Zagar’s Charcoal Grill

9 Royton St, Burwood East 9884 4067

Homemade beef sausages

Continental potato salad and coleslaw

Scotch fillet steak

Eye fillet steak

Thoughts:

Beef sausages – a blend of eye fillet, scotch fillet and porterhouse trimmings. Succulent mouthwatering sausages that will put any other beef sausage that you’ve ever had in your life to shame = Excellent

Potato salad and coleslaw – creamy potato salad, crunchy tangy coleslaw, both are satisfying accompaniments to the main courses on offer = Good

Scotch fillet – tender, well-marbled, full of flavour. I just couldn’t get enough! = Excellent

Eye fillet – top quality piece of steak that was tender and had a well balanced flavour = Good

Overall:

What a fantastic surprise this place turned out to be! The meat they have on offer is simply delicious! An authentic Mallee Root charcoal grill is used here to give all of their meat a wonderful wood smoked flavour. The menu is small and simple, but the food that they serve up is marvellous. The atmosphere is cosy and the service is great (our waitress was prompt, really friendly and gave us helpful recommendations as to what to order). The only downside to this restaurant are the limited opening hours: Wednesday to Friday 7pm until late.

Gami Chicken and Beer (Lt Lonsdale)

100 Little Lonsdale St, Melbourne 9671 3232

Corn cheese

Kimchi pancake

Fried chicken

Spicy sauce fried chicken

Thoughts:

Corn cheese – hot bubbly cheese mixed with juicy corn kernels and a bit of mayo for sweetness = Good

Kimchi pancake – crispy, oily, kimchi laded pancake that was full of flavour and didn’t need any dipping sauce = Good

Fried chicken – ordinary deep fried chicken = Not bad

Spicy sauce fried chicken – the spiciness of this chicken doesn’t hit you immediately, but when it does it’s fiery hot! = Not bad

Sweet chilli fried chicken – somehow reminded me of sweet and sour pork = Not bad

Sweet soy garlic fried chicken – sweet sticky chicken with a hint of garlic flavour = Not bad

Overall:

Unfortunately this place did not live up to its hype and was a bit underwhelming. The original flavour chicken was alright while each flavoured chicken came drowning in sauce. This is the place to go to if you are after a quick meal that is messy, greasy and fatty. The service is average and the atmosphere quite noisy. Also be sure to use the toilet before you come here as the single toilet that they have is quite disgusting.

Simon’s Peking Duck Restaurant

197b Middleborough Rd, Box Hill South 9898 5944

Duck skin with pancakes, spring onion, cucumber and special plum sauce

Stir fried duck meat with hand made noodles

Duck bone soup with bean curd

Thoughts:

Pancakes – delicate paper thin pancakes, nice crispy duck skin, not so fresh cucumber and spring onion, sweet plum sauce = Not bad

Noodles – hand made noodles stir fried with chinese mushroom, bamboo and duck meat. The only problem was that there was hardly any duck meat! = Not bad

Soup – sweet clear broth with a very strong aroma of star anise = Not bad

Overall:

I was a bit disappointed actually. From the way everyone had raved on about this place, I expected the duck to be utterly amazing. It wasn’t. The food was rather average, as was the atmosphere (chaotic at times) and the service (they definitely need more wait staff). On a side note, there are two dinner sessions to choose from: 6pm and 8pm. Make sure to book as this place is always busy.

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!

Green Refectory

115 Sydney Rd, Brunswick 9387 1150

Breakfast stack

The big breakfast

Pavlova

Black forest cake

Thoughts:

Breakfast stack – a potato pattie, bacon, grilled tomato, spinach, haloumi cheese, basil and a poached or fried egg = Good

The big breakfast – eggs, toast, bacon, spinach, tomato, onion, haloumi, sausage, avocado, mushroom and homemade baked beans. One of the best ‘big breakfasts’ that I have ever laid eyes on; huge variety of food (no need to order anything extra), huge servings and is great value for money! = Good

Pavlova – light and fluffy meringue (that wasn’t overly sweet) with a generous layer of fresh cream and fruit, just amazing! = Excellent

Black forest cake – a typically tasty black forest cake = Good

Overall:

This hipster-filled place is always busy for good reason: the food is is fantastic, the portions are generous, there is a huge variety to choose from, the prices are great, and the service is quick and efficient. Just note that you need to go up to the counter to order and that this is a cash only place.

Spring St Grocer

157 Spring St, Melbourne 9639 0335

Overall:

When you see a crowd lining up for gelati on a FREEZING cold WEEKDAY night, you just know the gelati is going to be something special. The gelati flavours on offer are forever changing, but what remains the same is that they are always intriguing and unique. The ones we tried were:

Turmeric, Cardamom and pistachio
Salty caramel and chocolate
Banana and Dulce de leche
Goat’s curd, pear and walnuts
Yogurt elderberry
Pandan, coconut and lime

The one I enjoyed the most was the Pandan, coconut and lime as it tasted refreshing and tropical, and the flavours complemented each other really well. My least favourite was the Turmeric, Cardamom and pistachio flavour as I found the cardamom taste to be too overpowering. Even so, it was still pretty good.

I can’t wait to go back to this place on a hot summer’s day.

Auction Rooms

103-107 Errol St, North Melbourne 9326 7749

Flat white

“Shady deal” – shakshuka of stewed spiced tomato, eggplant, peppers, chickpeas, merguez sausage with meredith goats’ feta, dukkah, poached eggs and grilled flatbread

Twice cooked kurobuta pork belly with kohlrabi kimchi, fried egg and chicharron

Poached eggs on sourdough with quinoa potato hash and avocado

Tea-smoked salmon on quinoa potato hash with braised greens, poached egg and bernaise sauce

Chestnut and roasted garlic ricotta gnocchi with bacon, baby peas, seasonal mushrooms and shaved grana padano

House-made banana and walnut bread with espresso butter and maple syrup

Thoughts:

Coffee – I have to confess that I am not a coffee drinker so the thoughts to this are those of my friends. They found the coffee to be fresh, aromatic, well balanced, and of a high standard that never fails to impress = Excellent

Shady deal – rich tomato intense dish that was full of flavour = Good

Pork belly – Super crispy pork belly that came with a unbelievably thick layer of fat = Not bad

Poached eggs on sourdough – generous serving of sourdough and avocado, delicious quinoa potato hash = Good

Salmon – enjoyable salmon, eggs, buttered kale, creamy bernaise sauce, delicious quinoa potato hash = Good

Gnocchi – Amazingly fluffy gnocchi, a very tasty sauce, the chestnuts however seemed a bit out of place = Excellent

Banana and walnut bread – Best banana bread that I’ve had so far! I liked how it was soft and fluffy but was also slightly crunchy around the edges. It was fantastic on its own so it didn’t even need the espresso butter or the maple syrup. This is something best shared, as the sweetness of it could overwhelm you if you were to eat it all on your own = Excellent

Overall:

A popular place that is worth the wait in line . Good service, great ambience and layout (especially the funky open courtyard that they have at the back), and most importantly amazing food and coffee!

Honey Joys

Recipe from Kelloggs

Crunchy sugary goodness in less than 15 minutes

Phat Brats

320 Brunswick Street, Fitzroy 9419 5526

Chilli fries with cheese sauce

Raw slaw

Wagyu beef and black pepper

Superfood dog

Cheesy smoked kransky

Chilli dog

Thoughts:

Fries – fantastically fiery! Will leave your mouth burning afterwards but is totally worth it! The way that the fries are seasoned, they taste almost like wedges. They come with sour cream, house chilli sauce, jalapeños and either spicy ground beef or beans (we decided to get the beef and it was very tasty) = Excellent

Raw slaw – cool crunchy coleslaw that went well with the fries (cool vs hot) = Not bad

Wagyu beef and black pepper – wagyu beef and black pepper sausage with house gravy, raw slaw, shallots and horseradish cream. Good quality sausage, strong horseradish taste = Good

Superfood dog – sweet potato, quinoa and tamarind ‘sausage’ with chilli lime mayo, minted peas, alfalfa, coriander and sour cream. They are generous with the alfalfa and the minted peas, but not so much with the vegetarian sausage = Not bad

Cheesy smoked kransky – cheesy smoked kransky sausage with german potato salad, dill pickles and mild mustard. Delicious cheesy sausage, great mix of flavours = Good

Chilli dog – wagyu beef sausage with spicy ground beef, house chilli sauce, cheese sauce and spring onion. This hot dog tasted like the chilli fries, minus the fries = Good

Overall:

I was absolutely devastated when I found out that their dessert hotdog was no longer on the menu. I had heard that this amazing creation was a donut bun with double chocolate ice cream ‘sausage’, berry coulis, toasted coconut, crushed pistachio nuts and whipped cream. Devastated.

Nevertheless the hot dogs that they do have on their are pretty fantastic, as are their fries (I must go back and try all their other fries). There are 3 choices of hot dog buns on offer: gluten free, wholemeal and seeded. Unfortunately the size of the hotdogs are a bit small, so eating one hot dog alone may not fill you up. That being said, this is absolutely one of the best hot dog places in Melbourne.

HD Cafe Bar and Grille

19 Royton Street, Burwood East 9886 8258

Filet mignon

Chocolate soufflé with vanilla ice cream

Thoughts:

Filet mignon – chargrilled eye fillet (that was cooked precisely as desired) served with scallops, king prawns, buttery mashed potato, steamed vegetables and a cream sauce. I was actually surprised at how good this dish was = Good

Soufflé – well cooked with lots of solid chocolate bits in it. Not sure if this was intentional or not, but it gave the dessert an extra chocolate kick = Not bad

Overall:

A little hidden restaurant just off Burwood Highway that serves an array of different dishes (Greek, Italian, Modern Australian). It is a family owned place with the husband as the chef, the wife front of house and serving, and the kids serving/milling around. The service was good but I’m not sure if it would have been the same if it had been a busy evening. Atmosphere was not so great, the place just didn’t feel very comfortable to me. Having said that, I would probably come back here again as the food was considerably tasty.