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!

 This sunny Sunday we happened to be driving around and it soon got to lunch time and we needed inspiration...I consulted my list of places I want to visit and we decided to try St Cloud in Hawthorn East. There were a few tables dining so it was pretty straightforward to get seated. The place is modern, casual and a little bit funky.

The chicken wings were a bigger serve; four piece atop two cubes of sticky rice all glazed in caramel deliciousness. Thoroughly enjoyed the tasty sweet glaze and the tang of the pickles to cut through it all.

Prawn and pork spring rolls were also tasty with lettuce leaves, beanshoots and coriander to wrap together and dip in the piquant nuoc cham. From a doubtful start of scallops, we were much happier with what followed.

Having shared entrees, we chose our own mains:

• Pho special of the day (chicken) served with beanshoots, chilli, lime, sweet basil, sriracha and hoi sin
• 5 spice roast pork belly vermicelli bowl, herbs, pickles, nuoc cham

I had the pho which was a much darker broth than I usually see but I enjoyed the depth of flavour that was probably richer than what I'm usually used to which I wasn't quite sure was the best with chicken and maybe red meat would be a slightly better match. The noodles were a touch overcooked so a little bit soft and I really missed having some fresh coriander in it. It wasn't bad and it was tasty but I think Steve's main was far better.

Steve wolfed his vermicelli salad declaring it really good. I enjoyed the taster I had. Actually we enjoyed the whole meal. It wasn't perfect but it was fresh, good quality ingredients and definitely tasty enough.

We started off with some snack like proceedings:

• Pork crackling, toasted fennel
• Wok tossed garlic shoots, spice salt

The crackling crackled and then melted in the mouth and was light and tasty with the spices sprinkled on it. The garlic shoots had a tasty char to them and were liberally doused with something tongue tinglingly warm. Both dishes were great to share with a glass of wine and a street view.

Steve and I chose to move away from sharing for the next course and ordered a little amuse bouche style canape each:

• Spanner crab, bun rieu mayo, brioche toast, finger lime
• Vietnamese blood pudding, ginger, cosberg

I had the crab which had the texture of scrambled egg and then little pearls of sharp finger lime burst on the tongue. The crab and brioche was sweet with the brioche adding a layer of toastiness. This was delicious.

The blood pudding was like a lettuce wrap and again very flavoursome.

We went back to sharing and indulged in:

• Smoked beef rump carpaccio, green chilli, soybean sprouts
• Drop noodles, duck, celtuce, curry vinaigrette

I really enjoyed the sesame oil notes in the rump carpacio and the pickled almst fermented like soybean sprouts that were covered by the blanket of beef slices. The green chilli dressing certainly packed a punch of heat. Another tasty and successful dish.

The drop noodles were the follow up punch. The curry vinaigrette is more like a curry paste that the noodles soaked up and the duck meat was tender and tasty. To me it was more Malaysian than Vietnamese which tends to have more delicate flavours but this was still a very welcome course which was well received.

The chicken had great char flavour but wasn't dried out. The dipping sauce added that moreish acidic hit. The flathead was generous in size; we had to watch out for bones given it was effectively a whole fish just with the head cut off. Steve had been unsure about creme fraiche and fish sauce - he's not too keen on creamy sauces but I felt this worked a treat. It wasn't so much creamy but more buttery and the sauce went with the sweet fish flesh so well especially with the tang of the juice from the lemon cheek.

We loved the strong flavours of all the savoury dishes we had and we felt that every course was of a consistently good standard. We had to wait a little while for our mains because we were behind a couple of larger tables. We were also offered to move to two high stools at the bar if we wished as a party hadn't showed up at the time but we didn't think it would be any more comfortable there. The wooden stools are a little hard after a while if I am to be critical. 

My other comment would be that with all the great flavours, sauces and glazes with the dishes we had as our main course, I'd have loved a little steamed rice just to soak everything up.

And pretty much just as our dessert was cleared away, we caught sight of a couple walking past the weekend who are our friends so a tap on the window and they came in. The front staff team welcomed us and let us move to the high bar which by now was pretty empty and we were able to enjoy a couple of glasses of wine as a foursome as we enjoyed the impromptu catch up so we're thankful for the flexibility and hospitality the team offered.

Great evening, great and interesting food that is really very tasty. I'd definitely come back.

Intrigued by the concept of a 22 year old at the helm and a quarterly rotating menu inspired by global travel, I visited Atlas with 3 girlfriends. The fit out and decor is impressive with lots of white and light wood. Our individual leather roll wrap of cutlery is a novelty...evoking nuances of airplane travel and camping weirdly.

The welcome is warm as is the temperature. We're seated in front of the kitchen pass and the heat comes through whereas the front dining area manages to stay slightly cooler.

We toast our arrival and the imminent coming of Christmas with smoked straweberry bellinis and a mojito. They are delicious and go down a treat. Before long, we're on the 6 course journey with matching wines and that's all the decision making we need to do. The rest is all chatter and giggles.

Refreshing and clean flavours come through and the different types of tomato provide varying flavours that layer upon themselves giving the simply named dish some complexity. There's a sweet almost dried tomato at the bottom that is also slightly chewy and then there are fresh, tangy tomato flavours from the cut tomatoes and the Vietnamese herbs take us to Asia.

Service was proficient and capable but not personal. The wine matches were read out to us like a script as was the description of the food; we couldn't grasp any personality, passion or energy.

I enjoyed the fresh pot of tea as opposed to the flasks that remain on the tables in other similar restaurants. Feels more hygienic! Pleased also to report the bathrooms were good too. I usually avoid them as they can be off putting but all good here.

I had the bun bo hue which is the beef and lemongrass noodle soup. There was warm spice throughout and I enjoyed the different bits in it including some shiny cubes of liver which I thought I wouldn't like but actually they weren't strong in flavour. The noodles were nice and springy. The broth probably could be hotter. There was beef in it but I'm sure there was also pork so if you're a non pork eater, buyer beware as it's not in the description.

Steve had the stewed duck noodle soup and that looked inviting too with a duck leg floating in the bowl. The broth was pretty sweet which came from the dried dates that were in there and he enjoyed his bowl too.

We share a Vietnamese pancake which is pretty big and looks impressive. All golden yellow and crispy thin crepe like. The dipping sauce was flavoursome but really if it wasn't for the dipping sauce it would have been quite bland. Stirfried beanshoots with a tiny bit of pork and the odd mini frozen prawn. I wanted to order some spring rolls too but the waiter said it would have been too much.

The menu is huge with lots of items to choose from so it can be a bit confusing if you're indecisive like us. We enjoyed the lunch enough but definitely it's a place that relies on MSG. Could definitely taste it and felt the dehydrating effects afterwards.

We wondered whether it would be busy but we just bypassed the after work crowd so when we walked in there were only a few tables seated. Not sure who was around to greet us we stood around awkwardly before there was a friendly greeting and awkwardness aside to settle in.

We were advised cocktails could be mocktails (nice touch) and dishes were to share except for the pho of which there were two varieties, beef or chicken. We decided to go with:

• Pho plings - Pho broth, braised ox tail and pork mince, Vietnamese mint, fresh chilli, white onion, chilli oil
• Beef banh cuon - Medium rare beef, dried beef, lettuce, cucumber, pickled carrots, fresh herbs, crispy fried shallots and hoi sin peanut dipping sauce
• Crispy pork belly - Slow roasted pork belly, red cabbage, pickled ginger and red onion slaw, ginger caramel
• Poached chicken in Vietnamese slaw - Chicken thigh poached in coconut and lemongrass, slaw of wombok, carrots, shallots, kohl rabi, chilli, mixed herbs and fried shallots
• Fried whole quail - Honey and five spice glaze, braised in master stock then deep fried, served with a salad of mushrooms

We tried to order a beef pho but was then infomed that there's no pho for dinner...bit strange really as isn't pho broth just on the boil constantly?

Anyway we had pho plings on the way so all ok. The beef banh cuon arrived first and they were fine. The dipping sauce was literally a spoonful of hoi sin from a jar with chopped peanuts. Ok but not amazing.

The Pho plings look so pretty with their pleats and a family of four arrive on top of some broth in a bowl. It's a bit of an inside out xiao long bao as the broth is on the outside. We tasted the broth - a bit over salty but ok. We tasted the pho pling...I thought the meat inside bordered on dry and there was an intense flavour of star anise overpowering the whole thing. Couldn't taste teh chilli, the onion, the chilli oil or the mint. Disappointing really. 

The salad came next and looked like it had been tipped out of a bag of Coles pre packaged salad. The chicken had the subtle taste of coconut which was pleasant but there wasn't that much of it. I felt that it was all wombok, some carrot and fried shallots and none of the other ingredients. The dressing wasn't all that special and could have come from a bottle. In all honesty, my Vietnamese salad is fresher and more authentic than this. 

Crispy pork belly was more greasy pork belly and when chewed it releases oil leaving the mouth greasy. The overwhelming taste sensation was just sugar sweetness with no balance. Didn't get the flabvours of any pickle or ginger to take away the sugary greasiness. Not pleasant.

And if it couldn't get any worse, it did. Fried whole quail came out looking like it had been out in the sun far too long. Mahogany brown and ever so wrinkled, this poor quail had met a grizzly death! The leg bone just snapped it was so over cooked, The fibres of the meat stood out individually when shredded and picked apart. Small slaving grace was the rice roll accompaniment that was soft and silky with a few mushrooms on top - more a garnish than salad. Really the state of that little bird was not acceptable so we flagged our waiter, explained the problem and he just seemed confused. I asked him to take it away and he asked me if he should tell the kitchen! Damn right he should tell the kitchen but then he just walked away to the bar and didn't take the dead bird with him? WTF?! So we asked another waitress, one who seemed a bit more with it and she apologised and took it away. SHe came back to let us know we could have another one and they would comp it. Too right, they should comp it. In fact quite frankly that's not really a gesture we should be grateful for. We declined an additional dish as we were pretty over it by this point.

So we quickly paid our bill and left and made way to Red Silks for a second dinner that was far more successful!

So in summary, Hochi Mama looks good like its pho plings; all hip and fun but Stef and I found it style over substance completely and were really disappointed. It's over priced for what it offers and is just not good enough. Hochi Mama? Nochi Mama more like!

Last time we came here was a mid week dinner and the food took a bit longer to come out than we'd have liked but today we had all the time in the World so decided to indulge in an Asian feast. We sat at an outside table and enjoyed the sunshine with a Lemongrass Tom Collins cocktails for me and a longneck for Steve.

The cocktails was fragrant and cool; I think it could have done with a bit more sweetness but it was refreshing enough.

We started off ordering 5 small dishes to share. Given this was going to be an indulgent kind of leisurely lunch, we augmented our order with another 3 dishes later on! In total we feasted on:

• ​PHAT GAI CHOY | Wok-tossed asian greens with fresh shiitake mushrooms  and crispy pork belly in special sauce
• MA HOR | Caramelised pork, prawn and peanut on sour pineapple
• SEUA RONG HAI | Char-grilled beef with a spicy citrus dipping sauce
• YAM PLA FOO | Tapioca dusted barramundi with a green apple and roast cashew salad and nahm jim dressing
• SII KRONG NUE | Mekong whiskey marinated lamb ribs in a sticky special sauce
• BANH MI | Crispy soft shell crab with pickled vegetables, herbs and homemade pate
• KOI PLA | Lime cured kingfish salad with mint, chilli and shallots
• FILIPINO CHICKEN | Char-grilled chicken in a spicy Filipino style sauce

The food came out pretty quickly actually unlike our first visit. Not super rushed, fast food quick but pacey enough to be enjoyable. Speaking of enjoyment my second cocktail was the Vietnamese espresso martini which was a delightfully creamy concoction with a good punch of alcohol.

All the dishes were tasty and spiked with chilli heat, fragrant with coriander and plenty of lime juice tang. Perhaps worth a special mention was the wok tossed greens. Simple but very tasty with crunchy fragments of pork. The Ma Hor is a great mouthful of sour, sweet, crunchy and nutty and is a great little amuse bouche style option. The Filipino Chicken and the Char-grilled Beef were actually really similar in terms of the dressing used so perhaps just have one or the other. Although having said that, both were tasty. Also tasty were the sticky lamb ribs so they're definitely something to repeat.

In all, it was a damn fine feast. It's different to the likes of Chin Chin, Lucy Liu etc, because there's no rice and it's all small dishes but the lack of rice and the smaller serves means there's more variety. Definitely enjoyable and I'm glad it's so close to home!

So on Saturday after a grocery shop and whilst Steve's suffering from a hangover I drag him to Co Do and we order spring rolls, stuffed chicken wings and 2 plates of pork chop on broken rice.

It's reasonably busy but easy to find a table and there are a few group tables of friends and family digging in. Interestingly, they're all eating pho...

The spring rolls arrive quickly and they're hot, crispy and tasty. Good start! The plates of pork arrive soon after and it's not as impressive looking as Footscray's offering. I think an oval dish always looks more generous and the Footscray version manages to get the pork really golden whereas this was less glistening but it's all about the taste right. 

It's actually deceiving because the food is piled up so there's more there than meets the eye. There's the shredded pork and vermicelli, some meatloaf and two good pieces of pork as well as the ubiquitous pickles and fried egg. Flavour wise it's good. The pate flavour is quite strong but not off putting and the pork chops whilst not crispy is more tender and braised style but I like it all. 

And the stuffed chicken wings are delicious too. Thin crispy skin, boneless and stuffed with a pork mince mixture that is punchy and spicy they're pretty rich and hefty but yummy. One is enough though!

This is a good family style all rounder for Vietnamese food I think and I don't think I'll leave it 4.5 years to return this time!

It's busy season for auditors. Gosh it comes round quick so it meant that Steve was working on Saturday but we had time for a quick lunch. We thought about picking up sushi from Hinoki but then I thought it could be worth trying Xeom so we did.

It was just before midday and the place was empty but it was warm and not off putting. Although the panda water glasses weren't particularly clean so that was less welcoming.

Steve tried to order some hot tea, green or black but we were told no. That's a little weird I thought. But then we saw someone else get a pot later so I think we were misunderstood. And that little cup on the picture looks like tea but it's dipping sauce. I almost picked it up to drink!

Anyway the spring rolls came in this fancy basket which was cute. They were fine - just like what they should be like.

I had the pork chop rice and Steve had the crispy chicken and tomato rice. The dishes came out speedily and were attractively appetising. I wasn't sure about the sweet chilli sauce for Steve's dish. I think sweet chilli sauce, as tasty as it is, is a little bit of a cop out for a restaurant but then given I'm ok with tomato sauce, maybe I've got double standards? 

Anyway, the chicken was crispy. The pork chop was well marinaded with fragrant lemon grass and some chilli. I liked the crispy pickled veg. I thought the pork chop was on the small side for the price but I guess that's the difference between being on Smith Street and being in Footscray. The best pork chop rice is definitely Footscray and so much better value with two pieces of golden fried pork and a whole heap of rice but for somewhere easy to access and close to home, this is a reasonable fix even if there is no hot tea!

An ex colleague from a long time ago was in town this week. Amazing how Facebook keeps people connected! And we made plans to catch up in the week. I wanted to take her somewhere reasonably priced but quite typically Melbourne and had a couple of options up my sleeve including Cellar Bar, Tipo 00 but she wanted Asian and "cheapish" so I decided on Rice Paper Scissors having seen the queues in previous weeks.

I liked that it was "down a laneway" so that was the Melbourne aspect sorted. We arrived just after 6pm and the place was already 75% full. We had two seats at one of the communal tables and drinks orders were taken quickly. 

I didn't get a chance to take a picture of the Vietnamese style espresso martini type cocktail but it was delicious and I would return to have it again!

A friendly waitress explained the menu - essentially 5 dishes for $55 and that should be enough for 2. Very well priced! Another tick!

We went with:

STEAMED PORK BUNS BANH BAO with pork belly, cucumber, shallots and hoisin sauce

SOM TAM  green papaya salad with peanuts, long beans and chilli

PLA NAM TOK waterfall crispy barramundi  salad with toasted ground rice, shallot, chilli, herbs and a spicy dressing

THAI CEVICHE KOI PLA lime cured kingfish salad with mint, chilli and shallots

BBQ LAMB RIBS SII KRONG NUEX Mekong whiskey marinated lamb ribs in a sticky special sauce

The only thing unpictured is the Papaya Salad which was refreshingly zesty and sharp. The papaya was in thin strands like vermicelli so completely unlike what I expected. In fact, many of the dishes were not quite what I thought.

The ceviche was cutely presented in a tin with a cover with a ringpull placed on top. It was the first dish to arrive and it was tasty. Chunky fish, fresh chilli and coriander and citrus tang, It was well balanced and the flavours vibrant and clear.

The pork bun was good enough but not too memorable.

I liked the lightness of the barramundi and again some good tang and spiky flavours. And the generous chunks of battered fish was better than what I imagined.

The whiskey ribs were sweet and sticky with a deep alcohol burn that was pleasant.

The food arrived quickly as did the crowds so it's not a place for a long meal. I could feel the pressure as neared the end of our food and felt obliged to drink the remaining wine in my glass quickly to release our seats. 

However given the price and the flavours, I don't mind that it's a short meal. It was a rainy, cold and grey evening and this meal really transported us to another place that was much more carefree and colourful. I wasn't over full but pleasantly satisfied so it's good for a light dinner or a decent lunch. I'd say it's defintely worth a try.