Abbotsford – ohdenny

On It Burgers Abbotsford

March 17, 2017 Posted in Abbotsford, American, Food Reviews, Restaurant Reviews, RichmondLeave a comment

Richmond has recently become more vibrant with the ever increasing amount of apartments being built near the Yarra river and especially so on the traditionally rundown Victoria Street. On It Burgers has two stores, one in Ferntree Gully and the other in Richmond/Abbotsford so their inner city location is conveniently accessible by train and tram.

On It Burgers has around ten burgers to choose from, and for sides you can order onion rings, fries, with dips as extras and variety of milkshake flavours. Being someone that loves trying something a bit different, I ordered the Spicy Chick which is basically deep fried crispy chicken with Sriracha mayo, slaw and lettuce with a black bun. It’s very reminiscent of those KFC burgers but with the added spicy kick. Honestly, there isn’t much excitement from deep fried chicken but the flavours overall work together. On It Burgers also offer burgers with soft shell crab, vegetarian options (mushroom), jalapeno beef, and beef and bacon together, together.

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You can choose Sea Salt or Garlic and Basil as seasoning for your fries. The Garlic and Basil seasoning is nice, but nothing like my favourite seasoning for fries from Grill’d.

Last words

On It Burgers don’t reinvent the wheel with their burgers, there’s some interesting fillings but overall it’s your mostly standard burger joint done relatively well.

On It Burgers Abbotsford
349-351 Victoria Street
Abbotsford VIC 3067

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Shizuku Ramen & Craft Beer

October 30, 2015 Posted in Abbotsford, Food Reviews, Japanese, Restaurant Reviews, Richmond2 Comments

Shizuku on Victoria St, is another Ramen place making its mark in Melbourne and spreading out from the CBD. While ramen is their specialty, it also prides itself on the craft beer offerings, with of course, a large range of Japanese beers, local and worldwide varieties. Ramen doesn’t come cheap though, with an average ramen costing $15 plus, however if you are able to dine there during lunch you are able to select one of their lunch specials.

Their Tonkotsu Miso Ramen comes with bamboo shoots, cha shu pork belly, Japanese style eggs with a very flavourful miso pork broth. I found it to be quite reminiscent of the many ramen shops in Japan in terms of flavour but more sparse in ingredients here.

Shizuku’s Fried Rice also is quite flavourful, and the spring onions add a nice freshness to it.

The gyoza filling is also tasty with the hint of ginger and pork flavour with crispy skin.

Shizuku’s Shoyu Ramen with cha shu, bamboo shoots and egg in a lovely clean tasting soy sauce broth again hits the mark. It’s quite a tasty meal and decent for their lunch special.

Last words
Value for money during lunch but questionable for dinner. Delicious Ramen dishes and would be fantastic with a cold one during warmer weather.

Shizuku Ramen & Craft Beer
309 Victoria Street
Abbotsford VIC 3067

Two Hands Bar

August 14, 2015 Posted in Abbotsford, American, Australian, Food Reviews, Japanese, Korean, Restaurant Reviews, RichmondLeave a comment

Initially I wanted to try Shizuku Ramen on Victoria Street, Richmond which is just next door. However, my poor eyesight lead me to Two Hands Bar which interestingly also serves Japanese cuisine. Their menu is a mixture of Western and Asian, also offering a breakfast menu for locals and workers in the area, burgers and also even Korean but in addition as the name suggests it’s a bar as well.

Their lunch menu comes with complimentary soft drink or seaweed soup. One of their menu items is their Teriyaki Chicken with rice. The chicken is tender and marinated nicely, and comes with potato salad and interestingly dressed shredded carrots. The seaweed soup has a lovely seaweed flavour that isn’t too bold, but I found it just a tad oily.

Another lunch item is their Deep Fried Chicken (Karage), the chicken is tender and crispy but requires the combination of mayo to accompany it to bring it all together. Otherwise, it’s particularly dry on its own with rice. As with the Teriyaki Chicken, it comes with the potato salad and carrots. Overall, it’s a decent deal with a drink.

Impressions

Two Hands Bar doesn’t set the bar high with its food, however,it is quite decent. I haven’t yet tried their burgers, but will definitely try them sometime in the future just to see how they taste like.

Two Hands Bar
311A Victoria Street
Abbotsford VIC 3067

Jinda Thai

October 4, 2013 Posted in Abbotsford, Food Reviews, Restaurant Reviews, Richmond, ThaiLeave a comment

Jinda Thai just off Victoria Street, and close to North Richmond Station is a fantastic Thai restaurant that has the stamp of approval from my Thai friends. The place has a mix of olden day style but still appears refreshingly modern, directly targeting the youthful demographic.

I was pre-warned that the food portions here are a tad smaller than your other Thai eateries. You can definitely see the difference with Ying Thai only a couple minutes walk away but the food here is definitely tasty and you’ll be wanting to come back here again.

Jinda Thai’s Pad Thai amazingly tasty. The noodles stir fried well, and has all the ingredients to make a great Pad Thai, plus they add chopped peanuts that give it a warm roasted nutty aroma and flavour. Stir fried with prawns, and chicken it still makes for a very satisfying meal and the chilli hit (not too hot) is a perfect combination. The seemingly very fresh bean sprouts is my arch nemesis as I prefer cooked and not blanched bean sprouts but it actually adds to the dish with it’s crunchy and crispy texture.

The Rice with stir fried Seafood and Basil is another tasty dish. The basil flavour isn’t too overpowering but it’s gentle fragrance seeps through the entire dish. Aromatic and with basil you really can’t go wrong here.

My golly Jinda Thai’s Pad Kee Mao is hot. Extreme! Stir fried rice noodles with a few basil leaves and chicken is although the spiciest meal I’ve ever had, still very tasty and leaves you wanting more (and more water). Love the flavour of the Pad Kee Mao, the balance of fish sauce, soy sauce, chili and basil work extremely well together. Ying Thai’s Pad Kee Mao is larger in quantity but also tasty, but here I find the balance of flavours more appetizing but nothing too different to comment more on.

Impressions

Serving size is smaller here and at similar prices to other Thai restaurants and that’s the only con I find. The food is ridiculously tasty and for me, if the food is great, sometimes smaller portions is just a small compromise. Jinda Thai is most definitely worth a visit.

Jinda Thai
1-7 Ferguson St
Abbotsford VIC 3067

Seoul Soul

July 19, 2013 Posted in Abbotsford, Food Reviews, Korean, Restaurant Reviews, RichmondLeave a comment

Seoul Soul, can easily be missed by passers-by. It is this extremely tiny restaurant, almost hidden on the always populated Victoria Street, Richmond, near The Hive Shopping Centre. In between The Hive SC entrance and a corner cafe, you’ll find this little gem. Only housing less than 20 people, it is always popular inside and waiting around lunchtime is common.

As you may have guessed from the name, Seoul Soul serve Korean cuisine from their most commonly known dishes such as Bulgogi, but also the more obscure and spicy dishes. Typically, they also do BBQ/grills so it really caters for most.

I’ve previously had the Spicy Tofu bulgogi and that was a delight to eat. It comes with stir fried tofu with a spicy sauce, salad and oddly enough a slice of orange. You’ll find this is common for most of the bulgogi’s served. The spiciness of the sauce is fantastic but isn’t too spicy, just enough to give the always bland tofu some flavour and kick.

The salad is very similar to the Japanese salad dressing you can buy in Asian supermarkets, it has that slightly sesame taste to it. I really do love this dressing so it’s always appetising.

You might be saying, Denny, what is that delicious dish you ordered that is pictured. Well, my friends, this is their Special Stone Pot Bibimbap. It comes super sizzling hot and crackles with delight as it’s served. It’s primarily a vegetarian dish with the bean sprouts, carrots, beans and capsicum. There are a couple of stone pot bibimbaps, prawn and beef. I’m uncertain if there was a stone pot vegie bibimbap but it doesn’t seem out of plausibility.

I ordered the beef, which comes with minced beef and cannot currently be seen as it sits underneath that sunny side up egg. The yolk that oozes out just binds everything together. It is simply a refreshing and satisfying meal.

Impressions

Seoul Soul is quite a treat if you can get a table. Well presented food but leaning on the pricier side of things but it’s okay here because the food here is tasty and doesn’t disappoint.

Seoul Soul
323 Victoria St
Abbotsford VIC 3067

Ying Thai

July 5, 2013 Posted in Abbotsford, Food Reviews, Restaurant Reviews, Richmond, ThaiLeave a comment

Ying Thai is the first location of this popular Thai restaurant. Ying Thai 2 is located in Carlton and is frequently visited by Melbourne Uni students and locals. The Richmond venue doesn’t appear to be as popular around lunch weekdays but it doesn’t indicate quality whatsoever.

The dish pictured above was the Chicken Flat Rice Noodle with Chilli and Basil, otherwise known as Pud Kee Mow. What I liked about this dish was that it was spicy, and a really decent hit of chilli at that. It might be too spicy for some, but it just hits the spot for me.

The Pud Kee Mow, you can choose your protein of choice from Chicken, Beef, Pork or Vegetable, like many of their dishes actually. I’ve never actually had this before but I really did like the flavour, the spiciness, a bit of soy that adds sweetness and a hint of salt and the basil. You can’t forget the fragrant basil.

They add carrots, capsicum, broccoli and cabbage if memory serves me correctly. I liked the abundance of vegetables no matter how oily this stir fried noodles dish may be. The chicken was on the tougher side, but I wouldn’t call it very overcooked. I think with stir fry it’s very difficult to cook well, so it was acceptable for me.

The Thai Fried Rice is also excellent, and very filling too. So tasty that I even forgot to take a picture. Next time.

Impressions

Ying Thai serves as tasty Thai food. I may not know what authentic Thai food is but I know what my tastebuds say, and they say it’s pretty darn good. If you’re ever near the corner of Hoddle Street and Victoria Street, give it a go. Just may need to be a bit patient, sometimes it takes 10 minutes or more for food to arrive.

Ying Thai (Menu)
235 Victoria St
Abbotsford VIC 3067

Three Bags Full

April 12, 2013 Posted in Abbotsford, Australian, Food Reviews, Restaurant Reviews, RichmondLeave a comment

I heard about Three Bags Full from a colleague and since it was near where we worked we decided to give it a try. I’m not big on brunch, it’s basically just breakfast late or lunch early and none of those sounds overly enticing to me. Cafe food on the other hand is something I’m quite fond of, it’s not too expensive nor heavy but just enough to satisfy the stomach.

Three Bags Full is quite a large place, I was really surprised at how large the space was and it was very busy. I guess people in Richmond really like their brunch and coffee.

I ordered one of their specials which was a Beef Burger with tasty cheese, onions, tomatoes, pickles with wedges and tomato relish.

It is similar to the Steak Sandwich on the menu but you get a couple of wedges too. As a burger, I did really enjoy it apart from the pickled red onions. I found these to be too sour for my liking. The beef was cooked just right, still a bit red inside so definitely not overcooked and the cheese lent itself. What I mean by that is, sometimes cheese can be almost tasteless and I find that most with hard cheeses. There is very little fragrance around them, but this had a good cheese taste so I’m happy about that.

I had to eat the burger using a knife and fork (shock and horror) because it was too large to eat by hands. The aioli they dress the salad with gave it a nice mayonnaise like taste to it and overall I couldn’t be happier.

The wedges with the tomato relish was decent enough, I found they weren’t overly crispy but I did prefer them to be a tad more crisp. The tomato relish on the other hand I have no real opinion on, it was slightly sour but I felt lacked the tomato flavour. It was neither here no there.

Impressions

You can see why people come to dine here. For people just wanting to relax, chill and drink a cup of coffee this is the place. However, if you want some satisfying meals, Three Bags Full, luckily does that too.

Three Bags Full

60 Nicholson St
Abbotsford VIC 3067