After my disastrous treatment by Balwyn Sports Physio (see separate review) I approached this venue with much trepidation as they normally deal with professional and semi professional sports people. And my fears all but dissolved when I met Mary Kinch.

Having paid $110 per session at the previous physio and hardly having any progress, I visited Olympic Park Sports Medicine and found that they really know their stuff and take the time to ensure that your recovery progresses with each visit. This centre was $100 per visit, $10 cheaper, but it wasn't the lower price that made every visit worth it.

When I first visited Mary, I could not walk properly after having three months of treatment with the last physio and had very low flexibility in the tendon - couldn't touch the wall when bending my knee very well. (I and had an operation to repair my achillies tendon - that's the tendon that runs at the back of your leg around the calf down to the ankle.)

Mary was very patient and on the first visit allowed me to explain all that had happened. What was of greater value was when she observed my walking, she picked up all the points or movements that I was doing wrong and patiently walked with me infront of a mirror so I could compare my gait to hers and what needed to be adjusted to make things right. In addition, with each visit she prescribed specific exercises to ensure that it targetted specific areas which needed to be worked on to ensure a full recovery and checked that I was doing them properly before I left - answering all my questions in a patient and friendly way.

She also called back quickly when I had a question if I forgot to ask when I visited for treatment - normally within the day or next day.

Every visit, she also ensured that she inspected the tendon and tested it to make sure that I was progressing back to full recovery. She made sure that with each visit the exercises were focused on increasing strength and stamina or flexibility - depending on my progress and the need to be back walking properly again.

It was also great that Mary is a keen skiier and understood what I wanted to do and the path to recovery to enable me to ski again, which I did this year with no pain and lots of stamina!

I rate this place very highly for their professionalism and patience and not focussing on getting you in and out as fast as they can. They are more focussed on getting you up and running instead of getting you in and collecting your money.

So if you ever need to undertake rehab after an injury, head over to OPSMC and ask for Mary!

Approximate cost: $100

If you're seeking Thai Fusion with fusion enough to give your tastebuds a spark, this is the place to go.

We booked a table of 12 persons (they have one table you can book each night) and paid a flat rate of $66 per head. To some this might seem a bit steep, however they pick the highlights of the night based on what's on offer and they make sure that you don't need to visit your local Mc Donald's or souvlaki hut on the way home.

I've been twice now with a table of twelve and under this method, there's no waiting, just walk straight in - especially on a Saturday night.

The dishes on each night were different, although we did order some repeat offenders due to the popularity of the dishes from the first visit.

Some of the dishes guest most liked included
- kingfish with lime sashimi
- wagyu beef pad see yeu
- rendang beef
- wild barramundi in banana leaf
- crab cakes

At each sitting we went through about 12 courses and found all of them had a slight twist (in a tasty way!) on traditional Thai or neighboring countries dishes.

Service as many have experienced was a bit hit and miss, on the first night we had our waitress constantly come back to make sure everything was okay, on the second visit, we found that our waiter disappeared and only came round when our dishes were to be delivered. The way around this was to just flag someone else down and have them attend to us!

Overall whilst the service is average to good, we found the food of a high quality and well balanced for fusing the best of east meets west, or South East Asian meets Aussie flavors head on.

Recommended provided you don't mind the $66 rate, which is actually good value considering all the dishes we received. If you've been before, the best way is to speak to your waiter and ask them about dishes you would like to try and they can help you mix and match depending on your guest's likes and dislikes.

Approximate cost: $66

We took up the deals.com.au offer which promoted Bensons on Martin as the place to enjoy a great Spanish meal of some tapas for entree, paella for main and creme brulee or sticky date pudding for dessert.

The reviews looked good so we thought it was worth a try and we also brought along a friend who is from Spain and has eaten at hundreds of places and has a good idea of what Paella should be.

The venue is nice with lots of space and a light open air feel. The day was warm so our waitress happily obliged and turned on the airconditioning so we were comfortable (it ended up being over 30 degrees outside!).

The service was very quick, unobtrusive and friendly. Our waitress did everything possible to make us feel at ease and ensure that we would enjoy our meal.

So far so good, we thought, this is promising.

Then the entrees arrived. As part of the deals.com.au offer we could select any tapas we liked and we tried four different tapas. The ham and cheese croquettes, the wagyu meatballs and the scallops, followed by garlic prawns. Unfortunately the ham and cheese croquettes turned out to be quite oily, the wagyu meatballs were okay, but not really authentic Spanish Tapas, the scallops had shrunk to miniscule size (too much cooking?) and were a bit rubbery and the garlic prawns were probably the best of the lot which had lots of garlic oil to dip into with some bread and actually had a lot of flavor.

The mains - all paellas - we selected all three on offer, one Vegetarian, one Seafood and one Chicken. Unfortunately the quality of the paella was substandard. When the paella came out, it appeared to have been cooked in a bigger pan and then served in smaller pans. Original Paella is always served in the pans they rice and ingredients are cooked in. Our Spanish guest found that the rice itself was soggy, the base not crispy as real paella should be and there was so much pepper in the seafood one he was rapidly gulping down glass after glass of water. The Chicken paella was found by another diner to be quite salty and the vegetarian was probably the best of the lot? Our Spanish guest thought that the paella must have been reheated because the dishes came out quite quickly and the rice he felt was actually not the proper rice used in paella. In good restaurants, it takes quite some time to cook paella and in the best Spanish restaurants you need to tell them what you want before arriving as they take several hours to let the rice cook just right and the flavors of the ingredients meld into the dish.

When it was time for desserts, we asked the waitress if we would be able to vary the desserts on offer (only the Creme Brulee and Sticky Date pudding were available under the deal, but there was also apple pie and a mousse and a five layer chocolate cake - but the cake wasn't available that day) as we wanted to see if the desserts would make up for the disappointment so far. We said that we would be happy to pay a bit more to cover any difference in cost on the menu. The waitress was very obliging and tried her best to accommodate our request. She returned to advise that the kitchen would allow us to vary the desserts but we could only have three and not four. When we asked for the menu, we found all desserts were the same price! We could not understand why, if the desserts were all the same price that they couldn't meet our request. The waitress explained that it had to do something with the budget for the menu we had chosen. So we decided on three creme brulees and a sticky date pudding to share.

The creme brulees were actually small and unfortunately appears to be made so far in advance that some of the texture and taste had disappeared. The top of the creme brulee was not crunchy like toffee but soft. The creme brulee itself was coffee flavor and more like gluggy cheese and the cream on the side was quite solid (a bit too long in the fridge??). The sticky date pudding however was very good. The pudding was soft and moist and the sauce was warm and sticky and just right. That was the highlight of the meal!

All in all, the past reviews on places like urbanspoon rate the place well. Unfortunately if the deals.com.au menu was intended to be an introduction to the place to highlight their skills in Spanish cuisine, we found that it was unfortunately below par. Our Spanish guest was particulary disappointed with the Paella as that had been billed the highlight of the offer.

I think that the restaurant may be trying hard to attract business however works too hard to too tight a budget which resulted in a decrease in the quality of the food on offer.

Approximate cost: $25

I read the review of the person who located this place and thought I'd give them a try. I was thinking maybe they would solder something back onto my broken frames (I have a bad habit of using one hand to take off my glasses - but do so in the middle of the frame) so I have many pairs that are have the left hand side of the frame broken. Anyway, after sending them off to Framecare, they came back within a week and I took them to my regular optical supplier who advised that the job was a very impressive job. He actually uses Frame Care (Thanks for letting me know after!!) but had never sent a pair that had a broken arm to them because he normally was able to find a way fix the arms by replacing them with a similar arm (One pair I sent up had the arm from another pair of glasses because I couldn't bear to part with the style which I cannot buy anymore). He now knows what the repair is like and said he would start sending them to Frame Care from now on! It's also nice to find a few candies in the box when they returned! So far so good, my friends could not pick the repair when I wear them and it's only when they looked inside the frame the repair can be seen!

I'm very happy and have sent a further three pairs for repair... As soon as I can find the other pairs...

Pricing is reasonable at around $75 for a spring hinge repair and a regular hinge around $55.

Speak with Per/Peter there and he is very patient and understanding!

** Tip to save a bit of money - send more than one pair for repair at a time and pay only one postage fee!

Approximate cost: $75

We went in search of Thai Food - and good Thai Food is hard to come by! This cafe provides Thai Food which is reasonably authentic and of good quality. We ordered fish cakes, pad Thai noodles, rice noodles with veggies and chicken and fried rice with crab meat. All meals tasted good but somehow lacked complete authenticity - maybe missing some fish sauce in some dishes or not a hot enough wok to bring out the flavors. The fish cakes were good and not too spicy with just the right amount of springiness/chewiness to enable some of the chilli and other spices to come through. The pad Thai noodles was missing some sugar (Real Pad Thai always comes with peanuts, dried chillies and sugar on the side) so that you could mix it in with the lime juice to bring out the full flavor of the dish. The rice noodles were as mentioned good but lacked the zing or what is known as "wok hei" in Chinese (I can't remember the Thai Equivalent) which means that the heat of the wok creates a strong charred flavor (not burnt) for the noodles and ensures that the veggies and chicken are cooked for the shortest amount of time possible so that all flavors shine through. The fried rice again was good, and the addition of more crab meat and some fish sauce would have made it taste even better.

Whilst not a five star Thai experience, it is still good value for money and reasonably authentic!

Prices were reasonable at around $11 for each main dish

Approximate cost: $10

A group of 10 of us went to this store to have a break from shopping! Unfortunately at the time this store did not have enough tables so we moved a couple of chairs to a table and sat down. A waiter promptly approached us and said that we couldn't move the chairs around and I said that there wasn't enough tables to put together to fit 10 of us.

The waiter tried to put 10 chairs and a long enough table together however was unable to do so (he only put down 7 chairs and tried to put two square tables and a round one together which did not allow for us all) so we suggested that we would just sit with the three chairs and he said that he couldn't allow it and we would need to speak to the owner.

The owner advised that we couldn't sit there because it would block people coming into the store and she would lose business and it would stop disabled people from entering. However they placed the table directly opposite to us and when someone else eventually sat down there it virtually blocked anyone from entering!

I said that we would probably not order anything more then as we couldn't sit down properly and she said that was fine!!! She did not show any interest in helping us and her expression was one of I don't care! She then ignored us and attended to other people.

I think that the owner of the business could have been a bit more polite and come and work out a table for us properly rather than just standing behind the counter and accusing us of stopping business from coming into her store. When someone finally sat at the table opposite us where she wanted us to sit, the laneway became even narrower and it made it harder for people to enter. Had the tables been moved and she let us put the three chairs next to the table our friends were seated at it would have been much easier for people to access.

It ended up that half of us went to another store whilst half of us stayed because we already had orders. If we had a choice we would have cancelled all our orders and moved elsewhere!

It seems the owner was more interested in getting money from people than ensuring that everyone in the store was comfortable and happy. That's really bad service!!

Approximate cost: $10

I don't always buy frames from a store because sometimes the designs I like are just not available. The problem then is visiting a store who can install lenses at a good price. Previously most stores were not happy to fit lenses to the frames I purchase because the frames are where they make a lot of money.

However when I visited the Lenspro store in Doncaster the people there are really helpful and friendly. They check to see what I am using the glasses for and also do their best to give me a good price for what I need.

I do quite a bit of outdoor sports in Winter (Skiing/Snowboarding) and I can't comfortably wear contact lenses so glasses are my only choice.

The guys there - Arthur and Kristine are both really helpful by working out how thick the lens should be and add multicoats and transition features so that when I'm out in the sun the glasses become like sunglasses and protect my eyes.

Sometimes they have frames that I like and I buy a pair from them as well. My favorites in the store are Safilo. They have a spring back frame so that I can't snap the side. The style that they had was what I am looking for because I don't like the current trend of small style frames. These frames are more like Ray Ban Aviators. However the style was a little big so they managed to modify the frame a little to make it more comfortable by pushing up the bottom half of the frame slightly.

It's the effort that they put into making things suitable and comfortable for you that makes me return again and again to this place. I have been buying from them for around five years now!

Just ask for Arthur or Kristine as they'll be more than happy to help you out!

Approximate cost: $200

Each year around Christmas time and for special occasions I head to this cookie shop to buy gifts for friends and relatives.

They used to have a store in Templestowe but due to the business growing they now operate at a larger factory in Tullamarine.

That's not stopped me going there to buy their cookies because they always taste great and are much more flavorsome than the regular sugar and chemical laden cookies you buy from the supermarket. Ever read the ingredients on the side of a pack of Arnotts biscuits??

Also the fact that they are a real Australian made product owned by Australians makes a great gift for friends going overseas!

There are many types available and I normally buy a large box or jar as a gift and a few smaller packs for myself. The range includes cream style cookies, chocolate chip, yoghurt dipped, yoyos, fruit flavors such as passionfruit and more. One of my favorites is the macadamia and yoghurt dipped cookies.

The service from the lady there is always pleasant and helpful and if you buy a lot (I buy around 10 boxes during Christmas) they do try and do a deal for you like a small box of cookies as a bonus! They also have almond bread and a gluten free range which suits some of my friends who can't take wheat based products.

The cookies however do need to be kept in an airtight jar so when you take them out of a box, to maintain crispness and freshness you need to transfer them to a jar or box with a seal around it.

Approximate cost: $20

This place was one of the first places in Box Hill to offer Asian style breads.

The fact that they are still in existence today speaks of their reputation in the place. Whilst many have come and gone, this place still hangs in there as one of the "early settleers" of Asian food in Box Hill.

Two of the items that stand out in this place for me are the Chinese donuts or crullers - called Yau Jar Kwai or Yao tiao. These are long fried sticks of bread that go well in congee. Most of the time you buy them from here they are cold, so you take them home and heat them in the oven for a bit and dunk the crispy crullers into a smooth bowl of chicken congee to provide texture to the dish.

The other item that is one of my favorites as others have mentioned is the spring onion buns. One of the better ones in Box Hill and not too overloaded with a sugar taste compared to some of the bakeries in Box Hill Central/Whitehorse plaza.

The prices in comparison with other bakeries are reasonable, they are not the cheapest but not the most expensive either.

Approximate cost: $5

Look out Breadtop!

There's a new kid in town and it's spreading fast! Bonbons bakery sells Asian style bakery items as well as coffees and cakes.

There is a large range of baked goods ranging from almond croissants to bonito flake buns, hotdog buns etc etc.

They also have a small range of coffees and iced chocolate drinks.

As with most Asian style bakeries, the breads are sweeter than their European counterparts and softer - so for those used to European style bread items you may find it different.

Overall the quality and service are good. You go in, select what you want, they bag each item for you separately and you can take it away and eat it later or enjoy it there.

When compared with Bread top, the styles and tastes are very similar.

Prices are reasonable with most items around $2-$4 depending on what's in there.

Approximate cost: $3