3 Days 2 Nights Eating Trip in Melbourne Part 6: Bangpop

Previously:

3 Days 2 Nights Eating Trip in Melbourne Part 5: Queen Victoria Market

 

On the second night, we just wanted to be random.  We came across to this nice-looking Thai restaurant along the South Wharf Promenade at the back of DFO.  So, not so far from our hotel at all.  Judging by their menu, they would definitely make our dinner meal wonderful 😋 It was nearly 6:30pm, the shop wasn't that packed but there were a few tables filled.  

The ambience is quite funky.  They decorated their bar island bench with colorful legos.  They also gave kids lego pieces to keep them busy for the whole dinner time.  Nice thought!!!!  My kids loved it and me too. 

Khanom Bueng $18.90

We started with this khanom bueang entree.  In Thailand, khanom bueng will always come in a sweet version, sweet crepe filled with cream and egg yolk thread.  However, in here, they do it differently and serve it as a savoury dish.  This is something new and interesting.  The egg crepes were crunchy and filled with some sticky prawns, sweet turnip, bean sprout and tofu.  It also came with nam jim ajaar dipping sauce or pickled cucumber and red onion.  It was pretty good actually.

Beef short ribs $34.90

OMG!!!!  This beef short rib was the best dish tonight and it was one of the best short ribs I have ever tried as well.  It was sweet with a tiny bit of spiciness.  It is accompanied with some fresh greens on the side like cucumber, mint, coriander and house pickled vegetables and some seafood dipping to balance off the flavour.  This rib was finger-licking goooood. 

Pad Thai 19.90

Their Pad Thai was an ordinary stir-fried rice noodles with tofu, egg, garlic chives, dried shrimp, pickled turnips, bean sprouts, dried chilli flakes and peanuts.  For $19.90, it doesn't come with any meats unless you order extra.  We didn't realise at first, but it was still alright without meats though.

 

Tom yum soup 

Clear spicy & sour soup with some baby corn, young bamboo, king brown mushroom and cherry tomatoes.  I noticed that they used fresh herbs and spices in this soup like chilli, coriander and galangal.  Taste wise, less piquant and pretty mild for a tom yum soup.  Maybe they just try to suit most Westerner palates.

Kahnom Lher Ther $14.90

For dessert, we had what they called kahnom lher ther.  Lher Ther in Thailand means messy.  Because it looks messy on the plate.  This dessert also replicates eton mess somehow.  It has a mango panna cotta accompanied with some broken vanilla meringues, deep fried Chinese doughnut sticks, with pandan custard, a scoop of Thai milk tea ice cream and raspberries.  They did well on the panna cotta.  However, as too many sweet items on the plate, I think they should put something more refreshing flavoured ice cream instead of that Thai milk tea.  We did try it with raspberry ice cream that we ordered separately and tasted a lot better.  Also, that deep-fired dough shouldn't be there actually, they were fried too long.  It became hard and unpleasant.  I completely find without them.

Raspberry sorbet $3

Bai Toey Talay $23 - Chartruese, Malibu rum, pandan custard, pandan syrup, coconut water & vegan wonderfoam

Lychee Pop $22 - Havana club 3 white rum, lychee liquor, mint and lime

After dinner, we walked toward the casino to watch this gas brigades or fire flames show along the Yarra River promenade.  It lights up every hour on the hour dot every night from 9 on weekday and from 8p on weekend.  You can also view them from some of the riverside restaurants but make sure to get the seat by the window to be able to enjoy the clear view.  Thank you for reading all and Octie Appetie...

3 Days 2 Nights Eating Trip in Melbourne Part 5: Queen Victoria Market

Previously:

3 Days 2 Nights Eating Trip in Melbourne Part 4: Niku Ou

On Sunday morning, we purposedly came to Queen Victoria Market to have some breakfast.  My memory was very vivid about this market.  However, I know that this place is huge and they kinda separate into sections.  There is a fresh food section, seafood section, fruits and vegies section and general retail.  As my tummy was rumbling, so we headed straight to the deli section.  On the way in, I spotted this first deli shop selling grilled cheese sandwich.  Every time I come across cheese toastie, it is something that cannot be ignored by me.  I got one of them and add slices of ham as well.  Honestly, I was too excited with my first grub and I forgot to order some tomatoes to go with my sandwich.  

 

Triple cheese sandwich $13 with extra ham for $3

This triple cheese toastie was super duper yummmm..  It was simple but it was delicious that I don't know how to put it in a word.  But totally recommend this.  

Borek

This piece of hot borek was pretty good too.  The pastry on the outside was flaky and meat feeling was flavoursome too.

Bratwurst in a bread roll for $9

Next thing I've got was this bread roll filled with bratwurst which is a type of German pork sausage.  The pork was freshly grilled in front of you and you can even smell those lovely aromas from meters away.  I would say that this shop has the longest queue compared from the rest.  There are a few sauces and toppings available to go with the roll.  It was a really nice sausage, very thick and plump.  But out of my own preferences, I still prefer my cheese toastie, if I have to choose one.

Potato cake

After we done in the deli section, we moved onto the seafood section.  We tried both St Helen and Coffin Bay oysters.  I had never tried neither of them before. 

St Helen oyster $22.90/ dozen

I was very surprised with this oyster.  First time I had this and it blew my mind.  So far, I would that this is the best oyster I ever tried or maybe it is kinda neck to neck with Tasmanian oyster.  The meat was plump and juicy and I can taste the saltiness of the sea and weirdly, I also can taste the sweetness that I definitely couldn't find it in other varieties.  Maybe because the colder water temperature of Southern Ocean makes oyster taste a lot better.

Coffins Bay oyster $5 each

We also grabbed these Coffin Bay oysters.  Only 3 pieces because they are quite expensive.  The size is very huge as big as my palm.  However, that St Helen tastes way better than this.  Their natural taste is weaker. 

After our breakfast, we walked around the other sections of the market.  It was a nice visit especially on the bright blue sky day. 

Queen Victoria Market

In the corner of Queen Street and Peel Street

Open: 6am - 3pm (closed on Monday and Wednesday)

Stay tuned for the next blog still in Melbourne:

3 Days 2 Nights Eating trip in Melbourne Part 6: Bangpop

3 Days 2 Nights Eating Trip in Melbourne Part 4: Niku Ou

Previously:

3 Days 2 Nights Eating Trip in Melbourne Part 3: Homm Dessert at Heart

At first, when my husband made a reservation to dine in this restaurant, I thought it would be just an ordinary Japanese BBQ place.  That's why we were totally underdressed.  When we arrived at the restaurant, just by looking at their main giant wooden door, I know straight away there would be something special behind that door.  

The light settings were mellow, it's just like in a fine and high-end restaurant.  One of the nice waitress' greeted and leaded us to our dining seat.  We got our kinda cubicle dining space feeling private and exclusive.  One waitress was assigned to take care of us for the whole dinner time and helped us with grilling our meat as well. 

  

 

Buri carpaccio $28

We ordered a few other dishes outside their BBQ menu.  We tried their carpaccio, nigiri and foie grass bibimbap.  Kingfish carpaccio was very fresh with the right amount of sourness from yuzu dressing.  A nice way to start our meal.

Aburi nori wagyu nigiri (left) $28/2pcs and aburi foie gras wagyu nigiri $30/2pcs

Their wagyu nigiri were so delightful too.  The meat was so tender, you literally don't need to chew.  It was just melt-in-your-mouth.  A pleasant touch of sauce on top added some sweetness.  However, those foie gras and nori were too small to be able to balance that flavoursome sliced of meat.  It was still a good mouthful piece of wagyu nigiri though.

Foie Gras Bibimbap $48

With this bibimbap dish, they had brought and showed us the dish (in case we wanted to take a picture) before mixed them and served it in an individual portion.  I was expecting more foie gras actually for that price.  It tasted good, but the hero of the dish itself was lacking and too light.  So, to be honest, I was quite disappointed with this dish that I looked forward the most.

A5 Kobe wagyu and M9+ Australian wagyu BBQ set $319

We ordered a set of wagyu beef.  We got some Kobe beef cuts and a few Australian wagyu as well.  This portion is definitely enough for 2-4 persons.

As I mentioned earlier, this nice waitress carefully and gently grilled and cooked the meat for us batch by batch.  Then she put the cooked meat on a serving plate and not forgot to place that little name tag on the side.  So, we know what we were eating.  It definitely great to have her doing all the job otherwise we might ruin those luxury piece of meats.  All the meats were cooked perfectly.  I still can taste the fattiness from those marbles yet not too overpowering on my tongue.  

 

Complimentary side dished

Out of these three sauces, I would prefer to lightly dip my grilled meat onto salt.  Because to be honest I love the original amora and taste of grilled meat.  While sauce sometimes could destroy it. 

Niku Ou Japanese Chargrill Restaurant

Shop 9/10 108 Bourke Street, Melbourne

Ph: 03 9654 7178

Stay tuned for the next blog still in Melbourne:

3 Days 2 Nights Eating Trip in Melbourne Part 5: Queen Victoria Market

3 Days 2 Nights Eating Trip in Melbourne Part 3: Homm Dessert at Heart

Previously:

3 Days 2 Nights Eating Trip in Melbourne Part 2: Novotel South Wharf Hotel

Homm is a new hang-out hype for Melbournian.  It is a Thai dessert cafe, which has just been opened early this year.  This place is always busy and they always have a long queue lining up their front door.  It was 4 in the afternoon when we arrived and look at those people were standing and waiting. 

We got our seats upstairs and ordering food can be done through QR code.  The order came in a jiffy.  We ordered a few desserts and drinks.  We went with a couple of most favourite items on their menu.

Thai tea bingsu $26.80 with extra coconut ice cream $6

This bingsu is the most popular menu in the house.  The shaved ice is topped with cream, milk tea sauce and milk tea ice cream.  To even add more sweetness to this already sweet dish, it also comes with more milk tea sauce, condensed milk and herbal jelly.  But trust me, I needed those condiments.  It was a good shaved ice and I like those crumbled biscuits that come with this bingsu to balance up the texture and elevate the taste as well.  However, it is quite big in portion and definitely a dish to share around the table.  

Salted egg shokupan $22.80

For me, I prefer this salted egg shokupan over bingsu.  It has more flavour and the bread itself is nicely toasted.  

Pandan kaya pain perdu katsu $21.80

I was looking forward to this dish.  They called it katsu because they coated the bread with crumbs and pan-fry it.  They have pandan filling inside the bread.  It was served hot.  However, I found that the pandan filling was too light for my liking.  

Iced milo and nom yen (pink milk) $7.80 each

For the drinks, I was expecting something more as normally in Thai restaurants, they will serve a strong flavoured drink and well sweetened.  But I couldn't find it in these drinks.  They were quite bland.  They kinda play it on the safe zone and lower down the sweetness level.

Overall, it was a nice experience and so appreciate to have people came up with creative ideas bringing the modern twist in Thai desserts.  But in my opinion, they are slightly overpriced. 

Homm Dessert Melbourne

294 La Trobe Street, Melbourne

Open: Daily 13:00 - 23:00

Stay tuned to the next blog still in Melbourne:

3 Days 2 Nights Eating Trip in Melbourne Part 4: Niku Ou