Box Hill – Page 3

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

Tan Tan

June 13, 2014 Posted in Box Hill, VietnameseLeave a comment

In the Box Hill hub, there are quite a few Vietnamese restaurants on Carrington Street. Indochine is probably the largest and most popular one,. I’ve tried Indochine, and couldn’t understand the appeal, so off to the next one on the street. Tan Tan is just a few doors down from Indochine and now being so far away from Springvale, I’ve still yet to find a great Crispy Chicken with Tomato Rice dish, so for every new Vietnamese restaurant I try, I always seek out this dish which has yet to be topped.

Tan Tan’s Crispy Chicken with Tomato Rice lacks the highs of a great dish, the tomato rice is devoid of tomato flavour, and seems overly soft. I prefer a bit of bite to my rice when it is fried, and a great Tomato rice in my eyes also adds egg. The chicken also lacks flavour, just salt and unfortunately, too dry. The sweet and sour sauce is much needed to bring flavour to this dish that is dry and lacking in taste. A real shame

The Lemongrass Chicken and Stir Fry with Rice, is an especially fragrant dish with the lemongrass but again, nothing really stood out. The chicken cooked well, and the capsicum adds depth of flavour, apart from that it could be a little forgettable.

Beef and Chicken Combination Pho is a staple at every Vietnamese restaurant, however the soup here isn’t too flash. Lacking in flavour as compared with the popular and local favourite Pho places such as I Love Pho 264 in Richmond, and Pho Hung Vuong in Springvale. The soup is the star of a Pho dish so it’s disappointing that it is very average here.

Impressions

I can’t say that I found Tan Tan to be memorable for its dishes which I really did hope it would be. One of the pluses was that the staff were very friendly, and the dishes weren’t too expensive but I’m not too sure that would be enough to get me to go back there again for sometime.

Tan Tan
9 Carrington Rd
Box Hill VIC 3128

Red Cup Cafe

January 24, 2014 Posted in Australian, Box Hill, Food Reviews, Restaurant ReviewsLeave a comment

If you’re ever travelling on Whitehorse Road in Box Hill, you may come across Red Cup Cafe, brimming with people on the weekends no matter how early or late there is certain to be filled with locals. Red Cup Cafe offers your typical dishes that you would find in any other cafe but it’s not what kind of food that matters, it’s the taste.

One of their offerings is the Baked Eggs with Chorizo, Tomatoes, Cheese and Spinach (shown above) and it’s an absolute stunner. The ~~dish~~ pan comes out straight from the oven with the cheese golden in colour. Mixed in with this is the spinach, tomatoes and the chorizos, served with a Spanish styled chilli sauce and toasted sourdough bread. The spiciness of the chorizo opens up the palette and complements everything extremely well and with just the right amount of sauce from the tomatoes at the bottom of the pan. Nothing to fault.

Their Ham and Tomato Sandwich with Mayonnaise isn’t quite the looker and nor is it anything special, unfortunately. I would say it needs sauce or dressing and although the mayonnaise is supposed to fill that role, I find the mayonnaise too overpowering and too rich to be consumed with the sandwich. Some may prefer the tomatoes still to be cold even after the sandwich is toasted but I’m not one of those people. It’s a decent dish but not one you would solely come back for.

Red Cup Cafe’s Steak Sandwich with chutney is also a slight disappointment. The centrepiece of the dish is supposed to be the steak and here the cut of meat chosen makes a poor filling for a sandwich. The reason being as the beef is extremely chewy, difficult to slice apart and lacks in any sort of seasoning whether that be pepper or salt. The chutney I find does not complement the sandwich at all, having a sweet and sour flavour to it that is jarring to the steak and salad within. A letdown of gargantuan proportions.

Customers coming to Red Cup Cafe wouldn’t come back if the coffee wasn’t any good and the coffee here is one of the better offerings I’ve found around these parts (Gourmet Girl’s coffee in Blackburn does not even come close) At Red Cup Cafe they offer a Seriously large cup, which is made for two or maybe one that desires a significant coffee hit.

Impressions

Red Cup is a bit of a mixed bag. Their Baked Eggs is probably one of the better versions I’ve come across and yet their sandwiches do not meet the same standard. Luckily the coffee is good or otherwise I wouldn’t give this place a second look.

Red Cup Cafe
1124 Whitehorse Rd
Box Hill VIC 3128

Don-Udon

December 6, 2013 Posted in Box Hill, Food Reviews, Japanese, Korean, Restaurant Reviews1 Comment

Don-Udon recently opened in Box Hill and joins the other Korean restaurants now established in Box Hill along. I’m guessing there is a sizeable Korean community here as there are also many grocery stores around too. Unlike the Box Hill Korean BBQ, Don-Udon doesn’t offer BBQ but they have plans to do hot pot in the winter months.

Currently they offer a great selection of Korean and even a few Japanese dishes ranging from Udon noodle soup, Stir Fried Udon dishes, Ramen, Korean and Japanese rice dishes and even a few sizzling and clay pot dishes for something a bit different.

We ordered the Bibim Bap in Stone Pot that is served scolding hot. It comes with beef, vegetables and fried egg with Korean chilli paste on rice. The stone pot retains heat remarkably well so if you’re ordering, it’s best to not touch the bowl. I love clay pot/stone pot dishes as the rice cooks and turns into this crunchy delight. All the ingredients here are fresh and especially tasty with the slightly sweet beef. A really nice, light dish.

Don-Udon also offers soups in clay pot. I think Korean soups with rice are one of my favourite type of dishes. I could really have warm, spicy soup with rice all day, everyday. The soup here is a Seafood Silken Tofu Soup (Spicy) with mixed seafood, vegetables and of course silken tofu. I loved the flavour of this soup, it’s spicy enough if you consume all of the soup and it’s basically like this gradual hotness that lingers throughout the meal. Very satisfying. The seafood here are basically a couple of small (very) prawns but the tofu is the main protein here. Although the soup is a tad oily, I loved the soup all the same.

The Donkatsu Udon is your typical Japanese dish with crispy deep fried pork, with a clear stock soup. Subtle flavours from the soup and maybe a bit of Togarashi just adds a bit of spice to give it a bit more seasoning. A pleasant dish that even betters Ajisen Ramen in Box Hill.

Impressions

Don-Udon is my go-to Korean eatery in Box Hill. Flavours hit the mark, friendly staff and all for a decent (the standard) price. It’s just a bit of a shame that this restaurant isn’t more frequented by customers. It’s slightly out of the way, a few minutes walk from the main shopping hub in Box Hill but close by to the tram stop and the many Computer Gaming places. I’d say it’s definitely worth the small effort to visit.

Don-Udon

951 Whitehorse Road
Box Hill VIC 3128

Opens for Lunch and Dinner

Pho 888 Box Hill

November 1, 2013 Posted in Box Hill, Food Reviews, Restaurant Reviews, VietnameseLeave a comment

Pho 888 Box Hill on Station Street, is one of the few Vietnamese restaurants in Box Hill. Primarily serving Pho, it does have a small selection of rice dishes and entrees as well. The restaurant is one of your typical Pho joints that you may find on Victoria Street, Richmond or Springvale, how does it compare? Lets see

I ordered the Beef sausage Pho just to try something a bit different (a bit unusual), the soup base lacks a bit of flavour and I also noticed they do not add coriander as a garnish to their soup. That’s not to say the soup was bland, it definitely has a nice flavour to it but compared with the greats in Melbourne, it is just a bit lacking.

The plentiful of onions they add are very strong in taste, probably too much onions for my liking but some might be preferential to their generosity. The beef sausage falls apart very easily, I’m not sure how it’s made because it’s almost like eating mince meat with a bit of pepper balls as seasoning. Not the best sausage I must admit, I think the beef and chicken would actually taste better together.

Finding good Vietnamese food in Box Hill is a challenge, so my opinion on Pho 888 is that it’s sufficient but if you miss great Vietnamese food from places in Richmond and Springvale, or maybe even Footscray, you may be a bit disappointed.

Pho 888 Box Hill

552 Station Street
Box Hill VIC 3128

Lu Yang Dumpling House

October 11, 2013 Posted in Box Hill, Chinese, Food Reviews, Restaurant ReviewsLeave a comment

Lu Yang Dumpling House is a popular Chinese restaurant in Box Hill, and one of the many Chinese restaurants around. It always seems to be full around lunchtime. Wanting to see for ourselves whether the place lives up to its popularity we gave it a try.

Their menu has a large selection of dumplings, pork, chicken, beef, seafood, vegetarian as well as Chinese stir-fried noodles and rice dishes. As the name of the restaurant seems to suggest, they specialise in dumplings so we ordered a mix of steamed dumplings consisting of seafood, pork, and beef, vegetarian dumplings.

I found the skin of the dumplings to be the right thickness but it seemed to be steamed for too long, making the skins to be too soft and when you bite into it, it all falls apart. The dumpling flavours all were unfortunately nothing out of the ordinary. I really couldn’t say any of the ones I tried had great flavours. Even the most commonly made dumpling, pork dumplings lacked ginger and chives. Overall I found the dumplings on the bland side of things.

We also wanted to try the pan fried dumplings, these were the pork specialty as mentioned above it was a bit bland and the overall balance of flavours was not quite there. You had to either eat them with the dipping sauce (Predominantly Chinkiang vinegar) or the chilli oil/seeds to give it a bit of a kick. Another negative was the dumplings were swimming in oil. Taking a bite into them you’ll find oil squirting out of them. Not a particularly pleasant experience and the old Bob’s Kitchen in Glen Waverley (now RaRamen Glen Waverley) makes one of the better dumplings around town.

A pleasant surprise was their Szechuan Noodles, again slightly too oily, but that’s okay because overall the seasoning, sauce all had a good balance. Not overly seasoned with salt, and the fresh vegetables stir fried in with the noodles made it a tasty dish indeed.

Impressions

Lu Yang Dumpling House is a bit hit and miss, and I’m uncertain why it seems to be so popular. I’d also like to mention the service is a bit slow, I believe we waited around 20 or so minutes before the first order arrived with no apology from the waitresses that served us. I guess I can’t expect much from Chinese restaurants. I’d give the dumplings a miss, you can definitely find better dumplings (with overall better skin to filling ratio) elsewhere.

Lu Yang Dumpling House

617 Station Street

Box Hill VIC 3128

Box Hill Korean BBQ

August 23, 2013 Posted in Box Hill, KoreanLeave a comment

Box Hill Korean BBQ is near the hub of Box Hill. You may notice there are a couple of Korean grocery stores and restaurants in Box Hill probably to the small but sizeable Korean community around these parts. I love Korean food, because it’s slightly familiar to the South East and Japanese and yet still different and new.

In the image above, I mistakenly ordered an entree which I thought was a full meal. This dish is called Tteokbokki/dukboki/topokki which is basically these rice cake strips which look like noodles stir fried in a (usually) spicy sauce with carrots and onions. What I like about it is that it’s actually quite filling because it’s rice cakes and these “noodles” are dense and have a bit of chewiness to it. Here, there is minimal sauce but it’s very spicy and concentrated. Although it’s an entree it’s filling but as it is the same price as a normal regular lunch dish, I don’t think it’s worth it. You can also easily make this by yourself, all you need is to go to a Korean grocery store (there is one nearby) buy a fresh packet of the noodles and a packet of the sauce and stir fry it. Very easy.

The beef stir fry with salad and rice dish is similar to a bento and comes with the standard Korean condiments like kimchi and seasoned bean sprouts. The beef is sweetly seasoned but still has a bit of saltiness to it, the carrots, onions, capsicums and bean sprouts add a much needed freshness to the dish. It’s nice, but nothing special.

The chicken stir fry is similar to the beef dish, sweet and not enough saltiness or spiciness. Chicken was also a tad overcooked, it doesn’t leave a lasting impression. Dae Jang Geum does these dishes much better. The miso soup also came out lukewarm to almost cold. Very disappointing

Impressions

We were left disappointed with the meals we had after having really great food at Dae Jang Geum. The service here is also bare minimum, and took at least 15 minutes to receive our food that was a bit cold. Hmm. The complementary sides with the two rice dishes are also very small and unlike the Dae Jang Geum which is generous. Maybe the dinner or BBQ is better? I don’t know, but I’m not enthused to try it again.

Box Hill Korean BBQ
1 Bank St
Box Hill VIC 3128

First Taste Box Hill

August 9, 2013 Posted in Box Hill, Chinese, Food Reviews, Restaurant Reviews, VietnameseLeave a comment

First Taste is one of my favourite restaurants in Springvale. I love the claypot rice, absolutely adore it. Being able to scrape the rice from the sides is just a treat. I never knew there was a First Taste in Box Hill, and now it’s even more convenient to dine and order my favourite Black Pepper Beef Claypot Rice.

What is noticed is slightly different from the Springvale eatery is that they use less or sometimes none at all of coriander and they don’t leave the claypot bowls to cook as long. What you have is less crispy rice but still ridiculously hot, and the lacking flavour from the coriander. However everything else is basically the same, the beef is nice and tender with a pleasant fragrance and taste of pepper on the tongue. First Taste also provides a generous serving of sauce on top.

I’m not a big fan of First Taste’s other claypot dishes though. The chicken, Chinese sausage and mushroom with soy sauce isn’t too my liking. It’s one of those slightly herbal tinged dishes, and I’m not fond of Chinese sausage with soy and of course the big mushrooms. That’s not to say it’s not cooked well, I definitely say for those that like these kind of dishes would find this perfectly satisfying. Again, they don’t leave the claypots to cook long enough so the sides and bottom of the claypot bowl aren’t as crispy.

Impressions

First Taste Box Hill is much like it’s brother (or sister) in Springvale. Slightly varied but familiarity is key here and you can’t find better Claypot rice anywhere else. Yes even Claypot King.

First Taste
604 Station Street
Box Hill VIC 03128

Madam Kwong’s

May 24, 2013 Posted in Box Hill, Food Reviews, Malaysian, Restaurant ReviewsLeave a comment

Madam Kwong in Box Hill is one of the very few Malaysian restaurants around these parts. Not only that, it’s one of the very few authentic Malaysian restaurants around. Having opened not that long ago, this small shop is seemingly always filled with people. Probably because of the lack of seating, but also frequented by Malaysian Australians. You can tell just by hearing their accent! I digress. From what I’ve been told, the food they serve here is Penang style cuisine which I’m actually more used to since my parents are from Northern Malaysia.

What they also have retained from Penang is their smaller portions. It’s not exactly small but for the price it leans towards being expensive compared to other Malaysian restaurants in Victoria.

I ordered the Nasi Lemak with Beef Curry. I actually really loved the curry, it was just creamy enough but not overwhelming and had also just enough spices and hit of chilli. I really couldn’t ask for a better curry to go with my Nasi Lemak. What they lack here though is a sambal of sorts, they included the preserved vegetables (behind the rice) but sambal is almost a necessity for Nasi Lemak so that in itself was slightly disappointing. However they do make up for it with generous serving of beef. They add all the other common sides, egg, cucumber, nuts, anchovies and scented rice. Overall, I was still pleased with the dish and at least the curry made up for any shortcomings.

Madam Kwong’s Char Kway Teoh is packed full of flavour. You can really taste the heat of the wok come through and of course you can’t have a Char Kway Teoh without a bit of spice. We asked for spicy, it was, sort of. Not as spicy as I would have liked though. The noodles were seasoned and cooked well, with all the things you’d come to expect with this dish. A satisfactory dish I would say!

What I was very disappointed with was their “Ice Kacang”, and I use quotation marks with that because I really don’t know what we were given. I mean it meets the literal definition of Ice Kacang (shaved ice and beans) but it was basically sugar syrup and ice. It needed a serious tablespoon of brown sugar syrup, a bit of condensed/evaporated milk and thinly shaved ice. It actually tasted like those snow cones that come with just cordial/liquid sugar flavourings and ice but not even as good as that. It was also extremely small for the price. Wouldn’t order it again.

Their cendol was indeed better. The cendol (green jellies) seemed fresh enough, not rubbery or hard. The jellies had a delicacy to it. It was quite creamy with the coconut milk and brown sugar and very sweet. I think they added too much coconut milk for my liking but it wasn’t in anyway bad like their Ice Kacang was. Would I order it again? Hmm, probably not. Again portion size is to be considered for the price, I wouldn’t. Straits of Malacca and ChilliPadi Mamak do it better and bigger.

Impressions

I liked their food, there isn’t too much variety on their menu but what they serve in terms of hot food is tasty and that’s all that really matters here. The desserts, and even their Kuehs’ I find them to be on the sickly sweet side but I guess some people like it that way. They also are partly a grocery store (well they sell a few grocery items) and frozen dim sum dishes so even if you may not fancy their food, if you’re in the need of a few Malaysian ingredients this may be very well be the place to stop at.

Madam Kwong’s
1025 Whitehorse Rd
Box Hill VIC 3128

Wong’s Lucky Bar

January 11, 2013 Posted in Box Hill, Chinese, Food Reviews, Restaurant Reviews, SingaporeanLeave a comment

Wong’s Lucky Bar is an extremely popular eatery in Box Hill, right next to the tram stop. They serve Chinese food, but one of their main attractions is their cheap Crab. I believe it’s around $13 dollars a pound, and $5 extra for noodles for each person. Bookings are essential for dinner as seats fill up quickly and queues can start to form early. You’ll find the interior to be slightly strange with seating placed anywhere possible. They even use the next door’s cafe for seating!

Wong’s Crabs’ can be cooked a variety of ways, we ordered the Singapore Chilli Crab with noodles as I love Chinese Crab with noodles. While it looked mouth watering, the taste of the crab was lacking. You could hardly taste the crab meat but the Chilli Crab sauce was decent. I wished it was more flavourful and spicy but the sweetness of the sauce was there and it accompanied the crab well. I think you basically get what you pay for so don’t go looking here for the freshest, most tasty crab meal as you won’t find it here. We tried the Crab at All People Chinese Restaurant in Burwood East, and that was incomparable to here. Extremely tasty but the price difference is also world’s apart.

As out accompaniment, we ordered Balachan Spinach. This had a lot of zing to it as a result of the addition of chillies. Nicely cooked and flavour was excellent. A tad oily but it’s like any Chinese restaurant.

Impressions

If you want cheap(ish) food, served relatively quickly and don’t mind the chaos and almost non existant customer service Wong’s Lucky Bar is the place for you. They have a wide variety of seafood dishes and other standard Chinese dishes to cater to many. Give it a try!

Wong’s Lucky Bar

921 Whitehorse Rd
Box Hill VIC 3128

T: 03 9899 8558

ohdenny

Category: Box Hill

The Booth (via Menulog)

Tan Tan

Red Cup Cafe

Don-Udon

Pho 888 Box Hill

Lu Yang Dumpling House

Box Hill Korean BBQ

First Taste Box Hill

Madam Kwong’s

Wong’s Lucky Bar