Tag Archive for 'Melbourne'

Shoya - Melbourne

Published
by
Adrian
on October 28, 2007
in Eating Out
. 0 Comments

Went to Shoya for a birthday dinner on the weekend.

The Food:

A group of 8, we ordered the shoya degustation which included 8 courses of modern japanese food. Highlights included sea-urchin and egg topped with salmon roe, sashimi served in a bowl of ice, wagyu beef tataki cones and scallops wrapped in salmon topped with salmon roe.

Not only was the food delicious, but well presented as well. A great example of this was the fresh sashimi served in a bowl made out of ice. See pictures below:


Sea Urchin & Egg topped with Salmon Roe


Fresh Sashimi served in a bowl made of ice! (looks like a goldfish in a bowl from a distance)


Scallop wrapped in Salmon topped with Salmon Roe

The Drinks:

Along with the food, Shoya has an extensive Sake list, with dozens to choose from. Being relatively new to the whole Sake, scene we asked the staff to recommend a few bottles which we had warmed. The recommened sake was good and complemented the food well.

Summary:

Overall, dinner @ Shoya was an enjoyable experience, the food was delicious and the service was professional and friendly. At $130/person (including drinks) it’s definitely a place for special occasions and best experienced with a group.

Thanks to melicious for the photos.

Shoya Japanese Restaurant - 25 Market Lane, Melbourne VIC

kokoBlack http://www.kokoblack.com/

Published
by
melicious
on April 2, 2007
in Eating Out
. 2 Comments

As a self confessed chocoholic, kokoBlack was one of the stops I had to make when visiting Melbourne.

After hearing about how good the handmade chocolates were, I dropped by the Royal Arcade store in Burke Street (a little arcade that looks like Sydney’s Strand Arcade) just off bustling Burke.

After walking into a tiny store that was probably not big enough to cater for the loads of clientelle and tourists, we were seated upstairs by an extremely attentive hostess.

Making our way up the wooden staircase I noticed the deep wooden stairs and furniture - matching the colour of the chocolate, decorated by the felt orange pattern wallpaper. It was deligntfully authentic of a fine chocolate boutique.

Options we chose from the cafe included the Koko Black Hot Chocolate, Belgian spoil (see picture), chai tea (warning: the chai tea tasted disgusting and did not go well with the chocolates, make sure if you ordered the tea that it came with honey), and chocolate selection.

Belgian Spoil

After asking for the chocolate selection, we were presented with the koko black range of chocolates in a glass box. Our host then went into descriptions of each chocolate, and it was hard to only pick a few. We could then select which chocolates we wanted, and these were taken out of the box with white cotton gloves.

I dont think words could explain how good the chocolates were. They seemed to melt in your mouth, with textures of nuts and flavourings that were recognisable from the descriptions of the chocolates.

Overall, I think it was a lovely place with great service. If you can beat the tourist lines (I think the store is a tourist stop) then its worth visiting when in Melbourne.

Website Menu: http://www.kokoblack.com/ourSalons/menuKB.pdf

Service: Awesome, indicative of a fine chocolate cafe

Food: Chocolate and cafe beverages

Overall: A definite experience when visiting Melbourne

And?: The ambience of the environment is certainly representative of a Melbourne cafe boutique

EC Pot

Published
by
Jerry
on October 29, 2006
in Eating Out
. 2 Comments

EC Pot is my staple food in the city. I go there at least once a week! For a small place hidden in a corner of the food court, it is damn busy. Who’d thought people actually go to a food court restaurant for dinner. EC Pot is absolutely fantastic. Their signature dish is easily the Hainanese Chicken Rice. There is no better Hainanese Chicken Rice in Melbourne. The rice comes out in a claypot with ginger and spices. The Chicken comes out nice and warm. And the serving is generous. What more can you ask for?

ecpot

Mesh

Published
by
Iron Chef Lee
on October 18, 2006
in Eating Out
. 5 Comments

Went to Mesh the other night. It’s located at the Crown Promenade Hotel. It so happens that on Friday nights they have a $34.90 “quasi-buffet”. It’s buffet entree, your choice of main (if you don’t fill yourself up from the seafood entree) which is stuff like steak, chicken or fish… then followed by a buffet dessert. On top of that you get 3 drinks per person. So all up I reckon it was a pretty good deal. Oh and you get a basked of steamed oysters at your table. But I’m not an oyster fan. ;p

Service was a little hard to get the attention of at times, but other then that it was pretty good.

Koko Black - Royal Arcade

Published
by
Adrian
on October 14, 2006
in Uncategorized
. 3 Comments

Went to Koko Black for an after-brunch dessert with a mate today. After the customary wait to get a table in the upstairs area (actually only had to wait about 10 minutes which is pretty good for Koko), we sat down and both ordered the Ice Cream Martini.

Koko Black Ice Cream Martini

The martini (pictured) consists of two scoops of vanilla ice cream with caramel sauce and bresillience nuts and was, as usual, very nice. While it may not have the variety of Max Brenners, it more than makes up for this by the quality of the service and product.

Link: www.kokoblack.com

Alley Bar

Published
by
lyscius
on October 8, 2006
in Uncategorized
. 1 Comment

Where would a place named ‘Alley Bar’ be but in the dodgiest, darkest alley you can find? Located in the AC/DC lane off Flinders Lane, I felt more like I was wandering towards some seedy swingers joint as I made my way towards the bar. The lane walls were plastered with posters of half naked women, even the stairwell up to the bar was filled with some sort of 70s porno music. But once inside the bar, the atmosphere was surprisingly modern and relaxed.

This smoke-free bar (a rarity still in Melbourne) has a dim red glow. leather couches and small wooden tables, with little gatherings seated here and there on a Friday night, when the waiters bring two for one chocolate martinis together with free wedges. This place is the opposite to the likes of the mosh-pit meat markets Longroom and Lexington. Instead, it is uncrowded, understated, in short, the perfect place to relaxed with a few friends after work without having to yell over the music and queue half an hour for drinks. The chocolate martinis themselves are a mysterious blend that really packs a punch. While it wouldn’t qualify in the top ten melbourne martinis list, it will certainly get you tipsy real quick. Not a place to go to pick up or boogey down, but a highly recommended place for winding down after a long hard week.

Fat Arnie’s

Published
by
Adrian
on October 4, 2006
in Eating Out
. 3 Comments

Went to Fat Arnie’s on Monday (on Flinders Lane). Ordered the Ceaser Salad with Smoked Salmon (pictured)… Was very tasty, not too much dressing and the Salmon itself was quite nice. The bread and 3 dips was massive though, not sure how anyone can be expected to eat that much bread!!

Ceaser Salad with Salmon

Service was very friendly, though for some reason the salad seemed to take a long time to make and didn’t come out until a good 10 minutes after everything else (I mean really, how long does it take to toss a salad?). The only thing that really annoyed me, was the Lemon Lime and Bitters came with no straw. As I’m sure you know, Lemon Lime and Biterrs is a layered drink, without a straw or stirrer, I was unable to mix the drink and had to consume it one layer at a time!

Bamboo Terrace

Published
by
lyscius
on September 19, 2006
in Eating Out
. 2 Comments

I have visited Bamboo Terrace on Bulleen Rd about a dozen times over the past 10 years, and I remember 10 years ago it was a flourishing Chinese restaurant with excellent food and beautiful surroundings, with its Asian decor and mini-garden. Then a few years later, maybe the chef changed, because the food quality began to deteriorate, and as expected, so did the business. At one stage I thought it was no more… Continue reading ‘Bamboo Terrace’

Menya Ramen

Published
by
Jerry
on September 15, 2006
in Eating Out
. 5 Comments

Free Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.us Menya Ramen is a little Japanese store in the alley leading into Melbourne Central from Swanston St. I’ve been walking past this place for a few months now and it’s almost always been full. I’m a sucker for trying out new food joints so now that I work just round the corner, this place seemed ideal to try for lunch. I had the Menya Ramen (named after the shop so I thought it’d be the safest bet) and May had the Sapporo Ramen.

Continue reading ‘Menya Ramen’

Lix Gelati

Published
by
lyscius
on September 14, 2006
in Uncategorized
. 12 Comments

I have long had high regard for Lix Gelati’s chocolate smoothies — think 2 big scoops from a river of super dark and smooth chocolate gelati blended with milk..mmm… — now I have discovered their nutella donuts are just as uniquely enticing. I don’t have a lot of donut experience, but I can tell these ones are extra fluffy and fresh, and with the nutella melting luxuriously in the middle, how can anyone resist?;> My only wish is that they put a bit more nutella in it… Lix is a true hidden gem, a little stall in Melb Central, cnr Swanston and Latrobe, with another branch in Chapel St.