Oyster

Introduction: In the premises previously occupied by Lantana at 35 Little Bourke St The restaurant has been opened up and greatly brightened by it's new proprietors
Ambience: Has the feeling of a good class establishment
Service: Attractive waitresses provide information and prompt service
Food: Entrees were large and tasty The lobter rissotto a full meal size serve. The crab pasta also excellent.
We tried four mains. The Hapuka, then slow cooked lamb shanks, the sirloin and the porterhouse steak. All were very well prepared with good size side dishes of chips and spinach with crunchy almond chips made for an excellent meal
Wine: We celebrated with a Bellusi Prosecco - Sweeter than usual but very satisfactory at $38 They have a BYO policy $15 / bottle except on Saturday but they have an adequate list for ordinary consumption
Price: Entrees about $16, mains about $32
Comment: An improvement on Lantana which was pretty good. Deserves to succed
Score 15/20

New Royal Garden

Introduction: On corner of High St Rd and Blackburn Rd, Syndal
Ambience: Always crowdwd and bustling
Service: As efficient as it can be
Food: There is an a la carte menu and a reasonably priced takeaway menu but we went for the Yum Cha (7 days a week) They have a good variety of dishes. I particulrly liked the roast suckling pig and the pork stuffed eggplant. unfortunately I felt the majority of the dishes I tested were somewhat lacking in taste. The sesame prawn toast was luke warm as were the spring rolls and also tasted the worse for that. The sago pudding dessert was also a disappointment Our host, Bang Chua was extremely accomodating and re deep fried the spring rolls but it should not have been necessary
Wine: BYO or licenced
Price: About $25 will get you a pretty good meal
Comments: A long time favourite with a large Chinese clientelle failed to please me on this occassion.
Score: 13.5/20

Le Petit Bourgeois

Introduction: A small surprisingly good suburban French restaurant at 330 Waverley Rd, E Malvern
Ambience: Pleasantly decorated, well spaced tables, gave me the feeling that this was a nice place to be. A homely atmosphere
Service: We were well looked after by the wife of the chef
Food: Classical french style. The menu is not large with interesting meat and fish dihes. For entrees ($15)the Scallops in a rich cream sauce were excellent but surpassed by the crab presented 3 ways
Mains ($26) the Kangaroo was outstanding the lamb excellent and the confit of duck about average.
Desserts ($11) also very good both the souffle and the Il flottante worth having for the sweet toothed
Wine: BYO corkage $3/person They have a small list at reasonable prices
Price: 3 courses are about $60/head
Comments: Well worth a second visit. I really liked it
Score: 15/20

Donavans

Introduction: On the foreshore at 40 Jacka Boulevard, almost directly behind Luna Park with pleasing views over the Bay from most tables.
Ambience: This is a comfortably appointed relaxed homely restaurant.
Service: Unhurried, informed, unobtrusive and obliging
Food: For starters, at around $19, we loved the crispy soft shell crab with (not very) spicy pork sausage, baby leaves baked beans and caper vinaigrette. Not so much to my taste were the black mussels 'acqua pazza' steamed with white wine, tomato, fennel seed and parsley.
For mains (around $37) I tried the whole baby snapper, perfectly cooked, the barbecue lamb rump, with creamy mash, baby vegetables, lentils in a rosemary garlic jus also excellent. The Queensland leader prawn are very large but still require some dissecting skills to get the most from them. I also tasted the Battered King George whiting and the Roasted best end veal which wre all to be recommended. After all this I tried only one dessert (mostly $16.5) from the very attravtive list - the Cappuchino creme brulee with zabaglione and a sugar pastry twist. This bears little resemblance to a classical creme brulee but nonetheless had a lovely creamy texture and pleasing coffee taste
Wine: There is an extensive list from about $40 upwards with many French, Spanish and Italian as well as Australian wines. The Yarra Valley is surprisingly underrepresented in the red wine sections. We enjoyed a Margaret River, Franklin Station, Cab Sav Merlot
Price: Upwards of $55/head
Comments: One of Melbournes best restaurants One surprise their chips are actually pieces of roast potato!!
Score: 16/20

Tien Tien

Introduction: A Vietnamese restauant with two sites. We visited the Barkly St St.Kilda establishment
Ambience: Set in a large, noisy, barely furnished room not really distinguishable from dozens of other restaurants of this type simple but quite pleasant
Service: Unexceptional - not at all bad but not particularly good
Food: Wide range of entrees and mains with chefs' specials on blackboards on the walls. Stuffed eggplant ($6) drenched in a heavy black bean sauce lacked taste however the Lettuce Bun, another name for san chao bao, with plum sauce was very good as were the spring rolls. The garlic prawns were also reasonably tasty.
The deep fried flounder ($19.5) was cooked to a crisp so it was hard to find any fish! They have a "Must Try" (which is always a Mekong River dish) in each section of the menu. Seduced by this I tried their Mekong River Beef which was a slices of beef and pieces of tomato and peppers in a mild chilli sauce - hardly spectacular!!
Wine: They have a reasonable but also unexciting list. BYO corkage $2.5 per bottle.
Price: Entrees about $6 Mains about $18
Comments: A reasonable suburban Vietnamese restaurant Amused to see the Vegetarian section Mekong River -Must Try dish has a footnote Not recommended for vegetarians!!!!
Score: 13/20

Vao Doi

Introduction: At 300 High St. Kew. Apparently the name means "New Start" which it was for the owners when they originally set up the restaurant in Victoria Street
Ambience: A big bustling rather peculiarly decorated restaurant
Service: Nothing special
Food: This is sort of 'upper class' Vietnamese at slightly higher prices for those in the neighbourhood who can afford not to go to Victoria Street
Rice paper pork and prawn rolls $7 are a nice appetizer but I preferred the South Vietnamese sugar cane prawns $17 for four. The roast quail is also excellent. We thoroughly enjoyed the southern beef and coleslaw salad. I found the ginger duck casserole disappointing - it was hard to tell that it really was a duck. Both the grilled pork with rice noodle cake and the chicken with basil and cashews were reasonable without being exciting.
Wine: They have quite an extensive wine list for a Vietnamese restaurant or BYO
Price: Entrees about $7 mains about $18 to $25
Comments: Upmarket Vietnamese
Score: 14/20

Tiamo2

Introduction: Owned by next door restaurant (Tiamo) at 330 Lygon St Carlton where Cafe culture is booming
Ambience: It's a cafe/restaurant and has no pretensions to be otherwise
Service: OK
Food: Really tasty. Seperate kitchen from Tiamo. The duck and mushroom risotto was very good, the tortellini tartuffo excellent and the spaghetti don giovanni, really marinara, also very good
Wine: Very limited list. BYO if you want anything special
PriceVery reasonable - around $15 for mains
Comments: Excellent for a spot of lunch
Score:14/20

France Soir

Introduction: Long regarded as one of Melbournes finest French restaurants, France Soir continues to thrive at 11 Toorak Rd South Yarra
Ambience: Noisy crowded and bustling, filled with vitality. Heavy paper sheets cover the table cloths. Solid unexciting cutlery and no side plates make for considerably more space on the tables
Service: Efficient and friendly. Our obviously French waiter provided accurate explanations with some difficulty above the noise
Food: The menu is extensive and I will have to sample more of it. Last night we started with an very good entree of mussels mariniere in an excellent white wine sauce and a prawn quennelle in a superb cream sauce. Unfortunately the quennelles were much too firm. The roast pigeon with petit legumes in a light slightly sweet red sauce was beautifully prepared as was the roast duck served with a large bowl of pomme friites
The creme brullee, an extremely difficult dessert to get just right, proved to be too creamy and rather disappointing
Wine: Probably the best wine list in Victoria. It is presented in a large leather bound book!! We enjoyed a 2004 Palliser Pinot Gris BYO $10/bottle corkage but not on Saturday
Price: Very reasonable at about $55 for two courses for two
Comments: Traditional French without too many frills. The kitchen stays open 'till midnight so you can still get a good meal at 11.30 or even later
Revisited:
My estimation of France Soir has risen! The tripe in wine sauce was super - tender and very good taste, the rabbit casserole as good as any I have ever eaten. Tender not at all dry and with an excellent jus. The 'Filet de Boeuf' served warm blue, as ordered (most unusual in my experience) was also really excellent and the Il flottante dessert an improvement on the creme brullee
Revisited again! And not disappointed at all!!
Snails in garlic butter were unusually tender and tasty - not at all tough. Whole snapper retained its moistness and delicacy, Duck in orange sauce as good as it gets Filet of Hapuka also cooked perfectly. Side dishes are generous Beans in a butter sauce lightly cooked, spinach - satisfying for the most discriminating diner
Tart tatin excellent as was crepe suzzette
A Vouvray Pinot Noir ($55) went well with everything
Score: 16.5/20

Flower Drum

Not often you get an opportunity to eat at the flower drum where you are happy to pick up the Tab. As part of the International food and wine festival they put on a $49.50 lunch with 3 courses and a fruit platter plus t&c. We started with the Quail san choi bow which had a delicate yet rich flavour unusual for quail and quite delicious. Next came the famous peking duck, with 2 or 3 succulent portions which “melted in your mouth” Then the eye fillet neatly cut into 4 strips of 2cm width. Once again the taste and tenderness of the meat was almost orgasmic! The fruit platter contained many rare and unusual fruits, unfortunately there was not one of each to go round!
Lunch with mates at the flower drum on a postman’s salary…What more could you ask for!
Contributed by PR

Budapest

Introduction: Around the corner from the Classic Cinema in Glenhuntly Rd Elsternwick
Ambience: Nothing special. Plain tables and chairs. Plain decor
ServiceAmateurish but the girls were sweet!
Food: The Bakonyi soup was tasty and full of goodies a kind of Hungarian minestrone. Unfortunately everything else we tried was in a taste free zone. The smoked pork hock was cooked to tender perfection but had NO flavour at all, the roast duck similar, the goulash equally dissapoiting. Only the crumbed chicken livers were worth eating. Large serves, Side dishes creamed spinach, red cabbage and chips were all the best part of the meal.
Wine: BYO Corkage $5 They have a very limited wine list
Price: Around $50 for two
Comments: Perhaps we should have had schnitzel
Score: 12/20

Cafe Qua

Introduction: Along with Batch, Wallah, Boccone, The Ugly Sister and half a dozen others this cafe competes for the breakfast (all day) trade on Balaclava Road
Ambience: Cafe style
Service: Undistiguished, not bad
Food: The serves are substantial the quality fair. The Eggs Qua, really eggs Benedict, well covered in Hollandaise sauce almost certainly from a packet. The Big Breafast, 2 eggs, fried scrambled or poached, on toast, hash brown, fried tomatoes and mushrooms was very satisfying. They also serve pasta's
Price: around $12 to $15 with some cheaper snacks.
Comments: quite a good place for a light meal
Score: 13/20

L'Oustal

Introduction: A recent addition to the Albert Park restaurant scene at 166 Bridport St.
Ambience: Dark wood panelling give an old world feeling enhanced on the night we were there with quiet, pleasant music from the 60's. The white tablecloths with red stripes and matching servettes are very French
Service: Waitresses in all black add to the atmosphere. Efficient, they gave full explanations on request.
Food: Began with a small dish of Tete de Veau and sliced pickled gherkins courtesy of the Chef. The duck breast entree was nice without being special. They have some unusual things on the menu including saddle of rabbit with some offal and a lamb kidney and sweatbread dish which I ordered. It came in a rich red wine jus and was beautifully prepared. The Angus beef steak was tender and came warm blue as requested. The Creme brulee was unusually excellent and the chaboste a champaigne mousse on special was exquisite
Wine> BYO night is Tuesday corkage $10 otherwise corkage $25! Small range of wines by the glass at about $8 and modest list otherwise. Cocktails $10 but theie Bellini was nothing like the real thing
PriceEntrees about $15 mains about $30 desserts about $15. We paid $146 for two
Comments: Well above average suburban French restaurant
Score: 14/20