David and Camy Dumpling Restaurant

605 Station Street, Box Hill

David and Camy is one of many Asian restaurants that have called Box Hill home for many years. They were once one of a few restaurants that I would visit frequently, as I enjoyed their cheap and straightforward Chinese style food. I don't know whether it was because they were very busy, or if the quality of the food has simply dropped, but during my most recent visit to them though, I was quite disappointed by the food that I was served.

 Egg custard buns

Fried dumplings

Crispy noodles with seafood

Unfortunately on this visit to David and Camy, I was incredibly disappointed by both the food and service. Everything we ordered other than the egg custard buns was almost inedible and even though I was very hungry, I could not finish eating it. The fried dumplings had skin that was both thick and hard, which made them very difficult to eat and the crispy noodles with seafood was very bland and had no texture it. 

Usually with restaurants, I give them the benefit of the doubt and visit them again before completely writing them off and not visiting them again. However with the plethora of high quality Chinese restaurants in the Box Hill area, I do not see any reason to take the risk of having another bad meal.

Food Rating 3.5/10

Overall Rating 3.5/10

Yami Yami

1D Bank Street, Box Hill

Although Yami Yami has 3 restaurants throughout Melbourne, I have only ever visited their Box Hill location. They mainly serve a large variety of Korean comfort foods, which makes it a great place to visit if you aren't quite sure what you want to eat. But as they are a Korean/Japanese restaurant, if you look closely at their menu you will notice that they also serve some Japanese favourites, such as takoyaki and karaage.

Bulnak jeongol

There really is nothing better than a spicy Korean stew to warm yourself up during the cold winter days. While I usually go for the budae jjigae, or Korean army stew, I am also a fan of seafood, so I chose to have the seafood variant instead.

I am a bit divided when it comes to the food at Yami Yami. While I was quite pleased with the stew we were served, as it was an incredibly cold day, looking back on it there really was not much that was special about it. I would definitely not say it was bad, as I did enjoy it, but I felt like I would have enjoyed a stew at any other Korean restaurant just as much.

Despite this, I would still recommend visiting Yami Yami for some solid Korean dishes, as not only was the food enjoyable, but the staff were friendly as well.

Food Rating 7/10

Overall Rating 7/10

Pho Huong Viet

976 Whitehorse Road, Box Hill 

Although Pho Huong Viet has been in the Box Hill restaurant scene for quite a few years now, it is still one of the newest of the Vietnamese restaurants in Box Hill. With fierce competition from many of Box Hill's long standing Vietnamese restaurants, Pho Huong Viet will definitely need to bring something special to the table.

Grilled lemongrass pork rice vermicelli with spring rolls / bún thịt nướng chả giò $13.00

Although the specialty dish at Pho Huong Viet is quite obviously pho, they also serve a range of other Vietnamese dishes. I chose to have the bún thịt nướng chả giò, which was a dish of rice vermicelli topped with grilled lemongrass pork and spring rolls. Even though the fragrance of the lemongrass was definitely present, the pork was missing the essential flavour usually added through the process of grilling the meat. They also used a salad mix over the traditional shredded lettuce which took away from some of the mouthfeel as well as adding a slight bitter flavour.

I wouldn't go as far as to say that they were disappointing, but it was definitely average at best. From now on I would recommend sticking with ordering the pho instead and perhaps visiting a different restaurant for your vermicelli needs.

Food Rating 6/10

Overall Rating 6/10

Pho 888

552 Station Street, Box Hill

Outside of the times that I'm visiting suburbs such as Richmond or Springvale, which are known for their Vietnamese communities, Pho 888 has become my go-to restaurant for a quick and cheap bowl of Pho.

 No Vietnamese basil

 Rare beef and beef balls

Special beef

Although I said Pho 888 is my go-to pho restaurant in Box Hill, I would not go as far as to say that they are particularly great. Although the broth is a little bit murky and there is sometimes a substantial layer of oil on top of it, I do appreciate that most of the flavours and elements of the soup were all present and that it was all cooked well.

The visit described in this post was a little while back and I have visited them a few times since then. On my last visit I decided to ask them for a take-away option, as I was busy. However, when I arrived home shortly after to prepare my meal, I discovered that the meat had a sour odor to it. I do understand that it is harder to guarantee the quality of everything, especially if it is going to be taken out, however this was well past the margin of anything that I could look past. Because of this, although my judgment of the restaurant in this post is specifically for the visit I described, I cannot recommend visiting Pho 888 anymore.

Food Rating  7.5/10

Overall Rating 7/10

Tien Dat

3 Carrington Road, Box Hill

Tien Dat is one of the older restaurants in Box Hill, as well as being the first Vietnamese restaurant in Box Hill, since opening in 1983. Unlike many of the other Vietnamese restaurants in Box Hill, Tien Dat offers a more diverse range of Vietnamese dishes instead of choosing to specialise in a specific style. 

Broken Rice

Vietnamese vermicelli

I decided to order some of the more well known Vietnamese dishes so I could get a better scope of their overall flavours. Unfortunately I found that the dishes were a little weaker in the flavour department than I would expect from Vietnamese cuisine, as I usually find Vietnamese food to be full of strong, yet balanced tastes from ingredients such as lemongrass, various herbs, as well as fish sauce.

Although I did find the food at Tien Dat to be slightly dumbed down in a sense, when compared to more traditional Vietnamese food,  it is definitely far from bad. For those of you who perhaps aren't as accustomed to the strength and pungency Vietnamese food, or even if you are just looking for some good comfort food, Tien Dat is a visit that you should consider.

Food Rating 7/10

Overall Rating 7/10

Hong Kong Best Food

35 Carrington Road, Box Hill

As Box Hill is one of the most well known Asian community hubs in the eastern suburbs, it is no surprise there are quite a number of Hong Kong-style cafes around the area. Hong Kong Best Food is one of the most popular of these restaurants and you will definitely have trouble finding a table during their morning rush.

The food served at Hong Kong Best Food is very similar to the style you would actually find in Hong Kong. Their lunch and afternoon specials include a variety of rice, noodle, pasta and snack dishes such as the beef steak in onion sauce on spaghetti, or stir fried kwai teow, which are served with a choice of beverage.

Although the food was on the slightly salty side, it was both filling and satisfying, which is exactly what people are looking for when they visit restaurants similar to Hong Kong Best Food. However, the service at Hong Kong Best Food was almost non-existent, which although is similar to the cafes in Hong Kong, was something I was hoping was different.

Food Rating 6.5/10

Overall Rating 6.5/10

Platform 3

Box Hill Central, Shop 48, 1 Main Street, Box Hill

Platform 3 is a cafe, bar and restaurant located inside the busy Box Hill Central shopping center. They offer a little bit of everything, from a brunch menu to a dinner menu as well as being one of the only bars in the Box Hill area. Their location near major public transport hubs, such as the Box Hill bus and train stations, as well as the 109 tram makes it very easy to drop by for a visit.

Platform 3

Bar area

Affogato

Long macchiato 

Overall the coffees were prepared well, the ice cream for the affogato was sufficiently cold and the milk foam to coffee ratio in the macchiato was good.

Snow White

I ordered the Snow White, as it was an incredibly hot day and I am a huge lover of coconut. The rich coconut milkshake by itself was extremely refreshing, and the layers on top were great treats which added some extra dimensions to it. I especially enjoyed the texture of the toasted coconut that was added to the top.

Spicy squid rings

The spicy squid rings were the first dish that was served to us, which was perfect as the crispy morsels of squid were a light snack to get our appetites going. Although the dish itself was delicious, I felt that a dish which is presented as "spicy squid rings" should have more of a kick behind it.

Flying pigs

The flying pigs were the most intriguing item on Platform 3's menu. The dish consisted of chicken wings that had been de-boned and stuffed with Japanese kurobuta pork. Although the concept behind the dish was interesting, I don't feel like the pork added very much to the chicken and that although the dish was not bad, it was a little gimmicky.

Calabrese linguine

The calabrese linguine, although simple, was my favourite dish of the meal. The linguine, which is the most important part of the dish, was cooked to a perfect al dente, which left the pasta with a firm but pleasant bite. The sauce and toppings for the dish were also very well balanced and seasoned excellently, which made for a great main dish.

Similarly to the linguine, the lamb was also seasoned very well and radiated an amazing flavour. The lamb skewers themselves were very tender, but just slightly overcooked, causing them to be a little dry. This was not a problem though, as the flavour and quality of the dish more than made up for it.

The staff at Platform 3 are also quite friendly, accommodating and were very helpful during our visit. While I have overlooked Platform 3 in the past while visiting Box Hill, their food and service definitely warrant more visits in the future. If you are in Box Hill looking for something different, then Platform 3 may be worth looking in to.

Food Rating 8/10

Overall Rating 8.5/10

Hanbat

15 Bank street, Box Hill

Hanbat is a Korean restaurant located close to the Box Hill town hall. There are many other Korean restaurants in Box Hill that I usually visit, making the walk to Hanbat something that I do not normally take. However, we ended up near Hanbat after parking near the town hall, so we decided to dine here.

Side dishes

Seafood tofu stew

My friend ordered the stew, which was definitely the most disappointing dish of the meal. The soup itself had quite a strong flavour, however most of it was just the overpowering spice and nothing else. The worst part about the dish was that there seemed to be a mistake, where there was no seafood added, which made the dish basically a tofu soup.

Chilli cheese chicken

Spicy baby octopus

Tteokbokki

The other three dishes were a redeeming factor, as they were all cooked very well with a lovely flavour. My favourite dish was the spicy baby octopus. The octopus itself was not chewy like I sometimes find at other places and the sauce had a good balance of spiciness and sweetness which I loved.

The overall quality of the dishes was quite high. However, our experience was marred by the fact that our orders took almost an hour to come out and when they did come out, there was a huge mistake. Coupled with the fact that the service was sub-par and that there are many other Korean restaurants in Box Hill, I will most likely not be returning.

Food Rating 6/10

Overall Rating 5.5/10

Wonton House

966 Whitehorse Road, Box HIll

Wonton House is wonton noodle restaurant which was recently opened in Box Hill, replacing the old Ramen Bankara. They are a subsidiary of the Secret Kitchen chain of Chinese restaurants, which gives them some credibility, as Secret Kitchen is a vastly successful and well known brand in Melbourne.  Although I generally do not visit Chinese restaurants very often, I recently had a pleasant experience with Secret Kitchen so I decided to give them a try.

Watermelon crush

Pineapple juice

Lobster noodle

The lobster noodle was a special dish that they were offering at the time I visited Wonton House. The dish was very similar to the Cantonese dish of wok tossed lobster and noodles, which is quite a common dish in Chinese restaurants such as Secret Kitchen. However, unlike the dishes you would find in a Chinese restaurant, there was only a tiny amount of lobster in the shells which was disappointing, although the noodles were cooked well.

Pork liver noodle soup

My overall opinion of Wonton House is that it was simply average. The staff which served us looked like they did not want to be there, so the service felt bad even though it was not terrible. The food served at Wonton House was quite mediocre. While it was not bad, I felt that there was nothing special about it and that the price, especially for the lobster noodle, was not justified in comparison to the quality of the dish.

Food Rating 6.5/10

Overall Rating 6/10

Hot Spicy Stick

974 Whitehorse Road, Box Hill

While Box Hill already contains a huge mix of different types of Asian Cuisine, the recently opened Hot Spicy Stick brings something new to the dining scene. After Pho Huong Viet moved to its new location, it was joined by Hot Spicy Stick. The move was the main reason I found Hot Spicy Stick, as I was looking for a bowl of pho and my friend was wondering why there was a sign that read "toilet" on it in Chinese.

Hot Spicy Stick

"Toilet"

Skewer fridge

Upon entering we were told that it was self serve via a series of grunts and pointing as we did not speak Chinese. We headed towards the fridge to pick out our skewers, unfortunately after we picked out some skewers, we noticed that a few of the lamb skewers had a strange smell coming from them. Unsure if this was normal or not, we decided to put them back.

Vegetables and extras

Assorted pick

Assorted skewers in extra spicy soup

The skewers themselves were not as spicy as we thought they would be, instead they contained more of a vinegary spice which was more reminiscent of Sichuan cuisine. Ultimately, we only chose to go to Hot Spicy Stick as a quick and cheap meal and the quality of the food and service reflected this.

Food Rating 4.5/10

Overall Rating 4.5/10

Sushi Jiro

Shop 68, 1 Main Street, Box Hill Central, Box Hill

Not too long ago, one of Box Hill's few sushi train restaurants, Edoya Sushi Train closed its doors on Whitehorse Road. This left the newly opened Sushi Jiro as one of the only sushi trains left in Box Hill. Sushi Jiro does not only have a sushi train though, as the takeaway sushi on sale in their shopfront is a popular choice for commuters stopping off at Box Hill Train Station, as well as shoppers.

The quality of the sushi served on the sushi train has its ups and downs, and would best be described as average. While most of the dishes which contained raw ingredients were quite tasty, the cooked or seared nigiri was slightly lacking in flavour, which was a little bit of a disappointment. Apart from those things, the jellyfish salad and the surf clam did not taste quite as fresh as they could have been and there were no labels or names on the sushi train, so it was quite difficult to figure out what was what.

While Melbourne has quite a few popular sushi trains which I would rather go to before I went to Sushi Jiro again, it was definitely not bad. As the only sushi train in Box Hill though, you will have to decide whether you value your travel time more or a slight improvement in the quality of your food.

Food Rating 7/10

Overall Rating 6.5/10