Wah Kee

338 Clayton Rd, Clayton 9544 5156

Rendang Daging

Curry Laksa

Salt and Pepper Squid

Stir fried Chinese water spinach

Eggplant with Bean sauce

Char Hor Fun

Cha Kueh Teow

Thoughts:

Rendang Daging – steak pieces cooked in spices and desiccated coconut = Not bad

Curry Laksa – a bland mix of noodles, fish cake, chicken, roast pork and fried bean curd in a coconut milk curry soup = Not bad

Salt and Pepper Squid – well seasoned pieces of delightfully crispy squid = Not bad

Stir fried Chinese water spinach – simple and not overly oily = Not bad

Eggplant with Bean sauce – the eggplant skin was a bit too chewy, but apart from that it was quite a tasty dish = Not bad

Char Hor Fun – stir fried rice noodles with pork, chicken, squid, prawns and vegetables, topped with egg gravy = Not bad

Cha Kueh Teow – stir fried rice noodles with shrimp, roast pork, egg, bean shoots and chilli = Not bad

Overall:

The food here is typical of a Chinese-Malaysian restaurant with no particular dishes standing out. The staff are friendly and the service is quick. Note that they are closed on Tuesdays.

Shams Restaurant

202 Thomas St, Dandenong 9793 1115

Chicken kebabs

Charcoal chicken

Mantu

Thoughts:

Chicken kebabs – succulent tender pieces of deliciously marinated chicken that was full of flavour = Excellent

Charcoal chicken – somewhat dry and overcooked = Not bad

Mantu – mince dumplings served with lentils and yogurt. Slightly undercooked wonton wrappers were used for this dish making parts of the dumplings quite chewy = Not bad

Overall:

Menu options were limited, service was average and the table that we sat on was rather dirty and stayed dirty the entire time we were there. Regardless of that, I would still come back here for the chicken kebabs. Only next time I’d get it as a takeaway.

Haru Haru

315 Glenhuntly Road, Elsternwick 9532 9644

Okonomiyaki

Tuna tataki

Agedashi tofu

Beef bulgogi don

Rainbow roll

Sushi (small)

Thoughts:

Okonomiyaki – Japanese pancake with vegetables and squid. A bit too much sauce was added which made the pancake very soft = Not Bad

Tuna tataki – lightly seared tuna with home-made yuzu dressing = Not Bad

Agedashi tofu – deep fried bean curd and dried bonito flakes in dashi soup = Not Bad

Beef bulgogi don – beef bulgogi with rice and vegetables = Not Bad

Rainbow roll – lobster meat, avocado and cucumber inside the rolls. Prawn, avocado, salmon and tuna on top of the rolls. As soon as I saw the word ‘lobster’ I knew that I had to try this. Unfortunately this dish did not taste very fresh and the lobster meat was questionable = Not Bad

Sushi (small) – salmon, tuna, prawn and sweet fried tofu = Not Bad

Overall:

Friendly service, pleasant atmosphere, lacklustre food.

Twee’s Hut

Shop 26 343 Little Collins St, Melbourne 9917 2017

Twee’s Soul Bowl (dry)

Classic Pork and Prawn Grenade and Freshly Pressed Juice

Thoughts:

Twee’s Soul Bowl – egg and rice noodles, pork, prawn, quail egg, lettuce, fried shallots, spring onion, coriander and peanuts. There are 2 options with the Soul Bowl: dry (which comes with soup on the side) or soup (which comes with soup already in the bowl). This dish is their very own version of Pad Thai and would have been terrific had they toned down the amount of sweet chilli sauce that was added = Not bad

Classic Pork and Prawn Grenade – essentially a pork and prawn rice paper roll. In addition to the pork and prawn there is vermicelli, cucumber, lettuce, mint leaves, coriander and sesame seeds. This was fresh and tasty but needed more meat = Not bad

Freshly Pressed Juice – I tried the ‘Island Kiss’ which comprised of pineapple, orange and apple juice. I like how the juices here are freshly pressed on order, and that no sugar is added = Good

Overall:

Opened in November last year, this bright and cheery place is run by a husband and wife team who have created a menu inspired by family recipes. What’s great about this place is the location. Situated in the heart of Melbourne’s CBD, Twee’s Hut is the perfect place for city workers to drop by for a quick and tasty lunch. I found a few things different about this place compared to other Vietnamese restaurants that I have been to. Firstly, this place is VERY clean (eg. gloves were used when the baguettes were being put together, no sticky tables, no sticky floors), they do not offer any free hot tea, and the way that dining in here works is also different. So when you dine in your name is taken down, you go and find yourself a table, and then your name is called out once your order is ready to be picked up from the counter. Different. Note that the current opening hours are 11am – 3pm.

*Disclaimer: I dined as a guest of Twee’s Hut. 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.

Pumpkin Bread

Recipe from: Simply Recipes

Overall:

Soft, fluffy, moist and delicious! An easy way to use up leftover roasted pumpkin. (Note that I omitted the walnuts and allspice from the recipe as I didn’t have any in the house).

Gazi

2 Exhibition St, Melbourne 9207 7444

Tzatziki dip and Sweet Potato Skordalia dip with pita bread

Ouzo cured salmon with Karpouzi salad, goats curd and grain crumb

Saganaki with honey, lemon and sesame

Prawn and Duck Souvlakakia

Chips with feta, garlic oil and oregano

Red cabbage salad

Wood fire spit chicken with white beans and Tyrokafteri

Barramundi with walnut dressing

Acropolis Now

(strawberry mousse, coffee and mastic)

Loukoumades

(Greek donuts with honey and nutella)

Overall:

If you decide to have their 10 dish sharing banquet (like we did), be sure to come in HUNGRY and ready to eat. Everything we tried was enjoyable, but it would be the delicious dips and the extraordinary souvlakakias (small souvlakis) that I would be returning for. The staff were friendly and efficient, the atmosphere loud and buzzing, and the decor fascinating with a sculptural canopy of bright orange terracotta pots hanging from the ceiling.

The Foodrinkery

22 Banksia St, Burwood 9808 2468

Chermoula Eggs

Pumpkin Toastie

Thoughts:

Chermoula Eggs – grilled zucchini, smashed pumpkin, poached eggs and chermoula on toasted Turkish bread = Not bad

Pumpkin Toastie – smashed pumpkin, roasted cashew, kale and basil pesto and marinated feta in toasted ciabatta = Not bad

Overall:

Unexceptional food and service, charming country-like atmosphere, a great place to take the kids to as there is a park right next door.

Shizuku Ramen

309 Victoria Street, Abbotsford 9995 8180

Ramen Burger

Thoughts:

Ramen Burger – tightly packed ramen noodle “patty” buns with candied pork belly, salad, plum and prune sauce, and kewpie mayonnaise. I had been looking forward to trying out this burger for a while but was left slightly disappointed after taking my first bite. I somehow felt cheated. I wasn’t getting a great burger and I wasn’t getting a great noodle dish either. Although the pork belly was sweet and tender, there were only two small pieces which meant that halfway through the burger I was left with only noodle buns and salad. As for the noodles themselves, they were quite soft which made the burger difficult to keep intact. It got very messy and towards the end I had to set down my burger and use a pair of chopsticks = Not bad

Overall:

The novelty of a Ramen burger was what attracted me to this place. I found the burger to be something different but not something that I would ever crave. Perhaps I would have liked the Eggplant Ramen burger more (which I wanted to try but they had ran out of eggplant by early lunchtime). The service was ordinary and the decor here was strikingly dark (black walls, black ceiling, dark furniture).

Daylesford Cider Company

155 Dairyflat Rd, Musk 5348 2275

The tavern is open for tastings:

Wednesday to Friday: 12noon – 4pm (by appointment in Winter)

Weekends and public holidays: 12noon – 5pm (12noon – 4pm in Winter)

After sampling their Dry, Medium, Sweet and Sparkling cider, I found that my favourite was the Medium as it was smooth, softly balanced and had a full apple flavour.

And note that there is an adorable St. Bernard in residence who spends most of her time sleeping.

Chocolate Mill

5451 Midland Hwy, Mount Franklin 5476 4208

Chocolate counter

Milk Hot Chocolate

Ice Chocolate

Thoughts:

Milk Hot Chocolate – although you cannot tell by simply looking at the contents of this egg shaped mug, this is in fact some of the BEST hot chocolate that I have ever tasted. Made with delicious Belgian Callebaut chocolate, this particular blend is smooth, rich and not overly sweet = Excellent

Ice Chocolate – rich and refreshing, with a generous amount of vanilla ice cream = Good

Overall:

What I like about this place is that all of their chocolate contains no artificial colours, flavours or preservatives. They even have chocolate that is vegan, coeliac and diabetic friendly. All of their products are made and sold on site and there is a viewing window that allows you to see what goes on behind the scenes. What I do not like about this place is that they do not offer tap water (as tank water is used here), and that the cafe area can sometimes be uncomfortable (draughty in winter and sweltering in summer). Nevertheless, the quality of the chocolate here is amazing and it is definitely worth stopping by.