Introduction: On the corner of Johnston and Wellington St Collingwood this restaurant, which grew out of a coffee lounge, serves Singapore style food. Famed for Hainese chicken rice
Ambience: Remains a restaurant in a coffee lounge. You could call it understated but that would be overstating the case.
Service: Alan Han, the owner also serves. He has a long history in the hospitality business. While his wife cooks he is happy to talk at length about his experiences and about the influences the created the characteristic Singapore food of today
Food: Unfortunately, arriving late, we missed the Hainese Chicken which is descrbed most appealingly on the menu. We started with a Chef's selection entree of Prawn, spring rolls, a small samosa package fried crumbed calamari accompanied by some unusual prawn crackers - a nice start to the meal. The Laksa is really good not overly spiced and the beef rendang was also excellent
BYO $3.50/bottle
Price: Inexpensive. Mains $10 to $19 Cash only but there is an ATM on the premises!
Comments: Very good food at very reasonable prices. I MUST go again to try more of the specialties so glowingly descrbed on the menu
Score: 13.5/20
Monday, October 02, 2006
Chu The
Introduction: A traditional Vietnamese Pho noodle soup shop on Victoria St Richmond
Ambience: Eat and go. No frills
Service: Efficient
Food: Basically a broth spiced with five spice and coriander served in a large bowl filled with noodles and either chicken or beef tho there are some variations. I tried tripe which was tasteless and undercooked.
There is a side plate with bean shoots and mint to add to thje soup
Price: $7 to eat in $8 to take away
Comments: A good place for a quick light meal. Peasant food.
Score: 13/20
Ambience: Eat and go. No frills
Service: Efficient
Food: Basically a broth spiced with five spice and coriander served in a large bowl filled with noodles and either chicken or beef tho there are some variations. I tried tripe which was tasteless and undercooked.
There is a side plate with bean shoots and mint to add to thje soup
Price: $7 to eat in $8 to take away
Comments: A good place for a quick light meal. Peasant food.
Score: 13/20
Lentils as Anything
Introduction: To cheap to get into the Age Cheap 2005 as there are no set prices - pay what you can afford and what you think it's worth!
Ambience: It feels like a squat. Dark, rather dingy, some modern inoffensive background music.
Service: Quite personal and very nice. I was impressed that when I began to ask my waitress Kate some questions she introduced herself, put out her hand and shook hands with me. I had been told it was very slow - not that night.
Food: Organic vegetarian. Substantial serves. I had a warm Vietnamese Salad - red and white cabbage, bean shoots, tofu, crispy noodles lightly spiced w some mild chilli. If this was served on fine crockery in flash surroundings customers would find it very acceptable.
Drinks: There are a variety of soft drinks and Chai available
Price; You decide. There's a large box with a slot in the top - just drop it in. If your lucky you might get a fanfare!
Comments: There are a few of these I went to the one in Blessington St. St. Kilda. If you don't mind going 'down market' in the extreme try it
Score: /1320
Ambience: It feels like a squat. Dark, rather dingy, some modern inoffensive background music.
Service: Quite personal and very nice. I was impressed that when I began to ask my waitress Kate some questions she introduced herself, put out her hand and shook hands with me. I had been told it was very slow - not that night.
Food: Organic vegetarian. Substantial serves. I had a warm Vietnamese Salad - red and white cabbage, bean shoots, tofu, crispy noodles lightly spiced w some mild chilli. If this was served on fine crockery in flash surroundings customers would find it very acceptable.
Drinks: There are a variety of soft drinks and Chai available
Price; You decide. There's a large box with a slot in the top - just drop it in. If your lucky you might get a fanfare!
Comments: There are a few of these I went to the one in Blessington St. St. Kilda. If you don't mind going 'down market' in the extreme try it
Score: /1320
Saturday, September 16, 2006
Three, One, Two
Introduction: Andrew McConnel's restaurant 312 Drummond St Carlton is in fashion just now (Sept 06)
Ambience: The stone floor, black wood half way up the wall and uninspiring stormy long, narrow landscape and old style kitchen chairs did nothing for me tho I did like the lamp fittings
Service: All the four waiters who served us were well presented and informative
Food: We had the degustation menu $90.
First course Cigar - a tube of thin deep fried pastry stuffed with a tomato jelly at one end and eggplant at the other - tiny but very tasty. After a long wait three very small pieces of fish - Kingfish with ? lentils, Mackerel on a semolina biscuit and sour cream and Eel on a beetroot mash. we had been here for well over an hour by now and the dishes began to arrive more quickly
The delicate flavour of crab in the crab broth with cuttlefish, crispy chicken and "aromatics" (coriander) lost out to the powerful flavour of the broth
The roast scampi wrapped in cured pork with almond sauce was delicious but also a very tiny serve
The duck petit sale was perhaps too long in the oven and beginning to get dry and stringy. the half mouthful of foie gras parfait was wonderful but hardly went well with the couple of lightly cooked green beans.
The 6th course grilled veal with soft white polenta and fresh Tasmanian truffles was as tasty as you could ever want but the powerful jus detracted from the dish
The Irish Cashel blue cheese with celery leaves an miniscule amount of cooked apple and two drops of a sweet sauce was lovely as was the last course Chocolate granache, milk sorbet, hazelnut meringue and mandarin sauce.
A la carte entrees are $17 to $20 and include the crab broth, a rabbit terrine, ocean trout or a vegetarian smoked tomato, zucchini flower asparagus, cheese and radish sprout salad
Mains include the duck and the veal that we had and baby snapper vegetarian fricassee ($28 - $34)
Wine: Fully licenced Quite a good wine list. Expensive by the glass. The Domaine Senecheaux Chateauneuf du pape $18 was particularly pleasant
Price: A bit on the expensive side
Comments: We changed tables to try to get away from the noise with little success. Melbourne diners seem to have little consideration for others and this detracts from the enjoyment of the occassion. Overall the meal fell short in too many areas to be really good 'tho there are some excellent tastes
Score: 15 /20
Ambience: The stone floor, black wood half way up the wall and uninspiring stormy long, narrow landscape and old style kitchen chairs did nothing for me tho I did like the lamp fittings
Service: All the four waiters who served us were well presented and informative
Food: We had the degustation menu $90.
First course Cigar - a tube of thin deep fried pastry stuffed with a tomato jelly at one end and eggplant at the other - tiny but very tasty. After a long wait three very small pieces of fish - Kingfish with ? lentils, Mackerel on a semolina biscuit and sour cream and Eel on a beetroot mash. we had been here for well over an hour by now and the dishes began to arrive more quickly
The delicate flavour of crab in the crab broth with cuttlefish, crispy chicken and "aromatics" (coriander) lost out to the powerful flavour of the broth
The roast scampi wrapped in cured pork with almond sauce was delicious but also a very tiny serve
The duck petit sale was perhaps too long in the oven and beginning to get dry and stringy. the half mouthful of foie gras parfait was wonderful but hardly went well with the couple of lightly cooked green beans.
The 6th course grilled veal with soft white polenta and fresh Tasmanian truffles was as tasty as you could ever want but the powerful jus detracted from the dish
The Irish Cashel blue cheese with celery leaves an miniscule amount of cooked apple and two drops of a sweet sauce was lovely as was the last course Chocolate granache, milk sorbet, hazelnut meringue and mandarin sauce.
A la carte entrees are $17 to $20 and include the crab broth, a rabbit terrine, ocean trout or a vegetarian smoked tomato, zucchini flower asparagus, cheese and radish sprout salad
Mains include the duck and the veal that we had and baby snapper vegetarian fricassee ($28 - $34)
Wine: Fully licenced Quite a good wine list. Expensive by the glass. The Domaine Senecheaux Chateauneuf du pape $18 was particularly pleasant
Price: A bit on the expensive side
Comments: We changed tables to try to get away from the noise with little success. Melbourne diners seem to have little consideration for others and this detracts from the enjoyment of the occassion. Overall the meal fell short in too many areas to be really good 'tho there are some excellent tastes
Score: 15 /20
Tuesday, September 05, 2006
Shark Fin Inn City
Introduction; One of Melbournes long time favourite places for Yum Cha at 50-52 Little Bourke St.
Ambience: Typical of all popular Yum Cha restaurants. Good humoured boistrous noisy and crowded
Service: Trolley service with attractive uni student parttime waitrsses adding to the atmosphere. Very good variety. Experienced diners will wait for the dishes they particularly like but you can also, usually, order something 'a la carte'
Food: I did not expect anything special so I was exceptionally pleased with the excellent tastes and combinations. Steamed dim sims with pork and peanuts was outstanding as were the stuffed eggplant and the sessame prawns on toast. There's plenty to please everyone
Wine: They have some reasonabe and inexpensive 'wines of the month' but i settled for
Chinese tea!
Price: We ate like pigs for less than $30 / head
Comments: Not only as good as my previous favourite Yum Cha restaurant but even better!
Score: 16/20
Ambience: Typical of all popular Yum Cha restaurants. Good humoured boistrous noisy and crowded
Service: Trolley service with attractive uni student parttime waitrsses adding to the atmosphere. Very good variety. Experienced diners will wait for the dishes they particularly like but you can also, usually, order something 'a la carte'
Food: I did not expect anything special so I was exceptionally pleased with the excellent tastes and combinations. Steamed dim sims with pork and peanuts was outstanding as were the stuffed eggplant and the sessame prawns on toast. There's plenty to please everyone
Wine: They have some reasonabe and inexpensive 'wines of the month' but i settled for
Chinese tea!
Price: We ate like pigs for less than $30 / head
Comments: Not only as good as my previous favourite Yum Cha restaurant but even better!
Score: 16/20
Sunday, August 13, 2006
Golden Lake
Introduction: At 4/288 Rear Springvale Rd Springvale, adjacent to the Springvale market
Ambience: Pass the hanging roast ducks and the bain marie with chiken feet, tripe lights and othe chinese delicacies to a large pleasant room. Well spaced, White linen, carpeted and comfortable.
Service: S l o w. I did not complain at the unusual result of a request for a glass of house red - a glass filled to a mm from the top.
Food: Had it arrived while still warm I think it would have been quite nice. After a crab and sweetcorn soup that tasted just like a chicken and sweetcorn soup and a dish of overcooked pork spare ribs we had seafood and vegetables in a basket, Crystal prawns, sweet and sour pork in light batter. None of these dishes was worth any special comment
Wine:
BYO extremely limited list including a couple by the glass
Price: Not expensive
Comments:Too many other good places to go to
Score: 12.5/20
Ambience: Pass the hanging roast ducks and the bain marie with chiken feet, tripe lights and othe chinese delicacies to a large pleasant room. Well spaced, White linen, carpeted and comfortable.
Service: S l o w. I did not complain at the unusual result of a request for a glass of house red - a glass filled to a mm from the top.
Food: Had it arrived while still warm I think it would have been quite nice. After a crab and sweetcorn soup that tasted just like a chicken and sweetcorn soup and a dish of overcooked pork spare ribs we had seafood and vegetables in a basket, Crystal prawns, sweet and sour pork in light batter. None of these dishes was worth any special comment
Wine:
BYO extremely limited list including a couple by the glass
Price: Not expensive
Comments:Too many other good places to go to
Score: 12.5/20
Angliss Restaurant
Introduction: A training school for Chefs managers and hospitality hopefuls
Ambience: the doors open promptly at 7.00 for dinner to a large carpeted room with well spaced tables seating up to 12
Service: Perhaps this was an off night or they all started that day. Regardless the very young uniformed waiters really struggled to do even basic tasks like opening wine bottles or pouring without spilling - water or wine!
Food: There is a limited menu that changes every week. All dishes were well presented and looked excellent tho the flavours were not generally up to expectation Pork Belly was the pick of the entrees and the mixed seafood a good second choice. Of the mains the twice cooked duck was undistiguished, the rabbit unfortunately dry, the pasts dish lacked taste altogether.
All the desserts were well prepared and attractive I liked the souffle best
Wine: Very reasonable An Elderton Shiraz was $23!
Price: $28 for 3 courses and coffee, or tea
Comments: Probably better on other nights. The framed photo's of many of Melbournes best chefs in the foyer might have raised my expectations too much
Score: 12.5/20
Ambience: the doors open promptly at 7.00 for dinner to a large carpeted room with well spaced tables seating up to 12
Service: Perhaps this was an off night or they all started that day. Regardless the very young uniformed waiters really struggled to do even basic tasks like opening wine bottles or pouring without spilling - water or wine!
Food: There is a limited menu that changes every week. All dishes were well presented and looked excellent tho the flavours were not generally up to expectation Pork Belly was the pick of the entrees and the mixed seafood a good second choice. Of the mains the twice cooked duck was undistiguished, the rabbit unfortunately dry, the pasts dish lacked taste altogether.
All the desserts were well prepared and attractive I liked the souffle best
Wine: Very reasonable An Elderton Shiraz was $23!
Price: $28 for 3 courses and coffee, or tea
Comments: Probably better on other nights. The framed photo's of many of Melbournes best chefs in the foyer might have raised my expectations too much
Score: 12.5/20
The Brasserie at Crown
Introduction: Phillipe Mouchel's restaurant - a sort of upper class French Bistro
Ambience: Nice river outlook with occassional blasts of heat from the flaming gas jets outside. Feels like it will not be cheap
Service: Attentive - what I expect from a place like this
Food: Fish soup $15.91 was ultimately most notable for the price! Shellfish salad was regretably just OK The Guinea fowl, on special, wrapped in a pastry purse on a bed of lentils was a bit dry, quite tasty but less than excellent, and a rather small course too at $31.81. The porterhouse steak requested warm blue, served rare, was a nice piece of meat but again nothing special. The best dish was the cassoulet $31.82 would you believe. A good example of a French specilaty The side dish of cauliflower in a rich cream sauce $5.00 - no cents (!) was the best value of the meal.
The tasting plate of desserts $20.00 was also a joy to the sweet toothed
Wine: A reasonable list from which you should be able to find something to meet your taste at a fair price We enjoyed a Hollys Pinot Gris 05 for a mere $47.27!!!
Price: Moderately expensive
Comments; I've heard a lot of negative comments about the Brasserie. It's not that bad but it's not that good either The pricing of dishes is incomprehensible
Score:14 /20
Ambience: Nice river outlook with occassional blasts of heat from the flaming gas jets outside. Feels like it will not be cheap
Service: Attentive - what I expect from a place like this
Food: Fish soup $15.91 was ultimately most notable for the price! Shellfish salad was regretably just OK The Guinea fowl, on special, wrapped in a pastry purse on a bed of lentils was a bit dry, quite tasty but less than excellent, and a rather small course too at $31.81. The porterhouse steak requested warm blue, served rare, was a nice piece of meat but again nothing special. The best dish was the cassoulet $31.82 would you believe. A good example of a French specilaty The side dish of cauliflower in a rich cream sauce $5.00 - no cents (!) was the best value of the meal.
The tasting plate of desserts $20.00 was also a joy to the sweet toothed
Wine: A reasonable list from which you should be able to find something to meet your taste at a fair price We enjoyed a Hollys Pinot Gris 05 for a mere $47.27!!!
Price: Moderately expensive
Comments; I've heard a lot of negative comments about the Brasserie. It's not that bad but it's not that good either The pricing of dishes is incomprehensible
Score:14 /20
Wednesday, August 09, 2006
Abacus
Introduction: A suburban gem
Ambience: A comfortable good quality feel about the place. Quiet and relaxing
Service: pleasant and helpful
Food: Remarkable. Although a little over salty the deep fried flounder in a basket of the flounder bones was an excellent dish. The 2 and1/2 pound white crab cooked in rice wine and eggwhite on a bed of noodles was absolutely outstanding. I haven't had food like this in the suburbs ever and will certainly return
Wine: They have some but BYO is preferable
Price: Reasonable We paid $140 for an excellent and very special meal
Comments: Chinese Haute cuisine has come to Malvern
Score: 16/20
Ambience: A comfortable good quality feel about the place. Quiet and relaxing
Service: pleasant and helpful
Food: Remarkable. Although a little over salty the deep fried flounder in a basket of the flounder bones was an excellent dish. The 2 and1/2 pound white crab cooked in rice wine and eggwhite on a bed of noodles was absolutely outstanding. I haven't had food like this in the suburbs ever and will certainly return
Wine: They have some but BYO is preferable
Price: Reasonable We paid $140 for an excellent and very special meal
Comments: Chinese Haute cuisine has come to Malvern
Score: 16/20
Sunday, July 23, 2006
Enlightened Cuisine
Introduction: Chinese Vegan Restaurant at 113 Queensbridge St Southgate
Ambience: Pleasant well spaced tables with linen cloths on the left side of the room and plastic on the right!!
Service: Obliging
Food: Astonishing. I have failed to enjoy mock meat dishes on several past occassions and had no great expectations. I tasted imitation beef, battered sweet and sour pork, duck with vegetables and a fish dish. Not only were the sauces excellent but also the main ingredients were very good imitations of the real thing.
Wine; BYO
Price: Entrees $4 Mains $12 to 19
Comments: Will definitely return. They have an arrangement, and do not charge, for car parking in their secure basement park around the corner. One of the staff will open the door on request.
Score: 15.5/20
Friday, June 30, 2006
Les Boucheries Parisiennes
Introduction: Like a little bit of Paris at 268 Toorak Rd - close to Chapel St Sth Yarra
Ambience: Quite delighted me. Seating less than 30, small tables Subdued paper table coverings, good quality cutlery. The staff dressed in oh so French striped White and Blue uniforms covered by white, off one shoulder, aprons. As seen in an old photo of a, no doubt, Paris "Boucherie.
Service: Our waiter was an amiable fellow but a rank amateur in this business, with a minimum of schoolboy French, though, coming from Berlin, he spoke excellent German!
Food: Tasty bread rolls are kept in calico bags on a hook under the table
This is certainly a specialty meat restaurant. Not one fish dish contaminated the menu.
We skipped the intruder on the entree menu - Tapas 3, 6 or 9 but we could not choose them and went straight for the mains. Several were no longer available including the Ribeye for two and luckily (or not) I got the last rabbit. Well bit of rabbit anyway. The tenderloin, served warm blue, was slightly overcooked and the Bernaise sauce would not pass a cordon blue taste test. The rabbit, served in a La Cruesset pot, surrounded by garlic cloves and a small onion was far to dry.
The mains ($35) came without anything else but the side dishes of French fries, Turnips, and spinach ($7.5) were all really excellent. They are served in very attractive very small La Cruesset pots
The Creme brulee was about as good as it gets
Wine: A modest and slightly expensive list By the glass about $9
Price: On the expensive side at about $80 a head for a not particularly good meal
Comments: Lots of atmosphere
Score: 13.5/20
Ambience: Quite delighted me. Seating less than 30, small tables Subdued paper table coverings, good quality cutlery. The staff dressed in oh so French striped White and Blue uniforms covered by white, off one shoulder, aprons. As seen in an old photo of a, no doubt, Paris "Boucherie.
Service: Our waiter was an amiable fellow but a rank amateur in this business, with a minimum of schoolboy French, though, coming from Berlin, he spoke excellent German!
Food: Tasty bread rolls are kept in calico bags on a hook under the table
This is certainly a specialty meat restaurant. Not one fish dish contaminated the menu.
We skipped the intruder on the entree menu - Tapas 3, 6 or 9 but we could not choose them and went straight for the mains. Several were no longer available including the Ribeye for two and luckily (or not) I got the last rabbit. Well bit of rabbit anyway. The tenderloin, served warm blue, was slightly overcooked and the Bernaise sauce would not pass a cordon blue taste test. The rabbit, served in a La Cruesset pot, surrounded by garlic cloves and a small onion was far to dry.
The mains ($35) came without anything else but the side dishes of French fries, Turnips, and spinach ($7.5) were all really excellent. They are served in very attractive very small La Cruesset pots
The Creme brulee was about as good as it gets
Wine: A modest and slightly expensive list By the glass about $9
Price: On the expensive side at about $80 a head for a not particularly good meal
Comments: Lots of atmosphere
Score: 13.5/20
Bamboo House
Introduction: A long well established China town restaurant at 47 Little Bourke St.
Ambience: An elegant, well spaced facility
Service: Somewhat slow resulting in food being much cooler than I would have liked
Food: A vegetarian San Chow Bao was very pleasing ($7) as was an entree of 6 lightly cooked oysters and 6 delicately prepared steamed scallops ($30) Deep fried soft shell crabs ($7) are much the same everywhere and these were also very acceptable as was tea smoked duck ($33 for a half).
The crab with ginger on a bed of noodles was much to cold tho I wish it had been bigger - a tasty morsel at, I think, $60/kg.
A steamed fish in a light oyster sauce and a serve of chinese mushrooms and mixed vegetables completed a meal just short of being excellent
Wine: Whilst they have a good list you can bring your own which we did -corkage $10
Price: $75 per person gets a pretty good meal
Comments: It took about 20 minutes for steamed rice to arrive after we ordered it. This and the delay between cooking and serving detracted from a very good meal
Score: 15.5/20
Ambience: An elegant, well spaced facility
Service: Somewhat slow resulting in food being much cooler than I would have liked
Food: A vegetarian San Chow Bao was very pleasing ($7) as was an entree of 6 lightly cooked oysters and 6 delicately prepared steamed scallops ($30) Deep fried soft shell crabs ($7) are much the same everywhere and these were also very acceptable as was tea smoked duck ($33 for a half).
The crab with ginger on a bed of noodles was much to cold tho I wish it had been bigger - a tasty morsel at, I think, $60/kg.
A steamed fish in a light oyster sauce and a serve of chinese mushrooms and mixed vegetables completed a meal just short of being excellent
Wine: Whilst they have a good list you can bring your own which we did -corkage $10
Price: $75 per person gets a pretty good meal
Comments: It took about 20 minutes for steamed rice to arrive after we ordered it. This and the delay between cooking and serving detracted from a very good meal
Score: 15.5/20
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