Chicken

Yong Green Food

Quinoa Fritter

Fried organic quinoa patties with veggies and spices, served with coconut chilli sauce

★★★☆☆

Buckwheat Crepe

Organic buckwheat crepe with braised shitake mushrooms and wasabi soy mayo

★★☆☆☆

Dragon Bowl

Biodynamic brown rice topped with assorted veggies, organic tofu, red chili paste and sesame oil, served with miso soup

★★☆☆☆

Rawsagne

Layered zucchini with mushroom, avocado, cashew cream and raw walnut bolognaise

★★★☆☆

Kelp Pad Thai

Kelp noodles mixed with organic veggies and a creamy chilli cashew sauce, topped with tamari almonds

★★★☆☆

Teriyaki Chicken

Wheat chicken pan-fried in teriyaki sauce with biodynamic brown rice and vegetables

★★☆☆☆

Green Tea Ganache

Macha, brazil nuts, goji berries, coconut, agave and raw chocolate

★★★☆☆

Black Sesame Ice cream topped with Goji Berries

★★☆☆☆

Raspberry White Chocolate Cheesecake

Cashew, raspberries, agave, cacao butter, macadamia nuts, coconut flakes

★★★☆☆

Overall:

As I was leaving Yong Green Food, I thought to myself that maybe I could become a vegetarian. But then a tantalising aroma of barbecued meat came floating down the street and I thought maybe not. But seriously, the food here is pretty amazing. The delicious and creative menu has many dietary options including raw, vegan, gluten-free as well as a no garlic and onion option (which was perfect for one of my friends who always has to check whether or not a dish contains garlic or onion). The menu here was quite extensive and there were many things that I wanted to try, particularly in the raw section of the menu. For those who are omnivores, I recommend not ordering anything that contains meat substitute as it will taste nothing like the real thing. Service was quick and friendly, and the ambience was relaxed and casual. I love how sustainability is an important aspect to those here at Yong Green Food. Not only do they serve predominantly organic vegetarian food using eco-friendly methods, they also use GreenPower renewable energy and donate 10% of their profits to help support farmer managed natural regeneration in East Africa.

If only I lived closer… I would be here all the time.

Note that this place is closed on Mondays.

Yong Green Food

421 Brunswick St, Fitzroy, VIC

(03) 9417 3338

http://yonggreenfood.com.au/

Big Mama

466 Swanston St, Melbourne 9347 2656

Spicy Chicken Bento Box

Korean style marinated chicken served with rice and side dishes

= ★★

Seafood Pa Jun (Korean seafood pancake)

Soft pancake with crispy edges, filled with a generous amount of seafood

= ★★★

Cream Garlic Prawn and Kimchi Fried Rice

This should have been called Cream Garlic Seafood as there was more squid and clams rather than prawns. The creamy seafood was terrific in any case, and went very well with the mildly spicy kimchi fried rice.

= ★★★

Yakisoba

Wok tossed Japanese udon noodles with beef and vegetables

= ★★

Overall:

A great place to go to for a quick, tasty, decently priced Korean/Japanese meal. No wonder Big Mama is so popular among university students.

Note that this place is closed on Sundays and is cash only.

Shesh Besh

365 North Rd, Caulfield South 9578 8350

Chebureki

Thick deep fried pastry with a succulent lamb and onion filling, served with sweet chilli sauce

= ★★

Marinated chicken shashlik

Chicken skewers served with small roast potatoes and a salad

Portions were small considering that this dish was from their mains menu. I initially enjoyed these skewers but once they cooled down, an odd ‘leftover’ taste was noticeable.

= ★

Vegetarian Manti

Pumpkin, onions and spices wrapped in a homemade pastry, served with yogurt sauce

The pastry was enjoyable (soft and delicate) however the vegetable filling left an unpleasantly bitter aftertaste. I had to pile on the yogurt sauce in order to get through one of these dumplings, and even our waitress wasn’t a fan saying that we should have ordered the lamb manti instead.

= ★

Baklava

Crispy sheets of phyllo pastry with honey and chopped nuts

= ★★★

Overall:

Friendly staff, simple decor, mediocre food. Thank goodness we used a Groupon voucher and didn’t have to pay full price.

Note that this place is closed on Mondays.

Nachos Mexican Cantina

175 Waverley Rd, Mount Waverley 9888 3866

Enchilada New Mexico

Two chicken enchiladas topped with a fried egg and melted cheese, served with rice, frijoles and a taco

= ★★

Texas Chilli Burrito

Ground beef simmered in a variety of chilli powders rolled in a flour tortilla with tomatoes, onions and cheese, topped with guacamole and sour cream, served with rice and frijoles

Faintly spicy burrito filling that brought to mind a tasty bolognese sauce

= ★★★

Overall:

The food is decent but pricey, so bring your Entertainment Book voucher if you have one.

Persian Flavours Takeaway & Eat In

338 Springvale Rd, Forest Hill 9878 3087

‘Dough’ yogurt drink

A traditional Persian drink comprising of yogurt, water, mint, black pepper and salt.

The predominant taste of this unfamiliar drink was yogurt and salt. In fact when it comes to quenching your thirst, this drink does the complete opposite. Nevertheless it is a good accompaniment for spicy dishes.

= ★★

Zereshk Polow

Rice with sweet barberries and smoky fried onions

= ★★

Plain naan, Maast-mose (yogurt with cucumber and garlic flavour), Mixed kebab (combination of chicken kebab, lamb tikka and lamb koobideh)

= ★★

Garlic naan, Chicken masti (chicken marinated in yogurt, ginger, garlic, spices), Cheese naan

= ★★

Butter chicken curry (charcoal chicken cooked with onion, garlic, cashew nuts, cream in gravy and butter sauce),

Mixed veggies curry (mixed vegies with cashew nut cream and gravy sauce),

Beef massala (beef cooked with onion, garlic, yogurt, cream, sultana and tomato sauce)

Each curry was light and well seasoned however we found the butter chicken and the mixed veggies curry to be exceedingly sweet.

= ★★

Overall:

I really wanted to like this place but the food simply did not excite me. I couldn’t help but compare the curries we had to the rich Indian curries that I’ve had in the past, and the rice and kebabs we sampled to those that I’ve had at Afghan places. Perhaps Persian/Iranian cuisine isn’t for me. Service was quick and the decor was simple. A nice experience but not a place I see myself returning to.

Cafe On Eaton

12 Eaton St, Oakleigh 9568 4668

Open Pork Yiros Plate with Greek salad, Pita bread, Tzatziki and Chips

Generous portions however the pork was slightly dry and salt needed to be added to the chips.

★★

Chicken Yiros Souvlaki (wrapped in lightly grilled pita)

The chicken was deliciously moist, the yogurt sauce was terrific and the fresh salad gave the souvlaki delightful crunch.

★★★

Overall:

Quick service, simple decor, tasty souvlakis. Note that orders here are taken at the counter.

Cafe Carpenter

742 Waverley Rd, Malvern East 9939 4061

Okonomiyaki

Japanese savoury pancake with special BBQ sauce, Japanese mayo and shaved bonito

= Not bad

Spicy Korean Chicken

Pan grilled chicken in a spicy marinade with cabbage

= Not bad

Bibimbap

A not so typical combination of rice, fried egg, chilli paste, sesame oil, minced beef, garlic sprouts, bean sprouts, alfalfa and lotus root

= Not bad

Overall:

Cute little place with friendly staff but extremely slow service. We were one of three tables and had to wait 45 minutes for our food, and even then one of our dishes was missing as they had forgotten to put the order through. The dishes we tried were quite ordinary and I doubt I would return here in the future.

Red Mango Thai Restaurant

3a Station St, Oakleigh 9569 6879

Pad gra prow with prawns

Stir fried prawns, chilli, onion, mixed vegetables and basil in a medium spicy sauce

More sweet than spicy

= Not bad

Red Duck Curry

Sliced Peking duck braised in a red curry with vegetables and Thai herbs

Minimal duck, minimal spiciness

= Not bad

Larb gai

A traditional Thai salad with minced chicken cooked in lemon juice, herbs, chilli and red onion

There was an overpowering taste of fish sauce and there was a lot more salad than chicken (which shouldn’t be the case when it comes to larb gai)

= Not bad

Pad Thai

Stir fried rice noodles with egg, ground peanuts, vegies and bean sprouts

= Not bad

Overall:

I am very particular when it comes to Thai cuisine as I always find myself comparing it to what I’ve eaten in Thailand or to my mum’s home cooking. Like many other Thai restaurants in Melbourne, the dishes at Red Mango Thai Restaurant have been tweaked to suit Western taste buds. So for me the food here was very average as was the service and the ambiance.

Note that this place only opens for dinner.

Chick-In

G23/620 Collins St, Melbourne 9973 6244

Gang Jung Soy Chicken

Sweet crispy chicken pieces combined with potato wedges (which I found to be strange and unnecessary) and rice cake, served with a cabbage salad which was drenched in an incredibly sweet mayo dressing

= Not bad

Salmon Bibimbap

Essentially rice, avocado, salmon and salad drizzled with soy sauce

= Not bad

Overall:

An unremarkable dining experience.

Hakata Gensuke Ramen Professionals

Tick box menu

Chicken Karaage

Morsels of crispy Hakata Style chicken served with dipping spices

★★☆☆☆

Signature Tonkotsu

Pork bone broth served with thin noodles, pork cha-shu, black fungus, bamboo shoots, spring onions and an egg

★★★★★

Black Tonkotsu

Pork bone broth with homemade black sesame and roasted garlic paste, served with thin noodles, pork cha-shu, black fungus, spring onions, bamboo shoots, bean sprouts and an egg

★★★★☆

Overall:

The pork broth here is EXTRAORDINARY! Made with an abundance of pork bones, the deliciously rich broth is quite creamy as it is so collagen-rich. The tick box menus made ordering very easy and I liked how there were taste options and noodle texture options (although the soft noodle and normal noodle textures ended up being pretty much the same). A variety of condiments are also available on each table (spicy pickled veg, red ginger, minced garlic, ramen sauce, gyoza sauce, sesame, pepper) to be added to your liking. Service was very polite (as soon as we entered, we were greeted by a very LOUD chorus of “Irasshaimase!”) and the atmosphere was casual but slightly cramped as this place is so popular. So be prepared to wait (we got there at 5:40pm on a Saturday and had to wait 40 minutes) but it will all be worth it for the amazing ramen!

Note that this place is cash only.

Hakata Gensuke Ramen Professionals

168 Russell St, Melbourne, VIC

(03) 9663 6342

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