Food Lists: Melbourne, Brunch, Cafes, Sydney

Anyone who knows me well will attest how unreliable my memory is - but I do remember that these restaurants are DEFINITELY a MUST TRY for anyone who lives in or visits Melbourne. Plus, now, when I don't remember, I have this list to refer to... :)

Need a little bit more money, but TOTALLY WORTH EVERY PENNY [ >$20 per head ]:
* Da Noi (Italian Cuisine) - 95 Toorak Road. South Yarra. (03) 9866 5975 (Miettas - Best Australian Restaurants: Da Noi)
* Claypots (Seafood) - 213 Barkly Street. St Kilda. (03) 9534 1282 (Miettas - Best Australian Restaurants: Claypots)
* Sel De La Terre (French Cuisine) - 74 Toorak Road. South Yarra. (03) 9866 2744 (website)
* Ling Nam (XO Sauce Lobster with Egg Noodles, Salt & Pepper Chicken, XO Pippies + Chinese Donuts) - 204 Lt Bourke St. Melbourne. (03) 9663 2347 (Ling Nam | EatDrink | ThreeThousand - subcultural guide to Melbourne)
* Old Kingdom (Peking Duck) - 197 Smith St. Collingwood. (03) 9417 2438 (Mietta's Australian Restaurants, Food & Wine - Old Kingdom, Melbourne Inner Suburbs)
* Mabrown (Spicy Quails, Chili Prawn) - Shop 6, 188-190 Belmore Rd. Balwyn. (03) 9816 3755 (Mietta's Australian Restaurants, Food & Wine - Mabrown, Greater Melbourne) [Psst... Make sure you are not too hungry when you get there - cause the service is pretty slow from my past experience. Yup - even after you've booked and ordered.]
* Curry Club Cafe (Butter Chicken plus Raita... slurrppppp - but it is a little expensive & fickly these days...) - 394-396 Bridge Road. Richmond. (03) 9428 6455 (website)

For people on budget [ <$20 per head - excl. drinks ]:
* Amici Bakery (Excellent Brunch! Has the best Caramelised Onion!) - 242 Chapel Street. Prahran. (03) 9529 7770 (Mietta's Australian Restaurants, Food & Wine - Amici Bakery Cafe, Melbourne Inner Suburbs)
* Pellegrini's (awesome pasta, great service, mouth-watering dessert & must try its Watermelon Granita!) - 66 Bourke St. Melbourne. (03) 9662 1885 (Mietta's Australian Restaurants, Food & Wine - Pellegrini's, MELBOURNE Melbourne Inner Suburbs)
* Max Brenner (Chocolate Brownie with Walnut - with Ice Cream!!!):
- Melbourne Central - Shop OE5, 300 La Trobe St. Melbourne. (03) 9662 4442
- QV Square - Shop 25, 210 Lonsdale St. Melbourne. (03) 9663 6000
* Trotters - 400 Lygon St. Carlton. (03) 9347 5657 (website)
* Laurent Pattiserie (Cute single serving cakes, Yummiest Chicken Foccacia - with WALNUTS!!!) - Shop 16 Como Centre, 169 Toorak Rd. South Yarra. (03) 9824 1414 (Mietta's Australian Restaurants, Food & Wine - Laurent (South Yarra), Melbourne Inner Suburbs)
* Miss Marples (Best Scones Ever!!!) - 382 Mt. Dandenong-Tourist Road. Sassafras. (03) 9755 1610 (website)
* Toorak Thai (Best Massaman Curry I Ever Had so far...!) - 34 Toorak Rd. South Yarra. (03) 9866 3099 (Toorak Thai Restaurant Melbourne Restaurant Review and Information)
* Amigos (Yummy Signature Chicken Burritos) - 7/478 Chapel St. South Yarra. (03) 9826 1653 (website)
* Babble (Yummy Cafe Style Dinner, Great Ambience) - 4B Izett St. Prahran. (03) 9510 6464 (the breakfast blog: Babble Cafe, Prahran)
* Kenzan Sushi (Has the FRESH-EST Sushi!) - Shop 28G, 350 Bourke St (GPO). Melbourne. (03) 9663 7767 (Kenzan @ GPO, Melbourne - Restaurant Information And Reviews - yourRestaurants.com.au)
* Zap Thai (Super Yummy Addictive Spicy Pork on Kai Lan!!!) - Address Unknown - Re-opened recently near Deakin University Burwood.
* Bamboe Cafe & Restaurant (Yummy Indonesian Food, A Bit of a Wait for Food to Arrive Though) - 643 Warrigal Rd. Chadstone. (03) 9568 5311 (The Perwira Homepage)
* Soul Mama (Excellent Dessert, Great Ambience for Catch Ups, Vegetarian Food) - 10 Jacka Boulevard (St Kilda Sea Baths). St Kilda. (03) 9525 3338 (website)
* Don Don (Quickest and Cheapest Prepared On the Spot Japanese Food Take-away Ever!) - 330 Little Lonsdale Street. Melbourne. (03) 9670 7113 (Don Don (Lt Lonsdale) - MELBOURNE - FoodGod Restaurant Review)
* Vegie Bar (Best Nachos!) - 378 Brunswick St. Fitzroy. (03) 9417 6935 (website)
* Garage Cafe (Another yummy Indonesian Food Cafe - Try the 'Ayam Penyet' (i.e. squashed chicken :P)) - 221 Berkeley St. Carlton. (03) 9349 5000 (website)
* Nudel Bar (Introduced & Got Me Addicted to Aglio e Olio) - 76 Bourke Street. Melbourne. (03) 9662 9100 (Miettas - Best Australian Restaurants: Nudel Bar)

Here's a few restaurants that intrigues me BIG TIME and I'm hoping will get to try by the end of this year:
* Vue de Monde (Fine Dining) - Normanby Chambers. 430 Little Collins St. Melbourne. (03) 9691 3888 (website)
* Journal Canteen (Italian Cuisine - Lunch Only) - 253 Flinders Lane. Melbourne. (03) 9650 4399 (Journal Canteen, Melbourne restaurant review)
* Donovans House (Modern Australian Cuisine) - 40 Jacka Boulevard. St Kilda. (03) 9534 8221 (website)
* Circa, The Prince (European, French and Modern Australian) - 2 Acland St. St Kilda. (03) 9536 1122 (the breakfast blog: Circa, St Kilda)
* Nobu (Japanese Fine Dining) - Riverside at Crown. 8 Whiteman St. Southbank. (03) 9696 6566 (website)
* Jacques Reymond (International / Modern Australian) - 78 Williams Rd. Prahran. (03) 9525 2178 (website)

I love brunches! But then again - what's there not to like? Being served yummy food on a lazy Saturday morning.
Check out this cool lists in the interesting The Breakfast Blog:
* the breakfast blog: Melbourne's Top 10 Breakfasts
* the breakfast blog: Top 20 Melbourne

This list from Visit Victoria Official Website of Melbourne Recommended Cafes is very promising.

Finally, here's some Sydney must eats:
* Cafe Sopra - 1/7 Danks St, Waterloo 2017. Ph: (02) 9699 3174 (website)
* Jazushi - 145 Devonshire Street cnr Clisdell Street, Surry Hills 2010. Ph: (02) 9699 8977 (website)
* Sydney Fish Market (Lobster Mornay!!! Sashimi!!!) - Blackwattle Bay. Cnr Pyrmont Bridge Road & Bank Street. (02) 9004 1100 (website)

Updated 27th June 2008:
* Tried out Journal Canteen. The food was yummy. The service was very efficient. It is a bit pricey for lunch though (20$ for pasta), but the main did come with bread and salad, so that makes up for the price I guess. :) I will go back again but maybe not soon. (Note: The suspense and heightened expectation for this place might have biased my opinion).

Updated 23rd July 2008:
* Also, there is this other place, Han Guuk Kuan Korean Chinese restaurant, 13A Victoria St, (03) 9639 1747, which are totally worth trying! Though you do need to know what to order though as I find the menu is not very helpful. I keep a list of numbers in my mobile of the dishes to order at this restaurant! :P Must haves are Sweet and Spicy Chicken (Khum Pun Ghi #55), Kimchi HotPot Soup ^ (Bu Deh Jon Gaul #105), and Fried Potato Noodles ^ (Jab Chae #60). If you have more people, please do order Black Sauce Noodle (Ja Jang Mien #1).
P.S.: Be prepared to wait a little - the speed of the service isn't one of their strength.
^ Pictures linked from Guava is getting crushed, again: Han Guuk Guan.
* If you have more time (and money), please do try out Kanpai Japanese Inspired Food on Chapel St, South Yarra (569 Chapel St, (03) 9827 4379). They make really yummy creamy Teppanyaki. Though lately it hasn't been as good as it used to, they are still worth trying! It costs around $20+ per head for one Teppanyaki dish and a bowl of rice.

Updated 26th August 2008:
* Found the current must try chocolatier in Melbourne, Cacao Chocolate. They make the yummiest creamiest chocolate in Melbourne by far! I haven't tried their dessert yet, but I have high hopes! :)