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. @ Red Spice QV

37 Artemis Lane, Melbourne CBD 3000 ph (03) 8660 6300

For my birthday lunch this year with the gang, we ventured to Red Spice Road at QV.  I've been wanting to try their food for ages and I must admit it did not disappoint.

The space at QV was pretty amazing.  The set up is a mix of modern and traditional East meet West.  The tables were spacious and there's a large area upstairs that would cater really well for large groups and small functions.

I had heard so much about the amazing Twice Cooked Lamb Ribs with sticky tamarind sauce ($18) that we ordered 2 serves (thinking that as an entree it'd be quite a small serve, but all the dishes on the lunch menu were surprisingly generous).  No worries, we had no problems putting away all the delicious ribs between the 5 of us, and ribs are super kid-friendly so they were a great choice.  They offered to not add chilli to one of the serves so it worked really well that we got to try both versions!  Mini Me and I both gave them a big thumbs up!

The Pork belly with chilli caramel, apple slaw and black vinegar ($36) was a delicious serve of melt in the mouth pork belly.  The sauce was amazing, I could eat anything covered in it, and certainly went down a treat with bowls of rice.

Lastly we had a Chicken, pomelo, peanut, herb and coconut salad ($34) which was really nice and refreshing.

The only problem we had was that the drinks took forever to arrive despite some prompting.  We had ordered a couple of mocktails which were really delicious an would've been so refreshing with the ribs and belly pork but unfortunately they only made an appearance near the end of our meal.

Overall the meal was delicious and the kids were well treated and we had a delightful family lunch.  25% off with the Entertainment Book did not hurt!  We'll definitely be back again!

Eat. @ Sezar

6 Melbourne Place, Melbourne CBD 3000 ph (03) 9663 9882

Sezar is a restaurant in the CBD that serves up Armenian food.  I'd never had Armenian food before so I didn't know what to expect but was pleasantly surprised by how interesting and tasty the dishes were.

Starting off we had some very fresh Hervey Bay Scallops ($11) with cauliflower, cumin caramel and zaatar.

Next were the Spanner Crab Manti ($15), Armenian dumplings with sumac yoghurt and chilli oil.  

The lulu kebabs ($18) are spiced lamb kebabs served with sour cherry sauce and baby cos.  To my untrained palate the dish tastes Middle Eastern and very delicious.

The Glazed Pork ($29) with pomegranate and radish salad was again really interesting with the spices used in the glaze.  I loved that the unfamiliar flavours were so new yet tasty and comforting at the same time.  The pork was beautifully tender.

We also tried the BBQ wagyu tenderloin ($19) with garlic yoghurt and lavash.  Quite different from the lamb kebabs and the garlic yoghurt was perfectly matched to the spicy beef.

My favourite dish of the night was the twice cooked chicken wings ($17), with a pomegranate glaze and pistachio.  The glaze was amazing.

In fact I used the glaze on the Zucchini and Dill fritters ($9), which were already delicious but became amazing with the glaze!  

We were really full but couldn't leave without an Anoush (that's a sweet)!  So we shared their new style baklava ($14), made with crispy filo, walnut toffee ice-cream and salted caramel.  

We had a lovely date night out at Sezar, and was both impressed with the interesting flavours, the well executed dishes and the very reasonable price point.  The service was faultless and the staff was more than helpful to our many questions to help with ordering as we were not familiar with the cuisine.  Definitely something unexpected but we would highly recommend you give them a try!

Eat. @ Cumulus Inc

45 Flinders Lane, Melbourne CBD ph (03) 9650 1445

Hubby and I rarely go out on the day of Valentine's Day, but this year we serendipitously got baby sitting last minute, and decided to try out one of the restaurants with a no reservations policy, as it was already too late to book anywhere decent that close to the date.  So Cummulus here we come!

We started with the Fried Cauliflower with spiced salt ($7).  So delicious and more-ish - I think if I served cauliflower this way at home my kids would eat a lot more vegetables, don't you think?

Next up some Pig's head croquettes, with tartare sauce ($12).   The croquettes are full of flavour and the sauce gave the dish a tangy punch.  

From the Charcuterie we ordered the confit duck rillette, with  pickled plum and house made soda bread ($16).  The presentation was simple but you can taste the amount of thought and work that's been put into each element.   A fancy ploughman's lunch.  I loved it!

Next was the grilled quail, with white peach, walnut and bitter leaves ($22).  A lovely comforting dish with perfectly cooked quail. 

Rangers Valley flank steak, leek and miso with braised lettuce ($36) was tender mouthfuls of full flavoured meat cooked to perfection.

We also had the Grilled Flounder on the specials menu.  While it didn't wow me it was delicious and nicely paired with beans and topped with crunchy croutons.

Lastly we ordered 2 lemon curd filled madeleines, which I had been greatly looking forward to as I love madeleines and this is quite a famed item here.  Unfortunately I was a little disappointed as 2 of them were a little under cooked and not crispy on the outside, whilst the other 2 were quite lovely with a slight crispy bite and a spongey soft inside flooded with a lemony curd.

All in all a lovely Valentine's Day dinner.  Looking forward to our next visit!

Eat. @ Kong BBQ

599 Church St Richmond 3121 ph (03) 9427 1307

We went and tried out Kong with our "Carnivore" friends Matt and Jo.  Matt works near there and is a veteran but this was our first outing to the "Korean Chin Chin", which has been on our radar but we've not had the chance to visit as yet.  Similar to Chin Chin, Kong has a no reservation policy, and we had a one hour wait from leaving our names at the door to being seated, which was spent pleasantly down the road at the pub.  A coffee martini later we stuck to the exotic but non alcoholic drinks once we got back to Kong. 

Once we've ordered, the food came at a quick but not rushed pace.  We started off with the famous Buns, firstly filled with soft shell crab ($6 each), with a salted duck egg relish and coriander.  The flavours were amazing, and I am most impressed with buns which were fluffy and soft, yet not soggy and not dense, a difficult task apparently as it's more often than not done badly.  These buns were perfect!

Likewise the Spicy Pork Belly with pickleed cucumber and Kong crazy horse chilli ($6 each) were to die for.  The crackling was super crunchy and had us asking for more!

Next we had the Hot wings with Gochujang and Chipotle ($12 for 6 pieces), crispy wings with really a spicy sauce.  I still prefer my standard KFC, but this was a great spicy version.

  

No Korean meal is complete without some Bulgolgi of course, so we ordered the Bossam Bulgolgi Black Angus ($28).  The BBQ meats here is so beautifully done.  

Did I mention this was a meat-fest?  So of course there were ribs.  BBQ Baby Back ribs ($36 full rack) with that crazy horse chilli again.  Very more-ish, and yes my mouth was on fiiiiire!

We did have a non meat dish, a trio of kimchi ($7) showcasing the different types of pickled cabbages and mushrooms Kong has for offer.

I regretted not having dessert at Chin Chin so even though we were quite full we did not leave without this time!  I did choose the Black sesame ice-cream ($11) thinking it's a refreshing dessert which it is, however there were 4 big scoops (I'm not complaining seriously) so it's a good dessert to share!

Jo and I also both wanted to try the Coconut Sago with passionfruit pineapple triffle ($12), which was a lovely combination and a great asian twist to the traditional triffle.

And last but not least Matt, who is American, had the Apple and Walnut tart ($12) with miso butterscotch and Japanese whiskey ice-cream, amongst jokes of Americans and their apple pies.

Another lovely night out to another great addition to Melbourne's food spots.  Friday nights are hip and noisy and probabaly not very kid friendly, but like Chin Chin, I would be game to bring the kids for early dinner especially since my bunch is really into Korean food right now.  Can't wait to come back and try other things on the menu, and of course for more of those buns!