Fusion – ohdenny

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

Chin Chin

February 12, 2016 Posted in Asian, Food Reviews, Melbourne, Restaurant Reviews, ThaiLeave a comment

Chin Chin, popular as ever, is located on Flinders Lane in the Melbourne CBD offers Thai and South East Asian flavours with a Western twist. For tables under ten, it’s walk-in only and queuing to put your name down on the list! It’s a very vibrant place and that always seems to be buzzing.

The menu offers something for everyone and what I like about it, is that while sharing is ideal because you can try a bit of everything, these dishes also are great for one. If you’re undecided on what to order, Chin Chin’s offer their Feed Me menu, where they will select various dishes from the menu on your behalf.

The Kingfish Sashimi is amazing. I love the acidity of the limes, slightly punchy chilli with the Thai basil. The fish is lovely and fresh as well.

//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js Caramelised Sticky Pork with herb salad and chilli vinegar is very bold in flavour. The pork is ever so tender.

The Chin Chin Pork “Roll Ups” are another winner. I love the tender, and flavoursome pork with the very thin pancakes and the sweet and salty Peking Duck like sauce.

//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js The Pork ribs here are a stunner. It’s probably my favourite dish of the night. The meat just comes straight off the bone, so good. So tender, like butter. A must.//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js

The Crispy Barramundi Salad with Green Apples, Pork, herbs and chillies, is lovely and fresh.

The Jungle curry with braised pork shoulder is very spicy! I prefer a curry with sauce to be honest, but this isn’t too bad.

To finish off the meal, this Coconut Sago with Sweetcorn Ice cream and puffed rice is delicious. Lovely coconut flavour and the crunchy puffed rice adds a nice texture to it.

Last words

Chin Chin makes some incredible dishes, with bold and fresh flavours. Service could be better and especially for the price, plus they added on extra dishes on top of the “Feed Me” menu last time we dined there.

Chin Chin
125 Flinders Lane
Melbourne VIC 3000

Moo Chi In Fusion

December 7, 2015 Posted in Asian, Fitzroy, Food Reviews, Malaysian, Restaurant Reviews, WesternLeave a comment

Moo Chi In Fusion has recently opened its doors on Johnston St in Fitzroy. Just minutes down from the bustle of Smith Street, this Asian Fusion restaurant impresses and entices you to stray away from the main streets of Fitzroy. Once you walk into the venue, you’re greeted with this spectacular artwork and friendly staff to boot.

The menu at Moo Chi has an interesting mix of entrees, salads, mains and desserts with some making a slight twist on the traditional dishes you might find elsewhere.

One of the popular items on their entrees menu is their Angry Bird, marinated ribs with their own spice mix served with some onions and herbs. The flavour in their chicken ribs is stunning. Perfect amount of spiciness, and even though I do enjoy a bit of spiciness if you can deal with pepper this is fine! I could probably have a few drinks and just this on its own for a meal.

Moo Chi’s Mini Moo Bun can be ordered in a few different choices. Starting with your choice of brioche or lettuce wrap (which I must try next time) and then your choice of filling of either pulled pork, fried tofu, soft shell crab or roast chicken. Being a fan of pulled pork that was a no brainer.

Deliciously tender pork with pickled vegetables and herbs that reminded me of a great coleslaw of sorts it goes great together and I’d definitely order that again.

Their mains selection leans towards the more Malaysian, Asian style of cuisine but I saw on the menu there was Seafood Spaghetti which I’m curious to try. The Chap Choy Curry is one of your vegetarian options and I love the creaminess of it. With a hint of spices, with vegetables cooked al dente that adds great texture to the dish.

The Kapitan Chicken Curry is a dry coconut curry (without sauce) with a hint of lemon grass. The chicken was cooked well and flavour-wise it wasn’t too creamy and the spices weren’t overpowering.

Their Singaporean Pork Spare Ribs is dressed with a sweet and sour sauce. The sauce at Moo Chi isn’t the same kind of sweet and sour sauce you may find in Chinese restaurants, and it has a more subtle sweetness and sourness to it. The pork pulls away easily and it’s not too fatty. I loved the how well the pork was cooked but I felt there was something missing from the sauce.

At Moo Chi, they have a few more Asian leaning desserts like Honeydew and Rockmelon Sago but also some Western style desserts like their Crème brûlée. Smooth custard with a crunchy top and served with a biscuit to enjoy it with. Not too sweet and has a nice vanilla taste to it.

Last words

I loved the Angry Bird and Mini Moo Buns and Moo Chi’s mains were flavourful and cooked with care. A real find in Fitzroy and I definitely recommend giving it a try.

Moo Chi In Fusion
72 Johnston St
Fitzroy VIC 3065

Mon – Closed
Tues to Thurs – 5:00 – 10:30 PM
Fri to Sun – Lunch 12:00 – 3:00 PM and Dinner 5:00 – 10:30 PM

*Opening hours current as at 7 December 2015

Ki – Toronto Series

January 16, 2015 Posted in Canadian, Food Reviews, Japanese, Restaurant Reviews, TorontoLeave a comment

Ending my Toronto series with Ki Modern Japanese and Bar located on Brookfield Place Bay Street, in the Toronto CBD. Ki meshes the Western culture with Japanese cuisine in which you end up with dishes such as burgers but with a slight twist or sushi with spicy tomato salsa or mango.

For those looking for a more traditional Japanese meal, at Ki they do offer a variety of freshly made nigiri, sashimi and maki sushi rolls. As a modern Japanese restaurant, they also serve slightly different sushi rolls, some with bacon or sweet potato which make for interesting combinations and especially on your palette.

Impressions

Overall, the food quality here is fantastic. The sushi, tempura sushi and even the burgers are all delicious. However, I found the dishes leaning more towards Western style to have very minimal Japanese influences as such it would appear like eating it in any other upmarket cafe or the like.

Ki do Japanese well, although it comes at a price because the dishes here aren’t exactly cheap.

Ki
181 Bay St
Toronto ON M5J2S1

Guu Sakabar – Toronto Series

December 5, 2014 Posted in Food Reviews, Japanese, Korean, Restaurant Reviews, TorontoLeave a comment

Guu Sakabar definitely has an interesting atmosphere and if you haven’t dined at one of Guu’s locations in Vancouver or in Toronto, you may be surprised as you walk in. For all guests that arrive, you are warmly greeted with cheers from the employees as well as when you exit. So it can get quite noisy on a busy night but that’s all part of the charm.

Guu offers a Japanese-tapas style menu some options having a bit of Korean influences. What I like about tapas menus is that it’s great for sharing and trying a bit of everything from the menu.

The Okonomiyaki here is deep fried with squid tonkatsu sauce and karashi mayonnaise. I haven’t tried a deep fried Japanese pancake before as I only have found the pan fried variation in Melbourne (Australia) before, however the pancake certainly left an impression on me.

Probably my favourite dish was Guu’s Kinoko Bibimbap in a stone pot.With mushrooms, cheese and a seaweed sauce, the combination of flavours worked a treat together. Packed full of flavour, can’t go wrong with it and even for me who would prefer not to have mushrooms in anything!

You can’t leave Guu without trying their drinks, however being a non-local and wanting to do a tapas drinks, we ordered the Sake Sampler that came with 6 different types of sake. As a non-expert in Sake, I can’t really offer my opinions on them but the cloudy ones were more memorable than the rest for sure.

Guu also offer Japanese Vodka, Beers, Wines and Cocktails and your non-alcoholic beverages as well.

Impressions

Guu is definitely for those seeking a good night out with friends and/or family and the atmosphere at Guu allows for that. Food-wise, most of what we tried was great, but on the smaller side of things. Though, I certainly hope a restaurant like this pops up in Melbourne to enjoy.

Guu – Sakabar

559 Bloor St W
Toronto ON M5S1Y6

Cafe Soho

November 8, 2013 Posted in Chinese, Food Reviews, Glen Waverley, Hong Kong, Restaurant Reviews, WesternLeave a comment

Cafe Soho on Kingsway, Glen Waverley is a Hong Kong style restaurant that replaced the Italian styled cafe before it. I recall there being another Hong Kong eatery on Kingsway before Petaling Street took its place and I actually was kinda fond of that restaurant. Cafe Soho is quite similar in its cuisine but definitely has a larger more diverse menu.

The image on top is a very Western meets Chinese, with its fried chicken and a creamy tomato based sauce with sunny side up egg and salad. The chicken is nice and crispy, tender inside. I found the sauce to be a bit bland, not much seasoning (it definitely needs pepper or chilli flakes) and it tastes a bit odd with rice. I guess some people may be used to this kind of cuisine but it still feels kind of strange.

Their vermicelli noodle soup with mushrooms and pork is a pleasant dish albeit a bit oily as you can see by its sheen. Sometimes hot noodle soup is just great on a cold winters day. Nothing too exciting to see here, to be perfectly honest.

Also ordered the Sweet and Sour Pork with rice. I believe they deep fry the pork before stir frying which gives it a nice crispy bite to it. The sauce lacked the sourness from the tomatoes, and I felt was a bit too sweet. The larger meat pieces works well here, as opposed to Grand Tofu’s version but I actually do prefer Grand Tofu’s Sweet and Sour Pork even though their meat to skin/flour ratio is low, and sometimes there is an airiness to the meat (balls) that isn’t too appealing. A decent meal.

Hong Kong styled Milk Tea is a bit different to Malaysian Milk Tea or the Bubble Teas as it uses evaporated milk instead of condensed (Malaysian) so you have this tangy, slightly bitter but still retaining some sweetness drink. Here, it’s done well and it comes in a nice cup and saucer. I actually had to add a bit of sugar because it wasn’t all that sweet. A nice drink.

Impressions

Cafe Soho I feel is a bit hit or miss with what you order, nothing here is offensively bad but I feel nothing really stands out and I’ve been here a couple of times and I don’t even remember what I’ve ordered. It doesn’t leave a lasting impression but will be sufficient enough to fill you up. Overall I’d say its a bit bland and wouldn’t go out of my way to eat here but as an option I wouldn’t mind going back. It has a disastrous rating on Urbanspoon though, so I guess diner beware?

Cafe Soho

113-115 Kingsway
Glen Waverley VIC 3150