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.

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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!

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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).

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

Recently, we took a trip to Sydney and I insisted on taking Louis to this restaurant my friends took me to last time I visited - Ichiban Boshi.

Situated nextdoor to Kinokuniya in The Galeries Victoria (opposite the massive Queen Victoria Building), Ichiban Boshi commands an exceptionally brisk trade. In peak times, you take a number, and wait. And listen carefully for your number to be called, which can take anything upto half an hour - but it’s worth the wait.

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Ambience, Asian, Casual, Cheap, Ethnicity, Japanese, Pricing | Add a Comment »

Being Mother’s Day today, I took a quick trip up to see my parents, in Ballarat.

I was a bit late leaving, so it was lunchtime when I arrived. I was hungry. I had a craving. Poonie’s Takeaway! I thought.

I’m not sure of their opening hours, but they never seem to be closed.

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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 »