Preparation Food :9 [Shanghai Street Dumpling]

Haiii! :P
Apparently there are people who read this :O
I am shocked honestly...
Anyways tomorrow I'm heading to Adelaide for a bit and like... there's nothing there so I thought might as well catch up with my friend Jasmin for lunch :9

Place of Lunch this time? Shanghai Street Dumplings!
I saw this place ages ago, like start of year or something but every time I go,
it is full on packed D:< A fair few people keep telling me to go
so I prepared myself for the line and went ahead with it.

Damn that line -.-
It is really like this or worse all the time.. D:
The design of the area is quaint though. :)

The inside is kind of small and a bit cramped but oh smells so nice :9
You can't resist that once you get in.

 Okay I lied. I didn't wait in line. I'm not that patient. Me and Jasmin went for takeaway :P

Homemade Boiled Peking Dumplings (Pork); 15 Pieces: $8.80
This was Jasmin's choice. Pretty good. The dough was soft but wasn't to the point
where it just fell apart all over the place. It was just right and then the Peking Pork inside was pretty flavorful.

Chinese Spinach & Pork Wonton Soup; 12 Pieces: $8.00
My choice :) I personally always like the spinach dumplings/wontons.
It gives a slight different taste to the normal ones.
These ones were alright, I could taste the spinach but the pork had too much flavor
which overpowered the spinach in my opinion :(

This is how we ate. Going back to our asian ways ;D
I'm glad they did takeaway, really saved me and Jasmin since we were pretty hungry!

Introducing Jasmin ;)
Look at that concentrated face LOL
Glad she could come with me, was good to see her again ^^

Wrap Up!!

Shanghai Street Dumplings 
Okay, so the food first.. I enjoyed what I got. Not too bad. Both sets of dumplings were very flavorful and decently priced for the amount we got. Service I can't really say much since it was just passing takeaway order. Overall I liked it, it's not the cheapest place in Melbourne but for value-wise; it's good :)

Food: 8/10
Service: 6/10
Price: 8/10
Overall: 7.33/10

I'd recommend you try it and see what you think! :) Pretty good for a dumpling place.
They're at: 342 Little Bourke Street, Melbourne, VIC 3000

My next post will be about a restaurant in Adelaide hopefully! Look forward to it :P

Til next time,

-R ;9

A Lazy Saturday [Mocha Jo's & Chimmy's Bakery & Café]

On a lazy Saturday no one has any motivation for doing practically anything.
Well fortunately I did have some motivation, only because it involved food though :P
Me and a couple of friends got together for these two restaurants :9 Please enjoy.

Stop #1: Mocha Jo's
Was suggested by a friend and looked it up on urbanspoon.
Good reviews and pictures so why not? :9

They display their menu outside like this :O
It looks professional and neat.

Their outside dining area is simplistic and looks great!!

Their inside doesn't lose in appearance either.
Various decorations and the atmosphere is most welcoming :)

Butter Chicken Curry $24.90
Tandoori marinated chicken breast pieces simmered in house made butter curry,
jasmine rice and warm roti bread.
This was what I decided to get. A tad expensive yes but filled me up so much :O
The chicken was a bit firm but just right, it went well along with the butter curry.
The roti bread was quite nice, a bit difficult to tear apart but that's the fun of it :)
The rice was nothing special in my opinion but it went well with the curry when I mixed it in ~

MJ Chicken Burger $19.50
Mustard marinated chicken breast, smashed avocado, sun dried tomato, crispy cos lettuce,
Spanish onion, melted tasty cheese, chunky chips and house mayo.
Clarinna decided upon this and she gave me a part of it.
All the elements melded well together making a fairly tasty burger :9

Lemon Pepper Calamari $21.90
Fresh calamari dusted in lemon & pepper seasoning, cherry tomato, roquette & parmesan salad
along with chunky chips and mustard mayo.
Ellyana got this, we were all eying this one though :P
The calamari was crisp and had a good amount of flavour with it!!

Ellyana with her Calamari D:

Clarinna with dangerous knife.. .____.

Me with straight face because that's how I am 8D
Nah, Ellyana just took the picture when I was telling her how to use my camera lol

Stop #2: Chimmy's Bakery & Café
We had time so we headed down to Richmond and urbanspooned this. :9
Low ratings but still had a lot of people going to it so we were intrigued.

Damn, look at them food & drinks /drools

White Heaven $6.40
Soft and creamy just like how it should be ~

Chocolate & Caramel Mousse $6.40
Can't pass off this.. just read that name again ;D

This cake cut quite easily and all of it just melted in my mouth, really like heaven~

If the other one is heaven, then this must be hell tempting us and succeed in that it did D:
The caramel was just right and not too chewy and the chocolate was soft enough to compliment the dessert.

Wrap up! :)

Stop #1: Mocha Jo's
The food was great; really filling and delicious ~! All the staff were really friendly, they made us feel welcomed even though they were really busy too! :O My only regret here is not coming on a weekday and saving myself around $10 on my meal :(

Food: 9/10
Service: 9/10
Price: 7/10
Overall: 8.33/10

I'd recommend you to go here for a weekday lunch, no regrets for that :)
They're at: 87 Kingsway, Glen Waverley, VIC 3150

Stop #2: Chimmy's Bakery &  Café
We came at the closing time which was quite unfortunate. They were packing up but they still allowed us to have our desserts on the table outside which was very nice ^^ Both cakes were delicious and I was quite happy with both of them. Decent pricing for them as well :9

Desserts: 9/10
Service: 9/10
Price: 8/10
Overall: 8.67/10

Another definite recommendation!
They're at: 342-344 Bridge Road, Richmond, VIC 3121

Clarinna has a food blog as well so please check her blog out too! :)
Just click here --> Clarinna's Blog
 
Well that's all from me this time ! :)
Hope you enjoyed my reviews and pictures~

Til next time,
 -R :9

Post University Hungers [WonderBao & That Place]

New Post! :)
Been able to do this a lot more probably because food is quite easy to do and it's delicious :9

Me and my friend Shane went to uni for our morning classes and then well.. neither of us enjoyed staying at uni any longer so off to the city for a meal it is! :D

Stop #1: WonderBao
An interesting restaurant who provide cheap and delicious steamed buns :)
Watch out though, don't use the urbanspoon map function as of right now (140912) because it says they are somewhere between Bourke and little Bourke street...

Their menu is simplistic and gets the point
while also giving all the information you'd need

Their front kitchen seems busy but gives a feel of authenticity

A view from outside shows a fully packed restaurant area, no room for me :(

My choices: Roast Pork Belly Gua Bao (Front; $3.80) & Da Pork Bao (Back; $3.20)
The pork belly was incredibly nice and went well with the pickled carrots, daikon & hoisin sauce.
The cucumber was not a necessity for this in my opinion.
The Da Pork Bao (egg, shitake mushroom & chinese sausage) was fairly average for me.
There wasn't much dough or meat which led to a gap between them when I bit into it but it was decent for the price.

Shane's Choices: Braised Pork Belly (Front; $3.80) & Choi Bao (Back; $2.00)
Shane: The braised pork was nicely balanced; the pork melted in my mouth, the sauce was sweet, the pickles gave acidity and the bun was soft and plump. The vegetarian one was nice but lacked strong flavour, it needed more filling I reckon and the bun was the same.

Homemade Soya Milk $2.80
Me and Shane both got one. Both thought it was standard, nothing special.

Stop #2: That Place
I found this cafe a few weeks ago and wanted to try it.
Mainly because it was called 'That Place' and it was fun messing with Shane about it.

Their interior looks really nice.
Really Spacious and so much options to choose from.
This is not your standard cafe. :P

Their decorations on the wall look nice, kind of weird but it works for me :)

Shane got the Coffee (above) and the Scone (picture below) $5
Shane: I only had the scone and coffee so I can't give it a proper score.
Coffee is all the same to me and the scone was okay.

Scones with Jam & Cream
In my opinion; for $5, that's a good deal. :P

That Lunch Special $10
Cal's Beef Burger; Homemade beef pattie with Leafy Greens, Tomato, Melted Cheese & Relish.
A side of chunky chips as well ;9
Now that's a lunch special haha
Beef broke apart as I ate it, it was cooked medium rare which went along quite nicely with the other ingredients.
The chips were fried quite nicely and with some seasoning which really hit the spot.
The tomato sauce made the presentation quite nice but not necessary for taste :)

This is SHANE :D
He only agreed to the photo that I would edit it with black & white filtering.
He's good food company and he might be starting a food blog soon too! :)

Wrap up! :)

Stop #1: Wonderbao
The environment was welcoming even though it was so fast paced. Actually it was probably the strong smell that was the most welcoming thing xD The service was great for me but not as great for Shane unfortunately haha ^^" The food was not too bad for the value.

Food: 7/10
Service: 8/10
Price: 7/10
Overall: 7.33/10

Shane's Score
Food: 7/10
Service: 6/10
Price: 7/10
Overall: 6.67/10

I'd recommend you try this place :)
They're at: Shop 4, 31 A'Beckett Street, Melbourne, VIC 3000

Stop #2: That Place
A cafe where they have good atmosphere and good food. The service was fairly decent and I think the pricing was very good for what I got :D

Food: 9/10
Service: 7/10
Price: 9/10
Overall: 8.33/10

This is definitely a place I will go back to sometime soon! :)
They're at: 408 Bourke Street, Melbourne, VIC 3000

I was incredibly stuffed from today's events. Hope you like my reviews and pictures :9

Til next time,
-R

Food to avoid the awkwardness :) [Red Silk & Giraffe Cafe]

Hello again to whomever reads this~ :3
Today I finally got the chance to meet my friend Linda :D I don't know about others but like I'm really awkward when meeting someone in real life for the first time ._. So easiest way out? Food~ :D

Stop #1: Red Silk. It's an old restaurant that I've tried in the past and
I was hoping they could live up to my expectations :)

I still love their entrance~ Looks so inviting :9

The specials are displayed on the wall, really pulls you in :D

Fried Rice Noodles with Chicken in Black Pepper Sauce $9.80
It was an alright dish. Too much sauce and pepper for my liking.

Katsudon $9.80
Linda loved it but said a bit too much rice. :)

Stop #2: Giraffe Cafe
Everyone has told me this a must try so I went and finally tried it today ~
When I entered first I was quite skeptical because it looked really small in area
and options but I was pleasantly surprised.

Their interior designs and decorations are absolutely beautiful.
It truly makes you feel at ease :)

They have so much decorations it just makes you stop and admire everything.
I felt very comfortable here even though it was my first time coming in and it was all due to their atmosphere ^^

Introducing Linda~ :D I had a few more shots of her but this was the only one I was fairly okay with :P
Was quite interesting to meet her finally :) Glad she could join me today xD

This is how the waitress knew which table to bring our food to *.*
It's so fascinating haha

Raspberry Cheesecake $7.50
This looked amazing and Linda seemed to love it ;9

Blueberry Belgium Waffles $8.50
I enjoyed this quite a lot. The fruit broke apart as I ate it, the waffle was crisp
and the blueberries were just right that went altogether with the ice cream and chocolate <3

Wrap up! :)

Stop #1: Red Silk
It was an alright experience. They took quite a while to bring out our food and didn't seem that friendly. The food was okay for me but Linda liked her one more than I liked mine haha. The price was standard price in my opinion.

Food: 5/10
Service: 5/10
Price: 7/10
Overall: 5.67/10

It's okay now. Use to be better I think :(
Check them out if you like, they're at: Level 1, 200 Bourke Street, Melbourne, VIC 3000

Stop #2: Giraffe Cafe
Okay I'll admit, I really do like this place. Relaxing atmosphere, great food but not so much service so yeah :\

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

Definitely must try this place. Really is amazing. :)
They're at: 302 Little Lonsdale Street,Melbourne, VIC 3000

That's my take on it all :) Big thanks if you read this !

Til my next food hunt :9
- R