New Kum Den Restaurant (Melbourne) - Review

Moved to: 
323 Rathdowne St
Carlton

Victoria, Australia
Ph: (03) 9639 9857


Open every day: 11am–3pm, 5pm–11pm
Licensed and BYO.
Yum Cha: Sat/Sun/Holiday 11am–3pm

New Kum Den is Chinese Restaurant that used to be hidden away down on Heffernan Lane in the Melbourne CBD, Chinatown (note they have moved since then to the address shown above!). You can find China town on Little Bourke St just off Swanston st. When we arrived here on Thursday night the place was completely packed. They had two large tables in the middle and smaller four people tables around the perimeter. The noise level was extremely loud from everybody talking and laughing. The presentation of the restaurant is nice.

All the tables and chairs are timber with a glossy dark finish - nothing fancy but nice. It also has a fantastically large bar. This restaurant definitely does not feel like a cheap take-away joint that's for sure. The dinner menu prices ranged from $10 to $27 (AUD). On top of that there is also a lunch, appetisers and Yum Cha menu. The appetisers and Yum Cha cost around 5$ per dish, while lunch meals cost around 10$. Overall if you selected carefully you can eat at this place quite affordably.

The service here was good. We were given a table immediately and the waiter asked what we wanted to drink at first. Our jasmine tea and Heineken beer arrived almost instantly, and the waiter asked me if I wanted another Heineken shortly after I had finished it.

For our meals we ordered stir fried mixed seasonal vegetables, and stir fried roast duck fillet with mixed vegetables with ginger, spring onion, and snow pea.

For appetisers we ordered two sets of fried dumplings. We must have waited for about 30 minutes before our mains arrived. I think this is reasonable given that the place was flat out busy. However before that the waiter asked if our dumplings had arrived yet. When we said no the waiter brought them to us almost immediately.

Our meals finally arrived. The roast duck was cooked superb and the veggies with it tasted fresh and crunchy. The other mixed seasonable vegetable dish tasted a bit strange to us however, the baby corn tasted like it had gone bad. The broccoli also had a funny aftertaste similar to the baby corn. Maybe it is just me. I have not tried baby corn in over a year so maybe I don't know what I'm talking about.

Quality of Food: 7/10 stars
Quality of Services: 8/10 stars
Atmosphere and Presentation: 7/10 stars
Value for money: 6.5/10 stars
Average rating: 7.1/10 stars

Following photos from New Kum Den website:

Cafe Corretto, Melbourne (Australia)

225/227-229 Lygon Street, 
Carlton VIC 3053, Australia
PH: +61 3 9347 2300

Cafe Corretto is an Italian restaurant located in the middle of Little Italy, an area of Melbourne renowned for its restaurants with Italian heritage. It was a Friday night and we were starving. Our craving for good food was further fueled by alcohol. Wandering the streets like a couple of hungry wolves, we stumbled upon this little cafe, Cafe Correto. The place looked great, and it felt Italian. You can tell that everything including the tables, chairs, lighting, and the decorations were carefully selected to set the mood of the restaurant unapologetically naff. It was 8pm and almost every 
table was full. The service here was quick and friendly. We were seated right away, and shortly after our orders were taken. The prices here are higher than your average takeaways. You can expect to pay from $15 - 35 (AUD) for a main dish.

We ordered clam fettuccine and shrimp risotto. The food portions were reasonable, not too stingy but also enough to satisfy even those that are starving (and missed their lunch!). It all tasted amazing. Probably the finest food I've tasted so far in Melbourne. Even though the place was packed full, our meals arrived in only 20 minutes too. I think besides being a bit pricey this place pushes all the right buttons for me, and I would love to come back here again.

Quality of Service: 8/10
Quality of Food: 9/10
Atmosphere and Presentation:9/10
Value for Money: 6.5/10

Overall rating: 8.1/10

Lamb On Chapel, Melbourne (Australia) - Review

394 Chapel Street,
South Yarra
VIC 3141
(03) 9826 2442

Hungry for a night walk and a kebab, chapel street came to the rescue with what we heard was the best kebab place in Melbourne, complete with its own tandoor oven, all hot steam and loud buzziness, this intoxicating kebab house kept me from midweek meltdown. 

Quality of Service - 6.5 / 10 stars

Quality of Food -  8.5 / 10 stars

Atmosphere and Presentation- 6.0 / 10 stars

Value for Money - 8.0 / 10 stars

Overall rating - 7.3 / 10

Kanteen Cafe (Mlbourne, Australia) - Review

154 Alexandra Avenue, 
South Yarra, VIC 3141
(03) 9827 0488
Open Mon-Sat 7am-3pm; Sun 8am-3pm

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Ah, the muddy Yarra River, with all its bohemian charm. Being from New Zealand and used to lush green native ferns and mossy trunks with plenty of oxygen, the murky yellow moors of the yarra reminded us of the dry unpredictable terror of the Australian terrain. But also just how innovative these people actually are. 
This modern "Kanteen" is a lovely example situated on the bank of the Yarra River. 

Further testament to the imagination of the victorians, its considered how lovely a sunday bike ride must be, destination: Kanteen. You can rent these bikes for something like $2.50 and ride along the river bank all the way to the cafe. Its a very pleasant journey and the cafe your reward. 

The food here will cost about $7 to $13 and ranges from breakfast to lunch dishes. You can check out their menu here. You will find that it is simple, and delicately made with excellent quality ingredients. I cannot say how good the coffee is as its was a scorcher of a day and all we could think of was buying an ice cold drink. 

The cafe sets the mood perfectly by playing lounge music. Combine that with the nature views, the simple but elegant architecture, and you have yourself a very enjoyable atmosphere.

Presentation & Atmosphere: 8.5/10 stars
Quality of Service: 7/10 stars
Value for Money: 6.5/10 stars
Quality of Drinks: 7/10 stars

Overall rating:  7.3/10 stars

Sammy's Trattoria Bar & Pizzeria Melbourne (Australia) - Review

246 Sydney Road,
Brunswick
Tel: 9380 6311

Sammy's restaurant is located down the charming suburb of Brunswick. Besides what some may call tacky architecture this area of Melbourne is also known for its Middle Eastern cuisine, quirky shops, and cosy cafes. On the day though we did not eat kebabs, but instead decided to try out Italian. 

Sammy's does not look fancy but you get the feeling these people know how to make great home cooked style Italian food. Price wise this restaurant is not cheap. We paid roughly $38 for a medium sized The Works pizza, and Caesar salad. However what you can expect is a descent sized feed. The chef made sure to put in plenty of topping on the pizza, and tonnes of chicken into the salad. The anchovies in the salad was a strange choice I thought. You either love them or hate them. 

Both meals were well prepared and tasted delicious, but I would not say that it blew my socks off or anything crazy like that. They were just  satisfying, home down, dependable cooked meals. If you are terribly hungry and don't mind spending 20 bucks on a single meal then this place will make you happy. But if you are one of those people that expects exquisite fine dining experience than perhaps you should look elsewhere.

Quality of Food: 7/10 stars
Quality of Services: 7/10 stars
Atmosphere and Presentation: 4.5/10 stars
Value for money: 7/10 stars

Average rating: 6.4/10 stars

A trip to Queen Victoria Market, Melbourne (Australia)

155 Victoria St,
(Corner of Elizabeth st, and Victoria st)
Melbourne Victoria 3000,
Australia PH: +61 3 9320 5822  

Trading Hours
Tuesday: 6am - 2pm
Thursday: 6am - 2pm
Friday: 6am - 5pm (general merchandise to 4pm)
Saturday: 6am - 3pm Sunday:
9am - 4pm  

CLOSED: Mondays, Wednesdays, Good Friday, Anzac Day, Melbourne Cup Day, Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year's Day.

Yesterday I took a trip to the Queen Victoria Market for the very first time. We badly need to stock up on fruits and veggies and I also just wanted to see it. It was 12noon and we were on a tram heading towards Victoria st. Getting there is easy. Where you are staying in Melbourne, make your way to the Melbourne CBD. The market is located right on the corner of Elizabeth st and Victoria st. Once you are in the city just jump on a tram that is heading in that general direction and you will be ok. Make sure to get some cash out as nobody at the market takes credit card

It was a sunny Saturday afternoon, perfect day to go exploring the market. We first went through the dairy section, which is probably my favourite section. Here you can buy all sorts of cheeses, creams, salami, sausages, and much more. Its all premium quality

Next we made it out to the fruit and veggie section. This section tends to go forever, and as you walk across the road at the back of this section, you will find more fruit and veggies stalls. The service here tends to be a bit crazy, especially as the market starts to wind down and the stalls begin to close. People selling their goods begin to yell their heads, almost desperate to sell their stock before they head home. It becomes a yelling contest. They seem to think that the loudest stall will sell the most stock.

Anyways besides food there are loads of other stuff you can buy here, like clothing, pot plants, random merchandise, and much more. The price of fruit and veggies here is much lower than the supermarket rates, sometimes only a $1 (AUD) per kg. You won't find any good deals on bananas here though. Australia does not allow imported bananas so the cheapest price you will find here will be around 7$ a kg. The price of dairy and meat tends to be the same as at the supermarket, but sometimes you can find some good deals. We found a 500g of lamb steak for $7 (AUD), which we ate the same day after marinating with some Moroccan spices (also bought at the market)

Here are a few photos of our trip to give you a bit of an idea:

Cafe L'Incontro, Melbourne (Austalia) - Review

Cnr Swanston and Lt Collins Streets
Melbourne CBD, 3000  
(03) 9654 6075

Cafe L'Incontro can be easily found along Swanston st as you walk into the Melbourne CBD away from the Flinders train station. It will be on you right. We had just won some money at the casino and were happily spending it on some food and alcohol. It was 10pm on Thursday night and this place was one of the few that was still open. The place was still packed with people, most of whom appeared to be Asians who were just passing through the country and did not speak much English. We ordered a bottle of pinot noir, lamb shanks, and calamari. All that cost us exactly $66 (AUD), which is not too bad considering that the bottle was half of that price.

The service was good. The guy at the counter was keen to crack a few jokes and was a bit of a quirky character. The girl who gave us the bill though did not even know what pinot noir was :P. Our wine arrived almost immediately. The food arrived about ten minutes later, which seemed surprising because the piece of lamb was quite large and thick. I'm not sure how they managed to cook such a massive piece of meat so quick and so tender.

We suspected that it was precooked reheated lamb. Anyway, the lamb tasted OK. It was tender and moist, but just lacking something. I'm not sure what it is, just seemed like it was not fresh. The mashed potatoes were good. Nothing special here. Mashed potatoes is not rocket science - even a 10 year old can make a decent pot of mash so I'm not going to rant about the potatoes. The calamari tasted OK, just OK. It was dry and lacked any real flavour. I had tasted far better calamari before.

The cafe atmosphere seemed average. It appears to be one of those places through which different people pass by all the time. It did not feel like a place which had a loyal following, and I can see why. The cafe was missing soul, a feeling of a cafe, a place where you want to sit down and enjoy the coffee and the atmosphere - the real essence of cafe culture was lacking. However if I was the boss of this cafe I would not care much for this because at such a central location you are always going to get customers. If you are sitting at one of the tables outside you are also bound to smell some horse poo every once in a while as this area often has the city tourist horses with their carriages pass by. I have not tried the coffee at this place, but do not see a reason why I would want too. Overall this cafe is disappointing.

Quality of service: 6.5/10
Quality of food: 5/10
Atmosphere and presentation: 4/10
Value for money: 6/10

Overall rating: 5.3/10

Cafe La Citta, Melbourne (Australia) - Review

Source: Google Maps

11 Degraves St
Melbourne
VIC, Australia
Website

La Citta is a beautiful cafe situated in the colourful Degraves st. Degraves is normally bustling with activity as it is literally packed with a variety of fine restaurants and cozy cafes. The first thing that will lure you in to La Citta is the gorgeous décor. Everything here has been intricately and immaculately designed and built to perfection to create a stylish, clean, and comfortable cafe environment.

We ordered a flat white, a mochachino, a brownie dessert, followed by 2 glasses of 10 year old whisky on the rocks. The services is fast and extremely friendly. Pity we did not feel very hungry at the time because I bet they do good food as well as good coffee. However I do plan to come back here again in the near future. It is simply a must for me.

This is primarily a cafe but they do also serve several mains like steaks, roast chicken, and fish dishes for which you can expect to pay in the order of 30 to 40$ per dish. They also provide breakfast dishes which are reasonably priced at 10 to 17$ per dish.

Quality of Coffee: 7.5/10
Quality of Services: 9.5/10
Atmosphere and Presentation: 9.5/10
Value for money: 6.5/10

Overall rating: 8.3/10


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Pop Restaurant, Melbourne (Australia) - Review

68 Hardware Lane,
Melbourne VIC 3000
PH: (03) 9642 1341

Opening Times:
Monday - Saturday 12 pm - 11 pm
Sunday 3 pm - 11 pm

Website: poprestaurant.com.au/ 

Pop restaurant is located down Hardware Lane neatly tucked away in the busy Melbourne City centre. Hardware lane is literally packed with gorgeous restaurants. When you arrive during dinner hour you will find that every restaurant owner is trying very hard to persuade you to come in. They will offer you free rounds of wine, appetisers and god know what else, anything so they can get their hands on your hard earned dollars. 

One waiter thought that the group of people behind us was with us and offered 2 bottles of wine for free. When I told him that it was just me and my girlfriend he quickly downgraded our free round to just two glasses of wine and a small appetiser with a very stingy amount of salami and olives. Nevertheless it was FREE.

Down to the food then - we ordered Barramundi Fillet for 29.50$, which according to their menu is a pan seared fillet served with sautéed potatoes and onions together in lemon beurre blanc sauce. We also ordered Ocean Trout for 28$, which is salmon with with carrot puree, rocket salad, and roasted chat potatoes. By this time the hunger is making me lose my mind and I order a bottle of house red.

The waiter that served us was nice but also not pretentious like you find in most poncy places (ahem Southbank...). When we asked if we could smoke at our outdoor table he quickly said I CAN'T smoke but YOU can.

I have to say the Barramundi was the best fish I have ever tasted. It was prepared exquisitely that not a single drop of delicious juice was lost. It simply melted in my mouth and with each bite I was taken to another place, a place somewhere up in the clouds. With this dish you want to prolong the taste for as long as you possibly can so I took my utter most time chewing. By this time I was happily drunk and slightly dazed from the cigarette smoke, and this food was the perfect icing on the cake. 

The salmon was also great but in my opinion as much as my girlfriend would like to disagree was a tad dry than it should have been. Call me fussy or anal or whatever... I think the salmon lost a lot of its juicy goodness in the kitchen. If you have not tried salmon many times before though you might feel different. 

This place has everything; chilled and not too poncy atmosphere, excellent service, and mouth watering food. My only complaint on the day would be that I did not eat enough...

Quality of Food: 9/10 stars
Quality of Services: 8/10 stars
Atmosphere and Presentation: 8/10 stars
Value for money: 5.0/10 stars

Average rating: 7.5/10 stars

Rose Garden BBQ Restaurant, Melbourne (Australia) - Review

435 Elizabeth Street,
Melbourne VIC 3000
(03) 9329 1560

The Rose Garden can be found on Elizabeth St near the Franklin St Tram Stop. From the outside the place is not much to look at and feast your eyes on.

Outside the restaurant, there are a few very simple and cheap looking plastic tables sitting under a couple of bright yellow umbrellas. When you walk inside the first thing you'll notice is how busy the place is. Most of the tables are always full and there is constant hectic traffic of food and empty plates in and out of the kitchen.

Inside the restaurant the owners have decided to dress up the place a bit by decorating the walls with bright pink, blue, yellow, and minty green colour sheets of papers glued to the otherwise dull hospital like walls. Each sheet of paper has what appears to be traditional Chinese writing symbols. Maybe these are transcripts from wise Chinese philosophy. Although I would not know. It could be just the menu.

Even though the place decorations are a bit on the tacky side, I was still impressed the owners of the restaurant at least went to some effort to give the place a bit of charm. When you walk inside and suddenly find yourself confronted with all the random colours you feel a bit like you've walked into a Japanese cartoon.

I ordered  Kway Teow while my partner ordered BBQ pork on rice. To my surprise the food arrived in what seemed less than 5 minutes. They must have things running very efficiently in the kitchen. The food here is very cheap.

You can expect to pay less than 10$ for a whole meal. They also provide free herbal tea, which adds a nice touch. The food quality was more than adequate, especially considering the price we paid.

The BBQ pork although not as succulent as one would hope was still crisp and satisfying. The noodles were very flavoursome and the veggies tasted fresh and crunchy. 

The menu here consists of what seems like over 50 different dishes. I would be more than happy to come back to this place again and again until I have tried everything on their menu. Sadly I know this will never happen because for one I'm not rich enough to eat out every night, and two there are so many places to eat in Melbourne that one can easily get distracted. It seems like no matter where you go in this town you're bound to stumble on a little foody gem.

Quality of Food: 7/10 stars
Quality of Service: 7/10 tars
Atmosphere and Presentation: 6/10 stars
Value for Money: 8/10 stars

Overall Rating: 7/10 stars

Cafe Brown Sugar, Melbourne (Australia) - A Review

25 Block Place,
Melbourne VIC 3000,
PH: (+61) 3 9639 7577   

Brown Sugar Cafe is located on Block Place, a small alley situated between Collins and Little Collins st. Block Place is a beautiful little alley full of cafes. We were very hungry and craving good coffee. Every corner of this alley was packed with people so you just have to take it easy as you make your way through the crowd.

It has just been raining and some of the tables and chairs were still wet. We found a table but the waiter kindly showed us to another table which was dry. Having a look at the menu the prices seamed reasonable., 15$ - 25$ (AUD) a meal. I ordered a cappuccino and Margarita pizza, while my partner ordered a mochachino with Eggs Benedict. The service was very nice and prompt. Our coffees arrived shortly after we made the order. The quality of the coffee was very satisfying, and seemed to quench our desperate craving for caffeine.

The food arrived about 20 minutes later. The Margarita pizza resembled a pizza bread sprinkled with some salad leaves, and tasted like bread with canned tomatoes and cheese. The Eggs Benedict looked good, like what you would get at any other half descent cafe. Over the last two years in Wellington, New Zealand, I have eaten many Eggs benedict dishes, and after a while they all start to look the same. Both meals tasted pretty good, although I expected the pizza to taste a bit more like an actual pizza rather than a pizza bread. I was too hungry to really care though, and thoroughly enjoyed it.

The food portion sizes were quite small for the amount that we paid. Each meal was roughly $15. I cannot remember how much the coffee price was, but I can remember that it was reasonable, same as what majority of the other cafes charge around Melbourne. Overall I would definitely come back to the place for the coffee but probably not for the food given the portion sizes. But that's just me though as my stomach tends to be a bottomless pit.

Quality of Food: 6.5/10
Quality of Coffee: 7.5/10
Quality of Services: 8/10
Atmosphere and Presentation: 7.5/10
Value for money: 6/10
Average rating: 7.1/10

Melbourne (Australia) City China Town

China town is located on Little Bourke street just off Swanston street in the Melbourne CBD. The easiest way to find it is to walk along Swanston st and look for the large red gate, the same one shown in the above photo. Melbourne Chinatown dates back to the gold rush period of the 1850s. Today this area houses a huge variety of various Chinese shops and restaurants. If you are looking for authentic Chinese food, Asian goods, or just want to feel like you've landed in China this is a good place to be.

For more information you can go here to visit the Melbourne Chinatown website.

Shanghai Street Dumpling Restaurant (Melbourne, Australia) - the best hand made dumplings in Melbourne CBD..unless you can think of better?

342 Little Bourke Street, 
Melbourne VIC 3000
(03) 9600 2250

This cozy Chinese take-away/restaurant is located on the corner of Little Bourke St and Elizabeth st. I have been here once before and ever since been meaning to come back. When you arrive here, almost every time you will have to wait in line for at least half an hour before there is a free table available. The food here is that great, and that's not all. The prices here are very affordable. You can expect to pay in the range of 7-10$ a meal. The food portions are more than generous, which are bound to satisfy just about every foody. 

The restaurant on its own is not much to look at. The seating arrangement is tight but not so cramped that you might find yourself seating right next to a stranger. The tables and chairs are simple and functional. This restaurant does not feel cheap like most Asian take-away/restaurants I have been too. You can see clean lines, tidy finishes, and simple but eye pleasing lighting, making this an enjoyable place to sit down. You can also sit right next to the windows and enjoy people watching as you indulge on their delicately made dumplings. They also provide outdoor seating, which is not as comfortable, but you can choose to sit there if you are too impatient to wait for a table to free up indoor.

Our eyes once again proved much bigger than what our stomachs could handle. Somehow when you think that you're starving and could literally eat an entire horse you drift into the mindset that just the one main meal will not be enough to satisfy one's hunger. We ordered boiled Peking dumplings, fried vegetable dumplings, and pork and chicken dim sums. The service here is friendly and quick. The staff are polite and smile a lot, which is what is always good to see. After waiting for about 20 minutes our food arrived. 

The dumplings tasted fresh and juicy, prepared and cooked to perfection., much better than the frozen ones that you can purchase at any Asian groceries store. It is hard to pick which was the best dish on the table, but I would have to say the vegetable dumplings mainly because the vegetables tasted very fresh and juicy, and tended to almost melt in your mouth. It was just pure delight. 

After eating for about 30 minutes, the gradual realisation became apparent that we were not going to be able to finish all of the dumplings. With a dozen dumplings still on the plate my stomach was on the verge of exploding. However being in this situation many times before, one eventually learns how to master the art of eating a ridiculous amount without exploding on the spot. Pacing myself as I ate one dumpling after another while giving myself room to breath in between, eventually all of the dumplings were gone. 

For me this place pushes all the correct buttons. The service is friendly, the food is fantastic, the restaurant decor is simple but pleasant, and very importantly the prices are more than reasonable even for a student. So far this place is the most impressive dumplings restaurant I have been too and will most definitely come back to eat again.

Quality of Food: 8.5/10 stars
Quality of Service: 7.5/10 stars
Presentation and Atmosphere: 7/10 stars
Value for Money: 9/10 stars'

Overall Rating: 8/10 stars

Soul Food Cafe (Fitzroy, Melbourne) - Review

273 Smith Street
Fitzroy, Melbourne
VIC 3065, Australia
PH:+61 3 9419 2949
Type of food: Vegetarian

Hours:
Monday to Friday 08.00 AM - 11.00 PM
Saturday 08.00 AM - 11.00 PM

Soul food is in the middle of the trendy Smith st in Fitzroy. Smith st is full of shops and the occasional batches of cafes. Even if you are not hungry there is plenty to check out on this street. It was close to 1 in the afternoon and my partner was yet to have any kind of breakfast. I couldn't last and grabbed a sandwich from the seven eleven shop on the way to Fitzroy, a choice which I was to regret later... After wondering up and down Smith st we decided to check out the Soul Food Cafe. It seemed well presented. Not too flash, but nice and comfortable. The service was good too. Even though it is a cafe, it felt more like a restaurant. We were seated right away and the waitress asked if we wanted a coffee while we thought about what food to order.

Anyway, I ordered samosa with a Greek salad, while my partner ordered a lentil burger. We waited for about 20 minutes before the food arrived, and all of it tasted great, particularly the samosa. The lentil burger tasted a bit dry, but then you can't really expect much from a veggie burger!

I was getting immensely full and not even half way through the samosa. I began to regret buying a sandwich 2 hours earlier however continued to stuff myself. It was clear the chef put some time and effort to perfect not just the taste, but also the presentation. The food portions were more than reasonable especially considering the meals were $15 AUD each. The price here range from about $13 - $25. The coffee was satisfying too. These guys use Jaspers Organic Free Trade Coffee, which I think is awesome and everybody should do the same. They also have a takeaway menu so you can ring them up to make an order and rock on up later to pick up.

My only complaint is we were seated right in the middle of people traffic, so at times there were people queuing up to the till right next to our table. They should really relocate this table to a better suited position. However overall this is an excellent place for food and coffee. I'm keen to come back here and try the rest of their menu.

Quality of food: 7.5/10
Quality of service: 8/10
Atmosphere and Presentation: 7/10
Value for money: 7/10

Overall rating: 7.4/10

Mana Bar - Fitzroy, Melbourne - Review

(CLOSED)
336 Brunswick Street
Melbourne VIC 3065
(03) 9417 3432

I am up while A is doing his early morning weekend chores so it is my duty to write this blog review. 

You may be used to his regular incoherent ramblings but I like taking you, the reader on a journey, so expect a great review! We set for the suburb of Fitzroy, with its trendy bars, hip streets, "oh-so bohemian" corners and where you can sit and enjoy the urban lifestyle of the verile population of Melbournian youth. After work, which is sombre and boring, a hump day taste of what Fitzroy has to offer can provide some much needed cultural sanctuary and relief. Better, it has games! 

That's right. Mounted to the walls of this bar are large screen LCD TVs, with analogue games and consoles ready to go. Kind of like the 90s when you would go down to the fish and chip shop and waste time for a buck fifty, this had the convenience of an arcade but the decor of a cocktail bar. The lighting was dim, and the screen providing interactive entertainment for old and small. Well maybe just the geeky, as I did a head count, I realised I was surrounded by early-mid twenties geeks, who were also trendy. Smart is really the new cool. 

The games were fun, I played one where Mario was fighting Princess Peach, Donkey Kong and a generic Japanese character I didn't recognise, it was a human not a robotic cat or a small-compactable pet that knows only one word, though happens to also be its name. This meant the club had no reservations for cheap copies from the 70s and 80s, which I decided I liked about it. The other games were Halo and Portal 2. Which probably got taken up with more enthusiasm. 

It was a fun night and eventually I receded to the front bay window where my red wine and house beers were happily sculling down with the company of Alex's friend's girlfriend. We chatted through various girly subjects and even subjects on movies we both liked, I found out she had read all three of the Lord of the Rings in novel form, raising much admiration on my part.

So there you have it. A good bar with fun things to do and I would say great atmosphere, good decor and the funniest thing is that it didn't mind taking the piss a little bit when it came to bringing back the charm of the old days. I am ready to hit the spacies once again!

Presentation & Atmosphere: 7.5/10 stars
Quality of Service: 8/10 stars
Value for Money: 6.5/10 stars
Quality of Drinks: 7/10 stars

Overall rating:  7.3/10 stars

Insignia bar - Melbourne Central - A Review

502 Flinders Street, 
Melbourne VIC 3000  
(03) 9629 7405

It was a Thursday night and raining heavily. Melbourne was showing what the locals refer to is the normal Melbournian weather. We have been wandering about for a good 30 minutes looking for a half-decent pub. My sister and her boyfriend were visiting from Christchurch in New Zealand. Christchurch very recently got destroyed by a huge earthquake so this was a much needed break for the both of them. 

Finally we stumbled on Insigina located right on the corner of Flinders st and King st. From the outside it does not look like much. An old semi-Victorian/Gothic looking building with its neon lighting, is all that pinpoints this place as a pub.

After walking through the giant front green doors you realise what a little gem this place is. The ceiling is almost 2 stories high giving you a sense of an awesome spaciousness. There are several very comfortable-looking couches and low level tables spread out around the perimeter of the floor. The lighting and decor is full of classic old furniture with groovy, mood-setting lighting. This place just felt really comfortable, a type of pub I would love to sit at all day. 

They had some interesting specialty made beers, like the Four Wives Pilsner for example. They also had some of your usual pub grub. We ordered a round of drinks, calamari, and dim sums. On top of that we also ordered a tapas dish which included spring rolls, more fried squid, chicken satay, chili sauce, and tartar sauce.

We waited for roughly 20 minutes for our food to arrive. Even for just ordinary pub grub, the food tasted better than I would normally expect for a typical bar. It all had just the right amount of crunchiness and juiciness. I think the cook at this pub doesn't stuff around and knows what he was doing. In terms of cost you can expect to pay 7-15$ a drink and 12 - 30$ for a meal.

Overall, I didn't really want to leave this bar but it was late and some of us had work in the morning! I can recommend this purely on atmosphere. However they also offer decent food and good beer, which for me hits all the right buttons. 

Atmosphere & Presentation: 8/10 stars
Quality of Services: 8/10 stars

Quality of Drinks & Food: 7/10 stars
Value for Money: 6.5/10 stars

Overall Rating:  7.4/10 stars

Hosier Lane Graffiti and Street Art, Melbourne

We were out and about before accidentally stumbling on Hosier Lane, a street completely covered in graffiti art. Literally every square inch was covered in wicked bombings, and artistic impressions. Some looked like it was just meant to look seriously cool while other looked like they were trying to raise a much deeper, maybe so far as a political statement. What ever it is it is, the artists' talent is genius! You can find the street by walking along Flinders st in the east direction away from the Flinders train station. Just before Russell st to your right you will find Hosier Lane.

Grill Steak Seafood Restaurant, Melbourne, VIC - Review

Photo source: www.grillsteakseafood.com.au  

66 Hardware Lane,

Melbourne CBD

PH: (03) 9642 0776

Website

This place offers tidy interior as well as cosy outdoor seating. Their menu is not very comprehensive but the food that they do make is prepared to perfection. Here you can expect to pay between 30 to 50$ for a main.  

Our mate was down for a week utilising free accommodation. On his last day we came here. We ordered grilled kangaroo steak, pork belly, and fish of the day. The services was prompt and the outdoor seating was very pleasant with a decent amount of space around us. For a change we did not feel like we were cramped in into a tight spot. Despite quick services their staff did not care to smile and at times appeared like they were going though torture as though they could not wait for their shift to end.

The food was simply fantastic and great size to satisfy even those of us that can eat seemingly non-stop. Atmosphere is very suited to bring a date or your closest friends. As the wine gradually sinks in you'll find yourself submersed in the atmosphere and the food with all of its superb flavours.  

Quality of Service - 7.0 / 10 

Quality of Food -  8.5 / 10 

Atmosphere and Presentation- 8.0 / 10 

Value for Money - 6 / 10

Overall rating - 7.4 / 10 

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Peko Peko (South Melbourne, VIC) - Review

Photo source: Urbanspoon.com

190 Wells Street, South Melbourne, VIC 3205 (03) 9686 1109

‎Peko Peko is tucked away in the business end of South Melbourne next to a small collection of take-aways, cafes, and sandwich shops. This place is bustling with people around lunch time so be sure to order in advance before you arrive otherwise you will wind up waiting for about 20 minutes. This is a nice place to sit down and unwind from the stresses of work. I can't say much for the food though.

You will pay 15-25$ per meal here and to tell you the truth it is way over priced for what it is. We ordered combination seafood noodles and ginger fish fillet on rice. The noodles looked like somebody popped open a pack of instant noodles and mixed it with some vegetables and prawns. The ginger fish did not taste ginger at all and was an extremely simple dish anybody can make at home.

Half expecting for this dish to blow my mind instead I found myself staring at a clump of rice, a pile of vegetables, and a fish fillet served on the one and only soy sauce! Where is the ginger and couldn't the cook use something more imaginative for the sauce? This place should not advertise like you are about to taste genuine Japanese cuisine. I found the food to be simple, bland, and unimaginative hardly worth the 17$ I paid for it.

Quality of Service - 6.5 / 10 stars

Quality of Food -  5.0 / 10 stars

Atmosphere and Presentation- 7.0 / 10 stars

Value for Money - 6 / 10 stars

Overall rating - 6.1 / 10

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