Meatball

Takumi

32 Bourke St, Melbourne 9650 7020

Edamame and Sake

Takumi’s Special Wagyu Beef

(thinly sliced wagyu eye fillet grilled on the outside topped with finely diced onion and lightly dressed in refreshing citrus seasoning)

Tsukune

(grilled chicken meatball skewers)

Salmon Carpaccio

(salmon sashimi infused in tangy carrot, onion and soy sauce seasoning)

Jo-hire eye fillet steak and Karubi wagyu beef bolar blade

Mixed salad, Squid, Salmon

Sweet red bean ice cream and Green tea ice cream

Overall:

The quality of the food here was fantastic. Everything tasted fresh and the flavours were superb. I found the usage of lard/fat to coat the grill plate quite interesting. No wonder the meat here tasted so good. We came with a Groupon voucher and definitely felt that we had snapped up a terrific deal. The staff were efficient and the “smokeless” grills that they use here are great as it meant that you could leave without having that strong grill smell attached to your clothes and hair.

Little Chloe

1810 Malvern Rd, Malvern East 9885 2194

Pork, fennel & three-cheese meatballs cooked in a tomato broth, tossed with spaghetti, spinach, and roasted capsicum

The meatballs were somewhat bland however the spaghetti was cooked to perfection and the sauce was tasty and light.

= Not bad

Little Chloe’s corn fritters with red chilli scrambled eggs, crispy bacon, spring onion and goat cheese on sourdough toast

A splendid dish that was unfortunately ruined by one thing: the burnt corn fritters. Nevertheless the red chilli scrambled eggs were great, the bacon was super crispy and delicious, and the goat cheese gave this dish bonus marks (I love goat cheese!)

= Good

Overall:

A nice breakfast/brunch/lunch place that offers a good variety of menu options, quick service and a casual ambience.

Basilico

216 Blackburn Rd, Glen Waverley 9887 6288

Al Salmone gourmet wood fired pizza

Polpette Al Sugo (Meatballs) Risotto

Belgian Dark Chocolate and Strawberry dessert pizza

Thoughts:

Al Salmone pizza – thin crispy pizza base topped with slices of tomato, cheese, salmon, finely chopped leek, fresh basil, spanish onion, spring onion and cracked pepper. There was a generous amount of salmon on this pizza which made it noticeably salty, however the sweetness from the leek and onion helped to balance this out = Good

Polpette Al Sugo Risotto – tender Italian meatballs in a Napoli sauce. The sauce itself was tasty but the risotto was unfortunately hard and undercooked = Not bad

Chocolate and Strawberry dessert pizza – thin crispy base topped with deliciously melted dark chocolate brownies, fresh strawberries and four massive scoops of sweet vanilla ice cream. The base was superb and the ample amount of topping was fantastic. Hands down the best dessert pizza that I have tasted so far! = Excellent

Overall:

Great pizzas (there is a large selection of gourmet wood fired pizzas to choose from as well as original wood fired pizzas), average service, casual family-friendly dining atmosphere. But seriously, come for the Chocolate and Strawberry dessert pizza!

Radio Mexico

11 Carlisle Street, St Kilda 9534 9990

Corn on the cob

Calabaza picante taco

Albondigas

Quesadillas

Thoughts:

Corn – every time I venture to a new Mexican place, I always try the corn. (On a side note my favourite places so far in terms of Mexican grilled corn are The Black Toro and Mamasita) So I found the corn here to be wonderfully sweet and smoky, with just the right amount of cheese on it (ie. enough to flavour but not overpower) = Good

Calabaza picante taco – a delightful combination of spicy roast pumpkin, corn, goats curd and pepitas (chipotle roasted pumpkin seeds) = Good

Albondigas – mildly spicy meatballs (that contained beef, pork and rice), salsa, homemade crema, served with green rice. This was my first Mexican green rice experience, and I am hooked! This rice was full of flavour and was simply delicious! = Good

Quesadillas – corn tortillas with a cheese filling that gets toasted on the barbeque. There are two filling options available: the first being potato and chorizo, the second being bean, corn and roasted capsicum. Both were tasty but I probably enjoyed the vegetarian one more = Good

Overall:

Quick service, relaxed atmosphere, a funky place serves up some pretty tasty Mexican food. Note that this place does not take bookings.

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!