Rice Workshop (Chadstone)

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

Rice Workshop Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

PappaRich (Chadstone)

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

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