TGI Fridays

TGI Fridays

Level 3, Melbourne Central, Corner La Trobe & Swanston Street, Melbourne

(Ph) 9650 3322

N was in Melbourne again! Since we were going to Europe soon and we've had a lot of Asian food lately with my parents being around I wanted something different. I heard TGI Fridays had opened up recently in Melbourne Central so thought we'd go check it out - had been meaning to go to the Jam Factory one a few times but never got around to it. We were hungry and were wanting lots of meaty unhealthy American food =D

We got there at 6pm on a Saturday night and omg there was already a 30 minute wait =/ since it was still early we decided to wait and starve ourselves a little bit first. They gave us a buzzer but said the buzzer only works right outside the restaurant so what's the point of having a buzzer might as well just call out names but anyway =/ we went for a walk and came back in 20mins and our buzzer went off - yay!

It's got a very American feel inside but not as much as Misty's Diner =P still has the red booths but also has a bar and large screens for watching sports - so a mix between Aussie bar and American diner? It's not actually that big inside - didn't think so 'cause China Bar wasn't that big beforehand anyway, so no wonder there was a long waiting time.

P wanted to get a jug of Sangria or something to share but they don't do jugs here =/ so we just got a glass.. Sangria - good news, we spiked the punch! Tropical juices and red wine combine for a fruity flavour that's all grown up $9.25

Thought it'd be bigger than that =/ It was alright, wasn't as fruity as we'd have liked it and they put way too much ice in it.

I had a buy-1-main-get-1-free voucher so we decided to get an entree and 2 mains to share. For entree we got an appetizer to share. Friday's Three For All - a winning combination of loaded potato skins, juicy pork riblets and tangy buffalo wings. Served with sour cream and spring onions, BBQ sauce, Bleu Cheese dressing and celery sticks $29.95

This was huge! Their loaded potato skins are their specialty - cheesy and bacony, would be nice if the skins were crispier though 'cause they were a bit soft. The buffalo wings were really good - delicious with the bleu cheese sauce! I love pork ribs, and these were delicious and fall-off-the-bone but there were lots of little bits of bone which you can't really see - I bit right into where I thought was soft meat and really hurt my teeth - happened a few times =(

P loves his fajitas so when he saw there was a tower he insisted on getting it. Char-grilled Chicken & Beef Sizzlin' Fajita Tower - one-and-a-half feet of Sizzlin' Fajita fun. Char-grilled chicken and beef served on a platter of grilled onions and peppers. Wrap the meat and vegetables in warm flour tortillas, then topped with cheese, sour cream, pico de gallo and guacamole $28.95

After the massive entree platter we were slightly disappointed at the size of the tower. Yes it was 3 levels, but there wasn't that much meat on the sizzling plate and it definitely wasn't sizzling when it came to our table unlike at other restaurants (Taco Bill, Fiesta Mexican). Flavours were good though, not spicy at all which we liked =) Though they were very generous with the soft tortillas (about 6 or so?) compared to Fiesta Mexican's measly 3!

For the second main we got Jack Daniels Half Rack Ribs & Shrimp - a half-rack of Cajun-spiced baby back pork ribs, char-grilled and glazed with our Jack Daniel's sauce, with a handful of our Cajun shrimp, battered and fried, served with crispy fries $34.95

P and N wanted prawns and I wanted ribs so we got both! But we were a bit disappointed at the size of the dish - I know it says half rack of ribs but it was a very small half =( This rack also had little bits of bone in it so hurt our teeth again =/ The prawns looked a bit tacky with bits of the batter falling off the meat so they weren't not properly battered - still it was quite tasty with the Jack Daniel's BBQ sauce. Chips were good though - nicely seasoned and crispy.

P was a bit disappointed with the main dishes so didn't want dessert here =( I had wanted to try the Brownie Obsession - a warm brownie covered in hot chocolate fudge sauce, vanilla ice cream, caramel sauce and chopped pecans $12.95 - picture looked so tasty but we decided to go elsewhere for dessert. 

Food~

4/10 - quite overrated and expensive for what you get, we still spent like $30 each even though we had a voucher, what if we didn't?! would have recommended the ribs if not for the many little bones in it =/

Atmosphere~

3/5 - the waiters here are very in the mood, they sing this TGI's birthday song for birthday guests (3 times in the one night!) and they're all into it so was quite entertaining. There wasn't any big sports match on tonight or I'd imagine the bar would be very loud. You can sit inside or outdoors on the balcony - would be nice on a summer's night but not right now in this cold =P

Service~

3/5 - service was alright on this night, read other ppl had to wait ages for their food but ours came relatively quickly

C.

xo

Red Spice Road QV

Red Spice Road QV

31-37 Artemis Lane, Melbourne

(Ph) 8660 6300

I had come here ages ago but for some reason never blogged about it! So back-blogging now =)

After a very pleasant experience at the McKillop Road store, we decided to take some Brisbane friends here to try out some fusion food - they had initially wanted Chin Chin but we didn't want to wait like 2hrs for dinner. Came here on a Saturday night and surprisingly it was quite empty though we were pretty early like 6ish.

They have the paintings of three naked Asian ladies like at the McKillop store - different paintings but add to the Asian fusion atmosphere.

Quite a nice big bar area up the front...

And a long area of tables up the back, much nicer lit compared to the McKillop Road one where you get a lot of natural sunlight here =)

We wanted to try an entree as we hadn't tried one before. Watermelon with Sticky Duck and Cashew Relish $7.50

Quite an interesting combination of flavours - braised sweet duck meat with some cashew crunch on the outside and a sweet refreshing piece of watermelon, seems all a bit random together but is quite interesting.

Soft Shell Crab fried with Snake Beans, Wild Ginger, Basil and Black Pepper Sauce $34.00

Omg look at the proportion of snake beans to crab compared to the one we ordered at McKillop Road?! So even though it's the same menu item they make it very differently at the 2 stores - I think I like the McKillop Road one where they were more generous with the crab =P Also this felt like it was more deep fried than stir fried, though the other one was kinda like that too.

The famous Pork Belly with Apple Slaw, Chilli Caramel and Black Vinegar $35.00

Just as we remembered it from last time - pork belly was crunchy on the outside and soft and braised inside to perfection =) The only downside was they were way too generous with the coriander on the salad for my liking - more apple would be better!

We tried something new this time - Twice Cooked Lamb Ribs with Mint, Lychee and Avocado Salad $35.00

Lots of mint (and coriander ugh) in the salad. Had to really search through the pile of salad to find the lamb ribs =P They weren't very meaty and because of that the meat was a little dry, but I think lamb ribs are just like that, unlike pork ribs (my fave) <3 Still the flavours were good, and they tried to crunch up the outside and be soft inside but there's just not that much meat on them to achieve optimal results =/

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Another visit to Red Spice Road QV a few months later wasn't as pleasant as the first one =( We had made a booking for 8pm but when we got there the waiters said there was still a bit of wait for a table and asked us to take a seat at the bar. 20 minutes later we were still not seated and we asked the waiters again and she said unfortunately the table hadn't left yet - well if the table is booked for 8pm then they just gotta tell them they have to leave! Can't be nice to them but not to us! o_Oa finally at 8.40pm we were finally seated - we were soo hungry that we really weren't in the mood for much anymore =/ We of course had to order the Pork Belly and the Soft Shell Crab again, but also ordered the Crocodile Jungle Curry with Baby Corn and Apple Eggplant $35.00

I don't remember if I've had crocodile meat before - it tastes like a cross between chicken and fish! Actually quite interesting I thought it'd be quite tough. Though this curry was very spicy so beware!

Food~

8/10 - just as good as the McKillop Road one, pretty much the same menu, and again would definitely recommend the Pork Belly and Soft Shell Crab =)

Service~

1/5 - the first visit was good but the second time was appalling, they really need to work on their booking management =/

Atmosphere~

4/5 - much nicer and newer than the main store, better lighting too

Click here for a review of the McKillop Road store..

L'Apres Midi

L'Apres Midi

167-169 Russell St, Melbourne

(Ph) 9663 8258

Bought a Groupon voucher for a cake here - I had walked past this place a few times in the city but had never got around to trying it out.There had been some not so good reviews on Urbanspoon but thought we'd give it a try anyway.

Mum loves Strawberry Cheesecake (and so do I - good excuse to order this cake as P doesn't like it =P)

It came in such a massive box! The cake was quite small inside the huge box =P

This was a 6 inch cake - yay it was bigger than 6 inches =P

Quite a light fluffy cheesecake - the cheese layer was surprisingly not too cheesy so even P liked it! The layer of strawberry coulis was sweet yet sour. The base layer was quite different to the normal cheesecake - kinda wet with syrup so was quite sweet but complimented the sourness of the strawberry coulis =)

Yum! Happy birthday Mum! <3

8/10

Mamasita

Mamasita

Level 1, 11 Collins St, Melbourne

(Ph) 9650 3821

A was back in Melbourne and wanted to try Mamasita - a few years after it's opened it is still overly popular and if you come anytime near peak time be prepared to wait along the famous stairs and down onto Collins Street for up to a few hours! We decided to come at 5.30pm on a Sunday night an luckily it was only about 90% full haha. It's entrance is very small and not very visible next to the 7-Eleven but I guess if you come near peak times you would see the line of people waiting outside =P

Inside is actually not that big so no wonder the wait is so long!

We were seated at the end of the bar on high stools - not particularly comfortable but not that we really had a choice!

Sorry for the blinding flash but it's pretty dark in here =/

We started off with the famous Elote callejero - "Street style" chargrilled corn, queso, chipotle mayo & lime $5.4

Quite expensive for one cob of corn but was awesomely delicious - so cheesy with spicy seasoning on top, complimented by the lime juice.

Next we got a Tostaditas (4 per board) - 2.5inch fried tortilla chips with toppings
de Pollo - chargrilled chicken, avocado, chipotle mayo & queso fresco $15.4

The home made tortilla was crisp and crunchy - the mountain of toppings seemed a bit too much for a single tortilla chip, maybe they could have given us another one for the top so it would be more like a sandwich? Would love to try some of their other toppings like pork belly with crackling =D

The  Ceviche - raw fish cured in citrus sounded pretty interesting so we got one to share
Ceviche de Veracruz - snapper, tomato, olive, green chilli, lime & coriander $7.7 single serve, $16.5 share

Came served with some corn chips =D Not sure what it was meant to be like but there was a lot of liquid in it, it was more like a soup? The raw snapper was a bit fishy but was quite nice cured by the tanginess of the lime.

So many small dishes so we decided to get one main to share. Pancita de cerdo - Guajillo- braised pork belly, habanero cream, fried parsley & lime $27.5

This actually tasted like Asian pork belly - like a sweet soy flavour. I quite liked the habanero cream though - just a touch of spiciness which contrasted with the sweetness of the pork.

The waiter suggested us to get either some rice or some other carbs to go with the pork. She recommended the Platanos Machos - fried plantains, pico verde & queso fresco $7.7

Plantain is a starchy banana commonly used for cooking - deep fried here so tasted like chips =D Delicious as a dish by itself with the verde and the cheese anyway!

Luckily most of the dishes weren't too spicy (none of us really eat chilli!) but if you find it's not spicy enough for you, you can always add some of either green or red chilli into your dishes - we were not game enough to try though! =P

Food~
7/10 - quite tasty authentic Mexican food, would definitely want to try their tacos next time and maybe not their main dishes though

Atmosphere~
3/5 - quite a nice chilled restaurant, if only they had more tables - bar stools aren't particularly comfortable =P

Service~
3/5 - friendly but brisk service, I guess they want you in and out quickly so they can serve the massive line of customers waiting!

Would definitely be back!

C.

xo

Vapiano

Vapiano

Flinders Lane, Melbourne 

(Ph) 9620 3335

I had been to Vapiano in Brisbane a few times before and remembered how awesome it was, so was super excited when they opened one in Melbourne! They were doing 2 days of free lunches while the chefs and waitresses were in training but I unfortunately missed out on it. They gave buy-1-get-1-free pizza/pastas vouchers for those who missed out to be used before end of April, so P and I came to try it out on a Sunday lunch.

So new and nice inside! Downstairs is just the entrance counter, the restaurant and kitchen is all upstairs.

They gave us each a Chip Card at the counter - you swipe your card to record all your food and beverage purchases so there's no problem of split bills at the end, smart =)

It was pretty empty when we were there so we got awesome service =) There's a pizza area, a salad area and a long pasta area. Plus a dessert area which wasn't really open yet.

Most of the tables are high tables with stools - not particularly comfortable if you want to hang and chill. But there are some lower tables up the back too - it's quite a big restaurant =)

At each table there were bottles of olive oil and balsamic vinegar, and herb pot plants! Mainly basil which you add to your own pasta or pizza =)

At the salad bar there's bread for you to try the salad dressings - the dressings were really flavoursome but we weren't hungry enough for a salad as well. Would have liked it if there was parmesan cheese for us to help ourselves to though!

At the pizza bar they give you a buzzer so you don't have to stand around to wait. The screen on the bottom is where you swipe your Chip Card to record your purchase.

Big clean oven which on this day had some issues and the pizza took forever to come out. After apologizing to us, the manager was kind enough to say they'll give us the pizza for free for our inconvenience.

There were quite a few pasta counters 'cause the chefs cook it right in front of you =)

You choose your pasta type and the pasta sauce, and you pick whether you want garlic, cheese etc.

The packets behind them are the many different types of pasta they have on offer =)

Complimentary ciabatta bread =)

Tada! Our Pollo e Spinaci - chicken breast, onion, pesto, baby spinach in a cream sauce with pappardelle $20.90

It was deliciously fresh and cooked al dente - the sauce was delicious and even though they weren't that generous with the chicken it was a perfect ratio - less is more =)

Yay the pizza buzzer finally went off!

Barbecue Pollo - chicken breast, barbecue sauce, onion, smoked cheese, tomato base, mozzarella $20.90

This was one of the best pizzas we've ever had, maybe 'cause we waited forever for it =P Super thin crispy crust, super cheesy and not much chicken - less is more again!

So because they gave us the pizza for free, we didn't get to use our buy-1-get-1-free voucher, and since it was such an awesome meal, we came back again a few days later for dinner. We still ordered one pasta and one pizza.

Filleto di Manzo e Rucola - fillet of beef, mushrooms, rocket, carrots, zucchini, spring onion and white wine with campanelle $20.90

This was more like a dry pasta and was quite different to what we expected, kinda like a stir fry with pasta. Was still quite tasty but I guess I would have preferred a pasta with a sauce.

Gamberi e Rucola - prawns, olives, rocket, tomato base, mozzarella $20.90

This was super awesome too - they were surprisingly very generous with the prawns, and they were big and juicy too! Like the other one, super thin and crispy base =)

Vapiano is one of the new gems of Melbourne, it will get very busy very soon here! Bonus is when you pay, you can help yourself to a handful of gummy bears! =)

Food~
8/10 - super awesome and fresh, love how they cook your food straight in front of you =)

Service~
4/5 - very attentive and polite here

Atmosphere~
4/5 - cool place to hang out, imagine it will get very busy here when more people know about it!

Will definitely be back =)

C.
xo

Purple Peanuts

Purple Peanuts Japanese Cafe

620 Collins Street, Melbourne

(Ph) 9620 9548

On the night we left our Collins Street apartment we thought we had got to try out the super popular Purple Peanuts cafe downstairs again! We had tried it once before, takeaway - think we got the Teriyaki Chicken and can't remember what else but it wasn't very tasty, maybe because it was taken away or something, but since it was so popular we decided to give it another go =)

It's such a funky Japanese cafe with very interesting decor - octopus everywhere (on the name by the window and a massive scary looking one above the fridge), cat with waving paw statues and lots of Beatles posters on the wall.

There are only a few tables inside, but you can sit outside on Collins Street. It's usually packed at lunchtimes but we came for dinner so managed to get a table inside. You order at the counter (the menu is written on butchers paper on the wall) and help yourself to the self service counter of water, utensils and ginger.

Since P didn't like his Chicken Teriyaki last time he went for the Chicken Curry - flame grilled chicken in a mild Japanese curry with carrot, potato, onion, ginger, garlic + pickles. Served with rice. $9.20 with miso soup $11.20

$2 for a miso soup?! I know it's home made but no thanks =P The chicken was cooked perfectly with a slight char, curry was quite flavoursome - you can tell it's not packet stuff =)

I went for the Kakuni Pork - slow-cooked braised pork belly served with rice and salad with a hint of Korean chilli $9.50 with miso soup $11.50

The pork belly was delicious - so soft the meat fell apart with the slightest touch with your fork. The sauce looks scarily spicy but actually wasn't too bad and actually had a hint of sweetness. Not sure if the salad complemented the dish but overall was quite good =)

Food~
7/10 - quite good mains here with a twist. Their sushi is meant to be very good here but given we came here at night thought we should go for the mains. Wouldn't mind trying their onigiri rice balls next time - deep fried rice balls =)

Service~
2/5 - food came quite quickly but it is quite casual here ordering at the counter

Atmosphere~
1/5 - it was a super humid night and they don't have aircon (or heating) here! maybe we really should have taken it away home to eat =P

C.
xo