Chicken

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.

Marquee Restaurant

445 Toorak Rd, Toorak 9827 7938

Selection of breads accompanied with three house made dips

Mini wagyu burgers

Crunchy saffron arancini served with aioli

Braised lamb ribs served with sweet sticky sauce

Flash fried baby calamari

Grilled halloumi and chicken marinated in herbs

Thoughts:

Breads and dips – the ‘selection’ of breads comprised of sliced white bread and sliced wholemeal bread. These were cut up into primary school reminiscent triangles that were completely toasted so that they resembled slices of hard crusty croutons. I have never seen a restaurant serve sliced sandwich bread with dips before and found this to be quite bizarre and disappointing. The three dips that accompanied the bread were beetroot and sour cream, hommus and sun dried tomato. The amount of dip provided was certainly not generous and did not taste house made at all = Bad

Mini wagyu burgers – uninspiring wagyu patty served in a tough dry brioche bun messily thrown together with lettuce, tomato, relish, gruyere cheese and quails egg = Not bad

Crunchy saffron arancini – rather than being crunchy, these were stuck in your teeth chewy. I’m not sure how much (or if any) saffron went into these arancini balls but the only thing that I could taste was cheese = Bad

Braised lamb ribs – dry crispy ribs that came with a sparing but sweet sauce = Not bad

Flash fried baby calamari – the calamari was dusted with undistinguishable wasabi and was served with a side salad of pickled carrot and cucumber = Not bad

Grilled halloumi and chicken = reminded me of Nando’s lemon and herb chicken, but with haloumi melted onto the chicken = Not bad

Overall:

What happened Marquee? When I first visited years ago, this elegant restaurant served mouthwateringly delicious food. The menu used to be vast and interesting, and their mini wagyu burgers were unbelievably amazing, (one of the best that I have ever had) but not anymore. The quality of food here has definitely gone downhill and the menu is now limited to tapas. The restaurant itself is divided into two sections: a casual front section that is covered by gorgeous cream drapes that resemble a marquee (hence the name), and a stylish back dining section filled with dark leather seating and black timber furnishings. Although the dining area was fancy and relaxing, the atmosphere was unfortunately ruined by the out of place dance music that they had playing all night. Although the service is fast and friendly, I am sad to say that I don’t think I will ever venture here again.

Hudadak

Carinish Rd, Clayton (near the corner of Clayton Rd) 9543 4276

Steamed dumplings

Seafood and kimchi pancake

Spicy corn noodles

Half fried chicken/Half ganjang chicken

Thoughts:

Steamed dumplings – healthy tasting mince and vegetable filled dumplings served with soy sauce = Not bad

Seafood and kimchi pancake – not enough seafood, not enough kimchi = Not bad

Spicy corn noodles – chewy corn noodles with vegetables (carrot, cucumber, cabbage, bean sprouts, seaweed), sliced apples, and half an egg, served cold with a spicy sauce = Not bad

Half fried chicken/Half ganjang chicken – the fried chicken is original Korean style fried chicken, while the ganjang is soy and garlic sauce fried chicken. Both were delightfully crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, with the ganjang chicken having a delicious sweet flavour to it = Excellent

Overall:

This small casual place has the usual Korean menu (eg. sizzling BBQs, clay pot soups) but the stand out item for me was definitely their fantastic fried chicken!

Joe’s Bar and Dining Hall

64-66 Acland St, St Kilda 9525 3755

Greenvale Farm Pork Sliders

Bucket of JFC

Harissa chicken salad

Romsey range beef burger

Sausage sizzle kransky

Mac ‘N’ Cheese

Thoughts:

Greendale Farm Pork Sliders – pork, pickled cabbage, BBQ sauce and apple puree. The hint of sweetness from the apple puree completed the taste of these yummy sliders = Good

JFC – four huge pieces of crispy (boneless!) chicken served with chipotle mayo = Excellent

Harissa chicken salad – tender harissa chicken, beetroot, goats cheese, rocket, pepita seeds and quinoa. I normally don’t order salads but I’m so glad that we did because it was surprisingly fantastic! = Excellent

Romsey range beef burger – deliciously juicy Romsey range beef, lettuce, cheese, red onion, pickles, mustard mayo and tomato sauce. A tasty no frills basic beef burger = Good

Sausage sizzle kransky – salty kransky served with cider onions, vermont cabot cheese, bourbon mustard and cabbage = Not bad

Mac ‘N’ Cheese – macaroni pasta with vermot cabot cheese and a sage and garlic crust = Good

Overall:

It’s a shame that this place always seems to be quiet whenever I pass by because the food here is something worth talking about. Not to mention that you get also get complimentary chipotle popcorn! The staff here are great however service from the kitchen can be a bit slow. The atmosphere is average but if you go on a friday or saturday night, there is a house DJ (who is awkwardly placed on the far side of the room near the toilets) that plays from 9pm till late.

Shanghai Street Dumplings, Wontons and Noodle

64 La Trobe St, Melbourne 0405 427 910

Boiled pork dumplings

Fried chicken and prawn dumplings

Shanghai fried noodles

Pork dumplings in chilli oil

Thoughts:

Boiled pork dumplings – juicy pork filling with thick dumpling skin (compared to the fried ones which was a bit strange) = Not bad

Fried chicken and prawn dumplings – enjoyable crisp dumplings with plenty of visible prawns pieces = Good

Shanghai fried noodles – thick chewy shanghai noodles with a strong aroma of chinese mushroom = Not bad

Pork dumplings in chilli oil – moderately spicy chilli oil soup that brings out the flavour of the dumplings = Not bad

Overall:

If you are in the mood for dumplings and do not want to line up for ages at Shanghai Street Dumpling on Little Bourke St, then this is the place for you. This sister restaurant of Shanghai Street Dumpling produces food that is fast and cheap, while the service here is slightly below average. I also have to mention that when we tried to order another chicken and prawn dumplings dish, we were told that they had run out! What kind of dumpling place runs out of dumplings? (and this happened around 6:30pm!) On a more positive note, this restaurant does take reservations but just remember that it is cash only.

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.