ABC Chicken

I have been told by my Korean friend M, many times that this is the best Korean fried chicken in Melbourne. So finally last night I went to try it with a few friends. Located on the west side of the CBD, it was easy to find as it was right on the corner of Queen and Abeckett.

When I walked in, it felt like I was in Seoul again, the layout was a combination of modern, cute cartoon words and a slightly warehouse feeling. I could smell the sweetness of the sauces at the door, this made me pretty excited. As I said in my previous post, Gami is my favorite but I am always up to see if there is better out there.

The menu gave a varitey of options for fried chicken flavors.


We tried the soy garlic and the sweet chilli. Both the chickens came heavily battered with generous amounts of sauce covering it. The soy garlic had a strong garlic flavour with just the right amount of stickiness. The sweet chilli wasn't exactly sweet. It was pretty spicy even though we ordered mild, but I have a feeling that the waitress didn't put the order through as mild, as her English ability was limited.

Corn cheese is always a must for me, when I get KFC. This corn cheese have very little close to no mayo so it's not as sweet. There was a very generous amount of cheese so when it was hot, it was stringy and cheesy. However, the cheese solidified pretty quickly and wasn't as good anymore.

The boneless sweet chilli chicken with cheese was the highlight out of all the dishes for me. Popcorn chicken bite size with generous amounts of cheese.

Seafood pancake was very quite and had heaps of calamari in the centre. 

Overall 14.5/20 I love the innovation and variety offered. Only disappointment was the cheese corn but that's only a small factor that can be easily rectified.

Takumi

Takumi prides itself in being a waygu expert. They offer a Japanese styled BBQ as well as a range of yakitori and a la carte menu.

We went for the all you can eat waygu BBQ. You get an 1.5 hours to eat as much waygu, ox tongue, salad, vegetable, miso soup and rice. Instead of adding $15 per person, we also order an extra plate of seafood.

The waygu is a decent grade and you can easily cook through 1 plate easily. Very clear marble on the meat.

For those who like something with a little less chew, the ox tongue is great if you just sear it. Make sure you don't overcook it.

You can a salad with sesame dressing a plate of vegetables to keep you going when you don't feel like anymore meat.

They call last order when you are 1 hour into your session.

I read quite a few reviews saying that the service was bad, but we found it quite the opposite. The manager was very friendly and even reminded us that if we dine with 5 people in the future, that we can ask a friend along because the 6th person is free, even with et card.

Overall 14.5/20. It's a bit pricy but if you can eat enough waygu, then it's worth it.

Sorry this post is a bit shorter compared to normal. It's a bit difficult to judge the cooking, when you are cooking it yourself.

Gami

For those of you who don't know me, I am actually a really big fan of Korean food and in particular, Korean Fried Chicken (KFC). D and I actually went to Seoul a few years back, and searched high and low for the best fried chicken. So, as you can tell, we are quite dedicated. 

Gami was one of the first shops in Melbourne to offer Korean fried chicken and still a place I visit when I get a craving (yes I do get weird cravings). D took me here for date night and I couldn't have been happier (yes, I am all class! Give me fried chicken and I am over the moon!) =P

Gami is a fried chicken and beer shop, so don't come here expecting KBBQ, bibimbap or bulgogi. They have 2 shops on either of the CBD, one on Little Lonsdale towards Spring and another on Healey's Lane near the courts. I generally go to Healey's Lane, as I find it easier to find parking and get a table.


Gami offers a range of different flavours for their fried chicken but my favorite is the sweet soy garlic. The crispy, battered coating is a well balanced garlic soy with just that touch of sweetness. It's finger licking good.

For those who don't like the stickiness, they also offer original which doesn't have a flavoured glaze on top. For others who want something with just a small kick, there is the sweet chilli flavored fried chicken. Though I still think the sweet soy garlic is the best.

Kimchi pancake or seafood pancake: that is something I always struggle choosing. This is a reason why I always try to come as a small group (hehe). This time I went with the kimchi pancake, it wasn't too oily and had ample kimchi in the centre. The only downside was the sauce, far too salty to match the pancake.

Cheese and corn. This is exactly as the name states, CHEESE and CORN..... ok well maybe a bit of mayo too. Something so simple but so good. This is one of the reasons why I always go back to Gami. I have had other cheese corn before but I still think Gami does it the best.

I am normally not a beer drinker but for some reason, when there is KFC, I would reach for beer. However I make it a tad girly by mixing Sprite with it. For those non beer drinkers out there, I would recommend you try the beer/sprite combo with your fried chicken.

Overall 16.5/20 I really like Gami's style and the consistency in their fried chicken. I know some people argue that Kass Kass, ABC and Chimac have better chicken, but Gami has a soft spot in my stomach (heart). I know I will always get what I'm after when I come here, with the crispy chicken and cheese corn to be exactly what I expect it to be. If you haven't tried it before, I definitely recommend it. It's not too expensive and if you grab a few friends, who doesn't like hanging out while feeding on fried chicken and beer?


 

Kokoro Ramen

Located in Lonsdale street, it's a bit of a walk if you work on the office side of Collins St. As the name suggest, this place specialises in Ramen. They offer a wide range of flavours and variety of ramen. Their broth ranges from miso, shio to shoyu and of course with everyone's favorite tonkotsu base.

You have a choice of what type of thickness in noodles you like as well.

My favourite is the Sapporo miso with Soft Shell Crab. The broth was very full of pork and miso flavours, I love the slight spiciness in the soup. The egg was cooked beautifully, still marginally runny. The soft shell crab was a bit on the small size but the robust flavours made up for it. The noodles were cooked perfectly not too chewy or too soft.

Also there was the Tokotsu Shio with soft shell crab. Don't ask me why but everyone on the table got either one of these. This was the salt based tokontsu option, I added extra corn into mine. The soup was thick and the noodles were al dente. Shame they downsized the crab, it use to be a lot bigger.

If you are in town and feel like a quick ramen fix, I would highly recommend Kokoro.

Overall 15/20, it's a good, fast ramen shop that really hits the spot when you are hungry.

Tuck Shop Take Away

OK I think I have found my new burger favourite burger place! Fitted like a school tuckshop (or some may like to call it, a canteen),chalkboard menu; Tuckshop Take Away is a small corner shop located in Caulfield. But don't be fooled, this isn't just some burger place headed up by Joe Blogs. The owners are not newbies to the world of food. From my research, I found out that between the husband and wife team, they have worked at Attica, Vue De Monde and Fat Duck. So to say they have a pretty damn impressive CV is an understatement.

Enough background, onto the most important thing.... the food and milkshake.

The burgers come in 2 options, beef or vego. So beef it was, and in a meal option for me! The meal comes with a burger, triple cooked chips, tart and a drink. Sounds average? Don't be fooled, let's start with the chips; crispy on the outside, fluffy on the inside and with just the right amount of salt (definitely a big WIN in my eyes). I actually can't decide if the best part of the meal was the chips or the milkshake... 

The burger, just bought back memories of wanting that burger so badly while waiting in line, at the school canteen but only it was way better than the stuff you get at school! Great patty and when you add an egg it, makes it even better. The patty ticks off the all boxes (ie, texture, juiciness, flavour, awesomeness etc...)

For the tart I picked jaffa. The pastry was crumbly and soft and the chocolate was still soft and runny. Couldn't really fault it, just wish it was bigger or I had another one.

Also had to try a jaffle, went with the pulled pork with smoked cheddar bechamel. I haven't had a jaffle since highschool and it was oh so good! It sounds quite simple and plain on the menu but when I started eating, I started to prefer it over the burger. Soft pork pieces were to die for.

Finally the drinks, we got the redskin milkshake and the raspberry cola. The raspberry cola was made on the spot with a soda stream and their own mix. Not too sweet and old school flavours. The redskin milkshake.... where do I begin? It was AMAZING!!! You don't normally hear me gush like this but it was red skin but creamy but not to a point that it was too thick and sickening.

Overall, 18/20. Everything that I had I liked/loved. I just wish they had a bigger store, shorter lines and even more things on the menu. The price was fair (actually I would go as far as saying, damn good, for the quality that you get). I can't wait to go back and try more milkshakes, I have my eye on the nutella milkshake and hopefully get my hands on a sundae too next time!

The Grain Store

Located towards the shady side of town (near the corner of King St and Flinders’ Lane), this is not something you would normally walk past, when you are in the CBD. Grain Store is more known for its coffee and brunch menu but with a couple of friends, we decided to be adventurous and try the dinner menu instead. When you walk in, the place has a beautiful mood to it, you walk into a light room filled with flowers and soft decor.

We were given bread to start; it was fresh focaccia bread. The bread was lovely and soft, a tad sweet and a bit too oily for my liking (it reminded me of the round Chinese doughnut).

We got 2 entrees to share. The smoked duck fillets and quail with black garlic; and the scallops. On first impressions when the scallops came there were only 3 on the plate, we had 4 people and we told the waitress that we were sharing. I found it disappointing that she didn't advise us there were only 3 per serving. If told, we could have ordered another one or something else. The seared scallops were served on a delicate pea puree and crackling. I loved the idea of the crackling on the plate.

The quail and smoked duck fillet was an interesting dish. The meat had just enough smokiness to it and it paired with caramelised parsnip. I found it quite nice and interesting.

For mains I got the sirloin steak. There was a lot going on the plate as the picture shows. My favourite part of the dish was the mushroom tartlet. I loved the play on visual. I asked for medium rare and it was cooked correctly and not overcooked.

D got the duck breast. Served with potato pearls (just small balls of potato), burnt blood orange and a very generous bed of almond dukkah, snowpea and whole grain salad. This was a very big dish and lots of elements on the plate. It was quite nice but I think altogether it was a bit much. I would have loved to have the salad on its own, or see if served as a lunch dish with bits of duck in it.

K got the pork cheek. This was a very fatty and crispy on the outside. The meat inside was nice and tender, but as a whole dish I can see it being very heavy. The butternut squash puree does well to balance it and the baby vegetable makes it feel less guilty.

We also got a couple of carb loaded sides to share. We picked the fries with chipotle aioli; and the rosemary and parmesan polenta chips. The fries were very disappointing, the main thing that caught my eye on the menu was the chipotle aioli part and it was hardly chipotle, felt just like a slightly coloured aioli. The chipotle needed to be stronger in my opinion. The fry also wasn't a fry, it was thick cut, so it should be called a chip. The rosemary, parmesan polenta chips were a lot better, strong rosemary and parmesan crumbs on a crisp and fluffy polenta chip.

We never got to dessert because we were pretty full after mains and wanted to save room for N2.

Overall 14/20. It's an interesting take on fine food. Creative with big serving sizes. Just I think it's too much going on 1 plate for most of their dishes. It good but I think their menu could do with some fine tuning. I would go back, as I'm still interested in trying their brunch menu.

Andrew's hamburgers

I have heard heaps about this place, and it always pops up whenever there is an article about burgers in The Age. I've driven past it a few times and thought it was time, I finally gave it a go. Located on a row of shops in the residential side of Albert Park, it's a small local shop and nothing fancy to it.

You should be able to spot it quite easily, as there are a few seats outside and generally a small bunch of people waiting for their burgers. When you walk in, you are greeted with the smell of patties cooking and freshly cut onions. You look up and you will see an old school menu with burgers, dim sims, potato cakes and chips. Look to your right, and you'll see photos of the famous people that have visited.

Their special menu has their most popular items. D got "The Lot" with a steak patty.  Wrapped in butcher paper and brimming with sauce, it is one massive burger. With egg, bacon, lettuce, tomato, cheese and onion on a bread roll... it is not stingy at all. So big it was hard to bite into. I think the appeal on this place is how no frills the burger is. The steak patty was nicely cook and could be easily bitten into. However don't expect any special sauce or brioche buns. It's more of a caravan park burger. You would be excited if you got this from a caravan park but not so much when you had to drive to Albert Park for it

I got the Hawaiian burger with the beef patty. Again this was a massive burger, with beetroot, pineapple, cheese and tomato. Unlike The Lot, this was not as heavy. The patty wasn't anything special though, but for what it was, it was done nicely.

We also got the regular chips to share, this was a massive bag of hot chips that reminded me of the ones I use to get from the canteen in high school. Very heavy handed with the salt and you dunk in watered down tomato sauce. Bought back memories and I (secretly) enjoyed it. In saying that, I am a soggy chips person!

Overall 12/20. I found the place a bit over-hyped. In terms of value it is a massive burger with heaps inside. Maybe I'm too accustomed to what D calls 'hipster burger joints', I still prefer places such as Huxtaburger, Grill'd (not that hipster anymore), Hammer Tong etc. The price of $10.50 for a burger but with some many other options on a similar price point I will not be making a trip back. To be fair, in terms of that local fish and chip or burger shop, it does do well and better than other of that genre. Just not my cup of tea.

Gypsy and Pig

It was D's birthday, and what better way of celebrating it than with lots of pork belly! I read about this place a few times in the paper, and my friend K highly recommended it. It is a tiny little shop decorated with lots of pigs. With a centre bench where you can sit and watch the chef cook and 2 tables of 4. This place defines the word cosy!

To start we one of the specials, the Kurobuta handroll. This was fried pork cutlet sushi with cucumber. Nice way to start a Japanese meal, generous amounts of sesame on the outside for that added texture. 

Also, we got the fresh waygu tataki with garlic soy vinegar. We weren't really expecting too much, (I might be a bit of a snob, as I'm use to the Nobu's beef tataki with ponzu) but the taste really grows on you. The waygu was cut paper thin and the sauce went really well with it. At first the sauce felt too strong and overpowered the waygu flavour, but with each piece I liked the sauce more.


For mains we got the crispy kurobuta belly with vegetable and spicy soy vinegar in a set and the hot pot special of hot stone cooked pork belly with eggplant and kimuchi (Japanese kimchi). The crispy pork is as the name suggest very crispy and the sauce compliments it well. Along with some cabbage and beanshoot, it would make a good meal for a lot of people. The hot stone pork belly with eggplant, in my eyes, was just pork belly bi bim bap. The sauce was nice and had a nice tangy and tiny bit of spiciness to it. However I think I prefer the crispy pork over this one. The raw egg on top when poked, poured over the rice to give the rice the texture of freshly fried egg coated rice. I really like that part.

When you get the mains in a set, it comes with miso soup, potato salad, spinach and some slaw.

No dessert review as I was too full to fit in dessert.

Overall I rate them a 15.5/20. Everything was nice and pleasant, good range of pork belly. If more textures and bigger taste were introduced, it would be even better. D was definitely one happy piggy by the end of the meal!

Old Kingdom - Surrey Hills

In the world of Peking Duck in Melbourne, Old Kingdom is a famous name. Don't come here expecting anything fancy, this place is far from a kingdom. The tables are covered in butcher paper (we were told it's easier to clean off the duck oil splatter that way) and lot of tables with not enough waiters.

With the Peking duck you can have it with 3 styles of eating (ie, Peking duck pancake, noodles/bean shoots and soup) for $55. Each duck comes with about 14-16 wraps, and the duck is normally carved on your table. For those of you who don't know this, the duck used in Peking duck should not be the same duck as you would normally get as a roast duck in the Chinese BBQ variety. A Peking duck is normally more dried out to allow the skin to crisp up. Anyway, it as good too see that Old Kingdom followed the traditional route and served a duck with nice crispy skin on thin warm pancakes. 




For the second style, instead of just bean shoots we opted for noodles for an extra $8. We got both their crispy noodle and ramen (it's not really ramen, I think the guy who wrote the menu didn't understand the definition of ramen). This was a massive serving but if I had to pick, I prefer the crispy noodle as that crunch was a nice pairing with the thick sauce, duck meat and bean shoots. The softer noodle just felt a bit cluggy and heavy.
The last style of eat was the duck soup with Chinese mustard. Maybe my mum cooks really good soup at house, but I just didn't rate it. It tasted just like MSG broth with chunks of tofu.



For our mains, we went a bit overboard and ordered a few too many dishes. There was the Mandarin pork, which was quite disappointing, it tasted a bit like food court Chinese take away. The pork was too soft and the sauce was too sweet.
There was the Pi Pa tofu, not a bad execution but also not excellent. You might start noticing the trend of me not liking heavy sauce finishes here.
Balachan Kangkong (water spinach), I don't know why they would call themselves Chinese/Malaysian on Urbanspoon, they clearly didn't know what this dish was suppose to taste like. Just bits of prawn paste and not enough chili or garlic.
Garlic pawn, again a very very thick and heavy garlic sauce served with a variety of vegetables. The sauce was too thick and it started to set on the table when we were half way through dinner.

Salt and pepper flounder, it was a good take on this family classic but just needed a bit more pepper to it.

Lastly my little cousin and I got the fried ice cream for dessert, purely for the novelty factor as she has never had fried ice cream before. Fried ice cream was gold brown on the outside which was good to see, but the shell that they made had a very high coconut factor. The dessert would have had a slightly nicer texture if there was a higher cake content in the shell.

Overall I think this place is purely a Peking duck place, all other dishes were very average (some I would call below average). Their Peking duck is one of the better ducks, I've ever eaten... but all their other dishes is not something I would go back for. If I was to revisit, it would just be me and the boy, a Peking duck, noodle and soup (that would equate to a very happy Ness). I would give them a 18/20 for their Peking duck but if it was an overall score it would be 13.5/20

Maru Meru

I found this little surprise one lunch time. Located near Hawthorn station, it's a little Japanese shop (by a mother/daughter team) that specialises in Japanese street food.

As I was there by myself I had to visit it twice for this review to get a better notion of what they offer. On the first visit, I got their okonomiyaki. Unlike other Japanese restaurants and take away stores, Maru Meru offered a wide range of flavours for your okonomiyaki. They also do it in a lunch special option where it's drink + okonomiyaki for $10. I opted for the pork with a calpico (just to channel that inner fob). The actual dish is quite large in size. I did struggle to finish it, after half way in I was already really full. The exterior was nice and crispy and the inside was still moist. I found it a tad too sweet at times due to the amount of sauce, but I think that's more a personal preference. I would have preferred more vegetable and less batter but overall the flavours were great and enough to make me want a second visit.

Second visit I got the yaki soba and takoyaki. I am a big takoyaki fan, so when I saw them I had to try them. They had a range of flavours ranging from traditional to mochi and cheese for the takoyaki, but I didn't feel very adventurous and just went with the original octopus. I noticed that the size of the takoyaki was bigger than places like Shuyun and  Mr Ramen San. When I took a bite I was so glad to find a big piece of octopus in the centre and it was delicious. Not just full of batter, but bits of ginger and tempura. It was very soft so it didn't hold together as well, as soon as I took a bit it kind of fell apart but the flavour made up for it.

The yaki soba also came in a $10 combo, I went with the pork yaki soba and it didn't disappoint. Generous size, with heaps of meat and vegetables.

They also do crepes but I haven't had the opportunity to try it yet.

I think I found my new favourite lunch spot. I give them a 17/20

Le Belle Miette

If you are a bit of a macaroon fan like me, then this name should be familiar with you. It's a little macaroon shop where you can enjoy a nice cup of tea with your macaroon.

Le Belle Miette, offers a nice range of flavours and they do them well as well. Unlike the more modern macaroons, their colours and range are more conservative.

My favourite here has always been the sake cherry blossom and the blueberry. The have a jam like filling in the blueberry macaroon which intensifies the flavour but keeping the integrity of the delicate elements on the rest of the macaroon.Their vanilla is also a clear example they use vanilla beans and not just vanilla essence. Oh and passion fruit is also another one with nice strong but elegant flavours.

They also make great gifts, I love their packaging. Cute boxes and nice pastel colours to match their macaroons. If you are a tea lover, they also serve Mariage tea.

Overall their macaroons are not overly sweet which is something I always looks for and the shell is just crispy enough that it melts in your mouth and not to the point it's crunchy. If you like macaroons, you really need to try these. I tried to look for a fault in them, but I really couldn't find one, think the only thing that would have been nice to see if there were more innovative flavours, but I think their selling point is not quirky flavours.

 If I had to score it, it would be a 4.5/5 in my books!

Shandong Mama

I keep hearing about this place, I keep reading about this place and it keeps popping up in the newspaper.... So I caved in and tried it out.

Out and about on a Friday night, I was just after a quick and cheap dinner.... so dumplings felt like a good choice.

My partner and I got their famous boiled fish dumpling, which has a fish, chive, coriander filling. Unlike other dumplings, this is delicate in flavour. Don't go in expecting meaty and juicy because you will be disappointed. The way the fish filling is made, it's not mushy and had a element of 'bounce' when you bite in to it. However without any dipping sauce, this dumping can borderline and taste quite bland. It is suppose to be served with a dipping sauce made of soy sauce, vinegar, garlic and sesame oil. When you order it, they don't actually bring it out, you have to ask for it. I had mine with vinegar and soy sauce (occasionally a bit of chilli oil as well). Once dipped in sauce, it is quite nice, but still on the delicate side.

We also got a pan fried dumpling with a prawn, black fungus and chive filling. Of the two dumplings, I preferred this one. I think the crispy skin and the stronger flavours is something I prefer in a dumpling. The dumplings were wrapped in a cannoli fashion, with thin pan fried skins. The filling has prawn flavours through out. This is not your usual cheap dumpling style.


Overall I give it a 13.5/20. The fish dumpling is different but personally I still prefer stronger flavoured dumplings. I found it really disappointing that you weren't given the dipping sauce with the dumpling and that you had to either asked for it or make it yourself. We weren't told about it and I think that really influenced me in what I liked the fish dumpling. Service is like any other cheap Chinese restaurant (being no service). For dumplings, it's not really that cheap compared to other 'fast' dumpling places. The prawn dumplings were $12.80 for 10 and the fish dumplings were $14.80 for 10. Most other dumpling houses charge less than $10 for more than 10 dumplings. It's nice... but slightly over hyped.


 

Meat Wine & Co - Southbank

I always find this place a dating hot spot. It's steak, nice atmosphere and right next to the Yarra. Perfect venue for a nice stroll after dinner. For me it was actually family dinner and not a hint of romance.

As the name suggest, I wouldn't recommend a vegetarian come here for dinner (or lunch). Due to the size of steak and I can never fit a 3 course when steak is the main, we skipped right to mains.

I got Monte Grain Fillet, medium rare. The meat was tender and beautiful, this is one of the reasons why I really like about Meat Wine & Co., I find it a real turn off, especially at a steakhouse when I ask for a steak to be medium or medium rare and it comes out pretty much well done or blue. I ordered blue cheese sauce to go with mine and the creaminess of the sauce was a great pairing with the steak. The fluffy and crunchy chips were also a great winner.

Mum and Dad both got the Monte Grain Rib eye, and both were quite impressed with their steak. Only challenge was the size (350g)!


My sister got the bbq ribs, she got a half rack but it was still a massive serving. The pork ribs were slow cooked and when you bite into it, the meat just fell off the bone. The marinate was a very intense flavour, personally I found a tad too sweet but my sister and dad didn't seem to mind it at all.

For sides, we got green beans with hazelnut and onions. The beans weren't baby fresh and were a tad old, however I did like the caramalised onions and hazelnut. The hazelnut gave it that nice crunch. Another side we got was the potato, this was herb crusted and had a nice crispy skin. 

As part of the Citibank reward program, we also got a free bottle Feet First Merlot. I am no expert in wine, but it was enough to keep me very happy through the whole meal.

We never got to dessert, as mum and dad both struggle to finish their mains alone.

Overall 16.5/20. Great steakhouse most of their steak have a decent marble score, but it's not top tier fine dining. As good as their steak is, I still think it's not refined as places such as Rockpool. I would definitely recommend you come here and I would come back myself. Service wise, I think it requires refining. One of the waiters spilled a drink on my mum, lucky it was water but her dress was drenched. We got an apology, but in other restaurants you would normally be offered a complimentary drink or at least a follow up call. I am not saying that I am hoping to get something free out of it, but it's more the gesture.

George's Paragon

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.

We went for the half price lunch menu and started out with the three in one oysters. A dozen oysters in natural, Kilpatrick and Mornay. I loved the fact it came with an assortment as I love eating oysters and when I have to pick, I always pick natural even though I do enjoy the occasional Kilpatrick and Mornay. The Mornay had a good amount of cheese but not too much that it was overpowering.

Also got the seafood chowder to share. Quite creamy.

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.

Overall 4/5. For a half price menu and getting all that for less than $100, I couldn't complain.

Steer Lunch Special

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.