<?xml version='1.0' encoding='UTF-8'?><?xml-stylesheet href="http://www.blogger.com/styles/atom.css" type="text/css"?><feed xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom' xmlns:openSearch='http://a9.com/-/spec/opensearchrss/1.0/' xmlns:georss='http://www.georss.org/georss' xmlns:gd='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005' xmlns:thr='http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0'><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7357862410119222991</id><updated>2012-02-16T22:01:51.101+11:00</updated><title type='text'>Barrel of Caffeine</title><subtitle type='html'>Personal reviews and experiences with tasty food and coffees around Melbourne</subtitle><link rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#feed' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://barrelofcaff.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7357862410119222991/posts/default?max-results=100'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://barrelofcaff.blogspot.com/'/><link rel='hub' href='http://pubsubhubbub.appspot.com/'/><author><name>Jace</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/05815220989639691123</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><generator version='7.00' uri='http://www.blogger.com'>Blogger</generator><openSearch:totalResults>6</openSearch:totalResults><openSearch:startIndex>1</openSearch:startIndex><openSearch:itemsPerPage>100</openSearch:itemsPerPage><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7357862410119222991.post-1455742612953641495</id><published>2011-01-13T22:04:00.000+11:00</published><updated>2011-01-13T22:04:17.250+11:00</updated><title type='text'>Yum Cha Dragon - Docklands</title><content type='html'>&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;So before visiting this Docklands restaurant I got mixed reviews from peers as well as interesting posts on Urbanspoon, most of which were dining on a typical weekend. The reviews for &lt;i&gt;&lt;u&gt;Yum Cha Dragon&lt;/u&gt;&lt;/i&gt; were good enough to warrant me trying out this place for the New Year's Eve '8 course' banquet.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Docklands is not exactly a place of ambience and atmosphere, but seeing as there were fireworks on the docks and a forecasted 40 degree day to counter the typical blistering cold winds of Docklands, I felt it would be a good night for a feast. We pre-paid the booking to 'secure' our table.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;We opted for the early sitting of 5.30pm to 8.00pm. There were two choices, standard ($69) and superior ($99). The only difference I saw was the soft shell crab and barramundi instead of an anonymous "fish" fillets so I opted for the &lt;i&gt;&lt;u&gt;Standard Banquet&lt;/u&gt;&lt;/i&gt; option. On first glance, the menu was quite substantial.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I found it interesting that a whole dish dedicated to fried rice and that no other rice was included in the banquet. It makes no sense to me as I would think that more carbos = more full customers and therefore more satisfied. I say provide unlimited rice in banquets!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_ACrAV7SFqg0/TSFwdwLuxlI/AAAAAAAAAGU/L4jVn4XCDZw/s1600/IMG_0095.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"&gt;&lt;img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_ACrAV7SFqg0/TSFwdwLuxlI/AAAAAAAAAGU/L4jVn4XCDZw/s640/IMG_0095.JPG" width="476" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;As soon as I arrived I was served a&lt;i&gt; &lt;u&gt;glass of champagne&lt;/u&gt;&lt;/i&gt; and greeted by first name (name of the booking). Unfortunately it was not as cold as I like it and quickly heated up because the air conditioning was not working too well, but I managed to finish the glass quite quickly :P&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_ACrAV7SFqg0/TSFwkNzgWeI/AAAAAAAAAGY/w_kEy66fFsw/s1600/IMG_0096.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"&gt;&lt;img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_ACrAV7SFqg0/TSFwkNzgWeI/AAAAAAAAAGY/w_kEy66fFsw/s320/IMG_0096.JPG" width="239" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_ACrAV7SFqg0/TSFxgV-rYeI/AAAAAAAAAG8/EVy8NAipmyg/s1600/IMG_0117.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;The &lt;i&gt;&lt;u&gt;shredded duck soup&lt;/u&gt;&lt;/i&gt; had very good portion of duck, was a good temperature and not too salty. A very enjoyable dish to start us off.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_ACrAV7SFqg0/TSFwppJIsvI/AAAAAAAAAGc/6Gi98Fm7Tv8/s1600/IMG_0099.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"&gt;&lt;img border="0" height="239" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_ACrAV7SFqg0/TSFwppJIsvI/AAAAAAAAAGc/6Gi98Fm7Tv8/s320/IMG_0099.JPG" width="320" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The next dish was &lt;i&gt;&lt;u&gt;Peking Duck&lt;/u&gt;&lt;/i&gt; (only one piece per person with separate sauce). This duck portion in the wrap was acceptable and was freshly wrapped so was not soggy. I love Peking Duck so two pieces would have been nice.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;One thing I did notice throughout the night was that the floor manager was very quick with responding to things that wait staff forgot such as plating the Peking Duck dish before removing the soup bowls.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_ACrAV7SFqg0/TSFwwhUZJsI/AAAAAAAAAGg/pUPksFXrqe8/s1600/IMG_0100.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"&gt;&lt;img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_ACrAV7SFqg0/TSFwwhUZJsI/AAAAAAAAAGg/pUPksFXrqe8/s320/IMG_0100.JPG" width="239" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The &lt;i&gt;&lt;u&gt;sweet and sour prawns&lt;/u&gt;&lt;/i&gt; sauce not too sweet and very fresh from deep frier. Unfortunately the waiter learned too quickly from the previous plating and took the plate taken away as we ate. This time we still wanted sauce as it was the best thing out so far!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;This was the time that we noticed that the dishes had no real ordering (I assumed the same order as the menu) and neither did the serving of tables. I could only spot one or two tables that had ordered the superior banquet; I could onlt tell when alternate dishes were being served from the from the kitchen at one time. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_ACrAV7SFqg0/TSFw2xKjm2I/AAAAAAAAAGk/hgdkAEqXrGU/s1600/IMG_0102.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"&gt;&lt;img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_ACrAV7SFqg0/TSFw2xKjm2I/AAAAAAAAAGk/hgdkAEqXrGU/s320/IMG_0102.JPG" width="239" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The &lt;i&gt;&lt;u&gt;wok-fried XO king prawns&lt;/u&gt;&lt;/i&gt; contained a hint of chilli and garlic and tasted very fresh. The &lt;i&gt;&lt;u&gt;fried rice&lt;/u&gt;&lt;/i&gt; went well with the sauce which was not salty at all. I was very surprised that most of the food was not as salty as I expected, an excellence change.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_ACrAV7SFqg0/TSFw9X9n9UI/AAAAAAAAAGo/U6OGw0as-2M/s1600/IMG_0103.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"&gt;&lt;img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_ACrAV7SFqg0/TSFw9X9n9UI/AAAAAAAAAGo/U6OGw0as-2M/s320/IMG_0103.JPG" width="239" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;The rice itself was basic and the advertised "king prawns" tasted very much like the frozen prawns I buy from my local chinese supermarket. Of course it would have been great if the size was big enough for four people and was brought out with the first main so we could have it with sauce.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_ACrAV7SFqg0/TSFxDZNZnvI/AAAAAAAAAGs/iIpO9LjiOK4/s1600/IMG_0105.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"&gt;&lt;img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_ACrAV7SFqg0/TSFxDZNZnvI/AAAAAAAAAGs/iIpO9LjiOK4/s320/IMG_0105.JPG" width="239" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div&gt;The&lt;i&gt;&lt;u&gt; fried beef fillets&lt;/u&gt;&lt;/i&gt; was very tasty and went very well with the sesame sauce. I finished off all of the sauce and was tempted to lick the plate! Sometimes you get the feeling that some chinese restaurant get their sauce from a bottle, but I believe this one was made in the kitchen.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The texture of the fillets did seem to be a little fabricated, most likely from bicarbonate soda to give it that 'soft' bite but I didn't mind. After this dish I was very thirsty and ordered a refreshing coke.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;After having my two pieces, I think it may have been quickly deep fried as it is medium rare and chewy in parts in the centre with a semi-crispy coating.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_ACrAV7SFqg0/TSFxJdsJsNI/AAAAAAAAAGw/9IoGBSXmsx4/s1600/IMG_0109.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"&gt;&lt;img border="0" height="239" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_ACrAV7SFqg0/TSFxJdsJsNI/AAAAAAAAAGw/9IoGBSXmsx4/s320/IMG_0109.JPG" width="320" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The next dish was the &lt;i&gt;&lt;u&gt;Kung Pao Szechwan chicken&lt;/u&gt;&lt;/i&gt; which was mild and came with only &lt;i&gt;two &lt;/i&gt;seschuan chilies, I guess this level of hottness is good for most but I like it much hotter. I compared this directly to the chilli chicken from Peko Peko in South Melbourne. Peko Peko don't skimp on the chilli's and fry the chicken in the wok along with the chilli's to give it that nice charred flavour. This was quite bland in comparison.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_ACrAV7SFqg0/TSFxP6-vd-I/AAAAAAAAAG0/aAlhk5IGaa8/s1600/IMG_0110.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"&gt;&lt;img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_ACrAV7SFqg0/TSFxP6-vd-I/AAAAAAAAAG0/aAlhk5IGaa8/s320/IMG_0110.JPG" width="239" /&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"&gt;The anonymous '&lt;i&gt;&lt;u&gt;Fish Fillets&lt;/u&gt;&lt;/i&gt;' were very sticky on teeth and undercooked throughout. Firstly it came out luke warm and it was also plated up on a cold dish! The flavour was OK at best when soy sauce was added, we left most of the fish as it was just not enjoyable. Imagine this statement in a Gordon Ramsay voice with more swearing: "This should have  never left the kitchen like this"&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_ACrAV7SFqg0/TSFxvBRtlqI/AAAAAAAAAHA/LxxxKffEZsY/s1600/IMG_0113.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"&gt;&lt;img border="0" height="239" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_ACrAV7SFqg0/TSFxvBRtlqI/AAAAAAAAAHA/LxxxKffEZsY/s320/IMG_0113.JPG" width="320" /&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"&gt;Main dishes came out in good time with 25 minutes between dishes maximum. &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;Eventually the pressure of a non-typical full house got to the wait staff, there was no longer any order to the serving of dishes and dessert went to tables that came in 1 to 1.5 hour after us. Tables were in and out within 1.5 hours as we sat there for the whole 3 hours. We were forced to wait 50 mins for our simple dessert of which we had to ask wtf was happening.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;We had to ask to get our dessert for it to be served. What the most disappointing thing was that the dish was a basic &lt;i&gt;&lt;u&gt;mango pudding&lt;/u&gt;&lt;u&gt; and cream&lt;/u&gt;&lt;/i&gt; that you get at yum cha &lt;i&gt;already pre-made and ready in the fridge the day before. &lt;/i&gt;It was very sweet...the usual.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_ACrAV7SFqg0/TSFxapVgQwI/AAAAAAAAAG4/7MzeVjMx_1w/s1600/IMG_0115.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"&gt;&lt;img border="0" height="239" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_ACrAV7SFqg0/TSFxapVgQwI/AAAAAAAAAG4/7MzeVjMx_1w/s320/IMG_0115.JPG" width="320" /&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;Throughout the night there was one dirty bowl and dirt on side of my coffee cup. I expected this for a cheap yumcha place but for what seemed to be an elite restaurant on the surface, failed to impress.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The bill for drinks were handed to us before dessert arrived and I got the feeling they wanted us out but this was not our fault that they didn't serve dessert! The staff didn't even ask if was wanted coffee or tea within the wait. I made sure I asked for coffee as soon as the dessert arrived so that I wouldn't be forgotton again.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;The &lt;i&gt;&lt;u&gt;Cafe Latte&lt;/u&gt;&lt;/i&gt; was done strong, milk a little over-steamed but served at a good temperature. The milk overwhelmed the flavour and I couldn't finish it.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_ACrAV7SFqg0/TSFxgV-rYeI/AAAAAAAAAG8/EVy8NAipmyg/s1600/IMG_0117.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"&gt;&lt;img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_ACrAV7SFqg0/TSFxgV-rYeI/AAAAAAAAAG8/EVy8NAipmyg/s320/IMG_0117.JPG" width="239" /&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;We got our coffees at 8.15, but session ended at 8. Lucky we left our coffees because the next session (8.30pm) was walking in and blocking the exit as we departed. &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"&gt;The mood lifted as soon as we left with the place full of a combination of clubbers in short dresses waiting for the clubs to open and families with their young kids flinging around lightsaber toys waiting for the fireworks to start.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_ACrAV7SFqg0/TSFyedxdb5I/AAAAAAAAAHE/YbqX1tuFxdo/s1600/IMG_0122.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"&gt;&lt;img border="0" height="239" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_ACrAV7SFqg0/TSFyedxdb5I/AAAAAAAAAHE/YbqX1tuFxdo/s320/IMG_0122.JPG" width="320" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The highlight of the whole night was a Woody Harrelson look-alike dancing to the DJ's dance music as fireworks exploded above my head to welcome 2011. Hopefully in the new year will bring my way restaurants with quality service and excellence on-par with Ezard and the like.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The main positive of the night was that I liked how the floor manager remembered the first name of each booked table, it was a nice touch. The floor manager did well remembering the bookings of each table and did her best to control what was a very pressured night.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I may try this place again, but on a typical Docklands day with no other people around and no pressure on the staff; maybe then I will get quality service and cuisine.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7357862410119222991-1455742612953641495?l=barrelofcaff.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='related' href='http://www.yumcha.net.au/' title='Yum Cha Dragon - Docklands'/><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://barrelofcaff.blogspot.com/feeds/1455742612953641495/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://barrelofcaff.blogspot.com/2011/01/yum-cha-dragon-docklands.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7357862410119222991/posts/default/1455742612953641495'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7357862410119222991/posts/default/1455742612953641495'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://barrelofcaff.blogspot.com/2011/01/yum-cha-dragon-docklands.html' title='Yum Cha Dragon - Docklands'/><author><name>Jace</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/05815220989639691123</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_ACrAV7SFqg0/TSFwdwLuxlI/AAAAAAAAAGU/L4jVn4XCDZw/s72-c/IMG_0095.JPG' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7357862410119222991.post-7668785499014254718</id><published>2010-06-07T00:00:00.007+10:00</published><updated>2010-06-07T00:07:54.092+10:00</updated><title type='text'>Ezard</title><content type='html'>&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;Ezard... no idea what it means or if it's someones name but if you mention it to any Melbournite it represents status and elite fine dining with a 2 hat rating. I was lucky enough to have my end of financial year work function here along with the eight course degustation menu including the optional dessert plate!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"&gt;I was the first to spot the restaurant which happened to be located down a side-stairs next to a hotel. Very hard to find if it weren't for the 2 metre tall lime green logo on the back wall.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_ACrAV7SFqg0/TAnFXMlfUYI/AAAAAAAAACs/31_fAy3qtUo/s200/P1030264.JPG" width="150" /&gt;&lt;a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_ACrAV7SFqg0/TAnFb1qQ9yI/AAAAAAAAAC0/K1IcGPXhleI/s1600/P1030220.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"&gt;&lt;img border="0" height="150" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_ACrAV7SFqg0/TAnFb1qQ9yI/AAAAAAAAAC0/K1IcGPXhleI/s200/P1030220.JPG" width="200" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"&gt;The first thing I noticed was the table presentation, it was as if they spent at least 20 minutes polishing up the cutlery and placing all the ornaments. Very impressive. &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_ACrAV7SFqg0/TAsvfuMkv_I/AAAAAAAAAFU/XTkplXgGvSQ/s1600/P1030221.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"&gt;&lt;img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_ACrAV7SFqg0/TAsvfuMkv_I/AAAAAAAAAFU/XTkplXgGvSQ/s320/P1030221.JPG" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The second thing I noticed were the fresh flowers, it's not everyday when restaurants actually pick up fresh ones. Again a nice touch.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_ACrAV7SFqg0/TAnFqLcCVgI/AAAAAAAAADE/qd3mp29cCTk/s1600/P1030224.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"&gt;&lt;img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_ACrAV7SFqg0/TAnFqLcCVgI/AAAAAAAAADE/qd3mp29cCTk/s320/P1030224.JPG" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;It was a neat table location with great atmosphere and dim lighting to set the mood. As it was below ground and we were the closest table to the windows above, we could spy on workers as they walked to the train station on the way home. It gave a sense of voyeurism until every passerby started looking down at me. It turned into a sort of museum viewing panel situation... I felt famous.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;This was when one of my colleagues told me a story of himself and his wife going for a romantic dinner in a similar place with a window where only the passersby bodies were visible. A few teenagers thought this to be the most convenient area to moon them whilst staying anonymous. I was hoping for the equivalent entertainment, but it never came to be.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_ACrAV7SFqg0/TAnFxJpav1I/AAAAAAAAADM/N_S6BPsc5hU/s1600/P1030226.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"&gt;&lt;img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_ACrAV7SFqg0/TAnFxJpav1I/AAAAAAAAADM/N_S6BPsc5hU/s320/P1030226.JPG" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The menu was given to us as we were seated. I had a glance but took a photo as the waiters were surely going to take them away. As predicted, the menus quickly disappeared and it was up to each waiter delivering the courses to remind us in great detail of what we were about to eat. Lucky I took a photo of the menu because it was sometimes difficult to understand all the fancy stuff.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;As you can see below, the menu was printed just for the occasion!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_ACrAV7SFqg0/TAnF4aXCc0I/AAAAAAAAADU/Iug8AXmmPes/s1600/P1030227.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"&gt;&lt;img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_ACrAV7SFqg0/TAnF4aXCc0I/AAAAAAAAADU/Iug8AXmmPes/s640/P1030227.JPG" width="480" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Just after our wines and beers were delivered course one arrives. It consists of an oyster shooter, a palate cleaner and another creamy sushi-like creation. The oyster shooter was fresh and what I would normally expect from any restaurant, definitely shucked well with no grittiness. After cleaning my palate with the seaweed wrapped noodles, I go on to what I thought was the best part of the dish.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Served on an Asian soup spoon was a sushi roll with creamy centre along with chives and a wrap of fish (looks like salmon). I wasn't paying attention to the waiter on this one as I was expecting the oyster to be the hit of this dish and it wasn't on the menu. It has the texture of fish until you hit the mushy interior which fully accentuated the flavour of the meat. The bamboo shoots and soy sauce gave the saltiness it required for balance.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;i&gt;Course One:&lt;/i&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_ACrAV7SFqg0/TAnGAjBKTeI/AAAAAAAAADc/t9UZe6OP43E/s1600/P1030228.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"&gt;&lt;img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_ACrAV7SFqg0/TAnGAjBKTeI/AAAAAAAAADc/t9UZe6OP43E/s200/P1030228.JPG" width="150" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_ACrAV7SFqg0/TAnGH5ljFaI/AAAAAAAAADk/ITq22Ir6Gzw/s1600/P1030229.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"&gt;&lt;img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_ACrAV7SFqg0/TAnGH5ljFaI/AAAAAAAAADk/ITq22Ir6Gzw/s200/P1030229.JPG" width="150" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_ACrAV7SFqg0/TAsy4tBcL5I/AAAAAAAAAFc/ibWFT4sIMqo/s1600/P1030230.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"&gt;&lt;img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_ACrAV7SFqg0/TAsy4tBcL5I/AAAAAAAAAFc/ibWFT4sIMqo/s320/P1030230.JPG" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;i&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: x-small;"&gt;Japanese Inspired Oyster Shooter&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Course number two was the yellowfin tuna with a scoop pannacotta on top and a side of wasabi foam. As I hear pannacotta I'm expecting a mix of a dessert on tuna, lucky for me this was a savoury-sweet fusion that went very well. The wasabi foam was an interesting texture and together with the tuna was the winner for me.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;i&gt;Course Two:&lt;/i&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_ACrAV7SFqg0/TAnGWCJi5JI/AAAAAAAAAD0/mnrkEbVqoZM/s1600/P1030233.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"&gt;&lt;img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_ACrAV7SFqg0/TAnGWCJi5JI/AAAAAAAAAD0/mnrkEbVqoZM/s320/P1030233.JPG" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;i&gt;Yellowfin Tuna Sashimi, bonito pannacotta, sticky soy, horseradish aioli and wasabi foam&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;/div&gt;Time for a drink break! We ended up ordering a Margaret River Shiraz and a Tasmanian Pinot Noir. I am a Shiraz drinker and lived in WA for a while so my palate was in favor of the WA choice.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_ACrAV7SFqg0/TAnGboNdDVI/AAAAAAAAAD8/fpW8-9qTStE/s1600/P1030235.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"&gt;&lt;img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_ACrAV7SFqg0/TAnGboNdDVI/AAAAAAAAAD8/fpW8-9qTStE/s320/P1030235.JPG" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The next course was a wonton dumpling in what was very much like a curry laksa sauce mixed with green curry; a Thai and Chinese fusion. I pointed out to the group that it was probably better texture of sauce that we could ever get around our workplace, add noodles and prawns to this dish and I'll be there in a heartbeat.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The sauce was the best of all the dishes comprising of infused coconut cream together with a juicy crab explosion from within the dumpling. A hint of lime seals the deal with this dish. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;i&gt;Course Three:&lt;/i&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_ACrAV7SFqg0/TAnGihfIlNI/AAAAAAAAAEE/1wuVcYDIyw8/s1600/P1030237.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"&gt;&lt;img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_ACrAV7SFqg0/TAnGihfIlNI/AAAAAAAAAEE/1wuVcYDIyw8/s320/P1030237.JPG" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;i&gt;Steamed Crab and ginger wonton dumpling with tom kha and finger lime&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I am a fan of steamed fish, especially the Chinese way of infused ginger and wrapped in foil to slow cook in an oven for a few hours. I was satisfied with the fresh taste and aroma that escaped the beautiful fleshy Mulloway however the broth was a bit saltier than I would have liked. The broth was much like a jungle curry with the acidity of the tamarind. The presentation was good until the waiters slightly rushed the placing causing the broth to sway around edge of the plate.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;This dish brought back memories of Bangkok; visiting the small food stalls in a massive weekend market that had no English menus. I ordered by means of photos and chose a curry dish in a boat-like bowl. It ended up being the best jungle curry I have had to date. I have no idea why a boat, maybe they were thinking of the Amazon or something. Til this day, I can't for the life of me remember exactly where it was; that search is an adventure I'm looking forward to.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;i&gt;Course Four:&lt;/i&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_ACrAV7SFqg0/TAnGpnjnrDI/AAAAAAAAAEM/PM6q1xS1tUI/s1600/P1030240.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"&gt;&lt;img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_ACrAV7SFqg0/TAnGpnjnrDI/AAAAAAAAAEM/PM6q1xS1tUI/s320/P1030240.JPG" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;i&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: x-small;"&gt;Steamed Mulloway, hand-rolled rice noodle, snake beans, green papaya spiced tomato and tamarind broth&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;To be honest, I had to look up what polenta was; turns out it was food for peasants, basically mashed up grains still with its grainy texture. In this case it had been deep fried in a crispy coating which was cooked to perfection complemented with a tiny quail egg.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;After wiki'ing it, I never thought that polenta could be so tasty, I guess everything fried tastes good, that's my theory anyways. The mushrooms made the dish for me if only it wasn't for the salty soy sauce that soaked into it. This was not a dish that matched my palate completely and I had to sip wine in-between bites but the consistency of the crispy shell and presentation was spot on.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;i&gt;Course Five:&lt;/i&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_ACrAV7SFqg0/TAnGxvtACYI/AAAAAAAAAEU/OXC7Bh3fR0Q/s1600/P1030243.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"&gt;&lt;img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_ACrAV7SFqg0/TAnGxvtACYI/AAAAAAAAAEU/OXC7Bh3fR0Q/s320/P1030243.JPG" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;i&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: x-small;"&gt;Crispy white polenta with sauteed mushrooms, peas, poached egg and soft herbs&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Ah the pork belly, it was my favourite at Maha Bar and Grill which was slow cooked, thick, juicy and full of fat. Unfortunately it was not exactly as soft as I expected and portions of belly a bit stingey. I like at least a chunk of meat; this time I didn't get the chance to taste the belly with two thin slices and double as much salad than meat.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The apple was a refreshing addition which acted as the apple sauce. A re-occurring theme, the salty sauce was unnecessary and the dish would have still been great without it and presentation probably would have been better too. The crackling was left until last and was the perfect combo of crisp and taste.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;i&gt;Course Six:&lt;/i&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_ACrAV7SFqg0/TAnG5PS5CuI/AAAAAAAAAEc/ZoFFjCP5yLQ/s1600/P1030245.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"&gt;&lt;img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_ACrAV7SFqg0/TAnG5PS5CuI/AAAAAAAAAEc/ZoFFjCP5yLQ/s320/P1030245.JPG" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;i&gt;Five spiced bangalow sweet pork belly with yellow bean and peanut dressing, apple and coriander salad&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The first thing I noticed was the coconut rice. It already looked over-boiled, furthermore it seemed to have been mixed with coconut cream after being boiled as I saw chunks of coconut cream throughout the rice. As a primarily Asian consumer, I am used to coconut rice cooked directly with coconut milk so it soaks in the coconut fully and leaves no sogginess to the texture of the rice.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;But moving on to the main part of the dish, I a big duck fan so this was the big test for me to see what the chef's could whip up to convince me that the degustation was worth it. It was sublime; the meat was tender and perfectly cooked along with a desirable layer of duck fat that melded to your tongue as you chewed. The stir fried garlic was an awesome crunchy addition. I wish my local duck place served dishes like this, I'll take the plain rice version.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;i&gt;Course Seven:&lt;/i&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_ACrAV7SFqg0/TAnHAx5lDXI/AAAAAAAAAEk/8eKIHE6CDHA/s1600/P1030247.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"&gt;&lt;img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_ACrAV7SFqg0/TAnHAx5lDXI/AAAAAAAAAEk/8eKIHE6CDHA/s320/P1030247.JPG" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;i&gt;Chinese style roast duck with green chilli and shallot sauce, stir fried garlic shoots, silk melon and coconut rice&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;As you know from my The Meat and Wine Co. post, I am also a massive beef and steak fan. The Wagyu was the final and most anticipated dish by everyone on the table. I was the last to dig in as I wanted to see the reactions of others first. It wasn't a sea of overjoy but my colleagues still polished it off happily. I dug into it and found out why, the texture of the said 7 score wasn't as soft as you would expect and lacked the fattiness due to the thin slices (I think a small chuck would have been more effective). It still had a great full beef flavour and the mash was supreme. Even regarding the above gripes, I would definitely order it again.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;i&gt;Course Eight:&lt;/i&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_ACrAV7SFqg0/TAnHG4jHv1I/AAAAAAAAAEs/zInc9tDuBnk/s1600/P1030249.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"&gt;&lt;img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_ACrAV7SFqg0/TAnHG4jHv1I/AAAAAAAAAEs/zInc9tDuBnk/s320/P1030249.JPG" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;i&gt;Seven score Wagyu beef, creamed truffle potatoes, asparagus, foie gras, king brown mushrooms, sticky shallot sauce and mache salad&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;That's where the mains ended and the dessert began. Of course there had to be a cleanser before the real dessert plate, out came the green tea foam. Everyone reached for their spoons. I had a chuckle and downed it like a vodka shot. It was extremely refreshing and held its form well. In the end I had to grab the spoon too. Did I feel foolish? Nah, innovation is only done by stepping out of the box I say.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;i&gt;Dessert Appetiser:&lt;/i&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_ACrAV7SFqg0/TAnHNisIczI/AAAAAAAAAE0/yp7mwDC_8_Q/s1600/P1030255.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"&gt;&lt;img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_ACrAV7SFqg0/TAnHNisIczI/AAAAAAAAAE0/yp7mwDC_8_Q/s320/P1030255.JPG" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;i&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: x-small;"&gt;Green-tea foam shooter&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The dessert plate looked marvelous. My favourites were the honeycomb ice cream with sugar halo, the sliced apple piece with dried apple slice and&amp;nbsp; the chocolate mousse with raspberry Gelati upon it. The sugar halo was so divine that I stole another two from other tasting plates around the table.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;A couple of the dishes had sugar-like white strips which were not to my liking due to the very dry texture, I think it was meant to be garnish! The pistachio slice was quite plain and needed a flavoursome sauce to complement it, the pistachio mousse at Cafe Vue was more to my liking.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;i&gt;Dessert Plate:&lt;/i&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_ACrAV7SFqg0/TAnHUHMhN1I/AAAAAAAAAE8/CMGxfFSuAcQ/s1600/P1030257.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"&gt;&lt;img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_ACrAV7SFqg0/TAnHUHMhN1I/AAAAAAAAAE8/CMGxfFSuAcQ/s400/P1030257.JPG" width="400" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_ACrAV7SFqg0/TAnHb5-W6FI/AAAAAAAAAFE/bZSM-bHqVi0/s1600/P1030260.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"&gt;&lt;img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_ACrAV7SFqg0/TAnHb5-W6FI/AAAAAAAAAFE/bZSM-bHqVi0/s320/P1030260.JPG" width="320" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_ACrAV7SFqg0/TAnHiLLWftI/AAAAAAAAAFM/ulnhXPvbDNM/s1600/P1030261.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"&gt;&lt;img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_ACrAV7SFqg0/TAnHiLLWftI/AAAAAAAAAFM/ulnhXPvbDNM/s320/P1030261.JPG" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;blockquote style="background-color: #660000; color: white;"&gt;&lt;i&gt;&lt;b&gt;Ezard lives up to its prestige in my books and is well known throughout Australia and possibly globally. Definitely book for weekends and especially if you are having the degustation. Remember that it can take up to 5 hours to complete all courses, you will be full.&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/i&gt; &lt;i&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Perfect for a special occasion especially if work decides to have a function there (many thanks to the bill payer, this was very generous). &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Service is the best you will get. Atmosphere is impeccable.&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/i&gt; &lt;/blockquote&gt;&lt;blockquote style="background-color: #660000; color: white;"&gt;&lt;i&gt;Ezard Restaurant&lt;/i&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;i&gt;187 Flinders Lane, Melbourne  &lt;/i&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;i&gt;03 9639 6811&lt;/i&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;i&gt; &lt;br /&gt;Hours:&lt;br /&gt;Mon-Fri &lt;br /&gt;1200-1430&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Mon-Sat &lt;br /&gt;1800-2230     &lt;/i&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7357862410119222991-7668785499014254718?l=barrelofcaff.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='related' href='http://www.ezard.com.au' title='Ezard'/><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://barrelofcaff.blogspot.com/feeds/7668785499014254718/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://barrelofcaff.blogspot.com/2010/06/ezard.html#comment-form' title='1 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7357862410119222991/posts/default/7668785499014254718'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7357862410119222991/posts/default/7668785499014254718'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://barrelofcaff.blogspot.com/2010/06/ezard.html' title='Ezard'/><author><name>Jace</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/05815220989639691123</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_ACrAV7SFqg0/TAnFXMlfUYI/AAAAAAAAACs/31_fAy3qtUo/s72-c/P1030264.JPG' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>1</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7357862410119222991.post-6206324406184867364</id><published>2010-06-05T13:16:00.002+10:00</published><updated>2010-06-06T16:41:26.125+10:00</updated><title type='text'>The Meat &amp; Wine Co.</title><content type='html'>&amp;nbsp; &lt;br /&gt;Doesn't hearing "Meat" and "Wine" in the same sentence make your mouth water? What about having it in the restaurant name? I can tell you right now that my mouth is watering just typing this. The Meat &amp;amp; Wine Co. in Southbank provides quality cuts, quality wine and an added bonus of quality service with many smiles all round.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_ACrAV7SFqg0/S9vZqe3bcWI/AAAAAAAAABk/3g8-B0nV5Rc/s1600/P1030039.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"&gt;&lt;img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_ACrAV7SFqg0/S9vZqe3bcWI/AAAAAAAAABk/3g8-B0nV5Rc/s400/P1030039.JPG" width="400" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Although I always see fresh faces, the staff here are always happy and cater to any queries you may have without hesitation.. there is always something that I don't understand on the menu no matter how many times I visit, I just forget!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;As an appetiser we decided on herb bread, garlic bread and Bruschetta to stop the rumbling in my gut. The last thing I like is being too hungry when the mains arrive... you never remember what it takes like and I just hoe it down like a caveman. The bread was very fresh with great garlicky aroma.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_ACrAV7SFqg0/S9vZz5QdUfI/AAAAAAAAABs/i26tsgUhRl8/s1600/P1030040.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"&gt;&lt;img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_ACrAV7SFqg0/S9vZz5QdUfI/AAAAAAAAABs/i26tsgUhRl8/s400/P1030040.JPG" width="400" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;i&gt;Garlic Bread / Herb Bread&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;As you can see below, the Bruschetta has a very thick layer of pesto that gives it a really fresh kick. Beautiful!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_ACrAV7SFqg0/S9vZ9mzCoOI/AAAAAAAAAB0/Zhjole9egb0/s1600/P1030041.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"&gt;&lt;img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_ACrAV7SFqg0/S9vZ9mzCoOI/AAAAAAAAAB0/Zhjole9egb0/s400/P1030041.JPG" width="400" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;i&gt;Bruschetta&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;i&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/i&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;If you are into ribs, you must order the full rack of pork ribs and use your fingers for a better experience. The waiters provide you with a bib and side water bowl for finger washing. Get into it! I recommend to share this if you are not a big eater as it up to one kilo of barbecuey goodness. Side of chips are crispy and thick and compliments the barbecue flavour.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_ACrAV7SFqg0/S9vcKSDq8JI/AAAAAAAAACc/he7wHvbjrmw/s1600/P1030043a.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"&gt;&lt;img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_ACrAV7SFqg0/S9vcKSDq8JI/AAAAAAAAACc/he7wHvbjrmw/s400/P1030043a.JPG" width="400" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;i&gt;Full Rack of Pork Ribs&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;If you are the only in your group of friends that wants to dig into ribs, there is a 600 gram option for all beef, pork and lamb options. I tend to choose beef as it always seems to be the meatier option.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_ACrAV7SFqg0/S9vd5qNwVfI/AAAAAAAAACk/yUnWAj9Ivx4/s1600/P1030042a.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"&gt;&lt;img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_ACrAV7SFqg0/S9vd5qNwVfI/AAAAAAAAACk/yUnWAj9Ivx4/s400/P1030042a.JPG" width="400" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;i&gt;Half Rack of Beef Ribs&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;My Favourite and staple order is always the 'simple' rib-eye with peppercorn sauce. The &lt;i&gt;proper&lt;/i&gt; rib-eye, not the American fake version! I got caught out with that one in Vegas, it was not pretty and tasted like spam. Sometimes when I am adventurous I like to upgrade to the Wagyu (Grain Fed 500 days, Marbled score 6+) or Monte Dry-Aged (Aged at a controlled temperature) versions.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The Wagyu is very tender and consistent with evenly layered fat in the cut. Wherever The Meat &amp;amp; Wine Co get their meat, it is definitely a quality source.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_ACrAV7SFqg0/S9vaOOiZUXI/AAAAAAAAACE/zMYhpBADIhQ/s1600/P1030044.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"&gt;&lt;img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_ACrAV7SFqg0/S9vaOOiZUXI/AAAAAAAAACE/zMYhpBADIhQ/s400/P1030044.JPG" width="400" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;i&gt;Rib-Eye 350g (Grain-fed 120 days) with peppercorn sauce&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;At the end of the meal there are no peppercorns left at the bottom of the sauce tray as it is the most addictive taste that blends so well with the hint of marinade used with the meat. The 350 gram cut is plenty for a hearty meal especially when complimented with a few beers or wine. The separately ordered side salad was very fresh with no withered or browning leaves which I seem to get at other steakhouses. Maybe the other steakhouses don't expect you to eat it! Great way to balance the meat-heavy meal.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_ACrAV7SFqg0/S9vaXX_W_fI/AAAAAAAAACM/FR91qsUacY8/s1600/P1030047.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"&gt;&lt;img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_ACrAV7SFqg0/S9vaXX_W_fI/AAAAAAAAACM/FR91qsUacY8/s400/P1030047.JPG" width="400" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;i&gt;Garden Salad (side)&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;For a more traditional side, there is also the option of roasted veg. They are all fresh vegetables that are boiled for just the right amount of time.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_ACrAV7SFqg0/S9vafnhc7iI/AAAAAAAAACU/5UU1kmLkljA/s1600/P1030049.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"&gt;&lt;img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_ACrAV7SFqg0/S9vafnhc7iI/AAAAAAAAACU/5UU1kmLkljA/s400/P1030049.JPG" width="400" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;i&gt;Roast Veg (side)&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: left;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;If you are a wine drinker, the menu displays recommended wines for each type of course type. There is also a kids menu for those who are interested.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;blockquote style="background-color: #660000; color: white;"&gt;&lt;i&gt;&lt;b&gt;The Meat &amp;amp; Wine Co is an internationally recognised franchise that provides quality service and MEAT. If you are vegetarian the options are unfortunately limited but remember you are going to the MEAT &amp;amp; Wine Co. Be sure to book as this place is very busy for dinner all days of the week and for lunches at the weekend.&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;i&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The views of Southbank are spectacular and the restaurant sits close to the city and Crown casino so you can round of your night in those locations. The prices are reasonable compared to the quality you receive and the cleanliness is world-class. I would even visit this restaurant just for the atmosphere because it just has that great feeling.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Great for a casual get-together or an intimate date ;) If you like meat, you'll love this place.&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/i&gt; &lt;/blockquote&gt;&lt;blockquote style="background-color: #660000; color: white;"&gt;&lt;i&gt;The Meat &amp;amp; Wine Co.&lt;/i&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;i&gt;3 Freshwater Place, QueensbridgeSquare, Southbank&lt;/i&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;i&gt;03 9696 5333&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Hours:&lt;br /&gt;Mon-Thurs&lt;br /&gt;1200-1500&lt;br /&gt;1800-2200&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Fri-Sat&lt;br /&gt;1200-Late&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Sunday&lt;br /&gt;1200-2200&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7357862410119222991-6206324406184867364?l=barrelofcaff.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='related' href='http://www.themeatandwineco.com/' title='The Meat &amp; Wine Co.'/><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://barrelofcaff.blogspot.com/feeds/6206324406184867364/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://barrelofcaff.blogspot.com/2010/06/meat-wine-co.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7357862410119222991/posts/default/6206324406184867364'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7357862410119222991/posts/default/6206324406184867364'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://barrelofcaff.blogspot.com/2010/06/meat-wine-co.html' title='The Meat &amp; Wine Co.'/><author><name>Jace</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/05815220989639691123</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_ACrAV7SFqg0/S9vZqe3bcWI/AAAAAAAAABk/3g8-B0nV5Rc/s72-c/P1030039.JPG' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7357862410119222991.post-4948843248451993032</id><published>2010-05-01T17:18:00.000+10:00</published><updated>2010-05-04T21:10:12.820+10:00</updated><title type='text'>Don Don Japanese Take Away</title><content type='html'>&lt;div style="text-align: justify;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;This amazing little place used to be hidden well amongst high-rise apartments and public car parks, yet an explosion of interest in this place began a couple of years ago when word got around about not only the menu but also the amazing prices.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_ACrAV7SFqg0/S9vJXKF16ZI/AAAAAAAAABc/8K86Okq1mgI/s1600/P1030034a.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"&gt;&lt;img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_ACrAV7SFqg0/S9vJXKF16ZI/AAAAAAAAABc/8K86Okq1mgI/s320/P1030034a.JPG" width="320" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: justify;"&gt;This place oozes uniqueness at the same time it is simple,&amp;nbsp; fast and consistent. The meals produced are just simply awesome. Even if you don't typically enjoy traditional Japanese cuisine there is something for you with salmon, beef, chicken and noodle dishes available. This is a place of character with rickety, weak legged tall stools that is a great distraction while you wait 15 seconds for your meal to be available.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: justify;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: justify;"&gt;I always get here just before 12 noon to avoid the rush. Even though peak hour has a queue out the door, it is never really a long wait. I am always more concerned about getting a seat on the hardwood common table that can seat up to 12 people; eating at this table with strangers reminds me of those ramen shops I see in Japanese cartoons, a feeling a homeliness and authenticity.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: justify;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: justify;"&gt;After waiting my 15 seconds, I pick up my staple order of a&lt;i&gt; Chicken Curry Don&lt;/i&gt; &lt;i&gt;($6.70)&lt;/i&gt;.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_ACrAV7SFqg0/S9vFX7puN3I/AAAAAAAAAA8/wzJzpXiUurA/s1600/P1030035.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"&gt;&lt;img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_ACrAV7SFqg0/S9vFX7puN3I/AAAAAAAAAA8/wzJzpXiUurA/s320/P1030035.JPG" width="320" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;i&gt;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: left;"&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: left;"&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;i&gt;Chicken Curry Don&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: justify;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: small;"&gt;The aroma of the curry is so distinct and would even make a full man hungry again. The freshly barbecued meat sits &lt;/span&gt;on a bed of rice with a side of veges. The curry sauce is separated, leaving the job of regulating the curry intake to yourself. I usually finish everything on the plate!&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: justify;"&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: justify;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: justify;"&gt;My other favourite is the most popular dish, the &lt;i&gt;Don Don Box ($8.40)&lt;/i&gt;.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;i&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_ACrAV7SFqg0/S9vFgRiMs7I/AAAAAAAAABE/0dMO-kAKEPk/s1600/P1030036.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"&gt;&lt;img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_ACrAV7SFqg0/S9vFgRiMs7I/AAAAAAAAABE/0dMO-kAKEPk/s320/P1030036.JPG" width="320" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;i&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: x-small;"&gt;Don Don Box&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: justify;"&gt;Sectioned portioned BBQ chicken pieces and thin beef strips make this a very hearty meal for the price. It is well balanced with a salad and fruits as a mini dessert. There are order variations also available, I like to order a chicken-chicken Don Don box which replaces the beef with more chicken.. I love the chicken pieces with the strong BBQ flavour and a hint of saltiness from the seaweed.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: justify;"&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: justify;"&gt;The salads and fruit provided usually change with what is in season and is fresh most of the time depending on market availability. Most treat it as garnish, but I think it offsets the saltiness of the seaweed and sauces in the meats.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: justify;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: justify;"&gt;After a gym workout I usually like my hit of protein. I find my fair share in the &lt;i&gt;Sashi Don&lt;/i&gt;.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_ACrAV7SFqg0/S9vFw44CrtI/AAAAAAAAABU/IX0hs5iYgms/s1600/P1030038.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"&gt;&lt;img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_ACrAV7SFqg0/S9vFw44CrtI/AAAAAAAAABU/IX0hs5iYgms/s320/P1030038.JPG" width="320" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;i&gt;Sashi Don&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;i&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: small;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: justify;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: small;"&gt;The salmon is always fresh and is accompanied by ginger and various in-season veges. In my opinion, this dish presents the most value as I'm aways comparing to the price of salmon in the supermarket.&lt;/span&gt; The portion of fish is large and very filling, most likely the reason why there is only a&amp;nbsp; small amount of rice given.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: left;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: left;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_ACrAV7SFqg0/S9vFnwwbLeI/AAAAAAAAABM/lfgtT6c6-dY/s1600/P1030037.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"&gt;&lt;img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_ACrAV7SFqg0/S9vFnwwbLeI/AAAAAAAAABM/lfgtT6c6-dY/s320/P1030037.JPG" width="240" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &lt;span style="font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;i&gt;Lime "green" Drink&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: left;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: justify;"&gt;Don't forget to also order a lime drink to wash the palate with a refreshing fruity tang. It is either the lime drink or coke available. I always order it as the "green drink"... they know what I'm talking about.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: justify;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;blockquote style="background-color: #660000; color: white;"&gt;&lt;i&gt;&lt;b&gt;Don Don Take Away (or "DonDon's") is not just purely take away and gives off a sense of a art deco apartment mixed with Japanese flavours and sometimes complimented with reggae/funk music to get you into a relaxed eating mode. It can be chaotic for about 20 minutess a day during peak lunch times on work days but other times are very cruisy and relaxed. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;A tiny gripe is that the recent small price rises now makes my order of food and drink to be $10.10 or $10.30. Argh the small change factor! A small thing but having the confidence that I could order anything with a drink for under a tenner was definitely a plus.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Still, this is the best value and fastest service in the outer Southbank area. Remember to get in early for a seat on the common table so you can rock to and fro on the rocking stools to the beat of funky music.&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;blockquote style="background-color: #660000; color: white;"&gt;Don Don&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;5 Bank Street, Southbank&lt;br /&gt;03 9696 6682&lt;/blockquote&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7357862410119222991-4948843248451993032?l=barrelofcaff.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='related' href='http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/71/1483970/restaurant/Southbank/Don-Don-Melbourne' title='Don Don Japanese Take Away'/><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://barrelofcaff.blogspot.com/feeds/4948843248451993032/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://barrelofcaff.blogspot.com/2010/05/don-don-japanese-take-away.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7357862410119222991/posts/default/4948843248451993032'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7357862410119222991/posts/default/4948843248451993032'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://barrelofcaff.blogspot.com/2010/05/don-don-japanese-take-away.html' title='Don Don Japanese Take Away'/><author><name>Jace</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/05815220989639691123</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_ACrAV7SFqg0/S9vJXKF16ZI/AAAAAAAAABc/8K86Okq1mgI/s72-c/P1030034a.JPG' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7357862410119222991.post-3989391253087464641</id><published>2010-04-21T21:53:00.000+10:00</published><updated>2010-05-03T22:10:15.077+10:00</updated><title type='text'>Cafe Vue @ 401</title><content type='html'>&lt;div style="text-align: justify;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;At work, we had just finished a long project so we decided to celebrate in style and try the spin-off restaurant of&amp;nbsp; the famous Vue de Monde. &lt;i&gt;Caf&lt;/i&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: small;"&gt;&lt;i&gt;é&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;i&gt; Vue&lt;/i&gt; is located along the busy street of St Kilda Road on the corner of Toorak Road amongst other lunch bars and food courts. For a Wednesday, it was extremely busy compared to any of the surrounding options.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: justify;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: justify;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: justify;"&gt;Due to the 'special' booking, we were placed at the main table at the rear of the restaurant with, what I thought was, a giant birdcage hovering over it. Quite interesting. The first thing I noticed was the random cutlery, everyone had a mixture of bread knives, sporks, dessert forks and mini serrated knives.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: justify;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: justify;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: justify;"&gt;The menu had quite a lot of variety, and it was all 'frenched' up. As I had a chuckle when one of my colleagues asked me what a &lt;i&gt;pomme frite &lt;/i&gt;was, I ordered a 3 course meal option or what is called the &lt;i&gt;Menu du jour &lt;/i&gt;or "Menu of the day" in English. The meal was priced at $45 (2 course is available for $35), and for good measure I also ordered a glass of their cheapest &lt;i&gt;Shiraz&lt;/i&gt;. &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: justify;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: justify;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;i&gt;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: justify;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: justify;"&gt;The first to arrive was the &lt;i&gt;fresh pasta with truffle sauce and shimeji mushrooms&lt;/i&gt;. A creamy and light texture moistened by truffle oil, not too salty and not too filling. The mushroom flavour was not overpowering and a lot of colleagues were confused about where truffle sauce actually was. Again I chuckled :)&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_ACrAV7SFqg0/S87bpkf4qWI/AAAAAAAAAAM/sTSl8lezpAE/s1600/IMG_0686%5B1%5D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"&gt;&lt;img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_ACrAV7SFqg0/S87bpkf4qWI/AAAAAAAAAAM/sTSl8lezpAE/s320/IMG_0686%5B1%5D.JPG" width="320" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;i&gt;fresh pasta with truffle sauce and shimeji mushrooms&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: justify;"&gt;My friend had ordered the &lt;i&gt;crab rémoulade with fresh apple&lt;/i&gt;. It was apparently only average due to the lack of sauce to combat the strong crab flavour, and he did not appreciate the way the food was presented. In my opinion, I think that he thinks he is a seafood connoisseur. It looked great to me!&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_ACrAV7SFqg0/S87eGX6N6UI/AAAAAAAAAAU/5kYC2s9mslc/s1600/IMG_0687%5B1%5D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"&gt;&lt;img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_ACrAV7SFqg0/S87eGX6N6UI/AAAAAAAAAAU/5kYC2s9mslc/s320/IMG_0687%5B1%5D.JPG" width="320" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;i&gt;crab rémoulade with fresh apple&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: justify;"&gt;It was at this point that I decided to put down my phone (yes, this was unplanned so my phone was my camera). I totally forgot to take a photo of my main! I remembered after I finished because I was so excited at first glance.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_ACrAV7SFqg0/S87f2vNb-II/AAAAAAAAAAs/Prk51o9kjJ8/s1600/IMG_0563%5B1%5D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"&gt;&lt;img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_ACrAV7SFqg0/S87f2vNb-II/AAAAAAAAAAs/Prk51o9kjJ8/s320/IMG_0563%5B1%5D.JPG" width="320" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;i&gt;braised beef cheeks with roasted vegetables&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/span&gt; &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: justify;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: justify;"&gt;Out came the &lt;i&gt;roasted wagyu with crispy brisket &lt;/i&gt;with beef cooked in three ways. Crispy 'mini strips', stewed and a mini steak. It reminded me of the &lt;i&gt;braised beef cheeks with roasted vegetables&lt;/i&gt; I had 2 weeks ago on the menu of that particular day. The steak lay on a bed of smooth and creamy potato mash and a smear of what I thought was a mustard and pumpkin mix. It was divine.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: justify;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: justify;"&gt;Every piece of beef didn't melt in the mouth much like the beef cheeks and I struggled slightly with the bread knives I had, but it was cooked to a lovely medium rare and was full of texture and had a burst of juices.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_ACrAV7SFqg0/S87eMMcYVLI/AAAAAAAAAAc/r8ndduzqu6M/s1600/IMG_0690%5B1%5D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"&gt;&lt;img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_ACrAV7SFqg0/S87eMMcYVLI/AAAAAAAAAAc/r8ndduzqu6M/s320/IMG_0690%5B1%5D.JPG" width="320" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;i&gt;hazelnut soufflé&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/span&gt; &lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: justify;"&gt;Last but not least was the desserts. This is when I checked my phone for an email and it clicked in my brain... 'get ready to take a photo'. The dishes that were about to arrive looked great on delivery. I dived right in and the fork disappeared into a spongy world of &lt;i&gt;hazelnut soufflé&lt;/i&gt;. The fork was happy and so was my palate. It was fresh, hot, soft and nutty. Just like some people I know.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_ACrAV7SFqg0/S87eOcoKBNI/AAAAAAAAAAk/3oxZDbe1Kyw/s1600/IMG_0689%5B1%5D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"&gt;&lt;img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_ACrAV7SFqg0/S87eOcoKBNI/AAAAAAAAAAk/3oxZDbe1Kyw/s320/IMG_0689%5B1%5D.JPG" width="320" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: x-small;"&gt;&lt;i&gt;strawberry mille-feuille&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/span&gt; &lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: justify;"&gt;My mate had a &lt;i&gt;strawberry mille-feuille&lt;/i&gt;. Again, this was compared to my choice and did not reach the same heights of pleasure that I encountered. At this stage, I think the wine was helping me achieve this over exaggerated ecstasy as well as the three TVs with constantly repeating scenes. Funky.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: justify;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: justify;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: justify;"&gt;To me, you cannot pass up layers of fruit and cream seperated by wafer discs. It just looks awesome.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: justify;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: justify;"&gt;Lessons from this blog.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: justify;"&gt;1. Remember a high quality camera that can focus&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: justify;"&gt;2. Always order any beef dish, they are all delish&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: justify;"&gt;3. Don't forget to take photos! lol&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: justify;"&gt;&lt;blockquote style="background-color: #660000; color: white;"&gt;&lt;i&gt;&lt;b&gt;Café Vue is a cute restaurant with a fully stocked bar and a speedy kitchen. Also available is a $15 lunch box available, which can be delivered to workers with no time for lunch. A peaceful experience for lunch. Not sure if you would experience the same atmosphere in the evenings due to the location which is busy during the day but not so much at night. Reservations can be taken for Menu du Jour option only.&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;blockquote style="background-color: #660000; color: white;"&gt;Café Vue&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;401 St Kilda Road (cnr Toorak Road)&lt;br /&gt;03 9866 8055&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Hours:&lt;br /&gt;Mon-Fri &lt;br /&gt;7am – 11pm&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Sat/Sun&lt;br /&gt;8am – 11pm &lt;/blockquote&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7357862410119222991-3989391253087464641?l=barrelofcaff.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='related' href='http://www.vuedemonde.com.au/cafe-vue.aspx' title='Cafe Vue @ 401'/><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://barrelofcaff.blogspot.com/feeds/3989391253087464641/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://barrelofcaff.blogspot.com/2010/04/cafe-vue-401.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7357862410119222991/posts/default/3989391253087464641'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7357862410119222991/posts/default/3989391253087464641'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://barrelofcaff.blogspot.com/2010/04/cafe-vue-401.html' title='Cafe Vue @ 401'/><author><name>Jace</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/05815220989639691123</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_ACrAV7SFqg0/S87bpkf4qWI/AAAAAAAAAAM/sTSl8lezpAE/s72-c/IMG_0686%5B1%5D.JPG' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7357862410119222991.post-2981388943383939666</id><published>2010-04-21T20:55:00.000+10:00</published><updated>2010-05-03T23:59:11.849+10:00</updated><title type='text'>First Post</title><content type='html'>&amp;nbsp; &lt;br /&gt;Ah yes, first post. It is an awesome feeling to get my own word out on the web. Invigorating perhaps. This all started when my friend Devan started writing a blog of all the delicious food and coffees around Perth (&lt;a href="http://bowlofhoney.com/"&gt;bowlofhoney.com&lt;/a&gt;). I was jealous of the reactions he was receiving as well as how well he wrote reviews.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;So.... I have decided to start the cheap, nasty, unofficial and informal brother site for Melbournites so I can remember where I have been so I can take Devan and other visitors there when they visit.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I am salavating at the thought of documenting scrumptious delights from restaurant I don't even know about. Please enjoy and feel free to leave comments.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7357862410119222991-2981388943383939666?l=barrelofcaff.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://barrelofcaff.blogspot.com/feeds/2981388943383939666/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://barrelofcaff.blogspot.com/2010/04/first-post.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7357862410119222991/posts/default/2981388943383939666'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7357862410119222991/posts/default/2981388943383939666'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://barrelofcaff.blogspot.com/2010/04/first-post.html' title='First Post'/><author><name>Jace</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/05815220989639691123</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry></feed>
