Leftbank

RNIS was invited by Dimmi to try this place and therefore did not have to pay.


Leftbank is a place in Southbank and I have walked past it many times but it is always expensive and very busy. Moreover they do not allow BYO. However their drinks list is very expensive. The Dimmi rewards voucher do not let users buy drinks on that reward scheme.

Here they were lively. Outside was busy but the inside was not. Here the service was very slow. But they were friendly.

Salmon and pizza (top left). Image courtesy of Sarah on zomato.com

The garlic pizza for starters was lovely. Here it was very garlicky and buttery.

The panned salmon dish with vegetables ($37) was small. Here I loved the heirloom beetroots and tomatoes. I would have liked more of them

Rating: 16/20- a bit pricey for food and drink but loved it anyway. Many thanks for the reward Dimmi.

What was your best fine dining experience? Do comment below

One plus Piece Cafe

One Plus Piece Cafe is a new cafe in Balwyn near Box Hill Institute of TAFE. This cafe is on a popular shopping strip. They are on Whitehorse road where there is a tram line on it. They are also right near an organic store.

They are all about anime with anime everywhere.

Here the owner Evette was really lovely and took care of us. The cafe is small and cute. Here they have a small courtyard.

Look how cute the wall is

Menu for your perusal

They specialise in burgers and they were amazing. Served with sweet potato fries this was really good. Sweet potato fries weren't on their menu but it will now be when I say how amazing they are. They tasted good and less lighter than the usual fat chips. These are much healthier.

The vegetarian burger was really hard to finish. The burger was really big. These are normally served during their dinner hour which on Thursday- Saturday nights until they close at 9pm. At other times they close at 5:30pm.

The coffee too was just stellar. One couple complained that theirs was weak, but mine was just fine. At 12pm I didn't want a really strong coffee or otherwise I would not be able to sleep.

A got a gingerbread to takeaway and as a gift for a friend, since I don't do sweets during Febfast.

Rating: 18/20- do check them out over the weekend. I hope Ming gets to visit this place.

RMB cafe

RMB cafe is in the city on Degraves st. It is right near the gym. It is small little kitsch cafe with some outdoor seating.

They all share the one toilet and it is digusting as.

The service there was down to earth and friendly. Here they do a variety of pasta dishes and steaks. The guy's steak on the next table looked really disgusting. It had this pale brown sauce and it looked like it was mass produced.

But at least that guy's drink looked good. I would have ordered it if it wasn't for Febfast.

My pasta of seafood and spring onions with spicy sauce fared a little bit better but not by much, It was $22 by the way and it had no bread with it. It was small too. With that price I should have gotten a bigger serving or some bread.

Thank god for Woolworths around the corner.

Anyway the pasta was al dente and the seafood was fresh. But there wasn't much of it. There was a lot of sauce though. All the sauce overpowered the dish.

I was going to order sweets but since it is Febfast and I was trying not to miss my train, I could not.

Rating: 11/20- mediocre meal at best. But friendly service and great decor. Do go by if you don't care too much about the food. As for me I prefer the Quarter anyday.

Pacific BBQ House

Pacific BBQ House is in Flemington near Newmarket station. Here they specialise in roast duck and pickled vegetables.

They do takeaway and dine in and are generally busy during dinner time. The boys at the next table ordered pippi's and they said it was really good. They do fresh seafood as well as duck. I loved looking at that live tank full of fish.

I came in very early and they were clean. Here I enjoyed their roast duck and pickled vegetables for the liking. The rice was also really good. I can't complain too much about the serving.

The roast duck was a bit too boney for my liking. But I did enjoy that duck flavour.

I could not finish the pickles however. The pickles were great though. I will give them that.

The service here wasn't too bad. Here the ladies were really friendly.

Rating- 14/20- come here for the roast duck.

AFIS Amazing Race

AFIS (Australian Federation of International students) are hosting their AMAZING race event which is based on the TV series.

This is on again on the 20th. Here you race in teams of 4 or 5 people and you meet at Federation Square at 10am. There you'll get your first clue. And from there its a race to the finish line. Here there are various fun tasks along the way to do. This is a great way for students to explore Melbourne and make friends.

Its $5 to register and it includes only one snack. Its best to bring your own protein snacks for the trail. What I would like to bring is a protein shake or two and some lunch as you are bound to be hungry along the way.  Also do bring a water bottle or two.

Melbourne does have four seasons in a day so its best to bring an umbrella, hat and sunblock as you will be outside.

Do register for this amazing opportunity online

Oppa Kitchen

Oppa Kitchen has been around eversince late last year and they have been popular with everyone especially students ever since. They are known for their big sizes and chicken meals. At first I did not want to go as I was a bit skeptical about going especially for the meat. But ever since I have been going to the gym and all I have been craving some big meals afterwards.

It is really close to RMIT city campus, hence it is very popular with the students

I learnt that chicken has a lot of protein going for it and I thought that since I need to keep my protein up  I better order this.













They talk a lot about meal portions in class and this was the right sizing. The carbs were fist sized and same as the proteins. The proteins were good but I wish there were more. I liked the salad except for the dressing which ruined it all. It smelt like dishwashing detergent, but edible.

I liked the complimentary kimchi. That gave the meal a very good spicy kick and if you want some you can ask for it. It is free and it comes in a cute jar.

The potato hash was also good.

And to warm me up on this cold summers day, I had corn tea. I haven't really had anything as good as this. It had that really smokey feel to it so me likes.

Rating: 14/20- come for your cheap meal. They should really put the salad dressing on the side though as some don't like the dressing and others do.

Oh and the hotpot does look like fun, but its more suited to a winter's day and its best with two people

Shanghai Dynasty

Shanghai Dynasty is in the city, in the same building where the old Village cinemas was. But its expensive. As students however we did not go for the expensive option. We went for the $29.80 all you can eat which has 80 varieties of dim sum and noodles. We couldn't have the fried or sweet things because of Febfast. We are taking part in this years Febfast, which is giving up sugar and fried food for a month. With fried food I feel really lethargic sometimes because of the oiliness.

 The service although friendly was really trying. It was hard to get sometimes.

Tea and soy milk are included in the lunch price and I really enjoyed both. The green tea was really refreshing.

To start off with we had some balls which were mainly seafood balls. I liked the one with the corn- that one seriously got me addicted. The corn really popped in my mouth.

The prawn one with the chilli had been out for a while and was lukewarm. Moreover I got a little bit of food poisoning from it. I did however like the chillis.

I loved the prawn dumplings and the fish and chive dumplings. They were really great and freshly made, although I think the skin was a little bit too thick. However the flavours were good and they worked well with the chilli sauce that I was given.

I didn't really like the stuffed mushroom. It was lukewarm and rubbery to eat. But I liked the tofu with scallop on top. That was really nice and it worked well with chilli.

The rice roll was really great too and the prawns were really succulent. But there was a lot of sweet soy sauce underneath. As part of Febfast I could not have this, hence there was some roll left.

Rating: 13/20- hit and miss. I'm glad I did not come for the dinner.

Panarche

Panache Creperie is an old place in Geelong and it has just been renovated. I was at the beach that day enjoying the views and all.

It is really welcoming and they welcome dogs. I got to meet two lovely King Charles Spaniels who loved me and meeting other dogs. They also loved barking. It was a nice day down at Geelong- not like Melbourne where it was a really warm 34C.

Lovely banana bread

I love the ocean. Moreover I love the fresh food that is offered at Geelong as well as good ice cream. You won't be able to find that anywhere in the city or Docklands.

I enjoy a good pancake and this did not disappoint. It was lemon and sugar ($10.90). The lady asked if I wanted ice cream and I said no as I had some down at the beach. The ice cream that I had at the beach was awesome. Now you don't normally find the ice cream trucks in Melbourne as you do in Geelong so this was a rare treat for me.

Without the ice cream the crepe did just fine for me as I loved the lemon and the sugar on top. This melted in the mouth.

I also enjoyed my green tea and there is self service of the water.

If I was Panache I would invite some of the bloggers down on a nice sunny weekend to enjoy a sweet crepe and the beach. And now that you have relaunched and have only four reviews and no posts except this one- do offer a Groupon or two.

Old Town White coffee's nasi lemak

Old Town White Coffee is a Malaysian franchise which came to Melbourne only just last year. Already eight other bloggers have tried it out and whilst most liked it, some said it was a bit meh. Gastrology I know was invited to try this place as a few others.

I came by at afternoon tea when they are having their afternoon tea special from $5.50-$8.50 for one drink and one meal. This is good for students. They too are having a competition where you can post

your pictures on Instagram and the best one wins an iPad.

Here I decided to try their nasi lemak and see how it compares to the other nasi lemak's that I have had at Papparich and uni functions. If I was to pay $14.50 for this I would have expected more nuts and anchovies. At uni I pay around $5-$7 for this serve of it. Sometimes at student conferences I would get it for free.

In this version I loved the good ole sambal and the egg. I also enjoyed the coconut rice for its flavour. But it was lukewarm.

I ordered the lemon tea which was cold. It was sweet and it was nice with my tea supplement.

Rating: 13/20-not bad. I hope I win the best photo challenge though. i don't mind not wining the iPad but it would be good to win the $50 dining voucher and then I can take Leandro and try some more food during dinner.

Do come by during their afternoon tea sessions.

Orient East

RNIS was invited to attend the beergustation dinner which was normally $65 for eight courses with beer.

Orient East is a Malaysian eatery on St Kilda road. It is in the Seasons Hotel near Domain Interchange. It is also outside the Shrine of Remembrance.

The event was hosted by Brewcult and Wolf of the Willows.

The service was very friendly and many diners turned up. It is a small place. I think I saw David Hagger from the World Loves Melbourne and a few other bloggers. But the waitress forgot the table next door's wine once and they forgot my beer one time. Luckily I wasn't drinking much just tasting.

The first course was pearl dumplings. Here they popped in the mouth. The beer was very appley and sweet tasting.

The second beer was a little bit like weed and I didn't like it. But the coconut rice and the beef was really good. I would one day like to try their nasi lemak if they have.

The third course was a single chicken wing with golden sand (no it wasn't really golden just egg yolk crumbs). It was nicely fried but lacked the spiciness of the curry.

Then there was a breather and that was a broccoli tree with kale which was nice. I really enjoyed eating the kale as it had that nuttiness about it.

The fourth thing which I loved was the Dan dan noodles. I loved the spiciness about it and it worked well with the crispier tasting beer (which by the way tasted like apple).

The fifth thing was the lamb ribs and pastry with five spice filling inside of it. We were given a darker beer which tasted like medicine and really bitter. I hate bitter type beers. But I loved the lamb ribs and pastry. The lamb ribs was cooked well and the meat fell off the bone.

Lastly the Chinese duck was really good and it worked well with the taro (which I thought tasted like liver) and kumquat jelly.

Rating: 17/20- good meal though I had skipped the last two courses as I had to be somewhere else. By that stage I was full, but many thanks for having me Orient east.

Johnston st Festival

The Hispanic/Johnston st festival was on again this year and it was fun to salsa. It was also fun to try new foods such as the cheese empanda and a Spanish corn cake dish which I cannot remember the name of. It had salsa on top and it was a thick corn cake dish (see the picture). The salsa was really nice.

The vegetarian taco ($3) was alright but it broke in my hand. The taco shell was a little undercooked.

Vegetarian taco

Casa Iberica deli

The empanda was good and the cheese was oozy. It was $4. Its a pity that El Almo was not there. But Casa Iberica deli was and Meld did a good write up about them. In fact they stayed open until about 8pmish.

Of course this free festival had a huge turnout and it was hugely popular for latin dancing. If there was a fee involved maybe all the freeloaders would not come and it wouldn't so crowded.

Most people took the tram up to the festival but there were a few cars around on Brunswick st.

The churros was the highlight. It was $6 for 4 but it was so good.



For next year do go to the festival but bring plenty of cash with you as there are not many atms. Do bring some water as drinks were expensive at $6 a pop.