Cafe de Taite

Cafe de Taite

639 Glenferrie Rd, Hawthorn

(Ph) 9819 5671

We found a Honky style cafe in Hawthorn - what a pleasant surprise! Thought we should check it out since P was craving some pork chop bun =P

Small cafe with booths! Quite an authentic atmosphere with pictures of Hong Kong on the walls =)

They have some set menus - from $12.90 for a dish, a soup, garlic bread and a drink! Quite a good deal but I wanted to try the Cheese Pork Chop Rice $11.80 from the Specials Menu. P went for a Grilled Pork Chop Bun $6.80 and a Seafood Chowder $6.00

The Seafood Chowder was quite thick and flavoursome - bits of fish and crab sticks as per usual. Quite interesting how it was served with garlic bread instead of a bread roll. 

The Grilled Pork Chop Bun was more like a Western burger instead of the tasty sweet buns like you get in Hong Kong but wasn't too bad. <3 pork chop!

My Cheese Pork Chop Rice was the highlight of the meal! It was like an inside out Parma as S said! Cheesy goodness leaking out from the inside, deep fried with panko crumbs =) The cheese was quite a mature flavour, nearly like a blue which I enjoyed very much. You'd think it'd be a bit weird with tomato rice and mayonnaise but it all went went together - perfect Honky fusion <3

We found a little gem so close to home! I'd say it's on par to my other favourite Honky cafes Pacific House in the city and New Age Cafe in Boxhill =)

Food~
7.5/10 - would love to come back for their baked rice dishes or their set menus next time

Atmosphere~
3/5 - wasn't too busy on this Sunday night but that didn't deter us from going in at all

Service~
3/5 - food came quite promptly and they kept filling our hot teas up =)

Will definitely be back!

C.
xo

Pacific Seafood BBQ House

Pacific Seafood BBQ House

240 Victoria St, Richmond

(Ph) 9427 8225

P had been craving roast duck for a while so instead of getting our usual Viet food on Victoria Street, we decided to come in Pacific Seafood BBQ House. This is the original Pacific House of the 3, specializing in roast meats unlike the Lonsdale Street one which is more of a HK style cafe. I have been here before with my parents for dinner but not for lunch - their roast meats and their seafood are their specialty.

We got served a bowl of complimentary soup when we were seated - was very flavoursome =)

The menu is full of proper dishes and entrees but we wanted rice dishes which we couldn't find anywhere =/ There are also dishes written on paper stuck on the walls, mainly in Chinese but some in English as well. On the table there was a short list of Lunch Specials which were rice dishes but not roast meats. In the end we decided to share a Roast Platter - 3 meats for $28. Roast duck, roast pork and BBQ pork.

The roast duck was delicious - crispy skin and succulent meat. The only down side is when you order part of a duck it all depends on luck whether you get a meaty portion or a bony portion, as opposed to when you order half a duck or a whole duck - ah well. The roast pork skin was crispy but there was more fat than meat on it =( The BBQ pork was a bit disappointing though - was quite dry like it had been hanging by the window for ages =/

After we ordered our dishes we saw the man at the next table had ordered a roast pork rice dish! Plus it had some bokchoy on it! =( Why was it not on the menu?! We should have ordered 2 rice dishes instead of this big main plus a bowl of rice..

Food~
5/10 - maybe it was our unlucky day but the roast meats weren't as good as I remembered it to be

Atmosphere~
2/5 - quite cramped tables but the usual for Victoria Street restaurants

Service~
2/5 - quick efficient service

C.
xo

Original Taste of Northern China Cuisine

Original Taste of Northern China Cuisine

930 Whitehorse Rd, Boxhill

(Ph) 9898 8787

This was one of the few Boxhill restaurants in my Cheap Eats Guide so thought we'd go check it out. Very ordinary decor - with the terracotta tile roof decor again! (see Hills BBQ Noodle Shop). P said it really feels like Beijing with the white walls and high ceilings, and waiters with their deep Northern accent =P

The waiter (owner?) was busy talking to some regular customers and kinda didn't serve us/take our orders for a while =/ Though I did take ages to decide - I was going for some normal dumplings since dumplings are meant to be a northern China dish, but then though I should try one of their specialties. This was mentioned in the Cheap Eats Guide so thought I'd try it - Stir-fried threaded pork in sweet soy sauce in Beijing style $14.80

I think they mean shredded pork instead of threaded pork? It was quite bland was seriously just some soy sauce pork on a bed of raw spring onion =/ I saw the waiter take a packet of pancakes which I assume had just come out of the microwave, opened it and put the pancakes on the plate - so they're definitely not freshly made which I guess was expected. They were a bit stuck together but I guess was good they were very thin and uniform.

They don't have many rice dishes here - most of their dishes are proper main dishes and you order rice on the side, so it would have been a massive. P finally settled on one of their very few rice dishes - Basa with batter in sweet and sour sauce with rice $9.80

Looks like sweet and sour pork - I guess it's pretty much the same thing. Though the batter wasn't very good - it should still be crunchy even after drenched in sauce, but it was all soft and soggy =(

Food~
3/10 - maybe we don't know how to appreciate Northern food but I didn't think it was that great here =/

Atmosphere~
2/5 - nothing much

Service~
1/5 - would have been nice if the waiter served everyone equally, or at least serve us first before chatting!

C.
xo

Hills BBQ Noodle Shop

Hills BBQ Noodle Shop

586 Station St, Boxhill

(Ph) 9899 3382

Hills BBQ Noodle Shop is famous for their BBQ meats - I had been here a few times before for takeaway BBQ meats and when I saw it was in the Cheap Eats Guide for ☆☆ I thought I'd pay it a visit again.

Inside is a very authentic Honky atmosphere - look at the Ancient Chinese palace tiling around the kitchen lol

I went for the Roast Duck + Honey Glazed Pork (BBQ pork) on rice - one meat is $8.80, "extra dollar for extra mixed $1.00" - I just love Asian English =P

They were quite generous with the BBQ meats, though was a bit disappointing =( The bbq pork was flavoursome but was quite dry and tough. The duck meat was good but the skin wasn't crisp at all =( It wasn't like we came really late, we came during peak lunch time and it still wasn't good..

For some reason P is always sick when we eat at Boxhill so he wanted congee again - Seafood Combination Congee $9.50

Very generous with big tiger prawns, lots of fish and scallops =) the congee was very flavoursome - it wasn't like they just made white congee and put the seafood in afterwards like how they do it at some places.

Food~
5/10 - I had remembered the BBQ meats to be much better, maybe this was just a bad day =( We saw someone have a plate of beef fried noodles which looked super tasty with crunchy noodles - wouldn't mind trying that next time

Atmosphere~
2/5 - quite loud and rowdy here, but really feels like you're transported to a cafe in Hong Kong!

Service~
3/5 - quick service here

C.
xo

Wong's Lucky Bar

Wong's Lucky Bar

921 Whitehorse Rd, Boxhill

(Ph) 9899 8558

I had read lots about the cheap mud crab/lobster here so though should check it out with P. We were walking along both sides of the road before we realised the restaurant is actually in the middle of the road at the tram stop! There is also a cafe next to it which looked quite empty compared to Wong's.

It's quite a small restaurant - when we asked for a table for 2, the waitress asked us to go into the sideway. We looked at her blankly before we realised there's actually 3 tables of 2 in this little alley that you go in from the back of the restaurant. So you're sitting with this glass wall separating you and the main part of the restaurant. I wonder why they couldn't just knock down the glass wall and just expand the main area of the restaurant? There's an aircon right at the end of the alley so it was actually very cold sitting there =/ And the waiters have to squeeze past the tables to go to the back to clear tables/take orders - it's all very awkward =/

They have set menus for mud crab or lobster, or you can order the dish separately ($13.80 per pound of mud crab - pretty cheap!) but the smallest one they had for the day was 2.5 pounds which was a bit too much for just the 2 of us for lunch, and given P was slightly sick, we decided to give it a miss today and just come back with more people next time. I ordered their other famous dish here - Hainanese Chicken

Very good presentation for a quick Chinese restaurant! Comparable to the Hainanese Chicken at Coconut House =) The chicken pieces were all boneless and were soft and succulent - I didn't touch the chilli at the end but the spring onion mix was a nice accompaniment. The chicken rice was full of flavour and not too oily, and the soup was full of MSG but quite tasty nonetheless.

Since P was sick, he got the Fish Fillet Congee

Should have taken a picture of the fish fillets - they were quite generous with the fish and even though you know they just put the fish into some white congee and cook it just a little together, the congee wasn't too bland =)

Every time we walk past the food court at Boxhill P always eyes longingly at the shop that sells Asian street foods - in particular at the fried chicken wings. But every time after lunch, he's always too full for it so he's been craving it for ages. So when he found they had it on the menu here, even though he was sick, he ordered some Fried Chicken Wings =_______=

Soo soo oily but what do you expect of fried chicken wings? Still it was oilier than normal, like oilier than KFC - we were soaking them on the tissues =/ But it satisfied P's craving =P

Food~
7/10 - not bad for some cheap Asian food, definitely will want to be back for the mud crab another day!

Service~
2/5 - waiters are very prompt with orders and food came very quickly, but don't expect to come here to have a long relaxing meal!

Atmosphere~
2/5 - felt quite cramped sitting in the side alley but I guess it's a bit of privacy? =P

C.
xo

China Red

China Red

6/206 Bourke St, Melbourne

(Ph) 9662 3688

A was in Melbourne and we had wanted to go to Hutong Dumpling Bar but of course, it was fully booked on this Saturday night so decided to try one of their offshoot restaurants, China Red. Fortunately I managed to get a booking here - they do 2 seatings, 6pm till 7.45pm, then 7.45pm till 9pm. We decided to go early and booked for 6.30pm - we thought it'd be packed given they said we had to be out by 7.45pm but there were still some empty tables when we got there, though they did get filled throughout the night. 

China Red is located in one of the arcades between Bourke Street and Little Bourke Street, with a traditional (lots of red and dark wood) yet modern atmosphere. The floor level is not that big but there's an underground level too.

Through the glass window outside, you can see the chefs pleating dumplings and stretching noodles - good to know your noodles and dumplings are freshly made =)

They're the only restaurant I know of which has a touchscreen menu at each table and you order your own dishes - guess it saves them a lot waiter service? =P

They also have the menu in book-form for you, but the touchscreen gives you pictures of all their dishes and drinks - even pictures of the tea/teapot haha! The touchscreen was a bit laggy at times - or our touch was too light? It's separated into sections - Chef's Recommendations, Dim Sim, Appetizers, Cold Dishes, Chicken, Beef, Seafood, Noodle + Rice, Drinks + Juice, Tea etc etc and you click on the picture/dish you want, select how many of each dish you want, and then confirm your order. And make sure you check before you click "OK" for confirm, 'cause the orders go straight to the kitchen (we were trying to find a "Finalise" or a "Submit" button but none was found) and the food came out a few minutes later! The instructions under the touchscreen say there are no cancellations on orders and I'm assuming that means no modifications either =/ There's also a "Service" button which we pressed 'cause we felt like it =P but also 'cause we wanted water instead of paying $2.20pp for tea =/

Both A and I wanted the Shanghai Shao Long Bao (Steamed Pork Buns) (8 pieces) $11.80

Who calls it SHAO long bao?! Is't it XIAO long bao?? =P Yay they gave us ginger strips in a little bowl for us to put vinegar in =) The dumplings weren't as good as Hutong Dumpling Bar though - skin was very thin and there was lots of delicious soup inside, but the meat was a bit too soft like it was oversteamed? =/

We also got some Pan Fried Dumplings (8 pieces) (Pork) $10.80

Plating wasn't very good here =( And the dumplings felt like they were slightly deep fried as well?! 'cause the top pleatings were uniformly crunchy which they can't do if they pan fried them hmm =/ The inside meant was a bit better here, not as soft and mushy as the Shao Long Baos and there was also some broth inside, but the skin was a bit thicker than I would have liked.

Last came the Shanghai Stir Fried Noodles (Pork and Vegetables) $11.80

Nothing too special here, noodles were quite good, slightly chewy but a little too salty - actually not sure if these noodles are handmade here too 'cause there were other dishes which actually specify it like China Red Special Hand-Made Noodles.

Food~
6/10 - overall was okay, not as good as its parent, Hutong Dumpling Bar - maybe it was just today 'cause I remember my last visit here was better =(

Atmosphere~
4/5 - for an Asian restaurant it's quite good and quite spacious with boards separating the tables so you have a bit of privacy =)

Service~
3/5 - not much of service here 'cause you order your own food =P though the food came ridiculously quickly - not sure if the food is premade?!

C.
xo

Ramen King

Ramen King

Main St, Boxhill Centro, Boxhill

(Ph) 9899 3133

Even though we've been to Boxhill numerous times, had never noticed there was a Ramen King at the Centro entrance. It was actually quite busy on this Sunday afternoon so thought we'd give it a try.

The menu is about 10 pages long but there was only 8 ramen dishes and the rest were Chinese, Malaysian, Thai, Vietnamese, Japanese and Korean dishes. Obviously they don't have much of a specialty here. It's like Raramen inside Boxhill Centro, having the "ramen" word in the restaurant name but really just selling Chinese food - how lame =/ We thought we'd look at the ramen options first but they didn't sound very appealing - choice of beef, chicken, katsu, seafood, gyoza and some other ones and no broth to choose from?! Most other tables were ordering Chinese dishes so we thought we'd stay away from the ramen. The waiter came and asked us for our order 1 minute after we were seated, and kept coming back, and by the time we decided, all the waiters were too busy for us =/ They finally came and took our order and then said we had to pay for it immediately! Who does that?! Our dishes were $19.50 so I gave the waiter a $20 note but she didn't come back with my change and went and cleared some tables. I was about to complain then finally she came back with a dirty 50c coin *dislike*

I went for the Noodle with pork mince sauce $9.50 after my super delicious one at Noodle Kingdom.

P said this is like the Asian spaghetti bolognaise which is kinda true =P The sauce was a bit too salty though and the noodles were really soft and soggy and kinda overcooked - definitely not like the nice chewy handmade ones at Noodle Kingdom =( I wonder if they make their own noodles here?

P is such a sucker for Singapore fried noodles $10

This too was very salty - if they had put less salt and more curry powder in would have been nicer. $10 is slightly more expensive than the general Boxhill restaurants for this dish though they were quite generous with their mini prawns.

Food~
4/10 - not very good and both our dishes were too salty =/

Service~
1/5 - asking your patrons to pay for the food upfront is definitely not cool!

Atmosphere~
3/5 - quite a spacious restaurant

C.
xo

Best Food Gallery

Best Food Gallery

599 Station St, Boxhill

(Ph) 9897 1448

P and I come to Boxhill most weekends for shopping - we decided to try somewhere we hadn't been to before. Walked past Best Food Gallery and saw on their window their specialty is 炸臭豆腐 (fried stinky tofu) and 生煎包 (Fried Pork Buns) <3 I have never had stinky tofu here in Australia before so decided to give it a go here =)

P was sick with a sore throat so ordered Century Egg & Souted pork Congee $7

What the random is souted?! sauted?! This was not very flavoursome though they were quite generous with century egg.

Of course I had to order the Fried Shanghai Specially Bean Curd (4pcs) 炸臭豆腐 $6

Stinky tofu is fermented tofu that has a strong stinky odor - it is very much an acquired taste, kinda like durian but LOVE <3 just block your nose when you're eating either of these foods =) Its deep fried to crunchiness while the inside is soft and kinda like cheese, served with hoisin sauce and chilli sauce. Delicious! - felt like I was transported back to the streets of Hong Kong <3

We ordered the other specialty of this restaurant - Shanghai Fried Plain Pork Buns (5pcs) 生煎包 $6

Quite generous $6 for 5 buns! Steamed then fried to crunchiness on the bottom. The meat was very juicy and lots of soup inside the bun, though the bun was a bit too thick - would have been nicer if there was less bun or if the bun was less dense.

Last came the Steamed Shanghai Mini Pork Buns (8pcs) $8

Don't look very impressive with some of them falling over - there was lots of tasty soup inside and the meat was quite juicy too, but it lacked a bit of ginger =( and the dumpling skin was a tad too thick - guess it's good they didn't pop easily?

Food~
5/10 - nothing too special, unless you're craving some 炸臭豆腐 (fried stinky tofu) which is quite good and genuine here =)

Atmosphere~
2/5 - wasn't too busy on this weekend lunch

Service~
2/5 - food came quite promptly but the tables felt a bit greasy and dirty =/

C.
xo

First Taste Restaurant

First Taste Restaurant

604 Station Street, Boxhill

(Ph) 9890 8788

I had been to First Taste a few years ago with my parents - they're famous for their double-boiled herbal soups and claypot rice dishes. The door is a big heavy wooden door - not very friendly looking, but inside is a typical Asian eatery jam packed tables.

How does 頭啖湯 translate to become First Taste?! Nothing related at all lol

P and I decided to get a double boiled soup each and a claypot rice each - we were starving =P P got the Dry White Cabbage Stew with Pork $4.50

It was super delicious and full of flavour - I really like cabbage in soup and the pork was so soft and tender. We couldn't get enough of it - wish there was more liquid and less "stuff" in the soup.

I decided to get the Ginseng & Herbs Stewed Chicken Soup $5.90 - thought I should get something with lots of goodness =P

Maybe because we're not used to drinking herbal soups, but the ginseng flavour was too powerful and there was too much herbs in it made the soup really bitter =/ bitter stuff is usually good for you right? I kept wanting to swap soups with P - his was so much tastier =P

P's claypot was the Black Pepper Beef Fillet with Rice $9.50

His beef was so ridiculously peppery and there was wayy too much sauce it nearly drowned out the rice lol.

I got the Plum Sauce Spare Ribs with Rice $8.80

And mine lacked in sauce =( why can't they get it right?! The plum sauce spare ribs were quite flavoursome but it was quite dry and there was definitely not enough sauce to go with the massive bowl of rice. There was quite a bit of crusty rice on the bottom but it was a bit too dry that it became difficult to chew - not sure if it was sitting on the stove top for too long or something 'cause it's meant to be crunchy not chewy =/ At least it's not burnt?

Food~
5.5/10 - double boiled herbal soups are a definite must, but get something that you know you'll like instead of try be fancy like me and get ginseng when you know you don't like it =P maybe next time I'll try their other dishes instead of claypot rice

Service~
2/5 - soups came out very quickly, we thought maybe they have like 10+ pots brewing in the kitchen? or maybe they're all precooked and just reheated in the single soup cups?

Atmosphere~
2/5 - quite loud and typical of Asian eateries, was surprised to see Causasian people in there!

C.
xo

Monga Sweet Cafe

Monga Sweet Cafe

Level 1, 217 Russel St, Melbourne

(Ph) 9654 4885

After the greasiness and spiciness of Crazy Wings, we wanted some sweet refreshing drink to wash it all down. Walked past Monga Sweet Cafe and decided to try it out =) I had heard about it in Boxhill, and how it serves genuine Asian, especially Hong Kong, desserts and Tea Cafe foods. There are actually quite a few Asian dessert places popping up in the CBD, like Dessert Story (2 stores in the CBD now!).

You go up the stairs to the cafe, the first floor looks like a typical modern cafe, with some sofas for you to relax on as well. Unfortunately the first floor was full on this night, so they asked us to go upstairs. There's a sign saying "1970s Hong Kong Style Venue Upstairs" and wow! It really feels like you're transformed back to olden day Hong Kong! It's quite dark there, with many square tables of 4, looks kinda like a mahjong den =P

And there was a genuine Bus Stop sign right next to our table!

You can come here and play games (cards, chess etc) - but you do have to rent it. And there's a room with dart machines in it too! Though that doesn't feel very Honky lol =P

We were going to go for a set - drink + pineapple bun, but then E wanted to try the following 2 desserts so we decided to not get a drink and just go for the 2 desserts =P

First was the Deep Fried Sweet Potato w/ Golden Syrup $4.50

We weren't going to go for something deep fried after the greasy chicken wings, but we're both suckers for sweet potato =P surprisingly wasn't too greasy and was very crunchy, though there was more batter than sweet potato lol. If only they were a bit more generous with the golden syrup =P

My favourite Honky dessert - Hawker's Waffles  (Peanut butter & condensed milk) $7.00

Doesn't look as appealing with the waffle drenched in peanut butter and condensed milk but the taste is what matters more! deliciousness <3 Crunchy waffles with a watered down peanut butter and condensed milk mixture - whoever thought of this mixture is a genius =)

This is the original one from the most famous place in Hong Kong <3

LOVE <3

Food~

7/10 - quite good, definitely feel like I've been transported back to Hong Kong =) whenever I feel slightly homesick will definitely come here! Wanna try some of the other savoury Tea Cafe foods too =)

Service~

4/5 - since we were one of the only 2 tables upstairs, the single waiter (I actually think he was the manager as he was in a suit!) was very prompt with our orders and bringing us water and everything =)

Atmosphere~

3/5 - bit too dark for my liking but love the Honky decor!

Will definitely be back =)

C.
xo