The Moat, Melbourne

A little secret and highly likable.

3.5 / 5 yums! 
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Where? 176 Little Lonsdale St, Melbourne, VIC

San Telmo, Melbourne

Meat. Grilled seriously.

4 / 5 yums! 
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Where? 14 Meyers Place, Melbourne, VIC

Jalan Alor, Melbourne

Decent, big tasting Malaysian. Just don’t expect to eat at the same time as your dining partner unless you order the same thing. If you want to do that, go get a UZM and KFC2.

3 / 5 yums! 
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Where? 7/206-218 Bourke Street, Melbourne, VIC
What? Around $10

Wonderbao, Melbourne

Wunderbar!!!  Bao bao on bao.

Hu Tong Dumpling Bar, Melbourne

Not so dirty dumplings.

1806, Melbourne

Cocktail connoisseur.

Kokoro Ramen, Melbourne

An Australian summer is a strange time of year to be opening a hot soup noodle joint. But that only serves as an early preview to what we could be getting stuck into come winter.



Gyoza



Tonkotsu Shio with char siu.



Tonkotsu Miso with spicy mince pork.



Tonkotsu Shoyu comes with a generous slab of pork belly, char siu and that creamy yolk half egg . A broth that is clean, natural yet deliciously fatty.



Tonkotsu Miso with soft shell crab – a richer, spicier flavour, the soup silky with fattiness. Gonna go straight to my hips.

The Japanese noodle dish is king as rice is sent to the back page of the menu. Keep it there. The ramen Melbourne had to have.

3.5 / 5 yums!
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Where? 157 Lonsdale Street, Melbourne, VIC
What? Ramen $13+

Gami Chicken & Beer, Melbourne

The new simple night out presented by Korean styled fried chicken and a keg load of booze. Supported by other classics done well, and some not so classic.



Original fried chicken in it’s own secret recipe of herbs and spices. It’s crispiness as if excessively dabbed with blotting paper, dehydrated and sun baked. Love it.



50/50 plate of flavoured fried chicken with a sweet chilli, and sweet ginger soy sauces.



Beer washes it all down, and makes you forget about the arteries closing over. And about your mum.



Seafood or Kim-chi pancakes - Dense, but pillowy soft with a bit of spring.



Chicken Gizzards – for the initiated.



Simply fried corn and cheese – intense, and probably definitely for the initiated.



Fried Dumplings – rip into the chewy blistered casing.

Putting a new K in KFC.

4.5 / 5 yums!
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Where? 100 Little Lonsdale Street, Melbourne, VIC
What? Plates of chicken around $25-30, rest $10-15, Kegs $30ish

Spice Temple, Melbourne

I was premature in Sydney. In Melbourne I just wanted it to last all night long…

With the success Mr Perry has had lately with his contemporary Rockpool empire you could easily forget that he has a Chinese tongue that has tasted Mongolian beef and probably dismissed as offensive, even for a Chinese Crested-Chihuahua.

You might as well close your eyes in a restaurant setting more suitable for a seedy adult cinema. But visuals are not needed as Mr Perry paints the flavours of China with woks, pots and pans for your eager palate.



Go the banquet if you have at least four, which in a word is delicious.








Mr Perry is ah McCain. You’ve done it again.

4 / 5 yums!
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Where? Crown Entertainment Complex, 8 Whiteman Street, Southbank, VIC
What? Banquet around $90

Mrs Parmas, Melbourne

Pub. Beer. Parmas. Flattened chicken or veal in original or other creative choices such as Mexican, Hawaiian and more. As the super parmas boys might say, good plate to meat to plate ratio, and nicely browned cheese.



That is all.


3 / 5 yums!
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Where? 25 Little Bourke Street, Melbourne, VIC
What? Parmas around $20-25

Movida Aqui, Melbourne

Next time you’re walking down the street, check out those with glazed eyes and nervous shakes. There’s a good chance that they’ve been to one of the three Movidas dealing the Spanish to Melbourne addicts.



Pincho de Tortilla – egg, potato, onions



Bocadillo de Calameres – a mini sanga of lightly battered and fried calamari with mayo… what’s the legal limit on these things?



Bomba – it really is a Catalan potato bomb filled with chorizo that detonates in the mouth. Silky smooth spud, slightly spicy, creamy tangy sauce to bring it all together.



Romesco de Peix – seafood mix with a deep lobster bisque.



Carrillera de Buey – slowly braised beef cheek in Pedro Ximenez on cauliflower puree.



Sopa Inglesa – strawberry and Pedro Ximenez trifle with crème catalan and candied almonds.

I’m stuffed and need rehab.


4.5 / 5 yums!
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Where? 1/500-512 Bourke Street, Melbourne, VIC
What? Smalls between $4-7, Larges between $16-25