Golden Bean Espresso, Carnegie

If one happens to head down to Carnegie Central, it is worth exploring Golden Bean Espresso. It is a cafe just up the escalator on the first floor. The cafe serves breaskfast, coffee, smoothies, wraps, cakes and pastry. The staff are very friendly and accommodating. The ambient is very relaxing, just a great spot to rest and refresh after shopping here.

Beautifully presented latte

A variety of wraps and rolls

Zagar's Charcoal Grill, Burwood, Melbourne

We took a friend of mine who was visiting Melbourne to this steak house because we wanted to take her somewhere to try Australian beef. How lucky are we to find this place! This place is run by a lovely, friendly couple and the steak here was excellent. The steak are chargrilled here to your liking. The homemade beef sausage is a must try. You get to choose 2 different sauce to go with your steak. There were limited choice on sides - there's coleslaw and potato salad. But if you just want great steak, it is a place worth trying.

Note: The place is very small, so if you're planning to bring a group it is worth booking in advance.

Interior

Eye Fillet

Tasting plate

Sakura Kaiten Sushi, Melbourne

We went to Sakura Kaiten Sushi one evening because it has such a high review on Urbanspoon, hoping that it will be just like the ones we had in Japan. The atmosphere was nice but I find the variety of sushi were quite limited. It was also a bit pricey overall. I think the sushi here was okay but it is not something I will rave about. Personally I think it is overated.

Interior

Prawn balls

Seared Salmon Nigiri with cheese

Fried octopus

Unagi nigiri

Soba

Seared scallop nigiri

Sweet potato Korokke

Chilli tuna with cucumber

Shyun Ramen Bar, Carnegie

Finding a good japanese ramen in Melbourne is so far still a challenging hunt, especially once we've tried the ramen in Japan's ramen stores. There is one we really loved in Melbourne in the city, but I'll save it for another post!

We thought we'll give Shyun Ramen Bar a try. My wife ordered a pork ramen with miso base soup and I ordered a tempura soba with fish broth. The order is made at the cashier and paid prior serving. At the time of visit, only cash is accepted.

My wife thought the ramen is okay but not as good as the one we had in Japan. The egg was cooked well (still soft and golden in the centre) but the overall presentation and everything in the bowl was somehow lacking love from the kitchen. The soba I ordered was excellent (especially the broth), but the portion is quite small. I was not satiated, thus not satisfied.

Overall I don't think we are getting value for money here and so won't be coming back again.

Tempura soba with fish broth

Pork Ramen in Miso base soup

Brunch at The Hardware Société, CBD Melbourne

We went to this place as we're planning to go to Melbourne Zoo one Sunday after searching urbanspoon for a place to have brunch. This place has a very good review and we can see why.

It is best to come early as there are many customers. Once your name is registered by the waiter, you'll just have to hang around till you're called.

I ordered the pork belly while my wife ordered the baked egg with chorizo with latte for two. The food that came out looked really elegant. It's more like fine dining food in a casual restaurant in my opinion. The food was cooked to perfection despite being so busy. The latte was excellent. I can see why there are many people coming in for takeaway coffee despite the crowd.

We really enjoyed our brunch experience and would really love to come back again when we get the chance.

Pork Belly

Baked egg with chorizo

Beautifully presented latte

Another latte with a different presentation

Udon at Umaido, Box Hil

We haven't found great authentic udon in Melbourne yet but the one at Umaido is pretty close to the ones we had in Japan. We went in just as the store has just opened, so everything has just been freshly prepared.

The udon here is springy and light. The soup base is just nice too (not bland yet not overpowering), very refreshing. The tempuras are unfortunately not as crunchy because they are pre-cooked before the store opens - which is to be expected as tempuras are normally made to order for immediate consumption. For a self service store, I don't think it is possible for them to do that.

Overall, we enjoyed the udon at Umaido. It definitely brought back memory from our trip to Japan.

Udon with tempura as side

Tommyfield Fish & Chip, Mornington

A few weeks ago we went down to Mornington to show a friend from overseas the Mornington peninsula coastal region. For our lunch, we went to this fish & chip shop in Mornington.

My wife and I enjoyed the fish and chip here that we actually came back a couple of weeks later. It is after all one of the best fish and chip we never have so far.

The flathead and barramandi are highly recommended. The chips portion is very large, so order a smaller portion if you are watching your weight. The only downside is there is limited salad selection - which is a common problem with most fish & chip shops.

The staff is very friendly; the fish is very fresh and food is cooked to order. It is worth a visit if you are down this way and wants a fresh casual meal.

Flake/flathead, calamari, scallops & chips with garden salad