Italian

Basilico

216 Blackburn Rd, Glen Waverley 9887 6288

Al Salmone gourmet wood fired pizza

Polpette Al Sugo (Meatballs) Risotto

Belgian Dark Chocolate and Strawberry dessert pizza

Thoughts:

Al Salmone pizza – thin crispy pizza base topped with slices of tomato, cheese, salmon, finely chopped leek, fresh basil, spanish onion, spring onion and cracked pepper. There was a generous amount of salmon on this pizza which made it noticeably salty, however the sweetness from the leek and onion helped to balance this out = Good

Polpette Al Sugo Risotto – tender Italian meatballs in a Napoli sauce. The sauce itself was tasty but the risotto was unfortunately hard and undercooked = Not bad

Chocolate and Strawberry dessert pizza – thin crispy base topped with deliciously melted dark chocolate brownies, fresh strawberries and four massive scoops of sweet vanilla ice cream. The base was superb and the ample amount of topping was fantastic. Hands down the best dessert pizza that I have tasted so far! = Excellent

Overall:

Great pizzas (there is a large selection of gourmet wood fired pizzas to choose from as well as original wood fired pizzas), average service, casual family-friendly dining atmosphere. But seriously, come for the Chocolate and Strawberry dessert pizza!

Coco Lounge

93 Kingsway, Glen Waverley 9560 9705

South Carolina tacos

Falafel burger

Seafood spaghetti

Thoughts:

South Carolina tacos – 2 soft shell tacos with dry shredded pork shoulder, spicy BBQ sauce and plenty of coleslaw = Not bad

Falafel burger – warm brioche bun with an extremely thick home made falafel patty, caramelised onion, tasty cheese, beetroot, tomato, lettuce and chilli aioli. A really filling burger = Not bad

Seafood spaghetti – pan seared prawns and scallops with preserved lemon oil and lots of baby peas = Not bad

Overall:

I have been to this place numerous times and have always found the food at dinner to be nicely presented but merely average tasting, whereas the food served at breakfast is quite good. The service is friendly and the atmosphere is casual. There is also an upstairs lounge bar which opens every evening from 5pm until late. Note that this place is in the Entertainment Book.

Lasagne

Recipe from: Best Recipes

Overall:

Delicious lasagne that didn’t turn out too wet or too dry, and tasted even better the following day!

Tutto Bene

Shop M28 Southgate Plaza, Southbank 9696 3334

Bread and olive oil

Slider of the day

Zucca risotto

Anatra risotto

Thoughts:

Bread and olive oil – Tutto Bene’s very own brand of award winning olive oil is simply marvellous! Robust and fruity, the olive oil here is definitely something special and is even available for purchase = Excellent

Slider – crumbed scallops with celeriac and truffle = Good

Zucca – roasted butternut pumpkin, sage, crushed toasted walnuts and Taleggio. The sweetness of the pumpkin combined with the aromatic Taleggio cheese and the addition of walnuts for added crunch made this dish very enjoyable = Excellent

Anatra – organic duck, porcini mushroom and sage. Whenever I have risotto anywhere, I somehow always compare it to this one. With generous amounts of succulent duck, this simple dish is mouthwateringly delicious. My only concern is that it has become saltier these days than how it used to be (I must remember to tell them to add less salt next time), but I still love this dish anyway = Excellent

Overall:

The translation of Tutto Bene in Italian is “everything’s good” and it is a very fitting name for this restaurant. The food here is fantastic, particularly their risottos which are one of their house specialities. Be sure to also try their terrific in-house produced gelati (note that flavours vary from season to season). The service here is generally excellent, while the dark elegant decor and amazing views of the Melbourne city skyline provide a wonderful dining atmosphere.

The European

161 Spring St, Melbourne 9654 0811

Confit duck and mushroom pie, mustard and prune sauce

Tortelloni of roast pumpkin, ricotta and pine nuts

Seasonal mushroom risotto with truffle oil

Banana and date souffle, caramel and walnut ice cream

Thoughts:

Confit duck and mushroom pie – delectable pastry, enjoyable duck and mushroom filling, overwhelmingly sweet prune sauce = Good

Tortelloni – one word: bland = Not bad

Mushroom risotto – had an unusually high mushroom to risotto ratio, and a lovely aroma of truffle = Not bad

Banana and date souffle – light and fluffy. The banana and date combination made this souffle very sweet = Not bad

Overall:

Good service, relaxed atmosphere, food is average and rather pricey for the quality and quantity that you get. Would I come back? Probably not.

Porgie and Mr Jones

291 Auburn Rd, Hawthorn 9882 2955

Smashed avocado with thyme buttered mushrooms, marinated feta, basil and poached egg on wholegrain toast

Shakshuka – two eggs slow baked with spiced tomato, silver beet and feta

Toasted banana bread with maple syrup mascarpone, fresh banana, berry compote and crushed pistachio

Thoughts:

Smashed avocado – absolutely delicious! Mushrooms were bursting with flavour, egg was perfectly poached, the toast was thick and fresh, and the marinated feta added a slight sharpness which balanced out the creamy avocado = Excellent

Shakshuka – the slow baked eggs mean eggs that look poached, but are actually cooked all the way through. This dish was full of spices and went well with the warm pita bread = Good

Banana bread – more like banana cake than banana bread (was moist and light). I liked how they incorporated slices of banana in between the two slices of banana bread which made the whole thing taste a lot more fresh = Not bad

Overall:

A great place to have breakfast/brunch as the food here is fresh and tasty. There are three main dining areas: the quirky hipster room (wooden benches, funky artwork), the formal dining rooms (known as the “good rooms”) and the bright garden terrace. Service was average and note that this is a cash only place.

The Last Piece

7/2 Stadium Circuit, Mulgrave 9545 3040

Spiced school prawns with saffron aioli

Chunky chips with aioli

Hunter & collectors pizza – tomato, roasted chicken, peppers, flor di latte, olives and mushroom

I like italian sausage pizza – tomato, fior di latte, pork & fennel salsiccia, broccollini, cherry tomato and oregano

Penne grande with pork & fennel sausage, broccolini, cherry tomatoes, fresh chilli and white wine

Chocolate fondant with salted caramel ice cream

Flourless orange cake with blood orange sorbet

Spanish doughnuts with vanilla custard and nutella

Thoughts:

Prawns – the batter was unfortunately too hard and was difficult to cut, but the saffron aioli was nice = Not bad

Chips – regular chunky chips = Not bad

Hunters and collectors/I like italian sausage pizza – freshly made thin pizza bases with a decent amount of topping = Not bad

Penne – pasta was a bit undercooked = Not bad

Chocolate fondant – dense and tasted quite eggy, while the salted caramel ice cream was overly salty = Not bad

Orange cake – extremely moist and left a distinct orange peel aftertaste, while the sorbet was sweet and citrusy (tasted just like blood orange soft drink) = Not bad

Spanish doughnuts – are a different shape and are slightly more dense than regular doughnuts, but otherwise taste pretty much the same = Not bad

Overall:

An average pizza and pasta place located in a newly developed residential area that happens to overlook Waverley Park oval (where the Hawthorn football club train). Service was good (although our waitress wanted to clear our plates time and time again before we had even finished eating), and the atmosphere was friendly and relaxed.

Spaghetti and meatballs

Recipe from Taste.com.au

Overall:

For my first ever attempt at making meatballs, I thought the results were pretty darn fantastic! The alterations I made to the recipe were:

using both pork and beef mince (to give the meatballs more moisture)
adding grated carrot, breadcrumbs, salt, pepper and chilli (chilli makes everything taste better)
substituting the basil with coriander (didn’t have any basil in the house)
baking the meatballs instead of pan frying them (less effort and is more healthy)

Very easy and very tasty. I will definitely be making these again soon!