We recently built our holiday home with Latitude 37 builders. We had an amazing experience. Honestly I can't say a bad word about them. From the first step of meeting with the designers to the reception staff and our really great project manager we could not have been looked after any better.
If there was a problem it was sorted out quickly and efficiently with no nonsense. We would definitely not hesitate to build with them again if we go down that path one day. Thanks Latitude.

We had breakfast with friends at Kamel on the weekend. It's a very small place and we took our two kids along, luckily we got the bench seat along the window because there isn't a lot of room for high chairs. The staff were overall quite friendly, the only problem was that the eggs on toast we ordered for the kids came about 5 mins after everyone elses meals. Those with kids will know this is not a good thing, the staff knew we were ordering it for kids so they should have prioritised those meals. Also some of the other meals at the table were much fancier than two fried eggs on toast so there was no reason they should have taken longer. There are certainly better places to go for breakfast.

Approximate cost: $15

We ate at Sapore with some friends last night. They recommended it having been there a few times before. The restaurant has a cosy, classy and modern feel and has recently been renovated. We all ordered the Eye Fillet steak as a main course and were very impressed with it. It had a great crust on the outside but was perfectly cooked inside (medium) and had a very minimalist chopped mushroom topping.

We also ordered some sides to share starting with a rocket & parmesan salad it amazes me how restaurants get away with charging $8+ for a bit of lettuce and some shavings of parmesan but I guess people like us keep buying it!. We also had truffle mashed potato with was fantastic, with just enough truffle so it wasn't overpowering.

Approximate cost: $35

Signorino is an upmarket "Tile Gallery" in Richmond. They only stock expensive tiles and have a fancy looking showroom. We purchased 175sqm of a very expensive porcelain tile to lay outdoors and around a pool. We clearly explained to the people at Signorino that they were being laid around a pool and were told these tiles were perfect for the job and they didn't even need to be sealed.

The tiles look great and being porcelain will continue to look great for many years to come, the problem is that porcelain is completely non-porous (which is why they don't need sealing). What does this mean? Water is not absorbed whatsoever and walking on the tiles even when they are only slightly wet is like walking on ice. You literally aquaplane, which as you can imagine is extremely dangerous around a pool area. Even when the kids are walking slowly it's dangerous.

Therefore we now have to get the tiles "etched" using a chemical wash that will open the pores of the porcelain up. Not only is this going to cost $2,000 but we then need to get them sealed because the etching process will allow dirt to get trapped in the tile!! Not happy Signorino!

Approximate cost: $17,000

I have been here twice now and I must say i think the pizza was better the first time. The Garden salad with fetta is really good. Service is ok, nothing to rave about but very pleasant. Pricing for the small pizza's is around $10 and they are really big, more like a large size somewhere else.

Approximate cost: $10

Dairy Bell is one of those businesses that just hasn't kept up with the times. There are infinately more options for high-quality Ice-cream/Gelati these days yet Dairy Bell is still selling the same products as 20 years ago. We had dinner at a nice restaurant in Docklands and went to this outlet for some dessert. The range of options was very poor and the flavours didn't look particularly enticing. The girl behind the counter talked us into trying the Choctops, which looked exactly like the ones you get at the movies and unfortunately tasted like the ones you get at the movies. Definately not acceptable for the prices they are charging.

We were really annoyed because we'd had a great dinner at The Steakhouse and then on the way back to the car we walked past a new Gelato Bar that had amazing looking "home-made" style Gelato and we were eating our trashy icey Dairy Bell!

Approximate cost: $5

This is a great combination of a Nursery and Cafe. I went to Gills on the weekend looking for ideas for our backyard and lady I spoke to was really helpful. She spent a lot of time with me going through different options. For a relatively small nursery they do have a big range of plants but you do pay for the location.

We discovered this nursery about 5 years ago when it was really cheap. As it's getting more popular they are putting their prices up but it is still pretty cheap compared to the bigger nurseries. They've got a great variety of all plants from succulents to climbers to fruit trees. They even let you exchange plants if you get them home and realise it's not exactly what you want/need.

We found this place on WOMOW and thought we'd give it a try for some takeaway instead of our usual local Thai place. It just shows how useful WOMOW is because I've driven past this place heaps of times and never ever noticed it. The food was really good and rivals many of the more expensive Thai places in the area. The peanut sauce on the chicken satays was great, the Basil & Garlic chicken was great, and one of my all time favourite dishes, the Thai Beef Salad was also very nice.

Approximate cost: $10

We have been going to Georges for years but it seems that recently they are going through an identity crisis. The menu keeps changing and usually for the worse. I used to love their Tuna Salad which was expensive at $18 but worth it because it was huge and very tasty. They no longer offer this salad and have dramatically reduced the number of items on their menu.

Approximate cost: $20