Last month I went on a trip to Sydney with good friends Robert & Kat. Here are a few experiences that I have never got around to posting.

1) East Ocean Chinese Restaurant: In a nutshell, dissappointed. The a la carte food was pretty average, though some of the live fish dishes (which we did not order) looked excellent. I returned the following night (because it was the only yum cha open at midnight) for yum cha, which was excellent, though one of my scallop dumplings was full of broken bits of shell, which kind of ruined the whole experience again. Service was also rather disgraceful. They must be given some credit though: for getting our order right on both occasions.

A la carte:
Roasted BBQ duck: OK, but lots of bones and less than perfect meat and skin.


Salt and Pepper Calamari: Coated in a heavy batter which made it difficult to really taste and enjoy.


Chicken with broccoli: Once again fine, but nothing exciting.


Yum Cha: Good quality and good value - much better food quality than anything I have experienced in Melbourne

Scallop Dumplings: The best thing I tried and the worst. Wonderful freshness, though a mouth full of crushed scallop shell is not a nice experience.


Prawn Dumplings:


Pork Dumplings:



Pork buns: Light and fluffy with real chunks of meat.


2) Gung Ho: A cheap Asian restaurant, in Haymarket next to our original accommodation, that served up rather tasty offerings for the $10-$13 price of most dishes. Probably worthy of a full review: very friendly staff and a great informal place to eat. Robert and Kat ate here several times.

A chicken and vegetable soup; served with rice and salad:


Extremely tender beef brisket red curry: I really liked this.


A good version of salt and pepper calamari with a light, crispy batter:


3) Lenotre Afternoon Tea @ The Sofitel Wentworth: As a Club Sofitel guest this was a fabulous complimentary indulgence every afternoon, as was an excellent brekfast, as well as canapes and top shelf booze in the evenings. I must also give praise to the first rate accommodation and uber comfy beds.

Dessert selection:
Lenotre Dessert platter:


Eclair and lemon tart: Yum.


Chocolate millefeuille and raspberry macaroon: More yum.


4) MV2000 Dinner Cruise: A fantastic experience. I went for the Sky Deck Gold 7-course degustation dinner with an open bar and matched wines, which was $159. The food was pretty good, but not exceptional. It was a lot of fun though: live music and got better and better as I drunk more and the night went on. Will definitely do this again the next time I am in Sydney.

The vessel:


Main Course:


Dessert:


Oh, and I can proudly say that I climed the bridge.

Labels: East Ocean (Sydney), Gung Ho (Sydney), Lenotre Afternoon Tea (Sydney), REVIEWS: Casual Dining, REVIEWS: Interstate

Shopping centre food courts - they're not exactly the culinary epicentre of the world, but they are generally pretty cheap and sometimes, if you are lucky, you may just stumble across something that actually tastes pretty good. Such is the case with Jia, at Chadstone.

Located in the lower level foodcourt Jia attracts a lot of passing traffic. They have a take-away side and also do cooked to order meals, which can be consumed in their adjoining dining area. What attracts most visitors though are their specialty: pork dumplings. They are available steamed or grilled and a plate of 10 will set you back $8.80. They really are quite good and you get a substantial feed for the money. I find myself ordering them most times I visit Chadstone.


These dumplings are good because they're hand made and simple. Three ladies, who don't speak a word of English, work at the front of the shop stretching out dough and filling it with a fragrant mix of minced pork, coriander and spring onion. The dumplings are shaped, steamed and ultimately grilled. They are good and upon enquiry I find out that they sell at least 2000-3000 of them each day. Whoa!

Jia also does decent Asian meals and good hot soups, many of which are around the $10 mark. So the next time you are in Chadstone and need a food fix go past the greesy burger and chip joints and head down to Jia. You'll hopefully be pleasantly surprised.

Jia
Shop 70B - Lower Level Food Court
Chadstone Shopping Centre

This entry has been cross-posted on Very Cheap Eats

Labels: Jia (Chadstone), REVIEWS: Casual Dining

A couple of Tuesday’s back I met up with friends Robert & Kat and we decided to have a casual lunch in the city. The venue of choice was the Pub at Crown, which has good value daily specials, and on Tuesday it’s a particularly enticing one, offering a “Traditional Parma and Pot” for just $10. Coupled with free parking as a Crown member (dare I say it) this was an offer to good to miss out on.

The Pub at Crown is a relaxed establishment with comfortable banquet seating and a nice ambience to the place. At lunchtime there is always a decent crowd of people here, but it is not too busy or noisy. The evenings can be quite different though and can go right off, becomming insanely busy and noisy, with resident DJs ensuring the venue stays alive until the early hours of the morning.

We however came to take advantage of the special at lunchtime, which is an absolute bargain. For a mere $10 you get a good sized parma served with shoestring chips and a nicely dressed salad. The parma is a good size and of a decent quality, with a chunky napoli sauce, shaved ham and mozzarella cheese. Included in the price is a pot of draught beer, or a soft drink.


The menu is full of typical pub/ bistro offerings and is reasonably priced with most main meals at around $18. There is also a daily special which is published on their website.

After enjoying our parmas we order a dessert to share, after reading the simple, but tempting dessert list. We decide to go with the warm chocolate mud cake with chocolate sauce ($7.50), which is very good. We receive a generous portion of moist, rich cake smothered in chocolate sauce, served alongside a scoop of vanilla ice-cream and fresh strawberries, finished with a couple of fresh mint leaves. This was greatly enjoyed and proved to be a nice way to end the meal.


The Pub at Crown is a good spot to enjoy an informal lunch or dinner, or to catch up with friends for a casual meal or a few drinks.

Food: 6/10 – Tasty and good value for money, especially the daily specials. Recommended.

www.thepubatcrown.com.au

Labels: REVIEWS: Casual Dining, The Pub at Crown

Last night I had a wonderful pre-theatre dinner at the groovy, new, Laksa Me, a Malaysian restaurant located on Liverpool Street, one of Melbourne's little laneways in the Bourke Hill precinct. This restaurant was recommended to me by a work colleague, who recently dined here, and found the quality of food and value for money hard to beat. It was a good recommendation. Laksa Me serves excellent quality, authentic style Malaysian food at ridiculously modest prices. I honestly don't know how they stay afloat, unless the place is packed to the rafters every night.

Upon entering the appearance of Laksa Me is one of a partially renovated warehouse space with concrete floors, an open ceiling and a fresh, funky feel to the place. It does appear to be unfinished though - money may well have been an issue. But at the prices they are charging one need not worry too much about such things. Luxury is not what the restaurant is trying to achieve here. Rather their ambitions seem to be to provide good quality, authentic cuisine at prices that will keep the punters regularly coming back for more.


The whole place has an informal feel to it. Waiters do not wear uniforms, but are attired in jeans and casual tops. Tables are not dressed. You don't get napkins and the menu is a laminated A3 sheet, with a small drinks list including a number of beers on the back. It should be noted that I am not offered a wine list, and do not ask as I have previously read that they do not sell wine and that BYO ($10 corkage) is the only wine option. This is not true. Toward the conclusion of my meal some gentleman at a nearby table request and are offered a wine list, containing a small number of selections available by the glass or the bottle. If only I had known this earlier. Never mind - The excellent Jasmine tea and mineral water were sufficient.

So that’s my introduction, but it is the food that you come here for and taking value for money into consideration it would be difficult to be disappointed with the offerings. I opt to order a starter (available by the piece), entree, main and dessert. This by the way is far too much food. I left behind half my main and dessert. I loved the dishes but portion size was over the top, and that says a lot coming from a big eater like myself.

To start with I order the Grilled Thai Sausage ($3.50), described as "a Northern Thai origin with a hint of Spanish twists". What you receive is a beautiful little parcel containing minced pork and jasmine rice, accentuated by the addition of garlic and a tiny hint of chilli, wrapped up in a cornhusk, grilled, and presented like a sausage. The little parcel is finished with finely diced cucumber pieces, crushed peanuts and a tangy plum sauce. The dish has all of the elements of South East Asian cuisine, all perfectly balanced to provide a sensation that truly appeases the palette. An excellent way to start the meal.


Next up comes the entree of Grilled Calamari, Jellyfish and Cucumber noodles ($8): This is an excellent and very generous starter. I cannot believe they can serve a dish like this for just $8. For this princely sum you are presented with a large bowl full of thin cucumber strips (the noodles), strips of fresh calamari, and some small slivers of raw jellyfish all finished with coriander, shallots, toasted peanuts, sesame seeds, a hint of chilli and a light dressing which combined all of the Thai elements: sweet, sour, salty and hot in one. On their own each ingredient in this dish tastes very good, but eaten together the ingredients and flavours meld to create an exceptional dish and a true taste sensation. WOW!


For the main course it was a tough decision whether to order a noodle/ laksa dish or a main meal. I ultimately decide to go for the laksa. It is, after all, what the establishment is named after, and is their signature dish. It should also be noted that mainstream reviewers tend to neglect the laksa offerings so I decided that I should definitely try one. There are three different laksa dishes on offer as well as a number of other noodle courses. I go for the Laksa Lemak ($10), a seafood based laksa with fine rice vermicelli noodles and an assortment of items including: fish dumplings, a prawn, half a hard boiled egg, fried tofu puffs, shredded cucumber, and coriander in a fragrant, creamy laksa stock. It is really quite good and the balance of flavours is just right. This is not sweet or adjusted to suit Western tastes but is the real deal laksa. A huge bowl full of delicious broth, noodles and seafood. It has just the right balance of chilli as well. Hot enough to give the dish a great level of power and flavour (not for the chilli shy), but not so hot as to leave your mouth burning for an hour afterwards. I really liked this, though I would probably recommend trying the "My Mum's laksa" which has thicker noodles and a greater combination of ingredients.


The other mains also look great with offerings such as: Pork Ribs, Red Duck Curry and Three Flavour Fish (average main: $22) as well as classical offerings such as Phad Thai or Curry Noodles.

For dessert I ask the waiter to choose me a great dessert. He says he will bring me something the chef really likes. Dessert time comes and a bowl is placed in front of me along with, "here you go". Asking for a description of the dish I am told its black sticky rice pudding with a coconut cream sauce. The orange pieces on top - "I dont know what that is today, pumpkin maybe". Interesting, I think it was, definitely was not papaya tonight as Mr Lethlean and others' reviews proclaim. The dessert is fairly good: sweet, creamy and moorish. One bowl of this is probably enough for two to share. Desserts are $8.


Laksa Me received a score of 13.5 out of 20 in the 2008 Age good Food Guide.

My Score: 13/20 - Definitely worth a visit for the great food & excellent value for money.
Really good, creative food with some standout dishes 7/10
Service is friendly enough, but needs refinement 3/5
Ambience- informal but nice with soft background music and comfortable seating 3/5
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After dinner it was off to the Regent Theatre to see Priscilla - a great show - Amazing costumes and music, and a lot of good humour. I definitely recommend seeing it if you get the chance.

Labels: Laksa Me (City), REVIEWS: Casual Dining

On Saturday night Nick, Lana, Robert, Kat and myself had dinner at Bar Lourinha, located at the top end of Little Collins Street. It was a great choice by Nick, who found it in a deck of cards of Melbourne's restaurants secrets, as I have been wanting to try this place for a while. After my recent enjoyment at MoVida a few nights earlier I was certainly in the mood for more Spanish, even though Bar Lourinha is actually a Portuguese restaurant, I have now found out.

Having read mixed blog reviews including those by Thanh (neutral) & Serenity (positive) I was not completely sure what to expect but had generally high expectations. I must say though that I feel both reviews were accurate in their own ways. I generally do not tend to compare the dishes at one restaurant directly to another, but it is hard not to here after having such amazing dishes at MoVida which make some of the dishes here seem quite underwhelming. ***These two places are very different beasts though, with different food styles and different aims, hence they really should not be compared in this way and my comments will basically reflect my enjoyment of the food in a restaurant context, rather than the bar that Bar Lourinha is.

In my opinion the food at Bar Lourinha was good, but just that, not excpetional and not the sort of stuff that I would be rushing back for, especially when I can have a superior meal at MoVida for the same price. Anyhow, I am not in any way bagging Bar Lourinha, as my score will reflect. It is a good place to eat (if uncomfortable) that serves tasty food in a cosy little space, with astute and informed service to match. The seating in my opinion though is not the best - the bar stools on the communal tables are hard and uncomfortable, but that could just reflect my state at the time, looking for a better way to relax after a long day at work.

Bar Lourinha is a small establishment that is not fussed about with in its design or otherwise. There is a small lounge area at the front, long bar along the back and a couple of large communal tables; all with a view into the kitchen. A cosy place with a good feel about it, but it is so noisy that having a conversation with the person next to you can be a real challenge.

***I have now done some more research on Bar Lourinha, and must thank Stickyfingers for her comments and should report that Bar Lourinha is really that, a tapas bar, rather than a formal restaurant and hence the experience is suppose to feel this way. Its suppose to be a way to begin the evening, rather than a formal night out. In my opinion though this is not how the place is used with most guests seeming to make a night of it at Bar Lourinha.

Anyhow it is the food that you want to hear about so I will cut to the chase. We tried 10 different dishes of varying success and value. Some were reasonably good value, whilst others could be seen as a complete rip off such as the special of "lamb skewers" which at $13 each were chewy and not worth half the price.

Heres a summary of our dishes. I did enjoy most of them, the same cannot be said for all my dining companions though, but you can't please everyone.

Yellow tail kingfish 'pancetta' & lemon oil ($14) - Fresh pieces of kingfish very thinly sliced, seasoned and finished with a light lemon scented oil. A good dish but no great range of flavours. Still succeful nonetheless.


Salted cod croquette ($15) - A special - Hot, crunchy croquettes with a well seasoned, soft cod centre. Finished simply with some herbs and a tartare sauce. I enjoyed this item. We are served five pieces instead of the usual four.


Jamon ($15) - A small plate containing a few thin slices of this air dried Spanish ham, drizzled with a little olive oil. Good flavour, particulalrly the fatty bits which were gelatinous and excited the tongue, as it is not something you get to try everyday.


Lamb skewers ($26 for two) - Probably the most dissapointing dish of the night, especially given the price. The lamb was chewy and had very little flavour apart from a little olive oil and corainder. $13 per stick was not justified at all.


Grilled piri piri chicken winglets ($14) - Once again good but not great. They are basically just little wings with a spicy basting, chargrilled and finished with coriander and mint. Similar to the wings at Nandos really, but much smaller.


Twice cooked octopus and pickled cucumber ($16) - I enjoyed this. Tender pieces of octopus sat atop some slices of fresh cucumber with an acidic dressing (sorry you cannot call that pickled). This dish is once again finished simply with some corainder, and the combination of the cucumber, bitter dressing and salty octopus went together very well.


Wagyu 'carne cruda' & shaved horse radish ($15) - This is more or less a spanish interpretation of beef tartare. The difference being that it lacks all of those wonderful things added to the beef that make tartare so enjoyable. This is more or less a ball of finely chopped beef (lacked the sweetness and marbling generally associated with wagyu), with some horseradish shaved over the top, served alongside a simple salad. The meat was of a decent quality but the dish lacked additional flavour, a little bland as it was not seasoned and could thus not be enjoyed at its best. I still liked it though, which is more than could be said for the rest of the table.


Roasted mushrooms and garlic cream ($13) - Yum! I really liked these mushrooms, which were cooked perfectly, and the garlic cream sauce was absorbed by the mushrooms and tasted really good. Sorry, we dug in before the picture.


House made chorizo and apple cider ($15) - A reasonable dish but nothing exciting or special. The sausages were well made and cooked, but did not do a lot for me, nor did the sauce made from apple cider, paprika and a few cubes of apple.


To finish - Churros with a caramel sauce ($8) - A great way to end the meal. Crunchy, soft centred Spanish style doughnut sticks rolled in a cinamon sugar with a sweet caramel sauce. Really good, and priced appropriately as well. Sorry, we didn't get a picture of this one.

Bar Lourihma received a score of 14.5 out of 20 in the Age Good Food Guide. I think that is being a bit too generous here.

MY SCORE: 13.5/20 - Recommended
Overall good food: 7/10 Knowledgable service 3.5/5 Ambience 3/5 - Noisy, uncomfortable stools and paper napkins are all turn offs. This is a tapas bar though, to be expected I guess.


Thanks to stickyfingers for your comments and helping me to see Bar Lourinha in a different way. Stopping by for a glass of sherry and a couple of tapas plates before a formal dinner could be a great way to enjoy this little gem :-)


www.barlourinha.com.au

Labels: Bar Lourinha (City), REVIEWS: Casual Dining

Last night my family and I had a lovely dinner at our local favourite, Ashscotts in Berwick. It was my shout as we were celebrating my dads’ birthday, and as always it was a great night. The waiters were exceptionally friendly and attentive and the food was great. In a break to our usual traditions (ordering schnitzels or parmas) we decide to try some different things. Most of the family instead opt for salads, except for my little brother who had a parmie, and my dad who ordered the calamari fritti – his favourite dish.

Here is a summary of our meals:

To start off with we order some wedges ($7) and garlic bread ($5) as usual (to share). The wedges are really good. Seemingly home made with a Cajun spice coating, topped with sour cream, sweet chilli and spring onion. Very tasty.


My dish: Lamb salad with walnuts ($22) – One of the best salads I have ever eaten – A huge bowl of garden salad (mixed lettuce, cucumber, tomato, red onion) finished with some lovely pieces of medium rare lamb fillet (so sweet and tender), crushed walnuts, julienne capsicum and the most amazing sweet, spicy Thai flavoured dressing. Not cheap for a salad but its huge and really is a generous meal in itself.


The calamari fritti ($19.90): Lovely fresh calamari rings fried in a light lemon pepper flavoured batter with shoestring fries, garden salad and an excellent tartare sauce. I have had this dish before and it is a great version of calamari.


Crispy chicken salad ($17.90): Another huge salad done much the same way as the lamb salad, but finished with crispy coated pieces of chicken breast, without the walnuts. We also ordered one version of this with grilled chicken.


My little brother had the chicken parma, which is a great version with a good red sauce, ham and generous coating of cheese. I have not photographed this as it has been reviewed in the past.

We skip dessert as we are very full and have a cake waiting at home for the birthday boy.

Ashscotts receives a score of 14/20. It is a great value local restaurant and I always enjoy returning for their fine bistro style meals and hospitality. Highly Recommended!
==========================

I have recently returned to Ashscotts and must report that things have gone down hill. Food quality has dropped. Poor quality pre-crumbed schnitzels being used, less care in presentation and smaller portions. Service isn't as slick either. Now probably warrants about 11/20 making it pretty average.

Labels: Ashscotts, REVIEWS: Casual Dining

This evening myself, along with Robert and Kat again visited the wonderful Ling Wah Chinese restaurant in Hampton Park.

We decided tonight to dine on the "Banquet A" menu which again represented excellent value at $28 per head for a feast including: soup, entrees, three set main courses, fried rice and a choice of dessert plus tea and coffee. The good news is that we took a real camera with us as well so we can post some decent quality pictures of the food.

As I have mentioned in a previous entry the quality of service at Ling Wah is exceptionally good:- friendly, prompt and proffessional, with waiters appearing to have a genuine interest in their jobs, and the success of the restaurant in general. This is something which is often not apparent in many of todays establishments.


The food at Ling Wah though is ultimately the reason one returns: simple, well executed, delicious dishes which represent great value for money.

Here is a summary of the courses we enjoyed in tonights banquet:

Chicken and sweet corn soup: traditional Chinese starter. A good version, with chunks of fresh chicken in a thick, flavoursome broth.


Entrees: Chicken wings and homemade spring rolls with a sweet sauce: Both were very good:- the wings cooked perfeclty with a nice flavour throughout, as were the spring rolls which were accompanied perfectly by a light smothering of sauce. I particularly enjoyed these.


Mixed seafood and vegetables in birds nest: A wonderful dish which looked amazing and tasted great: You get a pretty basket made of julienne potato housing a combination of: fish, crab meat, prawns and scallops along with fresh seasonal vegetables in a clear sauce. A succesful dish.


Blackbean beef: An excellent version of a classic dish. The beef is so soft and tender and just melts in the mouth - the way good beef should be. Pictured is one divided portion.


Honey Chicken (we substitued lemon chicken for this, an extra $1 per head): This is probably Robert's favourite dish and he says it is the best honey chicken he has ever eaten. I am personally not such a fan of really sweet dishes, but this was excellent and I would have to agree with Robert - it is amazing for honey chicken. Perfectly crunchy, tender pieces of chicken finished with a good drizzling of warm honey, cashews and sesame seeds. A simple but really good dish.


The fried rice was also excellent again, as you can see in this photo.


Desserts: The offerings available here are all the classics, done very well. We go for fried ice-cream and banana fritters. The fried ice-cream is served beutifully with a little sugar cube on top served alight. Unfortunately this cannot be seen in the photos. Both were done fairly well, but nothing particularly exciting.



To finish we each order coffee or hot chocolate which is fairly good, and also recieve the usual offerings of small glasses of port and dinner mints. A lovely (complimentary) way to end an evening of good food.


Ling Wah is located on the corner of Hallam and Fordholm Roads, Hampton Park. The friendly staff have also advised us that restaurant will be re-decorated from 1st November, with a huge range of Christmas decorations going up, coming in directly from China. We are told that we can expect a range of decorations never before seen in this country - just another good reason to return soon!

Ling Wah receives an exceptional score of: 15/20. For a more detailed analysis please refer to my previous Ling Wah post.
============

20/03/08 - I should mention that we have returned to Ling Wah at least 5 or 6 times since this review, including a special Chinese new Year banquet which was excellent. The food and service remain of a very high quality, though some dishes are clearly better than others.

Labels: Ling Wah, REVIEWS: Casual Dining

Last night myself, and friends Robert & Kat visited the Skinny Dog Hotel in Kew. I had never been here before and was looking forward to it. Robert has been telling me about their huge chicken parma for quite a while, and I was finally going to get to taste it.

As you enter, you notice that the Skinny Dog seems to be divided into two areas – a more formal dining room (where we ate), and a casual lounge type dining room at the front of the establishment; either area would have been fine. The whole place is quite modern and funky and the area we dined in has a long bar along the back wall, an open fireplace, and a nice relaxed feel to the place, particularly for a bistro style eatery. It wasn’t too noisy either, possibly because it was a Sunday night.

The service at Skinny Dog was also friendly and efficient with drinks being brought over incredibly quickly and staff being polite and accommodating throughout the night.

When it came to ordering there wasn’t a lot to think about. We were here for one reason – “The famous Skinny Dog Chicken Parma”. It should be noted however that the menu had a number of other dishes, which also looked and sounded very good. We do however opt to begin with some Wedges ($8, to share) – for this you get a huge bowl along with sour cream and a homemade sweet chilli sauce which was very nice; and one bowl was more than enough for the three of us to share.


Shortly after, the much-awaited parma ($19.90) arrives. You get a huge parma (plate sized – definitely the biggest I have ever seen) sitting atop a good serving of “fat chips” and sided by a simple garden salad. For those who cannot manage such a serving, the parma is available, split between two, for $4 extra.


The parma tastes pretty good. It is real chicken (of a decent thickness), crumbed properly with a fairly thin layer of crumbing, and topped with a decent, but not excessive amount of red sauce and mozzarella cheese. As I mentioned the meat is fairly good (not organic, or anything over the norm), but the sauce is not really to my liking. It would appear that they use a cheap pre-made variety, which is a bit of a shame, but overall the parma still tasted pretty good. It should be noted though, that sauce is one of those personal preference things. Robert and Kat quite liked the sauce, so maybe I am just a bit too fussy, but I have to be honest. The chips were also pretty good, as was the salad.

After completing our parmas (a triumphant effort) we are offered dessert, and as good as some of the options sound there is no way we are going to fit in another mouthful of anything at this stage. As far as value for money is concerned you definitely get a good deal here – I challenge anyone to try and find a bigger parma.

I recommend the Skinny Dog Hotel for a good, casual dining experience and for the biggest parma you are ever likely to see.

I must also mention the food store across the road – Leo’s – an excellent shop with a huge range of gourmet food items (expensive) but definitely a place I could easily get lost in for hours and spend far too much money in – will definitely be going back here. As Robert said, I was like a kid in a candy store. This store is open until 10 P.M. daily.

My score for Skinny Dog: 12/20 - Recommended
Food: 6/10 – A good parma. The biggest I have eaten, and fairly good. (Bonus 1 point for generosity & consequent value).
Ambience: 3/5 – Modern, relaxed feel (heating was a little excessive)
Service: 3/5 – Friendly and efficient
Again it should be noted that this is not a fine dining restaurant and thus whilst the score seems only modest, the experience was good and I definitely recommend it.

www.skinnydoghotel.com.au

========================================
***I also plan on making a super parma, when I get the chance, using organic chicken breasts, homemade bread crumbs, extra virgin olive oil, an Italian tomato and basil sauce from Simon Johnson and fresh mozzerella cheese. I will endeavour to post the results of this for all to see.***

Labels: REVIEWS: Casual Dining, Skinny Dog Hotel

Tonight myself, along with a group of friends had the pleasure of having dinner at Ling Wah Chinese Restaurant in Hampton Park. Having never eaten here before, but hearing good things from my friends I was unsure what to expect. Lets just say that I was not dissapointed. It was a fantastic dining experience and exceptionally good value for money. This is a restaurant where you are getting city quality food and service at local restaurant prices. The five of us ate until we could eat no more for under $25 a head, and their BYO policy for a mere $1.50 per person is excellent - you can bring along anything to drink, not just wine, and will have it served to you properly. They will even put your wine bottles in an ice bucket, and chill your drinks until necessary.

Service is also excellent, with warm greetings on arrival and attention throughout your meal. Everything you expect in a good restaurant. Staff are only to happy to assist, serving food for you and making sure you are enjoying the experience. They would put many much better known establishments to shame, although service is generally strong at most Chinese retaurants. Another plus is the complimentary extras you receive such as pickled vegetables and prawn crackers before your meal and chocolate dinner mints and glasses of port afterwards. How sweet.

And the food: excellent quality, beautifully presented servings of delicious Chinese cuisine. You will find all your favourites along with a great range of more interesting dishes, and most are under $20 - really tasty food, generous servings and excellent value. And they make excellent special fried rice as well. I seriously believe the food quality of most of the dishes we tried are as good as, if not better than many big name city places. I will definately be going back soon - this food is to good to pass by. Now to summarise the dishes we ate - all dishes were shared which is always good in Chinese restaurants.

Westlake Duck: Tender pieces of battered duckling, sliced and served with a sweet and sour style sauce. A good dish.


Mango Chicken: Another simple, excellent dish. Presented like lemon chicken you get tender sliced chicken breast pieces with a sweet, but not outrageously so, refreshing mango sauce topped with slices of fresh mango cheek.


Szechuan Chicken: A classic Sichuan province dish which was done particuarly well here. Tender pieces of chicken, with seasonal vegetables and cashews are presented in a balanced, but firey sauce with plenty of little chillies. Probably not a good idea to show off and eat to many of these little chillies as your mouth may begin to punish you for this.


Mongolian Beef: Sizzling hot plate. Excellent dish - succulent beef pieces with a light sauce and fresh vegetables.


Sweet Chilli Prawns: Another sizzling hot plate. A generous plate of tender sizzling prawns in a sweet, chilli scented sauce with seasonal vegetables.


Special fried rice - An excellent version.


With these five dishes and rice between us we left completely stuffed, unable to finish some of the latter courses. The food is top class, something you don't generally find in this area.

Dining on a Monday night the restaurant was fairly quiet as well, but the ambience was still there and the service was probably even better as there was no pressure as there is on Saturday nights when this place is always completely full.

Taking into account the great value for money I am pleased to give Ling Wah a score of: 15/20
Food: 7/10 - Delicious, well presented classics.
Service: 4/5 - Polite and proffesional but not intrusive.
Ambience: 4/5 - soft music, nice lighting, nice surroundings, proper nappery, hot towels at the end of your meal - everything you expect in good Chinese restaurants.

And if its your birthday they go all out, turning the laser lights on, along with happy birthday music and a dish of ice-cream with a fire sprinkler for the birthday guest.

VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED - Far exceeds all the other Chinese restaurants in the area.

Labels: Ling Wah, REVIEWS: Casual Dining

The Dig Tree is a restaurant to steer clear of. I don’t even know why I am wasting my time writing this review for a place that is positively crap. They serve the worst steak I have ever seen and have the audacity to charge nearly $30 for it.

There is no creativity here and quality control is a big issue. When you are charging city prices in the outer suburbs you need to be serving really good food and this is not even nearly occurring. Staff themselves, have told me that the chef cannot cook a steak, let alone anything else, and urged me to contact the proprietors of the restaurant about my all-to-common experience. When you order a medium rare eye fillet you do not expect a blue raw piece of meat to be served to you, dripping with juices when you cut into it, and full of sinew and nasty fat. Poor quality meat, not rested, and cooked terribly. The picture doesn't look that bad, but the meat really was. And for the record I actually don't mind properly rested rare steak, and I love tataki and tartare but not this poor quality meat.



Dessert wasn’t much better – a so called special of chocolate millefeuille was a poor quality block of ice-cream with cream, store bought topping and nuts. The kids would probably love it.


I am not a snob but this is not what you expect to be served in any sort of a legitimate restaurant.

Service here is friendly enough. Though some staff are lacking the most basic knowledge. When asking for a pinot noir from their wine list, I am asked whether that is a red or a white wine that I wanted. Others though do their job well. After kindly informing the waiter about my terrible steak, which I ate just two small bites from the sides (the accompanying vegetables were OK) I was offered another glass of wine and a complimentary dessert, although no offer of a replacement meal. Fair enough I did eat all the vegies.

Overall I left terribly dissatisfied and hungry, out of pocket nearly $50, charged for my steak, a glass of wine and a starter of poorly cooked damper. The Dig Tree used to be a really good restaurant, or so I am told, but it certainly is not anymore.

Even establishments like McDonalds put the Dig Tree to shame.

My score: 5.5/20 – quite possibly Melbourne’s worst dining experience, certainly mine!

Food 1/10 (Seriously bad steak)
Service 2.5/5 (Acceptable, although somewhat slow for a fairly empty restaurant with a myriad of staff, and some uninformed)
Ambience 2/5 (I don’t know – the place is decked out nicely with lots of wooden benches and an Australiana theme but it was not working on the night and felt very cold).

There are plenty of good places to eat in Berwick. Sadly this is not one of them. I won't be going back - not even if it was a freebie.

Labels: Dig Tree, REVIEWS: Casual Dining

I first stumbled across Ashscotts a few months ago. It is a local restaurant located on the main street in Berwick, and occupies the space, which was formerly Jason’s Terrace. It is one of the newest restaurants in the Berwick area and is off to a flying start.

Ashscotts promise is simple food cooked well, along with great service and a funky atmosphere. I think that they succeed on all these accounts. The staff at Ashscotts are a predominantly young, friendly and enthusiastic group, who always make you feel welcome and at home. I think this is important, as service can be a crucial factor as to whether you will return to a restaurant or not. If the food is good and the service is poor would you return? Probably not, and the proprietors know this and consequently ensure that the restaurant delivers on both accounts.

Now for the food. The offerings at Ashscotts are simple and tasty dishes, which are not mucked around with excessively. You get typical bistro and pub offerings, along with some more exciting dishes, cooked exceptionally well. Things like great pastas, a fantastic calamari fritti dish, huge salads or an awesome chicken parma. This is good simple food that is generous, and well priced ($15 to $20 for most mains). For this you get great food served in a restaurant that is clean and modern with a nice fit-out, and a great feel to the place. On any sitting you will see a range of different diners, from young teenagers, through to seniors – everyone seems to love this place.

Pictured below is one of their most popular offerings. The chicken parma – for $16.50 you get a huge parma, complete with napoli sauce, ham and cheese, served on top of a generous pile of crispy fries and sided by a simple garden salad. They also have a special on Monday night where you get a Pot n Parma for only $12 – you’ll struggle to get a better deal at your local pub.



Ashscotts also has a small, but well-chosen wine list, which is good value, with some decent quality bottles for around $25. They also have a small list of deserts, but you are better off going for a slice of cake (to share even) if you can fit it in. They are not house made but are of excellent quality, and you get a good sized slice for about $7.50.

Coffee is also fairly good.

My score: 13.5/20
Food (6/10), Service (4/5), Ambience – modern, smallish tables, can be very noisy (3.5/5)

It should be noted that Ashscotts is not a fine dining restaurant, but a simple bistro style establishment that achieves what it sets out to do exceptionally well. Thus while the score may seem modest it is highly recommended.

www.ashscotts.com.au

Labels: Ashscotts, REVIEWS: Casual Dining