Frontbeach Cafe, Torquay

16 The Esplanade

Torquay
VIC 3228

We had a late breakfast at the Frontbeach cafe on a Sunday, in fact we only just beat the 12 noon cut off!

As you'd expect from the name, it is sited across the road from the 'front' beach on the Esplanade in central Torquay. It was fairly busy when we arrived, especially outside, but we happened to find the table with the best view available!

Initially there seemed to be a problem with our coffee orders but that just meant we had had time to figure out what we wanted to eat by the time the waitress returned. Our meals then appear in superfast time, before our coffees, which wasn't a problem.

I had the vego breakfast with 2 poached eggs, half an avocado, grilled tomato, mushrooms spinach and toast. The ingredients were well prepared and it was a satisfying combo.

The scrambled eggs and bacon provided a good quality and generous serve of both components which nearly defeated the better half.

The view certainly enhanced the meal and my only quibble would be with a slightly weak long black. The bill was around $40. I'd happily return on any warm or sunny day to dine and gaze out across the ocean, which was especially enjoyable after a morning run on the beach and brief autumnal dip under the waves.

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Torquay Hotel

36 Bell Street

Torquay
VIC 

3228

We had lunch several years ago at the Torquay Pub and decided to give it another try for dinner on a Saturday night. The building seems pretty modern with pictures inside of older incarnations. Inside there were a couple of front sections and a bigger bistro area further back where we sat with several other tables of diners, before reaching the pokies. 

We perused the menu mostly featuring classic Aussie pub dishes, with a few variations and specials before ordering at the counter. We shared the tempura prawns as an entrée, the batter wasn't as light as we'd expected but the prawns were cooked well. They came with an original combination of a roast cashew and sweet soy dressing and a salad of pickled ginger, bean shoots and cherry tomatoes. The combination of flavours didn't really work, for us...

The 300g porterhouse steak with seeded mustard jus with chips and salad was a little on the bland side.

I had the Moroccan seafood stew with couscous and sour-dough. The stes contained a generous mixture of morton bay bug, mussels, scallops, prawns and squid in a tomato based broth. Whilst it was well prepared the dish lacked any strong Moroccan flavours.

The service was efficient and the food cost around $75. Ultimately the meal was a bit disappointing and the atmosphere was fairly flat, we wont be rushing back...

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Cafe Moby

41 The Esplanade
Torquay
VIC
3228

We stopped in for lunch at Cafe Moby, after a brisk Saturday afternoon walk along the beach.

There were quite a few diners both inside and out in the courtyard, we found ourselves a table outside and ended up being lucky with the weather. There is definitely a casual and old school beachside vibe about the place.

We both ended ordering form the specials list which had been posted up inside.

The pakistani eggplant curry and rice filled wrap was topped with raita and served with spinach leaves and some fried shallot. It was a little tricky to eat, but I managed it. the curry wasn't that spicy, but it was a satisfying dish.

The Thai pumpkin soup was a hit - creamy, rich and flavoursome, the only downside being some stringy pieces maybe of lemongrass. It was served with toasted sour dough.

The coffees were great too, and we always enjoy having a meal with even a distant view of the ocean.

The bill was a pretty reasonable $35 and the service friendly, and we enjoyed it enough to think about going back for breakfast the next day, but it was too busy!

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Taiwan Cateen

311 Exhibition Street
Melbourne,
VIC
3000

I chose Taiwan Canteen for lunch with Brendan because it was conveniently located, had good reviews and as a first opportunity I'd had to try Taiwanese food. Even knowing the address, it wasn't that easy to spot, I may well have gone past many times without even realising it was a restaurant!

It was fairly busy when we arrived not long before 1pm on a Friday and it gradually emptied out we were there. The décor was fairly minimal but the wooden tables and stools were fine. We grabbed menu's and perused, and there seemed to be a Japanese influence including the presence of Bento boxes.

Our orders were taken and then we waited and waited, I didn't time it, but the wait was long for a lunch time canteen style venue.Eventually my three cups chicken bento arrived but it was another 5 to 10 minutes before Brendan's Popcorn chicken arrived - he did though get a free upgrade to a bento. My dish is named because the sauce is made of a cup of rice wine, a cup of sesame oil, and a cup of soy sauce and was enjoyable and overall pretty good value for $12.

After the delay I forgot to snap the popcorn chicken but it went down well!

I'd probably give Taiwan Canteen another go, as the food was different and enjoyable, but further slow service would be a bridge too far!

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Wild Yak Tibetan, Northcote

350 High Street
Northcote
Victoria
3070

03 9486 2733

We'd eaten at the Wild Yak Tibetan restaurant a good while ago and decided for a return visit while we were on High Street in Northcote again. The neon sign leaves you in doubt of where you are or whats in store.

It was busy on the Thursday evening we arrived, inside things are fairly basic, with a tiled floor, yellow walls and a bar at the back.

The walls were hung with a series of Tibetan paintings.

There were ceiling decorations too and various pictures of the Dalai Lama which added to the theme.

We ordered fairly swiftly, but it seemed that the few staff were a little overwhelmed by the numbers and we waited a while for our Momo Ngopa to arrive. The fried beef dumplings, came with chilli and soy sauces. The momo's casing were pastry like and fairly thick, compared to Chinese style dumplings.

The Channa Khatsa or chick peas cooked with tomatoes, ginger and garlic didn't look too exciting, but were flavoursome and satisfying.

We had another interlude before our mains arrived, the Chasha Sarsha, chicken fillet cooked with fresh mushrooms and herbs was pleasant without being outstanding.

The Tsel or vegetable curry wasn't as exotically flavoured as promissed in the menu, and the Baklap was similar to roti, bt a little on the rubbery side.

Unfortunately we were a bit disappointed with this visit to Wild Yak with the slow service and lacklustre mains outweighing the friendliness and good value, the meal was $50 all up including a beer and a juice.

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The Plough Hotel, Footscray

333 Barkly Street
Footscray
Vic
3011

Although it has always been in walking distance we'd never tried the Plough Hotel before it was recently renovated, we'd never heard much positive or negative about it, and the mirrored windows never gave off that inviting a vibe.

There haven't been too many changes outside, inside however things are looking very modern and sleek, we sat in the slightly more casual bistro area, the restaurant is further fro the door, behind the shelving/screen.

The bar takes up a chunk of the room, with plenty of bottles, mostly from Victoria behind it, as well some local beers on tap.

I tried the Brunswick Bitter by the Thunder Road brewery which was a more flavoursome 'house' beer than most and reasonably priced at $6 for 330ml, there were several other beers and ciders from smaller producers around the state also on offer on tap or bottled.

We shared the olive, anchovy, chilli & parsley foccacia as an entrée. The toppings were great quality and sat on top of well prepared bread.

The menu features plenty of pub classics, often with a little twist, plenty of steaks and a range of pizza's.

I had the the Fish ‘n’ chips featuring three moist flathead fillets in crispy local beer batter good chips, salad and tartare sauce.

The Plough Parmigiana was big but ridiculously huge and had fresh tasting chunky tomato salsa, along with the gypsy ham and mozzarella on top and came with the similar chips n salad.

It's great to see that another of Footscray's pubs has been preserved and compliments the other two that have survived the apartment conversion trend that seems to sweep all before it! It's not quite as fine dining as The Station, or as grungy, funky and interesting as the Reverence, but the emphasis on great local produce, stylish fit out, good service and competitive pricing means I hope it does well. It was certainly pretty busy on the Wednesday evening we visited. Our meal came in around $75 including a few drinks.

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Chef Lagenda, Flemington

16 Pin Oak Crescent
Flemington
VIC 3031

We spotted Chef Lagenda next to the famed Laksa King on a previous visit to Flemmington, but it wasn't until after reading an article on Melbourne's best Laksas in the Melbourne Broadsheet that we decided to pay it a visit. It is operated by Thomas Lee who has worked in Malaysia, Melbourne and Taiwan and was born in Ipoh, a town in central Malaysia not far from the Cameron Highlands, which we've visited.

From the outside it looks pretty small with just a pair of doors and a small wall with the menu showing, but it is modern and well presented.Inside there are several areas, with a few tables just inside the door, a rear section on the ground floor and stairs up a level.

The first floor has another couple of area's inside and a small terrace, which was covered and heated on our visit on an autumnal Thursday evening. Most of the indoor tables were taken and we were offered a spot outside, which was fine with us. The decor throughout was stylish and modern.

Our tea came in a pot/jug a nice upgrade from the 'traditional' flask and even the teacups were branded.

We shared the plain roti which was light and not quite as buttery as sometimes, which kept me happy and came with a satay sauce that was more spicy than a Thai style satay, which we enjoyed.

We both ended up choosing the curry laksa which featured tofu, chicken and prawns, as well as a few veggies and egg and rice noodles. It was fantastic with the rich flavours we'd hoped for and just the right amount of heat from the chilli.

We didn't have to wait too long for our meal and the service was friendly if chaotic. We ended up waiting a little while for our bill, which we needed before heading downstairs to pay (cash only). The atmosphere was good and the various areas made it feel more intimate than its  slightly cavernous neighbour. I think we've found a new a favourite laksa spot, and I'm sure we will be making a return visit soon. The bill was around $30.

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Forrest brewing company

Apollo Bay Road
Forrest,
VIC 3236

The Forrest Brewery in the Otway hinterland town of Forrest, north of Apollo Bay is a combination of microbrewery and eating place, established by siblings Matt and Sharon Bradshaw in the rebuilt general store in 2010. We stopped in for lunch on Easter Monday to break up our trip back to Melbourne.

Inside it was fairly busy with quite a few families, we found a small table outside and perused the special holiday menu.

The pumpkin soup came topped with macadamia nuts, which added another dimension to a well executed classic, the sour dough roll was small and perfectly frmed.

We also shared the sweet potato wedges, which came topped with avocado and sour cream. The wedges had a roasted feel about them and were very warming and satisfying.

Given the queue when I ordered the service was surprisingly fast if a little haphazard, we were offered a couple of other items before our order arrived! I'd tried the Pale Ale a couple of nights earlier and had been impressed, but with plenty of driving ahead it wasn't the time for another, the coffee however was good. It is certainly worth stopping in if you are passing through!

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