Marvellous Melbourne

De rigueur when in Melbourne. Ditto for the queue as well. We were there at 10-ish in the morning and got a table within 20 mins.

The famed Lobster Benedict sure didn't disappoint. Viscous yolk lava and citrus hollandaise creamed the sweet chunks of lobster, which were mixed with dill to give an uplifting effect. The crispy-edged, puffy black bun made an excellent base for scooping up all that goodness.

Looks familiar? That's because TKB is opened by the folks behind the famed Top Paddock. Both have pretty similar brunch menus, with only slight variations. The Instagram darling—2-inch worth of fluffiness stuffed with creamy ricotta and topped with blueberries, maple, double cream plus seeds & nuts—are available at both cafes and are worth every bit of the hype.

Tip: Do share because this comes in a generous portion. It's good for 3-4 pax, plus orders of other hearty plates.

There's more to Spanish sweets than just churros and creme catalana, that I'd discovered here at Mamasita. Enter the tres leches (which means "three milk"), a cottony-soft sponge cake soaked with evaporated milk, condensed milk, and cream. It was surprisingly light and refreshing when paired with poached rhubarb, crumbled meringue, and añejo ice cream. Great way to conclude a fabulous meal here.

Marinated with agave and chipotle sauce, these smoky, sticky, finger-licking good wings are worth getting your hands dirty for. Picture shows the $13.50 portion.

Dark chocolate mole and soft poached chicken, who knew they'd go so well together? The rich mole sauce is a blend of cocoa, spices, chilli, among many ingredients, and is so good that we just couldn't resist slurping up all the leftovers.

Ox tongue? Yes, please!

Used extensively in Mexican cooking, the fatty part is sliced thinly and cooked till tender and buttery with crispy edges, oozing its beefy flavours in every bite. The richness is counterbalanced with a piquant melange of arbol salsa, crema, onion, and coriander. Me gusta¡

No Mex night is complete without them tacos. Here we have huge, juicy spice-rubbed school prawns mingling with devil salsa, guajillo, avocado, onion, and coriander in soft wheat tortillas — taco 'bout having a flavour party in the mouth!

A cool, refreshing appetiser of crab, prawn, celery, cucumber, apple guacamole, and lime-habanero mayo atop crunchy mini tortillas. A tad pricey, but the freshness and quality of ingredients make it worthwhile.

P.S. It's served in threes by default, but we added another piece.

Not your average ceviche, this beautifully assembled dish sees rockling fish ensconced in juicy cucumber ribbons; its firm, clean-tasting flesh accentuated by the fruity mango dressing, guajillo chilli, mint, and lime. These worked in tandem with coconut ice-cream spheres to spark a tropical flavour party in the mouth.

This, is elotes done right. Sweet cobs of chargrilled corn cloaked in a queso (cheese) blend, chipotle mayo, and paprika. Spritz on some lime for a burst of tanginess, a sure-fire way to get that appetite going.