Cheeky Monkey

Cheeky Monkey

89 Swan St, Richmond

(Ph) 9428 8833

P and I had a weekday off together - decided to go drive somewhere for brunch. Since my Entertainment book was expiring soon, thought I should find a voucher from there. A buy-1-get-1-free voucher at Cheeky Monkey =)

They do breakfast until 3pm on weekdays =) After my crappy corn fritters at Alcove Cafe at Great Ocean Road, I was craving some tasty crunchy fritters - Jumbo Corn Fritters with Crispy Bacon, Tomato and Avocado Salsa with a Coriander Yoghurt $16.90

The corn fritters were super delicious - super crunchy! =D Not sure about the tomato and avocado salsa - it was more like random tomato and avocado pieces minus the salsa lol =/ Think they need to work on their plating too lol =P I didn't realise the yoghurt was meant to be coriander... at least I couldn't taste it and I'm normally VERY sensitive to coriander... if only they had given some real salsa that would have perfected the dish!

I thought P was going to get the Big Breakfast but he decided to get Calamari - sea salt and cracked pepper floured calamari with a side of crispy cabbage and coriander salad and lemon aioli $16.90 instead.

Looks quite good, the calamari wasn't as chewy as calamari is usually - so strange, is it 'cause it's not fresh or 'cause of the type of calamari? Batter was nice and crunchy and the aioli was delicious =) The cabbage salad wasn't very tasty though - P doesn't like cabbage and I don't like coriander so neither of us liked it very much =P

Since P's calamari didn't come with chips, he ordered a side of chips. It wasn't on the menu but we figured it'd just be a small side - but oh my, it was a massive bowl! Pretty certain the chips weren't housemade 'cause they were all so uniform and super crunchy like when you buy frozen chips lol =P

P also got Caramel Milkshake $4

Super delicious and creamy in such a big metal cup - disappointed it was only half filled =(

Food~
5/10 - not bad given we had half price food!

Service~
3/5 - friendly waiters and food came very promptly

Atmosphere~
3/5 - quite nice on this sunny weekday morning =)

C.
xo

Dumpling King

Dumpling King

572 Station St, Box Hill

(Ph) 9890 3719

We come to Box Hill to do shopping so regularly and we always just randomly go to a restaurant to get food. This time I thought I'd do some research and find a good place first - Dumpling King seems to have quite good ratings on Urbanspoon so decided to check it out.

We came at 2.30pm and the waiter said their lunch period ends at 3pm so we have to leave by then - whatever we were hungry so we sat down anyway. There were tablecloths on the table and lanterns hanging off the ceiling - was very Westernized, as was most of the customers there.

P said he felt like Char Kway Teow - we thought a dumpling restaurant must sell fried rice noodles right? How wrong we were - the closest they had was Singapore Fried Noodles, which aren't rice noodles boo =(

How strange of them to serve it up on a curry dish?! I guess there is curry flavour in it lol, I'm not a fan of Singapore Fried Noodles - it's just the noodle version of fried rice, where you just chuck in whatever you find in your fridge and mix some curry powder into it. Was alright - P said it tasted like the ones he used to get at uni which means it's not very good =P

I came here for the dumplings so of course I had to get dumplings - Pan Fried Beijing Style Dumplings - pork and Chinese leeks (10 pcs) $9.80

Who calls it Chinese leeks?! Chinese chives or spring onion maybe? lol. There was "Award Winning Dish" next to this dish on the menu. Unfortunately I really don't agree. They were quite ordinary - skin was quite thin but wasn't fried crispy enough.

Of course I had to order Steamed Shanghai Dumplings - pork and Chinese Soup Fillings (5 pcs) $6.20

This also had "Award Winning Dish" next to it - but my, this was even worse than the fried dumplings. There was barely any soup inside and the skin was kinda thick. Plus they didn't give us any ginger - for a restaurant who's famous for their dumplings how can you not give us ginger?!

And we felt like we had to rush our food 'cause we thought they were going to kick us out at 3pm, but they were still seating people at 2.45pm so surely we knew they couldn't close the restaurant at 3pm. Maybe it was just no ordering of food after 3pm?

Food~
3/10 - was very ordinary, had such high expectations of this place but seriously nothing compares to Shanghai Street =(

Service~
3/5 - not bad for an Asian restaurant, but like I said, they're aiming at Western customers here =P

Atmosphere~
3/5 - quite a large restaurant, think it used to be 2 separate restaurants and they bought the store next to them to expand 'cause it's like 2 separate rooms

Not sure if I'll come here again...

C.
xo

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01/07/2013

Got the new Entertainment Book! Boxhill restaurants are never featured in it so when I found Dumpling King in it, and apparently rated as one of Melbourne's Top 5 Yum Cha Restaurants by the Herald Sun - I thought I had to come.

I don't remember Boxhill really having any proper yum cha restaurants let alone one of Melbourne's best - oh how wrong they are! It was only when we arrived that I realised I had been here before and they definitely don't serve proper yum cha food here They have some yum cha dishes you can order on a piece of paper instead of the proper yum cha carts, and all the dishes were very Western yum cha dishes - boo!

We were inside already so thought we'd give it a second chance - we decided to get some dumplings again and maybe a few yum cha dishes.

P got a bowl of wontons in soup - which surprisingly was one of the better dishes of the meal. Nothing too special but not too bad, and quite generous in numbers and in prawns for the filling inside.

I had forgotten how bad the dumplings are here - and it was no different this time. Thick skin and no fried enough to a crunch yet was very oily.

The Xiao Long Bao was the same again - thick tough skin..

Though it did have some tasty broth inside.

P wanted some fried wontons which were on the yum cha list - I had never noticed this before but fried wontons and soup wontons are folded differently where for the fried ones they leave more of the skin hanging so it's more crunchy =) This was pretty good, but yes it was a very Western dish so maybe that's what they're good at?

Last we got a BBQ Pork Bun $5 for 2 so actually pretty expensive =/

Ohmygawd look how red the BBQ pork is?! So much food colouring ugh (Western dish yet again!), bun was quite soft though.

The Caucasian couple next to us didn't finish most of their dishes - guess they don't please the Caucasians either! I guess after the 25% off was the meal was alright but no third time lucky for this restaurant from me!

Tsindos

Tsindos

197 Lonsdale St, Melbourne

(Ph) 9663 3194

Catching up with fellow dancing buddies! We wanted to go try somewhere new - I've walked past this restaurant so many times before, they have a Scrabble board by the window with some menu items on it =)

We booked a table for 6.15pm on this Saturday night - they said we had to be out by 7.30pm 'cause they were fully booked but only half the restaurant was filled up during our dinner hmm =/

T, C and I couldn't really decide what to eat - neither of us were very hungry. Initially I wanted to get the Combination Specials plate  for $25 but then decided we'll just share the 3 dishes =)
Moussaka - layer of potatoes, mince meat, baked with creamy bechamel sauce, served with vegies, rice & potatoes $23
Lamb Casserole - traditional lamb stew with tomato based sauce served with vegies, rice & potatoes $24
Chicken Rissoles - home style meat ball stuffed with fetta cheese baked in oven with napoli sauce $24

They gave us complimentary bread - warm and soft =)

C had ordered a Saganaki for entree - I forgot I really like Saganaki! Grilled cheese with lemon =D

First came our Moussaka - so they make the moussaka like a lasagne and they just cut a piece out. Layers of eggplant, mince and bechamel sauce mmm =D There wasn't too much potato in it which was good =P Was my favourite of the 3 dishes!

The Lamb Casserole was very good too - the lamb was so soft fell off the bone!

The Chicken Rissoles were a bit disappointing though - way too salty and couldn't taste the fetta cheese =/

They gave the same rice and vegetables for all the dishes - guess that's what you get for ordering the Specials of the day. The vegetables weren't very tasty, blanched but still kinda hard =/ After we had finished all the meats C suddenly decides to try the rice and surprisingly, said it was super tasty! We tried some and sure enough it was full of flavour! I thought it was kinda coconutty but we asked the waitress and she said it's actually just rice cooked in stock! And they cook their rice over the fire - delicious! It was so tasty that C and I both ate a ball of rice each even though I don't normally like rice =P

Food~
6/10 - the moussaka was definitely the best! and the lamb stew =) and thumbs up for the rice =P

Service~
2/5 - not bad but felt like we were very pressured to quickly eat and leave =/

Atmosphere~
2/5 - bit of a squish having 5 people on a 4 people table but was alright as the restaurant was only half full while we ate.

C.

xo

Raramen

Raramen

Centro Boxhill Market, Boxhill

(Ph) 9899 8966

We wanted some food after our shopping at Boxhill one Sunday afternoon - walked past this "Raramen" and saw the Free Slurpee sign so decided to check it out. It was a freezing day but how can you say no to free slurpee?

P had wanted Japanese ramen but as soon as we sat down we knew it wasn't Japanese ramen but just Chinese noodles. He got House Special Rice Noodle Soup - beef, egg, vegetable, spring onion, noodle, soup $9.80

I really like this type of noodles when made properly - 瀨粉 (lai fun). I just wikipediaed it - they call it "rice spaghetti" with a description of "thick round semi-translucent made from sticky rice". Normally you'd expect "rice noodle" to be the flat fettucini like type, so P was disappointed as he wanted them. Lai fun is meant to be bouncy and chewy like sticky rice, but this wasn't, and it wasn't translucent either. Think they made it out of normal rice instead of sticky rice so didn't have the right texture, which was a bit disappointing =( I was craving the delicious bowls you get in Hong Kong served with roast goose =( The beef brisket was quite tender but the broccoli tasted like it was raw and they gave way too much preserved vegetables for our liking =/

I of course had to order some Xiao Long Baos - when will I learn to order something else? =P They took forever to come out - it actually wasn't that long but in this fast-food-like restaurant, 10 minutes felt like a long time since everything came out in less than 2 minutes lol =P

Finally they came out - and they were a disappointment as well =( firstly, no ginger tsk tsk. And secondly the skin was so thick with minimal soup - sigh. Really need to go back to Shanghai Street!

P got me some Slurpee - the first cup he got me was mainly just liquid with no ice, he said the ice wouldn't come out =/ so he tried a 2nd cup from the other machine which was slightly better (pictured below) but was still more water than ice lol. Bit too sweet for my liking, but the kids around us were all enjoying their slurpees - novelty factor is nice.

Surprisingly enough, next to the slurpee machines P found a pot with some red bean dessert inside!

And it was surprisingly delicious! We both had a bowl each and agreed that this was the best part of this meal =P too bad by this stage we were both quite full and couldn't fit a 2nd bowl in... next time should just sit down and just have this dessert haha =P

Food~
4/10 - fast cheap Asian food, definitely try the red bean dessert though!

Service~
2/5 - fast, but not enough waiters on this busy Sunday lunchtime

Atmosphere~
2/5 - quite spacious so can fit big groups and families but means it's quite loud too =P

C.
xo

Le Petite Creperie

Le Petite Creperie

Corner Swanston St and Collins St, Melbourne

This little creperie stand popped up out of no where a couple of weeks ago - it's one of those ex-newspaper stands so the word "news" is still at the top =P J and I love crepes so we decided to go check it out!

There was a massive line when we came on this Friday night - guess it's the novelty factor! There's quite a few options available - I of course had to get the Salted Caramel (homemade) & Almonds $6.00

The chefs are French - at least they speak French =P but she wasn't very impressive with her crepe making. The mixture was lumpy and she broke many crepes and burnt a few =/

My crepe was quite crunchy but the salted caramel was a bit too salty - don't think they've got the combination quite right lol. 

P got a Apple & Plum one - his wasn't as crunchy but his topping was pretty nice.

We took the crepes and walked along Swanston Street and walked past a busker playing the song from Midnight in Paris - felt like we were really in France!

Would only come here for the novelty factor! Rather go to Choix Creperie Cafe for their original fillings and thin crispy crepes, and you get a seat there! =P

Food~ 4/10

C.

xo

Great Ocean Road

P and I went on a 4 day road trip down Great Ocean Road =) I won't bother writing about each place separately but I'll write about some of the high (and I guess low =P) lights =)

Lighthouse Stables and Tea Rooms

7 Federal St, Airey's Inlet

We got recommended this tea room by a friend - and sure enough, it was a great recommendation =D

The owner/chef suggested we get the salmon quiche which came fresh from the oven - a tad expensive ($13.50 including salad) but was super delicious especially with the homemade salsa! Too bad some of the salad dressing made the base of the quiche soft =(

And we ordered the first of our many scones on this trip =P we saw the massive bowl of scones on the shelf and thought they were fresh from the oven too... but they actually microwaved it before giving it to us =(

Still was very tasty and fluffy! Though would have been nice if they gave us more jam.

Food~ 7/10

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 Nico's Pizza & Pasta
21 Lord St, Port Campbell

Our first dinner! There aren't that many restaurants in Port Campbell - only one small strip of a street with only about 5 eating places. We were craving some good Italian food =)

P chose the Meat Lovers - tomato base, cheese, tomato, chicken, ham, bacon, salami, spanish onion and topped with barbeque sauce $24.00 for large. Crust was super crispy and they were so generous with their toppings!

I wanted the Apollo Avocado Funghi - succulent chicken, crispy bacon, ripened avocado, mushrooms and a Napoli cream sauce, with tagliatelle pasta and parmesan $27.00 P normally doesn't like avocado or mushrooms but he said this was one of the best pastas he's ever had =D Not sure what the difference between tagliatelle and fettuccini is but was delicious overall <3

8.5/10 - could say was probably the best meal of the trip! We couldn't finish the pizza so took it home to have for breakfast =P


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The Ridge Organic Cafe
20 Gardner St, Beech Forest

I found this organic cafe near the Otway Fly - since P and I are on an organic food quest, we came to check it out =) They don't have a set menu for breakfast - they just ask you what you want in your breakfast from the ingredients they have in season. We got to choose from bacon, sausage, tomatoes, spinach, mushrooms and potatoes - and eggs cooked your way.

P's dish

And mine

Everything was super fresh! The spinach was cooked yet not wilt - how do they do that?! And the mushrooms were very fresh and juicy =) Think the bacon and sausages are made locally 'cause they weren't very salty like they often are. The best were the tomatoes - mini tomatoes (but not quite cherry-sized). Don't know how they cooked them - no burn/fry marks on them but super juicy and sweet!

Food~ 8.5/10

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12 Rocks Cafe & Bar
19 Lord St, Port Campbell

Our 2nd night here - thought we'd try the bistro, seemed like there were lots of people inside. We felt like seafood - decided to share the Seafood Selection Platter - assortment of fresh, grilled, battered and smoked seafood served with garden salad & chips $40 The waiter said it may not be quite enough for us two but we thought we should under-order instead of over-order like we did at Nico's =P

Very nice variety of seafood! battered fish, smoked salmon, 2 types of prawns, scallops, mussels and squid =)

We had room for dessert so we tried the Banana and Caramel Banoffee $9.50 I didn't know what a banoffee was - the waiter said it's kinda like a cheesecake which kinda put P off but it turned out to be more like a custard layered cake with meringue on top - was super delicious!

Food~ 8/10


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Cheeseworld
5331 Great Ocean Rd, Allansford

We came to check out the cheese factory - thought we could actually go in the factory but they've stopped giving tours due to OHS =( Still we had lunch here - got the Ploughman's lunch $17.50 Nice selection of cheeses with some cold cuts and super soft bread and homemade butter =) I normally don't like cold lunches like this but I love cheese, especially the fruit cheese <3

Our 2nd scone on the trip - this was super fluffy yet crunchy on the top. Don't know how they did it 'cause I'm pretty sure it wasn't fresh from the oven - still we loved it so much we got another one =P

We also got a milkshake made from the local milk (Sungold) which was made at the factory as well - yummo =)

Food~ 7.5/10

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Waves Restaurant
29 Lord St, Port Campbell

The local people told us Waves was the most high class restaurant here so we decided to come here on the 24th to celebrate <3 After our delicious seafood platter the night before, we wanted another one. It was $70 here but explicitly says it serves two.

Looks quite big and impressive - but actually wasn't as good as the 12 Rocks one =( there were 2 pieces of battered fish, pesto grilled salmon, battered calamari, mussels in a tomato sauce, a swimmer crab, fresh oysters and "Bloody Mary" oysters. The battered fish quickly became very soggy - how hard is it to make battered fish crispy?! The salmon was slightly overcooked, and the prawns had ridiculously sticky shells - not good quality! The Bloody Mary oysters were pretty cool though - pretty sure it didn't actually have any alcohol in it =P Overall, it wasn't bad but it wasn't great either, given it was 1.75 times more expensive then the one from the previous night! We finished the platter and still had room for some dessert - but we thought we had too much sweets for the day so decided to leave, not wanting to give them anymore business lol.

Food~ 4.5/10


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Alcove Cafe
34 Lord St, Port Campbell

It was Anzac Day morning - we knew not many places would be open for breakfast but we needed some food before our drive. Only Waves (which we didn't want to go back to), the bakery (which I wouldn't mind, but P wanted a cooked breakfast) or the Alcove Cafe was open. We didn't even know this cafe existed before but I guess it doesn't open for dinner that's why we hadn't noticed it.

Corn Fritters with 2 eggs and Hollandaise sauce didn't sound too bad $12.00 - but oh my gosh it was so nasty. First of all - what kind of corn fritters is this?! More like corn pancakes which were soggy and tasteless. And secondly, what is with that egg with the super yellow yolk?! I mean, if you see that, wouldn't you think of throwing it away and giving us 2 eggs that looked the same?! The hollandaise sauce didn't taste like hollandaise sauce, more like just cream - really wasn't very nice.

P got the Bacon and Eggs on Toast $12.00 - I told him to get the Bacon and Egg Toasted Sandwich for $7.00 instead since it's got the same ingredients but he was stubborn and wanted the Bacon and Eggs on Toast. What a mistake it was - the toast was soggy (maybe the toasted sandwich would be crunchier?) and the bacon was so salty.

I hate leaving food on my plate, but this was one of those very few times I've done that.

Food~ 1/10

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Apollo Bay Seafood Cafe
119 Great Ocean Road, Apollo Bay

We were really craving some good quality fish and chips after our disappointing Seafood Platter at Waves. We walked along the beach front shops and thought this cafe looked the most genuine to fish and chips and looked quite clean. We stood at the counter for 5 minutes before someone came to take our order even though one of the waiters was just doing something at the cashier - poor service! =/ We ordered a battered flake and chips, a grilled fish (forgot what P got) and 3 battered calamari - came to $18.00. There was an extra 50c charge for grilled fish - what the?! Wouldn't you think grilled uses less ingredients compared with battered so should be cheaper?! Had to pay $1.00 for tomato sauce or $1.20 for tartare sauce - really?!

Fish was crunchy on the outside and was quite fresh. The grilled fish lacked some seasoning - maybe really shouldn't have grilled fish at a fish and chips place =P The battered calamari was a bit disappointing though - more batter than actual calamari, we ended up just eating the calamari and leaving the batter.

Food~ 5.5/10

Seems like our food adventures started off awesomely but went downhill through the days! =( Next time we'll know! (if/when we go back =P)

C.
xo