Fergusson Plarre Bakehouse in Moonee Ponds

There is a Fergusson Plarre and that is in Moonee Ponds, near the tram stop. I had been wanting to check this out for some time and when I saw the $2.50 custard sign and my stomach grumbling I thought I would try.

The store was clean and old fashioned. I was served by a grumpy old woman with no glasses. The younger one was wearing glasses and she was friendlier. The older one I think was the manager and she did not smile a bit. But I did appreciate the warning of I'll put this in the microwave for you. I did take a while to order and the lady did not mind.

The older lady managed food with her bare hands which I don't know whether they were clean. I only found out after ordering and paying for the food.

I ordered a chunky vegetable pie for $5.70 which was really soggy. It was microwaved and the pastry was still a tad bit doughy. Also it was bland and sauce was an extra $0.20. The filling was good though but I would liked some more cheese in it.



Rating: 9/20- I prefer the one in Queen Victoria Market as they have the best pasties and pies and their staff are friendly not grumpy

Juicy bao

Juicy Bao is a place in Chinatown which rated for one of their great xiaolong bao and noodles.

The place is clean and small and they have cheap, comfort food. Most people like them for their dumplings and buns.

The place has a no bookings policy and was busy on Friday night. Like what one other reviewer said you have to wait for the whole party to arrive before they seat you. This is true in many Chinese and Asian places.

The service was very quick though. I got my food within ten minutes and it was piping hot.

They do have BYO and someone brought in champagne. I thought that champagne and dumplings was a really odd mixture. I would have liked to have white wine or a riseling with it.

I had the noodle with mince pork and spring onion. The noodles were springy and the pork was nicely ground. The noodles were homemade.  I really don't know what those black dried things were though.

Also the buns were homamde and they were $4.80 for four. But they didn't have a lot of filling in them.

I was left feeling full and satisfied.

Rating: 18/20- do come by for a cheap and fast feed.

Hophaus revisited

Hophaus is a German bar in which you may remember that we went there for their birthday party last year. Their food and drinks were really good but expensive.

Well it seems that we had our hands on the Entertainment book. With the 25% discount we had $1 drinks and a very filling lunch. They have $20 Arbiter lunch specials but our deal was not valid then. It should have been valid seeing as this is an everyday deal and most people would get a bit confused.

They seemed understaffed. There was only one waitress and my food was waiting on the pass for a while. But the lady that served me was really lovely and she was very friendly.

But anyway we felt like having Bratwurst and beer since German bier brings out the best in German food. Here this was served in a 300 ml glass and it was really strong in taste. It had this strong apple and winey taste and smell. A smell which brought out the best in the bratwurst. Here the bratwurst was yum and the brioche roll was sweet but not too sweet. It was not dry like someone else said on Zomato.

The french fries were just ordinary.

Rating: 14/20- good food let down by the slow service. Do here for your traditional German fare

Do buy your Entertainment book from Meld Magazine this year if you want this deal and more!

Snippet: Toast Kitchen Cafe

Toast Kitchen is an old favourite of many of the locals in North Melbourne. Here they are rated for the best coffee by the Age. Their coffee beans are supplied by Vittoria. It is right outside a tram stop.

Here I had their omelette with meredith's feta, onion, chickpeas,  tomato, sumac. This was nice but for the $16 price tag I expected some bread to go with this. But all the same it was still lovely

The short black was really nutty and it worked well with that chocolate. It was acidic and bitter.

Do go by for your coffees and breakfasts and do enter their monthly Instagram competition where you'll win $100 dining voucher for the best photo.

Sam Sam

Sam Sam is a new Korean eatery which replaced Claypot King. Here they have two levels and a whole lot more seating.

Sam Sam specialises in chicken and value meals and just that. I was disappointed that they didn't have any entrees, just mains. And they didn't have the pork dumplings that you would find in many Korean restaurants and festivals.

Coming in one night after a run I was really hungry. Here they were really busy with the students who love Korean food on a winters night. Here many of the students ordered the fried chicken but I was not in the mood for that. I was in the mood for some bibimbap.

The tofu bibimbap was $13. It was in a bowl but not as big as the one at Oppa. Also there were no appetizers. However the kimchi was free and that was pretty good. There wasn't much rice in there and nor was there any burnt bits. I love eating all the burnt bits. But there was heaps of tofu and egg which is good. The tofu was fried perfectly.

Rating: 14/20- the food came out way too fast. Another minute or two might have worked. A good thing though is that the staff are very friendly.