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A funky little cafe hidden among the buildings of the RMIT City Campus. I mostly come here to grab a coffee and muffin in-between classes, but they also have a large selection of sandwiches, cakes, etc. The specials board out the front always looks enticing but I never have the chance to hang around longer than it takes to grab a coffee (and their baristas are pretty quick!) The prices are reasonable (average for a cafe in the CBD) and they will give you a discount if you show them your student card when you order.

I've been to Malt a number of times over the last few years. The first time we went (several years ago) we were really happy with our overall experience. It was for this reason that we returned again and again. Unfortunately, with each consecutive visit, things got worse and worse. Service got slower, the food was bland and uninspiring and the prices kept getting higher. Inevitably, we stopped going there.

Fast forward to 2013: My husband and I were invited to a birthday lunch for a relative at Malt a couple of weeks ago. We were interested to see whether things had changed since the last time we went there. It was a Saturday, but we had a booking for 10 so we assumed they'd be prepared for the number of people in our party. We were placed around a large table in the back corner of the cafe. We were so incredibly cramped, it was ridiculous. They've crammed so much furniture into the place, I'm amazed that the staff can even maneuver around at all.

When we looked at the menu, we were certainly surprised. It was very different from the last time we had been there, with lots of new additions. However, the prices were INSANE. $24 for a big breakfast! I've NEVER seen a big breakfast priced over $18 anywhere, and I've had a lot of breakfasts at a lot of cafes! Everyone in our party was pretty gobsmacked by the pricing.

I ended up ordering a reuben sandwich. I hoped that, at $16, it would be a pretty amazing sandwich. Unfortunately I was wrong. It was made with regular rye bread, so it was reasonably small, and it came with a small pile of undressed, mixed lettuce leaves on the side. It tasted fine, but it was certainly NOT worth $16. At that price, I would have expected it to be made with thick slices of artisan-baked bread, not the rye equivalent of Tip Top.

In addition to this, I ordered a ginger mule, which is basically a lemon, lime and bitters with a shot of ginger syrup. It was priced at $7, so I expected a large glass. I shouldn't have been surprised that what I received was a glass so small, I'd be amazed if it was more than 250ml. It tasted nice, but it was not worth $7!!! (I could buy two large takeaway coffees for $7 from any cafe in the city!)

Most of us had a laugh at the prices, and resolved that we wouldn't be returning. However, if it was just the pricing that was the problem, one might overlook it. The service was also a let down. The wait staff were extremely slow, and our meals all came out after long intervals (so the first people served had almost finished by the time the second lot were served, etc.) The last person to be served waited the longest, and she had to eat on her own by that stage!

We foolishly ordered cake and coffees after the table was cleared away, and we waited so long that we would have cancelled the order if they hadn't brought it when they did (as we were all ready to just pay and leave!) It feels as if there is some weird kind of disconnect between the kitchen, the wait staff and the baristas, and it seems to be incredibly slow and disorganised as a result.

The only nice part of the whole experience was that, at our request, they organised a small, cupcake-sized cake with a candle for the birthday girl.

At the end of the day, there are so few redeeming factors about this place, I'm amazed that they're still open. I'll definitely go to one of the many other cafes in the concourse next time, because Malt has scared us away with their ridiculous pricing and very poor service! I would recommend you think twice before going, unless you have a lot of time on your hands to wait and don't mind paying over-the-top prices for below-average food and coffee.

I'm so lucky to have found SolA Yoga! I have been meaning to get back to doing a regular yoga class since I moved to Melbourne (that was two years ago now!) and after talking to Adrienne about her classes I knew straight away that it was exactly what I was looking for.

I've been to the Tuesday night class twice now and I really enjoy it. There is a 1 hour yoga class followed by a 1 hour guided meditation class. The yoga class is well structured and Adrienne helps students at all levels get the most out of their yoga practice. I especially love the meditation class. It flows on well from the yoga class and it is so relaxing! I have already found it easier to move into a meditative state after only two classes, and I always leave feeling completely relaxed and blissful!

The Beaumaris Yacht Club creates the perfect backdrop to the classes. The view of the sun setting over the bay is amazing!

Adrienne is a beautiful lady with a very positive, calming presence. I highly recommend her class and I look forward to attending many, many more!

My husband and I had lunch here the other day. We did a search for "best dumplings in Melbourne" on Google and they came up first, so we thought we'd try them out.

The service was fast and we managed to get a table without booking, but I can imagine that they get full quite quickly so it's probably best to book beforehand if you want to go there during busier periods. The waitress who served us was friendly enough and explained the sauces and things so that we knew what we were doing.

We ordered the Xiao Long Bao and the Szechuan-style spicy wontons because they've been recommended by so many people. Both of these dishes were quite delicious! The Xiao Long Bao are dumplings with soup inside. I'm terrible with chopsticks so it took me a while to work out how to drink the soup before eating the dumpling. It was a fun (albeit messy) process to work through. The spicy wontons were delicious; not too spicy for my tastes. My husband and I had to fight over the last one.

We also ordered a serve of prawn and vegetable dumplings. They tasted OK; a little bland, but firm and quite a good amount of prawn inside. We probably would have been happy with just the first two dishes, though.

I don't have a lot of experience with dumplings, so I don't know whether they really are the 'best' in Melbourne, but they were quite tasty and the prices are pretty good (a little over $30 for the three dishes plus drinks) and we left feeling full and satisfied so that has got to be a good sign!

Davey Mac's is a little boutique gelato bar in Black Rock. We've driven past it a million times but finally got around to trying it for the first time this weekend.

My husband and I had a 2-flavour cup of gelato each. I had the chocolate and lemon flavours, while my husband chose rum & raisin and dark chocolate. We both agreed that the gelato was quite tasty, very flavoursome and fresh. However, at $5.50 a pop we thought the small serving sizes were a little overpriced despite the quality.

The service was fine (it's a pretty simple transaction after all), we were served reasonably quickly and the premises were clean and tidy. There are a couple of tables available to sit at inside the shop but I think you'd be better off walking down to the beach instead (it's not a huge shop and I can imagine it'll start to get pretty crowded during summer!)

Overall, we'd probably come back again some time but the prices will keep us from coming back regularly.

I purchased a KatKit Aircraft makeup case from Celebrity Style Online last Sunday. The product was dispatched on Monday and I received it on Tuesday. I received an email as soon as it was dispatched and I could also track the parcel online. You don't get better service than that! Also, the product was more than 50% off the RRP, so it was a great deal. I was very happy with the service and the price, and I would definitely purchase from them again!

Blonde Tiger is located in the same premises as Arch Enemy Eyebrows, which is how I found out about it. Erin is the owner/nail artist and she has many years of experience in the business so I felt very comfortable making a booking with her for a manicure and pedicure.

I made my booking with Erin via email, and she was very prompt to respond to my query and book me in.

On the day of my service, I felt completely comfortable and pampered. I started off with a pedicure, which included a foot scrub and massage, etc. Erin's expertise is obvious in everything she does, and hygiene and quality of service are clearly very important to her. For example, she uses disposable plastic coverings for her foot spa so you know it's hygenic and clean with every use (something I've never seen before!) My feet looked and felt fantastic after she was done (and still do, a couple of weeks later!)

After that, I had a manicure with gelish nail polish. Gelish is similar to shellac except that each coat dries in 30 seconds using a LED lamp, rather than a UV lamp (which means you won't get any extra damage to the tops of your hands, which already get enough sun exposure as is!) Erin listened to all of the concerns I had about my cuticles and nails and provided excellent advice as to how I can improve the condition of my nails.

To top off the fantastic service: I forgot to put my rings and bracelets back on before I left the salon, and didn't even realise it. Erin contacted me as soon as she realised I had forgotten them and safely put them away so I could pick them up the next day.

I really love the one-to-one, relaxed and conversational atmosphere at Blonde Tiger. I had a great chat with Erin and I walked away feeling like I had just spent time with a friend rather than just had a nail service. The prices are a little higher than what I have normally paid, but the service and expertise is definitely worth it. I am already booked in for my next service before Christmas and look forward to getting spoiled again soon!

We were in Dromana for the day and stopped in for lunch as nothing else appeared to be open. Stella's Dromana Hotel is a big venue that is one-part pub, one-part TAB/pokies and one-part family bistro. It's a bit downmarket in some parts (pub, TAB/pokies area specifically) but a bit nicer in the bistro. We sat in the big open space with the glass ceiling, which was sunny and bright and a lot more comfortable than the other parts of the bistro looked. The service is as expected, average - nothing special but nothing notably bad about it.

I had a salad with grilled chicken. It was presented nicely and came with the dressing on the side (as requested). The chicken had a nice sweet curry-esque flavour and was grilled perfectly. A surprisingly nice dish for a pub bistro. My husband had a pizza and he wasn't as happy. The pizza base was basically pita bread, and it was burnt around the edges, just not the right kind of base for a pizza. He was happy with the topping quality/quantity but said that the pizza base let it down.

I think that if you have no other choice then Stella's Dromana Hotel wouldn't be a terrible place to have lunch, but I wouldn't seek it out specifically. It's possible that the atmosphere may improve during the summer season, when more people are around.

The company that I work for recently moved to McKinnon and, since the move, Mr Burch has very quickly become my regular. The café itself is gorgeous; a converted two-storey terrace that is decorated with vintage pieces of furniture and bric-a-brac. There's plenty of space both upstairs and downstairs to sit, and the outdoor area is lovely (they provide cute & colourful crocheted blankets so you can rug up on cooler days!) I especially love the table in the window box at the front of the café; it's a lovely, sunny spot to sit at and watch the world pass you by.

Mostly I purchase my regular take-away coffee from here, but I have eaten in a couple of times as well. The coffee is great and the baristas are quick without reducing the quality of the finished product. I've even started to enjoy soy milk lattes, which are something I'd never have had before (but now require due to dietary restrictions). You even get a small discount if you use a KeepCup, which adds up if you drink as much coffee as I do!

The first time I ate in, I had the corn fritters. The dish was well-presented, but the corn fritters were (surprisingly) a little more like corn pancakes. It was quite a sweet, cakey consistency and not really my thing. It came with delicious, perfectly cooked bacon and a yummy tomato chutney, which certainly took the dish up a notch or two. On this occasion I found the service to be a little slow, as there were only one or two other people in the café and it took around 20 minutes to get my order (a bit worrying as I was only on a short lunch break and was due back in the office!) but subsequent visits have been much improved so it was probably just a one off.

On the second occasion I ate in, I had the huevos rancheros, which was basically scrambled eggs with chorizo, avocado and salsa on a toasted tortilla. It was quite delicious and very filling, but nothing like the traditional huevos rancheros I've had in the past, so a little surprising. The service was much faster, however.

More recently I purchased a selection of their delicious cakes and slices for a farewell afternoon tea we were having for a staff member in the office. I must HIGHLY recommend the chocolate brownie with fresh raspberries – it was moist and deliciously chocolatey without being too rich. The raspberries were ripe and tart, a perfect fusion with the dense chocolate. I'm told it was baked fresh that morning, so even better! We also had the gluten-free orange cake, carrot cake and choc-cherry crumble, all equally delicious.

All up, I'd definitely recommend Mr Burch as a great place to visit for coffee and/or a breakfast or lunch meal. The staff are always friendly and polite and the atmosphere is relaxed and comfortable. Just be aware that it can get pretty busy – and therefore crowded – so try going in late on weekday afternoons if you prefer it to be quieter and more spacious.

I had lunch at Dontoo for the first time this week and I must admit that I was pretty gobsmacked by the experience. We got there around 12.30pm and the place was packed. It's not a huge restaurant to begin with (although allegedly much bigger than it's sister-site Don Don in Swanston St) and there was already a line going out the door. I thought that this might pose a problem but my friend reassured me that this was "normal".

Once we got to the counter, everything became a blur. You have to order and pay at the counter (the lady who took my order was a little surly, obviously because I wasn't prepared for this) and before you know it, your dish is ready to go. It literally took about 30 seconds from paying for my dish to receiving it.

We squeezed into the dining area (don't expect table service, you've got to carry your own) and luckily managed to find a table for two. Like I said it was pretty packed, although the table turnover seems to be reasonably fast.

I ordered the chicken katsu curry, and it wasn't quite what I thought it would be. It was basically grilled teriyaki chicken and rice with a katsu curry sauce sloshed on top and some pickles on the side (the presentation left a little to be desired, and my friend's teriyaki chicken dish looked a little more appetizing). The consistency of the sauce was very thin and soupy, normally it's thicker and more curry-esque. It had a strong chilli flavour that I found a little overpowering. I certainly can't say it's the best I've ever had.

Everything on the menu is under $10, and there are only 8-10 dishes listed altogether. It's obviously the place to go for a quickie lunch. Perhaps I ordered the “wrong” dish for this establishment, because I've heard that the ramen is good. Overall the experience was just OK. I might try it out again one day but I'm certainly not in a hurry to do so.