Caffe E Cucina

RNIS got a $20 from Dimmi but spent the rest of it themselves.

Caffe E Cucina is a really small place in South Yarra. Running past I really wanted to go there. So when Dimmi offered me the opportunity I jumped at it. The inside of the restaurant reminds me of being in the tramcar as the ambiance was dimmed and it was cozy inside.

The toilets are out the back and are the cool and cozy place. It reminded me of the countryside.

The service was friendly and like an old school place they open your wines at your table. Nowadays they open the bottles at the bar. Hence I was able to see the bottle itself.

The complimentary bread roll was lovely and soft. The EVOO and balsamic was just as nice.

My gnocchi was just fine. At first they brought out the wrong dish, but then I casually reminded them of it. It was a beetroot flavoured gnocchi with pork crackling and walnuts on top which was quite nice.

Desserts were expensive and I'm not much of a dessert fan so I left without.

Altogether my bill was $23.90 which was not so bad for a pricey place. Thanks Dimmi for the voucher.

Turf Bar

RNIS was invited by Dimmi to try their food but paid for their own drinks.

Turf Bar is on Queen St near Bourke st and it's a short walk away from Southern Cross station. Here they are an Irish sports bar with the focus on Guinness.

The bar was steady and the service was a tad bit slow. The lady had a hard time understanding the request for the bill.

It was parma night and they do all parmas for $15. In line with Healthyintstudents promise of vegetarian meals, I went for the vegetarian parma of eggplant with an extra of an egg. Here this was really good and I loved the crumbs on top. They were just perfect.

I did not like the fact that they have put extra salad on the plate. It made the chips a little bit soggy.

But I had a Guinness and it was $5.40 for a pot. It was to celebrate St Patrick's day which was four days ago. But I didn't want to celebrate it then.

Do come to the Turf bar for their cheap meals and drinks and do support Healthyintstudents and buy a book this year. There is a discount in the book for 25% off the total bill.

Diary of an Aspiring Loser: 10 Years and Still Going!

Diary of an Aspiring Loser: 10 Years and Still Going!

Spire restaurant

This place is in Mantra Hotel in Southbank. I happened to be at a conference that day.

Here I had coffee, tea and lunch in there. But they do have some boutique looking wines which I wanted to try.

Oh and they have happy hour from 4-6:30pm. Someone wanted more wine than they would have liked. But its no good for them.

The service there was very friendly. Pity is that they don't open for lunch. They only just open for breakfast and dinner. But they do lunches only when there is a conference on.

The people in my group did not like their meals as they did not finish them. Someone had a burger and did not finish it.

My soy latte was alright.

But the kale and beetroot salad was pretty good. Albeit a bit pricey for a small size but I got away with that and a bagel bought from outside. And it was what Healthyintstudents wanted anyway. Add chicken to it and it would have been an extra $4.

My tea was alright and it was $4 which was not too bad for a big pot. Normally at Lindt its $5.70 for one of these.

Do come by this place for tea in a hotel and for the comfort.

The Parkville cafe

I was at the hospital again. This time I was waiting for a tram which was waaay too slow (someone broke their foot somehow at the Children's hospital). So I decided not to wait and go and grab a coffee.

Then I remembered the Parkville cafe which is on the side where the park is. Here they sell healthy food and gluten-free stuff. I'm glad that the soft drink cabinet is behind the counter which means that people can't just help themselves to the sugary drinks. Healthyintstudents and I are against the sugary drinks and were right from the start. As a promise to Healthy International students blog, I said that I would go vegetarian and I did.

I had an avocado smash with eggs and feta and toast. It is not low carb but avocado is good for fats and is a vegetable. The sourdough was on the thin side which is great. I loved the goat's feta and I had been encouraging people to try this as it is awesome.

Usually, filter coffee is not $3 in the city. It usually is $5. When I saw the sign that filter was $3 I decided to get.

Most people got takeaway but I decided to have my meal in the cafe as it is quite warm and welcoming.

I got a small little gluten-free yoyo. As a health blogger, I am always curious about gluten-free food. It did look good.

Do come by this cafe when you are in the hospital as they are the healthiest places around.