Small Town Bakery - Kew East - review

One sunny afternoon, on my way to visit the husband at work, I spotted a new addition to the High St shopping strip. With a wooden picket fence and neon yellow chairs it grabbed my interest enough to warrant a peek. Their window was filled with beautiful rustic loaves of organic bread which I am always on the lookout for, and to have it so close to the spouse's workplace made me jump with glee. (Inside they have a bread schedule to let you know what loaves are coming up)
Looking at those delectable loaves made my tummy rumble so I decided to pop in. The space itself is quite tiny but wonderfully decorated. The first detail that caught my eye were the cheerful bouquets of billy buttons which are a personal favourite flower of mine.
The colour scheme is natural with bright yellow accents and plenty of rustic wood and old-school chalk boards. The display case is the center of attention and filled with quality-looking items that are labelled with the cutest pegged and twined tags.
Behind the counter are large wooden boxes filled with supplies such as free-range eggs, scales and juices. 
The packaging is right up my alley - I wrap all my gifts in brown paper so I loved the small cardboard boxes for the salads and the brown paper and serviettes the other items come in; simple but stylish. 
They also have a record player, which on my first visit was filling the air with the music of the Jazz great, Miles Davis and on my second visit a selection of cool funk from the 70s.

Enough about the interior - unto the food!

Roast Beef with Dijon Mayonnaise, Rocket and Caramelised Onion - $7

Mr.M enjoyed this. He also wants to mention their Beef Empanada which comes with a delicious tomato chutney.

Quinoa, lentil, bean, rocket and veggie salad - $7

This is the second time I have purchased this salad. It is light yet filling with earthiness from the lentils, nuttiness from the quinoa, freshness from the herbs and sweetness from the diced veg. I have to also mention their Broccoli, cranberry and sunflower seed salad which I buy whenever it's available - it's delicious.

Dream bar - $5

With a name like that expectations are made, luckily for this little rustic beauty it was tremendously dreamy. The meringue like crust gives way to a gloriously fudgey chocolate center speckled with walnut pieces and chewy coconut which sits atop a crumbly base. I am incredibly smitten with anything that consists of cocoa-y gooeyness and so I am already thinking of heading back tomorrow to purchase another of these bars (ok, make that 2...).
Highly recommend to any sweet tooths. I have also tried their scones which were generous portions and delicious.

Lemon Bar - $5

I adore lemon bars, but so far none that I have purchased have truly satisfied my criteria until today. The ratio of lemon curd to shortbread base is spot on. The crust is akin to a creme brulee and cracks beneath your teeth to reveal a lusciously decadent filling that melds the right amount of tartness to sweetness. Another repeat purchase for sure.

Their selection of food is good quality, diverse and reasonably priced (I have noticed so many cafe sandwiches these days priced at $10!). I have also tried their vegetarian smashed avocado roll and the bread itself was so incredibly soft with the slightest hint of sweetness, and I am not even a bread person! They also have vegan empanadas as well as salads so even vegans are catered for.

With both of my sweet picks being so successful I am eager to try more of their desserts, especially the single origin chocolate brownie - drool... 

With friendly service, delicious, affordable and interesting food, not to mention great music, you can't go wrong with a visit to Small Town Bakery. 

Xocolatl Artisan Chocolates - Kew East- review

“All you need is love. But a little chocolate now and then doesn't hurt.” 

― Charles M. Schulz

I could inhale and consume mountains of glorious chocolate every single day and never get sick of it. NEVER. Because of my addiction I have tried every type of artisan chocolate shop out there, but it was a little store on Maling Road that finally ended my search.
I don't know what has taken me so long to write this post as Xocolatl as been my favourite chocolate shop for YEARS. It is rather rude of me not to have shared my treasure. Please forgive me.

Every month, my three beautiful best friends and I would meet there rain, hail or in blistering heat to order some hot chocolates and a few small pieces (they ordered a few, I would order an entire box, naturally).

Not only did I find my favourite individual chocolates, I also found my favourite hot chocolate - luscious, THICK, and flavoured with exotic rose and heady spices - heaven I tell you!!!

Ever since my hubby relocated his business to High St Kew East, their Kew store has since become my local haunt; I go every week to get myself a box of nine (and that's showing restraint) lovingly crafted chocolates. I have sampled every single flavour they have, but to keep it short, I shall inform you of the ones I would buy over and over again - my most beloved.

I must start with my personal number 1 - the Rose Caramel (pictured above right in the middle).

the following below are also extremely delicious - you have been warned.

• Popcorn caramel
• Rose, lychee and strawberry
• Apricot Gianduja
• Tendre Praline
• Cardamom
• Lavender
• Cinnamon
• Salted caramel
• Coconut
• Creme Brulee
• Sesame
• Lime

They change flavours regularly and have such a diverse variety,from the more common raspberry truffle or praline to the most unusual such as:

• Goat cheese and peach
• Elvis (peanut butter and banana, another flavour much favoured by me).
• Basil and champagne
• Smoked olive oil
• Strawberry Shortbread
• the list goes on!

Do yourself a favour and head down to their Canterbury or Kew East shop and taste heaven in a morsel.

They have their Christmas editions currently in stock with everything from Christmas Tree printed chocolates to large Santas and even Babushkas!

Mamma's Boys - Kew East - review

Name: Mamma's Boys

Address: 647 High St
Kew East 3102 VIC
Phone: (03) 9859 0583

Food: Italian.
Average prices: Starters - $12, Entrees - $16, Mains - $25, Desserts - $12
Complimentary: Nothing.

We ordered:

Starters: Bruschetta - $6.

This was average. The bread was a little tough, the tomatoes were bland and there was no other flavour besides onion.

Whilst the eggplant was marinated nicely it too was a little tough.


Gnocchi in Romano sauce with mozzarella baked in clay pot - $22

The gnocchi, supposedly fresh, was doughy, heavy and chewy whilst the sauce was only ok and a little too much on the sweet side. There also wasn't enough mozzarella for me. I found it rather disappointing for a restaurant that prides itself on making 'mamma's food' - nothing we ate really felt like it was made 'with love'.

Twice cooked pork belly with crackle and fig and apple sauce -$36

R said this was OK.

Mixed berry brulee tart - $12.

The custard was very runny, it had the consistency of eggnog. It was also SUPER SWEET - far too sugary for me. Thankfully the berries added a sharpness to help cut through a tad. What really ruined this dish was the clumsy, extremely thick and dry pastry, not appetising to the eye or the tastebud (I had to use a nice to cut through it.)

Apple tart tatine - $12

I'm not sure how this can be considered an apple tart tatine...
It had the same thick, dry crust as mine except this one also tasted bitterly burnt. The scant apple and sultana filling was also overly sweet. R could barely eat it.

Cost: $88 for 1 starter, 2 mains and 2 desserts.

Service: Only OK this time around. The staff were ok but the food took a long time to come out. They also chose to sit everyone on the same side, so despite the restaurant only being half full, as we were all seated next to each other the noise level was quite loud.


Atmosphere: Muted. The noise level got quite loud as everyone was seated side by side. The decor is a mix of browns with food-inspired artwork on the walls and a small water feature by the window. The atmosphere was a little lacking this time around.

Parking: Ample - there is street parking, but it may get difficult to find a close-by parking later in the evening.

Website: www.mammasboys.com.au 

Hours: Mon-Sat 5pm-11pm

Would I return: No.

Mamma's Boys - Kew East

Name: Mamma's Boys

Address: 647 High St
Kew East 3102 VIC
Phone: (03) 9859 0583

Food: Italian.
Average prices: Starters - $12, Entrees - $16, Mains - $25, Desserts - $12
Complimentary: Nothing.


We ordered:

Starters: Bruschetta 'Due- Due' pomodoro and ai funghi - $12


The serving size for a starter was extremely generous, so large in fact we only ate half so as to save room for the rest of the meals. The bruschetta was lovely, th bread was fresh and perfectly chargrilled. I loved the mushroom with lovely hints of garlic and pesto. The tomato was as you would expect a tomato bruschetta to be.

Crochetti di rosa - $12


Assorted crochetti of eggplant, rice and potato accompanied with a Romana sauce. I absolutely loved these. The potato was soft, smooth and perfectly cheesy with the right amount of outer crunch. The eggplant was also perfect and tasty. I didn't like the rice as much probably because I preferred the smooth texture of the other two. They were served with a creamy semi dried tomato (?) sauce which added a great flavour and complimented them well.

Mains: Marco pollo - $26


Pan fried chicken medallions, sauteed in a cream sauce with mushrooms, semi dried tomatoes, pine nuts and spinach, served on seasonal vegetables. Ryan loved this dish - he said it had the perfect amount of flavours and textures to make it interesting and enjoyable.

Spinach & ricotta cannelloni (entree serve) - $16


I downsized my order on the suggestion of the chef, which I think was a smart idea as this is also a huge serving. I was a little disappointed I must say as it was very watery which washed out the flavour - it also tasted like it was frozen and reheated. It was alright, but nothing special.

Desserts: Panetonne Trifle - $12


Panetonne soaked in sugar Whiskey, layered with marinated figs and pastry cream. The range of desserts was a little boring and this seemed the most interesting. But I was also disappointed with this dish. First of all it didn't taste freshly made (my partner asked and it had been made the night before). The pastry cream had a rubbery skin and the texture of a thick mascarpone. The bread tasted stale and it just didn't meld well in your mouth as it was quite dry. We hardly ate it. The waitress asked us for feedback as their menu was newly redesigned.

Cost: $ 78 - 2 starters, 2 mains, 1 dessert.

Service: Fantastic. The waiters were super friendly and accommodating. We wanted our courses to come out consecutively but after watching us eat our starter they suggested we perhaps wait a little longer so we weren't as full, which was wise. Really great service.

Atmosphere: Good. We went at 6:30pm on a Friday so there were only two other tables full. The downstairs area is quite small but there is enough space between tables that you don't feel the need to whisper.


Parking: Ample - there is street parking, but it may get difficult to find a close-by parking later in the evening.
Website: www.mammasboys.com.au 

Hours: Mon-Sat 5pm-11pm

Would I return: Yes.