Dumpling World

Dumpling World

620 Collins Street, Melbourne

This restaurant used to be a Chinese restaurant - I never tried it but P said it wasn't very good. A few weeks ago we saw it became "Dumpling World" - not sure if it's the same owners but it looked quite busy and I <3 dumplings so thought we'd give it a try!

P wanted Pork Wonton in Soup (15pcs or 8pcs with noodle) $9.00. We opted for the wonton only option since we came here for dumplings anyway =P

These wontons don't really look like wontons... more like dumplings... they don't have the long flowy tails but instead are just folded to one side =( So when you bite into it there's lots of skin on one side =/

And the soup was a very strange... it was a seaweed soup - how strange with wontons?! but that's not the worst part - there were lots of bitsy stuff on the bottom, I don't mean the normal spring onions and coriander stuff, but there were white bits at the bottom - kinda looked like rice o_Oa hmmm

We also got a Pork and Cabbage Dumpling (15 pcs) $8.80 - extra $1.00 for fried dumplings. Who doesn't get dumplings fried?! Le sigh.

Big dumplings! Meat was quite tasty and juicy but the skin was a tad thick... and they didn't fry it enough, wasn't that crunchy - I paid an extra $1.00 for the crunchiness!

How could I go to a dumpling place without ordering Shanghai Steamed Pork Dumpling (8 pcs) $9.80

Looks so regular shaped and stiff and not very juicy hmm...

But there was actually a lot of juice inside! And the meat was quite tasty =) Though no ginger given and the meat wasn't gingery at all - unlike Shanghai Street Dumpling =( Skin was a tad thick too in comparison to Shanghai Street... P said maybe they buy the dumplings pre-made 'cause they all looked so regular but I think that would cost them more... you'd think if you open a dumpling restaurant you'd have someone who can actually make XLBs =P

Food~
5/10 - was alright... maybe a tad better than Shanghai Dumpling House and cleaner =P but definitely doesn't compare with Shanghai Street Dumpling <3

Service~
3/5 - surprisingly quite good for a Chinese restaurant =P

Atmosphere~
3/5 - not bad, quite spacious inside =)

C.

xo

Petaling Street

Petaling Street

162 Swanston St, Melbourne

(Ph) 9639 8264

Catching up with college friends again - we had initially wanted to go to Papa Rich in QV but the line there was ridiculously long on this Saturday night (it's always like that when a new restaurant opens eg Taiwan Cafe) so we decided to go to Petaling Street instead. Still Malaysian food anyway =P There are quite a few Petaling Street's around Melbourne - P had gone there when this one first opened up and said it was okay but I never had a chance to try it.

I actually wanted a Roti dish but their Roti's here are just Roti's stuffed with various ingredients but not as a main dish. So I settled for Nasi Lemak Special (Chicken or Beef) - traditional hawker type coconut flavoured rice served with peanut, cucumber, egg, ikan bilis & a choice of curry chicken or curry beef $10.50 I wanted chicken but they said they ran out of chicken for the night - how ridiculous?!

Presentation needs to improve =P The curry was sooo hot! or maybe I'm so used to Westernised curry =( and I was expecting deliciously coconuty soft rice but the rice was dry and some bits were hard >__> ikan bilis is anchovy - and man it was so spicy! Lucky I ordered a Teh Ice $3.50, Malaysian style pulled milk tea - was very tasty, milky and sweet, cooled me down from the spiciness =P

P wasn't very hungry and said he felt like some plain congee - V suggested he get the Malaysian Ginger and Spring Onion Fish Congee $11.80

It's very interesting! A pot of fried then stewed fish with sauce came...

Then a pot of white congee! And you're meant to mix it together yourself =) So different! The fish + sauce was very tasty mixed with the congee though didn't fulfil P's wishes for a neutral plain meal =P Next time I think I'll order this!

Some of our friends ordered the whole steamed fish + rice for $13.80 - many different sauces to choose from. So cheap a whole steamed fish for $13.80 - can't say it's a good quality fish but when we buy a fish from Boxhill costs at least $15 already! *sigh* totally ordered the wrong dish!

Food~
5/10 - didn't really like my dish but P's was quite good - and I will try the steamed fish next time, and maybe one of those interesting flavoured roti's!

Atmosphere~
2/5 - didn't even know there was an upstairs before i came in! but upstairs caters for bigger groups =)

Service~
2/5 - Asian - what do you expect? =P

C.
xo

Brown Bagels

Brown Bagels

Shop 10, Equitable Place, 330 Collins St, Melbourne

(Ph) 9670 9114

Bagels with E! We had wanted to come to Brown Bagels last time when we went to Manchester Press but it doesn't open on weekends so finally got a chance to on this day =)

It's a little cafe in a little alley off Collins St run by Asians - with only 2 short communal tables. Mainly for people to get takeaway bagels and coffee. Everything is pre-cooked here apart from toasting up the bagels - all the meats are cooked already, so it's more like a sandwich cafe.

There's quite a large variety of bagels - sweet or savoury options and lots of different flavours =)

I went for the Chicken - chives, cream cheese, avocado, cucumber, spanish onion, tasty cheese, lettuce $8.50 with a Sesame bagel

So much stuff inside!

Definitely too big to put in my mouth but was super tasty in a freshly toasted bagel =) My favourite avocado and cream cheese in the one! I normally don't like chicken breast but the pieces were very tender and tasty. I like how the bagel is made up, like at Jungle Juice Bar, unlike at Manchester Press where they treat the bagel like a piece of toast.

E went for a Salami - basil pesto, cream cheese, fetta, sundried tomato, lettuce $8.50 with a Rye bagel

So much stuff inside that it won't stand up anymore! =P I guess these bagels are more like lunch bagels as opposed to the ones at Manchester Press which are more breakfast like - but all very yummo =)

Food~
7/10 - quite tasty, but come here more for lunch not for breakfast!


Atmosphere~
2/5 - most people came for takeaway bagels so the lack of seats wasn't much of a problem

Service~
3/5 - waiter brought us water without asking =)

C.
xo

Giraffe Cafe

Giraffe Cafe

302 Little Lonsdale St, Melbourne

(Ph) 9640 0889

☆

Had been meaning to come to this cafe for a while - it's in the Cheap Eats Guide rated ☆. It's really in the middle of no where - finally found it, a little cafe with the "C" fallen off their sign =P

The decor here is amazing - brings you back to childhood =) In the middle of the cafe is a wishing tree and a giraffe!

Every corner and wall is filled with toys and giraffes so cute!

All the seats here are random, kinda like Kinfolk - I like =) some even sofa-like chairs for you to enjoy your coffee and cake and chill for hours on end =)

I wonder where they got some of their decorations from - a typewriter?!

And a super small cute chess set!

Bookshelves are filled with all sorts of toys and decorations =)

The wall with the moosehead!

And the pile of old books.

We came at 11am and the cafe was empty - we got a bit concerned but then realised the cafe mainly does lunch and dinner, sure enough at 12 noon it started filling up and there were even tables reserved!

The waiters here are all Asian but they mainly serve Western food and a few random Asian dishes like dumplings and noodles.

There was a special going on - free free tea, coffee or juice with one of the pies or the wraps =)

J ordered a Green Lentil & Feta Wrap + Salad $10

And I got a Homemade chicken and herb pie with salad OR mash potatoes $10

I knew the Shepherd's Pie's meant to be really good here but I didn't feel like potatoes so decided to get the chicken pie instead.

Flavours were quite good but it wasn't really a pie - more like a soup inside! Was so watery! Should have added some gravy or something? =P

J got a Blueberry and Pomegranate juice and I got a Orange Apple and Mango juice - normally $3.50 each!

Their desserts are meant to be delicious here so we decided to share one. Molten centre Callebaut Belgium dark chocolate pudding served hot with vanilla ice-cream $7.90

Callebaut is a Belgium Chocolate company - I wonder if their chocolate is really Callebaut? Sure enough it was super tasty! =D Dark chocolate with a molted centre and delicious icecream - if only they gave more icecream 'cause the chocolate was really sweet =P We were sooo full!

Next time I want to try the Tiramisu - Italian cheese, liquor, and espresso dipped sponge served in a glass ramekin in DIY style =) Or their fondues! Which are only available after 5pm.

Food~
6/10 - desserts are better than the mains here though quite cheap and not too bad =)

Atmosphere~
4/5 - great atmosphere! Could really sit here for hours chilling~

Service~
3/5 - food came very fast! If only they had turned the aircon on when we came in first instead of when the food came =P

C.
xo

Gold Leaf

Gold Leaf

155 Burwood Highway, Burwood East

(Ph) 9802 3788

P wanted yum cha again and since we were doing some grocery shopping at Boxhill, I decided to find somewhere close by (why is Boxhill such an Asian suburb but without any decent yum cha places?). Came across Gold Leaf at Burwood EAST. It's a chain of Chinese restaurants in Melbourne and reviews seemed pretty good so thought we'd give it a try =)

We set the GPS to 155 Burwood Highway in Burwood - figured that's right yeah? The trip took double the normal time 'cause of traffic so we were super hungry. GPS takes us to a strip of the highway next to the Presbyterian Ladies College - nothing else there except a Hungry Jacks =/ We called the restaurant up to check the address - it was 155 Burwood Highway. We set the GPS again, did a u-turn and went back to see if we missed it - nope nothing else except the HJs. We called the restaurant up and asked where they were in respect to Hungry Jacks - they said it's actually Burwood EAST not Burwood =__________=;;;;; I then looked it up on my iPhone and sure enough - 155 Burwood Highway, Burwood EAST was a few minutes east of where we were. How can there be two 155 Burwood Highway's on the same street?! =_________= soo ridiculous!

We were so pissed off by the time we got there that we had a bad impression of the place already - hopefully the food would make up for it! We got there at 1pm and the waiter asked if we had made a booking, and if not we'd have to leave by 1.45pm. We didn't care by then just wanted food =P

First up came the 蝦餃 (prawn dumplings).

Wow they're so much bigger than normal ones! I don't normally like prawns but decided to have one, 'cause the prawns were very big and not just prawn bits. Very thin skin as well =)

They had a 流沙包 (runny sand bun) straight up and of course I got one! This is the first restaurant which makes runny sand bun's without having to order them - don't know if that's good or bad, means they're not freshly steamed but also means they have an abundance of them =)

Pretty tasty but SUPER runny! A bit too runny actually =P I like it with small bits of yolk in it as well - the best is still Shark Fin or Crystal Jade though =)

The next trolley only had plum spare ribs so we got one instead of waiting for the black bean one.

I actually I like this one more compared to the black bean one - very delicious and not too much tendon =) and wow they give so much meat and no random taro/vegetables on the bottom to make it look bigger.

P couldn't resist getting a fried prawn dumpling. There was actually fried prawn dumpling or fried wonton - I really don't know what the difference is but P said the prawn dumpling has more prawn and less skin? lol

And yes, the prawns were nice and fat - definitely very generous here!

P had to get a 燒賣 (pork dumpling) as well - I wish I could save some tummy space and try something new but no, these are his default dishes XP

Super big fat dumplings! So much meat! Though the skin was a bit dry and was quite loose on the dumpling - strange 'cause normally the skin is moist and wraps the dumpling.

P saw some big fat 煎堆 (sesame glutinous balls) on our way in to our table. We wanted or order some but didn't see any on any of the trolleys so we asked the waiter to bring us a dish - I accidentally told the waiter I wanted them cut before P told me he wanted to eat the balls whole =/

So it came as a pile of deflated glutinous ball =P It was a bit burnt actually, little bit disappointing. I usually like the ones with red bean inside but P wanted the big empty ones instead.

Of course we had to end the meal with a dessert - tofu flower!

Super sweet and gingery and smooth <3

Food~

7/10 - very generous with their dishes! Everything was very meaty and full!

Atmosphere~

3/5 - love the yumcha atmosphere, feels like I'm in Hong Kong =)

Service~

3/5 - very good, cleared our plates and filled our teapots very promptly =) Too bad they gave us a time limit =P

So now we know where it is, maybe we will come back again =P

C.
xo

Noodle Kingdom

Noodle Kingdom

264 Swanston St, Melbourne

(Ph) 9650 1818

Catching up with A! =) We didn't really have anywhere in mind - we met up at Melbourne Central and decided to walk down Swanston Street and see what fancied us =) I knew Noodle Kingdom had opened for a few months now - replacing Chinatown Dumpling Restaurant which was another cheap dumpling place like Shanghai Dumpling House. Thought we'd give it a try.

The decor is really nice and fancy - 5 stories high with an elevator! I know the first Noodle Kingdom had opened in Preston for a very long time and is famous for their hand made noodles, but Preston is so far away! There's one on Russell Street as well - I went there a few years ago. My memory of it wasn't very pleasant - I remember it was cramped and wasn't very tasty. So hopefully this new done-up one will be a bit better!

There was quite a few people in line, but lucky we were only a group of 2 so they squeezed us in first =)

Of course we'd have to try their hand made noodles - A and I decided to share 2 dishes. He wanted the Authentic Lanzhou Beef Noodle Soup $9.50. He had recently come back from a trip to China and actually went to Lanzhou and had some delicious noodles there so wanted to see how this would compare =P

We were tossing up between a rice dish or a dry noodle dish - in the end we went for a dry noodle dish - Noodle with Pork Sauce $9.50. I don't normally like dry noodles but this is one of the few dishes I do like =) We didn't realise until we had ordered that we had ordered 2 of the same type of noodles - should have tried either their rice noodle or glutinous noodle or strip noodles etc etc... next time!

Authentic Lanzhou Beef Noodle Soup

The noodles were definitely hand made - you can taste and feel the difference =P The noodles were sooo long and so difficult to break with our chopsticks and too slippery to break with a spoon! In the end had to ask for a fork which made the process slightly easier =P Slightly chewy which is what it's meant to be like =) Would have been better if the noodles had a more regular thickness - some bits were much thicker than others =P Though a bit disappointing with the toppings - only a few tiny pieces of beef and the soup wasn't as flavourful as I would have hoped.

Noodle with Pork Sauce

The Noodle with Pork Sauce doesn't look as tasty but my - it was delicious! Mix the pork sauce in with the cucumber slices - yum! I'm not sure what exactly is in the pork sauce - it's slightly sweet yet salty =) Like I said, I'm not normally a fan of noodles but this dish definitely has my thumbs up!

Food~
6/10 - the dry noodles was definitely better than the soup one, but I'd be interested to try some of the other noodle types as well as the dumplings next time =)

Atmosphere~
3/5 - they make it super fancy with an elevator and all, but we were put in the corner at a small table - wonder what upstairs looks like...

Service~
3/5 - food came quite quickly which was good =D

Worth another try! I'll bring P next time =)

C.
xo