Ms Chu - Ah...choo!!! Excuse me..

My 1st visit - not bad. Had pretty good dishes to share. 2nd visit? A bit disappointing.  I ordered the vermicelli salad with chilli tiger prawns ($15) and a cucumber lychee coconut ice ($7). The flavours were good with a punchy sweet sour saltiness sauce that gave the dish life. Prawns were perfectly marinated and cooked. Vermicelli, however, was a tad too soft which I thought was overcooked.  When I requested the server to convey this message to the kitchen and asked for them to try the doneness of the vermicelli, the chef did not even budge. Well, minus points for not taking a customer's feedback seriously.  The overcooked vermicelli sought of spoilt the overall rating of the dish. Thumbs down.
Unfortunately for my friend, her beef pho ($15) had the flavours of a typical pho but lacked punch.
The only good thing about this meal was the drinks.  My cucumber lychee and coconut ice blend was refreshing, so was my friend's pineapple mint and coconut ice blend.
I'd love to give this place another try but if only I didn't mind being disappointed again. Go to a traditional Vietnamese pho restaurant if you want good pho.
All said, try this place for drinks and share dishes which were pretty good 1st time. This place is a hit or miss.

297, Exhibition street, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Thai culinary - A culinary experience

Thai culinary is a no frills restaurant that serves straight up Thai. What's good about it is the portions are quite generous and reasonably priced. 

So far, anyone I've brought to eat here has given the thumbs up. The fried rice with pineapple is good but inconsistent.  When good, the rice is tasty and dry, with lovely sweet pineapple bits and juicy prawns. They have chicken or beef options too. 

The usual suspects like green curry, red curry, and Massaman are tasty. Again,  all curries and stir fry dishes have meat or vegetarian options.  

This is a must go for reasonably priced Thai food.

433 Elizabeth street,  Melbourne, Victoria,  Australia. 

Abla's - Lebanese wonder

Abla's has been on my wishlist since the lady herself was featured in Masterchef.  Finally, on the suggestion of my friend, we had dinner.
Drink was a jug of Limonada ($12) which was home made lemonade with rose water which very refreshing. It had the right balance of sweet and sour...I'm salivating thinking about it.
Ordered more than we could eat. We ordered the Hummous bi Tahini, chicken liver and Kibbee Nayeh, a lamb dish.  The lamb was the most adventurous dish I've tried since the life octopus in Korea years ago.
The hummous bi Tahini ($12) was delicious, I could taste the chickpeas with a hint of tahini garlic and lemon juice, unlike the commercially made ones. Tahini is a peanut paste similar to peanut butter.
Chicken liver ($16) was to die for.  Perfectly cooked and the lemon juice squeezed over the livers took them livers to a new dimension.  Tangy and savoury. Yum.
The Kibbee Nayeh, raw lamb blended with burghul ($27) came with olive oil, sliced onions and peppermint leaves. Our most helpful server gave us tips on how to eat the raw lamb; by taking a piece of bread, place some onions and peppermint leaves, top with the mince, fold and enjoy! I can say it's an acquired taste. There's a slight sliminess and graininess texture. The lamb didn't have any distinct odours and most of the flavour came from the onions and peppermint leaves. I actually quite liked the dish after having a few mouthfuls. Bread is unlimited.
We ended our dinner with turkish delight and Lebanese coffee ($4). The turkish delight came in 2 flavours, rose and unknown though we think it could be apricot. They were ok though I am not really an expert on what's good for a turkish delight.
Coffee was awesome! Hints of fruity sweetness, especially good after a bite of the turkish delight. The whole experience made my night.

109, Elgin Street, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. 

Sambal Malaysia - no frills wonder

I have been to this little eatery many times but have never taken pictures of the food or even thought of writing about it... until today.  I think it should be given due credit for its down to earth hawker style food and humble owners. 
The food I've tried are:
Bak kut teh (pork rib soup) - a herbal soup with pork ribs and pork belly served with rice.  Good on a cold night as the soup is served in a claypot retaining the heat for longer. I would have preferred the herbal taste to come through more but it would be perfect for some who are not used to herbal soups.
Hokkien prawn noodles - yellow noodles and vermicelli, bean shoots, prawns and pork rib in a rich spicy prawn broth. I thought it was close enough to the mediocre ones back home but it's melbourne. It's much better than some other Malaysian restaurants that claim to be authentic. 
Assam laksa (sour soup noodles) - it is pretty good as it had the ingredients typical of an assam laksa. The sour soup with fish bits were addictive (guilty. Not a drop of soup left by the time I was done). The soup was sour and sweet. The sweetness comes from the prawn paste that you mix in the soup before eating your noodles.
Pan mee (dough noodles with pork mince and ear fungus)- there's a choice of dry or soup. I preferred dry which was blanched noodles mixed with a tasty dark soy sauce mixture topped with pork mince and ear fungus.
Fried yee mee - was ok compared to those we get back in Malaysia. The taste of the stock was a little bland.
This place can get very full during dinner time and it opens from Monday to Saturday (12-2.30pm; 5.30pm-8.30pm).

Sheni's Curries - So good I went 2 days in a row

On a search for good Indian food in the city, I came across Sheni's Curry. Although the address says Collins street, the entrance to the little shop is from Russell street (directly opposite the carpark entrance to Grand Hyatt Melbourne).
Ordered the Sri Lankan special - red rice, fish pickle curry, jackfruit curry, green salad, dhal curry, chutney, chilli and poppadom.  I fell in love with this dish from the first mouthful.  Just the right amount of spices, just enough heat to make me look forward to the next mouthful.
This dish reminds me of a local rice salad dish I love back in Malaysia called nasi kerabu.
The next day, I had coconut milk rice with lamb curry which was also on special.  The consistency of the rice was pudding-like. Was different but delicious. Goes very well with the lamb curry.
This joint is gonna be my regular haunt...

161 Collins street, Melbourne, VIC, Australia

(Enter from Russell street)

Biz hours: 11am to 4pm

Izakaya Hachibeh - feels like I'm in Japan

I'm starting to feel I'm addicted to this restaurant.  Tonight, it was a feast for 3.  Fried soba noodles was tasty with bits of beef slices, cabbage and capsicums. Grilled eggplant with special miso sauce was done to perfection. Grilled sanma had a strong fishy smell when it was set on the table but once we squeezed the lemon juice on, it was delicious. 
The nabeyaki udon with chicken, 1 prawn tempura, sliced fish cakes tasted exactly like the ones in the land of the rising sun. Sashimi platter - 1 word, fresh. Highlight of the meal for me was  the beef tataki. Lightly grilled and complemented with a special soy sauce. Meat was tender loving good.
We also had a mio sake which tasted like a fruity sparkling wine. The hokkaido beer is perfect as it is light so I don't feel too full compared to a dark ale. Awesome!

143-145, Bourke street, Melbourne 3000

Victoria, Australia. 

Tel: 03 90789909

Krimper - A new find in a lane way

I'm excited.  I can post my reviews from my mobile! This morning, I decided to try a new cafe which supposedly has a killer burger.
Obviously, I ordered the Krimper burger (Krimper is the name of the cafe). A latte to go with it. They use coffee from Proud Mary. Verdict:
Burger ($18) came on a block with hand cut chips and aioili sauce. What I like about the burger is the bun. A seeded brioche bun. Patty was juicy, cooked just right, medium rare. The whole combination was very good. I wouldn't rate it exceptional because it just lacked something and I can't make out what. 
Coffee was good when it was hot. It had a hint of cough mixture taste after it cooled down.  Not sure if it was because of a reaction to something in the burger, I don't know.
I would give this place another try.

Krimper
20, Guildford lane
Melbourne 3000
VIC Australia

Bowery to Wiiliamsburg - Not the typical sandwich

I have been curious about the hype behind Bowery to Williamsburg, a little cafe in a lane. As I had a brunch date, I took the opportunity to try this hidden gem.
When we walked along Oliver lane, my friend asked if I was selling her to a dodgy syndicate...duh!
We found the cafe. The interior was pretty with a communal table that filled at lunch time.
We ordered the reuben and the sausage & chorizo which was on the specials board. We exchanged half for half. Oh, we ordered the set which came with pretzels, a gherkin and a side. We picked mac n cheese and tabouleh. Set is $16.50. Sandwich only is $12.50.

I was sold. The reuben was tasty with just the right amount of sauerkraut and cheese in between rye sourdough slices. It was moist, with the perfect balance of salty, sour and cheesy.
The sausage and chorizo was delicious with the tomato base. Packs a punch with melted cheese on top. These were in between a mini baguette.
Coffee was good and I would go back. Yes. Definitely.

Bowery to Williamsburg
16, Oliver lane
Melbourne 3000