En Izakaya (Balaclava) 04/2017

This could be called our local Japanese restaurant. It's the nearest to where we live, barely over a kilometre from home. We eat here several times a year and have reviewed it twice before see  http://1001dinners.blogspot.com.au/search?q=en+izakaya
Virtually nothing has changed.
We started with an attractively presented eel sushi.

This was very tasty accompanied by excellent sweet pickled ginger.
These sticky rice balls 

look exactly like what we had years ago but today they incorporated chicken and eel instead of beef.
An eggplant and tofu dish was new to me.
This is a pic from 2014 which shows an identical dish, seen in the next pic, served today. It is a cold dish of thin sliced wagu on a block of fine silken tofu topped with sour cabbage and a slice of garlic. 
 Not only is the dish identical,

but my view of it remains the same. I remain unimpressed by the wagu but the total dish was very good, particularly because of the fine tofu.
Eggplant with tofu was another unusual presentation 

with the roasted eggplant in broad slices interspersed with tofu, topped with see weed. A nice dish but not outstanding
Sashimi was fairly standard

but the fish was a bit thickly sliced. 
Score:13.5/20 (Previously we scored them 13.5 and 13.75)

The Province (Mildura) 04/2017

There are a few restaurants scattered around Mildura but the majority of them are in Langtree Street, which is quite central, or very near by. They range from the very ordinary to the very good. Province purports to be towards the  top of the range. It has an air of quality. The room is carpeted. Tables have white cloths under butcher paper and linen napkins.

Decor is inoffensive with

a nice flower arrangement at one end of the room.

The menu is not large, about half a dozen entrees, called Antipasti, around $18, except for a shared platter of charcuterie, half a dozen pastas, $18/38 and half a dozen mains, called Secondi, $35 to $37 except for the Bistecca alla Florentine ($45)  but there is enough variety there.

There are a lot of things that are a bit off centre for many people that I particularly like such as tripe, sweetbreads, tongue, brains and eel so I was especially pleased to see an entree featuring smoked eel, house made creamed ricotta, caviar, squid ink and crostini. ($18)

It was beautifully presented. 

Unfortunately what I expected to be the hero of the dish, the eel, was almost undetectable and when I did get a bit of it the smoky part was only on the menu and not on the dish! The cheese was bland, the crostini, a couple of thin toasted slices of bread brushed with olive oil, didn't help much and the squid ink paste was really all for show. Italian bread, whatever that means, perhaps ciabatta, ($10) was on the menu but otherwise bread was not served.

My main course, lamb neck, ($38), 

also very nicely presented, served rare, as requested, it was adorned with baby peas, a little garlic puree and cherry tomatoes accompanied by a light, very tasty jus.

Unlike the entree it was excellent. Not enough for a filling meal but I wanted to get back to see something on TV so I called it a night. 
A bit on the expensive side and a little inconsistent.

Score almost 14/20

Pizza Cafe at The Grand (Mildura) 04/2017

This busy cafe/restaurant is split between three areas - a simple cafe style area, 

an outdoor dining area and a slightly more upmarket room featuring cloth covered tables. Except for the dot painting above virtually all the decor featured the symbolic pizza man. 

Some of the walls feature large boards with their wines, of which there was quite a good selection by the glass, at very reasonable prices.

Apart from their wood fired pizza's they also feature a range of pasta dishes and a few salads and I felt like having pasta.
One of their specials was fettucini with bacon, spinach and leek.

 I would have liked the fettucini to be thinner. It's not made in house so I guess they might consider some other brand. Although I didn't notice any leek the cream sauce was delicious, the taste improved by the parmigiana.
Comments: A good place for a quick meal, eat in or take away.
Score:13.5 /20

Pacific House (South Yarra) 03/2017

Pacific House has been around for a long time serving a large variety of Chinese food, especially sea food in a simple unpretentious environment. 

It's family friendly, always busy and noisy. It does empty out a lot and quietens down about 9.30 pm.

The walls are 'decorated' with menu items in Chinese.

We started with a simple soup  

which was nothing special.
Our next course, prawn dumplings,

were excellent. A good size, well filled with prawns and the pastry perfectly cooked.
Scallops in a pastry casing were also large and sweet,

however the pastry was a tiny bit undercooked and claggy.
Salt and pepper calamari were tender with a crunchy, spicy accompaniment.

Fried rice was what one would expect.

The best dishes we had were the whole fish. They had barramundi, mahwong, coral trout and parrot fish. Both the barramundi 

and the parrot fish

 

were perfectly prepared, moist and delicate. Could not have been better.

They have an indifferent wine list.

There is 1.5% surcharge for credit cards 

 Comments: A better than average quality suburban Chinese restaurant with a large menu served in simple surroundings.

Score:14 /20

Stefano's Restaurant (Mildura) 03/2017

When I told Stefano I fasted all day to better enjoy his food he said "It's just Italian food" Well maybe.
Set up in  the cellar of The Grand Hotel the venue hasn't changed noticeably in the last 20 years. It has a narrow passage way set up with tables for two opening into a comfortable room with larger cloth covered tables.  

Meals are served to the accompaniment of opera played quietly in the background. A nice change.
Warm crusty bread and oil arrived early.

The meal started with ox tongue served on mayonnaise in a crisp tart base with salsa verde and capers giving a very nice flavour to the dish.

This was followed by Port Lincoln mussels in an organic tomato sauce. The mussels were plump and tasty, every on open and perfectly cooked, again very well seasoned.

Feftuccini with duck liver in a white sauce was a mild dish the liver exceptional.

The main dish was osso bucco in a rich sauce. It came with risotto which I would have liked cooked for another minute or two, asparagus, red and yellow peppers and onion. Stefano said, "It's Italian" clearly that's how he wanted it.

Dessert was a vanilla panna cotts with a raspberry coolie and a slice of mango.

I enjoyed a local vermentino which matched the food very well, especially the osso bucco.

Comments: This must be the best restaurant in this region. The food is very well prepared, excellently seasoned and flavoursome.
Score:16.5 /20

Rendezvous Restaurant (Mildura) 03/2017

Among the premier restaurants in Milldura Rendezvous suffered the indignity of forgetting to renew their liquor licence and then also getting fined for serving alcohol without a licence. After some delay they are hoping to get it back next week. They are able to operate as a restaurant and i was fortunate to be able to have a meal there at a function, where they served meals from their regular menu.
It's a nice venue exuding an air of quality.

We started with a Charcuterie platter with crumbed calamari and scallops, pate, prosciuto,  pesto, fetta, olives, sausage and biscuits and a dip.

It was a very nice start to a meal. Perhaps the crumbed items could have been crisper but for the rest everything was excellent.
An entree of quail was well seasoned with a slice of lemon if one wanted more of that. This was followed by a choice of rack of lamb, or stuffed chicken supreme or salmon or a vegetarian option.

I never order salmon at meetings because it is invariably over cooked, as was the case here, however I requested the lamb rack rare and they served it rare. You could say a rare pleasure!
Dessert was a selection of small tastes.

Not ideal for sharing with more than one I think they would have done better to have had a single dessert, or perhaps a choice of two.
Score:14/20

The Bistro (Mildura) 03/2017

Amaru (Armadale - Melbourne) 03/2017

Names are more than just designations. They often have meaning. They may be strong and give their possesor strength, or the converse. Wikipedia tells us that In the mythology of Andean civilizations of South America, the amaro, amaru (quechua) or katari (aymara) is a mythical serpent or dragon. In Inca mythology, the amaru is a huge double-headed serpent that dwells underground.

Kabalarian philosophy is more appealing. It attributes all sorts of characteristics to people as a result of their names, for example:
The name of Amaru gives you a very inquisitive, restless, seeking nature.
You feel impelled by intense desires that you cannot comprehend or satisfy.
You have had the desire to accomplish something outstanding and to do something very worthwhile for humanity, especially early in your life.
 You resent obstacles, delays, and restrictions.
This name gives you ambition, high ideals, and much creative ability, but the intense dynamic nature is too often spent in feelings and in moods, rather than in constructive action.
This name has given you an appreciation for refinement, and the better things in life such as art, music, and literature.
and a few other mostly nice things.
Anyway Amaru is a comfortable restaurant. Decor is pleasant 

with the soft lighting reflected off the ceiling. There is a bar opposite the kitchen with four seats referred to as the chef's table.

These seem more appropriate for Amaru though I doubt they played a part in the choice of the name. 
They have a degustation menu of five courses and two desserts preceded by some inventive amuse bouche.
Everything was unusual, even the pumpkin seed butter. (I think that's what it was.)

Activated Nuts and Seeds / Pickled Vegetables Emulsion

The emulsion disappeared very very quickly. It was delicious.
Onion /Garfish / Smoked Sheep's Yogurt.

Amaru's version of dumplings

Lightly Smoked Duck Ham

These were about a centimetre in diameter. They had the texture of bacon with the taste of duck.
Yellow Fin Tuna / Sweet Ginger / Trout Pearls / Cured Melon Juice

Otway Shitake / Green Onion Oil / Chawanmushi

Mud Crab / Native Cherry / Dessert Lime / Frozen Peanut

Everyone at the table especially liked this dish 
Smoked Prawn / Caramelized Yoghurt / Yeast Oil / Begonia Leaves

This was really fantastic, I've never had a better prepared prawn.
Dry Aged Kangaroo / Raw Liquorice / Blackberries

Dirty Potato

Jonella corn / Frozen Peach / Sunflower Seeds / Verbena
I seem to have missed this pic! Strawberries / Buckwheat / Buffalo Mozzarella / Olive Oil

Passionfruit

Digestive Biscuit

Grass Fed Beef Caramel

Beverages are fairly expensive. I had a sake which was served at room temperature in a wine glass.

It's very difficult to describe a meal like this. It's very unusual, the cooking is unique in terms of the combinations of ingredients and flavours. Presentation is also unusual, the crockery is mostly very plain and could be more appealing.
It suits the adventurous. It's unlikely that many people would like every dish, although I did enjoy nearly all of them. 
Score: 17/20