This place is close to the office, so we've been here for lunch a few times. They have a $29 lunch special which includes a steak and a glass of wine or beer.
For the lunch special you get a choice of 3 cuts. I went for the blade option, but they somehow got it wrong and gave me scotch fillet instead. I didn't complain as I was running short of time for my lunch break. The steak I got was actually beautifully cooked, perfectly medium rare (you would be surprised by how many steakhouse stuff up cooking the meat). It was soft and not too chewy, the meat had great flavour. It came with a side of chips and salad. For a $29 steak cooked this well,
it was great value in my eyes.
My colleague who got the blade as I had originally ordered, agreed that it was a really good steak too and cooked perfectly.
Overall 4/5! Great value for lunch! Only downside is the service; over the few times I have been for a meal, I have noticed a varying degree in their service standards.
Being in the area and having a Entertainment book voucher, this seemed like a good place to hit up for lunch. Before going in, I read a few reviews and I was a bit concerned as most of the reviews talked about their bad service and also not accepting the ET book vouchers. This got me worried, as I had only suggested this place to my friend because of the voucher.
When we walked in, we were greeted with a very friendly waitress and the entire place was very neat, clean and tidy. As we were using the voucher, the only thing not valid on the menu was the combo, which I think was fair enough.
I got the Buta Kararage Ramen which was deep fried pork strips with cabbage, egg, black fungus and I added corn to it as well. This would normally also have a bit of greenery, but I don't like spring onions so I always order it without this. The pork strips were surprisingly nice, it wasn't too oily and the inside was still juicy. The broth isn't as thick as places such as Little Ramen Bar and Kokoro Ramen but the flavour was still strong and not bad for a chain ramen store.
My friend got the Gyoza Ramen. The gyoza pieces were juicy and had a bit of crunch; the filling had a higher vegetable to meat ratio compared to the typical gyoza you get but it was still a nice gyoza especially for a soup noodle. The noodles were al dente so just as I like it and able to soak up the soup flavour.
As a side, there was also the soft shell crab. This was nothing extraordinary, but I hardly ever say no to deep fried soft shell crab.
It was a stinking hot day so the green tea ice cream spider went down very fast and very well. I want to try to make this at home - now I just need to get my hands on some green tea ice cream!
Overall I would come back to this place. It does aim to be a student food/fast noodle venue so don't go expecting top service and fine dining, but it does hit the spot for ramen cravings. 13/20!
This is one of those place I use to go for lunch all the time (burger special) when I worked in the city. Headed up by Shane Delia, it is considered one of the top restaurants in Melbourne. With a great middle eastern atmosphere to match the food, this place is great for a night out or date.
We got the 4 course shared menu and before i even go further, it was heaps of food and we were full to the brim.
First course was hummus with lamb, almond and cashew served with a flat bread; a selection of olives; cured salmon with asparagus; salad of greens with oyster cream and pork crackling. All this was to share and was only the start of the feast ahead. The hummus was beautiful and fluffy and that lamb just made it "more than just hummus". I loved the salad with those little bits of pork crackling which gave it that crunch factor and really elevated the dish. The salmon was a good tasty way to start the meal and complimented the rest of the dishes.
Second course was zucchini, haloumi fritters served with taramasalata; Turkish dumplings with garlic yogurt, mint and pepper. I love taramasalata so I kept going back for that, however the fritters weren't anything special. Nicely fried but nothing that makes you go "wow". The dumplings I found really interesting, they were tiny bite size pieces with lamb pieces inside. I really didn't know what to expect with this and I was pleasantly surprised. It looked quite bland when it came to the table but it was actually very flavoursome.
Third course was roast lamb shoulder; fattoush; fish and; a cracked wheat pilaf with tomato and dill. The lamb was so soft and juicy but sadly by this point we were already struggling with the quantity of food. The fish was also another dish that I kept going back for more - it was beautifully crumbed. The cracked wheat pilaf didn't really do much for me. I was hoping for something with stronger flavours, but it was more on the bland side, compared to everything else served. The fattoush was served with tomato and cucumber and was the light dish - it really balanced this course out and was a great compliment.
Fourth course was dessert: there was Turkish delight filled doughnuts, mastic pudding and watermelon beetroot ice cream with rose water granita. The Turkish delight doughnut are one of my favourite things on the menu; it's oozy centre with the sticky honey, nuts and ice cream is a winning combination. The mastic pudding was a big disappointment for me. Last time I went i remembered this to be amazing and I couldn't get enough of both the pudding and the chocolate dirt. But this time... it did nothing for me, actually I didn't like it at all. The flavours were too strong, and not great scents to be strong in a dessert. I really wanted to dig a few more spoonfuls into the pearls but I just couldn't bring myself to it. The watermelon and beetroot ice cream with the granita was a nice and light finish to the meal.
Overall I would say it's a 17/20, it's not just the food here which is good but the service is always attentive. When I walked in I was seated at the bar and all the staff were friendly, our waiter checked on us at various times over the course of the meal to make sure we were enjoying ourselves. When we finished we were given rosewater for our hands. It's really the finer details here which makes it a stand out. On a side note, the bartender on the night, George, was entertaining while I waited for my friend to arrive.
This place has been around for a long time now. It's situated right next to the Yarra River inside the Crown complex. Headed up by Neil Perry, known to be one of the best chefs in Australia.
I have been here quite a few times over the years and I always get the same entree. I love their Waygu Bolognese. The fresh al dente pasta with the rich tomato waygu sauce. I've always found it really surprising how well this dish is done here but a few doors down at Rosetta (which is also a Neil Perry restaurant, but just Italian themed) does it so poorly. This sauce is a very meat heavy sauce but you still don't get that 'overloaded' feeling. In my book, it's a must try.
If you come to Rockpool, you have to have a steak..... unless you try their steaks, you haven't dined at Rockpool before. Served with horseraddish and beanrise sauce on the side and your choice of musturd and barbeque sauce. It is recommended you try the natural flavours of the beef first and it is always a beautiful cut of meat. If you order medium, it is perfectly pink in the centre but cooked on the outside. It is definitely the best steak in Melbourne!
We also got the waygu oyster blade braised with red wine and served with potato puree. The meat on this was so soft it melted in your mouth. The red wine sauce was rich and intense, then together with the fluffiness of the potato. It was quite an amazing dish. It was massive though, I wasn't able to finish it and was very sad I had to leave that waygu on the plate.
Now for the sides, this is actually my favourite part after the waygu bolognese. We got the Mac and Cheese and as the name suggest, it's macaroni and cheese served with speck. This was a very dry mac which made it perfect as a side. It still had enough cheesiness and sauce which is what I love about this dish.
Rockpool is pretty famous for their potato gratin, we get it everytime we come... and we always regret it. It's not that it's a bad dish but it's very heavy. The scalloped potato slices with the cabbage is beautiful immersed in a strong cheesy flavour but along with the heaviness in the mains, it's always a big struggle to finish.
Lastly there was the green beans with creamy anchovy dressing and almonds. This sounds rather boring but with all the heaviness in the other dishes, I really appreciated the light and crisp aspect of this dish. The anchovy dressing wasn't over powering but just right. Only downside was I think they put too much dressing on the beans.
Overall I would give it a 17.5/20. There is really little that I will fault the dishes, I just wish I had a bigger stomach. The service is attentive, it is well deserving of it's reputation.
This is a place I visited a few months back but forgot to post about. Situated on the sunny South Bank of Brisbane, it was a perfect place with the perfect view on a sunny weekend.
For mains we got the Kanoni which was Morton Bay bugs and BBQ prawns; and the Barouti which consisted of Morton Bay bugs, scallops, prawns and barramundi served with white sauce on rice with chips. Both of the bugs were cooked nicely, with the juices maintained and the meat still tender. The BBQ prawns were in my opinion a better option to the garlic prawns as the prawn taste was not overpowered.
