chips

Whet Restaurant

Whet house chicken curry served with basmati rice, tomato and apple chutney and pappadums

Fiery curry that was packed full of flavour.

★★★★☆

Tempura battered local wild caught barramundi served with chips and house made tartare

Average fish with really good chips.

★★★☆☆

Chicken, avocado, rocket, tomato and bocconcini served on a freshly baked baguette with basil aioli and chips

Once again it was the chips that made this dish.

★★★☆☆

Overall:

Set amongst tropical Daintree rainforest, Whet has an earthy and natural vibe. Whet is in fact fully self-sustained with generated diesel power, a tertiary level sewerage and grey water treatment plant, plus they have their own private water supply and rubbish removal. Pretty impressive! Service was average but the food was enjoyable so I’m glad we stopped by.

Whet Restaurant

1 Cape Tribulation Rd, Cape Tribulation, QLD

(07) 4098 0007

http://www.whet.net.au/

Miel Container

Miel Beef Pattie Burger (grass fed beef patty with brioche bun, lettuce, tomato, onion jam, bacon, bush tomato chutney, dill mayo, tasty) served with beer battered chips

I initially had some trouble biting into the burger because of the extremely thick burger buns, but once I managed to do so I was met with a juicy smoky beef patty and an abundant amount of sauce. The chips on the other hand were quite dry but well seasoned with salt, rosemary and thyme.

★★★☆☆

Overall:

Located in a bright red shipping container, this small eatery provides solid burgers, ordinary service, and plenty of free hand sanitizer for its customers.

Miel Container

Cnr of Mary Street and 96 Albert Street, Brisbane CBD, QLD

0423 466 503

The Baker’s Wife

The Lamb

(crisp spiced lamb shoulder, pumpkin hummus, fried chickpeas, beetroot relish, paprika yogurt, cucumber and mint salad)

= ★★★

The Bubble and Squeak

(Bubble and squeak croquette, Italian sausage, roast tomato, fried egg, sourdough, house relish and house BBQ sauce)

I really enjoyed the croquette but the sourdough and the sausages were simply tough and dry.

= ★★

The French Toast

(The Baker’s Challah, rhubarb and strawberry compote, spiced ricotta and Canadian maple syrup)

= ★★

The Cheeseburger

(150g beef patty, Swiss cheese, brioche bun, pickled cucumbers, American mustard, lettuce, tomato and chips)

= ★★★

The Barramundi Roll

(crumbed barramundi fillet, brioche bun, fennel, apple and celery slaw, fried capers, dill aioli and chips)

Delicious combination of ingredients. Plus the barramundi fillet was very tasty and had great crunch.

= ★★★★

Nutella Donut, Hot Jam Donut, Raspberry and Custard Cruffin, Chocolate Cruffin

I definitely liked the cruffins more than the donuts…

= ★★★

Nutella Donut

…although the donut fillings were delightfully bounteous!

Overall:

Warm inviting atmosphere, average service, good selection of pastries and muffins (which are baked fresh on the premises).

The Baker’s Wife

414-418 Burke Rd, Camberwell

9809 1133

Gloria Swanston’s Kitchen

Kick-Ass Beef Burger (200g fresh-ground beef, lettuce, tomato, pickles, onion, bacon and double American cheese served with crinkle-cut chips)

I didn’t order fries! Where were my crinkle-cut chips? Meanwhile the burger was enjoyable but not memorable.

= ★★

Mustard & Gravy Pulled Pork Sliders (slow roasted Moroccan-spiced pork shoulder over coleslaw served with crinkle-cut chips)

Fries again! Not that they were bad, just not what I ordered. The juicy pork and crunchy coleslaw combination with the sliders was tasty though.

= ★★★

Overall:

An alright place for drinks and a quick bite. Come for the $9 lunch specials.

Gloria Swanston’s Kitchen

243 Swanston St, Melbourne

9663 2916

http://gloriaswanstons.com.au

Sea Salt

Grilled Fish Burger (grilled fish of the day, salad mix, tomato, tartare sauce) served with chips

= ★★

Crumbed Chicken Burger (crumbed chicken, cheese, salad mix, tomato, Japanese mayo) served with chips

= ★★

Overall:

The burgers and chips were merely okay, and I must admit that I got food envy seeing people on other tables with their sashimi and sushi rolls. Service was fast and the atmosphere was casual and typical of a fish and chip shop.

Sea Salt

364 Lygon St, Carlton

9347 4777

Squires Loft Albert Park

300g Scotch with creamy garlic sauce and chips

★★☆☆☆

200g eye fillet with Danish blue cheese sauce and a baked potato

★★☆☆☆

Overall:

It’s been years since I last ate at a Squires Loft and couldn’t recall what the steaks were like. And that’s the thing, the steaks here were satisfactory, making them unmemorable to me. Squires Loft wouldn’t be the first place I would think of when I get a steak craving, but I also wouldn’t have any opposition coming here (if I happened to be in the area that is).

Squires Loft Albert Park

St Kilda Road Towers, 1 Queens Rd, Melbourne, VIC

(03) 9863 7700

Home

The Beer and Burger Bar

Beef Burger (beef patty, smoked bacon, beetroot relish, cheese, tomato, lettuce, American mustard, tomato sauce, aioli)

Wonderful smoky bacon, marginally dry brioche bun, bland patty, excessive relish that overpowered the entire burger.

★★☆☆☆

Onion Rings with relish and aioli

★★★★☆

El Mucho Burger (free range spicy chicken, chipotle aioli, jalapeños, lettuce, corn salsa, smashed avo and corn chips)

★★☆☆☆

C.C.G (chips, cheese, gravy)

★★☆☆☆

Spicy Chicken Wings

★★☆☆☆

Salted caramel milkshake

Inconsistent. One was lumpy and clearly tasted like salted caramel, while another was smooth and tasted like mild caramel.

★★☆☆☆

Hills Apple cider

$2.50 pots all day Tuesday? Yes please!

Overall:

Ordinary burgers, average service, casual atmosphere. Come for the $2.50 pots on Tuesdays.

The Beer and Burger Bar

112 Swan St, Richmond, VIC

(03) 9429 5934

http://www.tbbb.com.au/

Burgled

The Sin Miedo (Mexico) – beef patty, jalapenos, smashed avocado, lettuce, cheese, tomato

Lacked a bit of flavor as there was no sauce and the beef patty was unseasoned

★★☆☆☆

The Gettysburger (USA) – beef patty, lettuce, tomato, caramelized onion, pickles, mustard, aioli, cheese, ketchup

★★☆☆☆

Chips with ketchup and aioli

Similar to Schnitz chips (which I LOVE), these were diamond cut and shaped like a thin wedge so were crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside.

★★★☆☆

Ferrero Rocher milkshake

Sweet, milky, distinctive Ferrero Rocher taste.

★★★☆☆

Shortbread biscuit filled with nutella mousse, kiwifruit and strawberry

The lovely owner of Burgled actually gave this to us on the house. The filling was tasty however something less dense than shortbread would have been preferable.

★★☆☆☆

Overall:

Fantastic sports bar-like atmosphere, warm efficient staff, great chips, wide variety of tasty milkshakes (eg. Oreo, Cherry Ripe, Lychee & Vanilla, Butterscotch, Salted Caramel, Peach & Coconut and much more), average burgers. Soft white burger buns are used here which is a nice change from the sweet brioche buns found everywhere else. However the beef patties lacked flavour and the burgers themselves did not stand out.

Burgled

287 Huntingdale Rd, Oakleigh, VIC

(03) 9540 0355

http://burgled.com.au/

Woodland House

Purple congo potato crisps

House-cured Atlantic salmon, avocado, radish

Goats cheese bavarois, watercress, spring greens

Rockling, black barley, fenugreek

Poached and roasted spatchcock, nicola potato, asparagus

Tête de Moine cheese

So this particular cheese was prepared at the table using a girolle (cheese curler) which produced thin shavings that resembled rosettes. By creating a larger surface area, more oxygen was able to come into contact with the cheese and enhance its odour and flavour. Out of all the cheeses we sampled, this one was undoubtedly my favourite.

Farmhouse cheeses

Vanilla parfait, Yarra Valley berries, wild fennel

Cocoa covered mixed nuts, yuzu jelly

Herb and vegetable garden

Overall:

Established in an old Victorian mansion that was previously Jacques Reymond, Woodland House is a place of class and elegance. The decor is refined and the staff are extremely polite and attentive. The food is of a high standard as the kitchen is run by two of Jacques Reymond’s former chefs Thomas Woods and Hayden McFarland. We sampled the House Lunch menu and found every single dish to be fresh and enjoyable. The rockling and the spatchcock in particular were cooked to perfection, and the flavours of the vanilla parfait dessert were amazing. Note that this place is closed on Mondays.

Woodland House

78 Williams Rd, Prahran, VIC

(03) 9525 2178

http://www.woodlandhouse.com.au/

Breslin Bar & Grill

3 Southbank Boulevard, Southbank 9686 2110

Pork Ribs (half rack)

Fantastic melt in your mouth ribs covered in a sweet sticky sauce

=★★★

Wagyu Beef Burger with Twice cooked thick cut chips

(wagyu beef, Swiss cheese, caramelised onion, truffle mayonnaise, tomato, baby cos lettuce)

= ★★

Chorizo Croquettes

= ★★

Overall:

A friend of mine mentioned how great the ribs are at Breslin Bar & Grill and thankfully I was not disappointed. The ribs here are slow cooked for 16 hours and are then char grilled over a wood fire. A must try for those who are a fan of ribs. Ambience was great and the service was prompt.