Gelocchio

230 Lygon Street, Carlton

Gelocchio is the new gelato store on the block, having just opened on Melbourne's Lygon Street. They offer many different types and flavours of all natural gelato and sorbet, as well as other icy treats. 

While Gelocchio is already an established store in Cairns, their opening on Melbourne's "Little Italy" on Lygon Street has put them among a number of excellent and already established gelato stores, such as Pidapippo and Il Dolce Freddo. 

Gelocchio

Pinocchio inspired decor

Paddlepops and Maxibons

Other than gelato, Gelocchio also offers many different icy treats, such as their various flavours of gelato pops as well as maxibons, my favourite of which was the passionfruit pop.

Range of different flavours

Even more flavours!

Pina Colada

Although there were many wonderful flavours on offer, my love of coconut led me to the pina colada flavoured gelato. The pina colada gelato was a smooth gelato with a strong coconut base, which was then enhanced with hints of pineapple in the background. This made it so the gelato did not have two clashing flavours, only flavours that complimented each other, which I noticed was a technique that was applied to many of their flavours.

Gelocchio was a fun and quirky place to visit, with friendly and knowledgeable staff, as well as a diverse range of sweet treats. They have shown that they are more than capable of competing with the other well established gelato names on Lygon Street and I would definitely recommend giving them a visit!

We were invited by and dined courtesy of Gelocchio.

Food Rating 8.5/10

Overall Rating 8.5/10

Universal

138-141 Lygon Street, Carlton

Universal is known throughout Melbourne as one of the go to places for a chicken parma or a chicken schnitzel. While specifically known to most people simply for their chicken parma and schnitzel, Universal also boasts a large range of Italian cuisine classics on their menu, as you would expect from an Italian restaurant on Lygon Street.

Universal

Universal chicken schnitzel

Chicken parmagiana

The chicken parmagiana is a specialty of Universal that is well known to many Melbournians and as such, Universal is my go to place whenever I am craving chicken parma. The chicken was cooked very well overall, with a wonderfully browned crumb coating which covers the well cooked chicken. The chicken was not incredibly dry, which is a problem I have noticed in chicken parmas that I try elsewhere. The other aspects of the dish were also good, such as a good amount of cheese and sauce, the beer-battered chips as well as Italian slaw.

While Universal has only ever been known to me as "the chicken parma place", the next time I visit, I will definitely be trying some of their other offerings from the expansive Italian influenced menu.

Food Rating 7.5/10

Overall Rating 7.5/10 

Hwatu

173 Lygon Street, Carlton

As one of the only Korean restaurants open on the predominantly Italian Lygon Street, Hwatu does not have any direct competition, however they have to compete with the business of all the other restaurants on one of Melbourne's most famous culinary hotspots.

Hwatu

Assorted side dishes

Kimchi pancake $9.80

The appearance of the kimchi pancake left us quite disappointed as it appeared quite burnt on the outside. Luckily our expectations were proven wrong, as the charred appearance did not impart any unpleasant bitterness to the pancake. Apart from the small appearance issue though, this kimchi pancake was one of the best that I have tasted.

Budae hotpot $34.60

Budae jjigae, also known as the army base stew, is a stew first created using surplus ingredients from US army bases after the Korean War, such as spam, sausages and ham, which are then incorporated into a spicy soup base. Although the hotpot itself was very standard, something I found quite odd was that the addition of the cheese made the soup have a powdery texture which was not very pleasant.

Jap chae $16.20

Although a tasty dish overall, the flavours of the jap chae at Hwatu were a bit different from those that I have tried at other Korean diners. The heavier emphasis on soy sauce combined with the extra sweetness of the dish created a strong resemblance to the Cantonese dish, beef hor fun.

Although the food served at Hwatu was only average in comparison to the many Korean restaurants you can find around Melbourne, I would definitely come back if only for the big serving sizes and lovely service. We even managed to have a nice chat with a fun staff member as we were paying and leaving.

Food Rating 7/10

Overall Rating 8/10