Saigon Square in Highpoint

Saigon Square is a Vietnamese eatery and they are everywhere. After my health check at Priceline I went to Saigon Square for lunch. I was hungry for healthy food and Highpoint has not much in their food court.

It was after 2pm and it was quieter then. The staff looked really tired and they wanted to go home.

I wanted to try everything so I got the $10 lunch basket. It usually has meat but I asked them for no meat. Why you might ask? Is because I promised Healthyintstudents that I would give vegetarian a go and I didn't want to let them down. Besides my intake of vegetables seemed a bit low.

Here their food is much better than Roll'd upstairs. I did enjoy their freshly made rice paper roll and their tofu bhanh mi. But their salad had way too much dressing. If that was put on the side it would be a lot better.

But I liked their vegetarain dumplings. They were really crispy and freshly fried. And it was good that it came with no sauce. If this was on their regular menu I would get this again.

The Vietnamese spring roll was not too bad. It was a little bit oily but other than that it was alright.

I could have gone for the Vietnamese drinks but they seemed a little bit too sugary for me so I went for orange juice instead which has lots of potassium in there.

Do come by to Saigon square if you are sick of Roll'd for lunch and need a healthy lunch before the movies.

Pizza E Birra

Pizza E Birra is in St Kilda and a short run away from the city. Here I did about 8km to get there. St Kilda Road was packed with people all waiting for the tram (and complaining as usual to PTV) but I did not mind one bit.

Seeing as it was Valentine's day they were busy and it took a while for my order to come out. Whilst my order of pizza was free, the olives and the spritz were not. And all the tables that were waiting for their pizza got a free fried side of pizza dough.

 The waitstaff was really lovely and down to earth.

I sat outside in their courtyard which has a lovely view on a summers day and a really lovely, homely vibe to it.

This pizza dough was really nice. It was light and fluffy and really salty.

The olives came in this cute little bowl and it was kitschy. I loved the saltiness of these and I enjoyed the green and black olives. I loved seeing the little bits of lemon on top.

The Margherita was on the thin side, but still nice. I think it lacked the buffalo cheese but oh well. It worked well with my campary spritz which was a little bit on the sweetish side.

Do come here for some lovely Italian food near the city. 

Fitzrovia

Fitzrovia is in St Kilda and I ran past there several times. They are always busy so it is a sign that the food and drink are good. About 38 bloggers raved on about this place and their breakfasts.

It was really busy because of Pride March. I had to wait for about half an hour for a table. There was a special Pride March brunch but I didn't know until visiting. You had to book ahead for it. it was $50 for three courses and Bellini.  The staff seemed pretty busy in serving all those that had booked for brunch.

To start off with I had a CAPI water to cool off

And there was also a special pride menu for everyone else. And there was a special bar serving sangria. But I wasn't like all the queers. In fact, that menu featured a lot of meat dishes. So I opted for the regular eggs on toast with spinach on the side. Here my eggs were poached and the bread with butter was just amazing.

They pride themselves on making their own jam and condiments and you can buy some to take home. I did enjoy that tomato relish with the eggs and spinach. The relish added that wowness to the dish.

Even what was more amazing was the free watermelon on a hot day.

If only they had opened all nights for dinner I would have stopped by and grabbed my tea.

Tank Fish and Chippery in Emporium

Tank Fish and Chippery are a place in Carlton which has opened a second store in Emporium. Here they are only opened for lunch except for Thursday and Friday where they open for dinner.

I have been there twice. Both times were to order fried food for lunch or dinner. Here they have the $12 fish and chip special for lunch. Only hankering for this, I ordered that. Other people ordered sweet drinks etc.

You order and you pay at the counter and then you wait about five mins for your order to be made. They are in a food court hence there is not a lot of seating. The fish and chips are freshly cooked. And they had that nice powdering of salt. What's also lovely is that parsley which gives the dish a lovely crunch.

Oh and for those that want healthy there is the option of grilled fish and salad.

Do come by for your Omega 3 and healthy fats. 

Monkey King

Monkey King is a student type bar which has been around for a while. Here they have cheap drinks during happy hour so of course, I paid a visit during my happy hour day. They are in Melbourne Central. It was recommended to me by Luca of the Drinking Class in Melbourne for their $10 jugs but I never got around to it until now.

The bar was busy and they share a bathroom with the other businesses in the center.

I had their Monkey King brew in a cup and it was not too strong. It was good for a warm summers day.

It went well with the potato wedges which were $8.50 each and I could not finish them all. They were crunchy and I enjoyed the sweet chilli sauce with it.

Others had champagne and wine and no food. Next time when I am there I must try the baos and the onion rings as they do look good on the menu.

The Terminus Hotel

The Terminus Hotel is in Abbotsford just after the dangerous part of Victoria St. I would have run there but I was a little bit worried about the druggies that are there.

Luckily for me, there was the 109 tram that has a lot of people traveling on there and it only takes about 15 mins from the city.

I had heard about the Terminus Hotel from where's the beef as they had a good time there. I also heard about them from the Urban list.So when Dimmi offered a 50% off the total food bill I was hooked on going and trying their vegetarian burger.

And tried it I did. It was the best one hands down, compared to what I ate last week at Nik @Nicholson. This time the service was fast even though the pub was busy. And they were happy to serve me rather than forgetting me. My waitress was very attentive.

All pints of beer are $7 and mine was huge. I had the bartender surprise me and he got me a Carlton Draught as that is what they do best in. The brewery is around the corner and they have a few kegs here.

Do come here for a mid-week meal of burgers and beer.

Red Love

Red Love is a bar that has been around for quite some time. I remembered going there with RUSU and enjoying their drinks. Back then I didn't drink alcohol.

Here they serve plenty of good drinks and they have lots of good vibes. Here they had two for one drinks and no food. Their kitchen wasn't open and they just came back from holidays.

I just had a Corona and a lemonade. The lemonade was ok. Here they were training the new bartender which now is the best time. It's the quiet period before the students come back.

I picked this place because of their cheap student specials of $5 meals. And they do have them as well as their two for one.

The bathrooms are behind the stage and the DJ was awesome.

Do come by to this cheap place when you can.

Think Asia in St Collins Lane

Think Asia is a franchise which is all over Melbourne. I have been to a few and I really like this one on St Collins Lane. This is because the food is so much better here than it is there. Here they do food well and they serve the office workers their lunch. Office workers can eat in or take away.

They sell lots of different Asian foods.

Both times I ate in. The first time was the rice paper rolls which were ok. The rice paper rolls were for the Peter Mc charity bike ride. And then the second time was for Chinese New Year in which I want to promote these dishes. Here prawn symbolizes good luck and dumplings bring prosperity. Noodles bring longevity into the new year and chicken brings unity.

The dumplings were quite alright. They were not like the ones I had at Will's where it was really overcooked. Here the prawn dumplings were cooked perfectly. I enjoyed both the plain prawn ones and the ones with chives.

The Ais Kachang I got it for free thanks to a competition on Instagram. Here it is a Malaysian dessert which has just been recently added to their menu. But this one had waaay too much syrup and not enough of the other stuff.

Do come by this place for your Chinese New Year fix.