G23/620 Collins St, Melbourne 9973 6244
Gang Jung Soy Chicken
Sweet crispy chicken pieces combined with potato wedges (which I found to be strange and unnecessary) and rice cake, served with a cabbage salad which was drenched in an incredibly sweet mayo dressing
= Not bad
Salmon Bibimbap
Essentially rice, avocado, salmon and salad drizzled with soy sauce
= Not bad
Overall:
An unremarkable dining experience.
Level 1, 28 Elizabeth Street, Melbourne 9663 0062
Overall:
All-you-can-eat for $6.50? Yes please!
I must admit that I was initially uncertain as to what the quality of food would be like (I mean how many places offer all-you-can-eat for this price nowadays?). So the set menu here includes:
The curries were light (ie. thin and watery) but they did however taste nice and healthy. The rice was ordinary and I didn’t touch the pickle (as my friend had tried some and advised me to steer clear). The highlight of the menu was without a doubt the hot freshly baked buttery naan bread (I ate so much of this!). The staff were pleasant and the decor was very simple. This is very much a quick in-and-out sort of place that is great for those who are on a budget and those who are after a simple vegetarian meal that includes sensational butter naan.
2a Prospect Hill Rd, Camberwell 9882 7359
Truffled Brioche, sautéed mushrooms, asparagus, poached eggs and truffled hollandaise
Dry unpleasant brioche, not enough hollandaise sauce
= Not bad
Warm coconut rice with kiwifruit, lychee, lime air and puffed rice
I read the words ‘lime air’ and was very intrigued as to what it actually was. Turns out that it was like a lime flavoured meringue, and it tasted fantastic alongside the sweet kiwifruit, lychee and the creamy (but not too heavy) coconut rice. A very satisfying and filling dish that is perfect on a cold Melbourne day.
= Excellent
Overall:
A cosy little place where the menu is small, the staff are friendly and the warm coconut rice is delectable.
208 Balaclava Rd, Caulfield North 9509 8959
Pickled turnips (stained pink with beetroot), Pickled carrots, Hommus, Baba Ghanouj and Tabouleh, served with warm pita bread
= Good
Fatayer Bi Jibneh (filo pastry with feta cheese and herbs) and Fatayer (filo pastry with spinach and pine nuts)
Crisp golden pastry filled with tasty fillings.
= Good
Falafel
Deep fried mixture of chickpeas, broad beans, crushed wheat and spices, served with Tahina.
Slightly dry, so be generous with the Tahina.
= Not bad
Chicken wings
Char grilled chicken wings with garlic and lemon. Simple yet AMAZING.
= Excellent
Roast potatoes with herbs
= Not bad
Whole grilled fish with Tahina, walnuts, coriander, garlic, pine nuts and chilli
= Not bad
Shish Tawook (barbecued skewers of chicken fillets with a garlic sauce)
= Good
Lubia Bi Zeit (green beans, tomato and olive oil) and Riz Moufalfal (rice with pine nuts)
= Good
Rahet El Halkoum (traditional Turkish Delight) and Baklava (layers of filo pastry filled with crushed nuts in blossom syrup)
= Good
Mahalabiya (milk pudding served with pistachio nuts and blossom syrup)
= Good
Overall:
I love the Almazett Mezza Menu that they have here. You are served a set menu but can go back and order more items from the regular menu at any point in time, essentially making this an ‘all you can eat’ menu option (which always leads to me devouring plate after plate of delicious chicken wings). The atmosphere is comfortable and the service is fantastic (accommodating, efficient and very friendly). Note that this place only opens for dinner and that a belly dancer performs on Friday and Saturday nights (so be prepared for some up-close staccato hip movements, belly rolls and plenty of shimmying!)
25 Market Lane, Melbourne 9650 0848
Pickled fish and vegetables
Intensely sour
= Not bad
Savoury Egg Custard
Marvellously silky steamed egg custard with chicken, prawn, mushroom and edamame
= Excellent
Tempura
The tempura batter was delicately light, crunchy and subtly seasoned. My only gripe with this dish was the enormous piece of broccoli that was served. Don’t get me wrong, I love broccoli. It’s just a little difficult to eat when it’s the size of my hand.
= Good
Signature Deep Fried Dish
The left portion comprised of a tantalisingly tender scallop that was wrapped with understated crab meat and deep fried, while the right portion comprised of deep fried egg and mushroom.
= Good
Sashimi
Extremely fresh and delicious with each piece having that amazing melt in your mouth texture.
= Excellent
Sushi
Fresh and tasty but the wasabi was a bit too heavy for my liking.
= Good
Wagyu Steak and Miso Soup
Not sure if this is the norm, but this steak happened to be cooked medium-well and some of the pieces were extremely tough and sinewy. The sauce was lovely and aromatic, however the quiche that was served alongside was quite cheesy and did not complement the steak whatsoever. A strange combination.
= Not bad
Mixed Steamed Rice
Lacklustre fried rice that comprised of chicken, vegetables and mushroom.
= Not bad
Green tea ice cream
Weak green tea flavour, dense and had ice chunks in it.
= Not bad
Overall:
This place offers tasty yet affordable lunch sets that start from only $24.80. The cheap lunch sets must be very popular as by 1pm we were told that the two cheapest sets had already been sold out. But that didn’t faze me as I wanted to get a slightly more expensive Shoya Special Lunch Set anyway. I ended up getting the Matsu Set and substituted the crab dish with tempura. Most of the dishes came out at a nice even pace so that as soon as we had finished one dish, the next one would promptly arrive. Service was good and the atmosphere was chic and sophisticated. We witnessed one of the chefs preparing Shoya’s famous sashimi ice domes. They looked spectacular but I think you can only get them as part of the $180 dinner degustation menu. I think I’ll just stick to coming here for lunch.
167 Exhibition St, Melbourne 9650 9877
Soft Shell Crab Sushi burger and Gyoza in a Bento Box
Spicy Raw Tuna Sushi burger and Sashimi in a Bento Box
Salmon Alburi Sushi burger
Ebi Mayo Sushi burger
Yomogi Daifuju (red bean), Black Sesame Daifuku, Green Tea Cream Daifuku, Murasaki Imo Daifuku (purple sweet potato)
Ichigo Daifuku
Ichigo Daifuku
Overall:
Sushi in the form of a burger? GENIUS. These burgers comprise of various sushi fillings and buns made from sushi rice that are held together with a sheet of seaweed. There are almost 20 different types of burgers to choose from which are made fresh on order. My favourite would have to be the Ebi Mayo Sushi burger (crispy tempura prawn, lettuce, tartare sauce and teriyaki sauce) although every other burger I’ve tried has also been very delicious. There is also the option of getting your Sushi burger in a Bento box which comes with the choice of an entree and miso soup. I found the Bento Boxes to be merely okay so these days I simply order the Sushi burgers by themselves.
For those who are a fan of daifuku (small round glutinous rice cakes that contain a sweet filling), try the Ichigo Daifuku here!
Note that service can sometimes be slow and that prices are cheaper for takeaway Sushi burgers.
21 Bond St, Melbourne 9629 5900
Cherry, Pomegranate & Bitters Mocktail
(uludag sour cherry soda, pomegranate juice, rhubarb bitters)
Smoked hummus, lamb, cashew, cumin seeds, almonds
Local olives, maltese fel fel
‘Aegean coast’ – Wild greens, beach bananas, oyster cream and pork crackling
Zucchini falafel, almond, handmade haloumi and radish
Braised lamb neck, brik pastry, smoked eggplant and harissa pickled cabbage
Silverbeet borek
Market fish, parsnip, sesame, wild autumn mushrooms and hazelnut
Cracked wheat pilaf, barberry, date and almond
Fattoush, caramelised garlic, tomato and cucumber
12 hour roasted lamb shoulder, sumac, garlic, green olive tabouleh
Crispy skinned chicken leg, Iranian smoked rice, BBQ corn and egg
Vanilla rice pudding, toasted marshmallow ice cream, pekmez ganache and almond biscuit
Peanut butter and chocolate opera cake, brioche ice cream, salted caramel and lemon meringue
Turkish delight filled doughnuts, honey and walnuts
Overall:
Each serving comprised of a spectacular array of flavours and textures, and I truly enjoyed each dish down to the last bite. However I do want to give special mention to:
1. The hummus – fantastic! The underlying smoky flavour took hummus as I knew it to a whole new level
2. ‘Aegean coast’ salad – the smooth oyster cream was simply divine and provided a lovely contrast to the crispy pork crackling
3. Turkish delight filled doughnuts – crispy light dough with a tasty dollop of sweet Turkish delight inside
This place transcends you to somewhere else with its exotic rhythmic music and its dark elegant decor. In addition it is located in a sub-basement venue so that it perpetually feels like night. The service is efficient and the portion sizes are quite generous. (I originally had my eye on the 6 course menu but as it turned out the 4 course menu was already a struggle to finish) Note that the menu here changes regularly so that there is always something new and exciting to tantalise your tastebuds. If you haven’t been here before, put this on your places to try list!
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.
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.
479 Main St, Mordialloc 9588 2881
Kushikatsu
Tempura
Salmon and avocado hako sushi
Sushi moriawase
Thoughts:
Kushikatsu – crumbed pork and onion skewers that were sweet and tender = Good
Tempura – really light and crispy, some of the best tempura batter that I’ve had in a while = Good
Salmon and avocado hako sushi – you can’t go wrong combining fresh salmon with creamy avocado = Good
Sushi moriawase – included fresh tuna, salmon, white fish, prawn and egg. Each piece had a small amount of wasabi between the rice and the top layer, giving it a tasty kick = Good
Overall:
Enjoyable food, simple decor, Japanese chefs in the kitchen and friendly Japanese waiters who are extremely polite and attentive.
DAMMIT JANET I LOVE FOOD 