Wing Wah Noodle Shop

Ok, so we're back in Hong Kong for a 2 night layover this time before heading to Japan. Hong Kong is one of our favourite cities to visit especially for its food. We have some favourites but are always keen to try some new places as well.

Wing Wah Noodle Shop located in Wan Chai is a noodle shop featuring one of the best wonton noodle soups you will find anywhere. Just bear in mind that the shop itself does not have its signage in English (look for a gold 永華麵家). You can also order a variety of other things on the menu which has English on it. We had:

Wonton noodles (HK$40) - small but delicious bowl consisting of a wonderfully rich broth, 5 delectable morsels of wonton and al-dente handmade noodles. What first inspired us to try this place was the fact that the noodles were handmade the traditional way with a man using a bamboo pole to knead the dough.

Service: :star :star :star :star ½
Quality of food: :star :star :star :star ½
Value for money: :star :star :star :star 

Type of venue: Chinese,  Wonton

Worth a return visit? Yes.

English menu: Yes.

Address: 89 Hennessey Road,  Wan Chai, Hong Kong

Pope Joan

We decided to go back to Pope Joan as it had been quite a while. Always remembered it as quite a nice place for brekkie or lunch. Easy enough to find a park and it was busy inside. Sadly, this time around we found the food a bit average. We had:

Crumpet, pumpkin, figs, whey caramel (AU$7) - Texture was more bread than crumpet. Tasted a little weird; was it supposed to be savoury or sweet?

Black pudding, chestnut polenta, fried egg, fig anchoiade (AU$19) - Black pudding was dry and quite bland. Not the best quality we have had. A sweet fruity element would have gone better with it. The polenta needed more seasoning. All in all, a bit of a let down.

Service: :star :star :star :star :star
Quality of food: :star :star :star
Value for money: :star :star :star

Type of venue: Breakfast

Worth a return visit? No.

Address: 77-79 Nicholson St, Brunswick East VIC 3057

Colonel Tan's

Colonel Tan's in Prahran is located up a very long flight of stairs. Quite an interesting venue with quirky furnishing. It is the sister restaurant of Cookie (city). We had been to Cookie many times and so had quite high expectations of this place. We weren't disappointed. It was lovely and we had:

Pork and prawn donuts, chilli jam (AU$12.50)- Very springy and delicious morsels. Perfect for sharing or as a little snack, you get two skewers and they go so well with the chilli jam.

Betel leaf salad, snapper, peanuts, ginger, chilli and lime (AU$11.50)- A very tasty DIY salad. The small snapper bites were crispy and well seasoned.

Soft shell crab and green papaya salad, lemongrass, little fish and peanuts (AU$16.50)- Perfect little salad with wonderful texture contrasts and flavour.

Sour orange fish curry, acacia omelette, rice and tomato relish (AU$18.50)- Great to order if you are after something a little different. Loved the texture of the omelette cakes and the tomato relish can be added to make the curry less spicy.

Service: :star :star :star :star ½
Quality of food: :star :star :star :star ½
Value for money: :star :star :star :star ½

Type of venue: Thai.

Worth a return visit? Yes.

Address: 229 Chapel Street, Prahran VIC 3181

A La Bouffe

French food is something we love and at one stage we were spoilt for choice. We had a few favourites, namely PM24, France-Soir, Le Grand Cirque and A La Bouffe. Sadly, two of them closed down but we still have two local French places to satisfy our cravings. A La Bouffe is what we will be reviewing. It has an extensive menu and we will happily eat our way through it. We had:

Soup A L'Oignon - French onion soup with cheese "gratine" (AU$14.5) - We do love a hearty, sweet and cheesy onion soup. This version was ok. It would have been better with more onion and cheese.

Escargots De Bourgogne - snails in garlic and fennel butter (AU$19.5) - The snails were served in tiny serving cups instead of in shells. The tiny morsels were rich and delicious.

Ravioli A La Langouste Et Aux Cervettes - lobster and prawn ravioli in a creamy bisque sauce (AU$36) - Beautiful colour, rich sauce and perfectly cooked ravioli. What more could you ask for?

Kangourou A La Bouffe - kangaroo fillet with sautéed baby spinach, sweet potatoes, poached pear, chocolate glaze and jus (AU$36) - This must be the best kangaroo we have ever had. Beautifully rare, perfectly seasoned and the interplay between sweet and savoury went perfectly well with the slight gaminess from the kangaroo. Delicious!

Ile Flottante - oven baked soft poached meringue on a hazelnut creme anglaise (AU$14) - Very unique and delicious. We had heard of it but never had it before and it is certainly an interesting dessert and worth trying. Quite rich with the creme anglaise.

Service: :star :star :star :star :star
Quality of food: :star :star :star :star ½
Value for money: :star :star :star :star ½

Type of venue: French

Worth a return visit? Yes.

Address: 268 Toorak Road,  South Yarra VIC 3141

Jinda Thai Restaurant

We are delighted to announce that we have found, in our opinion at least, the best Thai restaurant in Melbourne. Jinda Thai in Abbotsford serves up some of the best Thai food we have ever had and they make a mean iced milk tea as well. We always wished for Home Thai or Chat Thai to branch out from Sydney but thankfully, we now have an authentic place of our own here in Melbourne. We ordered from their regular menu(they have a lunch menu) and had:

Fish cake - Jinda Thai's own recipe (AU$8.90) - Springy and full of flavour, it also has a slight kick to it. Wonderful little entree and good for sharing.

Tom yum - spicy and sour soup with lemongrass and lime leaf. A signature Thai dish with prawns (AU$16.9) - Not very spicy, a little sweet and the generous serving of prawns was cooked well. Large enough to share between two or even three.

Deep fried soft shell crab with pepper and garlic sauce (AU$17.9) - Perfectly fried, the crabs(two pieces) were crispy and juicy with just the right balance of pepper and garlic.

Roasted duck in red curry (AU$17.9) - Thinly sliced pieces of duck in a slightly sweet red curry. Loved the other ingredients(lychee, pumpkin etc) in the curry as they really made this a complete dish.

Ice cream grati - coconut ice cream, coconut flavoured sticky rice, crunchy peanuts  and palm fruit (AU$8.5) - Lovely end to a beautiful lunch. It had good texture contrasts and a nice light flavour; not too sweet.

Service: :star :star :star :star :star
Quality of food: :star :star :star :star :star
Value for money: :star :star :star :star ½

Type of venue: Thai

Worth a return visit? Yes.

Address: 1-7 Ferguson Street, Abbotsford VIC 3067

Grand Trailer Park Taverna

Sitting above the corner of Bourke and Russell Streets, Grand Trailer Park Taverna is a cool concept and certainly has a wonderful atmosphere. Only complaint was that the staff were a little too quick in wanting to clear the tables without even asking. We were going to have dessert but after the poor service, we left in a hurry. We had two burgers(but only reviewing one) and a shake(not spiked):

KSA -  Premium Aussie beef patter,  American cheddar cheese, tomato, butter lettuce, special burger sauce and American mustard on a lightly toasted brioche bun. It is certainly a delicious burger. A smaller burger compared to the others on the list but if you are after a no-frills burger, you can't go wrong with this one.

Salted caramel and maple bacon milkshake - had this without the alcohol. Presentation was good especially with the piece of maple bacon. Tasted a bit average as far as milkshakes go though.

Service: :star :star
Quality of food: :star :star :star ½
Value for money: :star :star :star ½

Type of venue: Burgers,  American

Worth a return visit? No. 

Address: 87 Bourke Street,  Melbourne

Oriental Spoon

We have tried several Korean restaurants in Melbourne over the years but have not written a review on all of them. This is our latest review of one of our favourites. Oriental Spoon is a casual restaurant offering a large variety of dishes that are perfect for sharing. Some say it is pricey compared to the many choices in the city but if you ask us, as with most cases, you pay for what you get. This time we had:

Chicken fillets in chilli sauce and mozzarella cheese - Don't let the three chilli symbols put you off from ordering this. You can ask for a milder version. It is cheesy and slightly spicy. Quite a large portion of moist, tender chicken, it is seriously addictive and delicious.

Sizzling Korean beef ribs - You can't go wrong when ordering beef at a Korean restaurant. It is tender, smells incredible and sizzling away when it arrives at the table. The ribs are tasty and go perfectly well with the sides that accompany your meal.

Service: :star :star :star :star :star
Quality of food: :star :star :star :star ½
Value for money: :star :star :star :star  ½

Type of venue: Korean

Worth a return visit? Yes.

Address: 254 La Trobe Street, Melbourne VIC 3000

Larder

We wanted to escape the dreary weather in Melbourne and decided on a short drive to Daylesford to try something new. The weather was perfect and there were lots of people who had the same idea as us. Larder in Daylesford serves up your typical breakfast fare as well as some interesting menu items showcasing local produce. We ordered from the sharing menu and had:

Larder tasting plate (AU$29) - featuring Chef's selection of house made produce: chicken and pork terrine, chicken liver and sherry parfait, Gorgonzola mousse, cured Ocean Trout, smoked Trout mousse, roast fennel and cannelloni bean dip with fresh baked ciabatta. Generous tasting board with plenty of sliced bread. Our favourites were the chicken liver parfait and Gorgonzola mousse.  The smoked trout mousse was a little too light in flavour. A good way to try what is on offer.

Thick cut fries (AU$9) - hand cut from locally farmed pot

atoes with rosemary salt and mayo. Creamy and fluffy potatoes done well. Very chunky and more towards wedges which we like.

Hush puppies (AU$9) - Southern American style fries cheese and herb balls with bbq sauce and mayo. Delicious fluffy, pillowy balls with a soufflé like texture. Good on its own and it had a nice cheesy flavour. The bbq sauce tasted like it was spiked with alcohol and was certainly an interesting sauce.

Service: :star :star :star :star :star
Quality of food: :star :star :star :star
Value for money: :star :star :star :star ½

Type of venue: Breakfast,  Modern,  Coffee

Worth a return visit? Yes.

Address: 57A Vincent Street, Daylesford VIC 3460

Wagyu Ya

Waygu Ya in South Yarra serves up delicious Wagyu beef and other tasty Japanese fare. We heard that Novak Djokovic had his meal here one year and decided to have their soy milk hot pot for dinner. They also do good value lunch sets and this is what we had this time:

Harami set - the thick part of the diaphragm muscle, extremely limited portion with only 1kg per cow. Full flavoured and delicate texture. The set comes with potato salad, fried chicken pieces, salad, miso soup , yummy steamed rice and a piece of orange. You also get three sauces but the meat doesn't need any extra sauce. The steamed rice also comes with this braised fatty meat that is so addictive.

Japanese style soy milk hot pot - smaller version of what you would have for dinner. The unique flavour of the hot pot goes really well with the Wagyu beef that is sliced perfectly thin. Literally melts in your mouth.

Service: :star :star :star :star
Quality of food: :star :star :star :star ½
Value for money: :star :star :star :star

Type of venue: Japanese

Worth a return visit? Yes.

Address: 156 Toorak Road, South Yarra VIC 3141

Borsch, Vodka and Tears

We felt like trying something new and ventured along Chapel St, Prahran for something tasty for dinner. We have walked past Borsch, Vodka and Tears many times but never tried it. All we can say is the service is excellent, the vodka/drink list is amazing and they serve up excellent Polish food. We can't wait to go back.

Salt cod and potato croquettes - crispy salty deliciousness. Good snack to have and went well with the vodka tasters we had.

Polish dumplings with porcini mushroom and sauerkraut with a bread-crumb coating - first time having Polish dumplings and we really enjoyed the mushroom and sauerkraut filling and the unique coating/shell.

Char-grilled Kiełbasa, roasted Kransky, Russian salad, horseradish, German mustard, onion jam, ajvar, pickles - enjoyed the different condiments and salad on the plate. The sausages were interesting, a little dry but maybe that's how it is supposed to be. Will still order it again as it is quite nice.

Service: :star :star :star :star :star
Quality of food: :star :star :star :star :star
Value for money: :star :star :star :star ½

Type of venue: Eastern, European, Polish

Worth a return visit? Yes.

Address: 173 Chapel Street,  Prahran VIC 3181

Red Hot Wok

Whenever we feel like some Malaysian Chinese dishes, we head to Red Wok in South Yarra to get our fix. We usually order three dishes to share and this time was no exception. We had:

Sambal kangkung - our go to vegetable dish. Slightly spicy, the water convolvulus is cooked perfectly with just the right amount of seasoning.

Flaky tofu - deliciously soft egg tofu with a light soy dressing.

Salted egg chicken ribs - chicken ribs are popular everywhere right now. The seasoning on this is just right; slight saltiness from the salted egg granules, the taste is reminiscent of butter prawns as there is the addition of curry leaves as well. Juicy, crispy goodness.

Service: :star :star :star :star
Quality of food: :star :star :star :star
Value for money: :star :star :star :star

Type of venue: Chinese,  Malaysian

Worth a return visit? Yes

Address: 313 Toorak Road, South Yarra VIC 3141

Hammer & Tong

We felt like something different for breakfast last Saturday. Finally settled on Hammer and Tong and we were not disappointed. Although it had been a while since we have been here, the menu options are always interesting and fresh. We had:

Salt and pepper french toast, fried duck egg, maple, chorizo smoked oreo crumbs, duck egg and salted caramel ice cream (AU$21) - A very modern twist on the classic French toast but everything went really well together.  The fried egg was perfect, as was the ice cream. Enjoyed it very much.

Breakfast ramen with 62C hens egg, bacon, shitake mushroom, spring onion, bacon dashi (AU$19) - a light broth with perfectly cooked egg, this is a healthy Asian inspired breakfast item. Good for those cooler mornings and for those wanting something different.

Service: :star :star :star :star :star
Quality of food: :star :star :star :star ½
Value for money: :star :star :star :star 

Type of venue: Breakfast, Brunch, Coffee

Worth a return visit? Yes.

Address: 412 Brunswick St, Fitzroy VIC 3065

BOY and Co.

BOY and Co. is extremely popular among school kids. We have never eaten in a place where 90 percent of the staff and patrons are under the age of 15! At least that is the impression we got when we were there on a Saturday afternoon. It serves two things: milkshakes and fries. We decided to give it a go despite reading some mixed reviews and it was actually pretty good. All in all, a good spot to come to for a snack and drink. We had:

American pie milkshake - apple pie and shortbread in a shake. Tastes good, it was thick and you can definitely taste pieces of shortbread throughout.

Black and white - cookies and cream shake. Again, a thick shake done well with good flavour and consistency.

Sweet potato fries with saffron and garlic aioli. Complimentary sauces are available at the tables. Otherwise, different sauces are available for an extra charge. The aioli was alright but may be better suited with the fries. The sweet potato fries were crunchy and delicious. Good accompaniment to the shakes.

Service: :star :star :star :star
Quality of food: :star :star :star :star
Value for money: :star :star :star :star

Type of venue: American

Worth a return visit? Yes.

Address: 224 Glenferrie Road, Malvern VIC 3144