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 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.

Read the rest of this entry »

Affordable, Casual, Funky, Western | 6 Comments »

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 »

Last night we took a trip up to Satay Inn (opposite the Vic Market) in Victoria St, for dinner.

From looking at their website, it looked like we would finally find some of the authentic Malaysian dishes we’d been searching for since we started this blog. Especially when I saw this claim - “…our cooking is done by a Malaysian chef who knows his craft well. Not a non-Malaysian who is doubtful about what the taste should be…”

Their website isn’t flash, but I hoped they put the real effort in where it counted - into the food. The pictures on the site had the feel of the kinds of dishes you’d be served at a Malaysian Mamak, so fingers crossed.

Read the rest of this entry »

Ambience, Casual, Cheap, Ethnicity, Malaysian, Pricing | 1 Comment »

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!

Read the rest of this entry »

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

A couple of weeks ago, a friend of Louis’, David, took us to dinner at Loi Loi, in Richmond.

David is a self-confessed foodie, and describes Loi Loi as one of his regular haunts - so we had some reasonable expectations that we’d have a good meal.

Being a Friday night, getting from one side of the city over to Richmond was no easy feat. We were to meet at 7.00, but by the time I got through the traffic, it was about 7.15.

Parking wasn’t hard to find as Loi Loi is situated sort of down the ‘forgotten end’ of Victoria St (forgotten by me anyway, as i’d never ventured beyond Church St for food).

Read the rest of this entry »

Ambience, Asian, Casual, Cheap, Chinese, Ethnicity, Pricing, Vietnamese | 1 Comment »

Last weekend, the weather here in Melbourne decided to do its best to keep people at home. Drizzly rain and wind. Undeterred, we met up with a few friends and ventured upto King St, where there are more than a few restaurants popping up.

Amongst them, Taste of Malaysia beckoned with its bright red sign, a few doors down from the corner of Lonsdale St. Not yet having found a Malaysian restaurant we’d recommend to being on-par with real Malaysian food from a Malaysian mamak (despite obvious currency differences), we decided to give it a go.

Read the rest of this entry »

Affordable, Ambience, Asian, Casual, Chinese, Ethnicity, Indian, Malaysian, Pricing | 3 Comments »

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 »

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 »

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 »