O Lord thems good fries!

Boyfriend and I had a date with Bell Shakespeare on Wednesday, we even bumped into Claire from
Melbourne Gastronome.

We were in such a rush, me coming from work and boyfriend - well actually he was just waiting around. But, he did pick us up one of Lord of the Fries special 'Big Marc' (sic) according to Boyfriend. With less than ten minutes till curtain, we had to rush through them. Don't know how the boy did it in less than half the time it took me! But, yeah awesome.

Mamasita

I have been wanting to get to Mamasita for a while now. Finally, after a good pay cheque I was able to have a girls date with Bestie May. As they have a no bookings policy we organised to meet at 7.30pm, anticipating a 40 minute wait.

Oh how wrong we were. How very very wrong.

I had known that Mamasita was situated on the first floor, and immediately joined the long line for a table at the bottom of the stairs. What a tight squeeze, people going up, people going down; us with no idea if there was a door list, how long the wait was or anything. Pretty quickly though I mazed my way trough the line to enquire at the desk. There was no desk. Took me a little while to figure out who to talk to and after 10 minutes of trying to catch the man, we were on the list, expecting a wait of 1.5-2 hours. Onto Madame Brussels we went for yummy cocktails and just a few cashews to line our stomachs.

Yes, we didn't sit down to eat until 10, but it was worth it. Once seated things are pretty organised and service is quick. It is a shame though, to have waited for that long and get a bench not an actual table. But we were happy with our many dishes and tall margs!

Although I am not in a huge hurry to go back, I can certainly see myself popping in for a yummy lunch or early dinner, it's just the right price to not worry about future bill payments!


What we stuffed our faces with:

Tortilla with salsa and guac ($8)

Elotes callejeros - "Street Style" chargrilled corn with queso chipotle mayo and lime ($3.8each)

Tacos de Camarones - marinated prawn with serano chiles and chipotle almond salsa ($7each)

Quesadillas de Huitelacoche - mexican truffle, mushrooms, roasted corn, epazote and queso fresco ($14)

Ceviche de Yucatan - market fish with green tomatoes, mint, lime and coconut milk ($12)

I. Loved. Everything. Certainly a healthier option than Taco Bell. Everything was fresh and tangy. Being the salt and spice queen that I am I wouldn't have minded a bit more zing on both accounts - but for the health factor and price factor of Mamasita - well I might just head over for dinner tonight. Oh and the margs - so so freaking good.

I definitely think they need to organise themselves a lot more though, to have that many people lining up without any indication of the process for getting a table in absurd - a simple sign downstairs would suffice. And that poor maitre d', dealing with that many people, bar and wait staff standing between tasks was a little frustrating, i was like "why can't they tell me what I'm supposed to do?"

Try the chargrilled corn and... well... you know what? Try everything! I particularly loved the armond salsa with the prawns - amazing milky texture as well as the mushrooms in the quesadilla - warm with just the right amount of cheese.

Mamasita
Mexican Restaurant and Bar
Level 1, 11 Collins St Melbourne
Phone. 61 3 9650 3821

Chat for tea

Paige lives in Ballarat. Two cars full of people madly rushing to Ballarat to surprise her with a birthday dinner! Two vegans, two vegos and a few fussies - Chat for tea, vegetarian restaurant extraordinaire was perfect for all of us. I'm not the biggest fan of fake meat, I mean there was a reason I stopped eating it in the first place. Apart from the odd soy sausage, facon or burger I'm pretty happy with what I eat. But it was fun to try some nibblies, done very well with plenty of flavour. Chat for tea is a lovely and welcoming place and were great with the spectacle we made of ourselves - Paige bursting into tears when she spotted us all, trampoline cake and lots of noise! Oh and the owner's daughter is adorable - I wanted to eat her up, but settled into the dishes actually on the menu.

Gyoza - big yummy dumplings, great value too.

"Chicken" nuggets - soy protein coated with wasabe flavoured crumbs - so so good!

Tempura vegetables - wasabi seasoning
I loved the mouth watering seasoning in the tempura batter, but as it is the standard seasoning used for all the fake meat, it got a bit repetitive.

Tofu stir-fry with rice- good if you're after a fresh and simple dish.

Green curry vermicelli noodle soup with sliced 'fish' - Wasn't really a fan of this, a few people ordered it and I was tempted but it was a little one dimensional and I just don't think the green curry went well with the 'fish' slices.

My teriyaki noodle sizzling hotplate- I was so excited about this cause I love a good sizzle, hard to find though without beef.... was really good. yum yum!

Isn't this happy snap adorable - sums up the beautiful and memorable night perfectly.

Will definitely head back to Chat for tea, the next time I am in need of a fresh meal in Ballarat, I have to say though - I am usually more than happy with chips, cheese and gravy from Checkers!

Chat for Tea
25 Armstrong Street Ballarat, VIC
Phone (03) 5331 3898

Dainty Sichuan

I have a confession to make. I have been keeping a few restaurants to myself, in the unrealistic hope that it won't become over-crowded so I can always get a table, instead of waiting for 30 minutes for a mid-week treat! But my selfish attempt is, for lack of a better word - silly.

So first on my list in Dainty Sichuan. With a long history (in restaurant terms atleast), starting with 8 tables in Collingwood in 2003 and moving into Corrs lane three years later. The 120 seats still had people (myself included) queuing around the restaurant and down the block! Last year, Dainty made the move to a 2 story establishment in South Yarra (just a little down from the station) with it's regular menu as well as a traditional hotpot menu.

Oi, our first visit this year did not disapoint, it was just as spicy and delicious as I remembered.
Boyfriend and I can't go past the spicy fish hotpot and select a couple of vege dishes and the spicy cold noodles (mandatory).


It's alot of food but we can handle it. Boyfriend, although orders enough for 3/4 just for us two, would freak out if a third person came on board and probably order a coupla extra dishes!

Also can't go past the garlic cucumber, it's so refreshing after the spicy noodles, if a little slippery to pick up with the chop sticks.

Yes, I know it looks scary but it is the best frickin thing in the world, awesome on a 40 degree day, amazing on a 10 degree days or when you've got a cold, a hangover, your depressed or happy. It just rocks okay. OMG I want it right now!

The dried tofu and spring onion, although not overly spicy is chewy and smoky and just delicious! As the tofu is quite pungent, getting another vegetables dish is a good idea.

I just love Dainty, I would venture over more if time allowed, was so much easier when still in the CBD. I was a virgin to sichuan before Dainty, so as much as I cheat at different sichuan restaurants, Dainty will always be special to me.

Dainty Sichuan
176 Toorak Road, South Yarra
ph: 90781686

The Abyssinian

In April. Yep, that's how behind I am. For my mum's birthday, the fam trusted me to find a suitable restaurant to celebrate. I've been wanting to try to Abyssinian since we moved to Flemo in September last year! Because the focus is really on share-food I have been saving it for a special occasion.

I love a restaurant with a menu on the website, it makes finding a suitable restaurant so much easier, and means I can choose what I'm going to have in advance - saves on ordering times and means I can spend more time talking with the company - lol. You can find the website here.

I loved the warm service here, the wait staff and the owner took alot of pride in the establishment and made the meal experience lots of fun, they also had no qualm with us taking our time on ordering despite the constant threat of a queue outside. We ended up deciding on a meat banquet for 4 and a vegetarian banquet for 3, which was just enough for all.


I would say, if you're not a fan of lemon you might want to order a side of rice, as the traditional flat bread which mains are served on and eaten with is quite lemon-y. The curries, were light and delicious but still with a well rounded flavour, only achieved through careful cooking. I very much enjoyed the vegetarian platter, as well as the little bit of fish I stole from the meat platter. Although it's not a cuisine which I would crave every week, I shall be returning with friends who haven't tried Ethiopian fare and trying more of the seafood options.


The Abyssinian
277 Racecourse Road Kensington,
Victoria 3031

Bookings call: (03) 9376 8754
(bookings are recommended for large tables or for friday-sunday dining)