Loquat - Sorrento - review

Name: Loquat

Address: 3183 Point Nepean Road Sorrento, VIC 3943
03 5984 4444

Food: ModOz, Mediterranean

Average price: Entree: $8-$15, Mains: $19-$32, Dessert: $8-$14

Complimentary:  bread with olives and butter.

We ordered:
Entree: Red Hill 'goat cheese souffle, pear salad, beetroot and ginger puree 

This was really lovely. The flavours complimented each other and it was well executed.

Dill & vanilla cured king salmon with tangelo, nasturtium, red onion & crisp capers 

Main: Pork trio balsamic glazed pork belly, sous vide fillet, pork & sage sausage, red cabbage & cider braised apple 

Pasta with vegetables

I was quite surprised at how tasty this was, and then delighted at the generous serving size.


Dessert: callebaut chocolate fondant, honeycomb, orange ganache, blueberries w vanilla icecream

Pretty good fondant with a nice oozy center.

Yellow peach creme brulee, with yellow peach ice cream and honey snap wafer

This was the let down for me. The crust didn't have that wonderful crack and the brulee was rather tasteless, like a very plain flavourless custard.

Service: OK. 
Whilst the waiters were very friendly we resorted to getting up to refill our water and the food towards the end became slow to come out.

Atmosphere: Cosy with dark tones nestled amongst loquat trees. Fairly casual vibe.

Website: http://loquat.homestead.com/index.html

Hours: Winter Thu-Sun 6pm-10pm
summer Mon-Sun 6pm-10pm

Would I return: Yes.

Cafe Moby - Torquay - review

Name: Cafe Moby

Address: 41 The Esplanade
Torquay
03 5261 2339

Food: Cafe

Average price: $15

Complimentary:  Water.

We ordered: Triple chocolate muffin/cake

Out of all the impressive looking muffin/cakes I chose this based on the description - triple chocolate. Unfortunately it was only in reference to the extra chocolate drizzled on top as the base was just a standard chocolate cake. It was lovely, but not as rich and decadent as I was hoping.

Vegetarian wrap

 
Lovely mix of veggie antipasti in a fresh wrap. Simple but as expected. I liked that the side salad was also fresh and not the usual wilted afterthought.

BLT with chicken on Turkish bread

Mr.M thought this was nice and a rather generous serve.

Service: Good. Because you have to order and pay at the counter and get your own water I can't say the service is great, but when our food was brought out to us the waiter was really lovely and made us feel extremely welcome. It has a great 'family' vibe.

Atmosphere: Casual and fun for the kids. When I was looking for a place to grab lunch, kid-friendly was a must as I was toting my completely unpredictable 5month old with me. When I heard this place had a playground out back for the young ones I was sold. But don't be put off by the children factor as despite there being a bunch of kids the noise wasn't more than that of a regular cafe.
As others have recommended, leave one person at the table whilst the other lines up to order, or you may find yourself with nowhere to eat your meal.
The location is right opposite the beach so you also have a lovely view when you eat.

Website: None.

Hours: 7am-3pm Monday to Sunday.

Would I return: Yes, now I have a kid I am more prone to eat the the kid-friendly places.

Studley Park Boathouse - Kew - review

Name: Studley Park Boathouse

Address: 1 Boathouse Rd 
Kew, VIC 3101
03 9853 1828

Food: ModOz, European

Average price: Entree: $11-$19, Mains: $26-$35, Dessert: $14-$18.50

Complimentary:  Nothing.

We ordered: 
Main: Boathouse burger with bacon, cheese, BBQ sauce, fries and salad - $24

Mr.M: Not as good as the previous visit.


Housemade gnocchi with eggplant, wild rocket, and feta cheese - $23

Whilst it was OK, it wasn't as great as their previous flavour combination. The gnocchi was still quite well cooked though, but the dish was a little oily.

Salt and Pepper Calamari, with iceberg lettuce, cashews, lime and palm sugar dressing - $24

A thought this was nice.
Service: Not great. The food was slow in coming out, and after waiting 20mins for a slice of cake we cancelled the order. The waiters were also never around and our water was rarely refilled.

Atmosphere: Surrounded by nature. The river, trees and wildlife makes for a truly relaxing atmosphere, on a sunny day up on the balcony it is truly wonderful. Although if a swan squabble arises there will be some noise :). The restaurant itself is done in a neutral minimal decor.

Parking: Ample on site parking. Also nearby street parking.

Website: http://www.studleyparkboathouse.com.au/

Hours: Wed-Fri & Sun noon-3pm, Wed-Sat 6.30pm-10pm (cafe hours: Sat-Sun 9am-11am, daily noon-4pm)

Would I return: Yes, it's still a lovely local spot.

Top 10 2011

C's:

Surpringly quite a few corn, and salted caramel dishes in last year's list (pregnancy hormones to blame?), with Attica scoring two dishes in the top 10. And yes, my number one dish of last year was a simple caramel slice, but it was THE BEST caramel slice I have ever had, and I still dream about it...

1: Caramel slice - Louttit Bay Bakery

2: Raw chestnuts, salt baked celeriac, Pyengana - Attica

3: Polenta, wild thyme, slow cooked organic egg, parmesan, corn - Charcoal Lane

4: Chocolate parfait, sour cherry and pistachio financier, cherry ice cream  - Centonove

5: Strawberries and cream - Persimmon

6: White chocolate eggs with caramel - Attica

7: Soft poached egg, polenta, truffle, brioche crumbs  - The Point

8: Soft centered Valrhona chocolate biscuit, almond praline anglaise and Tahiti vanilla bean ice cream - La Petanque

9: "Street Style" chargrilled corn with queso, chipotle mayonnaise & lime - Mamasita

10: Butterscotch popcorn ice cream - Burch & Purchese 

Worst dish of 2011: Pumpkin pasta in a sage and burnt butter sauce - Sosta Cucina

I was 6 months pregnant AND starving and I still couldn't eat more than a mouthful.

Mr.M's:

1. Marron, leek, egg yolk - Attica

2.  Cured kingfish, wasabi - $25 - Cutler & Co

3. Violet honeycomb crumble ice cream -Burch & Purchese

4. Violet crumble - Attica

5. Shiitakes & meat from the Pearl Oyster - Attica

6. Bitter chocolate fondant, griottine cherries, malt ice cream, brown butter crumbs - Persimmon

7. Peanut butter parfait, bananas, bitter chocolate - Persimmon

8. Hopkins River Eye fillet steak sandwich, beetroot + blood orange relish, caramel onions, bacon, roast tomato, aged Maffra farmhouse cheddar + a poached googie egg - Snow Pony

9. Main: Roast suckling pig boudin noir plum and kohlrabi - $46

10. Zuchhini flowers - Grossi Florentino

WORST DISH EVER
Pumpkin pasta in a sage and burnt butter sauce - Sosta Cucina

Still remember the bad taste in my mouth. 

Studley Park Boathouse - Kew - review

Name: Studley Park Boathouse

Address: 1 Boathouse Rd 
Kew, VIC 3101
03 9853 1828

Food: ModOz, European

Average price: Entree: $11-$19, Mains: $26-$35, Dessert: $14-$18.50

Complimentary:  Nothing.

We ordered: 
Main:  Housemade gnocchi panfried with pumpkin sauce, ricotta and walnuts - $18

The gnocchi was really soft. the pumpkin sauce was a touch on the sweet side and therefore I would have preferred a saltier cheese, such as feta, than the mellow ricotta. The walnuts were yummy but also sweet. Had this been a touch more salty it would have been really fantastic, but overall it was still a nice dish that I would order again.


Boathouse burger with bacon, cheese, BBQ sauce, fries and salad - $24

Mr.M: It was beautiful

Dessert: Belgian chocolate mousse cake - $10.90

The mousse was a touch too gelatinous for me, being on the firm side also subdued the chocolate flavour I was hoping for, instead it was more akin to a vanilla/sweet mousse cake than Chocolate. Texture and flavour aside it was still decent.

Service: A little over attentive. Our food came out fairly quickly and our water was never less than half full but a lot of the time the waiters would just be standing behind us, waiting, which was a little off putting as we felt a lack of privacy.

Atmosphere: Surrounded by nature. The river, trees and wildlife makes for a truly relaxing atmosphere, on a sunny day up on the balcony it is truly wonderful. Although if a swan squabble arises there will be some noise :). The restaurant itself is done in a neutral minimal decor.

Parking: Ample on site parking. Also nearby street parking.

Website: http://www.studleyparkboathouse.com.au/

Hours: Wed-Fri & Sun noon-3pm, Wed-Sat 6.30pm-10pm (cafe hours: Sat-Sun 9am-11am, daily noon-4pm)

Would I return: Yes, lovely location and good value for food.