Foodie Corner – Don’t Tell Charles, Candied Bakery, Twenty and Six

Prior to my sons birth my husband and I regularly hit up some of Melbourne’s best restaurants, however since his birth it’s become difficult to get out as often as we used to. Once a foodie, always a foodie, so although I can’t enjoy a great dinner as regularly as I used to, I’ve become a huge fan of the brunch/lunch scene and any kind of eatery where I can bring along my son. I tend to go out for lunch a couple of times a week and I love to try different places each time, so at the end of every week i’ll let you know about the great places I visited in my foodie corner.

I love finding new places to eat, so if you have any suggestions for places I should try I’d love to hear about them.

Don’t Tell Charles
Vue Apartment Building
70 Speakmen Street Kensington, VIC 3031

Hidden away on the ground floor of the Vue Apartment Building is this little gem. Don’t tell Charles specialises in desserts, but also offers a light lunch for those who don’t want something sweet. I met a friend here for morning tea and I have to admit, when it came time for me to order, I stood in front of the dessert cabinet and really had no idea what to get, I literally wanted to try everything. In the end I settled on the Raspberry and Brownie Cheesecake and it didn’t disappoint. It was a little chocolate pot filled with raspberry cheesecake and them midway through the cheesecake I hit gold in the form of chocolate brownie pieces. I loved it so much that on my way out I went to buy one more for the road and was devastated when they told me they had sold out for the day.

I will definitely come back here and next time I want to try and get in for one of their iconic high tea’s. This is one of my top 5 dessert spots in Melbourne.

8/10

Candied Bakery
81a Hudsons Rd
Spotswood, VIC 3015

Situated on Hudson Road, near Spotswood train station and in and amongst some great little eateries is Candied Bakery. My visit started well because I got parking right outside the door which never happens when I head to the Fitzroys or Richmonds of the world. Once out of the car and in the sliding door at Candied, I was in a pastry wonderland. Candied offer a huge array of baked goods from meat pies and bread loaves through to nutella croissants and choc chip marshmallow cookies (yep I was salivating just looking at these). They also have hotdogs, soft serve ice-cream and a number of great milkshakes. I had a BLT for lunch and washed it down with an apple pie milk shake, which was delicious although difficult to drink because of the huge apple chunks. I also picked up a few baked goods to take past my parents place for afternoon tea and we absolutely loved them, in particular the peanut butter and jam filled biscuits and the custard filled donuts – wow!! They were both so good, that I’m actually thinking about going back again tomorrow to get more.

I really like Candied Bakery, I only wish I had discovered it earlier. With that I must say, it’s great to see so many great places opening up in the West. This side of the bay has been somewhat short of great eateries in the past and its great to see areas like Spotswood and Yarravillle become foodie hot spots.

9/10

Twenty and Six
594 Queensberry Street
North Melbourne,VIC

I absolutely love eating out in North Melbourne, it’s not too chaotic, parking spots are easier to find and there are some real hidden gems in the way of cafes and this is one of them. Twenty and Six is incredibly deceiving from the outside, just a very understated shop front, but once you walk inside and through to the courtyard you know you’ve found a great little spot.

The first thing I judge an eatery on, is how many items on their menu I find appealing/want to eat, so on this front, it was a 10/10 to Twenty and Six. Everything from their peanut butter sandwich to the black sticky rice just sound delicious, so fortunately there was a couple of us there so we got to try a couple of different menu items. Between us we had the French toast, fruit toast, sticky black rice and brisket, all of which were amazing! My pick was the brisket served on a bun with a chilli coleslaw and chunky hand cut chips. Oh my, those chips were deelish! I was completely satisfied with my selection and I highly recommend it if you decide to visit. Oh, and don’t forget to order a coconut hot chocolate, it’ll change your world. The only criticism we had, was we wish there was more of the French toast, it was that good, my sister just about inhaled it.

8/10