Eastern European

365 North Rd, Caulfield South 9578 8350

Chebureki

Thick deep fried pastry with a succulent lamb and onion filling, served with sweet chilli sauce

= ★★

Marinated chicken shashlik

Chicken skewers served with small roast potatoes and a salad

Portions were small considering that this dish was from their mains menu. I initially enjoyed these skewers but once they cooled down, an odd ‘leftover’ taste was noticeable.

= ★

Vegetarian Manti

Pumpkin, onions and spices wrapped in a homemade pastry, served with yogurt sauce

The pastry was enjoyable (soft and delicate) however the vegetable filling left an unpleasantly bitter aftertaste. I had to pile on the yogurt sauce in order to get through one of these dumplings, and even our waitress wasn’t a fan saying that we should have ordered the lamb manti instead.

= ★

Baklava

Crispy sheets of phyllo pastry with honey and chopped nuts

= ★★★

Overall:

Friendly staff, simple decor, mediocre food. Thank goodness we used a Groupon voucher and didn’t have to pay full price.

Note that this place is closed on Mondays.

161 Foster St, Dandenong 9793 2154

Nalesniki z miesem (Polish pancakes with mince beef)

Pyzy z grzybami (Silesian dumplings with mushrooms)

Bigos (Traditional meat stew)

Kopytka (Polish gnocchi with beef goulash)

Thoughts:

Polish pancakes – delicious crepe-like pancakes filled with minced beef, served with a side of sauerkraut = Excellent

Silesian dumplings – loved the silky texture and flavour of these glutinous dumplings. Also came with a side of sauerkraut = Excellent

Traditional meat stew – sour! The sauerkraut in this was very overpowering! Hardly any traces of the stew’s other ingredients could be detected (ie. diced beef, pork sausage, dried prunes) = Not bad

Polish gnocchi – quite similar to Italian gnocchi, very filling. Beef goulash was richly flavoured with tomatoes = Not bad

Overall:

The experience was like dining at someone’s house, except that you’re being served by waitresses wearing wianeks (flower wreaths) on their heads. The atmosphere at this restaurant was intimate and cozy, and the decor was folksy and nanna-like (think fruit printed table cloths). Although the menu is quite small, what they do have to offer is delightful genuine Polish fare.

DAMMIT JANET I LOVE FOOD

Shesh Besh

Kluska