Went with a group of friends for dinner last night, fantastic food! The menu did not have quite as much variety as you'd find in Chinatown, but for a westernised Chinese restaurant, there was still a fantastic variety. I loved the salty fried calamari, and my friends greatly enjoyed the duck.

The staff were incredibly attentive, refilling our water glasses and clearing dishes for us often. The meal itself was slightly expensive - most mains were at least $19 - but for a good, filling dinner it was definitely worth it.

Approximate cost: $19-$26

I go here on Monday nights for their trivia, hosted by the completely nonpretentious and cheerful Adrian. The bar staff are all personable, and Mark is a character, with his dead serious love of the 70s rock band Slade! Drinks are reasonably priced, though the house bourbon tends to be rubbish, and the pub itself is a cosy hole in the wall with a newly-surfaced pool table and a stage right in front of the bar. A simple pub, good for a quiet drink with friends.

Minotaur might be quite good for books, merch and DVDs, but if you want comics, there's only one realistic choice for the Melbourne CBD: Comics R Us.

The staff is way friendlier than at any other comic shop in Melbourne, and they know their stock inside and out. They are also awesome when it comes to recommendations, and their pricing is great too!

Approximate cost: $10-$30

Had takeaway from here on the recommendations of my brother who eats here often on his work lunches... the panang was delicious, as was the pad see ew! They also gave a HUGE bag of prawn crackers for free which was quite nice of them. Definitely will go here again.

Approximate cost: $15

My favourite local takeaway joint - I live closer to the Karingal Drive shops which have two decent fish and chip shops, but I always drive the bit extra to go to Pacific. Their potato cakes and flake are crunchier, they always throw in a bit extra on the orders, and it is always DELICIOUS. My only drawback is the cost, but to be honest, I love the food so much that I will spend $15-$20 there for a really good dinner.

Admittedly my mum thinks the food is a bit too greasy, but I disagree - and whenever she says she is ducking down to the fish and chip shop I always try and convince her to go to Pacific! :)

Approximate cost: $10-$15

Needless to say I'd heard a lot about Misty's - I knew that it was WOMOW's highest reviewed business, and friends had been and loved it. So some mates and I resolved to try them out and we went there for a 6pm Sunday night reservation.

"Diner" is a misnomer, it's more of a restaurant themed around 50s diner food. The menu is huge and most of the food is roughly $8-12, including most entrees and deserts. This was good value for great-looking food, and my only complaint there is that the many dishes sound so good that it's hard to decide - and the easiest option is to try a bit of everything, which I found tough on the budget! That said for roughly $40 I had an entree, two small mains, dessert and a delicious thick shake, and was thoroughly full at the end, so I would still say that Misty's has great value.

We went during a busy time, and the place was buzzing with clients but we didn't have to shout to hear ourselves speak. The staff were friendly, including our waiter Rock H (all the waiters appeared to have film star nom de guerres) who had a laugh with us and remembered some of my friends from a previous visit - he even remembered what they had ordered!

Later on Misty herself came for a chat and it is safe to say that she had one of the friendliest and most engaging personalities of anyone I've ever met in hospitality; she actually pulled up a chair, sat down at our booth and had a chat with us about the desserts on the menu, describing each one in amusingly extravagant terms.

The food itself covers a wide variety of North American cuisine, with dozens of variations on American staples like pie, hot dogs and burgers alongside many other options such as gourmet sandwiches, parmas, meat platters, and a whole range of Mexican dishes. It is the first time in a while that I have felt spoiled for choice! You could even buy lots of American candy, soft drink and chips to take home.

All in all we had a really good meal at Misty's and every one of my friends agreed to come back again soon. Best wishes to Misty on running a fantastic restaurant and I'm glad to see how high your ratings have been on this web site!

Approximate cost: $15

I've seen these guys play a few times now and been involved as a promoter for a NYE show where we hired British Steel, and wow what a powerhouse!

This is probably Australia's best heavy metal cover band, as many of the members are from the well-known heavy metal cover band '79 Revisited, so they really know their classics. On NYE they did two full sets and then a 15-minute encore as the crowd was so revved up!

Josef Stanley is a savvy and entertaining frontman, and the band itself is both professional and theatrical - they bring a majority of their own gear including lighting rigs, banner, even a motorcycle to ride up on stage. If you love Judas Priest, or just hard rock in general, book these guys and you won't regret it.

Shopped around when looking to book a flight to Germany... Josh at the Student Flights store in Chadstone was extremely helpful in finding the best deal, explaining all the details necessary in travelling to and within Europe, and acting as a personal liaison in making sure our preparations go smoothly in the lead-up to our trip. Would definitely contact the same office again when planning any future international travel!