Weekly Menu, 10 October - 16 October 2015

Saturday 10 October: Lost Heaven
Sunday 11 October: Caesar chicken pasta salad
Monday 12 October: Chicken, barley and vegetable soup
Tuesday 13 October: Ikkoryu Fukuoka Ramen
Wednesday 14 October: Kimchi and kale rice bowl
Thursday 15 October: Buddha's delight
Friday 16 October: Mexican chicken salad

Kokoro Ramen - Melbourne, Victoria

Rice Croquette - Breadcrumbed deep fried rice with pork, cheese and red ginger $6.5

Curry Ramen - Kokoro's limited serve ramen, mixed with our original recipe curry and tonkotsu broth. Noodle: chijiremen (thick, curly egg noodle), flavour: curry, served with: egg, corn, spring onion, bean sprouts, karaage, chashu, nori $18.0

Curry Ramen - Kokoro's limited serve ramen, mixed with our original recipe curry and tonkotsu broth. Noodle: chijiremen (thick, curly egg noodle), flavour: curry, served with: egg, corn, spring onion, bean sprouts, karaage, chashu, nori $18.0

Clay Pot Ramen - Kokoro Ramen Winter Special. Noodle: chijiremen (thick curly egg noodle), flavour: miso +touch of spicy oil, served with: spring onion, naruto fish cake, bean sprouts, bamboo shoot, chashu pork and half-boiled egg $15.0

Clay Pot Ramen - Kokoro Ramen Winter Special. Noodle: chijiremen (thick curly egg noodle), flavour: miso +touch of spicy oil, served with: spring onion, naruto fish cake, bean sprouts, bamboo shoot, chashu pork and half-boiled egg $15.0

Revisit verdict? We've always liked Kokoro, though it's been a while since our last visit, and we took note of how much the menu has grown. While the two ramen variations we tasted didn't blow us away, they fit the brief and were hearty and tasty on that winter's evening. Kokoro is a place I'd quite happily return to - for the casual self-serve atmosphere and consistently chewy noodle and gooey eggs.
Time and date of visit: 5:30 pm Tuesday 23 June 2015 

Kokoro Ramen
157 Lonsdale Street, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia (03) 9650 1215
Open Monday to Friday 8 am - 10:30 pm, and Saturday to Sunday 11:30 am - 9 pm

South American Bakery - Sunshine, Victoria

Verdict? What a delightful find! Friendly and welcoming family business, with a lovely selection of delicious South American bread, cakes and pastries at great prices.
Time and date of visit: 11:30 am Sunday 21 June 2015 

Panaderia sud Americana (South American Bakery)
76 Warwick Road, Sunshine North, Victoria, Australia (03) 9364 8302
Open Tuesday to Saturday 8 am - 6 pm, and Sundays 8 am - 2 pm

Weekly Menu, 3 October - 9 October 2015

Saturday 3 October: Lamb pasta
Sunday 4 October: Chicken sandwiches
Monday 5 October: Pasta salad
Tuesday 6 October: Fonda
Wednesday 7 October: Chile con carne
Thursday 8 October: Krishna Pait Pooja
Friday 9 October: DYI pizza

New Shanghai - Melbourne, Victoria

Garlic cucumber 5.5

New Shanghai Xiao Long Bao - Steamed pork dumplings (8pcs) 8.6

Dumplings (10pcs) 10.8

Cold noodles with braised beef 11.5

Prawn wontons with chilli oil, peanut & sesame sauce 16.3

New Shanghai fried pork buns (8pcs) 11.8

Sautéed snow pea shoots 14.9

Revisit verdict? We enjoyed a selection of old favourites, and new dishes - the panfried pork buns were a nice novelty, while the garlic cucumber, pea shoots and cold noodles were refreshing alongside the dumplings. The xiao long bao were tasty, but the dumpling wrapper wasn't quite as thin or silky as Hutong's. For me, the standout dish was definitely the prawn wontons in their spicy peanut sauce!
Time and date of visit: 6 pm Wednesday 17 June 2015 

New Shanghai
Emporium Melbourne, Level 3, Shop 323, 287 Lonsdale Street, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia (03) 9994 9386
Open Saturday to Wednesday 10 am - 7 pm, and Thursday to Friday 10 am - 9 pm

Crossways - Melbourne, Victoria

Tuesday (dinner) menu - $7.50 all you can eat:

Sweet & Sour Vegetables (we were lucky enough to have the lunch leftovers of Red Kidney Beans Vegetables and Brown Rice as well), Basmati Rice & Banana Sultana Halava, Papadam and Drinks

Verdict? Cheap and cheerful atmosphere with generous and delicious vegetarian fare - Crossways is exactly as I remember it from my student days and is still a wonderful bargain in the CBD.
Time and date of visit: 5.30 pm Tuesday 16 June 2015

Crossways Vegetarian and Vegan Restaurant

Level 1, 123 Swanston Street, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia (03) 9650 2939
Open Monday to Saturday, 11:30 am - 8 pm

Weekly Menu, 26 September - 2 October 2015

Saturday 26 September: Minamishima
Sunday 27 September: Dumplings and greens
Monday 28 September: Eggplant parmigiana
Tuesday 29 September: Mr Ramen San
Wednesday 30 September: Braised pumpkin and lamb neck
Thursday 1 October: Spiced drumsticks with potato and pickle salad
Friday 2 October: 8Bit