Food adventures in Melbourne and wherever the tummy goes
Dimmi have been having a lot of flash sales where certain restaurants have discounts such as 50% off food. The girlies at work decided to have a night out and took advantage of this and booked Marmara for some Turkish food. We made a booking at Marmara and when we arrived, we were treated wonderfully. We could definitely tell that we were going to be looked after well.
Good ol’ Dimmi were having their flash deals where if you visit participating eateries you’d get 50% off food. So of course Ms Butterfree booked Bangpop because it’s been a place where she’d always wanted to visit AND we got 50% off the food bill. Made a booking via Dimmi and BAM we were in and we were eating.
We arrived and was seated and the staff were friendly but they weren’t all that attentive. We did have to wave them down a few times to get our order which was quite disappointing. Anywho, we ordered our dishes and waited for them to arrive so we can devour them. First up, the moo dad diew which was the air dried pork with sticky rice. We found this to be quite dry and needed a bit more seasoning.
Moo Dad Diew (one sun pork) – $9.90
Air dried pork with Sriracha cucumber and sticky rice
American food has been getting more and more popular in Australia but there is an eatery that has been around for quite some time, Misty’s Diner. This is an American diner where the drinkies are American, the food is what you would find in a diner and the atmosphere, boy the atmosphere is uplifting, fun and buzzing.
Ms Trinh Diem Vy, a renown Vietnamese chef and restaurateur, known for her Hoi An restaurants including Mermaid, Morning Glory, Cargo Club and Vy’s Market Restaurant & Cooking School has stepped into Melbourne with a new restaurant located just off the busy streets of Chapel Street, House of Hoi An.
The girlies wanted a catch up to hear all of my Japan stories and I found out that Dimmi has amazing 50% offers at various restaurants and they change every week so I suggested we check out Tazio for some Italiano! I made a booking and BAM we turned up on the night and it was quite busy for a Wednesday night and a lot of people were here for after work drinkies. Stepping into the eatery, the staff were warm and friendly and I was already enjoying Tazio. Since all the food were 50% off, we were definitely going to go to town.
After arriving back in Australia, Mr Kingdom Hearts suggested a ramen date to see if I could find any ramen in Melbourne that tasted like those in Japan. So we explored Mugen Ramen since this has been on his list and he was oh so excited to check this place out. We turned up on a Wednesday night without a booking and they managed to squeeze us in. The atmosphere was casual, the staff were super friendly and the decor was very suave.
We were oh so hungry and decided on the Wagyu Tataki and this was AMAZEBALL! The wagyu was seared perfectly and the mash and the ponzu sauce was on point. This was a fantastic starter and we were super excited about our mains. This was more on the pricier side but it was definitely worth it.
Wagyu Tataki – $18
Seared Wagyu served with Yuzu Mashed Potatoes, Spring Onions and Ponzu Sauce
Since we’re finally moving in, we decided to check out the local eats and I’ve been eyeing Rocco’s Burger Cafe every time we drove past and FINALLY we had the opportunity to casually drop by to stuff our faces. It was quite busy when we went at lunch time but when we stepped into the cafe, we were greeted by smiling staff (even though they were super duper busy). You can definitely tell that it’s a family-owned cafe because they pay extra attention to you and they had a different kind of friendliness to them.
Situated alongside the Yarra River and Flinders Street station stands a bar which is always full of people laughing and chatting, staring into the river called Arbory. I dropped by with the babies after a day of showing my overseas cousin around the city, we were famished and I’m so glad I did because it was a very Melburnian place.
All the baby cousins decided to take me out just before the wedding and because I wanted something light (so I can fit into my dress), they booked a Japanese place in the city – Wagaya. It was in the mid-city arcade and you’ll have to take the elevator to get there so don’t be disheartened if you’re struggling to find the place. When we got there, it was quite lively and a touch on the loud side. We were shown to our booth upstairs and the babies started rushing towards the touchscreen to place their orders.
Mr D and I haven’t been out and about for a while so we decided to cash in one of his mate’s good food voucher at Olivigna since Miss Teeth has rated this place quite highly. We made a booking for a Saturday night and it was quite full when we arrived. A lot of parking, beautiful atmosphere and I bet a spectacular looking vineyard if we were to come in the daytime. Anywho, once we arrived, we were shown to our seat and I flicked through the menu quite quickly since I was super duper hungry! We were given the house bread and olive oil (grown from their olive grove) which was awesomely amazing!
Bread and Olive Oil from the Olive Grove
