Eat. @ 8bit

9 Droop Street, Footscray 3011 ph (03) 9687 8838

The great thing about visiting the Science Museum with the kids is that it gives me an excuse to go over the bridge and try some of the places I'd been hanging out to try over in the west.  One such visit landed us at 8Bit for a burger and shakes dinner.

So we ordered a whole lot of burgers and fries and shared.  Starting off with the 8 Bit with Cheese ($8.5), with beef, tomato, lettuce, red onion, pickles, mustard, cheese and 8bit sauce.  I love this burger, which I guess is their "cheese burger".  Simple, perfectly proportioned and hits the spot.  If you need a bit more than the Double Dragon (love that game!) at $13.5 is for you, as it's essentially an 8 Bit with cheese with double the filling.

I was a video geek growing up, and I ordered the Golden Axe ($9.5) purely because it was one of my favourite games. (And yes I played the totally inappropriately dressed Amazon in the bikini.  You didn't think I'd play a dwarf did ya?)  Anyway back to the burger, which has crispy fried chicken, cheese, sriracha mayo and slaw as its filling.  A no nonsense fried chicken burger with a crispy coating that went really well with the spicy mayo.  

Next up is Hubby's favourite game Altered Beast ($9.5), which in its burger form is filled with beef, bacon, cheese, grilled onions, lettuce, 8bit sauce AND BBQ sauce.  One for the bacon lovers!

Can you believe they ran out of onion rings just as I got to the front of the line?  We made do with beer battered fries ($3 for small, $5 for large) and a serve of potato gems ($4 for small, $6 for large).  A necessary and delicious part of a good burger meal!

All washed down with a couple of milk shakes ($6.5).  We had the salted caramel, and you can also choose from peanut butter, strawberry cheesecake and chocolate bar.

And if that's not enough retro fun for you, you can fight with the kids and have a go at the arcade game in the corner.  

8 Bit is cute, bright, and cheery with a good dose of tongue in cheek fun.  A great fun meal if you're in the area.  (Makes me look forward to our next trip to the museum!)
  

Eat. @ Cibo Espresso

Chadstone Shopping Centre 1341 Dandenong Rd, Chadstone 3148 ph (03) 9568 8474

I still haven't found a decent coffee place at Chaddy.

Cibo opened up where the old Deli used to be. (They were the only deli I found that sold ox tongue!)  The space was open and modern, and I was keen to try it out.

I ordered a mocha and unfortunately there seemed to be a problem with the machine and there was a long queue of people waiting for their take aways.  In the meantime I tucked into my Brioche al Prosciutto ($7.5), which was a cute little snack sized brioche bun.  Quite tasty and I think the onion jam really gave this a lovely flavour.

Once the coffee machine issue was resolved and the queue was cleared I got my mocha.  Unfortunately it was quite bitter and wasn't quite up to what I expect as Melbourne standard these days.

I still haven't found a decent coffee place in Chaddy.

Eat. @ The Broadsheet Restaurant

166 Gertrude St, Fitzroy 3065 

The good people at Broadsheet have opened up a pop up at 166 Gertrude, which is the ground floor for a future apartment complex development.  The space is modern, open and spacious, yet subtly divided into cosier sections.  Bubs and I dropped by on one of our brunch roulette mornings. (I am so going to miss this next year when all my kidlets will be at school!)

The menu is a collaboration of notable eateries around town, which is a pretty cool concept.   The day time menu have items from the likes of Auction Rooms, Top Paddock, The Kettle Black, Grainstore and  Coda.  I started off with a mocha ($4) made by beans from Small Batch, which is of "Melbournian" standard as expected.

Bubs ordered "off the menu" as he wanted apple juice instead of the the OJ ($5) on the menu.  Our friendly waitstaff kindly accommodating him with some pressed apple (and blackcurrant?) juice.

Brunch started with a Toasted Reuben Sandwich ($17) on dark rye, with corned brisket with saukraut, Swiss and Russian dressing, from Five Point Deli.  I always find reuben sandwiches a very substantial meal and this was no exception.  The pickle on the side cuts through the tasty but heavy sandwich.  There was plenty to share between Bubs and I.

I could not say no to a sweet at brunch, so I also ordered the Twice baked brioche French toast ($18) with fennel poached pears, pear and burnt caramel sorbet from the ever creative bunch at Top Paddock.  The plating is beautiful as with all their offerings, and I loved the combo of crunchy and soft, warm and cold, and of course sweetness contrasting with the slight spiciness to the pear.  

As I was paying I couldn't help drooling over the baked goodies from Tivoli Road Bakery, and took the opportunity to grab a salted caramel donut (okay, two) to go.  Come on, I can't give up a chance to grab their delicious goodies without having to cross the river!

The Broadsheet Restaurant night menu includes dishes from some of my favourite restaurants including The Town Mouse, Estelle Bistro, Coda and Huxtable.  I hope I get a chance to come back for dinner before the Pop Up pops out!

Eat. @ Miss Korea

845 Burke Rd, Camberwell 3124 ph (03) 9882 4999

I spotted Miss Korea one day when I was in Camberwell and was compelled to return as we are all still keen on the "Korean Food Wave".

I'm glad I made a booking on that Friday night as I saw quite a few groups get turned away.  We started off with a trio of organic fizzies ($4) and Charlie's honest squeezed juices ($5).

The Korean seafood spring onion pancake ($16) was choc full of greens and was very pretty.  A bit too much spring onion for me but the seafood was visible and delicious.

Mini Me loves Jap Chae ($15) so it's a must order for us.   This one was topped with lots of greens and a good helping of chicken (you can also choose beef or pork).  I would've loved more noodles with it but as a stand alone dish this would make a good dinner.

I loved their spicy pork bulgogi ($16) which came with a good serve of rice and the comforting sweet spiciness that I have come to love about bulbulgi.

The Stone bowl Bimbimbap ($16) is also pretty good, with a good dose of crispy rice on the bottom and plenty of beef.

And last but not least the Soy Garlic Korean Fried Chicken Tenderloins ($15).  These ones are crispy battered with a delicious soy garlic coating.  We loved this, with soft tender meat covered in the crispy batter and the more-ish sauce.  A must-order dish each time we visit!

Overall it was a great Friday night out.  The meal was delicious, the staff were accommodating for the children.  There were quite a few Korean diners there which is always a good sign.  We will definitely be back.

Toilets - yes
Highchairs - yes

Eat. @ Sakura Kaiten Sushi (Lonsdale Street)

282 Lonsdale Street, Melbourne CBD ph (03) 9077 1167

My kids (and Hubby and I) loooooooove sushi train and are constantly disappointed that we don't have cheap, fast and delicious sushi available like our Northern friends in NSW and QLD.  One of the things that the kids really wanted to try last school holidays was the sushi train that had opened just outside of Melbourne Central, which we had walked past on multiple occasions.

This is an outpost of the Sakura Kaiten Sushi that is popular on Little Collins Street.  I was actually very grateful that this sushi train was configured that there are tables for 4 coming off the side of the train rather than just counter seats.  This makes eating with children so much easier!  The staff were friendly and very accommodating  to our kids.

The plates are colour coded like many sushi trains and are priced at :

• Orange $2.8
• Pink $3.8
• Black $4.8
• White $5.8
• Red $6.8

There was a good mix of fresh seafood sushi as well as cooked items.  I enjoyed the variety of nigiri and rolls available.  I love aburi salmon nigiri and the ones here are very tasty.

We had a couple of fried items like chicken karaage and takoyaki balls for Bubs.  The potato croquettes in particular was a massive hit as he loves potato hashes.

We also bulked up the meal with some cold soba with chicken and also half serves of tempura udon which are available to order from the menu.

Mini Me loves chawanmushi at the moment and quite enjoyed this Japanese egg custard with lots of seafood goodness inside for her to discover.

I treated myself to a soft shell crab handroll in soy, which was super crunchy and delicious!

Being a fan of Japanese Anime I could not resist taking a photo of the wall of Dragon Memorabilia.  Before the various incarnations of eateries that have occupied this space I remember it as the only place in Melbourne you could buy buildable models of cars and every else under the sun from the likes of Tomiya, and this seems a fitting homage to that memory.  The sushi train was good fun and the food delicious.  The budget is easily forgotten with the food coming past and a horde of hungry kidlets so this is a great place for a treat!