Killiney Kopitam

There is a new Kopitam in town and its in Richmond. Visiting the last two branches, I had high expectations for the third.

I wanted to try this one out when I saw the Entertainment book voucher for 25% off the total bill. Note it does not include the $15 sets. But I didn't want them anyway.

The Richmond one did disappoint me a bit especially with the roti prata. But their vegetarian nasi lemak was good.

There is a bathroom but its behind a wall. And yes it was a bit dirty.

The service here was friendly like it should be. The waitress talked to everyone and when someone asked her for recommendations for curry she gave some.

Oh and yes she gave everyone complementary tea which was nice.

The rroti prata was dry and very flaky. I love my roti to be oily and fluffy.

But the vegetarian nasi lemak was nice. Here I enjoyed the coconut rice and the tofu. The rice was just like the one that I would have done for Hari Raya at Malaysia Hall. I would have ordered meat but I promised Healthyintstudents that I would go meatless for the month of May and participate in their challenge for a healthier country.

The anchovies and the nuts were really crunchy and lovely.

I would order this dish again and maybe the kaya mantou and the toast if I was to visit here next time. Oh and do buy the Entertainment book of Healthyintstudents as you'll be supporting their charity.

Shaw Davey Slum

The Shaw Davey Slum has been there for a while now and they are featured in the Entertainment book. They are a student pub in Carlton which has cheap happy hours.

However, they have a minimum spend in the book which I did not know about. It turns out that you need to spend $30 on food alone and not the drinks part.

We got the three dishes for $22 and another arancini dish as well as a spiced rum for me and a coke for him. For the three dishes we chose the house chips, arancini and onion rings. The onion rings were heavily battered and not very nice. I don't recommend getting those.

The house chips were good though. They were crispy and crunchy and I loved the spiciness. I'd be happy to eat these without the aioli.

I loved the arancini balls as they were quite cheesey and gooey and not hard at all.

My spiced rum worked well with all the food with the exception of the onion rings.

Do come by to this cheap pub on a Friday afternoon.

Crust pizza bar

Crust Pizza bar is a chain store in Australia. And they are featured in the Entertainment book for 25% off the total bill for takeaway and dine in. Excludes online offers.

Here I went to the one in Lonsdale st and it is smallish. They weren't very busy as it was a warm night.

According to their claims of the pizzas take ten minutes to make- mine took a little longer as it was seafood. It was $14 with the Entertainment book voucher. And they forgot to apply the discount. It took them a little while to remember and when they did they gave me a free fanta.

But the seafood pizza was very nice. It didn't have too much sauce which I liked and it had a lot of fresh seafood. The base was just perfect.

Do come by for your pizzas and remember to buy the book off us as you'll save lots when you go out.

Sushi Hub

This new Sushi Hub opened up in Hawthorn a few months ago. Unlike the city one this one does not have wine and is a small store.

Tamago sushi

Gyoza

Salmon nigiri

Ikura nigiri

Miso soup

Tempura vegetables

Here there are many varieties on offer and you can even order main meals. I had the entertainment book voucher so I went with a friend.

The bathrooms are small and are out the back.

The tamago sushi fell apart. It had that rubbery feel to it. But we enjoyed all the seafood sushi and edamame.

The gyoza was cold. It had been sitting on the train for a while.

And the ready made udon was yum. Unlike the city store this came in a huge bowl.

I have never tried the ice cream in the city store. However I really liked this one here. I loved the crunch of the cornflakes down the bottom.

Do come by for the ready made meals and seafood.

Pinocchio

Pinocchio is an Italian place in South Yarra. Here they do good quality food but the service can be slow. They are right near the train station.

They have been featured a few times in the Italian Good Food week. And since it is good food week I decided to visit.

The entree of aranchini ball was lovely and addictive. It was crunchy on the outside and piping hot on the inside.

They have their $25 special nights which includes pizza and pasta on selected weeknights. Here I had the Aglio E olio which was a bit bland. It could have done with more olive oil. But still the pasta was al dente.

But the white wine went well with the food.

Do visit if you have the time and they are featured in the Entertainment book which you can buy off us and support the Salvos through their mission.

Okra

RNIS was invited by Healthyintstudents site to participate and as such, they would appreciate the promotion of the Entertainment book.

Here they are located in Camberwell where the Rivoli cinema is. They are a hole in the wall place which is hard to find. And me being a westie found it hard to find.

On Sundays, they have their Hawkers market. Here all their dishes are $11.9-$18 and are not priced at the $30 mark.

The service from Laurence the owner was very friendly.

The bathrooms are upstairs and before you go there you'll see lots of pictures of Malaysia.

To start off with I enjoyed a Riseling. It worked with the Hainan chicken in that it balanced the flavors of the dish really well.

I loved their complimentary chips as they had that spicy tang. Lawrence the owner told me that everything is made from scratch. Even they make their own sauces.

Here the roti is really flaky and was not too sweet.

The Hainan chicken was ok but they forgot the soup and the rice was very overcooked. The chicken was a little bit salty from the sauce.

Many thanks to Healthyinternational students for the invite and do check out their site. Do buy the book from them as Okra has a 25% discount offer and other offers. If you buy now then you'll also receive a gift card as well as assist the Salvos over the Christmas period.

Free coffee at Donut King

RNIS recieved their latte free but they paid for the donut.

This Donut King is in Highpoint. In fact there are two Donut Kings in Highpoint. One which is near the cinema and the other one is near Crunch. They both are in a food court.

Donuts on offer

I have wanted to take a break from study.

Here the coffee was milky but burnt and unlike what Facebook said about the hot chocolate they did not actually offer hot chocolate. The barista was friendly and she put an artwork on top of my coffee. It is important that the barista is friendly and knowledgeable about their coffee.

But their traditional cinnamon donut was good. It was piping hot and was only $1.20 each.

Do buy the Entertainment book here and you'll be helping the Salvos. Moreover there is a buy one coffee get one free for Donut King in the book.

Criniti's in Carlton

RNIS had received a $20 dining voucher from Dimmi and all thoughts are their own.

Crinitis is in Carlton and they are an Italian place. They are featured in the Entertainment book at a 25% discount and if you buy from us you'll be supporting the Salvation Army and the good work that they do with the homeless.

The service was friendly and they were not mean.

Their meals are mammoth and I found that their pasta was hard to finish in one sitting. Their marinara was $24.90 (down from $35). They do have one metre pizzas though but you would have to share them. I could smell the pizzas cooking.

Their pasta was ok. It was not that great and it did smell a little bit fishy. The spaghetti was al dente and it normally doesn't come with bread. But the seafood was a little bit overcooked and they put too much tomato in there to make it like Spaghetti O.

The bread though was really good. It was that great sourdough bread with butter.

Rating: 14/20- its ok. I would come here for a drink though. I still can't understand why they have such a bad rating.

Do buy the Entertainment book from us here.

Tazio Birraria Pizzeria & Cucina

RNIS was invited here by Tazio. All thoughts are their own and they did not have to pay

At the bar

This place is a real pizzeria with family friendly prices for those that live in the city. The place is on Flinders Lane near Spring st and they have a lovely function room as well as an old TV which Ray the functions manager tried to work. He couldn't. Ray was a lovely guy who loves his people

Tazio is all about the people. Here the service was very friendly and the portions really big. Because I'm quitting all types of added sugar I didn't have the dessert. But my friend did and he enjoyed it. He also enjoyed two big glasses of coke.

Aperol  Spritz

Coke

I really did enjoy my Aperol Spritz. Aperol Spritz is an Italian drink and Tazio does them quite well. I enjoyed it with the croquettes (which we had three). I also enjoyed the garlic pizza but got garlic breath. It was very garlicky.

But the pasta was very basic and they only had a limited menu. If they had Aglio E Olio with spaghetti then I might have enjoyed some good pasta.  But with the anchovies in it, it was a hit.

Pasta

Anchovies

The pizza was not big but we enjoyed it. It would have been better with a pint of beer but my friend doesn't drink much. For me it is ok to have one just to try.

Rating: 14/20- good but needs a bit of improvement if they want to compete with some of the other places.

Do come by as they are in the Entertainment book for 25% off the total bill and you'll love their food and drink. And you can buy the book off us as we are supporting the Salvation Army in their fight to end homelessness.