Author Archives: em

Din Tai Fung (CBD)

Taiwanese $$ One of my favourite places for xiao long bao (pork dumplings). Super juicy with a light dumpling skin, mmm. They even have instructions on how to eat it printed on the chopstick packets! Food comes very fast and you order everything (with pictures to guide you) on an ipad. My other favourite hereContinue reading “Din Tai Fung (CBD)”

Pho Hung Vuong (Springvale)

Vietnamese $ For the true pho lovers. They don’t do anything except pho, and they do it well. Don’t expect service with a smile or a menu, just look on the wall and choose your pho topping and size. Two minutes later, you’ll have a beautiful bowl of hot noodle soup. You’ll feel like you’reContinue reading “Pho Hung Vuong (Springvale)”

Osteria Ilaria (CBD)

Italian $$$ In terms of Italian in the city, had never heard of this place! But this place is a gem! Everything was beautifully flavourful and buttery. Highlights were the croquettes (wonderfully crunchy), duck pappardelle (nothing like that bitey fresh pasta) and fried potato. On top of that, desserts were also incredible, ricotta gelato hadContinue reading “Osteria Ilaria (CBD)”

Little White Duck (Chadstone)

Chinese $$ Been meaning to try this restaurant in the Chadstone foodcourt for a while! Tried the shanghai pan-fried black truffle pork buns and the homemade buns, pretty good! Couldn’t taste any truffle, not as flavourful as I’d like, but still delicious. And I know the homemade buns are easy to make, but I’m aContinue reading “Little White Duck (Chadstone)”

Meet Fresh (Glen Waverley)

Dessert $ A bit of a misleading name, but a popular Taiwanese dessert franchise, famous for its shaved ice. A relatively light dessert that suits an Asian palate. Had the Q Mochi Snowflake Ice, mochi was soft and chewy, and shaved ice was light with a delicate condensed milk flavour. But my new favourite isContinue reading “Meet Fresh (Glen Waverley)”

The Grand Tofu (Glen Waverley)

Malaysian $ Great Asian food for the soul. Cheap, good quality, and fast! I had the Yong Tofu, where you can choose your soup, type of noodles, and extras (dumplings, meat, veges). Also had the Combination Crispy Fried Noodles, delicious. Noodles so crispy and good mix of meat and prawns. The Teh Tarik (both hotContinue reading “The Grand Tofu (Glen Waverley)”

Doot Doot Doot (Merricks North)

Fine Dining $$$ A creative dining experience located inside the Jackalope hotel. Starts off with a menu that you can scratch to reveal a riddle; if solved by the end of the meal you get a small treat! Definitely had things I had never seen before, such as oyster toast, and fruit tin dessert. AdmireContinue reading “Doot Doot Doot (Merricks North)”

Jackalope (Merricks North)

Hotel Breakfast $$ Probably the best and most luxurious hotel I’ve ever stayed at, Jackalope has a great breakfast held at it’s Doot Doot Doot restaurant. Offering a surprising range, definitely has breakfast options for everyone. The miso chicken soba noodle was a favourite, chicken was so tender and flavoursome. 🍳🍳🍳🍳🍳🍳🍳🍳🍳 9/10 https://www.jackalopehotels.com/stay/

Grazeland (Spotswood)

Food market $$ A new foodie haven on the westside, this place has a multitude of food stalls and cuisines for anyone’s taste. And open every weekend! For just a $2.50 entry fee, you can access all the food and live entertainment. Family and pet friendly too! Busy, as expected, but lines weren’t too long,Continue reading “Grazeland (Spotswood)”

Marion (Fitzroy)

Wine bar/Modern European $$ In the streets of Fitzroy, this classy wine bar is the first of a row of hip quintessential Melbourian restaurants. Elegant interior with a tapas like menu, it’s a nice place for a fancier night out with friends. I enjoyed the homemade Cavatelli pasta and I’m a sucker for croquettes. Wouldn’tContinue reading “Marion (Fitzroy)”

Japengo (Maui)

Asian $$ Delicious but expensive. Had duck meatballs, soft shell crab rolls, salmon sashimi, duck potstickers. For dessert, the Tengu Ka’anapali Pie; brownie crust, banana, macadamia nut ice-cream, cream, chocolate and caramel. Yum. (Visited November 2014) https://www.hyatt.com/en-US/hotel/hawaii/hyatt-regency-maui-resort-and-spa/oggrm/dining 🍣🍣🍣🍣🍣🍣🍣🍣🍣 9/10

Romano’s Macaroni Grill (Honolulu)

Italian $$ Located in the Ala Moana Centre in Honolulu, this is a tasty family friendly Italian place with great pasta! Would come back for their spaghetti and meatballs. They also give you crayons to doodle on butcher paper while you wait, keeping your inner child happy too. (Visited November 2014) https://www.macaronigrill.com/ 🍝🍝🍝🍝🍝🍝🍝🍝🍝 9/10

Koko Black (South Yarra)

Dessert $$ This chocolate is next level. My favourites are the coconut dotties and the Australian wattleseed biscuits! Eating in was less impressive, brownie was a bit dry. Mango white chocolate smoothie was too thick. The chocolate honey joys were surprising great. And the easter ‘eggs’ were praline chocolate! https://www.kokoblack.com/ 🍫 🍫 🍫 🍫 🍫 🍫 🍫 🍫  8/10

Particle Cafe (Avondale Heights)

Vegan/Brunch $$ Didn’t realise we’d stumbled onto a vegan cafe, but food was great! Mango smoothie with almond milk was one of the greatest smoothies I’d ever had, and tacos were delicious! Fake cheese was even quite tasty. Not a fan of fake bacon though. Had some games to play while you waited for foodContinue reading “Particle Cafe (Avondale Heights)”

Maccaroni Trattoria Italiana (CBD)

Italian $$ A great little Italian place in an alleyway of the CBD. Good quality pasta and pizza. Spaghetti carbonara is genuine (no cream! Even says explicitly so on the menu) and probably one of the best I’ve had in Melbourne, super flavoursome and peppery. Definitely worth a try! https://www.maccaronitrattoria.com/ 🍝🍝🍝🍝🍝🍝🍝🍝 8/10

Jaspresso (North Melbourne)

Japanese $ Fantastic place for Japanese curries and jaffles for an inexpensive but delicious lunch. Close to Parkville hospitals if you’re in the area. They also do an excellent matcha and white chocolate cookie, definitely worth a trip! https://www.instagram.com/jaspresso.melbourne/ 🍛🍛🍛🍛🍛🍛🍛🍛🍛🍛 10/10

Shanghai Red (Chadstone)

Chinese $$ Has some of the best dim sum of Melbourne! Prawn dumplings and xiao long bao are amazing, great quality meat. Prefer the regular xiao long bao over truffle xiao long bao. And can’t look past a great bao with condensed milk. Love love love. Main drawback is that it’s expensive for Asian food.Continue reading “Shanghai Red (Chadstone)”

Cafe Carpenter (Malvern)

Asian $$ A quaint little cafe with a great range of quality Asian food. A local favourite! Attached to a cute Asian grocery store. Katsu curry and the peanut fried chips are highlights! Used to do kimbap that was fantastic. Definitely want to try the carbonara next time, saw a few people ordering that! http://www.cafecarpenter.com.au/Continue reading “Cafe Carpenter (Malvern)”