Zumbo

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

Zumbo is a very well established name in the desserts and sweets field. Ever since his first appearance on MasterChef, Adriano Zumbo has expanded his brand and opened many new stores, including the Doncaster Shoppingtown store, which is located very conveniently for me. The stores are well known for their range of "Zumbarons", as well as a variety of unique cakes.

Assorted "Zumbarons"

Zumbo

6 Pack Macaron $16.50

At Zumbo, they are most widely known for their macarons and their cakes. As a person who has trained in patisserie, I can honestly say that the macarons at Zumbo are some of the best that I have tried. The shells have the perfect density and a smooth sheen to them, while the filling was smooth, light and did not have an overpowering flavour.

Apart from the macarons themselves, the staff were also very friendly and helpful. I was a little indecisive when it came to picking the flavours, as there were so many and the staff were very helpful and informative, which allowed me to make a quicker decision. Although the price point is quite high, I would definitely visit Zumbo again.

Food Rating 8/10

Overall Rating 8/10

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

Hakata Gensuke Hawthorn

4/860 Glenferrie Road, Hawthorn

As a person that loves ramen, I have tried Hakata Gensuke on multiple occasions. However, the Hakata Gensuke branch in Hawthorn offers the special aka tonkotsu, which incorporates the flavour of spicy cod roe in the soup, which I was very interested in trying.

Chicken karaage

Gyoza

The side dishes on offer were of the same high quality that you would find at any other Hakata Gensuke restaurant in Melbourne.

Original tonkotsu

Aka tonkotsu

I ordered the aka tonkotsu, which was a lot lighter in colour than I expected after seeing the photos and menu. Although it was quite light, the distinct flavour of the spicy cod roe shone through and was a dimension of flavour that I appreciated. Other than the flavour of the broth, the noodles were cooked exactly as I requested it.

I would definitely recommend going to the Hawthorn branch of Hakata Gensuke to try the aka tonkotsu ramen if you are a lover of ramen. The flavour profile is quite a bit different from any others I have had in Melbourne.

Food Rating 8/10

Overall Rating 8/10

D House Cafe

313 Swanston Street, Melbourne

Hong Kong style cuisine is a mixing pot of different culinary influences from many places in the world. Hong Kong's past as a British colony and history of being an international city of commerce has lent to the variety of influences shown in the modern day style of Hong Kong Cuisine. D House Cafe is one of many Hong Kong restaurants which serve this style of food and although the food seems more suited to either lunch or afternoon tea, I quite enjoy visiting for a quick and cheap dinner. 

Baked Portuguese style chicken on rice

Sizzling mix chops

The food served at D House Cafe was of an average quality with nothing to stand out from the range of other Asian restaurants in the area. A redeeming factor was that the food was seasoned well and the portions were of a decent size. Similar to the food, the service was also quite average, with the staff not really making any effort to give us more than the bare minimum amount attention we needed. Although the experience was not the best I have ever had, I might visit D House Cafe again, as I do enjoy the type of food, as well as it being fast and cheap.

Food Rating 6/10

Overall Rating 6/10