Mushrooms

Suga Korean Restaurant

Tofu Canape

(pan fried homemade tofu topped with Suga’s seasoned rice balls and fried lotus chips, served with wasabi mayo)

★★★☆☆

Side Dishes

★★★★☆

Seafood Pajeon

★★★☆☆

Original Fried Chicken

Sadly dry.

★★☆☆☆

Handmade Kal-Gook-Soo

(knife-cut wheat noodles boiled with egg in fish broth, flavoured with seasoning, onions, garlic, topped with carrots and dried seaweed)

★★★★☆

Spicy Soft Tofu Stew

(soft tofu stew with seafood, mushrooms, zucchini, spring onions and onions in spicy hot soup topped with a cracked egg)

★★★★☆

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Soondae

(Korean style sausages stuffed with pork blood, sweet potato glass noodles, carrots, onions, spring onions, seasoned with ginger, salt, garlic and pepper)

With so many other ingredients mixed in, these didn’t taste like your typical blood sausage (ie. they didn’t have that livery iron-rich blood taste)

★★★☆☆

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Cold Noodles

(thin buckwheat noodles served icy cold in beef broth topped with cucumber, beef slices, half a boiled egg, served with vinegar and mustard)

★★☆☆☆

Tofu donuts with vanilla custard and ice cream

There was tofu mixed throughout the batter which made these donuts extra soft on the inside.

★★★☆☆

Overall:

You will find a huge range of traditional and contemporary Korean dishes at Suga, many of which I have not seen served anywhere else. The must try item however is their delicious home-made tofu which is prepared daily on site! Staff were friendly but service was slow. I just have to make sure that I’m hungry but not ravenously hungry the next time I come here.

Suga Korean Restaurant

269 Huntingdale Rd, Chadstone, VIC

(03) 9888 1001

http://www.sugarestaurant.com/

Le Petit Prince

Mushrooms and Chorizo

(with smashed avocado, beetroot hummus, poached egg and feta on quinoa and soya toast)

★★★☆☆

Green Bowl

(kale, kiwi, cucumber and coconut smoothie with black chia seeds, house granola, coconut flakes and seasonal fruits)

Simple, colourful, guilt-free.

★★★☆☆

Iced Matcha

Check out the huge clumps of undissolved matcha powder.

★★☆☆☆

Overall:

I liked how the menu here was divided into 3 sections: ‘The Light’, ‘The Healthy’ and ‘The Rich’. Of course my eyes immediately went to ‘The Rich’ section and I had to convince myself that ordering from ‘The Healthy’ section would be just as good. Service was helpful and I really enjoyed sitting outside under the shade of the large leafy trees.

Le Petit Prince

1A Mercer Rd, Armadale, VIC

(03) 9824 6404

http://lpparmadale.com.au

Cote Terra

Celeriac Fritters

(served with house smoked salmon, pickled fennel, dill aioli and poached eggs)

The fritters themselves were somewhat dry and bland, so had to be eaten together with the runny egg yolk and the dill aioli. But the standout of this dish was undoubtedly the house smoked salmon which was absolutely delicious!

★★★★☆

Miso Mushroom

(roast field mushrooms, crispy enoki, cassava, parsnip puree with poaches eggs on rye)

There was only one thing that stopped me from liking this dish, and that was the EXTREMELY salty mushrooms. Everything else was great though.

★★★☆☆

Chips with chipotle mayonnaise

Crunchy golden chips that really satisfied the chip craving I had.

★★★★☆

Overall:

Generous servings, friendly service and great coffee. It’s always particularly exciting to discover decent brunch places this side of town.

Cote Terra

17 Station St, Oakleigh, VIC

(03) 9939 6805

http://www.coteterra.com.au/

Bawa

Potato rosti, slow braised pork, poached eggs, herb hollandaise

I enjoyed the pork and the herb hollandaise but not so much the potato rosti and the dehydrated apple. The portion size was also a bit underwhelming.

★★☆☆☆

Philly cheese steak ciabatta, braised short rib, peppercorn cheddar, dijon aioli, mushrooms, fennel, potato rosti

Not the prettiest looking sandwich, but definitely a darn tasty one. There was meant to be a side of fries with this, but the kitchen had run out so we were given potato rosti instead.

★★★☆☆

Overall:

Innovative menu and decent service within a gorgeous open setting (think lots of greenery, wooden tones and natural light).

Bawa

248 Burwood Rd, Hawthorn, VIC

(03) 9819 6701

http://bawacafe.com/

Mixed Business

Apple Pie Waffles

(buttermilk waffles, maple baked apples, pecan crumb, vanilla ice cream)

These waffles arrived piping hot which quickly melted the ice cream leading to soggy waffles. However everything still tasted good so it wasn’t a big deal.

★★☆☆☆

Sherry Roast Swiss Brown Mushrooms

(whipped Meredith chevre, hazelnut and herb salad on toast with a side of slow roast pork belly)

Thank goodness we ordered the side of pork belly (which was delicious) otherwise this dish would have been rather lacking.

★★☆☆☆

Overall:

After reading so many positive reviews about this place, I felt a little let down with our experience. More precisely it was the food that failed to make an impression, as the staff here were terrific and the atmosphere pretty stock standard for a brunch-type place.

Mixed Business

486 Queens Parade, Clifton Hill, VIC

(03) 9486 1606

http://www.mixedbusinesscafe.com/

Kuku Mama

Cheeseburger Dumplings – beef, pickle, cheese, Bobby John sauce

Although these are not your typical dumplings, this is certainly fusion done right. Within each dumpling was perfectly cooked beef and plenty of melted cheese, which was delicious when eaten with the pickle and the sauce. The dumpling skin was a bit chewy though and needed to be steamed a tiny bit longer.

★★★★☆

Vegetarian Dumplings – sweet potato, shiitake, enoki

Unsurprisingly sweet and mushroomy.

★★★☆☆

Bao – Peking roasted duck, pickled cucumber, hoisin

Soft pillowy steamed buns with a decent amount of tasty duck.

★★★★☆

Tacos – blackened salmon, herb crema, chicharron

★★☆☆☆

Mac & Cheese squared with Bobby John sauce

★★★☆☆

Crinkle cut chips, honey, soy, sesame, chilli, spring onion

A great mix of sweet and savoury.

★★★☆☆

Bao – soft shell crab, kewpie mayo, Kuku kimchi

The soft shell crab had good crunch but lacked any actual crab taste.

★★☆☆☆

Balinese coconut seafood curry with herb rice

The curry was a little on the bland side, while the herb rice (ie. the coriander rice) was a little salt heavy. So I suppose the flavours balanced out when you ate them together.

★★☆☆☆

Bao – southern fried chicken, slaw, BBQ sauce

The crispy tender chicken combined with the slaw and BBQ sauce made for terrific baos!

★★★★☆

Overall:

This was such a cool place. From the vibrant decor to the comfortable booths and couches, Kuku Mama is a fantastic place to eat, drink and simply hang out at. Service was quick while the food was creative and reasonably priced. Make sure you come with a few people because there will be lots of things on the menu that you’ll want to try.

Kuku Mama

105 Chapel St, Windsor, VIC

(03) 9529 6900

http://kukumama.com.au/

Le Miel Et La Lune

House made grilled cured salmon – served with yuzu cucumber, salad, red onion, strawberries, blueberries, poached egg and toasted mulitgrain bread

Apart from the overly sweet salad, I really enjoyed this dish. The salmon was well cooked and the egg perfectly poached.

★★★☆☆

Pork belly potato hash – potato hash, sliced pork belly, enoki, shimeji mushrooms, capsicum, poached egg, creamy sesame sauce

Drowning in creamy sauce, this ordinary dish was extremely heavy and difficult to finish.

★★☆☆☆

Lamb burger – tzatziki, beetroot relish and cheddar cheese served with chips

Average burger, bland chips.

★★☆☆☆

Iced Hummingbird chai latte

★★☆☆☆

Overall:

Korean fusion at a place with a French name. Although the service was good, the food was sadly nothing out of the ordinary.

Le Miel Et La Lune

330 Cardigan St, Carlton, VIC

(03) 9043 9767

http://www.lemiel.com.au/

Oscar Cooper

Spiced napoli baked eggs, grilled zucchini, spanish onion, corn, chorizo and manchego cheese served with ciabatta

A bit on the watery side but very flavoursome with a brilliantly spicy kick.

★★★☆☆

Crispy truffle polenta slice, confit field mushrooms, poached eggs, shaved manchego and jamon

The polenta slice was delicious with a distinctive truffle aroma while the eggs were perfectly poached.

★★★★☆

Oscar’s benedict on potato roesti, smashed avo, poached eggs and tangy hollandaise with house cured salmon

The potato roesti had been overly fried so was incredibly crispy. Eggs were perfectly poached and the hollandaise quite tasty.

★★★☆☆

Overall:

This popular corner cafe draws in the crowds with their enjoyable food, easy-going service and the all day booze they have on offer. So remember this place for the next time you have an early morning hankering for some wine or a cocktail.

Oscar Cooper

160 Greville St, Prahran, VIC

(03) 9529 5670

http://www.oscarcooper.com.au/

Tina’s Noodle Kitchen

Rice Noodles with Chicken Stock Soup

(rice noodles, tomato, spam, quail egg, bean curd skin, bok choy, spring onion, tofu, mushrooms, bean sprouts, fungus, deep fried pork)

★★★★☆

Rice Noodles with Pork Liver and Pickles

(rice noodles, black fungus, bean curd skin, bok choy, mushroom, spring onion, bean sprouts)

★★★★☆

Japanese Matcha Frappe

★★★☆☆

Overall:

When Tina’s Noodle Kitchen first opened, what caught my attention was the retractable belt barrier positioned in front of the place to control the crowds. I’ve eaten here a few times since then and this is what I know:

This place only serves noodles but the noodles are consistently good and very filling.
The 150°C bowls mean that the noodles arrive burning hot and remain that way for a quite while, so take your time eating otherwise you will leave with a burnt tongue.
Orders need to be made at the counter before you sit down.
Service is variable.
If you look Asian or anything slightly Asian, expect to be spoken to in mandarin.

In any case, Tina’s Noodle Kitchen is a good place to head to the next time you are in the mood for a satisfying bowl of noodles.

Tina’s Noodle Kitchen

231 Swanston St, Melbourne, VIC

(03) 9041 6382

Gyoza Gyoza

Salmon Tataki

Tuna Tataki

Soba Noodle Soup

Yaki Hotate

(baked Japanese scollops with creamy miso sauce)

Lobster Mini Burgers

Panfried Miso Eggplant and Duck Gyoza

Kinoko Hoiru-yaki

(foil baked mix mushrooms with ponzu butter sauce)

Overall:

What makes Gyoza Gyoza such an appealing place is that all their dishes are $6.50. With more than 80 Japanese tapas style dishes to choose from, we spent a fair amount of time deliberating over the menu. We had high expectations with the gyoza (due to the restaurant name) but they turned out to be rather ordinary and also smaller than expected. In fact most of the dishes we sampled turned out to be quite ordinary, with the only stand out dish being the baked scallops. Service was average and the small tables meant that it became a tetris challenge trying to fit all our dishes onto the table. Gyoza Gyoza may not offer the best Japanese food, but they do offer a wide variety for a decent price.

Gyoza Gyoza

115-117 Little Bourke St, Melbourne, CBD

(03) 9663 0801

http://www.gyozagyoza.com.au/