Mister Minh

RNIS was invited to Mister Minh's soft opening on Facebook and did not have to pay.

Mister Minh is one of our friends on Facebook. We first heard of them when they were in North Richmond. Now they had moved from where the druggies used to be to a much better place and they announced their soft opening on Facebook.

Beer

Someone brought this Champagne in for them

It took us a while to write this as we had been too busy with other stuff for Healthyintstudents.

The place is right on the number 48 and 75 tram lines.

The bathrooms are out the back and there are paintings outside the bathroom doors.

Many loyal friends and bloggers gathered at the new place and loved the cool fit out. We also loved the bar and watching the bartender make some wonderful cocktails such as the Vietnamese coffee espresso martini.

The owner and his staff are lovely and they will help you order what you want. They are also attentitive.

We also enjoyed the bespoke white wine which works well with a vegetarian pho or dessert of some sort. It was sweet and appley.

With the chicken wings, we got the sexy back beer which kicked a punch. The chicken wings were fingerlickingly good. I couldn't stop at just one.

The vegetarian pho was good but the broth was a little bit on the sweetish side. Some pickled onions would be nice to go with it. And the serving was huge. Two people could have easily finished this. It was a bit hard for one person to finish.

Do come by to this eatery at nighttime rather than those other drab Vietnamese places on Victoria st.

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.

Rare Steakhouse Midtown

RNIS was invited to the Rare Steakhouse and did not have to pay.

Rare Steakhouse is what replaces Squires loft in the city. Squires Loft was the old steak eatery but they weren't doing that well. For eight years now Rare Steakhouse is in its place.

Vegetarian Gnocchi

Sweet potato fries

And now they are really busy with lots of steak orders and a new two-course menu which is $40 and can only be ordered before 6:30pm. At the old Steakhouse, everything was really expensive and there weren't many vegetarian dishes on the menu. At that time I did not drink.

But now I do just for the enjoyment and I had a light Italian beer which was nice. I really loved the sweet potato chips. At the old Steakhouse, there wasn't a huge variety of wine on the menu. And now there is for everyone to enjoy. People can buy a bottle or a glass to drink.

I also love the hospitality here as it was warm and friendly.

The gnocchi was nice and moreish. It was the only vegetarian main on the menu. I would have liked there to be fewer nuts and more vegetables though. I couldn't finish the whole plate. The steak coming out of the kitchen looked good though.

I hope that Rare Steakhouse is featured in the Entertainment book as they are a great place to go to

Queen st Rescue

RNIS was invited by Dimmi and did not have to pay.

Queen st rescue is a nice place to relax after work. They are in fact a gastropub which has a lot of wine and alcohol. Here they have some weight watchers friendly meals such as Mushroom risotto and pasta. They also have specials such as $12 pizza and $17 curry.

I saw other people's meals and they were huge. I had too much snacks and beer at a launch event just before so I decided on something light.

The place is busy on a Friday night and you do need to book ahead.

The bathrooms are out the back and they have these cute doors: ladies is pink and men is blue.

The mushroom risotto was nice and I could have had cheese in there but since I had lots of cheese before I went without. But the truffle oil was the glue that held it together. This really did fill me up



I could have had ice cream but since I had it earlier today I decided not to have. The next time I come I will have to enjoy a drink and some fried goodness.

Hecho En Mexico

RNIS did not have to pay for the food but they paid for their drinks.

Hecho En Mexico is in South Yarra and it's their second store. The first one was in Fitzroy and it was not as good. The atmosphere there was really dark whereas South Yarra the atmosphere is quite nice and open. And they do have outdoor dining.

Oh at the bar it is really lively and the bartender seemed to know what he was doing.

For a Friday night on Chapel st they were really busy. Therefore it's a good idea to book ahead. We did that via dimmi. And for this restaurant Dimmi awarded us with a $20 food only voucher.

The bathrooms are out the back where the carpark is and they are always busy.

Here they have combo deals for those that love to try everything and Hecho's promo Tecate. And you can add either onion rings or chips and Tecate for $10. They have their usual burritos. A Tecate is a Mexican strong beer and the Mexicans like it with their burrito. Their Tecate was strong and I really enjoyed it with my fish burrito

I had the fish burrito with the onion rings. It was a huge portion. Here I really enjoyed the crunchiness of the batter and the fish burrito although cooked well, was not made properly. Some of the rice and fish filling fell out of the tortilla casing. It was really messy to eat. And I would have liked a little bit more of the onions and salsa in there. Or have them as a side. Oh and there weren't a lot of black beans in there which was disappointing as GYG I have had a lot of black beans and guacamole in mine and BayCity burrito was the same.

Do come by for a drink and I would love to try the Margheritas on offer.