American – ohdenny

YOMG

August 25, 2017 Posted in American, Australian, Food Reviews, Glen Waverley, Restaurant ReviewsLeave a comment

YOMG has a few stores located in the South and South East of Melbourne, and in Cairns! The Glen Waverley outlet is an immensely popular burger and frozen yoghurt joint that gets packed full of people on most nights.

While most people come for the burgers, YOMG also offer a variety of sides such as fries, wings, chicken bites, and to wash it all down they have milkshakes and of course, the self-serve frozen yoghurt for dessert.

The 12th Hour burger is filled with slow cooked pulled pork, Asian slaw and basil mayo. I loved the flavours, pulled pork is tender, and with the slightly zingy slaw it complements the pork well.

The Bergerk is made with Southern Fried Chicken, cheese, lettuce, tomato and dressed with chipotle mayo. All the ingredients for a great burger.

The Chilli Cheese fries is basically their fries topped with cheese sauce, chilli sauce, shredded cheese and spring onions. The chilli sauce packs a respectable amount of heat, and with melted cheese it’s a real winner.

Last words

YOMG do burgers well, and you can see why it’s so popular. Along with the American style sides and drinks and the frozen yoghurt that can be ordered by weight, or as a cone, it has everything you’d want.

YOMG – Glen Waverley
Ground Floor
65-67 Kingsway
Glen Waverley VIC 3150

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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Huxtaburger Eastland

December 2, 2016 Posted in American, Australian, Food Reviews, Restaurant Reviews, RingwoodLeave a comment

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Eastland Shopping Centre’s new Town Square is a lovely space for restaurants and the Sunday market as well. Eastland managed to persuade popular burger joint Huxtaburger to open up a new eatery east of Melbourne. Now with five outlets around Melbourne, Huxtaburger offers American style burgers, snacks and drinks.

The Clair Burger has one huge piece of southern style fried chicken, plus jalapeno mayo and coleslaw with a sweet bun. It’s quite a tasty burger, I loved the spicy kick from the mayo and I love the flavour from the coleslaw with the crunchy and moist chicken. Though for the price, it is on the small side of things.

The Chipotle seasoned chips are an interesting take on the standard fries. It’s not for the spice-averse though because it is has quite a kick to it. I’d say it has a bit too much seasoning, even for me who loves spicy things.

Last words

Huxtaburger does burgers and fries well but it doesn’t offer value for money.

Huxtaburger – Eastland
R03 Town Square, Eastland
171-175 Maroondah Highway
Ringwood VIC 3134

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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

Third Wave Cafe – Prahran

November 15, 2013 Posted in American, Food Reviews, Prahran, Restaurant Reviews, Russian, Spanish2 Comments

Third Wave Cafe in Prahran is the sister cafe to their first cafe/restaurant in Port Melbourne. The Port Melbourne location specialises in American BBQ, and that also carries over to the Prahran restaurant. Third Wave Cafe Prahran mostly does breakfast/brunch/lunch but from Thursday to Saturday they do open their doors for dinner. The chef is Ryo Kitahara who is the protégé of Iron Chef Sakai, which I must admit is pretty special. I was a big fan of the Iron Chef series.

Their location might be easy to miss if you don’t know where you’re going, Google Maps took me into the other direction! It’s located across from a gym (could be an after gym workout meal), on the side of the Woolies and close by to the Prahran Market on Cato Street.

I was invited here by Third Wave Cafe to try their menu and I thank them for the opportunity.

It isn’t your typically cafe in the sense that it lacks outdoor dining but it’s such a pleasant atmosphere it isn’t missed at all. They have a bar stools area as well as your standard dining setting with plenty of lighting.

Their menu is diverse and you may find it difficult to finally decide on what to order. Having gone for brunch/lunch we ordered a couple of different dishes to try.

Third Wave’s Pulled Pork Slider with fries tastes as good as it looks. The burger itself contains the pulled pork, with pickled cucumber and fresh coleslaw and their own BBQ sauce. The just cooked pork is seasoned well (and not too salty), adding a bit of the spicy BBQ sauce it complements the slider well. The cold coleslaw in a burger is something I’ve often not tried but here it makes for an interesting combination and certainly feels fresh. The coleslaw itself is light and not too rich in its use of mayonnaise. The fries are also light and crispy, and not heavy in its use of oil. A very pleasant surprise on how well everything was cooked, without feeling guilty over eating a burger with fries.

One of Third Wave’s specials is their Texan Fry Up and just maybe one of my favourite dishes ever, really no joke. The slow cooked smoked brisket is the highlight of this dish. It is just simply cooked to perfection. The smokey brisket practically teleports you to an American Steakhouse. It’s most definitely the best meat I’ve ever tasted. Tender and flavourful.

The mushrooms, potatoes, tomatoes all complement the star of the dish and with a small amount of the spicy BBQ sauce it is just simply delicious. The poached egg oozes yolk although the outer most part of the yolk is hard boiled. Overall, it really makes me want to try their dinner menu because this dish is cooked so well here.

On a side note: this dish was oddly on the breakfast page of their menu under specials, but it seems more like a lunch item to me.

Their Spicy Ratatouille Baked Eggs also looks as good as it tastes. I’ve actually only recently tried a similar dish at Red Cup Cafe in Box Hill, both are similar in the ingredients they use and both I say are more than satisfying.

The Spanish Chorizos add the spiciness to the dish, and with the addition of zucchini, eggplant, red peppers, tomatoes and of course eggs topped with Asiago cheese is another winner. Served with toasted Ciabatta bread it is one of those feel good warm dishes that I can see myself eating on a cold morning. The saltiness of the dish comes from the chorizo’s and it could be too much for some but eating this injunction with the crunchy bread and baked vegetables I couldn’t be happier with the meal.

From my understanding, their hot drinks come with this bite sized mini meringue that has this surprising ginger and possibly cinnamon flavour. Eating this with your coffee, you may even find yourself thinking you just ordered a Chai Latte. Their Latte is light and not too intense. I usually prefer much richer, fuller coffee with not too much foam on top. This isn’t the case here but it is in no way bad, just a decent cup of coffee.

Impressions

Third Wave Cafe definitely impresses with their selection of dishes and the quality of the dishes as well. I really cannot recommend enough the Texan Fry Up and to a lesser extent their Spicy Ratatouille Baked Eggs and with Third Wave Cafe’s Sweets, Paninis, Russian Menu. I don’t think you’ll be bored by the menu anytime soon. Whenever I go back to Prahran, a visit to Third Wave Cafe is on order.

Third Wave Cafe – Prahran (Menu)

30 Cato St
Prahran VIC 3181

Opening Hours (Correct as at 15 November 2013)
Monday to Wednesday – 8am to 3pm
Thursday to Saturday – 8am to Late
Sunday – 8am to 4pm

T: 03 9510 2991
M: 04 1255 0854

Burger Bar Crescent – Montreal Series

October 18, 2013 Posted in American, Canadian, Food Reviews, Montreal, Restaurant ReviewsLeave a comment

Burger Bar Crescent on Crescent St, Montreal is one of those trendy burger joints that appeals to the younger generation with its offerings of alcoholic beverages and cute burgers that can almost be considered to be sliders. Being unfamiliar with the area, I used my trusty Urbanspoon with led me to this popular place with a pretty high rating.

The restaurant is two floors with the ground floor being the more “bar” scene and the second floor having seating catered for larger groups and sit down meals.

Burger Bar Crescent’s menu is diverse, it actually took me a while to pick what to eat because they all sounded good on paper.

We ordered the Firestorm aka supposed to be the token spicy burger, with beef, peppers, jalapeños, cheese and spicy sauce with coleslaw. Their burgers are high but more petite in girth. The beef is succulent and juicy, cooked to perfection. The spicy sauce was a tad disappointing, it was creamy but lacked the edge. It definitely required further spicy seasoning which meant TABASCO to the rescue. Other than that, I’d think it’s a pretty decent burger overall.

The coleslaw was interesting, I can’t quite put my finger on what ingredients they made the dressing with. It was sweet, not particularly creamy, but with the dressing slathered all over the cabbage and carrots. Kinda odd but maybe it’s because I’ve never had coleslaw like this before.

Being the adventurous one (when it comes to food only), I ordered the Bison Burger, that comes with a Bison patty, sautéed leeks, wild mushrooms, brie and truffle mayo. My two main attractions to the dish was the Bison patty, having had Bison sausages back in Melbourne which were delicious, I had to seek it out. Secondly. truffle mayo, I’ve only had truffle butter previously and that has wet my appetite for some more truffle seasoned food. I really did love this seemingly packed burger. The patty was juicy and had a nice grilled texture/smokiness to it. The hard cheese retained it’s shape but was velvety and stringy. Loved it.

As the burgers come with either coleslaw or fries, you can also upgrade to sweet potato fries, caesar salad, onion rings or poutine. Wanting something a bit different, I ordered the sweet potato fries, that were seasoned with the right amount of salt (not too much) and were crispy as they should be. Like most sweet potato fries, you’d find the innards are still soft and floppy but the crispy outside makes it retain its shape very well.

They also have hotdogs on the menu that are an absolute stunner. Juicy sausage, with buttery onions, BACON, and cheese. One of the best hotdogs I’ve ever tasted, everything just worked in perfect harmony with each other. Just needing a bit of tomato sauce (a requirement for all hotdogs)

Unfortunately, I’m unsure if it’s still on the menu but if it is, I definitely recommend it. The fries ordered with it were on the slightly darker, near overcooked side of things but very crunchy I must say.

Impressions

One thing I haven’t touched on is their service, staff are friendly but my golly it took at least 30 mins for the food to arrive on a not so busy night. There were only two other tables filled around us with a large group nearby, with a another group on the bottom floor. No way near a quarter filled actually.

My only real qualm with the place, but other than that I loved the food here. They do burgers well even if it leans on the pricier end of things.

Burger Bar Crescent (Menu)

1465 Rue Crescent
Montreal QC H3G2B2