Garage Cafe & Bar

221 Berkeley Street
Carlton 3053 VIC Phone: (03) 9349 5000
Website: garagecafe.com.au
I had trouble sleeping last night, no thanks to the hail outside. It started around 11pm or so and was on and off up until 6am. Ended up sleeping at 6am in the morning, only to wake up at 10am to find that it was all white outside! Most of the hail had actually melted by then, but you could still see bits of it.

Imagine all that hail on the walkway that would have been there around 6am, crazy huh?

I'm actually in examination period at the moment, so I've been heading into Uni every few days in an attempt to be productive! For lunch, my friends and I usually go somewhere close so we don't waste too much time. Originally I wanted to go to Blue Print, however Chloe and Speedy already decided that today we were going to have lunch at Garage Cafe & Bar.

My friends have actually been coming to Garage since Tahlia took us there during first year Uni, I must admit that I wasn't too big on it back then so I was slightly hesitant. But hey, they seemed really excited, Viper even came all the way from her work just so she could eat their sambal terasi (the red chili paste that you see in the photos).

Chicken Opor (Opor Ayam) - Indonesia chicken curry served with half fried bold eggs & tofu on mild coconut sauce with steamed rice $9.50I'm actually not big on coconut in my food, such things like thai curry etc. I tend to stay away from. So I can't really comment on it, though my friends say they always order it.

Bakwan Penyet - Steamed rice served with fried meatballs, fresh cabbage, tomato & cucumber served with sambal on cold black stone $9.50

Garage Full Penyet - steamed rice served with Fried chicken, meatballs, soybean, tofu & boiled egg served with fresh cabbage, tomato & cucumber with sambal on cold black stone $14
The meatballs were probably the best on this plate, followed by the fried chicken. The soybean, tofu & boiled eggs were okay. The sambal makes a really big difference, it made everything taste much better! I ordered this today, but I think next time I'd rather have just the meatballs.

Condensed Milk Tea

Chloe and Viper both ordered a milk tea each. Viper seemed like she really needed it with all the sambal she was eating, having ordered a seperate sambal terasi $3.5 along with what she already had on her plate. (she cleared up the whole thing)

Pricing: Most of the mains are priced at $9.5, specials $14, vegetarian up to $9. I'm definitely going with the meatballs next time.

Overall Score - Casual Dining: 13.5/20

• Food: 3.5/5
• Range of Choice: 3/5
• Value for money: 3.5/5
• Venue: 3.5/5

Other Useful Information

• Blog Review: Melbourne Gastronome (November 10, 2008)
• Blog Review: Smell & Taste Are My Memory (September 9, 2007)

Opening Hours
Monday to Friday: 12pm - 10pm
Saturday: 5pm - 10pm