THE DOUGH COLLECTIVE - SYDNEY CBD

The Dough Collective
614 George St
Sydney CBD

Bread is the food of life. There's something about the smell - and even the look - of fresh bread.

Even talking about it now makes our mouths water a little.

If they could put the smell of freshly baked bread into an aerosol can - we'd buy it.

Dough Collective is the place on George Street with the attractive window that causes crowds to stop and stare.

In fact it stopped us - and got us inside - so it really does work!

We dropped in for a quick snack but ended up browsing a while. Plenty of other people were doing the same thing too. Eventually we decided on the Roll O'Fruits. It was a fruit loaf - but with a difference with goodies like dried cranberries, dried longan, dried lychees and dried pineapple along with plenty more. We had it later and it was certainly tasty.

 

SOUL ORIGIN - HORNSBY, SYDNEY

Soul Origin
K108 Westfield Hornsby
236 Pacific Highway
Hornsby, Sydney

Soul Origin is a chain of cafe/fresh food places spreading across Sydney like wildfire lately. They always seem to have plenty of customers too.

Their food is always viewable and the colours certainly attract attention. The food looks nice and fresh - and you can even see more of it being prepared in the open plan kitchens behind the counters as well.

This place, inside Westfield Hornsby and in front of Coles, has a very open plan feel to it. There are also plenty of larger tables for sharing or for bigger groups.

Breakfast, or in reality a quick brunch on the run in this case, was the order of the day this time. Sadly there wasn't sufficient time in the diary to linger for a leisurely brunch - which for us is more of a Sunday thing (and this was a Saturday).

The salmon Benny met the necessary requirements for a quick bite. It was ready-made and of course had smoked salmon in it! It was simple, quick, tasty and very affordable at just under $7.00.

MANCHESTER PRESS - MELBOURNE CBD

Manchester Press
8 Rankins Lane
Melbourne, Victoria

You probably wont just stumble across Manchester Press in your travels. Most people that end up here are specifically looking for this place. It's not well signposted, it's not on a busy street and its not even clearly visible.

However, make the effort to find it in its narrow graffiti filled laneway because you will be rewarded. You will get great service in an interesting, cavernous yet pleasant setting with generous servings of amazing food.

After hitting the streets of Melbourne on a warm morning the calm tranquillity of Manchester Press was like an oasis.

I started with the juice of the day. This was (I think) pineapple, mandarin and mint.

It was absolutely delicious. The flavours combined so well and it was so refreshing.

The fresh mint garnish not only looked good but added further to the lovely vibrant taste. It arrived quickly as well.

We both decided to have salads on this occasion. Mlady chose the beetroot and chickpea with mixed leaves, cherry tomatoes, red onion and fetta. 

It was the first to arrive and it was enormous. It would almost be big enough for two people to share. There was a generous serving of mixed leaves covered in chickpeas and cubed beetroot with halved cherry tomatoes, slivers of red onion and a massive mound of fetta on top.

It was fresh, tasty and filling and all this costs a mere $12.00. What a bargain!

Whilst I don't usually choose salads I do love smoked salmon.

Manchester Press are known for their bagels but I ended up going with the smoked salmon and avocado with mixed leaves, dill mayonnaise, semi dried tomatoes and red onion.

I was stunned at the size of this dish - particularly the generous fillet of salmon that rested on top. All this was only $14.00.

Manchester Press is a lovely place. The service is excellent - they all seem to actually enjoy being there. The food is great - generous servings, good quality and very reasonable prices. It's very easy to see why this place is doing so well.