MakanMakan Melbourne!Name: Makan: "Eat" in Malay. Common examples of usage include - "Let's go makan!", "Want to makan?" and the infamous "Have you makan?"/"Makan liao?". Gramatically wrong. Undeniably Asian.
Mission: 2 girlies have embarked on a food expedition to seek culinary exquisites locally and internationally! Other than food reviews we may occasionally sneak in unrelated entries in here. (Hint: we like shopping)
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It's been far too long since the last update! Apologies to those who still find time to drop by.. I'm really hoping to start food-blogging again, but time will tell :)
Alright, straight into it - I need to RANT. Saw FG for lunch and she was keen on going to Tomodachi. I had my reservations as I didn't have a great dining experience when I was there previously. But she was the guest of honour, and so off we went. Got there just before 2pm and noticed they had a lunch special going on between 12-2pm. We were told that they had 2 types of specials:
1) Buy 2 plates of sushi, get 3rd free OR 2) Buy a set meal for $15.90
FG was keen on having sushi so we decided to just take option 1 (although I did request for the set meal menu just to see if it was worth it). So we had about 3 plates of sushi before FG called on the waitress to ask if there was actually a sushi menu. Conversation went roughly like this..
FG: Hi, do you have a menu for sushi? W : (stares at FG as if she's crazy) ......NO. FG: ?? So... how do I order sushi? Is it only whatever's available on the train? W : (still staring) YES. Only what's on the conveyer. FG: ... So.. what if I want something that's not there? W : ... Then just ask the chef. He should be able to make it. FG: Okay..?
So of course this woman had a craving for Tobiko. She called the chef across the conveyer and the 2nd conversation went..
FG: Hi! Can I have tobiko please? C :(stares at FG as if she's crazy) ......???? FG: ...Uh... can I have tobiko... (looks at me for help) Me: ...sushi? FG: Ah right right, Tobiko sushi, please? C : (still staring at FG) ... Tobiko sushi??? FG: ..Yes? C : TOBIKO Sushi??? FG: .... yes? C : ......... Me: (trying to be helpful) She wants the fish roe sushi? C : (looking insulted) I KNOW what Tobiko is. Me: (WTF?? Why'd you just repeat "Tobiko Sushi???" and say nothing then??) C : So.. you want the battleship?? You eat before is it?? FG & Me: (stares at each other - WTH IS THIS BATTLESHIP!?!?!) FG: (small voice) ...I just want tobiko sushi... I had it here long time ago.. C : (rolls eyes) Right.
Sooo.. he made this weiiird looking tobiko sushi. FG and I just stared at it wondering what was wrong with it, till she pointed out that the sushi was rolled in cucumber, not seaweed! Talk about fancy. It didn't taste very good though. Far too cold with the chilled cucumber and roe.
After eating it FG and I were just talking about the difference in Melb and Perth. The same Chef suddenly leant over and asked "Any difference?" FG nearly choked on her sushi - "Sorry, what? Are you asking if there's any difference between Melbourne and Perth?" The Chef looked at her as if she was some madwoman all over again. I nudged her and whispered that he's probably talking about the sushi.. lol. FG said it was fine, and the Chef just nodded and slinked away. Err..
So we ate and chatted some more, and decided to leave. I went to pay the bill, and after handing over my card checked the bill to see if the 2 for 3 offer was deducted. I couldn't really remember the number of plates we had, so I asked FG if it was right, and she said it was about there. I then asked "What about the lunch offer?"
W : ...? Me: Don't we get the lunch special? W : (looking away) Lunch special only between 12 -2. Me: Yes.. and we came before 2pm. W : (stares at me) Lunch special only between 12-2. Me: Sooo.. this lunch special is only between those times, and you HAVE to leave before 2pm to qualify?? W : (looks away again) Don't know what time you came. Lunch special only 12-2. Me: We arrived just before 2. W : (stares, looks at the screen, and just hands me the slip to sign) Me: ...... (takes slip) W : (mumblemumblemumble in some fcking fake English slang, whilst rolling eyes) FG & Me: ????????? W : Anyway you would have only save few dollar! (takes slip, looks away and doesn't even say thank you)
WHAT THE FCKKKKKKKKKKKKK. Seriously? What kind of service is that? Are you fcking robotic?? It's not even busy and you're giving us attitude.
Suffice to say I will NOT BE GOING BACK, and I seriously do NOT recommend ANYONE going there. Average food, delicious green tea ice-cream and disgusting service.
I Scream for Ice Cream Licketty LicksShop 3, 372 Mt Dandenong Tourist Rd, Sassafras. It was a beautiful Saturday. The sun was out and not a cloud was to be seen in the sky. Without a doubt, my one really free Saturday would be wasted if I just sat at home infront of the tv whilst there were so many things going on this weekend. In Box Hill stalls were set up to celebrate the Moon Festival, in Mt Dandenong the annual tulip festival is on, and my other "to-do" list includes the Pixar exhibition at the NGV.
Michael suggested a drive up to Mt Dandenong in his beloved wife aka Integra. I suggested afternoon tea at Miss Marple's but, Miss Marple's being extremely popular, had a loooong waiting time. As soon as we walked out though, any disappointment disappeared as my ice cream radar worked overtime. I'd sniffed out a woman who was walking past with the last bit of her waffle cone.
A few shops down the road, there was an ice cream shop called Licketty Licks selling the "world's best". We stepped inside to find an extremely welcoming and friendly shop owner who immediately made us try 2 types of vanilla ice cream. One was of the Mototo dairy and gluten free variety which wasn't very sweet or tasty. The other was a rich and creamy vanilla ice cream that made my mouth go "oooo i want more!!".
We sampled a few other flavours such as orange and cardamon, lemon, and walnut and honey. For me, the walnut and honey was an instant winner! We ended up buying a double waffle cone with 4 different flavours. We picked the vanilla, lemon and walnut and honey from the ice cream fridge plus one scoop of tiramisu from the gelato fridge. All up we paid $5.20.
Why am I raving about this place? Well, everything was made with natural ingredients. You can actually see little flecks of black vanilla, pieces of walnut, bits of preserved lemon skin, and other real ingredients in the ice creams being sold.
Compared with other gelati/ice cream places in Melbourne, Licketty Licks is definitely going up on my ice cream list as one of the best. Personally, the quality of ice cream at Licketty Licks is better than my other favourite, Il Dolce Freddo on Lygon St who does great durian and pandan ice creams like no where else.
Apart from ice creams and gelati, Licketty Licks also makes hot chocolate and chai lattes and sells yummy looking Belgium chocolate truffles, organic pies, hot dogs and donuts.
What do you do at 3.30pm, on a relatively warm and windy day? When you only have half an hour to walk around? With no one to go around with?
. . . . *thinks thinks thinks* . . . .
You go out and try snacks and drinks from other countries of course! So off I went into one of the many Asian Groceries in the city and got myself this:
I must admit I wasn't quite sure what to expect. I was worried I might have to toss it out after a sip or two...
Verdict: The "Sweet Taro" in the drink was exactly the same as Yam-flavoured Bubble Tea; or more precisely - the same as Malaysian/Singaporean yam-flavoured ice-cream. The milk tea also tasted similar to Lipton's Boxed Milk Tea (which I will put up a pic of once I find it!), making the drink sweet and thirst quenching! Mmm.. Priced at $1.40 a box, I have a feeling I'm going to get addicted to this drink very soon.. Repeat Factor: 9/10 - Can't wait to try it again!
Korean Deep Fried Corn (drizzled with Honey) Snack
The first thing to note is that this snack is oily. Beware. You have been warned.
Verdict: Aside from that, the snack itself is pretty good in my opinion. It starts off salty but when you start crunching, you end up biting the honey drizzles, leaving a sweet after-taste. The only downside to this snack would be that it's so oily you might feel a bit queasy after a few pieces. Make sure you have access to water/tea/drinkable liquid when you eat this one! Repeat Factor: 6/10 - An occasional indulgence that is not so great on the cholesterol levels.
Note: Comments on this new 'Snacks + Drinks' section would be very much appreciated!
Ten Ren's Tea Time 146 Swanston Street, Melbourne Tel: 9653 3268
After reading Iron Eater's post on TenRen, I decided to head there for lunch with Andy.I was tempted to just go for their snacks, but my greediness hunger got the better of me, and I ended up with one of their lunch sets.
The ambiance of the place was pretty casual as the layout was pretty simple. The front of the shop was dedicated to tea-goods and the restaurant was a few steps behind. I was seated facing the kitchen, and noticed the chef repeatedly coming out from the kitchen to scoop rice from the rice cooker located outside the kitchen. I found it amusing that after he scooped the rice into the bowl, he had to go back into the kitchen to ring the bell indicating that the food was ready to be served.
This is what my lunch set looks like -
The extra side dishes were a pleasant surprise, and the egg and mixed vege combination wasn't all too bad.
The chinese cabbage tasted as how stir-fried chinese cabbages would normally taste. The tofu/preserved vege combination was a strange one though. The tofu didn't quite taste like tofu and when I asked Andy what did he think the dish actually was, he told me that maybe I should just to stop eating it. haha. That was probably the only odd dish in the whole set.
The pork in itself was quite hard to chew, and quite salty. To their credit, they did try to ease up the biting challenge by cutting up the pork into chewable sizes. Taste-wise I have a feeling it may have been marinated with fermented beancurd, which probably explains the saltiness.
I almost forgot about the jelly till they placed it on the table.It was tea jelly with honey drizzled on top. It reminded me of the Pasar Malam "Taiwanese Healthy Jelly" (I think it's called "Ai Yu Ping" Jelly) they sell back home. The jelly on its own was pretty tasteless, so the honey complemented it well. I have been having jelly cravings; so I was very satisfied with the dessert. : Ratings :
Service: 7/10 - The drinks came pretty much 3-5 minutes after we ordered, and the food didn't take too long to come either. The best part was probably when the waiter smiled and said "Thank you, have a nice day!" when we paid. Either he was really nice, or he perhaps, fancied Andy... haha XD
Food: 6/10 - I didn't quite like the pork, but I really enjoyed the jelly so I'm a bit torn on grading this category. The food's not superb or anything, but it is decent, so it shall get a decent grading of 6.
Layout: 6/10 - As mentioned, the place is pretty casual, and there's nothing too fancy about it aside from the numerous tea products you get to browse at the front of the store.
Overall: 6.5/10 - I'm sure Ten Ren has more potential that I'm grading it for, and with the relatively low prices, it makes a pretty decent eating destination.
p.s: A BIG Thank You to Andy for paying for lunch!
Eating in TGI's always brings me down a trip to memory lane. I've always felt that the TGI concept here is slightly different from the one back home, although their level of service, (sadly) is the same.
For appetisers, it was a toss up between half a dozen of Loaded Potato Skins or Chicken Nachos. After repeatedly asking one another "Why don't you choose the appetisers?", we settled for playing Scissors, Paper, Stone whereby the winner has to choose. We ended up with this -
TGIF's Three-For-All
So I did end up having some Loaded Potato Skins, which I thought were pretty average. TJ was disappointed to find that the bacon bits have been tossed unevenly to one side, although you can't really tell from the photo.
The Pork Riblets were not bad, and the amount of sweet glaze was just nice. I thought it was a bit odd how they served it with BBQ Sauce though. I would've very much preferred a serving of their glaze so I can add more flavour to the ribs :B
I've always enjoyed TGI's Bleu Cheese dips. Friends have always complained that it smells really bad, but when you dip the Buffalo Wings and celery in it, it's simply sensational! Yum! My only complaint here is that the dip was lumpy this time round. It's not meant to be like that :(
Before we could finish the appetisers, our mains came. I decided to be a bit more adventurous this time round and tried the Buffalo Chicken Salad. The dish was essentially grilled buffalo-glazed chicken breast served over crisp romaine, topped with Colby cheese, pico de gallo, and a Jalapeño Bleu Cheese dressing.
Buffalo Chicken Salad
I must admit that the salad was rather.. interesting. The salad was drenched in dressing, which made it a challenge after a few bites. On a random note, I only managed to spot 1 jalapeño in the whole salad. Ok, I know it said Jalapeño dressing, but you would've thought there'd be more jalapeños than that! The grilled chicken was on the dry side, which helped since everything else was soaked.
World Famous TGIF's Peppercorn Burger
TJ ordered a Peppercorn Burger, which is supposedly 'World Famous'. The chips were not bad, but the burger was slightly distorted. The meat patty is much smaller than the onion/bacon/lettuce toppings which made the burger resemble an hourglass. The burger was disappointing, as it was quite dry.
When we were finished with our meal, the waiters promptly came over to take away our plates and offered us dessert. We were sorely tempted, but too full to stuff anything else into our mouth and politely declined.
We sat around for a while before deciding to pay the bill, and this is the one thing that I can never quite understand about TGI's. Almost everytime when we wanted to pay up, no one seemed to come by to give us the bill. We literally stood next to the POS machine just waiting for someone to come and punch in the bill, but waitresses who saw us just casually decided to dismiss us and serve existing customers. The number of times we could've gotten a free meal by walking out.. too bad I have a conscience :(
TGI's Booth Area
: Ratings :
Service: 6/10 - It was ok, but I wish they'd pay a bit more attention to us at the end.
Food: 6/10 - The appetiser was not bad, but the mains were a bit of a tough call. TJ had the Peppercorn Burger elsewhere which was actually pretty good, but they didn't do it so well in this outlet. There's also a healthier version of my salad which opts out one of the dressings, so it might be worth trying! (unless of course you like really drenched salads)
Layout: 6.5/10 - The decor in general has always had the same TGI's touch which gives off a fun and unique touch. My only gripe here would be that the booth tables are too small! We had to eat so carefully with the appetiser and 2 mains on the table to make sure nothing falls off..
Overall: 6.5/10 - IMO, TGI's could have performed much better, but the inconsistency of the service and food may be a bit of a turn off!
posted by .+ shopaholic +.
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Tuesday, August 07, 2007
1:47 PM
The Waiters Restaurant 20 Meyers Place, Melbourne
A colleague invited a few of us to join her for lunch on her birthday. She took us through some back streets where she then led us to a dodgy looking doorway and up with a small flight of stairs. We entered an old school looking dining room where it's as if time had stood still. Apparently there has been renovations but the decor was still 1960's with faded photo prints and old school curtains hanging off the windows.
After being seated at brown laminex tables, we ordered off traditional Italian menus written on blackboards on the walls. The waitress asked if we would like garlic bread or bruschetta to start with and we chose to have a mix of both. The garlic bread was nice and crispy however, the bruschetta had too much olive oil. I ended up having a trickle of oil running down my arm after I had eaten mine.
We all settled for pastas. On our table were lasagnes, and spaghetti bolognaise, marinara and carbonara. The servings were generous and my tomato based spaghetti marinara had lots of fat prawns, scallops and mussels.
We didn't have time for desserts but I've heard their tiramisu is one of their top desserts. They also do pancakes, chocolate mousse, creme caramel and cheese and greens (we couldn't work out what the last one was).
: Ratings :
Service: 8/10 - Fast and friendly service especially during lunch rush hour makes this place a winner.
Food: 7/10 - Pasta was al dente, not overly oily and had a perfect amount of sauce. For around an average of $15 for a pasta you get a simple yet generous serving. The bruschetta was nothing special. I would opt for garlic bread next time.
Layout: 6/10 - The dining area is not very large but the owners have made good use of space. The positioning of the tables and chairs seemed a bit cramped, but it can fit up to 60 people cosily.
Overall: 7/10 - I would definitely go back again for some generous home-cooked style pasta. The simpleness of the restaurant does not detract it from the prompt service and good food.
posted by Le
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Saturday, August 04, 2007
3:50 PM
Teppansan Japanese Cafe 179 Russell St, Melbourne Tel: 96631938
With low funds and a big sign advertising lunch specials for only $5.80, the first thing that came into mind was "Yay! Cheap food!"
There are a number of options under the $5.80 range, and if you pay a bit more, you get a bento range for $10-12. All meals come with a free bowl of miso, but if you order the bento meals you'll be able to select either Harumaki (spring rolls) or Takoyaki (octopus balls) as an entree, and you get to order a wider selection of mains, which includes a variety of Okonomiyaki. You can also order an Ice Lemon Tea or Soyabean Milk for an additional $1.50 with these set lunches.
The first time I was there I ordered Chicken Teriyaki with rice. It was quite a big bowl and surprisingly had quite a lot of meat. In fact I was struggling to finish it!
I had Fish Teriyaki with vegetables and rice on the second visit. This time round the meat serving was much smaller, and the amount of rice they gave also shrunk. I finished lunch and was still hungry!
Taste-wise, the chicken teriyaki was very home-made and was not at all authentic. They did have a fair bit of sauce on the rice, although that was a little bit starchy. As for the fish, they actually pan-fried it till the outer layers were crispy (which was nice!) and drizzled the teriyaki sauce on top. The veges were stir-fried, and was there solely (in my opinion) to compensate for the size of the fish.
: Ratings :
Service: 6/10 - They seat you quickly and pass you the menu at once, but depending on who you get service is very average. There is a guy that looks like Yamino from Ragnarok Loki though, and he's always smiling, bowing and saying thank you or welcome. If he was the only waiter who served me I would've given him a 7.5! XD
Food: 6/10 - Home-cooked rather than authentic, the food tastes okay, but don't expect the fish/chicken teriyaki to knock your socks off. If anything, when you start eating you'd probably be thinking "Hmm.. I'm pretty sure I can whip up something like this.." * Note: When I went there again the 2nd time, the selections had changed, and the $5.80 range seemed to have downgraded.
Layout: 6/10 - The restaurant is long rather than wide, and they have figure drawings of Japanese people on the wall.
Overall: 6/10 - Overall this restaurant is reasonable, considering its cheap lunch prices. It's a must-go if it's lunchtime; you're hungry; low on cash and/or food supplies; and the kitchen's worst nightmare. * Just an additional note though, that this review is based solely on the lunch specials. IMO Teppansan's not really somewhere to go and pay full price for..
MakanMakan Melbourne!
Name: Makan: "Eat" in Malay. Common examples of usage include - "Let's go makan!", "Want to makan?" and the infamous "Have you makan?"/"Makan liao?". Gramatically wrong. Undeniably Asian.
* 101 Cookbooks 
* Feel free to leave feedback. If we don't like it we can just delete it.
We sampled a few other flavours such as orange and cardamon, lemon, and walnut and honey. For me, the walnut and honey was an instant winner! We ended up buying a double waffle cone with 4 different flavours. We picked the vanilla, lemon and walnut and honey from the ice cream fridge plus one scoop of tiramisu from the gelato fridge. All up we paid $5.20.
Why am I raving about this place? Well, everything was made with natural ingredients. You can actually see little flecks of black vanilla, pieces of walnut, bits of preserved lemon skin, and other real ingredients in the ice creams being sold.
After being seated at brown laminex tables, we ordered off traditional Italian menus written on blackboards on the walls. The waitress asked if we would like garlic bread or bruschetta to start with and we chose to have a mix of both. The garlic bread was nice and crispy however, the bruschetta had too much olive oil. I ended up having a trickle of oil running down my arm after I had eaten mine.
We didn't have time for desserts but I've heard their tiramisu is one of their top desserts. They also do pancakes, chocolate mousse, creme caramel and cheese and greens (we couldn't work out what the last one was).
