My personal trainer suggested I see a physio for my lower and upper back pain before I started training. I found SSPC through my private health insurer as they were one of their preferred providers.

I was booked in to see Brendan, who was very professional and diagnosed my lower back problems quickly and correctly during my first session. He used remedial massage which gave me some instant relief. He also gave me exercises to do at home every day. They have helped keep the pain away long term.

I then saw Brendan again to look at my upper back. Again, he diagnosed me correctly and his remedial massage techniques provided me with instant relief. All of the exercises he has given me have also helped keep the pain away.

With the instant private health care rebate, my sessions both cost under $20 each.

While I hope I will have no need to go back, I certainly wouldn't hesitate to return if necessary.

My husband and I popped into Elefant Lounge Cafe for a quick lunch last weekend. We found the staff to be friendly and attentive from the minute we walked in. The atmosphere was relaxed and the decor is quite funky.

I ordered a steak sandwich and my husband had a BLT. We also had drinks and then coffees after our meal. The speed of service was quite good considering how busy it was when we arrived. We liked our meals but both agreed that there was something missing. Both sandwiches were a bit bland; they needed something to give them a bit of zing, maybe a different kind of sauce or something.

We also thought that, at $17 a pop, they could at least have come with some sides or something, not just the sandwich.

Overall, great service, but the quality and value for money could definitely be improved upon.

It's really hard to find a good hairdresser these days, so I'm REALLY glad that I found Cesare after reading a great review on WOMOW! I gave him a call to make a booking and I found him to be friendly and knowledgable even from our first conversation. I was finally excited about going to the hairdresser!

I've always been somewhat unhappy with the condition of my hair but after my first visit, Cesare worked his magic. He sat down and consulted with me about my hair and scalp health and I was surprised at how accurate his diagnosis was. It was like he knew me and my hair before he even met me! His medical knowledge and expertise is really top notch and I felt confident in allowing him to do what he felt was best.

Cesare doesn't beat around the bush. He is honest about what he thinks your hair care needs are and he helps you think long term, not just short term. He advised me on how to care for my hair after my appointment in order to improve my hair health. I have been following his instructions to the letter and have seen a great improvement. The shampoo and conditioner that he suggested for me have also been working wonders; the condition of my hair (normally frizzy, dry and unruly) has improved a lot in just three weeks since I went to see him. I also had an itchy, flaky section of scalp at the top front of my head which has almost completely cleared up without the use of any medicated hair products!

While I didn't get a colour, Cesare washed my hair with a strong clarifying shampoo which really helped reveal my hair's natural colour. Everyone commented on my hair, asking if I had had it coloured - but no! It was just my natural pigment, finally revealed!

In terms of cut, Cesare advised that I shouldn't do anything too dramatic until the condition of my hair improves. I completely agree with him, because I know from past experience that your hair looks great for the first day or so but then (unless you are willing to blow dry you hair every day - which I am not!) the style just doesn't sit right anymore. Cesare understood that I wanted a "wash and wear" style and that's exactly what he gave me. I'm really happy with it!

So, if you want a great hairdresser who does quality work at a great price, then I highly recommend to you Ceasar's Hands!

Approximate cost: $85

I decided to treat myself today with a mani and pedi. I approached Hollywood Nails and spoke to a girl at the counter, asked the price and the amount of time it was expected to take. She said $60 for the two treatments and one hour to complete the job. I said OK and then she sat me down, put my nails in water to soak and told me she'd be with me shortly.

I'm not quite sure what her definition of "shortly" is, but mine is certainly not thirty minutes. I basically sat there waiting and waiting and waiting... none of the staff even glanced in my direction. The water my hands were soaking in had gone cold and my fingers had shrivelled. After thirty minutes of no service whatsoever, I got fed up and walked out.

If I had been told to come back in half an hour, I would have been more than happy to do that. What I'm NOT happy to do is sit there like an idiot, having been misled by staff about waiting times, etc. That's 30 minutes of my life that I can't get back.

I will not return and I do not recommend anyone else waste their time on this business!

It's really hard to find an Eastern European restaurant, let alone a good one! So we were pleasantly surprised with our experience at the Crimean restaurant. My husband first read about it in the Age and we booked in to go as soon as we could.

Being Eastern European myself, I know that it's hard to turn traditional peasant food into fine dining fare. They managed to do this at the Crimean. We started off with beef & pork pelmeni and a shopska salad. The shopska was prepared exactly right, with the tomatoes and cucumbers sliced very thin.

For mains, I had the salmon which was cooked to perfection and absolutely delicious with potato, egg and fish roe accompaniments. My husband had the guveche which he quite liked as well. We indulged and got the duck fat roasted potatoes. We probably didn't need them as we were quite full, but who can resist?

Finally, for dessert, my husband had the quark fritters with apricot brandy which he enjoyed and I had the pumpkin strudel with gingerbread ice cream which was ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!!! The flavours complemented each other so well, it really was a new taste sensation.

The staff were genuinely kind and friendly. They were attentive throughout the night, they gave us all the information we needed about the food on the menu and the attention they paid to detail was first class. One example of this was when they moved us to a different table when they saw that the area we were sitting in was a little bit too loud.

The decor of the restaurant is quite tasteful; they really pulled out all the stops. One of the owners walks around with a trolley of exotic spirits which you can order from. The whole place is really quite charming.

All in all, a wonderful experience. We will definitely be going back!

We've been to Picasso's a couple of times now for takeaway pizza and we were pretty underwhelmed both times. The first time I thought my pizza was just OK and my husband thought his one was nice.
The second and most recent visit was not an improvement on the first. While the value of the pizzas is quite good, it doesn't make up for the fact that they are just too bland. My gourmet vegetarian pizza just tasted of bland cheese; none of the vegetables had any flavour. My husband had a traditional pizza and even he agreed that it was bland and that the cheese was chewy (he is generally pretty easy to please so it was surprising that he didn't like it!) Even the garlic bread that we ordered was pretty average.
It seems to be a popular place, so there must be something good about it (perhaps the pasta dishes are better than the pizza). The prices are good but don't make up for the lack of flavour. Probably won't be going back anytime soon.

I had heard that this was a nice cafe for a casual catch up from a couple of different people so I was looking forward to having dinner here with my husband and some friends last night.

The view and the atmosphere is lovely. Unfortunately, the service and the food is really below average and I wasn't impressed at all.

At first, the server was attentive and took our orders quickly. Props to him for remembering the order perfectly without having to write it down.

I ordered the pumpkin and sage ravioli and I found it to be undercooked (the edges of the pasta were hard and chewy) and they were absolutely drenched in oil. The dish hardly had any flavour and it was quite a small portion size (although in hindsight, I'm glad I didn't have to eat any more of it than I did). My husband had a chicken caesar salad which looked OK; he said that it wasn't the best ever but it was OK.

As the night wore on, however, it seems that our table was forgotten. We wanted to order coffees but there wasn't a server in sight. Once we finally got our coffees and then wanted the bill, again, no servers. When I caught the attention of one server she motioned that she would be with us in a minute but then completely forgot about us. It wasn't even that busy.

As we left, we saw a group of the wait staff at the front desk talking to each other. They didn't even acknowledge us as we left.

Pretty dismal service, really. We won't be going back.

I prefer buying my fruit and veg from a greengrocer as I find the quality and flavour of the produce to be far superior to that of supermarkets. Since I started working in the area, I have been shopping at Ormond Fresh Produce and am happy with the quality and range of products as well as the price! The staff are very friendly and are happy to tell you where things are if you can't find them.

I have also found that their fruit and veg lasts a lot longer and so, even though it's not as cheap as Woolies or Coles, you get a lot less waste and so much more flavour!

My husband has always shopped at supermarkets for fruit and veg but, since trying the produce from this shop, he is now a convert. He rang me one day from work and declared "this apple actually tastes like an apple!" - enough said!

Thai Rani is our favourite Thai restaurant in the local area. We have both dined-in and had take away many times over the years.

We always seem to order the same dishes because we like them so much. We especially like the chicken Gai Yang and the green curry with either chicken or beef. The spring rolls are delicious too!

Eating in is nice; the venue is welcoming and comfortable and they offer BYO. It is often busy on Fridays and weekends so you should book ahead. Take away is a good option if you don't feel like eating out and the portion sizes are quite generous also.

I love Mecca Cosmetica and buy a lot of my makeup and skincare products from their stores. I have been wanting to make some changes to my current skincare routine, so I called up to enquire about having a skincare consultation. I was given an appointment within the hour, which was very lucky as they were otherwise booked out!

When I got to the store I was greeted by the lovely Susan who sat down with me to talk about my skincare routine, what my skincare concerns were, etc. She then took me into the treatment room where I had a wonderfully relaxing facial. Susan used products that complimented my skin type and addressed some of the concerns I had with my skin. I walked out feeling refreshed and relaxed and my skin felt fantastic!

The skincare consultation/facial is only available at Mecca "Skinspace" stores, but do book ahead as they apparently book out quite quickly. The cost of the facial is redeemable for product on the day so needing to buy more cleanser or moisturiser gives you a great excuse to have a lovely facial at the same time!

Approximate cost: $100 (redeemable for product on the day)