Spaghetti Tree

Spaghetti Tree

59 Bourke St, Melbourne

(Ph) 9650 3174

P didn't feel like cooking tonight so we decided to go out. Spaghetti Tree had been on the back of my mind for a while, I had a 25% off Entertainment voucher, and it always seems packed so we decided to go check it out. I got there at 7pm and the waiter asked if I had made reservations and I said no =/ Then she asked me if it was a table for one lol 'cause P wasn't there yet =P She said they were pretty fully booked but could put us on a table up the back so we went in. Up the back meant right next to the musician with his piano and violin - he was playing many classical and pop songs it was quite nice though it made it very difficult to talk =/

The tables here are all sorts of shapes and sizes - there were even tables that were ex-sewing machines! You can see the pedal under the table in the photo below =P

P wanted a starter so we got the Bruschetta - toasted Italian bread with pesto, tomato and basil $8.00

The bruschetta was actually a bit spicy strangely enough =/ And the toppings were really wet which made the bread soggy though the crust was really hard like it was stale =S We should have gone for the garlic bread like I wanted =(

P got Linguini with Meatballs - home made beef meatballs in a delicious Napolitana sauce $19.50

It was quite good, they were quite generous with the meatballs. And the spinach added an extra touch to the dish =) Though the pasta was cooked right through instead of al dente which is what P likes, but apparently most Australians like our pasta cooked through?

I thought I'd go for something different and try the Canneloni - home made meat, cheese and spinach blended with ham and eggs and then baked into a pasta roll, covered with our bolognaise sauce $19.50

Doesn't look very appetising does it? The canneloni mixture was a mush of I-dunno-what (it doesn't taste like cheese+spinach+ham+eggs at all). It was very salty and actually was a bit hard, like it was premade and heated up again so it was quite hard =/ The bolognaise sauce was quite good - there was more bolognaise sauce than there was actual canneloni. Maybe the lasagne would have been better lol.

Food~
5/10 - quite average, so surprised this restaurant is always so full! I don't think the pastas are worth $20 each

Atmosphere~
2/5 - very loud but the music was quite good

Service~
2/5 - was very busy on this night and the waiters weren't all dressed in waiter gear so it was hard to tell who's who =/

C.
xo

Taco Bill

Taco Bill

412 Collins St, Melbourne 

(Ph) 9670 4327

I had a Shop-a-Docket voucher for Taco Bill - buy one main get one free =) I had been meaning to try it out for ages, for some reason P has something against Mexican restaurants so it took us forever to finally come try it out.

We came to this one on Collins Street - it's like underground and looks slightly dingy but the waiters were very nice and were actually Mexican! (well they spoke Spanish =P) We got a bowl of corn chips and some salsa to start of with w00t freebies! The salsa was hotter than what we were used to but had lots of stuff in it =)

P wanted to get a Fruit Margarita $9.90 - we asked the waiter what was the most popular flavour and she said strawberry so we went with it =( Quite expensive but super delicious - fruity but slightly alcoholy! Totally wanted one each ><

The menu had lots of different things we had never heard of before but we decided to go for "Great for Beginners" dish and the "Our No. 1 Favourite" dish =)

The Beginners dish is a bit of everything. La Combinacion - beef enchilada, beef taco and beef taquito, served with frijoles and rice $21.50

This was super delicious! The beef was like pulled beef, soft and tender and full of flavour. Too bad the taco was a bit soft from the sauce it was sitting on =( The enchilada was cheesy and my favourite! So that's what a taquito is - it's a corn tortilla rolled up with beef filling and deep fried. Never had it before but I quite liked it with the salsa =) And frijoles! <3 Back when we used to frequent Montezuma's, I loved eating the beans mush you get on the side of the dishes - why can't they just call it bean mush =P Too bad they didn't give enough corn chips to go with it.

The No 1 favourite dish is the Fajitas - thinly sliced strips of marinated chicken sauteed with red and green capsicum and onion, served "sizzling" and accompanied by fresh guacamole, Mexican rice and warm flour tortillas $25.95

You wrap it up in the tortillas and eat it like a taco.

This dish sounds better than it tastes. The chicken was stir fried and marinated but the wraps felt like they were missing some cheese or sauce to be considered a Mexican dish. Maybe 'cause I'm so used to Old El Paso enchiladas =P And the guacamole and lettuce doesn't seem to go well with the stir fry =/

Food~
6/10 - go for the Beginners combination dish and definitely the margaritas!

Atmosphere~
3/5 - the underground restaurant turned out to be quite cosy =)

Service~
4/5 - very good here with the Mexican waiters =P

C.
xo

Q Eleven

Q Eleven

303 Coventry St, South Melbourne

(Ph) 9645 7311

☆☆☆

Another ☆☆☆ recommendation by the Cheap Eats Guide! It's a little cafe right next to the South Melbourne markets - I've walked past it so many times on my shopping trips there but had never stepped inside it before. And I find out my friend works here casually =) 

It's quite small, and you can see inside the kitchen which doesn't look very big with a single chef. P was hungry so he decided to go for the Spicy chicken, toasted ciabatta, mustard aioli, avocado mash, fresh tomato, bacon $14.50

It was delicious! Toasted ciabatta with fresh ingredients and just a touch of spice in the chicken =)

I'm always a sucker for corn fritters - Corn fritters, a poached egg, avocado mash, tomato chutney $13.90

Lately I've been having alot of corn fritters that are pancake like instead of fritter like - but this pancake-like fritter was still crunchy and yummy =) And the tomato chutney went well with the avocado mash - P who normally doesn't like avocado wanted more of my dish =P

Food~
7.5/10 - delicious! Wanna try all the other dishes on the menu

Service~
3/5 - very friendly homely waiters... think they're mainly family members working here

Atmosphere~
4/5 - lovely cosy little cafe =)

Next time will try to come when my friend is working!

C.
xo

Pho Dzung

Pho Dzung

234 Russell St, Melbourne

(Ph) 9663 8885

I told P I didn't want Pho for at least a year since I got back from Vietnam but he had cravings so I succumbed =( P of course got Special Beef Combination Pho 

Bowl of noodles with a plate of bean sprouts, mint, lemon and chilli - not as generous as they are at the Richmond restaurants (eg. Co Do, Thanh Tam)

The Pho was alright, not bad but nothing out of the ordinary.

I got the Grill Pork Chop, Fried Egg, Shredded Pork with Broken Rice $9.50

This took forever to come out. So I thought everything would be freshly cooked and delicious, but the grilled pork was quite dry =/ And they need some work on their presentation lol. They also gave a cup of sauce and a bowl of soup? The soup was really salty though =/ I wonder if they actually use broken rice here - I learned in Vietnam that broken rice refers to the rice grains that aren't whole which get put aside and get fed to the poor.

We also got some Spring Rolls $8.50

They don't put much inside the spring rolls though they are very tasty, especially when wrapped with the lettuce.

Food~
4/10 - wasn't very good, if you want good Vietnamese food head down to Richmond =)

Service~
2/5 - food actually took surprisingly long for an Asian restaurant =/

Atmosphere~
2/5 - dirty, but then again, what do you expect?

C.
xo

Mamak

Mamak

15 Goulburn St, Haymarket

(Ph) 9211 1668

Mamak was one of the restaurants recommended to us to try in Sydney. We knew they don't take bookings and the line is usually fairly long, so we came here at 6pm and lucky there were only 2 groups of people in front of us. 5mins later the line was down the road already - phew! We were so excited while waiting, watching the chefs spin out the rotis paper thin and frying it - so hungry!

The 5 of us had to squish at a 4 people table - actually, they don't really have tables bigger than 4 so we had to make do. We decided to get a few mains, some satay and some roti to share - satays and roti are famous here =)

First came the Rojak - a Malaysian style salad. Prawn and coconut fritters, fried tofu, hard-boiled eggs, freshly shredded yambean and cucumber, topped with a thick spicy peanut sauce $14

This was the best main dish - the prawn and coconut fritters were very crunchy, the cucumber was super fresh and was delicious with the peanut sauce =) and what is yambean?!

My brother wanted Kari ayam - Classic chicken curry cooked with freshly ground spices and chunky potatoes $16

Big chunks of chicken and potato - curry was a bit too spicy for me but was tasty with the roti =)

We always get Nasi Lemak on Air Asia flights - they never taste great so we decided to try a genuine one here. Nasi lemak - fragrant coconut rice accompanied by an ensemble of sambal, peanuts, crispy anchovies, cucumber and hard-boiled egg. Arguably Malaysia's national dish $8.50. Dad decided to add sambal prawns/cuttlefish for $4

The coconut rice was so delicious but wow! Sambal is RIDICULOUSLY spicy =/ Even Dad said it was spicy for him haha... don't know how people can eat and enjoy this?!

I liked the rotis more =) Roti telur - classic egg roti $6.50

I wonder why they squish this roti up into a ball? I guess it gets it more fluffy inside? Soft yet crispy YUM =) They give you 2 curry sauces and a small blob of sambal sauce *shivers*

We also got the Roti telur bawang - egg and onions, a must for omelette lovers $7

This one wasn't as special - it was really like an omelette pancake.

Since we thought 2 wouldn't be enough for the 5 of us, we also got the Roti planta - a rich buttery roti $6.50

Super buttery and fluffy and crunchy - recommend =)

We also got a mixed plate of satay. Satay - grilled over flaming charcoal for that authentic Malaysian flavour. Served with a sweet and spicy peanut sauce. $16 for a dozen - mixed chicken and beef.

We were actually soo full by now, lucky the satay aren't that big. Actually thought they were a tad too dry, but was still tasty with the peanut sauce.

We of course had to get some Malaysian drinks. Teh tarik - classic Malaysian sweetened tea, "stretched" for a frothy topping $3.50

The famous Teh Tarik - frothy and creamy and sweet!

Since P was slightly sick, he got the Teh halia - teh tarik with a hint of ginger $3.50

It was really just like a teh tarik with a hint of ginger - super like!


The curries were making me quite hot so I got a Teh ais - ice milk tea $3.50

It's not as rich or creamy as the Teh Tarik but still had the same taste - so much nicer than western tea!

We were soo full but there's always room for dessert =) Ordered the Roti bom - a truly indulgent roti served thicker, richer and sweeter $8.50 (allow 20mins)

This is like the one we had at Pappa Rich, thick, crispy caramelised sides with a fluffy soft inside - I can't decide if I like it with icecream here or with condensed milk and sugar at Pappa Rich.

The best dish came last. Roti tisu - paper-thin, extra-crispy and served tall $9.50

How fantastic does this look? Super thin and crispy dusted with sugar - wish I had room to eat a whole one by myself this was so unique and delicious =)

Food~
8/10 - delicious! Especially roti tisu <3 a must have!

Atmosphere~
2/5 - quite loud and squishy in there - they need tables that cater for more than 4 people!

Service~
3/5 - it's very busy so the waiters are always running around doing everything

Will definitely come back here next time I'm in Sydney!

C.
xo

Iron Chef Chinese Seafood Restaurant

Iron Chef Chinese Seafood Restaurant

84 Broomfield St, Cabramatta

Yumcha again! This time we wanted to venture out to the suburbs since we had a car and since we had  gone to The Eight at Chinatown a few days ago already. We had been to Iron Chef at Cabramatta last time we came to Sydney - from what we remember there was a large variety of foods and it was all quite tasty. So we decided to come here again - plus P said he had never been to Cabramatta and wanted to come see what it's like =P The car trip took so ridiculously long though - like nearly 45 minutes from the city omg =___= if we had known we wouldn't have bothered!

Took forever trying to find a park - how could there be such a big restaurant and no designated parking or carpark around?! Didn't have to wait at all for a table though - weird.

Ordered some normal dishes like beef balls, chicken feet and ox tongue puff - not bad but not that spectacular either.

Dad got a plate of pig hock - it's just skin and some tendon I don't understand why you would bother eating it =/it's quite bland though there is a sauce to dip it in. I guess it's kinda like chicken feet but at least that has black bean taste etc =P

Got some BBQ pork buns (juicy meat and very soft bun) and some beef intestines (yummy and chewy!)

The plates of roast meat looked very fresh and crisp -  we were deciding between roast pork or roast duck - got duck instead. Crispy skin and soft delicious meat - Dad was saying we should have got half a duck instead of just one small plate =P Even the peanuts were full of flavour and soft mmmm

Crispy Taro puffs - these were a bit disappointing. The insides weren't very tasty, not sure if it was off or there were just some very strange marinades inside or something =/

We asked the manager (or a waiter who was dressed like the manager) to order us a Runny Sand bun (流沙包) but he zoomed past us and didn't even acknowledge he heard us - rude to the max! =/

But the buns came so he must have heard us say the order =/ Anyway, these buns actually weren't that good. They were more like Egg Custard buns (奶皇包) which I really don't like 'cause it's too creamy and milky =( Boo! Runny Sand buns are my favourite yumcha dish now <3 craving delicious ones at Shark Fin now - still are the best ever!

Pork dumplings...

BBQ pork rice noodle rolls...

Blackbean spareribs...

Nothing too special - were all alright dishes.

Food~
5/10 - was alright, nothing was that fantastic except the roast duck. Not worth travelling the 45mins here for!

Atmosphere~
2/5 - rowdy Asian yumcha atmosphere

Service~
1/5 - such poor service from the manager! It actually happened twice - we got his attention to put an order for the rice noodle rolls and he fully walked passed us again and didn't say anything or acknowledge us saying anything! The food came but still! So rude =/

Not sure if we would bother coming all the way out here next time we're in Sydney...

C.
xo

Golden Times Chinese Restaurant

Golden Times Chinese Restaurant

Wests Ashfield Leagues, 115 Liverpool Rd, Ashfield

Dad loves seafood especially lobster. Last time he came to Sydney he found an ad in the Chinese newspaper about lobster special at this restaurant and had tried it and thought it was delicious and well worth the money. So this time he decided to bring us here again.

The restaurant is at the Wests Ashfield League Club - it's the most lavish and fancy sports club I've ever been too. Massive building, 2 stories high, chandeliers and all. All guests must become temporary members to go inside for the restaurants or pokies or whatever. Dad said last time they came they had to manually write their name, address etc onto a form, but this time, there are 6 computers in place each with a mini scanner which scans your drivers licence and gets all the information and prints it out onto a slip for you. Out of the 5 of us, only mine had the spelling of the name and address 100% correct - they all had either wrongly spelt names or addresses =P Guess the machine's pretty new still needs some tweaking =P

We told the waiter we wanted a lobster and a coral trout but unfortunately on this day, the coral trouts were very small and since they're priced per fish not by weight, it wasn't worth it. So we decided to try a Parrot fish - never had it before but was recommended to us so we gave it a go. Also got a pot of double boiled soup - more like the waiter made us get it but anyway =P

But it was really delicious - full of flavour! I think I had about 4 bowls - love Chinese soup =)

We got the lobster cooked 2 ways - sashimi for half of it, and fried with stock with underlying egg noodles.

How fantastic does this look! =) This is one of the only places we've been to who will do lobster sashimi - it comes served with ice overlying and amongst the lobster. Guess it tastes best icy cold =) The pieces are like little globules, not like salmon sashimi which can be cut nicely into slices. We initially had some without soy sauce first, and to be honest, it wasn't that special. Just tastes like something from the sea but didn't have much flavour and was a bit chewy. When we dipped it into the soy sauce the soy brings out the flavour of the lobster more, but I gotta say, I think I'm not a fan of raw lobster.

The next lobster dish came and my! THIS was delicious! Cooking it just brings out the lobster flavour so well - and it wasn't cooked in rich flavours like garlic or pepper which would have drowned out the lobster taste. Bouncy meat that can be pulled into strips, and I love the layer of skin which tastes like roe lining the inside of the shell =) Look at my perfectly de-shelled lobster leg ^____^

Next came the Parrot fish - it got deconstructed by the waiter before I could take a photo of it. A very meaty fish - very tasty, if it was overcooked would have been tough since there's not much fat but it was perfectly cooked. P didn't like this though - he said he'd rather have barramundi and he likes my soy better - this soy is not as sweet but it brings out the flavour of the fish.

The only dish we ordered from the menu was the Preserved Egg and Salted Egg with Baby Spinach in Premium Soup $22.80

Very fresh and cleansing - love preserved egg and salted egg! We were soo full by then we had to fill our tummy with the expensive lobster and fish didn't have much room for this =(

Food~
7/10 - I would not normally order such expensive seafood myself but my Dad loves it and yes, was very delicious =)

Atmosphere~
3/5 - quite pleasant on this weeknight in a very spacious restaurant

Service~
4/5 - very good service, but then again, we're paying for it =P

C.
xo