Om Vegetarian

Level 1, 28 Elizabeth Street, Melbourne 9663 0062

Overall:

All-you-can-eat for $6.50? Yes please!

I must admit that I was initially uncertain as to what the quality of food would be like (I mean how many places offer all-you-can-eat for this price nowadays?). So the set menu here includes:

2 Vegetarian curries (one lentil based and one vegetable based)
Butter Naan (that is freshly cooked in their Tandoor)
Basmati rice cooked with peas, saffron and cumin
A serve of pickle

The curries were light (ie. thin and watery) but they did however taste nice and healthy. The rice was ordinary and I didn’t touch the pickle (as my friend had tried some and advised me to steer clear). The highlight of the menu was without a doubt the hot freshly baked buttery naan bread (I ate so much of this!). The staff were pleasant and the decor was very simple. This is very much a quick in-and-out sort of place that is great for those who are on a budget and those who are after a simple vegetarian meal that includes sensational butter naan.

Liar Liar

Quinoa and potato rosti with smoked salmon, avocado, poached egg and hollandaise

Perfectly poached egg, decent serving of avocado and salmon, and deliciously crispy rosti with the quinoa providing great texture.

★★★★☆

Zucchini, herb and chilli fritters with smoked salmon, tomatoes, feta and yogurt dressing, and served with mixed leaves

The fritters were massive, and they were also quite moist and herby.

★★★☆☆

Overall:

A place worth visiting for breakfast/brunch/lunch if you happen to be in the Hawthorn area. The service is fast and everything on the menu looks delicious.

Liar Liar

90 Kinkora Rd, Hawthorn, VIC

(03) 9818 8864

http://www.liarliarcafe.com.au/

Prospect Espresso

2a Prospect Hill Rd, Camberwell 9882 7359

Truffled Brioche, sautéed mushrooms, asparagus, poached eggs and truffled hollandaise

Dry unpleasant brioche, not enough hollandaise sauce

= Not bad

Warm coconut rice with kiwifruit, lychee, lime air and puffed rice

I read the words ‘lime air’ and was very intrigued as to what it actually was. Turns out that it was like a lime flavoured meringue, and it tasted fantastic alongside the sweet kiwifruit, lychee and the creamy (but not too heavy) coconut rice. A very satisfying and filling dish that is perfect on a cold Melbourne day.

= Excellent

Overall:

A cosy little place where the menu is small, the staff are friendly and the warm coconut rice is delectable.

Stokehouse City Restaurant

7 Alfred Pl, Melbourne 9525 5555

Spiced zucchini fritters, fetta, dukkah yoghurt

= Not bad

Twice cooked half duckling, cucumber, orange and chilli

= Not bad

Jerusalem artichoke & goats curd tortelloni, burnt butter, rosemary and sunflower seeds

= Not bad

Roasted pumpkin, goats cheese, olive & hazelnut crostata, cavolo nero puree and watercress

= Not bad

Overall:

We went to the downstairs “casual bar and eatery” and found the food, service and ambience all to be so-so. There is also an upstairs “fine dining restaurant” where the menu seems much more enticing than the menu offered downstairs (which isn’t surprising as the menu upstairs is crafted by The Age Good Food Guide’s 2014 Young Chef of the Year, Ollie Gould). So if I ever do come back, I’ll be sure to dine upstairs as opposed to downstairs.

Top Paddock

658 Church St, Richmond 9429 4332

Latte

Well roasted, full-bodied with a toffee-like aroma

= Excellent

Chai latte

= Not bad

Gin and lime cured ocean trout fillet with pickled baby beetroots, potato galette, poached eggs, leaves, goats curd and toast

The presentation of this dish was rather peculiar as everything seemed to be randomly plopped onto a different part of the plate. The trout itself was crispy on the outside and rare on the inside, and went well with the other ingredients on the plate.

= Not bad

Pan fried local snapper with chilli-fried egg, avocado, tomato, lime and a corn tortilla

The snapper was tasty but there wasn’t much of it! I also wasn’t a fan of the super dry corn tortilla.

= Not bad

Blueberry and ricotta hotcake with berries, organic maple, seeds and double cream

OH SO AMAZING! (both in terms of looks and in terms of taste!) The berries added a lovely freshness and the seeds added a nice crunch. I could not get enough of this wonderfully sweet and fluffy hotcake.

= Excellent

And here’s another photo since this dish was so darn pretty:

Overall:

If you have a sweet tooth, you MUST try the blueberry and ricotta hotcake! Seriously. If not, there are many other interesting items available on the menu such as sticky black gingerbread and soft-shell crab rolls. The service here was average while the decor was simple and chic with plenty of greenery and flowers about which brightened up the whole place. Note that bookings for groups of 4 or more can be made on weekdays.

The Premises

202 Bellair St, Kensington 9376 7565

Slow roasted pulled pork with Nana Kath’s pineapple chutney, red cabbage slaw and a dill pickle

= Not bad

Two poached eggs, falafel, beetroot slaw and tahini yogurt on Lebanese flat bread

= Good

Overall:

Homely atmosphere, good service and your standard breakfast/brunch fare.

Takumi

32 Bourke St, Melbourne 9650 7020

Edamame and Sake

Takumi’s Special Wagyu Beef

(thinly sliced wagyu eye fillet grilled on the outside topped with finely diced onion and lightly dressed in refreshing citrus seasoning)

Tsukune

(grilled chicken meatball skewers)

Salmon Carpaccio

(salmon sashimi infused in tangy carrot, onion and soy sauce seasoning)

Jo-hire eye fillet steak and Karubi wagyu beef bolar blade

Mixed salad, Squid, Salmon

Sweet red bean ice cream and Green tea ice cream

Overall:

The quality of the food here was fantastic. Everything tasted fresh and the flavours were superb. I found the usage of lard/fat to coat the grill plate quite interesting. No wonder the meat here tasted so good. We came with a Groupon voucher and definitely felt that we had snapped up a terrific deal. The staff were efficient and the “smokeless” grills that they use here are great as it meant that you could leave without having that strong grill smell attached to your clothes and hair.

Shizuku Ramen (revisited)

309 Victoria Street, Abbotsford 9995 8180

Tan Tan Men

Free range pork mince, egg, chilli oil, preserved vegetables, rich sesame sauce

= Good

Hokkaido Miso Ramen

Original hokkaido organic red & white coarse miso, cha shu, corn, butter, sprouts, egg

= Good

Almond Tofu

Chilled sweet annin tofu (almond jelly) with berries

= Not bad

Espresso Pudding

Coffee carnation milk gelee curd

= Not bad

Overall:

Although I am not the biggest fan of their Ramen Burgers, I am a fan of their ramen! The noodles were good, the toppings were generous and the broths were simply delicious. I didn’t enjoy the desserts as much as the Almond Tofu contained berries that came straight from the freezer (beware those with sensitive teeth!) and the Espresso Pudding became overwhelmingly creamy after a few mouthfuls. Service was friendly and the strikingly dark decor combined with the curious lights created a very non traditional Japanese dining atmosphere. So take advantage of this cold weather and try a bowl of the terrific ramen that is available here.

*Disclaimer: I dined as a guest of Shizuku Ramen. All food ratings & review are purely based on my own experiences and how I felt about the service, food and quality at the time of visit

Pizza Religion

Pork Pizza

(pork sausage, chilli, fennel, apple and cabbage salad)

Quite enjoyable but there wasn’t enough pork sausage (many mouthfuls of this pizza were purely of cabbage salad)

★★★☆☆

Beef Cheek Pizza

(braised beef cheek, celeriac puree, caramelised onions and gremolta)

The pungent beef cheek tasted marvellous with the sweet caramelised onions.

★★★★☆

Overall:

There is a wide range of fresh gourmet pizza toppings available and they are all served on crispy thin crusts. The staff here are helpful and the atmosphere is truly family friendly.

Pizza Religion

493 Tooronga Rd, Hawthorn, VIC

(03) 9882 2555

http://pizzareligion.com.au/

Trunk Diner

275 Exhibition St, Melbourne 9663 7994

Golden Gaytime Milkshake

I liked this creamy toffee/honeycomb/vanilla milkshake. But then again I find the Golden Gaytime Krushers available at KFC to be equally as likeable.

= Good

The Wagyu Burger
175 gram freshly ground Wagyu beef served medium-rare, grilled brioche, baby cos lettuce, purple onion, tomato and house-made pickles

A tiny ordinary tasting burger that needed self assembling? No thanks.

= Not bad

“Huevos Rancheros”

Two fried eggs, chorizo, Mexican mixed beans, goats fetta, salsa, avocado, jalapenos and toasted tortilla

= Not bad

Overall:

Average food, good variety of milkshakes (eg. Tim Tam, Lamington, Golden Gaytime), quick service, buzzing atmosphere.