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Monthly Archives: August 2011

A Caterpillar’s Dream

August 25, 2011
Asian, ★, Eating Out, Kew, Lunch, Vegan, Vegetarian
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Shop 4, 26 Princess St Map 
Kew, 3101
(03) 9939 6133

Was brought here by a friend who’s a vegetarian. A Caterpillar’s Dream is a recently opened vegetarian cafe that caters vegan and gluten free dishes as well.

They have large selection on their menu with both Asian and Western dishes as well as cakes and pastries on display. For their ‘meat’ dishes, faux meat made out of soy protein is used.

We went for lunch and had the Veggie Peking Duck Wrap $9.80, Shallow Fried Dumplings $7.90, Japanese Bento Box $14.90, and Veggie Fillet Steak $14.90.

Part of thier extensive menu

Peking Duck Wrap $9.80

Shallow Fried Dumplings $7.90

The Duck Wrap was alright, the faux duck was quite dry and quite little. Liked the Fried Dumplings, the Veggie Steak was on the saltier side but was still pretty good. The chicken from the Bento however tasted quite gummy and starchy.

Veggie Fillet Steak $14.90

Chicken Japanese Bento $14.90

Overall food was alright, just that the vegetarian meats do taste faux.

 

Rating:

★             relatively good, still worth a try

$              under $15 per main

A Caterpillar's Dream on Urbanspoon

Morning Star Estate, Mornington

August 22, 2011
½, Eating Out, Lunch
1 Comment
1 Sunnyside RdMap 
Melbourne, 3930
Mount Eliza
(03) 9787 7760

 Lovely place with a beautiful view of the garden. Went there for lunch, service is alright although rather slow.

Had the Salmon Fillet $37 , Prime Eye Fillet $38, Prawn Papardelle $34, Fish of the Day $39.

Prime Eye Fillet $38

Salmon Fillet $37

Fish of the Day $39.

Prawn Papardelle $34

Presentation was just alright. Taste wise, everything was just average, wasn’t bad but was great either.

Among all the dishes, enjoyed the Prawn Papardelle and the sauce for the Eye Fillet was delish. However, definitely more on the pricey side

 

Rating:

½            mediocre, nothing special

$$$        $25-35 per main

Morning Star Estate on Urbanspoon

Purple Peanuts Japanese Cafe, Melbourne CBD

August 19, 2011
★, Eating Out, Japanese, Lunch, Melbourne CBD
1 Comment
620 Collins St Map
Melbourne, VIC 3000
03 9620 9548

Went for lunch, this place gets pretty busy when the working crowd comes during lunch hour.

We had the Kakuni Pork $9.50 and Chicken Curry Soba $9.50.

Kakuni Pork

Chicken Curry Soba

The Kakuni Pork was good, with succulent pork belly. Would’ve preferred if there was more of the red sauce (tasted kind of like gochujang) that came with it.

The Curry Soba on the other hand was a disappointment, pretty flat on taste and kinda watered down curry. Didnt enjoy that.

Overall, one of the convenient places to grab a quick lunch, but will skipping the curry next time.

 

Rating: 

★             relatively good, still worth a try

$              under $15 per main

Purple Peanuts Japanese Cafe on Urbanspoon

Da Salvatore, Carlton

August 19, 2011
☹, Carlton, Dinner, Eating Out, Italian
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29 Grattan St Map
Carlton, 3053
(03) 9663 4778
www.dasalvatorerestaurant.com.au

Decided to head to Da Salvatore after hearing about their one-metre pizza.

Went for dinner, service was bad, the lady waitress (think she might’ve been the ladyboss) there was rude and unhelpful.

We had the Pasta Mista $18 , and the Australian, Americana, Tropical, and Special $15 each for 50cm for the pizzas.

Pasta Mista $18

Americana $15

Special $15

The pizza was o-kay decent, rather doughy, most of us didn’t eat the crust. Pasta was just alright, very mediocore. Can’t say much about their portions as well, portions wasn’t big, average.

Overall, very mediocre food. Wont be returning especially with such rude service. There are better places along Lygon St.

Overall:

☹          many problems, bad experience  

$$        $15-25 per main


Da Salvatore on Urbanspoon

LuxBite, South Yarra

August 13, 2011
★, Desserts, Eating Out, South Yarra
1 Comment
38 Toorak Road Map 
South Yarra, 3141
(03) 9867 5888
www.luxbite.com.au

With all the hype around this desert place, just had to try it for myself.

Headed there after brunch, although the place is quite small with only a few tables, the interior is nicely decorated.

We tried the Endless Love & Oriental Love large macaron, and their new Mango Jelly Sweet Corn Panna Cotta dessert.

Oriental Love large Macaron, Mango Jelly Sweet Corn Panna Cotta

Liked all 3, loved the flavours that were used (i.e the lychee is in the Endless Love, pandan cream and banana layer in the Oriental love, the Sweetcorn layer and popcorn base of the Panna Cotta Dessert).

However, did find everything too overly sweet. Couldn’t eat much after the first few bites.

Macarons – liked the kaya toast & kafir lime – found this quite special. Didnt like the watermelon one although it was their specialties, tasted like those watermelon flavoured bubblegum to me.

Overall, lovely flavors however too sweet for my liking.

 

Rating: 

★             relatively good, still worth a try

$              under $15 per main

LuxBite on Urbanspoon

Maccaroni Trattoria, Melbourne CBD

August 12, 2011
★, Dinner, Eating Out, Italian, Melbourne, Melbourne CBD
1 Comment
10 Manchester Ln Map 
Melbourne, 3000
(03) 9090 7634
www.maccaronitrattoria.com.au

Opened recently, Maccaroni Trattoria is a small place, good for a casual semi-quick Italian lunch/dinner.

Service is alright, cant say much- wasn’t good but wasn’t bad either.

We had the Cannelloni $10.50 , Osso Buco, and Smoked Salmon Risotto $13.50.

Would recommend the Osso Buco, meat was tender and fell off the bone perfectly. Cannelloni was pretty good as well. But didn’t like the Smoked Salmon Risotto, portion of the salmon was measly & just disappointing, taste-wise was just alright.

Overall, still pretty good Italian food and prices here are affordable too.

Rating:

★★         good, recommended

$              under $15 per main

Maccaroni Trattoria Italiana on Urbanspoon

Funky Curry, Melbourne CBD

August 12, 2011
Asian, ½, Dinner, Eating Out, Indian, Melbourne, Melbourne CBD
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164 Bourke StMap 
Melbourne, 3000
(03) 9662 2299
www.funkycurry.com.au

Walked past here many times, and the colourful yet dodgy looking exterior intrigued me to try it out. The Bourke St. Funky Curry is just one of many Funky Curry locations around Melbourne.

Went to Funky Curry for dinner,  the interior is fine albeit pretty brightly painted.

Foodwise, a variety of options from bain maries, decent curries at a good price ($8 to $10) depending on how many options you choose.

Taste wise, it was pretty good, although like most indian food, can get quite thirsty after the meal.The only disappointment was the naan, just tasted like microwaved frozen naan.

Overall, doubt i will be returning, but worth a try if you’re craving indian food.

Rating:

½            mediocre, nothing special

$              under $15 per main

Funky Curry on Urbanspoon

Chin Chin, Melbourne CBD

August 11, 2011
Asian, ★★, Dinner, Eating Out, Melbourne, Melbourne CBD
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125 Flinders LaneMap 
Melbourne, 3000
(03) 8663 2000
www.chinchinrestaurant.com.au

With all the hype around this place, you have to go early or risk waiting a long while for a table.

Place isn’t too big but still quite a number of seating. Quite dark and can get pretty noisy on a busy night. Service is good and pretty efficient.

We had the Spicy Eggnet Omelet Rolls $12 for 2 pieces, Roti Madtarbak $12 Massaman Curry $18, Soft Shell Crab $22, 3 Layer Pudding $9.

Spicy Eggnet Rolls & Soft Shelled Crab

Ma

Massaman Curry & 3 Layer Pudding

Overall, food was tasty, but there were hits and misses.

Didnt like the Roti- more of a thick pastry skin than a roti, might be due to the fact tht it was burnt. Massaman was on the saltier side. However, the rice that came with the curry was surprisingly good, yes I know its just rice! but actually some restaurants cant even get such a simple thing right! The 3 layer pudding was a good combination of flavours, however I think it wasnt thawed enough and some parts were abit too frozen for my liking.

Besides that, everything else was good, the Soft Shell Crab was crisp and delectable with the chilli that came with it. As well as the Eggnet Rolls although Price wise, is pretty pricey considering the small portions.

Overall, more hits than misses.

Rating:

★★         good, recommended

$$           $15-25 per main

Chin Chin on Urbanspoon

Friends of Mine, Richmond

August 8, 2011
½, Breakfast/ Brunch, Coffee, Eating Out, Melbourne, Richmond
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506 Swan StMap
Richmond, 3121
(03) 9428 7516
www.friendsofmine.com.au

Heard and read about the very mixed reviews about this place. So, decided to head to Friends of Mine for a weekend brunch.

Place was packed when we arrived with already a queue outside, we put down our names on the waiting list and were told the wait for a table’s around 20mins. After around 40 mins we finally got seated.

Service was a bit mixed, it was slow and difficult to get their attention at the beginning but towards the end, the service was pretty efficient.

Food took a while to come but it was a busy morning for them.

Coffee was alright. Food wise we had the Steak Sanga $24.90, Mac & Cheese, Onion Soup w/ Cheesy Bread, (can’t rmb and Toasted Banana Bread w/ Berry Compote $14.90.

Steak Sanga, Mac & Cheese

Onion Soup w/ Cheesy Bread, Toasted Banana Bread w/ Berry Compote

The Steak Sanga was pretty good (well it did cost $24.90). The Mac and Cheese was just average. The Onion Soup although was pretty yummy, was disappointing that it wasn’t much of a soup, it was more like a bowl of caramelized onions. The banana bread was pretty good, nothing different from your usual cafe style banana bread w/ berry compote.

Overall, definitely on the pricier side as portions were small. Taste wise, it wasn’t good enough for me to make up for the price. As well as the long wait.

Personally wouldn’t recommend this place.

Rating:

½            mediocre, nothing special

$$           $15-25 per main


Friends of Mine on Urbanspoon

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