Melbourne Restaurant Reviews

Rangoli Indian Restaurant Review

2009-03-11T19:28:00.000-07:00

3/ 60 Fitzroy St
St Kilda
VIC, 3182
Ph: (03) 9593 6599

Food
Indian Cuisine. Banquets available. Some delicious spicy chicken in the entree. A massive amount of food laid out for the main courses in the banquet with delish naan and great vegetable curries. More than I could ever manage to eat and some unusual desserts not found at all indian restaurants.
Service
The service was wonderful. We had a delightful waitress and the host was very charming as well. The accomodated us with our small child and provided a high chair and extra space partitioned from the others.
Value
A bit more expensive than your average indian restaurant in Melbourne. Banquets are generally over $40 per person.
Decor and Atmosphere
Spacious and very well presented. They have done a great job doing up the old St Kilda Railway Station building. A modern feel and heaps of tables. Suitable for large groups.

Chinta Ria Restaurant Review

2008-09-01T05:40:00.000-07:00

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94 Acland St
St Kilda 3182 VIC
Phone: (03) 9525 4664

Food
Malaysian Hawker Style Cuisine. The food was well presented and delicious with large portions. Features ikan bilis and nasi lemak and some scrumptious seafood dishes.
Service
Prompt and professional
Value
Reasonable value, up to $30 for a main meal but some cheaper dishes available too. No banquets.
Decor and Atmosphere
A charming atmosphere that was very comfortable, not too snobby but classy enough. Enjoy outdoor dining on the footpath in the warmer months or be cosy indoors in the winter.

Ajiya Japanese Restaurant Review

2008-07-17T17:15:00.000-07:00

Shop 11a Metropol
60 Fitzroy Street St Kilda
Phone: (03) 9593 9853

Food
Japanese Cuisine. Not a very large selection, but there are some good options on the menu. There are some different meals than what you would generally find at a japanese restaurant like Japanese burgers and chips, but they also have some of the more traditional dishes. They offer free Miso soup to everyone as an entree. Also an interesting dessert choice of green tea and cookies and cream ice cream - not separate but together in the one ice-cream- and actually it was very refreshing.
Service
Lovely, friendly, very helpful and polite service. They go out of their way to make sure you are looked after.
Value
Good value. Most japanese restaurants I find are quite expensive but this is very reasonable. Probably because it focuses on takeaway as much as dine in. Not so upper class.
Decor and Atmosphere
Well presented and modern, but more of your casual dinner or lunch than a formal night out at a classy restaurant. Very comfortable and clean.

Belucci's Restaurant Review

2008-06-09T16:43:00.000-07:00

129 Beaconsfield Parade
Albert Park Vic
Phone: (03) 9690 6288

Food
Traditional Italian Cuisine, the Tuscan way of cooking. There are two types of italian dinner menus to select from. All dishes were delicious. A la carte presentation, generally with larger plates and smaller portions. We enjoyed tasty bread and calamari entree, the sweets were gorgeous including refreshing gelato.
Service
Wonderful waiters, extremely professional, friendly and polite. The hosts, Belucci and his wife were there to greet and welcome us with a kiss. They were absolutely delightful and charming.
Value
Not one of your bargain value type restaurants. Prices and service are a bit more upper class here. Mains are generally priced over $20 each.
Decor and Atmosphere
Belucci's is found in a classic building along Beaconsfield Parade next to the beach. Built in the 1890's the building was a terminus for cable trams but has housed restaurants since the 1960's. It has a warm atmosphere with a great deal of unique character and views to boot.

The Cedar Tree Restaurant Review

2008-04-26T19:00:00.000-07:00

198 Bay Street
Brighton Vic 3186
Phone: (03) 9818 0647

Food
Authentic Lebanese cuisine. To open we had a selection of hommos, baba ghanouj and labnee dips, served with lebanese bread, onto a selection of entrees including traditional middle eastern balls of spicy dried beans, vegetables, and middle eastern herbs, served with a drizzle of tahina sauce and fetta cheese mixed with mint, onion and spices in filo pastry. Mains consisted mostly of meat dishes such as the opening dish with the banquet which was chicken fillet pieces sautéed in a mixture of fresh coriander, garlic, ginger and finished with a squeeze of lemon juice. Served with cinnamon rice. This was followed by further meat dishes and then a sweet dessert of Baklawa and turkish delight combined. All the dishes were very enjoyable and well presented.
Service
Attentive and responsive. Meals came out at a reasonable pace, not too long to wait.
Value
Again I would have to recommend the banquet for better value, starting at $35 per person and plenty included. Separate mains start at around $20 each.
Decor and Atmosphere
Nicely painted interior with a number of lebanese photos and emblems throughout, featuring of course the cedar tree. Well presented. Later in the evening a belly dancer strut her stuff to some louder traditional music. They regularly feature belly dancing on weekends and look out guys, she likes you to get up and dance with her!

The Base Camp Restaurant Review

2008-04-18T22:44:00.000-07:00

648 Glenferrie Road,
Hawthorn, Vic 3122
Phone: (03) 9818 0647

Food
Nepalese cuisine. The menu showed some reasonable selections, though only upon asking did we discover they also had a great value banquet available. The range of dishes on the banquet set menu appeared extraordinary at first, seeming to be a LOT of food. We asked if we should choose which dishes we wanted and were informed that we got ALL the dishes on the menu included. So we thought - great! As it turns out they were only small portions of each dish, but nonetheless it was a great banquet in which you got to sample a large range of foods of the nepalese cuisine, including lentil soup, 3 entrees, many mains with mildly spicy meats and veg with sides as well as 2 desserts - fruit salad and rice pudding.
Service
Very friendly service with a smile. A charming waiter served us. Professional and prompt.
Value
Especially good value if you go with the banquet. Pretty standard prices for mains, under $20 generally.
Decor and Atmosphere
The main front room boasts that,"Framed pictures of snowcapped Himalayan peaks such as the majestic Everest, Kanchenjunga and AnnaPurna adorn the walls while Nepalese flute and sitar music plays quietly in the background," though both times we have dined there in the past couple years we have been seated in a small extra room at the back which is wood panelled and cosy with tasteful nepalese decorations and dim lighting.

Tien Tien Restaurant Review

2008-04-02T02:21:00.000-07:00

2/29 Fitzroy Street
St Kilda, VIC 3182
Ph: (03) 9537 0889

I was told by one of the friends I dined with that Tien Tien meant "every day". Special mention and thumbs up to the management as we went to Tien Tien at 'Earth Hour' and they had all their lights out and served all meals by candlelight for the hour.
Food
A large selection of thai, malaysian and vietnamese cuisines. The soups were reasonable and the mains were very enjoyable from our selections of thai lemon grass chicken and malaysian curry with rice. Decent sized portions.
Service
Competent, professional and prompt.
Value
No banquets available. Mains from $13 to $25 generally.
Decor and Atmosphere
Funky lights, but particularly lovely by candlelight at earth hour. Well presented and warm atmosphere. Comfortable seating.

Swan Palace Restaurant Review

2008-03-23T18:11:00.000-07:00

96 Swan Street
Richmond Vic 3121
Ph: (03) 9427 8491

Food
Vietnamese cuisine. An interesting selection on the menu. We had plenty of time to look right over it as we waited and waited to be served. We could choose from such interesting dishes as Combianation Seafood and Vegetables, X.O. Sauce Specia, Pork with Black Beab, Sate and Oyter Sauce, a few different dishes with 'prwan', work fried noodles, coleslow and many more.. The soup was pretty ordinary, our water tasted frighteningly like detergent and appeared to be rather blue. The garlic prawns or 'prwans' were about the only redeeming feature in the mains. The calamari was ok but a little strange tasting. I felt a bit sick afterward but not sure if that was due to the food or the taste of detergent I couldn't seem to get out of my mouth.
Service
The one waiter flew around the place like a bumbling bee, with smoking hot dishes flying at people and the man barrelling backwards through doorways straight into customers exiting the toilets, flying so fast in every direction that I felt I needed to duck at times. And yet despite all this frantic flying about, the service was as slow as I have ever come across, and when we were finally served he ran away before we could barely get words out of our mouth to order. When he cleared dirty dishes off customers' tables he just piled them onto other tables and left them there. To be honest I nearly got up and left the restaurant before the mains finally came out.
Value
Reasonable prices. No banquets available.
Decor and Atmosphere
Pretty plain, not a lot of style. A cute row of christmas santas hanging along the wall.. in late March.

Gurkhas Nepalese Restaurant Review

2008-03-15T17:48:00.000-07:00

190-192 Chapel Street
Prahran
Ph: (03) 9510 3325

Gurkhas have several restaurants in Melbourne, located at Brunswick, Richmond, Carlton, Melbourne and Prahran. This review is for 'Gurkhas Brasserie' in Prahran.
Food
Nepalese Food, a cuisine from the Himalayan Kingdom. I have to admit I'm not much into vegetarian dishes, but the 'Gurkas Special" vegetarian appetiser was refreshing and scrumptious - a vegetable mixture topped with yoghurt, sauce and plum sauce. I particularly enjoyed the goat curry in the mains and the chilli chicken wasn't bad. The nepalese rice pudding was a great way to top off the meal as a sweet and tempting dessert. All of this was provided in their 'simple feast' banquet option, along with tea or coffee. Also available are main courses from their 'vegetarian bazaar', 'meat bazaar', 'seafood selection' and 'gurkha grill' and most of these are reasonably priced individually as mains.
Service
There were plenty of waiters on hand and they provided prompt and professional service.
Value
Some excellent value options with 4 banquets to choose from starting with the 'simple feast' at $21.50 per person, and most individual mains at reasonable prices as well.
Decor and Atmosphere
Dim lighting, tastefully decorated, photos and pictures to set the cultural atmosphere.

Purple Shells Restaurant Review

2008-03-09T20:10:00.000-07:00

153 Acland Street
St Kilda 3182
Ph: 9525 4988

Food
Seafood and BBQ Chinese Restaurant. No added MSG. Mostly your standard sort of chinese fare as generally found around Melbourne. Large servings of soup which were hot and filling. Good selection of hot entrees which I enjoyed. The mains were a bit more luke warm and ordinary, but not too bad. Lemon chicken was a bit too battered and deep fried. They also have a vegetarian's selection, omelettes, roast dishes and prawn/scallop dishes available.
Service
The first waitress was a bit scattered, but a second lady took over and took control and looked after us.
Value
Good value banquets available. Your standard mains are reasonably priced. You'll pay a bit more for individual seafood and roast dishes
Decor and Atmosphere
Neat and colourful, not overdone. A few simple decorations.

The Chopping Block - a new TV show

2008-02-25T15:40:00.000-08:00

I must say that after seeing "The Chopping Block" on channel 9, I personally think it is a terrible show and far worse even than "My Restaurant Rules" or that tv show about Jamie Oliver's Fifteen restaurant the name of which has slipped into obscurity.

I feel sorry for these restaurant owners who put their hearts and souls into their family business to be told what to do by a bunch of snobs.

The last thing I want to see is for some of the great ethnic restaurants in Melbourne turn into Docklands style yuppy havens without any character.

For those who didn't see the first show, it had two family owned restaurants in Sydney, one Greek and one Egyptian named after their owners. They visited by a mystery critic and told what was good and bad. The problem was that the really harsh critic would probably be better off going to one of the upmarket restaurants in town. Rather than talking about the value, they simply slagged off about the decor and the traditional cuisines. Then they were paid a visit by a high profile restauranteur who told them how out of their element they were, to change their traditional meals, increase their prices and modernise their restaurants. While the winners were awarded $20,000, they probably had to spend that much in renovating their restaurants to become the very plain that the critics were after, and one of them ends up being both stressed and shattered. Regardless, both restaurants received 3 stars out of 5 or less. The restaurants were already vibrant and packed. I don't think this sends the right message to some of the restaurants I love. These places have their own character. The ones on the show lost much of that character which makes them unique and much loved in the process, and ended up being influenced by upmarket taste. Sure, the money and the television exposure would be worth its weight in gold, but does that guarantee that in 12 months these restaurants still have their loyal customers and stay open ? I wonder.

They would be much better rating some of the restaurants in Melbourne Docklands, Southbank, Brisbane's Riverside or Southbank or Sydney's piers where they have high price tags, pretentious foodies and hospital style atmosphere. Family run restaurants don't have to compete with these guys and shouldn't be reviewed or judged by the same people. It is simply condescending.

Next week they travel to Richmond in Melbourne (Bridge Road is one of my favourite restaurant areas) and I hope they don't have too much negative influence on the restaurants there ... just my 2 cents ...

KL Café Restaurant

2008-02-22T21:56:00.000-08:00

92c Acland Street
St Kilda, VIC 3182
Ph: (03) 9534 3721

Food
With the name inspired by the south east asian city of Kuala Lumpur this restaurant boasts a large range of Malaysian, Chinese and Thai foods. Some very spicy dishes which were also very tasty. A great selection to choose from in all 3 cuisines including seafood, vegetarian, rice dishes, noodle dishes, prawn specials, calamari and beef. A striking dessert which we just loved was the Kueh Dah Dah which had bright green crepe wrapped around coconut with ice-cream. The people at the table next to us were mesmerized, wanting to know what we were eating! My partner nicknamed it the 'steam rolled frog' due to the bright green colouring.
Service
Very attentive and reasonably friendly.
Value
One of the best value restaurants in the St Kilda area, which is notoriously filled with your expensive yuppy type restaurants (particularly along Fitzroy st). Not this one. The banquets that are available will give you much better value than ordering individual dishes, but the mains are reasonably priced too.
Decor and Atmosphere
I think the locals know this is one of the better value restaurants in the area, because they flock there. You will be challenged to get a table if you haven't booked. We managed to get the last one. Some very interesting artistic pieces inside. A feature ceiling with an oval shaped recessed area painted with clouds and stars and lit up which is quite delightful. Also a wall featuring a city landscape backlit and silhouetted. Some tasteful painting gives the place a nice atmosphere, though it is not a large restaurant. There were some intense flashing lights on a branch near the front entrance that were a bit distracting to the eye, but that was our only real critisicm.

Tandoori Times Restaurant Review

2008-02-11T00:11:00.000-08:00

196 Barkly Street
St Kilda, VIC 3182
Ph: (03) 9593 8166

Food
Traditional indian cuisine. A piece of advice, skip banquet A and go straight for Banquet B. We had dined here previously and enjoyed the A menu, but having B this time we were blown away. Absolutely delicious! A real step up, and our discussion with the manager proved he was of the same opinion. With entrees of lamb cutlets, fried coconut mushroom, tandoori chicken; generous portions of king prawns, lamb saag, butter chicken, garlic naan and chicken rice and then dessert of your choice to top it off. It was hard to believe this banquet went for under $30 per person. Top quality, loved every bite.
Service
Very friendly service, a bit slow at times. But it was worth the wait.
Value
Any of the banquets are excellent value and all meals reasonably priced.
Decor and Atmosphere
Be treated to some interesting Bollywood on the projector screen if you're not too involved in conversation. Pretty simple decor, tasteful and relaxed. Certainly a popular place on a saturday night.

Australian F1 Grand Prix - Restaurants and Cafes close to the track

2008-02-07T13:42:00.000-08:00

I'm not the biggest fan of the Formula One Grand Prix, and I don't intend on going to the Albert Park racetrack myself, but since you can't really miss the fact that it is coming up to that time of year again, I thought I'd give some tips to some of our interstate and overseas vistors. So if you are dining on a budget, don't want the marquee food and still want something decent, here are some of my personal tips. Make sure you read the reviews though. Please note that in this article I have included all my reviewed restaurants, but I don't recommend all of them !

Fortunately there is a wide range of restaurants and cafes within short walking distance to the Albert Park track and several tram lines make reaching other restaurants easy.

Fitzroy Street, St Kilda
Fitzroy Street is on the south end of the track and Armstrong Street in Middle Park is right next to the west end of the track. It is a really busy street with a huge range of restaurants and cafes.
If you are after something a bit upmarket and like Chinese food, try Mahjong, it is very close to the south end of the Formula 1 and offers a great Yum Cha. Also check out my review of the Banff Cafe if you're after a light meal or pizza. A walk a bit further down Fitzroy Street will take you to a Melbourne institution - Leo's Spaghetti Bar.

St Kilda West
Just a bit further up from Fitzroy Street, there is a small cafe hidden on Cowderoy Street in an old art deco shop. They make some nice foccacias.

Armstrong Street, Middle Park
Armstrong Street is the main light rail station from the city. There is even a great cafe right on the Middle Park light rail station - though whether it will be open during the race I don't know. If you walk along this street, you'll find some upmarket cafes and pubs. Along this quiet street you'll find a scattering of Japanese, Thai and Indian restaurants. Hidden up the street a bit is Koh Samui which I have reviewed.

Albert Park
To the north end, Bridport Street in Albert Park is not too far away. The restaurants here are a bit more upmarket, and not too many ethnic cuisines although Pacific Rim Thai is a real standout and right near both the track and tram route 96. Further down Victoria Street, which you can get to by tram (route 112) from the north end of the track there is a good mix of Indian, Japanese and Vietnamese cuisines. Check out our review of Gharana which has both Indian and Sri-Lankan dishes.

Clarendon Street, South Melbourne
There are a great range of eateries near Clarendon Street, but not all of them are within walking distance of the north end of Albert Park. The closest is probably Spirit of India. A little further is Sakura (Japanese). The 112 tram will take you further up to some fantastic restaurants slightly closer to the city like Sugarcane (Thai) and Garamerica (Indonesian).

Queens Road, Melbourne
Queens Road on the east end of the track doesn't offer much. There are a few cafes and plenty of hotel accomodation, but not much in the way of restaurants. Although further up towards Toorak Road on St Kilda Road, there are a few handy takeout places.

Have fun at the race !

Tamarind Spice Restaurant Review

2008-02-02T22:05:00.000-08:00

257 Glenferrie Rd
Malvern Vic 3144
Ph: 9576 0597

Food
Indian, Malaysian and SIngaporean cuisines.. at least that is what it says on the menu, however the front window boasts a couple of extra cuisines such as Sri Lankan - a little confusing. If you look through the menu though I would say the dishes are 85% Indian, with just a few other dishes thrown in here and there. The food was of reasonable quality for the price. The 'chilly' (?) chicken was hot and spicy. A few quirky titles for dishes on the menu too with some questionable spelling.
Service
The waiter seemed to have a great deal of trouble understanding english. We tried over and again just to request a spoon. I guess he was trying his best though.
Value
The restaurant claims it has the best deal in town, and it comes pretty close. Extremely cheap banquets available - $30 for two people or $50 for 4 people! Every individual meal on the menu is under $14, so there is some really great value to be had here.
Decor and Atmosphere
Conservative, not flash, a bit b-grade. Sometimes you get what you pay for in that respect.

Good Food Guide 2008

2008-01-28T18:32:00.000-08:00

The Age has been running a "Good Food Guide" for Melbourne for several years now. This mainly focuses on the featured and best rated restaurants in Melbourne, but not necessarily the cheapest or best value. So you'll typically find modern, contemporary cuisines and a la carte restaurants here.

Occasionally, you will find something affordable here, but I'd personally recommend "Cheap Eats" which comes out in early February for the less fussy. Though why both of them tend to leave out a few of my favourite restaurants, I'm not entirely sure.

The latest edition for 2008 is out now (it has actually been out since late last year) retails for just under $30 and can be purchased at newsagents or via the Age website online.

The Banff Restaurant Review

2008-01-28T01:39:00.000-08:00

145 Fitzroy St
St Kilda, VIC 3182
(03) 9525 4113

Food
Mainly known for its pizzas, they have a fabulous selection to choose from. Some very unusual pizzas, all absolutely delicious! Served with rocket lettuce and sour cream. They also serve pastas and they have a separate breakfast menu.
Service
They'll bring your meals out, but it's mostly self serve, order at the bar.
Value
Great value, some really cheap pizzas and pastas.
Decor and Atmosphere
Art deco delight, funky vibe, totally relaxed and warm and yet hip.

Automatic Cafe Review

2008-01-28T01:19:00.000-08:00

at crown casino,
Southbank
Phone: 03 9690 8500

Food
Mixed cuisines, a selection of pizzas and all manner of assorted dishes such as indian, pastas, steaks, asian. The tandoori chicken salad was very appealing. The steak is a bit more expensive on the menu, but cooked well. This restaurant/cafe is very much the sister to the Blue Train at Southbank, on the Yarra.
Service
Young hip waiters, friendly and helpful. Patient when we had a toddler with us.
Value
The individual dishes are of reasonable value. There are a range of prices depending on what you choose to order.
Decor and Atmosphere
Funky, modern and relaxed atmosphere situated right on the river with some lovely outdoor seating on a warm evening overlooking the city on the Yarra. Pretty casual.

Afghan Gallery Restaurant Review

2008-01-21T15:48:00.000-08:00

327 Brunswick Street,
Fitzroy Vic 3065
Phone: 03 9417 2430

Food
Traditional Afghan Specialties. A good selection of dishes, some interesting entrees with a little spice, mains had mostly mild tomato based sauces with rice. Afghan food also seems to feature beans in a few entrees and dishes. Very sweet desserts. I have to admit though I was just a little disappointed with the food only because the last afghan restaurant I dined at had taste sensations to die for, and this didn't quite live up to that standard.
Service
Mostly pretty good service, a little slow at times as they were busy. Polite and friendly.
Value
They had several good value banquets available to come in under $30 per person budget, or you can pay the extra $5 and have dessert included.
Decor and Atmosphere
I really liked the interior, it had an old style tavern atmosphere with exposed bluestone and wood on the walls, dim lighting. A little tasteful music. Some nice tapestries and pictures.

Jaisalmer Palace Restaurant Review

2008-01-11T20:36:00.000-08:00

98 Bourke Street
MELBOURNE 3000

A brand new restaurant at the time of this review. We were unable to obtain a business card from them so do not have the telephone listing as yet. They did not yet have credit card facilities available either, though I believe that is coming soon.
Food
Traditional Indian. Generous servings, but not living up to my expectations of the high standards of indian cuisine in melbourne restaurants. An unusual start with a tomato based soup before entree. A rather dodgy tasting sausage in the entree dish. The sauces in the dishes of the mains didn't have the intoxicating spices and flavours I so treasure in traditional indian curries. A couple of the dishes I just didn't like too much - and indian is usually my favourite of all cuisines!
Service
Some peculiar waiters. Once we were seated they then told us to get up and stand aside while they reset the table. They asked my partner if they should bring dessert out while I was still in the bathroom, then they took away our drinks while we were still drinking them. Very flighty and fidgety serving. They were attentive but bizarre and out of sorts at times.
Value
Good value banquets available. All reasonably priced.
Decor and Atmosphere
The reason I was attracted to this restaurant is that the interior is very impressively set up. Some wonderful decorating, gorgeous carved wooden chairs (and tables upstairs). A delightful interior. No airconditioning which was a bit stifling on a hot summer night.

Customer complains .... restauranteur - kills him

2008-01-09T18:32:00.000-08:00

As if eating the food isn't a gamble enough at some restaurants.
I guess the moral of the story is think twice before you complain when dining ... may be safer to write an email instead.

A DINER was stabbed to death by a restaurateur after an argument about slow service, a court heard yesterday.
The Supreme Court was told Khanh Vo, 35, fatally stabbed customer Anh Dung Nguyen, 54, after the two men argued about the service in Vo's crowded Abbotsford restaurant, Bon Mua, on April 16, 2006.
The men and their friends fought before Vo ran into the kitchen, grabbed a fruit knife and stabbed Mr Nguyen, the court heard.
Vo, of Ivanhoe, pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of Mr Nguyen.
The court heard Mr Nguyen had been drinking before he and a group of nine friends arrived at the restaurant about 10.30pm.
Prosecutor Peter Jones said Mr Nguyen became upset after midnight about slow service, banged his hand on a table and exchanged words with Vo's wife, Vy Huynh.
Vo became upset when he heard Mr Nguyen had spoken to his wife and a fight erupted, Mr Jones said.
After grabbing a knife from his kitchen, Vo returned and stabbed Mr Nguyen three times.
Mr Nguyen died later in hospital.
Defence lawyer Ian Hill, QC, told the court Vo's actions had not been planned or premeditated and had "erupted spontaneously".
"At the least, the deceased was rude and aggressive in his demeanour," Mr Hill said.
Running a successful restaurant was important to Vo and "to see a person threatening that . . . may well have caused him to act in the way (in) which he did".
Mr Hill said Vo, now a father of two, had fled Vietnam with his family in 1985 and subsequently spent more than two years in refugee camps in Hong Kong.
Vo had been "frequently frightened and possibly exposed to significant trauma" while in the camps, according to a psychologist.
Mr Hill said his client had pleaded guilty at the first available opportunity, saving the state expense and sparing witnesses the trauma of having to give evidence.
"It can be seen . . . not only as a legal but also a moral acknowledgment by the prisoner of his wrongdoing, and should be taken as a sign of his true remorse and contrition for taking a life," Mr Hill said.
"He feels really ashamed about his actions.
"The only emotion that he can recall of the night was one of fear."
Mr Hill said Vo's restaurant was sold in December.
Justice Kevin Bell will sentence Vo on a date to be set.

From the Herald Sun.

Foodie's Guide to Melbourne 2008

2008-01-08T20:53:00.000-08:00

The Age has been running a "Foodie's Guide" to Melbourne for several years now. This handy little book contains a huge list of Melbourne restaurants as well as the Foodie's Guide Awards for the best restaurants in Melbourne for the year (2007).

The latest edition for 2008 is out now (it has actually been out since late last year) retails for just under $30 and can be purchased at newsagents or via the Age website online.

Chine on Paramount Restaurant Review

2008-01-05T22:23:00.000-08:00

Shop 9 & 10, Paramount Centre
101 Little Bourke Street
MELBOURNE 3000
Ph: 03 9663 6556

Food
Chinese Cuisine. The standard type of chinese fare found in most chinese restaurants in Melbourne. The banquet was quite small compared to most, not entirely fulfilling. The presentation was very meticulous. Live fish and lobsters swimming in tanks to choose from if that's your cup of tea.
Service
A La Carte service, very professional with great attention to detail.
Value
Not great. Most dishes were quite expensive for chinese. The wine prices were out of this world. The banquet wasn't great value.
Decor and Atmosphere
Beige invasion with brown wood panels. Quite simple and plain. Easy listening elevator style background music. Probably more suited to the older folk.

Melbourne Vietnam Noodle House Review

2008-01-03T21:05:00.000-08:00

251 Swanston Street
MELBOURNE 3000
Ph: 03 9639 4911

Food
Vietnamese Pho style noodle house. Being so close to Mekong (a couple of doors further down Swanston Street) it draws inevitable comparisons, though not favourable ones. A good selection on the menu, but the food I had didn't overly impress me. Not more than a couple of pieces of meat in my special combination dish. The drink selection was interesting, but my drink was very thick and powdery and had to be eaten with a spoon.
Service
Ok. The man at the counter where you pay was quite grumpy looking :(
Value
The value is good, all very reasonably priced.
Decor and Atmosphere
Clean and neat, nothing exotic.

Kanzaman Restaurant Review

2007-12-29T17:14:00.000-08:00

458 - 460 Bridge Rd,
Richmond, VIC 3121
Tel: (03) 9429-3402

Food
Middle Eastern/Lebanese Cuisine. A diverse array of dishes, some delicious dips and lebanese breads to start, some flavoured meat entrees, focus on meats and rices. Lovely and unusual desserts that are very sweet.
Service
Very helpful, attentive and polite.
Value
Good value, you can have as many main courses as you can eat if you choose the banquet, but you will get very full! $38 per person for this banquet or add an extra $10 for seafood, includes dips, entrees, mains, desserts, coffees. So you can find cheaper banquets but as I said, you will get a lot of food for this.
Decor and Atmosphere
The interior decoration here is unbelievable and fantastic! Elaborate murals throughout, gorgeous interiors very well decorated, pressed metal painted ceilings, lovely lighting. And add to your evening's entertainment with a featured belly dancer, who was both delightful and gorgeous.