Degani is a bakery cafe offering an assortment of cakes, breads, pies, sandwiches and foccacias, pies, muffins and a few hot dishes. The quality of the food is good to very good - the filo pastry with spinach and cheese, chicken pies and custard tarts are all tasty and the quality is good. The selection of pies and cakes are very good as is the coffees and teas. Value for money is average - not the cheapest but not the most expensive either.

Approximate cost: $10

Every time I pick up my dry cleaning from other cleaners, I then need to let the clothes hang for a day or two undercover due to the smell of the chemicals used in dry cleaning. This particular cleaner uses a non-toxic chemical, wet process to clean your suits and dresses. That means that when you get the clothes back it doesn't smell like it came from a nuclear waste factory and you can wear them immediately. The price for the service is not the cheapest at $18.95 for three garments however that's outweighed by the fact that there's no chemical smell and I don't get a reaction on my skin to the chemicals like that of other dry cleaners. Service is a bit slow however they advised it's due to the Christmas rush and normally the turnaround time is a day. They have another store in Port Melbourne and can do free pickup and delivery to certain areas.

Approximate cost: $19

Despite the deluge of Japanese restaurants in Melbourne, Koko still manages to pull a few suprises with great traditional Japanese food and a few fusion dishes. Food quality is consistently high with fresh and tasty offerings. The best value is probably found during lunch time with their a la carte style fixed priced menu with an entree, main and dessert for around $35 per head. Try the salmon skin and spicy tuna sushi rolls (spicy tuna not mentioned on menu). Tempura is light and not oily, scallops still in their shells with the right hint flavour from a miso cream. If they have the rice with crumbed chicken fillet available (chicken katsudon) it is recommended as the serve is very generous in size. Also recommended is the unagi (eel) with rice. Desserts run to Japanese ice cream and mochi.

A bonus is that if it's someone's birthday, they will prepare a birthday cake free of charge for the birthday boy or girl!

Service can be a bit slow or unattentive depending on where you are seated however once called they do work quickly.

Approximate cost: $35

We have had several issues with our Ford Territory and decided to purchase the extended warranty. They happily took our money and did not send us any details and incorrectly explained that the warranty is exactly the same as our original warranty. This however is not the case and every time we have been with a warranty issue some "excuse" has been made not to do the work under warranty. We have paid for these matters to be fixed and only then is the matter fixed.

They also wasted our time when we went to see them about fixing an issue with a door. We asked them whether it can be fixed and they said sure book it in and when we returned on the day of the booking they said that the fault was intermittent and we could go ahead and pay for the repair however they couldn't be sure that it would be fixed. If they were not sure, why book us in to visit on another day in the first place?? This was the case with a similar repair issue whereby a fan was noisy and we paid for them to repair the fan and then it still was noisy until they said to replace the entire unit. This meant two trips as well. The "service" department totally lacks service!

Approximate cost: $500

Everytime a TV or video or other electronic device goes which is either Sony or Panasonic I take it to Hivid. The last time I took a TV to them for repair everything was handled in an efficient and friendly manner. They even managed to obtain parts for my VCR which was more than 15 years old. When they repair things there, they stay repaired and it's not endless returns back to the shop. If there is a problem, they will warn you about its repair and potential other problems which happened with an old CD player - they advised that the laser needed replacing however the cost was more than buying a new one so it may be better to just throw it out.

Visiting Raffles Place on a Sunday early we thought we'd try the chicken rice which has been given such high praise. Unfortunately our expectations of good chicken rice were not met which was most disappointing given the rave reviews from friends and family. The chicken lacked any real flavour as did the rice that went along with it. The taste of the chicken was plain, no aroma - it was more of something you made yourself at home in a hurry and the rice was lukewarm. It may just be that we picked a bad day however inconsistency for a restaurant is no excuse. The Lobak ordered was much better, almost like back in Singapore however was also not very hot when it arrived. The same problem happened with the carrot cake - the outside was hot but the inside cold and we had to send it back to be heated so the inside of the carrot cake pieces could be heated. Overall a very disappointing experience for above average prices at comparable venues. As mentioned by others, service is poor with only three tables occupied at middday yet we had to either constantly flag down the waitress or just go and get things by ourselves (eg spoon, chilli sauce etc). "No lah, we not get Singapore Hawker real taste lah".

Approximate cost: $12

I had a very sick fish and was willing to travel half way across town to visit these guys because they spent so much time helping me via email. Replies to queries were very fast and helpful. Steve answered questions and also referred me to a fish pet shop closer to me that provided good service/help too. It's great to talk to people that are genuinely interested in helping people out than after a quick buck.

Approximate cost: $nil!

People at Pellegrino travel are very helpful and knowledgeable on about almost anything related to travel. If you want to go there, they've most likely been! Whilst I don't buy tickets from them every time (frequent flyer trips they can't help with!), the people there, especially Gus are always willing to offer advice/help. For example, on a recent trip to NZ I asked about purchasing travel insurance more in case we got sick to which we were advised that NZ has reciprocal medical with Australia so there was really no need to have health travel insurance. That meant that they didn't get a sale however I know that next time I need to buy a trip I can trust them to look after me.

Approximate cost: $varies

Doyles is an institution in seafood restaurants and has been around for 100 years. The beach restaurant is the flagship of all the Doyles restaurants. With great views of Sydney Harbour from Watsons bay; you will enjoy the freshest of seafood ranging from fish (John Dory, Snapper, Whiting Barramundi etc) to oysters, lobster, crabs etc all cooked fresh and of very high quality. If you order the fish and chips (Barramundi etc) and are still hungry afterwards they offer a second helping of a different fish free. Doyles signature dish is its fisherman's platter which is made up of the best of the day's catch. Only one problem here, they don't take American Express!

Approximate cost: $35

Need some ski equipment? Head down to Skiman in Hawthorn. They've a huge range of clothes, boots, skis and boards to enjoy the snow in the Winter. Twice yearly sales (once before season) and once towards the end of the season ensure some great buying. The staff there are very knowledgeable about all aspects of skiing and Bob travels overseas regularly to visit various resorts and try equipment. Once you've got your equipment, the guys there can service it for you too and prices are reasonable. Car parking is available at rear if the front of the store is full.

Approximate cost: $variable