Gourmet Girl

21 Salisbury Ave, Blackburn 9894 8417

Country Style Breakfast

Norwegian Breakfast

Waffles with strawberries, ice cream and chocolate drizzle

Thoughts:

Country Style Breakfast – The egg and bacon frittata was too heavy on the bacon for my liking = Not bad

Norwegian Breakfast – Hearty and filling = Not bad

Waffles – Bit on the doughy side in the middle = Not bad

Chai Latte – Perfect mix of sweet, spicy and creamy = Excellent

Hot Chocolate – Rich and creamy = Excellent

Overall:

A comfortable place located on a quiet street that is great for catching up with friends, especially on a nice day as there is ample outdoor seating. Service can sometimes be a bit slow (as they seem understaffed) but the staff are friendly. Portions are generous and this is one of the few breakfast places where you can actually reserve a table!

Shira Nui

247 Springvale Rd, Glen Waverley 9886 7755

Sashimi Lunch Special

Katsudon

Momoyaki Chicken

Thoughts:

Sashimi Lunch Special – Fantastic value for money! For less than $20 you get kobachi, chawanmushi (egg custard), tsukemono (pickled veggies), miso soup, salad, rice and a LOTS of tasty fresh sashimi (apart from the sashimi that comes on the side of the salad, there was more hiding in the actual salad itself!) = Good

Katsudon – Average, portion seemed a bit small for me = Not bad

Momoyaki Chicken – A very sweet pan fried chicken dish that comes with pickles, miso soup, rice and salad = Good

Overall:

A nice little japanese restaurant that has good quality of food and service. The lunch menu is a lot more cheaper than the dinner menu, but either way a booking is a must as this place is quite small and very popular.

Baked Pesto Salmon

Recipe:

Salmon fillets (boneless, skin on)
Pesto
Breadcrumbs

1. Preheat oven to 200°C and line a baking dish with baking paper.

2. Place salmon (skin side down) onto the baking paper. Spread on pesto and sprinkle on breadcrumbs.

3. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes (depending on thickness of fish) until it is cooked through. Serve with a salad.

Overall:

Simple, easy, tasty!

Cottage Pie

Recipe from Taste.com.au.

Thoughts:

Additional ingredients I added were frozen veggies (corn/peas/carrot), mixed herbs, salt and pepper
I did not simmer the mince mixture for very long (as I was getting hungry) but found that as long as it was thickened, it was fine.

Overall:

A good recipe that holds quite well when serving.

Chocolate Bliss Balls

Recipe from Karmea Fitness.

Overall:

Great for those wanting to be healthy but crave something sweet. This recipe is so quick and easy, ANYONE can make these.

Agnolotti with beef sausage and spinach in a spicy tomato sauce

Recipe:

Pasta of your choice
800g can diced tomatoes
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
3 fried sausages (sliced)
200g of spinach
Basil leaves (shredded) or dried basil
Chilli flakes
Salt and pepper
Parmesan cheese to serve

Place tomatoes, garlic, sausages, basil and chilli flakes in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Add the spinach and allow to simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sauce thickens. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Meanwhile, cook your pasta according to packet instructions. Drain well, and serve with the sauce. Sprinkle on some parmesan cheese.

Overall:

Quick and easy. The more chilli you add, the better!

Bar Bosh

Knox Ozone, Knox City Shopping Centre, 509 Burwood Highway, Wantirna South 9887 5611

Potato wedges with sweet chilli, sour cream, harissa mayo

Sweet potato, zucchini and herb cakes with harissa yoghurt

Turkish pizza with spiced chicken, bacon, guacamole, spring onion and sour cream

Thoughts:

Wedges – AMAZING! Crunchy on the outside, soft and fluffy on the inside, well seasoned (I suspect with lots of msg as I was super thirsty afterwards). Also have to mention that the harissa mayo that came with it is very tasty = Excellent

Sweet potato, zucchini and herb cakes – average deep fried cakes that had its taste overpowered by the spicy harissa mayo = Not bad

Turkish pizza – good if you’re craving meat as they pack it on with this particular pizza = Not bad

Overall:

Go for the wedges! I have been here quite a few times and the wedges are always fantastic. I would also recommend the warm turkish bread with red capsicum dip. But apart from that, this is just another average restaurant.

White Chocolate Mud Cake

Ok first of all, please ignore my crappy icing. I was trying to do something fancy, but that ending up failing so i scraped everything off and hid my failure with icing sugar.

Thoughts:

So I found this recipe from Exclusively Food
Changes I made to the recipe: decreasing the amount of white chocolate to 270g and the sugar to 1/2 a cup (this still resulted in a very sweet cake)
Once the mixture is poured into a baking pan, make sure you drop the pan from 10cm or so onto a counter LOTS of times to get rid all the air bubbles before baking

Overall:

A quick and easy recipe that results in a delicious mud cake that will leave you wanting another slice…and another slice

Hell of the North

135 Greeves St, Fitzroy 9417 6660

Duck liver parfait, Madeira jelly and Brioche

Duck rillettes, Gherkins, Crispy bread

Cassoulet

Thoughts:

Duck liver parfait – extremely smooth and well made, brioche was fairly average = Good

Duck rillettes – it was my first time eating rillettes and it made me wish that i had discovered it sooner! Strong salty duck flavour that had just the right amount of fat in it = Excellent

Cassoulet – a very hearty tomato based dish that consisted of pork sausage, pork skin, and cannellini beans galore = Not bad

Overall:

A relaxed casual atmosphere with attentive service (e.g. within a minute of the bread running out, more magically appeared). A place worth going to for a good quality late night meal as supper is served until 1am from Wednesday to Saturday.

Bistro Guillaume

Crown Entertainment Complex, Southbank 9292 4651

In-house smoked salmon with dill cream and toasted brioche

Salad Niçoise with rare Yellow Fin Tuna

Barramundi with pea purée, tarragon butter and pommes allumettes

Steak frites with bearnaise sauce (Rangers Valley sirloin, 300 days grain fed)

Thoughts:

Salmon – fresh, tasty = Good

Tuna salad – simple, light, bit heavy on the salt that was on the tuna = Good

Barramundi – fish well cooked, lovely creamy pea purée = Good

Steak – good quality meat, sauce and sides were average = Good

Overall:

Atmosphere was pleasant, service was so-so (eg. I was sitting on a bar stool and had to ask someone to hang up my coat), great place to go to if you are in Crown and want to eat something french inspired. (Plus it’s in the entertainment book!)