Huxtaburger 

Whilst it has become a bit of a Melbourne institution, to be honest I think Huxtaburger is a bit overrated. 

On this occasion I hit up the Smith Street store. With its burger topped silver trays and chip filled red and white cardboard cups, this place definitely gives off an American vibe. The decor is nothing inspiring - the first room you enter is dull and squishy, and the room next door, with its cardboard chip containers scattered around the room and remanents of tomato sauce stuck on the table tops, reminds me of a high school common room. 

To eat I had the Theo - double pattie, cheese, lettuce and bbq sauce - definitely not the best burger I've had. 

Unfortunately the meat was overcooked and dry, the bacon was soggy and fatty, and the cheese wasn't at all melted and gooey. The chips, however, were crisp and delicious! 

It wasn't terrible, but with so many other good burger joints around, I wouldn't say it's worth the calories. 

Food: 2/5

Service: 3/5

Decor: 2/5

Total: 7/15 

Verdict: Don't bother

North East China Family 

North East China Family has always been one of my go to dumpling houses. But with it's latest reno, refreshed menu and new tasty delights, this dumpling house has moved up on the list. 

The decor is still traditional Melbourne dumpling house style - lots of plastic table and chairs, all cramped into a small space. However, the revamped furniture definitely gives the place a lighter and brighter feel than what it once had. 

The dumplings themselves were exceptional. The pan fried prawn dumplings were packed with real chunks of prawn and cooked to perfection.  The steamed veggie dumplings were just as good - brimming with veggies and loaded with flavours. 

The service, however, was disappointingly slow for a dumpling house - it took as 20 mins to wave down a waiter for menus and wine glasses in a pretty much empty restaurant. 

However, overall, considering the quality of its food and the price tag, I would definitely recommend hitting up North East China Family.

Food: 4.5/5

Decor: 3/5

Service: 2.5/5

Total:10/15

Verdict: love - get around to trying it soon

 

Grand Trailer Park Taverna 

When people now ask where my favourite burger joint is, the response is going to be Grand Trailer Park Taverna.  

I was lucky enough to be able to share two of their burgers - the Chunk Double Double and the Francis Underwood.  The Francis Underwood consisted of a beef pattie, cheese, tomato and kettuce - all topped off with a pattie of Mac n cheese - absolutely delicious.  And the Chunk Double Double, well it was pretty much the best burger I've ever had. The beef pattie was juicy, the cheese was gooey, the bacon was crisp but not overcooked and the jalapenos added a delightful zing.  My mouth is watering just thinking about it. However the chips, unfortunately, were nothing to write home about - soggy, flavourless and all around dissapointing.

Luckily the same could not be said about the peanut butter waffles. Two waffles stuffed with peanut butter parfait, whipped cream, fresh strawberries and smothered with salted caramel sauce - this desert was delicious! The parfait itself didn't quite compare to Supernormal's - but the overall desert wasn't overly sweet and offered a delicious range of tastes and textures. 

The decor was another highlight of this venue. Set up like an outdoor trailer park, its fairy lights, chandeliers and indoor trailer booths, gives it an overall American rustic vibe that makes you feel like you're 100 miles away from Melbourne.

If looking for a good burger - definitely make your way over to Grand Trailer Park Taverna. 

Food: 4/5 - the chips let it down 

Decor: 4/5

Service: 3/5

Total:11/15

Verdict: Love - get around to trying it soon

Movida Aqui

The Movida group is a Melbourne institution. Serving up Spanish tapas (or tacos if you're hitting up Pacos), it's been a delight to Melbourne patrons for years. 

To the shock of many, throughout my years of dining out at Melbourne I had never been to Movida. It was time to set the record straight as I made my way to Movida Aqui for dinner. I had heard that Movida was overpriced and overrated, so I didn't go in with the highest of expectations.  But, in a word (well four), it's definitely the new fave.

The staff were incredible - warm and welcoming, attentive and helpful, and knew both the food and wine menu like the back of their hand. 

To start with I had the potato bomba filled with chorizo and the corn cakes with spanner crab and paprika pate (on of Movida Aqui's latest additions to the menu).  The bomba was absolutely outstanding. Crisp on the outside but delectably creamy and salty (from the chorizo) on the inside. And the corn cakes,  by far one of the best tapas I've had in Melbourne. Amazingly balanced and just bursting with flavour, I would highly recommend this dish. 

For main we shared the duck and mushroom paella, and the pork belly with black pudding and cannellini beans.  The paella was incredible - bursting with flavour and the juicy duck just fell off the bone.  The pork belly was also delicious - a well balanced dish with a variety of textures. 

Desert was plum sorbet and honey saffron icecream.  As the last dish of the night it didn't dissapoint. The plum sorbet was tangy and refreshing and the honey saffron icecream was creamy and fragrant.  Topped off with some homemade fruit bread, the dish was complete!

Movida Aqui was more than a delicious meal - it was an outstanding experience.

Service: 5/5

Food: 4.5/5

Decor: 4.5/5

Total:14/15

Verdict: the new fave

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Supernormal

Supernormal is one of the latest additions to the Andrew McConnell collection.  This wasn't the first time I had been to Supernormal and after having such an amazing experience the first time, there were high hopes going in - luckily the place didn't disappoint.

Even though being a Friday night the venue was busy and bustling, we still managed to secure two spots at the bar straight away.  The staff were incredibly friendly and attentive, even offering us the option of a sommelier to come over and help us choose our wine.

To eat we shared the lobster roll, slow cooked Szechuan lamb with spring onion pancake and coriander paste, sautéed greens in black bean sauce and the peanut butter parfait. The lobster roll was nice, but not as amazing as last time. The lobster had something akin to a  soft shell around it which was both unexpected and unpleasant (I obviously have not prepared a lobster before or I would have known what it was, but I am pretty sure it was not meant to be there).

However, the lamb was incredible.  The flavours were explosive, with the zesty coriander past and the fragrant Szechuan sauce - and the lamb just melted in the mouth.  I would highly recommend getting this dish if going to Supernormal.

Supernormal is also home to my favourite desert in Melbourne - the peanut butter parfait.  A perfectly balanced desert with its salty peanuts, gooey rich salted caramel sauce and sweet peanut parfait - I could easily eat this every night of the week.

All in all it was an excellent night and a restaurant I look forward to returning to.

Service: 4.5/5

Décor: 4/5

Food: 4/5

Total: 12/15

Verdict: Love - rush out and try it soon.

Truman Cafe

Trueman's is an Albert Park institution for breakfast and brunch. Decorated with a miss match of plates, old cameras, eclectic furniture and even a pink flamingo, this buzzing little joint reminds me somewhat of a grandma's (albeit a trendy grandma's) lounge room.

Having been up since the crack of dawn, it felt more like a lunch appropriate meal than brekki so to eat I ordered the vanilla milkshake and chicken schnitzel burger.

The milkshake was delicious - thick, creamy and with the perfect amount of vanilla flavour. The burger was nice, but not amazing. The bun was fresh and delicious and the celery in the coleslaw added a nice crunch. But the overall burger was a quite dry and the schnitzel could have done with more seasoning. That being said, it's not the first time I've been to Trueman's and their breakfasts are usually delicious - next time I might just stick to the brekki choices rather than venturing into the lunch menu. 

With its exceptional service (the staff are always friendly and attentive - we never had an empty jug of table water) and its local cosy vibe, Truemans is a brunch spot I'd recommend getting around to trying at some point. 

Service: 4.5/5

Decor: 4/5 

Food: 2.5/5

Total: 10.5/15

Verdict: like - get around to trying at some point

St Hotel

To sum up the St Hotel in one word - 'nice'. The old St Hotel has been resurrected by the duo behind Hanoi Hannah, Saigon Sally and Tokyo Tina. Offering modern Thai cuisine, the venue has been decked out with indoor plants, wall / ceiling art and eclectic furniture, creating an overall funky vibe.  

The staff were incredible - friendly, attentive and helpful - definitely the highlight of the night. Unfortunately the food was, well, just 'nice'. To eat we had the pork ribs, corn on the cob, sweet chilli chicken stir fry, beef stir fry and smashed Papaya salad. 

The ribs had nice flavours but were quite fatty and the corn on the cob was ok, but lacked any sort of flavour punch or wow factor.

The stir fries were the best dishes of the night - fragrant, fresh and well cooked. Unfortunately the flavours were still lacking that wow factor that makes me come running back through a restaurant's doors. 

The papaya salad was the most dissapointing dish of the night. Papaya salad is one of my fave salads - I could easily chow down on a bowel from Chin Chin any old day of the week. But this one, although not terrible, lacked texture and complexity in flavours (which wasn't helped by a lot of the papaya not being shredded properly) and the crackling on the side was described by my friend  as "smoky tasting bubble wrap". 

Whilst the food didn't blow me away, due to its impressive décor and incredible staff, I would be happy to give St Hotel another chance to impress in the future. 

Décor: 4.5/5

Service: 4.75/5

Food: 2.5/5

Total: 11.75/15

Verdict: Like - get around to trying it at some point

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