Despite the plethora of restaurants that exist in the city, I always struggle to think of a mid-tier dining option – somewhere not so fancy that I internally wince when the bill arrives, but with a warm and inviting décor. Dao Noodle nails the brief.
Chibog’s menu is a constantly changing one and for the purposes of this review, I’ll be detailing two visits – one last week and the other a year ago, with many of the dishes from my first visit (sadly) no longer on the menu.
Gray and Gray is a restaurant established in 2021 by three-Michelin-star pastry chef Boris Portnoy and winemaker Mitch Sokolin in a space that was formerly a solicitor’s office.
Each dish at Big Esso contains three to five native ingredients – they’re not an afterthought or an adjunct, they are the dish.
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.
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.
Whatever Floats Your Bloat 