Restaurant Review: Yuki Japanese Restaurant

Location: 1901-1903 Malvern Rd, Malvern East

Phone: 03 9885 7833
Cuisine: "Japanese" 

Overall Impression: 5/10*

In contrast to the amazing dining experience we had had at Sarti the night before, we had an awkward one at Yuki (pronounced Yucky, ok, no it is not) Japanese Restaurant in Malvern. Clearly J and I like to mix it up a bit. And you know what? It was actually a pretty enjoyable night out, apart from the food, that is.

But yes. From the moment we arrived we noticed how empty the restaurant was. It had been such an effort making a booking for the restaurant. I had rung several times and had been told that they were booked out for about a month so we actually booked a month in advance. Needless to say, it was extremely weird to see the restaurant looking quite so empty.

Neither of us had actually heard of this restaurant until J decided to have a go at buying a voucher advertised by Deals. It was advertised as follows:
Spectacular Japanese Banquet! Pay only $29 for TWO PEOPLE for amazing ALL-YOU-CAN-EAT Japanese Banquet including Sushi, Gyoza, Tempura, Yaki Udon, Chicken Katsu, Desserts and much more! Normally $80 from Yuki in East Malvern

From the kindness of his heart, my dear J decided to buy the voucher and take me along for a Japanese treat. When he had first bought it, we were both excited at the thought of reminiscing the time we had both spent in Japan.  

It turned out, however, that the ad for the "Japanese" banquet was both misleading and deceptive. It was neither Japanese and not was it amazing.

Prior to going to the restaurant, we had actually been reading horrendous reviews of the restaurant. No one seemed to have anything good to say about Yuki. So, we were slightly apprehensive at the thought of dining there. All in all, it was not nearly as bad as the reviews had suggested. That is not to say that either of us will ever be returning, merely that the food was in fact edible although not Japanese.

The "tempura prawns and vegetables" were deep fried prawns and vegetables that you would expect from your local fish and chip shop. You know what? It's probably not worth going into detail about the food. Suffice to say, it was not very good. But it was very much edible run of the mill food court level "Japanese" food served by non-Japanese.

Now, for the positives.

Yes, there were some.

It *is* in fact all-you-can-eat. The waitstaff were extremely attentive in making sure we always had food on the table. Although they frequently mixed orders up, they tried their very best to provide the best level of care. We received every single dish we had ordered. The unagi (eel) was actually very nice.

As the meal costs J $29 and included sake (pictured above) and fed the both of us with more than ample portions of food, it was fair. I would not however had been too pleased if that meal had cost $80. My advice is to use up your voucher soon if you still have it. It is really not that bad, but do it with a sense of urgency because it is unlikely that Yuki will be around for very much longer.

*The overall impression score is based on using a voucher. My understanding is that if a voucher had not been used, more dishes would have been available and the full price per person would be $40.

Restaurant Review: Plume Chinese Restaurant

Location: 546 Doncaster Rd, Doncaster
Phone: (03) 9840 1122
Link: www.plume.com.au
Cuisine: Chinese

Overall Impression: 5/10

My mum loves yumcha. She loves being able to have a variety of little dishes to snack on over some Chinese tea. So she was thrilled that my sister decided to take us all out for a lazy Sunday brunch at Plume. Dinner at Plume is a much more formal affair. I have attended a Chinese wedding banquet at Plume and remember being very impressed at the quality of the dishes they had on offer, but I digress.

The yumcha experience (as is the case with most yumcha experiences) was fairly informal. The restaurant was bustling and packed with patrons. I found the dishes above average. The egg tart was especially good. But Plume does charge a premium for their service. The bill for the three of us came up to about $150. So, I'm not sure if the particularly good egg tart was worth it.

All in all, good but all things considered, pricey for what it offers.

Restaurant Review: Mountain Goat Brewery

Location: Corner North St & Clarke St Richmond
Link: www.goatbeer.com.au
Cuisine: Beer, pizzas, beer and more beer

Ever wondered how beer is made? On top of serving premium beer and delicious pizzas, Mountain Goat Brewery runs free tours.

The bar:

The pizzas were delectable - Thin and crispy crusted and simply delicious. Overall Impression: 7/10

Delicious beer and great pizzas. What more could you ask for? The tour of the factory was a good experience. It is no wonder this place has gained such a cult following.

Restaurant Review: Bluestone Restaurant bar

Location: 349 Flinders Lane, Melbourne
Link: http://www.bluestonerestaurantbar.com.au/
Cuisine: Modern Australian/Pub
Overall Impression on the restaurant: 7/10
Overall Impression on the bar: 5/10

Dining at the Bluestone Restaurant a few weeks ago was a lovely experience. The Modern Australian style cuisine was fresh, beautifully presented and tasted equally as good.

For entrees, we shared the following dishes:

-salmon and horseradish panna cotta, brioche grissini, gazpacho, lemon dust (GF)

-baked hervey bay scallops, capsicum salsa, parmesan and herb crust, micro herb garnish with fennel and prosciutto

-quail, fig and spiced plum wonton, vietnamese mint, soy and walnut dressing

The salmon panna cotta looked particularly strange. I was puzzled at the thought of a savoury panna cotta. Such was my curiousity that I just had to order it even though I had my doubts as to whether or not it would taste remotely good. To my surprise it was a pleasant, well balanced cold entrée.

The mains also came out beautifully. All three of us were very happy with what we had ordered.

And for dessert, we had the bluestone dessert plate to share. And again, everything was delicious.

Seeking  a casual lunch this time around, we decided to venture Downstairs and sample Bluestone's Bar Menu.

It was a stylish but simple, New York-style basement fit:

We decided to order a few wood-fired pizzas to share.

My favourite was a smoked salmon, tiny capers, goats cheese and fresh dill pizza. The pizzas were quite good. Nothing spectacular but definitely met all our expectations.

Restaurant Review: North East China Family

Location: 302 Flinders Lane, Melbourne
Cuisine: Chinese

I've had dumplings here before and thought they were quite good. So, when Charlotte found time out of her busy corporate lawyer schedule, we decided to have lunch here.

The place was in a bit of a mess, to be perfectly honest. The wait staff appeared absolutely clueless. We had to ask for our tables to be cleaned and for a new set of cutlery.

We ordered Wonton dumplings and noodles. While they tasted alright, it had taken them quite a while to serve us.

We also ordered pancakes. These were suppose to be for entree. Unfortunately, they came after the noodles... which we found quite strange. The pancakes were good though. Beautifully crisp on the outside. Incredibly moist, perfectly seasoned pork on the inside.

Overall Impression: 4/10

Service was dissapointing. Time was the main factor. As it was a week/working day, both of us only had an hour to spare and dining there took up almost all of that time. Food was not bad.

Cafe Review: Kartel

Location: 500 Collins Street, Melbourne
Phone: (03) 9629 9800
Link: www.studioequator.com.au/projects...
Cuisine: Cafe-style food
Overall Impression: 6/10

Cannot believe I only just discovered this place today. It is a great café that serves good food and coffee. Service is prompt and its great for a casual catch up with colleagues/friends during a working day. I had the lasagna and it was pretty good. Everyone at my table was equally satisfied with what they had ordered and received.

Restaurant Review: Chatter Box

Location: Shop 18, 235 Bourke St, Melbourne

Phone: (03) 9663 2588

Cuisine: Malaysian Hawker food

Overall Impression: 5/10

There is nothing fancy about this place. In fact it looks incredibly run down. But that is why it works. It serves hawker-style Malaysian food. So, it certainly looks the part. It may not serve the best Char Kuey Teow or Curry Laksa in town, but if you work in the CBD, it is convenient and it provides plenty of bang for your buck! They have a good $8.30 lunch special with a variety of cook to order dishes.

On this occasion, I settled for some greasy goodness - It's winter and some extra insulation is warranted. I had rice with curry chicken, deep fried chicken wings and curry eggplants (that have also clearly been deep-fried beforehand). And it was good. Nothing fancy or revolutionary but for $8.30, I was happy.

Restaurant Review: Dragon Boat

Location: Chinatown, Melbourne
Link: http://www.dragonboat.com.au/
Cuisine: Chinese

I've never really been a Yum Cha fan. And no, Dragon Boat hasn't changed my mind.
But everybody else in my family loves it so we decided to check out the newly refurbished Dragon Boat in Chinatown.

The service was quick. Given it was very busy, the waiters did very well.

Overall Impression: 5.5/10

Great variety and good service. Highly recommended if you want to get your 'Yum Cha' on.

Restaurant Review: Dragon Boat Palace

Location: 149 Lonsdale St, Melbourne
Link: www.dragonboat.com.au
Cuisine: Chinese

For someone who doesn't enjoy Yum Cha, I sure do end up having it quite a lot. And this time, it was of the all-you-can-eat variety...

We went all out and ate til we had to unbuckle our belts!

Overall Impression: 5.3/10

I do apologize for the decimal place... but I liked Chinatown's Dragon Boat just a tad better. It just had a nicer ambience, I think. And the all-you-can-eat style yum cha at Dragon Boat Palace meant, everyone was engulfing everything pretty quickly so the waiters were under a lot more pressure. So, you end up being surrounded by really stressed people. And then you start feeling really stressed... So, maybe thats why I didn't think the ambience was as good.

Restaurant Review: Kitchen Workshop

Location: Ground Floor, Clarendon Street Entrance, Crown
Link: http://www.crowncasino.com.au/kitchen-workshop
Cuisine: International, Buffet

I hate buffets. But due to several factors including undue influence, I went to Kitchen Workshop last night. There was a pretty decent selection of mains and entrees. From memory, there were lots of random deep fried things, beef bourginon, calamari, fish, roasts, antipastos, salads, pasta, biriyani rice, an interactive teppanyaki station (where you get to choose what you want in your stir-fry). I was waiting in line at the teppanyaki station and saw them pour a ridiculous amount of oil on and chickened out, quickly leaving my position. J and R tried it though and they said there were nice flavours but it was really nothing to shout about. There was also a generous selection of desserts (that included a chocolate fountain).
The mango pudding in particular was a winner. Simple and pleasant.

Overall Impression: 5/10
Delivers everything it promises but goes no further. Great value for money. An all you can eat dinner that cost us 19.50AUD perhead. Relaxed ambience. Helpful staff.