The Daylesford Edition- Larder

This was a really cute little cafe that caught my eye with its 'larder' style appearance and big funky green sign. It was perhaps a little pretentious for Daylesford, and we probably did prefer the homeliness of the Himalaya Cafe but an enjoyable lunch nevertheless.

I did really love the vintage style kitchen-ware for sale on the shelves- a little pricey but very cool!

I was really excited to see that they served Chicken Pho on the menu (most of my regular readers will know my love affair with Vietnamese food, and especially pho!). I probably should have listened to my gut when I thought that surely a cafe couldn't do legit pho, but my fear of food envy got the better of me when some of my friends ordered it. The soup was nice, but it just wasn't 'pho'- it lacked the traditional Vietnamese broth and was desperate for some star anise! It was also lacking onion in the soup and there were not enough bean shoots for my liking! I probably should have stuck with something more 'cafe-ey' as there was an awesome selection of foccacias and breads!

The roasted vegetable salad with a fried harissa egg looked and sounded amazing! It came with a really nice selection of vegetables and both of my friends that ordered it commented that they were very full after-wards- hard to do with a traditional salad.

My other girlfriend had the soup of the day- pumpkin. It looked a little watery for my liking- I like my soup thick! But she enjoyed it and it came with some crusty sourdough toast.

Larder is the kind of cafe that would quite comfortably fit in to Fitzroy or Northcote- funky, a little pretentious and food that is good but not overwhelmingly good. I would probably give it another go when I went back to Daylesford though- the toasted tallegio and mushroom toast sounded pretty amazing, I think next time I would give that a go :)

The Daylesford Edition- Himalaya Bakery Cafe

I have just returned from two amazing nights away with 5 of my best girlfriends- lots of wine time, pampering and of course, eating good food! I really love Daylesford. It is the best compromise between country town and boutique, classy and cosy, rustic and modern. We stayed in a gorgeous three bedroom house right near the beautiful Daylesford Lake (and the Lake House restaurant, which is definitely on my 'to go to' list).

We were all really impressed by this little vegetarian cafe. The menu was extensive and catered for all of us despite none of us actually being vego. The service was a little brisk, and my friend was shot daggers when she accidentally asked for a ham and salad sandwich not realising it was vegetarian! The atmosphere was warm and cosy though, and the food really enjoyable.

Three of the girls really enjoyed the bean and vegetable soup which looked perfect for a winters day in Daylesford- hot, healthy and rustic style. The bread that it was served with was great too, so good we ended up taking a few loaves home with us!

The mushroom risotto was really yummy too (I was lucky enough to have a taste of both of the risottos!) and chock full of real wild mushrooms which gave it a wonderful flavour. The consistency was different to normal risotto, not gluggy like you get in some cafe versions, but grainy and 'healthy' tasting.

The pumpkin risotto was something really special. The same soft but not gluggy texture, with grains and seeds through-out it, pepitas and beautiful soft pumpkin pieces. I had never tasted a risotto like this one before and it was talked about throughout the trip.

I really loved the home-made basil gnocchi with an olive napoli sauce. It was pan fried gnocchi so had the yummy crust around it with the beautiful soft basil flavoured potato on the inside. It was perfectly matched with the olive sauce and some crusty bread. Yum! Just how gnocchi should be.

A must visit for even non-vegetarians whilst in Daylesford- even just for the beautiful bread, the Himalaya rustic bread is amazing. Home style, comforting food that is still healthy. We also tried the protein punch cookies made from all 'good stuff' (vegan, gluten free, no sugar, no dairy) and they were really great too.