517 Flinders Lane 

Melbourne, VIC 3000

http://www.grainstore.com.au/

This is another late post but I've been busy! Over the holidays when I went to catch up with my Vietnamese School friends, we decided to go to the Grain Store. There was much hype over this place both through friends and on Urbanspoon so I had to check it out. It has a nice vibe to it - a lot of hardwood in the restaurant and a very simplistic design. It reminds me of those modern urban designed houses in Magazines. I ordered Gnocchi from the Lunch Menu but I could have ordered from the Breakfast Menu too. Usually I refrain myself from ordering Gnocchi out because it's hard to get it right but this place was one of the few places that got the texture right! It melts in your mouth! I would definitely go back here to have it. P.S. sorry the pictures are blurry!



Price: $15 - $25
Rating: 5/5

346 Little Bourke St 
Melbourne, VIC 3000

http://www.littleramenbar.com.au/

The night before checked out H&M with one of my best friends, we were looking at places to have lunch at. Originally I just said let's have Jap Food but then it slowly lead to having ramen since it's starting to become cold in Melbourne. So I Urbanspoon-ed a place that had good ramen close in the city. Luckily we found this place which was close to H&M as well! We both ordered Seafood Ramen which was delicious! Certainly satisfied our craving.

106 Canterbury Rd 

Blackburn South, 

VIC 3130

Before Bounce Inc, I had breakfast with my brother and his girlfriend. They found this nice little cafe around the Blackburn area for us to have breakfast at. I ordered a baked eggs dished which also had baked beans and sausages in it too! It was a good breakfast to start the day!

8-10 Centre Place

Melbourne VIC 3000

(Opposite Degraves Street, Perpendicular to Flinders Lane)

For a while now I've been wanting to go to Laneways around Melbourne to eat. I've heard that the food on these Laneways are of top quality. Sometimes the best places are the small cafes/restaurants that are hidden. One of my friends showed me Degraves Street when we caught up for lunch. We walked down the street and found a nice Italian  Spanish Restaurant. I don't exactly remember it's name but if it helps the place had a blackboard on the left side with it's specials menu on it. It is relatively small place but very nice a cosy. 

What one of my friends ordered: Spinach, Prawns and Mushrooms Pizza

What one of my other friends ordered: Cured Salmon with Bread

Price: $10 - $20

2 5th Ave 
Palm Beach, QLD 4221

http://www.pablopablo.com.au/

On the last night that we were in Gold Coast, we decided to go to a more local restaurant - somewhere closer to the place we were staying. Thanks to Urbanspoon, we found a nice Spanish place in Palm Beach (the area where we were staying). I had never had any Spanish food before this so I was excited to try it.

This place was A-M-A-Z-I-N-G! Definitely a good way to end the trip. All dishes were made to share - Tapas style. This place had a similar vibe to Little Creatures in Melbourne: a cozy and dimmed light atmosphere. Everything about the place was perfect: the food, the waitress and the atmosphere. Everything just matched. I cannot express how much I love this place. If I were to ever go back to the Gold Coast again then I would definitely come back.

The food was cooked to perfection! A little more on the pricer side for a student but you are paying for what you're getting for. At places like these I don't mind spend that bit extra because you're getting good quality food. 

Restaurant Precinct 

Northland Shopping Centre (Opposite main entrance) 

Preston 3072

http://www.grilld.com.au/

During the Summer Holidays (yes I'm late on posting!) I went to Northland Shopping Centre with my best friends to watch a movie. We thought that it would be nice to also have dinner out at Grill'd that night. I haven't been to Northland for a while so walking in I was surprised at how they had renovated the main entrance. There are a lot more food places at the front including Grill'd.

Walking into the restaurant it reminded me of Ribs and Burgers! It had a similar vibe and how you ordered was the same. Just order at the counter and they'll give you a number stand in which you put on the table you sit down at. This is a lot more convenient but it means that the place is a little more casual - a place you would go for a catch up/casual dinner with friends.

  One thing that I am picky about with Burgers is whether or not the meat patty is dry - nothing worse then having to force yourself to swallow every bite. Grill'd sure got it right because the moment I picked up the burger, the juices from the meat were dripping down. The patty was definitely moist and well marinated! As for the dip that I got with it, PERFECT! I'm a big fan of sauces provided they are done well. The dip was perfect for dipping those chucky chips into.

Price: $10 - $15

Rating: 3.5/5

Ribs and Burgers Combo - Pork Ribs, Chips and Chicken+Beef Mini Burgers $25

I am coming back here again sometime! It is a little more on the pricer side but it's one of those places where you 'pay for what you get' - it's expensive for a good reason 

Price: $20 - $30

Rating: 4.5/5

Tenancy 1, RMIT Building 80

445 Swanston Street,

Melbourne VIC 3000

http://herosubs.com.au/

A while back, my best friend and I heard about this place but didn't get the chance to go to it yet. On one of my errand days I went to Hero to check out what the hype is about. It's a nice little place behind Building 80 (the tram stop is outside Building 80). After looking at the menu I decided to choose Kid Royal - Smoked Hickory Rub Slow Roasted Beef with Onion Jam, Honey Dijion, Baby Spinach, Finished with Crispy Onion Rings.

Kid Royal, Chips and Drink (Lemon Lime and Bitter)

I decided to go for an Everyday Hero which is basically a meal. I loved that they had more options than standard fast food place for the drinks. I chose Lemon Lime and Bitter - a flavour that usually isn't offered at fast food places. The sub was perfect! I had to take out the fried onions because it was too hard to eat on top of the sub. The beef was cooked perfectly - it was so soft that you almost don't realised you're eating beef. The chips were also good - enough seasoning and it wasn't the typical salt seasoning. I liked that they put their own flavour on fast food, it's almost a 'better' fast food option.

Price: $8-$12

Rating: 4/5

329 Brunswick Street 

Fitzroy, VIC 3065

http://n2extremegelato.com.au/

At the start of January I caught up with some of my old Vietnamese School friends. We decided to catch up through lunch and then hang around the city. One of my friends mentioned that we should to go to N2 and I immediately said YES! There had been a lot of hype over the N2 ice creams around Melbourne. Initially I thought it was because the ice cream is made with Nitrogen Gas and so it's look to see your ice cream being made in front of you. Yet again I was proven wrong - the flavours at N2 are unique and pretty exact. 

There were a lot of different flavours to choose from but I decided on Creme Brulee. It tasted exactly like one! I loved how they also did the sugar on top and all *happy*. I've heard that they change their flavours every week so you can't exactly get sick of it.

I did get to try the other flavours that my friends ordered which were also on point with the flavouring but there was one that didn't work out so well. It's called 'Peach Champagne'. I thought that you wouldn't be able to taste the Champagne but I was wrong! There was too much Champagne not enough Peach!!! 

Either way I need to go here more often!

Price: $6-$8 (I don't remember for sure)

Rating: 4/5

Cafe

Multiple Branches around Victoria 

On the day that I got my VCE results I went out to Northland to buy a present for my friend's birthday. My cousin offered to shout me food and coffee at the place he was working out as a way of congratulating me. I didn't know what to choose but I finally decided on Waffles and an Ice Mocha. It was a great treat for the day!

Waffles with Ice Cream and Strawberries

I haven't tried their coffees or hot chocolates yet but maybe sometime I will!

Price: *I didn't check*

Rating: 3/5

A few weeks back I decided to bake some cupcakes....cookie dough cupcakes! It has been a while since I've done some proper baking (with icing and all). I got the recipe off this website. Definitely a rich cupcake so don't expect to eat a lot of it at once!

I made a few modifications to the recipe as I went along. The first was that I used store bought Cookie Dough instead of making my own from scratch. I thought it would be quicker and easier. I also skipped adding flour to the icing because I saw that it was thick enough. Either way the cupcakes tasted good!

Cookie Dough Cupcakes

Love,
Victoria

Korean/Japanese

398 Lonsdale Street

Melbourne 3000

So on the first day of the holidays, I decided to catch up with my old time best friend. We decided that we would find a nice place to have lunch to celebrate her birthday. We were originally going to Mook Ji Bar, but when we got there, it was closed even though there was a sign saying that it opens at 11:30am. Instead, we walked along Lonsdale Street to find another place to eat and this place happened to catch our eye! It was still early when we sat down, but by the time we started eating, more people came.

This was the dish that my friend ordered. There were different flavours for the Yaki Udon such as chicken and seafood, but she chose beef. I tried a bit of it...and it tasted so good! They definitely got the sauce right for it - enough flavour, but not too salty.  There was plenty of sauce and the noodles and beef had a chewy texture that left you wanting more.  

I felt like trying a Bibimap so I ordered one of course! There was a special name for this one, but I forgot. It was nice, but the Yaki Udon was better. The beef was well marinated but I wish they would add some sauce to the rice so that it didn't taste so plain. The miso soup that came with it was nice but it was cold by the time I drank it. Lesson learned...have the soup first!

They also had complimentary side dishes. I don't know the exact names, but there were bean shoots, potatoes in a sweet sauce and kimchi flavoured cabbage. I absolutely loved the potatoes and the bean shoots (my personal favourite Korean dishes). I think that anyone who can stand spicy food would like the cabbage as well (I can't deal with spiciness, but I did like it).

It was a good find for sure. We just walked in since it looked like a nice place. Definitely going back to try some of their other dishes since there were gas stoves incorporated into the tables (covered by a metal plate). I assume they are for the hot soups on their menu which I need to try! I think it’s a good price for the quality and proportions - both my friend and I were full for a good 3-4 hours afterwards.

Price: $10-$15 standard dishes, $30-$40 for hot soups (for two people)

Rating: 3/5

Love

   Victoria