Jenny's Milk Bar on the corner of Anne and Kathryn roads in Knoxfield is no longer the buzzing…read morepopular place that it was a few years ago. Now it seems as though the building is tired. The interior looks dated and there is an unpleasant odour hanging around. Some shelves were quite dirty and I noticed a few products had dust on them. I got a bit confused as to what store I had walked into at first because there were so many odd items for sale. It was more like a general store than a milk bar. There were DVD's, books, magazines, lollies, biscuits, drinks, ice-creams, cleaning products... you get the drift. While this list looks awesome, the condition of the shop made me think twice before I eventually bought some TimTams for $3.95. The shop has eftpos facilities however unless you spend $10 in store there is a $2 charge to use the machine. You can get cash out here also. The service was friendly enough although the owner doesn't speak much english so having a casual conversation in here is highly unlikely. The interaction we did have was totally fine though- she used a pen and paper to communicate how much things were and then passed them to me so I could demonstrate how much money I wanted taken out of my account. It was a little bizarre but I still walked out with some TimTams.

This convenience store in Collins Street was my saving grace and office escape in the corporate…read moreworld prior to working for myself as a freelance writer. One used to feel a little like a kid walking into a candy store at the time, and there would be some days where they would have items for purchase for only $1 to celebrate a particular time of day, and most recently their birthday. Cherry Ripe here I come. The staff always seem to be so glad to see you, it isn't stock standard chain based convenience store service. You would feel kind of special. The Freddo frogs (although simple) was a big deal at the time, like my office survival kit: especially during the last three months of my corporate career. They would always have specials for buying four Freddo frogs of different varieties at any given moment, and this convenience store would run the occasional competition where a pre-paid Visa card was up for grabs to entice you into buying more chocolate which stocked up my survival kit when one needed it stocked up the most. The ambience was inviting, especially the owl and inside (although a bit of tight space at times) allured that welcoming feeling for the tired office worker.

There's something about little family run businesses that give them a superior edge over all other…read moreoptions. The Grange Mini Mart, which I always called the Milk Bar until I asked for a business card, is no exception to this. The service here is impeccable and always friendly. The store itself is warm and inviting from the moment the bell tinkles above the door to signal your arrival. There is a great range of products on offer including: fruit, chocolate, lollies, ice-creams, magazines, confectionary, milk, cake, cigarettes, bus tickets, phone credit and my personal favourite - Willy Wonka Nerds. If you are a regular customer here you won't get called by name but you will get special privileges. The amount of times I race down there to find that I'm ten cents short or my eftpos card declines have piled up in a corner where I store all my embarrassing moments. Fortunately, the owner of this Mini Mart is super nice when this happens. She pulls out a notepad and takes down your name and phone number before writing down how much you owe. Let her know when you will be down next and she'll pop in a date of expected payment too. Be nice and try to pay her quickly. The shop is always clean and well stocked and best of all - it is open until 9pm every night of the week.

What a hidden gem. Gorgeous donuts hidden away in a tiny…read moremilk bar. Flavours such as lemon, Nutella and custard. Fluffy sugary doughnuts with fillings- not your American style traditional donut. They are addictive, well priced and not too far from where I live! Dangerous!

There's a reason that this place is making big head lines. It's the delicious donuts. Mouth…read morewatering, soul soothing, waist expanding donuts. The range here is small but oh so sweet. This isn't one of our beloved Melbourne hipster donut stores. You won't find fresh new crisp design work or even a coffee menu. Jimmy's Place is an old school suburban milk bar in a very ethnic and multicultural area. Hipsters beware the locals here won't tolerate eye rolling and line pushing. So why trek out this far from your comfort zone? Nutella donuts. Yup I said it. This is where you'll find the famous Nutella donuts that the CBD crowd are going nuts for. At $3 a pop you'll want to buy them all. Ask Jimmy himself what flavours are on offer. He rarely has time to restock the small display cabinet before the donuts fly out the door. Flavours tried and tested- Nutella- delicious nutella to kill off any do-gooder diet. Warm in the microwave for 20seconds for a life changing experience Jam- ol' school jam donut. Can't go wrong here. Custard- a super smooth creamy custard. Perfect with a cup of coffee and a good book. Lemon meringue- A tart little minx. Sweet on top and all sneaky flavour hidden inside. There's occasionally a salted caramel floating around.

Pretty good woollies store with helpful friendly staff but the parking here is rubbish and there…read moreare often dodgy people hanging around outside. Close to train station and other convenient stores including chemist and BWS nearby. If only the parking wasn't so bad I would come more often.

The local Milk Bar, good for last minute items or if you cannot be bothered with the extra 500m to…read moreWoolies. I've been in here a few times and just really shocked by the pricing in here. My housemate had fallen ill and needed some Soda Water, so instead of venturing a few more minutes down the road to Woolworths, i stopped in here and my god i left just as soon as i entered. I looked in the fridge and saw that a 2L Soda Water was around $4. This is something that the local Woolies stocks for 80c - $1. I understand that this small independent business is something of a dying sort but i'm not comfortable paying twice or three times as much for something i can get a few hundred meters down the road.

The name of this place suggests that this small family-run store, which has been here for over 30…read moreyears or more, is an in fact a convenience store. Phooey! I totally disagree with that and therefore refer to it as a milkbar, because that's exactly what it is. After all, milkbars are a dying rapidly and only a few now remain, like this one, and I'll be damned if I start referring to it as a convenience store. I don't know how many times I'd be on my way to work and completely forget to bring some change for the ticket machine on the tram. And, like a mirage in the desert, this little milkbar would come to my aid. It also looks after me on all those days when nothing can take away your troubles like an impulse buy of ice cream or chocolate on the way home. The prices can be a little higher than other places but for the people situated around this milkbar, and forgetful little me, the convince it provides more than outweighs the extra few dollars. Plus I quite enjoy the friendless and familiarity you get from regularly coming to a small place like this which you'd never get from a supermarket no matter times you go there or how much you spend. I applaud these guys for keeping the legacy of suburban milkbars alive.

BP petrol and usually cheaper than nearby competition. Good facilities. I use the PetrolSpy app to…read morecheck the local prices and they are consistently best for unleaded 95 and unleaded 98 Has a car wash and usual features found at most service stations.