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

Green Thai

Westfield Doncaster Shopping Centre, Level 1, 619 Doncaster Road, Doncaster

Recently I posted about a certain Thai restaurant which served me one of the worst tom yum noodle soups that I have ever tasted. Feeling completely unsatisfied, I made the journey to Westfield Doncaster's food court, where I have been ordering Green Thai's tom yum for many years. 

 Green Thai

 Tom yum

While the tom yum at Green Thai is not the best tom yum that I have ever tried, it is possibly the best that I have tried from a food court fast food restaurant. The tom yum had a well flavoured base, albeit not very spicy, as well as a good amount of seafood for the topping. My favourite thing about the tom yum though is that they give you a pile of fresh bean sprouts on top, which gives the dish a freshness and texture that you would not find from the soft and soggy beansprouts that other places usually have. Although some of Green Thai's pre cooked dishes may look questionable, the tom yum has never let me down.

Food Rating 8/10

Overall Rating 8/10

Naughty Nuri's

Shop 317, Level 3, Melbourne Central, 211 La Trobe Street, Melbourne

Naughty Nuri's is a recently opened Indonesian restaurant located on the 3rd floor of Melbourne Central next to the long standing Asian Beer Cafe. They specialise in Indonesian classics, specifically Balinese food, so you can definitely expect the flavours to pack a punch. We were lucky enough to get a table here on New Years Eve, as the entire Melbourne CBD was completely packed, as were all the restaurants. 

Ayam betutu gilimanuk

Mie kuey teow goreng

Indonesian mie goreng with crispy pork belly

Mie goreng and kuey teow are both very popular dishes within Indonesia as well as Malaysia and Singapore. The internationally popular variant of mie goreng, which comes from Indonesia, is a fried noodle dish which is characterised by its flavourful and spicy base which contains a hint of sweetness from the use of sweet soy. While the mie goreng and mie kuey teow goreng at Naughty Nuri's had all of the flavours you would expect from a mie goreng, I personally found it a little light on flavour, although my Malaysian friends disagreed and thought that it was flavoured and cooked very well.

I definitely recommend giving Naughty Nuri's a go if you enjoy Indonesian food or strong flavours. The service we received was also quite good, as it was New Years Eve and we still managed to have a fun conversation with one of the servers, albeit a little bit rushed as they were quite busy.

Food Rating 8/10

Overall Rating 8/10

  

Dare1

308 Little Lonsdale Street, Melbourne

Dare1 is the CBD counterpart of Dare3, a restaurant with a similar name but a different menu which operates on Victoria Street in Richmond. While Dare3 seems to specialise in more of the dining side of things, with offerings such as Korean BBQ and donburi, Dare1 chooses to go in a different direction, offering food which is more suited to drinking.

Complimentary cheese and corn

We were offered a complimentary cheese and corn to start, which was a tasty snack to go with our drinks.

Chicken and mayonnaise box

Beef bulgogi nachos

The beef bulgogi nachos were a fun way to enjoy a Korean favourite as a snack that you could eat with your fingers. Although they were tasty and perfect to enjoy with drinks, I wished that was a bit more beef, as I felt like it was quite hard to get enough topping on the nachos.

Giant tteokbokki

The flavour of the spicy tteokbokki sauce in this dish had quite a bit of impact behind it, but was still quite sweet. The rice cakes which were used in the dish were gigantic and we had to cut it up with scissors, but the real problem with them was that because they were so big, they had trouble absorbing any sauce and was also harder to cook all the way through.

Dare1 may not have the best or most fancy food, but it is a place that has a specialty and they do it well. Whenever we are looking for a place to enjoy some food as well as a couple of drinks, Dare1 is never too far from the top of our lists, as they serve good finger food with combined with friendly service, as well as the Korean specialty Makgeoli, which is one of my favourite drinks.

Food Rating 7.5/10

Overall Rating 8/10

Hokkaido Baked Cheese Tart

Box Hill Central, 1 Main Street, Box Hill

Hokkaido Baked Cheese Tart stores are already an established and popular name all over Asia. By the end of 2016, four stores had already opened up in Melbourne including stores in Melbourne Central, QV, Chadstone and Box Hill.

Hokkaido Baked Cheese Tart

Cheese Tart

While it is recommended to try them both hot and cold, I would definitely say I enjoyed the hot tart more than the cold. The hot tart was a smooth blend of cheese flavour packed in a slightly thick yet light pastry. When the tarts became colder the flavour changed a little and the pastry became a bit harder. The colder cheese tarts actually reminded me of snack I used to have during school time named Le Snak, which was a fun little nostalgia trip.

Box of Six

Definitely an experience to try, although I would personally not line up again for them, as the lines were insanely long. If you find a time when the line is short however, then it is definitely worth it to drop in a pick some up some tarts to try!

Food Rating 7.5/10

Overall Rating 7.5/10

Your Thai

255 Swanston Street, Melbourne

Your Thai is a Thai restaurant that has been on Swanston Street for many years. Although I have never paid any attention to it previously, the new renovations have made it look bright and vibrant which drew me in. When you first enter, your first thought is that it is just a generic Thai restaurant, however if you delve into the menu, it is actually a mess of food from different cultures, including Thai, Vietnamese and even Italian.

Seafood tom yum

I ordered the seafood tom yum, as it is a dish that I absolutely love eating when done correctly. The tom yum at Your Thai was very disappointing however and I could not finish it. The soup base of the tom yum was quite weak, while the seafood was not fresh and was also prepared badly. One of the things that annoy me the most is when seafood is prepared incorrectly. There were many examples of this in the seafood tom yum such as prawns that were not de-veined, general grittyness and a strange hard object on the squid. 

Prawn spring rolls

The prawn springs rolls were not quite as disappointing as the tom yum, however they did not have a crunchy outer coating and the filling as not seasoned well.

Coconut drink with pandan jelly

Overall I was very disappointed with my experience here and although they have renovated and improved the decor, it is clear that little to no attention was given to improving the food.

Food Rating 4/10

Overall Rating 4/10

Umaido

Box Hill Central, 1 Main Street, Box Hill

Umaido is a small udon restaurant which sits in the middle of Box Hill Central Shopping Center. Originally Umaido was a self service restaurant, similar to those which are popular in Japan, but they have since changed into a normal restaurant with a wider menu.

Umaido

Bukkake ontama mentaiko udon $7.20

The udon served at Umaido is usually cooked quite well, however the flavours were out of balance. Mentaiko is usually something which adds a different spice and flavour to dishes, however the mentaiko used in this udon dish only left it with an overpowering fishiness.

Tori karaage $7.80

The chicken karaage here was quite possibly the worst chicken karaage that I have ever tasted. The chicken was dry and the coating was soggy and falling apart, which made for a very disappointing dish.

Japanese vegetable korokke $3.80

While Umaido was a restaurant I quite enjoyed visiting when they just opened, a lot has changed since then. Instead of the excitement and fun of a self serve line, the atmosphere has changed into a drab and dreary one. I would much rather make the journey to the city and visit Udon Yasan instead of Umaido if I were craving udon.

Food Rating 4.5/10

Overall Rating 4.5/10

High Tea at Alluvial Restaurant

Intercontinental Melbourne - The Rialto, 495 Collins Street, Melbourne

High Tea at the InterContinental will have a new home starting from the 21st of January 2017. The new location at the Alluvial Restaurant means that the offering will be enhanced with the addition of a dessert buffet, chocolate fountain and lolly bar.

From the moment you enter the beautiful Alluvial Restaurant for the first time, you are instantly taken away by the beautiful architectural brilliance, which is only enhanced by the extravagant layout of elegant tea cups, roses and menus for the High Tea.

The Intercontinental Hotel

Architectual brilliance

Live string trio

TWG teas

The High Tea offers tea from TWG, one of the finest luxury tea brands in the world. The TWG brand was established in Singapore in 1837. Given the luxury status of the brand, it is difficult to find in your typical cafe.

The range of teas on offer included the English Breakfast, French Earl Grey, Moroccan Mint, and Silver Moon. The tea I personally tried was the Moroccan Mint tea, which exuded a brilliant minty fragrance as it was being poured. The tea itself however was not as strong, as explained to me by a representative of TWG at the event.

Elegant layout

High Tea menu

Buttermilk Scones with Darbo jams, lemon curd, double cream

Asparagus & ricotta quiche tartlet

Beef Wellington

Smoked cod croquette with red pepper coulis

Ham with Jarlsberg cheese sandwich

Cucumber and tzatziki on swiss white

Tomato relish on light rye

Salmon and cream cheese bagel

The High Tea menu was a concoction of both savoury hot items, cold sandwiches and scones. As a lifelong lover of scones, I could not help but start from the top of the stand and work my way down. Made by head chef Clint Jackson as an interpretation from a old family recipe, the scones were perhaps some of the greatest that I have tried. The savoury items served, as well as the sandwiches, each had their own unique flavour interpretation from modern classics, such as the salmon and cream cheese bagel and beef wellington, which gave the offering some character, as opposed to some High Teas which may come off as a little boring.

Chocolate fountain & lolly bar

Dessert Buffet

Dessert Buffet pt.2

As the new addition to the High Tea, the beautiful dessert buffet acted as the centerpiece of the room. The dessert buffet boasted a vibrant range of desserts, from the velvety macarons to a selection of small cakes as well as fruits and donuts.

The dessert buffet was not only there for its looks, as the selection of cakes was beautifully balanced with the right amount of sweetness. My favourite from the selection would definitely have to be the chocolate brownie with peanut butter and walnut, although the chocolate mousse and crushed hazelnut pot I tried was slightly too sweet for me.

High Tea at the InterContinental Hotel was an absolutely wonderful experience which I would recommend everybody to try at least once. I was lucky enough to be invited to be a part of a sneak preview of what the High Tea will be and I will definitely be back once the High Tea comes out.

We were invited and dined courtesy of The InterContinental Hotel, to read more about the story behind the High Tea, check The InterContinental's blog here.

Food Rating 8.5/10

Overall Rating 9.5/10