Author: Davin Lee

by Davin Lee

That Greek Tavern

I have been feeling under the weather lately, and been coughing like crazy! I’m still amazed by how much mucus my body can produce. If there’s one advice I can give you guys, it’s don’t exercise when you’re not feeling well! Early last week, I met up with a friend to play table tennis. I got an amazing cardio workout that night, but boy have I paid for it since. My friend is a pretty ‘careful with his money’ type of guy, so he’s always looking for bang for buck places to eat. Surprisingly his track record with food recommendations hasn’t been too bad! Thankfully on this particular night I was introduced by him to That Greek Tavern, and I thoroughly enjoyed this meal.

It’s hard to miss this place, they’ve got a giant guy striking a dance pose painted on the side of their restaurant. I’ve driven past this place plenty of times, and had always said that I wanted to give them a go. It was really comfortable inside, the restaurant looked bright and clean. The tablecloths give it an upmarket feel, but the paper on top tells me they don’t want to be washing tablecloths all day. The paper was all clipped onto the table neatly (Chinese yum cha places could learn a thing or two from these guys).

We opted for the $35 set menu special which consisted of Saganaki and continental sausage for entree, and Greek salad, lamb gyros, chicken gyros for mains. The dips were magnificent, it was really fresh and tasted what it claimed to be. The feta cheese dip is a must try for any cheese loving fan. The continental sausage pieces were some of the best sausages I’ve ever had! They were tasty, but ‘light’ in a way. It’s hard to describe, but I didn’t get that stuffed/overwhelming feeling. This was my favourite dish of the night. The Saganaki was spot on, crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. It wasn’t too salty as well… the entrees as a whole were ultra impressive!

I’m personally a huge chicken gyros fan, and would always pick it over lamb. The chicken gyros here was some of the best I’ve ever had! It was so moist, juicy and tender. Seasoned perfectly, it was another standout dish! When I moved onto the lamb, it was a strong reminder why I had always preferred the chicken. The lamb was inconsistent, some bits were not bad, and some bits were tough and very chewy. The flavour was good though, I guess it’s the nature of the meat, lamb is just so unforgiving sometimes! However in saying so, I’ve had some killer lamb gyros before, it’s just few and far between.

The set menu was very filling indeed. It was deceiving because when I saw the meat come out, I just looked at my friend confidently and said “I’ve got this.” When the dust settled, I was the one who got smashed! For $35, you will not leave this place hungry, I can guarantee you that. I highly recommend this restaurant to fulfil your Greek food cravings. I’ve already told my partner in crime about this place, and she’s keen to eat here too….I guess we might see you guys around?

That Greek Ravern
Approx $40 AUD per person
Address: 1438 Malvern Rd, Glen Iris VIC 3146
Phone: +61 3 9822 3233

That Greek Tavern Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

by Davin Lee

Tipico

We would like to extend a warm thank you to Tipico for inviting us to dine at their restaurant. Tipico is a modern Italian eatery located in Windsor. It’s really nice to see these new style Italian restaurants popping up around Melbourne, as Helen and I have always loved the twist they put on certain Italian dishes. Does Tipico hit the mark? Unfortunately not. Even though we’ve been blogging for a while, it does not get any easier to give criticism to any restaurant. The reason for this is because we classify ourselves as food lovers, and not food critics. I think I’ve set the tone for what is to follow, so please read on for my thoughts on Tipico.

It was not a good start for us for the night. There was a mix up between them and their marketing company, so we arrived without a booking. They finally managed to find some seats for us, so we sat down awkwardly. The feeling was kinda like rocking up to a party which you’re not invited to. Anyway, put all that aside, the place was buzzing and the vibe was cool so we were excited. There were exposed concrete walls, and a huge bar area, a great formula for a place to hang out for some drinks. We were seated along the window and my back was facing the bar area. I will mention that it was a bit weird to have people towering over me behind my back as I was eating though.

So onto the food… we started with the chicken liver pate with polenta bread, and the kingfish with orange dressing. I tried the pate by itself, it had good flavour but was a tad runny. The polenta bread on the other hand was not very pleasant at all. It crumbled like a shortbread and was a horrible match for the pate. It made it hard to taste the pate when my mouth was full of crumbs! Regular bread would have been a way better choice for this dish.

The kingfish with orange dressing may as well have been renamed to ‘kingfish with orange zest’ because that was all I could taste. The zest was really strong and fully overpowered the kingfish, which was such a shame because the kingfish looked to be good quality. This dish could be benefited with a touch of sourness in the dressing to make it appetizing. It should also be noted that for $22, the portion size for this kingfish dish ranks as the smallest out of all the ones I’ve ever had.

For mains I got the Tagliolini spanner crab pasta and Helen got a Prosciutto pizza. My pasta sauce tasted clean with good seafood flavours, however it was lacking the punch I was looking for in a pasta sauce and tasted a little watered down. I was searching everywhere in the pasta for some spanner crab, and it must be either really mixed in, not much of it or a combination because I struggled to find any. Please see pic – if any of you can spot the crab, let me know! It would have been nice to get some bits of crab to provide a contrast in texture. Helen’s pizza was pretty good. It was cooked well, had a great base, and the Prosciutto they used was beautiful! It only there was more of it, we barely got 6 pieces of it, there was still so much real estate to be used. We’re not looking for it to be packed like an American pizza, but for $25, a bit more Prosciutto would be appreciated. The buffalo mozzarella didn’t have any texture and just disintegrated in my mouth, it was also lacking the milky taste found in good buffalo mozzarella.

I won’t go too in depth with the pannacotta dessert, as it was just dense and just tasted like sweet almond flakes.

So in summary, was the meal awful? Honestly it wasn’t. The food was just very ordinary, and failed to shine or make an impact. I can’t help but think that for the price, the portions could be better, and I couldn’t help but notice they were skimping on the ingredients a bit. Consumers don’t mind spending a bit more money when they eat out, but with prices such as $34 for the pasta and $25 for the pizza, let’s see the spanner crab and let’s put a few more pieces of prosciutto on the pizza! These are the differences between a reasonably priced as opposed to overpriced. As it stands, we don’t foresee us returning to Tipico, but we do hope that Tipico takes some of my opinions on board and improve further. We wish nothing but the best for Tipico.

Tipico
Approx $50 AUD per person
Address: 242 High St, Windsor VIC 3181
Phone: +61 3 9089 0768
Website: tipico.melbourne

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

by Davin Lee

Tao’s Restaurant

Tao’s Restaurant is an Asian fusion restaurant located at Bulleen. A great suburb, but I mainly come to Bulleen when I need to fix Helen’s watch. I got her a vintage Omega many years ago, and it’s been nothing but trouble! An Omega watchmaker works from Bulleen, so you could say I know my way around the area by now. Well anyway back to Tao’s Restaurant, these guys were one of the original pioneers of Asian fusion. They were doing Asian fusion before it was cool. Unfortunately time may have caught up with them and it feels as though they’ve been left behind. Over the years, the quality of their food has been on a slow and steady decline…

Helen and I used to love coming to Tao’s on special occasions because they represented a great value to quality ratio. To this day, I still don’t think their prices are too bad, if only they had kept the same quality as the good old days. We came on a weekday which was $48pp for a set menu. It came with a starter, entree, main and even a glass of wine. Normally the price is $78 and you’d get a soup and dessert too, minus the wine. Our last experience wasn’t the best, but we thought we’d give them another chance.

The starter had always been an opportunity for Tao’s to show off their delicacies. On this occasion we got an oyster shot, an oyster in the shell with scallop trims and some Edamame beans. The oyster shot was nice, it was refreshing and a great palate cleanser. The oyster in the shell wasn’t as enjoyable. For whatever reason, there was a lot of onion in there, and that overpowered the oyster. Instead of tasting the sweetness of the oyster, I was tasting the sweetness of the onion! And the Edamame beans… what the hell happened there!?! Was this a classic case of cost cutting? I found it comical that this was presented as one of the starters!

For the entree I got the sashimi, whilst Helen got the pork belly Shabu Shabu. The sashimi was high quality, clean and fresh. The inclusion of the abalone was a pleasant surprise, I guess this made up for the pitiful Edamame beans in the starter. Helen’s pork belly on the other hand was overcooked and tough, total opposite of what you’d expect pork belly to be. My main was probably the most uninspiring of all the courses. My porterhouse came out on a hot stone, which was on a bed of rocks. Presentation was on point, but that was the only positive. I had enough sauce for two steaks, but even then the steak was extremely bland. It tasted like sauce from a packet which had been poured over an unseasoned steak. To add insult to injury, it was also very chewy, and hard to swallow.

Like a Chinese wedding banquet, they always finish off with a fried rice. This fried rice had always been consistent in the past, so I was eager to finish on a high note! To my disappointment even the fried rice was a let down this time. That full flavour, dry scallop punch was missing, hell even the salt was missing! It was closer to the end of plain rice as opposed to fried rice.

I know I’ve been a bit critical in this review, but it’s only because I know what Tao’s Restaurant was capable of in the past. It’s disappointing to them relegated to our mediocre/will not visit again category. I think there’s other similarly priced Asian fusion restaurants these days that offer better quality food, and for this reason, I am unable to pass on my recommendation.

Tao’s Restaurant
Approx $80 AUD per person
Address: 201 Bulleen Rd, Bulleen VIC 3105
Phone: +61 3 9852 0777
Website: http://silk2.org/taos/

Tao's Restaurant Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

by Davin Lee

River Kwai

It’s amazing how perceptions change over time as we broaden our food horizons. Perceptions change on the quality of the food, service and the price. From our latest experience at River Kwai, it was the latter. Helen and I had eaten here many many years ago, at a time when a $20 meal felt expensive us. Therefore it was no surprise that we had thought River Kwai was beyond pricey, especially for a restaurant located in Clayton. As it turns out, fate would bring us back here again. It felt like a weight had been lifted off our shoulders this time, because our thoughts on food prices has changed, and we were able to enjoy this restaurant for what it is!

Our vague memories of River Kwai were that they had good food, but in saying so, what we thought was good food back then could be a very different story now. Luckily the food is still top notch! We were greeted with some complimentary prawn crackers with peanut dipping sauce. Don’t be mistaken that these are your average Chinese takeaway prawn crackers, the ones they had here were next level! Huge prawn flavour explosion in the mouth with the sweetness of the peanut sauce to round it up, definitely the best I’ve had. Then it was onto the paid goods…

We started off with the beef curry puff and was not disappointed. The beef was flavoured beautifully and the pastry was loose and crispy. The chicken Tom Yum soup followed and the acidic to sweet balance was perfect. I personally could have done with more spice, but it was perfect for Helen. All hyped up from the entrees, we were eager to dive into the mains.

The mains we ordered were the prawn Pad Thai, Gang Phet Ped Yang (duck red curry) and the Pla Neung Manow (steamed whole barramundi). If you’ve read my other reviews, you’ll know that I’m a sucker for Pad Thai! If it’s on the menu, I’m usually getting it. This one from River Kwai was awesome! The ingredients were fresh and it wasn’t overly sweet like a lot I’ve had in the past. Just look at how fresh those bean shoots look in the photo! The duck red curry was just as good, the snow peas were still crunchy and the curry itself had great smoothness and consistency. This curry went really well with the Pad Thai, but next time I’ll get some coconut rice too to see which I prefer.

And now it’s time for the dish we were most excited about…. the steamed barramundi! Sadly all good things must come to an end.. *sigh*. Dammit! We were nearly there… I had not given 5/5 in a long time and the barramundi was the last hurdle. Unfortunately the steamed barramundi was not very good at all. The sauce was way too sweet for my liking, and the barramundi itself was not that fresh. The fish was missing that bouncy texture which fresh barramundi gives, and my suspicions were that the fish may have been frozen for too long.

Such a shame, it was almost the perfect meal. 5 great dishes out of 6 is still a ratio most restaurants can only dream of. Would we come back? You bet we will. River Kwai is easily the best Thai restaurant in the area. The crazy thing is that we felt the prices were really reasonable this time. Let this be a lesson to y’all… never eat at any restaurant where you’d be uncomfortable with the prices. This will not only affect your whole dining experience, but it can also make you not appreciate a great restaurant.

River Kwai
Approx $40 AUD per person
Address: 3/1310 Centre Rd, Clayton South VIC 3169
Phone: +61 3 9545 5688
Website: riverkwai.com.au

River Kwai Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

by Davin Lee

Wasshoi

WHAT! Another place in Prahran!?! Yes… we’ve been coming here a lot, and loving Prahran Market. We were at Pino’s Fine Produce for some fruits and veggies. A quick plug for these guys, $15 for a box of fruit and veggies on Sunday. There’s a nice variety to choose from, just make sure you don’t fill your box with watermelon!

Wasshoi is situated right next to Pino’s Fine Produce. We were hungry after queuing for our fruits and veggies, and what better way to warm our stomachs than with hot yuzu and some twice cooked goodness! Helen ordered the twice cooked pork belly roll and I got the twice cooked chicken fillet don. Let me tell you, for the price – this is probably some of the best food you will get on this side of town.

The pork belly in the roll had a great fat to meat ratio, and was charred nicely. I know in the photo it looks burnt, but that certainly wasn’t the case. I could really taste the charcoal flavour embedded into the pork. The bread roll itself was ultra crispy, as bits of bread went flying everywhere from each bite. The Kochi yuzu pepper mayonnaise tasted as good as it sounds. This mayonnaise was not heavy and was kinda refreshing. This was a wonderfully constructed roll, just a shame that it was snatched away from me straight after my second bite!

The twice cooked chicken fillet don was just as enjoyable as the roll. I’m a bit conflicted as to which one I enjoy more. Helen said that I can like both equally, but I aren’t no fence sitter! I will definitely make my decision after I come here again. The chicken was extremely tender, and if anything I can taste the home made kimchi better in this dish. Their trademark mayonnaise is also featured here, I like what these guys are doing, reusing the same ingredients to save on costs. Everybody wins! Oh i nearly forgot to mention the hot yuzu! This beverage was the ideal answer to the freezing Melbourne weather. It tasted like a sweet lemon juice, and it helped my food settle.

Wasshoi is a great bang for buck eating place with delicious food. I have a feeling we’re going to be coming back here a lot whenever we’re at Prahran Market. Cheap food and cheap fruits and veggies, it allows us to spend more money on wine! After all, life’s all about balance right?

Wasshoi
Approx $15 AUD per prson
Address: 163 Commercial Road, South Yarra VIC 3141
Phone +61 3 9639 5051
Website: wasshoi.com.au

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

by Davin Lee

Ribs & Burgers (Hawthorn)

Generally when food bloggers/reviewers get invited to a restaurant, you may see them mention it in the blog/review. Some examples would be “we were invited to…” or “we had the honour to be invited…”. But what really goes on behind closed doors? I’d like to share with you guys what the process was with Ribs & Burgers, because we ourselves were fascinated with the whole process! This is not your ‘normal’ type of invite, as the whole experience was quite different from what we’re used to, but I’d thought it would be nice to share with you guys anyhow!

On this particular occasion, one of Ribs & Burgers marketing personnels reached out to us to ask if we wanted to try their new Wagyu burger range. Usually someone from the restaurant or an outsourced marketing company would reach out to us. It was kinda funny because they offered to send us a loyalty card via snail mail with a preloaded amount, which in this instance was $40. It’s a rather unusual way of doing things because we’d usually be offered a free meal or have a set amount deducted from our total bill.

What I really enjoyed about this invite to Ribs & Burgers was the fact that we were treated just like any other diners! It’s a refreshing change from the sometimes smothering great customer service. We agreed to dine at 7:30PM, but no table was reserved for us and the girl behind the counter didn’t know what an invite was. We were puzzled as to why they even agreed on a time with us, as we literally could have come at any time we wanted to! It was hilarious because she even asked us if we wanted to redeem our loyalty card… Helen and I just looked at each other with amusement, then responded with “ummm yeah??”

Now for all you guys yelling at the screen… “TELL US ABOUT THE FOOD ALREADY!”, well here goes… the Wagyu burger was pretty ordinary to say the least. Holding the burger in my hands, I could tell it was lacking substance. It’s hard to describe, but think of it like the difference between holding an iPhone compared to a cheap plastic prepaid phone. The bun looked good when we took the photo, but it collapsed instantly from the weight of my fingers. I’d thought I was quite gentle but maybe I don’t know my own strength! One would think that the Wagyu beef patty would be the highlight of the burger, but it was completely overwhelmed by the other ingredients. It seems simple enough, there’s no way any beef flavour can shine through when it’s smothered by pickles, caramalised onions, mustard, BBQ sauce. These are all powerful and punchy ingredients, which must be treated with respect. The end result was an unenjoyable soggy and sour mess, it was not pleasant at all.

Fortunately we got some pork dinosaur ribs as our second dish. The pork was delicate and the meat detached itself from the bone with minimal effort. The BBQ basting was spot on, and was not too sweet like a lot of other BBQ sauces. If I was to nit pick, it would be the fact that the middle part of the rib was a bit too charred for my liking, but after my experience with the Wagyu burger, I wasn’t complaining. The chips were also fresh and crunchy!

Well there you have it peeps… the Wagyu burger which we were invited to try wasn’t good at all. It’s ok, these things happen. On the other hand, I can wholeheartedly recommend the pork ribs, they were fantastic! I hope you guys enjoyed this little insight into the workings of a food invite. We would normally finish the night by thanking the restaurant for their invite, and have a chat with someone about the experience and the quality of the food. On this occasion we didn’t get a chance to do this with Ribs & Burgers because they were unaware of our invite. We feel that it’s always important to be honest, even when complimentary food is provided, otherwise we’d be sell outs. I hope that they read this blog post, and appreciate the feedback with regards to their Wagyu burger.

Ribs & Burgers
Approx $30 AUD per person
Address: 1/862 Glenferrie Road, Hawthorn VIC 3122
Phone: +61 3 9818 8142
Website: ribsandburgers.com

Ribs & Burgers Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

by Davin Lee

Pinchy’s @ HWKR

Pinchy’s is a fairly new addition to the growing family of food stalls at HWKR. There was one menu item in particular which caught our eyes – the ‘Maine to Melbourne’ lobster roll! Besides the fact that I have trust issues with anyone who’s able to turn down a lobster roll, the word ‘Maine’ means a lot to us. Firstly, as we had discovered from our US trip, Maine lobsters has some of the sweetest and tastiest meat, I prefer it over our local crayfish. Secondly, our cat Sky may be a Maine Coon! There’s a bit of confusion here because he was only listed as a domestic tabby, but everyone that has seen him is certain that he’s a Maine Coon. We’ve compared him to heaps of Maine Coon youtube videos and the resemblance is uncanny. Well anyway, that’s enough cat talk for the day, it’s time for some food talk!

The lobster roll was served on a distressed chopping board – very hipster indeed. It’s accompanied by some cucumber, chips and ornamental lettuce. I’m a self confessed chip addict, and naturally went for the chips first. I usually have to finish all the chips before I move onto other foods. In this particular instance, I was not able to do this because the chips were SALTY! Someone had got a bit overly excited with the salt in the kitchen… I was forced to hit each chip on the side of the bowl to get the excess salt off. I learnt this move off a friend who was health conscious yet loved KFC. She would knock the salt off the chips and dab the chicken with tissue to remove the oil. It’s was the weirdest sight ever! I was not proud of my chip move, but I considered it a necessity for this particular instance.

The lobster in the lobster roll was undoubtedly fresh and had the sweetness which I was looking for. I really enjoyed the lobster itself, but felt as though the whole lobster roll itself could have been better. I had no objections with the bread itself. Apart from the size of the roll being undersized, it was the flavouring of the lobster which was a let down. From my first couple of bites, I could only taste butter and not much else. I was used to the mayonnaise lightly coating the lobster pieces, rounded off by the chives in the background. As it turns out, all the mayonnaise was piled on near the base of the roll! I ended up with a mouthful of mayonnaise and it was a little overwhelming. It’s an interesting strategy, and I had never had a lobster roll where the mayonnaise was dissected like this before. Frugal is probably the best word to describe the quantity. For $22, I felt as though the roll could have been bigger, as it was by far the smallest lobster roll I’ve had.

We also ordered some crab tacos. When I think of tacos, I was expecting something bigger. These tacos were puny and I was able to put the whole taco in my mouth with real estate to spare!  Bear in mind, these tacos costs $14 so that’s $7 a pop. There was nothing special about the flavour, if anything it tasted a bit bland. The avocado mousse and tomato salsa was insufficient in giving the tacos the flavour hit which it so desperately needed.

All in all, I found that the prices did not justify the quantity or the taste of the food. Could this be a case of lobster roll snobbiness? Maybe, maybe not. I can only judge and compare with the lobster rolls I’ve had in the past, and this one misses the mark. For anyone who hasn’t tried Maine lobsters, I would still encourage you to try Pinchy’s out because the lobster itself is of high quality. As a whole, it’s hard to pass on my recommendation.

P.S. We were invited by HWKR and given a $50 allowance to spend at any of their food stalls. I have tried my best to be unbiased towards the price/quantity of the food at Pinchy’s. All my opinions are based on the assumption that if we were to pay for the food out of our own pockets.

Pinchy’s @ HWKR
Approx $30 AUD per person
Address: 137 A’Beckett Street,  Melbourne VIC 3000
Phone: +61 3 9018 7135

Pinchy's Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

by Davin Lee

The Piano

The Piano is a contemporary Thai restaurant situated on Bridge Road, Richmond. We found these guys based purely on the fact that we were craving for fish! For some reason, one weekend we found ourselves starving at 5:30PM. We knew there were a lot of Vietnamese/Thai restaurants in Richmond who were capable of serving up a mean dish of fish. Which one were we going to? We had no idea. So we literally drove to Richmond, parked the car and started looking for restaurants. We found The Piano because they had a steamed barramundi on their menu, perfect for a Melbourne winter night!

We arrived at the Piano all smiles, but the waitress managed to wipe that off in about 5 mins. NO BARRAMUNDI! I looked at the time and it was only 6:30PM! It’s always been puzzling to me how restaurants can not have something right near their opening times. She offered to replace the barramundi with salmon, what choice did I have? We agreed on the salmon. Helen and I decided to drown our barramundi sorrows with some cocktails, which just happened to be $10 each because we it was happy hour.

We decided to get a dry martini and espresso martini. The waitress informed me that it was going to be an extra 10min wait because they needed to turn on their coffee machine. In my head I was thinking ‘yeah whatever, I’ve lost my barramundi already’. What proceeded was quite possibly the two worst cocktails we’ve ever had! The dry martini had a weird sourness to it, and the espresso martini was way too sweet. This happy hour was turning to be not very happy at all. Just as we were mumbling to ourselves how crap the cocktails were, the waitress came back out and told us that it was going to be a 30min extra wait on the confit duck, because they needed time to slow cook it! At this point I was about to flip the damn table and walk out! Fortunately for them, the waitress was extremely nice and apologetic, otherwise I would have put a $20 note on the table and walked out. I couldn’t remember a time where we hit this many roadblocks before any food even hit the table.

As it turns out, there was light at the end of the tunnel. The food here was absolutely impeccable. The Penang chicken curry was one of the best curries I’ve ever had. It had great flavours with a smooth creamy texture, and went beautifully with the coconut rice. I soon forgot about the barramundi because the salmon was cooked wonderfully. Salmon is unforgiving in the sense that it gets tough as soon as it’s a bit overcooked. The ginger broth was delicate yet flavourful, the mushroom, baby corn and spring onion all doing their part to compliment it. We couldn’t stop sipping on the broth, it was deeeeeelicious! The stir fry beef was an angry order because of the confit duck, I didn’t even realise I ordered it until it was placed on our table. Whilst it wasn’t as good as the other two dishes, it was still nice and I couldn’t fault it.

Well there you have it peeps, after a horrid start, The Piano finished on a positive note. The experience as a whole was mediocre, but the food was legit here. I feel as though there’s room for improvement with their stock management and also their drink mixing. It wasn’t worth getting a cocktail here for even $10, as they’re simply horrible. I’d be happy to come back purely for their food, but even then it feels like I’m dodging bullets in order to get the dishes I want. I’m conflicted, so I’ll leave the decision up to you guys for this one!

The Piano
Approx $35 AUD per person
Address: 18-20 Bridge Rd, Richmond VIC 3121
Phone: +61 3 9428 9385
Website: thepiano.com.au

The Piano Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

by Davin Lee

Red Panda

It’s been a family tradition of ours that the birthday person shouts a meal for the rest of the family. I had already agreed to host dinner at my place for mum’s birthday, but rules are rules, and mum took us to Red Panda on her actual birthday. Mum was pretty excited about taking us here, she said that they’ve got a few special dishes which other Chinese restaurants don’t have. I personally don’t get too excited about trying new Chinese restaurants, but her energy rubbed off on me, and therefore I was eager to try these guys out.

Red Panda is located in a fairly quiet area in Wheelers Hill. I must have driven past this restaurant a million times and have not noticed them. I remembered the Salvation Army on this strip of shops, but that was it. A quick search on Google maps and I knew exactly where I needed to be. Red Panda felt and looked like a typical Chinese restaurant, they had a little takeaway counter which led into the main dining room. I sat down and my bum cheeks sunk into the chair! I found this a bit hilarious… these chairs have probably had their fair share of bottoms through the years! There’s also the fact that they’ve got carpet, I’ve never been a fan of carpets in restaurants. Apart from these 2 niggly things, the restaurant looked really clean and there was adequate spacing between the tables.

Mum had quietly whispered to me that their vegetables were a bit old and tough last time. I asked her which ones she ordered and suggested to order a Chinese broccoli this time. I also thought it was best we told them about her previous experience and confirm that their Chinese broccoli was fresh this time. There’s nothing worse than eating old Chinese broccoli as it gets stringy and tough. After being deprived of vegetables from our Japan trip, I was looking forward to some quality veggies back home!

We started off with 2 pigeons as entree, I was shocked to find out they were $28 each! I can’t remember the last time I had pigeon, so I cannot comment whether or not that was a reasonable price, but it felt expensive. It felt like an eternity before the other five dishes arrived, it was probably our fault because we asked for all the dishes to arrive together. I do not know the exact names of each dish because it was all in Chinese, but I can certainly tell you which ones were the best! My favourite dishes of the night were the fish balls with vermicelli, deep fried chicken spare ribs and the egg yolk coated eggplant. The fish balls had a bouncy texture and came with an awesome tasting soup. The chicken spare ribs were deep fried beautifully, crunchy texture and had a sweetness to it too. I enjoyed the egg yolk coated eggplant because it was just special and I had never had a dish like this before.

So remember the Chinese broccoli I was so looking forward to? Well they were old and tough! You know when you’re so deprived of something, then you think you’re gonna get it, and it turns out to be absolute sh*t? Well that’s the emotions I went through! My mood meter was sitting between annoyed and angry. To give you an idea how bad they were, we couldn’t even chew through a lot of the stems because they were so stringy. To put it bluntly, they need to fire their green vegetables supplier because they shouldn’t be serving this quality to their customers. The other dish that was disappointing was the enoki mushroom and tofu dish. It tasted quite ‘fishy’… I questioned mum what it could be, and she suspects that the dried scallops they used were probably not fresh. I’ve never had this experience before, but I’ll take her word for it.

Overall, the dishes here were a bit hit and miss. I noticed they really excel in a lot of the fried dishes, but I would never come here for greens. It’s not a place I would personally come back to, but if mum wanted to come here again then I would join her. Sometimes it’s not just the quality of the food, but also who you eat it with.

Red Panda
Approx $35 AUD per person
Address: 4/192 Brandon Park Dr, Wheelers Hills VIC 3150
Phone: +61 3 9561 3256

Red Panda Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

by Davin Lee

Kung Fu Burger

Bruce Lee, the greatest martial artist to walk the face of the earth. It was not only his fighting abilities, but his approach and philosophy to martial arts which was so admirable. In case you haven’t realised, I’m a HUGE Bruce Lee fan! Judging by the layout of Kung Fu Burger, the owners obviously adore this martial arts legend too.

The interior’s yellow colour scheme is a tribute to Bruce Lee’s famous yellow jumpsuit. The huge martial arts/burger poster looks to be a custom design and sets the tone that these guys are serious about martial arts and burgers! It’s so cool to see these guys channel something they love into their business. There are so many burger joints these days with their hipster interiors, but I felt the love with Kung Fu Burgers. I could be bias, but this place feels more personal to me.

We started off with a chicken bites and chips special. The chips were nothing to rave about, but the chicken bites were out of this world! Soft, juicy and succulent. I couldn’t believe how good they were, it was such a tease because I had to share them with Helen. The chicken wings on the other hand were not so enjoyable. They were smothered with an overly sweet sauce which was sickeningly sweet and was an appetite killer.

After the roller coaster ride with the starters, we moved onto the burgers. Helen got the Minister Chicken and I got the Gangnam Style. These burgers were absolutely SOLID. The characteristics of the chicken bites carried onto the chicken in the Minister Chicken. The yuzu mayo sauce which went with it worked so well because the yuzu actually cut through the heaviness of the mayo. I’d never thought I’ll use the word ‘refreshing’ to describe a mayo sauce, but this was exactly how it tasted.

The patty in the Gangnam Style burger was cooked beautifully. It also had strong beef flavours, exactly how a great beef patty should be. On my first bite, the Korean mayo and Kim Chi registers on my tongue but the brain is lagging. After a couple of seconds, my eyebrows go up and then I spurt out “this works!”. There’s also Asian slaw and cheese with this burger, and all the ingredients work together to create a memorable burger experience. The cherry on top is the fact that this burger only costs $12! Move over $20+ burgers, we have a new sheriff in town.

They put a skewer through the burger to keep it together. Just pretend it’s not there because everything falls apart anyway. This may be the messiest burger I’ve ever eaten. My hands were all dirty, I had sauce leaking everywhere, it was chaotic! I would recommend wearing dark coloured clothing or pre-stained clothes before coming here. I wasn’t offended at all by the mess, I just had a laugh! Just be aware that no amount of tissues was going to help. A quick wash of my hands with soap and water, and they were good as gold. A basin in the outside dining area would be hugely beneficial I think.

Will we return? Most definitely! It’s a high calorie meal but a walk to the Jam Factory cinemas helps with the fullness. Both of the burgers we had were only $12, the value of these burgers is unrivaled. Combine this fact with their late trading hours and there really is no reason to not try these guys out!

Kung Fu Burger
Address: 355 Chapel Street, South Yarra VIC 3141
Phone: +61 3 9043 3361
Website: kungfuburger.com.au

Kung Fu Burger Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

by Davin Lee

Nomada

The saying goes… it’s not how you start, it’s how you finish. We forgot how we came across Nomada, but by the time we walked out the door, we realised that we have had one of the best Spanish meals ever! Nomada has a strong team of the Melbourne culinary world backing them, think Kettle Black, Bomba and Anada. Luckily I wasn’t equipped with this knowledge prior to writing this review, because it allowed me to enjoy the food as it is, and not to form any comparisons with the other restaurants.

Walking in, we were greeted straight away by a very friendly waiter. He ended up being our exclusive waiter for the night. No complaints from our end, he was extremely personable and knew the menu inside out. Wooden furniture, fancy lamp shades and green plants are scattered across the restaurant. It’s a safe and proven formula, and we felt very much at home. It did smell of heavy smoke inside, like I was next to a giant camp fire. By the end of the night, I was fully marinated and it resulted in the minor inconvenience of a second shower for the day. I’m not a huge fan of washing my hair twice in a day, gotta let those natural oils build up a bit before being stripped again! In saying this, the food did more than make up for the smoky smell…

We started off with some tapas – oysters with seaweed jelly and finger lime, slow cooked egg with spanner crab and Yarra Valley caviar, and Cape Grim steak tartare with black garlic and pulled beef tendon. If these menu items sound delicious to you, imagine the agony we went through with picking what we wanted… it was not a huge menu, but we just wanted to order everything! The steak tartare was a standout dish. Cape Grim is one of my favourite cattle producers, their meat quality is second to none. This quality translates directly across to this steak tartare. The flavour is clean and beefy, tribute to the cattle being grass fed and free of growth hormones. I’ve never had black garlic with steak tartare and I’m happy to say IT WORKS! The sweetness of the black garlic works beautifully with the steak. Steak tartare has come a long way since I’ve started eating it, and this style makes me excited for the future of this dish.

For the mains we got the hanger steak with parsnip, queso valdeon & bone marrow sauce and the coal grilled calamari, potato puree, chorizo & green pea. The hanger steak was cook perfectly, and the bone marrow sauce acted as a flavour booster. The texture was tender enough, but I did try to cut against the grain to help it along also. Calamari is something I love to eat but rarely order outside, because to be honest, most places overcook the hell out of it. This was not the case at Nomada. The potato puree was fluffy like clouds, and the chorizo and peas together were just a match made in heaven! It’s best eaten all together as the chorizo provides the salt for this dish.

We got two complimentary ports with our Creme Catalan dessert. Not my drink of choice generally but boy were these delicious! One thing I will say however is that I found the portions of some dishes a bit small. For example, the pipis cost $9 but I would have only got around 11-12 pipis. So if I divide 9/12, that means each pipi cost 75c each! I would have expected double the amount of pipis for the price? I am a little conflicted because it seems this is the price/quantity ratio of most Spanish restaurants in Australia though. Portion sizes and a smoky dining room are minor problems we can overcome together. I have always liked the Spanish food here more than in Spain. Nomada has further reinforced this view for me, and I’m happy to have another Spanish restaurant to go to. Seriously one of the best Spanish restaurants in Melbourne and I cannot wait to dine here again!

Nomada
Approx $70 AUD per person
Address: 412A Brunswick Street, Fitzroy VIC 3065
Phone: +61 3 9416 4102
Website: nomada.com.au

Nomada Food & Wine Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

by Davin Lee

Jinda Thai

It’s always nice to meet up with some fellow food lovers for dinner, because there’s nothing better than enjoying great food together in each others company. We caught up with Bearabbit, Feeds with Gusto and Tim.E, and the restaurant of choice was Jinda Thai. It was our first time here, and what a great choice it was from Feeds with Gusto!

The atmosphere at Jinda Thai was buzzing from start to finish. The interior is like an old warehouse with brick walls. Helen and I quickly shot gunned some couch spots, as the massive hole in the chair was not gonna do our backs any good. Equipped with 3 bottles of BYO red, being ‘hydrated’ was not an issue, but it was the food which we were most interested in.

After what seemed like some short chatter, we were inundated with food! It’s nice to not have to make all the food decisions sometimes, and have others pick dishes. We ordered so much food, and let me tell you, they were all solid! I couldn’t fault any of them, but there were a few which really stood out for me. I particularly enjoyed the chicken Pad Thai, steamed fish with chilli garlic dressing, and pandan cake with ice cream.

I’m a sucker for a great Pad Thai, funny enough I never even tried Pad Thai in Thailand and had only started enjoying this dish over the last 5 years. It’s probably the least Thai dish on the menu, but when has that ever stopped me from wanting it! This Pad Thai was not lacking in flavour and had a decent punch to it. The sweetness was perfect and the lime juice on top was just the icing on the cake. My friend sought out a Thai cook on Gumtree to make Pad Thai for his birthday party. I would say her Pad Thai and the one I’ve had at Jinda Thai were probably the best I’ve ever tried.

In my reviews I very rarely mention authenticity. I’ve never mentioned this before, but I don’t consider authenticity important to how I judge how good food is. To me, good food is good food, irrespective of how authentic a dish is. Now in saying so, I think that the strongest argument for authentic food is the memories it brings back. This statement could not be more true when it comes to the steamed fish I had here at Jinda Thai. As soon as I had the first bite, it took me back to the steamed fishes I had in Thailand. The acidity and chilli hit was relentless and this was the flavour profile which I’ve been looking for! The fish was fresh, and not overcooked. A highlight dish in every sense of the word.

To finish off with the pandan cake with ice cream was so soothing. After all the full flavoured savoury dishes, it was nice to retreat back to a quality dessert. The pandan sauce was not too sweet at all, and worked well with the soft silky cake underneath. I’m not usually a fan of pandan, but now I’ve been converted and will seek out more pandan cakes in the future. It even comes with two scoops of ice cream, not a bad deal for $8.50!

Great food and great company, what more could we have asked for. It was a great night, and I’m happy to have dined at Jinda Thai. It was a restaurant which had been on my radar for a long time now, and the food met and exceeded my expectations! Without a doubt we’ll be keeping these guys in mind whenever we feel like great Thai food. I would highly recommend them to anyone. Don’t make the same mistake as me, I’ve waited way too long to try this place, check these guys out ASAP!

Jinda Thai
Approx $45 AUD per person
Address: 7 Ferguson Street, Abbotsford VIC 3067
Phone: (03) 9419 5899

Jinda Thai Restaurant Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

by Davin Lee

Okami

All you can eat was the term we used growing up, and it meant permission to eat till you drop! Later on the word ‘buffet’ was used more commonly and I had always felt that it was just a glammed up version of ‘all you can eat’. I believe the difference between the two is that food at a buffet is always displayed and people help themselves. Okami doesn’t do this, food is ordered and then served by the waiting staff. They proudly advertise – everything on the all you can eat menu is $32.80 per person. I appreciate a restaurant who is upfront with me, I know exactly what I’m getting and how much my expenditure will be. Out of respect for Okami, I promised to give it my all and eat ALL THE FOODS!


The selection of foods here was very decent indeed. Some of the categories include – sushi/sashimi, dumplings, deep fried foods, noodles, rich, ice cream, etc. They even had a garden salad as an option, but I wasn’t going to go anywhere near that, as I had bigger missions to accomplish. The biggest test with these all you can eat Japanese places is always the sushi/sashimi. If this isn’t any good, they’ll be travelling down a slippery slope. Okami passed with flying colours, the fish was fresh and the salmon had a lovely layer of fat. I was surprised as I didn’t expect the fish to be so good!

The seaweed salad and squid salad were also stand outs. You have any idea how expensive these salads are!?! Over $5 for a small container at most places, and Okami was piling it on. I went to town with the squid salad, as it’s one of my favourite salads. The grilled squid wasn’t overcooked, and the teriyaki steak was soft and tender. I’m not a huge fan of deep fried foods, but their prawn tempura was decent too.

A lot of these all you can eat places would set a seating time limit, then bring out the food at a snails pace. Common strategy used in the Asian all you can eat world to minimise the customer’s food intake. Okami did not impose such strategy, and food was brought out promptly, huge advantage for big eaters such as myself. They also allowed us to tailor certain foods, for example they made just a salmon sushi/sashimi platter exclusively for us when we requested it. Don’t mean to disrespect the other fishes, but the salmon is the best fish here.

Long gone are the days of quality $20 something all you can eat places, the new price range is in the $30s. For the food quality we got, I felt that their price of $32.80 was well justified and I wouldn’t hesitate to bring my family here. There’s a fine print on their menu that any wastage over 200 grams would incur an extra charge, I fully support this move as food wastage is not to be tolerated! I sound like a broken record sometimes as with all my all you can eat/buffet reviews I say this, but PLEASE only order what you can finish. Lastly, take this for what it’s worth, but one of my trusted food advisers told me that he went to another franchise and it was very ordinary. This one I went to in Hampton looks to have the best reviews and I can vouch for them!

Okami
Approx $35 AUD per person
Address: 530 Hampton Street, Hampton VIC 3188
Phone: +61 3 8899 6631
Website: www.okamirestaurant.com.au

Okami Japanese Restaurant Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

by Davin Lee

The Diplomat

The Diplomat was a cafe which Helen and I visited many years back, before we started blogging. One of the positives of food blogging is that it allows us to keep a record of all the places we’ve eaten, so they won’t be forgotten. The Diplomat was one of many places which fell off our radar, and you could say that it was by pure chance that I found these guys again! I went to Highett to buy some steaks for dinner, and just happened to be hungry (as usual). Walking along Highett Road, none of the places appealed to me. As I got closer to the train tracks, memories flooded back of this cafe which had really good food. Without a moment of hesitation, I got myself a seat at the communal table, and it wasn’t until I looked at the top of the menu that I actually remembered the name of this place!

It’s lovely inside, plenty of light coming in from the floor to ceiling windows, an abundance of indoor greenery, wooden furniture, edison bulbs, what’s not to like about this place! The setting is comfortable without trying too hard, a lot of other cafes could learn a thing or two. Another thing worth mentioning is that they are extremely kid friendly here. I was seeing colouring books and crayons flying out to the tables as fast as the food. It’s great to see that in an age full of technology, that they’re still trying to entertain the kids the old school way! From the looks on the kids faces, they appreciate the gesture. Prams were also not an inconvenience as they were parked neatly inside.

I decided to get a refreshing juice, instead of a latte. And refreshing it was indeed… one of the most balanced juices I’ve ever had! They’ve got the ratios down pat, the ingredients consisted of apple, kiwi, lime and coconut water. I do make some juices at home, but once there’s ingredients like kiwi and lime involved, I’ll just leave it to these guys. I only wish I got more of it! Or they could at least try to fool me with a tall and skinny glass!

There’s a lot of clean and healthy foods on the menu, which would appeal to health conscious people. I got the wood smoked salmon served with soba noodles, salad with brocollini, edamame, bean sprouts, spring onion and soy broth. The soy broth was full of flavour without being salty, and this transferred to the soba noodles, which was submerged in the broth. Never did I feel like the soba noodles were lacking in flavour. Same thing applied to the salmon also, I could taste the wood smoke but it was never overpowering. The salmon had a soft flakey texture and was very tender. I suspect that the salmon would have been cold smoked or a smoking gun was used. Overall a very enjoyable dish, and something I would order again.

It was nice to visit an old friend, and they were every bit as good as what I remembered them to be. The Diplomat serves some of the finest foods in the area, and their welcoming nature to families with kids is just an added bonus. The staff here are cheery and energetic. They also looked like they were enjoying each others company, this culture shines through to their service. I look forward to returning again with Helen, so I can eat some of her food too!

P.S. Quick shout out to Jules! I know you’re probably reading this review right now licking your lips… we’re expecting an email from you!

The Diplomat
Approx $25 AUD per person
Address: 4 Railway Parade, Highett VIC 3190
Phone: +61 3 9939 6289
Website: thediplomatcafe.com.au

The Diplomat Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

by Davin Lee

Laksa King Kitchen

Lately on Zomato, we’ve been having a little chatter about Laksa King based on someone’s review. I mentioned that I liked Laksa King Flemington better than their Glen Waverley branch. This got me thinking… how’s Laksa King Kitchen in Southland? I’ve always been a bit skeptical with this one in Southland because of the demographics. It’s located inside the cinema area, and seems to be trying to attract pre and post movie goers. Well look who the cat dragged in on this occasion?! ME!

Southland has a movie and meal deal promotion running till the 29th of April. A free glass of wine with any laksa purchase from Sunday to Thursday. A pretty good deal if I must say so myself, the wine on offer was the Lumiere Pinot Noir. I was curious to know whether I could have got the Penfolds Bin 28 for another $2 (the difference in price), but was too scared to push the friendship! After watching ‘Ready Player One’ (great movie by the way, you guys really need to check it out), I used my movie ticket to claim this deal.

The menu on offer is very tame compared to the other Laksa King franchises. I can see where they’re coming from though, as I don’t think a fish head curry laksa would be too popular here! The range was a lot smaller here and I finally settled on a seafood laksa. The soup base of the laksa was really intense in flavour. I was taken back, as I thought they would have toned it down a bit. I don’t mean this in a bad way at all because I’m happy they stuck to their guns. It was probably a bit too intense for me to sip the soup as it is, but it went really well with the noodles though. All the seafood in the laksa was fresh, especially the rockling fish. The only exception would be the Chinese takeaway style prawns, I’m not a fan of these prawns as they have close to zero prawn flavour. The size of the bowl which holds the laksa can be intimidating, but rest assured that the actual serving was a regular sized portion.

I also snuck in a serve of steamed prawn dumplings. The sauce for this dish was delicious! Perfect combination of salty, sour and spicy. Very appetising and doesn’t overpower the prawn dumplings. The dumplings themselves had good texture, but the winner is the sauce. I washed down this very respectable meal with the Lumiere Pinot Noir, not a bad night at all.

I have to admit that Laksa King at Southland was better than what I’d thought it would be. My preference would always be their Flemington restaurant, but Flemington is much further away for me. I had a nice meal here and would definitely return to eat again.

P.S. Helen was with me, as usual. She decided to go and take up another movie and meal deal at another eatery. She was watching me eat like a little creeper until she could get her own meal… =O

Laksa King Kitchen
Approx $25 AUD per person
Address: Westfield Southland, R205/1239 Nepean Hwy, Cheltenham VIC 3192
Phone: +61 3 9584 8858
Website: laksakingkitchen.com.au

Laksa King Kitchen Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

by Davin Lee

Tataki

We seem to be having my favourite cuisine Japanese a lot lately. Sometimes I don’t realise these things until I look at our photos inventory and then reality hits… not that I’m complaining though! Maybe we should go to a French restaurant soon to keep Helen happy. Well anyway… enough self reflection, let’s get on with this review! Tataki is a Japanese restaurant located in Elsternwick. The street was relatively quiet at night, and we were able to get parking right outside the restaurant. There’s a glass section at the front of the restaurant which displayed faux Japanese food, I thought this was kinda cool as it reminded me of Japan.

The interior of Tataki felt clean and comfortable. The sushi chef station is right at the front, again a very traditional Japanese setup. My only two minor criticisms were the chairs and the loud slamming of the door. The chairs just had a total lack of back support, and I was lucky I didn’t sit here for hours as that would most likely kill my back. Their door also slammed very loudly each time the Uber Eats delivery people picked up an order. It was loud enough to make the customers jolt every time! The waiting staff did constantly come out to check the door but I don’t think there was anything they could do, I think the door gas strut might need to be replaced as it clearly wasn’t doing it’s job properly.

Food wise, we ordered the beef tataki, salmon belly nigiri and kingfish belly nigiri for entrees. For mains, I got a grilled miso salmon & vegetables, and Helen got the lobster and salmon special roll. The beef tataki was ok…. I wouldn’t go out of my way for it. Whilst the beef was fresh, and the sauce was good, the beef itself was overcooked. I would have preferred it a lot rarer. My salmon on the other hand suffered a worst fate, it was extremely overcooked and was tough, rough and once was enough. I felt like this salmon died in vain.

On the flip side, the quality of all the fishes which didn’t require cooking were at a very high standard. The salmon belly nigiri and kingfish belly nigiri were some of the freshest and tastiest sushi I’ve had in Australia. Helen’s lobster and salmon roll was flavoured well and the grilled salmon was soft with a hint of char. One thing I did notice was that the sushi and sashimi was priced really high, and was comparable to other high class Japanese restaurants. Even the lobster and salmon roll was priced at $25 for 8 pieces. I’m shocked and confused with the price at the same time. Was the fish high quality? Yes. Was it expensive for this restaurant setting? Also yes. So therefore I’m conflicted as to whether or not I think it’s worth the price.

Tataki felt like a mixed bag of lollies. They’ve hit the wide spectrum of bad, ok, good and great. The inconsistencies shines through and was reflected in their dishes. The price discrepancies are also confusing. It’s hard to see how the lobster and salmon roll can be priced at $25 for 8 pieces. It seems as though their true strengths lie in their sushi and sashimi, but be prepared to pay dearly for these dishes also. All in all, I respect the freshness of their produce, but I cannot say that this is a big enough draw for us to come back.

Tataki
Approx $50 AUD per person
Address: 470 Glen Huntly Road, Elsternwick, VIC 3185
Phone: +61 3 9523 5275
Website: tataki.com.au

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