Shanghai Street Dumpling

Shanghai Street Dumpling

342 Little Bourke St, Melbourne

(Ph) 9600 2250

E had told me about this new awesome dumpling place on Little Bourke, but on the opposite end of Chinatown - who would have thought there'd be a good dumpling place up this end? It's a very small place, sitting only about ~10 groups of up to 4 people. 

J and I love dumplings, so we decided to give it a try! I had read there was usually a line here during lunch times, so we decided to go when it opens - 11.30am =) Managed to get a comfortable table! Sure enough, at 12 noon, there was about 5 groups of people waiting in line outside =/

We knew we had to order Homemade Traditional Steamed Xiao Long Bao (8 pieces) $8.80. We were tossing up between Homemade Shanghai Fried Pork Mini Bun (6 pieces) $8.50 or Pan Fried Pork Dumplings (15 pieces) $8.50. We decided on the pork mini buns =)

We had waited about 15 minutes and the food still hadn't come yet. The table next to us had ordered a plate of Pan Fried Pork Dumplings - looked and smelt soo good and we were both super hungry, so we decided to order a plate of them as well!

The XLBs came first! <3

Such big dumplings, beautifully pleated! Skin was thin yet didn't break easily =D Dumpling was full of broth inside! <3 The broth was so hot we both burnt ourselves in our impatience to dig into our dumplings =P Only downside was there was no plate of ginger with vinegar like you get at most "higher class" dumpling places, but you could taste the ginger in the meat - delicious!

Next came the Pork Mini Buns - they could have plated it slightly nicer, instead of this strange triangle configuration =P

Super crunchy on the outside!

We fully were not expecting it, but the buns were full of broth too! J poked at her bun and broth squirted out =P So different, usually dumplings/buns with broth are steamed but these were fried yet full of broth - yum!

We were kinda full already - kinda regretted ordering the extra plate of dumplings =X They did eventually come but we only had one each and doggy bagged the rest =P

Dumplings were quite good too, super crispy on the outside but without the broth inside - I wonder if they use different pork mixtures for all the different types of dumplings/buns or if it's just the same? 'cause the bun meat and the pan fried dumpling meat didn't taste as gingery as the XLB meat hmm..

Food~
8.5/10 - thin dumpling skin, juicy meat, delicious broth! If only they provided some ginger too =P

Service~
2/5 -quite casual here but not too bad

Atmosphere~
2/5 - very rushed and claustrophobic with so many people waiting in line during peak lunch time - come before/after the peak to avoid the wait line!

Gotta say definitely my new dumpling place! The price of Shanghai Dumpling House but the quality of HuTong Dumpling Bar! Will definitely be back! =)

C.
xo

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10/06/2012

So I came back for a 2nd time but for dinner this time... we came at 5.30pm so we could get a table before the dinner crowd, sure enough at 6pm there was a massive line outside the restaurant already! We ordered the Pan Fried Dumplings and Shanghai XLBs again... the standards had dropped so much! The fried dumplings weren't even crispy and the XLBs didn't have the gingery taste and not as much broth as last time =( Why is it that once a restaurant gets famous the standards drop? =(

Shou Sumiyaki

Shou Sumiyaki

160 Little Bourke St, Melbourne

(Ph) 9654 3933

P and I were going to have yum cha at Crystal Jade but just as we were going to step up, P stops outside Shou Sumiyaki and looks at the Lunch Set Menus. He said he wanted to try it instead even though I told him it's going to be expensive and small xp

There was a 5 minute wait 'cause they hadn't expected so many people to come for lunch - they opened up the tatami seating area at the back for us. P walks up with his shoes on and gets told off by the waiter - sigh =P

P wanted to get the Japanese BBQ Lunch Set Menu - traditional Japanese Style Cooking where fresh meat, seafood and vegetables are placed on a mesh and grilled over direct charcoal flame. All lunch BBQ set include Kaisen Harumaki (deep fried seafood spring rolls) with Japanese Wafu Salad, Steam Rice and Miso Soup.

He wanted wagyu. Wagyu Beef (Premium Grade 7+ Black Wagyu Marble Beef) - Wagyu Rump Set $18.90 or Wagyu Scotch Spencer Set $24.90. Of course he'd go for the more expensive one - the scotch =P

I was really cold so I wanted some ramen. Ramen & Soba Lunch Set Menu - Ramen Set include Tonkatsu Ramen (Japanese style noodles with pork bone soup served with cha shu), Wagyu no Niku Jaga (braised Wagyu & Vegetable Side Dish) with your choice of appetiser. I got gyoza as my appetiser - $14.90

So many condiments for just the wagyu beef - even though the waitress told us to use the soy one anyway =P

My ramen came first - I was happy 'cause I was freezing cold!

Was alright - looked quite a small bowl. The egg yolk was soft boiled but the egg white was kinda hard on the outside - I don't know how that can happen lol. There was only one piece of cha shu and there was so much bean shoots =( The ramen was kinda squiggly - kinda like instant noodle, so I was a bit suspicious whether the ramen was made in the restaurant...

P's BBQ starter came - looked pretty good!

The spring rolls were very tasty - couldn't really taste the seafood in it but anyway =P The salad was quite fresh too =)

P also decided to order Wagyu Korokke - Deep fried crumbed Wagyu beef mince & creamy mesh potato unit golden brown searer with TonKatsu sauce $9.50 but they had run out for the day =( so we got Kami Korokke - Deep fried crab cream croquettes $7.50 instead.

The waiter just said to get the crab one instead but we didn't realise it was "crab cream" - what is cram cream?! They did top the croquettes with crab roe though which was tasty =)

My gyoza appetizer finally came - like 20 minutes after I got my ramen =/

It was very disappointing though - they weren't even crunchy! How hard is it to fry dumplings?! And we didn't even realise, but I didn't get my Wagyu no Niku Jaga (braised Wagyu & Vegetable Side Dish)! Fully jipped! =( I only realised just as I started blogging about it boo =(


After 30 minutes, they came and gave us a hot grill plate and P's wagyu finally came - 8 thin slices of wagyu beef. The waitress said to grill them 15 seconds on each side.

Counting..

Was quite tasty - so fatty! But not as tasty as the ones we have in Japan. And not enough! 8 tiny slices! Though P said the small bowl of rice was actually very packed.

Food~
5/10 - was alright, pissed they jipped me of my side dish!

Service~
3/5 - they kept trying to clear our plates even though we hadn't finished yet =P

Atmosphere~
3/5 - I like tatami tables - we got the whole table to ourselves =)

C.
xo

Cafe Era

Cafe Era

Menzies Alley, Melbourne Central, Corner La Trobe & Swanston St, Melbourne

(Ph) 9639 7188

Brunch with E again! <3 We hadn't thought of a place to go, we were a bit lazy so E suggested Cafe Era at Melbourne Central.

Menu was pretty standard breakfast food - both E and I decided to get the Specials #2 - Eggs, Bacon, Roast Tomato, Hash Brown, Mushrooms and Sausages Served with Toast $16.90

Pretty standard of a Big Breakfast? Though it looks better than it tastes =( The poached eggs were too cooked - the yolk was fully solid and definitely not soft boiled. The hash brown wasn't crunchy at all, pretty disappointing. And salad? Bit weird on a Big Breakfast - shouldn't it be spinach normally? And it wasn't very fresh =( The bacon and sausages were so-so. Nothing too special on the plate, but we were both hungry so we still ate it all =P

Food~
3/10 - have had much better breakfasts before.

Atmosphere~
3/5 - quite a nice environment sitting outside along the alley =)

Service~
2/5 - pretty good, and allowed us to split bill.

C.
xo

Snag Stand

Snag Stand

Corner La Trobe & Swanston St, Melbourne

(Ph) 9639 6544

Since Melbourne Central renovated, I had wanted to try this new hot dog stand right at the corner there. It always looks full of people, but I guess there's only 3 small tables there =P

Such gourmet sounding hot dogs! You order at the counter and they give you a buzzer and say it should be about 5 minutes - so they actually make every hot dog right when you order it! =)

P decided to get Spicy Cheese Kransky - freshly grilled with semi sun-dried tomatoes, sriracha mayo & cheddar cheese on a toasted brioche roll $8.90

Wow toasted brioche roll - so gourmet =P Sriracha is actually a hot Thai sauce but this mayo wasn't very hot but quite tasty =) The kransky wasn't very hot but cheesy indeed, and deliciously grilled.

I got the Toulouse (Bangalow Pork) - freshly grilled with sauteed onions, rosemary mushrooms & truffle aioli on a toasted brioche roll $9.90

Toulouse is actually a city in Southwest France. Not sure what Toulouse sausages are exactly but Google said they're made of diced pork and herbs and seasoning - sounds like normal pork sausages? But super yummy with mushrooms and truffle aioli oooh <3 The toasted brioche roll was definitely a thumbs up! =)

Food~
8/10 - gourmet hotdogs indeed! =)

Atmosphere~
1/5 - wish they had more than the 3 tiny tables haha

Service~
3/5 - buzzer was kinda cool =P

Will definitely want to come back to try some of the other ones!

C.
xo



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02/12/12

We needed to have a quick dinner but didn't want "fast food" so came here again. Their new "haute dogs" boxes now have a lid to ease takeaway :D

P got the German Bratwurst - served up on a rustic roll with sauteed onions & mild German mustard $7.90

Wonder why they don't serve it with sauerkraut instead of just "sauteed onions" - tastes kinda like sauerkraut but it's not cabbage and not as sour. The bratwurst was quite a mildly flavoured sausage - the bratswurst at Vic Markets are much better so probably won't go for this one again.

I got the Toulouse again =P it's so delicious!

My favourite things together - brioche, mushrooms and pork <3 Can't really tell the aioli is truffle - my tastebud is not sophisticated enough =P They didn't give much sauteed onions in this roll compared to the bratwurst one but it's okay still super yummy =)

C.
xo

Chez Dre

Chez Dre

287 Coventry St, South Melbourne

(Ph) 9690 2688

Finally managed to find a time to go brunch with W! She suggested Chez Dre - one of the cafes on my to-try list =) P and I were looking for it for ages - what tiny signage it has?!

Typical Melbourne cafe look - you can actually see in to the kitchen here as well as the large display of pretty desserts =)

There was a short waiting period but wasn't too bad given it was peak time (Sunday morning =P) While we were waiting we went to look at the desserts but all were quite expensive for such small pieces =/ Looks good but not sure if I'll have any =P

It was such a hot day P and I both decided to get a drink - I got the Habitat Sparkling Range - Valencia Orange $4.0 and P got the Phoenix Organic Sparkling Juice Drinks - Cranberry & Lime  $4.0

Such fancy names - neither were very tasty to be honest =/ Maybe we just don't like sparkling juice lol =P

P was tossing between the Breakfast Platter - smoked ham, Gruyere cheese, boiled egg, poached fruit, vanilla yoghurt, granola, raspberry jam, butter, croissant & baguette $18.5 or the Grand petit dejeuner - poached eggs on sourdough, bacon, spicy herb lamb sausages, potatoes, sauteed mushrooms, smashed avocado with goats cheese & tomato relish $19.5

Of course he got the big breakfast - the Grand petit dejeuner haha

So much stuff - grand indeed! The smashed avocado with goats cheese was very interesting - P who usually doesn't like avocado liked it too! =) The spicy herb lamb sausages were really good too - very satisfying overall!

I got the Morrocan Baked Eggs - Spicy herb lamb sausages, minted yoghurt & baguette $17.5

<3 baked eggs! Weird how they cut some pieces of the sausage really small and other pieces really big like they made a mistake or something. Nonetheless was very tasty with the yoghurt =) The eggs were deliciously baked - still slightly runny on the inside =) The only downside was the baguette was slightly too hard/crunchy for my liking - would have preferred something softer so it would soak up the baked egg sauce =)

Food~
8/10 - delicioussss! I <3 brunch!!! Both P and I were very satisfied with our dishes - though it is erring on the expensive side of brunch.

Service~
2/5 - was quite busy on this Sunday so took a while for them to take our orders =/

Atmosphere~
3/5 - typical Melbournian cafe =)

C.
xo