Jalan Alor, Melbourne [Update]

Went to Jalan Alor again today after the last time I visited which was when they were just opened for a week. Took this opportunity to try the other dishes on the menu.

Didn't manage to take any photos of the restaurant for my last post so here are shots of the place!

Honey Kam Quat (left), Special Air Barli with Lemon (hot and cold)

Air Barli which is a barley drink commonly available in Malaysian kopitiams (coffe shops). Jalan Alor's Special Air Barli are boiled fresh everyday with barley instead of premixed solutions and you have a choice of adding in lemon, lime or kam quat (Chinese lime). It is a very refreshing drink whether it is hot or cold.

Honey Kam Quat is also a refreshing drink but a bit sweeter compared with the other two.

Singapore Fried Noodles

Again one of those dishes that I like from this restaurant. Their Singapore Fried Noodles is cooked with tomato paste instead of curry powder like what you can commonly find in other restaurants. Also, Singapore Fried Noodles are suppose to be dry and the one I had was perfect with two huge prawns! The addition of lettuce and bean sprouts adds a crunchy texture and freshness to the dish itself.

Curry Chicken Rice

I've got nothing much to say about this dish as it is rather normal. Maybe some potatoes in the curry would be much nicer.

Kon Loh Ayam Panggang Pan Mee

Tried the Kon Loh Pan Mee today as well which has Ayam Panggang (barbecue chicken). You can taste the difference in texture of the pan mee as the noodles are freshly made by hand in the restaurant. It is just like the difference of freshly made pasta with the commercially made. The mixture of the sauce for the noodles has a well balanced taste of sweetness, saltiness as well as the aroma from the sesame oil.

For the previous post of Jalan Alor, please click here.

My Ratings;

-Environment: 2/4

-Food: 3/4

-Price: 4/4

-Service: 3/4

Jalan Alor:

7/206 Bourke St,

Melourne, VIC 3000

03 9663 1138

Spaghetti Tree

Was looking through the Entertainment Book today under a gloomy sky and I saw Spaghetti Tree which was not far from where I was on Bourke St.

Don't judge a book by its cover, the exterior of the restaurant looks ordinary but the interior is awesome!

The restaurant has 2 levels with a double volume space in the middle. Tables were laid out quite closely, just nice and cosy, not too cramped. I would say it feels very warm and welcoming to be in the restaurant. We had beautiful live music whilst enjoying really delicious pasta.

Wedges with sour cream & sweet chilli

There are 2 different price of wedges at $2 different of your choices with or without sour cream & sweet chilli.

Tortellini "Verdi"

The tortellini has a chicken and spinach filling. It is cooked in a creamy and cheesy white sauce with chunks of chicken, capsicum and baby spinach.

The white sauce is perfect as there cheesy taste was not too thick or too heavy so you won't feel sick at all after having this dish.

Peking Duck Risotto

This lovely Asian style risotto is just absolutely mouth watering. The portion of risotto was just nice with fresh oven roasted duck, spring onion, parmesan cheese and hoisin sauce works perfectly for this dish.

When I wanted to order this dish, I thought it will be odd to combine Peking duck with risotto but I was absolutely wrong.

The portion of the dishes in Spaghetti Tree are not as big as what you can get in the Italian restaurants on Lygon St, but I think it is just nice without having to feel too full and sick.

I can't wait to go back again to try their lasagne, cannelloni and the other pasta dishes.

My Ratings;

-Environment: 4/4

-Food: 4/4

-Price: 2/4

-Service: 4/4

Spaghetti Tree located at:

59 Bourke Street,

Melbourne, VIC 3000.

(03) 9650 3174

Movida Bar de Tapas Y Vino

If you guys still remember my Time Out & KoKo post, on the same day we actually went to Movida as well since we were around there.

Chef's busying in the kitchen

The Bar

Movida Next Door is more of a bar and a good place for you to sit around, catch up with friends, have a drink and enjoy some great tapas dishes.

Bomba

The Bomba is one of the dishes that was on Master Chef Australia season 2 during their challenge in Melbourne. The bomba is filled with chorizo which is pork sausage. The crunchiness of the Bomba is just great along with the sauce that melts in your mouth.

Viera

These oven baked scallops with jamon (spanish word for ham) and potato foam are just great. The scallops are juicy and fresh whereas the potato foam is absolutely silky.

Pork Belly

The juicy pork belly with crispy skin was one of the specials of the day. Even though the bill for it turned out to be quite expensive but we didn't mind at all because it is just so good!

Hot Ganache Pudding with Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

I love chocolate very much. The Ganache Pudding was still melting when we cut it into half and you can see the vanilla bean ice cream melting on top of it. The thickness of the chocolate is just so perfect and I couldn't forget about it even though I actually had it quite few months ago.

Give it a try guys, for sure you'll love it!

My Ratings;

-Environment: 4/4

-Foods: 4/4

-Price: 1/4

-Service: 4/4

Movida Bar de Tapas Y Vino:

1 Hosier Lane,

Melbourne, VIC 3000

03 9663 3038

Jalan Alor, Melbourne

Recently, there have been quite a number of restaurants serving Malaysian cuisine opening and popping out everywhere in Melbourne. The latest is Jalan Alor which is hidden in the new 206 Bourke St (between Russel St and Swanston St).

What or should I say where is Jalan Alor? Jalan Alor is a street back in Kuala Lumpur, famous for its cheap and delicious hawker food that is available day and night. It is a street where you can get practically almost whatever hawker food there is in Malaysia.

On the day we had lunch, we were introduced to the name of the restaurant. The Chinese characters actually meant "Ma Lai Jan" in Cantonese which is also known as "Belacan" in Malay. Belacan is one of the favourite spices that is used loved in Malaysian cooking and the restaurant has a few dishes cooked with Belacan that you can try as well. The Chinese name of the restaurant is actually given by the famous food critic from Hong Kong, Mr. Choi Lan.

The interior of the restaurant is quite cheerful with bright colours. The use of wooden benches and stools along with the hand painted murals of banana leaves on the floor and walls gives a feeling of dining at the beach.

Satay Ayam

Satay Ayam (Chicken Skewer) is one of the favourite snacks in Malaysia can be found easily in most of the hawker stalls. The Satay Ayam at Jalan Alor is served just like how it is in Malaysia, with chopped onions, cucumbers and the most important Satay sauce (Peanut sauce).

Personally, I like the Satay sauce very much with the smooth but not chunky peanut sauce eaten together with the skewers. It just makes me want more after the first bite. Only difference is that they don't charcoal grill the skewers like what you can get in Malaysia. Instead, the skewers are deep fried and the chicken is well marinated.

If the dish is served together with Ketupat (cooked rice wrapped with woven palm leaf), I reckon it will be really good.

Penang Har Mee

The Penang Har Mee is prawn noodles. The soup has a very nice prawn taste to it and a generous serving of rather big prawns as well. I know of other restaurants in Melbourne that serve good prawn noodles as well but none of them have prawns this big. Only downside was I find it a bit too oily for my taste.

Penang Char Kway Teow

I like their Char Kway Teow here as they have slices of Chinese sausage as well. The dish tastes exactly like how it should be from Malaysia. I find the price very worth it as well, again for the big prawns that is in the dish and the serving size. I wished there were more slices of the Chinese sausage because I really like it.

Nasi Ayam Taugeh

Nasi Ayam Taugeh is similar to Hainanese Chicken rice but the only difference is this dish is served with bean sprouts. In Malaysia, Nasi Ayam Taugeh (Bean Sprout Chicken Rice) is very famous in Ipoh just like how Char Kuey Teow is famous in Penang.

I wished they served fragrant rice with this dish, but it tastes good with just steamed rice as well especially if you mix the soy sauce with the rice.

Nasi Ayam Bakar

Nasi Ayam Bakar or Barbeque Chicken rice is also one of my favourite. I like the taste of the chicken as it sweet but not too dry as well. It is served with fragrant rice which is full of flavour and tastes really authentic.

I'll definitely be back soon to taste the other dishes they offer. This restaurant serves Malaysian food that is very similar to what you can get in Malaysia, I guess partly it's also because the chefs are from Malaysia!

UPDATED post, please click here.

My Ratings;

-Environment: 2/4

-Food: 3/4

-Price: 4/4

-Service: 3/4

Jalan Alor :

7/206 Bourke St,

Melbourne, VIC 3000

03 9663 1138

Passionflower

Passionflower has finally opened in Melbourne last Friday. My friend told me that it was nice and lots of people were queuing for them on the opening day. Since it was so famous, I decided to give it a try with my bro today.

Black Pearl

Black sesame ice cream is the main reason I went there for because it's really really hard to get such a flavour of ice cream here in Melbourne. Their Black Pearl ice cream is served with black sesame glutinous balls and crushed peanuts.

I really like the glutinous balls and peanuts but the black sesame ice cream is rather disappointing. I think it could be better if it has a stronger sesame flavour rather than just tasting sweet.

Cookie Me Up

My brother ordered the Cookie Me Up ice cream and it has chunks of triple chocolate fudge, cookies topped with warm chocolate sauce and whipped cream.

Well, I'm sure that all of you guys know how cookies and cream ice cream taste like and for this one it just taste vanilla that without cookies taste I reckon. Cookies and cream ice cream should have chunks of cookies in it that you can bite or chew on, but this didn't really have that punch. For something that price, I would've expected more.

The funny thing is both of the ice cream that we ordered, only the toppings that comes together with ice cream are nicer. The ice cream itself are just ok and I don't think it caught my taste buds for a second round, maybe for their waffles or fondue but not the ice cream. Maybe I'll be considering whether are there any better flavours other than the ones we had today.

My Ratings;

-Environment: 2/4

-Foods: 1/4

-Price: 1/4

-Service: 2/4

Passionflower:

Shop 2, 189 Bourke Street,

Melbourne, VIC 3000.

03 9663 0033

Time Out, Federation Square

Time Out is a cafe in the heart of Melbourne at the corner of Federation Square. You may not know but this cafe actually serves breakfast too!

Time out is located in front of the Federation Square building and the tourist information centre.

Apple Pancakes

Nothing special about this pancake as you can actually see, but I reckon the presentation is nice even the taste is just so so. It is served with American style pancakes with some blueberry compete and ice cream.

Nachos

Basket Steamed Smooth Dory

The steamer basket caught my eye as I was walking to my table so I decided to order it. It is dory fish steamed in a Chinese way served with rice.

Ocean Catch

Although this basket of seafood is expensive for a brunch meal, it's actually worth it if you are a seafood lover. The basket comes with grilled pepper infused Harvey Bay Scallops, Chilli Calamari, King Prawns, steamed Blue Swimmer Crab, natural Oyster, & beer battered wild Barramundi with chips and tartare sauce.

Apple & Rhubarb Crumble

The apple crumble is served in quite a big portion as a dessert.

My Ratings;

-Environment: 2/4

-Foods: 3/4

-Price: 3/4

-Service: 3/4

Time Out:

Coner Swanston & Flinders Street,

Federation Square.

039671 3866

Blok - M Express

I finally had the chance to go to back to Blok - M today at Little Bourke street to try out their Indonesian food.

There is two Blok - M in Melbourne and the one I went to today is the Blok - M "Express" and another one is located at Prahan. There are a few dishes that I really like and I sure you guys will be like them too.

Gado - Gado

Gado - Gado is basically a traditional Indonesian vegetables salad that is served together with crackers and peanut sauce.

I really like their peanut sauce as it's very smooth and not really sweet, it just perfect to eat with a spoon of cracked crackers and bean sprout which is one of the vegetables that comes together with this gado - gado.

Ayam Balado

I ordered the Ayam Balado with spicy sweet sambal sauce on a fried chicken with rice.

Nasi Gudeg

For me Nasi Gudeg looks like normal mixed rice with few dishes that served together with rice. The special about this Nasi Gudeg is one of their side dish is actually made with sweet stewed Jackfruit.

They do have the story of the person who opened Blok - M and I think this would be great as well to share along with you guys.

"Once upon a time, in Jakarta's Blok - M district, there was a guy called Pak E who spent most of his tenage and adult life roaming about this area. He had no home to go to, his only roof was the polluted sky of Jakarta or under the freeway if he was lucky enough to find a spot. He was a beggar, a drug user, a thug , a busker and a composer throughout his early adult life. His notorious behaviours landed him in jail.

In 1996, after some heavy soul searching, he decided to go to Bali starting out on foot. Not long after an extended journey, he met and Australian girl named Kathie, where they fell in love and got married. Australia may not have been proud to take him on as it's new son, but it had no choice. After immigrating to Melbourne, he opened an Indonesian Restaurant in Prahan which is called "Blok - M" to remind him of how far he had come from the struggles of his early life.

This restaurant, were you are standing now is his legacy, a bred through story of love, hard work and faith..."

My Ratings;

-Environment: 2/4

-Foods: 3.5/4

-Price: 3/4

-Service: 2/4

Blok M Express:
380 Little Bourke Street,
Melbourne VIC 3000.
(between Queen & Elizabeth Street)

03 9600 2534

Hutong Dumpling Bar

Two days ago I went to Hutong Dumpling Bar which is couple of doors down Shoya Japanese Restaurant in Market Lane, Chinatown.

I first heard of them as one of the restaurants in The Age's Cheap Eats Guide.

Two levels with a open kitchen. People can see the cooks making dumplings or Shao Long Bao's.

Shao-Long Bao is one of the Must Eats that you need to order in Hutong. It is more or less like dumplings but the shao long bao contains a nice soup and meat wrapped in a translucent skin.

Salted Braised Pork in New Style

Crispy Fragrant Duck

We then ordered Braised Pork and Crispy Duck to go with rice. The pork is well cooked with layers of meat and fat. As you pick up the slices of pork, the slices are so thin that they just crumble. Crispy Duck is our favourite because of the crispness of the duck that very hard to explain.

My Ratings;

-Environment: 3/4

-Foods: 3/4

-Price: 2/4

-Service: 3/4

Hutong:

14-16 Market Lane,

Melbourne,VIC 3000.

03 9650 8128

http://hutong.com.au

Wonton House

Have you guys ever eaten "Wonton" ? Wonton is a type of dumplings with fillings such as minced pork or prawns. The words Wonton means "swallowing cloud " in chinese.

Wonton Noodle Soup

It's not easy to find a nice bowl of wonton noodles soup in Melbourne, but I can tell you guys that the wonton noodles served in Wonton house is the nicest I've found so far.

Wonton House:

271 Swanston Street, Melbourne 3000.

http://wontonhouse.com.au

Tomodachi

Heya guys !! Back to the Tomodachi post again and did you guys went to their Sushi train after reading my post? Hope you guys like it and today I'll like to talk about their ala carte menu dishes.

I'm actually a Japanese foods lovers and I don't mind eating them 24/7 as long as they are nice and up to that standard.

Here you go! The 1st and must that ordered by my brother is this Agedashi tofu.

Agedashi Tofu is nice when it served when hot and it has a gooey thin layer and come together in tempura sauce.

They eggplant is called "Nasu Denhaku" which basically eggplant halved and baked with miso.

This piece of King fish or as known as "Hamachi Wing" looks small but actually it baked amazingly tender and flavoursome. Although it's actually a piece of fish, but when you having it you actually will thought that it's a piece of chicken fillet.

We each ordered rice and bento. Look at how nice they are placing up nicely with so many colours from every different dish.

Do spend some of your time trying Tomodachi that located in Melbourne Central level 3 just straight right infront of you when you are using the la Trobe Street entrance.

Subscribe to their news letter at here as they having monthly promotion all over the year.

My Ratings;

-Environment: 4/4

-Foods: 3.5/4

-Price: 3/4

-Service: 4/4