Zen Japanese Restaurant

Zen Japanese Restaurant
388 Burwood Rd, Hawthorn
(Ph) 9818 0116

My parents were in town! Dad loves a good Japanese meal so I searched the Entertainment book for a place - found something local! I've actually driven past this restaurant multiple times before =)

A little cosy restaurant - must be a gem as there were lots of Japanese people dining there on this night! They're actually a group with another Zen restaurant and also a Jap/Korean restaurant in the city?!

We were seated in the corner where the lighting was terrible! There were 2 little candles on the table but that was about it - poor dad couldn't read the menu he forgot his reading glasses! =P So apologies for the flash in the photos ><

We were started off with some par-boiled broccoli with some miso paste - random much? =P

Our favourite Jap entree! Edamame - boiled green soy bean $7 so much fun eating these, so tasty and addictive =)

We always get Agedashi Tofu at Japanese restaurants so we decided to get this instead. Tofu Dengaku - deep fried tofu coated w potato starch, served w Homemade sweet MISO paste $9. So much tastier than Agedashi tofu as agedashi is always swimming in the broth so the crumb is always soggy, but this was deliciously crunchy with the miso paste =)

Another tasty entree! Nasu Dengaku - deep fried egg plant w homemade sweet MISO paste $10. The eggplant is not usually deep fried so it was much tastier with a crunchy skin on the outside - again was delicious with the miso paste =)

Next came the Seafood Tempura - 2 pcs of Tiger Prawns, 3 pcs of each Prawn, Fish, Calamari & Vegetable $27 What a big plate of tempura - perfectly deep fried and delicious with the dipping sauce. The prawns and fish were quite fresh though the calamari wasn't as nice though - wasn't chewy and was kinda soft =/

We saw the table next to us had ordered a sizzling plate which looked quite appealing so we got the Yakiniku - thinly sliced premium scotch fillet marinated in YAKINIKU sauce & cooked w mixed vegetables $22

Wasn't the one the other table had ordered which was actually the steak (they were still thinly sliced compared to a slab of Western steak though!) - this was more like a stir fry though was still quite good.

P got a Steamed Rice $2 to go with it - how is this steamed rice?! Well it was steamed, though was 5 grain rice which P wasn't a fan of.

Last came the Sushi & Sashimi Combo - MAIN 8 pcs of nigiri, 16 pcs of sashimi $35

Love <3 very fresh sashimi, sushi was good too my favourite was the eel - a super thick tasty slice =)

Food~
7/10 - good fresh food here, very genuine Japanese food as can be seen by all the Japanese people there!

Service~
3/5 - very attentive service by the waiters

Atmosphere~
2/5 - a bit too dark for our liking, we could barely see what we were eating!

C.
xo

Rama Thai

Rama Thai

495 Burke Rd, Hawthorn East

(Ph) 9822 7322

Catch up with J and S! I was looking in my Entertainment Book for something and came across Rama Thai - seemed quite good ratings on Urbanspoon so thought we'd check it out - oh how wrong I was =(

S got there quite early so I dunno if it was 'cause of that that the waitress started the night off badly with us =/ We ordered our food and waited ages before any dishes came out, while the table next to us who ordered AFTER us got their food before us =(

We got one entree to share - Golden Bags - deep fried pastry filled with minced chicken or prawns - spicy prawns (4) $9.50

The waitress had accidentally given us some chicken golden bags (pictured above), and just as we were about to start eating she comes back and tells us they were chicken and not prawn. So we waited a few minutes before she came back out with some prawn golden bags (pictured below) - which don't look as regular as the chicken ones and look smaller =(

I started biting into mine when I came across something cold and mushy - the prawns were raw! There was only the one waitress so I waited ages for her attention before she came and I complained - she apologized and took the dish away and gave us a new dish. FINALLY we got a plate of cooked (very hot inside this time!) golden bags - was alright, kinda like a spring roll actually.

We waited ages before our mains came. Crystal Pad Thai - stir-fried vermicelli, egg, tofu, bean shoot, garlic chive, and peanut with tamarind sauce - chicken $14.90

For a change thought we'd try pad thai with vermicelli instead of rice noodles! Actually quite nice - love the blend of sweet, salty and sour flavours =) Would be nicer if the chicken breast pieces were smaller so they're not so tough though - like at One Thai =)

Thought we should get a vegetarian curry so it'd be our greens for the night =) Gang Keaw Warn (Green Curry) - green curry with coconut milk, bean, basil, bamboo shoot - mixed vegetables $14.90

Damn I forgot green curry is actually quite spicy - though I like how they used coconut milk in it, I thought red curry is the one usually with coconut milk and green curry doesn't?

We got 2 serves of Coconut Rice (steamed rice in coconut milk and lime leaves) $3.50 per head and one Roti Bread - pan-fried Indian style bread - with peanut sauce $5.00

They gave us one silver bowl of coconut rice - which was delicious by itself and with the green curry sauce. After a while we ran out and I thought it was $3.50 per serve and they just gave us the 2 serves in one bowl but it was actually per head! So we could have gotten more ah well =P I forgot Indian roti is not as fluffy as Malaysian roti so this tasted more like a crepe/pancake but I liked the peanut sauce that came with it - ended up eating the roti with the peanut sauce instead of with the curry =)

We were pretty full by this stage and it was actually getting quite late 'cause they were quite slow taking orders and bringing dishes out - I guess can't expect much given there was only one waitress working =/

But there is always room for dessert! We decided to share 2 desserts - we ordered the desserts then a few minutes later the waitress comes out and tells us there is only one serve of vanilla icecream left and we can pick a different flavour of icecream for the other one - how can there only be one serve of icecream left?! We said we'd get coconut icecream for the other one.

Kao Tom Mud Taro or Banana - steamed sweet sticky rice stuffed with taro or banana served with Vanilla icecream $7.00

Taro sweet sticky rice with coconut icecream! The taro was just in the middle of the sticky rice and in a big lump - would have been nicer if it was spread out a bit more but it was quite tasty - actually went very well with the coconut icecream =) The taro flavour was actually quite mild - might have been better if we got banana instead actually ah well.

Coconut Pudding - steamed rice flour and palm sugar topped with coconut milk served with vanilla icecream $7.00

This reminds me of the Thai coconut pancakes (like at I Spicy 2) or the savoury Vietnamese mini pancakes (like at Thanh Nga Nine) but without the crunchy bottom. Still this was quite tasty, I like the palm sugar flavour mixed with the coconut milk. You can see the icecream starting to melt here already - so this was their last serve of vanilla icecream hmm...

Food~
3/10 - raw prawns in the golden bags is definitely a no go, and half melted icecream is not cool either, but apart from that the rest was alright

Service~
1/5 - they really should have more than one waitress working on a night, it ended being quite busy and she was running around constantly, at one stage the manager(?) came out as well - I wonder why he couldn't have helped out the whole time?

Atmosphere~
3/5 - quite a nice cosy restaurant

The Entertainment voucher gave us 25% off but I only realised after we left that they charged us $2 extra like they rounded it up, I don't mind giving it as tips but I don't like how they try to jip us like that!

C.
xo

Cupcake Central

Cupcake Central

Shop 7, 672 Glenferrie Rd, Hawthorn

(Ph) 9077 4542

I had an Entertainment voucher for Cupcake Central so had been meaning to try it out for ages! <3 Cupcakes!

They have standard cupcakaes at $4 each, or babycakes at $2.20 each. Or gift boxes - starting at 4 for $15 =)

They have a Cupcake flavour calender, rotating more than 20 flavours everyday - some popular flavours are baked everyday, while there are other daily specials. And they rotate the calender every season or so =) They're apparently the only cupcake bakery that bakes all their cupcakes daily from scratch each morning (but i'm not sure about that =/)

They only had one Salted Caramel left which is one of their daily flavours, and given we came at midday on Sunday, I fail to believe it was baked fresh that morning. So it was a little disappointing it was a little dry =( the cupcake was just a chocolate cupcake, the icing was mainly vanilla with some salted caramel on top - would have liked it better if the salted caramel was more within the cupcake too!

Cookies and Cream <3 I like how they put half an oreo on there - we ate this one the day after so the oreo was a bit soft =( But the cupcake was still very moist - vanilla and chocolate flavours - the beauty of cookies and cream =)

Vanilla Vanilla - vanilla vanilla and more vanilla! Nothing more to say but it was, like the others, super moist cupcake with a creamy icing.

So far all of them have been everyday baked flavours but Banoffee Pie was one of the flavours of the day - banana cupcake with toffee inside, caramel flavoured icing and crumb bits on top <3 this was my favourite - super moist cupcake with a light creamy icing =)

Food~
6/10 - not sure if I would pay full price for their cupcakes but I gotta say they're one of the best in Melbourne - compared to Cupcake Bakery's cupcakes which were sometimes dry these were much tastier!

Service~
3/5 - very friendly smiling waiter =)

Atmosphere~
2/5 - small cafe where you can sit and enjoy your cupcakes too, but we took ours away to enjoy at home

C.
xo

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

Kimchi Lunchbox

Kimchi Lunchbox

650-652 Glenferrie Rd, Hawthorn

(Ph) 9818 1233

We've just moved into Hawthorn and were catching up with fellow Hawthorn buddies - I can finally go look in the "East" section in the Cheap Eats guide =) Thought we'd go locally - Kimchi Lunchbox was given ☆☆ by the Cheap Eats guide

We had walked past it a few nights ago and it was packed but on this weeknight it wasn't too full. It's quite casual here, you order and pay at the counter and help yourself to water here. We decided to share some starters Takoyaki - octopus ball

Even though I can make this at home myself with my own takoyaki pan, bonito flakes, Japanese mayo and takoyaki sauce =P The balls were quite crispy on the outside but the inside was 90% flour and only had the tiniest piece of octopus each - so stingy =(

We also got some Goon-man-doo - homemade pan-fried dumpling 

Interesting Korean dumplings - I asked for some dumpling sauce and the waiter pointed to the Soy sauce on our table hmm =/ it's quite different to Chinese dumplings or Japanese gyoza - the skin is different but was quite tasty and crispy =)

P decided to go for a Rice Hot Plate - Eating instructions 
a) Rice is pressed and cooked on the high temperature hot-plate. 
b) Mix well together with the meat of your choice. 
c) Flattened the mixed rice evenly on the hotplate
(their English is not great =P)

He went for the Spicy Chicken BBQ $9.50 and requested less chilli =P

He was starving when it came out so quickly mixed the meat with the rice and I don't know if it's because it was a cold night or whatever, but the hot-plate didn't crisp up the rice at all =( The chicken was alright, nothing too special, but they did manage to give us less chilli which most places say no to =)

I always get this at Korean restaurants - Bibimbap - means "mixed meat". A bowl of rice topped with seasoned vegetables, meat and mixed with korean chilli paste (gochujang). The ingredients are stirred together thoroughly

I got the Beef BBQ for $9.50

This didn't come topped with a fried egg like it normally does, but instead shreds of fried egg? lol. The stone bowl wasn't hot at all - the rice didn't crisp up at all - disappointment compared to the delicious Bibimbab's I've had elsewhere (see Oriental Spoon and By Korea)

Food~
4/10 - was disappointing neither our dishes crisped up the rice like they're meant to =( and don't call them takoyaki balls if they barely have any octopus in it! The dumplings are good though =)

Service~
1/5 - didn't really have much to comment on initially, but come 5mins to 9pm, the waiters come and take our cups of water away and really try to get you out of the restaurant =/ we were finishing up anyway but I don't enjoy being kicked out =(

Atmosphere~
3/5 - quite a big spacious restaurant, very casual atmosphere

C.
xo

Porgie and Mr Jones

Porgie and Mr Jones

291 Auburn Rd, Hawthorn

(Ph) 9882 2955

C had been in Melbourne for a while now but we never got around to catching up - finally we made time! =) Porgie and Mr Jones is managed by the same people as Friends of Mine and Snow Pony, both of which are cafes I've been meaning to try too!

We got there at around 10.30am on a Sunday morning, and what did we expect, but a full cafe... the waitress said it'd be about 15mins wait and said we could wait out the back in the courtyard so we said okay. We walked out the back but the courtyard was all wet from the rain so we just huddled in the corner next to the front counter, turned out we waited at least 25mins for a table, I guess it was 'cause it was raining so they didn't open the courtyard =_=

The cafe has a very homely feel - the front room have communal tables, the back rooms have cosy small tables some with armchairs next to the fireplace and lots of hanging paintings, and the courtyard out the back which would have been nice if it wasn't so wet and cold on this summer day!

I started off with a Chai Latte - no complaints here =)

Their menu wasn't too extensive, but they try to use lots of organic, free range and locally grown ingredients - organic bread, free range eggs and bacon, own grown herbs =) I went for the Smashed avocado w/ thyme buttered mushrooms, marinated feta + basil on wholegrain toast $17.9 w/ poached egg $19.9

Wow it was massive! The smashed avocado was one of the best I've had and the egg was perfectly poached. Combination of my 2 favourite breakfast ingredients - mushrooms and avocado! <3 The bread was a little hard to cut though - probably 'cause it was a grainy bread.

C wanted something light so went for the Toasted banana bread w/ maple syrup mascapone, fresh banana, berry compote + crushed pistachio $15.9

It was not light at all! Looked and tasted amazing - the banana bread was soaked in the berry sauce and was delicious with the mascapone. Would definitely want to come back for this =)

We were so full after our dishes I didn't have room to try their famous fluffy scones - next time!

Food~
7.5/10 - very filling and delicious menu items, would definitely want to come back and try some other dishes

Service~
2/5 - Would have been better if they didn't underestimate the wait time, and what kinda restaurant in Hawthorn doesn't accept card payment?!

Atmosphere~
3/5 - the back rooms felt like we were actually in someone's house, very homely =)

C.
xo

Liar Liar

Liar Liar

90 Kinkora Rd, Hawthorn

(Ph) 9818 8864

After moving to Hawthorn, we decided we had to go check out the local popular cafes! First one was Liar Liar, I had heard a lot about it before - it's previously managed by people who now manage Proud Mary and St Ali, so we thought it must be good =) It's on a street off Glenferrie Rd, there is really no signage outside though there is only one cafe on this street so couldn't really miss it =P

It's got quite a nice vibe inside, and nice new decor unlike the typical redo-warehouse decor of many Melbourne cafes.

As usual, P got the Big Fat Liar - eggs anyway + bacon + chipolatas + slow roasted mushrooms + sauteed spinach + thyme roasted tomato + house made relish $17.50

Quite a generous dish, eggs were poached perfectly. The relish was full of flavour and the chipolatas were tasty. The only downside was the toast was really tough like it might be a bit stale? =/

I got the Smashed Avocado - feta, avocado smash + maple glazed bacon + two poached eggs + sourdough toast + dukkah $17.00

Ooh maple glazed bacon! We actually compared our bacons and mine was distinctly sweeter and tastier than P's! The avocado was really good - with feta and lemon acidity =) My sourdough was much better and softer than P's toast - shouldn't they serve the same bread?!

Food~
6.5/10 - pretty good tasty food here! I was going to try the Pea + feta fritters on the lunch menu, but it doesn't come with eggs and you have to pay extra for salmon - they need to put fritters on the brunch menu!

Atmosphere~
3/5 - they have communal tables here but we came on a weekday so wasn't too packed, we were seated up the back which had pretty dim lighting, maybe they need to fix that =P

Service~
3/5 - very friendly waiters here

C.
xo

Firechief

Firechief

169 Camberwell Rd, Hawthorn East

(Ph) 9831 1700

After reading a lot about the awesome pizzas at Firechief, which has opened for merely a year, I was so excited to finally try it out for our end of year work dinner. The restaurant is like an old warehouse with bright yellow beams framing the room, and colourful rugs and wooden panels lining the walls.

The centerpiece of the restaurant is definitely the low-hanging brass chandelier which was actually swaying above us during our meal - a little scary =P

We came here on a weekday night, and it was packed to the brim! I like how you have an open view of the kitchen - seeing the chefs busily making your pizzas and the waiters rushing in and out. A nice family friendly atmosphere, only downside is the afternoon sun streaming in - we actually had to wear our sunglasses during the meal until the waiters decided to pull the blinds down!

Their menu is predominantly of pizza - no surprises there =P They do 3 types of pizzas here.

Authentic & original pizza from Naples - the pizzas in this column are made to the exacting recipe as stipulated by the "associazone verace pizza napoletana" in naples, italy. cooked in our wood fired oven for 2 minutes at 400 degrees

The modern artisan "hand style" pizzas - the pizzas in this column are cooked in a classic italian twin deck oven worked by hand & shovel, cooked on the stone floor at 360 degrees in around 4 minutes, they represent the most popular pizza in italy

The great australian family pizza - the pizzas in this column are cooked on pizza trays in a special conveyor oven from italy - we use the very best local ingredients. the average cook time is 6 minutes at 340 degrees

You know they're a serious pizzeria when they send their chefs to get the Associazone Verace Pizza Napoletana accreditation! So I thought I definitely had to try the woodfire type of pizza =)

I got the Special Woodfired Pizza of the week - San Marzano crushed tomato, chicken, avocado, fior di latte, capsicum, topped w rocket $21.00

Had all my favourite pizza toppings! Chicken, avocado and fior di latte! The crust was super thin and crispy with the nice smokey woodfire taste. Only downside was the toppings made my pizza really wet! Not sure what it was that made it so wet - probably the tomatos? =/ The middle of the pizza was soft and damp - I usually like to eat my pizzas with my hands, but it was just so sloppy and wet that I had to eat with knife and fork. The pizzas come on a piece of baking paper, but the moisture and the serrated knife meant I kept cutting the baking paper and nearly ate bits of it =/

And it wasn't just mine that was like that - B's Sopresso - san marzano tomato, fior di latte, gorgonzola, mild casalingo sopresso, basil & chillies $22 was also like that - wet and soft on the inside as well, must be the tomatos =( Though I quite liked the gorgonzola on her pizza =)

It's quite a large pizza, and I was actually getting full after half of it! I wanted to take the rest home but because it was so wet I thought it'd be best that I don't doggy box it so stuffed myself with it. Which meant I had no room for dessert =(

The others tried the firechief tiramisu - w coffee jelly, genois sponge, vanilla bean custard, creamed ricotta, toasted almonds & khalua $14

A different take on the traditional tiramisu - it's more like a custard/liquid tiramisu as opposed to an actual cake. Layer upon layer of deliciousness - best eaten all together especially with the strong coffee jelly on the bottom. Next time I'm here I'm definitely having one of these by myself! =)

Food~

6/10 - for a restaurant so hyped up for their awesome pizzas, little disappointing they couldn't get their toppings right so they wouldn't make the pizza sloppy =( Maybe next time I'll try one of their other types of pizzas (twin deck or conveyer oven)

Atmosphere~

2/5 - nice family restaurant, would have been nice if they had pulled the blinds down earlier though so we didn't need to wear sunnies indoors during the meal =P

Service~

3/5 - service was good and fast given it was such a busy night!

C.

xo