After relaxing for a couple of days in Langkawi, we returned to the hustle and bustle of Kuala Lumpur. We arrived in the early evening, but had arranged dinner on the way back with a couple of Louis’ friends, Nick and Kelvin.

They picked us up from the hotel about 9pm. We’d let them decide where to take us for dinner, and we soon arrived at a place called the Purple Cane Tea Restaurant.

Nick explained that every dish on the menu has somehow been prepared with tea as a prominent ingredient. It sounded quite an interesting concept.

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Ambience, Asian, Casual, Cheap, Chinese, Ethnicity, Funky, Holiday, Malaysian, Pricing | Add a Comment »

On Saturday night we went out with some friends for some Korean food. There are a surprising number of Korean Restaurants here in Melbourne, although lately I noticed a few have disappeared.

After discovering Seoul Garden on Exhibition St is no longer open, (and the building has probably been flattened by now) we walked back a block and spied the sign for Seoul House, upstairs on the corner of Lonsdale and Russell.

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Last Saturday, we spent the afternoon watching a movie at Highpoint, and then as it was already dinner time by the time it finished, we decided to drop by Seared for a lazy dinner.

Situated outside on the lowest level (Level 1), occupying the space previously held by Kenny Rogers Roasters, Seared is fairly new on the block.

We had the choice of eating inside or out, but as there were people smoking in the outdoor area, we chose to eat inside. There’s nothing worse than trying to enjoy your dinner whilst breathing someone’s secondhand smoke.

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Affordable, Casual, Funky, Western | 6 Comments »

Last week we were in the City around dinner time, so we wandered upto Red Silks, in Bourke St, for dinner. Well known amongst Melbournes’ student population for its large menu and fairly cheap pricing, it’s always busy.

Red Silks is situated upstairs in the Mid City arcade (above BreadTalk), so it’s pretty easy to find.

Upon entering we were shown to a table in the sunken ‘lounge’ area inside, (outside on the balcony is the smokers’ area) and were given a menu each. I noticed they’d just introduced a new menu, and were offering 10% off for their birthday special until the 7th. Bargain!

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Affordable, Ambience, Asian, Casual, Cheap, Chinese, Ethnicity, Funky, Indonesian, Malaysian, Pricing, Taiwanese, Thai, Trendy, Vietnamese | Add a Comment »

A couple of months ago my work had a team lunch at the Melba Buffet. We each paid $28.50, which was reasonably priced (at the high end of the scale) and was quite enjoyable.

Louis’ Birthday came up recently and seeing as he loves seafood, I couldn’t think of anything better than a buffet of seafood to feast upon. We’d already been to (and been let down by) the Conservatory, so Melba sounded like a good bet.

Coincidently being Fathers’ Day, reservations were scarce - we were able to book the last table they had available. The buffet price varies depending on the menu and the day of the week (and time of year). When I went with work colleagues, we paid $28.50 p/p for the full lunch buffet on a Tuesday. The Weekend Dinner price was slightly higher, at $69.50 per person. We figured we’d just eat a lot to get our money’s worth.

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Ambience, Asian, Chinese, Ethnicity, Expensive, Formal, Funky, Indian, Pricing, Western | Add a Comment »

On friday night, Sydney was bustling. People, and cars, everywhere. We were going to meet a couple of friends of mine for dinner, but car parking was going to be a problem.

Instead of eating in the city, I told Ray that i’d let him choose a restaurant - a sensible choice seeing as they live here and should know a few good places. After a 15 minute drive, we ended up in Haberfield, outside Dolcissimo, a large Italian restaurant. Ray recently had dinner here, and said it was very good.

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As we were pondering what to cook last night, my friend Kenny rang to tell me he was in Melbourne, and asked us out to dinner. Problem solved! I decided we’d take Kenny to Ye Shanghai, but this time we would sample a nice selection from the main menu.

We got ready, and headed into the city. After driving around in circles for a while looking for a park, (Damn busy for a Sunday night!?) we finally found one. Then we made our way to Ye Shanghai, where Kenny was waiting outside.

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Affordable, Ambience, Asian, Chinese, Ethnicity, Funky, Pricing | 6 Comments »

Nestled in the heart of Footscray, the recently refurbished Hao Phong does a brisk trade.

For many Vietnamese, Sunday lunch means one thing: Phở (Vietnamese Beef Noodle Soup).

To give you an idea of its popularity, there are at least 5 or 6 other restaurants within close proximity that just serve this one dish. If Yum-Cha (Dim-Sum) could be classed as an unofficial Chinese pastime, Pho would be the Vietnamese equivalent.

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For our first review, we wanted to pick somewhere we hadn’t been before, and I remembered this place.

Ye Shanghai, a Chinese restaurant in the heart of the city in busy Swanston St, has been open about a year or more, but we just hadn’t gotten around to visiting. So today was the day.

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Ambience, Asian, Cheap, Chinese, Ethnicity, Funky, Pricing | 1 Comment »