Tucked away at the back of the GPO building is a small Japanese eatery that specializes in noodles and bento.

When my brother first suggested this I thought okay, for $10 a bento box or noodles it seems like a real cheap way to enjoy Japanese.

I was surprised when we got there to find that the menu is quite extensive and tasty.

My brother had the gyoza ramen which seemed a little odd to me - sounded more like won-tons in soup, and I opted for the bento box with teriyaki chicken.

What I found was that the servings sizes for what you paid was generous and enough to fill us up and along with a side of Gyoza (6 pieces for $6.50) it made a very satisfying and tasty meal.

My bento box came with rice, salad, two gyozas and a serve of Chicken Teriyaki which was tasty and as mentioned for $10 you really couldn't go wrong. I ended up going back a few times to do takeaway and found the sukiyaki bento and chicken katsu bento also very good.

The menu represents great value for money in a place that is busy at lunchtimes but a little quieter at dinner with just the right amount of service and attention.

Approximate cost: $10

A group of us decided to try somewhere different and for me it meant a trek half way across town (I'm in the East). So I was hoping it would be good! We caught up at the Brown Cow for a late breakfast which ended up turning into a sort of brunch.

The place is near a train station and that Sunday morning there were a heap of cyclists that had stopped by this place to have a break. Most of the seats were taken outside which was actually fine because inside was reasonably empty when we arrived and there was ample room to seat our group.

While we were waiting for the others to arrive (some got lost!!) the waitresses were a bit pushy and kept coming up to our table every 5 minutes wondering when we were going to order. To stop this we ended up ordering a few drinks whilst waiting for the others to arrive.

Most of us ordered a big breakfast or a brunch style item which consisted of eggs, bacon, toast, sausages, tomato etc for the big breakfast or for those not wanting that a large foccacia - in my case salmon with eggs benedict.

The serving sizes were good and enough to keep everyone filled for the morning and the coffees and hot chocolates were a good size.

The quality and taste of the dishes are in line with most other places and good quality. Whilst it's much better than say a breakfast at Ikea, you couldn't go past Ikea because the breakfast of eggs, mushroom, tomato, hashbrown is around $2! This place was $19 for the big breakfast. My eggs Benedict with salmon was a good size and the taste was good. The eggs were not overdone and the salmon just lightly warmed so that you don't ruin the taste of warm eggs with ice cold salmon!

There are also healthy alternatives, such as Bircher muesli (one of my friends is a fan of it, but I can't get past how awful it looks!!) and plain eggs or porridge.

Overall a good place to meet and chat, so long as you order something to keep the waitresses at bay!

Approximate cost: $18

Yet another Yum Cha place in a very crowded market in Melbourne!

The concept sounded intriguing as the restaurant is located within a gaming area of the casino so theoretically you could order from the place and go sit down and play a round of baccarat... well not quite!

We went there expecting that because it's in Crown there should be a good range of dim sum and a good range of other items.

Unfortunately the range is very very limited compared to your normal Yum Cha place - around 35-40 offerings and most of them stock standard dim sum like har gao, siu mai, bbq pork buns and a few noodle or rice dishes.

The servings for dim sum are what you'd expect as from any other place, they are good but not giving any reason for us to say it is great or exciting. The noodle serving sizes are small by comparison to other places and when reviewed in line with the prices charged it seems a bit too high.

For example, a plate of eight "pot stickers" or pan fried pork dumplings runs at $13.50. I can get that in Box Hill for at least half the price, or even around the city at many other venues you won't pay that much for eight. And the size was not very large for each piece. With the noodles like Jia Jiang Mian (Shanghai noodles with mince meat sauce) $12.50 gets you just enough for one person, but leaves you thinking was that all there was to the dish?

Overall, the dim sum is good and the noodles are good, they just need to bump up the size a bit more and it will be more in line with other restaurants.

And before you think of taking the kids along, no they can't go because it's in the gaming area of the casino!

Approximate cost: $12

I never realised how hard it is to find a pair of crutches in a hurry!

However the people at Statewide Home Health Care provide a rental service for crutches and other home assisting aids to help you move about whilst you recover from your injury.

They have an agent in the hospital I was at which was good as they size the crutches for you and then help you learn how to use them including moving about up and down stairs. (Which for me was pretty scary coming down a flight of stairs on crutches!!)

The prices for rental are not too bad at $10 per week and there is an option if you need them for longer you can just buy them outright. You don't need to decide immediately and can let them know within the first two weeks.

The other good thing is that at the end of the two week period if you have finished with them, they will arrange to come and pick them up from you so if you don't live near Brighton (their showroom) you don't have to travel half way across town.

The quality of the equipment is good, nothing above what you would get elsewhere. So I couldn't give it a higher rating.

Approximate cost: $20

This medical centre has been our family doctors pretty much since we were kids. That was when the Father Dr Mahendra Patel operated the place with just the receptionist Gayle. Now his two sons are running the place the practice is even busier than ever - a testament to the good service and care taken by the two sons and there are a few assistants.

The good thing is that you don't need to book, you just go down there and they will attend to you asap. They say that lunch is between 1 to 2pm, however if it is urgent or there is something that needs attention, they are dedicated and will see you during their lunch break.

They will also do everything they can to help you if you need other scans/x-rays etc by arranging bulk billing where possible and also be upfront if there is a problem. Recently I had an injury in my leg and there were two options, one for natural healing and one for surgery. The least painful way was of course natural healing but Dr Satish Patel advised against it given my active sports lifestyle and said "I wouldn't be doing the right thing by you if I suggested that you let it heal on its own". Whilst I am not a fan of visiting the hospital or having operations, at least he took the time to explain to me fully why I should have an operation on the leg.

The practice normally bulk bills you if you have a medicare card, however if you don't have one it is around $50.

Highly recommended.

A few months ago I had someone run into my car and when I went to my insurer they wanted to send me back to a repairer that caused a lot of trouble. Originally last time I agreed because F1 was not authorised by my insurer however after the disaster caused by the repairer recommended by the insurer this time I insisted on using F1 as they have repaired many friend's cars. What I have found is that they do a very good job and do everything to make sure that you are happy with what has been done. Their prices are not the cheapest, but the quality of the work and the assurance they give you ensure that you will have no problems later.

Okay, so you've decided on Asian tonight (or even may be lunch??) and you're really not sure which type? Or is everyone suggesting something different?

Well there's an answer for that in Box Hill!

Food Republik is a group of restaurants set up similar to a hawker centre where you can happily satsify almost everyone with a choice of Shanghai, Taiwan, Vegetarian, Bento style, Asian desserts and more.

The value for money equation is met well with most entree style items between $5 to $10 and mains or bento style dishes around $12. Servings are good to generous and taste is good to very good for what you pay.

My favorites include the bento box with crumbed prawns with tomato mayo. This consists of a bowl of rice, some veggies, around six prawns, mayo, fried egg, and a few other bits and pieces to make a satisfying meal for around $12.

The xiao loong bao has a crab meat option (not easy to find in most xiao loong bao places), whilst only a hint of crab, it still is good value.

Ordering is done by several menus provided to you when you sit down, and there's a paper order form and pen for you to fill out what you want. If you want to make some changes to the menu item, make sure you write it down and tell the waiter/waitress so that they know otherwise sometimes they don't see the notes.

Service is good to fast and efficient and as each dish arrives they cross it off on the bill that sits on your table. When you've finished just head to the cashier and pay. (Note, cash only)

The place does not take bookings so you will need to line up if it is busy, however when it comes to giving a range/choice, this is sure to satisfy almost everyone!

Overall for value for money and good quality dishes with reasonable flavors and great choices, this is one place to go when you're undecided!

Approximate cost: $12

This place is somewhere that I have been going for many years. I am a fan of the paper sponge cakes which can be purchased from many Chinese style bakeries, but they are one of the better ones. The sponge is light and golden inside and very light, providing just the right texture as you bite into them and it begins to melt in your mouth. Value wise it is around the same price as other stores. Box Hill is very competitive with around 10 to 15 Chinese/Asian bakers nearby.

Approximate cost: $2

This place I took a friend because it's their favorite place to dine and they like the flavors.

Penang Coffee House is a simply presented cafe with basic tables and chairs that you would find in a hawker center and plain monotone colored walls.

The emphasis is on the food and taste, rather than the dining room decor and lighting.

I was a little frustrated because the waitress did come over three times to ask if we would be ready to order else despite the fact that we had only arrived 10 minutes before and had very little time to glance at the menu. We were trying to catch up on some news and as it was their birthday I wanted to give them a present and let them know that the others who couldn't make it gave their best wishes.

When our order was taken, the food unfortunately had not been co-ordinated well. My friend's dish arrived first and my dish arrived some 20 minutes later. We couldn't understand why mine arrived so late given that their dish was char kuay teow noodles that needed to be fried and mixed/wok tossed wheras my dish - chicken rice really only needed to come out of the rice cooker and the chicken which is normally pre prepared cut and put on a plate with the soup that accompanies it coming from a pot.

I think it was then our turn to ask the waitress constantly where was my dish??!!

The style of hawker cooking is very distinct and not like other places. They claim that their taste is the true Penang style of cooking, but some will find the taste more acquired than being authentic.

I found my friend's Char kuay teow a bit spicier and stronger than other places and the Chicken rice that I had was okay, but very subtle in flavor and the chicken flavor did not shine through in the rice which is normally cooked with a chicken stock so that the flavor melds into the rice. That said, the taste and flavors are acceptable but nothing to write home about.

We also ordered Lobak which has sausage style meat wrapped in tofu skin with spices and tofu accompanying and it was again good but not exciting.

Price wise the dishes are marginally higher than you would find elsewhere.

Overall, the place has a good selection and is average value for money. There are better places now to enjoy hawker style foods and you don't need to pay a premium to enjoy them elsewhere.

Approximate cost: $13

A friend suggested this place as a great way to start the morning and have a catch up on things that happened during the week.

I thought, okay, let's give it a try. So the morning I went there was a Saturday and it was moderately busy at about 8am. The menu for breakfast was quite extensive with everything from basic toast to a full blown breakfast with pretty much everything (think sausages, eggs any way, bacon, mushroom, Dench's toast etc). I ended up having the Eggs benedict and a hot chocolate. The waitress was friendly and took our order and about 20 minutes later the breakfast arrived. However when we wanted something a bit more it took a little while to flag down the waitress - maybe because we were seated at the back? I found the location we sat at (almost at the very rear of the place) was a bit cold as there is a door that leads out to the back and for some strange reason the air-conditioner wasn't sending warm air through (it was around 12 degrees that morning). This meant that whilst my breakfast arrived warm, it had to be eaten quickly otherwise it would go cold. I found that the eggs benedict was good, however the ham that went along with it was a bit cold and a bit rubbery. The eggs, muffin etc were fine. The hot chocolate arrived with a marshmallow and some coco topping with froth and a good size to last the breakfast. My friend had Bircher muesli, which others have said is good but I would not know given that to me that type of muesli looks like something the cat threw up in the morning...!!! Although they said it is very good!

Overall the place is good for a catch up and breakfast with small cafe retro style decor, (wall paper and white wooden panels, some recycled bits and pieces for interest), friendly staff who are for the most part quite attending and reasonable prices.

Approximate cost: $16