Quan Lua

Being Vietnamese, I’ve grown up eating Vietnamese food at home and at the restaurants in Springvale where I’ve had the pleasure of being served authentic dishes. Don’t ever expect any customer service and a clean environment when you’re eating in these restaurants. You’re there for the food and that is it! However over the past few years I have noticed a lot more modern looking Vietnamese restaurants popping up in Springvale.

We recently discovered a fairly new restaurant called Quan Lua that opened up with apparently really good Bun bo Hue. Now for those that don’t know, Bun bo Hue is a spicy Vietnamese noodle soup from Hue, a city in central Vietnam. Davin and I have both had our fair share of this dish in our lifetime and so when a friend of ours told us how good it was there, it certainly piqued our interest.

Located on Buckingham Avenue along a strip of other restaurants and shops, Quan Lua is a smallish no nonsense restaurant. When you enter, you know it’s the real deal when there are only true blue Vietnamese customers dining inside.

For drinks I ordered the iced kumquat drink which was delicious. Davin has never been a fan of kumquat in general but I love it. He stuck to just hot tea.

But we were there of course for their famous Bun bo Hue so we ordered 2 bowls of it and excitedly waited with much anticipation. They came out in large generous bowls piping hot with the usual sides of lime wedges, mint, bean sprouts and other greens to mix in with your Bun bo Hue. The first thing we noticed was that it was packed full of goodies to devour! They definitely didn’t cheapen out as the bowls had lots of beef and pork slices, cubes of pig blood and large pork knuckles.

The first thing I always do when eating a soupy dish is to take a sip of the broth to get a sense of the flavours. The broth was so beautifully flavoured. It had the perfect amount of spiciness combined with the lovely sour and salty flavours to make it a killer broth. The noodles were also perfectly bouncy and not too soft. Coated in the flavoured broth, I enjoyed slurping up every bit of noodle. The beef and pork portions were generous with the right amounts of fat attached to it, however it was the pig blood that was really special. These cubes of blood was so delicate like jelly, and so fresh! I don’t think I’ve ever had pig blood that fresh before.

Verdict? Probably the best Bun bo Hue I’ve had in a long time! Highly recommend! However if you do feel like another soup noodle dish there, I also recommend their country style chicken noodle soup which is also amazing. The broth is herbal based and also really flavoured. The chicken literally just falls off the bone too!

Quan Lua
Approx $15 AUD
Address: 23A Buckingham Ave, Springvale VIC 3171
Phone: +61 (0)401 211 888

Quan Lua Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Belleville

We were recently invited to Belleville, a restaurant and bar located in a rustic warehouse type building near Chinatown. Think dim lights, chandeliers, scuffed walls and floors, loud music and a DJ to create a casual vibe.

Davin and I started off with a couple of drinks and I ordered a dry martini with olives, and Davin ordered a glass of the Champagne Collette.

For starters we ordered the duck ham with taleggio cream, pickled black berry and sour dough crips. We’ve never had duck ham before but the texture and flavours were nice. Davin thought it was probably on the salty side. We also got the chargrilled calamari with ‘ndjuda, cavalo nero and mussels. This was a really nice dish and the seafood was fresh.

With mains we decided to order the Tasmanian salmon with cauliflower, golden raisins and citrus beurre blanc, and their famous rotisserie free range chicken with jus and miso butter. The salmon was nice and cooked well. The rotisserie free range chicken however was a bit of a let down. The chicken skin was on the salty side and tasted more like one of those charcoal chickens you could get from a takeaway shop. It didn’t stand out for us.

We also ordered sides with our mains and got the rotisserie sweet potato with creme fraiche, aged gouda and chives. This was delicious! It came out piping hot and we loved it. We also loved the chargrilled greens with citrus butter and pecorino. It was so flavoured and the greens had a lovely crunch to it.

Overall, Belleville has a great vibe for if you want to have a couple of drinks and food with a bunch of friends in a casual setting.

Belleville
Approx $45 AUD per person
Address: 1 Globe Alley, Melbourne VIC 3000
Phone: +61 3 9663 4041
Website: belleville-melbourne.com

Belleville Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Bensons on Martin

Tapas is the best cure for indecisive people, which was the category that Helen and I fell into on a weeknight. It’s hard to keep the budget down on weeknights without opting for Asian food, but ya gotta splurge sometimes! We were interested to find that Brighton had a tapas restaurant called Bensons on Martin with some decent reviews. Brighton is not the first suburb I think of when it comes to a tapas restaurant, but this was the exact reason why we decided to try these guys out.

First thing I noticed walking in was that it didn’t have the buzz of a tapas restaurant. I’m used to a packed house, people chattering, music playing, etc. This was not the case here ,as we even got to pick where to sit. I’m not complaining but it just felt unusual. This was a weeknight after all, so maybe they get busier on Fridays/weekends. We decided to sit by the window to give these guys some free advertising.

The decision was made to get an assortment of tapas and then reassess our fullness. We were off to a flyer with the mussels with white wine broth! Plump and juicy mussels, the broth had heaps of flavour and character. I could also taste the onion and herbs coming through as well, this was a delicious dish. There just wasn’t enough though as I could have done with 6 more, such a tease! The other two dishes I really enjoyed were the scallops wrapped in bacon and lamb cutlets.

Some of the other dishes we had here were a bit hit and miss. It’s interesting because I’m not referring to the whole dishes as a miss, but specific components within the dishes which did not hit the mark. For example, the caramalised onions were overwhelming the stuffed mushrooms, it felt like I was eating caramalised onions on a small plate as I couldn’t taste the mushroom at all. The crispy pulled pork was good for the first two bites before it go so sickeningly sweet that we couldn’t finish it, and the smoked salmon in the carpaccio tasted like it was from a packet at the supermarket. It’s not that I don’t like packaged smoked salmon from the supermarket, but it’s just that for the price we’re paying, we kinda expected a bit more.

The tapas didn’t fill us up fully so we decided to get a roasted duck breast risotto to finish off. The risotto itself was amazing, but once again the inconsistencies shined through as the roasted duck breast was extremely tough. If I had dentures, I’m sure this duck would have ripped it out of my mouth!

Bensons on Martin does some dishes really well but they also a healthy amount of not very enjoyable dishes. The ratio is too high to warrant a return from us unfortunately. If these certain components in the dishes could be improved, then the customers would be in for a stellar experience! We hope that they take some of the feedback on board and continue to improve, and we wish them all the best.

Bensons on Martin
Approx $45 AUD per person
Address: 146-148 Martin Street, Brighton VIC 3186
Phone: +61 3 9596 0443
Website: www.bensonsonmartin.com

Bensons on Martin Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Secret Kitchen (Doncaster)

There is an abundance of places to choose from in Melbourne when it comes to yum cha. We absolutely love yum cha and have grown up with it, often making it a family affair. Anyway not long ago we were advised to try out Secret Kitchen. There are a number of franchises scattered across Melbourne but we ended up going to the one recommended, located in the Doncaster Westfield shopping centre.

As with traditional yum cha, trolleys of glorious food is pushed around the restaurant right to your table for your choosing. We picked our usual favourites which included varied dumplings, chicken feet, tripe, and a noodle dish.

All the dishes were of very high quality and fresh! We particularly liked the noodle dish, which is something we don’t normally order or even see at other yum cha restaurants, but it was delicious! So flavoured but it didn’t taste overly oily. It was so easy to scoff.

The dumplings were all good with generous delicious filling and the perfect, bouncy outer skin. Sometimes you get dumplings where the outer layer is so thick that’s all you can taste, but that’s not the case here!

We also ordered the silken tofu with ginger syrup dessert, one of my favourites! The tofu was certainly silky smooth, with a nice subtle ginger flavour. The syrup was also not too sickly sweet.

The egg tarts were freshly baked with the perfect eggy flavour, and again not too sweet.

Overall it was a great yum cha experience. Service was also really good and staff were super efficient. We will definitely be thinking of Secret Kitchen when we’re craving some yum cha in the future!

Secret Kitchen
Approx $40 AUD per person
Address: ShopL2-2003/619 Doncaster Rd, Doncaster VIC 3108
Phone: +61 3 9840 2248
Website: secret-kitchen.com.au

Secret Kitchen Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Rice Workshop (Chadstone)

There’s quite a number of Rice Workshop franchises in Melbourne, we’ve been to two of them and the quality had been consistent for both locations. This particular one at Chadstone is in the new food court area and boy does it get hectic here! Chadstone has become so busy and overwhelming that it’s become a get in, get out place for us, because there’s just so many people! Oh well that’s a rant for another day…

Rice Workshop is one of the faster places to get your food even when there’s a queue. Their kitchen works at a quick pace and is great for when you’re starving. Sushi packs would be quicker but the quality here is generally better. My personal favourite here is the salmon don. The salmon is seriously fresh and fatty, taking in some healthy fats is never a bad thing! It’s very scoffable, and I’m always done in less than 10 minutes! There’s way too much rice in the bowl that even I can’t finish it. I think for the quantity of rice, they probably need double the amount of salmon to balance it out. The packet lettuce is nothing to brag about but the corn is a nice touch.

Helen tried their limited edition Michelin chef created roast wagyu beef with truffle aioli sauce. I think if anyone wants a Michelin experience that they should go to a Michelin starred restaurant, at the location which they obtained the star. It Sounds a bit snobbish, but unfortunately that’s the deal, not going to sugar coat it. The waygu beef had lost the texture and taste of wagyu beef, and what little taste it had left was overtaken by the truffle aioli sauce. They literally smothered the whole bowl with it! The egg was cooked well though, still runny inside. I’ve got to give them credit for trying, but this dish missed the mark.

This is a good place to come for a quick bite before moving on at Chadstone. It’s one of my go to places at food courts. Last time I had some of their fried chicken at the Westfield Knox franchise, and that was decent too. I saw someone order a bento box from here and it looked pretty awesome, I’ll check that out next time!

Rice Workshop
Approx $20 AUD per person
Address: Chadstone Shopping Centre, Lower Ground
Phone: +61 3 8609 8221
Website: riceworkshop.com.au

Rice Workshop Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

The Cricketer’s Neighbourhood Eatery

When we were invited to The Cricketer’s Neighbourhood Eatery, we had one big question on our minds – are these guys a pub? The name hints it’s a pub, and numerous sources online also describe these guys as a pub. Now you’re probably wondering… “why the hell does it matter whether these guys are a pub or not!?!?”. Allow me to borrow a verse from Wham! – Last Christmas, ‘Once bitten and twice shy’. We had experienced some less than ideal meals from pubs in the past, so we were a bit doubtful to say the least. Well let me tell you, it has never felt so good to be so wrong. We had a fabulous experience here at The Cricketer’s!

The menu looked amazing, there were so many foods on there which we wanted. We realised that this could be something special, so we ordered some fancy shmancy drinks in anticipation, an Old Fashioned and a Perrier-Jouët Grand Brut. We kick started the night with some char-grilled corn cobs. These cobs were sweet and juicy, and the combination of brown butter, feta cheese and lime mayo was just what the doctor ordered. They must have used a really high quality feta cheese because it was delicate and not salty at all, very enjoyable!

Helen and I decided to share a barramundi fillet and a hanger steak. We also got a serve of organic sautéed greens and a baked Mac ‘n’ cheese to go with it. The barramundi fillet was absolutely divine! Crispy skin, perfect doneness inside, and the Beurre blanc sauce was so good we couldn’t stop sipping on it! This was one of the best barramundis I’ve ever had and it tasted like it belonged in a fine dining restaurant. The hanger steak was also cooked perfect medium rare, the chimichurri sauce had a great herb flavour and the chips and salad were both equally high quality. The steak itself was a tad chewy, it could be the cut itself, I’m not too sure as I don’t have hanger steaks often.

The sautéed greens turned out to be broccolini, my favourite! I cook broccolini all the type at home, so I know a great broccolini when I eat one. This one they served had great texture and a garlic and sundried chilli sauce to die for! It was at this moment where we noted that all the sauces here were spectacular, certainly one of their strong points. We felt the Mac ‘n’ cheese didn’t have enough cheese flavour, but the crispy crumb was done beautifully. We finished off the night with a sticky date pudding and what a great choice that ended up to be! It was soft, moist and the caramel sauce wasn’t overbearing like a lot of other ones we’ve had.

A great night overall, the food more than exceeded our expectations and we wouldn’t hesitate to come back. The atmosphere here was lively but wasn’t so loud that we couldn’t have a conversation. Parking was also relatively easy to find which was a huge bonus! We were greeted by a friendly Maine Coon cat on our way back to the car, the cherry on top to go with our dining experience!

The Cricketer’s Neighbourhood Eatery
Approx $40 AUD per person
Address: 69 Cruikshank St, Port Melbourne VIC 3207
Phone: +61 3 9676 2004
Website: thecricketersport.com.au

The Cricketers Neighbourhood Eatery Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Matilda 159 Domain

For those of you that know me, you will know that Scott Pickett’s Saint Crispin restaurant has been one of my favourite restaurants for a long time. It’s one of those restaurants that I normally recommend when people ask me where they can get a taste of some quality food with great ambience, that’s not too ridiculously expensive.

So saying I was excited was a real understatement when I found out that Davin had booked for us to dine at Scott’s newest restaurant, Matilda 159 for my birthday. Located in South Yarra, where Saint Crispin is more upscale, this particular restaurant has a focus on food cooked over open fire and hot coals providing a more casual and feeling of comfort.

We were seated at the lovely bar where we could watch the bartender work away on mixing cocktails and drinks. We ordered some red wine and perused the menu. Everything looked amazing on the menu and I wanted to try it all! But we finally settled on a few starters which included some oysters with bone marrow crust, a salmon roe tartlet with bonito cream and the ox tongue with horseradish and sauce gribiche. Not surprisingly, every dish was assembled together with so much precision and care. They were beautiful dishes visually and tasted even better!

We also ordered the kangaroo tartare and dressed spanner crab with prawn butter and flat bread. The tartare was really good, but the spanner crab was the true highlight. It was so deliciously soft, juicy and buttery. We couldn’t get enough of it and felt like we needed one each!

For mains, we ordered the whole tiger flathead with fennel and squid ink, and the Rangers Valley wagyu bavette 7+ with burnt carrot and wattleseed. We also ordered some broccolini with aged cheddar and marble potatoes cooked in hay for side dishes. We couldn’t really fault any of the dishes. They were perfect in flavour and presentation. The fish was cooked well and wasn’t dry, the beef had just the right pinkness inside. All the carefully chosen ingredients to complement the mains went so well together.

Finally for dessert, we could not resist ordering their popular Pink Lady apple tarte tatin with smoked vanilla bean because it was all we could smell throughout the night! It was the most amazing, sweet and buttery pastry smell that kept wafting by us every time someone would walk by to serve this dessert. And when it was finally placed in front of us, it did not disappoint! The pastry was so crispy and light. The sweetness of the apples and the smoked vanilla bean made each bite heaven!

Overall we had such a great experience. From the food and ambience, to the service. It was amazing and we will definitely be back!

Matilda 159 Domain
Approx $80 AUD per person
Address: 159 Domain Rd, South Yarra VIC 3141
Phone: +61 3 9089 6668
Website: matilda159.com

Matilda 159 Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Macelleria

Helen and I have not been eating steaks out that much lately. There are two main reasons for this… [1] my cholesterol has been high so I’m keeping my red meat intake to just once a week [2] since we’ve bought our sous vide machine, we’ve been making better steaks at home. It’s crazy isn’t it.. we used to mock our parents all the time for saying they cook better at home, now look what we’ve become! You wouldn’t think that I would be saying all this to undermine Macelleria would you? That would just be cruel. The truth is Macelleria is one of the places which we’re still visiting to eat quality steaks. Their combination of meat quality, preparation and price makes it worth the drive to Richmond!

You can call up and make a booking here but I’m not sure how well this system works because every time I’ve made a booking, it still feels like I’m queuing with the rest of the people when we arrive. Luckily there’s a massive display cabinet to keep me occupied, it displays the steaks/sausages/lamb cutlets/skewers available for the day. Funny enough I’ve noticed that the steaks which they cook don’t come from this cabinet, they come from inside the kitchen.

There’s two main choices to make here. If you’re after a steak with a higher fat content, and that distinctive ‘wagyu taste’ go for the Tajima Wagyu. On the other hand, if you’re after a steak that’s clean tasting with natural beef flavours, then go for the Cape Grim Angus. I personally enjoy the Wagyu more, but we do like to throw a Cape Grim in the mix for maximum palate variance. Raised on green pastures with some of the world’s cleanest air, hormone/antibiotic/GMO free, 100% grass fed, Cape Grim cattles live a life many of us can only dream of!

 

Every time I’ve asked for medium rare, I’ve got medium rare at Macelleria. I understand that they don’t have 2hrs to sous vide a steak like I do at home, but I do appreciate the consistency they’re able to achieve using their hot plate grill. I don’t normally like to put any sauces on my steak, but the mushroom sauce here is decent. The rustic fries here are a must try here, way better than their mashed potatoes. The thickness of the fries and the seasoning is just perfect. Make sure you get the large serving because you’ll end up saving money in the long run. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve got a small serving and realised I needed more! The seasonal greens are cooked well with a nice crunch, but it’s quite pricey for what you get, the salads are better value.

Well there you go… my steak place recommendation away from home. Not only are the steaks top notch, but the price is also ridiculously good. Under $30 for a Wagyu is just crazy value! They can get busy but the wait is never too bad. Do yourself a favour and pay these guys a visit, you’ll be rewarded with some beefy goodness!

Macelleria
Approx $35 AUD per person
Address: 87/89 Swan Street, Richmond VIC 3121
Phone: +61 3 9425 9393
Website: macelleria.com.au

Macelleria Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Kowloon Cafe

There’s just something about Hong Kong cafes which brings a smile to my face! I think it’s the fact that their dishes are so quirky, which takes me out of my comfort zone. Sometimes I’ll go in with a rough idea of what I feel like, but I always end up ordering something totally different! Food authenticity had never meant much to me, but if it’s important to you, then you’d probably appreciate Kowloon Cafe. These guys are located amongst a strip of shops on Canterbury Road in Box Hill. Parking is available on the side streets, but I find it easier to just park in the ALDI car park and enter the cafe from the back entrance.

Word of warning – this place gets BUSY! The whole Chinese community unites at this cafe, and it’s quite common to queue for a table. If you’re unlucky, you may find yourself seated at the table right near the door. This is where a sea of people will be looking over your shoulder, and drool over your food. Not the best seat in the house, but in a dog eat dog world, you take what you can get!

For only $12, I have ordered Set Menu A several times. It comes with an egg and ham omelette, satay beef instant noodles and a drink of your choice. I generally pick the HK style milk tea because you’d be a fool to get any other drink. The best I’ve had in Melbourne, no joke. It’s a lot cheaper to get it in a set menu than to order it separately. The omelette comes out looking fairly oily, and the egg part can be a bit plain. However once you hit the ham pieces it gets pretty damn good! The ham is not too salty and goes well with the egg.

The satay beef instant noodles is very tasty indeed. Useless fact – when I was young I had dreams of opening up my own instant noodles restaurant! I literally lived off this stuff growing up, and became quite skilled with the culinary art of cooking instant noodles. The noodles here were not overcooked and the beef was tender, not bad for Chinese takeaway style beef. If I had it my way, I wouldn’t mind a nice runny yolk egg and some Chinese cabbage to go with it, but I guess they gotta work within their budget. Speaking of which, this set menu for $12 is exceptional value, and makes for a feel good lunch. It’s a shame they don’t open for dinner!

This is not a place you’d wanna catch up with a long lost friend and talk about the meaning of life. It’s purely a ‘get in, get out’ type of place, no time to be holding up tables here! To ease your anxiety, they do play some nice Chinese songs here as you’re eating. There’s nothing more relaxing than listening to the king of Cantopop – Eason Chan in the background, while enjoying a cold HK style milk tea… bliss. If I haven’t lost you by now, then it’s probably time you come and pay Kowloon Cafe a visit!

Kowloon Cafe
Approx $12.50 AUD per person
Address: 866 Canterbury Road, Box Hill South VIC 3128

Kowloon Cafe Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

@ The Catch Carnegie

We were recently invited to @ The Catch Carnegie, a fish and chip shop which has a small dining area for customers to dine in if they don’t want to take away. Upon arriving, we were warmly greeted by all the workers and seated straight away by Nick in the lovely and casual dining space. Nick set down the menus for us to peruse and gave us a bit of a background regarding their business which is family owned, and focused on fish and chips with some modern touches.

We started off with some fish cakes. Now firstly, let me say that I am generally not a fish cakes type of person. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve been known to eat anything and everything. But I’ve never thought, ‘hey I feel like some fish cakes’. They’re not my favourite thing and I’ve never come across any that have really wowed me. But this perception of fish cakes all changed when I tried theirs. They have two varieties, an Asian inspired one, and the Greek style fish cakes. We were able to try both varieties and they were so delicious! The fish cakes were so nice and crispy on the outside, and full of wonderful flavours on the inside. Best fish cakes I’ve ever had! Yes, big call. But true. They also came with homemade dipping sauces that went so well with them. I’ve now converted into a fish cakes person.

The first main we got was the Hook which came with a fish of the day, potato cakes, dim sim, chips and salad. On this occasion we got a lovely NZ Whiting for the fish which was cooked perfectly. The batter was light and crispy, and the fish itself was fresh and plentiful inside the batter. Their thick cut chips were top quality, and their potato cakes were amazing! Again the batter was so crispy on the outside, yet so fluffy and full of potatoes on the inside. So good! It came with a tasty Caesar salad and their homemade aioli sauce.

We also got the Bowler burger, which had a fried fish of the day, lettuce, coleslaw and homemade aioli. The fish in the burger was also just as fresh and the quantity so generous! All the components of the burger went well together and it was so filling.

Overall, we couldn’t fault the food. Everything placed in front of us was fresh, tasty and top quality food. However not only was the food good, but the service was also fantastic there. Every person that walked into their shop received a warm welcoming from all the workers behind the counter. And when Nick spoke to us so passionately about their family business, and how they just love to have fun, talk to customers, and also give to the community, it really showed in their food and service. Highly recommend if you’re ever in the area!

@ The Catch Carnegie
Approx $20 AUD per person
Address: 158 Koornang Rd, Carnegie VIC 3163
Phone: +61 3 9569 0888

@ The Catch Carnegie Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Izakaya Kuuraku

Izakaya Kuuraku extended us a warm invite to try, and provide feedback on their new Omakase menu for November. Omakase in Japanese means ‘I’ll leave it up to you’, empowering the chef to choose what dishes they choose to serve. I really liked this idea as I’m trusting the chef, while they are trusting us for our honest feedback. Trust is very important when you’re dining out, because without it, well… you should just eat at home!

We arrived and was politely escorted into a private dining area. We were seated down as part of a group in front of a sushi preparation area, and a Yakitori grill station. I could tell that they were using a Japanese charcoal called Binchōta. Binchōta is known for its clean burning properties, and its ability to imbed amazing aromas and flavours to the food. This grilling section was enclosed with glass and they also had huge ventilation fans on top.

They provided us with one sushi and one Yakitori tasting menu. I was foolishly looking for the soy sauce to dip my first piece of sushi, then I realised that the sushi chef had already brushed it on the piece for me. This was exactly how they did it in ‘Jiro Sushi of Dreams’! If you haven’t watched this yet, it’s available on NetFlix – great documentary based a 3 Michelin star sushi chef. I remembered in the documentary that they present the sushi to you at the perfect rice temperature, and that it was important to eat it straight away. As soon as the sushi was placed down, I was in a frantic rush to snap a quick photo, then plomped it straight into my mouth!

It was a truly special experience as each piece of sushi was of the highest quality. We were served an assortment of sushi pieces including kingfish, salmon, flathead, tuna, and one was even seared with a little truffle oil. The fish was fresh, with the texture and flavour of the rice reminding me of the quality we got in Japan. Izakaya Kuuraku had a goal to bring true Japanese dishes to Australia, and I’d say they succeeded with this. My favourites were the flathead and kingfish sushi, but I think this was just a matter of personal preference. I learnt something new from the sushi chef when I commented on how fresh the fish was. He told me that all the top restaurants get their fish from the same supplier, but the preparation of the fish can change the texture and mouthfeel. He further explained that the thickness, the sharpness of the knife, and the way the fish is cut plays a huge part in this. I was absolutely gobsmacked as I did not know this, and had always given full credits to the fish! There’s so much learning to do in the world of food.

The Yakitori menu was equally satisfying. I loved the sauces which accompanied the skewers. It added a different dimension, yet doesn’t take away the grilled taste. My favourites were the wagyu beef and mushroom skewers. The wagyu was just soooooo tender, and flavourful. The charcoal accentuated the mushroom taste, almost like a flavour booster. The Yakitori menu was more filling because they finish it off with a beef curry on rice, whereas you don’t get that with the sushi menu.

Overall Izakaya Kuuraku was faultless, and the Japanese food here was next level! I thoroughly enjoyed my experience here and would not hesitate to come back. If you guys are keen, you should ring ahead to see if the Omakase menu is available. It really doesn’t get much better than this, two thumbs up from me!

Izakaya Kuuraku
Approx $65 AUD per person
Address: 131-135 Bourke St, Melbourne VIC 3000
Phone: +61 3 9939 1516
Website: kuuraku.com.au

Izakaya Kuuraku Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Son of Tucci

We decided to look for a more local and suburban brunch place over the weekend and came across Son of Tucci in Mount Waverley which was rated extremely high on Zomato. So off we went to check it out!

The place was buzzing when we arrived with lots of people inside and even outside given it was a nice sunny day. The cafe itself was quite spacious and decked out like many of the modern brunch places these days, with wooden tables, brick walls and indoor plants scattered around. Staff were friendly and seated us right away at the window.

For drinks we both decided to order their fresh juices. I got the Rita which had apple, beetroot, lemon and ginger. Davin ordered the Nice melons juice which had watermelon, passionfruit and orange. Unfortunately when they brought out the drinks they served Davin with just a fresh OJ instead of the Nice melons so we had to let them know. They were kind enough however to let us keep the OJ and make the correct order so we appreciated that they fixed it up for us.

For food I ordered the Breaky Tasting Plate which had a mini Tucci bowl, Sriracha maple bacon, smashed avocado with a poached egg, and the cauliflower and ricotta fritter with carrot, honey and cumin hummus, dukkah and kale. It was basically a bit of a showcase of some of their main dishes.

The Sriracha maple bacon was delicious and I loved the cauliflower and ricotta fritter. It went well with the crunchiness of the kale and the hummus. The only thing I felt was missing was perhaps a piece of toast because it didn’t feel filling enough without it. The mini Tucci bowl had pineapple, pear, mango and banana smoothie topped with berries and granola. It was okay and was very strong in banana flavours. That probably overpowered all the other fruits.

Davin ordered the Poke Bowl with cured salmon for extra. This is where things went a bit sour. The poke bowl had sushi rice, red slaw, cucumber, avocado, edamame, grilled corn, golden beetroot, carrot, cashews and crispy shallots. Presentation wise it was fine but it was the sushi rice that was most disappointing. It was probably the worst rice we’ve ever had. Davin took the first bite and looked at me and said the rice didn’t taste right. When I tried it, I was really surprised. It tasted so old I was worried the rice had gone bad. Now being Asian ourselves and growing up with eating rice daily we know that for certain dishes like fried rice it’s recommended you use overnight rice. However this tasted more like a week old rice. There was a sourness to it but we couldn’t tell if that was the vinegar because there was just a hint and not enough of it, or if it was from it being so old. Not to mention that sushi rice is generally cooked fresh and should be full of moisture. This rice was so old and dry. It was hard to eat and unfortunately put a damper on the whole dish. Davin ended up just picking out the salmon to eat and left the rest.

Given the circumstances, overall it was a pretty average experience for us. The dishes didn’t wow us either so I guess it may not be one we may visit again anytime soon.

Son of Tucci
Approx $25 AUD per person
Address: 5 Hamilton Walk, Mount Waverley VIC 3149
Phone: +61 3 9807 0709

Son of Tucci Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Kalamaki

We were invited to dine at Kalamaki, a newly opened Greek street food restaurant located on High Street, Windsor. We looked at their menu beforehand, and the different styles of Greek skewers really piqued our interest! We’re huge fans of smaller menus because it allows the chef to really focus on the limited menu items, and because the turn around time is less, this can also result in fresher produce. It was only a matter of time before we would visit Kalamaki, we’re just happy it was sooner rather than later!

We were greeted by Dino – part owner of Kalamaki. I generally don’t mention too much on the staff when we’re invited to a restaurant, however I feel it’s important to make a mention of Dino’s persona. He had worked at a few reputable restaurants in the past, and his passion and confidence really shines through when he talks. Not to be mistaken for arrogance, I felt a strong assurance that the food was going to be great before we even started. I understand that he have to play multiple roles at Kalamaki, but I feel as though they would really benefit with him being front of house.

Having no allergies or special food requirement has it’s perks, as we left it in their hands to showcase what they had to offer. We started off with the Haloumi soldiers and a Mediterranean slaw with kala sauce. The Haloumi was not too salty at all, but the drizzle of honey does help to balance out the whole dish. All the ingredients in the Mediterranean slaw were really fresh, the red cabbage had a perfect crunch! The dressing tied everything together and it was by far the best slaw I’ve ever had. The appetising and refreshing nature of the slaw makes it a perfect compliment with the skewers.

The stars of the show were the skewers. They tasted really clean and weren’t heavy at all, which contradicts how we perceive skewers to be. They didn’t overdo it with the seasoning which in turn allows the meat flavours to shine through. The skewers were cooked perfectly, still juicy and tender on the inside. It needed to be because they used chicken breast for the chicken skewers, and we all know how unforgiving chicken breasts can be! My personal favourite were the lamb skewers.

We also got a serve of lemon and feta fries. They used a herb seasoning in the fries with feta on top. These were very tasty and highly addictive! A high quality feta was used and it was scattered sparingly over the fries. It’s hard to imagine going back to plain fries after this experience. These fries are a must try, and i’m not just saying this because I have a chip addiction!

As we wrapped up, Helen and I reflected on our meal and we both came to the conclusion that all the food was flawless, and we couldn’t fault anything. Kalamaki has all the attributes to be highly successful. Great location, tasty foods, decently priced, and a part owner who is capable and passionate. Check these guys out if you haven’t, we promise you won’t be disappointed. We would wish them good luck, but something tells me they don’t really need it!


Kalamaki
Approx $25 AUD per person
Address: 162-164 High Street, Windsor VIC 3181
Phone: +61 3 9510 4409
Website: kala-maki.com.au

Kalamaki Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Tina’s Noodle Kitchen (Box Hill)

One cool night we were wandering around Box Hill looking for a place to eat when we came across Tina’s Noodle Kitchen. It was bustling with people so we knew something good was brewing inside! Like most Asian restaurants in Box Hill, it is purposely built for you to get in, eat your meal, and get out. We were fine with that!

We scanned the menu and saw quite a few items we wanted to order but finally settled on a few to share. We started off with the pickled vegetable threads and the beef skewers which included beef, tripe, stomach, ox tongue and mixed veggies in a spicy chilli oil sauce. The pickled vegetable threads were SO good! The vegetables were pickled to perfection and were so appetising, I couldn’t stop eating them! The beef skewers were also really nice however be warned, they are spicy!

We also ordered the wonton in spicy soup. Did I say the beef skewers were spicy? Because the wontons were even spicier! So deliciously flavoured though if you can handle the heat!

For mains Davin ordered the spicy stewed lamb ribs with rice set which came with soup and a side tofu salad. The lamb ribs were of course also spicy! I guess you can see a theme here. The spiciness numbed our tongues but we kept wanting more because the meat was so succulent and fell of the bone.

Given it was called Tina’s Noodle Kitchen, I had to order a bowl of soup noodles. There were so many different bowls of noodles to choose from. I was so overwhelmed! Of course a lot of them (okay probably most of them) were in red hot spicy soup. With all the other spicy dishes we had already ordered, I decided to order a less spicy dish to balance it out. I picked the soup noodles with braised pork belly and pickles. I was relieved to see the soup broth was not coloured red and that I could sip on the broth without my tongue going numb! It was a delicious broth, and the pork belly and pickles complemented it well. But what most impressed me were the actual noodles. They were soft, but not overcooked soft because they held their kind of bouncy texture at the same time. They were the most interesting noodles I’ve ever had. I loved it and couldn’t stop slurping up these noodles. Oh and did I mention the serving size? The bowl that came out for the soup noodles was HUGE!

Overall we had a great experience and the food was good. Just be prepared for a very spicy, tongue numbing night! But if you love eating spicy then this is the place for you!

Tina’s Noodle Kitchen House
Approx $25 AUD per person
Address: Box Hill Central, 1 Main St, Box Hill VIC 3128
Phone: +61 3 9041 7548

Dainty Sichuan - Tina's Noodle Kitchen Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Nong Tang Noodle House

Nong Tang Noodle House is located on Bourke Street inside the Midcity arcade. I have to admit that I have not been inside this arcade much ever since Dessert House closed down, so it was a nice trip down memory lane. We were invited to attend their 1 year anniversary event and it certainly didn’t disappoint! They had rolled out the red carpet, and the entry felt like we were entering a club on a guest list. We sat down to a menu, and a red envelope. Nope… no money in there, but there was a rabbit lolly inside. We used to eat these all the time as kids so the nostalgia was strong!

After a quick intro by the organisers, we were on our way. We really appreciated David Yang (owner) explaining all the dishes to us along, with their Shanghai origins. The menus heading is a 10 course sampling menu, but let me tell you, there was no sampling. These dishes were full blown, and we ended up being more full than a wedding reception banquet! I won’t go through all the dishes one by one, but my favourites were the Xiao Long Bao, Shanghai braised pork meatballs in soy sauce, and the stir fried beef with Chinese broccoli.

I just laughed as I looked around, and seeing everyone squirting soup everywhere as they bit into the Xiao Long Bao. It was a tasty soup and the pork inside was flavoured really well. The skin also had great elasticity and bouncy texture, a must try dish. The Shanghai pork meatball was a dish I had never tried before. It had all the characteristics of quality Italian meatballs, and in a way I was expecting a tomato based sauce. However I was very impressed by the amount of soy sauce flavour they were able to infuse into the meatball.

I’m personally a huge fan of Chinese broccoli, and I always get told off by friends and family for ordering it! Their reasoning is that it’s a lot cheaper to make at home, so there should be no reason why I should ordering it when I’m out. DON’T CARE. I love it too much… and the Chinese broccoli at Nong Tang was the best I’ve ever had! Perfect crunch, extremely fresh, and only the best bits of the broccoli was used in this stir fried beef dish. I made a mention of the Chinese broccoli to David as I left, and he said he paid top dollar for it, I had no reason to doubt him.

The only dish which wasn’t as good as the rest, was the pork and prawn wonton in chilli oil. I felt as though they they may have toned down the spiciness for this event, and the wontons were overcooked. The wonton skin disintegrated as I picked up the wonton and all the filling came out. It was only one dish from the 10 course menu, so overall it was a highly successful event!

We’re fully aware that for an event like this, we would be eating the highest quality versions of each dish. I truly hope that the quality of these dishes carries through to other customers when it’s business as usual. They do have a relatively high score on Zomato prior to us coming, so we’re confident they’ll provide a great dining experience to everyone. We wish Nong Tang Noodle House all the best for years to come!

Nong Tang Noodle House
Approx $30 AUD per person
Address: Midcity Arcade, Shop 16/200 Bourke Street, Melbourne VIC 3000
Phone: +61 3 9639 9258

Nong Tang Noodle House Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Le Clec

Insert [fancy French name] and watch them roll through the doors! Don’t all eateries wish it was that easy, the fact and the matter is these guys work their butts off to get where they are. This was exactly what crossed our minds when we saw the high ratings for Le Clec, and we were eager to see whether these ratings was justified.

We rolled up and got positive vibes right off the bat. The place was bright, warm from the wooden setting, and they even had Scandinavian style chairs, everybody loves Scandi chairs right? We were escorted to the enclosed back area which had plenty of natural light, without the bothersome bees. I seem to be a bee magnet, they always find me when I’m sitting outside!

There were 4 things which I loved about this menu, normally I don’t have 4 things to love about any menu.

1) They list their kitchen closing time (2:45PM). YES YES YES! Everyone could learn from this, especially the brunch cafes. Most cafes don’t serve food till their closing time, so let’s be transparent and put it on the menu.
2) There’s a ‘must try’ logo on their signature dishes. This is advertising the dishes they do best, takes the guesswork out.
3) Creative dishes – plenty of ways to skin a cat, all their dishes have their own special twist to it and it looked very promising indeed.
4) Reasonable prices! All the dishes on the menu were priced very well. To give you an example, my crispy salmon was $22 and a glass of wine to go with it was $6. A salmon and wine for under $30 presents exceptional value.

Well anyway, enough with the menu admiration, let’s move onto the food! My crispy salmon was out of this world! The skin was as promised – CRISPY, but the highlight was without a doubt the lemongrass, chilli broth. The broth complimented the perfectly cooked salmon beautifully. It was sour with a little chilli kick, very appetising! I was not expecting to be getting flavours like this for my first meal of the day, but I certainly wasn’t complaining. Being a huge mushroom fan, to get King Oyster mushrooms with this dish was just the cherry on top.

I looked across the table at Helen to get a glimpse of her reaction with her truffle scrambled eggs. I asked her how the eggs were, she responded with “It’s salty”. At this point sweat is building up on my forehead and I could feel my body shivering. She eats so much saltier than me, and for Helen to say something is salty, it must be pretty bad! I tried some of the scrambled eggs and my jaw just dropped, gasping for water. This was way over my salt tolerance threshold, and in this case Helen’s as well. She didn’t end up finishing it, and when the waiter come around we told him about it. To our surprise, his response was along the lines of ‘I’m sorry about that, however next time you should ask the chef to put less salt if you prefer to eat more plain’, suggesting that Helen was being particular. I just looked at him as if to say ‘Are you serious dude? Did you just apologise, but not apologise?’ I know for a fact that Helen eats really salty, and for him to just make this assumption without tasting the food was completely absurd! I didn’t feel like he was being intentionally rude, but he just sounded a little condescending. I never knew it was our responsibility to control the salt levels from their kitchen, otherwise it would work like bubble tea right? (No salt, 25% salt, 50% salt, etc.)

Credit where it’s due, the salmon was amazing but the truffled eggs + waiter, was not good at all. The saltiness could be a one off, and others may have had a different experience, I’m giving them the benefit of the doubt here. They offered us a discount voucher as we were paying the bill, but whether that would entice us back is a different story. All in all, I wouldn’t rule out Le Clec as one of my recommendations to other people, it just may not be a place we’ll be returning to in the foreseeable future.

Le Clec
Approx $25 AUD per person
Address: 727 Glenferrie Rd, Hawthorn VIC 3122
Phone: +61 3 9818 8969
Website: leclec.com.au

Le Clec Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato