St Katherines - Kew - review

The eastern suburbs tends to favour Asian and Italian cuisines, so when, on my way home from Leo's, I spotted this restaurant, I was rather excited.
1. Because it was new.
2. Because it was Greek/Maltese/Turkish cuisine - which appeals to both my husband's and my heritage.
3. Because it seemed like it might be child friendly and is open from lunch to dinner (which meant my baby's lack-of-naptime-routine wouldn't matter as we could eat at anytime.)

So once Sunday rolled around we waited until baby took her first nap and as soon as her eyelids fluttered open we were in the car and on our way. We arrived at 4pm on a Sunday and were warmly greeted by a gentleman that was extremely helpful and seated us in the corner booth that looks out unto the street (great if you have kids as there is plenty of room for them to sit in between you and the wall and they have the street window to keep them amused).

The space is quite large and with plenty of room and a mix of seating arrangements. Whilst it has a casual vibe there was a mix of patrons, those in their Sunday best and those in jeans and a tee. There was also quite a few families with young kids.
The cutlery is served in re-used tins with paper napkins that reminded me of lunch at my Yiayia's house. The plates are vibrant and are mismatched making the dining experience feel a little like a family home, but more refined.

As I'd already decided what we were going to order at home, we rattled off our list to our waiter and before we knew it, the food had arrived.


KFC "St Katherine's fried chicken" BBQ sauce, Japanese mayo - $13.50 half bucket (.5L)

Mr.M ate the whole tub - by himself.


Pide 1 mint, ricotta, haloumi, peppered figs - $15

 I was really excited about this as each ingredient sounded right up my alley. And whilst it was OK, what it really needed, to make it spectacular, was some salt. There wasn't enough haloumi to counter the sweetness of the mint, figs and ricotta. It was just a bit too sweet for me.

Pide 2 Maltese pork sausage, onion rings, tomato, kasar, mustard mayo - $18

Mr.M enjoyed this. I stole some of his onion rings and they were DELICIOUS - perfect ratio of crispy batter to sweet sticky onion - YUM.


Salad of ancient grains seeds, nuts, lentils, capers, currents, pomegranate - $12.50

I really enjoyed the varied textures and the sweet and salty flavours. I adore pomegranate in savoury dishes.

Chips and tarama - $9.50

Mr.M liked them.

Choc chip mousse hot cherry jam doughnut - $14.90

I was very excited to try this dessert, and being a huge sweet tooth, was prepared to hog the whole lot, but for some reason, it just didn't come together for me. The chocolate chip mousse tasted more like cream than chocolate. The donuts were nice but as a whole, it didn't really 'light my fire'.

“Mr Whippy” sundae options – salted caramel, pomegranate brownie and chocolate pomegranate sauce ($9.50).

Once again, despite it being ice cream (I'm not a huge fan as I don't like the ice cold temperature), the ingredient  list looked too good to pass up. But like the choc mousse, it left me cold. The tart pomegranate dominated and I could barely get a hint of cocoa or the salted caramel, and as other's have mentioned, the ice cream really does feel 'extra cold'. Maybe my expectations of dessert were a little high, especially after the savoury dishes were so tasty.

The service was fantastic, speedy and friendly. We enjoyed our meal and even though desserts were a bit of a let down, we will definitely come back, either with baby or without. And we might even bring the whole family along for a Sunday feast.

Mister Bianco - Kew - review

Name: Mister Bianco


Address: 285 High st
Kew 3101
(03) 9853 6929


Food: Italian, Meidterranen


Average price: Entree: $12-$16, Mains: $24-$36, Dessert: $13-$16


Complimentary:  Bread rolls with marinated olives.

We ordered: Arancini with saffron, pea and smoked mozzarella $12

We ordered these based on the reviews of others, and were definitely glad we did. They were delicious. Generous portion for a starter too. They would be great as an entree for one person.


Crispy fried wagyu chilli beef with oregano leaves, parmesan wafer, celeriac remoulade + red pepper dressing $19 

Double baked goats cheese souffle, salad of candied walnuts, baby spinach leaves + salsa verde $17 

This was lovely and quite light. A little sweet but still pleasing.


Baked crepes ‘crespelle’ of ricotta + spinach, yellow tomato sugo + basil pesto $28 

A really generous serve, which I would never complain about. The dish was yummy but very rich and I found myself wanting more of the delicious pesto to cut through the heavy cheese. With a little more pesto this would be smashing, comforting food. Perfect for a chilly evening.


Braised lamb ‘eye of shoulder’ in red wine, creamed spatzle, savoury nut praline + glazed dried figs $37

Broccolini and green beans, parmesan + lemon crumbs $8

We received this order by accident and were given it for free anyway, which was nice. But otherwise a fairly standard dish, wouldn't order it personally.


mister bianco ‘vienetta’, chocolate semifreddo. hazelnut caramel crunch $16 


This got me salivating from the description, unfortunately it wasn't as nice as it sounded. The chocolate was too mellow and drowned beneath the somewhat bitter caramel. There wasn't much 'substance' to it.


“sfingi”, hot Italian donuts, ricotta candied cream $15

Oh boy, these were a sugar overload. I think because the other dishes we had eaten were already so rich, that when these came out we just couldn't eat more than one. Very sweet but well cooked.

Service: Good. The wait staff were lovely however the desserts took quite a while to come out compared to the first three dishes. We did however receive a side order by accident and were given it free of charge which was lovely.


Atmosphere: Modern, neutral tones. The restaurant has a minimal look with the bar running along one side. It is a touch on the small side, so tables are fairly close together.

Website: www.misterbianco.com.au

Hours: Fri & Sun noon-2.30pm
Daily 6pm-late

Would I return: Yes. With the generous serving size and delicious dishes I will definitely be back.

Vegie Hut - Box Hill - review

 Name: Vegie Hut

Address: 984 Whitehorse Rd 

Box Hill, VIC 3128

03 9898 2287

Food: Chinese, Vegetarian, Vegan, Buddhist

We ordered: (take away). Vegetable Spring Rolls

These were some of the tastiest spring rolls I have had, but the pastry could have been cooked a touch more.

Salt and Pepper chicken

Incredibly spot on texture wise. Reminiscent of KFC's popcorn chicken. These were still nice the next day.

Chicken Nuggets
Mr.M exclaimed these were some of the best chicken nuggets he has had so he enjoyed them. I never liked chicken nuggets back in my meat-eating days so these weren't to my liking.

Pad See Ewe
Unfortunately this was too bitter for me and the noodles quite gluggy. I wouldn't order it again.

Lemon Chicken
Probably the least spot on in terms of texture but others a fairly good replica of lemon chicken. Funnily enough, despite chicken being the only meat I used to eat I didn't enjoy the faux versions, they tasted too much like the real thing and meat just doesn't taste great to me. Hubby enjoyed it more as it didn't have that chewy, poor meat quality taste you sometimes get from the real deal. (pictured without sauce).

Crispy Duck
As you can see I accidentally poured the lemon sauce over the duck. That aside I couldn't eat this as it just tasted too much like meat and duck was one of those meats I never tried as I couldn't bring myself to eat a duck. Hubby said it tasted extraordinarily similar to the real thing.

Veggie dumplings
My favourite dish of the night.

Website: vegiehut.com.au

Hours: Closed Tuesdays.

Would I return: Yes. Great place for vegetarians/vegans - it would probably fool most meat-eaters too!

Wunderbar - Rye - review

Name: Wunderbar

Address: 2409 Pt. Nepean Road
Rye, VIC 3941
03 5985  9187

Food: German, European

Average price: $4 - $34.

Complimentary:  Nothing,

We ordered: Langos - $7.50
hungarian fried flatbread, served with sour cream and grated cheese

This was our favourite dish. The bread was crispy on the outside and soft in the middle. It was decadent and yummy with the sour cream and cheese. It's not gourmet but it's still yummy, trashy food.


Mozzarella, pear, prosciutto, honey - $13

We were surprised at how nicely this was plated up. Mr.M liked it but I found the pears to taste rather 'old' and grainy which was a shame as the other ingredients were fresh.


Thick cut chips - $7

Nicely cooked chips that were well seasoned.

Apfelstrudel - $12
with vanilla sauce and whipped cream

I love Apfelstrudels and unfortunately this one was the worst I have ever had, two mouthfuls was all I could eat. The pastry was tough and the filling was tasteless. The accompaniments were no better with the sauce tasting like sugar and cornflour and the cream like water.
Service: Good. We were the only patrons in the place so it is a bit hard to tell what the average service would be like.

Atmosphere: European pub with a view of the ocean. I can't comment on the atmosphere as we were the only people in the place so it was deadly quiet when we dined, but they have lounge areas as well as tables with board games to play as well.

Website: http://www.wunderbar-rye.com.au/

Hours: Monday, Wednesday and Thursday: 4pm till late
Friday and Saturday: 12noon till late
Sunday: 12noon till 11pm
Tuesday: closed

Would I return: Yes, the langos and chips were nice enough and cheaply enough priced to warrant another try.

Picknics Cafe - Rye - review

Name: Picknics Cafe

Address: 2285 Point Nepean Hwy
Rye, VIC 3941
03 5985 6025

Food: Cafe,

Average price: Under $15

Complimentary:  Nothing.

We ordered: Homemade blend of dried fruits and nuts, oats and puffed corn which was oven toasted with maple and vanilla. Served with milk, natural yoghurt and cinnamon rhubarb

This was a really lovely cereal blend and the compote was also well spiced and delicious. I also appreciated the large serving size.

Porridge with rhubarb and sweet dukkah. 

This was OK, but once the topping ran out it was a little bland.

Burger

Mr.M said this was OK but rather hard to fit in one mouthful.


Eggs with bacon

Mr.M said  the eggs were cooked well but wouldn't order it again.


Orange juice

Mocha

Service: OK. The waiters were friendly but the food took a long time to come out on both days.

Atmosphere: Beachy casual. Lots of fishing nets, oars, harpoons and empty bottles line the walls. The atmosphere is your standard bustling cafe, this place fills up quick. It is dog friendly so if you sit outside you will be sitting amongst the pooches, which normally I would love, however on our visit we sat beside a very gassy Jack Russell...

Website: None.

Hours: Daily 6am-4pm

Would I return: Yes - as there isn't much else around.