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You have to worry when, even with only half a dozen tables filled at a 150-cover restaurant, it still takes 45 minutes to bring your breakfast. This could be forgiven if the food was outstanding, but with fairly basic bacon and eggs, and the only slightly more exotic ‘ranch’ style eggs on a cardboard tortilla, there wasn’t too much positive to say about the meal itself. The location, though, makes up for some of it – with the restaurant sitting on Tedder Avenue at the north end of the Gold Coast. Worth walking past, but not worth stopping for a meal.
Much like a fancy sports car, the loud chatter and buzz means that you usually hear The Quarter before you see it. And, sticking with the sports car metaphor, it plays on the attention it gets as more and more people look over to see what the fuss is about. That fuss is over decent food and great coffee, in a café environment that defines the laneways of Melbourne. Make sure you’re comfortable with close-quarter seating arrangements, as even though the tables aren’t officially communal, you’ll know all the details of your neighbours’ lunch before you know about your own.
As a disclaimer, this is not a review of Michel’s Patisserie in their capacity as a provider of cakes and pastries, rather their ability to furnish me with a light, café-style breakfast, as their sign suggests they can. If you can provide fancy tarts, flans, and friands; fruit toast should be easy. I can’t say I’ve ever made a gateau, but I’ve baked raisin toast. That’s why, when I ordered my breakfast, I was very disappointed to pay $3 for two slices of Tip Top Cafe Bread Raisin Loaf, a whole loaf of which costs under $4.50 at the supermarket.
Food and entertainment often go hand in hand, but rarely as they do at Fuji Teppanyaki. A personal chef juggling knives and forks is a great way to whet the appetite, as is simply being able to see the plates of fresh meat and vegetables just waiting to be cooked. It was a great introduction for someone like me who hasn’t eaten teppanyaki before, with our friendly chef cooking exactly to our likings and recommending appropriate condiments throughout. It is a little on the expensive side, but then again, it’s not every meal that someone throws fried egg at you!
In the last week, I’ve eaten from Patee Thai twice, both for take-away and dine-in. And I’ll let you know that it has surpassed Sala Thai as my favourite Thai place in Fitzroy (and the full house at an early Sunday dinner sitting would seem to indicate that a fair few people agree). The décor and staff seem very authentic, and the food is wonderful. Sweet creamy curries (my favourite being the red duck variety) feature tender meat and still crisp vegetables, and the stir-fries are nicely varied and not too heavy on sauce, as can often be the case.
Next time I’m down this end of Brunswick St looking for a coffee and a quiet lunch, make sure I walk the extra twenty or so meters to Atomica, rather than stopping at Endis. They serve out the usual café fare, with burgers, pizzas, and focaccia; but they all end up a little bland, despite the variety of ingredients used. The whole place has the feel of someone simply going through the motions of running a café. And when there are so many places nearby with spirit and attitude, I can’t think of any reason to go back to Endis.
It’s a tough gig to call yourself a “Lounge Bar Restaurant” and pull it off. The closest I’ve come across to successfully managing the combo is World. Then there are others that end up as too much of a bar, and while The Apartment tries to manage it with separated dining and bar areas, there’s no segue and the result is less than comfortable. The menu is succinct, missing many lunchtime standards, and the food is reasonable, but nothing to write home about, so I think it’d be much better suited to a quiet cocktail after work on a Friday.
With a fit-out like this, you could be very well be sitting in an opulent dining hall in Rajistan itself. The courteous staff aid this feeling, as does the complex aroma drifting from the tandoor oven in the kitchen. The menu is extensive and the food is great. The heartily spiced curries have more body behind them than many Indian restaurants are serving at the moment, and the garlic naan bread could be a meal on its own. With good food, reasonable prices, and BYO with cheap corkage, it’s a great place for an after work dinner in the city.
Yum Cha is a great way to eat with a big group, and Shark Fin House is a great place to eat Yum Cha. It’s busy, and from what I’ve heard, it always is; but with the efficiency and number of staff patrolling the floor, that doesn’t mean you’ll go hungry. As well as being plentiful, the food on offer is wonderfully varied – it didn’t take long to lose count of the options available. It’s also quite affordable, and in most cases you’ll get out of there fully fed for under $30 per head. It’s great fun and great food.
From the fitout, you could be sitting in any monochrome kitchen from the early nineties. The service, however, is very different and reminiscent of Hawkers Café, with staff laying down patter and joking around as they served. The menu is extensive and relatively easy to get your head around, but not being too familiar with Malaysian food, some of the dishes were not quite what I was expecting, and seemed dense, dry and very heavily flavoured. Great vegetarian laksa, though, with tender tofu absorbing the creamy broth around it. Overall, definitely worth a visit if Malaysian is what you’re after.
