Lunch @ Gravy Train, Yarraville, Vic, Aust

Crusine: Ang Mor
Pricing: 2 - Pretty Steep
Service: 4 - Warm and Friendly
Will I Return?: Yes - 2nd visit here
Address: 83 Gamon Street, Yarraville, Vic
Website: Nil

Had a leisure lunch at this cafe near us. We had the same dish, the
Roasted chicken breast with sauteed spinach, roasted vege and thyme
jus. Cost: $16.50

Nice ambience, friendly staff, and the food was excellent. Only downside, the price is rather steep, considering the location of the cafe (out of the city). There's some reasonably priced items though, so give it a go if you wanna. Note that they are only open for breakfast and lunch. Must be making such profits that they don't need to capture the dinner crowd.

Lunch @ TGI Friday's, Doncaster, Vic, Aust

Went to Westfield Shoppingtown while my car was being serviced. Here's
what we'd had:

The Steak: Rib-Eye with Cajun Sauce
Price: $29.95
Verdict: 3/5 - Average; Not fantastic
Address: Shop 250, Westfield Shoppingtown, Corner of Williamsons and
Doncaster Roads, Doncaster, Vic
Website: http://www.tgifridays.com.au/

And for the wifey:
The Meal: Jack Daniels Sampler
Price: $27.95
Verdict: 3/5

Comes with baby pork ribs, chicken strips and prawns.

I'd tried the pork ribs (pretty good!) and the chicken strips (reminds me of a bigger version of KFC's Popcorn chicken). At the end of the meal, both of us couldn't finish the chicken.

Comment from the wifey - the steak at the other TGI Friday's outlet, located at Westfield Southland, tastes better. I have to agree with her there.

In terms of the service, we were initially given a table that is near to the entrance and just behind the service counter, when the place was only half-filled. This did not bode well with me, and I told the waitress to give us a table at the back. She seemed to hesitate, so I took the initiative and started walking towards the back, aiming for a particular empty table. She muttered something about showing us the table, but I really couldn't be arsed to wait. It also took longer than usual for them to take our order. Kinda disappointed with the service in general.

While we're on this topic:
Service: 3
Will I Return?: No    

Dinner @ Thai Angels Restaurant, West Footscray, Vic

Seeing how having steak everyday is not feasible (cows ain't cheap),
I'm expanding my journals to include other culinary styles. Due to the
various types of food available, I'll give a 1-to-5 rating on the
restaurant's pricing and service, 1 being the worst and 5 being the
best. Here we go!

Restaurant: Thai Angels Restaurant
Crusine: Asian - Thai
Pricing: 3 - Reasonable
Service: 4 - Warm and Friendly
Will I Return?: Yes - this is our 3rd time here
Address: 549 Barkly Street, West Footscray, Vic
Website: http://www.thaiangelsrestaurant.com.au

We ordered the following dishes:

Tom Yum with Chicken, Mild Spicyness, $7.90, 4/5

For the wifey, Tom Yum with Prawns, Normal Spicyness, $7.90, 4/5

We shared the following:

Fried Rice with Chicken (Didn't note the actual Thai name in the menu, but there's the word 'Hawaiian" in it), $11.90, 2/5 - Disappointing dish. The rice reminds me of Mui Fan, where it is soggy/mushy. The menu says it includes pineapples, but there were no traces of pineapples whatsoever.

Thai Angels BBQ Chicken, $16.90, 3/5 - Grilled chicken, not bad

Lunch @ The Exchange Hotel, Port Melbourne, Vic, Aust

The Steak: 300g grain fed Scotch Fillet

Price: $31.90
Verdict: 4/5
Address: 39 Bay Street, Port Melbourne, Vic
Website: http://www.theexchangehotel.net.au/

Here's another gem of a hotel/pub serving excellent steak. When the steak was served and the first cut was made, my first impression was that I would be disappointed, as the steak does not look as 'juicy' as I would expect from a medium-rare. Nevertheless, I decided to give it a go and took a tentative bite, fully expecting it to be chewy and drier than what I'm used to. I was pleasantly surprised when I felt the 'juice' flowing freely around my mouth, and it didn't much effort to chew it up either. I then proceeded to finish up every last piece, including the buttery mash potatoes and brocolli, even the peppercorn! The slightly steeper price is somewhat expected, given the location of the hotel (1 street away from the beach, near the Spirit of Tasmania berth). 

I would have given this a rating of 5/5, since I've got this meal for FREE, but have to remain objective, in case I wanna return in future. 

Gisborne Peak Winery, Gisborne, Vic, Aust

The Wine: Pinot Noir, 2008
Price: $28.50
Verdict: 3/5 - Average, not fantastic
Address: 69 Short Road, Gisborne, Vic
Website: http://www.gisbornepeakwines.com.au/

Went to this winery on Saturday, 03/07/10, for a group lunch. Taste-tested a number of whites and reds, and unfortunately none of them blew me away. Settled on this Pinot as the rest are worse than this. Didn't, and wouldn't, buy any wines from here.

Saving grace: The pizzas are good! Plus it was so cold (winter now) that anything with alcohol was a welcoming sight

Dinner @ Trenta Cucina, Yarraville, Vic, Aust

The Steak: Scotch Fillet. Weight not stated
Price: $25.90
Verdict: 5/5
Address: 30 Ballarat Street, Yarraville, Vic
Website: No website

You know the steak is top notch when you can chew through the fatty bits without much effort. This is our second visit to this restaurant, and so far it has not disappoint, cooking my steak to my liking.

Here's a look at wifey's dinner, the Surf & Turf

It's got prawns, mussel, clams, calamari, and a thick piece of porterhouse steak at the middle. Wifey ordered it before and couldn't finish it. The story's the same this time round. At $26.90, it is pretty good value for money too.

Yering Farm Vineyard, Yering, Vic, Aust

The Wine: Late Harvest Dessert Wine, 2006
Price: $15
Verdict: 3/5
Address: St Huberts Road, Yering, Vic
Website: http://www.yeringfarmwines.com/a/Yarra_Valley_Vineyard

The third and final winery for today. Time for dessert!

Not a big fan of sweet wines. Just happens that our last stop for the day is serving home-made apple pie, which is sweet as, hence goes down well with the sweet dessert wine

Here's how the apple pie looked like:

$11 for a home-made apple pie? Yes please, and make it a double! Yummy Yummy Yum!

Steels Creek Estate, Steels Creek, Vic, Aust

The Wine: Cabernet Sauvignon, 2003
Price: $22.00
Verdict: 4/5 - Quite good; easy wine
Address: 1 Sewell Road, Steels Creek, Vic
Website: http://www.steelsckestate.com.au/

Got lost trying to reach this winery due to the directions given by the GPS and iPhone's Google maps. Finally managed to find the place though. The place serves great roast beef! Had to go for seconds; it was either that good, or I was that hungry

Graeme Miller Winery (aka Miller's Dixons Creek Estate Wines), Dixons Creek, Vic, Aust

Attending the Yarra Valley's Shortest Lunch event. Had 2 bottles of wine; here's what I think:

The Wine: Cuvée Extra Brut, 2006
Price: $35.00
Verdict: 3/5 - Don't really like
Address: 1620 Melba Highway, Dixons Creek, Vic
Website: http://www.graememillerwines.com.au/


A sparkling white wine made with two different grape varieties, Pinot Noir (55%) and Chardonnay (45%). Not my cup of tea (or in this case, wine).


The Wine: Chardonnay, 2006
Price: $28.00
Verdict: 4/5 - Not bad, quite a sweet aftertaste. Can buy

Dinner @ Margo's (Within Crown Casino), Southbank, Vic, Aust

The Steak: 200g Porterhouse

Price: $12.00

Verdict: 3/5

Address: 8 Whiteman Street, Southbank, Vic

Website: http://www.crowncasino.com.au/margos

Located within the casino, Margo's, along with a few other restaurants within the Crown complex, is offering a weekday lunch/dinner special. From a select menu, the mains are just $12, with items such as fish, veal, steak, etc.  We'd gone for the steaks just because of the exceptional value (usual price for 300g costs more than $25).

This was not the first time we'd had steak at this restaurant, and we'd observed that the standard seems to be dropping. The quality of steak itself consisted of too much chewy fatty bits, and the steak is cooked more towards medium than medium-rare.

Can't expect much, considering the price it was going for. Good, but not great

Dinner @ Station Hotel, Footscray, Vic, Aust

The Steak: 300g Grain Fed, Black Angus Scotch Fillet with pepper sauce
Price: $36.00
Verdict: 4/5
Address: 59 Napier Street, Footscray, Vic
Website: http://www.thestationhotel.com.au/

It was actually more than shown. I'd already gone through around 20% before I remembered to take a photo of it.

Contact Details:

Dinner @ The Point, Albert Park, Vic, Aust

The Steak: 250g Grain Fed, Sher Wagyu Porterhouse, MS 8+
Price: $58.00
Verdict: 5/5
Address: Aquatic Drive, Albert Park Lake, Vic
Website: http://www.thepointalbertpark.com.au/restaurant/

The steak was cooked to perfection, with the meat melting in your mouth. The chef's skills, combined with the quality of steak used, justify the price it was sold at. No wonder Wagyu costs so bloody much.

A Little Mini-Project

With all the steaks I've had and the amount of wine and liquor I've drank, I reckoned I'll start this mini-project to keep track of the places worth a second visit for their steaks, and a review of the wines that I like (and don't). More often than not, the reviews will happen only if I'm visiting that particular vineyard/winery, so that you'll know if it is worth your while making a trip down there for tasting.

Some points to note:
1) I like my steak medium rare, so all posts regarding steaks will therefore be cooked to that style. If the chef did a crap job of medium rare, rest assured I'll note it down as well. If you can't cook steak, don't offer it on the menu then.

2) I like red wine more than white, and Merlot is my preferred poison, simply because it is not as hard/crisp/acidic/siap as the others. I'll drink other types of wine though, and shall try to rate them according to their class.

3) Due to the wild availability of good and cheap wines over here, I'd cut down on liquor for leisure (party gaming ain't counted here. Will be too "high" to notice the difference). I still do enjoy the occasional glass of Cordon Bleu and JW Blue Label though, and shall note down my observations if I decided to down some hard liquor down my throat.