Nandos in St Kilda

This Nandos is quite clean and has two storeys. This Nandos has a lot more space for indoor dining. They also have some space outside for dogs and diners.

On this New Years Eve it was packed with tourists and beach goers. The service there was just alright.

Well how does this one stack up to the other one? Well for starters I had the burger (simply chicken) with the spicy rice. The  chicken was a little pink in the middle but I didn't mind too much.

The rice was a little bit spicy which is great. The rice was just perfectly cooked and I prefered that health kick.

The meal also comes with a drink and I enjoyed my small lemonade.

I prefer the St Kilda one over the City any day. It is a lot friendlier and busier.

Fortune Chinese restaurant

This restaurant is in Malvern and it serves Cantonese food. Originally I was going to go to Gllow but they were closed. This visit happened on Boxing day where not many places were open.

The manager was friendly but his worker was not. This worker was sullen and looked like he wanted to go home. Moreover the lady could not understand English much.

The place is old fashioned but they do have some lunch specials and some fingerlicking good pork cutlet on rice ($11.80- this was a new special). But with the normal knife it was really hard to cut. The rice was good though- it was nicely cooked and not lukewarm.

The crab wonton like things (Rangoon $5) were great but the sauce was a little bit too sweet for my liking. Here the crab was plentiful.

Its just ok. And to the guy that asked about live fish and seafood to take home, you can buy them on Victoria street in the seafood shops. Duh!

Good Food month presents Jacobs Creek

Jacobs Creek winery is in the Barossa Valley in South Australia. Here they are all about friendship and good company. They sponsor major events like the Australian Open. They have been around for 140 years.

Here I tried a few different wines such as the 2009 Dry Aged Shiraz. This was out of their double barrel range meaning that it had that woody taste to it.  It is a dry wine which smells like cherries and chocolate. Hence this works well with winter dishes. I tried it with a summer salad and a winter chicken drumstick. I have to say this works better with the winter (citrusy) chicken drumstick.

It actually works well with the cheddar cheese. They really thought about the wine and food pairings noting each on their site. It also works well with the berries as they have a distinct berry taste and smell.

Do continue to support Jacobs Creek and you can buy the range at your local bottle shop.

Pickett's Deli

Pickett's Deli is new to the market and the latest foodie scene. They featured in this years Taste festival and is opened by Scott Pickett of Estelle. Here you can pick up many grocery items and presents for loved ones. As well as eating in and having their specialty meat and egg and bacon rolls. The one that I had was Mr P's roll ($12- it was an egg and bacon roll featuring Mr P's sauce).

Cake samples

Pastries on offer

Stove

Here the bacon was nice and juicy and the egg was just lovely. Not too oily and not too runny. Just nice. The bread too was a lovely soft roll. They do have an open kitchen and rotisserie so you can see how they do their eggs and rolls. The salads change daily depending on what they have.

I would have bought a juice or two but seeing as I am on Dr Susan's diet plan, I thought better not. They would probably be sweet and not good for you. I needed my good fats in my belly seeing as I run a lot.

I loved Mr P's BBQ sauce so much that I wanted to buy it, but they don't have any in stock until next year. Darn :(. They barely have enough for the tables and the hampers as they are so popular. Mr P also has other items such as mixed olives and tapanade.

Do come by on your next market visit as it sure is a foodie hit

Hooks at the Yarra

Hooks at the Yarra was a place that I have been meaning to go to since it was in the book and Burp Appetit wrote good things about it. But I never really got the time to go there until now. It is Christmas time and in Christmas time places along South Wharf/Docklands are usually busy. But Docklands seemed to be dead quiet. I'm guessing that no one can afford the cost of dining there.

There was a large group there.

Here I had their fish and chips for $21.50. This was a rather small plate and I was going to eat the chips but I saw that they were the frozen sort. I did however like the fish as it was fresh. I also liked the salad this time.

In short don't bother too much about this place as there are many other good places around..