Shophouse Kitchen

Shop 29 210 Lonsdale St, Melbourne, VIC 3000

This is a new set up as of June 2013 and is a place you have to queue to get in for dinner. Surprisingly, with the crowd, it has a relatively low score on Urbanspoon and there are some really harsh comments from diners with one review. It proudly says that this is a concept by David Loh (of Food Republik fame in Box Hill, and Dessert Story), a quite renowned chef of Malaysian origin, who is also inspired by Taiwanese and Hong Kong cuisine. This is one of the few times I have to disagree with Urbanspooners - I had a good experience here at Shophouse Kitchen and look forward to coming back again when it is less crowded. I think a lot of the bad reviews were from the initial teething problems to do with service and food preparation timing. They seem to have improved since June.

The Place
This is a tastefully decorated, that befits the kinds of eateries in the area. There are lots of things to look at inside, including the upside down fortune sign (in neon lights). There is a definite buzz here and the crowd dines amenably in a rather tight space. As things settle down, I hope this place will become a more leisurely dining space rather than the current somewhat hurried feel.

It is however, a very well ventilated and insulated place. There is no smokiness and the sound level is just a buzz. You can actually hear each other without needing to shout at your friends. This is very well set up.

It's not exactly kid friendly because of the tight squeeze (but that shouldn't be over stated - there are worst places). Parking is probably easiest under QV itself.

Things to do Nearby: This is set within the QV Compound.

The Food
I believe they do use a bit of MSG and I hope I am proven wrong and they stop using this very quickly. I think it was just in the minced meat sauce in my noodles. Beyond that, there were some really good dishes. Firstly the noodles quality was excellent. We tried the Minced Meat and BBQ Pork Noodles, Braised Pork Belly Noodles, and the Crispy Wonton and Crispy Pork Noodles (all pictured in succession below). Suffice to say they were all very tasty. What I think is important to highlight is that they didn't feel too salty unlike some places that serve similar dishes (the exception was the minced meat sauce which was salty). The other meats didn't have a high level of salt which makes for a very pleasant change.

Minced meat and BBQ Pork Noodles

Yummy braised pork belly (without being too salty)

Crispy wontons and Crispy Pork

We also had some of the Panfried Chicken and Shitake Mushroom Dumpling which was really succulent and tasty, with a thinner than average dumpling skin. Then, there was the Wontons in Chilli Oil and Black Vinegar, which I felt was less stellar. Although, it had 2 little chilli symbols on the menu, the wontons were not very hot. As regular readers of my blog might know, I when I am promised vinegar and sour things, I like it to be really sour - the wontons had a more peanut sauce taste than vinegar. In hindsight, I should have added the readily available black vinegar. (Pictured right, wontons on top and dumplings below.)

Finally, when I say that Hot and Sour Soup  (pictured below) was on the menu, I had to try it. I try this item whenever it is available at a restaurant. I have to say that it was not bad. Firstly, it wasn't sweet which was really good, it had no hint of tomatoes, which is even better. There was some szechuan pepper corn in it, some chilli oil and definitely black vinegar. You can add vinegar to taste too if it's not sour enough. It had shredded chicken too. The tofu they use was not of the silken variety but just your basic tofu (which was not ideal for me). Like I said before, it was ok but not necessarily the best.

Shredded Pork and Shitake Mushroom in Abalone Sauce with Crispy Noodles

The crispy noodles was pretty yummy but you have to eat it quickly because once it gets to room temperature, it's not great and maybe there's just too much of it. You have to like shitake mushroom and abalone sauce for this dish.

Curry Seafood (tricky dish to get ride - pre-cooked seafood added to curry sauce)

The Service 
To begin with, queue management is everything when you have a new place like this. It kicks off people's impression and sets the tone for their attitude. Depending on the waitstaff looking after the queues, there are some hits and misses here. I didn't experience too many problems here and it was relatively well managed despite the cold. However, it is important that all staff who are managing the queue are able to interact with queuing customers, keep them informed or even have a discussion with them about items on the menu while they are waiting.

Once you get in, they seem to be well staffed so that you are served pretty quickly, and if you are not, just raise your hand and smile for a bit of attention. The food comes when it comes depending on what you order. So, start eating instead of waiting, it's that kind of place. Mostly, they are friendly and efficient if not very personable.

Overall
I will be coming to this place again, and again - there are too many dishes I want to try.

Cultural Moment
It's really a pleasure to see that all Shophouse Kitchen's menus that are in English have accurate descriptions and no spelling error. This is going to be a bit of a rant and is going to sound very politically incorrect but I am going to say it anyway... what is it with places that can't get their menus right - with wrong spelling, wrong descriptions and wrong contextualisations. I have seen so many Asian restaurants like this. Even the signages are embarrassingly wrong in many places.

I can completely understand this in a country where English is not the first language - completely understandable and acceptable. I don't even expect people to have perfect English here in Australia - I certainly don't - you just have to read my blog to know that. Even Aussies don't have perfect English. However, when producing a menu or a signage, SURELY a restauranteur would check with someone that they have the terms right - and that there are no embarrassing mistakes? SURELY, it's easy enough to get the people who produce the big signages to do a quick check? SURELY they have at least one random English speaker who might be able to suggest that glaring mistakes be avoided. However, this is clearly not the case.

I am going to offer my humble services - if you are an Asian restaurant owner and need someone to check your menus and signages - holler at me, and if I am available, I'd be more than happy to help out. How about that? So anyway, that's my rant done... don't throw shoes at me!

Grand BBQ Target Centre

Target Centre, 236 Bourke Street, Melbourne, VIC 3000

This is a food hall outlet with a grand name. It is the perfect place for a quick meal if you are in the middle shopping - it's not fine dining and not even casual dining - to me, it's quick dining - just above fast food dining.

The Place
It's in a mall and has its own section - essentially very much like a food hall. There's no atmosphere, it's an eat and go place. You have to fight for a space at busy lunch times and squeeze in with everyone else. It's probably better to takeaway but there's not a lot of places to sit down and eat nearby.

Things to do Nearby: This is in Target Centre - so, for shoppers, this is a place to stop for a quick meal. It's also near Bourke Street Mall.

The Food
The best things on the menu are the BBQ meats. The quality of the noodles is good and it's generally good Chinese BBQ. Therefore, any of the BBQ meats in your favourite combinations with noodles (dry or soup) or rice would work pretty well up to about 3pm. However, everything else is pretty average because of the limited cooking space, some of their dishes are going to have to be pre-cooked and then microwaved. As for the Yong Tofu - well others have written about the MSG laden soup and that's quite true here and the pieces are not fantastic in any case though it's one of the few that does serve Yong Tofu in the area.

The Service
There is none. You order at the counter, pick up your own cutlery and tea and minmalist condiments. Find a seat yourself and then go pick up your meal when your number is shouted out. It is what you would expect from a food hall and so, as long as you are aware of that and accept it, you'll be fine. They could improve on their friendliness though and perhaps be better and more gracious in helping out when requested.

Overall
Again - if I am after a quick meal in the middle of a busy day and I am dining alone - this is perfect but not for much else... definitely not for big groups or for traveling with pram.

Cultural Moment
Standards standards standards... there are some of the public reviewers on Urbanspoon and other similar sites that set a pretty high bar for all the restaurants they review - even the food hall type places. In addition, they tend to hold all these restaurants to the faded memories of the best restaurants back in the origin country of the food. So, whether they have come from those countries or have visited those countries, there are those who will say "It's not as good as in Country X".

I have to admit - I struggle quite a bit with that kind of sentiment and review. Firstly, I think it's grossly unfair to hold all restaurants to the same standard (and if you are paying food hall prices - you really have no call to expect restaurant level service). This is not to say you can't expect good food but I think contextualisation is everything here.

Secondly, I think it's also not right to expect restaurants in Melbourne to serve food to the exact replication of the best of the food back in the origin country. Why not? Well, because the ingredients are different, don't people realise that meats taste different in different parts of the world because of the way they are farmed, produced and reproduced? So, you are never going to get the exact replica across all countries where they source their meats from difference parts of the world.

Thirdly, many compare the average food outlet here to their favourite outlet in Country X. The reality is if you compare the average to the average - you won't get much of a difference. There's probably a lot more authentic and nice outlets in Country X, but also probably just as many that serve bad to average food. So, when you say, it's not as good as 'back home' - have you actually thought through what you are saying? Again, it's all about contextualisation.

Anyway, that's enough of a rant. Suffice to say, I have had bad food in all parts of Asia and the reality is, some are worse than the ones in Melbourne.

Rice Bar (Not only Rice)

121, Grattan St, Carlton, VIC 3053

What is in a name? I simply cannot work out how they came by their name... perhaps they think it might be an interesting talking point. This is one of those nominally Malaysian restaurants that offers generic Asian dishes from a range of countries from China to Indonesia to Singapore and of course, Malaysia. This is really targeted at students, though it does attract a good lunch time crowd from workers from the area. This is pretty no frills, and so, if you are expecting top quality, you need to just move on to the next restaurant. If you are looking for cheap and cheerful, then - check it out.

The Place
This is a squishy space and there's a likelihood of diners getting to know more about fellow diners than they need. This is a serious case of eating side by side with strangers, especially during peak periods. Then, you have to try and get out and weave through the limited space too. Not easy. So, it does get noisy. This is really not a great place for children because of the limited space, unless if you want to sit outside, by Grattan Street - in which case you have to watch them, or put them on a leash.

Things to do Nearby: Lygon Street is really close by.

The Food
There are hundreds of offerings here but the question is, do they do it well? I don't know that they actually do a bad job of it all though nothing really stands out. Yet, it does continue to attract a good crowd. So, it is a mediocre restaurant with a range of some good dishes while others are less stellar. There is not a whole lot of pride (in my opinion) in their presentation, given the speed at which the food comes out.


Rice Bar Special Beef Brisket on Rice - the veg was cold

The speed at which they bring out the food is pretty amazing, which basically means that you have to expect a proportion of pre-cooked food. It's that kind of restaurant. There's a range of SEAsian dishes here that are not bad, but there are no real stand outs. In fact, the one disappointment is that they have taken my favourite dish off their menu - Hakka Stewed Pork with Black Fungus. Very sad.

Other mainstays of SEAsian dishes include Hainanese Chicken Rice, Char Kway Teow, Curry Noodles, Nasi Lemak, Tom Yum Soup, Laksa, Kung Bao Chicken, various Fried Rice.

The Service
The service is basic and really efficient. The food does come out really quickly though not in order that suits all the diners at the table at the same time. They don't make a huge effort with the casual diner, though if you are a Cantonese speaker and a regular, they might step it up a bit and be friendlier. Otherwise, don't expect any engagement.

Overall
I would go there ocassionally when I am looking for a quick no fuss meal. I think that these sorts of restaurants have a place in Melbourne, because there is always a demand for cheap and cheerful, with relatively tasty

Cultural Moment
Dining with strangers is not everyone's cup of tea. Dining with strangers, who are speaking at the top of their voices, is definitely not pleasant. However, this is more common practice than you think in many parts of  Asia. It's probably less popular here in Australia as culturally, we do like our space and privacy.

However, many of the Asian restaurants have probably not actually factored for this and assumed that diners here are just going to behave in the same manner as those back in Asia. Their target audience is clearly international students from those nations that are used to this. The risk of course, is the annoyance from the wider group of diners that would struggle with this.

For me, if I am dining alone, this can provide interesting entertainment for the 30 minutes or so you are there. You learn all sorts of things about people's attitude toward just about anything under the sun, from politics, to the Universities, to 'manhunting' (from a group of girls), to the quality of food.

China Style (Chinese Cafe)

743, Swanston St, Carlton, VIC 3053 (Entrance from Grattan)

This is a no fuss fast food joint with a range of Chinese and Southeast Asian dishes. It is best good for a quick lunch if you are very hungry as they serve big portions. It's a basic eatery that caters mostly to students at the University. This space has seen a few incarnations since it was opened (including China Bar at one stage) - this latest offering has chefs with stronger Northern Chinese influences (rather than Southeast Asian or Cantonese).

The Place
This is actually on Grattan Street though the building has a Swanston Street address. It's a basic eating space with rows of tables in and outside. The ventilation is ocassionally bad enough that you come out smelling very much like the food they serve, especially when it gets busy. It's a bustling eating space around lunch time with many students and some staff. Expect to have someone knock into you at some point of your meal especially if you are sitting a bit far out from the table. I am never sure about sitting outside by Grattan Street with the traffic just zooming by (would you like dust with your meal?). None of these have stopped the large numbers of students who dine here. There is no parking to speak of here.

Things to do Nearby: Lygon Street is not too far off.

The Food
This is basic hawker fare aimed at a hungry crowd of students. I am just going to state it up front, if you are really into healthy food, this is not the place for you. It's not really high quality food but there's a lot of it, it's very down to earth, and has a real punch (they don't hold back with flavouring). The dishes do tend to be a bit more oily and the cuts of meat also have fat in them. In addition, the food comes out pretty quickly in order to get the students back to classes...

Some of the highlights here for me include:
Salted Fish and Chicken Fried Rice - (I do ask for less oil) The are generous with the salted fish and it's always quite tasty. However, there's a lot of it and it gets boring after 10 mouthfuls... sometimes, I pack it to have later... but beware of leaking oil... yes, salted fish oil is never good in the manbag.

Szechuan Style Chicken and Beancurd Rice - Again with the oil but this is spicy, sweet, savoury and yummy but it's harder to hold back on the oil. Anyone who's had Szechuan style dishes would know that chilli oil is usually part of the deal. You either like it or not. This is generally a nice dish but the chicken can be fatty too.

Black Fungus, Shredded Pork and Egg on Rice - Very easily my favourite dish here, with a healthy dose of fibre and protein with a heap of carbs. It is tasty and non-spicy, and for me, the textures of this dish is what sets it apart from all the other dishes here.

Shredded Pork and Fragrant Fish Sauce on Rice (pic to the right) - This is a classic Szechuan dish that's very popular in the region. The one here is a bit more vinegary (just how I like it) but again, it's greasy. If you like bamboo shoots and black mushrooms in a garlicy sauce, this is it. It's a huge serve as you can see.

The other dishes are ok and they do have a wide range of dishes including Southeast Asian dishes like Char Kway Teow and Hainanese Chicken Rice, but just note that they are cooked by Chinese Chefs, so it's not as authentic as you might expect.

The Service
The service is pretty basic like all such places. They are never rude and the food is usually served very quickly. As far as a fast food joint goes, this is pretty good. However, it does get busy and very harried at times, so don't expect too much.

Overall
I'd go there for lunch when I want a quick meal and can cope with the level of oil. It's not the place for a lunch meeting though, just a quick meal or a takeaway.

Cultural Moment
It is commonly suggested that you need to look at the clientale of restaurants to know the target audience of the restaurant. The clientale at China Style is mosly mainland Chinese students, most times I have been there. What I find really fascinating is the collectivistic/communal dining that I often observe here. Although most of the offerings here are individual dishes, it is totally not unusual to see the students eat off each other's plates.

The food here is very similar to some of the more basic eateries in Shanghai and the Szechuan regions. The flavours are strong and they don't hold back on the grease either. Obviously, this resonates with the Chinese students and they keep coming back. I have just one question... how do they have all that grease and still manage to be half my size? Both the men and women!!

Secret Recipe (Melbourne Central) CLOSED and CHANGED HANDS

Melbourne Central - Store L03, 308, 211 LaTrobe Street, Melbourne, VIC 3000

http://www.secretrecipeaustralia.com/index.php/Locations/melbourne-central.html
In Singapore and Malaysia, I only ever went for the dessert and not really for the meals. They have the same cakes here which are fantastic but that's not what this review is about. The desserts are not Asian inspired and range from blackforest cake to cheese cake - all very yummy! However, that's not what this blog is about. How did the Asian dishes hold up? In my opinion, not very well.

This is a Halal certified cafe and to my knowledge, the only Halal restaurant in Melbourne Central.

The Place
This cafe is set within Melbourne Central in an almost hidden corner, next to Nando's on Level 3. Blink and you miss it. Parking within the Melb Central carpark is entirely possible. This is a relatively open cafe with not much ambience. It's relatively spacious and because of where it is situated, can be somewhat noisy during peak hours.

Things to do Nearby: You're inside Melbourne Central and across from the State Library.

The Food

Usually comes with Prawns :) This is ok but not 'Penang' enough

The food is not completely authentic or like what you might get back home. Their best dishes are not their "Asian Classics", meaning there's not a lot to rave about. The most recent Asian dish I tried here was the Penang Char Kway Teow - which had very little Penang influence because it didn't have the spice, the smokiness, and the finer kway teow (flat rice noodle) common to CKT from Penang.

Their Shrimp Wontons  are less wontons and more 'money bags' but relatively tasty.

Overall, the serves here are really small for the price one pays, especially the Asian dishes. I actually left, still feeling hungry, which hasn't really happened in any of the other restaurants I have blogged about thus far. An average meal with a drink would easily come up to near $20 - not your cheap cheerful Asian eatery.

The Service
The service is inconsistent and not very attentive. They are friendly enough when they notice you and generally very nice. However, they lack the consistency means that sometimes, you get good service, and sometimes, you could be sitting there playing on your phone for a while unless if you call out to them.

Overall
I would go to Secret Recipe for the cakes, that's the highlight for me here. Not a place I would go to if I wanted Asian - which is ironic - given they are a Malaysian chain. When next I am in Singapore and Malaysia - I might go try their dishes and see if they are comparable.

Cultural Moment
What is halal food? In Arabic, Halal means 'lawful'. The opposite in to Halal is Haram (which is prohibited). Foods that are prohibited include pork or any by product of pork; blood; animals not slaughtered in the name of God; Alcohol; and Carrion. There is a prescribed Zabiha methodology in the slaughter of animals under Islamic law. In many parts of the non-Muslim world, there are some Halal certified restaurants and cafe which serve food from a wide variety of cuisines (such as Secret Recipe, that also serves pasta and a range of meat and 3 veg options).

There is also sometimes, the question of whether kosher food is similar to halal food? To my knowledge, they are different primarily because one of the requirements is the Zahiba method of slaughter of the animals, which includes the pronouncement of God during the slaughter - not required in kosher practice. Then, there's the difference in the treatment of alcohol between the two as well. Clearly, they are not the same in all circumstances.

Tom Phat

182-184, Sydney Road, Brunswick, VIC 3056

http://tomphat.com.au/

This place scored 83% on Urbanspoon and I believe it used to be higher. This is a limited review because I have EVER only been for brekkie/brunch on weekends. It's a great place for breakfast with a difference. The best way to describe the food here is that  it is Southeast Asian Contemporary fusion.

The Place

Cafe style place with couches, tables for 4 or 2 (moveable) and a big 'sharing' table up the front. The place works and has a nice feel to it. Relaxed and comfortable generally (though the tables are pretty close to each other). This place is also pretty child friendly with spaces for prams

Other things to do nearby: Situated on Sydney Road, there's heaps of shops around and Barkly Square Shopping Centre is close by.

The Food

I like the food here because it combines elements of my favourite things. It has the best of Western Brekkie and Eastern Brekkie. So, here we go with the highlights;

Roti Omelette - we're talking shredded roti, laced with scrambled eggs and bacon, with chives. Come on, that's good right? And it's done really well, the roti is light, the eggs are fluffy and the bacons are flavoursome. It's all good.

Yunnan Baked Free Range Eggs (pictured above) - with sweet tamarind pork. This is another great combination, with the generous slice of bread. Takes me a while to get through it as it usually comes hot out of the oven. It's one of my most favourite breakfast meals ever!

Goan Scrambled Eggs with Chorizo - this is good but there's heaps to get through. As in, there's a lot of fluffy goan spiced scrambled eggs. :)

Sweet Corn Fritters - I like this too but sometimes, the fritters could get a bit dry. However, it comes with salmon, avocado salsa, and harissa mayo (you could ask for a top up of the mayo perhaps).

They are heaps of other interesting dishes and I must say, they are really vegetarian and vegequarian (pescatorian) friendly. Also, a number of gluten free items. 

Nods to Robbie and Ev, who both LOVE Uncle Ho's Brekkie (pictured right).

The Soft Shell Crab is also yummy and for the kids, French Toast with Bananas... lots of bananas.

I also quite like the Stirfried Angus Minced Beef with Basil (pictured below) which has quite intense flavourings. It's a huge serve, this one and might be worth sharing especially if you are thinking of having it for brunch.

 

Probably the most disappointing thing on the menu would be the springrolls which are completely underwhelming.

The Service

The service used to be really friendly and easy going but efficient. However, I tend to agree with some of the more recent reviews on Urbanspoon that the current crew of waitstaff seem a lot less interested in their customers needs. Pretty brusque and hurried (even when it's not that busy). A smile is a rare thing these days though the staff behind the counter continue to be relatively friendly.

Not sure what it is, and I don't mind it because it's not as if they are rude or anything - it's just now what it used to be, though the food continues to be of excellent standard.

Overall

I am going to talk about the clientale here - I just want to say that because the tables are so close together - how do I put this - do hipsters and aging hippies all talk so loudly that everyone close by have to know what's happening in their lives? I guess it's part of the atmosphere and it can get amusing sometimes. However, if you are there really early between 9 - 10, even during the weekends, it's usually relatively quiet.

A Cultural Moment

Southeast Asian Breakfasts can be pretty substantial and involve cooked meals. Unlike many Western cuisines, where there are clear breakfast foods, SEAsian foods don't always make that distinction. For example, you could have congee or laksa or pho or wonton noodles or roti (with curry) for brekkie or lunch or dinner.

So, if you are at a hotel in SEAsia where brekkie is included, you are in for a feast - it's usually more than your breads and spreads, bacon, eggs and hashbrowns. You are more likely to encounter food that you might think is inappropriate for brekkie - just remember - they don't make that distinction.

Rose Garden BBQ Shop

435, Elizabeth Street, Melbourne, VIC 3000

Scoring 91% likes on Urbanspoon, and 8.4 on Eatability, this place is as good as it gets when it comes to low cost Southeast Asian (SEAsian) fare that never fails to satisfy in terms of taste, portion size, and consistency.

The Place
Really small space with strangers sharing very small tables. If you are there between 12 and 2pm, or between 6pm and 7pm, good luck getting a seat. However, if you are in a queue, you won't have to wait long. The turnaround is quite phenomenal and a takeaway is a really short wait too.

Other things to do close by: Queen Vic Market is 2 minutes walk away, and Melbourne Central is 5 minutes in the other direction.

The Food
This place serves the usual south Chinese, southeast Asian fare. It's what would be termed in the region as hawker food. This means that most of the dishes come with rice or noodles and is a complete meal on its own. I have been there many many times and the usual favourites include:

Lots more Chilli Flakes these days.

Salt and Pepper Chicken Ribs (pictured right) which is probably the most popular dish at this joint. If you are eating in during a relatively busy time, I am willing to bet you will see at least 4 - 5 of these being served up. Crunchy slightly spiced chicken rib on rice, with broccoli on the side (almost a garnish).

Salted Fish Fried Noodles, which is basically the dish that got me into trouble with my Mum. I brought my parents to this place a couple of days before they were leaving Melbourne the last time (they had been here for nearly 3 months). Once they had the salted fish fried noodles, Mum said "You waited till now to bring us here? What's wrong with you? We have been here 3 months!" 'nuff said.

Shredded Pork and Mushroom with Fried Noodles (Sum See Min), another favourite of mine with slightly crispy noodles dowsed in the soy-based sauce of pork, shredded preserved shitake mushroom, beenshoots and carrots. Really good!

With more than 120 choices, I haven't tried all of them but if the crowd is any indication - it's all mostly good.

The Service
Cheap and Cheerful. No fuss, no demands. Get on with it, have your free potent Jasmine tea and just be patient. The food comes within 5 minutes. The ladies who run the place know what they are doing and what you ordered almost unfailingly when you go up to pay.

Overall
I would recommend this place to even punters from Southeast Asia because I have that much faith in it. My Mum's seal of approval just confirms it. A great place for a quick meal under $10.00

A Cultural Moment
Hawker Food is traditionally sold by hawkers on the streetsides of Southeast Asia. Hawkers traditionally sell one speciality, so, you might get the Fried Noodle Hawker who sells a couple of styles of fried noodles, or the BBQ Pork hawker who sells just that.

In the last 30 years, countries like Hong Kong, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore have constructed Hawker Centres, bringing together many different stalls selling their specialties in the one space. This was done not only for convenience, but also for hygiene and the changing landscape of SEAsian streets. More recently, in Australia (the last 20 years), the Food Courts of the mega shopping malls are the closest thing to Hawker Centres of SEAsia. The main difference is that they sell vastly different foods.

Rose Garden is one of those places that sells so many different dishes which would normally be the domain of singular stalls in Asia. There are many of those in Australia, but most of them don't do it well, Rose Garden is the exception - they know their SEAsian food.