Doncaster – ohdenny

Meals at Jackson’s

November 18, 2016 Posted in UncategorizedLeave a comment

With Jonker Street seemingly always busy, we decided to try Meals At Jackson’s. I believe it changed management in recent times, but I never actually dined there before the change. Meals At Jackson’s offers a selection of Chinese and Malaysian style dishes like Laksa, Nasi Goreng, Lemon Chicken and Sweet & Sour Pork.

I tend to order a Laksa at Malaysian restaurants I’ve never been to before, it seems to be a decent indicator of the quality and authenticity of Malaysian dishes. The Chicken Curry Laksa at Meals At Jackson’s, is unfortunately a disappointment. It has a generous use of curry powder, and lacking in pretty much any other flavour. The shrivelled up long beans don’t make things better either. I guess one of the pluses is that it comes with a lot of chicken pieces.

//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js

Their Ipoh Combination is decent. Though, an odd addition of Char Siew (BBQ Pork) instead of the typical chicken, or beef which adds this weird sweetness to it. The noodles also lack some of the “wok flavour” too.

//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js

The Fish Head Noodle Soup was also lacking in flavour. It’s “milky” but it doesn’t have the required sourness from the preserved vegetables and tomatoes to balance it. Quite average.

Last words

I hope Meals At Jackson’s Chinese style dishes are tastier because their Malaysian dishes are truly mediocre.

Meals At Jackson’s
52 Jackson Court
Doncaster East VIC 3109
//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js

Jonker Street

July 22, 2016 Posted in Doncaster, Food Reviews, Malaysian, Restaurant ReviewsLeave a comment

Jonker Street in Doncaster is named after a popular street in Malacca, Malaysia which has now taken over the location that Ronz Roti Kaya used to occupy. The menu at Jonker Street is actually quite extensive, they offer an array of noodle and rice dishes, as well as congee which include your Malaysian staples like Nasi Goreng, and Curry Laksa but they also serve mains if you prefer to share dishes and take the opportunity to try a few more dishes at a time.

Not many places can do a good Assam Laksa, it’s usually either it lacks in flavour or their use sardines which often changes the entire flavour of the broth. I found the Assam Laksa here to be lacking in flavour, it tastes slightly watered down which is disappointing. I’d say it’s around 70% of the intensity it should be at.

The Curry Laksa here is surprisingly good, but it isn’t your typical Laksa that you might find in Laksa King or Chef Lagenda that are more creamier. The Laksa tastes like your typical Chicken Curry sauce but as a broth, which has this lovely spiciness to it that it needs.

The Pan Mee here also has the same issues that the Assam Laksa has, which is that the soup base lacks flavour but more so in this case. The Pan Mee broth should have the flavour of pork and dried anchovies, but it really doesn’t have any taste to it at all so I had to add a lot of chilli to give it flavour.

The Teh Tarik isn’t too bad, maybe just a tad too sweet and not pulled enough but overall it’s decent!

The Ice Cendol has the balance of gula melaka syrup and coconut milk all out, it needs a lot more gula melaka.

Last words

There isn’t anything that stands out to me at Jonker Street, though the Chicken Laksa is probably one of the better dishes but it seems like they have issues with making their broths more intense in flavour. Maybe their other dishes are better, but at the moment I’m in no hurry to try it again.

Jonker Street
84 Jackson Court
Doncaster East VIC 3109

Frozen by A Thousand Blessings – Doncaster

February 19, 2016 Posted in Australian, Desserts, Doncaster, Food Reviews, Restaurant ReviewsLeave a comment

I first came across Frozen by a Thousand Blessings in Richmond, after a bowl of ramen next door. I was so happy when I saw that they had opened another outlet in the Doncaster Shopping Centre. What I love about their frozen yoghurts is how creamy they are but taste quite light and fresh. Most of the time I don’t even need the toppings as not to spoil the flavour of the yoghurts.

Frozen have a great variety of flavours and the one that I always go back to is their Coconut flavour, with desiccated coconut shavings to give it that added texture. The popping pearls with mango inside as a topping are something I recommend adding to the coconut one!

The other flavours that I love were the Pomegranate and Almond Milk & Hazelnut. Super delicious.

Last words

One of the best frozen yoghurt places in Melbourne.

Frozen by a Thousand Blessings
Westfield Doncaster
Ground Floor
619 Doncaster Road
Doncaster VIC 3108

Ramen Bankara

February 5, 2016 Posted in Doncaster, Food Reviews, Japanese, Restaurant ReviewsLeave a comment

Ramen Bankara has now three outlets with the two cities stores opening up in the last couple of months. However, it was the Doncaster outlet that was first in Australia, located inside the Westfield shopping centre and providing more options for those wanting Japanese cuisine with Hanaichi and Hakata Gensuke preceding it.

I love ramen and even when I was in Japan, I never tired of it. Ramen Bankara has a choice of three different soup bases with your choice of add ons such as eggs, chashu, bamboo shoots and seaweed. Each classic option has a premium version with more add ons.

Their Bankara Ramen has pork broth as its base and it’s absolutely delicious. It has an amazing rich pork flavour, and their pork belly is so tender. One downside, was the amount of fat floating in the broth. I’d love if they sieved a bit of it out but other than that, it’s the one to get.

//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js

Chuka Soba Ramen is another pork broth but this has the added option of getting it spicy. It’s a milder broth and a bit more tangy and cleaner for the palate.

Ramen Bankara’s Tonkotsu can also be ordered spicy, and it’s more creamy than the Chuka Soba. It’s made from pork bones that give it that creamy texture. I like the spicy kick more in the Tonkotsu.

Last words

There aren’t too many choices for good ramen around these parts of town so Ramen Bankara satisfies those cravings just nicely.

//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js

Ramen Bankara – Doncaster
Westfield Doncaster Shopping Centre
Ground Level, 619 Doncaster Road
Doncaster VIC 3108

PappaRich – Doncaster

January 1, 2016 Posted in Doncaster, Food Reviews, Malaysian, Restaurant ReviewsLeave a comment

PappaRich is practically everywhere in Melbourne, and interestingly their Doncaster outlet is located in a separate building and not part of a shopping centre or shopping strip. It’s a spacious area but bustling during the weekends. If you had never been to a PappaRich before, they basically offer a wide selection of Malaysian rice, noodle and roti dishes along with a an almost innumerable amount of drinks to choose from.

PappaRich’s Chicken Curry Laksa is one of the better laksa’s around town, but still the ones to beat are Chef Lagenda and Laksa King. It’s just creamy enough, with the right amount of chilli and spices. With a hint of mint to freshen it up.

Their Red Chicken Briyani with Fried Eggplant is a dish you wouldn’t often come across as it leans towards the more Indian/Malaysian style of cooking unlike most Malaysian restaurants which are more Chinese influenced.

I love Briyani and the rice here has that lovely spices infused into the rice, but I detest sultanas in dishes so I very rarely (read: never) order this. Comes with a crispy thin pappadam too!

Their drinks are usually quite good, I opt for the Soy Bean Milk with Grass Jelly on many occasions because it’s not too sweet and getting it with jelly is always enjoyable.

Last words

Doncaster outlet doesn’t stray too far from the standard set by Chadstone or Glen Waverley so it’s nice to have one on the eastern side of town.

PappaRich Doncaster
540 Doncaster Road
Doncaster VIC 3108

Penang Flavours

July 3, 2015 Posted in Doncaster, Food Reviews, Malaysian, Restaurant ReviewsLeave a comment

Penang Flavours on Doncaster Road, minutes drive from Doncaster Shopping Town used to be under the same name as the Malaysian eatery in Wantirna, Straits Cafe. Although under a new name, the food remains just as good as before.

Their Har Mee has a lovely prawn soup base flavour, and the sambal mixed in gives it a nice chilli aroma. My only downside I found is the oiliness in the dish, as is apparent in the picture above but I guess that comes with eating out.

The Wattan Hor (Combination Hor Fun) is one of the better ones I’ve had around town. The wok flavour of the hor fun is noticeable and adds that little bit extra that is needed to balance the creaminess of the egg sauce. Delicious

Penang Flavour’s Assam Laksa wasn’t anything special. Assam Laksa really needs that sweet, sour combination to soup base but also with that subtle fish flavour. Not to say it was bad, it isn’t. Not many Malaysian restaurants can actually do it well actually.

Impressions

Malaysian Kitchen also is located close by to Penang Flavours, but if I were to choose, I’d definitely go with Penang Flavours. Their Char Kway Teow is one of the better ones in Melbourne too.

Penang Flavours
694 Doncaster Road
Doncaster Melbourne VIC

Malaysian Kitchen

August 2, 2013 Posted in Doncaster, Food Reviews, Malaysian, Restaurant ReviewsLeave a comment

Malaysian Kitchen on Doncaster Road, Doncaster is another Malaysian restaurant in Victoria. The place is quite spacious having two floors and seems to be quite popular among the locals. During lunch peak time, it filled up quickly. At Malaysian Kitchen, they serve the Malaysian favourites as well as a few obscure dishes.

Ever since having Pan Mee at the now closed Claypot King in Glen Waverley, I’ve always tried to find a place that can match or better it. Chef Lagenda‘s version is decent, but they don’t make their own noodles which Claypot King do. The other Claypot King locations don’t offer Pan Mee either so it is a real disappointment. Malaysian Kitchen’s Pan Mee with the addition of the crunchy anchovies and fried onion creates a wonderfully flavourful soup. The noodles appear to be made with a Pasta maker, the thin long noodles make it a challenge to eat. If it was cut up into smaller pieces, I think it would be much better. However, the noodles itself have just enough bite to them which is all you want. In addition, their Pan Mee includes mince meat, mushrooms and bok choy. Overall, it’s a decent Pan Mee packed full of noodles in a small bowl but I still prefer Chef Lagenda’s Pan Mee.

Their Char Kway Teoh is an interesting thing, as you can see they add strands of Hokkien Mee into this dish. I can’t say I enjoyed this, it really doesn’t taste much like Char Kway Teoh and doesn’t have that wok flavour. You’ll find a better (but not the best) Char Kway Teoh at Straits Cafe Doncaster. The use of fatter noodles adds a heaviness to the dish and really the sauce is too subtle to add anything. Not great.

Malaysian Kitchen’s Fish Head Curry is quite pleasant. The sour soup with the noodles and fish just works. The soup isn’t too sour but that slightly tangy taste that lingers on your tongue is beautiful. The deep fried fish either needs to be taken out quickly or eaten quickly because the crispy fish will get soft and less appetising. I’m not a fan of deep fried fish like this, and here, its no exception and with the plentiful bones to boot it isn’t an enjoyable eating experience to put it lightly. Apart from that, I think it’s a winner, the soup provides that feeling like you’re having a home cooked meal with your family. Familiar and cosy.

Impressions

Given the food we ate, I’m not quite sure why it’s so popular. Maybe it’s the food we chose but I couldn’t see anything all that special about the Malaysian food here. Maybe it’s because Doncaster or around these parts really doesn’t have great Malaysian food like South Eastern suburbs and even arguably the CBD has. I find it overall decent but I wouldn’t go out of my way to eat here again.

Malaysian Kitchen

910-912 Doncaster Road
Doncaster VIC 3109

PappaRich (Melbourne City – QV)

July 27, 2012 Posted in Malaysian, Melbourne, Restaurant ReviewsLeave a comment

PappaRich QV was the first franchise to open in Victoria before the Chadstone and Doncaster stores and since its opening earlier this year. I avoided the restaurant for months because usually the curiosity factor is high and the management work out the kinks of the service and etc. Even after many months, the QV store is extremely popular.

We ordered the Ipoh Hor Fun with Prawns & Chicken Strips, and it was quite pleasant tasting. The soup was seasoned well, and with the large chillies and chicken pieces, it all came together nicely.

Their Roti Canai with Curry Chicken is a departure from the usual Roti Canai’s you would find elsewhere or from those frozen packets in Asian Groceries. What makes it so different is that the Roti here is extremely dry, but crisp and crunchy nonetheless. The ones you would find in most other Malaysian restaurants are layered, oiled and although crisp on the outside, it would be soft and pull-apart inside.

The Curry Chicken accompaniment was reasonably tasty, but with the chicken being all bones and skin it was a tad disappointing. The Dahl is surprisingly good, but nothing really out of the ordinary from what you may find in ChilliPadi Mamak in Flemington.

The real highlight of this dish is the sambal, as I mentioned in the Chadstone review, it has all the right things. A bit sweet and a huge kick of heat. Probably could eat that all day.

Their drinks menu is extensive with a lot of variety, we ordered the Soya Bean with Grass Jelly and it was extremely delicious. Not too sweet, and just the right amount of creaminess. Would order again!

Their Iced Red Bean drink was also quite nice, with their sugared Red Beans at the bottom with shaved ice. Not overly sweet but still sweet enough for those sweet tooths.

Impressions

Service here was decent, food came quick enough. My main issue here is that when we requested for some extra sambal, they wanted $3 for basically one spoonful. I’m not sure if this is consistent with the Chadstone and Doncaster stores, but when we did ask fore more sambal in Chadstone, and we were not asked to pay for it. We did mention this to the staff at the counter when paying, and he said that this was something the management from the PappaRich franchisor have decided upon.

Can’t say I’m that impressed with this decision to be honest. Not the best way to treat your customers when you start micro-charging them. Alas, can’t do anything about it though. Will see if Chadstone have started charging next time we visit. Would I go back to PappaRich QV? Maybe not. We didn’t have the best experience here, the food was a slight letdown, definitely less tasty compared with Chadstone. Plus there are plenty of Malaysian restaurants to choose from in the city.

PappaRich QV
Level 2, Shop 11, QV Square
210 Lonsdale Street
Melbourne VIC

Spudbar

May 14, 2011 Posted in Australian, Doncaster, Food, Food Reviews, Restaurant Reviews1 Comment

My love of potatoes knows no bounds. I’ll eat it mashed, grilled, fried, boiled, cut up into wedges or fries and then deep fried or oven baked. I don’t think I’ve stopped loving potatoes and their versatility. So when a baked potato store opened, my sister (Also a potato head) found it and got me to try it. It was just simply perfection.

The name of the store is Spudbar, and it’s been a firm favourite ever since I went there a couple of years ago.

They have a number of stores around Victoria, and when I went to get my Macbook replaced in Doncaster Shopping Centre, I just had to go back there.

On this occasion, I tried their Tuna Melt Spud, there are plentiful dishes you can order and you can also make your own spud selection but just for convenience sake I chose the Tuna one. They used to have one called ‘Hot Stuff’ which included, kidney beans, a nice spicy sauce and vegetables but over the years I guess people weren’t interested in it.

The Tuna Melt Spud, is quite tasty. I doubt anyone can ruin potatoes for me, anyway. The only downside was that the dressing and tuna are cold, and well it makes the warm spud just a bit too cold for my liking. Nonetheless, it was still delicious. I added some chilli flakes, and tabasco sauce just for some added kick and it was great.

The mixture of the cheese, peas, carrots, corn, dressing, tuna and of course the potato all worked really well together and it’s really filling so you know you got a good meal out of it.

If you love all things potatoes, this is the dining experience you’ll not want to miss.

Spudbar

Westfield Doncaster Shopping Center
619 Doncaster Rd,
Doncaster VIC
Phone: 03 9840 2007
Fax: 03 9840 2007
Email : doncaster@spudbar.com.au
Open 9am – 5pm Sat – Wed
Open 9am – 9pm Thurs – Fri