By Korea: 601 Little Collins Street Melbourne

By Korea is a clear neighbourhood favourite. The lines are huge. The beer is flowing and fried chicken is everywhere. 

I ventured here as my first choice lunch venue was closed for the Christmas break. Not being a fan of fried chicken Senor Gringo and I ordered a beef stew and vegetarian bibimbap. The meat and vegetable portions were small with large bowls of rice offered to fill you up. The flavours were good, particularly the stew, which had a fresh tasting spicy broth. The pieces of meat were lean but the bibimbap was disappointing with salad strangely heaped in the hot stone bowl and since I didn't want a huge amount of rice I walked away hungry. 

One tick. Not fussy eater friendly.    

Wrap up

Well, 2015 was certainly eventful. I tried 53 restaurants in the good food guide and many more besides. The good food guide could surprisingly be hit and miss but sometimes that was because once you removed the egg and dairy the food just did not shine. 

Given there are over 480 restaurants and cafes in the two good food guides I own, I didn't make nearly as much progress as I had expected but I'm going to aim for one a week in 2016 and get through as many as possible. Here's to food, fun and friends, have a happy new year. 

xoxo   
Senor Gringo and the Melbourne Fussy Eater  

Sushi Masa: 10 Bourke Street Melbourne

Final blog post for year, I'm going to finish it off telling you about a great little Japanese place in the city. 

At Sushi Masa a Japanese man prepares made to order sushi or sashimi for the lunch crowd. The restaurant smells like the ocean and the food is fresh, plentiful and delightful.

My go to favourite is the vegetable bento box with vegetable tempura, agedashi tofu (crispy and well balanced), nasu dengaku (grilled eggplant with miso sauce), miso soup, rice and salad (the potato salad is not fussy eater friendly). Very filling, I haven't managed to eat it all yet but it is worth a try, particularly for $16.50. 

Senor Gringo gets the sushi and sashmini combo and I'm game for a little teeny bit of the raw tuna dabbed with wasabi. Their teriyaki beef is also a winner and the lunch menu is about half the price of the dinner menu.

Three ticks. It deserves recognition.  

Tina's Noodle Kitchen: 352 High Street Preston

As soon as Tina's Noodle Kitchen opened, it got a write up from the good food folks so I thought I would get ahead of the curve and try it out the weekend it opened. 

Even at 3:30pm on a stinking hot Saturday the place was packed. The smells were divine and there was a great ambiance to the place. I just can't say nice things about the food. 

Lovely flavours but the pork buns were too doughy (making bread the dominant flavour) and the spicy stewed beef noodle soup had things in it I did not want to see. I don't know what they were - ligaments, tendons, something else? but what ever it was, I wish it wasn't there. I had a little peek in the kitchen on my way back from the bathroom and the other meat looked the same and even though it was slow cooked, the beef chunks I did eat were chewy. Not nice. 

I spoke to the Asian diners on the two tables adjacent to me (I'm weird like that) and they loved it but it just wasn't my cup of tea. 

One tick. If I could have the broth with noodles and vegetables I would consider returning but it wasn't an option on the menu, especially considering the meat and egg free options were very limited. 

Whatever that is, it is meant to be meat - eew

Fob Rolls: Shop 15, Tivoli Arcade, 235-251 Bourke Street Melbourne

Until recently this place served freakin delicious banh mi with the dodgy pork slices replaced by roast duck, pork with crackling and crispy tofu. Their home made sauce was delicious, with the right level of richness and the veggies were plentiful and fresh. 

Sadly, the Fob Rolls boys have gone on to bigger and better things (Ho Chi Mama - worth checking out) and the new owners are dumping a tonne of hoisin sauce on the rolls which overpowers the other ingredients (I can't have the home made pate as it has either butter or egg in it so perhaps they thought this would be a suitable substitute??). Plus, the pork and duck are no longer as crispy. Sad. I shed a tear. 

I've written to the Fob Roll boys to ask them to help out the new owners. Fingers crossed they will, stranger things have happened, as the rolls were really good.  

Rating pending (previously three ticks) 

Pics from the old owners - Totally Roasted Roll 

M Yong Tofu (formerly The Grand Tofu Flemington): 314 Racecourse Road Flemington

There is nothing grand about this place. I visited just after the restaurant changed hands and sadly it is one of those places that was likely ruined by the new owners. 

The food was over processed rubbish. It was not vegan friendly. Nearly all the tofu was stuffed with eggs or fish and the food was just bland. I dumped a whole bunch of chilli oil in my curry soup and tofu dishes and it didn't help. Stay away. Find somewhere else to satisfy your needs - Yong Green Food is great if you're looking for mock meat or tofu options done exceptionally well. 

One tick/thumbs down. 

Advieh: 71b Gamon Street, Seddon

If you don't live locally, it's okay, Advieh is worth the drive. 

Advieh serves yummy Turkish and Moroccan food, including platters, mix and match entree sized portions and a wide variety of salads and wraps, many of which are vegan. Celiacs will also be happy here, as will everybody else with taste buds. Plus, they have genuinely friendly staff and a variety of desserts, some of which are egg and dairy free (though not vegan), yay!

I tend to match the Turkish sausage with three mini salads and a beautifully made coffee or soy chai (with actual spice, not that powder rubbish). Senor Gringo gets something different every time and has never been disappointed. The stand outs for him have been moroccan meatballs with three salads and yoghurt sauce; dukka eggs with pesto, avocado, rocket and sausage; sauteed mushrooms with Bulgarian fetta and poached eggs; and brushetta with fresh tomato and basil.

I'm trying to find some photos I have taken, I know I don't always just drool and tuck in but alas, I must have deleted them. Food pics will be added soon. 

This cafe is a stand out that consistently performs well above average with fresh, flavoursome food and coffee. Plus, bonus, if you have a lemon tree you can exchange four lemons for a free coffee - good for everyone. 

When it comes to breakfast I'm a bit of a bread addict but I don't need it at Advieh, which is a big call! 

Three ticks.

A platter customised for a fussy eater - falafel, home made Turkish sausage, roasted onion and peppers, green bean salad with tomatoes, tabbouleh, two dips, chicken for Senor Gringo and (off to the side) meatballs. Such a great meal and for only $22 we were completely stuffed - bargain. 

menu changes regularly

Addis Abeba: 220 Nicholson Street Footscray

Fantastic African restaurant in a town that is dominated by African restaurants. 

A word of advice, don't try to order take away over the phone, it never ends well. Just go in, be served by the lovely student who does her homework in between taking orders and enjoy the food. The take away menu is much more limited anyway so you will be missing out if you don't eat in. 

The dishes are very filling. Senor Gringo and I order a salad, entree and meat dish of some sort and always walk out stuffed. Our favourites are Special Tibs (cubed lamb with onion, rosemary, garlic, and jalapeno peppers on a hotplate) and the spicy lamb curry (without the butter. 

We also highly rate the vegetarian platter (veganised) and the Sega Firfir (spicy lamb stew with tomato, garlic and onion tossed with injera). Plus, sometimes they have live music, which adds to the experience.  

Three ticks. We are regulars (sorry about the lack of pictures, my stomach gets the better of me sometimes). 

1+1 Mandarin Dumpling Restaurant: 84 Hopkins Street Footscray

Not fussy eater friendly. 

The pork dumplings have egg in them (why?!), so do the vegetable dumplings though they made me some specially without egg. They were a greasy bland let down. So were the other two dishes we ordered, so much so that it was not even worth remembering what they were. 

The restaurant also had a grubby feel, which as I've mentioned I'll ignore if the food is good. 

One tick/thumbs down. Don't waste your time or calories. 

8bit: 8 Droop St Footscray

Nothing to see here, move along. 

I could eat nothing but the fries. Major disappointment. Major! Especially since so many people rave about this place. 

The burger buns have egg, so do most of the sauces, what doesn't have egg has dairy. Senor Gringo told me I wasn't missing out, *cough* OMG this is fantastic, sucks to be you *cough.* I walked away disappointed. The staff were really apologetic about it but I wanted to have a tantrum like a five year old who has just been told they can't have dessert before dinner. 

Celiacs are equally excluded. Life is hard. The food world sucks. I may be sulking. 

One tick. Don't tell me it's good, I don't want to hear it.