Ramen Ya [cheap and good]

Ramen Ya
In the little alley between GPO and Myers in Melb CBD
(Next to Kenzan)















$10 Bento! $10 Ramen! I was very impressed by the quality of food Ramen Ya put forward with just $10. It is almost impossible to spend $10 at other Jap restaurants and get decent quality food. We ordered the chasiu ramen and sukiyaki beef bento - both were very good. The ramen soup was tasty, well seasoned and not as MSG-ful as other places. I usually develop a rash when I drink/eat anything with MSG (Mekong is the worse so far), but hey, this one didn't even make my skin itch! I also wonder if the noodles were hand made because the texture was very 'Q', unlike the ramen noodles we find elsewhere (for e.g. Ajisen Ramen). Similarly, the bento was excellent. Although it is a very simple bento box, the beef had great texture and its flavours were a few levels ahead the stock-standard beef bentos around.

Chasiu Ramen

Sukiyaki Beef Bento - comes with gyoza as a side

Conclusion: If you feel like Ramen or Bento and you want something cheap and descent, Ramen Ya is the place to go! 8/10!

Cafe Trevi on Lygon [Bad service]

I went to Cafe Trevi on Lygon last weekend and it was a bad experience. Firstly, they gave us cappuccino instead of hot chocolate. Secondly, I found a strand of hair in the cheesecake that we ordered and the waitress insisted that "Darling, it's not hair, it's the stuff they put in when they bake". Well, hair is hair, just like how you can't argue that a kangaroo is a giraffe. As I insisted that they give me a new slice, they weren't happy and gave me a slice that was half the size of the original one (I haven't even taken a single bite from the initial one). When I asked for the bill they just plopped the thing on the table. The cake costed $8.50 a slice and was not yummy at all. Waste of my time and money. I can make much better cakes.

Cafe Sweethearts - [Eggs eggs eggs]

Cafe Sweethearts
263 Coventry Street, South Melbourne


Cafe Sweethearts for me is the come-to place if I am craving for perfectly poached eggs covered generously in hollandaise sauce. They offer a wide selection of 'egg dishes', e.g. eggs with salmon, eggs with chilli, eggs benedict, eggs this, eggs that..., but the bottom line is that nothing is more satisfying than watching the egg yolk ooze out. MMMMmmmmm...and Cafe Sweetheart never disappoints in that respect. Coffee is not great (I must confess I am not a coffee person), and the meal portions do vary from time to time.


Eggs Florentine - ~$15.90
Poached eggs with hollandaise sauce, bacon, wilted spinach and sauteed mushrooms.
verdict: one of my favourites! I felt the hollandaise sauce is one of the best I've tasted - it has a great balance between the sourness of the lemon and the saltiness of the butter. The mushrooms are also very juicy and flavourful. Love it.  

Eggs Florentine

Chilli Eggs - ~$15.90
Poached eggs with bacon, and chilli sauce. Great combination of flavours that will kick-start your morning. If you're wondering, the chilli isn't very spicy.

Toast with bacon, mushrooms and poach egg - $10
The sauce-less version of egg florentine with one less egg (costs $5 less than the other ones). I got 2 big rinds of bacon!!!

Conclusion: If you are craving for eggs, Cafe Sweetheart is the way to go. We give it 8/10 for the egg dishes.

Snow Pony - [Not too shabby]

Snow Pony
95 Whitehorse Road, Balwyn, VIC

I adore banana bread. I am normally not a huge bread fan, but bananas just make the bread awesome. I tried baking them a couple of times myself, but I still haven't got the texture right.  In search of the perfect banana bread, we headed to Snow Pony. Snow Pony is the sister store of Porgie and Mrs Jones. I've never been to Porgie, but I think Urbanspoon likes the Pony better. The cafe is very spacious (even has a back courtyard!), but it was packed when we arrived. Nonetheless, it's a nice and cosy place for a lazy Sunday brunch to catch up with friends, or just, you know, stare into space. :)

note: Life size snow pony!!!

First up --> the coffees...

Mocha 
verdict: the mocha they served today was a bit burnt, leaving a bad aftertaste in my mouth. No wonder they were advertising for baristas.

Chai Latte
verdict: I have had better Chais around. Not memorable. 

 
Second up - The real deal
(p.s. forgive me i forgot the actual names of the dishes) 


Banana bread with pistachios, berries compote and mascarpone cheese -- aud $14.90
verdict: Nice! Arguably nicer than the one in Las Chicas. I thought the banana bread was almost perfect. It was fluffy and moist, not too sweet, with the right amount of banana. I felt the pistachio and berries added a lot of textures and layers to the dish. The only thing is the small amount of mascarpone cheese didn't contribute much to the dish, I'd like to see more of it sandwiched between the bread.

Lemonade scone with chantily cream and jam -- aud $3.50
verdict: Well made scone but I must say I did not taste the 'lemonade' explosion that people have been raving about. My theory of scone-indulgence is to eat it with a huge dollop of cream and jam on top. ^___^ I really liked the cream...but $3.50 for a scone? Hmmm I may have to think about it next time. 

Scrambled eggs with goats cheese on toast -- aud $12.90
verdict: Loved the way the eggs were cooked. Together with the goats cheese it was thick, smooth and very satisfying. The bread was a bit too hard for my liking and  I'd love to have tasted more herbs/spinach on the dish.

Conclusion: I'd definitely come back for the banana bread and eggs, but Snow Pony is not a place for good coffee. I'll give it a 7.5/10.