Maha is my firm Melbourne favourite for lunch or dinner.

The $35 per person weekday two course lunch, like the two course dinner, offers a lovely range of Lebanese flavours and textures to share.

But it’s hard not to go for the three course $45 pp menu which was fabulous.

First course

local olives, fel fel

cauliflower hummus, chicken, cashews, parsley

olive oil braised potatoes and beans, marjoram, black olive

arak pickled cucumber, fennel fronds, labneh

chemen cured swordfish, kewpie mayo, preserved lemon and shallot

Second course

12 hour slow roasted lamb shoulder, cumin, coriander, sumac, St David’s labneh

char grilled victorian calamari, saffron, tomato, hamsi toast

charred brocolini and winter greens

Third course

peppermint crisp ice cream, pomegranate creme, semolina, chocolate, pine nut crumb

The decor and service are welcoming and stylish.

The staff even thoughtfully surprised us to mark the special occassion we were celebrating!

The staff work together well as a team and are clearly proud of the Maha experience.

Spring Street Grocer, next to the Princess Theatre, is a gourmet treasure trove.

There’s an impressive cheese cellar, down a quirky spiral staircase.

But my highlight is the icecream. Flavours are unusual, but delicious, like salted caramel and Wattleseed, citrus and yogurt, cardamom and pistachio.

Open everyday until late, it’s my go to spot for Melbourne CBD icecream.

Chin Chin on Flinders Lane is just plain fun. It’s also number 34 of the 100 Top Australian Restaurants.

No bookings but the wait was useful. It gave us time to check the Instagram feed against the menu.

But it was still hard to choose.

 

We went for the Braised Duck Red Curry with Thai Basil, Son in Law Egg and Coconut Rice $35…

…..and the Green Papaya Salad with Chargrilled Red Chilli, Prawn Floss, Peanuts and Black Beans and Nam Jam $18.50

Good choices, but I suspect the Aromatic Yellow Curry of Roast Pumpkin, Chargrilled Tofu and Green Beans $23.50 with steamed rice $4.50 with perhaps the BBQ Cuttlefish Som Tum with Green Papaya Salad, pickled tomato, burnt green chilli, peanuts and Nam Jim might have been a better curry pick.

Popular was also the Salad of Shredded Chicken and Tom Yum poached prawns with Vietnamese slaw and coriander $24.50 and the Kingfish Sashimi with lime, chilli, coconut and Thai basil $23.

Cumulus Inc. along Flinders Lane is my favourite Melbourne CBD spot for breakfast. It’s also number 15 of the 100 Top Australian Restaurants

The most popular brekkies were the Cumulus Inc. Breakfast $16 with boiled egg, toast, preserves, yogurt, orange juice and coffee and the House-made crumpets $10 with whipped ricotta and roof top honey.

But I loved my Hibiscus poached pears with sheep’s milk yogurt $12.