A new addition on Brunswick St; I popped in for a late lunch on Friday afternoon. Given there was only one of me I decided to forego dumplings and have a hearty plate of Ma Po Tofu on rice and a serve of spring rolls.

I was pleasantly surprised by the spring rolls which seemed home made and reminiscent of what my Dad makes. Crispy golden with shredded meat and Chinese mushrooms they were pretty darn good. The plate of rice and Ma Po Tofu was generous and hearty; packed with flavour and a good chilli kick.The tofu was silky and soft and melted into the rice. I couldn't actually finish all the tofu.

The pot of tea was probably the down point as it was pricey and the little cups to pour into are more for aesthetics than practicality. I ended up pouring the tea into my water glass.

My first experience here was definitely on the more positive end of the scale so I think I'll have to go back for the dumplings.

A Sunday gathering around a round table with plenty of shared dishes to dig into family style is a great afternoon well spent, and we chose to do that at Dainty Sichuan in Glen Waverley.

Admittedly I've been a bit dubious and hesitant about Sichuan cuisine. I'm not a fan of that numbing pepper spice and whilst I enjoy heat and spice, my poor tummy sometimes doesn't. But Ling loves this place so we were ready to give it a go.

Seated around a table, 5 adults, a 3 year old and a baby in a bassinet, we had plenty of room. Found the wait staff friendly and helpful enough; the environment is very typically Chinese restaurant.

So we ordered quite a bit:

• Fish Slices with Pickled Vegetables
• FIsh Flavour Eggplant
• Cumin Lamb Ribs
• Bang Bang Chicken
• Corn in Gold Sand with Salted Egg Yolk (unpictured)
• Stewed Pork Belly Sichuan Home Style (unpictured)
• Sichuan Home Style Baby Cabbages, Pickled Chilli, Sweet and Sour (unpictured)

Steve was a little apprehensive as the menu items are a largely different to the more traditional Chinese cuisine that is heavily Cantonese influenced. I think he only recognised Ma Po Tofu and the sweet and sour pork, neither of which we ordered! However, his anxiety was shortlived as when the food arrived, he dug in and enjoyed.

The term 'fish fragrant' actually does not mean fishy at all but refers to the Sichuan traditional flavour notes of hot, sour, salty and sweet and with battered eggplant it's pretty glorious.

Definitely strong flavours come through in all the dishes but it doesn't overpower the natural flavours of the food and the flavours of each dish can be differentiated. It's good to know, it's not one big spicy mess.

The lamb ribs are what you want lamb ribs to be. Some fat for flavour but not so much that there's not meat and plenty of crunch and spice.

The mild dishes are the Stewed Pork Belly, the Baby Cabbages (which actually had slices of pork in it so watch out vegetarians!), and the corn. The fish dish was also quite mild but the combination of the piquant broth and steamed rice was pretty moreish.

We had a great meal - family feels and good flavours. Steve and I didn't feel any tummy discomfort afterwards either so good times all round although those with a more sensitive 'system' may feel the effects of spice, salt and oil. I've been informed it's worth it though!

I decided to call it Thirsty Thursday and started with the Uncle Tom's Collins described as West Winds The Sabre gin, Canton ginger liquer, smoked beetroot shrub, yuzu and lemon. The waiter said it was a good, refreshing choice. I was hoping for something long, cold and fruity. It certainly looked the part with its berry shade of pink and it was long and cold but certainly not fruity. It was pretty sharp and then had a weird smokiness from the shrub. I think a touch of sugar syrup would have helped.

Anyway Kirsty soon arrived and we quickly moved onto The Paris End which is West Winds The Sabre gin, basil syrup, lychee, Angostura bitters, lime and prosecco served like a martini and this was much more up my street...

Hungry tummies meant we got out the starting blocks quickly with:

• Lime cured hapuka, coconut, pomegranate and chilli on a betel leaf
• Hot and sour chicken wingettes with ginger and kumquats
• Young rice prawn banh mi with avocado puree, sriracha mayo and dill
• Braised beef short rib bao with morcilla and flavours of bun bo hue

The betel leaves arrived first loaded with snowy white fish and coconut shred. Oriental flavours of sesame, coconut and chilli came through and the whole two bite morsel was just delicious. A bright, light and fresh start.

The chicken wingettes were a generous serve and so so tasty. Definitely finger lickin' good with a yummy ginger and kumquat dipping sauce. The baos were nice enough but I think the betel leaf and chicken were better. The prawn one was crispy but I felt there was just a touch too much bread to prawn ratio. The short rib bao was heavier on the protein ratio but you can order extra baos if necessary. The meat shreds and the morcilla adds a savoury hit. I think I was expecting more chilli heat because of the bun bo hue reference. I think the meat could have been softer and juicier. Tasty but not amazing.

Our shared main course was impressive:

• Master stock crispy pork hock with banh hoi, lettuce wraps, fragrant herbs and nuoc cham

Loved the banh hoi which are essentially noodles shapped into little squares. We also ordered some grilled roti whichw as a good call to dip in the sticky glaze and make the lettuce wraps a bit more substantial. I found the meat tender and juicy, the glaze was a little sweet but the dipping sauce helped as that was pretty zippy. It's a messy dish but there's joy in being up to the elbows in meat juices and sticky sauce!

We were so full after that but Kirsty enjoyed another cocktail and ended proceedings with a strong and sweet Vietnamese coffee.

There are plenty more dishes to try on a return visit and the food was certainly good enough to warrant that. The wait staff were also very friendly; personable and casual but certainly not lacksadaisical. If you like Lucy Lui and Chin Chin, this is a good alternative but more Vietnamese in its cuisine. I am surprised by the current low score of 2.9 on Zomato as whilst not perfect, Uncle deserves a bit more love than that!

The white table cloths and old world decor make it an occasion type restaurant for family birthdays where generations come together or grown ups night out or an intimate date. It's not stuffy, far from it, but it is classic.

We loved the sound of the dishes on the Tasting Menu so it was easy to go with that. The dishes came out promptly. Service was friendly although the one waiter who serviced our area was a little stretched when we were at maximum capacity and it wasn't always easy to get his attention. When we did manage to attract him, his response was speedy so it wasn't a bad experience.

The formula of the Tasting Menu hasn't changed from our previous visit. We started off with a series of small bites:

• Oyster shot with mirin and sake
  
• Ora King salmon and kingfish tartare
  
• ‘Black truffle’ potato croquette
  
• Tempura zucchini flowers with goat’s milk fetta
  
• Wagyu bresaola, enoki mushrooms, pickled daikon

The oyster shot was a yummy blend of sweet and salty with a deep savouriness to the liquid. Oyster shots are never the most attractive of dishes, reminding me of the animals preserved in liquid formaldehyde found in old museums and high school biology labs and this was the same. I guess the clear brown consomme like liquid and the shot glass contributed to this! But at least it tasted good!

Next I worked on the warm tempura zucchini flower which was a classic rendition with familiar flavours that have been proven to work and ever consistent, worked again.

The bresaola was well balanced in flavours too with some saltiness from the cured meat, a tang and a crunch from the pickle and then the earthy mushroom.

The salmon and kingfish tartare on a cracker was pleasant enough but need a little citrus kick I feel.

​The small disappointment was the small croquette that looked like a black truffle but didn't have much flavour to it and I found the filling a bit mushy and gluey. A small morsel though so not bad enough to have a huge impact on the overall enjoyment of this first course.

I didn't take a photo of the next course because it was more a dish of foam so it wasn't easy to see the individual tortellini:

• Mushroom wonton-tortellini, peas, truffled Parmigiano-Reggiano sauce

Where the previous fish dish was light and bright, this pasta came with a punch. Flavour wise the cheese foam was intense and rich. The tortellini filling was creamy and decadent and the peas added intensity with a sweet finish. It was delicious but I couldn't eat more than the three pieces served and for me the sauce was just on the side of manageable. Any more cheese in it would have been too overwhelming for me.

It was a little weird to have the noise of a 21st birthday party come through to the refined dining room and even weirder when I wen to the ladies' bathroom and could barely get in with all the young ladies vying for the mirror, reapplying lip gloss and spraying hairspray and perfume. I was transported back to the 90s when I would have been one of them which was a strange sensation given I'd just had a very grown up and civilised meal. This little experience just didn't quite sit with the whole fine dining package.

There are three, two hatted restaurants all within 15 minutes walk of home for us - Cutler & Co,, St, Crispin and here. At all three the food is of a strong standard. I struggle with the darkness of the dining room at Cutler & Co. on an evening and here I felt the ambience especially with the nightclub ending of our meal was also a little off. I think my favourite for food and ambience would be St. Crispin but it's a pretty tight two hat race.

I arrived a little bit earlier but the table was ready. It was around 7pm on a Friday and the pub was already busy and tables filled with ​happy revellers seeing in the weekend.

The rest of the group soon arrived and drinks were ordered and as we perused the menu we ordered some nibbles to aid the decision making.

• Sweet & sour pork skin & crackers
• Salt & pepper squid

We ordered these from the Snacks menu and they are small. So small we immediately requested another serve of the squid as soon as the first arrived! The squid was piping hot, crispy and well seasoned so the perfect snack with an aperitif. The sweet and sour crackers were a modernisation of the familiar prawn crackers and day glo, hot pink, gloopy sauce but far more appetising and attractive. Both dishes have that fingerlickin' good quality!

We were tempted by the banquet menu but ended up ordering a la carte. Plenty of delights to choose from meaning a repeat visit is definitely required to sample more - XO pippies, five spice chicken, drunken chicken. noodle salad, mapo tofu....yum!

We start with two interesting entree dishes:

• Scamorza spring roll, plum sauce
• ​Crispy rice cake, homemade Chinese sausage

The spring roll looks pretty standard but the filling is pretty much salty, stretchy smoked mozzarella and it's delicious. It's not exactly Asian but who cares when it tastes good?

I had high hopes for the rice cake as we used to love the version at Golden Fields when it existed. It looked great and the Chinese sausage was cooked perfectly so it was slightly crispy but still chewy. Flavours were good but texture was a bit soggy and it kind of disintegrated. A little more hold and a crispy bottom would make this dish amazing.

The prawns themselves were a touch mushy and overcooked so didn't really showcase them as an ingredient which was a let down.

Ginger sponge was probably the one dessert that didn't exceed expectations. A little denser than it could have been.

We wanted to end the evening on a fortuitous note and no better way than with a fortune cookie and Ricky and Pinky make a XL version. Made fresh to order they're crunchy and crumbly and so not fancy that they're amazingly delicious.

So Ricky and Pinky, you're too cute not to like. Sure, some things aren't perfect and you're pretty rambunctious and noisy but there's also a lot to like and a lot left to try and I like you enough to try again!

Team lunch takes place most weeks and our little group of four like to frequent the cheap and cheerful which generally means Asian food. This time we took a suggestion and headed to Sichuan House which wasn't the big, glitzy Sichuan restaurant on the main road with the neon lighting I thought we'd be going to but actually kind of next door, down and alley and hidden away. 

The eggplant is also fried and coated in a sweet and spicy sauce. Crispy on the outside and soft and gooey on the inside as eggplant should be, this was another tasty dish.

The sweet and sour pork was probably the disappointment in that the batter was too thick and although the pieces looked big and generous, it was mostly batter.

The food is very filling - deep fried does that to you and it does lie heavy on the stomach but it's not pretending to be anything other than what it is. There's nothing pretentious here. It's fast, tasty and cheap. MSG alert too but all that is really not surprising. As an occasional eat, it's a decent option when you want spice, meat and a fix of fried food.

It took a while for Tim Ho Wan to open its doors. The boards covering up the building work originally indicated an April 2015 opening if I remember correctly. That came and went...and the boards remained. I heard on the grapevine problems with planning permission, extractor fans and the like...Finally trade started and the queues snakes down Bourke Street so I kept my distance.

The grapevine continued to pump out news and opinions - long queues, good buns, not so good everything else, worth the hype, not worth they hype, just like Hong Kong, totally different to Hong Kong...What else to do but to dine and form my own opinion and join one of the many schools of thought? But I put it off due to the queues..and the mixed reviews dampened my ardour. Life's a bit like that...if everyone says it's amazing, the desire to be part of that intensifies.

​Walked past one weekday lunchtime and noticed the queue at 12:10pm was virtually non existent. Unfortunately had other plans so skipped but returned the next day at a similar time and there was a queue but not too bad so we joined the end and I asked the server how long it would be. She was surprisingly friendly - places like this don't seem to make that quality a priority but she said 5 - 10 minutes. In reality it was more like 2 minutes and pretty soon we were shown to a small table.

It's very HK cafe in style - lots of turning of tables, in and out, feed me quick type rather than long and leisurely lunch. That's ok though as we were on a 1 hour lunch break. There's a buzzer to request service and a tick sheet to place an order. The menu was smaller than I expected but I guess I don't mind that as it's more a place to dine in small numbers so don't need lots of variety as long as what limited offerings there are, are executed well.

Between the two of us we ordered:

• Baked Bun with BBQ Pork
• Fried Turnip Cake (unpictured)
• Vermicelli Roll with Sesame Sauce
• Pork Dumpling with Shrimp (unpictured)
• Spring Roll with Egg White (unpictured)
• Rice with Chicken, Sausage and Mushroom

Everything came quickly - I did wonder if the rice would as typically this takes a while in the more usual yum cha places. For this reason I refrained from ordering the Glutinous Rice in Lotus Leaf but after this speedy experience, no reason not to next time!

The baked BBQ pork buns are definitely tasty. Light and fluffy with a sweet crust and a chunky pork filling I like these more than the fluffy white ones which I find synthetic and the filling in those is all too often sweet, meaty mush.

I found the turnip cake a but too "cakey". Flavour was decent but texture a touch too gluey for me.

Vermicelli roll was presented so prettily with the stripes of contrasting sauce that looked like crispy bacon! And the texture was silky smooth so definitely very enjoyable.

We enjoyed the rice - generous chunks of chicken, ginger flavours. It needed a bit more sauce to penetrate to the bottom layers of rice. The chicken itself was very tender to the extent it kind of disintegrated in the mouth. This makes me wonder though if it's been over treated with bicarb of soda or some other chemical meat tenderiser...

Spring roll was crispy and golden and we enjoyed the lightness of it. Usually vegetarian spring rolls are filled with carrot (which I don't like) but this was different and very palatable.

I've never been to the HK outlet so can't compare. However I went to Tim Ho Wan thinking it wouldn't be as good as the original. I find that this happens with brands like Tim Ho Wan, Din Tai Fung etc. The original is always better even if the chefs are trained the same way, recipes are unchanged. I put it down to the water and air in each country!

Overall the food is decent. There are some really yummy items - vermicelli roll and pork buns and the other stuff is slightly better than the yum cha offerings. That's my opinion and I've struggled to find truly satisfying yum cha in Melbourne.

Yes, it's not a "yum cha" experience with trolleys and large round tables for families. It's not really set up for that. We paid about $50 in total for our food and I don't think that was unreasonable. It's affordable, it's quick, it's pretty yummy and it's an alternative to Taiwanese style Din Tai Fung. I'm not busting a gut to go again urgently but certainly wouldn't have a problem with a repeat visit.

I loved Northern Light and I really wanted to love Honcho Noodle. I dined with an ex work colleague now friend early on Thursday evening. I was their first customer of the night and as I was early I had some time just seated at the table enjoying an iced tea. 

The welcome and ongoing service was acceptable but no real personality or personal touch; so unlike Northern Light when Adam Liston used to welcome us like old friends and I'm sure it wasn't just us that received such friendly warmth.

We ordered a few things to share:

‘DAVID CHANG’S' STEAMED PORK BUN
​SPANNER CRAB UDON, SMOKED CRAB BUTTER, YUZU, KIZAMI NORI
SMOKED DUCK HOKKIEN, CHILLI RELISH, BEAN SPROUTS, HOI SIN 
OKONOMIYAKI

The pork bun was definitely the best thing we had. The pork was tender and the crackling wonderfully crisp. The spanner crab udon was overly buttery and just too rich. The smoked duck hokkien was nice enough but not something I couldn't make at happen. It was a touch too sweet for me and lacked fire. The quality of the actual noodles was good - slippery, slurpy and with bite but sadly the accompanying flavours lacked appeal. The okonomiyaki was big but dense, heavy and lacked flavour.

So in all I was disappointed. The pork bun wasn't enough to save the meal and I just don't feel the quality matched the price point.

Sunday lunch was spent with with Ling, Noah, Stef and baby Bunty and we gathered in Flemington for Laksa King. This was Steve and my first visit but the rest of the group have been before. Stef is almost a regular but it is in her 'hood. It was busy so lucky we had a reservation and they didn't seem to mind when we weren't all there at the pre booked time.

Service is more efficient than friendly but it works and we're attended to promptly. 

Steve and I share the lobak which was tasty; more meaty than spring roll like but good. I went with fish fillet laksa which was generous with at least 5 pieces of fried fish. Steve went shredded duck laksa and Stef had combo laksa.

The laksas went down a treat. Loved the balance of flavours and it wasn't overly coconutty and creamy. I could have done with more spice but the chilli sambal we asked for helped. We found these vibrant bowls of sunshine yellow goodness to be great value for money at less than $15 per serve depending on the type. $10.80 for the combo!

Ling had the Ipoh Hor Fun which also looked huge and delicious with lots of eggy gravy.

Noah had the roast chicken rice which to me looked a little dry and more meagre than the noodle dishes but it seemed to be well received. Water bottles were replaced regularly, not necessarily with a smile but I'm ok with that!

Laksa King is worth the travel for good laksa and there's plenty more to try next time.

Determined to dine there we sought refuge in the pub on the corner which must be the Hawker Hall holding pen and waited for the text to come through. And an hour and fifteen later it did!

We were shown to a table towards the back of the dining area and we had to wait a while before water and a drinks order taken. So I caught the eye of waiter who seemed a but confused when I said I wanted to order drinks. Maybe we weren't in his section or something. Not the most reassuring start. But not long after our actual waiter came along in braces and high waisted check trousers and a cheery smile and it was pretty plain sailing after that as we left it in his hands in terms of food. The menu is vast so it seemed easier for someone else to make the decisions but there was plenty we didn't get to try and should come back for.
​

SprOur smiley cheerful waiter advised that the food comes out pretty quickly and after an hour and fifteen wait, that is a good thing and very very welcome.

• PRAWN‭ & ‬GINGER DUMPLING W‭. ‬SOY‭ & ‬BLACK VINEGAR CARAMEL‭ (unpictured)

Dumplings came first; 4 snowy white plump parcels. Pretty traditional and classic and a happy start. I didn't get the caramel aspect and the dipping sauce was like what I usually make when I pour soy and black vinegar together to get the salty, tangy balance. Good balance but not as innovative as caramel would suggest. The dumplings were quickly followed up with the two pictured dishes:

• MALAY VEGETABLE SPRING ROLLS W‭. ‬GREEN CHILLI SOY‭    
• TOASTED COCONUT MEATBALLS W. LIME & SWEET SOY

​Spring rolls were spring rolls. I prefer Vietnamese style and the best are my grandma's so spring rolls have a hard job to impress me!

The little toasted meatballs did impress though and we were pleasantly surprised as we probably wouldn't have ordered these. The toasty coconut flavour really came through as did the fresh flavour of lemongrass. Delicious bite sized meaty morsels.

• MALAY SHREDDED CHICKEN SALAD W. TOASTED COCONUT SAMBAL
• STEAMED BARRAMUNDI W. RICE NOODLE (unpictured)
• GRILLED BEEF SHORT RIB, OYSTER SAUCE, RED CHILLI & CORIANDER

Between started and main came a few in between dishes and again they came out at a good pace. The chicken salad was zingy and fresh but with a depth of richness from the addition of coconut and coconut cream.

The steamed barramundi comes with about 3 little rolls of rice noodles so it's not quite the noodle dish I though but the fish is steamed perfectly - clean, fresh and light with soy sauce, spring onions, coriander. Again a very traditional and classic Chinese dish.

From the muted clean flavours of salad and steamed fish, in came the spice factor and a dish with more oomph and richness. The short rib came on rice and was rich and tender with a little stickiness. I thought the rice was a touch underdone and a little hard and brittle not helped by a lack of sauce. A touch more juiciness would have elevated this dish.

​We so could have stopped there with the food but where's the fun in that right? And our mains arrived sharing style.

• PENANG DUCK CURRY W. PEANUTS & EGGPLANT
• CAULIFLOWER ROASTED W. TUMERIC, COCONUT & RASINS
• GREEN BEANS, SWEET SOY & TOASTED COCONUT CASHEW

The duck curry was good enough. Super saucy unlike the short rib. Although it was meaty, it could have been any meat really as I think the duck had been mullered and smothered that the duckiness didn't really come through. Green beans were nicely charred and cut through the richness of the food. The dish that wasn't so great was the cauliflower. It was all mushy and tasted over boiled and smothered in cream rather than roasted and spiced which is the impression the description gives. It's creaminess didn't go well with everything else I felt and was a bit overwhelming. But one miss doesn't necessarily make a bad meal.

​We were given free reign over dessert and could choose one to share. There were quite a few that appealed but we went for the most popular:

• MILO DINOSAUR SUNDAE W. CHOCOLATE BISCUIT

Effectively a chocolate ice cream sundae with lots of crunchy biscuit crumb. It offers universal appeal and the cold creaminess of the ice cream went down a treat. It wasn't overly sweet which was good as it was a hefty serving size and it was very enjoyable.

I found the flavours and cooking style of Hawker Hall, although similar to big sister Chin Chin, were less complex and perhaps more authentic to the hawker hall style of Asian food. I loved the speed at which the food arrived and the vast choice of the menu. Understandably not every dish on there will float everyone's boat but feasting on some of them will certainly result in some treasures and I'd go treasure hunting there again for sure.