Recipe from: Taste.com.au
Overall:
I’ve always wanted to know what meatloaf actually was and what it tasted like. Turns out that it’s pretty much like a beef patty but in loaf form.
Alterations that I made were:
It was something different but nothing incredibly amazing.
374 Centre Rd, Bentleigh 9557 5694
Ice green tea latte
Kimchi pancake
Deep fried octopus balls
Pork with bulgogi sauce on a sizzling plate
Bibimbap
Japchae
Thoughts:
Ice green tea latte – contained more milk and less green tea powder than previous ice green tea lattes that I have had but was still very yummy = Good
Kimchi pancake – a light eggy pancake that barely had any kimchi in it = Not bad
Deep fried octopus balls – came with a generous amount of dried bonito but did not actually contain much octopus in the balls themselves = Not bad
Bulgogi pork – came with rice and miso soup. The pork was tender and bulgogi sauce had a great balance of salty and sweet = Good
Bibimbap – tender stir fry beef with a good variety of vegetables. They forgot to give us any chili pepper paste but were very apologetic when we asked for some = Good
Japchae – chewy sweet potato noodles served with sliced beef, onion, carrot, zucchini, eggplant, enoki mushrooms, chives and Korean soy sauce = Not bad
Overall:
A tiny little restaurant that serves a mixture of Korean and Japanese food. The service is fast and friendly, while the decor is simple and a little bit strange (think little green footprints on the wall). My only gripe with this place is the portions of the food: too small!
121 Greville St, Prahran 9525 2273
Salade de chèvre chaud
Assiette de charcuterie
Seafood bisque
Boeuf bourguignon en croute
Gratin de la mer
Frozzie duck
Duck a l’orange
Steak frites
Goat cheese and pesto ravioli
Ile flottante
Vanilla creme brûlée
Tarte tatin
Chocolate fondant
Thoughts:
Salade de chèvre chaud – Warm goats cheese salad. The cheese (served gratiné-style) was deliciously creamy = Good
Assiette de charcuterie – antipasto plate that included paté, rillettes, terrines, cornichons, salami and prosciutto = Good
Seafood bisque – thick traditional seafood soup from Normandie. To me this dish was so unbelievably salty that it reminded me of seawater (although other people found it to be okay in terms of the salt content) = Bad
Boeuf bourguignon en croute – slow cooked fine beef in red wine with bacon and steamed vegetables in crispy puff pastry. Had quite a strong wine taste = Not bad
Gratin de la mer – Seafood gratin that consisted of prawns, scallops, mussels and fish. Lovely hearty dish = Good
Frozzie duck – half a double roasted duck that came with mash, bok choy and pickled ginger = Not bad
Duck a l’orange – half a roasted duck with orange sauce and pumpkin puree. The duck meat was tasty however the orange sauce was overwhelming and made the dish too sweet = Not bad
Steak frites – 200g of grain fed aged scotch fillet that came with fries and mustard butter = Good
Goat cheese and pesto ravioli – came with little cubes of sweet potato, spinach, caramelised onion and pine nut beurre noisette (brown butter). The ravioli was perfectly cooked although it was a little bland = Not bad
Ile flottante – soft poached melt in your mouth meringue on praline creme anglaise (light pouring custard), topped with roasted almonds = Excellent
Vanilla creme brûlée – rich vanilla custard topped with a delightful sugar crust that cracked perfectly = Excellent
Tarte tatin – caramelised upside down apple tart = Not bad
Chocolate fondant – was unfortunately overcooked and did not have that gooey molten middle, so was rather a chocolate cake = Not bad (as a chocolate cake)
Overall:
An authentic french restaurant with authentic french food and authentic french waiters! The atmosphere is cozy and intimate, and the staff are very friendly. I probably enjoyed dessert more so than the mains but overall the food here is quite good. You can also claim a free eiffel tower key ring by either: 1. Checking in to Chez Olivier on Facebook 2. Liking them on Facebook 3. Voting Like for them on urban spoon 4. Following them on Twitter.
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.
1344 Centre Rd, Clayton 9562 7849
Spicy rice cakes
Kimchi pancake
Spicy kimchi hotpot with tofu and tuna
Mild beef stock soup with rice cakes and dumplings
Japchae
Teriyaki chicken sizzling plate
Dolsot bibimbap
Side dishes
Thoughts:
Spicy rice cakes – soft chewy rice cakes covered in a moderately chilli sauce = Not bad
Kimchi pancake – mildly spicy pancake that tasted almost pizza-like with the amount of capsicum that came on it = Not bad
Kimchi hotpot – regular kimchi soup that came with a decent amount of (canned) tuna = Not bad
Rice cake and dumpling soup – great for those who don’t like spicy soups, comes with a total of 3 dumplings (that contain indistinguishable meat) = Not bad
Japchae – a highly sweet dish that consists of chewy potato noodles, beef, capsicum, baby corn, onion, cloud ear fungus, spring onion and sesame seeds = Not bad
Teriyaki chicken – the excessively sweet teriyaki sauce is overwhelming = Not bad
Dolsot bibimbap – tasty combination of beef, egg, beansprouts, carrots, spring onions, onion, and dried seaweed = Good
Side dishes – pickled bean sprouts, kimchi, fish cakes, candied potato, chicken mayo salad and seasoned broccoli = Good
Overall:
Typical Korean fare at a place that has fast service, decent servings and is good value for money. The main dining area is upstairs, although they do have some traditional floor seating tables downstairs. Now each table upstairs has a service bell which you press whenever you require a waiter’s attention. However this only works when the waiters are not busy so you may need to press it at regular intervals to remind them that you still waiting to be served. Note that this is a cash only place.
71 Church St, Richmond 9077 3839
House onion rings
Ribs
Breakie burger
Stelios burger
Thoughts:
House onion rings – thinly sliced onion rings covered in a really nice crispy batter = Good
Ribs – average ribs covered in a sweet Jack Daniels BBQ sauce, served with mash potato (which tasted like it had been sitting around for a while) and some salad = Not bad
Breakie burger – bacon, chorizo sausage, egg, house hash, relish, rocket lettuce and mayo all combined into one delicious burger! = Good
Stelios burger – an epic burger made up of 2 x 140g beef patties, bacon, mushroom, lettuce, tomato, jalapeños, swisse cheese, mozzarella, tomato relish and truffle mayo. The beef patties were extremely juicy and the truffle mayo taste was quite distinct = Good
Overall:
A cozy little place that has friendly service and terrific burgers. The front dining area has a contemporary feel with lots of interesting artwork displayed, whereas the back courtyard has a very relaxed feel with its fake grass and colourful fairy lights (I can imagine it being a great place in summer for having after work drinks). Note that wednesday nights are their rib night and that on thursday nights the beers are only $2 with any food purchase. Bargain!
12 Claremont Street, South Yarra 9827 1228
Two birds – eggs on toast with mushroom, spinach, heirloom tomatoes, haloumi, avocado, house made sausage and bacon
Black Angus steak sandwich with bacon, beetroot chutney, horseradish cream, rocket and cheese
Corn fritters with house smoked salmon, avocado and snow pea tendrils
House smoked salmon omelette with beetroot relish, goats cheese and chervil on toast
Thoughts:
Two birds – a typical big breakfast dish = Not bad
Steak sandwich – the sweet beetroot chutney combined with the tangy horseradish made this a satisfying steak sandwich even though the steak was slightly overcooked = Not bad
Corn fritters – somewhat dry but the snow pea tendrils gave the fritters a fresh and unusual taste = Not bad
Salmon omelette – the omelette itself was nice however the toast that it came on was really thin and dry = Not bad
Overall:
Good atmosphere, average service and so-so food. Probably not a place that I would be rushing to go back to.
Crown Casino, 8 Whiteman St, Melbourne
Afternoon Tea
Sandwiches
Sweets
Sweets
Scones
Sorbet
Overall:
One of the best high tea places that I have ever been to! The service was prompt and professional, the atmosphere elegant and relaxed, the decor lavish and the quality of the high tea food was sensational.
The sandwiches included:
Although the whole wheat bread was a bit dry and hard around the edges, and the cucumber and cream cheese sandwich didn’t have quite enough cream cheese spread, the sandwiches overall were very tasty = Good
The sweets included:
All of these desserts were rich and marvellous, except for the white lady (which tasted like cream and nothing else) and the gin and tonic jelly shot (I am not a big fan of gin) = Good
Scones:
Traditional raisin and buttermilk scones that come with winterberry jam and clotted cream. The great thing about this place is that you get to decide exactly when you want to have your scones during your afternoon tea session. Baked fresh on request (they take approximately 12 minutes to cook), the results are hot buttery delicious scones that are light and fluffy = Excellent
Sorbet:
Raspberry sorbet with Grand Marnier on a praline base. A terrific palate cleanser to end on. A clean sweet sorbet with a hint of crunchy praline = Good
I am definitely coming back here again for afternoon tea!
93 Acland St, St Kilda 9534 2515
Vanilla slice
Boysenberry, pistachio and almond tart
Thoughts:
Vanilla slice – alternating layers of flaky puff pastry and smooth custard, dusted with powdered sugar. Wasn’t overly sweet = Good
Boysenberry, pistachio and almond tart – dense syrupy tart = Not bad
Overall:
You can’t help but slow down and ogle at the huge assortment of desserts that they have on display here. However once you actually step into the shop, the magic and the excitement that you feel while looking through the window is lost. The place felt cold, was too brightly lit and was so quiet that you feel almost uncomfortable having a conversation in there. The waitress who served us was pleasant enough while the owner sat at the table behind us and read from his newspaper the entire time we were there. So if you really want to try any of their desserts, best to get it as a take away.
764 Glenhuntly Road, Caulfield South 9523 7410
The New Yorker
Big Boy Smoked BBQ Meat Platter
Sides
Peanut butter cream pie with chocolate ganache
Condensed milk and banana ice cream
Thoughts:
The New Yorker – layers of salty herb infused beef pastrami, melted swiss cheese, mustard and pickles on toasted rye bread = Good
Big Boy Smoked BBQ Meat Platter – beef brisket, pulled pork scotch fillet, pulled lamb shoulder, beef pastrami, ½ rack of pork ribs, ½ rack of lamb ribs and chicken wings. So this menu option comes with 3 jumbo sides but for some reason we got 5 sides (not that I’m complaining). The sides we got were crunchy chips, onion strings, coleslaw, potato salad and corn bread. Now the menu said that this platter could feed between 1-6 people. Imagine one person eating all of this by themselves. Yikes!
So all the meat at this place is slow cooked and as a result has a salty smoky flavour. Apart from the pulled pork scotch fillet (which was quite spicy compared to the rest of the meat), everything tasted very similar after a little while once it was covered in the sweet BBQ sauce. As for the sides, the crunchy chips were extremely crunchy (in a delightful way), the onion strings were mostly just deep fried batter, the coleslaw was fairly average, the creamy potato salad had a nice tanginess to it due to the pickles and the corn bread was quite sweet (which I suppose is normal for cornbread) = Not bad
Peanut butter cream pie with chocolate ganache – deliciously creamy with a great balance of peanut butter and chocolate ganache = Good
Condensed milk and banana ice cream – came prepackaged in a little container and tasted like condensed milk mixed with banana Nesquik (ie. had a very artificial taste to it) = Not bad
Overall:
The place to go to if you want to have a break from eating vegetables and instead indulge yourself in a lot of meat. Although the food here is not exactly amazing, the concept of having slow cooked food that is served fast is different and interesting. (Their meat is smoked at low temperatures for up to 16 hours, hence the food isn’t hot but warm when it is served). The staff here are young and friendly and the atmosphere is very casual.
DAMMIT JANET I LOVE FOOD 