Stalactites - Melbourne CBD

No trip Melbourne would be complete without a trip down to Stalactites Melbourne CBD. Mention the word Stalactites to anyone in Melbourne and they think 'souvlakis' and not dripping speleothem.

Stalactites is situated on the bustling Greek precinct of Lonsdale Street. I've been told this family business has been in the same location since 1978. This place is open 24 hours, so you'll see a huge mix of crowds throughout the day. This restaurant caters for early breakfasts, lunches, dinner after work, supper and food(or drinks) after a big night out. I think in my short period in Melbourne, (2 months) I've been here for all the reasons listed above.

The fresh gyros souvlakis, their trademark, and equipped with 24 hour operations, this place is the "must go" place after a night out in town.

Chicken and Lamb Souvlaki (open with Hommus) - $11.50

I had the open chicken and lamb souvlaki with extra hommus. Sometimes I like to add double the meat for an extra dollar, Bargain!

Chicken Souvlaki $9.5

My friend had the normal chicken souvlaki with basic garlic sauce. He claims these are the best souvlakis.. I wouldn't argue with him, these are most excellent.

I've already been here a few times and I love the food here. Highly recommended due to the buzzy atmosphere, great food and great value.


Ratings:
Food - 9/10
Service - 7/10
Ambiance - 7/10
Value for money - 8.5/10
Overall - 31.5/40

Stalactites Restaurant
177-183 Lonsdale Street (Crn Russell Street)
Melbourne VIC 3000
Tel: (03) 96633316

Tiamo - Lygon St, Charlton

You know that a restaurant is going to be pretty decent if they open a second one right next to the first. Tiamo is an italian restaurant that located on the northern end of Lygon Street, Charlton. For those unfamiliar with Melbourne, Lygon street is the Norton street (Sydney) of Melbourne. Scattered with along the main street are a big selection of Italian cafes and restaurants. Much like the other cafes along the street Tiamo has indoor and alfresco dining.

Picture courtesy of www.lygonst.com/tiamo

Saturday night - this restaurant is packed! We were left waiting in the middle of the footpath. Fifteen minutes later, we were offered a nice road-side. For entree I had the minestrone, whilst my friend had the bruschetta. The service was leaning on the slow side with my minestrone arriving 15 minutes later. Then another 15 minutes later the mains came out with our side orders of garlic bread. Where is the bruschetta? Turns out they have "run out" of bruschetta, "geez!, thanks for telling us". The minestrone was mediocre at best and personally I could easily have cooked better.

Minestrone Soup

The garlic bread, however, was the undoubtedly the best dish of the night. Nice and crispy on the crust with a soft white center. It seems far fetched, but I may have to say this was the best garlic bread ever! (and trust me, being a bread-lover, I know my breads!)

Best garlic bread ever

For my main I had the Spaghetti Don Giovanni ($16.50). I'm still undecided about this dish. On one hand the spaghetti was cooked well, the sauce was irresistible and it complemented the seafood (clams and mussels). But on the other hand the sauce was watery. If you like a slightly watery pasta sauce, then meal is perfect. If you are like me and enjoy a slightly thicker sauce you might consider trying something else.

Spaghetti Don Giovanni - $16.50

My friend had ordered the Schiaffatelle ($15.50), which was gnocchi in Napoli and basil sauce. This sauce was much thicker. My friend rated the pasta and sauce as average.

Schiaffatelle (Gnocchi with Napoli and Basil) - $15.50

Overall, the food was average (except the garlic bread, which was heavenly) the service was lacking but Tiamo does manage to keep prices relatively low. The nice bustling vibe and decent value makes Tiamo a place to give a second chance, maybe try a night where they are not as busy.

Ratings:
Food - 5/10
Service - 5/10
Ambiance - 8/10
Value for money - 8/10
Overall - 26/40

Tiamo & Tiamo 2

305 Lygon Street
Carlton VIC 3053
Tel: (03) 93470911

Yumei - Haymarket

We celebrated the birthdays for two of my friends at Yumei.

One of my friends (a meat eater - mainly chicken) surprised me when he chose this Japanese place as I distinctly remember that three years ago (at a friend's 21st), he was "eww"ing and "what's that"ing at everything that was served at Fujiya (also a Jap restaurant).

Nonetheless, this place was bookable on a Friday night and was able to accommodate for our party of 25.

Yumei - Japanese Restaurant

I was quite surprised (or rather, shocked) at the state of the menu when I first opened it up. Look at all the creases on it! It's almost a work of art~! LOL

Yumei Menu

One of the company of 25 ordered the Blue Sapphire ($8). Look-wise, it was definitely a better chose than the Long Island. Much much prettier! So blue!!!

Blue Sapphire - $8

The Edamame ($4.50) was a popular starter. Some of my non-so-Japanese oriented friends were quite intrigued about this. Beans where you suck on the outside in order to eject the little pods on the inside (only the insides are edible) was an interesting idea to them.

Edamame - $4.50

Anyway, out comes the mains!
My friend on my left ordered the Chicken Katsu Curry ($10.50). The dish was quite filling (according to my friend) and looks much better with the curry sauce poured over. However, the separation of the sauce and the dish is quite thoughtful - keeps the chicken crispy~! :)

Chicken Katsu Curry - $10.50

Chicken Katsu Curry with curry sauce poured on top

Some of my friends ordered sets - some made their own sets (combined entrees with mains). Since the dishes aren't too expensive, whichever way you chose to organise your meal still ended up being reasonably priced.

So, nicely presented is the Unatama Donburi ($11.50), and an entree-sized sashimi ($11.50). Personally, I think that all the "dons" at Yumei look pretty much the same - you probably won't be able to tell one sort from the other (more explicitly noted in the next few photos). I didn't eat the sashimi, but judging by the slabs of salmon, tuna, and kingfish on my Rainbow Roll ($12.50), it should be quite reasonably average (much like most other Japanese restaurants).

Unatama Donburi - $11.50 + Sashimi entree - $11.50

Sashimi Entree - $11.50 ~ (Hmm... I'm wondering if a few pieces were eaten before my camera got to this... doesn't seem like many pieces for $11.50!)

Ahh... more "don's" (rice bowls). I believe that this is the Chicken Katsu Donburi ($10). My 'deep-fried lover - esp. chips' friend managed to eat all the chicken... but rice was left over... hmm...

Chicken Katsu Donburi - $10

Amazingly, this isn't me taking two photos of the same thing... they are actually different dishes!!! This is in fact, the Mixed Katsu Donburi ($12). You get a prawn, fish, AND chicken... all nicely battered and deep fried on top of a bed of seasoned rice.

Mixed Katsu Donburi - $12

After reading somewhere that the ramen at Yumei was average at best, I convinced my friend to order the Beef Udon instead. The soup was tasty, and the udon was of a nice texture. Not bad - but I think you could get better for $12.

Beef Udon - $12

Okay, now for some sushi dishes. The birthday girl dislikes the taste of raw stuff. So, she ordered the Grilled Salmon Nigiri ($8). Unfortunately, that too, was too raw for her liking. Nevermind - more for her partner to enjoy! :)

Grilled Salmon Nigiri - $8

This is another dish that my deep-fried chicken and mixed donburi friends ordered - and yes, it was themed on deep-fried chicken [Chicken and avocado Nigiri - ($8)]. Well, the mayo makes it look nice and tempting.

Chicken and Avocado Nigiri - $8

And finally, my Rainbow Roll ($12.50). Again, nicely presented - much like most rainbow rolls you get at most Jap restaurants. It wasn't bad. But it wasn't the nicest best rainbow roll I've eaten. Nonetheless - pretty good. The sashimi slabs on top were good. The mayo crab salad inside mixed with get again, some salmon sashimi, and some mushy avocado was a nice combination. And it was filling (although, I admit, I did have a double cheeseburger meal from Maccas not more than an hour before my dinner feed).

Rainbow Roll - $12.50

So overall, it was a nice and enjoyable night out with friends. I've only posted a sample of what we ordered (taking photos of what 24 of my friends ate was too big a task - and pretty much impossible since we were situated on a long table). The service... well... you get a buzzer to buzz them over - so they were nice and non-noticeable when you didn't need them there~!

Ratings:
Food - 6/10
Service - 6/10
Ambiance - 6/10
Value for money - 7/10
Overall - 25/40



Yumei
Capitol Square - basement
Shop G09
730-742 George Street
Haymarket
NSW, 2000
Tel: (02) 9212 6665

Castle Terrace Chinese Restaurant - Castle Hill

On a somewhat windy and dreary Public Holiday Monday evening, my family went out to dinner with some close family friends. Expecting a busy buzzy restaurant, I was surprised to see our table to be one of a handful (or less).

As Castle Terrace is a restaurant we frequent, I was not deterred by the lack of numbers. Also, the chirpy and friendly waiters put our minds at ease.

We ordered the banquet for 12 (~$468) plus, as the waiter recommended, a chicken dish (steamed chicken with vegetables), and large-sized oysters (deep fried - $4.80 each).

The deep fried oyster came out golden brown. It was fresh, hot and crispy on the outside, and oh so very oystery on the inside. Not a bad combination. But I guess that's because I do tend to like oysters! :) And so, I was very happy with this starter.

Deep-fried oyster - $4.80 each

The chicken was nice and smooth and tender (although somewhat oily). But when dipped in the ginger sauce (the small yellow plate of stuff in the top left-hand corner of my photo), it was quite a delicious feed.

Steamed chicken with vegetables.

Okay, back to the food included in the banquet.

First there was the steamed scallop with a vermicelli, shallots, mild XO (so very mild that even I could barely detect), and soy based sauce. The sauce complemented the scallop well. But - I found the vermecelli a bit dryer than what I'm used to (which I found perplexing since it was supposed to be drenched in the XO/soy based sauce.

Vermecelli XO/soy sauced scallop

Next was the Peking Duck Pancake (I forgot to open it up for you to look at! >.<). Although it looks like a brown glop of sauce in a thin flour pancake, the duck flavour shone through. The meat was tender and although I'm not the biggest fan of this dish (mainly because I used to eat it so much when I was young), I remember being rather pleased by the quality of this dish.

Peking Duck Pancake

The steamed little abalone. The abalone in my picture does not look great (but I admittedly had the worse-looking one out of the whole lot). The looks of this was not too appealing, and when I bit into it... then bit into it again... and again...(then figured that I should shove the whole thing in my mouth), it was, as I had expected, not very appealing to my taste buds. It was a bit dry and slightly tasteless.

Steamed Abalone

Providing a good contrast the the rather dry abalone was the seafood soup. (and yes again, I was lucky enough to get the worse looking bowl - one with very little seafood). Although not very picturesque, it was tasty. Not too salty but flavoursome nonetheless. I happily drank til the very last drop.

Seafood soup

Next on the menu was lobster. We got a huge huge HUGE lobster. (I couldn't do the largeness of this dish justice as the waiter was too eager to dish it out). But believe me, it was a mountain of e-fu noodles and lobster. The lobster was very - lobsterish. The meat wasn't chewy and wasn't mush - it was just right (ie. fresh from the tank). The noodles wasn't drenched in sauce (which is a good thing), but was a good complement for the lobster. The sauce didn't add much to the dish - but the fresh seafood taste that peaked through was enough to keep me satisfied.

Large plate of e-fu noodles and lobster

My portion of lobster (and there was plenty more for seconds)

Then there was fish. Or fishes. There were two of these for the table, much to the suprise of most people on the table (we were already full by now). The fish tasted fresh and was cooked just perfectly. The meat just flaked off the bone. Mixed with the sweet soy sauce, it was very yum.

Freshly steamed fish

There was also the a chicken and seafood hotpot. Very saucy - but everything was very tender. Sizzling hot, it incorporated a good mix of things I like - scallops, prawns, chicken, corn, tofu, mushroom, veges (on the bottom).


Then came the meats. There was pork chops in black pepper sauce. The little bit of meat that I ate (due to the limits of my stomach) was tender and tasty.

Pork chops in black pepper sauce.

And very similar to the pork chops is the beef in black pepper and honey sauce. Again, the meat was very nice, juicy, and tender (I admit that I had more than a little piece of this, despite my full stomach - I couldn't resist!). I love how Chinese restaurants can cook beef in a way that keeps it flavoursome (although tastes nothing like beef) but my partner (whose parents own a super super nice and delicious Chinese takeaway shop :P) informed me that the way they do this is by preparing the meat in a way which involves cooking it in a bowl of oil, before actually incoporating the meat in the dish. Oh well - which is more important? Healthy food or delicious food?

Beef in black pepper and honey sauce.

Our chicken and pinapple fried rice. A nice alternative to boring boiled white rice :). It is somewhat more oily than normal boiled rice...

Chicken and Pinapple fried rice

And duck stir-fry with mixed veges (alot of bean sprouts). Although this dish feels oily when you eat it, there is a strong duck flavour which really, isn't half bad. The amount of veges in it gives a false impression of healthiness :P

Duck and vegetable stir-fry

Then for dessert. The dessert norm is just oranges, but because we are regulars (and because we've constantly booked the restaurant for expensive dinners - such as birthdays, anniversaries, church functions), we get complimentary dessert.

Dessert number 1 - deep fried red bean pancake. Without even eating it, I know that its goldenly crunchy on the outside, and sweetly redbean pastey on the inside (yes, personally, I'm not a fan of this - but everyone else on the table enjoyed this thoroughly).

Deep fried red bean pancake

Dessert number 2 was more up my alley. Ground peanut sweet soup. Mmm... the nuttiness and sweetness of this... words cannot describe. Much much much better than the normal red-bean sweet soup that you get at most other Chinese restaurants. I very much appreciated this (even though it doesn't look impressive, it tastes heavenly).

Ground peanut sweet soup.

So, as this is almost our family restaurant, the service is great (naturally - because they know us so well). They are nice and friendly and chatty (almost too chatty). The ambiance - well... the restaurant was quite empty and most of the noise came from out table. We were so loud (like Chinese people are) - cracking jokes and talking random things the whole night, I appreciated that the bosses knew us well enough to not tell us off!

Not a bad Chinese restaurant in the Hills area. If you haven't been, I recommend it. I think there is live music (jazzy) on Friday and Saturday nights.

Ratings:
Food - 8/10
Service - 8/10
Ambiance - 7/10
Value for money - 8/10
Overall - 31/40

Castle Terrace Chinese Restaurant
19-21 Terminus St
Castle Hill, NSW, 2154
Tel: (02) 9899 9938

Squires Loft Steakhouse - Melbourne

Hi, it's me! (bbsnoopy's partner),

A friend of mine recently came to visit me in Melbourne. It was 6:00 pm, I had returned from work to find my friend (lets call him Ken) still sleeping. I popped on the news and 30 minutes later Ken has woken up. He is pretty hungry having slept through Breakfast and Lunch. I had the Loft in mind and ran the idea past him. I had heard good reviews of this steakhouse in Melbourne so I was quite excited.

I called to book a table for two at 6:30pm for a 7:00pm booking, and to our surprise we could secure a booking. This restaurant is located at 12 Goldie Place, a quiet alleyway (like most other restaurants in Melbourne) close to Hardware Ln. Walking down the alley my friend was quite scared as a result he started to walk slower and began to shadow me - stupid Sydneysiders.

The Loft

Once we arrived at the restaurant we were promptly brought to our tables. We also promptly received our drinks. Perhaps a bit too promptly as they were not quite chilled enough.

400g Angus Porterhouse with Mustard Sauce - $45

I ordered the 400g Angus porterhouse steak with baked potato and mustard sauce. I wanted Medium Rare and Medium Rare was what I got - quite perfect. It was reasonably tender, deliciously juicy and tasted great. However, the mustard sauce was very average - just seeded dijon mustard with cream (I had expected more).

My friend ordered the 300g Ribeye (non Angus). He loved his meal and claimed it as the most tender and tasty steak he has ever had. The first thought that ran through my mind was 'Ken needs to get out more'. Unable to resist, I tried his steak, and behold, it was indeed more tender and more juicy than mine. Also, the creamy garlic sauce was to die for. Ken's whole meal was better than mine. It guess it's only fair given that his WAS comparatively more expensive than mine (per gram). That thought left me a little more satisfied.

300g Ribeye with Chips and Creamy Garlic Sauce - $42

Overall, this place left a good impression. Atmosphere was casual, the service was great and the food was even better. I would recommend this place to any steak lovers. Be sure to try the Angus and the other certified meat they have available, we were too cheap to try the more expensive cuts.

Ratings:
Food - 8/10
Service - 8/10
Ambiance - 8/10
Value for money - 6/10
Overall - 30/40

Squires Loft Melbourne

12 Goldie Place

Melbourne City
Tel: (03) 9670 7317

Mart 103 - Melbourne

If Bills is to Sydney, then Mart 103 is to Melbourne.

I read something like that on someone's blog and naturally, I wanted to go and check out the Bills of Melbourne.

I waited in anticipation as my partner and I drove down to Middle Park. One side of Canterbury Rd was a train/tram track. The other side was shops.
And so I counted - 105, 106, 107, 108...
Where's 107a ???
We parked, we walked... and OMGosh! the Bills of Melbourne turned into a dry-cleaning place!!!

and hence we settled for second-rate breakfast at Cafe Domain...

My partner must have sensed my disappointment and so, the very next morning, he CALLed the place - and someone picked up! AND, he heard that the place was very buzzy. Very good signs. Apparently, it was opposite the pub - but we looked there yesterday!!!

Nonetheless, we drove down to Middlepark again. And we walked around again.

And we couldn't find it...again.

Just as we were about to give up, I looked up at the tram tracks. That white station-looking building can't possibly be a cafe... or can it???

People were camping outside this "station-looking" building - and looked as if they were waiting for a tram/train until... someone started bringing chairs out...

My partner could not believe it until we were practically on the front steps!

Tram station look-a-like. No wonder we missed it the first time! Who would have thought?

Mart 103

After 10-15 minutes, we were escorted inside and surrounded by a mix of coffee aroma and delicious smelling... somethings

The cappuccino was my partner's (but when they placed it on our table, they named it a "latte" - which confused us both). No matter, it looked and tasted very cappy.

Cappuccino

And my mocha was all so very mmm and rich and smooth and creamy and very very mmm.

Mocha

After what seems like hours (and probably literally was), our much anticipated breakfast came (and yes, again, it was lunch time by now).

My partner was wowed by his corn fritters with grilled bacon and homemade relish ($15.90).
And I agree - it was quite awesomely yummy. But I guess my partner gets wowed out by most things bacon :)

Corn Fritters - $15.90

And mine. My eggs benedict ($15.90). Look at it! It looks miles above my eggs benedict yesterday. For one, it came with smoked salmon rather than ham. It came with two generous pieces of toast, not just one small one. And, it came with a large pile of spinach (not just two leaves). And, the hollandaise sauce itself was better. It was less thick and glunky tasting, but still creamy and rich.

Eggs benedict - $15.90

Well in all, the food was good.
The coffee was good.
The place was vibey.
But the service... somewhat lacking. Nonetheless, the waiters were always smiling during the little contact we had with the waiters. So the lack of service is probably because they were so incredibly busy.

Ratings:
Food: 9/10
Service: 7/10
Ambiance: 9/10
Value for money: 7/10
Overall: 32/40

Mart 103
107a Canterbury Rd,
Middle Park
Tel: (03) 9690 8831

Aria - Melbourne

I've always wanted to high-tea with one of those traditional three-tiered stands. But I've never been able to set my eyes past the chocolates and cakes offered by some less traditional high-tea places. So when my partner came across the high-tea/chocolate bar weekend offer at Aria in Langham Hotel, I was all there.

I was very excited as we got seated. A nice friendly waiter told us the ins and outs of the package - we get bottomless tea/coffee/hot chocolate, a three-tiered stand of "savoury" treats, and unlimited Chocolate Bar rounds.

I ordered the 'white rose' tea, whilst my partner started on the 'apple tea' (which was really quite apple-y). He later swapped it for an un-interesting Earl-grey tea.

Classy plate and serviette

The stand came with sandwiches - two of each kind. There was the smoked salmon sandwich, cucumber ribbon sandwich, egg mayo and cress sandwich, and the cream cheese and chives sandwich. Apart from the smoked salmon, the others were quite subtle and delicate in taste.

There were also scones. I'm not a big fan of scones. But these... quite impeccable. It was nice and warm and just sooooo light and soooo fluffy and just sooooo... wow!

Our three-tiered stand

Close up of the sandwiches

But speaking of Wow - the chocolate bar is Wow WOW~
Words can not describe how Wowness the display looked in real life, nor can it describe the wowness of my table being right next to this fantastic display.

Fantastic Chocolate Display

According the the waitress, the chocolate used to create these lovely little tasty bites are imported from all over the world - Switzerland, Tanzania, Belgium, Mexico, etc.

White chocolate mousse cake with white peach and kiwi mirror

Dark chocolate and strawberry chocolate mousse

Lime and green tea mousse

Tanzanie chocolate cream pot with golgi berry

My first choice of tasty tidbits - words cannot even start to describe how wonderfully awesome these are~ there's the nut cluster, pistachio biscotti, super sweet strawberry, and the green tea and lime mousse.

Then there's the dark chocolate and strawberry chocolate mousse, and dark chocolate ganache cake thing (I forgot the name - sorry!). And more strawberries ~ ahh... balanced diet.


My partner's choice - Tanzanie chocolate cream pot with golgi berry - taste a bit like chocolate, egg custard and sago (mmm... not bad). Then theres the other two things... one's a blueberry lemon custardy thing, and... I'm not sure what the orange bub thing is, but it wasn't bad tasting.


We also got a complimentary chocolate chip souffle - nice and hot and fluffy and airy. My partner was quite amazed by this - and if he had the stomach, I'm sure he would have stolen mine too!


Overall, this definitely satisfied both my high tea and chocolate craving!
It's absolutely fantastically amazing!
But it's so rich and so high in calories - probably can't be eaten every weekend.
Also, did I mention that it was $55 per person? Doesn't cost an arm or a leg but definitely will start chopping off toes if it is on your weekly agenda!

Ratings:
Food - 9.5/10
Service - 9/10
Ambiance - 10/10
Value for money - 7/10
Overall - 35.5/40

Aria - Langham Hotel
1 Southgate Ave
Southbank, Melbourne
Victoria, 3000
Tel: (03) 8696 8888