Thursday 26 June 2014

Fish 'n' Chips in Melbourne's Ever Changing Weather [Derrimut Sea Catch]

2/20 Derrimut Road
Derrimut VIC 3030

Hello everyone (:

It's been a bit since my last post hasn't it?
Well today is probably my most unique post.
Today's post is sponsored by 'Menulog - No.1 for Online Takeaway'.



For those of you who don't know what Menulog is, it is a company who has set up their services to allow everyone to get food easier through an online website. Through the website you can find your local restaurants, their menus (with accurate prices) and what time they're open from and to as well :)
Payment through this is easy as well, since you have a range of debit/credit cards while also the option to pay in cash.

Okay this all started when I got an email about two weeks ago from Menulog's company saying that they liked my blog and would like for me to write a post about a local take away restaurant in my area! (OMG right? :O)
To be honest.... at first I really thought this was some sort of scam but it really wasn't so I was over the moon to be given this opportunity ~

They gave me a voucher and I ordered some lunch for me and my friends.
The place is called Derrimut Sea Catch.
Their menu had a good range from burgers to flakes to chips to vegetarian options too. It was a well balanced menu which had a good appeal to most people :)







Well excited? I was ~

Free food is always nice but to able to blog about it too? Now I'm having fun haha













Burger with the LOT! :)
Most fish 'n' chip places have it and it's one of the things that needs to be tried.
Given the time it took to be delivered to my house caused it to cool down a bit and also most of the juices were at the bottom by the time I ate it, overall it's a nice burger which filled me up ~



This looks familiar no? :P
This is the 'Pack for 2'.
What you get:
- Flake x2
- Dim Sims x2
- Potato Cakes x2
- Calamari Rings x2
- Serves of Chips x2
That's a lot of food. :9



The flake was 3-4 parts flake to about 2 parts batter which is fine for most people. I would have like the flake to have a slightly less batter but that's my preference.
Dim Sims and Calamari Rings were what you'd expect so not much to comment there.
Potato Cakes are a treat, never too much potato for them :)
The chips were what I expected, crispy at first but as it cooled down.. they got soggy.


Wrap up!

I'll admit that this was not a fine dining meal nor was a meal like the rest of my posts.
It is however a decent meal to fill you up on one of Melbourne's ever changing weather days.
There were a fair amount of things that could of been better, however I believe most of those things wouldn't be a problem if I had gone to the restaurant and ate it there.

That's not to say, I didn't like the Menulog service though. It was simple to use, very quick and everything happened accordingly to what was stated. I ordered my food, the order went through, I got an email from Menulog confirming it and then I got a text from the store telling me what time my food would arrived. I will use this service again most likely.

Food: 6.5/10
Menulog Service: 9/10 (Will explain the missing point in a moment)
Price: 7/10
Overall: 7.33/10

Okay the missing point from the Menulog service is from the slight bug they have in that if you switch out of the app on your phone, it resets your order. It's still in basket but say you had to look for a voucher code at checkout (like I did), it'll put you back to their menu. My only issue.

For the price.... it was $36 all up. Which is a slightly higher price I would like to pay but the portions were pretty good.

Another sad fact is this place isn't on Urbanspoon! :(
I've tried to add it in and if it goes through, there shall be a link added~


IMPORTANT! READ!
I'm glad to have your attention now. This part is the most important part of the post.

What is happening is that, if I can get enough interest then Menulog will be giving me a voucher to give away to you guys! If the giveaway happens then I shall setup some seperate accounts that you all can follow and get entries into the draw (twitter/facebook/instagram etc)

So please spread the word! I really want to do this for you guys! Would be so awesome :)

Finally this was from the West Sunshine Take-Away restaurants for Menulog and this was restaurant Derrimut Sea Catch.

Okay this was suppose to be a short post but turned out quite long ...

Until the next craving kicks in,

R

Friday 11 April 2014

Korean is the Way to Go (: [Anju Restaurant & Bar]

18 Little La Trobe St 
MelbourneVIC 3000
Hello everyone~

Seems like some of you still use my blog for some references. Thanks for that!
I see my ranking on urbanspoon has dropped a fair amount (from ~150 to 494 T_T)
Guess it's time to change that by getting back into the groove of things.
Today's images all came from my phone (Sony Xperia Z1) which it may look different to my past photos ~
Nevertheless, I am back and I am starting off with a Korean restaurant I've walked passed a few times: Anju.



"Anju" is a typical Korean word which means Korean Food consumed with Alcohol. So that's exactly what happened.

Anju takes typical Korean food and adds a little western fusion as you can see later on :)

This restaurant is fairly popular and I would recommend you booking before arriving or expect to be disappointed. I went with a friend and we were lucky enough to get a seat even though it was at the bar.







     

A unique feature of this restaurant is their menu. It is in an envelope which one would normally use to post letters. It is as though they are sending you an invitation to enjoy their food. Really is an interesting way to present it.



Let's move on from their interesting menu to their stunning interior.

Starting from the Left Image: The Bar.
Honestly speaking, for me, the spot at the bar is a spot I would rather not be. There are of course a few exceptions to this which I don't mind. One was it seemed they couldn't put us anywhere else (it was only me and a friend but whatever) and two, the food was prepared right in front of us. Who doesn't enjoy a show while you wait? Given the smell of the food just made us hungrier but that was a given wherever we sat.

The Middle Image: The Front Seating Area.
A simple design which didn't overpower the restaurants own charm.

The Right Image: The Back Seating Area.
This has the same simple design however a bit more privacy was attained with the positioning of the tables.

Overall, a very nice atmosphere.
Rice Crisps w/ Peanuts






To start us off: some Rice Crisps w/ Peanuts. I have no comment on these except they were very well made and certainly prepared us for the dishes to come.












The Starter: BBQ Corn
BBQ Corn w/ White Miso & Gochujang (Chili paste) $4 Each
I actually was expecting this dish to be just the kernels on a hot plate with the White Miso and Gochujang (Chili Paste). That isn't to say it wasn't a pleasant surprise. The corn had been brushed completely with the flavouring of the White Miso and Gochujang while finishing it off with some lime. This was a very flavoursome starter having the moistness of the kernels while also having just a bit of outside charred from the barbeque.




Fried Half Chicken with House
made Spicy Sauce Served with
Nectarine Coleslaw $26

The Main: Anju Fried Chicken
I believe most Korean restaurants will have a specialty for their Fried Chicken and this is Anju's.

The Fried Chicken was cooked very well, the outside having just enough crunch while the meat on the inside was juicy. The spicy sauce is kind of ... exaggerated? I didn't feel that much spice but it might be because I have a fairly high tolerance of spices.

The coleslaw was surprisingly delicious. I usually expect a somewhat dry and tasteless coleslaw but I was proven wrong here. This coleslaw had a slight citrus taste to it and it was very refreshing.

 Side Note: The chicken dish had peanuts in it so be careful!


Pint of House Beer $11







OH! Almost forgot the beer :)
It was a house beer called Little Creatures! It finished off the main amazingly. Should definitely have it if you go here. Very light taste and not very bitter.









Wrap Up!

Anju

I really have no complaints about the taste of the  food here. It was simply amazing. However the portions could have been a bit more considering they recommend that everything be shared.
The service was pretty nice and very welcoming.
The price was somewhat steep having our total bill come to $56 for two people.

Food: 9/10
Service: 8/10
Price: 8/10
Overall: 8.33/10

Very nice food, very nice dining area and a price to match. I will definitely come back here to try their sliders and steak!

Anju Restaurant & Bar on Urbanspoon


More cravings to come,

~R