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.

Read the rest of this entry »

Ambience, Asian, Casual, Ethnicity, Funky, Korean, Medium, Pricing | Add a Comment »

Last night we visited Okra in Hawthorn East, for dinner with John & Robert.

A couple of days earlier, I was once again scouring the net for a the ever elusive decent Malaysian restaurant. Miettas had a review from a couple of years ago for Okra, and I figured that if they were still around, they must have something going for them - so I recommended we take a look.

Okra has narrow street frontage so keep a sharp look out, but when it gets darker of a night you’ll be easily able to spot the neon sign.

There was ample parking in the Dan Murphy’s / Dick Smith carpark a few doors up, though with the amount of food we ate we probably should have planned a longer walk back to the car.

Read the rest of this entry »

Ambience, Asian, Casual, Ethnicity, Indonesian, Malaysian, Medium, Pricing, Thai, Trendy | 1 Comment »

Lately, the quality of city yum cha seems to be a bit lacking, so last Sunday we ventured out to the suburbs with John & Robert for a decent feed.

We’d booked a table at Tai Pan in Doncaster for their morning session. As we got there on time right on 11, everything was already in full swing. As soon as we were seated, we were being offered goodies off a trolley - before our tea had even arrived!

Due to the design of the restaurant, the main eating area at Tai Pan is raised - which is the best spot to get a seat if you can, as the trolleys don’t go downstairs to the small eating area, so down there you rely on waitresses with hand platters walking around.

Even though we were on time, the main area was filling up fast. About 10 minutes later, the place was full.

Read the rest of this entry »

Ambience, Asian, Casual, Chinese, Ethnicity, Family, Medium, Pricing | 4 Comments »

We recently visited The Conservatory, for their “Rasa Malaysia Feast”, which was a Malaysian-themed food banquet on offer from the 11th to 25th July.

Here’s the official marketing spiel;

As Malaysia celebrates 50 years of nationhood, Conservatory welcomes celebrity chef Ismail Ahmad and master chefs Chiew Yean Teng, Lam Teck Seong, Sharun bin Ramil and Md Zamri bin Awaludin.
They will present a range of Malaysian specialties on the buffet, spanning Chinese, Indian and Nyonya cuisines.
Diners may also enjoy performances by a Malaysian dance troupe, who will perform during lunch and dinner.

Read the rest of this entry »

Ambience, Asian, Ethnicity, Expensive, Malaysian, Medium, Pricing, Trendy, Western | 1 Comment »

No trip to Sydney would be complete without sampling the local yum-cha on offer, so on Sunday we headed to Marigold Citymark with two of Louis’ friends.

Having very limited internet access I was unable to check up to see the general reviews on Marigold, but judging from the crowds packing into the lifts, it seemed to be quite a popular place.

We squeezed in with everyone else and alighted at the 4th floor, but evidently the 5th floor is the main restaurant level.

Read the rest of this entry »

Ambience, Asian, Casual, Chinese, Ethnicity, Family, Medium, Pricing | 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.

Read the rest of this entry »

Ambience, Ethnicity, Family, Funky, Italian, Medium, Pricing | Add a Comment »

Building on our successful dining experience at The Rocks last night, we decided we’d head down there again to find out what other hidden gems we could find.

I finished work later than usual, so I freshened up at the hotel, and then we walked down George St again. We hadn’t ventured far when I spied a small sign above a doorway, simply titled ‘Sailor’s Thai‘.

As I looked through the window, it seemed quite busy - which is always a good sign - and despite the single long bench type seating, the interior looked cosy and inviting. We decided to give it a try.

Read the rest of this entry »

Ambience, Asian, Casual, Ethnicity, Medium, Pricing, Thai, Trendy | 1 Comment »

Once again, we set out in search of a decent place to have dinner. Tonight, we visited Golden Orchids, who proclaim to have been the first Malaysian restaurant in Melbourne.

This two-storey eatery, open since 1973, boasts three claims to fame: Its ’signature dish’, the Malaysian Chilli Prawns, its range of Malaysian Curries, and its Satays.

Read the rest of this entry »

Affordable, Ambience, Asian, Casual, Chinese, Ethnicity, Malaysian, Medium, Pricing | 13 Comments »

On Saturday I didn’t feel like cooking dinner, so I rang John & Robert to see if they wanted to eat out somewhere with us. I decided we’d go somewhere a bit different, and I had Nyala African Restaurant in mind.

I rang and attempted to book, but was told they were already booked out - but if I rang back in half an hour, he’d confirm some bookings to see if he had any cancellations. Wow, Nyala’s certainly become busier than when I last visited, which was a couple of years ago. I rang back, and we were in luck, so I booked us in for 7.30.

Read the rest of this entry »

Affordable, African, Ambience, Casual, Ethnicity, Medium, Pricing | 2 Comments »

Last Tuesday we went to Spaghetti Tree for dinner. Situated close to the top of Bourke St, this restaurant has been open for many years, and has a regular clientele.

I’d previously been here a couple of years ago with some friends on a Friday night, and they had a guy playing the piano as the live entertainment / background music. I’m not sure if they still do that, or maybe it only happens on the busy nights.

Read the rest of this entry »

Ambience, Casual, Ethnicity, European, Family, Italian, Medium, Pricing, Western | 2 Comments »