The Fish & Burger Co.

We were recently invited to the VIP launch dinner at The Fish & Burger Co. in Doncaster. The restaurant was rocking when we arrived and it was very modern and spacious with plenty of tables and chairs.

We were provided with a range of different dishes to try which included the beef, chicken and prawn sliders, mac and cheese croquettes, nacho waffle fries, chilli cheese fries, crispy fried chicken, grilled calamari and salads.

The sliders were delicious and so easily scoffable! The chicken sliders were particularly good as the chicken was crumbed with a nice slaw and ranch sauce.

We also loved the mac and cheese croquettes. They came out piping hot, crispy on the outside and oozing of the lovely mac and cheese components on the inside.

The chilli cheese fries were also nice and full of flavour. It had large chunks of jalapenos and spring onion throughout and the chips also came out fresh and crispy. The nacho waffle fries were a bit too soft and doughy for us so we much preferred the fries.

Our least favourite dish was probably the fried chicken as it was quite salty. It had a sweet and spicy marinade with sesame seeds, spring onion and a chilli mayo sauce. However all we could taste was the salt.

There are a range of salads to choose from and we had the quinoa, pumpkin and pomegranate salad and the kale and roasted sesame salad which are both good options if you are looking for something a bit healthier.

We were also invited to try their mains which included burgers and seafood plates however we were too full after trying their smaller dishes so we moved straight onto dessert!

Right at the front of the restaurant and as soon as you enter, there is a gelato and shake bar for those with a sweet tooth. I ended up getting the expresso gelato in a cup and Davin ordered the lemon sorbet in a cup. The gelatos were nice but probably a bit sweeter than the gelatos we’re used to. Having said that we are not the biggest sweet tooths so some may love that it’s sweeter. Overall if you’re looking for a cool place to hang out and enjoy some burgers, seafood and gelato, check it out!

The Fish & Burger Co.
Approx $40 AUD per person
Address: 1001 Doncaster Rd, Doncaster East VIC 3109
Phone: +61 3 9842 1011
Website: thefishandburgerco.com

The Fish & Burger Co Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

@ The Catch Carnegie

We were recently invited to @ The Catch Carnegie, a fish and chip shop which has a small dining area for customers to dine in if they don’t want to take away. Upon arriving, we were warmly greeted by all the workers and seated straight away by Nick in the lovely and casual dining space. Nick set down the menus for us to peruse and gave us a bit of a background regarding their business which is family owned, and focused on fish and chips with some modern touches.

We started off with some fish cakes. Now firstly, let me say that I am generally not a fish cakes type of person. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve been known to eat anything and everything. But I’ve never thought, ‘hey I feel like some fish cakes’. They’re not my favourite thing and I’ve never come across any that have really wowed me. But this perception of fish cakes all changed when I tried theirs. They have two varieties, an Asian inspired one, and the Greek style fish cakes. We were able to try both varieties and they were so delicious! The fish cakes were so nice and crispy on the outside, and full of wonderful flavours on the inside. Best fish cakes I’ve ever had! Yes, big call. But true. They also came with homemade dipping sauces that went so well with them. I’ve now converted into a fish cakes person.

The first main we got was the Hook which came with a fish of the day, potato cakes, dim sim, chips and salad. On this occasion we got a lovely NZ Whiting for the fish which was cooked perfectly. The batter was light and crispy, and the fish itself was fresh and plentiful inside the batter. Their thick cut chips were top quality, and their potato cakes were amazing! Again the batter was so crispy on the outside, yet so fluffy and full of potatoes on the inside. So good! It came with a tasty Caesar salad and their homemade aioli sauce.

We also got the Bowler burger, which had a fried fish of the day, lettuce, coleslaw and homemade aioli. The fish in the burger was also just as fresh and the quantity so generous! All the components of the burger went well together and it was so filling.

Overall, we couldn’t fault the food. Everything placed in front of us was fresh, tasty and top quality food. However not only was the food good, but the service was also fantastic there. Every person that walked into their shop received a warm welcoming from all the workers behind the counter. And when Nick spoke to us so passionately about their family business, and how they just love to have fun, talk to customers, and also give to the community, it really showed in their food and service. Highly recommend if you’re ever in the area!

@ The Catch Carnegie
Approx $20 AUD per person
Address: 158 Koornang Rd, Carnegie VIC 3163
Phone: +61 3 9569 0888

@ The Catch Carnegie 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

Kung Fu Burger

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Grill’d (Southland)

You may recall some time ago Davin and I went to Southland to watch Ready Player One (great movie!). Anyway they had movie and meal deals at certain restaurants during that time so Davin picked Laksa King and I chose to eat at Grill’d. If you’re wondering, no we didn’t separate to eat alone. I went with Davin to Laksa King first and watched him eat like the creeper that I apparently am! Well I had a few sips of his wine at least, however the staff were probably thinking I was on some weird diet.

So off we went to Grill’d once Davin was done to claim my movie and meal deal which was free chips with any burger purchase.

Now you need to know that I absolutely LOVE Grill’d. It’s no fine dining restaurant but I love the burgers there and always crave for it. I have been to many burger places in my foodie lifetime however I have always adored Grill’d.

My go to burger is the Simply Grill’d burger which has grass fed lean beef, salad, relish and herbed mayo. I also add tasty cheese to it. The ingredients are always fresh, the beef is flavoured and cooked well, and the relish and herbed mayo is scrumptious. Add the the hot and crunchy bun and it makes it one killer burger! I’ve eaten so many times at Grill’d and they have never let me down.

Their thick cut chips with their signature herb mix is also always so good and I tend to get at least one or two of their chip dips too cause I am a sucker for good dips!

Given we only ordered one meal for myself there aren’t many photos however I’m drooling right now just looking at it. Might need to stop by this weekend to get my fix!

Grill’d (Southland)
Approx $25 AUD per person
Address: Southland Shopping Centre, 1239 Nepean Hwy, Cheltenham VIC 3192
Phone: (03) 9584 4555
Website: grilld.com.au

Grill'd - Southland Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Burger Project

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Butchers Diner

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Cafe Amba

IMG_6317

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!

IMG_6307

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.

IMG_6315

IMG_6320

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!

IMG_6314

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.


IMG_6316

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!

IMG_6312

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