Warmly lit but bright enough that you can read your menu, filled with a pleasant din instead of the raucous cacophony of noisy diners, Bincho Boss strikes the perfect balance for a dinner out.
Author: Sonia Nair
Sonia Nair is a Melbourne-based food writer who persists with her love of everything deep fried and spicy, despite being diagnosed with a histamine intolerance and lactose intolerance after incorrectly thinking she was fructose-intolerant for several years.
I loved my visit to Karlaylisi and would order a spicy noodle next time, watch out for any tomatoey repetitions – tomatoes are a central ingredient in many Uyghur sauces – and order the manti or gosh nan to sample Uyghurs’ unique take on dumplings and pastries.
Terry’s Kitchen is a no-frills Malaysian restaurant situated within a church complex in Wantirna South in a cafeteria-style setting. We’ve been twice, and each time has made it into my top 10 Malaysian food experiences in Melbourne.
I loved our time at Sleepy’s so much – the food menu was small but lovingly curated to showcase an interesting take on familiar east Asian ingredients, the drinks were bomb, our waiter was the best and the cosy interiors were perfect to spend a drizzly Wednesday night in.
Parcs is a zero-waste restaurant from the same team behind Aru and Sunda with a menu designed by Furrmien’s Dennis Yong.
Unlike Warung Agus and Makan which specialise in Balinese food, Kenangan serves up dishes from across Indonesia.
My parents and I have a newfound weekly routine where we visit a different Malaysian restaurant every week. For our first place, I suggested we visit CC Wok after reading Jess Ho’s glowing review. It opened in November 2021, shortly after the last of our many, many lockdowns drew to an end.
Each time I’ve visited Capitano, I’ve had a wonderful experience. It’s reasonably priced, it has a great vibe, the seasonal changing menu is always exciting – there’s never fewer than five things I’d like to order – and as proven with my most recent visit, they’re great with dietary intolerances.
A family-run business, YOI has quintessential Indonesian dishes like mie goreng, nasi goreng and rendang, but also a selection of Japanese like gyutan don, chicken katsu curry and chicken teriyaki.
Mr Lee hit the ball out of the park with every dish we ordered, and I can’t wait to revisit for a sweet taste of home away from home.
Whatever Floats Your Bloat 