Oneworld Knox

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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!

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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.

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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

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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 Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

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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PappaRich Knox

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The Knox venue is the latest PappaRich outlet to open in recent years. PappaRich remains one of the most popular Malaysian restaurants in Melbourne and you can see by the queues even after the stores have been opened for months or even years! PappaRich has opened in the foodies part of Knox, in the Westfield Knox O-Zone. Recently, I was graciously invited to dine there for the Knox launch with a few other local food bloggers.

The menu remains the same for all PappaRich establishments, but if unfamiliar the menu is extensive. Roti, Fried Noodles, Noodle soups, Rice dishes and a variety of desserts, drinks and small eats as well.

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Most often I gravitate towards their Ipoh Koay Teow Soup with Steamed Chicken or with Prawn and Chicken slices, funnily enough my friend frequently orders the same dish too. One of the things I love about this noodle soup dish is it’s very fresh with its ingredients of the light (yet flavourful) soup, bean sprouts and the noodles. Complemented with the steamed chicken, it isn’t as rich or heavy as some other dishes because other than the fried shallots, nothing has been deep fried. According to my friend, it was a tad salty but given it’s only just recently opened it just needs a bit of refinement.
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The Crispy Egg Noodles was something I haven’t actually ordered before from PappaRich. It’s interesting as it uses a different type of noodles that I’d normally associate with a Crispy Noodles Seafood Combination but of course these are slightly different dishes (as the Seafood combination tends to use an egg gravy which is more white in colour). The noodles aren’t as crispy but still retain a bit of bite to them. Other than the crispy noodles itself, the flavouring of the sauce is crucial to combine all the ingredients together. The gravy here is more subtle in taste than I’m used to but goes well with the tender chicken and prawns. It’s a substantial dish I must say, like most of the PappaRich dishes.

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The Deep Fried Chicken Skins seems to be a popular choice among my friends, the pieces were quite large to just pop one piece in your mouth and crunch but it can be addictive!

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Pictured above is their Soya Milk with Jelly and the Teh C special. Teh C is one of the more interesting Malaysian drinks, with its distinct layers of tea, evaporated milk and gula melaka syrup (sugar syrup). It’s similar in some sense to a Teh Tarik but the gula melaka does add a unique flavour to it that I quite enjoy.

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Of course we had to try their desserts too! The Sago Pudding and Egg Sago Pudding pictured above is served with coconut milk. The Sago Pudding is topped with Red Beans, it’s a tasty dessert but I love sago (In cold desserts, hot or even as Kueh). The Egg Sago Pudding, however, was probably my favourite dish of the day. The Egg Pudding was silky smooth and just enough sweetness. Combined with the creamy coconut milk and sago it just makes for a delicious treat.

Impressions

While PappaRich Knox hasn’t reached the highs of their Chadstone store for me, yet, in terms of their noodle dishes. It certainly is early days yet, however what you can’t go wrong with is their desserts and drinks. So for the upcoming summer, it’s great to just sit out with a cooling drink after watching a movie or after a hard days work shopping and just relax.

Papparich Knox City on Urbanspoon

PappaRich Knox
425 Burwood Highway
Wantirna South VIC 3152

Sakura House

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Sakura House is located in the Knox O-Zone and from memory it has been there ever since the O-Zone opened. However it has appeared to have gone through multiple management changes throughout the years it has been opened.

I have eaten there a couple of times over the years and probably on my first visit my impressions of this restaurant were okay. For Japanese food in the area, it was probably one of the better eateries, it was amazing by any means but you would get a decent Japanese meal for a decent price.

On my last visit here, earlier this year, you could definitely tell there were changes with ownership. I could distinctly tell before that the workers were indeed Japanese, however from my latest visit it didn’t seem like the case. I could be wrong though but it certainly didn’t feel like it.

The prices here seemed largely the same, maybe slightly more, but that’s with most restaurants over the years. The menu contained Bento boxes, Rice and Noodle dishes, all the common dishes you would normally find in a Japanese restaurant.

I must note though, Lunch specials are the usual ~$10 dollars but if you come to eat before or after these Lunch time specials the prices are at least $15.

I ordered the Japanese Beef Curry rice, as I usually like Japanese Curry because it’s quite different from the Malaysian/Singaporean Curry and there are POTATOES!

I had a lot of issues with this curry, starting from the really strange marinade they seemed to put on their beef. The extra spices or whatever they let it sit in was too overpowering and basically you would find it hard pressed to actually get the Japanese curry flavour from it.

The actual curry flavour when you can taste it, is decent, but I would actually prefer the Japanese fast food restaurant, Hanaichi in QV, Melbourne. Their curry is pretty good, and along with the decent pricing and quick service you cannot go wrong there.

I probably can eat anything potato, except when it is undercooked. These potatoes, even the carrots, might I add, had a noticeable bite to them. The rice was slightly soggy too. I have no idea if this was just an off day for them, but even my family member’s meals didn’t look or taste that great either to be honest.

Overall, this was a very disappointing experience. I have no real intention of eating here again for sometime unless there appears to be new management but even then I would proceed with caution. If you want Japanese food in Knox, I would even recommend Sushi Sushi over this but if you really want to try it for yourself, go right ahead!

Sakura House on Urbanspoon

Sakura House

Shop 2222 Knox Ozone
Knox City Shopping Centre
Melbourne VIC 3153

03 9801 0368

Note: For those looking for Chinese New Year Festivities, check out this page for what’s happening this weekend!