Tien Tien Restaurant Review

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.

KL Café Restaurant

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.

Koh Samui Thai Restaurant Review

130 Erskine Street,
Middle Park Vic
Phone: 03 9696 3080

Food
Thai food. No banquets or set menus unfortunately. There were some nice flavours in the tradtional thai dishes. I didn't try as many of the dishes as I often would because the price was a bit more expensive.
Service
Average service. Never hugely busy, but not overly attentive.
Value
As expected in the Middle Park village, Albert Park area, restaurants tend to be pricier as the areas are somewhat upmarket. Would be ok if the food and service was sensational, but nothing special there.
Decor and Atmosphere
Nice quiet atmosphere. There are 3 sections of this restaurant with two entrances, meaning the restaurant is much bigger than it first appears. In fact I have been there twice each time thinking the different entrance was a different restaurant ! The front section is small and quiet in a beautiful plane tree lined heritage street. Going down a narrow corridor leads you to a larger back section, which is more spacious. There is a television which plays some video and soft music. An outside courtyard leads upstairs open air function space - the courtyard carries the heritage "blue stone" brick theme. Interesting look for the area.

Warwick Thai Restaurant Review

400 Sydney Rd,
Brunswick Vic 3056
Phone: 03 9381 2111

Food
Thai food, not a very large selection on the menu. No extras. Not the fanciest or best ever thai dishes, but they do provide really large portions, so you get plenty of food with your main meal.
Service
Good service. They have a very large room to wait on, so they miss you occasionally, but they're pretty good considering.
Value
Good value, as you get plenty of food for your dollar. Banquets only available for large groups.
Decor and Atmosphere
Really quite an interesting interior (see photo above). Huge space! Looks like an old style hall or church inside. A separated section for takeaway at the front, and a gorgeous looking dining room up front that must be for special occasions. A bit stuffy, could do with some better air circulation. I wouldn't want to be there on a hot night. Some music wouldn't go astray.

Minh Minh Restaurant Review

94 Victoria Street
Richmond 3121
Phone: 03 9427 7891

Food
Vietnamese, Lao and Thao dishes are all available on the menu. All quite tasty and of a good quality. I particularly enjoyed the Phat Bai Ka Phrao which had a hot and spicy flavour.
Service
Frenzied, frantic and forgetful. The place was packed, and the waiters were trying, but struggling.
Value
Reasonable value, no banquets or set menus available other than for large groups.
Decor and Atmosphere
Noisy! A lot of people talking over the top of one another and if there was music I couldn't hear it over the ruckus. Also being so full it was a bit cramped. The decoration was quite nice with a decent paint job.

Sugarcane Restaurant Review

268 Park Street
South Melbourne 3205
Phone (03) 9699 3637

Food
Thai food. No banquets available, but a lovely selection of dishes. The mixed entrees were delicious and the main meals were well portioned. We dined with an extra couple this night and all were very impressed with their meals, most complimentary.
Service
Good service, not too intrusive but there when you need them.
Value
Main meals were around the $20 mark, so with no banquet available this could cost a little extra, but not too expensive overall.
Decor and Atmosphere
A cosy atmosphere, modern music rather than reflective of the cuisine. Some lovely decoration and lighting. Well presented.

Phuket Thai Restaurant Review

229 Glenferrie Rd
Malvern VIC 3144
Phone (03) 9500 0100

Food
A large menu selection of curries, soups, salads, fish, flaming jet wok specials and vegetarian. I tried a mixed entree and it was a selection of deep fry. The main courses were not bad, traditional thai dishes.
Service
Good service. The waitresses all in very smart, thai dress.
Value
Very reasonable.
Decor and Atmosphere
Nicely laid out, some thai decorations but not over the top. Fairly simple with some colour. A busy but fairly relaxed atmosphere.

Pacific Rim Thai Restaurant Review

68 Bridport Street
Albert Park, VIC, 3206
Telephone: (03) 9690 8008

Food
Very nice. All dishes were lovely. Love the entrées.
Service
Efficient waiters, fair service.
Value
Good value if you go for the banquet.
Decor
Cute and cosy inside. A nice setup. One of those fake fire fireplaces to sit by. The building is very nice, but the view of the service station is not so great ;)

Beau Thai Restaurant Review

125 Station St
Malvern VIC 3144
Phone (03) 9509 8222

Food
Very nice dishes, good variety, great flavour. Delicious and well presented ice-cream!
Service
Good waiters, attentive service
Value
Reasonably priced.
Decor
Lovely interior decoration. Real attention to detail, gorgeous and warm. Overlooks busy Dandenong Road.