July 25, 2016May 6, 2018 by Helen Le

Zomato Meet Up @ Vivace

Last week we were invited by Zomato and Vivace Restaurant for an exclusive Zomato foodie meet up and Winter warming Italian Feast! It was an intimate four course dinner by Head Chef Davide Ferraro and was set up in a lovely private dining room near the back of the restaurant. In addition, there were matching wines from Hancock & Hancock, Barone Ricasoli, Italy’s oldest winery, to compliment each dish. We were fortunate to have the Head Chef talk us through each dish, and a representative to also talk us through each wine. We were super excited about trying out the food and wine but more importantly, to meet other food bloggers!

Upon arrival, we were greeted with a glass of Prosecco, Italian sparkling wine which was very nice and crisp. We introduced each other to the other foodies and then of course like the others started snapping some photos. The beauty of this night was that there was no shame in taking as many photos as we wanted because everyone including the Zomato staff were snapping away with their cameras! It was the best!

After all the introductions and photos we sat down and was served with an Antiplasti platter which included natural oysters, prosciutto and arancini. I love oysters and these were super fresh so I gobbled a couple of them up fairly quickly! The prosciutto was lovely, soft and wasn’t too salty and the arancini balls were full of flavour.

With the entree, main and dessert we were given a few options to pick from so Davin and I made sure we ordered different dishes so we could try more. For entree I ordered the pumpkin, goat’s cheese and potato croquettes with crushed amaretti, beetroot, capers and raisin. The sweetness of the fresh beetroot and raisin balanced out the croquettes beautifully. Davin ordered the caramelised scallops with cauliflower, chorizo, shallots, fennel and coriander. The scallops were cooked to perfection! The matching wine with the entrees was a 2016 Hancock & Hancock Fiano McLaren Vale, SA.

We all got a pasta dish as part of the set menu which were pasta parcels filled with potato and leek, truffle and blue cheese sauce – all the things I love! Unlucky for those that may not like blue cheese but it was heaven for me. The portion was also very generous. The matching wine with this was the 2016 Hancock & Hancock Grenache Rose McLaren, SA. By the way, the staff were incredible and they were SO generous with the wine. They just kept pouring and pouring. I had to ask them to ease up at this point as I knew there were still a couple of more wines to try!

For mains I got the Murray Valley 12 hour slow cooked, crisp pork belly. This was accompanied with rhubarb, apple, onion and ginger relish, thyme roasted squash and white balsamic sauce. The pork had the nice crispy skin that you would look out for and the sweetness of the rhubarb and onion and ginger relish balanced it out really well. I also liked the touch of the roasted squash. My matching wine was the 2014 Hancock & Hancock Shiraz Grenache McLaren Vale, SA.

Davin ordered the roast lamb loin with pistachio brioche crust, smoked eggplant, asparagus and sweet bread. He also really enjoyed his dish and his matching wine was the 2014 Hancock & Hancock Cabernet Touriga McLaren Vale, SA. Both of the red wines were nice but I have to say the Shiraz was the winner out of the two.

I have to say that by the time mains reached us I was already kind of full because of the generous portions (and pouring!) so I was definitely over capacity when it reached dessert, but who can say no to dessert?

I ordered the dark Belgian chocolate fondant with fig, mascapone and honey gelato. The chocolate fondant was sooo good and oozed with warm, sticky chocolate lava when you broke into it with your spoon. Combined with the honey gelato it was delicious! Davin got the Panna cotta which came with white chocolate and vanilla, fresh strawberries, balsamic and pistachio praline. I could only manage a spoonful to try this but it was also yummy and the panna cotta had a nice wobble to it. The matching wine that came with our dessert was the 2009 Craigmore Botrytis Mudgee, NSW. Because I was so full and sweetened out I could only manage a sip!

Overall the food and wine was great, the service was outstanding and staff were so accommodating and friendly! We also loved being able to chat and socialise with other food bloggers and foodies and just openly take photos and talk about what we love – FOOD! So thank you Zomato and Vivace for having us, it was a great experience and we loved it. Until next time!

Vivace
Approx $70 AUD per person
Website: www.vivace.com.au/
Address: 317 Bay St, Brighton VIC 3186
Phone: +61 3 9596 9511

July 12, 2016May 6, 2018 by Helen Le

Kluska

Polish cuisine is something we have never had the privilege to try. However as Kluska has constantly been popping up as a restaurant serving home made, authentic Polish food and people have been raving on about how great it is, and the food being a true taste of Poland, it was time to check it out!

Kluska is located in the south eastern suburbs of Dandenong and is actually a house which they’ve turned into a restaurant, therefore you get the very cool experience of dining in one of the rooms throughout the house. It’s a very quaint and cosy little restaurant with the floral table cloths, wooden chairs and vintage crockery. 90s music such as M2M and La Bouche was also playing in the background transporting you into another time!

We started off with ordering some soups. I got the Barszcz Czysty, a cup of clear red borscht soup. It was packed with flavour, I could taste that it had some herbs in it and I loved that it had a spicy kick to it that warmed me up, being a chilly night. At my recommendation because so many people had raved on about it, Davin got the Flaki, their traditional hearty beef tripe soup and he absolutely loved it. It really did taste hearty and homey, again it was full of flavour and the tripe was yum! He didn’t share too much of it with me because he pretty much lapped it all up!

We then got some Pierogis, which are traditional dough dumplings with different fillings. Davin got the ones with chicken filling and I chose the ones with spinach, ricotta cheese and roasted pine nuts which were amazing! Each bite just melted in my mouth.

For mains, I ordered the Kaczka, roast duck leg baked in apple sauce balanced with a carrot stew and red cabbage salad. I loved this dish! The duck was cooked nicely and the sweetness of the apple sauce was perfect. I would definitely order this again. Davin got the Bigos which was traditional Hunter’s sauerkraut stew with finely diced beef, pork sausage and flavoured with dry prunes and red wine sauce. This dish was so flavoured and one of those perfect dishes for winter where you can just keep scooping away large hearty spoonfuls. It also came with bread if you’re into dipping it into the stew.

We also shared the Knedle for dessert which was special dumplings filled with strawberry and a hint of cinnamon, sprinkled with vanilla sugar and served with strawberry syrup and a side of cream. This was also really nice but I was so stuffed from the other dishes I couldn’t eat much of it. I probably had about two of the dumplings and Davin had the rest.

Because of their extensive list of Polish vodkas we of course had to give them a go too! Sipping away on the vodkas and eating such hearty food throughout the night, we were truly toasty warm when we left! We thoroughly enjoyed the food and the whole experience so I highly recommend checking it out!

Kluska
Approx $40 AUD per person
Website: kluskarestaurant.com.au
Address: 161 Foster St, Dandenong VIC 3175
Phone: +61 3 9793 2154

July 3, 2016May 6, 2018 by Helen Le

Mr Hendricks Cafe

It’s not often that we find a good brunch place in the burbs but I do get excited when we do! I could probably eat brunch food everyday if Davin would let me. So on one weekend, a quick search on trusty Zomato brought up Mr Hendricks Cafe in Balwyn, and off we went!

The place was bustling on arrival so we were placed on a waiting list. It probably only took about 10 minutes before we were called in so they were on the ball. The interior had the wooden, rustic feel that a lot of cafes are now going for. The space inside was cosy and I understand there is also a courtyard at the back. On this occasion we were seated on the wooden bench right up against the window.

I ordered my usual latte to start off with which was really good! It had the perfect temperature and bitterness to it. We then ordered the New England lobster roll to share which had butter lettuce, celery, apple, pickled shallots and kewpie mayo which was quite nice, there were good chunky bits of lobster which we loved.

For the main, Davin ordered the fried chicken burger which came with creamed corn, cabbage and corn salad, pickled green tomato and chimichurri dressing. The burger was really good! The fried chicken was nice and crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. The chimichurri sauce went really well with it too.

The highlight dish though was the one I ordered, the salmon breakfast, which came with heirloom beetroot, burnt butter hollandaise and poached eggs on dark rye bread. Oh my gosh this dish was amazing! The salmon was cooked well, the eggs were poached to perfection and I loved how the beetroot was presented in different ways such as fresh and in purée form. But it was the burnt butter hollandaise that I absolutely loved. At first when I saw it on the plate, I thought the quantity of the sauce was overkill as there was a lot of it on the plate. But because it was soo good I literally dipped everything in that sauce. It was delicious!

Overall, I would definitely come back. The quality of both the food and the coffee was exceptional and I would definitely order that salmon breakfast again. Thinking about it makes my mouth water!

Mr Hendricks Cafe
Approx $30 AUD per person
Address: 469 Whitehorse Rd, Balwyn VIC 3103
Phone: +61 3 9830 7579

June 22, 2016May 6, 2018 by Helen Le

Thirty Eight Chairs

Firstly, apologies we haven’t been posting as often as we would have liked to. With moving to our new place, selling our old home AND exams for me, it’s just a tad hectic to say the least! Hopefully once everything is settled, we’ll be able to get back into doing what we love doing – eating and writing about it!

So recently we found a little gem which has probably replaced one of our usual favourite go-to places. If you are in search for some yummy Italian food, look no further. We were recently recommended to try out Thirty Eight Chairs and they certainly did not disappoint! This small and intimate restaurant has a limited number of chairs but serves fresh and delicious Italian dishes. It is nestled in a quiet alley in South Yarra with some tables spilling outside of the restaurant. Being a bit chilly on this particular night we opted to sit indoors. Because it is small, it is essential that you call and make a booking!

The staff are all Italian and are so warm and welcoming, you feel right at home as soon as you enter. We were seated at a quaint little table near the back. We ordered some Italian red wine, recommended by the staff there when we asked for something similar to a shiraz. They let us test and then have this wine imported from Italy for their restaurant, it was a 2012 Lecorbe, Toscana. It was so good and had the right complexities to it. We wanted more but it was the last bottle!

For starters we ordered the Bresola di Wagyu which came with parmesan cheese, croutons and sicilian citrus oil, and the Cicale di Mare, which were the Moreton bay bugs with lemon butter sauce. The wagyu slices were SO soft it just melted in your mouth! Combined with the other ingredients it was heaven in your mouth. I could have eaten that whole dish to myself but of course had to share with Davin. The Moreton bay bugs were really fresh and cooked to perfection. The lightness of the lemon butter made the natural flavours of the bugs the star of the dish. It was a very enjoyable dish.

For the mains, I ordered the Gnocchi al Pomodoro, potato gnocchi with red datterini tomatoes, mozzarella and basil. I absolutely love gnocchi so couldn’t say no to trying it. It was so delicious! Each bite of the potato gnocchi was light and fluffy and did not feel heavy at all. The datterini tomatoes gave it a lovely light and enjoyable flavour to it. I cleaned it up pretty quickly!

Davin ordered the Linguine ai Fruitti di Mare which had linguine, seafood vellutata in tomato base, crab meat, deveined prawns, orange zest and bread crust sauce. Again, amazing dish and the flavours all came together so well, it wasn’t a heavy pasta dish and you could eat lots of it. We were both impressed with the pasta dishes. We also ordered the the Caprese salad to go with the mains which had Roma tomatoes, buffalo mozzarella DOC and basil. I loved the buffalo mozzarella, it was fresh and with the tomatoes and basil, a match made in heaven.

For dessert, we ordered the Meringa, Crema, Fragole to share. It had meringue, vanilla cream, fresh strawberries and berries compote. Um, yes please! It had everything I loved in a dessert. When it came out we just literally scoffed it, it was so good! I would definitely order that again, and maybe just for myself next time. Staff also gave us complimentary dessert wine to go with our dessert.

Overall, we had a great experience. From the great food and wine, to the lovely service, we can assure you we’ll definitely be back!

Thirty Eight Chairs
Approx $60 AUD per person
Address: 4A Bond St, South Yarra VIC 3141
Phone:+61 3 9827 5553

May 28, 2016May 6, 2018 by Helen Le

Miss Katie’s Crab Shack

With all the glorious food that’s available in Melbourne, one thing we haven’t come across much is a place that does good crab! Given Miss Katie’s Crab Shack specialises in these lovely creatures we had to try it out.

Miss Katie’s is located within the Rochester Hotel in Fitzroy. A large red neon sign in the shape of a crab is attached to the building, a clue to point you in the right direction. You have to walk through the main pub to find yet another crab sign and the entrance to the restaurant. The interior is the usual industrial brick, concrete and wooden feel we’ve been seeing a lot in cafes and restaurants. The lights inside are dim to reflect the casual late night feed we were about to get into. Definitely don’t worry about dressing up because you’re there to get your hands dirty!

To start off with we ordered some of the oysters with mignonette and horseradish which were fresh and good. We loved the horseradish kick! We also got some glazed chicken ribs which were also quite nice. But onto the star of the show… the crab!

The menu lets you ‘build your own boil’ and every boil comes with cob corn, spicy kransky, chat potatoes and a 300g – 400g organic Australian blue swimmer crab. We added an extra blue swimmer crab as Davin and I were certainly not sharing! We also got king prawns, surf clams, mussels and some freshly baked corn bread. It came out looking amazing and it tasted pretty amazing too! You just dig in and go for it! Oh and we can’t forget to mention the delicious salad that we also got which had watermelon, jalapeno, radish salad, goats curd and mint. It was so refreshing, the combination of the goats curd and sweetness of the watermelon was brilliant.

Overall it was a great experience, we ordered a couple of cocktails to go with our food and it was a good night! A great place to take some of your family and friends for a casual, good feed!

Miss Katie’s Crab Shack
Approx $60 AUD per person
Address: 202 Johnston St, Fitzroy VIC 3065
Phone:+61 3 9419 0166

May 18, 2016May 6, 2018 by Helen Le

Ponshu Kiroro

Ponshu Kiroro recently invited us to their restaurant which they only opened about 4 months ago. We were excited to try it out as their food is based only from Hokkaido, which is up north of Japan. We didn’t get the chance to explore the north of Japan last time but after trying the food and hearing how lovely the people are there it will definitely be on our list for our next trip!

Tomoko Takashi is their chef and mastermind behind the creation of their menu and was born in Sapporo, Hokkaido. She also became in charge of various programs such as the Japanese version of Master Chef and live cooking shows.

The restaurant is located in the CBD on Katherine Place. It had quite a presence with its large floor to ceiling windows and bright lights. What we did notice however was that the street itself was pretty quiet and it probably has something to do with Flinders Lane being just around the corner where a lot of the restaurants are situated so people probably don’t wander down Katherine Place as much. The restaurant itself felt quite spacious inside and the décor had a nice light wooden feel.

Upon entering we were cheerily greeted by Joel, the manager who seated us and talked us through their menu. As we were invited, we were happy to go with whatever they had in store for us. We started off with the spicy tuna parfait which was such a pretty and colourful dish! It was presented in a glass and had layers of bean curd rice, seaweed rice and hot spicy dressing. It was delicious and one of those dishes you could just keep scoffing!

Next up was the Zangi Senbei, deep fried Hokkaido chicken crackers and stir fried Edame beans with garlic and red chilli. These dishes can of course be found in Hokkaido and are the type of dishes you can snack on with some beer.

For mains we were then served the pork belly which came with Kiroro vinegared soy sauce. The pork itself was slightly dry but the flavours of the sauce were nice. Our highlight dish of the night however was the Hokkaido Chanchan Salmon. The salmon was baked in foil with Hokkaido sweet miso paste. This dish was soooo good! The salmon was cooked perfectly and the sweetness of the sauce brought out the flavours, making it an exceptional dish.

Throughout the night all the staff were super friendly, checking in on us and chatting away, even recommending restaurants to try both in Melbourne and if we’re ever in Hokkaido! Shinji even wrote his name down and told us to let him know when we decide to go to Hokkaido so he can give us a list of recommendations. Being from Hokkaido himself, he talked about how lovely the people are there and how cheap the food is too!

Overall it was a lovely experience and we want to thank Joel and everyone there at Ponshu Kiroro for the warm hospitality. We’re told the Hokkaido ramens, soup based and dry are also apparently quite popular too at lunch time, so if you’re ever in the area do check it out if you’re interested in trying out food from Hokkaido!

Ponshu Kiroro
Approx $40 AUD per person
Address: 9 Katherine Pl, Melbourne VIC 3000
Phone: +61 3 8657 8553

May 3, 2016May 6, 2018 by Helen Le

Shimbu

We were recently invited by the lovely Tenzin to dine at his restaurant Shimbu, a Tibetan restaurant which recently opened in Brunswick East. So before we go into the finer details, thank you heaps Tenzin for your very generous and warm hospitality!

Upon arrival we were warmly greeted by Tenzin and straight away loved the vibe of the place. It had a casual yet very modern feel. We loved the large ‘Shimbu’ feature sign on the wall and it was buzzing with people. Davin was also very interested in the cool stools. For me personally because I have a bad back I always prefer proper chairs with the backing support but I have to admit that they did suit the decor of the place.

The menu is very cool as it had a list of traditional dishes on one side and on the other side of the menu it had options with a modern twist. We settled on some of Tenzin’s recommendations plus some other dishes we found interesting. We found the prices very reasonable with entrees on the traditional menu averaging $5-$6 and mains about $15. Set menus are available on the modern menu if you are not sure what to order and are priced at $34.90 per person and $24.90 for the vegetarian option.

From the traditional menu we ordered the shoko khatsu which consisted of potatoes with fresh tomatoes, ginger and spices. This was a really nice dish and I loved that they left the skin on the potatoes. We also ordered the steamed beef dumplings. The outer dough of the dumplings was quite thick compared to the dumplings we were used to however the beef itself was full of flavour. We ordered the chicken bedhai curry with coconut milk and vege and the sarsha tema under the vegetarian section which had mushroom and snow peas with garlic and ginger. I loved the sarsha tema dish! It was full of flavour and the vegetables were not overcooked, the snow peas still had that lovely crunch to it.

From the modern menu we got the pork belly soft tacos with white radish, carrot, tomato and kewpie mayo served on pan fried roti. There was an option to add avocado which we did. Oh my gosh this dish was so tasty! The roti was so light and crispy, it was probably the best roti I’ve had to date. And the pork belly with the other ingredients and their special mayo was a match made in heaven. We scoffed them pretty quickly!

We also ordered their bao buns which were freshly steamed with soft shell crab, white radish, carrot, coriander and kewpie mayo. This too was also really nice, the soft shell crab had that crunch and the bun itself was light and fluffy. We ALSO got the shimbu fried chicken. By the time this came out I could only eat one piece because I was so full so Davin pretty much cleaned it up.

For dessert we ordered at Tenzin’s recommendation the deysee which was sweet rice with sultanas and nuts. It also came with some coconut ice cream which balanced out the sweet rice well. A really nice end to such a feast.

Overall, it was a great experience. The food was fantastic and great value, service was really good and we loved the vibe of the place. We would highly recommend you check it out. Thanks again to Tenzin and the staff at Shimbu for your hospitality!

Shimbu
Approx $30 AUD per person
Address: 58 Lygon St, Brunswick East VIC 3057
Phone: +61 3 9939 0224

April 13, 2016May 6, 2018 by Davin Lee

Rouge Cafe

We decided one day that we needed a new brunch/lunch place! I was feeling particularly picky as well that day so I didn’t feel like the standard brunch food. It wasn’t a good combination waking up starving, but also being picky with food. After some extensive searching on Zomato, we finally came across this little French inspired cafe called Rouge Cafe. This was a bit out of my comfort zone because I rarely eat French as my first meal of the day nor dine in Armadale. I figured this was exactly what I needed, so off we went!

Rouge Cafe is nestled among a strip of boutique shops across from the railway line. Straight away you can tell that this is not a mainstream, in and out, churning numbers type of place. This is a place where locals come to sit back, relax, have a coffee, a bite to eat, with no pressure on them to leave earlier.

The décor reminded me of one of the French cafes we visited in Paris. Use of wood and bricks was evident around the place, and it even had a wrought iron basket right near the door. The floral wallpaper provided the perfect backdrop. A gentle coffee aroma whiffed our way along with the smell of fresh bread. I was a bit overwhelmed as there were so many food items all around me. Cakes, biscuits, bread, salads, olive oil, etc.

The waiter asked if we wanted to sit at the front or the back. Well since the front looked so awesome, guess we had to check out the back! A narrow brick passageway led to the back courtyard. This passageway brought back memories for us, because there was one exactly like this in Prague! This one was a little more spacious though, the one in Prague was so narrow that you could only walk single file, and they also put a traffic light there so you could only walk through when it was green!

As soon as I reached the back courtyard, my jaw just dropped… I had never seen such a beautiful scene for a cafe in Australia. I felt like I was in another country. There’s a lovely painting as soon as you walk in. I will not even attempt to explain how it looks, as I wouldn’t be doing it justice, see for yourself in the picture. There are also plants climbing walls, and marble tables with gold trimmings. My favourite part is that it’s all enclosed. No flies, bees or wasps that I needed to fend off!

Now finally we get to the food. We ordered all of our dishes from the specials board that day. They were the confit duck, wild rice and quinoa salad, smoked salmon crepes, and the tart of the day. Food was spectacular, the confit duck was really appetizing, credit to the balsamic dressing. There was a combination of different textures too, for example the beans in the salad were really crunchy.

The tart was freshly made with pumpkin, baby spinach, capsicum and goats fetta, it was flavoured well. The pastry was crispy and buttery. The side salad had the perfect amount of parmesan cheese in it to give it that wonderful flavour. Small details like this makes the humble side salad that much more enjoyable! For dessert we ordered the compote of summer fruits with vanilla yoghurt. Whilst this was also very good, I found it got a little too sweet towards the end with the poached fruits.

To sum it up, I really enjoyed my visit to Rouge Cafe and am already looking forward to coming back. Whilst good food is undoubtedly important, Rouge Cafe has shown that ambience is just as important for a holistic food experience. It feels like I’m on a mini holiday in Europe when I’m here, and that can never be a bad thing right?

Rouge Cafe
Approx $30 AUD per person
Address: 14 Beatty Ave, Armadale VIC 3143
Phone: +61 3 9822 3310

March 6, 2016May 6, 2018 by Davin Lee

ST. ALi

Since it’s the weekend, I thought I would write a review for you guys, to let you know about one of my favourite brunch places. There’s always been a bit of hype around the St. Ali coffee, but I found their coffee at the Church of Secular Coffee at Monash University a bit underwhelming. I was skeptical to say the least venturing all the way to South Melbourne at the risk of being disappointed again. Well what can I say, I too like to live dangerously, so off to St. Ali South Melbourne we went!

After driving around looking for parking a bit, we finally settled for a spot around 800 metres away. I don’t mind parking a little further sometimes as we’re usually stuffed to the max afterwards, and I’ll take any cardio I can get. If you insist on getting parking close to St. Ali, all I can say is, expect to be disappointed.

When I got to St. Ali I noticed it was just a massive warehouse, it reminded me of a place you’d pick up furniture from. When we walked in, we soon realised that this place was way cooler than any furniture warehouse, it was home to culinary goodness! I had to take a break from looking at all the nicely presented dishes flowing to the tables, and soak in the atmosphere a bit. The decor is very rustic and has a distressed furniture look about it. Other places need to deliberately make the inside look rustic, but with St.Ali being an old warehouse, it achieves this feel effortlessly. There were no consistency with the chairs and tables, as long as it looked old school, they were in! I personally loved the look of the place, the high ceiling makes air conditioning redundant.

The latte which we got here was a lot better than the one at Monash University. It was smooth and had the right amount of bitterness. It also wasn’t too weak and served at the ideal temperature. So much emphasis is placed on their coffee, but I actually found the food to be the standout! Presentation was top notch and the dishes had a certain finesse about it. The food tastes as good as it looked, I was very impressed indeed.

We got the Kingfish Crudo, My Mexican Cousin and a Bircher Museli. The waiter was nice enough to warn me that the Kingfish Crudo was raw, and I wouldn’t want it any other way! This dish was so appetising, acidity was bang on, the fish was fresh and the watermelon balanced everything out beautifully. Not that cheap for $22, but I’d say it was worth it. It wasn’t that filling as my first meal, so I also got myself a Bircher Museli. This was the best Bircher Museli I’ve ever had! The lemon cured labneh just did it for me. I had to google what labneh was, it’s just yoghurt strained to remove the whey. The lemony taste elevates this dish to another level, how can I possibly go back to other Bircher Muselis!?! Topped with berries and half a passionfruit also, it felt like this dish was custom made for me. It was my favourite dish and I highly recommend it. I didn’t get to eat much of the My Mexican Cousin. Helen said it was too good to share, she offered me a bite and it was pretty damn good also! None of the dishes we had could be faulted, perfecto!

Great atmosphere and outstanding food has shot St. Ali up to be one of my favourite brunch places. I admire the thought and creativity which has gone into their menu. A lot of brunch places tend to just follow one another and play it safe with their food. Full credits to St. Ali for breaking away and putting their own twist in the dishes. Make it your mission to check them out if you haven’t already been, because I’d hate for you to miss out!

ST. ALi
Approx $30 AUD per person
Website: www.stali.com.au
Address: 12-18 Yarra Pl, South Melbourne VIC 3205
Phone: +61 3 9686 2990

February 27, 2016May 6, 2018 by Davin Lee

Pablo Honey

We would like to thank Pablo Honey for inviting Helen and I to dine at their newly opened restaurant/bar. Please note that this meal was sponsored by Pablo Honey, however we pride ourselves on writing honest reviews for you guys and in this instance it’s no exception.

There’s a reason why we don’t dine at St Kilda much and that’s simply because the parking can be absolutely horrid! It was no different this time, as St Kilda had some event on which not only meant that parking was bad but traffic was also bumper to bumper. After a bit of driving around and frustration in the car, we decided to go to my trusty paid parking spot at the Coles car park. It was a short walk to Pablo Honey and wasn’t too bad.

We were greeted warmly by Emily at the door. First thing I noticed was the huge and brightly lit bar on the left. The honeycomb wall which doubles as alcohol bottle storage space was a very nice touch and stays true to the name of the restaurant. Emily had reserved a nice big table for both of us. As I’ve mentioned before in my reviews, big tables are just awesome, because we eat so much and it’s nice to have some table space to move the dishes around for photos.

A friendly waitress attended to us straight away and handed us the drinks menu. She would turn out to be the sole person serving us for the night, which I was very happy with. She was quick, on the ball, and knew the menu inside out. From the ingredients to the cooking techniques, she could answer all the questions we threw at her. She was a gun at her job, and Pablo Honey are very fortunate to have her working for them.

We opted to go for 3 small share plates and 1 large share plate in order to try some more foods. Looking back at what we ordered and the prices, I would say that the small share plates are pretty good value as they are a decent quantity for the price. Add to the fact that you also get to try more dishes it’s a no brainer. I personally found the large share plates a bit expensive, as the 3 dishes ranged from $45 to $55.

We ordered the smoked chicken wingettes, ceviche of octopus, green tree ant cured salmon, and the smoked fillet of snapper as the large share plate. The smoked chicken came with a salsa which had nice spiced flavours. Chicken was also extremely tender. There were however only mild hints of smokiness, I was expecting a lot more smokey flavours as per the name of the dish. As I bit into the chicken, I noticed that the meat was not smoked and as I suspected it the smokiness was from the sauce.

The ceviche of octopus I didn’t particularly enjoy. I expected the octopus to be more raw, but instead I was served an orange coloured thoroughly cooked octopus. The octopus itself was also very chewy, and was quite hard to swallow. Green tea cured salmon was my favourite dish of the night.

The salmon was fresh, soft and fatty! Great dish as it wasn’t heavily flavoured and allowed the salmon taste to shine. The salt and vinegar taro chips which came with the salmon was weirdly satisfying and went surprisingly well together. The taro chips to salmon ratio was a bit of whack though and we had way too many taro chips left over. Considering they were too flavoured to have by themselves, we couldn’t finish the chips. The smoked fillet of snapper tasted really good. I could tell that the fish was smoked this time as it penetrated the snapper meat. This also caused it’s downfall too as it made the delicate snapper meat a bit tough. The seaweed salad that came with it was probably our least favourite of the night. It may as well have been called a grapefruit salad as there was so much grapefruit in it. The dressing was also not very pleasant.

The dessert was very unique. We ordered the Dulce de Leche Mousse which was recommended by the waitress. It came out in the mould of a skull which represented the the wall of many beautiful skull sculptures behind our table which are designed and created by the owner Matt’s wife. There are so many pretty ones that are available for sale there. Anyway back to the skull dessert. With a spoon, we cracked into the skull sculpture which got us into the mousse. It was a very interesting way of presenting it. The initial entry of the mousse was pleasant and eyebrow raising but it got too sweet very quickly. There was also the element of popping candy which gave it some texture.

In summary we did enjoy our time at Pablo Honey. The interior decorations along with the superb customer service was the highlight of our experience. I admire the creativity of the food as it sets a point of difference with other restaurants, however the food was a bit hit and miss. Some fine tuning of the food and the potential would be infinite. The great thing was that Matt (one of the owners) welcomed our suggestions, and with such an open mind, it’s surely a recipe for success. I love supporting small restaurant businesses and would be happy to help in whatever way I can. If you’re around the area, give Pablo Honey a visit and show them some support, as I see a bright future for this new restaurant.

Pablo Honey
Approx $50 AUD per person
Website: www.pablohoney.net/
Address: 68 Acland St, St Kilda VIC 3182
PHone: +61 3 9534 3246

February 21, 2016May 6, 2018 by Helen Le

Noir Restaurant

We recently discovered Noir in Richmond and was very impressed with the food and service so of course wanted to share our experience with you!

Noir is a cosy French restaurant so you do have to make sure that you make a booking if you’re planning to dine there! Although the space is small, the wooden tables and chairs are quite generously spaced from each other so you do get a sense of intimacy and personal space.

From the moment we walked in, the service was excellent and it remained that way throughout the night. From the waitress who talked us through the menu, to the sommelier – who had a thorough understanding of the wine list and made a great recommendation on the Chateau Turcaud, a lovely white wine that went well with the food – it was an impressive experience.

The food was also exceptional. We started off with the Royal Miyagi premium Tasmanian Pacific oysters. We got some with champagne granite and some with pickled watermelon, spanner crab and chilli. They were refreshingly delish!

We also ordered the eye fillet of beef tartare with Waldorf salad and pommes gaufrette. This was one of my favourite dishes and I absolutely loved the flavours of the beef tartare combined with the sweetness of the apple. It was a match made in heaven!

The cured kingfish with vichyssoise mousse, baby leeks, sugar snaps and samphire was our other entrée and was a beautifully presented dish with fresh flavours that complimented each other perfectly.

For mains, Davin ordered the seared fillet of bass groper with macadamia nut gnocchi, sorrell and Portarlington mussels. I ordered the crisp breast and confit leg of duck with black fig and pain d’epices puree. The duck was tender and definitely had that crispiness to the skin that you need for this kind of dish. With the fig and puree combined, each bite was a burst of yummy flavours. We also ordered the potato gratin and steamed yellow beans with confit shallots, walnuts and roquefort as sides.

Dessert was also a highlight! We shared the Cremeux d’ Anjou which had strawberries, blueberries, honeycomb and berry and basil sorbet. It was amazing! The fruit, the crunch and sweetness of the honeycomb and the refreshing sorbert, it was a beautiful dessert! And presented so prettily too!

I would highly recommend Noir for some beautifully presented and delicious food, excellent service and great ambiance!

Noir Restaurant
Approx $70 AUD per person
Website: www.noirrestaurant.com.au
Address: 175 Swan St, Melbourne VIC 3121
Phone: +61 3 9428 3585

February 13, 2016May 6, 2018 by Helen Le

Bahari The Hellenic Palate

If you are craving some amazing, fresh Greek food then look no further than Bahari The Hellenic Palate. With such great reviews we were of course expecting big things and boy did they deliver!

The restaurant had a great modern and rustic funky vibe to it with the combination of the brick floors and dark wooden and white decor. We were given a window seat so had a nice view plus the natural lighting from outside. First and foremost I have to say that staff were super friendly and on the ball. They were very attentive and were more than happy to provide recommendations and make suggestions, especially when we were indecisive because we wanted to order everything on the menu! Every dish sounded amazing!

So the menu itself is designed for sharing with small and large sharing plates. We finally agreed on (are you ready for this?) the trio of dips, the haloumi with onions, tomato, roasted peppers, olives and sumac, the wild mushrooms with roasted garlic and crumbed feta, the char grilled octopus, the zuchinni flowers stuffed with garlic prawns, the cured raw tuna, the cauliflower and pomegranate salad AND a chicken souvlaki! Of course we probably over ordered but it was already hard enough shortlisting it down to that final list. So let’s talk about the highlights.

One of my favourite dishes was the haloumi, it was SO good! It was super soft and was complimented well with the tomato, roasted peppers and olives. The wild mushrooms was also mouthwatering and each bite was a burst of juicy and seasoned flavours.

Davin really liked the zuchinni flowers and garlic prawns. The zuchinni flowers was battered to crispy perfection and the prawns inside were also flavoured really well.

We also loved the trio of tips which came with fresh hot bread and the chicken souvlaki which we heard good things about and did not disappoint! All dishes were just so scoffable and we just ate our hearts out. We could not fit dessert after all that food but have no doubt that would have been nice too.

Overall we were very impressed with the quality of the food and the fantastic service. We would definitely come back again if we’re craving some high quality Greek food!

Bahari The Hellenic Palate
Approx $50 AUD per person
Website: www.bahari-richmond.com.au/
Address: 179 Swan St, Melbourne VIC 3121
Phone:+61 3 9427 7898

February 7, 2016May 6, 2018 by Davin Lee

Rockpool Bar and Grill

A lot of the restaurants at Crown come with a lot of hype but not much substance. I’ve been stung many times before with various restaurants in the complex, so I actually avoided Rockpool Bar & Grill for a long time, thinking that they’d just be overpriced and underwhelming. I would never have thought that they would be one of my favourite and ‘go to’ restaurants!

Even though I have been here on numerous occasions, I have never ventured into the main dining room. The reason for this is because the ‘bar menu’ is just such good value, and you get full access to the proper menu also. So the rules are simple, you come and ask to sit in the bar area, the area is strictly for walk ins only and they don’t allow for booking. They will either ask if you want to sit at the bar for a drink or you can go and wait at Spice Temple. Spice Temple are owned by the Rockpool Group so either way they’re going to make some money off you. If you do choose this option, they will make a phone call to Spice Temple to grab you when a bar table is ready.

With the bar area you’re not actually sitting at the bar, but there’s another section with a little partition to seperate from the main dining room. You still get to sit on at a table with some comfy chairs, so you don’t need to stress that you’ll be sitting on bar stools! When it gets busy, you do have to wait a while… my longest wait was nearly an hour. However generally 15 to 30 mins, a table will be ready.

There’s an adequate amount of options on the bar menu. What’s my pick of the lot? The Mishima burger of course! Mishima is a special type of Japanese cattle which David Blackmore breeds. This burger is not available all the time, so it can be a bit of a gamble whether it’s available or not. Sometimes when I’m really craving for it, I would call them up first to ask if the Mishima burger is on the bar menu. Otherwise I just wing it and hope for the best! This is my favourite gourmet burger in Australia and it’s truly amazing. The meat patty is cooked medium rare – when the meat is freshly minced, you can have a medium rare patty no problems. The meat is not only juicy and succulent but also has that strong beef flavour. The pickled zucchini and onions just top it off as it adds some acidity to the taste. They even seperate the tomato and cos lettuce so you’re burger doesn’t get soggy, how’s that for consideration!

I’ve also had other dishes such as the Minute steak, fish stew, cured ocean trout on brioche and the steak tartare. Speaking of the steak tartare, this is another stand out dish which you must get! It’s served with fat cut chips which surprisingly goes really well with the tartare. These two dishes are my favourite but I cannot fault any of the other dishes here. They all taste great and you won’t be disappointed. I used to also get a quail entree but they’ve since taken that off the menu. I’m quite upset the quail is gone… Rockpool if you’re reading this, please bring the quail back!

Service here is proper and professional. They don’t seem to smile much and they do take their jobs very seriously. They don’t really get anything wrong and I find them to be on the ball at all times. I did get a warm and bubbly waitress last time I was there which was a nice surprise, but generally the service is not like that. Depends what you prefer really, I’m someone who likes to have a chat and have a joke around with the waiting staff. There’s no right or wrong I guess. If you’re someone who loves proper and professional service, then you’d like the way they go about their business at Rockpool Bar & Grill.

Rockpool Bar and Grill
Approx $50 AUD per person (bar menu)
Approx $100 AUD per person (full menu)
Website: www.rockpool.com/rockpoolbarandgrillmelbourne
Address: Crown Casino, 8 Whiteman St, Southbank VIC 3006
Phone: +61 3 8648 1900

January 26, 2016May 6, 2018 by Davin Lee

Bistro Vue

There is one thing which Bistro Vue set out to do, and that is to be as French as they could possibly be. As a matter of fact, they tried so hard that their dining room actually looks more French than all the restaurants we went to in France! Everything from the chairs, tables, cabinets, plates and even the walls are French influenced.

We made a booking on the day and was greeted warmly when we arrived. They asked us to have a drink first at Bar Vue which is attached to Bistro Vue. It was full of Friday after work drinkers but it wasn’t too noisy, we could still have a conversation. I ordered a Bourbon Macchiato and Helen got the cocktail of the day. Both cocktails were very nice however I thought the ones in the classic section were a bit pricey. Half way through our drinks we were told that our table was ready and we were escorted into the dining area.

We ordered a French red and proceeded to look at the menu. Now you know a menu is really good when there’s too many good things and you can’t decide what you want! We decided against the $110pp for 6 courses because we wanted to try specific dishes from the à la carte menu. The waiter who served us was a little odd. When we started ordering he kept making a weird face. I looked at Helen as if to ask ‘what does the face mean?’ but she had no clue either. I didn’t know whether it was because we were ordering too much or too little. He was also quite pushy with the Paperbark baked snapper dish which we did end up getting. Can’t say i’m a huge fan of the service.

The food here was really high quality! Steak tartare was very authentic, and brought back memories of France. The garlic snails was nice but didn’t come through as much compared to the other entrees. The trout was beautifully smoked, but the highlight of the entrees and the night was the duck egg, this dish was just amazing! I never imagined duck egg and kale would go so well together. I would recommend anyone to come here just for this dish. The paperbark baked snapper provided some theatrics when it arrived on the table as they unravel the paperbark. It was a very tasty piece of fish. Worst dish of the night has got to be the kangaroo loin (serves me right for trying kangaroo at a French restaurant). It’s just that I’m still searching for that perfect roo which I had so many years ago…

As a whole I really enjoyed my experience at Bistro Vue. The ambiance was great and they produce high quality French dishes. Apart from the service, I had an awesome experience here. I felt like the mains were on the expensive side in comparison to the entrees. The entree portions were quite generous so I’m thinking next time we would do 5 or 6 entrees instead of ordering mains. If you haven’t been here, do check Bistro Vue out, I’m sure you’ll leave with a very happy tummy!

Bistro Vue
Approx $70 AUD per person
Website: www.bistrovue.com.au
Address: 430 Little Collins St, Melbourne VIC 3000
Phone: +61 3 9691 3838

January 16, 2016May 6, 2018 by Helen Le

Steer Bar and Grill

We both love a good steak. We make them at home and will happily go out and pay good money for it. So when we heard from a number of people that we needed to check out Steer Bar and Grill for their steaks, of course we couldn’t resist! We made a reservation for dinner and off we went.. and then went again not long after!

Located in South Yarra just off Toorak Rd, it looks like quite a formal affair with the modern décor, white table cloths and all that jazz. As soon you enter through their doors the reception desk is right there with someone to greet you. To the left is a glamorous bar which you can sit at for some pre-drinks. We haven’t yet experienced it as we normally show up right on time and get seated straight away.

For starters we’ve ordered the Kyoto style oysters which come with tobiko, shiso kewipe, light kombu and pickling sauce. The oysters were very fresh and the Kyoto style flavours were quite nice and didn’t overpower the oysters at all.

We have also ordered their Tataki style O’Connor premium Angus / Hereford tenderloin meats which were flamed over Japanese maple and served with Japanese pickles, radish, ponzu and wasabi. The meats were exceptional and presented on this lovely pink stone. We love rare meats and these were exactly that as they were very briefly flamed on the outside and then thinly sliced. They were oh so very soft! Dipped in the light sauce it was heaven.

For mains we ordered the David Blackmore Full Blood Wagyu oyster blade, 250 grams which was $72. I have ordered the Sher F1 Wagyu eye fillet before however it was not as soft as the David Blackmore and so this time we both ordered it. We were actually quite shocked at how soft the steak was the first time we tried it considering it was an oyster blade cut! It had a good meaty flavour to it, was really soft and practically melted in my mouth. You also get a selection of varied condiments to choose from to go with your steak and I normally get their horseradish cream and bearnaise sauce.

We also normally order some greens and their ‘Cafe D’ Paris’ mashed potatoes which are to die for! The mashed potatoes are so creamy, we couldn’t get enough of it.

By the time we were done we were so full so we decided to share a dessert. Being a sucker for citric desserts, I chose the lemon tart which came with sorbet and fruit. The tart had the perfect tang to it with a lovely smooth texture.

Let’s not also forget to mention the staff, who were very attentive, professional and friendly. They were happy to provide recommendations and chat about how particular steaks should be cooked to appreciate them. I highly recommend you try Steer Bar and Grill if you are craving a good steak and want the whole experience – great quality food, service and ambience!

Steer Bar and Grill
Approx $100 AUD per person
Website: www.steerbarandgrill.com.au
Address: 15 Claremont St, South Yarra VIC 3141
Phone: +61 3 9040 1188

January 7, 2016May 6, 2018 by Helen Le

The Moat

We recently discovered this gem of a place and loved it so much we had to share this with you! The Moat is located in the CBD and is tucked away under the State Library. When you walk down the stairs you first reach the outdoor area which is a lovely place for drinks on a warm day, or even on cold day as they have the outdoor heaters to keep you warm if it’s chilly.

In our true spontaneous style, Davin and I did a quick search and just rocked up without a booking. On this particular day they were packed because they had a function on so there were no available tables however the waitress was very friendly and told us if we were happy to wait, we could enjoy some drinks in the outdoor area until a table was available. So we did just that! I ordered a glass of red and Davin got the Martin Miller’s Gin Martini with an olive.

It was quite a bit of a wait before a table was available inside however since we didn’t make a reservation we couldn’t complain. They were nice to give us the menus in advance for our perusal so that by the time we were called in we knew exactly what we wanted.

Finally a table was available so were able to view the inside of the restaurant! Upon entering it almost feels like you’re walking into a medieval cave with the dim lighting and uneven stone walls. With the additional touch of bookshelves with books and wine bottles, it’s quite a romantic ambience and setting.

We ordered the Spanish Cuca sardines picante served in a tin with crispy bread and kasundi as a starter which was really nice. The kasundi relish really complimented the sardines and made it a really tasty dish.

We also ordered the blowtorched salmon with beetroot prosecco gel and a celeric lime salad. This was a lovely, refreshing dish and presented very prettily.

The baked cauliflower with raddichio, lemon and zucchini, labne with a walnut and parmesan crumb looked interesting so decided to get that too. Although the dish was quite nice, it was probably our least favourite out of everything we ordered because the other dishes were so amazing. So onto our two favourite dishes of the night!

We ordered the pulled BBQ beef brisket which came with roast corn salsa, chilli sour cream and corn tortillas. The ingredients were de-constructed so you could wrap as much of what you wanted in your tortilla, and let me tell you, it was SO GOOD! The beef brisket was so unbelievably flavoured! Combined with the roast corn salsa and chilli sour cream, each bite with the tortilla was just a burst of flavours. It was my favourite dish of the night and probably one of the best beef briskets I’ve had to date!

Davin’s highlight was the chipotle spiced chicken ribs with smoked garlic aioli. This was pretty amazing, It was so amazing that we ended up ordering a second serving! The chicken was so flavoured and moist, coupled with the smoked garlic aioli it was divine! We are a big fan of smoked dishes and loved it with aioli.

For dessert we really wanted to try the coconut panna cotta with limoncello syrup however it was unfortunately sold out. We were so disappointed because we wanted to compare it to the one we had in Venice. Oh well! We settled on their creme brulee which was their special that day. It was very nice as was all their dishes that night.

Overall, The Moat provided us with a great experience and we have to say that this was our favourite restaurant for 2015! The service was great, the food was top notch (I’m still thinking about that beef brisket and the chicken ribs) and the ambience was really nice. Whether you’re looking for a place to have a drink or to have a great meal, I highly recommend you check it out!

The Moat
Approx $50 AUD per person
Website: www.themoat.com.au
Address: 176 Little Lonsdale St, Melbourne VIC 3000
Phone:+61 3 9094 7820

A journey of our culinary, travel and life adventures

Tag: melbourne

Zomato Meet Up @ Vivace

Kluska

Mr Hendricks Cafe

Thirty Eight Chairs

Miss Katie’s Crab Shack

Ponshu Kiroro

Shimbu

Rouge Cafe

ST. ALi

Pablo Honey

Noir Restaurant

Rockpool Bar and Grill

Bistro Vue

Steer Bar and Grill

The Moat

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