A very hip little diner tucked away in a disused alley, run from a disused caravan with a whole lot of quirk. The girls running the show are passionate about their stuff and turn out great food with an appreciable knowledge of good beer (though they could expand the range a tad). On initial perusal of the menu, I had my doubts. It sounded a bit too greeny/alternate/not-me type food but at least meat was mentioned so I tried the top item on the menu, Pulled Pork Roll - a nice juicy and flavorful experience. I came back the next day and picked the next item down the menu, Vegetable Frittata. I didn't expect it to arrive in the same style roll as the Pork Roll but it works well. Looking forward to my next visit, probably next week as I got strange looks when I suggested maybe a 3rd day in a row.

Approximate cost: $10

These guys make the BEST burgers, quality is on par with a burger joint that was legend on Beach Road back in the 90's. These burgers are worthy of a road trip out of your way. The other fish and chip type fare tends to be not so fresh and tastes overcooked/crisped...sometimes it's okay, but it's hit and miss...but we haven't had a sub-perfect burger yet.

Approximate cost: $5.50

We had a gathering in Apex Park and this was the closest food outlet, and you think "ah well, it will do"...but one of the locals said it was pretty special so we went for it. The specials seem to steer you towards whatever they have plenty of, but I wanted Flake and some dim sims. They did a Flake pack for $8.50 which is pretty good value comparatively to anywhere else and dim sims at 90c each so I bought two packs and 4 dimmies. The flake is heavenly, so perfectly cooked and the batter was very light, crispy and tasty and the dimmies came out sensationally also - I could have kept going on those - don't think I could imagine better quality unless you start looking at those South Melbourne icons. The chips I think let them down - they were over-oily and they were a bit tight-fisted with the serviettes.

I'm sure these guys are known as South Road Motors. Anyway, no matter what I need, these guys either have it on hand most of the time or will have it to me within a day or two. I found their prices were also better than the famous East Coast Autospares on North Road (now a Repco). Last time Nissan replaced an alternator for me it was $1000+, next time it went I asked how much just to buy the alternator ($600)...these guys got me one within a day and let me compare the one I was replacing with the one they had sourced to make sure it was a perfect match (it was) and it only cost me $220. They love to talk too!

I love the position of this shop. I was riding home the other day and knew my tyre was at the end of its life but thought it would be OK for another week or so...but in the end I had 3 punctures between the CBD and this shop so I stopped and bought a tyre and tube. The service was super friendly and helpful and he didn't mind me fitting the new goodies in the shop and even pumped the tyre up for me. Great service!

This used to be Jolly J's but is now a chinese food joint called Kim Sing (though most people don't even know the name!). It's in this little arcade that runs between Flinders Street and Flinders Lane and right near Young & Jacksons. The food is plentiful and pretty much everything on their menu is $6.

Their signature dish is "Chicken Steak" which is sort of like two large hot and spicy fillets from KFC. If you sit and watch the dishes coming out, probably 80% of them are this dish. I found it a little dry for my taste...needs more sauce...or choose the fried rice option (extra 60 cents I think). I also had the Satay Chicken with Veg and Steam Rice...that was much better in my opinion, but they have so many dishes to choose from I can see myself experimenting here for quite some time and saving myself a packet on lunch!

I haven't seen anything this cheap with this much meat in it anywhere in town! And with tables inside the restaurant AND outside in the arcade AND in another shop across the other side of the arcade - it's people everywhere - but the food comes FAST! Try and find a seat!

Approximate cost: $6

Hidden back off the main drag it's easy to not find this place but it is large, well kept and the coffee was sensational (and I'm a cyclist and really know good coffee). Our coffee was made by the girl with the blue hair. The coffee came really quickly but quality was not compromised. Now I know where to come stop for coffee on my rides out to Kinglake (notwithstanding the cafés up a kinglake of course!)

We also got a couple of free donuts because we showed them this new app on my smartphone that manages my coffee cards. They are all wonderful people here - which made it all the more special. The toilet is also worth mentioning. .. it is almost like being at a friend's house!

I bought a Samsung Wi-Fi airconditioner from Appliance Central (who don't offer install anymore). Ezy Air make almost every other tradie I've dealt with seem like a pack of amateurs. The quoting and booking system is so easy, the communication around my installation date was great, they arrived on time, removed the old unit easily (there was some Optus stuff on the outside wall but they were able to easily work around that), cleaned up the mess, showed me how the remote worked and were gone in a little over 3 hours. These guys know their stuff. If I need another aircon installed...it's these guys only. If a friend needs an install...they will be using these guys too.

Approximate cost: $650

ordered the sashimi and the tempura scallops. For dishes that were $22 each, the sashimi worked out at about $2 per slice and there were only 3 scallops and the rest were vegetables. The quality was faultless, however the value is simply not competitive enough for my liking.

Approximate cost: $22

I stumbled across Cecilia giving relaxation massages at a cyclists cafe up in Kinglake. I had recently been involved in a bicycle/car accident and was having difficulty sleeping on my right side so she had a look at my right shoulder and with a few well-placed tweaks and a soft touch almost like an adept safecracker, something snapped back into place and no issues from then on.