Hako

310 Flinders La
Melbourne 3000
VIC Phone: (03) 9620 1881
Website: www.hako.com.au

This week I had lunch with 3 of my friends who I hadn't seen in a while, Chantel, Patches and Madeline. Chantel told me she felt like eating Japanese food, so we decided to go to Hako. I believe Hako has now become the default catch up lunch destination for Chantel and I.

I really like the simplicity of the decor.

Cumulus Inc

45 Flinders La
Melbourne 3000 VIC
Phone: (03) 9650 1445
Website: www.cumulusinc.com.au

I had actually planned to come to Cumulus Inc a week ago, but instead my friends decided that they wanted to have some Vietnamese rolls from Collingwood instead. Although Cumulus has been around for a while now, I had never gone... even with my friend Tofu constantly raving about it!

Shira Nui

247 Springvale Rd
Glen Waverley 3150 VIC Phone: (03) 9886 7755

A few weeks ago Chloe had asked everyone in our group if we wanted to dine at Shira Nui together. Out of the 10+ people in our circle of friends, it ended up that only 4 of us went. Too bad for the others really, it really was worth the 35 minute drive down to Glen Waverly! (Yeah I know I shouldn't complain, country restaurants are even further away!)

So I picked up Kaelyn on the way and we made our way down to The Glen. So what did we learn tonight... we learnt that we should never trust Chloes directions. We walked a block around The Glen looking for Shira Nui according to what Chloe had told us, only to find the restaurant a few steps from where we had initially parked. Thanks Chloe!

Copenhagen, Denmark - Kong Hans Kælder

Vingaardsstræde 6 DK-1070
Copenhagen (Sjaelland) Denmark
Phone: +45 3311 6868
Website: www.konghans.dk

So, the first night in Denmark I was really excited, because I was told that we were going to a one star Michelin Restaurant. We ended up outside the entrance of Kong Hans Kælder.

Copenhagen, Denmark - Copenhagen Corner

H.C. Andersens Boulevard 1
1553 København, Denmark
Phone: +45 3391 4545
Website: Restaurant Copenhagen Corner

During the break I went on holidays to Europe with my family and I have to admit, Copenhagen was probably my favourite destination. The architecture around Copenhagen especially is just so beautiful. And did you know that a lot of the Royal European families are somehow branched out from the Danish Royal line? The things you learn when you travel!

Anyway, moving on to food. First stop, Restaurant Copenhagen Corner! The venue was very spacious and had a touch of simple elegance. (Is that even a term? I think I just made it up)

Svago's

285 High St
Kew 3101 VIC
Phone: (03) 9855 0505
Website: www.svago.com.au

It's actually been a while since I last updated this blog. Had been busy finishing up examinations, and I'm already overseas now! But before I left, I had to meet up with my high school friends. One of them had gone to Italy for half a year as exchange and once she got back she was always complaining that she couldn't have things like Gelati anymore in Melbourne because it paled in comparison to what she had over there. So I had been wanting to take her Svago's for some time, since she really craved for real Italian.

I will start off now by saying. A lot of the photos did not come out. And it is too embarrassing to put up photos as blurry them. The restaurant is pretty dark so you need to hold the camera REALLY still for it not to be blurry... it didn't help having my friend hurrying me up seeing as she wanted to eat. I know what you're going to think when you see the photos.. this is a good photo!? Yeah well, you don't know how bad the other ones were! So these are good enough.
At Svago's the way the menu works is that you order dishes to share. So the main menu is split into 2 sections; entree and sized dishes. We ended up ordering 3 entrees, 3 mains and 3 desserts in total between the 3 of us.

ENTREES

Attica

74 Glen Eira Rd
Ripponlea 3185 VIC
Phone: (03) 9530 0111
Website: www.attica.com.au

On the weekend I took my cousin Aurelie to Attica as a Graduation gift, since I'm all out of ideas on what to get her, and what I know she wants is slightly out of budget. Being from a family like mine, you seem to be born with expensive taste. A blessing and a curse at the same time.

When I had told Aurelie of my plans to take her to Attica, she gladly offered to take photos of the food with her much more professional SLR camera. So the photos in this post are brought to you by Aurelie! You can really tell the difference in the photos from that of an SLR and a typical digital camera.

My cousin recently started her own blog La Maison Nuage, I highly recommend you check it out. She's quite the writer, much more eloquent than I am in speech. She also made a post here on our visit to Attica.

Jacques Reymond

78 Williams Rd
Prahran 3181 VIC
Phone: (03) 9525 2178
Website: www.jacquesreymond.com.au

On Thursday I had dinner with my parents at Jacques Reymond. My dad had originally asked me if we should dine at Vue de Monde, however I opted for something a little more classic.

Let me start off by saying that, Jacques Reymond comes with guest parking behind the restaurant, so you don't need to spend your time trying to find some parking on the street. (Yes we parked on the street)

Japan - Nagoya: Sakai

２丁目８ ２３大須

中区Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture, Japan
(Near Osu Kannon Station)

I'm currently counting down the days till my holidays begin, and I thought it would be a good idea to look back at some wonderful meals I've had overseas.

If you're wondering why the address of the restaurant is in Japanese, it's because I haven't been able to find out what it is in English due to my lack of Japanese and Google skills. I did try though! If you copy and paste the address directly to Google Map it works.
So, Japan, Japan, where to begin? Within the past 3 or 4 years, I've gone there at least once a year - Tokyo, Osaka & Nagoya to name the main destinations. Which city had the most memorable meals? Nagoya is definitely the front runner in my books. This is mostly due to the fact that we have an awesome family friend in Nagoya who's always willing to take us around to the nicest restaurants there.

One of the must go to places on his list includes Sakai, a restaurant that specialises in top of the line Matsusaka Beef. I have only made 2 trips down to Nagoya, yet I've eaten at the restaurant 3 times already - believe me, it's freaking good. (I'm sure the photos will make you understand)

Comme Kitchen

7 Alfred Pl
Melbourne 3000 VIC Phone: (03) 9631 4000
Website: www.comme.com.au

If I had started this blog a month ago, I would have 3 Comme Kitchen posts by now. But because I didn't I'm missing quite a few photos of the dishes here and there, so bear with me!

As some of you may know, I couldn't get reservations at Comme for Chantels' dinner mid May, so I decided to have lunch there instead with Kaelyn since it was so close to her work.
On my first visit there with Kaelyn, we each ordered 2 entrees and 1 main, and shared a desert which totaled to $29 dollars each. The waiter even halved the chocolate tart for us and gave us an extra scoop of their malted ice cream which was to die for. With that sort of an experience, who wouldn't go back for more? Great food, great service and a great venue!
I'm sorry that the photos aren't that great this time around, I'm still a beginner! :)

Sydney: Forty-One

Level 42
2 Chifley Sq
Sydney 2000 NSW
Phone: (02) 9221 2500
Website: www.forty-one.com.au

During the Easter Break I went up to Sydney. A family friend had been wanting to take us to Tetsuya's since hearing about the restaurant being one of the best in the world. Now, tell me who could pass on that offer? Sadly Tetsuya's was closed for the entire Easter Weekend, so our family friend took us to Forty-One instead.

The French Brasserie

2 Malthouse La
Melbourne 3000 VIC
Phone: (03) 9662 1632
Website: www.thefrenchbrasserie.com.au
A bunch of friends my friends went to The French Brasserie to celebrate our friend Chantel's birthday mid May. Chantel was pretty busy, so I offered to look for a restaurant for her for her birthday. Originally I had Comme Kitchen and The Italian in mind, however they were both booked out, so I decided to go with The French Brasserie as my third option.

In terms of making a reservation, it was quite a breeze, considering there were 13 of us in total. They even offered to seat us upstairs as we had a larger group so that we would have more freedom. When I walked into the restaurant that night, I immediately noticed the two story glass windows that go along the side of the restaurant. The venue has a nice feel to it.

While waiting for everyone to arrive, I asked the waiter for a mocktail, something tropical and bubbly! Although mocktails weren't on the drinks menu, they were kind enough to whip me exactly what I asked for! The drink was very refreshing with plenty of fresh strawberries in it. Chantel and Maddie ended up ordering one each after trying mine. :)

For starters we got a basket of fresh bread which the guys quickly demolished seeing they were quite hungry.

ENTREES