The $9 muffin

It started out as a cruisey Sunday arvo outing. A mother/daughter/dog bonding session in the beautiful surrounds of Roma Street Parkland. Always keen on a coffee, I decided to revisit Melange, a great little coffee shop/restaurant at the Roma Street end of the park. I'd had a fabulous muffin there before and being a bit of a muffin expert, decided to start the search for Brisbane's best.

Instead of finding Brisbane's best, I found Brisbane's most expensive. When the bill for two coffees and two muffins came to $27, after picking myself off the floor, I queried the muffin price. I'm used to paying around $4 at my local and the price of $9 was astounding. However, in the name of research, I decided to give it a go. Maybe this would be the best muffin I had ever tasted. Cutting to the chase - it wasn't. It did come with a small scoop of ice cream but it didn't taste any better than the muffins I made the day before or countless others I have eaten, and it certainly wasn't the best. We sat outside on the park benches and drank our bitter coffee in takeaway containers. Our muffin was large, maybe about 10 cm wide, but that's only a little bigger than the standard $4 variety. Presented in a takeaway container, it didn't win any prizes.

Melange looks very flash these days, with some stunning chandeliers and an upgraded interior, but even for inside diners the $9 muffin seems steep.