From the kitchen, Monday 13 April: Tomato and chargrilled pepper soup

Tomato and chargrilled pepper soup

From the kitchen, Sunday 12 April 2015: Mexican salad

Mexican salad

Rudimentary - Footscray, Victoria

Small Batch Coffee - white 3.8, black 3.8, soy 4.0

Seafood Scramble - Scrambled egg w/prawn, crab, speck, pickled veg & watercress 17.0

Seafood Scramble - Scrambled egg w/prawn, crab, speck, pickled veg & watercress 17.0

Housemade Buttermilk Waffle - maple, pancetta, fig & quark 14.5

Housemade Buttermilk Waffle - maple, pancetta, fig & quark 14.5

Would we go back? Love the concept, love the setup, love the coffee. The food? ... A little underwhelming. But, it's early days, and we'd be the first to admit that we don't often indulge in 'cafe style' breakfasts, preferring to dine on Footscray's multicultural offerings instead. So overall, I'm glad that this little oasis has arrived, and I look forward to trying their food again someday. In the meantime, you can count on us returning to Rudimentary for the consistently delicious Small Batch coffee.
Time and date of visit: 10 am Wednesday 8 April 2015 

Rudimentary

16-20 Leeds Street, Footscray, Victoria, Australia 0497 058 173

Open Monday to Friday, 7:30 am - 3:30 pm and Saturday to Sunday, 8 am - 3:30 pm

Weekly Menu, 23 May - 29 May 2015

Saturday 23 May: 8Bit Ovest #takeaway
Sunday 24 May: Homemade meat pie
Monday 25 May: Hokkaido soup curry
Tuesday 26 May: Izakaya Chuji #gamenight
Wednesday 27 May: Frittata
Thursday 28 May: Charred rice noodle with chicken and gravy
Friday 29 May: Stir-fried minced beef with chillies, fried egg and holy basil 8Bit

Hakata Gensuke Ramen Professional - Melbourne, Victoria

Black tonkotsu ramen noodle, hard noodle texture, normal taste with spring onion and flavoured egg $16.00

Black tonkotsu ramen noodle, hard noodle texture, normal taste with spring onion and flavoured egg $16.00

God Fire ramen noodle (2 chili strength), hard noodle texture, normal taste, with spring onion and flavoured egg $14.00

God Fire ramen noodle (2 chili strength), hard noodle texture, normal taste, with spring onion and flavoured egg $14.00

Revisit verdict: Warning - the God Fire ramen is SPICY, even at just 2 chili strength! Take the friendly staff advice and go easy on your first attempt at this hot (but delicious) noodle soup.
Time and date of visit: 6:30 pm Friday 3 April 2015 (see our previous visit) 

Hakata Gensuke Ramen

168 Russell Street, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia (03) 9663 6342

Open 7 days, for lunch 12 pm - 3 pm and for dinner 5 pm - 9 pm

Weekly Menu, 16 May - 22 May 2015

Saturday 16 May: Mexican sandwich rolls with cemitas
Sunday 17 May: Pine mushroom risotto
Monday 18 May: Mapo tofu
Tuesday 19 May: 'Eat Feral with Feral: A Nieuw Safari' #goodbeerweek
Wednesday 20 May: Vegetable pasta or soup
Thursday 21 May: Quinoa salad
Friday 22 May: Guilin noodles

Qua'n 888 - Footscray, Victoria

Sūa dâu nành - Homemade soybean milk $4.00

Com gà Hôi An - Quang Nam style noodle with sautéed pork, prawn and quail egg $10.00

Bún cha cá - Da Nang style vermicelli fish cake soup $10.00

Time and date of visit: 11:30 am Sunday 29 March 2015 (see our previous visits)

Qua'n 888

Shop 24, Little Saigon Shopping Centre, Ryan and Leeds Streets, Footscray, Victoria, Australia (03) 9347 4596

Open Monday to Saturday 10 am - 7 pm and Sunday 10 am - 5 pm

Prix Fixe - Melbourne, Victoria

Alice in her Wonderland

Eat Me!

Autumn 2015

Four courses, $79 per person

Grin like the Cheshire Cat - Zubrowka, St Germain Elderflower, apple, lime, egg white, lemon verbena (shaken, served up) $20

“Mock Turtle Soup” - Watercress, ricotta nudie, peppers

“Mock Turtle Soup” - Watercress, ricotta nudie, peppers

“The Mad Hatter” - Parsnip crème caramel, king fish, mustard fruits, parsnip remoulade & chips

“The Mad Hatter” - Parsnip crème caramel, king fish, mustard fruits, parsnip remoulade & chips

“Humpty Dumpty” - 70c egg, braised buckwheat, black cabbage, “claret”, bacon soldiers

“Humpty Dumpty” - 70c egg, braised buckwheat, black cabbage, “claret”, bacon soldiers

“Smokey Caterpillars” - Jerusalem artichoke, wild mushrooms, chestnuts, casarecce, mustard greens

“Smokey Caterpillars” - Jerusalem artichoke, wild mushrooms, chestnuts, casarecce, mustard greens

“White Rabbit in a waist coat” - Blanquette of rabbit & aromatic vegetables, cinnamon & lemon

“White Rabbit in a waist coat” - Blanquette of rabbit & aromatic vegetables, cinnamon & lemon

For sharing: Heirloom carrot & currant ‘slaw’

“Tweedle Dee & Tweedle Dumb” - Roasted fig, cardamom ice cream, little chocolate donuts & Pedro Ximenez

“Queen of Heart’s… Tart” - Sable Breton, rose geranium cream, raspberries, roses

“Queen of Heart’s… Tart” - Sable Breton, rose geranium cream, raspberries, roses

Would we go back? If we could, we would. Sadly, this restaurant is now closed. It'd been on my radar since before it opened, and finding out about the impending closure finally gave us the push to try it out. It also helped that the last theme was "Alice in her Wonderland", one of my favourites. The food lived up to the theme - playful and quirky, rich (in flavour) and certainly memorable. It was a delightful evening, and I only regret not discovering this curiosity a little sooner.
Time and date of visit: 6:00 pm Thursday 26 March 2015

Prix Fixe

Alfred Place, 90 Collins Street, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
CLOSED

Weekly Menu, 9 May - 15 May 2015

Saturday 9 May: Calamari with tomatoes, capers and olives
Sunday 10 May: Congee
Monday 11 May: Okonomiyaki
Tuesday 12 May: Izakaya Chuji #gamenight
Wednesday 13 May: Spaghetti alla puttanesca Pulled pork chile
Thursday 14 May: Leftovers
Friday 15 May: Mexican sandwich rolls with cemitas Wagaya

Rose Garden BBQ - Melbourne, Victoria

Garlic BBQ Chicken on rice

Bitter melon with crispy skin pork and egg on rice

Time and date of visit: 5 pm Monday 31 March 2014 (see our previous visits)

Rose Garden BBQ

435 Elizabeth Street, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia (03) 9329 1560

Open Monday - Saturday, 11 am - 9 pm

Vanakkam India - Footscray, Victoria

Salt Lassi $3.50

Tandoor Chicken - Chicken marinated in yoghurt and aromatic Indian spices (half) $10.00

Plain Dosa $7.00

Idly 65 - Ground rice and lentil steamed cakes marinated in spices and deep fried $14.00

Lamb Saag - Lamb cooked with rich spinach gravy $15.50

Lamb Saag - Lamb cooked with rich spinach gravy $15.50

Would we go back? We had previously experienced delicious takeaway from Vanakkam India, so decided to try dining in one Friday evening. While the dishes we ordered didn't quite hit the same mark as we remembered, it was all still pretty tasty, and we would be happy to try it again and continue eating through the extensive menu.
Time and date of visit: 5:30 pm Friday 13 March 2015

Vanakkam India

359 Barclay Street, Footscray, Victoria, Australia (03) 9687 7224

Open Monday to Wednesday, 5:30 pm - 10:30 pm and Thursday to Sunday, 11 am - 10:30 pm