Restaurant Reviews – Page 10

Café Buade – Quebec City Series

August 29, 2014 Posted in American, European, Food Reviews, French, Italian, Quebec City, Restaurant ReviewsLeave a comment

Café Buade was our first meal in Quebec City, after arriving by train from Montreal. Already lunch time, the Old Quebec City was packed full of people and tourists (like me!), we finally found a restaurant that looked quaint and food that was reasonably priced.

Service here was great actually, and even though they do speak in French initially (of course), they do respond in English without much hesitation. Probably because it’s a tourist hotspot, but it puts us at ease nonetheless.

The food here has a mix of Italian, French and your burgers, steaks and grills.

We ordered one of their grills, which comes with coleslaw, fries and topped with a BBQ gravy and peas. The gravy was quite bland on first impressions, and it was in dire need of pepper. The fries were also a tad on the dry side of things, although super crispy as you can see. Overall, I found it to be a very average dish.

Their Salmon salad is quite fresh , with their salmon, capers and onions with a dressing. Not particularly my type of dish but it’s not bad if you like salmon and capers.

Their Hamburger steak, served with sautéed onions, vegetables and your choice of a side and sauce (I chose mash and gravy) was a decent meal. Hamburger patty moist but the mash potato was lacking in pepper, creaminess and smoothness you would often find in a good mash. It doesn’t leave a lasting impression but it does fill you up.

Impressions

Overall, our dining experience at Café Buade can be summed up with just a few words. Very average. From our meals, I couldn’t think of any highlights or anything that stood out in anyway, other than that you’d get a decent feed here. If you’re here for a limited time, like we were, I’d probably suggest finding another restaurant to dine at.

Café Buade (Menu)
31 Rue Buade
Quebec City QC G1R

Movenpick Box Hill

August 8, 2014 Posted in Box Hill, Desserts, European, Food Reviews, Restaurant Reviews, SwissLeave a comment

On Groupon we found an offer for discounted vouchers basically e.g spend $20, receive $30 worth so we thought it was a good incentive to give Movenpick in Box Hill a try. The Movenpick brand of Ice cream I believe originated from Switzerland and I recall the first time coming across a Movenpick store was in Harbour Town, Docklands. However, that store has since been closed and I never did get a chance to try their ice creams, however tempting it was.

Now with the vouchers, we wanted something of a snack and so we ordered the waffles with chocolate flakes and syrup. One of my better experiences having waffles was in Theobroma Chocolate Lounge at Spencer St and those were beautifully crispy but so light and fluffy inside with the sweet, chocolately goodness on top. Unfortunately, the waffles made (?) here are soft and possible frozen and reheated or just not cooked long enough to give it a crunch. It is very soft and almost doughy, and if it didn’t have the amount of syrup and chocolate flakes I don’t think it would have gone down all that well to be honest.

The ice creams were also a little lacklustre, the Espresso Coffee one was actually quite nice with a strong coffee hit but it was extremely sweet. The Maple Walnut scoop on the other hand was just overall very average but I guess the plus was the walnuts as that added crunch however for what seems like a premium Ice creams store, the ice cream flavours that we ordered didn’t really leave a good impression at all and I don’t have that high of expectations for ice cream in general.

The Green Tea Smoothie I found was actually very nice, sweet but the matcha flavour comes through exceptionally well. I quite enjoyed the smoothie but it is rich and very sweet.

Impressions

Unfortunately, I found Movenpick to be underwhelming and considering it is a dessert store, the desserts really weren’t that great all things considered and I’d probably even just go to a Wendy’s if I had to choose based on value for money. A bit of a shame.

Movenpick Box Hill

Shop 53A
1 Main St Box Hill, VIC 3128
(Near the Commonwealth Bank Box Hill branch)

Third Wave Cafe Prahran by Night

July 4, 2014 Posted in American, Australian, Food Reviews, Prahran, Restaurant ReviewsLeave a comment

I’ve previously dined at Third Wave Cafe in Prahran (just off Commercial Road x Chapel St) and tried their breakfast/lunch menu which you can check out here and I was thoroughly impressed by their dishes. Third Wave Cafe have generously invited my friend and I to try their dinner menu where their specialty is slow cooked, smoked meats and fish American BBQ style. Although their BBQ meats may be the attraction for some, they also have a Paleo menu and even dishes such as burgers and quesadillas to try. So for those that have tried Third Wave’s breakfast and lunch menu, it provides a small window into BBQ dishes but only when dining here in the evening will you find their expanded Slow Smoked BBQ menu.

We ordered the Pork Ribs (450g/Half Rack), which were absolutely delicious. The pork is tender, easy to slice off the bone and cooked to perfection with just the right amount of BBQ flavour. Served with the Pork Ribs, are two different BBQ sauces, the Spicy BBQ sauce and Apple Bourbon sauce, both having their subtle flavours that match the barbecued ribs. I love the spicy BBQ sauce in particular, as it’s smokey yet not overpowering and the spiciness gives the ribs a little kick but even then you could go without any of the sauces as the ribs are seasoned beautifully with the tastes of southern American cuisine.

Third Wave’s Chicken (Medium Plate) was also fantastic and it really isn’t a surprise anymore that the food here is a step above. From their menu’s explanation, it details that the chicken is marinated overnight and smoked using Maple wood for many hours. The chicken is moist, and the aroma of the smoked chicken is salivating. Often Chicken that is barbecued is tough and dry, and I find it very difficult to cook well but here they have done the chicken justice. The chicken here, like the pork ribs above is served with two different BBQ sauces which I believe one was the spicy BBQ sauce.

For sides we ordered the Confit Kipfler Potatoes (Medium Plate) which are Kipfler potatoes confit in duck fat and seasoned with salt and rosemary. The potatoes were crispy and the subtle seasoning of rosemary is all you ever need, but the one downside was the liberal use of salt.

Having a crispy theme going on with the sides, we ordered the Crispy Coleslaw that is a mix of apples, carrots, cabbage and with Third Wave’s own coleslaw dressing. There are hints of richness from the mayonnaise that is cut through by the slight bitterness to the cabbage and a hint of tang. It isn’t something I would order often but it does at least provide some lightness to your overall meal.

Impressions

Third Wave Cafe’s serves delicious dishes throughout the entire day, so it’s no wonder people come back for more and I definitely will keep coming back. One of the highlights in both their dinner and lunch menus is their smoked meats and BBQ dishes. Their Texan Fry Up and the Pork Ribs here are my personal favourites but with an interesting variety on their menu, there is room for some competition. I sincerely do recommend trying their menu at least once, tasty BBQ dishes breakfast, lunch and dinner and with friendly service, I don’t think there is much else you could ask for.

Third Wave Cafe – Prahran (Menu)
30 Cato St
Prahran 3181

Opening Hours (correct as at 4 July 2014)
Monday to Tuesday – 8am to 4pm
Wednesday to Sunday – 8am to 10pm

T: 03 9510 2991
M: 04 1255 0854

The Booth (via Menulog)

June 25, 2014 Posted in Box Hill, Chinese, Desserts, Food Reviews, Restaurant Reviews, TaiwaneseLeave a comment

I’ve always been wanting to try The Booth but have always seemed to pick another restaurant in Box Hill, either by familiarity or just routine. On this occasion though, having been offered by Menulog to try their online ordering services, I thought it’s the perfect opportunity to give it a try. Menulog is currently the number 1 Australian website for online take-away and with over 3,500 restaurants on the website around Australia, it certainly makes a name for itself.

My locality is in Blackburn so the restaurants offering pick up or delivery will vary. However, if you’re in the Blackburn area, you can check out the link to check out other restaurants using Menulog for convenient online ordering (Blackburn Take-away Restaurants). I find it’s a great away to find some restaurants that you may not have come across before, you visit Menulog and type in your suburb to check out the restaurants using Menulog in your area.

Menulog is convenient and very straight forward to use, and for those tied to their smartphones (like myself), there is an app you can use too for iOS and Android (Link). But of course, the website and even their mobile website work well and easy enough to just pick what you want and order.

As you can see from the screenshots, delivery isn’t too much for the sake of convenience but restaurants also do offer pick up too. Once you’ve chosen and paid for, you can schedule it for a preferred delivery time (or pick up) or “now”. Then all you need to do wait for the SMS confirmation and either pick it up at the scheduled time or await delivery. Real simple.

The Booth

The food arrived on time and we were even provided with complimentary drinks, which is a definite winner in terms of service I must say. The food overall was still hot and no microwaving necessary.

The Pan-Fried Pork dumplings were still hot and even a little crispy still, even with the steam softening some of it up as it would in a take-away container. The dumplings are probably one of the better ones I’ve tried in Box Hill, it has just enough filling and the pork, ginger flavour comes through well.

The Black Pepper Beef Noodles is fantastic too, the meal comes in two with the noodles in one container and the black pepper beef and sauce in another, all you need to do is mix it together. If you love pepper and beef, this dish is for you. The black pepper here is so flavourful, and the amount of pepper gives it a very nice spicy pepper kick. Pleasantly surprised.

The Spicy and Sour Noodle Soup may not be for everyone, it is an acquired taste but since I have some familiarity with the sour and spicy soup, I quite enjoyed it. It’s a bit difficult to describe but if you have tasted Chinese Hot/Spicy and Sour soup before you’ll instantly know this, and I believe the sourness comes from Chinese vinegar that they add. Tasty dish but I could do without the abundance of mushrooms.

The Booth’s Sweet Soya Bean Curd with Mango, Sago & Coconut Milk is really wonderful. I would have preferred if it were a cold dessert as it was only slightly cold/room temperature but I guess I could always add ice to it or chill it for a few hours. The dessert is quite similar to a Tofu Fah/Dau Fu Fa in texture but with the Soy Bean curd isn’t as smooth as tofu is but alas with the coconut milk and mango, sago makes for a really tasty dessert. The creaminess of the coconut milk and the sweetness of the mango gives it life. Would definitely order this again.

Impressions

I’m very glad to have ordered from The Booth, from it’s great service and tasty food I think you can definitely rely on them for a great take-away night. Overall, I couldn’t really fault the dishes other than its generous use of oil. I recommend giving it a try in-restaurant or ordering from Menulog as if you’re local it’s only $5 to Blackburn which I found to be very reasonable, and the food at The Booth certainly won’t break the bank either.

The Booth (Order via Menulog)
612 Station St
Box Hill VIC 3128

Tapas Cafe – Torquay

May 23, 2014 Posted in Australian, Food Reviews, Mexican, Restaurant Reviews, TorquayLeave a comment

On my way back from a day trip to The Great Ocean Road and Otways, we wanted to stop by Torquay for lunch. Being later in the arvo, but still with plenty of people about, we came across Tapas Cafe. It’s a small-ish cafe but enticing nonetheless. Their menu is typical of many seaside cafes, but with a hint of Mexican cuisine on their menu.

Pictured above is their Sweet Chilli Fish with fresh salad and chips. Perfectly cooked fried fish with a sweet chilli sauce to match, it’s an interesting choice and it lets the fish flavour come through. The salad underdressed (not dressed at all) and with the fresh capsicum, I found it to be an odd addition as the salad was overall quite dry without any dressing. It may not be the best dish I’ve tasted, but definitely satisfactory.

The Quesadilla with corn and cheese and spicy guacamole and salad was great on the other hand. I loved the quesadilla with the melted cheese and corn, although quite thin it’s richness compensates for a filling meal. The guacamole I found lacked the avocado flavour but that may just be due to the avocados being more subtle in flavour. Tasty dish.

Impressions

Tapas Cafe doesn’t appear to be too well known in Torquay but I think it offers something a bit different to your standard cafes or fish and chip shops which is welcomed warmly in my book.

Tapas Cafe

9 Gilbert St
Torquay VIC 3228

Gourmet Girl

April 18, 2014 Posted in Australian, Blackburn, Food, Food Reviews, Restaurant ReviewsLeave a comment

Gourmet Girl in Blackburn is a tiny little restaurant in Laburnum/Blackburn, situated close to Laburnum Train Station. Frequented by many of the locals, and it certainly piques my interest. Gourmet Girl by day serves your typical breakfast, brunch/lunch affair. Toasted sandwiches and Focaccias, salads, wraps, pies and pastries as well as a wide selection for breakfast such as pancakes, eggs, muffins, toast and of course your big breakfast. Variety is there and it’s certainly its strong suit and of course they serve your typical hot and cold beverages as well. By night they have a tapas menu with wine for an enjoyable evening out.

We ordered the Smoked Salmon topped with red onions, and served with scrambled egg with toast and a side of greens and tomatoes. It certainly looked inviting, the smoked salmon had a nice smokey flavour to the fish, but not over powering. The scrambled eggs however were on the bland side, and lacked any sort of pepper or salt seasoning. However, I guess the saltiness from the salmon is supposed to carry the dish so you are not overloaded with salt, but unfortunately the eggs did not have any richness to it, nor did it taste like eggs. It was honestly disappointing. The bread was also leaning on over toasted as well (the edges are slightly dark brown) and almost had a burnt taste to it. Care and attention to detail is key and it’s what made this a real letdown.

The “Canadian” Focaccia that we ordered was also a Smoked Salmon dish with cream cheese, capers, red onions, avocado spread and mayonnaise served with a lightly dressed garden salad. Again you can see it was burnt on several parts of the bread, definitely over toasted. The bottom of the Focaccia was also visibly dark brown unfortunately. Flavour wise (apart from the burnt-ness), was decent. Although, on this occasion too salty. The capers and smoked salmon add the saltiness but there is nothing there to really balance it as you also have the richness of the mayonnaise and cream cheese. The avocado attempts to provide a milder flavour to the dish but the avocados here also lack fragrance. The garden salad was basically a small pile of rocket and sliced cucumber with a huge chunk of grated carrot, with a generous drizzling of dressing. Presentation is not their strong suit. Again, I was not impressed with how this was served, lacking in any consideration and served blackened that definitely should not have gone out in any decent cafe.

Impressions

Gourmet Girl, leaves a bad taste both literally and metaphorically in my mouth. The customer service at Gourmet Girl was one of the bad experiences I’ve had to sit through. They forgot one of our orders (which was served to another table that came after us), which I admit can happen when its busy and I do understand. When we finally received our order after more than half an hour of waiting, what we received was above, a charred sandwich (as mentioned above). The kicker, no apologies made when they informed us of their mistake nor when actually providing the dish to us. They even asked if we would like to order drinks (to pay for) while we are forced to wait! Absolutely amazing.

I know this sounds like a rant, but good or even mediocre service can go a long way in providing a satisfactory dining experience. One poor (or many in this case) experience can ultimately damage any good will the place as brought with its dishes. Which unfortunately, in this situation it did not generate any.

To top everything off in our visit to Gourmet Girl, they misplaced our entire order when paying. So having to repeat ourselves of what we ordered, we were questioned on our one coffee. In which, the staff leaned over the counter to check the number of cups on our table. You know, that coffee we ordered while having to wait. That one. Served by three staff during our time there, none was positive and that’s not a good sign. Gourmet Girl certainly is a popular place but I’m unsure if its as a result of desperation for a decent coffee around these parts or if my situation was out of the ordinary.

Overall, I cannot overlook the poor service over the sub-standard food served. It would be dishonest of me to recommend this place to someone, but I do hope that if you do dine here that your experience is wonderful and pleasant and unlike mine. I do although prefer Red Cup Cafe which is minutes away by car over Gourmet Girl (both in service and quality of food).

Gourmet Girl
21 Salisbury Ave
Blackburn VIC 3130

Khao San Road – Toronto Series

March 28, 2014 Posted in Food Reviews, Restaurant Reviews, Thai, TorontoLeave a comment

Khao San Road at 326 Adelaide St, Toronto was one of the highlights when visiting Toronto. I never knew Thai food could be done so well outside of Thailand and especially in a place like Toronto where the climate seems so disparate. Nonetheless, Khao San Road is extremely popular with the locals and even on weeknights you can see people waiting around for a table and after dining here you can certainly see why.

Pictured above, we have the Khao Soi which is a egg noodles curry with coconut milk, crispy noodles, scallions, coriander, and lime. You can also choose from chicken, beef and tofu or shrimp for extra. It was this wonderful creaminess to it, but not overwhelming or too rich. The subtle spices just alight your tastebuds and create a warming aroma.

My favourite dish of the night was the Massaman curry, I absolutely adored this spicy dish. It’s just the right amount of creamy, and the peanuts and potatoes add a crunchiness and softness to the dish. The spices are fragrant and welcoming. I really cannot fault this dish.

Khao San Road’s Green Curry with the lovely bamboo shoots, green capsicums, kaffir lime, basil and made creamy with coconut milk is another winner but not to the same extent as their Massaman curry.

The Pad Thai was also quite good, but probably not the best Pad Thai I’ve eaten. The tamarind flavour comes through well and it tastes fresh and light.

Impressions

Although Khao San Road leans on the expensive side of things, I can say that you will find it hard to be disappointed with the quality of food here. Again, I must mention the lovely Massaman curry because it was the standout dish even though all the other dishes were excellent too.

Khao San Road
326 Adelaide St W
Toronto ON M5V1R3

T’relek

March 21, 2014 Posted in Food Reviews, Restaurant Reviews, Richmond, Vietnamese2 Comments

T’relek is another great Vietnamese restaurant in Richmond. T’relek offers a great variety of dishes and delicious nonetheless. What makes T’relek different from the many other Vietnamese restaurants around these parts is cleanliness and service. I find service here to be a step above, friendly and attentive.

The dish pictured above is their Crispy Noodles Seafood Combination. The noodles are indeed crispy and crunchy, and with the generous offering of vegetables, seafood, chicken and beef it all works well together. The sauce is similar to an egg gravy you may find in a Malaysian Char Hor Fun, and whilst not as flavourful it still has a pleasant aroma and flavour to it. Not too salty, and enough sauce to go round.

T’relek’s Grilled Pork Chop and Egg is another decent dish, with well cooked pork and a runny sunny side up egg, freshly cut vegetables as garnish and shredded pork.. It’s basically a Broken Rice dish but without the commonly added pâté. What this dish needs is a dressing sauce, sweet chilli sauce does complement this dish well actually.

The Tomato Rice with Diced Beef and Stir Fried Vegetables is another generous dish, with plentiful capsicum, onions and beef. Unfortunately, the stir fry here is a tad over salted. I find the tomato rice needs egg mixed through and a tad more tomato flavour but it’s tasty but not exceptional.

Impressions

Although T’relek’s dishes aren’t the tastiest Vietnamese in Richmond, it does provide a fulfilling meal and with friendly service, you’d be hard to be displeased.

T’relek
116 Victoria St
Richmond VIC 3121

Plaza Bonita Tusayan – Arizona USA

March 14, 2014 Posted in Food Reviews, Mexican, Restaurant Reviews, Tusayan, USALeave a comment

Plaza Bonita Tusayan near the Grand Canyon National Park is one of the few restaurants in the area catered for those tourists wanting a bite before they head to the park and see the Arizona landmark. Plaza Bonita is a Mexican restaurant that has a family friendly feel, especially inside with the warm colours.

The food here is generous and can almost be fit for two. Their menu is diverse, and it offers your typical Mexican cuisine such as Enchiladas, Burritos, Fajitas and Meats/Seafood and Rice or Beans dishes, and of course Tacos.

The image above is the dish called Arroz Con Pollo, which basically consisted of chicken breast, fresh mushrooms, onions and green peppers. Served on a bed of rice with melted Monterrey Jack. The sauce is their special mild sauce that is garnished with avocados and tomatoes. The cheese and rice combination isn’t something I have come across before, and it certainly has its cheesy appeal but it definitely needed to be a tad more flavourful or spicy to add some depth to the dish.

This Mexican Stir Fry is another rice dish with sautéed chicken, broccoli, mushrooms, green peppers, onions, and topped with melted Monterrey. I found the cheese to be a tad overwhelming, and too rich. Again, the ingredients lacked much flavour and overall it felt a bit bland with just cheese as the focal point of the dish.

I believe this was a Chicken Carnitas aka marinated chicken, with grilled with fresh green peppers, onions, and spices, rice, guacamole. The marinated chicken here actually had some flavour, although a sweetness to it but it came out decently.

From memory this was the Camarones a la Diabla, which is prawns sautéed with garlic, butter, mushrooms, covered with “special” Mojo de Ajo sauce and served with rice and beans.

Chicken Mexican Style was a skinless chicken breast in a stew of onions, tomatoes, garlic and spices. With the red dried peppers (chillies) it was surprisingly flavourful, but the watery sauce didn’t seem to complement the slightly wet rice.

Impressions

Plaza Bonita provide generous servings of Mexican cuisine, but the food itself doesn’t stray too far away from average unfortunately. Which is a shame, but on the plus side, the endless supply of guacamole and tortilla chips is a great starter.

Plaza Bonita Tusayan

352 State Road 64
Tusayan, AZ USA 86023

Cafe Crepe – Toronto Series

March 8, 2014 Posted in Food Reviews, French, Restaurant Reviews, TorontoLeave a comment

Cafe Crepe on Queen St, Toronto was highly recommended to me by my sister and it appears very popular amongst the locals. I love crepes because you can eat them with something sweet or savoury but also because they are like pancakes but ultra thin and light but with a hint of sweetness and buttery flavour.

Other than their specialty crepes, they also serve Breakfast Baguettes which are basically baguettes with egg, tomato, lettuce, basil and bacon with tomato sauce as a side. It’s quite lovely, with the lightness of the egg and overall feels fresh for breakfast that doesn’t bog you down.

The Europa Ham and Egg crepes are on the salty side but light and delightful. I love the thinness of the crepes, just a bit crisp and although the filling isn’t as generous as I would like, I still found it satisfactory.

I love spinach and feta so I had to order the Spinach and Feta cheese crepe, again the crepes are just perfection. Not too floury or buttery and thin enough. The saltiness of the melting feta balances against the fresh spinach. Again, it’s not a heavy breakfast but it does fill you up.

Impressions

Cafe Crepe isn’t the most generous with their dishes but they are incredibly tasty and that’s why people keep coming back. If you want fantastic crepes, of the savoury or sweet kind, this is the place because they have so many varieties to choose from.

Cafe Crepe
246 Queen St W
Toronto ON M5V2Z5

ohdenny

Category: Restaurant Reviews

Café Buade – Quebec City Series

Movenpick Box Hill

Third Wave Cafe Prahran by Night

The Booth (via Menulog)

Tapas Cafe – Torquay

Gourmet Girl

Khao San Road – Toronto Series

T’relek

Plaza Bonita Tusayan – Arizona USA

Cafe Crepe – Toronto Series