Walker's Doughnuts, Melbourne

noodlies Sydney food blog just can't go past their doughnuts and hot chocolate whenever we're in Melbourne.  Because it's near our Melbourne office, I'm always finding an excuse to pop down to Walker's Doughnuts.

Yu-U Japanese, Flinders Lane, Melbourne

Descend a small, dimly lit flight of stairs and you enter a stunning open expanse that is dominated by a wooden counter that encases the open kitchen. The wood glows under the discreet but intense spot light. When your eyes adjust, you see a another couple of stand alone wooden tables, each seats about eight.

Chocolate Buddha, Federation Square, Melbourne

A work colleague introduced me to the delights of Chocolate Buddha a couple of weeks ago when we were in Melbourne for work.  This week, I'm back in Melbourne for a couple of days and have a sudden craving for their delicious Japanese udon.

Pho Mekong Vietnam, Melbourne CBD

At 10pm on a Thursday night, Pho Mekong Vietnam was still pumping.  The customers were a mix of late night lads and ladettes, plus the Asian clientelle.

I was grumpy because my plane was late and missed my booking at Hutong Dumpling Bar.  Stumbled across this place and since noodlies Sydney's Best Pho was only announced the day before, I had to give this Melbourne pho a try.. for professional comparison purposes, of course.  The exterior red neons attracted me like moth to a flame.

Spanish Doughnuts, Melbourne CBD

Every now and again, you get a pleasant surprise.  And so it was with Spanish Doughnuts, a narrow, hole in the wall establishment on Elizabeth street, a skip from Flinder street station.  We decided to give it a try because every time we walked pass there was a queue of people regardless of the time of day.

These doughnuts are long (about 10cm) rather than round and come in a bewildering array of flavours, both savoury and sweet.  Walter is desperately in love with the peanut butter version, the peanut butter centre is warm and delivers a melt in the mouth contrast to the hard outer.

I try the dark chocolate (why not?) covered doughnut with caramel filling. Rich and delicious... although I'm not sure at $3.90 each, they're great value.

Despite the tiny size of this place, everything is made there and you can see them being made.

Kim Chi Tray, Melbourne

Great location near Flinders Street station and nearby uni/colleges guarantees steady stream of passing trade, but not much else recommends this place for me.

The bi bim bap I ordered was underwhelming, the food hardly took up much of the medium sized bowl.  The rice wasn't hot and similarly miso mildly warm.  And it took a fair while to come out.

Having fun korean music video on continuous rotation was fun, but didn't make up for the disappointing food.

Breakfast in a Melbourne Laneway

Heard so much about Melbourne laneways that we've decided to eat and breakfast in as many of those as we could find.  Today the cafe was in Degraves laneway, between Flinders street and Flinders lane.  Degraves Expresso Bar is towards the middle and had tables in the middle of the laneway as well.

The atmosphere was laid back hip, prince was playing and staff were trying to be understated groovy - with limited success.

The seats were old train seats that fold up like in the cinemas.  Many of the leather broken and ripped, but it rather than detracting, created a nice authentic atmosphere.

The punters on this overcast Sunday morning was eclectic meets tourists and church ladies.

The latte was ok, fried eggs were just right for me, warm but runny yolk.  I wasn't much a fan of the hard sour-dough toast.  But over all, I did like the place a lot.

Chinatown Dumpling Restaurant, Melbourne CBD

Spicy Chicken Noodles

There are so many dumpling places around it's hard to spot the difference.  Chinatown Dumpling Restaurant in a great location on Swanston Street and great food too.  The frontage is narrow but the restaurant is deep with seats in every possible possie.  We were lucky enough to score a table at 7pm on a Saturday night.  Within minutes the place was full.

The spicy chicken in hand made noodles was hearty and generous.  While tasty, it didn't go overboard on stronger spices like cumin or chilli for that matter. It was still authentic to its north-western Chinese origins.

Beef steamed dumplings

The beef steamed dumplings were a highlight too.  Dumpling casing was a little thicker and stronger than I'm used to, but for me, was perfect for a cold Melbourne evening.  So too was the beef filling, coarser, fuller and thicker mince gave this dish a much greater footprint and also very much to my taste.

The staff were young, efficient and fast. Price was very reasonable around $30 for both of us.  Highly recommended - if you can get a seat.

Saigon Pho, Footscray, Melbourne

The intrepid search for the best pho continues, but this time in Melbourne, where I'm spending a relaxing weekend. Footscray is authentic, raw and exciting; it's one of the most culturally diverse suburbs in Australia; boasting not only the Vietnamese community but also newer migrants from Africa.

It was so exciting to see such a wonderful mix.  We walked down the 'African' street which was so fun.. I wanted to go in and eat everything in sight.

But we settled for Saigon Pho, just off the main strip, but looking bustling and authentic.  I was a little worried when the basil and sprouts came out, because, well there wasn't much basil and what there was, didn't seem to fresh.

Any misgivings changed when my pho tai nam came, the broth was, for me, the perfect combination of sweetness and saltiness.  Maybe, just maybe the broth could have been a little clearer, but it's a minor gripe. The pho rice noodles were fresh and the cooked meat particularly good.

Liking Saigon Pho a lot!

International Diethnes Cakes, Melbourne

The predominantly chocolate cakes in the window of this Greek cake shop lured us in.  It's obviously been around for a long time, I remember going there over a decade ago.  On a Saturday night, it seems to be going strong.

While the chocolate laced window provided the attraction, Walter ended up with a macadamia tart.

And I had a delicious but very rich semolina cake.  Definitely tasty, definitely worth it, but be warned even with a coffee to cut the sweetness, it was still very rich.

Seoul House Korean Restaurant, Melbourne CBD

Met up with some of our Melbourne friends for dinner here at their suggestion.  The all you can eat banquet was pretty good value, you get 6 or 7 types of meat to bbq at the table.

Despite the fact that there were three of us, when the hot plate is full, it does look like a lot of food!

Sichuan Dining Room, Melbourne CBD

In the Mid City Arcade, this place is a real find, nice, no nonsense Sichuan Chinese.  The cold noodles were thinner than I'm used to, but actually that makes them harder which works well with the chilli sauce.

Grandma's tofu was spicier than I'm used to, both chilli and cumin, but delicious.  The servings were pretty generous too.

Not bad, but the garlic cucumber is my least favourite here; it's much plainer than I'm used to, probably not a bad contrast to the other dishes, but it was just a bit too plain for me.

Sichuan Dining Room
Shop 3-5 Mid City Arcade
194-200 Bourke St
Melbourne
03 9663 5472

Shoya Japanese, Melbourne

Sometimes bad planning turns into good luck.  Landed late in Melbourne last night and wanted to try Hutong Dumpling Bar, but of course didn't book and even at 8pm on a Sunday night it was booked out.  Flower Drum across Market Lane looked too intimidating and I probably couldn't afford it... then I noticed Shoya.

Unage canape

It was discreet but alluring, or maybe the lighting was low and flattering.  They showed me to a counter table at the sushi bar; and unlike other (cheaper) sushi bars, the chef were Japanese - always a good start.

Starter of unage canape was a delight.  The miso marinated eel topped with crab meat salad, salmon caviar and truffle.  The eel taste was much more subtle than I imagined, maybe pulled back by the miso, contrasted well with the stronger crab meat salad, with the salmon caviar providing the taste explosion.  You can tell I'm no connoisseur because I couldn't distinguish much from the truffle.

Maguro steak

Main was a feast for the eyes as well as the mouth; squares of tuna fillet steak sprinkled with thinly sliced seaweed and pan seared.  Again the taste was subtle but unmistakable.  The play of fish as chunky steak cubes was cute almost playful.  The sauce looks and tastes like a sweet jam and the red pepper corn flared momentarily with hotness.  Delightful.