Start the weekend with a taste of Japan and some early morning retail therapy. Embodied by the Japanese elements required for a balanced life- Head (intellect), Hands (Touch), Heart (nourish) –Cibi (45 Keele st, Collingwood) is part cafe, part chic retailer of artisan Japanese products. Think hand crafted crockery, stationery, kids’ toy and a rather quirky Japanese breakfast, featuring Shiozake (salt cured salmon), rice, potato salad, tomago (egg roll) and miso.

A good cup of fresh brew isn’t hard to come by in Melbourne and relatively new kid on the block Code Black Coffee (119 Howard St, North Melbourne) is Disneyland for coffee geeks. Although the main roaster and cafe in Brunswick (15/17 Weston St) looks after bulk roasts, both sites are simultaneously a coffee laboratory, roaster, wholesaler and cafe. The industrial space is filled with blonde woods, white walls and electric streaks of green steel beams. Try the rich, chocolate-caramel tones of the Columbian house blend.

Seven years ago the Choucair family jumped on a plane in Beirut bound for Brunswick. Well, perhaps not that specific a location, but that’s where you’ll find Mankoushe (325 Lygon St, Brunswick East). The venue has two parts: a white table-clothed restaurant serving traditional dishes with a contemporary twist by candlelight, and a cafe/bakery delivering breakfast and lunch that’s hard to beat. Whether it’s poached beetroot on spelt with housemade labneh; a light, doughy Lebanese pizza with Turkish sausage, grilled pepper and babaganoush; za’atar free-range chicken; or baby Lebanese eggplant stuffed with rice, almonds and cinnamon yoghurt, Mankoushe is always right on the money.

It features some of the most luxurious gelato in Melbourne and a classic Italian design by local interior architect Rabindra Naidoo. You’ve arrived at Pidapipo (299 Lygon St, Carlton), the city’s trendiest gelataria, named after the game owner Lisa Valmorbida played with her nonno (grandad) as a child. Flavours to try include fior di latte, Nutella swirl, ricotta and fig, and pistachio

Co-owned by a team of young guns who’ve treaded the boards in some of Melbourne’s best venues, Trumpy (646 High St, Thornbury) has the fuel to kick start any night out. Here, you’ll find plenty of beers, a stellar wine list and a food menu that rivals any city hotel restaurant. The Corpse Reviver No.2 with gin, Lillet Blanc and triple sec is a must-try.

Melburnians have a soft spot for A1 Lebanese Bakery (643-645 Sydney Rd. Brunswick), and I do too. It’s been fulfilling all their middle eastern urges since 1992 with an savoury baked goods that feed your gluttonous side. Grab a basket and gather everything from pickles to dips, Lebanese juices to baklava. Or, jump in the queue and organic multi-grain breads made on-site. First timers should try the Za’atar- based pide with capsicum, Sujuk (dry, spicy sausage), tomato and feta. It’s damn delicious.

I don’t know about you, but I’m fairly certain most of us would feel a small hole in our hearts if we lived in a world without doughnuts. They may be a ‘sometimes’ food, but here at All Day Donuts (12 Edward St, Brunswick) it’s doughnuts 24/7. Who’d have thought owner Raph Rashid, the man behind Melbourne’s killer Taco Truck, was a bit of a sweet assassin, too? Making every ingredient on-site – yes, even the sprinkles – they produce up to six different flavours of doughnuts daily, served in a cardboard box with your style of Seven Seeds coffee. It’s a fairly casual affair. Be sure to wrap your laughing gear around crowd favourite coffee glaze, passionfruit curd and choc rubble. You won’t regret it.

If you’ve never had the bratwurst with sauerkraut on a roll from the Bratwurst Shop & Co at Queen Victoria market (513 Elizabeth St) you need to re-evaluate your life. If that doesn’t take your fancy, surely the plump jam doughnuts from the American Doughnut Kitchen will hit the spot. Or, you could just wander and leave it to whim.

Melbourne’s northern suburbs are rich with the fragrance of middle eastern ingredients and Rumi (116 Lygon St, Brunswick East) delivers them in abundance. Let the staff guide you through a feast, or start with housemade Labneh, pickled green olives, and fried cauliflower with currants and pinenuts. Move onto signatures, such as quail joojeh with grapes and lamb shoulder slow-cooked in Sirkanjabin. You’ll leave with a full belly and a happy heart.

There are moments when I truly believe cheese is man’s finest creation. If you’re the same, you’ll think you’ve died and gone to heaven once you arrive at La Latteria (104 Elgin St, Carlton). Oh so blessed are these cheese makers. You can stand outside and ogle at cheese ageing in the specially designed cheese room, or step inside and catch glimpses of staff hand-stretching Italian cheese on site. This is the retail side of That’s Amore Cheese, the brainchild of Giorgio Linguanti and Kirsty Laird, so you can expect fresh natural yoghurt, filled bocconcini, burrata, smoked scamorza (cow’s milk cheese) and buffalo mozzarella. It’s also a deli, so get busy and fill your basket.

The Art Series Hotel Group changed our perception of typical hotel accommodation when it launched The Cullen. Paying homage to the story-telling nature of Australian artist David Larwill, The Larwill Studio (48 Flemington Rd, Parkville) is the latest hotspot to join the group and provides the perfect base for those exploring Melbourne’s north, as well as offering art tours, push bikes and yoga facilities.

A few years ago, popular mini-series Underbelly gave us insight into the life and times of Melbourne’s crime lords, particularly The Carlton Crew. One of its toughest, Alphonse Gangitano, once ran an illegal gentlemen’s gambling den in the very premises new speakeasy Neighbourhood Wine (1 Reid St, Fitzroy North) is now housed. If only its walls could talk. It still has the old televisions embedded in the walls (once used to watch the greyhounds) and a yesteryear charm about it. Whether you’re up for billiards in the back bar, a quality feed, or a whisky sour in the main bar, this is the place to be when you start craving sophistication as the small hours approach.

Fried chicken is one of my guilty pleasures and Japanese karaage, if made right, is at the top of my list. The Dojo Ramen Bar (333 High St, Northcote) might be making a name for its ramen, but don’t think you can simply waltz in for a bowl of that complex, confounding broth without sinking your teeth into the crunchy JFC (Japanese fried chicken) with miso mayonnaise. Young owners Tim and Junko Bartold have taken the food court feel out of the ramen experience and placed it in a modern Tokyo-inspired diner dominated by dark woods. There are three different ramen tare (sauces) to try – shoyu (soy), shio (salt) and chilli miso. I find it hard to go past the shoyu ramen with cha shu pork, ajitama egg, spring onion, nori seaweed and bamboo shoots.

If you haven’t heard of 400 gradi (99 Lygon St, Brunswick), once you’ve devoured a pizza made by Naples-born Johnny Di Francesco, you surely won’t forget it. During 2014 he was named world pizza champion in Parma, Italy, among some 600 competitors, so you’d thinks his traditional flavour wheels might be worth spin. Damn straight they are. His flagship pizzeria is bursting at the seams with rowdy revellers enjoying simple combinations every night. In a true Neapolitan style, toppings are minimal and the light, fluffy dough has a smoky, charred based that’s simply spectacular.