Showing posts with label Melbourne. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Melbourne. Show all posts

Saturday, February 4, 2012

FOOD-OUT: Sichuan House [at] Melbourne CBD


The Husband often talks about the places he'd go for lunch with his colleagues but when we go to dinner we often just end up at some same old place. Which results in me going, "eee, you never take me anywhere...". But yesterday we finally made plans to go to this Sichuan House that he had been raving on about.




The interior is nothing to shout about- there was still a Christmas Tree-looking decoration on the wall, with a "fook" (good luck) sign (for lunar new year) stuck in the middle of the Xmas tree. Not exactly artistic nor impressive.

There was a bit of a commotion when we arrived about 7pm- the credit terminal was down, so people had no choice but to pay cash, to the stress and horror of the Aunty who looked like the owner. We were able to be seated immediately but the queue soon became incredibly long.




The first page of the menu had a "spicyness" legend- note "tongue burning hot"!!

We (despite being Asian) could only stomach mild and moderate chilli, so steered away from "tongue burning hot". I also had to insist that we ordered 1 dish that wasn't red and orange in colour.




The sole "chilli-less" dish (as according to their "spicy-ness" legend on the menu) was yummy. Slivers of pork tossed with a mix of veggies. Loved the crunch of the tea tree mushroom.




Omigawd this was eye-rollingly good. Like an Asian, ultra-intense version of the eggplant chip- crunchy on the outside, soft on the inside, tossed in some sticky-sweet chilli sauce. A must-order. Rated "mild chilli".




Rated "moderate chilli", I managed this dish just fine. But I must admit, I did pick through the bits, careful not to eat any dried chilli. Also another yummilicious dish!! Loved the roasted peanuts in there too- they balanced the tenderness of the chicken just fine. Yum yum!


Overall judgment?



Looking very much forward to the next visit!

Sichuan House on Urbanspoon

Monday, January 30, 2012

FOOD-OUT: Lentil as Anything [at] Footscray

I've been talking about wanting to come here to try for ages and ages - had made plans with an
ex-work colleague to catch up here since last year (last year, being a month ago :) ) but we ended up having to cancel on each other.

FINALLY, about a week ago, we managed to find ONE day when neither of us were ill and we could actually meet up!

 How it works (apologies for the bad photo)




I've never actually eaten at any of the outlets before, but I've noticed that the Abbotsford Convent one does get busy. I like the concept, about how you pay what you can for your meal. Those who can afford to pay, pay; and those who can't, don't. Unfortunately I have heard that the business has not been doing well, which is a pity - it makes you question how it may be possible for a business to show grace but still be sustainable.

Buffet setup

Anyway - Lentil as Anything, Footscray, has a buffet set-up - you grab a plate and pile on what ever you can (I can just hear my mum right now, "make sure you finish everything on your plate! Do you know how many starving kids there are?!")


My plate o' dinner

Oh - did I mention that it's a vegetarian restaurant? 

I piled on some salads, some curry, some pasta but loved the dhal best (that's the orangey-red blob of lentils on the bottom left hand of the above photo). Dessert was apple-crumble - not a massive fan.

Had a coffee after dinner (espresso machine present) and it was actually not bad!

My friend J and I had a discussion during dinner about what would be considered a reasonable amount to put in. After discussion, we agreed that if you could afford to pay, anything between $15-25 would be a reasonable amount.

What do you guys reckon?
Lentil as Anything on Urbanspoon

Sunday, January 29, 2012

FOOD-OUT: Waffee [at] Altona

Having heard about this Waffle and Coffee (hence, Waffee) place from friends who travel all the way from the city, I decided that it was definitely a must-try place. After all, it's only a stone's throw from work!

So far, I've been here twice, and the coffee and waffes have not disappoint.

Do my eyes deceive me?! A rosetta this far out in the west??!!! Hurray hurray!!

Waffle display

Half-dozen assorted waffles served

Initially I had expected to see large waffles serves with syrup and ice-cream ( I suppose these are the American ones that I'm more familiar with, rather than the Belgians ones that these guys make); so I was surprised to see neat and dainty looking ones. Textures are lovely - crisp on the outside, dense and a bit doughy in the inside. Flavours include the raspberry & white chocolate (a tiny bit more expensive, but it's pretty darn special - think jam donut in a waffle form drizzled with white choc!), chocolate (stick or glaze), cinnamon, blueberry, coffee, amongst a few others.

There's pretty much nothing else apart from  waffles and coffee (or tea/chocolate/etc) but it makes an awesome morning/afternoon tea break! Or an early morning (think they open at 7:30am on weekdays??????) more-than-decent coffee.

Yum.

Score 1 for 'da west side! 


Waffee Waffle+Coffee on Urbanspoon