melbourne market is open.

Europa Cakes

Europa cakes is one of the better places in Ballarat known for its cakes.  Here it is in Sturt st and I was just after tea and a short cake.

As part of the Ballarat Foto Biennale there were a few lovely artworks.

It is a big café which is family friendly and the servers were really firnedly. I loved the Irish guy he was the most friendly and down to earth guy.

Here I had a small jam shortbread which has about 8g of sugar just to try seeing as I was in a cake store.

The tea was by Chanellia teas which Realfoods uses and I love that brand. The tea today was quite nice. It was only $4. The tea comes in a huge pot.

I would definitely come by to relax if I am in Ballarat

Europa Cake Shop

Europa Cake shop is on Acland St in St Kilda and on a school holiday Tuesday there should be heaps of people at this place. Now I wondered why the place was so empty only with a few just wanting takeaway coffees and cakes.

With so many cake shops in St Kilda I wondered if the French vanilla slice ($7.50 per piece). That and green tea ($3.50 per pot). The cakes on display look interesting but do they taste that way?

The older woman that served me had a really sour look on her face. That is a no no. She might be the manager. One girl came to drop off her resume and she was asked about her coffee making skills. The girl said no and was immediately rejected.

The other two staff were really friendly though and they were happy to serve me and other people.

The shop is supposed to be good at making cakes everyday. But my French Vanilla slice seemed like it was storebought. The pastry was so hard to cut through even with a steel knife. It was also sickly sweet from all that jam. The one at Monarch was really good though. They managed to have this really nice creamy texture and they make their own stuff.

But not this one. This ones cream was really artificial and after a few bites I didn't finish it.

The tea came in a small pot and was just ok

Rating: 9/20- meh never again. If I had to choose I would have chosen Monarch like all the other customers have.

Casper's Gourmet Food and Backhaus bakery

They are both in Prahran Market and they are both really good options for lunch/sweets. Today I went there after an appointment with Study Melbourne. I always love to support local businesses where I can. I've always walked by both without trying them and I wanted to try.

Caspers Gourmet Pies do freshly made pies and rolls all for under $5 and there are some that are heated so that you can eat on the go. I really enjoyed the ricotta roll which went well with the salad. They are next to Jasper Coffee at the market

But do there early as they run out of pies around midday

Mini pie for $1.50

Donut- $1.50

I would love to try this, but its really sugary and sweet

Backhaus is another favourite bakery of the local community. I can see why as they have lovely mini pies and doughnuts and the doughnuts are not too sweet. This was where I found the first white chocolate doughnut and it was really small. I could have gone for the bigger one but I didn't want to pack on the extra kilojoules.

Subway: is it good or bad for you which option is the best one?

As part of Bupa's best blog competition for 2015

RNIS bought a Groupon for the Camberwell one but they were invited by City of Melbourne to try the one at the airport.

I have had Subway heaps of times and I always get the veggie delight in a six inch. Sometimes I'll have the breakfast one with the egg. 

But is it all good for you? We discuss the topic whilst sampling some subs.

The service at Subway can be varied; sometimes good, sometimes bad. Same as with the premises. Whilst the airport one was clean, the Camberwell one was a tad dirty. The Camberwell one is a stone's throw away from the station.

Ok, I did happen to love the flatbread one as that didn't have a lot of fat in there and I loved the fact that you can now add spinach to it for no extra cost. This was at Melbourne Airport where the restaurant was really clean.

But the time that I was at Camberwell store it was busy full of workers. I didn't expect it to be that busy seeing as it has 40% of likes on Urbanspoon. But this veggie patty in Italian bread was crumbly. The Italian bread was alight. It was a little bit dry from staying in the oven so long. But was alright. At least this wasn't as messy. There wasn't as much vegetables as the one at the airport.

The fillings

My roll is cracked

If wanted to stay healthy then I'd go for the flatbread as it has 200 cal. And I would go without the sauce.

Dinkum Pies

RNIS bought a Scoopon for $4 to this which included coffee and a pie. Except they didn't want coffee or sauce as they are trying to watch their weight.

Dinkum Pies is little old Australian Pie shop which has been going strong for 35 years but no one has ever blogged about them until now. Normally their pies are $5.50 each and the family pies are $16.

They have 18 varieties of pies some of which are vegetarian.

The lady that served me was very friendly and didn't mind that I just buy the pie. At 3pm there wasn't many people there but that was ok for me as I was picking up a pie for dinner that night with my salad. Being healthy I did not want sauce.

I had a potato pie which had meat in it. I did not mind as their pies are made freshly. I loved the potato top as it was quite heavenly.

The meat was good too and I paired it with salad.

Do go to this pie shop in the city for great Australian pies.

Decorating fun @123 Cake by Kathryn

123 Cake has just opened last year. It is in North Melbourne on my way to work and about 5 mins from RMIT and Melbourne Uni by tram. It is also near the MELD offices and Arrow on Swanston.

One day I saw the place and how cute it was and I really wanted to visit. I know I'm not a child but I love these cute quirky places.

The ingredients for a fun decorating session

Short Black

The end result- I really loved eating this

Cute decorations

Lots of inspiration for you to look at before you start decorating your cake

Kits which you can buy

I had bought a $9 Living Social voucher which entitled me to two cupcakes, tea or coffee, four decorating things and a huge bag of icing.

The lady who owns the place was very friendly

The coffee was meh and burnt, but I wasn't here for that. I was here for the decorating fun. A plain cupcake normally costs $3.50 ($4 for gluten free). On top of that you pay $2 for a big bag of icing ( you can choose between eight flavours). Decorations is normally $0.50 each or 3 for $1.50. Altogether its $7-$8. Throw in a coffee and it sets you back by $10.

The fun part you get to choose your own combinations and make it yourself. You can take pictures of your cake and post it to their Facebook page and you might be able to win a price.

The cupcakes tastes like the ones your mum makes at home. Yummy.

I loved choosing the decorations and making one with my initials on it. I used the cream cheese icing and loved it.

Verdict: Get in touch with your inner child and have some fun here. Its a great chance to get away from the books for a while.

Come here for experience not the food or the coffee

Eat at A1 Bakery

Today I was in the Brunswick campus taking pictures for the Obook and website and visited a place called A1 Bakery.
A1 Bakery is about two train stations away from RMIT Brunswick. It looks like a big warehouse from the outside. It is a cheap lebanese bakery selling vegetarian food as well as meat.
Here they also sell groceries for cheap. Some of the groceries are $1 or $2.
It is clean and there are many tables. Service is quick, although a little too quick for me. The ladies there were a little hostile.
But the food made up for it. I had falafels with pita bread and salad ($6.00), a green tea ($3.00) and a baklava ($1.00).

(sorry I tried to photoshop this and turn it around but it didn't work)

The falafels were awesome, although when the pita got cold it was not nice. I loved the fresh salad but wasn't too keen on the pickles- they were a bit salty.
I loved the baklava- this was the best that I have ever had. It was really sweet and full of yummy goodness.
Next time when I'm here I'll have to go for the lebanese coffee, maybe with Big Fil