Pancake

Addict Food and Coffee

Granola

House made coconut yogurt, fresh strawberry and orange, cinnamon, dried cranberries, raisins and apricots

★★★☆☆

Addict’s Pulled Pork Burger

12 hour cooked pork shoulder, slaw, jalapeños, gochujang mayo, salt and vinegar chips

★★★★☆

Grilled Cheese Kransky Big Breakfast

Bacon, fried egg, mushroom, smoked confit tomato, spicy apple and tomato chutney, gluten free toast

★★☆☆☆

Dark Choc Fondant Pancake

Wild hibiscus, strawberry, cacao crumble, mascarpone

★★☆☆☆

Overall:

I had a lovely experience but the food, service and atmosphere were nothing out of the ordinary. Perhaps my expectations were set too high after reading so many glowing reviews about this place. Or perhaps we ordered the wrong dishes. Or perhaps we came on an off day. Perhaps perhaps perhaps!

Addict Food and Coffee

240 Johnston St, Fitzroy, VIC

(03) 9415 6420

Bistro K

Spicy baby octopus and buckwheat noodles with chilli vinegrette

Incredibly tender octopus, terrific flavours.

★★★★☆

Crispy chicken balls with Korean sweet chilli sauce

These were definitely crispy however the chicken was dry.

★★☆☆☆

Smoked pork belly with cooked kimchi salad

Spicy kimchi + tantalizing pork belly = winning combination!

★★★★★

Premium Angus scotch fillet with roasted seasonal vegetables

The scotch fillet was small but tasty, while the vegetables needed seasoning.

★★★☆☆

Makgeoli (Korean rice beer) brulee

This dessert turned out to be ordinary creme brulee with Makgeoli flavoured sorbet on the side (instead of Makgeoli flavoured creme brulee, which was what I was expecting).

★★☆☆☆

Hotteok (Korean sweet pancake with caramelised honey syrup) with ginger ice cream

This pancake was so deliciously fluffy and had an amazing caramelised honey filling. The ice cream was a wonderful accompaniment and had a subtle ginger aroma, while the crushed peanuts and sunflower seeds gave this dish some delightful crunch.

★★★★★

Sujeonggwa (sweet Korean cinnamon punch)

Sweet and refreshing with distinctive cinnamon notes.

★★★★☆

Overall:

We came here with a Cudo voucher and felt that we got such an amazing deal. I was so impressed with this place that I am already looking forward to my next visit! The food was great (not surprising seeing as former Nobu chef Jae Park heads the kitchen), the service faultless, and the atmosphere warm and simple. A must try for lovers of Korean food. Note that this place is closed on Mondays.

Bistro K

366 Smith St, Collingwood

9973 6055

http://bistrok.com.au/

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.

KF Cafe

374 Centre Rd, Bentleigh 9557 5694

Ice green tea latte

Kimchi pancake

Deep fried octopus balls

Pork with bulgogi sauce on a sizzling plate

Bibimbap

Japchae

Thoughts:

Ice green tea latte – contained more milk and less green tea powder than previous ice green tea lattes that I have had but was still very yummy = Good

Kimchi pancake – a light eggy pancake that barely had any kimchi in it = Not bad

Deep fried octopus balls – came with a generous amount of dried bonito but did not actually contain much octopus in the balls themselves = Not bad

Bulgogi pork – came with rice and miso soup. The pork was tender and bulgogi sauce had a great balance of salty and sweet = Good

Bibimbap – tender stir fry beef with a good variety of vegetables. They forgot to give us any chili pepper paste but were very apologetic when we asked for some = Good

Japchae – chewy sweet potato noodles served with sliced beef, onion, carrot, zucchini, eggplant, enoki mushrooms, chives and Korean soy sauce = Not bad

Overall:

A tiny little restaurant that serves a mixture of Korean and Japanese food. The service is fast and friendly, while the decor is simple and a little bit strange (think little green footprints on the wall). My only gripe with this place is the portions of the food: too small!

Stokers Coffee Lounge

1033 Heidelberg Rd, Ivanhoe 9497 4488

Raspberry and white chocolate pancakes

(All the pancakes here look pretty much the same hence the one photo)

Overall:

The pancakes themselves were quite thin (almost crepe-like), made fresh to order and had a variety of fillings available (both savoury and sweet). The atmosphere was dim and cozy with wooden tables and benches scattered around, an old wooden upright piano sitting in a corner waiting to be played and an open fireplace in the middle of the room. Although the food and the service here is average, this place is open until 2am (except on Sundays when it is until midnight), making it a great place for a late night nibble.

The Grain Store

517 Flinders Lane, Melbourne 9972 6993

Apple, rhubarb & ricotta pancakes

Chilli & fennel sausage, winter vegetable hash

Lemon meringue pie

Thoughts:

Pancakes – Extraordinary! The combination of tangy rhubarb curd, sweet apple puree, crunchy oat and honeycomb crumble and the fluffy ricotta pancakes was simply fantastic = Excellent

Chilli & fennel sausage – the egg was perfectly poached and sat upon the winter vegetable hash which was a mix of potato and sweet potato chunks. The chilli and fennel sausage was ordinary but the pear and cider relish was quite tasty = Good

Lemon meringue pie – lemon curd, marshmallow, tamarillo salsa, basil and two squares of buttery pastry made up this deconstructed pie. Despite having all the right ingredients there on the plate, I couldn’t help but feel that something was missing = Not bad

Overall:

A wonderful brunch place that is hidden among dull office buildings found at the west end of Melbourne’s CBD. The food here is fresh, local, organic, and not to mention beautifully presented. The staff are friendly and there is a relaxed country kitchen feel here with its light open space and naturally colourful decor (fruit, vegetables, plants, flowers) that can be seen throughout the dining area. Best of all, this place takes reservations!

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.

Wooga Korean Restaurant

270 Victoria St, North Melbourne 9328 1221

Top grade beef rib

Spicy kimchi and pork soup

Seafood pancake

Thoughts:

We ordered the Combo A set menu ($39 pp) which included:

Top grade beef rib (I found this to be extremely tough and chewy)
Top side with salt and pepper (tender and delicious)
Beef brisket (just okay)
Bean paste soup (which we swapped for kimchi and pork soup, which turned out to be good)
Rice (2 bowls)

Seafood pancake – contained lots of egg and not that much seafood, so was just an average pancake. HOWEVER the dipping sauce that comes with it is fantastic! = Not bad

Overall:

Among the multiple Korean BBQ restaurants along Victoria St, I found this one to be so-so. The food overall was average with nothing standing out (apart from the seafood pancake dipping sauce, which I’m not going to count). I found the portions to the Combo A set menu to be on the small side, so unless you eat very little, this set menu will not fill you up. Service to this place was standard with the waiter coming around every now and again to turn our meat on the BBQ. What I did like about this place was that they used good exhaust chutes for each table which made the place less smokey compared to other Korean BBQ places. Having said that there is still no escaping the strong BBQ smell that seeps into your hair and your clothes, that lingers with you once you leave this place.

Kluska

161 Foster St, Dandenong 9793 2154

Nalesniki z miesem (Polish pancakes with mince beef)

Pyzy z grzybami (Silesian dumplings with mushrooms)

Bigos (Traditional meat stew)

Kopytka (Polish gnocchi with beef goulash)

Thoughts:

Polish pancakes – delicious crepe-like pancakes filled with minced beef, served with a side of sauerkraut = Excellent

Silesian dumplings – loved the silky texture and flavour of these glutinous dumplings. Also came with a side of sauerkraut = Excellent

Traditional meat stew – sour! The sauerkraut in this was very overpowering! Hardly any traces of the stew’s other ingredients could be detected (ie. diced beef, pork sausage, dried prunes) = Not bad

Polish gnocchi – quite similar to Italian gnocchi, very filling. Beef goulash was richly flavoured with tomatoes = Not bad

Overall:

The experience was like dining at someone’s house, except that you’re being served by waitresses wearing wianeks (flower wreaths) on their heads. The atmosphere at this restaurant was intimate and cozy, and the decor was folksy and nanna-like (think fruit printed table cloths). Although the menu is quite small, what they do have to offer is delightful genuine Polish fare.