Fries – 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

La Burgery

March 31, 2017 Posted in American, Australian, Box Hill, Food Reviews, Restaurant ReviewsLeave a comment

La Burgery opened its doors last year, replacing Nandos on Whitehorse Road, Box Hill close by to the Box Hill Town Hall. It offers an extensive variety of burgers, with beef, chicken, lamb, fish and vegetarian options as well as wraps and salads if you are not feeling like a burger. They also offer a few sides, like fries (obviously) and onion rings. All their ingredients are locally sourced with their bread and meats delivered daily.

Their Mexicano is served with a free range beef patty, jalapenos, rocket, avocado, cheese, chunky salsa and sour cream and seasoned with habanero spice. The burger is flavourful and fresh, although the beef patty was fairly dry.

The chips we ordered were also a bit disappointing. Not crispy enough and lacking seasoning. A herb seasoning would be great on these fries.

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The Antipasto Bellissimo burger is served with chicken breast, red capsicum, roasted pumpkin, feta cheese, semi-dried tomatoes, basil pesto, rocket and herb aioli. The chicken was more moist, and the basil pesto flavours comes through well. Although, both burger buns were harder than expected.

Last words

There aren’t too many places to grab a burger in Box Hill, apart from fast food joints so La Burger fits nicely into the Box Hill food scene. The burgers weren’t amazing by any means, but they were slightly above average which sometimes, is good enough.

La Burgery
5/1031 Whitehorse Road
Box Hill VIC 3128

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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Oneworld Knox

July 13, 2016 Posted in American, Asian, Australian, European, Food, Food Reviews, Knox, Restaurant ReviewsLeave a comment

Oneworld Knox is located in the O-Zone section of Westfield Knox Shopping Centre. Their name aptly describes the variety of cuisines on offer, and by perusing their menu you can definitely tell that is the case. There’s African, Japanese, Thai, Chinese, Mexican, Indian, Italian and Spanish influences on Oneworld’s menu so there’s pretty much something for everyone. We were invited to dine at Oneworld, and one thing I noticed was that they go by the Farm to the Table philosophy, sourcing local produce for their dishes which I am a big fan of!

Oneworld have recently renovated and their fit out is cozy and welcoming, with overhanging plants and vibrant artwork on the walls. We were greeted by some friendly staff and of course, had to have a coffee to start off with. Their organic coffee is sourced from Healesville and has a lovely aroma to it but not too strong.

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We ordered the Buffalo Wingettes and the marinade on the wings was very flavourful with a subtlety of spice that carries through it. Tender chicken that goes nicely with the sour cream, fresh diced tomatoes and alfalfa.

The Fajitas were the standout at Oneworld. We ordered the chicken fajitas but you can also order it with beef, prawns or just vegetarian. What I loved about this dish was the fantastic flavours of that salsa and the chicken was perfectly cooked. Often, you’d find chicken to dry out, especially breast meat but here it was very well cooked. The puree of cherries, capsicum, onions, and celery that when combined create this pink puree was something I hadn’t had before, but what a great combination that adds a bit of sweetness to the dish. I wish I could make that so I could have it as a dip! This dish you could probably even feed two people with just a few more tortillas.//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js

I like trying new things, so when I saw Camel Burger on the menu I was instantly drawn to it. Their camel meat is from South Australia, and it’s served with tomato sauce and fries. Surprisingly enough, it was actually quite tasty, camel meat tastes like a more robust beef or veal but just different. The Oneworld sauce that goes with it pairs well, with it’s slight creaminess. Though, the downside is that camel meat seems a bit more lean, so I found it just a tad dry even with the sauce. Overall, it’s a pretty decent burger!//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js
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The Porterhouse Steak you can have your choice of garlic butter, mushroom jus or chimichuri sauce. If you choose the garlic butter, they actually provide you with a very generous serving of it in a small bowl. I’d have preferred a garlic butter sauce but the garlic butter was quite nice, though you probably don’t feel like having so much knowing how rich it is. The steak was also cooked to our request of medium and the salad gives the freshness it needs.
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Last words

Oneworld Knox has an extensive menu with a great variety of tasty foods on offer, and with friendly staff which is a major plus to me! Open for Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner, or just for some desserts or drinks, if you so fancy. Try the Fajitas!

Oneworld Knox
Knox O-Zone
425 Burwood Highway
Wantirna VIC 3152

T: 03 9801 8962

Opening Hours
Everyday – 10am to 10pm

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Meat in the Middle

April 15, 2016 Posted in Food Reviews, Glen Waverley, Greek, Restaurant ReviewsLeave a comment

Meat in the Middle on Kingsway in Glen Waverley offers an selection of souvlaki dishes and burgers. It’s a cute little place, that is buzzing in the evenings. You can order your souvlaki in a wrap, or open platter and all their menu items have interesting names to go with them.

The Kingsway, is their fusion souvlaki with a side of chillies to eat with your pork gyro and pita bread. It’s a very filling meal, and I love the freshness of the Apple slaw, which I didn’t find to be too rich in dressing.

Last words

Tasty dishes and decently priced. I’ll be baaack!

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Meat in the Middle
86 Kingsway
Glen Waverley VIC 3150

Squires Loft Nunawading

March 4, 2016 Posted in Australian, Food Reviews, Nunawading, Restaurant ReviewsLeave a comment

Squires Loft have several locations across Victoria and even a few interstate. Their Nunawading outlet is located in Brandsmart, on Whitehorse Road. As with the other outlets, their main appeal is their selection of steaks and grill options. At Nunawading, they also have a bar menu option as well as a dining in menu to choose from.

Their Char-grilled salmon with creamy garlic sauce was a lovely medium-rare and had a fantastic grilled aroma to it. The garlic sauce that comes with the salmon is a delicious sauce to go with it, just add a bit of black pepper to spice it up.

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All the mains come with your choice of fries, baked potato or a side salad. The fries are also quite good actually.//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js

The Chicken breast fillet is also another winner. Moist and tender, but still having that nice charred flavour to it. A black pepper or mushroom sauce would have probably paired better than the garlic sauce but the garlic sauce is very nice I must say.

Last words

Great tasting steaks, for an affordable price.

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Squires Loft
54/288 Whitehorse Road (Brandsmart)
Nunawading VIC 3131

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

Le Chic Shack – Quebec City Series

August 16, 2013 Posted in Canadian, Food Reviews, French, Quebec City, Restaurant ReviewsLeave a comment

Le Chic Shack in Old Quebec is one of those trendy Burger joints aka gourmet fast food. In the old part of Quebec City, I found it pretty difficult to find a reasonable priced meal for dinner. That and it was too bloody freezing to take more than half an hour to look around at whats good. We eventually stumbled upon le Chic Shack and after checking out the menu it seemed like a decent place to dine in. Like a Fast Food eatery, you order at the register. Menu is painted on the walls, along with menus at the tables and at the register. We weren’t particular hungry so opted for smaller, lighter options.

As you can see they add stickers to their dishes, this particular burger at le Chic Shack is called the La Chic Poulette, which includes Grilled chicken breast, cheddar, arugula, red onion, tomato, pickles, remoulade and brioche bun. The bun here is a tad well done, but crunchy it is. The chicken is well cooked, not tough like some grilled chicken can be and the dressing is much needed otherwise it’d be a big too dry for my liking. Overall, it’s a great little burger but definitely on the pricier side of things at $11.

Pardon my memory but I believe this was the Le Shack aka Beef, Gruyère cheese, Red-ale braised beef, tomato, pickles, red onion and horseradish aioli with their brioche bun. The cheesy goodness on the beef is mouth watering. I love it. A typical burger but made to near perfection. $11

You can order chips as a side, $4 for small or $6 for large with a choice of normal or sweet potatoes. I’m not a big fan of sweet potato fries because they are commonly too soft and not crunchy enough for me to consider them chips, so it’s more than likely I’ll order normal potato fries. The fries here are salted well, not too much. Some places will over season chips with their salt and it’s a majorly off putting. The chips here are nice and crunchy, and just the right size. I love crispy chips and here they are done reasonably well.

Being Quebec, I couldn’t not order their poutine. What they call La Fumee is basically their thick cut chips mashed slightly (crispy still) accompanied by smoked meat, chic sauce, cheese curds, swiss cheese, pickled onions and fresh herbs. Their sauce is this kinda sweet, mayonnaise like sauce. I loved their chunky bit crispy chips and eating them with the smokey tender meat and stringy cheese it just works well together. Looking at it, you may think for $11 + tax, it isn’t worth it but I can say it is very satisfying because of all that starch, carbs and protein. Adding just a little bit of tabasco, as you do, is all that is needed to liven up what is already a great meal.

Impressions

I liked Le Chic Shack for what it is, serving burgers with interesting ingredients and some sourced locally and of course, great tasting! I do recommend it, probably more so for lunch. I prefer their poutines to their burgers but that’s just a personal preference because I love me some chips (Potato head)

Le Chic Shack
15 Rue Du Fort
Quebec QC G1R3Z8

Sweet Potato Fries

March 15, 2013 Posted in Baking, Cooking, RecipesLeave a comment

Around my holiday break I wanted to try making something with potatoes. Something crunchy, and yet not too fattening (as least fattening as potatoes can be), so I thought about sweet potato fries. Sweet potatoes are regarded as the healthier option but the difference is actually not too large as you might have heard. I read about the difficulties people have with making sweet potato fries crispy since they have a higher water content, so they tend to sag a bit unless you try deep frying it. Me, trying to avoid any heavy oils, and particularly deep frying anything, I wanted to grill/oven bake them. They certainly are very difficult to crisp up but other than that, they turned out decent enough for a side dish.

I found this recipe from the Food Network by Paula Deen. The original recipe as noted by the comments appears to be way over salted, luckily having read the comments I stuck by that and divided it by 4.

Baked Sweet Potato Fries (Food Network)

Ingredients
Olive Oil, for tossing
5 sweet potatoes, peeled and sliced into 1/4-inch long slices, then 1/4-wide inch strips, using a crinkle cut knife
1 tablespoon House Seasoning (recipe follows)
1/2 teaspoon paprika

House Seasoning:
1/4 cup salt
1/4 cup black pepper
1/4 cup garlic powder

Method
1. Preheat oven to 230 degrees C. Line a sheet tray with parchment. In a large bowl toss sweet potatoes with just enough oil to coat.

2. Mix house seasoning ingredients together and store in an airtight container for up to 6 months.

3. Sprinkle potatoes with House Seasoning and paprika.

4. Spread sweet potatoes in single layer on prepared baking sheet, being sure not to overcrowd.

5. Bake until sweet potatoes are tender and golden brown, turning occasionally, about 20 minutes. Let cool 5 to 10 minutes before serving.

Impressions

Baking sweet potato fries requires a lot more time than I imagined, simply because you need to keep flipping these around so that the entire chip crisps up. Otherwise you’d find that only one side is “crispy” (aka just slightly firmer in my case) and the bottom side is like a baked potato. Then, you have to consider the air temperature when turning the fries around as you would lose a lot of heat. So bear that in mind.

As you may see, the fries were a bit on the floppy side but nonetheless the flavour of the fries was decent. I think I may have added too much black pepper to my seasoning. Probably I would have added let’s say 1/5 cup or about there instead, and maybe sprinkled a bit more paprika and used a tad of chicken salt to replace the regular salt I used.

Keep in mind too, that only a very small amount of oil is needed for the seasoning to stick as then you may end up with wet potatoes that won’t evaporate in time. I enjoyed the process though don’t get me wrong, but I’m still searching for that perfect recipe.