Chuan Wang - Footscray, Victoria

Fish flavoured eggplant $16

Ma-po tofu $15

Sichan style cold noodles $8

Cumin ribs $18

Chuan Wang is Sichuan food in Footscray and it’s pretty good. Please go here. Try it out. Don’t let it die as it really deserves to survive. Its décor is pretty standard for Barkly St, so it doesn’t have the flair of Dainty Sichuan or anything. It’s not much to look at. But I have to say the food was pretty great. Anyone who is a fan of Sichuan food really should give it a go. If you live in the west then you have twice the reason to eat here. The menu is pretty expansive and it was all reasonably priced. It gets the thumbs up.

- words by pisso | images by überjoi.

Time and date of visit: 7 pm Friday 10 January 2014

Chuan Wang
190-193 Hopkins St, Footscray, Victoria, Australia (03) 9687 2288
Open Monday to Sunday, 11 am - 10 pm 

Dainty Sichuan - South Yarra, Victoria

Tsing Tao beer $6.80, Jug of soy milk $9.00

Tasty Cold Noodle $7.80

Stir-fried Chinese Cabbage with Chilli $17.80

Mouth-watering Beef Slices - Chilli Oil & Sichuan Pepper $17.80

Verdict? We've been waiting a while to get back to Dainty - we were pretty sad when we found out that they were closed for renovations! So this time around, we made the decision to try out two new dishes and our order was perfectly suited for the hot weather. While the cabbage dish made a nice substitute for the unavailable stir-fried pea shoots, I don't think we'll be ordering the beef slices again. The dish was tasty enough, but when it's only a table for two, you're limited in the number of dishes you order, and there's just so much more we want to try on the menu!
Time and date of visit: 5 pm Tuesday 28 January 2014

Dainty Sichuan

176 Toorak Road, South Yarra, Victoria, Australia (03) 9078 1686

Open for lunch Mon & Wed-Fri 11:30am-2:30pm, Sat-Sun 12pm-2:30pm and for dinner Sun-Mon & Wed-Thu 4:30pm-9:30pm, Fri-Sat 4:30pm-10pm

Laksa King - Flemington, Victoria

Teh tarik (cold) - Malaysian specially sweet 'hand-pulled' tea to create a thick froth 3.8

Roti with satay sauce 6.8

Roti with satay sauce 6.8

Nasi lemak special - a unique Malaysian coconut rice dish with pickled vegetables, anchovies, peanuts and a hard-boiled egg with curry chicken 10.5

Combination curry laksa - mixed noodle with shrimp, fishcake and chicken 9.8

Would we go back? Most definitely - cheap fare that definitely hit the spot.
Time and date of visit: 2.30 pm Thursday 2 January 2014

Laksa King
6 - 12 Pin Oak Crescent, Flemington, Victoria, Australia (03) 9372 6383
Open for lunch 7 days 11.30 am - 3 pm,  for dinner Sun - Thu 5 pm - 10 pm and Fri - Sat 5 pm - 10.30 pm

Brae - Birregurra, Victoria

Rhubarb Fennel Fizz - Melbourne Dry Gin, Rhubarb, Fennel, Lelmon / 20

Summer
$180 pp

(with matched wines +$120 pp)

Beef tendon and native pepperberry

Asparagus and prawn

Burnt pretzel, treacle and pork & Wallaby and flax, lemon myrtle and wattle

Calamari and pickles

Salad of mussels, salt cod cream

Southern rock lobster cooked with carrot, white onion, sea butter

Southern rock lobster cooked with carrot, white onion, sea butter

Grass fed wagyu and grilled lettuce

Charred radicchio and duck offal

Charred radicchio and duck offal

Short fin eel, rock samphire, finger lime, Otway shiitake

Watermelon, snow pea, rhubarb and rose

Parsnip and apple

Berries and blood biscuit

{ view photos via exposure }

Would we go back? There were some hits, and there were definitely some misses. Overall, we're going to give Brae a chance to find their feet before a revisit.
Time and date of visit: 1 pm Sunday 29 December 2013

Brae
4285 Cape Otway Road, Birregurra, Victoria, Australia (03) 5236 2226
Open for dinner, Thursday to Sunday and for lunch, Friday to Monday

Sichuan House - Melbourne, Victoria

Sichuan cold noodles $6.00

Stir-fried chinese cabbage with chilli $14.80

Cumin pork ribs $24.80 (2 chillies)

Would we go back? Yes - probably the best Sichuan restaurant we've tried in the CBD.
Time and date of visit: 7.45 pm Saturday 21 December 2013

Sichuan House
22-26 Corrs Lane, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia (03) 9650 8589
Open 7 days for lunch 11 am - 3 pm and dinner 5 pm - 10 pm