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The Guilty Moose

Dani Valent
Dani Valent

Asian-influenced brunches feature at the Guilty Moose.
Asian-influenced brunches feature at the Guilty Moose.Anu Kumar

Modern Asian

When I'm out for breakfast I often feel that my first coffee is fighting with the breakfast menu: one is trying to wake me up and the other strives to put me back to sleep. Menu lullabies include those well-known numbers "smashed avocado", "corn fritters" and "poached eggs". It's not that I don't want to eat that stuff – sometimes I do – but I also want other options to keep me alert, interested and keen.

The Guilty Moose, a three-month-old cafe at the beach end of Vic Ave, has a jazzy menu with Asian-influenced brunches propping up the standard snooze of eggs, extras and avo. It also has a large partially shaded courtyard, doubling the space that's available on the broad Albert Park pavement and in two cosy dining rooms.

There are no contrite moose here; the odd name came out of a Chinese whispers brainstorming session, though there's another legend about a wayward drive through Canada. Pick your truth over a breakfast okonomiyaki, a savoury Japanese pancake that more or less translates as "put in whatever you like". The Moose's version has two types of cabbage plus carrot; there's smoked trout, sweet mayonnaise and thick soy-and-ketchup sauce on the side.

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Okonomiyaki breakfast pancake.
Okonomiyaki breakfast pancake.Anu Kumar

A Laotian-style omelette is filled with sweet, sticky rice and pickled cucumber; it's great to have something fresh and spicy in the mornings.

Banana bread is a lullaby classic but this version isn't as sleepy as most; the bread is moist with crisp caramelised corners, and it's slathered with lemon curd and a dollop of strawberry-laced creme fraiche. If you're after dessert for breakfast, this is your guy.

The lunch menu is above average too with soft-shelled crab burgers and vegetarian chilli con carne keeping the summer roster lively. Take-home roast dinners are available weeknights till 10pm, proving that this moose stays awake at the wheel from morning to night.

Rating: Three stars (out of five).

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Dani ValentDani Valent is a food writer and restaurant reviewer.

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