Amigos

Address: 92B Acland Street, St Kilda VIC 3182

Ph: (03) 9534 3322

Website: www.amigos.com.au

Opening hours

Sun-Thurs: 11.30am to Midnight

Fri-Sat: 11.30am to 1am

Pretty random for a Monday night at 10pm – decided to have dinner and this was the only place still serving meals after 9pm on Acland St, St Kilda (Melbourne).

We expected hairs in our food and poor service – but in fact received the opposite. I think we received better service because we were the only people there – 11pm dining for the win!

The menu is a very traditional Mexican fanfare – tacos, enchiladas, burritos and variations of the previously mentioned. I’m not a huge drinker but there’s several kinds of tequila and mixed drinks to sample.

Finally settled on the Fajitas – a do-it-yourself kit which is fun and allows you to sample each of the flavours individually, or together. The side plate consists of: soft rice& flour tortilla wraps (x3), shredded crisp lettuce topped with guacamole, mashed kidney bean “dip” & Mexican rice.

All of these came out fresh & independent (I point this out because some dodgy Mexican places will keep their condiments too close together which ruins the flavours). The main dish was a sizzling meat platter with a tomato-based sauce & a combination of beef strips, chicken & prawns. A very fresh, healthy & hearty serving of food.

Garage Cafe

Address: 221 Berkeley St, Carlton VIC 3053
Tel: (03) 9349 5000
Fax: (03) 9349 1553
Website: www.garagecafe.com.au

Trading Hours:
Mon- Fri 12pm to 10pm
Sat 5pm-10pm
Sunday Closed

Walking or driving by this quiet street you would never have guessed hidden inside this old warehouse is a cafe/restaurant where car enthusiasts hang out.

It has a really warm, welcoming feel to it - the staff are courteous and the owner a cheery, happy fella.

They serve Robert Timms coffee - which I have honestly not seen since about 1997 nor knew they served in a non-instant form. It probably explains why I am up at this hour typing this blog now.

On to the food - their speciality is "true taste of Indonesian Cuisine". I believe them because the dishes are simple, pungent & prepared quite quickly like a homestyle meal.

I had the Garage cafe "Full Penyet" (pictured below): "Steamed rice served with fried chicken, meatballs, soybean, tofu & boiled egg with cabbage, tomato & cucumber served on a cold stone".



Above: On closer inspection - as you can see most of it is battered & deep fried. Chicken is great, meatballs a bit sinew-y, I ate something with curry in it which was nice - but the secret is the sambal sauce - do not be afraid to dip your fry-up in there! It is quite spicy (will cause nose to dribble), and good complimented with a squeeze of a thicker oyster sauce-consistency Indonesian version of Soy Sauce (provided as condiment). Mix the Indo soy & Sambal chilli & viola!

Below: Pecel Komplit - "steamed rice served with fried chicken, soybean, tofu, steamed vegetables, cucumber topped with spicy peanut sauce & prawn crackers". Another mixed plate variation, but this probably doesn't require any additional condiments because the sauce served with it is ample flavour.


I really enjoyed the relaxed vibe of this place, always longed to mix engines with food so this might be it! Thursday nights are the day to be seen, but there is always something happening, whereby some car club will make it their weekly/monthly/annual meet spot.

Wabi Sabi (Japanese)

Address: 17 Wellington St, St Kilda VIC 3182
Tel: (03) 9529 8505
Website: www.wabisabi.net.au

An ornately decorated modern Japanese dining experience.

During the week, it is more economical to sample their signature dishes for a cheaper price by getting the Weekday set menu which is $25.00.

Entrée:

Edmame bean – a hairy green bean, not to be eaten whole but to carefully suck the individual beans out of the shell. Lightly dusted with thick salt granules to taste.

Spicy Squid (pictured below) – Found this absolutely delightful, it had a powdery light batter sprinkled with a red spice (probably paprika) to give it a nice spice. Delicate, light & tasty.

Lightly scorched sushi – Not usually a fan of this “meat on rectangular block of rice” (I’m sure the sushi style has a name but I am not cultured enough to know it), but this receives a double thumbs up. Literally melt in your mouth ocean trout!

Croquette – A slice of lotus root (similar to radish, but better tasting & absorbs flavours better), coated in a crispy, flaky batter.

Agedashi Tofu with shiitake mushroom sauce (pictured below) – a generous serving of two pieces of fried tofu in a rich, stirfy sauce with capisum.

Main: Teriyaki chicken rice – very mild teriyaki & light soy flavour, almost watery even. Not one of the tastiest teriyaki chicken dishes I have sampled – catered to a western market (unfortunately I have to liken it to a diluted version of “chicken tonight” stirfry-in-a-jar). Rice was a sticky, ‘al dente’ texture though, nice.

Also ordered green tea icecream separately to finish the evening off – they have same great sounding fusion desserts on offer e.g. green tea cheesecake, red bean icecream served with chocolate cake etc.

Definitely a repeat purchase for their delicately served entrée/tapas menu!

Council House 2 (Bar)

Address: 1/240 Little Collins St, Melbourne CBD VIC
Tel: (03) 9639 7778

Opening Hours: Mon-Fri 7:30am till late, Sat 9:30am till late

Council House 2 is neatly tucked away bar serving small meals in the heart of Melbourne CBD.

On this occasion I went there with a bunch of work colleagues for an early 5:30pm dinner (have become a convert of early weeknight dinners where you can actually get service), and we shared a few of their 'small dishes' - equivalent to your Spanish version of Tapas.

Below: Veal croquettes with house mustard - this was my favourite of them all - tender, shredded flakes of veal complimented with a wasabi-esque mustard in a golden melt-in-your-mouth batter.


Below: House bread with dips - softly baked Turkish bread lightly drizzled in oil with an assortment of eggplant, pumpkin & spinach/yoghurt dip. These dips tasted quite organic with subtle flavours, the eggplant with a strong bitter flavour (I think they left skin on), pumpkin was quite sweet and reminiscent of sweet potato, yoghurt & spinach was quite different with slivers of spinach floating in a light yoghurty sauce.


Above: Cauliflower fritters with cinnamon? - Can't say I could really taste the cinnamon, but the cauliflower was fresh and cooked to a perfect firm, steamed texture (even though it was covered in batter & fried).

Below: Salt & Pepper Calamari with Green Harissa - calamari was fried in a dark bread crumb, nothing too out of the ordinary and definitely better with more lemon juice to bring out the flavours, green harissa nothing but a fancier word for pesto which I believed to be a bit too strong & heavy to compliment the calamari.


Below: Pork belly with apple cider & Salsa verde - Pork belly was the greatly anticipated dish for the evening as it was recommended to us. Perfect texture - soft, and reminiscent of the meat of a Chinese BBQ suckling pig - more meat than fat which means you can saviour every last morsel. Truly believe the 'green harissa' and 'salsa verde' is the same thing, except it complimented the pork a lot better than it did the calamari.


Above: Chicken Bisteeya with pickled carrot - this is a samosa-esque pastry with a tender savoury chicken filling. Pastry is inbetween a puff pastry & fried item with a crunchy & crispy texture. Pickled carrot is more like a garnish, but gives the dish a tangy, sour twist.

Below: Crushed potato, Buxton caviar & crab - a fluffy, nice fusion of textures, potato which is semi-mashed and partly chopped. Fishy smell & taste which I was slightly deterred by, and I always prefer a sweeter crabmeat taste which this seems to lack.


All in all, a very nice inner city cosy bar/restaurant. I really enjoyed the relaxed vibe there, but it was also a Monday night at 5:30pm so not many other people in the building so the wait staff were friendly & attentive. Great for a meal that's not really a meal!

ACCA Caffeine

Address: 111 Sturt St, Southbank VIC 3006 (part of ACCA museum)
Tel: (03) 9697 9999

The name of this coffee stall sounds like a dangerous energy drink or some sort of drug, but its philosophy is anything but.

The underlying theme is organic, fair trade, served with your choice of vitasoy or this wierd imported Japanese soy milk at a premium cost (which is a very distinct flavour apparently).

The coffee is a good, strong grade - happily sipped away at a Mocha without adding any sugar or additional cover-ups because the taste is savourable.

A good buy for the area - $5.50 gets you a decadent muffin plus coffee - the muffins are a sensible size, spongey, fresh and not too sweet.

Ramen Ya

Address: Shop 25G Melbourne GPO, 350 Bourke St, Melbourne VIC 3000
Tel: (03) 9654 5838
Website: www.ramenya.com.au

This was rated (perhaps self-rated) as the best ramen in Melbourne, Victoria. I tried Ajisen and I really hate comparing them but yes, compared to Ajisen the nearest competition, Ramen Ya wins hands down.

I don't remember what this dish is called but their menu consists of about 10 items including the bento boxes, and this was the speciality ramen - you can see seaweed, egg, some vegies, bamboo shoot and those colourful fish/tofu swirls. The soup was a pork-based, with real ramen and thinly sliced pork (belly?) which almost melted in your mouth. Not bad for a $10 feed...

They also have gimmicky imported drinks from Japan which are novelty.

Warning: do not go during obscure hours (or too late towards the end of the day because you could be met with disappointment of sold-out ramen).

Zanetti Cafe Bar & Restaurant

Address: 132 Upper Heidelberg Rd, Ivanhoe VIC 3070
Tel: (03) 9499 1642
Website: www.zanetti.com.au

Came here primarily for coffee & after-dinner sinfulness, but they do serve breakast, lunch & dinner.

Have to comment on this Mars Bar Cake pictured below: a mixture of decadent chocolate with mousse, chocolate curls to give added texture with what tasted like caramel infused in the mousse with a slight tinge of liqueur. Absoultely amazing now a cake can emulate a chocolate bar!

Woodfire Cafe Pizzeria

Address: 91 Upper Heidelberg Rd, Ivanhoe VIC 3079
Tel: (03) 9497 3255

I had the Primevera Pizza here - cooked tuna, capsicum, pesto, cheese & herbs - an unlikely combination (tuna in pizza, yes I know) but it worked a gem!

A really good combination of flavours, fresh ingredients which all fused together magically without leaving that greasy feeling of a marinara pizza.

Thumbs up to Melbourne so far for knowing how to do a good pizza!

Vegie Hut (Vegetarian Restaurant)

Address: 984 Whitehorse Rd, Box Hill, VIC 3128
Tel: (03) 9898 2287

Open 6 days, closed on Tuesdays
Mon - Sun: 12pm to 3pm for lunch, 5:30pm to 10pm for dinner

Website: www.vegiehut.com.au

This is officially my favourite vegetarian restaurant - I actually don't think I need to eat meat anymore because the chef is THAT good with sauces, spices & balancing flavours so dishes are exciting and gastronomically stimulating!

Below: I ordered the mee goreng - standard hokkien noodle with chilli sauce and stirfry combined - NOT. It sure looks the part, but the flavour is a little different (slighty citrus/tangy because pineapple has been used) and denser, a very impressive improvement on its meat counterpart. Absoultely divine...

Above: Laksa with tofu & vegies

Below: Roti Chanai - a stretchy pastry with curry dipping sauce

Below: Fried riceI am in love with this place - thoughtfully decorated with Eastern philosophy scattered throughout the interior, a really warm & homely feel. It's not the easiest place to get to, but the foodgasm is worth it, and the prices are also a selling point (under $10 for a lunch with drink!)

One of my top 3 recommended restaurants in Melbourne!