Restaurant Review: Tiamo 2

Location: 305 Lygon St, Carlton

Phone: (03) 9347 0911

Link: www.tiamo.com.au

Overall Impression: 5/10

Lygon Street restaurants have a bad reputation of serving up carricature Italian food to unsuspecting tourists. I have heard on numerous occasions that Tiamo 2 is an exception to that rule. Dining here, I found the hype about this place, unfortunately overrated. Although dining there did bring back good memories from Melbourne Uni student life, it was the only highlight of my dining experience here.

The gnocchi was far too salty and lacked any depth of flavour. The octopus salad was similarly disappointing. The saving grace for this restaurant is the lovely ambience and the friendly staff.

Restaurant Review: The Collection Bar

Location: 328 Bridge Rd, Richmond

Phone: (03) 9429 8333

Link: www.thecollectionbar.com.au

Overall Impression: 7/10


Delicious cocktails, great pizzas and delectable tapas!

Restaurant Review: Gurkhas

Location: 258 Lygon St, Carlton

Phone: (03) 9663 3119

Link: www.gurkhas.com.au

Cuisine: Nepalese
Overall Impression: 5/10 

Every dish was smacked full of flavour and very enjoyable. Although nothing surpassed our expectations, we would definitely not hesitate revisiting. Hearty, simple and to the point, this place is great for a casual dinner outing. Ambience-wise, it is quite noisy but not unacceptably so. 

Restaurant Review: Hotel Lincoln

Location: 91 Cardigan St, Carlton

Phone: (03) 9347 4666

Link: www.hotellincoln.com.au

Cuisine: Traditional pub-style in the bar area and Modern Australian in the restaurant area
Overall Impression: 7.5/10

This unassuming bar delivers much more than it promises. With traditional pub grub at the front bar section and delicious fine dining in the restaurant area at the back. It is the best of both worlds. Here are some pictures from the various time that I have had the privilege to dine here. Well priced and well executed, this is a local favourite of ours.  

Cafe Review: Koko Black

Location: 167 Lygon St, Carlton

Phone: (03) 9349 2775

Link: www.kokoblack.com

Overall Impression: 8/10

I have been spending way too much on chocolate lately. Koko Black's single origin chocolates are incredibly addictive. After our third time in the store this week, we decided to try the Ice cream plate for two ($22.00) that came with an Ice cream spoil plate to share and two hot or iced chocolates.

nom nom nom...

Koko Black seriously has the best hot chocolate. The ice cream was enjoyable but definitely not exceptional.

Restaurant Review: Rockpool Bar & Grill (Bar section)

Location: Crown Casino 8 Whiteman St, Southbank

Phone: (03) 8648 1900

Link: www.rockpoolmelbourne.com

Cuisine: Modern Australian
Overall Impression: 8/10

For a review of the restaurant, please click here.

I am so over Neil Perry. The Qantas ads, the various appearances on MasterChef. And then walking through Crown to go to either J's or my brother's place I see his establishments Spice Temple, The Waiting Room and Rockpool.

Bla bla bla. So much hype for one man, but I digress.

The focus of Rockpool is on its beef. Its delicious succulent beef. Aged? Wagyu? Grass fed? Grain fed? They've got a cut to suit everyone, but at a price.

J has been talking about taking me to Rockpool for a long time now but I have been very sceptical. A high quality piece of meat, cooked well, will always be delicious. That is a fact. What I don't like is the idea of paying through the nose when little effort has been put into the preparation of the food I am served.

I understand that it is locally sourced produce and that the meat is of the highest quality, but at the end of the day, all they do in the kitchen is sear it on a grill, chuck it on a plate and what? I am supposed to be blown away?

J convinced me to have lunch with him there. Despite my initial reservations, curiousity got the better of me. 

I decided to order the Cape grim dry aged 36 month old in a Fillet Minute Style with Cafe De Paris Butter. As it did not come with anything other than the steak, we decided to share some sides. The side dishes were good but not exceptional.

The steak, however, was delicious. Although it did not look like much on the plate, it exceeded all of my expectations. This is the first time I have ordered a minute steak and it has actually been cooked to my liking: medium rare. Delectably juicy and tender. Simple but perfect.

I now see that there is certainly value in dining at establishments such as Rockpool. Of course, Heston Blumenthal type molecular gastronomy can be mind blowing and amazing, but sometimes when you nail the basics it can be just as impressive.

Guess we will be going back for dinner at the restaurant.

Cafe Review: Little Cupcakes

Location: Shop 7, Degraves Street, Melbourne
Phone: (03) 9077 0413
Link: www.littlecupcakes.com.au
Overall Impression: 6/10

Cupcakes are popping up everywhere. Personally, I am not a fan. The hype is evident but I fail to see the reason why. This is simply a sad case of how looks can be deceiving. There they are, absolutely gorgeous looking but take one bite and there is neither substance nor depth. It may vary in the level of sweetness but that is all. Much like that ex you dated for a while (until you came to your senses) because he was a nice man-bag.  

But as far as pretty cupcakes go, those from Little Cupcakes are some of the better ones that I have tried. So, if you must, these, at the very least have some interesting flavours. Oh, and the online ordering system is fantastic!

Cafe Review: Pie Face

Location: Various Phone: 0430 093 677
Link: http://www.pieface.com.au/
Overall Impression: 4.5/10

I have tried the pies at  both the Elizabeth Street and Flinders street stores. At the very least, there appears to be consistency in terms of the standard of the pies served at both of these stores. There is however, no distinguishing features in the pies served that would make them any different from say, a pie I could buy at seven eleven. They do not taste particularly good or have special pie fillings that I would struggle getting elsewhere. At $5.75 a pie, it is also not particularly cheap. Unfortunately, Pie Face goes into my ‘neither here nor there’ bin.

Restaurant Review: Berth

Location: 45 New Quay Promenade, Docklands

Phone: (03) 9670 0199

Link: www.berth.com.au

Cuisine: Modern Australian

Overall Impression: 6.5/10

 

 

 

Entrée: Kalamata olives – served warm with chorizo sausage and turkish bread $12
This was simple and well executed.

Entrée: Soup of the day – with toasted bread $9

I wasn’t feeling particularly well and had been craving soup all day, so I opted for the soup of the day. Having had countless disappointing experiences, I was pleased to see that my luck had finally changed. The soup of the day was a pumpkin and cumin soup served with beautiful sourdough bread. The soup was thick, hearty and smacked full of flavour. It had very middle eastern/Indian flavours to it.

Main: Roasted half duck – with sautéed spinach, crispy polenta and a balsamic glaze $29
The duck was slightly overcooked but still quite moist. Flavours-wise, it was well seasoned and enjoyable to eat.

Main: Grilled kangaroo fillet – on kipfler potatoes finished with rocket and a red wine glaze $26
The kangaroo was perfectly cooked. It was deliciously charred on the outside and pink on the inside.  The beetroot brought an element of sweetness to the dish that balanced the red wine glaze. As a whole, it was a very good main and I look forward to ordering this again during my next visit.

As you can see, the wine glasses used are most unimpressive.

Dessert: Cookies ‘n’ cream – vanilla bean ice cream topped with crumbled pieces of choc chip cookies, homemade honeycomb & hot chocolate sauce $12

Dessert: Lemon tart – with freshly whipped cream and citrus sauce $12
Both the desserts were very pedestrian. But like the rest of the meal, it was also enjoyable.

Berth serves up decent, honest food. The food is simple and meets expectations. We both had a very enjoyable casual dining experience. The location is lovely. We were seated right next to the window. Peering out, it really felt like we were on a ship sailing away. It is a great place for a date that will certainly not break the bank. For all the food we had, the bill came up to $100 exactly (sans wine).

Restaurant Review: Giuseppe Arnaldo & Sons

Phone: (03) 9694 7400

Location: Crown Entertainment Complex, Southbank

Link: www.idrb.com/giuseppe_main_flash.html

Cuisine: Italian

Overall Impression: 6.5/10

Z, JL and I decided to catch up over a working day lunch at Giuseppe. The service was prompt and friendly. The whole place had a really modern vibe to it. 

Seriously delicious bread for the table.

"Ravioli alla Marchigiana"

Ravioli Filled with a Five Hour Ragu of Pork & Veal in a Burnt Butter, Sage Sauce, Finished with Black Truffle Pecorino (Available Lunch Only) $36

Spaghetti“Arrabbiata” Crab, Tomato, Chilli

Baked in a Paper Bag   $33

Mezzi Rigatoni, Our Own Pork Sausages,

Sage, Tomato, Garlic, Chilli  $28  

All in all, the food was rustic and delicious. The pasta was al dente. Everything was well seasoned and very hearty. That said, at over $30 for a bowl of pasta, you would very well hope so. This is my second time at Giuseppe and although the food is delicious, I am still not sure whether the high end prices are justified. Perhaps a 3 course dinner in the future would give me more perspective and change my mind but at this stage, for a casual lunch, I would say it is good but I would not be rushing to go back.

Event Review: Louis Vuitton afternoon tea

Location: 8 Whiteman Street, Southbank

Phone: 1300 883 880

J and I were delighted with an invitation to a private Louis Vuitton ("LV") afternoon tea. They had just launched some new textiles that were not yet available to the public so this was an opportune time to see what was new in the fabrics scene at LV.

Sneak peak

 We were treated to a lovely cheese platter and delicious sour dough bread.  

The hidden room inside the LV store was beautifully decorated with comfortable furnishings and all sorts of LV-related goods.

Every luxury house serves tea exclusive to its VIP guests and LV is no exception. The LV tea was deliciously fragrant with floral notes.

It was a wonderful afternoon and we all felt extremely spoiled and welcomed. Sipping glasses of Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin Rose and browsing through the new collection it was a treat for all the senses.

Thank you for a great afternoon, to the Southbank LV team!