Chow down @ Coda

Coda

Basement 141 Flinders Lane

Melbourne VIC

www.codarestaurant.com.au

It has been a while since Coda has made its way to my 'to do' list.  Thanks to my dear friend, Miss P, whom planted the little Coda seed into my thought, plus seeing Adam D'Sylva on Masterchef 2011, made me wanting it more and more. Finally, the day had come, Miss P and I made a pack to eat our way through Coda's menu.

 
Lucky for us that we got our table quite near the window, so there were plenty of lighting and neither Miss P nor myself have to do an embarrassing act in low lighting scenario.  The staff were superb - very friendly, approachable and made us feel welcome through out our dining journey.  After we chattering around for a bit, it was time to add a tiny bit of drink to kill our thirst.  Since we weren't really feel like having wine, we opted to beers choices. The wait staff recommended Quilmes and Moritz.  The recommendation was great indeed, both Miss P and I enjoyed our beers at first sip!

After few sips of beers, we then progress onto fulfilling our hungry stomachs.  We started off with Spanner crab, and Betel leaves.  During my first bite, I had an explosion of aroma inside my mouth, all the ingredients gave out very aromatic smell.  Unfortunately that the pomelo was slightly bitter and I found it overpowering the taste of the crab.

Late dinner @ Taiwan Cafe

Taiwan Cafe

273 Swanston Street 

Melbourne VIC 

Taiwan Cafe - the bright red restaurant situated at the corner of Swanston Street and Lonsdale Street in the middle of Melbourne city with people queuing outside managed to lure Teddy and I to set foot in.  

It was Teddy's idea that we should try this newly opened cafe.  Plus, we were looking for something quick to eat without the need to join any crazy queue up.  Lucky for us that it passed the peak dinner service time, so we managed to get a table at the ground floor quite promptly.  

I would say that this cafe is more or less like a fast food restaurant.  It was very casual and the service was quite average - it actually matched my expectation of what this cafe would set out to be (well, i had this expectation in mind before I stepped in).   Inside the cafe, the tables were placed closely and there weren't much room to move around.  It was also quite loud and we needed to speak up when we were talking - just so that we could hear each other, rather than hearing other people conversations. 

We ordered the dishes that more or less match to the usual Taiwanese meal (Teddy's friend has told us about the Taiwanese food).  The food was quite alright, not such outstanding that I would want to come back and have it on the very next day.  I think people are queuing up at this restaurant because it is still new and there aren't many Taiwanese cuisine in the city.  

The Taiwanese Fragrant Sausage ($3.90) was probably the best dish that we had that night.  It was yummy and very aromatic and the best thing was that it didn't have the usual pork smell!  I would say that the aroma was a bit like Chinese sausage.  

 

Spiced us Up @ i Spicy 2

i Spicy 2

80 Victoria Street

Richmond VIC

www.ispicy.com.au

Who would have thought you will be able to find a pretty good Thai restaurant in an area heavily loaded with Vietnamese cuisines??  You wouldn't know until you give it a try like I did. 


Miss P and I have been planning to take Mr and Miss S to try Thai food at i Spicy 2, mainly because we wanted them to experience other Thai food that they don't usually order.

It was a lovely sunny Sunday that we made our march to i Spicy 2.  Mr and Miss S left the ordering to Miss P and myself - of course, who would know what to order better than the Thais?...especially when you go to a Thai restaurant.


We started off with Yum Moo-Grob ($15) - a crispy pork salad.  The salad was refreshing with the tangy and spicy Thai dressing along with red onion, mint and coriander.  The Moo-Grob was nicely cooked, and did the job of still being crispy!

Modern Thai @ Cookie

Cookie

1st floor 252 Swanston Street

Melbourne VIC

www.cookie.net.au

It was once again that me and my fellow Thai diners gathered.  Thanks to Tommy the chef whom organised the dinner at Cookie.  We have been talking about coming to Cookie for a while, but never had a chance to make it happen. 

It was a noisy weeknight that the four of us gathered at Cookie.  Tommy the chef, Miss P and myself took the initiative to secure a table (though we made a booking) as we did not know how long Mr T would take to reach downtown.   After the meet and greet with the staff was done, and we were guided to our table, the three of us started to look at the menu and brainstormed on what to order.  The decision had been reached, we would start off with......some alcohol (of course)!  I got my hand on the Gypsy Pear Cider ($7.50), while Miss P and Tommy the chef opted for some beers - Dogbolter ($13.00) and Budvar ($11.00). 

Sweet escape @ Chez Dré

Chez Dré Patisserie Boulangerie

Rear of 285-287 Coventry Street

South Melbourne VIC

www.chezdre.com.au

After reading an article from The AGE, I made a note to myself that Chez Dré is the definitely on my must visit cafe.  It had been on my list for a while until the day that I made a meal at The Albert Park Hotel.  Teddy and myself weren't satisfied with the food from the crab courses at The Albert Park Hotel and we were thinking about where else that we could go.  Then Teddy suggested to go to Chez Dré for our desserts, since we were in Albert Park, we would be in South Melbourne in no time...and our dessert craving would still be with us when we reach there.


Though I didn't get to try any savoury items from Chez Dré, but I managed to get my hands covered with sweet during my trip with Teddy.

 

We walked right into the funky high ceiling cafe with a semi-circle open kitchen.  The decor inside was quite unique with a sense of good mix and match of interior design, gave out a great vibe.  We chose the seating near the window just on the side of the kitchen because it was plenty of lighting and sunshine from a nice Sunday afternoon.  Teddy went to check out the cakes and pastries while I wandered around the place and got absorbed into the ambiance of Chez Dré.