Meat Me Souvlakeri

Cuisine: Greek
24 Eaton Mall 
Oakleigh, VIC 3166
http://meatmesouvlakeri.mpresence.net/

We don't usually go out and eat souvlakis together as a family lunch so this was a pleasant change. Meat Me was nice and clean, bustling with European customers so we were excited for our order to come. 

Lamb Gyros plate ($15.90)

 Chicken Gyros plate ($15.90)

 Chicken Souvlaki plate skewers ($15.90)

Each of our plates was served with chips, salad, tzatziki and pita. For those who aren't familiar with Greek food, tzatziki is a Greek yogurt sauce for gyros or souvalaki. The herbs were fragrant on the meat and full of flavour and texture yet we loved how it was not dry or too oily. The meat wrapped in soft pita bread with tzatziki sauce was heavenly. It's great that it has a little bit of everything on the plate feeling like I've had a somewhat balanced diet even though ordering souvlakis. It may not look like much but we were holding our stomachs afterwards!

We ordered some after meal coffees:  Soy Cappuccino and Freddo Cappuccino. Both were surprisingly good. Michael ordered the Freddo and I've never had it before so I gave it a try. Coffee was so strong and fragrant. I tried mixing the thick layer of cold milk on the top with the coffee on the bottom to get a more harmonious blend of cappuccino but I felt it was too overpowering for my taste. I much prefer the hot normal version of cappuccino a lot more but Michael really enjoyed it though. I highly recommend coffee lovers to give it a try. 

Overall

Service was good and price was very reasonable. Amidst the plethora of competition Meat Me still has their own clientele signalling the quality and authenticity of their food. I would definitely come here again with friends to chill or have a nice brunch. 

Food: 7/10

Service: 6/10

Cost: Cheap Eats

Overall Dining Experience: 7/10

Miss Marples

Cuisine: Tea, English

382 Mount Dandenong Tourist Rd

Sassafras, VIC 3787 

http://www.missmarples.com.au/

This whole week has been way too wet and cold to do 1000 steps so Mama Nomalicious and I decided to go to Miss Marples. She's been there a few times taking our friends from overseas as it's a must see tourist hot spot as well as a pleasant wind down for the locals. Due to the weather we did not have to wait for a table and was seated almost immediately. 

Inside, the place was cosy with dainty tables covered in floral table cloths. Each table carry a small centerpiece of fresh flowers which gives an elegant and homely touch. 

Cappuccino mug size ($4.50)

The coffee was surprisingly good and simple. It was the hottest coffee that I've had in a while since most places would rather not let the milk get too hot to make it easier for them to do pretty coffee art. Coffee was aromatic and milky, and did not taste burnt at all even though the mug was hot to the touch.

English breakfast tea served in a filter bag ($3.95/person)

Chicken cottage pie ($14.50) - Country England specialty is a delicious potato topped pie accompanied by 'Miss Marple's Own' sauce

This dish was very disappointing. Bland to the taste and warm. I had to add a fair bit of salt and pepper to bring out the flavour. The sauce was a delectable but cold so when I ate the pie with the sauce the already barely warm pie was even colder.  Portion was also small which allowed plentiful room to order dessert.  

Quiche lorraine (Egg and bacon) ($16) - Served with "hot" chipped potatoes and garden salad 

Mama Nomalicious ordered this and the inside of the quiche was light and fluffy with salty bacon bits on the outside. The egg and light crust eaten together is the best combination or else you get one bite being very salty and the next lacking in flavour. 

Belgium waffles ($13.50) - two lightly toasted waffles served with cream and ice cream, mixed berries and raspberry sauce

After having eyed other tables around us ordering this dessert, it looked very appetising and beautiful so we had to order it. Sadly, it wasn't as amazing as it looked. The toasted waffles were very hard and personally I feel it would be better without toasting. 

Overall

Inside was very stuffy and hot even though it wasn't completely packed (this is coming from someone that does not break a sweat easily). I was very disappointed and it definitely did not live up to its hype. I would only go there if visiting friends requested me to take them or else, I'll take my high tea/English food cravings elsewhere. 

Food: 5.5/10

Service: 7/10

Cost: Reasonable

Overall dining experience: 6/10

 

Bazaar Marketplace

Cuisine: Buffet
7 Staghorn Ave
Surfers Paradise, QLD 4217

http://www.qtgoldcoast.com.au/food-drink/bazaar/

We arrived a lot earlier than our 7pm reservation as we were both very tired of walking around Gold Coast and just wanted to sit down and relax. We went in and asked if we were able to get seated and the fellow at the front was just extremely nice and accommodating. He brought us to our seats which went past all the scrumptious delicacies and he gave us a rundown of the dishes available for the night and how the marketplace concept works. (Buffet $69 per person)

The Bazaar Marketplace has a unique concept where not only can you grab your own food but they also encourage interaction with the chefs behind the counter just like a marketplace.  All dishes are not labelled which gives you the opportunity to ask the chefs and they will take down your table number when you ask for their made to order tasters. We really love the open kitchen and hanging food really sets the theme and also allowing you to peer in and watch the chefs at work.  

Salad station

Seafood station

Slow cooked roast station

Antipasti station

We ordered a 250mL Brown Brothers Shiraz to start off with which came in an adorable small decanter and our waitress for the night professionally poured into our pristine deep glasses. 

Then off we went to dig in starting from the very front of the line of stations. We were given our plates and was immediately asked whether we wanted to start off with their tasting plate which consisted of deep fried mini tortilla with beef and spicy sauce, croquette and prawn with black bean. Of course we did! Our mission was to try EVERYTHING tonight. He noted down our table number and we continued on and got our first round of fresh seafood. 

When we got back to our table, the tasting plate was already set down and waiting for us and a bowl of lemon water and empty bowl for our seafood shells. We loved the presentation on the wooden board great portioning allowing us to try bits without having to commit to a large plateful. 

Seafood was definitely fresh and sweet. The prawns in particular were my favourite as they were thick and meaty. The mussels only had a small crack open to peruse the meat out so it was extremely hard which I gave up and had to get Michael to help me. 

Some hot foods here with gard fish which we would not recommend to those who do not like small bones.

Usually we would not touch the vegetarian selections but we decided to give it a try for our readers. Vegetarians do not have to worry as they have an assortment of vegetarian dishes available which are just as delicious. 

Sirloin steaks were made to order with choice of rarity and side of smoked paprika salt. We opted for rare and it was so tender and juicy with lightly seared edges, we had to go for seconds.

There is an Asian food station which has prawn crackers, beef curry, chicken curry, dimsims like char siu bao, har gao and siu mai as well as other mainstream Eastern dishes. 

Part of their Dessert station

We love desserts so we took one of everything which included: popping candy chocolate, rhubarb crumble, mini chocolate muffins, custard, lemon cake, mud cake, meringue, macaroons of different flavours, lamingtons and more (in no particular order). The sizes were small and perfect giving us the opportunity to enjoy each piece while still allowing room to try everything else. 

Overall

Michael and I had an amazing dining experience with their table service buffet concept. The staff executed exceptional service especially noted by their consistency in neatly refolding our serviettes every time we left our table. It is best to go there with the intention for an experience rather than having a lot of variety.  Atmosphere is classy yet casual which would be perfect for any special occasion for any number. 

Food: 8.5/10
Service: 10/10 
Cost: Higher Priced
Overall dining experience: 9/10

Don Dons

Cuisine: Japanese
300 Little Lonsdale St 
Melbourne, VIC 3000

I hadn't been to Don Dons since their move from their modest Swanston St store to their new dwelling just around the corner on Little Lonsdales. It has changed it's look drastically from what was once full of Japanese flavour to a modern stream line canteen feel. 

They have increased the number of seats available looking very clean and simple. Though I do miss the old shabby wooden benches that just seems to give it an extra boost of authenticity. 

Some things that haven't changed is their highly affordable menu (consisting of 11 dishes) and efficient production line allowing to churn our your meal faster than you can pay for it. 

I opted for takeaway in order to bring it Milo at his university. Curry chicken don ($6.90) was slightly saltier than last time but still amazing. They added more veggie into the mix and we really like how they place the rice on one side and majority of the sauce on the other which allows you to mix it together yourself to your own preference. 

Sukiyaki don ($6.30) never disappoints. Love how moist and thinly sliced the beef is and dish is full of flavour. 

Overall

This place is still my favourite for a tasty cheap quick eat that fills you up. The staff are very efficient and churns out consistent food every time.  

Food: 7/10

Service: N/A

Cost: Cheap Eat

Overall dining experience: 7/10

Maguro

Cuisine: Japanese
723 Warrigal Rd
Chadstone, VIC 3148
http://www.maguro.com.au/

A small local shop with simple dining experience and affordable lunch specials, Mama Nomalicious is a frequent goer of this place for lunch so I was excited to give it a try and see what keeps her going back. 

With only 1 hour lunch break, we opted for the lunch specials. I know it is traditional that the fish is a lot larger than the rice in sushi, but this Salmon Sushi Small $9.50 had EXTRA long salmon coupled with extra small amount of rice. I love salmon so can't complain and it was very fresh. 

Pork Katsu Ramen $9.50

Pork katsu was beautiful, thick and crunchy. Ramen was on the softer side topped with bountiful amount of corn, bamboo shoots, naruto, seaweed and spring onions. For the price it is a great cheap eat.

Mama Nomalicious opted for the Prawn Katsu Don $9.50. Prawn Katsu was lightly fried, not overly excessive batter topped with mayo and some salad. 

Overall 
Really fast service and affordable quality food for lunch. Place is kept clean and waiters were friendly. I would come here again for a quick bite. 

Food: 6/10

Service: 4/10

Cost: Cheap Eats

Overall Dining Experience: 6.5/10