Category: Cuisine

by Helen Le

O.MY

For Davin’s birthday this year, as per the usual custom, I made a reservation at a fine dining restaurant. Any excuse to eat somewhere nice we always say! This year I chose O.MY, a two chef hat restaurant in Beaconsfield which looked really promising.

It’s their philosophy of respecting the earth, for what they grow, and their commitment to sustainability and minimal waste which drew me to them. They have established a large garden at a nearby farm to grow the produce for their restaurant and are passionate about growing and using fresh, seasonal produce as well as sourcing other ingredients required from local suppliers. Because Davin’s taken a real keen interest in growing his own vegetables and herbs lately, I thought this would be the perfect dinner place for him!

Once a butcher’s shop, it has been transformed into a 25 seat restaurant, another reason why I was drawn to it. With only 25 seats, you know that it’s going to be a real intimate experience. Right outside the restaurant there are herbs and vegetables being grown out front, and I picture the staff coming out throughout the day to pick what they require for their kitchen.

Upon reaching the entrance to the humble restaurant, the door instantly opened for us and a friendly staff member greeted us and promptly seated us at our reserved table. We started off with a couple glasses of proseccos which came out really quickly and then they checked in to see if we had any dietary requirements. The concept at this restaurant is that they offer a seasonal menu for $115 per person and the menu is determined by what their garden offers so don’t expect a menu that you can peruse. Perfectly fine for us because we eat everything and we love surprises!

To talk about every single dish will take all day and night because there were so many! However I’ll talk about some of the highlights. Each dish was presented carefully and lovingly on beautiful crockery made from either wood, ceramic or stone. Here were some of the dishes.

Diamond tomatoes, labna, zucchini seed tart shell

Corn barbecued in its husk

Beet leaf shell and fermented beetroot mousse

Beef fat butter, house made butter, garden salt and house made bread. The beef fat butter actually tasted like a steak! It was amazing.

Freshly sliced apple, verbena powder, almond milk sauce and onion top oil

Basted beetroots with cherry juice, meat jus, beet juice sauce, buttermilk gel and sheep sorrel

Steamed zucchini with ricotta, seeds, puree, grated salted egg yolk, pickled coriander berry and borage flowers. It came out looking like a pumpkin but it was zucchini!

Potato puree, chicken jus, black garlic sauce, egg yolk, chicken skin powder, beans and flowers. This was one of our favourites and was so full of flavour!

Dry aged scotch beef with jus and fresh tomato varieties. The steak was probably more well done than we would have preferred however the tomatoes were deliciously sweet

Cucumber granita, compressed mouse melons, honey labna, sunrose leaves, mint leaves and cucumber flowers. So refreshing!

Soil. This is their special dessert which represents their passion of growing their produce from their garden. It had farm honey icecream, a soil of spent grain from beer making, burnt citrus, balsamic powder, chocolate and mini nasturtium

Overall the dishes were beautifully presented and were very unique. The staff here are really trying to utilise their produce in the best possible way and they certainly push the boundaries with flavour combinations. Because they are mainly showcasing their garden produce however, the dishes are mainly vegetarian and the meat dishes were minimal. I think this would be great for vegetarians but for the people that love their meats, don’t expect that here.

The service was top notch and staff were very attentive, always ensuring our water was topped up and taking away our empty dishes almost instantly. What we also loved was that every staff member that came around to our table were really sociable and were happy to have a chat, whether it’s about the dishes or just about things in general. I think that’s really important in today’s day and age. Having such great customer service really makes a difference in terms of your experience. So if you’re ever looking to venture out and fine dine at a unique and intimate place, check out O.MY.

O.MY
Approx $115 AUD per person
Address: 23 Woods St, Beaconsfield VIC 3807
Phone: +61 3 9769 9000
Website: omyrestaurant.com.au

O.My Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

by Helen Le

Burger Project

I’ve always loved a good burger so one night at Chadstone while we were searching for a not so expensive place to eat for once, we decided to finally try out Neil Perry’s Burger Project!

They advertise that their beef is 100% grass fed and comes from Cape Grim in North Western Tasmania where happy healthy cows live on green, pristine pastures. In fact when you walk into the very spacious restaurant, one side of the wall captures this beautifully.

The restaurant itself as I’ve mentioned is very spacious for a burger joint with an abundance of modern white chairs and tables with overhead hanging lamps. We were overwhelmed with the space and where to sit!

The concept there is simple, order at the front desk, take a buzzer back to your table, then come collect your tray of food once you’re buzzed. The focus is of course burgers! Following recommendations from the friendly staff, I ordered the Cheese burger which apparently a popular choice. This had grass fed beef, cheese, onion, pickles, tomato, lettuce and secret sauce. Davin ordered the Chili Cheese which was pretty much exactly like mine but with the jalapeno. We also got a serving of large chips with chipotle chili salt and chipotle mayo dipping sauce, and chocolate shake with malt. My eyes also lit up when I saw their dessert menu which had a strawberry pavlova so I ordered that too!

It didn’t take too long before our buzzer started buzzing and vibrating and we received our tray of food. The burgers were presented inside their packaging and looked promising. When we pulled them out my first observation were that they weren’t the massive burgers you often get. In fact they reminded me of some of the burgers you would get a fast food chain because of the size but also how it looked. The bread looked a bit soggy, squashed and flattened. Not the crispy bun you would expect. However upon taking a bite of the burger, it tasted pretty good! The beef patty was cooked and flavoured well. Their secret sauce was quite nice and complemented the burger ingredients. I guess the only let down was the bun.

The chips were good however I think they over seasoned it as it got quite salty and so we couldn’t finish it. The chipotle chili salt was nice but you don’t want to just be tasting salt. The milkshake was perfect, not too sweet but with a good dose of chocolate flavour. We loved it. Finally the strawberry pavlova was probably a bit on the sweet side for me because of the strawberry sauce. The vanilla bean icecream itself was good and the meringue was crunchy. I think it was just missing some real fruit.

Overall, the burgers here were good however were just lacking a good bun. If you order one of their seasonings for the chips, also make sure to ask them to go easy on it!

Burger Project
Approx $25 AUD per person
Address: Chadstone Shopping Centre, Dining Terrace, Level 1, 1001B/1341 Dandenong Road, Chadstone VIC 3145
Phone: +61 2 9259 5600
Website: burgerproject.com

Burger Project Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

by Helen Le

Short Straw

We had the pleasure in finding another great brunch / lunch place in Hawthorn recently which we’re excited to share with you. Hawthorn has always been buzzing with great eateries and this one does not disappoint.

Short Straw is a cafe located on Glenferrie Rd and is pretty central in Hawthorn. Upon entering you experience clean painted white walls, lots of wooden decor and bricks, with green plants scattered throughout above and below. I loved their feature wall which captured some artwork which reflected the cafe itself.

We ordered two lattes to start off with and then perused the menu. I ordered the Wild Mushrooms dish which had slow cooked chili and garlic wild mushrooms with truffle cream on crispy polenta. I added their optional additions which were crispy pork belly and a poached egg. This dish was really yummy. The wild mushrooms soaked in the truffle cream were a perfect match. The pork belly was really soft and literally broke away however the skin was way too hard to chew so I just put it aside after a few attempts. The poached egg was cooked perfectly and the polenta was also done well.  I also ordered a Green Glow cold-pressed juice to go with my meal too which was really good.

However Davin’s dish was the highlight! He ordered the Poke Bowl which had multigrain rice and cured sesame seed salmon, sweet corn, soybeans, avocado, wakame and ponzu dressing. Now we recently came back from the U.S where there’s such a huge craze with poke bowls over there and they do it great. It’s only recently that this poke bowl craze has hit Melbourne so we were interested to see how they did it here. And the verdict? The poke bowl was AMAZING! It was so flavoured and balanced at the same time. The salmon was super fresh! We were a bit unsure of the sesame seeds and the multigrain rice but it worked! It was one healthy bowl of lovely and fresh flavours. We will definitely be back for this!

By this stage we realised that we still hadn’t got our lattes yet which we ordered at the start so we followed it up with the staff. They were very apologetic about the lattes. They brought them out at the end of our meals, however were nice enough to take it off the bill. The lattes were actually quite good and strong which I liked.

Overall the food was top quality and we will definitely be back for that poke bowl!

Short Straw
Approx $25 AUD per person
Address: 743B Glenferrie Rd, Hawthorn VIC 3122
Phone: +61 3 9815 3451
Website: shortstraw.com.au

Short Straw Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

by Davin Lee

Chopstick Delight

Oh what a name… I chuckled when my work colleague recommended this place to me. I love it when Chinese restaurants put two random words together, and voilà! I couldn’t picture the location when my work colleague was describing it to me, and when I got there I soon realised why. It was nestled within a small strip of shops amongst residential housing. If no one tells you about this restaurant, then chances are you’ll never drive past it. Well I guess that’s what I’m here for, so let’s proceed shall we?

We rocked up and this place was PACKED! I was amazed how busy Chopstick Delight was considering the location. One thing about the Chinese community is that word gets around fast when the food is good, and it looks as though this place got some good ol’ word of mouth. In hindsight, this was how I discovered the restaurant! I walked in and just thought to myself – WOW! This place is the OG of Chinese restaurants, Cantonese to be precise. Pink walls – check, old school Chinese framed prints – check, fish tank – check. The décor doesn’t look like it’s been changed since the 1980s, but for some reason I felt right at home! We didn’t see a special fried rice ordered during our stay, the people that come were after some specialised Chinese dishes.

The waitress recommended Wintermelon soup to start off with. Her English was really good, and she understood everything we asked her. I believe she may be the owner of the restaurant. I’ve had plenty of Wintermelon soups in my lifetime, and they were all on the bland side. The one I had here was very tasty and full of seafood goodies! Since there was only two of us, we didn’t get the soup served from the actual melon, but we were able to see it served like that from another table and it made us equally happy.

We also ordered the free range chicken, spicy quail and Chinese broccoli with garlic. The free range chicken is a pretty sought after dish, and I’d recommend calling ahead to reserve some because it does sell out quickly. The texture of the chicken was spot on, it was chewier due to the chicken actually having room to move! The spring onion sauce was just to die for, it went so well together with the chicken. The quail had a really crispy skin with a thin layer of spicy salt. I’d recommend eating the quail dine in only, as we did take away once and it didn’t do the quail justice. Perfect crunch with the Chinese broccoli, it was fresh and not the old and tired broccoli you get at some other Chinese restaurants.

All the dishes we had were absolutely perfect. They were not heavy handed with the seasoning at all. Some of the other reviewers have mentioned that their crab is really good, so we cannot wait to try that in the near future. This is a hidden gem of a restaurant, I highly recommend it, and I’m sure you guys will love the food here too!


Chopstick Delight
Approx $35 AUD per person
Address: 79 Mackie Rd, Mulgrave VIC 3170
Phone: +61 3 9560 3688
Website: chopstickdelight.com.au

Chopstick Delight Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

by Helen Le

Famili Ria

We absolutely love Indonesian cuisine however haven’t come across many local places that have stood out for us. However we recently came across Famili Ria in Surrey Hills which had really high ratings so decided to check it out one night. Upon reading the reviews, the fish cakes were apparently exceptional here and the food really authentic. Now we can’t say we’ve ever had Indonesian fish cakes before and certainly can’t judge on the authenticity. However we know what good food tastes like!

Famili Ria is a small, family style restaurant and its main focus is its food. Upon entering, the menu covered one side of the wall with pictures of all the dishes you can order. The one and only worker there was very friendly and because we were so overwhelmed with the menu and was unsure of what to order, she gave us some recommendations.

We decided to settle on the Pempek Sampler which were a combination of the different handmade fish cakes as the starter. Given there was so much hype about it we had to try them!

Based on their recommendation, for mains Davin ordered the hot and spicy noodles with chicken and mushrooms, and I ordered the green chilli chicken with rice. We were warned that both dishes were quite spicy and was given the option of the level of spice so we decided to settle on medium.

The fish cakes arrived first with a light sauce and we dug into them. The first thing that came to mind for us was that the texture was quite chewy. It confirmed for us that we’ve never had Indonesian fish cakes before so it was a whole new experience.  We weren’t sure if we liked them or not. There was one in particular in which the batter looked like noodles on the outside which I enjoyed as it had a really nice crunch to it.

Davin’s noodles were really nice and flavoured but boy were they super spicy! As soon as I took a bite I realised that we probably should have gone with mild instead of medium! Davin can normally eat spicier than me but even he was struggling! The only thing that kept us going was that they were actually quite delicious! Also, the green tea and coconut juice helped a bit!

My green chilli chicken with rice was probably the star of the show. The chicken was tender and so flavoured. It was also really spicy but again because it was so nice you just had to keep going. I knew the green chillis were probably the source of the heat but you couldn’t help but scoop a bit of that with each bite of the chicken. So good!

Overall the food was quite good and cheap. My dish was $10.50 and Davin’s was $9.50. The fish cakes sampler was $14 so it was definitely one of our cheaper meals! If you’re ever in the mood for some Indonesian check it out and decide for yourself!

Famili Ria
Approx $15 AUD per person
Address: 1115 Riversdale Rd, Surrey Hills VIC 3127
Phone: +61 3 9808 6767

Famili Ria Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

by Helen Le

The Meat & Wine Co

The Meat & Wine Co have been around for some time and we’ve heard a few good things about them but it’s taken us quite a while for us to finally check them out! The main reason being is because we’ve been lucky enough to have found a number of great steak places in Melbourne. However on this occasion it was time to give it a go!

We visited the Southbank restaurant (there are also franchises in Hawthorn and South Yarra) and upon entering staff were really friendly. We didn’t make a booking that day and just walked in to see if there was any availability for two. They advised us that they would be happy to accomodate us if we gave them some time and took us up to their bar for some cocktails while we waited which was perfectly fine for us.

The bar and overall restaurant was very classy, with dimmed lighting providing that intimate feel and modern furnishings. We ordered a couple of cocktails and after some time we were seated at our table.

 

Of course both Davin and I ordered a couple of steaks. I ordered the 200g fillet and Davin ordered a different 300g steak. Both steaks were ordered rare and came with large cut chips. Sauces were extra however given I love my sauces so much I had to order some! So I got the garlic cream sauce and Davin got the black garlic butter sauce. Davin’s black garlic butter sauce was really nice and had this lovely sweetness to it. My sauce was just okay. Our verdict on the steaks? We thought it was nice, however the steaks didn’t blow us away. They weren’t as soft as steaks we’ve experienced elsewhere and was probably pricey for the quality that we got.

We also ordered the the wedge salad which was really nice and flavoured. We liked the honey bacon, fresh tomatoes, blue cheese and ranch dressing. For wine we got a half bottle of the Saint Clair Pinot Noir.

Overall, the service and ambience was great, the steaks were good however for the price we think there’s probably better out there.

The Meat & Wine Co
Approx $80 AUD per person
Address: 3 Queensbridge St, Southbank VIC 3006
Phone: +61 3 9696 5333
Website: themeatandwineco.com

The Meat & Wine Co Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

by Davin Lee

Butchers Diner

We have had a flurry of great cheap eat places lately! Great for our wallets, and great for our stomachs, it’s truly some amazing times. The latest addition to our collection is a relatively new eatery called Butchers Diner. It may be fate that I found this place because we were desperate for some late night dining. The reason being I slept till 10PM from what was supposed to be a late afternoon nap! We didn’t feel like the usual fast foods / kebabs, so decided to see what else was open. To our surprise Butchers Diner is open 24/7, yes these guys never close! With our sights set on their lovely looking cheeseburgers, we ventured to the city to try these guys out.

Being on the Spring Street side of the CBD, parking was a breeze. We parked on Spring Street, a quick 300 metre walk and we were right on their doorstep! You’d easily miss this place if you’re not paying attention, as they are fairly low key without any big flashy signs. We walked past the narrow door, and the tables, and was greeted by a massive fridge with dry aging beef. I personally love watching beef being dry aged, I reckon it’s such a fascinating process and would always stand in awe looking at the meat! The aromas of the dry aging filled the diner, and we would have loved to eat inside. However we spotted a table just outside of the diner which had a lamp right over it. We couldn’t resist because it’s rare for us to get such good lighting for our food photos! I guess you could say we have different requirements compared to others.

Wasting no time we quickly withdrew money from the ATM right outside the diner (they are cash only). Lucky our card has no ATM withdrawal fees, otherwise we would have been stung with a $2.50 fee. We ordered a steamed dim sim, cheeseburger with house bacon, Creole salmon cutlet, warm organic potato salad and duck heart yakitori style. With full intentions to get the cheeseburger, I changed my mind at the last minute to get the salmon cutlet. I was not disappointed at all! The salmon was cooked beautifully and the Creole flavouring brought me back to New Orleans. Creole always pushes the boundaries with saltiness, and this salmon cutlet was no different. It was perfectly flavoured but I could tell just a bit more salt would have tipped it over the edge.

Helen’s cheeseburger was pretty awesome! The beef patty – my oh my, it was still pink inside and was bursting with beef flavour. Bun wasn’t too sweet, and even the tomato and lettuce was breathing with freshness. We were happy to pay the extra $2 for the crispy bacon as it went so well with the burger. All this goodness for only $14.50! A quality burger for under $15, now that’s a rarity these days.

I have to pay my respects to them putting offal on their menu. Offal is so underappreciated it’s not funny, and we’re glad to have tried the duck heart yakitori style. We’ve never had duck hearts before, only chicken hearts. The texture was different compared to chicken hearts as it was a more bouncier. We enjoyed the new experience and would gladly order it again. We might even try the ox tongue and gizzards next time.

The two fellas running the front of house were so friendly. I was brought out a warm chicken roll instead of the warm potato salad. Could have been my fault or their fault. But who cares because when I told them, there was no kicking up a fuss or any blame game. He just said “sorry i’ll fix this right up for you”. PERFECT! The guy that took my order even recommended the communal water so I could save some money on a bottle. Seriously how good is that!?! In poker, we have a term called ‘implied odds’. It simply means the odds are based on not how much you could win immediately, but how much you can win in the future. With him suggesting the other water, he may not have got $2.50 off me on the night, but I can guarantee that we’ll be coming back and spending a lot more in the future.

I have nothing bad to say about Butchers Diner. The fact that they can serve such high quality food for the price, and be open 24/7 is mind blowing. Doesn’t matter if you’re looking for a late night dining, dinner, lunch or breakfast place, you can rest assured these guys won’t disappoint. Two thumbs up from us, and we recommend giving Butchers Diner a go if you haven’t done so already!

Butchers Diner
Approx $25 AUD per person
Address: 10 Bourke Street, Melbourne VIC 3000
Phone: +61 3 9639 7324
Website: butchersdiner.com

Butchers Diner Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

by Helen Le

Roast Duck Inn

We may have come across the best roast duck and crispy skin roast pork we’ve ever had so far! On a night where we didn’t want to travel too far into the CBD, we came across the recommendation of Roast Duck Inn.

Situated along a strip of other restaurants and shops in central Box Hill, Roast Duck Inn is a small and no nonsense shop with one purpose. To produce top quality roast meats and food of course! So if you’re looking for great service or a place where you can spend hours with your friends catching up, this is probably not the place for you. It is obvious that people literally come for the food, they eat, and they are out of there.

Upon entering you’ll see a front counter for customers to come in and collect their takeaway which seemed very busy. Given the shop was small, tables are limited so it makes sense people might choose to duck in to get takeaway to bring home. Between Davin and I we knew we had to try some of the roast duck and the roast pork given this was what they were famous for. So we ordered half of a roast duck and a plate of the crispy skinned roast pork with rice to share. We also ordered a plate of the garlic bean sprouts and a couple of homemade ice lemon teas.

They served us with complimentary soup and hot tea which we loved. The soup was not one of those MSG soups that comes with a lot of meals in other Asian restaurants. It had bits of duck and vegetables in it and tasted healthy.

Then out came the main dishes very efficiently and promptly. The roast duck was just as good as people claimed it to be! It was served with this lovely sweet sauce you can dip the duck in. It was AMAZING. The skin was so crispy and flavoured, combined with the sweet sauce it was a match made in heaven!

The roast pork was also fantastic. The meat was melt in your mouth tender, and the skin was super crispy you could probably hear us from far away eating it as we crunched away. It was flavoured perfectly and not too salty. We were pretty shocked when we took our first bite because we were so surprised at how good it was.

The garlic bean sprouts was also really nice. It was flavoured really well and the serving so generous! Davin and I felt like we were eating and eating and the plate was just not clearing. One serving was probably enough to feed about 4 people.

The homemade iced lemon teas were also really nice. I always get worried about them being too sweet but this was also done perfectly and you could taste the actual tea more than sugar.

Overall we really couldn’t fault the food at all here. We were awed at how good it was and will definitely be back when we’re in the mood for some good roast duck or pork!

Roast Duck Inn
Approx $30 AUD per person
Address: 31 Carrington Rd, Box Hill VIC 3128
Phone: +61 3 9897 3788

Roast Duck Inn Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

by Helen Le

Woodland House

Davin and I will use any excuse to celebrate by eating out somewhere nice. So recently when it reached the mark of 13 years since we’ve been together we quickly agreed we needed to celebrate through some fine dining! Forget the presents, we just want to eat something amazing! We ended up making a reservation at Woodland House in Prahan.

For those that don’t know, this restaurant was formerly known as Jacques Reymond, one of our favourite 3 hat restaurants during its time. We were lucky to have dined there and met Jacques before he decided to step down in 2014.  So of course we were super excited to return to a place we really enjoyed, even though it was under a new name and ownership. We knew that Woodland House had 2 chef hats and the reviews were very positive.

Upon entering we saw that they had kept the restaurant looking like the house that we remembered it a few years ago. We loved that about the restaurant, that it has this modern, homey and intimate feel to it. We really felt like we were dining in someone’s home. The staff were super attentive and friendly, opening doors, pulling out chairs and checking on us. They were also SO quick! They asked us if we preferred tap or still water, and as soon as we said that tap water was fine within a few seconds they were back pouring us our water. We ordered a couple of glasses of champagne to start off with and a bottle of red for dinner and within an instant the drinks were there! We barely had time to take a few snaps before they were back to serve us!

The menu offered a tasting menu or an a la carte. From Tuesday to Thursday they also offered from the a la carte of 4 courses for $90, 5 courses for $110 or 6 courses for $130. It allowed us to pick any of the dishes on the a la carte menu which was great because it meant if Davin and I got a few different dishes each we had more to try! Being as greedy as we are, we opted for the 6 courses. Now we don’t want to bore you with every single dish that came out so we’ll just talk about the highlights. But before we go into that, we have to say that hands down every dish was fantastic. Every single dish was cooked to perfection, flavoured and presented beautifully. We could not really fault any of the dishes and it is clear how meticulous and carefully thought out each of the dishes were.

The Murray Cod, spanner crab and smoked sour cream dish was an exceptional dish. We absolutely love cod and have had this fish a number of times especially when we were in Europe. It has such an interesting texture for a fish, almost like a scallop. And this is probably why Woodland House ingeniously presented the cod to look like a scallop! It was cooked to perfection and the lovely sauce poured over it was flavoured but not too intrusive. It complemented and ensured the cod was the hero of the dish.

The green peas, cured pork fat, abalone and sardine dressing dish was a truly balanced dish. The sardine dressing was like a silky smooth sauce and flavoured well. Again it didn’t overpower the star of the dish, the abalone which was paper thin and the softest we’ve ever had!

The Sancho kangaroo, pickled beetroot and currant reduction was also another highlight. The kangaroo was cooked perfectly, rare to medium rare, and they had these cute little mushrooms we’ve never had before which had a lovely bouncy texture to it.

The corn fed duck, grilled octopus and sweet pepper was also another amazing dish. The skin on the duck was so crispy and flavoured. The grilled octopus was an interesting combination with the duck but it worked.

The Cape Grim short rib, witlof, preserved plum and horseradish dish. The beef was cooked for 7 hours and it was melt in your mouth soft. The bitterness of the witlof gave it an interesting flavour.

We also had a number of desserts which included the chestnut with sesame, beetroot and yoghurt sorbet, and the pear souffle with salted liquorice icecream and star anise. Both desserts were delicious and presented beautifully.

We were also served some complimentary additional desserts. What stood out from this for us was the miso butter icecream which was SO good! It was light and buttery with a subtle strawberry jam which was not too sweet. To add to the delightful experience they allowed us to take home the remainder half bottle of our red wine.

We were thoroughly impressed with Woodland House. From the attentive service, to the top quality presentation and well balanced flavour of the dishes, it is truly an all out experience that we would highly recommend to anyone that wants to fine dine or celebrate something special.

Woodland House
Approx $130 AUD per person
Address: 78 Williams Rd, Prahran VIC 3181
Phone: +61 3 9525 2178
Website: woodlandhouse.com.au

Woodland House Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

by Helen Le

OMI

There has been quite a bit of chatter lately in the foodies world about this amazing new place that offers top restaurant quality food in the food court of Chadstone Shopping Centre. Yes, you heard right. The food court. A place where you would generally go for some cheap, fast food, sit down at one of the public tables to gobble it all up and then get up and continue your shopping. But ladies and gentlemen, there has now been a shift in this normality. A stone has been thrown into this peaceful lake of food outlets and it is trying to change how we perceive how food courts should be!

With all this chatter, we were super excited to be heading to OMI, located in the old food court on the ground floor of Chadstone. Keeping in mind that these guys have only been opened for 2 months, they were already getting some great reviews from the foodie community.

Their menu was simple, with only about 10 items to choose from. From reading their menu, their specialty is wagyu beef which they source from renown local suppliers so we had to make sure we ordered one of their wagyu dishes. Their 65 degree sous vide egg, and their flavoured Japanese rice is featured in most of their dishes and it looked aesthetically pleasing!

I ended up ordering the Black Truffle Wagyu which was $15.90 and Davin ordered the Salmon Salted Egg, also $15.90. We ordered the Truffle Fries to share for $6.90, and the Green Tea Creme Brulee which was $4.90. With an iced lemon tea for our drink, our total bill for this dinner came out to be about $40. Now, we don’t always list out prices for each individual dish but I felt that it was important for you to see how very cheap this meal was for the quality of food they were offering! After we placed our orders we were given a buzzer to take away and we sat down at one of the public tables nearby.

The buzzer went off fairly quickly and Davin went off to collect our food. We were shocked at the speed of them preparing and plating up the food! It came out looking just like the photos on the menu! By now I’m sure you’re dying to know the verdict of the food? It. Was. Truly. Amazing. We were in total awe at how good the food was. The wagyu beef was full of flavour and really tender. Davin’s salmon was cooked to absolute perfection and the sauce that came with it was delicious. The 65 degree egg in each of our dishes was also cooked to perfection and oozed out its lovely yolk when broken. Their Japanese rice was so flavoured, and I know I’ve said the word perfection a number of times now but it really was that. Both our dishes were complemented with some edamame beans and pickled vegetables which went really well. The truffle fries were also delicious and completed our meal. So we literally scoffed everything pretty quickly because it was SO good. We were so content after and shared the green tea brulee which was surprisingly also very nice. It had good strong flavours of green tea and wasn’t too sweet which was great for us.

We literally finished everything within about 15 minutes and couldn’t stop talking about how great the food was, and what good value! We’ve been going on for ages about not having many good local Japanese restaurants around, and so I think this is one place we will be visiting very often. When we got up to leave and started walking, one of the staff from OMI saw us, smiled and asked us how the food was. We told her it was really good and thought it was lovely that she asked us! You don’t normally get that type of service at a food court!

So my lovely readers, we encourage you to check this place out because it’s a game changer. And where else can you show up in thongs on a hot day to order such amazing, high quality food for these type of prices? Please, experience it for yourself and check it out!


OMI
Approx $20 AUD per person
Address: Chadstone Shopping Centre (B064)
Phone: 0490 743 219
Website: omigroup.com.au

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

by Davin Lee

Mediterraneo Charcoal Restaurant

We were at home watching ‘Steak Revolution’ on Netflix whilst not eating steak! This steak documentary is great by the way, they filmed all around the world discussing and eating different beef. Immersing ourselves in food is what we’re all about, and this documentary made us crave for steak bad! We decided that the next night we were going to get our fix, however we had one little problem. We had overspent a little bit for the week, which meant that we had to find a bang for buck restaurant. This ruled out pretty much all the top steak houses, and this is where Mediterraneo Charcoal Restaurant came to the rescue.

A restaurant name that’s straight to the point plus numerous good reviews on various sites, gives us nothing but confidence to dine here. The biggest plus of all was without a doubt the exceptionally reasonable steak prices! For example, a 250g porterhouse or scotch fillet is priced below $30. We are literally talking about pub/RSL prices, if not even cheaper. Not to mention that the mainstream steak franchises would easily be more expensive than this. Now none of this would matter if the steaks weren’t any good, but thankfully they are! But first, let’s talk about the entrees..

Helen and I started off with the Australian calamari, stuffed with crab meat chargrilled, served with a potato salad. We followed this up with a chargrilled quail served with wilted spinach, butternut pumpkin and Portabella mushroom. Let me tell you, these entrees were absolutely flawless. I was shocked because I thought I came for steaks. Both the calamari and quail were cooked superbly, paying respect to the produce. The stuffing complemented the calamari, boosting the seafood flavours of the dish. The marinade used on the quail was really special and was a nice break from the Asian flavours which I’ve been used to.

Now for what we came here for, the steaks! I ordered a Goulburn Valley T-Bone steak with aged muscat and mushroom sauce, I believe Helen may have got the special, looks to be a rib eye with burnt butter, garlic and cream sauce. These were some high quality meats with robust flavours. We deliberately didn’t go for the eye fillet this time, in order to try some different cuts. The T-Bone cattle was grass fed and the difference was noticeable. Cooked medium rare, the steak was tender and seared beautifully. If you’re a sauce person, the aged muscat and mushroom sauce was the pick of the two. However you won’t be disappointed enjoying the steak as is.

Did we get our steak fix? You bet we did! We were both stuffed after our steaks, with the waiter acknowledging our incredible eating abilities. To put the nail in the coffin, we even managed to fit in another lemon lime panna cota with cinnamon poached pear! I was very happy with the amount of the bill, considering the amount we ordered. You’d expect to pay at least 30% more at another restaurant of equivalent quality. We’re extremely grateful to have found and dined at Mediterraneo Charcoal Restaurant. We came here fully focused on eating steak, but after our experience with the calamari, we’re intrigued to try their seafood platter next time!

Mediterraneo Charcoal Restaurant
Approx $50 AUD per person
Address: 116 Birdport St, Albert Park VIC 3206
Phone: +61 3 9690 5155
Website: mediterraneo.com.au

Mediterraneo Charcoal Restaurant Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

by Helen Le

Nyala African

One night a couple of our friends called us up to see if we were free to catch up for dinner. We in fact did happen to be free and so our friends left it with us to choose a place. Now this happens quite often these days as we’ve been the ‘go to’ for restaurant recommendations for quite some time and we were fine with that. However on this particular night, with dinner only an hour away we went into this frantic panic mode of ‘where can we take our lovely friends where we also haven’t been’?! This is a predicament we’ve been finding ourselves more often these days. It’s easy to recommend our favourite restaurants that we frequent all the time. But it’s getting harder to find a good restaurant which no one has yet been to.

Anyway we told our friends we would handle it, and after some frantic searches and calls we decided to settle on Nyala African. So Davin and our friends have never been to a proper African restaurant before. Davin has tried African cuisine at a food festival but this would be his first proper dining experience. Our friends have never tried it. However I was lucky to have dined with a friend a number of years ago at an Ethiopian restaurant so had a bit of an idea of the type of food they would serve.

Located in the heart of Fitzroy, the entrance of the restaurant produced a narrow set of stairs which we climbed up to the next floor and opened up into a spacious restaurant. The decor had lots of dark wood and African images scattered throughout. With no air conditioning on a hot day, we sure felt like we were in Africa! The staff were super friendly. And when I say staff, I mean just one person who was managing the whole floor! However he seemed to be really on top of everything and was super friendly and accomodating. He talked us through some of the African beers they had on their specials board so we ordered a couple of them and a bottle of Taylors Cabernet Sauvignon.

The menu was extensive and had so many interesting dishes which I wanted to try. To make things easier for everyone we decided to go with one of the banquets so we could try a bit of everything. There were a few banquets to choose from and we ended up picking the one for $38 per person.

The banquet started with some dips and very thin flat bread which one of our friends described it as similar to flat sheets, which I thought, very true! The dips were Tahini – made from sesame paste, yoghurt, lemon juice and olive oil, Deberja – cooked eggplant with tumeric, coriander cumin, capsicum, garlic and yoghurt, and Lentils – Berbere chili, onion, fresh garlic and spices.

All the dips were yummy but out of the 3 we absolutely loved the lentils dip as it was really flavoured and had a spicy kick to it. We asked if we could have a bit more of the lentils dip because it was so good and he promptly brought out a very generous serving of it.

Then came the Baboutie and Cauliflower dishes. The Baboutie consisted of flavoured minced beef with sultanas and nuts mixed through it. This was a really flavoured and appetising dish! The cauliflower was fried and had a thick, soft layer of batter around it. We found this to be quite plain as there wasn’t really any seasoning and the batter around it had a texture we’ve never had before.

For the mains we had 4 meat dishes served with rice, couscous, salad, vegetables and Injera, traditional Ethiopian bread which has this soft, spongy texture, traditionally made from teff flour.

The meat dishes included the Doro Tibs which consisted of boneless pieces of chicken marinated in herbs and spices, sauteed in mild chili, with Nyala Awazi sauce. This chicken was oh so soft and tender and literally just breaks away from your fork. It actually reminded us of the soft chicken you get from Malaysian restaurants.

We also got the Beg Tibs which had marinated and spiced lamb cubes sauteed with fresh tomato, rosemary and white wine on a sizzling plate. The lamb was super flavoured and we loved it. Then came the two beef dishes, the Domeda, a hearty dish from Gambia, which included beef, peanut butter, potatoes, herbs and spices, and finally the Nyala Special which is a traditional Ethiopian stew with lean boneless beef, fresh ginger, garlic and homemade chili with other spices. Both beef dishes were nice and very spicy! The servings were also very generous and between the 4 of us we couldn’t even finish all the food so we were able to take plenty away for the next day.

For dessert we tried all 3 on the menu which was Sweet Couscous – a Moroccan dessert with slivered almonds, sultanas, icing sugar, unsalted butter and icecream, Tafach Mooz – an East African dessert with layers of bananas, brown sugar, cream cheese and cinnamon, and finally the last dessert was chocolate and vanilla icecream. The desserts overall were probably our least favourite as they didn’t stand out as being very special. We were also so full from the meal we couldn’t really finish them!  We also had some Ethiopian coffee with our dessert which as expected was quite different to our usual lattes, but hey – when in Rome, I mean Africa!

Overall it was a great experience. Particularly if you haven’t tried African cuisine before, I would recommend it if you are ever interested in getting a taste!

Nyala African
Approx $40 AUD per person
Address: 356 Brunswick St, Fitzroy VIC 3065
Phone: +61 3 9419 9128
Website: Nyla.com.au

Nyala African Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

by Davin Lee

Rockpool Bar & Grill

Rewind it back to 6 months ago, I received an SMS from Helen with a picture of a David Blackmore Wagyu grade 9+ steak from Rockpool. The feeling that ran through my body was one of complete utter betrayal! She was supposed to be my life long food partner, and I could not believe that she had gone and enjoyed this steak without me. She was equipped with the knowledge that I had never had this steak from Rockpool before, let alone stepped into the main dining room, but not an ounce of remorse from her! To my surprise, she had made plans to go again with her friend without me. There comes a time in one’s life where you have to put your foot down, and I wasn’t going to let her have this steak without me again!

As I walked into the main dining room, I realised that Rockpool looked a lot more glamorous than the bar area where I normally eat. I had already looked at the menu weeks before this occasion, trying to work out what steak I was going to get. Frustratingly, their menu changes all the time! Their steak menu changes constantly based on availability, but Helen, myself, and her friend all got the David Blackmore Grade 9+ wagyu sirloin. At $125 a pop, it was the best steak on the menu, cream of the crop. Self admittedly, I had never paid this much for a steak in my life, but I’ve eaten David Blackmore steaks before and have never been disappointed. You know it takes something special for Cape Grim steaks to be the cheaper option on a menu, as they are highly regarded in Australia also.

A few cocktails to ‘cleanse’ the palette, then we had a bottle Cab Sav ready for the arrival of our steaks. We ordered a few side dishes to go with it – potato and cabbage gratin, organic carrots, mushrooms, and heirloom tomatoes. My favourite was the potato and cabbage gratin, it’s a bit weird eating potatoes which taste like cabbage, but it works and was damn tasty! My excitement levels rose as soon as I saw the steak placed in front of me. It looked simplistically beautiful. The sirloin was cut into 4 pieces and had a wedge of lemon next to it. We got some horseradish cream and Bearnaise sauce to go with our steaks, but I had always preferred to eat it without sauce. I slid a piece out and saw all the wonderful marbling glistering in the light. I took a bite, and thought to myself ‘I was expecting this steak to be softer’. I probably felt this way because the last Wagyu beef experience I remembered was the Kobe beef in Japan, which was pure melt in your mouth.

Was I a little disappointed from my first bite? Probably. My next bite I decided to focus more on the taste, and it was at that moment I understood why this steak was so good. They say that fat is flavour, and this statement couldn’t be more true when it comes to this steak. The fat around the steak and the marbling was just bursting with flavour! This truly was a special experience. I went through my first two pieces way too fast, it wasn’t until we joked that each piece was worth $30, that I realised I needed to slow it right now! I understood that I had initially done this steak a huge injustice by trying to compare it to the steaks in Japan. The ones in Japan are purely bred for texture, and while you do get wowed by how buttery soft it is, the beef flavours are miles better with this David Blackmore sirloin. It’s hard to not think of the price, because it is a ridiculously expensive piece of meat, but I felt it was worth it.

We all slumped into our chairs after the steaks, floating on cloud nine. Nothing could wipe the grin off our faces, it was a joyous night indeed. We polished off some small desserts, but they were never going to be the star of the show. We all had a great experience at Rockpool, the service was top notch as always. We talked about making this a yearly event in the future, certainly no objections on my part!

Rockpool Bar & Grill
Approx $100 AUD per person
Address: Crown Entertainment Complex 
8 Whiteman St, Southbank VIC 3006
Phone: +61 3 8648 1900
Website: rockpoolbarandgrill.com.au

Rockpool Bar & Grill Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

by Helen Le

Cosi Bar Ristorante

Not too long ago we were in the mood for some Italian and decided to check out Cosi in South Yarra. Ratings for the restaurant were quite high and positive so off we went. Cosi is a fine dining restaurant with a lovely intimate feel. Upon entering you’ll notice the dim lights and white table cloths. Staff were also very friendly and efficiently seated us.

For mains I ordered the Tagliatelle with blue swimmer crab, tomato and smoked butter. This was SO delicious! Oh the flavours from the smoked butter and the generous chunks of crab meat. This was a dish to die for and we would happily order this again. The pasta was also super fresh.

Davin ordered the Spaghetti Marinara with white wine, chilli and garlic. This was also a really nice dish and had generous amounts of prawns and mussels. However we both agreed that my Tagliatelle dish was the winner.

For dessert we decided to share the basil panna cotta with berries and chocolate. We loved this! The panna cotta had the perfect wobbly texture and really tasted like fresh basil. It was an interesting and refreshing dish. I believe they may change the flavour of the panna cotta so it may not be available anymore. However we were so glad to have had the opportunity to try the basil flavoured one.
We thoroughly really enjoyed our experience at Cosi and felt the quality of their food was top notch. We will definitely be back when we feel like some fine dining Italian!

Cosi Bar Ristorante
Approx $60 AUD per person
Address: 68 Toorak Rd, South Yarra VIC 3141
Phone: +61 3 9867 39999
Website: cosirestaurant.com.au

Cosi Bar Ristorante Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

by Helen Le

Meat Me Souvlakeri

On a Friday night in Oakleigh, Meat Me Souvlakeri is absolutely packed and rocking! They were definitely dominating that night when it came to souvlaki around that area. Although they were packed, they have an abundance of tables and chairs so it didn’t take very long for us to be seated.

For starters we ordered the saganaki which came out super quick and with a wedge of lemon. The saganaki was fried perfectly and was not too salty.

Davin and I both ordered the Gyros Plate with chicken, chips, salad, tzatziki and pita. The plate came out looking delicious! The chicken was super soft and tender. It had this lovely oregano seasoning throughout it which made it just a little more special. It terms of flavour it probably could have done with a bit of salt because it was slightly on the plain side. However some table salt fixed that pretty easily. The chips were really good, super fresh and crisp, and the pita bread was hot and fluffy. I also really liked the tzatziki which was really refreshing. It was a huge plate and they were very generous with the chicken. Davin was able to polish his plate off but I took some leftovers home from mine.

Davin also ordered a Freddo Cappuccino which was really good and took us back to our Greece trip not long ago when that’s all we were drinking during those hot sunny days.

Overall, a great place to check out if you’re in the mood for a meaty dish!

Meat Me Souvlakeri
Approx $35 AUD per person
Address: 24 Eaton St, Oakleigh VIC 3166
Phone: +61 3 9568 5555
Website: www.meatmesouvlakeri.com.au

Meat Me Souvlakeri Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

by Helen Le

D.O.C Pizza & Mozzarella Bar

Davin and I were reminiscing how good the pizzas were in New York the other day which led us to of course have a sudden urge to eat some. Now, we have been hearing about how amazing D.O.C Pizza and Mozzarella Bar is in Carlton but just never got around to visiting them. Given our sudden craving for a good pizza, we thought what better time to check it out than now?

So off we went one very warm night. As soon as we got there we could see how popular it was. It was packed inside and out! We were lucky to be seated inside straight away as we noticed on our way out after our meal that a queue of people was developing outside, waiting to be seated.

Upon entering the first thing that came to mind was that it was a very simple, non-pretentious looking place. The decor was minimalistic, with wooden chairs and tables crammed inside and no paintings on the walls. It was all about the food, and food is what we came for!

I ordered the Pizza DOC which had San Marzano tomato, fresh DOP buffalo mozzarella and fresh basil. I’ve always liked my pizzas with minimal toppings. Davin who has always had a weak spot for seafood ordered the Pizza Tiger Prawns which had San Marzano tomato, tiger prawns, mozzarella, endive and fresh chilli. We also ordered a Caprese salad which had heirloom tomatoes, buffalo mozzarella, black sea salt, pesto and balsamic glaze.

The food came out very quickly, and the pizzas looked amazing when they were placed in front of us. As soon as we took a few bites we both agreed that it was definitely the best pizza we’ve had so far in Melbourne. It didn’t have that special light, crispiness of a base like NYC, but it was pretty damn good! The base was very thin just how we liked it and the toppings were super fresh. Davin’s Tiger Prawn pizza had a generous amount of fresh chilli which gave it a lovely spicy kick and the prawns were top quality.

However we both loved the Pizza DOC just a little bit more because their fresh DOP buffalo mozzarella combined with the simplicity of the other ingredients was out of this world. It was one kick ass pizza!

The Caprese salad was also really good and the heirloom tomatoes were lovely and sweet. We couldn’t get enough of their delicious buffalo mozzarella.

For dessert, we ordered their old school mixed gelati and the flavours really made us nostalgic as it tasted so much like the icecream we had when we were young. Davin also ordered an Affogato which was really good and had the perfect amount of bitterness of the coffee and sweetness of the icecream.

Overall we had a really good experience. The food was great, the staff were super efficient and on the ball, and the pizzas were amazing. We will definitely be coming back when we’re in the mood for some good pizzas.


D.O.C Pizza & Mozzarella Bar
Approx $40 AUD per person
Address: 295 Drummond St, Carlton VIC 3053
Phone: +61 3 9347 2998
Website: docgroup.net

DOC Pizza & Mozzarella Bar Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato