I went here for lunch with a friend and found the service to be friendly and quick and the food good for Chadstone ( which can be a bit of a wasteland for good eating). We tried a few different types of dumplings between us and a few teas. I enjoyed the Shu Mai dumplings and drank a White tea. This is a great place to drop into after or before shopping at Chadstone as it is pretty quick and can be healthy depending on your food and drink choices, plus has reasonable prices.

There are still not enough decent places to eat when you go to Chadstone and this place certainly looks very cool and impressive with places to sit outside, comfy couches and large tables plus high stools at tables, so lots of seating. It sells homewares at the front of the shop which I haven't bought before. I have taken the kids in here a few times in the holidays and usually nearly drop dead at the prices but we have enjoyed the cakes and sandwiches, especially the cute cupcakes. Their system seems to work OK, you order at the counter and pay and they bring it over, but coffee is ordered and picked up at a separate counter. The coffee is alright but kids usually have hot chocolates. I liked the chicken and celery sandwich a lot, will copy that one at home!

We went there with some kids in the school holidays it was pretty busy, but we managed to snaffle an outside table which was handy as it was probably more relaxed than inside. The lunch boxes took a while to make and were pretty pricey , but we knew that to begin with so that was fine. While quantities were small,it was quite reasonable for kids and the kids with us enjoyed the lovely presentation and the quite special and interesting food they could try. Staff were quite pleasant and friendly so maybe we were lucky that day. We had our own water bottles and since we were sitting outside somehow got away with using them which was handy. It is a lovely place to take kids for the gardens, sculptures and museum exhibits but probably a picnic is more realistic and leave this very nice cafe for a meeting with adult friends.

Needed some art stuff for art crazy kids but all the art shops seemed pretty expensive, so I asked someone I know who studies art where she buys things and this shop was her answer. I would never had known it existed but I think all the art student in Melbourne probably know. Prices are reasonable and the range and quality are great. It is apparently a family run business which has been around for a while. So if you can actually find this little lane and you need some art materials it is definitely worth a visit, we picked up special notebooks, soft pastels and unusual pencils at relatively good prices.

If you want the best quality sashimi and sushi in Melbourne this is the place to come. Run by a Japanese owner who will only buy the freshest fish you will be guaranteed to eat well. They have a small sushi bar where you can eat in or you can get the owner to slice fish for you, or buy small quantities of different types of sashimi, sushi and a range of frozen Japanese food and Japanese groceries plus some pretty good wagyu beef. Check the hours before you go as they are often only open from 12-5, but it is worth it! Also better to get there near opening if you want the best as it goes quickly, people know it is great quality!

We were passing by and looking for lunch. An amazing array of cakes in the windows stopped us in our tracks and my daughter was all over the window. No choice, we had to stop for lunch! Not only did the cakes look amazing, they taste just as good. We also had gorgeous sandwiches, salmon, cucumber and dill, club sandwiches, poached chicken avocado and bacon, they were sooo yummy. The service was friendly and fast and the drinks were also good, between us we had chai with soy milk, peppermint tea, chocolate milkshake and a blood orange mineral water, so we sampled quite a few. Overall we loved this place and will definitely be going back,preferably with our mums, it is just that kind of an old-fashioned and genteel kind of place.

This is a really interesting looking icecream shop as along the back wall it has pictures of all the flavors, but you can't actually look in and see the icecream like you normally can as the icecream fridge is along the back wall, so it felt a bit strange even thought the design looks very effective and eye-catching. Of course there are heaps of flavors and the kids got excited, it is mostly hot in Port Douglas so you always feel like an icecream. We sampled the pistachio and hokey pokey flavors which were declared to be fantastic! The waffle cones were yum and service was cheery, what more do you want from an icecream shop?

We visited this shop whilst staying in Port Douglas. It is the only place to go for a wider range of tropical fruit and vegetables than you can find in the only supermarket, plus a nice range of health and gourmet foods. It is behind the large Coles one block back from Macrossan street so not so obvious but not hard to find if you walk behind the main street. However it has very distinctive black and orange signage and the shop itself looks beautiful inside. Service was friendly and prices were not that cheap, but high quality food is worth paying a bit more for I think. Highly recommended if you are in a self-catering apartment as even though the restaurants in Port are great, sometimes it is good to eat at home.

I'm always a sucker for a great bookshop, especially an independent one, if we don't buy there they may disappear. So when I was on holiday in Port Douglas, coming across this excellently stocked bookshop, which is also a cafe with great coffee, was like finding paradise for me! It is a cute shop full of all the latest books with the cafe tables both outside on the bustling main st of Port Douglas, and inside actually amongst the books. It always looked busy when we passed (which is a good sign) and I loved the selection of books. I was tempted to buy many for me but ended up purchasing one for a fussy teen ( who had a nice range to choose from) and another for a younger child who happily chose one quickly from a wide range. The coffee was very good and service relaxed and friendly. Kind of had me wishing I lived much much closer, go there when you visit!

This is obviously a small family run business which looks like it is new in Port Douglas. We were there on holiday and bought meat there a few times for BBQs and it was excellent quality. They clearly have a passion for providing very high quality meat and the shop is the nicest looking butcher's I've seen!