Cookie

Address: 1st Floor, 252 Swanston St, Melbourne VIC 3000
Tel: (03) 9663 7660
Website: http://www.cookie.net.au/site.html


I had high expectations of this place considering how hard it was to get a table, be seated and treated like a human being in this place. Book in advance and be prepared to spend some time at the bar!

Below: Smoked eggplant & banana with chicken & prawns: very unique flavour, sweet banana infusion with tangy thai dressing on a bed of rocket. A fusion of East & West, busy salad.

Spicy cashew, tomato, cucumber salad: perfectly roasted cashews in a light refreshing salad of diced Spanish onion, cucumber & tomato with coriander & chilli slices.

Below: Drunken Noodles with minced pork & green chillies (Med): very meaty, not all that tangy, bland noodles.

I clearly overordered for one person, and upon asking if I could take the rest away, was declined due to the establishment ‘not having the appropriate takeaway licensing’. It was a real waste of food, while paying top dollar for it (the ingredients are not premium ingredients, just regular condiments found in any standard supermarket). I was disappointed considering how difficult it was to book a table here. There is clearly not enough space for meals and drinks, so I would rate this venue as a drinks destination with ‘tapas’ as its most functional purpose.

Cafe Andiamo

Address: 36-38 Degraves St, Melbourne VIC 3000
Tel: (03) 9650 8060


Pictured below: Arancini – rice ball with mozerella cheese & ham battered in chicken schnitzel breadcrumbs & fried. Dressed in a tangy napolitana sauce; almost pasta like. Rice/ham/cheese filling was not too rich, but certainly very filling.


Pictured above: Chicken Parmagiana – crispy, yet light enough to leave you wanting more, best parma I’ve had!

Coffee lovers and the like: you cannot leave Cafe Andiamo without trying the Kahuna coffee – a pure foodgasm in coffee form: perfect compliment of bitter & sweetness, strong but balanced mix of walnut & coconut. Sounds seductive doesn't it?

David & Camy Noodle Restaurant

Address: 605 Station St, Box Hill VIC
Tel: (03) 9898 8398
Trading Hours: Sun-Thur 11am to 9:30pm; Fri-Sat 11am to 10pm

#1 Peking Pork (pictured below) – nice, crispy on one side although can be too fried on the other visits

#64 Shanghai Mini Pork Bun (pictured above) – steamed too close together resulting in dumpling collapse/tear, not a lot of soup – if put enough chilli & vinegar it is quite palatable (Unfortunately Ding Tai Fung has set the benchmark for this style dumpling).

#36 Shanghai Fried Noodle (pictured below) – tasty, not hard/crisp noodle, strong sweet almost vinegary flavour enhanced by champignon mushrooms - suspect flavour is the trick to its glazed texture.

Note: Chilli is really hot & pungent - sensational! (Below)

Thanh Nga 9

Address: 160 Victoria St, Richmond VIC
Tel: (03) 9427 7068

Now before we get to the food - please be careful. Every 2nd shop on this road has the word "Thanh" in the shop title, and my friend who originally booked for this place accidently called up the wrong place and restaurants will claim to be Thanh Nga 9 even though it is not (that or they can't understand English very well).

A very clean cut, Vietnamese restaurant serving a combination of authentic dishes and some mixed in from other Asian regions to serve the masses (e.g. Honey Chicken, Mongolian Lamb etc).

For entree:


Signature Minature Pancakes ST Style - made from rice flour with crispy base filled with prawns, mung bean paste & sprinkled with crush prawns, served with fish sauce & coconut sauce. They are not really a 'pancake' but for lack of better description they are shaped as more like a hardened pastry cup which tastes like a deep fried fortune cookie.

Spring roll: miniature sized eaten with mint & lettuce leaf

Betal Leaf Beef: square of rice vermicelli – really pungent spicy meat, betal (dirt) leaf

Rice roll: really fresh mint taste (not bitter), smelly rice paper

Tangy Tomato Soup – strong tomato flavour even through broth, enhanced by shrimp flavour.

Chilli sauce – fried oily? texture, savoury

Coconut cake: similar to pancake, slightly sweet & enhanced by coconut dipping sauce

Thaila Thai

Address: 82 Lygon St, East Brunswick VIC 3057
Tel: (03) 9387 0659

This restaurant is no flash, fine dining destination (in fact it is shopfitted with a really authentic restaurant-in-asia feel) but the food is cheap, fast & generous.

The Pad Thai noodles pictured below are a particular standout - has a nutty, sweet flavour which is probably enhanced by the tamarind juice. The noodles are a slight chewy (but nice!) thin rice noodle which absorb the citric flavours well. Chicken has a really pleasant charred/smoky
flavour and is not too dry. Serving size can feed a family of 4, so make sure you ask for a takeaway box and have the rest for lunch tomorrow (there is no judgement here, everyone does it).

Chicken Yellow Curry - we don't know what this is because my friend just asked for their hottest curry. Wasn't send-all-your-senses into sniffling mode, but it contained some of the freshest and perfectly cooked zucchini ever. Usually people get zucchini very wrong and it becomes soggy and watery which is why most people hate the vegetable. The curry itself builds up to a gentle spice, but not overly chilli. The density of the curry is an authentic Thai one - not too thick, and not
too watery (as some restaurants can get it wrong, so when it comes out you think you ordered a broth soup).

In a nutshell this is a fantastic place. The staff are very courteous and efficient, don't let the outside/interior fool you (as it nearly did me). Thumbs up!!!

Bird Cow Fish

Address: 500 Crown St, Surry Hills NSW 2010
Tel: (02) 9380 4090
Web: www.birdcowfish.com.au

I really love this cafe/restaurant but I do highly recommend booking for a table in advance (although who books for breakfast) to avoid having the catty waiters turn their nose up at the door.

Pictured below is the 'Poached eggs with grilled Bangalow ham, Montpellier butter & Sonoma
sourdough toast'.

Bacon – free range, not as salty, lean, not too dry, stringier in texture – a lot to do with cooking style, suspect it might have been baked.

Bread – buttery, oily, with a pesto/drier herb spread and cheesy flavour , perfect density for that brunch meal!

Croque Monsieur (Baked ham & cheese sandwich) – ham, lightly smoked flavour with the addition of mustard which is a nice twist.

Food takes a little while to come out, however the chefs' use choice ingredients and you can be sure the food is cooked with love.

3 Hippos Thai & Lao Restaurant

Shop 3/219 Canley Vale Rd, Canley Heights NSW 2166
Tel: (02) 9755 4688
Open 7 days, 11am-late

How I would have loved to have this place near work - a great
destination for a tasty, small portion-sized cheap lunch. I came here on
a Saturday night at about 9pm-10pm and they were still serving food.

Under the 'Specialties' tried the 'Tiger Tears' (grilled beef): the
waitress did warn us there was no fat on this (the butcher supplied her
with lean scotch fillet) but I thought it would be a blessing in
disguise - it wasn't. The dish needs more fat, preferably to be dripping
in its own oil in order to maximise the flavours and herbs/spices used.
It is served with a fish/sweet/sour but savoury dipping sauce which
rescued the dish, however in its 'no fat' form is quite a healthy
alternative.


Pad Kimao - rice noodles with really chilli hot, peppery flavour,
heightened by a special mint leaf derivative. Very tasty and adequate
portion size. Love it!