Rice Workshop (Chadstone)

November 30, 2018November 30, 2018 by Davin Lee

There’s quite a number of Rice Workshop franchises in Melbourne, we’ve been to two of them and the quality had been consistent for both locations. This particular one at Chadstone is in the new food court area and boy does it get hectic here! Chadstone has become so busy and overwhelming that it’s become a get in, get out place for us, because there’s just so many people! Oh well that’s a rant for another day…

Rice Workshop is one of the faster places to get your food even when there’s a queue. Their kitchen works at a quick pace and is great for when you’re starving. Sushi packs would be quicker but the quality here is generally better. My personal favourite here is the salmon don. The salmon is seriously fresh and fatty, taking in some healthy fats is never a bad thing! It’s very scoffable, and I’m always done in less than 10 minutes! There’s way too much rice in the bowl that even I can’t finish it. I think for the quantity of rice, they probably need double the amount of salmon to balance it out. The packet lettuce is nothing to brag about but the corn is a nice touch.

Helen tried their limited edition Michelin chef created roast wagyu beef with truffle aioli sauce. I think if anyone wants a Michelin experience that they should go to a Michelin starred restaurant, at the location which they obtained the star. It Sounds a bit snobbish, but unfortunately that’s the deal, not going to sugar coat it. The waygu beef had lost the texture and taste of wagyu beef, and what little taste it had left was overtaken by the truffle aioli sauce. They literally smothered the whole bowl with it! The egg was cooked well though, still runny inside. I’ve got to give them credit for trying, but this dish missed the mark.

This is a good place to come for a quick bite before moving on at Chadstone. It’s one of my go to places at food courts. Last time I had some of their fried chicken at the Westfield Knox franchise, and that was decent too. I saw someone order a bento box from here and it looked pretty awesome, I’ll check that out next time!

Rice Workshop
Approx $20 AUD per person
Address: Chadstone Shopping Centre, Lower Ground
Phone: +61 3 8609 8221
Website: riceworkshop.com.au

The Cricketer’s Neighbourhood Eatery

November 26, 2018 by Davin Lee

When we were invited to The Cricketer’s Neighbourhood Eatery, we had one big question on our minds – are these guys a pub? The name hints it’s a pub, and numerous sources online also describe these guys as a pub. Now you’re probably wondering… “why the hell does it matter whether these guys are a pub or not!?!?”. Allow me to borrow a verse from Wham! – Last Christmas, ‘Once bitten and twice shy’. We had experienced some less than ideal meals from pubs in the past, so we were a bit doubtful to say the least. Well let me tell you, it has never felt so good to be so wrong. We had a fabulous experience here at The Cricketer’s!

The menu looked amazing, there were so many foods on there which we wanted. We realised that this could be something special, so we ordered some fancy shmancy drinks in anticipation, an Old Fashioned and a Perrier-Jouët Grand Brut. We kick started the night with some char-grilled corn cobs. These cobs were sweet and juicy, and the combination of brown butter, feta cheese and lime mayo was just what the doctor ordered. They must have used a really high quality feta cheese because it was delicate and not salty at all, very enjoyable!

Helen and I decided to share a barramundi fillet and a hanger steak. We also got a serve of organic sautéed greens and a baked Mac ‘n’ cheese to go with it. The barramundi fillet was absolutely divine! Crispy skin, perfect doneness inside, and the Beurre blanc sauce was so good we couldn’t stop sipping on it! This was one of the best barramundis I’ve ever had and it tasted like it belonged in a fine dining restaurant. The hanger steak was also cooked perfect medium rare, the chimichurri sauce had a great herb flavour and the chips and salad were both equally high quality. The steak itself was a tad chewy, it could be the cut itself, I’m not too sure as I don’t have hanger steaks often.

The sautéed greens turned out to be broccolini, my favourite! I cook broccolini all the type at home, so I know a great broccolini when I eat one. This one they served had great texture and a garlic and sundried chilli sauce to die for! It was at this moment where we noted that all the sauces here were spectacular, certainly one of their strong points. We felt the Mac ‘n’ cheese didn’t have enough cheese flavour, but the crispy crumb was done beautifully. We finished off the night with a sticky date pudding and what a great choice that ended up to be! It was soft, moist and the caramel sauce wasn’t overbearing like a lot of other ones we’ve had.

A great night overall, the food more than exceeded our expectations and we wouldn’t hesitate to come back. The atmosphere here was lively but wasn’t so loud that we couldn’t have a conversation. Parking was also relatively easy to find which was a huge bonus! We were greeted by a friendly Maine Coon cat on our way back to the car, the cherry on top to go with our dining experience!

The Cricketer’s Neighbourhood Eatery
Approx $40 AUD per person
Address: 69 Cruikshank St, Port Melbourne VIC 3207
Phone: +61 3 9676 2004
Website: thecricketersport.com.au

Matilda 159 Domain

November 25, 2018 by Helen Le

For those of you that know me, you will know that Scott Pickett’s Saint Crispin restaurant has been one of my favourite restaurants for a long time. It’s one of those restaurants that I normally recommend when people ask me where they can get a taste of some quality food with great ambience, that’s not too ridiculously expensive.

So saying I was excited was a real understatement when I found out that Davin had booked for us to dine at Scott’s newest restaurant, Matilda 159 for my birthday. Located in South Yarra, where Saint Crispin is more upscale, this particular restaurant has a focus on food cooked over open fire and hot coals providing a more casual and feeling of comfort.

We were seated at the lovely bar where we could watch the bartender work away on mixing cocktails and drinks. We ordered some red wine and perused the menu. Everything looked amazing on the menu and I wanted to try it all! But we finally settled on a few starters which included some oysters with bone marrow crust, a salmon roe tartlet with bonito cream and the ox tongue with horseradish and sauce gribiche. Not surprisingly, every dish was assembled together with so much precision and care. They were beautiful dishes visually and tasted even better!

We also ordered the kangaroo tartare and dressed spanner crab with prawn butter and flat bread. The tartare was really good, but the spanner crab was the true highlight. It was so deliciously soft, juicy and buttery. We couldn’t get enough of it and felt like we needed one each!

For mains, we ordered the whole tiger flathead with fennel and squid ink, and the Rangers Valley wagyu bavette 7+ with burnt carrot and wattleseed. We also ordered some broccolini with aged cheddar and marble potatoes cooked in hay for side dishes. We couldn’t really fault any of the dishes. They were perfect in flavour and presentation. The fish was cooked well and wasn’t dry, the beef had just the right pinkness inside. All the carefully chosen ingredients to complement the mains went so well together.

Finally for dessert, we could not resist ordering their popular Pink Lady apple tarte tatin with smoked vanilla bean because it was all we could smell throughout the night! It was the most amazing, sweet and buttery pastry smell that kept wafting by us every time someone would walk by to serve this dessert. And when it was finally placed in front of us, it did not disappoint! The pastry was so crispy and light. The sweetness of the apples and the smoked vanilla bean made each bite heaven!

Overall we had such a great experience. From the food and ambience, to the service. It was amazing and we will definitely be back!