Pork

David & Camy Noodle Restaurant

605 Station St, Box Hill 9898 8398

Taiwan Beef Noodle Soup

A tasty combination of soft noodles, tender beef and tart pickled mustard greens

= Not bad

Peking Pork Dumpling in Spicy Sauce

Sizeable dumplings filled with a juicy pork filling, covered in a very spicy sauce (which I wasn’t a fan of as it had some sour bits in it)

= Not bad

Fried Chicken and Prawn Dumpling

= Not bad

Overall:

If you are in the mood for dumplings, steer clear of this place. Yes the dumplings were admittedly big however the fillings were so-so and the dumpling skins were lumpy, thick and chewy (we ended up just eating the fillings and discarded the dumpling skins). Service was stony and unfriendly, and our dishes were plonked on our table without the staff members even looking at us. I’m not sure what the rest of the menu is like but I doubt I’ll return to find out.

Hurricane’s Grill

130 Roscoe St, Bondi Beach NSW 9130 7101

Steak and Ribs Combo with chips

200g free range sirloin with half a rack of pork ribs

Pork Ribs (Half) served with a baked potato

Overall:

One of the worst steaks I’ve ever had (flavourless, tough, rubbery) and some of the best ribs I’ve ever had (tender fall off the bone meat that had been generously marinated in a delicious gluten-free secret recipe basting sauce). Be prepared for some messy eating when it comes to the ribs, but don’t let that deter you from coming here as the staff will offer you the option of having a bib (which they even tie around your neck for you). The service was quick, the atmosphere family friendly, a place certainly worth visiting for the ribs.

Shizuku Ramen (revisited)

309 Victoria Street, Abbotsford 9995 8180

Tan Tan Men

Free range pork mince, egg, chilli oil, preserved vegetables, rich sesame sauce

= Good

Hokkaido Miso Ramen

Original hokkaido organic red & white coarse miso, cha shu, corn, butter, sprouts, egg

= Good

Almond Tofu

Chilled sweet annin tofu (almond jelly) with berries

= Not bad

Espresso Pudding

Coffee carnation milk gelee curd

= Not bad

Overall:

Although I am not the biggest fan of their Ramen Burgers, I am a fan of their ramen! The noodles were good, the toppings were generous and the broths were simply delicious. I didn’t enjoy the desserts as much as the Almond Tofu contained berries that came straight from the freezer (beware those with sensitive teeth!) and the Espresso Pudding became overwhelmingly creamy after a few mouthfuls. Service was friendly and the strikingly dark decor combined with the curious lights created a very non traditional Japanese dining atmosphere. So take advantage of this cold weather and try a bowl of the terrific ramen that is available here.

*Disclaimer: I dined as a guest of Shizuku Ramen. All food ratings & review are purely based on my own experiences and how I felt about the service, food and quality at the time of visit

Pizza Religion

Pork Pizza

(pork sausage, chilli, fennel, apple and cabbage salad)

Quite enjoyable but there wasn’t enough pork sausage (many mouthfuls of this pizza were purely of cabbage salad)

★★★☆☆

Beef Cheek Pizza

(braised beef cheek, celeriac puree, caramelised onions and gremolta)

The pungent beef cheek tasted marvellous with the sweet caramelised onions.

★★★★☆

Overall:

There is a wide range of fresh gourmet pizza toppings available and they are all served on crispy thin crusts. The staff here are helpful and the atmosphere is truly family friendly.

Pizza Religion

493 Tooronga Rd, Hawthorn, VIC

(03) 9882 2555

http://pizzareligion.com.au/

The Panama Dining Room and Bar

Level 3/231 Smith St, Fitzroy 9417 7663

Salmon rillettes served with herb salad and toast

= Not bad

Spiced wagyu beef and prosciutto meatballs

Full of flavour, great balance of meat and breadcrumb, lovely rich sauce

= Good

Fried cauliflower with ras el hanout (spice mix from North Africa), golden raisins, fromage frais and argan oil

Deep frying pretty much anything will make it taste better

= Good

Slow cooked Western Plains pork scotch fillet with Jerusalem artichokes, grilled pine mushrooms, parsley puree and buttermilk

Tantalisingly tender pork with a wonderful combination of ingredients

= Good

Steamed broccoli with Mt Zero black lentils and pecorino (left), Green salad with buttermilk, tarragon and shallot dressing (right)

= Not bad

Yellowtail kingfish fillet with confit fennel, grilled saffron calamari, fennel puree and saltfish croquette

The Yellowtail kingfish fillet was extremely salty, while the calamari and croquette were unmemorable

= Not bad

Chestnut gnocchi, pumpkin and parmesan puree, morel mushrooms, spinach and salted ricotta

Delicately light gnocchi that had a mild chestnut flavour, complementing the other ingredients of this dish fantastically. If only the portion size was bigger!

= Good

Overall:

If you manage to survive the arduous journey up two very steep flights of stairs, you will encounter an unobtrusive grey fire exit door with a small blue ‘Panama Dining Room and Bar’ sign above it. Enter these doors and you will find a funky bar, a pool table, lots of casual seating and a formal dining area. We went on a busy Saturday night and the bustling atmosphere made it very difficult to talk (I found myself yelling throughout the whole night and left with a sore throat). Service was friendly however the food took a little while to come out. I think I would prefer coming here for drinks as opposed to dining here in the future.

De Clieu

187 Gertrude St, Fitzroy 9417 6498

Berkshire Pork Neck

Meltingly soft 24 hour slow cooked free range pork, crispy spring onion roti, house made BBQ sauce, yolky fried egg, roquette

= Good

Middle Eastern Eggs

Fried free range eggs, crispy roti bread, roquette, organic sausage which I found to be slightly dry, hummus, dukkah

Notice anything particular about the eggs? Do you see the massive piece of egg shell?!? I suppose having a big piece of egg shell is better than having lots of little pieces as you can at least pick the big piece out.

= Not bad

BLAT

Double smoked bacon, avocado, roast garlic aioli, lettuce, tomato, quinoa & soy sourdough, roquette

What made this sandwich enjoyable was the amazing quinoa & soy sourdough that added a little crunch and the terrific roast garlic aioli.

= Good

Overall:

Small menu, small portions, average service, relaxed atmosphere.

Mrs Kim’s Grill

136 Koornang Road, Carnegie 9563 4424

Moo set

Oink set

Thoughts:

Moo set – 350g of marinated Galbi beef ribs, 150g of Skirt steak, tomato and avocado salsa salad = Good

Oink set – 250g of chilli pork belly, 150g of pork neck fillet, smoked salmon and onion salad = Good

Note that each set comes with butter and garlic potatoes, corn, soup of the day (which was soy bean paste soup), and rice for two.

The complimentary side dishes that are served with all meals include: homemade kimchi, pickled onion, spring onion salad, ssamjang soy bean, dipping sauce, and pepper and garlic salt.

Overall:

Really delicious and well marinated meat! In fact everything here was very tasty. My only complaint is that the meat sets need to be bigger so that there is more meat to be enjoyed! The atmosphere is casual and the staff are efficient and friendly.

Captain Melville

34 Franklin St, Melbourne 9663 6855

Haloumi stuffed zucchini flower

Gnocchi

Pulled Pork Bun

Fried Chicken

Quinoa Salad

Thoughts:

Haloumi stuffed zucchini flower – chickpea batter, eggplant puree, pomegranate & za’atar = Not bad

Gnocchi – ricotta and basil gnocchi, yellow tomato sauce, smoked tomatoes, roast red onion and olives = Not bad

Pulled Pork Bun – western plains pulled pork, BBQ sauce, crunchy coleslaw, pickles and onion rings = Good

Fried Chicken – crispy fried chicken (which was well fried but lacked any taste) served with sriracha mayonnaise = Not bad

Quinoa Salad – golden beets, grilled asparagus, shanklish cheese and honey yoghurt = Not bad

Overall:

Unexceptional food, average service, relaxed atmosphere.

Twee’s Hut

Shop 26 343 Little Collins St, Melbourne 9917 2017

Twee’s Soul Bowl (dry)

Classic Pork and Prawn Grenade and Freshly Pressed Juice

Thoughts:

Twee’s Soul Bowl – egg and rice noodles, pork, prawn, quail egg, lettuce, fried shallots, spring onion, coriander and peanuts. There are 2 options with the Soul Bowl: dry (which comes with soup on the side) or soup (which comes with soup already in the bowl). This dish is their very own version of Pad Thai and would have been terrific had they toned down the amount of sweet chilli sauce that was added = Not bad

Classic Pork and Prawn Grenade – essentially a pork and prawn rice paper roll. In addition to the pork and prawn there is vermicelli, cucumber, lettuce, mint leaves, coriander and sesame seeds. This was fresh and tasty but needed more meat = Not bad

Freshly Pressed Juice – I tried the ‘Island Kiss’ which comprised of pineapple, orange and apple juice. I like how the juices here are freshly pressed on order, and that no sugar is added = Good

Overall:

Opened in November last year, this bright and cheery place is run by a husband and wife team who have created a menu inspired by family recipes. What’s great about this place is the location. Situated in the heart of Melbourne’s CBD, Twee’s Hut is the perfect place for city workers to drop by for a quick and tasty lunch. I found a few things different about this place compared to other Vietnamese restaurants that I have been to. Firstly, this place is VERY clean (eg. gloves were used when the baguettes were being put together, no sticky tables, no sticky floors), they do not offer any free hot tea, and the way that dining in here works is also different. So when you dine in your name is taken down, you go and find yourself a table, and then your name is called out once your order is ready to be picked up from the counter. Different. Note that the current opening hours are 11am – 3pm.

*Disclaimer: I dined as a guest of Twee’s Hut. All food ratings & review are purely based on my own experiences and how I felt about the service, food and quality at the time of visit.

Shizuku Ramen

309 Victoria Street, Abbotsford 9995 8180

Ramen Burger

Thoughts:

Ramen Burger – tightly packed ramen noodle “patty” buns with candied pork belly, salad, plum and prune sauce, and kewpie mayonnaise. I had been looking forward to trying out this burger for a while but was left slightly disappointed after taking my first bite. I somehow felt cheated. I wasn’t getting a great burger and I wasn’t getting a great noodle dish either. Although the pork belly was sweet and tender, there were only two small pieces which meant that halfway through the burger I was left with only noodle buns and salad. As for the noodles themselves, they were quite soft which made the burger difficult to keep intact. It got very messy and towards the end I had to set down my burger and use a pair of chopsticks = Not bad

Overall:

The novelty of a Ramen burger was what attracted me to this place. I found the burger to be something different but not something that I would ever crave. Perhaps I would have liked the Eggplant Ramen burger more (which I wanted to try but they had ran out of eggplant by early lunchtime). The service was ordinary and the decor here was strikingly dark (black walls, black ceiling, dark furniture).