DC Dumpling

590 Station Street, Melbourne

DC Dumpling is a small dumpling restaurant located across the street from Box Hill Central Shopping Center. As I live very close to Box Hill and dine there often, I found it strange that I had never visited DC Dumpling, especially since many of my friends absolutely love the place.

Hot & spicy ox tripe $9.50

The dish of ox tripe was a lot different from any other I have tried before. Usually Chinese restaurants use a spice oil reminiscent of Sichuan cuisine, however the tripe at DC Dumpling was very light with only the slightest amount of spice.

Hot & sour noodle soup $11.50

Hot and sour soup has many regional interpretations from all over Asia. The Chinese variation served at DC Dumpling is usually made hot and sour by the addition of red peppers or white pepper and vinegar. In this case I believe that they used white pepper, as the soup left the pleasant lingering fragrance of white pepper combined with a slight tang from the vinegar.

Home made noodle (dry) $12.50

I had a craving for the Chinese dish known as zhajiangmian, so I was disappointed when I couldn't find it on the menu after a quick glance. After a little bit of confusion, I was able to find out from the staff that the name on the menu for this dish was "Home made noodle (dry)". The portion size was huge and the flavours I expected were very well balanced, making DC Dumpling my new go to restaurant for zhajiangmian.

We also tried the boiled dumplings, however I was unable to take a photo of them, as we were incredibly hungry and dug into them without a second thought the moment they arrived.

Although the service was a little bit choppy, as well as having a menu that was hard to decipher, DC Dumpling offered us solid Chinese comfort food at very reasonable prices. Definitely a place to keep in mind if you are in Box Hill looking for a quick eat.

Food Rating 8/10

Overall Rating 7.5/10

Oppa Kitchen

271 Swanston Street, Melbourne

Oppa Kitchen is a Korean restaurant that sits in the heart of Melbourne's CBD. Blanketed with shades of neon pink, Oppa is a popular lunch destination for city-goers, as they serve a variety of different Korean dishes, as well as the convenient and popular dosirak, or meal bucket.

Shades of neon pink

Soy garlic Korean fried chicken

The Korean fried chicken was a bit of a mystery to me. On one hand, the flavours were on point, but the textures presented in the dish were a mess. I expected the chicken to have a crisp outer coating, but what I received was a hard coating which was made worse by the drenching of the sauce on top. 

Ddeokbokki

As one of my favourite Korean dishes, I always try the ddeokbokki when visit Korean restaurants. The ddeokbokki served at Oppa Kitchen is not quite as spicy as I normally prefer, however the sweet and spicy flavours of the ddeokbokki were all there and it was not covered in vegetables which was a welcome change.

Crispy kimchi dumplings

The kimchi dumplings suffered from the same problem as the Korean fried chicken. Although the filling was light and flavourful, the crispy skin was ruined by the sauce in which it was drowned in. These dumplings are the perfect example of what would have been a great dish, but was unfortunately ruined by a tiny mishap.

Oppa is a restaurant with that uses a range of flavours and styles for their expansive menu. I absolutely love the flavours they masterfully present in their dishes, but would like to see them make more proper use of some texturally diverse elements.

Food Rating 7/10

Overall Rating 7/10

Indochine

51 Carrington Road, Box Hill

Indochine has been a stalwart presence in Box Hill's Vietnamese dining scene for many years. One of the perks of having a restaurant last for so long is the ability to build up a loyal customer base, which in turn has made Indochine an incredibly popular restaurant in Box Hill.

Bún thịt nướng chả giò

Although the bún thịt nướng was very similar to many other places I have tried in terms of flavour, one thing I really appreciated was that the spring rolls were crispy and the vegetables and herbs were fresh instead of sad and wilted. However, I did dislike how they put the nước chấm on top of the bowl.

Phở tái bò viên

Pho is a staple of Vietnamese cuisine that I always order when I visit a Vietnamese restaurant. The pho at Indochine is both smaller in size and more expensive than most other places in the Box Hill area. Although more expensive, the pho at Indochine has some differences when compared to the cheaper Vietnamese places, including rare beef which is more tender and a lighter, yet still fragrant broth.

Bún bò Huế

Solid food combined with a relaxed atmosphere and reasonable pricing have made Indochine a mainstay of Box Hill's dining scene. Although I felt that at some times, the flavour of the food at Indochine was lacking the impactful and fragrant flavours of traditional VIetnamese cuisine, sometimes having lighter flavours can be a refreshing change.

Food Rating 8/10

Overall Rating 8/10

Yuzu at Church Lane

480 Collins Street, Melbourne


Named after one of my favourite fruits, the yuzu fruit, Yuzu Cuisine is a popular restaurant for business lunches and drinks on Collins Street. Although the address is noted as 480 Collins Street, the entrance of Yuzu is actually on Church Lane, which is reflected in some places which refer to the restaurant as Yuzu on Church Lane.

Church Lane

Extensive bar area

Separated dining area

Yuzu mocktail

Yuzu iced tea

I personally love the citrus fruit know as yuzu and take any opportunity to order something flavoured with it. So when I saw the drinks menu at Yuzu Cuisine I was delighted and instantly ordered a drink. Although the drinks were quite expensive I absolutely adored them, as they contained the lovely flavour of yuzu while not being overly sweet.

Miso soup

Wafu eye fillet beef set $20.90

I chose to have the wafu eye fillet beef set because I wanted something slightly more substantial, as I was quite hungry. The quality of absolutely everything in the set was amazing. Not only was the beef tender, flavourful and well seasoned, but none of the other elements were looked over as well, such as the tender and crispy chicken karaage, the sushi and sashimi or even the rice. 

Chirashi zushi $20.90

My friend chose to have the chrashi zushi as they were looking for a lighter meal in terms of both flavour and size. I have personally tried chirashi zushi at a number of different restaurants around Melbourne and would have to say that this one tops them all. The beautiful arrangement of fresh fish on top of a seasoned bed of sushi rice was elevated to a higher level with the addition of small amounts of mushroom, which added an earthiness to the dish.

Yuzu Cuisine is a great place for a lunch, whether you are passing by or working in the city. The only thing I could find wrong with Yuzu Cuisine if I were nitpicking was that the serving sizes were quite small and the price was high, although that is definitely reflected in the quality of the food and drinks.

Food Rating 8/10

Overall Rating 8/10

Mamasita

1/11 Collins Street, Melbourne

As one of the most well known and popular Mexican restaurants in Melbourne, Mamasita is notorious for being difficult to find a table during their dinner service. Their long queue times are not the only thing they are known for through, as they are one of the leaders of the Mexican restaurant expansion in Melbourne and boast an impressive range of tequila and mezcal.

Specialist tequila & mezcal bar

Tortilla chips with guacamole and salsa $10.00

We started off the night with some of their tortilla chips with guacamole and salsa, as well as some tequila and mezcal by recommendation of their mezcalier. The guacamole was nice and creamy but the salsa was slightly watery. The recommendations of their mezcalier were spot on though as we thoroughly enjoyed our first taste of authentic mezcal.

Street style corn $4.90

Corn on the cob is a popular street food in Mexico and has been adapted to many popular restaurants in Melbourne, each with their own twist. The corn at Mamasita has received many good reviews and praise so I definitely had to try it for myself. Unfortunately the corn that I was served was extremely mushy and did not have the natural sweetness I would expect. Ultimately all I could taste from the corn was the toppings.

Pork taco & Campechano taco $14.00

I couldn't decide which taco I wanted to try so I ordered two different ones. The campechano taco had beef cheek and the inclusion of cactus in it, however it did not stand out against the other taco. The second taco had pibil style pork hock with chicharrón and pickled red onion with pineapple on top, which had both lovely flavour and texture, albeit a bit heavy.

The food had some highlights as well as some disappointments to it, however most of my experience from the night was based solely on the service. The service for the night started out magnificently. The person who I believe was the mezcalier gave us a basic run through of tequila, mezcal and the differences between the two, after which he asked us about our preferences which he used to give us more information and recommendations for drinks. We were really happy with this service and I personally was prepared to give Mamasita a high rating for their service alone. However, our food was served by another waiter who simply slammed it down onto the table without even looking at us. When we were ready to pay, the same waiter who slammed the food onto our table took our bill. I paid in large notes as I did not have any change, but the waiter simply assumed all of it was the tip (it was a sizable amount) and did not offer any change, which I thought was extremely rude. To be honest, I was having a good night until the end of it and after I left Mamasita I was left in a sour mood.

Food Rating 6.5/10

Overall Rating 5.5/10

El Churro Cafe - Spanish Doughnuts

710 Glenferrie Road, Hawthorn

Churros have been a popular snack in Australia for quite some time, which has seen many restaurants serve churros and churro specialty pop up. Spanish Doughnuts is one example of these stores. With small take-away stores in both Flinders Street Station and Southern Cross Station, they are already a well known name to Melbournian commuters.

Hawthorn's Glenferrie Road

Non-alcoholic sangria $5.95

Iced chocolate $6.95

3 original churros $8.95

El Churro Cafe serves a variety of different churros, from the original churros, to filled churros as well as churros with toppings. We chose to order a few of the original churros, which could be described as lovely, crispy fried sticks of dough coated with a generous amount of cinnamon sugar.

Spanish chorizo $8.95

The Spanish chorizo hot dog was bursting with flavour from both the chorizo and the toppings. It was a lot more exciting than a normal hot dog but I wish I could have just ordered a big serving of the savoury churros that were served with the dish, as they were delightful.

Although both the store and the service was a bit dull, we enjoyed the food served. Not only was the food inexpensive, but it was also the type of food that was great for sharing and catching up with friends, which was exactly what we were doing.

Food Rating 7/10

Overall Rating 7/10

Woochon

380 Lonsdale Street, Melbourne

Woochon is known between our friends as "that boiled beef restaurant" after we visited once for dinner and my friend made the mistake of ordering a dish of boiled beef which was almost laughably bad and expensive (we do have a laugh at his expense every now and then). We found ourselves heading to Woochon to try it one more time as they are open 24/7 and we found ourselves hungry in the CBD at 1am.

Woochon

Side dishes

Kimchi pancake $18.00

Although the kimchi pancake smelled lovely coming out and looked tasty, it was a bit disappointing. The pancake itself was too doughy and not crispy at all, while the taste was on the bland side, which I did not know was possible when using an ingredient with a strong flavour profile such as kimchi.

Chicken giblet $18.00

The chicken giblets suffered from the same problems that affected the kimchi pancake. The giblets had become overcooked and rubbery and even though the dish had chilli and other ingredients incorporated, it was still bland and lacked any discernible seasoning.

Woochon provided quite a disappointing experience. All of the food we ordered was cooked poorly and underseasoned, which leaves me thinking that the only thing Woochon has going for it is that they are open 24/7.

Food Rating 6/10

Overall Rating 6/10