Unabara Lobster & Oyster Bar

We were recently invited to dine at Unabara Lobster & Oyster Bar in Melbourne Central. We were interested to check it out given it’s not everyday that you get to have lobster ramen! So on a very cold and typical Melbourne wintry night, we headed to Melbourne Central in search of the restaurant. We found it pretty quickly and although there were tables outside within the centre, we were seated inside their restaurant which also happened to be Gyoza Gyoza. We were also provided with menus, both for Unabara and Gyoza Gyoza to order from. The restaurant itself is very casual. In fact when we sat down the tables were not that clean and had lots of water on it.

We started off with ordering a couple of cocktails. I ordered the Umeshu Margarita which had gold tequila, Japanese plum wine, Yuzu sake, cointreau and fresh lemon juice. Davin ordered the Tropical Yuzu Mojito which had Yuzushu, green tea, gin, pineapple juice, passion fruit mint, lime and tonic water. Both cocktails were presented nicely and were really refreshing.

For food we of course had to order the Lobster and Seafood Sapporo Miso Ramen. There was an option to order half lobster (200 – 250g) or half large lobster (500 – 600g). We asked for the half large lobster however they advised us that they were already sold out for the night so we opted for the smaller half lobster. The dish also included a grilled scallop, tiger prawn, chashu (Japanese style braised pork belly), and a 63 degree poached egg. The broth was really flavoured and you could taste the lobster and seafood flavours in it. The ramen noodles were nice and chewy. The lobster meat itself tasted a bit overcooked and rubbery. The tiger prawn and the chashu was also overcooked, however the scallop was nice. The 63 degree egg was poached perfectly.

We also ordered the grilled half lobster with Angus beef tenderloin which also came with a 63 degree poached egg, toasted buttered New England split-top bun, beer battered fries with truffle mayo, wafu salad and lobster bisque. The grilled lobster in this dish was also overcooked and rubbery, and the beef tenderloin was dry and stringy. The lobster bisque was plain and lacked the strong lobster flavours and seasoning you would expect. I guess we have been spoilt with our fair share of lobster bisques in the past, particularly when we went to Europe, so we felt like this really missed the mark. I think our favourite part of the dish was the fries and the poached egg.

For dessert we ordered a matcha parfait with cookies and chocolate. It came with a massive and fluffy cloud of fairy floss attached to it! I haven’t had fairy floss in so long and it tasted amazing, so light and airy and just the right amount of sweetness. The parfait itself had good strong matcha and chocolate flavours to it.

Overall the lobster ramen broth was probably the highlight as that was full of flavour, along with the ramen noodles. The cocktails and dessert were also very enjoyable. Seafood is such a delicate thing to cook so I think they just need to make sure it is cooked perfectly, especially if it’s going to be part of their signature dishes.

Unabara Lobster & Oyster Bar (Melbourne Central)
Approx $35 AUD per person
Address: Melbourne Central, L01/157 La Trobre St
Phone: +61 3 9922 1100
Website: unabara.com.au

Unabara Lobster & Oyster Bar Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Wasshoi

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Middletown

Middletown is a brunch cafe located on High Street in Prahran (yes once again we’ve been frequenting Prahran!). The cafe itself is a very modern, spacious yet welcoming place with large floor to ceiling windows allowing for ample of natural light. Think also lots of white and light timber colours with a splash of navy to add to the modern look.

Staff were super friendly and seated us right away. On this occasion Davin ordered the hot smoked salmon on rye toast with beetroot relish, dill creme fraiche, poached egg, pickled fennel and pea tendril salad. This was a really lovely dish with the exception of the rye toast itself being very burnt and charred. However a brief mention of this to one of the workers and they swiftly organised for another piece of toast plus an apology so all was well again.

I ordered the duck and waffles, because how often do you see duck and waffles on a menu?! I had no regrets with my decision because it was delicious! It was a crispy confit duck leg with herb and cheese waffles! The herb and cheese inside the waffles made it very special and I loved that the waffles stayed nice and crispy, just the way I like it. It also came with a perfectly fried egg on top and with oh so sweet and lovely orange infused maple syrup to dip, AND zucchini and pickled carrot slaw to add a refreshing touch to a complete dish. It was a very generous serving on the plate but I finished it all up because it was so good.

Overall, we will definitely consider coming back to dine here again. The food was great, the service was very good and I loved the ambience and decor of the cafe.

Middletown
Approx $30 AUD per prson
Address: 229 High St, Prahran VIC 3181
Phone +61 3 9530 2288
Website: middletown.com.au

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

Trei Cafe

If you’re looking for a bit of a detox after some days of heavy and unhealthy eating then look no further. Located on a quiet strip of shops on Blackburn Rd in Glen Waverley, Trei is a small cafe offering some very healthy options. For the vegans and vegetarians, the menu has a range of options such as curry lentils, acai smoothie bowls, nourish bowls and mushroom burgers.

On this occasion I ordered my usual latte which was quite good. Davin ordered the Matcha Madness which was DELICIOUS. It had spinach, banana, chia, lime, apple juice, mango and matcha. It had a nice thickness to it and tasted healthy but delicious. We’ve had super healthy juices and smoothies in the past which were healthy yes, but not so tasty and appealing to the taste buds because there was a lack in flavours. However Trei had this down pat here with this drink.

For food Davin ordered the Poke Bowl which had brown rice, sesame kale, pickled cabbage, edamame, carrot, avocado and chilli sesame dressing. He also added salmon as an extra option. Again the bowl came out looking so healthy for the body. One would think that something that healthy would not taste good but nah uh! That sesame dressing was amazing and added just the perfect amount of flavour to everything in the bowl to make it a really enjoyable dish!

I probably ordered the more unhealthy dish out of the two of us and got the eggs benedict with pulled pork, grilled asparagus, and apple cider hollandaise sauce on sourdough bread. The eggs were poached perfectly, the pulled pork was flavoured well but there was a lot of it. I probably could have done with less meat, they were very generous with it. I love hollandaise sauce in general but the apple cider made it very special and I quite liked it. Add the perfect crunchiness of the grilled asparagus to it and it was a pretty complete dish.

The service was overall quite good and the food came out fairly quickly. This is a place we will visit again and probably often because of their guilt free healthy yet tasty dishes!

Trei Cafe
Approx $25 AUD per person
Address: 232 Blackburn Rd, Glen Waverley VIC 3150
Phone +61 3 9802 0960

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

Ribs & Burgers (Hawthorn)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Holla

Recently we were invited to dine at Holla for brunch. Located in Richmond, we were warmly welcomed and seated at a nice corner table at the front of the cafe giving us a view of the rest of the place. I instantly liked the decor. It looked modern with high ceilings with white wooden beams and an abundance of green plants and lights hanging from above. Wooden tables with black trimmings throughout the restaurant finished the touches of a lovely cafe.

We started off with a couple of cocktails. Davin ordered the Bramble which had gin, blackberry, lemon and crushed ice. I ordered the Lychee and Chilli Mojito which had bacardi, lychee, lemongrass, Thai basil, mint, lemon and fresh jalapeno. Davin’s cocktail was nice but we both agreed that the Lychee and Chilli Mojito was pretty special. How often do you get a chilli kick in your cocktail? And the lemongrass, basil and mint made it one refreshing drink.

For food we had The Szechuan Scallion which had Szechuan spiced brisket, tofu miso puree, Chinese leaves and shoots, scallion pancake and a fried egg. The flavours were good however we thought the brisket meat itself was quite tough. Perhaps it was the spices that toughened it up but we were expecting the texture to be a lot softer.

We also got the Crab Crumpets which had a whole crispy soft shell crab, kasundi, 2 poached eggs, hollandaise, bacon crumb and avocado crumpets. You have to give them kudos for their creativity and pushing for out of the norm. We thought this was a really nice dish. The crispiness of the soft shell crab was spot on, the kasundi sauce was delicious and we loved those bacon crumb bits.

We ended the meal with a sweet dish, the Croffle S’mores which were croissant waffles (yes you heard right!), with raspberry pistachio parfait, strawberry curd, fresh berries, pistachio crumbs and rose syrup. Croissant waffles are something I’ve been noticing quite a bit lately but I think this was the first time we’ve had a chance to try it. The pistachio parfait was sandwiched between the crispy croissant waffles and it balanced out the sweetness of the rose syrup and strawberry curd. It was a great dish to finish up with.

I also ordered a latte which was served at the right temperature and was strong and not too milky, just the way I like my coffee!

Overall we had a pretty good experience. Staff were super friendly and efficient, ambience was great, and the food and drinks were nice with unique elements incorporated which seemed to work.

Holla
Approx $30 AUD per person
Address: 284 Victoria St, Richmond VIC 3121
Phone: +61 3 8394 3487
Website: hollamelbourne.com.au

Holla Coffee Roasters Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Rock Sugar

We were recently invited to dine at Rock Sugar, located in South Yarra and were happy to accept given the hype we’ve been hearing about it. Upon entering we were instantly welcomed with pink neon lights and Britney Spears – Stronger playing in the background. Those two nostalgic factors alone won me over! Loved the vibe and I’ve always been a R&B girl at heart.

We were seated at a spacious table that juts out from the bar and started off with ordering a couple of their recommended Rocktails. Davin ordered the Elderflower Power which had gin, elderflower, mint, yuzu and butterfly pea flower. I ordered the ‘Chee ‘Chee Martini which had lychee, vodka and sake. Both drinks were delicious and presented beautifully.

Now if you’re looking for authentic Thai cuisine then this is not the place for you because it’s Thai fusion and you need to embrace it! We were overwhelmed with all the great dishes on the menu. We also noted that all peanut ingredients were bolded in the menu which I thought was a great idea. For those who may have allergies, they can easily spot the dishes to avoid.

For starters we ended up ordering a few dishes which included the spiced thai tuna tartare, sriracha butter corn on the cob, smoked ocean trout betel leaf, and the hiramasa kingfish. The raw dishes were fresh and SO appetising! They were modern dishes but the Thai flavours that you know well such as lime, fish sauce and chilli still shined through each of them. The corn on the cob was delicious and you could really taste the sriracha with every bite.

For mains we ordered the red curry with a duck leg, pineapple, young bamboo, snake bean and asparagus. The flavours of the red curry was spot on, the vegetables were still crunchy and just the way we like it. We’ve never had asparagus before in a Thai curry so that was new for us. We could have done with a bit more duck than just the leg because we felt like there wasn’t much meat to share. Other than that it was a lovely dish.

We also ordered the pork belly as the second main to share. The pork itself had pretty much over 70% of that lovely melt in your mouth fat. The combination of that and the nam prik hot sauce went well together.

After all that we decided to share one dessert between us and ordered the Mango Tango which included coconut panna cotta with peanut and almond cookie crumble. This was a beautifully presented dish and so easy to eat. It was light and wasn’t too sweet. We loved it and it was the perfect finish to a great meal!

Overall we loved their interesting, Thai fusion dishes and the vibe of the restaurant itself. Highly recommend if you’re looking for some great food and drinks that may be a bit different to what you’re normally used to.

Rock Sugar
Approx $50 AUD per person
Address: 477 Malvern Rd, South Yarra VIC 3141
Phone: +61 3 9826 2688
Website: rocksugar.com.au

Rock Sugar Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Smiles of Melbourne

This post is not the write up you would be generally used to as we normally shower you with food photos and share our culinary adventures. But recently I was invited by Smiles of Melbourne to experience an in-chair teeth whitening session and so I thought I would share my experience with you. All that eating and drinking can take a toll on our teeth and so I decided to check it out!

I’ve never done teeth whitening before so was quite curious to how it would work. Upon entering the Smiles of Melbourne clinic in Toorak, I was warmly greeted at reception and asked to fill out a form with my personal details on an iPad. I was also given a bottle of water with my name on it. Cool! Not long after, I was greeted by their principle dentist, Dr Georgy who took me into their treatment room.

Dr Georgy was quiet spoken, polite and very thorough when he talked me through the process. He was very patient with my questions and went through a list of things to ensure I understood the treatment. Then I sat back in the chair and a plastic apparatus was placed in my mouth to keep my front teeth exposed. They ensure to cover everything else such as my lips, gums, cheeks etc. and even placed some Vaseline on my lips to keep them from getting dry and chapped. They then put this gel on my teeth and place a light over it for two sets of 15 minutes.

I learnt that the whitening works by opening up the pores in the teeth and then it breaks down and takes out the stains on the teeth. So surprisingly it doesn’t artificially whiten or leave anything behind on the teeth or damage the enamel. For half an hour I pretty much lay there and had a bit of a nap. Someone came in every few minutes to check up on me and make sure I was fine. Before I knew it, the treatment was done. I was asked to rinse my mouth with water and was pre-warned that my teeth might feel quite dry at the start but that it would eventually go back to normal. For me personally, my teeth didn’t stay dry for very long at all and after a few hours it felt normal again.

When I first looked at them in the mirror I noticed some white patches on some of my teeth but was told that they would eventually disappear. They were right because about 24 hours after the treatment I could see they looked whiter and the patches were gone. I was also pleased that it didn’t look too artificially white and it looked very natural. I’m not sure if it’s quite clear in the photos but I’ve taken a before and after photo of my teeth (please excuse my natural crooked smile!).

Before treatment

 

After treatment

What I also noticed was that it was quite visibly whiter after the 24 hours. It was hard for me to tell straight after the treatment and the photos probably don’t show it as well but Davin noticed it straight away when he saw me. They also explained that the whitening can last from about 6 – 12 months but of course it’s all about how much you look after your teeth, i.e. brushing it regularly and avoiding dark liquids such as coffee, tea and red wine particularly in the first 4 days after treatment.

I also got an email and a couple of follow up calls following my treatment to make sure everything was okay. I thought the whole experience and process went very smoothly. I felt really comfortable and their focus on customer service really shows with the thorough consultation and regular follow ups. I would certainly consider coming back if I ever want to have my teeth whitened again particularly for a special event.

Smiles of Melbourne
Address: 2/44 Ross St, Toorak VIC 3142
Phone: +61 3 9852 4561
Website: smilesofmelbourne.com.au