The Restaurant
My neighbour, Jasmine and I were looking up for a restaurant to dine in around our area (we lived around Flagstaff) and we accidentally came across this little Japanese restaurant on Urbanspoon.
Surprisingly the mobile review of this restaurants are all positive (which is pretty rare) and we decided to give this a try. All in all, this relatively new restaurant (less than a year since opening) is a hidden gem, food is decent and very affordable! Should give this a try if you would like to spoil yourself with some Japanese Food without causing a big hole in your pocket!
This restaurant was pretty quiet the time we dined in.
What to Eat?
Read that Gyoza is great (and cheap!!! $5 for 6 gyozas!); Sashimi Set and they brew pretty good coffee too :)
Ok I like their menu! All restaurants should have a menu with photos! Descriptive!
My Sashimi Set! $14.5! o.O Came with rice, salad, side dishes, and miso soup! Beat that! Salmon, Kingfish and Tuna i believe. Pretty fresh :) The only thing I dislike on the plate is the side dish (not the seaweed, is the other potato-looking dish)
Onkonomiyaki (Japanese Pancake). Good stuff! Only $5.
Jasmine's Oyako Don
Hashi's Green Tea
Crepe with Icecream serves two. Crepe's texture is different from crepes from Roule Gallette but not too bad :)
Japanese High Tea eh? :D
Iced Coffee! Pretty good actually! :)
Disclaimer
Half way through our dinner, I was spotted by the owner as a food blogger (as I keep snapping photos of the menu and food). And towards the end of the dinner we were offered a complimentary desserts (crepe, green tea and iced chocolate).
With that being said, the review is not biased and I think this restaurant should really be given more recognition and more people should try this cheap eat Japanese restaurant and see for youself! :)
Thanks Bryan & his partner for their generosity and friendly service.
How to Go?
When to Go?
Opening Hours:
Mon: 730am-9pm
Tue: 730am-9pm
Wed: 730am-9pm
Thu: 730am-9pm
Fri: 730am-9pm
Sat: 11am-9pm
Sun: CLOSED
The Restaurant
This is insane! We arrived at the restaurant at around 6pm and the restaurant was already packed with people!!! Thanks to the recent hype built up by bloggers and reviews!
Since no bookings is allowed, be there earlier (like 530pm) to avoid the long queue. (and I think this piece of advice has just worsen this self-perpetuating cycle of earlier dinner time at Chin Chin)
Luckily enough, we managed to get a table for 7 people after a wait for less than 5 minutes. The trade off is, we have to squeeze in a table normally designed for 4 people and has to finish our meal by 715pm.
Busy Busy Busy. Despite this, our waiter is pretty attentive and patient! :)
Chin Chin - A fusion of Asian and Western culinary? :)
The bar and the BIG mirror :)
What to Eat?
They changed their menu the very day we were here at the restaurant. 15 November!
The famous Eggnet has disappeared from the menu :(
BUT YOU HAVE TO TRY their CARAMELIZED STICKY PORK! This is insanely nice! Crispy, generous sauce and is appetizing!
Heard KingFish Sashimi is one of the popular dishes of the restaurant too :)
Da new menu
Complimentary egg with oyster from chef! :)
Pork Roll Up! :D Tasted like Malaysian Popiah! You have to wrap this yourself! :))) This is pretty good in my view despite some reviews saying that this dish is a bit overrated.
Stir fired asparagus & oyster mushroom (Vegetarian friendly). Like the asparagus much!
Wok fried Cuttlefish with Papaya Salad. gosh this is a bit spicy for me =__= But it is a appetizing if you like spicy stuff :)
Massaman Curry of Coconut Braised Hopkins River Beef Brisket with pink fur apple potators & crispy shallot! YUM! A lot of textures! Like seriously!!! :)
Aromatic Penang Curry (V) YUMMM with thai eggplant & sweet potatoes :D yesh we have a vegetarian on our table :)
Jeng Jeng Jeng the Oscar of the night: CARAMALISED STICKY PORK THIS IS A MUST ORDER!! Crispy, appetizing & saucy :)
Great dining experience! Would definitely come back! :)
How to Go?
When to Go?
Opening Times: n/a
Open for Lunch & Dinner. (For dinner go EARLY! like 530pm!)
The Restaurant
Petaling Street is literally the Chinatown in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, a street famous for its food and shopping :)
If you love eating fish like me, you would love this restaurant. Where in Melbourne could you possibly find such as deal. A whole fish with rice for $12.80!?
What to Eat?
Fish in Asam sauce! Look at the generous serving of sauce :) I ate 2.5 bowls of rice with this!
Revisited Petaling Street for the second time in a week. Fish with Soyo Sauce!
How to Go?
When to Go?
Opening Hours:
Mon: 8am-3am
Tue: 8am-3am
Wed: 8am-3am
Thu: 8am-3am
Fri: 8am-3am
Sat: 8am-3am
Sun: 8am-3am
The Restaurant
This is literally my FIRST restaurant in Melbourne when I arrived at Melbourne 3 years ago. Since then, another 3 years has passed before I revisited this restaurant recently.
No big changes. Nasi Lemak is still pretty decent. Like the variety of Nasi Lemak; generous portion of rice and sauce. The price is reasonable according to Melbourne standard. (From a Malaysian perspective though, the price is a bit outrageous since you could easily get literally 25 serves of Nasi Lemak with AUD$10 in Malaysia). Still, it is still one of the cheap eats around the University.
And of course, despite the name of the restaurant and the large variety of Nasi Lemak, they do serve other dishes like Laksa as well :)
What to Eat?
Nasi Lemak Nyonya with Beef Rendang! YUM! Sauce is great!!!
Nasi Lemak Kelantan. If you are looking for something less spicy and sweet, you should definitely try this!
How to Go?
When to Go?
Opening Hours:
Mon: 11am-10pm
Tue: 11am-10pm
Wed: 11am-10pm
Thu: 11am-10pm
Fri: 11am-10pm
Sat: 12pm-10pm
Sun: 12pm-10pm
380 Little Bourke St
Melbourne, VIC 3000
Website: n/a
-Read more about Blok M on Urbanspoon-The Restaurant
I have my first Intervarsity Games team meeting here! Located around Hardware Lane; and other famous restaurants like +39 Pizzeria & Brother Baba Budan, this little Indonesian restaurant is often overlooked. Their food is actually pretty good and CHEAP!
What to Eat?
Ikan Balado (Deep fried fish in spicy Balado sauce) OR Chicken Balado is always good :)
If you are looking for something more exotic, try Grilled Ox Tail and Ayam Bakar (Grilled Chicken)!!! :)
Ikan Balado (Deep fried fish in spicy Balado sauce) . NOM NOM NOM** sauce is great!
How to Go?
When to Go?
Opening Hours:
Mon: 11am-10pm
Tue: 11am-10pm
Wed: 11am-10pm
Thu: 11am-9pm
Fri: 11am-9pm
Sat: 11am-9pm
Sun: 11am-10pm
7/206 Bourke St
Melbourne, VIC 3000
Website: n/a
-Read more about Jalan Alor on Urbanspoon-The Restaurant
Hidden away from Chinatown in Building 206 Bourke St which houses restaurants like Rainbow and Red Silk, this little Malaysian restaurant has a lot to offer :) My Malaysian friends have been talking about this restaurant and it turned out to be better than I expected!
Service is incredibly fast (less than 10 minutes to them to dish up a delicious meal) and the food is reasonably priced!
Jalan Alor :)
The Big Mirror outside the restaurant is the usual spot for photo taking. Asian Style RAWRRRR
What to Eat?
My friends like this dish especially much: Deep-fried Fish Head Curry! So if you happened to have a cravings for fish, why not give it a try :)
Although I haven't tried it for myself, heard Penang Har Me (Prawn Noodle) is great too :)
How to Go?
When to Go?
Opening Hours: n/a
Open for Lunch & Dinner everyday
The Restaurant
Hidden at the quieter side of Chinatown alley, the restaurant claims to be Melbourne's FIRST Korean Restaurant in its website.
REALLY!??? The restaurant doesn't look that old to me. Haha.
Pretty decent meal :)
What to Eat?
Table BBQ!!!! Everyone is eating that!!!! And they have a lot of BBQ Banquet to be picked from!!!
But instead of Table BBQ, we order individual dishes to share among 4 people:
Oh nom nom nom free Banchan :D
Beef with Rice Cake in Soy Sauce. Pretty decent, rice cake is chewy :)
Seafood Hotpot. We ordered too much and in the end we were just too full to finish up this dish =/
Korean seafood pancake. Decent but would like it to be a bit thicker though.
Soy Chicken Dop Bap. This is quite good!
How to Go?
When to Go?
Opening Hours:
Mon: 10am-late
Tue: 10am-late
Wed: 10am-late
Thu: 10am-late
Fri: 10am-late
Sat: 11am-late
Sun: 11am-late
NB: Lunch Specials 11am – 4pm
The Restaurant
Located alongside with Coconut House (Malaysian) and Rose Garden (Chinese), this Japanese Restaurant is definitely a CHEAP EAT TOOO!!!! :D
The portion is so big :) So next time if you are hungry and you have no ideas what to eat, go to Franklin St/Elizabeth St! :)
What to Eat?
Gyoza as appetizers :D
Menya's Agedashi Tofu. Doesn't taste as good as Big Mama, Swanston St. Fairly disappointed.
Katsu Don! It must be one of the most popular dishes! OMG the portion is SO BIG for the price!!!! CHEAP EAT!!!!
How to Go?
When to Go?
Opening Hours:
Mon: 1030am-930pm
Tue: 1030am-930pm
Wed: 1030am-930pm
Thu: 1030am-930pm
Fri: 1030am-930pm
Sat: 1030am-930pm
Sun: 1030am-930pm
The Restaurant
With so many "Izakaya" restaurants in Melbourne, we stumbled upon this after not being able to get a place at Izakaya Den.
This restaurant is quite spacious (with two floors) and is suitable for a large group of people!!! (could easily fit in a group of more than 20 people!)
What to Eat?
Try their Skewers!!!! Ox tongue yakitori; grilled ox tongue marinated in miso; chicken skewers grilled with teriyaki sauce! [Wish I found this out earlier!]
And if you fancy a bottle of sake, they have a variety of sake in house ! :)
Wafu Steak! This is GREAT! You have to try this to believe :D The sauce is awesome I could eat bowls of rice with it :)
Karisu Don (beef is tenderly cook & easy to swallow. Suitable for lazy people like me who don't fancy chewing much )
Lunch Bento Box!! Definitely worth the bucks!!! Plus you get to choose 3 side dishes :)
How to Go?
When to Go?
Opening Hours:
Mon: 12pm-2pm // 6pm-11pm
Tue: 12pm-2pm // 6pm-11pm
Wed: 12pm-2pm // 6pm-11pm
Thu: 12pm-2pm // 6pm-11pm
Fri: 12pm-2pm // 6pm-11pm
Sat: 6pm-11pm
Sun: CLOSED
NB: Last order 1015pm!
What to Eat?
Another Izakaya Restaurants in the CBD area. This restaurant is a bit pricey to me though. The portion is a bit too small for the price on the menu?
But they do have a large range of dishes to be chosen from. Check out their menu before you stumble upon their doorsteps!http://www.izakayachuji.com/menus/izakaya_chuji_cbd_menu.pdf 
Tempura Combination. Decent.
Sashimi Platter (Small) $18. The sashimi was fresh, just the portion as its name implies, too small for my liking.
How to Go?
When to Go?
Opening Hours:
Mon: 12pm-215pm // 6pm-1030pm
Tue: 12pm-215pm // 6pm-1030pm
Wed: 12pm-215pm // 6pm-1030pm
Thu: 12pm-215pm // 6pm-1030pm
Fri: 12pm-215pm // 6pm-1130pm
Sat: 12pm-215pm // 6pm-1130pm
Sun: 6pm-1030pm
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