Rita’s Cafeteria

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Rita’s Cafeteria was introduced to me as one of the places to go to for great pizza, funny enough I don’t even rate the pizza that highly. I had stopped ordering the pizza after the second trip. I found the pizzas to be quite thick crusted which I don’t prefer and although the ingredients of the toppings were special, I didn’t think they were worthy of the hype.

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It was actually because of this, that I was fortunate enough to discover their main dishes! They are really tasty with a nice rustic style presentation. Prepared by a trendy hipster in the kitchen, he also uses a lot of micro greens for decoration. The menu is always changing and I love coming back to try out the new dishes on the menu. Prices range from high $20 to low $30.

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Some examples which I’ve tried and loved include the pickled octopus salad, the spatchcock, caprese salad which consists of tomatoes, basil and buffalo mozzarella, radiccio salad, and the risotto with prawn, crab, peas, lemon and marscapone. So simple and yet it tastes so good! As the menu is always changing, you’ll probably won’t get the same dishes. However, it’s great to know that you can enjoy something different every time you come back!

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I really like Rita’s Cafeteria because they provide very tasty dishes, with special flavours that I can’t find anywhere else. I would highly recommend anyone to try out their main dishes, and I hope you enjoy them as much as I have. Oh and their house red deliciously goes well with the food!

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Rita’s Cafeteria
Approx $35 AUD per person
Website: ritasabbotsford.com.au
Address: 239 Johnston St, Abbotsford VIC 3067
Phone: +61 3 9419 8233

Rita's Cafeteria Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Journeyman

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It was my last day of work before the Christmas break and my work mate and I decided that we’ll treat ourselves to something good!  So he’s a guy who always likes to go to the same places to eat, whilst I’m someone who loves to try new places. Guess I got my way this time =)

Journeyman was always a place that came up on my Zomato feed, and with such a high rating, I had to recommend coming here. My work mate is easily impressed with a cafe/restaurant just from the decor, so before I even looked at the menu, I had a look at some photos of Journeyman to see if it’ll fit this requirement. It looked amazing in the photos and true enough, the decor and atmosphere was even better in real life.

It had a really cool rustic industrial feel to it. The feeling I get when I walked in was warmness from the wood but also coolness from the walls and exposed vents. I like this contrast, and felt very much at home. Inside was quite spacious and we got a table straight away, although I have heard of stories where the queues can get quite long here.

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I ordered the beetroot cured salmon and he ordered the Journeyman eggs benedict. The beetroot cured salmon was surprisingly very filling even though it didn’t look it. The organic quinoa was cooked well and the chilli hit was spot on. I tried a bit of his eggs benedict and it was also very tasty, however the portion was quite small and the plate was filled up with a whole lot of unnecessary greens.

We decided to get the toasted waffles to finish off. Dense – is probably the word to describe it. Whilst it looked amazing in appearance, it was a bit too dense for my liking. Definitely couldn’t have too much of it. I didn’t bother with adding maple syrup to it as it was more than sweet enough from the fruits. I don’t know… maybe I’ve been a bit of a snob since I’ve eaten waffles in Belgium, but I have not been able to find a place in Australia where they can make it crispy on the outside whilst being light and fluffy on the inside. If any of you guys know a really good waffle place, please comment and let me know!

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Food was quite good at Journeyman and quite decent. If you can get past the parking struggles, it’s a lovely place to have some nice food and soak in the atmosphere. I would recommend it and would most likely come back (after trying out a whole lot of other cafes of course). Lastly we would like to wish everyone a happy and Merry Christmas! I’m sure most of you will be having your Christmas lunches / dinners and spending time with your families. We hope you have an awesome one.

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Journeyman
Approx $35 AUD per person
Website: journeymancafe.com.au
Address: 169 Chapel St, Windsor VIC 3181
Phone: +61 3 9521 4884

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

Victor Churchill

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While we were in Sydney earlier this year we were keen to check out Victor Churchill after seeing something on TV while we were just lounging about at home one lazy day. It looked like nothing we had come across before so we made a mental note to visit.

Victor Churchill is essentially a butcher. But it’s not just ANY butcher. It is the pinnacle of butchers. They sell quality, fine meats and have been around since 1876, making it Australia’s oldest continually run butcher shop. But it is that feeling of luxury when you step through the doors of this boutique shop (using the bronze sausage door handles) which is amazing for a shop that sells meats. Somehow they have pulled it off with providing a special experience to their customers, with their glamourous rich timber wall panelling, large glass windows and marble floors. There is also a sense of space when you walk through, which is not something you experience in a normal butchers.

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When you step inside the shop, there are large glass cabinets housing meats from large lamb racks, eye fillet steaks and even marrow bones to the fancy stuff such as French trimmed veal cutlets, Rangers Valley grain fed aged black angus short ribs and David Blackmore 600 day ration fed dry aged full blood wagyu scotch steak, only to name a few! They also have premium cured meats and other luxurious produce such as duck liver pate with cognac or truffle. We ended up taking away some of the cured meats and pate plus some fresh bread there for a picnic at the nearby park.

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There is also a floor to ceiling glass cool room on the other side of the hallway opposite the cabinets which consists of specialty cuts of meat hanging from a custom designed metal chain conveyer belt with massive carcass meat cuts hanging behind in the dry aging room. Himalayan salt bricks are stacked up behind that to act as a natural air purifier and reduce humidity, to assist with the dry-aging process. It definitely serves as a statement when you enter. And if you’re lucky, you may get a chance to watch the staff work away at cutting up the meats in the special room that’s almost set up as a stage for their butchers.

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The cured meats and pate we took away were of top quality and we SO wished we could have taken some back to Melbourne. Overall, this was definitely an experience and I highly recommend you stopping by if you have some time!

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Victor Churchill
Website: victorchurchill.com
Address: Queen St, Woollahra NSW 2025
Phone: +61 2 9328 0402

Chez Olivier

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Okay, so there’s been a bit of a theme lately and we have to admit that there is a particular cuisine in which we have been frequenting more often than others, and that is French food! I personally have always loved French food so I have no problem with that. But it just so happened that we have been coming across some top quality restaurants in Melbourne. So without further ado we introduce Chez Olivier!

Located in Prahan, Chez Olivier is a cute little restaurant on Greville Street offering authentic French bistro food. As soon as you enter you are faced with a well equipped bar with friendly staff and small tables scattered around. We were then escorted to the back area with more tables and a fireplace. I loved the wooden decor, framed mirrors and chandeliers, giving it an intimate and romantic feel.

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For starters we ordered the seafood bisque which was thick, creamy and full of seafood flavour. I’ve had a real liking to seafood bisques lately so really enjoyed this one. I also can never say no to a steak tartare when I see it on the menu so we also ordered that. It was 100g of finely chopped raw Black Angus beef with brandy sauce and the usual condiments. Mixed in with the raw egg yolk, it was delicious and seasoned well.

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Davin decided to order one of the specials of the day for his main, which was the duck breast with balsamic vinegar sauce, pumpkin mash and puff potato. The duck was cooked to perfection – medium rare. Combined with the balsamic sauce and pumpkin mash, it was presented really nicely on the plate and tasted even better!

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I ordered the 200g Black Angus eye fillet which was wrapped in proscuitto, with a slice of foie gras, mushroom sauce and white truffle oil served with mashed potato. It was sooo delicious! The foie gras literally just melted in my mouth. I reserved a bit for each bite of my steak. And the combination of the truffle oil and the creamy mashed potato was heaven.

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There was quite a selection of dessert options after dinner, but we ended up on settling on the chocolate fondant to share which came with vanilla ice cream and strawberry coulis. The fondant was cooked well and lovely warm chocolate sauce oozed out, which is what you expect from a good chocolate fondant!

Overall, we really enjoyed our experience. The food was top quality, the ambience was great for a date night, and the staff were also very attentive and friendly. As usual we were probably the last ones there but they were more than happy to take dessert orders and there was no rush to get out. We will definitely keep this place in mind when we’re in the mood for French next time!

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Chez Olivier
Approx $75 AUD per person
Website: www.chezolivier.com.au
Address: 121 Greville St, Prahran VIC 3181
Phone: +61 3 9525 2273

Chez Olivier - Le Bistro Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Entrecôte


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I’ve always said that Japanese was my favourite cuisine. The reason for this is that it is generally healthy, the flavours are clean and it’s one of very few cuisines which I could eat more than twice a week. However lately, I must be honest and say that lately French food keeps knocking on my door and challenging my favourite cuisine title! Maybe I do prefer the big bold flavours, the fancy sauces and cheesy goodness which is evident in so many of their dishes. It’s sending me a message to eat first and worry about my cholesterol later. Right now I’m a bit confused which cuisine I prefer more, but I know for a fact that Helen has already jumped over to the French ship!

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So without further ado, I would like to introduce you guys to Entrecôte – Parisian Streakhouse & Bar. I initially found Entrecôte online when I was looking for a late night steak place. It kinda dropped off my radar for a while, as I was eating my way through different restaurants. We were reunited when Helen and I came across them in the Entertainment Book. Now armed with a discounted price, we weren’t going to let Entrecôte slip away again! The interesting thought I felt after dining here was that they were really selling themselves short by calling themselves a ‘Steakhouse’. It’s rare for the French to sell themselves short, as they normally do the opposite. They have always been great at marketing their products, because they supposedly make the best wines, best perfumes, best handbags, etc etc. I firmly believe that they are so much more than just a steakhouse, and stating this in their name could steer people to just their steaks. As a consequence of this, people may miss out on all the other wonderful foods on their menu, because who wouldn’t order steak at a steakhouse right!?!?

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Luckily for us, we have a bigger appetite than most normal couples. We started off with easily the best dish of the night, Soufflé Gratine – Jerusalem artichoke, Gruyère & black truffle soufflé. This dish was simply mind blowing! I would dare say that this is the best soufflé I’ve ever had, sweet or savory. Great decision to use Gruyere as it’s one of the best baking cheeses of all time as it doesn’t overpower the dish at all. Texture of the soufflé was perfect and the hit of black truffle at the end was heavenly! Best of all it didn’t feel heavy at all and I reckon I could have polished 5 more of these if they were presented in front of me (okay… at $22.90 each, maybe not). It’s a must have, way too good to share, get your own if you come here.

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Steak tartare was spot on. Authentic, seasoned perfectly and the steak was fresh. Speaking of which, yes the actual steak here was pretty damn good too. The colour of the herb sauce took a little getting used to, can’t say I’ve had many steaks where the sauce was that shade of green. It was also very runny, certainly tasted better than it looked. As soon as a piece a steak was moved, the sauce would ooze down and coat it straight away. The steak was Black Angus beef and had an amazing beef flavour. It was also cooked exactly how we wanted it, nice & rare. The serving was massive! Helen and I had decided that sharing one steak would be the best option next time. 3 entrees and 1 steak would allow us to have more variety as well. For $44.90, you get a steak, fries and a soft leaves salad. I felt as though this was a little on the pricey side. However I must repeat, the quantity is substantial and I doubt anyone would leave hungry. I must make a quick note – house wine was only $7 a glass! We didn’t inquire too much about the wine, it tasted great and we both ordered seconds.

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Décor was more French than Camembert, loved it! I think the pictures speak for themselves. Service was relaxed and we never felt rushed. We don’t normally hang around too long after we’ve finished eating, but if you’re the opposite, then this is certainly the place to do it. Aside from the steaks which I felt was a little pricey, I really don’t have anything bad to say about Entrecôte. Rest assured, we’ll be back the next chance we get, and I recommend you guys check it out too!

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Entrecôte
Approx $80 AUD per person
Website: www.entrecote.com.au
Address: 131-133 Domain Road, South Yarra VIC 3141
Phone: +61 3 9804 5468

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

Peruvian @ Pastuso

It’s not every day that Helen and I get asked to go to a Peruvian restaurant. To be honest, I had to do a quick Google search to make sure I knew which country it was from, Peru – yes of course. Our friend aka ‘The 3rd wheel’, invited us to go to Pastuso. Cool name, new restaurant and new cuisine for us, we were never gonna say no!

Located off Flinders Lane, Pastuso represents the classic Melbourne laneway experience. Nestled in the corner of the laneway, the entrance looks grand, yet it’s also low key at the same time. You would expect a place like this to be smack bang in the middle of the city. There’s a certain confidence which Pastusco emits, as if to say “you want us, come find us”. Or maybe I’m just overanalysing things again, it could be for the simple reason that the rent’s cheaper.

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Walking in we were welcomed with funky colourful tiles and a beautiful bar with gold trimmings. Dimly lit lights complete the picture of an intimate and relaxed atmosphere. Being our eager selves, we arrived early and were escorted to the bar area for a quick drink while we waited for our table. Without much hesitation, I opted for the Pisco Sour while Helen got the Cucumber Chilcano. I’ve had Pisco Sours in the past but this one is without a doubt that best I’ve had!

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We were handed the menus by one of the smiling and friendly staff and off we went. This menu was the gateway to our Peruvian food experience and I really liked what I saw, I wanted nearly everything on it! With us eating out so much, some menus are starting to look pretty boring. Brunch menus spring to mind, as most of them are roughly the same ingredients just repackaged. Pastuso’s menu in contrast was a whole new experience to what we’re generally used to. Ingredients such as marlin and alpaca captured my undivided attention. I had only seen marlins jumping out of the water on TV fishing shows, and alpaca… how many people can say they’ve tried alpaca before!?!

We found ourselves stuck in the ceviche section of the menu, and struggling to progress. Normally we’re lucky to get one ceviche on the menu, but they had six at Pastuso! Overwhelming as it is, we powered on and got the Corvina (lightly smoked black kingfish), salmon, and of course the Marlin Nikkei ceviche. The ceviche quality here was in a league of it’s own, and I would recommend coming here just to try some of these out. Instead of tasting just like lemon or lime juice, the ceviches here all had their very own distinct and unique characters. I couldn’t really fault any of them, but the one that stood out had to be the Marlin Nikkei. For such a huge fish, the texture was never going to be soft or mushy. It had a bouncy texture and was just the perfect fish for a ceviche. The braised shitake mushrooms and rice wine vinegar dressing worked its way in beautifully with the fish. Who could resist the pronounced mushroom flavours which shiitakes bring, the soft and subtle acidity of the rice wine vinegar to round it off. Thoroughly deserving of the best dish of the night award. My only criticism was that for such a massive fish, I was kinda expecting a bit more!

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The Carpaccio de bife was also another highlight dish, it’s a shame that it’s from the specials menu so will most likely not be there next time. I would have loved to see this dish featured permanently. Now onto the meat which I had looked forward to the whole night – the alpaca ribs! These were 8 hour braised ribs with a honey glaze. I had all these perceptions on what I would think it would taste like, but it ended up being different to what I had ever imagined. Well basically it tasted like…. nothing. The meat itself didn’t have any character and was highly dependent on the sauce for flavour. I soon learnt that alpaca is a really lean and healthy meat which is low in fat and cholesterol. I was expecting a more gamey flavour. The honey glaze was not too sweet and just lightly coated each rib. I was very happy that I had the opportunity to try a new meat.

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To be honest, after all the food we ate, dessert was an absolute blur to me. I felt like I was just going through the motions and I guess I should have left more space to really appreciate it. Oh well, over ordering is still something we’re heavily working on! The service at Pastuso was flawless. All the waiting staff were friendly and had a smile on their face. They were attentive and always down for a chat. They also showed great professionalism and always demonstrated their ability to take a joke, in response to our sometimes inappropriate conversations amongst ourselves! All it takes is a frown or judging eyes from the waiting staff to kill the mood, but these guys were really cool.

I highly recommend Pastuso for a special night out or anyone looking for a new food experience. Their food and flavours are uniquely different and will most likely leave a lasting impression. I know we’ll certainly be back especially for the ceviches. Now I do mention it’s best for a special night out because I did feel that the food was a little pricey, and the portions could be bigger. However, I do feel as though the food is high quality and the service is outstanding. An alternative would be to have a cheaper dinner elsewhere and come for the ceviches to finish off, best of both worlds!

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Pastuso
Approx $70 AUD per person
Website: pastuso.com.au
Address: 19 ACDC Lane, Melbourne VIC 3000
Phone: +61 3 9662 4556

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

Stokehouse Q

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A couple of weeks ago I had the opportunity to attend a conference with a few other colleagues in Brisbane. A dinner was booked at Stokehouse Q in Brisbane’s Southbank precinct for the 8 of us on our first night. Being the foodie I am, I instantly looked up the restaurant and could see quite a few positive reviews so I was excited to check it out!

Now before I get into it, I have to apologise in advance if the photos aren’t up to our usual standards as I didn’t think to pack my proper camera. So all these photos were taken from my trusty ol’ iPhone. I didn’t want to use flash for obvious reasons but mainly so that my colleagues didn’t think I was ‘that crazy photo taking colleague whom we’ll never invite again’. So these were quick snaps without holding everyone up from eating!

Stokehouse Q is located in a great location, right along the river and was no casual affair. It had very classy decor with the white table cloths, dim lights and gorgeous views. Staff there were very friendly, attentive and accommodating. We started off with some bubbly to celebrate and then perused the menu which looked absolutely amazing. One of the staff also brought out a whiteboard and talked us through the specials for the night.

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For entree I ordered the Moreton Bay bug, mussel and clam chowder with Jerusalem artichoke, guanciale and paprika. This was so delicious! I really had to resist from eating it too quickly because it was so good. The flavour combinations of the seafood mixed with the saltiness of the guanciale was perfect.

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For mains I ordered the charred wagyu intercostal with cipollini onions, salt bush, shaved squid and mustard seeds. This was cooked sous-vide style and oh my gosh, the wagyu was so soft! I have to say it was one of the softest cooked beef I’ve had! I also loved the generous green sauce that came with it. That with all the other elements on the plate made it a beautiful and enjoyable dish.

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By the time dessert came around I was so full so we all agreed to order just a few to share. I picked the The Bombe – frozen white chocolate parfait, strawberries, toasted meringue. From memory we also ordered the chocolate and hazelnut cremeux, tonka bean cream, mixed nut ice-cream, crumble and the vanilla cheesecake mousse, poached rosella, mandarin sorbet. All desserts were scrumptious!

Overall, it was hard to fault this place. Amazing food, great service and perfect ambience. What more could you ask for? I highly recommend Stokehouse Q if you’re ever in Brisbane, whether you’re looking for a venue for a work function or a romantic, intimate dinner for two.

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Stokehouse Q
Approx $90 AUD per person
Website: stokehousebrisbane.com.au
Address: Sidon St, South Bank QLD 4101
Phone: +61 7 3020 0600

Stokehouse Q Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Cafe Amba

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We were recently invited by Cafe Amba to come and dine at their newish cafe, opened in January this year and located literally opposite the Jam Factory in South Yarra. We loved the decor as soon as we entered. A lot of cafes these days are going for that hipster feel with the brick walls and wooden furnishings however Cafe Amba had that plus the additional touch of glamour with modern hanging lights against a mirror backdrop making it quite the feature when you walk through. It was very pretty. There is also a back room and a little courtyard however on this occasion we were seated indoors. This was fine by us as it has been pretty chilly lately in Melbourne!

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We were provided with the menus with included all day breakfast (yay!) and a separate menu outlining their specials for the day. We ended up ordering most of the items on the specials which included the Open Face Chef Omelette. This had bacon, kipfler potato, chilli and chives served open with toasted Roma tomatoes. I loved that the omelette had chunky bits of the different ingredients. It was also a very generous portion. We shared the cauliflower soup served with a dash of basil pesto and toast. The soup was delicious and again the bowl was huge! I could have had it on its own as a meal.

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Davin ordered the salmon and prawn linguine which also had broccoli, onion, tomato, spinach and garlic in Napoli sauce. Now this was the highlight dish for us because the linguine was cooked to perfection, the salmon and prawns were fresh and the flavour of the sauce complimented the dish so well because it was not overly seasoned but just light and delicious. It was gobbled up pretty quickly!

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We also finished up with some seasonal fruit salad with natural yoghurt and honey. I got my usual latte which was good and served with the right temperature. We also ordered some fresh juices with our meals. After being served the first couple of dishes, staff asked us if we wanted to move to a larger table to fit all our dishes which was fine by us. This normally happens with most places after they realise we’ve ordered food for more than the average couple! So we moved to the back room which had a lovely feature wall of flowers and plants painted directly onto the wall to finish our meal. It was very pretty.


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Overall the food was really good, the staff were very friendly and accommodating and I loved the decor of the cafe. We will definitely be back!

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Cafe Amba
Approx $25 AUD per person
Website: cafeamba.com.au
Address: 497 Chapel St, South Yarra VIC 3141
Phone: +61 3 9827 6747

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

Zomato Meet Up @ Vivace

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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!

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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.

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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!

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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?

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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!

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

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

Kluska

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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!

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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!

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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!

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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.

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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.

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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!

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

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

Mr Hendricks Cafe

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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.


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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.

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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!

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

Mr Hendricks Cafe Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Thirty Eight Chairs

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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!

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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!

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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.

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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!

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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.

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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!

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

Thirty Eight Chairs Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Miss Katie’s Crab Shack

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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!

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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!

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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.

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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!

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

Miss Katie's at Rochester Hotel Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Ponshu Kiroro


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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.

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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!

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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.

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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!

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

Ponshu Kiroro Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Shimbu

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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.

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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.

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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!

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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.

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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!

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

Shimbu Tibetan Restaurant & Bar Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Rouge Cafe

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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.

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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!

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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!

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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.

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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?

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

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