Review - Burwood Teppanyaki House

9th Jan 2012

Burwood Teppanyaki House
145 Burwood Highway, Burwood East

Cuisine: Asian, Japanese

It was a Monday night and we decided to go out for a quick meal. Rather than have a long teppanyaki session, we opted for the a la carte side of the restaurant. 

The Soft Shell Crab Kara Age was yummy and well-priced. For variety, we ordered different Nigiri Sushi -  King Fish, Tako (steamed octopus), Yellow Fin Tuna, Tobiko (fish roe) and Sea Urchin; these individual pieces were served together in a "boat". The grilled scallops were wrapped in salmon - these were very nice. The Futo Maki Prawn Tempura roll came as slices - these tasted bland and I wasn't sure if I was eating prawns at first. The Yaki Meshi seafood fried rice was encased in an omelette "shell" which was interesting but the rice was a bit on the gluggy side. I am not a big fan of mayonnaise and this was liberally drizzled on top of the omelette. The Tofu Steak was nice but had a touch too much sauce - it would be better to have the sauce on the side. The Ika Yaki grilled calamari was not bad. 

Overall, a nice meal. We may go back to try other things on the menu.

Taste Rating: 6.5/10   Value Rating: 6.5/10

Soft Shell Crab Kara-Age

Nigiri Shushi - Sea Urchin, Tobiko (fish roe)
Tako (steamed octopus), King fish, Yellow Fin Tuna

Grilled Scallops wrapped in Salmon

Grilled Scallops wrapped in Salmon

Futo Maki Prawn Tempura roll



Yaki-Meshi Seafood Fried Rice



Yaki-Meshi Seafood Fried Rice encased in Omelette



Ika Yaki Grilled Calamari

Tofu Steak

Burwood Teppanyaki House













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Review - Taiwan Cafe

6th Jan 2012

Taiwan Cafe  
273 Swanston St, Melbourne

Cuisine: Asian, Taiwanese

Really enjoyed the food at this restaurant! Be prepared to queue up. When we arrived, we were given a ticket with a number for the queue. Luckily for us, we waited less than 5 minutes whereas several others had a longer wait later. We had a table at the window facing the street and found this not to be as cramped as other tables seemed to be.

We ordered the Taiwanese XL Crispy Fried Chicken Rice Box, Taiwanese Style Wok Tossed Vermicelli and Hot & Spicy Ma Po Tofu. All three dishes tasted great, especially the battered chicken. The Ma Po tofu was chilli hot but not over the top hot, with a nice touch of sourness. The vermicelli was not oily and had a good amount of ingredients.

Very good value for money. We will definitely be going back!

Taste Rating: 8/10   Value Rating: 8/10

 Given a number for the Queue

- how long do we have to wait?

Yay! Less than 5 minutes later,

he is waving us in!

Glossy Red Menu

Taiwanese Style Wok Tossed Vermicelli

Taiwanese Style Wok Tossed Vermicelli

Hot and Spicy "Ma Po" Tofu 

Hot & Spicy "Ma Po" Tofu

Taiwanese XL Crispy Fried Chicken Rice Box

 

Taiwanese XL Crispy Fried Chicken Rice Box




Review - Ipondo Japanese Restaurant

5th Jan 2012

Ipondo Japanese Restaurant  
275 King St, Melbourne

Cuisine: Asian, Japanese

Restaurant with a difference! Downstairs, there are individual booths with iPads on the wall to order. Great fun when ordering with friends.We ordered the salmon sashimi, curry chicken, special beef set, green tea ice cream and black sesame ice cream . The sashimi was good and value for money. But the curry chicken was different to the iPad photo - the photo looked like the dish had minced chicken but we got fried chicken mince balls. Very generous serve of beef in the meal set - more than enough for an average eater. The ice cream flavours were hard to detect. Upstairs, there are tables for groups with one iPad per table.

Taste Rating: 6/10   Value Rating: 7/10

Individual Booth with iPad for ordering

Hands appear with your meal



Blind closes after meal appears!

Recipe - Flourless Chocolate Orange Ganache Cake

Hi,

A recipe for Flourless Chocolate Orange Ganache Cake! This has been provided by Dawei. Check this out in the Contributors' Recipes.

Cheers,

Recipe - Chinese Chicken and Eggplant

Hi,

Another recipe! This is for Chinese Chicken and Eggplant by Marc. Check this out in the Contributors' Recipes.

Cheers,

Recipe - Homemade Hainanese Chicken Rice

Hi,

Check out the recipe for this very tasty homemade Hainanese Chicken Rice. The recipe has been provided by Richie and is in the Contributors' Recipes.

Cheers,