PappaRich (Chadstone)

by Helen Le

PappaRich is a place we think of when we feel like a quick Malaysian meal. There are a number of franchises scattered around Melbourne but the closest one for us these days is the one located just on the outside of Chadstone Shopping Centre.

It’s a casual and spacious setting with plenty of tables and chairs however be warned, you may have to queue up for a table during peak times. The line does go fairly quickly though!

Some of the regular dishes we generally order include the roti canai with curry chicken or tandoori chicken, pappa chicken rice with steamed chicken, dry curry egg noodles with steamed chicken, and the pappa fried mee noodles. The food always comes out fairly quickly and is never short on flavours. The chicken is generally always soft and tender and the portions quite generous.

For drinks we like the Kopi iced coffee, Pappa white iced coffee and the ribena melon. Their drinks are pretty refreshing and never too sweet.

Overall, it’s a decent place to go to when you’re in the mood. I wouldn’t say it’s the best Malaysian food out there however it’ll definitely satisfy that craving!

PappaRich (Chadstone)
Approx $25 AUD per person
Address: F029/Chadstone Shopping Centre F029/1341 Dandenong Rd, Malvern East VIC 3145
Phone: +61 3 9568 3323
Website: papparich.net.au

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

Philippe

by Helen Le

We recently dined at Philippe, a French restaurant by Philippe Mouchel, located in the heart of the Melbourne CBD. We had quite high expectations given his previous restaurant, the Brasserie Philippe Mouchel at Crown was pretty good. Upon entering you are warmly welcomed by a window showcasing some of their quality meats before you are escorted by their friendly staff to your table. It is a formal setting with white table cloths, perfect lighting and large framed mirrors. The night we were there it was quite noisy and rowdy. We also noted that there were a lot of tables squashed in closely together particularly in the back room where we were seated, so you don’t get that spacious feel even though the restaurant itself is quite large.

We decided to order the quail and foie gras parfait with red currant and orange ginger jam, and toasted brioche. We’ve never had quail like this before and found it quite interesting. The parfait didn’t taste too unhealthy and rich like the foie gras that I’m used to and we enjoyed it with the jam and toasted brioche.

The second entree we ordered was the beetroot cured Ora King salmon gravlax, fennel salad, walnut mayonnaise and mushrooms. This was also a very nice dish. The salmon wasn’t too salty and was balanced in flavours with the other ingredients.

For mains we ordered the pan seared wild barramundi with autumn brunoise vegetables, beets and a red wine sauce. This dish was nice but didn’t stand out for me.

Davin ordered the Mayura Station wagyu rump cap with a black pepper sauce. It was cooked medium rare, however the outside was probably seared too much which made it a bit tough to bite into. The sauce was probably the highlight and accentuated the meaty flavour of the steak.

We also got sides for our meals which included the potato gratin and sauteed green beans. The potato gratin was quite mushy and was probably lacking in some flavours. The sauteed green beans were also soft and we generally like our beans crunchy so that was a bit of a let down.

Overall, the restaurant provides for a French experience, however for the price, the quality of the food in general could have been better.

Philippe
Approx $75 AUD per person
Address: 115 Collins St, Melbourne VIC 3000
Phone: +61 3 8394 6625
Website: philipperestaurant.com.au

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

Punjabi Curry Cafe

by Helen Le

We were invited to Punjabi Curry Cafe which is located on the more quiet end of Johnston St in Collingwood so parking was easier to find than expected. On the outside the signage makes it look like any other Indian restaurant. However when you enter, you realise how spacious the restaurant really is! It’s a large modernised space with plentiful tables and chairs, and brick arches opening up to other dining areas.

Staff were very friendly and accommodating, allowing us to pick a seat where there would be ample lighting for our photos. After extensively reviewing the menu, we decided to order a range of dishes to share.

We ordered the Mushroom Chilli House Special from their entree list. This dish had mushrooms tossed with onions and capsicums in a homemade garlic chilli soy sauce. The dish was really flavoured and quite nice however the chilli kick was probably lacking. For a dish called Mushroom Chilli we were just expecting it to pack a bit more of the chilli kick but nonetheless it was a nice dish.

For mains we ordered the Butter Chicken, the Goan Fish curry, and the Aloo Gobi which had cauliflower and potato cooked with cumin and spices. We also ordered the Goat Biryani, a garlic cheese naan and a Keema naan which had lamb minced stuffed in the bread.

I’ve always loved butter chicken and so it’s one of those curries I just have to order every time we have Indian as a comparison to other butter chicken dishes I’ve had in the past. Although the dish looked beautiful, I felt the butter chicken here lacked the tomato flavours and was more on the bland side. Similarly both the Goan Fish curry and the Aloo Gobi tasted fine but it didn’t stand out specifically for us. It felt like they were holding back on the flavours. We expected a party in our mouths of flavours, spices and heat but it was very tame for Indian cuisine. It may be that they’ve had to tone down on the flavours and spices to accommodate for their customer preferences, I’m not sure.

The biryani was flavoured but was quite mushy. We haven’t had biryani that wet and soft before. The garlic cheese naan was flavoured quite nice however wasn’t crispy. Davin had the Keema naan which he didn’t feel was very nice so I stuck to my garlic cheese naan.

Overall the restaurant has a lot of potential as their customer service was very good. Staff were super friendly and efficient. The restaurant has great ambience and the layout makes it a really nice place for groups of people to catch up, or for couples to have a nice intimate meal. We just personally felt like the food could have a bit more of the flavours and spiciness we are generally used to as we think there should be no holding back! But that’s just our humble opinion!

Punjabi Curry Cafe
Approx $30 AUD per person
Address: 87 Johnston St, Collingwood VIC 3066
Phone: +61 3 9419 5307
Website: punjabicurrycafe.com.au

Punjabi Curry Cafe Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato