Eat. @ Chow City

287 Exhibition Street, Melbourne CBD ph (03) 9663 7898

Woohoo it's Fri-Yay night out with the girls again.  This time we went to Chow City for drinks and dinner.  As usual we chose a place with a good variety of shared plates and pescatarian options for my friend Sarah.  

As I was the designated driver I sipped on my Tropic Thunder mocktail ($9) whilst the girls got started on some wine. The menu was modern Australian Asian fusion with a lot of bar items but a decent number of dinner options.  We were too lazy to pick and choose so we opted for the $65 chow down chef's menu option.

First up some oysters with ponzu, salmon roe and spring onion. A good start with the drinks.

Next up some tuna baos, with confit tuna, tobiko, seaweed salad and nori.  I wouldn't have ordered this usually but the confit tuna was actually really delicious.  I usually get to order for the family, or even with friends since everyone knows I love my food.  It just goes to show sometimes it's good to let someone else have control and choose your dishes for you!

Then came the chef's special of the night, which was watermelon with kimchi, cream cheese, figs, pomegranate and cashew crumble.  I absolutely would not have ordered this if it wasn't for the chef's menu but dang it was delicious and refreshing.  I don't think I will order off the menu again.  Just bring me what ever is good!

Then we got a really decent serve each of the Calamari, marinated in buttermilk, chilli, garlic, with vietnamese mint and crispy garlic.  These were  amazing and we finished it all even thought we were starting to fill up.

The papaya salad came next and was topped with crispy soft shell crab, served with mint, basil, green bean, chilli, lime and peanuts.  I only had a little of this as I had pretty much under estimated the amount of food that would arrive given that this is a bar setting.  So yum.  2 large serves between the 4 of us.

Yes there is more!  The New Zealand King Salmon was slow cooked with peas, green bean, asparagus, and served in a warm citrus broth. (We also got given 2 serves of this between the 4 of us).  I found a new spot in my stomach for this delicious salmon, I just wished I had more room!  Even the veggies were super delicious with the broth.  

All this was served with a side of roquette with coconut snow, a large bowl of rice to share.......

And the best darn serve of shoe string fries I've had. The menu said it was seasoned with garlic salt and served with mayo, but there was a touch of sweetness which really made these fries amazing.















We all agreed that we're now too stuffed to walk back into the city for dessert, only to be told that there is dessert coming!  Each of us had a serve of the cream cheese cake, a soft fluffy mousse topped with caramel, raspberry and popcorn.

All in all it was such a fun night out, the staff were attentive and even tolerated the impromptu karaoke some of us got up to (I'm not pointing any fingers ladies, you know who you are!)  $65 was a pretty good deal and I would highly recommend Chow City for a casual and fun night out!  

Eat. @ Naked For Satan & Naked in the Sky

285 Brunswick Street, Fitzroy 3065 ph (03) 9416 2238

It's Kinder Girls' night out time again and this time we headed to a spot that is decidedly kid-unfriendly.   It's Sarah's turn to pick a place, and the plan was for vodka and pintxos at Naked For Satan, then heading upstairs to Naked in the Sky, the rooftop restaurant, for a bigger meal.  There's a no booking policy which I am usually not a big fan of, but given that we could just hang out downstairs with our drinks and nibblies whilst we wait for a table upstairs, it's not as big an obstacle!

I was so excited at the selection of pintxos I forgot to take photos of the delicious cocktails that the others' had whilst we were downstairs!  Here's a picture of the Blueberry Crush my friend Jodi had on her second round.

Pintxos are little bite sized tapas nibblies which you can self-serve from the counter and you pay at the end by the number of toothpicks you end up with.  They're usually $2 each but were only $1 each midweek!!!  What a bargain!

We had quite a selection of different toppings including prawns, goats cheese, chorizo, squid ink risotto with calamari, eggplant chip, smoked salmon and a warm one with grilled vegies.  An excellent "bar food" to help soak up the alcohol from the vodka!  I could've kept eating these except that I was mindful of leaving space for more food upstairs.

Before we knew it we got a call on the mobile to let us know that our table was ready.  So up the little elevator to the top floor restaurant we went.  We were seated in the centre part of the restaurant which is under cover, with the peripheral section of the restaurant catering for roof top open air dining.  The views over Melbourne were spectacular from there but I wasn't too disappointed to not sit outside as it was quite chilly that evening.

We ordered several dishes to share and we started with some marinated green olives ($8).  These are quite tart and not as salty as I'm used to.

The Soft Shell Crab ($16) is another good starter (excellent with a jug of cocktails I would imagine - next time Ladies!!!)

Our favourite dish of the night was the Roasted Figs and Goats Curd, with agrodulce pinenuts and currants ($16).  The contrast of sweet and salty flavours and soft and crunchy textures was brilliant mix of opposites that worked amazingly well together.

I must admit I did not know what to expect when we ordered The Mushroom Parfait ($16), and was quite surprised this is a bit of a ploughman's lunch board with a slice of mousse textured parfait with intense mushroom flavour, onion jam, smoked almonds and radish.  There was also sultanas and greens thrown in the mix.  Again a lovely mix of flavours and textures and a great sharing dish.

Migas ($19) was a dish with broken bread, cooked with spinach, tomato, garlic, capsicum and cider.  A more comfort food style dish with a lovely soft texture.

The Fried Cheese and Walnut Croquettes ($12) were just plan yum.  What's not to like in a soft cheesy croquette with a crunchy skin?

We finished our meal with the Crema Catalana ($9).  We had a great time chatting as we all cracked through the toffee top and dug into soft custardy goodness.

I love exploring new places with my Kinder Girls and always look forward to our nights out together (sorry kids!)  Thanks Girls for another wonderful evening of fun, food and non-alcopop drinkies!

Shop. @ Fashion Park

Level 1, 168 Bourke St, Melbourne CBD (enter via Russell St - It's on top of Nandos)

My friend K and I were invited to Fashion Park's Girls Super Fun Night Out Launch event last week where we got the opportunity to check out Fashion Park's range of shops and beauty services.  Their Girls 'Super Fun' night out gives you and your friends access to a private theme room filled with Japanese designer clothing and photo props to try on (60 minutes) whilst enjoying a cool cocktail, as well as a 30 minute Shellac manicure (colour and shaping service) and a 30 minute rejuvenating facial which includes cleansing, dead skin cell removal and personalised facial mask. 

We were greeted with a lovely cocktail (well mocktail for me as I was driving).   Meanwhile we got to check out the shops which offered Japanese fashion as well as lingerie, and the soon to be launched handbag shop.

After that we were treated to an authentic Japanese Shellac nail service. Now thanks to work /kids/baking I am constantly washing my hands and my nails are a lost cause.   But this managed to make my nails look neat and healthy and.... pretty!  The hardest part was choosing a colour from the rainbow of nail polishes on offer.  Yes I changed my mind 4 or 5 times before settling on what my kids call "princess pink"!  We didn't get to try the facial as we were late due to some, um, rather interesting parking shenanigans, but the other ladies all noted how refreshing the experience was and I'm definitely keen to come back to try that out!

Fashion Park is a cute little mall near the corner of Russell and Bourke (upstairs from Nandos) that focuses on bringing various Japanese fashion brands and beauty services to Melbournians.  The mall set up is reminiscent of the little malls I've seen in my travels through South East Asia.  Until 24th February 2014, Fashion Park is offering the ultimate pamper package for a "girls' night out" worth $150 at a discount price of $75 per person.  Super fun for a girls' night out!

Disclaimer : My friend and I attended the Fashion Park Girls' "Super Fun" Night Out by invitation from Fashion Park Shopping Centre and Hub Comme.