La Paloma is my local, my regular stop for coffee and tortilla. The atmosphere is unpretentious and the handwritten menu is simple, fresh and delicious, featuring Argentinian empanadas, shakshuka, beans and churros.

Fresh is best. The best place in Melbourne for fresh cheese. The Buffalo Mozzarella and the creamy Ricotta are to die for. I used to have to wait years and fly half way across the globe to my home in Italy just to bite into one of these creamy morsels of goodness. Now my life can be defined by the ‘pre La Latteria period’ and the ‘post La Latteria period’.

Located on the Corner of New and York street, Richmond. New York Tomato makes one of the best breakfasts in town. An old semi warehouse which has been converted into a cafe.

Wunderkammer is a retail store, so packed full of treasures that it feels like a natural history museum. Wonderful for browsing, Wunderkammer stocks medical and scientific instruments, crystals, rocks and other specimens.

A small shout-out to the suburb where I grew up. Glen Waverley is home to Victoria’s Police Academy, where cadets undoubtedly partake in the same 80s-style hijinks as seen in the movies.